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.
Update/Correction: Julie Bindel is on the short list for the Stonwall award mentioned in the piece below -- she hasn't already won this award from Stonewall. In the same vein as this opinion piece below; however, my opinion is that she shouldn't be on
It really bothers me that when an LGB or LGBT organization honors someone who speaks against the interest of the broader LGBT community's T's.
Let me be frank at the beginning though. The UK's Stonewallhas a lucid description of its mission scope on its page logo and subheader. The subheader states "Equality & Justice for Lesbians, Gay Men & Bisexuals." Note that it doesn't mention T's. The organization; however, must have some recognition that they function within a broader LGBT community as they have a Trans Resources webpage (as well as another 135 webpages that mention trans people or trans issues if one uses their site search with trans OR transgender OR transsexual OR "gender identity") on their website.
In fact, in Stonewall's booklet Transgender, they have a definition of Transphobia:
Transphobia is the unrealistic or irrational fear and hatred of transgender people. Like all prejudices, it is based on negative stereotypes and misconceptions that are then used to justify and support hatred, discrimination, harassment, and violence toward people who are transgender. Transphobic attitudes and beliefs include:
• the belief that trans women are not "real women" because they have been raised and socialised as men
• the belief that trans men are not "real men" because they do not have, or were not born with a penis
• the belief that transsexual people are actually gay people in denial
• the assumption that transgender people are "sick" or that they are psychologically unstable
• when a transgender person is excluded from services, activities, discussions or decisions because it is felt that that person doesn't "fit in"
• the refusal to recognise or acknowledge the true gender of a trans person and the continual insistence to refer to them by their former name
The booklet also identifies issues for transgender folk, which include denial of medical treatment and healthcare providers having no information about available treatments or surgeries and no understanding of trans issues.
So in my opinion, a declared LGB-only civil rights organization that has policy positions on trans issues in their Discrimination Law Review, and defines transphobia for its organization, shouldn't be honoring someone who's made transphobic statements in arguing against full medical treatment access for trans people. Yet, Stonewall has decided to honor Julie Bindel as their 2008 "Journalist of the Year."
In 2004, Julie Bindel -- a journalist who identifies as a lesbian feminist -- wrote a column for The Guardian entitled Gender benders, beware where she used quotation marks around the female pronouns and terms to describe a male-to-female transsexual (examples: "she"; "woman"), and referred to the post-operative transsexual as "a man in a dress." Some of what Bindel wrote:
[Below the fold: Quotes of Bindel where she uses transphobic language, and her aguing against genital reconstruction surgery for transsexuals. Multiple audio file links of her arguing against surgery for transsexuals provided.]
In what probably should be a lesson to city Pride organizations everywhere, Pride London failed to communicate policies regarding trans people's restroom rights to independent contractors at an event that had 875,000 attendees and participants, and the result of that failure to plan resulted in a post-operative woman of trans history being denied access to a women's restroom, a protest by trans people against Pride London that turned violent, and deteriorated relations between trans people and Pride London, as well as deteriorated relations between trans people and London police.
The incident was first reported within the blogosphere at TransAtPride.org, in their entry Transphobia At Pride. Roz Kaveney, a long time human rights campaigner and journalist, has a first person account of her experience at Pride London:
Official stewards who were running the toilets at Trafalgar Square announced that I, and any other transgender or transsexual woman, had to use the disabled toilets and was not allowed to use the regular women's toilets. I pointed out to the stewards that I transitioned and had surgery before they were born; I was more polite than a polite thing. No dice.
I went and fetched a posse of transwomen and transmen and we made a collective fuss. Their response - and remember these were official stewards AT PRIDE - was to radio in "we're being attacked by a mob of trannies! send backup". They were joined by a policeman, who was a LGBT liaison officer, who claimed that we had to be able to show our Gender Recognition Certificates if we wanted to use the women's loos and got quite upset when I explained to him that I had been involved in drafting the Act and that it did not take away rights that existed before it. At one point he threatened to arrest us for demonstrating on private property - those loos belong to Westminster Council, so you are not allowed to make a fuss there.
At one point it was claimed that they had instituted this policy a few minutes earlier because a man had attacked a woman; at another they said it was official Health and Safety policy. I don't think it was particularly to do with how much I do or don't pass - I think I got read in part because I am so tall and turned up in the queue among a particularly short group of lesbians.
It was one of the most wretched experiences I have had in thirty years, only made positive by the love and solidarity of my community - including various transmen who proposed that, since they had no GRCs, they should be made to use the women's loos. Beards and all.
Pride London ended up having to do some damage control. As reported by PinkNews, Patrick Williams, chair of the stakeholders committee and HR Director of Pride London, first pointed out that the stewards in question were not Pride volunteers but employees of a company that provides security and paid stewarding. In other words, Pride London brought in private contractors, and failed to ensure that these contractors were properly prepared for the foreseeable situation of one or more lesbian women objecting to trans people using the event provided public loos.
[Below the fold: Pride London and the police said the incident should have never occurred, and Pride London apologized to the transgender community.]
The city of Cambridge has become the first place in the UK to have a transgender mayor.
Jenny Bailey, 45, who has had a sex swap operation, has been sworn is as the civic leader of Cambridge city council in a ceremony.
The Liberal Democrat councillor underwent sex change surgery in her 30s and has two children, aged 20 and 18, from a marriage.
Ms Bailey, who has stated that she is honoured to have been selected for the office by her fellow councillors, has decided that her partner will be the Cambridge city mayoress.
Former councillor Jennifer Liddle, 49, met Ms Bailey while they were both undergoing hormone replacement therapy in preparation for a sex change.
"I entered local politics because I believe in public service and because I wanted to make a contribution to the wonderful city we live in," Ms Bailey stated. "I am honoured that my fellow councillors have now chosen me to be mayor."
Too bad this wasn't in Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; or even Cambridge, MA.
But congratulations nevertheless, Mayor Jenny Bailey!
In what probably should be a lesson to city Pride organizations everywhere, Pride London failed to communicate policies regarding trans people's restroom rights to independent contractors at an event that had 875,000 attendees and participants, and the result of that failure to plan resulted in a post-operative woman of trans history being denied access to a women's restroom, a protest by trans people against Pride London that turned violent, and deteriorated relations between trans people and Pride London, as well as deteriorated relations between trans people and London police.
