Miriam Ben-Shalom is an American educator and anti-transgender activist.
Background
She was born May 3, 1948 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, one of six children in a Roman Catholic family. Her mother died when she was six. After graduating high school in 1967, she married and had a daughter. At 19, she converted to Judaism, moved to Israel, joined the military, changed her name, and remarried. In 1971, she divorced and returned to the US, where sahe earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
In 1974, she enlisted in the United States Army Reserve. After coming out as lesbian in the media, she was honorably discharged in 1976. She sued, and after a lengthy court battle, she lost in 1990. She then co-founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America (GLBVA), now American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER). She continued protesting until “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was repealed.
She taught English at Milwaukee Area Technical College. She has been in a relationship with Karen Weiss (born September 1947).
Anti-transgender activism
In 2017, Ben-Shalom testified at the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs against trans rights and co-founded the Hands Across the Aisle Coalition with right-wing activist Kaeley Triller Haver. She has worked with the Heritage Foundation to oppose trans rights.
She also participated in the anti-trans group blog The Compassion Coalition.
Because of her hateful views, Ben-Shalom was disinvited from being grand marshal of the 2016 Milwaukee Pride Parade.
References
Jones, Andrea; Wood, Melody (March 3, 2017). Feminists and Conservatives Link Arms to Confront Transgender Ideology. The Daily Signal. The Heritage Foundation.
Anderson, Ryan T. (2018). When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. New York: Encounter Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-1594039621.
The Bending and Twisting of Sex and Gender. Ms. Miriam Ben-Shalom on YouTube. CitizenGo. February 23, 2018
1st International Conference on Sex, Gender, and Education #GenderAndSex (February 2018). Madrid Declaration for Understanding, Respect and Freedom (PDF). Femina Europa
Polcyn, Bryan; Davis, Stephen (June 8, 2016). Transgender issues are driving a wedge in LGBT community, says activist ousted from Pride Parade. WITI
Milwaukee Pride Parade (May 3, 2016). Re: Former Grand Marshal Miriam Ben-Shalom. Facebook. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
Miriam Ben-Shalom (April 27, 2016). For your reading enjoyemnt (not sarcasm): I am no longer Milwaukee Pride’s Grand Marshal for their parade. Facebook.
-http://mcgarryfh.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/2215570/Samuel-Ages/obituary.php
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Library of Congress (loc.gov)
- Miriam Ben-Shalom Collection
- https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43276/
Twitter (twitter.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)