Thursday, February 16, 2017

Leslie Feinberg

When asked to name a popular and well-known transgender rights activist in the media today, one would probably think of the actress from Orange is the New Black, Laverne Cox. But there have been plenty of advocates for trans (transgender) rights long before people really understood what the word transgender meant. One activist, Leslie Feinberg, had been advocating and fighting for transgender rights as early as the mid-1960s.

When Leslie was born, in 1949, men and women were not viewed equally at all. Women were seen as housewives, they were simply there to cook, clean and take care of the kids. It was the men of the household who went to their jobs everyday and brought home money to put food on the table. Men didn’t bother with trivial things such as helping the kids with homework or doing the dishes, that was also the woman’s ‘job’.

Imagine this gut feeling deep down telling you that you’re not meant for either of those ‘roles’, now what? If you don’t fit in column A) Housewife or B) Working Man, what other options were there? Well, Leslie realized she needed to find her own way. So she did, by leaving her home where she wasn't accepted for, at the time, identifying as a lesbian, and moving to Buffalo, New York. It would be here in Buffalo that Leslie would become the trans rights activist we are learning about today.   
          
Only fifteen at the time, Leslie had to lie on her working papers so she would be able to get a job in a factory. But it wasn’t in these factories that Leslie came into her own, it was after work, in the bars in Buffalo. It was at these gay bars, known as Drag Bars at the time, that Leslie found her sense of community, a family to call her own. And although police would often raid these bars, she and her friends would still go.

During a talk at Sonoma State University[1], Leslie brought up the fact that she was often asked, ‘Why go to these bars if they are so dangerous?’ Her response was always that it wasn’t the bars that were dangerous it was the fact that “Where ever we went, was dangerous.” The ‘we’ she was talking about there were Leslie and her other LGBT friends, her community. In Outlaw[2], a 1994 short film staring Leslie, she had said that if someone had to question whether or not you were a boy or a girl, it automatically gave them the right to beat you up. In fact it was legal back then to arrest someone who was cross-dressing.

But as time went on, things started happening for the LGBT community. In 1969 the Stonewall riots happened, which were a series of violent riots made by LGBT youth in Greenwich Village, New York at the time.  It was these riots that gave attention to trans and gay youth in America. The riots were their way of saying ‘we’re gay, we’re proud and you can’t change that.' Sadly Leslie wasn’t able to take part in the Stonewall riots, but they did make her realize that if she started talking and voicing what’s unjust and wrong in our country, people might actually listen and learn.

In 1993 Leslie wrote her very first novel called Stone Butch Blues, a somewhat autobiographical story about a butch lesbian trying to make her way in the world. This was one of the first widely recognized books in our country depicting what life was like for someone in the LGBT community. It was this book that really got the ball rolling for Leslie in the media. After her book grabbed the publics’ attention, Leslie was invited to talk on the Joan River’s show in 1993[3]. The fact that a trans person was being asked to talk about what it’s like to be transgender on live television was unheard of. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Leslie to be able to talk to the American people about gay and trans rights.

So Leslie did what she did best; educate the audience, Joan and the people who were watching at home about what it was like to be a transgendered person at that time. But, rather than letting this segment just be about Leslie and what she had to offer to the people, Joan also happened to invite a ‘clinical sexologist’ who counseled transsexuals. Dr. Roger Poe was there to explain what Leslie had said in simpler terms to the audience. Some may not realize this, but by doing so he erased the fact that this was about a transgender person explaining what it was like being trans. The segment was not supposed to be about a straight white man coming in and re-explaining everything Leslie had just said, while also throwing in scientific terms as to why Leslie was the way she was.

Leslie had said on multiple occasions that she was sick and tired of being looked at like an experiment and that she was done with being analyzed for who she was. She almost didn’t appear on  the Joan River’s show because she didn’t want to sit up there and unintentionally be ridiculed but she also knew that she had to do the show because no other person was around to advocate for transgender rights.

In the end Leslie was diagnosed with Lyme disease on 2008 and later passed away in November 2014. And although Leslie was too ill to talk and hold presentations, she still wrote and posted on her website to keep in touch with the outside world.  Even on her deathbed she wanted people to know that she would never stop fighting. In fact her last words[4], who were to her partner Mini Pratt, were “Remember me as a revolutionary communist”, which is exactly how she will always be remembered.

 Here is a short clip of Leslie Feinberg from Alisa Lebow's short film, Outlaw, 1994



[1]CSUSonoms. “Beyond Pink or Blue”. Filmed, April 2007. Posted, January 2008.
[2] Outlaw, Directed by Alisa Lebow, Docudrag Productions, 1994
[3] Joshua Gamson. Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity. University of Chicago Press. 1998, see page 103  
[4] Leslie Feinberg, http://www.lesliefeinberg.net/self/, (November 15, 2014)

11 comments:

  1. It is always great to discover people that, although are not the mainstream activists, still fought with all they have to support a cause. She used her voice to educate the world about transgender issues that even today are confusing to most people. Sort of like The House on Mango Street, Leslie like Esperanza was born in world that could not relate to her as a whole. A world that tries to force you into something you aren’t, but she refused to give up on herself and her identity. I was wondering what your personal thoughts are on the movie Leslie stared in, Outlaws?
    -T.F.

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    1. The movie, though short, gave me quite a look at Leslie and how she went about her everyday life. It was very obvious to understand how she lived everyday in fear while growing up, but growing up with that fear behind her only made Leslie want to fight more and speak the truth. It was also nice to learn about her directly from her, rather than gathering information about her via new articles or biography's. She was giving us her first hand thoughts and opinions on the world which I loved being able to hear about!
      If you would like to watch the film go ahead and click on the title Outlaw underneath the YouTube clip of Leslie, it's a link that brings you right to the movie!

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  3. I do not really pay much attention to transgender rights activists or any other modern activists per say, but it is amazing to read about someone who tries and fights hard to stand up for a cause that they believe in. Being able to write a novel that deeply portrayed her own struggles and experiences, and then being invited onto talk shows that allowed Leslie to educate America about the true life of a transgendered person. And even when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, she kept fighting for her beliefs. This reminds me of Antigone from the Theban Plays, as Antigone was also a strong-headed person who refused to surrender to Creon's new laws because she did not agree with them and continuously argued for her brother's burial, even after she was punished and trapped in a cave to starve. Did you read Leslie's book Stone Butch Blues? Why did you not include any parts of it in your writing?

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    1. Unfortunately I was unable to read Stone Butch Blues before I did research for this article, but funnily enough my roommate started reading it for one of her classes right after we published this blog! She's letting me borrow her copy so I can read it! If I read the book first, however, there would be no doubt in my mind that I would have included a passage or two! I was able to read a short booklet Leslie wrote called 'Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue', which was a quick and interesting read! She was a phenomenal writer, and there are a few PDF copies of that booklet online if you're interested!

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  4. It is important to recognize all types of activists for their work towards a world of equality. Your article gives an interesting description of a woman who fought her whole life for something she strongly believed in. This is similar to Antigone in the “Theban Plays”, a powerful women who fought for the right of her deceased brother to be given a proper burial. Leslie Feinberg’s voice was heard by people all over the country, and she has a major impact in the LGBT community being one of the first advocates for transgender rights. She has inspired many people to be more accepting of others, and her strong persistent behavior allowed her to greatly affect society over the entirety of her lifetime. I am curious to know what your thoughts are on the short film “Outlaw”, and also what inspired you to write about Leslie Feinberg?

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    1. Outlaw was a short, yet very interspersing, film depicting what life was like for Leslie and how hard she had to work to get where she is today. It was nice to get first hand opinions and facts about Leslie straight from Leslie herself. And about why I picked Leslie, I chose to write about her because I have very close ties with the LGBTQ+ community and felt that trans and gay activist aren't ever really talked about anywhere in history and I wanted to make a change in that!

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  5. Upon reading, I was automatically compelled by the initial statement, especially because of its reference to OTNB. After transitioning from that, to the introduction of "Who Is" Leslie Feinberg, I was interested to know more. Until this, I had no previous knowledge of who Leslie was and was oblivious to her influences. To read about her and how, as a popular social figure, used her position to initiate awareness to a mainstream audience, is really eye opening and amazing. In The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, a mystery novel, the main character, Christopher struggles with a mental illness which is suggested to be autism. Despite it, he is devoted to discover who killed his neighbor’s dog, and pursues his goal all throughout the course of the story. Leslie and Christopher can relate as they are driven and motivated to achieve a specified goal despite Christopher’s mental issues and Leslie’s diagnosis of Lyme disease. How were you initially introduced to Leslie? What was your reason for choosing her as an entry for a woman who resisted authority and social norms? Did her advocation of transgender rights connect with you in some way; a personal connection or similarity in beliefs?

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    1. I have quite a few friends that are trans and I know that gay and trans rights activists are pretty much erased from history because until recently being gay or trans was something to be shamed for by a lot of people. Also being part of the LBGTQ+ community gives me a good reason to want to learn more about it and the people who helped shape its history, like Leslie did. Honestly, I chose Leslie solely on the fact that she was a trans rights activist but as I got to research her more and learn more about her I began to love everything she did while she was alive and I felt orly connected to her. I even watched a few of her recorded talks that she did at a few college's over the years! She was an interesting and fun speaker to listen to!

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  6. Wow Leslie is incredible. There was so much I did not know but right when I started reading I found out that people coming out and the LGBT community was not just a recent thing, this had been an ongoing struggle and it truly breaks my heart that even today, even when we think all our problems are solved, people are still being mistreated and discriminated for being who they truly are. Personally I support this, like be who you want to be and love yourself for that. Who you are is not going to affect my life so live yours and be free. Leslie reminds me of Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird" because both of them were not accepted in the beginning. Leslie had her family and Scout had her Aunt Alexandra. They both grew up with the idea of being proper women and taking care of their husbands and children. Leslie is truly empowering and tho think that she only recently passed away makes me sad because I wish I could have reached out to her. Why did you choose to write about Leslie? Did you have a personal connection with her story? I really loved this article.

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    1. I chose to write about Leslie because I felt a connection to her through the fact that we are both part of and involved in the LGBTQ+ community. I also know that because I felt such a strong connection to her, I should write about her and share the story of a trans activist who did so much for the trans community get forgotten by history! Rarely do you of a trans activist ever in media, so I felt that I needed to take a stand and write that article to share and educate the world about a woman who fought till her last breath!

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