8/4/11
Dallas Protest of Rick Perry's Prayer Event. ALL are Welcome!
Protest Gov. Rick Perry's Inappropriate and Hateful Prayer Rally
Dallas, Texas, August 6, 2011 — This is a peaceful demonstration in front of Dallas City Hall, from 10:00am - 5:00pm, to protest "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," an event initiated, endorsed, and promoted by Texas Governor Rick Perry and the American Family Association.
For those who are not yet aware of the AFA's attitude on gays, please experience this:
Anyone who values the separation of Church and State is welcome to join-- non-theists, non-Christians, Christians. Please be aware that we are NOT trying to convert or mock anybody's religion. We are also not trying to prevent the prayer event from happening. If it doesn't happen, we will have no picket. This is about a picket, not an effort to stop an event from happening.
Four reasons to protest:
1. The event itself is being promoted by Gov. Perry in his official capacity as an elected official.
2. Gov. Perry has repeatedly and proudly violated church/state separation on several issues, all throughout his time as our governor.
3. The prayer event is being endorsed by the American Family Association, which is considered to be a hate group. Lately, the AFA has thrown out so much hate speech against gays, Muslims and state/church separationists.
4. I don't believe that any of the other 49 states' governors, whom Perry invited to his rally, are as devoted to flaunting their disregard for the diversity in their respective states' populations. This is while our state budget is in a mess, public education is underfunded, and our most popular politicians are riding on a wave of popularity, such that they can easily avoid any responsibility for explaining themselves and their actions to the public.
For more information about this demonstration, please contact Jessica Chong (817) 495–3993 or
MarySue Foster (972) 741–1592 or e-mail us at fedupwithperry@yahoo.com.
Also, visit our : Facebook event page
Thomas Beatie Opens Stockholm Pride Talks of His Child Bearing, Family and Love
NY Marriage Equality, now What? Empire State Pride Agenda Wants You to tell Them
I know there's a lot of anger after being left behind so long but we have a ally and New Yorker Transgender peeps its up to you to light the fire.
Empire State Pride Agenda proved they can get it done with marriage equality and now they are asking for your story. Your guidance.
Email there transgender rights organizer, Christopher Argyros, at cargyros@prideagenda.org.
Are they honestly going to push as hard for trans rights as they have for gay issues? There's only one way to find out. Get involved.
Pride Agenda.org Transgender Civil Rights
8/3/11
Rick Perry Lone Ride out of Politics on the Third Rail to the AFA Day of Hate
The Third rail of Hate.
As noted by the Times Record News of Wichita Falls Texas Governor Rick Perry political gamble that others would embrace hate disguised as Christianity has failed.
No one disputed Mr. Perry's right to pray, it is the company that he chooses to keep that offends. At least that's the sentiment of most Americans and the overwhelming majority of politicians.
The "response' event has only confirmed 10% of the seating available at Reliant Stadium.
Only Kansas Governor Brownback and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana of the 49 governors invited have agreed to ride with Perry on this Third Rail. This is in despite of Perry's invitation and political muscle having been the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2009.
Even Perry has downplayed and backpedaled his involvement a fact not unnoticed by the AFA. Obviously becoming aware of the political suicide by association with the AFA Perry has distanced himself saying he may not speak and may only usher at the event. How humble. How ridiculous! Christs love is not political expediency or populism.
There are many third rails, and the lord knows as a Christian transgender woman I am a rider on many, I pray I will never buy a ticket on the rail to hate.
Years ago I joined with Soulforce to visit one of the "response" pastors John Hagee, trying to bring Christs message of radicaly inclusive love to his Cornerstone Church.
Even though we have made a substantial impact its not time for Texans to rest on our laurels. We must take to the streets in Houston on the 6th. Lets make sure other would be political hate mongers know where riding that third rail will take them.
8/1/11
Transgender Cleansing on Social Media Facebook and Google+ You may be next
Most of us free to do so online and remain blissfully unaware of any ramifications.
Until now.
Katie Glover the transgender editor of Frock magazine was deleted Facebook for allegedly using a "Fake" profile. Many ask 'why is we have never heard of this happening before?'
Well, you are hearing about it now! I am outspoken advocate (loudmouth) and have never had a close personal friend who also happens to be my editor deleted before! Maybe as suggested by other transgender people, this has happened before, but the victims just disappeared.
So I asked my friends as a birthday wish to tag me in a facebook with pictures like the one to the right.
Why can't we pretend its not happening? After all I'm still on facebook asks Ima Anione?
Just like cisgender womankind, transgender woman can be some of the hardest to convince of our vulnerability and the requirement of action.
A timely example of this is TransDIYer's (left) Youtube slamming me for my simple birthday wish while embracing ignorance pandering to those who would embrace her faux brand of populist activism. Just for the record TransDIYer followers, by her own admission, she repeatedly
"I have a hard time believing that this is a a real issue. I hate frivilous BS"- TransDIYer-Youtube rant.
But TransDIYer's screed does beg a valid question, if this is real and not some "friviolious BS" from some attention starved peep why haven't we already heard about it?
No one wants to acknowledge it's happening.
The sad fact is woman both cisgender and transsexuals are equally capable of being dismissively misogynistic and even cruelly inhumane to there own gender.
"Transgender cleansing" is a new social construct and the idea that Transgender cleansing could or is happening is naturally further buried in media's patriarchal hierarchy.
But in truth on a devastating level it is happening now in Sweden where it is law transgender people must me sterilized prior to sexual organ alignment surgery.
Defining "transgender cleansing". Lets further our understanding of ethnic and sexual cleansing to include the ongoing social media cleansing of the gender diverse.
Now on to Facebook and Google Plus.
Google plus TOS requires all to requires you "use your full first and last name in a single language." Failure to do so makes you subject to deletion.
Facebook TOS 1.You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
Nowhere do ether TOS state or imply Transgender people may self identify or are exempt from these rules.
Jillian York's excellent article A Case for Pseudonyms explores our marginalization and potential for apparent arbitrary deletion as she writes: "Nevertheless, policies requiring "real" names are nearly impossible to enforce at scale, and as several examples have demonstrated, enforcement tends to be skewed against individuals who are well-known or have enemies, a result of community reporting mechanisms."
So why was Katie Glover's profile deleted at that moment?
Perhaps it happened because she choose to make a social statement and stand up for us?
Just prior to her deletion Katie published an in depth interview with Peter Tatchell in FROCK about the injustices being done to the LGBT Moscow Pride participants.
Perhaps my "Grass Roots" interview of Russian gender queer Anno Komarov about his trials as a leader of that same Russian Pride upset the Russian government so much they used their political muscle to push Katie off facebook!
I know the morning Katie sent me the email about her deletion my profile had been suspended for a couple of hours. Maybe facebook was checking me out, however I being a minority among us I enjoy the benefit of using my legal name.
Kelli Anne Busey. Gender: Female. You can look it up.
Fantasy? No, its not. That same thing has happened to me a few years ago. planetransgender was deleted by google after I exposed the correlation between the public revelation of Congressman Barney Franks 10 year rent boy relationship and his first utterance of the transphobic phrase describing transgender people as "men with penis's in the ladies room". It was obvious to me he was using our lives to deflect interest and condemnation of his young prostitute/boyfriend.
And I did piss him and his ilk off!
The only thing that saved planetransgender was a fellow blogger called NG. He asked why enough and one day a few weeks later my blog mysteriously appeared although sans the article about Franks.
So it happens. You are asking what can I do about it. You are saying to yourself if I remain silent and invisible no one will notice. Maybe like TransDIYer pointed out there are drag queens and nothing has happened to them. Well nothing against drag queens but how many do you know that are making a public statement other than to say hey look at me I got ladies undies on? I know of one or two. They too, like you will be overlooked until the time when "there is no one else for them to come for."
So, Facebook and Google are not transgender inclusive. What can we do?
For one you can talk about it. Whether you agree or not our conversation elevates our concerns to cisgender ears. And you can be proactive:
There is a reason 40,000 people have joined the NCTE cause Tell Facebook to recognize transgender people. Many of those who joined that cause are aware of the consequences should if we continue not being allowed to self identify.
You can sign and share the Change.org petition Tell Facebook You are NOT a Transgender FAKER!
Working on Facebook is not a answer to this problem, They just ignore you.
I started a facebook event eventually leading to the creation of TransAction ConVergence calling on Facebook to Include Transgender in Profile Options". We eventually had over 20,000 participants and I was sure we would be considered in the changes they were initiating at that time. They ignored us and as you can tell by clicking the plancast link the event is no longer available for viewing. I did not cancel it and unlike all the other previous TransAction ConVergence events, it was not archived.
Believe this! Gender cleansing on social media is real, its happening and we must stop it.
Gun Hill Road Papi Esai Morales on CBS "The Talk"
CBS The Talk hosted Esai Morales who's latest film “Gun Hill Road”, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green will premier Aug 5th in LA and NYC. “Gun Hill Road” is a drama based on a true story, which explores the dynamic in a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx when its father, played by Esai, returns home from prison after a 3-year absence and discoverer's that his child who he thought of as his son when he left, is now his daughter.
7/30/11
Gun Hill Road Director and Actors True Transgender Metal
"What sets this movie apart is it has transgender actors playing transgender roles" Erick explains "but this hasn't always been true."
Indeed there have been a multitude of cisgender actors cast in movies which misrepresented and in some cases where problematic for transgender and transsexual people.
Gun Hill Roads transgender lead actress Harmony Santana a NYC native was precisely who director was looking for. He understood from experience trying to cast cisgender gay actors there was a intangible ingredient missing. He learned from trial and error he needed a sister who shares our road less traveled and finding Ms. Santana was a gift from above! She was early in transition having come up the hard way still living in a homeless shelter for LGBT youth even as the movie was being filmed living the experience.
And complementing the metal of the movie is the NYT author's grasp on our issues as he as he explores the results that drag and exploative movies have had on the Transsexual and Transgender community by interviewing another well know transgender actress Laverne Cox.
My heart went to my throat as the author's article went further examining transgender roles by interviewing Israel Luna director of the movie "Ticked Off Tra##ys With Knives" which was intensely protested by the transsexual and transgender community.
It is a sad commentary that TO#WK movie would be held as a standard for transgender movies but in truth Erik did us a solid in contrasting that movies problematic senseless violent exploitation of transgender people with the true transsexual metal Gun Hill Road.
Hopefully in the future we will see many more movies like Gun Hill Road on our shared road less traveled.
Read the NYT article in full HERE.
7/27/11
Washington Blade article: Dear Moms So Sad your Daughter was killed Where the Tranny Whores Hang out
The Washington Blades intent was to ignore the local poor transgender community and maliciously stigmatize us "out of state bloggers" as the enemy of equality, undesirable and unworthy. We were the only voice against gay oppression of trans people then and well, he's at it again.
Now they might have just as well called a slain transgender sister a whore in the same article they documented the mourning of her family and mother.
And the DC Trans Coalition is pissed. They are calling for fair minded people to respond with there article Fighting Biased Reporting After Tragedy
"Like many of you, we’re still reeling from last week’s tragic killing of Lashai Mclean. We were then especially appalled when we reviewed The Washington Blade’s coverage of the vigil held in Lashai’s memory, in which the reporter suggests — based on no evidence other than location — that Lashai was engaging in sex work at the time of her death."They are asking for members to write and call the Washington Blade editor and express your dismay.
Kevin Naff
Editor, The Washington Blade
knaff@washblade.com
7/26/11
Video: Ashley Love takes over NAACP LGBT Town Hall "Sorry for the Misrepresentation of Trans people".
NAACP LGBT Town Hall Los Angeles CA: Activist Ashley commandeers the microphone after sending this mobile upload telling us "Wow, CNN's Don Lemon just said transsexual and transgender people are really just "gay" and are the "same thing as gay". Unbelievable!"
Don Lemon (far right) obviously aghast at having his gay assimulist patriarchal misrepresentation of transsexuals blown up by Ashley looks on at NAACP's former director Julian Bond in horror as to say HEY I thought it was an unspoken agreement, no transsexuals or dogs?
Ashley is humble in victory latter telling us "Julian Bond was kind and fair enough to let me speak at the end, though Don Lemon interrupted me and made excuses for his misinformation."
This episode of transsexual educating gays would have been completely unnecessary had the transgenders communities request for a transsexual panel member been heeded. Instead, it was this adacious act of advocacy that saved the day.
Ashley on her facebook page explained her frustration "Its amazing that Don Lemon, a man who"s been out for only a few months, has the audacity to tell me, a woman who has been seeing a doctor about her transsexual & intersex condition for FIFTEEN YEARS, who I am, & that I'm the "same thing as gay". Sorry Don, women like me are not here to drag impersonate singers on a gay club's stage for you to laugh at. I'm a woman, deal with it. And stop the miseducation, its harmful."
7/24/11
NAACP Holds First Lesbian Gay Town Hall Without a SINGLE Black Transgender Panelist!
Transgender and Bi community beware. You have been excluded from presenting as a panelist at the first ever LG(bt) NAACP conference despite concerted efforts by our sisters of color.
The NAACP is committing the same crimes perpetrated against us, not with physical violence but by dismissing us and ignoring our sisters as they attempted to stand up and be counted! Just like the police do.
Black transgender people are being slaughtered. Police ignore us. The NAACP ignores us.
A REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL COALITION OF ANTI-VIOLENCE PROGRAMS found in comparision to cisgender Lesbian and Gay people that 44% of LGBTQH murder victims were transgender women, transgender people of color were 2 times as likely to experience assault, 1.5 times more likely to experience intimidation, were almost 2.5 times more likely to experience discrimination.
Transgender survivors experienced higher rates of serious injuries (11.8%) and that 75% of transgender men and 20% of transgender women did not receive needed medical attention for their injuries compared with a overall avg of 15% of Lesbian and Gay people.
Transgender women were the least likely to report to police. 25.4% of transgender women did not make a report. Transgender people of color reported higher rates of indifferent police attitudes. 48.3% of transgender people of color reported that police attitudes were indifferent, compared with 7.7% of non-transgender white survivors.
Police were more likely to arrest offenders when survivors were gay non-transgender men. People who identified as gay, largely gay non-transgender men, made up 69% of the total amount of people whose offender was arrested.
Non-transgender men were majority of offenders (NOTE: sexuality of offenders NOT defined). Non-transgender men were 76.1% of offenders in 2010, and 23.8% of offenders were non-transgender women. There was only one transgender hate violence offender recorded in 2010 (0.1%).
Who's committing these crimes? The demographic speaking for us and assimilating our culture at the NAACP Gay town hall!!
7/21/11
Candlelight Vigil for murdered transgender woman of color Lashai McLean
Yet another transgender woman of color slain.
A candlelight vigil will be held at Saturday, July 23 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the corner of 61st and Dix street NE.
From the facebook vigil page:
"Unfortunately, yet another senseless act of cruelty against a member of the LGBT community has happened again in DC. This time the victim was identified as 23 year old Lashai McLean of Northeast, DC.Facebook Vigil page.
McLean was gunned down on the 6100 block of Dix Street, NE in the early morning hours. There was a second person with her, but all accounts have this person escaping the attack. Police state that they are still trying to determine a ...motive. However, the LGBT community believes that the attack was based off of the fact that McLean identified as a transgender woman.
McLean was highly active within the LGBT community. She spent many days on the premises of Transgender Health Empowerment (T.H.E.) and was known by most of the staff. It is coincidental that the site of her murder was in the same neighborhood T.H.E's Wanda Alston House.
Mayor Vincent Gray issued a press release which condemned the murder of a member of the LGBT community. He also was quoted as saying "if the investigation concludes that this shooting was the result of bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity, MPD and my administration will work with this community to see that there is an appropriate response to this kind of violence, which cannot be tolerated."
A candlelight vigil will be held at the corner of 61st and Dix street, NE on Saturday, July 23rd at 7:00 PM. Please come out and pay your respects to this young woman lost. This event is being organized by Transgender Health Empowerment."
The DCTC press release
7/16/11
Interactive World Map Showing Transgender Murders Since 2008
Click the map to open another window for the interactive map.
To the casual observer it would appear transgender people must have it pretty good in Russia and other places. This is because in those countries transgender murders go unreported.
link to the interactive map
7/15/11
Reading the Vancouver Pride Guide I could not find the word transgender or transsexual. Gay, queer, lesbian and drag out the ying-yang but transgender was not mentioned. Not even once.
This fact has has not escaped the notice of a outspoken transgender Vancouver resident, Tami Starlite, who then organized a "Trans Celebration & Liberation March"in protest of trans exclusion by the Vancouver Gay pride.
Seemingly ignorant of the Vancouver Gay Pride's elitist's dismissive exclusionary assimilation and of the transgender community Scott Blythe, general manager of the VPS when informed of the separate transgender event announced a transgender BBQ would be held. And what better place to show hide your solidarity with the transgender community than to have the BBQ inside the premise of the VPS offices!
Blyth told straight.com “We wanted to provide some sort of framework and some support for the trans community, to say, ‘We want to show that visibility’—on their our terms, not on our their terms,” Blythe said by phone.
Tami was vivid about this. She replied to my inquiry:
"The BBQ is more tokenism. People do not understand that by definition we are not part of mainstream society. GrrrrrOWL! We should not be - as I stated in my reply to the article. PRIDE has a history and it is all political and
VERY personal. I have a great admiration to those who do not work within the system. The
system is patriarchy....capitalist and very ...unequal. Enough of giving this shit show our energy.....time to move forward as a society....stagnate as we wallow in our privilege. Shame on the Gay & Lesbian community for allowing the trans and bi people to be token and erased.!!!!"
It may be just as well because transgender people might not have been allowed to march under there sign anyways. It seems any signage slightly political in nature will be a No NO.
Cross posted from The Transexual Menace
Kelli Busey PodCast on Forward Blitz Radio talks about Rick Perry AFA Day of Prayer
In response to The Response, a protest will be staged - bet on it. Our guest on Monday will be Kelli Anne Busey, a journalist for Planetransgender and one of the organizers of this protest.
7/14/11
Rachael's Cafe Just a little place in Indiana free of Prejudice
Why this play?
RACHAEL’s CAFÉ is first and foremost an intelligent, daring and entertaining piece of theatre, that brings to the theatregoing public a normally taboo subject in a refreshing and enlightening manner.
One thing that this play shows so clearly is that no matter how different some people may look or seem to us, our needs, our fears and our dreams are just the same.
With your support we hope to give the GLBT community an accessible platform to increase public awareness and understanding of Transgenders, gender dysphoria etc.
Rachael's Cafe - The Play
7/13/11
ARE YOU A FACEBOOK TRANSGENDER NAME FAKER? Your account may be suspended too!
Is Facebook engaging in gender cleansing? The editor of Frock Magazine and founder of Gender Society believes she is a victim of Gender Cleansing!
You may know my editor, a trans woman by the name of Katie Glover? Well, her personal Facebook account was disabled on July 12th 2011. After inquiring as to why Facebook informed her by email she she was kicked off because she is a "faker" for not using her "real" name presumably meaning the name on her birth certificate! Whats more, there appears no way for Katie to contest her being deleted!
Not using your legal name? Then you might also see this next time you try and log on to Facebook:
Katie posted this on the Gender society forum this morning:
"July 13, 2011 10:28:23 AM BST
I tried to post a status update yesterday evening and discovered that I was logged out of Facebook. Upon attempting to log in I received a message that said my account had been disabled. The reason given was that I was a faker because I had not used my real name. They didn't mention my birth certificate but they obviously meant that I had not used my official male name (ie the one on my birth certificate).
No warning was given and there was no way to appeal. In fact, I could not find any way of contacting Facebook at all.
I have done nothing wrong. My only crime is being a TG person. It took me years to build up all the contacts I had on Facebook and I used it every day to communicate with them as part of my work for this community and also for Frock Magazine. Losing Facebook is akin to losing my hard drive and everything on it. This is yet another serious blow for me and I'm not happy.
However, it could just be the thin end of the wedge. I would guess that the vast, vast majority of TG people who have Facebook accounts use their femme name rather than their male name. What are the implications of this for them? This action raises a lot of questions...
Have Facebook set a precedent by kicking me out?
Will we now see the bulk cleansing from Facebook of all trans people who refuse to use their male names?
Does this mean that Facebook is transphobic?
Have they just declared war on the worldwide trans community?
Over to you...
Hugs, Katie x
This post was edited by Katie Glover at July 13, 2011 10:28:23 AM BST"
As we all are aware many trans people do not use the name on our birth certificates. Many of use use pseudonyms or preferred names on facebook. Its just part of the transitional experience. Some find ourselves unable to transition past a certain point, some are happy at a transitional point that does not include legal name changes.
These are personal reasons and not are not offensive or illegal!
Take Action!
Join the Facebook page demanding they reinstate Katie Glover's personal account!
Sign the Change.org petition telling Facebook to reinstate Katie's facebook account.
7/11/11
Half Hour Drama Latino Trans Teen Caught Between. Kick Start THIS!
Love, adolescent hormones, church, family, politics and a trans persons NEED to BE Real.
What is Chris/tina? A Idea. A dream. A KickStarter project about OUR world that needs OUR money to become OUR lives for others to know!
From first time film maker Jorge Ortiz: Registered and copyrighted, "Chris/tina" is a scripted, half-hour dramedy series that I've created and developed.
"A teenage twin living in a machismo, middle-class thinking, Catholic based Latin neighborhood with his college all-American athlete brother and his politically ambitious mother is caught between the expectations of that world and with who he really is inside...a woman."
Help make this real by contributing to this KickStarter project.
Kelli Busey on Rick Perry AFA Prayer Meeting >>> The Blitz 7:00 PM Central
Source forward blitz: On August 6th, Governor Rick Perry will be holding a prayer event called The Response. Now...we don't care that a bunch of fundamentalists are getting together to pray for the country - that's the freedom that makes us unique. What we DO care about is the fact that he has teamed up with the American Family Association and a bunch of bigoted hateful people who are anti-gay and anti-every other religion.
In response to The Response, a protest will be staged - bet on it. Our guest on Monday will be Kelli Anne Busey, a journalist for Planetransgender and one of the organizers of this protest.
From Kelli's blog:
Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists, atheists, liberals, and LGBT people, the AFA says YOU are NOT invited to pray with Texas Governor Rick Perry!
This is a clip from an AFA email explicitly disinviting all non Christians from the religious and political process.
"This is an explicitly Christian event because we are going to be praying to the one true God through His son, Jesus Christ. It would be idolatry of the worst sort for Christians to gather and invite false gods like Allah and Buddha and their false prophets to be with us at that time. Because we have religious liberty in this country, they are free to have events and pray to Buddha and Allah on their own. But this is time of prayer to the One True God, through His son Jesus Christ, who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life."
You can bet that Dennis, Nicole, and Kelli will have a lot to say about Governor Rick, those attending, and those excluded.
Listen on line at blogtalkradio.com/forwardblitz
The number to call is 424-675-8317 - join in the conversation, show your support, or just tell us how outraged you really are.
Some say we are radicals, leftists, communists, socialists, and anti-American because we believe in social justice, taking care of those less-fortunate, universal or single-payer health-care and the protection of human rights. But, as the radical right imposes its agenda upon the people of this country, we know that what we stand for is not only right - but the only thing that will stop the demise of the United States of America.
7/9/11
GUN HILL ROAD the BEST Transgender FILM you may ever SEE!
Source: imdb.com Starring Esai Morales (La Bamba, "Caprica") and Judy Reyes ("Scrubs"), and introducing Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road will open theatrically on August 5, 2011.
SYNOPSIS: After three years in prison, Enrique (Esai Morales) returns home to the Bronx to find the world he knew has changed. His wife, Angela (Judy Reyes), struggles to hide an emotional affair, and his teenage son, Michael (Harmony Santana), explores a sexual transformation well beyond Enrique's grasp and understanding.
Unable to accept his child, Enrique clings to his masculine ideals while Angela attempts to hold the family together by protecting Michael. Still under the watchful eye of his parole officer (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), Enrique must become the father he needs to be or, once again, risk losing his family and freedom.
Can a fathers fierce love for his family overcome his street-hardened ideas about manhood and end the vicious cycle controlling his life? Writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Greens first feature film is an intricate portrait of a family divided told with sensitivity, gentle humor, and a deep understanding of the environment that shapes its people.