Looking out for your Sisters (Sep 4, 2006)
Email This ArticleOn the ninth year anniversary of this website, I have been thinking about some lively discussions I have had on the web in the past few years. While most tend to remain comical, there were a few that were close to my heart, one of which involves those who have arrived at a position of a working trans girl.
Before a debate begins over the terminology working girl, let me just say that while I am aware of the implications of the hierarchy in labels and the power that simulacrum yields, a battle over labels is a red herring which diverts attention from the real topic at hand. The more we haggle over words, when we should be focused on what the word represents, the farther we get from discussing the issue.
The problem was that amateur crossdressers at a Trans* bar in New York City bemoaned the influx of professionals. Those who rely on their looks to put food on the table will, ironically, abstain from a rich menu to continue restocking the cupboard. The discrepancy in waistlines, among other superficial procurements, was the source of the discontent among the amateur dressers. Against the professional working girls, how could the weekend warrioress possibly compete for the attention of another married man?
It was clear they wanted the better looking girls out of the picture. The cry afoul went something like this: “They’re making us look cheap.” Properly applied makeup has a habit of doing that to improperly applied makeup.
Now my experience with working girls is only limited to befriending several in the original Edelweiss on 43rd street. At the end of the night, if I found they have had a slow night, I would offer them a ride home. No strings attached. Sure, I’ve been offered freebies. I declined, reasoning that freebies would go to waste on non-returning customers.
At the time, I thought Edelweiss was a great idea. A full time Trans-bar for working girls was a great way to keep them out of trouble. It was only until another amateur crossdresser, who was intensely jealous of the better-looking, better-passing professionals, decided to close down Edelweiss and shut down his competition.
That was why Mayor Guliani did what he had to do: His championing of improving the quality of life in this case, meant that his second-rate Marilyn Monroe impersonation won’t be put in danger next to ones created on an hourly basis.
I say if you ever come across a place in town that’s loaded with working Trans girl, by all means, support it. Go and have a drink. Pay an entrance fee if it charges one. I believe it’s an admirable act to help provide a safe place not only for everyday Trans individuals, but also Trans people from all walks of life. After all, discrimination is, in and of itself, indiscriminate.
Therefore, violence based on discrimination will not discriminate between the working girl and the amatuer one.