Trans Inclusion In The Military Panel Discussion

As I, the Transgender American Veterans Association, and a host of other people and organizations continue to point out, the 2011 repeal of DADT doesn't include the trans portion of the community.  

Trans people still have to hide who they are if they want to remain in the military, and for those of us who already transitioned, we can pay taxes, but are not allowed to sign up at the armed forces recruiting centers to serve our country. 

That's fundamentally unfair, insulting and cuts off to patriotic trans people an employment avenue many cis people use to get a paycheck, skills, education and training for the civilian workforce when they leave the service.

On March 20 a panel discussion on the topic of transgender inclusion in the military. was held at Pennsylvania's Gettysburg Collge in which TAVA's founding president Monica Helms took part. 

here's the video from that panel discussion.




Let us American transpeople openly serve our country like the transpeople of six nations can do in theirs.

More 'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' Videos

Troy is a self described 'trans-attracted' brother who recently started a YouTube channel dedicated to discussing the issue. 

He wants to do his part to erase the stigma that surrounds cis brothers who date trans women, blow up the misconceptions that girls like us have about the brothers who are man enough to step to us for that potential long term relationship and 'ejumacate' everybody at the same time.

And I repeat, being attracted to a trans woman or having a short or long-term relationship with her doesn't make you cis boys gay.


His channel has two previous videos and he also did an interview with Diamond Stylz on the subject at her video blog. 

I present for your viewing pleasure TransGriot readers the third and fourth videos of his YouTube  'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' channel.

Part 3





Part 4







.

GLAAD Officially Standing Up For Trans People

Got to see an interesting announcement happen while watching this morning's episode of the 2013 GLAAD Media Award winning Melissa Harris-Perry show with a panel that included Janet Mock and Mel Wymore.

Melissa Harris-Perry received the award in the Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine category for a segment entitled "Being Transgender in America."

GLAAD announced that the organization has formally dropped the 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation' from its name and will be known going forward as GLAAD, the LGBT media advocacy organization.   With the name change comes a renewed commitment to incorporate transgender people as well as allies from diverse backgrounds in GLAAD's work to shape the media narrative and build public support for LGBT people.





I took part in GLAAD's People of Color Media Institute last summer in New York, and was thrilled to hear the news about this change and making it clear they are standing up for trans people.

"I was happy to hear GLAAD has committed to prioritize trans issues," Laverne Cox, an actress and transgender advocate told NBCNews.com. "They really need to be."

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

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

"It is a natural progression that reflects the work GLAAD's staff is already leading," said GLAAD's spokesperson Wilson Cruz. "We respect and honor the full name that the organization was founded with, but GLAAD's work has expanded beyond fighting defamation to changing the culture. Our commitment to marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination, and other LGBT issues is stronger than ever, and now our name reflects our work on transgender issues as well as our work with allies."

TLC's Masen Davis Discusses Unjust Arizona Transphobic Bill

Transpeople have been using gender appropriate public restrooms for six decades.  But because the trans human rights movement has been successful over the last few years passing laws and the Forces of Intolerance have no justifiable reason to oppose them, the right wingers and their radical feminist allies have gone to a tactic straight from the segregationist playbook in terms of 'fear and smear' over the bathroom.

Arizona Republifool legislator John Kavanagh has taken it to the extreme by proposing a draconian unjust 'Your Papers Before You Potty' bill.    Transgender Law Center Executive Director Masen Davis discusses it on MSNBC.

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

Janet Mock Appearing On Sunday's Melissa Harris Perry Show!

So when will trans persons of color be invited to participate in a Melissa Harris Perry show discussion?  Will that happen sometime before this decade is over? 

TransGriot February 13, 2013 'When Will POC Transpeople Be Invited To MHP?' 

As you TransGriot readers are aware of I've been quite vocal about the lack of trans POC people appearing on this GLAAD award nominated show (and countless others) to talk about trans issues (and other issues of the day including LGBT community ones) from our perspective.

So I was beyond happy to read that Janet Mock will be in the #nerdland studios tomorrow morning taking part in the discussion on what lies beyond the marriage equality fight.

Alright Janet!   So deliriously happy that you'll be our POC trans community's first representative on the Melissa Harris Perry show   I know you'll do a wonderful job.  

Now MHP show, was that so hard?    All us trans POC folks were asking for is the visibility and the opportunity to show that trans persons of color are more than just 'tragic transsexuals'.

Trans masculine and trans feminine POC peeps are more than capable of holding our own in a policy discussion.    We trans persons of color not only needed to see ourselves represented on the MHP set and television screens across America, so did our LGBT peers and the cis people inside and outside our communities who don't believe that thoughtful, intelligent talking head trans persons of color exist..

Looking forward to tuning in tomorrow with the rest of America to check out the latest edition of #nerdland and see a beautiful and talented girl like me as part of the panel.  I also hope that we see more trans POC's on future #nerdland shows as well

This Week In The Texas Lege 2013-Week Ending March 22

It's time for the latest edition of Daniel Williams' reports on what our GOP dominated Texas legislature is up to in Austin for the week ending March 22

And now, here's Equality Texas Field Organizer Daniel Williams with the latest Texas Lege news.

Barack-etology 2013

Well, you've seen my NCAA brackets for the 2013 men's and women's tournaments which have already taken a hit on the men's side with New Mexico being upset by Harvard (score one for Eli Blake) and Georgetown's shocking loss.  

But my Final Four teams on my men's and women's brackets are still alive for now.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the 2013 NCAA men's and women's tournaments.

The NCAA women's tournament

 

The NCAA men's tournament

South Korean Court Rules Trans People Can Change Gender Markers Without SRS

Some positive news on the international trans human rights front coming out of South Korea.  

On March 15 the Seoul Western District Court ruled in a case brought by five trans masculine individuals that trans individuals could change their legal gender status without undergoing genital surgery

The Seoul Western District Court ruled in favor of accepting the requests from the five trans men to have their family register listing altered to be classified as male. None of the five has undergone operations to surgically alter their genitalia.

The five trans men filed their request in December, arguing that the demand for surgery to conform to the changed gender status constituted the main barrier to approvals and violated the spirit of the legal gender modification system, which is to guarantee the Constitutional rights of transgender people.

Of course the five transmen were thrilled about the landmark ruling.

Despite the South Korean Supreme Court ruling in June 2006 that transpeople in that nation have the right to alter their legal gender status, in the guidelines they subsequently drafted one of the requirements was that individuals have to possess 'external genitalia of the opposite sex from their biological one' in order to do so.

Last January, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health sent an opinion to Seoul Western District Court arguing that genital surgery should not be a requirement because it is not medically necessary and is a difficult procedure with a strong risk of side effects and other negative consequences.

It's another good day for the advancement of trans human rights not only in South Korea, but internationally as well. 

Shut Up Fool Awards-March Madness 2013 Edition

The annual college basketball feast known as March Madness has started in arenas all over the United States.  The men's tourney kicked off on Tuesday with 68 teams vying to be the last one standing in Atlanta. Tomorrow the road to New Orleans begins for the 64 women's teams playing to see who will be the NCAA national champion when the final games are played.

And it's Friday, so that means it's time for us to see what fool, fools, or group of fools exhibited championship level arrogance and stupidity this week.

And since this is the March Madness edition, we'll have four finalists and the championship fool or fools.

Our first finalist is Arizona State Senator John Kavanagh (R) for his attempt to pass the unjust Your Trans Papers To Pee SB1432 bill.  

Our second finalist courtesy of a nomination from Denny Upkins is Consequences from Love & Hip Hop for his White Skin is the Right Skin shuckin & jivin nonsense.

Our third finalist is our least fave Whyte Radfem Womyn Gone Wyld that we all know and loathe in Catherine 'Cockroach' or 'Bug' Brennan for her latest unhinged hate on transpeeps screed that Dyssonance eviscerated.  

Our fourth finalist is Michelle Shocked who unleashed an anti-gay onstage rant (NSFW, and triggering language) in San Francisco of all places while she was on stage.  Now that she's shocked, shocked (pun intended) about the backlash coming her way and tour dates and being cancelled with the quickness, she's trying to deny she said it.

And this week's winner is.....Michelle Shocked.  That's giant sucking sound you hear is your music career going down the toilet.   Let your fundie friends support you now. 

Take it away Mr T.

     

Moni's 2013 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

In honor of Women's History Month, in 2008 I started doing an NCAA women's tournament bracket similar to what I was doing for the men. 

My readers who are women's basketball fans like me loved the idea so much I've continued what has become an anticipated TransGriot tradition in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Unlike the menz, The Lone Star State is well represented in this edition of the NCAA women's tournament, and one of the teams involved just happens to be the defending champs.  Baylor compiled an unprecedented  40-0 unbeaten record enroute to knocking off Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame for the 2012 NCAA women's basketball title and keep that trophy in Texas.   The other Lone Star State schools besides 32-1 Baylor participating in this 64 team tourney are SEC tournament champ Texas A&M, SWAC tourney champ Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech. 

Prairie View has the misfortune of once again facing the overall number one seeded Lady Bears and Brittney Griner in the opening round of the tournament.

Speaking of the Lady Bears, can they send my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner out in her senior year a winner as a repeat NCAA champion?  Will she dunk in the title game or sometime during the tournament? 

Will Chiney Ogwumike and her Stanford teammates spoil the title coronation and hang another loss on the Lady Bears?  

Will Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame in her senior year finally get the NCAA title she and the Fighting Irish have come so close to winning twice? 

Does UConn have a long NCAA title run in them?  Or will some new contender to the women's basketball throne spring some upsets that send them all the way to New Orleans?

The road to the 2013 NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans starts on March 23 with the title game happening April 7-9 

Oklahoma City Region

Ist Round
Baylor, Florida State, Louisville, Purdue, Oklahoma, UCLA, Syracuse, Tennessee

 Sweet 16
Baylor, Louisville, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Elite Eight
Baylor, Tennessee

Oklahoma City Region Champion 
Baylor

Spokane Region

1st Round
Stanford, Villanova, Iowa State, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, Texas Tech, California 

Sweet 16
Stanford, Iowa State, LSU, California

Elite Eight
Stanford, LSU

Spokane Region Champion
Stanford


Norfolk Region

1st Round
Notre Dame, Miami, Colorado, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas A&M , Oklahoma State, Duke

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Duke

Elite Eight
Notre Dame, Texas A&M

Norfolk Region Champion
Notre Dame

Bridgeport Region

1st Round
Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Michigan St., Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Dayton, Kentucky  

Sweet 16
Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky

Elite Eight
Connecticut, Kentucky

Bridgeport Region Champion
Connecticut

Final Four Teams
Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame,Connecticut

Championship Game
Baylor, Notre Dame

2013 NCAA Champion
Baylor


     

Claude 'Rick' Roberts, Jr 1941-2013

Was at the Houston hospice today when my father passed away at 12 noon CDT.

Didn't talk about it much on the blog, but my dad is a Black radio and Houston radio legend. 

He's also one of the reasons why I have the public speaking skills I do right now since everyone from my various schools to my home church had me standing at their podiums since I was age 6 MCing their programs.

Dad even had me doing a commercial promoting his morning drive time radio show when I was in second grade. 

Dad was a native Houstonian, and started his radio career at WBOK-AM in New Orleans.   He spent bulk of his radio career starting in 1967 in the Houston area at KYOK-AM as its program director and at KTSU-FM before he retired in 1993.

I had a ringside seat to much of the Houston Black radio world growing up.  KYOK had a ground breaking RV that served as a mobile broadcasting studio and I bounced around different areas of town to many of those remotes.  

There were also a few nights when he brought that vehicle to the house pre or post remote and I got to sleep in it.

I also got to see firsthand the major love and respect many people had for him inside and outside the community because he not only was a proud Black man who stood up for his beliefs and was willing to do more than just talk about them, he was a voice for the voiceless in H-town.  

And he was one heck of a play by play announcer  If ESPN had started a little earlier you probably would have heard him calling football and basketball games on that network.  As it was I did get to watch him call Texas Southern University and HISD football games from the Astrodome press box and see people like NFL Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Doug Williams play while happily sipping on my bottomless soda cup. .  

I was also constantly amazed by the people he knew on a first name basis inside and outside the Houston area in the radio, music and political arenas.  That's probably a major reason why I have the deep interest in politics and I do what I do as a human rights warrior. 

I'm comforted in the fact he didn't suffer when he passed away and his legacy in the industry will live long past the days when my family's tears have dried.

Many of his photos from his radio days are in the African American Archives of Music and Culture in their Black Radio collection housed at IU-Bloomington.  There have also been people writing tribute articles expressing how much he meant to them and their love for him..    

Speaking of love, thanks to all of you who have lifted my family and I up in prayer, kept us immersed in your positive thoughts, and have been there at various times when we needed it during this difficult period for us.  

My family still has heavy hearts and a difficult few days yet to navigate, but with your help we know we will. 

Well Dad, you're not suffering anymore.  Say hello to Grandmother Tama for me.


TransGriot Note:  First photo from the AAAMC archives is a 1974 one of Dad and Shaft's Richard Roundtree in KYOK's studio.  The second one is Dad, Michael Jackson (yep, the future King of Pop), Pluria Marshall, Jr and the teen TransGriot during a KYOK sponsored 'Meet The Jackson 5' event in August 1974.

       

Moni's At The March HISD Board Meeting

I talk about intersectionality a lot on this blog.   I also talk about the fact that I interact and intersect with a lot of communities besides just the trans one.  I also have policy and other issue interests besides trans human rights ones.

I talked about in the Saving JJ post about HISD's attempt to consolidate my old high school with one of our rivals in Ross Sterling.   It was a plan they attempted to shadily blitz through at the last minute and we raised enough of a stink to get the high school consolidation part of it tabled for now. 

I practice what I preach about intersectionality, and to prove it, here's video of the March 7 HISD school board meeting.   You'll see some trans blogger y'all know and love speaking during this board meeting.

Jada Pinkett-Smith Questions Whether White Women Should Grace the Covers of Magazines Aimed at WOC?

Guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings

Like many women of colour I grew up looking at magazine racks with row upon row of White faces staring at me.  I would be lying if I said that it didn't have an impact upon how I perceived my race and gender growing up.  Things have not changed much and now I find myself wondering how this exact same circumstance is going to effect my niece as she grows up.  As a woman of colour, I cannot divorce my race from my gender.  This is why the row upon row of White women staring back at me from magazine racks continues to impact me. Even when I look past it and validate my own self worth, it does not mean that those I interact with see me as an equal, let alone human.  There can be no doubt that Whiteness continues to represent the idealized form of womanhood.  Sojourner Truth's Ain't I a Woman speech, is still highly applicable today.

On her facebook page, Jada Pinkett-Smith wondered if the best path forward to deal with the ongoing equality in magazine covers, is for magazines created for POC to be more open about having White women grace their covers.

There is a question I want to ask today. I'm asking this question in the spirit of thinking outside of the box in order to open doors to new possibilities. These possibilities may be realistic or unrealistic. I also want to make it clear that there is no finger pointing here. I pose this question with the hope that it opens a discussion about how we can build a community for women based upon us all taking a deeper interest in one another. An interest where skin color, culture, and social class does not create barriers in sharing the commonality of being... women. With love and respect to all parties involved, my question is this...if we ask our white sisters, who tend to be the guardians of the covers of mainstream magazines, to consider women of color to grace these covers, should we not offer the same consideration to white women to grace our covers? Should women extend their power to other women simply because they are women? To my women of color, I am clear we must have something of our own, but is it possible to share in the spirit in which we ask our white sisters to share with us? I don't know the answer and would love to hear your thoughts.

What Jada fails to acknowledge is that these magazines were created specifically because of the erasure of our experiences in the mainstream media. While her approach is well intentioned by allowing White women to grace the covers of magazines that have been created for women of colour, it reinforces the idea that there isn't a single place where Whiteness does not belong.  Historically, people of colour have always been asked to turn the other cheek and hold out an olive branch to Whiteness, even as it works daily to ensure that we remain second class citizens.  This olive branch which Jada suggests, will not force Whiteness to be more inclusive; it will simply reduce already limited opportunities for women of colour.

The truth of the matter is that we cannot pretend that we are simply a community of women.  This is the same argument that feminists have used for years, even as they try to erase the effect that racism has on the lives of women of colour.  It is naive to expect the White owned and run media to suddenly capitulate and work towards more inclusive coverage.  No powerful force in history has ever just handed over power, or even consented to share power and why Jada thinks that this would suddenly be the case, if only people of colour would consent to share our spaces is beyond me.

We cannot treat Whiteness as though it is some benign force, when it wages war against people of colour across the globe daily. The sales of the all Black Italian Vogue show that there is a market for inclusion and still yet these magazines refuse to capitulate.  Clearly, maintaining White hegemony is far more important than the bottom line.  Since this is a fact, I must ask, what reasonable sense does it make to open up the few spaces reserved for WOC to White women? If they cannot be motivated by their own financial best interest, why would our sacrifice cause a moral quandary?

What we need to do is act from a position of strength.  It's already bad enough that in many ways businesses that target Black people, have either been bought out by White run companies, or controlled by White management.  How much of our power can we afford to give away?  We have already seen that as a result of these actions nothing has changed. It's a foolish person who keeps repeating the same action, while hoping for a different result.

When integration occurred, the Black community lost institutions that have been our backbone for a very long period of time. We have seen as a result, less cohesion and less forward movement. This is not to say that integration didn't have positive results, but that it came with a cost. It was a compromise that never should have been made because Whiteness has no interest in the dissolution of its social, or institutional power. While I agree that we need new ideas moving forward, making room for White women is a backward step and nothing good can come of it.

Yo, Canada! C-279 Passes House!

Yesterday was a wonderful day for my Canadian trans cousins who saw C-279, the trans rights private member's bill introduced by New Democratic Party MP Randall Garrison, approved by the House of Commons.

It passed third reading on a 149-137 vote with the crucial support of 16 Conservatives and four cabinet ministers.   One of the cabinet ministers who voted for C-279 was Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who has been busy mounting a strong defense of such TBLG rights around the world.

One of the notable NO votes was Prime Minister Stephen Harper, while the opposition parties like the NDP, the Liberals, the Greens and the Bloc Quebecois supported it. 

After passing first reading back on June 6 by a 150-132 margin, out came the 'bathroom bill' attack lines spearheaded by Calgary MP Rob Anders.   There were complaints from Conservatives that Bill C-279's language was 'vague' and grousing about the bill's potential effectiveness that seemed to bog down progress on the bill's passage.  After MP Garrison removed the 'gender expression' language and C-279 was amended it proceeded to yesterday's vote.  

Canadian trans activists weren't happy about that turn of events and are concerned that the removal of the gender expression language will make C-279 less effective.

"Today, New Democrats are proud to have contributed to ensuring equal protection under the law from discrimination and hatred based on gender identity," Garrison said in a statement after the vote.
"Transgender and transsexual citizens are among the most marginalized and are too often victims of harassment and acts of violence."

It now moves to the Canadian Senate for approval.

Unjust 'Your Trans Papers To Pee' SB 1432 Bill Filed In Arizona

When I spoke at the University of Arizona last year, I had a wonderful time visiting the state, chatting and having lunch with Antonia D'orsay, dinner with Dr. Susan Stryker, and interacting with the students, faculty and people in the Gallagher Theater audience during my speech.

When I was transiting the Phoenix and Tucson airports entering and leaving the state, eating lunch and dinner at the two restaurants I dined at in Tucson, and just before I took the stage for my speech in the Gallagher Theater I committed an act several times during that visit that would have gotten me arrested or harassed had an unjust bill that is now being proposed been in effect at that time.

I used the gender appropriate public restroom..

In the right wing (and trans exclusionary rad fem) zeal to grasp at anything to frack with the human rights of transpeople that they know they have no logic based reason or excuse to oppose, they have seized upon a tactic from the old white supremacist segregationist playbook and are trying to 'scurr' up opposition to transpeople by pimping the bathroom meme.

In the wake of Phoenix passing last month and preparing to implement a trans human rights law with public accommodations protections, the Forces of Intolerance in Arizona struck back. 

Republican John Kavanagh (surprise, surprise) penned SB 1432, an unjust bill that would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor offense punishable by six months in jail and a $2,500 fine to use a public toilet, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or changing room associated with a gender other than what is on one's birth certificate.

And y'all wanna know why I went off last year about the Massachusetts trans rights bill that doesn't have public accommodations language in it that they're trying to lobby to get added in now? 

Never mind the fact that two states, Idaho and Ohio will not let you change the gender markers period on your birth certificate, and others require gender reassignment surgery before they will do so.

While the unjust 'Your Trans Papers To Pee' bill was aimed at the transgender community, cisgender gay and straight folks who have ambiguous gender presentations would also find themselves caught up in this gender policing dragnet if SB 1432 passes the Republican-dominated Arizona legislature and gets Gov. Jan Brewer's (R) signature.

I'm concerned for my Arizona trans brothers and sisters about the increased harassment they will face from overzealous police officers and security guards, transphobic restroom patrons, passerbys and business owners if the unjust SB 1432 bill passes.

I'm also concerned about the trans people traveling into or through the state via its airports, by bus,  Amtrak trains, or driving Interstates 8, 10, 15, 17, 19 and 40 who would also be affected by this unjust bill and have to deal with that statewide cadre of  gender policing vigilantes.  These cisprivileged folks would have no problem reporting others to the po-po's who in their opinion don't measure up to their goalpost shifting standards of what a man or woman is supposed to look like.

I'm also concerned as a trans person of color that those unwanted interactions with POC transpeople and police could escalate to deadly levels.    

So Arizona TransGriot readers and allies, get busy helping our Arizona trans brothers and sisters defeat this unjust bill.   Here's some talking points on SB 1432 courtesy of my homegirl and proud Arizona resident Dyssonance to get you started.   

Let our people pee in peace.  And if they won't, time to consider having a few sit in's and pee in's protesting this unjust bill until they do.
   

Introducing The TransLatin@ Coalition

One of the reasons that my home girl Arianna Inurritegui Lint was at the Black Transmen, Inc conference in Dallas was to do a presentation about the Trans Latin@ Coalition along with doing a little networking. . 

Its founding president is Bamby Salcedo, who I spent some quality time with in Philly last month.  Arianna serves on the executive board as the organization's East Co-Chair.  The other executive board members are West Co-Chair Brenda del Rio Gonzalez and Paola Coots.

The Trans Latin@ Coalition mission is to 'advocate for the specific needs of Trans Latin@ immigrants who reside in the US and plan advocacy strategies that would improve our quality of life.'

As the National Transgender Discrimination Study points out, trans Latinas are catching hell, too.  Then toss in discrimination and immigration status issues into that foul cocktail of transphobic oppression and you see the end result in the sobering NTDS stats. 

The Trans Latin@ Coalition seeks to accomplish their mission by:

*  Having a network of trans-Latin@ immigrant leaders who advocate for the advancement and development of the quality of life of trans Latin@ immigrants who reside in the US.

*  Increase societal acceptance by providing visibility to our issues

*  Advocating for laws for protection, human and civil rights, health care, social and cultural inclusion

* Emphasizing that “Our Unity is Our Development”

The Trans Latin@ Coalition is an organization that is sorely needed in our trans advocacy circles.  It's also one the Trans Persons of Color Coalition, Black Transmen, Inc and Black Transwomen, Inc are eager to work in partnership with.  We do have some common problems in terms of the unemployment underemployment issues, anti-trans violence and sexual assault aimed at non-white transwomen, and visibility in the greater trans community as common ground issues we are motivated to work intersectionally to solve.


May the TransLatin@ Coalition have abundant success in fulfilling your mission to be the voice of immigrant trans Latinas.   Judging by what I saw in terms of Bamby's and Arianna's presentations I'd say you were well on your way to fulfilling that part of your mission.  

May your voice also be heard and respected not only by the greater Latin@ community, but all the ones you intersect and interact with.  More importantly, may it be turned into governmental policy that will positively impact your lives.

Gay Inc Orgs, When Are You Going To Start Hiring Us?

So that leads me to pose this question once again. It's one the transgender community and our allies are impatiently waiting for an answer to from our lawmakers and the business community.

How can transpeople contribute to society if you won't hire us?

TransGriot  December 9, 2009  'How Can We Contribute To Society If You Won't Hire Us?'


I asked that question in December 2009, and a comment Katrina Rose made on my Facebook page last night got me thinking about employment issues and the sorry record of Gay, Inc. advocacy orgs in terms of hiring transpeople.  

Sadly the question I posed in that 2009 TransGriot post is not only relevant today, but is even more apropos if I aim it at the Gay Inc. advocacy orgs.   This inquiring TransGriot mind and my readers would love to know how many transpeople they have on their staffs they write paychecks to?

And don't even get me started about the leadership ranks and staffs in these organizations being so overwhelmingly monoracial they look like a Republican Party convention..

There were probably more Black delegates at last year's GOP convention (47) than the number of transpeople gainfully employed in all the Gay, Inc advocacy organizations combined.

That lack of transfolks on your staffs is not only problematic, but creates a 'things that make you go hmm' moment in transworld.  It makes us wonder just how committed you are to getting the trans inclusive ENDA passed and adding non-discrimination language on the basis of gender identity and expression to state and local non-discrimination employment laws.

It would also be wise, especially if you as a Gay, Inc advocacy org claiming to be speaking for the entire community, to have diverse, talented people from all letters of the TBLGIQ rainbow putting together policies that positively move our community forward.

The United States is going to be a majority-minority country by 2050.  Trans people have long considered gainful employment as a non-negotiable bedrock trans human rights issue.  It's past time the people you employ and hire to lead your organizations reflect the reality of a multicultural America. 

It would also be nice that trans POC's be increasingly included in that candidate mix as you strive to make Gay, Inc. advocacy orgs look more like America.

And one other thing to consider.  By doing so you not only send a message to the rest of the world that you're putting your money where your mouths are in terms of hiring and retaining qualified transpeople for your own organizations, you're making a dent in the horrific trans unemployment numbers.

You're also giving that person good, stable employment at good wages and the opportunity with the money they earn to give back to the TBLG community.

You can either do that willingly Gay, Inc advocacy orgs or suffer the embarrassment and fiscal consequences of being called out on this issue or even hauled into court for your pitifully sorry hiring record. 

So Gay, Inc advocacy orgs, when are you going to start hiring more transpeople to work for you?

Domaine Javier Files Discrimination Suit Against Cal Baptist

25 year old trans woman Domaine Javier, who was expelled from California Baptist University in August 2011 after appearing on an episode of MTV's “True Life”and revealing she was trans, has now filed a lawsuit against the Riverside, CA based school.

Javier was enrolled in CBU's nursing program, had been awarded a $3,500 academic scholarship and a $2,000 music scholarship until the show aired and they expelled her, claiming fraud and concealing her identity.  

CBU claims they discovered it in a routine background check, but neither they or their attorney would issue statements commenting on this case..   

Discrimination based on gender identity is barred in California under the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act.  While private institutions like CBU aren't covered under the act, because CBU is open to students of all faiths and offers degrees in secular fields, Javier's attorney Paul Southwick argued that because California Baptist is open to people of all faiths, functions as a business establishment offering services to the general public and primarily offers degrees in secular fields, it is covered under the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

“We’re not talking about a private seminary or Bible college,” he said. “Just because Cal Baptist is a religiously affiliated institution doesn’t give it a right to discriminate.”
 
Javier's suit that was filed in Riverside County Superior Court on February 25 accuses Cal Baptist of violations of California anti-discrimination laws, breach of contract and asks for $500,000 in damages.



She is now enrolled in the Riverside Community College nursing program

Stay tuned, this case is going to get interesting.  I've always argued that all institutions need to be covered under civil rights laws whether they are secular or religious.   Religious liberty does not give you the right to ignore local, state and federal state and human rights laws or hide behind Scripture to discriminate against people you don't like.

Dyssonance Debunks More Bug Lies

Y'all know how much I love Dyssonance, especially when she has fun debunking and effortlessly destroying ignorance from the rad phlegm ranks.

Definitely had to signal boost this latest post of her taking down the odious as she calls her Cockroach (and the rest of us as the whyte radfem trans oppressor from Maryland) we all know and loathe

So once again rad fems who claim you don't agree with what the TERF's (trans exclusionary radical feminists) spew on their hate sites, when are y'all going to get off your behinds and do your part to call them out? 

Better yet, if you're serious that they don't belong in your feminist ranks, how about working to get them declared by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group?  

Here's a taste of Toni's latest brilliance.

Now, I’m going to point this out to you right off the start: She says two things in her 4th paragraph that pretty much prove she is a lying sack of shit in her fifth one and since she builds her arguments on the premise there, she basically is using the model she’s grown accustomed to using that makes it so easy for me to shit all over her.

She says, pointedly, that she doesn’t know if the study is well done or not. She also says she isn’t a statistician.

Well, I am, and looking at the study (studies, actually, if she’d bothered to really do any sort of actual research into the powerpoint) is something that strikes me as a minimum requirement if you are going to talk about it. So we already know that I have a slightly higher standard for such things than she does, but her goal is demonzation and repeating and reinforcing stigma because of her irrational and aversive bigotry, so of course she is going to reduce her standards.

Besides, she’s a lawyer, that’s what they do, especially while throwing people out of their homes.

Since she doesn’t know if the study is done particularly well, how can she determine that the methodology wasn’t done well? For the study to be done particularly well the methodology needs to be so. That’s pretty much the basics, and the study in question has held up to scrutiny from people far more suited to picking it apart than she has the capability of doing.

You can read the rest of her post 'Cockroach Lies Some More'

Moni's 2013 NCAA Men's B-Ball Bracket

March Madness is upon us once again and for the 75th year the NCAA men's basketball tournament is being contested.   68 teams begin playing for that trip to the ATL April 6-8 and for the opportunity to be the last ballers standing on the floor of the Georgia Dome.

They have the dream they want to make a reality of  cutting down the nets and holding up the NCAA championship trophy. 

For the first time since 1977, none of those 68 teams including my beloved UH Cougars will be from Texas.   Kentucky, who won it all last year won't be in the tournament either and they have to deal with the fact that the hated Louisville Cardinals travel that 70 miles on I-64 east to open their 2013 NCAA tournament run at Rupp Arena .  

All that one and done recruiting finally caught up with the Cats this year (snicker, snicker)   

For the ones that did make it, it's time for me to try to pick in a wild year on the collegiate men's basketball side who will be the champion.   Last year I picked the eventual NCAA men's champion in Kentucky, but even the Geico caveman could see that coming.   

Here's my March Madness Men's B-Ball picks if you want to see how well I did (or didn't do) in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011

So let's get busy with this year's edition of Moni's NCAA men's brackets.

First Four Games
St Mary's, North Carolina A&T, Boise State, James Madison 

Midwest Regional

Second Round
Louisville, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis, Memphis, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Duke

Third Round
Louisville, Saint Louis, Michigan State, Duke

Elite Eight
Louisville, Duke

Midwest Regional Champion
Louisville

South Regional

Second Round
Kansas, North Carolina, VCU, Michigan, UCLA, Florida, San Diego State, Georgetown 

Third Round
North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Georgetown

Elite Eight
North Carolina, Georgetown

South Regional Champion
North Carolina


East Regional

Second Round
Indiana, NC State, UNLV, Syracuse, Butler, Marquette, Illinois, Miami 

Third Round
Indiana, Syracuse, Marquette, Miami

Elite Eight
Indiana, Miami

East Regional Champion
Indiana

West Regional

Second Round
Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Arizona, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Ohio State

Third Round
Gonzaga, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Notre Dame

Elite Eight
Gonzaga, Notre Dame

West Regional Champion
Notre Dame

Final Four Teams
Louisville, North Carolina, Indiana, Notre Dame

Championship Game
Louisville, Indiana

2013 NCAA Champ
Louisville

BTMI 2013-The End And The Beginning Of Something Special

When I stepped into the Doubletree Campbell Centre Wednesday afternoon, I had a deja vu flashback to the 2005 Transsistahs-Transbrothas event that a group of us put together at the Galt House in Louisville, KY.

It was part of a vision I'd had of being able to have national level FUBU conventions and conferences in which we could learn, build family bonds and working relationships with each other and allies while throwing some fun into this equation as well.  

While TSTB wasn't as successful as I would have liked it to be, the idea was never far from my mind, and I knew it was something the African-American trans community needed.

Carter and Esperanza Brown have taken that trans conference idea to the next level and given it the fierce urgency of a movement.   The Black Transmen, Inc Conference and Retreat started last year in Dallas, was wildly successful and this year moved to a larger hotel where the conference can grow and evolve.

When I walked in, I had the feeling of a family reunion.  There were my old friends in the transmasculine community like Louis Mitchell and Kylar Broadus.   There were some I'd met at previous events like Kye Allums.  There were others that I've known for years online like Kortney Ryan Ziegler and Carter Brown that I was getting a chance to meet for the first time and people who I would meet at this event like Sean Coleman, Jevon Martin, Rev. Lawrence Richardson and a long, growing list of transbrothers I'd need a separate post to properly acknowledge.

I even got a chance to see my trans homegirls Carmarion Anderson, Arianna Inurritegui Lint and Diamond Stylz.  Still a trip that I get to only spend quality time with Diamond at a conference and we live 8 miles from each other.

It was also a pleasure to meet and talk to allies, spouses and SO's of our transguys in attendance and take part in some thought provoking seminars and discussions.

Lakewood Church down here in Houston in the commercials it used to promote themselves back in the day used the tagline the 'Oasis of Love'.

That's what I genuinely felt the moment I stepped off the Megabus in Dallas, was picked up by Espy and whisked to our convention hotel to the moment I departed for H-town with the BTMI Advocacy Award packed in my suitcase.   

There have been times as recently as the last TDOR in Houston in which I despite being one of four Texans to hold an IFGE Trinity award, I felt less than appreciated, invisible and sometimes disrespected here in Houston and the state for the activist work I do on behalf of the trans community  

But that wasn't the case at this BTMI conference.

I felt like was around family and enveloped in an oasis of unconditional love for the entire run of the conference.  I was repeatedly told and shown how much I was loved, appreciated and respected in spite of the fact this was the BTMI show and predominately transmasculine space.

My role as I saw it before I arrived was to respect this transmasculine convention space, deliver my keynote, participate in the Saturday community summit, support the various seminars I did attend by dropping a comment here and there, and listen to the voices of the people attending.  

And oh yeah, have a little fun while I was in the BTMI house.

But in the process of doing that, I kept getting the feeling that something truly amazing was going on.  This was a well organized, well run conference and the Friday health fair was a great idea.  I kept hearing about people driving in from as far away as Tampa, northern Virginia, Jackson MS and Minneapolis-St Paul or flying in from Seattle, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, LA, Philly, the New York-New Jersey area and Madison, WI to be here in the BTMI 2013 house.   

In addition to talking to the brothers, I got to talk to their SO's, spouses and even their kids.  Many of the brothers told me how much help to them in their own journeys reading various TransGriot posts were and relayed how some of those posts touched them or even saved their lives.

BTMI is dedicated toward the goals of not only dispelling myths and lies about the Black trans masculine community, but building better Black men period.   I also left Dallas with a much better understanding of the challenges our trans brothers have to navigate and their issue concerns.

Some of those are similar to what Black trans women have to deal with in terms of accessing medical care while trans while others are unique to the trans masculine community.  I got to simply listen to the brothers talk about those issues and their concerns in the seminars and watch them over the past few days build a community. 

The brothers are stepping up their leadership game.  You will see some amazing things involving the Black trans masculine community happen over the next few years.  They are determined to live up to the BTMI motto of being the change you want to see in the world.   One thing they let me know they were concerned about is the off the charts violence we trans women are experiencing and they wanted to do a better job of standing up and raising their collective voices against it.      

I was honored to be in the house to witness this second BTMI conference, and was sad when the time came for me to head back to my life in Houston.  The closing faith service punctuated that four marvelous days had passed. 

I loved the ball, the pageant, and playing cards and dominoes during the Wednesday night meet and greet.  I even got the opportunity to read one of my poems I have posted on TransGriot during the Thursday night Transmanifest LIVE! event. 

BTMI 2013 has ended as all conferences must, but I hope and pray that the friendships made there last a lifetime.  There were working partnerships started with allied groups.  Issues were discussed in a tell it like it T-I-S is manner and possible solutions to those problems discussed.  

And yes, we disussed the fact that we need to support BTMI and thi conference with our t-bills.  Slide them a $5, $10 a $20 or whatever you can afford on a regular basis so that this organization can continue to put on this high quality conference and expand programming.

BTMI 2013 is over and headed to our history books.  For those who wanted to be here but couldn't for various reasons, when the save the date post goes out on this blog and other electronic venues, I hope you folks who couldn't be here for the second edition of this conference will make it your business to be with your brothers for the third edition in 2014. 

And you may see the TransGriot teaching a seminar or two there as well 

     

BTMI 2013-Surprise, I Have Another Award!

The BTMI brothers had a few surprises for me while I was up there in Dallas this weekend. 

While I was busy telling the world I felt honored to be in their presence, they were busy spoiling me rotten while at the same time enveloping me and the other trans sisters in attendance in love. 

I had more than a few brothers who pulled me aside during events, after panel discussions or while I was kicking it with them in the lobby or outside as they smoked how much they appreciated TransGriot, the work I'd done to uplift and serve as an inspiration to the Black trans community and how long they been fans of my blog. 

Even Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, who I admire for not only having a doctorate and producing the movie Still Black, A Portrait of Black Transmen (that was doing brisk sales in the lobby and you can purchase by the way), confided that he was a fan of my blog and was as excited to meet me as I was him.

.I was planning to check out CD Kirven's seminar 'The Power Of Us-Bridging The Gaps Between The L and T' but Jevon Martin and the guys had other ideas.   Jevon sent your fave blogger to a nearby nail salon on Greenville Ave and treated me to a mani and pedi.

I got back in time to catch the tail end of Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson's Trans 102 seminar before we moved on to the other event I was scheduled to participate in besides the keynote speech. 

It was a Black Transgender Community Summit that included Kylar Broadus, my Houston homegirl and esteemed video blogger Diamond Stylz, Rev Carmarion Anderson, Minister Louis Mitchell, Diwa Cain and moi. 

It was an hour and a half of tell it like it T-I-S is commentary that we could have used two hours for, but when it was over a little after 5:30 PM we all had to get ready for the formal dinner and the BTMI Awards.

So as I sat there two hours later with my tablemates getting my grub on and making conversation until that moment in the program happened in the Skyline Ballroom the hotel's 21st floor, I was just happy to be one of the nominees.   


But I was stunned to discover when Treach read the name of the winner of the BTMI Advocacy Award it was my name being read aloud along with it popping up on the video screen set up in the ballroom.  It was also accompanied as I got up to a standing ovation by Treach, Javon and a few of the brothers saying, 'Surprise!'  

Y'all know that usually I'm not at a loss for words, but this time I was not only stunned into temporary silence but beginning to cry as the realization hit me I was not only getting an award given to me by my own trans people, but it was happening in my home state.

And even better, from now on the award I was given by BTMI would be known as the Monica Roberts Advocacy Award.

So thanks BTMI for the Advocacy Award that I took back to Houston.  It means so much to me because it's from you transbrothers and it looks great on my shelf.. 

Shut Up Fool-BTMI Weekend Edition

Hey people, sorry I'm late with my usual Friday business of calling out the fool, fools or group of fools that Mr T warned us were everywhere, but been a little busy in Dallas with the Black Transmen Inc. Conference.

Was getting spoiled rotten by the brothers and given much love by my peeps at a time when I sorely needed it.  Thanks and hope I can be back on that end of I-45 for BTMI's 2014 edition.

Now let's get straight to what got delayed due my Dallas trip lack of Net access to the blog.

First honorable mention goes to Nashville based Uniguest for once again having their blocking software set so damn high I couldn't access the blog for the business center computers.   This isn't the first time it's happened.  It happened to me last June during Netroots Nation.

The reason my blog was blocked?   Because of the words 'white supremacy' contained in more than of few of my posts critiquing it.

What Uniguest?  Y'all scurred somebody will find out the truth about whiteness, whit priviolege and y'all can't handle that thought? 

Let's get straight to this week's winner.  It's a group award for the CPAC convention that was held this weekend inside the Beltway.   From the Tea Klux Klan member who thinks the best route to win the votes of African-American for conservafool candidates is to defend slavery, to Sen. Rand Paul (Teabagger-KY) winning their straw poll to Ann Coulter putting her pumps in her mouth again and dissing Latino voters, CPAC keeps greasing the skids of GOP electoral failure.

Guess the conservafools didn't read the Benjamin Franklin quote about insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.

CPAC, shut up fools...
 

BTMI 2013-Honored To Be In Dallas

I'm on the other end of I-45 in Dallas for the second annual Black Transmen, Inc Conference and having a blast. It's not only the first time I've attended this rapidly growing event, it's one of the few in our community that is primarily focused on African-Amercan transmen and the issues that concern them.

And this year, they invited the transwomen to take part. 

I'm feeling blessed and honored to be chosen as the first transwoman to do a keynote speech for this event.  What made it even more special was sharing the stage with one of the transmen I have much love for in TPOCC's Kylar Broadus.   Kylar was also a 2013 BTMI keynote speaker as well.

It has also been a blast  to see Kye Allums and Louis Mitchell again, FINALLY meet the wonderful Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, the amazing Carter Brown, Sean Coleman and an increasingly long list of transbrothers who have either stopped me in the halls in between seminars or taken other opportunities to let me know how much they love and appreciate me and the blog.

They've also been spoiling me rotten.   A girl can get used to that.

And yeah, my 19th floor room with the spectacular view overlooking the DART rail line and Greenville Avenue has been the bomb as well.

It's also been wonderful getting to spend some quality time with Rev. Carmarion Anderson on Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since OUT on the Hill 2012.  Arianna Inurritegui Lint from TransLatinas is in the house to do a seminar tomorrow.

It's also been a joy and fascinating to talk to the spouses and significant others of many of my transbrothers in attendance, and during the quiet moments hear the stories of my transbrothers.

It was also cool to talk to Dallas area allies and activists like Omar Narvaez of Lambda Legal, Dr Oliver Blumer of TENT and many of the spouses of the transmen here in attendance.

I have a panel discussion to do tomorow before I head back to Houston on Sunday.

For you transbrothers who didn't come or couldn't make it, you're missing a wonderful event and I hope you'll consider coming next year or making plans to attend OUT on the Hill this September 18-22 in Washington DC.

And if the BTMI brothers will have me, I definitely want to come back to Dallas for BTMI 2014.


TransGriot note: Photos by Kortney Ryan Ziegler