Transmisogyny Isn't Just Being Aimed At Black Trans Women Anymore

Y'all know I love my people and my culture across the African Diaspora.  But damn, I wish elements of y'all would grow up and join the 21st century when it comes to gender identity issues.

One of the things I get tired of in the Black community is the at times willful ignorance around gender and gender identity issues.   News flash, they just don't affect trans folks, they affect all of us because everyone has a gender identity and expresses it in different ways.

As I have pointed out before, you get half your genetic material from mommy, half from daddy.  We are all blends and combinations of traits from our parents. 

As medical science is increasingly proving, there's a thin line and series of events that happen during pregnancy that determines whether you come out of mommy's womb in a masculine or feminine body.. 

One of the things I'm also tired of is the scourge of transmisogyny being gleefully spread by the TERF's and clueless cis women for the last 40 years.   While we trans women are the main targets of it, because the right wingers are giving up on their War Against Marriage Equality, they are shifting targets and money to ratchet up the War on Transwomen.

And because they are doing that, their sliming of transwomen will also have collateral damage effects in terms of that transmisogyny backed by right wing money hitting Black cis women as well.  
What a lot of peeps don't realize is that when you transition, in addition to having to deal with sexism, being walking targets for sexual assault, and all the issues that come with walking Planet Earth in a feminine body,  Black trans women also inherit all the baggage that Black cis women have had to deal with for the last four  centuries in terms of the 'unwoman' meme. So what am I talking about when I say the 'unwoman' meme?

If society has set up one group of women (white women) as the paragons of beauty, virtue and fertility for all women to aspire to, then it stands to reason that you also have to come up with a counternarrative of women you point to that are the ones you don't want others to wish to aspire to be and hate on..

And guess what group of women got that narrative assigned to them?   Yep, Black women.

They are called every pejorative you can throw at them. They are called 'ugly', even by fools that are social scientists.  Even their own men, who are supposed to be their defenders and protectors join in the assault on Black womanhood by leveling a weaponized level of the b-word at them courtesy of gangsta rap music. 

And one of the words they'll get to throw at cis Black women as a weaponized insult since the b-word will increasingly come under attack is the t-word.

If you're 4' 11", 5' 11" or 6' 11" with your heels on, you don't have that classic Coke bottle feminine curves, are on the darker end of those 23 shades of Black skin tones, don't possess the sistah booty, are an athlete or don't fit the stereotypical standards of femininity, your femininity will get called into question, especially as a Black woman.

One of the pejoratives they will use while doing so is the t-word.  

And it won't be just Black men engaged in the process of doing so, it will also be Black women policing the femininity of other Black women using 'that's a man' shade.   

If you think I'm kidding about that, check out the Black gossip blogosphere and see the comments that get aimed at Wendy Williams, Fantasia, Brittney Griner and Joseline Hernandez

If Black cis women are getting their femininity disrespected, what hope is there for Black transwomen to even have ours acknowledged by the greater Black community?   Until we girls like us are recognized as the beautiful women we are inside and out, it's going to be difficult to bring down the levels of anti-trans hate violence the transmisogyny fuels inside our community.. 

Bottom line Black community is you need to cease and desist with aiming transmisogyny not only at us, but at Black cis women.   It's not cool, and the off the charts anti-trans violence directed toward is is spilling over to affect the lives of cis Black women .  

     .  

Hope You Cali Peeps Are Coming Up With A Game Plan In Case The Repeal AB 1266 Referendum Gets Enough Signatures

As you read this post, the signatures that were collected in the effort by the haters to put a Repeal AB 1266 initiative on the ballot in the 2014 election cycle are being verified and counted.

So what is AB 1266?   It's the School Success And Opportunity Act, the bill passed by the California Assembly and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown (D) that restates the obligation of California schools to allow transgender students to participate in all school activities, programs, and facilities. 

It also reaffirms to school districts, teachers, parents and students that California’s nondiscrimination law not only covers trans students, it requires public schools to respect a transgender student’s identity in all school programs, activities, and facilities. This bill will simply ensure that transgender boys and girls are treated just like all other boys and girls so that they can participate fully in school activities and graduate on time.

But the haters, including the Family Research Council, the Pacific Justice Institute and the California Republican Party despise AB 1266 and have been organizing to kill it by any means necessary including lies, disinformation, demonizing and bullying trans students.

For the moment the news is encouraging from the Left Coast.  As the referendum against AB 1266 proceeds to random sample, the proponents operating under the Orwellian name of Privacy For All Students, would need 92.1% validity to qualify the measure for the November 2014 ballot. So far the smaller California counties that have submitted their full validation have had 72.49% validity rates.

But my inquiring mind is asking this question.  Which of those 58 California counties were the ones that failed to make the validity threshold?  Did they include any of the more populous California counties like Alameda (Oakland), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange (Anaheim), San Diego, Contra Costa, Riverside (Palm Springs), San Bernadino, Fresno, Santa Barbara,  Solano, San Mateo, Santa Clara (San Jose), and Sacramento just to name a few?

We trans peeps can't allow ourselves to be tempted to take the tranquilizing drug of complacency in this situation or relax until the California Attorney General's office utters the words, "It failed'.  

We need to be ready to jump into political combat mode if it doesn't. 

I know the San Francisco based Transgender Law Center is monitoring the situation, but what happens if the haters do get enough signatures to trigger a referendum to repeal AB 1266, and are they and our California allies doing enough to plan for what they do if that happens?  
 
I've always been a prepare for the worst case scenario while hoping for and working toward the best case outcome kind of girl, and worst case scenario in this instance would be they get enough signature to trigger the repeal referendum.

So what needs to happen if they do?   First order of political business is this AB 1266 repeal referendum must be spectacularly defeated and die a politically painful death. We must send the message that their bathroom demonization tactics and lies to oppose trans rights, which is the only thing they have left to oppose trans human rights laws, will not succeed at the ballot box.

At that moment that the Repeal AB 1266 referendum is approved this becomes not just a California issue, but a political and movement one for the entire US trans community we must win.   It's also an issue that will require a national level response to it. 

We know for a fact that once they get the word, the haters will be mobilizing if they aren't already to pour every dollar and fly every conservative hate activist and field organizer west to California. 

Cali Gay, Inc peeps, they won't all be white either.   To give the overwhelmingly white conservafools and money behind the effort a veneer of diversity, they will find useful fools like Jesse Lee Peterson down in LA and other non-white sellouts to shill for this Kill AB 1266 effort.   They will find cookie-chomping knee-grow pastors willing to sell out the Black and Latino trans community for their media face time and 40 pieces of silver.

The haters are definitely going to be bankrolled by out of state interests and flying in conservafool carpetbaggers to help them, so y'all better be prepared to counter that.  You need to be prepared to do the same simply because you will be justified in doing so to defend AB 1266.

You should not hesitate in IMMEDIATELY asking for national and INTERNATIONAL help and money from the trans community and our allies.  You should be putting together now your lists of liberal progressive churches, pastors, Hollywood actors, athletes and politicians, and double checking to make sure they are ethnically and regionally diverse.  

From the millisecond the referendum gets cleared by the Cali Attorney General's office you need to pounce on and utterly destroy to the point they are radioactive the bathroom meme and all the other scare tactics the wingers are going to throw at it because it's the only way they can be successful.

You need to find the Cali trans kids like Ashton Lee who fought to get it passed and who benefit from the law.  Give them face time along with cisgender kids and parents willing to rebut the lies of the haters that they are 'doing this for all California children'. 

Make sure your California media buys reach Black, Asian and Latino voters and places besides the LA and San Francisco metro areas. 

Don't be afraid to go for the right wing jugular because you've not only have the moral high ground, you got to be in it to win it.  

Cali transpeople, you need to do your part to help defeat the haters too.  T-bills need to be donated to the coalition when it forms.  If you can't give cash, sweat equity is also needed in the form of volunteers to phone bank, canvass, register voters, staff offices, and Get Out The Vote mobilization on election day to defeat it.   Get informed about AB 1266 and go to war in the comment threads of your local newspapers to counter the lies the haters will be trying to spread.

You must do the little things to win the hearts and minds of undecided voters.  Attention to details like that may help you defeat the hate referendum.

And when you build that diverse intersectional coalition to defeat this repeal effort, in addition to making sure it is properly funded and the money raised is spent wisely, hire some trans peeps in the getting paid positions to help coordinate strategy for this AB 1266 defense effort .  We are the people best qualified to talk about our lives and come up with the necessary talking points to come up with a clear message about us. 

We transpeeps (for a fee) can also tell you what NOT to say either.

It's also personal for us transpeople, too.   I have some other ideas, but they will only be released to the Defend AB 1266 coalition or whatever name they come up for it should that become necessary.

Hopefully you learned your lessons from the failed 2008 Prop 8 efforts, but just in case you forgot them, just wanted to make sure you didn't frack stuff up in this critical effort in 2014 that trans people will need you to win, preferably in a decisive manner should it come to pass.    

Upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Draw Friday

203 of FIFA's 208 member nations started playing matches on June 15, 2011 in order to earn one of the 32 spots in the 2014 World Cup tournament.  After two years of qualifying matches played around the globe that ended November 23, we now know the 32 nations that qualified to go to Brazil and play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 

For the seventh consecutive qualifying cycle the USA is amongst those 32 nations along with defending champion Spain.

What we don't know besides the host Brazilians are in Group A is which one of the eight groups they and the other 30 nations will be playing the opening round of games in from June 12-June 26.

On Friday the soccer world's millions of fans will turn their eyes toward Bahia as FIFA conducts the World Cup Final Draw at 1 PM local Bahia time (11 AM Houston time) to set up those eight groups as the world holds its breath to see the results, then pontificate on them once they are announced.

The 32 teams will be divided into four Pots, with Pot 1 containing the host Brazilians and the top seven seeded teams according to the October 2013 FIFA world rankings.   Those top seven teams in order are Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay and Switzerland.   The Pot 1 seeding carries a huge advantage in that you don't have to play the other seven seeded teams in the group stage. 

Pot 2 is comprised of the CONCACAF teams (USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras) plus the four AFC Asian qualifiers (Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia).

Pot 3 will be made up of the five CAF African teams (Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon), two from the South American CONMEBOL federation (Chile and Ecuador) and the lowest-ranked UEFA European country, France.

Pot 4 is comprised of the remaining eight UEFA European nations (Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Russia) 

The draw will be conducted based on a format to be decided upon no later than tomorrow. and as the groups are assembled not more than two European nations will be allowed in any of the eight groups.  

The draw is critical to your chances of advancing in the tournament final at Maracanã Stadium since only the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds and the composition of teams in that four team group is determined by it. 

So we'll find out how the final group compositions and the paths of those teams to the July 13 final shake out on Friday.      

Black Men, You're A Misogynistic Punk If You Hit Any Black Woman, Cis Or Trans

One of the things we definitely have to work on in the rapidly approaching New Year is eradicating this misogynistic attitude amongst young Black men, (and men in general) that it is okay to hit and fight women.  That attitude gets ratcheted up a few notches if the woman in question is trans

That transmisogynistic attitude needs to be checked especially in the wake of Islan Nettles death two months ago.  Because some punk was upset to discover she was an attractive trans woman, he brutally attacked her on the street and rendered her unconscious until she died a few days later.

That's right, I said punk.  

I was alerted by Jaila Simms concerning a video of a man fighting and body slamming a woman, subsequently knocking her unconscious and her friend fiercely coming to her defense. 

I'm still trying to gather the information as I write this as to whether the woman who was attacked is a cis or trans woman.   Some of the misogynistic and transphobic comment in the thread accompanying this video on Facebook claimed she was trans, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.   

So let's run with the assumption for a moment that the woman in question is trans.   If she isn't the following comments still apply to her as a cis woman.

I don't care what lies you cis peeps were told or disinformation has been fed to you, but a trans woman is a WOMAN, and should be treated and respected as such. 

And this bull feces of you alleged Black men trying to justify swinging your fists at Black women cis or trans is disgusting, unacceptable, nekulturny behavior that needs to cease and desist.

Trigger warning for the upcoming video that sparked this post. 

Post by Tàs Mi.

So let me repeat what I said before the video break.  I want you cis Black men and you cisgender men of other ethnic backgrounds to burn this in your brains, too.

I don't care what you were told, a trans woman is a woman.  Putting your hands on her in anger is never justified or acceptable behavior.   When she or any woman is out and about in the world, should be respected and treated as such even if she is screaming in your face millimeters from your nose because she's pissed off at you. 

I don't care who started this incident that is on this going viral videotape.  Bottom line is that as long as you walk this Earth in a male body, you are NEVER justified to hit ANY woman whether she is cis or trans.

The societal rules don't change just because a woman is trans, cis men.  By dint of you being testosterone based lifeforms, you are still stronger than any woman you will ever come in contact with.  A trans woman may have been born in a male body, but after a year on estrogen has less body strength than the average cis male because of her hormone replacement therapy (HRT) even if you are the same height. 

She being a trans woman doesn't give you the right if you get into an argument with her to hit or strike her either.   If you're a so-called man, you will back the hell away and out of that situation without using violence because that what men are supposed to do.  

If you don't like the fact a transwoman transitioned, that's your transphobia talking and you need to get a life and some counseling to help you get over that, not her.  The trans woman is just simply trying to live her life to the best of her ability.  She gets enough micro and macroaggressive crap from society for simply existing.  She does not need a beatdown or being body slammed by you just so you can grab your crotch afterward like a gangsta rapper and feel more secure in your manhood.

Neither is swinging your fists at this woman going to alter the fact she is still walking Planet Earth in a female body, and has to cope with all the baggage that comes with that.  Multiply that societal baggage load as a Latina, Asian or Native American woman, and triple it as an African descended woman.  

Black women have been demonized as the 'unwoman' for the last four centuries vis a vis the beauty standard that exalts white women as the penultimate in beauty and fertility.  Not only does the Black woman not need you Black men, who are supposed to be their defenders and protectors, demonizing them with the b-word or worse epithets, we don't need you swinging at us as if we were a boxing ring opponent with you. 

Megathanks, props and prayers go out to Jamisha Smith for standing up for her friend who was unconscious after being body slammed and possibly saving her friend's life.   Our prayers go to this young woman who was attacked as well.  

And FYI to the waste of DNA who put his hands on this sistah, karma is not only a you know what, she wears a dress and stiletto heels, too.  

Instead of proving your manhood, all you proved to the world is that you are a violent misogynistic punk who is not worthy to date, much less be intimate with ANY woman. 

And Black community, it's past time we said no to and diligently worked hard on eliminating in 2014 and beyond the misogynistic violence being directed at all Black women cis and trans that is injuring or killing far too many of our sisters.

Celebrating Transgender Day Of Remembrance In Malaysia?

Trans advocate Yuki Choe was the main speaker for the inaugural Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial event organized in Malaysia in 2008 by fellow activist Thilaga Sulathireh.   Choe has organized TDOR's in Malaysia following the principle that it is an international trans memorial service laid out by TDOR founder Gwen Smith from 2009-2012.

But this year's Malaysian TDOR event was problematic for her.  

Just like here in the United States, there have been some Malaysian transpeople who have complained the TDOR's are 'too somber' and need to be 'more festive'.  I've commented on that irritating 'more festive TDOR' point more than a few times on TransGriot, and now Yuki Choe will have her opportunity to do the same.   

In this guest post, Choe makes the case that the organizers of the 2013 TDOR event in her nation went too far in that festive direction.  By doing so, they disrespected the memory of not only the local Malaysian trans women who were killed this year like Dicky Othman, but all the people around the world we lost due to anti-trans violence. 

TransGriot Update 4 December 2013:  Well well, seems like somebody in Malaysia was pissed off about Yuki's guest post spotlighting the jacked up TDOR they had.   They complained and got the pics of their disrespectful TDOR event removed from this blog post.   

But that's okay, still doesn't change the fact that people around the world already saw them and are talking about how you disrespected the memory of Dicky Othman and other trans women who lost their lives around the world this year to anti-trans violence with your travesty of a TDOR. 

And because you pissed me the hell off with that nekulturny move, you're officially on my bad side and Yuki Choe has an open invitation to guest post here anytime she wishes.   

And now, here's Yuki

***

Imagine this scenario. In an unknown state, there was a year-long mass murder happening. 238 people were reported dead, while countless others were missing. The local church decided to start a memorial on the 20th of November, where they announced each of the 238 known names of the dead, along with a candlelight vigil, and begin discussions on how to stop the violent killings. Everyone, including the founder, decided it would be a day to remember the dead and the dead only.

Then someone decided to run the same event on a later date on the 29th of November, decided to invite some pretty girls to dance, gave out some awards to courageous councilmen who were nowhere to be found when the murders happen, promoted and raised funds for the group, and only mustered up 29 names out of the 238 who died.

You do not make a mockery out of your family’s funeral, memorial, wake, or whatever form to grief. Sadly, this happened recently in one country, Malaysia.

A week before the programme was announced, concerns were raised up to the fact that at a time of worldwide mourning for the dead of Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDOR), a group comprising of members from PT Foundation (a local AIDS prevention organization) and Justice For Sisters (a local trans group) decided to change the principles of TDOR and added several features that draws power away from the voices of our dead, which includes award ceremonies for three trans personalities, a drag queen dance performance and promotional efforts to aid Justice For Sisters.

One even acknowledged in social media that all the names of the dead from the TGEU Monitoring Project website will be announced during the candlelight vigil of the event.

In the end, when the event was held last Friday, two sources confirmed to me that only 29 were named, leaving 209 trans people thrown under the bus for the sake of self-promotion. Worse, one of their supporters who goes by the name Ineza claimed “it was empowering for everyone who attended”. 

Therein, lies the problem - you are not supposed to feel empowered during TDOR. You are supposed to be in grief, and seek solutions to aid recovery.

From a recent FaceBook discussion, this is not the first time TDOR became an event less focused on the dead; Peterson Toscano said, “ I have heard this happen elsewhere. There is such a need to face the hard tragic realities of violence against trans and gender non-conforming people. But not as just a memorial, but also as a time and place to commit to resist and work for justice and a better world. But TDOR is a somber event, a tragic, awful one and one that demands we feel the weight of it.”

But should there be room for people to revise TDOR into a less morbid event? Monica Roberts commented, “Since TDOR founder Gwen Smith is a friend, we stay in contact, and I was around in the community at the 1999 outset of the TDOR events.  They were always meant to be memorial services. What people have done over the last few years is to have other trans education events leading up to November 20. That's fine if you do trans themed panel discussions, trans themed movie nights, lectures, or community forums. 

But dances, drag shows and pageants? Not no but HELL no. You have 364 other days on the calendar to do those. November 20 should be a day where we remember our dead, use that day as an opportunity for our allies in the gay, lesbian, bi and straight communities to join us and build intersectional community links to build future political and cultural progress upon.”

This writer agrees that to add other elements such as award ceremonies and drag shows, or replacing the principles of TDOR especially removing a huge bulk of the names to be announced for convenience, tortures the soul of what makes TDOR such an important event, and it should not be defaced by promoting people and organizations of the living.

But could people be allowed to change TDOR, to perk it up so it would not be too sombre or for many, boring?

Some folks do bring alcoholic drinks and sexy girls to funerals to be jolly, so should TDOR be “celebrated” like it was this year in Malaysia?

Yuki Choe is a lone transsexual advocate and ex-gay survivor, organizing TDOR events in Malaysia from 2009-2012 and the main speaker for the first TDOR organized by activist Thilaga Sulathireh in 2008, following the TDOR guiding principles. There have been trans murders yearly in her country.

Stories from previous Malaysian TDORs:

2008: http://tiltedworld.org/2008/12/04/we-will-remember/
2009: http://www.exgaywatch.com/2009/11/malaysia-report-transgender-day-of-remembrance/

2010: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/printable.php?articleid=10461

2012: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2012/12/11/12104.a-death-religion-and-the-transgender-day-of-remembrance

Happy Milestone Birthday Bree!

My birthday is tomorrow not excited but grateful to see another year....My Lord is awesome......
--Bree Wallace, December 1, 2013

If the waste of DNA Michael McBride had gotten his way in the early morning hours of June 21, then 29 year old Bree Wallace's name would have been one of the 238 names we read at the 2013 Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials back on November 20. 

But instead the 23 year old McBride is in custody for attempting to stab her multiple times and is facing assault with intent to kill charges. 

After being hospitalized for and recovering from her over 30 stab wounds, Bree is celebrating her milestone 30th birthday today.

It is a birthday she is obviously grateful to have reached.   All her friends and family and the people who love and care about her in the Washington DC area and beyond feel the same way about it as she does.

Bree, Happy Milestone Birthday!   So happy you have reached the Big 3-0 one and I pray this is a birthday that will be filled with smiles as wide as Texas, lots of hugs, lots of love, and a launching pad for better birthdays to come. 

I hope that somebody at least hooks you up with a birthday mani and pedicure, dinner or whatever you wish to have happen on your special day. 

May you also be blessed to know what it's like to be as old as I am . 

One thing I hope Bree receives as a late birthday present is McBride being convicted and spending much time in jail for trying to take her life.  But that's me being angry, frustrated and sick and tired of being sick and tired of my transsisters being targeted and killed for just living their lives.    

Again, happy milestone birthday Bree!   May you not only have many more birthdays to come, but God bless you to reach more of your milestone birthdays as well. 

According To The GOP, Racism Is Over

And Rosa Parks ended it 58 years ago today when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, AL bus, thus triggering the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Oh really?  Next you'll be trying to sell me those GOP revisionist history woof tickets that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a Republican. 

Oh snap, y'all have already tried to peddle that revisionist history lie too.  

The sad truth is that racism is alive and well in the United States and gleefully peddled and enabled by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.   The National Conservative White People's Party (AKA the Republicans) as it has done since 1964 keeps pimping white resentment for electoral gain.

Don't even get me started about Sen. Rand Paul's disastrous appearance at Howard University earlier this year or your continued GOP fails at outreach to my community.  .

Racism = prejudice plus systemic power.   Those of us in reality based world who remember our Sociology 101 or keep getting macroaggressively and microaggressively getting slapped by it know this to be painfully true.  

And we non-white Americans know in a United States in which the demographics are stacked against American whites to the point they will be a minority in this nation by 2040, they are already resorting to underhanded and unconstitutional tactics to keep their death grip on political power.

The GOP, the Tea Klux Klan and the conservative movement is doubling down on it, so sadly, racism is not even close to be being over in the United States.

We're also regressing toward making Dr. King's dream a reality.  


TransGriot Update:  You knew Black Twitter was going to put their collective foot in the GOP anus.  Within minutes @Feminista Jones created the #RacismEndedWhen hashtag that Black Twitter is using to gleefully lambaste the GOP over their once again demonstrated ignorance of history and their annoying tendency to attempt to use liberal-progressive heroes to justify or co-sign their racism. 

Introducing Trans* Athlete

After I compiled the post about why I write about sports as a trans person on a transcentric blog, I discovered while surfing the Web the founding of this timely and still evolving website called Trans* Athlete.

As evidenced by my old roommate Dawn, Fallon Fox in women's MMA and Jazz fighting her two year battle with the US Soccer Federation so she and other trans kids like her could play soccer, trans people are increasingly getting out there and participating in the games we love.

The Trans* Athlete website morphed from an idea by Chris Mosier, an educator, nationally recognized transgender Ironman triathlete and coach and Jessica Pettitt, a Social Justice and Diversity Consultant and Facilitator to create a large-scale resource about inclusive sporting policies for trans athletes. 

After Mosier and Pettitt began to examine the existing documents about sporting inclusion for trans people, they discovered that others have been doing excellent work in creating resources for specific populations regarding policies and best practices for trans inclusion. Chris then morphed the project into this website, which puts together resources for folks looking for information on trans inclusion in athletics.

Trans* Athlete is a resource that puts in one centralized location for students, athletes, coaches, and administrators information about trans inclusion in athletics at various levels of play from K-12 through the collegiate level and beyond.

If this website does its job of allowing trans people to play the games they love, participate and excel at competitive sports and do so without drama from you cis peeps, then it's successfully doing its job.
    

World AIDS Day 2013

Today is the 25th annual observance of World AIDS Day.   It started back in 1988 as the first ever global health day that serves several purposes.   It organizes people to help fight and do education about HIV/AIDS, allows us show support for those persons living with HIV and acts as a memorial day for the 25 million people around the world who have succumbed to it between 1981 and 1997.

333 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with HIV. 

I have two cousins who are part of the 25 million people worldwide who have succumbed to AIDS.  I've had at least 10 classmates from elementary through high school that are sadly among that group of people we have lost to AIDS that I think about on this day.

Also in that group are transfeminine people, as the untimely death of activist Alexis Rivera last year pointed out.  A depressingly long list of transgender needs assessments going back to 2000 also revealed alarming HIV infection rates in Washington DC and several other cities of up to 20% of the respondents taking them. 

I'm also aware of trans women who are living with HIV and are surviving, thriving in their personal and professional lives and contributing their talents toward making our society better along with other people who are HIV+..

But just as I had a front row seat in 1981 for the dawn of the age of HIV/AIDS, I'd like to see a cure expeditiously happen for it as well.  
   

The theme of this year's 25th anniversary observance of World AIDS Day is “Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation.  There will be a candlelight observance ceremony starting at 5:30 PM at Tranquility Park in downtown Houston, which will be one of the many World AIDS Day themed events world wide.

The goal is to get new HIV/AIDS infection rates and deaths down to ZERO..  It's a lofty goal that has a multipronged approach to it in terms of educating people about the disease, promoting safe sexual practices and urging people to get tested.

But the sooner it happens around the world, the better.

Hawaiian Trans Teen Missing

I'll slam the KITV-TV peeps about the misgendering in their report later, but first tings first, lets find the child.  Every second past 48 hours that this child continues to remain missing increases the chances she won't be found.

Christian Kukahiko was last seen at her home November 9 at approximately 3 PM local time at her home in Maunawili.

She is 15 years old, approximately 6 feet tall and 230 pounds,  She has black hair with red highlights and a tattoo on her lower back with her last name "Kukahiko."

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300, or *CRIME on your cellular phone. Free cellular calls are provided by AT&T, Nextel Hawaii, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless Hawaii, Mobi PCS, and Hawaiian Telcom. The public may now send anonymous text and web tips. Text "CS808" plus your message to 274637 or CRIMES.

Now a note to KITV-TV and the media.

Per the AP Stylebook:

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the individuals live publicly.

Looks like Chris has acquired the characteristics and outward presentation of a young female, and should be addressed as SHE or with other feminine pronouns.   Granted there may be family members that stubbornly say otherwise, but those of us NOT in Chris' family may only know her by a femme name or feminine pronouns. 

Referring to a person we know in the trans community only by female presentation, name and femme pronouns by a masculine name and the wrong pronouns will draw quizzical looks from us, slow your investigation down, and may separate you from vital information you may need that is available in out trans community to help solve this case.  

So yeah, KITV-TV, get busy changing the pronouns to conform to AP Stylebook guidelines.

According to my friend and Hawaiian resident Laurie Cicotello, there is no new information in this case. 

She also expressed the fear that is shared by many people on and off the islands (myself included) that because of the recent 55 day special session to pass marriage equality that stirred up much anti-TBLG hatred on the island, someone may have seen her and decided to take out their rage and frustration concerning this issue on her.

I hope and pray that's not the case and Chris returns home for Christmas.   But will keep you TransGriot readers posted concerning any developments in this missing trans teen case.   

Lolo's One Step Closer To Going To Sochi

I love Lolo Jones and still feel for her when I see that video of her hitting that second to last hurdle on her way to what looked like a legacy cementing gold medal performance in the 100m hurdles final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and failing to place. 

She gracefully handled that tremendous disappointment and busted her butt to make the Olympic team again in 2012 only to finish in fourth place in London behind her silver and bronze medal winning teammates Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells in the 100m women's hurdle final won in Olympic record time by Australia's Sally Pearson.

At age 31 Lolo Jones is still chasing Olympic gold, although at a different time of year and in a different event.  This is the second year that Jones has competed in bobsled as a push athlete, and she and fellow sprinter Lauryn Williams were recently named to the nine member USA Women's Bobsled team for the upcoming FIBT World Cup event later today in Calgary.  

She has also added 30 pounds to her previously 130 pound frame in order to help her in her quest to make the USA Bobsled team bound for Sochi. 

Jones and Williams will be joining Emily Azevedo, Katie Eberling, Aja Evans and Kristi Koplin as sled pushers, with Elana Meyers, Jamie Greubel and Jazmine Fenlator serving as drivers.

Depending on the results in this World Cup event the USA could qualify as many as three two woman sleds for Sochi.  The team will also be named in mid to late January, so this is an opportunity for Jones to make one last impression on the powers that be in the US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation before that selection happens. 

In case you're wondering about the prospects for Jones should she make the team of medaling in Sochi, there is a precedent for a track athlete crossing over into the sport and experiencing success in it.

After several failed attempts to make the US Olympic track team Vonetta Flowers at the urging of her husband tried and embraced the sport.  In the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games she and her driver Jill Bakken won gold in the inaugural two women bobsled event.  With the win Flowers made history by becoming the first African descended athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.  Two years later Flowers would earn a bronze medal at the FIBT World Championships at Konigsee, Germany.

During Jones' rookie season on the FIBT World Cup circuit she did medal in three races.  So she does have an excellent chance at making this team, attempting to match Vonetta Flowers and getting that Olympc gold medal that has eluded her so far in the Summer Games.

    

Bonnie N. Davenport DC's First Trans Cop

This post is probably going to come as a surprise to some people who have seen the long history of transphobic shenanigans emanating from DC Metro Police officers, but once upon a time the DC Metro Police Department had on its force a trans police officer by the name of Bonnie Nora Davenport.

She was born in Buffalo, NY. in 1943, was an Air Force veteran and studied at American University and George Washington University ,  

Bonnie was an eight year veteran of the DC police force when she made the trip to Trinidad, CO and had her SRS performed by Dr. Stanley Biber.   In 1979 she became the first and so far only trans cop on the Metro DC force when she was certified to return to duty.

Bonnie eventually served for 20 years on the DC Metro Police until she retired in 1991.  She got married to Earl O'Neal who preceded her in death..

This trailblazing police officer passed away at her home in Fredonia, NY on the morning of November 17, 2009.  

Hopefully there will be another transperson who joins the DC Metro Police force and carries on her legacy because frankly, they could use some trans police officers now on their force.

Shut Up Fool Awards-Carving Up Jive Turkeys Edition

(Burp) I'm still full from my Thanksgiving grub out yesterday and still have a few days worth of food in the fridge I brought home from Mom's house to pig out on when I get hungry later today.. 

Some of you were probably hitting the malls or strip centers to go take advantage of your day after Thanksgiving shopping. (I hate the term 'Black Friday')

You'll note I brought back a term from my 70's teen years to name this edition of this week's Shut Up Fool awards. 

So what's a jive turkey?   If you got called a 'jive turkey' back in the disco era, it wasn't complimentary.   It meant they were insinuating you were stupid, you didn't know what the hell you were talking about, or  BSed your way through situations.

Hmm, perfect term to name an after Thanksgiving Shut Up Fool Awards post don't you think?  

So let's get right to discovering what jive turkey or jive turkeys I get to carve up this week.

Honorable Mention Number one are the 13 retailers who used to be closed on Thanksgiving Day who opened for Thanksgiving this year simply because they have six less shopping days for Christmas because Turkey Day falling late this year.

And to the people in the comment sections trying to justify ruining the holidays of retail employees by trying to equate it to working as a first responder or in the hospitality or travel industry, bull feces.   A hospital, fire station, police station or airport being open on Thanksgiving is a societal necessity.  Wal-Mart or Best Buy being open so you can get a TV at $50 off isn't.

Honorable Mention Number two is DeKalb County, GA who had “slave” listed as an occupational choice in a new online juror questionnaire. 

Honorable Mention Number three is Gun Owners of America Executive Director Larry Pratt.  This Pharisee recently went off the gun nut deep end and claimed he had found firearms in the Bible, and it was proof that God was “judging” unarmed Americans and “blessing” the gun owners.






Yeah, right.   You fetishistic gun owners will do and say anything to justify your paranoid gun culture lifestyle including making up Scripture as you go along.       

Honorable mention number four is French ELLE fashion editor Jeanne Deroo, who mde herself look like a fool and posted a picture of herself on Instagram in blackface.

What I have to say about is basically encapsulated in my July 7 'I Repeat: White People Doing Blackface Drag Is Not Acceptable, Period!' post.
"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."
And Jeanne, that blackface look on you is not chic nor fashion forward, it was tres tacky.
This week's Shut Up Fool award winner is Katherine Svenson, the transphobic Delta County, CO school board member who parted her lips to say trans kids need castration before they are allowed near bathrooms.  

It also turned out Kathy (surprise, surprise) has connections to anti-TBLG groups like Phyllis Schafly's Eagle Forum and is the founder of an anti-BTLG group called TellASIA.

Never mind the fact the issue has already been decided because Colorado is one of 17 states along with the District of Columbia that outlaw discrimination based on gender identity, and the Colorado Civil Rights Division on June 17 already ruled on this matter in favor of trans students in the Coy Mathis case.

Trans haters gotta hate...   

Katherine Svenson, Shut Up you jive turkey, er fool!  

On June 17, 2013, the Colorado Division of Civil Rights issued a ruling which makes Svenson’s fears rooted in extremist talking-points irrelevant. Additionally, the Florence, Colorado School Board just dismissed the Pacific Justice Institute’s claims that trans kids harass non-trans kids by their mere presence. - See more at: http://www.transadvocate.com/interview-with-delta-county-castration-school-board-member-turns-out-shes-linked-to-anti-lgbt-groups.htm#sthash.WItHL6Ts.dpuf

I Repeat, Can Y'all Stop Hatin' On Transwomen During This 2013 Holiday Season?

I wrote a post back in 2009 rhetorically asking if the world could (or would) stop hatin' on transwomen during that holiday season and two years later did the same.

Such a deceptively simple request to ask to be treated with dignity and respect for at least a month, but so rarely happens.

Well, I'm going to go sit on Santa's lap and ask for that Christmas wish to be granted.

For the 2013 holiday season, I would like for not one transperson to be killed or injured.

For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not have to read hate speech or misgendering comments about us coming from friends, frenemies and foes
 
For the 2013 holiday season I'd like to not see a positive story about us on the Net have a comment thread attached to it with an avalanche of hateful, ignorant and transphobic comments.

For the 2013 holiday season, can we transwomen simply be able to live our daily lives without drama?


TransGriot Update:  Did this song rewrite in 2011 that goes perfectly with this post entitled 'Stop Hatin' Us On Christmas Day'.

What I'm Thankful For In 2013

At this moment I'm chilling at my mom's house and probably have a turkey wing (left side) stuck in my mouth along with the other food Mom and my sis Latoya prepared for me, the family and friends who stop by the house to scarf it up on this day and spend time with us. 

When I sit down for a moment and peruse it, I do have a lot of things and blessings to be thankful for in 2013.  The obvious ones are I'm still standing 6 feet above my beloved Texas soil and I'm in reasonably good health.  I could stand to lose a few pounds, but whose counting calories on this day and on the upcoming Festival of Conspicuous Consumerism (Christmas Day) when it takes place in just 28 days?

I'm thankful for my award winning and internationally read blog that has garnered over 5.2 million hits since I started it on New Year's Day 2006.   It has provided me with a powerful platform to express myself, get things done, advocate for positive change and uplift a people who need it. 

I'm thankful for everyone who showers me with love on this day and every day.  I'm thankful that you emphatically let me know you have my back and sincerely want to see me become the best person I can be. I'm thankful to the people who not only expand my cognitive horizons, expose me to new ideas and ways to think about things, but respectfully challenge my world views so that I don't slide into as my little sis Jordana calls it, 'lazy thought' territory.

I'm thankful for my cis sisters who have opened their hearts and their arms wide to welcome me into the sisterhood over the last 19 years.  Many you have given me a swift kick in the butt when I needed it over the years, helped me along my own evolutionary path to womanhood, as my homegirls (and you know who you are) pushed me to be better and helped me become the quality Black woman I want and continue to seek to be.   

I'm thankful I have the love and respect of my trans community.  You let me know when I'm out and about whether interacting with you in person, at TBLG community events, on college campuses, in our phone or chat conversations or at conferences how much you appreciate the fighting I've done for trans human rights on our behalf since 1998

I'm thankful to you trans brothers who showered me with love in Dallas and have continued to do so post-BTMI as I observe your evolution into becoming the leaders and men we knew you were capable of becoming.  

I'm thankful that Barack Obama is still our president until 2017, Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are running for governor and lieutenant governor of Texas next year and Annise Parker is Houston's mayor until 2016.  
 
I'm even thankful for my haters, who know who they are.  Y'all motivate me to do the things you say I can't do, be the person you say I can't be, and despite you  actively working to oppose my efforts to accomplish those tasks, I still rise.

So yes, I have a lot to be thankful for today and in the remaining days of 2013.  I hope 2014 is even better..

Road To Creating Change 2014 Houston Diary- Emotional Rollercoaster

As you TransGriot readers know I'm co-chair of the Racial Diversity Committee, one of the subcommittees that's part of the organizing process for our upcoming Creating Change Conference that will be talking place in Houston January 29-February 2.

I've been documenting since May what it's like to have a ringside seat for and be part of the team of people doing the organizing work in the host city to put together a major national conference like Creating Change.

Well, in this edition of my Creating Change 2014 Diary me and my fellow Host Committee have been riding a rollercoaster ride of emotions.   We see our convention date is rapidly approaching, we're excited about that, but realize that we still have a lot of work ahead of us before it happens.
. 
But first up was a night to have some fun.  On October 19 we kicked up our heels, cowboy boots and other fashion forward footwear at the Creating Change Pre-Convention Celebration event that was held at Neon Boots, a large GLBT country western bar on the northwest side of town.   It was a Creating Change 2014 local promotion event open to all volunteers, guests and people wanting to know more about this conference that is mere weeks away at this writing from happening.

When planning a major conference, there are some elements of it that are out of your local control.   There are aspects of it that Creating Change National decides such as who our plenary keynote speakers are going to be and which seminar proposals get accepted.  We have no idea or control over what the weather is going to be like for those days we have scheduled for the conference.  But as an FYI for you Creating Change conference attendees, Houston's average temperature in January ranges from 43-64 degrees F.

Don't want to jinx us by mentioning what our average rainfall number is for January.

The other major thing we didn't have a whole lot of control over as a Host Committee besides us voting in it was our mayoral election.   One reason Creating Change is here is because with 2.2 million people in it, Houston (the fourth largest city in the US) is the largest city in the United States and in the state of Texas run by a gay mayor.  

But Mayor Annise Parker was going to have to run for her third and final term during the fall while we were planning this conference.  Our worst nightmare as the Host Committee that nagged at us through the summer and fall was she not getting reelected and having someone in that chair taking the oath of office at the Wortham Center on January 1, 2014 that was hostile to our community.

It turned out our fears were well founded.  Although we knew that Mayor Parker had done an excellent job leading our city, elections can be unpredictable at times.  We had Ben Hall, one of Mayor Parker's major challengers deciding to pander to the anti-gay haters late in the campaign in a desperate bid to make up the double digit deficit he was facing.  It also pissed us off because when he was trying to get the Houston GLBT Caucus mayoral endorsement, Hall said he supported adding sexual orientation and gender identity to our city's non-discrimination ordinance, then did a 180 on that.

Fortunately for us Hall did his Mitt Romney impression while early voting was still transpiring, so we had time to handle our electoral business as a community and punish him at the polls.  But we still had to hold our breath until Election Day arrived on November 5.

We got to exhale and celebrate as Annise won with 57% of ours and our fellow Houstonian's votes to win without a runoff.   It ensured that when you show up in H-town for Creating Change, our city will still be run by Mayor Parker, a former attendee of Creating Change.  We're working on getting her to come by the Hilton Americas to say hello to y'all.   I'm hoping she'll be doing so since she made it clear when we were bidding for the conference she wanted it here.   

There was finite disappointment handed to the Houston trans community in this election cycle.  Jenifer Rene Pool missed getting into the runoff for the at-large Position 3 City Council seat she was running for by an agonizing 1,125 votes. 

That unfortunately ended her second bid to become the first out trans person ever elected to Houston City Council, but she's already let us know that she's going to make another run at it in 2015.    


So when we gathered at the Montrose Center for our November 10 Host Committee meeting, we were relieved that one of our nagging planning headaches was off our checklist and gleefully celebrating the fact that Annise would be our mayor until January 1, 2016.

As we waited for the Host Committee meeting to start, a transformer in the area blew out, subsequently knocking out power in the neighborhood and the Montrose Center building that hosts our meetings for almost two hours.   I joked when it happened that we probably wouldn't get power back until after the meeting was over and that's exactly what happened.   

As the Montrose Center building staff scrambled into action to provide us and the other community organizations hosting meetings in the darkened building at the time mini lights to give us some semblance of illumination, we soldiered on with our Host Committee business, issued subcommittee reports and greeted CC National's Russell Roybal.   

Overseeing Creating Change is one of his supervisory responsibilities and he was in H-town along with the IT director to not only convey to us what Sue Hyde told us last month in terms of H-town setting the CC organizing bar to unprecedented levels and congratulate us for our hard work, he also let us know who one of our keynote speakers would be and the folks who would be receiving awards at our event. The awards part I have to keep quiet about for now, but I can talk about who one of the keynote speakers will be. 

And peeps, I get to see my homegirl Laverne Cox again.  I met her during the National Black Justice Coalition's 2012 OUT on the Hill conference when I was part of the trans feminine panel discussion she moderated before she blew up in Orange Is The New Black    So I'm looking forward to along with the rest of the Houston Host Committee in welcoming her to my hometown and hearing her keynote speech. 

We're also trying to get another major Texas political speaker here for you besides our mayor. 

Russell also advised us that Task Force ED Rea Carey's State of the Movement speech would be carried live on C-SPAN.  He also let us know that people would begin to be notified about whether their panel discussions they submitted would be accepted or rejected, and I was part of two proposals.   One was accepted, the other was rejected.  I will be doing a panel discussion at CC14, and when they set the schedule I'll let y'all know which one and what time.

Our subcommittees were busy submitting our budgets proposals before the hard 6 PM CST November 15 submission deadline.  We also discovered the subcommittees were only getting $500 to spend, so we had to revise our plans to do what we'd wanted to do in our suites to fit that budgetary hard number.   I got to sit in on the Trans* and Gender Diversity subcommittee meeting November 14 and watch them go through the process, then had to get with my Racial Diversity subcommittee Chair Melissa Meadows the next morning and do the same thing for our committee.

We're still wanting to have barbecue in our Racial Diversity Suite, but because of the lower than expected hard budget number it'll be for one night instead of the two we'd originally planned.

We have just two Creating Change Houston Host Committee planning meetings left on December 3 and January 7 and we are now mere weeks away from rolling out the rainbow carpet and welcoming y'all to Creating Change Houston 2014.   

And I and my fellow Host Committee members can't wait to see y'all at the Hilton Americas.

Now if we can get that Chamber of Commerce weather we're wanting, sunny, cool 50-60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, we'll be happy.