"Drop the T" refers to the transgender community's role in the LGBT community and attempts to address an apparent rift between sexual orientation and gender identity.
The verbiage is crude, and obviously comes from a less than compassionate place, but the idea of separating the T from the LGB does have a certain amount of objective credibility.
In the historical context of our community, we banded together at one time as sexual misfits. In the '60s and '70s there wasn't a lot of delineation between gender expression and those who engaged in same-sex intercourse. We sought solace in our collective differences by arranging gatherings and political rallies from the dimly lit bars and private clubs that accepted us.
But things have changed.
There are plenty of transgender individuals, as well as LGB ones, who have proven over and over that we don't share a broad enough range of political opinions to remain under one tent in 2015. Most notable might be Caitlyn Jenner, who's conservative opinions have drawn ire from LGBT advocacy groups.
However, Jenner's viewpoints, as disturbing as they may be to veterans of the LGBT rights movement, may be emblematic proof that the transgender community is experiencing its own evolution. Like changes the LGB community experienced in the late '70s and early '80s, when we shifted from free-love to picket fences, transgender people like Jenner are expressing individuality that deviates from our all-encompassing umbrella, and it shouldn't come as a shock.
Our older transgender friends came to terms with their identities in gay bars and Gayborhood community centers, and that bonded us. But Jenner came into her own with the support of her family and broadcasted it to the world. Whether or not you think she's a role model or a deplorable conservative, we can expect more of the same: transgender men and women who come out outside any traditional notion of the "gay community," and they're not going to be aligned with our causes by default.
This isn't a callous assessment, it's Cultural Anthropology 101. In fact, this petition expresses a reality, just from the wrong vantage point. Sexual orientation and gender identity deserve their own unique platforms, but most notably because this social conglomerate does a disservice to the transgender community by putting them on the back burner in lieu of the more socially accepted LGBs.
Groups like GLAAD and the HRC can continue to support the transgender community even if they decide to establish their own proprietary platforms, much the way many liberal lobby groups support each other. The transgender community could be more successful by isolating their own unique causes, challenges, and fights from their own podium instead of waiting for the LGBs to tackle our own first.
As a gay man, I'm proudly supportive of transgender rights, as I am ethnic and religious minorities. But like ethnic and religious minorities, I don't share the same specific prejudices and discriminations and will never personally understand what a transgender person deals with the way I understand my fellow LGBs.
It's possible for us to be an empathetic LGB community - a mark this petition sorely misses - without leading the transgender fight for them by affixing a letter to the end of our acronym. There seems to be a lot of knee-jerk hatred for the transgender community and nearly as much blind support in response to this petition, but none of that will change until both communities align ourselves in the most practical way.
Step back and look at it with objectivity. Why wouldn't either community want to put ourselves in the best position possible for both of our futures? Perhaps focusing on our own unique struggles from our own unique camps would be the best way for us all to come together.
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