Monday, July 19, 2010

The CCSF TransLatinas Club

I recently joined the Trans Role Models Facebook page and it has been great to see the diversity of the trans rainbow playing out on that site.

It has been refreshing to read about some of our community's historic figures who are being added to the page on an almost hourly basis and people around the world who are out, proud to be trans and fighting for its human rights.

It's also exposing me to people and groups I previously wasn't aware existed or were doing things because it has been happening on the local level.

One of those things happening at the local level is the TransLatinas Club on the City College of San Francisco's Mission Campus.

You don't hear much about the groups and the accomplishments of non white trans people. Black transpeople barely get a mention, and when it comes to Asian and Latino/a transpeople, even less positive news is generated.

Too many times when we do get a mention, it's in conjunction with one of our peeps being killed due to a hate crime or murder or steeped in stereotypical negativity.

The TransLatinas club was founded earlier this year on the CCSF Mission campus with the twin goals of not only combating transphobia in the cis Latino community, but inspiring more trans people from the immigrant Latino population to attend college.

That education and breaking down of stereotypes in the Latino community includes seminars hosted by the group in addition to TransLatinas meetings.

Nice to see a positive story about my Latina sisters, and may the TransLatinas idea be replicated at other college campuses across the nation.

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