From India

"In a highly unusual move, a designer in the southern Indian state of Kerala has launched her new collection of saris, featuring two transgender models, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi.

Sharmila Nair's collection is called Mazhavil - or, the rainbow - and it's "dedicated to transgender people because globally they are represented by rainbow flags".

In India, where transgender people are looked down upon by the larger society and are considered as the in-between people who are to be ridiculed and shunned, Ms Nair's choice of models is attracting a lot of attention."

The models - Maya Menon and Gowri Savitri - have no previous experience in modelling and Ms Nair says she found them through Queerala, an organisation that works with the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender) people in Kerala.

"I was thinking about how I was going to showcase this collection of handloom saris and I saw a Facebook post about the state government's new policy to better the lives of transgender people.

"I thought since the government was doing so much for the LGBT people, I should also do something," Ms Nair told the BBC on phone from Cochin."

Follow the link for more.

Strut!

Comedian and actress Whoopi Goldberg will serve as executive producer on an upcoming show called Strut.

Strut will follow the day-to-day lives of a group of trans fashion models.

Focusing on Slay Model Management, the show will tell the story of the world’s first exclusively transgender modelling agency, People reports.

“This show is important right now, because for all of the positive advances the community has made and continues to make, transgender is still a hot-button word that gets people hysterical,” Goldberg in a statement.

“People tend to focus on the stereotype instead of the person,” she added.

“This series will give viewers a unique opportunity to spend time with real people who are struggling with the same challenges we all face as we make our way through the world.

“You may even be surprised to discover that you have been seeing and interacting with transgender men and women in ways you didn’t even realiSe!”

Strut will premiere later this year on the Oxygen network.

Muse-ings

Just a couple more Ideas I ran across recently.

Our CBS affiliate here in Cincinnati last Sunday, ran a segment on a gender-less society. The basic premise was, all the transgender bathroom ruckus will be a thing of the past as more and more millennials just don't see the problem, and it's true.

I call them dinosaurs. The radicals running through Target screaming with a bible all the way down to the "average Joe" on the street. Many have gray hair and are fighting the losing battle against much of corporate America who realizes the impact of LGBT spending. Plus consider this:
Companies are beginning to approve insurance coverage for genital reassignment surgery and I read the average cis woman today is equal in size to the average cis man in the 1960's.

I don't know how long it took for the dinosaurs to go extinct and I am sure ours today will never go away completely, but you can sure feel the winds of change.

Plus, I read we should be on the outlook for a Democratic party resurgence on the local and state levels soon. If you know what a "Log Cabin Republican" is, there is also middle point between both parties. Check them out on the link.


Finally, if you really want to help the cause this year, get registered to vote and check what the candidates stand for on the "social level".