Leave Isis Out Of Your War With GLAAD, Ashley

TransGriot Note: In the interest of full disclosure, GLAAD was a major help to me when my A Look At African American Trans Trailblazers article was published by EBONY.com back in March.

Now let's get busy.

I was shaking my head as a certain loud and wrong TS separatist  launched attacks on the groundbreaking American Apparel ad Isis King appears in on behalf of that company and GLAAD

Ashley Love claims that Isis wearing the 'Legalize Gay' shirt misgenders her as a trans woman.

 “GLAAD fights the good fight for us many times, yet this time they’ve irresponsibly made a decision that appeared to not consider the confusing messaging that the ad could send to the public. They inadvertently went against their mission statement by validating the transphobic misconception that Isis and other women like her are “gay” males, instead of who they really are - women, period. The constant misgendering of women of transsexual experience by GLAAD and other ‘LGBT’ groups derails accurate education on transsexualism and must stop.”

However, Love in her zeal to stick it to GLAAD, an organization she's had personal issues with over the media guide, has missed a few important points here.

It may be news to Ms. Love and her colonized 'true transsexual' zealots, but there are transwomen who do identify as lesbian, so the 'Legalize Gay' and 'Gay OK' shirts that Isis is wearing in the ads would be apropos for them.

Isis is also known around the planet as a proud African descended transwoman and she is a hetero one at that.  No chance of anyone confusing her as a 'gay man' unless it is someone deliberately being disrespectful of her femininity or who has an agenda. 

It is also apropos for Isis as a trans human rights warrior and an ally to the rainbow community to wear the shirts depicted in the ads.  

I've also had numerous opportunities to talk to Isis, hear her thoughts concerning the American Apparel ads you seem to have a problem with, have done a Ten Questions interview with her and know she sees the big community building picture much clearer than you and the people you pal around with. 

Oh yeah, an African-American trans model being in this American Apparel campaign that is raising money for the organization is a Big Fracking Deal.  

Isis also said this in a tweet yesterday concerning the faux controversy:


F.Y.I. I did the American Apparel Campaign as a model and as a ally to the gay community. I by no means misrepresented being a Transwoman.

No, you didn't Isis.  You haven't in any of the media opportunities you've done for the trans and rainbow communities from print and television interviews to ANTM.  But since when did facts matter to TS separatists?.


Ashley, since you want to call out misgendering issues for women, why don't you get busy calling out the Black gossip blogosphere and blogs such as Bossip and Sandra Rose who have a long negative history of misgendering cis women by using transphobic slurs to do so?  .  

Umm hmm, that's what I thought.

Wendy Williams Attacks Viola Davis' Natural Hair

After all the times I've called out Black gossip blogs for misgendering Wendy Williams, she does some foul crap like this to another Black woman.   Renee of Womanist Musings calls her azz out on it. 

And Wendy, the next time the Black gossip blogs decide to have fun disrespectfully calling you a man, the t-word or masculinizing your name, I'm staying out of it.
 


I refused to watch the Oscars because I could not stand the idea of having to watch as a Black woman received an award for playing a maid in the year 2012.  To this date, I have not seen The Help, nor do I have any attention of doing so.

As you might imagine, it has been impossible to avoid coverage on the Oscars.  I was happy to see that Viola Davis chose to put her wigs aside and wear her natural hair at such a public event. What I was less pleased about was Wendy Williams response.  According to Madame Noire, Ms. Williams remarked, that she doesn't want to see “Room 222″ look on the red carpet."  For those who are unaware, "Room 222 refers to a show from the late ’60s and early ’70s, about a history class taught by a black man". This to me implies that Williams was not only suggesting that there is something inherently wrong with natural hair, but that a woman choosing wear her natural hair looks like a man.

I am not at all pleased with the implications.  Williams has long been referred to as a trans slur by many Black entertainment blogs - yes, I'm looking at you Bossip.  She has to know first hand how terrible it is to question someone's gender identity in order to smear them.  It is extremely transphobic and it is something that is constantly thrown at cis Black women in order to support the cruel unwoman meme. For Williams to then turn around and engage in the same damn ish is disgusting. 

Wendy might be fine toting around her wigs everywhere she goes, and boiling under the weight of them under the hot summer sun, but not all women feel that way, and none of us should be shamed for refusing to conform to a racist, sexist expectation of us.  Viola looked beautiful - even if the dress was ugly as hell. There was certainly nothing wrong with her hair, and that Davis felt confidant enough to be herself on her big night (despite how I feel about The Help) sends a strong message about how comfortable she is in her own skin.  It will further serve to encourage Black woman to believe that they don't have to be a slave to the creamy crack.  Even though she was just one woman wearing her natural hair, each time something like this happens, it's a step towards depoliticizing this issue. 

Anywhere a Black woman is welcome to take up space, is an appropriate venue for natural hair.  We already have enough issues with White people thinking that they can pet us, and shaming us for our natural hair, without Black women playing colluders and joining the attack.  What Williams did was grade A sell out behavior, with transphobia thrown in for extra seasoning.  I think we should give Williams an award for managing to fit in so much fail in one sentence.

Wendy, I am going to have to ask you to have a huge mug of shut the fuck up.  Life is hard enough for trans women of colour, trans women and Black women without your insensitive, thoughtless commentary.

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Christie Vetoes Gay Marriage, Cue The Negative Fatphobic Reaction

Well, well well, isn't this interesting that another white male Republican governor acts as an oppressor to the GL(bt) community and the GL boys and girls are shocked, shocked that it happened.  

And especially the clueless sellouts in GOProud.

Gov. Chris Christie did what Republican governors with a national audience usually do in this situation and vetoed the gay marriage bill a day after the New Jersey legislature passed it by a 41-33 margin in the NJ Assembly and a 24-16 margin in the NJ Senate earlier in the week. 

Elections matter people.   Did you GL peeps in New Jersey (and elsewhere) really think that a northeastern GOP governor that is being considered as a 2012 vice presidential nominee and is a favorite for the 2016 presidential nomination in the Republican Party would sign that bill?   You don't need a doctorate in political science to know the answer to that question.  

And how did the vanillacentric privileged readership in the gayosphere react?   By being justifiably angry about it.  But unfortunately some rainbow peeps stooped to the level of engaging in fatphobic attacks on Christie. 

I was really bothered by one I saw in the Queerty comment threads on the veto story with commenter CBRad combining fatphobia with misgendering bigotry in the insult this waste of DNA aimed at Christie.

No. 12 · CBRad
…he looks like Pam Spaulding in drag .

Posted: Feb 17, 2012 at 7:36 pm · @Reply · [Flag?]

CBRad, this is Pam Spaulding.  The editrix of Pam's House Blend is not only a cis female since it escaped your ignorant attention, she's happily married to her partner Kate as well. 

Note she doesn't look like Chris Christie, especially since she's African-American and he ain't.  She is also one of the people in the Afrosphere I have mad respect for.
.
Even though Pam and I respectfully disagree on just how much attention should be focused on marriage equality in the rainbow civil rights movement vis a vis ENDA and other pressing issues, one thing we see eye to eye on is that we are both proud African-Americans who believe trans and SGL peeps in our community need to be involved in pushing rainbow human rights issues.  

But you misgendering Pam was a low blow I and other African-Americans didn't fracking appreciate.

I'm tired of Black women trans and cis being misgendered and having unwoman shade hurled at them by ignorant people wallowing in vanillacentric privilege. 

It was also uncalled for especially when she's a longtime supporter of marriage equality and ossifies the perception of non-white members of the GLBT community that we are only members of it at your whim or when you want melanin in the photos of your events to prove how diverse you are.    

CBRad, if you and the rest of the like minded GL community peeps want to fling juvenile insults at Chris Christie all day, that's on you.   Still doesn't change the fact he vetoed the NJ marriage equality marriage bill and doesn't get you any closer to making it happen in New Jersey or anywhere else in this nation.  .