Monika: And what about the rest of the cast, did any lasting friendships come out of it?
Rosalyne: A few of the other women I just met during that performance and was honored to be with them on the same stage. What an amazing group of talented, beautiful, exciting women. The lesson I was taught, once again, is that when you walk through something and push past your comfort zone, there are always tremendous gifts on the other side of that experience. I also stay in touch with Cheryl Hoffman, as she was a health care worker for some time here in Los Angeles, CA. I enjoy supporting and guiding her in her life from afar.
Monika: Trans issues so often get folded into the broader LGBT cause. Being the last letter in that abbreviation, does the transgender community get to promote its own agenda within the group?
Rosalyne: Thanks for sticking that thorn right in…☺ Another regret!
Back to the costs and the benefits. I was afforded a new kind of career in the 1990s because of the L&G, now LGBT, Center in NYC. Looking back now, I have nothing but gratitude to that Center for affording me all the opportunities I received. I met some brilliant people and became a brilliant person in my own right. But the LGBT movement has taken trans issues down a road of disaster for too many.
Monika: You mean how transgender people, as a group, were categorized?
Rosalyne: The word transgender was established; I am one of those who sat around the Center for Disease Control tables during the beginning of the AIDS pandemic to categorize a group of people that were at high risk for HIV, that is where the word transgender, as an umbrella term, was born.
Mind you, others use the term transgenderist to describe an identity based on someone living in the desired gender but not utilizing any medical interventions to transform any primary sexual characteristics to fit their identity, i.e., the late Virginia Prince.
Monika: How does that legacy sit with you today?
Rosalyne: But transgender was born within an AIDS pandemic and a gay-controlled movement. Again, please don't get this wrong. On one hand, I love what the gay community has done for trans people across the continuum. On the other hand, transgender is now a gay term, a fight that I gave up when I decided to leave the LGBT Center. 12 years later, I believe it is worse than ever.
|
| Yes I know, attack of the 50-foot woman. |
Monika: Can you unpack that a little more for readers who might not know that history?
Rosalyne: Again, this is not a book but your blog, so I don't want to go on a total diatribe. I come from a different generation on one hand. On another hand, I am a licensed clinical social worker, and I have to be objective when engaging and educating people, as well as support those clients who entrust their deepest issues with me in my office and trust that I will be there to assist objectively.
The subjective: transgender means crossing, and to too many, they have crossed the street like the chicken who crossed the road. And in crossing that street they just want to be who they are on the other side, not hiding or denying, but just having their being on the other side legitimized. Transgender doesn't do that, because it is synonymous with gay issues, and when someone utilizes that term, let's say transgender woman, people immediately think you are really a man!
Monika: So what was your strategy at the time?
Rosalyne: My strategy, besides just wanting a different kind of job in the 90s, was that people of sexual minorities might somehow come together and challenge the larger, more empowered institutions, not make trans a subheading of gay issues. And my strategy for the use of the word transgender was to bring many different people together from all gender identity experiences to challenge the hierarchy. That was my strategy back then, and that was my largest fight on many levels.
And now that I am no longer in that fight, I believe it is now even worse than it was 12 years ago. On the other hand, there is more trans visibility and many more voices coming from all different directions, but I truly believe the more visibility, along with the connection to the powers that be within the gay and lesbian movement educating incorrectly, is why so many of our trans women are murdered. If a trans woman is identified as someone under a gay umbrella, and a man, let's say a hetero or bisexual man, is attracted to that woman, it makes them, in their head, gay, which can lead a hetero man to violent behavior. In addition, the word transgender has eliminated the word transsexual or trans and has transformed that medical term to have less meaning.
|
| Glamour photo. |
Monika: How does that history echo in what you're describing?
Rosalyne: If you look at the civil rights movement and the ways in which people of color attempted to get access and power, they came up with the term people of color to bring together all people who had experienced oppression, and together they had more power and more opportunities to change the oppressor. That was my hope with LGBT, not to have the T as a sub-heading. Transgender was supposed to be an umbrella term, and within it, there would be all these identities that challenged the constructs of gender.
Monika: These days, though, the term "T" gets used quite differently.
Rosalyne: Yes, the term is now used as a way to identify a third sex, if you will, that's how I believe many see it. Again, this is not to discredit those who love the term and use it to identify themselves. But there are many under this umbrella term, specifically those of transsexual experience, who have decided to have their core identity interwoven with a specific sexual or gender identity. And they don't want to be referred to as someone who is crossing the street. They have already crossed, and they want that to be their primary identity.
Monika: Where do you personally land on that?
Rosalyne: In the late 1990s, I coined the phrase woman or man of transsexual or trans experience. This is to identify and legitimize the core identity while celebrating the cultural heritage as well. But the male or female is the primary, the core identity, and that should not be de-legitimized. Again, although I am a clinician, I come from an older generation. I understand the celebration of the word transgender and want to assist with that celebration. However, that doesn't mean that someone can use that to box me in. Girl, you just exhausted me. Am I getting paid for this interview?☺
Monika: Is there a figure in transgender activism you'd compare to what Harvey Milk did for gay rights in the 60s and 70s?
Rosalyne: Is there anyone of trans experience like Harvey? There are so many who have done so much, and if I start naming names I know I will leave someone out, so forgive me. I have to give credit where credit is due. First, there were the trans women on the street without privilege, power, or access. Those are the strong ones. But usually, with street life comes other pathological defense mechanisms in order to survive.
Those are the nameless. There is Riki Wilchins, Dr. Barbara Warren, Joanne Keatly, Valerie Spencer, many women you have already interviewed, and many men of trans experience who have done amazing work to change the world, i.e., Jamison Green, Justus Eisfield, Imani Henry, Samurel Laurie…
Monika: Anyone else who deserves a mention?
Rosalyne: I could keep going. There are so many amazing people of trans experience really working it out, doing extraordinary things on local, state, national, and international levels. Three amazing trans women of color you should interview: one from a new generation, Janet Mock, and the amazing actress Laverne Cox, as well as Jazzmun Nichcala Crayton, who just co-directed a play called Lovely Bouquet of Flowers, where she used writings by people of trans experience and had actors of trans experience present the monologues and montages. She is currently seeking funding for the documentary putting together the play. It's all about building community through theatre, it's brilliant.
Monika: How would you sum up where transgender women stand in American society today?
Rosalyne: Besides disliking the word transgender, there is certainly more visibility and more diversity in the public eye. Do I think the world is now more accepting for, let's say, a hetero woman of trans experience to find love? No, I actually think it's worse.
I think the visibility, along with the use of the word transgender and its consistent connection with LGBT issues under the heading of gay, has made it worse. However, life is about freedom and the ability to be free from within. So because of the visibility and the age of the internet, more women are not alone and have more opportunities to be educated about their options. So for that, it is a good thing.
|
|
From the left: Veronica Klaus, Rosalyne Blumenstein, Victoria Ortiz, Dee Dee Flores, Desiree Jade Sol, Gina Grahame, Aleshia Brevard, and Leslie Townsend, February 2008. via www.transsistertales.com |
Monika: Back when you transitioned, did you have any role models to look up to? How much did you actually know about being trans at that point?
Rosalyne: Monika, I found myself on the streets of NYC at age 16. It was a very colorful time. In my book Branded T, I discuss NYC in the 70s. I don't care what anybody says, but NYC was much more fun when it was dangerous and eclectic, not like today, where it is safe and full of Disney! It was the Studio 54 era, and it was all about looking a certain way as well as being comatosed from reality!!! I wouldn't change a thing.
And the characters I came in contact with, well, that was the cultural milieu, and they were my role models. And when you think about it, those role models were enigmatic and powerful. They survived life without privilege or access!
Monika: What was the hardest part of coming out for you?
Rosalyne: The young and fascinating Janet Mock has rephrased this. It's not so much about coming out but about being visible. I knew something was up at the age of 3 and did something about it at the age of 16. I didn't wait so long. So life has been a gift.
Monika: Looking back on your own transition, what advice would you give to trans women wrestling with gender dysphoria?
Rosalyne: As a clinical therapist, I would suggest finding a progressive therapist who is not your gatekeeper but a tool for you to utilize to weigh out the costs and benefits, the pros and cons, and to use reality therapy so that you make the best personal and professional decisions possible.
As a human being who has survived many, many storms, I would say: life is too short, live it to the fullest, dare to dream and be. Don't let anything or anyone hold you back from being able to live in your truth. Being true to oneself makes you a stronger, more vibrant, more tolerable individual. If you need to, take that road less traveled. The journey is fabulous and worth it.
Monika: What role has love played in your life?
Rosalyne: In love, do you mean am I getting laid? Oh, that could be considered lust. I have experienced great loves: the love of someone I am sexually attracted to, the love of the family of origin, the love of the family of choice, the love of deep friendships, the love of being honorable and responsible in the workplace and to my patients and clients, the love of animals, and the love of dance. So yes, love is very important to me. Is the love of one partner, growing old together, a priority? Right now, it is not.
Monika: Any new projects keeping you busy these days?
Rosalyne: My work now consists of working on a smaller scale, behind the scenes. When one is considered a leader in a movement, the idea is to mentor folks and then pass it on. It is not for one to be in the spotlight for decades. I truly believe I succeeded in molding leaders, like the leaders within my work at the GIP at the LGBT Center. I know it is those new leaders who did the work, not me.
But I believe I was in their life, mentoring and supporting, and now so many who went through that project are current leaders in their own right, doing amazing work. I have a small private practice here in Los Angeles called Therapy2Go, where I see clients one on one, in person, at my office or their homes, or through Skype. If we can help change one person's life a day, plant one new seed, even a mustard seed, then that day is a success!
Monika: Rosalyne, thank you so much for this conversation!
Rosalyne: Monika, thank you for wearing me out!
END OF PART 2
All the photos: courtesy of Rosalyne Blumenstein.
© 2013 - Monika Kowalska
No comments:
Post a Comment