Say Hello To Lana

An ongoing story I've been tracking in these electronic pages is the rumored metamorphosis of The Matrix trilogy director Lana Wachowski.   

Since 2003 there have been 'did she or did she not transition' rumors flying from the Left Coast that were exacerbated by the 2010 Rolling Stone article about her that was printed without comment from the Wachowski siblings.

You would see the occasional sightings of Lana at various Hollywood events and LAX posted online or in various gossip blogs, but cricket chirping silence from either of the Wachowski siblings confirming or denying them.  Even the folks that were cast in their movies such as The Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer or worked with them on projects such as V For Vendetta in which they were writing credited as The Wachowski's were tight lipped about it.  

Despite the increasing anecdotal and photographic evidence that said transition had already occurred, my personal thoughts on that is until a person acknowledges they are trans via press conference or interview, I consider them as a cis person until told otherwise..

The Wachowski siblings are set to premiere October 26 a new movie called Cloud Atlas that stars Halle Berry and Tom Hanks and have just released a trailer for it.  But what has gotten peoples attention is this will be the first movie that you will see Lana Wachowski's name in the movie credits instead of the old one.



Yep people, here's the strongest evidence yet short of a press conference (which I wish she'd do) that Lana Wachowski is a #GirlLikeUs.  As to whether she'll do a coming out interview about it, that remains to be seen.  

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Why The Butterfly To Represent Trans People?

As you've seen on these electronic pages, you've seen the trans flag, the trans symbol and the trans symbol with a butterfly flying from or near it   So what's the meaning of the butterfly and its connection to the trans community? 

Glad you asked inquisitive TransGriot reader.

What the butterfly symbolizes is transformation or metamorphosis.

Basically a butterfly starts life in one stage, cocoons itself and while in that cocoon transforms into the beautiful insect that breaks out of it and becomes the winged creature you see fluttering around.

In a sense the transitions of transpeople are analogous.  We start our lives in our birth gender presentation and body configuration, go through transition, and then exit the other side of our transitions as the beautiful people we always were with the gender identification and body finally matching.for us to happily live our lives.

Many times you will see those butterflies in the trans community publications being pink, blue or purple with pink being the color. that symbolizes femininity and blue for masculinity and purple being a blending of the two.

Cristan's Take On Chloe Sevigny's Hit and Miss

The BBC is now several episodes into broadcasting a show called Hit and Miss about Mia, a pre-op trans assassin who discovers she has a child from a previous relationship.

The character is played by Chloe Sevigny.  Hit and Miss has gotten some buzz based on the premise of the show and I even heard about the show during my double secret weekend trip.

Cristan Williams had this to say on her Ehipassiko blog about it.

I decided to see for myself what all the fuss was about and watched the 6 available episodes. If you like assassin shows, it’s your standard fare. Now, about Sevigny’s portrayal of a pre-op transwoman… It’s good. At times my reaction to her portrayal of gender dysphoria is visceral and may be a trigger for some. At other times, I rolled my eyes at some aspects of the scripted portrayal. Having said that, the good outweighs the bad.

Here's the rest of Cristan's thoughts about the show .

Jenifer Rene Pool To Be Houston Pride Parade Female Grand Marshal

When the 2012 edition of our nighttime Houston Pride Parade kicks off on June 23 after the ongoing series of events that started here June 16, one of our own trans women will be front and center as the Female Grand Marshal.

Jenifer Rene Pool, who is one of the hosts for the KPFT-FM Queer Voices radio program and ran for Houston City Council in the 2011 cycle was voted in as the Female Grand Marshal for 2012 .

The 2012 Male Grand Marshal will be Nicholas Brines, a Houston business owner and former president of Pride Houston

Our Ally Grand Marshal for 2012 is City Council Member Ellen Cohen, a former State Representative and longtime advocate for the LGBT community 

Houston Pride, the umbrella organization that helps coordinate our pride celebration here announced the Celebrity Grand Marshal.for 2012 will be Madison Hildebrand, star of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing.  

And if you're asking why do we have the only nighttime pride parade in the US?    Hello, do y'all know what levels the temperature and humidity can hit here at the height of a June summer day?   The temp and the humidity battle it out to see which one can go higher than the other.

But once the sun goes down and it cools off it was worth it to see friends, that giant lit up disco ball they have at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, the two main streets that cross the Montrose gayborhood where the parade happens and all those various lit up floats.   The Houston trans community has one that they enter as well that is one of the projects of the TG Unity Committee.     .

Well, I was planning on going since the last pride parade I witnessed was in 2001.   I have more of a reason to go spend a few hours this Saturday checking it out. 

And I wonder if they are still doing the giant disco ball at Westheimer and Montrose?

Chloe Sevigny Discusses Playing A Transwoman In Upcoming BBC Series

Chloe Sevigny once played the girlfriend of transman Brandon Teena in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and now she's playing Mia, a pre-op transwoman contract killer with personal life complications beyond her gender issues in the upcoming BBC television series Hit and Miss.

In addition to discussing her character in this series, Chloe has an interview in which she talks about the prosthetic penis she wore in this series and how it made her feel to do so.






The SkyNews Interview

Thai Transwoman Running For Political Office

Some wonderful news coming out of the Land of Smiles is that an accomplished transwoman and local activist is running for political office.

That history making transwoman is 30 year old Yollada 'Nok' Suanyot and she is not only familiar to Thai citizens thanks to newspaper stories about her, she has been one busy and accomplished lady since since she underwent her surgery at age 16. 

She runs a satellite television station, gained her PhD, was once a member of an all-trans Thai pop group called Venus Flytrap, owns a jewelry business, is the current President of the TransFemale Association of Thailand and has been a strong advocate for TBLG rights in the Land of Smiles.

She is competing for a provincial office in Nan Province in the upcoming May 27 elections against two cis male candidates and is trying to become the highest ranking trans elected official to date in her homeland.   As of this moment no Thai transwoman has been elected to anything higher in Thai politics than small district-level positions.

So why is she running for office? "I'm confident that my experience and ability will be useful in the development of Nan," she said.  "I want to represent the trans women and all groups of homosexuals across the country in parliament and press the government to pay more interest to women and trans women,"

She has a political platform addressing the flooding issues in her province, wants to set up a 24 hour citizens complaint hotline to deal with issues that need governmental attention and wants to have an increased focus on youth services and issues. 

Good luck to her, hope Yollada makes some history and breaks another glass ceiling for transwomen in the Land of Smiles.  We hope it also becomes just the first step of her journey towards being elected to Thailand's parliament.

The 20th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet

Was happy to get the opportunity to attend my first Houston Transgender Unity Banquet since 2001 last night and a lot of things have changed since I last attended it eleven years ago..

I got to hang out with Vanity Wilde and the gang and as I sat at the table with her and her friends I contemplated all the changes that had occurred since the last time I attended it. 

It's at a different hotel and it's a project of the Houston Transgender Unity Committee that serves as a fundraiser event for the Peggy Rudd Scholarship.   The number of sponsors has exponentially grown.  We were also blessed to have for a moment Mayor Annise Parker stop by and say a few words before she bounced to the other three dinners that were on her schedule for the night.   

She may be the mayor now, but she still cut her teeth as an activist in out community and we'll always see her as part of our family.

This 20th annual edition was a well organized event ably emceed by Jenifer Rene Pool, and when I wasn't taking a moment to meet and greet most of the Houston rainbow community they were finding me at my table or in various sports in the ballroom.   Got to see Nikki Araguz, Ray Hill, Judge Frye and the gang for her firm, Maria Gonzales, Vivica Perry, Jo Tittsworth, LaKeia Spady, Lorraine Schroeder from the UH LGBT Center, Katy Stewart from TENT, Lou Weaver and Cristan Williams.   That's just the short list of people I got to see, meet, take photos with and converse with at various times during the night.

There were door prizes available in addition to the black gift bag we were given that included a black coffee mug with the Unity Committee logo on it..

The Unity Banquet is not only our community's signature event, it's also the night the Houston Transgender community awards are passed out.    In case you're wondering TransGriot readers, been nominated once and as of yet nothing

The Champion Award, which goes to an ally, individual or group that stands up as a staunch supporter for our community went to the UH LGBT Center in the Group category and Annette Lott of HCC in the individual one.

The People's Choice Award, which is decided by a community vote to the outstanding person in the transgender community in the past year went to Koomah.

The Dee McKellar Award  (which I was nominated for in 2001) went to Jenifer Rene Pool

The Brenda Thomas Award (formerly the Apogee Award) which is given to the individual that has accomplished or achieved the one thing or culmination of things that was the high point of that previous year, went to Daniel Williams for rallying the community to fight and defeat the anti trans SB 723.   

Yep, killing that unjust bill that was a Big Fracking Deal, especially since some of y'all pessimists outside of Texas didn't think we could do it. 

The Horizon Award went to Bethany Townsend.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to the late Rene Fenner who passed away last July.   It was accepted on her behalf by another iconic figure in our local trans community, Jackie Thorne. 

Once the awards were passed out, we got to hear keynote speeches by the Rev Megan Rohrer and Marty Ebel from the EEOC while we were getting a tasty meal served to us.

After that came some dancing for those who wished to do that and more socializing before I bounced to go home, write this post and watch the replay of the White House Correspondents Dinner.

We already know the date and location of the 2013 Unity Banquet.   It will be on Saturday April 20, 2013 at the Sheraton Brookhollow and the keynote speaker is scheduled to be Dr. Susan Stryker

So you've been notified of the date, and the ticket price will be $65 next year.,   You have a year to join us and if you wish to have information about table sponsorships or serving on the Houston Transgender Unity Committee you can e-mail the Unity Committee at htuc2012@gmail.com or the website at www.htuc.org.

See y'all next year.

Titica-Trans Angolan Music Rising Star

As I like to point out on this blog, transpeople do exist on the second largest continent on the planet. 

One of the other things I'm most fond of reminding people of that peruse this blog and every time I get a chance to utter the words is  is if transpeople are given a chance, we can do anything we set our minds to do and excel at it.

Meet 25 year old Titica, who is a rising star in the Angolan music genre called kuduro, which is a fusion of rap and techno music. 

She was named the best kuduro artist of 2011, is a regular on radio and television there, has performed at a Divas concert in front of Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos and will be embarking on an international tour with stops in Portugal, the UK and the United States.

But as she mentioned in a BBC interview, her newfound success hasn't been easy.  

"I've been stoned, I've been beaten, and there is a lot of prejudice against me, a lot of people show that. There is a lot of taboo," she said.  





But at the same time, in heavily Catholic Angola, she's managed to cultivate a fan base that only cares about her music, not her trans status. 

And that's the way it should be.   I'll have to check her out when she comes to Houston to perform at the Angolan consulate.

Another Trans Legal Victory-Wisconsin Anti-Trans Law Struck Down

Back in 2005 the Wisconsin legislature passed a draconian law nastily called the 'Inmate Sex-Change Prevention Act' that barred prison doctors from providing necessary transgender medical care such as hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery while in state custody.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal jointly filed a case in 2006 on behalf of several transgender inmates entitled Fields v Smith  who were experiencing severe physical and psychological harm after the medical treatment they had been receiving under prison doctors’ care was abruptly cut off due to the new draconian law.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin then struck down the law as unconstitutional based on both the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) and on the Equal Protection Clause after a four day trial.   The state of Wisconsin appealed the ruling in 2010 and in August of last year, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the previous Lambda Legal court win, stating: “Refusing to provide effective treatment for a serious medical condition serves no valid penological purpose and amounts to torture."

Of course, the state of Wisconsin tried one last ditch legal maneuver to overturn the two losses by appealing to the US Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case.

The Fields v. Smith win is not the only recent significant victory for transgender people who are in the hands of the government for medical care. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) changed its policy for treatment of transgender individuals in federal prisons nationwide as part of a settlement in the Adams v. Federal Bureau of Prisons et al. case filed by National Center for Lesbian Rights and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

The new BOP policy allows federal prisoners access to an evaluation by a doctor and treatment in accordance with the internationally accepted Standards of Care issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Like Fields, this Adams v. Federal Bureau of Prisons et al case is groundbreaking because it established a new federal standard for transgender prisoners.   It's also a standard that hopefully states across the country will look to for guidance as they formulate their own policies in regards to trans prisoners.

So yeah, I can hear some of you non-incarcerated trans people saying what;' the big deal about trans prisoners getting a legal win.   Well, just because you're incarcerated doesn't mean you lose all your rights under the United States constitution.  These wins also help the entire trans community get human rights coverage as well.

So thanks Lambda Legal not only for the work you put in toward in getting this legal win and getting this draconian Wisconsin law struck down, but for showing by example how to be a real trans ally..

Hello Vittoria!

Remember when the story came out back in November about the Italian actor who announced at a press conference she was about to transition? 

Well, it's a few months later, and here's Vittoria.   Vittoria Schisano is in the house and looking good.

Welcome to the trans family Vittoria.   You gained a lot of brothers and sisters worldwide who will be very interested in seeing how your acting career transpires from this point forward

Janet Mock On MSNBC

Y'all know how much I'm looking forward to the day that I finally get to meet Janet Mock, and was looking forward to seeing this MSNBC interview on Friday before it got bumped for last week's breaking news. 

The interview with MSNBC's Thomas Roberts was rescheduled for yesterday and I missed it, but thanks to the Net, I and you TransGriot readers get to watch the video of it and talk about being nominated as one of theGrio's 100 influential leaders in the Black community. 

Here's Janet!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Cristan's KPFT-FM Interview About Transgender Language

One of the cool things about the Houston community is the ginormous media outlet we have in our local Pacifica station KPFT-FM and it's Queer Voices and After Hours TBLG shows

Cristan Williams was on Queer Voices Monday night and had this radio interview in which she talked about the history of transgender language.

You can click on this link to listen to the show.