San Antonio Councilmember Elisa Chan's Transphobia and Homophobia Revealed

Well, well, well.  More interesting and revolting developments as San Antonio heads toward a September 5 vote on adding sexual orientation and gender identity to their revised non-discrimination ordinance.  

It's also giving you an example of what your LGBT brothers and sisters here in the Alamo City are dealing with as they fight to have their human rights codified into law. 

Elisa Chan, one of the San Antonio council members who is a firm NO (for now) on this proposed non-discrimination ordinance revealed her true feelings about TBLG people in this May 21 meeting at her City Hall office with members of her staff.  They were discussing the city's proposal to update its nondiscrimination ordinance by adding protections for sexual orientation and gender identity and their political responses to it..

James Stevens, one of her now former staff members was secretly taping the meeting on his cellphone (thank God)  He handed the recording to San Antonio Express-News reporter Brian Chasnoff who compiled and broke the story that I linked to in the previous paragraph. 

Bigotry, transphobia and homophobia is bad enough. When you have a public official with the power to vote on and write legislation expressing that kind of anti-TBLG hate, it's worse. 

Hope Councilmember Chan when she comes back from her 'pre-planned vacation' takes some time to ponder her jacked up attitudes and uses this September 5 vote as an opportunity to change her ways.  If not, may she get the electoral butt kicking she so richly deserves when San Antonio has their next round of civic elections and never hold public office in San Antonio, Bexar County or the state of Texas ever again.    

That's my take from my end of I-10.  Mayor Julian Castro (D) also commented on Councilmember Chan's bigotry.  

"Councilwoman Chan's misinformed, hurtful views do not reflect the views of the overwhelming majority of San Antonians. Ours is a city that respects and welcomes all people," Mayor Julian Castro (D) said in a KSAT-TV interview. "This attitude is precisely why we have to pass a nondiscrimination ordinance."

Okay, it's on like Donkey Kong now.  Here's the CAUSA Change.org petition in favor of the ordinance that they need to reach 5000 signatures on before September 5. 

Please consider calling or e-mailing the San Antonio City Council and urge then to pass the revision including gender identity and sexual orientation.   In the wake of this I hope Councilmember Ivy Taylor is considering being a drum majorette for justice instead of an oppressor like Elisa Chan has revealed herself to be. 

And now, to help you understand why its necessary to do this, here's Elisa Chan's TBLG bigotry unplugged 

Cheryl Calls Out Some Trans Haters

My trans elder Cheryl Courtney-Evans was forwarded a link to the Anti-Intellect blog post about the Chad Johnson-Amiyah Scott photo that decried the rampant transphobia in the comments and blog posts about it that is sadly a staple of the Black gossip blogosphere.

Cheryl took it a step further in her abitchforjustice post entitled 'Whites AREN'T The ONLY People Who Can Be Bigots!' and put some of the more egregious transphobic offenders on blast.  

Here's a taste of it:

Example: "...it's not that people are Homophobic. IT'S THAT A LOT OF THIS [THESE] TRANNYS take pictures with celebrity men then go on the blogs and radio and say they are fucking, Chingy for example, he took a couple of pics with a tranny and she said they were dating. And people started calling Chingy gay and his career was over. IT'S NOT THE PEOPLE, IT'S THE TRANNYS TRYING TO PLAY GAMES. THEY DID THE SAME THING TO JOJO Simmons. They said he was trying to fuck on Twitter, and come to find out he didn't know it wasn't a woman. this [these] trannys are shady as fuck...". 

This gay man's rant first of all separates transgenders from humanity ("...it's not the people, it's the trannys..." as if transgenders aren't 'people'). Then he's automatically assuming that it has to be a falsehood that the celebs mentioned actually were romantically involved with the transgender women. BUT I'd be willing to BET if it were a gay person "outing" [NOT that it's right in either case] a celeb, he'd be licking his lips at the juicy details...and of course, the gay person didn't "trick" the guy (how easily they forget the defendants who use the "panic" defense when they've murdered or assaulted a gay man)...

And some of the women who posted were especially hateful. It was even interesting how some posts started off innocent [positive] enough, to deliver a "zinger" (example: "I think everyone should be respected. Playing dress up and getting your dick cut off does not make you a woman." To this, I say, "WTF??") Even posters who were expressing like 'allies' were guilty of erroneous pronoun usage in other replies.

You can check out the rest of Cheryl's post by clicking this link.

What Chad and Amiyah Can Teach Us About Respecting Trans Women

TransGriot Note: Interesting article from one of the people I had the pleasure of meeting during OUT on the Hill last year, Anti-Intellect, concerning the ignorance bubbling up once again in the Black gossip blogosphere concerning this recent photo Chad Johnson took with girl like us Amiyah Scott

The guest post at Funky Dineva is entitled 'What Chad Johnson and Amiyah Scott Can Teach Us About Respecting Transgender Women'.   

It's a call for the Black community to chill with the ignorance and disrespect aimed at trans women and start understanding and respecting the ones in their midst.

I agree.  And it needed to happen like yesterday.
I also got a little love in the post, too.

And yeah, ignorance alert in the comment threads. 

Here's a taste of it:    

I look forward to the day when a straight man taking a picture with a trans woman is not an issue. If social media is any indication, we have a while to go before that vision becomes a reality. Over the weekend, a picture surfaced of former NFL player and reality star, Chad Johnson, posing with Amiyah Scott, a trans woman. Judging by the number of ignorant comments leveled at both Johnson and Scott, you would have thought that the two had committed a serious crime, and in a sense, they had. In our transphobic world, a straight man taking a picture with a trans woman is seen as a “crime”. What is the crime, you ask? The crime is respecting a transgender woman.

Media representation has the potential to make us comfortable with people from different walks of life, but it also has the potential to make us see a community in a monolithic way. Trans women have all too often only been seen as predators and/or comic relief. I am here to tell you, however, that the lives of trans woman are diverse and multifaceted. Yes, there are trans women who have not revealed their gender identity, often for good reason, but there are many who live there lives with honesty and openness. Trans women come from all walks of life, and it is long overdue that we start to recognize their diversity within their community. We need to look beyond the stereotypes to see the trans women who are enrolled in college and trade schools, the trans women who are journalists, motivational speakers, doctors, executive directors, hairstylists, actresses, wives, mothers, and almost any other role imaginable.

You can read the rest of it by clicking this link. 

One Down,Three To Go In LA

One of the wastes of DNA suspected of being involved in the brutal May 31 transphobic hate assault on Vivian Diego was arrested by LAPD Hollywood Division detectives in the San Fernando Valley

21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan, was arrested Thursday night on felony battery charges for the May 31 attack and is being held on a $1.05 million bond.  LAPD with an assist from the FBI are searching for the other three suspects and the $25,000 reward for information leading to their capture is still in effect.

One down, three to go.

'Transphobic' Is Officially A Word

The transphobic TERF's can attempt to deny the word doesn't exist, but the Oxford English Dictionary will say otherwise.

'Transphobic' ("hostile towards transsexual or transgender people") was one of 1200 words officially added to the 2013 edition of one of the most renowned dictionaries in the world.that was released last week.  

It caps a successful Change.org petition campaign which sought to have the word added to the Microsoft Office and Oxford English dictionaries that was signed by over 9000 people. 

It was added to the Microsoft Office dictionary when their latest update was released last month, and now the most respected and authoritative dictionary in the world has followed suit.

Tom Joyner Morning Show Team Dips Into Transphobic 'Comedy' In Garner Case

I'm a huge fan of the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show that has a national listening audience of 11 million African-Americans. 

But right now I'm a little pissed about them dipping into transphobic comedy this morning to talk about the ongoing Tracey Lynn Garner case unfolding in Jackson, MS. 

During the 7:00 AM CDT hour of today's TJMS show Joyner started reading the story about Garner on air and seized on something that I've complained about in terms of covering trans people.  I don't like it along with many people in the trans community news outlets or reporters printing the old names of transpeople in stories when they are not germane to it because it opens the floodgates for transphobia to happen.  What I feared would happen did when Joyner read her old male name on air.  

J. Anthony Brown, Sybil Wilkes and Joyner then seized on that aspect of it to crack jokes about not only Ms  Garner but the very serious issues of silicone pumping that have cost the lives of hundreds of people inside and outside the trans community over the last decade and have Tracey Lynn Garner facing life imprisonment for performing the silicone pumping buttocks injections that resulted in the deaths of Karima Gordon and Marilyn Hale.  

TJMS, love y'all as a longtime fan on the show, haven't forgotten to your credit that Jacque Reid interviewed Laverne Cox back in March 2010, have mad respect for the 'Fly Jock' as a Black radio pioneer who also knew my late father, but got to put y'all on blast for this one.

Trans people and especially Black trans people are catching hell out there.  Back in April we had three African-American transwomen killed because elements of our community think it's okay to exterminate us for simply being who we are and far too often murderers of Black trans people have been fellow African-Americans.  Far more in our community think it's okay to make fun of or engage in transphobic rhetoric disparaging our lives.

That TJMS segment during the 7:00 AM CDT hour didn't rise to the level of what Lex and Terry recently did in actually calling on June 3 for the murder of trans people, but it's still harmful and hurtful to the transpeople of African descent who are like myself fans of your show.
 
It also give cover to the Fox News ongoing campaign to disparage the lives of American transpeople that fuels the disrespect and anti-trans violence aimed at us and disproportionately takes the lives of African-American and Latina transpeople.  

I like a good joke from time to time, enjoy some of the TJMS bits that happen on the show along with your commentators thought provoking commentary that sometimes inspires my TransGriot posts, but belittling or joking about trans peoples lives doesn't help especially when we are struggling to gain human rights coverage and have our humanity respected. 

That education on trans issues is especially needed in the African-American community and those efforts were set back this morning by the TJMS team's jokes about not only this individual transwoman who committed a crime that she (yes, she) will probably be punished for, but you reinforced a problematic pattern that it's okay to turn trans people's lives into a punchline of a joke.

Eva Longoria Offers Support To Trans Employee

I have much love for my fellow Texan Eva Longoria, and like many people in the trans community was pissed to hear the story about about trans barista Vivian Diego.

The 22 year old Diego worked at Longoria's LA restaurant Beso that she opened in 2008 with chef Todd English. 

Vivian was headed home after working her shift at the restaurant when she was ambushed near the Hollywood Blvd LA METRO station by four knuckle dragging wastes of DNA, severely beaten and left for dead 

Vivian was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and treated for two fractured ribs, a shattered cheekbone, a broken jaw and damage to her temple.  The perpetrators of the assault are still being sought by the LAPD's Hollywood Division  and it is being investigated as a hate crime. 

It didn't get much better when that cesspool of transphobia celeb gossip blog Bossip posted the story and I ended up along with several other transpeople and our allies having to go to war in the comment section against all the transphobic ignorance running amok in the comment threads.

On June 3 Longoria tweeted about the incident and offered support to Diego by posting on "My heart and prayers are with Victor Diego and his family."

Glad to hear her comment about it, and hope the LAPD gets the creeps who did this.

Oh Hell No Sirius XM!

If you want to know why we have unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence disproportionately affecting POC trans people, one of the root causes is the unchecked hate speech aimed against trans folks.

Whether the anti-trans commentary is regurgitated on the Net, in the news media or the blogosphere, as I've said before and I'm paraphrasing here, trans hate thoughts lead to trans hate speech which equals to trans hate violence and the deaths of trans people . 

And the watchdog organization that's supposed to call it out is cricket chirping silent about it.

Another example of hate speech running amok in the media ironically occurred on an outlet founded by a transwoman.   SiriusXM was founded by Martine Rothblatt back in the 90's and hosts on its many channels various talk shows from across the nation. 

On one of them, during the June 3 broadcast of the Lex and Terry show they discussed the April Tampa incident in which transwoman Coco McDonald was lured to an abandoned house, robbed and shot twice by a perpetrator who was later arrested.

Lex and Terry not only condoned the crime, but one of them said they would have done the same thing themselves. 

Gee, nice to know you wastes of DNA condone the murder of other human beings.



Cristan Williams and Cheryl Courtney-Evans are some of the bloggers who have spoken out against this hate speech being broadcast on the air.  Cheryl had this to say about it in her Abitchforjustice post:

Surely this type of behavior and goading the public is just as inflammatory as Don Imus' "nappy-headed hoes", and deserves repercussion, apologies and/or firing(s)! Are not WE as human as the Rutgers University's female basketball team? Are not our persons as at risk when made to be viewed a certain way to the general public (that may hold individuals of low intelligence who might take this type of talk to heart and act on it)? I believe this type of speech borders on the criminal, in that it can incite violence on transgender individuals...

To me it's even more insulting that this happened on a network that was founded by a transwoman and I cosign what my trans sister Cheryl said.  It's also galling to note that this broadcast happened days after a Los Angeles transwoman was brutally beaten and left for dead as the transphobia runs amok in Bossip's comment threads.

But back to focusing on Sirius XM and this Oh Hell No moment.   Lex and Terry need to be suspended or fired for advocating violence against transwomen that as the lengthening TDOR name lists tell us, far too many people are willing to carry out.

TransGriot Update:  A Change.org petition has already gotten started with the goal of getting 500 signatures to demand that Clear Channel apologize for Lex and Terry's transphobic antics. 


SiriusXM has already apologized for it.  They issued the following statement regarding this issue and Clear Channels responsibility for programming the Lex and Terry show.

We apologize for this programming and don’t in any way condone it. The Extreme Talk channel and the Lex and Terry show are programming providing to us by Clear Channel. The channel and all the shows on it are under the control of Clear Channel. We are required to carry the channel based on pre-existing agreement with Clear Channel. We have made Clear Channel aware of this issue and the complaints from listeners.

Patrick Reilly
Senior Vice President, Communications

TransGriot Update: The Lex and Terry show has been dropped by Clear Channel from the SiriusXM Extreme Talk channel..  Lex and Terry according to GLAAD are apologizing for the jacked up comment.

Combating Bossip Comment Thread Transphobia

Stumbled across this story of 22 year old trans barista Vivian Diego that works at Eva Longoria's LA restaurant being jumped and beaten by several men that the LA police are investigating as a hate crime. 

Bossip's comment threads when these trans themed stories are posted usually explode into a cesspool of transphobia

Normally, I just ignore it and go my merry way to surf somewhere else on the Net where I can engage in an intelligent conversation on whatever piques my curiosity.   Nine times out of ten I won't find intelligent commentary at Bossip, especially when it comes to trans issues. 

But today, I was in Maya Wilkes mode as I read the blatant ignorance in this thread that basically followed these spin lines:

*The victim deserved what they got because they were 'deceiving' the poor horny menz.

*The transwoman is 'rebelling against God' and needs to 'live as God made them'.

*Conflation of chromosomes vs DNA

*The genitalia = gender ID meme

*Several cis women stating an arrogant cis privilege filled belief that unless you can menstruate or give birth, you're not a 'real woman'.
 
*Straight up transphobic ignorance

*The transperson is possessed by demons and needs to be saved

So I decided after reading that toro poo poo I wasn't having it today and waded into the comment threads to drop 50 megatons of knowledge on the transphobic idiots in that thread.

There are just times when you have to go to war in these transphobic comment threads because it needs to happen.  Far from being a futile exercise, it is another form of trans advocacy for the folks that won't see a panel discussion at a conference or a college campus and we need to do battle in these transphobic threads so they phobes don't get comfortable spouting their ish and have to think twice about doing so.. 

For every ignorant comment in that Bossip thread, people that read the conversation later will also see the facts based ones I and others left behind and if they're curious, will investigate what we had to say on their own.   It also changes the direction of the conversation of that thread from one in which their are piling on a transperson to being forced to come to terms with their own transphobic attitudes.

TransGriot Update:  LAPD has clarified that the person's name in this case is Vivian and she does ID as female.  I used the feminine version of her old name in the compilation of the post because I can't stand it when old names that no longer apply to the gender presentation of the person in the article are disrespectfully used.

Let My People Pee In Scotland

Here we go again with cis people tripping about a trans woman peeing in the ladies room.  The latest report of this BS comes from Scotland.

Hannah Leith has been transitioning full time for less than a year and after doing some window shopping around noon local time handled her business in the ladies room at the Paisley Centre.

She has done this countless times since starting her transition, but on this occasion  Leith was stopped by an overzealous security guard who obviously isn't aware of the 2010 Equality Act.  She was advised by the guard someone filed a complaint about her using the bathroom and told she was only to use the men's or disabled toilets.  

When she pointed out the Equality Act says otherwise, the guard responded with if she attempted to use the female bathrooms she would be banned from the center.

Leith went on to say to PinkNews.com.uk:“It was not made clear whether a staff member or a member of the public had made this complaint… I have lived full-time as a woman since last August and this disgusts me.”

FYI, the 2010 Equality Act (as the radfems are painfully finding out) bars discrimination based on gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation. 

Leith went to a nearby library and printed out the pertinent sections of the Equality Act in an attempt to civilly discuss the matter with mall management but no one was available.   She was stopped by a different Paisley Centre security guard when she attempted to use the bathroom again.

UK Stonewall and the Scottish Transgender Alliance were appalled by the news and pointed out in the Pink News article that “refusal to allow use of sanitary facilities appropriate to the gender in which the person is living”, is in breach of the Equality Act.

It's also a breach of common sense, decency and humanity.   Let my people pee, Scotland!.

Israeli School Firing Award Winning Trans Teacher For Coming Out

The international trans community discovered thanks to Dana International's 1998 Eurovision win that transpeople exist in Israel.

Because of the subsequent media attention Dana, other Israeli trans women and the Paper Dolls documentary garnered, Israel on the surface has the reputation in the international trans community of being the most trans friendly spot in the Middle East compared to its regional neighbors. 

But disturbing news is coming out of that nation that is making people in the international trans community question the trans friendly perception.

This one also concerns me as a proud teacher's kid.

According to Gay Star News, an award winning mathematics teacher named Marina is facing dismissal after she openly talked to her students about being a trans woman.

Marina has been and outstanding teacher and mentor for the last three years and says that Israel’s Center for Educational Technology (CET) wants her fired for merely discussing her gender identity.

Marina is justifiably shocked that this is happening especailly since there have been no complaints filed against her.  She pointed out in a Channel 2 Israel interview: ‘I tried to explain that I am a human being just like they are and that it has no bearing on me being professional, and they need to accept people as they are’


She also pointed out ongoing work with pupils includes small talk, and she refuses to hide her identity, ‘coming out should encourage teachers to come out to students to teachers so that neither teachers nor students feel ashamed of themselves’.

Eran Dey of Israel’s LGBT community Facebook page, told Gay Star News: ‘I think transgender people are the least well treated out of the LGBT community in Israel. Employees make their life a living hell if they even manage to make it through a job interview, due to prejudice.


'I find it crucial for cases like Marina’s to go before court to ensure that future employers in Israel would treat transgender and genderqueer people with dignity, equality and respect’.

Yadin Sapir, chair of Ha’vanaa, an organization dedicated to fighting against homophobia and transphobia told Gay Star News: ‘It is particularly insulting to hear a claim as if she wasn’t ‘qualified’ to speak with her students; a claim that hints that the fact she’s a transgender woman is ‘embarrassing’ to CET and requires a ‘special qualification’ when it comes to being discussed with students.

‘This highlights the need not only to bring the institution to court but also to conduct diversity training to employers in Israel’.

Canadian Trans Woman Discriminated Against At Bridal Shop

All Rohit Singh wanted to do when she stepped into Jenny's Bridal Boutique in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with her fiance was buy a dress for her upcoming wedding.

After perusing a few outfits she liked she asked to try one on.  Unfortunately Jenny Correia, the transbigoted owner of the shop refused to let her do so because of her impression that Singh was a man.

"She said, sorry we don't allow men to wear dresses here," Singh recalled. "I said I'm not a man, I'm transgender."

Correia was unrepentant according to a CBC article on the incident.

"To me it doesn't matter," Correia said. "He looked like a man. There was quite a few brides in the store. If you see a man trying on dresses, you're going to feel uncomfortable."

Um Jenny, it does matter, and you're going to find out soon enough when you get hit with that formal complaint about your nekulturny behavior Singh is filing with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

She did find a red bridal gown at the My Lynh Bridal shop in Saskatoon that did value her business and according to Singh, gave her excellent customer service on top of it.

She also now happily married and continuing her gender transition.

Now, what is the moral of this story trans people and allies?   Having airtight public accommodations language in your trans human rights laws matters.  This is why C-279 is needed and continued pressure needs to be put on the Conservative dominated Canadian Senate to pass it.

TransGriot Update: A protest and rally attended by Singh and dozens of supporters was held in front of the transphobic bridal shop May 4.

Issak Gets To Go To His Prom With His Date

The Red Lion Area Senior High School prom in Red Lion, PA was last night, and senior Issak Oliver Wolfe was in attendance with his date Taylor Thomas last night.

The reason we're aware this happened is because of the transphobic events leading up to last night's prom that prompted the ACLU to get involved.

Issak has been transitioning since ninth grade even though his paper trail hasn't yet caught up to where he is in his physical transformation.


But a nasty cup of transphobia was dipped in his transition Kool-Aid by Red Lion High School principal Mark Shue when he listed Issak as a candidate on the prom queen side under his old name because he was 'uncomfortable'.  

Never mind the fact that Issak was running for prom king.

When a stunned Issak went to find out why, Shue and his assistant principals were conveniently out of the building for a meeting.   Then Shue continued to dig the transphobic hole he was in by barring Wolfe's 19 year old girlfreind from being able to attend the prom with him because she exercised her First Amendment rights and called out Red Lion High School on a Facebook page.

The ACLU got involved at this point and threatened a lawsuit if Shue not only didn't cease and desist with the prom shenanigans, but allow Issak to wear the black cap and gown male Red Lion students wear.on May 3.  Why they don't have all students wear the school color cap and gowns is a mystery, but back to the story.


.The ACLU is also demanding an apology from Shue for the hurt and unnecessary drama he caused Wolfe with his initial transphobic stunt.

Will keep you updated as to if it happens.       
 

Seven Transphobic Tropes Debunked

I've discussed in the over 6500 posts on this blog (and had fun eviscerating ) these seven transphobic tropes that seem to constantly pop into articles about this community and radfem hate screeds.

Questioning Transphobia has a excellent series of articles that eviscerate the seven most common anti-trans arguments.  And you know as a TransGriot public service I'm going to make it easy for you to find them.

Thanks to Questioning Transphobia's Queen Emily and Lisa Harney for the hard solid thinking and work that went into this series of articles.

Trope 1 – “Really” a Man / Woman
Trope 2 – “Patriarchal Privilege”
Trope 3 – “Reifying Gender”
Trope 4 – “My Theories Are More Important Than Your Experience”
Trope 5 – The “Man in a Dress” / “Deceiver” Double Bind
Trope 6 – Mutilation
Trope 7 – Socialization As A Child

TERF"s RadFem Hatefest Booted From Another Venue

Ever wondered what would happen if you tried to hold an international trans hate conference and nobody wanted to host it?  

Ask the Trans Exterminationalist Radical Feminazis Feminists how that feels after they got rebuffed for the second consecutive year   

Our least favorite trans oppressors had planned on using the London Irish Centre to host their RadFem 2013 hate event.   The 2012 edition got cancelled from Conway Hall last year (snicker, snicker).

The 2013 event is on track to suffer the same ignominious fate because they got derailed by their own hate scribblings and the potential venue, The London Irish Centre did their due diligence and researched the movement on their own after complaints from our transpeeps. 

And what the Center saw of the TERF"s they didn't like.

Quite a few of the complaints were from the transgender community and then a men’s group cam along the other day a hand out leaflets about why the event shouldn’t be held here.
We did some research into RadFem and discovered certain language was used and some statements were made about transgender people that would go against our equalities and diversity policy.
- David Barlow, Director of The Irish Centre

FYI TERF's, in Britain there's a law on the books called the 2010 Equality Act of which transpeeps are a protected class.  

Translation: You can't discriminate or hate on us across The Pond like you can get away with over in parts of the United States without repercussions.  Good luck finding a venue that's willing to violate the Equality Act..

Of course, the TERF's are crying White Women's Tears about being 'oppressed', but naw, you're just mad because you can't show your azzes, parade Sheila Jeffreys transphobic behind on stage, are still searching for a conference venue across The Pond and won't be able to express your trans hate to a disco beat.for the second straight year.   

Job 4:8 - Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

And you TERF's have been plowing iniquity and sowing wickedness for over four decades, and it's past time you reaped a bumper crop harvest of what you planted back in the 70's and 80's.

Trans History Moment: The Anti-Trans Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

If you're wondering why  this issue between girls like us and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival keep popping up repeatedly, it's time for another trans history moment. 

Cristan Williams has a Transadvocate post up in which Nancy Burkholder tells the story about the 1991 night in which she was thrown off 'The Land'.

Here's an excerpt from it.

While I waited for Laura to return I was approached by two women, Chris Coyote and Del Kelleher. Chris said that she needed to speak with me regarding a serious and difficult matter. Sensing her urgency I suggested we move away from the women near the fire pit in order to talk privately. Chris said that the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival was a woman-only event and she wanted to know if I was a man. I replied that I was a woman and I showed her my NH picture ID driver’s license. Then she asked me if I was a transsexual. I asked her what was the point of her questioning and she replied that transsexuals were not permitted to attend the festival. She said that MWMF policy was that the festival was open to “natural, women-born-women” only. I replied that nowhere, in any festival literature or the program guide was that policy stated. I asked Chris to please verify that policy and she went to the office to contact the festival producers, Lisa Vogel and Boo Price. Sometime during this conversation I waved Laura to come over and she witnessed much of what transpired.

I continued speaking with Del. Del stated that the reason the policy was not in any literature was because the issue of transsexuals had never come up as a problem before. Del added that the policy was for the benefit of the transsexuals’ safety and the safety of the women attending the festival. When I pointed out that there were other transsexuals on the land she acknowledged that this was true. Then she added, ‘We haven’t caught them yet, but we did catch you.”

I could care less about the MWMF and have no desire to sitting in the woods in Hart, MI swatting mosquitoes for a concert.  But neither am I going to stand idly by and allow the rabid TERF ideological driven ignorance and transphobia of MWMF and its not anywhere in print anti-trans exclusion policy to keep transwomen who do want to experience the event away from it.

You can read the rest of the post here.

Transphobic Bigot Eruption Earns UFC Fighter A Suspension

UFC heavyweight boxer Matt Mitrione ended a two match losing streak by knocking out in 19 seconds Philip De Fries in their bout in Sweden Saturday night to push his record to 6-2.

He went on the MMA Today show and got knocked out yesterday by his own big mouth. 

Mitrione has been suspended and is under investigation for launching into a vicious transphobic tirade near the end of his interview on MMA Today with Ariel Helwani aimed at Fallon Fox.. 

"She's not a he. He's a he. He's chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He's still a man. He was a man for thirty-one years. Thirty-one years! That's a couple years younger than I am. He's a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That's ridiculous…. That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak."

Matt, I don't see MD behind you name, so how the hell would you know what Fallon Fox's chromosomes are unless you ran the tests?   And BTW, hormone replacement therapy sure does work those kind of wonders on our bodies in less time than you think.  The science and medical evidence back that up and are on Fox's side.  

But Mitrione kept going with the tirade that would have made the womyn at certain TERF hate websites proud.

"It's an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that," he said in his interview. "The woman that's fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again because that's disgusting and I'm appalled by that." 

The UFC is appalled and embarrassed by your nekulturny behavior and is about to call your azz on it. 

Back in January the UFC announced a code of conduct for its fighters under contract to it which they indicated in a statement they released  that Mitrione was in significant breach of

"The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on 'The MMA Hour,'" the statement read.  The organization finds Mr. Mitrione's comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC's code of conduct – Mr. Mitrione's UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated. The UFC is a friend and ally of the (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect."

The MMA fans may not like it and are whining about 'free speech' in the comment threads along with their transphobic science-deficient commentary.   But free speech comes with consequences, especially if you have a UFC contract with a Code of Conduct in it and you let your transphobic bigotry run wild during a televised interview. 

While you're on suspension Matt, may I suggest you actually do some reading (if you're capable of doing that) on how HRT works and what the International Olympic Committee and other international sporting organizations who allow trans people to compete have to say about it.

Two Pronged Teahadist Attacks On Texas Collegiate TBLG Centers Terminated

The Texas Teahadists have had their water on for the LGBT centers on the Texas A&M, University of Houston and University of Texas campuses for some time and launched efforts to kill them in this 2013 legislative session. .  

It was a two pronged effort on the Texas A&M campus.  The homobigots on campus there have been trying for years to kill the GLBT center.   They launched another effort to take away its funding by authoring the 'GLBT Funding Opt Out Bill'  that would have given Aggie students the option to opt out of funding for the center if they have 'religious objections' to it.

Less than 24 hours before the April 3 vote they attempted to put lipstick on this pig of this unjust bill by renaming it the 'Religious Funding Exemption Bill' and removing all references to the GLBT center in a feeble attempt to mask the blatant anti-GLBT bigotry and deflect attention from the fact it was an attack upon the center. 

After 3 hours of contentious debate it passed on a 35-28 vote and the unjust bill was sent to Texas A&M student body president John L. Claybrook for his signature.   

Claybrook vetoed the unjust measure on April 5

News this week that some student senators had targeted the center thrust the traditionally conservative university into the national spotlight, and Claybrook said it was time to “stop the bleeding.”

“The damage must stop today,” Claybrook wrote in a letter announcing his intention to veto. “Texas A&M students represent our core value of respect exceptionally and I’m very proud of the family at this university. Now, more than ever, is the time to show great resolve and come together, treating each other like the family that we are.”

The future Teahadist student senators pushing this unjust measure can try to override Claybrook's veto, but it will take a 2/3 vote to do so.  It didn't have a 2/3 majority when it passed so it's likely the veto will stand.  Even if they were successful and it became A&M policy, it would almost certainly be struck down in court and expose the deafeningly silent senior Texas A&M administration officials to legal liability.  

Ken Upton, senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal’s Dallas office, said even if the bill were signed and adopted as university policy, it wouldn’t last long.

“The most likely result is that a court would step in and stop it before it even happened,” Upton said.   He said there was clear legal precedent on the issue as laid out in the Supreme Court’s ruling in Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, where students sued their university because they opposed multicultural, environmental and GLBT groups.

“This issue is pretty well settled,” Upton said.

If somehow the measure did work its way through the courts, he said, top university officials could be held liable.

“… The people with decision making authority who allowed it to happen could be held liable full money damages,” Upton said. “But it would probably be struck down so quickly that money damages wouldn’t be an issue.”

Meanwhile, on the University of Houston campus their Student Government Association unanimously approved a resolution opposing the second prong of this attack on Texas collegiate LGBT centers  

Proud of my alma mater and their SGA!    


There was also victory on the Austin front as well.  State Rep Bill Zedler (R Teabagger-Arlington) proposed an unjust amendment to the state budget bill designed to eliminate LGBT resource centers on state university and college campuses. The amendment would also eliminate state funding for women's centers and all gender and sexuality centers at Texas universities.    Under pressure, he withdrew that amendment   

Hasta la vista, unjust bills.

So this two pronged attack on GLBT centers is terminated for now, but you know we Lone Star State progressives must be forever vigilant as long as the GOP has control of our state legislature and the governor's mansion because the homobigots will not stop until their mission is completed.

HRC, You Have A Problem

I'm sure that the truth will come out about what really happened at that rally today, but note Human Rights Campaign, you still have a very long and tough road to travel before you even begin to get some positive cred back and you have zero room for errors, misspeaking, or mistakes.   TransGriot. 'What The Hell Happened In DC Today?'  March 27, 2013

Well, looks like we can take the 'alleged' label off the incident that was described in yesterday's post about the SCOTUS rally because someone has come forward to comment on it.

That someone who has come forward is a biggie.  It's Jerame Davis, the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats.

Jerame wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday that he witnessed the incident, and the only flag out of the community affinity flags that was targeted for removal was the trans one.

HRC is mishandling this situation. While not directly, they are essentially calling me and John M. Becker liars when we were actually direct witnesses to all of this occurring, unlike the folks putting out the statement.

No other flags were asked to be removed from the shot. There were pride flags, American flags, and marriage equality flags all on display. I had a flag of my own. And at one point, organizers directed a person with a pride flag to block someone who was hijacking the media with pictures of dead young gays who were victims of discrimination.

It disappoints me greatly that HRC has chosen the circle-the-wagons-and-deny tactic once again when there were multiple witnesses to what happened. Shameful.

John M. Becker had this to say about it on his Facebook page.

Jerame and I attended the rally together and as he pointed out earlier today, both of us saw this happen. I cannot verify the word-for-word accuracy of the quote in this blog post as I was just out of earshot in that loud and exciting environment, but regardless of whether the words spoken were as blunt as the writer alleges or couched in nicer-sounding language, the sentiment and intent were unmistakable. This greatly dismayed me and others nearby, and we affirmed the flag holder and encouraged him to stand his ground. I'm so glad he did.

I'm sure the staffer was acting out of a misplaced sense of caution in that excruciatingly high-pressure environment -- and I'm equally sure it was not HRC's intent to exclude or deeply offend, but regardless of the circumstances, people *felt* excluded and *were* deeply offended. HRC really should apologize for this regrettable incident before it casts any larger a shadow on an otherwise beautiful event.

Instead, HRC is going into their standard playbook whenever they get caught dissing the trans community and it's witnessed by someone NOT from the trans community:  deny it

“It is a not true to suggest that any person or organization was told their flag was less important than another – this did not occur and no HRC staff member would ever tolerate such behavior. To be clear, it is the position of the Human Rights Campaign that marriage is an issue that affects everyone in the LGBT community.

QNotes published the full statement in this Matt Comer article.

So in effect, HRC Communications Director Michael Cole-Schwartz is basically calling Jerame and John liars.  Damn, I hope and pray somebody comes up with video from the rally for this.

But right now HRC, you have a problem.  As I said in yesterday's post, you had zero room for errors, misspeaking, or mistakes and this incident is the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a smoldering fire.  That white hot fire of anger, especially within the trans community with whom you had little to zero trust and credibility with anyway, is about to burn your organization in multiple ways.  

You may be about to witness the restarting of HRC gala protests a la 2007-2008 by trans community activists and our allies in a city near you and another dropoff in donations, and that's just the opening salvos in how this kerfluffle could probably play out.

Responding To Transphobia Online

With trans folks popping up in the news more frequently and this being the Internet era, they haters have the ability to post foul comments and outright lies in the comment sections of these stories.   We not only need to do battle in the comment threads to get to correct information out their to debunk the lies an win hearts and minds, we need to do so in an intelligent way.  

This guest post is courtesy of Mark Snyder, the Communications Manager for the San Francisco based Transgender Law Center 

It entitled 'Responding to Transphobia Online' and gives you seven tips for doing so.

I prefer letting the USS Monica out of port from time to time to patrol the cyberseas and firing off troll nuke tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles myself for the peeps that deserve to have their ignorance exposed for the enire planet to see, but that's another post for another time. .
 

1. Do not comment when you are angry or heated.
Take some time to cool down and collect your thoughts. Typing out your comments in a word processor ahead of time helps you slow down, and comes with spell check!

2. Do not engage in “flame wars” or arguments.

Instead of engaging directly or replying to comments of people who are saying mean things, it’s best to post a new comment so that it is not hidden and so that you do not engage in a heated dialogue which would give the person more of a platform. Keep your comments informative, heartfelt, and succinct. Always refer back to the topic at hand in the news article or story.

3. Respond to general themes in the thread.
If there is a general transphobic theme happening in the thread of comments, you may want to find a neutralizing statement that would dispel the myth or misconception. Do not directly engage or reply with any commenter. Instead, post a new comment. It does not help to be seen as argumentative or defensive.
Example: Many commentators are saying it isn’t right to let a boy enter a girls room. Fresh blog comment: It is important to note that transgender boys are boys, and transgender girls are girls. No student should be excluded from programs and facilities, and every student should be treated fairly.

4. Be compassionate.

Let people know that you understand transgender issues can be difficult for some people, and that it is okay to come along with you on a journey of understanding.
Example Post: I know this issue is new for some people, and that is okay.  As a transgender person/As a friend /As a mom/ – I know that transgender people should have the same fair chance to participate in XXXX as anyone else. Discrimination and exclusion are painful for everyone.

5. Use evidence for added strength. You can use quotes and statistics from Injustice at Every Turn.

6. Stay positive, and give messages of support to youth who may be reading the comments.

7. In extreme cases, report or flag transphobic comments to the social network or news outlet for removal.