What Trans People Want

With all the ignorance and bigotry about trans people out there, the project of achieving equality for all people regardless of their gender can seem overwhelming. Recently, a DC trans coalition delivered a list of the trans community's priorties to the Director of GLBT Affairs. Hopefully this list will give advocates ideas of what issues to start with to work towards a fairer, more welcoming world for trans people.

So what do trans people want? Turns out they would like to safely use bathrooms, not be kicked out of their homes, avoid being sexually assaulted, receive fair treatment in the criminal justice system, and not be completely ignored in the city's educational and social services systems.

You can view the list in its entirety here.

Today is International Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today, please remember to memorialize trans people who been murdered because of prejudice. For more information and to learn about steps you can take to stop hate crimes against trans men and women, click here.

Positive Results of the Midterm Election

Okay, so I have spent a good amount of time since the midterm elections bemoaning some of the douchebags who made it in to office. However, in this post I would like to focus on the positive for the sake of both my sanity and the sanity of all my fellow feminists out there.

First of all, "a historic 106 openly gay candidates have been elected to office this year." Yay for political views, not homophobia, dictating how people vote!

Secondly, Colarado luckily voted down "the so-called 'personhood' amendment, which would define 'personhood' as beginning at 'biological development' in an underhanded attempt to restrict women’s access to safe abortion services and reduce their reproductive agency." Yay Colarado for standing up for a woman's right to choose!

Please leave more positive results of the midterm election in comments.

Obama Makes "It Gets Better" Video

I have been compulsively watching "It Gets Better" videos, and am super excited that President Obama made one.



Thoughts on what Obama says or doesn't say here? Do you have a favorite "It Gets Better" video?

My personal favorite is Tim Gunn's (and not just because I watch too much Project Runway).

To learn more about the It Gets Better Project and watch some videos click here.

The Latest in Transphobia

I am really upset whenever I hear someone was a victim of transphobia, but it especially saddens me when they are so young and are being marginalized by supposed grown-ups who are supposed to care about them.

A Michigan teen was voted homecoming king by his classmates, but his school then stripped him of the title. Their rationale: he's still registered as a girl.

According to Wood TV, Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Michigan had in some ways accepted seventeen-year-old Oakleigh "Oak" Reed as a boy. Says Reed, "They let me wear a male tux for band uniform, and they're going to let me wear the male robe and cap for graduation." Teachers, he adds, "call me Oak, and they say, he, him, his." And when he campaigned for homecoming king (by simply posting the message "Vote for me for homecoming king" on Facebook), he won. But then he was summoned to the principal's office. Says Reed, "They told me that they took me off because they had to invalidate all of my votes because I'm enrolled at Mona Shores as a female."

Yay! Good News for Trans People in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is finally recognizing peoples' gender identity on their driver's liscenses.

The department and Equality Pennsylvania announced a settlement Wednesday that allows people to change the gender on their licenses if they are living full-time in their new gender and it can be verified by a licensed medical or psychological caregiver.

The previous policy only allowed changes in gender for drivers who could prove they had sexual reassignment surgery. PennDot said about half the states already have adopted a similar policy. The policy takes effect immediately.

Trans Woman Denied Medical Treatment

Erin Vaught, a transsexual woman, went to an Indiana hospital coughing up blood. However, instead of being treated for her very scary symptom, she was dehumanized by the hospital staff and was refused treatment.

The first sign of discrimination occurred when Vaught was entered into the hospital computer system as male despite the fact that her ID said female. When Erin pointed out the error, a staff member laughed at her. Later, in the exam room, she was called “he-she,” “it,” and “transvestite.”

If all this humiliation weren’t enough to endure for a woman who was coughing up blood, she was then denied treatment because of her “condition.”

"I was confused," Vaught said. "I told them I didn't know my condition, that's why I was there. She said 'No, the transvestite thing.' She said I couldn't see a doctor until I came back with test orders from my doctor in Indy."

Advocacy groups have since filed complaints with the hospital and a spokesman for the hospital said the incident is being investigated.

Unfortunately, being treated poorly by the medical community is not that unusual for transgendered folks. Part of it is due to blatant bigotry, as was the case for Vaught. However, some of it is just ignorance of how to treat transgendered individuals. Joanne Herman recently wrote an article for The Huffington Post, detailing just some of areas of the health community that remain ignorant about trans issues. Therapists and surgeons, two groups that should be especially well equipped to deal with trans issues, are sadly ignorant of the needs of the trans community. Those who are experts in trans issues usually learn on the job since there is little training in school about trans needs.

The plight of Erin Vaught is yet another example of how trans people are overwhelmingly mistreated by the medical community. To tell the hospital that mistreated her that disrespecting patients because of their gender is not okay, use the contact information here.

Troll Patrol: Trans people and othering

I recently received a troll comment in my inbox to be moderated relating to this post about the International Transgender Day of Visibility. The comment was not as easy for me to write off as most troll comments are.

The troll spewed off the normal sort of "why are you paying attention to these people and not to ME" attitude prevalent in most troll-speak, but it was the last line of the comment that caught my eye.

And for the record, what you're doing is counterproductive to getting a group accepted as "same as everyone else", because you're making them separate and
"different" and "othering" them through your actions.

Full disclosure: Someone very dear to me is trans*. The same is true of several of my friends at college. So that is part of the reason this particular troll comment hit somewhat close to home.

That last line of the comment gave me pause because I was concerned that perhaps, after all the time I have spent trying to educate myself as best I can about issues particular to trans people, that maybe my cisgender privilege had led me to do something that may have hurt people I never intended to harm.

What is othering?

The basic concept of othering entails the creation of a dynamic of opposing groups of “us” versus “them.” There is nothing essentially bad about othering. It is a categorizing process that is given qualitative value based on it use. Negative othering could be taking on aspect of a person that makes them distinctive (that they are transgender, for example) and using that as a reason to harm them. Positive othering includes using one’s point of view (that sexism is bad) and using it against the opposite side (that sexism is good) in order to gain rights for more people. So, while the concept of othering is not necessarily either good or bad,

“…we do have to be careful about it, even positive othering can turn into something negative, for example when talking about countries that need aid we tend to treat them as inferior to us, and in doing so we are distancing ourselves from them and viewing them as ‘the other’.” – h/t

The Comment

In the quoted section of the comment there are several problematic assumptions. First is that the goal of bring to light the lives of trans people is to have them viewed as “same as everyone else” and that by promoting the Transgender Day of Visibility was “counterproductive” to that goal. While it could make sense that this would be a goal for those who work for the rights of trans people (after all, trans people are often persecuted and killed for being the “other”), it is not necessarily the case. True, some members of this community may want to pass and live without being openly trans, but other members of the same community (Monica, Queen Emily and Lisa for examples that I read often) are vocal about their trans identities and even use them to shape their activism. Basically, we have to be sensitive to the fact that the trans community is diverse in many ways, including their feelings on passing.

The second assumption in the comment is that by blogging about this Day of Visibility I was othering trans people in a way that the comment author implied was negative. This ties back to the simple understanding of what is best for a group of which he is not a member. In response to this assumption, I would like to address a few points.

Acknowledging how a group is different, especially when that group is already being denied jobs, harassed, and killed for being different every day is not an inherently threatening move. Difference is an important trait in being human. You know the phrase: “No two people are alike.” While acknowledging the difference between themselves and cis people may not be comfortable for all trans folks, it does not necessarily follow that creating a safe space for people to express their differences, if they so choose, is dangerous.

Without awareness and education, there is no hope of working towards ending transphobia. If we completely stopped discussing trans people, their lives and issues particular to them in order to avoid othering them in a negative way, think of all the ignorant, transphobic hate that would manifest itself in the lives of these people. While making the issue of transphobia visible may not stop all transphobic attacks, without it I believe the world would be much worse off.

That comment forced me to consider this issue, but I believe that as long as we work to make safe spaces for people who choose to be vocal about their lives as trans people (and maybe educate a few people along the way) that we’ll be just fine.

Thanks for your interest, though, Troll.

*EDIT 4/3/10: Thanks to a comment left by Queen Emily, I realized that I unintentionally othered my trans friends by mentioning their positions on surgeries/hormones. That information has been removed because it is irrelevant to this post. I had included it originally because I had written a slightly different post that mentioned feelings on surgery/hormones (and I question if it was even necessary there), but I take full responsibility for my mistake. I appreciate all readers and commenters who help me recognize instances of my cis privilege and help me grow in my understanding of these issues.

International Transgender Day of Visibility

I just found out that today, March 31, 2010, is the second annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. The event was started last year as a way to celebrate the lives of trans people.

As someone who has several trans people in my life who I hold very dear to my heart, I was excited to hear about this. In a world where we are (sometimes slowly) making progress when it comes to equality, transgender issues are some that I wish more people were talking about.

For more, check out what Jos at Feministing had to say about this day.

Quote of the Day

"I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others." - Amanda Simpson, a trans woman who was recently appointed by President Obama as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, in the Bureau of Industry and Security.

h/t Shakesville.

Transgender people and passing in Iran: Be Like Others and Offside

I just wanted to pass on these two clips from Be Like Others, a documentary on transgender individuals in Iran.





Trent Gilliss from Speaking of Faith writes,

What’s surprising to me in these clips is the nature of the conversation. Even though there are discussions about operations and genetic tests confirming a biological male identity, the root of these conversations is love and caring and community. Despite her objections about his transformation, the mother in the second clips spends as much energy lecturing her son on wearing less makeup and donning the hijab properly when going out; in the first clip, a member of the transgender community reprimands a peer for going out in public with hair hanging out the back of her hijab and talks of bringing respect to their community.

Although these individuals are pursuing lifestyles that are outside the cultural norm, it doesn’t mean that they abandon their upbringing and the values instilled in them. They continue to live within the larger culture, defying some strictures while observing others. Obviously, they face predicaments I can’t imagine, but, it’s also heartening to see that their families remain in dialogue with them in tense circumstances. I find that heartening and am anxious to view the documentary.

I'm looking forward to seeing the documentary as well. While on the topic of passing genders, I want to mention Offside, a movie about women in Iran trying to pass as men in order to see a World Cup match. While what the women in the movie are doing is vastly different from the people in Be Like Others, it's an interesting fictional take on something similar. The girls in the movie end up being caught by the police and put in a holding pen until their relatives can pick them up, but in the end the celebration of winning the match overcomes all gender restrictions. The gender-bending and quietly powerful subversiveness is enough for me to recommend this movie. While what's actual said in the film is thought-provoking in its own right, what's left unsaid is just as interesting.

Blake Lively illustrates why we must continually educate ourselves

I was trying to catch up on some blog reading when I came across a post by Monica Roberts at TransGriot about Gossip Girl's Blake Lively saying that sometimes she feels "like a tranny."

Lively will be appearing on the cover of Allure magazine in May, and she had this to say:

"I don't know, I'm…large?" she said to the magazine. "They put me in six-inch heels and I tower over every man. I've got this long hair and lots of clothes and makeup on. I just feel really big a lot of the time, and I'm surrounded by a lot of tiny people. I feel like a man sometimes."

Besides being confused as to why being taller than men was equated with being a transwoman in Lively's mind, Monica's original post really struck me.

I have been following the boycott of Feministing and Feministe started by voz, and I've been doing a lot of reading. It made me realize how much I have learned over the course of two years since I began identifying as a feminist, and how much I still need to learn.

For example, when I first started reading posts related to the boycott, I was unfamiliar with the term cisgender, and my first instinct was to do a Google search and try to figure it out. I admit that this was not always my first instinct. Sometimes (more often in "the real world" than online), if I didn't understand something, I would ask someone of what I felt was the appropriate group to explain a term, concept, whatever, to me. But through reading I quickly learned that the responsibility of educating myself is up to me.

I have not always been successful in my attempts at talking about issues outside of my own experience, especially offline. I have failed to be properly sensitive. I have used terms that I didn't realize were hurtful and incorrect until after the fact.

That's the case with the word "tranny." I now know that it is completely inappropriate coming from a cisgender woman, but I didn't know that when I was in high school. I had a friend who often used the term to refer to characters in her surrealist fictional pieces, and I often used the term in conversation with her, not at all understanding what it actually meant or that it could be hurtful.

I'm not asking for a pat on the back about this. I just want people to know that if we are not actively trying to educate ourselves, our ignorance could very easily end up hurting people we want to help.

Transgendered hate on talk radio

Chris Baker, a conservative talk radio host on KTLK 100.3 out of Minneapolis, has repeatedly said hateful things including, but not limited to:

• That the WNBA is "a place for lesbians to make out when they score"
• "I'm not that excited about women voting" as well as doesn't think homeless people should be able to vote
• Had a lot to say regarding Gov. Sarah Palin's looks and her debate attire (specifically on her "panty line")
• Called President-Elect Obama "a little bitch" and Palin "smoking hot chick"
• Described Thomas Beattie, a transgendered pregnant man, as a "mutilated lesbian"
  
• Alleged that Magic Johnson "faked AIDS'
• Suggested police at the RNC use machine guns
• Said that Rep. Nancy Pelosi's response to the financial crisis was "another reason why it's rare to find a woman worthy of serving in political office"
• Referred to President-Elect Obama by the name of the Antichrist in the Left Behind series and "Barack Obammy"
  

Regarding the recent murder of Latiesha Green, a trans woman, on his November 18 show, Baker said:

Second of all, I believe that the fault, and I know, 'cause already I'm seeing quotes and comments and, "Oh, it's hate. It's a hate crime. It's a horrible hate crime." Doesn't some of the blame lie with the American media who enables this fraud? Doesn't some of the blame -- I would say a majority of the blame does not lie with the nitwit that shot him, other than the fact that he's a nitwit and a guy who should have been in prison in my opinion, who shot him. But to me, this is the -- this is an example of how, by enabling people and trying to push this false reality, leads to horrible crimes like this, by -- by telling people, "Oh, well, you know, he -- did he [Thomas Beattie] get pregnant?"

...

So annoying for me, but there's a story today, it's a very -- it's a horrible story from Syracuse, New York. A guy's been charged with murder after he shot two people last week. One of them was a transgender person. So, now, they're talking about hate crime charges, things like that. Look, this guy is a murderer and should go to jail. This guy should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

But I personally believe that by the media and all these other people out there enabling these people that they put people like this at risk, because they give them the boldness, the confidence, the -- to decide, "Well, you know what? I'm a girl. Even though I'm not a girl, I'm a girl. And the media will call me a girl, so, therefore, I can walk into any party I want. I can go anywhere I want. I can demand whatever I want and no one can stop me because the media is going to call me a girl."

Well, guess what? In my opinion, other than the fact that the guy that allegedly murdered this guy -- and this guy I'm talking about would be the transgender guy. I promise I'm just getting this off my chest. This is just driving me nuts.

I believe the media and the rest of the enablers out there, they have this guy's blood on their hands because they create this false sense of reality and they enable people who need serious psychological counseling. I mean, what guy in his right mind would have his stuff cut off? Now, there's a lot of women in their right mind that would like to do that to a guy, but what guy in his right mind wants to have his stuff cut off? What woman in her right mind wants to have her breasts removed? I mean, do they notice the millions of dollars women spend every year in this country to get bigger ones?

This whole thing is -- it's just infuriating to me. You know why? Because I gotta explain this to my kids.

You know what's infuriating to me? I'm going to have to explain people like you to my kids one day. I'm going to have to explain why some people are so hateful to people they don't even know just because of who they are.

Because people like Thomas Beattie and Lateisha Green were trying to find some happiness in their lives.

Because Sarah Palin and Nancy Pelosi had the audacity to be women in political office.

Because WNBA players want the same respect as male professional baseketball players.

Because citizens of this country wanted to show their dissent for an ideology of fear and restricting rights.

I'm going to have to tell my kids that it doesn't matter what they do in life, people are going to judge them simply on who they love or if they play basketball or if they have the ambition to serve our country in political office or if they just show up to voice their dissent.

And that's infuriating to me.



If you'd like to share some of your thoughts with Chris Baker or any of the other people at 100.3 KTLK, feel free here or at chrisbaker@ktlkfm.com.

h/t to Minnesota Independent and Media Matters for links

A little Tyra love

I'm not going to lie, there's something I really like about Tyra Banks. Sure, America's Next Top Model probably isn't the best vehicle for promoting body acceptance, but it seems like the show is attempting to alter industry standards, from having the latest winner by a size 8 "plus size" model (problematic but better than another size 0 winner) to having a trans contestant this season.

Plus, you gotta love someone who does this:

Adios Amigas (until September)!

Hello Lovely Readers,

I've been pretty much totally absent from the blog the last few weeks because of work and general summer busy-ness. And tomorrow I'm leaving for a three week trip to Mexico, so I won't be writing again until September. I'm going with my friend Melissa to visit her extended family in a small town in the Guerrero province, Coacoyula, and Mexico City. I speak practically no Spanish, and her family speaks no English, so it will definately be an adventure. Hopefully, I will pick up a little Spanish and have some things to write about when I return.

Also, I was in Chicago last week for Lollapalooza (which was amazing; how I love you Amy Millan of Broken Social Scene), and I stopped to get some coffee. While I was waiting, I started talking to the woman in line behind me who had complimented my hair color (I just dyed it from blonde to brown). She explained that she was a male to female transgender woman going through transition, and she was trying to decide what color to do her hair. We chatted for a bit about our favorite make-up brands, hair colors, and the quest for a perfect little black dress. After getting our coffee we parted ways, but it just reminded me about the truth behind the name of our blog. We all have to work to be "women" whether we were born that way or not.

Have a good rest of August! I will talk to you all in September.
love.

Haters

So, I haven't posted this past week, or since my last post received so many hateful comments that we had to close commenting for the first time. The comments were directed towards overweight people, women, feminists, and me. The comments hurt, and I've been upset all week.

But then I read this:

While trying to deal with all the challenges of being a teenager, gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/ transgender (GBLT) teens additionally have to deal with harassment, threats, and violence directed at them on a daily basis. They hear anti-gay slurs such as “homo”, “faggot” and “sissy” about 26 times a day or once every 14 minutes.

Blogging is an odd endeavor, you post personal anecdotes, opinions, and beliefs for the world to read. You may get criticized, attacked, or ignored, but, at the end of the day, you can close your laptop and go to sleep. That's not the case for these teenagers. They may be able to go to sleep, but they must wake up the next morning and go to school, try to learn with people who hate them surrounding them, and face their harassers everywhere. It isn't surprising that suicide is the leading cause of death for gay teenagers.

Hate is everywhere, and sometimes, it is so ingrained within us that we don't even realize its effects. But it does affect others. In small and huge ways. So, I guess, this is just a reminder to think, to care, and to support each other. Even if we don't agree. I know its corny, but its important.

Another Secret

-----Email Message-----

Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 10:10 PM

Subject: Life is easier

I am a medical student who recently heard a doctor who works with people who are going through gender reassignments. The (male) doctor said that as part of the pre-surgery counseling, he always asks the male-to-female patients if they are ready to give up their privileged-male status in society. He said the patients often come back to him after they have completed their transition into a female. They tell him that they didn’t realize how significant the privileged-male status is.

I love Postsecret.

Feminist Film: Ma Vie En Rose

What did you want to be when you grew up? I hoped to be a doctor, a ballerina, and a teacher.

Ludovic, a seven year old boy and main character of the French film, "Ma Vie en Rose," dreams of being a girl. Believing that God simply misplaced his Y chromosome, Ludovic begins to dress in a feminine way and much to the horror of his parents and suburban neighbors talks about marrying a fellow male classmate.

The most jarring moments of "Ma Vie en Rose" or "My Life in Pink" are those that depict Ludovic's parents' reactions to his innocent belief. They slap him, beat him, blame him, and even after he tries to end his small life, refuse to allow him to wear a skirt. A reviewer of the film commented, "[In "Ma Vie en Rose,"] people around Ludovic are incapable of explaining to him why it's wrong for a boy to want to be a girl. They can only respond by blaming and persecuting him."

To watch this young child's journey is heartwrenching. To see him stripped of his innocence because of others' fear of difference caused my eyes to well. This movie depicts the pain of a young transgendered child and places the blame on his neighbors and family, symbolically us, the viewers, and our misconceptions, exclusion, fear, and hatred of Ludovic. To see such pain embodied in a beautiful seven year old child, who is just waiting for a mistake to be corrected, will break your heart.

I highly recommend this movie to the readers and commentors of this blog, especially in light of recent debates on some postings. It is subtitled, but it is worth the extra effort. Interestingly, the film is rated R although it depicts no extreme violence, sex, nudity, or profane language.

Feminist and Trans Activist: Tammy Baldwin

Trans and gay citizens do not have many friends in the US government; however, Tammy Baldwin is in the friendly minority.

Baldwin has been a Democratic Wisconsin Congresswoman for ten years, and she was the first openly gay person who ran as so, instead of coming out while in office. And since she has been elected, Baldwin has followed two passions: universal healthcare and protection for gay and transpeople. She is pushing to extend partner benefits to federal workers, and she previously pushed to include trans workers in a legislation to protect them from discrimination in the workplace.

They were not included, but Baldwin swore, ""You are not forgotten. And our job will not be finished until you, too, share fully in the American dream."

Beautiful.

Letterman "Top 10" calls pregnant man "freak show"

The Late Show with David Letterman. I have never watched this show with any regularity, and now I doubt I ever will. In his "Top 10" list last night, the subject was Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man I had blogged about earlier. They called it "Top Ten Messages Left On The Pregnant Man's Answering Machine."

You know what number one was?
"Michael Jackson here -- just wanted to reach out to another androgynous freak show."
No joke.

I think Beatie's story is great. He and his wife wanted a child, and she couldn't conceive. Modern technology will be helping them have a family. We should be celebrating the fact that Beatie and his wife are able to do something that will make them happy because they are human beings who deserve that. Instead, people with high visibility, like Letterman, choose to throw around hateful, intolerant words. It's not funny. I can't believe it.

I will be, so I hope like-minded individuals will also tell CBS that Letterman's "Top 10" was uncalled for.

Via, with much thanks.

Also, according to Feministing, Thomas Beatie will be appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow. If you're interested, you should watch out for that.