Support grows for petition to remain an inclusive community and not remove the T from LGBTI
A COUNTER petition in protest of another online petition that called for media organisations and human rights groups to drop the T from the LGBTI or LGBT acronym has garnered far more signatures than the original.
The petition, We Stand with Trans people – Reject “Drop the T”, was created on Change.org by Jonathan Boniface just days after another Change.org petition, Drop The T, was created to urge US-based organisations GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Huffington Post GayVoices, The Advocate and Out magazines to trop the “T” from their use of the LGBT acronym when talking about the community.
Boniface’s counter-petition has already garnered far more signatures than the original petition. At the time of print, it had more than 3200 signatures compared to Drop the T’s 1577.
The We Stand with Trans people – Reject “Drop the T” petition accuses the creators of Drop The T of being transphobic.
“We, the undersigned, urge the organisations petitioned by ‘Drop the T’ to disregard their call to disassociate themselves from promoting the issues of trans people alongside the rest of the LGBTQ+ community,” Boniface’s petition says.
“We find the petition by ‘Drop the T’ to be insulting, inaccurate and transphobic and we want to make it clear that this narrow group of people do not speak for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.”
Drop The T caused online controversy last week after it was created by an anonymous gay man who believes the “LGB” in the acronym is about sexual orientation, while the “T” for trans is about gender identity.
“(Trans) ideology is not only completely different from that promoted by the LGB community (LGB is about sexual orientation, trans is about gender identity), but is ultimately regressive and actually hostile to the goals of women and gay men,” the petition reads.
You can’t drop the T in LGBT without dropping your IQ. Idiots.
— Patrick Strudwick (@PatrickStrud) November 7, 2015
The fact that there’s a petition BY GAYS to drop the T from LGBT scares me. LGB + T share the SAME HISTORY. Can’t rewrite that shit. Educate
— Tara (@simplytarable) November 10, 2015
I can’t deal with bigotry or transphobia especially when it comes from within the queer community. (via @aymanfs) https://t.co/bhKQB1IVmE
— Matthew Wade (@MatthewRWade) November 6, 2015
I’m a hetero cis guy, so maybe it’s not my place, but the whole drop the t thing makes me a little sick. Much of it comes off bigoted.
— Reload Last Save (@ReloadLastSave) November 9, 2015
Boniface’s counter-petition states that trans people “do not infringe upon the rights of women, gay men and children”.
“Neither do they seek to ‘re-assert and codify’ what ‘Drop the T’ refers to as ‘classic gender constructs’,” it reads.
“Indeed, by seeking to deny trans people access to safe spaces, and by seeking to deny support for trans children, teenagers and others, ‘Drop the T’ is actually doing more to reinforce conventional constructs of masculinity and femininity.
“We urge you reject their petition and continue to work the rest of the LGBT+ umbrella to promote the wellbeing of all those within our community.”
GLAAD and HRC have both responded to the Drop The T petition by stating their support for trans people as an important part of the LGBTI community.
“GLAAD stands firmly with the transgender community and unequivocally rejects the outrageous and destructive idea that the ‘T’ be removed from LGBT,” GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement.
“For decades, transgender people have worked alongside lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to advance equality for everyone, often leading the way in the movement for full equality and acceptance.
“Many trans people are also lesbian, gay, and bisexual — they are an inextricable and invaluable part of the LGB community.”
HRC president Chad Griffin said the Drop The T petition was “unequivocally wrong”.
“This idea that we are somehow separate and apart is patently untrue. We are one movement, stronger in our unity. We are one community, period,” he said.
The Star Observer continues to fully support the trans community and will not drop the T from the LGBTI acronym used in our style guide.
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As a trans woman I’d prefer the T wasn’t included in this acronym, but I’d far prefer the initiative to be taken by the trans community to opt out rather than the others to kick us out.
Of course if the T went, I would surely have to follow?
The problem is though, that it’s ignorant mainstream society that instinctively groups trans with gay. The rest of us know better.