Transgender deceiver  | Commentary | Advocate.com

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Transgender deceiver
Former Largo, Fla., city manager Steve Stanton attended a conference at city expense and dressed as a woman for two seminars without telling the city. Was he deceiving the citizens of Largo or just being incredibly prudent?
By Joanne Herman
An Advocate.com exclusive posted May 9, 2007
Transgender deceiver

The St. Petersburg Times reported that both Largo, Fla., city manager Steve Stanton, now out of a job, and Largo city commissioner Andy Guyette, one of the five who voted for Stanton’s dismissal, attended the same National League of Cities conference in March. The Times disclosed that Stanton attended at least two of the seminars dressed as Susan and that Guyette did not know about this at that time. Guyette was quoted as saying he was disturbed that Stanton "misrepresented himself on the city’s dime" and that this behavior was one reason he "no longer trusts Stanton to run Largo City Hall."

Ah, yes. For those who feel that being transgender is a bad thing, having been in close proximity to a transgender person without realizing it is even worse—as if it should be obvious that a person is transgender. So when it’s not obvious, the trans person gets accused of willful deception. Thank goodness Stanton’s only punishment was dismissal from his job. California teenager Gwen Araujo was brutally murdered in 2002 when her lovers discovered she was trans.

Stanton was actually dealing prudently with one of the challenges faced by those who transition to female after several years living as a male. For better or worse, society expects women his age to behave a certain way, especially women in public positions. How do you acquire these social skills without the benefit of the socialization most girls experience in their teens?

What Stanton did is fairly common. Most therapists (remember—it’s very difficult to transition genders under the generally accepted treatment standards without professional supervision) recommend some period of part-time presentation prior to transition. Their first recommendation is often to meet others like yourself at the local transgender social group, if there is one, or a regional transgender conference, if you can afford it.

But eventually you need experience being a woman in the “real world” before facing those who know you. In my case, the best I could do before transition was to visit a large shopping mall outside Boston once a week presenting as Joanne. I was able to make purchases thanks to a second credit card in my current name that I had added to an existing account. That experience of transacting with others definitely allowed me to assimilate more easily when I transitioned.

Herman is the first transgender member of the boards of the Point Foundation and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and is a member of the advisory board of the National Center for Transgender Equality. Links to all of her previous Advocate.com columns can be found on her Web site. Photo: Marilyn Humphries Photography. Copyright Joanne Herman 2007

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