[Editor’s Note: April wrote this “modest proposal” essay in response to Ivan Moore’s suggestion that we take protections for transgender people out of the ordinance. See In Support of a Transgender-inclusive Ordinance.]

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You don’t wake up one morning and out of the blue decide that this is the day that your life has ended as the gender you were born as, and you now want to be known from here forward as the opposite sex, whether it be a male to female or a female to male. To begin to comprehend the concepts and defintions of “cross dresser”, “transvestite”, “transexual” and “transgender” is to push the contemporary limits and understanding of a host of social sciences, theories, definitions, and medical studies. Even among the minute collection of specialists in gender based areas, there is very little cohesion as to the cause and effect of who these groups of people come to be, and are, let alone how to “label” them within the common societal classifications we have come to know. While heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, androgynous, and transsexual are commonly refered too, where and how do we fit those who cross all over these aspects of sex and gender? 

For eons and throughout cultures world wide, those who spanned the boundaries of gender were seen as ones who were granted special powers and status by the powers, gods, or beliefs held by those groups. They were seen as encompassing in some ways both genders, rather then one or the other, giving them the ability to comprehend life beyond the clearly defined boundaries of being either a male or female. The foundation of almost all creation myths, including the bible, refer back to an undefinable time when man and woman were one single entity and through some act, were seperated into two. Both Occidental and Oriental societies, symbolisms, and beliefs consistently refer back to this concept of one being, eventually divided into two. So why is it then so difficult and perverse for modern society to accept that what was held as something special then should be any different now? Do we not all come into this world as the result of a joining of a male and female, and is it so far reaching to believe that there are those who contain not one or the other, but both within the very core of who they may be genetically, physically, spiritually, socially and culturally? 

Is it fear bred from ignorance, hatred, bigotry, or just a lack of coming to accept that a unique group of people does exist in society. That by recognizing that they not only exist now, and have always existed, that it will throw the entire dualistic nature of our society and beliefs into chaos? Or is it the sex, advertising, and porno industries who have saturated us so much with imagery of “chicks with dicks”, large hairy men in stretched out lacey women’s underwear, or male prostitutes dressed up as woman, that we can only conclude that anyone who dresses or acts as the opposite sex is strictly doing it for money, sexual deviance and/or perversion? Or as in Anchorage with the Ordinance, is it the voices of a handfull of fanatics, and their need for fame, spotlight and acknowledgement by opposing the nature of reality as it really is in order to fill their coffers, congregations, and advance their hidden political agendas?

Or does it come down to the most simple yet complex issue of our understanding of “normal” and what it is? That those fanatics who see their own worlds and perspectives as “normal” are in fact the “abnormal” ones. Should we accept their own twisted views of what their “normal” is rather than truly celebrating and protecting the stunningly incredible beauty and endless diversity of the people we all share this planet with? How long shall we allow or acknowledge anyone who fights to limit, define, and destroy anyone or anything that alludes to the truth? That we are all born as equals and will all die as equals, and that what we should be striving for is to treat and protect each other as equals during our lifetime regardless of our own individual uniqueness.

To the same degree, the issue of whether anyone should remove the “T” from “LGBTA” in order to make the Ordinance pass easier is another disturbing aspect of being transgendered. To someone who is openly transgendered and a noted supporter and advocate of the entire acroynm of “LGBTA” and more, those who support such a move show as much ignorance and bigotry as those who oppose the ordinance. It comes across as “cleansing” to get rid of the “freaks” rather then an effort to understand those of us who are the “T”, as much as the “GL” ask those who are opposed to homosexuality to understand them. 

If some are set on allowing the ordinance to protect just the “LGB”, then they need to cleanse the Bisexuals from it as well, because they already have protection when they are with the opposite sex, or can pretend to be. Also get rid of the drag queens because most gay men prefer men, not men dressed or acting as women, and they can allude to money, sex, and perversion. Get rid of the Bears and Leather crowd because that can be seen as another act of perversion as well and will not make the ordinance “pure.” As for the gays and lesbians, in order to truly help this ordinace pass as purely as possible, you need to start verifying that every single person who uses “G” or “L” is such and has never had a relationship with the opposite sex. Get notarized statements from everyone in their lives all the way back to the day of birth to fully confirm that those who are “G” and “L” have never had a thought of being sexual with, or in a relationship with, the opposite sex or gender. If it’s purity you want from the ordinance, then start cleansing everyone who is not of pure homosexual blood from day one. In fact, require they have a “pride flag” tatoo on their body so you can identify them as pure “G & L” blood. Perhaps then, the Ordinance will pass with little fight, and you can finally live totally free of discrimination in Anchorage, while the rest of the unpure “LBGTA” family is led away, me and the transgendered people, where we are eventually denied our rights to housing, jobs and a happy life, and in turn, loaded onto buses, trains or driven off to other places so we don’t disrupt the new-found “equality” under the Ordinance. Sound far-fetched? Maybe so …