ENDA = Men in Dresses?
Written by Candace Chellew-Hodge Friday, 02 April 2010 07:23
“Do You Want Men Dressed As Women Teaching Your Kids?”
This was the boldfaced headline in a fundraising email I received from the Traditional Values Coalition. My first thought was, “Well, it would take a man secure in his manhood to dress as a woman for work, so, no, I wouldn’t really mind that. He could probably teach the kids a thing or two about self-esteem.”
That, of course, is not the point of the TVC email. It continues:
Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are trying to make that happen when Congress votes on the so-called Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This dangerous legislation would actually bring cross-dressing teachers into your child’s classroom. Under ENDA your children will be trapped in classes taught by drag queens and transgender activists. This is a pro-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) bill that will force every business with 15 or more employees to hire and affirm men who wear dresses and individuals who have undergone a complete or half “sex change.” This includes every school in America and children will be victimized by these bizarre individuals. (emphasis theirs)
While ENDA does prohibit employers from discriminating against applicants who transgender, there is no requirement that will “force” any employer to “hire and affirm men who wear dresses” or who have had sexual reassignment surgery. In fact, the act explicitly prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. So, no one has to hire a transgender person or a “man who wears a dress” if that person is not competent to do the job.
Of course, that’s not what the TVC folks are really worried about. All they care about is planting the alarming picture of a “man in a dress” teaching vulnerable, trusting children. Take close note that they’re not worried about women in suits teaching their children. No, it’s always men in dresses that scare the religious right.
Why? Well, they simply can’t understand why a man (created in God’s image) would trade that privilege to become a woman (created from Adam’s rib and definitely not an image of God). Instead of actually trying to understand the very real, very normal reality of a transgender person, they ring the alarm bells. Its drag queens and men in dresses—bizarre people victimizing our children.
TVC tries to put a good face on its blatant misogyny—begging people to think about the children. But, it undermines its own case with one line:
No person’s “feelings” should be granted federal minority status, yet that is what ENDA will do.
If that’s the case, I am waiting for TVC to send me the fundraising email arguing for the repeal of “religion” as a federal minority that enjoys protection against discrimination in hiring. After all, isn’t religion a “feeling”?
I have a “feeling” I’ll be waiting a long time for that email—but they’d at least get a donation from me for that.
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Candace Chellew-Hodge is the founder/editor of Whosoever: An Online Magazine for GLBT Christians and currently serves as associate pastor at Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, S.C. Her new book is Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Read the original article in Religion Dispatches
Religion Dispatches is an online magazine devoted to exploring the intersections of religion, values, and public life, nationally and globally. It aims to provide a platform for expert, critical exploration of religion in the contemporary world for a general readership. The goal of RD is to inform public debate by analyzing and critically engaging the role of religion and values on the most vital issues of our time. This will involve bringing a wider spectrum of perspectives into the conversation, especially voices that have been marginalized in most media, and increasing attention to progressive expressions of religion and values. To go to their homepage click here.
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