Gender Nation is a bi-weekly column by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, reviewing news affecting the trans, intersex, and genderqueer community. Obama-era trans prison policies rolled back A federal lawsuit in Texas is at the heart of an attempt by the Justice Department to roll back protections for transgender inmates and is the latest in a string of rights losses under the Trump administration. In a revised Transgender Offender Manual, the Bureau of Prisons will… Read more.

Gender Nation is a bi-weekly column by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, reviewing news affecting the trans, intersex, and genderqueer community. State health case could have national ramifications The state of Wisconsin may have violated the rights of two state residents by denying medical treatment related to them being transgender, claims a Federal lawsuit. The plaintiffs, Cody Flack and Ann Makenzie, have been turned down for surgical care by the state. Wisconsin Medicaid classified treatment… Read more.

Gender Nation is a bi-weekly column by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, reviewing news affecting the trans, intersex, and genderqueer community. Military Ban is stayed, once again In yet another rebuke of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, a federal judge has once again barred the implementation of the administration's ban on transgender people serving openly in the United States Military. The Government had been arguing that their ban on transgender service members… Read more.

Recently in BuzzFeed in the article Feds “Ready” For Transgender Discrimination Complaints In North Carolina, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner Chai Feldblum was quoted as saying: I want workers to know that even though there isn’t yet a federal Equality Act protecting them, even though there is not a state law protecting them, and even though city laws have been removed, they can walk into a federal agency called the EEOC. Their claim will be taken, it will be… Read more.

Pat Cordova-Goff, an 18-year-old college student and Trans Youth Justice Organizer for TRUTH (a position jointly funded by GSA Network and Transgender Law Center) started a petition on the GSA-Network's website entitled Boycott 2015 "Stonewall" Movie. The petition, which currently has over 22,000 signatures, begins by stating: To: the potential viewers of STONEWALL To all considering watching the newest whitewashed version of queer history, It is time that black and brown transwomyn and drag queens are recognized for their… Read more.

In January of 2014 California, Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins introduced the Respect After Death Act (AB 1577), and Gov. Brown signed it into law the following September 26th. As of July 1, 2015, it requires the official responsible for completing a transgender person’s death certificate to do so in a manner that reflects the person’s gender identity if they are presented appropriate documentation, such as written instructions from the deceased person confirming their wishes, an updated birth certificate… Read more.

On Friday, July 10, 2015, the Privacy For All coalition announced in an email entitled "The Naked Facts" the kick off of the California Secretary of State named Limits On The Use Of Facilities In Government Facilities And Businesses initiative, previously referred to as the Personal Privacy Protection Act by their coalition, and similar versions of this bill proposed in other states referred to Bathroom Bounty Bills by trans activists… Read more.

Facebook recently came out with a way to "rainbowify" your Facebook icon to show support for the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage equality. Soon after, a way to "celebrate trans pride" was also released. Recently a friend of mine, Shadi Petosky, posted on Facebook something that expressed my feelings about the trans flag perfectly: "I'll never use the trans flag on my photo or in any context. It's anti-feminist, not one flavor of feminism wants to continue codefying baby pink… Read more.

I'm not sure why the Hillary Clinton campaign is sending me their LGBT related emails (I've never solicited this), but it seems as if I've been put on her press list. Today I received this: It's an email from the Clinton campaign, reminding us that Clinton is the candidate best suited to tackle "LGBT" rights. In case the campaign needs a lesson on what the LGBT acronym means: L is for lesbian G is for gay B is for bisexual… Read more.

Cianán is a lapsed Ph.D. chemist, writer, public speaker, trainer, activist, and assessment expert whose interests in activism are transmasculine representation in global trans activism and development of the public concept of trans folks as complete people with lives, identities, and desires beyond simply being trans. As a gay trans man, his personal interests also include expanding the visibility of the variety of trans folks, prevention and treatment of sexual violence and rape amongst trans survivors, and sexual and reproductive… Read more.

(Added emphasis to specific statements by Lisa Vogel and/or official MichFest press releases and documents is added throughout the piece with bolded orange text.) Lisa Vogel posted an official Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (MichFest) statement on her Facebook page on August 18th, 2014. The statement is in regards to MichFest and the long-running womyn-born-womyn policy/intention for the festival. It's been crossposted a number of times, including to the LGBT news site Between The Lines. Lisa… Read more.

I remember the first time I encountered Transgender Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) transmisogyny face to face. It was years ago in 2011 when I attended the 33rd Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (MWMF or MichFest) in stealth. If you're not on the up and up on what the MWMF is, this page will briefly catch you up to speed. At the time, I was a little naive as many of you reading this may be. Back then, I was unaware… Read more.

This is a long-form article on MichFest's co-founder and current producer Lisa Vogel. The article contains extensive text of what Vogel has stated regarding trans people over several decades, as well as analysis and commentary on her carefully evolved language, but unevolved perspective, that trans women are males. Lisa Vogel, a co-founder and the producer of the Michigan Women's Music Festival (known more commonly as MichFest and by the acronym MWMF), has consistently defined trans women as both… Read more.

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.

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.

The Chicago Sun-Times published an op-ed by Kevin D. Williamson entitled Laverne Cox Is Not a Woman. The op-ed was Williamson's response to the Time Magazine spread where Laverne Cox was featured on the cover of Time Magazine issue with the header The Transgender Tipping Point. The Williamson op-ed was first published by the National Review and was then picked up for crossposting by the Sun-Times. Included in the text of this op-ed were problematic paragraphs such as these: Regardless… Read more.

Back in 2011, Cathy Brennan and I were among a group of people working to pass Maryland's HB 235 (Prohibiting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination) into law. I developed what I thought was a friendship with her while working on the bill -- this was the e-mail she sent me that changed the tone of our relationship. I asked her in a comment thread on Pam's House Blend, the blog I then contributed to, whether or not she… 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.

Judith Butler is a preeminent gender theorist and has played an extraordinarily influential role in shaping modern feminism. They've written extensively on gender, and her concept of gender performativity is a central theme of both modern feminism and gender theory. Butler's essays and books include Performative Acts and Gender Constitution (1988), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990), Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex" (1993) and Undoing Gender (2004). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7o2LYATDc However, the concept of gender performativity… Read more.

I look to Sylvia Rivera, who passed in 2002, was an activist icon whose action approach to civil rights is one I admire. I like to think I've emulated part of her action approach to civil rights when I chained myself to the White House fence twice for repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but I don't think I've come close to measuring up to her example. But, she used terminology that was appropriate in her day for trans… Read more.

The following is a peer-reviewed paper originally published in Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society. The article was co-authored by the TransAdvocate Editor, Cristan Williams and Dr. Rawson of the College of the Holy Cross. K.J. Rawson, Cristan Williams, 2014 The current ubiquity of the word transgender might imply that it is an uncomplicated word.1 It circulates widely—in the media, in academia, and in the titles of organizations, archives, and resource centers—to the extent… 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 don't mind if you take pictures, especially like liposuction me, if you've got any sort of like...yeah, Photoshop -- something like that. But, we're not recording tonight. We recently were targeted by the IRS for those of you on our email list; we recently just finished -- and you'll be hearing more about this -- an audit by the Attorney General that was due on the same day that final numbers on AB1266 came out." - Karen England,… Read more.

The highest and deadliest mountain in the world could be just a bump on Monika's road less traveled Manoj Shahi Monika, a third gender person from Kailali, Nepal could be the first documented trans person to climb Mount Everest, but to do that the 35 year old must first make summit. The climb made famous by the book Into Thin Air is fraught with dangers that have maimed and killed many who have tempted fate. There is a saying… Read more.

Who has the problem with her competing with cisgender woman? Chloie Jönsson is suing Rebox CrossFit for 2.5 Million dollars after receiving a letter reeking of cisgenderism and transphobia telling her she could not participate with other women in the March Cross Fit Games. In a letter obtained by TMZ Sports  she was told by CrossFit "We have simply ruled that based upon being born as a male, she will need to compete in the Men's Division." CF argues… 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.

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.

On Monday, January 13, I interviewed Judy Chiasson of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for a bit under an hour. You may remember that she was the LAUSD representative who gave testimony before the California Senate Education Committee in June of 2013. The interview for the most part was about AB1266 and what the Los Angeles Unified School District policy regarding transgender students. Key parts of the interview include her take on whether LAUSD is going to change… Read more.

Sometimes, one just has to call out pure, unadulterated bullsh**. The following is my letter to the Toronto Star editor as submitted. Dear Letters to the Editor, I'm concerned about the question in the most recent that Ethically Speaking columnist Ken Gallinger posted in his most recent column entitled Transgender woman’s behaviour in changeroom unacceptable. The question maligns both transgender women and the management of YMCAs and YWCAs, and it wasn't fact-checked for accuracy. The question in the… Read more.

The data in this update is in large part from a peer LGBT community activist who wants to remain anonymous, and the commentary is mine. The update is accurate as of the December 10th update found on the California Secretary of State's page on the AB1266 referendum update page. The position of the proponents has improved since the December 4th update. Counties that have completed the spot-checking of signature validity: 32 of 58. Percentage of total signatures turned in that… Read more.

If we don't get it -- enough signatures -- we have to get over a half-a-million signatures, and if we don't...we aren't able to get enough signatures, then it goes into effect on January first. And then it's...we're going to see victims -- I believe we'll see victims all throughout the state of California. Boys and girls -- You know, 13 year-old, 14 year-old girls who suddenly find themselves in the same shower bin as a naked boy...a 16 year-old… Read more.

The Secretary of State's office described the process and procedure for qualifying the School Success And Opportunity Act (AB1266) for referendum on the November, 2014 ballot: Once the requisite number of signatures has been collected, they must be filed with the appropriate county elections official(s). Counties then have eight working days to report the raw count of signatures to the Secretary of State. If the raw count of signatures equals 100% or more of the total number of signatures needed… 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.

It's just not enough to know what you're against: we also need to know what we're for, and then work and sacrifice to create the kind of world we want to live in. And, sometimes it takes more than keyboard activism to create that kind of world. On November 19, 2013 -- on a day before the annual Transgender Day Of Remembrance -- The Transadvocate organized an action in front of the Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California entitled… Read more.

With talking points, it's easy to demonize a class of people as a class of people. When confronted with one, very humanized person who belongs to that class of people, it can be hard for someone to stick to the class demonization talking points. An example on point: the demonization of trans female youth as a class of people -- people described by the demonizers as male -- as bathroom and locker room predators of cisgender girls. The Pacific Justice… Read more.

I've collected a number of quotes from those against California's School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266) referendum signature drive and should it turn out to be successful. There's also some background quotes by some of the characters or organizations involved with signature drive as they give some context for previous comments. So, to give you an idea of the measured words of the PJI at the hearing on AB 1266 (The California Success and Opportunity Act) bill and their… Read more.

Ben Lopez of the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) testified against California's Success and Opportunity Act at the State Senate Education Committee hearing on June 12, 2013. An excerpt from his testimony: This bill would call for any student and young adult who perceives themselves to be something other than their sex at birth to share shower facilities, restrooms, locker rooms with gender or sex they feel they are at any given time. The problem is that this bill, or current… Read more.

It All Depends On The Audience The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) has been at the center of a controversy because of what they've clamed about the behavior of a trans student at a Colorado high school. They've turned her into a predator...a monster...a "nightmare" example of what trans female youth will do if they are universally allowed into any public school's girls locker rooms and restrooms. And as Transadvocate editor-in-chief Cristan Williams has pointed out, one of their transparent reasons… Read more.

Within the activist circles I run in, I routinely hear people accuse others of appropriation, or claim that certain behaviors or endeavors are appropriative. I myself have written about how certain people (e.g., cisgender academics and media producers) sometimes appropriate transgender identities and experiences (discussed more below). So I am certainly sympathetic to the concept. At the same time, however, I have seen the concept of appropriation used (or misused) in order to undermine marginalized groups as well. For instance,… 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.

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.

It's kind of sad, really. Progressive talking heads on cable television aren't talking about Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signing AB 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act. (The act will become law on January 1, 2014 -- the tenth anniversary of California's first transgender rights bill, AB 196, the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, becoming law.) From the Transgender Law Center's description of the bill that Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed on August 12, 1213: California law already prohibits discrimination in… 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.

There's an interesting, but sad story found on the Army Times website entitled West Point sergeant charged with filming naked female cadets. From the article: A sergeant first class on the staff of the United States Military Academy at West Point faces charges for allegedly filming numerous female cadets without their consent, sometimes when they were in the shower, according to the Army. The suspect, Sgt. First Class Michael McClendon, faces charges under four articles of the Uniform Code of… Read more.

fter my surgery and later issuance of a new birth certificate last November, I wanted to apply to the Department of the Navy (DON) to change my recorded gender. The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) keeps track of servicemembers and retirees genders, so I wanted, for gender affirmation and DOD acknowledgement, my gender reflected in my Department of Defense (DOD) records. There is no gender marker on military identification cards, so it's not an issue of being outed by… Read more.

There are whys to transgender activism, but beyond the whys of transgender activism there are the whats: there are the goals of transgender activism. Here are seven goals of trans activism with some explanation as to why these are trans activism goals. Employment antidiscrimination protections. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)/Task Force report Injustice at Every Turn A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, trans and gender non-conforming respondents experienced double the rate of unemployment: Survey… Read more.

Dehumanization of murdered trans women seems to be the norm these days. No matter how many times GLAAD and trans activists reach out to teach journalists how not to revictimize murdered trans women -- especially trans women of color -- there always seems to be a "next time." A new example of a "next time" is found in John Caniglia's two articles for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, entitled Oddly dressed body found in Olmsted Township pond identified and Brutal slaying… 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.

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.

This is part of a lecture given on May 5, 2010 by Prof. Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University. Prof. Sapolsky reviews studies he feels make a compelling case for those who assert that transsexualism is actually a type of intersex condition. More on gender orientation Those interested in gender roles and the brain should read Cordelia Fine's Delusions of Gender. Fine does an excellent job at debunking pernicious myths while chronicling the history of the way neurology has been used… 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.

S. Bear Bergman (co-author of Gender Outlaws) and Suzy Malik have a great ebook for transkids. The book tackles issues like judgement and compassion in a way that's accessible to youth (grades K - 3).  The ebook is available as a free download via iTunes. The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy follows title-character Tulip as he deals with the birthday wishes of all the nine-year-olds in North America. Somewhat reminiscent of the Disney film Prep & Landing, Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy gives an… 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.

So about once every year or two, somebody comes out as trans in a rather high profile way. Two years ago it was Chaz Bono. Before that there was Christine Daniels, Susan Stanton, and others before them. When this happens, I usually experience a mix of emotions. Lots of trans folks celebrate the visibility that comes with these high profile coming outs, and how it can humanize us in the eyes of the world. In my case, when I came… 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.

Recently, I have experienced a round of attacks by some radical-identified feminists and lesbian feminists for my writings and transgender advocacy.  There is a long history of conflict between transgender/transsexual people, especially trans women, and radical feminists and lesbian feminists that dates back beginning in the 1970s.  The pinnacle of this battle was when lesbian feminist Janice Raymond published her notorious book The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male in 1979.  For nearly 15 years, Raymond’s anti-transsexual screed often… 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.

Well, TS Separatists have warned us for years that progress will never be seen under the rubric of the transgender borg. The time has come for me to admit that the Separatists were right about it all! I’m so ashamed! After all of this time and effort… we’ve changed nothing… nada. We’ve made no progress at all! They were right all along! Just kidding! The Separatists have been and continue to be proven wrong about just about every single meme they’ve hysterically pushed. The newest blow to… 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.

as if you needed to read any more...     THE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR OF THE SERIAL RAPIST From 1984 to 1986, FBI Special Agents assigned to theNationalCenterfor the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) interviewed 41 men who were responsible for raping 837 victims. Previous issues of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin provided an introduction to this research (1) and the characteristics of the rapists and their  victims. (2)  This article, however, describes the behavior of these serial rapists during and… Read more.

“Tranny” seems to be a contentious term within the GLBT community. For many in the trans community, we’ve known “tranny” to be a term associated with the gay (specifically gay male) community; a term used by gay men to talk about the trans experiences in a pithy, ironic or comical way. The term is usually spelled one of two ways: “Tranny” or “Trannie”. Recently a number of notables have begun experiencing the ire of the trans community when the term is used in a public forum. The… Read more.

Following worldwide outrage, an ad campaign for Libra feminine hygiene products, which had been circulating in Australia and New Zealand, has now been put on hold. The campaign had attracted widespread condemnation as offensive to women and hurtful to the transgender community, and it is likely that if it does re-surface, it will be significantly amended from its original version. A spokeswoman for Libra product, which is the leading brand of feminine hygiene product in the Australasia region, said today… Read more.

“Children should be seen and not heard.” How many times did I hear this when I was little? After a while I didn’t need it whispered into my ear anymore, I embodied it. I knew there were things I was never expected to say, at home or out in public, like they never happened. Off limits for good, like a dangerous abandoned mine. It made for an interesting supper time as my family sat around chatting. Never characterized as quiet… Read more.

Yesterday I wrote a post about Kelly Osbourne's transphobic rant in the Glamour UK. There were many attacks on my character by the Kelly Osbourne Twitter Army, but one tweet questioned my use of Angie Zapata in criticizing Kelly. I told Osbourne that: @MissKellyO R U denying U used "chick w/ a dick" or tranny? Do U know how awful ths words R & how they dehumanize us to the point of death? The Transadvocate @MissKellyO and you should learn… Read more.

As I said before, I set out doing research into the etiology of the term “transgender’” to satisfy my curiosity about claims made about the term. I’ve therefore focused on the eras which are most consistently discussed: 1970 – 1979, 1980 – 1989 and 1990 – 1999. However, in satisfying my curiosity by going about this in the way that I have, I realize that I’ve probably inspired more drama than I’ve allayed. Some of the 1990s era documents that… 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.

It is beyond sad that some people, trans and non-trans alike, think that Chaz Bono’s upcoming appearance on the stupid reality show “Dancing with the Stars” amounts to anything more than a hill of beans.  As trans people suffer tremendously from systemic and institutionalized discrimination and oppression (alongside many non-trans people) the trans “issue du jour” (after Lady Gaga’s appearance in male drag on the VMAs…yawn) is the fact that D-list “celebrity” Chaz Bono has been offered a slot on… Read more.

When Cathy Brennan recently published her transphobic missive to the UN at radfem Hub, it reminded me of a similar kind of radical feminist transphobic screeds from the past. In 1977 Sandy Stone was the focus of a controversy concerning her inclusion into the Olivia Records women's collective. The following letter, "Open Letter to Olivia" and Olivia's response were posted in "Sister: West Coast Feminist Newspaper" in the June-July edition of 1977. "Dear Olivia: We are writing concerning your decision… Read more.

On January 28th, 2011, if you were told that the Trans community would be more organized than the LGB community moving forward in the next legislative session, that Marriage and the Gender Identity anti-discrimination bills would both come razor close to passage yet fail and the Equality Maryland (EQMD) would for all intents and purposes, cease to exist, you'd laugh until you dropped. I don't hear any laughter today. On January 28th, 2011, Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk introduce in the Maryland… Read more.

I'm pissed. Every year I write this post. EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN YEAR. You just can't help but feed off the dead. You did it in 2007, in 2008, and 2009, and you're doing it again this year. What am I talking about? Every year I do a post about a group that is either exploiting or misusing the Transgender Day of Remembrance.  Today after reading Gwen Smith's  "Dancing on Graves" on the subject, I get this in my email: Today… Read more.

As far back as we have history of transgender people, we have appropriation (a nice word for theft) of our history by gays and lesbians. I wrote a post about Albert Cashier, who was a veteran of the Civil War and lived as Albert most of his life. His identity stayed intact for most of his life. Only until he was admitted to Watertown State Hospital was it widely known that Cashier was born female. When he was forced to… Read more.

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A press release from transsexualities.com: Transwoman removed from female washroom by security and subjected to transphobic slurs for using “wrong bathroom” KELOWNA, BC - On Sunday, October 26th, at approximately 2AM, a transwoman was dragged out of the women’s washroom at LeVeL Nightclub. A LeVeL employee who identified herself as Carly Wilson, initially directed the victim, a regular patron, to the male washroom after Wilson was asked where the female washroom was located. The victim pushed the door slightly open… Read more.

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"Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God. I don't know but today just seems kinda odd.... Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A. ... Today was a good day." – It Was A Good Day, Ice Cube As I intermittently work on this blog the day before the trial begins for the murder of Lateisha Green (fka: Moses Cannon), I'm thankful for a few things. First of all, the District Attorneys appear to be taking… Read more.

Pat Robertson spouting off about Barack Obama's announcement of a "Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination" asked "someone's proud to be transgendered? His historical record seems a bit off, since the fall of Rome happened when it WAS A CHRISTIAN NATION. So to answer you Pat, yes we are proud. Many of us are unashamedly transgender. If you would read your Bible, you'd know that: Isaiah 56: 4 For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who… Read more.

Last Thursday Jason Bellini of the Daily Beast reported that  the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) had made a deal with the Obama Administration to delay repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy in an effort to focus on the federal hate crimes bill and Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). I thought it sounded too good to be true. For a minute I was almost proud of them for doing the right thing! On twitter Jburroway, of Box Turtle Bulletin, asks… Read more.

GLAAD recently put out a "Call to Action" against KRXQ's "Rob, Arnie, and Dawn" show after they went on a nasty verbal tirade against transgender children. Since the outburst, show sponsors Snapple, Sonic, Chipotle, Bank of America, Verizon, Carl’s Jr (CKE Restaurants), Wells Fargo, Nissan North America, AT&T, and McDonald’s have all pulled advertisements on the show. I asked on twitter how many sponsors had to pull out before they apologized, and it looks like these were enough. This comes… Read more.

Maybe it was my naiveté, but I always thought when I got my documentation changed, I transitioned, and was passable, that I'd be able to live the nice normal life I did before transition. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Recently I was interviewed a few times and offered a job... and then I got that dreaded call. "Marti, we were doing our normal background check and we have a problem. We keep getting a rejection with your gender."… 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.

Reading Nexy's blog, I found out about a post over at Feministing and the boycott that's being called by some in the transgender community. The title of the post is "Men in Women's Bathrooms, Is Your State Next?" I don't believe the post itself was bad. The original post author, Miriam, asked in the last paragraph: "Here's the thing that always gets me about the bathroom debate: The idea that laws governing a space which by nature is unpoliced, unregulated… 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.

According the Washington Blade, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) approved a policy statement that"the group will not support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, if it excludes language protecting persons from discrimination." The Advocate followed suit with: "The Human Rights Campaign adopted a policy statement on Wednesday that says the group will not support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if it excludes protections for transgender individuals. The statement was approved by the HRC board of directors in Washington, D.C. 'It’s the… Read more.

"I don't give a shit whether or not they [MTF transsexuals) want to chop themselves up. I don't give a shit if they want to wear dresses. That doesn't make them female. It doesn't mean their issues and concerns are female issues and concerns. So long as female issues and concerns are subsumed to and absorbed by male interests (as they are when male people call themselves and are accepted as female), women will never socially realize our full humanity AS FEMALE PEOPLE." 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.

Today we discussed Christian intolerance, transgender children, transsexual marriage, and sexual amputees! Read more.

Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin and Gay News Blog I was introduced to this lovely piece of transphobia: video under the cut. Read more.

Sources on the Hill confirmed to The Transadvocate that Barney Frank's office will announce the hiring of Diego Sanchez today. Sanchez will replace outgoing senior policy adviser, Joe Racalto. Read more.

Transgender Kids In Bathrooms, Five Tips for Transgender Students Seeking Campus Housing, Mermaids and Trannies Read more.

Running for office in 2003, Althea Garrison said that a:

"most compelling reason why someone should vote for me is that I am different and unique from the other candidates, when candidates run and loose [sic] elections most of them goes back to their obscurity not me I continue to fight and bring issues to the limelight,"

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I was looking at videos for my YouTube post and found this video titled "Twin Boys Living As Girls". It was taped in the early nineties, and is from the Jenny Jones Show. I sat their thinking this was just another trans segment on talk TV. It is not. When I realized who these two girls were, a sat here trembling, on the verge of tears. If you are not aware after watching the video, of just who these young… Read more.

I don't know why I didn't see this earlier, or why it just now hit google alerts, but I think it's a pretty good interview. ------- I love this video. I'm going to burn it to DVD and start giving it away to people that want a trans101. It's very well done. ------- And now... a vantreliquest! ------- Read more.

I really do hesitate to even write this post, as the topic is a rehash of one of the ugliest times for GLBT unity I've ever seen. Recently Matt Foreman said the following on the Michelangelo Signorile Show concerning the ENDA debacle: I think what really happened is the Speaker's people said 'look, Congress has a terrible reputation right now, they're not delivering for any progressive causes, what do we do to deliver for our progressive allies?' That means labor, health, and environment, and gays. And so, I mean... I don't know this for a fact, but I'd bet my life this is what happened. They went to Barney frank, they said, 'what do we need to do to pass ENDA?' Representative Frank, who's always been pretty squeamish on the trans issue, ... and I guess I can say these things because I'm leaving my job, ya know, said 'look the best way to pass ENDA and the easiest way is to take out gender identity.' And I don't think the Speaker's people thought this through, didn't think it through and said 'lets do it. ' Yesterday, Barney Frank came on Signorile's show to respond to Foreman's statement and said: He just made that up, that's not remotely how it happened. He also has no basis for talking about my attitude on transgender people because I've had one set of conversations with Matt Foreman about transgender people. In 2002, when he was the head of Empire State Pride Agenda, he lobbied hard to get through the New York legislature a bill that did exactly what our bill did last year, it covered discrimination based on sexual orientation, but excluded people that were transgender. Some people didn't like that. Tom Duane said at the time that Matt Foreman excluded him from meetings on the subject. Matt Foreman not only helped get that bill through, frankly, and this I disagreed with, as part of the deal to get it though, that year the Empire State Pride Agenda endorsed the Republican George Pataki for reelection over an outstanding African American Democrat, Carl McCall. So you had Matt Foreman guiding to passage an ENDA bill that didn't cover transgender, it was called SONDA for the State of New York, and in return, denying an endorsement that I think he should have gotten on to Carl McCall. The reason I talked about it with him was because called me around that time, this is late 2002, and said 'I'm being criticized for doing this, would you come to a meeting that we're having in New York to celebrate it and give an award for Gov Pataki to show that uh people shouldn't be attacking me for it.' And even though I did disagree with decision to make make the deal with Pataki, I do believe that you work together with each other, and you try to be supportive, and I went up there. Read more.

I really can't believe all the ridiculously negative things I've been hearing about the 2nd grade student that is transitioning at school. Here are a few examples: Public schools have been involved in a sick propaganda campaign that encourages and collaborates with the advancement of mental illness in children. - Stop The ACLU.com It is a basic fact of biology, sex is immutable. If you are born a male, you will die a male. There is absolutely nothing any mortal can do about that. Yet for some strange reason, we seem to think that are sex is like a pair of socks, which can be changed on a whim. Putting a dress on a boy, having him the girl’s room and calling him a female name, can not and will not make this John Doe into Jane Doe. It has can’t be done and it has never been done. School systems should be in the businss of teaching life and not pandering to delusions. Putting a dress on a young man and calling him by a girl’s name will not make him into a female. It will only make him into a boy with a dress.We are what we are, and we can not change what we are by wearing or not wearing a dress. Stop pandering to utter foolishness. - Bits Blog It makes one wonder what is happening to our culture when a 2nd grade boy decides he has to dress up as a girl and his public school chooses to accommodate his feelings. - Dallas Blog The original purpose of the public schools was to indoctrinate children in being “Good Americans.” At the time, this meant Protestant patriots who worked for work’s sake. Now, public schools are still indoctrinating little “Good Americans,” but this time it means supporting the idea that man is first, last, and all-importantly a sexual animal whose desires, no mater how perverse, need to be sated without consequence or guilt. First, it was Sex Ed. Then condoms and abortion referrals. Then, GLBT clubs and gay proms. Now, this satanic doctrine is manifesting itself in the policy of a public school in Colorado allowing a sexually confused second grade boy to come to school dressed, and addressed, as a girl. - Fish In A Barrel 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.

(As I'd mentioned, it's time to move on from the previous discussion. I admit, I probably wouldn't have reacted as badly if the debate hadn't touched on something that was freshly raw for me personally, but as it is still a raw nerve, we'll leave the HBS thing be. I thought I'd go with something far less controversial. Politics is being overdone right now, what with all the stuff on the primaries, so I thought I'd take on Religion. -- Mercedes) Modern churches do an excellent job of creating an equation between the questioning of fallible teachers, preachers, copyists and translators, and the questioning of God Himself. You can do one without necessarily doing another. But "all scripture is given by inspiration of God..." (2 Timothy 3:16) is usually used to rebuff any inquiries about the many interpretations of those scriptures. Assuming that all scripture was given by inspiration of God, it should also be kept in mind that all scripture was also interpreted and worded by a myriad of authors, then recopied by hand for thousands of generations, passing through different translators and copyists, each with differing biases. All New Testament scripture was additionally collected at the Council of Nicaea, where it was decided which books (and which specific versions of them) to keep and which ones to ignore or destroy. This was done under the guidance of an appointee (Eusebius Pamphilus) of the first actual Pope (although they later retroscribed themselves back to the apostle Peter), the Emperor Constantine I, who wished to forge a new religion that was a synthesis of Mithraism, fledgling Christianity, and Constantine's own worship of the sun god, Sol. He also intended to set himself up to be portrayed as the returned Christ (although it did not quite end up working out that way), which was understood at that time to mean an earthly King-level saviour. And in addition to the hands that scripture passed through being imperfect, so too are those of the preachers who deliver it on Sunday. Religious leaders have repeatedly abused and misused scripture for their own ends, right into modern times -- sometimes innocently but other times specifically for the acquisition of money, political power and fiercely loyal masses. 150 years ago, the church used scripture to justify slavery, alleging among other things that Black people had no souls. 100 years ago, scripture was used to resist emancipation, re-establishing womens' role as a subservient one and portraying them as not worthy or intelligent enough to be able to vote. Even today, scripture is twisted to assert the subordinance of women. Can we question the church's teaching while relying on our heart to sort the truth from the centuries of spin-mongering that has tainted it? I'd think we'd have to. 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.

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.

Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it And the reaction will be passionate Give 'em the old hocus pocus …. Give 'em the old three ring circus” — Richard Gere as Billy Flynn in the song "Razzle Dazzle" from the movie “Chicago” What the hell is up with being trans? Seriously, why is it such a heinous scandal to have someone attached to anything hinting of crossdressing or transsexualism? One would think that in 2007 we’ve progressed beyond that stage, but clearly that’s not so. A couple of items jumped out at me this week prompting this rant. One was a tabloid (Star or Enquirer, can’t remember which) with a blaring headline replete with photos showing a sad looking Cher, and an alternate photo of daughter Chastity Bono in what appears to be a man’s suit. The headline was: Cher’s Heartbreak Over Chastity’s Sex Change Decision. The other item concerns photos released of Oscar DeLaHoya and trumpeted as lead story on Entertainment Tonight for multiple nights in a row, even bleeding over into the nightly six o’clock local news at one point. The photos have what appears to be the boxing champ in a fishnet bodysuit, spike-heeled pumps and even wearing a wig with a jaunty fedora in one photo. Read more.

Every year around this time I start seeing the GLBT media get in a feeding frenzy about the HRC's Corporate Equality Index (CEI). Story after story is told of how American corporations are getting better and better for GLBT Americans. That may be true for GLB Americans, but the transgender part of the index is fatally flawed. The transgender wellness benefits defined in the 2c component include: 1. counseling by a mental health professional 2. pharmacy benefits covering hormone therapy 3. medical visits to monitor the effects of hormone therapy and other associated lab procedures. 4. medically necessary surgical procedures such as hysterectomy or short-term disability leave for surgical procedures A company only needs to give ONE of these benefits to get the five points. What does that mean in a practical way?Nick Gorton MD explains it this way: "Let's say you are Dominos Pizza and you get the HRC CEI index survey to fill out. One question asks you if provide "medically necessary surgical procedures (i.e. hysterectomy)". Then it asks you if you exclude transgender employees from this benefit. If you state that you don't exclude transgender employees then you get 5 points on item (#4) 2.c on the CEI. So lets say your policy is that if a transgender man has invasive cervical cancer that your insurance will actually (shock and horror!) pay for his hysterectomy rather than condemning him to death for an untreated cancer. Well then heeeeeey! All of a sudden you are hella transgender friendly, Dominos. (And yes, Dominos got that.... Christian-Fundamentalist funding Dominos offers transgender benefits.) Companies like Microsoft, General Motors, IBM, and Eastman Kodak will get the same grade as Dominos, even though they comprehensively cover (they cover parts a, b, and c, including sex reassignment surgery). Read more.

The vitriol over at Traditional Values Coalition is heating up. As Bil over at Bilerico has reported : "The Traditional Values Coalition has a series of offensive cartoons they've been circulating since ENDA became a possibility. While the group isn't known for their Christ-like love of truth, this latest flier steps outside of their usual circle of lies and deceit to directly attack two people who, as far as I know, aren't doing anything to their organization." You can find… Read more.

Recently, I read a blog post about an FTM complaining about being judged by other transgender people about living "stealth." To those of you who feel the need to live secretly, I say this; if you wish to live your life in a closet that is your choice. But don't be surprised when I judge you for this. For as long as folks with passing privilege hide in their closets, there will be a stigma attached to transgender people because… 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.

Just when you think you’ve heard it all …. Just a couple weeks ago, President George W. Bush let loose what we in Texas parlance (at least among polite company) term “a whopper” (no, not the hamburger). First he went on news saying how we needed to get more results from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s Administration, and start seeing real progress. This coming right on the heels of the Iraqi ministry taking a month of vacation while the life-or-death issues of this “fledgling democracy” teetering on the brink are put on hold with all the urgency of reviewing a bill on water allocation to farmers. Seemingly, give-‘em-hell-George appeared to be lighting a fire under the Prime Minister. Then at almost breakneck direction change, the Mr. Bush calls another press conference to reiterate his “unwavering” support of Al-Maliki, and blasting critics calling for his ouster. He goes on to chide the critics of Al-Maliki, noting, “it's not up to the politicians in Washington, D.C., to say whether he will remain in his position. That is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy and not a dictatorship.” Odd that Georgie would bring that up because a mere year and a half ago, it was Ibrahim Al-Jaafari that appeared poised to be re-elected as Prime Minister in Iraq. Unfortunately for him, the White House wanted none of that. The Bush Administration insisted Al-Jaafari step down, and Al-Jaafari dug in his heels initially and refused. With no small amount of arm-twisting, and some help by enlisting the cleric Ali Sistani to show that Al-Jaafari’s obstinance would hold the nation back, the man who the Iraqi Parliament would’ve elected stepped aside. The man that Iraq’s Parliament on whole were not so keen on (especially the Sunni segment), was instead “democratically elected” – with a little help and wisdom from their neighbors halfway across the globe! Hey, we would expect nothing less in our own democracy, right? And while Bush’s words sounded like the typical beat-up-a-Democrat, Congress-been-keeping-me-back rhetoric, he was actually responding to critics within his own party. The astonishing part of all of this was … Bush did this with a straight face! More impressive, virtually no one called him on it! It’s something we’ve seen a startling increase in, especially in the 21st century: Real-Time Revisionism. Unlike other examples in history, these days revisionism can’t wait for the history-book writers to massage the facts in a decade or two. No, history is now revised now in the span of a mere year or two. This brand of nuanced politic-speak has been perfected to an art form by the Bush / Cheney Administration, most notably with the Iraq War mission creep. Revisionism has also become a well-used defense or attack strategy by the RNC, and to good effect. And in typical RNC fashion, as long as you say it loudly enough and long enough (especially if you shout the challengers down) it becomes fact. It’s notably helpful to have the press in your pocket, where they can participate in spreading the desired outcome of what’s already past. To be sure, this isn’t strictly a conservative trait. Indeed some of their counterparts have watched their success with revision and wish to duplicate for themselves. It’s become a concept that’s in vogue in the GLBT political community as well. It’s not a new approach by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as they’ve used this to lesser success over the years. Lately, however, it’s become much more forward, particularly with a sales push to the transgender community. Claims made about their historical “support” of inclusive language in either Hate Crimes or Employment Non-Discrimination bills fly directly in the face of reality. In later years they’ve taken note of the pressure of other GLBT organizations pushing them to get with the program that most others adopted years ago: actively pushing for trans-inclusive language. It hasn’t stopped them from trying to support language such as the Senate bill that has gender only as they attempted to slide with in the previous Congress. Now, with the assistance of a few trans leaders they tap to assist in getting their marketing message to the transgender community, the message is all about how they’ve supported us all along. Ahem, nice try. Read more.

While the Dems got through with their debates a week back, in the interest of fairness it behooves me to at least give the GOPpers a report with regards to Trans America. Two weeks earlier, they had their first network debate with all candidates currently declared (Fred Thompson is not one of those) in Iowa; the following week they conducted their straw poll there, with the expected victory for Mitt (the only presidential candidate ever named after a baseball glove) Romney. For the sake of fairness, the other top-tier candidates to date – Rudy Giuliani and John McCain – skipped the straw poll. Fred Thompson has not officially declared, so he’s officially not a candidate and polled better than the aforementioned other skippers. So what does this mean for GOP America? Moreover, what does this communicate to Transgender Americans? Read more.

I am an atheist/agnostic so I'm not sure why Jesus has been on my mind lately, but he has. So many Christian bloggers have written about the sin of being transgender. God, help us here in America. We have made a total mess of Your plan for us. We have forgotten that without You we are nothing and we have nothing. We have made a mockery of your creation by allowing people to change it completely. We have kept our… Read more.

Meredith Brooks once sang: " I’m a bitch, I’m a lover I’m a child, I’m a mother I’m a sinner, I’m a saint I do not feel ashamed I’m your hell, I’m your dream I’m nothing in between You know, you wouldn’t want it any other way" But I guess there are some gay men who aren't channeling Meredith. From the Washington Blade's "Bitch Session" "It’s transgender people that need the gay and lesbian movement to succeed not the other way around. They are a minority within a minority who couldn’t get very far without us yet they always arrogantly fail to recognize that! Learn some humility instead of being so damn uppity. To the transgender activist who had the gall to say that gays and lesbians can’t move forward without them: The fact is transgender activists have opposed gay rights legislation in the past simply because they weren’t included! Despite their being as bad as Christian conservatives or selfish brats, we often managed to succeed without them! They should thank us for forgiving them for this and allowing them to retard our progress by including them now!" Read more.

From the Evangelical Bible: I Fundamentalists: 1 And Christ said "if you're a transsexual, you're doomed. 2You deserve to be raped or sexually assaulted." Or so it would seem from the Jesus blogosphere : "If I may put this delicately, will these bathrooms make any concessions to that biological reality formerly known as "sexuality?" You know, body parts; will men be able to use the facilities in a manly way, or must we sit? One of the more painful memories of my life was visiting my brothers, David and Nathan, at Macalester College and having to use their coed dorm bathroom. Icky yuck-yuck. Gross. Cooties were caught." - Bayly Blog Apparently these "men of God" have an issue with gender neutral bathrooms that are safe places for transgender people. Read more.

In KQED's recent interview of J Michael Bailey and Alice Dreger, Bailey said:   "Again I reject the assertion that it's all transgendered people are offended by my book. Many transgendered people are actually very happy that people are finally talking about this phenomenon called autogynophelia, which they feel captures their motivation." I actually think that Bailey is wrong and that a majority of transgender people see Bailey's work as a direct attack on their lives. If you do too, I'd ask that you please sign a petition I made at:   http://www.petitiononline.com/trans4us/   Please spread the word about this petition to as many people you can think of. Alice Dreger's dredging up of this old controversy has inflamed the right wing blogosphere with such wonderful posts as: Read more.

From a recent report out of UCLA entitled: Comparison of Hate Crimes Rates Across Protected and Unprotected Groups ( by Rebecca Stotzer, Public Policy Research Fellow at the Williams Institute) Current proposed legislation would change certain existing federal hate crime laws to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories. Sexual orientation and gender identity are important categories for inclusion in federal law because members of these groups are just as likely to be victimized as members of other… Read more.

During the HRC/LOGO Presidential Forum John Edwards was asked: MR. SOLOMONESE: Susan Stanton is in our audience tonight. She was, for 17 years, the city manager in Largo , Florida . She did her job well; she was respected and admired. And when it was revealed that she was transgender, she was fired. So my question for you is if a member of your staff came to you and told you that they were transgender and that they were thinking… Read more.

It was billed as the "HRC Foundation and Logo Presidential Forum" but you could have just as easily called it the "HRC and Logo Presidential Forum on Marriage Equality. But it wasn't supposed to be that way. According to Donna Rose's blog: "I have been told by people who would know that a decision has already been made that each candidate will be given a "T" question (their words, not mine). When I sent my list of questions this morning (the deadline was noon), part of the response I got back was that they particularly "like the more general ones because it requires them to be more forthcoming." For the record, there was ONE question during the entire forum that was a "T" question. Joe Solmonese asked John Edwards the following question: "Susan Stanton is in our audience tonight. She was, for 17 years, the city manager in Largo, Florida. She did her job well; she was respected and admired. And when it was revealed that she was transgender, she was fired. So my question for you is if a member of your staff came to you and told you that they were transgender and that they were thinking of transitioning, how would you react to that? And who in your life has influenced what your reaction might be?" Read more.

I won't lie, I'm a lover of history. One of the the blogs I regularly read is Civil War Women. The blog is thick with biographies of women that lived and thrived in the Civil War era. One of the "women" she posted about caught my eye. He was born Jennie Irene Hodgers, but lived most of his adult life as Albert D.J. Cashier. Albert served in the 95th Illinois Infantry Regiment. The 95th was was part of the Army… Read more.

Typically, when reading about radical feminists on various blogs, it's an "us verses them" type of debate. I've been thinking a lot about that, as witnessed by my last post, Michfest Music Melodrama I've been thinking a lot about the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival lately. So much anger and divisiveness occurs between radical feminist and transgender bloggers, it really turns my stomach. Very few posts on either side attempt to understand each other. so much so, it ends up being… Read more.

Chris Crain has repeatedly suggested 1, 2, 3, 4 that transgender people don't need to be included in the Employee Non-Discrimination Act because "existing federal civil rights laws have already been interpreted by some judges to protect trans workers." A recent EEOC informal discussion letter would suggest otherwise. Historically, courts and the EEOC have held that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination against an individual because of transgendered status. See, e.g., Ulane v. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., 742 F.2d 1081… Read more.

I've been over at Feministing all day, writing responses to "You learn something new every day." The post is a response to The BBC's recent coverage of a debate with Julie Bindel. Julie believes that sex reassignment surgery is a "mutilation." The debate over there is one of the best I've ever encountered. There's a whole lot of cross talk and listening, and very few personal attacks. This is the first time I've ever posted about this in a forum where I didn't feel like I was talking to a wall. I've included some of the comments, and my responses, under the cut. Read more.

Things I learn from the radical feminist blogosphere: -" Male-to-female transsexuality/transgender is really about men’s rights. It has nothing to do with feminism. As such, as feminists, just as we oppose men’s rights, in general, we oppose this manifestation of men’s rights as well." - "Radical feminists are no more “transphobes” than we are “manhaters.” To allege that we are is to indulge in sexist, misogynist, anti-feminist propaganda." - " Female-to-male transsexuals/transgendered persons are situated much differently than male-to-female transsexuals/transgendered… Read more.

I'm continually amazed at the hatred and bigotry shown by the Fox Broadcasting Network. The fall lineup includes the inherently transphobic series, "There’s Something About Miriam." The series first aired in the 2004 in the UK and features six men who try to win the affection of 21-year-old Mexican model Miriam. In the final episode it is revealed to the suitors that Miriam is a preoperative transsexual woman. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ACJL41x3QE" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /] The series originally ran in the… Read more.

I've been home a little over a week from my vacation on the R Family Vacation summer cruise to the Bahamas. I've had a week to sit back and reflect on the trip. For those that don't know, R Family Vacations is the brainchild of Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O’Donnell. It's billed as a cruise for GLBT families. From the R Family Vacation website: R Family Vacations is truly the most inclusive GLBT vacation offered. All of our vacations are… 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.

It was striking seeing a blurb by a spokesperson in the Iowa Republican Party responding to the prospect of former-President Bill Clinton lobbying for his wife Hillary’s presidential campaign: “After Bill Clinton tarnished the name of the president of the United States, the Republican Party restored hope, respect and morality within the Oval Office by bringing positive ideas and conservative values back to the White House.” Reading this caused me to respond with one of those GEICO© caveman moments: “Yeah,… Read more.

As the Hate Crimes amendment to the Defense Funding Authorization is being debated in the Senate, it’s funny hearing some of the arguments coming from those opposed to allowing the additional protections to sexual orientation and gender identity. Many of the callers advocating for killing the Hate Crimes amendment have taken liberty of saying it infringes on free speech. Nothing in the Hate Crimes bill (S. 1105), nor the amendment to the defense-spending bill with the exact same wording, makes… Read more.

Pride Party this year was fun, and probably left most of us a little fuzzy-minded. Like all parties where we partake a bit too much, there’s always the obligatory hangover. This year I made good on a promise and attended a friend’s Pride party at THE Pride Parade in New York City. Yes, my hometown Houston’s Pride Parade is unique in that it’s at night, with lit up floats – the only night Pride Parade in the northern hemisphere. Even… 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 I have this obsession with words. I've never particularly liked Queerty.com because it's posts on transfolk generally border on bad taste/transphobia. The most recent edition sports this headline: When I think of the use of the word tranny, I think of the words of George Carlin: [kml_flashembed movie="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" width="430" height="346" fvars="m=598001949;type=video"/] The point being, if you are a transgender person and you say tranny, it's acceptable because the intent isn't negative or hateful. But if your not, it's… Read more.

In reading the recently published "Interview: Transgenderism Emerging on the Heels of Homosexuality in Media" at the Christian Post, I sat amazed with my mouth agape at the following statement. "When you look at Scripture for example, when Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 6:9 about the following group of people will not inherit the Kingdom of God. One of those groups of people he calls the “soft men.” Now the meaning of that essentially, in its historical context, is men… Read more.

You've probably heard of the ex-gay movement. You may have even heard of the ex-ex-gay movement. Odds are slim that you know anyone that is ex-transgender. But have you ever known anyone that is ex-ex-transgender? You have if you've read this blog. In 1997 I confessed to my wife that I'd cross-dressed most of my life. After her initial shock wore off, she began to accept and integrate this part of me into our marriage. This was an activity that… 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.

When I hear "This is my friend _____ , she's transgendered", I cringe. It may seem innocuous, but using the word "transgendered" indicates that being transgender is something you have done to you. Imagine someone saying "this is my friend Andy, he's gayed" or "this is my best friend Betty,  she's lesbianed." Like being gay and lesbian, being transgender isn't something that you have done to you, it's part of who you are. I'm proud to be of Irish, Scot,… 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.

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.

Like a herpes sore, certain arguments pop up continually in the transcommunity and never seem to go away. Recently Gwen Smith wrote the editorial "What's In a Name?" that discussed the term "women born transsexual (WBT)" or "Harry Benjamin Syndrome." Suzanne Cooke responded to Gwen's editorial with "Good-Bye to Transgender and All That." In it she announcing her "divorce" from the community. She claims that Gwen Smith "castigates post-sex reassignment women who identify with the term "WBT" or 'women born… Read more.

It's such an amazing thing, the transformation of Transadvocate.com. Once a blog of my personal opinions and beliefs, TA has become everything I ever envisioned it to be when I first purchased the domain on March 1st, 2002. There is enough traffic here that many times a good discussion happens without me commenting. Transadvocate.com is slowly becoming more about community, and less about me. Transadvocate/Abnormalheights.org blogger, Autumn Sandeen has amazed me with her thoughtful and in depth posts. That being… Read more.

That should be the title of Peter LaBarbera's Americans for Truth (AFT) website. His latest post attacks sports reporter Christine Penner. "I challenge 'Mike/Christine' to do a column describing, in detail, 'sex-reassignment surgery' – whereby a penis is turned into a makeshift 'vagina' — assuming he is one day going to go that route. ('Transitioning' people are required to live one year as the opposite sex before undergoing the horrifying operation.) Then we’ll see just how 'natural' all of this… Read more.

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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.

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.

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.

I recently was asked to review the movie "American Beauties" by Groove Films. The description that came with the email gives you a slight clue that something is amiss here. "American Beauties (2005) is an award-winning documentary on Asian transgender immigrants. We enter the secretive, often misunderstood world of immigrant male to female transgenders. In a series of illuminating interviews, Amanda, Imani, Kimberly and Kosal I've revealing insights on the issues closest to their hearts: discrimination, prostitution, and sex reassignment… Read more.

Why has GLAAD make such a big deal about Ann Coulter's slur of John Edwards and the Superbowl candy bar commercial, but has been silent on Michael Savage's rampage against transgender men and women. Their front page features this: But where is the same call to action against those stations that carry Savage? His comments are MUCH WORSE than anything that has come out of the mouth of Coulter. http://www.transadvocate.com/files/2007/03/savage-20070323.mp3 SAVAGE: The wages of sin are death. You're gonna cut… 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.

Donna Rose responded on her website to my "Rose Colored Glasses" post by saying: "One trans advocate blogger was quick to react (read his post here)." His? Wow, this isn't starting off so well. She continues: "Last year there was indeed a problem. The trans-inclusive version passed in the House, which was a historic achievement in that it set a precedent that trans-inclusive legislation could indeed pass. However, Sen. Ted Kennedy, a co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate, would… Read more.

In March of 2006, I suggested to members of the Indianapolis GLBT activist community that they not support the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) fund raisers in the state until HRC fully supported transgender people in hate crimes legislation. I received an email back from Donna Rose, who served on the HRC Business Council. "There is a significant amount of history to overcome – full of anger, frustration, and distrust. None of us can change the past. However, to believe that… Read more.

is what life is for a transgender youth that can't come out. Hell, as a child I wouldn't even think about it, lest someone peer into my thoughts. I wore masculinity as my shield to keep others from hurting me. I ended up trusting no one and living a life that was very lonesome, even when surrounded by others. I wish the support todays youth has would have been around when I was a child. It would have saved me… Read more.

The right wing blogs are a fire with the story of a german 12 year old that is transitioning from male to female. Here is a sample:"This is wrong. A boy decides he is a girl--a boy--and psychiatrists and doctors agree to get on with the hormones before he has even had a chance to experience puberty and perhaps come to different conclusions." - - SecondHand Smoke "This is just sad. I doubt the boy is truly happy." - Right… Read more.