More on Beatie
I've had a lot of non-trans friends asking me for my $0.02 on the whole "pregnant man" issue but have found myself so overwhelmed by the response *in* the trans community to even properly respond.

Sadly, most of the people asking me this are working hard to be true allies, and are perplexed by what they feel might be the "correct" response to the media circus and backlash. So they are trying to "get it from the source," and the source is overflowing with frustration.

While I personally wouldn't choose to bear a child, I'm also in a position where I don't feel the necessity. I'm lucky enough to have a partner who wants to do so. I'm lucky enough to come from a family where I am the only biological child and I was always taught that family is more than genetic ties; that adoption is just as "real" a choice as having a child of your own flesh and blood. So who knows what choice I might make if none of these things were true.

Aside from the pregnancy, there is an uproar over Beatie showing chest surgery scars, or giving out other information that might "help non-trans people identify a transman." I've even been directly given the argument of:

showing your surgery scars on national TV could get a rural stealth man recognized as such, and lead to his violent murder. I think if you're going to be in the media, you really ought to care about that sort of thing (perhaps its an assumption on my part that we don't want to indirectly contribute to the death of another?)

My response? Twofold:

1) I am seeing sweeping statements which imply that stealth men are at far greater risk than those who are out. Who is determining this? What validity (if any) is there in this argument? Am I not just as at risk for being open about my trans status?

2) I think it's pretty obvious that the purpose of educating people on trans topics is not to get someone killed.

In the midst of all the uproar, I notice no one has called that Transster be taken down, that transmen stop posting "passing information" on their websites, that informational videos like this one be immediately struck from YouTube. This is not the first public exposure of FTMs and will not be the last.

The real assumption I'm seeing here is that people are too dumb to do a Google search. It's not like no one has ever heard of transpeople. And there are plenty of conservative groups/people who have already spent years making a personal past time of trolling websites and online forums to gather information about the "evils" of being trans.

I do get that an Oprah show is going to get the attention of many more people. But there's no one checking gender at the door when accessing the massive amount of information on the internet. Whether intended for other FTM guys or not, it's still there for anyone to look up as they please.

Sadly, there will always be those who have no experience with public speaking who give TMI. That is a mistake that most make only once. That said, I've met many people who do trans education in the most amazing and self-respecting ways.

My issue here is that the public needs to be educated and there are people willing to step up and do the task. No, they are not always perfect. No, they do not always reflect every aspect of the FTM community. But how could they? The best they can do on that front is make sure that people understand that they are sharing *their* story and not necessarily a common narrative.


The bottom line is that every one of us has the right to decide what we do with our bodies. After all, isn't that what we are saying when we lobby for health care rights/employment protections/etc.? And that includes proudly baring our chests- scars and all- or choosing to defend our reproductive rights.

Beatie may not speak for everyone, but he has the right to speak for himself.

RAWWRRR!
Topic: Politics
If I have to listen to one more person kick and scream about another person's right to determine what happens to their own body, I'm going to vomit. And goddess help the next trans person who tries to tell me that they have the right to dictate who is and isn't a "real transsexual" because they've had "all the surgeries."

Newsflash, people: There isn't ONE way to be trans or to transition or to live your life once you've medically transitioned (if that's the path you choose)!

There are plenty of times I see trans people in the media and cringe at things they say. But you know what? They have the right to their opinions and their own personal truths. Same right as the one I have to speak about my experiences openly and honestly.

I could go on and on but I'll stop before my head explodes...

Happiness is...
...hearing your little brother's voice over the phone after a long period of only emailing or exchanging facebook messages. It's amazing, this connection we have, and it never ceases to make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I should note that C is my chosen brother. We became friends during my senior year of high school, a year after I had come out to the entire school as a dyke (which made me rather infamous, as the first out person at my school). One weekend after graduation, we met for lunch and he confessed that he was gay, too. My response was, "Well, duh!"

A few years later, I called him and said, "I've got something to tell you."

"I've got something to tell you, too," he said, "but you can go first."

I told him I'd been thinking a lot about gender and had come to the conclusion that I needed to transition. He said, "Me too."

He's taken a longer road, but is coming into his own. And I can't describe how happy it makes me to see him expressing himself freely now. It's amazing how someone else's happiness can mean so much to you...

Gender and ID
Right now I have a lawyer looking into the complications of getting legally married here in Massachusetts (something we've been meaning to do for a long time). No matter what happens with gender markers, we can be legally married. Not an issue. But I was worried that if I had to show my birth certificate for any reason I'd be in a mess of trouble.

Why? Because Texas will not change my birth certificate. But because my WA state license had a big fat M on it, Massachusetts gave me an M, too. I was able to satisfy their documentation requirements without having to produce my birth certificate or name change papers and just left the gender boxes blank on my application. Gee, how nice of them to fill in the spots I missed! lol

So back to marriage... If the birth certificate comes up for any reason, MA will then change my drivers license back to saying "F." And wouldn't that be nice and safe? I haven't been stopped by cops very often, but I really wouldn't want to see what would happen with an F on my license. And don't get me started about travel. I've already put off applying for a passport long enough.

Hopefully the lawyer will have good news on this front. Of course, that will only really help me for another couple of years because of this:

New Rules For Driver's Licenses Unveiled

The Homeland Security Department revealed new rules that will require younger Americans to provide more information when getting driver's licenses. NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that by 2014, if you want to get on an airplane or enter a federal building, you'll have to present a REAL ID.

The push for stricter safety requirements was prompted by the Sept.11, 2001 attacks. On that day, one of the hijackers was in possession of four stat driver's licenses and three state IDs.

All people born after Dec.1 1964, will have to show a new secure, REAL ID before boarding a plane. The IDs would be issued by each state and will have a number of security features that ensure only legal U.S. citizens can acquire government ID. The card would require states to check the Social Security number and immigration status of all applicants.

Massachusetts has already implemented many of the new requirements, but the state plans on taking a wait-and-see attitude before deciding whether to comply with all the federal regulations, officials said.

According to the state's under secretary of Homeland Security, Massachusetts already has one of the most secure driver IDs in the country. States have until 2111 to be in compliance with the rules.

Civil liberties advocates blasted the new regulations.

"The so-called REAL ID is the first-ever national ID card system which would irreparably damage the fabric of American life," the ACLU said.

"Whatever they do, I think they should do it consistently and in a reasonable way, versus arbitrarily, which seems to be the way they do things now," traveler Marika Sine said.


Two steps forward, three steps back...

Loss of a Community Member

Saturday, someone in the local trans community took their own life. I am sad, angry... just overwhelmed by the loss of yet another community member. By someone who was doing their best to help others even while they were struggling. If you are in the area and have the chance to attend the service, please do.

Obit notice here: http://obits.masslive.com/MassLive/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=100932086

Survey for Therapists
I created a survey for therapists re: working with trans clients. So far, I've gotten a good number of responses. You can check it out at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=LE8lbsLVmzscTWQQPpjc9Q_3d_3d

And please feel free to pass it on to mental health professionals or others in the community who might want to pass it on to their therapist.

Reincarnation?

Ok folks. I'll try to start from the beginning.

Here are some basics of what I believe about reincarnation: I believe that the soul is eternal and that our bodies are merely the vehicles we use. I believe that each lifetime has a teaching and/or learning opportunity. I also believe that we are sometimes able to "peek in" on other lifetimes in order to bring relevant information to our current lifetime. Lastly, I believe that each lifetime is an opportunity to step closer to the ultimate fulfillment of the soul.

I wasn't raised to believe in reincarnation, but for some reason it has always fascinated me. When I was young, I had a book that Time-Life put out called "Mysteries of the Unknown." Reincarnation was always my favorite subject in the book.

When I began considering transition, reincarnation became a central spiritual question for me. I wondered: Did I choose to be trans in this lifetime? Did I choose to be female and somewhere along the line give up, deciding I could learn the lessons I needed to learn some other way?

It's something I ponder often. What are your thoughts?

Day of Remembrance
Tuesday was the Trans Day of Remembrance in Amherst. Since I missed the one in Springfield (stupid headaches!) I was determined to make this one.

The march was bitterly cold, but it felt good to be outside. People were genuinely curious about what our vigil was for and were respectful when we told them or gave them flyers about the TDOR. While we walked, Kat and I noted that we've spent a good portion of our time together marching at night with candles in our hand. We joked that if we ever had a kid, they might recall that they spent a lot of their childhood marching in vigils or protests. It wasn't necessarily an unpleasant thought.

Back at the Unitarian meeting house, the service/meeting commenced. One of the speakers from Boston wasn't able to make it, so the emcee asked if I'd step in and say a few words. I didn't say much, but it was nice that he asked. People shared a lot of wonderful sentiments and powerful poetry and I was very happy to see 3 of "my" youth there. I was also happy to see more family members and other allies present.

I hope that someday there is no need for such a gathering.

Bah Humbug, HRC

It's official. The non-inclusive enda passed yesterday.

I wrote the HRC and got a quick response. My comments are after the letter... I would bold all the sections where I would like to extend a single finger and shout "lying, pandering, money-grubbing political bastards!" but that would mean the whole letter would have to be bold. I'll spare you the eye strain.

From: ENDA <enda@hrc.org>
To: Alexander Pangborn,
Date: Nov 9, 2007 1:07 PM
Subject: RE: ENDA

Dear Alexander,

We understand your concern and anger at the situation; HRC acknowledges that this ENDA bill that passed the House is an important first step to fight workplace discrimination and we are not in anyway celebratory of the fact that our transgender brothers and sisters were not included in this bill. We want you to know that we will not stop fighting for the inclusion of gender identity in ENDA.

Although we decided to support this version of ENDA in the final hour, throughout the entire process our goal was to have a fully inclusive bill go to the floor. The disagreement on strategies by advocates for equality should not make us question each other’s commitment to the common goal of getting protection for all members of our community. The truth is our real enemies will stop at nothing to prevent equality from moving forward for GLBT people. That the extreme right wing is doing all they can to lobby for the defeat of ENDA, but it has nothing to do with whether or not it includes gender identity. Their goal is to simply have our movement fail and for ENDA to die in Congress, which would severely hinder any chance of protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

While the bill Congress passed this week was not the bill we wanted, the Human Rights Campaign decided to stay at the table with Congress to ensure that millions of Americans receive the protections they deserve, and because passage of this bill is a first and absolutely necessary step toward preventing discrimination based on gender identity. Very soon, HRC will launch a new initiative to ramp up efforts on educating Congress on the importance of including gender identity in ENDA and protecting the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. HRC continues to break down barriers in the corporate world through our Workplace Project. This year a record 195 major U.S. businesses earned the top rating of 100 percent on our Corporate Equality Index, and for the first time, a majority of rated firms — 58 percent — provide employment protections on the basis of gender identity.

The bottom line: The commitment of HRC’s Board of Directors for a fully inclusive bill has not changed. Because HRC stayed at the table, something we will continue to do, we were able to secure an unprecedented commitment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Without a doubt, the only path to achieving a bill protecting our whole community was by securing passage on this historic vote.

After twelve years of hostile leadership, we have come so far and changed so many hearts and minds. Only a year ago, it never seemed possible that we could pass any GLBT legislation. For the first time in history, both houses of Congress passed a hate crimes bill, and for the first time ever a workplace antidiscrimination law passed in the House. Even a year ago, we could not imagine this coming to fruition. Our fight will not be won overnight; it will be won one step at a time.

Whether or not you stand with HRC, we hope that you will continue to take action in the fight for equality for the entire GLBT community.


Respectfully,

Lisette Fee
Member Services Manager
Human Rights Campaign
Email lisette.fee@hrc.org
www.hrc.org/membership


Write all the nice letters to me that you like, HRC, but I will not support you and I will encourage others to put their money elsewhere, too.

See, here's the problem. HRC did NOT have a goal to have a fully inclusive bill go to the floor. If they did they would have signed on with all the other LGBT organizations which protested the non-inclusive bill. They would not have conducted a "random survey" to back them up in their efforts to push a non-inclusive bill.

They say "we are not in anyway celebratory of the fact that our transgender brothers and sisters were not included in this bill" and that "Our fight will not be won overnight; it will be won one step at a time." On their website they liken the fight for trans inclusion in ENDA to the incremental fight for the FMLA:

Throughout history, Congress has often taken an incremental approach toward equality for other civil rights and business regulatory legislation. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was introduced in five consecutive congresses for eight years and was vetoed twice by former President Bush before it was finally signed into law on February 5, 1993, by President Clinton. Each time the FMLA was introduced, Members built upon the protection from the previous year’s legislative action.

Additionally, each piece of civil rights legislation passed by Congress -- in 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1990 -- continued the legislative path of the expansion of essential civil rights protections in law.

Well, excuse me if I do not see the parallel. The FMLA protects employees from being fired because of their personal health status or that of a family member. (See http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ for more info). A trans-inclusive ENDA would protect employees from being fired for who they are or how they present themselves.

See the difference? ENDA is civil rights legislation, FMLA is not. I have yet to meet anyone who has religious or moral objections to people who have a new baby or need to care for a seriously ill family member. I wish I could say the same thing for people who happen to be trans.

We've seen how long it takes for an "incremental approach" to result in true equality. And despite HRC's efforts to defend themselves with polling, civil rights legislation is not won by popular vote- it is won by people standing up and doing the right thing.

 

 

 

 

ENDA, HRC and History
Pop Quiz: What and who was Stonewall? Was it the first uprising of queer Americans for their rights?


If you say that Stonewall was the first uprising of queer people against police discrimination and harassment you would be wrong. If you say that Stonewall was lead by gays and lesbians, you would again be wrong.

The Compton Cafeteria Riot happened in 1966, three full years before Stonewall. If you don't know much about Compton, read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton's_cafeteria_riot

At Stonewall, the people on the front line of the riots were the gender benders- the butches, drag queens, trans people. Most of the patrons were able to escape being arrested since there was a directive that the only people arrested would be those without IDs, those dressed in the clothes of the opposite gender, and some or all of the employees of the bar.

So who, pray tell, gave birth to the "gay rights movement" in this country?

People can rewrite history as it pleases them, but trans people are not the "latecomers" to this movement for equality. We are not the group to be tacked on to the end of the alphabet soup when it is convenient. Trans people fought for their rights and for the rights of their gay and lesbian community members from the beginning.

When does the gay community return the gesture?

Today in the Advocate online, there is an article titled Poll: 70% of LGBT Respondents Support Noninclusive ENDA. You can see it here: http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50267.asp

The poll was commissioned by the HRC and conducted on October 26. 500 members of the LGBT community across the country were surveyed. If you look at the results, you'll find the questions somewhat misleading. 70% believe we should move forward with ENDA whether or not it is inclusive of trans people, but the same percentage believe trans people *should* receive the same protections!

Also, how many trans people do you think were polled? How many of those polled do you think said we should move forward with non-discrimination protection that excludes trans people?

Joe Solmonese said that the HRC did not release the poll results immediately because members of the community were still working on getting votes for gender identity inclusion at the time.

“To release those numbers or cite those numbers would have undermined those efforts,” said Solmonese.

I'm sorry. You feel that releasing those numbers a week ago would have made a whit of difference when you were effectively lobbying for the non-inclusive ENDA??? It seems that just about everyone in the community was fighting for an inclusive ENDA except you, HRC. And why were you doing this type of poll in the first place?

I have always declined donating the the HRC at pride events, politely explaining that I would not donate until I saw them doing work on behalf of the trans community instead of merely tacking us on the end of the GLB label. I am now whole-heartedly boycotting the HRC and utilizing my contact list to encourage others to do the same. I would rather put my name behind organizations which truly do support the entire GLBT community in both policy and action and not just in empty words and promises.