Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Going on a LGBT Vacation?

One of the topics I brought up in yesterdays transgender Veterans support group was the simple difficulties trans women and men face while traveling to certain "hostile" states. In some cases "safe" restrooms are at the least hard to find. An example is here in Ohio where I live as compared to "crossing the border" and heading into the Southern U.S. The prime example of course is North Carolina, but Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and more get an dishonorable mention.

There was a time not too long ago Liz and I were considering a trip to North Carolina but no more of course.

I know the so called "safe areas" of neighboring Kentucky and Indiana but it just is terrible I have to plan my rest room breaks ahead of time.

Worst yet was another person in the group, a highly androgynous trans man who has trouble using either rest room because of the way he looks. As bad as I think I may have it, he has it worse.

Plus, I would be remiss if I didn't mention good old Texas which is currently involved in it's own transgender restroom struggle of it's own. And I know the stop I made to use the woman's restroom on the Mississippi/Alabama border was one of the most courageous things I have ever done just to pee.

Through it all yesterday, even the staunchest allies in the room seemed to be taken aback by the reality of being trans and out in most of America. It was a good learning experience for them.

And we didn't even get into the potential horror stories of trying to fly anywhere with the TSA.

Another Public Outing

It seems all of a sudden it is OK again to throw transgender people under the bus in very public domains for ones personal gain. This one comes from Canada:

"COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – She was outed as transgender during a TV news broadcast on Monday night, and now the provincial Green Party candidate for Coquitlam-Maillardville is hoping the slip-up won’t be a distraction on the campaign trail.     
Nicola Spurling isn’t pointing any fingers, preferring to call it an “unfortunate miscommunication” but says there are risks to outing any transgender person.
“Trans people face a lot of discrimination in the form of bullying, violence, being denied employment, being denied housing and being inappropriately questioned on a variety of issues surrounding the transition process,” she tells NEWS 1130. “And then there is just the general feeling of being unwelcome in society. A lot of people feel like you shouldn’t exist and that is something trans people have to deal with on a daily basis.”
For more, go here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

All in a Day...or Two

Several "housekeeping" items for you here in Cyrsti's Condo.

The first of which is (as reported by Jeni) the guy who outed Zeke on Survivor has been fired from his job as a real estate agent in North Carolina of all places. What he did of course was irresponsible at the least.

Second of all, it seems all my quiet time has passed me by as far as transgender happenings go. This afternoon, I am attending the transgender veteran support group up at the Dayton, Ohio VA, Then Thursday I go back for my monthly appointment with my psychologist to check what is left of my sanity.

Monday, is Crossport, a group of trans women and cross dressers here in Cincinnati, which normally proves to be interesting with the individuals involved. And, the Trans Ohio Symposium is sneaking up on Liz and I on the last weekend of April in Columbus, Ohio.

So all in all, the next week or so is shaping up to be a busy time and on top of it all. I am going to try to get my nails done (mani only) for the first time in my life which should be interesting!

Of course, I will keep you a-breast of the happenings! :)

What I Really Learned at Halloween

Kenny Eliason image from UnSplash.  Sadly, since I have lived over ten years as a full-time transgender woman, Halloween has become just ano...