Her Story

            In the final episode, Allie’s friend Lisa gets an article published which reads “Paige Jones, Lambda Legal’s lead attorney is also transgender, a fact that has not been disclosed in proceedings. The case should be dismissed, and Mr. Jones should be fired from his position.” Paige addresses Lisa shortly after this, and tells her off for “talking about racial inequality without a black girl in sight” and “writing economic inequality pieces but [she’s] never been poor.” This scene struck me as particularly powerful, for it revealed a few major issues with the current state of affairs. One problem is that the people who are harmed by racial inequality or gender inequality often do not get any say in the matter. The other is that people are treated differently due to various characteristics, like race and gender.

            Regardless of progress that has been made in the field of equality, the government of the United States is still primarily comprised of white, old men. Racial and gender diversity is still limited. This leads to the question, why should white men be allowed to make laws that primarily affect black people or women? Similarly, why should I, as a man, attempt to force my ideals about women’s rights on the population? If we are to achieve racial equality in the United States, we absolutely need great discussions and compromises that involve representatives from all races. African Americans, Chinese, Europeans, Indians, Native Americans, and people from many more ethnicities need to come together and agree on racial equality laws together. Similarly, if we are to have serious discourse about gender equality, men, women, gays, lesbians, transvestites, transgender people, and others who can’t, and shouldn’t, be categorized need to all be involved.

            Many people have a habit of treating others differently based on their cultures or physical characteristics. In the show, Lisa argued that the court case should be dismissed for the sole reason that Paige was a transgender. One of the other friends makes the accurate statement that “I don’t think it matters that the attorney is trans.” The truth is that it really should not matter. A person is, first and foremost, a human. A person can be a woman or a man, heterosexual or homosexual, transgender or transvestite or neither, but the person is a person first. I think many people forget that simple fact and treat each other differently due to race or gender. I know that I am guilty of acting differently in front of certain people due to their race. The subtle changes people make in their behavior is not something most people are generally conscious of, though. I think this is something we need to become aware of so that we can recognize our own behaviors and work to correct them.