Can't Folks Let Jodie Foster Be? I Liked Her Golden Globe Speech. Her Acting Roles Portray Brave and Strong Women, Like Herself

Correction to the media: Jodie Foster was never "in the closet". All her friends, family, co-workers and many in her industry knew and accepted her. Yet she did not owe the public private details. She is a mother, friend, artist and feminist - can't we be happy for that?

It's upsetting to see people lash out at her due to her speech last night where she rightfully slammed reality TV and people's entitlement issues concerning private issues of high profile individuals. She has the right to choose her own timing. She is an artist, not a public court jester whose strings you can pull. Jodie has done more for promoting strong and unique female characters than most actresses I can think of. I love what Jodie Foster stands for and it’s disappointing to hear some LGB identified folks attacking her just because she has never let her orientation define her and she has never conformed to the newer 'Honey Boo Boo' reality warped world we find ourselves in.

She is a class act and it's none of your business who she gets physical with. Get over yourself; she didn't grow up in the world of Glee. Jodie, The Brave One for real, was Modern Family before it was safe to do so. 

Just because she doesn't wear a rainbow themed dress on every red carpet she graces does not mean she is not still proud or speaking her own truth in HER OWN AUTHENTIC WAY. Jodi‘s image is that of authenticity; it's the world which could be losing some of its authenticity. Let her be.

RuPaul's Drag Race’s Exec Producer & a GLAAD Awards Nominated Blogger Both De-friended Me from Facebook for Simply Sending Them This Article: 11 Ways Men Can Be Better Feminist Allies

Last month, days after the transsexual community and allies started a boycott against RuPaul's Drag Race due to RuPaul misgendering and bullying women of transsexual history in a recent episode, I thought I'd let one of the show's executive producers and a GLAAD Award nominated blogger (both of who were 'friends' of mine of Facebook, both who are gay white men and both who have offended many women in my community in the past) what was behind the public outcry against RuPaul's anti-transsexual comments.

I sent them a non-offensive article written by Ozy Franz that I had found online, which is a resource to help men who seem to be clueless as to why why women get fed up with misgendering and sexism.

The same day I tagged both men this much needed advice they each deleted me from Facebook. And that is their right. Yet I'm not sure why they were so upset about the opportunity to actually educate themselves on how they could treat the women in my community better, especially the RuPaul's Drag Race producer, who's company (World of Wonder) and himself have many times participated in projects which exploit and demean the women in my community. Well, either the truth hurts, they didn't want their followers to read up on being better feminists or, like the national LGB media outlets, they wanted to censor the dissent of transsexual community altogether. Whatever the reason, I thought I'd repost the article on my blog so that more people can understand why women of transsexual history are fed up with some gay men thinking they can get away with bullying us.

11 Ways Men Can Be Better Feminist Allies
by Ozy Frantz

Originally posted on: http://www.rolereboot.org/sex-and-relationships/details/2012-07-11-ways-men-can-be-better-feminist-allies

1) Educate yourself. One summer, in high school, I literally read every book the library had about feminism. You don’t have to go that far, but a familiarity with concepts like male privilege, slut-shaming, and rape culture can give you a lot more understanding of how gender works.

2) Don’t be that asshole. Don’t assume that the women in the room have no idea what they’re talking about regarding gender. (If they clearly don’t, well, see #4.) Don’t expect to be thrown a parade because you’ve decided to vote pro-choice. Don’t forget that most men are not feminists and that many feminists are survivors of rape or abuse, and that you’re not sending out Beacons of Awesomeness that show that everyone has to trust you. Check your privilege.

3) Talk to your male friends. It’s sad but true: For a lot of people, men have more credence when talking about gender issues than women do. If your friend tells a rape joke or says that women just aren’t as good at science as men are, challenge them on it. A lot of times, people can’t think of anything to say in the moment; if that’s you, prepare comebacks in advance so you know exactly what to say when it comes up. Even if you forget in the moment, a simple “that’s not cool, dude” can go a long way.

4) Challenge your female friends. A lot of people say that men shouldn’t tell women when they’re being misogynistic. That’s crap. There are plenty of sexist women in the world and they should not get a free pass. If your friend starts snarking about a fat woman or saying that she’s so much better than all those silly other women that are only concerned about their hair and boys, tell her she’s full of it. Other women will thank you.

5) Consume media made by women. A lot of people listen to music made by men, read books written by men, watch movies directed by and starring men—without even realizing it. That’s stupid! It neglects women’s voices and experiences; besides, think of all the amazing talent you’re missing because of their gender. If you like comics, try Alison Bechdel or Gail Simone; if you like movies, look for Kathryn Bigelow or the late Nora Ephron; if you appreciate music, add some Bikini Kill or Nicki Minaj to your playlists.

6) Practice good consent. The general rule is that all sex should be sex that everyone involved wants. I know you, personally, would never have sex with someone who said no, but good consent goes far beyond that. Talk openly and honestly with your partner(s) about your and their sexual desires. Check in when your partner seems to not be enjoying themselves. Eschew pressure and coercion. And the same applies to you—if you’re being pressured or coerced or not having your consent respected, you are not in a healthy relationship.

7) Believe the survivor. It’s true that occasionally people falsely accuse other people of rape or abuse. This is very rare, however, and time spent figuring out the truth is time not spent supporting the survivor. Also, if there is a rapist or abuser in your social group, don’t take “I don’t do drama” as a reason to keep hanging out with them. Not being invited to parties is not a cruel and unusual punishment, and most rapists are repeat rapists. You can keep them from doing it again.

8) Support women’s bodily autonomy. On a political level, of course, one should fight pro-life initiatives, attempts to de-fund Planned Parenthood, forced sterilization efforts, etc. On a personal level, of course, it’s almost more important. If your partner gets pregnant, it’s up to her whether to have an abortion, give the child up for adoption, or raise the kid. Her body, her rules. If a woman is having sex with hundreds of people, don’t call her a dirty slut; if she’s a virgin until marriage, don’t call her a prude. Her body, her rules. If she weighs more than you think she should, don’t call her fat or tell her to go on a diet; if she weighs less, don’t tell her to eat a sandwich. It’s her body and, ultimately, what makes her comfortable in it is what matters.

9) Be a feminist because you support equal rights. Don’t become a feminist because you want to get a girlfriend or because you heard that feminist chicks are easy. Don’t become a feminist because your girlfriend is a feminist and you want to get in good with her. Don’t, for God’s sake, take women’s studies classes because it’s an easy A. Become a feminist because you believe women are people and you will not be satisfied until they are fully treated as such.

10) Be intentional. Maybe it’s best for your family that your wife sacrifice her career to raise kids. But is it really, or are you just assuming that because it’s the narrative you’re used to? Maybe you’re only attracted to 22-year-old blonde skinny women. But are you really, or have you simply not explored your attraction to other people? It’s OK to do things that look anti-feminist to outsiders...as long as it is honestly what you want, and not just falling into the patriarchal rut because you haven’t thought about the other options.

11) Don’t satisfy yourself with just being a feminist. If you are just a feminist, you’re only advocating for the rights of women—which means that you’re advocating for the rights of straight, white, abled, middle-to-upper-class, privileged women. Everyone else? They suffer from racism, queerphobia, ableism, or classism in addition to sexism. Fighting for those rights means fighting for everyone’s rights.

Ozy Frantz is a student at a well-respected Hippie College in the United States. Zie bases most of zir life decisions on Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman; identifies more closely with Pinkie Pie than is probably necessary; and blogs at No, Seriously, What About Teh Menz?

To the gay male TV and film producers who like to defame the women in my community, and to the gay male dominated 'LGBT' media outlets and 'LGBT' media watch dogs who like to censor our dissent against this defamation:

Attention "Anti-Bullying" Advocates: Gay Male Public Figures Misgendering Girls & Women Born With A Transsexual Medical Condition Is Also Bullying, So Please Stop!

Definition from www.BullyFree.com :


What Is Bullying?

Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, (physical and psychological), and/or threatening and persistent (repeated). There is an imbalance of strength (power and dominance).

The above definition includes the following criteria that will help you determine if a student is being bullied:

• The mistreatment must be intentional.
• The mistreatment must be hurtful (physical or psychological).
• The mistreatment is threatening. The individual fears harms. Fear their safety.
• The mistreatment must occur more than once. However, some disagree with this. They say one very hurtful event is enough to label it bullying.
• There must be a power imbalance.

I'm glad they included that bullying can also be psychological. Bullying is not just tripping someone and taking their lunch money, or slamming their head against the locker. Bullying in the form of words can be more harmful than violence, especially words which dehumanize.

Bullying many times comes from those who were bullied themselves.

One interesting fact is that there are some high profile gay men, such as  columnist Dan Savage or drag personality RuPaul, who though they are both quoted as referring to themselves as "anti-bullying advocates", many would argue that both men use their media outlets to bully people who are different than themselves, particularly women, and even more so women born with transsexualism.

Hell, Dan Savage has even successfully promoted his brand to that of  the King of anti-bullying gurus. Yet despite Savage's widespread 'It Gets Better Campaign' he has been exposed more times than one, or one hundred really, of bullying transsexual and transgender people. He's done so by ridiculing and misgendering them, using offensive pejoratives and then ignoring or dismissing their grievances when they express how his transphobia negatively affects them. Further, his claims that bisexuality doesn't exist harms the bisexual community. Savage writing rape apologist sentiments in his column alienates female sexual assault survivors and belittles the epidemic of unjust court trials concerning assault. And so on.

On Monday RuPaul once again said some transsexual-phobic comments on his reality show, but this time he has gone too far. The targets of RuPaul's bullying, girls and women with a transsexual medical history, have organized a boycott meant to counter his misgendering. Learn more about MAGNET's boycott in our write up: http://themagnetsource.blogspot.com/2012/10/magnet-boycotts-rupauls-ongoing.html

I don't think Dan Savage or RuPaul are bad men, but they are men, and they have no right pretending to be experts on the young girls and women in our community, or to mock and make sexist and transsexual-phobic comments about us.  Whatever these grown men's unresolved personal issues are, they shouldn't use the women in our community as a punching bag to deal with those issues, they should seek professional help if that's what they need.

If they want enlightened people to take their "anti-bullying" initiatives seriously they would do well to stop behaving like bullies them damn selves.

What Intersex Awareness Week Means To Me: Stop Mutilating Our Narrative

 

 

What Intersex Awareness Week Means To Me

Intersex Awareness Week means choice. The choice for human beings to make decisions on their bodies that intersex-phobic parents and unethical doctors should not be making for them

Intersex Awareness Week means education. Diversity in biology is natural and doctors should educate parents on their options instead of caving into post-birth fears by performing surgeries without the intersex person’s consent

Intersex Awareness Week is about accuracy. Stop lumping intersex people into the concocted “transgender umbrella” ideology reservation against many of our wills, and against the science. This confuses the public on what intersex actually is and silences intersex specific voices. It’s irresponsible for so-called “allies” and non-profits to promote unfounded theories and sloppy mis-education as fact.

Intersex Awareness Week is about affirmation. The APA is one of the most phobic organizations ever. The APA is guilty of stigmatizing and alienating intersex people, and it needs to stop. I’m not down with their new “DSD” label, nor is the majority if the international intersex communities.

Intersex Awareness Week is about listening. When intersex people tell Gay, Inc. and it’s Transgender Um-Scam-Brella Subsidiary “we are not the same label stamp as transvestites and gay male drag performers”, instead of LGBTransgender (NOT ‘I’) non-profits and  TG cyber-blog-bullies assaulting us for simply wanting to be represented accurately, why not demonstrate some compassion instead of their brute-like, over-controlling and ill-political tactics meant to censor and vilify dissent?

Intersex Awareness Week is about reform. GLAAD needs to stop miseducating the media that intersex is in their intellectually and scientifically dishonest “transgender umbrella whether you want to be here or not” media [mis]guide section. It doesn’t belong there. Sorry GLAAD doesn’t feel intersex people are significant enough to have their own section. And while they are at it, they can revise their section on transsexualism as well. Some people born with transsexualism also have one of the over fifty variations of intersex. Transsexualism is medical condition, not a hobby, fetish, stage act or gender rebellion. MISGENDERING = BULLYING

Intersex Awareness Week means healthcare rights. All human being should be protected, but intersex infants, children and even adults many times are not. People want others so desperately to fit into a box so they can feel okay with their narrow ideas that they will literally force intersex people into a mold, which many times leads to depression and suicide. Intersex people should not have to deal with other people's closed-minded issues directed at their own bodies. Intersex Awareness Week should be every week of the year until the intersex-phobia stops.

UNITY NEWS: NLGJA's Own Title Is Exclusionary, Yet NLGJA Leaders Labeled 'UNITY Journalists of Color's' Name Exclusionary?

The following article was published on Saturday, August 5th in The UNITY News website, and was written by a UNITYstudent journalist: http://unitynews.org/2012/nlgja-to-weigh-name-change/.

NLGJA to weigh name change

BY BRANDI LICON

UNITY NEWS

UNITY, previously referred to as a coalition for journalists of color, shed that title this year to include the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

During the opening ceremonies two presenters made a concerted effort to welcome gays and lesbians. This made Ashley Love, who was born intersex and transsexual, feel left out.

“NLGJA pressured UNITY’s board to change its name, arguing it was exclusionary and non-reflective, so shouldn’t NLGJA practice the same inclusion by adding the ‘B’ and ‘T’?” Love said.

Sexual orientation is not equivalent to gender identity or a transexual medical condition, she said during Thursday’s NLGJA membership meeting. Omitting bisexuals and transexuals [and transgender people] from the title glosses over the differences in [the] LGBT [coalition], silences voices and confuses people, including journalists, she added.

At Thursday’s NLGJA member meeting, six people spoke out in support of Love’s request and none of the about 30 people there voiced opposition.

“The issue has never been on the agenda,” NLGJA President David Steinberg told UNITY News. “It has been a topic people have raised in the last year.”

The board will discuss the issue and figure out a change that makes sense, he said.

Love said this change needs to happen soon.

“We are done waiting,” she said.

A Rose Is *Still* A Rose - Period

A ROSE is *still* a ROSE!

[Not a sub-rose, not a modified rose, not a rose impersonator, not a 2nd class rose, not only a rose on the weekends, not a rose mocker, not acting on some rose fetish, not a plastic rose, not simply "expressing" a few rose characteristics, not condescendingly "identifying" as a rose -- but from the seed, rooted as and blossomed into its natural destiny: A ROSE - inside, and out, from it's origin, always and forever, a rose, period. Please, PLEASE keep your weeds, fake chemicals and pollutants out of the garden, or don't act clueless or attack when the rose uses her protective thorns to shield herself from entities or non-roses who would do her harm,  thank you]

The Transsexual Spring: The Tide's Shifting This Season As The Transsexual Uprising Gains Major Ground In Affirming, Accurate Education & Medical Rights

Currently The Transsexual Uprising for liberation from the anti-gender binary and anti-medical narrative reservation known as the “transgender umbrella”, which is really a concocted socio-political invention that literally impedes and erodes the rights and public understanding of those born with transsexualism, is making numerous and major advancements this Spring.

And what a beautiful and promising Spring it is! Spring into Action! The Transsexual Spring! Flowers are blooming in such abundance that they can’t be held down, and there’s nothing the honey stealing wasps and bee *colony* workers can do about it, though they are trying
                                           
Malcom Gladwell’s popular book ‘The Tipping Point’ (that I and every publicist and marketing professional have on our bedroom dresser), is about: [From Wikipedia] "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point."[1] The book seeks to explain and describe the "mysterious" sociological changes that mark everyday life.”

The re-liberation of the accurate representation of transsexualism has come into its own “Tipping Point”, which means, though there is still a lot of work to do, we have officially pierced through the 'prison cell' that seeks to hold us captive in a gender deconstructionism narrative against our will. Only a few ‘bricks’ have been removed from the captor's wall, yet that was the hardest part, the remaining bricks will be tumbling down soon enough.

And no, ghost of Virginia Prince, we don’t need yours are any other misogynistic transvestite or transgenderist/gender queer activist’s permission to preserve and inform about the accurate transsexual medical condition narrative. We are not your property, man. Yeah, we get it, apparently since Freud and other sexist white male shrinks are “experts” on women, you think that means sexist white male transvestite fetishists are entitled to colonize women born with transsexualism into some “transgender” scam-brella without our consent. If anti-transsexual ‘Virginia Prince’ cult followers haven’t noticed, 2012 is the year of the Divine Feminine, and women with transsexualism have had enough of being appropriated, spiritually assaulted, psychologically abused and misrepresented.  Let us go gently, or don’t act surprised when we have no choice but to defend ourselves, yet with an aftermath you may dislike.

Let’s examine some blessings the Transsexual Uprising has come into this Spring:

The important ruling last month by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says it’s “sex discrimination” via the 14th Amendment to discriminate against those who transition sex, and clearly states that our condition is *medical*. It’s not about “dress up, fetishes, costume balls, drag stage acts” or other transgenderist activities, hobbies or lifestyles.

Today I was online and noticed The Montreal Gazette in Canada published two pieces discussing the "transsexual, not transgender" conflict. The author agreed that's its problematic and misgendering to call transsexual people "transgender" by grouping transsexuals with drag queens, cross dressers, transvestites, gender queers and other "transgender" identities.

Last month ‘The Hunger Games’ star, Josh Hutcherson, supported MAGNET’s education rally during The GLAAD Awards when he defied GLAAD’s anti-transsexual protocol. In an interview with E! News about GLAAD, he joined our cause by disregarding GLAAD’s media guide and sound bite training. He (gasp!) said the word “transsexual”, instead of transgender! I can’t tell you how happy that made the young girls and teenagers that I mentor and play big sister to (all with a transsexual medical history), as well as us grownups that are fed up with GLAAD misrepresenting us. You see, it hurts these young girl’s self-identity and feelings when GLAAD insensitively (and inaccurately) says that these girls are the same thing and label as a cross dresser, clown or fetishist. Wouldn’t any girl or woman be offended by being called a 'man wearing a dress' just for "fun or kink"? It diminishes their womanhood and self esteem, and is a condescending slap in their face. For these children to hear bigots at school call them names and mock their gender is bad enough, but for "education" non-profits and fraudulant media guides to imply the exact same messaging that they are not "real" girls and women is devastating.

GLAAD needs to stop their disinformation campaign because it's harmfully impacting children born with our birth challenge. Um, aren’t they supposed to be about anti-bullying……?

I read an article today written by a transgender guy on “Queering The Closet” who made the distinction between transsexual and transgender.

I was talking to a mentor and dear friend yesterday who is an elder in the transsexual and intersex communities. She has resisted the attempted erasure of the TS narrative by TG Theory since the mid-90's, when this social engineering started. I learned from her that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is getting ready to release their DSM 5 Revision that clearly draws a line between male transvestite fetishists and women of transsexual history, much to the disappointment of those who would co-opt us to push their separate and conflicting agenda.

Last week I was reading a favorite blog of mine, Enough Nonsense, which often discusses the fact that transsexualism is being appropriated and misrepresented by the transgender and cross dresser communities, as well as by Gay Inc. The site reported that last month a Minnesota judge affirmed the transsexual narrative in a ruling where he deemed a woman who had undergone SRS as legally “female sex”. Of course, the gay and transgender “news sources” and blogs remained silent on this victory, perhaps because it supported the transsexual MEDICAL CONDITION narrative, not the transgender ideology propaganda. We are not “third gender”, when will they get that?

Andrea Rosenfield, a writer of transsexualism issues, commented about the Minnesota case in the comment section of the Enough Nonsense site:

“As a silver lining, the ruling happens to provide a “finding of fact” that the LGB/TG’s ongoing “It Means Gay!” disinformation/propaganda campaign does real, tangible damage. If something had happened during that interim period before the case resolved, someone could have died. The LGB/TG can’t deny this now, it’s in the record, and it can be used in future cases. (Hint, hint.) That’s probably why the Usual Suspects didn’t want to draw attention to it, and why it’s important that you do.

More importantly, you’re quite likely looking at the end of the “specific exclusion” era. As soon as the insurance companies got the government to force everyone to buy their private insurance, they brought themselves under the 14th and related Federal statutes. That’s what the references to the national health insurance act were about. While noting that it was outside the scope of the case at hand, the judge clearly semaphored that if the insurance company tries to enforce that bizarre and contrived “natural-born” clause they added to try to weasel around covering this woman, they’ll get spanked hard by Title VII. (The Miss Universe thing was ultimately the same issue, and it’s probably why Trump backed down so fast.).” - Andrea Rosenfield - April 24, 2012

There are lot more recent developments that have happened this Spring that are supporting The Transsexual Uprising, I will try to include them on my blog later this week, but I think you get the idea: Times are changing!

On the other end, the unfortunate, yet expected, thing about The Transsexual Uprising gaining so much ground means that the attacks and anti-transsexual propaganda we have to endure is getting amped up heavily, but that’s okay, it only means we are doing something right and those who reap the benefits of our enslavement will do everything in their power to keep us 'picking cotton' in their unethical and unjust 'plantation fields' (keep us hostage in their con-brella).

For example, this Spring a few self-promoting and self-aggrandizing "transgender" bloggers, authors and "gender outlaw" entertainers (who actually financially and professionally profit from enforcing transgender socio-politics and umbrella-ism theory) are obsessing over how to stop the inevitable transsexual liberation by creating petty drama, speculating, concocting laughable and ‘out of this world’ history revisionism, taking actions and quotes out of context, presuming to know one’s intentions as if they are telepathic, unrobing and degrading the bodies of women born with transsexualism and behaving like unstable, over compulsive and anti-social personalities, fueled by their amazing male egos and desire to get attention, although it’s negative attention. Their behavior is obviously a backlash to the realization that their fantasy "transgender umbrella reservation" mandate is coming to an end. They are dealing with their ‘bubble being popped’ like most imperialists do when their colonies breaks free: Retaliating with [mental] violence, back tracking, faking evidence and agreements, mispeaking for deceased transsexuals and others, and transparent [and failed] character assassinations against numerous women of transsexual history that are being seriously listened to.

Their over the top cyber bullying is very telling of how they lack genuine facts to back up their opinion based frame work, as well as not having authentic or sincere intentions, just the typical crafty lies most politicians spit when they want to CON-vince the people of something they know dang well is hog wash. If only they could stop behaving like tyrants and discontinue hijacking our medical and patients’ rights to cater to their socio-political and “anti-gender-binary” agenda then we wouldn’t have to be so raw and even harsh in protecting ourselves with the only means we have: The truth!

I know I write a lot of blog entries discussing the problems and challenges we face as women and men born with transsexualism, but today I want to let my readers know that there is a LOT to be hopeful and happy about. Additionally, there are some very powerful developments that have and are currently happening behind the scenes that I can't write about yet, but they are all leading to women and men like us being legally recognized as, go figure: Women and Men! And that means women and men, period- not a 3rd gender status that so many gender queer, transgender, cross dressing activists and their LGB Inc funders seek to drag us into screaming and protesting.
                                    

The tide is shifting.

Segregation is (and has been!) ILLEGAL! When Gay Inc and its Transgender Um[Scam]brella Ideology Subsidiary finally grasp that segregation is illegal not just based on race, but sex as well, they will come to understand why women and men of transsexual history will never allow ourselves and our children of transsexual and/or intersex history to be othered in their proposed sub-woman and sub-man narrative plot. I would rather die of thirst than be legally forced to drink from a separate drinking fountain then other women, we are not 2nd class women. Likewise, we will never opt to "check a third box" like the gender queer contingent (who have major influence in the TG agenda) are petitioning to make a reality not just for themselves, but for non-consenting women and men with transsexualism as well!

A well-meaning message to the non-transsexual folks who seek to co-opt us: How about you guys do you, and we will do us. We care about human rights for ALL, but if you continue to misrepresent and invalidate transsexualism in an effort to promote your anti-gender binary goals we will defend ourselves by any legal means necessary, and it may not be the outcome you want. We are not your property. Stop treating us like it.

This crazy-making, dishonest and socially engineered “transgender umbrella” that was sneaked into existence does not, never has and never will accurately include women and men born with transsexualism. Our enforced inclusion in this failed experiment is nearing its long awaited finale. So please, let the curtain close gracefully, and stop misgendering and bullying us in retaliation for us rejecting your invitation to participate in this miseducation and harming of our lives.

When a woman says "no", she means "NO"! And when a male or "anti-gender binary agenda" continues to absorb her into his agenda without her consent, well, we all know what that is called: Assault

Spring into Action! The tide of The Transsexual Uprising is shifting! Yes we can! Yes we ARE!
                                   

Saddened That CeCe McDonald Takes Plea Deal For Defending Herself; Enraged That Racial Justice & "LGB.T." Groups Devalued Case

Words can't express how upset I am with how CeCe McDonald is being manipulated to plead guilty when she was the real victim.

However, words *can* express how I feel that many racial justice groups, like the NAACP & SPLC, and national "LGB.T." groups have remained silent or didn't put their full weight behind this injustice -- those words are: Rage, Betrayal, Transphobia, Hypocrisy, Classism... and a few more...

If CeCe was a black non-transsexual boy, like Trayvon Martin, would the NAACP have taken real action?

If CeCe was a blue eyed, blond haired gay male like Matthew Shepard, would the HRC or NGLTF have pulled all their resources to stand up for her?

Yet of course I'm most angered at the bigoted people who started this whole situation for taunting and physically threatening CeCe when she was just trying to eat in peace, and the condescending judge who has excused their actions and has been unfair to CeCe the whole trial.

My heart goes out to CeCe, justice is crying rivers of tears today.

Protesting the UN-Fit "FIT DVD", Transphobia, Stonewall UK's Bullying & Dept. for "Education's" Irresponsiblity.

I'm outisde the British Consulate New York last night protesting child bullying

We protested last night in front of the British Consulate, New York, because a very alarming situation is happening in the UK. A transphobic DVD named “FIT” has been approved to show children and youth in public schools. The anti-transsexual slur “tra**y” is being used, which is used as a taunt and insult when bullies and bigots harass people perceived to be transsexual, intersex or gender non-conforming. The protest was presented by Media Advocates Givivng National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People (MAGNET) and International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). MAGNET's press release: www.themagnetsource.blogspot.com/2010/11/protest-of-stonewall-uks-bullying.html
Outside the British Consulate New York "Dept 4 Education OR Dept. 4 Transphobia? Edit Out The T-Word!"

Stonewall UK is behind the messaging in the PSA. We chose last night to protest to coincide with the Stonewall Awards in London, which took place last night as well. Originally, the London LGBT community was going to protest outside the awards, but Stonewall UK gave into the gay and lesbian community’s demands to advocate for marriage, so it was cancelled. However, Stonewall UK did not even address the transphobic DVD, therefore devaluing the needs of trans people. Many UK transsexual and transgender people are outraged that the demonstration was cancelled even though the (mis)educational video has not been edited. Since we wanted to show solidarity with the UK trans community, and because transphobia in any classroom affects us all, we decided to have our own protest in New York. Too many times trans people get thrown under the bus when gay and lesbian people have their needs met, and we are sick of having our human rights tampered with.

The FIT DVD is supposed to be an “anti-bullying” video- however, the use of the taunt and slur "tra**y" is used- which is a verbal form of bullying which leads to dehumanization and violence. How did an anti-bullying DVD become a DVD that bullies trans people?? This outrage is being ignored by Stonewall UK, who not only advised on the DVD, but has an unhealthy past with the UK trans community: Stonewall UK excludes them from their mission statement, yet has the audacity to (mis)represent them, and has even been caught back lobbying against their interests. There should be “no taxation without representation”. This colonial practice is abusive, and goes against the human rights of trans people living in the UK. From MAGNET's press release "The United Kingdom is very pioneering by having the Gender Recognition Act. The Department of Education is obligated to uphold this Act (verbal abuse is still abuse and sometimes hurts more than stones). The anti-trans slur must be edited out".

Trans people initiated the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which catapulted the modern LGBT movement, yet Stonewall UK hijacked the word and oppress the same people who started Stonewall! This is appalling, and we must respect our history

If this video is shown in schools it will affect the US trans community as well because the promoting of a stigmatizing anti-trans slur in an "education" video will give every transphobe and bigot the "right" to get away with using that word, and will refer to the FIT DVD as an excuse. Much like the "N" word affects the Black community, we need to take a stand against the T Word

Many UK trans advocates and leaders asked us to continue with our protest. Some of them feel inclined to not speak out publicly against Stonewall UK because of political reasons, access, etc. We feel this video is NOT a time to compromise. Many people are disappointed that many times “token trans leaders” get either seduced by the bureaucracy, compromise for career advancement, ignore the complaints of their own trans people, are “out of touch” with today’s youth or submit to the same establishment that oppresses the people they are supposed to represent. We must not give in until the transphobia is edited out. Our children need us to be adults who protect them.

The T-word is very controversial. For example, it's used as a way to dismiss a woman's (who was born with birth challenges and a medical condition) womanhood. A woman born with a medical condition is still a woman, not an "it, sub-woman or "tra**y"". This is not a Halloween costume, it’s her life. Many drag performing MALES appropriate transsexual issues or words. It may be all fun and games to a drag performer to use words to be "hip, shocking, offensive or sensational", but not to a trans woman who's hate crime assailant is calling her the T-word as he murders her, or to a trans person who gets called that on the bus by a trans-phobe or bigot. Stigmatizing pejoratives are not "cool", they hurt really badly, and the trans youth will be ridiculed in their own classroom unless the transphobia is edited out from the DVD. Name calling and taunts are a form of verbal bullying, and many times lead to physical violence .I don't hear Asian people just dying to use the N-word just because it’s “cool” in hip hop music videos and then telling Black people to "lighten up". Likewise, I get annoyed when gay men and drag queens fight to be able to reclaim a word that is not theirs to reclaim. Some of their entitlement issues and insensitivity is astounding, and oppressive. The director of FIT, Rikki Beadle-Blair, is a gay man (not trans), and does not have the right to tell women (usually the slur is directed at MTF women) what to be offended by. This is sexist, arrogant and clueless in regards to the mental violence and dehumanization that the word inspires. He claims “I hear kids use the word sometimes”. I hear Black kids use the word “ni**er” and girls use the word “b*tch”, but it doesn’t mean I should put the slur in an “educational” video(especially for children's schools where bullying is a crisis and LGBT youth are committing suicide),for crying out loud!

We ask the British Department of Education, The Teachers Union, Equality and Human Rights Commission and Stonewall UK to protect the well being of all the children who attend school, and make the responsible and socially conscious decision to edit out the dehumanizing pejorative from the DVD. Normalizing the T-word, much like how the N-word was normalized decades ago to degrade Black people, will have severe consequences for the acceptance of trans people in mainstream society. It’s unbelievable that an oppressed minority group, especially children, could have their human rights be disrespected like this by authority figures. As adults, we must protect trans children. Teachers being forced to show DVDs with anti-trans slurs will do no such thing. The good news is that the decision makers involved still have a chance to do what’s right and fix this horrid mistake.
After the protest outside the British Consulate we went to the Stonewall Inn (unlike Stonewall UK, Stonewall Inn does not oppress trans people, and in fact, it was trans people who initated the Stonewall Riots of 1969, so how bizarre and shady is it that Stonewall UK excludes trans people, and advocates for anti-trans slurs to be in "educational" videos to be shown to children which is a form of verbal bullying.

Get over your fear of people born with disabilties, birth challenges, medical conditions or who do not conform to gender. (There are even people in our own LGBT community who are transphobic)

"Ashley's DC Diaries"

March 14, 2010

9:45am

I‘m on a bus to Washington DC from New York City to attend a conference meant to advance liberation for trans folks, and I am super excited! More than being happy to help push forward gender equality, I’m also looking forward to seeing friends of mine from all over the country. It’s kind of like summer camp where you see friends you rarely see. I have lived in Southern California, San Francisco and now New York, and have made good friends in the trans community in all 3 areas, and many of them are going to be at this event! Some of these friends are like chosen family to me, and it will be warm and good times catching up with everyone.

This is such a vital time to work towards gaining legislation to protect the transsexual, transgender and intersex (trans) communities. Not only is it very much needed, but since President Obama is in office, and we don’t know if he will be in office in 2012, or if even a non-Republican will be elected then, we have to do all we can while he’s in office. President Obama is a big hope for the trans community, as he is the first President that has even said the word “transgender” in public! And he recently appointed a trans woman, Amanda Simpson, to work for his staff, so he is definitely not transphobic. He is such a hero, and I feel with all my heart that he is the man who will take a stand against the ol’ boys club and help our community more than any other President ever has.

This is only my 2nd time going to DC ever. My first time was last fall for the March for Equality. It was such an inspirational event, and 200,000 people from all over the country came to support LGBTQ equality! First we marched, with the country’s capital being our destination. It was so energizing marching with all those people who wanted similar things I wanted, like justice, humanity and dignity for all queer people. When the contingent got to the capital, there were many speakers who spoke on stage, and even some musical entertainment. It was such a loud message we sent to the government, like when Lady Gaga, who was a speaker, exclaimed loudly on the microphone, “Are you listening!!!!!!!!”

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) hosts Trans Lobby Days annually. NCTE works very hard to ensure that legislation passes to protect transsexual and transgender Americans from discrimination. I am only able to work part time because I am writing my book, so I was unable to financially afford coming to Washington DC for this event, however, NCTE gave scholarships to many people from all over the country who did not have the means to come. They paid for our hotel, and also fed us. Thanks NCTE!

5:30pm

It was raining during the bus ride, so the bus ran a little late, and I was 20 minutes late to the first panel. I didn’t even have time to go get ready because I didn’t want to miss any of the speakers.

Mara Keisling, who is the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality welcomed everyone before I arrived. Then Harper Jean Tobin, who also worked for NCTE spoke ID changes and amending birth certificates for trans people.

Discussing ID change, amend birth certificate:

We discussed: discuess Immigration ID, Green card, employment authorization card, issues with medi-care, health provider documentation info, social sercices, court orders, administrative process, passports, current policies vs. recommendations, etc.

FOR INFO ON THESE ISSUUES: http://www.transequality.org/Issues/federal_documents.html


Health Care/Health Care Reform

The next panel discusses health care reform, and trans specific health care issues. The speakers were Mul Kim (NCTE), Rebecca Fox and Kellan Baker from National Coalitions for LGBT Health.

Here are the notes I took from this panel:

• National Coalitions for LGBT Health: Over 70 organizationss providing LGBT voice to federal government on health issues
• LAMBDA LEGAL says 70% of trans folks receive discrimination, which is 2-3 more times than LGB people
• Data collection: nothing happens in federal government without data collection
• American Community Service (ACS) survey
• National Health Survey (NHS)- largest federal health survey- considered gold standard
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YSBS) - asks high school age which activities they are in (drugs, alcohol, sex) (some states have option to add to survey
• Only 8 states have sexual orientation, 2 have gender identity
Health Care Reform:
• The World Health Organization (WHO) says: are way behind on healthcare, we spend a lot of money
• 46 million who do not have insurance, not including immigrants
• 45000 people die due to no insurance
• 700,000 people go bankrupt due to healthcare, even though most had insurance at time of
• We are trying to overhaul healthcare system from profiteers who are
• 2 Bills HOR passed Healthcare reform bill last November the senate bill would prohibit from using ore existing conditions, and no “trans healthcare exclusions” such as being trans (many times trans is considered a res existing condition)
• Draw backs is there is no mention from gender identity, no public option, no non discrimination wording in healthcare reform bill
• Tammy Baldwin’s LGBT specific healthcare bill is called ELDA (# 3001) (will probably not pass because it’s too expensive, but will probably be broken apart and put into other bills)

Interesting talk and avoiding of talking about DSM revisions, until transsexual women in the audience pushed the issue forward. They seemed uncomfortable talking about it. They said something along the lines of "we are not ready yet to move "being trans" to being listed as a medical condition, so for now its best is DSM in order to get insurance company to pay. Maybe in 10-15 years when there is more scientific data to back up. But now it’s in infancy"

my notes:
• After healthcare reform passes, Obama administration is passed
• Healthy People 20/20:
• Putting GID and SO in all target areas for Healthy People 2010, expand database right, making sure definition of family is inclusive of LGBT people.
• Looking at getting office of LGBT health in federal government

GLAAD’s presentation
Sean Lund, GLAAD’s Director of messaging, led this discussion (though many people wanted to know why no transsexual people are employed by GLAAD, and why this presentation was not done by or with a trans person)
The presentation was called

“Preliminary Messaging Approaches Nondiscrimination Laws & “Bathroom Panic””
My notes and some of Lund’s power point notes:

It is interesting to note that the first question asked was by a trans guy named Jeffery who asked, “Does GLAAD have any advice for messaging that would used to lesbian and gay people that would be good for communicating to them why its important to have gender identity (trans) inclusion in anti discrimination bills? Lund said no, with no explanation, and no offer to look into doing so. The 2nd question asked was by a trans woman who asked “Does GLAAD have any materials that trans people can use in dealing with the transphobia they receive both in person or in the media from gay men and lesbian people?” Again- the answer was no. hmmmmm

Sean Lund was a couple hours late to give his presentation, which is symbolic of how late GLAAD is to supporting many in the trans community’s opinion of what “anti-defamation” is for trans people.

GLAAD’s power point notes:

Key Observations:,
• nondiscrimination laws enjoy high level of initial support
• its all about keeping supporters we already have
• opponents “bathroom panic: strategies peel off supporters
• same counter message help but

Understanding & Countering “Bathroom Panic”
• Confusion, but generally not hostility
• Lots of (mis)understandings of Gender Identity-
• Different ideas of who trans people are, why they r trans
• Mixed feelings towards trans people
• Most people see trans people as “people like me except the gender thing”

Lund then discusses “What didn’t work, and “Building Acceptance” and”Effective general messages”

Over all I didn’t learn anything from the presentation, and was really offended when
I felt that Lund expressed he knew more about the validity of transsexual women’s concerns over the unhealthy and unfair pairing of “cross dressing men and/or fetishists” with “women born with transsexual and/or intersex conditions”. Frankly, it’s very depressing when gay men who work in Hollywood or in LGB”T” organizations tell transsexual women that drag queens and cross dressers are the same thing as transsexual women! WTF! Perhaps it’s easier for politicians and non-profits to slap a TG label on anyone who wears women’s clothes, but is actually oppressing transsexual and intersex people. This is not a “clothes” movement for crying out feakin' loud! To see the transphobia that GLAAD has actually given awards to, see media specialist Regina Kleinzeller’s blog entry on GLAAD’s most recent Awards Gala from her amazing new blog on trans anti-defamation called “Skip The Makeup”: http://skipthemakeup.blogspot.com/2010/03/glaad-media-awards-joy-behar-thats-just.html Many of my activist friends and I have tried to inspire GLAAD to enroll the trans community in their work, but to no prevail, and it has now gotten to the point where they are ignoring our emails, and taking credit for the work trans anti-defamation activists do. Please email Executive Director of GLAAD Jarrett Barrios and ask nicely when his efforts for trans images in the media is going to be authentic and accurate. His email is: barrios@glaad.org

Meeting Amanda Simpson!

(Amanda Simpson and Ashley)

As I was leaving the banquet hall where the panels were, I met Amanda Simpson! Amanda made headlines when President Obama hired her as the Senior Technical Advisor in the Bureau of Industry and Security. She made the news because she was the first transwoman hired by the administration. She is a hero of mine, and was so happy she took time out of her extremely busy schedule to come support trans equality!

I am now in my hotel room at the Double Tree Hotel, which is also where the conference is being held. It’s a lovely room with a nice view. I am now going to get ready to for the “Meet & Greet” sponsored by the National Stonewall Democrats at Mova. Beforehand some friends and I are going to get dinner.

Dinner with the girls, then the “Meet & Greet” hosted by the National Stonewall Democrats

I just got back to my hotel room. At 7pm Dana and 4 other transwomen we had met at the conference went to go have dinner before the “Meet & Greet”. We went to an Asian restaurant. It’s such a small world, as I noticed our lovely hostess was a transsexual woman! As we waited at the bar for our table, she came over to us and asked me what we were all doing in DC. I told her we were in town to demand trans equality from Congress. I didn’t ask her if she was trans, because that would have not been classy or sensitive, but though non-verbal’s she communicated to me she was our sister, and we totally had a humanity infused comrade connection. We had a lovely dinner, with some yummy Vanilla martinis! Our hostess said she would try to make the first part of the conference the following day.

We then walked to Mova to the reception. We were more than fashionably late because our food had taken awhile to come to us, but we were happy to see everyone was still there. I finally met Melissa Sklarz, who is a big part of the National Stonewall Democrats, and is a transwoman. She is one of my “Facebook buddies”, but we have never met. In fact, I met a lot of Facebook buddies I had never met in person! Melissa also lives in NYC, so look forward to getting to know her more. She then introduced me to Brett Burnham and other guys from the National Stonewall Democrats. The group is very trans progressive. It was nice to catch us with some friends from California, like Mason Davis, ED of the Transgender Law Center (TLC). He’s such a nice guy. I also got to meet another FB buddy of mine, Denise Leclair, ED for International Foundation for Gender Education. She and I have had many personal jokes together online! I was happy to have a longer conversation with Amanda Simpson. She is so pretty! I met a few other trans people, all from different states from around the country.

Now its time to get some sleep! God night!

Monday March 15
7 am

OMG! I rarely get up this early! But I want to go have breakfast with everyone and be on time to the conference that starts at 9.

9 AM:

The series of panels starts at 9am. Here are my notes on what was discussed:

Mara Keisling (ED of NCTE) welcomed everyone, and expressed that NCTE has many allies, and does coalition building. She expressed NCTE is non-partisan because of their non-profit status, but said the Obama administration really cares about trans equality. In Bush administration they were transphobic, and made decisions made on ideology.

9:20am

Brian Bond spoke- Update from Whitehouse- one of greatest allies in White House. Bond is the Officer of Public Administration in Obama Administration
To contact him: bbond@who.eop.gov

He expressed that we are the side of right. Here are my notes on what he highlighted the Obama Administration has dome to trans and LGBT equality:

• The passing of the Matthew Shepard Act: This is the first time that the words “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender” has been in US code. A lot of work went into this.
• In October the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act was signed
• In January HIV travel ban was lifted
• OPM’s official position that it was illegal to discriminate
• HHS created elderly LGBT people benefits
• HUD is doing 3 town meetings, first national study on housing discrimination against LGBT people, propose new regulations that protest LGBT families,
• Unemployment, Biden swore in LGBT person
• Seated out LGBT attorney in SD, and gay man attorney will get appointed EOC
• Appointed Amanda Simpson, and Dylan at Labor (both trans people)
• Jeff Crawley at National AIDS Strategy,
• Recently Justice Dept John Perez
• Brought school district in NY to not allow discrimination against LGBT youth (there was a recent bullying harassment case
• Uganda- against anti-LGBT laws
• DADT- President used state of union address to repeal
• ENDA- Justice Dept involved in moving process forward
• Baldwin/ Lieberman Bill- Obama spoke in support- domestic partner benefits bill
• We will see more initiatives to help LGBT Americans
• No Child Left behind
• Human Rights report just released on human rights violations around the world, by secretary of state and other entities

It is my opinion that President Obama is doing all he can for the trans and LGBT communities, and I feel many people are focusing on what he’s not doing, and not being appreciative of what he is doing. The thing is that America is a democracy, which means President Obama is not a dictator who can just do as he pleases. There are many Republicans who are delaying equality.

10:00 am

Anne Vonhof then spoke about employment discrimination.
My notes:
Federal Government/Employment, Anne Vonhof, (OPM)- Office Of Personal Management (works for Obama, but not a political worker, but is a civil servant

• Spoke about employment discrimination
• Spoke of restroom situation at work for trans people
• Wants EOO to at least make a statement about transgender cases so it will go down to the local levels
• Where we are now w/ transgender policy: Gender expression is there as well: Where we have found problems on past, Bathrooms- some people are so hung up on restrooms,
“what’s the big deal”? There was case when a woman was asked to leave her secure facility and use a bathroom half a mile down the road at a local diner!

10:30 AM

What's Happening Around The Country

Mason Davis (Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center (TLC) introduced Lisa Mottet: Transgender Civil rights Project w/ The Task Force (NGLTF) and Gunner Scott- (Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition)

Mottet and Scott listed the following subjects, briefly commented on them, and asked conference participants to ask questions and give comments.
Subjects: Suicide prevention, city state legislation, homes/shelter, HIV prevention, school policies, employment, prison, domestic violence, foster care, juveniles, education, cultural events, police, restroom, licenses/birth certificates, non discrimination, safe schools, healthcare


• Safe schools: last statewide school to pass was in North Carolina, included GID and sexual orientation, 2 collage policies in N Dakota
• Jails, prisons, police work: in California passed a bill that would make classification as LGBT INMATES into consideration, but governor vetoed it.
• Non discrimination laws: NY just passed GENDA through assembly, now we need Senate to pass bill
Massachusetts’s bill is supported by Governor, but has passed no bills
Salt Lake City passed non discrimination bill, and Mormon church supported it
, Anchorage Al passed bill, but mayor vetoed it. Missouri may have bill may have cote called MONO
• Housing: Cleveland passed bill for housing
• Driver License/birth certificates- in last year: Mass, NJ, Ohio had success. Maryland helped defend trans positive policy . Birth certificate- Tennessee is trying to educate people. Effort in NYC for birth cert. (must have surgery) , DC is thinking about working on this s well.
• Work Force Development
• Healthcare: Almost Penn State, still working on it. American University put in staff benefits, and now doing survey. Harvard just added trans benefits for staff, and will add for student in 6 mo. Bank Of America has trans benefits
• Suicide Prevention: Mass has new developments,Trveor Project has new spokersperson Daniel Radcliffe from "Harry Potter"


They ended presentation talking about new coalition they have started “Transgender of State and Local Coalitions” and want people to get involved

11:30 am

National Transgender Discrimination Survey, Preliminary Results, Justin Tanis NCTE
Justin Tanis, who is Community Education & Outreach Manager for NCTE, talked about the results of the survey, and community members made comments and asked questions.

My notes:
• This survey reported the biggest amount of transgender data ever collected!
• 97% of trans people have been discriminated against
• Trans people are twice as likely than average to make 10,000 a year, POC trans people were 4 times as likely!, African Americans was 5 times!
• Lack of access to healthcare
• Good to use in lobbying for ENDA
• Here’s a link for more info: http://www.transequality.org/Issues/discrimination.html

11:45 am

The Census:

Ed SanFillippo, The Census, spoke about the US census and how it pertains to the trans community specifically, and to all LGBT people and families
Notes:
• How important data collection is to our community
• (ourfamiliescount.org)
• States can gain or lose seats in Congress when we count
• First census where there’s been paid outreach to LGBT community
• If a gender queer/transgender/intersex person decides to choose “both sex boxes”, they will be designated one by “computer” (transsexual people identify with the binary generally, and would prefer to just choose female or male)
• Selective service registration (draft). An FTM who identifies as male has to write “No, I have not registered in draft”, but has to give a reason why, and therefore must include transition info. A MTF who transitioned after 18 (legally) must register for selective service if they want to work for government, or get federal school loans. However, they will be dismissed if draft takes place.

(This is offensive to me because a woman (or anyone for that matter) should not have to register to fight for a war they don’t believe in. On principle, I would never register to fight for a country that does not grant me my civil rights & allows my community to be discriminated against- which goes against the Constitution. So when I go back to school it looks like I will have to find someone else to sponsor me other then Uncle Sam. There’s no way I’m going to register for the draft when there is a war in my own country against me and other transsexual women!)

• Q: Future forms- How do we get LGBT folks get to be included on future census forms? A:Keep on having conversations, talk to Congressional leaders
• Will have “hot pink queer sticker” to put on census form from the Task Force (NGLTF)
• They have transgender specialist for Census

Vanessa Macoy from The Task Force then spoke about the “Queer The Census” (on Census)
Queer The Census “opportunity for us to be included to the Census bureau” Since the LGBT community is not on the official Census form, the Task force has arranged (however, the Census bureau is not going to tally the 3 of stickers, but I guess the visibility will at least express “We are here, and we are queer) a hot pink sticker that means the American is LGBTQQI. This sticker would go on the back of the envelope for the census form. On the large sticker there are different LGBTQQI identities, and one can check all that apply. There is even a blank space if one wants to add their own identity. For example, if a transsexual woman does NOT identify as “transgender”, she can write “transsexual”.

Implementing Hate Crimes Law, Robert Moossy, Civil Rights Division, Dept. of Justice
my notes:
• Overview of new statute: 18 Untied States Code 249- has 2 parts that prevent hate crimes: 1rst group: by race, or national origin, or religion - 2nd group- 2nd part. LGBT folks, new religions , disabled
• For it to be considered hate crime for first group: Act of violence that shows bodily injury and it was done due to race. For 2nd group: have to show bodily injury, and was done because of prejudice or said “epithet” , and showed that the crime happened in or inter-effecting interest commerce (either people committing crime went across state lines, that weapon went passed state lines, has to be commercial side to it.
• Police a lot of time are the very people who commit hate crimes against people they are supposed to protect. Community Relations Service can intervene and help and intervene when a citizen feels for their safety when going to police.
• Matt Nosanchuck 202 514 2151 LGBT Liaison for the civil rights division for the Dept of Justice
• Robert.moossy@usdoj.gov

Travel and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Jennifer Carmichael TSA Director of Civil Rights and Liberties, led a discussion
Discussed TSA Screening Programs: Secure flight

(I had to take a nap in my room during half of this presentation, but if you go to NCTE’s website (www.transequality.org) you could find more info.
The alarming thing is that now people are going to have their privacy invaded at the airport, as now they will have X-ray scanner to see people’s naked body when you check in! Many humanists and activists have been fighting this from happening, but now it appears they have lost the battle. Giving up our human rights in the name of “terrorism” is scary, and as I look around I see that more and more people are voluntarily giving up their civil rights due to “fear”, and of course many of us are unwillingly doing so.)

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), Mara Keisling, NCTE and Rhodes Perry, PFLAG gave this presentation

The exact wording and language in the ENDA bill is not public yet, which has many transsexual/transgender and gender non-conforming people unsure about the bill, and if it may oppress certain members of the sex and gender diverse communities.

my notes:
• US Military is exempted from ENDA.
• This will not change partner benefits
• Wording about bathroom is up in air, and with locker rooms
• Most co-sponsors on any LGBT bill ever!
• We have the votes in the HOR (House Of Rep), but not sure about the Senate
• A good question asked “Who establishes the standards of what is deemed appropriate medical professionals or the employers as far as restroom usage, transition and how it’s handled?”
• They educated us on how to best hold conversations with Congress, different ways. We discussed messaging for lobbying.

Lobby Training and Organizing

Marcus Waterbury, Board Chair of NCTE, spoke for a minute, said thanks for coming
Gunner Scott- Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and Stephanie White (NCTE), led this discussion

• They schooled us on how to lobby
• 3 elements of visit: Your personal story, the ask, after the visit
• The ask: “Will you support ENDA”
• We then broke into groups according to states and practiced our pitch


5pm

I’m now back in my room getting ready to go to dinner, and then to another reception hosted by NCTE. It was a very educational day.

6pm

Dinner & "Moving Forward Together Recpetion" @ The National Press Club

Some girlfriends of mine (Dana, Teri, Ali, Janis, etc) and a new acquaintance, Marcus, went to get some dinner. We went to a Thai place (even though they did not have brown rice). It was delicious though. Marcus is the Board Chair of NCTE, and it was interesting to hear his progressive view on gender liberation. His wife, Jacqueline White, (who was not there) is writing a book called “My Transgender Husband: A Love Story” about her and Marcus’s relationship, and her personal journey through his transition. To learn more about this romantic story, go to www.mytransgenderhusband.com

We then went to a reception called “Moving Forward Together” hosted by NCTE, where there were drinks, food, dancing, socializing, and an award was given. It was located at The National Press Club. The "National And Local Leadership In The Trans Movement" was given to Bishop Yvette Flunder of City of Refuge United Church of Christ , on her work helping create the famous all trans gospel choisr called "Transcendence Gospel Choir". I got to meet the Bishop, and she is very committed to educating people that trans people are also children of God, and deserve a welcoming home.

(Jazmine (NCTE), Bishop Yvette Flunder (Founder of City of Refuge), Ashley)


The event ended at 9pm, and a few of us ladies were not tired, so 6 of us hopped in two cabs and went to a bar to bond with each other. I talked mostly with Denise Leclaire, and she has been doing activism for trans equality for a long time. I learned so much from her. There was a jukebox at the bar, and I love jukeboxes!! Well, only if there is good music on the jukebox. We listened to a lot of 80’s music, some rock, and hip hop. I met this cute guy who does marketing for political projects, and he was really interested in a project that I’m working on. He’s from California, which is also why we really connected. It’s that California love vibe! I had to get up early the next morning to get ready to lobby on Capitol Hill, so I took a cab to my hotel.

March 16th

I wake up and iron my black business suit and get ready to go tell Capital Hill that I am an American citizen and do not appreciate not having the same rights and protections other people have just because I am a woman born with a birth challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I walked to the subway to go to the east step of Capital Hill to where there was a planned group photo shoot with all the conference’s participants. I did not know it would take so long to get to the metro, and that it was so far away, so I was 5 minutes late and missed the group photo. But people were still there, so we took our own photos.

I then went to meet up with the California people who had a meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office. Though I moved to New York last fall, I am registered to vote in California, so it was decided I would talk to them. It was so surreal walking into the Capital Hill buildings on a mission to defend my human rights. We all met in the hall. It was Mason, Maceo (both from the Transgender Law Center in California) and a few others. We had a meeting with one of Feinstein’s staff members. As we approached her office, it was just or luck that Senator Feinstein came out of her office. Mason and I thanked her for supporting ENDA, and she took a picture with me! I was so happy because Feinstein is a legendary politician, dating back to the days of Harvey Milk, and has done a lot for the LGBT community!
We then sat down with one of Feinstein’s staff, and each went around and told her why employment non-discrimination laws are so important to us. I told her of how I was 17 that I couldn’t even get a job at Starbucks because I was asked “are you a guy” when they saw my ID. I was not allowed to change the name or sex on my ID until I was 18. I told her how due to discrimination and transphobia, that I was in very vulnerable situations, where I had not family to protect me, and how it hurt me very much to have to depend on people, when all I wanted to do was be an independent woman and provide for myself. I told her how marginalized, endangered, and oppressed I felt as a girl branded “T”. She told us that Senator Fienstein was committed to ENDA.



(Senator Dianne Fienstein and Ashley in Fienteins Captial Hill office)

And we all talked for a while, and then took a picture with her. On our way to our next destination we evaluated our meeting, and discussed what was done well, and what might be better for next time.

We then went down to the Capitol Hill’s big cafeteria (the largest one I’ve ever seen) and went to the area where people from our event had a few tables. We had lunch, and talked, and it was fun to bond with everyone. Us California people had another meeting with House Of Representatives Xavier Becerra. We got here at 2:40, but they were still in another meeting, and we had to wait a while. We then talked to one of his staff. We also discussed the importance of trans people seeking asylum on California from Central and South America, since Becerra is very progressive in his fight for immigration reform.

It was very inspirational to talk to these politicians. We then walked back to the cafterai meeting area, and socilized and discussed the days events and meetings.

My friend Maceo had to catch a plane back to California and had to go back to the hotel to get his luggage. I thought it would be a good idea to get my luggage and bring it with to the end of the event at Taco Place. He dropped me off, and I freshened up, and took the metro to the party.

The organizers of the event from NCTE gave some inspiring closing words. They had reserved a large part of the restaurant for us, and supplied some yummy Mexican food. There were also margaritas and drinks. It was a little sad for me, because I didn’t want the trip to end. I didn’t want everyone to go back to their different states around the country. I wanted us all to stay together. These were my trans sisters and brothers, and there are things they understand about me that no one else does: my journey, my pain, my hopes, my loss of family, my rejection from society for being different, the discrimination I get in so many arena, my childhood stories, my challenging love life, my struggles, my obstacles, my tears, and my passion for all of to work hard to right all the wrongs that continue to oppress our community. I didn’t want to go back to New York. I wanted to stay with my trans friends in that party forever. Of course I was almost the last one to leave, and I was very sad. The trans community is like my family.
On the bus back to New York, I made a commitment to get more involved in activism for the trans community. It’s one thing to complain online about lack of civil rights and horrific images of trans people in the media. And it’s another thing to take action and do something! So I made a promise to myself that when I go back to New York, I would not just talk, but help organize and do something! First line of business: “The BAAD Media Awards”, which will be an ceremony event giving awards to “dishonor” the most transphobic images in the media. Stay tuned for more details at http://www.transformingmedia.blogspot.com/!

To get info to see how you can got to "Trans Lobby Days" next year, or to learn more info about legisaltion concerning trans people got to NCTE's website: www.tranequality.org