The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Chaz was on Good Morning America describing his life's progression and how he came to be a public advocate for the LGB and now the T. A few days ago Blend reader Hector sent me a link to this wonderful New York Times article about the pianist Sara Davis Buechner. Both of these stories, not to mention the story of our own barista Autumn, remind me how much is at stake in terms of privacy and profession for people who transition as adults. I thank Chaz, Sara, Autumn and so many Blend readers for allowing me to walk a moment in their shoes.
We have seen that the media and public preoccupation with transition-related surgeries has had demonstrable negative impact on policies that affect transpeople. It should not be acceptable to us or to society that people's human rights or access to appropriate ID documents or ability to live safely be dependent on their ability to be able to afford surgery which most transpeople cannot. And the preoccupation with our surgeries and the assumption that we all have surgeries or want surgeries makes these bad realities acceptable to the public.
As our collective work to make medical care more available to transpeople succeeds, the numbers of surgeries are likely to rise, but we have an obligation to discuss the realities of transgender lives in ways that are true to who we are and also help advance humane and useful policies.
~~Mara Keisling, in the National Center for Transgender Equality's (NCTE's) T-Equality Blog
Mara Keisling's article commenting on the correctness of her original statement is reprinted in entirety below the fold (by permission).
I'm ready to be persuaded I'm wrong. It seems to me though that the CNN reporter either took the message that NCTE was trying to send and boiled it down to something that NCTE wasn't trying to communicate, or I filtered what NCTE was trying to say about the healthcare of trans people through my own biases and saw something in the original CNN article that wasn't really in the NCTE statement.
Let us know in the comments what you think -- especially if you're not trans. Since the CNN article wasn't directed at a trans audience, your thoughts about what message you were and weren't sent by the original CNN piece is probably the more important viewpoint than Mara's or mine.
Well, Chaz Bono has been identified as someone who is going to transition from female-to-male, and members of the press went searching for a trans spokesmodel for comment. No surprise there.
Someone's decision to transition does not necessarily mean they are undergoing gender reassignment surgery, and in many cases they do not, said Mara Keisling, executive director of the Washington-based National Center for Transgender Equality.
"The whole media fixation on surgery is kind of misplaced," she said. "Almost no transgender people ever have surgery. We don't have any idea how many do."
At a time when trans folk and our allies want to see health care benefits provided by the workplace increased for trans people -- including genital reconstruction surgery that has been determined to be good for the health and wellbeing of many transsexuals -- Mara's phrasing for CNN seems at best unfortunate, and at worst actually damaging for increasing health benefits for those of us trans folk who actually identify as transsexual.
In other words, for me it would be nice for me if the Veterans Administration would do genial reassignment surgeries, but her comment "Almost no transgender people ever have surgery" makes it sound like my peers and I don't want those surgeries for ourselves -- so in the personal sense it sounds like she's saying to the general public that I don't want or need the VA to cover it.
The reality is that insurance doesn't often cover genital reconstruction surgeries, so most transsexuals can't afford the $15,000 to $60,000 for male-to-female genital reconstruction surgery, or the $30,000 to $150,000 for female-to-male genital reconstruction surgery out of their own pockets. Economics are often the main reason why the transgender people who identify as transsexual don't have genital reconstruction surgery. Some transsexuals actually do identify as non-operative transsexuals, but my experiece is that those folk aren't how most transsexuals identify -- most who haven't had genital reconstruction surgery identify as pre-operative even if they anticipate never being able to afford surgery on their genitalia.
I believe that what Mara was trying to say was that for transsexuals, when we are born what's between our ears doesn't match the genitalia usually associated with that gender. However, having genitalia that doesn't match one's gender identity shouldn't be used by media or politicians to say that trans men aren't really men, or trans women aren't really women -- Genitals don't trump identity.
And too, not everyone who identifies as a transgender person is a transsexual person -- there are crossdressers, genderqueers, and such that may identify as transgender, but not as transsexuals.
But, this isn't what she actually said -- or worse, what she actually implied -- with how she worded her response to Chaz Bono's transition.
Engh, I know that trans activist leaders are going to be quoted when "big news" transitions take place, and gaffs will occur when talking to the press. I just wish Mara would have thought about how to answer that standard question about gender and genitalia a bit more than she appears to have for this occasion; I hope she thinks through a "standard blurb" for that standard question on gender and genitalia for future interviews regarding high profile transitions.
And too, I certainly hope no one takes what Mara Keisling said this time and attempts to use it as an argument against insurance companies paying for genital reconstruction surgeries, or even covering other services for trans people -- such as hormone therapy and psychological counseling. That would be tragic.
NCTE gets a monthly donation from me, and that certainly won't change. Gaff's happen; we all move forward. I do hope NCTE clarifies what Mara meant very early next week though, as this statement she made for CNN really is a gaff that could hurt trans people's quest for a future thst includes more inclusive medical care.
Wow. This has to be the highest profile transition in recent memory. Let's see what the MSM does with this story as it unfolds; one can only hope that journalists will be fair and accurate and bring some rational perspective to transgender issues. I really don't want to see journalists try to find some fundnut to present the "other side" of the story for the sake of "balance."
Chastity Bono, the celebrity offspring of the singer and late husband Sonny Bono, is changing gender from female to male, her publicist told the Daily News on Thursday.
The 40-year-old, known to family and friends as Chaz, came out as a lesbian nearly two decades ago. Bono intends to make the transition from woman to man, publicist Howard Bragman said.
"Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity," Bragman said.
"He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by loved ones.
"Chaz Bono's decision to live his life authentically represents an important step forward, both for him personally and for all who are committed to advancing discussions about fairness and equality for transgender people," said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "Coming out as transgender is an extremely personal decision and one that is never made lightly. We look forward to hearing Chaz's story in his own words in the future."
"GLAAD encourages media outlets to cover this story accurately, and to avoid speculation about the details of Chaz's story before he is ready to share them," Giuliano added.
The GLAAD Media Reference Guide urges media to use the name and pronoun preferred by the transgender person - in this case, referring to him as Chaz and using male pronouns. GLAAD also strongly urges media to avoid making assumptions about what medical decisions or steps Chaz Bono may or may not undertake as part of his transition.
A few days ago Blend reader Hector sent me a link to 
