Trans Actors Can Be In The Building And Still Get Ignored

Like a lot of Trans World peeps I was more than a little heated when the women of POSE were once again snubbed for Emmy consideration despite stepping up their acting games and putting in some Emmy worthy performances.

Tell me you didn't cry watching Candy's funeral?  Or laugh your azz off when Elektra read that Karen for filth in that Hamptons seafood restaurant scene.



Billy Porter was nominated for and won an Emmy last year for his Pray Tell performance and is now only lacking an Oscar to become only the 15th person ever to complete the EGOT.

What's the EGOT you ask?  An EGOT is when an entertainer during their career wins an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. 

So yeah, he's mad talented.    He also said this when being interviewed last year for his historic Emmy win.   The part I'm salty about starts at the 2:51 mark of this video



That video with his 'we in the building' comment is heightening my irritation with that comment a year later.  While Porter received a second consecutive nomination for playing Pray Tell,  the POSE women got snubbed for a second consecutive year.

You can still be in the building and still be ignored.  You Mr. Porter and your fellow cis people all need to recognize that despite the 2020 Emmy nominations for Rain Valdez and Laverne Cox (and congrats to both those amazing women) the #EmmysSoCis.

Brian Michael Smith and Scott Turner Schofield are talented trans masculine actors who were not given 2020 Emmy consideration, either.   

Yes, trans actors are in the building.  But they still have to fight tooth and nail for the few roles in which trans women play trans feminine characters.  Hell, trans women have had to fight just to play a cis feminine character in Hollywood. 

Trans masculine actors have to fight just as hard to play a trans masculine character.   It took a major outcry from our community to get Halle Berry to reconsider a role in which she would be playing a trans masculine person.   Same with getting Scarlett Johansson to change her mind about playing Dante 'Tex' Ritter in the Rub and Tug movie.

Trans women actors have a problem getting trans feminine roles because studio execs and casting directors are still fixated on putting cis male actors in drag to play those roles.

And to our trans community's horror, those cis men (and a cis woman in Hilary Swank) have gallingly gone on to win the awards trans actors get routinely snubbed for by telling our trans stories..

So no, trans people aren't even close to having equity or seeing the change you claimed had come in that 2019 interview.  Your Emmy interview to our ears sounded like the dismissive 'wait your turn' crap we've been hearing from Black gay men with clout for over 50 years.

The way Black trans women are being genocidally murdered also adds a fierce urgency of now element to not only this situation, but everything we do.

POSE is one of the few productions in Hollywood in which we not only get to tell our stories, we have trans people in front of and behind the camera writing and directing them like Janet Mock and Our Lady J.  That makes it a unique and beloved show in our trans community, and we want to see MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Angelica Ross, Hailie Sahar and Indya Moore succeed.

That means if these women's POSE performances merit Emmy recognition, we want to see them nominated for those performances.  If those nominations then turn into trans historic Emmy wins, we're good with that.

That is also the case for the trans folks working behind their camera.  If they are doing award worthy work, they need to be recognized for that.

Frankly, I love seeing all my Hollywood trans family succeed whether you are in front of the camera or behind it.  The measuring stick for how successful you are in Hollywood is winning or being nominated for major awards like Emmys, Oscars, or Golden Globes.

But to have a shot an winning an Emmy or any of those awards I mentioned, you have to be nominated for it.   This is the flaw in Billy Porter's 2019 'we in the building' speech.

You can be in the building all you want.  But if you're in the building, doing exemplary work, and are still getting ignored for unspecified reasons up to and including Hollywood transphobia and anti-Blackness, that's a problem that needs to be called out and addressed.

Dallas Trans Mural Vandalized

The Dallas Voice is reporting that the trans mural honoring Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson was vandalized earlier this week when some transphobic waste of DNA disrespectfully painted dark blue mustaches on Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson's faces.

The vandalism of the mural, painted by New York based artist Brian Kenney, ,was discovered on Sunday afternoon December 8.  The mural was completed this spring to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and the participation of Sylvia and Marsha as unsung sheroes and leaders in our movement

The mural, located at 4000 Cedar Springs Road in the heart of Dallas' gayborhood, is the largest one in the world dedicated to honoring the trans community.

The graffiti cleaner was scheduled to arrive today, and Artitude's Jerome Larez stated to the Voice's David Taffet that they would attempt to clean off the graffiti without damaging the mural.

The Dallas Police Department is looking for the waste of DNA who committed the act, and if you have any info that will lead to that person's arrest and conviction, you can call DPD at 214-670-4413 with any tips that will lead to the capture of the person who defaced the mural.

Matt Bevin Dipping Into The GOP Transphobic Playbook

Matt Bevin (R) is polling at historic lows for a Kentucky governor, and is trailing Kentucky Democratic AG Andy Beshear in the governor's race that will be decided in a few weeks.

So what does the GOP do when they have no governmental accomplishments to run on and their candidate is majorly unpopular? 

Deploy the transphobia.

The SuperPAC campaign Fore American Principles deployed the ad aimed at Beshear which features a male actor running a race against female athletes.



Bevin's campaign predictably had no comment about the transphobic ad, but Chris Hartman, the ED of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign definitely did. 

"'Ads like this coming out of Washington DC think tanks, that have no grounding in reality, are the types of things that ruin our elections," said Hartman.  

"I hope, I believe that the people of Kentucky will prove that this type of political fear-mongering out of Washington DC, just doesn't work here, back home, where we deal with things on a local level," Hartman added.

The Beshear campaign issued a statement that also tore Bevin a new anus over the transphobic ad. 

"This is a shameful and false attack from a shady group that will lead to bullying of our kids. Andy opposes discrimination. Matt Bevin is an unhinged failure who is hurting our students by seeking to tear down public education. He even blamed teachers, without evidence, for the sexual abuse of children.”

Is November 5 here yet so my Kentucky peeps can fire Matt Bevin? 

WWYD- The Trans Bathroom Episode

Finally found the YouTube video of the ABC What Would You Do show that featured Jazz Jennings and people in the situation of a transphobe dissing a trans woman for going to a fracking restaurant bathroom.

FYI for you transphobes.  Trans people have to poop and pee as well.   But then again you're more concerned with aiming oppression and disrespect at trans people than minding your own damned business and letting trans people go through their day without hearing your unsolicited comments.

It's one that we increasingly run to no thanks to the conservafools and evilgelicals stirring up anti trans hate, and even led to on August 13 a trans woman in the Philippines getting arrested for using the potty in a shopping mall in Quezon City.

If you're looking for predators and pervs, start in in your right wing evilgelical churches and Republican Party meetings. 

Here's the Friday episode of the WWYD show if you missed it.

Edward Thomas Defense Attorneys Attacking Muhlaysia Booker's Femininity

Damn, we Black trans women can't get any respect in life or in death.

The news out of Dallas is that Edward Thomas, the waste of DNA who violently put his hands on the late Muhlaysia Booker back in April, will be going to trial in October for that assault in the 195th District Court of Texas.

Thomas was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.   Even though Booker was murdered back in May, that video of the April 12 assault is still around on The Net along with all the witnesses to that violent attack on her.

So what do you do when you're faced with mounting evidence that your client attacked a trans woman?  Go for a cynical variation of the 'trans panic' defense and attempt to strip the trans woman of her femininity.

 The transphobic defense attorney in this case are objecting to the fact that prosecutors are asking Judge Hector Garza (D) to rule that the indictment can use Muhlaysia's name even though she hadn't changed it legally or on any identification documents.

The defense attorneys are using her dead name and disrespectfully referring to Muhlaysia as a man

"Pierre Booker is legally a male by gender. To name him 'Muhlaysia' Booker could have the jury wrongfully conclude that Pierre is female...This is prejudicial against our client ,who is male."

The defense attorneys are trying a variation of the trans panic defense to strip Muhlaysia of her femininity.  They hope they can stir up transphobia in the jury pool and get potential jurors to not see Booker as the woman she is.

It also feeds this dangerous for us and patently false meme that trans women are just 'men in dresses'.

The Edwards defense attorneys also fear that if Booker is seen as the woman she is, it won't go well for their client.   Society usually takes a less charitable view of any man who puts his hands on a woman, and the defense attorneys know that.

It is a despicable legal tactic by the defense attorneys.  Here's hoping that Judge Garza sees the same thing I see and rules in favor of Dallas County prosecutors when the defense motion has a hearing next week.

If he doesn't, I predict that Judge Garza is suddenly going to find himself being primary challenged in March 2020

ABC's WWYD Trans Bathroom Show This Friday

We fought a knockdown drag out battle over the 2017 regular and special oppression session to kill SB 6, which specifically targeted trans people for bathroom dehumanization. 

Now in an episode ripped straight (pun intended) from the headlines, John Quinones and ABC's What Would You Do hidden camera are back to test the reactions of people who are confronted with the situation of a trans feminine person withing to use a public restroom.

And yes, our fave Harvard college bound student makes a cameo appearance in this one. 

Here's the link to the trailer video

This show broadcasts this Friday, August 23  at  9 PM EDT, 8 PM CDT on you local ABC station 

Not Feeling Your Transphobia, Black Gay Men

As if we didn't have enough transphobia coming from the federal government, the TERF's, evilgelicals,  elements of the white gay and lesbian community, and elements of the Black community, we also have Black gay men coming out of the closet with their toxic transphobia.

A few years ago I attended a drag show one steamy Saturday night in the Montrose gayborhood at a club now called Barcode.  I was bored, didn't see anyone I knew, and decided to head home and walk the few blocks back toward Westheimer Rd to the nearest bus stop and start the trip back home. 

I cut through the shared parking lot for JR's and the then open South Beach clubs in order to shorten the walk to Westheimer Rd.    While doing so I passed an interracial white and Black gay man who made the loud and wrong assumption I was a sex worker, with the Black one saying it loud enough for me to hear it.

I stopped, glared at both of them, read them for good measure and cussed them out one more time before I flipped them the finger before resuming my journey back to my bus stop.

In my 21 years of activism, I have had many Black gay men in my corner like Ashton Woods, Brandon Mack, Venton Hill-Jones, and Harrison Homer Guy just to name a few.  These men have unapologetically had my back and been major supporters in what I do activism wise.

These righteous gay Black men have also called their gay brothers out when they tried to aim transphobic shade or outright disrespect toward me and my trans sisters, and I love and appreciate them for defending our honor. 

Unfortunately, it seems that  righteous Black gay male accomplices are the exception lately and not the rule.  We have far too many of them letting their transphobic flag fly on social media, and Black trans women are beyond sick and tired of it.

Craig Brooks has gotten widespread acclaim for calmly handling a workplace racism situation in which he was called the n-word despite being majorly pissed off about it.

But Brooks couldn't be bothered to extend the same respect he demanded for himself when it came to Black  trans women.   It was discovered that his social media feed was a cesspool of transphobic hate.

And he's not the only one.   Far too often we see Black gay men making derogatory comments about trans women as the people in their feeds like and share them.

Even famous Black gay men like RuPaul have made repeated transphobic comments, and it's one of the major reasons why I refuse to support Drag Race.

I have to ask the question why some of you Black gay males engage in this behavior.  You jealous?  You mad and ashamed because you don't live unapologetically in your truth the way Black trans women do?   You trying to curry favor with the evilgelicals?   You just want to bully trans women? 

Let a trans sister know what the reason is so she can avoid your treacherous azz. 

You will get read for filth by us in the 2K19 if you're caught engaging in that nekulturny behavior because I will say it again, Black trans women are sick and tired of your crap. and being disrespected by people who are supposed to be our ride or die accomplices.

You throwing 'that's a man' shade at us from you spot in the SGL community will no longer be tolerated.  If you're mad because I called your azzes out on this problematic behavior, and are claiming you'll no longer be allies to the trans community because I did so, then sashay away because you were never trans allies to begin with.

That rainbow toxic transphobia contributes to the climate in the Black community that gets Black trans women killed.   You Black gay males who gleefully engaging in spreading that transphobia in our SGL community need to cease and desist with that.
 

Edward Thomas' Attorney Disrespects Muhlaysia Booker

Our crappy pride month continues with more info coming out of Dallas concerning the legal fallout from the videotaped April 12 assault on Muhlaysia Booker that landed Edward Thomas in the Dallas County Jail.

Thomas is being defended by attorney Andrew W. Wilkerson, who is big mad that his client is facing twenty years in a TDC facility for the videotaped hate assault on our departed sister.

This is the transphobic shyt he had to say on his Facebook page about it:

I’ll say this again, our condolences to the family of Pierre Booker. He was a human being, he was a person that was loved dearly by his family. He did not deserve to die. No one deserves to die. But our client had absolutely nothing to do with his death.

But this is ridiculous. The State is offering Edward Thomas twenty years for that fight in back Royal Crest Apartments a couple months ago. The State is offering twenty years for a fist fight, between two men, with no weaponsinvolved. Let that sink in. There was no knife, no gun, no brass knuckles, and nothing was picked up off the ground and used during the physical altercation. Furthermore, this was no hate crime, period. People who were there know that this all arose from an altercation after Pierre Booker rear ended Thomas’s friends vehicle and refused to exchange insurance information or rectify the situation in anyway. Are you surprised that the news didn’t tell you these details?? Don’t be😑.

No disrespect to anyone’s life style at all. It’s your decision. But when the law recognizes gender it’s based off one’s anatomy or biological make up if you will. So when dealing with the law you must realize that ones sexual preference/orientation has no bearing on his or her gender, a persons gender is based on his/her biological hardware or, plainly said, if a person has a penis, the law views him as a male and if a person has a vagina the law views her as a female. Ridiculously obvious to say, I know, but some of you facebookers seem to have the law a tad bit confused.

So, now that we’ve cleared that up, to offer a man twenty years for a fist fight with another man is unconscionable and shows no regard for his life or his future. Say what you want, but that ain’t justice, not even close. A man can literally wave a gun in another person’s face and not receive twenty years in prison, come on now. Call a spade a spade, this is beyond ridiculous

First off,  Miss Wilkerson, what you said is this jacked up post is not only loud and wrong, but your ignorant and scientifically illiterate rhetoric is why we have a major problem in Black America with anti-trans violence being visited upon trans individuals in Texas and elsewhere in the United States.

It was also straight up disrespectful to the memory of Ms Booker, her family, and all the people in the Dallas area who loved her.

Gender is between your ears, not your legs, and that is the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community and folks who have been doing the research for decades when it comes to transsexuality and gender identity.

Let me repeat it for you one more time so your willfully clueless azz gets it.  The genitalia between your legs is not the sole determinant of your gender identity.

Your client in a fit of transphobic and toxic Black masculinity, stuck his nose in somebody else's business and beat down a trans woman for $200.   He also by doing so, triggered the series of events that resulted in Muhlaysia Booker's death a month later.   

And can you accurately account for your client's whereabouts after he was released from the Dallas County Jail on bail days before Ms Booker was killed?

When your client beat a trans woman unconscious on that April 12 day to the point that several cis women had to step in and physically remove her from your client's flying fists as he uttered homophobic slurs, yeah Miss Attorney Thang, that's not a mere fight.   That's a hate crime that your waste of DNA client deserves jail time for.

One other thing.   Trans people live lives, not a lifestyle.  So miss me with that 'no disrespect' line because your entire comment was dripping with it and transphobic ignorance.   Calling a trans woman a man is the height of disrespect.

You need Jesus and some serious education about trans issues.  .You are also a disgrace to the proud tradition of attorneys from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Now what's the phone number and the URL for the State Bar of Texas?

Zeta Phi Beta Goes Transphobe

We need you Divine Nine sororities to state one way or the other that either yes, we recognize trans women as the women you are and would love to have you join us if you qualify for membership or no, we don't want you even if you do qualify so we know where you stand.-TransGriot 
'Do You Want Trans Women In Your Ranks Or Not, Divine Nine Sororities?'
July 7, 2017
Been saying for a while that Black Greek Letter Organizations need to step up and decide  once and for all what their policies will be when it comes to transgender people, and we now know which way Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc was leaning.

They decided to roll with transphobia.

Back on January 12 according to reporting by the Washington Blade, the sorority's International Executive Board adopted a 'diversity statement' that states a prospective member 'must be a cisgender woman' to join the organization.   

Translation:  No trans women need apply to join Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

It then hypocritically says that Zeta Phi Beta 'values all people, regardless of race, age, gender, gender expression, ability, disability, creed, religion or walk of life'.

This problematic move comes as more HBCU's are making positive changes to their enrollment policies to accommodate transgender students.

So we now know where Zeta Phi Beta stands when it comes to trans women potentially becoming members of their sorority, and it's their loss. 

As I have said repeatedly, trans women aren't going away or back in the closet.   The 'finer womanhood' you claim you wish to build also includes trans women who may be down with the mission of Zeta Phi Beta.

But you'll never know that, because you've barred tras women from joining.    That's not only not cool, but it reinforces to the world once again the false narrative that Black people are 'more transphobic '

Naw Curtis Jackson, A Man Who Dates Trans Women Isn't Gay

I cancelled Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson a long time ago, and am proud to say that not one of his CD's desecrates my collection.   His most recent anti-trans comment makes it crystal clear why I just say hell no to 50 Cent.

He took to his Instagram page with 22 million followers yesterday to say to the rapper Young Buck, who was formerly part of his G-Unit group this transphobic comment. 

“If your [sic] in a relationship with a t****y your [sic] gay. that’s a boy, Boy!!!

“It’s cool Buck you gonna be big down at the gay bars Give me a call,

He also posted a video of Young Buck in which the rapper is saying 'take that s**t down' to a woman who wrote an article alleging he had sex with a trans woman.

Um no Curtis and other like mined transphobes, that's not how this works.   Let me make this real simple and plain for you trans ignorati because I'm not feeling your transphobic BS and my patience with it is nonexistent today.

A trans women is a woman, a trans man is man.  That trans man is also a better version of a man than you could ever hope to be.

If you as a cisgender man are attracted to a trans woman, that makes you STRAIGHT.  If you are a cisgender man that is attracted to a trans man, that makes you GAY.

Curtis, your use of the 't****y slur and the BS perpetuation of the 'that's a man' crap to describe trans women not only contributes to the toxic masculinity problem, it  contributes to more Black trans women getting attacked, hurt or killed. 

There are cisgender men who love them some trans women, be they pre, post or non op.   Your comments and the internalized transphobia it feeds in trans attracted men and the Black community at large makes it harder for those men to be open and honest about being ride or die attracted to trans feminine people.

Curtis, if being with trans women is not your cup of tea, we get it.   You ain't all that to some of us either.  But you and your buds in Rap World need to stop demonizing Black trans women, especially when some of you are desperately trying to hook up with trans women on the down low.

Transphobia Is Bad For Business- Victoria's Secret Closing 53 Locations

Looks like the controversial comments of CMO Ed Razek have hurt Victoria's Secret's business.

Its parent company L Brands announced Wednesday that 53 locations across North America are being closed because of declining sales and store performance.  The fourth quarter 2018 sales were only $1,849,300 versus the fourth quarter 2017 sales of $2.038, 300 dollars. 

The 2019 store closure numbers are triple their average.   According to Bloomberg, the average is about 15 store closures per year, and 20 were closed in 2018.

Vickie's was having problems before Razek exacerbated the problems by opening his mouth and letting something transphobic come out of it.

That triggered a call for a boycott of the lingerie retailer by the trans community that looks like it is being joined by our allies.

In addition to the problems with Victoria's Secret's sales revenue, the viewership number for the 2018 edition of the Victoria's Secret  Fashion Show have also taken a nosedive.

Only 3.27 million viewers tuned in last year, which are the worst numbers ever for the show ever since it started its broadcast run.    For comparison, in 2017 there were 4.98 million people who tuned in to watch the show.

However, it wasn't all bad business news for Vickie's Secret.   Their online sales went up 8% . 

Wonder if Razek and company are considering adding a few trans and full figured models to the 2019 televised show in the wake of these numbers?    I know a few trans models who would love to rip your runway, but you'll need to call them before they get booked for fall New York Fashion Week

It's once again another concrete example of bigotry being bad for business.

Let Arqueze Girdy Compete!

As y'all know I'm am a huge proponent of letting trans people compete in whatever sporting events they have the talent and drive to win in.

Growing up in Texas and getting the opportunity to see the Houston Rodeo, I have watched people compete in barrel racing.   It's a sport in which a competitor riding a horse tries to navigate three widely spaced barrels in the fastest time on a triangular course.

You also must do so while directing the horse to go in a cloverleaf pattern around the barrels without knocking them down,  you falling off the horse, or the horse falling during the run and failing to cross the start-finish line.  If any of or a combination of those events happen, you receive a NO TIME for the run. 

Barrel racing is one of the few rodeo events in that macho rodeo sporting world that women are the predominate participants in.  We also have smaller rodeo competitions that happen here in the Houston area and across the state.

Since Black cowboys like Bill Pickett are credited with inventing the sport, many of these smaller rodeos are Black owned and run. .

It's time to introduce you readers to barrel racer Arqueze Girdy



Arqueze is a 5th generation rodeo competitor in her family who is trying to make it to the WPRA (Women's Professional Rodeo Association) professional ranks in her sport.

She also happens to be trans feminine.    That shouldn't be a problem, but it looks like somebody at the MLK Scholarship and Rodeo taking place at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds tomorrow has a problem with Girdy being there.

She's dealing with transphobia on the amateur rodeo circuit as she pursues her quest n to get to the professional ranks and one day compete in the WPRA events like the Houston Rodeo at NRG Stadium.

'They never come out and say it's because I'm transgender.  They say I'm not qualified", Girdy said in an interview with Houston's ABC13.   "I want to make history and open doors and help people. There are other people in my situation," she said.

Girdy texted her entry form and paid her fee to compete in the rodeo slated to happen at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, but still hasn't heard from them. 

After not returning requests for comment from ABC13, the promoters for tomorrow's event finally put out a statement on Thursday evening.

"The promoters of the 1st Annual MLK Scholarship Rodeo and Trail ride are pleased to hold its inaugural event on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 9 a.m. at The Fort Bend County Fairgrounds. 

The goal of the event is to raise scholarship funds for deserving students in the Houston and surrounding areas. The rodeo and trail ride are open to ALL to attend and participate. 

Prospective participants should recognize that although this is an amateur event, which claims no professional affiliation whatsoever, all rodeo events and participants will be governed by rules and standards similar to those set forth by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women's Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (WPRCA). 

As for Ms. Girdy's concern regarding her ability to compete in this inaugural event, she first should make sure she has been in contact with official event promoters and affiliates, as we have only taken pre-registration up to this point and have yet to collect any funds from any participants; all registration will be completed at the fairgrounds. Secondly, if she has pre-registered, she should be aware of what is required at the time of entry. 

We are looking forward to Saturday's event and welcome everyone out to support our scholarship fund and enjoy a day of rodeo fun and entertainment."

Yeah, right.   Looks like y'all were planning to not let her compete until this made the news.

We'll see if the organizers of this event actually let Ms. Girdy compete, or are just selling woof tickets so they don't look transphobic to the world.

Hmm, looks like I may need to make a trip down I-69 to Fort Bend County to see what's happening with my barrel racing trans sibling.

The bottom line though, is that Black trans people exist, and you need to let her compete.

TransGriot Update (12 January):  Hearing disturbing chatter from peeps who attended the event that Arqueze was NOT allowed to compete.    Formulating next steps now

Why Was This Pic Considered Spam By Facebook?

I have much love for my sis Jessica Zyrie.   She's now in a several months long relationship with her boyfriend Alexander, and I couldn't be happier for both of them.

Alexander Lane Miller posted this picture recently on his Facebook page that was limited only to his Facebook feed.  It was not set to public view, and this photo wasn't made public until I published it with their permission in this blog post. 

Hey, I ain't mad at either him or Jessica.  They are an amazing couple, they are obviously to anyone observing them in love with each other,  and I want nothing but the best for both of them. 

They are also both unapologetically trans, and I hope and pray their relationship keeps growing into one that leads to marriage.

But as you probably guessed, somebody lurking in that comment thread on Alexander's page was hating.   Alexander shockingly received this message from Facebook claiming that someone had reported the pic he posted of himself and his girlfriend as spam and that it went against Facebook's nebulous 'community standards'.   

Really?   A pic of an attractive couple is spam?   Since when?   I guess it's spam or 'against community standards' when it's shining a positive light on Black trans peeps.

FYI Facebook.  The leader of an SPLC certified hate group in Tony Perkins is not the person you need to be taking advice from as to what is or isn't offensive on The Net..

One of the things that pisses me off about Facebook is that it is far too easy for haters to report a post as spam or offensive, and they knee jerk respond to that complaint as if it's valid.

Because they do that, your post gets blocked or taken down as a result.  Once you discover this has happened, and you try to get a real live human there to plead your case or get someone at Facebook to to explain why they came to that decision, it can take days for that conversation to happen.|

Meanwhile the hater is rejoicing because they have succeeded in getting your positive post pulled

This crap also happens far too often on Facebook to Black people and members of the trans community

Alexander has finally gotten in contact with a human being at Facebook in order to protest the unjust initial decision, and his request to reverse this obviously wrong decision is pending.

And Facebook need to expeditiously right this wrong.

TransGriot Update (12 January)  Was advised by Alexander that Facebook has reversed their decision and the pic is now back up on his feed.

US and Canadian Conservafools Are Hating On Angela Ponce

We're two weeks away from crowning a new Miss Universe 2018, and the conservafools are tripping because of Miss Spain-Universe Angela Ponce not only being in this year's competition, but being considered one of the favorites to take the crown.

Hate on, transphobic conservahaters.   And yeah, we know through your trans hate speech that you're definitely nervous about the prospect of Ponce actually being crowned Miss Universe.

They recognize the importance of Ponce competing as the first out trans contestant in what is considered the world's most prestigious beauty pageant   The conservafools in Canada and the US are throwing every lie and falsehood about trans people out there they can in their media outlets and hoping it sticks in the larger media universe.

Ponce, to her credit has been what she always has been, classy in the face of transphobic ignorance.  It's rumored that Ponce will be roommates in Bangkok with Miss Colombia-Universe Valeria Morales, and reached out to her after she made those transphobic comments.

Hey, if that's true, she's better than me in this situation.  Knowing how shady pageants can get, I wouldn't trust home girl, much less want to be in the same room with somebody who publicly made disparaging remarks about me.

Ponce stated in a recent TIME magazine interview that if she won, it would be a sharp rebuke to the anti-trans ignorance the Trump misadministration is trying to install at the federal government
level.

"More than a message to him, it would be a win for human rights. Trans women have been persecuted and erased for so long. If they give me the crown, it would show trans women are just as much women as cis women."

She also said in that TIME interview,"I’m showing that trans women can be whatever they want to be: a teacher, a mother, a doctor, a politician and even Miss Universe."

No matter what happens, she will always be in the history books as the first out Miss Universe trans contestant, and probably won't be the last.   

Ponce competing in Miss Universe has generated excitement not only in our international trans community, but pageant buzz that will probably translate into higher ratings for the live broadcast from Bangkok on December 16.


And yes, I'm hoping she wins for another reason.   Lauren Foster was outed by a jealous cis model when Foster was poised to compete in the Miss Universe South Africa pageant back in the 80's.

How delicious would it be if the current Miss Universe Demi- Leigh Nel-Peters, who is from South Africa, crowned Angela Ponce as her successor? 

Skip The Salvation Army Kettles In 2018

This is another TransGriot remident for you when you see the Salvation Transphobic Army kettles out to ignore them for their continued anti-trans attitudes.

They have a long, ugly history of hating on the TBLGQ community, which is why I laughed my butt off during an episode of POSE in which Elektra Abundance and the House of Abundance jacked a Salvation Army kettle.   

While the Salvation Army is claiming on their website they have changed their tune and evolved, we still don't have clear evidence they have ended their historic antipathy toward the TBLGIQ + community.

It was also quite disturbing to see white supremacists ringing the Salvation Army kettle bells at an Indiana location.

While I don't recommend y'all do an Elektra Abundance stunt, you can decline to drop your change in those Salvation Army kettles popping up at stores near you.

Instead donate to trans and SGL led organizations doing proven work in our community during this holiday season and beyond or trans advocates directly via their PayPal or Cash Apps.

In case you're wondering, here's mine if you're feeling generous. 

What's Victoria's Secret? - It's Transphobic

One of the things that I did early into my transition was head to the Victoria's Secret store near my old southwest side apartment and buy a couple of pairs of Victoria's Secret bras and panties that I liked.

The 2018 edition of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show just happened in New York City after bouncing to Shanghai and Paris for the last two years. 

The show has propelled some of its participants like Brazil's Adriana Lima into modeling superstardom, and I know that one of the goals of some of my trans sisters who are ripping runways like Isis King and Carmen Carrera is to one day walk that Victoria Secret Fashion show that is broadcast to the US and 44 nations around the world.

Several years ago there was an online petition campaign seeking to have Carrera become the first trans Angel that garnered over 40,000 signatures.   That petition was ignored.

Now we know why.   Victoria's Secret Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek revealed in a recent interview that transphobia and prejudice against plus size models roams its hallways in response to a question from American Vogue magazine's Nicole Phelps about whether trans models would have the opportunity to become Victoria's Secret Angels.

"No. No, I don’t think we should,” Razek told Phelps.

“Well, why not?",asked Phelps in a follow up question.

"Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors.”

Umm hmm.  When the worldwide backlash from those transphobic and plus size phobic interview comments hit, Rezek tried to quickly backpedal from what he said.

Came across as insensitive?   Dude, it was straight up insensitive and transphobic to boot.   Carmen Carrera and other trans models have reported they have never received a casting call invitation from VS for the show. 

I also have a major problem with the fact you barely have models of color in your shows, and it's why I don't care to watch the VS fashion Show broadcast.

Other trans women have (and still are) expressing themselves about Rezek's comments like my British trans sister Munroe Bergdorf.

"To me, his apology sounds like back-pedaling and brand damage limitation. The damage has already been done and he has exposed himself and the brand for how they view women who do not fit a very exclusive and narrow minded criteria when it comes to gender and body shape."

To her, Razek’s original comments “speak volumes about how certain people within the industry still view trans women.” “This comment is rooted in transphobia and feeds into the narrative that trans women are not women,” Bergdorf states. “If you want to sell a fantasy, then sell a fantasy. Fantasy can be whatever you want it to be and if that intentionally doesn't include trans women, then that's your prejudice talking. The reality is that trans women are desired by many, to suggest otherwise is shortsighted and without doubt transphobic.”

Carmen Carrera said this in response to a Teen Vogue interview question about why Victoria's Secret has been slow to embrace diversity.

"I think that Victoria’s Secret is afraid, and they’re unwilling to take a risk. I think we are seen as a liability rather than the amazing opportunity we truly are. I think by them not including us, it's sending a dark message and contributing to the ignorance and hate that exists today. They as a company have the power to give us the opportunities that we need to thrive, and to actually set the record straight on who we are to the world at large. They need to stop looking at us as a liability, and instead look at us as potential for positive change in the world," she stated.

"Because that’s who we’ve always been. It almost feels like they’re waiting for us to become famous enough on our own until they have no choice but to include us, but the reality is that’s almost impossible without help and support from companies like them in the first place. It’s hard for us to thrive without the resources. We’re so disenfranchised: We barely have equal rights and federal protection. They have the power and potential to help change that,." Carrera continued.

I was considering buying some Victoria's Secret undies for myself and some trans friends of mine for Christmas, but I think I'll pass until a trans feminine person (or multiple trans feminine people) rip that VS runway.   

TransGriot Note: Thanks to Elizabeth Rivera for the VS boycott graphic