I first heard “Stand!” as performed by World Party with Sinead O’Connor as guest vocalist at the old New Ritz (which was once Studio 54): a better introduction to a song you couldn’t have asked for.

Rehumanize Yourself

He goes out at night with his big boots on
None of his friends know right from wrong
They kick a boy to death ’cause he don’t belong
You’ve got to humanize yourself
A policeman put on his uniform
He’d like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You’ve got to humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

I work all day at the factory
I’m building a machine that’s not for me
There must be a reason that I can’t see
You’ve got to humanize yourself
Billy’s joined the National Front
He always was (just) a little runt
He’s got his hand in the air with the other cunts
You’ve got to humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

and

Stand!

In the end you’ll still be you
One that’s done all the things you set out to do
Stand
There’s a cross for you to bear
Things to go through if you’re going anywhere
Stand
For the things you know are right
It s the truth that the truth makes them so uptight
Stand
All the things you want are real
You have you to complete and there is no deal
Stand. stand, stand
You’ve been sitting much too long
There’s a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There’s a midget standing tall
And the giant beside him about to fall
Stand. stand, stand
They will try to make you crawl
And they know what you’re saying makes sense and all
Stand
Don’t you know that you are free
Well at least in your mind if you want to be
Everybody
Stand, stand, stand

The Maryland Vehicle Administration (MVA) is currently considering an update to their policy regarding changing the gender marker on a driver’s license. The new policy would go into effect on January 1, 2010.

The current policy allows for a change to the gender marker, so long as an applicant is able to provide a physician’s or psychologist’s report to confirm that the applicant is in active treatment. The MVA requires annual re-evaluations until the applicant meets requirements for permanent gender change. The primary criterion for a permanent change is for the person to have undergone SRS or sex reassignment surgery.

If you’re a resident of Maryland, you can bug the governor of Maryland to keep this proposal from happening.

Under the new policy, the MVA would require an amended birth certificate. This requires going through the court system. Maryland code states that it will issue a birth certificate reflecting the proper gender only upon receipt of a certified copy of an order from a court indicating that the sex of an individual born has been changed by surgical procedure and whether such individual’s name has been changed. You cannot change the sex on a birth certificate simply by providing proof that you are undergoing medical treatment or procedures for gender reassignment.

The MVA has authority under the Maryland Transportation Code to issue corrected driver’s licenses and to establish the rules and regulations for such issuances; however, there have not been any problems with the current process, nor have there been any changes in state or federal law that would require such a change.

“The current policy is working. It balances the need of the state to provide appropriate protocols with respect for the individual,” said Morgan Meneses-Sheets, the Executive Director of Equality Maryland. “These changes would create additional hoops and legal fees for transgender Marylanders who are looking to update their driver’s license. Having a legal identity document that does not match a person’s gender exposes them to potential risk not just of embarrassment, but of harassment as well.”

PFLAG has a tidy little letter to send to your senators.

PLEASE DO THIS.

and within the LGBT community especially, as if I’m surrounded by people who can’t give it a minute to get back from space.

In five months:

• Lily Ledbetter
• funding the UNFPA
• children’s health insurance
  
• troops to Afghanistan
• stem cell research funded
• lifting Cuban travel restrictions
• Kathleen Sebelius
• signing the UN document decriminalizing homosexuality
• creation of White House Council on Women & Girls
• created Post for Int’l Women’s Issues
• same sex partner benefits for Federal employees

Plenty to do, but all of these things were pipe dreams before.

Recently, people have given her holy hell for shutting down the use of the words cisgender and cissexual because they were being used in the context of an argument that was only estranging members of the LGBT community from each other (& I’m not linking to all the posts about it intentionally as I have done so before and had my say otherwise).

The Trans-Ponder podcasters Jayna and Mila called  for some perspective this past Sunday night when it came to Autumn, particularly, citing the invaluable work that she has done on behalf of the trans community, and explained that even if you think someone’s wrong – in what opinion they hold, or in terms of something they’ve done – you don’t need to let the anger cause you to throw out the baby with the bathwater. (Their thoughts on the subject start around 53 minutes into Podcast #129.)

Dallas Denny said a long time ago that we tend to “eat our own” and in an interview with her a few years back, she clarified, in response to my 3rd question, the ideas she was trying to express when it came to trans community politics.

As someone who has taken heat for lots of things over the years, and someone who has seen even the champions of particularly useful ideas about trans subjectivity take heat for her own ideas, it makes me sad to see Autumn suffer so much. It is not easy work to build bridges within the LGBT, & Autumn has, in my opinion, done an extraordinarily good job of it. I’d like to see her keep doing that cool work, and even if she occasionally takes a mis-step — as we all do — the benefit of what she does far outweighs the mistakes she’s made.

I guess I’d ask, too, that people try to pay attention to the ratio of what they do to what they criticize. I’ve noticed that many people online who have the time & energy to work up a head of steam over what some other activist has said or done don’t necessarily spend as much time on positive activism as they do on the fine critiquing of others’ work. I am not saying that critics don’t do anything; I AM saying that anger & criticism sometimes are best-served by doing more instead of talking more. I say that as someone who has put my foot firmly in my mouth instead of doing something positive to fix what I saw as a problem. (As Betty and I like to joke about that one support group member who is constantly yammering on & on & on & repeating the same issues they always bring up, try not to be the person who seems to be saying, “I’d listen but I’m too busy talking.”)

In a nutshell: I’d like to thank Autumn Sandeen publicly for the work she has done, and to thank all the numerous people who keep working to build bridges within our communities.

Frank said transgender activists and allies have been lobbying lawmakers to support the gender identity provisions, and he’s “more optimistic” that ENDA would pass with such a provision. But Frank stopped short of saying he was certain the bill would pass with the gender identity provisions.

“There’s no certainty in politics,” he said. “People got to lobby hard. And not lobbying Nancy Pelosi, or me, or [Reps.] Tammy [Baldwin] or George Miller — they should be calling their own representatives. I’m optimistic, but it’s not a done deal.”

& Jillian Weiss will be writing a series of articles at her Transgender Workplace Diversity blog in order to answer these questions:

• How should gender identity be defined?
• Does “gender identity” language protect employees other than transgender people?
• What are the scope of the exemptions from coverage included in the bill?
• Who supports ENDA, and why?
• Who opposes ENDA, and why?
• What education do Members of Congress need?
• What should I tell my Congressperson?
• How will the relationship between transgender advocates and the wider LGBT advocacy community play out in this go-round?
• What has been the experience of organizations in jurisdictions with current gender identity protections?
• What types of issues have come up with transgender workers in the workplace?
• Is ENDA beneficial, detrimental, or neutral for the organizations that it covers?

…which will give us all more information & talking points when contacting our Representatives, as Frank says we should, so you should look up now so you’ll be ready. (On the top left side, you can put in your zip code & get the contact info for your Rep.)

What would federal policy look like if transgender people were fully and fairly included? Over the past months and years, NCTE has compiled a list of 112 separate policies that directly impact the lives of transgender people and our families that need to be added, removed or changed. Our latest publication, “Transgender Equality and the Federal Government” outlines each of these issues. We expect that some of these policies can be changed in the short term, while others will require long term activism. Some of the issues here will be at the forefront of NCTE’s work in the coming year and in other areas, our partners in this work will be the ones to lead, with our support.

You can read that document online, or check out in .pdf format.