Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr. (Photo courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Institute)
A panel on transgender and nonbinary issues took place at Georgetown University on Tuesday.
The panel included Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr and her fiancée, journalist Erin Reed, who are both trans, and nonbinary Oklahoma state Rep. Mauree Turner. Charlotte Clymer was also on the panel that Amanda Phillips, a nonbinary Georgetown professor, moderated.
The panel began with a discussion about anti-trans laws that have been enacted across the country.
Reed said the Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Principles Project developed a strategy in response to North Carolina’s now repealed law that banned trans people from using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
They focused on states that are more “business-friendly and therefore harder to boycott, and started with sports. Reed said bans on gender-segregated sports put an “asterisk on [trans] identity” that made further attacks possible.
Clymer spoke on attitudes towards trans policies.
She referenced a survey that asked Americans if they supported nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals. Around 75 percent of respondents, including almost half of Republicans, said yes. Clymer said the next question that asked if such protections exist concerns her.
Roughly half of respondents said yes.
While there are two U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Obergefell and Bostock — that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples and employment protections to LGBTQ people respectively, Clymer noted there are no federal protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Turner and Zephyr spoke about being censured for defending trans rights.
Oklahoma lawmakers in March censured Turner after they refused to turn into the authorities a trans person who had allegedly assaulted a state trooper.
Turner said in Oklahoma, where there is no public debate, and politicians are openly anti-trans, residents are fighting against an “apathetic” and “heinous” legislature. On the topic of activism, they said being a “truth teller,” and saying “absolutely not” is “what got [them] censured.”
Zephyr’s censure was in April after she criticized a bill to restrict gender-affirming health care in Montana. The protests that followed stemmed from trans issues, but Zepher said they were about much more.
“The protests […] were about recognizing that when you silence a legislator, you take away representation from their constituents,” she said. “That fight became a larger fight about democracy.”
The panelists talked about mental health and addressing it.
Turner said that being the representation they needed keeps them going.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it through middle school,” they said. “Representation matters for so many people […] if you can aid in being that representation, being that force that helps somebody else keep going, that is one of the most powerful experiences.”
The panel agreed that finding community is important to mental health.
“Sometimes our best activism is finding our community,” Reed said.
The panel also spoke about queer joy and strength.
“Queer joy is the thing they can’t take away,” Zephyr said.
Reed talked about photos of activists who were organizing before the Stonewall riots in 1969; they were smiling and enjoying their community.
“The queer story is a story of not just surviving in the margins but thriving in the margins,” Reed said.
Turner added “trans lives aren’t just lives worth fighting for, they are lives worth living.”
A self-described “journalist” who didn’t identify himself or his outlet asked the panel, “What is a woman?” Clymer turned the question back to him, and he said it “comes down to genetics.”
Clymer began to explain that chromosomes don’t always define sex. The audience member began to argue and ignored an event organizer who was asking him to leave. Security promptly escorted him out.
Reed continued Clymer’s point that even biological sex is difficult to define.
“Last year, 15 different state legislators tried to define sex, did you know that none of them managed to do so in a way that was scientifically correct?”
The panelists also offered advice to allies.
Clymer said treading about trans issues and being informed about them is a great start.
“You’ve got to step up,” she said.
Turner said allyship goes beyond relationships, and into the realm of being uncomfortable.
“Allyship is synonymous with action and moving forward,” they said.
A panel on transgender and nonbinary issues took place at Georgetown University on Tuesday.
The panel included Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr and her fiancée, journalist Erin Reed, who are both trans, and nonbinary Oklahoma state Rep. Mauree Turner. Charlotte Clymer was also on the panel that Amanda Phillips, a nonbinary Georgetown professor, moderated.
The panel began with a discussion about anti-trans laws that have been enacted across the country.
Reed said the Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Principles Project developed a strategy in response to North Carolina’s now repealed law that banned trans people from using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
They focused on states that are more “business-friendly and therefore harder to boycott, and started with sports. Reed said bans on gender-segregated sports put an “asterisk on [trans] identity” that made further attacks possible.
Clymer spoke on attitudes towards trans policies.
She referenced a survey that asked Americans if they supported nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals. Around 75 percent of respondents, including almost half of Republicans, said yes. Clymer said the next question that asked if such protections exist concerns her.
Roughly half of respondents said yes.
While there are two U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Obergefell and Bostock — that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples and employment protections to LGBTQ people respectively, Clymer noted there are no federal protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Turner and Zephyr spoke about being censured for defending trans rights.
Oklahoma lawmakers in March censured Turner after they refused to turn into the authorities a trans person who had allegedly assaulted a state trooper.
Turner said in Oklahoma, where there is no public debate, and politicians are openly anti-trans, residents are fighting against an “apathetic” and “heinous” legislature. On the topic of activism, they said being a “truth teller,” and saying “absolutely not” is “what got [them] censured.”
Zephyr’s censure was in April after she criticized a bill to restrict gender-affirming health care in Montana. The protests that followed stemmed from trans issues, but Zepher said they were about much more.
“The protests […] were about recognizing that when you silence a legislator, you take away representation from their constituents,” she said. “That fight became a larger fight about democracy.”
The panelists talked about mental health and addressing it.
Turner said that being the representation they needed keeps them going.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it through middle school,” they said. “Representation matters for so many people […] if you can aid in being that representation, being that force that helps somebody else keep going, that is one of the most powerful experiences.”
The panel agreed that finding community is important to mental health.
“Sometimes our best activism is finding our community,” Reed said.
The panel also spoke about queer joy and strength.
“Queer joy is the thing they can’t take away,” Zephyr said.
Reed talked about photos of activists who were organizing before the Stonewall riots in 1969; they were smiling and enjoying their community.
“The queer story is a story of not just surviving in the margins but thriving in the margins,” Reed said.
Turner added “trans lives aren’t just lives worth fighting for, they are lives worth living.”
A self-described “journalist” who didn’t identify himself or his outlet asked the panel, “What is a woman?” Clymer turned the question back to him, and he said it “comes down to genetics.”
Clymer began to explain that chromosomes don’t always define sex. The audience member began to argue and ignored an event organizer who was asking him to leave. Security promptly escorted him out.
Reed continued Clymer’s point that even biological sex is difficult to define.
“Last year, 15 different state legislators tried to define sex, did you know that none of them managed to do so in a way that was scientifically correct?”
The panelists also offered advice to allies.
Clymer said treading about trans issues and being informed about them is a great start.
“You’ve got to step up,” she said.
Turner said allyship goes beyond relationships, and into the realm of being uncomfortable.
“Allyship is synonymous with action and moving forward,” they said.
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