Tag: transgender

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News Round-Up: February 17, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• This 22 year St. Louis police veteran (above) was told to “tone down” his “gayness” if he ever wanted to get promoted, despite placing 3rd out of 26 in promotion tests.

• Lady Gaga joined over 140 celebrities in denouncing Texas’ anti-transgender “bathroom bill.”

• Donald Trump’s second pick for National Security Adviser (now that Michael Flynn has resigned) has said “no, thank you” to the offer. According to reports, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down the chance citing “chaos” in the White House, labeling the offer as a “shit sandwich.”

• Finland’s Parliament rejects a citizen’s initiative to repeal marriage equality by a vote of 120 to 48. Hurray for the good guys!

• Donald Trump heads to Mar-a-Lago again this weekend. His three trips to his southern home have thus far cost the American people almost $10 million. Guarding Trump Tower in NYC could cost $183 million a year.

• Spend a few minutes inside the trials and tribulations of transgender folks in this short film, “Headspace,” by Jake Graf. Watch below:

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Nine Year Old New Jersey Boy Becomes First Transgender Boy Scout

One week after the Boy Scouts of America announced the organization would now accept transgender boys to be scouts, 9 year old Joe Maldonado put on his Cub Scout uniform and joined Pack 20 in Maplewood, NJ.

From NorthJersey.com:

Scouting’s decision to change its longtime policy came about a month after The Record reported that Joe had been thrown out of a Cub Scout pack in Secaucus last year because he was born a girl. The decision was at least in part a response to the national debate generated by that story.

“This is fun; I’m so proud,” Joe, 9, said during the meeting. He said that the best part of the night was that “I am accepted, and I’m actually in Boy Scouts.”

The leader of Joe’s new Scouting pack, which serves Maplewood and South Orange, said after the meeting that Joe’s presence was “historic” because he had become Scouting’s first openly transgender member. He praised Joe for showing “an immense amount of courage.”

Kyle Hackler, the leader of his new pack, helped him put on his uniform and kerchief, and taught him the Cub Scout salute and oath. The meeting was held at the Clinton Elementary school in Maplewood.

“This means you’re the same as Scouts all over the world,” Hackler said to Joe.

Watch Joe’s happy face as he wears his Cub Scout uniform for the first time here.

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Out Music: Summer Luk “Part Of Me”

Summer Luk, who describes herself as “a musician who’s trans, not a trans musician,’ shares a personal essay with The Advocate about her new music video, “Part of Me.”

In the op-ed, Luk explains why she fought against the narrative that trans women should be limited to portrayals that are only “sad and painful.”

Through music, I get to tell a different story about myself. Although my song “Part of Me” isn’t revolutionary or radical, it is a song that gives me permission to feel the feelings that I had to suppress as a youth in a conservative Christian household. This song, like all my other songs, was my way of learning to see myself through my own eyes and to acknowledge that while there’s a part of me that has experienced sadness, there are also parts of me that are silly, sassy, and even downright cheesy. I believe that only when I can acknowledge all these parts will I find the strength to move forward because I’m not leaving any part of me behind.

That is why I’ll always do what I’m not supposed to do as a musician who happens to be trans. That is why I will always write, perform, and exist not as a trans musician but as a musician who is trans.

Learn more about Summer Luk in this Refinery29 Q&A.

Check out the music video for “Part of Me” below. It’s fun, light and pop-y.

Plus, she’s got great taste in music video crushes.

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Boy Scouts Of America Will Allow Transgender Scouts

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that, beginning immediately, the Boy Scouts of America will allow transgender youth who identify as boys to enroll in scouting programs:

The organization announced it had made the decision to begin basing enrollment in its boys-only programs on the gender a child or parent lists on the application to become a scout. The organization had previously held a policy that relied on the gender listed on a child’s birth certificate for those programs.

Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for the organization, emailed a statement Monday. She said the organization’s leadership had considered a recent case in Secaucus, New Jersey, where an 8-year-old transgender child had been asked to leave his Scout troop after parents and leaders found out he is transgender, but the change was made because of the larger conversation about gender identity going on around the country.

“For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs,” the statement said. “However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state.”

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News Round-Up: January 16, 2017

Kadu Giacobini via Instagram

Some news items you may have missed:

• Ok, I may have a new Instahunk crush – Brazilian dentist-turned-model, Kadu Giacomini

• President-elect Donald Trump accuses CIA chief of leaking 35 page Russian dossier.

• Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces transgender inmates will be housed according to gender identity.

• Donald Trump cabinet pick bought stock in company days before introducing a bill to help it.

• Rob Schneider, that guy from “The Waterboy,” decided he needed to explain Martin Luther King Jr. – on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – to Rep. John Lewis, who was standing next to Martin Luther King Jr. on the day of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

• And the next time you think you’ve had a bad day just remember: this young lady is aware that “the internet is forever.”

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New Jersey: 8 Year Old Transgender Boy Barred From Cub Scout Pack

(via WNBC)

While the Boy Scouts of America have taken long looks and made some decisions on openly gay scouts participating in their organization, the issues surrounding transgender kids is now getting some national focus as a Cub Scout pack in Secaucus, NJ, is barring an 8 year old trans boy.

Dawn Ennis at LGBTQ Nation reports:

One month after 8-year-old Joe Maldonado of Secaucus, N.J. joined Cub Scout Pack 87, his mother received a call that the troop sponsored by their local Catholic church had barred her son from participating. The reason, she told reporters, is because her son was assigned the gender of female at birth. Joe is a transgender boy.

And he told the Star-Ledger he’s not so much sad as he is mad.

“It made me mad. I had a sad face, but I wasn’t crying. I’m way more angry than sad. My identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in. It’s right to do.”

He had joined in October with the intention of camping, conducting science experiments, and all the other fun things Cub Scouts do, like learning how to tie a variety of knots, use a pocket knife, and go on hikes with his friends. Joe’s classmates not only like him, his mother said, but some of them play with him on a boys basketball team. His school teachers have used male pronouns and have accepted him as the boy he is since second grade, Kristie Maldonado told the newspaper.

“Not one of the kids said, ‘You don’t belong here,’” said Maldonado. It wasn’t the boys in their pack; reportedly, it was their moms.

Eric Chamberlin, an executive with the Northern New Jersey Council of Boy Scouts, based in Oakland, N.J., confirmed to the paper that he called Maldonado last month, but he declined to comment further.

Effie Delimarkos, the communications director for the Boy Scouts of America, told the Star-Ledger in a statement the Boy Scouts consider membership for transgender children to be a separate issue from that of gay children.

“No youth may be removed from any of our programs on the basis of his or her sexual orientation,” and “Gender identity isn’t related to sexual orientation.”

The Boy Scouts spokeswoman declined to directly address the Secaucus troop issue and did not answer inquiries about whether local or state Scouting leaders contacted the national office about Joe Maldonado.

But in her statement, Delimarkos made it clear that “the classification on the participant’s birth certificate” would be used to “confirm legal status.”

Chamberlin did not ask to examine Joe’s birth certificate, the boy’s mother told the paper. If the Boy Scouts have ever examined birth certificates for the gender markers, Delimarkos wouldn’t say. And she declined to say whether the Scouts have a written transgender policy.

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Transgender Day Of Remembrance 2016

Today marks this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence, and to celebrate and support those who survive.

At least 24 transgender people were murdered in 2016 in the United States, according to media reports. In 2015, there were 22 reported anti-transgender killings. As is typically the case, the majority of those deaths were transgender women of color.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement regarding TDOR which read in part:

Now in its 18th year, TDOR is a time for the transgender community and allies to mourn those who have been victims of anti-trans violence, and to recommit to ensuring that their lives – and deaths – are not forgotten. TDOR allows us to call attention to the continued violence and injustice transgender people face every day.

In 2015, HRC reported the murders of at least 21 transgender people in the United States, more than any previous year on record. A disproportionate number of these victims were transgender women of color. That alarming trend has continued in 2016. HRC and the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) just released A Matter of Life and Death: Fatal Violence Against Transgender People in America 2016, a new, heartbreaking report documenting the often deadly violence faced by the transgender community and exploring the factors that fuel these tragic attacks.

“TDOR is about mourning those who have been taken from us through violence, transphobia and hatred, and it is a way of recognizing the loss that those lives represent to our community,” said Nicole Cozier, HRC Director of Diversity & Inclusion.

“TDOR empowers HRC’s steering committees, members and other activists on the ground to support members of the transgender community in their regions. It’s about mobilizing our communities to reach out and say, ‘We’re here and we stand with you.’” Cozier said.

The U.S. State Department issued this statement from Secretary of State John Kerry in observance of the solemn day:

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States solemnly honors the memory of the many transgender individuals who lost their lives to senseless acts of violence.

Transgender persons around the world are targeted by rising levels of violence fueled by hatred and bigotry. This is a global challenge and we all must do more to protect transgender persons on the basis of equality and dignity.

In the United States, our Constitution enshrines freedoms of peaceful assembly, speech and association, and it affirms that everyone has equal protection under the law. Around the world human rights and fundamental freedoms are recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that every person is born free and equal in dignity and rights. Every person includes transgender women, transgender men, and other individuals who face marginalization on account of their gender expression or gender identity.

Today we stand in solidarity with the incredible resilience and leadership of the transgender community in responding to stigma and marginalization. Transgender persons deepen our diversity, broaden our communities, and strengthen the values we cherish. When all persons reach their full human potential, free from fear, intimidation, and violence, nations become more just, secure and prosperous.

The United States remains committed to advance the human rights of all persons, including transgender persons. On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, we reaffirm equality for all as part of our core constitutional principles and as a human rights priority of U.S. diplomacy.

Sadly, I doubt we’ll see anything like these messages of support from our new administration next year.

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Transgender Awareness Week November 14-20

From GLSEN:

Transgender Awareness Week (TAW) is an opportunity for students, educators and community members to increase visibility of the transgender community and to raise awareness of the experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming students, who often face hostile school environments.

For example, the 2013 National School Climate Survey found that 42.2% of transgender students had been prevented from using their preferred name and/or pronoun.

Additionally, more than one fifth (22.8%) of transgender students said they were not out at school about being transgender (this included 3.4% who were not out at all, and 19.4% who were out about their sexual orientation, but not about their transgender identity specifically), perhaps because of a negative school climate or lack of acceptance at school or from family members.

Students aren’t the only ones who can benefit from more transgender awareness and education. According to GLSEN’s most recent study, From Teasing to Torment: School Climate Revisited, “12.6% of students reported ever hearing teachers or other school staff make anti-transgender comments”.

Celebrating and making time for Transgender Awareness Week is an important step towards creating a safe and affirming school environment. Transgender Awareness Week starts on Saturday, November 14 and ends on Transgender Day of Remembrance, Friday, November 20, when communities across the globe memorialize those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender fear, bigotry and hatred.

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Just Because: Trans Model Laith Ashley

Trans male model Laith Ashley killed at last week’s Marco Marco Fashion Show at LA Style 2016 in Los Angeles

The fashion show featured lots of transgender and drag models who worked the runway, but the one who stole the show was former Attitude Magazine cover model Laith Ashley.

Click below to watch Ashley strut his impressive stuff.

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Commercial Highlights Transgender Stress Using Public Bathrooms

This simple but effective deodorant commercial explains the stress most transgender women experience every time they use a public bathroom.

Kudos to Secret for getting this right.

Most conversations about “bathroom rights” center on innocent young girls encountering a trans woman in a bathroom and not knowing how they’ll respond.

This spot gives us a peek from the other side of the encounter.