First Family Lights White House Christmas Tree

Another sign that the Christmas season is upon us. The First Family lighting the White House Christmas tree.

This BS Is Why ENDA Needs To Be Passed NOW!

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a discrimination complaint today with the Florida Department of Human Relations against an Orlando McDonald's restaurant for refusing to hire 17-year-old transwoman Zikerria Bellamy.

On July 10, 2009, Zikerria applied online for a position as a Shift Manager or Crew Leader at McDonald's. On July 28, after managers at McDonald’s learned that Zikerria is transgender, she received the following transphobic voicemail message from one of the managers:



Needless to say Zikerria wasn't hired by the Mickey D's in question.

As matter of fact, why protect that Mickey D's? Let the whole world know the location of the Orlando McDonald's restaurant that serves up trans discrimination with its fries and shakes so it can be properly protested.

I'm damned sure not lovin' this.

But this is a prime example of why ENDA needs to be passed ASAP, not delayed. It has been delayed long enough.

Few protections exist for transgender people who experience employment discrimination. In 38 states, there is no law protecting transgender people from being fired because of who they are. Federal law similarly offers no job protection for transgender people.

Too many times African-American transwomen such as Zikerria and other transwomen of color bear the brunt of the job discrimination the community faces.

Despite being introduced in the House on June 24 and hearings being held in September, little action has occurred on ENDA since then.

Time for the trans community and our allies to start calling Capitol Hill and pestering congressmembers just like we did in 2007 after we were cut out of ENDA.

And here's the number to call Congress and get you started: 202-224-3121

Fortunately for Zikerria and other Florida transpeople, while no law explicitly addresses discrimination based on gender identity, administrative agencies in Florida have ruled that transgender people are protected by the Florida Human Rights Act’s prohibitions on sex and disability discrimination. The Competitive Workforce Bill, which would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the Florida Civil Rights Act, was introduced in the Florida legislature on November 20.

We can't be productive members of society if we can't get a job, much less stay employed in the first place because of somebody's naked transphobia.

May TLDEF be successful in getting justice for Zikerria and sending the message once again that discrimination against transpeople is bad for business.

SpaceShipTwo Unveiled By Virgin Galactic

We're probably a long way off before the scenes of commercial space travel you remember from the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey or Battlestar Galactica become a reality, but we came one step closer to it today.

"We want this program to be a whole new beginning in a commercial era of space travel," said British billionaire Sir Richard Branson.

He has partnered with aircraft designer Burt Rutan to form Virgin Galactic with the goal of creating an aircraft capable of making space travel as routine as commercial aviation flight.

SpaceShipTwo is based on Rutan's design of a stubby white prototype called SpaceShipOne. In 2004, the Rutan designed craft captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first privately manned craft to reach space.

Engineers from Rutan's Scaled Composites LLC have been laboring in a Mojave Desert hangar to commercialize the SpaceShipTwo prototype in heavy secrecy. They are hoping to begin the flights in 2011 after rigorous safety testing.

The first passengers on board the maiden flight of SpaceShipTwo will be Branson, his family and Rutan.

Branson is hoping to tap into a potentially lucrative market for would be space travelers. Several people have shelled out millions for rides on Russian rockets to the International Space Station, and according to Virgin Galactic some 300 clients have paid the $200,000 ticket price or placed a deposit.

"NASA spent billions upon billions of dollars on space travel and has only managed to send 480 people," Branson said. "We're literally hoping to send thousands of people into space over the next couple of years. We want to make sure that we build a spaceship that is 100 percent safe."

I wouldn't mind taking that ultimate plane ride either.

LGBT Americans Outraged At Delay In Basic Job Rights

TransGriot Note: A joint press release from several GLBT rights organizations.

In light of continuing delays in the House of Representatives, we must state clearly and unequivocally: Passing basic job protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people must happen now. At a time when our government is deeply focused on the critical issue of employment, it is inexcusable to delay action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Each and every job lost to prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity needlessly compounds the unemployment challenges facing our nation. We call on Congress for the immediate passage of ENDA.

For decades now, we have called upon Congress to pass legislation to address the basic right of LGBT people to work free from discrimination at our jobs, and now Congress tells us we must wait another year. In 29 states, it remains legal to fire people based on sexual orientation and in 38 states, discrimination based on gender identity remains legal. In failing to take swift action to pass ENDA, our government allows unfettered bigotry to go unchecked, leading to the loss of jobs, fear in the workplace, economic instability, and personal hardship, while allowing employers to lose competent experienced workers. ENDA is urgently needed by our communities.

The majority of Americans consistently state their support for employment protections and voters have affirmed similar state and local measures. There is absolutely no reason for Congress to continue to delay this non-controversial bill or drop LGBT issues to the bottom of their agenda. We will not be denied basic rights any longer. Nothing is more important than protecting peoples’ jobs so ENDA must pass now. Further delays are absolutely unacceptable.

***

Matthew Coles & James Esseks, Co-Directors, American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project

Terry Stone, Executive Director, CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

Toni Broaddus, Executive Director, Equality Federation

Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director, Family Equality Council

Lee Swislow, Executive Director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders

Jarrett Tomás Barrios, President, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Joe Solmonese, President, Human Rights Campaign

Rachel T. Niven, Executive Director, Immigration Equality

Earl Fowlkes, President/CEO, International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.

Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director, Lambda Legal

Christian Berle, Director of the Log Cabin Republicans National Office

Sharon J. Lettman, Executive Director/CEO, National Black Justice Coalition

Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights

Mara Keisling, Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality

Rebecca Fox, Executive Director, National Coalition for LGBT Health

Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

Michael Mitchell, Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats

Gregory Varnum, Executive Director, National Youth Advocacy Coalition

Selisse Berry, Founding Executive Director, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

Jody Huckaby, Executive Director, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National

Jo Kenny, Interim Director, Pride at Work AFL-CIO

Masen Davis, Executive Director, Transgender Law Center

Additional organizations may be added.

Oh Hell Naw! PETA Disses The Queen Of Soul

I have zero respect for PETA, and their latest stunt is guaranteed to send me in the direction of my friendly neighborhood KFC to chow down on some Original Recipe.

While PETA's mission is noteworthy in terms of advocating against cruelty to animals, their tactics are reprehensible.

Renee at Womanist Musings called out PETA in a recent post for their propensity to use every 'ism' in the book to promote their agenda.

She highlights as an example in her post PETA dissing Aretha Franklin last year for wearing fur.

PETA has a bad habit of attacking African American celebs for wearing fur

Beyonce was ambushed outside a New York restaurant in 2006.

Mary J. Blige flat out warned them in 2007,“Those PETA people don’t want to mess with me, they don’t want to throw paint on my coat because it’s not just going to be throwing paint. It’s going to be Mary in the news the next day, you know what I mean? What gives them the right to destroy someone’s coat because their opinion is that you shouldn’t wear animals? Understand what I’m saying?”

Amen, sis. If you threw paint on a fur coat I spent my hard earned money on, you'll be surgically extracting my pumps from your colon after I was done going medieval with you.

The more PETA engages in behavior that pisses people off, the more they drive away people that might be sympathetic to their cause.

2010 World Cup Draw

The eyes of the world were turned toward Cape Town for the draw setting up the groups for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Tournament in South Africa this summer.

I was interested along with the die hard soccer fans here in the States to see where Team USA would end up.

The soccer gods were smiling on us this time. Team USA ended up in Group C. The host South Africans ended up in Group A.

Group A

South Africa

Mexico

Uruguay

France


Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

Korea Republic

Greece


Group C

England

USA

Algeria

Slovenia


Group D

Germany

Australia

Serbia

Ghana


Group E

Netherlands

Denmark

Japan

Cameroon


Group F

Italy

Paraguay

New Zealand

Slovakia


Group G

Brazil

North Korea

Cote d'Ivoire

Portugal


Group H

Spain

Switzerland

Honduras

Chile

Top two teams out of each group advance. The 'Group of Death' for this tournament looks to be Group G. Frankly, any group Brazil is involved in is a 'Group of Death'.

The Brits may be salivating because they consider us and everybody else in Group C pushovers, but may I remind y'all about the 1950 'Miracle On Grass'.

It was a World Cup game in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in which a ragtag USA amateur team beat a heavily favored English squad 1-0 in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. England ended up losing their next match to Spain by the same 1-0 score and failing to qualify for the next round.

England is our opening Group C match in the 2010 World Cup, and our guys are eager to atone for the poor showing in the 2006 World Cup.

Can another 'Miracle on Grass' happen? As former NFL coach Herman Edwards once said, "That's why you play the games.'

The US team we have now actually has far more talent than the 1950 one did and is actually ranked number 14 in the world. They won their CONCACAF Group and have qualified for six consecutive World Cup tournaments.

Translation, we won't be sneaking up on anybody, and any team that falls asleep on us does so at their peril.

The group play matches commence next June. Ought to be a fun few weeks.

Back To Back Houston Snow?- Get Outta Here!

Wow, what's going on weather wise back home? Last year I posted about Houston getting early snow in December.

In 2004 they got whacked with a Christmas Eve snowstorm that dropped significant amounts of snow all along the Gulf Coast from northeastern Mexico to as far east as New Orleans. It gave my hometown its first White Christmas in its history.

Today H-Town is expecting 1-3 inches, and the ironic thing is that Hobby Airport, which is on the south side of town near where I grew up may get more accumulated snow than IAH, which is on the far north side of town.

It is not only the earliest date we've ever had snow in Houston history, it's the first time ever its occurred in back to back years.

They are already releasing the kids out of school in the area according to reports on The Weather Channel.

I know my niece is loving it ;)

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Tyra Banks Birthday Edition

Another week has flow by and it's time for our weekly exercise here at TransGriot of shining a bright spotlight on the fools in our midst.

Today happens to be the birthday of former supermodel and talk show host Tyra Banks, who was born in Inglewood, CA on this date in 1973.

As our Shut Up Fool! Awards mascot Mr. T reminds us, fools are everywhere.

It seems like we've had a bumper crop of them this week, so lets get right to the fun and festivities and see what fool, fools, or organization of fools won our illustrious award.

This week's fool is Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico. He earned it with this homophobic and transphobic comment that was posted on a conservative Catholic website called Pontifex. In case you missed it, here it is:

"Transsexuals and homosexuals will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, it's not me who says it but St. Paul.".

"One is not born homosexual but they become that way. This is for various reasons: education, for not having developed their identity during their adolescence, maybe they are not guilty but by going against the dignity of the body they certainly will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Everything that goes against nature and against the dignity of the body offends God," he was quoted as saying.

You know it's bad when the Vatican calls your ass out for your stupidity.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the website should not be considered an authority on Catholic thinking "on complex and delicate issues such as homosexuality."

Lombardi quoted from the official Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, which says homosexual acts are a "disorder" but acknowledges that many people have "innate homosexual tendencies" and should be treated with respect and not be subject to discrimination.

Whatever.

You know, y'all need to go back to what Jesus said instead of what St. Paul said.
The world would be a much better place.

On that note, let's finish our business here.

Shut the HELL up, Cardinal Barragan!

Words Have Consequences

'Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me'.

We've all heard that old nursery rhyme. However, if you pay attention to the ebb and flow of historical events, one constant is that words have consequences and ripple effects for real people.

It is the words that precede the sticks and stones breaking our bones, and guns and knives being used to kill people.

The words of Adolf Hitler jump started the series of events and actions that led to World War II and the Holocaust.

Words led to the lynchings, riots and obscene levels of violence directed at African-Americans centuries before and during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's.

Words led to the genocides that took place in Rwanda and Bosnia in the 90's.

We have seen the Catholic Church since 2003 under the influence of Vatican adviser and transhater Dr. Paul McHugh adopt a increasingly negative stance toward transgender people.

It has had ripple effects in not only increasing anti-transgender violence in heavily Catholic areas of the world, I believe it has increased intolerant behavior and attitudes toward trans people as well.

And as the hate filled rhetoric of fundamentalist preachers, fundamentalist Muslim clerics and the Catholic Church ratchets up, so do the body counts of murdered transpeople around the world.

Words can hurt. Words can incite someone to kill.

So yes, we should be extremely concerned as transpeople about the increased level of and the volume of transphobic rhetoric coming out of the mouths of people that profess to be leaders in the world's major religions.

Because as I painfully know from my people's history in the Americas, words do have consequences on the lives of marginalized people.

Catholic Church Already Hatin' For The Holidays

Can me and my transsistahs go through this holiday season without being verbally attacked by faith based haters, the Catholic Church, conservative media or conservative Black megachurch preachers?

Monica Roberts November 27, 2009

Nope.

The post I wrote asking if we could go a month without any holiday hatred being directed at transpeople isn't even a week old and the Catholic Church is already hatin' for the holidays.

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico, the emeritus president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health (1996-2009) said in an interview with Pontifex,

homosexuals and transvestites "will never enter into the reign of God," appealing to St. Paul

Barragan went even further in the interview and contradicted Catholic doctrine by stating that he believes that homosexuals are not born that way but become that.

And I thought the birthers were breathtakingly stupid.

The more the Catholic Church engages in hatin' on GLBT people, the more irrelevant they become to the younger generation that has grown up with GLBT people since elementary and middle school. They are also driving progressive Catholics out of the Church with their ultra conservative BS and mean spirited rhetoric as well.

DignityUSA definitely has its work cut out for it trying to roll back the tide of anti-GLBT hate flowing from the Vatican.

FYI Cardinal Barragan, only God will make that final judgment on who enters the Kingdom of Heaven. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be more than a few rainbow denizens walking through the Pearly Gates.

You know, after this Cardinal Barragan comment, I wonder what Papa Ratzi is going to say this Christmas Eve to top last year's phobic commentary.

I'll have to say my prayers for my transsisters residing in heavily Catholic countries. I fear that this transphobic commentary and whatever comes out of the mouth of Benedict XVI is going to result in another spike in the numbers of dead transwomen we'll have to memorialize next November 20.


H/T-Pam's House Blend

Dawn's Heading To Pittsburgh

Dawn's bouncing out of the house in a few hours and driving the six hours to Pittsburgh from Da Ville in order to participate in a USFA fencing tournament in the Steel City.

'Season's Beatings' will definitely be the order of the day as the 'Baby Vets' and 'Senior Mamas' face off in the women's saber event at the NAC-C Veteran's Tournament December 4-6.

The online trash talking has already commenced between the 'Baby Vets' and 'Senior Mamas' on Facebook and between each other.

Too bad I can't go watch the fun this time. Oh well, maybe the Dallas NAC will be doable.

Good luck sis in the tournament. As always, much success, represent and have a safe trip up and back

Trans People Are Part Of The Diverse Mosaic Of Life 5

As these photos continue to bear witness to, transpeople are part of the diverse mosaic of life on Planet Earth.

You can ignore the evidence all you want haters, we're here, standing tall and proud despite trying circumstances and your fervent wishes to shove us back into the closet of anonymity.

Nope, we aren't going away any time soon and we'll continue to fight for our human rights.



Thai kickboxer Nong Tum



Valerie Spencer speaking



Canada's Michelle Dumaresq competing in a mountain bike race



Amanda Lepore walking the runway



A 2008 legislative hearing in Washington DC



The 2004 all Transgender Vagina Monologues production in LA



Transman being interviewed on the Tyra Banks Show



China's Chen Lili



Former New Zealand MP Georgina Beyer speaking

Simone Bell Becomes First African-American Open Lesbian State Legislator Elected In US

History was made last night in Georgia as Simone Bell won a runoff election in Atlanta area State House District 58 to become the first openly lesbian African-American state legislator in the United States.

Bell becomes the second openly LGBT member of the Georgia State House, joining another Atlanta area member in Rep. Karla Drenner.

Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund said in GayPolitics.com,“This is a tremendous victory for LGBT Georgians. Simone is a longtime leader in her community, and she will be a huge asset in the Georgia State House,”

Simone has worked as an activist and advocate in Atlanta and across the south for more than 20 years. She’s tackled a broad range of issues including workplace equality, access to affordable health care, fighting HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination, safe schools for all children, youth empowerment and women’s issues.

Congrats Representative-Elect Bell on your historic victory and may you have a long and distinguished tenure in the Georgia State House.

Cleveland Rocks! Unanimously Passes Transgender Civil Rights Protections

I know Zoe and the rest of my transpeeps in Cleveland are on Cloud Nine today after their city council passed a transgender civil rights law by a unanimous 21-0 vote.

The law bans discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of gender identity. Cleveland's anti-discrimination law already includes sexual orientation, age, race and religion.

What might prove problematic is a last-minute amendment that excludes shared showers, locker rooms and restrooms.

The legislation was sponsored by openly gay and outgoing Council member Joe Santiago, who introduced the bill in August. Unfortunately Santiago lost his bid for a second term in September.

Cleveland now joins other Ohio cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton, and the Cleveland suburbs of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights in protecting its transgender residents against discrimination.

Why I Am Out As A Transgender Entertainer

TransGriot Note: Sometimes you wonder as a blogger whether people are actually reading your posts. Well, got an e-mail from our guest poster that stated she loved one of my recent posts so much it inspired her to write this one.

Say hello to Alyras, singer, editor of the Art of Pop blog and our guest poster today.


Seven years ago, shortly after moving to San Francisco, I was having a conversation with a young [preop FTM (female-to-male)] man about social responsibility as an artist; relative to one's being queer and out. He thought it's very important to be out for others who do not have the capacity to be so; to enable them to have positive models. Accordingly, he felt that is was my duty to be open about who I am. I strongly, no, adamantly disagreed. "That's my business!", I told him. "I'm not ...obligated to anyone to be out. Besides, there are a lot of others who will take that step." "You're wrong", he retorted. "They're too afraid and, as a transperson, there's nobody like you who can stand up and communicate to the Black community." Neither of us budged from our positions on that matter.

I was living in stealth when we had that conversation and I felt (and continue to feel) that I deserve to be as closeted as I wanna be in order for me to not have to deal with rejection and heat from the world about my being a transwoman. It indescribably hurts to develop heartfelt relationships with people who see me and get to know me without the transsexual label [and all its relative terms], to then have them learn of that aspect of my being and to instantly feel their flow of Love to me shift to fear and rejection, to see the look in their eyes turn from genuine warmth and appreciation to genuine loathing, scorn and, sometimes malice - sunshine to darkness, frequently within 2-3 seconds, just because of that single thing.

Can you imagine that?? Can you imagine what it's like to be the recipient of that reaction?? If you can, even remotely, then understand, I have experienced that too frequently to even try to count. And I'm fortunate; my mama and daddy gave me great DNA and I can just blend in, with no prob. If I don't want people to know I'm transsexual, all I need to do is not disclose that info. In my business, it's not considered as good PR. In fact, historically (and in my personal experience), in BIG show business, being openly transgender typically has had an overwhelmingly detrimental effect on one's career; and I think BIG. So, why change my personal and quite comfortable status quo to out myself?

Well, the initial shift began after my friend and I had that conversation, which inspired me to join the Transcendence Gospel Choir, resulting in my being publicly out around the country as we toured, and around the world as a result of press and films about us. But, other than my original inspirational music and the Choir, I separated my sacred music life and profile from that of my secular music, (and I'm primarily a secular musician). From the Choir and other creative activities here in the City, many people in the local queer community knew of my being a transperson, but otherwise, it wasn't generally known. A couple of years ago, speaking as one of my elders, a friend of my mother's told me, "People have to get to know you to accept you. For them to know you, they have to see you and spend time with you." He was speaking of a specific community; naturally, I extrapolated his comment to include the entire galaxy, and I pondered what he'd said. For awhile.


Eventually, (and somewhat recently), I began coming across articles by journalists addressing the dearth of black transgender public figures. The Black community's rejection of us is insidious; it inspires us to hide out, to lay lowwwww. ~ (Particularly, the backstabbing of the Black church). Church goin' folks will just lo-o-o-o-ove all over you; hugs, blessings, smiles, positive words, invitations, introductions, the whole shebang - until they discover you're gay, lesbian and, God forbid, "don't go there", a transgender person. Then, it's ice, venom, curses and steel; and that's the real deal, from the pulpit and the pantry.

For most black people in America, church is important and that's typical Black church love towards transgender people; or, rather the denial of it. Faced with a life impairing and threatening denial, most black transgender persons either leave the church or keep quiet and lay lowwwww. That double denial, that of love and that of positive public role models results in scores of black, transgender youth suicides every year. There, but for the grace of God, went I.

Transgender people tend to be gifted and highly intelligent people; those kids take unusual degrees of talent, skill and capacity with them, lessening the entire world. (It will continue until some of us have the courage to just be real about who we are, to help our own community displace its collective negative baggage about transgenderism - which is completely accommodated by the words of Jesus Christ Himself, Matt. 19: 11, 12, though [as He Himself said] not everybody can accept it. - I'm glad He loved us enough to directly speak up for us!!)

A few days ago, I received an email from a fan with a link to a blog posting about transgender persons being completely left out of BET's "Who's Who In Black GLBT America". When I read it online, it was linked to an article about the sorrowful lack of positive, black transgender roles models, period. I decided to spend some time doing my own research into fellow, out, black transwomen musicians. After well over two hours, I could only find 5; all female, one singer, four singer/songwriters, the latter set all on Myspace, myself included, two of us here in the San Francisco Bay Area, three in CA. (Surely, there are more, but where are they?? ?? ??)

My mother's friend was correct. Years earlier, my young friend was correct. We're not seen, so we're not known, so we're not accepted and the hundreds of black kids out there who were born like us are not given the certainty that it's just okay to be themselves, as we are, and create, or teach, or design buildings, or lead companies or parent, or whatever we do, as we do.

Being out, as I am now, was a very difficult choice; like most people do with difficult choices, I finally made it when the cost of maintaining stealth became greater than the value, in the big picture. For me to have to dig and only find 3 other genuine expressions of professional, black, transgender musical talent in addition to my was an appalling slap in the face.

Minimal presence equals minimal support; in evidence, community failure - thus far, even the black, creative LGBT community has failed to acknowledge us. If we're not even acknowledged by our own community, how can the world EVER get to the point of being able to do so? (About 4 years ago, the fortune in my fortune cookie said something like, "People are looking for you. They just don't know where to find you.")

At some point, as the author of the blog wrote, we need to start makin' a noise, tooting our own horn as out, creative transwomen in order to let people know we're here and where we are, so they can hear us. Our community may deny us, be we'll not deny ourselves, or others the blessings that come from knowing us.

I confess, my initial choice to be out was primarily motivated by my not wanting to get post relationship rejection in my business dealings any more. That disclosure-rejection paradigm in business, after having spent perhaps years developing and tuning good relationships, is career devastating; (my career once evidenced that.) My attitude was, "If people are going to reject me, I'd rather have them do so before them getting into relationship with me and wasting my life force." Now, as it was with the Choir, it's motivated by Love.

Years ago, I asked God why He created transgender persons. His answer was, "To increase your families' capacity to Love." That being said, I joined the Choir. That being said, I'm an out transgender entertainer in order to increase my community's capacity to Love and, therefore, my country's and, therefore, the world's.

If my being out makes it possible for one little boy or girl, perceived now as a girl or boy respectively, to be loved by their family enough to be supported, [to get the therapy and evaluation and confirmation necessary for them] to have an optimally healthy transition, while also being enabled and even empowered to explore expressing their talents and gifts as the genuine persons they are (regardless of their age), my following the wise counsel of good friends will make my choice to be so a very worthwhile decision. Certainly, it assures me that those who do decide they want to partner with me to capitalize on my talents and resources are mostly likely going to be in my corner for a long ride, with no ejection seat. Either way, "it's not easy being green", but Love is furthered. Now, that being said, let me entertain you! :D

***

Anyone who has links to web sites of other black, transgender singer/songwriters, MtF or FtM, feel free to post them in the comments below. I'd like that.

No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent

As transpeople we get buffered and whacked on a daily basis with so much negativity from people inside and outside our community. Some of that negativity hurled our way by our detractors is so insidious in nature we're not aware of it.

During the recent panel discussion I took part in at U of L during TDOR week, I had a ciswoman I was talking to after it was over about various subjects.

At one point in our conversation she switched subjects to ask me why wasn't I looking her directly in her eyes. The question caught me off guard for a moment, then she explained that she had the same problem and had to work on it as well, which is why she noticed it.

She went on to compliment me for being on point in the discussion, looking fly while doing so, and tell me about her struggle to get comfortable with her body and loving the sistah she's become after 41 years.

On the bus ride home the conversation triggered some hard solid thinking about some of the stuff I'd internalized and resolving to do a even better job of practicing what I preach.

The conversation reminded me of a quote from former First Lady and civil rights warrior Eleanor Roosevelt.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

Fighting those negative feelings is a 24-7-365 job (366 in a leap year). While all transpeople fight to stay grounded in spiritual positivity, for a transperson of color that can be a struggle at times.

Our self-esteem also gets additional daily assaults from the racism we have to deal with just maneuvering through life as a person of color and the internal transphobia within our communities of color.

We all knew when we began transition that our road to femininity was going to be a rough, pothole filled one at times. Ciswomen, as my friends have pointed out have to deal with crap as well on their feminine journeys, too.

We have nothing to be ashamed of because we are part of the wonderful mosaic of life and are wonderfully made in the Creator's image.

I take great pride in being a role model for this community and being the Phenomenal Transwoman I am. But even I fight on an almost daily basis to not let the negativity overwhelm me and get rid of the internalized baggage I'm aware of.

Yes, you have the power within yourselves to go through life and live it abundantly. Being trans is not an impediment to that.

And neither should we allow anyone to make us feel inferior without our consent.

Shut Up Fool! Of The Year-You Nominate 'Em

I've decided I'm going to let you loyal TransGriot readers nominate your favorites for the Shut Up Fool! of The Year Award.

You'll have until December 25 to choose your favorite fool, and I will post the winner on New Year's Eve.

Should it be Rush Limbaugh? Ann Coulter? Michael Steele? Michelle Malkin? Joe Lieberman? Or should it go to a group like Fox News? PETA? The Republican Party?

You get to nominate your favorites until December 25. Then if you don't have a New Year's Eve party or event to attend, we'll discuss them.

DC Set To Vote For Marriage Equality Bill

Despite the best efforts of Bigot Harry Jackson, Jr., the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the District of Columbia City Council is set to give the city's gay residents an early Christmas present and become the first jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line to approve marriage equality.

The bill cleared its final hurdle on November 10 when it passed out of committee on a 4-1 vote. The committee also stripped language out of the bill that would have eliminated domestic partnerships and broadened the religious exemption.

While there are few roadblocks left for opponents to prevent its passage, it's not like they haven't been busy trying. The Washington DC Ethics Board quashed two attempts by Bigot Harry Jackson's Stand4MarrageDC group to stop it citing the city's 1977 Human Rights Act and its prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Ethics Board also cited the same sexual orientation discrimination prohibition when it denied a request by Jackson's group to place a referendum on gay marriage on the ballot.

Meanwhile, at the NOM ranch, they were trying to work the Capitol Hill angle in terms of suppressing the soon to be passed law. Congress has 60 days to review laws passed by the District Council, but even NOM Executive Director Brian Brown, commented in the Washington Post, "It's a difficult thing for Congress to actually overturn a law in the District."

And of course, in the public commentary on the bill, the haters were in full effect.



While Councilmember David Catania's bill would not require religious organizations to perform gay weddings, the Catholic Church has reacted in a thuggish manner.

The Catholic Church has threatened to shut off programs serving Washington's poor and homeless if the city does not include an exclusion that would allow individuals, including private business owners, to refuse to provide goods and services related to the nuptials of gay couples.

That threat was decried by the Democratic governors of Maryland and Virginia, who both happen to be Catholic. It also had the opposite effect of hardening the DC Council's resolve to pass the measure.

The bill is supported by ten of DC's thirteen council members, so its chances for passage look excellent barring some Twilight Zone level shenanigans. Mayor Fenty has already stated he would sign it, and the Democratically controlled Congress is not inclined to interfere with it either.

We'll see in a few hours if the District of Columbia City council says 'I do' to same gender marriage.