In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with author and activist Brynn Tannehill about her new book “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask)” that really does tell you everything you need to know about transgender issues and serves as a valuable reference source to debunk many of the untruths circulating about our transgender community. This book truly breaks down misconceptions about trans people across all aspects of life and provides readers with a deeper understanding of what it means to be transgender. Coming from an analytical military background Brynn approached her book like a manual or handbook for transgender people as well as for the cisgender community. Tannehill graduated from the Naval Academy and earned her Naval Aviator wings piloting SH-60B helicopters and P-3C maritime patrol aircraft during three deployments between 2000 and 2004. After serving as a campaign analyst Brynn earned a masters degree in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology. She then transferred from active duty to the Naval Reserves and began working as a senior defense research scientist in the private sector as she began her transition. We talked to Brynn about what led her to write this timely informative book and give us her spin on our LGBTQ issues especially with the Trump administration’s recent attempt to erase our trans community.
When asked about her personal commitment to LGBTQ civil rights Tannehill stated, “One thing that I wish people understood and particularly lesbian, gay and bisexual people who are cisgender is that if the transgender movement fails, if we lose our rights, if we are successfully driven out of public life through policy and legislation and impact litigation by groups like The Alliance Defending Freedom, lesbians and gays are next. If they can kick all the transgender people out of the military because they feel like it they can bring back ‘Don’t ask Don’t Tell’. If they can rule that my marriage isn’t valid they can rule that your marriage isn’t valid. If they can ban people from bathrooms because the idea of sharing a bathroom with a transgender person scares straight people guess what, during ‘Don’t ask Don’t Tell’ the primary argument was that sharing a bathroom or a shower or a locker room with a gay person scares straight people and we can go straight back that is verification to discriminate against lesbians and gays. This is a unified fight whether we like it or not. The only difference is that we will go down first because we are the primary target now and once we lose, if we lose, the same methods, tactics and impact litigation that took us down will be used to do the same thing to lesbians and gays in America. Make no mistake about it the anti LGBT hate groups haven’t forgotten about lesbians and gays. They’re just having to recognize that there is greater acceptance for lesbians and gays in our society and more protections of them and are going for the low hanging fruit first which is us.”
Brynn Tannehill is a leading trans activist and essayist and has written for The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Bilerico, Slate, Salon, USA Today, The Advocate, LGBTQ Nation and The New Civil Rights Movement. Her new book "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask)” is being published just in time for Transgender Awareness Week November 17th to 21st and can be preordered on Amazon.
For More Info: brynntannehill.com
