In Earl Memorial Union Gumwood Room on Monday, 19 profiles hung on the wall in memory of those who were murdered. The details displayed on the cutouts included the victim’s name, hometown, location and date of death and a brief description of how the person died.
Continuing a tradition started in 1999 with a candlelight vigil in San Francisco, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance (LGBTQA), the Women’s Center and the Q-Center sponsored a ceremony to commemorate those who were murdered for being open about their gender, or in the case of a couple of three year olds, exhibiting “sissy” behavior.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance served to raise awareness of violence against the oft-neglected group of people whose gender identity or gender expression differ from conventional expectations of their physical sex. According to a pamphlet compiled by the Transgender Network of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG’s TNET), transgender people may be those who are pre-operative, post-operative and non-operative transsexuals who believe they were born into the wrong physical sex. Transgender people may also be cross-dressers or intersexed persons.
“People need to see that trans people are out there and that they’re normal. They need to have space to have events and be represented, as well,” said Jazz McGinnis, a University junior who helped lead the vigil.
“People should generally have an awareness of gender spaces and genderness that goes on,” McGinnis said. “There is a trans community around you and even if you don’t sense it, it’s there.”
University student and LGBTQA staff member Opey Freedle said a person’s gender is not what sexual organs they have, but rather a socially-constructed ideology to which individuals subscribe.
“I think what’s important to acknowledge is that everybody who is a student, staff or part of the UO community is gendered, whether that’s male or female or transgender or gender queer. Everybody’s gendered. And our society puts us in these boxes. When one group of people isn’t allowed to celebrate their gender and when violence occurs against one community of people, that kind of violence is reinforced across the board for all genders,” Freedle said.
Sporting a wig and black heels, Freedle shared some personal experiences about being transgender. She discussed the impact of having five sisters and admitted that not only did they frequently dress her up in girls’ clothes, but that she liked it. Unfortunately for her, there came a time when this was no longer acceptable because she was born male.
“I got beat up a lot by the same sisters that used to dress me up,” she said. “I had this long, slender nightgown that I would wear, it was very sexy and I really enjoyed it. I got beat up so many times for wearing it.”
Allison Cleveland, the executive director of The Gender Center, provided the audience of 30 with some background information about hate crimes and violence.
As a transsexual person, she encouraged the audience to “celebrate your individuality, embrace your diversity and to cheer on all people.”
Cleveland spoke about meeting the mother of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was tied to a fence and beaten to death eight years ago by two young men in his Wyoming hometown.
“When I got my few minutes alone with Judy Shepard, I wondered what I would talk to her about. The only thing I could think of at the time, was the fact that I should never have known Matthew Shepard’s name, Cleveland said.
In the freezing weather outside the EMU more than 30 people gathered in a circle to mourn the loss of those victimized by injustices. In the evening dark, their solemn faces illuminated by the bright candle light, they reflected on lives past.