More Concerned About The Black Trans Community's Character

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

 

 The late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said that,and it made me ponder about how that quote applies to our chocolate trans community.   

The reputation that Black transwomen have is one steeped in the negative imagery that is used to attack our cisgender sisters.   We are supposed to be lazy, ugly linebackers in dresses, less than intelligent, only care about partying and satisfying our hyperactive sex drives, and won't do anything to advance the rights of this community..  

Did I forget one? 

The reality is far different.   We not only have some intelligent and beautiful sisters, we have learned and handsome brothers to boot.    We have long been ready, willing and able to contribute our talents to uplifting our own community , but the African descended and  society at large.    

All we need is the chance to do so and prove once and for all that our character is who we really are, and not the negative spin coming from enemies inside and outside the various communities we interact with.

Kye Allums Watch-Transphobia Run Wild In Conservafool GWU Student Paper

Kye Allums historic turn as the first open trans athlete in NCAA Division I history not surprisingly is not getting rave reviews from some peeps.

Some of those haters are on his George Washington University campus.

In addition to the transphobic story that Erin Mews posted in the conservative leaning GW Patriot (big surprise there) full of AP Stylebook fail, that was only recently corrected.  Mews wielded some pissy vanilla scented cisprivilege trying to defend it.

"it is factually inaccurate to refer to Allums as a male at this point. Once Kye has undergone the necessary hormone treatment and medical procedures, I will refer to her as a man. I see nothing wrong with pointing out that she is still technically a female. . . . I referred to Allums as a female in this piece because unlike other writers, I do not like to distort reality or create falsehoods. The fact that Allums is a female is an objective fact of reality. Once she medically changes this, I will be more than happy to refer to her as a man."

Correction, Erin.   The only 'distorted reality' in play here is that you dare call yourself a writer.  Must be doing an internship at the Sun Myung Moon (Washington) Times.

Some of Allums' fellow Colonials were just as transphobic in their commentary on this GW Patriot story  announcing his coming out as well 

In other news, GWU will be playing at the Miami Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, FL on December 28-29, so for those of you in the Miami area and who get an opportunity to do so, show Kye some love 

Silicone Me, Please?

I've written about the dangers of silicone more than a few times on this blog and posted articles about what has happened to the girls who 'pump'.

It's an issue I haven't covered as much this year and I really should be doing so more frequently.

I know we transwomen want to look as feminine as possible and in some cases we want it to happen like yesterday once we make the decision to transition .

But beauty is not worth dying for , causing permanent long term damage to yourself or risking contracting HIV from sharing needles either because you want to look 'fishy' now instead of letting hormones do the job over time.   Medical costs are also a factor as well  as the impatience one in sending low income transwomen of color scurrying off to pumping parties.

Here's a film that also drives that point home called 'Silicone Me, Please' that talks about the dangers of silicone pumping.

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What I'd Like To Give The Black Trans Commmunity For Christmas

The Festival of Conspicuous Consumption continues rolling on to its conclusion on December 25, and as everyone is buying and wrapping gifts, sending Christmas cards, attending those holiday parties and looking good in the process your trans family members aren't feeling the love this holiday season.

So as I'm was sipping my egg nog (minus the alcohol this time) and watching the glut of holiday commercial clogging the television airwaves I started pondering this question. 

If I had the power to grant gifts to my chocolate flavored trans community, what would they be?  

Well, here's what I came up with.    Add yours in the comment section of this post.

*First and foremost,.an end to the shame and guilt issues with the gift of pride.    Pride in ourselves, pride in each other, pride in our community.

*A documented history we can point to.   As Wyatt T. Walker stated in a December 1967 Negro Digest article, "Rob a people of their sense of history and you take away hope."      

*Recognition of who our trans heroes and sheroes are and never allow those peeps to fade from our collective memories. 

*A muscular Afrocentric trans organization that will fight for our issues and our community.

*Chocolate trans role models and leaders who say it loud they are Black, trans and proud and role model the behavior on a regular basis.

*A chocolate trans community that interacts with each other, has Afrocentric resources and institutions and has connections with its trans cousins across the African diaspora in Canada, Great Britain, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. 

*An end to people directing near genocidal levels of anti-trans violence against us.

*A college education so my sisters can get good jobs at livable wages and no longer have to rely on sex work for survival

*An end to school bullying so my transpeeps can get that education.

*Seeing representatives of their African descended community holding major leadership positions, being spokespersons for it in mainstream media, and our issues and concerns being reflected in the overall trans community political agenda.

*An end to the po-po's harassing and disrespecting African descended transwomen 


*Allies inside and outside the community that will go to the mat and then some for us and ain't squeamish or 'scurred' about doing so.

*Serious sistah circle type friendships with cis Black women. 

*An end to faith based ignorance and trans hatred in my African descended community and across the Diaspora. .

*HBCU's and Black organizations 'ejumacating' themselves about their African descended trans family members and adjusting policies and procedures to eliminate discrimination against us..

*African American trans politicians elected to office at City Hall, in judgeships, the state legislatures and Congress.

*An end to megachurch ministers in this community pushing hatred of us to line their own pockets, earn conservafool brownie points or pimp their political power grabs.


*My chocolate transpeeps being fully integrated into and considered respected members of the African American community

*African American transwomen finally being recognized as and for being the Phenomenal Women we strive to be.


*Finally, love.   Love for ourselves.   Love for our transbrothers   Love of our chocolate trans community    Love and acceptance from our families, each other and our African American cs family.