I'm Getting Dizzy

Before you cheap shot me and say "Cyrsti-you always have been dizzy" - let me explain.

On certain days and in certain weeks, it seems there is almost a daily give and take of transgender rights being given in one place and then taken away in another.

Bobbie (one of our Cyrsti's Condo readers) keeps me pretty much up to date and in fact passed the Obama story along yesterday.  Bobbie is Canadian by trade and sent me a couple encouraging stories of improving transgender rights in Vancouver and Alberta.  She said the province of Alberta quite possibly is the most conservative of all the Canadian Provinces.  Don't worry, if I get any of this wrong she will deservedly correct me!

Then, right in the middle of all the warm and fuzzies- comes this totally ignorant story from South Carolina. Right now I can hear some of you saying "Damn Cyrsti, what do you expect-it's South Carolina.  I don't like to play that game because more than a few think that about the citizen's of Ohio.

At any rate, here's what happened:  "A South Carolina teen who wears androgynous or feminine clothing says he was prevented from wearing makeup in his driver’s license photo. Chase Culpepper, (above) who identifies as gender nonconforming but uses a male name and pronouns, had already passed his driver’s test and went March 3 to the Anderson Department of Motor Vehicle to obtain his driver’s license. But DMV officials told the 16-year-old to take off his makeup for the picture, because they said he did not look how a boy should."

I get so tired around here about ranting about stupid little people playing God.  

Fortunately, these days we have good guys and girls on our side and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has asked the DMV to allow the teen to take another photo – wearing makeup.   attorneys with TLDEF said the decision violated Culpepper’s rights and said:

“He is entitled to be who he is and to express that without interference from government actors,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of TLDEF. “Forcing Chase to remove his makeup prior to taking his driver’s license photo restricts his free speech rights in violation of state and federal constitutional protections.”

My fondest desire is at my age, the bigots are beaten back and we can live in a free world...before I die.  The bad thing is I have gay friends who still don't understand I don't have the rights they do.

For more of the "Culpepper" story, go here.