The Trans Thing and Left-Leaning Lesbian Tension

What's an old school lesbian to do?

I'm a lesbian in tension. Tension between loyalty to my community and the current political framework. I'm a Gen X'er who came out in the early 90's when gays and lesbians were still labeled as pedophiles and perverts. We had to stick together - whether it was all living in the same small part of a larger city or tipping the gay waiter a little more. The last 10 years of acceptance has made me soft but now, I'm torn. How do I keeping fighting real discrimination and, hold onto reason and logic?

Lesbian Avengers protest at the Alice Austen House, July 31, 1994, Courtesy of Saskia Scheffer

I'm a psychologist and have counseled transfolk for decades. I was fortunate enough to get in-depth training and experience as part of a grad school consortium in Chicago. If you'd asked me back then if transwomen were women, I would have said, "Hell yeah they are!" But this new era of deeper questioning has forced into a new corner. Are transwomen biological women? That depends on what you mean by biological. Do they have XY chromosomes? Usually not. Were they bathed in feminizing hormones in the womb? Maybe. What it always came down to for me was respect. I'll respect your pronouns, gender presentation, gender fluidity, and call you by whatever name you want. I'll even defend you when you're not around. But you've got to extend the same courtesy to me.