Transwoman assaulted

[pandora_parrot]

Original Post here

Transexual Activist Maria Louise Roman was assaulted, discriminated
against and wrongly incarcerated – ironically, after a taping of
"Transamerica" segment for Spanish TV Talk Show Cristina.

Dear Friends:

I am writing this letter to give you a snapshot of how I was assaulted,
ridiculed, humiliated and wrongly incarcerated while celebrating a
successful taping of the Cristina Show. These events took place on
March the 10th in the city of Miami.

Many Media outlets continue to perpetuate stereotypes and sensationalize our lives. It has been a long process but I am a firm believer that the only way we can influence change is by being involved in the process of creating this change. We cannot sit back and expect change to magically happen.

For this reason whenever there is an opportunity for me to be involved in
how the media depicts my reality as a transgender women I am the first
one to sign up.

On March the 10th I was panelist for an
upcoming Cristina Show, a Spanish speaking International show that
reaches millions of Spanish speaking homes in the US and Latin America.
The taping of the show went very well; the questions were relevant and
focused on the complexity of the transition process. They also
discussed discrimination and rights of people of trans experience. The
panel was very diverse, composed of both FTM and MTF people. It also
included A 15 year old Argentinean transgender woman who was supported
by her entire family.

After a successful taping there was much reason to celebrate, Little did I know that my celebration would not last long.

I went to a popular Miami club called Space, Accompanied by a friend. We had a drink, danced and enjoyed the scene, needless to say the club was packed.

About 40 minutes later while going to get a second
drink, we were making our way though a very crowded club headed toward
the bar. I was pushed by a man, and when I turned around he began
yelling "Fuck! that's a man" To several of his friends, who then joined him in the name-calling as the pushing continued.

He then physically assaulted me. As the attack continued, security came to the scene and grabbed him. He was still calling me "you fucking faggot", even though he was restrained by security personnel.

In panic, in pain, dazed from the attack, I screamed to my friend, "he broke my nose!" I was also concerned about my safety because I did not know if the other individuals who accompanied him might also attack me in retaliation, after seeing their friend taken by security.

I decided to follow the security officers as they where escorted the man to the first level, telling them in bits and pieces what happened and how this man had attacked me unwarrantedly. I made it very clear to the security guards that I had intentions of filing charges of assault since I was physically attacked and I had not retaliated. When we got to the office, there were other men in uniforms and I assumed they were also security guards.

I asked them to call the police since I wanted to press charges against the man who had just assaulted me. To my surprise they informed me they were Miami Police Department Officers. One of them was a sergeant. I would find out later that the sergeant was also a bigot.

At that moment he ignored me and proceeded to ask the man who had attacked me what happened. I was furious at his apathy towards me, but remained calmed.

As he continued to ignore me he asked the Security Guards who escorted the man who attacked me, "WHAT DID HE DO?" (They used male pronouns to refer to me). I felt disrespected by his comment. I reached in my purse for my California Identification Card, which states my gender as female, hoping this would redirect focus to the assault and not my gender. I tried to tell the police about the assault, however it was difficult since their focus continued
to be on my gender; snickering back and forth. Things were taking place quickly. The sergeant looked at me with a smirk on his face and told the security guard next to him "He has nice tits."

At that moment I realized that things were not going to move in my favor. Two
security guards grabbed me by the arms and began escorting me down some stairs towards the entrance of the club. It was clear that they were
escorting me out of the club however my concern was still focused on ensuring documentation of my attack. I continued questioning their
behavior, repeating that "I was assaulted." I questioned why I was being escorted out of the club since, in fact, I was the victim of a crime. '

The circumstances that transpired during and after my assault were blatant violations of my rights, and negligence on the part of the police. I was forcefully detained by security for no reason and then placed in the back of a police car. At that moment it was clear to me they were arresting me, however I could not think of what they would charge me with since I had not committed a crime. During this ordeal I maintained restraint. I was never disrespectful to any of Police Officers or Security Personnel. I was humble but firm in pointing out the wrong-doing on their behalf.

I made it clear to the sergeant that I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that this does not continue to happen and that they would see me again. That the oath they took to protect and serve includes me, and that their discrimination and bigotry would not be silently ignored.

While being transferred to the car which would take me to county jail, the sergeant told one of his colleagues as my dress was lifted, "yes that's a man, but I would fuck him in his ass" And they all laughed. The humiliation was endless.

The only way I could let my anger and frustration out was by crying, at that moment I was so powerless. I have been fighting this kind of injustice for years, yet I was never a victim. And none of my many surgeries, speaking abilities, beauty, or the charm I have been told I possess, could make these people look at me as a woman. Because even though they did call me a man, I am certain that if two men had been involved in a physical altercation, both would have been arrested. Yet I was a victim of an assault and I was the only one incarcerated.

You would think my ordeal would have been over but it continued while being processed in the local county jail. I was stripped and searched, and paraded for all to view and laughed at.
I continued to weep in anger and despair, I would spend the next 18 hours afraid for my safety, questioned about my gender, asked improper
questions, and sexually molested.

I was assaulted, ridiculed, mistreated, and incarcerated because of who I am. As incredible as it
may sound my sense of true self is offensive to even the people that take an oath to protect and serve us.

However I take an oath to my self and the rest of my community that I will continue to do anything and everything in my power to expose this bigotry, hate and perpetuate mistreatment by people in law enforcement and their apathy to crimes fueled by hate associated with our gender or sexual orientation.

At the present time I am continuing to work with the support of Ron Brenesky from "Unity Coalition", a local organization in Miami, along with Monica Taher who has been a great support. Currently Ron is contacting the local agencies trying to categorize this as a Hate Crime.

Under Florida law Transgender individuals are not recognized. So much work ahead for our community However I am only one person. Let’s continue to ensure that we all grow from our experiences by supporting our own and each other. Don't be silent. Let’s let them know that there are many of us and we have each others’ backs. Remember none of us are immune to acts such as this. I will be going to court in Miami in April on a false trespassing charge.

I would like your support. I want to send a clear message to the club and the police department that this kind of mistreatment will not be tolerated. If this type of neglect, discrimination and violation of our rights by police officers in Miami is an ongoing practice the time to put a stop to it is now.

PS:
Even though this was a very traumatic time, my spirits are high and I am looking forward to continuing to fight this. My nose is a little to the right and the bruises in my arm are gone, otherwise I am all good. I thank God that I am here and that things did not escalate more.

Many
men and women have lost their lives to crimes fueled by hate. On March the 10th at 1:35 am this kind of hate fueled a man to strike me simply
because I was a transgender woman.

Thank You,

Maria Louise Roman
Proud Transgender Woman
Orgullosa de ser Latina
Cell 323 620 0788

Ron Brenesky
Unity Coalition
Miami, Florida
786 317 3557

Comments

[mshah.livejournal.com]

Unfortunate, but nothing new. People who are different will always be ostracized. Its good that the offenses commited against him were relatively minor and he is in good health now.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

Do you mean her?

[eyesloveyou.livejournal.com]

the word is her sweetie please do be mindful of what pronoun you use we do tend to be sensitive about that sort of thing

[mshah.livejournal.com]

Why is it 'her'? I am not trying to confrontational, but just trying to get information.

To me, if the person has a penis then it is a 'he' and if the person has a vagina, it is a 'her'. The way the article was written, it didn't look like Maria had female genitalia. Though if this is incorrect and Maria does have female genitalia, then obviously I am mistaken.

What else do you use to judge the sex?

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

So to you, A woman is just a vagina, then? Her mind doesn't matter?

[mshah.livejournal.com]

I think you misunderstand me. A woman is just as much a vagina to me as a man is a penis. It is a standard biological basis for classification, I am not making judgements on their personality or their intellectual capacity.

For example, my female dog may see herself as a male dog (or vice versa) but biologically she is still female.

I do not use the terms male or female as a form of insult, and of course, if a transgendered individual asks me to call them male or female; I would do so out of respect and politeness.

However, officially their sex is still determined in between their legs.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

officially their sex is still determined in between their legs.
True... but given that personality lives in the mind, it is more respectful and accurate to refer to someone by their gender, which lies between the ears.

Honestly... if you start calling male-to-female transsexuals "him" and female-to-male transsexuals "her" then you're going to piss off a LOT of people, as well as hurt a lot of people's feelings. When your brain doesn't match your body, you tend to experience life-long suffering, being expected to live up to your sex when you know it doesn't match who you are. Thus, it is an extreme form of insult to be called by that gender pronoun again when you've moved beyond it and have embraced your true gender.

[mshah.livejournal.com]

You are making it sound like a psychological condition (which it most likely is).

However, you are right in that there is no need to insult someone, and I don't really care which gender I call them by, so I will refer to Maria as 'her' from now on.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

You are making it sound like a psychological condition
More or less, it is. It is classified by the APA as Gender Identity Disorder, or GID.

However, there are some that would classify it as a biological condition. As quoted from Transamerica, "Don't you find it odd that cosmetic surgery can cure a mental disorder?"

I will refer to Maria as 'her' from now on.
You just earned some points in my book. ^_^

[mshah.livejournal.com]

It would be a biological condition if we found some genetic or other such factor that somehow caused the chemicals to go haywire in the person's system in order to cause it.

Otherwise, its psychological. However, thats just splitting hairs and its unlikely that it will be known one way or the other anytime soon.

It will be interesting if they ever find a drug that could reverse the condition.

You just earned some points in my book. ^_^

Well, as I mentioned above, my calling of Maria 'him' was not meant as an insult. I was referring to her biological sex, and in the absence of any other information, thats what I would go by.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

It would be a biological condition if we found some genetic or other such factor that somehow caused the chemicals to go haywire in the person's system in order to cause it.

There's some research that has been done that demonstrates true physical differences in the brain between males and females, with male-to-female transsexuals having brains whose physical structure is more similar to those of females than of males. Although the research is very preliminary, it is certainly very promising. This article discusses it and the controversy around the research a bit.

It will be interesting if they ever find a drug that could reverse the condition.
Greg Egan wrote a novel where science has evolved to the point where a transsexual person could choose to have either their brain or their body altered to be in concert with the other. He suggested that people receiving both treatments would result in happy, complete, and fulfilling lives. I would tend to agree.

However, I would also argue that the mind is the center of the self. To alter my mind would be to alter my self, whereas my body is merely my physical reality avatar. Given this, I'd never advocate a person altering their mind in this way.

I was referring to her biological sex, and in the absence of any other information, thats what I would go by.
For future reference, if the person has a name like, "Maria," you can bet they probably identify as female and that calling her a 'him' will offend transsexuals and their supporters a LOT. :)

[mshah.livejournal.com]

For future reference, if the person has a name like, "Maria,"

Touche.

However, I would also argue that the mind is the center of the self. To alter my mind would be to alter my self, whereas my body is merely my physical reality avatar. Given this, I'd never advocate a person altering their mind in this way.

This is a bit of an interesting position. A brain is a set of chemical and electrical signals. When you eat chocolate, or watch a scary movie, that chemical makeup changes. You eat chocolate specifically to induce such a change in your brain chemistry. You take drugs, and a lot of them also alter your brain chemistry. How would this be any different? You are taking something in order to produce a desirable effect in your brain.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* Personally, I avoid mind-altering chemicals and drugs as much as possible. But if a person wanted to get their mind changed, fine by me so long as I'm never required to get my mind "fixed" this way.

[mshah.livejournal.com]

You don't eat chocolate?

Obviously its a personal decision on which drugs one takes (Ritalin, chemotherapy, etc), but I am simply pointing out that the line is quite blurred on what constitutes what you describe as 'altering the mind'. Taking a shower changes the chemical makeup, so does eating and drinking, and every single thing that we do during the course of our lives.

And some are voluntary, not required biologically, such as participating in an LJ discussion...or eating chocolate.

[mrs-the-bloody.livejournal.com]

not to be rude or anything, but in the letter, Maria repeatedly referred to the officers calling her "he", and she showed them her ID, which had her gender listed as female. In my opinion, that seems to be enough information to make a determination about her gender.

[kyeli-unlikely.livejournal.com]

I was referring to her biological sex, and in the absence of any other information, thats what I would go by.

It seems to me that there is a plethora of other information, and you are choosing to ignore it. The main piece of information, the really important part, is what gender the person him/herself chooses to be known as.

Your opinion on someone else's gender is irrelevent. Calling someone who identifies as female a 'him' because she happens to have a penis (which, unless you're her lover or her doctor, is absolutely none of your business anyway), is not only rude, but also fairly mean. It *is* an insult, whether you claim to mean it that way or not.

You say that you didn't mean to be insulting, but you chose to call Maria by male pronouns even though it was made perfectly clear throughout the article that she is a woman; she even signs the post "Proud Transgender Woman". You even say that you'll call a transperson by whatever pronouns they like, but then specify that they'd have to ask. WtF? That is insulting and inconsiderate.

You don't have to ask people to call you by the correct pronouns, and neither should transpeople.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

I suggest you read this

[mshah.livejournal.com]

Just skimmed it, interesting read.

[eyesloveyou.livejournal.com]

who they present as

[angieohgirl.livejournal.com]

The thing here is is that what 'mshah' is saying is exactly what all the talk shows enforce with their shows to millions of people. This is what Jerry Springer, Maury, etc... all push when they do their trans shows. And the guests on the shows go along for the ride.

Ive heard Jerry Spring say the following so many times that it makes me want to kick something.

Springer: "So, as beautiful as you are, you have a penis?"
Guest: "Yes."
Springer: "So then, you are a man."
Guest: "Yes."

Very similar question and answers happen on Maury and other programs.

[paradox-puree.livejournal.com]

*growls*