The Week In Transgenderism 7/13/15
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Ladybeard
Only in Japan. There is a new star on the horizon in Japan and she is a 5-year-old girl trapped in the body of grown man. His/her name is Ladybeard and he/she comes from Australia. As you might expect Ladybeard has a beard and also doesn’t shave off body hair. Teaming up with two Japanese teen girls he/she has become the lead singer of a pop metal band called Ladybaby. Their first song release, Japan Bun, got a million hits in three days. Meet the artist in Forbes magazine.
Another trans woman faced harassment when she went to the DMV in West Virginia to update her driver’s license photo. When Kristen Skinner went to the DMV in Charles Town last year she was called “it” by the manager of the facility and told to remove her makeup before they would take her photo. She, and several others, threatened to sue and West Virginia has backed down and changed their policy. Get the whole story in The Los Angeles Times.
The Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival will be screening 166 films from all around the world between now and July 19. (The festival started last week.) Fifteen percent of those films feature the transgender experience or have trans characters. Some of the filmmakers wanted to move beyond “Trans 101” and get into deeper stories. Learn more about the trans films in the festival in The Los Angeles Times.
“Veronica” in En Soap, 2006
Since we’re talking about film it seems apropos to present this next item right here. A film website has assembled a list of The 15 Most Memorable Trans Characters in Indie Film. Don’t expect Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire in this list. These are the independent films and several of them are from foreign filmmakers. You can find the list on the Indiewire website.
Finding a job in a recovering economy is hard enough for anyone. Finding a job while being trans can seem like a hopeless task. Even in a place like New York City which is seen as a diverse and tolerant melting pot discrimination, though illegal, still takes place and trans women turn to prostitution or other segments of the underground economy to stay alive. The issue is getting more attention and last week it was taken up by The New York Times.
The Lurie Children’s Hospital’s Gender and Sex Development Program in Chicago has teamed up with Northwestern University’s Center for Audiology, Speech, Language and Learning to provide voice therapy sessions for trans teens. Seven young people between the ages of 13 and 18 met every week for two months to learn skills that would allow them to sound more like the gender they prefer. Learn more about it in the Chicago Tribune.
Caitlyn
Caitlyn Jenner has gotten some negative reactions from members of the trans community who do not enjoy the resources she can command as a reality show star and Olympic athlete. It seems Jenner is aware of the difference between her journey and the rest of the trans community’s journeys. In the first entry on her blog for WhoSay at People magazine she admits that she has been totally isolated from the community and has a “lot of catching up to do.” She also vows to discuss serious issues to help other trans people. Read her blog on the People magazine website.
A drag show in Bangkok.
Where are the world’s most spectacular drag shows? That’s a question you may be asking if you are thinking of heading out on vacation this summer and want to be entertained by the best drag performers in the planet. Fortunately you can find a long list of shows on the Yahoo Travel website.
How often do Norte Americanos think about mariachi? Usually only when they’re dining in a Mexican restaurant that features a mariachi band. One thing you don’t usually pair with mariachi music is the word “trans.” Mariachi Arcoiris is a band in Los Angeles that is made up of LGBTQ members and has the first openly trans woman in the genre as a member. Learn more at the SF Weekly website.
Savannah Burton
Did you know there is a World Dodgeball Championship? There is and the world championship match is happening in Las Vegas in August. The Canadian women’s team has the sport’s only trans member at the international level. Meet Savannah Burton in The Star.
Bounce queen Big Freedia has a book about her life and New Orleans bounce music. Bounce is the dance scene that created twerking, which Miley Cyrus made famous. (Like Madonna stole voguing from the house scene.) The book is called God Save the Queen Diva. Read all about it in the East Bay Express.
Who better to make a documentary about masculinity than a Turner Prize-winning transvestite artist? Grayson Perry, a.k.a. Claire, went to the Durham Miner’s Gala to film the former miners for the event, which is a big deal to the British labor movement. No word on what Claire will wear but we do hope it’s appropriate for mining. Read more about it in the Durham Times.
Miss Fame
Who better to provide makeup tips to women than a professional drag queen? After all, they have to look flawless while lip syncing for their lives. A RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni has put out a book filled with her hints and tips. It’s titled Miss Fame’s Drag Queen Makeup Tips for Women. Read all about it on the Mashable website.
Courtney Act
Another former contestant from Drag Race has gotten together an EP and it has just dropped. As the youth all say. It’s by Australian beauty Courtney Act and it’s titled Kaleidoscope. One of the songs is called Body Parts and it was inspired by Courtney’s experiences dating men who identify as straight. They are attracted by her beauty and femininity but then there’s the question of body parts… Check out an interview with her on the OUT website.
Aetna, American Airlines, Apple, JP Morgan Chase and Nike were among the first companies to include gender identity in their employee non-discrimination policies. While there’s still a way to go for trans inclusion in the business community 72 major companies are the best for promoting workplace equality and having trans employees. See the other companies in the Business Insider.
A drag artiste named Delighted Tobehere was among the competitors last week on America’s Got Talent. How did Tobehere do? Check out the video right here.
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TWITs
Thanks to Jan Brown for pointing out this TWIT Award winner. A TS woman in Brooklyn went to a local department store to buy an air conditioner. On her way out of the store, carrying that air conditioner in her arms, she was stopped by the store manager who demanded to see the receipt. Said item was sticking out of the back pocket of her shorts. When she told the manager he could take it from her pocket he and another store employee were offended. Because a transsexual with an AC unit in her arms asked you to pull something from her back pocket? Apparently touching a TS was too much for these TWIT Award winners. Get the whole story in the New York Post.
The Internet has been abuzz with chatter about a rapper named Tyga who has been accused of having an affair with a trans woman. The woman is Mia Isabella who is either an actress, model or porn star. While Isabella has not confirmed that she and Tyga did the wild thing, she has expressed anger and concern that people who are attacking Tyga are doing so by making rude remarks about his sexuality and her gender identity. They’re not upset about Tyga cheating on women he was in a relationship with (most recently Kylie Jenner) but totally concerned with who he chose to cheat wit. A TWIT Award goes to Internet haters who missed the real infraction while calling Tyga gay. Read the story from takepart.com.
In the state of Oregon trans-related health coverage went into effect in January for people on Medicaid. The coverage for psychotherapy and medical and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria were authorized last year. That’s a good thing so why is this story in TWIT? Because the age that you can make you own medical decisions in Oregon is 15. So Fox News ran a story with the headline “Oregon allowing 15-year-olds to get state-subsidized sex-change operations.” Which is of course not the case. Read the original article on the Fox News website. (Which quotes anti-GRS crusader Dr. Paul McHugh.) Read a reasonable response from one of the people who helped get the coverage added on the KOIN 6 website. The TWIT Award goes to Fox News, again, for stirring the pot of ignorance with mis-information.
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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On your TWIT awards:
I don’t see the air conditioner incident as a trans issue;
Store manager has been charged with assault. There is a danger in assuming that every time an incident occurs with a trans person it is because they are trans. Nothing in the story indicates the person was singled out for being trans or that the store employee even cared if they were trans.
And the Fox News Headline “Oregon allowing 15-year-olds to get state-subsidized sex-change operations”, is accurate. You can say it is sensationalist. It might not happen often, but it is allowed according to the Oregon policy.
I have never been a supporter of state subsidized transition. I feel it make transgenders again look helpless and dependent on others.
We don’t award TWITs for just transgressions aimed at trans people. What the manager did was pretty darned twitty. And the victim surmised that it was the fact that she asked him to get the receipt out of her back pocket that set upset him the most. Why would he be upset about that if he wasn’t transphobic?
The manager was likely upset because he was short tempered and he considered it to be a smart ass answer. The manager is a jerk, there is nothing to indicate the manager knew she was trans.
I don’t see any transphopbia or discrimination here.