Acclaimed author Armistead Maupin, the creator of the legendary Tales of the City book series, has made a plea for transgender inclusion saying that all members of the queer communities need to stick together.
In a video post the author, who is now 81 years old, said he thought it was shameful that some gay and lesbian people wanted to exclude people who are transgender.
“I have noticed — on my page on Facebook and elsewhere — that there have been people who identify as gay or lesbian, but who think that entitles them to exclude trans people from the equation. I came from a time and a place where we were all talking about “LGBT,” and that meant including trans folk.” Maupin said.
“Now, there are people who are telling me — oh, what is the line they use? “It’s not a binary situation.” You know… all of this is gobbledygook for people who want to exclude some people from the right to exist. And it would be shameful, on the part of anybody I know, to support that thesis.
“I can’t remember a time — since the beginning of the gay rights movement — when we weren’t in this together. It was not an alien thing to me to support trans folk. In fact, it made sense on some level, because they were a variation of our own experience that I couldn’t personally experience. But I understood their right to be who they are. And I realised that we were fighting against the same foes — the same people that hate us, hate the trans community.
Maupin highlighted that in the United Kingdom Reform leader Nigel Farage has touted eliminating the Equality Act, which would lead to many LGBTIQA+ rights being reduced.
“I mean — I shouldn’t have to appeal to your self-interest here. The point is that we are stronger together — always have been — and to settle back into some cozy, middle-class sense of what we are as a gay or lesbian person, and not include trans people, is a really bad mistake. And it’s an unkindness, frankly, that you can’t be guilty of.” he said.
Armistead Maupin said standing up for people who are transgender is the right thing to do.
“The noise against trans folk has been greater than it’s been in years. And I think that’s why some gay men and lesbians are sort of chickening out and want to abandon trans people. We cannot do that. We have to stand up for everybody. And we have to realize that that’s where our strength comes from.
The author said it was essential the LGBTIQA+ rights movement did not leave anyone behind.
“We cannot do that. We must be good guys. We must be good queers.” he said.
Maupin’s Tales of the City series has been a literary success over many decades.
First published as a column in the San Francisco Chronicle. The series encompasses ten hugely popular novels: Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, The Days of Anna Madrigal and Mona of the Manor.
The books were turned into a TV series starring actress Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis. Since 1993 four series have been created, the most recent debuting on Netflix in 2019.
Maupin chatted to OUTinPerth back in 2007 and spoke about how the characters in his books all have little parts of his own personality.
