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Originally Posted by Bacchanal
sweetpea, what is it that stops you from mentioning her in the same context as straight people referring to their spouse/girlfiend/boyfriend? Certainly, it isn't fear of losing your job...?
I honestly don't get why anyone needs to be silent about their sexuality, whatever it is. Sure, there are people who will discriminate, but why associate with them anyway?
Don't take this as me being rude, I certainly don't mean it to sound that way. Just wondering.
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I can't answer for sweetpea, but I can answer this question for myself. I'm chaperoning the Sadie Hawkins dance next week. If any other teacher at my school were to do this, nobody would think anything of it if they were to bring along their spouse and dance a slow dance together. If I were to bring Grace and dance with her, it would likely cause a scandal, parents would be screaming about it at the next school board meeting, and I very well could lose my job for doing exactly what a hetero couple would do.
In every state in the United States, transgender people have to stay underground if they're in most jobs other than performing in drag clubs, because it's perfectly legal to fire them for no other reason than being transgender. And there are people who go to extreme lengths to track them down and expose them. Some states, Texas, Kansas, and Florida in particular, have laws that actively discriminate against transsexuals the way DOM states actively discriminate against gays.