Miss Major Interview

I have much love for one of our iconic transwomen in  Miss Major, who is one of the few African descended Stonewall Rebellion veterans.    She talks to Ashley Love about Stonewall and a few other issues.   


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Tranny Nigga

TransGriot Note: This is a guest post from the multitalented Angelica Love Ross that she wrote in response to two events.  

She's commenting on the recent Michael Musto Village Voice article questioning whether 'tranny' is a slur as a wide variety of peeps across the trans universe have told you it is, and some fool disrespectfully posting the f-word on her YouTube page   

And now, here's Angelica:


(Sidenote:  Someone just recently posted "faggot" on my YouTube page, and in a separate post used it in a sentence, "you are a faggot".  To me, it's all the same. )

Shame on Gay Men who think they can speak on behalf of the trans community as well as all women in general.  It seems whether a man is  gay or straight he has strong opinions on what a woman should think, do, say, feel, and look like. 

If we step out of this moment and take a look at history, or what I sometimes like to see as our collective tendencies, we'll see that nobody likes to be at the bottom of the barrel.   How quickly we forget how it feels to be at the bottom or maybe you've never had to experience that.

But as a black transsexual I have and I personally find both the N-word and the T-word to be disrespectful.

Can you imagine someone saying "Can you believe it? We've got a Nigga and Tranny in the WHITE HOUSE?" I could just imagine Chris Rock having a field day with that.

But if you had a chance to meet the president, would you say "What's up nigga'?" Or if you met Amanda Simpson, the first transgender official who was appointed by President Obama, would you refer to her as a Tranny? I mean just listen to it, people.

The word is commonly used, but it is also COMMON. Common is a word we use for nothing special and people who use these words to describe themselves have not yet realized how special they are.  They have not yet realized their worth and that they are selling themselves short for a punchline.


Most of my co-workers don't know I'm transgender and I hear them jokingly throwing around the word Tranny and the lovely catch phrase, "Tranny Whore".

Recently one came up to me and pointed two out who left the store and called them 'its' and 'he-she's' (not a very far leap in my book). It creates "otherness" and usually an "other" that you yourself wouldn't want to be a part of.

We love to draw imaginary lines that separate us from each other and create fearful boundaries.  The most damaging being the gender lines usually drawn to put women in their places.  Because girls don't do this, and boys don't do that. Yet somehow they still persist.

I say think of the most favorable, honorable, respectful terms you can speak of someone, and use those across the board.  Believe that everyone deserves happiness and respect, and if no one else will give it to them, you will.

'Sandra' Rose's Transphobic Azz Strikes Again

One of the problems we Black transpeople face is transphobia not only from non Black cispeople inside and outside our community, but Black people inside and out the GLBT/SGL community as well

Here's a shining example of inside the Black GL/SGL community transphobia coming from lesbian conservafool entertainment blogger Sandra Rose.    

Sandra put her pumps in her big mouth once again with this stank comment about transman Kye Allums.

I’m trying to be sensitive here, but I have a problem with a man choosing to play for a woman’s team. Why not try out for the men’s team? He/she can’t have it both ways.

'Sandra', you didn't even try to be sensitive.   You're so breathtakingly transphobic and mean spirited  it shines through in this post and the last one you did on Thomas Beattie.

And to think I defended your azz in this comment thread when Chris Brown attacked you.   

@Victoria...You are terminally clueless if you think that somebody making nasty comments about a dark skinned person is a 'harmless joke'    Those two weren't playing the dozens. Chris Clown was retaliating for comments Sandra wrote on her blog while exercising her First Amendment rights to do so.

I have a problem with any transphobic lesbian, especially a Black lesbian who wants people to accept her and not demonize her for who she sleeps with and would be straight up going off if somebody insulted her by saying she had mental issues because of her 'homosexual lifestyle', but has no problem flipping the script and being intolerant of transpeople.


First order of business, 'Sandra', you do not EVER refer to a transperson that you 'claim' you respect as a he/she, tranny, or other derogatory term.

You can also stop lying to the blogosphere that you're trying to be respectful of a transperson as you facetiously claimed in that post.  Your blog is not only a cesspool of transphobia, you fail repeatedly at respecting us.    


But then again, it stands to reason you have your hate on for transpeople and transwomen in particular since your hip-hop gossip blogging peeps consistently slam you not only for your stank attitude, but the fact they don't consider you no Halle Berry.

But back to the focus of this post, the trans 'ejumacation' of Sandra Rose, since you so obviously need it..

Peep what the AP Stylebook has to say about reporting on transpeople.   These protocols are also repeated in the GLAAD Media Reference Guide and the National Gay and Lesbian Journalistss Association  guides as well..

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.

Now let me drop more knowledge on your behind concerning why Kye is playing on the George Washington University women's basketball team
     
If you'd bothered to hit Google instead of going on your usual hate on trans people rant, you would have found out that Kye is a junior guard on scholarship, started 20 plus games for the women's team last year, and can play on the team as long as he isn't taking testosterone.


The NCAA follows the same guidelines as the International Olympic Committee, who have allowed transpeople to compete in the Olympic Games since 2004 and the various international sports governing bodies have adopted their rules to coincide with the IOC  Stockholm guidelines.

Athletes whose gender identity or expression do not match their birth genitalia are allowed to participate on teams on the basis of their birth genitalia as long as they are not taking hormones or undergoing genital realignment surgery

With transpeople going through gender transitions as early as middle or high school, this will probably not be the last time you hear of an NCAA student athlete transitioning    There have long been rumors of transpeeps competing in the NCAA on the down low because they wanted to avoid cpntroversy

So yes, it is a big deal when a transperson, especially an African-American transperson does something positive and noteworthy.   Being the first out transperson to play NCAA Div I basketball on a scholarship while transitioning is definitely one of those times. 

Far too many times any positive coverage of transpeople is reserved for my white sisters and brothers and the only time transpeople of color get media attention is when we get killed in an anti-trans violence attack or in quagmires of nattering transphobic negativity such as your blog.

News flash for your breathtakingly ignorant behind, transpeople aren't a 'trend' as you so disrespectfully put it.  We've been around since the 50's, have been intertwined in African-American community life for decades and made a little history in the process.  It was Black transpeople in Philadelphia that instigated the the Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit-In, the first trans themed protest in 1965.   Miss Major, a Black transwomen who transitioned in the 1950's took part in the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

We African descended transpeople are educators, musicians, models, businesspeople, thought leaders, clergy, attorneys, activists, models, parents and award winning bloggers who get more than a little pissed at having our identities and lives erased and mocked by people such as you and your nekulturny readers .

We take enough of that crap from society, but it really hurts when the transphobic ignorance comes from Black SGL people such as yourself..

KK Logan Case Settled

I'd written about this when it happened back in May 2006 and when the Logan vs. Gary Community School Corporation case with the help of Lambda Legal was first filed in 2007.    Logan claimed the district violated her long established First and 14th Amendment rights

This is old news since it happened back in April, and had been keeping up with the case as it moved through the US District Court.   Was curious because I hadn't heard anything on it since it proceeded to the trial phase.  I discovered what had transpired and wanted to share it with you.TransGriot readers. 

To recap the events that triggered this legal saga, KK Logan had been dressing in femme attire through her junior and senior year, hadn't been bothered about it and had even discussed with the assistant principal and principal the issue.  But after spending $200 for the long pink prom dress, a manicure, a pedicure and getting hair styled was denied entrance to the prom by then West High school principal Diane Rouse.   To add insult to injury, they allowed a female student to walk into the prom venue wearing a tuxedo.

They refunded KK's $85 prom ticket money, but it was on like Donkey Kong because you only get one shot at experiencing your high school prom and the transphobic principal ruined it. .

Logan was given an undisclosed amount of money by the Gary Community School Corporation to settle the case, and hopefully no other trans student matriculating in the Gary school system will have to go through what KK did.