The House subcommittee hearing on "Discrimination Against Transgender Americans in the workplace"

by: Hypatia

Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 23:59:51 PM EDT

It was great to meet Autumn Sandeen from the other coast, she's even nicer in person than she is in the blog. I got to see her mind at work as she took in the information to write up her account of the hearing. She was literally wearing rose-colored glasses there. Now that's stylin.

Tammy Baldwin was the first to speak, and though Rep. Andrews who chaired the hearing introduced her as a good listener, today she spoke up and gave eloquent testimony of how Wisconsin's 1982 antidiscrimination law allowed her to begin her political career while openly lesbian, and how unjust it is to deny that protection to trans people.

Barney Frank spoke next, and folks, I know what you're thinking. But today he was on his best behavior. He wholeheartedly supported gender identity protection with no reservation. Rep. Frank pointed out that this issue could easily have been ignored by the House, but that it was important to go ahead on it. He added: "I know what it feels like to be 'trapped in the wrong body'--when my work goes to the Senate." (Groans all around.)

Introducing Meem -- a Lebanese organization for LBTQ women

by: Hypatia

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 14:30:00 PM EDT

from http://www.meemgroup.org/

What is Meem?

Meem is a community of and for LBTQ women in Lebanon. LBTQ is defined as women who self-identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender (including male-to-female and female-to-male), queer, in addition to women questioning their sexual orientation. We believe in diversity.

Meem is based on values of equality, support, confidentiality, and respect. The group was created on the idea that women should be encouraged to empower themselves and each other through mutual support. We are a closed, private group, not out of fear, but because we work hard on guarding the safety and security of our members. We believe in empowerment through self-organizing.

Our goal is to create a safe space in Lebanon where lesbians can meet, talk, discuss issues, share experiences, and work on improving their lives and themselves. In a nutshell, Meem is a group of really cool women who look out for each other and work on making Lebanon a better home for lesbians. Oh, and we are really cool :)

Membership in Meem is restricted only to LBTQ women who are Lebanese (anywhere in the world) or living in Lebanon (of any nationality). These restrictions are there because a support group needs to remain focused. Meem started with 4 members and today has 129 members.

We are, however, working on providing support services for lesbians all over the Arab world, and we do welcome emails and inquiries from anyone, regardless of gender, sexuality, and geography.

I need help with dialogue around race and (trans)gender

by: Hypatia

Sun Mar 30, 2008 at 01:48:05 AM EDT

The only times when I get openly dissed for being trans--the only times when I get harassed for not passing perfectly-- have been when I was in the District of Columbia, the jurisdiction with the very best gender-identity equal rights in the whole USA.

I'm in a tough place with this. I was raised to be anti-racist during the Civil Rights era, and have worked on it and practiced what I believe my whole life. Plus I've worked on developing a class-based consciousness and working honestly through my white middle-class privileges. Yeah, I know remarks by white people that are prefaced in this self-justifying defensive way usually don't turn out well. But this is why it's so hard for me to talk about and why I need some compassionate interracial help with it.

10 out of 10 times I've been harassed on the street, it's been by black men, not just any black men in general, many of whom respect me as a woman, but specifically by ones who do things like loiter on street corners and shout things to women walking past.

When I first came out, I found "passing" impossibly difficult and went through tranny hell with that for a couple years. But after enough hormones, I started passing better, and since I transitioned last year, I've been passing consistently and have been able to live quite well as a woman 24/7.

That's why Saturday night's incident in downtown DC hit me so hard in the solar plexus all the more, because it was the first time this had happened since I transitioned almost 6 months ago. I know nobody can expect to pass 100% of the time, but I have been doing amazingly well with it since I transitioned, compared to before.

I was walking along minding my own business. Since I've started passing well, the loitering guys have only been shouting the stuff all women get like "Hey baby / Hey beautiful / I love you / Come with me" etc. Saturday night when this guy started it, I ignored him as always. Then he said "You're a man, aren't you!"

Meditations upon reading a letter from my trans friend in England

by: Hypatia

Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 17:49:35 PM EDT

Hypatia muses:
I really believe that there have been more closeted trans people around than ANYONE has realized until now, including many of the newly self-realized trans people themselves.

As a student of world mythology, I would say look out. In cultures around the world, gender-crossing is such a powerful magickal act of transformation that people who can do it are regarded as wakan. Shamans, sorcerors, priestesses... and later on in history, as entertainers... and that's the way it goes, I guess... But right now I see the world facing an irruption of wakan such as has not been seen before... and you know Islam along with other traditions regards mass gender-crossing as a sign of the End Times... woo woo...

I'm thinking this would make a great Neil Gaiman novel!

Confronting and disrupting neo-Nazis in Virginia

by: Hypatia

Sat Feb 23, 2008 at 21:01:11 PM EST

I told a reporter from the local newspaper that I have lived in this town for 16 years, and I felt I needed to stand up and speak out to show that racism does not belong here. She referred to me with feminine pronouns, fortunately. I transitioned last year and have enjoyed consistent success being perceived and accepted as a woman, but trans people have learned to be wary of clueless journalists. This would be the first time my new female name was in the media, and they'd better get it right. By talking with the reporter, I took this opportunity to out myself to the entire local community, my neighbors and everyone.

We shared several signs among ourselves, including "Don't Be Racist," "Hate Injustice Not People," and a circle-slash over a swastika. The anarchists carried a huge banner saying "Racistas, fascistas: ¡A la mierda!" We shouted some chants in Spanish as well as English, expressing support for Herndon's many Latin American immigrants who have been targeted by racist groups like the Minutemen from all over the country. We saw a Minutemen representative nearby, and heard reports that a skinhead gang from Pennsylvania was in the area, but they left us alone. We chanted "We don't want your racist fear, Nazi scum not welcome here."

Lobbying in Richmond for LGBT rights with Equality Virginia

by: Hypatia

Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 17:59:51 PM EST

I was there all day, left at 6 AM, got back at 9 PM. We Northern Virginians formed a small group going to offices of our region's state senators and delegates to talk about the legislation we want to pass this session. Things are looking a bit brighter in Virginia. Some legislators like Senator Ken Plum and Delegate Tom Rust were so happy to see us, our lobbying was basically just a group hug. Equality Virginia is nonpartisan, and amazingly we even have a number of Republicans on our side. For example, Republican Rust has recently posted a 100% good voting record on our issues, and he has become a co-patron of HR 1493, the state employment nondiscrimination bill, which includes gender identity along with sexual orientation. Senator Cuccinelli is one Republican who is a rabid hardcore rightwing fundie, dead set against us, very insulting and bigoted. We met with not him in person but with his legislative aide, who disagreed respectfully and not confrontationally; we had a really decent, in-depth, intelligent conversation. When we walked out of there, a transsexual woman I know from Northern Virginia said it was a good thing she didn't see Cuccinelli in person... hinting darkly...

We attended a session of the Senate and watched bills being passed. Senator McEachin spoke from the floor to call for a welcome to Equality Virginia up there in the gallery. We stood and the Senate applauded us.

On the way to our group photo on the front steps of the Capitol that Thomas Jefferson built, we passed an equestrian statue of George Washington with flowers planted around it. Brilliant purple and blue flowers thriving in the middle of winter though the wind was bitterly cold and below freezing. The flowers were pansies. One of our lesbian members remarked: "Notice the only ones who are TOUGH enough to take it are the PANSIES!" We all laughed and I told her that witticism was going in my blog, it was too good not to pass along. She was so happy I told her that.

Virginia's new state employment nondiscrimination bill is trans-inclusive

by: Hypatia

Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 23:29:28 PM EST

The relevant part of the bill:

Kuwait: Growing Crackdown on Transgender People

by: Hypatia

Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 18:04:24 PM EST

Kuwait: Repressive Dress-Code Law Encourages Police Abuse

Arrests Target Transgender People

(New York, January 17, 2008) - Authorities should immediately release more than a dozen persons jailed under Kuwait's new dress-code law, Human Rights Watch said today. The law, approved by the National Assembly on December 10, 2007, criminalizes people who "imitate the appearance of the opposite sex."

"The wave of arrests in the past month shows exactly why Kuwait should repeal this repressive law," said Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East division at Human Rights Watch. "Kuwaiti authorities should immediately drop all charges against those arrested, and investigate charges of ill-treatment in detention."

Security officials have arrested at least 14 people in Kuwait City since the National Assembly approved an addition (Article 199 bis) to Article 198 of the Criminal Code. The amendment states that "any person committing an indecent act in a public place, or imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex, shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars [US$3,500]."

Dress codes based solely on gender stereotypes restrict both freedom of expression and personal autonomy, Human Rights Watch said. The only known targets of the new Kuwaiti law have been transgender people - individuals born into one gender who deeply identify themselves with another. Kuwait allows transgender people neither to change their legal identity to match the gender in which they live, nor to adapt their physical appearance through gender reassignment surgery. The new law, coming after months of controversy, aims at further restricting their rights and completely eliminating their public presence. In September 2007, the newspaper Al Arabiya reported a new government campaign "to combat the growing phenomenon of gays and transsexuals" in Kuwait.

On December 18, 2007, Al Watan newspaper announced the arrests of three people at a police checkpoint in Salimeya, 10 km southeast of Kuwait City. Days later, police arrested three more people at a checkpoint in Kuwait City. On December 21, security officials detained another three people on Restaurant Street in the Hawalli district, 8 km south of Kuwait City. The same day, two other people were detained at another police checkpoint. Authorities have reportedly arrested three more people in January, one in a coffee shop and two in a taxi stopped by police. Police arrested all 14 because they believed they were "imitating the appearance of the opposite sex."

All the people detained are being held in Tahla Prison. Friends of the accused told Human Rights Watch that police and prison guards subjected the detainees to physical and psychological abuse. Al-Rai newspaper quoted police as saying that the "confused [men were] deposited in the special ward," and that the prison administration ordered guards to shave their heads as a form of punishment. The paper quoted a prison administrator as saying "this step [shaving heads] follows the passage of the law concerning men who imitate the appearance of women." Friends report that at least three of the prisoners were beaten and one was left unconscious. Authorities deported one Saudi Arabian national among those arrested, to face trial in that country. None of the detainees has access to legal representation.

Transgender people in Kuwait tell Human Rights Watch that they are now afraid to leave their homes - even for work or to meet basic needs - for fear of arrest and ill-treatment. Arbitrary and intrusive gender-based codes for acceptable demeanor and dress violate the rights to privacy and to free expression protected under international law. The beatings and ill-treatment to which authorities reportedly subjected the prisoners violate internationally recognized prohibitions against torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Buckingham Palace, 1885

by: Hypatia

Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 22:48:24 PM EST

William Gladstone: Your Majesty, work on the Criminal Law Amendment is nearing completion in Parliament. I am pleased to inform Your Majesty that we shall be outlawing every manner of... indecent behaviour.

Queen Victoria: We take it that you refer to the "Greek vice," Mr. Gladstone.

WG: Indeed, Your Majesty. That along with the practice of... er... Sapphism.

QV: We are not sure of your meaning, sir. Surely you do not mean to imply that ladies actually commit such vile acts?

WG: Um... er...

QV: Haven't you read your Bible, Mr. Gladstone? Well, have you?

WG: Er, yes, Your Majesty.

QV: I have, I mean, we have, read right through the Bible and found no mention whatsoever of this. Therefore, it is beneath our notice. We will hear no more of this.

human evolution - go for it

by: Hypatia

Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:52:36 AM EST

I posted a review of PHB in my journal

by: Hypatia

Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 16:33:39 PM EST

Meet my favorite blog - Pam's House Blend (always steamin')

Pam's House Blend is my major site for up-to-the-minute political LGBT news and commentary. Highly intelligent, confrontational, and informative, plus a really fine community of progressive hearts and minds has been growing there. Pam is a lesbian woman of color down South who REALLY tells it like it is. And she has lots of like-minded writers contributing. The blog is fast-paced, always something new, always current, vital, and alive. I feel at home there.

Pam's iconic image is of an always-steaming coffee cup, which is right on--hot, black, tasty, and mentally stimulating.

http://johanna-hypatia.livejournal.com/90652.html

Want Ads: Looking for Mr. or Ms. Goodbar

by: Hypatia

Wed Dec 26, 2007 at 16:24:25 PM EST