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.
These two are also trans community voices whom I asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~
By Mila L-Pavlin and Jayna L-Pavlin
Yesterday, we awoke with the expectation of a day like any other, confident that we were safe in a place like San Francisco. The cold wind caught our wet hair as we scrambled to the car so we could get to work on time. The usual fun chatter in the morning with one another, and traffic that seemed endless filled the early hours with the usual grumbles mixed with perky jokes. Yesterday was different however, different in a way that still has not yet passed between the rational, analytic part to the emotional centers of our brain. Yesterday around mid day, someone 3000 miles away decided that they would pick up a pen and scrawl a name on a piece of paper. Someone 3000 miles away, decided that they would have compassion on us without ever knowing who we were. Someone 3000 miles away decided that we were human and worthy of the value that it implies.
Today we speak for the nameless ones who we would never know, but should be proud to call sister and brother. In every civil rights struggle, there is a basic threshold that must be reached. The idea that a group is more than an object to be laughed at and disposed of, to be used and dismissed, negotiated away to advance another group, and that the group deserves the basic right of life. The Hate Crimes Law does more than just add some wallop additional penalty to the sentencing at a criminal trial, or add a few extra dollars for crime prevention. It sends a message to our fellow Americans saying "think twice before you kill me, because someone 3000 miles away cares enough to recognize me. I am not an invisible object that will disappear when you throw me away. I am not a disposable doll that you can break without someone taking notice. I am not worthless, and I WILL be missed! Think twice when you hit me saying out loud 'it's not like it was a school teacher...or some upstanding citizen', think twice before you hit me again, calling me names and laughing to your friends. I AM HUMAN, at least to one person, with a pen, 3000 miles away, and those who did the hard work and got that piece of paper to that desk. People have shown they can care."
The world changes, and in such a dramatic way that no one may take notice at first. So dramatically that someone who is walking alone in the Midwest, who never owned a TV and can't get a job to pay their bill, may never know, but is affected. When that truck of reckless bullies drives their beat up pickup truck towards her, and fondles their baseball bats and crowbars, thinking of all the fun they will have beating up that poor defenseless "it", suddenly now, they may think twice, and SHE becomes human, and they keep driving, because someone 3000 miles away put ink to a piece of paper that they never saw. They may not pay attention to TV or have internet or listen to the radio, but the world has changed, and they will begin to know whether they are conscious of this change or not.
Cherish this day my fellow Transgender Americans. Today we are human in the eyes of federal law for the first time, a recognized minority worthy of protections long denied, and we should celebrate. We should raise our hands in praise for the thousands of fellow humans who now have a chance, because they are no longer disposable and easily forgotten by a government that has callously turned a blind eye to our very existence in the past.
The challenges are still many, as those that are about to live still are jobless. Many are still homeless and forced into lives that are less than. For the first time however, we were not cast aside, and for that we should be grateful. Now that we are human, perhaps others will listen when we tell them that we too have basic human needs, like food and homes. That yes, just like everyone else we should be able to live and make a living to support ourselves.
Our next great fight now that we are human, is a hope, that 3000 miles away, someone with a pen might say we are worthy of having our livelihoods protected.
A partial transcript (of the somewhat slow loading audio -- emphasis added):
Kate Lynn Blatt: [Irene Kudziela, branch manager of Manpower's Pottsville, Pennsylvania office] goes I talked to the lady at SAPA the HR person there. She goes they really want to hire you back. She goes all you needed to do was take your physical and you will get your start date. You know I would hired into the company. They want benefits, you know 150% pay raise. I would have made more than double what I was making. She says so all they asking is when you go and get your physical taken the doctor takes a picture of your genitals and we can put this all behind us and you can start work there as early as Monday next week.
What kind of doctor is going to do this? My jaw just dropped to the floor and I said do you know what you just asked me to do? I mean seriously. Let me see a picture of the other woman's genitals.
Then she says to me she goes well it's a liability issue she goes and the only people that are going to see this picture, she's been assured, I have her assurances, that the only other people that will see this picture is every female employee on the shift that I work with. That's all, that's it, that's the only people who will see it.
Jayna L-Pavlin: Do they have to show you their's?
Kate Lynn Blatt: No, no. Because they are not trans, why would they have to?
Mila Pavlin: Right. So they are going to put on display in the women's locker room a photo of your genitals for every woman employee to see.
Kate Lynn Blatt: No no. They would have a special meeting see and explain to them that oh you know I'm trans and this is proof that I have transitioned.
Jayna L-Pavlin: It's the equivalent of posting your picture up in the women's locker room.
Kate Lynn Blatt: Sure!
I've seen where some actually question the veracity of Ms. Blatt's story, saying it's unbelievable. I'd disagree. While it's true that no one should have to show a picture of one's genitalia to one's employers to be eligible for a job, I would argue -- as Ms. Blatt seems to also be arguing -- that only women suspected of being trans (or intersexed) would be asked to show pictures of their genitalia as a condition of employment.
[I]t is common to see or hear demands for detailed reasons behind the actions of marginalized groups. How often do cis people insist that trans people fully explain what it means to have a gendered identity (as if cis folk like me don't have one) as a prerequisite to being treated with respect? (Though of course it's rarely spelled out like that.)
Ultimately, this dichotomy has its roots in the nature of normativity. If you do not fit the norm, you are expected to strive to become like the norm unless you can plead your case for why your deviations should be considered acceptable. It may seem as if it should then be acceptable for someone to ask about what is considered the norm. The reason it is not is that when the norm is described, it becomes subject to discourse and inquiry. It loses its power to function invisibly, and the people who fit inside its boundaries face the risk of losing their privilege.
In fact, all women who have a masculine edge to their look have the potential for the same issues coming up. Caster Semenya is a South African runner who has had to submit to gender verification tests after posting some excellent 800-meter times this summer. It appears she looks too masculine and appears too athletic for a female. The New York Times fills in on what the two non-medal winning athletes in a recent race stated:
These kind of people should not run with us," Elisa Cusma of Italy, who finished sixth, said in a postrace interview with Italian journalists. "For me, she's not a woman. She's a man."
Mariya Savinova, a Russian who finished fifth, told Russian journalists that she did not believe Semenya would be able to pass a test. "Just look at her," Savinova said.
Had to pull down your pants or lift up your skirt to prove to other women you're a woman lately? Have you received dirty looks in the public locker room or bathroom lately for looking too masculine? Ever had to have a genetic test to determine whether you're male, female, or intersexed?
By the way, I'm personally awaiting the results for a genetic test I had done at the VA. The test is mostly to determine if I have Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXY instead of the "standard" XY or XX) -- I have many of the symptoms of the syndrome. One of my medical providers suggested I have testing for it because should I have the syndrome, there are secondary health concerns. No matter how the test comes back though, it won't change how I see my gender identity, but it may change how others perceive me. Basically, many will consider me as going from being transsexual to being intersexed if I should have Klinefelter's Syndrome, and many would not consider me to be transgender at all.
So what is my sex? What is my gender? What is (or are) my identity (or identities)? I find I'm far from the only trans, and/or intersexed person who has to ask these questions of themselves. And too, I have "the pleasure" of watching cissexual/cisgender others ask these questions about about the sex and gender of my trans and intersex peers and me, as if what what my trans and intersex peers, as well as myself, find true about ourselves doesn't matter at all. We are instead defined by our genetics, or the shape of our genitalia.
So, I leave you with a thought of Eric Vilain, the chief of medical genetics at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, regarding sex and gender:
Sex should be easily definable, but it's not. Our gender identity our profound sense of being male or female is independent from our anatomy.
Special thanks to Sheila Sha'lo and her pet dragon for creating the basis for the transcript.
Podcasters Mila and Jayna do a really good news round-up of trans and LGBT news, and run what I find to be a very interesting show. This is an example of their work...I especially liked their commentary in this broadcast on internalized transphobia -- and they're always having thoughtful commentaries on subjects like that one.
Anyway, take a listen -- I highly recommend their show, and this is a good episode to check out their show if you haven't listened to it previously.
Okay, it's the weekend, where we sometimes relax and discuss lighter subjects in our virtual coffee house. So, I'm sharing one of my birthday gifts with y'all -- a rendering of me as Coffeegirl.
Well! What a super-wonderful birthday present from my aritstic and creative friends!
We know Coffeegirl is a Kryptonian who was exposed to pink kryptonite while in the womb, which is why her super powers are -- and her life story are -- a little different from Superman's and Supergirl's powers and history. Coffeegirl can fly (think Red Bull wings!), is super speedy (with all that caffeine in her system, that would be expected!), super-verbose (Blah, blah, BLAH, blah, blah!) and she carries with her The Percolator -- a space-aged gun that shoots any beverage (or beverage additive) that a coffee house would have!
Coffeegirl is a superhero that of course stands for Awakening America to Truth, Social Justice, and the Ameridroid way!
So here are some of Coffeegirl's slogans and sayings I dreamed up her -- would love to hear any y'all could add to her repertoire:
• I haven't had my doubleshot hammerhead this morning -- I guess it's hammerhead time!
• Looks like you're going to enjoy a blast of my whipped hazelnut creamer, mister!
• Take it for granted I'm a coffee achiever!
• I don't need anything but decaf shots to take you down, villain!
And of course the classic...
• One lump or two, mister?
Seriously, the artistic rendering of Coffeegirl has been such an incredibly fun birthday present. (Her kicky beret is sooooo "me," y'know?) I already have the artwork up on my About Autumn page, and I'm using Coffeegirl headshots on both twitter and Facebook.
Thank you so much, Jayna and Mila. What a super-fun 50th birthday gift!
Mila Pavlin of Trans-Ponder has posted the first video from the GID Reform Now protest at the American Psychiatric Association 2009 Annual Meeting. She edited the video as well.
Here is the approximately 7-minute speech of MadelineDeutsch, M.D., that she made to the approximately 150 protesters at the event. A transcription of a large portion of the speech begins below the video.
My name is Madeline Deutsch, M.D., and I am a queer, transgender woman. And I'm here to tell Dr. Zucker and the rest of the world that my identity is not pathological. My identity does not belong miscategorized in your book. We live in a society based on individual liberties and informed consent. Each individual should be allowed to make decisions about how to live their own life.
It is true that transgender people do, in many cases, suffer from other conditions, such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder, etc. But, the question is how much of that is due a stresses of being a transgender person in a transphobic world? My answer: Most, if not all of it.
I look at the world around me, and I see a world full of personality disorders, behavioral disorders, and psychotic disorders, which are undiagnosed, untreated, or unattended to. But no one forces these people into a psychotherapeutic environment. It is time to stop forcing the same on transgender people. It is time to change society, and change the system, rather placing the social, financial, and psychological burden on transgender people.
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring.
Resuming the transcript:
Transgender persons who transition have been shown to have [satisfaction and success rates] in up to 99% in some outcome studies. I challenge you Dr. Zucker, Dr. Blanchard, Dr. Lawrence, or anyone else to find other conditions with such his satisfaction and success rates after treatment.
We live in a world where you can walk down any city street, and buy a McDonalds' Big Mac, A pack of cigarettes, a case of beer, and a box of Twinkies. You can do this regardless of your health status, if you have diabetes, or if you have recently have had open heart surgery at the expense of Medicare tax dollars.
In fact, a McDonalds was recently opened in the food court at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country -- the Cleveland Clinic. Imagine that: In Ohio, transgender people are so pathologied, in part of as the result of the DSM-V categorization, that they are not allowed to change their birth certificate -- ever! Yet, if you have open heart surgery in Ohio, at the expense of taxpayers, you may stop by the hospital cafeteria on your way out for a big make and fries.
We need to change these double standards; we need to change the system.
Some familiar disorders may be dropped and diagnostic criteria for others are in line for substantial revision in the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
Schizoaffective disorder and gender identity disorder are among those that may be on the chopping block, according to members of the working groups leading the revision who spoke here at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.
...The elimination of homosexuality as a mental illness in the third DSM edition issued in the 1970s, for example, is now widely viewed as a watershed development in changing society's view from outright hostility to varying degrees of acceptance.
...A four-member group has been charged with developing recommendations and two of its members appeared at a separate forum here.
As described by its chairwoman, Peggy Cohen-Kettinis, Ph.D., of VU University in Amsterdam, the group is facing three main options: keep gender identity disorder approximately as it is, jettison it entirely, or change the name and diagnostic criteria.
As transgender activists protested outside the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting, speakers at the meeting were presenting on the same topic: gender identity disorder (GID). Some of their words would add clinical weight to the political slogans.
Some of the speakers are activists themselves, including Rebecca Allison, MD, cardiologist who is transgender, widely published author Sarah Hoffman, whose son is gender variant, and Hewlett-Packard engineer Kelley Winters, PhD, founder of GID Reform Advocates. Winters1 has called on the APA to use the DSM-V revision to affirm that "in the absence of dysphoria, gender identity and expression that vary from assigned birth sex are not, in themselves, grounds for diagnosing a mental disorder."
Some mental health professionals made the same point in their own presentations. Sidney W. Ecker, MD, a former clinical professor of urology at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, and chief of urology at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, was scheduled to review studies documenting that factors that influence gender identity are present before birth. While social and hormonal influences act later during childhood, he wrote, "gender identity is determined before and persists despite these effects."2
Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, Calif, had a message more difficult for psychiatrists to hear. "The mental health profession has been consistently doing harm to children who are not 'gender normal,' and they need to retrain," she told Psychiatric Times. Ehrensaft has specialized in therapy for foster children as well as for children with gender issues...
Trans-Ponder's Jayna L-Pavlin and Mila Pavlin have promised us some video from the protest after they've processed it.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with a message that the approximately 150 GID Reform Now were sending to the American Psychiatric Association:
"We got homosexuality out of the DSM because of protests at the APA," [Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California] pointed out. "Now it's time to do the same with GID."
Wow. You want to see an Autumn Sandeen For Pam's House Blend video interview where I'm at my least analytic and coherent, this video is it!
This particular interview was done at the end of a 16 or 17 hour long Saturday at the California Transgender Leadership Summit -- and right after Peterson Toscano's performance of Transfigurations and Joe Stevens' (one-half of Coyote Grace) two musical sets at the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center -- plus I'd had only 4 hours sleep the night before...I was essentially punch drunk. Oh my gosh, my hands are just flailing about in what many would see in a distracting way, I use terms like "crap" and "queer-o-sexuals" ... Wow. I was so tired, I was breakin' all the professionalism "rules" of interviewing.
This was not me in my finest of interviewing -- but at the same time, I look at this interview as such an informal, incredibly fun, and compelling interview to do, because...
...the interview subjects! What a great couple that lesbian, transgender woman Mila Pavlin, and "Bacon Tomato; bisexual, transgender woman" Jayna L-Pavlin (her words, not mine!) were to interview! Mila and Jayna are the co-creators (and on-air talent) for the podcast Trans-Ponder; they write quality comic book Ocity (how kewl is that!), and they both have really, really interesting day jobs. And, that they're both trans and legally married to each other -- again, what an really interesting couple doing really interesting things!
Oh -- and the two do identify as a queer couple, which we discussed before the interview, so playfully calling the pair queer-o-sexuals was definitely meant in an celebratory and endearing way.
From the interview:
Mila Pavlin: ...Trans-Ponder is never a back-up plan!
Autumn Sandeen: And, this is where we're going to start talking, because besides you [Mila] being working [sic] at the Transgender Law Center -- which is one of the major organizers of this summit -- and you [Jayna] working as a video game programmer...
Jayna L-Pavlin: Not a programmer! An artist!
Autumn Sandeen: An artist!
Jayna L-Pavlin:Animator, 3-D stuff, yes.
Video game development.
Autumn Sandeen: Video game development. See, that would have been a better word for me to use because "development" covers so much crap.
Mila Pavlin: It's a big word.
Autumn Sandeen: It's a big word, and it doesn't have to have any [specific] meaning...
But you also run a really kewl [inaudible]...
Mila Pavlin: Podcast.
Autumn Sandeen: Podcast.
Jayna L-Pavlin: Podcast.
Mila Pavlin: Internet radio.
Ah yes. These two create the Trans-Ponder podcast, create the Ocity Comic Book, as well as provide a means to obtain a well designed transgender symbol necklace. Is there any magic these two creative folk couldn't do well? Somehow, I doubt it.
Somehow, I doubt it. 
