'Her Story' Emmy Disappointment

Was hoping along with everyone in the community that my girls Jen Richards and Angelica Ross would be making some more history at the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sunday night, but alas, it didn't happen for them.

As y'all may be aware, Her Story was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category, but unfortunately  the show Children's Hospital on Adult Swim walked away with the Emmy in that category.

Said Richards on her Facebook page concerning the result:  "Her Story didn't win tonight, but it's hard not to celebrate when it was just a short while ago that Angelica Ross and I were just two unknown transgender women living together in Chicago, who found in each other reasons to dream big."
 
"We have pushed and challenged and cheered each other, have laughed and cried and strutted despaired and hope together every step of this.  And here we are at the Emmys because we had the audacity to believe our stories mattered," she added..

"Thanks to everyone for their unceasing love and support tonight:."  

But the Emmy nomination for Her Story was a win in itself, especially in light of Hollywood's continued annoying pattern of casting cis masculine actors to play trans feminine characters.

I hope that the Emmy nomination of Her Story not only leads to additional seasons of it, but also leads to Hollywood realizing once and for all that trans stories not only matter, but they best done and most authentic when you cast trans actors in trans roles.

IBetter luck next time ladies!  I have a feeling that one day one or both of you will someday be putting an Emmy in your trophy case.

Change,org Petition For Joy Reid To Serve As Presidential Debate Moderator

The Commission on Presidential Debates has already selected their moderators for the upcoming series of 2016 presidential and vice presidential debates that will start September 26 at Hofstra University.

But what has myself and a lot of people angry is FOX Noise's Chris Wallace, who was tapped to moderate the third debate in Las Vegas.   He has made the incredibly problematic statement that 'it's not my role as a presidential debate moderator to be a 'truth squad'..





Naw homey, that IS your fundamental role as a journalist.  The American people are depending on you to do just that and call out the lies during this final scheduled debate by any candidate.  

If you're unwilling to do your job in an election cycle in which the composition of the Supreme Court and the direction of our country is at stake, then  the CPD needs to replace Wallace with someone who will.

Many people (myself included) are disturbed by Wallace's comment, and believe that comment disqualifies him to be a moderator for the third debate on October 19.   As for who should replace him, MSNBC's Joy Reid has already demonstrated that she has no problem calling out lying surrogates and pundits, and is the woman for the job of moderating this last debate and calling out the lies..




 A Change.org petition has been launched that has garnered over 10,000 signatures in just four days. asking for Reid to be added either as the co-debate moderator or sole moderator, since Wallace has already indicated he is not going to fact check the candidates.

Here's the link to that petition if you think that's a great idea and wish to join the 10,279 people who have signed this petition.

Here's hoping the CPD acts on that suggestion and gets a real journalist to do that critical final debate at UNLV.

Tamron Hall Practicing Journalism On MSNBC Again

One of the reasons I love my Lone Star home girl Tamron Hall is because like Joy Reid, hat she practices journalism on her MSNBC show and doesn't let spin slide.

That's a lesson the rest of the media needs to learn and do so quickly in the 62 days left we have left in this campaign.  Call a lie a lie, and don't  let those lies and spin go unchallenged.

The media is not here to be a politician's best bud.  We are here to do the job of getting information voters need to cast informed decisions when they step into the ballot box and hold politicians and others accountable for their BS, not be stenographers to power.

That means at times hard questions need to be asked to get that information, and when the subject tries to spin and obfuscate, you relentlessly keep asking the questions to need the answer to until they do.

The politician needs you to get their message out, not the other way around.

The latest person to learn that lesson the hard way that Tamron's not playing was senior Trump adviser  A.J. Delgado.  She found out quickly that she wasn't on FOX Noise or Caving News Network

This is what real journalism looks like, and what we should have been getting across the board during this entire campaign.

Jen Richards Speaks About The 'Anything' Movie Controversy

I've had my say about the current controversy surrounding Matt Bomer and the Anything movie perpetuating the tired and frustrating pattern of cisgender male actors playing trans women and me being fed up with it along with others in Trans World.

And as a reminder, cisgender women playing is not always ideal either.  Some of them are subject to the same transphobic biases that the parent culture has been pushing about trans people and can say some jacked up mess about us as well

But with the controversy about the movie heating up, I linked to a post quoting Jen Richards' Twitter feed and tweet string on that controversy and her thoughts about it when I was compiling my post.

Since Jen has now posted a video adding more clarity on where her thought process was when she wrote that tweet string the other day, I need to post that for you to TransGriot readers to view and ponder.

Moni's Had It Up To Here With White Cisgender Males Playing Trans Women In Hollywood

September will witness television history when the CBS legal drama Doubt debuts with Laverne Cox playing the first main cast transgender character for a scripted network TV series.    The web series Her Story featuring my homegirls Angelica Ross and Jen Richards received an Emmy nomination.

Another reality show series featuring a trans cast in the Whoopi Goldberg produced Strut will debut September 20, and we are waiting to see if I Am Jazz gets renewed for a third season.

Tangerine, a move featuring two trans actresses in Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez garnered attention for the Oscar campaign that was run for its two stars.

The indie movie Boy Meets Girl that's on Netflix right now, featured a trans feminine character named Ricky that surprise, surprise was played by trans actress Michelle Hendley, also got some well deserved buzz and attention

You would think that with all the interest in trans people's lives, that Hollywood would be planning to whet that appetite with movies that have transgender characters being played by trans actors.

But nope, hasn't worked out that way.  

And now after hearing Matt Bomer is going to be the latest white cisgender male to play a transwoman on the silver screen in an attempt to parlay that into an Academy Award nomination a la Jared Leto and Eddie Redmayne, it's time for Hollywood to have several sections of seats at the Rose Bowl about that transphobic practice.

As a matter of fact, here's a Change.org petition calling for the movie Anything to not even be released.

That's how fed up the trans feminine community is about this irritating pattern of seeing white cisgender actors repeatedly get to play trans characters on the silver screen to mine and our community's displeasure, and especially the displeasure of the trans actresses trying to make a living in Hollywood.

Jen Richards calls out the problems with why it's a big deal with cis men playing trans women and I agree with many of the points she made in her Twitter chain that is featured in the Mic post I linked to.

As for cis women playing trans characters, since I was asked about it at Chautauqua, I'll repeat what I said there.  Personally I don't like it simply because I want my trans sisters to have first cracks at those roles, and there is no equity yet in Hollywood in terms of trans actresses getting fair shots to play cis feminine characters.  

But if it's done by the cis actress in question with respect for our lives, I can deal with it.  If I'm forced to choose, I prefer a cis woman playing a trans woman instead of the reprehensible transphobic pattern going on right now.

One example of a cis woman who is respectfully playing a trans woman and nailing it is Karla Mosley, who plays model Maya Avant Forrester on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful.

I've been impressed by how Mosley and the B& B writers have handled the nuances of Maya's character living as a trans woman, and the added bonus of that is it is the first time we have seen it play out in a Black family on network television

As for the tired trope of 'transwomen are men' trope that's a relic of disco-era second wave feminism, past time to give that crap a rest. especially in Hollywood.  Some of you Hollywood peeps need to show up at a trans pageant or a trans convention.  When you do so, you'll note that some of my trans feminine sisters will give Miss Universe a run for her money in the beauty department.

But even having a cis woman playing a trans woman has bumped into at times the entrenched Hollywood transphobia about trans women.

Several years ago Kerry Washington played a trans woman in the 2009 movie Life Is Hot In Cracktown, and she said in an interview in the runup to its release at the time she didn't get the part at first because the director thought she was 'too beautiful to play a transwoman'.

Even some of the cis women actresses playing trans women have had some interesting reactions and revelations about what we deal with while walking in our trans feminine pumps for their roles.

Chloe Sevigny admitted in an interview that when she played Mia in the British series Hit and Miss, because of the prosthetic penis she had to wear for the role, she not only cried every day when she had to put it on, she felt unattractive and questioned her desirability when she was in character.

Kerry Washington said this in an interview about her Marybeth character.

"The biggest thing I learned is that these are individuals who are born as women. They are women but their biology/anatomy has betrayed them in some way and that’s the fundamental thing to understand. I am not playing a man who wants to be a woman, I am playing a woman who has been born with a physical inconsistency so my body doesn’t reflect my emotional truth. That’s key to understanding who this person is."

Too bad the rest of Hollywood doesn't get the fundamental truth about trans women that Kerry Washington so easily grasped.

That being said, I still have a major problem with cisgender males playing trans women in Hollywood when there's a long list of trans women like Alexandra Billings, Trace Lysette. Jamie Clayton, Mya Taylor and countless others ready, willing and able to do the job if given the opportunity to play these roles.

But the key reason I have a problem with it is because as Jen and other trans women across our community have stated, it reinforces the stereotype that 'transwomen are men', and that has negative life or death consequences for us.

The 'that's a man' stereotype repeatedly spat at trans women of all ethnic backgrounds is also negatively affecting the human rights of trans people and our allies around the country as HB2 and the repeal of HERO were Exhibits A and B of.

And with the Republican Party and conservative movement revving up bathroom fears of trans people in order to attack human rights laws and demonize trans people for their own political gain, we trans women of color are paying in blood for that and the desire of Hollywood cisgender men to get an Oscar.

So it's why I have had it up to here with lazy Hollywood directors and casting directors repeatedly putting cis men in drag to play trans women.

Moni's Heading To Cali For The September 8 GLAAD Gala San Francisco

The Air Marshal is headed back to the Bay Area for the first time since I was there in Oakland in 2013 for the first TransH4CK.

Sorry East Bay and Oaktown peeps, going to be on the other side of the Bay for this visit.  Going there attend the GLAAD Gala San Francisco that's happening on September 8, so this is your heads up Left Coast I'm coming.

So what's GLAAD Gala San Francisco all about?   It's celebrating digital media innovators who are moving LGBTQ acceptance forward.  At times it isn't moving as fast as we would like it to go, but the froward momentum is undeniable enough to where our conservative opponents are fighting us tooth and nail to stop it and failing as usual.

The event is being hosted by The Talk's Aisha Tyler, and looking forward to being there even if it's an in and out trip.  

A stop at the nearest Ghirardelli's chocolate outlet will be mandatory (preferably either the milk chocolate or caramel squares), and looking forward to seeing as many of my peeps in the area as possible.

'Doubt' Trailer

I've mentioned that Doubt was greenlighted by CBS back in May and is going to premiere during the 2016-17 television season,

One of the reasons you should be as excited about the show as I am is because it will be historic television in terms of having Laverne Cox play Cameron Wirth, the first scripted trans main character in a dramatic series played by a trans actor on broadcast television.

Doubt also stars Katherine Heigl, Dule Hill, Dreama Walker, Elliott Gould, Steven Pasquale, and Kobi Libii

Here's the trailer for the dramatic legal series that starts next month.

Moni's In The NABJ-NAHJ Convention House!

Well people, I'm at this moment sitting in the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel. I'm registered and ready to get my learn on for this joint NABJ-NAHJ conference.  Got up early this morning so I could beat the rush and get registered for it.

Looking forward to seeing the speech that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will be delivering to this conference of 4000 African American and Latinx journalists tomorrow.   Donald Trump was invited, but doubt he is going to want to appear at not only a media conference, but one chock full of media people who are members of two of the ethnic groups he has demonized during his train wreck of a campaign.

And I'm pleased and honored to have gotten an opportunity to be here, meet some people in the various seminars and watch the plenary sessions.  

This is one in which I get to wander around and just soak in the atmosphere instead of being one of the headlining participants as I'm used to being.  

It was also cool after four years of conversing with him on Facebook, I FINALLY get to meet Alberto Mendoza, who is now the head of the National Assn of Hispanic Journalists and a busy man around here working to keep the convention trains running on time.

Well, time to check out some of the interesting panels, represent our community and wander this historic hotel.

Moni's Headed To The NABJ-NAHJ Joint Convention

About to head to Washington DC for my second media conference o 2016, and it's a big one.

The National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists re joining forces to host a joint media convention in our nation's capital  starting today and running until August 7 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

How apropos they are holding it at a hotel where poet Langston Hughes once worked.  Too bad the new African American history museum won't be open until next month.  

Maybe I can finally do that stop at the Newseum as a substitute for it  

I'm looking forward to being in the house for it, and spending time discussing the issues we trans peeps face with NABJ-NAHJ journalists and members.while i'm there.

Clinton To Speak At Joint NABJ-NAHJ Convention

Looks like I'll definitely need to get to the hotel early to get a seat for this event on Friday.

I'm leaving Houston on Wednesday morning to attend the joint convention of the National Assn of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Assn of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) that is taking place August 3-7 in Washington DC..

I was happy to hear that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has accepted an invitation to speak at the convention this Friday that will have 4000 Latinx and Black media professionals on hand to hear her speech.

As you probably guessed,  no word on whether Donald Trump has accepted his invitation to speak to the joint convention.   I presume he is going to turn down that invite, especially since he has demonized Black and Latinx people throughout his campaign and is probably terrified of the prospect and the optics of a convention full of members of the ethnic groups he demonized professionally calling his butt on the carpet for it as the nation gleefully watches it happen on the news.

Should be fun to see Sec. Clinton's speech, and I'll be blessed to be in the house for it.

Dale Hansen Calls Out Lt Gov. Dan Patrick In Dallas Shooting

Since I have many of my relatives on my mother's side of the family in Dallas and my mom grew up there, I spent a lot of time on that northern end of  I-45, and still do because of my annual BTAC trip.

One of the joys of being on that end of Dallas is being able to watch longtime WFAA-TV 8 sportscaster and journalist Dale Hansen call it like he sees it about sports and other pertinent issues.   I've posted some of his Hansen Unplugged commentaries on the blog, and this one calling out my reprehensible Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) is one that definitely needs to be signal boosted.

Hansen calls him out for blaming everyone but himself and his Texas Republican colleagues for passing the open carry law that allowed Micah Johnson the ability to buy the automatic weapon that he used to kill 5 DPD and DART police officers and leave 10 other people wounded.

And he calls him what I would have called him had his remarks come in time for last week's SUF Awards.

Hansen also drops this truth bomb during his commentary while calling the shooting 'an attack on our basic humanity.'

"A white man in America doesn't die for selling cigarettes on the street corner, he gets a ticket.  A white man in America doesn't die for driving with a broken tail light, he gets a ticket, too.  And the officers who abuse the badge and the power they have should be punished, but too many times they are not.'
But I'll let you hear and see once I find the video for it his eloquent takedown of Patrick and his commentary about the Dallas shooting..  

Deric Muhammad, #WeExist

One of the things I get pissed off about in my Black community is activists, ignorant people and ministers spouting facts free anti-trans and anti-SGL rhetoric in our ranks that is a carbon copy of crap that white fundamentalists have been sputtering for decades from their megachurch pulpits and talk radio shows.

I was sent a link to a homophobic op ed authored by local activist Deric Muhammad published in the Houston Forward Times that attacks teen lesbians.

It's not only a slap in the face of the Houston Black LGBT community, this op-ed also has the problematic timing of being published as a Forward Times featured editorial on the first day of LGBT Pride Month..

Since Mr. Muhammad wrote in his article he wished to get a community conversation going, be careful what you wish for.

Ashton Woods has already written his response to Muhammad's homophobic Forward Times scribblings, now it's my turn.  .

I've met Deric Muhammad at various Houston community events in the last two years, and one of the vibes I picked up from him when I heard him speak at city hall or during various community events is that he may have a problem with his Houston LGBT siblings.   I had to call him out during a meeting held at KCOH a little over a year ago about some problematic comments that erased the Houston LGBT community during a community conversation about police brutality and the Jordan Baker case..

It's reprehensible that you have written an article that attacks lesbian teens and blames them for the problems of the Black community.  Sadly, it is confirming what I suspected when I first encountered you at the Harris County Courthouse.   I'll also point out that same gender loving attractions are not a 'choice'.. If you really believe that bull feces, then tell me the exact date that you chose to be a heterosexual Black male and chose to live a heterosexual lifestyle?

I'd also like to point out to you that one of the iconic leaders in our Black H-town community was a lesbian named Barbara Jordan.   Our lesbian sisters have not only historically been on the front lines in helping uplift our community and fighting for our civil rights, they are continuing to provide innovative and principled leadership for our community as well.

Teen lesbianism isn't the cause of what ails the Black community as a whole.  It's anti-Black policies pursued by politicians and a conservative movement that hates our people.

Our LGBT kids are already under attack from predominately white Religious Right and Republican politicians.  The last people that need to be attacking them are people in our Black community.

This divisive BS of attacking kids in the name of 'starting a community conversation'  is the last thing we need right now, and as a unapologetically proud Black trans Houstonian, it pisses me the hell off every time some person that shares my ethnic heritage decides to try to live up to the 'Black people are more homophobic' meme I have to constantly argue against in mixed human rights company.

#WeExist, Deric.   If you claim you love all Black people in H-town, then by default that includes my unapologetic Black trans behind and your Black trans, bi and SGL siblings.

'Assigned Male' - A Trans Themed Comic Of Our Own

You TransGriot readers are aware of how much i love comics, and while surfing the Net one afternoon I stumbled across he delightful webcomic entitled Assigned Male, created by French-Canadian comic artist Sophie Labelle.

Assigned Male follows the adventures of Stephanie, a young 11 year trans girl who is making her way through early transition, school and her interesting life that includes cis and trans friends, activism, and her amazing parents.

Assigned Male is quickly becoming a favorite for kids who are in early transition and even trans adults like myself who identify with many of the situations that Steph deals with such as anti-trans bullying, insensitive comments, invalidation of who she is as a trans girl, and balancing activism with having as normal a life for a kid as she can.

And as you probably guessed, transphobic haters are coming for this comic as it gets increasing well deserved attention and popularity..

Assigned Male creator Labelle has made it clear that this comic is a transcentric FUBU production, but if cis people get joy out of it and learn something about what our trans community and trans kids deal with, that's cool, too.  .

The online Hateraid that our trans sibling Labelle is getting in some quarters of the Net for her trans positive comic that has now reached 220 issues and counting  is why I'm writing this post about Assigned Male.

It not only deserves to be celebrated in our community, we also need to recognize how important it is for trans kids to see themselves and their lives reflected in popular culture in a world that tries on an almost daily basis to viciously erase their existence.
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Assigned Male updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and you can find it at www.assignedmale.com or on Facebook to check out the latest issue of it..

Moni's On 'Queer Voices' Again Tonight

Didn't have to wait as long for another invite to appear as a guest on Queer Voices this time.

For those of you in the Houston area or within the over the air broadcast range of KPFT-FM 90.1, our local Pacifica network station, yours truly will be back in the Montrose area studios of the station as a guest on tonight's Queer Voices broadcast at 8 PM CDT.

It's to talk about last week's murder of Shante Thompson and Willie Davis and hopefully other issues affecting the trans community in the time we have allotted for that segment, but we'll see how that transpires starting at approximately  8:35 PM.

They do livestream the show for those of you who would like to hear it, and you can go to this link to do so.

Hope y'all check it out.

TransGriot Update: My appearance on Queer Voices also depends on whether I can get to the station because of the widespread local flooding.  

It will happen.  Will call in for tonight's show.

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GLAAD Releases Debunking The 'Bathroom Bill' Myth Media Resource Guide

Wish this had been available for us when we were fighting to keep HERO, but GLAAD recently announced the release of its Debunking The 'Bathroom Bill' Myth media guide.

It's designed to combat and debunk the lies and falsehoods used by our right wing oppressors to attack and demonize trans people.  With the Republican Party making it clear that they will pursue anti- trans legislation for political advantage, this media guide couldn't have come at a more crucial time as we battle anti-trans bills and repeal referenda around the country.

"Anti-LGBT activists are viciously putting a target on our children's backs by using fearmongering and misinformation in a desperate attempt to legalize discrimination," said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO. "Accurate reporting is crucial to provide voters with the realities of these bills. This guide will help media tell the real story of transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances."

"It's imperative that the media fairly and accurately report on the discrimination faced by transgender people and the importance of laws which provide protections for them in housing, employment, and public spaces. Alarmist attempts to frighten voters into rejecting fair treatment for trans people must be challenged by journalists well armed with the facts," said Nick Adams, Director of Programs for Transgender Media at GLAAD.

As we found out the hard way in Houston during our fight to keep the HERO, the media not getting it right and unquestioningly repeating the lies of our opposition played a major role in our loss

Hopefully, the availability of this new media guide will help put an end to the Bathroom Bill lies..

OutSmart Magazine's 2016's 10 Faces Of Black LGBT Leadership

I've known this was coming for a few weeks, but OutSmart, our local TBLG community publication in honor of Black History Month starting today has published the profiles of 10 Black LGBT leaders in my hometown.

I was honored to be one of the two trans people out of the ten selected for this story, but we do have more excellent Black LGBT leaders in the Bayou City doing the work of uplifting all the communities we intersect and interact with.

And in the wake of the unfortunate repeal of HERO in which many people in our community were hoodwinked and bamboozled into voting against their own human rights based on lies, it's past time that the Houston Black community knew who the Black LGBT leaders are inside Beltway 8.

Thank you Megan Smith and OutSmart for including me in this article

For those of you who don't live in H-town, here's the link to the article for you to peruse it.

'Game Face' Documentary Now On Netflix!

Since we are now in a new month, Netflix is adding new selections to their lineup.

Was happy to hear that the documentary Game Face featuring our MMA fighting sis Fallon Fox is now available for viewing as of today since I have been wanting to see it.

Now it's available on Netflix, and I'll be parked in front of my television checking it out.  Hope you take some time to do so as well.

Roland Martin Drops The Mic On Stacey Dash

Stacey Dash has sadly had the wash set and GOP cranial rinse to become a FOX fembot, and has been cooning it up lately on FOX Noise.

She was recently unleashed by her paymasters to say some monumentally stupid and hypocritical comments about BET, Black Hollywood and Black media in general that paid her bills for decades before she started taking pundit checks from FOX Noise.

Well you know my ascot wearing Houston homeboy Roland Martin wasn't having it, and delivered this recent smackdown on her azz.

Enjoy.

Her Story Goes Live Today

After months of buzz, positive press, the release of a tantalizing trailer, and public premiere events in New York and West Hollywood, today the groundbreaking Her Story webseries goes live.

And I'm happy on so many levels to see it.   I'm thrilled to see a trans written, trans acted and trans produced dramatic series with realistic trans characters.  I'm happy that it's getting positive buzz.

And most of all, I'm elated that this project involves two people I have mad love and respect for in Angelica Ross and Jen Richards.

So looking forward to see the first season of Her Story and hope it's megasuccessful enough to where it not only gets a second season, but leads to more FUBU projects like it on cable and broadcast TV.

Here's the link to Her Story for you to check out the six webisodes that make up its first season .