Best Sex Writing 2012: The State of Today's Sexual Culture by Susie Bright, Rachel Kramer Bussel
Authors: Susie Bright, Rachel Kramer Bussel
Ads: Link
therefore vulnerable. But the bar is one place offering Latina transwomen work—which can be hard to come by. “I’ve been working for La Cueva for nine years and I never before worked doing what I do now. I worked in other places like restaurants and temp office jobs. But I was frowned upon for applying with a male name but wanting to be a woman. They have issues with you going to the women’s bathroom, things like that,” Paula, a petite performer with chiseled features, says.
Of course, transphobia is not limited to Latina transwomen, but it can be more intense for them. Rodriguez says, “Transphobia has to an overwhelming degree curtailed the employment opportunities of transgender individuals. Latina transwomen, like African American transwomen, are also subject to racism. But when you add language to the mix, Latina transwomen may find it increasingly difficult to find work.”
Regardless of the language barrier—which is significant, as the performers only speak Spanish—the United States is where these women can find jobs. “Before this, I worked out in the fields in Mexico, and I always dreamed about working in a place doing what I do now,” Vanessa says. Diana explains it as feeling more safe. “I feel gays are more understood here.” Mexico City may have legalized gay marriage, but Vanessa and Paula assert that homophobia within the community remains. It seems that as gay issues get press, this tension grows. “In Mexico they changed the law to where gay marriages are allowed, but they will still call you out on the street or yell dirty things, much worse than here,” says Paula.
Rodriguez sees it as a larger problem. “While educating people on transgender lives is key, I also believe there must be a more concerted effort by queers and straight allies alike to advocate for rights and fair treatment for transgender people. Unfortunately middle-class, privileged issues like gay marriage continue to overshadow the blatant racial and economic discrepancies faced by those purportedly accounted for in the LGBT community,” he says.
But in her 50 years of being out as transgender, Teanga has seen a change in the attitudes of the Latino community toward gays. “Latinos are just becoming more positive and proud of gays, but only somewhat of transgendered people.”
Rodriguez agrees. “I’m inclined to say the Latino community has become more gay—accepting—but this suggests that Latinos have always been homophobic. This is not necessarily true. While Latino religious and cultural values often stand at odds with homosexuality, many Latino families have accepted LGBT members. We are witnessing more Latino LGBT media representations (Ricky Martin, for example) that are, fortunately, raising awareness and igniting conversation about homosexuality in the Latino community.”
When I talk to the performers, the importance of their work comes back to community. “We are all Latinos here. You can make friends here, talk, and overall have a good time,” Diana says. “This is a place that opens its doors to the Latino gay community as well as anyone.”
Teanga pinpoints the moment when things began to change for her, and by extension for all trans performers. “So, the saxophone was playing. And I started to take off my clothes. And my body was curvy from the hormones. That is when the shows changed. It became about femme, not men in drag.”
Dating with an STD
Lynn Harris
Susie Carrillo was 21 years old and a mother of two young children when an abnormal Pap smear yielded a triple-whammy nightmare. She was shocked not only by a diagnosis of high-grade cervical dysplasia—a serious precancerous condition—but also by its apparent cause: human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, or STI, more commonly known as STD, for sexually transmitted disease. A doctor had found it two years earlier but had largely dismissed it, saying, eh, it’ll probably clear up on its own.
Of course, transphobia is not limited to Latina transwomen, but it can be more intense for them. Rodriguez says, “Transphobia has to an overwhelming degree curtailed the employment opportunities of transgender individuals. Latina transwomen, like African American transwomen, are also subject to racism. But when you add language to the mix, Latina transwomen may find it increasingly difficult to find work.”
Regardless of the language barrier—which is significant, as the performers only speak Spanish—the United States is where these women can find jobs. “Before this, I worked out in the fields in Mexico, and I always dreamed about working in a place doing what I do now,” Vanessa says. Diana explains it as feeling more safe. “I feel gays are more understood here.” Mexico City may have legalized gay marriage, but Vanessa and Paula assert that homophobia within the community remains. It seems that as gay issues get press, this tension grows. “In Mexico they changed the law to where gay marriages are allowed, but they will still call you out on the street or yell dirty things, much worse than here,” says Paula.
Rodriguez sees it as a larger problem. “While educating people on transgender lives is key, I also believe there must be a more concerted effort by queers and straight allies alike to advocate for rights and fair treatment for transgender people. Unfortunately middle-class, privileged issues like gay marriage continue to overshadow the blatant racial and economic discrepancies faced by those purportedly accounted for in the LGBT community,” he says.
But in her 50 years of being out as transgender, Teanga has seen a change in the attitudes of the Latino community toward gays. “Latinos are just becoming more positive and proud of gays, but only somewhat of transgendered people.”
Rodriguez agrees. “I’m inclined to say the Latino community has become more gay—accepting—but this suggests that Latinos have always been homophobic. This is not necessarily true. While Latino religious and cultural values often stand at odds with homosexuality, many Latino families have accepted LGBT members. We are witnessing more Latino LGBT media representations (Ricky Martin, for example) that are, fortunately, raising awareness and igniting conversation about homosexuality in the Latino community.”
When I talk to the performers, the importance of their work comes back to community. “We are all Latinos here. You can make friends here, talk, and overall have a good time,” Diana says. “This is a place that opens its doors to the Latino gay community as well as anyone.”
Teanga pinpoints the moment when things began to change for her, and by extension for all trans performers. “So, the saxophone was playing. And I started to take off my clothes. And my body was curvy from the hormones. That is when the shows changed. It became about femme, not men in drag.”
Dating with an STD
Lynn Harris
Susie Carrillo was 21 years old and a mother of two young children when an abnormal Pap smear yielded a triple-whammy nightmare. She was shocked not only by a diagnosis of high-grade cervical dysplasia—a serious precancerous condition—but also by its apparent cause: human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, or STI, more commonly known as STD, for sexually transmitted disease. A doctor had found it two years earlier but had largely dismissed it, saying, eh, it’ll probably clear up on its own.
Similar Books
