I Believe My Tax Dollars Should Not Be Used To Discriminate

I pay my taxes and if I should ever need to use a homeless shelter that is receiving tax dollars I shouldn’t be turned away because I’m trans.

Christian homeless shelter sues for right to bans trans women
Pink News
By Ella Braidwood
27th September 2018

A Christian-run homeless shelter in Alaska has filed a religious freedom lawsuit, which would allow it to deny providing refuge to trans people.

The Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center in Anchorage has lodged the case after a trans woman made a discrimination complaint, and claims the trans women could make the women-only shelter unsafe.

According to the lawsuit, trans woman Jessie Doe was first refused a space in the women’s shelter, which opened in 2015, because she “smelled strongly of alcohol” and the centre does “not accept individuals who were inebriated.”

That is going to complicate her case but she did come back sober…

Doe then returned to the shelter the next day but was not allowed in because, the lawsuit reads, she “had not stayed the previous evening which is required by Shelter policy and because Doe sought entry at a time when the shelter was not accepting new guests.”

The Christian shelter is saying,

The lawsuit is challenging city of Anchorage, the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and its executive director.

“It would not only be dangerous and against common sense, but it would violate the Hope Center’s sincerely held religious beliefs to admit biological men into its shelter and allow them to sleep side by side and disrobe next to women, some of whom have been assaulted by men and fear for their safety,” the lawsuit states.

The shelter is being defended by the same law firm that defended Masterpiece Cakeshop, the firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

I see it simply as taxes money should not be used to discriminate.

Can you imagine what the outcry would be if they said that they would not allow blacks into a shelter because of their religious believes? Why is it okay to say that about us?

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Tomorrow I have a conference call to start planning training for shelters here in Connecticut on LGBTQ clients. Two years ago we did training to all the shelters and 211 operators on the requirements for trans clients and now this coming year it is going to be expanded to include all LGBTQ residents.

The Swoosh

The swoosh did a great thing in hiring Colin Kaepernick for their spokesperson but how are they with trans people? Well there is a report they are not good with a trans employee.

Transgender software engineer says Nike tolerated harassment, hostile workplace
The Oregonian/OregonLive
By Mike Rogoway
September 26, 2018

A transgender software engineer working as a Nike contractor filed a complaint this week with state labor officials, alleging the company tolerated abuse and harassment by other contractors.

Jazz Lyles identifies as "transmasculine/nonbinary," according to the complaint filed Tuesday with Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries. That describes a person assigned the female gender at birth who identifies with masculinity, but not with either of the binary genders - male or female.

Lyles uses "they" and "them" as singular gender pronouns, just like "he" or "she." Gender neutral pronouns are common in the transgender and nonbinary communities.

According to Tuesday's complaint, first reported by Willamette Week, some of Lyles' colleagues at Nike refused to use gender-neutral pronouns. One, according to the suit, said "I'm really not sure what to call you. I know I'm not supposed to call you 'she-male.'

We have heard this over and over… we didn’t fire the person we laid them off because of lack of work and then they hire someone doing the same work but with a different job title.

The supervisor said a "hiring freeze" prevented Nike from hiring Lyles, according to the complaint, which alleges Nike hired other contractors on a permanent basis around the same time. The real reason Lyles wasn't hired, the complaint alleges, was "due to my gender, gender identity, complaints of harassment, and good faith reports of violations of state and federal law."

Oregon has a non-discrimination law that covers gender identity/expression.

Inside Nike's purge: More than a #MeToo moment
The Oregonian/OregonLive
By Jeff Manning
Posted July 07, 2018

The threats, she remembers, came via text, email, telephone and face to face.
Paige Azavedo’s job in the digital marketing department at Nike put her in daily contact with Danny Tawiah, a demanding and mercurial boss who she said routinely browbeat employees, sometimes to tears.

“You better get it together or you’re gone,” Azavedo said he told her in a room full of co-workers.

Azavedo finally quit in 2015 after getting a job offer with a Seattle technology company. She didn’t want to leave Portland and uproot her family. “But he’d given me no choice,” she said.

She moved on, and Tawiah moved up. Within two years, he was promoted to vice president.
[…]
But then came 2018, a year like no other in Nike’s history. The company cut ties with Tawiah and 10 other senior managers amid complaints about a “boys' club” culture. Behind one of the world’s biggest brands, behind the beautiful campus and the glamorous athletes, an ugliness was sapping morale and driving talented employees, particularly women, out the door. A survey started circulating that aimed to quantify what some saw as the prevalence of gender bias and sexual harassment.

Well it also seems that their bias also includes gender identity/expression.

“If they were really serious, there would be more than 11 (ousted executives),” said one former manager, who did not want to be identified because her current employer does some work for Nike. “With Trevor, they have cut the head off the snake. But there are … other snakes.”

It appears like one of the company snakes attacked again.

How many times have we seen these supper tech companies that were started by young aggressive males discriminate against women and gays, lesbians, trans, and queer people. It seems like it is a common trait among start-ups.

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Today I am driving back from the Cape to attend a house concert with Namoli Brennet. I am big fan of her; the first time I heard her was at Fantasia Fair here in Provincetown back around 2005.

I took this photo last night at sunset. It is a composite of three sets of three photos taken at different exposures combined for a panorama.

Saturday 9: So Into You

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: So Into You (1977)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…



Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The singer says that he noticed the lady in question as soon as she walked into the room. Tell us about someone who made a powerful first impression on you.
A trans woman who has a post PhD from Harvard and her professor was a Nobel Prize winner and clients were the Fortune 50 (not 500), however she could find a job after she transitioned. She programmed chemical reactions.

2) He sings that he's so into her, he can't think about other, more mundane things. Do you find you get easily distracted from your daily tasks? Or do you enjoy seeing your everyday chores through completion?
I get very distracted, I think I have some form of ADHD.

3) The band took their name from Georgia's biggest city. Have you ever been to Atlanta?
In passing through, since there is a major airline hub there.

4) The Atlanta Rhythm Section once played the White House. President Carter's son, Chip, was a big fan and invited them to play at his 28th birthday party. How did you celebrate your last birthday?
With my brother and sister-in-law and also some friends took my out to dinner.
P.S. I start my seventh decade next week.

5) Studio One, where the band made all their recordings, was torn down and replaced by a parking lot. Can you think of a structure that you missed, after it met with a wrecking ball?
The train station in town that was built in 1900 burned down

6) This song hit #7 on the US pop charts. 7 is the number most often chosen as "a lucky number." How about you? Do you have a lucky number?
Nope.
Right now I am sitting just off of Rt. 6, it begins a few miles from me and ends in Bishop California (I do not know why California moved the end from Long Beach to Bishop).

7) Today the Atlanta Rhythm Section reunites with to play at classic rock concerts. What oldies band would you love to see again?
The Eagles.

8) In 1977, the star of NBC's Chico and the Man, Freddie Prinze, took his own life. Is there a celebrity death you found shocking?
No celebrities, but I knew three people who also took their own lives, know of another three who tried, and one who was murdered.

9) Random question: What word do you always misspell?
Bearue
Beurae
Um… bueare
Oh heck… bureau. Thank goodness for spellchecker
My grammar and spelling has greatly improved because of the blog and because of the word processor. I still have problems with missing words and using the wrong words as a result of my dyslexia but what a difference from when I started writing my blog in 2000 and now.

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Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

A Short Post

There is not that I can write about this.

On my search of trans news this morning I came across this…

(Warning, this is not for the faint of heart. Take your blood pressure meds first!)

This is about the conference that Mike Pence and many of the leading Congressional Republicans attended the Values Voter Summit sponsored by the Family Research Council that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled as a hate organization. Some of the speakers are Dr. Paul McHugh and the head of Dr Michelle Cretella, the executive director of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) an anti-LGBTQ organization.

It is a 35 minutes of pure hate in the disguise of a of workshop. (If you can stand watching it (I couldn’t) you can see it here.) The tile of it is "Transgender ideology exposed."

I try to keep up to date on the opposition because you need to have a counter for their propaganda, but sometimes it is hard.

My Take On The Hearing

The republicans made a big mistake!

Well they made a lot of them but during the hearing they made a very big mistake.

I thought prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was great!

And that was the Republicans big mistake.

The Republicans wanted a woman cross-examining to avoid the image of a eleven old men questioning a woman about rape and I think Ms. Mitchell was too effective.

The clam professor.

Ms. Mitchell was cool, calm, and asked her questions to Dr. Ford in a neutral voice which made Dr. Ford’s answers much more credible. Even though Ms. Mitchell questions were mostly events not directly related the attempted sexual assault, I think that questions and answers made Dr. Ford much more sincere and believable.

The little rich white boy.

The angry judge Kavanaugh I thought came across as arrogant, spoiled, evasive, and reeking of white male privilege… How dare you question me!

I don’t think that he answered one question. When asked if he would want the FBI to investigate the allegation he went into a tirade of how there were sworn testimonies from the other already.

His snapping at Sen. Amy Klobuchar was another big mistake.

Old angry men

The Republicans senators should have stuck to their script and let their lawyer mouthpiece speak. They came across bunch of angry old men.

They kept saying that there is no need for the FBI to investigate the allegations because they already have sworn statements and the committee ready has investigate him, it is like they couldn’t see that by saying those things it actually made the case for having an impartial third party to investigate the allegations.

Then when Sen. Lindsey Graham vengeful warning to the Democrats: “If this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees” was another big mistake

Takeaway…

I don’t want an angry judge on the Supreme Court; judge Kavanaugh showed he is not Supreme Court material.

Second it showed that this was all a Republican dog and pony show.

All the people want is for them to slow down and investigate the allegations and that is something the Republicans don’t understand.

The British Guardian had this to say…

“She was certainly a compelling person,” Flake told reporters when asked what his “gut instinct” was after hearing from Ford and Kavanaugh. “She gave good testimony.”
[…]
Kavanaugh’s aggressive tone while appearing before the committee was remarkable for a nominee to the reputationally independent and nonpartisan supreme court. Kavanaugh spent much of his statement lambasting Democrats for trying to derail his nomination – echoing the defense put forth by the White House and Republicans in Congress.
[…]
“This is a disaster for the Republicans,” the Fox host Chris Wallace said, while adding of Ford’s testimony: “This was extremely emotional, extremely raw and extremely credible.”

In Forbes this morning there is an article about the hearing this morning and in it they list the traits needed for a Supreme Court justice;

Let's all take a deep breath and step back for a moment. All crazy partisan politics aside, let's consider the qualities a good justice should have.

• A good justice should be objective and fair-minded, not guided by strong preconceived opinions.
• A good justice should be empathetic, not focused on oneself.
• A good justice should be calm, not angry.
• A good justice should show grace under pressure, not be easily rattled.
• A good justice should be even-tempered, not short-tempered.
• A good justice should be thoughtful, not strident.
• A good justice should in the face of adversity show courage, not petulance.

And I think that judge Kavanaugh did not show any of those traits.

Somehow this song comes to mind…

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Update: 3:45PM

I just found this video with a theory of why the Republicans pulled their prosecutor; because she was getting to questions the Republicans didn’t want asked.

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Update Sept. 29 8:00AM

I just came across this opinion in the New York Times

An Injudicious Man, Unfit for the Supreme Court
This was a job interview, not a criminal trial. Kavanaugh, in his fury and pathos, failed the test.
By Roger Cohen
September 28, 2018

What America saw before the Senate Judiciary Committee was an injudicious man, an angry brat veering from fury to sniveling sobs, a judge so bereft of composure and proportion that it was difficult not to squirm. Brett Kavanaugh actually got teary over keeping a calendar because that’s what his dad did. His performance was right out of Norman Rockwell with a touch of “Mad Men.”

This is what you get from the unexamined life, a product of white male privilege so unadulterated that, until a couple of weeks ago, Kavanaugh never had to ask himself what might have lurked, and may still linger, behind the football, the basketball, the lifting weights, the workouts with a great high-school quarterback, the pro-golf tournaments with Dad, the rah-rah Renate-ribbing yearbook, the Yale fraternity, and the professed sexual abstinence until “many years” after high school.

I feel the same way, he is a spoiled little rich brat.

You Don’t Stop Being LGBTQ

As you get older or you are disabled you don’t stop being LGBTQ, if you are in a long turn care situation you should not have to hide your sexual orientation or gender identity.

LGBTQ+ Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Need Supportive Caregivers
May Institute
By Margaret Walsh, M.A., BCBA

Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are often victims of discrimination simply because they have a disability. People with ID who identify as LGBTQ+ face further bullying and harassment simply because of whom they choose to love or how they express their identity.

(Our use of LGBTQ+ is meant to be inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, as well as those who identify as queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, etc.)

These individuals need support from their caregivers to ensure that they are able to meaningfully access the LGBTQ+ community and develop positive sexual identities. Without encouragement and support from family members, friends, and professionals who care for and about them, their ability to fully express their sexuality will be inhibited.

People with ID who identify as LGBTQ+ have the same right to express their sexuality as any other person. This fundamental right can be undermined when caregivers are unsure of how to discuss sexuality with the adult with ID. Creating environments where LGBTQ+ adults with ID feel safe to openly discuss their sexuality is challenging for most care providers. Talking about issues that are central to those in the LGBTQ+ community may make caregivers and family members feel uncomfortable because they do not have the knowledge to discuss these issues in an informed and empathetic manner.

Okay two things at this point… 1. If you are discussing LGBTQ+ stop saying “sexuality” if you must say it then say “sexuality and gender identity” 2. “People with ID who identify as LGBTQ+ have the same right to express their sexuality as any other person.” most definitely! I read of many cases where a doctor or therapist would not let an ID trans person to transition, this is wrong!

Just because a trans person is ID shouldn’t automatically exempt them from transitioning or just because a person is ID should not kept them from having a lover.

Inclusive sexuality training for adults with ID and their care providers would be a step in the right direction. This training could address issues that all LGBTQ+ individuals face, such as:

• understanding what it means to be LGBTQ+;
• obtaining information on how to come out to family and friends;
• learning about and observing safe sex practices; and
• identifying appropriate community resources (i.e. therapists and support groups).
• It is incumbent upon service providers and other caregivers to help LGBTQ+ adults with ID understand their rights as they attempt to build meaningful lives in a society that often seems homophobic and transphobic.

Here in Connecticut there is a non-profit agency (you can read their guidebook here) that is training social service agencies staff, homecare providers, nursing homes staff, and long term care providers and upon complication of the training they get a certificate.

Vote On November 6th

Vote On November 6^th
If you live in Massachusetts you also have a very important question to vote on Question 3.

Question #3
Do you approve of a law summarized below, which was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate on July 7, 2016?

SUMMARY
This law adds gender identity to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in places of public accommodation, resort, or amusement. Such grounds also include race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, disability, and ancestry. A “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement” is defined in existing law as any place that is open to and accepts or solicits the patronage of the general public, such as hotels, stores, restaurants, theaters, sports facilities, and hospitals. “Gender identity” is defined as a person’s sincerely held gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior, whether or not it is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.

This law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in a person’s admission to or treatment in any place of public accommodation. The law requires any such place that has separate areas for males and females (such as restrooms) to allow access to and full use of those areas consistent with a person’s gender identity. The law also prohibits the owner or manager of a place of public accommodation from using advertising or signage that discriminates on the basis of gender identity.

This law directs the state Commission Against Discrimination to adopt rules or policies and make recommendations to carry out this law. The law also directs the state Attorney General to issue regulations or guidance on referring for legal action any person who asserts gender identity for an improper purpose.

The provisions of this law governing access to places of public accommodation are effective as of October 1, 2016. The remaining provisions are effective as of July 8, 2016.

A YES VOTE would keep in place the current law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in places of public accommodation.

A NO VOTE would repeal this provision of the public accommodation law.

WBUR just released a new poll about the ballot questions…

Ballot Q On Transgender Protections Law May Be Confusing. But Voters Seem To Get It
By Steve Koczela
September 25, 2018

Three ballot questions will go before Massachusetts voters this November. Question 3 asks whether voters approve of a state law allowing transgender people to use public accommodations that match their gender identity. But do voters understand what voting 'yes' or 'no' means?
[…]
In most ballot questions, voting 'yes' means making a change of some kind to state law, while voting 'no' means preserving the status quo. Question 3 is the reverse: a 'yes' vote approves of the 2016 law that offers protections for transgender people in public accommodations, while a 'no' vote disapproves and aims to remove it from the books.

The WBUR poll tried to capture that confusion by first asking likely Massachusetts voters the question as close as possible to how it will appear on the ballot.

To test whether voters were indeed confused about how to vote, the poll then included a follow-up question, restating the aim of Question 3 in simpler terms. Looking at the two questions together revealed most voters seem to grasp the meaning of a 'yes' vote versus a 'no' vote.
[…]
About 7 in 10 voters answered 'yes' on the ballot question to approve of the law. On the follow-up, about the same number said transgender people should be able to use public accommodations in keeping with their gender identity.

In all, 85 percent 'yes' voters answered the follow-up question the same way. There was a little more confusion among 'no' voters. If the poll showed a closer contest, some of that confusion might affect the outcome. But, right now, 'yes' is up by a wide margin.

We cannot sit on our laurels!

Even with 71% of the voters supporting the public accommodations for us, we need to make sure they get out to vote on November 6^th. Nationwide this election will pivot on who can get their voters out and vote, the 2016 elections saw 46% of the voters not voting!

When You Are…

…Harassed, bullied, belittled, constantly told you are worthless, you are going to hell, you’re a sinner it is going to take toll on you.

Demographic and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Psychological Distress and Resilience Among Transgender Individuals
PubMed
By Emily Bariola, et al
Am J Public Health. 2015 October; 105(10): 2108–2116.

Abstract
Objectives. We examined the independent demographic and psychosocial factors associated with psychological distress and resilience among transgender men and women.

Methods. Our data came from an online survey involving a national Australian sample of 169 transgender men and women in 2011. Survey questions assessed demographics; sources of support; contact with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender peers; and experiences of victimization. We assessed the outcomes with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and the Brief Resilience Scale.

Results. In all, 46.0% of the sample reported high or very high levels of psychological distress. Multivariable regression analyses identified considerably different independent factors for psychological distress and resilience. Younger age, feeling unable to turn to family for support, and victimization experiences were associated with greater psychological distress, whereas higher income, identifying as heterosexual, and having frequent contact with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender peers were associated with greater resilience.

Conclusions. With different factors identified for psychological distress and resilience, these findings may help inform the development of tailored mental health interventions and resilience-building programs for this vulnerable population.

The study goes on to talk about the results (footnotes references were deleted by me),

In this national sample of transgender Australians, several demographic and psychosocial factors were associated with psychological distress and resilience. Interestingly, the factors for psychological distress were markedly different than those for resilience. According to the multivariable analyses, younger age, not turning to family for support, and more experiences of victimization were independently associated with greater psychological distress scores, whereas high income, identifying as heterosexual, and frequent contact with LGBT peers were independently associated with greater resilience scores. These findings suggest that interventions and programs designed to address mental health may need to be targeted and tailored differently to those seeking to build general resilience.

In regards to psychological distress, one important factor to emerge from the present study was social support. Although previous research has shown that social support is an important protective factor for transgender mental health, the relative importance of different sources of support has not been addressed; thus, the present study has revealed some unique findings in this regard. The findings indicated that, relative to other sources, family of origin may have the most influence in protecting against psychological distress. The protective value of familial support has also been observed among individuals of sexual minority groups. This finding may be a function of the differing potency of ascribed relationships (family) compared with achieved relationships (friends or partners). Because gender-identity affirmation is less likely to occur within transgender individuals’ ascribed relationships,42 our findings support a need to encourage family members to be open and receptive sources of support.

In contrast to this finding, none of the sources of support were found to be independently associated with resilience, whereas frequent contact with LGBT peers was revealed as a significant factor. This finding supports the work of qualitative studies that have identified themes of resilience, and other quantitative studies that have identified LGBT community factors as important in protecting against negative psychological outcomes. It has been proposed that, for marginalized people, identification with similar others allows for the development of a positive in-group identity, encourages positive self-appraisal, and allows access to group-level coping. It is suggested that these processes may facilitate a greater capacity to overcome stress and adversity. Furthermore, for transgender individuals, frequent peer contact may be particularly important for developing individual resilience, as gender transitioning can be a complex and challenging process and having peers who share similar experiences may provide not only a sense of support and understanding, but also a sense of belonging. Future research could consider whether contact with transgender peers in particular is more protective than contact with LGBT peers in general.

It was not surprising that we also found experience of victimization to be a significant factor of psychological distress. This replicates the findings of previous research showing the detrimental impact of gender-related stigma on the mental health of transgender people. The negative mental health effects of minority stress on sexual minority individuals is also well established. This finding lends further support to calls for addressing transphobia and gender-related stigmatization at the societal level. In most developed countries, wide-reaching campaigns have been conducted to address homophobia in the case of sexual minorities, but less has been done to address transphobia. It is likely that broader public acceptance of gender variance and transgender identities would reduce instances of harassment, leading to a reduction in minority stress and, with that, an improvement in mental health outcomes.

I think this study shows what we already knew… having a support network reduces stress, anxiety, and creating a positive transition.

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The Gender Dysphoria Affirmative Working Group webpage says this about “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.”

We are a broad coalition of prominent medical and mental health professionals, academics, researchers, activists, and allies, some trans and others cis, all with expertise in gender and sexuality and troubled by the notion of “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.”  Over the past decade, we have witnessed an increasing number of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and adolescents come out, as well as unprecedented hostility from those attempting to limit acceptance and access to services, a masquerade of 'concern' through misinformation and fear.

Evidence-based affirmative approaches - in which the youth’s self-reported gender is respected and where the youth is provided the safety and freedom to explore the gender and identity without judgment or predetermined outcome - have been demonstrated to improve quality of life, relationship satisfaction, self-esteem and self-confidence, and clearly show reductions in anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, and substance use.  Given space and time, these youth discover what level of transition is appropriate for them, if any.  Rates of regret are miniscule.

As people intimately involved with the youth in question, we have established this site to discuss the overwhelming evidence that affirmative approaches yield happier and better adjusted children, to confront the untruths propagated by those promoting ROGD, and to make plain that "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria" is a concept contradictory to evidence-based best practices and harmful to vulnerable youth.

Every child is unique, and we hope this information provides help to struggling individuals, families, and allies.

I did outreach at two PSY 430 classes and ROGD was brought up in one of the classes.

My answer was,

When I came out to my brother I invited him over to my house to come out to him but after two hours of talking with him I couldn’t bring myself to tell him, I finally told him as he was stepping out the door I blurted out I’m trans!

Well for him it was ROGD, for me it was the culmination of a life long struggle with my gender dysphoria. When he asked me how long have I felt this way I told him remember back in ’61…

Another Study

It seems like there are a lot more research going on to study LGBT people, some are good and some are hatchet jobs.

New Data on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity in Preteens
Medscape
By Pauline Anderson
September 18, 2018

The seeming lack of stress among kids who identified as gay, bisexual, or transgender was "somewhat surprising," said Calzo. He added that research suggests that sexual and gender minority youth, especially those who identify so young, might be at risk for bullying.

One interpretation is that the children in the survey who identified as a sexual minority "are experiencing a lot of support" around them, said Calzo.

He noted that asking youth if they are gay or bisexual is assessing only one dimension of SO — identity — and doesn't include other elements such as sexual attraction, sexual behavior (who you're having sex with), and gender expression (for example, pansexual).

The ongoing ABCD study will release additional data over time. Calzo said he and his colleagues "are really excited" that future waves will include information on additional markers of SO and GI.

Such information should provide "greater nuance" to help researchers understand these various categories and whether they change as children develop, he said.

The study was done by doctors from Boston Children's Hospital and the Education Development Center, and instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

"If they're exposed to these conversations at an early age, it may be easier for them to make sense of their changing identities as they grow into adolescents," she said.

Without such exposure, adolescents who suddenly start to question their identity "will have a harder time processing their thoughts and feelings, which could contribute to elevated stress," added O'Brien.

I think that this study shows that LGBT children that come from accepting family and go to an affirming school are better off than LGBT children that come from a family that is not accepting, which us is like stating the obvious but maybe for other families it is not so obvious.

I also think that where the study was done affected the outcome, would the outcome be different if the study was done in the South?

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This afternoon I am doing an outreach at CCSU, I have been doing this class for about ten years now. The professor originally reached out to the Stonewall Speakers for people but after it was usually just me showing up she just asks me directly.

I am working on her to change the format from just a Q&A to a presentation like I did a last week at CCSU for their School of Nursing.

Nickle & Dime

They try to wear us down with frivolous lawsuits or keep submitting the same case over and over again hoping to find a friendly judge. Or sometimes they keep putting the same question on the ballot hoping that people overtime will stop voting on the question.

Anti-gay legal troll sues library because drag queens reading to kids is religious
LGBTQ Nation
By Bil Browning
September 20, 2018

Christopher Sevier is “a notorious legal troll with a troubling history of bigotry, violence, and stalking” according to the Bayou Brief. He’s filed lawsuits nationwide seeking the right to marry his porn-filled laptop and sued Congressman Alan Lowenthal for posting a rainbow flag outside his office door.

Sevier has lost every lawsuit and been suspended from practicing law in Tennessee. The state’s bar association said he has a “mental illness.”

Now Sevier is suing Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Teresa Elberson, the director of the Lafayette Parish Library, and Attorney General Jeff Landry. He claims that the library’s Drag Queen Story Hour is an endorsement of secular humanism and, therefore, violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause.
[…]
If the federal court won’t shut down the reading time, the groups say they want a pastor on hand to “rebut” the drag queens. Since the event involves reading children’s stories like Clifford the Big Red Dog and Goodnight Moon, there isn’t anything to challenge except the people reading the stories.

I predict that he is going to win at least one case with his shotgun approach; he is bound to find a friendly judge who will also see his wrapped political views as being valid. As Trump packs the courts with anti-LGBT judges he is bound to find a friendly judge eventually.

An Easy Answer*.

If you take federal funds you should be required to serve everyone, you should not be allowed to discriminate.

Gavel Drop: Evangelicals Claim Religious Objections to Serving Transgender Homeless
A recent Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit argues that a Christian homeless shelter can refuse to admit transgender women due to its beliefs.
Rewire News
By Brie Shea
September 24, 2018

The Alliance Defending Freedom is now arguing in federal court to allow homeless shelters to deny services for transgender people. Downtown Soup Kitchen in Anchorage, Alaska, filed the religious freedom lawsuit against Anchorage earlier this year over the city’s nondiscrimination law; a case had been filed against the center after it denied a transgender woman admission to its shelter. The shelter director said that the woman was denied because she appeared drunk, but also that it would never accept a “biological man.”

In another article on Rewired News,

Leaked Title IX Rule Would Allow Religious Schools to Discriminate—Without Saying Why
Advocates expressed alarm over the leaked Title IX rule proposal, saying it will only end up hurting survivors of campus sexual assault.
By Katelyn Burns
September 18, 2018

A leaked copy of U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Betsy DeVos’ proposed rule for handling campus sexual assault allegations appears to reveal a plan to make exemptions to Title IX anti-discrimination laws easier for religious institutions.

The New York Times in August obtained a copy of the coming rule, which has yet to be publicly released, reporting that it would “would bolster the rights of students accused of assault, harassment, or rape; reduce liability for institutions of higher education; and encourage schools to provide more support for victims.” A copy of the draft rule, posted online by the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) and reviewed by Rewire.News, shows that it may also give broad license to religious institutions to claim exemptions from Title IX regulations, which protects against sex-based discrimination in education. ATIXA believes the document is authentic.

In order to bypass the federal regulations, religious institutions must currently send a letter to the DOE explaining which Title IX provisions they are claiming an exemption from, and the religious rationale behind the request. But the new rule would wipe away that requirement, even if the institution is the subject of an ongoing DOE investigation.
[…]
According to legal experts, waiving the letter system for religious exemptions could open the door for schools to abuse the current system. “As it’s written in the leaked draft, religiously affiliated schools could simply assert a faith-based objection to complying with Title IX and the government would take them at their word,” said Jessica Mason Pieklo, vice president of law and the courts at Rewire.News in an interview. “While the letter system is far from perfect, it at least provides some check on institutions from abusing the Title IX religious exemption. The Trump administration is proposing removing even that modest check.”

I can imagine this scenario…

You live in a small city when you are fired from you job because the employers says your transition violates the owners religious beliefs. Your landlord throws you out on the street saying your transition violates his religious beliefs. You go to a homeless shelter but they won’t let you in say your transition violates the religious beliefs of the organizations. You try the food pantry but you got it… they say your transition violates the pantry’s religious beliefs. You curl up on a park bench wrap yourself in some old newspapers to keep warm… in the morning they find your body frozen on the park bench and the police use your old name.

Up until the Bush (43) administration if you were a religious institution you couldn’t receive federal funds but then an exception was made, if you are a religious institution you could receive federal funding as long as you didn’t discriminate  in doling out the money. Now under the current administration it has morphed into religious institution receiving federal funds can discriminate because of “religious freedom.”

It used to be “one nation, one law” now it is “one nation, many laws.”

It is only going to get worst when Kavanaugh is confirmed by the Senate in the next weeks there will be five Supreme Court justices who believe in “Religious Freedom.” They believe that the Bible trumps the Constitution.

*Oh, the simple solution… don’t take federal funds if you want to discriminate.

When I was doing training for homeless shelters in Connecticut one of the shelters’ managers said “No way was he going to allow a woman with a p***s in his women shelter.” Well after we tried to tell him that he had to let trans women in the shelter and he stood pat; the woman from HUD on our panel said “Okay, then give the money back to the HUD and to the state if you don’t want to follow the law.”

He wrote letters to our senators and HUD, they all replied… obey the law!

Now under the current administration I don’t know what the response would have been.

The Evil Trans

Just are very being is a threat to them… we have a secret agenda; it is so secret that even I or any other trans person don’t the agenda.

What Precisely Do Transgender People Threaten?
Recent research explores the link between the gender binary and transprejudice
Psychology Today
By Karen L. Blair Ph.D.
September 24, 2018

New research has attempted to better understand the circumstances under which individuals feel threatened by gender nonconforming behavior. In general, we know that people tend to respond negatively to individuals who do not adhere to the gender binary—that is, the notion that there are two sexes, male and female, and that whichever sex you are should clearly dictate your gender and gender role behaviors as either a man or a woman. If a person is biologically male but behaves in stereotypically feminine ways, we can call this gender nonconformity within a cisgender individual (i.e., someone whose biological sex is the same as their gender identity). Similarly, a transgender individual (i.e., someone whose sex identified at birth does not align with their gender identity) can be seen as gender nonconforming simply by being transgender.

Researchers at St. Louis University sought to determine which of these two types of gender nonconformity would be viewed as more unsettling to those who value the gender binary. While it is possible for anyone to stray from the gender binary in small or large ways, often transgender individuals seem to be perceived as a greater threat to binary views of gender than gender nonconforming cisgender people.

Kristin Broussard and Dr. Ruth Warner proposed that one reason for this might be that transgender individuals can be perceived as simultaneously transgressing the gender norms of BOTH binary genders. For example, a trans woman (i.e., someone assigned male at birth who now identifies as a woman) is transgressing male norms by identifying as a woman, but also may be seen as transgressing the norms of being a woman by not appearing feminine enough. Indeed, other research has found that transgender women are particularly at risk for prejudice and violence due to society’s general tendency to police femininity and to punish transgressions of misplaced femininity.

In the 2015 U. S. Transgender Survey the report said,

Visual non-conformity is a risk factor in causing anti-transgender bias and its attendant social and economic burdens.

In other words someone who cannot integrate into society is going to face more discrimination, harassment, and violence than someone who you cannot tell is trans.

The researchers focused on a notion referred to as “distinctiveness threat.” According to Social Identity Theory our social identities, or the groups to which we belong, help us to define our personal identities. To the extent that the boundaries around the groups that are important to our identities become blurred, we may experience distinctiveness threat. In short, the uniqueness of who we are as an individual comes under threat when the boundaries around group definitions that we use to define ourselves shift or become malleable.

When I was in grad school we had to read Elliot Aronson The Social Animal and write a report on a chapter, the chapter I chose was the chapters on Conformity which also was about not fitting into society and how society pushes back if you don’t fit the norms. I wrote…

I believe that Aronson had several theories in mind when he wrote the chapters on Conformity, some of the factors are; wanting to belong, wanting to be accepted, the need to be part of the social group and the need to be wanted. All of these factors interplay on one another to produce a strong desire to conform to what we believe that our family, friends, and organizations or groups that are a part of our daily lives. Some of our worst fears are not being loved or not being liked or to be left out in the cold to fend for ourselves.

So the researcher in the Psychology Today article looked at that from a different direction; what causes people to push you into boxes.

The article goes on to say,

Across the three studies, they found that, in general, participants reported liking gender conforming and cisgender individuals more than transgender and gender nonconforming individuals (e.g., masculine women, feminine men). Participants also viewed transgender and gender nonconforming individuals as more threatening to the boundaries defining what it means to be a man or a woman (i.e., greater distinctiveness threat). However, it was gender-conforming transgender individuals (i.e., feminine transgender women, or masculine transgender men) who were viewed as being the most threatening towards gender boundaries. As Broussard put it, “it is likely that conforming transgender individuals (because they can ‘pass’ as their authentic gender) are especially threatening because they provide some evidence that there are more than two binary genders, or that [one’s] binary gender can be changed.”

In other words, if you strongly believe that there are only two sexes and that those two sexes always create two genders, and that it is not possible for someone to change from being one gender to another, being presented with a masculine trans man (someone who was identified female at birth) who visually and behaviorally is indistinguishable from a cisgender man, may be a very jarring experience that challenges binary beliefs about gender. Furthermore, gender conforming trans individuals may elicit distinctiveness threat because if you yourself are a man and hinge a great deal of your identity on being a man, what does this piece of your identity really mean if someone born female can ‘pass’ as being just “as much of a man” as you? Thus, the more an individual strongly believes in the gender binary, the more threatening transgender individuals (especially those who ‘pass’) are to that individual’s own personal identity as either a man or a woman.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that the connection between a transgender individual’s gender expression is not responsible for eliciting the prejudice of others. Rather, transprejudice stems from an internal process in which the person holding the prejudice experiences a threat to an aspect of their own identity, and thus lashes out against trans individuals as a means of trying to reaffirm the boundaries surrounding important aspects how they define their identity – in this case, their gender.

I also think that there is an element of homophobia there for men. If they see a pretty woman and try to “put the make” on her and it turns out to be a trans woman, I think that the guy worries that other men might think he is gay. Also it might cause him to question his own sexual orientation.

What Changed

[RANT]

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
- John F. Kennedy

What changed and when.

Politics was never like this the two parties did have their disagreements… big government v. smaller government, safety net v. laissez faire.

Politicians like Tip O’Neill, Everett Dirksen, Bob Dole, George McGovern, Bob Dole, and John McCain all were willing to reach across the aisle but now there are none. Now they build silos.

When did this change?

I think it was during the Reagan administration when the Republicans joined with the Moral Majority and the debate shifted from the size of the budget or deficit or if the government should fund Head Start or not and the debate shifted to Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” in the late seventies.

All of a sudden the Republican Party found that they could get votes and campaign contributions from the Christian rightwing. They found that they had a readymade army to fight Roe v. Wade, and fight the “Gay Menace.” Gays = HIV/AIDS. Democrats = the devil spawn.

From then on the divide between the parties deepen.

Libertarian think tanks started to see as a result of Roe v. Wade that the key was the courts. The courts brought an end to segregation, the courts ended state anti-abortion laws, the courts legalized gay sex, and the courts upheld the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Courts were the key.

When the Republicans controlled Congress they blocked moderate justices and supported conservative judges. During the Obama administration they blocked 79 judges’ nominations and they also block a hearing for a presidential Supreme Court nominee which was never done before and they changed the rules for the number of vote to affirm a Supreme Court justice from 60 to 51.

In the past the senators from the state where the nominee was to by appointed had veto power over the nominee, now they have been stripped of that courtesy. A Democrat senator could block their effort to put a rightwing judge on the bench and the Republicans couldn’t allow that.

They are now cramming through the appointment of justice Kavanaugh that will give them a Christian majority on the court. The judges they have put on the court benches have two common characteristics… they believe in the Bible overrides the Constitution and a libertarianism, a minimalistic view of government.
[/RANT]

She Has Our Backs

Her son transitioned and she became an ally.

Cher has released a new music video with trans people in the video.

Cher drops all-woman music video for SOS featuring trans actress Trace Lysette
Pink News
By Nick Duffy
18th September 2018

Cher has released an all-female music video for her cover of ABBA track “SOS.”

Following on from her appearance in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the gay icon is set to release an entire album of ABBA covers, Dancing Queen.

Ahead of the album’s release on September 28, Cher today unveiled a music video for lead track “SOS.”
[…]
The all-women lineup includes Transparent actress Trace Lysette.
[…]
Cher has long been a fierce defender of her son Chaz Bono, who is a transgender man.

The star has also previously tweeted that she is “ashamed” of feminists who exclude transgender women.

Hopefully as we become more visible we will find more acceptance.

Hopefully as we find more support in Congress but we will only find it if we vote!

Hey It Finally Happened!

There are two trans people who are in a movie and they are not playing parts of trans women but cisgender roles.

Two Trans Actors Talk Playing Cisgender Characters in Colette
Out
By Dennis Hinzmann
September 21, 2018

By the numbers, the state of transgender representation in Hollywood has come a long way. But, when it comes to letting trans people tell their own stories or stories from their community on-screen, there’s a long way to go.

Just this summer Scarlett Johansson withdrew from playing a trans man in Rub & Tug following outcry from the transgender community and a legion of trans actors demanding that trans people be allowed to tell trans stories.

In the new period drama Colette, starring Keira Knightly and Dominic West, a historical world of feminism, misogyny, and transgenderism before such a term existed are laid open to the audience, with the typical struggle of trans actors being flipped on its head. Director Wash Westmoreland not only filled his spin on the queer life of French novelist Colette with supporting trans actors, he filled them in cisgender roles.

Jake Graf plays the part of Gaston De Caillavet in the movie.

You might remember Rebecca Root from the Danish Girl where she played a nurse at the hospital where Lili Elbe had her surgery.

Passports!

Yes passports are back in the news not because of the scare that we had a couple of weeks ago but because of a new court ruling.

What happens if you are intersexed or non-binary, which box d you check off? Male? Female? Or no box at all? Well a person of “ambiguous physical sexual characteristics” refused to check a box and the State Department said you have to check a box.

Judge: U.S. can't deny passport application over refusal to pick gender
Hartford Courant
By Kathleen Foody Associated Press
September 19, 2018

U.S. officials cannot deny a passport application from an intersex Colorado resident based solely on a refusal to select male or female for gender, a federal judge said Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department's varied explanations for rejecting the application weren't reasonable, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson said in his ruling, forcing him to set aside the decision as "arbitrary and capricious."

The ruling is limited, but advocates said they hope it leads to expanded gender choices on federal identification.

Dana Zzyym, who was born with ambiguous physical sexual characteristics and identifies as nonbinary in gender, not as male or female, sued in 2015. Zzyym had requested "X'' as a gender marker on a passport application, and it was denied.
[…]
Jackson dismissed the department's explanations for rejecting the passport, including concerns that it would complicate the process of verifying an applicant's identity and determining eligibility based on federal, state and local databases.
[…]
The ruling only applies to Zzyym, but Lambda Legal senior attorney Paul Castillo called it a "groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind" challenge to limited gender options on federal identification.

There is no international law banning using a “X” on passport.

The International Civil Aviation organization, the U.N. agency that sets standards for international travel documents, says gender should be marked on passports as male, female or "X for unspecified." Several countries issue passports with gender designations other than female or male, including "X'' or "O."

A number of U.S. states similarly issue driver's licenses or ID cards with "X'' as a choice for gender markers, including California, Oregon and Washington.

I know that there is a movement here in Connecticut to allow an “X” for gender on state documents.

Saturday 9: Listen, People

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Listen, People (1966)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…



Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Basically Herman is telling us that we each both break hearts and have our hearts broken during our lifetime. Do you agree? 
Yup, I had my heart broken a couple of times.

2) He implores us to take his advice. Have you more recently given or received advice?
I do it all the time, people come to me for advice and I try my best to help them but sometimes it is not possible.

3) Herman's real name is Peter Noone. He was popular with girls because of his bright, toothy smile. How's your oral health? When are you due to go to the dentist?
December is my 6 month appointment.

4) Peter/Herman got married on his 21st birthday. That's one way to make sure you don't forget your anniversary. Do you have a good memory for anniversaries and birthdays?
Yes.
I will be entering my eighth Ops... I meant my seventh decade next month.

5) Between 1965 and 1971, the Hermits worked very hard. They appeared on all the major TV shows of the day, recorded albums, made a movie and then criss-crossed the United States and the United Kingdom, performing live. After those six years, Peter decided he'd had enough and left the group. Have you ever felt burned out and ready for a change?
Yes, but thankfully they closed the factory before I hit rock bottom.
But I am starting to feel that way again.

6) In 1966, when this song was popular, the miniskirt took the fashion world by storm. What's the most recent piece of clothing you added to your wardrobe? 
A skirt and blouse.

7) In 1966, TVs were expensive pieces of furniture. A set with a 16" screen and a wood console sold for $250, which is $1,950 in today's dollars. Tell us about your TV. How big is it? Where did you buy it? 
They are an old 18” analog TV and the one that I got when my aunt died, it is an 36”
Plus I have LED projector that I use to watch movies, it is around 10’ (I use it when I do training and they don’t have a projector).

8) David Schwimmer, aka Ross on Friends, was born in 1966. Who was your favorite Friend?
I refuse to answer because it will create disharmony between my friends.

9) Random question -- Describe your dream car.
I think it is the car I am driving now, the only thing more that I wish I got was blind spot warning.
Oh… you probably want to know what I drive; a Toyota Prius Prime. It is a plug-in and right now I have 800 miles on this tankful and that includes a 200 mile trip home from the Cape on Interstates. My MPG is 114,

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

The Monkees demand equal time!

---

I’m having a party at my house today and I will be cleaning & getting ready for the party so I will probably not be able to approve your comments and comment on your blog today.

Harbinger Of Things To Come

The religious right is planning a full-court press on our rights and they are holding a conference to set their agenda.

5 things you need to know about one of the anti-LGBT movement's biggest events: the 'Values Voter Summit'
SPLC
By Hatewatch Staff
September 17, 2018

One of the most powerful anti-LGBT hate groups, the Family Research Council (FRC), is getting ready for its annual gathering in the nation’s capital.

Thousands of supporters and partner organizations are gearing up for speeches, networking and political action focused on “pro-family” issues — including spreading false information about, denigrating and working against the rights of LGBT people.

With topics including “Restoring a Generation’s Identity” and “Reclaiming and Preserving Conservatism in a Counter-Christian Culture” on the agenda, the 2018 Values Voter Summit is set to serve up its usual lineup of anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim vitriol.
[…]
2. VVS sponsors and exhibitors include other anti-LGBT, anti-Muslim organizations as well as an antigovernment extremist group
The event is hosted by FRC and gets support from sponsors, including:

• FRC Action : The legislative arm of FRC.
• American Family Association Action (AFA Action): An anti-LGBT hate group focused on “combating the homosexual agenda.”
• American Values: A nonprofit founded by former FRC leader Gary Bauer, who has a history of anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim sentiment.

In addition to sponsors, other organizations can participate by purchasing a booth at the VVS exhibit hall. As of the week prior to the summit, nearly 40 exhibitors were listed on the VVS website, including a number of other hate and extremist groups:

Liberty Counsel: A legal organization advocating for anti-LGBT discrimination under the guise of religious liberty.
Religious Freedom Coalition: An anti-Muslim hate group.
John Birch Society: An antigovernment extremist group that trafficks in conspiracy theories.

And what are they going to talk about… us.

3. Multiple VVS sessions focus on issues related to LGBT rights
The FRC, its members and supporters have a long history of demonizing the LGBT community and continue to align their views and work with anti-Muslim groups. VVS is focused on advancing the worldview and associated policy priorities of the FRC and theocratic Christian Right, including working against LGBT equality and rights and pushing the dangerous and debunked practice of “ex-gay therapy.”

A session that promises to “equip attendees with resources to identify and elect Christian conservative candidates to office” is being led by two staffers from anti-LGBT hate group AFA.

The student mixer event “Restoring a Generation’s Identity” will “examine God’s design for sexuality and marriage” in “an age of transgenderism.”

A speaker from the Heritage Foundation will discuss how the “new progressive ideology about sexuality, marriage, and the family” is “threatening to reduce the freedoms of Americans to think, speak, and work according to our deepest beliefs and values.”

And multiple elected officials will take on the topic of “Connecting with the Next Generation,” including state representatives from Michigan (Lee Chatfield), Ohio (Christina Hagan) and West Virginia (Kayla Kessinger).

The Heritage Foundation, Liberty Counsel, the Family Research Council are some of the organizations that advised Trump on his Supreme Court nominees.

4. The vice president, secretary of state and ACT founder among big names set to speak
This year’s featured speakers include big names in both the anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim world as well as elected officials. Vice President Mike Pence is a confirmed speaker at the Saturday morning plenary session titled “How Gender Ideology Harms Children.” Dr. Michelle Cretella, the executive director of the anti-LGBT hate group the American College of Pediatricians, is also speaking at that session.

Other VVS speakers include:

• Mike Pompeo: The current secretary of state has a long history of making anti-LGBT statements and associating with hate groups. He has also implied that American Muslim leaders are “potentially complicit” in terrorist attacks.
• Gary Bauer: The former leader of FRC and founder of American Values is a longtime activist in, and promulgator of, the modern Christian Right. Bauer has spent decades pushing anti-LGBT sentiment and, more recently, anti-Muslim sentiment. Bauer has called homosexuality “three times more deadly than smoking” and has advocated for harmful conversion therapy. Despite this hateful rhetoric, Trump appointed Bauer to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
• Brigitte Gabriel: The founder and chairman of the anti-Muslim hate group ACT for America has become a regular at VVS. Gabriel just finished hosting her organization’s annual political gathering where she boasted that she has “a standing meeting at the White House once a week.” She has previously stated that Muslims are a “natural threat to civilized people of the world, particularly Western civilization.”
• Rep. Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina): As chair of the House Freedom Caucus, Meadows played a key role in the administration’s ban on transgender troops by threatening to vote no on the defense budget unless it included a provision to deny medical funding to trans troops. The administration banned trans troops outright. Meadows is also a frequent guest on FRC president Tony Perkins’ radio show, “Washington Watch,” including an appearance in late June.

Many other voices from various corners of the anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim movements will make appearances on panels and at networking events during the conference.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a lot of White House attendees with a lot of business cards handed out giving to the other attendees direct access to the White House.

R.I.P.

It happened again.

Last week a trans woman was killed by a serial border patrol killer, this week a fifth trans woman has been murder in Florida

Florida sees fifth murder of black transgender woman with killing of Londonn Moore
Orlando Weekly
By Monivette Cordeiro
September 17, 2018

A black transgender woman was shot to death in North Port last week, making her the fifth trans woman to be murdered in Florida within the past seven months.
Londonn Moore, 20, was found lying in the road around 7:30 a.m. Sept. 8 on Sawyer Circle in North Port, several miles away from her hometown of Port Charlotte, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. North Port Police and several local media outlets have misgendered Moore and referred to her dead name. People with information about Moore's murder are asked to call North Port Police Detective Chris Maki at 941-429-7323 or CMaki@northportpd.com.
[…]
The first rash of homicides involving black trans women started in February when Celine Walker, 36, was found shot dead inside a room of the Extended Stay America hotel in Jacksonville. Four months later on June 1, Antash’a English, 38, died in the hospital from gunshot wounds after deputies found her between two abandoned homes in a Jacksonville neighborhood. Weeks later on June 24, deputies found the body of Cathalina James, 24, after she was gunned down at a Quality Inn and Suites hotel in Jacksonville.

And Sasha Garden was murdered two months ago.

None of the killers or killer have been arrested.

Equality Florida, a statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, called out Gov. Rick Scott and other elected state officials for their lack of response after the five homicides.

"Regardless of whether this is the act of a single person, multiple people working in concert, or a heinous act that’s a direct result of the dehumanization of transgender people seen across the nation, the spike in anti-transgender violence is a terrifying pattern that must be addressed," said Gina Duncan, Equality Florida's director of transgender equality, in a statement. "It is critical that our state’s highest office address the growing concerns of the community and clearly condemn the rise of violence towards black transgender women in Florida."

This is something like the 21^st  trans person killed this year so far. The exact count is unknown because the police and news media misgender a lot of trans who were murdered.

For all of my trans friends in Florida stay safe.

The 10 simple rules of staying safe on a first date (from Daily Bits Of)

1. Do meet in a public place...
2. Do take your mobile phone...
3. Do pre-plan your route home...
4. Do leave if you feel uncomfortable...
5. Do communicate your plans with someone you trust...
6. Don't leave beverages or personal belongings unattended...
7. Don't meet at your house or place of work…
8. Don’t let your date drive you home…
9. Don’t go home with your date…
10. Don’t drink too much…

And I will add an eleventh commandment;

Have a friend call you on while you are on a first date and have a code word for get me out of here.

Banned In Boston

When you heard that you knew it was a good book to read.

Book banning is a thing of the past; they don’t ban books anymore, do they?

Anti-gay preachers want LGBT books banned—from a display of banned books
Pink News UK
By Nick Duffy
19th September 2018

Local church leaders tried to censor a library’s display of banned books, in order to remove books referencing homosexuality.

The coalition of preachers took exception to the display at Rumford Public Library in Maine, which marked the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week.

Annual rankings for Banned Books Week are consistently dominated by LGBT-themed books, which still face disproportionate censorship and complaints across the US.
In a bitterly ironic twist, the display standing up against book censorship has itself faced calls for book censorship, after attracting attention from conservative church leaders.

You got that?

They want to ban the books that are banned!

So what were the books?

My Lesbian Experience with Lonliness by Kabi Nagata and Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan.
And Tango Makes Three, based on the real-life story of a gay penguin couple, and lesbian-themed classic The Color Purple.”

However…

Nowhere in the letter did the men object to the BDSM-themed erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, which was also part of the display, despite their explicit objection to PG-themed children’s books.

So BDSM is okay, but LGBTQ is not.

What did the library say?

Fournier [a library employee] said: “I’ve been coming to this library just about every day since I was five years old, and I now work here.

“Those complaining, you don’t come here. I don’t see you. This is the first time I’ve seen any of you show up to a meeting.

“Where were you when we were talking about what we’re going to do for the troubled kids that come here? Did you know that we feed these kids?
[…]
Fournier continued to point out misleading and hypocritical claims that were made in support of censoring the display.

She said: “I’m getting frustrated. I’ve been yelled at for doing my job. The library code of ethics says we are not supposed to censor.

“This display, you’re all saying you don’t want it in the eyes of your children. But it’s upstairs in the adult section!

Some rabble-rouser sent out a call to action and once again they protest the not knowing the facts.

We have to protect the kids!

We have to protect the kids!

Oh it in the adult section… not important… We have to protect the kids!

As I said a couple of days ago, know your subject, do your homework.

Positive Outcomes

There are many factors that assist in creating a positive outcome for trans children and the number one factor is love, loving parents.

Gender-Diverse & Transgender Children
Healthy Children.org
By: Jason Rafferty MD, MPH, EdM, FAAP
Some children have a gender identity that is different from their gender assigned at birth, and many have interests and hobbies that may align with the other gender.

Some children, as the American Academy of Pediatrics explains, do not identify with either gender. They may feel like they are somewhere in between or have no gender. It is natural for parents to ask if it is "just a phase." But, there is no easy answer.
[…]
What parents can do:
When your child discloses his or her identity to you, respond in an affirming, supportive way. Understand that although gender identity is not able to be changed, it often is revealed over time as people discover more about themselves.

Accept and love your child as they are. Try to understand what they are feeling and experiencing. Even if there are disagreements, they will need your support and validation to develop into healthy teens and adults.

Stand up for your child when he or she is mistreated. Do not minimize the social pressure or bullying your child may be facing. See How You Can Help Your Child Avoid & Address Bullying.

Make it clear that slurs or jokes based on gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation are not tolerated. Express your disapproval of these types of jokes or slurs when you encounter them in the community or media.

Be on the look out for danger signs that may indicate a need for mental health support such as anxiety, insecurity, depression, low self-esteem, and any emotional problems in your child and others who may not have a source of support otherwise.

Connect your child with LGBTQ organizations, resources, and events. It is important for them to know they are not alone.

Celebrate diversity in all forms. Provide access to a variety of books, movies, and materials—including those that positively represent gender diverse individuals. Point out LGBTQ celebrities and role models who stand up for the LGBTQ community, and people in general who demonstrate bravery in the face of social stigma.

Support your child's self-expression. Engage in conversations with them around their choices of clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, friends, and room decorations.

Reach out for education, resources, and support if you feel the need to deepen your own understanding of LGBTQ youth experiences. See Support Resources for Families of Gender Diverse Youth.

The 2015 Transgender Survey found that having a supportive family greatly reduces suicidal ideations. Other factors that reduce suicidal thoughts are affirming religions, and a support network in schools such as a GSA. And self-harm is usually caused by external factors such as the current political climate, discrimination, and bullies.

Some Good News

It is hard to find good news to  write about but I came across this article...

It is probably every teenager dream; becoming Homecoming Queen or King.

Sweetwater High crowns its first-ever transgender queen
ABC News10
By Laura Acevedo
September 19, 2018

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) — Sweetwater Union High School is celebrating a milestone that's breaking social barriers.

Karl Cruz was crowned the first-ever transgender homecoming queen in the district at Friday's homecoming game. She was voted in by her classmates.

The 18-year-old says she was shocked but happy to know her classmates are accepting of who she is.

"Everyone started cheering for me. I didn't really expect that from anyone," Cruz said. "After the fireworks, I just started crying my eyes out."
[…]
Cruz is not only homecoming queen but she's also on the principal's honor roll and is involved in several school clubs.

Congratulations!

AAP v. ACPeds

Do you know the difference?

AAP = American Academy of Pediatrics
ACPeds = American College of Pediatricians

The ACPeds has been around since 2002 while the AAP was created in 1937.

Did that help?

How about this from the Southern Poverty Law Center…

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PEDIATRICIANS
The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a fringe anti-LGBT hate group that masquerades as the premier U.S. association of pediatricians to push anti-LGBT junk science, primarily via far-right conservative media and filing amicus briefs in cases related to gay adoption and marriage equality.

ACPeds opposes adoption by LGBT couples, links homosexuality to pedophilia, endorses so-called reparative or sexual orientation conversion therapy for homosexual youth, believes transgender people have a mental illness and has called transgender health care for youth child abuse.

In its own words
“Homosexual men and women are reported to be promiscuous, with serial sex partners, even within what are loosely-termed “committed relationships. Individuals who practice a homosexual lifestyle are more likely than heterosexuals to experience mental illness,substance abuse, suicidal tendencies and shortened life spans.”
—“Homosexual Parenting: Is It Time for A Change?” updated July 2017, available on ACPeds website

“Driving in this morning I began to wonder. Why isn’t the movement of LGBT not the PLGBT movement: ‘P’ for pedophile? ...In one sense, it could be argued that the LGBT movement is only tangentially associated with pedophilia. I see that argument, but the pushers of the movement, the activists, I think have pedophilia intrinsically woven into their agenda. It is they who need to be spoken to and against.”
—Blog post on ACPeds website, July 15, 2015

While the AAP had this to say in a press release,

AAP Policy Statement Urges Support and Care of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents
September 17, 2018

Transgender and gender-diverse children face many challenges in life, but, like all children, they can grow into happy and healthy adults when supported and loved throughout their development.

That is the underlying message within a new policy statement published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) called, “Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents.” The statement, to be published October 2018 issue of Pediatrics (published Sept. 17 online) aims to help pediatricians and parents navigate health concerns of gender-diverse youth while advocating for ways to eliminate discrimination and stigma.

Despite increasing public awareness and some legal protections, children who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender-diverse often lack adequate health care, including access to mental health resources. In its first policy statement on the topic, the AAP reviews the latest research and provides recommendations that focus specifically on children who identify as transgender or gender-diverse, a term used to describe people with gender behaviors, appearances or identities that do not align with those culturally assigned to their birth sex.

“We know that family and community support are essential for any child’s healthy development, and children who are gender-diverse are no different,” said Jason Rafferty, MD, MPH, Ed, FAAP, lead author of the statement. “What is most important is for a parent to listen, respect and support their child’s self-expressed identity. This encourages open conversations that may be difficult but key to the child’s mental health and the family’s resilience and wellbeing.”

Do you see the difference now?

If you do any or plan on doing any trans advocacy you need to know the difference!

No ifs, ands, or buts you will hear people quoting the ACPeds and you have to be ready to rebut them.

The SPLC goes on to say,

Though it sounds official, the ACPeds is not the leading organization for U.S. pediatricians; that designation goes to the 66,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). ACPeds was founded in 2002 when a small number of socially conservative AAP members broke away from the AAP after it endorsed adoption by same-sex couples. ACPeds subsequently issued its own report stating that gay parenting puts children’s health and development at high risk.

ACPeds supports “reparative” or sexual orientation conversion therapy for homosexual juveniles, the debunked theory that homosexuality can be “cured” through therapy, and has encouraged the practice in communication with schools nationwide. ACPeds has also called being transgender a mental illness, and opposes families’ support of their transgender children, calling such support “child abuse.” Though membership is believed to be just a few hundred, ACPeds spreads its falsehoods by acting as a go-to authority for far-right media outlets like Breitbart and the Daily Caller, and Christian publications and websites.

You will see quotes from the ACPeds in campaign literature, in testimony, and in letters-to-the-editor and they need to be challenged. We need to point out that the ACPeds is a right-wing conservative organization with only between 200 – 300 members compared to the membership of the AAP.

ACPeds now claims more than 500 members, though its current president, Dr. Michelle Cretella, wouldn’t answer a direct question about its membership numbers in 2016. In 2012, ACPeds was estimated to have no more than 200 members. AAP currently has more than 66,000 members.

The AAP is in-line with other medical professional organizations such as the AMA, APA, NASW, and the Endocrine Society. While,

In response, ACPeds joined with the reparative therapy organization the National for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH, now the NARTH Institute) to attack “Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth,” calling it “biased and grossly misleading,” and published an online rebuttal called “Facts About Youth” in 2010.

Let me reiterate… You will hear people quoting ACPeds.

While we were trying to pass the Connecticut gender inclusive non-discrimination there were people quoting the ACPeds.

In Massachusetts for Ballot Question 3 I can guaranty you will see facts and figures from the ACPeds being quoted. To be an activist you have to do your homework… that means reading the opposition websites and newsletters.

Do your homework!

R.I.P.

Sadly another trans woman has been murdered, this time by a border patrol agent.

Trans Woman Shot and Killed, Allegedly by Border Patrol Agent
Nikki Enriquez is at least the 21st transgender person killed in the U.S. this year.
NewNowNext
By Jeff Taylor
September 19, 2018

A transgender woman is among four alleged victims of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Juan David Ortiz, who is said to have shot and killed them between September 3-15, in Laredo, Texas.

Nikki Enriquez, 28, who was initially deadnamed and misgendered by law enforcement, also went by the name Janelle, reports TransGriot and Caller Times.

Her body was recovered by authorities along Interstate 35, near mile marker 15.