The Week In Trans 12/19/16

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An MLB hazing outfit.

If you’re not a sports fan who is really into baseball you may not be aware that there is a hazing ritual for rookie players that calls for them to dress up as women — Disney princesses, Wonder Woman, Hooter’s waitstaff, and other costumes deemed demeaning, like Gumby or costumes that some players would find offensive. The thing here is “what a joke! Ha ha. Macho ball players dressed like Lady Gaga.” Of course dressing like a woman isn’t a joke to a lot of people. All women, and those of us in the trans community who prefer feminine attire. Fortunately the hazing practice of making rookies dress up as females has been banned in the new MLB union contract. Dressing up as Gumby could still happen. Read the details in The New York Times.

From the cartoon.

Cartoonist Barry Deutsch does political cartoons that comment on the foibles of our society. One of the big foibles of the moment is the proliferation of “bathroom bills” around the country. Conservatives use fear to convince people that letting trans people pee in the restroom of their choice is dangerous, and will let men enter the ladies’ room with evil intent. The facts of this controversy are summed up in a cartoon you can find on Barry Deutsch’s website.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States has sided with an eleven-year-old transgender student in Ohio, identified only as “Jane Doe,” granting the student the ability to continue using the girls’ restroom at school. This is a stay, not a final ruling in the lawsuit, so it is probable that the final decision in the case will be influenced by the case of Gloucester School Board v G.G., currently headed to the Supreme Court. Buzzfeed News has more.

National Geographic magazine’s cover story for January 2017 is The Gender Revolution. It is the print accompaniment to a special with Katie Couric which will air on the National Geographic Channel starting in February. They have two covers — one featuring Avery Jackson will be sent to subscribers and those who order the magazine from National Geographic, while a cover with seven transgender people on it will be available on newsstands. You can see both covers on National Geographic’s website.

Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives, specifically a group of Republicans who call themselves “the Freedom Caucus,” have released a list of regulations that they want to overturn in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration. They want to make changes to Department of Education regulations, in particular, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, teacher-preparation regulations, and yes, the Transgender and Nonconforming Students Regulations from the Office for Civil Rights. The fact that they want to get rid of these regulations does not by itself mean that it will happen, but it is highly likely that it will come up in the new Congress. Education Week has more.

Coy Mathis

NetFlix will stream the documentary Growing Up Coy, the story of the trans 6-year-old who was one of the first to fight for the right to use the girls’ restroom at her school. Coy Mathis transitioned in kindergarten and was using the girls’ room at her school until an administrator found out and put a stop to it. The film begins streaming on the online service on January 6. Learn more on the Deadline Hollywood website.

Dripping Springs, Texas, is the kind of small town where one might expect the most conservative attitudes to prevail. But, when the town became aware that there is a transgender student in the third grade of Walnut Springs Elementary School, the school allowed the student to use the restroom that matched her gender identity. The Texas Values Coalition came to town trying to stir up some controversy about this turn of events, but the locals decided to support one of their own. KVUE-TV has this story.

Aron Taylor

The 34th Annual Ameris Bank Jacksonville Marathon happened on Sunday and there was a trans woman runner in the race. Aron Taylor finished her first marathon with a time of 3:42:51 to take first place in her age category. Read the story on the First Coast News site.

In Northern Alabama, the Wicks family supported Bea when she came out as transgender at a very young age. Now, still only nine, Bea is dying of a combination of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and a few other things. One thing Bea can count on is love and support from her family. This heartwarming story is on WAAY-TV.

The Alliance Defending Freedom has abandoned a lawsuit against the state of Massachusetts. The lawsuit had claimed that a recent state nondiscrimination law would force churches to allow transgender people to use the restrooms of their choice, despite the fact that the nondiscrimination law had a specific exemption for churches. This story is in Rainbow Times.

Jillian Bearden

Jillian Bearden is a trans woman from Colorado and her passion has always been cycling and mountain biking. She has been active in the sport for 15 years but this year she will be competing as a woman after changes were made to the USA Cycling guidelines. Formerly they said you had to have completed GRS to compete but now you can do it after you are on HRT. Get the details from the Fox 21 News website.

Kimberly Peirce, the director and co-author of the film Boys Don’t Cry, recently appeared at Reed College, amid some controversy. Among the complaints were the graphic nature of the rape scene in the film and the fact that cisgender performers appeared in transgender roles. Protesters disrupted a question-and-answer period with the director. Inside Higher Education has this story.

Several states have a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that defending the part of the North Carolina law which prohibits transgender people from using restrooms and other sex-segregated facilities that match their gender identity. The Williams Institute at UCLA which studies trans issues has filed an Amici Brief in the case. Thanks to Josy C. for sending us the link. You can learn more and read the brief on The Williams Institute’s website.

Jackie and Juliet Evancho

Jackie Evancho, who burst into fame as an eleven-year-old singing opera on America’s Got Talent, has agreed to sing the Star Spangled Banner during Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony. Agreeing to sing at the inauguration naturally set her up for criticism from people who oppose Donald Trump, but she is also getting flack — and some bullying — from Mr. Trump’s supporters. Trump supporters do not like the fact that Jackie Evacho has a transgender sister, Juliet. Juliet has been involved in a lawsuit against their Pittsburgh-area school district. The Washington Blade has this story.

In Britain, West London Mental Health Trust is pulling out of the Charing Cross West London Gender Identity Clinic. The clinic will continue, for now. The Tavistock And Portman NHS Foundation Trust will take over operation of the clinic on an interim basis, starting next April. A longer-term arrangement is still in the works. NHS England has more.

There was a report that the Oxford University Student Union issued a leaflet, telling students to use non-gendered pronouns such as “ze” rather than “he” or “she.” In response to the stories, the Student Union made a public statement denying such a move, saying that such a request would be “totally counterproductive.” The Union says that they did encourage students to declare their chosen pronouns when they speak at meetings. You can read about this in The Guardian.

Willa Naylor

The island country of Malta has enacted some of the most progressive transgender legislation in the world. Up until recently Malta had outdated laws that kept trans students from attending school as their true gender. One child affected by the repressive government policies was Willa Naylor. She didn’t even talk to her classmates because she was not allowed to be a girl at her school. Her parents began a campaign of contacting officials and her story helped to change the laws. Read Willa’s story on The Australian Broadcasting Company website.

Transgender activists in China held their first national summit last week. They talked political strategies (to the extent that political strategies exist in China), but they also got in some socialization. It was not only the first chance for many of the participants to meet each other, it was the first chance for some to see trans men. You can read about this in Sixth Tone.

Santa Barbara’s Blue Nebeker.

As the federal administration is about to change from one that was active in working to provide protections and guarantee the rights of trans people to an administration staffed by people who have actively opposed trans rights many in the community are concerned. But for the past decade advances have been made and they will not just go away next year. Back in May a trans girl in Santa Barbara was crowned Queen of the Prom. She and other’s in San Diego are examples of how the country has become more accepting. Read about her and the Santa Barbara trans community in the Santa Barbara Independent.

The Parliament of Pakistan has invited transgender leaders to come and testify as they try to find ways to safeguard the rights of transgender people in the Muslim nation. Four years ago, the Supreme Court issued a decision which gave transgender people some rights, and now, the government wants to create a bill to define more precisely what the rights of transgender people are. The Deccan Herald has more on this.

Elissa Bell

Elissa Bell is an 18-year-old student in Australia whose art work about her experience as a transgender person has been selected for exhibition. Although she says that her life has been fine, the work is not happy but rather reflects some of the anxieties and fears that she had, as well as some of the worst things that have happened to her. This story is in The Standard.

While there has been a shortage of injectable estrogen in the United States, in Spain, it is a shortage of injectable testosterone. Some FtM patients are menstruating again because of the lack of injectable testosterone. As an alternative, they are getting a topical gel, but it is less effective. Transgender patients organized a protest outside of the Ministry of Health because of the shortage of hormones. El Pais has this story.

Shangela

For those who just can’t make it through the Christmas season without a sick drag queen Christmas video, never fear. RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shangela has put together a naughty new Christmas song (could it be anything but naughty?) titled Man Candy. Get all the details and view the video on the Pink News website.

Many in the trans community of the male to female variety will envy what some men are suing Johnson & Johnson over. It seems a drug the company produces to treat bipolar disorder has a side effect. Thirteen thousand men who were prescribed the drug developed breasts. Get the story in a video on the CNN website.

Friend of TGForum and Cuban Legend, David de Alba, is returning to the stage for another show in Las Vegas. The show is titled We Love You Judy, David de Alba’s LIVE Tribute to Judy Garland. David will perform on March 12, 2017 at the MVIG Cultural Arts Center, inside The Boulevard Mall at 3:30 p.m. Call Ixela Gutierrez at 702.339.0948 for ticket information or email directly to the star of the show, David de Alba.

Amrou Al Kadhi

Parental rejection is often what happens when an LGBT child comes out. And it isn’t just what happens in the western world. LGBT exists everywhere, even in the Middle East. Read the story of one Arab boy who felt the same way about his mother’s clothes and her glamor as many American crossdressers and drag queens have. In this case, after experiencing rejection, this individual was able to reconnect to their mother through drag. The story is in the Independent.

TWITs

Milo Yiannopoulos seems to think that being “controversial” will get him fame. The Breitbart writer makes public appearances in what he calls his “Dangerous Faggot Tour.” (The tour is limited by the fact that many places will not book him.) He spoke last week at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where the university estimates that 325 to 350 people came to see him. During the speech, he lambasted a transgender UMW student whose protests resulted in a new public accommodations policy for the locker rooms in the recreation center. The new policy requires that “non-conforming genetalia be covered at all times.” The student was mentioned by name, and a photo of the student was shown. A TWIT Award to Mr. Yiannopoulos for thinking that his own lack of shame means that he can shame others. Also, a TWIT to whatever group brought him to campus. This story is in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Sarah Vine, a columnist for the Daily Mail in Britain, is concerned about the growth in the number of children being treated for gender issues. A part of that growth is due to better information on the part of parents, who want to help their children by consulting experts, rather than by giving the same old advice which didn’t work (e.g., “just force yourself to do things that are more stereotypical of your birth gender, and this feeling will go away”). She calls it “an unprecedented epidemic of gender uncertainty,” and she asks, “have they taken an approach that combines compassion with common sense — or have they simply caved in to the powerful and very vocal transgender lobby for fear of being branded as ‘backward’ or, worse, as bigots?” First off, since when has consulting an expert been the opposite of common sense? Why is trying the same tired advice that so often fails considered to be “common sense”? Sarah Vine gets a TWIT Award. You can read her column here.

Anti-LGBT activist (she gets a TWIT Award just for that) Linda Harvey, who heads up an organization called Mission: America recently wrote a blog for the conspiracy website World Net Daily. In it she complained that there’s just nowhere left for a good Christian woman to shop since all the retailers are so pro-LGBT. Her beef with Macy’s is that the store let a “ transsexual young man…” use the women’s dressing room. First of all the trans person was a woman, not a man, and second of all Ms. Harvey gets a big fat TWIT Award for calling retailers that welcome our business “pro-deviance.” Read about her on the Attitude website.

North Carolina has lost jobs and conventions (and more) because of HB2. Texas wants to copy HB2, but they feel that they are too big to be punished. Now, newly-elected state Representative Steven Long has pre-filed similar legislation in South Carolina. Perhaps they feel that they are too small to be noticed. (More likely, he wants to give back to the people who supported his campaign.) This particular bill aims specifically at public accommodations at businesses as covered in municipal and county non-discrimination laws. Whether it would cover public buildings is unclear. What is clear is that Rep. Long is getting a TWIT Award for this bill. WLTX-TV has more.

TWIT is edited by Angela Gardner, who also supplied some stories.

Tags: baseball hazing, Blue Nebeker, Boys Don't Cry, Coy Mathis, David de Alba, Elissa Bell, featured, Jackie Evancho, Jillian Bearden, news, Shangela, Transgender, TWIT

Category: Transgender Community News