Windy City Times – Trans professor makes history at Chicago State
Posted: June 30th, 2010 | Author: Kink On Tap Editorial Staff | Filed under: Briefs | Tags: 48, academia, gender, glbt, race, stereotypes | 3 Comments »Philosophy Professor Das Janssen, the first openly transgender addition to Chicago State University, deals with both gender and race issues daily. "But it isn't Janssen's gender identity that gets the most attention in class," Mason Harrison writes, "it's his race. Janssen, who is white, simply 'politely corrects' students who may refer to him as 'she,' but aggressively challenges his students 'who don't want to be told what to do by white guys in ties at the front of the room.'"
Janssen says, "I haven't had the same troubles here that I've had at other institutions like with bathroom use. People want to make sure that I'm safe here." Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality said, "There is a myth that Black people don't like gay marriage or LGBT people. […] I think that that's all just hogwash. There are white and Black people who are tolerant of LGBT people, and higher education has become a great place to transition." Now that's progress!
The first openly transgender addition to Chicago State University… is a man. No surprise there. (Putting the issue of gender discrimination in general, trans women receive very different – and in some important ways much nastier – treatment by society. Every time a story like this comes up and the person’s gender isn’t immediately obvious, I think to myself “this is going to be about a guy” and so far as I can remember that’s been right every time.)
While this is often true, I’m heartened to see that it’s not universally the case. See, for instance, the transgender woman who might make history. :)
Ooh, missed that post somehow. That’s a pretty good first, if it works out…