How To Hate Trans Women

Calie posted "How To Hate Trans Women" on T-Central and I am posting it here because I think it needs repeating.

If your audience is inclined to be sympathetic with trans people, you can claim to be too- but only in theory, never in practice. You do not oppose the decent transsexuals, you say, the ones who want no trouble; but you claim that any actual trans woman is not truly transsexual. You say they have autogynephilia, and ignore the fact that theory is discredited. You claim they have penises, though most trans women want surgery. Insist that they are all men.

Read the entire post here.

Wearing Etienne Aigner.

A bevy of femulators from Brooklyn's Poly Prep Country Day School performing I'm For You in 1921.

President Obama Signs Anti-Hate Crime Bill Into Law

Protects Trans Folks, Too!

Earlier today, President Obama signed the anti-hate crime bill into law, which is the first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act bears the name of a gay college student from Wyoming who was brutally tortured and murdered by two attackers in 1998. Its passage also honors the memory of Senator Ted Kennedy, who fought tirelessly for more than a decade to expand federal anti-hate crime protections to include such crimes.

This historic anti-hate crime law will:

* Allow federal authorities to more easily investigate and prosecute crimes motivated by race, color, or beliefs;

* Update the law to include crimes motivated by disability status, gender, or sexual orientation; and

* Strengthen federal support for state and local law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of hate-motivated violence.

Hate Crime Bill Including Trans Passed by Senate

"The Senate passed groundbreaking legislation Thursday that would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity," so says CNN.

Read all about it here.

trans youth face extreme harrassment redux

Yesterday, I posted a link to an article about transgendered youth facing extreme harrassment.

Been there, done that, sort of.

I faced harassment as a kid back in the early 1960's. Bullies and their followers often targeted me for harassment because of my feminine mannerisms and traits. "Sissy," "fairy," and "faggot," were some of the epithets hurled my way.

Occasionally, there was some physical abuse, but due to my imposing size, the bullies usually refrained from physical abuse and took the safer way out sticking with verbal abuse to put me down.

The big difference between trans kids being harassed today and me being harassed back then is that I had no idea why I was being harassed. As an older and wiser adult, I put two and two together and figured out why I was harassed as a kid. But back then, I did not know I was transgendered. The word "transgendered" did not even exist back then.

Back then, I did not even realize that I exhibited feminine traits and mannerisms. I did not purposely act in a feminine way. I just acted naturally and to my peril, what was natural tended towards the distaff side of that great divide.

All I knew is that I was male and I acted as my natural self; wasn't that good enough to allow me to be part of the boys' club?

It was not and as a result, I was very confused because I could not understand the cause of my abuse.

I don't know if it would have made a difference if I knew the reason. Maybe I would have tried to act more masculine in order to fit in. Maybe not.

If I did try to act more masculine, would I have ever tried on that first pair of nylon stockings and high heel shoes? Would I have completely suppressed my natural feminine persona never to become the transwoman I am today?

So, considering the era in which I grew up, maybe things turned out for the better.

trans youth face extreme harassment

"Transgender youth face extremely high levels of victimization in school, even more so than their non-transgender lesbian, gay and bisexual peers. But they are also more likely to speak out about LGBT issues in the classroom."

Read the rest of the story here.

some people hate us (and that's why I do outreach)

Sara Whitman wrote this in her blog today:

"I have no words for how I feel today. Not only was a 15-year-old boy shot in the back of the head by someone who hated him because he was gay, because he was not masculine, because he wore jewelry and makeup, but also a 10-year-old boy hung himself in England.

"He wanted to be a girl. He wanted to wear his sister's clothes and makeup. His mother let him wear girl's underwear but told him he'd have to wait till he was older to wear makeup."

Read the rest of this sad commentary here.