The Pride Center of Vermont will host a town hall meeting on trans issues Thursday in response to a deepening controversy over the name of a gay bar planned for Winooski.
The proposed name, Mister Sister, generated a raft of critical comments over the weekend from people on Facebook who said the name is a slur for trans women.
The debate opened a rift in the LGBTQ community partly because the owner of the proposed bar, Craig McGaughan, is a gay man who has so far refused to change the planned name or meet with the leader of the Pride Center.
McGaughan announced Friday on Facebook that he would close his wine bar at 45 Main Street, Oak45, on Tuesday and would then reopen soon as the area’s only gay bar. Burlington’s 135 Pearl closed in 2006.
“The LGBT community in Vermont has been missing a place to call our own and through luck, a lot of support and hard work, we have the space to offer that,” McGaughan wrote. All would be welcome, but he emphasized: “I also hope those in the LGBT community feel welcome and safe and will find a sense of camaraderie at the new bar.”
Initially, Oak45 regulars responded to the post with enthusiasm.
But as word of the name spread, the happy glow faded. Heated posts ensued and people from around New England waded in with comments. McGaughan took some posts down, which upset people further.
Aedan Buchanan, a Burlington resident who identifies as a trans male, won’t be going to Mister Sister if it opens with that name.
“If you want to claim that your bar is inclusive to every member of the LGBTQ community, but you want to ignore the voices of the ‘T’ in that acronym, that’s not inclusivity,” Buchanan said.
The name is an act of “verbal violence” that was used to belittle trans women, Buchanan said.
His partner, Aspen Kobetitsch, will also boycott the bar if it opens as Mister Sister.
“I think the name is ridiculous and exclusionary,” said Kobetitsch, who identifies as a nonbinary trans person and prefers to be identified with the pronouns they and them.
Some slurs get reclaimed — including queer, which once was widely viewed as an insulting way to refer to gay people but is now embraced by many gay rights groups. “I’m aware that language is constantly evolving and things can mean new things,” Kobetitsch said.
But the people being marginalized by a term should reclaim it, and in the case of Mister Sister, that would be trans women and not a gay man such as McGaughan, according to Kobetitsch. “It’s not his place.”
McGaughan could not be reached for comment.
Over the weekend, Josie Leavitt, interim executive director of the Pride Center, asked McGaughan if he would meet with her. He declined, she said.
“Craig and I had some Facebook messages over the weekend that were very civil, and we each expressed our point of view, and I said I would love to meet with you, and he said no,” Leavitt told Seven Days.
The name controversy came as President Donald Trump revoked federal guidance under Title IX intended to give transgender students the right to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
It’s a tense time for the community, said Leavitt.
She had not found a location for the town hall as of Monday night but expected to have a site lined up and announced Tuesday morning. There are two goals, she said: “Where do we need to do a better job as the Pride Center in supporting the trans community. And the secondary issue is going to be how do we address the bar issue.”
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@bob – I hear that you don’t like the word “Queer” which is fine- and it’s not the same as the situation of which I am speaking. “Queer” is a term that has been reclaimed by a whole group of people who identify all over the spectrum- it’s added along with “LGBTQ” as a seperate title- so you can identify as Queer and/or Gay and/or Bi and/or trans- it is used all over the place all over the world and “taking back” the word was part of a process. “Queer” is an actual identity- “Mister Sister” has not gone under the same process – and everyday, trans people are being killed and having their rights stripped away. They have not reclaimed “mister sister” and Gay Men don’t get to reclaim the word for them
“If language feels petty to you, think about the worst thing someone could call you and then imagine a person, who you thought was your comrade, calling you that AND telling you that “you give words too much power, thats what I am calling you from now on”.
Yes, and that word is QUEER. And I’ve been told “get over it,” “we’re taking it back”… I may have learned to live with it, but I’m not over it. And that’s why I don’t participate in many events/activities aimed at the “queer” community.
I didnt demand that someone change the name of their activity. I didnt start a campaign to get others to boycott the events. I didnt cry those people dont like me. I decided not to attend or support those events. By including the word queer I felt it wouldnt be a comfortable space for me. Those who choose to embrace the word queer seem to be fine with using a word that many of my generation find objectionable, but find it incomprehensible how we could use a term they might not like.
And there might be people who wont feel comfortable going into a place called Mister Sister. Theres no way to please everyone.
From the start it’s been billed as a “gay bar.” Obviously the word gay means something different to you which is fine. And Mister Sister must mean something different to me. And thats fine, too.
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Why the term Mister Sister is problematic.
We get and appreciate taking back of hurtful language. However, that is not whats happening here. While cis gay men and drag queens may use the term as an endearment to each other, that is not something that happens in the trans community. If a transperson is called Mister Sister its typically to be hurtful and/or used to misgender someone. It is the same as referring to a transperson as a he-she or she-male its just not cool.
Language matters. Trans folks have been working for a long time to be included in the LGBTQ community and have a long history of being dismissed and abused within that community. If language feels petty to you, think about the worst thing someone could call youand then imagine a person, who you thought was your comrade, calling you that AND telling you that “you give words too much power, thats what I am calling you from now on”.
OR
Imagine a white person starting a bar to bring all races together and calling it Cracker Negro, and saying that they are taking the word back.
Language cannot be reclaimed by the people who it is not being used against- and when language is reclaimed, its a process amongst the marginalized population, not a decision thats made by one person, especially not one person who is part of the population that is doing the oppression.
It doesnt matter if your best friend is trans, if your mom is trans, if your kid is trans if your are cisgender you dont get to decide if the term Mister Sister is offensive and when you attack or dismiss the people who are offended by it, you become the oppressor.
This is the hill you choose to die on? Some letters arranged in a fashion that you find personally unacceptable? Sounds we make with our mouths should be outlawed because some people can’t take responsibility for their own emotions?
A shame really. I always assumed that grown-ups were made of sterner stuff than play-yard whining.
If someone tells me that Ive hurt their feelings, I say, Im still waiting to hear what your point is. In this country, Ive been told, Thats offensive, as if those two words constitute an argument or a comment. Not to me they dont.”
– Christopher Hitchens
Gemma it’s true that cis white males hold privilege in this world like no other but to deny that a very similar privilege is not held by white women (cis or trans) is detrimental to society moving forward. A good example of that is Caitlyn Jenner. Here we have a woman who recently transitioned (publicly at that) who has placed herself as “the” spokeperson for all trans, a position many of my trans friends simply do not like.
To fight over a name of a privately own business is absurd. Especially when that name has a history of being used towards gay and lesbians as far back as pre-Stonewall. Why has “queer” become a term that is endeared without any thought given to it’s harshness to those older g+l. It’s time to move past the “words will break my bones” state some LGBT choose to remain in.
Why am I so unsurprised that cis gay men are defending this? We all know that affluent white cis gay men are the most entitled, most appropriative members of our community and that not only do they make a frequent habit of disdaining trans people and trans women in particular, nothing gets their backs up faster than being called to the carpet for it. Typically, as we can see with this bar owner and in these comments, they will dig in and double down.
You would do well to remember that the entire modern gay rights movement was started by trans women of color. From Dewey’s to Compton’s to Stonewall, you can erase our history, but we all know the truth. We see you. We remember.
I am a gay man who came out in 1990. I lived thru the turmoil and extreme anti gay homophobia of those years. I founded VGSA (Vermont Gay Social Alternatives) to offer a safe place for Gays. Immediately I was harassed, in those days by mail, for not including other other parts of the community in the title, at that time, Lesbian and Bi-sexual. My response was that the group was accepting of everyone who wanted to become a member and participate, but that the group was primarily gay men. 27 years later and the group still exsists. At the same time it empowered other groups to form.
So the Trans community is offended be the name of a privately owned bar Mister Sister. Google that name and you will find a rock band by that name, other businesses, a U-Tube show, etc. The Pride center seems to think that the re-purposing of the term “Queer” is acceptable to all. NOT to me and those from my generation who were taunted by that word almost daily. But today we are expected to accept that term under the umbrella of diversity regardless of how it makes us feel. Words can have different meanings to different people. Should my generation fight over the word “Queer” in the same way the Trans community is with “Mister Sister”. I think the offense is the same level. Don’t go to the bar if that’s your choice. Someone in the Trans community can open there own bar if they want. Just stop bashing this bar owner who has only the best intentions.
There are far more important issues for our activism.
People need to stop with their white privileged fighting over a name selves! It’s ridiculous that a person cannot open a business for a community because some find the name “offensive”. Instead of making a business owner change his ways how about you start with the change with yourself? It’s ridiculous. Then Red Square should change its name because it’s reminiscent of communism. And Daily Planet should change its name because it’s from Superman which has strong negative racial stereotypes. The list can go on and on for names to be offended by. The owner of this place was not meaning to be offensive but was claiming a term used to describe anyone g/l/or t. Seriously, you need to check your privilege, point.
It’s too bad Josie Levitt is also not trans inclusive. What a shame that the “LGBT Activists” and “LGBT Safe Space Providers” don’t include trans individuals. We need more trans community space in Vermont.
You didn’t talk to any trans women about why this is a problem.