To the Media

Dear Media,

When you talk about LGBT issues and people, will you please get the facts right, being a gay or lesbian person is not the same as being a transgender person which is not the same as being genderqueer or androgynous. They are all different types of people, so stop equating gay and lesbian people with transgender people as if they are the same.

It's true transgender people can be gay or lesbian, and in fact many are, but the number is small compared to non-transgender gay and lesbian people, especially children and young people. But it's not about saying the blanket term covers all of them, it doesn't.

Throwing a blanket over gay and lesbian people won't begin to cover transgender people, and it won't cover all genderqueer or androgynous people. It is about semantics, and as journalists you should know and exercise the difference.

But then I know I'm talking to a brick wall as you don't pay attention and don't really care enough to do the right thing and be correct with your words. You only want the story told, only want your opinion heard, and only want people to remember you.

It's not about the people, which is why I'm talking to deaf ears and silent pens. But tell that to all the transgender people you confuse with gay and lesbian people. They know who they are, you can't change that, but you can be correct about them.