The Hard Life of Our "T" Truth: R.I.P. Sister Brandy Martell

Brandy and her coworkers at the health care office look of defiance is a signature of our hard life. It comes from always having to be defensive, never trusting and the hard lessons learned from those occasions when we did and were hurt. Sometimes the hardest lesson is the one that ends in our murders.

Source SfBlog "This part of Oakland is a cab stand. It is also a hangout for transgender people; Brandy was there in her car with three other transgender women. Around 3:30 a.m., a couple of gentlemen walked by them. Judging by their clothes, they'd been at a nightclub. They made catcalls and aggressively hit on the women; one was very interested in Brandy, repeating how fine she was. The men wanted the women to come with them, but the women realized that the men did not "know what their T is" -- "T," or truth, is slang for a woman who is trans."

"The ladies then asked, "You know we're trans, right?" When they gave them the information, the pick-up ended. The men went up around a bookstore toward 14th Street. Around 5:30 a.m., the men returned, and the women were still in the car. One man opened fire on Brandy Martell, killing her."

My life isn't that much different from Brandy's as today I am recovering from another occurrence of hate. Maybe tomorrow I will also have to pay the ultimate price for my "T", I don't know.

But in the meantime I have the honor of working with hundreds of cisgender people who value each person for their individuality. To them, this acceptance is the ultimate expression of the American dream so on Mothers Day they gave me this rose saying simply "everyone gets one".

Brandy the Rose has wilted but the love and unconditional acceptance that it expresses has not. I want you to have this rose because everyone Brandy, gets one.

DSM UPDATE: APA To Sugarcoat Pathologization of Transgender In DSM-5

Sick is Sick.

The APA has decided to keep transgender in the DSM-5. While acknowledging the controversy they continue to ignore the resulting detrimental affects it has on transgender people. You can use whatever words you like to pathologize transgender and transsexuals, but calling our naturally occurring socially beneficial gender diversity a mental illness is, well, sick.

Pandering to the undecided and those who have insurance and in a attempt to avoid becoming completely irrelevant in regards to gender diversity, they will use "dysphoria" instead of "disorder" but in the end it means the same thing. You are mentally ill or just plain "SICK".

Some highlights of the proposed changes as noted by Med page today:

Whats changed:

Gender identity disorder. Individuals who believe their biological gender doesn't match their gender identification will no longer be labeled with a disorder. Instead, if they seek psychiatric treatment, they can be labeled with "gender dysphoria."

The workgroup responsible for dealing with the hot-button issue considered a variety of other approaches, addressed later in this article. Ultimately they settled on a formal diagnosis -- potentially qualifying a patient for insurance-paid treatment if they want it -- but with a less pejorative name than "disorder."


What the APA refused to change:

Transgenderism as a V code. In seeking to destigmatize what was called gender identity disorder in DSM-IV, one proposal was to list it -- with or without a new name -- as a so-called V code. In DSM-IV, this was a chart code used to flag items of clinical interest that were not diagnosable or treatable conditions in their own right -- such as problems at school or noncompliance with treatment.

It was rejected, as were suggestions that the condition be dropped from DSM-5 altogether.

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Transition is much like childbirth. As we transition our true expressions emerge and this can be a wonderful experience or it can be so traumatic it kills the mother.

Why is the APA contributing to our distress? Many believe as I do the APA's main interest is job security and being a enabler for pharmaceutical profiteering.

DSM5.org proposed changes

5000 member Facebook event "petition the APA Remove Transgender from The DSM"