Park’s activism has extended far beyond legislative efforts. In 2005, she made history as the first openly transgender grand marshal of the New York City Pride March. She has been recognized as one of the most influential LGBT Asian icons, a leading transgender advocate in New York, and a role model celebrated on Transgender Day of Remembrance. Her visibility and advocacy have also been documented through films such as Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman and Coming Full Circle: The Journey of a Transgendered Korean Adoptee. Her work has taken her across the globe, from speaking at the Queer Korea Festival before a crowd of more than 35,000 to joining the first US LGBTQ delegation tour of Palestine. Whether through activism, scholarship, or public visibility, Pauline Park continues to stand as a vital figure in the ongoing struggle for human rights, bringing together her experiences as a Korean adoptee, a transgender woman, and an advocate for justice.
Monika: Today it is both my pleasure and honor to welcome Pauline Park, a distinguished human rights activist and one of the most influential voices in the transgender rights movement. Pauline is the chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), president of the board of directors and former executive director of Queens Pride House, and co-founder of Iban/Queer Koreans of New York. She has been recognized internationally for her work, named among the 2012 Most Influential LGBT Asian Icons and included on the list of 50 Transgender Icons for Transgender Day of Remembrance that same year. Pauline, I am so delighted to have you with me today!
Pauline: Thank you so much, Monika. It is a real pleasure to join you for this conversation.
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| Courtesy of Pauline Park. |
Monika: Your life story is truly remarkable. You were born in Korea, adopted by American parents, and raised in Milwaukee. Could you tell me a little about how your background shaped your early experiences?
Pauline: Yes, I was born in Korea and adopted by European American parents, and I was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You might be surprised by some of the things we have in common. You are Polish, and I grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, which is predominantly German and Polish Catholic. It was even more so when I was growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s. I grew up eating kielbasa and paczki as well as sauerkraut, which is like a bland, non-spicy German version of kimchi~!
Monika: You have dedicated your life to advancing transgender rights through advocacy and community leadership. Could you share one of the most important initiatives you helped to achieve?
Pauline: I am probably most closely associated with the successful campaign I led for the transgender rights law enacted by the New York City Council in April 2002, and I served in the working group that drafted guidelines for implementation of the law that were adopted by the New York City Commission on Human Rights in December 2004.
Monika: That was a groundbreaking moment. Were there other major legislative victories where you played an important role?
Pauline: Yes, I was also on the steering committee of the coalitions that led the successful campaigns for the Dignity in All Schools Act enacted by the New York City Council in 2004 and the Dignity for All Students Act enacted by the New York State Legislature in 2011. The former prohibited bullying and bias-based harassment in New York City public schools, and the latter prohibited discrimination as well as bullying and bias-based harassment in public schools throughout the state. The New York State DASA was the first legislation enacted by the state legislature that explicitly included gender identity and expression, in other words, the first transgender-inclusive legislation enacted at the state level in New York.
Monika: Beyond legislation, you have also worked on health care issues for the transgender community. Could you tell me about that?
Pauline: I served as executive editor of the NYAGRA transgender health care provider directory, the first and so far only public directory of transgender-supportive health care providers in the New York City metropolitan area. I worked with a NYAGRA intern, Kelly White, to put it together and publish it in 2009.
Monika: You have also contributed to awareness and training. How did you approach that side of your work?
Pauline: I conducted the first transgender sensitivity training at a major hospital in New York City, which was an important step in helping medical professionals understand the needs and experiences of transgender patients.
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| Photo by Mia Nakano. |
Monika: Since the uprising at Compton's Cafeteria in 1966, the transgender rights movement has come a long way. Yet the struggle clearly continues. In your view, what still needs to happen before transgender people can live free from discrimination?
Pauline: The community and the movement have made an enormous amount of progress over the course of the last half-century, but there is still so much more work to be done. Transgender people continue to face pervasive discrimination, harassment, abuse, and violence in the United States, and it is even worse for transgender people in many other countries such as Russia, Belarus, Uganda, Nigeria, and Jamaica, just to mention a few places where it remains extremely difficult and even dangerous to be openly transgender.
Monika: When we look at the realities of everyday life, what are the most pressing challenges that transgender people still face?
Pauline: The issues confronting members of the community are numerous. They include discrimination, street harassment and violence, lack of access to health care, bullying and bias-based harassment in schools, police harassment and brutality, incarceration in jails and prisons, immigration and citizenship status issues, and insufficient programs and services for both youth and elders. The work feels endless because the needs are so widespread and ongoing.
Monika: At what point in your journey did you first realize that people were beginning to see you as a transgender icon?
Monika: At what point in your journey did you first realize that people were beginning to see you as a transgender icon?
Pauline: I guess that is something for others to say, but being named to a list of the 2012 Most Influential LGBT Asian Icons and 50 Transgender Icons for Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2012 was certainly gratifying. Being named grand marshal of the New York City LGBT Pride March in 2005, the first openly transgender person to receive that honor, was an enormous privilege.
Monika: How would you describe the current situation of transgender women in American society?
Pauline: I think we still face pervasive discrimination, harassment, abuse, and violence in the United States, but it varies tremendously across different states, cities, and even neighborhoods. There are only 17 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression, plus many cities and counties, but a majority of Americans live in cities, counties, and states where there is no explicit protection for transgender people from discrimination.
Monika: At what age did you begin your transition, and was it a difficult process for you?
Pauline: I transitioned at the age of 36; it wasn't easy, but it never is.
Monika: During that time, did you have any transgender role models who inspired or guided you?
Pauline: I don't know that I had any role models, though there were a few people who I looked up to. But my path was very different from theirs in so many ways.
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| Interview for GMHC Women (YouTube) |
Monika: And today, are there transgender women you particularly admire and respect?
Pauline: There are many transgender activists whom I respect and admire, people doing good work in different parts of the country and the world. I'll just mention a few among so many: Danielle Askini in Seattle, Cecilia Chung in San Francisco, Bamby Salcedo in Los Angeles, Ruby Corado in Washington, D.C., Marisa Richmond in Nashville, and Park Hanhee (박한희) in Seoul, South Korea.
Monika: Looking back, what was the hardest part of your coming out?
Pauline: The hardest thing was the lack of support from a few people closest to me.
Monika: Do you think transgender rights represent the next frontier in the global struggle for human rights?
Pauline: I think they do. Transgender rights are certainly the new frontier for human rights in many, if not most, countries around the world.
Monika: How do you feel about the way transgender people have been portrayed in films, newspapers, and books so far?
Pauline: I think media representations have been a mixed bag; some have been better than others. The main problem is that there is a dominant narrative, what I call the "classic transsexual transition narrative," that crowds out all others. The mainstream US media are always re-articulating that same narrative instead of depicting the full diversity of the transgender community as they should.
Monika: The transgender movement is often linked with the broader LGBT community. As the last letter in the acronym, do you feel that the transgender community has been able to advance its own cause within this coalition?
Pauline: There is a mixed record of success on that score. In some cases, yes; in other cases, less so. It varies tremendously. But I think the fact that "LGBT" has become standard usage in the US and in many other countries around the world is a sign of our progress toward full bisexual and transgender inclusion within the LGBT community.
Monika: In American transgender activism today, is there anyone whose impact could be compared to what Harvey Milk represented for gay rights in the 1960s and 1970s? And do you ever see yourself in that kind of role?
Monika: In American transgender activism today, is there anyone whose impact could be compared to what Harvey Milk represented for gay rights in the 1960s and 1970s? And do you ever see yourself in that kind of role?
Pauline: Well, it is really not for me to compare myself to such historic figures as Harvey Milk, but I also think that circumstances are in many ways quite different from the 1960s and 1970s, even if transgender empowerment still lags considerably behind that of gay men and lesbians in the United States and elsewhere.
Monika: Then how would you describe the leadership and activism happening in the transgender community today?
Pauline: I think there are some really good activists, including those I mentioned earlier, doing important work, but I would prefer to focus on the community and the movement rather than trying to identify a single heroic figure. I think we put far too much emphasis on that.
END OF PART 1
All photos: courtesy of Pauline Park.
© 2015 - Monika Kowalska
