Out In The Mountains : News - Gender Identity and Expression: Time's Up

       Burlington – Wending its way slowly through the halls of the statehouse in Montpelier is H.865, dubbed the Gender Identity bill. The bill would add the words "gender identity and expression" to a list of specific groups protected by civil rights, thus making equal rights for transgender citizens part of state law.
      Seven states in the U.S. have such legislation on the books at present, Rev. Sarah Flynn told a group of supporters recently at Burlington's Unitarian Universalist Church. Flynn read from stories she said would be presented at hearings before the legislature on the bill. In one person's testimony, an overly curious emergency room doctor caused a transgender patient to feel humiliated, and in another incident, a doctor yelled at a transgender patient. Many conflicts occur when a transwoman or transman attempts to use a public bathroom designated for either gender, Flynn said. Public school students may run into problems using bathrooms in their schools when they don't fit the male or female norm in gender appearance or identity. A person who is not transgender but androgynous and therefore doesn’t fit the female or male stereotype may experience difficulties in situations such as bathroom use. Flynn said she was using the women’s bathroom at the theology school where she studied years earlier, and the students were upset to find her there. Sometimes the difficulties occur in public places. "I've been harassed in malls by teenagers," Flynn said.
       Flynn said she was cross-dressing at 13 and got married in 1961 to attempt to fit the acceptable stereotype. But her marriage fell apart, and Flynn had to face the issue of her gender identity. Flynn, who changed her gender from male to female in 1978, said it was either that or she "could not go on." While Flynn has much to offer as an employee, she has had difficulty finding work appropriate to her background. Armed with a master's degree, Flynn tells of finding only a clerk-typist position and she "virtually felt like I had to beg for that."
       But Flynn said she has no regrets. "We are different and there's nothing wrong with being different," she said. When people meet someone who is transgender, it opens up a Pandora's box, she said. People realize they have a choice, and "that scares them."
       Flynn held up a Bible and explained that while Christians may quote a passage in Leviticus indicating that those with "crushed testicles" may not enter a temple, another passage in Isaiah actually praises eunuchs and honors them as special people who hold an important place in the world.
      Flynn said calls to legislators in support of H.865 will encourage them to vote for it. Constituents' support makes it easier for lawmakers to justify voting for a measure they might otherwise vote down, she said.
       Once passed, the Gender Identity Bill will have an educational influence on people, Flynn said. For example, since civil rights laws were passed giving African-American citizens equal rights, "it's no longer okay to say racist words in public."
      Advocates believe H.865 may be passed by the legislature this year.