Facing Mirrors: The Paradox of Being Trans in Iran

Source The Guardian (link below):One of the many astonishing paradoxes about life in the Islamic republic is that transsexuality has been legal since a fatwa was issued in 1987 by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Indeed, Iran permits more sex-change operations than any other country, except Thailand, and has long subsidised such surgeries. But, though transsexuals may have the support of the government, they remains highly controversial figures among the public.



Des Buford, Director of Exhibition & Programming at Frameline, spoke with FACING MIRRORS director Negar Azarbayjani and producer Fereshteh Taerpour. (6/18/2012)



Directed By:Negar Azarbayjani
Produced by: Fereshteh Taerpour
Starring:Shayesteh Irani - Ghazal Shakeri - Homayoun Ershadi - Nima Shahrokh Shahi - Maryam Boubani - Saber Abar - Hengameh Ghazian

The religious ruling (allowing SRS) was issued thanks to the activities in the 1980s of Maryam Khatoon Molkara, a campaigner for the rights of transsexuals in Iran, who wrote to Khomeini asking him to determine their fate. Molkara had herself previously been a man, and worked for the state TV before the Islamic revolution in 1979. In the mid-70s, she started to write to Khomeini, who was in exile, asking for religious authorisation for a sex-change operation. In 1987, after a decade of campaigning, she went in person to the home of Khomeini, by then the country's supreme leader, and came back with a fatwa in hand that allowed transsexuals to choose their sex. More at The Guardian

A few years ago while Iran was still accessible via the Internet I became engrossed with the human struggle inside the country. Sadly after the Green Revolution began the goverment responded to closing the electronic border effectively isolating Iran from the world. This movie is a watershed for transgender people as it gives us a look behind this Islamic curtain.

KOMO Seattle Spearheads Attack On Evergreen College Trans Student

The right wing is on the offensive and Komo Seattle, a mainstream media source, is showcasing it with this misgendering misinformational 'news' video.

KOMO has done more that compromise its integrity, they have become the bigot.

At issue is a transgender woman right to use public accommodations as provided by law.



This might come as a surprise to Joseph Backholm. According to a poll I conducted following the original story, asking whether its OK to sauna with minors the vast majority placed the needs of the children above all else, regardless.

Fifty percent said no, not under any circumstance, thirty percent thought if the law provides for it AND privacy can be assured they felt it was OK. The remaining responded yes, if it was lawful.

Clearly the vast majority of trans people are in agreement with Joseph Backholm on that count. If this trans person was in fact exposing her original plumbing to minors it would have been unacceptable.

But there are only allegations of this gross impropriety, yet to be determined in a court of law. And that takes us back to the KOMO story.

This may very well be the worst anti transgender 'news' report, ever found in mainstream media. The disembodied sound bites from the University spokesman never expressed dismay at following the law, but they were were presented as such by KOMO. The video was edited so sound bites seemingly attributed to parents were in fact the voice of leader of the virulently anti LGBT group, the Family Policy Institute of Washington.

The reporter shaking her head in disgust, stated they hadn't been able to 'track down' the trans woman, as if tracking a predator. Evidently despite their best skills at tracking, they were unable to hunt down any of the parents either.

The framing of the KOMO 'news' article is symptomatic of transphobic reporting found in lesser 'conservitive' Faux News reports, blogs and right wing radio all which in a seemingly concerted effort have launched this simultaneous attack to convict this trans woman for simply exercising her rights under the law.

Voted Today For The First Time!

I just voted, see my sticker! Yes, and for the first time. I registered last presidential election but was dissuaded by a very official letter.

It said the my name and gender marker didn't match with federal records. I was afraid that I would further complicate my life by answering that letter. So I didn't vote, but this year...

I took my narrow self down to the county voter registration center and made the lady give me exactly what I needed to change my home from Dallas County to Tarrant county.

Then I waited for my registration card, and waited and waited. Didn't come so I called them up and inserted my foot into a apologetic ear and I got TWO registration cards ASAP in the mail.

I voted for Obama. He signed a decree directing Social Security to stop sending my employer a letter demanding them to explain why I was female but their records showed me as male.

Ohio won't amend my birth certificate bless there hearts. So thanks to Obama I am at least working again, albeit at half what I was before transition.

Now if the democrats would stop sending a 'record' asking, no make that demanding I send them money because I did last election.

Wonder if they'd come and pay my electricity and gas bill this month because its going to be tight.

But it beats the hell out of living on the streets, again.

Go Obama!

Video WOW:1st Brazilian Transsexual Beauty Contest

Brazilian Transsexual Beauty Contest: Advocacy or Meatlocker?

Nineteen contestants compete in Rio de Janeiro for the title of "Miss T Brasil", the country's first transsexual beauty pageant. But this pageant seemed odd since there have been over 100 trans people murdered in Brazil since January of this year according to Keila Simpson, president of the National Counsel to Combat Discrimination of the Secretary of Human Rights to the President of Brazil. So after reading the myriad  of mainstream media articles I wanted to see for my self.

Advocacy or a slab of meat. For your consideration....

East Aurora School Board Acts Out Transphobicly

In what could only be seen as stereotypical reaction to attempts to make safe schools for transgender people the East Aurora school board has taken the following actions:

All but dismissed the board member who introduced the trans protective measures.

Formed a new committee to consider new anti bullying rules, but one explicitly devoid of rules protecting transgender people.

They justified this backsliding with the same reasons I have heard given time and time again while personally advocating for transgender protections.

The protections would 'cost too much' to implement.

The protections would infringe on cisgender students.

There were warned of potential legal ramifications.

Their lawyers needed time to establish criteria defining whom exactly transgender people are.

And the very worst reason of all...

Their are only maybe one or two out of the thousands of students who identify as transgender and after all, we haven't heard any complaints from them.

God. Its because they are terrified, silent afraid, closeted, desperate and near suicidal!

the East Aura School mirrors Mitt Romney's anti transgender actions in Massachusetts except he had the cojones to come out and give the real reasons:

"....May 11, 2006, when Romney decided, out of the blue, to shut down the Governor's Commission on Gay & Lesbian Youth, established by Republican Gov. Bill Weld a decade earlier to address LGBT youth suicide and strengthened by Weld's successor, Republican Gov. Paul Cellucci, to support a broad array of anti-violence and anti-bullying work. Beth Myers, Romney's chief of staff (and today a senior aide), called the chair of the commission, Kathleen Henry, and told her that Romney was issuing an executive order "revoking our existence" because he was offended by the use of the word "transgender" on letterhead where his name was on the sidebar. She told Henry that Romney would replace it with a commission focused on all the state's youth, and that they'd replace all the members of the commission."

Romney's hate is more important to him than our lives.


Source: Webz.org

Sandra Conti is a mental health therapist who has lived in Aurora for seventeen years. Her son, who is transgender, goes to school in Aurora in District 204, which is east of District 131 and extends into Naperville.
She said her son has encountered some difficulty with students and teachers at school, but she believes he’s had an easier time because of her advocacy.

“The frustrating part for me are adults who do nothing,” she said in an interview at the home of a friend. “In my school they do attend to it, but I’ll be honest, I think they attend to it because I’ve been so active in the school district.”

While Conti’s son has chosen to stay at his school despite some difficulty, she says bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns were all issues at first. Before he came out and was given access to a private locker room, she said, “he was to the point where I worried about suicide.”

My question is this: Will the good people of Aurora allow the boards hate to override their schools children's welfare?

Lives are at stake.

Transsexuals Are The Same As Drag Queens Before $25,000 Surgery: Rupaul

The idiot in pancake makeup is at it again.

It was by some unfortunate circumstance long ago before trans people got a voice in the matter, drag queens sahawed their purfumed selfs up under the trans umbrellas. One Drag queen a particularly nasty man has done it again. The next offensive? A quip on the October 29th Drag Race episode by RuPaul:

Comedienne Vicki Lawrence asked, “Hey Ru, what’s the difference between a drag queen and a transsexual?”

RuPaul laughingly replies, “About twenty-five thousand dollars and a good surgeon.”

Matting of makeup and hitching your penis between your legs for a occasional night of fun at others expense doesn't make you trans, it just makes you an obnoxious man in a dress. That's all. Being in drag for a few hours doesn't give you the right or even the life experience to speak for trans people.

For all his denials Rupaul knows perfectly well how hurtful 'tranny' is. He used the pejorative to lash out!

On Lance Bass's apology for using the word "tranny," Rupaul says: "It's ridiculous! It's ridiculous!... I love the word "tranny"...And I hate the fact that he's apologized. I wish he would have said, 'F-you, you tranny jerk!'

Huffpost Interview Jan 14, 2012

It's not OK to defame, bully or denigrate others. Not in small groups and certainly not on the world platform that RuPaul has.

Yes, I am lumping all drag queens into this mess.

Its your dirt, your community, you don't like Rupaul's self promotional hurtful stunts? Then grow a pair, stand against the stream, identify yourself and say something to Rupaul about it. Elevate your drag community above that sort of rhetoric.

APA DSM-5 Gender Dysphoria: A Kinder, Gentler Machine Gun Hand

Most all of us who have come to a point in our lives where we feel our transition has been successful, all have one common problem.

Much of the world doesn't recognize or respect our gender expression.

So we are happy, or like me still thrilled, to look in the mirror, to see the external changes. To sit quietly reflecting on our internal growth and the amazing interpersonal relationships which have since sprouted.

To know in my heart this is who my artistic first wife saw when she drew a picture of who she knew I would be in my mature years. No one including myself believed I could be such a wise intuitive soul, but she did.

Much of the world still doesn't know. It's been a battle extraordinaire fighting for my life at the first full time job since transitioning in 2007. Yes five years.

I am winning. I am being grudgingly granted respect by the last of the management holdouts, not because of any revelation on their part, but because I am a person of extraordinaire worth to the company.

A hybrid of sorts. Physically enabled like a athletic man, yet with accessibility of a woman and with the compassion and understanding of a mother. A hybrid gender.

So in a nutshell, I am happy even ecstatic. Then what was holding me back?

"social role dysphoria"

I can't blame all the hardships I have endured getting to this point on the APA, the people largely responsible for creating a social toxic atmosphere, but I will say if they stopped adding gas to the haters fire, the air would start to clear.

Kelly Winters who authors GID Reform doesn't advocate for a total reform arguing that retention would continue to aid many who's insurance covers transitional needs. In all my life I have yet to shake one of those peoples hands, but hey, I know you are out there. But what about the vast majority of us?

Kelly Winters offers these brilliant observations:

"Transitioned individuals who are highly functional and happy with their lives are forever diagnosable as mentally disordered under flawed criteria that reference characteracterics and assigned roles of natal sex rather than current status. For example, a post-transition adult who is happy in her or his affirmed role, wants to be treated like others of her/his affirmed gender, has typical feelings of those in her/his affirmed gender, and is distressed or unemployed because of external societal prejudice will forever meet criteria A (subcriteria 4, 5 and 6) and B and remain subject to false-positive diagnosis, regardless of how successfully her or his distress of gender dysphoria has been relieved."

Then she goes on to address the rigid gender stereotyping at the crux of the issue:

The criteria for children are slightly improved over the DSM-IV-TR, in that they can no longer be diagnosed on the basis of gender role nonconformity alone. However, the proposed criteria are unreasonably reliant on gender stereotype nonconformity. Five of eight proposed subcriteria for children are strictly based on gender role nonconformity, with no relevance to the definition of mental disorder. Behaviors and emotions considered ordinary or even exemplary for other (cisgender) children are mis-characterized as pathological for gender variant youth. This sends a harmful message that equates gender variance with sickness. As a consequence, children will continue to be punished, shamed and harmed for nonconformity to assigned birth roles.

So essentially the APA has recognized they are killing us and are seeing if they can get away with using a kinder more gentle machine gun hand.

Stop killing us! Please sign the petition demanding the APA remove Trans From The DSM-5, Yours is the voice they can't deny. Yours is the kick in the pants that's bringing the undeniable truth out of the shadows.

The APA has lone profited from our deaths. No More Machine Gun Hand.

Roseanne Barr Apoligizes For Transphobic Tweets, Sort Of.

Roseanne Barr is a Radfem,

Cathy Brennan  thinks so anyways, but should we pigeon hole her with such obnoxious haters as Brennan?

Lefty Girl leaves not much maneuvering room for Barr.


Roseanne defended her wide brush stroke transmisoginist tweets on her website  as defensive in response to a onslaught of transgender and transsexual's because one of one misunderstood tweet. Barr didn't post the offensive tweet but Jezebel sniped them so I'll do that for her.

Epic fail. In the grandest of Radfem traditions Barr works her anti trans agenda by associating us with of all things her acceptance of pedophilia.

A common tactic of our most vile haters.

Barr has sort of apologized for tweets before but obviously she has not gleaned an important gem of knowledge about tweeter. Every Tweet stands on its own, lashing out in anger, no matter how justified you feel you are has consequences.

If you act like a Radfem you are a Radfem. Perhaps Barr will learn from this experience, if you tweet offensively towards trans people you will suffer the consequences.

Apology accepted. Sort of.

NYPD Still Harassing Transgender People Despite New Patrol Guide lines

June 13th of this year seemed a watershed for trans people's march to equality in the Big Apple. New patrol guide lines had been issued which seemed at the time to adequately address the inhuman behaviour of the NYPD towards trans people.

But this is not the case, especially for trans people of color and other racial minorities.

For these people, the most vulnerable of our community, the harassment only intensified. The indignities and assaults suffered at the hands of transphobic NYPD officers became even more frequent.

The Daily Kos reports a study was conducted by Make the Road, New York which contacted 305 residents of Jackson Heights, 167 of whom identified as being LGBTQ. Of that group, 51% of LGB respondents said they had been stopped by police. A third of those stopped say had also been physically harassed. Of the 69 transgender respondents 59% had been stopped by police and nearly half reported being physically harassed. 28% of respondents who were not LGBTQ were stopped by police.

Stop and frisk of transgender people in Jackson Heights is epidermic, police using this tactic to stifle and subdue what they see as the most threatening to their authority, transgender people. Most transgender woman are visually recognizable making us easy targets of opportunity. And we are loud and proud as Melissa Sklarz so finely exemplifies, fighting at the very cutting edge of the human rights movement.



What can New York Trans people do? Contact your council member and tell him you want the local law currently laid over in committee Prohibiting bias-based profiling by law enforcement officers passed.  Secondly know your rights and by god, know that police officers will treat you with the dignity and respect EVERY citizen expects.

Dallas Transgender Woman Janette Tovar Murdered

Janette Tovar a transgender woman from Dallas Texas was found dead by police responding to a emergency call October 18th who found her body at her home at 918 W. 8th St.

According to TransGriot her boyfriend,  Jonathan Stuart Kenney was arrested for her murder:

Kenney was arrested by Dallas police yesterday. According to an arrest affidavit, an investigation into Tovar’s death revealed that Kenney slammed Tovar’s head into the concrete in the 830 block of West Davis Street at 6:20 AM CDT Monday. Kenney then continued to assault Tovar when they returned home to 918 W. 8th St.

Police then responded to a 911 call at about 4:20 PM at the couple’s residence. The initial police report states that a man called 911 around 4 PM Monday after finding Tovar “not breathing and unresponsive.” Dallas Fire-Rescue and homicide detectives responded to the scene.

I want to share some pictures of Janette I found on her facebook memorial page created In Loving Memory of Janette Tovar .

After reading the comments on the Dallas Voice article it occurred to me that to many Janette's death would be just one more number for the TDOR, one more in a seemingly unending tragedy.

As awful as her murder was we should know, she was love by many. One person commented her smile lit up a room. Indeed.

All of the comments had one common thread. They will miss there beloved Janette.

Although I never met this sister who lived 30 miles away I feel the lose as well.

 R.I.P. Janette

Bloody Rock: Brazilian Trans Woman Stoned To Death

This day and age you might expect death by stoning to belong to a bygone era, but for transgender and transsexuals in some parts of the world that sort of brutality is almost an everyday occurrence.

In fact, we would be fooling ourselves to think we are safe from that bloody rock anywhere in the world.

Just a few days ago transgender woman Janette Tovar  who lived  only 30 miles from my home in Dallas was stoned to death.

The image is gruesome but is it excessive? No because once I too lay on top of a rock just like that near death.

Source: September 24th 2012 Infonet: "The transvestite Amos Chagas Lima, 39, one of the most popular and well known of Aracaju, who earned the nickname of Madonna, was killed with blows of parallelepiped (the) crime occurred in the early hours of last Friday, 19, in downtown Aracaju."

She didn't die right away but suffered for days having just passed on.

I want to write this post with cisgender people in mind. I want you to understand the realities of being trans. We are murdered almost daily worldwide, just for our gender expression. In fact Keila Simpson, president of the National Counsel to Combat Discrimination of the Secretary of Human Rights to the President of Brazil told Gay Star News her country has suffered 100 transgender murders since January of this year.

This is why we fight so hard against being marginalized, and defamed regardless of who, what, when or where. We are never far from the Rock. I know.

18/05/2010 - Keila Simpson, vice-presidente da ABGLT, emociona platéia presente ao seminário "Direitos Humanos de LGBT: cenários e perspectivas", no auditório Nereu Ramos, na Câmara dos Deputados. O texto que ela leu - "História de todas nós" - de Rafael Menezes está disponível no site da Comissão de Direitos Humanos e Minorias: www.camara.gov.br/cdh

18/05/2010 - Keila Simpson, vice president of ABGLT, wows audience at this seminar "Human Rights of LGBT: scenarios and perspectives," in the auditorium Ramos Nereus, the House of Representatives. The text she read - "History of us all" - Rafael Menezes is available on the website of the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities: www.camara.gov.br/cdh

Trevor Ashley Changes "trAnnie" to "trAshley" Christmas Tradition to Trash Trans Children

Drag Queen Trevor Ashley

Trevor Ashley, a Australian gay actor wrote the pantomime "trAnnie" . He planned to star in it but was forced according to the Daily Telegraph to change the title not because of the worldwide condemnation he received, but because of a threatened Copyright infringement lawsuit.

But looking at the other changes he made to the problematic plot its obvious he felt the heat but you wouldn't know that by the why he laughed it up Sept 26th on this Channel 9 Interview.

Some trans, allies and other people of social conscious on Twitter naturally assumed he had a change of heart and are expecting an accompanying sorry, didn't know 'tranny was bad' from Trevor Ashley.

Waiting for an apology from him would be like looking looking up at an attacker expecting him to lend you a hand up after he beat you down.

The new title 'trAshley', a thinly disguised aberration of 'trAnnie' will most likely be defended by him as it resembles his name, but it's a thin disguise at best. The intent remains the same, making mockery of transgender Children at Christmas a tradition for his profit and fun.

The original synopsis in a nut shell: A orphan transgender child abandoned by his/her parents is desperate for a sex change will do what ever it takes to please her/his convicted paedophile transgender care givers including secret performances for a demented older man in order to get money or his/her sex change.

The new plot:

"Ten-year-old little orphan Fannie (Trevor Ashley), has a terrible secret... one that she can’t even share with her inmates at the Sutherland Shire Girl’s Orphanage, let alone the boozy matron who runs the place: the evil Miss Trannigan (Rhonda Burchmore). The truth is: Fannie is not yet all woman. But, to get her gender-reassignment surgery, she’ll have to find her true birth parents to get their permission.

Lucky for Fannie, she meets acclaimed photographer / multi-millionaire Daddy Warlow (Gary Sweet) who promises to sponsor her! But can she survive a rigorous set of blind auditions, a very “arty” photo shoot and an appearance on evil talk-back radio personality Ellen Jones’ show before she finds her parents?

To make her wish come true, Fannie may need more than just her trusty ex-sniffer dog Bullshit (Rhys Bobridge)… she may need a Christmas miracle!

Featuring songs, audience participation, and more parody than you can poke a stick at, this brand new adults-only panto will have you in fits of laughter... and have you wishing that you too could be adopted by a sexy bald millionaire.

There are two significant changes to the plot. One "sex Change" has been changed to "gender reassignment surgery". You do NOT change ones gender with surgery! This is so indicative of the ignorance of the writers but worst, it will perpetuate that misunderstanding.

"Tranny" remains critical to luring his audience of transphobes, cisgender and gay alike, as evidenced by the retention of the name Miss Trannigan.

Billing this problematical confusion generating play as "adult only" would have flown before the Internet but if anyone was to claim the damaging stigmatization was contained to the stage to adults now, would be lying.

The only real positive concessions made was the removal pedophilia from the plot and not calling a trans child a "he/she".

What remains is worst.

There is nothing terrible about being transgender and there is nothing wrong about not having had or not wishing to have sexual reassignment surgery. Having original plumbing is always central to the bathroom meme transphobes use when spreading awful lies to fight our social progress.

 And Ashley, you are only helping them to deny us the lives we deserve.

Ashly, what is it with your obvious disdain of transgender children you can not accept them as human? Greed? What is it about our youth that makes you think you can prey on them? What makes you so uncaring you would add pain to their little hearts on Christmas of all times? An insatiable desire for fame?

Trevor Ashley you are a child predator. You are killing transgender children with this. Our Transgender Children are NOT TRASH. Not in a pantomime, not anywhere.

Transgender: The New Cool

Lana Wachowski transgender Cloud Atlas director reveals pain suicide attempt on Huff Post. She talked about going to a train station, standing on a platform readying herself to jump, but held fast by the stare of a 'old man'.

*the video does not have Lana Wachowski in it but is excellent commentary.

Huffpost reader oatc commented   on the article:  “For whom would she be a transgendered role model? Would anyone want to wait until the age she transitioned, to wear a slip under boys clothes to school, to experience desire to suicide, to endure so many years of pain, and wait until half one's life had gone? She can be a role model for aspiring film people, writers, public speakers, or those who would be brave, and survive though. Of any gender." "The role models for transsexual children today are girls and women, boys and men."

The reality is given our current albeit improving social status is most of who are alive today have there own 'old man' on the train platform to thank for that.

But it is a brilliant observation by oatc and so true. We have to first envision ourselves as a success before the process of succeeding can even begin in our lives.

My old man on the platform the day I tried to commit suicide was, I don't know.

 I stole a bottle pain relievers from ironically the man who was my chief antagonist, my father, drove my old pick up to a stripper bar and downed the whole thing. The only thing I remember of the following two days was Black Sabbath Iron Man playing on my 8 track and how pissed my mother was when I dragged my teenage ass back home.

Do I expect more from myself now? Yes and I get my new life thanks to my real old man on the train platform, my LGBT people. You. I get my sobrity of the past 25 years thanks to god.

Trevor Ashley: Your "trAnnie" kills Trans Children

Despite of the petition, numerous complaints to the Anti Discrimination Board  answered at best with form letters, and emails to the Sydney Opera House not to show 'trAnnie' it appears they plan to go forward with this show which mocks transgender children associating  them with sexual perversity, substance abuse and pedophilia.

Why would these people make Christmas even more agonizing for trans youth by making their ridicule a yule time tradition?
Why is it conscionable to perform what is essentially black face or trans face by gay people arguably associated to transgender people by the acronym LGBT?
What rational could the Opera House, actors and the government have for helping to intensify the stigmatization of trans youth who already have an attempted suicide rate of 50%?

They all say its in good fun, we should learn to take a joke and we should stop claiming to be victims.
The plot and trailer



The lead role and co writer is Trevor Ashley, an Australian gay man who apparently spent much of his life in cabaret and garnered quite a following.

I just finished interviewing Ali, a transgender youth from Arkansas. While I was writing her article it hit me like a ton of bricks. Her narrative in the Friend Film  trailer primarily focused on the hate she endured in rural Stuttgart being forced to present as male and being called a 'faggot'.



Now that she has come out as a young trans woman, she will have to deal with being called a different pejorative one that pierces her heart, "Tranny". This youth survived her early childhood, but she and other trans girls like her, shy and unassuming, are who this production and promotion of "tRanie" puts in peril.

They are the ones we will mourn losing this Transgender Day of Remembrance  only days before this show mocks them. Mainly young woman of color, marginalized by the same stigmatization Trevor Ashly promotes with "trAnnie".

The word "Tranny" is a pejorative used almost exclusively as a weapon during beatings and murders and to describe children and adults in the pornographic industry.

Want proof?

Trevor Ashley is connecting with these predators, gay transphobes and a assortment of others on  twitter promoting his play with the hashtag "Trannie" .

A screen snip of a man responding to Trevor Ashley and few following unassociated tweets, the kind you will always find by people using the slur "trannie or tranny":

I implore you Ashley Trevor to have a change of heart. We would never know exactly how many lives would be saved by cancelling "trAnnie" but you would know you this.

 You wouldn't be contributing to the hate that kills.

Growing Up Trans in Arkansas: Friends Film, a Story of Hope

Meet Ali, Transgender teen.

From the beginning of her video it quickly became obvious to me Ali and I have a lot more in common than just both being trans, despite our age differences. Ali's furtive glances tell some things haven't changed in the forty years since I grew up in rural America.



Ali and Joesph, a gay High School student both live in rural deep south America. Both have bravely come out and are raising funds for a movie called Friend Film , two unique stories of growing up in small town America. This being a transgender blog I wanted to focus on Ali and was graciously granted this interview by her.

When I and my contemporaries were youth it was long before the Internet. I had heard of a story of a far off Oz like land where a "man had become a woman" but to even consider myself as special, would have been thought ridiculous not just by my family who called me a fag, but to myself. I had came to believe what I was hearing all those years, that I was of little value. Ali's story and those of us who grew up decades before are amazingly similar.

Kelli: Ali, you grew up in the Internet age. Where you allowed to visit trans friendly web sites? If so what was it like living fully aware of your gender yet being denied your right to express it?

Ali: "Well, honestly, I never really got on the Internet much growing up. When I did, it was playing computer games. I didn't start getting on the Internet until I was in 9th grade. And even then I didn't really go to trans friendly websites because I wasn't really aware of them."

"To answer the second part of this question, it was very frustrating and depressing. I went through major depression because I couldn't freely be myself. Here I was knowing who I was but I could not show it much outside of home. Sometimes not even at home."

Kelli: Did you have friends who knew and accepted you for your true self?

Ali: "I had a best friend that I grew up with that knew and accepted me. Most of the friends I’ve made since them don’t know. Before They just assume that I’m gay. Currently I have several friends now who know and love and support and accept me."

Kelli: Have you been able to talk to your parents about being trans and if so at what age? What were their reactions?

Ali: "Since the age of 3 I've been calling myself a girl, so my family already knew something was up. I didn’t know what was going on with me, I just knew I was a girl.

After we discovered that I’m trans, my nana became my biggest supporter. My mom struggled with it a lot but is doing a lot
better now.

Kelli: You mentioned you had been called pejoratives because you were forced to present as male growing up. We have that in common as well. Words can hurt. It’s probably one of the toughest parts of being trans. I know it was frustrating for you, so how you did to endure the taunts?

Ali: "I’m not a fighter, I’m a very quiet and shy person. So when someone would call me derogatory names, I would just sit there and try to ignore it as best I could. I never lashed out at them in fear they would hit me.

Sometimes I would just go cry in my room when I got home. I would also talk to my mom, nana, and friends about it but my friends would say “well, that’s the price you have to pay for being trans” and my mom and nana would help me feel better as best they could."

Kelli: Being from Texas I used to do business in Arkansas and found it in comparison to north Texas, medieval in their views towards LGBT people. Do you have any plans on returning to Arkansas when you graduate College? If you do please be careful.

Ali: "In college, I’m currently studying theater and psychology. When I graduate, I plan to move to a more trans friendly and theater oriented place. I’m still trying to get out of Arkansas. I’d love to transfer. I only plan to come back to Arkansas to visit some of my family, but nothing permanent. I’m still trying to get out of Arkansas."

Kelli: What are your thoughts on our efforts to be removed from the DSM?

Ali: "Even though there are benefits, such as therapy, for trans people being in the DSM, I am glad that there are efforts being put forth to get trans people removed from it. Being trans is not a disorder. You are born with it. You can’t get “fixed” by medication. It’s just not possible."

Kelli: Ali, you are a young advocate and trans youth will be able to identify with you. What would you like to say to those younger trans youth still living in the closet?

Ali: "First I would like to say, Be who YOU are, not who you’re told to be. With that being said, be yourself. Coming out is your own choice. Don’t let anyone make the decision for you. If you do come decide to come out, please be careful because not everyone is supportive and accepting.

Also, if you do decide to come out, know that I’m supporting you."

Thank you Ali for all you are and will do. You already are a great success.

We can help give Ali and Joesph with moral and monetary support they so deserve. They need to be fully funded by November 8th. Please give generously to Friend Film

Anako Installs Bigot on Anti Bullying Task Force and Rejects LGBT Group

Anoka School District puts bigot Bryan Lindquist onto anti bullying committee and local anti bullying Group is denied their application to March In the Halloween Parade.

Source: Huffington Post    Bryan Lindquist is a member of The Parents Action League, a local group that civil rights organization The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group  that attacks homosexuality. He was recently named to sit on the district's 25-member anti-bullying task force composed of students, school employees and community members, and mothers Tammy Aaberg and Melissa Thompson are outraged.

"That would be like asking somebody from the [Ku Klux] Klan to sit on the committee that plans black history month," Thompson told KSTP.

Tammy has a right to be so upset. Her gay son just committed suicide on account of bullying and founded justins gift  ,to address the same sort of bullying Bryan Lindquist encourages with his anti LGBT rhetoric.

Rebecca Krone, a mom from Anoka started a petition on Change.org demanding that the kids from Justin's Gift be allowed to march in the town's Halloween parade. Click here to add your name.

Justin's Gift on Twitter

East Aurora schools May Bow to Hate Group And Vote Tonight To Rescind Trans Policy

Update: A sad day in Aurora as the trans policy is revoked.
Full story on CBSlocal

The possible win for a hate group is a failure for Illinois human rights groups to organise effectively.

The rational given for rescinding the trans policy was since there were only a couple trans people in the School district and they had not received any complaints from them, the school board felt the policy would be unnecessary.

The reality is they were intimidated by the hate group the Illinois Family Institute's  email campaign which not only demands a repeal of the policy but in addition the firing of the School Board as well.

You can attend the meeting tonight at East Aurora School Service Center located at 417 Fifth Street in Aurora and will be Friday, Oct. 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Boy Scouts Of America Dishonored: Sexual Predator File Posted Here

"Oh You belong to the Boy Scouts? Scouting boys tonight?

It was a common joke used by neighborhood girls when they wanted to embarrass, humiliate or intimidate us on our scout meeting days.

I always dismissed them as I did all bullies as being needy and insecure idiots but in my heart I knew there were some truth to the taunt. I knew even before puberty that I was more comfortable with same sex company. Was I somehow impure?

The Boy Scouts thought so kicking out anyone LGBT  who dared to live authentically and they called us immoral?

But there were Scout leaders who made me very uncomfortable. I could never quite make sense of them. They seem such loners, detached, yet so dedicated on our long weekend camping trips always maintaining the highest Scouting traditions.

Now it is starting to make sense. I would never accuse any of my troop leaders of any wrongdoing however  Kelly Clark Attorney at Law did and has published the file the Boy Scouts, clergy and police have fought so hard to keep secret.

Is your former Scout leader listed as well in the "Perversion Files"? The file only covers twenty years. Its the tip of the iceberg.

But in my heart of hearts I know my life has benefited immensely by my Boyscout days because I have done my best to live it as a Bisexual Transsexual Life Boy Scout.

Just yesterday as I recall now, I corrected the Walmart Pharmacists clerk when she forgot to charge me for my hormone scripts and while walking out I offered my assistance to a elderly man in a wheelchair who seemed disorientated at the foyer. Its because of the following creed I am at peace with myself:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

To my brothers and sisters who have been hurt by these monsters, my heart goes out to you dear soul. Live in shame no more.

Meteor Drag Queen Performer Paul Ryder: The Transphobia YOU spread HAS tried to Kill Me

Shame on you Paul Ryder for your role in this advertisment.



Following the Twitter Hashtag  #MeteorShame  begun by the Transgender Network of Ireland  to kick start the campaign to end the awful Meteor advertisment  I found a very verbal opponent of the ad Co-chair LabourLGBT Louise Hannon. Her opposition was also noticed by one of the drag queens in the advertisement, Paul Ryder who replied to Louise with this tweet:

However Ryder isn't at all aware or could care about the harm he is causing. Looking at his Facebook it's obvious he couldn't care less.

Ryder let me help you to understand. Louise is not the only one becoming aware of the harmful contribution to the trans community. So regardless of your personal concerns, you should be aware you are doing your reputation and your marketability great damage by not taking responsibility for your role in the Meteor Advertisement.

You could make this right by saying you are sorry for the harm you are causing and contacting the other Drag artists in that ad and ask them to come forward with a public apology for there role as well.

Anything less is good as signing a employers dismissal notice to a trans person, or telling a cop to harass us or loading a gun for the next murderer.

Some reactions since posting this article:

A tweet posted by a follower of Paul Ryder in a conversation about what should happen to me. It's the most violent reaction to date for my audaciousness confronting a man for his transmysiogony.

It occurred to me some what belatedly, that the teeth that Mr O Reilly threatened to kick in were in fact not my teeth at all. The picture he saw was taken by a professional photographer for a local newspaper. He did a nice job photoshoping my teeth. See, I hadn't had dental insurance for decades before that picture.
Mr. O Reilly, I'm sure that the photographer would be very accommodating if you'd like to kick in his camera lens or have a go at his computer.
But he was a very big man Mr O Reilly, and a Texan to boot.

And this beauty from NG Blog. SOME men hate it that a transgender woman would have a media platform and would dare use it to demand accoutablity from them for transphobia.

  SOME many gay men.

You can find that NG post here. I have had a long association with that blogger Nelson G. Oddly enough begining with his helping me get my blog back after being violated for confronting gay misogony in 2008.  I posted about the timing of Congressman Barney Franks use of the transphobic phrase "men with penises in the womans room"  when talking about Trans Rights and the publication revealing his boy friend for the past decade was in fact a rent boy .

Related posts:

Transgender Equality Network Ireland Press Release

Irish Times Meteor Dials Up Trouble

Gay Community News

Galick News "Meteoric Mistake"

Memphis Approves Sexual Orientation and Gender ID Protections

As expected Memphis passed the amendment to it's cities employees non discrimination policy to include sexual orientation but totally unexpected was the reinsertion of gender ID including trans people as well!

The Amendment originally included trans protections.

Upon learning that the amendment had been rewritten to exclude transsexuals behind closed doors  at the last moment before the vote I began a petition asking Memphis to protect Trans people. Four hundred people signed sending a email message each time to every council member. I will close that petition now and thank the Council for there vote.

To all those of us who signed the petition, we can only speculate as to what effect our effort had but since we were the only petition to address trans exclusion specifically, and mainstream media  made absolutely no mention of our being written out, I can assure you, we helped.

My friend and great ally Rafael McDonnell, Communications and Advocacy Manager  Dallas Resource Center (RCD)  posted this on my facebook profile:

"From an activist friend of mine in Memphis: Memphis City Council passes non-discrimination ordinance and resolution prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity!(though the title is wrong)"

From the Commercial Appeal "Memphis approves protections against discrimination for sexual orientation":

The Memphis City Council on Tuesday approved a nondiscrimination ordinance that includes workplace protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, ending a debate that began in 2010.

"City of Memphis employees will go to bed tonight and wake up in the morning to hear the news that their hard work will be respected and their ability to contribute to their community will be preserved," said Jonathan Cole, vice president of the Tennessee Equality Project, one of the backers of the legislation. "It's a new day in Memphis, Tennessee."
There's at least one more person I must mention. Thank you Jonathan Cole, I know our brief relationship was contentious at times but given the situation I think we did a good job to keep everything in perspective. Thank you for your patience.

And I thank the following Memphis City Council Members for voting yes to protect your city's trans and gay employees: Council members Flinn, Harris, Harold Collins, Edmund Ford Jr., Janis Fullilove, Wanda Halbert, Reid Hedgepeth, Myron Lowery and Jim Strickland.

Council members Bill Boyd, Joe Brown, Bill Morrison and Kemp Conrad you all vote against it. I have faith as your city's trans people become empowered by your new ordinance and begin living authentically you will get to know who they truly are and will ask yourself why you hadn't voted for this measure in the first place.

Thank you Memphis City Council for doing the right thing.

Harvey Milk Plaza Will Be Graced With The Trans Flag This TDOR

Usually I acknowledge a win by updating the post that helped contribute to our advancement, like I did one post back, but there's nothing usual about this achievement. The MUMC have publicly announced they will fly the Transgender Flag on Transgender Day of Remembrance, at the Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro.

MUMC President Terry Asten Bennett  who has control of the flag pole went into detail explaining why his organization denied the request to fly our flag, ultimately blaming it on a technicality, a request the flag be flown at half mast November 20th.

Be that as it may the reality is on November 20th 2012 Trans people are going to go where no trans person has dared, to the pinnacle of the gay mans tower in the heart of the Harvey Milk Plaza. I don't wish to lord this over anyone, and I won't. It would be nasty and would only cause discontent.

What I want to do though is to point it out how huge an advancement this is in our recognition as a valuable and equal component of the LGBT community. On our most solemn of days we will have a beacon of hope, a reminder that the LGBTQI is one community. A win for everyone.

I also want to thank everyone who was responsible for this happening including the anonymous person who bought the huge flag. I have a sneaky suspicion it was a gay man. Thank you.

US Census: Transgender People To Be Counted In 2020

Once we've been counted we can't be discounted.

The US Census Board Announcement  indicating a willingness to acknowledge transgender people exist comes as welcome surprise but we can't take for granted that the procedure that will be established will ask the right questions. But how much of a focus will be put on trans issues?

A issue a facebook friend quickly pointed out:

...when I was an NRFU Enumerator, also in 2010, I was told to write down what people anwsered, with no questions. Are they going to start counting people who are androgyous and crossdressers, people who are in the closet, as well as one's who are out? and how about someone like me who just went all the way? This could be harder than it sounds..

All of the media reports to date I have seen regarding this announcement make scant mention of transgender population (just the T at the tail of LGBT)  instead focusing mainly on gay couples concerns.

 So who's advising?

Shane Snowdon  the only LGBT community member announced is the HRC Director, Health & Aging Program and the 2005 Transgender Law Center Community Ally Award  recipient.

MUMC: Trans Flag Will Never Fly At Havey Milk Plaza. Not Even For The TDOR

Normally, without exception the Gay rainbow claims its rightful spot atop Harvey Milk Plaza.

But this past Presidents Day weekend the Bear 2.0 Flag flew proudly in it's stead. To the casual observer, like myself, this change in flags might go unnoticed, even welcomed as Bears have always been one of transgender peoples greatest allies, but there's more to the story. Much more.


The  Merchants of Upper Market and Castro (MUMC) who have control of the flag pole denied a request this year from local trans resident Veronika Fimbres to fly the  Transgender Flag on the TDOR just days after  the MUMC instituted their new policy dictating that the flag pole at Harvey Milk Plaza fly one flag, the Rainbow.

It's not a matter of principle, vanity or pride. It is a matter of respect for a valued allies dead and it only takes one day to show us you really care. Like the MUMC's own web page states we are LGBT people. The flag pole at Harvey Milk Plaza should be flying the transgender flag on the TDOR. 

If you also find this  exclusionary flag policy troubling you can:
Sign Veronika Fimbres petition "Demand that MUMC fly the Transgender Flag on the Transgender Day of Remembrance! "
and you can contact the MUMC directly
Phone: 415 - 835 - 8720
Email:: :info@castromerchants.com
or use their web contact form

Russian "Coming Out Day" Attack: Orthodox Terrorists Again

It really hadn't occurred to me just how much our international "Coming Out" day bothers some people. In Russia a particularly gruesome attack sanctioned and inspired by the official church of the state occurred on Coming Out day.

Much like the coordinated al-Qaeda attacks on American Embassies this past 9/11 the attack on the mainly female patrons of the 7freeday club  on October 11th was meant to do one thing.

The Russian Orthodox Terrorists  wanted to spread uncontrollable panic and fear among our peoples just like al-Qaeda intended on 9/11.

The world stood with the American people after 9/11 as we are doing now with our Russian LGBT family on 10/11.

The St. Petersburg organization "Coming Out" offered the following statement:(please excuse my translation)

Statement "Out" of the attack on the LGBT event in Moscow

October 11, the International Day of coming out - open and voluntary recognition of a person to belong to a sexual minority or gender - unknown smashed 7freeday club in Moscow and injured several people. The attackers were armed with pistols and traumatic Boomstick.
LGBT organization "Coming Out" extends its sympathy to the victims and is ready to support the Moscow human rights defenders, tracking the progress of the crime. This attack shows what risks today are LGBT as open about their sexual orientation and gender identity, and visitors LGBT clubs. The growing violence and aggression - a direct consequence of homophobic legislation, to take in the country.
Despite the fact that Moscow odious "antigeysky" the law has not been adopted, the results of the discussion were not long in coming.
In the case of homophobic attacks or transfobnogo Petersburg residents can apply not only to the police, but in the legal department of the "output": 8 (812) 313-93-69.

I just want to know will the Russian government condemn this act of religiously inspired violence and pursue the perpetrators with as much enthusiasm as it did when apprehending and incarcerating Pussy Riot for praying?

"Never before in my life, have I experienced such horror,” Elias Regul, who witnessed the gang ransacking the club and called the police, told the Moscow News. Regul and his friend were talking outside the club, when at about 9:25 p.m. they heard the sounds of a fleeing crowd. “It happened very quickly, in a closed space,” Regul said. “It dawned on me, that they are coming to kill us.”

To put into context the difference between the physical attack suffered by the 7freeday patrons and the actions of Pussy Riot I have included the latest interview of Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich who was recently released from confinement.

FX + Walton Goggins + Dominatrix Outfit + Sons of Anarachy = Epic Fail

It is so embarrassing and humiliating to watch this cisgender woman announce that Walton Goggins played a transgender rapist in this FX episode of Sons of Anarchy.

For the record, Walton Goggins did not 'transition' anything as he said he did. He's not even a drag queen. He's a cisgender actor who pasted on some fake tits, donned a dress, heels and acted like a degenerate immoral dirt bag.

Just what he and the FX writer intended. They knew the latest FX episode “Orca Shrugged" would garner them immense free publicity and all they had to do was sit back wring their greedy hands and wait for the outraged  reactions from buddytv.com  and this to come rolling in. Yeah, as a biker riding for the past 36 years its my experience when you cross the line you get called out for it.

In the finest tradition of biker sisterhood and brotherhood I have one thing to say about this piece of shit. Walton Goggins, you are an asshole dirtbag, but you already know that, don't you?

Want An Ass To Die For? Pumper Partys Kill. Don't Be Stupid.

I Want a big juicy butt and saw this ad contacted this lady who having 'pumper parties' and she texted me back "It's illegal," explaining her discounted service, "I'm not a doctor and I'm not a nurse."

I thought why not, I really want a big butt and what could go wrong? After all she's using a clean needle drawing that five gallon Poland spring jug of centistoke dimethyl siloxane fluid. Then I hesitated wait isn't that like "furniture polish"? But she assured me it was OK explaining its a special mix called "medical-grade silicone".

So I gave her $1,600 for the shot and my ass raised right, up but it began to hurt to breath. WTF its hard to breath I thinking, but look at my ass.

A day later I was dead. So as it turned out this is the ass I died for.

The LA Times  has a decent article about this that I plagiarized for this post (minus the misgendering).