An Ally, & a Priest
Another trans ally has been attacked defending a few trans teenagers, and right here in Queens, NY.
People often wonder why, as an ally, I get so upset about violence against trans people, but I know that as much as I’d prefer to be the type of person who would run & save myself, I’d be the idiot who got in the transphobic asshole’s way.
But more than that: sometimes people assume New York is some trans mecca. In some ways, it is. But the reality is, it only takes one transphobic asshole to ruin someone’s day.
I hope the folks at Carmen’s Place all recover okay, & that they find somewhere they feel safe.
Trans for Obama
The National Stonewall Democrats are doing a cool thing: trying to track transpeople’s donations to Barack Obama. The letter they sent out not along ago is reprinted below the break in full, but the basic idea is that, if you’re trans, & you want to donate to Obama’s campaign, you donate through their website, so that the donations can be “counted” as a bloc.
Excellent idea. Go do it.
Being Funny. And T.
Courtesy of Veronica, I found a great new blog by a woman who is too damned funny. Between her & some of Calpernia Addams’ recent gigs, we seem to have discovered a sense of humor here on Planet Trans. & Just in time, too.
Welcome to Life
Thomas Beattie gave birth to his daughter today.
Our best wishes for the happy family. Thomas, you rock.
Felicity’s Last Flight
Felicity Chandelle, pilot and crossdresser, died Monday at the age of 102. She was, as far as I know, the world’s oldest living crossdresser. I interviewed her a few years ago, when she turned 100, and not long after that she donated all of her papers – many of them magazines about crossdressing – to the LGBT Center Library here in New York. Some of them would not be able to be used until after her death, whereupon her male, legal name could be revealed, as if her part of her collection, too, were crossdressed.
Thanks for the gift Felicity. Fly right.
Congress to Hold First Ever Hearing on Trans Issues
Today is America’s first Congressional Hearing on transgender issues. The hearing, “An Examination of Discrimination Against Transgender Americans in the Workplace,” is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 10:30 am in room 2175 of Rayburn House Office Building. Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) called the hearing as Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor. Witnesses have not yet been announced.
“I am really proud of the role that NCTE played in getting us to this historical day. This is not only an opportunity to be truly heard by our fellow Americans, it will help to build the foundation for significant changes in federal laws protecting transgender people from discrimination,” notes Mara Keisling, Executive Director of NCTE.
Committee hearings are open to the public and you are welcome to attend in person if you are in the area, but please be aware that space is limited. Some hearings are broadcast on CSPAN and streamed live through their internet site. You can stay up-to-date by checking NCTE’s blog.
WATCH:Â If you would like to watch the first Congressional Hearing on transgender issues, you may be able to watch it through the committee’s live webcast at http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia-li…eam_070124.asx
Psych!
I try to watch a new show, this time Psych, because the trailers always seem funny, and what do you know? A man is being haunted by someone who keeps redecorating and leaving long red hair everywhere.
It turns out he has multiple personality disorder and one of his personalities is a woman trapped in a man’s body. She’s been going to a shrink to find out about SRS.
The third personality is homicidal and doesn’t want his genitals changes. So first he kills one shrink for helping the trans female identity, and is about to kill another, when the two guys of Psych figure it out. The name of the show was “Who Ya Gonna Call?”
I can’t escape trans. I can’t. I want to watch a stupid show & it’s still about gender expression. Though I do appreciate that the homocidal personality and the transgender personality weren’t the same. Is that progress? Maybe.
Another Reason I Love Crossdressers
Erica Foley, a blogger on TGB, recently decided to do a photo shoot that was inspired by the first few pages of My Husband Betty. If you remember it, it’s about why a woman wearing her husband’s shirt is considered sexy, while a man who’d put on his wife’s slip, isn’t.
So here he is being the girl enjoying her guy’s clothes- though of course the girl & the guy are one & the same:
Just love genderfuck like this. Love it.
The Other Hand
The AMA passed a resolution attempting to make home births illegal, and yet in the same session, they also passed Resolution 114 (MS Word .doc):
Whereas, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a serious medical condition recognized as such in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases; and
Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression, and, for some patients without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and
Whereas, The medical literature has established the effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery in the treatment of patients diagnosed with GID; and
Whereas, Many health insurance plans categorically exclude coverage of mental health, medical, and surgical treatments for GID, even though many of these same treatments, such as psychotherapy, hormone therapy, breast augmentation and removal, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and salpingectomy, are covered for other medical conditions; and
Whereas, The denial of otherwise covered benefits for patients diagnosed with GID represents discrimination based solely on a patient’s gender identity; and
Whereas, Our AMA opposes discrimination (AMA Policies H-65.983, H-65.992) and the denial of health insurance (H-180.980) on the basis of gender identity; and
Whereas, Our AMA opposes limitations placed on patient care by third-party payers when such care is based upon sound scientific evidence and sound medical opinion (H-120.988); therefore be it
RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder in adolescents and adults (New HOD Policy); and be it further
RESOLVED, That our AMA oppose categorical exclusions of coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder in adolescents and adults when prescribed by a physician. (New HOD Policy)
Which doesn’t do the job entirely, but it’s certainly a good weapon in a trans person’s arsenal when arguing for why their transition related costs should be funded.
(thanks to Veronica for the news)