Happy Hanukkah 2014!

Wanted to take a moment to wish all my Jewish trans family, friends and allies a Happy Hanukkah.

This year it starts at sundown tonight and will run until Christmas Eve.

Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights, and celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem during the second century B.C., when Jews led by the Maccabees revolted against their Greek-Syrian oppressors.

When the Maccabees rededicated their temple which had been desecrated under their oppressive occupation in which the Jewish religion had been outlawed and pigs had been sacrificed on its altar, they needed to light the menorah in the temple as part of that process.   They only had enough consecrated oil to do that for one night, but miraculously that was enough to light it for eight days and find a fresh batch of oil.

Each night during the eight days of Hanukkah a candle is lit on a menorah from a central helper candle.  They are lit from left to right.

So for my Jewish friends, trans family and allies, Happy Hanukkah!   

Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

Happy Thanksgiving Day TransGriot readers!

Turkey Day 2014 has turned out to be a little different than I expected it to be.   In addition to now living in a new place, I moved into it just last Monday.  

I'm also now looking at the stress inducing prospect of having to break bread with the two transphobic relatives who caused the drama in the first place.

Well, I'm planning on breaking bread elsewhere on Turkey Day because the crap they put me through is still too raw emotionally for me to be able to sit across the table from them. 

But for those of you in non-stressful family situations, be it with chosen or blood family, hope you are having a wonderful holiday full of good grub while surrounded by good people. 

Despite how it happened, I am thankful today for the roof over my head and the local, national and international help that made it a reality.  I'm thankful for relatively good health, my friends and supportive family, and all those people that I've met during this amazing year.

Happy Thanksgiving people!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2014, Eh!

Today is Thanksgiving day north of the border.   All my readers across Canada are taking time out of their lives to count their blessings and get their grub on.

Definitely need to give my Canadian homegirl Renee and her family a shoutout.

After spending over a decade in Niagara Falls, they recently moved to St. Catharines and will be spending their first Thanksgiving having dinner in their new home.

Congratulations on the move.  May this be the first of many happy Thanksgiving dinners and family memories in your new domicile.

While we have yet to see passage of C-279, the Trans Rights Law that has been stalled in the Conservative dominated Senate, it has passed Second Reading stage and is now in committee.   Here's hoping my Canadian trans cousins see their home and native land recognize their human rights.

To my Canadian trans peeps, I hope you have the additional blessing of breaking bread and sharing your Thanksgiving meal with your blood family.  If that's not possible, I hope and pray it's with your chosen family or supportive friends who have opened their doors and their dinner table to you.

And if you are in the position to open your home to a fellow transperson who may not for whatever reason be able to go home to their family, I hope you are able to share your Thanksgiving Day with them.

And to all my Canadian readers, may the food that nourishes your bodies be accompanied by abundant love and smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Labor Day 2014!

Happy Labor Day people!   Hope it's a good one for you whether you are celebrating it from the cozy confines of your backward around the barbecue pit or enjoying it from some vacation spot of  significance to you like I am.

In the United States and Canada, this is a day to celebrate workers.  But what I have not been happy about as someone who grew up in a union household is seeing the conservafool assault on union and people foolishly believing the right wing propaganda that unions are evil.

People not getting a living wage and having to get public assistance while corporations make obscene profits is what is evil.   It's past time the minimum wage was raised in the US from the pathetic $7.25 it sits at right now.

For those of you who are engaged in searching for work, may those job searches be swiftly successful and you find employment that allows you to grow with the company.

For you entrepreneurs out there, may your businesses continue to grow and be successful    Speaking of  successful, may we continue to have success passing gender identity inclusive non-discrimination laws that will lead to increased employment for talented trans people.

And since we are rapidly approaching another crucial midterm election November 4, one of the questions you need to be asking your state and federal legislative candidates is where they stand on raising the minimum wage, passing legislation to eviscerate Citizens United and that bull feces corporatist assertion that corporations are people.

Yeah, I'll believe that crap when Texas executes one.

Happy Labor Day people!

Memorial Day 2014

Today is Memorial Day, in which we remember the people who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our military's armed forces on battlefields around the world.  

It's significant to note that momentum for allowing transpeople to openly serve in the US military ranks is growing at this time, and that we may actually see it happen before the end of this decade. 

In the meantime, let's shift this back to the people who deserve the focus on this date, the people we have lost while honorably serving our country. 

They fought and died so you can have the constitutional freedoms that far too many people take for granted or ignorantly want to deny to others. 

So at 12:01 PM, take a moment to think about those fallen warriors, and resolve to do a better job in your own ways of fighting for the human rights and freedoms of all.

Happy Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmoms, great-grandmoms and mother figures who read TransGriot

Hope you are being spoiled rotten and are having a wonderful day.

As Robin Bonner pointed out in one of the Facebook groups I'm on, a mother is more than a vagina and eggs. A real mom is a teacher, an advisor, a confidant, mentor, a listener and a doer, she is the person your children want to emulate. She is a woman of character, grace and love.

Yes she is, and then some.

If you are fortunate enough to have your mother around, give her a call and wish her a Happy Mother's Day!   If because of your trans status you don't or yours has rejected you, then call the person who acts as a mother figure in your life and give that person some love on this day. 

Happy Mother's Day people!

My MLK Day 2014 Musings

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the US federal holiday on the third Monday of the month in which we have since 1986 remembered Dr. King's January 15 birthday and contemplated his legacy cut short by an assassin's bullet.

As Rep. John Lewis tweeted this morning, "Today is a day not just to remember the legacy and sacrifice of Dr. King, but a day to reaffirm our own commitment to continuing the struggle to create the beloved community."

Yes, the trans community is not only part of that beloved community, but we have a role to play to make it a reality because the struggle to create the beloved community is our struggle, too.   We transpeople would rather be standing shoulder to shoulder with you cis peeps helping to create that beloved community instead of being told that we aren't a part of 'your community' as you rudely brush us aside.  

Been there, ain't letting that happen ever again.

Yes, we have our own ongoing human rights war that is raging, and it is one we trans humans must be tough minded enough to win again a vast array of opponents who range from right wing conservatives, our disco-era TERF enemies to haters even inside our SGL community ranks.  

We are aware of the fact that right wing haters are shifting tactics in their Culture War and increasingly using transpeople as the main focus of their hate rhetoric.  We cannot let that bull feces go unchallenged.       

As we fight for out human and constitutional rights, we also have to deal with the scourge of shame, guilt and fear in our own trans ranks.   We have to alert for trans sellouts who are willing to throw us all under the civil rights bus for their own safety, comfort and fiscal gain just to enjoy a measure of pseudo cis privilege that will evaporate the nanosecond their trans status is revealed.

We need trans people who are tough minded enough to push trans human rights forward, not peeps hiding in the shadows complaining it isn't happening fast enough as others sit by their computer terminals, twiddle their thumbs and criticize the people putting their butts on the line on social media.

As Dr. King reminded us, "Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?"

While we trans people have urgent work to do to advance trans human rights forward, we also have to be mindful of the fact that we must be diligently working to do things for others.

So what will you personally do to make the beloved community a reality?

Are you registered to vote in this important 2014 federal election cycle?   Are you going to forums when your city, state and federal reps conduct them to let them know they have a trans constituent  who is concerned not only about their own human rights but the rights of others?

Are you taking time out of your day when possible to speak in front of your city council or other governmental entity?  Are you getting involved in helping to organize community events and supporting them when they occur?  Are you passing down our community history to the younger generation?
Are you visibly living your life to the best of your ability?

For those of you who are our cis allies, are you calling out instances of anti-trans hate when they occur in your community?   Are you doing what you can to learn about our issues?   Are you forming lasting friendships and working partnerships with trans people?  Are you reinforcing the point that trans people are human beings to other cis people who haven't bought that vowel and a clue yet?

Trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of human life, and we intersect and interact with many communities on multiple levels. 

As you think about the humanity of transpeople being intertwined with that of other human beings on this planet we share, remember what human rights warrior Julian Bond said that is so apropos on this day. 

"The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others.”

So as this MLK Day recedes into the history books, a question we should all be pondering is how we transpeople can be intersectionally integrated into this ongoing struggle to create the beloved community that Dr King talked about, and get busy taking action to make it happen.  

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas to all my TransGriot readers on the eastern side of the International Date Line!   Once again I get to thank you for all the gifts that y'all provide me with throughout the year.

One of the most precious gift you TransGriot readers provide me with is spending your valuable time surfing the Net to read what I write here.

Occasionally some of y'all in addition to telling me how much y'all like what I read or sending me links to stories I may have missed, will additionally drop some change in the TransGriot electronic Tip Jar.

Thank you, it's deeply appreciated.

In just a few short days I'll not only announce my 2013 TransGriot Shut Up Fool of the Year Winner, but celebrate my 8th Anniversary blogging on New Year's Day.

So I'm talking the day off, but if the news cycle warrants it or I feel something move me to post today, I will.   

I Repeat, Can Y'all Stop Hatin' On Transwomen During This 2013 Holiday Season?

I wrote a post back in 2009 rhetorically asking if the world could (or would) stop hatin' on transwomen during that holiday season and two years later did the same.

Such a deceptively simple request to ask to be treated with dignity and respect for at least a month, but so rarely happens.

Well, I'm going to go sit on Santa's lap and ask for that Christmas wish to be granted.

For the 2013 holiday season, I would like for not one transperson to be killed or injured.

For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not have to read hate speech or misgendering comments about us coming from friends, frenemies and foes
 
For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not see a positive story about us on the Net have a comment thread attached to it with an avalanche of hateful, ignorant and transphobic comments.

For the 2013 holiday season, can we transwomen simply be able to live our daily lives without drama?


TransGriot Update:  Did this song rewrite in 2011 that goes perfectly with this post entitled 'Stop Hatin' Us On Christmas Day'.

Happy 146th Birthday Canada!

Happy Canada Day TransGriot readers!

Today is Canada's 146th birthday, and it would have been an exceptional and more joyous one for my Canadian trans cousins had the Senate not succumbed to its Conservative leanings.

It should have brought the Trans Rights Bill up for a vote before they went on summer recess.  

But despite that, your home and native land has made some fantastic progress trans human rights wise that your south of the border trans cousins are envious of.

And on the day your nation was born, I want to thank all you readers north of the 49th parallel who surf to my blog on a regular basis and read what I have to say about various issues and let me know how much you appreciate an American taking an interest in what happens in Canada.

As a child of the African Diaspora, what happens in Canada is also a major concern to me because of my African descended brothers and sisters up there.  As a member of the international trans community, what happens in Canada also affects me so it is important for me to keep up with developments that affect the trans community in the Great White North.

I'm also continuing to think about and pray for the rapid recovery of my Timmy's IceCapp loving homegirl as she continues to recover from her health challenge 

Going to miss the post in which she does her usual Canada Day bragging that I have to rebut three days later. 

And no Renee, no proposed trades accepted for Alberta.  I have enough problems with the conservafools here in Baja Alberta (AKA Texas to the rest of y'all) and the rest of the Confederate flag waving South.  

I don't need any more, so y'all deal with the Sweater Vest, Little Alberta and all those Conservatives in the prairie provinces.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Memorial Day 2013

It's another edition of Memorial Day, which is considered the unofficial kickoff to the summer season in the States.  

But the reason Memorial Day officially exists is because it's the day we commemorate those persons who died while serving in the US Armed Forces.

While this Memorial Day dawns with the knowledge that next year our troops will be coming home from Afghanistan next year, in the interim they will still be fighting and unfortunately dying until then.  

While the major focus of this day is for the people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving this country, we also take a moment to say thank you to the people who are in our Armed Forces or who have served.

And as TAVA and I will constantly remind you, some of the people who are and have served our country are transgender vets despite the fact that we still can't openly serve our country.  

Hopefully that will change soon.

The last Monday in May has arrived once again, and it's time for us to pause and take a moment to think about all the people who have served in the Armed Forces and given their lives while doing so on battlefields around the world in defense of this nation. 

NBJC-A Celebration Of Motherhood

TransGriot Note: From The National Black Justice Coalition

A true celebration of motherhood encompasses mothers from all walks of life. As we celebrate Mother's Day, we must remember the many mothers in the Black lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, because motherhood transcends categories such as sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity.

The history of motherhood in the Black LGBT community is replete with many women mothering against the odds. Disparities that mothers often face like equal pay for equal work, providing safe environments for themselves and their children, and finding good schools for their children are all exacerbated by issues like homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

"When I had my first son, I kept hearing that I was going to fail my son due to my sexual orientation," says NBJC Leadership Advisory Council Member Kamora Herrington. "I'm currently raising my second son, a 15-month old, and I can now say with confidence that Black lesbian moms raise amazing sons."

We salute our lesbian, bisexual and trans mothers. Women like Alice Walker, June Jordan, and Miss Major are all mothers who dared to raise their children in spite of the oppression they encountered. These women challenged stereotypical notions of what it means to be a provider and expanded the narrative around motherhood. In our community, motherhood is not just having children, but it is also a matter of providing a space for our youth to find safety, support and love.

"The Mother in the House Ball culture plays an integral part in the lives of LGBT people who often times have been disinherited from their biological families based solely on their gender identity or sexual orientation," says Icon Mother Ayana Christian of Royal House of Christian.  "I have had the privilege and honor of nurturing the spirit and souls of so many adolescents and young adults over the last 14 years. The most amazing thing about it for me is knowing that, despite the fact that I have not birthed them from my own womb, their lives have my distinct imprint of motherhood."

  

The National Black Justice Coalition believes that the celebration of motherhood should be more than a symbolic gesture. That is why we are committed to supporting legislation that strengthens Black families. We are proud to support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF), a bill that would empower Black LGBT parents to provide homes to the nation's hundreds of thousands of kids in our foster care and adoption system by denying federal funds to states that discriminate against adoptive and foster parents on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, even amidst these challenges, resilient Black LGBT people have continued to raise families and give love.

Mother's Day is not only a celebration, but a reminder of the hard work that our lesbian, bisexual and trans mothers undertake daily.

We salute all those who mother to make this world a better place for our community.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy New Year 2013!

Happy New Year TransGriot readers!

Well, we made it through that leap year and a contentious presidential election cycle to see January 1, 2013 and for my west of the International date Line folks they are getting over their party hangovers since it's January 2.  

January 1 also means that I've reached another blogiversary, so yay me and yay TransGriot blog.

As to what will happen in 2013, we don't know at this point how this year will play out on a personal scale or on the macro one,.but as always happens on the first day, it's one that is chock full of optimism and promise.  It's also one on a personal level that people make resolutions in the spirit of making a fresh start and embarking on creating changes in their lives so that 2013 does result in positive personal growth

And speaking of positive growth, I hope and pray that 2013 continues to see forward momentum in the United States, Canada and around the world when it comes to trans human rights issues.

And yes, hope to see some positive momentum in my own life and for my blog that now enters its seventh year of chococentric commentary on trans issues and how they impact me and my community. 

Merry Christmas 2012 TransGriot Readers!

It's finally Christmas Day on our side of the International Date Line, and I want to wish all you TransGriot readers everywhere a very merry one.  Hope you receive everything you were looking for when it's time to open your presents. 

Of course, I got one of my Christmas presents back on November 6 when President Obama was re-elected and on Christmas Eve I received one in the mail from my Louisville roomies.  The other one is up to the Houston Texans, but they need to start handling their NFL business to make it happen.    

I'm also thankful and feeling blessed for all the love y'all shower me with throughout the year.     


I'm taking the day off from the blog to celebrate it with my family and I hope you are doing the same, whether it's your blood related or chosen family.  

And as your gift to me, I ask that you take a moment as you gather with the people who unconditionally love you, when it's time to pray at the dinner table or whenever you have a quiet moment to yourselves to do so,  say one not only for Miss Major who is spending this day in an Oakland hospital, but for the family of our missing trans sister Sage Smith and those families who lost trans loved ones during 2012..

Of course, if I'm moved to write something today, I'll post it. 

Merry Christmas 2012* TransGriot Readers

For those of you on the western side of the International Date Line, it is Christmas Day and I hope you are having a wonderful one.

Hope you got all the gifts you requested, have a full stomach from your Christmas meals and are enjoying the company of family and friends. 

And if you aren't with your blood family, hope you are in the company of people who love and adore you or chosen family.  


Thanks for all the love you peeps on the western side of the International Date Line shower me with during the year and taking the precious time out of your day to read my humble blog.   I deeply appreciate it.

Hope you have had a wonderful year and I pray 2013 will be just as remarkable.

Happy Hanukkah 2012

To all my Jewish TransGriot readers, wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Hanukkah!

The dates for the Festival of Lights shift every year, so the 2012 edition of it starts today at sunset and runs through December 16 this year.   Here are the Hanukkah dates for the next three years.: 

2013:   November 27-December 5
2014:   December 16-24
2015:   December 6-14

With the backdrop of conflict and drama once again ensnaring Israel, Syria, Palestine, Gaza, Egypt, Iran and other countries and territories in the region, we hope and pray as fellow travelers on this big planet we share that one of the things the Middle East gets to see during this holiday season is a lessening of tensions and eventually a lasting peace.  

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving TransGriot readers!   My Canadian readers back in October got their grub on, and now it's time for me and my TransGriot readers in the States to do the same thing. 

We liberal progressives (and the trans community) are already giving thanks (along with the rest of the planet) to the fact we will have President Barack Obama leading our nation until 2017. 

Say a prayer for the trans folks in our community who are estranged from their family.   To you transpeople in that situation, make lemonade out of that lemon situation.  Find the people that love and unconditionally care about you,  make them your chosen family and start your own holiday traditions until your blood family come to their senses.

While I've had an up and down year personally, I do have a lot to be thankful for including having a roof over my head, friends and family in my life, being relatively healthy, making it to my 50th birthday a few months ago and several invitations to enjoy Thanksgiving hospitality.

I'm planning on taking the day off from blogging, getting my grub on, watching my Texans play the Detroit Lions in the AM NFL Turkey Day game and hatin' on the Cowchips in the midday one.

Hey, I'm a Houstonian.  We live for watching Dallas teams lose. 

If something moves me to write, you may see a post today besides my weekly NFL picks one.  Otherwise it's back to the normal posting schedule Friday including what turkeys I'm going to carve up for my Shut Up Fool weekly awards.  .

And naw, I'm not going anywhere near a mall or strip shopping center tomorrow.

Scary Proposition For African-Americans

One of the things that sends shivers up my spine this Halloween is fast forwarding to November 6 and hearing the networks say, "We project Mitt Romney will be the next president of the United States." 

I also don't want to see the FOX noise gloating that will ensue.

It is why you've seen the long lines of African-Americans at the polls enduring waits in some cases of several hours to do so because to us the prospect of hearing those words and what they mean long term scares me and other African-Americans to death.

We fear a Romney presidency for starters because he will fill the Supreme Court and our federal judiciary with Robert Bork-Antonin Scalia clones.   His domestic policies as Rosie Perez stated, suck and that's before we even get to discussing his clueless foreign policy.

No, Mitt Romney scares the hell out of me and many African-American in this country, and we definitely want 4 more for POTUS 44.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012, Eh!

North of the 49th parallel, today is Thanksgiving Day in the Great White North.    My Canadian readers are enjoying their long holiday weekend, getting their grub on and giving thanks for their many blessings they have received this year. 

Two of the blessings I receive from your side of the border is the continued love of my homegirl Renee, the brilliant editrix of Womanist Musings and her family.

I also have the blessing of you Canadian TransGriot readers.

You let me know how much you appreciate my blog and the times I do cover trans events that happen on the northern side of the 49th parallel.   Thanks to those of you who send me the tips and links so I can provide Canada specific posts for you. .

I don't doubt there are more than a few Canadian trans people who are giving thanks in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta for the trans human rights victories they won.   I also note on this Thanksgiving Day that C-279, the Trans Rights Bill is making progress through the House despite Conservative opposition. 

My hope and prayer for my trans Canadian brothers and sisters is that you have more success in your home and native land gaining your human rights, you continue to blaze new trails like Jenna Talackova did and I'm blessed to write about when it occurs.

Happy Thanksgiving, Eh!

Happy Labor (Labour) Day!

It's the first Monday in September, and besides the fact the 2012-13 edition of the Miss Continental Pageant is going on in Chicago and it's considered the last unofficial day of summer (can't tell that by the temps here in Houston), it is Labor Day weekend.  

If you're north of the 49th parallel as most of my Canadian TransGriot readers are, it's Labour Day weekend

However you spell it, find your friendly neighborhood union member, bow down and thank them profusely for this three day weekend the labor movement bought and paid for with blood, sweat and tears.

You can also thank a union member while you're at it for the following:

1. All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
2. Paid vacation
3. Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
4. Sick leave
5. Social Security
6. Minimum wage
7. Civil Rights Act/Title VII - prohibits employer discrimination
8. 8-hour work day
9. Overtime pay
10. Child labor laws
11. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
12. 40-hour work week
13. Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp)
14. Unemployment insurance
15. Pensions
16. Workplace safety standards and regulations
17. Employer health care insurance
18. Collective bargaining rights for employees
19. Wrongful termination laws
20. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
21. Whistleblower protection laws
22. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) - prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee
23. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
24. Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises)
25. Sexual harassment laws
26. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
27. Holiday pay
28. Employer dental, life, and vision insurance
29. Privacy rights
30. Pregnancy and parental leave
31. Military leave
32. The right to strike
33. Public education for children
34. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 - requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
35. Laws ending sweatshops in the United States

The unions and the labor movement are one of our allies working with the trans community to get the Employment and Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed.

And with less than 70 days left until Election Day, this election is critical to us being able to keep all the precious things on that list that unions helped us get and the Republicans and US Chamber of Commerce wants to eliminate.  

So stop letting the GOP, Fox Noise and the conservafool movement bamboozle you into hatin' on unions and get busy not only supporting candidates that support the ability for people to organize to join a union, but support collective bargaining rights and all the other hard won workplace rights that are under attack. 

Happy Labour (Labor) Day!