What's "Gay" Now: We Are Everywhere Indeed

Steven Lam and Neal Broverman

June 20, 2006

ANDREA JAMES

• AGE: 39
• IDENTIFIES AS: Bisexual transgender woman
• OCCUPATION: Producer and activist
• HOMETOWN: Los Angeles
• RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

How do you see yourself fitting into the gay community?

Where [transgender people] used to be seen as a liability politically, a lot of the forward-thinking people see our goals are on a parallel course as gay and lesbian goals. LGBT people all face gender-based oppression. We’re all somehow transgressing those boundaries. Transgender [rights are] about 20 years behind, and that’s what we’re really starting to change.

Are you religious?

I consider myself agnostic but guided by a set of unwavering moral principles.

Is the gay community welcoming to people of color?

Any great political movement is a constant chipping away at the monolithic stereotype. We still have a ways to go, but we’re starting to see there’s such diversity. “Gay” now conjures up a multitude of images.

What are the gay signifiers in 2006?

I think the most important thing int the LGBT world now is the radical assimilationist–the people who aren’t threatening to Americans. You need Malcolm X and you need Oprah. You need Andrea Dworkin and you need Ellen DeGeneres.