Black Trans Woman Killed In Florida And Subsequently Misgendered By The Media

Here we fracking go again.   This time this all too familiar situation shifts to Orlando, FL  

30 year old Ashley Sinclair was found shot to death early this morning in a wooded area on Rio Grande Drive just off S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County.   Police responded to neighbors calling 911 at 6 AM EDT reporting shots fired in the 1600 block of Nimrod Lane. 

A neighbor said they saw a black sedan pull up and then heard four shots fired.

“I look out my window. I see black car here. Then I hear ‘boom, boom, boom.’ Four,” said neighbor Ramon.   Deputies searched the woods and knocked on doors to get any information.


“This is an obvious victim of a homicide. They have been out canvassing the area to see if they’ve seen anything. They do have the victim identified, but have not notified the next of kin yet,” said Jeff Williamson with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding this homicide investigation that will lead to the capture and conviction of the wastes of DNA who did this is urged to call  CrimeLine at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Now that we got that business out of the way regarding another fallen trans sister and hopefully gotten the process started toward bringing the people who killed her to justice, let me start calling out the misgendering of another African-American transwoman by the media.  But before I go off, let's review the AP Stylebook guidelines for reporting on trans people shall we?

    

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.

I can't tell you how many posts I've written on this blog about media outlets all over the country REPEATEDLY failing to grasp what is so simple a concept to follow that even this humble blogger gets something Amanda Evans and the award winning journalists at News13 in the Orlando, FL area didn't   

Take a look at the photo the family provided of Ashley.  She is not a 'transgender man' as you reported, Amanda.  A transgender man is someone who was born in a female body like yours and whose gender identity and gender presentation to the world is male.  

Ashley is a transgender female.   

And I'm pissed off not only because once again another one of my trans sisters is gone from this Earth too soon, I'm pissed off because she was misgendered in this report.    I'm also angry because I've seen this crap happen with African-American (and Latina) girls like us far too often in the media.

Now lets see how long it's going to take for your award winning website to correct this misgendering of Ashley Sinclair.

Fallon's Florida Boxing License Is Valid!

 

Fallon 1-Haters 0  

Glad to hear the the Florida Boxing Commission didn't wait until Friday to resole the matter either.  

Still goes back to what I said in the earlier post.   If Fallon Fox were 0-5, these cis women wouldn't be tripping.  But since Fallon is a girl like us is undefeated, rkicking azz and taking names, everybody wants to hate on her.  

Good luck in your next bout, Fallon.



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The Pageant and Ballroom Community Girls Are #GirlsLikeUs, Too

One of the subjects that I talked with Jahaira at length about yesterday was the need to recognize that #girlslikeus also includes the crossdressers who have the gender epiphany, start making the move toward the transitioned full time end of the spectrum but the girls in the pageant and ballroom community.

We're not all middle class, college educated peeps that get to congregate at the increasing palette of wonderful conferences like OUT on the Hill and BTMI/BWMI.   For some of our sisters who fit that middle class collegiate description their ultimate goal is to spend a Labor Day weekend in Chicago competing for the Miss Continental title or striving for legendary status in their various categories in the ballroom community.

What some people (I'm looking side-eyed at you TS Separatists) fail to realize is that for many non-white transkids, the pageant and ballroom communities ARE their transition pathway and support system if their families reject them.   They use the prize money they win from the pageants and balls to pay for their transitions and the work they need to do to feminize their bodies.

As they gain prestige, affirmation and legendary status in the pageant and ballroom communities our sisters begin to overcome the shame, fear and guilt issues that plague all girls like us at times and have a support system in place for those moments when they need to talk to someone about the issues we all deal with.

For example, if you are a young person competing n the Fem Queen Realness category in which you must be as close to feminine perfection as possible in the judges minds, you get 10's across the board from them, and get affirmation and love from the ballroom patrons and the competitors from other houses, you begin to build up the confidence that you can actually become the woman of your dreams and successfully interact with the world outside the ballroom community.

If you think I'm kidding about that, just check out the examples of  Leiomy Maldonado and Isis King who have parlayed their time in the ballroom community in their respective categories to mainstream success. 

Just as in the ballroom community, the lessons you learn from competing in pageants also carry over into your life as well.  In addition to learning how to stand tall, speak clearly and concisely and make sure your feminine presentation is on point,  you also learn you can do all that and still not win. You learn to be a classy winner and a gracious loser.  You learn that it's going to take a lot of hard work through stiff competition to reach your goals.  You also learn that a beautiful face isn't everything.  You also have to have a beautiful heart and keen mind to go with it.        

There are some thoughtful, intelligent voices in the pageant and ballroom communities who are ready, willing and able to do what they can to advance trans human rights if we activists peeps humbly ask them for their help.  One example of that is my homegirl Amirage back in Louisville who is not only a major figure in the pageant world, but was part of the efforts to get the Fairness Ordinance passed in the late 90's. 

There are proud girls like us in the both the pageant and ballroom community who have donated their time, talents and efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in not only their respective circles, but the African-American community as well. 

It's past time we started including our trans sisters in those sectors of our trans community into the discussions about owning our power.  We need to chat with our pageant and ballroom sisters about what they need, how they see the world and what policies they would like to see happen.  They need some love, respect and media light shined on their sectors of the community.

And if we're going to craft solid trans specific policies that will shape how Trans World will look in the rest of this decade and beyond, representatives from the pageant and ballroom communities need to be at the table when we have those ongoing policy discussions.

But one thing we should never forget is the pageant and ballroom community girls are also girls like us, we all have being trans women as a common thread, and we have people that irrationally hate on ALL of us simply for having the courage to honestly live our lives.

So let's get busy focusing on what unites us and doing what's best for the entire trans community human rights wise rather than what divides us.  
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Whyte Womyn Gone Wyld Hatin' On #Girlslikeus Twitter Tag

The #Girlslikeus Twitter hashtag created by Janet Mock celebrated its one year anniversary yesterday and as usual, any time we create something positive for our trans feminine community, the Whyte Women Gone Wyld as they have for the last 40 years have disco danced over to dip nasty cups of vanillacentric hate in our Kool-Aid.

For whatever reason, they're mad because nobody wants to see them on TV, interview them on the radio or they can't get vacation time to go to MichFest, the TERF's (trans exclusionary exterminationalist radical feminists) are hustling over to their computers, dipping into their white supremacist heritage and posting nasty messages on the #girlslikeus Twitter hashtag aimed at Janet Mock. 

They are going to their tired tactics of attempting to provoke a trans community response they'll trumpet on their (should have been declared by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate sites) low hit count hive mind websites as 'proof' they are the 'innocent victims' being attacked.

Yeah, you're 'innocent victims' all right. Y'all been watching too much Fox Noise.  It has also not escaped my attention how you're resorting to aiming racist comments at Janet as well, a woman who has far more dignity and class in her pinky fingers than the whole rotten rabble of you.  

Hey TERF's don't start none, won't be none. You crying white women's tears because I'm publicly calling your asses out (ho hum, again) about your nekulturny behavior won't work in this situation because y'all started it. 

And y'all know how much I gleefully enjoy nuking trolls, especially passive-aggressive racist ones spouting trans exterminationalist claptrap. 

Duck and cover, fools.    

It's also hilarious to me that despite all your hatred, misgendering slanderous speech, quasi-scientific papers designed to deny us human rights, demonizing us, lying to politicians with the goal of cutting us out of human rights legislation and the other foul crap you've done over the last 40 years in the name of feminism, and still we trans women rise as the arc of the moral universe continues to bend toward justice for trans women everywhere.

And what's even more hilarious to me is that even your own fellow haters like Julie Bindel are calling y'all 'rabid maniacs' and distancing themselves from you.

So what we need our trans allies and transpeople around the world to do is take a moment out of your day to piss off a TERF and tweet something positive on the #girlslikeus Twitter hashtag in support of trans women. 

#GirlsLikeUs Turns One

A space created by and for trans* women with the purpose of connecting, upLIFTing one another, and sharing resources and stories. It reaches across generations and color, location and socioeconomic standing, established by @janetmock in March 2012 to empower trans women to live visibly and connect in sisterhood and solidarity.  Happy birthday to the #GirlsLikeUs hashtag and campaign that Janet Mock created  which turns a year old today.  It's the Twitter hashtag that grew up quickly to become a pride based movement.  

It was March 27, 2012, during the contentious fight Jenna Talackova waged to bring down the odious 'natural born woman' rule being used to bar transwomen from competing in pageants that Janet Mock first used the #GirlsLikeUs Twitter hashtag in a tweet linked to a petition supporting Jenna.

We know that Jenna's fight to take down that rule was successful and she proudly walked the stage as a contestant in the Miss Canada Universe pageant a few weeks later.  That battle Jenna and transwomen around the planet waged in support of her also opened the doors for other girls like us to compete in Miss Universe pageant system events around the world (despite a few transphobic holdouts) starting this year.

From that March 27 first use of it the #Girlslikeus hashtag took off and went viral to the point that as an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign, I weave it into my TransGriot posts from time to time when I want to have a change of pace phrase to describe us instead of just trans woman. 

Although it's a campaign created by a Black trans woman, she's created it for all of us and I hope the trans brothers do something similar.  Janet made that clear in a subsequent post she wrote on her blog and a May 15, 2012 tweet about the #Girlslikeus campaign.

#GirlsLikeUs is for ALL trans women, regardless of color, but all who lend their voice to amplify ours knows that intersectionality matters.

Happy first birthday, #GirlsLikeUs. 

More 'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' Videos

Troy is a self described 'trans-attracted' brother who recently started a YouTube channel dedicated to discussing the issue. 

He wants to do his part to erase the stigma that surrounds cis brothers who date trans women, blow up the misconceptions that girls like us have about the brothers who are man enough to step to us for that potential long term relationship and 'ejumacate' everybody at the same time.

And I repeat, being attracted to a trans woman or having a short or long-term relationship with her doesn't make you cis boys gay.


His channel has two previous videos and he also did an interview with Diamond Stylz on the subject at her video blog. 

I present for your viewing pleasure TransGriot readers the third and fourth videos of his YouTube  'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' channel.

Part 3





Part 4







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Diamond Stylz-Surrogacy

As I've pointed out in a few posts I do have trans women friends who are mothers raising children.  Some are their own biological ones they had before transition, while others are in marriages or relationships raising their spouse's or significant other's kids as their own. 

Been a while since I posted one of Diamond's video blogs, and this one deserves a little signal boosting because it talks about her desire to be a mother and raise kids.

And no sis.  I still haven't forgotten I owe you an interview. 

Listening To Jazz

The video of the ABC 20/20 appearance with Jazz and her family finally got posted, so I get the opportunity to share it with you TransGriot readers.

Here's the update to the story of one amazing girl like us and advocate for transgender kids..

Trans Organist T. Desiree Hines Passes Away

Was stunned and saddened to hear the news from Tona Brown that trans organist T. Desiree Hines passed away January 24 due to the Stage Four neuroendocrine cancer she was bravely battling.

I had the pleasure of having a few long conversations with her, and when I last checked in with Desiree she had moved to Kansas City, MO, was playing the organ at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and had started her studies at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Before moving to Kansas City she was a well known fixture in the Philadelphia TBLG community.  But mere months into her KC stay she received the devastating medical news last March. 

Despite that the Jackson, MS native stayed upbeat about her situation and fought it tooth and nail despite the long odds until the end.

"When I'm sick, it affects me. But it is actually given me a better outlook on life, more drive to be a better person, a better musician," Hines said.

Rest in Peace Desiree.   Heaven just picked up one heck of an organist.   You will be missed. 

Girl Scout Cookie Time 2013!

Remember last year's series of posts I wrote urging the trans community and the liberal progressive blogosphere to support an organization that stood up for us and was getting attacked by to conservafools for it?

The wingnuts tried and failed to go after the Girl Scouts annual cookie drive in 2012, and now that we are into the second week of the new year Girl Scout cookie time is upon us once again. 

I don't doubt for a millisecond that the conservafools will try that reprehensible tactic again.

There were 760 million boxes of cookies sold in 2011, 714 million sold in 2010 and I have yet to see what the numbers were for 2012.  The wingers will probably be deploying their conservahatred of the Girls Scout again, so we need to be ready to rebuke that bull feces when it starts.

You'll be seeing these beautiful young ladies hanging around your local area stores, so do those younglingss in the Girl Scout uniforms a favor and buy some cookies from them.  You'll not only be supporting a great organization now into its second century of service to all young women around the world, you'll also be support an organization that stood up for the trans community too.

Here's a link to find those cookies

And I think that's worth spending a few bucks on several boxes of Thin Mints, shortbreads, or whatever your fave Girl Scout cookie flavor is.

Black Female Intellectuals Chat About A New Black Feminist Reader

I'm not a feminist and identify as a womanist, but I was intrigued to see the note on Dr Kaila Story's (AKA Niece) Facebook page in which she talked about a chat she'd had with Dr. Yaba Blay and Dr. Brittney Cooper

When they aren't teaching their lucky students at their various colleges, Niece is the co-host of the WFPL-FM radio show 'Strange Fruit', Dr. Blay was featured on the recent episode of the CNN series Black In America, and  Dr. Cooper is one of the co-founders of the Crunk Feminist Collective. 

They discussed the persistence of terrible images of Black women in Hip-Hop music and during the course of that discussion, Professors.Story, Blay and Cooper began a dialogue about the need for an updated anthology of Black Feminist Thought.

That what happens when you get three brilliant and accomplished African-descended women chatting about issues in our community.

I hope if that anthology comes to pass and becomes available, Black feminists will take the opportunity to make it explicitly clear where their movement differs from white-dominated feminism.  I hope they call out the maddening tendency of white feminists to engage in cricket chirping silence when prominent Black women such as First Lady Michelle Obama get misogynistic attacks aimed at them, but are in full throated protest if someone even says a bad word or looks crosseyed at a white female no matter what side of the political spectrum she's on.

I commented in the thread I hoped they would condemn the trans exclusionary radical feminists to that discussion.  It is a Black feminist issue since predominately white TERF's have been pushing virulent anti-trans rhetoric for 40 years that I and other trans people believe fuels anti-trans discrimination, negativity toward our community and the anti-trans hate that leads to our murders.   The people who have taken the brunt of those anti-trans murders have been Black and Latina trans women.

If it does happen, it was suggested by Dr. Story that I write that portion of it   And if they do (or someone else) starts working on that updated anthology, should I get the invitation to write that essay, I most certainly will.

Jazz Talks To Barbara Walters On Dating

Y'all know how much I love our little transteen Jazz, a girl like us who was introduced via the first Barbara Walters ABC 20/20 show report on transgender kids.    Jazz is now approaching age 13 and one of the questions Barbara asked in the follow up show that was supposed to air on Friday pertained to dating.

The wise beyond her years trans youngling had some interesting things to say about it, including something that we her trans elders should file away

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Interviews with Janet and Toni

Well, the stories and coverage involving #girlslikeus just keeps on happening.  

And that a wonderful thing as far as I'm concerned .  The more positive coverage we get the better it is for all of us. 

Janet Mock is featured in a Colorlines.com interview discussing the fredom to tell her own story and how gender and race plays into the media discussions of trans people.

Janet will also be taking part in a plenary session at the Facing Race 2012 conference.  It will take plac in Baltimore, MD and is a gathering of hundreds of racial justice thinkers, advocates and culture makers from November 15-17

And nope I have a previous commitment that won't allow me to be there for this event. 

Toni Newman is featured in an article published in the November 2012 issue of the iconic EBONY magazine written by Michelle Burford entitled "Transgender and God's Child." 

Looking forward to reading it.

Happy Twentywhatever Birthday Isis!

It's October 1st and I wasn't going to let today slide by without a TransGriot Happy Birthday shout-out to my twentysomething little sis in the Big Apple.  Sorry we missed connecting while I was up there, but I know it'll happen sooner or later.

I remember I wrote in my open letter to you back in 2008:

"Your confidence will grow as you learn who Isis is, get comfortable with your body and figure out what type of woman you want to project to the world. As you work through that ongoing process, you will eventually get to the point in which you feel as strong, sexy, beautiful and confident as the Egyptian queen you chose to name yourself after."

It's four years later and you have fulfilled that prediction I made for you at that time and then some.  You represent #girlslikeus with class, dignity and a regal style and I'm so proud of you for that.  

And yep, I really enjoy those moments when we get the chance to talk.  Need to do more of it when both our busy schedules allow it.

Happy birthday Isis!   May your special day be a wonderful one filled with abundant blessings, and may you have many more!