Long known as a haven for lesbians, Northampton has attracted more and more transgender people in recent years because of its reputation for tolerance.
Grand Marshall Gunner Scott waves to the crowd at Northampton's 2011 Pride March.NORTHAMPTON – They are a minority within a minority, but the transgender community won another battle in a long war last Thursday when the City Council voted unanimously to support state legislation affirming transgender rights.
The resolution puts the city on record as favoring “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights,” which is currently being discussed in committees by the state Legislature. The transgender community was dropped from a federal bill ensuring gay rights several years ago, but new legislature has been introduced to protect transgender people on the national level.
The city’s Human Rights Commission proposed the local ordinance after some lobbying by the Stonewall Center, a University of Massachusetts-based organization that advocates for gay rights. Amherst will consider an identically worded resolution in the fall, and Boston recently adopted a similar one presented by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.
Genny Beemyn, the director of the Stonewall Center, spoke in support of the resolution at the council meeting. In a separate interview, Beemyn said the transgender community is among the last minority sectors to be assured equal rights.
“It used to be that if you were gay it was OK to make fun of you,” Beemyn said. “That’s no longer the case, but it’s still OK to be offensive and hostile to people who are transgender.”
Beemyn, 44, was raised male but identified more as a woman. Beemyn, who used the term “genderqueer,” didn’t come out as transgender until after the age of 30. Instead of choosing a pronoun such as “he” or “she,” Beemyn opts for the gender-neutral pronoun “ze.”
Although transgender people were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 that sparked the gay rights movement, they have lagged behind the mainstream is securing their rights. Beemyn called U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s decision to sever the transgender community from the federal legislation “short-sighted.” The mainstream gay community, however, has shown increasing support for transgender rights.
Long known as a haven for lesbians, Northampton has attracted more and more transgender people in recent years because of its reputation for tolerance.
“I hate to use the word ‘safe,’” Beemyn said. “People feel comfortable. It’s one of the most inclusive and welcoming communities of its size.”
Ward 1 Councilor Maureen T. Carney, who was among those voting in favor of the resolution, agreed that it is keeping with the city’s tradition of tolerance.
“It makes perfect sense to be passed in Northampton, which is known as welcoming and supportive,” she said.