Wendy's Running!

Earlier this afternoon Texas Sen.Wendy Davis finally said the words that we long suffering Texas Democrats (and the nation) have been waiting to hear.

"I have decided to run for governor of the great state of Texas.
As Texans, we believe that with hard work, determination, and a little old-fashioned common sense, we can build a better future for ourselves and our families.
We can make our communities safer, create jobs, and get Texas moving in the right direction.
I realize that we have a challenging road ahead. But after talking with my family, my friends, and my closest supporters -- I am convinced this is the right decision."

So are we and everyone who is on board with #TeamWendy.  I've already made a donation to her campaign because I'm that convinced she is the right person to lead our state. 

I remember the last time we had a female Democratic governor lead our state.  It's also the last time Texas had a budget surplus ($2.5 billion) a diverse leadership team and a governor who was admired and not laughed at.

I got the feeling that Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan and Molly Ivins were looking down from their heavenly perch and smiling a bit today.  

I want to be doing the same along with other liberal-progressive Texans tired of the GOP corporate dictatorship on November 4, 2014.

Wendy's running!  Now it's time to get busy and help her win.

Wendy Davis Making Big Political Announcement Today

At 4 PM CDT TX State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) will step to a podium in the same auditorium in Haltom City when she graduated from high school and announce whether she's going to attempt to become the third female governor of the Lone Star State.  

If she does make that call, she has the best shot at doing so since Ann Richards became in 1990 the last Texas Democrat to occupy the governor's chair.   Ann Richards started off her campaign in a 27 point hole against GOP nominee Clayton Williams but eventually won. 

It didn't hurt that Williams was pissing everyone off in the state with his rape joke and refusing to shake Richards' hand after a debate.  

If Wendy Davis jumps into this race, it's because she thinks she can win and even better, she's won seven consecutive political races including her runs for the Fort Worth City Council.   She's won two races in a Fort Worth area state senate district that leans Republican but is a microcosm of the state with large pockets of Latino, African-American and progressive voters.  She won twice in that state senate district that prior to her running and winning it in 2008 was a GOP bastion with a coalition of Democrats, independents and reality based Republicans. 

Because of her heightened name recognition in the wake of her 11 hour filibuster against the unjust and draconian abortion clinic bill she has raised over $1 million with the ability to raise more nationally. 

Davis is only trailing Greg Abbott, who has been in office 12 years as the Republican AG by single digits and has much better name recognition statewide than he does. Should she jump into the race she has plenty of time to make that deficit up and get her message out there.

I submit Davis' message will resonate with Texans tired of the conservafool social agenda coming up in every legislative session in Austin.

"What they care about is public education," she said in a recent interview. "Can their child go to college, is there a path for their child's future? Is there a path for them to have a good job, are they going to have adequate healthcare? These are things that really matter to people. Are we creating the type of climate to keep a healthy workforce and a vibrant economy, that's what people care about and that's what they want their leaders to be in the business of talking about.

So I think that we're going to see, if there is a statewide campaign, we'll see that the expression of that come out in many, many ways."

We have problems in this state that require adult leadership to solve.   In Wendy Davis we may have the right person to drive that message home.  It also doesn't hurt the last time Texas had a female Democratic governor in Austin she wiped out a $6 billion deficit piled up by Bill Clements (R) and turned it into a $2.5 billion surplus.  Ann Richards also had the most diverse cabinet in Texas history, in addition to us in the Lone Star State seeing many groundbreaking firsts under her leadership.

I'd like to see that happen for Texas again.

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Week 5

This was a good news-bad news week for me in this 2013 prognostication contest that has now hit Week 5.  The good news is I didn't have another sub-.500 week.   The bad news was I had to go 4-1 in my Week 4 afternoon and Sunday-Monday night games to go a pitiful 8-7.

Okay, I'm really getting tired of this slow start, and I'm not just talking about me in this 2013 NFL prognostication contest.    

The Texans played 3.5 quarters of football last Sunday against the Seahawks.   When I left the house to go to the Race Relations Forum they were comfortably up 20-3.   By the time I arrived at Resurrection MCC they were tied and in OT for the third game this year and subsequently lost 23-20 to go 2-2 on the year. 

There were some Texans fans (myself included) who were not too happy about the Matt Schaub fourth quarter pick six that tied the game.  It's the third consecutive game he's thrown a pick six and at 2-2 in the middle of a brutal stretch of their schedule we are concerned about our NFL ballers inside Loop 610, especially since the Bulls on Parade defense has played lights out save the Baltimore game.  

One disgruntled fan expressed himself in a beyond nekulturny way by paying $200 for a Matt Schaub jersey he subsequently burned.  

Dude, I get it you're PO'd at Schaub, but I can think of better ways to spend $200   

Schaub better step it up this Sunday night on national TV against the 49ers or else he may find himself in Week 6 on the bench looking at TJ Yates or Case Keenum in his spot.

It's now NFL Week 5 and only have fourteen games to pick because four teams are on their bye weeks.  The 1-3 Vikings and the 0-4 Steelers who played last week across The Pond, the 1-3 Redskins, and the 0-4 Buccaneers.  Speaking of stepping it up, same goes for me in this prognostication contest.  

Teams I'm picking to win this week are in underlined bold print.   Eli's and Mike's picks are here. 

Week 4 Results
TransGriot     8-7
Eli Blake        8-7
Mike Watts  10-5

2013 Season Record
TransGriot      36-27
Eli                  45-18
Mike              40-23

NFL Week 5
Bye Week: Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Washington, Tampa Bay

Thursday Night Game
Buffalo at Cleveland

Sunday Noon Games
New England at Cincinnati
Detroit at Green Bay
Seattle at Indianapolis
Baltimore at Miami
New Orleans at Chicago
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Kansas City at Tennessee
Jacksonville at St Louis

Sunday Afternoon Games
Carolina at Arizona
Denver at Dallas

Sunday Night Games
Houston at San Francisco
San Diego at Oakland

Monday Night Game
NY Jets at Atlanta

.

Janet Mock Keynote Speaker For U of L Pride Tonight

It's one of the things I didn't get to do when I lived in Da Ville, but so happy to hear that Janet Mock will be delivering the keynote address for the University of Louisville's Pride Week tonight.

It's scheduled for 7 PM EDT in the Student Activities Center, Multipurpose Room and is open to the public, so come on out Louisville and check out my sis. 

She has her book Redefining Realness coming out in February, and she'll probably have some very interesting things to say about our LGBT community that you may want to be in the room for.

First Ever UN Ministerial Meeting On LGBT Rights

You've heard me frequently write and say that trans rights are an international human rights issue.  On September 26 a groundbreaking meeting took place at the United Nations in New York that underscores that comment.

Leaders from the UN's core group of countries working to end violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people gathered for the first ever UN ministerial meeting on LGBT rights.


The meeting's purpose was to discuss advancements for protecting the human rights of LGBT persons and to secure commitments from Member States toward making the protection of TBLG citizens in those member state and elsewhere in the world a reality.

Free & Equal -- the unprecedented UN public information campaign for LGBT equality -- captures strong statements by several attendees, who included the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Argentine, Brazilian, Croatian, Dutch and Norwegian foreign ministers, the French Minister of Development Cooperation, senior officials from the European Union, Japan and New Zealand, and the directors of Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.




Those present issued an historic Ministerial Declaration on Ending Violence and Discrimination against Individuals Based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity that was endorsed by Secretary of State Kerry, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union.

In case you TransGriot readers are wondering what the declaration says, you knew I'd find it for you.:

Ministerial Declaration on Ending Violence and Discrimination against Individuals Based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity



United Nations, New York, 26 September 2013

1. We, ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and United States, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – members of the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations – hereby declare our strong and determined commitment to eliminating violence and discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

2. In so doing, we reaffirm our conviction that human rights are the birthright of every human being. Those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) must enjoy the same human rights as everyone else.

3. We welcome the many positive steps taken in recent decades to protect LGBT individuals from human rights violations and abuses. Since 1990, some 40 countries have abolished discriminatory criminal sanctions used to punish individuals for consensual, adult same-sex conduct. In many countries, hate crime laws and other measures have been introduced to combat homophobic violence, and anti-discrimination laws have been strengthened to provide effective legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace and other spheres, both public and private.

4. We also recognize that countering discrimination involves challenging popular prejudices, and we welcome efforts by Governments, national human rights institutions and civil society to counter homophobic and transphobic attitudes in society at large, including through concerted public education campaigns.

5. We assert our support for, and pay tribute to, LGBT human rights defenders and others advocating for the human rights of LGBT persons. Their work, often carried out at considerable personal risk, plays a critical role in documenting human rights violations, providing support to victims, and sensitizing Governments and public opinion.

6. We commend the adoption by the United Nations Human Rights Council of resolution 17/19 on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, and we welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to raise global awareness of human rights challenges facing LGBT individuals, and to mobilize support for measures to counter violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

7. Nevertheless, we remain gravely concerned that LGBT persons in all regions of the world continue to be victims of serious and widespread human rights violations and abuses.

8. A landmark 2011 study by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which drew on almost two decades worth of work by United Nations human rights mechanisms, found a deeply disturbing pattern of violence and discriminatory laws and practices affecting individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

9. It is a tragedy that, in this second decade of the 21^st century, consensual, adult, same-sex relations remain criminalized in far too many countries – exposing millions of people to the risk of arrest and imprisonment and, in some countries, the death penalty. These laws are inconsistent with States’ human rights obligations and commitments, including with respect to privacy and freedom from discrimination. In addition, they may lead to violations of the prohibitions against arbitrary arrest or detention and torture, and in some cases the right to life.

10. In all parts of the world – including in our own – LGBT individuals are subjected to intimidation, physical assault, and sexual violence, and even murder. Discriminatory treatment is also widely reported, inhibiting the enjoyment of a range of human rights – including the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and work, education and enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.

11. We are fully committed to tackling these violations and abuses – both at the domestic level, including through continued attention to the impact of current policies, and at the global level, including through concerted action at the United Nations.

12. We recognize the importance of continued dialogue between and within countries concerning how best to protect the human rights of LGBT persons, taking into account regional initiatives. In this context, we welcome the outcome of a series of recent regional consultations on the topic of human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity that took place in March and April 2013, and encourage the holding of further such meetings at regional and national levels.

13. Key to protecting the human rights of LGBT individuals is the full and effective implementation of applicable international human rights law. Existing international human rights treaties provide legally binding guarantees of human rights for all – LGBT people included. But for these guarantees to have meaning they must be respected by Governments, with whom legal responsibility for the protection of human rights lies.

14. Cognizant of the urgent need to take action, we therefore call on all United Nations Member States to repeal discriminatory laws, improve responses to hate-motivated violence, and ensure adequate and appropriate legal protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

15. We strongly encourage the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue its efforts to increase understanding of the human rights challenges facing LGBT people, advocate for legal and policy measures to meet these challenges, and assist the United Nations human rights mechanisms in this regard.

16. We agree with the United Nations Secretary-General’s assessment that combating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity constitutes “one of the great, neglected human rights challenges of our time”. We hereby commit ourselves to working together with other States and civil society to make the world safer, freer and fairer for LGBT people everywhere.

METRORail One Step Closer To Red Line Extension Opening

In my last transit post about the status of the METRORail Red Line's North Line Extension, it was ahead of schedule construction wise and the initial unpowered train clearance tests were being run on the completed 5.3 mile extension section of the original 7.5 mile light rail line along Main Street that opened for business in 2004.

Another series of unpowered train clearance test runs were conducted August 26-29 in addition to electrical power line testing and checking the overhead catenary power wires on both sets of tracks be fore the powered rail car testing took place last month.

The station art is being installed on the eight new stations on the North Line extension along with the landscaping along that route.  


While that was going on, the badly needed 19 additional Siemens rail cars METRO purchased from Utah arrived in December 2012 and have been added to beefed up regular service with the original 18 Siemens cars on the Main Street Line.  METRO also took bids in February 2011 on an additional 39 cars with options to buy more. 

Since light rail service started in January 2004, METRORail to the disgust of the knuckle dragging mass transit naysayers has passed the 100 million boardings mark four years earlier than projections.

Since METRO apparently has had no issues with either the unpowered or powered train test runs and electrical testing, it seems that all systems are go for a December revenue service launch on the North Line extension.  The Green and Purple Lines construction, especially around the University of Houston has ramped up along with construction of the stations along it. 

The Green and Purple Lines, which run from downtown near the Theater District to the East End and Southeast are projected to enter service sometime in the second quarter of 2014.

I noted yesterday when I took the train from the Downtown Transit Center station to the Wheeler Station the new Red Line signs had been installed showing the North Line extension, its eight stations, and the soon to be constructed Central Station where the Downtown Purple and Green Lines cross the Red Line on Capitol and Rusk Streets between the Main Street Square and Preston Stations and will act as the transfer point between the rail lines .

Central Station's design will be selected from a competition in which 70 internationally renowned architectural firms were pared down to five finalists who hoped after their presentations their futuristic designs would become the signature station of the METRORail system.   .  

Still haven't found out as of yet which of the five designs won the competition, but this is the one I like from SHoP Architects of New York.   Then again, I'm not on the board making the final decision for it either. 


Can't wait for all the new lines to open.  With the North Line being the first of the three, it'll give me an excuse to go check out Northline Mall. .
  

Happy Birthday Jenifer!

Another day, another TransGriot birthday shout out.

Today is Jenifer Rene Pool's birthday, and I presume these are the four things Jenifer is probably looking for when she blows out the candles on her birthday cake:  Your donations for her campaign, you to volunteer, your votes in our upcoming November 5 city election if you live in the Houston city limits and to be standing in the Wortham Center in January being sworn in as one of our city council members

And if you can't wait until November 5, early voting starts October 25.

Jenifer is running for the Position 3 at large council seat, so that means she's running to represent the entire city.  You can check out her campaign website and like her campaign Facebook page here. 

I hope all of those wishes come true for her and the community's sake because Jenifer would be a wonderful addition to Houston City Council.

But we still have a lot of hard work and sweat equity ahead to make that happen. 

Happy birthday Jenifer!  May you have many more and make a little history in the process.

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month For Trans Women, Too

One of the things we obsess about in our early body morphing stage of our gender transitions is our breasts.  We get happy when we start HRT and the breast buds start developing,   We wonder how big will they get and if they aren't a size we're happy about how soon can we get the implants to rectify that situation.

As my endo Dr Emery pointed out to me early in my transition back in 1994, we transwomen also get an increased breast cancer risk along with the boobies.  

Today is the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in which we take time to raise public awareness about breast cancer, its causes, the latest research in combating it, and raising money to find a cure for it.

So how does breast cancer affect transgender individuals?

Unfortunately there isn't enough research at this time about how breast cancer affects trans people (or any other disease) and what I've heard about breast cancer and trans people is sketchy at best or anecdotal.

And as we push for the healthcare fields to do more research on how various diseases affect the trans population, our allies in the trans healthcare field have noted the following effects:

• For a transgender woman, the risk of breast cancer increases following breast development and five or more years of hormone therapy.
• For a transgender man, excessive testosterone can be converted into estrogen by the body, which leads to increased cancer risk. Additionally, transgender men may feel uncomfortable with either self-exams or medical exams, and may not realize that top surgery does not remove all breast tissue. Self-examination is a useful prevention tool that can be life-saving, regardless of a person’s gender.

For African-American trans and our cis sisters, we need to be concerned about the fact that although fewer African-American cis women get the disease, we unfortunately have the highest death rates for breast cancer out of all ethnic groups for it because of late detection and the type of breast cancer we tend to get is a fast growing and hard to treat one.    

That fast growing and hard to treat breast cancer that African-American women tend to get is something that African-American trans women should be concerned and vigilant about especially if the cis women in our family have a history of breast cancer combined with us being on HRT. 

Trans and cis women alike need to do breast self exams on a regular basis. For those of us 40 and older, we need to be doing mammograms every 1 to 2 years and speak with our doctors about what screening and prevention measures are most appropriate for us and for your body.

  

3rd Annual Philly Trans* March Coming Soon

For those of you in or near the Philadelphia metro area, you may wish to circle October 12 on your calendar for the third annual Philly Trans* March.

It's being organized by Christian Axavier Lovehall and will take place at LOVE Park from 3-6 PM EDT after the march from Center City to the LOVE Park location. 

Here's the details courtesy of the Philly Trans* March Facebook page:

***

Join us October 12, 2013, for Philadelphia's 3rd annual Philly Trans* March. Philly Trans* March is not only a rally and demonstration, but rather a revolutionary movement. Open to people of all gender identities, expressions, and experiences, Philly Trans* March welcomes everyone to join in this MARCH TOWARDS EQUALITY and protest against the hate, social injustice, and inequality faced by trans*, gender variant, gender queer and gender non-conforming communities. Issues such as hate violence and the lack of official concern, healthcare policies, trans* media representation, financial and housing insecurity, police brutality, workplace policies and employment discrimination, and the lack of resources for T/GV/GQ/GNC youth are just a few of the concerns being voiced upon in this year's March.

PTM is also a CELEBRATION of the triumphs we have experienced in our city and the unique resources Philadelphia offers to our community. With an aim to increase Trans*, GV (gender variant), GQ (Genderqueer) and GNC (gender non conforming) visibility and to gain equality, Philly Trans* March is an affirmation of our beauty, strength, and diversity. Organized by members of Philly's trans*, gender variant, gender queer and gender non-conforming communities and our allies, this endeavor is committed to creating a safer, more inclusive environment for everyone.

Before we take it to the streets of Center City and march, this year we will be honoring those apart of Philly's Trans* community who have shown dedication to Trans* advocacy and increasing Trans* visibility. This October Philly Trans* March will host it's first PTM Advocacy Awards, giving much deserved recognition to those who have stood on the front lines in support of Philly's Trans* community and the fight towards equality. Below are the awards that will be given on that day. Congratulations to all of the recipients for this outstanding achievement!

PTM ADVOCACY AWARD CATEGORIES:
Leaders of Hope and Empowerment Award
Shining Pioneers Award
Rising Leaders Award
Artist Visibility Award
Ally Appreciation Award
Social Change Achievement Award

After we march, and return to LOVE Park some of our most creative local Trans* talent will rock the stage and help bring the event to a celebratory wrap-up!

Come One, Come All as EVERYONE is welcome to attend this monumental event! Bring your friends, your signs, drums and beautiful selves and rally in solidarity at PHILLY TRANS* MARCH 2013! LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!

**this is an all ages event
***a van will be on site to transport those with disAbilities who wish to march but are unable to 

Krystal Ball Calls Out The GOP On Obamacare

The Republifools have shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, and we'll see if they get punished for it at the polls on November 4, 2014.

I know I have that date circled in blue Sharpie pen ink on the 2014 calendar I recently bought. 

The GOP and their Tea Klux Klan idiots wanted this government shutdown, campaigned for it in 2010 and 2012, demanded this shutdown and fought tooth and nail for this shutdown.

So naw conservafools, you and your party own it since you're so proud of your handiwork. Don't even try to front and blame President Obama for it.   
Unlike Chuck Todd, MSNBC's Krystal Ball called out the GOP on their bull feces yesterday.

Jennifer Hudson's 'Scandalous' PSA For The ACA

Y'all know Scandal starts its new season on Thursday, and with the start up of people signing up for Obamacare AKA the Affordable Care Act today Jennifer Hudson took her love for the show to another level.

She and the peeps at 'Funny or Die' created this humorous PSA that parodies the ABC show and has her dressed as our fave 'covert social manager'.

Lydia Cole is out and about in Washington DC trying to fix scandalous insurance issues already solved by signing up for the ACA.

Check it out. 

Scandalous with Jennifer Hudson from Jennifer Hudson     

Happy Second Anniversary Of Your 25th Birthday, Isis!

October 1 is a day that's burned in the TransGriot memory banks for a lot of reasons, but one of the major ones is because it is the birthday of my fabulous fashion designing and groundbreaking model little sis Isis King!

Wasn't going to let today pass without giving her the usual blog birthday shout out.  

She is still one busy lady.   Isis is continuing to fulfill that prophetic statement I made about her in the open letter I wrote to her back in 2008 when she first got our collective attention due to her appearance on America's Next Top Model 

She's designing the wedding dress for her sister and is the Maid of Honor in her sister's wedding, and is happily living her life. 

Next time my butt is in the New York metro area I do hope to FINALLY meet her instead of having to be satisfied with talking to her on the phone from time to time.

And yes, you are STILL a beautiful butterfly spreading your wings, flying and continuing to evolve into a classy young woman both inside and out.  You also continue to be an inspiration to all of us and I'm very proud of you.

Happy birthday, Isis!   May you have many more. 

Janet Mock NY Anti-Violence Project Courage Award Speech

Speaking of people who will probably need to build trophy cases for the awards, deserved recognition and accolades they are getting, Janet Mock and Laverne Cox both received 2013 Courage Awards from the New York City Anti Violence Project on September 26.

During her acceptance speech, Janet spoke about the recently murdered Eyricka Morgan, who remains misgendered by Newark Star-Ledger stenographer Sue Epstein because she refuses to change her original inaccurate story. 

Race Relations In The Houston GLBTIQ-SGL Community Discussion

I posted the information about an event that took place yesterday at Resurrection MCC and facilitated by Dexter Williams that was entitled 'Race Relations In The Houston GLBTIQ-SGL Community.

It cranked up a little after 3 PM on the Northwest Houston area GLBT church campus after the ground rules were laid out.  After an initial icebreaker exercise to give the facilitator an idea of the attitudes in the room, for the next three hours the 30 people who took the time out of their Sunday afternoon discussed the issue from a wide variety of perspectives.

We had a thoughtful conversation about the lack of visibility of Black people in local GLB and trans organizations, some of the racism we'd faced inside the Houston SGL community, and touched on the issues and challenges in our own community that contribute to the Black leadership void in Houston based GLBT organizations. 

There were four people who identified themselves as biracial and brought their perspectives, and yes, I brought another angle to the afternoon's proceedings to the predominately Black gay and lesbian room as someone who experiences the issues of race in the H-town TBLG community from a trans perspective.  We were also fortunate to have a bi identified person in the room telling her story. 

What I was disappointed by and not surprised at was that despite Dexter and the Brother 2 Brother organizers best efforts, out of the 30 people who felt it was an important enough topic to be there, there was only one straight white female ally in the Gathering Place room where it was held.   She happened to be a TransGriot reader who saw the announcement I posted earlier about the event on my blog.   

Race relations in the Houston GLBT community is a topic I have tackled on this blog and we will have to have that discussion sooner or later in this community in order to move forward.  I believe there is an LGBT community, but race and class is a problematic part of it that must be addressed in order for it to move forward in our just human rights cause. 

It's even more imperative that we clear the air about this issue in the Houston SGL, trans and bi community as we seek to emulate San Antonio and pass updates to our non-discrimination ordinance that add much needed gender identity and sexual orientation language to them.   We will need a united front for our multitracial coalition to take on the predominately monoracial Houston Forces of Intolerance who will do everything possible to stop that progressive GLBT ordinance from happening in the largest city in Texas.   

Ignoring the festering 400 year old problem of race is not going to make it go away.  Just because we are part of the LGBT community doesn't mean we DON'T have those same race and class issues in our little subset of the greater American society that's infected by it.   To address it we have to talk about it so we can come up with a community based solution to it that everyone can be happy with.  

We also need to handle our business on this subject so that Houston as the fourth largest city in this country with a sizable SGL, bi and trans community is better able to take its place amongst New York, LA, Chicago, Atlanta as a recognized major LGBT leadership center   

I'm happy to report that Dexter and Brother 2 Brother are determined this won't be the last conversation we hold on this subject, and one is tentatively scheduled for February.   When there a solid date for it I'll post it to the blog, and I hope to see more of Houston's rainbow diversity reflected in that room when the next race relations discussion in the community is held.

I Define Me: A Trans Movement for Awareness And Self-Validation

TransGriot Note: Guest post by Bryanna Aeon Jenkins.

How do I begin? I am a proud black woman of trans experience (24 Years Old) and I am not backing down anymore. Let me start off by saying that I am hurt, tired, and I am definitely ready to make a change. I am so tired of people getting to tell the world who I am, shout it from the mountain tops for everyone to hear and see, while I am told that I should just deal with it because I am deranged and crazy anyway, or the ever famous “that’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it.”

I am tired of people religiously believing the opinions of trans phobic black gay men and black lesbians, while what I say, which is based on factual knowledge, feeling, and personal experience is denied, diminished, and dismissed. I was under the false assumption that when I transitioned in the fall of 2008 I was in a LGBT community that loved me, accepted me, understood me, and would defend me when I didn’t have the strength to do it for myself.

What a foolish and misguided young girl I really was. 

It's is now on this day, Friday September 27, 2013, that I declare LGBT is not a community as we have all be conditioned to think. We have to be very mindful of the words that we use to define and call ourselves because the world will treat us as such, a very good friend had to remind me of that.

Community implies a group of people who are similar and who share common interests and beliefs. On this journey from 2008 to now I have found these things to be untrue of LGBT people, we are not the same nor were we ever meant to be. We are a coalition at best, a group of different factions of people who come together for the purpose of organizing and achieving a common goal, but that is simply where all similarities end.  We as trans people have got to stop hiding in the shadows of gay and lesbian people who are not our community and who do not have our best interests at heart. Only we know what is best for us. This is truly a matter of life and death.

To the transphobic gay and lesbian people who do not understand our struggle, nor want to for that matter because they see us a shame or burden, you do not have the permission to publicly spread untruths, misinformation, and stereotypes for the world to hear about who I am and about what I represent to the world.

I was enraged when I saw a video posting of the popular YouTube show “The Skorpion Show”, that is hosted by Kevin Simmons and Makael McLendon, say on a global platform that Trans-Women are all gay because we are born with penis’, as if they are the authorities on the subject of who we are. Then in a subsequent video they defended their myopic and detrimental views about what we are. The show's creator Kevin Simmons even when on to say that we (trans women) are still gay and are really men, but he will call us women just to respect us. NEWS FLASH: I don’t want your respect if it comes at the price of compromising the essence of what me and my trans brothers and sisters really are, and this goes beyond physically passing in society. When I tried to reach out to the show's creator I was blatantly told that he didn’t want any education on the subject of trans people and I can’t get mad at his opinions.

However let's be really clear.  When you're are at the forefront of a public platform where your viewers are watching your opinions and receiving them as fact then you have a social responsibility to put out accurate and correct information. Also if you have little knowledge about a topic, especially on one that is complex as the transgender spectrum, then it is up to you as the deliverer of this topic to be as educated as you possibly can be.

The fact is that you need a certain level of educational clarity in order to accurately discuss the issue of trans people. Making comments based off of ill formed opinions only works to further perpetuate stereotypes and misperceptions about the trans community. Many of these stereotypes and misperceptions are the basis for hate crimes against trans people, discrimination in the fields of healthcare, legal systems, and the workforce, and the misunderstanding from our familial bases.

I am not mad because of what they said  I have become accustomed to the worst treatment from trans phobic gay and lesbian people. It was the fact that the creator of the show did not want to invest the same time and energy into promoting the correct facts about trans people for the world to hear and receive. The bigger picture is that “The Skorpion Show” is a microcosm of Black gay and lesbian intolerance and Black societal intolerance as a whole when it comes to trans people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4GA8ytQDg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apknk5z-IRY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISYPMigh4bw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycJmEexXkdY

I partially have myself to blame for this situation because I should have addressed it when this issue of disrespecting trans women was a common theme throughout their show since 2008, but I foolishly remained passive and thought things would get better on their own because we were all one community.

There goes that damn word again, “COMMUNITY”. 

Like I said I was foolish. I know that there is no such thing as an LGBT community, which is just a term by the hetero-normative community to put us all into one box that was never meant for us to be in initially. However, there is a trans community full of pride, full of dignity, and full of respect. When I publicly disavowed my support for “The Skorpion Show” and its creator Kevin Simmons, because of the show's lack of accurate depictions and discussion of trans people, many girls from my own sisterhood told me that I should let it go and wash my hands of the situation. I get where they come from because sometimes as a trans person you get so tired and weighed down by having to defend your worth to people who refuse to open their minds and ultimately their hearts.

Then I think what if those Black kids at the Woolworth’s lunch counter had simply kept walking past that “WHITES ONLY” counter and said. "Not today" or if those trans people like Miss Major, who was a part of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, said "Bitch, Imma just get locked, I don’t feel like fighting today". We young trans women have got to shake the foundation to create changes and put in transphobic people's faces exactly what they don’t want to see…trans people who are grounded, assertive, and comfortable with who they are and what they put out to the world.

Trans people are not a subset of anybody’s group. We are our own legitimate cause and until the day comes where there is no more breath in this body I will continue to fight for what fair and for what is right.

I don’t ever want to see another transphobic gay or lesbian person accept another dollar of government funding, accept LGBT media awards (http://blackweblogawards.com/past-winners/), or indulge in the fruits of the mainstream acceptance of gays and lesbians that was gained on the backs of the suffering and degrading of trans people, certainly those of color.

I do not want to go to another funeral of one my fallen sisters, where not only is she purposefully misgendered by societal media, but she is also misgendered by her family who refuses to accept the reality of her unique position in life and ultimately why she had to leave this earth in an all too common violent way. We are here, We are authentic, We exist, We can speak for ourselves and we will not remain silent anymore!

To the allies who fully understand the conversation, I want you to feel empowered to encourage us trans people to tell our own stories because WE have to be at the forefront of our own movement if things are to ever change

The Hurdles Around Love For A Transwoman And A Trans Attracted Man

Guest Post By Rebecca Desvignes Aeon

It is not as simple for a transattracted man that's now discovering his attraction towards transwomen, to fall in love, or be in a serious committed relationship with a transwoman unless he has come to terms with his personal thoughts, desires and acceptance of it all including overcoming the fear of being called gay by the ignorant statements from most of society from lack of education.

It is an emotionally challenging experience for a transwoman that is comfortable in her mindset and skin, being in love with a transattracted man, that is now discovering his attraction towards transwomen either in the exploration stage, or is seasoned but yet still dealing with the fear of family and friends finding out, and also being incapable of reproduction in some cases, if that transattracted man happens to desire having a child through non-adopted options.

It's is even more emotionally challenging for an HIV-positive transwoman to date and find love.  Some are having to deal with some transattracted men that may at first start a relationship after being told at first of her status, agreeing to continue dating, and may quit with no explanations afterwards.  This is also including HIV-positive transattracted men receiving the same treatment from an HIV-negative transwoman.

Some transattracted men live with a burning desire to be in love and be in either a serious committed relationship or marriage with a transwoman, but is too afraid or circumstances don't permit for such a union. Therefore for some transattracted men, it's easier to have one night stands or secret unions behind closed doors when having the chance to do so while others which some people call chasers, remain in exploring mode.

Some transattracted mens only interest in transwomen is purely sexually motivated.   They could never fathom the thoughts of falling in love with a transwoman due to the lingering subconscious mindset they were indoctrinated with from an innocent child from elders and refused to see otherwise.  They continue looking at a relationship whit a transwoman and thinking about it subconsciously as being with a 'man'. If by chance they did fall or feel like they are falling in love with a transwoman, their first initial reaction is to run or disappear.

Some are only willing to accept and deal with the imagery of the female figure with something extra for many provoked through sexual urges honed through shemale porn.  Many are spontaneously still haunted by their issues of their own sexuality from misguided visuals, information and lack or no available correct information about the lives transwomen really live. 

It is a very odd position for a transwoman to be in to have to school, teach Trans 101, answer questions that sometimes border on the offensive or odd coming from an inquisitive eager transattracted man newly discovering transwomen about her life and the issues we face.

The bottom line here is a pre-operative or post-operative transwoman is a woman and needs to be loved and treated that way!

The love union between a transwoman and transattracted man can only be possible when first there is love, trust, fidelity, open mindedness, comunication, understanding, patience, willingness, and consistency.

Those qualities will help both parties overcome the hurdles around love for a transwoman and a trans attracted man.

2013 UH Cougar Watch- Coogs Are 4-0!

While Computer Prime was in the shop, the NCAA college football season got cranked up along with the first year of my Houston Cougars playing in the American Athletic Conference, AKA the rebranded Big East.

They went 5-7 in their last C-USA season and were picked in the AAC preseason media poll to finish sixth in the league.  But historically my alma mater has a habit of exceeding football expectations in the first year they enter new conferences. 

So far it looks like that may be happening for this prepubescent Cougars football squad now.  

Because they are building a $105 million 40,000 seat on campus football stadium on the former spot that Robertson Stadium used to occupy that isn't scheduled to open until next August, their 2013 home games are being played at Reliant, Rice and BBVA Compass stadiums.

The Coogs got this 2013 football party started with a 62-13 August 30 thumping of the Southern University Jaguars from the SWAC at Reliant Stadium. 

The next week, September 7 they traveled to Philadelphia to make a little history and play the very first American Athletic Conference game against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. 

It was a tight and frustrating affair for the Cougars as they lost junior starting QB David Piland to a concussion and sophomore RB Kenneth Farrow to a season ending injury.

Piland's concussion paved the way for true freshman John O'Korn to take over the reins and his freshman counterpart Greg Ward to get some playing time.  The UH Air Raid offense moved the ball at will on the Owls until they got in the red zone, the Temple defense would stiffen and they would settle for field goals.  Cougar kicker Richie Leone kicked five field goals as they went an abysmal 1 for 8 in the red zone. 

Been watching the Texans too much.    

But the Cougar defense stepped up and got a red zone pick to end one Owl drive with them clinging to a 15-13 lead and stiffened on another drive that led to a missed 25 yard field goal that would have put Temple in front 16-15.   Ryan Jackson’s 8 yard fourth quarter touchdown run let the Cougars exhale and get out of town with a 22-13 win to go 2-0 on the young 2013 season and get their first AAC conference win. 

The Bayou Bucket showdown at Reliant Stadium with our crosstown rivals the Rice Owls was next up on the schedule on September 21.  It was in addition to being John O'Korn's first collegiate start a game chock full of offensive fireworks as the Cougars found themselves trailing 13-7 after the first quarter before they woke up and grabbed an 17-13 halftime lead.   

The Cougars built a comfortable 31-13 they took into the fourth quarter lead before Rice came storming back.  

Alex Lyons picked up a blocked Cougar field goal attempt with 2:18 in the game fourth quarter and raced 62 years for a Rice TD to narrow the lead to a scant five points.   Rice kicker Chris Boswell subsequently executed a highlight worthy back-footed onside kick the Owls recovered to give them one last chance to bring the Bucket to their side of town.

But a fourth down pass from the UH 36 on that potential game winning drive fell incomplete and the Bucket remains on the UH campus for the third straight year after the 31-26 win over the Owls to go 3-0.

Because the Cougars and Owls are now in different conferences for the first time since 2003, that was the last scheduled game between UH and Rice for the next four years.  Both schools have indicated they wish to continue the Bayou Bucket rivalry which has occurred since 1971.


Yesterday the unbeaten Cougars traveled down I-10 west to take on the 2-2 UT-San Antonio Roadrunners at the Alamodome for the first time. 

But this had the makings of a trap game.  The UTSA program may only be three years old, but it's headed by Larry Coker, who once led the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship in 2001.  UTSA sits in the second largest city in Texas and has quality high school programs in the area like Houston that produce lots of FBS caliber high school football players.  The Roadrunners recruited enough of them to where they went 8-4 last season and 3-3 in the WAC but because they are making the transition from FCS (Division I-AA) aren't fully bowl eligible until 2014.    

For three quarters UTSA stayed competitive with the Cougars in a back and forth game in which the lead exchanged several times.  It unraveled in the fourth quarter for the Roadrunners when Cougars defensive lineman BJ Singleton blocked a Sean Ianno field goal attempt that Brandon Wilson scooped up and turned into a 79 year touchdown that gave UH a 31-21 lead. 

It also turned a close game into a rout as the Cougars forced five fourth quarter UTSA turnovers including a 96 yard pick six with 48 seconds left in the game by William Jackson for a 59-28 win and remain undefeated in this 2013 football season. 

The 4-0 UH Cougars play their second AAC game on Saturday morning October 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium against Memphis.

Going to be interesting to see them trying to keep the forward momentum going in this inaugural AAC season with this freshman dominated squad.  .

Will be hoping they do. 

Cassidy's NoH8 Photo

Cassidy Lynn Campbell had a historic win back on September 20 when her Marina High School classmates voted her as their homecoming queen.  

She became the first ever out trans feminine student to accomplish that feat, but the joy was short lived as the clown car of transphobic haters and bullies, including NOM spokesbigot Bryan Fischer attacked her.

But that transphobic hate was met with a tsunami of love and support for Cassidy that included an invitation from NOH8 campaign photographer Adam Bouska to take part in a campaign photo shoot.

Cassidy, you were a queen before you even earned the sash and crown to go with it.   No matter how much vitriol the haters have flung at you, it still doesn't change the fact that you are and forever will be the Marina High homecoming queen and that a majority of your classmates voted for you to have that title.

You also have an international community of people who have your back. 

Congratulations on the photo shoot! 

We New Black Transwomen Define Us, Not You

The New Black Transwoman is an outspoken advocate for the dignity of herself and all transwomen, and refuses to submit quietly to anti-trans oppression and injustice.  

She is grounded in her spirituality, constantly evolving on her feminine journey and strives to be a compliment to Black womanhood and not regarded a joke or detriment to it.  

She fearlessly tackles the shame, guilt and fear issues we face and expresses pride in being a Black transwoman.   --TransGriot. Birth of the New Black Transwoman   July 20, 2012

It seems as though some peeps have a problem with New Black Transwomen standing up for ourselves, owning our power and calling out people who disrespect, denigrate and dehumanize us. 

And sadly, some of those people are in our own Black LGB and Black community ranks    

If you fall into that category and have a problem with African descended transwomen standing up for themselves and their humanity (and you know who you are) that's too damned bad. 

We are no longer going to allow disinformation and misgendering of Black transwomen to go unchallenged.by friend, foe or frenemy inside or outside this community.  We are tired of the media misgendering our people in life and death and getting a 'tude when we call them on their bull feces.  We are tired of misguided Black politicians hypocritically voting against human rights laws and ordinances that will go a long way toward helping to solve many of the problems that ail our community because you fail to grasp the concept that Black trans issues are Black community issues.  

We are more than fed up with the misguided gay and straight Black cisgender people who arrogantly assert they know more about our trans lives than we do.  We're sick of their loud and wrong commentary about Black trans women when they have never walked in our pumps and won't STFU and listen when we try to tell them our stories.  

Enough is enough.   If you truly wish to be a standup trans ally to our community and intelligently talk about chococentric trans issues, 'ejumacate' yourself first. 

Google and Bing are your easily accessible tools to help you gain that Trans 101 and beyond knowledge you'll need to facilitate these much needed Black family conversations.  

There's also an increasingly long list of African American trans women of all ages who are eminently qualified and willing to discuss our lives at a Trans 201 and beyond level and the challenging issues we face.

And that's before we even get started talking about the issues that our trans sisters in the rest of the African Diaspora face in the Caribbean, the Americas, and Continental Africa.

We New Black Transwomen define us, not anyone else.   We are the experts at living our trans feminine lives and navigating our 21st century world in them.  If you're spouting falsehoods and lies about our trans feminine community, we have every right to confront and call it out because we are tired of your lies and disinformation getting our trans younglings killed.

The ongoing online and offline internal trans definition conversations are happening in our own ranks as we speak.  They are happening on our Afrocentric print and video blogs, in our online groups, at conferences, at community meetings and amongst each other.  

We New Black Transwomen are part of the diverse mosaic of human life and interwoven in the kente cloth fabric of African-American life.  We desire sisterhood not only with each other but with our Black cisgender sisters. 

We New Black Transwomen simply want to live our lives in peace and relatively drama free tranquility.   We not only want to see our trans younglings get to experience their 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays, we want to work toward our ultimate goal of being a valued part of the greater society.
 
The sooner you realize that, the sooner we New Black Transwomen can use our talents, education, and skills to benefit not only our own community, but uplift ourselves and our people as well.  

Jahaira's Mission-To Thine Own Self Be True

Congratulations Jahaira on three years of video blogging and One Love right back at you sis!  

This one has an interesting message that we need to constantly think about as trans people in terms of being true to our own selves.