DECISIONS By Diane Frank I’m barely back from vacation and I’m faced with a “what do I wear?” dilemma. Alert readers may have noticed that the tail end of Helen and Betty’s visit was punctuated by announcements and invitations to attend the national convention of People of All Colors Together (PACT) right here in Cleveland. PACT is a national social/support pan-cultural pan-racial for gay men. Now while I know lots of people in the organization from all sorts of other events around town, this wasn’t exactly something I would normally pencil in on my calendar except for one thing: Dr. Pauline Park was keynote speaker. Given the history of gay organizations rejecting various forms of transgender expression, this forthright reaching out to include trans as part of the whole business of diversity was worth an indelible ink mark on my calendar and a lot of worrying about appropriate appearance. Dr. Park is an outstanding advocate of transgender rights, and a lead of the successful effort to enact legal protection in New York City. She spoke of this work in 2005 at a presentation at the LGBT center which I wrote about here. I have cribbed Dr. Park’s introduction from the PACT program, rather than trying to go it one better. (see below) Here are some notes I made of her speech: First off, Pauline is a living example of “well-behaved women rarely make history.” Pauline is a gutsy confrontative speaker. She's making history. I noted that she had been to Cleveland before. Early in her talk she mentioned that on her previous visit to Cleveland she experienced anti-transgender discrimination when attempting to patronize a well-known local gay watering hole. What she found particularly ironic about the matter was the very visible presence of drag queens just inside the door she wasn’t allowed to pass through. I haven’t mentioned that Pauline is an Asian-American, and considers herself very much a woman of color and an activist for the Asian Pacific community as well as various transgender causes. She combined these interests pushing the notion that homophobia and transphobia is rampant in the communities of color, and must be combated. We must tell our stories in a compelling way. As she followed up on these remarks she didn’t shy from criticizing prominent TG activists who she doesn’t see eye to eye with. I won’t repeat the names, but I believe that the reasoning bears disclosure. It is not racist, Park believes, to have an open attendance conference on trans-issues where all the invited speakers are people of color…when all the speakers at other trans-conferences are all white by happenstance. Another trans-activist was criticized for saying that she “lost white privilege when she transitioned.” I can certainly see how to non-whites, this kind of statement is rather presumptuous. Then she drew a sharp contrast between the amount of outrage righteously expressed about an offensive black-face drag act, and the endorsement of Robert Mugabe by the NY City Council, when among his many faults in ruining a once prosperous country (Zimbabwe), he scapegoats homosexuals, calling them “sexual perverts, worse than dogs and pigs.” Why outrage over Chuck Knip and not Mugabe? I could go on, but I think this reflects the flavor of her remarks. After all this “in your face” talk, I was totally surprised that she got a standing ovation from an audience consisting largely of mixed race gay couples! (Which shows how little I knew of that group!) My personal thanks to the organizers for the invitation to attend, and their acknowledgement that diversity means more than just race! As a final treat, the North Coast Men’s Choir (with our own Denise there in her usual indispensable supporting role), gave a delightful concert, including numbers from “Hairspray.” Oh, I almost forgot. What did I wear? A long black skirt with patch work insets from Coldwater Creek, white blouse and copper net shawl. I guess I erred on the side of being a little too formal. And while I'm on the subject, there were a few folks from the trans community there, but no where the numbers who might have been. Still it was a Wednesday night, and I'm not sure how many people were up to walking into the Windham in broad daylight. Pauline Park Bio Dr. Pauline Park received her PhD from the University of Illinois. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Science in European Studies from the London School of Economics. Dr. Park is co-founder of New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA). She came out as an openly transgendered woman after having moved to New York City. Dr. Park has many accomplishments, particularly in the political arena, where she has not only campaigned for trans-sexual and transgendered rights but has also been at the fore front of efforts to improve the quality of life for gay and lesbian Asian and Pacific Islanders. Among her specific accomplishments are: co-founder of Gay Asians & Pacific Islanders of Chicago, she led the movement for passage of the transgender rights ordinance in 2002 in New York, she co-founded Queens Pride House, member of the Guillermo Vasquez Independent Democratic Club, serves on the board of the Transgender Legal defense and Education fund and on the advisory board of Asian Pacific Islanders for Human Rights. She has written widely on LGBT issues and has conducted transgender sensitivity training sessions for a wide range of social service providers and community based organizations. Dr. Park continues to be active in various political and social causes that benefit the LGBT community. This is the second time she has been to the Cleveland area to address members, friends and supporters of the LGBT community.