Tag: openly transgender

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News Round-Up: April 24, 2017

• It’s sunny skies for my buddy Alex Chavez (above) after he won his body building competition last week. Check out his serious gyming on his Instagram account here.

• San Diego polar bear dies after her same-sex companion of 20 years relocated from Seaworld:

• Folks are wondering why Mar-a-Lago is suddenly being promoted on a federal government sites?

• The Navy and Marines have issued new regulations that ban spreading nude images in the wake of last month’s photo scandal involving the Marine Corps.

• Caitlyn Jenner’s 20/20 interview in 2015, which delivered the news that the Olympic gold medalist is, in fact, transgender was a ratings bonanza. The interview drew 17 million viewers. Jenner’s followup with Diane Sawyer this past Friday was a bit of a bust bringing only 4.2 million sets of eyeballs and losing to a rerun of CBS’ Blue Bloods.

• Plans for removing four Confederate monuments by the city of New Orleans including having workers wear armor and stationing police snipers to keep watch for lunatic racists that might try to interfere with the removal.

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Caitlyn Jenner On Sex Reassignment: “This Is The First Time, And The Last Time, I Will Ever Speak Of It”

Caitlyn Jenner

RadarOnline writes today that in January of this year Caitlyn Jenner underwent sex reassignment surgery.

I’m not one to focus on the idea of anatomy when it comes to trans folks personal issues. But, in that Jenner wanted to address the topic and end any conjecture, I think it was totally her business to do so.

In the reality star’s new memoir, The Secrets of My Life, she claims she had the “Final Surgery” in January 2017, nearly two years after she publicly announced her identity as a trans woman in an explosive interview with Diane Sawyer.

“The surgery was a success, and I feel not only wonderful but liberated,” she writes in the new memoir, out April 25.

The 67-year-old former Olympic gold medalist claims she came clean so fans will stop asking about her nether regions.

“I am telling you because I believe in candor,” she explains. “So all of you can stop staring. You want to know, so now you know. Which is why this is the first time, and the last time, I will ever speak of it.”

That said, everyone should be aware that you should never ask a trans person about the subject. It’s intensely personal, and rude.

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Laverne Cox Books New ABC Pilot, “The Trustee”

Openly trans actress and activist Laverne Cox’ CBS series Doubt may have been cancelled after only two weeks, but she’s already on to her next leading TV gig.

Cox has been cast as co-lead in new ABC pilot, The Trustee, a female buddy police series.

From Variety:

[Cox] will play Amanda Jones, a larger-than-life ex-con finishing out her prison sentence doing menial tasks for the police department. Co-lead Meaghan Rath plays her counterpart, Eliza Radley, a driven but stubborn detective who finds unlikely help from Amanda.

Cox and Rath are joined by Michael Cudlitz of “The Walking Dead,” who will play Captain Timothy Waits, a wry and sardonic police captain who has learned to appreciate Eliza’s unorthodox policing methods.

As regular Randy Report readers know, Cox is the first transgender actress of color to star in a network television series. She has been honored with an Emmy nomination for her work on Netflix’ Orange Is the New Black, and a Daytime Emmy as producer of The T Word.

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Transgender Actress Alexis Arquette Dies At 47

TMZ is reporting that actress and singer Alexis Arquette died Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends after battling an unspecified illness for some time.

Alexis’ brother, Richmond Arquette says Alexis died at 12:32 AM while listening to David Bowie’s, “Starman.”

Besides being the sibling of David and Patricia Arquette — Alexis was known for her roles in “Pulp Fiction” and “The Wedding Singer,” as well as being a champion for trans rights.

We last ran into Alexis earlier this year — when she talked to us about Caitlyn Jenner.

David released a statement about Alexis’ death, saying, “Never have I had the honor of knowing and loving a funnier more beautiful soul then my brother/sister Alexis.”

We’re told she’d been battling an illness.

You’ll notice an unusual mix of gender pronouns in the statement. You can only imagine that’s how Alexis preferred to be referred as.

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Cailtyn Jenner Tweets “I Am Cait” Series Cancelled

Caitlyn Jenner shared the news via Twitter that her E! Network reality show will not be continuing on for a third season after a dramatic decline in ratings.

Gay Star News has more:

E! Entertainment in a statement that it is ‘incredibly proud of the two seasons of I Am Cait’ which the cable channel described as ‘a groundbreaking docu-series that sparked an important and unprecedented global conversation about transgender people, their struggles and triumphs.

‘Caitlyn and E! have mutually decided not to move forward with another season at this time. She will always remain a part of the E! family, and we look forward to continue following her journey as she appears on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.’

https://twitter.com/Caitlyn_Jenner/status/765626711752908800
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Defense Secretary Ash Carter Announces End To U.S. Military’s Ban On Transgender Service Members

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

Fantastic news and a great step forward.

OutServe-SLDN has the details via press release:

Today Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the recommendations from the working group formed last summer on the lifting of the ban on open transgender service. This announcement includes recommendations, plans and timeline to when transgender service members will fully be able to serve openly and authentically.

OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Matt Thorn issued the following statement: “OutServe-SLDN applauds and welcomes Secretary Carter’s announcement today. Every day, an estimated 15,500 dedicated, proud and courageous transgender service members have been forced to live quietly and serve in righteous indignation, anticipating the end of the discriminatory ban on open trans service to be lifted in the Armed Forces.

“Transgender service members have been awaiting this announcement for months and years: it has long been overdue. Secretary Carter, with his statement, has given a breath of relief and overdue respect to transgender service members who have been and are currently serving our country with undeniable professionalism, the utmost respect and illustrious courage, with the caveat to do so silently.

“Today, we mark history, once again, by ending the need to serve in silence. Today, we say (in the words of Attorney General Loretta Lynch) “we see you” and regardless of your gender identity we welcome you to serve this country with honor, dignity, courage and above all openly and honestly.

SPARTA, the largest organization of actively-serving transgender military members today celebrated the Pentagon’s announcement confirming that transgender Americans will be able to serve their country on equal footing with other service members.

“Secretary Carter today fulfills his promise that every American who is qualified to serve will be allowed to serve, said former Army Captain Sue Fulton, President of SPARTA. “The thousands of transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen – and their commanders – have one less burden on their shoulders today. We are grateful to the military and civilian leaders in the Department of Defense who worked so hard to get this right.”

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Pentagon To Announce Repeal Of Ban On Transgender Service Members

NBC News reports that the Pentagon is in preparations to announce changes in policy regarding open service by transgender men and women within weeks.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter could make the announcement as early as next week and he will call for full implementation one year from now.

Related: Eric Fanning, First Openly Gay Army Secretary, Confirmed by U.S. Senate

The details of the repeal could shift. One defense official told NBC News that the working group that has been studying this issue since July 2015 will provide broad guidance.

It will be up to the individual services to work out the details. Those details include barracks, rules for new recruits, allowance for sex reassignment surgery, diagnosis of dysmorphic disorder, policies on group showers and more.

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Obama Administration To Public Schools: Allow Trans Students To Use Gender Identity-Matching Bathrooms

Big news for transgender students!

The Obama administration is set to release directives that will instruct all public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

From the New York Times:

A letter to school districts will go out Friday, fueling a highly charged debate over transgender rights in the middle of the administration’s legal fight with North Carolina over the issue. The declaration — signed by Justice and Education Department officials — will describe what schools should do to ensure that none of their students are discriminated against.

It does not have the force of law, but it contains an implicit threat: Schools that do not abide by the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or a loss of federal aid.

The move is certain to draw fresh criticism, particularly from Republicans, that the federal government is wading into local matters and imposing its own values on communities across the country that may not agree. It represents the latest example of the Obama administration using a combination of policies, lawsuits and public statements to change the civil rights landscape for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.

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Chaz Bono Talks To Oprah About Body Dysphoria And His Transformational Weight Loss

In an upcoming appearance on Oprah: Where are They Now?, transgender trailblazer Chaz Bono talks about his difficulties in losing weight and having a healthy view of himself before transitioning in 2009.

From People:

“I would have never been able to do it before [transitioning],” Bono, 45, tells Oprah Winfrey. “I was too disconnected from my body, and the dysphoria that I had with my body was too much to be able to have cared enough to anything like that.”

Bono adds his body dysphoria made it hard for him to treat his body well.

The Dancing with the Stars alum has been steadily losing weight over the past few years after making a public mission to drop at least 50 lbs. in 2012. In fact, he’s done even better, dropping an impressive 75 lbs.

Before sitting down with Winfrey, 62, for the interview, Bono looked at old photos with one of the show’s producers. Unlike previous guests, however, this trip down memory lane wasn’t all that fun.

“For most transgender people, we don’t really like to see pictures of us before transitioning because life was really hard beforehand,” he explains. “They’re generally not happy memories.”

Bono, who transitioned from a woman to a man in 2009, explains to Winfrey that those pictures remind him of a time when he was unhappy because he wasn’t really being himself.

“It doesn’t, you know, bring back fun nostalgia. You just are reminded of the pain you were,” the actor says.

The episode airs this Saturday. Watch the advance clip below:

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Trailer: “I Am Cait” Season 2

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"I Am Cait" Returns This MarchLast year Caitlyn Jenner changed her life, this year she'll live it.Posted by I Am Cait on Thursday, January 14, 2016

Probably the most interesting thing here is Jenner’s statement “To be honest, I don’t see dating women in the future. I’ve been there, done that.”

Folks have wondered all over the internet if Jenner’s transition would translate into her dating men or women. I’m guessing the new season may explore that aspect of Jenner’s new life.

Season 2 of “I Am Cait” begins in March.