The Week In Transgenderism 10/15/12

RuPaul

Miss RuPaul Charles launches her new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race with an all star group of contestants culled from past shows. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars hits the air October 22 on Logo. The contestants include Pandora Boxx, Jujubee, Nina Flowers, Mimi Imfurst, and Manila Luzon. Get more info from The New York Daily News.

Movie superstar Tom Cruise has been in London to work on a new film. Last week he got invited to Matt Damon’s 42nd birthday party at a London nightclub. It seems the drag queen who MCs the night has a tradition of spanking club patrons. Guess who got their bottom heated up? Everyone! Find out who all was there in the Examiner.

Alice Weiniang Idol Group

In Asia there is a thing called an “idol group.” These groups are made up of “idols” who are all young and very attractive. They gain fame just for being young and attractive but they do dance routines and engage in cosplay as anime characters. Both males and females participate in these groups. Now we get word that there may be a good reason to move to China. A 200 member idol group there, the Alice Weiniang Group, are all crossdressers. Hot crossdressers. Check out the story and many photos at RocketNews24.com.

Not all countries  in the far east are as tolerant of crossdressing as China seems to be. We told you last week about four Malayisan transsexuals who went to court to challenge Islamic law which forbids crossdressing. The ladies have lost their case. In the eyes of the court they are still males and not allowed to crossdress. The story is in The Bangkok Post.

Transgender people in Ontario can now change their gender on their birth certificates without having to go through surgery. They can have the birth certificate amended by submitting a letter from a physician or psychologist. The ruling came down from the Rights Tribunal of Ontario after they considered a case of discrimination in April. Read all the details at The Tyee.

Goggins in character. (L)

One of the stars of The Shield, Walton Goggins, who played a character named Shane, has been on the FX network’s Sons of Anarchy. It seems the producers thought getting Goggins to appear on the show would be impossible because of his close identification with the Shane character from The Shield. Shane was a bad cop who regularly broke the law and ended up killing his family and himself. His latest role has been on Justified where he played another tough guy. How to introduce him as a different kind of character on Sons of Anarchy seemed problematic — till Goggins suggested he should play a transgender escort. Read about it and watch some video of his scene in the Examiner.

The Canadian Member of Parliament who has started a petition against granting transgendered people their human right to go to the bathroom in the gender they identify with has doubled down on his condemnation of accommodating the needs of TGs. And some of the media outlets in Canada have picked up on the MP’s fear mongering and helped him to spread his message that men dressed as women will be attacking women in the lady’s room. Read about it at rabble.ca.

Something to really get scared about is the character Phyllis, a post op TS, in the new film Fankie Go Boom. She’s portrayed by Ron Perlman and his Hellboy character, a red demon, is prettier than Phyllis. But, as we know, transsexulity is not to be judged by the outer beauty of a person. If you are TS then that’s what you are, no matter how good or bad you look. In a recent interview Perlman talks about why he wanted to play Phyllis and how he approached the role. Read it on Shockya.com.

While Argentina has recently advanced the status of transgendered people in that country another Latin American nation is busy trying to turn back the clock on LGBT rights. Already known as the trans murder capital of the world the leader of the country is actively standing in the way of legislation beneficial to TGs. Read it and weep at Brazzil.com.

Black Madam

The silicone pumper Black Madam has had her day in court. On October 10 she was on trial for third degree murder in the death of one of two young British women who came to the U.S. for buttock enlargement. Black Madam injected them with industrial grade silicone, sealed the holes with cotton balls and Crazy Glue and left them on their own when one of the women began to have trouble breathing. The silicone had gotten out of her buttocks and into her blood, lungs, liver and brain. Get the details of the trail and the case at The Voice website.

The bar in Portland, Oregon that told a group of TGs they couldn’t come back anymore is now under investigation by the Civil Right Division of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. The bar claims the TGs were banned because they got rowdy and generated complaints from other customers. Read about the investigation and see a video at qfox13.com.

Susan Stanton, the transwoman who was fired as city manager by the city of Largo, Florida and then had problems with her next job in Lake Worth, Florida is heading west. She has been named city manager of Greenfield, California. The story was written before the City Council met but and addendum to the story says Stanton was appointed last Tuesday and will start her new job on November 12. Get the full story from The Californian.

Chaz Bono

They say politics makes strange bedfellows. That old saw is proven with news that Chaz Bono is lined up to co-host a fundraiser for a Republican lawmaker from California. Of course the Republican is his stepmother, Rep. Mary Bono Mack. Another co-host at the $500 per person event is Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain. All we can say is, Chaz, is this really good for your cred with the GLBT community? Get the facts from The Washington Blade.

The Imperial Court de San Diego is holding a fundraising event. Being drag divas with way too many clothes in their closets the queens are having a rummage sale. This could be your chance to snap up some totally glam drag at reasonable prices. And it’s been worn already but the ladies of The Imperial Court. What more could you want? Get the details from LGBT Weekly.

TWITs

Our big TWIT comes to us from suburban Philadelphia. It’s never a good idea to engage in illegal behavior while crossdressed in public. One CD in Morrisville, Pa. learned this the hard way. The illegal activity? Possession of marijuana found during a routine traffic stop. For a CD being stopped by the police is never “routine” but in this case the suspect stepped things up by trying to run. When the police have you — never run. Things just went down hill from there. The TWIT Award goes to the CD and the police department who got so carried away enforcing marijuana laws instead of stopping murderers and thieves. Get the wince making details in the Levittown Patch.

A minor TWIT must be awarded to the editors of TV Guide. We know how tough it is to keep everything straight but this one is a doozy. We told you last week about the passing of Drag Race competitor Sahara Davenport. TV Guide did an obituary for Davenport but they ran a photo of one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta to accompany the article. Duh! Read about their mistake at Project Q Atlanta.

Tags: featured, news, TWIT

Category: Transgender Community News