The Week In Trans 2/25/19

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Monica Roberts

Monica Roberts, whose TransGriot blog has identified so many transgender victims of violence, was interviewed by Samantha Allen of The Daily Beast. Just hours after that interview was published, TransGriot was taken down by Blogger, a site owned by Google. The blog was restored shortly after, and Google apologized for the “error,” but no explanation was given for the disappearance of the blog. Out magazine reports on the removal and restoration of TransGriot.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, while campaigning for the presidency, was asked if she supports recognition of the non-binary designation “X.” She gave a quick answer, “Yes.” CBS News has that story.

Airlines for America, an industry group which includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, among others, announced that by June 1, its members will include the option of “X” or “U” for “unspecified” for passengers booking a flight. Delta Airlines also agreed to add the designations to its booking. The title “Mx.” will also be added. The change is to allow booking information to match the information on the passenger’s identification or passport. This story comes to us from Samantha Allen of the Daily Beast.

The Gloucester County School Board discussed the possibility of dropping the district’s policy on restroom use by transgender students. The district’s policy says that transgender students (at the time, singular, as the policy was implemented to apply to Gavin Grimm) may use the restroom of the sex they were identified as at birth or a gender-neutral restroom (if the school has a gender-neutral restroom). As Gavin Grimm’s case continues in court, at least one board member suggested changing the policy, as the legal bills are still growing. However, after hearing from the public, the board decided not to change the policy at this time. WSET-TV has this story. Jamie Roberts pointed us to another story about the case in The Washington Post.

Kanautica Zayre-Brown

Kanautica Zayre-Brown is a prisoner in North Carolina, having been convicted of insurance fraud. Although she is post-operative, she is being held in a prison for men. Her story can be found in The Raleigh News And Observer.

The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the topic of the ban on transgender people in the military. Five transgender service members, the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and the director of the Defense Health Agency are scheduled to testify on February 27. You can read more at The Washington Blade.

Jody Davis is a social worker who is trying to join the Ohio Army National Guard. She wants to join before the ban on transgender people is implemented. The Columbus Dispatch has this story.

After a harrowing journey of around 1800 miles on foot from her home in Peten, Guatemala a trans woman named Fabiola found refuge at a homeless shelter specifically for trans people in Washington, D.C. Casa Ruby is responsible for Fabiola until her immigration hearing. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for pointing out her story in The Washington Post.

Anna Lange is a sheriff’s secretary in Houston County, Georgia. Last week, she went before the County Commission to ask them to change their insurance policy to one which covers transgender medication. The County Commission listened to her at their meeting, but decided to keep the insurance policy they have. The Macon Telegraph has this story.

J.P. Petrucione

J.P. Petrucione has been appointed Director of Digital Media for California Governor Gavin Newsom. He is the highest-ranking transgender person in California’s government. He gave an interview to The Advocate.

A new study by Dutch researchers shows that transgender men and women who received hormone therapy have an increased incidence of heart problems and risk of stroke. It should be noted that the patients began hormone therapy between 1972 and 2015; prescribing methodology and medications changed over that period of time. U.S. News And World Report has this story.

One of the most active transgender advocates in the state of Texas has passed away. Sarah DePalma was called a “firebrand” for the energy she put into pursuing equal rights for trans people. She passed away on February 11 at the age of 67. A private gathering will be held to remember her on March 6. Learn more about her life from the Houston Chronicle.

A study of papers on facial recognition software shows that very few of them took transgender or gender-nonconforming people into consideration. Admittedly, a paper may be written on only a certain aspect of a problem and may not attempt to solve the entire matter. However, there are facial recognition projects in significant stages of development, and the fact that so few papers are looking at transgender and gender-nonconforming people means that these projects will leave such people out. You can read more on Motherboard.

Cheadle wearing the shirt.

As we reported last week, on Saturday Night Live, host Don Cheadle came out to introduce musical guest Gary Clark Jr., while wearing a black tee-shirt with the statement, “Protect Trans Kids.” You can see some selected reaction from Twitter at LGBTQ Nation.

When James Woods recently tweeted an objection to the use of the singular “they,” Dictionary.com showed that it is not new, but has been around for quite some time. Pink News has this story.

Martina Navratalova has stepped into a transgender controversy again. She seems to think that a male athlete could simply take enough estrogen to meet the standards set for competition, have a career as a female athlete, then detransition and have babies. That’s not how it works, Martina; that’s not how any of this works. Many transgender women report that their medications give them a tremendous craving for pickles while robbing them of the strength to open the pickle jar. The BBC has this story. When Billie Jean King tweeted, “let’s listen to the science behind transgender women competing fairly in women’s sports,” Dawn Ennis of Outsports took a look at the varying opinions given by people who use science.

Transgender writer Jennifer Finney Boylan has an article in The New Yorker. She writes about how the Peanuts comic strip taught her about unrequited love, the possibility of self-acceptance, and queer identity. Thanks to Ms. Bob Davis for pointing us to the article.

Jackie Shane, 1967

Jackie Shane, a trans woman soul singer in the 1960s, passed away at the age of 78. She had a recent revival of interest, in connection with a box set of her music. The New York Times ran an obituary. The Washington Post also carried an obituary. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for pointing it out.

Deadline has news of a film called Lupe, which will premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose on March 8. It tells of a transgender boxer from Cuba who is looking for his sister, believed to be in the underground sex trade in New York City.

Indya Moore, who appears on the television show Pose, tweeted, “If a woman has a penis, it is a biologically female penis.” That tweet caught a lot of attention, as Pink News reports.

A Star is Born actress and drag superstar Shangela may have made history Sunday night as the first drag queen to walk the Oscars red carpet. Shangela Laquifa Wadley, a Drag Race superstar, attended the Oscars wearing a gown by Diego Montoya. Get more details from GayStarNews. Earlier Billy Porter of Pose arrived in a black velvet tuxedo gown.

A Gender Health Center is now open in San Jose, California and providing services to transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse patients. Thanks to Ms. Bob Davis for pointing out the article in The Bay Area Reporter.

Several advocacy groups for people with disabilities in Australia have joined forces to create the Fearless Express, a float for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade this year which will focus on LGBTQ people with disabilities, and in so doing, show some of the problems that all people with disabilities face in everyday life, especially public transportation. The float was featured in The Star Observer.

Aaron Philip

Aaron Philip, a trans model with disabilities, has signed on with Elite Model Management. Born with cerebral palsy, she uses a wheelchair to get around. CNN Style had an interview with her.

The transgender children’s charity Mermaids received word this week that they will receive £500,000 from the Lottery, despite some objections to them receiving the funds. The Daily Mail has more.

Several newspapers in Britain carried a news story about the National Lottery Community Fund deciding to go ahead with a donation to Mermaids. The Sun had such a story, but the picture they attached to the story was not of Mermaids, the charity for transgender children, but rather March Of The Mermaids, a marine conservation group. You can read about that in Pink News.

Pauline Ngarmpring

Pauline Ngarmpring is a candidate for Prime Minister of Thailand. The former sports promoter is the second of three candidates for the Prime Minister position from the Mahachon Party. SBS has this story.

A transgender woman known as Aurora and as Camila made the trip from El Salvador to the United States, but was sent back to El Salvador. Back home, she received a terrible beating, and died in the hospital a few days later. Her story is found in The Washington Blade.

Carmen Liu

Carmen Liu, a trans woman, has introduced the GI Collection, lingerie for trans women who have not had gender confirmation surgery. You can read more on the GayStarBusiness website.

Planet Transgender reports that a transgender Hindu priest in India was beheaded. Arrests have been made in the case.

Elin McCreadyh is an American citizen who lives in Japan with her wife. After transitioning, she was able to update her U.S. passport. However, back in Japan, the federal government told her to get her gender change from the local government, while the local government says she should get the gender change from the federal government. Neither wants to be the body to validate her gender change, as neither wants to recognize a same-sex marriage. Japan Today has this story.

Recently, a group of laity and clergy within the Church of England sent an open letter to the House of Bishops, objecting to the guidance from that body recommending acceptance of transgender people in the gender with which they identify. This week, the General Synod was sent a briefing paper by its Human Sexuality Group. The paper says the guidance was not premature, as the open letter claimed, but rather was grounded in sound theology and science. You can find some details of the briefing paper in Church Times.

AJ Clementine

In part four of their continuing series profiling young trans people in Australia, 9 News introduces us to A J Clementine.

Hilary Aitcheson and Kaden Thorp are a couple who stayed together as Kaden changed genders. The CBC has their story.

Whittaker’s Cocoanut Ice Surprise is a chocolate candy. The company makes them in blue and pink color. However, after unwrapping the candy you find out whether yours is blue or pink. It’s based on the concept of a gender reveal party. Some people have objected to the idea. The Daily Mail for Australia reports that some people wish that they included something for transgender or intersex individuals as well.

Kids love Drag Queen Story Hours around the country. In Evansville, Indiana on Saturday over 250 children and guardians attended to hear one of four storybook reading sessions hosted by a drag performer Florintine Dawn. Another 150 had to be turned away since the venue was at capacity. The event also drew approximately 25 protesters who just don’t approve. Learn more from LGBTQ Nation.

Did you know that New Zealand has a privacy minister? His name is John Edwards, and he writes in The Spinoff that transgender self-identification is a human right.

Book Riot has a list of seven books on transgender people which are recommended for LGBTQ History Month.

Lucy Hicks Anderson

Mildred Europa Taylor wrote a profile of Lucy Hicks Anderson, a transgender woman of color in the 1930s. The profile appears in Face 2 Face Africa.

Speaking of books, Pink News has the story of a new book for children, entitled Julian Is A Mermaid.

A five-year-old in Texas named Priscilla wears her hair in a pixie cut. When some students picked on her for her having a “boy’s hair,” her teacher got a pixie cut as well. This story caught the attention of CNN.

A recent poll by PRRI asked various Americans how they would feel if their child brought home a spouse with various qualities. Of the groups mentioned in the poll, the one which got the most negative response from Republicans was a new in-law who identified as transgender. Among Democrats, the least desired in-law was one who identified as Republican. A transgender in-law was second least desirable among Democrats, but it was not a close second. (Each was a separate yes-or-no question, so a respondent could register unhappiness with multiple categories of people.) The Washington Post has this story.

TWITs

The video game Jesus Strikes Back: Judgment Day, in which one can play as Jesus, Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin, Jair Bolsonaro, or certain others, and in which the player gets points for killing LGBTQ people, as well as feminists, social justice warriors, and illegal aliens, and the such, is now available in alpha version. Although the publisher put out a statement saying that the game is meant to be a satire, playing the game makes it feel as though it is meant to be taken literally. For this reason, those connected to the game get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Last week the Maryland Senate gave final approval to a bill that allows people to get gender-neutral driver’s licenses. Gender choices would include male, female, and unspecified. Because the unspecified choice would be indicated by an X on the license the Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford) said, “Are we going to call them X men?” That is somewhat ironic as well as rude. The comic book X-Men were treated as outcasts and “others” by society, just like trans and nonbinary people are. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for the story in The Washington Post and a TWIT Award to J.B. Jennings.

TWIT is assembled by Cecilia Barzyk with additional content and editing by Angela Gardner. Care to make a comment on this post? Login here and use the comment area below.

Tags: featured, news, Transgender

Category: Transgender Community News