Just to keep this in focus, we are talking about a bare taped knuckle (practically) no holds bared beat your opponent to a pulp sport Fallon Fox is good at. Maybe great at.
Do we as trans woman idolize her? Do we place violence on a pedestal and worship it as an end all solution? My first reaction after watching this video was to become a little ill. Violence has always done that to me but then a totally unexpected feeling began to filter in.
I felt empowered. I thought how many times have I felt helpless as I watched that video of Chrisy Polis getting beaten in that Maryland McDonald's and wished I could have been there to help her.
I can identify with Fallon Fox. I began a warehouse job I'm at now pretty out of shape and unfeminine in many ways. The past two years I have transformed my body with a steady regiment of HRT but more than that. I have been working out and running daily so now I have boobs, ass and muscles.
The job that was so challenging before? Now it's is now a piece of cake. The thing is that now instead of admiration I get jealously from woman coworkers.
They say I have a unfair advantage as a trans woman. GOOD GRIEF! So GO FALLON FOX! Get into that cage and demolish your opponents. I'll be ringside cheering you on.
You remember Donnie Collins the Emerson College student who's fraternity raised $20,000 dollars after learning that his insurance rejected his application for top surgery?
Well it seems Aetna corrected a error in the policy after being contacted by the college and will cover Donnie's surgery after all. And what of the money raised by his Fraternity? The rest of the money will be donated to the Jim Collins Foundation a non profit which helps people obtain gender confirming surgeries.
"Our Transgender Daughter Is Just Another Girl: Tell Her School to Stop Discriminating".
[Petition Text]
We are Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis, the parents of five children in Fountain, Colorado. One of our daughters, Coy, is six years old and in first grade. Just before Christmas, Coy's school told us that after winter break, they would no longer allow her to use the girls' bathroom, because she is transgender.
They gave Coy three options for where to go to the bathroom; the boys' room, the staff bathroom with adults, or the nurse's bathroom which is used by sick children.
Coy is not sick, she is not an adult, and she is not a boy.
Coy is a girl. She wears girls' clothes, is addressed by everyone at the school using female pronouns, and has been accepted by her classmates and teachers as a girl. But if the school separates her from all her classmates to use the bathroom, they are singling her out for mistreatment, and teaching her classmates that it's okay to discriminate.
We want our daughter to have the same educational opportunities as every other Colorado student.
We have filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division asking the school to treat Coy like any other girl, because that's been the law in Colorado since 2007, when the state banned discrimination based on gender identity.
But we want our children's school to treat our daughter equally because it's the right thing to do, not because the law forces them to.
Please tell officials at Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 that teaching children to discriminate is wrong.
Cage fighter Fallon Fox lived stealth for five years demolishing opponents in the MMA ring but a phone call changed all that. Reluctantly Fallon Fox revealed to her fans, trainers and other fighters her post operative trans status.
Now that Falln Fox is "out" cries of impropriety are echoing expecially after her 39 second knock out of a Coral Cables Florida woman this week and four first round wins.
In an apparent mix up, a receipt from the California Athletic Commission which appears like a licence was mistaken by Fallon Fox as such and was most likely helpful in getting her Florida licence. The California Athletic Commission has now said that they are in the process of modifying those receipts to eliminate this confusion in the future.(after all this time?)
Most people commenting on Cage Junkie seem to think she lied and should be disqualified.
Outsports a recognized authority on transgender participation has a different take:
"She has solid ground to stand on. Given her physical transition, she would be eligible to compete in the Olympic Games as she meets the International Olympic Committees' standards for trans athletes. If she were so inclined, she would be eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour and the WTA."
The Florida Commission has Fox Fallon's licence under review but what about her next bouts?
USA Today reports that "In the meantime, Fox's next bout, which was scheduled for April 20 as part of a semifinal bout in an eight-women tournament at 145 pounds, is on hold as her promoter, Cage Fighting Alliance, has canceled the event in a show of support."
"We stand 120,000 percent behind Fallon," CFA CEO Jorge De La Nova said. "She's a female. She's a very sweet girl. There's a lot of money on the line for her, and she's performed very well. We're going to give her a couple of weeks to see how this thing turns out."
Long ago decided my voice was not going to inhibit my transition after coming to the conclusion it was not going to reflect my gender no matter what I did. It was a hard thing to come to terms with as my gender presentation at the time was, lets just say rough, undefined and unrefined. Sounding like a man just did not help.
Even with today's more inclusive social atmosphere vocal presentation remains an obstacle for many, particularly male to female trans people. For instance, I have a friend who has told me the major issue that is keeping her from fully transitioning is her voice. To me she sounds and looks enviable but it is our own self perception that holds us back after all.
There may be help for the vocally insecure as there are people who are studying this issue. Given time and effort who knows what might be possible? Yesterday I was contacted by Stefanie Hays, a graduate student at Louisiana State University who's conducting a study which could lead to drastic improvements in our lives.
She explained "I’m doing a research project about attitudes and perceptions about voice among people who identify as trans. The speech/voice field has done some previous research about trans voice, but hasn’t traditionally (received) a lot of input from the trans community itself. I’m hoping to start addressing that problem through a research project, using an online survey."
This survey was designed to collect information about personal satisfaction with voice, how voice impacts the participant’s life, what (if anything) the participant has done to change their presentation of gender vocally, and overall satisfaction with those procedures or behaviors. The results will be published in my master’s thesis.
I just finished the ten minute survey. She has included all of her contact information including the supervising professors phone number. Of course you are free to opt out at any point during the survey.
The news from Turkey nearly always heartbreaking, is instead today, groundbreaking.
Just released a movie made in Turkey about LGBT youth and the incredible hardships they face. But who would make such a thing in this land where we read about the horrific murders of trans people many regulated to sex work and honor killings , the tragic slaughter of sons and daughters by family compelled by a false sense of shame and guilt?
The answer is Turkey's bravest LISTAG (Families of LGBTs in İstanbul)! These souls, who I am so honored to write about today, are the ones featured in this documentary titled My Child.
Meet Mother Pinar, a founding member of Listag and the mother to a transgender child who "was raised in a traditional family with “honorable woman”, “not to come home after it’s dark” kind of myths and of course with sins, taboos and disgraces like many of woman in her generation."
So how was it that Mother Pinar found herself with her daughter on our road less traveled? Read about this incredible woman in Gays of Turkey.
Visit the offical My Child website and learn how you can bring this documentry to your family.
Domique Fennel, Wayne Green, Kalif Halie, Jorge Castro are wanted in connection with the Rape and beating of a midtown transgender woman Febuary 28th 2013 according to NY1.
Thursday DNA.com reported that "at least three men sexually assaulted a screaming transgender woman at gunpoint after a fight erupted over money in their Midtown hotel room early Thursday morning, police said.".
"The attack occurred about 2:15 a.m. in a hotel on 57th Street, in the Midtown North Precinct, according to the NYPD."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS. Members of the public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at Crime Stoper.com, or by texting tips to CRIMES (274637), then entering TIP577
David Horowitz's racist right wing extremist "Front Page" publication took a moment out of there busy schedule of bashing black people, Islam and democracy to spew a torrent of vile hatred towards transgender people.
Contributor Neanderthal Daniel Greenfield's post "Forget Transgender, Get Ready for Transpecies" utilizes a Southpark episode to draw a absurd parallel between "otherkins" and trans folk. Otherkins is widely regarded as a religious based belief in which people "identify as mythical creatures, with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture." - Wikipedia.
I have seen this Southpark parody of trans people before and really didn't find it offensive. I thought it was funny, offering a commentary about the tribulations of transition albeit in low brow fashion. It is really important after all to have a sense of humor about life.
Up until this time I hadn't really given any serious consideration to Otherkins but now thanks to Greenfield I am a believer. I think Greenfield, a Neanderthal, is one of those fairy tale beings that somehow transitioned in part anyways while the rest of his species faced extinction. But sadly for Greenfield its obvious from his article he and his ilk are are doomed to extinction too having not yet developed intelligence on par with humans.
Again we go to Wikipedia to learn what has happened to and the future of the Daniel Greenfields of the world.
1.Neanderthals wereare a separate species from modern humans, becameare becoming extinct due to climate change or interaction with humans and wereare being replaced by modern humans moving into their habitat beginning around 80,000 years ago.[74] Competition with humans probably contributed to Neanderthal extinction.[75][76] Jared Diamond has suggested a scenario of violent conflict and displacement.[77]
Leah, a trans high school Student was met with a protest by South Panola High School students when she began wearing gender appropriate clothing with the schools blessings.
About a dozen students protested outside their school saying Leah was being afforded special rights. They made their point by wearing clothing defined as inappropriate by the School, sweat suites and shorts. They claimed it was only fair they should be allowed to dress that way since Leah a Male to Female trans woman, who in there opinion is male, was being allowed to wear female clothing.
What in reality was happening is this. They are a bunch of high school bigots and this was a way they thought they could express there transphobia without being directly called out for it. Well I'm calling you out for it. You're bigots.
In response to this transphobia a facebook page was started called Mississippians Support Leah which posted this statement:
1. There is no "special treatment" going on here, well unless you call equal application of the law "special treatment".
2. The School District's policy requiring "gender appropriate" dress is unconstitutional as it is very much settled law that gender expression is protected under the 1st Amendment, among others, to the Constitution.
3.... The District will change their policy and remove "gender appropriate" dress as part of the dress code as it is unconstitutional from its initial installation, nothing anyone says or does will prevent this from happening -- see #1.
4. Any religious arguments in opposition are irrelevant as they are clearly unconstitutional according to the US Supreme Court and this area is very much long settled law.
5. God, Jesus, etc. have never left public schools as students and school staff may pray and express their faith as long as it is not disruptive to the educational environment and is not sponsored or interpreted to be sponsored by the school (aka state aka government). If you desire a religious-focused curriculum that is your right and you should consider a private religious school to satisfy your needs as it is not your right to force public schools to violate the law through a religiously endorsed curriculum.
6. This is the 21st Century and change is coming to even the darkest of places and will continue to shed light on us all -- either you can accept this and abide by the law or move aside as this express change train is coming through
It's all pretty simple really. "
There was also a facebook page in opposition to Leah "pray for South Panola School District" but it has since been taken down after only reciving a dozen likes. A parody of that facebook page SUPER prayers for south panola school district remains up.
Source: DNA.com MIDTOWN — At least three men sexually assaulted a screaming transgender woman at gunpoint after a fight erupted over money in their Midtown hotel room early Thursday morning, police said.
The attack occurred about 2:15 a.m. in a hotel on 57th Street, in the Midtown North Precinct, according to the NYPD.
The woman, 27, was in the hotel room with one of the men, but she kicked him out after an argument, cops said. The man returned moments later, carrying a gun, and he brought two other men with him.
The three men then sexually assaulted the victim as one brandished the firearm and threatened to shoot the woman if she did not stop screaming, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance images of three suspects, but cops added it remained unclear whether there were additional men involved in the attack.
The suspects fled after the assault, police said. The woman was transported to Roosevelt Hospital with bruises and abrasions.
The first man was described as 5-foot-9 and bald, with a Chinese character tattooed on his chest. His accomplices were described as only as 18- to 28-year-old men.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS. Members of the public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at Crime Stoper.com, or by texting tips to CRIMES (274637), then entering TIP577
Marathon runner transgender woman Riya Suising often visits Korean Spa's after a workout utilizing there hot and cold baths to help relax muscles after a run. But last year she was astounded and humiliated after a manager of Fairfax Spa World told her she had to leave.
“I was mortified,” she told FairFax Times February 22nd. “It was obvious that this business discriminates against any ‘abnormal appearing’ persons, specifically against LGBT people, and likely against anyone else not appearing up to their standards.”
The Better Business Bureau opened an investigation, and on Jan. 28, Spa World representative Sang Lee responded to the BBB in writing by stating “It is our policy to not accept any kinds of abnormal sexual oriented customers to our facility such as homosexuals, or transgender(s).”
The Spa World written reply goes on to say that the spa stands by this policy for the sake of young children who utilize the facility. “Also, for the safety and the comfort of young children at Spa World, we strongly forbid any abnormal sexual behaviors and orientation in our facility. Despite the controversial issue of homosexuality and transgender, it is our policy to not accept them,” Lee wrote. Lee did not return calls seeking further comment.
On Friday Spa World apparently changed there tune:
James Lee, a manager on duty at Spa World, told LGBTQ Nation on Friday that the incident was a result of misunderstanding and a language problem.
“The Korean-English barrier just made a small miscommunication, Mr. [Sang] Lee meant to write only that sexual activity, either gay or straight, is not allowed at Spa World,” said Lee. “There was a woman inside of the woman’s sauna, and we had many complaints about that particular person, stating there was a man inside of the woman’s locker room.”
He did acknowledge that a transgender woman using Spa World’s bathing and changing facilities doesn’t violate the spa’s policy, however, but that Suising “caught us all off-guard,” he said.
Lee said that the business will welcome and allow customers of any sexual orientation or gender identity, and that in the future, transgender customers will not be asked to leave.
Spa World Posted this to their facebook page and linked it to there twitter account yeasterday 3/1/2013
The LGBTQNation article says they will welcome transgender and gay people however I couldn't find anything to indicate that they would on the facebook page Boycott Spa World .
Pursing the Spa World Facebook I couldn't find a new policy statement only complaints about the Spa's broken down facility, 100% increases in daily fee's and angry customers comments.
Dr. Jim Sear's offered an excuse for his transphobic opinion he expressed on the 27th issue of CNN Newsroom when questioned about how he felt about a transgender girl using the same bathroom as cisgender girls:
SEARS: I have three kids, a daughter and two boys, and as when my daughter was that age, I would have been very uncomfortable if there was a boy with a penis walking around their bathroom. And you say that the stalls are private. You know, at that age, most boys especially will use the bathroom then leave their pants down while they walk to the sink to wash their hands and then pull it up. So it's going to be very uncomfortable for the other girls seeing a penis in their bathroom.
JENNIFER HUTT: She's a girl.
SEARS: She has a penis, though.
From Glaad who opened the apology flag box and ran one up the pole:
Glaad: We received several incident reports about the segment and reached out to Sears, who apologized for his comments and said he was drawing on the wrong experience.
Sears: "I made my comments based on the fact that I would be uncomfortable if there was a boy, who acted like a typical boy, in the girls' bathroom with my daughter. I understand Coy as transgender is not likely to display those same tendencies. I do not know Coy or her family personally, but I do apologize for implying she may display the same behavior as I have seen with young boys her age. Coy has shown a tremendous amount of maturity and courage for her young age and I wish her and her family all the best."
Glaad: We thank Dr. Sears for his timely and thoughtful response. This statement from Dr. Sears underlines what is probably the most important (and yet simplest) lesson that we are trying to get across by telling Coy's story - transgender girls are girls. Simple as that.
Its not "simple as that" Glaad! First of all if it had been a heartfelt apology Sear's would have posted it to his twitter or blog and it was not. It only showed up on Glaad's blog, a bone thrown. It's painfully obvious to everyone an apology from a bigot means squat when a person is simply saving face. If Sear's had said he was surprised he felt that way and was in the process of confronting his transphobia, now that would be a meaningful message.
It's clear Dr. Sears still holds the outrageous belief it's typical behaviour for cisgender boys to emerge from a bathroom stall with their penis hanging out. The truth is Sears who holds great sway with parents of adolescent children made that comment in context to a transgender girl in the girls room and until he addresses his internalized transphobia and comes clean about it nothing has changed.
Without sounding totally unappreciative of Glaad I think think it's time for them to open the right flag box.
From Media Matters: "During the February 27 edition of CNN Newsroom, host Brooke Baldwin led a panel discussion about Coy Mathis, a 6-year-old Colorado transgender girl who is suing her school district for the right to use female restrooms at her elementary school."
"Everyone on the panel expressed support for Mathis' position except for Dr. James Sears, co-host of the CBS show The Doctors. Sears, who is a pediatrician and television personality, warned that Mathis might walk around the girls' bathroom with her penis exposed, like "most boys" allegedly do at that age":
SEARS: I have three kids, a daughter and two boys, and as when my daughter was that age, I would have been very uncomfortable if there was a boy with a penis walking around their bathroom. And you say that the stalls are private. You know, at that age, most boys especially will use the bathroom then leave their pants down while they walk to the sink to wash their hands and then pull it up. So it's going to be very uncomfortable for the other girls seeing a penis in their bathroom.
JENNIFER HUTT: She's a girl.
SEARS: She has a penis, though.
Meet this individual who uses his position as a "doctor" to amplify vile transphobia on the show "CNN Doctors".
The Sheriff advises the K-11 guards about the incarcerated transgender females "Don't get distracted by the females in here, there are no females in here." "A ticked off trannies with knives" for the whole LGBT family" ~ Skinhead weekly.
Opening this weekend in your town. Bring your AFA or Aryan Nation membership card and receive half off ticket price. Certain restrictions apply see details.
Plot: A respectable straight cisgender man get thrown in jail after a night of binging on harmless recreational drugs and finds himself locked up in K-9, a LGBT segregation unit of the Los Angeles country jail. The hapless heterosexual man then becomes a victim and begins an epic fight for his life as he is preyed on by people who we know populate the LGBT community, violent psychopath transsexuals and gay pedophile rapists.
From the YouTube description:
K-11 is a riveting drama that deals with the politics of race and gender-identity in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail.
The film follows Raymond Saxx Jr. (Goran Visnjic), a powerful record producer who wakes from a drug-induced blackout to find himself locked up and classified "K-11." Plunged into a nightmarish world ruled by a transsexual diva named Mousey (Kate del Castillo), Raymond is truly a fish out of water. Complicating matters are a troubled young transgender named Butterfly (Portia Doubleday), a predatory child molester (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister) and the ruthless Sheriff's Deputy, Lt. Johnson (D.B. Sweeney). Ray's struggle to contact the outside world and regain his freedom seems impossible, but he must learn to navigate this new power structure if he is ever going survive and be in control of his life again'
The producers of "True Life" began this episode in Jerry Springer fashion featuring trans woman Domain Javier saying the show would introduce you to people who lived..."Every minute of every day lying about who they are...trapped in a web of deceit as they try to hide there true identities..." essentially amplifying and validating every misconception and lie we as a community fight against every day.
My first impulse watching the video below was to go against the tide and say, OK you said you are a fraud, what do you want me to do, stand up for you now than you are suing the California Baptist University'?
I mean Domaine's blessed with enviable beauty and is using her charms to fool men, a set up for a transpanic murder if ever there was.
Domaine explains why she couldn't ever have a relationship with a man because ..."I couldn't tell them I was really a guy"...
At that moment I was really kind of disgusted with her self hate and doubt but she's young, passionate and searching for herself so I watched more of the episode getting more and more engrossed...
Domaine then says that she has always felt like a woman which is all she needs to say for the trans community and myself to defend her..but lets look at this in context to her being expelled for fraud by a Baptist University. It's illegal within California to discriminate on the basis of transgender status and there are no religious exemptions as long as the school receives public money which The California Baptist University does.
So will Domaine begin to live proudly and authentically with us on our bittersweet road less traveled? Or will she continue to deceive? Watch and see.
Transition, a shared experience for for trans people. We all been through what Tony Zamazal is experiencing internally right now. Tony is in the very first stages of transition having recently come to terms with her gender diversity and a irrepressible need to express it, or as we call it in our community, living authentically.
Sadly in Texas we are discriminated against in all phases of transition. For a trans person that is a life long hardship as we never stop growing and learning more about who we are.
Tony Zamazal has been told by the Spring ISD that the 'dance dress code' disallows her from wearing a dress because she was born a biological male.
I couldn't find a policy specifically for prom attire but I did locate the Spring ISD Dress Code which has no provisions for transgender students:
The District’s dress code is established to teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority.
Students shall be dressed and groomed in a manner that is clean and neat and that will not be a health or safety hazard to themselves or others. The District prohibits any clothing or grooming that in the principal’s judgment may reasonably be expected to cause disruption of or interference with normal school operations.
*Trigger warning. I have used female pronouns when addressing Tony Zamazal because she has indicated she is transitioning from male to female. This video uses male pronouns repeatedly as if to add an explanation point, reinforcing patriarchal Cis~normality.
Video: Following 'heated debate' Phoenix added sexual orientation and gender expression to non discrimination ordinances.
CBS 5 reports that the haters were out in numbers last night extending the city's meeting until the wee hours. Joe La Rue who's Scottsdale AZ group "Alliance Defending Freedom" which calls the ACLU a "Radical anti-Christian group" was present. He claimed the law would give "an open door to any sexual predator, not the transgender community, but any sexual predator that pretends to be transgender. That person can go into the women's restroom and this gives them easy access to women and, especially, children."
La Rue's effort to instill fear was unfounded as it was noted that Tuscon amended a similar law to include LGBT people in 1999 and according to city officials there have seen no instances of predators using the law as a pretext for preying on woman and children in restrooms.
Mayor Greg Stanton issued the following statement today on phoenix.gov after the passage of the updates to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance:
“This was the right thing to do for our city. With 165 other cities, including Tucson and Flagstaff, adopting similar ordinances, some more than a decade ago, Phoenix had some catching up to do. We as a city value all our citizens, and consider diversity as our strength. It’s good for business, it’s good for our economy, and it’s the right thing to do for Phoenix."
"Bishop Kirk Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona said he thinks calling the proposal the “bathroom bill” is a way to play on individuals’ fears. They remind him of the scare tactics that were used when it first became illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, he said."
According to the DowntownDevil many Local Phoenix business were present in support of the amendment "along with neighborhood groups including the Evans Churchill Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Voices Coalition, a downtown advocacy group." It wasn't a easy go for fair minded people present, in fact it was traumatic as noted by Kim Pearson a <>outspoken advocate of transgender children's rights on Facebook: "Good Night cruel world! By cruel world I specifically mean the horrible, hurtful people who were saying vile things about transgender children today in down town Phoenix. If your God thinks my son and I are sinners, I don't even want to imagine what your God must think of the things you say and do. Put a fork in me, I'm done!" I will borrow Kim's favorite saying now: For the Kids!
[TLDEF email] Complaint Alleges Six-Year-Old Transgender Girl Denied Access to Girls' Bathrooms at School
TLDEF today announced that it has filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of a 6-year-old girl who has been barred from using the girls' bathrooms at her elementary school. For the past year, Coy Mathis, a first-grader at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, CO, has used the girls' bathrooms. In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed her parents that Coy would be prevented from using the girls' bathrooms after winter break. The District ordered Coy to use the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse's bathroom.
Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a girl, and has expressed this since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Coy has worn girls' clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers have used female pronouns to refer to her and she has used the girls' bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.
"We want Coy to have the same educational opportunities as every other Colorado student," said Kathryn Mathis, Coy's mother. "Her school should not be singling her out for mistreatment just because she is transgender."
"By forcing Coy to use a different bathroom than all the other girls, Coy's school is targeting her for stigma, bullying and harassment," said Michael Silverman, TLDEF's executive director, and one of Coy's lawyers. "Through the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, Coloradans have made it clear that they want all Colorado children to have a fair and equal chance in school," he added. "Coy's school has the opportunity to turn this around and teach Coy's classmates a valuable lesson about friendship, respect and basic fairness."
"We have five children and we love them all very much," said Mrs. Mathis. "We want Coy to return to school to be with her teachers, her friends, and her siblings, but we are afraid to send her back until we know that the school is going to treat her fairly. She is still just six years old, and we do not want one of our daughter's earliest experiences to be our community telling her she's not good enough."
In addition to TLDEF, the legal team representing the Mathis family includes Michael Flynn, Lucy Deakins, Jami Mills Vibbert, and Rosario Doriott Dominguez of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
For the latest information on Coy's case, including upcoming media appearances, please follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook. We'll be posting the latest information there first.
(7) “Sexual orientation” means a person's orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender status or another person's perception thereof."
Part 6. Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation
(1) "As used in this part 6, “place of public accommodation” means......an educational institution...."
(2) "It is a discriminatory practice and unlawful for a person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from, or deny to an individual or a group, because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry, the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation...."
Apropo of the social change in Pakistan where democracy has previously has been just out of reach Sanam Fakir, a transgender woman is running for office.
"It is not our destiny to merely dance for others and hold begging bowls. We have a life to live," Sanam Fakir, 32, told AFP by telephone from the town of Sukkur, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) southwest of Islamabad.
The elections will be for the national parliament and provincial assemblies.
Running as an independent in Sukkur, which is traditionally dominated by the main ruling Pakistan People's Party and which has a tiny transgender community, Fakir's chances are slim of winning a seat in the Sindh provincial assembly.
"We are not corrupt. We have no need to be corrupt. We have no families and our own needs are limited. We are contented people," Fakir told AFP.
This is not the first time Sanam Fakir has made strives to raise our community up in Pakistan where discrimination is so extreme. Previously she bought three old computers and runs a learning center for our family in her house.
Sanam Fakir is truly a inspiration and remarkable leader of the transgender community to emulate. Regardless of the outcome of the election Sanam Fakir is already a winner.
Emerson College Chapter of Phi Alpha Tau fraternity is raising money to fund a prospect's top surgery. From the Indiegogo fund raising site:
"We are a group of individuals brought together through our fraternity and we are here for one reason: to support the brothers of our organization. Yesterday we were informed that one of our prospective brothers, a transgender female to male, was denied the opportunity to recieve financial support from his insurance for top surgery."
"We are now trying to raise that money for him. We are doing this as individuals in an organization rallying around another individual. This endeavor is not being sponsored by the organization as a whole, rather the active members within it."
"We care deeply about each and everyone, and rely on the entire active brotherhood to stand behind any one individual when they are in need."
The video is of Ms Bamby Salcedo of the Trans Latina Coalition presenting at the 2013 LGBT Journalist Conference in Philadelphia February 2013. Ms. Salecdo came to the United States seeking nothing more than what everyone here desires, freedom to live her life authentically.
What she found was alienation, poverty and sexual assault at the hands of the people who entrusted with the safe guarding of our borders. When I asked Bamby how it is that she has become a Transgender aids activist addressing this room of journalists today she replied " because she was a empowered woman, even back then, the system was forced into giving her a chance releasing her from incarceration and deportation.
I then asked Bamby what we could do as journalists to get the stories of the trans people who are currently held by ICE published. She explained with sadness in her voice that most trans woman in ICE detention are too scared to tell their stories out of fear that might further jeopardize there chances at remaining in the United States. Further more she explained we wouldn't be allowed to visit them in the first place.
So is this the fate these woman who passed under Lady Liberty who in reality is transgender? Are we to remain silent?
The original Statue of liberty, some would argue, was a statue of the Greek Titian Colossus commissioned by the Egyptian goverment with decidedly male features.
The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus's Sonnet found on the base of Lady Liberty, is about the transition of Ms Liberty who's roles changed from warrior to welcomer and from male to a female transgender woman.
This sushi "Gin No Sara" commercial suggests that a trans woman's romantic interest was about to be fooled since he didn't "Know the materials". Its viral subliminal transphobic message is deeply appealing to the targeted audience.
You can't spoof a cowards excuse he might try to use when charged with murdering a transgender woman. It's about as funny as a rape joke.
"Please tune in to Katie on Tuesday as TLDEF clients Coy, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis, and executive director Michael Silverman discuss our latest case." ~ Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
"What do you do when your child feels like they were born in the wrong body? On this episode of Katie, you’ll hear the deeply personal stories of three transgender children and their parents, and their journeys to understand the psychological, physical, and social process to become their authentic selves.
Meet Coy Mathis, a transgender girl who at only six-years-old is fighting alongside her parents for the right to be fully recognized as a girl in school. Katie will explore how medical advances are being used earlier and more safely to change the biological process of puberty, and she will introduce a beautiful woman who struggled for her father’s acceptance and has an important message about gender identity."
Click here to find a station that carries Katie near you.
Lauree Hayden a Service Employees International Union(SEIU) Staffer presented at the 2013 LGBT media conference explaining why it's important for LGBTQI writers to cover union issues.
First thing Lauree did was to ask to see a show off hands of how many of us had ever been union. Approximately 30 of the 60 or so in attendance raised theirs hands including me. Lauree then asked how many of us currently belonged to a union and all but a smattering including myself lowered our hands.
I was fired from my first job after beginning transition at Walmart after "Our Walmart" organizers entered the store a month earlier. Seemingly a non issue at the time to me I told the store manager, in a meeting he asked for, that I once belonged to the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. I wasn't concerned partly out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to the store that had hired me when no one else would and after all hadn't I had just received my third year review indicating I was doing a good job?
I should have been worried.
I was fired a few months later after they continually demanded that I do a job they were fully aware was beyond me physically to do. That was just a cover as they ended up quickly firing most of the other employees who were present or even employed at the times the organizers had entered the building.
I like untold thousands of Walmart employees were fired because we once had been or were suspected of having union affiliation even if it was years in the past. The rich are that scared of us organizing and demanding a fair share.
The truth is as the rich continue to profit at our expense at ever increasing percentage while we continue to make less in respect to what we made twenty years ago. Union breaking is and continues to be a leading tool of the one percent as evidenced by the lack of Union members present at our LGBTQI media conference.
Truly union, Cis-labor, and transgender people are meeting at the intersection of poverty, homelessness and despair. The LGBT media has a obligation to publish the map that will help guide our way back.
Cleve Jones and David Mixner held an a Q&A session during the opening reception for the LGBT Journalist's at this years Convention in Philadelphia that left many in the room scratching their heads wondering why they were talking about topics not normally associated with the LGBT agenda.
Ah, coalition building:)
One recurring theme talked about by both speakers was the importance of coalition building and their shared grief at losing much of their generation to Aids/HIV. Cleve Jones being involved with unions trying to introduce us to a demographic thats not usually LGBT friendly relaying his horror at seeing LGBT activist cross picket lines and exhorted those present not to do so. Both Jones and Mixner joked about being over 60 but answered questions with such youthful joy as to stir emotions and passions within everyone present, albeit not favorable from everyone.
This first class reception and dinner was held on the top floor of the Comcast tower so we had the opportunity to listen to a presentation expounding on how inclusive Comcast is, owner of NBC universal and Logo, and how they are striving to become the LGBT community's channel of choice.
After a quick perusal of Comcast shows I couldn't find anything highlighting transgender people in a positive way, only Rupaul on Logo who's made his contempt of trans people public and Drag Queen Sherry Vine, again not representative of trans people
Cleve Jones, sometimes called the conscious of the Castro became a volunteer for Harvey Milk after this chance encounter with him as shown in the movie "Milk":
I had a chance to catch up with Mr. Jones after he spoke. I asked Mr. Jones about the level of participation trans people had in the LGBT's communities earliest uprisings. He told me "at Compton they did but not so much at Stonewall.".
Then I asked if he felt as many trans people do, that we were being erased by mainstream media now that President Obama has raised the bar by mentioning Stonewall along with other civil rights milestones. He told me that more people did need to talk about our participation because it wasn't just gay and lesbians, there were transsexuals and tranny's there as well.
Jones noted I was slightly taken back by his use of the word tranny so he explained saying he knew it's not a word to use cavalierly but said he has always had friends who identified as trannys. He said he didn't' think it should be thought of a bad word anymore so than 'queer'. In the respectful context that Cleve said it, nether did I. Jones went on to say that he thinks transgender people spend way too much time and effort arguing about dichotomy and believes trans people need to take a more active role in advocating for ourselves.
He also said he didn't like the concept of the transgender umbrella. Monika Roberts joined in the conversation then explaining to Cleve the word transgender is essential as it allows legislators to more easily identify us.
Given that trans people are still not being represented overall in media a positive light I think one major focus of ours as LGBT journalists is to remind Comcast that there desire to be 'our' channel can only be achieved with a fair portrayal of trans people as well as gay and lesbians.
Eyewitness have come forward after seeing a transwoman assaulted in Soho by police. Although this video may not show explicit police brutality apparently there was much more happening since numerous complaints have been filed. A crowd estimated at 100 people gathered and begun yelling for the police to stop after they knocked her wig off, tore her purse from her scattering the contents, pounding her head into the pavement while they stood on her twisting her arms behind her back shouting at her she wasn't 'normal'.
Gay star News reports that 'Three huge officers violently pushed the trans in question against a window, immediately hand cuffing her with extreme force.
'The victim then had her wig ripped from her head, her handbag and purse literally emptied out on the road, so her personal belongings were damaged and scattered around her.
'Meanwhile police officers mocked her for her dress and having feminine items items in her handbag shouting at her: "You're not normal! We'll let you get you up in a few minutes but you need to act like a normal human being."
The Fox News headline "Students Who Refuse to Affirm Transgender Classmates Face Punishment" sets the stage for this "Cultural War" against trans people written by Todd Starnes.
Deconstructing Fox lies.
The headline of Starnes article is a lie. There is no wording in the new policy mentioning disciplinary actions of any kind.
Todd Starnes writes "The new rules would also prevent teachers and administrators from telling parents with which gender their child identifies."
That's a lie. According to the MassachusettsNondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity the school will be empowered to formulate a plan with the student to inform others that is in the best interest of the student providing the student is over the age of 14 or has entered the 9th grade. If the student is younger than that the students parents should be automatically be brought into the conversation to help formulate the plan.
Fox used the vitriol of a hate group to validate this hate filled screed:
"The Massachusetts Family Institute denounced the new rules calling them a violation of privacy."
“Fundamentally, boys need to be using the boys’ room and girls need to be using the girls’ rooms, and we base that on their anatomical sex, not some sort of internalized gender identity,” said Andrew Beckwith, the institute’s general counsel."
"Beckwith told Fox News the new policy has a “very broad standard that is ripe for abuse.”
We hear this tripe from haters, the door will be left open for predators. What a heap of trash.
Here's what the new policy says about public accommodations:
Fox isn't done with Beckwith yet pandering to the fears of haters saying:
"And any student who refuses to refer to a transgendered student by the name or sex they identify with could face punishment.
For example – a fifth grade girl might feel uncomfortable using the restroom if there is an eighth grade transgendered boy in the next stall.
Under the state guidelines, the girl would have no recourse, Beckwith said.
“And if the girl continued to complain she could be subjected to discipline for not affirming that student’s gender identity choice,” he told Fox News."
“It should not be tolerated and can be grounds for student discipline,” the directive states
That is a bold faced italicized lie.
Again the policy was posted earlier in the article. There are is no mention of discipline or course of actions laid out if and when a child's gender expression is challenged.
Then gym came up. the directive suggests:
So there it is. You can read the full Fox screed Here.
Kenneth Furr the drunk and probably drugged cop who tried to murder two trans woman and three friends is appealing his conviction of off-duty assault with a dangerous weapon and solicitation of prostitution. Furr was sentenced to three years and 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service and fined $150.00.
I was livid after the judge suspended the sentence placing Furr on three years probation fearing Furr and others would interpret that slap on the wrist as tacit approval by the Judge of his murderous intent.
The DC Trans Coalition was outraged issuing a statement regarding Furr's original sentence: “This result is the product of a legal system that constantly devalues trans people’s lives,” said DC Trans Coalition member Jason Terry. “Officer Furr’s defense team actively sought to portray the victims as somehow deserving of this violence, and apparently they succeeded. If roles had been reversed and a trans woman had gotten drunk and flashed a gun at a police officer, the results would be drastically different.” It is important to note that Furr was convicted only of flashing a weapon at two gay men involved in the incident, not for shooting at the trans women and others involved.
“Officer Furr exemplifies why this fear exists,” said Jason Terry. “DC’s trans communities face blatant discrimination, harassment, and violence from police officers every day, yet when an officer drunkenly shoots at trans people, accountability seems to disappear.”
Furr has no remorse for attempting to murder those transgender woman and has much to my astonishment, filed an appeal.
Jason Terry of the DC Trans Coalition was unaware that Furr was appealing and told Metro Weekly:
'I think this reaffirms the suspicion that Kenneth Furr remains a threat to our communities, and lacks both the remorse and self-awareness necessary for people in our communities to be able to feel they can safely go about their lives,'' Terry wrote. ''Somehow Furr and his legal team keep making him out to be the victim here, and that's just not a narrative that we can allow to stand.''
Terry said he hopes that if Furr's sentence somehow ends up being revisited, the appellate court will mandate ''some sort of transformational justice process, so that Officer Furr, his victims and the impacted communities can find a path forward, free from continued fear.'
It's my hope the Judge will revoke his suspension and put him behind bars were he should be.
Pongsapat Pongcharoen the leading candidate in the race to become the next mayor of Bangkok has released a campaign video with many transgender faces, but no policies.
Source: Global Post His ad also runs through a list of Thai-language sexual identities that will prove dizzying to the uninitiated. In addition to "kathoeys," he's embracing mainstream gay identities in Thailand such as "toms" (butch lesbians) and "dees" (lipstick lesbians). And he's also thrown in few highly obscure identifications that drove me to the wilderness of Thai message boards. (A "cherry," I've just learned, is a non-transgendered woman seeking a kathoey.)
What's the takeaway here?
Perhaps it's that, in the 21st century, we can finally envision a society in which politicians eager for power practice equal opportunity pandering.
Perhaps or maybe Pongsapat Pongcharoen was so impressed with the global transgender community which stood with the Thai trans community compelling IKEA to apologize for their problematic transgender ad he decided to court us politically.
It is our T.E.R.N. Transgender Equality Right Now. Not just in one country. We are worldwide.
Montana House Bill HB 481 PDF received its first Judicial committee hearing Tuesday. The bill containing public accommodation provisions still has two more hearing before it can be voted on the House floor.
There were many proponents of the bill but one opponent, Dallas Erickson using the time tested fail fear mongering approach claimed the bill would ruin the state for religion.
The group Erickson claims to represent "Help Our Moral Environment" has no web address that I could locate but is listed by Guide Star without a mission statement or any validating information.
Source Bear Tooth NBC "By the end of the hearing, committee members clarified the goal of the bill. A proponent assured the committee the bill would not change any
definitions that apply to the Montana Human Rights Act, including
distinctly private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America.
The House Judiciary Committee will hold 2 more hearings on the bill
before taking executive action. If the bill passes, it will go to the
House floor for a full debate.
