Educating the Public on Transgender Community
Dear Editor: Thank you very much for “Transgender: A Walk of Life” (March 22) on the plight of transgendered people — Asian, to be specific. I greatly appreciate your level of honesty and accuracy in your portrayal of what trans-people face on a daily basis. For far too long, this subject has been thought of as too taboo to be spoken of in such a public arena as your newspaper. It is a subject that needs to be recognized.
The transgendered phenomenon happens to people of all categories of class, age, gender and race. To think that it only happens in cases of working class black or white male-to-females made visible and glamorized through the media is short sighted. Oftentimes, largely misconceived notions of normalcy lead people to discredit this occurrence when they are confronted with it. These misconceptions invariably lead to negative thinking on the subject and sadly, can sometimes end with violent results. Through public awareness and education, we can hope to change those views.
The transgendered phenomenon needs to be brought to public awareness because it occurs, whether we agree with it or not. The next trans-person you hear about could be a total stranger living on the other side of the country, or someone very much closer to home. I know my family never thought this kind of thing could happen to them, being very religious and so closely tied to our Asian community, but at 21, I came out to them. Now, four years later, it gives me hope to see this subject being made more visible without all the media glamorization.
Dana Vi Xiong
Atlanta, Ga.
Kudos to You
Dear Editor: GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, would like to commend AsianWeek on its cover story entitled “Transgender: A Walk of Life” (March 22). The inclusion of the little-covered Asian Pacific Islander transgender community continues to place AsianWeek as a leading source of news and information for Asian Americans around the country. This article will also serve to reduce isolation of people who often feel alone.
While the beginning of the article focuses primarily on this isolation and the stigmatizing factors, it is refreshing to see writer Joyce Nishioka end on a realistic high note. While Natasha has endured many hardships as a result of being a male-to-female transgender person, she shows us that life is not about tragedy, but about strength. Also, the wonderful coverage of civil rights work by community leaders such as Pauline Park of NYAGRA helps create new role models.
We would encourage AsianWeek, however, in follow-up or future articles about transgender issues to consider interviewing female-to-male (FTM) transgender people, who are very much a part of the fabric of the transgender community.
Loren R. Javier
GLAAD
via e-mail
Welcome Back Program Info
Dear Editor: I read the article “Forgotten Healers” (March 29). That is so wonderful. I’m glad that you talked about the issue publicly. I’m one of those people who is struggling with the issue. I was a nurse in Japan. I’m very, very interested in the “Welcome Back” program. Could you please tell me how to get more information?
Yuriko Kotani
via e-mail
Editor’s Note: For more information about the Welcome Back program, call Dr. Pena 415-405-0488.
Ching Should Give Kings Benefit of the Doubt
Dear Editor: What is up with Michael Ching and his reaction to the NBA management’s response to his being taunted by basketball player Jason Williams? It goes without saying that Williams’ slurs were offensive, racist and homophobic, but c’mon, Michael — stop being so disingenuous.
To begin with, Ching said he had to wait “the rest of the game” before someone from management spoke with him about the incident. The fact that they talked to him within a couple of hours shows concern, not contempt. It probably took that long for the incident to even filter into the offices of upper management. It is a huge organization, and Ching was just one person in a crowd of thousands. I’d say a couple of hours is pretty good.
Then, Ching complains it took a week for someone from the King’s staff to call him. This is a very serious incident, which bears investigation. I wouldn’t be surprised if during that week, management was investigating the incident. I doubt very much that they spent the week playing floor hockey with the memo before getting around to calling him. A week is a perfectly reasonable amount of time to gather information about something so serious. Ching also complains that Williams wasn’t sufficiently punished. Excuse me, but a $15,000 fine seems like a punishment to me.
Ching tries to take the high road in this situation. But given a forum to speak out against racism, he points out that Williams’ short hair implies he’s aligned with “skinheads.” A lot of guys have short hair. Some of them are racist — many are not. Ching shouldn’t be so fast to lump someone into a particular group based on a minor aspect of their appearance. You can’t rise above the ugliness of Williams’ words by matching them.
And let’s not forget that Williams started his tirade only after being taunted by Ching and his friends. What’s up with that? Whatever happened to showing a little class and just enjoying the game? Do you think that just because you paid for a ticket you can disrespect anyone? In a normal white-collar job, Ching is right that Williams probably would have been fired. However, he can’t complain that the NBA has different standards than mainstream society, while he, himself, engaged in behavior at the game that is totally inappropriate in daily life.
Maybe Williams will change because of this incident and its aftermath. Personally, I am inclined to doubt that very much. The kind of callousness he displayed indicates deeply held beliefs. I, for one, feel as much pity for him as I feel hurt over his statements. Let’s try to remember that any man with that kind of anger is not a happy person. I hope, for his own sake, Williams will one day triumph over that anger.
Jeff Herring
Santa Cruz, Calif.
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