The Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) announced that the Transgender Disaster Relief Fund (TDRFund.us) would accept applications for assistance from LGBTQI and allied federal workers whose lives were thrown into chaos due to the Trump Government Shutdown. Alexis Melvin, President of TFA said, “Many LGBTQI individuals and our allies are affected by the partial government shutdown. The sudden loss of income through no fault of their own can create very difficult situations and TDRFund.us will provide whatever support we can… Read more.

New procedures in Russia approved: activists say it could be worse, leaves intersex people with few options On 19 January 2018, Russian authorities approved a controversial Decree, defining the procedure of legal gender recognition (LGR). The possibility to change one's gender marker existed in Russian legislation since 1997. Federal law N143 "On the acts of civil status" (article 70) required "a document of the established form about the change of sex issued by a medical organization" to be submitted for… Read more.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, like HRC before them, is throwing the transgender community under the bus. Members of the Caucus Board encouraged candidates in the current election to support and seek the endorsement of the anti-transgender group, the Baptist Ministers of Houston Area and Vicinity (there are several variations of their name). The Baptist Ministers of Houston Area and Vicinity (HBVHAV) ran false anti-transgender advertising during the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) fight, falsified petitions… Read more.

The TransAdvocate Q & A is where we answer your questions. If you’d like to submit a question, go to our contact page and send it in. Today’s question is: Is it responsible or okay that I'm taking a hiatus from trans advocacy? Answering today’s question is Cristan Williams and she writes: My short and very unnuanced answer is: “Of course!” Neglecting ourselves while giving to everyone else isn't compassion. The circle… Read more.

Today we have as a guest podcaster, Ali Lozano, Outreach Director for Laura Moser running for Congress in the 7th district! Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat" background="#020201" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: apple"]iTunes [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ibp6nzo3pqgvih4gvoyzfohu5pe?t%3DTransAdvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#17c9f5" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: google"]Google Play [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://soundcloud.com/cristan-williams/sets/transadvocate-podcast" target="blank" style="flat" background="#f54917" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: soundcloud"]Soundcloud [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://player.fm/podcasts/transadvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#ea3b4c" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon:… Read more.

We've seen out trans people running and winning elections throughout the nation recently and today the TransAdvocate welcomes our guest host Dylan Forbis, an out trans man running for a seat in the Texas House! Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat" background="#020201" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: apple"]iTunes [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ibp6nzo3pqgvih4gvoyzfohu5pe?t%3DTransAdvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#17c9f5" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: google"]Google Play [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://soundcloud.com/cristan-williams/sets/transadvocate-podcast" target="blank" style="flat" background="#f54917"… Read more.

The TransAdvocate produced a short documentary to examine the political right's propensity to focus on bathrooms when it comes to trans equality. The reality is, the political right always focuses on bathrooms, privacy, and sexual safety concerns when taking a stand against equality, no matter the oppressed population. This documentary examines, from a historical perspective, why this political rhetoric works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHzrPGyiwqo Podcast Extra Transcript In Illinois, one of the states that joined North Carolina in suing the Obama Administration for… Read more.

If "Resistance" means anything, it means removing those from power who act to oppress us. This means that YOU --yes you-- are needed in the fight to ensure that those who are running for political office will fight for justice and equality. Below are the registration dates for the US political registration dates, primaries, and runoffs. Under these dates is a form that will allow you to register. Upcoming Registration, Primary, & Runoff Dates   State Primary Date Runoff Primary… Read more.

While we've seen it before, we sometimes don't see the political forest for the trees. The TransAdvocate crew reviews both local and national news and Dr. Gillian Frank helps us recognize the political tactics that are being used against the trans community by noticing that the exact same tactics were used against numerous other groups. Also, get a trans scholarship or get help recovering from a disaster. Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: … Read more.

It turns out that basically everyone running the anti-trans campaign against Houston's equal right's ordinance is a sexual harasser, pedophile, or sex abuse apologist. Also, we answer your questions in our 2017 year-end special! On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin Mack, and Alexis Melvin Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat" background="#020201" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: apple"]iTunes [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ibp6nzo3pqgvih4gvoyzfohu5pe?t%3DTransAdvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#17c9f5" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon:… Read more.

Today’s show focuses on self-care as a form of Resistance, plus the local and national news and Gwen Smith's Gender Nation. On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin Mack, and Alexis Melvin. Music: Whole Cloth by Daniel Birch & Ben Pegley & The End by The Doors Parade Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat" background="#020201" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: apple"]iTunes [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ibp6nzo3pqgvih4gvoyzfohu5pe?t%3DTransAdvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#17c9f5" size="5"… Read more.

Today’s show focuses on dealing with fear, both personally and as a community. Moreover, we present an audio essay performance piece titled The Real Housewives of Gilead: The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t as Fictional as you Thought. On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin Mack, and Alexis Melvin. Music: Lurking Beneath the Surface, Lurking Beneath the Surface by Daniel Birch & Ben Pegley Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat"… Read more.

The podcast crew reviews national and local politics and discusses some of the nuances of community, transition, and detransition. Also featured: the first installment of Gwen Smith’s Gender Nation and bonus material. On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin Mack, and Alexis Melvin. Subscribe to the TransAdvocate Podcasts and Audio Essays here: [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transadvocate/id770213655" target="blank" style="flat" background="#020201" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: apple"]iTunes [su_column size="1/5"] [su_button url="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ibp6nzo3pqgvih4gvoyzfohu5pe?t%3DTransAdvocate" target="blank" style="flat" background="#17c9f5" size="5" center="yes" icon="icon: google"]Google Play … Read more.

As previewed in the last TransAdvocate podcast, the hip-hop artist known as MIC created an amazing tune about the TransAdvocate, trans advocacy in the US, and the radical feminists who bravely stood by their trans siblings (in the face of sex essentialist violence and attempted murder) and helped inform what became known as "trans advocacy" today. MIC namedrops numerous early radical feminists and feminist organizations, early trans activists and, of course, the TransAdvocate itself. MIC presented this work to the… Read more.

On this #TransDayofResilience, did you know that we can make the political machine work for us? Learn about how a trans community fought off dozens of "bathroom bills" and how a Texas trans community produced the biggest queer political event of the year in one of America's largest cities. On top of that, hear one of the most powerful Texas Republican politicians support the trans community and hear from America's first out trans judge. On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin… Read more.

We're always hearing how we're supposed to "RESIST." What can that look like when you live in the Deep South in Trump's America or when your community just faced a historic natural disaster? Find out how trans people living in Texas manage to do it. On the Pod: Cristan Williams, Robin Mack, and Alexis Melvin. And here's more information on events and issues covered in this podcast: Events: Every Monday night trans meeting, HTGA at 7:30 11/4/17: The 25th annual… Read more.

Buck Angel: "Not everyone is in a position to be treated respectfully so we must care for our own..."   Many members of the Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer community have lost everything. Trans, intersex, and genderqueer individuals can experience extreme difficulties in natural disaster situations. The TransAdvocate's parent organization, the Transgender Foundation of America has organized a community disaster relief fund. The fund will directly assist Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer survivors recover from this… Read more.

Help the Gulf Coast trans community affected by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey:     Many members of the Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer community have lost everything. Trans, intersex, and genderqueer individuals can experience extreme difficulties in natural disaster situations. The TransAdvocate's parent organization, the Transgender Foundation of America has organized a community disaster relief fund. The fund will assist Gulf Coast trans, intersex, and genderqueer survivors recover from this disaster. The Texas Gulf Coast trans community… Read more.

After the property damage at the University of Berkeley by protesters opposed to Milo Yiannopolous speaking there, many within the movement have condemned the violence. They argue that the violence plays into a narrative constructed by white-nationalists, and damages the moral legitimacy of the progressive movement that opposes everything he is calling for. Others, such as Katherine Cross, have strongly argued that violence against fascist movements (“punching Nazis”) and leaders is not… Read more.

My name is Amiel, and as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian edition of the TransAdvocate, I’m happy to announce the official launch of the newest addition to the TransAdvocate family: TransAdvocate Brazil. As a Brazilian intersex trans man, I felt it was time to bring the TransAdvocate model of journalism to a community that has, for far too long, had its story told by cisgender people who are more interested in sensationalism than anything like an honest depiction of… Read more.

By Kelley Winters The National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling respondedKeisling, M (2016). Response to BuzzFeed Article. Blog, National Center for Transgender Equality, Oct. 28. http://www.transequality.org/blog/response-to-buzzfeed-article]to sharp criticismHolden, D. (2016). Top LGBT Leaders Are Divided Over Compromising On The Bathroom Fight. BuzzFeed News, Oct. 25. https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/lgbt-leaders-divided-bathroom-fight] of the recent strategy by NCTE and other nonprofits funded by the Gill Foundation to back a Pennsylvania state nondiscrimination bill that included LGBT employment and housing protection but excluded public accommodation protections.… Read more.

On Facebook and Twitter, I've seen some criticism of the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality from trans people.  The script may vary depending on the audience, but here's an example. Rebecca Juro posited this on Facebook: "The LGBT civil rights movement as we know it just came to a screeching halt now that SCOTUS has legalized marriage in all 50 states. LGBT working families and especially trans people are on our own now. Now that the rich gays have what… Read more.

The yearly struggle the trans community experiences with MichFest has been taking place for so long, some of us have trouble remembering why MichFest's "womyn-born womyn" policy was such a painful issue for the feminist and trans communities in the first place. The very notion of "woman-born woman" is now so ubiquitous that many of us have forgotten that its roots span all the way back to when MichFest's organizer took part in attacking a feminism that was trans… Read more.

Some of you might remember that Germaine Greer, a TERF the Radical Feminist Andrea Dworkin took to task for trying to pass off patriarchy as feminism, made some small waves for appealing to the patriarchal vagina smell trope in order to claim that trans women aren't real women. However, what's making waves throughout the UK is that Green Party activist Beatrix Campbell, along with numerous other activists, are appalled that the trans community dared think they had the same rights… Read more.

Allison Woolbert, recently resigned executive director of Transgender Human Rights Institute (THRI), has a 1991 New Jersey conviction for First Degree Aggravated Sexual Assault of a 15-year old relative. Woolbert was sentenced to 6 years for the offense and was released after 4. She was 28 at the time of offense and conviction. Woolbert isn't a registered sex offender as her criminal conviction occurred 3 years before New Jersey's law mandating sex offender registration was signed into law. The Trans*… Read more.

Yesterday, we, the TransAdvocate editorial team, learned that Alison Woolbert, an anti-violence trans activist who gained a measure of prominence in 2014, was convicted of a sexual assault 23 years ago. We were gratified to learn that Woolbert submitted a resignation letter to an anti-violence organization that she led; however, we are alarmed that the organization declined to accept her resignation. Woolbert’s criminal history was disclosed to the TransAdvocate editorial team by freelance writers Emmagene Kaytlyn Cronin and Laurelai Bailey,… Read more.

What it is #TERFweek is a week of education, raising awareness and openly talking about the abuse our communities have endured at the hands of the Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist movement. From Monday, August 11 to the 17, we invite everyone to share their experience with the TERF movement using the #TERFweek tag. We hope that all our diverse communities will take this opportunity to speak with one voice, united in standing in opposition to the hate and very real harm this group has caused. Why… Read more.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman announced that the effort to overturn equality failed to collect enough valid petition signatures to put minority rights up for a popular vote in the upcoming November election. Even though the Houston Area Pastor's Council (HAPC) has threatened to sue, due to time constraints, there is no possible way that the equality ordinance will be on the November 2014 ballot. From lgbtqnation.com It was widely reported that the HAPC was able… Read more.

The Houston Area Pastors Council (HPAC), an organization led by men who sexually harassed women (and who tried to misrepresent the sexual abuse to the public), has been working to overturn broad equality in Houston, Texas. The Harris County DA is investigating a HPAC representative for engaging in voter fraud while working to overturn the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). The investigation comes after the TransAdvocate caught the representative on tape attempting to violate Texas Election laws. The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance… Read more.

Engaging in fraud in order to overturn LGBT and especially trans equality in cities throughout the nation is nothing new for anti-equality bigots. In the past anti-equality efforts, election fraud was limited to purposefully deceiving voters about trans equality or intimidating voters. Recently, the TransAdvocate documented an anti-equality activist using county property to attempt to circumvent a Texas election law. The Houston Area Pastor's Council (AKA, the Texas Pastor's Council, AKA, the US Pastor's Council) is the Texas-based anti-queer group that is heading up… Read more.

Houston recently passed a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting the following 15 classes: Sex, Race, Color, Ethnicity, National Origin, Age, Familial Status, Marital Status, Military Status, Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Genetic Information, Gender Identity, and Pregnancy. A leader in the opposition to equality is Pastor Kendall Baker. Here he is speaking before Houston City Council: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJF20AWc0Pk When speaking against equality, Pastor Kendall Baker mentioned that he had just ended a 20+ year career with the City of Houston due to failures of the Office of the Inspector… Read more.

On Wednesday, May 28, 2014, the Houston City Council approved a sweeping non-discrimination ordinance barring discrimination against 15 protected classes, including an explicit protection against discrimination due to one's religion. The city's right-wing community immediately claimed to be oppressed, threatened to recall everyone who voted for the ordinance and pledged to put their own religious protections up for a popular vote in the November election. More worrisome, the Mayor of Houston… Read more.

I have a confession, I wasn’t always such a strong advocate for my brothers and sisters in the trans* community. It’s not that I was hostile towards them or anything; my support was always there, but it was buried amongst my general activism work in the LGBTQ community. It was my poetry and the right to use the bathroom that changed all that. When I was a graduate student at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, I was living… Read more.

Just days after Monica Jones was shown in this video protesting the failed religious discriminatory law in Phoenix, she was offered a ride while walking to a bar. The driver turned out to be an undercover police officer who then arrested her for "manifestation of prostitution'. This law is a vague statute which enables officers to arrest woman for no other reason than asking if they are police. The law is used to feed people… Read more.

The Third Wave Fund (TWF) is a feminist, activist foundation that works nationally to support the vision and voices of young women, transgender and gender nonconforming youth. I came across the TWF while researching the ways in which anti-abortion narratives often intersect with anti-trans narratives. I spoke with TWF Director and out trans man, Rye Young who, working as the coordinator the TWF Emergency Abortion Fund, developed their report on barriers to abortion access report. In 2012, the concept of "Gender Justice" was the unifying… Read more.

Human rights advocates braved the elements Saturday in Harlem to show their angst over the church sign promoting violence against the LGBT, and for good reason. Just 20 blocks away, last year, fists were thrown at a transgender woman who lay dying on pavement stones. Islan Nettles was taken off life support by her mother a short time after. This is the violence that the ATLAH church promotes and this very sign, the one demanding violence, was most likely seen by the people… Read more.

Monica's troubles began one night after protesting Arizona’s failed religious anti-LGBT legislation while walking to a bar. An undercover officer engaged her in a conversation which led to her being charged with "manifesting prostitution”, AKA walking while trans. Since Jones hadn't been previously charged with similar 'crimes' Ms. Jones was offered a deferral if she enrolled in the Catholic/police/university "Project Rose" and successfully completed it. However, Ms. Jones is fighting back refusing the plea and religious programming despite being repeatedly harassed… Read more.

Adrien Lawyer found himself exploring his options in transitioning from his outwardly feminine appearance to presenting as male in 2004.  He says “I remember playing with the boy’s toys like guns and toy knifes when I was a kid.  I would dress up as a boy and do the things typical of what most boys do.” When Adrien began researching his options in 2004 to make his transition he felt that there was no one to support him, he… Read more.

The one thing that you have to realize is that everything the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) did to a trans kid in Colorado was about PJI's desire to stop a law in California that codified equality standards for trans children. Law makers in California proposed legislation that would help ensure that California's trans children would be able to have a school experience free from institutionalized oppression. PJI hated this idea and decided that were going to fight it every… Read more.

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/136808690" params="color=ff2c00&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] Hey there folks this is Cristan Williams with another TransAdvocate podcast. Today I have a few topics I want to touch on. We'll talk about the Arizona "right to discriminate" bill. Specifically we'll hear the office of the bill's sponsor, Senator Yarbrough, say that his bill will protect the right of the Ku Klux Klan to institute racial segregation based on "religious belief." We'll talk about why a recent… Read more.

Official Souvenir Program of the 1979 National March on Washington, Page 40 It should be noted that the organizer of the 1st MOW was Ray Hill from Houston, Texas. Hill was a significant supporter of both trans inclusion and trans empowerment. Trans Leader from Houston, Phyllis Frye (center, holding American flag) Phyllis Frye, leading the Texas contingent [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/71779612" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] Official Souvenir Program of the 1979 National March on Washington, Page 1 "Gay is… Read more.

Speech To Houston City Council January 7, 2014 By Monica Roberts Happy New Year and good afternoon to you Mayor Parker, distinguished members of City Council, and my fellow Houstonians. I am Monica Roberts, a proud native Houstonian who grew up and resides in District D. I’m standing at this podium today because I’m one of the people that Mayor Parker talked about in her inauguration speech last week and was inspired by it to do so. As a transgender resident of… Read more.

By Kat Rose In a bizarre courtroom speech, a Queen defense attorney said the life of a murdered transgender prostitute wasn’t worth much — and argued that her convicted killer shouldn’t be punished as if he had killed someone “in the higher end of the community.” “A sentence of 25 years to life is an incredibly long period of time judge,” John Scarpa said Thursday as he asked a judge to go easy on his client, Rasheen Everett, for killing… Read more.

This is the first in a series on backing your community. During the month of December, the TransAdvocate will feature 12 AMAZING trans nonprofits/causes that deserve your support. The Trans Center in Houston, Texas is unlike anything else you are likely to see. More than a simple meeting hall or social service agency, it is all that and more. The center and its programs are run by the trans community itself. That means that the social services (therapy, homeless… Read more.

Recently, an equality effort in Florida was defeated by appealing to the 'trans people = rape' meme. As it turned out, appealing to this meme was deliberate and is, in fact, part of a curriculum currently being taught to anti-LGBT activists. The TransAdvocate obtained audio from one of the training sessions given by the Christian Family Association (CFC) on October 5th, shortly after their successful defeat of a Florida equality measure that included trans people. The curriculum taught at this training… Read more.

The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is the ex-gay group who recently bullied a Colorado trans kid to the brink of suicide. At the same time, PJI was working to strip protections for all trans children in California. The PJI-backed coalition worked tirelessly to paint trans children as threats, sexual deviants an unstable. Their campaign of lies, fraud and intimidation produced over 600,000 signatures in support of discrimination against trans children. Unsurprisingly, California's school district has seen a recent uptick of anti-trans crimes targeting… Read more.

Just a week after the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) backed coalition turned in over 600,000 signatures to repeal protections for trans children in California, a trans student was caught on tape fighting for her life as a group of bullies attacked her. PJI is the ex-gay organization that recently bullied a Colorado trans kid to the brink of suicide. The attack comes days after a California genderqueer student was set on fire for wearing a skirt. School officials say that… Read more.

"Exposing Injustice" The Pacific Justice Institute is the ex-gay organization that bullied a trans kid to the brink of suicide and is one of the major players in the effort to repeal protections for California's trans children. The time has come to bring the fight to their doorstep. The protest will take place at: Christian Legal Aid Society 2200 North Grand Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92711 Michael Peffer serves as Senior Counsel for Pacific Justice Institute and is officed… Read more.

The TransAdvocate has documented numerous unethical and/or illegal actions by Pacific Justice Institute backed movement seeking to repeal protections for trans children in California. We've caught them bullying a trans kid to the brink of suicide in an effort to manufacture talking points. We've caught them committing election fraud over and over again. We've caught them lying in the press and lying to the public and today, we've  uncovered evidence of signature gatherers attempting to intimidate a trans advocate when she asked… Read more.

Before PJI: Jane Doe (front row, middle) with school friends. The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is the ex-gay organization who claimed that a trans kid (who I refer to as Jane Doe) in Colorado was harassing cisgender girls in the restrooms. Media outlets published PJI's story without fact checking their claims, prompting members of the right-wing community to call for the death of Jane Doe. While PJI’s claims were proven false, the public animosity PJI inspired by and focused on Jane took… Read more.

Since election day we've gotten numerous requests for updates on what's happening with the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) backed effort to repeal the California law defining protections for transgender school children. The law (AB 1266) protecting transgender children, which California Gov. Jerry Brown signed in August, says schools must treat transgender students as equal to cisgender students.  A PJI-backed coalition of anti-LGBT groups calling itself "Privacy for All Students" has circulated 100s of thousands of anti-trans petitions throughout California. Their goal… Read more.

The TransAdvocate has documented the dirty tricks anti-trans groups are playing in California. We documented how the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) falsely claimed that a trans girl had been harassing cis girls in the restroom so they could use it to scare Californians into rejecting AB 1266, the law protecting trans children. We documented how the PJI lied about there being a police investigation targeting the trans girl. We interviewed and fact checked PJI, proving that they were dishonest time… Read more.

The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is the ex-gay organization that stirred up the right-wing word by claiming that a trans kid (who I will refer to as Jane Doe, for reasons of safety) in Colorado was harassing cisgender girls in the restrooms. Right wing media outlets jumped at the story without conducting any fact checking, prompting members of the right wing community to call for the death of the trans kid. Yesterday, the TransAdvocate learned that Jane Doe is under suicide watch. Also, the PJI just issued… Read more.

The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is the ex-gay organization that stirred up the right-wing word by claiming that a trans kid (who I will refer to as Jane Doe, for reasons of safety) in Colorado was harassing cisgender girls in the restrooms. Right-wing media outlets jumped at the story without conducting any fact checking, prompting members of the right-wing community to call for the death of the trans kid. While I interviewed Matthew McReynolds, staff attorney for PJI earlier this week,  McReynolds was first interviewed by the… Read more.

GLAAD condemned the false report by the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) which claimed a transgender kid was harassing cisgender girls in Colorado. PJI is the ex-gay/creationist organization at the center of an international effort to malign one transgender kid. Last week, the PJI provided the right-wing word with the ultimate talking point against protecting trans children when they claimed that a trans kid in Colorado, assisted by the public school system, harassed cisgender girls in the restrooms. Right wing media outlets jumped at the story… Read more.

On Sunday, October 13, 2013 the Daily Mail published a story titled, Girls ‘harassed’ in school bathroom by transgender student told his rights trump their privacy, but pulled the article after it became apparent that the story fabricated. An early promoter of the lie was David McCaine at the Examiner:   On October 11, David ran with this story without fact checking. The TransAdvocate took him to task for his irresponsible behavior and I've just learned that David has done the right thing:… Read more.

Former South Carolina GOP Executive Director, Todd Kincannon has publicly declared that some Americans should be interned in "camps." Kincannon went on to refer to a trans person as a "goddamn he-she" and stated that trans people were "disgusting mentally ill weirdos." While certainly worded with cruel intent, how does Kincannon's message of exclusion differ in substance from the stated position of the South Carolina GOP? The South Carolina Republican party is very clear about their views of LGBT people and their stated… Read more.

TW: transphobic violence Like a lot of people, I was transphobic when I was younger. Society had conditioned me to be. There were men and there were women, and anyone who didn’t fit into the narrow definitions of one of those categories was abnormal, abhorrent, a freak. I remember (much to my shame) pointing at people I saw on the bus who didn’t look like what I thought a man or a woman should look like and laughing at them.… Read more.

  Dear Transbrothers, Ever since I met Alexander John Goodrum at the 1999 Creating Change in Oakland I have been in love with y'all and was moved today to declare it publicly. I have had a ringside seat as I watched mid to late 90's leaders like Alexander and Marcelle Cook-Daniels not only step out there to organize your ranks, but lead in our overall trans community and the cities that were blessed to have them live there.  I still… Read more.

Sometimes it doesn't get better, sometimes life shit on you until you break and there’s nothing you can do. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it gets better because it might not get better, but i do want to tell you one thing. Even if it never gets better you are worthy. You are worthy of love and respect and compassion and a fair chance and human dignity, your value as a human being is not… Read more.

From the Houston trans community comes this comedy gem: [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/27466208" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] A poe is someone who parodies fundamentalism in such a way that it is ridiculous yet simultaneously difficult to tell if the media is real or a parody. The "radio show" mixes absurd reality with absurd comedy to make a deadly serious point. Enjoy!   Tip this TransAdvocate! Writers for the TransAdvocate work hard to bring you news and… Read more.

She's been hard at work at it for several months, but yesterday Jenifer Rene Pool made it official and announced her candidacy for the Houston City Council At Large Position 3 seat on the steps of Houston City Hall. And yeah, some blogger y'all know was there for the announcement a little after 3:30 PM CDT.  I wanted to be there to witness Houston and trans history. If Jenifer is successful in this second run for a city council seat,… Read more.

I published an earlier revision of this essay first on January 12, 2011 at Pam's House Blend. I believe the hypothesis of this essay is still true and bears repeating every now and again. ~~A~~ I work on LGBT community issues, as well as transgender community issues. I have, and will continue to work with LGB and T activists working on issues that effect transgender and LGBT community. From what I've learned and experienced within LGBT community, and activism… Read more.

America's first out trans judge Phyllis Frye (she was the first out trans judge to be sworn in, in America) just recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was given at the Transgender Foundation of America's 21st annual Transgender Unity Banquet. Check out her moving acceptance speech: [soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88945075" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] What follows is a post that I made after I processed a number of her personal documents for the Transgender Archive located in Houston, Texas: … Read more.

As Cristan Williams pointed out in her recent Transadvocate piece Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, segregation against trans women has been occurring at that festival for a very, very long time. Over the years, many intra-LGBT community allies of trans women have spoken out against the policy -- including the Lesbians for Justice in 1992, the Lesbian Resource Center of Seattle in 1999, and the Lesbian Avengers of Boston in 2000 -- and yet words alone haven't moved the Michigan Womyn’s… Read more.

Most of the Womyn that come to fest really don't care whether you're straight or not as long as your not trans. - D.M., Festival Supporter, July 4, 2012 More Context: MWMF TERFs organizers supported the targeting of a Radical Feminist, Lesbian-separatist music collective for being trans-inclusive and led to armed TERFs threatening the life of a trans woman. Lisa Vogel's fist inspired trans-inclusive Women's Music Festivals MWMF violence led to the creation of Camp Trans while Leather Dykes and the Lesbian Avengers offered bodyguard… Read more.

A reader writes: I’ve always considered myself to be very well educated on the different letters in our acronym. However, all it took was one date with a trans woman to realize that I am not. I am an FAAB genderqueer individual, so, of course I know all about the gender issues with public accommodations, being misgendered, etc. However, as we talked politics, and, specifically, LGBT politics, I realized that there is a whole world out there that I know… Read more.

A large group of LGBT activists strode down the middle of Berkeley streets, enraged that one month has passed and still no statement from police detailing exactly who or what killed trans person Kayla Moore while she was in police custody Anonymous Queers in action angry that the police have only offered a vague statement believe they are responsible for Moore's death, repeatedly taunted the police. The Berkeley police have announced the will Review the facts Wensday night. Cross-posted from PlanetTransgender Read more.

The HUD App Reciently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) unveiled the first housing discrimination mobile application (app).  The app provides a quick and easy way to learn about your housing rights and to file housing discrimination complaints, and inform the housing industry about its responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act. “Having this first fair housing mobile application equips people everywhere with the information they need to combat housing discrimination,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary… Read more.

What better way to spend Pride week than looking at drag queens on the site where it all began? The Stonewall Inn (formerly New Jimmy's) presents Extraordinary Women, a fab photo exhibit of "the most glamorous" transvestites and transsexuals of New York and Amsterdam by artist Remsen Wolff. Stonewall Inn owner Jimmy Pisano remarked, "Transvestites, transsexuals, gays and lesbians stood shoulder-to-shoulder here, so it's appropriate to salute their fearlessness here." 53 Christopher St. Through June 30 - Outweek, July 3,… Read more.

A reader writes: “I’m thinking about speaking to a Gender Studies class at the college I attend because of some ignorant comments from ignorant classmates when I took the class last semester (such as ‘I can pick out trans* people by looking into their eyes’). “The professor thinks that it’s a great idea. (I spent the whole semester educating him.) “I am not actively out at the school and would use a pseudonym if I do a presentation. The college… Read more.

On one of the trans Facebook groups I monitor a post was put up about the gruesome murder of transman  Evon 'Yung LT' Young.  One person remarked in the comment thread under the post that's why she never leaves her home, and of course my response to that comment triggered this post. That's what the haters want...They want you to cower in fear locked up behind your doors. Your most revolutionary act as a trans person is to be fearlessly out… Read more.

Then-HRC head Elizabeth Birch, August 1998 (in an interview with OutSmart magazine (Houston)): Then-HRC head Elizabeth Birch, September 1, 1999 (in Outlines(Chicago)): Outlines: The concept of trans issues … are they in partnership just like with Black issues might be, or are they integral to the agency? ENDA is just one example of how that manifests itself. Birch: I think that the Human Rights Campaign has done as much if not more on transgender issues than most other national [ gay and lesbian… Read more.

In the wake of the President Obama's historic speech referencing Stonewall, NPR ran a piece asking and purporting to answer the question, "So, what was Stonewall?" The article calls upon Martin Duberman, now 82, to retell the story of Stonewall. Martin Duberman published the first history of Stonewall in 1993. His history significantly featured trans folk. Bizarrely, the NPR author Liz Halloran seems to rewrite Duberman's history, spending many lines minimizing the trans aspect of Stonewall:  "I liked the mix of people," he said. "It was not… Read more.

This video has been compiled by TransBareAll as a response to recent transphobic articles in the press. We don't aim to debate the merits of freedom of speech, or the rights and wrongs of different sides of an argument. Instead we want to show the real impact of the way language is used, how it can affect the people it targets. In the media (and society in general) there are some words which we never use, such as the 'N'… Read more.

Twenty years ago, a now defunct trans newsletter captured a really interesting moment in trans history: a linguistic tipping point. As I've noted: "Transgender" has been around since at least 1965 "Transgender" was not "coined" by Virginia Prince Transsexuals have been using the term "transgender" since the 1970s "Transgender" was used in a modern sense as early as the 1970s Trans Terminology Timeline Here Even so, it was between the years 1985 and 1995 that the term… Read more.

Much attention has been focused on the 'War on Women', the anti-woman political policies the conservative movement and Republican politicians have been pushing for years and implementing once they gain political control of state legislatures. And yes, being that we are now estrogen based lifeforms, they affect trans women as well.. Girls like us have been fighting a two front war. Since the 1970's we've had to deal with the War on Transwomen whose reprehensible foot soldiers are radical feminists in addition to… Read more.

One of the things that has irked me about the renewed “debates” about women-only space is that the defenders of “womyn-born-womyn” (WBW) policies keep utilizing specious counter-examples to try to defend their position.  For example, those of us who are criticizing a non-inclusive women’s space are asked:  “would you critique a transgender-only space?  No???  You’re a hypocrite!”  Apparently those who espouse this position need a reminder of Social Justice 101. Women-only space is necessary.  Women are oppressed under the patriarchy,… Read more.

After finally hearing Dr. Zucker’s comments on the CBC Radio show I participated in that aired this past Monday, I had to sit and reflect. Dr. Zucker referred to us (parents of gender diverse children and the children themselves) as a “social experiment”. That doesn’t feel right, at all. He also called us a social movement, and a culture that meets for conferences and such, but that didn’t grate on me the same way his reference to a “social experiment” does,… Read more.

My Brownie uniform “True, all-girl experience,” those were the words of the teen named Taylor who is part of a group trying to get people to boycott Girl Scout cookies because the Girl Scouts allowed a transgender child to belong to a troop as reported by CNN Living, on January 13, 2012. There’s so many things that I find bewildering… where to start? First, I think it’s bizarre that we have to segregate boys and girls in groups. I was… Read more.

In the past I’ve held a quiet, personal vigil at home on November 20th for the Transgender Day of Remembrance instead of attending any of the memorial events hosted in my city & around the world. The very thought was too soul-crushing really. When friends asked me to an event last November I couldn’t even vocalize what torment the thought of attending brought me. I felt like every name spoken could be my child, and I simply could not endure… Read more.

The Internet is a wild place. It also provides one of the most remarkable resources to any social movement: the capacity to integrate resources and efforts and share narrative and information rapidly. But the flora and fauna of this digital landscape can be downright unpleasant and dangerous at times. As I'm sure anyone who's ventured into the depths of its maw can attest to. What am I talking about? Why, trolls, of course. No, not the scary things that live… Read more.

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My partner is a nut about sales. If it isn't on sale, it doesn't get purchased. So sometimes, when we run out of a breakfast staple and such, I have to remind her of that basic fact of life: "sometimes, we just have to pay full price." And then, the phrase comes back to haunt me. This usually happens around the evenings, these days. She's been talking about returning to work in a capacity which would take her out to job sites with contractors and crew, some of whom could know from her previous 20 years of work in that trade that she is trans. And I've been having troubling dreams about both that and my own job, where I've been back for several months with no trouble beyond the occasional rude exchange, and now all of a sudden I'm dreaming repetitively about getting shot in the head. The latter is not something I'm actually afraid of during the light of day, so I'm wondering what is bringing this all on. Am I sensing something nasty coming, or am I just reading the trans-related news way too much? And that's when that dirty little voice says to me, "sometimes, we just have to pay full price." And that's when I start thinking about how far we've come... or haven't as the case may be. The first GRS surgeries were performed in the 1940s, and with the rise of Nazi Germany and its pogroms, the invention of "stealth" soon followed. We've been in hiding ever since. Don't get me wrong -- I'm on record as defending a woman's and man's right to go stealth if they feel it's best for them. We earn that. But the wholesale movement toward stealth -- the lack of barely anybody to stay behind and educate the masses -- has meant that we've only made small strides during that time. The first known piece of trans-inclusive legislation didn't happen until 1993, and most of those strides have been since then. And without adult transfolk there to lay that groundwork, a crisis has developed. Because now it is children on the front lines. Read more.

Don't you just love that phrase, "used to be a man?" GARRICK Jacobson was in custody at Sydney's Surry Hills police station when he apparently discovered his girlfriend used to be a man. Within hours of being released on bail, he went to her apartment and started "belting the hell" out of her, Downing Centre Local Court heard yesterday. Read more.

“So I get on my knees and pray … we won’t get fooled again!” — the Who Fresh on the heels of Southern Comfort Conference (SCC), many of the transgender community reveled in what seemed a penultimate victory: HRC – yes, the Human Rights Campaign – was actually appearing to take the transgender community as equals. (Obviously the ultimate victory would be equal rights for us all, jobs and all.) All of the years of HRC’s historic missteps seemed to magically disappear. We’re now a welcome, if amnesiac community for the Equal Sign people. During the speeches there was much congratulation and self-congratulation, and plenty of high spirits about the impending bills in Congress awaiting votes: Hate Crimes (already passed inclusively in the House) currently awaiting Senate approval, and the all-important Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) approaching the House vote. All seemed right with the world in Trans America’s focus point that weekend at SCC in Atlanta. All seemed eerily right to some of us long-timers with memories intact as well. Eerily too right. After the speech, everyone clapped, ate, enjoyed the rest of SCC and went home. Most of us waited with baited anticipation. Myself, I couldn’t get over how this reminded me of 2002. At the SCC in 2002, HRC came down and made the big presentation again, and ushered in the coming out of a brand new national activist on the scene, Mara Keisling formerly of then-disbanded WGTE – the group name under which a study in concert with HRC was conducted. She was planning to open shop with an org of her own. No more WGTE, now NATE or NOTE was the names she was hashing over at the time (later settling on NCTE). HRC was not going to deal with the existing trans orgs -- NTAC nor IFGE, while GenderPAC left the trans fold to focus on "gender." So Mara’s sudden emergence fit them to a T, literally, and was welcomed in the HRC fold. However, it wasn’t just HRC’s king or queen-making within the trans community that was the draw of this presentation. This was more about the study findings, ballyhooed as changing the minds of HRC about trans inclusion in legislation. Word went out, there at that conference, that HRC was behind transgender inclusion and would begin such a push immediately. The question from the skeptical among us was posed as to what would happen if this ran up the HRC flagpole, and they instead decided “Nah!” and let Mara twist in the wind. Mara responded that they wouldn’t dare try, “and if they did, rip them a new asshole for publicly trashing her political credibility.” I’ll never forget the look on David Smith’s face at her answer … curious. Read more.

According to the Washington Blade:"House Democratic leaders are strongly considering dropping anti-discrimination protections for transgender persons from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, after an internal Democratic head count on Wednesday found that the bill would likely be defeated if it included the trans provision, multiple sources familiar with the bill said. "In May of this year I reported of the whispers in the halls of Congress to drop transgender people from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Some went as far… Read more.

"A Town hall meeting is an informal public meeting derived from the traditional town meetings of New England. Similarly to those meetings, everybody in a community is invited to attend, voice their opinions, and hear the responses from public figures and elected officials, although attendees rarely vote on an issue. In today's heterogeneous communities with large populations, more often, town hall meetings are held so that people can influence elected officials in their decision making or to give them a… Read more.

Transexual Menace protested HRC for lack of inclusion in their advocacy back in 2005, I think maybe it's time to protest GLAAD for the same thing. In a post entitled : GLAAD About Hate Speech, I discussed the viciousness of Michael Savage's most remarks concerning the murder of Ruby Ordenana. GLAAD's response consisted of a paragraph, released ONLY to me. So what do I get in my email box today? GLAAD Call to Action: "The O'Reilly Factor" - "Lesbian Gang… Read more.

Hillary Clinton is going to be the next President of the United States and look at all the trans friendly people who are endorsing her campaign. Can you imagine endorsing a candidate that doesn't support gays and lesbians? Why not? They don't have a problem supporting Presidential candidates that don't support transgender people, and why would you be surprised at that? Take a look at what's happening in NY with GENDA or Massachusetts where transgender people can still be fired from their jobs, harassed, beat up and murdered with no hate crime law to help with investigations or prosecutions. MASS Equality is having trouble trying to figure out what to do with their left over 3 million dollar budget. Their job is done, same sex marriage is legal, gays and lesbians have a non-discrimination law and a hate crimes law. Look out NY, same sex marriage will be next in your state too. Don't worry, they'll be back for ya...just ask Jeff Soref to help ya out, perhaps he'll even put in a good word for us so Hillary will support a trans-inclusive ENDA. I do believe there are a few members of Mass Equality on Hillary's support list too, let's all remember to thank them. While we're at it, we can thank Peter Rosenstein (another name on the "list") for his stellar support for trans-inclusion in ENDA and the Hate Crimes Prevention act. You can read about it here in his opinion piece: Should we support pro-gay legislation that does not include trans protections? Do I really need to mention Joe Solmonese's co-hostess on XM satellite radio? She gets the double whammy award for support. The list of undying support goes on and on and on but don't take my word for it, you have Google. Hold the phone! There is one transgender person on this list, go get 'em Melissa Sklarz! We like to try and change the world, one tranny at a time. Here's Hillary's support list: Read more.

"I know some of my transgender sisters question my commitment to their equality, but let me be the first (I think) to point out where the top-three Democrats on in inclusion of gender identiy in federal hate crimes legislation (where I support it) and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (where I support in principle adding it at some later date, but oppose its inclusion now)." - Chris Crain First of all, it's not just the sisters that question you "commitment" to… Read more.

If nothing else, last week was historic in that the three major transgender advocacy organizations (National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition) brought in citizen lobbyists to Washington D.C. from across the United States for a week of direct congressional advocacy. Rolling in to DC on Tuesday, I had the chance to see the lobbyists for the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) in action. Tuesday night NTAC sponsored a plenary session or… Read more.

It's coming up on two years ago that I wrote an "Open Letter to Cheryl Jacques." A month after I posted my open letter, Jacques greeted transgender protesters outside of Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) offices with the news that HRC would not support any version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that didn't include transgender protections. She later wrote: "passing ENDA without gender identity and expression is like passing a copyright law that covers books and television shows but doesn't cover… Read more.

Off to lobby Congress! I'm not sure how much I'll blog, but I plan on having audio and video to put up at some point, depending on where I can connect and upload from :) Read more.

When Chris Crain left his position at Window Media, I thought the voice of "transjack" was dead. I couldn't have been more wrong. Today the Washington Blade published an op-ed by a long time Democratic gay activist and Washington D.C. mayoral adviser, Peter Rosenstein. He writes:"On the eve of the House taking up the Hate Crimes Prevention Act it appeared that passage was not assured in this form. Republicans thought they figured out a way to strip the bill of… Read more.

I pulled a couple of well versed legal minds in to shed more light on the shared space concerns: "It's problematic for employees who have transitioned prior to employment. As I read it, it means that shower or locker rooms without private stalls are exempt, so long as employees get a shower or locker room 'not inconsistent with' their self-identified gender. Thus, a transgender person, regardless of surgical status, can be singled out for placement in a single-person shower room,… Read more.

"Harrah’s Casino says it fired Jespersen, a bartender, in August 2000 because she did not conform to the company’s new 'Personal Best' program, which required female employees to wear make-up, style their hair, and dress in high heels and skirts. During Jesperson’s 21 years at the casino, her supervisors consistently rated her work 'highly effective.' - 'The country has moved a long way from 1950’s stereotypes that all female employees must wear make-up, high heels, and dresses,' said GenderPAC Executive… Read more.

In my post, "Just Wondering" I asked where the outrage was concerning Michael Savage's attack on on transgender people. It's two weeks later, and I'm still asking myself the same question. Ann Coulter - Called one man a faggot. Don Imus - Called a team "nappy headed hoes." Michael Savage - Called a murdered transwoman a psycho freak. "Yeah, process of becoming a woman -- psychopath. should have been in a back ward in a straitjacket for years, howling… Read more.

I found this picture on TransgenderAsia: It's of Tonette Lopez, a Filipino/Asian transactivist. It's is full of so much strength and resolve it makes me want to stand up and scream HELL YES. Read more about her here. Rest in peace Tonette. Even a year after your death you still inspire people. Read more.

In my March 26th post "Just Wondering...", I asked where the outrage was concerning Michael Savage's recent tirade against transgender people. I checked the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) website to see if they'd issued any kind of statement concerning Savage's assault on the transgender community. Finding none, I contacted the only transgender contact at GLAAD that I knew of, Andy Marra (She's also on the board of NCTE, GLSEN (NYC), and NYAGRA, but you might recognize her… Read more.

HR 1592 IH 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1592 To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 20, 2007 Read more.

In my recent post, Rose Colored Glasses, I had quite a few people respond here and on livejournal. Anyone familiar with the history of the trans-community and HRC (Human Rights Campaign) will know how contentious that relationship has been over the years. In March of 2001 the board of directors changed their mission statement to include transgender people. In the six years since our inclusion it's been an uphill battle to get HRC to actually include transgender people in their… Read more.

According to a Reuters report: "As Renee Richards, the world's most famous transsexual athlete, looks back on her life, she has one regret -- the fame she attained." Dearest Renee, your 15 minutes of fame are WAY past. If you're so against the fame you received, why are you writing another book? "In the mid-1970s and when her memoir, "Second Serve: The Renee Richards Story," came out in 1983, was treated as an curiosity and besieged by television chat shows.… Read more.

Reading All We, Like Sheep? over at Box Turtle Bulletin.com, part of the post really resonated with me. "If it's not a choice (being gay or lesbian), it should be." But what choice? There's a difference between a desire and the action that follows it. My therapist explained it to me using a food analogy. "I like chocolate. I can't make myself not like the taste of chocolate, but I can decide not to eat chocolate. Desire isn't something that… Read more.

In the haze of my early AM internets blog reading I came across this post: "I'm coming out of a depression, so I'm very vulnerable, and I might not be seeing things clearly. Maybe by this time next week, I won't feel this way. But I've really had my fill of blogs. I guess I should have stopped reading blogs that feature regular doses of infighting. But Laurelin's right: there's a thin line between stirring and silence." I've felt the… Read more.

It was New Years Eve when I learned of this post, and I've spent the last 13 days digging around the radfem blogosphere reading all the posts that sprouted from that initial post. One post in particular caught my attention. As the thread developed you could see each side digging in for the long haul. As of Thursay morning, I stopped posting there because I could feel the negative energy building, which started to wear on me physically and mentally.… Read more.

From PixelPulse Magazine: When The World Professional Association for Transgender Health holds its biennial symposium from Sept. 5-8 in the U.S., there's a chance participants will be discussing what sort of role a unique environment like Second Life could play in helping people deal with gender identity issues. More specifically, they could be chatting and learning about the Transgender Resource Center that SL resident Jani Myriam opened in-world just over a month ago. Read more here. I recently visited the… Read more.