International Transgender Day Of Remembrance

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EST

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester's murder - like most anti-transgender murder cases - has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender - that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant - each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.

We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn't perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who've died by anti-transgender violence.

As of yesterday morning, there are 119 documented deaths internationally that meet the criteria for inclusion for reading the list of the dead. That's just shy of an average of 10 known deaths a month.

For those who are interested in U.S. deaths, I count 13 U.S. deaths on the list. For another year, that still averages to about one death a month in the U.S. due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

For me, after covering the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial last April, TDOR has been made all too personal. Angie was Latina; many lost lives on the list this year are from Latin America. And, I still see the image I saw in court of Angie lying on the floor in a pool of blood, hear the painful voices of her family members, and realize there are dozens of real people who died in anti-transgender hatred or prejudice this past year -- just like Angie.

Hate and violence are all too real and personal for me; I don't just see 119 disconnected names of victims of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice, but instead painfully see 119 human lives lost in anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Select here for a list of those who will be remembered.

Select here for memorial event locations, dates, and times.

Trans Erasure Again In The Coverage Of The Puerto Rico Hate Crime Victim

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 15:30:00 PM EST

Update 2: Mike Lavers has an update on how Jorge identitied here:

This is Mike Lavers from EDGE Publications. I have covered Jorge's death extensively for the Web site, and I'd like to offer some additional information. My source in Puerto Rico, who remains in constant contact with Jorge's friends and family, definitely confirms Jorge identified as a gay man--and not transgender as some folks continue to argue. His perceived or actual (and I deliberately speak in the subjunctive here) gender identity or expression certainly continues to garner a lot of attention and/or speculation, but from what I know at this point from sources in Puerto Rico I will not conclude Jorge identified as transgender. As someone who has covered trans and trans-related issues for a number of years, I certainly understand and appreciate those folks who continue to point out Jorge was trans, but the way Jorge reportedly identified himself leads me to believe he was gay--and not trans (at least from where I sit.) I am more than happy to talk further about this, so don't hesitate to contact me directly at mklavers@gmail.com.

~~Autumn~~

When the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) mainstream media (MSM) can't get trans related stories right, I have to wonder what the hell is wrong with LGB reporters who the lack of competency regarding trans people and issues. Trans people are part of the LGBT community; it's not that incredibly hard to develop professional relationships with transgender people; not that hard to familiarize oneself with the Associated Press Styleguide, GLAAD Media Guide's Transgender Glossary, and the old NLGJA Styleguide Supplement.

This is what the Associated Press Styleguide states under the term transgender:

Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

So how should a LGBT media organization report on the murder of a street sex worker who had male genitalia, who presented as female? Not as 365Gay did in their piece they egregiously titled Murder suspect thought Puerto Rico gay teen was a woman:

The Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevodia reports that the suspect in the killing of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado is Juan antonio Martinez Matos, 26 years old and father of four. (This is a translation from a colleague; the link is www.elnuevodia.com/confiesaasesinatodejovenhomosexual-638687.html and we'd appreciate corrections!)

Martinez Matos was "looking for women" in a red light district last Friday. He had already been turned down several times, but Lopez Mercado, wearing a blue dress and boots, agreed to get in his car.

District Attorney Jose J. Bermudez says that in his confession, Martinez Matos said that he thought Lopez Mercado was a woman. The victim asked him for money and when he refused, Lopez Mercado pulled out a knife.  When Martinez Matos realized that the teenager was actually male, he had a flashback to when he was raped in prison while he was serving a sentence for domestic violence. He then attacked Lopez Mercado, separating his arms from his torso...

Given the facts of this story as we know them, this is not the story of a gay teen that was killed. This is the story of a trans teen who was allegedly brutally murdered -- where the confessed killer is claiming a trans panic/gay panic defense for his actions. In death, the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals lived publicly is she and her, not the implied he and him found in describing the murder victim as a gay.

[More below the fold.]

Geoff Kors: Speech To Equality California Awards Event In San Diego, California

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Nov 17, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM EST

And by the way, pay close note to the paragraph entitled The LGBT community must stop endorsing and giving money to candidates for office who do not support full and complete equality. It sounds like someone is tacitly agreeing with the concept that Pam has been emphasizing at The Blend about the gAyTM: Holding politicians accountable for their positions on issues and their record of LGBT related legislative accomplishments. Although Geoff Kors doesn't say it directly, it's obviously not too far a stretch in holding politicians accountable on the state level to holding politicians and the DNC accountable on the national level.
~~Autumn~~

By Geoff Kors

We are less than two weeks since the election where Maine voters stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry by an even slightly wider margin than California voters did last year. But election day had many bright spots: Kalamazoo residents voted overwhelmingly to preserve anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and Washingtonians, by a slim majority, voted to keep their newly enacted domestic partnership law. As we think about these results, and the loss last year on Prop 8, we need to consider them in the context of the long struggle for equality.

Ten years ago today on November 14, 1999, you could have been fired from your job or denied an apartment simply because of your sexual orientation or gender identity. You could have been denied routine health care by your insurance company because you were transgender. You and your partner were legal strangers. After a life time together your deceased partner's estranged family members could take your inheritance, your home and your kids. And our community was less than four months away from a devastating defeat at the polls when Prop 22, with the exact same wording as Prop 8, passed with a whopping 23 percentage point margin.

Fast forward to today and things are dramatically different. Over the past 10 years, Equality California in partnership with the LGBT legislative caucus and our allies, has helped pass an unprecedented 63 pieces of legislation on behalf of the LGBT community, including many bills that have not yet been enacted anywhere else in the country such as the equal benefits law, legislation to prohibit discrimination in health insurance based on gender identity, and legislation passed and signed into law just last month that requires that same-sex couples married outside of California, before the Court ruled in support of marriage equality, during the window when marriages were happening equally in our state and even after prop 8 was passed be treated identically to any other married couple in this state. And also passed and signed last month -- legislation creating the first state holiday named after an openly gay person in our nation -- Harvey Milk Day. And during these 10 years we have defeated over 30 anti-LGBT bills and helped elect dozens of legislators and statewide officials who support equality. And we closed the gap on an anti-marriage equality initiative from a 23 point loss to a 4 point loss. Not enough to win majority support at the ballot box but tremendous movement on the most difficult social issue the electorate has been allowed to vote on.

WE HAVE MADE AMAZING PROGRESS.

BUT THE TRUTH REMAINS THAT while a majority of voters may be willing to support our right to hold a job and in some states a slim majority will support our having domestic partnership, they also remain willing to strip away our right to marry, making it clear they do not fully accept us as equal to them. We are still the other.

So how do we change that and achieve equality and acceptance, especially in light of these recent elections

We must continue to come out and tell our stories. That is why EQCA has already added 20 field staff who are leading thousands of grassroots volunteers in the places that account for 65% of the Yes on 8 Vote including here in San Diego. And we are making progress. Over the past 6 months our staff and volunteers working with coalition partners have engaged in over 600,000 conversations and knocked on over half a million doors. Thank you to each of you here tonight that has participated in these canvasses. And thank you to the rest of you who will be joining them in the weeks and months ahead.

The LGBT community must stop endorsing and giving money to candidates for office who do not support full and complete equality. Until the politicians who take our community for granted realize that they can no longer count on our votes unless we can count on their votes, they will not change. EQCA's Political Action Committee only endorses candidates who support our equality 100 percent. Sitting by as a minority group is stripped of their rights is immoral and should not be rewarded with an endorsement. And that applies not just to people like Meg Whitman but also, with all due respect, to Barak Obama.

We must make clear that there is nothing wrong with children learning that there are LGBT people. All children should grow up in a world where the learn that one day they can fall in love and get married regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity and are safe to live their lives as who they are. The danger isn't in children learning about LGBT people in School. The danger is in their not learning this. Those who oppose us are praying on parents fears that their children will choose to be gay and, in the process, are creating a climate of hate that results in tragedies like the execution shooting of 15 year old Lawrence King in Oxnard last year and LGBT teenagers committing suicide because they are ostracized in our schools. It is time to call our opponents out for the damage their hatred causes.

Tonight, Equality California is thrilled to celebrate those who stand with us and honor and show our support for those who have done extraordinary things to advance LGBT equality and acceptance. People like Diane Schroer, Stuart Milk and Jerry Brown.

Friday This & That: Open Thread

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 13, 2009 at 16:00:00 PM EST

Well, Thursday was fun. I spent eight-and-a-half hours at the VA. I went to the Dental Clinic for an emergency appointment -- one of my two front teeth is a cap, and it fell off Wednesday night. The dentist just cemented the fake tooth back in place. Then I went to Urgent Care to get my toe looked at as I stubbed it so bad on Tuesday morning that my nail technician and I thought it was broken. Well, it's not, but it took about seven hours before it got looked at. So, Thursday was a long day, essentially spent mostly in VA Medical Center waiting rooms. But hey, I'm fine!

So anywho, below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at news-wise late this week.

• The MSNBC's Arkansas evangelist gets 175 years for child sex; Preacher Tony Alamo had been accused of getting 'married' to young girls:

TEXARKANA, Arkansas - A federal judge on Friday sentenced Evangelist Tony Alamo to 175 years in prison for child sex crimes.

Several of the child "wives" who helped convict evangelist Tony Alamo of federal sex charges took the witness stand during his sentencing hearing.

The 75-year-old leader of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was convicted in July on a 10-count indictment accusing him of taking young girls across state lines for sex...

...In court filings, federal prosecutors said three of the women Alamo "married" at ages as young as eight had submitted written statements for Alamo's sentencing report...

Godly Perverts -- Ugh.

• NASA's Got Water? Yes and a Whole Lot More!:

The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water.

Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.

NASA today opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon's south pole.

The impact created by the LCROSS Centaur upper stage rocket created a two-part plume of material from the bottom of the crater. The first part was a high angle plume of vapor and fine dust and the second a lower angle ejecta curtain of heavier material. This material has not seen sunlight in billions of years.

I love planetary astronomy!

[Below the fold: The President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary talks about transgender people & clothing; school sanctioned cash for grades, and our Wiener Story Of The Day involves ex-gay Pastor Ted Haggard.]

Tuesday This & That; Open Thread

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 20:00:00 PM EST

So below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at so far this week.

• Are you Trans? Do you live in New England? Have healthcare system related issues? Well, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders's (GLAD's) Please Share Your Story; Thank you for telling us about your experience with health care coverage related to your transition.:

GLAD is collecting stories about people's experiences with health insurance coverage related to gender transition, to help us determine how we can best address legal concerns in this area.

Please note: because GLAD's work is focused in New England, we are specifically interested in stories from people in the six New England states.

Thank you for sharing your story. All information you provide to GLAD will be kept completely confidential. We do ask that you provide contact information so that we can follow up with you if necessary.

If you would rather not fill out this survey online but would like to tell us your story, you can call GLAD's Legal InfoLine at 617-426-1350, and talk to someone on the phone...

So, follow this link to take the survey, or call the number above!

• The New York' Complications Grow for Muslims Serving in U.S. Military:

...Thousands of Muslims have served in the United States military -- a legacy that some trace to the First World War. But in the years since Sept. 11, 2001, as the United States has become mired in two wars on Muslim lands, the service of Muslim-Americans is more necessary and more complicated than ever before.

In the aftermath of the shootings at Fort Hood on Thursday by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan of the Army, a psychiatrist, many Muslim soldiers and their commanders say they fear that the relationship between the military and its Muslim service members will only grow more difficult.

On Sunday, the Army's chief of staff, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said he worried about a backlash against Muslims in the armed forces and emphasized the military's reliance on those men and women.

"Our diversity, not only in our Army but in our country, is a strength," General Casey said Sunday on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse." ...

Good read. Highly recommend the whole piece.

• San Francisco Chronicle's Study: Fiddler crabs exchange sex for survival:

In the world of fiddler crabs, the best form of protection for females is, apparently, having sex with the neighbors, according to an Australian study published Wednesday.

Researchers from The Australian National University in Canberra found male fiddler crabs will happily defend a nearby female against intruders - partly because the females will dole out sex in return.

"The fact that the neighbor comes over and helps to defend another territorial individual is pretty unusual," said Michael Jennions, who helped conduct the study, the results of which were published in the journal Biology Letters.

"This study shows, for the first time, that in exchange for sex and other benefits, males protect their female neighbors from territory-seeking male intruders...

This must say something about my sexuality -- Reading this article, the first thing that came to my mind is Krabby Patties.

• FWD/Forward's Reclamation: thoughts from a fat hairy uppity lame bitch:

Wheelchair Dancer extends our understanding of crip/gimp reclamation in a wonderful post about gender and embodiment that is difficult to encapsulate in a pullquote -- read the whole thing at "Butch/Femme -- Crip":

A while back in this post, I spoke of bones and muscle. I'd like to go back to that place. I am drawn there as a dancer and as a sexual person. The bones of my body hold true for me; my muscles are what my body has given me. So even when my joints are unstable and my muscles torque and spasm, I recognize in these places parts of my deepest self. I strive to hold on to these selfs in every day life and in dance. I strive to bring them to the street and to the stage. Does desiring muscle and bone make me butch and deny me femme as positions from which I can navigate the world?

This, I think, is crip, is gimp. It is an understanding of the sexuality of the deepest and rawest parts of the body -- it is not so much a focus on gender presentation and on responses to gendered roles. It is an answer to the call of the fibres, the sinews, the fluids, and the infinite structure of the bones.

Moving on from these words for physical disability, you can delve into the reclamation of pejorative terms for neurologically atypical people. The most striking example is possibly Mad Pride, a movement that fights for the rights of people labeled with psychiatric illnesses and affected by abusive mental health systems. Ira Socol argues (somewhat controversially) for "Retard Theory", at SpeEdChange.

Thought provoking stuff in that blog on the convergence of disability and feminism, for sure.

• Los Angeles Times' VW bus stolen 35 years ago is found in shipping container bound for Europe; Customs agents inspecting a load bound for the Netherlands discovered a 1965 van that disappeared from a Spokane repair shop in 1974. CHP investigators are searching for the thieves.:

When U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Los Angeles opened a shipping container bound for the Netherlands, they discovered a 1965 Volkswagen bus stolen in Washington state 35 years ago.

Far out, man!

The unusual seizure of the bus on Oct. 19 came during a routine inspection of several Volkswagens that were being shipped by an Arizona restorer to customers in Europe. The vehicle identification number of the bus, which was swiped in Spokane on July 12, 1974, was still in police computers.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" customs spokesman Jaime Ruiz said Thursday when the find was announced...

Wow!

• Our Wiener Story Of The Day: Bloomberg's Mini-Hot Dogs With Brown Sauce Boost London's W8: Richard Vines:

Sometimes, a dish may stop you in your tracks for the right reasons: cutting through the small talk, pulling your wandering eye back to the plate and causing an involuntary movement that returns wine glass to table.

Game consomme with bacon cream and a small game hot dog --a starter at Philip Howard's informal new west London venue, Kitchen W8 -- take a bow. (The kitchen is headed by Mark Kempson of the Vineyard at Stockcross, so he should take one, too.)

The consomme comes in a mug, and I confess I've asked the restaurant what's in it, rather than just identifying through taste the grouse, venison, pheasant and mallard that have gone into it. It's topped with thick and creamy bacon foam.

The texture is like an old-fashioned Irish coffee. It's richly flavored and comforting on a cold day and the gourmet mini-hot dog served on the plate alongside the mug may raise a smile. It's venison, hare and pork and comes with a sweet-and- sour brown sauce with onions, spices, malt vinegar and beer...

So...wiener soup? Sounds interesting! Now if I ever get to London...

So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?

And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because...it's an open thread! Woo-hoo!

Focus On Activism: Cleveland, Ohio And Trans Antidiscrimination

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 13:45:00 PM EST

Ask Cleveland, Cleveland's most active LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights organization, announced today that Cleveland volunteers will present more than 2,500 postcards from supporters of a transgender non-discrimination law to members of Cleveland City Council before Monday evening's Council meeting. The postcards, signed by voters across the city, urge council to enact legislation that would add gender identity and gender expression to the city's existing non-discrimination law.

"Right now, it's legal to fire someone from a job, throw them out of housing, or even deny them service in a restaurant just because they're transgender," explained David Caldwell, spokesperson for Ask Cleveland. Transgender people, including thousands of people in our city, make up one of the most marginalized groups in society. A 2006 study concluded that the unemployment rate for transgender people was 35%, with 59% earning less than $15,300 annually. Many of Ask Cleveland's own transgender volunteers have suffered discrimination -- discrimination that is currently legal.

So what did Ask Cleveland do? Here's the plan:

In response to an August survey by the Gay People's Chronicle, an Ohio gay newspaper, only 8 of the 21 members of City Council expressed support for the non-discrimination law. "It will be much easier for members of Council to publicly express their support for this law -- and vote to pass it -- knowing that thousands of the voters they represent are asking them to support it," added Caldwell.

Ask Cleveland, a volunteer-based grassroots organization, has been working since May to organize supporters of the law in Cleveland.  Hundreds of volunteers have talked with thousands of voters where they live - Glenville, Fairfax, Collinwood, Edgewater and other neighborhoods. "We've seen overwhelming support for legislation that would protect transgender people in our city," said Jennifer Dowd, Ask Cleveland's field director, "and it's clear that voters want Cleveland to join the many cities throughout Ohio that already have laws like this one."

Basic civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is something the general public has been supporting in opinion polls, and have voted to support is cities like Gainesville, Florida and Kalamazoo, Michigan. It seems that antidiscrimination and public accommodation laws are the low-hanging fruit on the LGBT civil rights tree. Essentially, there's no reason to think civil rights based on gender identity and expression couldn't become law in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kate Bornstein: Thoughts About Hate Crime Legislation

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 07:00:00 AM EST

Kate Bornstein is yet another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Kate Bornstein

So now we've got a federal law that deems it a hate crime if you go after someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That's a big deal. That includes a great many people. Last time I looked, the people who define themselves based on their sexual orientation or included all these folks who -- if you fuck with them -- you're facing hate crime charges.

L for Lesbian	D for Drag Queens	G for Genderqueer
G for Gay	D for Drag Kings	T for Two Spirit
B for Bisexual	D for DragFuck Royalty	K for Kinky
T for Transgender	I for Intersex	P for Pornographers
Q for Queer	F for Feminists	P for Pansexual
Q for Questioning	F for Furries	P for Polyamory
A for Asexual	F for Femme	Q for Queer Heterosexual
A for Adult Entertainers	B for Butch	ETC for et cetera
S for Sadomasochists	M for MSM	AI for ad infinitum
S for Sex Workers	W for WSW	AI for queer Artificial Intelligence
S for Swingers

Now, if the Hate Crimes Act includes all those people, then hip-hip-hooray for our side. As a friend recently quipped on Twitter, "One giant step for transkind."

Yes, yes. Just the way it is -- even if most people disagree with my list here -- the bill is a big step forward in LGBTQ etc freedom. One step at a time, right? I know what that's about, one step at a time. I'm a good 12-stepper -- sometimes, and with some things. So Yay! for this giant step.

AND I'm impatient. I'm impatient not for more laws that would protect more people. I'm impatient for change in our culture that would bring us closer to not needing the frakking laws in the first place. I'm impatient for change in our culture that would include a sex-and-gender political coalition that would include everyone I've listed above. And that would be only the first step in my plans for world domination:

1. We all of us -- sex positivists and gender anarchists -- would have to agree on an organizational structure that doesn't other anyone. There are some good examples in religions like the Quakers and the Unitarians -- and other religions that don't base themselves in patriarchal rule -- which is often a key factor to homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and sex negativity. (Sex and gender activists would do well to acknowledge our allies in religious circles of spiritual power. We're gonna need a whole hell of a lot of religion if we're gonna stay together as a band of committed sex and gender outlaws.)

2. We'd have to agree on a political philosophy for ourselves that wouldn't other anyone. Frak this left-wing, right-wing BS. That's just another binary and if you're reading this column, you know how to deconstruct a frakking binary: you expose it as the lie that masks the truth of a hierarchal system of oppression. So we'd need a political philosophy that transcends the binary of left and right wing politics. There are models for that sort of thing going way back in time to Goddess culture and matriarchal rule. Well, wouldn't that be hotter and more fun than what we've got? It's only going to work once the left-wing/right-wing false binary has been resolved. There's truth in both sides. We just need to abide by the politics extant where those truths overlap. And please, we'd have to agree not to be mean to each other.  

3. We'd need a name that everyone would have fun using for themselves, a name that included everyone who thinks highly of their own commitment to sexual positivity and the embracing of gender anarchy.

4. The day-to-day activism/politics of this coalition would be all about agreed-upon compassionate triage and timely action.

5. Finally, we'd need to establish strong alliances with activists fighting for equity along the political vectors of age, race, class, religion, looks, ability, citizenship, language, and family status... and any other hierarchal system of oppression I've failed to spot and mention.  

6. Once we've established those alliances, we and our allies need to get together in a big room on a representative basis -- all of us people who are fighting for equity of identity, desire, and power in gender, sexuality, age, race, class, religion, looks, ability, citizenship, language and family status. As a new and larger and more diverse groups, we'd have to do steps one through four above. Then we should be ready to take over the frakking world.

But that's not going to happen for a long time, if ever at all. So the best each of us can do right now is give heartfelt thanks to the people who pushed through and approved the Hate Crime Bill. Here's hoping we can make the most of it and build ourselves a world in which we no longer need laws.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

The Work Isn't Done Until The Bureaucratic Processes Are In Place

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 21:30:00 PM EST

Kalamazoo voters approved an expanded anti-discrimination ordinance Tuesday, but the process for filing a complaint alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is still a work in progress.

...Now city officials are working on developing a process for people to file discrimination grievances and have them investigated.

Kalamazoo City Attorney Clyde Robinson said he is not anticipating a brisk business as a result of the ordinance, pointing to the experience of several other Michigan communities that have adopted similar laws.

But the paperwork, staffing and expense tied to administering Kalamazoo's new law are still unknown...

Form boxes to fill out for documentation:

The document should include "names, dates, witnesses and other factual matters relevant to the claim," according to the new city ordinance.

So, the work on the Kalamazoo Ordinance isn't complete is in place to file the appropriate form is developed to file the appropriate documentation to document alleged discrimination.

Woo-hoo! Forms!

Weekend This & That: Open Thread

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 10:30:00 AM EST

So below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at into the weekend.

• The New York Times' Can A Boy Wear A Skirt To School?:

BY now, most high school dress codes have just about done away with the guesswork.

Girls: no midriff-baring blouses, stiletto heels, miniskirts.

Boys: no sagging pants, muscle shirts.

But do the math.

"Rules" + "teenager" = "challenges."

If the skirt is an acceptable length, can a boy wear it?

Can a girl attend her prom in a tuxedo?

In recent years, a growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate - or confound - gender identity and sexual orientation. Certainly they have been confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans...

The article goes on to talk about High School dress codes across the country. Recommended read.

• Opposition piece from Focus On The Family's/CitizenLink's Lawmakers Consider Special Rights for Homosexuals:

The Senate held a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) this week.  ENDA would enshrine special rights for homosexuals in the workplace, based on sexual orientation and gender identity.    

Craig Parshall, senior vice president and general counsel for National Religious Broadcasters, was the only witness to speak against the bill, although a number of pro-family groups are campaigning against it.  Throughout the hearing, Parshall heard cries for fundamental fairness and rights.

"What about the civil rights, the civil opportunities and privileges of private enterprise," he said, "to conduct its business free of these exotic new value systems?" ...

• Los Angeles Times' California's best years have passed, voters say In a survey of 1,500 registered voters, 80% say the state is on the wrong track. Respondents express little confidence in state politicians and candidates, even as support for Obama remains high.:

Frustrated at California's woes, voters are sharply pessimistic about whether the next governor will be able to move the state in the right direction, and most believe California is in the midst of a long-term decline, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.

...There was little confidence that the next governor, whoever he or she may be, would be able to successfully battle California's problems. Voters were split over whether the winning candidate would be able to bring about "real change." More than half of voters said that California's problems are long-term in nature and will not ease substantially when the national economy recovers.

"I just feel like we are spinning our wheels," said Tracey Blair, a mother of two from Mar Vista who described herself in a follow-up interview as an independent-minded Democrat. "I don't feel like it's going anywhere at the moment. . . . It's a feeling of -- like we've peaked." ...

...Asked whether California was headed in the right direction or was on the wrong track, only 14% said the state was moving in the right direction. That was the lowest such finding since October 1992, when an equal percentage expressed dismay. It was statistically equivalent to the 17% level reached just before the 2003 recall swept out Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and installed Schwarzenegger. Altogether, 4 in 5 Californians surveyed said they felt the state was headed down the wrong track -- slightly worse than in 2003...

*Sigh*

• Our not quite Wiener Story Of The Day: The Tehran Times' Red, processed meats linked to prostate cancer:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Men who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those who limit such foods, a large study of U.S. men suggests.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that among more than 175,000 men they followed for nine years, those who ate the most red and processed meats had heightened risks of developing any stage of prostate cancer, or advanced cancer in particular.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, add to a conflicting body of research on meat intake and prostate cancer risk. Because studies over the years have come to different conclusions, experts generally consider the evidence linking red and processed meats to the disease to be limited and inconclusive.

These latest findings do not settle the question. But they do suggest that processed red meats and high-heat cooking methods -- namely, grilling and barbecuing -- may be particularly connected to prostate cancer risk, according to Dr. Rashmi Sinha and her colleagues at the NCI...

So...I'm confused. Are wieners -- as processed red meat -- evil, or not so evil? Engh, never mind. Most are too fatty anyway.

• Our Wiener Story Of The Day: WCAX.com's Burlington Honors Hot Dog Lady:

The Queen of Hot Dog's in Vermont was honored Saturday.

Lois Bodoky, known to most as "The Hot Dog Lady", received red carpet treatment today.

For 28 years Bodoky operated a hot dog cart on Church Street.

She retired in 2005.

Saturday, the city unveiled a plaque outside Homeport, honoring her years of service to hungry customers. The location is where she operated the cart after her beauty shop burned down in the 70s.

Bodoky says she misses her customers, especially feeding the needy for free...

So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?

And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because...it's an open thread! Woo-hoo!

Released From Weight Control Monitoring

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 07:30:00 AM EST

So that said, on Saturday I posted my diary about finding out I have a normal male karyotype. Today is another a diary about another medical appointment at the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center, San Diego, from the past week.

Specifically, Friday was my last appointment at the Weight Control clinic -- they "released" me. For those who haven't been following my weight issues for the past two years, I had Gastric Bypass surgery on February 12th, 2008.  From my peak weight of 296 pounds, I've lost about 125 pounds -- I've been maintaining my weight  between about 165 and 170 pounds, and have been maintaining that weight range for slightly under a year.

The next "stop" in my treatment regimen is a consult to plastic surgeon for a possible tummy tuck. I have some excess skin around my waist, and I rash a bit underneath the fold of that excess skin. So, although the tummy tuck would be ostensively to treat the propensity I have to rash under the skin fold that came into being from relatively rapid weight loss, the obvious secondary result would be having the kind of stomach I could show off in a two piece bathing suit next summer.

Now that is an odd thought. From having a body seven summers ago where only wearing swim shorts was appropriate at the beach or pool, to having a body next summer where breasts and genitalia are appropriately covered in two pieces -- and skin shows between those two pieces -- at the beach or pool...well, that's an interesting change in life experience.

So, a tummy tuck would definitely help my body to become more hourglass shaped than it is now. And, even though that wouldn't be my reason to have a tummy tuck, it is the reason a number of trans women I personally know have had that particular surgery. This is something to think about, my cissexual lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) blender friends -- what's the last surgery you had to better become your L, G, or B self? There is money pit of surgeries that trans women (like me) and trans men may have -- beyond genital reconstruction surgery -- to reshape our non-stereotypically male or female bodies to the more stereotypical norms of male and female body shapes. Consider yourself lucky if you don't need 'em.

~~~~~
Related:
* Surgery Set For February
* Dates Are Set, So Full Speed Ahead
* Under The (Hopefully) Tiny Knife Tuesday
* I'm Back! Well, Sort Of.
* Video: Autumn In The VA Hospital, Post Gastric Bypass
* Video: Autumn Gets A Stuffed Toy In The Hospital
* The Hammerhead Is Great -- Wanna See My New Tattoo?
* Reaching A Couple Of Personal Weight Loss Milestones
* Interesting Side Effects Of A Normal BMI

My Genetic Karyotype

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 07:30:00 AM EST

I went to the San Diego VA Medical Center this past election day (November 3, 2009), and did some snooping to find the exact date my genetic test was taken, and find out what the clinical name of the test is. After I found out the exact date and the test name, I went over to the office that releases records, and got the results of my genetic testing. Here's the header of the test::

You can see the full report by selecting it, but the posted header really has all of the information of the report. As you may be able to read in the image, my genetic karyotype was interpreted by a lab pathologist, and the results to my genetic test as follows:

NORMAL MALE KARYOTYPE

So, from the prespective my genetics, as well as the perspective of my genitalia shape at birth, I'm not an intersexual. This testing confirms to me that I'm a run-of-the-mill transsexual.

I'm still processing what this test result means. It's definitive in it's declaration, but it does have some emotional impact for me. Being declared to be intersexual would have given me a nice, tied-in-a-ribbon explanation for why my gender identity didn't match the genitalia I was born with, and now I'm back to just not knowing why.

I'm also realizing that I will probably never know the reasons why I, as an individual, am a transsexual. I used to frequently say that it didn't matter why my gender identity and genitalia I was born with didn't match -- my truth is my truth no matter what the impetus for my genitalia at birth and gender mismatch is -- but with this test I've learned something about myself: On some level, I actually do want to know why.

So, I'm still processing the news...

~~~~~
Related:
* Trans Women Are Ghastly Parodies? Intersexuals Are Not?
* Pam's House Bland tag: Intersex

Marisa Richmond: Thoughts On Hate Crimes

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EST

Prof. Richmond is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.

The recent adoption of hate crimes legislation by the United States Government is a major step forward for the transgender community.  this is the first time any positive legislation for LGBT people has ever been adopted, and for it to be fully inclusive makes this extra special.

For years, transgender activists fought to be included in this legislation because of the ongoing level of violence against transgender people across the nation.  For many of us, the darkest hour came in 2005 when nearly 40 national groups singed a joint letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to adopt the fully inclusive bill which had passed the House, while another group, after pledging they would fight "only" for fully inclusive legislation, both refused to sign that letter and issued its own urging Senators to ignore the House action and adopt a separate bill that left transgender people.  The argument that this "strategy" was necessary to pass such a bill was bigoted and, simply, poor politics.

Today, as we stand on the edge of yet another Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Day of Remembrance, we can remember all that we lost in the knowledge that future victims of gender based violence will have those crimes aggressively investigated and prosecuted.

We should not forget, however, that the battle to end violence against transgender people has not been totally won.  We still have to end discrimination in the workplace.  Many communities still do not have any protections and must rely on the Federal government to take action to ensure they have a level playing field.

There is also the problem of what to do for those who live in states where there is a lack of interest in pursuing even an investigation of violence against transgender people.  My home state of Tennessee is one such place.  Our largest city, Memphis, home of the Blues, Barbeque, and  Elvis, has become identified as the most dangerous city in the country for transgender people.  I am regularly asked by other trans people if it is safe for them to visit Memphis.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) has a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly, SB0253 by Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis)/HB0335, by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis), which would add "gender identity or expression" to Tennessee's Hate Crimes statute.  Currently, Tennessee is one of 38 states which does not provide protection for transgender residents.  The rash of hate crimes against transgender persons, especially against African American transgender women in Memphis, make passage of this bill even more important here.  Having an additional tool available to victims will make life safer for everyone and send a message that the lives of transgender people in Tennessee have value too.

We encourage everyone in the other 37 states that do not have hate crimes laws covering all LGBT people to continue the work to raise awareness of violence against all of us and to push to make sure your state laws match the federal one so that victims can pursue justice on every available front.

Thanks again to everyone across this great nation who worked hard to make sure that transgender people were not left behind and to see that the lives of transgender people are now recognized as having value.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Vanessa Edwards Foster: Hate Crimes- A Long Time Coming And A Long Struggle Ahead

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 09:30:00 AM EST

Vanessa is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

by Vanessa Edwards Foster

It's been a long time coming. The historic passage of hate crimes legislation and signature into law by the President signals the very first federal law covering trans people in America. My emotions, though, are mixed: ebullience, wistfulness, solemnity, sadness

To have this finally pass, and to have it inclusive of trans people, is a major victory. Since 1997, I've been consistently taking time, shelling out money and visiting offices all over Washington DC and Austin - and even once in Annapolis this year - in attempt to get even this, the most elemental protection, passed with coverage for us all. With this official passage last week, all the memories of where we've all collectively been working to achieve what's finally reality - seemingly against all odds - come streaming in.

In 1999 I had the opportunity to pull in the most critical component of what would eventually be the key to eventual passage of the James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill in Texas two years later. Taking two of my gay friends on their very first lobbying visit to show them how to parry and effectively argue our case, we landed the support of Rep. Warren Chisum, long-known as an arch-conservative, lightning rod author for the most heinous anti-GLBT legislation. His support brought in other crucial moderate GOP co-sponsors and votes and also provided cover for blue dog Dems as well. Our only responsibility was to change the wording to "sexual preference" and "gender non-conformity."

It was a victory I was pleased to help along, but a hollow one personally. In 2001, gender non-conformity was refused inclusion in the bill (with a promise made to me that if we didn't fight this and let this pass, they'd "come back for us" the next session). The bill passed, I held my tongue, but they never "came back" for us. Even this year, while in Austin, I visited with Rep. Chisum again a couple times. He chastised me with reminder that he didn't want to revisit this bill again. However, he was ready once again to support. I'll always remember the bravery of those like Rep. Garnet Coleman, author of 2009's expansion bill in Texas, and the initial co-sponsors like Rep. Rafael Anchia and Rep. Alma Allen, as well as conservative Rep. Chisum and at least one other longtime Republican friend who were ready to bravely support and push this. The bill died in committee after testimony, but these unsung heroes deserve mention.

Memories of victims past stream back. Meeting one of our homeless trans girls in Houston mere months before she was shot and killed in the Montrose sticks in my mind: would this law have helped solve her murder and bring some solace? Seeing the abject, stoic sadness in the faces of the family of Terrianne Summers as I attempted to hold my own emotions in check while eulogizing my activist protégée, knowing her murder is also still unsolved with no justice.

Even in the cases where the murderers were caught, there's only a little solace for the victims' families past. Random memories. Watching the silent tears stream down the solemn face of Paula Mitchell at the Cortez, Colorado vigil in 2001 for her murdered child F.C. Listening to the sobs of Sylvia Guerrero over the phone in 2002, recalling her precious Gwen and how callously her body was dumped and buried, not long after Fred Phelps had found out Sylvia's address and viciously protested in front of her home. Sitting alongside Queen Washington as she recounted for a reporter covering NTAC's 2004 Lobby Day how her baby, Stephanie Thomas, was riddled with bullets a mere block from her home. Hearing the broken-hearted story from Sakia Gunn's mother about the shoddy treatment from Newark authorities and community leaders and later seeing it first-hand in 2004 when our march from West Orange into Newark had only six white faces - four NTAC members and two local PFLAG parents - and was briefly refused entry into the city by police even after organizers had received permits. Hugging an activist friend, Ethan St. Pierre, who was shaken and teary-eyed after having making his very first speech in Boston recounting his aunt, trans woman Deborah Forte, being brutally murdered and having to go to the morgue to identify her body. There's no way to adequately relate experiencing this.

I still recall vividly the long battles and the acrimony over the years of merely having trans people covered by hate crimes. Struggling with conservatives just as we did with the Human Rights Campaign or the Anti-Defamation League for protection. Vehemently arguing with Mara Keisling and Lisa Mottet at the 2003 IFGE convention as they agreed with HRC and ACLU lawyers, and tried to convince me, that "gender" would include "gender identity" due to congressional intent. Less than six month later, finding out first-hand from our own local District Attorney's office that they didn't "give a damn about," nor had the time nor budget to research what congressional intent was as they were following the letter of the law as written in Texas, and nothing beyond.  

Even something as indirect as political campaigning paid off. Being an Obama delegate won me few friends in the GLBT community during the primaries. From my lobbying experience though, I knew Hillary Clinton's fondness for incrementalism and lack of knowledge on trans people just as well as I knew Obama's full-scope approach to rights. Trans folks, including myself, fought hard during the campaign up to the national convention and all the way up until election day. That night, 1000 miles from home in battleground Dayton, Ohio, I knew we'd finally won our rights to be included when Ohio was called for Obama and later when it became official that President Barack Obama would soon occupy the White House.

We were branded as pariahs, had our characters impugned and reputations ruined for standing firm on trans inclusion. It was worth it. We now have what we set out to achieve: coverage, rights, recognition. Finally, federally, we're now human.

The Hate Crimes Bill is a watershed symbolic victory for Trans Americans. But beyond the symbolism, we remain vigilant. It's an important first-step, but not the final goal.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Thursday This & That: Open Thread

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 20:00:00 PM EST

So below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at since the weekend and Tuesday's election.

• I spoke about the City Council vote in Tampa yesterday. Well, the vote's in... St. Petersburg Times' Tampa council grants protections to transgender people:

The City Council on Thursday gave unanimous preliminary approval to expanding its human rights ordinance to protect transgender people from discrimination.

But does that mean cross-dressers are protected, too?

Specifically, the ordinance prohibits discrimination on the basis of "gender identity and expression." ...

So the answer would be "Yes." Realistically, cross-dressing is so stigmatized in our society that not extremely few people would be going to work one day as Albert, the next day Alice, and the next day as Albert again. As a rule, trans people just don't alternate in their work presentations like that.

All that said, Hooray for Tampa, Florida!

• ABC News' Wall St. Before Main St. for H1N1 Vaccine? - Reports That CDC Set Aside Vaccine for Businesses Has Some Crying Foul:

Despite long lines at health clinics around the country prompted by widespead shortages of the vaccine for H1N1, some on Wall Street may have made their way to the front of the line, a public health watchdog group charged Thursday.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has demanded an investigation into why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved small amounts of H1N1 vaccine for distribution at 13 companies including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase.

CREW executive director Melanie Sloan wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "Although CREW has been unable to uncover the demographic makeup of [these companies], surely it is safe to assume the vast majority of their employees are not pregnant women and children, young adults up to 24 years old, and healthcare workers," Sloan wrote. "Under these circumstances, it is the height of irresponsibility for the CDC to approve distribution of the vaccine to anywhere other than where it is most likely to be provided to those at the greatest risk."  ...

Well, this can't be seen as good optics for the CDC and financial banking giants.

• From the UK's Times Online: Evangelical outrage over play featuring transsexual Jesus:

A controversial play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual woman was defended yesterday by its writer who has herself crossed the gender barrier to live as a woman.

Jesus, Queen of Heaven, has caused a storm of protest from Christian evangelical groups, who picketed the Tron Theatre in Glasgow when it opened this week.

However, their attacks have caused deep offence to the play's author, who also acts the leading role. For Jo Clifford -- formerly the playwright John Clifford -- wrote the piece in an attempt to create greater understanding of transgendered people like herself.

The play's opening night was attended by about 300 demonstrators. Roman Catholics joined evangelical Christians for a two-hour protest during which they waved placards and sang hymns...

I feel the Christian love.

[Below the fold: Trigger Alert for today's Washington DC Tea Party event sign, and the Wiener Story Of The Day.]

Politico: "Conservatives Shop Sex Ops Ban To GOP"

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 17:45:00 PM EST

The federal government would be banned from funding sex change operations and other services for transgender individuals if social conservative activists get their way.

There's no sponsor yet for an amendment to the health care overhaul - and it may remain in the dustbin of unrealized wedge issues - but culture warriors are shopping the proposal to Republican senators.

The language is written: "None of the funds authorized or appropriated under this act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be used to cover any part or portion of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of" any sex or gender reassignment procedure, surgery related to such a sex change, hormone therapy for a sex change or pre- and post-operation treatments for a sex change.

A senior aide to a Republican senator said that a public insurance plan could easily end up covering sex-change procedures if that's not specifically banned in the bill...

The "Fierce Advocate" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the White House needs to draw a line here. House and Senate leadership need to draw a line here too. LGBT people just cannot acquiesce the enshrining of new discriminatory policies against any subcommunity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community into law.

I have zero expectation that healthcare reform is going to end up in mandated genital reconstruction surgery. However, if this amendment is adopted should a Republican put it forward -- when zero or close-to-zero Republicans are going to vote for this bill no matter what it looks like -- this would be a travesty. This would be on the same plane as when Congress passed the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA).

If this amendment is submitted and were to be adopted -- when Democrats have sizable majorities in both Houses of Congress -- then I believe there would be something incredibly wrong with the Democratic Party's position on LGBT people and issues. It one thing to drag ones' feet or repealing discriminatory legislation of the past; it's another thing altogether to create new laws enshrining new discriminatory policies against any LGBT subcommunity into law.

Elections Results: The Good In Kalamazoo

by: Autumn Sandeen

Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 20:00:00 PM EST

I put out the poll early on in our live blogging coverage about which election result our blenders were following closest:

I'm one of the 2% who said the election result I was following closest was the basic civil rights election in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I cared about that most because I believe it was the one that spoke to the basic civil rights issues of trans people and community most directly, and because the opposition fought that piece of legislation with the Bathroom Meme -- the Bathroom Meme that states crossdressed men and trans people are going to invade public restrooms to prey on women and children.

And, as I pointed out in the Godly Perverts And The Bathroom Meme, one has much more to fear from Godly Perverts in women's public restrooms than one has to fear from crossdressed men and trans women.

That this is the second municipality in a row (the first being Gainesville, Florida) where voters rejected those who used the Bathroom Meme in an attempt to and deny basic civil rights to LGBT people...well, I think this says something positive about America regarding America's views on housing, employment, and public accommodation for LGBT people.

Still, I'm with Pam and many other baristas and blenders in this though: Civil rights aren't things that should be subject to mob rule. As happy as I am in winning in Kalamazoo, I'm not happy at all that there was a referendum on a basic civil rights ordinance for LGBT people.

Will the next stop for the Bathroom Meme be Tampa, Florida? From Tampa Bay Online's Tampa City Council to vote on transgender protections:

The city council is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to expand Tampa's anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals.

The proposed ordinance, if approved, would extend laws prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, sex, race and religion to include "gender identity or expression" as a protected class...

Let's hope that if this passes we don't end up with another "mob rule" referendum on the ballot.

Nancy Nangeroni: In the Wake of Hate Crime

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Nov 03, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EST

Nancy is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Nancy Nangeroni

Picture this: it's a crisp early December night, and you're walking down the sidewalk of a semi-urban street, carrying a candle whose flame flutters in the night, struggling to stay lit.  On one arm, the mother of a trans woman who has just been murdered, and on the other, the sister.  Trailing behind, a seemingly endless stream of mourners carrying candles.  Against the semi-darkness of a busy street dominated by the sound of traffic and the glare of street lights, the stream struggles for visibility.  The mother at your side is not shy about sharing her grief with the world around you, and her cries into the night - "Who took my baby!" - echo off the walls on either side.  You did not know the murdered girl for whom the outpouring of grief and solidarity materialized almost overnight, but you cannot help but be moved, deeply, by her mother's generous sharing of her grief.  You are part of a community of caring people who have lost one of their own to violence.  The somber vigil moves on into the night, following as you lead the bereaved family to the site of the brutal crime.  Your entire being resonates with shared loss.

Or this: you've been standing outside of a courthouse where the murderer of a transsexual woman is on trial.  She was brutally stabbed to death, and you felt compelled to do something, even if it's just standing outside the courthouse holding a sign protesting violence against trans persons.  There are only two or three other people with you.  A single reporter asks you a few questions, a photographer takes a photo.  Then the doors to the courthouse open, and several people emerge.  One of them walks over to you.  She tells you she's the sister of the murdered woman.  Then she gives you a big hug, telling you how much she appreciates you being there.  You feel helpless in the face of her loss, which you can't begin to imagine.  

Or this: You've been holding a series of demonstrations outside the courthouse where the murderer of another transsexual is being tried.  Now, he's being sentenced, and you've once again stood outside the courthouse, handing out fliers protesting the denigration of the victim, the whitewashing of the murderer's guilt.  It's your third demonstration in the past several weeks, and only one other person has joined you this time.  After awhile, the two of you head inside to witness the sentencing firsthand.  As you step off the elevator and turn towards the courtroom, a bathroom door across the hallway opens.  A man emerges, and, unbelievably, you recognize the face of the bastard that strangled a transwoman to death in his own bedroom, and who is now trying to get away with it.  For an instant, your voice catches in your throat.  What do you say?  Do you try to make him feel the weight of his guilt, the hurt that he has done not just to that girl, but to a family and a community?  Do you lash out at him in raw hatred?  Or do you stare at him stonily, and let him imagine his own worst nightmare?

I'm one of the lucky ones.  These instances are as close as I've come to the brutality too often dealt to those who dare to follow their own transgender compass.  I do what I can to help those less fortunate, joined by a growing community.  And now we have a federal Hate Crimes law to help prosecute those who trample our humanity.

This is what progress looks like.  It comes too late for too many.  But it is the latest of many steps forward, and for that I am grateful.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Godly Perverts And The Bathroom Meme

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Nov 03, 2009 at 03:01:00 AM EST

We keep hearing about the potential danger of crossdressed and/or trans women predators in public restrooms, and yet the folks who purport that anti-trans Bathroom Meme can't point to any examples of trans people

But we can point to bad apples on their side of the house.

The Los Angeles Times had a story yesterday (November 2, 2009) entitled Clerk at religious bookstore arrested on peeping charge

A clerk at a Christian bookstore in Simi Valley was arrested on suspicion of peeping after Simi Valley police found a video camera hidden in a bathroom at the store, authorities said today.

Officers were called to the Family Christian Book Store in the 2900 block of Cochran Street on Sunday afternoon after a 40-year-old woman and her husband reported finding the video camera, said Simi Valley Police Sgt. Dwight Thompson.

After examining the video, investigators determined that 28-year-old Joseph Moreaux had gone to the restroom just before the victim to hide the camera and record her while she was inside...

And, this isn't a particularly new story when it comes to piety. Remember October 20th's Protect Us From The Male, CVS Managers Who Support Keeping Trans Women Out Of Women's Restrooms?

The CVS Pharmacy manager who allegedly admitted Friday to filming women in his store's bathroom was an active participant in the 2008 charter amendment to "keep men out of women's restrooms."

Jonathan Matheny, 27, was charged with one count of video voyeurism after a customer told police she had discovered a cell phone equipped with a camera under a pile of tissues in the CVS bathroom at 125 S.W. 34th St.

And you want to talk about predatory behavior towards children, the same Focus On The Family that posted this radio ad...

[The ad and more below the fold.]

Gwendolyn Ann Smith: We Exist.

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EST

Gwen is yet another trans community voice who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Since early in the creation and promotion of the Remembering Our Dead project and the Transgender Day of Remembrance, I've made one thing clear: the most important right we can have is simply the right to exist.

When a person is murdered due to anti-transgender violence, it is so often more than a simple killing. Our killers take great pains to obliterate us, participating so often in trying to erase our existence.  They'll stab us not once or twice, but dozens or even hundreds of times. They'll cut off our genitals or mutilate our breasts, attempting to destroy not only our bodies but the physical markers of our genders. They'll beat us, strangle us, burn us, and do all they can to make us go away and become a non-being. It's not just murder -- it is eradication.

With the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, the federal government under President Obama has taken a stand against these acts. No longer is it so easy to erase us, and no longer shall it be acceptable to treat us as disposable. We are now no longer to be treated as such, in much the same way we are protected due to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

Indeed, by the very passage of this bill, actual or perceived gender -- what we identify as, and/or how we are seen -- is not just part of a hate crime law, but it past of the law overall. This is not just saying that we deserve to not be subject to a hate crime, but that we exist in the first place.

Are there still hills to climb? Of course. The law will still need to be seen in use. We'll have to see if it deters any crimes, and if any crimes that do happen are treated as hate crimes. It is one thing to have the language in there, and quite another to see the law applied.

Yet by an act of Congress and the stroke of the President's pen, I and those like me have been brought into existence on a Federal level. They have stood firmly opposite those who would seek to see me and others wiped away and forgotten.

We exist, and no one can take that away from us -- at least not without facing the specter of the Matthew Shepard Act and the 1969 Federal Hate Crimes Law.  It feels remarkably good to know this.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Helen Boyd: Law And The Objects Of Hate

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 07:00:00 AM EST

Helen, as part of a trans family (and in a community sense, part of my trans family), is another trans community voice who I asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

Why we have to pass a law to tell people it's not okay to hurt or kill people for whom or what they are is beyond me.

Why we have to inform police and other law enforcement that the victim of a crime is a victim of a crime even if she is black, trans, and queer is completely baffling, and frustrating.

Why a person who is different provokes such violent rage is incomprehensible.

What is true is that these kinds of crimes happen, and they are happening this year at an alarming rate. We know, despite the protections that have been on the books a long while, that people are still killed for being black, Muslim or from a country currently out of favor in the US. People have been killed for being gay, for being assumed to be gay, for being trans and for being gendered differently.

We in the trans community know full well that the more crossroads of identity you live with - being black while trans, being female while Muslim, being differently-abled and poor - the more likely it is that you will face discrimination, hate, or violence. Any combination of minority identity leaves you vulnerable.

José Sucuzhañay didn't have time to explain that the man whose arm he was holding was his brother's when he was beaten by homophobic haters one night in Brooklyn. That José Sucuzhañay was already protected against a hate crime as an immigrant and a Latino didn't matter to the guys who thought he was gay. For someone like me, who is lesbian and not-lesbian, queer and heterosexual, explaining the complicated layers of my identity won't help. We are all one object of hate, immigrant and trans person, prostitute and Muslim, brother or wheelchair-dependent person. We are all one in our difference, minorities within a minority, and so the same object of scorn and fear to the people who would harm us.

What the Hate Crimes Act does is make us multiple; the additional protections that have been added to federal Hate Crimes Law help others recognize the many ways we are, and can be. So while we know these laws won't make us safe, they will make the crimes against us countable. They make the fear and mourning of our families visible. These new protections recognize our humanity and our families and our struggles.

~~~~~
Further reading:
* CNN: Slain immigrant's brother hopes for hate-crime legacy

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project