TRIP TO SILVERTON

By Romana Annette  08/12/2009

On July 16, 2009, we began our Southwest vacation.  Our first stop was in Silverton, Oregon, which is located in the foothills of the Cascades, east of Salem.  It is a quaint, picturesque town, not far from the renowned Silver Falls State Park.  Now the town is also famous for something quite different: the gender-expression of Mayor Stu Rasmussen.  As a transgendered person myself, I had developed a special interest in this town and its mayor.

After visiting the falls first, we drove to Water Street in Silverton, where I found Stu sitting outside the Silver Creek Coffee House.  Besides meeting Stu, later we also met the love of his life, his partner, Victoria Sage.

Stu’s story is now all over the internet.  He is famous as the openly-presenting transgender mayor of the city of Silverton.  Since all the details are readily available on the internet, I will recount very little of what I read, while I focus on other aspects of his life.

Stu was recently reelected mayor of Silverton for the third time, but this time he did it wearing a dress, as well as sporting very obvious breast implants, which he and everyone else nicknamed the twins.

I need to point out that I will not be politically correct (in transgender terms,) because I will not refer to Stu in his femme name, nor will I call him a her or a she.  While the citizens of Silverton can be said to be accepting, or at least tolerant, Stu gave up trying to enforce female names and pronouns.

In 1990, when he first came out, Stu seemed to be a typical cross-dresser.  He went to meetings at the Northwest Gender Alliance in Portland, and he even attended a couple of Esprit Conferences in Port Angeles.  However, as for many of us, true gender expression required a clear break from a conventional life.  While most of us strive to keep under the radar, Stu decided that would not work, since he was a prominent citizen and a politician.

Stu is thrilled that he gets to be a transwoman (regardless of the notoriety.)  Fred Phelp’s (God Hates Fags) people came all the way from Westboro, Kansas to harass Stu, but they got one of the coldest receptions anywhere from the Silverton citizens.

Right-wing commentators (such as Bill O’Reilly) went on a tirade over the mixed gender metaphors in Stu’s life and Stu’s favorite attire: minidresses.  O’Reilly

also disparaged Stu’s relationship with Victoria, who was his FAB (female at birth) partner.

Yes, Stu does not quite dress to his age, but such expression is not unusual for transwomen finally feeling free from imposed dress codes.

The people of Silverton love and respect Stu.  People everywhere said hi to him as they drove or walked by.  This seemed to be more of a tribal response than one of tolerance or acceptance, because there was a gut response to defend Stu, regardless whether anyone actually understood why he was the way he was.  Everyone seemed to know the timelines, especially that for the arrival of the twins.  It was all very matter-of-fact.

Those who disagreed with Stu’s lifestyle were referred to by locals as red necks, regardless whether or not they actually fit that category.

One needs to be careful about any idea to move to Silverton, as if it were a haven for transgender support.  No one seemed interested in the science of transgenderism.  Stu was simply that way, and that was the way it was.

I found that I could always bring the topic of Stu into a conversation, by carefully revealing that I was transgendered and that I purposely came to Silverton to meet Stu.  No one ever asked me about my story, and there were never any comparisons made between Stu and me.

In the end, Silverton was just a small town that valued relationships way higher than any eccentricities.  It was very much like earlier Native American cultures that held transgendered persons in esteem, rather than disrespect.

Personally, I do not think this story needs to be perpetually repeated in an over-reactive press.  The talk-show mentality for transgenderism simply means that not enough trans-persons are out.  There are countless public officials everywhere that are leading unnecessarily secret lives.  I applaud Stu for having the guts to be himself.

Eventually, the over-abundance of publicity will run its course and Silverton will return to normal, albeit not the same state of normal as before.  When cross-gender expression becomes public, the excitement dies down and boredom can take its place.  Eventually, I think Stu will evolve into just another chicly-dressed woman mayor.  With a return to normal, no one, not the people of Silverton, not Victoria, will constantly have to be overshadowed by Stu’s fame.