When Will I See Black Trans Characters Like Edie Stokes Again?

Back in 1977, in the Jefferson's fourth season we were introduced to George's old Navy buddy who was in New York to visit for a few days.   George's buddy had a reputation in the Navy as a practical jokester and he was eager to see his old friend.

However, there had been some major changes in the intervening years since George had seen his old buddy, and he was shocked to discover Edie's transition.   He handled their initial meeting badly, but by the end of the show came to accept his old friend and even fell for one of her jokes

I wish they had made Edie a recurring character, because people needed to know that Black transpeople existed, and not just as 'tragic transsexuals' or exotic chocolate sex fantasies.   

I'm tired of seeing it, and so is the rest of Black trans America.

One of the things I've noted since 2008 is the increase in trans characters on television shows such as Dirty Sexy Money, Ugly Betty, the soap All My Children  and in movies such as Transamerica.   The problem has been that all of the characters were played by white actors or actresses or in the case of the Carmelita character on Dirty Sexy Money, a trans woman.  



Even with the African American actresses who have played trans characters like Sheryl Lee Ralph and Kerry Washington, it has been a mized bag.

What I want to see is Black trans characters who reflect the way that many of us live our lives. We're tired of seeing the stereotypical drag queens as was evidenced on a Sex In The City episode, or the 'tragic transsexual' being killed five to ten seconds after we show up on screen in a murder mystery CSI style program..


I ain't mad at Candis Cayne and Jamie Lee Clayton who are getting trans roles lately on shows such as Necessary Roughness and Hung that show transpeople as human beings and Calpernia Addams who continues the fight to ensure we get them.. 

I wouldn't even mind seeing the script flipped as they did with Bella Maddo and have trans actors playing cisgender people. 

But I want to see the same thing happen repeatedly for Harmony Santana, Laverne Cox and Isis King as well in terms of getting roles that reflect our humanity, too.

It's not a coincidence that civil rights advances in American society for African Americans, Latinos and the rainbow community happened as more positive portrayals of these communities graced our television screens. Hollywood is just as or more important to advancing the rights of a marginalized community as Capitol Hill and your state legislature is.

Now that Hollywood is willing to put trans characters in their productions, I want equal time for non stereotypical Black trans characters as well.
  
I want to see more Edie Stokes style Black transwomen characters who are beautiful, intelligent, and eloquent speakers like many of my transsisters are.  There are Black directors, writers and actor-producers that could make that happen, and I'm going to keep harping on the subject until it does.

7th Edition of WPATH Standards Of Care Released

The WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) biennial conference started on September 24 and is running through the 28th in the ATL.   The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association was also having their conference in Atlanta from September 21-25. 


Since the Southern Comfort Conference, the world's largest trans conference was winding down to its conclusion as the WPATH event was cranking up at the Emory Conference Center, a launch event for the unveiling of the new 7th edition of the WPATH Standards of care was organized along with a town hall at SCC's hotel.

Dr. Walter Bockting, the outgoing president of WPATH said in an interview about the new SOC, "Some of the changes we've made really incorporate the latest science," Bockting said. "Research in this area is really increasing so it is still a growing area but there has been a boom in research publications. Our standards of care are more evidence based."

The Standards of Care were first published by WPATH in 1979 and were revised in 1980, 1981, 1990, 1998 and 2001.


In addition to making it clear that reparative therapy was unethical, here are the other highlights of the revised changes in the Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People.

• Psychotherapy is no longer a requirement to receive hormones and surgery, although it is suggested.

"It used to be a minimum amount of psychotherapy was needed. An assessment is still required but that can be done by the prescribing hormone provider," Bockting explained.

• A number of community health centers in the U.S. have developed protocols for providing hormone therapy based an approach known as the Informed Consent Model. These protocols are consistent with version 7 revisions of WPATH's standards of care.

"The SOC are flexible clinical guidelines; they allow for tailoring of interventions to the needs of the individual receiving services and for tailoring of protocols to the approach and setting in which these services are provided," Coleman explained to the GA Voice's Dyana Bagby..

"Access is more open and acknowledges transgender care is being provided in community health centers. This certainly makes it easier to access hormones," Bockting added.

• There are now different standards for surgery, as well. For example, a transgender man who wants a hysterectomy no longer has to live one year as a male in order to receive the surgery. Likewise, a transgender woman who wants her testicles removed does not have to live one year as a female.

For people who want genital reconstructive surgery, however, the standards of care recommend living a year in the role of the gender they are transitioning.

• Another major change, Bockting explained, is that the standards "allow for a broader spectrum of identities – they are no longer so binary."

The changes are indeed great news for the trans community and takes us another huge step closer toward depathologizing medical care for gender issues.

2011 UH Cougar Watch-Cougars Grill Georgia State

The University of Houston Cougars had three goals going into their home game with Georgia State.  

They wanted to avoid complacency against the FBS school, avoid the slow offensive start that was nearly fatal for them last week against Louisiana Tech before Case Keenum engineered the biggest comeback in UH school history and earned a hard fought 35-34 road win to move to 4-0 on the season.

They accomplished all three goals in their win at the Rob against the Georgia State Panthers.  They scored on three of their first  four possessions, were up 35-0 by halftime and rolled up 621 yards of their total 732 yards of offense by the third quarter and Case Keenum was 29-34 for 415 years and two TDs before he was pulled in the third quarter to allow the second teamers to get some live action work in.

They finally start 2011 C-USA play with the UTEP Miners in a televised Thursday night game in El Paso.  The Coogs won't forget that last trip to El Paso in 2009 in which they were ranked number 12 in the nation in the AP poll, major buzz was accumulating around the program with national sports talk putting UH on the short list of schools that had a legitimate shot of being BCS bowl-busters.

The only busting that happened was a 58-41 butt kicking adminsitered by UTEP that put a major crimp in their drive for a BCS bowl   So yeah, while hey aren't saying it publicly, revenge is probably on their minds.

Eat 'em up!

Out On The Hill 2011 Post Roundup

The 2011 NBJC Out On The Hill Conference has concluded and the planning for the 2012 edition of the event is getting underway.  

I did write my thoughts and reports on the proceedings, at least the stuff I could publically talk about.   There's some stuff of a strategic nature that I can't and won't reveal that falls into 'the Black LGBT Revolution will not be televised' realm.

To make it easier for y'all to read the posts with my thoughts about the various days Moni was in the middle of the 2011 conference I'm going to put the links in this post.

Looking forward to attending the 2012 Out on the Hill.  The date for OUT on the Hill will be set once the CBCF-ALC 2012 dates are set and hope I'm not only there next year (and I'm planning on it) but hoping I get to see a larger trans contingent there next year in DC as well in addition to more LGB African descended people .

Second Annual NBJC Out on The Hill Approaching 

Guess Who's At OUT on The Hill?
OUT on The Hill-The LGBT Congressional Staff Association Briefing.

OUT On The Hill-Busy Day


OUT On The Hill-Busy Day, Especially For Me

OUT On The Hill-Hangin' With The CBC

OUT On The Hill-Day of Reflection

OUT On The Hill-NBJC Friday In Full Effect

OUT On The Hill-Saturday Sessions

OUT On The Hill-Sunday Events

OUT On The Hill-Moni's Reflections

TPOCC Mission Statement

I've been telling y'all over the last few months about TPOCC, the Trans People Of Color Coalition that is organizing and sorely needed in order for us to own our power in the trans movement

Well, another step has been taken toward becoming a reality.  Here's TPOCC's Mission Statement and website:.

TransPeople of Color Coalition (TPOCC) is the only national social justice organization that promotes the interest of Trans People of Color. TPOCC is an organization to inspire and nurture collaboration among communities of color dedicated to anti-racism and fighting transphobia and the empowerment of transgender persons of color. We work to strengthen and mobilize individuals, families, and communities by changing laws, educating the public, and building social and economic strength among all persons of color

TPOCC was founded in May 2010 by Kylar Broadus and it has methodically been doing its thing as part of the Black Trans Revolution that is not being televised. 

The reality is that the Black trans community is not being properly served by existing trans organizations and we can not allow this intolerable situation to continue. 

There was a TPOCC breakout session at the recently concluded 2011 OUT on the Hill conference in which strategizing was done with our allies about how best to achieve the goals set out by the organization in its mission statement. .

Stay tuned to TransGriot and the TPOCC site for announcements concerning the dates, times and locations of upcoming town hall meetings being organized to take place in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit and Atlanta with dates and other cities to follow

TPOCC also engaged in a recent letter writing campaign to the NAACP over the erasure of transpeople from the recent LG town hall at their convention in Los Angeles.

I and TPOCC will expeditiously post any information of importance as the organization continues to build critical mass and seeks your input as trans people of color as to how best to serve you.