The Week In Trans 5/22/17

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Cartoonist Labelle.

The Facebook page of Sophie Labelle’s cartoon Assigned Male was the attacked by a group described as “neo-Nazis.” Facebook was quick to react, but they did little to prevent the attack. Several transgender people and support groups were also targeted by this same group in this attack. Her home address was published by the attackers. Her book tour event in Halifax on Thursday was cancelled amid death threats. The Facebook page for Assigned Male has since been restored. The Star has a story on this, and the CBC has a story on the cancelled event in Halifax.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Leeson has allowed Kate Lynn Blatt to go forward with a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act. It is the first time that a transgender person has been allowed to sue an employer under the Americans With Disability Act. Judge Leeson feels that judges should not rule on the constitutionality of a case, if at all possible. Since this is the first time that such a claim has not been routinely dismissed, it is probable that the plaintiff’s lawyer will have to make a particularly convincing case that gender dysphoria qualifies under the Act. Reuters has this story.

A contestant on the “reality” show The Bachelorette got into hot water when he responded to a question about his biggest fear in dating by saying he would be upset if he found out his date was a trans woman. The show kicks off its 13th season tonight on ABC. The network was quick to denounce a contestant named Bryce after the negative tweets poured in. Read exactly what he said and what the LGBT community thought of it in The Huffington Post.

Lead singer of Acrush.

Five young women known as “handsome girls” are rehearsing to be China’s next big boy band. That’s right. The girls are all slightly to the male side of androgyny and they hope to appeal to growing segment of China’s youth who reject gender norms. The group is called Acrush which stands for “Adonis crush” and it was created by a media company. Meet the “boys” in the band in The New York Times.

In an interview with Pink News, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that her government is looking to update the Gender Recognition Act in the hope that they can make it work better for transgender people. Currently, the act requires transgender people to undergo medical checks before their genders can be changed on legal forms. When asked about passports with a gender designation other than “male” or “female,” Ms. May said that that was a part of a larger issue of gender on government forms, and said that the larger issue is under review. The issue of a third designation on government forms will require quite a bit of review across many different parts of the government. The article on the question-and-answer session can be found here.

The Highgate School, one of the most prestigious schools in London, has announced a new gender-neutral uniform policy. Under the new policy, boys can opt to wear skirts. This is getting the sort of feedback one would expect from the usual sources, despite the fact that few boys will choose to wear the newly-approved skirts. Rather than “male uniform” and “female uniform,” the options are now labeled “uniform number one” and “uniform number two.” Said headteacher Adam Pettitt, “This generation is really questioning being binary in the way we look at things.” Pink News has this story.

Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning has been released from prison. She tweeted a picture of herself with a feminine hairstyle and wearing some make-up, as well as commenting on her tennis shoes (“first steps of freedom”) and her first pizza after her release. She has yet to decide where she will settle down or what she will do. LGBTQ News has this story.

Despite the release from a military prison, Chelsea Manning is still considered to be on “extended leave from active duty” in the Army, and will receive health care through the military. She will not receive a salary from the Army. This is all pending further review. This news was criticized by the expected sources. This story can be found in the New York Daily News.

Last week, we told you of two transgender cadets (one at West Point and the other at the Air Force Academy) who are scheduled to graduate this month. They will not be commissioned as officers, as their classmates will, since the U.S. military does not have a policy for accepting transgender recruits. They may not have long to wait. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has until July 1 to formulate a policy for transgender recruits to join the military, according to the timeline devised by his predecessor, Ash Carter. However, there seems to be no penalty for missing that deadline. While General Mattis indicated in his confirmation hearings that he didn’t care much about who was romantically involved with whom or what someone had in his or her pants, his actions as Secretary of Defense have made some people wonder if that really is the case. Military Times has this story.

Caroline Paige

Caroline Paige was a Top Gun in the Royal Air Force, and she is transgender. She transitioned while in the military, and served until 2014, including several dangerous missions. She is now running her own company, who helps to train helicopter crews. She also has written her autobiography, which is how she got profiled by the Shropshire Star.

Diane Rodriguez has become the first transgender person elected to the government in Ecuador. She has been elected to be an alternate to the National Assembly. Before entering politics, she has been a psychologist. A profile of her is on Telesur.

In a sign that gender transitions are becoming more common and more accepted, Hallmark has come out with at least one card to mark the transition. On the front, it says, “You’re becoming who you’ve always been.” That is a lovely sentiment, but it might be a bit repetitious to receive several copies of the same card from different people. As always with greeting cards, it’s the thought that counts. Gay Star News has this story.

The state of Nevada has passed a law which waives the requirement that a person seeking a name change publish the old name and new name publicly, but only when the reason for the name change is a gender change. It is felt that requiring a transgender person to publish an announcement of the old and new names violates personal privacy by telling the world of the gender change. The bill did received zero “no” votes in either house. This story is in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hosoda

With the “genderless” youth and the large numbers of males doing female cosplay Japan may seem like a great place to be trans. Actually the country is not that accepting of gender fluidity which makes it amazing that a conservative city could elect a trans man to its city council. Tomoya Hosoda has won a seat on the City Council of Iruma, making him the first trans man to be elected to public office in Japan and one of the few around the world. Read his story in The New York Times.

Transgender people are not the only ones who are hurt by “bathroom bills.” Some people with certain forms of autism or other “high support” special needs need supervision when using the restroom, and sometimes, that support comes from a parent of the opposite gender. The Washington Post’s story can be found in the Bangor Daily News.

PSU queen Gayla Genda.

Going off to college is a rite of passage for many people that helps them to find themselves and become their own person, away from family, friends and the possible small town where they were raised. In the 21st century young gay men can find a place at their school to be totally out, and that includes being out as a drag queen. Read about some of the student drag queens who attend Penn State University during the day and entertain the citizens of Happy Valley (the nickname for the place PSU is located) on the stage. The story is in Onward State.

Joshua Vallum has been sentenced to 49 years in prison for the brutal murder of a transgender woman. It marks the first time that federal hate-crime laws have been used in the sentencing of someone convicted of murder of a transgender person. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that the Justice Department will protect the rights of transgender victims of violence, although some people doubt that. This particular sentence is welcome. This story can be found in Alabama.com.

Rachel Dovel

Last year a trans woman named Rachel Dovel who was employed at the Cincinnati library was denied coverage for her gender confirmation surgery by the library’s health insurance company. The library’s board would not do anything to help her so she filed a lawsuit. Last week she and the library settled and elements of the settlement will be good for any future trans employees at that institution. Read the story on the Cincinnati.com website.

Rowen Elijah Feldhaus, who had to fight a local judge to get his name change, has died of complications following a hysterectomy. Mr. Feldhaus’s petition for a name change was denied by Judge David J. Roper, who was forced by an appeals court to issue the name change. Georgia Voice has this story.

A Colorado man has been arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license after he attempted to perform an orchiectomy on a transgender woman. The patient/victim seems to have agreed to the procedure, but ended up in the hospital after a large amount of bleeding caused a substantial drop in blood pressure. This story is in USA Today.

Slay model Sabel Gonzales.

The documentary television series Strut won a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Reality Program. The subject of the show is trans models and the stars are all on the roster of the Slay Model Management agency. The Filipino American behind the agency and the show is Cecilio Asuncion. Learn more about him and the show on the Inquirer.net.

There have been quite a few cases of violence against transgender women in El Salvador, including too many murders. The United Nations is calling for a probe of these incidents. While there is little that such a probe can likely do, just having such an investigation is a step forward. Reuters has this story.

Nedra Belle

People on the LGBT community often are shunned by the religious faiths that they were brought up in. Often times faith is an important part of their lives and having to give up their religion in order to be themselves can lead to depression. That was the case for Chris Weaver, who had to leave his church when they learned he was gay and a drag queen. By accident he discovered a church that accepted him and now he has performed in the church in his drag persona Nedra Belle. Read his story on the NBC News website.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has singed a bill into law that makes it easier and more discreet for Oregonians to change their name and/or gender on state documents. Learn more and read the entire bill on the NBC52 website.

Monty Thomas as Jess Whoo.

Monty Thomas is a model in Australia who wants to be that country’s first drag supermodel. Bullied in school for looking too much like a girl Thomas went on to become a dancer but after seeing RuPaul’s Drag Race found that he was drawn to drag and created his drag persona Jess Whoo. Then in 2016 he became the first drag queen in Queensland to walk the runway at a major fashion show. Meet Monty and Jess in the Daily Mail.

Do you long for the pleasure of reading the old trans magazines from the ’90s, like LadyLike and Transgender Tapestry? You purged all your copies or had to just abandon them when you made a move to a new living arrangement and now you’re sorry they’re gone? Fear not! Many of your favorite magazines are now available to read for free online. They can be found in the Digital Transgender Archive. Thanks to Carollyn Olson for the tip.

TWITs

As mentioned above, the release of Chelsea Manning from a military prison is receiving a great deal of criticism. The Center for Military Readiness, a group which seems to feel that it knows more about what the military should do than the Pentagon does, gave a typical response, right down to the deadnaming. It seems they also think that they know more about medicine than medical professional organizations. For assuming that they can make the world fit the square hole of their views, the Center for Military Readiness gets a TWIT Award. One News Now has the story on them.

Piers Morgan went into a rant when told that Highgate School will do away with gender designations on its uniforms. He said, “So let’s as the police chief we’re talking to: will male policemen be wearing skirts on duty, because that’s all part of this gender-neutral move?” Later in his rant, he said, “I might wear a skirt to work tomorrow as part of my gender-neutral, non-binary identity.” The following day, he called non-binary children “a contagion,” and described non-binary as “a massive new fad.” Perhaps he’d like to wear an evening gown to the TWIT Award ceremony; oh wait, there is no ceremony, but he does get a TWIT Award. The story of his first rant can be found here, and the story of his second outburst is here.

TWIT is compiled by Cecilia Barzyk with editing and additional content by Angela Gardner.

Tags: Acrush, Caroline Paige, Chelsea Manning, featured, Kate Lynn Blatt, news, Rachel Dovel, Sophie Labelle, TWIT

Category: Transgender Community News