I think the really sad thing here is that with the
decline in beds for homeless teens in the twin cities
we are widening the gateway to sexwork rather
narrowing it. This is one of the critical issues to
be addressed in the twin cities that we had been doing
a great job on. We must not allow an erosion of those
efforts in our community to combat youth homelessness
that prevent so many problems further on down the
line. "Survival sex" is when homeless young people or
economically marginal people resort to exchanging sex
for food, a place to sleep, take a shower or bathe,
etc. and it's a key transition to prostition.
GLBT youth are at a much higher risk for homelessness
than their counterparts due to family of origin
prejudice. Homelessness is a gateway to prostitution
for many many young people. Transgender young people
are no different than their counterparts in their
reaction to these circumstance and may feel more
constrained by discrimination despite laws being on
the books to ban such discrimination in
employment(making it illegal doesn't make it go away).
There is also a long cultural tradition of sexual
exploitation of the gender different in our society
just as there is a long history of sexual exploitation
of youth. Just take a look at the film "Stage Beauty"
about restoration England or the new testament
prohibitions of the wearing of hair in certain (gender
different) ways as to not appear as a prostitute.
The nondiscrimination laws in Minnesota have opened
doors for many that otherwise would have felt
economically more constrained but they haven't
completely eliminated or ended these social forces
overnight. There is still work that remains to be
done to inform young people of the laws that protect
them from discrimination and see that those laws are
enforced, provide housing for homeless youth and youth
transitioning out of homelessness.
Nondiscrimination laws also tend to be enforced in
disparate ways depending on the economic value of the
individuals work or their class. For example, an
applicant for a cashier position might not be hired
due to their transgender status, race, sexual
orientation, gender, religion, etc. but would find it
difficult to find a lawyer that would find the case to
be financially worthwhile to take on whereas a lawyer,
pharmacist, or other professional facing similiar
discrimination would be more apt to find it worthwhile
to go to the expense of filing a nondiscrimination
suit.
Issues of race and racial discrimination also enter in
here. Being a young black youth in Minneapolis
looking for a job is an obstacle as reflected in the
unemployment rate for black youth in Minneapolis.
Would one not expect that it might be even more
difficult for young person facing those same
challenges who was also transgender?
I hope that the good work of the
Transgender/GenderQueer Coalition of Minnesota
continues around this issue.
If you would care to be involved the TGGQC meets
Wednesday November 17, 2004
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
This event repeats on the third Wednesday of every
month. Event Location: Family & Children's Service,
4123 E Lake Street
I think a further action that could be taken is
working with local glbt employee groups at area
employers to give young transpeople an opportunity to
meet transpeople in the workplace as role models.
Transpeople's experience of discrimination varies in
part on the basis of the degree of gender privacy the
have. Some transpeople are visibly transgendered
while many are not visibly transgendered.
Also, physical attacks and discrimination against
people due to sexual orientation or gender difference
tends to decrease with age. The violent actors tend
be young themselves and may see such differences as
threats to their own solidifying sexual and gender
identities. So it is young adults and teens who all
too often bear the brunt of discriminatory forces that
tend to impact us less directly with increases in age.
David Strand
Loring Park
--- Dyna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Tuesday, November 16, 2004, at 02:54 AM, David
> Strand wrote:
>
> > just a few weeks ago I joined a candlelit vigil
> march of 130
> > people, mostly glbt youth from District 202,
> through
> > downtown Minneapolis to protest the hate induced
> > shooting of Tameka McCloud in South Minneapolis.
>
> My best wishes for Tameka's speedy recovery.
>
> > News story about the shooting and vigil made
> national
> > media(see link below) even if the event was
> ignored by
> > much of the local press(aside from an article
> > incredibly disrespectful towards Tameka's
> transgender
> > status in the Star Tribune which outraged the
> local
> > transgender community by not even meeting AP
> standards
> > for such stories.
>
> I went a little farther and did a quick web search
> on Tameka- suffice
> to say her "friends" in the GLBT establishment,
> particularily at
> District 202. have outed her to the point she may
> never be able to find
> a decent job by spreading her name all over the web.
> Then again, Tameka
> is a 19 year old adult who was convicted of
> prostitution in July. If
> she'd been given any jail time she would not have
> been out on the
> street to be shot while "enjoying" her admitted
> lifestyle, prostitution
> and drugs.
>
> Way back in 1975 I and a few other gay activists
> were tired of seeing
> transpeople forced into prostitution or poverty by
> employment
> discrimination. We wrote and passed the trans
> inclusive language in our
> city ordinances that barred discrimination against
> transsexuals and
> intersex people in employment as well as other
> areas. Within a few
> years it became difficult to find a transsexual
> prostitute working the
> streets of Minneapolis.
>
> Fast forward to the 21st century- that law and a
> similar Minnesota one
> are still on the books. Minneapolis is not an
> impossible place to find
> a job, and surely the hordes of new immigrants
> working here prove that
> Tameka could have found legal employment if she
> wished. But instead
> Tameka admits to spending her time on the streets
> doing drugs and
> prostituting herself. Even more troubling is that
> her "friends" at
> District 202 seem to think that sort of "lifestyle"
> is normal for
> transpeople.
>
> Tamika's is not an unfamiliar story- one of my
> friends has tried to
> start a home for transpeople in greater Minnesota.
> Her spacious home
> could easily accomodate 10 people, but she's never
> had more than a
> couple guests stay for long. The rest left when they
> were evicted for
> prostitution, petty theft etc.. or left of their own
> accord when they
> found their drugs of choice were none too available
> in small town
> Minnesota.
>
> Suffice to say I'm not about to lobby for human
> rights laws and hate
> crime laws to provide employment and protect
> transgender people when so
> many prefer to be prostitutes and drug addicts
> anyway. A friend of mine
> who was largely responsible for getting transpeople
> included in
> California's hate crimes law has similar feelings
> after seeing that law
> largely used to protect transgender prostitutes.
>
> > Don't get me wrong!!! I really appreciate the
> fact
> > that the broader community in Minneapolis supports
> > equality for glbtiq people and is a much better
> place
> > for glbt people(and I'd say everyone) to live
> because
> > of it!
> >
> > It's just that doesn't mean we can't do better.
>
> We can and have done better- I know many
> transsexual and intersex
> folks who hold decent jobs, own homes, and
> contribute to our community.
> Unfortunately District 202 is doing no service to
> trans youth by
> sanctioning a lifestyle of prostitution and drug
> use, hinting that is
> all that trans youth can aspire too. Thanks to
> Tameka's "friends" at
> District 202 and their gay ghettoizing we will sadly
> probably read of
> Tameka in the papers again, murdered by a better
> shot than her latest
> assailant.
>
> With that many wounds Tameka will probably be
> permanently disabled.
> Hopefully a kindly social worker will walk her
> through her application
> for SSI and get her into Courage Center for rehab.
> Hopefully she'll
> find a home in our public housing and she'd be most
> welcome in the all
> ages building in my neighborhood.
>
> But if I see her back on the streets hooking or
> dealing I'll call 911
> on her just like I would on any other woman or man
> doing the same.
>
> hanging on in Hawthorne,
>
> Dyna Sluyter
>
>
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