LGBT Organization Covered Up Sexual Harassment by Man Pretending to Be a Lesbian
“As soon as this individual finds out I'm a lesbian, they asked me in a breathy voice, ‘Tell me what intimacy between women is really like.’”
I could mention any number of experiences related to gender ideology and how it plays out, but I will limit myself to one, perhaps the earliest one I had. It concerned a community organizing workshop I attended that was sponsored by a national LGBT organization around ten years ago.
One of the trainers was a older trans woman, a retired formerly tenured academic who didn't come out until one year before retirement (with no problems as they reluctantly admitted). This individual was absolutely oblivious to the privileges they had experienced and the fact that very few women of the same age ever received tenure, especially in the sciences, and that open discrimination in terms of graduate school admissions was rampant during the era in which they received their training.
On the contrary, we were subjected to a scenery-chewing histrionic display of how oppressed they were, all of which seemed to relate to a less than optimal experience while shopping for new furniture with their wife. But I was willing to let that go at the time, as merely an example of upper-class whining.
However, we then broke into small groups for further discussion. As soon as this individual finds out I'm a lesbian, they asked me in a breathy voice, "Tell me what intimacy between women is really like." Needless to say, I was shocked at the sudden sexual harassment. I was left speechless, and just tried to move elsewhere. But his individual followed me around the room, and even into the women's bathroom.
When the other trainer, a gay man, contacted participants by email about feedback, I told him what happened. No response. I then got fundraising emails from this group, and I responded with the same concerns. No response. Same with fundraising letters, which I would send back with an explanation as to why I was not donating.
Initially, I was willing to chalk this up to one bad apple, but it was clear that this organization was intent on ignoring sexual harassment and sweeping this incident under the rug. At one point, I decided to contact the executive director by phone. Told she would look into it it and get back to me. I asked her point blank if they had a sexual harassment policy. She said they did, though I found no mention of it anywhere on their website and she couldn't tell me what it was. Needless to say, I never heard from her again.
This is the kind of response I would expect from many schools, businesses, etc. But at the time, I was shocked to see a so-called LGBT organization cover up sexual harassment by a trans woman staffer and ignore the concerns of women, especially lesbians. It was a real eye-opener.
- JEK
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