By Pau Crego–
(Editor’s Note: This issue of the San Francisco Bay Times marks an historic first: the launch of the first ever column in the Bay Times dedicated to transgender issues by an out transgender member of our LGBTQ community. Please join us in welcoming Pau Crego, Executive Director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives, to the paper. Each month, Crego will share inspiring words, news, and more in the new column, which he has named “Musings on Trans Liberation.”
In the over four-decade history of the Bay Times, the publication has featured many articles about the transgender community and by leaders such as Honey Mahogany, who is Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party; Suzanne Ford, who is the Executive Director of SF Pride; and world-renowned choreographer Sean Dorsey. It has never, however, had a column dedicated to the transgender community until now. The Bay Times is grateful to Crego and his colleague Asri Wulandari for making this possible. Look for Crego’s Musings on Trans Liberation each month!)
2023 may end up being, to date, the most overtly hateful year for TGNCI (trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and intersex) people in the United States. With 574 proposed bills and 366 anti-trans laws moving through state legislatures, the Republican Party is feeling more empowered than ever to overtly use trans communities—and trans youth, in particular—as scapegoats for their political purposes. Indeed, since Republicans discovered that anti-trans sentiment could be exploited for political gain, transphobic rhetoric has become ubiquitous and impossible to escape. From fearmongering campaign talking points, to deeply biased news articles, to hate speech on social media, this is now the world we live in.
This is why—while acknowledging how deeply painful it is to be constantly confronted with a world that hates us—I have recently been reflecting on the importance of noticing, celebrating, and savoring moments of joy in trans communities.
If you think about it, it is a truly remarkable development: Since I came out as trans 20 years ago, trans people have gone from our existence not even being acknowledged in 99% of spaces, to becoming as gaymous as can be. At least one thing is true: nobody in 2023 can say they have not heard the word “transgender.”
As a young teenage activist, I was implicitly taught that being invested in social change inevitably meant being enraged at the world and its injustices; and while rage can be a powerful call to action, in my experience it is also insatiable. I expect that, in my lifetime at least, there will always be injustice, and therefore, I will always have access to rage—should the need arise. But here I am, reminding you—reminding us—that trans joy is also a tool of resistance.
When I look for it, I find trans joy everywhere. In the fact that trans people have existed from the beginning of time and all over the globe, against all odds. In the realization that, in resistance together, we have the ability to fiercely love and be loyal to each other. I find it when reminding myself that trans communities have brought outstanding beauty, art, talent, humor, healing, and wisdom to the world.
I especially feel connected to trans joy when thinking about San Francisco. There is, of course, no denying that there is much work ahead to attain true equity for trans people in San Francisco, especially BIPOC, immigrant, young, elderly, low-income, and/or disabled trans people. Though when I remember to look through the lens of trans people who visit or move here from other states and countries, just like I did 15 years ago, San Francisco is undoubtedly filled with trans joy.
We are the city where trans women rose up against police violence in the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot (three years before the well-known Stonewall Riots in New York City). We have government and nonprofit organizations supporting a wide range of trans people’s needs and experiences, from health care, to legal immigration services, to housing, to advocacy, among many more. And we are, and have been, the home of trans leaders whose lives have had a ripple effect on trans people all over the country and the world—Felicia Flames, Jazzie Collins, Vicki Marlane, and Lou Sullivan, to name just a few!
I believe that this trans heritage in San Francisco is what fuels our local trans community to continue to be righteous in our fight for dignity, safety, and happiness. It empowers us to keep demanding what we need and deserve, knowing that what we have today is thanks to the tenacity of trans leaders before us.
Since working at the Office of Transgender Initiatives, I have been lucky to build on those accomplishments, alongside local trans leaders and elected officials, towards a more joyful future for TGNCI people. Among the many positive changes our community has spearheaded, in recent years San Francisco trans advocates have created—and the City and County has funded—new housing services, economic mobility initiatives, and stronger gender-affirming care programs with TGNCI people’s unique needs in mind, in particular those most vulnerable in our community.
This continuing legacy of trans San Franciscans should not be taken lightly. Amidst the daily barrage of anti-trans sentiment, a political landscape that makes trans people vulnerable, and an influx of trans people seeking refuge in states like California, it is crucial now more than ever to remember the resilience, hard work, and intellect that local TGNCI leaders display every day. I urge everyone, cis or trans, to learn more about the incredible work trans people and TGNCI-focused organizations do in this city. We need your help to ensure trans joy remains in our future.
Pau Crego (he/him) is a queer and trans immigrant who has worked towards equity for trans and LGBTQI+ communities for almost two decades, both in the SF Bay Area, and in Spain where he is originally from. His advocacy has included direct services, technical assistance, training and education, program design, and policy change. Crego is the Executive Director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI), is a faculty member in the Health Education Department at City College of San Francisco, and is a published author and translator in the field of public health. For more information about the Office of Transgender Initiatives: https://tinyurl.com/4e3w6srd
Musings on Trans Liberation
Published on October 19, 2023
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