The Week In Trans 1/9/17

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Genderless – Toman Sasaki

The new craze out of Japan is “genderless danshi.” Young men of androgynous appearance who move toward the feminine side of gender using makeup and feminine fashion. It seems to be a manufactured craze, though. It was thought up by the manager of a band but it seems to be catching on and its practitioners insist it’s not about gender, just fashion. Read the article in The New York Times.

Denmark has become the first country to declassify transgenderism as a mental disorder. On New Year’s Day the Danish parliament took action to de-stigmatize being trans. While this step is important in that it makes trans people less likely to be considered mentally ill some are concerned that it will make getting appropriate trans-related medical care harder. Get the full story from Scientific American.

Two Seattle, Washington area trans police officers were interviewed on the HBO Vice show last night. One is a Seattle police officer and the other is a sheriff’s deputy. The Vice episode is titled Trans Law Enforcement and it can be seen on HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO On Demand. Get more information from the article in The News Tribune.

Jionni Conforti is a trans man who arranged to have a hysterectomy in 2015, as a part of his medical transition. An administrator at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey, refused the operation on the grounds that the procedure is not permitted in “a Catholic hospital” except as a treatment for cancer. Mr. Conorti has filed a lawsuit against the hospital, saying that he “felt completely disrespected.” This incident happened in 2015, so the provisions of the Affordable Care Act which Judge Reed O’Connor struck down would not yet have been in place. Also, the fact that the surgery was cancelled before that could possibly be something that matters in this case. You can find the AP story at Edge Boston.

B’Ellana Marie Duquesne

A 2012 story in a newspaper about a 66-yr-old trans woman who taught etiquette classes to homeless trans youth inspired a playwright to turn the story of Mama Gloria into a play. The play, titled Charm, debuted in the Chicago area this past weekend. The lead character, Mama Darlin’ in the play, is portrayed by a trans woman named B’Ellana Marie Duquesne. Learn more about the show and the original Mama Gloria in The Washington Post.

Daniel Sanchez of Phoenix tried to open an account at a local branch of Chase Bank, but was refused. He says that they discriminated against him because he is a trans man. The bank says that they would not open an account because they were unsure of his immigration status. ABC-15 in Phoenix has this story.

So many state legislators have filed bills to restrict restroom use by transgender people that we just don’t have the space to mention all of them. Alabama’s law has an interesting wrinkle. While it says that restrooms and changing facilities should be reserved for people “of the same gender,” they do allow for an exception when there is physical security present. Exactly what the attendants would check for is not mentioned in the bill. This story is in Pink News.

A 57-year-old who is serving a life sentence has become the first prisoner in the state of California to receive gender confirmation surgery, according to the prisoner’s attorneys. Shiloh Heavenly Quine was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and robbery for an incident from 1980. After being released from a San Francisco hospital, the prisoner will be moved to a woman’s prison. Of course, Breitbart ran a piece on this which is as slanted as you would expect. A far less sensational piece was written by The A.P., and that appears in Edge Boston.

Phi Phi’s first photo.

Drag performer Phi Phi O’Hara appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race last season. That’s not the most interesting item on her resume, though. All through 2016 she posted an Instagram drag photo — every day of the year. That’s 365 different drag looks ranging from totally glam to alien strange. Now that the year is over you can view all 365 of her drag looks in a one minute video. Find it on the Unicorn Booty website. (Not recommended viewing for those who are prone to seizures.)

In other prison news, a transgender woman who was being held in a men’s prison in Britain was found dead in her cell. Jenny Swift, 49, had been charged with stabbing a man in an attempted murder. She was awaiting trial. Because she did not have a prescription for the hormones she was taking, they were stopped when she entered the prison. BBC News has this story.

Would you believe that cisgender prisoners in Britain are jealous of transgender prisoners? It seems that transgender prisoners are allowed to dress in clothing of their preferred gender, while cisgender prisoners have to wear the standard prison grays (sweatshirts and jogging bottoms usually). A new report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons recommends that all prisoners be allowed to wear their own clothing. This story is in The Telegraph.

Brooklyn Marie Fink

Brooklyn Marie Fink, a trans woman who is a member of the staff at the University of British Columbia, burnt a pride flag which she had found flying from a flagpole on campus. She admitted to the incident, saying that she objected to a non-University flag being displayed. When she was charged in court, she entered a plea of “not guilty.” This week, charges were dropped without a trial. You can read about this story in Daily Xtra.

Nina Chaubal, a co-founder of Trans Lifeline, was released from custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after posting a bond. Officials making a routine stop had found that her visa expired. The Bay Area Reporter has this story.

In Washington, D.C., a new Death Certificate Gender Identity Recognition Amendment Act has created a process by which a citizen can designate what gender identity will appear on his or her death certificate. The bill also creates guidelines for how to handle the death certificate of someone who did not leave formal instructions. This story is in The Washington Blade.

Danica Roem

Transwoman Danica Roem, a journalist for the Montgomery County Sentinel, has announced a run for the Virginia House of Delegates. She will oppose Bob Marshall in the 13th District. Mr. Marshall is the sponsor of Virginia’s “bathroom bill” and had some very nasty things to say when Governor Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order that contractors with the state must not discriminate against LGBT employees. More on this story can be found in Metro Weekly.

China’s first case of employment discrimination against a transgender worker has produced a ruling that the man was illegally dismissed from his job, but that his transgender status was not the reason for his dismissal. The court decision held that the company did not prove it had grounds for firing Mr. C., but Mr. C. did not prove that the reason he was fired was that he is transgender. This story is in The New York Times.

GLSEN has released the results of their 2015 National School Climate Survey. The report includes information on LGBTQ middle and high school students’ experiences in their schools. You can look at the complete survey results on the GLSEN website.

TWITs

The legislator in Virginia (mentioned above) who has introduced a bill to regulate where trans people can pee, Del. Robert G. Marshal (R-Prince William), gets a TWIT Award just for thinking this bill is necessary. He gets an extra strong TWIT Award for adding language to the bill that requires school principals to tell the parents of students if the student asks to be treated as the opposite sex. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for letting us know the story can be found in The Washington Post.

TWIT Award winner Shauna Smith, a trans woman who was caught recording teenage girls undressing at a Target store, was sentenced to between two and five years in prison. This story is in the Idaho Falls Post Register.

An Indonesian Court of Appeal has reversed a previous decision which declared that a postoperative trans man is legally a man because the respondent did not provide particulars about chromosomes. Chromosomes cannot be changed by any technology known at this time. But, if it were possible to change chromosomes, what new requirement would the court come up with to prevent people from changing their legal genders? For creating a standard which they know cannot be met, the judges of this court get a TWIT Award. You can read about this in The Star Online.

An article in the Daily Mail profiles 18-year-old Kate Cooch, from Stradfordshire, who knew she was transgender as early as seven years of age and who transitioned at age 13. She is planning on getting gender confirmation surgery now that she is old enough. That surgery would cost the National Health Service £60,000 — if she is approved for all of the surgeries she wants. The Daily Mail makes a big deal of the cost, but it would be less than a penny per British taxpayer. For making so much fuss, the Daily Mail gets a TWIT Award. You can read their article here.

Walt Heyer has received several TWITs, and so has The Federalist. The Federalist has Walt’s latest writing. Walt is a professional “ex-transgender.” He found the path of least resistance to get what was then called a “sex-change” operation, and eight years later, got surgery to “change him back.” He figures that, since he was unhappy with his “sex change,” everyone else will come to regret transitioning. In the latest, Walt bellyaches about National Geographic because of its issue “Gender Revolution.” He claims that the magazine “champions child abuse and junk science.” And that’s just in the title. He insists on referring to cover girl Avery Jackson as “that boy.” As for real science, he uses himself as the example, even though the sample size is one and many things he felt and feels are atypical of what other transgender people feel. For projecting the phrases “junk science” and “child abuse” while he advocates those very things, Walt Heyer gets another TWIT. You can read the article here.

TWIT is edited by Angela Gardner who also supplied additional stories.

Tags: Brooklyn Marie Fink, Charm, Danica Roem, Daniel Sanchez, Denmark, featured, genderless danshi, Jionni Conforti, news, Nona Chaubal, Phi Phi O'Hara, trans cops, Transgender, TWIT

Category: Transgender Community News