LA Fitness denies Public Accommodations to California Transgender woman Yanel Valenzuela

Yanel Valenzuela had been working out at LA Fitness for some time but wanted some advice on how she could fine tune her body. She explained to a employer her transgender status and that's when her troubles began. Even though she presented her drivers license with female indicated and took the extraordinary step of presenting a doctors letter stating she had gender conformation surgery the manager still denied her use of the bathroom.

In California it is against the law a to deny public accommodations access to transgender people.



read more at CBS LA

ABC 10 blatant lie about LA Schools transgender student called "Fabricated" by school spokesperson

ABC 10 San Diego ran an extremely anti transgender story spending most of the time interviewing a organizer of the petition drive which is trying to force a referendum on AB 1266. The cornerstone of the ABC story was a article about a transgender student who was said to peeping over stall walls.

That sounded a little fishy to Cristan Williams at the TransAdvocate.

Williams called the school district to do a little, you know, a little journalistic fact checking. It turns out the whole thing was fabricated by a parent who opposes transgender student rights and amplified by this ABC local.

The newspaper screen shot that appears on the ABC video does not show the papers name, and for a reason. The source that San Diego ABC affiliate reporter Michael Chen used for her aha gotcha moment is the right wing anti LGBT student newspaper "The College Fix".

Cristian calls it "fact checking". The school spokesperson calls it a "fabricated story".

I call it a blatant lie to get views for the station. If in fact ABC 10 did fact check they wouldn't have mentioned it. There wouldn't have been a story if the truth be known.


Transcript Los Angeles Unified School District: Office of communications Cristan: I’m calling to verify some information that I saw on the channel 10 news. LAUSD: I’m sorry, what information are you trying to verify? Cristan: Sure, sure, on channel 10 news it says that, at least on their website, that a LA high school student complained because a transgender kid was in the restroom peeking over stalls. And so that’s on the news and I just wanted to fact check that claim. Have you actually received complaints of transgender children climbing over stalls to look at other people as they’re in the stalls? LAUSD: I will have to check that for you. I believe that was fabricated, but give me one second. I need to verify. Hold on for a second. Cristan: Okay. LAUSD: Because it’s been a few days since we got that report. So hold on for me. Cristan: Sure. [On Hold] LAUSD: I apologize for the wait. They did get the complaint and it turned out that it was fabricated by one of the parents who opposes transgender students in schools. So it was an unfortunate situation, to have to put the students through, but it was fabricated.

Tavares Spencer: I tried to murder Coco McDonald because she's transgender

Tavares Spencer doesn't deny being told in a text by Coco McDonald prior to meeting that she was transgender. Spencer's defense said that he thought she was only kidding and went ahead with the planned date.

Spencer's attorney said that when he met Coco he planned to have sex, but when her transgender status became undeniable he became 'scared' shooting her motionless body twice then firing four more times as she attempted to flee because he was "in fear for his life".

The prosecution is saying that Tavares Spencer lured Coco to the abandoned house to rob and murdered her because she is transgender.

My 2 cents? Tavares Spencer made the prosecutors case for a hate crime. They are planing on calling Coco to the stand again today.

*Trigger warning...

California Policeman accused of raping transgender woman while on duty

A El Monte police officer has been placed on administrative while being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for allegedly stopping a transgender woman on the street and raping her.

A transgender woman is alleging in a federal lawsuit that a uniformed El Monte, Calif. police officer detained her without legal cause and raped her on his patrol car in a dark and empty parking lot.

The officer was in a marked patrol car and ordered the woman into an alley behind a business at Central and Garvey avenues, where he attacked her, the lawsuit said.

She later retrieved a condom he used and turned it over to authorities, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 18, names as defendants the city of El Monte and an unnamed police officer, seeking unspecified monetary damages.

The plaintiff, who used the pseudonym "Jane Roe" in court documents, alleges the attack happened early Oct. 23, 2012.

Source NBC Los Angeles and LA Times.

Watch "Losing Luke" Award winning documentary about first openly transgender student to graduate a Oklahoma High school

Source Newsday.com: Michael Clark, a freshman with The Film School at Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD), was recently awarded “Best Documentary” at the inaugural All-American High School Film Festival in New York City, where he also received nominations for Best Director and Best Overall Picture. Clark’s short film Losing Luke is about a transgender girl named Katie (previously known as “Luke”) and her experiences in an Oklahoma high school

Clark’s film was the only full-length student film to screen during the festival’s opening night. Tom Oliva, the festival’s executive director, said organizers wanted to give the 1,500 attendees a taste of the quality of films that would be screened that weekend.

“In the middle of the Bible Belt, many are raised to look down on transgender people,” he said. “With this film, I wanted to help stomp out this ignorance in the community by sharing her story and humanizing her.”



Among thousands of submissions, the top films from each category were sent to a panel of celebrity judges that included Edward Burns, Dylan McDermott, Morgan Spurlock, Diablo Cody, Danny Rose, Kristen Stewart, Carlton Cuse, Henry Winkler and festival founder Andrew Jenks.

Read more at News Day

Cathy Brennan, attorney, OUTS yet another Transgender High School Student

There have been many articles published about the Florence Colorado student who is being attacked by the right wing conservatives. There have been many intentional breaches of journalistic protocol along the way but only one that clearly endangered the youth at the center of this manufactured 'controversy'.

NBC KOAA in Colorado Springs published a very biased video "Transgender Student Causing Controversy" early on naming the transgender student. To date no other media, mainstream, or social has parroted that story or stooped that low to endanger this vulnerable young person's life.

All including the most vehement of anti transgender pundits have at least used a misgendered pseudonym when talking about our transgender student "Jane Doe".

Except one.

Cathy Brennan a TERF (Trans Exclusionaly Radical Feminist) on her Wordpress blog Gender Identity Watch". Brennan has posted her picture and republished the NBC video on Vimeo undoubtedly aware that if she put it on You Tube it would have violated terms of service.

But this isn't the first time Brennan has outed a transgender student.

Cathy Brennan, Lawyer, Maliciously OUTed a 17 Y.O. Transgender Youth To His High School June of 2012, then laughed at his attempts to apologize for making an unacceptable rape joke on twitter in his youthful zeal after being baited into it by? Yes Cathy Brennan.

Brennan tweeting as "GID watch":

Transgender Bathroom Law Creates Controversy http://t.co/hcnYWLE0ot
— Gender IdentityWatch (@GIDWatch) October 20, 2013

You can help put a stop to Brennan's amplification outing of yet another transgender student by reporting her blog to wordpress.com/abuse. I reported Brennan for "content (that) promotes self-harm/suicide.

Transgender youth are especially vulnerable. The Youth Suicide Prevention Program reports that "More than 50% of Transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.*.

Report Brennan. Save a transgender youth's life.

Perla Lopez-Roque Transgender ICE detainee wins groundbreaking right to live freely in the USA

North American mainstream media does not show the reality of
of transgender life in Mexico. planetransgender rocked
viewers with this image in 2010 of a decapitated
transgender woman.

Perla Lopez-Roque came to San Diego hoping to escape the extreme violence of her home town of Villa Hemosa Mexico where she beaten and repeatedly raped by the police and the mayor.

Mayor Octavio Manuel Carrillo Castellanos and 17 others were later brutally murdered by drug gangs, many of their decapitated bodies hung from bridges.

Most transgender asylum seekers don't appeal a deportation order  order because of a lack of resources and legal representation.

Lopez-Roque broke the trend. She appealed  but lost her first bid for asylum in the US. The judge ruled that she “did not meet the burden of proof” that would show that the government acquiesced to her mistreatment because of her transgender status. The judge also said the she was a public hazard because of her HIV status and arrests for prostitution between 1990 and 2007. However in a ground breaking ruling she did win the right to appeal.

A federal immigration judge ruled Oct. 21 at a hearing in Los Angeles that the U.S. government could not expel 46-year-old Perla Lopez-Roque, who was seeking asylum on the grounds that her transgender status put her in danger in her native country.

Ms. Lopez-Roque left the court in tears repeatedly saying thank you.

Amicus brief from  The Center for HIV Law and Policy

"Pleadings and Briefs
The petitioner in this case is a transgender woman living with HIV who was arrested for offering sex for money. Although it is undisputed that she experienced "past persecution on account of a protected ground"—her transgender identity —the immigration judge improperly concluded that her HIV status, together with her arrest on sex work charges, trumps her imminent risk of persecution in Mexico and allows deportation. Based on misinformation and misconceptions about HIV, the IJ found that "[t]he type of disease also shows that the alien may be a danger to the community."

The Center for HIV Law and Policy and the organizations it represents on this brief raise two issues: the Immigration Judge ("IJ") erred in denying immigration relief based on the petitioner's HIV status, while simultaneously failing to consider how that status places her at imminent risk for future persecution in Mexico. Amici urged the Board to reverse the IJ's decision and grant Ms. Lopez Roque's application for withholding of removal; or, in the alternative, that the Board remand the case to the IJ with instructions that ensure she is not removed on the basis of her HIV status to Mexico, where she faces near-certain violence as a transgender person living with HIV."

Resource Bank and the Positive Justice Project.

Perla Lopez-Roque's attorny Peter Perkowski Discusses Win for Transgender Pro Bono Client Facing Deportation

Winston & Strawn partner Peter Perkowski was quoted in the Voice of OC article, “Judge: Transgender Detainee is Free to Live in U.S.,” published October 24, 2013.

Mr. Perkowski represented Wilfrido “Perla” Lopez-Roque, an undocumented Mexican transgender individual who faced deportation and was seeking asylum on the grounds that her transgender status put her in danger in her native country.

“In light of the ample evidence demonstrating widespread brutality against [gay/transgender] people,” Mr. Perkowski argued, deportation should be denied under the Convention Against Torture Treaty.
On October 21, a federal immigration judge ruled that the U.S. government could not deport Ms. Lopez-Roque and released her from federal custody. Mr. Perkowski said that the ruling should serve as a beacon of hope to other transgender individuals.

Mr. Perkowski recently received Public Counsel's Immigrants' Rights Project's Volunteer of the Year Award for his years of service in support of immigrant rights.

Mleuben Maccarthy Gay Ugandan beaten by police for paying for Mama's funeral

Gay Star News reported 19th of October that Mleuben Maccarthy leader of St Pauls Voice had been arrested and beaten by police after trying to pick up money sent to him by his partner to pay for his mothers funeral.

Maccarthy's mother known as "Mama Naomi" was very supportive of her gay son and was loved by the Ugandan LGBT community.

Maccarthy has just posted  he is returning to the police station to be interviewed about the beatings.

Dirk Alkmaar Noord Holland

Yesterday

Pics of Mleuben Maccarthy his back he has been beaten up while in prison last week

Second arrest made for the May beating of Hollywood transgender woman Vivian Diego

The second of four 'men' were arrested yesterday for the savage unprovoked attack on Hollywood transgender woman Vivian Diego. The five were video taped knocking her to the ground from behind then kicking and stomping on her unconscious (for all they knew dead) body. They were then filmed celebrating the attack with one of the slime actually kissing his arm as if his participation required any strength.

Ms. Diego suffered a broken jaw, a shattered cheekbone and two cracked ribs. Her jaw was wired shut, and she was hospitalized for seven days.

The police have not released the name of the second 'man' arrested telling CBS LA said more details will be released today.

Nicol Shakhnazaryan, 21, was arrested on felony battery charges June 20th by Hollywood Division detectives around 8 p.m. Thursday in the San Fernando Valley. Details surrounding his arrest were not released. Shakhnazaryan is being held on $50,000 bond.

A $25,000 dollar reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of other two 'men'. The FBI is aiding the LAPD in the search for the outstanding two suspects

Female Ford Models Elliot Sailors and Casey Leger are the man at work

Casey Legler one of only a few cisgender females working as a male model tells Time in the interview embedded below how she celebrates gender fluidity:

We have very specific ways in which we identify ourselves as male or female. Sometimes that can be very limiting. It would be a lovely place if we didn't necessarily judge or jump to conclusions if someone wants to wear pants or if someone wants to wear a dress.

Casey Legler might very well been alluding to the way Huffpost contributor Alex B wrote about her and Elliot Sailors, another female modeling male clothes for Ford in a some what less than celebratory article "Women Modelling Menswear: Cross-dressing for Models Who Wish to Work After the Age of Thirty"

Alex B wrote

What troubles me, however, is the fact that Sailors decided to turn herself into a 'male' model only because she could not get any more work as a female model at the age of thirty-one. It was a pragmatic decision motivated by the desire to continue to model and be distinctive as a model at an age when modelling, for women, is very difficult, due to age discrimination - which does not seem to exist for male models.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Courage Campaign Battled Prop 8 now needs members to say YES to fight for Transgender Students

The right has redoubled there efforts to force a vote on human rights, the right of the smallest most unprotected and valuable part of the LGBT community, Transgender and gender variant students.

Even though trans positive bloggers like planetransgender and The TransAdvocate are doing everything we can its NOT ENOUGH!

The response from the LGBT community and liberal media  has been disparate in comparison, essentially leaving the fate of our next generation up to the groups like  Privacy For All Students,  Capitol Resource Institute, Pacific Justice Institute, and the Traditional Values Coalition to be amplified by the untruths and hate mongering of the right wing media.

WE can start giving the support we must!  Courage Campaign a group I joined to fight Prop 8 is asking their members if they should join this fight. You can respond  here

I Say HELL YES!

VOTE: Should Courage Campaign take on this fight?

As a member-driven organization, Courage Campaign must consult with our members before taking an official position on ballot measures. We only take official positions on these initiatives if 60% of our members agree.

We need your input before we gear up to take on the National Organization for Marriage (NOM)’s latest and most regressive attack against our transgender youth in California. If we’re going to act, we need to act now.

Please help us in our decision making process by reading the pro and con arguments below and letting us know where you stand as a Courage member. Thank you very much.

---

“School Success and Opportunity Act ” (AB 1266), otherwise known as the "transgender student law."

Proponents arguments: School can be a difficult and unsafe place for transgender students. Transgender boys and girls often face discrimination and bullying just for being who they are and dressing they way they want to dress. These students are unfairly excluded from restrooms, and various educational and extracurricular activities -- such as physical education and athletic teams -- making it more difficult to succeed academically and graduate with their peers. This law would help transgender youth to feel safe at school and have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in our public education system.

Opponents arguments: Opponents call this law “dangerous” and an “assault on privacy and safety of vulnerable children.” Privacy for All Students, the coalition of citizens and organizations opposed to this law, claim that it “damages kids” and “forces our school children to be exposed in showers and bathrooms to members of the opposite sex who claim a ‘gender identity’ with that sex.”

Staff Recommendation: The Courage Campaign staff fully supports the “School Success and Opportunity Act” that will protect transgender youth from discrimination and bullying in schools. LGBT youth should be treated equally and provided the same educational opportunities as all other students in California’s public schools. If this law were to be delayed or repealed, it will be detrimental to the safety, well-being and success of transgender students in California.

Full Name*:

E-mail *:

ZIP Code*:

---

I endorse Courage Campaign taking on this attack against our transgender students.   Yes No Neutral 

Dasha Shtern Russian Transgender Woman fired because of Putin's anti LGBT Laws commits suicide

A small crowd gathered in Red Square October 19th to hold a vigil for 22 year old Dasha Shtern the first known suicide of a LGBT person that can be directly attributed to Vladimir Putin's anti LGBT laws.
Cross posted from guseinova's blog found at the Association of Russian Lawyers for human rights:
"The action was held on Red Square in Moscow 19 October 2013: the activists gathered on the square in memory of transgender girl Dasha Shtern, who had committed suicide in Ekaterinburg."

on photo: Masha Bast near Kremlin, 19 Octoder 2013, Day of Remembrance: Dasha Shtern 
The organizers said, that originally the event was planned outside the building of the Plenipotentiary representative of the Sverdlovsk region in Moscow, but the character and scale of the tragedy led them to the walls of the Kremlin. The activists lit the candles and laid the  flowers to the portrait of Dasha Stern near Kremlin.

As top-lawyer and human rights defender Masha Bast said , Dasha Stern is the first victim of Vladimir Putin’s “Anti-gay Law”: as Dasha Shtern’s friends reported, she lost work as a municipal employee after signing of the law, she lost the opportunity to repay the hypothecation, the relatives abandoned her.

As Masha Bast stressed, Vladimir Putin had created the system where there is no place for transgender, there is no place for dissidents. Masha Bast considers, that Dasha Shtern is the victim of the indifference of the Russian society.

Remind, October 19 - International Day for TG depathologization, this day there are public events, calling exclude the category "gender dysphoria" and "gender identity disorder" of new versions of diagnostic and statistical manual of the American Psychiatric Association , the International Classification of Diseases, WHO, from national statistical classification and medical guidelines.
www.rusadvocat.com

• guseinova's blog

SexMind's Mcalc Transgender Friendly Gender Neutral Menstruation Calculator

Sex Mind a group that describes itself as a interface between humanity and medical professionals is on Indigo seeking crowd funding for the development of a menstrual cycle app for mobile devices.

Why? With the advent of dads having children why shouldn't we have apps that treat us respectfully?

From the Indego site:

"There is a large amount of people in the world who do not identify with the traditional conception of gender, or who don´t express their gender in the same way as others. A gender neutral app like Mcalc is the perfect alternative for people who menstruate and have a hard time using overly feminized apps, or simply, for people who don´t want their tracking app to assume their gender and their sexual orientation. Aside from that, Mcalc helps to promote the inclusion of the LGBTQA community in the app market , joining plenty of other apps that have been supportive from the start."

Sex Mind has already released a beta version for Android. What bothered me was that I couldn't find a link to that app on their Tmblr or any other sites run by Sexmind. I found it by googling Sexmind  and down loaded the app to my Android.

The App worked the first I used it but then it quit accepting input. Even if it is in Beta thats not too impressive but then nether are the reviews.

Being a trans woman I have never had period but one of my partners did make timing hers my business. And I think its a great idea from my experiences presenting as male. I don't think there are too many manly trans men who would appreciate the flowery designs or being misgendered on the other apps I downloaded.

Its defiantly a idea who's time is due. (pun intended). Maybe the funding will help them have the resources to work the bugs out.

ACT drops Transgender and Intersex people from the marriage equality bill at last moment

The Australian Capital Territory or ACT dropped transgender and intersex people from the territories new same sex marriage law. According to Out in Perth the changes were made so the bill would have a better chance of standing up to the federal government’s promised High Court challenge.

ACT Attorney General Simon Corbell had told the ABC that the government is following the advice of constitutional law experts and provisions for transgender people will be added at a later date.

“We recognise that the views of a number of constitutional experts are that we should put that issue beyond doubt and the terminology that’s applied in our bill.”

“If our bill is upheld we will certainly move at a later date to expand its scope,” Mr Cordell said.

Australian trans and intersex people express their frustration at being excluded at the last moment. Trans Health Australia had this to say about it on facebook:

Options

Trans Health Australia · 892 like this

17 hours ago · 

• It is such a pity that "Gay Marriage Rights in Australia" also fails to change their name, and realise that "GAY MARRIAGE" or "SAME SEX MARRIAGE IS NOT MARRIAGE EQUALITY and now they wonder why the trans* and intersex communities have these types of problems? "
  
  WHERE TO FROM HERE?
  'Separate but equal' is not equal. It shouldn't matter where you live, who you love or what sex you are.
  
  After the bill passes in the ACT tomorrow, thousands of Australian couples will be able to marry their 'same-sex' partner for the first time in the ACT but there will still be couples who are excluded and there will still be couples forced to divorce because of their legal sex status or the sex of their partner. This is not the 'fair go' Australians pride themselves on. This is not 'marriage equality' for Australia. This is 'same-sex marriage' in the ACT. The only way we can achieve full and inclusive marriage equality is to change the Federal Marriage Act. It's important that as we celebrate tomorrow that we remember that and most importantly tell all our family and friends and our Federal politicians.
  
  We will not rest until ALL Australians in ALL states are treated fairly and have the right to marry the person they love and have their love recognised as equal. "No freedom till we're equal. Damn right I support it."

Listen to Professor George Williams, constitutional law expert at the University of New South Wales explain to ABC why he believes these changes challenge proof the law Click here (opens in a MP3 window).

Partying hard, Laid off, Depressed, Dating. Police still clueless about who murdered Texas Transgender woman Artegus Konyale Madden

The Dallas Morning News  used those adjectives to describe my sister Texan Artegus Konyale Madden last days. I will use those same words at great risk of being condemned for not personally knowing this woman.

I do know that I live only miles away and in the same country as she did.

If the Dallas News article acutely describes how she lived her last days what is the take away. We must hold ourselves in high esteem not allowing ourselves to become to dependent on how others view us. Be careful of how and where we date. And it is my conviction its our responsibility to others and ourselves to let a potential romantic interest know if we have had any anatomical alignment surgeries, or not.

They haven't even found the bullet which ended her life. The police even admitted there were a lot of  unanswered questions.

The sad truth is as time passes unless there is a break in the case most of our murdered become a static remembered on the TDOR then put into the back of our minds.

Her obituary in the Longview Journal made no mention of her trans status repeatably misgendered her in contrast to the woman in the obits picture.

If you have any information on the case, contact Denton County Sheriff’s Office investigator Donn Britt at 940-349-1667.

Pacific Justice Institute makes yet another blundering attack against Florence high school's transgender student

WMD interviewed Matthew McReynolds staff attorney at the right wing "Pacific Justice Institute" (PJI) which claims to represent students at Florence High School about alleged peer objections to a transgender student's access to public accommodations.

The interviewer was eager to nail down some specifics about what legal actions the PJI was taking against the trans girl. But all he was given was the same song and dance that we read in PJI's second backpedaling press release which was published immediately following TransAdvocate's Cristan Williams interview with the District School superintendent.

McReynolds stated  "if there wasn't something to this the school wouldn't be conducting a law enforcement investigation which is what their doing"' suggesting they were looking to prosecute the transgender student.

Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti made it clear in her interview with Cristan Williams the ones who would be made being legally accountable were those who were propagating these lies targeting their transgender student.

Who is this child?  Cristan Williams at the Transadvocate speaks with her mom and gives her the space to speak as well.



Please read Cristans incredible article on the Transadvocate.

McReynolds stated that Colorado law was vague on public accommodations and that there intent was to test it. The law in Colorado states very clearly  that Places of public accommodation may not deny any person participation, entry, or services based upon the person’s sexual orientation, including transgender status.

The PJI has no evidence, no clients and no case at this time, only objecting to what they consider behaviour that is 'inherently harassing' when a transgender student uses the restroom.

In other words they are fabricating untruths and creating a condition in which a transgender high school student faces increased prejudice, discrimination and the inherent accompanying violence.

McReynolds said that we transgender activists, 'talk out of both sides of our mouths' by insisting that we have protections under Title IV and  Title VII only because of the way we 'interpret it'.  In fact courts  have recently repeatedly upheld provisions protecting transgender and gender nonconforming people under both Title IV and Title VII



We've come a long ways baby.



Featuring two-time Olympian and Yale rower, Chris Ernst, who galvanized her rowing team to protest the substandard conditions facing female athletes in the 1970s. On a cold rainy day in 1976, Ernst led her teammates to the athletic director's office, where they stripped, baring bodies emblazoned with the phrase TITLE IX in blue marker. This event rocketed around the globe, leaving an indelible imprint on the nation in terms of what gender equity really meant. Directed by Mary Mazzio.

The Center for Transgender Equality Gender non conforming and transgender students Your Rights At School

Philippines Viral hit "That's my Tomboy" reclaiming defamation or network profiteering?

The Association of Transgenders in the Philippines posted this comment about Yahoo OMG post "Can ‘That’s My Tomboy’ raise equal rights? Almost but not quite, says activist:
"....it's noticeable that ABS CBN have been releasing news and feature articles about transgender people with incorrect pronouns.
We just hope that the launch of That's My Tomboy was to promote the rights of people with non-conforming gender instead of making them a laughingstock while it rakes king's ransom to the network's coffer."



Being totally ignorant I found this in Wiki: about "Tomboy"

"In the Philippines, the term gay is used in reference to any LGBT person. For Filipino gays, the Tagalog phrase paglaladlad ng kapa ("unfurling the cape"), or more commonly just paglaladlad ("unfurling" or "unveiling") refers to the coming-out process. Tibo, T-Bird and tomboy are derogatory terms for butch lesbians just as bakla is for effeminate gay men. Some lesbians, both butch and femme, use the terms magic or shunggril to refer to themselves. Neutral slang terms for gay men include billy boy, badette, bading, and paminta (straight-acting gay man)."

"While many of these terms are generally considered derogatory, they are sometimes used casually or jokingly within the Filipino gay and lesbian community. For example, gay men often refer to their gay friends as bakla when talking to each other."

There was a conflagration within the US trans community about the word 'tranny' that tore at the fabric of our community. A survey albeit unscientific, showed most trans people found the word offensive. Since that debate the "T" word has been generally accepted as defamation. I am curious if "Tomboy" is the same as "tranny" in that regard.

planetransgender has a growing number of visitors from the Philippines. Please share with the planet how you feel about this.

Florence Colorado Transgender student singled out again

The second day I begun my current job I was told about a rumor that was seen using the men's room. It was devastating to me this being the first full time job I had since beginning transition four years before. That rumor cut me so deeply since I had worked as a cashier for years at the Walmart just a few miles away in that small town. Whenever I entered a restroom or existed a stall for months afterward there was utter silence. People would star at my crotch. Whole tables would get up if I sat down at the lunch room.

I brought this to the management's attention and ended up with a department wide meeting that only served to spread that rumor. That was two years ago. Now I am more or less accepted. I have received over three dollars a hour in raises and am looking forward to my next advancement.

But for a young person with no previous life experiences to fall back on these rumors started by Pacific Justice Institute and amplified by Fox Nation are life threatening. The latest 'press release' from the PJI makes no mention of the child specifically but tries to reframe their intent with a wider brush. Curiously there was no mention of 'harassment' in there latest statement only a promise to bring wittiness forward. Again.

Trigger warning! The following video suggests that a transgender student is at fault.

The talking head begins with "Florance high school students say they are uncomfortable with sharing there bathroom with a transgender student." but this statement is not backed up by any of the students. It is a rumor. One propagated by the PJI.



Cristan Williams debunking the PJI lies.



Further exposing lies and rumors a excellent article cross posted from the HRC Blog:

Colorado School District Defends Transgender Students’ Rights

October 17, 2013 by Maureen McCarty, HRC Senior Digital Strategist

Earlier this week, conservative media outlets, including Fox Nation, circulated now debunked reports that bolstered a bigoted campaignagainst a transgender student at Colorado's Florence High School.

To its credit, school administrators have defended both the school’s policy and the transgender student victimized by extremist attacks.

“This is one parent basically bringing their view point about this situation to the media because they weren’t getting the responses that they hoped they would get from parents, from students at the high school or from the board and myself, “said Florence High School Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti in an interview with The Transadvocate’s Cristan Williams, who uncovered the truth behind conservative media reports.

Superintendent Vendetti continued, "I think it’s just an attempt to elevate the situation to a point where maybe some more attention can be drawn to that in the hope of having a different outcome. There’s not been any incident of harassment or anything that would cause additional concern.”

The Colorado Education Association has also come out in support of Florence High School and the student. The CEA has been working with local affiliates on issues important to LGBT youth and their families, including professional development for educators.

“Our promise to our students is that the Colorado Education Association will lead the way in guaranteeing every student access to the best public education," said CEA President Kerrie Dallman. "As educators we all have a responsibility to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student.  No excuses.”

In August, California passed legislation – the first of its kind – to protect transgender students from this exact form of bullying.

The School Success and Opportunity Act (AB1266) addresses the exclusion of transgender students from classes and activities to ensure all students are provided the same opportunities.  

Under this law, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed on August 12, California public schools must honor the students’ gender identity and expression, including the ability to use the appropriate bathroom.

The discriminatory National Organization for Marriage and other extremists have fought this effort – and any attempt protect transgender rights – using scare tactics around “privacy” and fictional stories of harassment like this one.   

HRC applauds Cristan Williams for debunking the media reports and the Colorado school district for continuing its efforts to provide a welcoming learning environment for all students. 

For more resources on creating learning environments that allow all students to thrive, check out HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schoolsproject and the upcoming Time to Thrive conference.