Transition, Legal Marriage, Marriage Equality for Same Sex couples, my experiences

K, very well said. While it does make me mad that some trans folks can now marry their partner once they legally switched their sexual status, the way you put it K, gives me just a little hope. I'm still mad that ENDA did not pass because trans insisted their issues weren't included, and we should ALL be held back. Perhaps a split is necessary, as gay/lesbian issues ARE different than trans issues. The 'T and even the B' creeped in about 1994, 1995 with at least SF Gay Pride when they wanted to change it from Lesbian/Gay Pride to Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Trans Pride. I was at that discussion. I feel it still dilutes our issues down, and that these 4 communities often don't have alot in common, and very, very different agendas at times. There are some overlaps, and many differences and too often those are glossed over.

I HAVE FOUGHT for Marriage Equality over and over on the frontlines. My partner and myself are legally married in 2008, and still one of the 18,000 legally married California couples. We also married in 2004 when we stood in line around SF City Hall and Gavin Newsom allowed 4000 of us to marry. There were some trans folks also in that line, a whole lot of Lesbians and some gay men. Lesbians are very invested in the marriage equality issue because so many have children and as women our commitments are very important. I'd say there were about 4 Lesbian couples to every one gay male couple in line. Nonetheless almost ALL of those couples in line had very longterm relationships, at least about 10 years, and had tried every which way to join their relationships together.

We are practically the ONLY visible Butch on Butch Leather couple in the marriage equality movement at least in SF. Most of the pics taken were either two brides or two grooms in dresses or tuxes, and a few Butch/Femme couples. Not much Leather(except a few gay men that had matching leather commerbunds and vests), there seemed to be a strong investment in showing 'white picket fence' safe Lesbian/Gay couples with alot of privilege.

We stay visible just because of that, but EVERYBODY should have the legal right to marry no matter WHO they love!
-MasterAmazon

August 5, 2011 6:17 PM



MasterAmazon said...
Meaning that many of the interviews and photographs were given of the two brides in wedding gowns or the two grooms in tuxes. Far less were given of even Butch/Femme couples, and alternative press did photograph and interview us(because we ARE so colorful and visible, leathery and Butch!), but mostly not the mainstream press those initial days. The movies done on the marriage equality movement often were of privileged lesbians and gays, who weren't too extreme either way, hardcore Butch or swishy effeminate drag queen gay, and generally white and middle class, or if other races also fairly middle class.

However, we DID get interviewed for NBC when we showed up in court to witness the latest SF trial of this latest challenge to Prop 8, and we got onto the evening news for 3 minutes! They wanted one of the married couples to interview and we said yes! We've also marched 6 years in the Marriage equality contingent as well, and showed up at the various courtroom dates for the various decisions, even hearing the testimony for the original case in the California Supreme Court, and THAT was an honor! -MasterAmazon