Munroe Bergdorf's 'A Qween's Speech' Discusses TBLGQ Issues In The UK

Every Christmas Queen Elizabeth II gives across The Pond what is called 'The Queen's Speech' on television that's similar to our State of the Union one that happens in January.

The more formal name for it is the Royal Christmas Message, and it started with King George V in 1932.   It is now broadcast on radio and television in Britain and across the Commonwealth.  In the US, you can see it on C-SPAN because they usually broadcast it or if you live in a US state along the Canadian border since the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also televises it..

In the nearly 66 years that Queen Elizabeth II has sat on the British throne, she has not said one word or syllable concerning TBLGQ rights issues in the UK.

Trans advocate Munroe Bergdorf, frustrated by another speech in which the Queen failed to mention her British TBLGQ subjects, took to social media to give her own alternative one called 'A Qween's Speech'

She also made it clear she wasn't trying to deliberately pick a fight with the Queen.

“I’m not trying to cause beef with the Queen, but it’s very frustrating to see institutions of high influence glaze over the issues and sprinkle sugar on things when things aren’t going very well. Bergdorf said."  
"To not even mention racism, sexually transmitted diseases, gender-based discrimination, or the rise in hate crimes since Brexit invalidates the experiences of so many people," she added.

Bergdorf started by talking about education.  “Let’s start with education, please think of the children. Take a moment to think about the young ones who still don’t see any representation or relatable role models in history, on television, or in classrooms."

She also talked about some of the progress being made, and laid out ways in which Britain can improve when it comes to TBLGQ rights issues.
.
Here's the video of Bergdorf's speech.

 

2018 Williams Watch- It's "Williamsdon' Time!

The third major on the professional tennis Grand Slam calendar started on July 2.  It is one that my fave tennis playing siblings have dominated so thoroughly since they joined the tour in 1999 that I call it 'Williamsdon'.

Venus and Serena Williams domination of this tournament is so awesome that during the 2000's, the only times someone not named Williams won Wimbledon in this decade was in 2004 and 2006.

Maria Sharapova Sharadopa upset Serena in the 2004 Wimbledon final, and Amelie Mauresmo beat Justine Henin in 2006 after Venus was upset in the third round and Serena was sidelined with a knee injury.

Four times during the 2000's, the Williams sisters played each other for the Venus (Williams) Rosewater Dish in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009.

They even won Olympic gold in singles (Serena) and doubles during the 2012 London Games on those same All England Club grass courts

This latest edition of The Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club found Serena seeded 25th and big sis Venus entering this tournament seeded ninth..

Five time champ Venus started this edition of Wimbledon trying to repeat her run to the 2017 Wimbledon finals.  She started a troubling pattern in her opening round match with Johanna Larsson of Sweden in which she would drop her first set, then come storming back to win the match. 

In her match versus Larsson, Big Sis dropped the first set in a tiebreaker 6-7 (3-7), then took the next two by 6-2 and 6-1 scores  to get to the second round match with Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru.   Once again, Venus dropped the first set 4-6, then came storming back to win the next two by 6-0 and 6-1 scores.

But sooner or later, playing three set matches and doing it the way Big Sis was will catch up with you against a better player, and it did in the third round against 20th seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

Venus once again dropped the first set in this match 2-6, then took the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5).. She dropped the third set and the match 6-8 to exit the tournament.

She wasn't the only seeded player to have problems at the All England Club   Ten seeded players went out in the first round.  One of those peeps who had to sashay away from Centre Court in the first round was (heh heh heh) Maria Sharapova. 

Four other seeded players got dispatched in the second round, including 2017 Wimbledon defending champion Garbine Muguruza.  Eleven others joined Venus in the third round including tournament number one seed Simona Halep.

All this to say that Serena thanks to all those upsets has to be considered a favorite to win her eighth Wimbledon title and her 24th career Grand Slam title.

But first she has to play and get through the matches.

Little Sis faced Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in the first round, and beat her in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.   Her second round opponent was qualifier  Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, who like Rus, got sent packing in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.

Her third round match was more of a challenge in Kristina Mladenovic of France.   Serena had to work a bit for this one, but still beat her in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) in the second set tiebreaker.

That sent Serena to the fourth round, where she will face another qualifier in Russia's Evgeniya Rodina. 

Should she successfully navigate that match, it would put her in the quarterfinals versus the winner of the Camila Giorgi-Ekaterina Makarova match. 

Definitely looking forward to seeing how this second week of 'Williamsdon' plays out.

TransGriot Update:  Serena beat Ridina 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the Ladies singles quarterfinal round and play Camila Giorgi of Italy. 
 

Introducing The Duke and Duchess of Sussex!

Back in 1981, I got up before the crack of dawn to watch the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 

Overslept this morning, and wish I hadn't for the wedding of Prince Harry and our sis Meghan Markle aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at St. George's Chapel.

As to why this is a BFD, anytime a sister gets married to a British royal for the first time since the 18th century, it is to the point that even ESSENCE magazine was covering it. 

And yes, Meghan's mom was slaying.

In case you're wondering, the last Black woman to marry into the British royal family was Queen Charlotte to King George III, and historians are still arguing about just how Black Charlotte was.

Queen Charlotte BTW, is who the city of Charlotte, NC was named after. 

Here's the full video of it for those of you who slept through it like I did



Interestingly enough, they are only the second royal couple to ever have the title, and the original Duke of Sussex campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire

But because King George III didn't approve of the Duke's two marriages and ruled them unlawful, that meant the Duke's two children weren't in the line of succession to the throne. 

All that to say that  when Markle said, "I do", she will officially become the first ever Duchess of Sussex.

Back to the wedding.  The sermon from the Most Reverend Michael Curry just before the Duke and Duchess said their vows to each other was all that and ten bags of chips. 

It quoted the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr  in talking about the redemptive power of love

     

Curry is the first Black leader of the American Episcopal Church and an avid campaigner for social justice  and racial equality.  Reverend Curry basically gave the world a taste of what it's like to go to a Black church.

Congrats to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!   Going to interesting to watch their marital journey from this side of The Pond. .

Paris Lees Dropping Truth Bombs On The BBC's 'Question Time'

“Bigotry is bigotry, whether it’s dressed up as religion or dressed up as feminism.'-Paris Lees 

Been observing what's been happening across The Pond and the ongoing attacks against the British trans community by their TERF's, the tabloids and assorted conservative politicians.

Our trans sister Paris Lees, who made history in 2013 as the first girl like us to appear on the BBC show Question Time, once again appeared on the show to drop some knowledge on the telly and call out anti-trans crap.

And yeah, you need to see our journalist sister in action.

British Labour Party Continues Trans Supportive Shortlist Policy

To address the problem of lack of feminine representation in the British Parliament, the Labour Party for over a decade has instituted a policy of having all women shortlists when looking for MP candidates to run in some of  the various parliamentary constituencies.

It is hoped that by instituting the policy, it would increase the number of women MP's in Parliament  The shortlist policy has also helped trans women who are active in the Labour Party as well.

Because of that policy, several trans women ran as Labour MP candidates in the 2017 cycle, and one nearly broke through to become the first out trans person ever elected to the British Parliament.

Sophie Cook came within a few thousand votes of becoming the first Labour candidate elected to the Conservative stronghold Shoreham and Worthing seat in 20 years.  Cook received almost 21,000 votes and made it one of the biggest swing seats in that 2017 British election cycle

But the British TERF's have been acting a fool lately across The Pond and ramping up their hate speech they aim at our British trans cousins.   They have fixed their attention on the inclusion of trans women on Labour Party shortlists, and have been raising a serious stink about it to the pont they started raising funds for a lawsuit to kill the policy.

When Dawn Butler, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities expressed  her support for trans women being on the Labour waitlists, she was viciously attacked by the TERF's. 

Stella Creasy, another Labour MP who expressed support for trans equality and Paris Lees' appearing on the cover of British Vogue was also savagely attacked by the out of control TERFBeckys 

The TERF's are also tripping because Lily Madigan, a 19 year old trans teen who was elected to a leadership role in the Labour Party, applied for the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme, but was turned down for it after enduring a storm of criticism and abuse for putting in the application for it

Madigan is more determined than ever to make her dream true of becoming an MP   Dr. Heather Peto, another trans women who is active in the Labour Party, has also made it on to a shortlist in the next general election for the Rushcliffe seat.

The good news is that despite all the negativity being stirred up by the TERF's and other anti-trans hatemongers, the Labour Party will continue their policy of placing trans women on the shortlists 

At the Labour Party's recent National Executive Committee meeting, a party spokesperson said "At the NEC yesterday is was confirmed that all women shortlists are and have always been open to all women, which of course includes trans women." 

"The party will continue to consult with key stakeholders about the wording of this policy and will issue guidance to CLP's"

And a win not only for our British trans cousins, but for transkind as well .

Ginuwine Is NOT Into You, India

And note to all you peeps bitching about it,  that doesn't make him transphobic.

If he has followed his comment to India up with anti-transgender rhetoric and ignorance like  Lil Duval did on The Breakfast Club radio show a few months ago, then we would have a legitimate case to complain about transphobia.

The Net it tripping and erroneously calling R&B singer Ginuwine transphobic because he stated to British television presenter India Willoughby that he wasn't into trans women, and resisted when she tried to kiss him.

Then there's also the problematic look of a TransBecky getting mad because the handsome brother isn't into her cougar behind.

Who you like sexually and are attracted to is a matter of personal preference.   Some people are down with interracial relationships, some prefer intraracial relationships.   Some people prefer same gender loving relationships, some don't.  .Some people are into dating and having an intimate relationship with trans people and others aren't.

Some folks like certain body types.  Some like skinny, thin framed people.  Some like them curvy and full figured.  Some like petite, some like tall.   Some like people with athletic builds.  Some want their partners in a certain age range.   Some want intelligent ones. . 

We trans women cover that wide range of feminine bodies and personalities.  When you encounter as a trans woman somebody who isn't into you, all you can do is just say 'Thanks for letting me know your dating preferences", and then move on to find someone who is open to dating trans people in a short or long term relationships. .

So naw India, I'm not on #TeamTrans on this one.    Ginuwine is not into you, so stop tripping. 

The fact he;s not into you doesn't make him a transphobe..

Prince Harry Putting A Ring On Meghan's Finger

White supremacists around the world are probably having hissy fits right now since it was announced that Prince Harry, fifth in line to the British throne, is getting married to Meghan Markle.

Here's the announcement for the spring 2018 wedding.

A sister from Cali   An actress who many of you saw on the show Suits.  And amazing thoughtful woman and public speaker. 



How you like her now British royal traditionalists and US haters? 

Prince Harry took Beyonce's advice and put a ring on this Black woman's finger.   Oh and FYI for the ignorati, Black women come in 24 different skin tones.

What's going to be interesting to watch is what transpires after the wedding.  The Daily Mail Fail and other tabloids have already been throwing racist shade at Markle including a 'Straight Outta Compton' reference to her LA roots that caused Prince Harry to publicly rebuke the British tabloid media for shadily dissing his future wife and mother in law along with the other stunts the tabloid media is known for.

Even after all the speculation on both sides of The Pond about whether this relationship was one that was going to end in marriage, looks like we have the initial answer to that question.

Prince Harry is engaged to Meghan Markle.   Deal with it.

Now what it means to British society, race and the royal family, and discussions of race in Great Britain is a question that we'll have to wait and see what happens .

2017 Williams Watch- Venus To The 'Williams'-don Finals!

It's been a long time since we last saw Venus Williams playing in a Wimbledon final.  It was 2008 to be precise as the defending Wimbledon ladies singles champ, and she was playing against her little sister Serena.

Tenth seeded Big Sis now had the opportunity to reach another one and keep her hopes alive of capturing a sixth Wimbledon title.   But to do so she would have to battle sixth seeded British homegirl Johanna Konta and a Centre Court crowd cheering her on.

It was a tight match in the first set with both players holding serve until the ninth game when Venus got into a 15-40 hole but climbed out of trouble.

The critical point of the match came at 30-40 in that game.  Instead of hitting a slower second serve, Big Sis instead went for broke and walloped a 106 MPH second serve that caught Konta by surprise and she missed the return.

Williams would go on from that point a 40-all to hold serve and move to a 5-4 first set lead.  Venus then stepped up the pressure in the next game and started teeing off on Konta's returns to take the first set.

Big Sis continued her stellar play in the second set as Konta tried to stay in the match, but Venus would not be denied as she takes the second set and the match 6-4, 6-2 in straight sets.

It took Big Sis her a mere one hour and thirteen minutes to survive and advance to her ninth Wimbledon final and become at age 37, the oldest player ever to do so.

She will face 14th seeded Garbine Muguruza, who Little Sis beat in the 2015 Wimbledon finals and who dispatched Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 to punch her ticket to Saturday's final.

Can Venus pick up another Venus Rosewater Dish for the Williams family trophy case?   We'll find out this weekend.

2017 Williams Watch -Big Sis To The 'Williams'-don Sems

I call the grand slam tournament played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club 'Williams-don' for a very good reason.

Since 2000, with the exception of 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013 and 2014, a Williams sister has won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship and turned it into their personal tennis playground.

Serena lost the 2004 Wimbledon finals in an upset.

Venus and Serena's domination at the All England Club is so thorough,  they not only have claimed a dozen combined ladies singles titles since 2000, but also won six Wimbledon doubles crowns in addition to claiming 2012 London Olympic tennis gold in singles (Serena) and doubles on these hallowed tennis grounds.

Since Serena isn't defending her back to back 2015-16 titles because of her pregnancy, it's up to Big Sis Venus to keep the Williams family Wimbledon ladies singles title roll going

And so far tenth seeded Venus has been more than up to the task of handling her London Grand Slam tennis business.

She started this 2017 Wimbledon run in search of her sixth title and first since 2008 by knocking off Belgium's Elise Mertens 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 to send her to her second round match with China's Wang Qiang.

Turned out to be a tougher than expected assignment.  Big Sis dropped the first set, but prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-1to move on to the third round to take on Japan's Naomi Osaka, who had dispatched 22nd seeded Barbora Strycova in three sets to face Williams.  .

As in her first round match with Mertens, she won it in straight sets and went to a tiebreaker to determine who took it.   But Big Sis survived and advanced 7-6 (7-3) 6- 4 to advance to her fourth round match with 27th seeded Ana Konjuh of Serbia, who had upset 8th seed Dominika Cibulkova in three sets.

Konjuh ended up getting beaten by Venus in straight sets 6-3, 6-2  to punch her ticket to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and a milestone match with Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, who had knocked off fourth seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to get there and is the reigning 2017 French Open champion.

The fourth round match with the thirteenth seeded Ostapenko was significant for two reasons.  It was Venus' 100th match at Wimbledon, and she became by reaching the quarters the oldest player to reach this round of Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1994.

She celebrated it in winning style by ousting Ostapenko in straight sets to become the oldest player since Navratilova to make it to the semifinal round.   She also has an enviable  86-14 singles match record as a result

But she faces a tough assignment in her half of the semis in order to get to her first Wimbledon final since 2008 in Great Britain's Johanna Konta.

The sixth seed made a little history herself, becoming the first British woman since Virginia Wade did so in 1978 to reach the semis, and the first since Jo Durie in 1984 to reach the quarterfinals.

So Venus will be fighting the home crowd and Konta as she attempts to make her first Wimbledon final since 2008 and keep the Venus Rosewater dish in the Williams family.

Winner of her match plays the winner of the Garbine Muguruza- Magdalena Rybarikova match.

Let's go Big Sis!   Handle your Grand Slam tennis business!

Happy 82nd Birthday, April Ashley!

Today is the 82 birthday of British trans icon and pioneer April Ashley.  She has led an amazing life as a Vogue model, received an MBE back in 2012 and was a plaintiff in Corbett v Corbett, a 1970 marriage case that went the wrong way for her and trans folks in Great Britain of which the repercussions of it didn't get cleaned up until the Gender Recognition Act was passed.

But by living her life, she inspired others in Great Britain to live as their true selves, and she deserves much credit and praise for that.

Happy birthday April!   Thank you for being that trans pioneer that we all needed, for the wonderful trailblazing life that you have lived up to this point, the honors that you have received, and may you be blessed to see many more

Here's two clips of her 2015 interview on the British TV show Loose Women

.



A film that documented April's visit to her hometown of Liverpool for her 80th birthday to receive an Honour of the City.