Vinny, You May Wish To Keep Fallon's Name Out Of Your Transphobic Mouth

There are some folks in MMA who sure do love to talk shyt and call my homegirl Fallon Fox's name in vain don't they? 

This time another MMA fighter recently did so, and Fallon was nowhere near the cage in question when it happened.

It started when women's MMA fighter Julianna Pena made her UFC debut in Fairfax, VA Saturday against Russia's Milena Dudieva.

Pena spent a year on the sidelines rehabbing from a January 2014 freak training accident injury in which she tore the ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus in her right knee.

The 25 year old Pena is not a fan of undefeated UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey  and has become increasingly vocal about wanting to fight her and take the championship belt from Rousey.

She took her first steps toward making that happen by taking Dudieva out in a brutally efficient first round 3:59 TKO.

In the wake of that MMA butt kicking 'The Venezuelan Vixen' administered to Dudieva that took her record to 6-2, Brazilian MMA fighter Vinny Magalhaes tweeted a transphobic and tasteless comment in which he called Pena 'Fallon Fox' .


When peeps started calling him out on Twitter about it, Magalhaes deleted the tweet and unleashed homophobic comments at his Twitter critics.   But as we all know, the Internet is forever, which is why I have it on this post.

This is also a prime example of how transphobia doesn't just affect trans women, but also affects cisgender women.  Far too often transphobia is aimed at cisgender women of color, and especially cisgender women of color athletes who have their femininity attacked.

Naw Vinny, I didn't appreciate that transphobic crap at all in attacking the femininity of another WMMA fighter of color in Julianna Pena and thinking bringing Fallon's name in it was funny.

It wasn't, and you need to apologize to not only Ms. Pena and Ms. Fox, but women athletes in general who hear that misgendering crap far too often.

And Vinny, keep Fallon's name out of your transphobic mouth, unless it's a call for UFC to stop stalling and sign my 5-1 WMMA fighting sis to a UFC contract.

Daddy Cruz Pimps The Transphobia

I have no love for the junior senator from Alberta, but I have even less love for his conservaevangelist father Rafael Cruz.

Rafael has been colluding with Dave Welch and some of our Houston sellout kneegrow ministers to overturn the trans inclusive non-discrimination ordinance that the Dallas area suburban city of Plano, TX passed and our passed in May 2014 Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that is now in court.

Daddy Cruz got caught on tape saying some jacked up crap about transpeople to cookie chomping kneegrow E.W Jackson, including the mind blowing comment that trans people simply using the bathrooms will bring on the Apocalypse.

Now I know where Ted Junior got his conservaidiocy from.

Since we transpeople are so powerful, I suggest we test out Daddy Cruz's theory by rolling down to Steve 'Swastika Cakes' Riggle's Haterdome  and use the bathrooms matching our gender presentation.

As a TransGriot public service, I've got the video posted so you can laugh your behinds off at the words coming out of his mouth.  

But it's this type of anti-trans hate speech that creates the climate for trans people to be killed, and I'm tired of it going unchecked and unridiculed  

It's also a reminder that this is the mentality that we are fighting for our human rights against and this type of unhinged foaming at the mouth devoid of logic transphobic hate cannot be reasoned with.

You have to destroy it.

FOX 26''s Damali Keith Lies On The HERO And The Houston Trans Community Again

My post about unchecked trans hate speech having deadly consequences is barely a little over 48 hours old and the FOX Noise affiliate here, KRIV-TV Fox26 has once again in their coverage of the HERO trial once again led with the discredited trans predator lie.

Damali Keith needs to read her AP Stylebook and focus on the section that covers reporting on trans people.

Just an FYI for you Damali, since journalism and balanced reporting doesn't seem to be a strong suit for your station that you've been at for over a decade or your station's parent so-called 'news' network on this subject, here's what it says:

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the individuals live publicly.

This is how you reported the story on the HERO trial on January 26:

Chances are you've heard of the fairly new Houston ordinance that allows transgender men to use women's restrooms among other things. Now a judge and jury will hear about the ordinance. Today is day one of a trial that names Mayor Annise Parker as a defendant.

You followed that lie about the  Houston Equal Rights Ordinance the very next day with this transphobic attack on my community, pushing the opponent's HERO lies that "transgendered men" would be allowed to enter women's restrooms:

The controversial equal rights ordinance came under fire when it was revealed as part of the measure transgendered men would be allowed to use women's restrooms. This petition is an effort to give Houstonians the right to vote on the ordinance.

It is a pattern of slanted stenography Ms. Keith that FOX26 has repeatedly engaged in ever since the HERO became an issue, and those of us in the Houston trans community are sick and tired of you and your station repeating the debunked lies of our opponents without giving us a chance to rebut them on air or talk about from our perspective why a HERO that protects our human rights is necessary.

And since it seems Ms. Keith that you don't know the difference between a transgender man and a transgender woman, time to break it down to you.

A transgender man  (or trans man) is one who was born with female genitalia but has transitioned to and lives life as a male.    A transgender woman (or trans woman) is one who was born with male genitalia, but has transitioned to and lives life as a female.

I can do more basic Trans 101 education later.   My eye is on the more important prize of calling out your recent lies and FOX 26's  consistent slandering of the Houston trans community.  Broadcasting that unchecked transphobia has consequences, and your report is only the latest fuel fanning the hell- fire flames of anti-trans bigotry, hatred and violence. 

I have no doubts and fear that the attack on Thailand Warr at her Southwest Houston apartment building back in November is only the beginning of violent attacks that are being fueled by you and your FOX26 colleagues inaccurate HERO reporting combined with anti-trans hate speech coming from the pulpits of the Baptist Ministers Assn of Houston and Vicinity.

Ms Warr survived her attack.   The next trans person attacked by people motivated by your misguided reporting and the faith based trans hate of the Pastor's Council may not be so fortunate..

And when we have already have  had three trans people killed in Texas, Virginia and Kentucky because of anti-trans violence and we aren't even done with the first month of 2015 yet, you can understand why I'm pissed off along with the Houston trans community of your station's continued attacks on an ordinance that also benefits you as a cisgender African-American woman.

We are also angry about FOX 26's repeated loud and wrong attacks on the humanity of Houston area trans people

#TransLivesMatter  #BlackTransLivesMatter.  We're tired of FOX26 stenography that  has a deleterious effect upon our community

Chill with the anti-trans lies.    But based on your station's anti-trans track record, I have a better chance of seeing the Astros, Rockets, Dynamo, and Texans all winning championships in the same calendar year than FOX 26 ceasing and desisting with their trans baiting

Unchecked Anti-Trans Hate Speech Kills

Right now I'm pissed the hell off. 

In the last two weeks we have had two Black trans women, aged 24 and 30 killed in Virginia and Texas.   Both have been misgendered and disrespected in their local media, and Lamia was further disrespected by having her arrest record salaciously added to the story by media stenographers who failed to read their AP Stylebooks

Meanwhile I'm observing a large corporation fighting a discrimination suit filed by another Black trans woman by asserting they have a right to discriminate against Leyth Jamal and by extension, all of us.

And yeah, seeing King Hater Dave Welch and Steve 'Swastika Cakes' Riggle accompanied by his not so merry band of sellout kneegrow ministers at the opening of the HERO trial here in Houston yesterday isn't helping my mood right now.

Because I'm thinking about two more Black trans women in Lamia and Ty that not only won't live to see my age as a Kennedy Baby, they won't live to celebrate their 40th birthdays.   

Hell, Ty won't know what it's like to celebrate her 30th birthday.

So if you wonder why I get pissed off when I see media misgendering of my living and deceased sisters, or call out people spreading anti-trans hatred and lies in comment threads or in the blogosphere, it's because unchecked anti-trans hate is not harmless.

I'm also beyond sick and tired of lesbian, gay and SGL peeps ignorantly or willfully enabling that anti-trans hate online, while we're trying to live our trans lives interacting with the world, and in their not so quiet rainbow rooms. 

Unchecked anti-trans hate speech kills.  And I'm tired of the Black and Latina trans feminine communities having to deal with the violent repercussions of that anti-trans hate speech morphing into families having to prematurely bury their child or starting a gofundme to come up with the cash to do so.

I'm sick and tired of the lost potential to us and the world at large of these young trans women who have left us far too soon.  Ty was studying to be a nurse, so we will never receive as a society the benefits of her permanently interrupted nursing education.

#BlackTransLiveMatter.    Unchecked anti-trans hate speech kills whether it's online, in the media or from the pulpit.   When is the Black cis community going to focus the same level of urgency of stopping the genocidal level of murders of Black trans feminine people as they do for the rest of cis Black America?

How long Black America before the loss of Black trans women to senseless anti-trans violence is also unacceptable to our community?

How many of us trans folks have to die before you cis people care? 

Deal With The Fact Black Trans Women Exist

Angela Giaandrea Valentino is one of my longtime readers who had a major problem with transphobic hate for Laverne Cox coming out of the mouth of Flo Anthony on a morning radio show. recently and had something to say about it on her Facebook page.

I thought it deserved to be signal boosted, so here's Angela's comment.

***
So this morning on a local radio station (WDKX-FM) they were talking about Laverne Cox appearing on The View yesterday (January 8) and Flo Anthony had called in to express her thoughts. Okay fine.

As I was listening more closely I hear them calling trans women all types of he/shes, shims, men.... Flo Anthony calling Laverne Cox a drag queen, saying that she shouldn't be representing black women. "We have all of these bad reality show stars and now we have Laverne..." Why THAT comparison? Flo Anthony should be so fucking honored.

They went on to mock her voice, saying she sounds like a man, like a drag queen, asking why her voice isn't higher... So this is what it comes down to? Overlook her intelligence, her character, her poise, her elegance and her grace and let's focus on "She had on too much makeup and her wig was too long and her voice isn't feminine enough."

Seriously? Laverne is flawless. Point blank period.

I intend to light Flo Anthony's raggedy ass up once I get on Twitter. How dare she. Never mind the fact that she mentioned how she hasn't been able to get on The View to save her life.

So it's sour grapes then? Nobody is checking for you boo. Laverne was there for a reason. We trans women are here for a reason. Oh you can't deal? That's too bad. Because you will. One way or another.

We are not going anywhere.  Deal with it.

***

All I can do is say amen and piggyback on what my sis Angela said for you transphobic Black cis women (and 'errbody' else who cosigns Flo Anthony's alleged loud and wrong ignorant comments) to chew on.

Stop  hatin'.  Trans women are women as many of your cis sisters realize.  

We are proud and beautiful Black trans women    We are going to live, laugh, love, excel and represent ourselves, our people and our community to the best of our ability.  We are part of the diverse mosaic of human life and part of the Black community as well with all our perfect imperfections.

Ain't we Back women, too?   Yes, we are.

We are part of the kente cloth fabric of the African American community.  Black trans women have appeared not only on the stage of The View, but the stage at Carnegie Hall.  We have been elected to a state legislature, graced the covers of ESSENCE and Time magazines and even had a JET Beauty of the Week.  

We are New York Times bestselling authors and GLAAD award nominated bloggers.  We are college professors, actors, doctors, lawyers, business owners, musicians, models, athletes, ministers, wives and mothers   We are as diverse and multifaceted as the Black cisfeminine community is.

We Black trans women also face sexual assault and genocidal levels of violence aimed at us.   We have had our beauty denigrated just as Black cis women's beauty has been under attack by whiteness and white supremacy for the last 400 years.  

And I and other Black trans women are sick and tired of being sick and tired of hearing out of the mouths of jealous cis Black women engaging in femininity policing that we shouldn't be 'representing Black women' 

The melanin in our skin says otherwise.

We also get enough of that erasure of our femininity crap from society.  It's even more hurtful when it comes from our own people, and even more injurious coming from our cis Black sisters.

We'll keep that 'not representing Black women' sentiment in mind the next time a Black trans woman does something groundbreakingly amazing.  

And I have no doubt that with the young, gifted and talented Black trans women following in mine and other Black trans feminine pioneer's pumps, they will exceed what even we have been able to accomplish so far in this decade.

We Black trans women are also down with the cause of uplifting and celebrating Black womanhood.  If you have a problem with the depictions of Black womanhood in the media, I suggest you start in your own cisgender feminine house first before you even attempt to ignorantly step to Black trans women.

And as my sister Angela advised, deal with it.  Black trans women exist and aren't going away.

Guilty Plea In DC Metro Trans Teen Stabbing Incident

Justice was finally served in the case in which a then 15 year old trans feminine teen was stabbed on a Washington Metro train last summer.

Maryland resident Reginald Anthony Klaiber was arrested immediately after the stabbing happened by DC Metro Police on a Green Line train at the Fort Totten Station.

On Friday January 9 the now 25 year old  Klaiber pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, with a hate crime enhancement, for stabbing the trans feminine teen..

The Honorable Juliet McKenna scheduled Klaiber's sentencing for March 11, and Klaiber is facing 10-15 years in prison. Because the offense was a hate crime, the charge includes a bias enhancement.

Assault with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, with the bias enhancement, it is punishable by up to 15 years of jail time.

We'll see what happens on March 11 in the sentencing phase, but at least the trans teen and the DC trans community can exhale and take comfort in the fact the initial stage of justice in this case has taken place.

HERO Updates, Notes and News-January 3

Happy New Year people!  

While the calendar page has flipped to 2015, our fight to implement the passed on May 28 Houston Equal Rights Ordinance continues against our faith based oppressors.
 
The court hearing is coming up on January 19,  in which King Hater Dave Welch and his sellout kneegrow auxiliaries are trying to force a repeal vote on the HERO despite not collecting enough signatures by the deadline to do so, and repeatedly violating the procedures to do so.

In this first update for 2015, our opponents continue to try to pimp the lie that TBLG discrimination doesn't happen in Houston, but this lawsuit filed by a trans woman of color who was formerly employed by Saks Fifth Ave. just blew that lie up.

Here's the KPRC-TV news story about that anti-trans discrimination lawsuit.



In addition, it was disturbing to hear the Saks attorneys try to use their HRC Corporate Equality Index score as a defense against the trans discrimination allegations.

It is an index  that trans people have complained to HRC about since 2009 that the Corporate Equality Index is problematic because it doesn't give proper scoring weight to transgender discrimination issues or policy solutions that would go a long way to alleviate it.

But the bottom line is that the HERO needs to be implemented without delay, since it's obvious that the discrimination inside the Houston city limits aimed at the TBLG community won't end unless the violators are forced to do so.

FRC Hatin' Transpeeps For The Holidays

I should've known better than to ask for as a Christmas wish that we trans women and transpeeps in general get a quiet, transphobia free holiday.

But hey, I had to wish for something other than for myself while sitting on Santa's lap..

So it looks like we'll have another transphobic Christmas in which the haters come out to play and we are already mourning the death of one of our sisters before the arrival of December 25, much less Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

Bah humbug.i.

Courtesy of the longtime haters employed by the Family Research Council, spokesgrinches Peter Sprigg and Craig James (yes Texas peeps,the former SMU running back mate of Eric Dickerson), parted their lips to propose a constitutional amendment to ban recognition of gender reassignment.

Nope peeps, this is not an Onion holiday headline, these paid haters actually came up with this jacked up idea.

The Transphobic Oppressors proposed this idea during a recent episode of Washington Watch in which James stated that transgender rights issues will have to be the next ones the Religious Reich combats in their 'war against the LGBT community.'

Sprigg then piled on with his suggestion that conservatives may need to consider a constitutional amendment regulating gender identity to being fixed at birth.

Not no, but hell no...

So word to the wise transperson.  Stealth status will not protect you from the evil the conservative movement wants to do to you and transkind.  If you are a conservative identified transperson, better wake up and stop voting GOP because your wallet doesn't trump my human rights.

And it's unfortunately another example of cis folks hatin' on us for the holidays, and why our inclusion in proposed or existing human rights laws is necessary.

On Monday’s edition of “Washington Watch,” James explained how transgender rights issues will likely be the next issue that the Religious Right will have to “combat in this war that we’re on with the LGBT community.” - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/frc-spox-proposes-constitutional-amendment-ban-recognition-gender-reassignmenta#sthash.vcpeIBqn.dpuf

On Monday’s edition of “Washington Watch,” James explained how transgender rights issues will likely be the next issue that the Religious Right will have to “combat in this war that we’re on with the LGBT community.” - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/frc-spox-proposes-constitutional-amendment-ban-recognition-gender-reassignmenta#sthash.vcpeIBqn.dpuf

Can Y'all Stop Hatin' On Trans Women For The 2014 Holiday Season?

I wrote posts in 2009, 2011 and 2013 asking this question, and in light of the fact we're getting ready to start another holiday season, just thought I'd ask the question one more time.

Can y'all stop hatin' on trans women for the holidays?

I know the TERF's are incapable of doing it because it's programmed into their intolerant of trans women DNA, so no point in even directing this question at them.  

But for the rest of the planet that is capable of love and compassion for their fellow human beings, can y'all refrain for one month from killing or injuring my trans sisters or at the very least, making disparaging transphobic remarks?

For the 2014 holiday season, I would like for not one transperson anywhere in the world to be killed or injured.

For the 2014 holiday season I'd like to not have to read or hear about hate speech or misgendering comments about us coming from friends, frenemies and foes

For the 2014 holiday season, I'd like to not have to see any anti-trans comments from religious leaders.
 
For the 2014 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.

And as a holiday gift to us, for the 2014 holiday season, can we trans women around the world simply be able to live our daily lives without drama?

Yeah, it's wishful thinking, but I'm going to at least say it so it has a fighting chance of actually happening.

Black Trans Women Have 'Privileges Over A Woman?' LMAO

I was sent by one of my readers this copy of one of the letters to the editor section of ESSENCE.  She asked my thoughts about Betty Buccaneer's negative comments about the recent cover shoot in which Laverne Cox was one of the four gorgeous women on it along with Alfre Woodard, Nicole Beharie, and Danai Gurira.

First, here's that TERF's comments before I properly eviscerate them

I found Laverne Cox's image on the cover disrespectful to Black women   I support trans women in their quest for civil rights but I do not support them occupying women's spaces. There are serious inequalities in this country that come with being female. I cannot and will not accept someone who was born a man having privileges over a woman.

Moni laughs,  cracks knuckles, assumes optimum typing position.

First up, I called Ms. Buccaneer a TERF because this so reeks of trans-hating TERF feminazi crap that even Stevie Wonder can see it . 

Y'all really need to get some more creative assumed names, or better yet, attach your real names to your transphobic crap and own it.

|Assuming you even are a Black woman, and that's highly unlikely since the only people I see front and center as leaders in the TERF movement are white, the Black women cis and trans I know have applauded the ESSENCE cover and I have yet to see any prominent African American women expressing the view that you have.

Frankly, I applaud Ms. Cox for making history once again and being on that ESSENCE cover with three accomplished women.   It sends the message that trans women are women, and Black trans women are part of the kente cloth fabric of the African-American community.  

You don't like that, too damned bad bad.

What, you jealous because the fabulous Ms Cox  was on the cover of TIME, now is on the cover of ESSENCE and you'll never will be?  And at the rate Laverne is piling up honors this year, probably won't be the last time she's honored with an ESSENCE cover.

FYI to you Ms. Buccaneer (or whatever your REAL name is), Laverne is only the first OUT trans woman who has appeared on the cover of ESSENCE.    Tracy Africa Norman appeared on five ESSENCE covers back in the 80's    

So keep on hatin', transhater.

As for your fake support of trans rights you claimed in the short letter.  You either support trans rights or you don't without equivocation.

We have no room in our international trans human rights struggle for lukewarm, squishy alleged 'allies' because we have serious issues that we need to tackle and solve.

What are those issues?   A 26% unemployment rate, off the charts anti-trans murders and violence aimed at us, and ignorant comment like yours and from sellout kneegrow ministers that help fuel that anti-trans violence. 

You're either ride or die with us human rights wise as fellow African-Americans or you aren't. 

'Serious inequalities with being female'?   Tell me and Black women cis and trans something we don't know already.   Try walking in out Black female pumps, Miss Thang.   You couldn't handle ten seconds of it without crying white women's tears and running to clutch those pearls.

And there you go again TERF with that 'male privilege' thang.   That died the nanosecond we started undergoing HRT and we morphed into our female bodies.    So you can stop telling that lie, too. 

Laverne, like all trans women, was born as an infant.   You become and grow into the roles of a man or a woman, and Laverne is one fabulous looking sister any cis or trans woman with common sense would enjoy counting as one of her friends.  

Thank you for playing, and we have lovely parting gifts for you.  


TransGriot Note: TERF=Trans Exterminationalist (or/Exclusionary) Radical Feminist

Ricky Smiley Morning Show Transphobia

The war against media transphobia aimed at trans women of color seems like it's a never ending one.    Here's a FB commentary from TransGriot reader Sasha concerning the transphobic comments she heard aimed at Laverne Cox during one of the Rickey Smiley Morning Show segments yesterday.

***

Last night my sisters and I were watching Dish Nation/Rickey Smiley Morning Show. Laverne Cox was declared as one of the Emmy show's  best dressed women which I though was AMAZING...until one of the hosts yells "that's a man!"and they slightly go into the infamous shock factor, making her identity the center of a joke.

Gary and one of the shows guests, a cis woman of color, then came to Laverne's defense by stating her accomplishment and how major it is for the Transgender community. The young lady also corrected the misgendering and made sure she addressed the Laverne as a WOMAN.

I've been listening to Rickey Smiley Morning Show for YEARS, I'm a fan of the show but I think it's time to call the RSMS out on their consistent ignorance and insensitivity towards the trans community.

This is NOT the first time I've encountered this type of madness from them. Not too long ago they were throwing shade towards Cee Lo after his affair with a transwoman. Not to mention the jokes that very often seem to revolve around #GirlsLikeUs.
We need to hold them accountable.  It is not the guest's job to educate them LIVE on the radio about transgender terminology. As much as they talk and joke about us, they should be well informed on the issue. Rickey Smiley has a huge platform in the black community and instead of all the shade, he could be using that platform for the good of ALL as well as being held accountable for repetitive transphobia.

It's time to call them out!

***

I agree, Sasha . GLAAD and NGLJA Rapid Response team, it's time to handle your media business. 

History Repeating Itself In Chitown?

TransGriot Note: We African-American transwomen painfully remember that our sis CeCe McDonald spent 41 months in a Minnesota prison unjustly incarcerated after defending herself from an unprovoked racist attack by cisgender transphobic bigots.

Is the same thing about to happen to another African-American trans woman in Chicago?   This guest post by Channyn Parker suggests it's possible.

Self-Defense is Murder When You're A TWOC.

A Trans-Woman sits in Cook County Jail, Division 9, and there she awaits trial. Why?, because she refused to not defend herself.

While on the city of Chicago's West Side, she and a friend were accosted by a barrage of slurs and epithets at a near by gas station. Two neighborhood men, violently informed the young woman and company, that she was not welcome in her own community because she is transgender. Refusing to be berated, thus speaking up for herself, blows to the face were delivered by one of the men. She proceeded to fight back, the result; the accompanying man called for back up.

In an attempt to get away, the young woman and friend, got in the car, in an effort to drive off. By this time, another vehicle full of the assaulting individual's friends had pulled up, thus blocking her from behind. To the side of her, was the man now pulling at her door in an attempt to force her out of the car. In a panicked frenzy to get away, she ran her car into the man thus pinning his leg to the wall.

Amidst the chaos of the situation, the two women fled from the vehicle and hid from their attackers until she was met by safety.

At the urge of her mother, she eventually turned herself in. Here, she was to discover that her attacker was not only injured during her attempt to escape, but the injury cost him his leg. It had to be removed.

Now, a young woman trans woman sits; 26 years old, detained in the Cook County Jail, facing 10 years imprisonment for 1st degree attempted murder. Her crime; defending her life.

This crime comes on the heels of rampant violence against TWOC on our city's west-side. This travesty of justice proceeds the murder of Paige Clay and preceded the death of her friend that accompanied her that very day. Yes, she was later found murdered, her death goes unsolved.

So, here she is.... another victim of being fed up. Here she is, another victim of the devastating reality of the social injustice Trans-Women of Color face.

I could go on and on with all of the crushing details that this case entails. While sitting with this woman today, it took all that was within me not to cry. She holds fast to her innocence as her public defender offers little defense. Again community, I urge you to offer your support.

With her permission, I have offered to gather whatever resources I can to help her go public with this. All I know is that a trans-woman sits, eyes glazed with fear, uncertain of her future. As always, hold her in loving light and prayer. Write her, as your letters of support are welcome. Rally whomever and whatever support you can offer.

TransGriot Update: The transwoman in question's name is Eisha Love, and a #FreeEisha campaign has started complete with a Change.org petition requesting her freedom.

Being Trans Is A Choice...Yeah, Right

When the news broke that R. Kelly's child  Jay is part of Team Trans, I was happy for him 

But what I was NOT happy about was seeing once again the rampant transphobia that broke out in the hip hop and Black gossip blog world ranks.   Serial transphobe Sandra Rose once again unleashed her transphobic ignorance in this situation, and with bitter transphobic poison starting to spread to other gossip blog outlets, had to comment.

I've already called out Sandra Rose's azz on these electronic pages, and trying to talk sense to her or the other Black gossip blogs that traffic in transphobia is like trying to talk to a brick wall.   None of them want to get a clue or 'ejumacate' themselves on trans issues, so they get the same level of disrespect I gleefully heap upon conservafools.

Moving on because school is in session.   I'll riff on those kneegrow transphobes later

For the last month I've been hearing and seeing in comment threads this tired spin line that being trans is a choice.   Um, no.   Medical science increasingly says otherwise.  If you actually believe that BS because of your Christian lifestyle that being trans is a choice, I have a question to ask you  

Can you tell me the exact date you decided to live your cismasculine or cisfeminine lifestyles?  

Umm hmm, that's what I thought.   If you always knew you are and were a cismasculine or cisfeminine person, what makes you think we didn't know we were trans from an early age? 

I'm unapologetically Black and trans.  While it's been twenty years for me being publicly out about it, bottom line I as the research shows, the way I look at life love and everything else is shaped by a thought process that is undeniably female despite being born in a masculine body.  


But I got to the feminine body part as quickly as I could, and Jay Kelly is doing the same thing in the transmasculine direction 


As for the being trans is a choice part?  Yeah, right. 

Southern Baptists Considering Officially Hating On Trans People

When I lived in Louisville, my house was across the street from the odious Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.   I woke every morning in my upstairs bedroom with a view of the married student quarters of the seminary and its administration building.

To the Louisville activist and TBLG community, they were the 'Bad Seminary' because of the Southern Baptist denomination's ultra conservative views, loud and wrong opposition to LGBT rights, support of slavery and Jim Crow segregation and their more than a century old penchant for being on the wrong side of human rights fights.

The 'Good Seminary', the nearby Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary by comparison has been the lead sponsor and host of Louisville TDOR events since the inaugural one was held there in 2002.

In an interview Dawn Wilson and I had the pleasure of doing with Angie Fenton in the Louisville Courier-Journal back in 2006, Albert Mohler. the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was quoted as saying  "Only God has the right to determine gender."  He then added "any attempt to alter that creation is an act of rebellion against God."

So yeah, they've been hatin' on transpeople for a long time, and now they are taking it to another level. 

A proposal by Denny Burk, an influential SBC member and an associate professor of Biblical studies at the Southern Baptist Seminary's Boyce College, would commit the SBC to openly lobby against all laws protecting trans people and commit them to fighting the trans human rights movement.  .

Guess the SBC didn't learn a thing about being loud and wrong in their support of slavery, segregation,  fighting the African-American civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's and the LGB one.

The Southern Baptist Church obviously isn't aware of intersex people, the increasing mountains of evidence that transsexuality is a medical issue, the fact there have been some interesting mutations pop up at times, there are more human chromosome combinations beyond XX and XY, and gender identity is more complex than the simplistic binary way they wish to believe it is. 

And transphobic bigotry wrapped in selected scriptures is still transphobic bigotry.
 

This SBC trans hate resolution would potentially be voted on at their upcoming convention in Baltimore on June 10-11.  It is ironically the same week that just a short drive up I-95 the trans community will be gathering in Philadelphia June 12-14 for the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, the largest transgender convention in the United States.     

If the Southern Baptists do vote to continue their denomination's legacy of hate and being on the wrong side of human rights struggles, we in the trans community would have no choice but to strike back in the culture war we didn't start for our humanity and human rights.

'Rebellion against God' my azz.  It's more like we transpeople are standing up against white privilege laden conservafools and bigots who wish to continue twisting scripture for their own political purposes and agenda.  

And far from attracting new people to attend your SBC affiliated churches, which have had a sustained two decade long fall in membership, you'd drive even more people away with this anti-trans stance. 

The Day I Died

This is a guest post from my Canadian homegirl Michelle Dumaresq that she wrote in response to the Ryders Eyewear ad controversy.

Dear Ryders Eyeware people,

Hi there, my name is Michelle Dumaresq, I'm a former professional downhill mountain biker and a transgendered woman.  I really hope that whomever reads this will pass it on to the people that make decisions at Ryders.

Firstly I'd like to say thank you for the second apology (the first one really sucked) and retraction of the offensive "I'm a man" ad. I don't usually get involved in these types of issues within the trans community but given that I grew up riding the north shore mountains and have been wearing Ryder products for so many years, I felt like I finally had to say something.

I'm not sure if you remember a few years ago when I was racing on the world cup circuit but my involvement caused a bit of a stir in the cycling world. I won three Canadian women's DH championships and represented Canada at the world championships four times. I feel like I broke ground for trans women everywhere.   

I thought I'd share a story that I have rarely ever told anyone. It's called 'The Day That I Died.'  I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.

The location was Whistler for the 2005 Canadian DH champs. The three favorites were Claire Bushar, Danika Schroter and me. I was fit, strong and riding at the top of my game. I knew that I had a real chance at winning my third Canadian championship. My parents had never seen me race before so they came, my life partner and her kids were there as well. The energy in Whistler was over the top. Awesome. The race went as expected (it was really close) but I came out on top and I had my third title. How I died came an hour later.

When I started racing I faced a backlash from many of the women that I was racing against. I guess this was not unexpected but I loved what racing brought out of me so I really wanted to continue. I tried really hard to explain to the women that I was racing against that I didn't have an unfair advantage but not many embraced that explanation. I continued to race but as you can imagine I faced a fair amount of discrimination and intolerance. It wasn't until I started racing at the international level that a new threat became evident. I had attracted a lot of attention in the media after I made the national team, all around the world. I quickly found myself in Europe, alone, traveling all over racing my bike. I was never part of a factory team so I funded my own racing but I never realized how vulnerable I would be. People in Europe had seen me on TV and when they would pass me on the street they would point or yell something in a language I couldn't understand. I kept racing. I had men follow me to the hotel I was staying at. I had my bikes tampered with. I kept racing.

One night in Austria I had a dream before the last world cup race of the year. In my dream I beat Sabrina, Tracey and Marla. I finally won a world cup race. In my dream I got up on stage, climbed to the top spot on the podium, I heard the Canadian national anthem playing and I got my rainbow stripes. At that moment a man broke through security, climbed on the stage, jumped on the podium and cut my throat with a knife in front of thousands of people. I died that day in my dream. It seemed so real. It seemed like a possibility. But I kept racing.

Fast forward to Whistler. I had won my third champ and I was on top of the world. The award ceremony was held right after the race with about a thousand people hanging around to watch including my parents, my partner and her young kids. I should say that one of my least favorite places in the world is a podium. I like to ride my bike but standing up in front of everyone on a podium is a foreign world to me. I kinda zone out on the podium and try to not fall off or trip. So I jumped up on the top step and accepted my medal. To my left was Claire and my right was Danika. I'm not sure where I was zoning out to but I didn't notice a man jumping up on stage.

When I noticed him he was already running over to us. I'm sure you can imagine what went through my mind at that moment. He turned out to be Danika's boyfriend and he ran over and put a white t-shirt on her that said "100% pure woman" a play on the title of the documentary (100% Woman) that I was involved in about my racing life. I of course couldn't see what he was doing. I turned away from him and realized that my dream was about to come true. I truly thought my throat was about to be cut on the podium and in front of my parents. I had seen it so clearly in my dream. He was escorted off, I put on the new national champ jersey and went to get pee tested. I was 35, fast and living a life that I never thought possible. . . I never raced again. He destroyed me that day.

I'm writing this partly for you to try and shed some light into the shit storm that your ad created and also for me. I forgave him for what he did but I can never forget. Your ad represents my fear that I live with everyday. That one day I'll be walking down the street and a man will recognise me from the media. He will secretly harbour a hatred to trans women for whatever reason, and I will die. If I crash my DH bike at a million miles per hour and I die, I'm ok with that. If I get killed by some person who decides that I should die because I made a decision to live my life to its fullest is bullshit.

Violence happens against trans women every day. I hope that you realise the power of influence that you hold via the media. You can make the world a better place and I'd be happy to help.

I really hope that the next Ryders Eyeware ad that I see in a cycling magazine show's the diverse population in the cycling world. Trans women and men ride bikes too. We used to buy your product with the faith that Ryders was part of our world. You broke that faith, fix it.

Thanks
Michelle Dumaresq

Ryders Eyewear Transphobic Ad Fail

Well, here we go with another company who is getting the message the hard way that transphobia not only doesn't sell products, the trans community and our supportive allies are not putting up with dehumanizing disrespect from anyone.

The latest example of this is from Ryders Eyewear.   They are a Canadian company based in North Vancouver, BC that makes performance eyewear, sunglasses and goggles.

They rolled out this ad campaign that has raised the hackles of our Canadian trans cousins in which two people meet at a bar and each has a secret that the other doesn't know.   The man's secret is he owns an large amount of cats.   The woman's secret?   She is a 'man' with the tagline 'Imagine we could see everything so clearly.'

When the backlash started, Ryders first tried to defend the transphobic ad.   They posted this initial June 3 comment concerning the ad on their Facebook page.

****

We've received some backlash regarding our recent ad in Bicycling Magazine--some people have wrongly concluded that Ryders is attacking transgender people.

This ad is not, in any way, an attack on transgender people. It's simply showing two people who are attracted to one another, each with a secret that the other might want to know up front. The person on the left has a secret--he owns an abnormal quantity of cats. The person on the right has a secret--he is actually a man dressed as a woman. We were toying with some of the social constructs that have made gender roles appear as truths, in an attempt to bring some humour to the concept that seeing isn't always believing.

****
But as it became cleared the ad wasn't humorous, but hurtful to our Canadian trans cousins, the gravity of the situation began to sink in.   Ryders starting changing their transphobic tune on it and attempted to issue an initial apology that fell flat and poured even more gasoline on the simmering controversy.  .

This was the second attempt:

It's now been a full day since the first messages arrived in response to our ad in Bicycling and it's clear that we have offended lots of people. It doesn't matter what our intention was, the result was anything but humorous. This ad was clearly a failure.


We are sorry. We are sorry to those we have offended and we are sorry for spreading a hurtful message.


Thank you to everyone who messaged us. Without you we would have carried on with this advertisement, oblivious to the harm it was causing. We were ignorant and you have shown this to us.


We have pulled this ad from all of the publications in which it was to be printed in the coming weeks and months. Unfortunately, some have already been printed and distributed. Rest assured, this ad will never be distributed again.


We are also in the process of having it pulled from digital magazines and other web sites. For some sites, especially those of distributors outside of the US and Canada, this may take a few days before it's entirely cleaned up but it is our top priority to completely remove this image.

Again, we are very sorry. We've learned a lot from this.

****

Ryders, what you did was reinforce the dangerous for us 'deceptive transwoman' meme that not only dehumanizes us but fuels the anti trans violence directed at us as was demonstrated by the May 20 attack on two transwomen riding a MARTA train in Atlanta.   

Transphobia not only stinks, it is dehumanizing and leads to discrimination, violence and death for us in Canada and around the world .

Thanks for getting that message and pulling the ad.

Houston Style Magazine, Stop Pimping The HERO Bathroom Lie

One of the things that has really pissed me and Team HERO off about this battle to pass the now week old Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is how the elements of the Houston media are still stuck on stupid in continuing to deploy the bathroom meme.

The latest demonstration of facts free Houston media stenography concerning the HERO comes from Houston Style magazine.   It's a local African-American oriented publication that's available on newsstands in predominately Black H-town neighborhoods.and has a Facebook presence.

I was angered along with Team HERO to see Houston Style post this grossly inaccurate June 2 commentary on the HERO on their Facebook page that made it all about the bathroom and once again poured gasoline on the lie injected into this HERO debate by the Daves and the Black auxiliary ministerial sellouts about the damned bathrooms.

The push to pass the HERO started because of the discrimination experienced by a straight Black woman who is a sitting judge (Alexandra Smoots Hogan) at a Washington Ave nightspot.  She discovered along with Councilmember Ellen Cohen there was no way to address that type of discrimination locally unless you filed a federal lawsuit.  . .



Houston Style, it is irresponsible stenography like this (it doesn't deserve to be called reporting) that leads to anti-trans hatred and attacks upon trans African-Americans.

Here's a crash course in Trans 101 that you sorely need.  You also need to remember that some of the trans people you are dissing have melanin in their skin and African heritage.

As one of those proud Black trans Houstonians who fought for passage of the HERO and is a leader in the African-American trans community locally and nationally, I'm beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of the anti-trans hatred and ignorance being trafficked in our community and our media outlets.    

You should be ashamed of yourselves, Houston Style magazine for perpetuating the debunked transphobic lies of longtime gay baiters Dave Wilson and Dave Welch.   I'm sure the Daves, the Republican Party and their Baptist Ministers of Houston and Vicinity sellouts are pleased you continued the perpetration of disinformation about a long needed ordinance that protects the human rights of ALL Houstonians, not just those of us in the trans, SGL and Bi community.



I'd demand a retraction and apology, but I'd probably have better odds of seeing the Astros, Texans, Rockets, Dynamo and Dash all win championships in the same year than seeing you post an apology for this transbaiting piece. 

How about you do the Houston African-American community a huge favor by doing your jobs and actually printing the facts about the HERO instead of the 'fear and smear' talking points of the opposition?


TransGriot Update: A retraction was made for the problematic bathroom lie  comments I was lambasting in this post.

RuPaul Still Clueless As Usual

I was hoping that clueless kneegrow RuPaul would finally get the point after the last time we called his behind out about his loud and wrong defense of the slur word 'tranny'..

But obviously he didn't according to a May 19 interview with Marc Maron.  

And sadly, once again elements of his white gay male fanbase are rushing to defend him and hypocritically letting their inner transphobes out while doing so. 

Let me say this one more time so that you can use your limited cognitive processing skills to get the point.  

You may love the word, but a majority of my trans community, which you are NOT a part of nor an expert on our trans lives, has determined via the evolving and increasingly derogatory use of the t-word you love it is a slur.   

As you said on June 2, 2013 when you criticized actress Amanda Bynes for her use of 'faggot': "Derogatory slurs are ALWAYS an outward projection of a person's own poisonous self-loathing."--RuPaul

So why are you and your fans so hypocritically determined to continue to use a word a majority of the trans community and three of your own Drag Race alumni have told you NOT to use because it is hurtful to us? 

What is it going to take for you to get it?  Cancellation of Drag Race?  

Or is you and your fans obstinate transphobic insistence on using and trying to justify the use of an anti-trans slur word an ALWAYS outward projection of your and your fan base engaged in your own poisonous self-loathing? 

It's sad when Jerry Springer, who the trans community has long complained about and reviled at times for his exploitative talk shows, loves and respects us enough to announce he will no longer use the t-word and your tired azz won't.

Then again you pal around with Shirley Q. Liquor, so why should I be surprised to discover you're incapable of recognizing when to call it a day and sashay away from this?

Bottom line is we have told you and the world the t-word is a slur.   If you claim to love and respect my community and its humanity, and if the majority of a marginalized community tells you a word is an offensive and hurtful slur word, then DON'T USE IT.

LOGO gets that simple to grasp concept.   Logo TV through a spokesperson told BuzzFeed in an interview, “These comments did not come from Logo. We are committed to supporting the entire LGBT community and will not feature any anti-trans rhetoric on our shows.”

And naw trick, since you went there, let me school your ignorant serial transphobic behind on the new 2K14 and beyond rules for interacting with the trans community since it has obviously escaped your ultra short attention span.

As grown ass transfeminine women, we are no longer taking misogynistic crap or transphobic disrespect of our humanity from friend, foe or frenemy.  We will push back against it.  We trans people will determine what is and isn't offensive to our community, not you and your fanbase. 

If your transphobic behind doesn't like the fact we are pushing back hard against your disrespect of us, especially when we have made it clear to an increasingly long list of media personalities we will not tolerate it, too damned bad.    

We don't care whether the word was being used in a derogatory way or not, it's STILL a slur.   RuPaul has been told by myself and various people in the trans community numerous times it is, and we're beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of telling you the same stuff repeatedly and you arrogantly ignoring it.   So until you get it, we'll keep calling your ass out on it everytime you screw up.
 
 
We're also tired of people, and especially white gay men rushing to RuPaul's defense to continue agitating to use a word a majority of our community has told him (and the world) is offensive.   We're tired of them getting vanillacentric privileged noses out of joint when we trans folks tell them to back the frack up because you don't get to gaysplain to us how offended we should be about a word we told you repeatedly is a slur to us.

And it ain't just a majority of American based transpeople that consider the t-word a slur.  So do our international transfeminine sisters as well.

You can continue to be clueless about it all you want.   You can say it if you wish, too.   Just be prepared for the blowback from the trans community when you do so.

Transphobic Rochester DJ's Fired

Media peeps, if you didn't get the message from Katie Couric's, Piers Morgan's, Wendy Williams' and RuPaul's recent publicized kerfluffles over disrespecting the trans community, can you hear us now?

Was not happy to hear about the former Rochester, NY  'The Breakfast Buzz' 98.9 FM morning team of Kimberly and Beck unleashing transphobic vitriol on WBZA-FM after that city enacted a historic policy that would extend trans health benefits to its employees.

During their Tuesday broadcast they unleashed a 12 minute transphobic tirade aimed at the local transgender community and a local trans feminine trans teen.   After that facts free transphobic rant, they poured gasoline on the fire by playing the Aerosmith song 'Dude Looks Like A Lady'

The rant earned Kimberly Ray and Barry Beck (any relation to Glenn?) an on-air suspension from the Entercom owned station that morphed into a termination.  

This from the station's Twitter feed:

"This morning Entercom fired Kimberly and Beck effective immediately. Their hateful comments against the transgender community do not represent our station or our company. We deeply apologize to the transgender community, the community of Rochester and anyone else who was offended by their comments. We are proud of our past work on behalf of the local LGBT community and we remain committed to that partnership."

The unemployed radio team will probably be getting a call from FOX Noise for an interview so they can be paraded around as the latest 'victims' of political correctness'.

Yeah, right.   Before her behind got fired, she defiantly doubled down on her vanilla scented privileged ignorance.

Freedom of Speech includes the freedom to offend others. You aren't granted a right to not be offended in this life #getoverit #ROC
— Kimberly (@Kimberly989buzz) May 21, 2014

Kimberly Ray, neither are you granted a right to be free from the consequences of your choice of using your First Amendment rights to offend people, especially when you have a 100,000 watt platform to do it from courtesy of your FCC licensed employer.

If you believe that, you've been watching too much FOX Noise. 

Free speech does not mean 'I get to say whatever hateful crap I wish about you and you STFU'.   Free speech has consequences.  You are free to say whatever negative crap you wish to say about my community, but you better be prepared to deal with the consequences because we have the same First Amendment rights to call your behinds out on it.  .

And if you haven't noticed, the trans community is not tolerating unwarranted fact free attacks on it any more. 

Ponder that while you're collecting your first unemployment check. 

TransGriot Nuke A Troll 34-Phi Nuka Trolla

After a long period in dry dock, it's time to turn the USS Monica loose on the trolls sailing the cyberseas.

Time to drop 50 megatons of knowledge on these poor deluded fools who step to her thinking they are all that and end up glowing in the dark as a result.

Todays fool du jour is IHSV 1269 who left this gem on the post I wrote entitled UH Tittsworth Act Opponents Still Bitter They Lost

Your obsession with Greek life is entertaining. It's apparent that you're not as comfortable in your own skin as you claim to be otherwise someone your age wouldn't be writing a blog ripping into a 20 year old who has taken time to get involved in his Student Government. Your inferiority complex is so evident that I'm almost in disbelief you followed up insulting Garza by referencing a 2008 Houston Chronicle article about events that occurred 45 years ago in an attempt to justify your own prejudices. The only "narrow minded ignorance" on display is coming from yourself. Take the time to look up the racial makeup of UH's Greek life before assuming it is predominantly white -- which appears to be your go-to insult for some reason.

5...4...3...2...1  launch.

Obviously you're not comfortable in your skin, your opinion or with your transphobia since you used a pseudonym to shield your identity from your comments.

If you haven't perused the other over 7600 posts on this blog, I absolutely LOVE Black trans me, and it's a failure of your reading comprehension skills to grasp that point.  Besides, I AM superior to you because unlike you, I sign my name to whatever I write.  I also stand by every syllable of what I wrote in that post you had a problem with.   

Waah, cry me a river about your whining about me ripping into Alan Garza for his transphobia.  I could really care two fraks about what you have to say about it.   The one and only thing I give young Mr. Garza credit for is that he at least had the cojones to unlike you, openly attach his name to and claim his loud and wrong position. 

But word to the wise that will serve you well in your future life.  If you don't want to be called a bigot or an oppressor by the marginalized group you are making life harder for in your vanillacentric privilege actions, then stop acting like a bigot or an oppressor.

I'm also quite aware Oh Ignorant One, that the UH Greek system has historic African-American fraternities and sororities as part of the system.  They were part of that system when I was walking the UH campus in the early 80's.  Lynn Eusan was a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc's Epsilon Lambda chapter, the same chapter my cousins both pledged three decades later when they attended UH.   

But the only visible on campus Greek opposition to the Tittsworth Act came from survey says, WHITE UH frats and sororities.  That's stating a fact,  but if you choose to call that an insult, oh well. 

I found the UH historical parallel between the Eusan story and the SGA fight to pass the Tittsworth Act compelling and highly apropos.  It  was the same exact dynamic that Lynn Eusan faced 45 years ago in her run to become UH homecoming queen.   Her main, most vocal, and racist I might add opposition to wear the UH homecoming crown came from UH's white Greeks.   The UH transgender community's major opposition to passage of the Tittsworth Act also came from UH white Greeks.  

So hmm, appears to Cougar paw waving me you UH white Greeks haven't learned anything 45 years later, but you excel in majoring in oppression. 

You don't like me stating the inconvenient for you fact that UH white Greeks were oppressors then and now in 2014 in both these on campus human rights situations, too damned bad.  

Bottom line is that UH's white Greeks were wrong then and with the passage of time look even more foolish concerning their racist opposition of Lynn Eusan ascendance to become UH's first Black homecoming queen 45 years ago. 

All you white UH Greeks, Ashley Davis Nelson, and Alan Garza, who opposed the passage of the Tittsworth Act will look just as foolish to the UH Cougar Class of 2059.

Eat 'em up, er duck and cover fool, and don't look at the flash when the troll nuke explodes..