Winning in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio is very close to me geographically and a couple years ago was ranked as one of the top ten Gay cities in the country. In many ways the outcome of  Savanna DeLong's (pictured right) story didn't surprise me as much as it happening at all. This story comes from the LGBTQ Nation:

"A municipal court judge in Columbus, Ohio, has ordered owners of a private dining and business networking club to pay a $1,000 fine in the city’s first-ever transgender discrimination case. Franklin County Municipal Court Judge H. William Pollitt Jr., on Monday levied the fine against Columbus Hospitality Management, owners of the Capital Club, for retaliating against Savanna DeLong and denying her work at the downtown club. Savanna DeLong Image via WBNS-TV It’s the first-ever case brought by city prosecutors against a Columbus business for discriminating against someone who’s transgender, since gender identity was added in 2008 to local anti-discrimination laws."

I wondered though if DeLong had retained her job after all of this and a 1000 dollars is very much a slap on the wrist. Read more:

" Chief Prosecutor Lara Baker-Morrish said DeLong’s status as a contractor prevented the city from fully pursuing a discrimination case against the company. Columbus Hospitality Management was fined for retaliating against DeLong by denying her work after she filed a federal equal-opportunity complaint. That complaint was dismissed because federal anti-discrimination laws don’t cover LGBT Americans. Without the 2008 addition of gender identity to Columbus’ anti-discrimination laws, though, DeLong would have had no standing to pursue her case, Baker-Morrish said. The $1,000 fine against Capital Club will be paid to the city, not to DeLong. But, she said, she has gained something from her involvement in Columbus’ first transgender discrimination case. “It gave me a lot more self-confidence. It made me realize Columbus is a pretty good place,” she said. “I feel like I contributed something to the community.”

That is a better ending!

R.I.P. Erica Andrews

Erica Andrews, a nationally known trans woman and drag diva who headlined the Dallas-filmed indie flick Ticked Off Trannies with Knives, died last night in Chicago from a lung infection, according to reports. Andrews was in her 40s.

For more go here.

Defining your Trans-ness

To be fair, I'm borrowing this line from Miss America's first autistic contestant when she said "I define my autism, it does not define me."

Defining our individual level of "trans-ness".is equally as important. From closet cross dressers to transsexual activists, defining ourselves is key to our personal lives. Even if it is just you and the mirror or you and the world- just thinking "Wow" this is really me defines you.

I thought initially writing this blog, or working on a book or doing a workshop defines me as a transgender woman. In truth though, all of those things are external.  What really defines me are my friends, my relationship and family.

Ironically, I think so many think I had some sort of easy past to get here. On the contrary we all know we have paid considerable dues on our gender journey. Plus a certain segment of the transgender culture even seem to think those dues put them on top of the food chain.

For me though, the difficult part is not forgetting the stages along the way.  Remembering those dark years so long ago when "the girl in the mirror" defined me keeps me real. I just hate when I catch myself climbing up on some slippery pedestal.

Now the most exciting aspect of defining my transgender womanhood  is the simple fact I'm still evolving. I'm still defining being a trans woman.

But no longer being a trans woman defines me.