For many of us (in the U.S.) Sunday is Mother's Day. Sometimes I'm pretty ignorant. Do you UK folks have "Mum's Day" in Great Britain? How about you Canadians? You folks to the North are pretty independent with all those Tim Horton's coffee shops, 2$ coins and hockey.
At any rate the day should be a time to celebrate the unconditional love your Mom has always given you with flowers and dinner of some sort.
Hopefully that is true for you! Was she was the first to step up and say "that's OK dear, I'm happy you have come to grips with your cross dressing-just so you are not gay and not one of those transsexuals!"
Of course Mom's do run the spectrum in transgender acceptance.
I've written about my Mom. Here are the basics. She has been gone for nearly 20 years, was part of the WWII/Depression "Greatest Generation" and recommended electro shock therapy when I tried to come out to her.
Do I hold it against her? No-she was doing the best she could with her past. After our little chat that one night, the gender subject disappeared like the Nazi's to Argentina and was never brought up again.
She never knew I wanted a doll one Christmas instead of the BB gun my brother used on me. She never knew my fascination with her application of makeup when I was very young. She had to have known I was playing in her clothes and makeup later in life and chose to ignore it. We all know it was just a fad that would go away! Especially if you don't talk about it!
Through all of this Mom and Dad were incredible providers. He was a self made man who actually was the youngest son of a man born in 1869. Talk about spanning generations! I never knew him. He passed away in 1949 before I was born.
We were far from wealthy but never lacked for a good roof over our heads, food and education. On the other hand we always lacked emotional support.
So Mom, happy Mother's Day! I would have loved you more if I would been taught what was love was.
I do respect you though and I know you would see the irony the daughter you almost never had resembles you a lot and inherited your restless personality.
I wonder if you would be proud of me still trying to completely feel what that love thing is all about!.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Transgendered In Southeast Asia
This story comes out of Cambodia from the Phnom Phen Post:
"She waited patiently at the office of the Women’s Network for Unity because she had a message she wanted to deliver to Cambodia through the media. “Stop discriminating against transgendered people because this discrimination forces us into sex work to survive,” Touch Srey Leak said, explaining that it was impossible for her to get a job in the formal sector. She also said she wanted to “suggest to local authorities and police that they stop raiding and arresting sex workers, because they do this work because they have no choice”.
She said this quietly and without anger – as though she believed that if people understood her dilemma they would change their attitude towards her. She also asked whether the interview would be translated into Khmer because this was the audience she wanted to reach.
“Because you discriminate against me as a transgendered person I am forced to do sex work, and then you discriminate against me again for doing this work,” the 24-year-old from a village in Kandal province reiterated in her quiet logic.
Like most transgendered Khmers, Touch dislikes the Thai word “Kathoey”, which is often translated as “ladyboy” in English, but is used pejoratively here, even though some scholars say this is the culture the term originated in. Women born as men here prefer to be called Srey Sroh, which means “Beautiful Girl”: a phrase that fits Touch to a T."
Follow the link above for more! In many countries around the world, the person and nation change but the sad story is still the same.
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| TranssexualTV star Poppy receives the award for Most Attractive Star at the Star Kingdom Awards earlier this year. Photograph: Pha Lina |
Friday, May 11, 2012
Laverne Cox "ENDA" it All!
Can't write it any better than this:
I was so moved by and proud of President Barack Obama's
history-making declaration yesterday with this sentence: "For me,
personally, I think it's important for me to go ahead and affirm that I
think that same-sex couples should be able to get married." This is
great news. Marriage equality is indeed an issue for transgender
Americans, as well, as evidenced by Littleton v. Prange, and recently by Nikki Araguz's case.
But while I believe in and am a huge supporter of marriage equality,
as a transgender woman of color, I recognize that there are arguably
bigger issues for my trans brothers and sisters, issues like employment
and health-care discrimination and violence against transgender people,
particularly trans women of color.
This is why I went to Albany, N.Y. Tuesday for Equality and Justice Day. I wanted to lend my voice to the support of the passage of the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA). Many transgender folks are fighting for our lives and basic civil rights all over this country, and to have those rights acknowledged by our legislature in the state of New York right now. For the fifth year in a row, the state assembly has passed GENDA, but the bill has yet to come to the floor for a vote in the Senate. This bill is about acknowledging that trans folks should have the same rights as everyone else. That's all. It's simple. This is America. Equal access and opportunity are what we're supposed to be about.
 |
| "Laverne Cox" |
This is why I went to Albany, N.Y. Tuesday for Equality and Justice Day. I wanted to lend my voice to the support of the passage of the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA). Many transgender folks are fighting for our lives and basic civil rights all over this country, and to have those rights acknowledged by our legislature in the state of New York right now. For the fifth year in a row, the state assembly has passed GENDA, but the bill has yet to come to the floor for a vote in the Senate. This bill is about acknowledging that trans folks should have the same rights as everyone else. That's all. It's simple. This is America. Equal access and opportunity are what we're supposed to be about.
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!
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!
It's On!
When President Obama endorsed same sex marriage yesterday, the expected backlash did not take long to materialize but as they say in the old country-"we ain't seen nothing yet"!
By the way, I'm writing another companion post on politics.
For what it's worth, here's my take on the situation:
I believe the President caught all the conservatives off guard with his timing and responses started immediately in the House (of course) but I would bet the "Romney" campaign was burning some serious "midnight oil" trying to figure out their next move.
Romney ends up with the chance to get pushed into a conservative corner most feel he was in anyhow.
Now of course here comes rounds of dirty political tricks from both sides. In fact Bobbie Douglas just sent me this story from "The Raw Story"
"Eric Fehrnstrom, a top aide and political strategist to presumptive Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA), made headlines earlier this year with a gaffe comparing Romney in the primary fight to an “Etch a Sketch” that you can flip over and shake and start over with as a blank slate in the general election. Before he was an adviser to Romney, Fehrnstrom was a political columnist for the Boston Herald. According to a profile in GQ, in 1992, he outed recently-elected Massachusetts Rep. Althea Garrison (R) as a transgender woman, effectively ending her political career.
Althea Garrison was a Boston politician and activist who was elected as a Republican to the Massachusetts state House in 1992. Two days after her election victory, Fehrnstrom published an article in the Herald announcing that Garrison had been born male.
“I can remember his glee when he found the birth certificate,” said a former Herald reporter named Robert Connolly.
The outing of Althea Garrison raises serious questions about the culture of the Romney campaign, where Fehrnstrom operates as a privileged member of the command team and as Romney’s longest-serving, most-trusted political strategist. It has been said that if Karl Rove was “Bush’s brain,” then Fehrnstrom is “Romney’s balls.”
I'm not going to say I'm unbiased and I believe there will be more than a few of right wing preachers who will work this theme into Sunday's Mother's Day sermons.
So get ready. All of this should be interesting!
By the way, I'm writing another companion post on politics.
For what it's worth, here's my take on the situation:
I believe the President caught all the conservatives off guard with his timing and responses started immediately in the House (of course) but I would bet the "Romney" campaign was burning some serious "midnight oil" trying to figure out their next move.
Romney ends up with the chance to get pushed into a conservative corner most feel he was in anyhow.
Now of course here comes rounds of dirty political tricks from both sides. In fact Bobbie Douglas just sent me this story from "The Raw Story"
"Eric Fehrnstrom, a top aide and political strategist to presumptive Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA), made headlines earlier this year with a gaffe comparing Romney in the primary fight to an “Etch a Sketch” that you can flip over and shake and start over with as a blank slate in the general election. Before he was an adviser to Romney, Fehrnstrom was a political columnist for the Boston Herald. According to a profile in GQ, in 1992, he outed recently-elected Massachusetts Rep. Althea Garrison (R) as a transgender woman, effectively ending her political career.
Althea Garrison was a Boston politician and activist who was elected as a Republican to the Massachusetts state House in 1992. Two days after her election victory, Fehrnstrom published an article in the Herald announcing that Garrison had been born male.
“I can remember his glee when he found the birth certificate,” said a former Herald reporter named Robert Connolly.
The outing of Althea Garrison raises serious questions about the culture of the Romney campaign, where Fehrnstrom operates as a privileged member of the command team and as Romney’s longest-serving, most-trusted political strategist. It has been said that if Karl Rove was “Bush’s brain,” then Fehrnstrom is “Romney’s balls.”
I'm not going to say I'm unbiased and I believe there will be more than a few of right wing preachers who will work this theme into Sunday's Mother's Day sermons.
So get ready. All of this should be interesting!
Andrej Pejic Bridal Pictures!
Every ounce of my inner female just wants to dislike him! :)
.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
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).
"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).
Such A Day!
It almost seemed Wednesday was information overload day around here.
Of course the biggest news was President Obama's support of same sex marriage. Many suspected he would go that direction, but of course not until after the election. It's easy to put a lot into this proclamation. Of course it's huge when a US President comes out in support of gay marriage but that doesn't mean the gay population of America will be able to go out and get legally married anywhere this weekend. Plus (being selfish) what does it mean for the transgender community? Again a lot. If a trans woman or a trans man wants to marry a same gendered person, then the possibilities should become easier.
I am not going to get into politics or the future here. I'm not worthy! At the least I would think even the strongest naysayers in our world would not down play the President's statement.
On we go to the music world. Yesterday the story exploded (Rolling Stone) about "Against Me's" lead singer "Tom Gabel" coming out as transgender or transsexual. Not being the current music critic, I did a little more reading and found "Against Me's" music is very aggressive and Gabel's voice was so deep and raw and all things associated with masculinty. . (Not a huge surprise to many of us who went through the same phase). Seemingly, most of their fans are angry teenage boys. Maybe that's why they are angry?
Then (lost in the shuffle) was "Sarah McBride".
Here's the headline from "The Eagle": After years of struggling with gender identity, AU student president
comes out as transgender to supportive campus.
It's important to note Sarah is also the outgoing student government president at "American University" who started her term as "Tim".
Of more importance is "Mara Keising's" description of Sarah:
Keisling, is the executive director
of the D.C.-based National Center for Transgender Equality
<http://transequality.org/> (NCTE) and said "Sarah is remarkable,'' says Keisling. ''She already has quite an
amazing political résumé. She's just going to be a really important,
amazing, significant and visible trans person, I'm convinced. She's
smart, amazing and committed to public service. I think that's why
she's been willing to be visibly out."
Wow! Such a day!!!!
Of course the biggest news was President Obama's support of same sex marriage. Many suspected he would go that direction, but of course not until after the election. It's easy to put a lot into this proclamation. Of course it's huge when a US President comes out in support of gay marriage but that doesn't mean the gay population of America will be able to go out and get legally married anywhere this weekend. Plus (being selfish) what does it mean for the transgender community? Again a lot. If a trans woman or a trans man wants to marry a same gendered person, then the possibilities should become easier.
I am not going to get into politics or the future here. I'm not worthy! At the least I would think even the strongest naysayers in our world would not down play the President's statement.
On we go to the music world. Yesterday the story exploded (Rolling Stone) about "Against Me's" lead singer "Tom Gabel" coming out as transgender or transsexual. Not being the current music critic, I did a little more reading and found "Against Me's" music is very aggressive and Gabel's voice was so deep and raw and all things associated with masculinty. . (Not a huge surprise to many of us who went through the same phase). Seemingly, most of their fans are angry teenage boys. Maybe that's why they are angry?
Then (lost in the shuffle) was "Sarah McBride".
 |
| "Sarah McBride" |
comes out as transgender to supportive campus.
It's important to note Sarah is also the outgoing student government president at "American University" who started her term as "Tim".
Of more importance is "Mara Keising's" description of Sarah:
Keisling, is the executive director
of the D.C.-based National Center for Transgender Equality
<http://transequality.org/> (NCTE) and said "Sarah is remarkable,'' says Keisling. ''She already has quite an
amazing political résumé. She's just going to be a really important,
amazing, significant and visible trans person, I'm convinced. She's
smart, amazing and committed to public service. I think that's why
she's been willing to be visibly out."
Wow! Such a day!!!!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Quote of the Day
"Today is the next day of the life I’ve already had, but at the same
time, the first day of the life I always knew I wanted to lead."
Sarah McBride, outgoing President Student Body, American University explaining her transgender status.
time, the first day of the life I always knew I wanted to lead."
Sarah McBride, outgoing President Student Body, American University explaining her transgender status.
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