MAJOR! IndieWire Project Of The Month Voting Has Started

You helped MAJOR! get funded.  You helped it win IndieWire's October Project of the Week.  Now the voting has started on IndieWire for October Project of the Month, and you once again get the opportunity to help Annalise and StormMiguel get another step closer to making this documentary film a reality. 

The voting for October Project of the Month has started and will happen until 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT) on November 1. It only takes a few seconds and doesn't cost you anything, so please consider it. We need all hands on deck to ensure that MAJOR! emerges victorious once again.

If MAJOR! wins October Project of the Month, it means that Annalise and StormMiguel get a creative consultation with the Tribeca Film Institute!     

Happy Milestone Birthday Mr Watts!

Had to take a moment to give a TransGriot milestone birthday shoutout to my fellow Texan on his Big 3-0 birthday.

Many of you TransGriot readers know that I've been jousting with this Navy vet for the last three seasons for NFL prognostication supremacy, but he has other interests besides beating me and Eli picking football games.   

In addition to expressing himself on his Michael's Rant blog, he is the chair of the Veteran's Caucus of the Texas Young Democrats

We have our moments of good-natured disagreement when it comes to being passionate defenders of our areas of the Lone Star State and our favorite Texas based NFL teams, but what we do agree on is that Texas deserves much better leadership than it has gotten over the last decade and a half from the Teapublicans.  

Happy milestone birthday Mr Watts!   May you have many more.

Tavares Spencer Attempted Murder Trial Starts In Tampa

22 year old Coko McDonald almost ended up being another one of the sadly too long list of Black trans women whose names we'll read on November 20.

But because of quick thinking on her part she's not, and the waste of DNA who allegedly tried to kill her is on trial.

16 year old Tavares Spencer is facing attempted murder and hate crime charges after luring McDonald to a home on April 9 in the 5000 block of Winnie Street N.in the east Tampa area and shooting her. 

Spencer wanted to date Coko and after discovering she was a trans woman, became enraged about that revelation and allegedly plotted to kill her.

Just because you get pissed about finding out you are attracted to a trans woman doesn't give you or anyone else the authority to kill us.  

Off soapbox, returning to story.  

A week after the two met, Spencer lured Coko to the home on Winnie Street, pulled out a gun, and told her to get on the ground.  Police say he stole her cell phone and her purse and then shot her. Coko says the bullets hit her in the hip.


“I lost my breath with the first shot.  The second one kind of put my body in a shock,” said Coko.

McDonald played dead until Spencer walked away.  She then got up and took off running as Spencer fired another shot at her that fortunately missed.

Tampa Police Department investigators said that within an hour of the shooting, the teenager was bragging about it on text messages and using "defamatory statements" about McDonald's sexual orientation.

Spencer was in jail on an unrelated charge when he was arrested and charged as an adult for the attempted murder of McDonald along with robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.  The enhanced hate crime charge was the result of a warrant authorized search of Spencer's phone that revealed the transphobic text messages. 

Jury selection started this morning with prosecutors and Spencer's defense attorney interviewing potential jury members for this attempted murder trial.   It's also not known at this time whether Coko will appear in the courthouse to either testify during the trial against Spencer or just be there in the courtroom to watch the proceedings.

At any rate, I'll be keeping an eye on it along with the Tampa area trans community to see if justice is served in this case.

Nominations For 2014 Trans 100 List Open!

It was a tremendous honor for me to be nominated for and eventually be selected to become part of the inaugural list of honorees for the Trans 100 List

Time flies, and it gives me great pleasure to announce that the nominations period for the 2014 Trans 100 List is now open!

So start thinking about and nominating the people in your area who are active, out and proud trans people, and deserve the recognition for their stellar work to benefit the trans community. 

And for you international trans folks not in the USA who wondered why there were no deserving international names on the 2013 Trans 100 list, here's an announcement concerning what y'all need to do to set up your own Trans 100 List to honor the people doing the work in your respective nations in 2014

So yes, looking forward to see who makes the 2014 Trans 100 List here in the States and hopefully see lists from Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Asia-Pacific Rim, Europe, Africa, South America.... 


*** 

This form is to collect nominees for a list of 100 trans activists currently working to make life better for Trans people. The final list is intended as a resource guide and seeks to raise the visibility and awareness of advocates, activists,and those who do their best to improve the lives of trans people.

The Trans 100 is a curated listing from open nominations of the top 100 Trans activists and advocates that are working to make a difference in the daily lives of Trans people,in order to provide attention, contacts, and recognition to those who do the on the ground work of reducing stigma, ending ostracizing, and furthering the social and economic development of Trans people throughout society.

Guidelines:
- Nominees must be living and currently working to improve the lives of trans people.
- Nominees can be working at any scale, locally, regionally, or nationally.
- We would like to see all parts of the country represented, and especially otherwise unsung or only locally known workers.
- We particularly encourage the addition of persons of color.
- Nominees must openly identify as Trans.
- They must have been living at least half the year 2013

Notes:
- Voting is anonymous.
- The list will not be ranked, and the tally will not be publicized.
- Nominees will be contacted by the editors for permission before the list is published.
- International nominations will be forwarded to that nation's working group.

Thank you for participating, and please share this widely!

***

Click on this link to nominate someone for the 2014 Trans 100 List

White People, Blackface Is NOT Appropriate For Halloween Or ANY Day

'North American Black people have a zero tolerance policy toward any manifestation of white people in blackface, whether it is maliciously racist or not.

We don't care if you are a drag performer, a model doing a high fashion photo shoot, somebody doing so as a badly thought out Halloween costume or drunken white college kids perpetuating negative stereotypes of African descended people in the name of fun and frivolity. You need to get it through your vanillacentric privileged minds blackface is offensive to African descended people and there is no justification in our chococentric minds for doing so.'
--TransGriot July 7, 2013  I Repeat: White People Doing Blackface Drag Is Not Acceptable, Period!


With Halloween fast approaching, we have had increased sightings of vanillacentric privileged people in blackface and when they get justifiably called out on it, have other clueless white peeps trying to come to their defense about it.


Blackface was used to demean and dehumanize African-Americans for almost 2 centuries, and non-white folks are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of having this discussion about blackface and why we have a zero tolerance policy toward it. 

Julianne Hough is only the latest white person to find out the hard way just how much we hate blackface. Or was she not paying attention when we called out everybody from Ted Danson to college students majoring in disrespect for doing so?     

Yes Julianne, we get it you love the show Orange Is The New Black.  But you had plenty of other characters you could dress up as like Pennsyltucky, Piper and Red for example.  Why Crazy Eyes?

"I am a huge fan of the show Orange is the New black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created,” she wrote. “It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/26/4579558/julianne-hough-apologizes-for.html#storylink=cpy

But this wasn't the lone instance of well known white people donning black face.   Check out what designers Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Paula Cademartori and others did at a fashion industry Halloween party in Milan with a 'Disco Africa' theme.   

Any wonder why the catwalks at the fall and spring fashion shows are always overwhelmingly walked by white models? 

Bottom line, say no to blackface, because your azz will be called out about it. 

Read the next line and commit it to memory for Halloween and beyond. 

My people and my culture are not costumes for you put on for your or your people's entertainment and amusement.  And when we call your azz out about it, you don't get to tell me as the offended POC party what is and isn't offensive or to 'lighten up' about it.


Blackface is not appropriate for Halloween or ANY day.

 

Houston Dynamo Headed To 2013 MLS Playoffs

Since the Texans were chilling during their off week, I got the opportunity to focus my undivided attention on our local football team that wears orange unis and kicks a round ball. 

The Houston Dynamo suffered a devastating 3-0 home loss last week at BBVA Compass Stadium to the New York Red Bulls that knocked them out of Supporters Shield contention and dropped them to sixth place in the tightly bunched MLS Eastern Conference playoff race.

Only the top five teams in each conference make the playoffs and the Dynamo were in serious danger of missing the 2013 MLS playoff party.  In addition the loss robbed the Men In Orange of control of their playoff destiny heading into the final game of the season.

The Dynamo were now facing a do or die situation to get back into the playoffs against a DC United team that although they have beaten them three times this year and United was on an eleven game losing streak, were desperate to not set an MLS record for futility.   And yes, DC United was relishing the opportunity to salvage some of their team pride and avenge last year's Eastern Conference final playoff loss by knocking the Dynamo out of the playoffs.

The Dynamo also needed some help from other teams Saturday and got it.   Toronto FC upset the Montreal Impact 1-0 and Sporting Kansas City beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 to make the MLS playoff equation simple for the Men In Orange:  Win against DC United and the Dynamo were in the MLS playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.

They did so but not without DC United fighting them every step of the way.  After Dynamo striker Giles Barnes was hauled down in the penalty box, Oscar Boniek Garcia confidently converted the penalty kick into the lower right hand corner of the goal for the initial tally of the game in the 11th minute.

Things were looking good at that point for La Naranja because when they score first this season, they have not lost (13-0-3) in this 2013 MLS campaign.    

DC United fought back to tie the game in the 27th minute with a Kyle Porter header but six minutes later Giles Barnes got the game winning header in the 33rd minute past DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid.to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish despite major pressure at times in the second half from a DC United squad desperately trying to avoid MLS infamy. 

But as the referee's whistle blew in the 94th minute DC United would indeed set the mark for fewest wins in an MLS season with a 3-24-7 record, one less than the four wins Chivas USA managed in 2005.  They would have also set the record for fewest goals in a season if it hadn't been for Porter's score that allowed DC United to finish with 21 goals scored on the season.

But back to discussing my playoff bound hometown MLS squad. 

The Dynamo finished the season in fourth place at 14-11-9 after the New York Red Bulls thumped the Chicago Fire 5-2 and the New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew 1-0.  That created a third place tie in the Eastern Conference standings that bumped the Dynamo into the Eastern Conference play-in game they will host at BBVA Compass stadium Halloween night.against the hated Montreal Impact (14-13-7) who slid to a fifth place tie with the Fire 

Winner of the play-in game gets the New York Red Bulls 17-9-8 in a two leg playoff series 

The two time defending Eastern Conference champs are seeking their third straight appearance in the MLS Cup and last year on their way to the title game the road to it started in the play-in game against the Chicago Fire. 

The Dynamo just seem to kick up their play aonther level when they get to the MLS playoffs, and here's hoping the Men In Orange stay true to playoff form in 2013 as well.

Transitions Radio Interview Tuesday Afternoon

You regular TransGriot readers are probably saying to yourselves "'Didn't you just do a radio interview Saturday?"

Sure did.  But new week, new opportunity to discuss trans and other issues on another show.

This time it's Mark Angelo and Jessica Lynn Cummings extending the invitation to do so on their Transitions Radio show tomorrow on blogtalkradio.

The show will start at 6:30 PM EDT, so if you can listen to it, please do so.  If you're motivated to do so you can also call in at (646) 716-6895.

Should be fun and looking forward to talking to Mark and Jessica about many of the issues that impact our community.

TransGriot Note: Transitions Radio art by Kelley Miller

Mississippi Silicone Pumper Tracey Lynn Garner Trial Date Set

In the latest news surrounding the Tracey Lynn Garner silicone pumping case, the 53 year old Jackson, MS trans feminine pumper is now facing two depraved heart murder charges in the March 2012 deaths of 37 year old Karima Gordon of Atlanta and the January 2010 death of 23 year old Marilyn Hale of Selma, AL due to silicone butt injections that went horribly wrong.

Garner pled not guilty in a June 18 hearing in Hale's case, and a trail date hasn't been set for it.  

There has been a date set for the start of Garner's trial in the Gordon case, and it is scheduled to begin March 17, 2014 after two postponements.

Natasha Stewart is also facing charges in the Karima Gordon death and pled not guilty in January to charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Stewart is an online model with a 48 inch pumped behind.courtesy of Garner's handiwork.

If Garner is convicted on either charge of depraved heart murder by the Hinds County jury, she is facing life imprisonment. 

Breast Cancer Study For Transpeeps On HRT

Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I was curious to find out if any studies had been done to see if there were any effects for transmasculine and transfeminine people on HRT and the prevalence of breast cancer. 

To answer the question I'd been pondering, yes there is.  There's a new study from Netherlands examining the prevalence of breast cancer in transgender people.

Gooren et al found that trans women and trans men who have had hormone therapy may be at the same level of risk for breast cancer as cis men.

For trans women, the development of breasts and increase in breast tissue might increase their risk for breast cancer. Trans women also receive estrogen and/or progesterone, which may affect an estrogen or progesterone sensitive cancer.

This study’s authors found 8 cases of breast cancer in trans women in the medical literature, ranging from 1968 to 2013. Three of those cases appeared not to be related to hormones. The other five occurred within 5-10 years of starting hormone therapy. These cases also follow the (cis women) pattern of ductal carcinomas being the most common cancer.

Of course, bear in mind that these stats are for the Netherlands, and the United States has a far larger population of trans peeps.  

If that's the case, this initial study is relatively good news, but more research still needs to be done top cross check the results of this one before we can definitely be certain that what they discovered in the Dutch study is true across the trans population in general.