bigtips
January 14, 2000
Letter writer didn't get feminist theory right
by M.T. "the Big Tipper" Martone
Dear Big Tipper,
I read with interest the letter from "Straight White Feminist Person, Born Female" (November 5 issue). I think she is a real bigot, and you printed her unexamined assumptions under a headline reading “Lesson #1 on Being a Woman... For Men."
FYI, I have read feminist theory, an awful lot of it, both before and after transition. I think that a lot of transsexual women get as far as Dworkin or Raymond and feel so marginalized and hated that they stop: It is hard to keep reading a body of literature that defines you, pre facto, as a rapist.
Shovel away those winter blahs with a note or two of sunshine by Cleveland's only feminist chorus
Windsong
presents our
Winter Concert Living Free
Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000
4:00 p.m.
Archwood United Church of Christ 2800 Archwood in Cleveland
(W. 25th St. Exit off I-71, south a couple of blocks to Archwood)
Sharon Marrell, Conductor
**********
Interpreted for the Hearing Impaired
Suggested Donation $5.00
(More if you can, less if you can't.)
That there is so much more in feminist theory is lost on people who are running from it in shame and fear. One of my favorite postcards shows a woman holding a small chimpanzee. It reads, "Redefine feminism so it includes you." Perhaps if "Born Female" wanted to spend more of her energy on that redefinition, and less on thinly-veiled name calling, she would find it ultimately rewarding and productive.
Socializing transsexual women ain't no fun and it is a cost of including us in the community. Printing what amounts to hate broadsides does not further this in the least. Ara Tripp did something silly and extreme; anyone who has read Abbie Hoffman knows
real estate-of-the-art
Representation. In real estate, it can make the difference between finding or losing your dream home.
Not so long ago, Ohio law allowed Realtors only to represent a home's seller which left buyers unrepresented, and generally unaware that "their" real estate agent was actually required by law to look after someone else's best interests.
Luckily, the law has changed. And it's my privilege to represent both my buying and selling clients with a higher level of professional expertise than ever before.
When choosing a Realtor, look for the "ABR❞ designation Accredited Buyer's Representative. It's a sign of advanced professional education, and a commitment to top-caliber service. For my clients, it means more satisfied, informed buyers...and sellers who are confident in the selection of their next home.
Call me today. And use your "PRIDE" card when you buy or sell your home with me, for $100 gift certificate to Home Depot.
1
Realty
One
食店
John Lauro, ABR
NO SLOGAN...JUST SERVICE
Office: (216) 991-8400 Voice Mail: (216) 999-2056 e-mail: Jalauro@aol.com
1999, Realty One
You Can Buy a Car Today!
We've got "TAX MAX”! It's Fast...It's Simple!
Just bring in your W-2s and Social Security IDs!
J.D.
BYRIDER
Come in and see a "Family" member you can trust. 12201 Detroit Road in Lakewood
216-521-4300
Getting a car and credit is only a phone call away Bad Credit, No Credit, No Problem!
Bev Briggs
that is a pretty ambiguous political methodology, but it isn't political because she was topless, but because it shows us our own absurdities: "Hey, lookit the transsexual breathing fire."
It is also a comment on the community itself: Ara Tripp is not an ambassador of transiehood to the world, but an individual doing something outrageous.
In the current climate, I find that terribly refreshing.
not
I will never be "one of you." I am a transsexual woman, and my body was micromanaged as a child, I was given the privileges that young
Dear Big Tipper,
My boyfriend saves every single magazine that comes in the house. He has subscriptions to Gourmet, House and Garden,
0
BIG TIPS
men enjoy and women don't, and I only have the grace and time to unlearn so many of
these.
When I raise my hand in a business meeting, I realize that the courage to speak provided by my past privileges is my substitute for a Vassar education; as gendertrash, I will take what I can get. At the same time I deal with a level of meanness and isolation which is unimaginable to “Born Female": The dance of privilege, loss and exclusion is complicated and cruel.
The point I really, really want to make is that with transsexual women, there is no "we." I have issues of real anger with the feminist community (and I define as a feminist) and I have a right to that anger; it does not make me "male." Some transsexual women will never "get it"; others do so easily.
Your writer's point seemed to be that transsexuals are men who oppress women. Some behave just like that, others don't. I doubt your writer would be equally comfortable defining African Americans as people who steal white people's cars, and I fail to see a difference in rhetorical strategy.
When I was assaulted I did not go to a rape relief center because I was afraid I would get a counselor just like her. There are many different kinds of oppression in the world. I liked your reply but not the headline, or the unexamined assumptions.
Queer White Feminist Person Born Transsexual
Dear QWFPBT,
Thanks for an eloquent rebuttal. And, to pass a buck, I don't write my headline, the newspaper does. Phew.
[The headline mentioned above appeared in another paper. -Editors]
Jane Miller, LSW
Metropolitan Home, ---Nest, Martha Stewart, Metropolis, maybe seven more, and picks up several more per week.
We live in an apart-
ment with no closets, and these are taking over. He says he likes to be able to check back on them as references, but I swear I've never seen him do it. He keeps them in neat piles, but I'd really like to be able to see the edges of all of my rooms again.
I don't think more shelves would help, because the piles will
grow beyond them in time.
Suffering From Piles
Dear Squeezing Through the Aisles,
Hmm. Why does he keep them? If you don't see him going back and looking through his back issues, maybe he just likes having them. They indicate to people who see them what sort of person he is or would like to be, and provide fantasy material: dream-home porn.
If the magazines themselves are important to him, you probably won't get him to let go. In that case, get as many shelves and magazine organizers as you can afford and fit, and hunker down with him in the stacks. If he really does just think there are resources in there he may want someday, here are a few ideas.
Avoiding the Issue: Keep 'em, but move 'em. Is he an artist or a designer? See if it's viable for him to keep them at work or at studio, since they may very well be references for his work.
Baby With the Bath Water: Get rid of entire magazines. Check to see which publications have web sites with their back issues online. He'll have access to the information without having to keep hard copies. You can also check to see what your library has on file. (This is how I can allow myself to chuck my back issues of Consumer Reports.)
Merciful and Practical: Get rid of bulk. Set up files to keep articles, recipes, ideas and images he wants to keep. That would slim down the sheer volume of paper you're dealing with. Plus, it'll be fun for him to go through the magazines again, a few at a time, and it'll be a pleasure for you to haul out the mountain of recycling. Everybody wins.
Burning questions? Contact me at the Chronicle, attention Big Tips, P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland 44101, or fax to 216-631-1052, or e-mail to martone@drizzle.com.
of D.L. Dunkle and Associates
Offices conveniently located
in Oberlin and Cleveland.
(216) 229-2100
or Toll Free, 1-800 457-0345
21-24