History of Gender Identity and Gender Expression in Central PA
Where We Are Now
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As the movement continued to advocate for the rights of transgender individuals and nonconforming gender expression, results started to be achieved once again in Pennsylvania and at the federal level, too, with the elections of President Barrack Obama and Governor Tom Wolf. In 2012, then Vice President Joe Biden, while campaigning for President Obama, made a remark that transgender rights were the “civil rights issue of our time.”
Two years after Obama’s reelection, U.S. Attorney General Erick Holder issued a memo that the Department of Justice now supported the interpretation of Title VII, a civil rights statute that outlines particular workplace discrimination, which allows workplace discrimination claims based on gender identity. This stance by the administration of President Obama gave a boost to the movement seeking to make this interpretation permanent with the legal system. In 2016, Governor Tom Wolf issued two executive orders that expanded already existing protections for LGBTQ+ state employees, and for the first time required those entities under contract with the state to follow and implement such practices. As with the cases of the Shapp and Rendell orders, they are groundbreaking but do not cover all workers and individuals within Pennsylvania. One year after Governor Tom Wolf advanced protections in Pennsylvania, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice issued a memo reversing the interpretation of Title VII that Obama’s Justice Department had supported. These conflicting interpretations finally came to head in the 2020 United States Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled “It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating...based on sex…” The decision allows enforcement of the interpretation of the memo sent out by the Department of Justice back in 2014, which the Biden administration has readopted. However, the issue of religious freedom and employment discrimination was not addressed. |
Sophie Kandler talks about the impact on oneself because of one’s gender identity, both the positives and negatives.
Mara Keisling describes how the Transgender community has transformed since the 1990s. She mentions key changes and how the community looks in 2017. (Audio Only)
A nonprofit organization that serves 10 counties in eastern PA. It provides resources for and assists in empowering transgender Pennsylvanians.
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TransCentral PA - Support Groups - October 2021
Two years prior to this ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which oversees the formulation of policies connected with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, issued nonbinding guidance similar to the decision of the Supreme Court, but going beyond employment and into the realm of housing and other matters of life. Pennsylvania courts have yet to affirm this guidance. The Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office also will accept complaints based on the interpretation that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are forms of sex discrimination.
With the legal system currently siding with the movement, it is important to recognize that without actual laws and proper enforcement the rulings have little impact on the daily lives of individuals.
It is important to recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations from Pennsylvania that have contributed to the success achieved so far in the fight for equality.
With the legal system currently siding with the movement, it is important to recognize that without actual laws and proper enforcement the rulings have little impact on the daily lives of individuals.
It is important to recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations from Pennsylvania that have contributed to the success achieved so far in the fight for equality.
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One only has to look at Dr. Rachel Levine, who became the first transgender individual to be confirmed by the US Senate when she took up the role of Assistant Secretary of Health in 2021. Previously she was the PA Physician General and then PA Secretary of Health. She headed the COVID 19 response in her role as Secretary of Health for the State.
Renaissance Transgender Association and TransCentral PA still operate and successfully serve the communities of Central and Eastern Pennsylvania. They, like the terminology, have adapted and changed to fit and meet the needs of those whom they are serving. Originally focused on various forms of gender expression, they have grown to encompass gender identity and especially identities under the umbrella of transgender. Looking ahead there are still countless challenges facing the LGBTQ+ communities of Pennsylvania and the nation. Changing one’s name, which one would think would be simple, can be a long and for some an expensive endeavor. In Pennsylvania, one has to petition the courts, publish the fact that your name has been legally changed in local newspapers and legal journals, and complete a large amount of paperwork. Obstacles like these can only be surmounted by following in the footsteps of those who pioneered the movement in the late 1980s and 1990s. The fight continues. |
Dr. Rachel Levine’s official portrait as Assistant Secretary of Health and head of the
U.S. Public Health Service Department of Health and Human Services
Dr. Rachel Levine talks about their own progress, the progress of the transgender community,
but that it still faces may issues. 
Fae Kronman received the Rising Star Award at the LGBT Center of Center of Central PA’s FAB 2021. Fae has distinguished themself as an outspoken advocate and strategist in the movement to improve healthcare for transgender, non binary, and gender nonconforming individuals.
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