There is a brand new documentary is in the works which could be another plus for the transgender community. From the web site here's the promo. This is my first attempt to upload a video to the blog and it should load for you below. It takes longer to load than I would like but is worth the wait!
"TRANS is an extraordinary documentary feature about men and women, and
all the variations in between. It is about the Transgender Community,
perhaps the most misunderstood and mistreated minority in America and
around the world.
Inspired by the incredible story of Dr. Christine McGinn and her work as
a transgender surgeon, TRANS provides an up-close and very personal
vision into the lives, loves, and challenges of a remarkable cast of
characters of all ages and from all walks of life.
Stories of confusion and courage, excitement and emotion that have never been told, until now.
To anyone who has ever looked in a mirror and wondered, 'who they really are?'
TRANS ask another question, 'are you brave enough to find out?'"
Trans (Demo Reel) from The Film Collaborative on Vimeo.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Good Woman
From "The San Francisco Chronicle" comes the story of a transgendered survivor helping others.
"Despite being a star student, Mia Tu Mutch is amazed she survived high school.
Facing bullying from her classmates, constant thoughts of suicide, rejection from her Southern Baptist parents, and the very real prospect of ending up permanently homeless, she clung to any reason to keep living.
"Every day I would say, 'I'm not going to kill myself today. I have a test tomorrow,' " Mia says.
Mia is transgender. She became homeless at a young age, but unlike most teens in her position, she was able to pull herself out of it.
Check the link above to read more of her amazing and courageous story.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Must See Transgender Television
Oprah's TV network, OWN, is premiering two new documentary specials on Sunday: Being Chaz (the follow up to Chaz Bono's award winning, Becoming Chaz, from last year) and I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition. The latter, stars Jazz, an 11-year-old transgender girl, her three siblings, friends and parents, as they navigate the world with a gender-variant kid and grapple with the possibility of hormone blocking therapy as she reaches puberty. Director Jen Stocks' doc is an engaging, heartwarming, and moving look at a trans kid. With her parent's support, Jazz has been living as a girl since she was a toddler.
Highlights from a Quiet Week.
Thanksgiving came and went as so many in the past I'm very fortunate my family has always gotten along well. As I sat and visited with crowd I thought about this could very well be my last Thanksgiving with them as a guy. I didn't pause long or give it too much thought because next year is such a long way off. To jump off the Thanksgiving bridge now makes no sense. I have many other bridges to jump off of!!!!
Unfortunately I was under the weather most of the week so my life was very quiet until the weekend when I got a text from my daughter at her first drag show.
What a awkward yet wonderful moment. The best part is she wants to go with me to her next one.
Tomorrow morning is the long awaited, once put off visit to the hormone doc. The appointment I couldn't get to a couple weeks ago, seems like months!
As always, I will keep you all updated!
Unfortunately I was under the weather most of the week so my life was very quiet until the weekend when I got a text from my daughter at her first drag show.
What a awkward yet wonderful moment. The best part is she wants to go with me to her next one.
Tomorrow morning is the long awaited, once put off visit to the hormone doc. The appointment I couldn't get to a couple weeks ago, seems like months!
As always, I will keep you all updated!
So...You Want to be a Girl?
I recently posted this on " Hub Pages". The idea is one we have shared here so I thought I would bring it back.
"Yes I'm a transgendered male who wants to be a woman. The
idea is as natural to me as it is foreign to you. You see I was born
male but live female most of the time. I can't even begin to consider
what a life in one gender would be like. I am transgendered.
I used to envy the majority of human beings who were born exclusively into one gender. A boy always knew he was a boy and a girl always knew she was a girl..Right? How easy that must be! No gender struggles with society, peer groups, family and friends.
How does it feel to always feel secure in public as a man or a woman, never having to worry about being exposed?
Think of the money and extra time I would have saved if I had never felt the need to not be what I was born to be
What deep obsession led me down a path most of you will never understand? If I could tell you in a thousand words or less, I would have a chance at some obscure "Nobel" prize. The only fact I can tell you is I feel the need to cross into my non birth gender as much as you feel the need not to. Does it make any sense I don't understand you as much as you don't understand me?
I do understand both of us will probably never understand why and that is perfectly fine. The problem is when you don't understand and try to hurt me. Hurt can be applied in many forms. The worst of course is physical. At times, a beating is the easy way out and death is the harshest punishment administered. Just for a lack of understanding.
Hurt can also come in small yet effective doses. I've grown used to the stares and side glances. The hurt never goes away when I hear the nasty little comments or hear the giggles. All of that too I've learned to live with, it's part of the territory and try as I might I try to not think of your imperfections such as weight or appearance.
Think of my dilemma this way. When you developed your gender identity, it was difficult enough to find your way. Your path was lit however. At the least you knew you were a boy or girl. You had role models and maybe even mentors who helped show you the way to becoming a man or a woman. You weren't on the outside looking in.
Understand I'm not looking for your sympathy. For what reason I was put on my path as sure as you were put on yours. I'm only seeking standard human acceptance. I'm no better or worse than you. In fact I'm the same.
The only benefit I may have is a better understanding of you. The pain and suffering of crossing the gender border has not left me unscathed. I have learned the hard way bits and pieces of what makes both genders operate. Ironically that very understanding makes some of you afraid of me. Somehow you feel I have no right to be in your world even though I'm not. Just crossing public paths shopping, eating or whatever does not put me in your world and I have no super sneaky bad intentions! I am not using my knowledge of both genders to fool you or hurt you in any way. In fact the opposite is true! I crave your acceptance of my true gender.
So, I wanted to be a girl and finally came to accept my transgender status as sure as you accepted yours.
Now I have to accept the fact most of us will never understand each other's gender journey and that's fine. Surely in this great big world we can find room for one another. You do have the edge however. When you see me for who I am, my life finally becomes complete."
I used to envy the majority of human beings who were born exclusively into one gender. A boy always knew he was a boy and a girl always knew she was a girl..Right? How easy that must be! No gender struggles with society, peer groups, family and friends.
How does it feel to always feel secure in public as a man or a woman, never having to worry about being exposed?
Think of the money and extra time I would have saved if I had never felt the need to not be what I was born to be
What deep obsession led me down a path most of you will never understand? If I could tell you in a thousand words or less, I would have a chance at some obscure "Nobel" prize. The only fact I can tell you is I feel the need to cross into my non birth gender as much as you feel the need not to. Does it make any sense I don't understand you as much as you don't understand me?
I do understand both of us will probably never understand why and that is perfectly fine. The problem is when you don't understand and try to hurt me. Hurt can be applied in many forms. The worst of course is physical. At times, a beating is the easy way out and death is the harshest punishment administered. Just for a lack of understanding.
Hurt can also come in small yet effective doses. I've grown used to the stares and side glances. The hurt never goes away when I hear the nasty little comments or hear the giggles. All of that too I've learned to live with, it's part of the territory and try as I might I try to not think of your imperfections such as weight or appearance.
Think of my dilemma this way. When you developed your gender identity, it was difficult enough to find your way. Your path was lit however. At the least you knew you were a boy or girl. You had role models and maybe even mentors who helped show you the way to becoming a man or a woman. You weren't on the outside looking in.
Understand I'm not looking for your sympathy. For what reason I was put on my path as sure as you were put on yours. I'm only seeking standard human acceptance. I'm no better or worse than you. In fact I'm the same.
The only benefit I may have is a better understanding of you. The pain and suffering of crossing the gender border has not left me unscathed. I have learned the hard way bits and pieces of what makes both genders operate. Ironically that very understanding makes some of you afraid of me. Somehow you feel I have no right to be in your world even though I'm not. Just crossing public paths shopping, eating or whatever does not put me in your world and I have no super sneaky bad intentions! I am not using my knowledge of both genders to fool you or hurt you in any way. In fact the opposite is true! I crave your acceptance of my true gender.
So, I wanted to be a girl and finally came to accept my transgender status as sure as you accepted yours.
Now I have to accept the fact most of us will never understand each other's gender journey and that's fine. Surely in this great big world we can find room for one another. You do have the edge however. When you see me for who I am, my life finally becomes complete."
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Looking for a Transgender Therapist?
Check this blog "Walking in Two Worlds: A Trans Therapist 's Journey" if you are searching or thinking of searching for a therapist who has transgendered experience.
The author is "Sherri Lynne" who is not only a psychotherapist but a trannsexual woman too.
The post is rather lengthy but is very informational and well done.
I don't really know how my VA therapist was assigned to me but I feel very lucky she was.
I was intrigued by two of "Sherri Lynne's" ideas in particular.
The first was her estimate of the number of transsexuals in our society today. She used the number of patients she sees and roughly compared the number to the population within a four hour radius of her practice. She came to the conclusion transgender and or transsexual individuals equal the number of gay people in out society.
I believe her. Business is so good for the doctor I'm going to for hormone therapy that he is closing his family practice, adding a partner and seeing only transgender, gay and lesbian patients.
Her other idea was a use of the drug called "D.E.S.". If you were born between 1938 and 1971 there is a good chance your mother was given the drug during her pregnancy. Of course there is no concrete proof but "D.E.S."has possible links to higher instances of transgender or transsexual children.
If true at all, you may have had less control over your gender choices than previously thought.
As I said, if you are considering seeking out a therapist-this is a must read!
The author is "Sherri Lynne" who is not only a psychotherapist but a trannsexual woman too.
The post is rather lengthy but is very informational and well done.
I don't really know how my VA therapist was assigned to me but I feel very lucky she was.
I was intrigued by two of "Sherri Lynne's" ideas in particular.
The first was her estimate of the number of transsexuals in our society today. She used the number of patients she sees and roughly compared the number to the population within a four hour radius of her practice. She came to the conclusion transgender and or transsexual individuals equal the number of gay people in out society.
I believe her. Business is so good for the doctor I'm going to for hormone therapy that he is closing his family practice, adding a partner and seeing only transgender, gay and lesbian patients.
Her other idea was a use of the drug called "D.E.S.". If you were born between 1938 and 1971 there is a good chance your mother was given the drug during her pregnancy. Of course there is no concrete proof but "D.E.S."has possible links to higher instances of transgender or transsexual children.
If true at all, you may have had less control over your gender choices than previously thought.
As I said, if you are considering seeking out a therapist-this is a must read!
Transgender "Two Spirit" World
One of my favorite topics and one I still haven't researched as much as I like; is the status and relationships transgendered individuals carried on in ancient cultures. Specifically Native American.
The "she wired" site posted a Thanksgiving article reminding us the holiday is not a day of celebration for Native Americans but a day of mourning. In many ways Thanksgiving 1621 was the beginning of persecution and genocide for the numerous tribes.
The "Reverend Irene Moore" went on to remember the role of "two spirited" transgender individuals in the native cultures and how the culture changed:
"Homophobia is not indigenous to Native American culture. Rather, it is one of the many devastating effects of colonization and Christian missionaries that today Two-Spirits may be respected within one tribe yet ostracized in another.
"Homophobia was taught to us as a component of Western education and religion," Navajo anthropologist Wesley Thomas has written. "We were presented with an entirely new set of taboos, which did not correspond to our own models and which focused on sexual behavior rather than the intricate roles Two-Spirit people played. As a result of this misrepresentation, our nations no longer accepted us as they once had."
Traditionally, Two-Spirits symbolized Native Americans' acceptance and celebration of diverse gender expressions and sexual identities. They were revered as inherently sacred because they possessed and manifested both feminine and masculine spiritual qualities that were believed to bestow upon them a "universal knowledge" and special spiritual connectedness with the "Great Spirit." Although the term was coined in the early 1990s, historically Two-Spirits depicted transgender Native Americans. Today, the term has come to also include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and intersex Native Americans.
How unfortunate we weren't influenced more by the ancient cultures. How much easier would life have been?
The "she wired" site posted a Thanksgiving article reminding us the holiday is not a day of celebration for Native Americans but a day of mourning. In many ways Thanksgiving 1621 was the beginning of persecution and genocide for the numerous tribes.
The "Reverend Irene Moore" went on to remember the role of "two spirited" transgender individuals in the native cultures and how the culture changed:
"Homophobia is not indigenous to Native American culture. Rather, it is one of the many devastating effects of colonization and Christian missionaries that today Two-Spirits may be respected within one tribe yet ostracized in another.
"Homophobia was taught to us as a component of Western education and religion," Navajo anthropologist Wesley Thomas has written. "We were presented with an entirely new set of taboos, which did not correspond to our own models and which focused on sexual behavior rather than the intricate roles Two-Spirit people played. As a result of this misrepresentation, our nations no longer accepted us as they once had."
Traditionally, Two-Spirits symbolized Native Americans' acceptance and celebration of diverse gender expressions and sexual identities. They were revered as inherently sacred because they possessed and manifested both feminine and masculine spiritual qualities that were believed to bestow upon them a "universal knowledge" and special spiritual connectedness with the "Great Spirit." Although the term was coined in the early 1990s, historically Two-Spirits depicted transgender Native Americans. Today, the term has come to also include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and intersex Native Americans.
How unfortunate we weren't influenced more by the ancient cultures. How much easier would life have been?
Just a Girl
Bring It On, the popular 2000
comedy film about cheerleaders starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku
and Jesse Bradford, has arrived on stage and is currently touring the
country.
I know you are saying so?
One reason is "Gregory Haney".
and saying this: On "The Edge"
EDGE: The show sounds like so much fun. Can you talk about how you landed the role of La Cienega?
Gregory Haney: I originally auditioned in LA and then I moved back to New York and they were still looking for the part and so I got invited to another audition for it and I kind of went all out for it. I remember I was at my friend’s house on 44th (in Manhattan) and I walked to 43rd in full costume. I went in and sang and I read and had a little chitchat with all the creatives and that was it. It was less than 20 minutes.
EDGE: In looking at your credits, is this the first transgender role that you’ve done?
Gregory Haney: It was! I have never played a girl.
EDGE: Is La Cienega transitioning woman to man or man to woman?
Gregory Haney: I know in the breakdown of the character before the audition it said transgender woman but I think in the "Bring It On" world she’s just a girl. You don’t ever see her as a boy, she’s not a drag queen...she’s a woman, a girl.
We should all be as lucky!!!!
If you are wondering, I don't think Haney's role was in the original movie.
comedy film about cheerleaders starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku
and Jesse Bradford, has arrived on stage and is currently touring the
country.
I know you are saying so?
and saying this: On "The Edge"
Just a girl...Looking like this:
EDGE: The show sounds like so much fun. Can you talk about how you landed the role of La Cienega?Gregory Haney: I originally auditioned in LA and then I moved back to New York and they were still looking for the part and so I got invited to another audition for it and I kind of went all out for it. I remember I was at my friend’s house on 44th (in Manhattan) and I walked to 43rd in full costume. I went in and sang and I read and had a little chitchat with all the creatives and that was it. It was less than 20 minutes.
EDGE: In looking at your credits, is this the first transgender role that you’ve done?
Gregory Haney: It was! I have never played a girl.
EDGE: Is La Cienega transitioning woman to man or man to woman?
Gregory Haney: I know in the breakdown of the character before the audition it said transgender woman but I think in the "Bring It On" world she’s just a girl. You don’t ever see her as a boy, she’s not a drag queen...she’s a woman, a girl.
We should all be as lucky!!!!
If you are wondering, I don't think Haney's role was in the original movie.
Making a Transgender Difference in the UK
"Sarah Brown's" expereinces are all too familiar.
In Europe's "Pink News" she talked of being Cambridge's Councillor and the country's only out transgender official.
She said: “I have experienced three types of discrimination – transphobia, homophobia and misogyny”.
“Since the transition to live as female I’m suddenly a second-class citizen. Suddenly my personal space was invaded and I started getting men touching me and being groped on the Tube.
“All this stuff I had not experienced before. I have also had complete strangers coming up asking me questions about my genitals which is completely rude.”
Sound familiar?
"Ms Brown, who ranked 28th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List, making her the UK’s most influential trans person, entered into a civil partnership in 2009.
But she had to file for divorce from her then wife, Sylvia Knight, before they could become civil partners after her transition.
“When we were in court in Cambridge getting divorced we had to sort of convince ourselves what we were doing. However we came out holding hands and crying.
“We developed an understanding together and were interested in each other as people.”
Her attitude says it all:
The 53-year-old said: “I want to raise the profile of trans-genders,
lesbians and gays.
“We are pretty marginalised. Society is more accepting of gays than
transgenders. I want to bring people out of the shadows.
“There are 14 and 15-year-olds out there who are scared to be who they
really are because they fear being picked on.
“I’ve been there. I know what it feels like – and attitudes need to change.”
Good "stuff"! Follow the link for more on the story.
She said: “I have experienced three types of discrimination – transphobia, homophobia and misogyny”.
“Since the transition to live as female I’m suddenly a second-class citizen. Suddenly my personal space was invaded and I started getting men touching me and being groped on the Tube.
“All this stuff I had not experienced before. I have also had complete strangers coming up asking me questions about my genitals which is completely rude.”
Sound familiar?
"Ms Brown, who ranked 28th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List, making her the UK’s most influential trans person, entered into a civil partnership in 2009.
But she had to file for divorce from her then wife, Sylvia Knight, before they could become civil partners after her transition.
“When we were in court in Cambridge getting divorced we had to sort of convince ourselves what we were doing. However we came out holding hands and crying.
“We developed an understanding together and were interested in each other as people.”
Her attitude says it all:
The 53-year-old said: “I want to raise the profile of trans-genders,
lesbians and gays.
“We are pretty marginalised. Society is more accepting of gays than
transgenders. I want to bring people out of the shadows.
“There are 14 and 15-year-olds out there who are scared to be who they
really are because they fear being picked on.
“I’ve been there. I know what it feels like – and attitudes need to change.”
Good "stuff"! Follow the link for more on the story.
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