4/23/13

Is it a Trans Inclusive ENDA to Be Introduced Thursday?

We won't know until Thursday but I'm apprehensive about the optimism being expressed by Rep. Jared Polis. LGB people would have a lot easier time without us passing ENDA and that would warrant a lot of optimism. Will this time around threaten the very fabric of LGBT unity again? I'm skeptical, prove me wrong. Please.

The nitty gritty. The Senate may move it onto the floor for a vote but it is more than likely doomed in the House.

Tammy Baldwin told Metro Weekly "I have to say, given the current leadership composition of the House, I don't think it goes anywhere," Baldwin recently told Metro Weekly. While the House did pass an LGBT-inclusive Violence Against Women Act in February, Baldwin says she fears that may be an exception to the rule, "which is if they don't have a majority of the majority caucus supporting something they're not going to let it to the floor. And I don't see that changing in the near future."

There's only two things for certain. We can only speculate about the wording and there will be a lot of speculation.




White House Press Secretary Jay Carney can't identify action President Obama to build support of ENDA in the past year under questioning from the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson

'ShuShu Funtanna' Reacts to School Demand that She Delete Her Drag Youtube Channel


Via Reddit r/lgbt "School told me it would be in my best interest to shut down my drag queen YouTube channel 'ShuShu Funtanna', I refused and posted this image on instagram."

Good for you ShuShu.







4/21/13

Video: Bindiya Rana A Politican for Khwaja Sarras and all Pakistan


Empowered like a waterfall of hope Bindiya Rana's qualities gather in a pool of strength flowing from her community. Bindiya Rana President of the Sindh chapter of the Gender Interactive Alliance (Gia) is one of the best politicians the global trans family has to offer.

Pakistan's transgender people are just coming of age, having recently acquired some equality but they have a difficult row to hoe in this conservative patriarchal country.

Bindiya Rana told Heba Islam at Dawn.com why she's running. “I looked at what all the other parties said about transgenders (TGs) in their manifestos. They referred to women and children’s rights, but there was no mention of TGs at all,” explains Rana. This is the platform that the activist is running on – the idea that someone needs to give a voice to her community.

“They say they want a ‘naya’ (new) Pakistan’ – I don’t understand, where did the old Pakistan go? That’s the one we need to fix,” she adds, grinning.

It was in 2012 that transgenders were given the right to list themselves as a third gender on their CNICs. They were also promised much more.



Rana, while praising the chief justice, points out that much else is left to be done. “We were promised a community centre, we were promised medical benefits. These are still to come”.

Riffee Khan, an AIDS health worker by profession, who is also the treasurer of Gia and holds two MA degrees, chimes in and says that people often ask why members of the Khawaja Sarra community resort to begging on the streets. “There’s only so much we can do,” she explains. “We are nothing in front of the government. If the government provides a vocational training centre for members of our community, then our people wouldn’t have to beg or indulge in other questionable activities.” Read more at Transgenders: The nes voter group in town.

Dunya News-20-01-2012-Election Commission & "Khawaja Sarra" .





First (known) Transgénero Man Gives Birth In Chile!

The father "Mathew" wished to withhold his true identity for safety during the interview because Chile a conservative country prohibits abortion and gay marriage.

Nacido mujer pero inscripto como hombre, representa el primer caso de estas características que se conoce. En el país, está prohibido el aborto y el matrimonio homosexual

In the interview, Matthew discussed life before and after the pregnancy.

"We know that our case is a milestone, a precedent," said Matthew. "Along the way we discovered loop holes and such, but the entire thing has been so normal."
He added: "Our life hasn’t changed in absolutely any respect." ~ Gay Star News


Source: infobae.com[Google translate]

A male transsexual who was born a woman but legally then enrolled as a man, but kept his female reproductive tract , recently gave birth to a child in Chile, which is the first known case of its kind in the country.

"This is one challenge to the political class and the laws , to understand that there are different ways of living sexuality, sexual orientations, gender identities and family formations ", said Friday at EFE Rolando Jimenez , president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh ).

"This is the first time a case is publicly known , but I have no doubt that there must be others, "he said. 's story was released on Thursday night by the television channel Mega , who spoke briefly with both parents of the child, although they declined to appear before the cameras and the media kept in reserve your identity, age and other personal data.

" In courts and there is a record of my case, all I'm living now , "said the journalist the protagonist of this case, which is given the fictitious name of "Matthew", shortly before giving birth. As he himself said, the pregnancy was not planned .

Moreover, in Chile abortion is prohibited in all circumstances. "We know that a milestone, a precedent. loopholes discovered there and the whole thing, but has been so normal . did not bother us life has changed quite at all ", said meanwhile his partner, a middle-aged man. According to the story of journalist, a judge in Arica Matias forced not to have surgery as a condition as a man is legally recorded. Movilh president says that "the law has changed "since" courts historically accessed the identity change provided there was sexual reassignment surgery and, once made ​​this operation, they agreed to change ".

"But we have presented, in the recent years, several lawsuits in civil courts to request the change of name of people who were not operated , and in some cases have been accessed, "he adds.

Indeed, the more conservative party in the coalition government, the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) , proposed Thursday a constitutional amendment to clarify in the Constitution that a child can only have for parents "a man and a woman." "The children are conceived by a man and a woman , so we have the belief that all children have the right to know who their father is and who his mother, and not leave it open to interpretation ", defended the deputy Monica Zalaquett .

This initiative came after a lesbian couple submitted an application for protection for both mothers were recognized as the biological child of one of them. The appeal was dismissed by a court in Santiago. In this field, the Chilean Congress this month agreed to hear the bill called Life Partner Agreement (AVP) , sponsored by two prominent members of the ruling party, which seeks to give legal cover civil unions for both heterosexual and homosexual.

Según él mismo indicó, el embarazo no fue planificado. Por otra parte, en Chile el aborto está prohibido en todos los supuestos.

"Sabemos que marca un hito, un precedente. Descubrimos que hay vacíos legales y todo el asunto, pero ha sido tan normal. A nosotros no nos ha cambiado la vida absolutamente en nada", indicó por su parte su pareja, un hombre de mediana edad.

Según el relato del periodista, un juez de Arica no obligó a Matías a practicarse una cirugía como condición para que se inscriba legalmente como hombre.

El presidente del Movilh asegura que "la jurisprudencia ha ido cambiando", ya que "históricamente los tribunales accedían al cambio de identidad siempre y cuando hubiera una operación de reasignación sexual y, una vez hecha esa operación, accedían al cambio".

"Pero nosotros hemos presentado, en los últimos años, varias demandas en tribunales civiles para solicitar el cambio de nombre de personas que no estaban operadas, y en algunos casos se ha accedido", añade.

Precisamente, el partido más conservador de la coalición gubernamental, la Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI), propuso el jueves una reforma constitucional para precisar en la Carta Magna que un menor solo puede tener por padres "a un hombre y a una mujer".

"Las niñas y niños son concebidos por un hombre y una mujer; por lo tanto, tenemos la convicción de que todos los niños tienen el derecho a saber quién es su padre y quién es su madre, y no dejar esto a interpretaciones", defendió la diputada Mónica Zalaquett.

Esta iniciativa surgió después de que una pareja de mujeres lesbianas presentara un recurso de protección para que ambas fueran reconocidas como madres del hijo biológico de una de ellas. El recurso fue desestimado por un tribunal de Santiago.

En este ámbito, este mes el Congreso chileno aceptó a trámite el proyecto de ley del llamado Acuerdo de Vida en Pareja (AVP), patrocinado por dos destacados miembros del oficialismo, que busca dar cobertura legal a las uniones civiles tanto de heterosexuales como de homosexuales.





4/20/13

Transgender Student's Homecoming King Bid Canceled By Red Lion High School Principal

One bright morning Red Lion Area Senior High School student Transman Issak Oliver Wolfe happily made his way to the ballot box the on first day of voting for homecoming King looking forward to casting his vote.

Issak Oliver Wolfe was elated he was running for homecoming king and had reason to believe he could win. He is well liked, far down the road on transition and active in school programs. But Issak arrived at the ballot box only to find his name had been removed.

Issak recalled the morning in a email: "I made flyers to hand out and when I went to vote I did see my name had been removed." When Issak asked why he was told by a vice Principal he couldn't run for Prom King because "it was based on sex not gender and he would not allow me to."

Blindsided, Issak recalls "No one warned me. I didn't speak with the new Principal, Mr Shue at first out of fear. I was told by someone with inside knowledge that it wouldn't help me at all so I didn't to save my self the intense stress. They closed voting the next day for court so I didn't get the chance to appeal."

Principal Shue is interviewed in this video by student Ben Otte upon taking the reins at Red Lion High School. Mr. Shue should follow his own advice.



Frustrated Issak appealed to social media "My family and girlfriend started a facebook support page Issak Oliver Wolfe for Red Lion Prom King because we didn't know what else we could do. I feel so cheated."

Issak talks about how this might affect his remaining school year. "I have not been treated differently so far at my school but as soon as local media has gotten statements from me I think they might. I don't think any teacher here would treat me differently. All the teachers I interact with are great people."

You can imagine how dehumanizing and devastating this would be for a young man. Heartbroken Issak asked principal Mr. Mark Shue later why the name and categories were changed. Issak was told by Mr. Shue his reasoning for not allowing him to run for prom king with his authentic name and gender was because he 'felt uncomfortable with it.'

Please support this young man by signing the petition "Mr. Mark Shue: Issak Oliver Wolfe for Prom King and his name read at graduation"