It's Important For Trans Women Of Color To See Peeps Like Themselves

Ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane at what is now JFK Airport from Denmark in February 1953, the discussions about trans femininity have been predominately focused on our white counterparts

While that has been wonderful for white trans women, and how wonderful is up for debate, that six decades of focus on white trans women has been detrimental to trans women of color.

Yeah,we all know that Sylvia Rivera is the mother of the trans rights movement, are getting to know about Miss Major's contributions, and every now and then a Roberta Close, Harisu, Ai Haruna and various Thai trans women would pop up in the media radar when they wanted to briefly focus on transgender issues.  

But the dominant focus stayed on white transfeminine women.   Trans women of color were only seen and heard about when it came to negative issues in the community like anti-trans violence, silicone pumping or HIV/AIDS.

Now that script is starting to flip, and a new generation of trans women of color are getting positive media coverage.   In addition to our lost history being unearthed and talked about, we are starting to get credit for being trailblazing leaders in this trans human rights movement.   We are being discussed as beauty icons, or seen making history and looking good while doing so.

Sadly, elements of the trans feminine  community ain't liking it.

Too bad, because it's been a long overdue development that needed to happen.  The voices of transfeminine women of color needed to be heard not only by Middle America, but by our own people as well.   A blow needed to be struck to take down the 'tragic  trans victim' meme that disproportionately centered trams women of color in it.

While trans women of color have disproportionately taken the brunt of the anti-trans violence casualties, those stories needed to be balanced out by trans women of color leading and doing positive things for our community.

It's also important that trans women of color also be seen as beautiful as well, vis a vis a beauty standard that idealizes white womanhood be you cis or trans 24/7/365.

Black trans women have to struggle with the same 'unwoman' meme that our cis Black sisters have dealt with for four centuries and battling a beauty paradigm not designed with us in mind..   

So yes, we African-American trans women and our cis feminine allies are reveling in the fact that we are seeing beautiful women like Janet Mock, Angelica Ross, Precious Davis, Tona Brown  and  Laverne Cox among others lead, intelligently discuss trans issues and look good doing so.

It has been wonderful to see trans Latinas like Bamby Salcedo, Arianna Lint, Maria Roman and others around the country also step up and take leadership roles in their community as well as inspiring others to do so.

The more diverse our trans human rights movement leadership is, the better.

As this country gets more diverse, the trans feminine leadership in this movement must diversify as well.   The ongoing discussions we have about trans femininity also need to add the perspectives of trans women of color.  

And with trans kids transitioning at earlier ages, it is important for those kids and trans kids of color to see peeps like themselves.

It's also important for their parents, grandparents, our overall society and the communities that trans women of color inhabit to see positive instances of trans women of color contributing to the betterment of our communities as well
.

Trans Lives Matter

We have had in the United States this year 11 trans murders since June.   That's too many, but pales in comparison to what our Brazilian sisters have endured this year.

Trans Lives Matter is the message undergirding all of the TDOR events taking place this week around the November 20 TDOR date.    We're sick and tired of the unemployment and underemployent.   We're  sick and tired of the disrespect coming from all direction from family members to the greater society.   We're beyond sick and tired of being harassed, assaulted and murdered for being who we are.

It's past time to #StopTransMurders here and abroad.   It's also past time for people to recognize that trans lives matter.   Trans lives are part of the diverse mosaic of human life.   Trans lives are just as worthy of existing on this planet as you cis people who arrogantly hate on us.

And another November 20 is here for us to send that message. 

Kumu Hina Documentary

This is the documentary movie I'm looking forward to seeing that tells the remarkable story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a transgender native Hawaiian teacher who uses traditional Hawaiian culture at a charter school to empower her students and create “a place in the middle” where all people are valued and respected.

Hina Wong-Kalu is a highly respected kumu, or teacher, cultural practitioner and community leader. She is also māhū – a person who embodies both male and female characteristics, or what Westerners call transgender.  

The documentary follows a year in her life as she juggles all those aspects of her life.

AISD Meeting To Add Gender ID To Nondiscrimination Policy

The Houston, Dallas and Forth Worth ISD's have done this already, and now Austin will have an opportunity to do this at their board meeting tonight at7 PM.

Thanks to Paige Schilt, I was alerted to the fact that AISD is pondering adding gender identity to the nondiscrimination policy  .  While this should be a no brainer decision for Items 14.3 and 14.5, you can bet there will be some haters in the AISD house spreading lies to try to stop it, or delay the decision so they can gather the hate troops from out of town..

If you can do so and support AISD adding gender identity to their policy, now is your time to speak and be heard.   The board needs facts and your stories to base their vote on, not lies and disinformation.

The meeting was last night, and I'm trying to ascertain if AISD became the fourth district in the Lone Star State to protect its trans students and employees.

Hoping we had people from the AUSTEX area signing up to speak during Citizens Communication. The policy for Citizens Communication can be found at http://www.austinisd.org/board/meetings.

AISD is the fifth largest school district in the state, and it would send another powerful message to the rest of the ISD's waffling or ignoring this critical issue.

AISD headquarters is located on 1111 W. 6th Street, so if you feel that Austin should be on that short list of school districts that protect their trans students and employees, you may wish to help pack the room and ensure the right thing is done.

TransGriot Update:  The AISD board voted unanimously last night to make the fifth largest school district in the state the fourth one in Texas to add gender identity to their nondiscrimination policy for students and employees.   

Now we'll see if other Centex  ISD's follow their lead.

January Lapuz Update

Will continue to monitor this north of the border case and see if the Canadian justice system is better than the one in my own nation when it concerns dispensing justice in the murder of trans individuals.
--TransGriot, July 20, 2013

Based on the result of this case, inconclusive.

When I last checked in on this case, Charles Neel was facing second degree murder charges in the stabbing death of trans pinay January Lapuz.

The 26 year old Lapuz was stabbed in her New Westminster, BC home in September 2012 and died in a local hospital a few days later.   Neel was arrested in December 5 and charged in the case with a trial start date of June 9, 2014.

One the date the jury trial was supposed to start, Neel pleaded guilty in BC Supreme Court to the lesser charge of manslaughter.  He accepted responsibility for Lapuz's death, but didn't admit the intent to kill her.

He was sentenced on June 12 to 8 years in prison, which will be reduced further due to time served to five years and three months.

Was justice served here?   Depends on your point of view in this case.

Facing Homelessness

Homelessness is  a critical issue for trans people, with one in five having experienced homelessness at some time in their lives because of discrimination and family rejection. As a result, an estimated 20-40% of the more than 1.6 million homeless youth in the United States are LGBT

Unfortunately, transgender people facing homelessness also face discrimination from agencies that should be helping them, with nearly one in three (29%) reporting being turned away from a shelter due to their transgender status. While leading experts on homelessness recommend providing emergency housing consistent with a person’s gender identity, 42% of trans people facing homelessness have been forced to stay in a shelter living as the wrong gender.

In the 20 years I've been transtioned, while I've dealt with unemployment, I've always managed on one level or another to keep a roof over my head and avoid being part of that trans homeless narrative.

Until now. 

Due to a confluence of events, I'm about to get bounced from the place I've called home for the last four years, and one of the relocation options I was counting on fell through.  

So I'm staring at the prospect of being part of the transgender homeless stats after having a triumphant moment last week in H-town of being honored with three local Readers Choice awards. 

One of the most basic parts of life is to have a roof over your head that is yours.  I've been the person that has been when I had my own apartment in the 90's offered my couch for someone in the community to stay on and get back on their feet.    

>Now I'm the one in that position, and it's a depressing circumstance to be in, especially when you're aware that many of the shelters here are transphobic and not an option, and because I was a caretaker for my  grandmother and the housing was part of the deal, I'm not rolling in cash to put a deposit down on an apartment .


And I can only imagine what it's like for a transgender kid who suddenly gets thrown out of their home because of family disapproval.

Yeah, it sucks to be in this situation.   And what hurts is I've always been the type of person that wants to  solve my problems on my own before calling for help.   It has to be something major for me to do that. 

Well, I'd say facing being out on the street qualifies as a major problem..

All I'm really looking for is a place for about four to six weeks until I can get a more permanent solution to my personal housing bubble. 

And I'm running out of time to find it

'Laverne Cox Presents The T Word' Documentary On October 17

Coming up on October 17 will be a documentary on trans youth that will be simulcast on the MTV and LOGO networks.

It's entitled Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word and will focus on trans youth.

“The cast members in this documentary are fearlessly living their truths and in sharing their stories,”  says Emmy nominated actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, who produces and co-stars in the documentary. “[And] will send the message to other trans youth that it’s okay to be who you are.”

Looking forward to seeing it.

Get More:
Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, Logo TV

Doing Some Brazilian Trans Musing

One of the things I have wanted to have happen for a while as a child of the African Diaspora is to have better communications links and form lasting friendships with my Brazilian transsisters.

While I'm on my way to making that happen on my Facebook page with a few Brazilian transsisters already there and us having conversations from time to time, I need to do it more frequently.

A high priority for me has been to get to know some of my Black Brazilian trans sisters so I can have a better knowledge base to discuss African Diaspora issues from their perspective and intelligently write about them.

I also want to find out their thoughts of being Black and trans in their home country, and where they see themselves in terms of the trans spotlight inside and outside of Brazil.

While there are some differences between African-American trans folks  and Black Brazilian trans peeps, there are other aspects of having blood connections to the African continent that we are both painfully aware of.

Brazil is the largest nation on the South American continent and the fifth largest on the planet.  It is one of the Top Ten countries that I receive TransGriot readers from despite this being a primarily English language blog. 

I'm motivated toward wanting to do a better job of covering trans human rights developments that happen there.

Yes, we have known since Roberta Close hit the international spotlight that Brazil has some of the most beautiful trans women on the planet.  Some are ripping modeling runways right now. But I want to delve deeper and find out from my Brazilian transsisters and transbrothers what are their issue concerns?  How do they see themselves in comparison to the rest of the trans people who are on the international stage?

Who are their up and coming trans human rights leaders?  Who are the local trans people they think represent them well on the national and international trans human rights stage.

In addition to discussing trans themed history that involves Brazilian trans people, while I want to bring attention to the fact our Brazilian sisters are catching hell and getting eviscerated just like we are in the States, I also want to make sure that I present a balanced portrait of Brazilian trans women to my readers.

I want to tell more stories about Black Brazilian trans women as well.

Thanks to Dora and Aleikasandra for giving me your thoughts and  insights into what is happening trans wise in Brazil.  I hope the subsequent posts that result from what you shared with me do your trans community justice the next time I respectfully attempt to discuss those issues on TransGriot.

And I hope we are blessed to have more long and fascinating chats in the future.

Audrey Mbugua Wins Her Landmark Case!

Been talking about this on the blog since last year, and finally have some wonderful news to report.

Prominent Kenyan trans activist Audrey Mbugua has won her landmark case against the Kenyan National Examinations Council {KNEC}!

KNEC was ordered by the High Court Tuesday to change the name and gender marker on her academic certificates.   

Justice Weldon Korir said KNEC had failed to demonstrate why they couldn't make the changes requested by Ms. Mbugua, and gave them 45 days to print a new certificate without the gender marker.

The court ruled that Ms. Mbugua would have to pay for any extra costs to make the change, but you can obviously presume she was exceeding happy about this latest legal victory.

We won,” Mbugua told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It’s a huge watershed moment.”

Back n July, the High Court ordered the Kenyan authorities to register her lobby group, Transgender Education and Advocacy, saying their refusal to do so had no legal basis and was an abuse of power.

Mbugua has also been nominated by the Dutch government for their Human Rights Tulip Award for the innovative and groundbreaking human rights work she has been doing raising the profile of transgender human rights issues in Kenya.

This is a huge win she's been fighting hard for, and congratulations to my Kenyan sis.  Common sense and justice did prevail in this case.

'He Wanted To Erase Her Existence'

Mayang Prasetyo, another one of our transsisters was murdered in Australia.

Along with the media in Brisbane misgendering and sensationalizing the whole thing also came a Guardian post by Amy Gray that took the opposite angle. 

Gray's post asserted that it was masculine entitlement that led to Prasetyo's death.

That Guardian article generated some commentary on my FB page when  I posted it, and the most thought provoking one of all so far was from Troy, whose trans attracted man videos you see pop up on TransGriot from time to time.

In his comment on the article Troy remarked, "Think of the last few trans women that have been murdered, thrown on the streets, dumped in the garbage. It seems their killers wanted to erase them from existence."

"That's why I'm so adamant about language. When you dehumanize someone it's easier to justify killing them."

Exactly, Troy.  Ever since I transitioned 20 years ago and became aware of the horrific levels of anti-trans violence aimed at us, there have been times when I have been stunned by the extreme level of violence that was aimed at transfeminine murder victims. 

Yaz'min Shancez's killer shot her, then burned her body. Shellie Hilliard's body in Detroit was dismembered and burned by her convicted killer.  I remember reading about other trans murders on the Remembering Our Dead list in which extreme violence was part of it.

One of my suspicions as to why that happens is because of the virulent level anti-trans hate can reach at times with cisgender males, as Joanna Cifredo noted while recounting an incident that happened to her in her blog post Passing To Survive.

That night will forever be ingrained in my memory. It was the night that I looked straight into the eyes of transphobia. I don’t think “phobia” is even the right word, he wasn’t scared of me, just the opposite, I was scared of him, instead I came face to face with pure, undiluted, hatred. As I rode home I began to think about the paralyzing fear that engulfed every pore of my being, and I began to sob uncontrollably. I started to think of all of my sisters who came face to face with hatred and weren’t as lucky as I was to have someone there defending them and were met with their mortality

Joanna is describing an instance in which she came face to face with someone who literally wanted to erase her existence from the face of this Earth because of her trans feminine status.  That person probably would have eagerly done so if it hadn't been for the fact there was a door and another cis male keeping that from happening in the incident she describes in the post

It's the sudden nature in which a transwoman can go from having a pleasant day to fearing for her life that keeps us on edge as we navigate our lives. 

My transsisters, this is just one of the things that estrogen based lifeforms unfortunately have to deal with   It is dangerous at times to walk this planet in a feminine body.

It gets even more problematic when that feminine body is a trans feminine one.  You have cisgender males who mistakenly feel they have the right to violently harm or kill a trans woman simply because the transwoman's presence in their space at that given moment for whatever specious reason offends them.

And I suspect this unfortunately happened to our sis Mayang.   For whatever reason, the man who professed to love her, killed and dismembered her before killing himself. 

How much transphobia played a role in this domestic violence situation we will probably never know, but the bottom line is still the same.  

Our sis is dead at the hands of a man who appears to have wanted to erase her existence

GenderProud ID Video

Identification documents that matches who we are as people is vital to us navigating the world with as little drama as possible.

ID that matches our gender presentations is a human right and transpeople shouldn't have to go through bureaucratic hoops and surgical or medical intervention to get it.   ID that matches our gender presentation is also needed so that we can avoid being outed and greasing the skids for anti-trans attitudes and discrimination.

This GenderProud video makes some valid points as to why ID that matches our outward presentation of our deeply held internal gender identities is a human rights issue.

When Will Transpeople Be Able To Openly Serve Our Country?

September 20 was the third anniversary of the day that DADT took effect and allowed the LGB end of the community to openly serve in our country's armed forces.

I till have to ask the question along with SPARTA and the rest of the trans community, when will we be able to do the same?

Legislation does not need to be passed via our do nothing Congress to make this a reality.  

The studies have been done to prove that transgender military service will be feasible, can be done administratively, would not harm military readiness, cause major changes to medical policies, or be burdensome or complicated to implement.

So what's the holdup?

There are an estimated 15,000 trans people already serving in our armed forces, so why not  do them the favor of lifting the ban on transgender people being able to serve openly so they can do so proudly?

You can also sign this Change.org petition to help sped the process along.

It would also allow transpeople who do wish to serve our country the option of doing so.  It would also pave the way for the United States to join the ranks of countries such as Germany, the UK, Australia and Israel that allow their trans citizens to serve.

It's past time for trans people to have the ability to do so

The 2014-2015 Trans School Year Is Off To A Great Start

'I expect this school year won't be any different.  But as this 2014-15 school year transpires, there will probably be trans history made in some locales before the academic year has come to a close.' 
TransGriot, August 25, 2014  Have A Wonderful 2014-15 School Year

Can I call it or what?  

September hasn't even ended and we've already seen the crowning of a transmasculine homecoming king and transfeminine homecoming queen in Texas and Colorado.   Hopefully this is just the beginning of more positive news coming from the members of the Class of 2015.

As I stated last month, I expect some drama to happen before this school year draws to a close   Drama like transphobic school districts reluctant to let trans students run for homecoming king or queen, run for prom king or queen, prom dress code kerfluffles, potty wars, cap and gown graduation battles, or just simply getting ID to match who they are now. 

But know Class of 2015, you do have help to turn to in case these fools step to you like Lambda Legal, GLSEN and the ACLU ready to pounce on those who would mess with your human rights

And I'm looking forward to hearing about more of your groundbreaking accomplishments and you achieving the goal of graduating.

But we have a few months until May gets here before that happens.

Sade's Story

I posted a while ago about efforts of the trans community in Guyana to overturn the British colonial era anti-crossdressing laws that are used against them, and the legal review that happened as a result of those determined efforts to end the anti-transgender oppression last year

In this video, Sade Richardson tells her story about being trans in Guyana.

 

Bryn Mawr Students And Alums Craft Trans Inclusion Petition

Following the lead of Oakland's Mills College, Mount Holyoke College became the first Seven Sisters one to change their admissions policies to openly welcome transfeminine and gender variant applicants to their campus.

I had the pleasure of speaking on Bryn Mawr's campus in 2009 and urged them at that time to start working toward coming up with trans inclusive policies.  

If some Bryn Mawr students and alums get their wish, Bryn Mawr will be the next Seven Sisters college to include trans students on their campus.   They have penned an open letter and started a Change.org petition that as of this writing has amassed 1275 signatures that they hope will expeditiously jump start the process.

From the open letter accompanying the petition: 

Bryn Mawr’s current approach to handling trans student applicants is ineffective and insufficient. As long as Bryn Mawr continues to exclude trans and nonbinary students, it continues to neglect its essential educational mission. Bryn Mawr has a long history as an institution that offers educational opportunities to students who face discrimination because of their gender. The time has come to expand Bryn Mawr's safe, supportive community to fully include trans students and other gender minorities. This fall, Bryn Mawr faces a great choice: return to our historical mission of helping students break through the gender-based limits imposed on their education, or stand still and watch as others make change. 

The open letter also requested the following six things occur at Bryn Mawr:

1. Bryn Mawr to commit to adopting a trans-inclusive admissions policy by October 15th, 2014--one month before the Early Decision I application deadline for transfers and the class of 2019;

2. Gender inclusive restroom signage to be implemented no later than January 20, 2015, which is the first day of second semester classes;

3. A revision to the College's statement of nondiscrimination to include gender, gender identity, and gender presentation as protected classes;

4. Bryn Mawr to follow the students’ example and use gender-inclusive language in all College documents and signage, including but not limited to: the College website; marketing, recruitment, fundraising materials, and Alumnae Association materials;

5. The development and implementation of accessible, simple, and thorough procedures for students to change their preferred names and pronouns on various platforms used by the College, including but not limited to: Moodle, PeopleSoft, transcripts, diplomas, medical records, and other university records and documents;

6. A demonstrated dedication to further providing and supporting continuing education and training for the entire campus, focusing on the involvement of faculty and staff, and ensuring that the voices of current students and trans women are prioritized.

***

It will be interesting to watch and see if Bryn Mawr's administration takes this seriously and it becomes the next Seven Sisters institution to welcome trans and gender variant students to its lovely suburban Philadelphia area campus, or another Seven Sisters campus beats it to that distinction.

In either case, the trans community and our allies will be watching and waiting along with the parents of trans feminine kids rapidly approaching college age.

Mt Holyoke College Is Officially Trans Friendly

Mills College on September 1 became the first women's college to officially enact policies welcoming transfeminine students to enroll on their campus, and I know a transfeminine Mills College alum and longtime TransGriot reader who is exceedingly happy about that development. 

I had the pleasure of being on the Bryn Mawr campus a few years ago for a speaking engagement, and said to one of the deans at dinner before I departed for Louisville it was a matter of time when, not if you were going to see transfeminine students seeking to enroll and become students at traditional women's colleges. 

I pointed out that with transkids transitioning as early as age 4, today's transkids will become tomorrow's transteens looking for a college to attend.  I pointed out if the Seven Sisters colleges wanted to tap into that pool of college students, earn their loyalty and their parents tuition money, they better deal with the reality that transfeminine women exist and may possibly wish to attend a women's college.  If they didn't want to or refused to do th work necessary to attract them, those trans feminine students would attend other schools that are willing to do so.

I suggested Seven Sisters colleges like Bryn Mawr work on including gender identity in their non-discrimination statements and crafting trans friendly policies to make that inevitable day as seamless as possible instead of having those policies forced on them via court decisions they will lose..

Smith College has gained the righteous ire of transpeople for the jacked of treatment of Calliope Wong and other transfeminine applicants as they have hypocritically allowed transmasculine students who transitioned after they started school on that campus to complete their degrees.

One of the Seven Sisters colleges has decided to follow the lead of Mills College and clarify their policy on admittance and enrollment of trans students 

This is a welcomed and much needed development, and it will be interesting to see now that a Seven Sisters college has done so, will the others like Smith, who have been hostile to transfeminine students enrolling, finally do so.  

Why Y'all Tripping About This, White Trans Women?

Interestingly enough I found out about a new campaign that the San Francisco based Transgender Law Center is working on that is raising the voices of trans people of color. 

TLC is planning to have four names of various prominent transpeople in these photos in regular intervals.  They started the series with Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, CeCe McDonald and a certain award winning blogger y'all all know.   Should be non controversial right?  

You guessed wrong.

On the TLC Facebook photo thread you already have some white transwomen mindnumbingly complaining the listing of four names of nationally recognized African-American trans women and trans leaders is 'racist'.

Seriously?  Have several seats at your nearest stadium and a nice glass of STHU for saying something that monumentally stupid.  

The focus on trans issues has been on white transwomen for over six decades.  Are y'all still so jealous that positive attention is being focused on trans women of color, (and especially Black transwomen) that you're foaming at the mouth hating on this campaign that's just getting started before you let it unfold? 

Damn, there y'all go hatin' again.  Are some of you white trans women even capable of sharing the movement spotlight? 

If you aren't and arrogantly think the only trans people who should get recognized are white ones, um no.  Y'all need to buy a vowel and get a clue that it's my Latina and Black transsisters taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence as demonstrated by one of my sisters getting stabbed on a DC subway train last week.  

You damn skippy it's past time that transfolks who have melanin in their skin get some time to shine in the media spotlight concerning trans issues after 61 years of you basking in it.  I thank TLC for putting my name on your initial photo. 


You nattering nabobs of trans negativity didn't even give this campaign time to even see where it was going before you cried 'racism'.

First up, that charge is laughable, because there is no such thing as 'reverse racism'   If you believe there is, you need to check that vanillacentric privilege you marinate in, turn off Fox Noise and whatever AM talk radio station you listen to.

BTW to you peeps who forgot your Sociology 101 and spouted that bovine feces, racism = bigotry/prejudice + systemic power.

Racism is the systematic discrimination, denial of rights and benefits by whites against non-whites in all areas of human activity. (economics, education, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war)., not an organization like the Transgender Law Center highlighting and honoring the names of Black transfeminine leaders.

If we say the trans community is a diverse one, then that needs to demonstrated not only in our words, but deeds too.  Highlighting the names of African-American trans feminine leaders is a good way to demonstrate that.

Too bad some of you in the community don't think so.  

6th Annual TTNS Hits The Road Next Month

One of my favorite events to attend since I'm moved back home and haven't missed is the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit.

The second TTNS summit at Rice University was the first in state and in town event I attended mere weeks after my May 2010 return to Houston, and I haven't missed one since. 

This 6th annual edition of the TTNS is going to be a historic and interesting one because for the first time it ventures out of its Houston area backyard and hits the Lone Star roads as founder Josephine Tittsworth intended it to do.  

So whats the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit?  

The TTNS is a two day event that invites interested parties in higher education and interested advocates to discuss and come up with strategies and best practices in regards to codifying inclusion of "gender identity and expression" into institutional policy. 

The TTNS summit serves as a way to facilitate that policy and procedural inclusion.  It does so via discussion of divergent and respective strategies in regard to overcoming the inevitable barriers that always arise when proposing policies that will expand education opportunities for transgender students and the human rights for all.

The 2014 edition of the TTNS will take place at the LBJ Student Center on the campus of Texas State University August 8-9.  

Our keynote speakers for this year will be Dr. Gage E. Paine, Vice President for Student Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and Daniel Williams, Field Organizer and Legislative Specialist for Equality Texas.

In addition to the keynotes, the TTNS will have two days worth of seminars covering various topics,  chances to network with other people doing this work and hopefully the TTNS chocolate break.

For the second straight year yours truly will be doing more than just chronicling the TTNS happenings, I'll also be teaching a seminar. 

What subject?   You'll have to roll to San Marcos and join us to find out.

But you still have time to do precisely that.
 

TSA Travel Tips For Transpeeps

I recently heard about one of my transsisters having a less than pleasant experience going through TSA security on a recent flight up to being ridiculed and then subsequently searched by a male TSA officer.

Both actions are against TSA rules.

Since many of us will be traveling by air in the near or not too distant future and the TSA ain't going away any time soon,  time for the Air Marshal (my old activist nickname) to remind you about what your rights are as a trans air traveler  

*Private Screening: Screening can be conducted in a private screening area with a witness or companion of the traveler’s choosing. A traveler may request private screening or to speak with a supervisor at any time during the screening process.

*Travel Document Checker: The traveler will show their government-issued identification and boarding pass to an officer to ensure the identification and boarding pass are authentic and match. Transgender travelers are encouraged to book their reservations such that they match the gender and name data indicated on the government-issued ID.

*New Advanced Imaging Technology Software: TSA has upgraded all millimeter wave advanced imaging technology units with new software called Automated Target Recognition to further enhance privacy protections by eliminating the image of an actual traveler and replacing it with a generic outline of a person.

*Pat-Down: A pat-down may be performed if there is an alarm of the metal detector, if an anomaly is detected using advanced imaging technology, if an officer determines that the traveler is wearing non-form fitting clothing, or on a random basis. If a pat-down is chosen or otherwise necessary, private screening may be requested. Pat-downs are conducted by an officer of the same gender as presented by the individual at the checkpoint. 

Travelers who believe they have experienced unprofessional conduct at a security checkpoint are encouraged to request a supervisor at the checkpoint to discuss the matter immediately or to submit a concern to TSA’s Contact Center at: TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov.

Travelers who believe they have experienced discriminatory conduct because of a protected basis may file a concern with TSA’s Office of Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement at: Civil Rights for Travelers.

Travelers may also file discrimination concerns with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

The Transportation Safety Administration are there in the nation's airports to keep us safer when we fly, not to dehumanize transpeople as we simply try to get from Point A to Point B by airplane across this country and around the world.

So if you experience less than professional treatment from a TSA agent when you fly, report it. 

Not Supporting Lauren Scott Or ANY Trans Republican

In the wake of me writing about Paula Sophia being poised to make trans history and possibly get elected to the Oklahoma Legislature on August 26 if she prevails in her runoff election, I had a Republican leaning trans person contact me and ask why I hadn't written a similar post about Lauren Scott's candidacy in Nevada. 

As I wrote in this 2010 post, and will expand on it as we head to the 2014 midterms, the right trans candidate for public office at any level of government is NOT a right-wing one. 

As far as I and other non-white voters are concerned, the Republican Party is nothing more than the political arm of white supremacy, and they gleefully make that clear to us every day. 

If you're a libertarian, we non-white peeps don't have much love for you either because all we see you as is the flip side to the same white supremacist political coin.

It's also laughable to me when we have daily examples of Republican politicians at ALL levels of government being bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, (fill in the blank) that ANY politically savvy and thoughtful trans person would want to join, much less be a member of a party that oppresses them and their trans brothers and sisters.

At first glance Ms. Scott's record is one that would make you gravitate toward supporting her legislative candidacy.  She's an Air Force Desert Storm vet, small business owner, has participated in an NCTE sponsored lobby day in 2007, is the founding Executive Director of Equality Nevada since 2009, was appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) to sit on the Nevada Equal Rights Commission until her term expires October 31 and unsuccessfully ran for an open Nevada Assembly seat in 2012.

While I commend Ms Scott for stepping up to run for office, it's the choice of party affiliation that is raising red flags with me and other big picture thinking trans people.  When the Nevada Assembly currently has a 26-15 Democratic majority and the Nevada Senate a precarious 11-10 Democratic majority, why in Hades would you run for office in that party? 

Granted, you are running for the Nevada Assembly seat in District 30 currently occupied by incumbent Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle (D) that you didn't make it out of the primary fr in 2012.  

But should you make history and win that race, it puts the Republicans one seat closer to gaining control of the Nevada Assembly and possibly unleashing the flood of batturd crazy racist legislation that is the sadly all too common result of GOP control of a state legislature.

That hasn't happened in Nevada only because of Democratic control of both legislative chambers. 

Yes, I have repeatedly said that the next level of our trans human rights struggle is to actually get our people elected to public office.  And yes, it is important to have our folks involved in both political parties.

But let's be real about the fact that in this 2014 cycle, in many parts of the country the Republicans are nothing more than neo-Confederate anti-government trans oppressors, and any trans person in those GOP ranks is wasting their time. 

Nevada's GOP might be different, but after seeing Sharron Angle's 2010 US Senate campaign, Cliven Bundy tripping, and the damage that conservatism does when they get control of a state (or national) legislature, I would hate for Nevada voters to find out the hard way their Republicans are just as off the chain as the Arizona and Texas GOP.     

So no, I'm not voting for or supporting ANY transperson who is a member of the Republican Party, because as a trans person of color, neither I or my people can afford to have that trans GOP legislator, no matter how moderate they may seem at first glance, be the one vote that gets the Republican Party closer to or actually tips the balance of legislative control of a House or Senate chamber.