Lots of Clutter

 I attended a rather lengthy webinar yesterday designed to help care givers deal with elderly parents or patients. Predictably, no mention was made concerning LGBTQ+ individuals. I did have a question in to be answered by email at a later date. We will see if the moderator ever answers me.  I doubt it but at the least I got my point across. At any rate, the whole adventure used all my battery power on my laptop along with the usual allotted time I use  to write a blog post.

Then today, I filled out a LGBTQ+ survey and filled out the on line vehicle license tags registration for our car. As always it took Ohio time to catch up and offer an on line service to residents of the state.

Speaking of Ohio, the Repugs in our legislature tried to pull a quick one and reintroduce a ban on transgender athletes in the state which was previously defeated. Fortunately it was defeated again and so far trans athletes in Ohio can compete.  As always, our transgender rights seem to be so fragile. 

The idea of fragile rights continues in this post as readers discuss the recent VA policy shift supporting gender realignment surgeries. First, Lisa P:

" It is good news, but we will see joy know that we have real progress when the next Republican Administration doesn't dismantle the program. My advice to anyone who needs the help is to get it NOW, while the getting is good. Hopefully, this policy will remain in place, but one never knows."

So true Lisa, thanks for the comment.

Then Michelle commented: 

"Remember that the article did state that the VA needs to find medical staff the can perform the procedures. Unfortunately, as with all government programs it will take some time to get it established. I'm with Lisa about if the republican party has anything to do with it, we will see that taken away. I'm also fully aware of the transphobe medical staff that the VA has down here in Florida.
As you said Cyrsti about having a hint of paranoia, I will be waiting to see what will happen. I hope to find out more this weekend when I meet with several members of the LGBTQ group that works in the VA."

Hopefully this means if the VA can't do the procedure themselves, they have to find someone to do it!

Please keep us posted! Also the person in the photo is Carla Lewis. I wore a similar shirt to a Columbus, Ohio Pride event several years ago. 

Whatever!

Perhaps by now you have heard the Log Cabin repugs have come out (no pun intended) and voiced their support of resident rump. What upsets me is the stories I see which call the Cabiners a LGBT group.  Sure, and I don't know this for sure, there may be privileged gay cis men in the group who don't care about any LGBT rights other that they already have. But are they a majority?

What I don't understand though, is why they would support an administration which is so actively trying to trying to take our rights away. How are they going to react when their legal same sex marriages come under attack.

Perhaps too, maybe you have noticed I haven't even mentioned the continued attacks on transgender rights. I guess we have no rights either with the Log Cabin Republicans.

On a brighter side, Laverne Cox maybe the first transgender actor to win an Emmy! From Out:


 "In 2014, Laverne Cox became the first transgender person to be nominated for a primetime acting Emmy for her work on Orange Is the New Black. Cox was not only the face of the transgender tipping point, she helped humanize trans folks through her dynamic performance as Sophia Burset. 

In the final season of Orange, which premiered this summer, Sophia was largely absent — something Cox said was mostly due to a scheduling issue — but did make a final, triumphant appearance as the new owner of her own salon (thanks to a prison settlement). While many of Orange Is the New Black’s characters had tragic endings, something the creators felt was necessary to illustrate the many ways the correctional system ruins lives rather than rehabilitating them, Sophia was one of the few who was gifted with a happy ending, something all too rare for trans women of color in the real world."

For more, go here.

Still in the Fight

Perhaps you remember Nikki Araguz. (Shown below with her new family)

If you really remember her, she goes back to early talk show appearances on Jerry Springer I believe as a party girl with a little extra. She resurfaced in Texas years later with the story of the tragic death of her husband Thomas Araguz III ..  Thomas Araguz was a volunteer firefighter in Wharton, Texas and was killed in the line of duty in 2010.


However, Texas’ 2005 marriage amendment doesn’t recognize her marriage to a man and her 2008 marriage to her late husband, Thomas Araguz III, became invalid leaving her out of her husband's death benefits.

Now, the 13th District Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi will hear her case on Sept. 18. Araguz is appealing a 2011 ruling by Houston state district Judge Randy Clapp, who ruled that Araguz was born male and Texas’ 2005 marriage amendment doesn’t recognize her marriage to a man.

Advocate's are calling this case ‘incredibly important’ for transgender equality and it's way too difficult for a person of my limited intellect to explain.

Go here for more!

Growing up Fast

Coming out as a transgender girl at the age of six means you have to hit the road running.

First of all, the mere fact you are doing it at all is front page news and then the real fun begins. In this case I'm referring to Coy Mathis who was diagnosed as being transgender at the age of four in Colorado. Predictably when she started school, Coy was banned from using the girls bathroom.

Her parents promptly fought back and filed a formal discrimination lawsuit against the school system and they won!  In a landmark decision, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled Coy must be permitted to use the girl's bathroom!

There simply are no words to adequately express admiration for Coy's family (and others)  who are carrying the transgender rights fight to the public and the courts!

What the Hell is Wrong with Kasich?

Most of  you Cyrsti's Condo readers know I'm from Ohio but probably fewer of you know the Governor is Republican John Kasich. The good news is at the start of his term in 2010, Gov. John Kasich renewed an executive order to protect gay state workers.  The bad news was he removed language about gender identity.

For the life of me, I can't understand why emotionally.  Why would Kasich on purpose exclude the transgender population of Ohio? At that point, I started to try to redirect my thinking to what politics is really about- behind the scenes power.

It's no real secret in Ohio and probably elsewhere opposition to equal transgender rights in any form comes from the social right which includes a huge entrenched religious base. So I tried to connect the dots between them and Kasich's desire to deny us with basic rights every American should be entitled to.

I don't know of course which group Kasich was catering to on this move. Perhaps it was a last ditch "line in the sand"   deal with right wing social and religious groups-to be compared with someone who will tolerate a transgender person in public until the person wants to use the bathroom. Or maybe some in the statehouse felt an approval by Kasich would set the stage for Ohio employees to fight for more transgender coverage in their insurance plans?

Like I said- no one called me from Columbus. Perhaps another idea could be  Kasich's "responsibility" to other Republicans in the Ohio legislature. What pressure came to bear from them?

On the positive side, the wind of change seems to be blowing in Columbus.  I recently read an article in the Columbus Dispatch detailing some of the changes:


"The 2010 election brought a wave of fresh Republicans to Columbus. And at the start of his term, Gov. John Kasich renewed an executive order to protect gay state workers but removed language about gender identity. “Largely, I think there’s a younger generation of Republicans that may be more open to this,” said Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Copley, who was elected in 2010 and is co-sponsoring the Senate bill.

 There’s also been growing support on the national level, including from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who made headlines in March when he announced his support for gay marriage. “I think more and more, it’s not a partisan issue,” said state Rep. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, who is co-sponsoring the House bill with Rep. Ross McGregor, R-Springfield. “We have fair-minded people on both sides of the aisle — I know we do.” Eighty of the top 98 employers listed on the JobsOhio website include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies."

So, here we go again:

"After years of trying to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers is mustering another attempt. The package is nearly identical to previous efforts and would add a number of anti-discrimination protections, including housing, wages, certain government contracts and mental-health services. A set of bills — one in the House and one in the Senate — are sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats."

My problem is I don't see "gender orientation" included here.  Plus this final excerpt may be the dot I was trying to connect- explaining in part why we were excluded:

"Small-business advocates are wary of possible side effects. Any time lawmakers expand the discrimination umbrella, owners are vulnerable to costly lawsuits and court cases, said Chris Ferruso, legislative director for National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio. “It creates a new avenue for employers to be sued,” Ferruso said. He said the federation has reviewed the bill but has not officially sided either way."

This business dynamic could be changing too though.  To attract new progressive business to the state requires equal protection under the law for all employees. Showing support from the state level would give Ohio a chance to take another step out of the dark ages- before everyone else does that we are competing with.

As I said, time will tell.  For more of the article in the Dispatch go here.

Only the Beginning

You may recall Coy as the 6 year old transgender girl who was one of the guests on the Katie Couric Show  this week. (here).

Coy

As it turns out at the tender age of six, Coy's struggles are just beginning.
In a move- which could be on a show called "are you smarter than a first grader" (I know the real show is a 5th grader), Coy's school officials at Fountain-Fort Carson School District told her parents that their child could no longer use the girls’ bathroom at Eagleside Elementary.

That shocked her parents, said her mother, Kathryn Mathis. identified  The child had gotten through kindergarten with no problems and no complaints from anyone at the school. (of course)

Fortunately, this whole story is far  from over as a prominent transgender rights group announced  that it  filed a discrimination complaint in Colorado on behalf of Coy. It seems in this case Coy is being used as an example. If her restroom usage is determined now any future problems with unhappy parents could be headed off- if there are any.

The good news is anti-discrimination laws are finally being applied to the transgender community and this shy child has been forced into the spotlight to challenge blatant discrimination. Read more of the story here.

Merry Vet's Day

I have beat you all over the head with the fact that I'm a transgender veteran.
I totally believe the military is still a vast wasteland of transgender rights but at least now groups are forming to fight it.
My veteran service (like most everything else in my life) has turned out to be quite different from the norm.
I didn't join the military to reinforce my struggling masculinity- I was drafted into the second of two non-wars  Korea and Vietnam.
I'm not sure about Korea but there was no hero's welcome in my non war.  I wasn't one-but there were those that were.
But you know, I'm glad things have changed. War is war and serving is serving and it's great returning vets are getting some of their due.
I know there are many other trans-vets who stop by here in Cyrsti's Condo.  I just want to thank all of you!

Being a Political Transgender Person

By nature I am a political person. Raised in the shadow of the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King's assassinations, I felt the hypocrisy of a truly great country which over the years had been very slow to equalize basic rights to all it's citizens. The so called "white male privilege" did buy me an all expense paid trip to Southeast Asia and infantry training.  So why should I complain?
Now it seems, I occupy a unique political spot. I'm old enough to be the offspring of a true "greatest generation" parents and even older grandparents. My paternal grandmother used to tell us stories of going to the Ku Klux Klan meetings in a wagon. Of course I was wondering about my own gender and why people couldn't look past color to co exist as she was talking.
Then there were those old pesky ideas of equal rights. It took until 1920 for the Nineteenth Amendment to give women a national right to vote and the 1960's to get the Equal Rights Bills passed. So what the hell, why wasn't this country practicing what it preached as far as freedom went? It was always too easy to say- well we are better than any other country. Just exactly what does that mean?
It means to me as I read news about the Canadians, Argentina and others making progress in transgender rights I get upset.
I get upset because I feel essentially powerless.
I do join on line causes,  write this little blog and do my best to present myself as a proud transwoman to the public.
On the other hand I see many of the bigger mainstream transgender blogs who seem more interested in endlessly debating terminology than making any significant difference.
Finally, I have never stopped being a competitor and I want my country to be the best it can and the belief we can get there!

Argentina-The Transgender Gold Standard?

From our Bobbie Douglas, and the Associated Press:

"Transgender rights activists say Argentina now leads the world by granting people the right to change their legal and physical gender identity simply because they want to, without having to undergo judicial, psychiatric and medical procedures beforehand.
The gender identity law that won congressional approval with a 55-0 Senate vote Wednesday night is the latest in a growing list of bold moves on social issues by the Argentine government, which also legalized gay marriage two years ago. These changes primarily affect minority groups, but they are fundamental, President Cristina Fernandez has said, for a democratic society still shaking off the human rights violations of the 1976-1983 dictatorship and the paternalism of the Roman Catholic Church.
Activists and academics who have tracked gender identity laws and customs worldwide said Thursday that no other country has gone so far to embrace gender self-determination. In the United States and Europe, transgender people must submit to physical and mental health exams and get past a series of other hurdles before getting sex-change treatments.
Argentina's law also is the first to give citizens the right to change their legal gender without first changing their bodies, said Justus Eisfeld, co-director of Global Action for Trans Equality in New York.
"The fact that there are no medical requirements at all — no surgery, no hormone treatment and no diagnosis — is a real game changer and completely unique in the world. It is light years ahead of the vast majority of countries, including the US, and significantly ahead of even the most advanced countries," said Eisfeld, who researched the laws of the 47 countries for the Council of Europe's human rights commission."

Read the whole article here.

The last part of the article-as well as Ontario, Canada's new provincial stance just astounds me.
If this continues to play out around the world (even in the USA)- will I and others like me, have the self determination to be who we are as transgender people with out society's condemnation (which I can handle) and radical transsexual's condemnation (which I can't).