Kat Blaque-Are Men That Like Transsexuals Gay?

I've expressed my opinion about that subject (no they aren't), and it's a major reason why I post the 'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' videos of Troy on TransGriot when he talks about the same subject from the trans attracted cis male spectrum.

I like giving my video blogging sisters and brothers the spotlight from time to time to discuss various subjects, and have has the pleasure of posting Kat Blaque's takes on issues from time to time.  

With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, it was the perfect time to discuss the subject and show the following video in which Kat takes on the long running topic of whether men who like transsexuals are gay.

23rd WPATH Biennial Symposium Starts Today

The World Professional Association For Transgender Health (WPATH) is gathered together in Bangkok, Thailand for their 23rd Biennial Symposium in the Land of Smiles from February 14-18 (Thailand time)

The WPATH Symposium's purpose is to present professionals working in the field of transgender health with the latest advances in research, education, clinical service, and advocacy to promote the health and well being of trans people and their families. 

You know, all that research on trans issues our haters claim doesn't exist or they wish to ignore.

The WPATH Symposium scientific program addresses topics in several areas including primary care, psychiatry, endocrinology, and surgery; psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy; sociology and anthropology; gender and sexuality; speech and voice therapy; and other related fields relevant to transgender health.  Professionals, clinicians, researchers, and academics were invited to submit before the start of the conference relevant abstracts.

The symposium will also have a variety of special panels, paper presentations, poster sessions and speakers, including some on the following topics: Children, families, and youth; ethnic/racial and cultural diversity in transgender health; transition-related services; community-based health care and community-participatory research; transgenderism in sports; legal & human rights; and the latest advances in brain research.

The theme of this 23rd WPATH Biennial Symposium is 'Transgender Health From Global Perspectives' and there are a record 523 registrants for the conference from 39 nations headed to the event from every corner of our planet to the conferences host hotel at the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Hotel.

From H-town to take part in this premier symposium on transgender health issues will be Dr. Colt Keo-Meier and the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Transgender Civil Rights Project and TPOCC founder Kylar Broadus will be in the WPATH house for it as well.  

When they arrive in Bangkok, they will witness plenary speakers covering topics such as Development of Sex-Reassignment Surgery in Thailand, with Preecha Tiewtranon MD; Experience of Uterus Transplantation From Mothers to Daughters, with Liza Johannesson MD, PhD; Co-Dependency as a Way of Life, with Louis Gooren MD; ICD Plenary, moderated by Gail Knudson MD; The Brain of Transsexual Persons, with Antonio Guillamon MD; and A Brief History of the Thai Kathoey: Behind the Myths and Stereotypes, with Peter Jackson PhD.Q

One of the concerns of the international trans community is next year's scheduled May 2015 World Health Organization ICD-11 revision and the recently released DSM-V one as it relates to gender diagnoses.  That subject will be addressed during the time these transgender health professionals are gathered in Bangkok.

WPATH has already called for depathologization, but just in case you missed it:

The WPATH Board of Directors strongly urges the de-psychopathologisation of gender variance worldwide. The expression of gender characteristics, including identities, that are not stereotypically associated with one’s assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally-diverse human phenomenon which should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative. The psychopathologlization of gender characteristics and identities reinforces or can prompt stigma, making prejudice and discrimination more likely, rendering transgender and transsexual people more vulnerable to social and legal marginalization and exclusion, and increasing risks to mental and physical well-being. WPATH urges governmental and medical professional organizations to review their policies and practices to eliminate stigma toward gender-variant people.

It is going to be an exciting, informative upcoming four days in Bangkok. 

Tiq and Christina's CNN Appearance

I mentioned that GLAAD"s Tiq Milan and ESPN sportswriter and GLAAD board member Christina Kahrl appeared on the CNN show Reliable Sources this morning to discuss the reporting fails, the outing and the salacious article that may have played a role in the suicide of Dr Essay Anne Vanderbilt..

Here's the video from their show this morning for those of you who missed it.

Christina Kahrl On CNN's 'Reliable Sources'

Haven't been watching much CNN lately because I'm still pissed off about the far too conservative butt kissing lean they have taken over the last few months.  I'm also not happy with the ethnic cleansing that has taken place at CNN and not renewing the contracts of my Houston homeboy Roland S, Martin and Soledad O'Brien for doing her job and asking tough question of politicians.

But I will put my pissivity at the network aside for a few moments and check out our ESPN sports writing homegirl Christina Kahrl on the CNN Show Reliable Sources tomorrow morning at 10 AM CST. 

She'll be on to discuss the issues of covering trans folk in the media that have been in the national spotlight since Katie Couric's jacked up interview with Carmen Carrera and Laverne Cox and the outing of t a transperson that may have been a contributing factor to her subsequent suicide.

She wrote a brilliant piece in Grantland about what they got wrong in covering the Ms V. story. 

Fallon Fox and Kye Allums, who have also been on the receiving end of less than enlightened reporting themselves have also had outstanding articles published recently that need to be read in TIME by Fallon and in The Nation by Kye.. 

But definitely will be looking forward to seeing Christina tomorrow and seeing how CNN handles this discussion.
 

Trans Woman Pumped By Armani Nicole Davenport Dies

Accused silicone pumper Armani Nicole Davenport's case in Louisiana which a trans woman she pumped ended up in a coma with a less than 50/50 chance of survival just took another serious turn.

On New Year's Day 25 year old Brenisha Hall, who has been in a coma since being pumped October 24 by Davenport with a still unknown substance, died after her body shut down.

The Dallas based Davenport surrendered to NOPD and Orleans Parish authorities November 6 and was charged at the time with negligent injuring. 

An autopsy was performed by Interim LSU Public Hospital officials on Hall with her death being ruled by doctors as a result of natural causes.  The results of that hospital autopsy were relayed to the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office via phone conversation since Hall was a Jefferson Parish resident.  The Jefferson Parish coroners office released the body and Hall was buried on January 11.

But an investigation has been launched by NOPD police and prosecutors to ascertain whether sufficient evidence exists to bring a charge of negligent homicide.   It would require a new autopsy by the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office and getting permission of the family to exhume Hall's body in order to conduct it.

"In light of the victim's death, we are re-evaluating the case at this time to see if additional charges are warranted under the law," said Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

Will keep you posted as more details emerge about this ongoing case.

UH-Downtown Gender Neutral Bathroom Proposal Up For Vote

If Kristopher Sharp and the students of UH-Downtown get their way on Friday, UHD will become the first school in the Houston area and the second in the state of Texas with gender neutral restrooms.

A proposal is being considered by the UHD student government association on January 10 that would designate two bathrooms (one male, one female) in each of UHD's three buildings as gender neutral restrooms open to anyone.

UHD student body Vice President Kristopher Sharp is pushing the initiative after hearing of trans and gender variant students being either harassed or made to feel so uncomfortable they refrain from using the on campus facilities.

Ever since Sharp's election as student body vice president last April, he has been busy addressing some of the groups that have felt marginalized on campus versus the rest of the student population.

Sharp helped create a GLBT resource center on the UH-Downtown campus, amend the nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the student handbook, and create a diversity committee in the student government focused on finding underrepresented populations, such as international, veteran and LGBT students. A similar diversity committee was also created for administration for faculty, staff and students to look at diversity issues at the university.

"We began to see that, in many ways, our university was disproportionally leaving out the transgender population, which we have a sizable transgender population on campus,” Sharp said.

Sharp wrote up the proposal after hearing stories about a transfeminine student being confronted twice in the women's restroom.   It also has the advantage of being a quick and cheap solution since it requires only a new sign (and possibly instructions) on the door.

The proposal also affects only six of the 60 bathrooms on the UHD campus.

University officials have been working to address the problem by building lockable single stall restrooms of which the first is scheduled to open in February according to John Hudson, director of UHD's new Center for Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

"Others we hope would come on line later in the year," Hudson said in a Houston Chronicle interview.  The administration's plan calls for a total of five private restrooms - one in each main building, one near the auditorium and one at the sports center, he said.

Good luck and hope that proposal gets the unanimous vote and passage it deserves..

Statement From The CeCe Support Committee

TransGriot Note:  If everything stays on track, CeCe McDonald is scheduled to be released next Monday.  

Here's a statement from the CeCe Support Committee.

Dear CeCe McDonald supporters,

The rumors are true: CeCe is scheduled to be released from prison in January. She will wait and write a public statement about her release after she gets out of prison, because she wants to tell you all in her own words and own time. She would like to spend her first days out in privacy, with people she feels close to. Again, information about her release will be shared when CeCe feels it is the right time to do so. In the meantime, she and her support committee ask everyone to be patient.

We are excited to throw her a party, the weekend after her release. As soon as the venue and date are confirmed, we will announce! This party is a chance for everyone who has been supporting CeCe to come out and celebrate her release with her.

Many of you are eager to send contributions of money or materials, to aid in her transition home. Keep an eye on the FreeCece Mcdonald Facebook page for specific 'asks' in the future. Right now, because of the incredible support of her community here in Minneapolis and around the world, she will be safe, comfortable, and cared for when she rejoins us. Please consider sending a donation to other incarcerated people or abolition movements. (Check out the Rainbow Defense Fund http://rainbowdefensefund.wordpress.com/).

Thanks everyone for supporting CeCe, and for supporting her now in the way she most needs: with your patience.

~ CeCe Support Committee

Carmen And Laverne On Katie Show Today

Looks like 2014 is going to get off to a fast, positive start for #girlslikeus media wise.

While the Katie show has already been cancelled after its two seasons on the air,  the shows that have already been taped still have to being broadcast.

One of the shows in the can and scheduled for broadcast will involve Carmen Carrera and Laverne Cox.

These two lovely ladies will be gracing our television screens today.   Katie will be discussing in Laverne's case of course her groundbreaking role in Orange Is The New Black and the realities that trans people have to face.   

Carmen will talk about her transition fears, her blossoming career as a model and the fan sponsored petition to have her walk the runway as a Victoria's Secret Angel.

If you wish you find what local station in your area broadcasts the show and at what time for your market (in Houston it's broadcast at 3:00 PM CST on KTRK-TV Channel 13), you can click on this station finder link to do so. 

Trans Namibians Facing Documentation Problems

I keep pointing out that trans human rights issues are worldwide issues, and it is very interesting to note that no matter what country we reside in, some of our problems are the same.

One of those trans problems that crosses international borders is documentation.

It shouldn't be, but as my now 8 months and counting drama just to get a Texas drivers license is an example of and Valentina Verbal of Chile being forced to drop out of a race for a seat in her national legislature because of it, we go through a lot of drama as transpeople because of mismatched identification. 

That being said, let's move to Namibia, where some of our transpeeps living in that nation like 24 year old Mercedez von Cloete are receiving resistance when it comes to acquiring documentation that accurately reflects who they are now.

Article 13 of the UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms states:

• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
• (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

According to an article in The Namibian, despite being able to transition and have SRS be legal in that nation, Namibian trans people like Cloete are being shown the door when they attempt to get the documentation that they need to travel in and out of the country.

Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration head Jacobius van de Westhuizen says this shouldn't be happening and no Namibian should be denied the right to identification documents.

But the reality for Mercedez and other Namibian transpeople is quite different.  Cloete applied for a new passport photo in June 2012.  The application was not only turned down, but she didn't find out about the denial despite checking multiple times until a year later.

In the meantime, that puts Cloete in the situation every time she travels to South Africa of being subjected to lengthy questioning and delays by both Namibian and South African customs officials because her old passport photo looks nothing like the woman she is now.

We shouldn't have to go through lengthy bureaucratic delays and unnecessary drama just to get documentation that matches the people we are now.  

 
   

Hiding From Transphobic Bigotry Won't Make It Go Away

I got involved in a discussion today on a friend's Facebook page about the transphobic bigotry Yanel Valenzuela was exposed to at a California LA Fitness location back in October


When one of the participants in that FB discussion stated that these type of incidents are why transwomen who pass go stealth, I responded that this is exactly why transpeople need to be out and proud about who they are.

Being in stealth doesn't help the trans community.  It only helps the individual that is in stealth.

Hiding from the transphobic bigotry and hate doesn't and will never make it go away.  The only thing that will make it go away is increased visibility of trans people, increased education about our lives and the issues we face, and getting laws passed to protect our human rights.

I say that because light skinned people in the African-American community that tried to erase their connections to their Black heritage to acquire pseudo White privilege saw it all come crashing down once their Black heritage was discovered.    

The salient point I'm making here is that you cannot fight for your human rights in hiding.   We have tried that in the trans community at the behest of the medical gatekeepers for the first 30 years post Christine Jorgensen's arrival from Denmark 60 years ago.   It didn't work then and it won't work now.

And yes, the Religious Right is now coming for us, and we better be tough minded enough to stand up to them and punch them in the nose when necessary, not cowering in the shadows hoping they'll go away because they won't.   . 

It's no accident that since more transpeople have come out, are openly living their lives and are being ambassadors for our community, we have made tremendous trans human rights progress. 

But our trans human rights job is not yet complete. We still have much work left to do to eradicate anti-trans bigotry and hatred.   The journey to full acceptance of our community with codified human rights is not done and we have many miles to go before it is finished.  
  

Joanne Cassar Honored In Malta

I've documented in these electronic pages the seven year long battle of girl like us Joanne Cassar to have her right to marry recognized by a Maltese government that fought her every step of the way. 

It was a fight that eventually ended up in the European Court of Human Rights, became an election issue in the March  2013 Maltese national elections and with the change of government ended in her favor.

The new Labour government as part of the ECHR case settlement with Cassar introduced legislative changes in Maltese law that recognizes the full human rights of a trans person in the gender they transition to, including the right to marry. 

December 13 was Republic Day in Malta, the day in 1974 that substantial constitutional changes occurred that transformed the former British colony to an independent nation.   On that day Maltese citizens are given Republic Day Honours for their contributions to Maltese society, and this year's group of Gieh ir Repubblika recipients includes Joanne Cassar.

Joanne Cassar was honored for her perseverance since 2006 in this marriage fight, which resulted in not only a personal victory for her, but in the process made Malta a fairer society.

Congratulations Joanne on this well deserved honor and your battle that not only was a victory for you and other Maltese trans people, but will possibly have an impact on the rest of the world when it comes to trans marriage rights cases

British Transwoman Barred From Playing Women's Soccer By FA

Jazz spent two years fighting the US Soccer Federation for a policy that would allow her and other trans kids to play soccer in this country. 

Now come word from across The Pond of a British transwoman who is not being allowed to play on a women's team there despite having documentation confirming her gender identity, hormone levels in feminine range and her teammates and opposing players having no objections to her being in the league.

32 year old Aeris Houlihan is facing a two year wait to play competitive soccer because the FA policy is pegged to the FIFA rules and the IOC Stockholm Consensus, which mandates surgical intervention and two years of being on HRT before being allowed to play in the gender you present.   She's not due to have SRS until March.

'It's not like I want to play for Barcelona, I just want to play for my local club.' - See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-woman-told-fa-she-can-only-play-mens-football101213#sthash.xzmMW90U.dpuf

The story starts in June, when Houlihan applied to the FA (The English Football Association) so she could play for her local team in Leeds, the Middleton Park Ladies FC.   She was asked to provide a doctor's letter verifying her feminine hormone levels which she complied with.

After providing that letter, she heard nothing from FA until October, and it was at that time she was informed that she couldn't play for her local team and would be unable to appeal the decision. 

'It's not like I want to play for Barcelona.   All I want to do is play for my local club," Houlihan said in an interview with the Daily Mail. "The FA didn't even bother to look at my hormones levels or my blood test results, which are the same as any other woman's.  They are blind and need to look at the results in front of them."

Houlihan's club is supporting her in her fight to play her favorite sport.

"We support the fact she would like to play on a Ladies team as she is now legally a woman, she has a British passport, and she should be allowed to compete as a woman just as she is allowed to live as a woman in her everyday life," the Middleton Park FC said in a statement.

The resistance that Houlihan is running into is in stark contrast to what the FA website states.

"An individual's sexual orientation or gender identity should never be a barrier to participating in, and enjoying, our national sport."

Looks like that is exactly what is happening in this case.  Her gender identity has become a barrier to her being able to participate in their national sport.

We're Still Watching You, Smith College

Smith's dean of admissions, Debra Shaver, announced a committee would form to address the needs of prospective trans students at Smith. The committee will begin meeting in September, and in the interim, Smith will stop denying admissions to trans girls and women listed as male on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms, which is what happened to Wong.

TransGriot  September 1, 'Smith College, Don't Assume The Trans Community Forgot About What Happened To Calliope "


The Fall 2013 semester is rapidly drawing to a close on the Smith College campus and this article that popped up in the University of Connecticut student newspaper concerning Calliope Wong reminded me about the controversy that erupted last May when her application for admission was denied twice.

That firestorm led to the announcement at the time by Smith Dean of Admissions Debra Shaver that a committee would be formed that would start work in the fall to address the needs of prospective trans students at Smith.

Calliope is now a freshman English major at UConn and was named to the OUT100 List as a trans teen advocate along with Jazz and Zachary Kerr.  

And Smith could have been reaping the benefits of Calliope's presence on their campus.

But this is the question we all want to know the answer to Trans World because there has been cricket chirping silence coming out of Northampton since the semester started.

What's going on with the committee that was supposed to start work on this trans admission issue?

I asked that question on my Facebook page, and JoJo Thomas, a Smith alum who is one of my longtime TransGriot readers was kind enough to send an e-mail asking that same question on the alumni listserv. 

JoJo did get a quick response to her query.  According to her, a fellow alum advised her that according to the student group working on this issue Audrey Smith (the VP of Enrollment--head of Office of Admissions and Student Financial Services) would be making announcements "soon" about changes in the policies.

How soon is "soon" in terms of a definitive date that a policy change announcement will happen, we don't know yet.  But if there more feet dragging until the end of the 2014 spring semester, Mama Moni ain't gonna be happy and the volume is going to be cranked up on this issue by moi.

Nope, Haven't Forgotten About CeCe McDonald

Back in June 2011 CeCe McDonald and her friends were minding their own business and headed to a nearby Target store in their south Minneapolis neighborhood.  As they passed the Schooner Tavern they were subjected to racist and transphobic slurs and a fight instigated by Molly Shannon Flaherty that resulted in the death of neo-Nazi sympathizer Dean Schmitz

CeCe ended up taking a plea deal that has her spending 41 months in jail for 2nd degree manslaughter, when there was clear evidence of self defense.  Molly Flaherty, the person who instigated this mess only served 180 days.

If CeCe hadn't 'stood her ground', there a possibility that we would have been reading her name on that year's Remembering our Dead list.   But 41 months in jail is still an unjust price to pay for defending yourself against an unprovoked racist and transphobic attack

You may wish to check out CeCe's writings at the 'Support CeCe McDonald' blog.   It also has the address for you if the mood strikes (and I hope you do) to take some time out of your busy days to write CeCe a letter or send her a Christmas card to let our unjustly incarcerated sis know that she does have trans community support..

Hope You Cali Peeps Are Coming Up With A Game Plan In Case The Repeal AB 1266 Referendum Gets Enough Signatures

As you read this post, the signatures that were collected in the effort by the haters to put a Repeal AB 1266 initiative on the ballot in the 2014 election cycle are being verified and counted.

So what is AB 1266?   It's the School Success And Opportunity Act, the bill passed by the California Assembly and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown (D) that restates the obligation of California schools to allow transgender students to participate in all school activities, programs, and facilities. 

It also reaffirms to school districts, teachers, parents and students that California’s nondiscrimination law not only covers trans students, it requires public schools to respect a transgender student’s identity in all school programs, activities, and facilities. This bill will simply ensure that transgender boys and girls are treated just like all other boys and girls so that they can participate fully in school activities and graduate on time.

But the haters, including the Family Research Council, the Pacific Justice Institute and the California Republican Party despise AB 1266 and have been organizing to kill it by any means necessary including lies, disinformation, demonizing and bullying trans students.

For the moment the news is encouraging from the Left Coast.  As the referendum against AB 1266 proceeds to random sample, the proponents operating under the Orwellian name of Privacy For All Students, would need 92.1% validity to qualify the measure for the November 2014 ballot. So far the smaller California counties that have submitted their full validation have had 72.49% validity rates.

But my inquiring mind is asking this question.  Which of those 58 California counties were the ones that failed to make the validity threshold?  Did they include any of the more populous California counties like Alameda (Oakland), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange (Anaheim), San Diego, Contra Costa, Riverside (Palm Springs), San Bernadino, Fresno, Santa Barbara,  Solano, San Mateo, Santa Clara (San Jose), and Sacramento just to name a few?

We trans peeps can't allow ourselves to be tempted to take the tranquilizing drug of complacency in this situation or relax until the California Attorney General's office utters the words, "It failed'.  

We need to be ready to jump into political combat mode if it doesn't. 

I know the San Francisco based Transgender Law Center is monitoring the situation, but what happens if the haters do get enough signatures to trigger a referendum to repeal AB 1266, and are they and our California allies doing enough to plan for what they do if that happens?  
 
I've always been a prepare for the worst case scenario while hoping for and working toward the best case outcome kind of girl, and worst case scenario in this instance would be they get enough signature to trigger the repeal referendum.

So what needs to happen if they do?   First order of political business is this AB 1266 repeal referendum must be spectacularly defeated and die a politically painful death. We must send the message that their bathroom demonization tactics and lies to oppose trans rights, which is the only thing they have left to oppose trans human rights laws, will not succeed at the ballot box.

At that moment that the Repeal AB 1266 referendum is approved this becomes not just a California issue, but a political and movement one for the entire US trans community we must win.   It's also an issue that will require a national level response to it. 

We know for a fact that once they get the word, the haters will be mobilizing if they aren't already to pour every dollar and fly every conservative hate activist and field organizer west to California. 

Cali Gay, Inc peeps, they won't all be white either.   To give the overwhelmingly white conservafools and money behind the effort a veneer of diversity, they will find useful fools like Jesse Lee Peterson down in LA and other non-white sellouts to shill for this Kill AB 1266 effort.   They will find cookie-chomping knee-grow pastors willing to sell out the Black and Latino trans community for their media face time and 40 pieces of silver.

The haters are definitely going to be bankrolled by out of state interests and flying in conservafool carpetbaggers to help them, so y'all better be prepared to counter that.  You need to be prepared to do the same simply because you will be justified in doing so to defend AB 1266.

You should not hesitate in IMMEDIATELY asking for national and INTERNATIONAL help and money from the trans community and our allies.  You should be putting together now your lists of liberal progressive churches, pastors, Hollywood actors, athletes and politicians, and double checking to make sure they are ethnically and regionally diverse.  

From the millisecond the referendum gets cleared by the Cali Attorney General's office you need to pounce on and utterly destroy to the point they are radioactive the bathroom meme and all the other scare tactics the wingers are going to throw at it because it's the only way they can be successful.

You need to find the Cali trans kids like Ashton Lee who fought to get it passed and who benefit from the law.  Give them face time along with cisgender kids and parents willing to rebut the lies of the haters that they are 'doing this for all California children'. 

Make sure your California media buys reach Black, Asian and Latino voters and places besides the LA and San Francisco metro areas. 

Don't be afraid to go for the right wing jugular because you've not only have the moral high ground, you got to be in it to win it.  

Cali transpeople, you need to do your part to help defeat the haters too.  T-bills need to be donated to the coalition when it forms.  If you can't give cash, sweat equity is also needed in the form of volunteers to phone bank, canvass, register voters, staff offices, and Get Out The Vote mobilization on election day to defeat it.   Get informed about AB 1266 and go to war in the comment threads of your local newspapers to counter the lies the haters will be trying to spread.

You must do the little things to win the hearts and minds of undecided voters.  Attention to details like that may help you defeat the hate referendum.

And when you build that diverse intersectional coalition to defeat this repeal effort, in addition to making sure it is properly funded and the money raised is spent wisely, hire some trans peeps in the getting paid positions to help coordinate strategy for this AB 1266 defense effort .  We are the people best qualified to talk about our lives and come up with the necessary talking points to come up with a clear message about us. 

We transpeeps (for a fee) can also tell you what NOT to say either.

It's also personal for us transpeople, too.   I have some other ideas, but they will only be released to the Defend AB 1266 coalition or whatever name they come up for it should that become necessary.

Hopefully you learned your lessons from the failed 2008 Prop 8 efforts, but just in case you forgot them, just wanted to make sure you didn't frack stuff up in this critical effort in 2014 that trans people will need you to win, preferably in a decisive manner should it come to pass.    

Introducing Trans* Athlete

After I compiled the post about why I write about sports as a trans person on a transcentric blog, I discovered while surfing the Web the founding of this timely and still evolving website called Trans* Athlete.

As evidenced by my old roommate Dawn, Fallon Fox in women's MMA and Jazz fighting her two year battle with the US Soccer Federation so she and other trans kids like her could play soccer, trans people are increasingly getting out there and participating in the games we love.

The Trans* Athlete website morphed from an idea by Chris Mosier, an educator, nationally recognized transgender Ironman triathlete and coach and Jessica Pettitt, a Social Justice and Diversity Consultant and Facilitator to create a large-scale resource about inclusive sporting policies for trans athletes. 

After Mosier and Pettitt began to examine the existing documents about sporting inclusion for trans people, they discovered that others have been doing excellent work in creating resources for specific populations regarding policies and best practices for trans inclusion. Chris then morphed the project into this website, which puts together resources for folks looking for information on trans inclusion in athletics.

Trans* Athlete is a resource that puts in one centralized location for students, athletes, coaches, and administrators information about trans inclusion in athletics at various levels of play from K-12 through the collegiate level and beyond.

If this website does its job of allowing trans people to play the games they love, participate and excel at competitive sports and do so without drama from you cis peeps, then it's successfully doing its job.
    

Diamond Stylz-I Am Diamond Stylz

You've seen me post many of Diamond's videos on my blog about various subjects because my Houston homegirl has the same gravitas in the video blogging world as I do on the blogging side of things.

Now I get to post this one in which she tells you a little about herself and her video blog.

I Like Sports And I Need To Write About Sports

When I'm out and about in our community and the subject turns to what I write about on TransGriot, I have people tell me that they love it when the Shut Up Fool Awards pop up every Friday.  They are appreciative of the hard work I put in and long hours to keep up with all things trans here and around the world.

They enjoy my Ten Questions interviews and love it that I break down politics and how it impacts this community as well.  They love my Black trans history posts and for the most part me discussing race and class and how it affects our TBLG community.   They love my motivational posts and also want to hear my views and analysis on whatever subject I feel like talking about.   

But every now and then I get some pushback as to why I discuss sports on this blog.  

Well, frankly, because it's my blog and if I want to talk sports on it, I can.   Second, because TBLG sports fans exist, I'm one of them and they need love and content to read, too.  I write about my local Houston teams.   I have opinions I want to express about developments in the collegiate and professional ranks from time to time.   And because female athletes don't get much ink or love in an arena dominated by male sports writers, I'll comment on developments in women's sports that pique my interest.

Far too often female athletes and their athletic achievements are belittled by male sports writers and male sports fans.  Women's sports leagues like the WNBA, women's international sports and women's collegiate sports are seen as not deserving of media attention like 'the menz.' until some controversy pops up. 

If we don't talk about female athletes, their accomplishments and the issues that impact them, who will?  

I like discussing my fave tennis playing siblings the Williams Sisters, who get far too much disrespect from the media, their fellow players and knuckle dragging racist idiots in comment threads despite having Tennis Hall of Fame level careers. 

Serena and Venus will always get love here and when deserved, some WTF's.  And yes, the 2014 Australian Open starts January 13-26.      

Third, keeping up with all things trans means that I need to be talking about trans athletes, our history and how developments in the sports world like the LGBT Sports Coalition and Nike LGBT Sports Summits affect our community. 

As Kye Allums, Fallon Fox, Michelle Dumaresq, Christina Kahrl, Keelin Godsey  and others prove, trans people are also breaking ground and making history in the sports world as Renee Richards once did when she sued the USTA in 1976 for the right to play in the US open and won.  

As a blog that seeks to chronicle trans people making history, that means you readers need to see their stories.  They are also trailblazing leaders and pioneers in the sports world that are busting stereotypes about us and they deserve our community's love, understanding, appreciation and support.

Speaking of stereotypes, just as we do so as a community when it comes to doing Trans 101 mythbusting about transpeople in the rest of society, there is just as much disinformation, mythbusting and Trans 101 that needs to be done about transpeople in the sports world.  

There are also sports related issues that we need as a community to be paying attention to and be able to discuss authoritatively like the NCAA rules for trans athletes.  We need to be able to talk about the International Olympic Committee's Stockholm Consensus that allow trans people to compete in the Olympic Games.   We need to be aware about Jazz's successful two year fight with the US Soccer Association to allow trans kids to play and be working on getting FIFA to allow trans athletes to play on international soccer teams like cis people can.  

We also need to as a community need to be keeping up with the states that allow trans kids to compete at the high school level in the gender they present to the world and fight for their right to compete.   

I also see the parallels between transpeople making groundbreaking strides in athletic competition and the African-American human rights struggle.   It's no accident that with the successes of Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympic Games, boxer Joe Louis, and Jackie Robinson smashing baseball's color line in 1947 among our countless other sporting achievements that African-Americans also gained increased acceptance of our humanity and advancement in our human rights struggle. 

I submit that as more out trans athletes make their mark in the sporting world, we'll see less hatred and drama directed at us as a community as a result of their athletic competition success, and it will pave the way for other trans athletes to exceed what the pioneers accomplished. 


We transpeeps not only increasingly play the games, we have people like Christina Kahrl, who is breaking ground by writing about the athletes who play them as an ESPN.com columnist and a member of the Baseball Writers Hall of Fame.  

I have TBLG sports fans and trans athletes who thank me for writing about them, standing up for their humanity against the transphobic haters and using my TransGriot platform to talk about being a sports personality who happens to be trans.   That will continue because trans athletes have an important role to play in our ongoing trans human rights struggle.

Trans athletes not only excel on the field of play to prove we can do so just like any other cis person, we love the various games we play.   As they play the games they love, they demolish stereotypes and advance trans human rights at the same time for all of us, even for you trans peeps who hate sports.   

So yeah, I like sports, I write about sports and need to continue doing so.   

Trans Younglings, Imagine Growing Old, Not Dying Young

Was perusing my Facebook wall and noticed a post from a young African-American trans person in which she expressed her joy about turning 24 next month.  What saddened me and motivated me to write this post is that she admitted that if you'd asked her ten years ago, she didn't think she would live to see that age.

While she cried about the prospect of reaching her upcoming 24th birthday on December 7,  I was saddened to hear that to the point of shedding tears that too many of our young people believe they won't reach that age.   

And that dynamic needs to change.

Growing up I looked forward to milestone birthdays.  I eagerly looked forward to turning 18 because you were not only considered to legally be an adult, it signified that I could finally vote in elections.  You could also at the time of my 18th birthday in 1980 legally drink at the time in Texas.

I also looked forward to my 21st birthday as well.  

There was also a meme going around at the time that one in four Black male children would not live to see their 30th birthday.  Maybe it was my Taurus stubborn streak talking, but I was determined to not give in to such defeatist thinking. 

I not only made it my mission to be around God willing for my 30th birthday in 1992, but wanted to see the dawn of the 21st century and the year 2000 eight years later.  

I wanted to make it to my 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays in addition to being the best Moni I can be.  

As someone who works hard to push trans human rights forward, I want to see the results of this hard work I and countless others are doing to plant those civil rights trees for you trans younglings.  I have to be alive to not only do the work, but see those trans civil rights trees take root and grow as a result of that work. 

I make the choices and attempt to do my best to not put myself in negative situations that could result in a premature end to my life.  Sometimes stuff and life events happen that are beyond your control and you have to make snap decisions as you're in the moment that could have an impact positively or negatively on your life.  But the things I can control, I try my best to do so.
 

But that doesn't mean I cut all fun out of my life either.  Ask the peeps who were at the 2012 OUT on the Hill how good my dancing abilities are.    I did my share of partying back in the day and mass consumption of alcohol.  But I also strove to never put myself in the position of being so drunk that I didn't know what zip code I was in.  If I did get drunk, I either slept it off at a trusted friend's house or did so with a designated driver beside me in the club to drive my drunk behind home when we left.


I'm also cognizant of my surroundings, a quality that's even more important as someone navigating society in a feminine body.  I learned once that failure to be aware of that at all times or an ill timed lapse in judgment can result in bodily injury, sexual assault or death.   TDOR's remind me every year that we do have people who irrationally hate us enough to kill us.

Trans younglings, all the slings and arrows and trans hate we expose ourselves to is ultimately for your benefit.  Hell, it does me or no one else any good to fight for the trans human rights laws and policies this community needs if you second decade of the 21st century transwomen or the ones behind you aren't around to enjoy their benefits because you have this misguided belief you won't live to see 30. 

We want you to be able to live your lives to their full potential and make your most expansive dreams come true. But that can't happen if you're not walking on this plane of existence to do so or you robbed this community of your future greatness and talents because you took your life while going through a depressingly rough patch in it.

Getting to be my age is a wonderful, constantly evolving experience.  I enjoy being the mentor for you I didn't have.  There is life beyond age 24.  Life for transpeople is getting better.  It many not be changing as fast as we'd like, but there is ample visible evidence the arc of the moral universe is bending towards justice for trans people. Some of the things you're seeing today were in our wildest dreams territory for trans people when I transitioned in 1994 and we pushed this in conditions far more hostile than you see today.

And don't forget what we did trans human rights warriors did in the 90's-early 2k's was based on the struggles and work our sisters did like Christine Jorgensen, April Ashley, Coccinelle, and Phyllis Frye who put themselves in the public eye in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's.   They built on the work of the trans women who were at the Cooper's Donuts riots in LA, the 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit-In that occurred in Philly, the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot and Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson at Stonewall in 1969.

What will life be like for transpeople in 2024?  2034?  2044?  2054?  Some of you reading this post may have the answer to that question. 

You may become the first trans governor of a state.  The trans doctor who comes up with a cure for cancer.  An astronaut who walks on Mars.   Perform at Carnegie Hall.   The next trans state legislator or first trans mayor of a major city.  Come up with the next great business idea that creates jobs for all of us.  Become the first trans Olympian.  When the medical technology develops to that point you may even be able to give birth to your own children should you desire that or even come up with the breakthroughs that make it happen.  You may even become the first trans president of the US, a US senator, a federal judge or congressmember.

You may witness the time when the TDOR's are no longer needed. 

But just like Cheryl Courtney-Evans, Miss Major, Tracie Jada O'Brien, Sharyn Grayson, Gloria Allen and others are around to be mentors to me and trans women of my Baby Boomer and beyond trans generations, and I am proudly mentoring your generation of trans women, you will inevitably get older and eventually be the mentors of the mid and late 21st century trans women now transitioning in the elementary, middle, high schools and colleges right now or just being born.    

But you have to be alive to live long enough to be able to properly mentor those trans younglings when the time comes for you to take on that role.   
 
So please trans younglings, be determined to live long fabulous lives.   Imagine growing old, not dying young.  It's also your best revenge to all the people who reviled you when you were younger to have a more happy and successful life than their miserable ones. 

TransGriot Note: Pics are Cheryl Courtney-Evans, me with Miss Major, Tracie Jada O'Brien, and Sylvia Rivera.

Presentation On Trans Latina Immigrants Today

For you folks on the Left Coast looking for Trans Awareness Week stuff to attend or get your learn on about our community, there will be a presentation at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center lead sponsored by the TransLatin@ Coalition entitled TransVisible: Transgender Latina Immigrants In US Society'.

Everyone's transition is different, and transitions and how they happen are also affected and experienced differently when race and class enter the mix. 

This Transgender Latina immigrants event will be presented by Karla Padron and it will start at 2:00 PM Pacific time. 2.5 CEU's will also be available for this event if you register in advance. 

The UCLA Downtown Labor Center is located at 675 S. Park View Street in Los Angeles, CA 90057.  I hope people will consider attending what should be an interesting discussion about the issues our trans Latina immigrant sisters face.