put an end to transphobia. From
identifying gender-neutral rest-
rooms to amending non—discrimi-
nation policies, from creating pro-
cedures to change names on iden-
tification cards to educating folks
at the health center, this work is
about crossing divides. I remem-
ber a meeting on-campus where
we were trying to iron out a sys-

plicated, regardless.” As I talked, I
could see something change for
him, see him begin to understand
the ordinary experiences of trans
people navigating a trail of identi-
ty papers. He agreed to reshape
the system. Translation is a
demand and a hope for under-
standing, respect, change.

Tell it, talk it, translate it

There is something

“so futile in tryingto

}name the whole of

our gendered

desires and -realitie

necessary.    

tem for changing names on tran-
scripts and class rosters. One
administrator kept expressing con-
cern about how complicated this
might make the lives of trans stu-
dents, how they might end up with
one record in one name and anoth-
er record in another.

I finally turned to him
and said, “You know, if when
UVM had hired me, I had been
required to submit transcripts, the
human resources department
would have seen three different
names on four different docu-
ments and wondered what I was
doing with a BA in Women’s
Studies from a women’s college. I

a would have had to write one long

letter. of explanation. It’s just com-

into politics. Me, I want to start
with how the gender binary joins
with patriarchy, white supremacy,
and capitalism. How these sys-
tems snarl together, leave us with
injustice at every turn, from
homelessness down the block to
the war in Iraq, from racial profil-
ing to transphobic-motivated mur-
der. And you, how would you
start? Translation is dialogue.

But we’re here not only
to translate across divides of
power, but also across differences
among trans people. We need to
speak boldly and listen hard.
Every time I watch the tension

flare among us, I want to say: Tell _

a story, not one but two, and let
them contradict each other. Listen

 
  

even if you don’t understand all
the words.

I We need to do this
because transphobia still roams

free. Because community is worth '

struggling for. Becausethe space
we create here is necessary: the
space to tell it — I used to take my
kite down to the ‘sheep pastures,
fly it for hours, that tug, that beck-

on — the space to be heard and
understood, the space to make it
bigger than any single story.
Identity is a shadblow

tree, a tangle. To translate is to
communicate, challenge, bridge
divides, connect. Translating iden-
tity. Let’s do it. V

Eli Clare works at UVM's
LGBTQA Services and is the
author of Exile and Pride:
Disability, Queemess, and
Liberation. He is also the featured
speaker at the R.U .1 .2? Queer
Community Center fimdraising
dinner on April 16.

  out i the "I  I  

-.................. ,....... ..:..-.-......nn.>~-.

       

s o m a r o
ioundationofvermont

' Our i\fjl,,|ISSIOMgmi
The Samara Foundaéfzian orf"iiVe'rmont is a
charitable foundation / ose mission is to
support and strengthen Vermont's gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgendered communities
today and build an endowment for tomorrow.

 

 

fi0S_4?oz[_ M
I A '13.: 8fl2*3§9?5235
.? ,«f;..-8.02r:85i7r6.-31    “ .~:
infoasamarafoundationtorg, I O
I vvww.sama,rafougnda’cion.orgi

Practice limited
to male clientele

 

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
William Coil, NCMT

«%

802065803 90
8000833005025

0-0-0-9-0-6-0

BOB GREEN, LCMHC

LICENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT
(802) 658-2390
(800) 830-5025

INDIVIDUALS 8c COUPLES
mcatun, vmv, MEDICAID a MANY omen rnsumncra
PROGRAMS ACCI-Zl"l'ED