GIEC Credibility Chasm Widens

2000 IFGE Trinity Award winner Dawn Wilson has a saying that was taught to her by her Sunday school teacher in Lexington, KY and often repeated during our frequent conversations in the seven and a half years I lived with her in Louisville.

When me, her and Polar would discuss the travails of the trans community over the now eleven years I've known her and the Polar Bear, she would at some point in our conversation say and repeat this saying like a mantra:

Accountability plus responsibility equals credibility.

I've taken to writing and saying it at times in shorthand like a math equation: A plus R equals C

But in the wake of the post I penned earlier this week about GIEC, Dawn's words came back to me with stark clarity as I perused the comments left on the TransGriot post, the e-mails I've received about it, the commentary throughout the Transosphere, and comments on mine and the FB pages of GIEC.

It's clear that I wasn't the only person in Trans World who had concerns about GIEC and their credibility gap.

Umm, now that I think about it, GIEC doesn't have a credibility gap.

It has a credibility chasm.

In the wake of the mea culpas posted to their site and their blog there's a spirit of glasnost now sweeping through the organization. But it seems old habits die hard for the trans comrades that can't shoot straight (pardon the pun) and they are up to their maskirovka tricks again.

The GIEC website just posted pictures of their 'alleged' board members.

Note the word 'alleged' in quotation marks.

I was sent an e-mail by a respected trans community icon pointing out to me that this posted board resembles the title of an Alexander O'Neal song.



She pointed out to me in that e-mail and subsequent conversation we had that none of the pictures have names underneath them, nor are the names of the board members listed on that page.

The names can only be accessed in pulldown menus, thus avoiding easy discovery of their inclusion on that page should the peeps in question do Google searches on themselves.

One of the photos she recognized was a friend of hers. and she contacted him to ask if he was part of the GIEC board.

That friend turned out to be noted intersex activist and ally to our community Curtis Hinkle.

When contacted by the respected trans community icon, Hinkle was shocked to discover his photo was uploaded to the GIEC page and is not happy about it.

This is the e-mail he sent to me and CC'd to the respected trans community icon yesterday.

From: "Curtis Hinkle"
To: “Monica Roberts”
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 6:32 PM
Subject: Urgent concerning Ariana Davis

Dear Monica,

I am writing to let you know that I have been informed that Ariana Davis has posted information about me which makes it appear that I am a board member of the GIDC. I have never been aware of such a position. I simply joined an email group and then agreed that OII (Organisation Intersex International) supported the goals of the GIDC, which we do, i.e., the depathologization of transsexuality and transgenderism. I have heard nothing from Ariana in over a year, maybe longer, and she is no longer associated with OII.

I am very concerned about the situation that has developed and wished to inform you that OII is in no way associated with it.

Kindest regards,
Curtis

***

Curtis, so am I and a lot of people in the trans community.

To the folks whose photos are posted, let me know if you are or aren't a member of the GIEC board that was posted to their site.

Note to Arianna, Katerina and the rest of GIEC. A plus R equals C and I'd suggest you repeat that on a daily basis before it's too late.

Because of your inattention to accountability and responsibility, GIEC's credibility is rapidly dwindling.

The eyes of this trans Texan aren't the only ones upon you. There are others who are paying attention to what you have been doing and will not hesitate to speak out and call you out.

GIEC's actions have given me and others the impression you don't or are simply clueless not ready for primetime poseurs.

I and many people in the community would like to believe that you have the best of intentions for this community and our best interests at heart.

But the trans community in the second decade of the twenty first century doesn't have the luxury of thinking with its heart.

We can't allow ineffective 'all hat and no cattle' organizations with credibility problems to speak or attempt to speak for it.

We need effective organizations and leaders who know the meaning of A plus R equals C.

This Is H.O.W. Names New Executive Director

This Is H.O.W. is a Phoenix based 501c(3) charitable organization that provides a transitional living environment for Trans persons in crisis.

On August 1 the This Is H.O.W. Board of Directors appointed Antonia “Toni” D’orsay as the new Executive Director of the organization and committed itself to expanding on the services it offers to transgender individuals in the Valley.

“I’m humbled by the honor, and committed to carrying This Is H.O.W.’s mission and the vision of its Founder, Regina Gazelle, forward through these troubled economic times." Ms. D’orsay said.

The organization was founded in 2006 by Regina Gazelle, and is dedicated to the betterment of the lives of Trans (transsexual, transgender, and gender variant) persons experiencing crisis situations such as homelessness, substance abuse, familial abuse, and transition related difficulties.

The organization is currently conducting a fundraising drive and this weekend is coordinating a day of service from 8 AM MST to 5 PM MST on the 21st and 22 for the purposes of cleaning, painting, reorganizing and redecorating the This is H.O.W. facility.

Congratulations Toni on the new ED position and may you and the Board of Directors be successful in keeping alive and expanding the vision of this organization.

Our Asian-Pacific Rim Transsisters Form APTN

TransGriot Note: Our transsisters in Asia and the Pacific Rim made a little history this month to close out the 2k's. They formed an organization designed to advocate for the rights and the health issues of transpeople across the region.

This is wonderful news not only for transpeople in Asia and the Pacific Rim, but their transsisters on the rest of the planet.

Here's the press release for the Asia Pacific Transgender Network courtesy of Leona's blog.

***

World’s First Asia Pacific Transgender Network Launched to Champion Health and Rights of Transgender Women in the Region

Diverse groups from warias, kathoeys and hijras to be represented

22 December 09, Singapore. Transgender women from 10 Asia Pacific countries and areas are coming together to say “No!” to discrimination and marginalisation by forming the world’s first Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN). After three days of intense meetings, it was decided that the APTN, composed entirely of transgender women across the region, will champion transgender women’s health, legal and social rights.

Ms. Khartini Slamah, Founding Working Group member and Core-Group Chair of the Transgender Programme in Pink Triangle (PT) Foundation, Malaysia, says this represents a milestone in the history of transgender women in the region. She says, “For a long time transgender women have been represented among the MSM (men who have sex with men) sub-population group, but there is now a recognition that we are a distinct demographic with our own unique needs. We wish to be separated from the MSM umbrella and inform The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to stop clustering us under the MSM umbrella. Transgender women are not men – we have different issues and needs. Thus we have formed a network addressing the needs of transgender women only.”

From hijras in South Asia to warias in Indonesia

The group represents a broad spectrum of transgender women from sex workers to career women, from hijras (South Asia), warias (Indonesia), kathoeys (Thailand) and sao praphet songs (Thailand) to specialized interest groups such as youth, Muslims and elderly transgender women.

Ms Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, another Founding Working Group member and one of the most recognizable faces of hijras in India, says she is pleased the community is being represented by the network. She says, “For the first time in history, hijras from Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are joining hands with our transgender sisters from Asia Pacific to say ‘No!’ to being treated like second-class citizens. We know there is strength in numbers. Together, we can advance and improve the health, legal and social rights of transgender women.”

The network will also tackle issues in the region such as HIV prevalence among transgender sex workers, especially in countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia, where infection rates are extremely high and resources in place are inadequate to ensure access to quality healthcare, as well as to protect the rights of the sex workers.

Outreach activities

The network is developing a workplan for the next two to three years. The Working Group will identify and explore key populations/groups in immediate need of support and plan activities to reach out to these target groups. Transgender representatives have also been appointed from every sub-region and from key sub-populations to rally transgender organisations within their respective sub-regions or areas to become members of the network.

Ms Sitthiphan (Hua) Boonyapisomparn, APTN Coordinator who is based in Bangkok, says, “At this stage, it is important that we develop a comprehensive workplan that addresses the needs of APTN members. We are already in discussion with potential donors and sponsors to explore how they might support APTN programmes.”

For more information about the network or to support its programmes, please contact Ms Sitthiphan at huab2007@gmail.com.

APTN Sub Regions and Key Populations

The APTN is categorized according to seven sub-regions and seven key populations. Each group is represented as follows:

Danisha (Malaysia) for transgender drug users

Jetsada Taesombat (Thailand) for transgender youth

Jin Qiu (China) for China Sub-Region

Khartini Slamah (Malaysia) for senior transgender women

Laxmi Narayan Iripathi (India) for India Sub-region

Leona Lo (Singapore) for Developed Asia Sub-region

Luluk Surahman (Indonesia) for Insular Southeast Asia Sub-region

Manisha (Nepal) for South Asia Sub-region

Prempreeda Pramos Na Ayutthaya (Thailand) for the Greater Mekong Sub-region

Sam Sela (Cambodia) for transgender people living with HIV

Sulastri (Malaysia) for transgender sex workers

Zahida Hijra (Bangladesh) for hijras

Vacant – for transgender Muslims

Vacant – for Pacific Sub-region

About APTN

The mission of APTN is to enable transgender women in the Asia Pacific region to organise and advocate to improve their health, protect their human rights, and enhance their social well-being and the quality of their lives. The network startup is supported by the 7 Sisters Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), and Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)

Yo NAACP, NBJC...Where Y'all At?

It's been a few days since the video of a Memphis police officer beating down an African-American transwoman was released, and I have yet to see any statement released about it from two organizations claiming to represent me as an African-American person.

The first is the nearly 100 year old NAACP, in which I have had membership status off and on over the years. My brother, sisters and I even had NAACP youth memberships back in the day.

Their new ad slogan is 'The NAACP Is Today', but I don't see you addressing the very real issues that transgender people of African descent face today here in the States. If the NAACP is claiming to represent African-Americans, then I respectfully submit that it includes me as a transgender African-American as well.

While I applaud you for declaring a state of emergency over the treatment of African-Americans by the police, I have yet to hear any NAACP local, state or the national chapter speak up not only about this case, but about the verbal and physical hate attacks on African-American transpeople in general.

As Duanna Johnson's case graphically points out, some of the problems we transpeople of African descent face are at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect and serve us. Nizah Morris' family in Philly is still waiting for a straight answer on what happened to her in 2002.

I suspect that the silence is because some of your chapters are squeamish. hostile or outright reluctant to get involved in speaking out against the BS that African-American GLBT peeps deal with inside and outside the African-American community for specious religious reasons.

When I checked the mirror this morning, I was still Black, I can easily afford to join the NAACP and I still get called 'nigger' and face discrimination from and by racist peeps. Being transgender didn't change that one bit.

The one group I'm most disappointed with is the National Black Justice Coalition. I've had the pleasure of meeting its CEO H. Alexander Robinson at a Louisville event a few years ago. I'm happy that the now three year old organization is making the case about same gender marriage being a Black issue as well, and they are holding Black Church Summits and conferences. I'm estatic that the NBJC not only commented on the ENDA issue, but are a member of the United ENDA coalition as well.

But if you are going to claim that you represent me as an African-American transperson, the organization needs to be more timely and forecful about doing precisely that.

It's insulting and disgusting to me when the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that has done far more in the last ten years to retard my and other African-American transpeople's progress by bitterly fighting transgender inclusion in the Employment Non Discrimination Act, rapidly puts out a press release condemning the attack on Duanna Johnson and calling for a criminal investigation. I have yet to see one syllable written about it on the NBJC website, the organization that's supposed to represent me as an African-American transperson.

Hopefully these organizations will do so in the next week, but if they don't, it's time for African-American transpeople to call them on the carpet and have them explain why.