Back To Da Ville

Nashville, that is.

Heading down there again for the day to hang out with my peeps and talk 'bidness'.

Tell y'all about it when I get back.

Dartmouth Transstudents Navigate Greek System

TransGriot Note: This was the second of a three part series published in the Dartmouth school paper about the experiences of transgender students on campus.

Transgenders try to navigate Greek system
from The Dartmouth
by Amanda Cohen
May 3, 2007

In an effort that is exceptional among most fraternities and sororities, Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority forced its membership to examine the definition of “woman” in offering membership to Sasha Bright ‘09, a biologically male transgender student.

Dartmouth’s Greek system, to which over 60 percent of eligible students belong, presents another angle through which students are prompted to consider the implications of gender. Twenty-four of the 27 recognized Greek organizations on campus determine membership eligibility based on gender.

“The Greek system definitely reinforces a strong gender binary on this campus. That makes things very difficult,” said Kris Gebhard ‘09, who is transitioning from female to male. “I have, sort of, by staying out of it, avoided some personal frustration.”

Gebhard said he was not interested in joining a sorority, but is skeptical of the kind of masculinity promoted by the fraternities.

“I think there would definitely be a hierarchy of masculinity [within a fraternity], and I would be toward the bottom of it, if not at the bottom,” Gebhard said.

Unlike Gebhard, Bright said she wishes she were able to join an organization based on the gender she presents.

“I’ve considered [rushing], but the only houses I’d be open to are mainly the coeds. I’d like to join a sorority,” Bright said. “If I hadn’t been born a boy, I would have joined.”

According to Shane Windmeyer, coordinator of Lambda 10, a national clearinghouse that heightens awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in fraternities and sororities, there is typically little knowledge and great misunderstanding about trans-identification within the Greek organizations.

“I would say today that the transgender student is largely left out, if not invisible, from the frat or sorority experience when it comes to traditionally fraternities or sororities,” he said.

Windmeyer added that Greek organizations tend not to take the initiative in tackling these issues.

“Sadly, fraternities and sororities, the way they deal with issues is that they react to problems,” he said. “So if you want a fraternity or sorority to deal with an issue, you have to wait for a problem to land in their face.”

According to Megan Johnson, assistant director of Coed, Fraternity and Sorority Administration, CFS does not currently plan to address how a transgender student fits into single-gender Greek organizations unless Greek community members specifically ask to address this issue.

“Because it’s not something that’s on our radar, it is not an area that our office is focusing on,” she said. “And I’m not saying that that’s right either, but there hasn’t been enough energy or conversation generated for us to say that we really need to pay attention to this.”

Johnson recognized that if the intersection of transgender students and Greek houses is not addressed, these students may hesitate to seek membership in a gender-exclusive organization for fear of being rejected based on biological sex. Local organizations, she noted, do have the power to address the question.

“I don’t know what the motivation for a group to take the first risk would be unless they spent some time thinking and dialoguing about it,” Johnson said.

At Theta, the issue was discussed when one of Bright’s friends, a member of the sorority, brought the possibility of offering Bright a bid to the attention for the other members. Theta hosted a discussion for interested members to explain transgender identification and answer any questions.

Danielle Strollo ‘07, a member of Theta, said that most of the members seemed supportive of allowing a transgender student in the house.

“We felt at the house that we could be ready for that. It was a really good discussion,” Strollo said. “Some people that we felt [may be] more inclined to have problems with somebody who was transgender or gay — those people didn’t come to the discussion.”

In determining who is eligible to join a single-sex organization, Windmeyer said, fraternities and sororities should also consider what happens if a current member comes out as transgender, or if an alum transitions after graduating.

Joanne Herman ‘75, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, transitioned almost 30 years after graduating. After receiving a request from Sig Ep to update her contact information, Herman — who as an undergraduate went by Jeff — wrote a letter explaining her transition and gave them the option of taking her off their list if they wished. Herman said she has not received any mail from them since.

The assumptions about sex and gender within the Greek system extend beyond questions of memberships and into behavior within houses’ social spaces.

Bright, Gebhard and Tiger Rahman ‘09, who is transitioning from female to male, agreed that they feel the most comfortable in coed organizations. Rahman, who plans to begin hormone therapy, noted that the pressure to drink in all Greek social spaces can be difficult for someone taking hormones. Testosterone, a part of such therapy, can affect the liver.

Bright said that since she has begun transitioning, she has perceived a shift in how she is treated in fraternities.

“People, they will not respect your personal space,” Bright said. “Some guys will brush up really close, way closer than I like.”

For Bright, who has not yet begun hormone-therapy but presents as a girl, said that she worries when she gets too close to someone that they will notice the stubble on her face.

“Usually this whole campus is about hookups anyway,” said Bright, who said she is sexually attracted to men. “I have had guys who wanted to hook up with me, but I’ll turn them down. I don’t explain it.”

Romijn Keen To Be 'True' Transsexual

November 15, 2007

Rebecca Romijn was so determined to accurately portray a transsexual in the hit TV show 'Ugly Betty', she asked her transgender pals for acting tips.

The actress, who plays transsexual Alexis Meade in the comedy series, was desperate not to come across as a man in drag and wanted her character to be as glamorous as possible.




She says, "I have several transgender friends, so a lot of choices I've made, especially early on, were made with them in mind.

"One of my close friends is a man who became a woman and she's as feminine as any biological women you've ever met. Another, I didn't realize was transgender until I'd known her for years.

"I felt this role was an incredible opportunity, something that hadn't been done on primetime TV."

Copyright World Entertainment News Network

(c) 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co.

How A Self-Hating Drag Queen Helped Cost Us ENDA Support

And no, I'm not talking about Barney Frank, who hates transpeople period.

One of the things I've been warning the GLBT community about over the last two years is how the Shirley Q. Liquor controversy would come home to roost one day if they didn't take forceful steps to deal with it.

White GLBT peeps who found the minstrel act funny pooh-poohed mine and others assertion that SQL would (or could) possibly be used as a wedge issue in the African-American community.

Well, I'm about to say I told you so.

In this ENDA post mortem, while trying to ascertain why CBC offices who were solidly on board with HR 2015 that Dawn and I'd lobbied back in May were suddenly shaky on the issue, I discovered an interesting reason for the ENDA sqeamishness.

The Hi Impact Leadership Coalition (Lou Sheldon's TVC African-American sellout ministers division) returned to the Hill to lobby CBC offices in the wake of our Transgender Lobby Week to kill the Hate Crimes bill. They had a not-so-secret weapon in hand: the June issue of Rolling Stone containing the SQL article.

Their copies of the magazine had Syimone's comments prominiently highlighted. Syimone is a African-American drag queen (at least on the outside) who just happens to be from Louisville, where Dawn and I reside. She was tapped for comments for this pro-SQL article.

Let me rehash what Syimone said in that June interview.

I’m not offended by Shirley Q. Liquor because my sexuality is more important to my sense of who I am that my skin color is, and I don’t see the so called Black community out there in the streets protesting for my right to love and fuck and marry who I want.”

My source told me that those anti African-American comments were gleefully pointed to by the Hi Impact ministers. Not only did reading about Shirley Q. Liquor's minstrel show piss them off, Syimone's comments added gasoline to their pissivity as well. While the Hi Impact Leadership Coalition's stated mission was to kill hate crimes, this lobbying trip had the inadvertant effect of pissing off enough CBC members to initially shift several CBC votes out of our column on ENDA.

In addition to the ten votes we initially lost, the Hi Impact 'Don't Muzzle Our Pulpits' smear campaign combined with the anti hate crimes, anti-ENDA calls, visits they received most of the summer from Hi Impact church congregants and intense pressure from the Hi Impact boys moved other CBC members from solidly on our side to wavering.

We already have major problems in the African-American transgender community in terms of our images and 'ejumacating' our people on transgender issues. We don't get much ink or air time as is, so any African-American transpeople who are asked to interview for a media outlet need to be aware of this fact. We need to go into that media interview opportunity making sure that we are on point, accurate, articulate and paint this community in the best possible light.

Syimone obviously forgot that lesson, but then again she considers herself more 'gay' than African-American. I guess after November 7 you're not as 'gay' as you thought you were, huh?

Yo, sis, how does it feel to be cut out of legislation by your gay 'friends' and being used as the tool to grease the skids to make it happen?

HRC Pastoral Letter Debunked

TransGriot Note. HRC has been on a 'schmooze and confuse' charm offensive in the wake of the odious transgender-free ENDA vote last week trying to get back in the community's good graces. (good luck with that) This was a pastoral letter they sent out to GLBT ministers. A response to it came back from Reverend Paul Turner of Atlanta, GA who I had the pleasure of meeting at the 2004 SCC.

First, the letter from Harry Knox.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Now that the vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has
taken place in the House, I want to write to all of you to reconfirm
our commitment in the Religion and Faith program toward educating
people across the country about transgender people, the particular
struggles they face, and why a fully inclusive ENDA is essential for
all of us. In the days ahead we will be talking with many of you as
we make our plans; we'll also want to know how we can help you with
your work on transgender issues.

I am writing today, however, to speak to the hurt, anger, and feelings
of betrayal many of you have felt as a result of the recent struggle
in our community around this bill. The last four weeks or so have
been among the most painful of my career as I have heard transgender
sisters and brothers I love express their hurt over being left out yet
again. I have agonized with many of you, my colleagues, over
strategic decisions that seemed to put us over against each other,
even as we leaned heavily on personal regard for each other and
commitment to the long term success of our whole LGBT community to get
us through.

At this point you know that HRC made a political calculation over what
we thought was the best position we should take moving forward. The
bill passed by the House yesterday is not the bill any of us wanted.
After a deep and painful process we made the decision to stay at the
table with Congress and support the non-inclusive ENDA legislation, HR
3685 in the House.

Our president, Joe Solmonese, has consistently stated our ultimate and
unequivocal commitment to a fully inclusive ENDA. Supporting HR 3685
was, in his mind, the best way toward getting a truly inclusive bill
passed as quickly as possible. I believe his sincerity and trust his
political instincts. In addition, I personally believe that we never
win by standing still. To not move forward at this point would have
set back our work in significant ways - our choice was between moving
forward and falling backward.

I believe that if members of Congress have a positive experience
voting for employment protection for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals and
getting re-elected in the process, they will be more likely to support
a fully inclusive bill in a year or two. However, if the bill had
died in committee or had been voted down on the floor, the negative
experiences of members of Congress would ensure that we would have
little chance of getting any bill to the table in the foreseeable future.

I also know that many of you disagree. As your colleague and friend,
I honor your feelings and respect your wisdom. That we have disagreed
over this strategic decision is painful for me and I hold in my heart
the pain it has caused you.

My hope and prayer is that you will see in the actions of the HRC
Religion and Faith Program the commitment to building support for a
truly inclusive ENDA that I have felt and seen in my colleagues here
at HRC over the last few weeks. There are about 60 districts
represented by members of Congress who were ready yesterday to support
protections for LGB folks, but not yet ready to do so for transgender
people. Sharon, Kyla, and I plan to make our commitment to justice
for transgender people manifest in our hard work to educate the people
of those districts and ultimately, the men and women who represent
them in Congress.

I don't ask that you put your hurt and pain behind you; those
experiences have a great deal to teach us about how we can move
forward. What I do hope is that our pain will not prevent us from
taking the necessary next steps together. All of us are precious in
God's eyes and all of us are necessary for the hard work ahead.

Please pray for me and all your colleagues at the Human Rights Campaign.

God bless you all,
Harry Knox, Director
Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
1640 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202.716.1612 (cell)
harry.knox@... (hrc.org)

****


Reverend Turner's response

Dear Harry,

Nice try with this letter, but it does not wash.

The transgender are real flesh and blood people and are not HRC's bargaining chip.

<<"At this point you know that HRC made a political calculation over
what we thought was the best position we should take moving forward.">>

There is no going forward if everyone is not with us.

This is not Animal Farm where "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal then others"!

HRC has made a horrible and tragic miscalculation...a poll of 500 people does not speak for the entire LGBTQ community.

HRC sold it's sisters and brothers down the river for a bill they knew was not going to pass or have a chance in hell of becoming law.

When a house is on fire you don't stand outside and decide whom you are going to rescue, the attempt is made for all.

If the hypocrites in congress didn't want transgender people in the bill, then they should have been forced to make an amendment to take it out from the floor...not have HRC bargaining and agreeing that a part of our community was expendable and could simply wait for another day.

By removing Transgender people from the bill y'all sent a clear message to everyone concerned that the transgender community is somehow not on equal footing with the rest of the community.

This was wrong and you my friend know it. Pastorally speaking you and the rest of HRC chose to be the Esther who didn't bother to go before the King. Shame on you. I wonder how many Transgender people will die because even HRC thinks they are not worthy of protection? This was a time for leadership, guts and courage.

Y'all said it couldn't get through with Trans as apart of it, that it would have lost...well my friend you may have won the battle but HRC may have cost themselves far more then they think.

I cannot express how sad and disappointed I am in you...as a pastor you should know that God's people are not expendable at any price!

So your attempt to "explain" to "sooth", to "justify" this despicable act on the part of HRC falls far short.

I am no longer a supporter of HRC, nor will I honor their name or pass on their e-mail with their weekly calls for money. They will not again receive one dime of my money or the church's and I will certainly encourage folks to find other organizations to give to other then HRC. I do believe there are organizations out there that still understand the meaning of community and that without all the hard work of the Trans community we would be nothing.

I know this doesn't mean a hell of lot to you, as I am not one of the high profile pastor's that you run with these days, nor is our church all that important to you or HRC, but you have lost my support and more importantly my respect.

I am of a mind to call for a boycott of the HRC dinner in Atlanta as well as any other HRC events in this city that seek our hard earned money. I might be persuaded to change my mind providing HRC admits their mistake and makes amends with the transgender community...but hey you and I both know that is not going to happen.

It is truly a sad day.

Reverend Paul M. Turner
Sr. Pastor
http://www.gentlespirit.org

HRC 'Charm Offensive' Talking Points

TransGriot Note: This was sent to me by a friend who despises and is deeply offended by what HRC and Barney Frank did to the transgender community. Over the last week HRC has been beating the bushes in the GLB_t community trying to spin last week's transgender-free ENDA vote and sanitize their anti-transgender history. We in Louisville heard some of these talking points in Vic Basile's speech last Saturday.

***
Speaking Points this week’s ENDA vote

o HRC amended its policy this week on ENDA, and moved to support the non-inclusive bill in the House.

o HRC adopted the strategy because we strongly believed that having the vote, even on an incomplete bill, is crucial to setting the stage for the next Congress and getting a fully inclusive bill to a President who will actually sign it into law.

o Having a vote on an incomplete bill as a means of bringing people along is a strategy that has worked with other important legislation on the Hill, ranging from the Family and Medical Leave Act – which was introduced and voted on in many forms before signed into law in its complete form, and most notably the strategy worked just this year when the fully inclusive Hate Crimes bill passed both the House and the Senate.

The Matthew Shepard Act – also known as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act or the Hate Crimes bill, which passed both houses of Congress this year as a fully inclusive bill, was voted on multiple times in both the House and the Senate when it was still only a sexual orientation only bill.

Having a strong and compelling record of votes on the incomplete, non-inclusive bill gave HRC and leaders on the Hill the leverage needed to pass the fully inclusive bill this year.

The vote this week in the House on ENDA is not the vote that HRC and many of our allies wanted. We did everything possible, from comprehensive field work, to corporate advocacy, to lobbying to have a vote on the fully inclusive version of ENDA.

HRC and other political leaders believe that since the non-inclusive ENDA is moving forward, it must pass. If it were to be pulled or defeated in a bad vote, it would be a setback for going forward with any GLBT legislation in Congress for many years to come.

HRC made the hard choice to support this bill as part of a long term strategy to passing a fully inclusive bill in the future – just as we did with the Hate Crimes Legislation.

HRC will use this week’s vote to establish a baseline of support among members of Congress so that we can firmly establish which members are with us, and which ones need more education. This is a first step – not the end game.

HRC is going to redouble our educational efforts on transgender issues moving forward with an eye on the next 14 to 18 months, leading up to the next time that we might have a vote on ENDA in a new Congress.

***

Yeah, right. More HRC prevarication.

The word from people inside the Beltway is that the Mattachine gays are extremely pissed because we transgender people dared oppose this non-inclusive ENDA bill.

We watched you disingenuously strip us out of our legislative Holy Grail, diss us on the Hill and in the media as being selfish, and y'all thought that we were going to just sit idly by twiddling our thumbs while y'all pass a bill that we see as a life-or-death issue without us?

Y'all been doing too much Ecstasy.

As our punishment for fighting for our community's interests, according to our Beltway sources, the Mattachine gays have vowed that we transpeople are going to get frozen out of ANY federal GLBT civil rights legislation until 2013.

Once again, the true transphobic colors of HRC and its leadership cadres rear their ugly heads.

On Like Donkey Kong

One of the things I've been chuckling about in the wake of my JCPS Board of Education hearing appearance Monday is when one of the opposition speakers, in the wake of Dr. Frank Simon's three minute 'gays are disease carriers' one note rant, had the nerve to whine about my Forces of Intolerance comment.

Aww, you feeling a little insecure? The truth hurts, don't it? As I told him when he passed me on the way back to his seat, "If the white sheet fits, wear it my brother."

I find it amusingly ironic that the GLBT haters around the country get their noses out of joint and act like offended debutantes when we progressives call them out on their bigotry and faith-based hatred. They get all huffy and grouse like this gentleman did that just because we're on opposite sides of a policy debate doesn't mean we should call them names.

You know, I'd be inclined to agree with that statement except for one thing. You people frequently don't practice what you screech at us.

Over the last decade you Reichers have called us GLBT peeps disease carriers, Sodomites, parasites, Communists, un-Christian, un-American, traitors, terrorists, pedophiles, termites in need of a Godly fumigation (Pat Robertson's words), blamed us for every natural and man-made disaster since 9-11 and said other interesting things I won't waste bandwith repeating.

The way I see it, we owe you a decade's worth of verbal beatdowns and then some. I will be most happy to give you modern day Pharisees what you so richly deserve.

It's on like Donkey Kong as far as I'm concerned. If you think this liberal-progressive is gonna sit back and let y'all get away with disrespecting her, y'all got me confused with a Washington DC Democrat.

I delight in serving up fresh verbal beatdowns to the Forces of Intolerance. It makes my day when you whine and squeal like kindergartners when we give back to you what you have been dishing out to us over the last decade.

So stop whining. Don't start no static, won't be none. Just be warned that when y'all throw that anti-GLBT shade, I'm part of the school of progressives that hits back. So if you truly desire a civilized debate, then stop the hate and communicate.

But if you don't:

Your mama's so intolerant she has a picture of Ann Coulter on her living room wall.

If y'all wanna keep playing the dozens, bring it on. Your side has far more things I can zap you with such as your penchant for wearing pointed hoods, being modern day Bull Connors, crossdressing and engaging in the sexual practices you denounce, admiring and emulating the tactics of a 1930's European dictatorship, your faith-based hypocrisy, using the Flintstones as the basis for intelligent design...

You get the picture.

Montgomery County, MD Unanimously Passes Transgender Rights

TransGriot Note: Too bad Barney Frank, Speaker Pelosi, HRC, the state of Maryland and the Democratic Party didn't exhibit the same amount of moral leadership that the people of Montgomery County just did and pass transgender rights in ENDA.


Montgomery County Approves Trans Bias Bill
Bars discrimination in housing, employment, accommodations
By JOSHUA LYNSEN | Nov 13, 4:56 PM

Montgomery County has approved a law that bars discrimination against transgender residents and workers, overcoming objections raised by several conservative groups.

Coiuncil members voted 8-0 on Tuesday to “prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, cable television service and taxicab service on the basis of gender identity.”

The law becomes effective 90 days after being signed by County Executive Isiah Leggett, which he’s expected to do before month’s end.

Dana Beyer, who is transgender and works for Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, praised the vote.

“I’m thrilled that it was unanimous,” she told the Blade moments after the measure passed. “It’s very touching.”

Beyer said the measure also would give new momentum to similar efforts elsewhere.

“I think it’s a day of celebration,” she said. “It’s another step toward getting these protections on the state level and on the national level.”

Tuesday’s vote puts Montgomery County alongside Baltimore as the two Maryland jurisdictions to have such laws.

Thirteen states have laws barring discrimination based on “gender identity or expression” in employment and almost 100 cities have similar ordinances.

Collectively, the laws cover about 37 percent of the U.S. population, according to estimates from trans rights groups.

Beyer said Montgomery County becomes the first jurisdiction in suburban D.C. to pass such laws.

Efforts in Montgomery County began earlier this year after state lawmakers in Annapolis failed to pass a bill enacting similar safeguards statewide.

By a 6-5 vote, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee rejected in March a measure that sought to outlaw transgender discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.

In the wake of that decision, Montgomery County officials drew up local protections.

While supported by groups such as Equality Maryland, the measure drew opposition from Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, plus other conservative groups.

Efforts to derail the measure included the distribution of fliers at area Metro stops and elsewhere that feature a door labeled, “Locker room for women & men who think they are women.”

The flier asserts the measure would “allow males who self identify themselves as females to have open access to all women’s and girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and showers.”

Trachtenberg, the bill’s sponsor, told the Associated Press that she removed the reference to the use of public restrooms “after a flood of e-mails, phone calls and radio advertisements criticized it.”

But the concession did little to stave opposition. Beyer said opponents of the measure “were acting out, showing signs, yelling and screaming” before Tuesday’s vote.

Regina Griggs, director of Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, could not immediately be reached following Tuesday’s vote.

But an open letter by Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays opposes the measure for several reasons, including privacy concerns.

It says the bill would “guarantee the right of a biological male who identifies as female to appear nude in women’s locker rooms in the presence of nude biological females.”

The letter also says the measure does not include “reasonable exemptions” for businesses with less than 15 employees and religious organizations, and “trivializes the significance of biological sex.”

The role of the county’s Human Rights Commission also is questioned, with the letter noting officials need not only receive and adjudicate complaints of discrimination, but could also “initiate such complaints.”

Beyer said Tuesday the county’s Human Rights Commission would only respond to complaints that are filed by others.

She also said complaints that the measure would allow men to use women’s restrooms or locker rooms were false claims intended to stir “bathroom hysteria.”

“No trans person in the midst of transition, before genital surgery, goes and exposes himself or herself in any public facility,” she said. “It’s never happened. There’s never been [such] a police report filed in the United States.”


Joshua Lynsen can be reached at jlynsen@washblade.com.

November 2004 TransGriot Column

Black History Month Lesson: Three Months Early
By Monica Roberts
Copyright 2004, THE LETTER

TransGriot Note: This column originally appeared in THE LETTER in November 2004.

Well folks, by the time you read this the election should’ve already taken place. We’ll either be celebrating the fact that Bush is packing up for a one-way trip to Crawford or we’ll have four more years of mean-spirited misleadership to endure. I pray that the odious amendment to the Kentucky Constitution banning same-sex marriage died a horrible death.

Now, let’s get to the column.

One of the things that’s irritated me about the same-sex marriage amendment battle has been the use of sellout Black ministers to shill for them instead of Dr. Frank Simon and Company.

The Reverend Jerry Stephenson commented during a local September 17 rally that “gay rights activists have hijacked the civil rights movement and that Blacks don’t believe that homosexuals ought to be married.”

Speak for yourself, Rev. Jerry. I believe that if two people love each other and want to get married, it's their business. I could care less whether they’re the same gender or not. Neither the state of Kentucky nor the United States Congress should be attempting to enshrine intolerance in our constitution at the behest of Bible-thumping bigots. I’m in good company. Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun, Coretta Scott King, Julian Bond, Rep. John Lewis, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Whoopi Goldberg, and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown are some of the folks with our skin pigmentation that agree with me. By the way reverend, I am also a Christian.

Let me get back to focusing on Rev. Stephenson’s ignorant assertion that gays have hijacked the civil rights movement. He and the rest of his fellow Stepford Negroes got that talking point directly from the Concerned Women for America, an organization that has been less than friendly to African-Americans and our issues over the years.

By the way Rev. Stephenson, since you were sleeping in class during Black History Month, let me hip you to the fact that gays and lesbians played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement. Can you say Bayard Rustin? I thought you could.

This gay Black man was not only a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King, but was one of his principal strategic advisors. Rustin was the person who introduced Dr. King to Gandhi’s non-violence philosophy, the major ingredient in the series of campaigns that won passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was also lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington in which Dr. King gave his immortal ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

Coretta Scott King pointed out during a April 1998 speech to the 25th Anniversary Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund luncheon that “Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, Albany GA, St. Augustine FL and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement.” She said that “Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions.”

She also had this to say about gay rights and the civil rights movement:

"We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination."

Amen, Mrs King.

Monica's Excellent JCPS Board Meeting Adventure

It's been a busy couple of days for me, but fighting intolerance is a never ending job.

Saturday night I ended up protesting an HRCoid at the Out and About dinner. Today I spent most the afternoon and evening speaking in front of the Jefferson County School Board to urge that they move forward with a employment policy addition that adds sexual orientation AND gender identity.

I arrived at the Van Hoose Education Center in fly girl fashion diva mode, just in time for the committee hearing that was being held on the issue. Hey, these meetings are televised on local cable TV, so a sistah has to look good.

I did get to speak for a few moments in front of that three person committee, but they voted 2-1 to recommend to the full board that they proceed with adding sexual orientation only.

So the day's not getting off to a great start. I was even more upset when I went to use the facilites and discovered that I left my makeup bag on the bathroom sink at home.

However, I had to shake it off because the board meeting was starting at 7 PM and I was scheduled to speak along with 8 other people on the pro side. We didn't know how many peeps on the anti side would show up and really weren't too concerned about it. We had a multi ethnic and varied group ready to be drum majors for justice.

Our group included two teachers, JCPS parents and students and other progressive Louisville peeps. One of those teachers was an award winning private school transgender one who was fired 24 hours after a Catholic school principal made the local news. The principal was arrested for allegedly soliciting in drag on 18th Street, a known transgender hooker area in Da Ville. The transgender teacher didn't even work at the crossdressing principal's school, but was fired anyway.

We eventually had a total of 30 people show up while the anti side could muster only six. The most delicious part was because the JCPS board was doing recognitions, the entire left side of the meeting room was taken up with the kids, their proud parents, and administrators and teachers there for another part of the meeting agenda. We'd already grabbed the front three rows on the right hand side of the meeting room, so the anti side had to sit behind us.

The CON side consisted of three speakers and about six people total holding their 'no special rights' signs. Two of them were the usual suspects involved with the local Forces of Intolerance.

After two hours they finally got to the part of the meeting in which citizens can address the board on various issues. The order of speakers basically goes in terms of the order in which you called the JCPS secretary to sign up.

The ground rules are you have three minutes to speak. You get a 30 second warning bell, and then a double bell to signal that your time is up.

After I spoke, I ironically had the infamous Dr. Frank Simon called to speak behind me. He's the legendary Klansman (oops, allergist) who's allergic to GLBT people and progressive issues. He's the head of KY Right To Life and a constant nattering nabob of negativity in Da Ville anytime progressive policies are being proposed. He crawled from under his rock to go on a three minute 'GLBT people cause AIDS, typhoid and other diseases' rant before he left the podium.

The second anti speaker was a elderly white grandfather from the South end Okolona neighborhood. He spouted the standard rhetoric about the 'Homosexual Agenda' and not wanting his granddaughter being taught 'how to be a lesbian' by public school teachers.

The third anti speaker was a Black representative of Rev. Jerry Stephenson, our resident Black GLBT hater. I ripped Jerry's behind in a November 2004 TransGriot newspaper column about his comments during the marriage amendment battle in which he stated that GLBT peeps din't have anything to do with the African-American civil rights movement and he was tired of 'our movement being hijacked'.

The sycophant apologized for Jerry not being there and whined about my Forces of Intolerance barb. When he passed me when he was done speaking I said to him, "If the white sheet fits, wear it my brother."

Their negative rhetoric was countered by us kicking knowledge, quoting stats, and telling heartfelt stories before the meeting adjourned for the evening.

My prayer is that we not only changed some hearts and minds tonight, but won a few votes in the process.

Oh by the way, here are my remarks to the board. Enjoy.

***

Dr. Berman, Chairman Hardesty, distinguished school board members and fellow citizens.

I'm Monica Roberts, a resident of District 2 and the child of a retired Houston Independent School District teacher. I left my hometown and I'm now a six year resident of Louisville.

I am a transgender person and concerned citizen who is here tonight to give a voice and put a face on the people that are being left behind by the proposal to only cover sexual orientation in JCPS employment policy and not gender identity as well.

By proposing to move forward to cover sexual orientation only, you are saying to me and other transpersons in Jefferson County that we are not valued, we are not worth protecting from discrimination, and our desires to help contribute our talents to help build our society aren't wanted.

If the LA Unified School District, the second largest district in the United States can not only cover gender identity but come up with comprehensive policies on this issue, what's holding JCPS back?

The Fairness laws have the language, the law has been around since 1999, it's been tested in the conservative 6th District US courts, so I fail to understand why we simply can't use this language to cover everyone?

This is being pushed as an 'incremental rights' approach, but as I and other transpeople know all too well, incremental rights passed for one group leads to EXPONENTIAL increases in bigotry and discrimination directed at the non-covered people by the Forces of Intolerance.

This is our state, our country, our city, our county and our school district as well. Educating the next generation of leaders is a major priority that we can all agree on. We need to have the flexibility to attract the best and brightest people to work for and remain employed by JCPS.

The best and brightest also includes transgender people as well. I humbly ask as a citizen that JCPS include gender identity as well in the proposed employment policy addition.

Thank you.

2007 Miss International Queen Pageant

It looks like the Thais got what they wanted. One of their homegirls took the Miss International Queen crown.






Thanyarat Jiraphatphakorn, AKA Nong Film, was crowned Miss Tiffany Universe only a few short months ago. She got to enjoy another crowning ceremony in Pattaya Saturday night during the fourth annual edition of this pageant.

The pageant was conducted in Thailand November 5-10. The talent took place on Friday, November 9 with the televised finals on Saturday. Tiffany's Show Pattaya runs the event and claims to be the world's largest transsexual cabaret. They do have competition from not only other cabarets in Thailand, but the Amazing Philippines Show as well. A spokesperson said that they expected more than 25 million Thai television viewers to tune in to the finals which were televised live.



The first runner up was Miss Brazil, Aleika Barros and the second runner up was Miss Philippines, Chanel Madrigal.



Interestingly, there was no contestant representing the United States in this year's edition of the pageant. Jazmine International from New York chose to represent Puerto Rico.



This one was dominated by the Asian girls. Half of the 23 contestants represented Asian nations. There were 4 representing the Philippines, 3 each representing Nepal and Japan and one representing Malaysia in addition to the homegirl from Thailand.

The European reps were in the house as well. There were two girls representing Switzerland, and one each from Great Britain, Germany and Italy.



The South American beauty pageant hotbeds of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil were represented along with the nations of Mexico and Costa Rica and the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico.



The cool thing about this pageant is that in Thailand, this pageant is taken as seriously as Miss Universe or any other beauty pageant.

"I feel excited and so happy. Everybody enjoyed the contest and I didn't expect anything like this," the 21-year-old student said from atop her throne after winning $10,000 USD and the title.

"This is the night I have been preparing for my whole life," gushed Colombia's Melania Armenta, a 25-year-old model.

Last year's queen Erica Andrews performed "Mexican Aztec" -- an upbeat, pulsating dance homage to her homeland complete with ancient pyramids, flashing native symbols and historic outfits.



In the costume round, Thanyarat had to compete against a butterfly, a swan and a Mercedes Benz, but the top prize in the category was given to Japan's Beni Tsukishima for her authentic kabuki ensemble.

Tanyarat's angelic white-beaded evening wear, fit for the grandest of galas, gave way to the more salacious floral pink bikini in the swimsuit competition, showing off her shapely legs and slim figure.

But she finally wooed the crowd with dedication to loftier issues.

"Global warming is one of the most serious problems the world faces today," she said when asked how she helps educate people on environmental issues.

"I tell them to 'think about it'. It's your world too," she said.



The crowd, consisting of mostly Thais and tourists, cheered loudly for the homegrown favorite but were upstaged by feverish, flag-waving Filipinos who supported four of their compatriots.

Thai transsexuals have slowly been leaving the cabarets for mainstream success in music and other endeavors, helped in part by the popularity of beauty contests.

Pageant participants praised Thailand for its progressive attitude towards transgender people.

"There is still a lot of discrimination against people like me in the Philippines," said 24-year-old Chantal Rain Marie Madrigal, from Manila.

"Thailand is like a utopia for transgender people."

So long live the new Miss International Queen. It'll be interesting to see who takes it next year.

East Coast GLBT National College Admission Fair

photo-University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

For out college bound GLBT students, choosing the right campus for them can be a trying experience. Fortunately there's a 501c3 organization called Campus Pride that wants to not only help students find the perfect college, but halp create a safer learning atmosphere for them as well.


On Saturday, December 1 they will be holding a National College Admission Fair from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Houston Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The address is 3417 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA Any prospective high school students and their families are welcome to attend the fair and no registration is required.

In addition, Campus Pride will host special feature presentations throughout the day including a 1:30 p.m. presentation entitled 'Finding Your LGBT-Friendly Campus'.

Campus Pride was founded in the fall of 2001 and launched a year later in October 2002. It started as an online community and resource clearinghouse called Campus PrideNet founded by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes and Shane L. Windmeyer, witn Windemeyer serving as its executive director.

In 2006 the organization broadened its outreach efforts and restructured as the current educational non-profit organization Campus Pride. As part of the restructuring process, the Lambda 10 Project for LGBT Fraternity & Sorority Issues became an educational initiative of Campus Pride.

Campus Pride envisions campuses and a society free of LGBT prejudice, bigotry and hate. It works to develop student leaders, campus networks, and future actions to create such positive change.

So if you're a GLBT student or ally who lives near the University of Pennsylvania campus, you may want to check out this interesting college admissions fair.

If you need further infromation about this upcoming event you can call (704)277-6710 or E-mail Campus Pride ED Shane Windemeyer at shane@campuspride.org

500 Posts!

When I started TransGriot on January 1, 2006 I just simply wanted to get the voice of an African-American transperson into the blogosphere. I noticed that we were absent from the conversation and in the spirit of my ancestors, decided to do it my damned self and provide that voice.

It took me a little less than three years, but I've now reached the 500 posts milestone. Hmm. I guess I've had a lot to say over the last two and a half years.

Now I'm headed to the next milestone post level. I still have a lot of thoughts to express about myriad issues. I'm glad that you surf your way to my blog and keep coming back, and I thank you for that.

I was reading Alexandra Billings' Stillettos and Sneakers blog the other day and ran across an interesting post. It takes you to a site that asks you to plug in the blog URL and spits back a blog readability level.

I decided to check it out and see what TransGriot would score and it spit back an undergraduate college level score. I'm going to have to play with it and see what ratings other blogs and websites got according to this site.

I found it interesting.

One of my goals when I started TransGriot was to create an informative blog that people would enjoy reading and come back to. My steadily climbing Technorati authority ranking and your comments are a testament to how well I'm doing in achieving that goal.

Speaking of comments, I enjoy receiving them from you TransGriot readers on my various posts, so please keep them coming. I deeply appreciate the feedback.

Even if the rating says it's undergraduate college level reading, whatever your educational level is, don't let that 'scurr' you from checking out what this Phenomenal Transwoman has to say about the world around her.

Rebuttal To A Negro Conservative

TransGriot Note: I was sent the link to this anti-transgender blog posting entitled Transgenders Are Not Like Blacks which comes courtesy of Bob Parks. I posted it to Transsistahs-Transbrothas to get their reactions, and it resulted in this comment to his blog from Alexis that is awaiting moderation on his site. I thought this needed to be seen by my TransGriot readers as well. I'll post my own thoughts on this later.
------------------

TransGriot Guest Column
by Alexis Whitman

I consider myself to be a moderate. I am Black, 27 years-old, and I am a transgender woman. I would like to point out that I do not, nor do any of my close friends, look like whores when we go to work. I am a manager with over 300 people under my umbrella and I do my job with class. I come from a strong heritage and I am very proud of my roots. I was educated at a prominent HBCU and I do not vote for candidates because they have a "D" beside their name.

I would like to say that the only reason protections have to be extended is because there are those that prey upon others. I believe integration is the worst thing to happen to Black people in America. We once had a strong sense of community and self-worth. The only problem with segregation was the fact that opportunities were not equal. Let's talk about equality.

It's not right to terminate the employment of someone based solely on race. So why then should it be allowed to terminated someone based solely on gender identity or presentation? Companies have dress codes and if an employee falls outside of those bounds, the employee should be disciplined accordingly. Someone who is a high-performer should be looked at as just that. Race should not be a determining factor, nor should gender or sexual orientation.

Please do not get gender and sexual orientation confused. I am a woman and I date men. I am straight. The only thing is that my body was incongruous with my mind. That has now been corrected and I function without issue in society. Hormones worked for me and they work for everyone. I would never wish for anyone to have to go through the internal anguish and self-loathing that we transgender people do.

I do not say that the struggle for gay people is the same as the struggle that Blacks endured. I do say the struggles have their similarities. Civil rights for all should not be a problem. I cannot understand why some Black people are very quick to disavow transgender people. I have done no harm to anyone; I only want to live my life and blend in.

I might add that I blend in very well. I stand five-feet-seven inches tall (model height). I have a beautiful dark complexion. I wear a size zero. And, I command the attention of men in a room when I enter. Oh, and I don't have to wear a micro-mini skirt to do so. My looks shouldn't be the major factor as to whether or not I have to worry about being terminated.

I only want to live my life and pursue happiness. It is the premise of the preamble to the Constitution--need I remind all the strict constructionists out there. It must be noted that our Founding Fathers wrote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The only reason our laws have to protect people is because the citizens of our country cannot seem to do the moral and just thing of allowing people to have Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.


Update: Bob ended up inviting Alexis as a guest on his November 12 radio podcast show. Here's the link to it.

The Kentucky Fairness Alliance Dinner Protest

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Kentucky Fairness Alliance Out and About dinner here in Da Ville at the Frazier Arms Musuem. KFA is our statewide GLBT org who is just as pissed as we are about the non-inclusive ENDA.

It was shaping up to be a great event. Robbie Bartlett, one of our local favorite blues, R&B and jazz singers was the entertainment. I had a great time talking to her about a variety of subjects before she had to exit the table and join her band in preparation for her performance. We had some local and state politicians that came to show their support along with many members of the progressive civil rights community in Louisville. I had a great time kicking Transgender 101 knowledge to some of our straight allies who were sitting with me at the Fairness Campaign table.

Unfortunately, the keynote speaker was the first executive director of the Homosexual Rights Corporation, Vic Basile. So when he strode to the podium to make his speech, I stood up and turned my back to him.

Another transperson at the dinner joined me along with five other guests. Others picked that moment to head to the bathroom or take cigarette breaks. When Basile got to the point in his speech about the ENDA passing on Wednesday being a historic moment, there were scattered boos in the room.

The protest had the effect of making Basile angry and I noted he started stumbling over his speech. When he was done I sat down as he got some weak golf clap applause. He hightailed it out of the room before I could pin him down about some selective retelling of African-American civil rights history in support of the HRC 'incremental rights' spin they are trying to use to justify cutting transgender people out of ENDA.

My point is that your push for 'incremental rights' will result in exponential increases in bigotry, discrimination and violence against transpeople like myself. We've already seen the anti-transgender sentiment surface during the ENDA debate among some elements of the GLB communty. And as Terrance at the Republic of T blog so eloquently put it, the 'incremental rights' crowd is extolling the virtues of using spoonfuls of justice to counteract shovelfuls of injustice.

It's not cool when you're the one at the receiving end of the shovelfuls of injustice.

In Basile's speech he made the point about standing in the way of intolerance. For a few minutes last night I took his advice and did just that.

The Forgotten Veterans

Friends,
Today is Veteran's Day. After what happened in the House Wednesday, I don't feel much like wanting to be an American any longer. I'm not even going to march in the Atlanta Veteran's Day Parade with the other GLBT veterans as I planned.

But, before I was told that I am not worthy to have the same rights as everyone else, the rights I gave eight years of my life to protect, I wrote the following article. I sent it to well over 100 straight publications across this country, and not one of them published it today. I figured that it is Sunday, so they would have the room for it, but I was wrong. So, I'm sending it to you, my friends and family. Even though the House took away my pride to being an American veteran, I will never lose my pride in what transgender veterans have done for this uncaring country. You will always be number one in my heart. Thank you for your service. Thank you all for your service.

Monica Helms
President of the Transgender American Veterans Association

TransGriot Note: Thank you, Monica for what you and other transgender vets did for our country. Yes, I said OUR COUNTRY. Never let anyone take away your pride in being an American citizen. If you do that, the Forces of Intolerance win.

I also thank you for your and other transvets continued service to our community in providing the leadership that is sorely needed as we continue fighting for our rights.


*************************


The Forgotten Veterans
Guest column by Monica F. Helms

Veterans Day is one the three most important days in this country when it comes to patriotism and pride. At the eleventh minute, of the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we start the day honoring all the veterans who have served this country, both in peace and in war. Today, we have 26 million military veterans in America, but sadly, we lose 1500 WWII each day and a similar number of Korean War veterans as well. Soon, the Vietnam War veterans will pass away in similar numbers.

The men and women who fought in those wars over the last 230-plus years came from every diverse background this country has ever known. People from every race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, social status and sexual orientation have fought, been wounded or died for this country. A current example of sexual orientation is the first person wounded in the current war in Iraq. Eric Alva lost a leg in the very early days of the war and then came out as being gay after his discharge.

Amongst the wide diversity of people who have served this country, Transgender Americans have been an important part of the military since the Revolutionary War. The word “transgender” has come to mean “Anyone who crosses the gender lines, regardless of whether it is temporary or permanent.” Dictionary.com has the definition as, “Noun: A person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser,” and, “Adjective: Being, pertaining to, or characteristic of a transgender or transgenders: the transgender movement.”

We have found that in the early part of American history, women could easily fight as men because they didn’t have to go through a physical exam before enlisting. That changed during the Spanish American War. Some of the women who did fight in those early wars indeed returned to a life as a woman, but many did not.

In the early and middle parts of the 20th Century, we found that most of the transgender veterans who served at that time started life as boys, but became women in the years after the wars had ended. Others crossdressed throughout their lives and even did so while serving in the military. In the middle 20th Century and early 21st Century, women began serving more frequently and even in combat roles where they could not previously serve. We started seeing more women who later became men after those wars were over.

One of the notable examples of a woman who fought as a man was Deborah Sampson, a tall woman for her day, served in the Revolutionary War as Robert Shurtliff and even became wounded. Another person was Lucy Brewer, who started her early adult life as a prostitute, but served as a Marine on board of the USS Constitution in the War of 1812. After the War, she appeared as a man several times. Around 400 women served as men in the Civil War, for both sides. Some continued their lives as men after the war.

One of the most interesting stories is that of Cathy Williams, a slave who changed her name to William Cathey and served two years as a Buffalo Solider before she told a doctor she was a woman. She did as well as her male counterparts, surviving the harsh conditions of the desert Southwest.

As the understanding of transgenderism improved, stories of thousands of transgender people who served this country in the military surfaced. The famous writer, B-movie producer and crossdresser, Ed Wood, fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal. The first known transsexual, Christine Jorgensen, spent eleven months in the Army and when she came back from Denmark after her surgery in 1952, the headlines in the paper read, “GI becomes Blonde Bombshell.” The headlines knocked the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb off the front page. Later, Eisenhower even invited her to the White House.

We know of many transgender people who have fought in every late 20th Century and 21st Century wars we have been in. I have a friend, Jane Fee, who served during WWII. I served during the Vietnam War, in the Navy, on two submarines. We know of another transgender person who headed a special anti-terrorist unit for the Army and even reported to the Vice President.

Transgender people have been in every war, served in every branch of the service, have achieved every rank and have been awarded every medal this country has, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. We have done every job the military has, served in every base, port, ship, drove every vehicle, operated every weapon, flown every aircraft and served in every hospital the American military has. We have done our part to preserve the freedom of everyone in this country. If you ask us, we will tell you that we are veterans first, who just happen to be transgender people. And, we are proud to have served this great country.

My New KY Governor

With all the bull feces emanating from Washington in the wake of the Transgender-free ENDA passing, I forgot to post the picture of my new governor celebrating his landslide victory over Ernie Fletcher.


Mitch McConnell, (KY's GOP senator) you're next in 2008.

Khadijah Farmer Lawsuit

TransGriot Note: Here's an example of what I and Lambda Legal have been talking about in terms of the transgender-free ENDA the House just passed NOT covering everyone in the GLB_t community.

Check out this New York Times article about Khadijah Farmer and her lawsuit against a New York City restaurant for throwing her out of the women's restroom hours after the NY Gay pride parade because of the bouncer's PERCEPTION that she was a man.

****

Sexual Stererotypes, Civl Rights, and A Suit About Both

By JENNIFER 8. LEE
Published: October 10, 2007
Women have been thrown out of men’s bathrooms, men who identify as women have been thrown out of women’s bathrooms and, of course, men have been known to get into trouble in men’s rooms. But women minding their own business inside women’s rooms have rarely been an issue, until now.

Yesterday, a New York woman filed suit against a West Village restaurant for being thrown out of a women’s room there by a bouncer who, she said, did not care she was really female.

The woman, Khadijah Farmer, 28, who lives in Hell’s Kitchen, said in an interview that she was at the Caliente Cab Company restaurant on Seventh Avenue with her companion and a friend after the gay pride parade on June 24 when she left the table to go to the women’s room. While she was there, a male bouncer burst in.

“He began pounding on the stall door saying someone had complained that there was a man inside the women’s bathroom, that I had to leave the bathroom and the restaurant,” Ms. Farmer said. “Inside the stall door, I could see him. That horrified me, and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I said to him, ‘I’m a female, and I’m supposed to be in here.’

“After I came out of the bathroom stall, I attempted to show him my ID to show him that I was in the right place, and he just refused to look at my identification. His exact words were, ‘Your ID is neither here nor there.’”

Ms. Farmer said she often is mistaken for a man, but her New York State nondriver photo identification card clearly lists her as female.

She said the bouncer followed her up the stairs and back to the table, asked her party to pay for the appetizers they had eaten and made them leave the restaurant.

Telephone calls to the management at Caliente Cab Company were not returned yesterday. The bouncer was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Farmer in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. It accuses the restaurant of discriminating against Ms. Farmer because her appearance did not comply with society’s norms concerning gender identity.

A 2002 amendment to the city’s human rights law protects the rights of city residents whose gender expression is different from their sex at birth. The state’s civil rights law does not include a similar protection. But the defense fund argues that it should be interpreted as protecting New Yorkers against sexual stereotyping, in which people are expected to conform to gender-appropriate behavior.


Although Ms. Farmer is not transgender, the legal defense group considered the suit to be a strategically important case with the potential to set a precedent, said Michael D. Silverman, the organization’s executive director and general counsel. The lawsuit’s claims are being made under both city and state law.

The fact that the bouncer refused to look at Ms. Farmer’s identification card before ejecting her showed that he was judging her simply by how she looked, Mr. Silverman said.

Sexual stereotyping, he said, was expanded as a legal concept under a 1989 decision by the United States Supreme Court. In that case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the court found, 6 to 3, that a woman had failed to make partner at the accounting firm Price Waterhouse in part because she was considered too “macho.” The court ruled that male supervisors discriminated against her on the basis of stereotyped notions of appropriate female appearance and behavior.

“We’re asking the court to say that sex stereotyping by public accommodation is just as harmful when practiced by a public accommodation like a restaurant as it is when it is practiced by an employer,” Mr. Silverman said. “If Khadijah were wearing pearls and white gloves, would the bouncer have treated her like that?”

Kenji Yoshino, a Yale Law School professor who studies gender and sexuality under the law, said Ms. Farmer’s claims were much stronger under the city law. “The New York City statute is so much more directly on point.”

Ms. Farmer said she is mistaken for a man on a daily basis — especially in bathrooms and locker rooms, where she often gets funny looks. “I have a script that is almost routine,” she said. “I say, ‘I am a woman, and I’m supposed to be here.’”

“Usually,” she added, “they are embarrassed.”

Sign Of The Apocalypse-Me and Rush Agree

TransGriot note: I never thought I see the day when Rush Limbaugh and I actually see eye to eye on something. Here's a transcript from OxyContinin Man's November 8 show about the ENDA mess.


Democrats Shaft Transgenders

RUSH: By the way, this next stuff is great. Let me preface it by giving you a little story here of what's going on out in San Francisco. "National civil rights organizations are celebrating the passage by the House of legislation that would add 'sexual orientation' to a list of federally protected classes, but some San Francisco groups refuse to take part in the party." They're not happy about it.

They are the transgender and transsexuals, and they're at the back of the bus on this civil rights issue. "The vote Wednesday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, also known as ENDA...was ultimately revised to remove protection for transgender workers, which upset gay rights groups here and across the country.

'People are livid,' said John Newsome, co-founder of And Castro for All, a bias awareness group. 'If the first step out of the gate leaves people behind, it is an ill-conceived first step.'" Barney Frank was getting tarred and feathered over this, and he told the transgenders and the transsexuals (paraphrased), "Just take your time. You're going to screw up this whole thing. We'll get this done in steps," but they're not listening. They're not happy. Here's John Lewis, who marched with Dr. King and got beat upside the head several times in the Selma march and so forth, late yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives.


LEWIS: I, for one, fought too long and too hard to end discrimination based on race and color, not to stand up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. During the 1960s, we broke down those signs that said "white" and "colored." Call it what you mean, to discriminate against someone because they are gay, is wrong, it is wrong! It is not right. Today we have an opportunity to bring down those signs! Now is the time to do what is right, what is fair, what is just! The time is always right to do right. Let us pass this bill.

RUSH: And next up, Barney Frank, a portion of his remarks.


FRANK: I feel an obligation to 15-year-olds dreading to go to school because of the torments, to people afraid they'll lose their job in a gas station if someone finds out who they are. I feel an obligation to use the status I have been lucky enough to get to help them, and I want to ask my colleagues here, Mr. Speaker, on a personal basis, "Please, don't fall for this sham. Don't send me out of here having failed to help those people." Yeah, this is personal. There are people who are your fellow citizens being discriminated against. We have a simple bill that says, "You can go to work and be judged on how you work, and not be penalized." Please don't turn your back on them. (applause)

RUSH: Yup. San Francisco values have to be brought to the House of Representatives here, and guess who the speaker is? Speaker is Nancy Pelosi.


PELOSI: It's not that we're tolerant in my district in California and San Francisco. It's that we have so much respect for the role that each person plays in our society. So tolerance, maybe. Respect, definitely. But let me also add, that it is the pride that we take in that diversity, and it is the pride that I take in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community that brings me to the floor today to urge a "yes" vote on this important legislation.

RUSH: But it left out the transgenders! It left out the transsexuals, and they're casting this as a civil rights issue. The transgenders and transsexuals were told by the House of Representatives to go to the back of the bus. That's what your House of Representatives was doing yesterday, ladies and gentlemen.