Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1998 13:16:51 -0400 From: Riki Anne Wilchins Subject: A Message from the Executive Director It has been difficult to resist issuing a statement following the terrible tragedy that befell Matthew Shephard. Indeed, it often seems that unfortunately the ritual denunciations, relentlessly faxed and emailed across cyberspace by individuals and second-tier organizations, serve little purpose except fanning self-importance while detracting from whatever small dignity the victims of such brutal crimes may retain in death. However, we continue to receive an expanding number of inquiries regarding GenderPAC's stance and activities in relation to hate crimes -- specifically the national Hate Crimes bill currently in Congress. It may be impossible to know with any precision what kinds of hatred, singular or plural, lead to the dismaying and often horrific violence of queer hate crimes. What seems unavoidable is the recognition that those singled out for special brutality -- gay men who are small, slight, and gentle, "butchy" women stalked and shot on the Appalachian trail, transgendered people like Brandon Teena assaulted, raped and murdered or Jesse Santiago, beaten senseless with an iron bar and then stabbed to death with a box cutter, a screw driver, and finally a knife, or even more recently Tasha Dunn, beaten to death just this past January in a Tampa parking lot -- are most often people who are in some way "visibly" queer; that is, they are those whose bodies or genders don't fit in some way with social conceptions of "real men" or "real women." The Hate Crimes Bill now in Congress would protect both sexual orientation and gender. Unfortunately, exactly what "gender" would mean or cover is still very much up in the air. GenderPAC has been working quietly behind the scenes to educate Congressmembers and their staffs that it must include not only "gender" as conventionally defined, i.e., as man or woman, but also gender expression. For those of you who have been kind enough to join GenderPAC in the past year, this is the type of work your membership makes possible. We remain committed as ever to ensuring that all of us -- gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered -- one day have the right to free expression of gender without fear of losing our jobs in the workplace or our lives in the street. We view this as an inalienable human right, and look forward with anticipation to the day when it is recognized as such. Riki Anne Wilchins GenderPAC Executive Director