As many of you TransGriot readers know, I was one of the judges for the inaugural Miss Trans Global virtual pageant.
After two months of interviews and videos, paring down the initial 18 contestants from around the world down to a Top 15 and then down to ten semifinalists, we finally know who was crowned Miss Trans Global.
Congratulations to our new queen. Mela Franco Habijan from the Philippines!
The Miss Trans Global Top 5 was tight.point wise. One point separated the queen from the Duchess Global (1st runner up) Rebeckah Lovejoy of Australia.
It was not an easy job for me and my fellow judges to sort out who would win this inaugural title. There were nights I had to review video multiple times for several hours before casting my ballots.
The quality of the women vying for this inaugural Miss Trans Global title was just that outstanding, and they brought their pageant A games.
Rounding out the Top 5 in addition to Duchess Global (1st runner up) Rebeckah Lovejoy of Australia. is Baroness Global, Danielly Drugge of Sweden (4th runner up) ,Countess Global (3rd runner up) Semakaleng Mothapo of South Africa, and Marchioness Global (2nd runner up) Veso Golden of Ghana.
Congratulations once again to Mela and the inaugural court of Miss Trans Global 2020!
It was an honor and sincere privilege to be part of the judging panel for this inaugural Miss Trans Global pageant. I enjoyed being part of the judging panel for this event and getting to know my sister judges and the contestants as this event unfolded.
I'm looking forward to not only working with our queen as her reign unfolds, but with all the 2020 contestants as opportunities present themselves for advancing the human rights of our international trans family.
It was also nice to be part of the judging team for a pageant system in which intelligence was prized, and the scoring system reflected it. . Congrats to Miss Sahhara and her Miss Trans Global production team for making her vision of a virtual international pageant happen.
Here's hoping that Miss Trans Global 2021 is bigger and better than this year's edition turned out to be.
I was asked back in May to be one of the panel of judges for the inaugural London based Miss Trans Global pageant.
One of the things y'all don't know about me, but probably should have guessed from my coverage of the Miss International Queen and mainstream cisgender ones like Miss USA and Miss Universe on this blog is that I love pageants, especially the trans ones.
And yeah, I have been honored to be asked to judge a few of them back in the day.
When Sahhara laid out her vision about Miss Trans Global, it spoke to me because I have always felt that the interview portion of pageants should be more heavily weighted in the scoring than talent,and evening gown.
I also loved the fact that it is a trans feminine conceived, led and run project, with the three member Miss Trans Global leadership team having pageant and show business experience..
Also important to me is that the scoring and judging system that has been set up for Miss Trans Global will be one that is fair and transparent for the contestants.
Transparency and fairness at times has been a challenging concept for many trans pageant systems including Miss International Queen.
But back to talking about my major beef with many trans pageants besides fair and impeccably scrupulous judging.
It does you no good as a pageant owner or organizer to have a gorgeous pageant queen who looks stunning in a gown, has talent, but has subpar oratory skills and is clueless as hell when it comes to current events going on outside of Pageant World .
A trans pageant contestant whether they like it or not, once they put on that sash and crown, is seen by elements of society as a representation of the trans community.
Heavily weighing the interview portion is something that occurs with the Mr and Miss Black Trans International pageant that happens during the week long Black Trans Advocacy Conference (BTAC).
The reason it happens is because in large part the BTIPS pageant winners become the spokespersons and faces of our org for the next year of their reign..
So what's Miss Trans Global? It is an international online pageant for trans and gender nonconforming people 18 and up from all backgrounds to raise awareness on transgender and LGB issues around the world. Most importantly to me, unlike the Thai based Miss International Queen one, Miss Trans Global has a diverse group of judges. .
So yes, a trans pageant queen needs to be more than a pretty face. She also needs to be a woman with substance. It's why I eagerly jumped at the chance when asked to be named to this year's international panel of judges for this inaugural Miss Trans Global pageant/.
The Miss Trans Global Pageant has 18 contestants from four continents, Africa, Asia, North and South America competing. The pageant is running online from July 1-30, with the crowning of the winner to take place on August 1.
You interested peeps also get a say on which one of our contestants makes it to our Top 15, semifinal and final rounds. For your vote to count,, you must like the Miss Trans Global Facebook page before choosing your fave contestants
So handle your business. Check out the contestants on your favorite social media platform and then vote for your faves.
Check out The Queen's Speech preliminary part of this pageant in which all the contestants submitted videos that discussed what they would do if they were honored with the Miss Trans Global crown.
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Looking forward to finding out along with all of you peeps worldwide who will be the inaugural winner of the Miss Trans Global virtual trans pageant.
You're also about to find out what I have known for years. Trans is not only beautiful, but we have some intelligent, classy and talented women in our ranks.,
As the Trump misadministration and their white fundie allies try to force transpeople back into the closet and strip us of what human rights coverage we've managed to achieve, other countries on this planet are moving forward on trans rights issues and making history.
Pakistan is an Islamic nation in which transpeople have been ostracized, shunned by family members, treated as a joke and at times violently attacked with a frequency only exceeded in Brazil.
But like here in the States and in other countries, the Pakistani trans community is getting landmark legal wins that are helping to open hearts and minds in the country.
Our trans cousins in Pakistan are celebrating as one of their own, Marvia Malik, became the first transgender news anchor in their nation. The 21 year old Malik is no stranger to breaking barriers in her nation. She recently became the first openly trans model to walk a fashion show runway there.
But her passion is journalism, and the private Kohenoor broadcast network based in Lahore decided to take a chance and hire her.
"I have made history in my country, and I vow to use my profession as anchor to help change the general attitude of our society towards transgender people."
"Our community should be treated equally and there must not be any gender discrimination. We should be given equal rights and be considered ordinary citizens, instead of third-gender," she said in a BBC interview.
She added: "My family knows I have modeled and they know that I work as a newscaster. It's the age of social media and there's nothing that my family doesn't know. But they have still disowned me."
She is grateful for the opportunity, and went through three months of training before she made her first on air broadcast. Malik has done so well that the station has hired a second trans person as a copywriter The owner of the station, Junaid Ansari, made it clear that Malik was hired for her journalism talent, not because she was transgender.
Malik's determination to be a change agent is echoed by Farzana Jan, the head of Pakistan's Trans Action Alliance. Jan is hopeful that Malik will not only be a positive role model, but be a catalyst for further positive change in Pakistan.
"Thank God, one of us is going on television in a serious job," Jan said. "Previously we've been presented as a joke. I hope and I believe this will help us get our rights, our protection and our respect".
Your trans cousins around the world hope that what you have expressed comes true in Pakistan.
Congratulation to Marvia, and hope she has a long problem free career as a television anchor.
Today also marks the 12th annual celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia or the IDAHOT as it's abbreviated.
In many areas buildings and iconic structures are being lit in rainbow colors to signify support for the IDAHOT.
This 2017 observance finds us not only celebrating the day in over 140 countries, but with TBLGQ people in some parts of the world under legislative and physical attacks.
We're increasingly hearing about the horrible situation in Chechnya, and in the United States we've lost in the first five months of 2017 ten trans women of color to anti-trans violence, of which nine of them are Black.
We've also witnessed in the USA increased efforts by the Republican to roll back the positive advances for trans human rights pushed by the Obama Administration and simultaneously roll out anti-trans legislative attacks in the state legislatures they control.
To add an exclamation point to that last sentence, Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick (R) upset that his unjust SB 6 has been killed in the Texas House, with the sessions sine die day looming on May 29, picked this day to call for a tax money wasting special session to pass his anti-trans hate bill
Guess you forgot we have an election in Texas next year and we trans Texans vote.
We're also seeing increased resistance to the demonization of trans people as the realization sinks in that TBLGQ rights are international human rights.
Well international trans folks, you are finally getting what you have asking for ever since the Trans 100 List founded by Antonia D'orsay cranked up here in the US several years ago.
The Trans 100 List is going international.
The 2017 Trans 100 International List will honor those trans people who are NOT in North America (North America for the purposes of this award is Canada, Mexico and the United States)
North America will have its own 2017 Trans 100 nomination list that you can nominate people for via the link provided.
Here are the guidelines for the 2017 Trans 100 Nominations
– Nominees must have been living and working to improve the lives of trans people for at least six months of the prior year. (International will be 2015 and 2016) – Nominees can be working at any scale, locally, regionally, or nationally. – We would like to see all parts of the country represented. – We particularly encourage the addition of the otherwise unsung or only locally known workers. – We particularly encourage the addition of persons of color. – Nominees must identify as trans. – Nominations must include a means of contacting them. – Organizations are eligible, provided the organization is entirely run by trans persons.
This is not an award. The goal is to recognize outstanding members for the Work itself, and it is the work they do that is considered before anything else.
Nominations will close on March 1, 2017, at midnight MST.
Notes:
– Voting is anonymous. – The list will not be ranked, and the tally will not be publicized. – Nominees will be contacted by the Trans 100 Team for permission before the list is published
So yes, I'm excited to see what trans folks in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Australia, Europe and the Middle East will be nominated and eventually make the final cut for doing the work of standing up for transkind in 2015 and 2016.
In addition to today being a primary election day in Kentucky and Oregon, today is also the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
And with unbridled transphobia and anti-trans hatred being peddled by the Republican Party, it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time.
This day was conceived in 2004 by Louis-Georges Tin as a way to raise awareness of violence, discrimination and repression aimed at LGBT communities around the world and take action against it. The May 17 date was chosen because it is the date in 1990 that homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases Manual.
The first IDAHOT was held on May 17, 2005, and Tin served as chairperson of the .event until 2013, when he resigned and it was chaired by Tamara Adrian, who now serves in the Venezuelan National Assembly..
Transphobia was added to the campaign in 2009, and biphobia was officially added in 2015.
'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood' -Article 1, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Today is International Human Rights Day, which commemorates the 1948 day that the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a milestone day in that for the first time international human rights were spelled out because of the experiences of World War II and the need to explicitly define 'fundamental freedoms' in the UN Charter.
On December 10, 1950. the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 423(v) that invited the nations of the world and interested parties and organizations to celebrate the first Human Rights Day.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, were adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 16, 1966 and together with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights make up the International Bill of Human Rights. This year's theme for International Human Rights Day is Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always. and is designed to kick off the countdown to the 50th anniversary celebration of the adoption of the two international human rights covenants.
This would also be the day to remember that trans human rights are international human rights issues, we are part of the diverse mosaic of humanity, our human rights deserve recognition, and need to be expeditiously ensconced in the laws of the various nations around the world we live in.
One of our pioneering trans models in Lauren Foster was born and grew up in South Africa. The Gender DynamiX trans org was founded there in 2005 by Liesl Theron, and you have had groundbreaking trans advocates in other African nations like Audrey Mbugua of Kenya and Victor Mukasa of Uganda.
But it has unfortunately taken time for people there and on the rest of the planet to realize that trans people exist on the African continent along with some amazing trans human rights advocates and give them the attention they deserve.
The Johannesburg based organization Iranti is organizing Africa Trans* Visibility Day, which will kick off on December 5 in Johannesburg from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM local time at Constitution Hill..
The Africa Trans* Visibility Day event has attracted attention by activists from Lesotho, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana and host nation South Africa to celebrate the upcoming International Human Rights Day on December 10 and discuss trans rights and other social justice work on the African continent.
The Africa Trans* Visibility Day will also serve as a platform and organizing opportunity for African trans people to claim their human rights and push for access to health care, legal recognition, employment and safety and security issues in their various nations.
And I couldn't be happier as a child of the African Diaspora that this event is taking place.
I hope this serves as the catalyst for other trans events on the African continent that lead to the recognition of the humanity and human rights of trans Africans in their various nations, and I hope the event is successful.
Today is the 28th annual observance of World AIDS Day in which organizations and individuals around the globe take the time to reflect on the devastating impact that the pandemic has had around the world.
The 2015 theme for World AIDS Day is The Time To Act Is Now, and it's a sentiment that I agree with having lost two family members and numerous friends to it as part of the 26 million people worldwide we have lost to AIDS related illnesses since 1980.
As we in the US trans community have been painfully aware of since 2000 and the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey has put an exclamation point on, the trans community has not been immune from feeling the effects of HIV/AIDS.
The NTDS survey revealed a 2.6% overall infection rate in the trans community, and it was significantly higher in trans communities of color. The African-American trans community rate was 25% of the NTDS respondents, 11% of Latinx trans people, 7% of Native American trans people, and 3.7% of Asian American trans people.
The recently completed Positively Trans (P+) survey should give us more updated stats and a clearer picture of the policy and legal landscape faced by trans people living with HIV/AIDS once it is compiled and the initial release of survey data happens.
And as Charlie Sheen's announcement that he has HIV has pointed out, our level of societal education about HIV/AIDS issues is lacking and needs a serious upgrade if we are going to reach the goal of eradicating it in our lifetimes.
And that education definitely needs to be ratcheted up in communities of color.
There are several World AIDS Day observances taking place here in the Houston area. There's a World AIDS Day gathering at the Hermann Park Conservancy starting at 7:30 PM and the candlelight observance starting at 6 PM at Legacy Health Services.
There is also a film screening happening at the Montrose Center entitled How To Survive A Plague that will also kick off at 7:30 PM
One of the problems that we have as African descended people across the Diaspora is that Blackness is despised and demonized across the planet and has been for centuries.
Planet Earth ain't post-racial either. Whether it is a Kenneth Eng writing a 2007 column entitled 'Why I Hate Blacks' in an San Francisco based Asian newspaper, Satoshi Kanazawa trying to justify his fracked up 2011 study that declared Black women ugly, and Asian-Americans being called out by other Asian-Americans for their anti-Black racism, anti-Black attitudes and racism have an undeniable international cachet.
The recent complaints in The Land of the Rising Sun that Miss Universe Japan 2015 Ariana Miyamoto 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 only add to the pissivity and anger of Black people across the African Diaspora having to confront anti-Black racism no matter where they go on this planet..
I'm aware of anti-Black racism rearing its ugly head in the Arab world, and even in supposedly progressive Israel, they have their problems with anti-Black racism rearing its ugly head there as well.
And while they try to ignore, deny it or pass it off as a 'North American issue', anti-Black racism is alive and is a problem in Latin America.
And haven't forgotten the ugly instances of anti-Black racism that have popped up repeatedly on European soccer pitches in spite of an ongoing worldwide FIFA`'Say No To Racism' campaign in which Black players like Italy's Mario Balotelli and other African descended players playing in Europe have to deal with European soccer hooligans slinging bananas and racial epithets.
And with the rise of ultra-right wing parties in some European nations, the level of anti-black racist animus in Europe is sadly rising as well..
I'd been hearing disturbing comments about Thais considering dark skin 'ugly', and my annoyance with that alleged anti-Black sentiment was only heightened after the controversial ending of the 2011 Miss International Queen trans pageant to pissed off levels after an all Thai judging panel literally screwed a trans woman representing Nigeria out of the crown.
Now comes this shot of materials used to teach Thai.kids English that has gone viral in social media, and note the caption under the Black male head.
International anti-Blackness is real, and it needs to be confronted and dealt with not only by the indigenous black people in those nations, but coordinated action is needed across the Diaspora to combat it...
One of the things that has been an ongoing mission of this blog is to highlight what's happening for trans people of African descent across the Diaspora from the Americas to the Caribbean to the Mother Continent itself.
I have been fortunate in my time as a trans activist and blogger to be able to talk to other African descended trans people from Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Panama, South Africa and Nigeria just for starters.
Oh yeah, happy belated birthday to my Brazilian sis Dora who I got to meet and room with during BTAC. You get the hug when you get back to UT in the fall.
Talking to the trans peeps of the Diaspora has given me an insight as an American with African heritage into what's happening not only in those nations, but also just how interconnected we are here in the States with the rest of the African Diaspora.
It has reinforced my pride in my African heritage and being trans, and reminds me on two levels that my brothers and sisters in my extended family extend across planet Earth.
And sadly, it has also confirmed for me just how much Blackness is hated not only in my own country, but across the planet. It's been eye opening to see that some of the issues I and other North American based trans people deal with are sadly prevalent in other parts of the world.
There are also situations in which my trans brothers and sisters in different parts of the Diaspora have been fighting tooth and nail just to get basic human rights recognition, as Audrey Mbugua has been doing for herself and Kenyan trans people for years. Others are in the situation of moving from their native lands that were hostile to trans people and blossoming in countries more accepting of it.
Some are in different nations just to further their education or to begin the process of morphing their bodies to be the men and women they know they are. I'm also inspired to fight as hard as I do for trans human rights here in the States by watching my trans brothers and trans sisters in far more hostile territory in Uganda fight for their basic human right to exist.
But no matter the situation, despite the language differences and different nations we grew up in, we are all connected across the oceans and continents because of our African heritage and our trans status.
I'm looking forward to and welcome more of those conversations from
trans masculine and trans feminine people across the Diaspora so that I
can intelligently talk about those experiences.
Today I's the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, know as the IDAHOT for short. It was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion
leaders, social justice movements, the media and the public to the
violence and discrimination faced internationally by trans, bi, intersex and SGL people.
President Obama is marking this international human rights day with this statement
Michelle and I join our fellow Americans and others around the
world in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and
Transphobia tomorrow, May 17. We take this opportunity to reaffirm
that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are human
rights, to celebrate the dignity of every person, and to underscore
that all people deserve to live free from fear, violence, and
discrimination, regardless of who they are or whom they love.
We work toward this goal every day. Here at home, we are working
to end bias-motivated violence, combat discrimination in the workplace,
and address the specific needs of transgender persons. Overseas, I
am proud of the steps that the United States has taken to prioritize
the protection and promotion of LGBT rights in our diplomacy and global
outreach.
There is much more to do, and this fight for equality will not be
won in a day. But we will keep working, at home and abroad, and we
will keep fighting, for however long it takes until we are all able to
live free and equal in dignity and rights.
So what is the IDAHOT? It's the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia or IDAHOT for shot. It was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social justice movements, the media and the public to the violence and discrimination faced internationally by TBLGI people.
The IDAHOT has the goal of mobilizing and uniting millions of people in support of the
recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
It coincides with the May 17, 1990 date that the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. It's something the international transgender community is working toward having happen in terms of depathologizing transsexuality with the upcoming edition of the ICD-11
When it was founded it was known as the International Day Against Homophobia or IDAHO. Transphobia was added to the title in 2009 to recognize the different issues impacting sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. This year, to acknowledge the issues faced by bisexual people, biphobia was added to the title.
IDAHOT is recognized by 130 nations, the European Parliament, and other local authorities around the globe. Several UN agencies also recognize the IDAHOT with specific events.
And yes, it has its own hashtag #IDAHOT2015
So no May 17, let's join folks around the world in recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and seek to create greater awareness of what people need to do to eradicate it.
Today is International Women's Day, which is celebrated every March 8.
The UN sponsored iteration of the day dates back to 1977, but the day's history goes back to 1909.
This year's theme is 'Equality For Women Is Progress For All', and equality and progress for women includes trans women in that mix as well.
Anti-trans feminine discrimination and violence basically has its roots in the same systemic anti-woman attitudes and anti-women violence that has historically plagued women on our planet.
And we trans women aren't immune to that. Ours just comes with a heaping helping of transphobia on top of it along with the refusal to realize what we and medical science already knows in terms of that trans women are women.
Medical science is increasingly making that point for us along with shifting cultural attitudes and the realization that the trans rights movement is an international human rights one..
But as we celebrate this 2015 edition of International Women's Day in Trans World, while we celebrate the fact that we have trans women running for political office in Britain, have trans parliamentarians in Belgium and Poland, trans feminine models rocking runways from New York to Milan, one who performed on the hallowed stage of Carnegie Hall, another who scored a groundbreaking legal win in Kenya., others who will grace movie and our television screens commenting on various issues inside and outside the trans community, we have trans women around the world who are not experiencing that same level of progress.
In many parts of the world, trans human rights progress is occurring at a glacial pace, if at all.
We still have far too many around the world that experience crushing discrimination that leads them to engage in survival sex work to pay the bills.
And far too many of our sisters are being killed for simply trying to live their trans feminine lives in the United States, Latin and Central America, Brazil and Turkey.
And those are the trans murders we are aware of.
We have the Canadian Conservative led government that since 2013 has been stalling passage of C-279, the Trans Rights Bill as various Republican state led jurisdictions are trying to pass laws that dehumanize trans people and allow discrimination against them for their own selfish political gain.
And now that the US right wing is losing on the gay marriage issue, they now are starting to attack the humanity of trans people as their ticket to political power, fame and fortune and legitimacy in conservative political circles.
I wrote this last paragraph in a post penned for the 2012 edition of International Women's Day, and it still applies two years later as to where trans women fit into this day..
While we are fighting to overcome the transphobic hatred and disinformation aimed at us, we also seek to continue discussions with our cis sisters as to where trans women fit in the grand scheme of womanhood. We're more than willing to do our part to help uplift all women cis and trans around the globe if we're respectfully given an opportunity to do so.
And we're ready to handle our feminine human rights business if that respectful invitation comes.
International Women's Day also includes the issues that impact and ail trans feminine women across Planet Earth . Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't.
With the outrage building is the international trans community about our Russian peeps being under attack with the BS driving ban, something unfamiliar to many US based trans folks but central to this oppressive drama has come to our attention in the USA.
The ICD-10 was endorsed by the Forty-third World Health Assembly in May 1990 and has been used in WHO Member states since 1994.
So why is the ICD important? The ICD is not only the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes, it is used by physicians, nurses, other providers, researchers, health information managers and coders, health information technology workers, policy-makers, insurers and patient organizations to classify diseases and other health problems recorded on many types of health and vital records, including death certificates and health records.
In addition to enabling the storage and retrieval of diagnostic information for clinical, epidemiological and quality purposes, these records also provide the basis for the compilation of national mortality and morbidity statistics by WHO Member States. Finally, ICD is used for reimbursement and resource allocation decision-making by countries.
Translation: insurance companies use it for coding purposes, too.
And as witnessed in Russia recently, the ICD has been used to attack and pathologize the trans community for decades. As Dr. Kelley Winters, who tracks these issues on her GID Reform blog said on my Facebook page on January 10:
"They've been used every day to attack us, for generations, by conservative bigots on the right and Raymondites (TERFS) on the left. Gender reparative psychotherapies are still practiced from the Clarke Institute (CAMH) in Toronto, to private practices and "religious counselors" in every state. Countless more trans children are shamed into the closets of their birth assignments by parents, doctors, shrinks, school administrators and school counselors, based on these bigoted and scientifically baseless diagnostic policies. Leelah was just one of many youth who lost their lives to the stigma and false stereotypes promoted by these policies."
Homosexuality was removed from the ICD in 1990, and trans people in several nations including Canada's Jenna Talackova have been pushing to have the same thing happen for transsexuality in the ICD-11, which is currently being revised. It is scheduled to be released in 2017.
The World Professional Assn for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the American Psychological Assn. (APA) have also called for the depathologization of transsexuality.
According to Dr. Winters, this is what is currently happening in those ICD-11 efforts.
"The current plan of record for the ICD-11 is mostly good news-- to eliminate trans related (transsexualism, GID, GID-childhood, and transvestic) categories from the mental disorders chapter (chapter 5/ F-codes) and replace them with non-mental codings, named Gender Incongruence, in a new chapter on Sexual Health (chapter 6). Gender Incongruence of Adults and Adolescents (GIAA) will be used to facilitate access to hormonal and/or surgical transition care for those who need it -I support this new category, though I think its descriptive text needs clarification and more age flexibility (for adolescents who may need access to blockers or medical care before Tanner Stage 2 characteristics are outwardly visible." "A second new category proposed for the ICD-11, Gender Incongruence in Childhood (GIC) is controversial. Since children do not get hormonal or surgical treatment and need no coding for them, there is no clear benefit of a pathology coding for trans (including socially transitioning) children. Yet the stigma of pathology/defectiveness and the torture of consequence gender-conversion/gender-reparative psychotherapies puts their lives at risk. Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE) has proposed a less harmful alternative proposal to replace the GIC coding in the ICD-11. My own opinion is that there should be no GIC childhood coding in the ICD-11 and that the alternative GATE proposal (I helped define it) should be implemented instead."
So as you can see, the revisions to the ICD-11 are of critical importance to us in the USA and the international trans community not only in terms of our human rights fight.
It is also a fight to assert our very humanity as trans people in the face of increasingly organized efforts by the Southern Baptist Church, right wing politicians and the TERF's to deny it
As noted from time to time as you've perused these electronic pages, I have also covered the deaths of our fallen sisters as they have happened.
The date is rapidly approaching in which we pause to remember all the trans women around the world we have lost to anti-trans violence from November 21, 2013 to November 20 of this year.
Let us continue to work for and pray for a time in which trans human rights will be an unchallenged reality and a time in which the Transgender Day of Remembrance events are no longer necessary. But until that day comes, let us remember our sisters who were killed because someone hated them enough to do so.
May the people who committed these heinous crimes be swiftly captured and brought to justice. May the grieving families and loved ones of the departed see justice happen sooner and not later.
Exactly two years and one day removed from the horrific day Taliban terrorists boarded her school bus and tried her to kill her for being an outspoken advocate for the education of girls in her homeland, it was announced by the Nobel Committee that 17 year old Malala Yousafzai has won the Nobel Peace Prize.
She becomes the youngest winner ever of this award and shares it with 60 year old Indian activist Kalaish Satyarthi, who like Yousafzai, has devoted his life to ensuring that women and young children have access to education.
Satyarthi was an engineer who in 1980 left his career to campaign against child labor.
The Nobel Committee got it right this time, and I couldn't be happier to see this young human rights warrior get this well deserved award.
Both she and Satyarthi will be in Oslo on December 10 to receive their awards.
Geena Rocero is on a trip back home to the Philippines in which she is doing media appearances and interviews, speaking to local transpinay leaders and talking up Gender Proud, her international trans rights organization she founded that successfully raised over $15K in a recently concluded indiegogo campaign.
The New York based model came out as trans in a widely applauded TED talk and subsequently founded Gender Proud.
The nascent international trans organization has the mission of advocating for the ability of trans, intersex and gender variant people around the world to have legislation in their various nations allowing them to easily change documentation to reflect the persons they are now without surgical intervention .
And yeah, I get the pleasure of chatting with Geena from time to time. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with this busy lady the next time I'm in the New York area or wherever our paths cross..
Before hitting the Philippines, Rocero spent some time in Hong Kong talking to local activists there who are also working hard to clean up the documentation laws there and build on the trans marriage win of Ms W..
She's handling her activist business. And as you can see by the video, she's doing the trans education in her birth nation and looking fabulous while doing so.
And thanks for giving Naomi Fontanos that hug for me.
Today is the 9th annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. It has become one of the largest international solidarity events since its conception by Frenchman Louis-Georges Tin.
He acted as the IDAHOT Committee Chairperson until his resignation in
September 2013 and was succeeded by internationally renowned Venezuelan
trans* rights activist, lawyer and law professor Tamara Adrian.
IDAHOT was created to raise awareness of violence, discrimination, and repression of LGBT
communities around the globe, provide an opportunity to take
action and engage in dialogue with the media, policymakers, public
opinion influencers, and wider civil society.
There are 120 countries in which some type of IDAHOT event is taking place today, and in addition to Vice President Joe Biden tweeting about the #IDAHOT, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have also released statements in support of it.
Tomorrow, as we commemorate the 10th annual International
Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, we recommit ourselves to the
fundamental belief that all people should be treated equally, that they
should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, and that
no one should face violence or discrimination -- no matter who they are
or whom they love
.
This year, the United States celebrates the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. In doing so, we reflect on lessons
learned from our own civil rights struggles and reaffirm our commitment
to ensuring that the human rights of all people are universally
protected.
At a time when, tragically, we are seeing increased efforts to
criminalize or oppress LGBT persons, we call on partners everywhere to
join us in defending the equal rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters,
and in ensuring they are treated with the dignity and respect they
deserve.
UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a statement late on Thursday,
May 15, affirming his support for the global commemorations. UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, followed his statement, with
her own IDAHOT op-ed, released Friday, May 16. UNDP, UNAIDS and other
UN agencies have also released statements in support of the Day. - See
more at:
http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/buzz-worthy/may17-2014-welcome/#sthash.puX1djni.dpuf
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and UN High Commissioner For Human Rights Navi Pillay have also released statements and op-ed columns in support of IDAHOT.
Here in Houston, IDAHOT falls as the TBLG community here is involved in a pitched battle against the local Forces of Intolerance to pass a Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that includes sexual orientation and gender identity protections.
In a few hours I head to the Montrose Center to take part in an all day New Organizing Institute event starting at 9 AM and running until 4 PM entitled 'Public Narrative Training For Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming Gulf Coast Organizers'.
Do you identify as trans* or gender non-conforming?
Then this workshop is for you! Join us as we pull together some of the
best organizers from throughout the Gulf Coast region to share stories,
skills, and strategize! Gain the confidence to tell your story of self, now and community.
Here in Houston, IDAHOT falls as the TBLG community here is involved in a pitched battle against the local Forces of Intolerance to pass a Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that includes sexual orientation and gender identity protections.