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| Dyana Bagby is news editor of Southern Voice. She can be reached at dbagby@sovo.com |
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HOME > VIEWPOINT > EDITORIAL
By: Dyana Bagby
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The Myrtle Room at Mary Mac’s Tea Room was packed Nov. 13 with some 50 people attending the regular meeting of the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance, “the safety arm” of the Midtown Neighbors Association.
And safety was the key issue for most of the meeting.
Chairperson Peggy Denby, a vocal neighborhood activist disliked by many in the gayborhood for her role in the shuttering of the historic nightclub Backstreet, began the meeting warning Midtown residents of neighborhood burglaries and ongoing scams. There were even two crime victims who retold their stories to an enraptured audience.
But the residents were also at Mary Mac’s to hear about something they hold near and dear to their hearts — getting prostitutes off the street. And while they didn’t say it outright at Monday’s meeting, it was obvious there is a deep-seeded dislike, possibly even hatred, for transgender prostitutes. So much so that in organization e-mails and letters to this newspaper from MNA members, they have coined their own term for transgender women who feel forced to sell their bodies for money — “transvestitutes.”
Even the security alliance’s official October 2006 safety report states: “Sgt. Miller stressed that the transvestitutes on our streets are dangerous and one should exercise caution around them. Most of them are doing so to support a drugs habit, making them irrational and potentially violent. They also carry blades and pepper spray, and are quick to attack residents when challenged or observed (especially when taking pictures or observing with binoculars).”
Goodness, Midtown Neighbors Association members are apparently into voyeurism.
‘TRANSVESTITUTE.’ THIS MADE-UP word annoys me to no end. I made sure it wasn’t a “real word” by Googling it and, miraculously, coming up with only one entry (which is some kind of accomplishment for a Google search) — and it was used on a myspace.com profile.
The word is childish, it’s discriminatory, and, more simply, it’s just downright mean. Are we back on the elementary school playground? How do young, urban professionals who now live in pricey condos think name-calling is clever and cute?
And often, it is gay Midtown residents who use this word, which just makes it worse. Aren’t we tired of hearing our friends being called “faggot” whenever they’re beaten up in a street alley by a group of homophobic thugs? Aren’t we offended when a right-wing radio host calls a gubernatorial candidate a “fat lesbian?”
We — the “G” and “L” and “B” in “GLBT” — call for immediate action when such incidents occur, and more and more our voices are heard by those in power. Some of those homophobic thugs in certain states have gotten extra years tacked onto their sentences for committing hate crimes against gays. And a Boston shock jock radio host was fired after his supervisors saw his hateful remarks against a lesbian politician turn off a segment of their audience.
But the “Ts” are often still silenced, with no real legal protections or community support, making it hard to get a decent job or even find a safe bathroom.
TO GET THE POINT ACROSS to some Midtown residents, maybe it would help if I resort to name-calling myself. From now on, some members of the Midtown Neighbors Association, especially the gay members who turn their backs on a group of people they should be willing to help, will be known as the Midtown Nitwits Association.
True, it’s not very creative. But it’s right on point. What kind of nitwit think it’s necessary to create a new word for a prostitute?
I understand people living in Midtown not wanting prostitutes trolling their neighborhoods. Prostitution is illegal, after all, and offenders should be dealt with. But they should quit targeting one certain segment.
And I do commend the Midtown Neighbors Association for holding informative meetings that are definitely helpful to people making their homes in one of the most diverse sections of the “city too busy to hate.” Yet while many of those attending Monday’s meeting proclaimed that they simply want all prostitutes off the street, not just transgender prostitutes, it seemed like a chorus of those who protest too much.
For example, in July, the same group met with Atlanta police to talk about a specific sting operating targeting transgender prostitutes.
“Our basic concern with the Midtown area is the transgender individuals and the hustlers, the male prostitutes,” APD Vice Squad Investigator Orrick Curry said at the July 10 meeting.
“One thing we want you to know is when you’re dealing with transgender and male prostitutes, they are very strong. Most of them don’t want to go to ...
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