The Week In Transgenderism 11/17/14
We reported recently reported that Lypsinka has returned to the stage after a long hiatus. Her show, which is three of her shows under one name, Lypsinka! The Trilogy, opened last week in New York City. The first two parts of the trilogy are all Lypsinka doing what she does best, lip-syncing to the voices of glamorous women in a non-stop performance that requires awesome concentration and coordination. The third part of the show is Lypsinka’s creator John Epperson performing a memoir of his life. Read a review of the show in The New York Times.
This December the Drag Mafia is bringing the queens of the Philadelphia region together for a hit. A hit show that is. Local drag celeb Brittany Lynn has assembled 104 drag performers for a show called Night of 100 Queens. (We guess the four extras are just there as safeties.) The show will hit the stage on December 12 in Philadelphia, Pa. and they hope to make it into the record books as a the largest number of drag performers in a show. They also hope to raise a lot of money for local charities. Get the details in Philadelphia Magazine.
Fanning in character.
We reported a week or so ago that Elle Fanning would be portraying a trans teen boy in a film titled Three Generations, which also stars Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon. This has caused consternation within the trans community over the casting of a cisgender female in a trans male role. In some sections of the community they are decrying the practice of “transface.” Not in this section however, as we never heard that term before. Find out what they mean and why Ms. Fanning will be acting this role in The Atlantic.
For some reason the debate over a ban on discrimination against trans people in Miami-Dade County happened in the Public Safety & Animal Services Committee. Should we be worried that our welfare is in the hands of the same group responsible for licensing your dog? The good news for TGs in south Florida was that the committee voted 3-1 to bring the legislation to a vote of the full board next month. The bad news is that the opponents of anti-discrimination against TGs where there in force, banging their “men using the women’s restroom” drum. Read all about the raw emotions and invocations of biblical damnation in the Miami Herald.
The debate in Mexico City’s Legislative Assembly was less contentious than Miami’s. The Assembly passed a law that makes the process of changing your legal gender much more simple since a court order will no longer be necessary. It’s a major move forward for the trans population of Mexico City since now they won’t have to go through lengthy and complicated court procedures. The Assembly passed the measure overwhelmingly. Read the story on The Human Rights Campaign’s website.
Australia’s Family Court Chief Justice has told the press that it’s time to rethink how the High Court handles cases involving transgender children. Right now a child wishing to change gender must apply to the Family Court in order to start hormone treatments. The way the court handles trans children needs to change since the number of trans children going to gender clinics has skyrocketed. Read more on the story on the ABC website.
Andreja
Did you know that female models get paid more than male models? It’s true and it’s a good thing for Andeja Pejic since now she is only modeling as a woman. That, along with the peace of mind that comes from having a body congruent with your spirit is just one of the good things she has going. But how realistic is it for young trans women to try to get into the biz? In the past 50 years there have only been a few trans women who have graced the runway a major shows or been on the cover of major magazines. Learn more about Pejic and the modeling biz in Forbes.
Of course there’s always a way to break into modeling if you’re dedicated, hungry and willing to move to Thailand. A modeling agency there has opened the world’s first transgender modeling division in a major modeling agency. They represent 18 trans woman models. Read more and view a video interview with the models in GayStarNews.
Trans pride in Bangladesh.
Moving from Thailand to Bangladesh were the hijra population were granted official status as a third gender just last year. They celebrated their official recognition in the city of Dhaka last week with the country’s first ever Pride Parade. A thousand trans women marched through the streets, some carrying an enormous Bangladesh flag. Read about it an view video in The Daily Mail.
November 20 is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Time think about those from our community who have been victims of hate crimes, but it’s also a good time to remember those who have been taken from us due to other reasons such as accidents or disease. In honor of TDOR the Human Rights Campaign is running a series of essays by members of the community. Read one from Chelle Lhuillier, a trans activist who holds the title of Miss LGBT Philippines – USA. It’s in the HRC Blog.
Today our columnist The Artist D writes about how too often people’s families reject them or “put up” with them after they come out as trans. Her column recommends that you don’t have to change who you are to get along with your family but here’s the story of a trans woman who was part of the family business and when she started to transition her family banned her from the business. She’s suing them and they’re suing her. Read about it in The Daily Mail.
At Indochine’s 30th.
New York City’s most glamorous restaurant, Indochine, held a 30 year anniversary party that was hosted by MAC Cosmetics and featured drag queens, sweet young things about town and noted celebrities. Somehow we didn’t ever get our invitation. See photos of the to die for event on the Guest of a Guest website.
Down at Virginia Tech the HokiePRIDE drag show happened on November 11 and featured volunteer professional queens and students. The host of the event, Anita Drink, is a fifth year student majoring in industrial design. For more info on the fun and what charity got the money raised read the story in Collegiate Times.
At Joliet Junior College in Illinois the Office of Student Activities has a drag show coming up this week. It’s a World AIDS Day Drag Show and it will benefit local HIV/AIDS organizations. The performers are not mentioned in the article but they do have photos. Read it in The Chicago Tribune.
Rupaul’s makeup artist and hair genius is a guy named Mathu Anderson. He calls himself the “wig whisperer” and you can see his handiwork adorning RuPaul’s head on Drag Race and in music videos. In 2012 Anderson was feeling like he spent all his time helping other people realize their dreams and visions but he was not spending anytime on himself. He’s remedied that with a series of photos called The Instagram Art of Mathu Anderson. The photos all feature Anderson in a bewildering number of mostly “gender f**k” looks where beards mix with gigantic false eyelashes and fishnets and extreme heels clash with a mustache and thick brows. Check out the photos in The Advocate and watch gender lines blur.
East London drag.
The East London drag scene has been documented in a photo exhibit that will open on December 4 at Milkbar, 3 Bateman Street in Soho. Don’t get upset at the tiltle. The British use the T word differently than it is employed in the U.S.A. House of Trannies follows drag artists through a night of performance and depicts them in their homes. Read all about it and see photos in ArtSlant.
A Los Angeles based band called Bad Suns has released a song and music video called Salt. It’s all about gender identity and not fitting the body you were born with. The video premiered on MTV this past week. (What? MTV still plays videos?) You can watch it on the RYOT website. There’s more info and an interview with the band leader on the MTV site.
Speaking of rock bands involved with trans issues; Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! hosts a series on AOL called True Trans. You can view the latest episode in The Huffington Post.
TWITs
We know that the idea of someone with a male body wanting to be female and vice versa is enough to make conservative minds begin to leak out of the craniums that contain them. And it’s odd the conservative, who are so committed to individual rights, feel they need to oppose something they can’t really understand since they have never experienced and gender issues. But the do oppose and firmly announce that a man’s a man and a woman’s a woman. They even use examples of people who most likely were not candidates to change genders but did and then switched back to their birth gender full of regret. One such article, which calls transgender a “con,” wins the TWIT Award today. If you care to read it, or at least the many comments from trans people who do not regret their transition (and possibly add your own), the article is in The New American.
Sure, obtaining gender reassignment surgery can be hard to do. Especially in some states or countries where medical services and insurance coverage for the procedures involved are not available or too expensive. But whatever you do don’t do what the subject of this article did. She performed surgery on herself. Obsessed? Quite possibly and definitely not thinking straight. She spent 30 hours operating on her genitals and almost killed herself. Even if you’re a trained surgeon you shouldn’t operate on yourself. That’s why we give a TWIT Award to self-surgeon Jadis Argiope. Read about it at Opposing Views.
Category: Transgender Community News
About the Author (Author Profile)
Angela Gardner is a founding member of The Renaissance Transgender Assoc., Inc., former editor of its newsletter and magazine, Transgender Community News. She was the Diva of Dish for TGF in the late 1990s and Editor of LadyLike magazine until its untimely demise. She has appeared in film and television shows portraying TG characters, as well as representing Renaissance on numerous talk shows.Subscribe
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