Recently Rebecca Juro wrote a post at the Advocate called "No, Obama's Executive Order Is Not a (Total) Win" that I find extremely short-sighted and politically naive.  Soon after the election in 2008 of President Barack Obama, many started to question President Obama's claim as a "fierce advocate" for the LGBT community. I have my issues with the President (mainly on issues of privacy and his use presidential power). But in realm of LGBT advocacy, he has lived up to… Read more.

Bayard Rustin is a civil rights icon of the African-American and gay civil rights movements. In 1986, Rustin gave a controversial speech entitled "The New 'Niggers' Are Gay," and that speech is included as an essay in the book Time On Two Crosses: The Collected Writings Of Bayard Rustin. I believe it's time to revisit Rustin's concept of defining what the current litmus paper and barometer of social change is in 2014. In 1986, Rustin believed that African-Americans are… Read more.

By Cathy Renna @cathyrenna Possibly inspired by Laverne Cox and Orange is the New Black, I blurted out the title of this post at a recent panel about media coverage of transgender issues, as I was trying to put into context the quality of coverage of transgender issues today, as compared to gay and lesbian issues in the early 1990s. It has stuck in my head since. Back then I was working at GLAAD and gay and lesbian people were still… Read more.

Everyone, except GLAAD that is Rupauls contestants yucking it up after being told they will be using a transphobic slur in determining whether a person is a 'real' woman or a psycho case Rupaul, the clown in pancake makeup has figured out a way to be even more obnoxious.  Perhaps he feels that he should fill the vacuum left by the passing of Fred Philps and become the country's next most hated man? Maybe,… Read more.

  I will be at the White House next weekend and not outside looking in but inside it with the rest of the LGBT bloggers, who will be attending the 5th Annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening.. Having attended my first one last year I'll tell you, except the unexpected, every second. But this year is extra special. I will be visiting the president's house as a reporter for the transadvocate, formally a blog, but now a newly designated news site.… Read more.

By Cristan Williams @cristanwilliams Arizona state senator, Steve Yarbrough (R) sponsored Senate Bill 1062, hailed as a "property rights" bill aimed at ensuring that business owners and social service organizations would have the right to discriminate on the basis of religious freedom. Devon Mills, speaking for Yarbrough's office said, "It allows business owners to use religion as a reason to deny someone business if it conflicts with their religious belief." Arizona Democrats, who argue the legislation is a way to legalize discrimination against LGBT… Read more.

On Monday, January 13, I interviewed Judy Chiasson of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for a bit under an hour, and this post is the second segment posted of this interview. You may remember that Chiasson was the LAUSD representative who gave testimony before the California Senate Education Committee in June of 2013. This segment of the interview for the most part was about AB1266 and what the Los Angeles Unified School District policy regarding transgender students. This… 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.

  This is imagery of the flags we paraded at the San Diego Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) march. Note we flew an American flag -- shown in the center of the photo -- to highlight trans people are Americans. The far right flag is the Transgender Pride flag that Monica Helms designed for the 1998 Phoenix, Arizona pride march. In between the American flag and the trans flag there is a TransAmerican flag -- a pink, white, and blue… Read more.

A reader writes: “I am having issues determining my sexual identity since transition from female to male. Dating and having a relationship are things I consciously took off the table while I was in the early stages of transition. It is now three years into transition and the idea of having someone in my life is sounding pretty good. “Although I am attracted to the male physique and enjoy the visual of a handsome, sexually attractive man, I just don’t… Read more.

I have some thoughts on how Pvt. Chelsea Manning's gender dysphoria was rolled out. Let me begin by saying I'm going to give, and I'm going to advocate for, respect for Manning's chosen name and publicly embraced gender, and I'm going to use female pronouns and call her Chelsea. That; however, comes with a mixed bag of emotions. I'm going to respect Chelsea's public request in part because of the Biblical teaching I learned as Pentecostal youth that I still… Read more.

Jennifer Usher posted up on her blog a post entitled Slacktivists? ROTFLLMAO!!!!! as a response to my recent Transadvocate post Transsexual Separatist Slacktivism Doesn’t Win Legislatively. I haven't made it a habit of responding to her, but I am doing so this time -- and personally to her at that. Jennifer, I know I'm violating the "don't feed the trolls" axiom about responding to folk who, with intent, try to provoke angry or personal responses, but in this case… Read more.

Call them classic transsexuals or women of operative history; call them true transsexuals or transsexual separatists -- whatever you call them, you can also call them ineffectual slacktivists. Over at LGBT Weekly where I write the Trans Progressive column, the August 15, 2013 column is about this year's California Transgender Advocacy Day. About fifty people, including trans adults, trans youth, parents of trans youth, and allies lobbied for three bills that will impact trans people -- trans people who are… Read more.

Crossposted with permission from OutServe Magazine, the magazine of OutServe-SLDN. By Anonymous Memorial Day weekend is, first and foremost, about remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. It honors the many sacrifices of those who served and who are currently serving. It lifts up families and friends who have lost loved ones to combat and in the line of duty. It recognizes the best our nation had and has to offer. Last week, as I have on every Memorial… Read more.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. During the civil rights struggles of Martin Luther King Junior's day, he was appalled by the silence of those whom he believed were, or should have been, on the side of African-American community civil rights. So with that in mind, The Advocate posted an… 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.

Back in 2009 I asked the the question if there were a right way to be LGB Or T. As I consider the personal difficulties of my past few years, especially those difficulties relating to community orthodoxies externally imposed on me by others, I find myself revisiting the idea behind my now four-year-old question. And now with Suzan asking a similar themed question in her recent post HBS: Play Ground for Frauds, Bullies and Self-Loathing Transsexual-Transgender People and wannabee Transsexuals,… Read more.

The POTUS noted Stonewall in his 2013 inaugural address: We the people declare today that the most evident of truth that all of us are created equal -- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King… Read more.

One of the ongoing arguments I hear and I reject whether it comes from the LGB end of the spectrum or the trans end of it is that 'there is no LGBT community'. Granted I've railed more than a few times on this blog about some of the contentious history that has occurred between elements of it, but the evidence is overwhelming that an LGBT community exists. While I believe there is an LGBT community, at the same time I… Read more.

After my last post about a profile on Grindr using ex-gay writer Matt Moore’s photo and personal details, I contacted Moore, who responded as follows: The grindr profile was really mine. I’ve been on it on and off for the last couple of weeks. Like I told the guy who sent you the picture, I am wrong in having been on grindr. I haven’t changed my views on homosexuality, the bible, etc. Creating a grindr profile and talking to guys on it… Read more.

Over the last year or so, I have read a number of blog entries and Facebook rants about the so-called “transsexual versus transgender” issue. For those who are unaware of this debate, it stems from a subset of transsexuals who feel that the transsexual community is not served well by being included under the transgender umbrella (some even go so far as to insist that there is a mutually-exclusive dichotomy between transsexual and transgender people). Along similar lines, these transsexuals… Read more.

Please note at writing, the planned dedication service for the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial has been postponed. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.… Read more.

It’s really interesting to see how mainstream cable newsmedia is lauding the Democratically-controlled 111th Congress for getting so much done. It’s not entirely undeserved of course, but when one takes a close look at what actually did get done this past session of Congress in terms of protecting and ensuring equal civil rights for all Americans, we find that their actual results are really not quite as impressive as some would like us to believe. The repeal of Don’t Ask,… Read more.

To those that use Angie Zapata's death as a way to "raise" your profile by covering the trial, shame on you. I have to agree with Brielle over at Women In Love. "Anyone who presents a rational ideology to empower the lgbt as a whole is basically ignored. People want blood. It’s the only thing that really draws their attention. We want liberation! we want free speech! (Please coat with blood first though, thanks)The dozens of sites that routinely re-post… Read more.

It's the day before Sunday and I'm sitting here planning out my vid for Trannystar Galactica. For those not in the know, Trannystar Galactica is a channel on Youtube that's trans related. Every week is a new topic and there's a different host for each day of the week. I alternate with Mila and Jayna of Trans-ponder. It's a fun gig for me, considering I'm a "look at me, look at me!!!" type of gal. In order to stand out, … Read more.

So when I was offered a blog spot I was excited but at the same time I was scared. I love to write and I'm pompous enough to believe that others give a shit about what I have to say. There's a lot on my mind especially with everything going on this past year. As of this month, April , I will have been transitioning for a year. It's been a um... very interesting year. One full of heartaches and… Read more.

Today on the show we discussed: Allyson Robinson+IFGE=HRC <3 ??? Here We Go Again: IFGE Elects HRC’s Allyson Robinson To The Board HRC and Their access to power. After expending political capital over Rick Warren, I wondered how much has ole' Joe got. HRC Relishes Sudden Access To White House Obama Fundie Watch Revelations of Truth Why I pray for our new president Dr. Kenneth Zucker's War on Transgenders Non-Discrimination Legislation: Transgender people plead for law change Campaign Puts The… Read more.

In my last blog post, Where Your HRC Donations Are Going, I reported that HRC had donated money to sponsor the Log Cabin Republicans but that they had donated zero dollars to sponsor the Stonewall Democrats. Let's take a closer look at who HRC is NOT supporting and what that effect has and will be. Read more.

With passage of The Matthew Shepard Act in the Senate on Thursday, it should have been a time for celebration. But on the heels of the victory came the news that gender identity could possibly be stripped of from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The Advocate confirmed the story tonight saying: "The Democratic House leadership is considering stripping protections for transgender people from ENDA after a preliminary vote count found the measure would not pass if it had trans-inclusive language. 'The fact of the matter is, we’ve been canvassing this -- the votes just are not there for a trans-inclusive bill,' said Steven Adamske, spokesman for Rep. Barney Frank, sponsor of the original bill. Reps. Frank and Tammy Baldwin, the only openly gay members of Congress, called for the count after they learned House speaker Nancy Pelosi feared the measure lacked enough support to pass." Matt Foreman took the bold step this morning by posting to Bilerico.com "A non-transgender-inclusive ENDA? No way!" Around the same time, a statement was put out by the Executive Directors of nine national LGBT organizations saying: Our collective position remains clear and consistent regarding the status of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. Our organizations oppose the removal of protections for transgender people from ENDA. We would also oppose any bill that did not protect transgender people. We are shocked and upset that, according to the Washington Blade, influential members of the House of Representatives have apparently made a decision to remove protections for transgender people from the bill. If true, this decision was made without consultation with leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. While we don’t doubt the sincerity of Congressional leadership’s intent to take action and be helpful to the LGBT community, we cannot disagree more with this strategy. We will continue to work with LGBT supportive members of Congress to urge their colleagues to immediately drop this strategy. Jody Huckaby, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc. Mara Keisling, National Center for Transgender Equality Kate Kendell, National Center for Lesbian Rights Jon Hoadley, National Stonewall Democrats Rebecca Fox, National Coalition for LGBT Health Jeremy Bishop, Pride At Work, AFL-CIO Clarence Patton, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects Andrea Densham, Mautner Project 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.

I'm getting rather tired of posting about this, but J. Michael Bailey is at it again. He posted "Transsexual Smokescreen: Ignoring Science In “The Man Who Would Be Queen” at Scientific Blogging.com. The post is a microcosm of the disingenuous nature of this man. He's said in multiple forums: (from the KQED Forum interview) I wrote what is commonly understood to be a popular science book, in which I reviewed serious academic work by myself and other scholars." So the book is science? 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.

As some of you may have noticed, there was no Carnival of Bent Attractions (COBA) post last month. This was partially due to the move of COBA to Transadvocate.com. So without further ado, the May addition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions! Romeo Vitelli's April 1st post, "Becoming Lili" reflected on the life of transsexual trailblazer Einar Wegener. "Born in Denmark in 1886, Einar Wegener must have seemed a typical male of his time. The role that he (or more… Read more.