Topic: Li Anne Taft

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #104, Winter 2004.
This column was previously published in DaKine.

Making a Difference Against Prejudice
By Li Anne W. Taft

Transgendered men and women can fight intolerance and injustice by helping others better understand TG-related issues and lifestyles.


My angry words flew out. ?Get out of here?just leave me alone!?

The panhandler jumped back in surprise. He had offended me by his rude question: ?What, you male or female?? My explosive reaction provoked another angry response. ?You f??- queer!? he threw back at me.

I gave him stink eye. As he shuffled away, I felt my anger subside and a feeling of disappointment snag me.

This guy had been confused by my transgender appearance, I reasoned, and my shouting had only increased his fears and squashed his desire to talk with me.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #103, Fall 2003.

by Li Anne W. Taft

Giving All the Right Answers
When body features, voice, and personal history don?t quite match, curious others often want to know more than transgendered men and women are willing to tell.

?This is Hina from the bank loan department. Does a William E. Taft live there?? I nearly dropped the phone?it?s been six years since anyone used my old ?male? name. Since I enjoyed a friendly relationship with people at my local bank, I was determined to keep news of my gender change from them to defend against possible stink eye and whispers. ?No, why do you ask?? I responded. ?Well,? Hina continued, ?we have a William Taft on your customer record with your social security number.? Without hesitation, I informed her, ?There is no William Taft here? we?re separated. I got that man out of my life.? ?Oh, I?m so sorry?we?ll change your records,? Hina said apologetically. Hanging up, I felt a bit devilish, but glad I had been open about my past without being ?too? revealing.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #102, Summer 2003.

by Li Anne W. Taft

I once read a novel in which the only life choices for the characters were to look and act like John Wayne or Madonna. I trembled at the thought of such limitations being put on my own gender expression. Recently, when I read a letter to the editor in the Honolulu Weekly, the phrase ?the gender of our sex? caused me to shiver once more. Both writers seemed to assume that sex?our biological characteristics?is inevit-ably linked to the appropriate socially-constructed gender.

I calmed myself by reviewing my beliefs that gender identity need not follow any particular path or the social dictates of our assigned-at-birth sex. Realizing that not everyone feels the same and that society often chooses what is appropriate, I quivered once more, even as I sat in the warm tropical sun.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #101, Spring 2003.

by Li Anne W. Taft

The right to define ourselves and live how we choose has been guaranteed by the U.S.constitution for more than 220 years, and is supported by numerous United Nations decrees. Yet in reality, our right to the pursuit of happiness is limited by others who want us to conform to rigid sex stereotypes. Transgendered, transsexual, and intersexed people of the 21st century can achieve happiness only with equal opportunity in the workplace and equal access to government, medical and social services?including marriage licenses.

This column appeared in Da Kine magazine, November 2001 and reappeared in Transgender Tapestry #099, Fall 2002.

by Li Anne W. Taft

Make No Excuses

Whatever others may think or say about their appearance and lifestyles, transgendered men and women can feel secure in who they really are . . .

Early in my journey between genders, I learned an important lesson. One morning, after I had boarded a Honolulu bus, the driver leaned back and gave me big stinkeye, as if to communicate his disapproval of my transgendered appearance. Feeling uncomfortable, I grimaced back and looked for a seat in the back of the bus.