“I feel like I’m insane. I don’t understand.” It’s a quote from Gene Hackman’s character in “The Birdcage” that I find myself repeating lately. It’s funny when he says it, not so much when I do.
I don’t understand why people talk during live performances. I recently saw “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Jaeb Theater in Tampa, the inspiration for this issue’s cover. The show was spectacular, the casting was perfection and each actor so talented they may as well have called it the “Little Shop of Amazing Singers That Will Keep You Entertained All Night.”
The horrors, unfortunately, were four people in the audience. The people at the table next to me, to be specific. One guy was so drunk that he fell on the way into the theater and spilled his lady friend’s drink. During the first song he whisper-yelled to his friend, “These people are weirdos. You wanna go?”
Is it COVID’s fault? Did it make us forget how to behave in public? To those that need to hear it: You are not in your living room. Keep your mouth shut if you are at a live performance. If the actors want you to participate, they will ask you.
On a more serious note, I don’t understand why our community doesn’t fully embrace the T in LGBTQ. I had taken for granted that we do, because I serve on the boards of two nonprofits that do. I work at a company that does. So apparently, I live in a bubble where the anti-trans sentiment comes from outside of our community and not from within.
Three events have burst that bubble for me. The first came about in the filming of the Central Florida LGBTQ history documentary, “Greetings From Queertown: Orlando,” currently in production by Watermark and Adrenaline Films. We interviewed Nikole Parker, Equality Florida’s TransAction Florida Project Coordinator. She talked about her truth as a Black trans woman and I can’t fully express how her words changed me. She was truly inspiring, and I long for the day when the world can see this interview. In it, Nikole posed the question of what would our community do if it was lesbian girls who were banned from playing sports in schools, or gay men who were being killed in high numbers. I imagine we would march to
Tallahassee in protest. I imagine we would be relentless in our support of them. So why are we not doing this when it comes to trans rights?
Second, Lia Thomas won a swimming competition. This one was a hard pill for some to swallow. I’ve heard a lot of arguments from a lot of people, and none of them seem to make sense to me when you follow the thought all the way through. Unless you are going to start classifying height, muscle mass and bone density for different levels of competition, then I’m not interested in your argument of how some people are born with an advantage. I also find it disheartening that many who oppose trans athletes from competing have never met a trans athlete, and they are members of our community or allies.
The third incident can be found in this issue’s Tampa Bay news section. Watermark learned recently that a board member of the LGBTQ softball league in Tampa had been sharing anti-trans posts and other posts in support of the law commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill. I’m not going to give the story away here, feel free to check it out. I will say that the news story is presented as it was presented to us. We talk to those who would come forward to let the community know what is going on. It is void of any opinions held by the staff at Watermark.
On this page, however, I will share my thoughts. It is absurd to me that anyone who shares the views of these posts would want to be involved in an LGBTQ organization, and more so be allowed to serve on the executive board. I understand that we do not exist in a monolith and we have community members with a wide rage of opinions, but we should expect more from those who wish to serve in a leadership role.
Equally disappointing is the official statement from the league’s commissioner. It’s not so much what he says but what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say that the organization, despite one person’s anti-trans posts, supports the trans community. It doesn’t say they hope to create an LGBTQ safe space for all their players. It reads like their goal was to defend their friend.
For those that need to hear it: Trans women are women. Trans men are men.
I can’t imagine how isolated being trans must feel. They are constantly attacked and not fully supported by their own community.
So yeah, l feel like I’m insane. I don’t understand.
We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue
