[Foundation-l] [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2008 will happen in Alexandria, Egypt

[Mark Williamson]

The earlier suggestion that a doctor's note will be required is also upsetting.

For someone who is biologically a man to live socially as a woman,
they should not need a doctor's note to avoid persecution. Life is
already more difficult for trans people.

In response to my earlier letter, I noticed people bandying about the
term GLBT again. Guys, I am not talking about GLBT here really. I am
talking about T.

GLB people may not be able to be who they are, and for many, that is
going to be a no-go.

But it is the T people for whose safety I fear.

In the trans community there is what is known as "passing", that is
someone who is biologically male being able to live as a female
without anyone noticing them, or vice-versa.

If our trans friends can pass, I do not think they will really be
unsafe as long as they are careful, in the same way they would want to
be careful if they were going on a road trip in Alabama.

If, however, they are among those individuals for whom passing is more
of a challenge, I would very much fear for their safety and think that
this is a matter of life and death rather than just "not flaunting
it". If Jimmy Wales wanted to go to the conference dressed in drag
(not that he wants to, but if he did), and go out on the streets
afterwards and live "as a woman", he should be able to feel
comfortable doing that.

Now, imagine if you could not feel safe travelling in the gender you
are. For the men out there, imagine you had to wear fake breasts and
women's clothing to avoid being beaten and harassed? For the women,
imagine you had to cut your hair short, duct tape your cleavage, and
perhaps even stuff your pants to avoid the same? In the majority of
Islamic countries, trans people are not safe unless they deny their
true gender identity. This is unacceptable.

All that aside, what upsets me the most about this issue is the way
our community has been blown off by just about everyone. Jimmy Wales
was kind enough to at least show some concern; others have called us a
"special interest group" asking for unreasonable things or told us not
to "flaunt it". This has been so highly offensive and so greatly
frustrating that I am having difficulty believing it is coming from
Wikimedians, since our organization is so diverse (if you ever looked,
you would see there is a higher portion of GLBTQ people on Wikimedia
than in society at large).

Mark

On 11/10/2007, Claudio Mastroianni <gattonero at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Il giorno 11/ott/07, alle ore 23:32, Thomas Dalton ha scritto:
>
> > On 11/10/2007, Jason Safoutin <jason.safoutin at wikinewsie.org> wrote:
> >> So I see...we (homosexuals etc) have to hide who we are and what
> >> we are
> >> proud of...so homosexuals don't get hurt or arrested.
> >> Wonderful...I will
> >> make sure to bring a mask or 2 to conceal anything that might
> >> suggest I
> >> am gay. Because thats what it feels like I ans any other
> >> homosexual has
> >> to do to make this trip work. Thats wrong, unfair and it
> >> discrimination.
> >
> > There is a difference between hiding and not flaunting. Do you really
> > define yourself in terms of your sexuality to such an extent that you
> > need everyone to know you're gay? No-one is suggesting you pretend to
> > be straight, just tactfully avoid the subject.
>
> No, that's not the problem.
> I'm reading "Don't take a double", and that's... how to say? Ridicolous?
> This is not a matter of wearing a t-shirt with "I'm gay" written on,
> this is a matter of people who are not permitted to sleep with their
> partner cause "could be offensive" and could give problem.
> Iperbole: when will be going to a place where women "socially" wear
> burqa, are we going to ask all the women attending to "wear the burqa
> to not seem offensive"? I don' think so.
>
> Please: read what you write.
> I'm not against Alexandria, but the more I read this thread, the more
> I'm ashamed of what I read.
>
>
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