Tag: transgender

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Music Video: Maggie Szabo’s “Don’t Give Up” Is A Love Letter To Trans Youth

Acclaimed Canadian pop singer/songwriter Maggie Szabo drops her moving and uplifting new music video, "Don’t Give Up On Love."
Maggie Szabo

Acclaimed Canadian pop singer/songwriter Maggie Szabo recently released her moving and uplifting new music video, “Don’t Give Up On Love,” from her upcoming EP Worthy.

The video, a love letter of support to the LGBTQ community, tells the story of a transgender high school student attending prom.

Szabo’s soaring vocals sweep across an emotional, anthemic musical landscape accompanied by gospel-tinged backing vocals. The lyrics share an empowering message of hope and acceptance.

When your back’s against the wall
Cuz you feel you’ve lost it all
There’s nowhere left to turn and no one left to call
There is someone just like you
Who feels the same way too
Why would you surrender?
Don’t give up on love

Touching and authentic, the video is dedicated to transgender youth around the world who live in fear and suffer from rejection and exclusion.

Via press release:

The powerful and poignant narrative of ‘Don’t Give Up’ is reflected in an exquisitely cinematic video, that follows a girl who is struggling with her gender identity and the pressures of conformity in high school. Szabo’s ultimate messages to fight for social justice and equality, “people are people, love is love. Society needs to stand up” professes Szabo. “I can’t stand by and watch millions of transgender youth live in fear for their safety, outcast from their homes and marginalized by society simply because they are struggling to understand their gender identity. I want to stand with them.”

“Don’t Give Up” was written and recorded in Los Angeles along with Stefan Lit (One Direction) and Chaz Mason.

With over 14 + million Youtube views, Szabo has been featured on several high profile media outlets including Billboard, Perez Hilton, Huffington Post and Yahoo Music!

A portion of the proceeds from this music video will be donated to the Ali Forney Center whose mission is to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.

Watch “Don’t Give Up” below.

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News Round-Up: September 11, 2017

(image via Pinterest)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Welcome to a brand new fresh week! Today is just about as fresh and ready for you as, well, this guy (above).

• Former 90210 star Brian Austin Green’s 4-year-old son Noah has been seen out in public occasionally wearing dresses, and Green has no problem with that. “I feel like at 4, at 5, that’s a time when he should be having fun,” the actor continues. “He’s not harming anyone wearing a dress. So if he wants to wear a dress, awesome. Good on him, you know?”

• In just the past week, 3 GOP Congressmen have announced they will not be seeking reelection in 2018. This potentially opens up more possibilities for the Democrats to regain control of the House. Cook Political Report analyst Dave Wasserman moved his rating of one of the races from “likely Republican” to “toss up.”

• InfoWars idiot Alex Jones says Donald Trump behaves erratically because White House insiders are slowly drugging his Diet Cokes. #NoLie

 • A transgender man in New Jersey, who was wrongly accused on shoplifting, is bringing legal action after being forced to show his vagina and prosthetic penis to a female grocery store employee. A security guard apparently mistook the bulge in the man’s pants for stolen goods.

• One of the new characters being written into the upcoming 8 episode reboot of Roseanne will be the 4-year-old “gender-creative” son of “Darlene” played by Sara Gilbert. The young son’s name will be “Mark” who is described as “Sensitive and bright, Mark occasionally likes to wear girls’ clothing.”

• Folks are a little worried “down under” as recent polling shows 58.4% say they would back a “yes” vote on marriage equality, down 6 points from two weeks earlier; support for a “no” vote rose two points to 31.4%. In a world of Brexit votes and Donald Trumps becoming president, folks don’t want to take anything for granted. Make sure your Aussie friends vote!

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New Laws In Illinois Ban “Gay Panic” Defense In Murder Cases, Make Amending Trans Birth Certificates Easier

Good news in Illinois as the state’s governor has just signed two bills into law that will help LGBTs find greater equality in the Prairie State.

The first bill removes the option of a “gay panic” defense in murder cases. Utilized in several LGBT murders in recent years (Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena, Marco McMillan), “gay panic” defenses have allowed defendants accused of killing homosexuals to legally claim they had a legitimate fear for their safety because the victim had made a pass at them.

The defense has been criticized by many for implicitly condoning that LGBTs are a threat to society.

Illinois is the second state in the U.S. to ban the defense. California is the only other state to pass similar legislation.

The second bill makes it easier for transgender people to amend their birth certificates to reflect their correct gender identity.

Until now, trans folks had to submit sworn affidavits from their physicians confirming they had performed gender confirmation surgery.

Under the new law, trans individuals are only required to provide a note from licensed medical professionals documenting the fact that they are receiving “clinically appropriate” treatment as they transition.

(source)

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St. Louis: Driver Injures 3 Demonstrators At Trans Lives Matter Memorial

Three demonstrators at a Trans Lives Matter memorial in St. Louis were injured last night when a driver drove through the crowd.

The vigil was organized in memory of Kiwi Herring, a trans woman who died earlier this week when she allegedly cut a police officer with a knife.

The demonstrators blocked the road frustrating drivers who mostly found other venues to drive around the crowd.

But one driver in a Mercedes, after honking his horn in an attempt to dispel the crowd, drove through the protesters.

More from LGBTQ Nation:

Police and those present at the vigil are giving different accounts of how the situation escalated.

Schron Jackson, a police spokeswoman, gave the following statement to the River Front Times:

Tonight, a group of protesters marched from the Transgender Memorial to the intersection of Manchester and Sarah were they blocked traffic in all directions. A vehicle approached, stopped, honked its horn and attempted to drive around the protesters.

The protesters surrounded the vehicle and began striking it with their hands and a flag pole. Several protesters also kicked and jumped on top of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle (white male) proceeded to drive away when three protesters ( 2 white females and 1 white male) fell from the vehicle. The three protesters reported minor injuries, but refused medical attention on the scene.

Police attempted to stop driver of vehicle who initially refused to stop. He stopped about a block away from the incident and was taken into custody for felony fleeing. The incident was captured on video. The investigation is ongoing.

Protester Keith Rose disputes that account in a Facebook post, saying no one hit the car until the driver began running into people. He said the driver gave the finger to the crowd before driving into them.

“The SLMPD is going out of its way to protect this man who tried to run over people just a couple weeks after the Charlottesville attack. This kind of immunity from consequences only emboldens the people who want to harm protesters,” he writes.

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Customers Defend Trans Woman To Rude Sales Clerk On “What Would You Do?”

Hidden camera show “What Would You Do?” sets up social situations in order to explore how everyday folks will react when presented with morally questionable behavior.

In a recent episode, two actors played a women’s clothing shop saleswoman and a female transgender customer.

When the “salesgirl” makes derogatory comments to the trans customer and calling her “sir,” the unsuspecting customers step up and defend the trans woman.

“Could you just take the dress off?” the salesgirl asks in front of the other customers. “I don’t want you ripping it and no one else is going to want to wear it after you.”

Stepping in to defend the trans woman, one customer calls out the salesgirl’s bigotry, “That’s not what this town or what this store is about!”

Another shuts down the saleswoman by reminding her, “It’s 2017!”

This is will definitely lift your heart.

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56 Generals & Admirals Say Trump Trans Ban Would “Degrade Readiness”

In a statement sent to the Palm Center today, 56 retired General and Flag Officers said President Trump’s proposed ban on transgender military service members would cause “significant disruptions.”

The statement read, in part:

“The Commander in Chief has tweeted a total ban of honorably serving transgender troops. This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity of transgender troops who would be forced to live a lie, as well as non-transgender peers who would be forced to choose between reporting their comrades or disobeying policy.

“As a result, the proposed ban would degrade readiness even more than the failed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. Patriotic transgender Americans who are serving— and who want to serve—must not be dismissed, deprived of medically necessary health care, or forced to compromise their integrity or hide their identity.

“President Trump seeks to ban transgender service members because of the financial cost and disruption associated with transgender military service. We respectfully disagree and consider these claims to be without merit.

“The RAND Corporation, as well as research in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the financial cost of providing health care to transgender troops would be, at most, $8.4 million per year. This amounts to one one-hundredth of one percent of the military’s annual health care budget. As for ostensible disruptions, transgender troops have been serving honorably and openly for the past year, and have been widely praised by commanders. Eighteen foreign nations, including the UK and Israel, allow transgender troops to serve, and none has reported any detriment to readiness.

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Trailer: Amazon’s Transparent Season 4

Amazon has shared the first look at season 4 of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series, Transparent, which premieres September 22nd.

Jeffrey Tambor’s “Maura” is heading to Israel, and of course, the whole Pfefferman clan has to tag along.

The Pfeffermans take off on a spiritual and political journey as they dig deep into their family’s history. Maura heads to Israel to speak at a conference and makes a startling discovery. Before long the rest of the family joins her for an explosive adventure. Adrift in the desert, each member of the family ultimately set off on their own paths to find acceptance, love, and truth.

Arriving just days after Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to ban all transgender service members in the U.S. military, the cast and creators also released a response to Trump’s surprise move.

Via People:

“We are honored to share the trailer for Transparent season 4. We feel very lucky to get to make art inspired by themes of love, home and boundaries, and how they operate in both human beings as well as nations,” the joint statement begins.

“Sharing this work amidst President Trump’s continued assault on the transgender community is painful. We are outraged that he announced in a tweet that transgender people would not be allowed to serve ‘in any capacity’ in the U.S. military. It is reprehensible to deny an estimated 15,000 current trans service members, and 134,000 trans veterans, the dignity, respect and safety that they deserve,” the statement continues.

“At Transparent we believe in the integrity of the trans community, which we know firsthand because we are all either trans or allies to the trans community. It is a revolutionary act for a trans person to simply leave the house and walk down the street. We tap into the incredible history of survival the trans community has achieved against all odds, knowing that our fight is noble and on the side of justice and human rights.”

“To our trans community members serving in the military and to transgender veterans: We work in solidarity with you and will continue fighting and creating art for our community’s well-being and future,” it reads. “We hope that you’ll enjoy the trailer for season 4 because our visibility and our stories are more important than ever.”

Watch the season 4 trailer below:

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News Round-Up: July 28, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Fitness trainer Ben Zerbst (above) is concerned about his “t-shirt tan,” which gives you just one more reason to keep staring, as if you need one 🙂

• Kathryn Knott, convicted Philadelphia gay-basher, is now claiming self-defense in a civil lawsuit from the couple she helped attack. One of her victims had his jaw wired shut for 8 months due to injuries.

• Stephen Colbert slammed Donald Trump’s tweets announcing a new ban on transgender military service members: “I began my day today as I often begin my days, by checking Donald Trump’s Twitter feed. Just to see how far the crazy has spread. And today, I really think he’s off his meds, as he’s gone from crazy to cruel.”

• The GOP-controlled House has approved $1.6 billion for President Donald Trump’s long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump promised at nearly every rally and campaign event that Mexico would pay for the wall.

• 19 Attorneys General have sent a letter to Congress opposing Trump’s transgender military ban.

• Woofy Instahunk Roberto Caccamo sends regards from Italy…

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The Late Late Show’s James Corden Sings & Dances Some “L-O-V-E” To Transgender Military

The Late Late Show‘s James Corden trolled Donald Trump’s latest policy debacle via a song and dance parody of Nat King Cole’s “L.O.V.E.”

But Corden’s version, meant as commentary on Trump newly-tweeted transgender military ban, is spelled, “L.G.B.T.”

Armed with a swing band and backup dancers, Corden doesn’t miss his chance to skewer Trump’s well-known sensitivities about his diminutive assets:

“Trump wants to seem like a manly man, overcompensating for his tiny… hands.”

Watch the clip below:

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Podcast: Trump Bans Transgenders From U.S. Military; Texas Senate Approves Anti-Trans “Bathroom Bill”

In this mid-week podcast from The Randy Report, two big stories:

• President Trump bans – via tweet – any transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military calling them “a burden.”

• The Texas State Senate has approved it’s hateful, anti-transgender “bathroom bill.”