Tired Of People Racistly Painting Trans Women Of Color As 'Uniquely Violent'

We have seen this disgusting racist pattern before.    It was present when CeCe McDonald was sentenced to jail time in Minnesota despite defending herself from being violently attacked by a white supremacist and his buddies. 

Jewlyes Gutierrez was facing criminal charges for defending herself after a November fight at her high school despite being bullied and attacked  by three cis female girls in California.   Never mind the inconvenient fact that Jewlyes had been bullied by the same girls for over a year and tried to get indifferent school officials to intervene to stop it.

And now we have the jacked up case of Jane Doe.  She is a 16 year old trans girl of color who despite being in that system since age 4, surviving numerous incidents of violence, sexual assault and abuse, that in some cases perpetrated by the people in the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) that were supposed to help and protect her, she was sent to an adult male prison on April 8 despite not being charged with any crime.   Only increasing national outrage over this got her moved to an adult female prison, which is still messed up.

And the reason why this happened?  Because according to the fear mongering DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, Jane was 'far too dangerous' to remain in their care.

Really?   When DCF personnel are complicit in some of the violence that Jane Doe has faced, they are obligated to fix their part of the problem they caused in Jane's young life.  

Throwing her in a lockup with adult male prisoners is not fixing the problem, it's exacerbating and pouring gasoline on it. 

In all these cases, we have the intersections of several problematic societal layers. The first problem is the obvious whiff of racism combined with the overwhelming stench of transphobia in all these cases.  The other dynamic involved here is the racist assumption that trans youth of color are 'uniquely violent' and 'dangerous to women'.

Some of that 'dangerous to women' piece has its roots in the predator memes trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERF) have been peddling for over four decades.

And hello, let's inject another dose of reality into this conversation.  If you're constantly being picked on or have violence directed at you simply for trying to live your trans life as best you can, sooner or later you are going to snap and lash out at the person that sent you over the edge.  Hell, I was an adult when I transitioned, and there were days I'd had enough of people's transphobic bullshyt and snapped on the very next person that crossed my path spouting transphobic ish.

The bottom line is that I'm tired of transwomen of color who far too often are the victims of violent attacks aimed at them by cisgender people being given the side eye by a transphobic society as if they are the problem.  

When we transwomen of color already have to deal with societal drama brought on by our ethnicity,  and we have to deal with an unjust and racist  legal system, the last thing we need is the misguided perception of being tagged as 'uniquely violent' being thrown into this toxic transphobic stew.      

Laverne and Lupita Snubbed For Time 100

What would your reaction be if an institution magazine sought public input into who should  make its annual influence list, a person got the fifth highest total of all the vote getters in the poll, but was still snubbed when the final list went to press?

Well, that's what just happened to Laverne Cox.  When I discovered she was briefly leading her category in Time 100 voting, I asked my readers to support her and many of you did to the tune of 88,000 votes (mine included).    That total was as I mentioned the fifth highest number of votes anyone received, but yet she was ignored by the Time editors when the final list came out. 

What up with that Time magazine?  . 

She wasn't the only one with a similar situation ignored by the Time editors.   Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o was also snubbed despite the overwhelming support.of over 41, 000 people.

Time has been mute about it, but peeps pissed about both being snubbed haven't.   The champions and supporters have been vocal about their displeasure of neither woman making the list while people that polled far fewer votes and were of lighter complexions did. 

Laverne took it in stride, thanking people for supporting her. (and I and 'errbody' else always will have your back). Meanwhile the radio silence coming from Time speaks volumes.

As far as I'm concerned, without you two ladies on the Time 100 list, the quality and credibility of it took a major hit.  I submit I'm not alone in my assessment either..

Another Day, Another Offensive Transphobic Drag Queen Stunt

There's been a severe outbreak of transphobia in the white gay male ranks over our outrage in Trans World conserning the slur terms to our community and their use on RuPaul's Drag Race and elsewhere in gay male ranks.   

That has led to an ongoing war of words between predominately white gay men and the white trans feminine community of which the volume of it got kicked up another notch when LOGO decided the 't-word' and 'shemale' would no longer be part of the show. 

The trans hatred has flowed ever since, and it didn't get any better when Calpernia Addams and Andrea James wrote inflammatory posts in predominately gay male read online venues defending  RuPaul and the drag community that slammed trans people on the opposite side RuPaul as 'Internet hacktivists'.  

That drew return fire from their trans counterparts who called them sellouts, and those were the nicer anti-Andrea and Calpernia comments I can print and have have this post remain safe for work reading.

Now comes word of a stunt that somebody sent me a link to that has gone too far from the drag queen side. 

2014 Trans 100 honoree Parker Marie Molloy has been at the center of much of the ire of gay men and drag queen community for her blistering no holds barred "I fucking hate RuPaul' commentary when the now pulled offensive RuPaul's Drag Race show was aired that triggered this ongoing G and DQ vs T battle.. 

But when drag performer Alaska Thunderfuck posted a since pulled YouTube video that ends with the controversial trans writer being shot, that's when stuff crossed a dangerous line. 

Not no, but oh hell no do you ever go there when transpeople are getting murdered for simply trying to live their authentic lives and drag queens sometimes find themselves being targeted for anti-trans bigotry that escalates unto them being violently attacked (or murdered) as last summer's pizzeria incident involving drag queen Miles Denardo in Washington DC amply demonstrated.

There has been a lot of shade and angry words hurled by both sides in this kerfluffle.  I didn't like some of the stuff Parker Molloy wrote at times although I've made it clear I'm no fan of RuPaul either.  Neither have I liked the commentary coming from Calpernia and Andrea on this issue, but I will defend to the death as a fellow writer their First Amendment right to say it.

But the bottom line is that is unacceptable and dangerous to advocate for the murder of any person because you disagree with what they say.   It's even more problematic when that person you aimed it at is part of a despised marginalized group and you are a member of a privileged societal group while doing so.

And don't even part your lips to say 'this was satire' or 'a parody'.  That dog won't hunt as we say here in my home state.      

HuffPostGay was also wrong in posting that transphobic ish to their well read site, which they recognized, pulled and apologized for later.

Note: This page originally contained a video by drag artist Alaska Thunderfuck. We believed that the clip was one example of how diverse gender-variant communities are currently engaged in a complicated conversation about important issues regarding language, identity and privilege. However, we now realize that the video is patently offensive to many people and ultimately now feel it goes beyond being useful in this discussion and therefore have removed it from the site. We apologize.

Let me reiterate the money point I'm trying to get across for you to burn into your brain cells one last time. It is unacceptable and dangerous to advocate for the murder of any person simply because you disagree with what they say, and especially when that person is part of a despised marginalized group who is targeted far too often with murderous violence aimed at it.    

Xavier University LA Is Majoring In Transphobia

While positive trans friendly changes are happening at my alma mater UH and up I-10 at LSU, seems as though the opposite is transpiring at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Was sent this interesting screenshot from L'lerret Ailith of a ballot question that came out today on the XULA campus, and is due tomorrow with this interesting Question 17:  

Article VIII. Elections: Section Two- Eligibility (add Mr Xavier where Miss Xavier appears: Gender requirement)  1. Candidates for Miss Xavier/ Class Miss must be (A) female or (B) born female

In addition to the underhanded and duplicitous way this ballot question was rolled out by the Xavier SGA, L'lerret had much to say about life on the Xavier campus as a girl like us and the shady ballot question.

***

Please share this with the world so that everyone can see how blatantly transphobic Xavier University of Louisiana is.   I have been transitioning in college and as of late have been asking for more trans* amenities so I am lead to feel like this is a response to me living in my truth publicly and proudly.

They have released a ballot for the student body to vote on amendments to the constitution and one of them is to choose whether Miss. Xavier or any class Miss has to be BORN female or not.

They are publicly supporting the fate of persecution, ostracism, and discrimination of gender variant individuals. My human rights is held to a vote and majority rules.
Not only has the school simply tolerated me and not made changes I've requested (I.e gender neutral restrooms, trans* friendly housing policies and health insurance, the ability to form a GSA, etc) they now choose to publicly humiliate and subjugate my community.

I spoke to the SGA president (Javon Bracy) and she told me the word of this had been around campus for a while and so she can't do anything about it so I've opted to get community support and take public action. Help me fight this. Fight for gender equity and trans* inclusion. Fight oppression. Share this! Spread the word!:

***

Doing that for you right now L'lerret.   This is a concrete example of the ripple effects of the transphobia and anti-trans hate injected into the Catholic Church in 2003 by Dr. Paul McHugh at the Vatican level filtering down to the flock. 

XULA also has the other dynamic coursing through its history of being an HBCU as well.  

The city of New Orleans has had a non-discrimination law that covers gender identity on the books since 1998, but Xavier seems as though it is determined to create a campus environment hostile to trans and gender variant people in a city and region chock full of them.

Xavier says in its mission statement that 'the ultimate purpose of the University is to contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society.   This preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service.'

Looks like XULA is forgetting along with its SGA that trans and gender variant students are part of that global society in New Orleans, around the world and on the XULA campus.   By running roughshod over their human rights, your alleged diverse learning and teaching environment is failing to take their existence and humanity into account. 

About Time The Offensive Trans Slur Terms Were Dropped From 'Drag Race'

It took them long enough, but Logo has pulled the problematic episode of RuPaul's Drag Race featuring the 'female or she-male' sketch.  

In addition, they will no longer use the term 'she-mail' in the show after trans community members and yours truly spoke out and GLAAD met with MTV and Logo to discuss the issue.

Still boycotting RuPaul's Drag Race, but happy they made the announcement.

To all you predominately white gay menz pissed off they are dropping those offensive to the trans community terms, have several seats and a nice tall appletini flavored glass of STHU.   I'm getting sick of y'all tripping because we transpeeps expressed ourselves about this issue and people actually listened this time.

As I said last month and will repeat, we trans people have every right to call out friend, foe and frenemy who offend us and expect action to be taken on it.  You don't like the fact it was your boy RuPaul, too damned bad.  You don't get to tell us what is and isn't offensive to our community, and it's past time for y'all to deal with that reality.  

For those of you who kept throwing the shady comment 'the trans community has better things to do than call out RuPaul's media transphobia', I call bull feces on that.   I've witnessed far too often the numerous times you gay peeps have straight up acted the fool anytime a straight celeb utters the gay slur words that offend your community. 

It is also the height of vanillacentric privileged cis gay arrogance to presume we trans folks don't have the right to do the same.   

New year, new rules.  As Katie Couric, Piers Morgan, Wendy Williams and now RuPaul have discovered, we trans people are not tolerating ANY disrespect aimed at our community from friend, foe or frenemy.

You can call that 'bullying' all you want.  I call it standing up for our humanity. 
 

Lumberton ISD Trans Teacher Reinstated

52 year old Laura Jane Klug had been a substitute teacher in the Lumberton Independent School District near Beaumont teaching without incident until last week.  Some transphobic parents complained after she substitute taught a fifth grade class at Lumberton Middle School and ignited a kerfluffle that roiled the area.

“I have always conducted myself in a professional manner and would never discuss my gender identity in school,” Klug was quoted as saying in a 12News story.

She also told Lone Star Q in an interview that she suspects it was one of her neighbors who outed her and contacted the media.

After meeting with Lumberton ISD Superintendent John Valastro she was suspended pending a meeting held on Thursday to determine whether she can continue to teach in LISD. 

As the story began to get national attention, Valastro then claimed Klug wasn't suspended as TBLG people in Southeast Texas and the rest of the state mobilized in response to the unjust treatment of Klug.  

Lambda Legal, and Equality Texas pointed out that LISD was in violation of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled in Macy v. Holder that the provision covers transgender people. In addition, courts have ruled that government employers can’t discriminate against LGBT people due to the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

The PFLAG Beaumont chapter sprang into action to coordinate a rally that happened before the 7 PM LISD board meeting that would determine Klug's teaching fate.  

That Thursday board meeting happened in front of an overflow crow in which the purple clad supporters of Klug outnumbered the transphobes.

After 13 speakers pro and con expressed themselves during the 30 minute public comment period, the LISD board went into a lengthy closed session to discuss her fate..

Klug was informed that she was reinstated, but told not to apply for the first open position in LISD until Superintendent Valastro meets with the district's principals on Monday.

“Hopefully this is going to be a really good learning moment for everybody involved,” Klug said. “It’s certainly an opportunity for principals to address the issue of people who are gender-nonconforming. Also, it might encourage somebody who is questioning their gender to maybe come forward.”

Whether Lumberton ISD was motivated by doing the right thing by Klug or a possible lawsuit is a moot point.   The bottom line is in this instance, the evil instigated by whatever transphobic troll jumped this off did not triumph and Laura Jane Klug is still able to teach. 

TransGriot Update:  Upon further review, looks like LISD is backsliding and trying to run out the school year clock on Ms. Klug.

Tired Of Black TBLG Women Getting Harassed For Going To The Bathroom

Had a nice conversation with Andraya Williams Saturday in which she reminded me we'd met when I was in Charlotte in 2012 to deliver the keynote speech for the TransFaith In Color conference. 

The subject then turned to the battle she and her attorney Sarah Demarest are currently fighting with Central Piedmont Community College.

Appears as though the CPCC peeps seem to think that if they keep stonewalling instead of coming to grips with the fact they have seriously screwed up by disrespecting Andraya and resolving the matter, this will all go away.

Umm hmm, keep thinking that.   The more you stonewall, the more you piss people off to where this will escalate into you having to deal with your transphobic sins in federal court and probably paying for them.





The well attended protest that occurred Friday should have been a wake up call, so CPCC, I would urge you to expeditiously apologize to Ms.Williams,discipline the security officers involved, get busy enacting non discrimination policies that cover sexual orientation and gender identity, and create some clearly marked and designated gender neutral bathrooms.

You can either do that now or pay Ms. Williams much more in cash later.
 
One of the things I told Andraya was she isn't the first transwoman to face anti-trans harassment over the bathroom, and sadly won't be the last one. I pointed out this crap happened to Tyjanae Moore in 2010 at the Houston Public Library downtown location instigated just like in her case, by a transphobic security guard.   Another incident happened to a transgender UHD student last year that led to gender neutral bathrooms being established on their campus.. 

But there have been far too many of these incidents aimed at Black trans, SGL and gender variant women.  There was Khadijah Farmer's 2007 case in New York against the Caliente Cab restaurant.   
No sooner had the ink dried on the settlement agreement in the Farmer case we were hearing about producer Tanya White being thrown out of the posh Beverly Hills Hotel and disrespectfully being called 'it' in September 2007 for using the ladies room while attending a party at the hotel for actress LisaRaye McCoy.

In Arkansas Kaye Bowens was fired from her job because somebody had a problem with her using the ladies room. 

Bottom line is we transwomen of all ethnic backgrounds are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of being harassed and in some cases violently confronted by cis people just for going to the damn bathroom. 

We've got to poop and piss too, so let my trans people do that in peace, will you?  Or is your need to bully and oppress somebody that deep seated?  

Y'all also need to stop believing the 'bathroom predator' woof tickets the right wing is selling you peeps because they have no logic and reason based argument to justify their opposition to trans human rights laws.        

All that I or any transwoman does when we go potty is the same thing you do.  Poop, piss and wash our hands when we're done.   We don't need your harassment aimed at us because you have insecurities you haven't dealt with yet and you want to feel like Mr. Big Cis Man or Ms. Big Cis Woman by messing with us. 
  

Charlotte Trans College Student Harassed, Detained For Using The Bathroom

While I was busy focusing on a developing situation on the WSSU campus in Winston-Salem, just down the road in Charlotte more TBLG injustice has been brewing on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College.

Meet Andraya Williams.  She's a 22 year old student at Central Piedmont Community College who is handling her academic business there.  She has been transitioning since age 18 and started the medical part of it two years ago.  

On March 18 she was exiting the women's restroom and according to an article by QNotes Matt Comer ran into transphobic security officers who detained, disrespected her, informed her she was suspended and escorted her off campus.

CPCC does not have a non-discrimination policy that covers sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and Williams and her attorney Sarah Demarest of Charlotte’s LGBTQ Law Center have been trying to resolve the issue since then in the face of intransigent stonewalling by CPCC officials.

“CPCC’s decision to apprehend [Ms. Williams] in the restroom was based on their visual assessment of her gender,” said Demarest in the QNotes interview. “While CPCC is allowed to maintain sex-segregated facilities for male and female students, they decided that Ms. Williams fell outside both categories and treated her differently than other students. Furthermore, the differential treatment occurred in front of other students, highlighting to her peers that she does not conform to gender stereotypes and outing her as transgender.”

Now that this campus transphobia story is getting national and international attention, Central Piedmont Community College comes out with a statement from CPCC Public Information Officer Jeff Lowrance claiming they are trying to 'balance the rights of transgender students with the rights of the rest of the student body.'  

Since when CPCC?   Don't even try to tell that lie. You have no policies that protect the rights of trans, SGL and gender variant students and were in no hurry to enact them until your campus security got caught harassing and disrespecting an African-American trans student. 


Demarest said to QNotes that CPCC needs to review their polices and practices immediately, and I concur with that assessment.

“There are many transgender students who need to know what their rights are and need to know how it is they are supposed to navigate this issue,” said Demarest. “The way CPCC has handled this situation was inadequate and allowed [Williams] to be humiliated and feeling like she was without recourse.”

Demarest also pointed out the school violated her client’s due process rights, CPCC’s actions were unlawful and constitute a violation of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities.   Federal courts, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, she says, have held that unlawful sex discrimination extends to gender stereotyping.

The 2011 Glenn v. Brumby case found that discriminating against someone based on their gender nonconformity is sex based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause 

discriminating against someone on the basis of his or her gender non-conformity constitutes sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1587416.html#sthash.RXe6VMwF.dpuf

discriminating against someone on the basis of his or her gender non-conformity constitutes sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1587416.html#sthash.RXe6VMwF.dpuf

Williams and Demarest are considering filing a federal civil rights complaint and I hope they do.  I and other trans people of color are sick and tired of being jacked with for going to the bathroom..   

There is a protest being organized by CPCC students outraged over this incident in support of Andraya that will take place Friday, April 4 starting at 11 AM EDT.

We will be holding a protest in response to the treatment of our fellow CPCC student Andraya Williams, who on March 19, was harassed, detained and eventually suspended and denied due process because CPCC staff is insufficiently educated on transgender inclusion. We are protesting to show that intolerance and the violation of student rights is not something we as students believe should be part of our school's values. We welcome community members and other allies to join us to show that we stand behind Andraya Williams and all transgender students at CPCC.

It will take place on the corner of Elizabeth and Kings Streets if you wish to attend.

Will be keeping an eye on this situation as well.

RuPaul (As Usual) Gives Me Another Reason To Despise Him

I've written more than a few posts about my dislike of RuPaul Andre Charles bordering on contempt for his over a decade long transphobic BS and other assorted fails. .   

I've been in Boycott RuPaul's Drag Race mode since the show started, so I wasn't surprised when word of the latest RuPaul trans fail hit my inbox. 

For this call out of Mr. Charles I need to go into Maya Wilkes mode. 

FYI Advocate, the 'shemale' term dates back to 1973 and gained widespread exposure no thanks to transphobic TERF Janice Raymond in 1979.   It was subsequently appropriated by the porn industry.

But back to riffing on RuPaul.    Last night in a ripoff of the old Maury Povich "Man or Woman' trans shows they used to run during sweeps months, in last night's Drag Race episode they ran a mini-game competition similar to it entitled 'Female or Shemale'.

As reported by the Advocate, Drag Race competitors were shown a series of photos and asked to discern as RuPaul described it between a 'biological woman' or a 'psychological woman'.

Surprised the TERF's haven't made Ru an honorary member of their little klavern yet.

I'm beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of the rampant transphobia and ignorance that oozes from RuPaul and his show including the regular usage of terms the trans community has repeatedly told the world and especially your clueless azz, are offensive to us.    

As usual, when you predictably frak up and the trans community calls your ass out on it, elements of the white gay male community come rushing to your defense. 

They either try to gaysplain how offended we in the trans community should be about this, try to justify his use of the words, start venting in the comment threads of gay themed blogs their own vanilla scented privileged transphobic commentary.or part their lips to utter the history deficient lie that trans people don't belong in 'their movement'.

And yeah, megatired of that, too.

Bottom line gay peeps, is that RuPaul has a long history of transphobia.   Just as you have told the universe that using the f-word that rhymes with maggot is a slur to your community and you rise up in unison to call people out who do, we trans folks have told y'all the terms that are offensive to our community.

We have every right to call out friend, foe and frenemy who offend us as Katie Couric, Piers Morgan, and Wendy Williams have found out over the last three months.   Right now, we have a serial transphobe in RuPaul that is justifiably getting a well deserved trans community cuss out over using a term we have repeatedly told him is offensive to our community. 


We don't want or need to hear right now ANY gaysplaining trying to justify those offensive terms usage in TBLG circles.  Neither are we in the mood right now to hear or read  comments coming from you hypocritically stating we should 'lighten up' about what RuPaul did when we have seen your community repeatedly tear people new anuses and demand their termination for saying the terms that offend you.  

We trans people determine what is and isn't offensive to our community.  You don't get to make that call.  All you get to do as our allies in this situation is respect what we trans peeps have to say about it, burn it into your brains and follow our lead.     

But once again, RuPaul (as usual) gives me and the trans community another reason to despise him.


H/T Advocate

Since When Did Transfeminine Athletes Have An Advantage Over Cisfeminine Ones?

'The Women’s Sports Foundation supports the right of all athletes, including transgender athletes, to participate in athletic competition that is fair, equitable and respectful to all--Women's Sports Foundation, 2011 'Participation of Transgender Athletes In Women's Sports '
I'm really getting beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of hearing, along with with my transfeminine athletic sisters around the world this ignorant and repeated far too often bull feces by cis people that transfeminine athletes have an advantage over their cis feminine counterparts. 

Been hearing that tired argument since Renée Richards sued the USTA in 1977 for the right to play in the US Open.  

That argument defies logic and is an insult to the competitive abilities of cis feminine athletes to suggest that a trans feminine athlete would instantly dominate whatever cisfeminine sporting ranks they compete in. 

I played varsity tennis in high school and still play from time to time.  But there is no way in Hades I can beat a Serena Williams or any professional women's tennis player even on their worst day and I simultaneously crank my game up at that moment to an A++  level.  To suggest I can simply because I showed up on the planet in a masculine body half a century ago and just show up on the court to play them is delusional.   

And speaking of Renée Richards, know how many Grand Slam tournaments she during her pro career? Same as Anna Kournikova. ZERO  Renee Richards had more tennis success as a coach for Martina Navratilova

The 'transfeminine athletes have an advantage over cisfeminine competitors' meme is one that needs to die a swift and painful death.   It is used far too often to exclude trans women from competition and has its roots in the same racist rhetoric that was used to enable discriminating against African-American athletes and justify segregated sports in the Jim Crow era. 

Dr.Eric Vilain, director of the Center for Gender-based Biology, and chief of medical genetics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California Los Angeles, has long ago debunked the idea that transgender women who have been on hormone replacement therapy for a significant amount of time retain some sort of advantage over their cisgender counterparts:

"Research suggests that androgen deprivation and cross-sex hormone treatment in male-to-female transsexuals reduces muscle mass; accordingly, one year of hormone therapy is an appropriate transitional time before a male-to-female student athlete competes on a women's team."

But yet the ignorance, as evidenced by the recent Wendy Williams show panel and CrossFit's transphobic response to Chloie Jonsson still persists.

This from the general counsel for CrossFit:

"Chloie was born genetically- as a matter of fact- with an X and a Y chromosome and all of the anatomy of a male of the human race... [A] male competitor who has a sex reassignment procedure still has a genetic makeup that confers a physical and physiological advantage over women. We owe it to the competition and the whole pool of female athletes to exclude Chloie from the participating in the female division."

How the hell do you know what Chloie Jonsson's chromosomal makeup is?   Unless you have some special mutant powers we aren't aware of, the only way you can tell someone chromosomal makeup is by genetic testing. 

Note to the transphobic and scientifically ignorant.   XX and XY aren't the only sex chromosomal combinations that humans have.  There's XXY,  XXX, XYY, XXXY, XO...

Because of that ignorance, the California based fitness trainer was denied the opportunity to compete in the International CrossFit Games, which seeks to find the fittest men and women on the planet.

Note it didn't say fittest cis men or cis women on the planet.

Jonsson is now suing CrossFit for $2.5 million for violating the state anti-discrimination law that covers trans people.  The case is scheduled to go to court in Santa Cruz, CA in July and it would be wise for CrossFit to settle because other major international sporting organizations, including the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA have clearly defined policies and guidelines concerning trans athletes. 

Bottom line is that trans athletes not only want to, but deserve the chance to compete in sports without drama just like anyone else on this planet.   Denying transpeople that opportunity because of your transphobic bigotry and prejudice is not only wrong, but in CrossFit's case may cost them a lot of cash. 

Let my trans people play.   Let my trans people compete.  Let my trans people participate in sports without drama.

Wendy Williams Steps Into Transphobic Territory Again

Wendy Williams is already on my caca list for her misgendering comments of Viola Davis during the 2012 Oscars, and has a long, negative history with the trans community already with some past problematic incidents and comments from her shock jock radio days..  

She just poured more gasoline on the simmering fire with her transphobic comments on a recent broadcast of her talk show.  

Williams along with a panel discussed trans athlete Chloie Jonsson.     She is suing CrossFit for not allowing her to compete in the women's division of the CrossFit Games. 

Williams and panelist Joe Pardavila then uttered some transphobic comments on top of all the misgendering of Johnson while spouting ignorant non-science based myths about trans athletes that hearken back to the same bull feces that used to be said to justify segregated sports in the bad old Jim Crow segregation days. 



It's bitterly ironic that as someone who routinely gets slimed and misgendered by Black gossip bloggers as a trans woman, you would think that Williams would at least be more sensitive and aware to not do the same to other people and put out ignorant commentary about trans people on her TV show.

But that would be expecting too much from Wendy Williams. 

TransGriot Update:  I originally had the video from the Wendy Williams show on this post, but she has removed it and apologized for the comments.   But the wonderful aspect about the Net is once you post something it's around on somebody's server forever and this video is specifically of the offensive segment. 

Nobody Wants To Hear Your Transphobic Bigotry, Mario

The slain Tejano singer Selena is well loved in the Latin@ community and especially here in Texas.

There have been more than a few times I've attended drag shows, pageants or club talent nights and witnessed either Latina transwomen or Latino drag illusionists perform to the Queen of Tejano's songs


With the painful 19th anniversary of her March 31, 1995  murder in Corpus Christi at the hands of her fan club president Yolanda Saldivar weeks before her 24th birthday looming, the city has marked that sad anniversary with an annual tribute event.  

For the last three years #girllikeus Honey Andrews has been performing at that tribute in addition to doing her Selena illusion in clubs and other events around the area and the state.   She performs as the Queen of Tejano in outfits custom made to resemble the ones Jennifer Lopez wore in the 1997 biopic on Selena's life. 

She's preformed at the tribute event in Corpus Christi with no problema until this year. 




Andrews was set to perform at this year's event scheduled for March 30 until she received this transphobic text message from promoter Mario Gomez stating she wasn't welcome, he'd have police deal with her if she did, and adding at the end of it 'nobody wants to see a male person dress up like a girl'

Oh really?   Guess you haven't heard about RuPaul's Drag Race, or the fact the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar garnered a box office of $36.5 million     

Once the transphobic conversation was posted on Andrews' Facebook page it went viral Wednesday and triggered a backlash that prompted Gomez to backpedal and offer her a spot in his show. while spouting the usual comment of persons who have been caught doing and saying transphobic ish.

“If this person really wants to sing that bad, they are more than welcome,” Gomez told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “This person shouldn’t be making such a big deal about it ... I’m not a bad person. I’m not discriminatory. There’s no need for this.”

 There was no need for the transphobic bigotry you unleashed upon Honey, either homes.. 

Of course, the disrespected Andrews declined it.  “He did this to clear his name up,” she said in an interview. 'That's not the way it works. He did something wrong. He needs to face the consequences.”


Andrews is already committed to performing at another Corpus Christi tribute on March 31

Chief Lanier, Looks Like You DO Have An MPD Transphobia Problem

While I was in DC for the LGBT Media Journalists Convening last week,  I was having such a good time with the ladies of Casa Ruby Friday night I almost blew off the reception and stayed for the group meeting they were having there.  

Had I done so, I would have had a ringside seat for the latest incident of transphobia breaking out in the Washington Metropolitan Police Department

Seems like one of those officers racistly thought that Casa Ruby shouldn't have a blue BMW Z3 to take their clients home in, much less that vehicle was too good for transpeople in a service organization to be in.

For those of you not inside the Beltway, last Friday night after I got dropped off near the Capital Hilton by her executive assistant Caprice Williams, around 10 PM EST she was driving Ruby Corado and some of the attendees of their group meeting home that night.   They were followed for ten blocks after leaving Casa Ruby's Georgia Avenue location  by an MPD unit and pulled over by the Washington po-po's. ostensibly because the vehicle was overcrowded.  

The traffic stop quickly devolved into an ugly incident in which Williams was yanked from the car, the other traumatized passengers were ordered out of the car and made to stand outside in below freezing temperatures, transphobic and homophobic slurs were uttered by the gaggle of officers gathered there, and Williams was arrested and taken to jail and held there until 4:30 AM 

The incident comes on the heels of a recently released 41 page report in which an independent task force created by the Anti-Defamation League of Washington found shortcomings in the way that Metro PD interacts with the DC transgender community. 

It also fits into a pattern of previous incidents involving transpeople of color and MPD on and off duty officers.

From Chloe Moore to Patti Shaw to the carload of transwomen fired upon by drunken off duty MPD officer Kenneth Furr, trans women, and especially transwomen of color in the District find themselves not feeling protected and served by the police officers in the city they live in.

In fact, the incident Shaw endured made it into the Amnesty International 'Stonewalled' report that details abuses of TBLG people aimed at them by the police. 

It also led Shaw in July 2012 to file a lawsuit against MPD and the US Marshal's Service. 


According to the Hate Crimes Assessment Report, it stated there is a belief in the Washington DC LGBT community that “homophobia and transphobia are widespread within MPD, with several describing it as rampant.”   That community mistrust was also reflected in MPD oversight hearings testimony  on February 27, 2013.

Interviews with members of the DC community for the Hate Crimes Assessment Report revealed that the hostility toward transgender people, especially transgender women of color, is common among many MPD officers.

“Virtually every transgender person who spoke to us at the four community meetings reported that they had been harassed or mistreated because of their gender identity or expression, ranging from acts of ignorance and insensitivity to outright hostility and overt expressions of bigotry and harassment,” the HCA report says.

And you'd be hard pressed to believe with all the transphobic incidents currently plaguing MPD that I've talked about on this blog since 2010, that once upon a time, Officer Bonnie N.Davenport was the MPD's first trans cop in 1979.

I repeat what I said in the post discussing the Kenneth Furr incident in August 2011. 

Something transphobic has been brewing in the MPD police culture for some time and Chief Cathy Lanier needs to get to the bottom of it. 

If she can't or she's getting resistance, then maybe the Department of Justice needs to get busy taking a look at what's going on in MPD and start cleaning out the transphobic rotten apples.

Transphobia is bad enough in the general population.   It's even worse and can have potentially fatal consequences when it's hiding behind a badge.


So yes Chief Lanier, you not only have a transphobia problem in MPD, it's past time to acknowledge you do and root it out.  I think the best way to start besides admitting you have a problem is to actually have some trans police officers on the MPD force again for the first time since Bonnie Davenport retired in 1991. 

Tim Gunn, Trans Models Have Curves

To borrow the words from my sis Isis King, Et tu, Tim Gunn?

Tim Gunn said this in response to a question concerning the recently unveiled Barney's campaign using a group of trans models.

"I’m conflicted. On one hand, I don’t want to say that because you were a man and now you’re a woman, you can’t be in a women’s fashion show. But I feel like it’s a dicey issue. The fact of the matter is, when you are transgender– if you go, say, male to female– you’re not having your pelvis broken and having it expanded surgically. You still have the anatomical bone structure of a man."

That picture of rising model Ines Rau to the left, who is part of that campaign says otherwise, Tim.


Hell, based on the transphobia I routinely see breaking out on certain gay blogs in their comment threads and the idiotic transphobic comments coming from predominately white gay men, looks like some intensive Trans 101 is warranted.

School is now in session.   

First the basics.   When we trans women undergo HRT, we put on weight and get curves.  Genital surgery comes later if we are in the position that we not only want it, but can afford it.

Second point.  You refer to a transperson with their preferred pronouns, and if you don't know ask.  Andrej Pejic, who you were primarily slamming in your comment, refers to herself as 'she'.   

It may also be a shock for you to know that trans feminine models just didn't pop up in the second decade of the 21st Century   Trans feminine models have been gracing the world's runways since April Ashley first sashayed down them in the early 1960's.  

And she damned sure didn't look like a boy when she was handling her modeling business back in the day.

Neither did the models who followed her such as Amanda Lear, Caroline Cossey, Lauren Foster, Tracy Africa Norman,  Teri Toye, Roberta Close, Carmen Xtravaganza or the current crop of trans models like Isis King, the aforementioned Ines Rau, Arisce Wanzer, Carol Marra, Lea T, Felipa Tavares or Carmen Carrera.   

Trans models have just as much variation in ethnicity, skin tones, heights, and body types as their cis feminine counterparts. 

And are just as beautiful, too.

As Pejic tweeted to you and I emphatically cosign, trans models deserve a fair shot at making it in a vanillacentric skewed fashion world that has long had a problem with diversity.   

And for you Tim Gunn as a gay man, to pull out the discredited 'bone density' trope that has been used far too often to attempt to bar trans women from playing in sports, is reprehensible.   Guess you forgot it wasn't so long ago the fashion world wasn't so accepting of people like yourself.

Trans models have curves and with trans feminine kids transitioning as early as age six, that trend will continue. 

Adam Hunter, Chill With The Unfunny, Transmisogynistic Jokes

In the nearly a year since Fallon Fox came out as our #girllikeus in the women's MMA ranks, in addition to the love and appreciation she gets from us in Trans World and our allies, the 'Queen of Swords' has also had to endure a lot of bull feces, ignorant comments, incorrect pseudoscientific rants from people without MD behind their names, and straight up transphobia.

But the latest transphobic attack on Fallon comes wrapped in the Trojan Horse of humor from comedian Adam Hunter.   While he also flings misogynistic and sexist comments at WMMA fighters Ronda Rousey (who said some transphobic crap about Fallon a few months ago), Miesha Tate, and Kim Winslow, he has through his MMA Roasted Twitter handle (which I'm not linking to) also thrown shade at Khloe Kardashian (who is 5'10" vis a vis her petite sisters Kim and Kourtney) and Dog the Bounty Hunter's wife Beth.

But it's Fallon that he has aimed most of his low brow unfunny humor at.   It's one thing to be humorous, and transpeople do have senses of humor.   I enjoy a good joke just like anyone else and one of my fave places to go is the Laff Stop here in H-town, any comedy club or see comedians who are on their game like a Sinbad, Kim Coles, George Lopez and countless others I can name who can make you laugh without offending you.   

But comedians walk a fine line between humor and being straight up offensive, bigoted and hurtful, and when they cross that line we've got to call them out on it.  

When it comes to Fallon Fox, Adam Hunter has long since jumped over that comedic red line.

But it's not just me saying that.  The person who the transmisogynist jokes are being aimed at has also commented on it.:

***

The twitter comments made by MMA Roasted are extremely disgusting. I understand comedy. I really do. And I can take a joke. But, there comes a time when a joke goes too far. Example: Imagine what would happen if MMA Roasted decided to continually make jokes about another aspect of any other fighter that falls within a minority category. Imagine if he repeatedly made derogatory jokes about a black fighter, slamming her or him for being black.

He made this horrible transphobic joke, “I still don’t understand why Big Foot Silva has a tattoo of Fallon Fox’s foot on his back.” I suppose this is supposed to be a crack at me having large feet? (Which I do not.) This is similar to making a joke about the stereotype of black people having large noses. Does anyone reading this think that he would get away with a racial joke like that? And not only making a joke one time, but continuously.

He also said “The New Fallon Fox Action Figure Comes with a Detachable Penis.”  And he took no thought into how that would affect me or the trans community. His jokes in relation to me are transphobic. I don’t believe he understands exactly what he has done or how what he has said incites unnecessary hate and misunderstanding about trans people.

Like I said before. I understand comedy. But, there is a line! Michael Richards found that out years ago. And if this continues, some of them are going to find themselves in the same boat.

Some people may find those degrading and hateful jokes funny.  But those people have a transphobic mindset also. Outside of MMA, the conversation is changing on trans athletes. People are starting to wake up a little bit on this issue. Unfortunately, some in MMA are not paying attention to that. And that will likely bite them in the end. Some of the MMA commentators, comedians, and athletes are really giving MMA a bad name. Their misogynistic, transphobic mindset and language will not be accepted outside of the MMA sphere. And even inside of MMA, people are starting to be uncomfortable with their language and treatment of every type of woman.

This has got to end. It hurts us all. It hurts trans athletes, it hurts cisgender athletes, it hurts the sport of MMA as a whole. If MMA wants to grow, the culture must change just a little bit, or it is going to have bigger problems within greater society. It seems to me that the MMA culture within the United States has gone off the deep end in some areas. Why is that? What is the reasoning behind the hatred many have in our sport for people who are feminine? I’m not just talking about myself. I’m also talking about some of the sexist comments some tend to rattle off about other female fighters. Why all of the blatant misogyny?

What is going on here is obvious. Much like the editors of the “Dr. V’s Magical Putter” story, MMA Roasted is unfortunately negatively exploiting the status of a trans person for notoriety.

Because trans people are looked at as oddities by some in our American society, he uses this particular trans woman as a focal point to unload the ignorance, intolerance, and bigotry that is apparently in his heart to help make a buck. This tactic is very shortsighted and unnecessary. There is an easy way around not making a mistake like this. Simply not make the joke. This is not good for business in the end.

***

If Adam Hunter was funny, he'd be able to make you laugh without the misogyny, sexism and transphobia that contaminates his act.  But tragically, he's not and probably doesn't care as long as they are handing him a check for it.    

 
The Fallon Fox jokes aren't funny Adam and are dripping with transphobic stereotypes.   You need Trans 101 and a new comedy writer.  If you wrote those problematic 'jokes' yourself, it's past time to find a new source of material.         

GOP Hate Speech Aimed At Iconic Hawaiian Trans Teacher

If you had any doubts that the Republican Party would be cranking up the War On Transwomen in the 2K14, here's another example of it coming from the sunny shores of the Hawaiian Islands..

In the wake of them losing badly in trying to stop the implementation of marriage equality legislation in the Aloha State, the sore losers in the Hawaii Republican Party sharpened their attacks on the   māhū and trans* community there.

In their attempt to attack Hawaii's Pono Choices sex education program aimed at grades 6-8, Tito Montes, the president of the Hawaii Republican Assembly let his transphobic flag fly and attacked respected Hawaii trans leader Hina Wong-Kalu 

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL


They viciously misgendered her despite the obvious feminine presentation to the contrary and her legal status as a married woman.  They referred to a woman fluent in the Hawaiian language and a cultural icon who has chanted for innumerable important occasions in the islands, including the most recent opening of the Hawaii State Legislature as a "transvestite drag queen."

Wong-Kalu responded to the unprovoked GOP hate attacks by posting a debate challenge to Montes on the HIRA Facebook page.

I challenge the Hawaii Republican Assembly to a public engage on my culture, history and language in Olelo Hawaii, the language of this land. If you are so bold as to speak of my life with no knowledge or understanding of me then you should address me directly. Your perspectives and perceptions are simply unfounded notions which have no bearing on you nor indicative of my capabilities at that thus you should engage me face to face. And although my life's roles and responsibilities are now acknowledged as my family's daughter and sister, you freely refer to me using male gender pronouns because of your inability to cope with the reality of another who never attacked you or said one negative thing about your organization. And since you refer to me as a man well then man up and engage me in a public political forum. And by the way, the intimacies of my family and our relationships and connections are not your business but since you have no other way to defame me you needed to include my brother. I challenge you and I await your answer. Post it to my page if you have the confidence and wherewithal to engage me in my language and challenge me on the basis of my contributions to our community. Good day and aloha to you.

As of yet, no word from Wong-Kalu about whether Montes has accepted the challenge.  I'm betting you'll see a blizzard in Honolulu before the GOP cowards do so.

Hiding From Transphobic Bigotry Won't Make It Go Away

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MediaTakeOut Unleashes Transphobic Slurs At Mia Ryan

Why am I not surprised to hear about transphobic crap coming not only from Black gossip blogs, but the Black gay people who run them?

They flap their lips to say 'they're not transphobic' while gleefully trafficking in the transphobia running rampant on their sites.

Thanks to The G-List Society, was made aware of the transphobia outbreak that happened recently on MediaTakeOut aimed at Mia Ryan.

For those of you who watched the OWN reality series Houston Beauty, Mia was one of the breakout stars of the show.  Her storyline in which she was trying to complete her beauty school education at Houston's iconic Franklin Beauty School while trying to leave the escorting world and conquer her personal demons was at times fascinating and painful to watch.

MediaTakeOut claims in an April 15, 2013 commentary it has the 'utmost respect for all people regardless of sexuality'.  

But that respect sure doesn't extend to transpeople.

For starters, you transphobic idiots, if you're going to insult us with the t-word that we've more than made clear across Trans World and beyond is a slur, learn how to spell it properly. 

Frankly, I'm more than sick and tired of the repeated pattern of transphobic hate being spread by Black gossip blogs like yours, Bossip, Sandra Rose and The Skorpion Show .  I'm fed up with the rampant transphobia that runs like sewage in your comment threads.  

I'm also sick and tired of being sick and tired of the fact that you Black SGL peeps, who should know better and be intimately aware of how hurtful that crap is, would stoop to that level in the first place.  

We get enough transphobic microaggressive and macroaggressive bull feces aimed at us as Black trans women from society, the media, our families, white trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERF's), the Religious Right, the Republican Party and Fox Noise.. 

We don't need you transphobic idiots at MediaTakeOut gleefully pouring gasoline on the flame of anti-trans hatred in the Black community that results in us getting burned with it, and leads to far too many Black trans women getting murdered.  

What The Hell You Mean Trans Women Are 'Less Valuable'?

When I heard about New York attorney John Scarpa actually parting his lips to say that harsh sentences for killing transwomen should be reserved for certain classes of individuals, it pissed me off.

It pissed me off not because Scarpa had the cojones to say it in a last ditch attempt to deploy a variation of the trans panic defense  (which was fracked up, too) to reduce his client' sentence, but because he was trying to touch upon a sentiment that I believe far too many cis people have when it concerns transpeople.

It is one that is subliminally expressed far too often when it comes to transwomen of color.  'Less Valuable'

Less valuable because we're not white.  Less valuable because we're not cisgender people.  Less valuable because we're not in 'their' social class.  Less valuable because we're not considered human beings in their eyes.

Less valuable because we have no rights that he as a white male, and by extension others in cisgender society are bound to respect.  

Attitudes like Scarpa's are probably the root cause of why GENDA hasn't passed the GOP controlled New York Senate despite passing the New York state assembly six straight times.

All trans lives are valuable.   We have people and families who love us.  We have hopes and dreams we want to fulfill.  We want to find the person we are destined to spend the rest of our lives with. 

We want to simply live our lives to the best of our ability without some transphobic jerk who has a problem with us having the misguided opinion that he has the right to take it and thinking he'll get a legal slap on the wrist for it. 

All human lives are valuable, including the lives of trans people. I thank God along with the New York trans community that we had a judge like Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter on the bench who recognized that salient point and sentenced Rasheen Everett to 29 years to life for killing Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar.
 

I Repeat, Can Y'all Stop Hatin' On Transwomen During This 2013 Holiday Season?

I wrote a post back in 2009 rhetorically asking if the world could (or would) stop hatin' on transwomen during that holiday season and two years later did the same.

Such a deceptively simple request to ask to be treated with dignity and respect for at least a month, but so rarely happens.

Well, I'm going to go sit on Santa's lap and ask for that Christmas wish to be granted.

For the 2013 holiday season, I would like for not one transperson to be killed or injured.

For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not have to read hate speech or misgendering comments about us coming from friends, frenemies and foes
 
For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not see a positive story about us on the Net have a comment thread attached to it with an avalanche of hateful, ignorant and transphobic comments.

For the 2013 holiday season, can we transwomen simply be able to live our daily lives without drama?


TransGriot Update:  Did this song rewrite in 2011 that goes perfectly with this post entitled 'Stop Hatin' Us On Christmas Day'.