Rep. Geraldine Roman Handling Her Legislative Business

Back in May Geraldine Roman became the first out trans person elected to the Philippine Congress and only the sixth person internationally to become a member of that small sorority of trans national legislators.

It was a BFD when it happened, and it's still a BFD now.that she is now officially Congressmember Roman.

There has been recent debate in the Philippines concerning an anti-discrimination bill that would include sexual orientation and gender identity language, and she has been at the forefront, since she is now a legislator, of helping craft that legislation

Here's two videos that you need to watch.

The first is a privileged speech that starts at the 36:00 minute mark that she is making concerning the proposed bill.

The second is the Q&A she is engaged in with several legislators concerning the proposed legislation.

Enjoy it, and imagine it happening in the USA.

Someday we will have one of our own trans peeps elected to Congress, and I hope I'm still around to see that glorious day occur..
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It's what we need to have happen in our US Congress and state houses across the nation in terms of electing trans people to our national and state legislatures to help write good laws and kill bad ones.

Thanks Rep. Roman for doing so with dignity and class.
 

Geraldine Roman Elected To Philippine Congress!

It's official!   You can now call her Congresswoman-elect Roman!  
49 year old Geraldine Roman has made Philippine and world trans history by becoming the first out trans person elected to the Philippine Congress!

She was favored to win her race thanks in large part to her mother preceding her in the First District of Bataan House seat and serving for nine years, and her father being also a political heavyweight in their native Bataan region.

She didn't disappoint on election day.

With 95% of the vote counted, Roman is cruising to a comfortable win over her opponent Danny Malana in their First Legislative District of Bataan race to get her first three year term as a Philippine congress member

Dindi Tan, a trans advocate in the Philippines and a former board member of the QC Pride Council there, is just as excited about the historic election of Roman as much of the international trans community is.

She is hopeful that Roman's election to the Philippine Congress results in more positive changes LGBT rights wise in her nation

"For a country that has yet to catch up with the significant LGBT rights developments and inroads around the world, the election victory of Congresswoman-elect Geraldine Roman is an inspiration by itself for a community that has long yearned for its own voice in the halls of Philippine Congress,"said Tan.  

"Her election is a breath of fresh air and is welcomed with great optimism by the Philippine trans community. Her being the first openly trans woman voted into Congress is a clear testament that the tide is slowly shifting to our favor. For the longest time, the Philippine LGBT community has persevered in lobbying for a national law on anti-discrimination. It has taken us 16 long years and counting. We hope that with the election of young blood political movers like Roman, we are rest assured that the lobby will take on an easier path," Tan continued.

"While we celebrate her victory, we also give meaning to the political statement that her election entails-- that politics in the Philippines is slowly becoming more and more embracing of the LGBT agenda. By breaking the glass ceiling in politics, she has paved the way for others like us. We look forward to working with her in Congress and in pushing for more gender-inclusive policies and the advancement of the rights of LGBT people."  

"This is such a history-in-the-making for the LGBT movement on this side of the globe,." added Tan. 

Roman is now part of an elite sorority of out trans feminine politicians internationally who have been elected to their national legislatures that includes Georgina Beyer (NZ), Vladimir Luxuria (Italy), Anna Grodzka (Poland), Michelle Suarez Bertora (Uruguay) and Tamara Adrian (Venezuela)

In her remarks to me concerning this historic win, Naomi Fontanos, the executive director of GANDA Filipinas was also excited and optimistic about the upcoming term of Congresswoman-elect Roman.

"Yes. I am very happy that herstory was made today with Ms Geraldine Roman winning the congressional race in Bataan. While it is radical that she is the first openly out transwoman to be elected in Philippines Congress,she is also undeniably a product of a political dynasty that has dominated local politics in Bataan for a long time.' said Fontanos.

"This is a historic moment though, and I want to focus on the many good things that Ms Roman can bring to the Lower House of the Philippine Congress. I laud the fact that she has openly stated that she would make legal gender change part of her legislative agenda," she added.

Roman is the sixth out trans person worldwide to have accomplished that feat, and the second in the Asia-Pacific region after Georgina Beyer of New Zealand, who was the first out trans person in the world to do so in 1999..

And while Congresswoman-elect Roman is officially representing her constituents in the 1st Legislative District of Bataan, she is also by default the defacto representative of all TBLG people in the Philippines as well.

Congratulations Congresswoman-elect Roman!.   May you be successful in representing not only the voters of the 1st Legislative District of Bataan, but also your Filipino TBLG siblings across the country.

TransGriot Update: Roman won her race in a landslide:  106,315 votes to 64,643 votes for her opponent Danny Malana  

Vietnamese Trans People Celebrate Legal Recognition Gain

Our trans cousins in Vietnam are celebrating a new law recently passed by their National Assembly that will recognize the rights of transpeople in that nation.

The Amended Civil Code is set to take effect in 2017 and will allow people who have undergone gender reassignment to change their identity documents to reflect who they are now.

Vietnamese trans people have been getting increased exposure and recognition there over the last few years like singer Cindy Thai Tai and writer Nguyen Ngoc Thach, but like everywhere else in the world, the 'T' was told to wait their turn as the L and G moved forward to gain rights coverage there.

"Registering for a new ID card with my true gender identity is no longer just a dream." said Gia Ky."I will no longer be embarrassed when applying for a job or other papers.".   

It is hoped by Vietnamese trans people that it will help mitigate much of the anti-trans discrimination they face in that nation.

It's also hope by trans people in Vietnam that this is their tipping point moment toward having their human rights recognized and respected.

Geena's Upcoming GenderProud Philippines Tour

Ever since model Geena Rocero came out as a trans woman during a favorably received March 31`TED talk last year, she has been on a mission to fight for trans human rights around the world.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Geena, talking to her regularly about that mission and spending quality time with her at last year's Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and a White House event last July.

After a May 11 visit to the UC-Santa Barbara campus for an event there, she's once again leaving on a jet plane headed back home to the Philippines.

Rocero will be there for a three week GenderProud tour in conjunction with local Philippine trans organizations from May 16-June 1 to talk with the Philippine transgender community.

"There's nothing more beautiful than being your full authentic self and saying it publicly, being in the public eye," said Rocero in an interview.



"I hope the trans community could feel that their stories matter, they need to be heard, and you're enough. You're a beautiful person by pursuing your truth, you are courageous, you should know that," she said.

While she has been part of the heightened visibility the trans community has seen in the past year that exploded after her coming out TED talk, she is quite aware of the fact that visibility can only go so far.and doesn't necessarily mean equality.

It's why she's in the Philippines for the next three weeks doing a series of events, and why she says she will continue to tell her story until she no longer has to.

Miss Universe Japan 2015 Is A Sistah!

I've always been a pageant junkie going back to my childhood and one of my fave pageants to watch is Miss Universe.  

I'm still waiting for the first transfeminine contestant to hit the Miss Universe stage, but until them I'm rooting for the girls of the African Diaspora, wherever they come from, to do well.

When the Miss Universe system finally names the date and location of the next pageant, I'll be glued to the TV watching it because of an unexpected sistah contestant.

When the Miss Universe Japan pageant was held in March, the winner was 21 year old Ariana Miyamoto of Nagasaki.    

She has an interesting backstory.  She was born in Japan today in 1994 (Happy birthday sister Taurus!) to an Japanese mother and an African-American father in Sasebo.   After attending elementary school in Nagasaki, Japan, her parents divorced and she emigrated to the US to attend high school in her father's hometown of Jacksonville, Arkansas before the 1.73 m (5'8") beauty returned to Japan to become a model.

She entered the Miss Universe Japan pageant after a biracial friend of hers committed suicide, and represented her hometown of Nagasaki in the pageant.   The moment she was crowned starts at the 6:00 minute mark.

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Ariana's Miss Universe Japan win has caused some controversy there because in the eyes of some of her critics, she isn't Japanese enough despite being born there, a Japanese citizen, currently residing in that nation, her mother being full blooded Japanese, having fifth degree mastery of calligraphy and she being a fluent Japanese speaker.

And I do have some memories of Jesse Jackson having to make a few trips to Japan starting in the 90's to tackle anti-Black attitudes there.

Miyamoto's win has also opened the doors to a conversation in Japan about what it means to be Japanese in a multi-racial world.  At the same time it also gives African-Americans an opportunity to understand what life is like for a Black woman living in Japan and if it has improved since those contentious 1990's.

Miyamoto is eager to use her newfound fame to facilitate that conversation.  She's hoping her selection as Miss Universe Japan will help change attitudes in her nation toward people of color.

“I want to start a revolution,” Miyamoto said with a laugh. “I can’t change things overnight, but in 100-200 years there will be very few pure Japanese left, so we have to start changing the way we think.”

Ariana is not the first, nor the last Japanese person with African-American heritage they will see in a nation that is 98.5% ethnic Japanese and is not as monoracial as it thinks it is.

And yeah, just goes to show you how beautiful Black women are, no matter what nation they reside in

Congratulations Ariana!   Hope to see you rock the Miss Universe stage in a few months as you attempt to become the first Japanese Miss Universe winner since 2007.

Japan's Ministry Of Education Urges Schools To Do More For Trans Students

While some school districts in the United States no thanks to conservafools are moving to oppress trans students, other nations are going in the opposite direction in their education systems.

The Japanese Ministry of Education on April 30 issued a notice to local school boards imploring them to do more for transgender students to reduce their drop out rates.

Many Japanese schools already allow trans students to dress in the uniforms that conform to their expressed gender identity and use the locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice from elementary to the high school level.

The notice not only encourages all schools to do so,but also encourages schools to take steps to accommodate gay and lesbian students.

n a 2012 document, the education ministry urged schools to care for transgender students but stopped short setting out specific measures. Moreover, no mention of sexual minorities was made.
In June 2014, the ministry revealed that schools nationwide had recognized 606 students as transgender, but noted the actual number was probably much higher as LGBTI students often have difficulty coming out.
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/japan-schools-told-let-trans-students-wear-uniform-use-bathroom-choice010515#sthash.agaVSKjW.dpuf

Trans students, because of the pressure to conform in Japanese society, drop out of school,  The  Ministry of Education expressed concerns about that, and in 2012 put out a notice encouraging school districts to care for transgender students, but stopped short of recommending specific measures to do so.

In June 2014 the ministry noted that schools had recognized 606 students nationwide as transgender, but surmised that the number of trans students was probably much higher.because of the difficulty of TBLGI students to come out.

Our school districts could learn a lesson from Japan's education system and do the same thing.   They will learn, as Japan has, that if you give trans kids the opportunity to be themselves, they will stay in school, get their education, and thrive personally and academically.

'He Wanted To Erase Her Existence'

Mayang Prasetyo, another one of our transsisters was murdered in Australia.

Along with the media in Brisbane misgendering and sensationalizing the whole thing also came a Guardian post by Amy Gray that took the opposite angle. 

Gray's post asserted that it was masculine entitlement that led to Prasetyo's death.

That Guardian article generated some commentary on my FB page when  I posted it, and the most thought provoking one of all so far was from Troy, whose trans attracted man videos you see pop up on TransGriot from time to time.

In his comment on the article Troy remarked, "Think of the last few trans women that have been murdered, thrown on the streets, dumped in the garbage. It seems their killers wanted to erase them from existence."

"That's why I'm so adamant about language. When you dehumanize someone it's easier to justify killing them."

Exactly, Troy.  Ever since I transitioned 20 years ago and became aware of the horrific levels of anti-trans violence aimed at us, there have been times when I have been stunned by the extreme level of violence that was aimed at transfeminine murder victims. 

Yaz'min Shancez's killer shot her, then burned her body. Shellie Hilliard's body in Detroit was dismembered and burned by her convicted killer.  I remember reading about other trans murders on the Remembering Our Dead list in which extreme violence was part of it.

One of my suspicions as to why that happens is because of the virulent level anti-trans hate can reach at times with cisgender males, as Joanna Cifredo noted while recounting an incident that happened to her in her blog post Passing To Survive.

That night will forever be ingrained in my memory. It was the night that I looked straight into the eyes of transphobia. I don’t think “phobia” is even the right word, he wasn’t scared of me, just the opposite, I was scared of him, instead I came face to face with pure, undiluted, hatred. As I rode home I began to think about the paralyzing fear that engulfed every pore of my being, and I began to sob uncontrollably. I started to think of all of my sisters who came face to face with hatred and weren’t as lucky as I was to have someone there defending them and were met with their mortality

Joanna is describing an instance in which she came face to face with someone who literally wanted to erase her existence from the face of this Earth because of her trans feminine status.  That person probably would have eagerly done so if it hadn't been for the fact there was a door and another cis male keeping that from happening in the incident she describes in the post

It's the sudden nature in which a transwoman can go from having a pleasant day to fearing for her life that keeps us on edge as we navigate our lives. 

My transsisters, this is just one of the things that estrogen based lifeforms unfortunately have to deal with   It is dangerous at times to walk this planet in a feminine body.

It gets even more problematic when that feminine body is a trans feminine one.  You have cisgender males who mistakenly feel they have the right to violently harm or kill a trans woman simply because the transwoman's presence in their space at that given moment for whatever specious reason offends them.

And I suspect this unfortunately happened to our sis Mayang.   For whatever reason, the man who professed to love her, killed and dismembered her before killing himself. 

How much transphobia played a role in this domestic violence situation we will probably never know, but the bottom line is still the same.  

Our sis is dead at the hands of a man who appears to have wanted to erase her existence

Taiwan To Allow Legal Gender Change Without Medical Or Surgical Intervention

After three hours of heated debate on December 9, Gay Star News is reporting that the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to allow trans and intersex people intending to change their legal gender to do so without transitioning or surgical intervention.

Taiwan back in 2008 took steps to make it easier to change gender identity, but it required compulsory genital surgery, removal of all relevant sexual organs and evaluations by two psychologists before they would approve any document changes. 

Even if you did go through with all of that, you had to be unmarried and your efforts could be undone by your parents having veto power over the process.   

Taiwan's Ministry of Interior will come up with the new regulations and policy necessary to implement the of the Ministry of Health and Welfare after further discussions. 

But it is a decision that is being hailed in the trans and intersex communities there as a major step forward and more progressive than their Asia-Pacific Rim counterparts. 

‘The Interior Ministry’s household registration system is linked with all our legal documents, so the sex registered at birth will have to change for other legal papers to change,’ said intersex rights activist Hiker Chiu to Gay Star News. 

‘The Interior Ministry’s household registration system is linked with all our legal documents, so the sex registered at birth will have to change for other legal papers to change,’ said intersex rights activist Hiker Chiu - See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/taiwan-allows-legal-gender-changes-without-transitioning091213#sthash.sLmOm975.dpuf

Here's hoping the new regulations are compiled swiftly and their implementation for our trans an gender variant cousins in Taiwan goes as smoothly as possible.

TransGriot Note: photo is of Taiwanese trans model Alicia Liu. 

Trans Being Left Behind Rights Wise In Vietnam?

Since I posted the story of Cindy Thai Tai and her evolution, it's been interesting from these shores to watch the Vietnamese trans community begin to emerge from the shadows in that country.  

But there is still a long way to go.  Despite trailblazing people like singer Cindy Thai Tai, writer Nguyen Ngoc Thach, the author of the book Transgender, Tran Minh Ngoc, the host of the YouTube show Funny Family and Vietnamese Idol contestant Huong Giang, a pattern all too familiar to transpeople in the US is emerging in which the 'T' is thrown under the human rights bus and told to wait their turn while the L,G and B get their rights because they give a 'very bad image' of the TBLG community in Vietnam.

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) recently conducted a radio interview with Nguyen Ngoc Thach and Tran Minh Ngoc about the Vietnamese trans community.   You can click the link to hear it and here's the transcript of it.

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A year ago, legislators decided to include gay people in a debate over revisions to the Marriage and Family Law.  Although the proposed revisions are unlikely to result in legalizing same-sex marriage, it is expected to give live-in gay couples property rights.

But where does the transgender community figure in all of this?

Presenter: Marianne Brown

Speaker: Tran Minh Ngoc, transgender TV show host; Nguyen Ngoc Thach, author of 'Transgender'

BROWN: Tran Minh Ngoc is a glamorous 33-year-old who turns heads as she walks through a crowded cafe to meet me. She's a heroine in the transgender community, founding the country's first online forum for transgenders and later, a talent competition.  Her online TV show Funny Family attracts hundreds of  thousands of hits on YouTube. There are ads too for a new biography about Ngoc called simply, 'Transgender'.

It tells the story of family ordeals, romance and friendship, without the emphasis on promiscuity which many Vietnamese readers associate with  homosexual relationships. Ngoc says it is the first biography about a  transgender person to be published in Vietnam. The book hit the shelves last  month.  They have nearly sold out of 2,000 copies and will print more soon.

Sex changes are not recognized legally, and the only socially acceptable jobs they can do are small entertainment gigs, often at weddings or funerals.

Author of Transgender, Nguyen Ngoc Thach, says taking part in these shows  can be degrading. When he was researching the book, he attended one funeral party where the audience demanded to see performers' breasts in exchange for  a few dollars.  While there are a few notable transgender celebrities like singer Cindy Thai Tai and Vietnam Idol contestant Huong Giang, off stage society is not so accepting.

NGUYEN NGOC THACH: When people look at a show that has a drag queen, it's just entertainment.  Maybe this guy is not a gay, he's not a transgender, but he just wears a skirt and makeup to perform. He's not gay or transgender. That's easy to accept. But when you come into a bank or come into an office, you see a  transgender walking there's a lot of people who can't accept that because  this is onstage only and on stage to perform we can do everything but in  real life, it's not.

BROWN:  Discrimination also comes from within the gay community, especially among  men. Thach cites one website for gay men which doesn't allow members to use female names. He says this is because transgenders are too visible, and gay men feel threatened by that. He says this is compounded by bigotry in the workplace, which creates a Catch-22 for many transgenders.

NGUYEN NGOC THACH: Transgenders often show that they don't have a chance to earn money, so they  do bad things, for example to be a prostitute, a robber, to be a thief. So they give a very bad image of LGBT community in Vietnam. So that's why the LG and B  don't like T.

BROWN: Unlike other countries in Southeast Asia, sodomy is not illegal in Vietnam.  Here there is no religious lobby to stall debate on advancing gay rights.  Some observers say this makes LGBT rights an easy way for Vietnam to improve  its human rights record, which is otherwise tainted by restrictions on  freedom of speech and jail sentences for social and religious activists.

Funny Family's Tran Minh Ngoc says she supports the discussion about  same-sex marriage, but she thinks it's too ambitious.. at least for now.

TRAN MINH NGOC: (voice fades) She says society may be ready to read about transgenders and watch them on television, but on the road to equality, campaigners still have to take baby steps.


TransGriot Note:  Photo is of trans masculine writer Nguyen Ngoc Thach.

I AM YOU Trans Ally Campaign Launched In Malaysia

Was nice to hear that TBLG activists in that Pacific Rim nation launched last month a campaign designed to get people in Malaysia to be better allies to trans people there. 

We've seen Muslim transwomen be frequently arrested, charged under Sharia law with 'impersonating a woman' and fined or imprisoned for up to six months for just living their trans lives.  

While transwomen are the more well known and visible faces of the Malaysian trans community and targets for the anti-trans harassment aimed at them, trans men are increasingly being targeted for harassment if their status is discovered.

A political climate in which the various political parties trying to capture votes from the Muslim majority attempt to show righteous they are by hating on transpeople and repressing their human rights also has been problematic for the Malaysian trans community


The I AM YOU campaign launched with a screening of the three campaign videos followed by a question and answer session with several trans men and trans women complete with a mock trial demonstrating what happens when transpeople go to court to do their name changes.    

And here are the I AM YOU campaign videos.

Georgina Beyer Seriously Ill

Georgina Beyer, who rose from a challenging situation to become the world's first trans MP in 1999 is reportedly seriously ill with a chronic kidney infection that will force her to do four day a week dialysis unless she gets a kidney transplant.

The 55 year old Beyer was about to announce her candidacy for mayor of Wellington, New Zealand's capital city and has not confirmed as of yet if she will drop those plans to run

She stood for election as a Labour MP in the November 1999 general election and energized the trans community in New Zealand and around the world by winning a usually right-leaning electorate in Wairarapa to become the world's first openly transgender MP.  She held that seat until she resigned from New Zealand's parliament in February 2007.

"I'm sure as hell not going to sit back and think, "woe is me",' said Beyer in an interview with Woman's Day magazine. "I refuse to be defeatist. This health issue has cast a huge shadow, but I'm going to be positive and proactive.'

And we'll follow your lead on that in addition to saying our prayers for you.

Naw China, We STILL Haven't Forgotten What Today Is

June 4, 1989, the 24th anniversary of the crushing of the Tiananmen Square student led protests with PLA tanks and troops. 

Since somebody thought it would be a cute stunt to remove the link to the original TransGriot June 4, 1989 post and reroute it to some game site, bad move.  All you did was piss me off and ensure I'd circle the date on the calendar to make sure I'd write another post reminding my readers here in the States and around the world about the day Chinese tanks and troops slaughtered their own citizens participating in a peaceful protest.  

Besides, I don't ever forget that June 4 date because it happens to be my late grandmother Tama's birthday. 

It was a five week protest by students and concerned citizens simply asking for government reform and an end to corruption in their government that captured the world's attention.




The Chinese government answer to those demands came in the late evening of June 3 and the early morning hours of June 4.  The plug was pulled on the television feed for the international foreign news networks broadcasting the event and PLA troops backed up by tanks began firing on and running over the people in the square to break up the demonstration.    Casualties were estimated between 200-1000 people dead. 


As I said in last year's post, those PLA tanks and troops may have crushed the demonstration, and the Chinese government may continue to try to erase and deny what happened, but the video, photographic and written evidence is still out there and it's always going to be a part of world history. 

Neither can you crush the root of freedom from which democracy will inevitably flower once it has taken root.

So on this day international community, remember the people who died in the name of freedom and democracy in their homeland's capitol city.


We also need to on this day in the United States, remember that freedom requires eternal vigilance from the enemies inside and outside our borders who seek to exterminate it.

Indonesia's Trans Muslims

Here's a documentary focusing on our Indonesian trans sisters.   They have been catching hell there lately, and the anti-trans attitudes whipped up by fundie Muslims  even affected a 2010 international trans conference held there.   The anti-trans hatred is felt even more keenly by our Indonesian trans sisters who are Muslims who simply want to be themselves and practice their faith.

Ms W Finally Wins The Right To Marry!

The third time was finally the charm for Ms W in her nearly three year long Hong Kong court battle to marry her boyfriend.

After losing two previous rounds in court, she finally prevailed Monday at the Court of Final Appeals level in a 4-1 decision and won a groundbreaking ruling for transpeople in Hong Kong in the process.

The Registrar of Marriages had argued that because her birth certificate couldn't be altered under Hong Kong law and said she was male, she could not wed her boyfriend.

Ms W argued the previous adverse court rulings were a violation of her constitutional rights and the Hong Kong government subsidized her SRS back in 2008. 

"It is contrary to principle to focus merely on biological features fixed at the time of birth," the court said in a written judgement by the panel of five judges.

It added that existing laws "impair the very essence of W's right to marry"

The court said the nature of marriage as a social institution had "undergone far-reaching changes" in a multi-cultural present day Hong Kong.

However, the five judge panel stopped short in this ruling of allowing same gender marriage in Hong Kong. 
Ms W according to her attorney Michael Vidler was overjoyed at the landmark ruling, which not only allows her to marry her boyfriend, but orders Hong Kong to rewrite their marriage law to allow trans women to marry cis men and trans men to marry cis women.

Vidler read a statement by the now thritysomething Ms. W to reporters in which she said,"I have lived my life as a woman and been treated as a woman in all respects except as regards my right to marriage. This decision rights that wrong."


"I am very happy that the court of appeal now recognizes my desire to marry my boyfriend one day and that that desire is no different to that of any other women who seek the same here in Hong Kong," W said.

"This is a victory for all women in Hong Kong."

Interestingly enough had Ms W lived in mainland China, she would have been able to get married.  China's marriage were changed and clarified in 2003 to allow transpeople to get married to their opposite gender partners.  Hong Kong as an autonomous Special Administrative Region is still under British law.

The landmark ruling brings Hong Kong in line on the issue of trans marriage with other Asia-Pacific Rim nations such as mainland China, Singapore, India, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.   Out of all those Asia-Pacific Rim nations, only New Zealand allows same sex couples to marry.

After Joanne Cassar's win in Malta and this one for Ms. W, can Nikki Araguz make it three in a row for international trans human rights with a trans marriage win here in Texas? 

Ms W is going to have to wait another 12 months for the landmark ruling to take effect and give the Hong Kong government time to rewrite the marriage laws, but she'll probably spend that time planning her wedding.

Indonesian Sisters Standing Up For Their Rights

It's old video from last year, but it makes the point I've been trying to drive home that trans rights are a world wide struggle.   This video comes from Indonesia and is a story about Yuli Rettoblaus trying to become a member of the Indonesian National Commission of Human Rights.

Ms W's Final Trans Marriage Legal Appeal Starts

TransGriot Note: Here's another one you can e-mail to Karin Quimby

Been keeping up with along with my trans sisters in the Asia-Pacific Rim region and around the world the case of Ms. W ever since it started back in 2010.

It's also an example along with the now resolved Joanne Cassar case of how the same-gender marriage push has deleteriously affected the ability of transwomen in some areas of the world to get married. 

She's the transwoman who is now in her 30's that has been fighting a pitched legal battle in Hong Kong to have her rights recognized to marry her boyfriend.

She was back in court on her final two day appeal of this landmark legal case that started Monday (Sunday US time)   Ms W is seeking to overturn two previous rulings that went against her and had the effect of keeping the ban on her getting married (along with other transpeople in Hong Kong) in place.  

The city's Registrar of Marriages is claiming that since her birth certificate states she was born male and it can't be changed, she is still male despite having government funded SRS in Hong Kong and Ms. W changing all other identity documents to reflect her life as a female.

And as you probably guessed, only marriages between male and female couples are recognized in Hong Kong.   Never mind the fact that Ms W has done everything possible including a government funded genital surgery to be recognized as female. 

“We say the laws of marriage can and should recognize that sexual identity can change,” W’s attorney David Pannick told the court in his opening arguments.

“The right to marry is fundamental... the birth certificate is a record of historical facts,” he said, adding that W is now “medically, psychologically and socially” a woman.

Pannick said the Registrar of Marriages should recognize his client’s new gender, which is stated in official documents like her identity card and passport, and a denial of her bid to marry violates her constitutional rights.

Well, duh.  It's obvious to any of us without law degrees looking at it simply on the face of the human rights issues that Hong Kong is violating Ms. W's human and constitutional rights, but unfortunately we aren't the people wearing judicial robes and making the ruling on this case.

And it's even more ironic that if Ms W were living across the border in China and not in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that's under British law, she would have been happily married a few years ago. 

Here's hoping the judges in this case do the right thing, overturn the two previous jacked up rulings and let our trans sister (and everyone else in Hong Kong who would like to) get married.   
  

Vietnamese Trans Woman Comes Out On National Telecast.

People tell me they thought it was brave for me to come out in the middle of an international airport terminal back in 1993.   But what I was doing wasn't brave.  It was a necessary step in the evolution towards becoming the phenomenal person I am now.  

It's never easy to out yourself to the world as a transwoman, much less do so in front of a national television audience.  So I have much love, respect and admiration for what 25 year old Vietnamese transwoman Huong Giang did recently as a finalist in the Vietnam Idol competition that was broadcast on September 6.

After being praised by the judges When asked if she'd ever auditioned for Vietnam Idol before she hesitated for a moment before she revealed she'd previously attempted to do so under her old name.

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After some discussion, she did move on in the Vietnam Idol competition.   Best of luck to her and hope she wins it..

New Zealand Considering Trans Passport Policy Change

New Zealand is considering making some policy changes that would make it easier for trans Kiwis to not only get passports that reflect their gender presentation but also avoid being discriminated against when they travel internationally.

The New Zealand Passport Office is considering following in Argentina's groundbreaking footsteps and allowing transpeople to change the gender code on their passports without medical declarations or court papers

Currently transpeople can get an X code on your Kiwi passports.   You can only change the F or M gender code after a Family Court declaration that allows you to change the birth certificate.

That declaration happens only if the person has medical evidence showing that they are in transition from one gender to another, such as undergoing hormone replacement therapy, or has had gender reassignment surgery.

It decided to look into the policy change after being approached by the New Zealand trans community about the feasibility of doing so.

The New Zealand Human Rights Commission supports the change, with some members of the trans community wanting gender codes to be eliminated from the passports period.

As of this moment any changes to the passport policy wouldn't take effect until September .   
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Happy 10th Anniversary STRAP!

The Society of Transsexual Women of The Philippines and I have in common wishing to see trans people in our nations and around the world gain human rights coverage and respect.  

I wanted to make sure I gave STRAP a well deserved shoutout on the occasion of its tenth anniversary year and didn't want to wait until December to write this post

STRAP is one of the premier trans rights organizations in the world and it has grown exponentially since its December 2002 founding by four transpinays, Sass Rogando Sasot, Dee Mendoza, J.A. and Veronica Deposoy in Manila.

It is now ably run by its current chairwoman Naomi Fontanos and her leadership team and has expanded its reach from being a Manila-centric organization to one which is gradually spreading across the Philippines educating and empowering people along the way on a variety of issues, making allies and working in partnership with other organizations in the Philippines and beyond.  

In addition to being well respected in international human rights circles and the Asia-Pacific Rim, it is also forging links with local transpinoy organizations to better coordinate their drive for trans human rights legislation that benefits all transpeople in their homeland.

Happy 10th birthday STRAP and may you have many more.
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Samoa Moving Forward In Time

If you're wondering where the world's day begins and ends and what's the dividing line between the eastern and western hemispheres, it's the 180 degree line of longitude in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, better known as the International Date Line.

You've heard me mention it in a few posts from time to time on TransGriot when I give shoutouts to my readers on the western side of it on Christmas and New Year's Day. 

What it means is that when you cross the International Date Line going westbound, you pick up a day and going eastbound you lose a day once you cross it..    

The International Date Line has been adjusted over the years to accommodate the needs of Pacific nations such as Kiribati, which put the entire island nation chain on the western side of it.   The date line makes a westerly jog once it passes through the Bering Strait between Russia and the United States so the parts of the Aleutian Island chain west of the 180 longitude line are on the same date with the rest of Alaska.

In a bid to get better aligned time and date wise with its trading partners in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and other Pacific Rim nations Samoa and the three island New Zealand administered territory of Tokelau at midnight today will skip ahead from Thursday to New Year's Eve (Saturday).

Samoa made the decision in May and Tokelau followed suit in October.  It reverses a decision made 119 years ago in which Samoa switched to the east side of the International Date Line in order to better position itself with trading partners in the US and Europe and nearby American Samoa.

"In doing business with New Zealand and Australia, we're losing out on two working days a week," said Samoan Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi.

Samoa made the shift to driving on the left side of the road back in 2009 as well to put it more in line with its Asian Pacific Rim neighbors driving habits.

So if you have a Friday, December 30 birthday in Samoa, you won't get to celebrate it unless you do so today or on New Year's Eve because that day will not exist. 

You may also wish to check your airline and hotel reservations for that day in Samoa as well.