Trans Around The World

We have seen an increase in the number of trans candidates winning elections and running for office here in the U.S. but it is international.

'Why not?': Transgender candidate busts stereotypes in Brazil
BBC
By Anna Jean Kaiser
5 October 2018

At a women's volleyball game on a Monday night in São Paulo, the stands are packed and those in attendance are decidedly rooting for the away team.

A large portion of the audience has come to see one of the away team's players in particular, Tifanny Abreu, the first transgender woman to play in Brazil's premier female volleyball league.

She may also become Brazil's first transgender lawmaker in its national Congress.

Under the campaign slogan "Why not?", she is running for the lower house in the general election on 7 October, defying those who think that a transgender woman cannot make it into the highest legislative body.

"Tifanny you're my hero in life and in sports!" a teenage boy says as she leaned over the barrier and got cheek-to-cheek for a selfie.
[…]
But Ms Abreu surprised many by announcing that she would run for a traditionally conservative party, the governing Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (MDB).

NBC News reports…

More than 50 transgender candidates running for office in BrazilThe boom in transgender candidacies comes as Latin America's largest nation struggles to emerge from its worst recession in decades.By Associated Press
October 4, 2018

Aires is one of 53 transgender candidates running for state and federal offices in Brazil, a deeply conservative and religious country that is also one of the most dangerous in the world for the transgender community. Last year, 179 trans people were killed in Brazil, up from 144 in 2016, according to Brazil's National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals. So far this year, 122 have been killed.

The boom in transgender candidacies — there were only five trans candidates during the last general election in 2014, and none were successful — comes as Latin America's largest nation struggles to emerge from its worst recession in decades, and the political class has largely been discredited amid a massive corruption scandal involving billions of dollars in kickbacks to politicians.

The presidential poll leader, far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro, has a long history of offensive comments about gays, trans people, women and minorities.

For transgender candidates, Bolsonaro's candidacy — the candidate has said it would be better to have a dead son than a gay son — both invokes fear and stands as potential galvanizer to get people out to the polls.
[…]
Despite widespread discrimination and grim statistics — LGBTQ groups estimate that 35 is the life expectancy of transgender Brazilians — there are signs of change.

Earlier this year, Brazil's highest court ruled that people could change their name and gender on their identity cards by simply asking to do so. Previously, any legal change required sex reassignment surgery and court filings.

Then down in Chile there is also change taking place for trans people,

Q&A: A New Law in Chile Recognizes Transgender People
Open Society Foundation
October 4, 2018

Chile’s congress passed a gender identity law recently that allows transgender people over 14 years of age to change their name and gender in official records. Max Anmeghichean, from the Open Society Foundations' Human Rights Initiative, speaks with Organizando Trans Diversidad’s Michel Riquelme about the law.
Why is this law important for the transgender community in Chile?Imagine being a transgender person in Chile. The law did not used to be clear about your right to legally change your name and your gender marker (e.g. “F” or “M”). This led to a lot of abuse. Some transgender people who sought these changes were subjected to medical examinations and other humiliating and degrading tests, even though what they sought to do is exercise a fundamental human right. The law also addresses discrimination, providing important new protections.

But the whole debate around the law was also useful in many ways, as it brought LGBTI advocates more into the public eye, educating the public about the discrimination that exists and the fixes we need to collectively undertake to ensure that all LGBTI people lead lives free from abuse and discrimination.
[…]
Was it very difficult to win support for a law that respects the rights of transgender people?We spent a lot of time negotiating with people who had a lot of misconceptions about transgender people. And to be honest, we talked to a lot of people who may have come into these conversations thinking a lot of hateful and unfair things about transgender people. But along the way, you realize these prejudices can be overcome and you can make some allies who will help you when you need it.

The presence of organized anti-rights groups was a challenge, as they focused on spreading disinformation on the content of the bill, inventing false language that the bill never included to stir up hate. For example, they invented the claim that the bill would force operations on children, a clear human rights violation that the bill would never include.

Everywhere is the same… go for the movable middle

Whether you are running for office or trying to pass a law, the rule of community organizing is the same. Tell those who are against you that you don’t agree, the ones that support you thank them, and then focus your efforts and money on those who are undecided.