It Was All About Passing.

When I was first poking my head outdoors, all the talk at the support group was about “Passing” that was the brass ring on the merry-go-round. It was the holy grail that we all dreamed of.

Then I found out that it didn’t matter because most people just don’t care about us, they are just living their lives.

On Being a Trans Woman … Who Doesn’t Pass
Not all women look the same — and that should be okay
By Laura Kate

Mainstream transgender acceptance in the United States has been a long time coming. And it’s got a long way to go.

America is getting more comfortable with a certain class of trans people. In particular, trans women who can pass as traditionally beautiful.

But what about those of us who can’t pass — or don’t think we should have to? Here’s to women with prominent Adam’s apples, five o’clock shadows and deep voices.

Here’s to women like me.

Well I don’t have a five o’clock shadow but I do have a deep voice.

Here’s the thing, though. A major reason Cox and Jenner enjoyed the friendly media coverage they did came down to their ability to conform to a traditional standard of female beauty.

Trans women who can attain a level of traditionally female attractiveness — which keeps them from being obviously transgender — are safe and acceptable. Even if their appearance is merely an accident of luck, wealth or the timing of their transition.

But for us…

As trans women, we are told that to gain acceptance, we have to pass for cisgender. We have to be invisible. We have to be indistinguishable from someone who was born a woman.

We are the trans people who most badly need protection in America. We’re the people who get the most badly hurt when the government rolls back our rights. We are the trans people you don’t see in the media. We’re the trans people Trump might not welcome to the bathrooms in Trump Tower. We’re the trans people who could be vulnerable in Trump’s America.

I have come to understand that it is not looks that lets you integrate into society but rather how comfortable you are. If you look like a deer in the headlights you attract attention, but if you are relaxed and behave like you belong there people ignore you.

I do concede that if you are six foot seven, large framed with big hands and feet you are going to have a hard time integrating in society, however even then I believe it also matters how you carry yourself. If you look like you belong there you will have an easier time.

Yes, there are people who will want to make your live miserable even if you are Janet Mock or  Laverne Cox you are still going to going to harassed by these assholes.

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Today is World’s AIDS Day.

1 December 2016
Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

Today, we commemorate World AIDS Day—we stand in solidarity with the 78 million people who have become infected with HIV and remember the 35 million who have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the first cases of HIV were reported.

The world has committed to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are seeing that countries are getting on the Fast-Track—more than 18 million people are on life-saving HIV treatment and country after country is on track to virtually eliminate HIV transmission from mother to child.

We are winning against the AIDS epidemic, but we are not seeing progress everywhere. The number of new HIV infections is not declining among adults, with young women particularly at risk of becoming infected with HIV.

We know that for girls in sub-Saharan Africa, the transition to adulthood is a particularly dangerous time. Young women are facing a triple threat: a high risk of HIV infection, low rates of HIV testing and poor adherence to HIV treatment.

Coinfections of people living with HIV, such as tuberculosis (TB), cervical cancer and hepatitis C, are at risk of putting the 2020 target of fewer than 500 000 AIDS-related deaths out of reach. TB caused about a third of AIDS-related deaths in 2015, while women living with HIV are at four to five times greater risk of developing cervical cancer. Taking AIDS out of isolation remains an imperative if the world is to reach the 2020 target.

With access to treatment, people living with HIV are living longer. Investing in treatment is paying off, but people older than 50 who are living with HIV, including people who are on treatment, are at increased risk of developing age-associated noncommunicable diseases, affecting HIV disease progression.

AIDS is not over, but it can be if we tailor the response to individual needs at particular times in life. Whatever our individual situation may be, we all need access to the tools to protect us from HIV and to access antiretroviral medicines should we need them. A life-cycle approach to HIV that finds solutions for everyone at every stage of life can address the complexities of HIV. Risks and challenges change as people go through life, highlighting the need to adapt HIV prevention and treatment strategies from birth to old age.

The success we have achieved so far gives us hope for the future, but as we look ahead we must remember not to be complacent. We cannot stop now. This is the time to move forward together to ensure that all children start their lives free from HIV, that young people anad adults grow up and stay free from HIV and that treatment becomes more accessible so that everyone stays AIDS-free.