San Antonio Mayoral Runoff In Early Voting Stage

Just west of me in San Antonio is a mayoral runoff election taking place that not only has the eyes of Texas on it, but the national TBLG community as well. 

The mayoral election was back on May 9, and pitted embattled interim mayor Ivy Taylor against 13 candidates including former Texas state senator Leticia Van de Putte and former state rep Mike Villarreal.

'Poison Ivy' as she is sarcastically called by the San Antonio LGBT community has been under fire for saying that the San Antonio NDO's TBLG  protections are 'a waste of time.    She repeatedly snubbed the local BTLG community that had serious reservations in the first place when she was appointed by council to fill HUD Secretary Julian Castro's unexpired term to become San Antonio's first African-American mayor..  She was one of the NO votes when the San Antonio NDO passed back in 2013.

Sen Van de Putte on the other hand is the political polar opposite.  In addition to recently running for lieutenant governor, she has been a longtime supporter of our community.  She supported the San Antonio NDO, and filed legislation to add sexual orientation and gender identity to Texas non discrimination statues in the areas of employment and housing.

Senator Van de Putte led all candidates on election night by garnering 25,952 votes or 30.3% of the 85,370 votes cast in the May 9 election, with interim Mayor Taylor close behind with 24,235 votes, or 28.40% of the total votes cast.   Rep Mike Villarreal just missed the runoff with 22,246 votes, 26.06% of the votes cast.

But since no one got 50% of the vote to win the seat outright, the runoff is being contested between Van de Putte, who has served the city as a state rep from 1991-1999 and a state senator from 1999-2015 and the interim mayor fighting for her first full term she promised not to run for when she was elevated to the interim mayor spot..

The runoff election to decide San Antonio's next mayor will take place on June 13, but the early voting phase of it started yesterday and will run until June 9.   Polling stations will be closed on Sunday June 7, but reopen on June 8-9.

It'll be interesting to see which one of these women emerges victorious on June 13, and the TBLG community hopes it will be Sen Van de Putte.

Ding Dong, The Texas Anti-TBLG Bills Are DEAD!

It's Sine Die for the 84th Texas Legislature, and it's official!  All the 24 anti--TBLG bills filed, including the 4 anti-trans ones are dead as of 12:01 AM for this session!

Took a lot of cooperative intersectional work to make it happen, but the Texas TBLG community, our advocacy organizations, the hardworking people in them, our citizen lobbyists, and our allies pulled it off.

And many of y'all Texas bashers thought we couldn't do it.   But we did.

The 85th Texas Legislative session won't happen until 2017, so we can exhale and prepare for another battle to come.  We'll also be on guard for Gov Abbott calling special sessions between now and then as well.

Yeah, and if he does, Equality Texas, TENT and 'errbody' else has my number.

Misgendering Attacks On A Black Woman's Femininity Aren't Funny

Someone in a spasm of creativity decided to do a parody of the Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair cover in which they stuck Wendy Williams on a fictional EBONY magazine cover with the caption 'Call Me Walter'.

While I have major issues with Wendy Williams problematically using transphobia in her rise to shock-jock radio and television fame, insultingly misgendering Viola Davis in 2012 for daring to wear natural hair on the Oscar red carpet, and another incident in which she repeated debunked stereotypes about trans athletes on her talk show,  at the same time I've also had a major problem with people, and especially the Black gossip blogosphere misgendering her.

The reason I have such a problem with it is because of the 'Black Unwoman Meme, the femininity of Black women has been under attack for four centuries by whiteness and white supremacy.   It infuriates me when Black people participate in the demonization of our own women.

Transmisogyny is not just aimed at Black trans women, it is also aimed at any cis Black woman deemed to not measure up to subjective beauty standards not designed with us in mind.

Misgendering is one of the methods that critics have used to attack any Black woman they don't like, with the most recent examples of that type of misgendering being Venus and Serena Williams, Brittney Griner, Fantasia, Ciara and First Lady Michelle Obama.

If you didn't find the attacks on the FLOTUS' femininity by Joan Rivers and right wingers humorous, then for the sake of consistency neither are those attacks warranted or humorous when they are aimed at Wendy Williams or any other Black woman.

Hello Caitlyn!

The Jenner Vanity Fair July cover and photo shoot will be in the issue hitting newsstands on June 6,  and like the Diane Sawyer interview, it's generating media coverage and generating conversation inside and out side the trans community.

And we have finally learned Jenner's femme name.   I presume we'll find out later how Jenner came to choose that name, but interestingly enough she didn't spell it with a 'K'.  

No matter what your opinion is on how this Caitlyn Jenner femme rollout has transpired, the bottom line is that it is generating a much needed discussion on trans issues across the media, and especially in Trans World.  

I believe that any positive discussion that happens about trans people in the USA and educates the moveable middle is good for the entire trans community. 

Caitlyn will also be getting the ESPY's Arthur Ashe Courage Award that has been given to the late Stuart Scott and Robin Roberts just to name two recipients of it.

Personally I think Fallon Fox should have gotten that award, but nevertheless that's another Jenner accomplishment that should be celebrated and cheered by our community. 

The attention Caitlyn is getting also gives the rest of us in Trans World an opening with our local media outlets to spring off of that attention and shape a trans discussion that touches upon the issues that we deem important in our local communities..

Yes, there will be some haters and jealous folks in our trans ranks upset because they aren't getting that kind of media attention that rates a photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz.  

Some of transkind will be pissed because they don't have access to the finances, surgeons, laser epilation and trans specific medical care that is going to speedily upgrade Caitlyn's body from one of a former Olympic champion to the babe that has been inside her for 65 years and is now being introduced to her family and the world.

Hell, I'm envious of that at times even with cis women with hourglass shapes, but unfortunately, that's life.   Sometimes we get DNA blessings that others don't.   There will be women cis and trans who are smarter, prettier and sexier.   Hormones can also be  much more generous to some trans women than others.  Some have the finances to get the trans specific procedures they need when they want them while others will have to wait decades or never be able to get them.. 

All I or any trans woman can do is work with the hand that we're dealt and evolve to become the best women we can be.

But instead of hating, let's celebrate the fact a trans woman made the cover of Vanity Fair.   Let's celebrate the fact we have a positive discussion happening about trans issues right now that will potentially speed up the timetable for trans human rights achievement.    Let's celebrate the fact this may be another huge step toward the attainment of our ultimate goal of acceptance of trans people's humanity in all facets of our society.

And let's celebrate the fact that Caitlyn is finally coming out of a cocoon she's been in for 65 years and is coming out to the world as her true self.

Is Your LGBT Community Ready For Hurricane Season 2015?

Today is also the start of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.   Those of us living along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US will be nervously casting our eyes toward the Atlantic from now until November toward the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico watching for storms to develop into potential hurricanes that could threaten our areas.

We have already had one named storm, Ana make landfall in the US in a year that is being forecast because of El Nino to be a below normal one for storms.

But those of us in Houston can't forget that in 1983, a year in which there were only four hurricanes, a Category 3 one whacked us named Alicia.

In case you're wondering, the rest of the 2015 storm names are Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

While many of us know the drill concerning having hurricane prep packs, emergency supplies, and evacuation routes out of our coastal cities and towns that don't involve traveling on interstate highways,  as Hurricane Katrina taught us in 2006, we LGBT people also have to sadly consider homophobia and transphobia when hurricane season approaches and those hurricane preparedness drills happen..

We had the disgusting situation in the Houston area of reports of LGBT evacuees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina being harassed at shelters in the local suburbs.  One trans feminine evacuee unfortunately spent a few days in jail for simply taking a shower in the area matching her gender presentation at a shelter on the Texas A&M campus.

So ever since that incident, the Houston LGBT community has put together lists of people and allies who would be willing to put up BTLG evacuees in their homes in the wake of a hurricane or other natural disaster, and it's probably something that coastal communities with sizable LGBT populations should be doing in their areas.

So is your local TBLG community hurricane ready?   Now is the time to get prepared to do so if you aren't.

Last Day Of The 84th Texas Legislature

When this 84th Texas Legislature session started in January, the Texas TBLG community was facing the daunting prospect of 24 filed punitive anti-BTLG bills.  Four of those bills were aimed at criminalizing being transgender in the Lone Star State for our trans kids and adults.

People outside our state expected them to all pass seeing that we had a House with a 98-52 GOP edge, a 20-11 Republican advantage in the senate, and a new governor and lieutenant governor eager to placate the Tea Party wing.

But they misunderestimated our will to kill all of those bills, and especially the will of the Texas transgender community to make the Riddle and Pena anti-trans bills go away.

The LGBT pundits on the coasts also didn't note that we Texans had several huge advantages going into this battle.   The 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four and Super Bowl LI in 2017 are slated for Houston.  We had a unified effort from several statewide LGBT organizations that had been organizing since November the Texas GLBT community would be playing defense in this session.

While the GOP had the numbers, the Democratic minority in the House and Senate had the legislative experience and seniority, and masterfully used the Texas legislative rules and parliamentary procedure to stall and thwart the egregiously bad bills at critical points.

It was a team effort that took several lobby days scheduled throughout the session of which yours truly attended two of them, people calling their state legislators and senators, cooperation between several state organizations, partnerships with out Texas business community, and yeoman's work by our lobbyists in Austin.    It also didn't hurt that the disastrous publicity and economic damage to their economy that happened in the wake of Indiana passing their discriminatory RFRA got the Texas Lege's attention.  

Because of all that work and some fortuitous events, we go into the final hours of the 2015 session with those anti-TBLG bills dead for this session and the GOP oppressors being put in the position of passing a meaningless Texas senate resolution declaring marriage is between one man and one woman.


Short of any last minute attempts at amendments to bills further along in the legislative process, and the Texas legislative rules are strict about amendments this late in the session being attached to germane bills, we Texas LGBT folks will watch the clock strike midnight CDT for sine die and can mercifully exhale.

But TBLG Texans eyes will be nervously turned toward Austin all day until that moment.

2015 Williams Watch-The French Open Starts

The second major of the 2015 international tennis calendar is here in the French Open. It started on May 23 and will run until June 7, and is being contested on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris.

Once again my fave tennis playing siblings are in France to handle their tennis business.  

Serena came in holding the world number one ranking and the number one seeding.  She came to Roland Garros looking for her third French Open title,  her 20th overall and keep a calendar year Grand Slam alive, but was battling an elbow injury.

Meanwhile big sis Venus was seeded 17th and facing a tough opening round match with Sloane Stephens. Venus' tournament stay was unfortunately a short one as she was ousted in the first round by Stephens 6-7 (5-7) 1-6.

As most people in the tennis world know, clay is not one of Serena's fave surfaces, and if you ant to knock her out of a tournament, you have to catch her early in the first week of a tourney before she gets on one of those rolls that ends with her waving to the crowd and holding up another championship trophy.

Meanwhile Little Sis got her opening week at Roland Garros off to a good start with a straight set 6-2, 6-3 win over Andrea Hlavackova.   

But her second round match with Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam was a little more difficult.   She dropped the first set 5-7, but roared back to take the second and third sets 6-3, 6-3  to move on to a third round battle with Victoria Azarenka

Azarenka took advantage of another slow start out of the gate by Serena to take the first set 3-6..  Azarenka was up 4-2 in the second set until Serena woke up and took the next four games to take the second set 6-4 to even the match.  A pissed off Azarenka jumped out to a 0-2 lead in the third, but Serena raised her game another level, took the next five games to put herself firmly in control and sen Azarenka packing with a 6-3 third set win and punch her fourth round ticket.

Serena's fourth round opponent is the same Sloane Stephens who knocked her big sis out of this tournament tomorrow, with a quarterfinal berth on the line 

Winner gets the winner of the Sara Errani-Julia Gorges match.

TransGriot Update.  Serena knocked off Sloane Stephens 1-6, 7-5, 6-3  and will face Sara Errani in the French Open quarterfinals.

2015 TBLGQ Pride Month Proclamation

The first TBLGQ Pride Month Proclamation was issued by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and in 2000 before he left office in January 2001.   George W Bush NEVER issued one during his entire misguided White House tenure.

President Barack Obama has issued one every year since he took office in 2009, and here is the the text of the 2015 proclamation declaring June as Pride Month.

***

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2015

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

From the moment our Nation first came together to declare the fundamental truth that all men are created equal, courageous and dedicated patriots have fought to refine our founding promise and broaden democracy’s reach. Over the course of more than two centuries of striving and sacrifice, our country has expanded civil rights and enshrined equal protections into our Constitution. Through struggle and setback, we see a common trajectory toward a more free and just society. But we are also reminded that we are not truly equal until every person is afforded the same rights and opportunities — that when one of us experiences discrimination, it affects all of us — and that our journey is not complete until our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.

Across our Nation, tremendous progress has been won by determined individuals who stood up, spoke out, and shared their stories. Earlier this year, because of my landmark Executive Order on LGBT workplace discrimination, protections for Federal contractors went into effect, guarding against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Federal Government is now leading by example, ensuring that our employees and contractors are judged by the quality of their work, not by who they love. And I will keep calling on the Congress to pass legislation so that all Americans are covered by these protections, no matter where they work.

In communities throughout the country, barriers that limit the potential of LGBT Americans have been torn down, but too many individuals continue to encounter discrimination and unfair treatment. My Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors because the overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that it can cause substantial harm. We understand the unique challenges faced by sexual and gender minorities — especially transgender and gender non-conforming individuals — and are taking steps to address them. And we recognize that families come in many shapes and sizes. Whether biological, foster, or adoptive, family acceptance is an important protective factor against suicide and harm for LGBTQ youth, and mental health experts have created resources to support family communication and involvement.

For countless young people, it is not enough to simply say it gets better; we must take action too. We continue to address bullying and harassment in our classrooms, ensuring every student has a nurturing environment in which to learn and grow. Across the Federal Government, we are working every day to unlock the opportunities all LGBT individuals deserve and the resources and care they need. Too many LGBTQ youth face homelessness and too many older individuals struggle to find welcoming and affordable housing; that is why my Administration is striving to ensure they have equal access to safe and supportive housing throughout life. We are updating our National HIV/AIDS Strategy to better address the disproportionate burden HIV has on communities of gay and bisexual men and transgender women. We continue to extend family and spousal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. And because we know LGBT rights are human rights, we are championing protections and support for LGBT persons around the world.

All people deserve to live with dignity and respect, free from fear and violence, and protected against discrimination, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, we celebrate the proud legacy LGBT individuals have woven into the fabric of our Nation, we honor those who have fought to perfect our Union, and we continue our work to build a society where every child grows up knowing that their country supports them, is proud of them, and has a place for them exactly as they are.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2015 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

Louisiana Girl Scout Council Bans Trans Feminine Kids

One of the reasons I love the Girl Scouts USA is that they not only have an amazing organization that for over a century has excelled in developing the leadership skills of girls and young women, they have continued to do so while under continued conservafool assault.

The conservafools have hated on the Girl Scouts because unlike the Boy Scouts, they failed in their attempt to take them over.  Ever since them different conservative pundits and politicians have attacked them for their progressive stances.

They have even taken their off the charts hatred of the Girl Scouts to the extreme level of attacking the Girl Scouts annual cookie drives (which is why I buy mass quantities of them every year) to forming their own conservative alternative to Girl Scouts USA called the American Heritage Girls. 

Now that the conservative movement is shifting their energy and attention to attacking transgender people, the American Fascist Family Association on May 13 created a transphobic petition that gained the signatures of 38,000 people demanding the Girl Scouts USA rescind the policy allowing trans feminine participation in Girl Scouts.

The next day Girl Scouts USA put out a statement authored by Andrea Bastiani Archibald that reiterated their support for the trans inclusive policy.

"If a girl is recognized by her family, school and community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.\ Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case by case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority."

That local case by case basis part of the statement leaves a problematic loophole big enough to drive a Mack truck through it.   And as any marginalized group is keenly aware of, if you give transphobes an inch, they'll go the transphobic mile.

While I have yet to hear what the local Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council (Houston area) stance is on transgender scouts, I'm aware of the Girl Scouts of Colorado supported a trans kid that wished to join one of their troops, and know the Kentuckiana Council just reaffirmed their support of the national policy, that wasn't the case of the Girl Scouts Louisiana East Council that covers Baton Rouge, New Orleans and the eastern parishes of the state.

The Girl Scouts Louisiana East Council since November 2011 has proudly had a policy in place barring trans feminine kids.

“We recognize that girls benefit most from a program designed specifically for them and delivered in an all-girl setting. We affirm that our council’s programming is for girls only, and has not been designed to meet the specific needs of boys or transgendered youth.”

They doubled down on it in the wake of the AFA attack on the National GSA with a transphobic dog whistle included in their May 20 memo claiming "the health and safety of our girls is our number one priority."
As Baton Rouge parent of a Brownie Mary Ellen Slayter told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, "I don't feel like the presence of a transgender child poses any threat to my daughter. We are talking about children here. If they're questioning their gender identity, I would want the Girl Scouts to be a safe place for them to explore that and be in the company of adults who could help them through that... These kids are far more likely to be harmed by other people than to cause harm."

Louisiana East Council, you may wish to join Ms. Slayter and the rest of us in the 21st century, and stop the problematic pimping of the lie that trans kids are a threat to cisgender girls.

H/T Lexie Cannes

Shut Up Fool Awards-Happy Birthday Laverne Edition!

Today is the birthday of my fab sister Laverne Cox, and hope she's not only having a fabulous, blessings filled day, but she gets to celebrate many more of them far into the future.

But as you TransGriot readers know, it's also Friday, and y'all know what I get to do on this day without fail for your reading pleasure.

I get the fun of calling out the fool, fools or group of fools who exhibit over the top hypocrisy, mind blowing ignorance and stupidity, and just do and say stuff that make you say WTF?

It's time for the latest edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards.

Honorable mention number one is Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (R), who thinks mandatory ultrasounds 'are a cool thing' for women hoping to get abortions.

Really?   How the hell would you know?   I think you and all your conservafool masculine friends who believe that BS should have forced prostate exams with a frozen aluminum bat shoved up your anus.  

But keep talking Scott.  The more you do, the more you prove you're unfit to be POTUS.

Honorable mention number two is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state who in the wake of Roman Catholic Ireland voting overwhelmingly (62% YES) to allow same sex marriage, the vote was a 'defeat for humanity.'

Honorable mention number three is Joseph Hayon.   The former leader in the Brooklyn Tea Party who ran on a 2012 pledge to protect children was arrested on child porn possession charges.

So tell me once again conservafools, who are the child predators we need to be looking out for?


Honorable mention number four is the Indian social media campaign that seeks to have women thank men for not sexually assaulting them.

Seriously?  How about you not acting like a horny caveman? You don't deserve a fracking cookie for the minimum expectation in a civilized society of keeping your hands and penis to yourself.

Honorable mention number five is Pat Robertson, who crawled out of the bowels of his crypt to say on the 666 700 Club that gay men are 'pedophiles who want to recruit your sons.'



Honorable mention number six is Nevada Assemblywoman Michelle Fiore, who in the middle of a debate about a racist voter ID law the GOP controlled legislature called a Black legislator 'colored' after trying to deny racism doesn't exist in the USA.

This week's winner is the junior senator from Alberta, Ted Cruz.   Remember when Teabagger Ted criticized and voted against funding for Hurricane Sandy victims? Well, seems like he's against ANY emergency relief unless it is going to Texas.

"Today, Texans are hurting. They're hurting here in San Marcos. They're hurting in Wimberley. They're hurting in Houston. They're hurting across the state.

"Democrats and Republicans in the congressional delegation will stand as one in support of the federal government meeting its statutory obligations to provide the relief to help the Texans who are hurting."

But when it was the northeastern US that needed the help, Comrade Ted was singing a different song before he voted against that emergency assistance.

"This bill is symptomatic of a larger problem in Washington—an addiction to spending money we do not have. The United States Senate should not be in the business of exploiting victims of natural disasters to fund pork projects that further expand our debt."

Once upon a time Texas sent people to Washington DC like LBJ, Ralph Yarborough, John Tower, Sam Rayburn, Barbara Jordan, and Mickey Leland just to name a few who were respected and visionary national and international leaders.

Now we have leaders going to Washington representing my birth state that are running comedic jokes.

Ted Cruz, shut the HELL up fool!.

Happy Birthday Laverne!

It;s time for another TransGriot birthday shoutout, and today's recipient of it is my amazing sis Laverne Cox, who was born on this date in Mobile, Alabama along with her twin brother Lamar.

I have much love and respect for her, and I forgot to ask her the last time I talked to her who is the eldest sibling.

She continues to make history.  In addition to her role on Orange Is The New Black, she will get to play an Ivy League lawyer on a upcoming CBS legal series called Doubt that I'm looking forward to the premiere of.

Laverne also continues to be a lovely and thoughtful ambassador for our community as she travels the country speaking at various events and colleges.

Happy birthday Laverne!  May you continue to have much success with your acting career and get the roles that are not only challenging for you but expand opportunities for other trans actors following in your footsteps.   

May your birthday be filled with abundant blessings, and you be granted the time to celebrate many more of them.

Musing About The Trans People Of The African Diaspora

One of the things that has been an ongoing mission of this blog is to highlight what's happening for trans people of African descent across the Diaspora from the Americas to the Caribbean to the Mother Continent itself.

I have been fortunate in my time as a trans activist and blogger to be able to talk to other African descended trans people from Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Panama, South Africa and Nigeria just for starters.

Oh yeah, happy belated birthday to my Brazilian sis Dora who I got to meet and room with during BTAC.   You get the hug when you get back to UT in the fall.

Talking to the trans peeps of the Diaspora has given me an insight as an American with African heritage into what's happening not only in those nations, but also just how interconnected we are here in the States with the rest of the African Diaspora. 

It has reinforced my pride in my African heritage and being trans, and reminds me on two levels that my brothers and sisters in my extended family extend across planet Earth.

And sadly, it has also confirmed for me just how much Blackness is hated not only in my own country, but across the planet.   It's been eye opening to see that some of the issues I and other North American based trans people deal with are sadly prevalent in other parts of the world.

There are also situations in which my trans brothers and sisters in different parts of the Diaspora have been fighting tooth and nail just to get basic human rights recognition, as Audrey Mbugua has been doing for herself and Kenyan trans people for years.  Others are in the situation of moving from their native lands that were hostile to trans people and blossoming in countries more accepting of it. 

Some are in different nations just to further their education or to begin the process of morphing their bodies to be the men and women they know they are.  I'm also inspired to fight as hard as I do for trans human rights here in the States by watching my trans brothers and trans sisters in far more hostile territory in Uganda fight for their basic human right to exist.

But no matter the situation, despite the language differences and different nations we grew up in, we are all connected across the oceans and continents because of our African heritage and our trans status. 

 I'm looking forward to and welcome more of those conversations from trans masculine and trans feminine people across the Diaspora so that I can intelligently talk about those experiences.

What's Wrong With A Trans Woman Being A Stay At Home Mom?

Stevie Wonder and Karyn White sang decades apart about superwomen from their masculine and feminine perspectives.   While we have some amazing girls like us representing our community, one of the insults we trans women get hurled at us from the TERFs who hate us is that we trans women are 'reinforcing gender stereotypes'.

But one of the beautiful things about femininity and especially the trans version of it is that there is no specific way of being a trans woman. 

It is as multidimensional as the women we are, just like it is for our cis counterparts.   For every time Laverne Cox rocks a red carpet, Geena Rocero travels the globe advancing our human rights, Arianna Lint appears on Spanish language television to talk about trans human rights issues from a Latina perspective, or yours truly bouncing from one convention to the next around the country, there are some of our trans sisters whose biggest transition dream was not only morphing their bodies to match the persons they always knew they were, but also seeing themselves with a husband, 2.5 kids and a house with a white picket fence.

I ain't mad at my sisters who chose that path, and neither should you be.   I also know some trans women who are working moms with kids.  One I know was named 'Working Mother of the Year' in 2014.

I had a conversation recently with a trans woman who is one of those trans moms raising kids.  Her face lit up when she talked about how this was her dream when she transitioned in her teens, and the reality of living her dream and having a husband, kids and family has made her exceedingly happy. 

Heard the same sentiments from even those trans women I know who are working mothers, and truth be told, sometimes I'm a little envious of them.

Being an either stay at home or working mom while trans is just as much a revolutionary act as me and everyone else bouncing up to the state capitol or Washington DC to fight for our human rights.  The more that society sees trans people doing mundane, everyday things that are beautifully human, the better.

So what's wrong with a trans woman being a stay at home mom?   Absolutely nothing.

Happy Birthday HERO!

On this day last year, after a long combined Houston City Council meeting that saw over 200 speakers spend one minute each pro and con debating it, on an 11-6 vote the HERO was passed to the joyous cries and cheers of all of us who busted our butts to make this day happen.

And yeah, as you know, a certain blogger had been hounding Houston City Council since January to make sure her hometown human rights ordinance was trans inclusive.

Our HERO covers 15 categories, but the HERO Haters were only concerned about two, sexual orientation and gender identity, and demonized trans folks in the month long contentious debate to passage.

We didn't get to celebrate our 30 years in the making win for long, because we immediately had to shift to defend it mode.   Thanks to unbridled arrogance, fraud and stupidity on the haters side as they collected the recall petitions, they discovered on August 4 didn't gather enough signatures to force it on the 2014 ballot for a recall.

The HERO Haters kept trying, and tried to get in the courts what they failed to get in the petition process they screwed up, and still lost twice in a jury trial and with the judge..

They just recently had another motion denied in which they tried to get an expedited trial in the 14th Texas Court of Appeals.   In order to get a HERO repeal on the ballot, they have to get a ruling overturning Judge Schaffer's decision before the August deadline to get ballots for November 2015  elections in Texas printed.

Tick, tick, tick , tick...

Meanwhile the HERO is in effect and being implemented by the city of Houston, so for the first time in Houston history we have a local remedy for discrimination that happens in the Houston city limits.

But what I was most proud of as a native Houstonian was that we sent the message to the state, the nation and the world that discrimination's time had expired in the fourth largest city in America.

So happy birthday HERO!   May you be around to celebrate many more!

Houston Floods, I'm Okay And Dry!

As many of you TransGriot readers are aware of, the Houston area got hit with 8-12 inches of rain in a six hour period from 9 PM Monday night to early Tuesday morning from an intense line of storms that brewed up on Memorial Day and extended from San Antonio to the Texas-Oklahoma border.

While the northern end of that line quickly blew through the Dallas-Ft Worth area, the southern end took its sweet time passing though our metro area which has had more than our fair share of rain over the last several weeks.

It didn't help that much of the rain hitting central Texas flows through Houston and its network of bayous on its way to emptying out into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

The southwest side got the bulk of the rain, with 11.5 inches falling on that side of town.  I live on the northwest side, and while we got 8 to 9.5 inches, we were spared the flooding that whacked Meyerland and other affected parts of Southwest Houston.

There were 200 folks stuck at Toyota Center downtown after the Warriors-Rockets playoff game until early Tuesday morning because they couldn't get back home our out of the downtown area.


It got bad around 1 AM when Buffalo, White Oak, Keegan's and Brays Bayous went over their banks and caused major flooding on I-45 where it crosses White Oak Bayou at the junction with I-10 near downtown, and TX 288 flooded as usual between where it splits south of downtown from US 59 and 610 South and crosses Brays Bayou near the Med Center..

The Buffalo Bayou flooding also affected Memorial Dr. and Allen Parkway, which are major routes into downtown Houston from the west side of town.

There was also street flooding in various parts of town since Houston streets are designed to hold it, then feed it to the drains that lead to the bayous.  We had many of the underpasses hit with so much water it overwhelmed the pumps that keep them dry.

We also had a lightning caused fire at an apartment complex in the area near NRG Stadium that left 16 people homeless.

Sadly, we have had 5 deaths from the flooding, mainly drivers who realized too late the water they were driving in during the late night-early AM hours was rising too fast and quickly became too deep for them to act quickly.  They are also at this writing still searching for two senior citizens who were swept away down Brays Bayou after a boat that was rescuing them Tuesday capsized.

Houston caught a little break because the sun was out most of the day yesterday, and gave the swollen and affected bayous a chance to send that excess water to Galveston Bay.  

As of yet, haven't heard if any of our community peeps or allies being negatively affected, but know that if I do, I'll pass that information on to you as I receive it.

However, we are expecting more heavy rain later this week, so we'll be casting a nervous eye to the skies over the next few days and paying more attention than usual to the weather forecasts..

Congrats Nicole Maines!

Jazz Jennings wasn't the only amazing trans teen I got the opportunity to meet during last year's Philly Trans Health Conference.  I also got to meet Nicole Maines and her amazing father Wayne. 

Nicole is the trans teen who was transphobically discriminated against by the Orono, ME school district as a fifth grader when they tried to ban her from using the girls restroom.  Her precedent setting case eventually made it to the Maine Supreme Court when she won in early 2014 and the Orono schools had to pay the trans young lady.

She also helped kill one of the first anti-trans bathroom bills in LD 1046 back in 2011, has been on Maine public radio and in other venues doing education about trans issues, been an Equality Maine volunteer and is a role model for other trans teens/

The now 17 year old high school senior has been getting numerous deserved awards lately.  Glamour magazine last year named her  one of their 50 Amazing Women Who Are Making A Difference.

She has also won the Hardy Girls Healthy Women’s Community Organizing Award and the Maine Women's Fund honored her earlier this month with the Samantha Smith Award

And she's even appearing on an episode of USA Network's Royal Pains   

Nicole will be attending the University of Maine in the fall, and megacongrats to the well deserved accolades.

ConGRADulations UHD Gators!

As many of you long time readers are aware of, ever since I came back home in May 2010, I've been blessed to interact and work with some amazing student leaders at UH, Rice, TSU, HCC-Southeast and UH-Downtown on various projects.

Many of them were freshmen and sophomores at their respective institutions at the time I encountered them or we started talking and staying in contact after I did panel discussions on those respective campuses.

But as y'all are all keenly aware of and was reinforced today, time marches on.  Those collegiate freshmen and sophomores I met have become seniors about to say goodbye to their college years and hello to their post-graduation lives.

So once again I was taking some time out on a Saturday to check out another collegiate graduation.  Today I was at Minute Maid Park to watch four Gator student leaders, Sarah Syed, LaTrina Carter, Tarah Taylor and Kristopher Sharp step across the stage and graduate from UHD with their various degrees.

It started at 9:15 AM with the graduates marching from their staging area down along the left field side stands around home plate to their blocked off area along the right field stands where the stage was set up,  After hanging out near the student seating and waving at Trina and Sarah, I decided to get some seats behind home plate so I could see the massive Jumbotron board which was in operation and get a better view of the ceremony.

It was also amusing to me that while I was there to support these student leaders on their special day, several people and UHD students who walked past my seat in Section 118 recognized and thanked me for coming to UHD to do those various panels.

I also had a fascinating conversation with another woman who was watching the UHD one, and then hit the road at 11 AM to go to the UT-Austin one to see another relative graduate today.

But today was all about the UHD Class of 2015, and I was honored to get an invitation to witness your special day.

ConGRADulations Sarah, Tarah, Kristopher and Trina! You are all amazing young leaders who accomplished much in your time at 1 Main Street.   I salute you for achieving a personal life goal, and I have no doubts that you will continue to do great things for our community, our state and our country.

METRORail Green and Purple Lines FINALLY Open Today

You long time readers know that I am a rail enthusiast, and one of the things I was happy to see was METRO build a rail component to our transit system that started construction with a 7.5 mile (12.1 km) segment that opened for service in January 2004.

The METRORail Red Line has been wildly successful, with ridership projections four years ahead of schedule.  After a successful  2003 referendum to expand the system to four lines, construction on the 5.3 mile (8.5 km) Red Line North Extension, the 3.3 mile (5.3 km) Green and (6.6 mile (10.6 km) Purple Lines began in 2009 with an original target date of 2012 completion for the Red Line extension and 2014 for the Green and Purple Lines.

But while the North Extension opened early in December 2013, construction delays, rolling stock procurement issues, and other problems caused by non-METRO construction projects pushed the opening of the Green and Purple Lines back to 2014, and eventually to today's opening date.

The Harrisburg bridge that will carry the Green Line over freight rail tracks and to the Magnolia Transit Center just broke ground in March and won't be completed until 2016.

The Gold Line through the Galleria area is being built initially as a bus rapid transit lane which will be able to be easily converted to light rail service in the future.   That will allow it to be operational in 2017, while the needed east west University Line is on hold pending funding.

But the long awaited day is here, and METRO is celebrating with a free Railfest concert at BBVA Compass Stadium featuring Ne-Yo Frankie J and a fireworks finale.    BBVA Compass Stadium sits at the junction between the Green and Purple Lines. 

And just as was done when the North extention opened, rides on the rail system will be free all day.

The opening of the Green and Purple lines means that as of today, METRORail is not just one rail line, but a system spanning much of my hometown, with hopefully future expansion to Hobby and Intercontinental airports and the addition of a commuter rail component.

But until then, I'll take advantage of my free rides that start up in a few hours..

LA State Senator Rips Jindal A New One

In 2005, after the Texas Legislature passed that unjust constitutional marriage ban, Texas State Rep Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) let loose with a memorable floor speech excoriating it.

Ten years later, east of the Sabine River in Baton Rouge, State Senator Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans)  took to the Louisiana Senate floor to rip Governor Bobby Jindal (R) for his unjust executive order intended to do an end run around the Louisiana Legislature to institute HB 707, a 'right to discriminate' law the Legislature rejected and the Louisiana business community didn't want.

But since Piyush is running for president on the GOP side, in his attempt to pander to Iowa social conservafool voters, he decided to unilaterally issue this executive order.that all the states competing with Louisiana for Super Bowls, Final Fours and other convention business are saying thank you very much for your stupidity.

Here's Senator Peterson's floor speech.

Shut Up Fool Awards-I Pity The Post Birthday Fools Edition

Mr. T's 63rd birthday was yesterday and we're going to celebrate it properly by doing what we normally do on this blog every Friday without fail.

It's time to call out the fool, fools or group of fools that exhibit mind numbing stupidity, immense levels of ignorance, horrific levels of hubris, and off the chain levels of arrogance.

Yep, it's time for the post-Mr T birthday edition of this week's Shut Up Fool Awards.

Honorable mention number one is a joint one for  the entire GOP clown car, er' 2016 GOP presidential candidate field. Just pick a way too numerous moment this week in which they all said something incredibly stupid.

Honorable mention number two is Maine Gov Paul LePage (R) in the latest GOP War on the Poor move, wants to kick convicted felons off of TANF and SNAP even if they have kids and have turned their lives around.

And y'all wanna know why I hate these evil Teapublicans

Honorable mention number three is Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX) m who actually parted his lips (surprise surprise) to say that Dubya would have rethought the Iraq War if he'd known that President Obama would have followed him into office.

Still trying to blame the Black Democratic POTUS for the white GOP POTUS' screw ups.

Honorable mention number four is Rep David Brat (R-VA) who is a living example of the be careful what you wish for in political circles.   Brat replaced Eric Cantor, and is far worse than the guy he replaced.   He recently said that DREAMers in the military will lead to the 'decline of Western Civilization'.

Yo David, your white sheet is showing.

Honorable mention number five also goes to someone else whose white sheet was showing in Dork Duke University professor Jerry Hough, who parted his lips to say some racist crap in the local media concerning the Baltimore Rebellion.

Honorable mention number six is Peter Brimelow, who forgot the Civil War ended 150 years and said a white nationalists supremacists conference that stats should consider secession from the US for the protection of 'white rights'.

Dude you have an entire political party and two political movements in conservatism and libertarianism that seek to do precisely that.

And news flash, y'all lost the War To Preserve Slavery, get over it.

This week's Shut Up Fool awards winner  is a joint award for Josh Duggar and his mother Michelle Duggar.    Josh and his mother have spent a lot of time demonizing TBLG people and Josh worked for the Family Fascist Research Council until he had to resign after revelations broke that Duggar molested several teenage girls, including his own sisters.

Michelle slimed trans women calling us predators on behalf of the right wing efforts to kill trans inclusive human rights laws while basking in the hypocritical knowledge that the real sexual predator was her own son, and she helped keep it quiet.

19 Molestations and Counting needs to be cancelled

I takes some serious cojones for you to project your own reprehensible molestation behavior on someone else for your own personal and political gain.

It's even more reprehensible when some of the victims of it are your own sisters and mommy and daddy cover it up.

Josh and Michelle Duggar, shut up fools!.