The producers of "True Life" began this episode in Jerry Springer fashion featuring trans woman Domain Javier saying the show would introduce you to people who lived..."Every minute of every day lying about who they are...trapped in a web of deceit as they try to hide there true identities..." essentially amplifying and validating every misconception and lie we as a community fight against every day.
My first impulse watching the video below was to go against the tide and say, OK you said you are a fraud, what do you want me to do, stand up for you now than you are suing the California Baptist University'?
I mean Domaine's blessed with enviable beauty and is using her charms to fool men, a set up for a transpanic murder if ever there was.
Domaine explains why she couldn't ever have a relationship with a man because ..."I couldn't tell them I was really a guy"...
At that moment I was really kind of disgusted with her self hate and doubt but she's young, passionate and searching for herself so I watched more of the episode getting more and more engrossed...
Domaine then says that she has always felt like a woman which is all she needs to say for the trans community and myself to defend her..but lets look at this in context to her being expelled for fraud by a Baptist University. It's illegal within California to discriminate on the basis of transgender status and there are no religious exemptions as long as the school receives public money which The California Baptist University does.
So will Domaine begin to live proudly and authentically with us on our bittersweet road less traveled? Or will she continue to deceive? Watch and see.
Transition, a shared experience for for trans people. We all been through what Tony Zamazal is experiencing internally right now. Tony is in the very first stages of transition having recently come to terms with her gender diversity and a irrepressible need to express it, or as we call it in our community, living authentically.
Sadly in Texas we are discriminated against in all phases of transition. For a trans person that is a life long hardship as we never stop growing and learning more about who we are.
Tony Zamazal has been told by the Spring ISD that the 'dance dress code' disallows her from wearing a dress because she was born a biological male.
I couldn't find a policy specifically for prom attire but I did locate the Spring ISD Dress Code which has no provisions for transgender students:
The District’s dress code is established to teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority.
Students shall be dressed and groomed in a manner that is clean and neat and that will not be a health or safety hazard to themselves or others. The District prohibits any clothing or grooming that in the principal’s judgment may reasonably be expected to cause disruption of or interference with normal school operations.
*Trigger warning. I have used female pronouns when addressing Tony Zamazal because she has indicated she is transitioning from male to female. This video uses male pronouns repeatedly as if to add an explanation point, reinforcing patriarchal Cis~normality.
Video: Following 'heated debate' Phoenix added sexual orientation and gender expression to non discrimination ordinances.
CBS 5 reports that the haters were out in numbers last night extending the city's meeting until the wee hours. Joe La Rue who's Scottsdale AZ group "Alliance Defending Freedom" which calls the ACLU a "Radical anti-Christian group" was present. He claimed the law would give "an open door to any sexual predator, not the transgender community, but any sexual predator that pretends to be transgender. That person can go into the women's restroom and this gives them easy access to women and, especially, children."
La Rue's effort to instill fear was unfounded as it was noted that Tuscon amended a similar law to include LGBT people in 1999 and according to city officials there have seen no instances of predators using the law as a pretext for preying on woman and children in restrooms.
Mayor Greg Stanton issued the following statement today on phoenix.gov after the passage of the updates to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance:
“This was the right thing to do for our city. With 165 other cities, including Tucson and Flagstaff, adopting similar ordinances, some more than a decade ago, Phoenix had some catching up to do. We as a city value all our citizens, and consider diversity as our strength. It’s good for business, it’s good for our economy, and it’s the right thing to do for Phoenix."
"Bishop Kirk Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona said he thinks calling the proposal the “bathroom bill” is a way to play on individuals’ fears. They remind him of the scare tactics that were used when it first became illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, he said."
According to the DowntownDevil many Local Phoenix business were present in support of the amendment "along with neighborhood groups including the Evans Churchill Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Voices Coalition, a downtown advocacy group." It wasn't a easy go for fair minded people present, in fact it was traumatic as noted by Kim Pearson a <>outspoken advocate of transgender children's rights on Facebook: "Good Night cruel world! By cruel world I specifically mean the horrible, hurtful people who were saying vile things about transgender children today in down town Phoenix. If your God thinks my son and I are sinners, I don't even want to imagine what your God must think of the things you say and do. Put a fork in me, I'm done!" I will borrow Kim's favorite saying now: For the Kids!
[TLDEF email] Complaint Alleges Six-Year-Old Transgender Girl Denied Access to Girls' Bathrooms at School
TLDEF today announced that it has filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of a 6-year-old girl who has been barred from using the girls' bathrooms at her elementary school. For the past year, Coy Mathis, a first-grader at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, CO, has used the girls' bathrooms. In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed her parents that Coy would be prevented from using the girls' bathrooms after winter break. The District ordered Coy to use the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse's bathroom.
Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a girl, and has expressed this since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Coy has worn girls' clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers have used female pronouns to refer to her and she has used the girls' bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.
"We want Coy to have the same educational opportunities as every other Colorado student," said Kathryn Mathis, Coy's mother. "Her school should not be singling her out for mistreatment just because she is transgender."
"By forcing Coy to use a different bathroom than all the other girls, Coy's school is targeting her for stigma, bullying and harassment," said Michael Silverman, TLDEF's executive director, and one of Coy's lawyers. "Through the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, Coloradans have made it clear that they want all Colorado children to have a fair and equal chance in school," he added. "Coy's school has the opportunity to turn this around and teach Coy's classmates a valuable lesson about friendship, respect and basic fairness."
"We have five children and we love them all very much," said Mrs. Mathis. "We want Coy to return to school to be with her teachers, her friends, and her siblings, but we are afraid to send her back until we know that the school is going to treat her fairly. She is still just six years old, and we do not want one of our daughter's earliest experiences to be our community telling her she's not good enough."
In addition to TLDEF, the legal team representing the Mathis family includes Michael Flynn, Lucy Deakins, Jami Mills Vibbert, and Rosario Doriott Dominguez of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
For the latest information on Coy's case, including upcoming media appearances, please follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook. We'll be posting the latest information there first.
(7) “Sexual orientation” means a person's orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender status or another person's perception thereof."
Part 6. Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation
(1) "As used in this part 6, “place of public accommodation” means......an educational institution...."
(2) "It is a discriminatory practice and unlawful for a person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from, or deny to an individual or a group, because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry, the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation...."
Apropo of the social change in Pakistan where democracy has previously has been just out of reach Sanam Fakir, a transgender woman is running for office.
"It is not our destiny to merely dance for others and hold begging bowls. We have a life to live," Sanam Fakir, 32, told AFP by telephone from the town of Sukkur, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) southwest of Islamabad.
The elections will be for the national parliament and provincial assemblies.
Running as an independent in Sukkur, which is traditionally dominated by the main ruling Pakistan People's Party and which has a tiny transgender community, Fakir's chances are slim of winning a seat in the Sindh provincial assembly.
"We are not corrupt. We have no need to be corrupt. We have no families and our own needs are limited. We are contented people," Fakir told AFP.
This is not the first time Sanam Fakir has made strives to raise our community up in Pakistan where discrimination is so extreme. Previously she bought three old computers and runs a learning center for our family in her house.
Sanam Fakir is truly a inspiration and remarkable leader of the transgender community to emulate. Regardless of the outcome of the election Sanam Fakir is already a winner.
Emerson College Chapter of Phi Alpha Tau fraternity is raising money to fund a prospect's top surgery. From the Indiegogo fund raising site:
"We are a group of individuals brought together through our fraternity and we are here for one reason: to support the brothers of our organization. Yesterday we were informed that one of our prospective brothers, a transgender female to male, was denied the opportunity to recieve financial support from his insurance for top surgery."
"We are now trying to raise that money for him. We are doing this as individuals in an organization rallying around another individual. This endeavor is not being sponsored by the organization as a whole, rather the active members within it."
"We care deeply about each and everyone, and rely on the entire active brotherhood to stand behind any one individual when they are in need."
The video is of Ms Bamby Salcedo of the Trans Latina Coalition presenting at the 2013 LGBT Journalist Conference in Philadelphia February 2013. Ms. Salecdo came to the United States seeking nothing more than what everyone here desires, freedom to live her life authentically.
What she found was alienation, poverty and sexual assault at the hands of the people who entrusted with the safe guarding of our borders. When I asked Bamby how it is that she has become a Transgender aids activist addressing this room of journalists today she replied " because she was a empowered woman, even back then, the system was forced into giving her a chance releasing her from incarceration and deportation.
I then asked Bamby what we could do as journalists to get the stories of the trans people who are currently held by ICE published. She explained with sadness in her voice that most trans woman in ICE detention are too scared to tell their stories out of fear that might further jeopardize there chances at remaining in the United States. Further more she explained we wouldn't be allowed to visit them in the first place.
So is this the fate these woman who passed under Lady Liberty who in reality is transgender? Are we to remain silent?
The original Statue of liberty, some would argue, was a statue of the Greek Titian Colossus commissioned by the Egyptian goverment with decidedly male features.
The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus's Sonnet found on the base of Lady Liberty, is about the transition of Ms Liberty who's roles changed from warrior to welcomer and from male to a female transgender woman.
This sushi "Gin No Sara" commercial suggests that a trans woman's romantic interest was about to be fooled since he didn't "Know the materials". Its viral subliminal transphobic message is deeply appealing to the targeted audience.
You can't spoof a cowards excuse he might try to use when charged with murdering a transgender woman. It's about as funny as a rape joke.
"Please tune in to Katie on Tuesday as TLDEF clients Coy, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis, and executive director Michael Silverman discuss our latest case." ~ Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
"What do you do when your child feels like they were born in the wrong body? On this episode of Katie, you’ll hear the deeply personal stories of three transgender children and their parents, and their journeys to understand the psychological, physical, and social process to become their authentic selves.
Meet Coy Mathis, a transgender girl who at only six-years-old is fighting alongside her parents for the right to be fully recognized as a girl in school. Katie will explore how medical advances are being used earlier and more safely to change the biological process of puberty, and she will introduce a beautiful woman who struggled for her father’s acceptance and has an important message about gender identity."
Click here to find a station that carries Katie near you.
Lauree Hayden a Service Employees International Union(SEIU) Staffer presented at the 2013 LGBT media conference explaining why it's important for LGBTQI writers to cover union issues.
First thing Lauree did was to ask to see a show off hands of how many of us had ever been union. Approximately 30 of the 60 or so in attendance raised theirs hands including me. Lauree then asked how many of us currently belonged to a union and all but a smattering including myself lowered our hands.
I was fired from my first job after beginning transition at Walmart after "Our Walmart" organizers entered the store a month earlier. Seemingly a non issue at the time to me I told the store manager, in a meeting he asked for, that I once belonged to the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. I wasn't concerned partly out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to the store that had hired me when no one else would and after all hadn't I had just received my third year review indicating I was doing a good job?
I should have been worried.
I was fired a few months later after they continually demanded that I do a job they were fully aware was beyond me physically to do. That was just a cover as they ended up quickly firing most of the other employees who were present or even employed at the times the organizers had entered the building.
I like untold thousands of Walmart employees were fired because we once had been or were suspected of having union affiliation even if it was years in the past. The rich are that scared of us organizing and demanding a fair share.
The truth is as the rich continue to profit at our expense at ever increasing percentage while we continue to make less in respect to what we made twenty years ago. Union breaking is and continues to be a leading tool of the one percent as evidenced by the lack of Union members present at our LGBTQI media conference.
Truly union, Cis-labor, and transgender people are meeting at the intersection of poverty, homelessness and despair. The LGBT media has a obligation to publish the map that will help guide our way back.
Cleve Jones and David Mixner held an a Q&A session during the opening reception for the LGBT Journalist's at this years Convention in Philadelphia that left many in the room scratching their heads wondering why they were talking about topics not normally associated with the LGBT agenda.
Ah, coalition building:)
One recurring theme talked about by both speakers was the importance of coalition building and their shared grief at losing much of their generation to Aids/HIV. Cleve Jones being involved with unions trying to introduce us to a demographic thats not usually LGBT friendly relaying his horror at seeing LGBT activist cross picket lines and exhorted those present not to do so. Both Jones and Mixner joked about being over 60 but answered questions with such youthful joy as to stir emotions and passions within everyone present, albeit not favorable from everyone.
This first class reception and dinner was held on the top floor of the Comcast tower so we had the opportunity to listen to a presentation expounding on how inclusive Comcast is, owner of NBC universal and Logo, and how they are striving to become the LGBT community's channel of choice.
After a quick perusal of Comcast shows I couldn't find anything highlighting transgender people in a positive way, only Rupaul on Logo who's made his contempt of trans people public and Drag Queen Sherry Vine, again not representative of trans people
Cleve Jones, sometimes called the conscious of the Castro became a volunteer for Harvey Milk after this chance encounter with him as shown in the movie "Milk":
I had a chance to catch up with Mr. Jones after he spoke. I asked Mr. Jones about the level of participation trans people had in the LGBT's communities earliest uprisings. He told me "at Compton they did but not so much at Stonewall.".
Then I asked if he felt as many trans people do, that we were being erased by mainstream media now that President Obama has raised the bar by mentioning Stonewall along with other civil rights milestones. He told me that more people did need to talk about our participation because it wasn't just gay and lesbians, there were transsexuals and tranny's there as well.
Jones noted I was slightly taken back by his use of the word tranny so he explained saying he knew it's not a word to use cavalierly but said he has always had friends who identified as trannys. He said he didn't' think it should be thought of a bad word anymore so than 'queer'. In the respectful context that Cleve said it, nether did I. Jones went on to say that he thinks transgender people spend way too much time and effort arguing about dichotomy and believes trans people need to take a more active role in advocating for ourselves.
He also said he didn't like the concept of the transgender umbrella. Monika Roberts joined in the conversation then explaining to Cleve the word transgender is essential as it allows legislators to more easily identify us.
Given that trans people are still not being represented overall in media a positive light I think one major focus of ours as LGBT journalists is to remind Comcast that there desire to be 'our' channel can only be achieved with a fair portrayal of trans people as well as gay and lesbians.
Eyewitness have come forward after seeing a transwoman assaulted in Soho by police. Although this video may not show explicit police brutality apparently there was much more happening since numerous complaints have been filed. A crowd estimated at 100 people gathered and begun yelling for the police to stop after they knocked her wig off, tore her purse from her scattering the contents, pounding her head into the pavement while they stood on her twisting her arms behind her back shouting at her she wasn't 'normal'.
Gay star News reports that 'Three huge officers violently pushed the trans in question against a window, immediately hand cuffing her with extreme force.
'The victim then had her wig ripped from her head, her handbag and purse literally emptied out on the road, so her personal belongings were damaged and scattered around her.
'Meanwhile police officers mocked her for her dress and having feminine items items in her handbag shouting at her: "You're not normal! We'll let you get you up in a few minutes but you need to act like a normal human being."
The Fox News headline "Students Who Refuse to Affirm Transgender Classmates Face Punishment" sets the stage for this "Cultural War" against trans people written by Todd Starnes.
Deconstructing Fox lies.
The headline of Starnes article is a lie. There is no wording in the new policy mentioning disciplinary actions of any kind.
Todd Starnes writes "The new rules would also prevent teachers and administrators from telling parents with which gender their child identifies."
That's a lie. According to the MassachusettsNondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity the school will be empowered to formulate a plan with the student to inform others that is in the best interest of the student providing the student is over the age of 14 or has entered the 9th grade. If the student is younger than that the students parents should be automatically be brought into the conversation to help formulate the plan.
Fox used the vitriol of a hate group to validate this hate filled screed:
"The Massachusetts Family Institute denounced the new rules calling them a violation of privacy."
“Fundamentally, boys need to be using the boys’ room and girls need to be using the girls’ rooms, and we base that on their anatomical sex, not some sort of internalized gender identity,” said Andrew Beckwith, the institute’s general counsel."
"Beckwith told Fox News the new policy has a “very broad standard that is ripe for abuse.”
We hear this tripe from haters, the door will be left open for predators. What a heap of trash.
Here's what the new policy says about public accommodations:
Fox isn't done with Beckwith yet pandering to the fears of haters saying:
"And any student who refuses to refer to a transgendered student by the name or sex they identify with could face punishment.
For example – a fifth grade girl might feel uncomfortable using the restroom if there is an eighth grade transgendered boy in the next stall.
Under the state guidelines, the girl would have no recourse, Beckwith said.
“And if the girl continued to complain she could be subjected to discipline for not affirming that student’s gender identity choice,” he told Fox News."
“It should not be tolerated and can be grounds for student discipline,” the directive states
That is a bold faced italicized lie.
Again the policy was posted earlier in the article. There are is no mention of discipline or course of actions laid out if and when a child's gender expression is challenged.
Then gym came up. the directive suggests:
So there it is. You can read the full Fox screed Here.
Kenneth Furr the drunk and probably drugged cop who tried to murder two trans woman and three friends is appealing his conviction of off-duty assault with a dangerous weapon and solicitation of prostitution. Furr was sentenced to three years and 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service and fined $150.00.
I was livid after the judge suspended the sentence placing Furr on three years probation fearing Furr and others would interpret that slap on the wrist as tacit approval by the Judge of his murderous intent.
The DC Trans Coalition was outraged issuing a statement regarding Furr's original sentence: “This result is the product of a legal system that constantly devalues trans people’s lives,” said DC Trans Coalition member Jason Terry. “Officer Furr’s defense team actively sought to portray the victims as somehow deserving of this violence, and apparently they succeeded. If roles had been reversed and a trans woman had gotten drunk and flashed a gun at a police officer, the results would be drastically different.” It is important to note that Furr was convicted only of flashing a weapon at two gay men involved in the incident, not for shooting at the trans women and others involved.
“Officer Furr exemplifies why this fear exists,” said Jason Terry. “DC’s trans communities face blatant discrimination, harassment, and violence from police officers every day, yet when an officer drunkenly shoots at trans people, accountability seems to disappear.”
Furr has no remorse for attempting to murder those transgender woman and has much to my astonishment, filed an appeal.
Jason Terry of the DC Trans Coalition was unaware that Furr was appealing and told Metro Weekly:
'I think this reaffirms the suspicion that Kenneth Furr remains a threat to our communities, and lacks both the remorse and self-awareness necessary for people in our communities to be able to feel they can safely go about their lives,'' Terry wrote. ''Somehow Furr and his legal team keep making him out to be the victim here, and that's just not a narrative that we can allow to stand.''
Terry said he hopes that if Furr's sentence somehow ends up being revisited, the appellate court will mandate ''some sort of transformational justice process, so that Officer Furr, his victims and the impacted communities can find a path forward, free from continued fear.'
It's my hope the Judge will revoke his suspension and put him behind bars were he should be.
Pongsapat Pongcharoen the leading candidate in the race to become the next mayor of Bangkok has released a campaign video with many transgender faces, but no policies.
Source: Global Post His ad also runs through a list of Thai-language sexual identities that will prove dizzying to the uninitiated. In addition to "kathoeys," he's embracing mainstream gay identities in Thailand such as "toms" (butch lesbians) and "dees" (lipstick lesbians). And he's also thrown in few highly obscure identifications that drove me to the wilderness of Thai message boards. (A "cherry," I've just learned, is a non-transgendered woman seeking a kathoey.)
What's the takeaway here?
Perhaps it's that, in the 21st century, we can finally envision a society in which politicians eager for power practice equal opportunity pandering.
Perhaps or maybe Pongsapat Pongcharoen was so impressed with the global transgender community which stood with the Thai trans community compelling IKEA to apologize for their problematic transgender ad he decided to court us politically.
It is our T.E.R.N. Transgender Equality Right Now. Not just in one country. We are worldwide.
Montana House Bill HB 481 PDF received its first Judicial committee hearing Tuesday. The bill containing public accommodation provisions still has two more hearing before it can be voted on the House floor.
There were many proponents of the bill but one opponent, Dallas Erickson using the time tested fail fear mongering approach claimed the bill would ruin the state for religion.
The group Erickson claims to represent "Help Our Moral Environment" has no web address that I could locate but is listed by Guide Star without a mission statement or any validating information.
Source Bear Tooth NBC "By the end of the hearing, committee members clarified the goal of the bill. A proponent assured the committee the bill would not change any
definitions that apply to the Montana Human Rights Act, including
distinctly private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America.
The House Judiciary Committee will hold 2 more hearings on the bill
before taking executive action. If the bill passes, it will go to the
House floor for a full debate.
The badly decomposed mutilated body discovered last night had been covered in a white sheet was less than a mile and a half from where Evon Young LT was murdered. The police have yet to identify the body. I will update when they make a identification.
Although five people have been charged with Young's murder his body has not been recovered. The police gave up trying to finding him in the Menominee landfill last week.
For his part, the President of Vida Plena(Full Life) organization, dedicated to the defence of homosexual rights, Onán Vázquez Chávez, said that "there are indications to suspect that it is a crime for homophobia".
Vazquez recalled that in the past 14 years is a record reading of 29 crimes by homophobia in that State, of which only four have been resolved by the authorities.
"They are committing these crimes with the certainty that the authorities will not do anything and that is unfortunate," said the leader of Vida Plena.
Former assistant attorney for crime victims at the Federal District Attorney General's Office (PGJDF) Barbara Illan Rondero strongly criticized the lack of sensitivity and professionalism on the part of investigators in crimes committed against homosexuals and lesbians:
"I still can't determine if this is due to negligence, lack of preparation or down-right covering up, and is a matter that has to do with the intention of not solving these crimes because they carry no weight of importance".[19]
Alejandro Brito Lemus, director of the news supplement Letra S (Letter S), claimed that only four percent of gays and lesbians who suffer from discrimination present their complaints to authorities:
"In spite of the gravity of the aggressions suffered, the majority of gays, lesbians and transsexuals prefer to keep silent about what happens and to remain isolated in fear of being attacked again in revealing their sexual orientation".
In 2012 Kenyan transgender teenager Brenda Stella Achieng was arrested for Pretext/defamation of character after her employer on the Nyamasaria estate discovered she is transgender. According to Identity Kenya.com she was treated very badly during the arrest. Brenda was paraded about the city and while awaiting trial and held in solitary in a mens prison.
Since then Changing Attitudes has received a report from Brenda's hearing confirming that those charges were dropped.
A couple of months after she was fired the family Brenda worked for had her arrested again for allegedly stealing cell phones from their home. But those charges are extremely suspect according to Voices of Women in Western Kenya (VOWWEK) and Jinsiangu because of how long it was after her dismissal that the charges were filed.
But more than likely these recent charges against Brenda were motivated by hate, just like the previous ones.
I have reached out to Idenity Kenya for more information to update this post with.
So its a call to the worlds bloggers and journalists and activists to publish about our family in African, especially Nigeria, Uganda and Brenda's country Kenya. We care about you. You are our family.
There has been a shocking increase in reported murders of trans people worldwide over the past years. There are many reasons why these numbers have jumped, but the number one reason is us.
Transgender Europe's Transrespect Transphobia project reports "Most reported cases were from Central and South America, which amount to 643 cases in 21 countries and account for roughly 80 % of the globally reported murders of trans people since January 2008. In this region, there has been the strongest increase in reports (2008: 94, 2009: 165, 2010: 180, and 2011: 204)."
"The new result update moreover reveals that in the last 4 years, 59 killings of trans people have been reported in Asia (2008: 12, 2009: 14, 2010: 16, 2011: 17), 53 killings have been reported in North America (2008: 18, 2009: 13, 2010: 8, 2011: 14), 53 in Europe (2008: 13, 2009: 19, 2010: 9, 2011: 12), 4 in Oceania (2008: 3, 2009: 1) as well as 4 in Africa (2008: 1, 2009: 2. 2011: 1)."
Photo TGEU Click to enlarge
We are rebels living our gender revolution. In many countries such as Canada our right to life to larger degree is respected. That has come about through decades of effort and sacrifice which is not to say the battle is over in Canada.
In the US, like many European countries, we have found marginal success. The US still holds the distinction as a leader in the numbers of murdered, many being victims of unemployment, drugs and prostitution by no fault of there own. Much of the progress there is localized but the domino effect of perceived acceptability helps us in neighboring states.
South America is currently on the cutting edge of the transgender sword. There have been unconscionable amount of trans murders of our southern community in the past years and it seems as if this sad trend is continuing unabated.
Many factors contribute to the numbers. One, our sisters and brothers are openly transitioning despite north American's religious rights increasing presence and influence. Two the drug wars, fueled with US dollars places many of our family directly in the line of fire.
There's no language barriers so when we are murdered in South America the world knows it.
Africa has one of the fewest reported trans murders. Again there are many reasons. Most of Africa's social climate does not allow for a person's gender to be perceived as anything other than cisnormal. In some countries such as Uganda it's a death warrant. Again, there is not many reported murders because the press won't even acknowledge us when we are alive, let alone dead.
Russia has two reported murders. Vladimir Putin and his partners in the Orthodox Church have crushed the trans community throwing our progress back centuries. This is particularly disheartening to me personally as a former cold war soldier. It has taken years of beating of LGBT activists by police to attain that brief visibility, now they are being cut off from the rest of the world, again.
The subcontinent. India's trans population is struggling mightily against embedded societal bigotry and they are winning. Neighboring countries trans populations seem to have more work to catch up.
China has only six reported murders but that can be attributed to there being so very few who have dared to transition in the country. Combined with state censorship and little access in the world wide Internet leaves our family's progress there in a perpetual stall.
Oceania apparently is leading the world in the battle against transphobia. There have only been four reported murders in this region with such excellent access to media.
So there are many contributing factors worldwide that lead to the incredibly high numbers of trans murders, but none more so than our willingness to take the risk, to put our lives on the line so the next genderations may thrive.
I'll be in Philadelphia flying out of Cow Town on Friday to attend the 4th Annual LGBT editors, bloggers, and reporters convening.
This all expense paid invitation came as a suprise as it is a first for me. I've generally been viewed as a upstart outsider partly because I am a functioning illiterate, partly because I'm a radical trans activist. But apparently thats my ticket because one of the purposes of the convening is to encourage new blood participation in the blogosphere.
Friday night we will attend a greet and meet with NBC News and Comcast. Saturday will be spent learning better how to connect with other minorities, something I say I do but in fact am not that good at.
(from the invite) Saturday night's party will be at Tavern on Camac from 9-11. Invite your local readers to come out and join the festivities; Joe.My.God. and Bilerico usually host a meetup for fans that weekend, but this year we can all co-host! The party is being thrown by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.
We'll be staying at Loews Philadelphia and after a tour of the city I will fly home on Sunday.
It's a long ways from cowtown and planetransgender grass roots. I look forward to meeting all of the people I have agreed with, argued with but all ways respected. I hope I can meet you there.
I will take this opportunity to educate you and your staff about how to write about transgender people. I am somewhat a authority on this subject having published thousands of articles about people under our umbrella. Besides drag queens I can only recall one prior instance when a trans person was publicly equally comfortable with both gender pronouns and names.
To say it was s surprise when Kevin Balot won the Thai transgender beauty contest would be a understatement. To the best of my knowledge that was the the first time I wrote about a transgender person who identified publicly as female but was equally at ease being addressed with male pronouns and presentation.
There were no condemning responses to the multitude of articles about Kevin Balot because they were respectful in making sure the reader was aware of the trans persons extraordinary identity.
Your article did not do that. I was taken unaware as you made no effort to educate readers Natalie Smith is currently at ease with both her male and female names. That could be construed as exploitative but for the sake of argument lets just assume you are ignorant about transgender sensitivities.
Let me explain why you article was seen as problematic.
Glaad has established the industry style guide when writing about transgender victims, which Natalie Smith is.
As you can see it's not acceptable to place a trans persons name in parentheses regardless. If you still doubt Glaad and I, take a moment and sample the millions of articles about trans people on the web. You will find haters put our preferred names in parentheses to invalidate us consistently. On the whole, you will not see that practice in respectable informed media sources.
Now, I'm not suggesting you edit your article to adhere to this style guide. What I am trying to do Ms. Pineda is to educate you about what is expected from the media.
So in the future, now that you are are aware this, please help trans peoples struggle for respect by making your readers aware of extraordinary circumstances such as these so they know it's unusual to use a name other than a trans persons preferred name when writing about us. That way your articles will be received like the articles about Kevin's were, with amazement and open minds and gratitude.
Transgender Texans are 'allowed' to marry the opposite sex but sadly we know all too well that these marriages do not stand legal challenges.
And what is we want to marry a person who is of the same sex? Marriage equality is for everyone transgender, gay, cisgender or straight.
Rep. Lon Burnam announced HB 1300 (text)(current status) as his Valentine present to us. His legislation to extend the freedom to marry to all Texans, gay and straight or transgender.
Published on Feb 14, 2013
My dear friend Daniel Williams field organizer for Equality Texas, legislative expert author of Legislative Queery and amazing trans ally explains the obstacles to passing this bill:
The Washington Post published a letter signed by thirty seven Democrats urging Obama to sign a executive order banning job discrimination with companies that contract to the Federal Government.
Trickle Down Transgender Protections?
Many of us ask, OK so thats nice, cynically remembering the HR3015/3685 debacle, even if there was a executive order how would that affect me as a civilian?
Nether executive orders, legislation or company policy guarantee fair treatment, but it does affect employers perceptions on how they should treat all LGBT people.
The letter published on the Post can be read in full Here:
[Y]ou are in a position to protect millions of American workers immediately by including sexual orientation and gender identity alongside long-standing anti-discrimination protections.
As you know, ENDA would prohibit most workplaces in the United States from discriminating against potential and existing employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. From our perspective, ENDA’s premise is simple: it would make federal law reflect the basic principle that Americans should be judged on their skills and abilities in the workplace, and not on irrelevant factors such as their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Currently, an Executive Order prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin…Issuing an Executive Order that includes sexual orientation and gender identity is a critical step that you can take today toward ending discrimination in the workplace.
The Washington Blade reports that support for ENDA is building in the Senate:
In addition to Merkley, who has sponsored ENDA in the Senate, signers of the letter include longtime members of the chamber who’ve supported the bill, such as Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senate Health, Labor & Pensions Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who pledged to move the ENDA legislation out of committee this year.
New faces to the Senate have also signed the letter, including Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), William Cowan (D-Mass.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the only openly gay member of the Senate, is also a signer. No Republicans signed the letter, but an Independent, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), penned his name
Notice the woman didn't need to check Christoph Waltz's crotch. She already knew he's not a real man. And Kimmel, I feel sorry for any woman trans or cis that you fool.
"Before we get started am can I ask you one question? If you think I am destined to the bloopers reel in a way the would embarrass my mother let me know right now and I will leave."
A dear friend, Kelly who I'd like to wish a very happy Valentines to, shared this with me. I think its wonderful.
Kez being a fire performer was asked if she ever had a accident to which she replied, "I burnt down a tomato plant once and the hairs on my chinny chin chin"
Hailing from "North Carolina, Planet Earth", Kez Ban has stated that she believes she won't win the competition outright, but at least advance to the Hollywood round. Does she get her wish?
Published on Jan 17, 2013. For your V day pleasure Kez Ban:
According to the Saddleback student news paper Lariat NewsNatalie Smith a transgender student, was told by campus police that she would be arrested for using the woman's restroom in the girls locker room late January at the beginning of the semester.
"We can't have men in the women's locker room," said Interim Chief of Police Christopher S.M. Wilkinson."
"Wilkinson said that once Smith completes her therapy requirements, undergoes surgery to become a transsexual, and carries official documentation then she is more than welcome to use the woman's restroom."
Saddleback college is clearly violating the law but the damage doesn't stop there. The Lariet article by putting Natalie's name in parentheses suggests her name is less than authentic then goes on tho make public her birth name a number of times, outing her and putting her at grave risk.
Mark Daniel Snyder Communications director at the Transgender Law Center replied to my media injury by stating:
"California law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid."
"California law says it is the responsibility of school district governing boards to ensure that school district programs and activities are free from discrimination and have policies to combat harassment and discrimination."
"California law does not distinguish between “transsexual” and "transgender” persons for the purpose of nondiscrimination law – every person is protected from discrimination based upon their gender identity and gender expression. Discrimination includes permitting some women, but not others, to use women’s restrooms on campus."
"There is no California law requiring a transgender woman to have sex reassignment surgery in order to use the women’s restroom."
"If you are denied restroom access based upon your gender identity you should call the Transgender Law center."
The California based Transgender Law Center championed AB 887 and welcomes requests for help.
FEMEN France sextremists played a funeral march by ringing bells of the citadel of Catholicism Notre Dame de Paris for the Pope. The fight between activists and grieving popephiles and the security took place during the action . The stuff of the museum decided to switch off the light to obstruct the work of journalists.
FEMEN France noted the final hour of the homophobic Pope. FEMEN is congratulating the whole progressive world with the resignation of fascist Benedict XVI from the place of the head of the Catholic mafia. It's symbolic that today is the day of the voting of law of same-sex marriage in France. The ex-Pope was a fierce opponent of gay marriages. FEMEN applaud the complete capitulation of the middle age homophobia! Pope go to the devil! Viva common sense! Viva freedom!
video by Joseph Paris Femen France Facebook
From the Youtube description: On February 10, 2013, after attending four sessions of the six given by ex-gay leader Kent Paris at Summit Church, Sparks, NV, I stood to make a 1:30 minute statement that I posted on my blog. I am confident Pastor Bond and Paris had already read it.
I had two plain clothes policemen and three church security men on me immediately. I had only gotten my name out of my mouth. nI am confident Pastor Bond and Paris had already read.
I had two plain clothes policemen and three church security men on me immediately. I had only gotten my name out of my mouth.
The man taping it, Mark, was pushed to a chair and also escorted out.
Here was my posted statement that got me evicted:
"Do you know the consequences of rejecting your gay youth as opposed to accepting them?
If parents with gay children were to follow the teachings and therapeutic tools offered by Kent Paris, your gay youth are EIGHT times more apt to attempt suicide than those gay youth who are accepted.
They may suffer depression SIX times more often than those who are accepted.
They are THREE times more likely to get involved in drug and alcohol abuse than those gay youth that are accepted.
They are THREE times more likely to contract HIV and/or STDs than accepted gay youth
This is research; this is scientific, peer reviewed research.
If you are the parent of a gay youth, when you leave here, stop on the way home and buy a package of razors, a bottle of whiskey, a hypodermic needle and a lifetime supply of antibiotics because that is the life you will more often impose on your gay child through your rejection and shaming.
This is what you will be doing to the child you have been charged to raise in the way they should go.
Do not try to force your child to be something they are not, something to your liking. You will not only be responsible for the effects on their mental and physical health, you will also, in all likelihood, push them from God."
