Here’s a nicely told story of a trans woman’s transition that’s pretty funny in parts – it’s audio, but worth the listen.
African American & Trans
It tires me that the only time people write about African American history, or individuals, is February, so I waited until March to post a link to this cool article in Ebony on African American trans people by the one & only TransGriot, Monica Roberts.
In 1967, civil rights and transgender advocate Lady Java stood up against discrimination and struck the blows that eventually brought down the odious codes used by the LAPD to harass her and other LGBT people in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Johns Hopkins Gender Program in Baltimore opened its doors and welcomed one of its first patients, an African-American transwoman named Avon Wilson. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, Black transpeople played key roles in the emerging trans advocacy movement. A. Dionne Stallworth helped organize and sign the incorporation papers of GenderPac. The late Alexander John Goodrum was not only a founder of TGNet Arizona, but sat on the City of Tucson’s LGBT commission. Lorrainne Sade Baskerville became an award winning leader in Chicago, a role which was eventually picked up by the late Lois Bates.
And of course I would add all the unnamed trans African Americans who are not out.
Two Tune Tuesday: Rae Spoon
The Montreal-based transgender indie/electro experimentalist just released their sixth album, I Can’t Keep All Of Our Secrets — an emotional electro pop exploration of grief and loss inspired by the death of a friend. Musically, it’s the former Calgary country crooner’s most electronic offering to date, a dance-floor friendly collage of heavily programmed production, analog synths and distorted electric guitars.
In addition to promoting what is arguably their best album yet, Spoon will also be publishing their first book, First Spring Grassfire — a semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical account of growing up trans in Alberta — in the fall, and the National Film Board has a documentary about the fascinating artist in the works.
Spoon has also been a vocal advocate for gender-neutral pronouns as of late. Early in 2012, they posted an open letter to Toronto-based gay publication, Xtra, in response to the backlash the magazine received after refusing to use “they,” the preferred pronoun of transgender visual artist Elisha Lim. It was a subject that hit home for Spoon, who struggled to come out as ‘he’ in the early 2000s; editors claimed it was confusing for readers to hear Spoon’s high voice and then see a male pronoun. “I was 22. I needed the press so I didn’t protest the way my identity was being treated,” Spoon wrote in the letter. (Like Lim, the musician now prefers to go by the gender-neutral “they.”)
It’s a great little interview, & a lovely track. Do get check out Amazon’s Rae Spoon offerings
Not Your Whipping Girl
My erotic story in Taormino’s Take Me There
First, reviewer Stephen Ira mentions, upfront, that there is an expectation that Taormino, as a cis woman, won’t get it right — which tells me at least a little something about the reviewer. Ira does redeem Taormino for pulling off an erotica anthology that is “for cis readers . . . not just a lesson in sexual allyship, but a heaping spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down”. Still, it’s worth noting his surprise that she has.
Medical Treatment of Trans Youth
This is the kind of progress that is long overdue.
Switching gender roles and occasionally pretending to be the opposite sex is common in young children. But these kids are different. They feel certain they were born with the wrong bodies.
Some are labeled with “gender identity disorder,” a psychiatric diagnosis. But Spack is among doctors who think that’s a misnomer. Emerging research suggests they may have brain differences more similar to the opposite sex.
Spack said by some estimates, 1 in 10,000 children have the condition.
and
These children sometimes resort to self-mutilation to try to change their anatomy; the other two journal reports note that some face verbal and physical abuse and are prone to stress, depression and suicide attempts. Spack said those problems typically disappear in kids who’ve had treatment and are allowed to live as the opposite sex.
No kidding.
Low T
There’s a testosterone shortage in effect which is being felt particularly in Canada but by some US men as well. That said, here’s a great post on testosterone shortages, including what you can do when they happen.
There’s also a recent update about different brands & their availability.
Trans Ambassadors Needed
From the Empire State Pride Agenda:
Action Alert: Community Ambassador Trainings
Dear Supporter,
Do you care about transgender equality and justice? Want to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be a proactive leader in your community? Become an Empire State Pride Agenda Community Ambassador! Learn about current legislation to protect transgender New Yorkers from discrimination, the messaging that helps open hearts and minds, and how you can play a significant role in our campaign.
Community Ambassador webinar trainings begin on February 16. Please sign up for one today so that together we can create a better New York for tomorrow.
Webinar Dates and Times:
Tuesday, February 21 at 6 p.m.
Monday, February 27 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 1 at 6 p.m.RSVP Required. Please contact me at kmcdonough@prideagenda.org or (917) 522-3411 to find out how to join.
We cannot say that we are truly equal until all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers have the rights and protections they need.
Do you have what it takes to be a leader? Sign up today!
Onward!
Kate McDonough
Lead Organizer
Formerly Poppy Z.
I think maybe I was the last to know, but horror novelist Poppy Z. Brite has transitioned, and is now Billy Martin.
Namecheck Dublin
What a groovy thing: My Husband Betty is mentioned in a cool online Dublin magazine called Totally Dublin, page 6:
“Helen Boyd’s study of the relationships between crossdressers and their partners is a gender equality must-read, as well as a startling insight into the psychology of a variety of different draggies.”
I don’t know about the term “draggies” but I’m not hip to Dubliner slang, either.
NC Wife of Trans Story
A good article by a wife about her husband’s transition, although it does gloss over sexuality, as most of them do.