On December 8th, 2011, Barney Frank did an interview with the Washington Blade that turned some heads. And stomachs. It upset a lot of activists and other folks in trans communities around the country. He called us names and said we were “acting out emotionally”. He was also dismissive about our anger over the public accommodations exclusion in the Massachusetts trans rights bill.
My editor at OUTview Online couldn’t wait to get my take on these and other cockeyed notions. But I wanted more time to think. So I read, and thought, and the news cycle marched on.
I knew could take the easy way out and punch Barney Frank around verbally. I’d have plenty of ammo. He’s not a true trans ally by any stretch of the imagination. A real ally wouldn’t revel in their cisgender privilege, setting up a ton of conditions to be met before he will pat us on the head and pronounce us worthy of equality. No one who cares about the lives of trans people would be so fixated on our genitals, then offer up the excuse that it’s what everyone else is worried about. And I’ve never seen an ally heap so much blame on a group for their own lack of rights.
But I realized that, as much as I’d like him to be, Barney Frank isn’t the problem here. Journalists are.
See, the Blade article was an interview, which means that Frank answered the questions the reporter asked. Now, as far as I’m concerned, no reporter has any reason, given history, to ask Barney Frank for his opinion about trans rights. It’s like asking Concerned Women for America or Focus on the Family what they think about the gay rights movement. The answers don’t matter because the source is irrelevant.
So this is my challenge to journalists and bloggers everywhere: stop talking to Barney Frank about trans issues. It is a waste of your time and column space. Trans people know what we need best, so you should talk to us first. If you must talk to a cisgender person about our movement, try talking to one who really does care, unconditionally, whether we live or die. They do exist, I promise. Some of them are even politicians. Tammy Baldwin comes to mind.
There is only one reason I can see for a reporter to discuss trans issues with Barney Frank from now on. They would have to share his own condescending ideas and cold-hearted views about what trans people do and don’t deserve in life. Or they could just be too lazy to use google and find someone else to talk to, I suppose.
Some might say he needs to be interviewed so he’s held accountable for his opinions about trans people. Why? Has any amount of asking him about these issues changed what he says? Are his opinions different now than they were in 2007? The Blade interview tells us no.
There comes a time, in my opinion, when the only way to take power back from someone is to turn away and stop interacting with them altogether. Barney Frank’s retirement makes this the perfect exit point. Bloggers, reporters, fellow newshounds of every media persuasion, I’m putting out the call: stop talking to Barney Frank about trans rights. Get to know some new source people in 2012.
P.S.
I have a word or two for my trans cousins in Massachusetts who think Barney Frank is wonderful and might be upset about this post. First off, much love to you, you’re doing an amazing job. Second, your gay boyfriend treating you nice at home doesn’t make the ignorant things he says in public less hateful. Sorry.
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