LGBTQ news and entertainment
Chatted up Dao Vu of Valley View Live on KTNV here in Las Vegas this afternoon regarding the Bruce Jenner/Diane Sawyer interview Friday, transgender issues and understanding the “what, how and whys” of understanding transgender life.
Thanks to the KTNV folks for having me. Hope I made sense 🙂
In light of Bruce Jenner’s Friday night interview with Diane Sawyer sharing his story of being transgender, I thought it would be useful to share some resources both nationally and here in Las Vegas for folks who would like more information on on the topic of transgender.
Here in Las Vegas, look to The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, or as everyone calls it – The Center.
Located at 401 S. Maryland Parkway (between Charleston & Fremont), The Center has resources for the entire LGBT community including specific support and social groups for transgender folks.
Identi-T* at The Center provides transgender and gender non-conforming individuals from the Southern Nevada a safe place to relate to their peers, seek guidance, exchange clothing and expand their social circles. Stop by or call 702-733-9800 for more information.
For a broader, more national resource, I’d head over to The National Center for Transgender Equality. There you can find all kinds of information: from schools and healthcare to immigration and identification, policies affecting trans people are advancing every day. Find the latest information about existing laws and policies, and how you can improve the laws and policies in your area.
Across the country, you can find the closest LGBT center to you by clicking here.
Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox, attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night, spoke to MSNBC’s Janet Mock about Bruce Jenner’s coming out to the world as transgender:
“I spoke to Bruce today, and they were really pleased with the way things went last night.”
“I think a lot of people tuned in expecting to see a spectacle, and they tuned in and saw a profoundly nuanced, complicated, beautiful human being.”
“I thought ABC handled it really beautifully…I had spoken to Bruce several months back, and the same person I had spoken to on the phone, who really just loves their children so much and wants their family to be happy, was the person I saw on television last night.”
Cox was also celebrating her Daytime Emmy Award win the night before for Best Special Class Special as an executive producer of “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word” for MTV.
How wonderful.
From People.com:
The actress has left a big impression on Hollywood (and America) in a very short amount of time.
Cox’s skillful performance as Sophia on Orange Is the New Black and her work advocating for transgender women make her one of our boldest beauties yet.
Last night, a bill that would have forced transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond to their “biological sex” failed by a vote of 22-20.
The measure, AB375, was strongly opposed by the Democrats in the chamber who said that it would lead to more bullying of trans students.
Transgender teens already face much higher rates of suicide.
Proponents of the bill said the legislation was important to protect the privacy of students in locker room and bathrooms.
Five Republicans broke ranks and voted with the Democrats against the bill.
Gov. Sandoval had indicated earlier that he was concerned about the legislation because it “targets students based on their gender expression, or potentially sanctions discrimination.”
Today is the deadline for legislation to pass out of their house of origin, which means the bill is effectively dead and cannot be revived.
Good.
This bill would have forced, for instance, transgender females – who present as females – to use a male bathroom. Inversely, transgender males would have had to utilize the women’s bathroom.
So, imagine this scenario:
This is who you would see in the ladies room. How do you think this would go over?
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| Michael C. Hughes was assigned “female” at birth. He would be forced to use the ladies’ room. |
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| Aydian Ethan Dowling was assigned the sex of female at birth. Aydian would be forced to use the ladies room. |
Everyone needs to see this.
Mimi and Joe Lemay share in their own words why they decided to let their five-year-old transgender son Jacob transition and live publicly as a boy.
Experts say children who clearly identify as the opposite gender will benefit from starting to transition sooner rather than later.
From NBC News:
For young children, there is no surgery or hormonal therapy. At this stage, before puberty, transgender children are making a more cosmetic change, Forcier says.
“We let them be themselves. So, they cut their hair and they wear their clothes and they wear their shoes they want. And they wear jewelry or they play with the kids they want to play with and they do the activities they want to do,” she says. “We call that social transition.”
The Lemays understand that some will have a hard time with their decision. But they say they are convinced they did the right thing for their son, and Mimi recently wrote a letter to Jacob detailing their thoughts and feelings about this journey.
“Ultimately Jacob has made that choice in his mind and his heart,” Mimi says. “It’s whether or not we accept it or not.”
Mimi Lemay: “I want him to know how proud of him I am… and how, no matter what, I am in his corner. And, I love him. And I always will.”
Opponents of LGBT rights in California have begun yet another attack on transgender folks as the group “Privacy For All” has announced that it has submitted the so-called “Privacy Protection Act” to state election officials and will attempt to gather 365,880 signatures to place the measure on the ballot in 2016.
While the initiative doesn’t use the word “transgender” specifically, it’s clear the intent:
If approved by California voters, the Personal Privacy Protection Act requires that individuals “use facilities in accordance with their biological sex in all government buildings”. The proposed initiative does not require private businesses to maintain sex separated facilities, but protects these businesses from legal action if they do require employees and patrons to “use facilities in accordance with their biological sex.”
“We have great compassion for any person that is uncomfortable in traditional, sex separated facilities.
But we also want to protect the privacy that most of us expect when we are in public bathrooms, showers and dressing areas” said Gina Gleason, a proponent of the initiative.
California’s legislature took an unprecedented step in 2013 by passing AB 1266 that allowed students in California public schools to choose the bathroom, shower and locker room that corresponds to the gender they identify with even if that is different from their biological sex. But that law was put on hold as opponents gathered almost 620,000 voter signatures for a referendum to allow voters to vote on the controversial new law. The matter is currently in court following voter officials rejecting more than one in five signatures to keep the measure off of the November 2014 ballot.
“California voters may have two chances to vote against co-ed bathrooms in 2016” said Karen England, a Privacy For All spokesperson. “We hope to wrap up the court battle over the AB 1266 referendum and place that on the ballot, but we also expect to have this new initiative before the voters at the same time.”
If the voters vote to overturn AB 1266, the new initiative would still be needed to assure privacy in California bathrooms. AB 1266 applied only to facilities at public schools, where the new initiative applies to all government buildings including schools.
This issue has begun to play out across the United States as hate groups turn their attention from their lost position on marriage equality and look for new areas with which to attack LGBT Americans.
The constant shriek of a threat is that without this law, straight men will “dress up” in women’s clothes in order to gain access to women’s bathrooms to peek at young girls peeing or some such thing. There’s no record of this happening anywhere.
Plus, take a look at some transgender folks who will unwillingly cause confusion when they are forced to use “biological sex” bathrooms.
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| Aydian Ethan Dowling was assigned the sex of female at birth. Aydian would be forced to use the ladies room. |
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| Jazz Jennings was assigned the sex of male at birth. She would be forced to use the men’s room. |
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| Michael C. Hughes was assigned “female” at birth. He would be forced to use the ladies’ room. |
New teaser for the upcoming Diane Sawyer interview with Bruce Jenner this Friday at 9PM.
Jenner is widely expected to discuss upcoming plans to transition to female.
Bravo to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, speaking today on a conference call about White House support for bans on “ex-gay” torture:
“Being gay is not a disorder. Being transgender is not a malady that requires a cure.
“Had I been Leelah Alcorn’s physician, I would have told her exactly that.
“And that’s the message I want other doctors, nurses, health professionals, and public health leaders to help get out to parents and children who may be confronting these issues.”
First video teaser for the upcoming two hour interview of Bruce Jenner by Diane Sawyer.
The interview promises to cover ‘the journey, the decisions,’ and ‘the future.’
Jenner, reality TV star and former Olympian has not spoken about his widely-reported transition to female.
The interview is set to air Friday, April 24th on ABC News.