Rights Activist Calls for Unity

Transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual communities should join forces

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities should work together to achieve equal rights, an activist told the University of Iowa community Wednesday night.

"I believe it can be summed up with an injury to one is an injury to all," said Leslie Feinberg, an author and activist for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. "That way we can create a kind of united front. ... If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be 'unity.'"

Feinberg gave a speech Wednesday night titled "Trans Liberation as the Basis for Unity" in the Second Floor Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union. The University Lecture Committee sponsored the event.

An activist who has traveled throughout the United States and other parts of the world, Feinberg works to forge bonds between the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

"We all need to unite to fight the right," Feinberg said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "It's an irony that people fear that in a coalition their individuality might be muddled together with others. Really, we can learn so much about each other's differences and grow and learn as a coalition."

Feinberg also is an author who has written books titled, "Stone Butch Blues," "Transgender Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue" and "Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Ru Paul."

At the press conference, Feinberg said a bill being considered among Iowa lawmakers to bar gay and lesbian couples from adopting children was "a heinous piece of legislation."

"Anyone who cares about the rights of children knows that the greatest harm is being done ... by issues related to poverty," Feinberg said.

As a trade unionist and a socialist, Feinberg also works to unite women, oppressed nationalities, disabled people and the working class.