Friday, November 30, 2018

I’m Going To Tell You A Story

It all started when the company announced the factory was shutting down (You know just like GM now), I was going to take an early retirement but then they announced the shutdown and one of the options they offered us was an option for early retirement.

When I was planning on retiring I knew that I wanted something to do in retirement so I did research and asked some friends about what I should do in retirement.

So I asked JL and her wife AS and they said to get my MSW, I said that I’m not a people person.

I asked CM who is a LCSW (which I didn’t know about then) what should I do in retirement and she said get your MSW…but I’m not a people person I would sitting there crying along with the client, I have too much empathy.

At a meeting of the Anti-Discrimination Coalition I asked AM and LB and they said get a MSW and I said… but I’m not a people person and they said not all social workers are clinicians that they were macro social workers like them. Hmm…

When I got the Connecticut Outreach Society’s mail there was flyer in the mail from UConn School of Social Work about a program called STEP that allows you audit courses in social work and if you do good and apply for the MSW.

Then the company announced the shutdown in early September and one of the parachutes they offered was tuition reimbursement… Hmm, where was that flyer on social work.

So I talked it over with HR (I had come out to her in early spring) and she thought it an excellent idea so I registered for the STEP program and started to take classes in the spring semester. Of the two classes that I registered for I got an A and a B- and I talked to the professor in the class that I got the B- (that was my lowest grade that I got in the MSW program, all the other grades were A or A-) and he said my low grade was because of grammar (no kidding Sherlock, I knew that my grammar was bad, I used to say “I are a ingineer”) and that I should have had the paper proofread. I didn’t know at the time that you could have someone proofread your papers.

Well grad school was one of the best moves that I made in my lifetime.

It opened the doors to so many opportunities, it allows me to attend meeting on issues that affect the trans community, it allows me to teach our culture and our needs to social workers, healthcare providers and future teachers.

This week I taught three classes for education majors both undergraduate and graduate students at two universities.

In January I am attending a planning meeting with the Connecticut Department on Aging to explain the needs of our community. In the past I sat on committees that developed the education guidelines for trans students.

I made many friends in grad school and I still keep in touch with, many of them are LCSW and one specializes in trans clients.

When I was in grad school my concentration was community organizing and one thing that I learned was the inside and outside approach to activism. But my age is creeping up on me and rallies are getting harder to attend because of health reasons so I am concentrating on the inside game.

I like electrical engineering, my undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Electronic Technology and I ran an electronic test department for twenty-five years, I made good money and it allowed me to retire at 59 and to pursue social work.

I did well in both professions.

How Many Times Have We Seen This?

The conservatives say we have some kind of secret agenda well if we do then this is it.
‘The only transgender agenda is to live a normal life and feel safe’
Spinoff
By Kylie Parry | Guest writer
November 29, 2018

Amid the misinformation and anger, Kylie Parry, parent of two beloved transgender children, serves up the important facts. And her kids pitch in, too.

As a parent of two transgender children I try really hard not to read the opinions of people who have issues with transgender youth (and with transgender adults).  I couldn’t avoid the latest opinion piece in the NZ Herald, though. It’s amazing and a bit disheartening how much misinformation is around. So I thought I could help by explaining a few things that we’ve learnt over the past few years.
[…]
Important fact 4: Trans people are just people.
Before agreeing to write this we had a discussion as a family. We all agreed this was a good idea. Our kids also wanted the opportunity to have their voices heard. So here are our kids (aren’t they great!)

Our daughter (age 12): “I wasn’t forced to be trans, it’s not like my parents decided they wanted a girl better and forced me into this. We were all born this way, we as a community have been through so much.  Nearly every individual has gone through hardship, had to fight through so many hard times and in some cases went through actual physical pain to be ourselves and there are still people saying parents are forcing us to transition, for us to change our lives. It doesn’t make sense, so just stop. “

Our eldest (age 18): “Transgender people are just people. We come from all walks of life with all number of views on the world. I wish that people would just realise that the only transgender agenda is to live a normal life and feel safe.  I think the reason we’re seeing more transgender youth coming out is because while NZ isn’t perfect, it’s a lot safer than it was. We still have so much work to do, but I am very heartened by the positive changes we’re seeing and I’m hopeful for the future.”
If we have any secret agenda it is to live our life in peace. We don’t want any “special rights” we just want what everyone else wants is to live our life without drama, to be able to go into a restaurant without being stared at, or the wait staff snickering.

If anything it is the conservatives that have an agenda which is to force us back into the closet and being able to discriminate against in the name of God.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Social Network Said Enough

Tweeter took steps to block the hate against us…
Twitter has banned misgendering or ‘deadnaming’ transgender people
The Verge
By Adi Robertson
November 27, 2018

Twitter now prohibits misgendering or “deadnaming” transgender people, alongside other harassment and abuse tactics. The change appears to have happened in late October, but news of it began circulating late last week. It’s part of a more general rewording of the hateful conduct policy, which now emphasizes the fact that certain groups — including transgender people — are disproportionately targeted with abuse.

The hateful conduct policy previously banned “repeated and/or non-consensual slurs, epithets, racist and sexist tropes, or other content that degrades someone.” The new policy specifies that “this includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals” — i.e., deliberately referring to a transgender person with the wrong pronouns or using their pre-transition name.

The new policy includes more detail about threats and references to violence. For instance, it bans sending “media that depicts victims of the Holocaust” or “media that depicts lynchings” to another user — a common way of harassing people that isn’t formally a threat. It also bans certain uses of hateful imagery, which includes “images depicting others as less than human, or altered to include hateful symbols, e.g., altering images of individuals to include animalistic features.”
Now if only Facebook will do the same.



Again this afternoon I will be a guest lecturer at a college down in the New Haven/Hamden area, I will be doing part two for the afternoon class and both parts for the evening class which will make for a very long day.

A Racist Elected To Senate

Mississippi just elected to Congress a senator who said she wanted a front row seat to a hanging but that’s not all, she also tried to keep LGBTQ people arway from her.
She tried to keep lesbians off state property. She was just elected Senator.
LGBTQ Nation
By Alex Bollinger
November 28, 2018

In a 2012 incident when she was commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, a lesbian couple was told that they couldn’t hold a commitment ceremony at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, even though straight couples could get married there.
[…]
This didn’t sit well with Hyde-Smith, who “strongly objected” to the ceremony and asked that state law change to provide “clear and straightforward definitions about what activities can take place on the property owned by the State of Mississippi.”
It seems like the bigots are serial bigots, it is not just race but also LGBTQ people, foreigners, non-Christians, and other people who are not like them.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

At One Time This Was Settled

But with conservative religious judges being packed into the courts we might see all the court precedents thrown out.
Debate about transgender rights and those of religious objectors heats up
Spectrum
By Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News
November 25, 2018

The "T" in LGBT rights will be in the spotlight in 2019, as states and courts across the country debate transgender rights and their impact on the religious groups.
[…]
LGBT rights advocates and religious-freedom activists say they don't want to repeat battles waged over protections for gays and lesbians, which are still ongoing. But the two groups remain divided on the value of religious exemptions to civil-rights law and many people of faith argue the concept of gender identity isn't compatible with their faith.
[…]
Already, religious business owners and faith-based nonprofits have cited conscience rights to defend against allegations of transgender discrimination. Members of the LGBT community, as well as their supporters, argue that religious freedom doesn't include a right to discriminate.

Reducing conflict between the LGBT community and conservative people of faith and reaching compromises will be difficult, but a growing group of leaders is committed to the task, said Naomi Goldberg, policy and research director for the Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank that does research and advocacy work on LGBT rights.
The radical “Christians” think they should be exempt from the law.

In 1879 Supreme Court case of Reynolds v. United States allowed the banning of plural marriages even though their religion allowed plural marriages.

In the 1963 case of Sherbert v. Verner, the court said that the government needed to demonstrate both a compelling interest and was substantially burdened by a law. The case was about an unemployed person turning down a job because it required Sunday work

In 1990 the court in the case Employment Division v. Smith
In a 6-3 decision, the Court then held that, because ingestion of peyote was prohibited under Oregon law, and because that prohibition is constitutional, Oregon did not violate the Free Exercise Clause in denying persons unemployment compensation when their dismissal results from use of the drug. 
Then in the case of United States v. Lee the court was asked if an Amish farmer had to pay Social Security to his employees,
a) While there is a conflict between the Amish faith and the obligations imposed by the social security system, not all burdens on religion are unconstitutional. The state may justify a limitation on religious liberty by showing that it is essential to accomplish an overriding governmental interest. Pp. 455 U. S. 256-258. 
In all of these case the Supreme Court found that there were limits to the First Amendment religious freedom clause. That a neutral religious law that didn’t place an undue burden and that the government had a compelling reason for the law was Constitutional but that all may change with the current crop of justices.

Well I’m About To Find Out.

It is always an adventure finding a primary care physician and even more so if you are trans.
PCP-transgender patient relationships need improvement
Healio
By Goldhammer H, et al. Ann Fam Med. 2018;doi:10.1370/afm.2321, Shires DA, et al. Ann Fam Med. 2018;doi10.1370/afm.2298.
November 27, 2018

Although most primary care physicians surveyed said they were willing to provide routine care to transgender patients, the results still concerned researchers, according to findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

A separate article in Annals of Family Medicine offered guidance for PCPs seeking to learn more about treating transgender patients.

In the study, Deirdre A. Shires, PhD, MSW, MPH, of the School of Social Work at Michigan State University, and colleagues reviewed survey responses from 140 general internists and family medicine clinicians (mean age, 39.7 years; male, 58) from a health system in the Midwest.

They found 85.7% were willing to provide routine care to transgender patients and 78.6% would provide a Pap test to a transgender male. However, multivariate analysis showed the willingness to provide routine care lowered with increasing clinician’s age (adjusted OR = 0.89, P = .019). In addition, 68.6% of respondents said they were capable of providing routine care to transgender patients, 52.1% lacked familiarity with transition care guidelines, 47.9% said they lacked training on transgender health, 37.1% said they lacked exposure to transgender patients, and 32.1% said their staff lacked knowledge on transgender care.

"While many primary care clinicians provide excellent and sensitive care to transgender individuals, mounting evidence – studies of how transgender patients experience health care – suggest that this is not always the case," Shires told Healio Family Medicine.
My PCP doctor is retiring so I had to find a new PCP doctor, the clinic gave me a list of doctors to choose from and I picked a doctor who looked around 10 years out of school rather than those who looked like they just graduated.

In my eleven years since I transitioned I have had a number of specialists and only one I have questions with. That doctor didn’t look at me during my two visits but for all the others they didn’t show any reactions with my transness. One I think was over joyed in having a trans patient she just treated me just as another other patient.

My endo is an APRN and was with the doctor who I originally saw me for my hormones so I have been a patient of her since 2004.
Shires added that her research “indicates that unwillingness [to provide care to transgender patients] is likely not about training or inexperience but may be more related to bias against transgender people.”
Yes, I agree based on the doctor who didn’t look at me during either of the office visits.

One of the commenters on the article said in part…
Openly transgender and gender nonconforming people now occupy seats in classrooms, chatrooms, board rooms and our exam rooms.
I bring this up as a segue in to talking about yesterday’s classes which were on multicultural education. I taught two classes, one an undergraduate class had about twenty students and the other a graduate class had six students.

Besides the class size there was a big difference on class participation, the undergraduate class no one asked a question, they sat there like bumps on a log while the in the graduate class we had a good discussion with the students asking probing questions and they also asked question to each other.

I don’t know if it was class size that made a difference or the maturity of the students or if it was the grad student’s job experience that made the difference.

I know in business that if I sat there without adding input to a meeting I wouldn’t be with the company that long. You learn how to add value to meetings and take part in the discussion while students fresh out of high school hasn’t learned that skill yet.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Conversion Therapy With An Evil Twist

The right-wing conservatives are looking at the ban of conversion therapy as applying to therapists who are helping children to transition.
Supporting transitioning trans people is not conversion therapy. It is the right thing to do.
The Article
By Florence Ashley
November 26, 2018

In a recent article for this site, philosopher Dr. Kathleen Stock expressed concern over the definition of conversion therapy put forward by Stonewall and major UK mental health organisations because it includes both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Her article raises two primary arguments against the inclusion of gender identity within the definition of conversion therapy. Firstly, she implies that gender identity isn’t unchangeable or harmless, unlike sexual orientation. Secondly, she argues that affirming gender identity would be tantamount to conversion therapy by omission with regards to sexual orientation.

Both arguments are unfounded. Her first argument is empirically mistaken, as available evidence doesn’t support the claim that gender identity is patently more malleable than sexual orientation. Even if it were that would not make conversion therapy ethical, as no evidence supports the claim that being transgender is harmful. Her second argument is theoretically mistaken, as it relies on a confusion between sexual attraction and sexual orientation labels. Although those who transition may change the label they use for their sexual orientation, it doesn’t make their sexual attraction vary: their sexual attraction remains the same.
[…]
Even if gender identity was malleable, altering it wouldn’t be ethical. It is morally objectionable to seek to change harmless traits which faced historical and ongoing stigma. Trying to make people straight would still be wrong if it was possible. Why would trying to make people cisgender be any different?
Can you believe this? Helping a child to transition in not conversion therapy, first therapist are not forcing children to transition it is to guide them to find their own way and second they are not using “aversion therapy” to force them to be trans trans, they are trans when they seek out therapy and the therapist helps them to explore their true gender.
At the end of the day, affirming gender identity and affirming sexual orientation are not only compatible practices, but mutually reinforcing ones. Anti-trans and anti-gay conversion therapy aren’t two different practices that independently threaten trans and queer people, but two fruits of the same tree. Conversion therapy by licensed professionals has historically targetedgender expression to discourage both trans and queer adulthood. When the Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood was added to the DSM-III in 1980, the same version of the DSM which removed homosexuality as a diagnosis, it was heavily criticized by feminist and critical scholars for indirectly pathologizing homosexuality by pathologizing of non-conforming gender expression. By treating non-conforming gender expressions as evidence of mental illness, both trans and gay youth could be subjected to conversion practices.
Leave it to the right-wing extremists to twist things around make what is good evil.



This afternoon I'm teaching two classes at two universities as a guest lecturer for a professor and I will be doing it again on Thursday.

Justice?

Can justice come for a brutal death of a trans woman who was murdered while in custody of ICE?
Activists Allege Assault, Abuse In Death Of Transgender Asylum Seeker
KPBS
By Andrew Bowen
November 26, 2018

Transgender and immigrant rights activists Monday announced plans for a lawsuit over the death of Roxsana Hernandez, a trans asylum seeker from Honduras who died in government custody, alleging she endured "assault and abuse" before her death six months ago.

Hernandez, 33, entered the United States legally at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in May and was eventually transferred to a unit for transgender detainees at the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico. Activists say she was seeking asylum and that the legal aid group Al Otro Lado was planning to represent her claim.

One day after arriving in New Mexico, Hernandez was hospitalized with symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and complications from HIV, according to a press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She died May 25. The press release properly referred to Hernandez with female pronouns but did not use her chosen first name of Roxsana.
[…]
"According to an independent autopsy report, Ms. Hernandez endured physical assault and abuse while in custody," the letter says. "Specifically, forensic evidence indicates she was handcuffed so tightly as to cause deep tissue bruising and struck repeatedly on the back and rib cage by an (ASP baton) or similar instrument while her hands were restrained behind her back."

Andrew Free, an immigration attorney partnering on the case with the Transgender Law Center, said the group would file a similar wrongful death claim against ICE before the end of the year. He said they are also litigating Freedom of Information Act requests related to Hernandez's death.

"They treated her like an animal," said Transgender Law Center Deputy Director Isa Noyola, reading from a statement from Hernandez's sisters. "Now all we have left with us is the hope that we can see justice for her."
I can’t imagine the pain and suffering that she want though before her death and the hands of our government.

The prison was run by a private company for our government with little oversite and for low wages to maximize profits.
The Cibola County Correctional Center is run by the private, for-profit prison corporation CoreCivic.

At least 11 people have died in ICE custody in 2018. The agency announced the latest death on Monday — that of Russian national Mergensana Amar, who officials say attempted suicide Nov. 15 and was removed from life support after his brain activity ceased.

A report released earlier this year by a coalition of advocacy groups found half of the in-custody deaths reported by ICE in recent years were linked to substandard medical care. ICE responded saying the agency is committed to ensuring all detainees receive timely access to medical services and treatment.
The Transgender Law Center said,
Advocates point to the conditions Udoka Nweke faced when he presented himself for asylum also at SYPOE in December 2016. He was detained for nearly two years before being released in September after being held in solitary confinement and attempting suicide. His testimony upon being released from Adelanto Detention Facility corroborated a scathing report by Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General that points towards a drastic overhaul necessary in Adelanto. The report listed as areas of concern:
  • Nooses in Detainee Cells
  • Improper and Overly Restrictive Segregation
  • Untimely and Inadequate Detainee Medical Care
“Immigration prisons are teeming with human rights violations,” said civil rights attorney Andrew Free. “From forced labor to inadequate access to medical care, they are horrific places to lock people up. We have requested records from the relevant federal agencies regarding  the conditions Roxsana was kept in under the Freedom for Information Act. In the next few weeks, if they do not turn over those files we will be filing a suit against them. We will not rest until those responsible for Roxsana’s suffering are held to account, and until the systems of oppression that gave rise to her suffering are abolished.”
This is what is going on in the Trump administration with human rights violations and totally ignoring the laws and the Constitution.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Meet The New Governor… Kid Governor That Is

Hey we have another new governor here in Connecticut a fifth grader, Ella Briggs.
Avon student selected to be next CT Kid Governor
WFSB
By Caitlin Nuclo, Kaitlyn Naples
November 21, 2018

AVON, CT (WFSB) -- It was a tight race, but the results are in for the next Connecticut Kid Governor.
There were 6,400 fifth graders around the state who cast their ballots to elect their next leader.
On Wednesday, the mood inside the Ana Grace Magnet School in Avon was electric and emotional, as they waited for results, from the Secretary of the State.
The fifth graders chose Ella Briggs, who ran on a platform of LGBTQ safety and acceptance.
[…]
That message resonated with voters.
Do you believe that… the fifth graders voted for a LGBTQ safety platform.

According to the article it was a very close race between all the candidates, one candidate ran on a platform to end poverty, another candidate ran on a platform to limit electronic use, and the others ran on platforms including; recycling, food for all, foster care, and children’s literacy. All of which are very important issues of the day, the students did great!

WTNH reported that "6,300 5th graders across the state are registered to vote for Kid Governor." and that,
This program is much more than a contest that promotes civic engagement and participation.

"It's actually an election for a student to serve a year of leadership and advocacy," Brian added.

Our newly-elected Kid Governor will serve for one year. Their office is even located in the old state house where historic Connecticut governors once sat. He or she will travel the state when the school schedule allows for it and promote their platform
The Kid Governor website said this about him…
Candidate’s Name: Ella BriggsCandidate’s Community Issue: LGBTQ Youth SafetyCandidate’s School: CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Elementary Magnet School, Avon
Here is the campaign video…

Hate & Violence

It seems like wherever you look we are being attacked and overseas is no exception.
Police & far-right thugs injure 3 at Trans Day of Remembrance event
LGBTQ Nation
By Gwendolyn Smith
November 24, 2018

A Ukrainian Transgender Day of Remembrance observance turned violent last Sunday as far-right radicals attacked the rally, leaving at least three injured. Amongst those hurt was a Canadian journalist, Michael Colborne, who was covering the event.

The event was organized by Insight, a Ukrainian LGBTQ public organization. Roughly 50 people attended.

Though it was originally planned for Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, police forced attendees to move to the university’s metro station after far-right radicals began to move in.

“Radicals started moving towards LGBT people,” Sofiia Lapina told the Kyiv Post. “So the police started to physically shove us into the metro and told everybody that the rally has ended.”
You would think the police would stop the anti-trans protesters instead of breaking up the rally.

We all know that hate crimes are going up here in the U.S. and around the world and many of the crimes go unreported.
Lack of trust in law enforcement hinders reporting of LBGTQ crimes
Violent crimes and other hate incidents targeting LGBTQ Americans consistently are unreported and often not prosecuted
The Center for Public Integrity
By Emma Keith Katie Gagliano News21 Staff
August 24, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — Violent crimes and other hate incidents against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans are consistently not reported and prosecuted because of chronic distrust between the LGBTQ community and police.
[…]
“There are people that are hurting right now who don't trust the police and also don't feel comfortable coming forward or speaking up,” said Sheryl Evans Davis, executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. “Until we have an increase of people reporting things, then we could be doing (more). We're still not really doing enough for them.”
It takes a lot of courage to call 911, I know because I had to do it three times, twice for auto accidents and once because I feared that a friend was about to take her life.
And when they are reported many police departments do not list them with the FBI.
Experts and such advocates as Seth Brysk, the central Pacific regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, believe many similar crimes are not reported to law enforcement, much less recorded by the FBI or prosecuted. Only 1,776 of the 15,254 police departments participating in the FBI’s crime tracking program reported hate crimes in their jurisdiction in 2016, at a time when other measures indicate a sharp rise in bias-motivated crimes.

“We know that the reporting of hate crimes is vastly underreported,” Brysk said. “So it's important for law enforcement to do everything possible in their power to make it … easy as possible for people to feel comfortable and willing to go and report these crimes. And that they then are faithful to their own position and reporting up the chain.”
I remember one trans person telling me that as they were waiting at a Park and Ride late at night for her son to be dropped off from college a state police officer stopped and questioned her. All well and good but then there was a twist a number of other officers had to stop and take a look at her. One officer pulled out a digital camera and said they had to take a picture of her “for their records.” The trans woman told me “yeah my picture is probably up on the office bulletin board.

It is stories like that which keep us from reporting crimes.
Setchell said she encourages hate crime victims she works with in Houston to report their experiences to the police, but some are reluctant because they haven’t revealed their sexual orientation to family or employers. Others fear being targeted again if they go after their attackers in court.
Then there is the danger that we will be the ones ending up being arrested.

One person told me their story that happened to her down in Florida. She was walking in Miami when a call stopped and four teenagers got out and started beating on her and her friend. When the police arrived she and her friend got arrested for assault and battery, the four teenagers said they were the innocent parties and the two trans people attacked them even though the two trans people were the ones with cuts and bruises.
Brooks turned to a university adviser, who encouraged him to report the incident. When he contacted the Longview police he said the responding officer told him, "Well that doesn't sound like a problem to me. It sounds like those are just some words."
In another case, a trans woman was working construction here in the state when two men came in to the room where she was working, yelled anti-gay words at her and then proceeded to beat her up with 2x4s. When the police officer came he refused to arrest the two who beat her up and she raised her voice at the officer for not arresting them… she got arrested for disturbing the peace. When I saw her, her eye was swollen closed, her face was all black and blue, and she had bruises on her arms and back.

In the TV show Monk the theme song “It's a jungle out there” unfortunately we are the hunted.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Are You Switched On?

Trans people are everywhere, in every profession and trade; we have some amazing talent out there. In some places you would be surprised to learn and one of the first trans person that I heard about was Wendy Carlos…
Switched-On Bach: How a transgender synth pioneer changed music
Wendy Carlos’s 1968 album of Bach music for Moog synthesiser brought electronic music into the mainstream and influenced artists from Giorgio Moroder to Daft Punk
The Irish Times
By Mark Graham
November 20, 2018

Since its release 50 years ago, Switched-On Bach has been relegated to the realm of kitsch curiosity; blips and blops produced from tinkerings on primitive electronic components. Many academics and commentators believe that part of the reason the album isn’t more widely celebrated is because of the gender of its creator. Wendy Carlos released her pioneering electronic album in 1968; at the time of release, she was six months into transgender hormone therapy. When the album hit the shelves, the person responsible for Switched-On Bach was still known as Walter.

Switched-On Bach was the first classical album to go platinum in America, remaining at No 1 in the classical album charts for more than three years (peaking at No 10 in the pop charts). The album won three Grammys, bringing synthesisers out of electronics laboratories and into the musical mainstream.

An electronic instrument playing the works of JS Bach wasn’t music to everyone’s ears. In 1964, inventor and engineer Bob Moog was manning his stall at an Acoustic Engineering Society (AES) convention in New York. Business wasn’t brisk. His hand-made electronic instruments were lauded by some, but others thought them an abomination to the world of music. When he was interviewed for a television news piece on the convention, the interviewer leaned in to the camera and asked the mild-mannered inventor in very serious tones: “Tell me, Mr Moog, don’t you feel guilty about what you’ve done?” That upset Moog, but it was indicative of how some people felt about electronics being used to create serious music.
And now look at where we are at in terms of electronic music.

Then came Wendy Carlos…
Moog fell asleep after lunch and was roused from his nap by a music student from Columbia University who seemed not only interested in the musical potential of the modular synthesiser, but also in how it worked and made its endless array of sounds. Carlos had been advised to seek out Moog by her composition professor Vladamir Ussachevsky, a fan of Moog’s work, and a musician who grasped the instrument’s potential to explore new worlds of sound.

Carlos couldn’t afford to buy one of Moog’s hand-crafted, polished walnut-finished, incredibly expensive instruments. Walter Sear, who was responsible for selling the synths, recalled, “You could buy a nice house and a nice car for what these cost back in those days.” Instead, Moog and Carlos developed a barter system that saw Carlos recording pieces of music showcasing the capabilities of the instrument. For this work and for advice that aided the development of the synth, Moog knocked a few bob off the price.
Some of her works are, Tron, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining and one of the musicals she influenced was…
Mick Jagger was among the small number of musicians able to afford a modular Moog synth. The Rolling Stones bought one a year after Switched-On Bach’s release. Jagger can be seen playing a Moog in the 1970 film Performance. The Moog synth requires years of practice to master, and it didn’t get used much by the Stones, so they sold it to German electronic music trailblazers Tangerine Dream, who featured it on many of their recordings.

Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman picked up a cheap Moog synth secondhand. These early instruments were monophonic, meaning they could only play one note at a time. Wakeman found a disgruntled customer in England who’d bought a Moog, but thought it was broken because it wouldn’t play chords. Unlike Jagger, Wakeman got his for a song.
Wendy Carlos was a true pioneer not only in music but also her transition in 1979.


Website By Website We Are Being Erased

The Trump administration has been removing any references about trans information ir regulations.
Transgender guidance disappears from Office of Personnel Management website
Protections for transgender people are vanishing left and right.
ThinkProgress
By Zack Ford
November 23, 2018

Under President Obama, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees all federal employees, issued detailed guidance protecting transgender people in the workforce. As of Friday, that guidance has disappeared and been replaced by generic language with no content specific to transgender people.

The previous “Gender Identity Guidance” page, which was still live as of earlier this week, laid out definitions for terms related to transgender identities, and outlined specific expectations for respecting transgender employees. These included ensuring that trans workers could dress according to their gender identity, that they were called by their preferred names and pronouns, and that they were allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
[…]
On the new site, that language and any reference to transgender people is now gone, although the page does still state that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited — consistent with an executive order President Obama issued that is still in effect.

Gone, however, are the detailed definitions for the terms “gender identity,” “transgender,” “gender non-conforming,” and “transition.” Specific references to confidentiality related to transitioning have been replaced with generic language about medical privacy. The page’s dress code language no longer provides reassurances that employees will be allowed to dress consistent with their gender identity.
Trump in his hate and bigotry of Obama is undoing everything the he did during his administration and undoing anything trans, he is trying to force us back in the closet… we will not be erased!

We will not surrender to Trump’s demented administration.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Black Magic Woman

Saturday 9: Black Magic Woman (1970)

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



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

1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 23, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?
Nope, I haven’t done and will not do any shopping over the long weekend

2) On busy shopping days, carts often litter parking lots. After loading your items into your car, are you careful to return your shopping cart to the store or the designated cart receptacle?
Yes, but usually I just carry my bag out from the store and don’t use a cart

3) Who on your gift list is hardest to buy for?
Myself since I don’t usually buy an gifts…we do a Yankee Swap

4) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include enjoying leftovers or watching a game?
No watching of any type of sports, the leftovers are all at my nephew’s where we had Thanksgiving but I will buy a store rotisserie chicken to make stuffing and cranberry sandwiches.

5) Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is an annual event. It began in 1924 as a local event in New York. Today it's nationally televised. Did you watch it?
Nope, I was driving up to my nephew’s.

6) What did you give thanks for on Thanksgiving 2018?
Another year that the family made it through.

7) At the first Thanksgiving, there were no forks. Pilgrims ate with spoons and knives, and forks didn't become popular until the 18th century. Think about your Thanksgiving place setting. Did you have both a salad and a dinner fork?
Nope just a knife and fork.

8) Pies are a popular Thanksgiving dessert. What kind of pie did you enjoy? Or did you have ice cream? Or did you skip dessert?
I had dessert an Apple Cobbler and it did in my morning testing of my blood sugar.

9) This week's featured band, Santana, was named for its founder, Carlos Santana. He was born in Mexico. When at a Mexican restaurant, what do you usually order?
Either Quesadilla Linda or Fajita Coyote with either chicken or steak.

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!

Friday, November 23, 2018

There Are A Lot Of Great Trans People Out There

We are...
Sirius XM Radio CEO
Pharmaceutical CEO
Computer Scientists
NASA Scientists
Aeronautical Engineer
Test Pilot
Doctors
Lawyers
These are just some of the fields that we are in and another trans man was a Neurobiologist…
Ben Barres: A transgender scientist shares his story
Spectrum News
By Elizabeth Svodoba
14 November 2018

In 1997, a Stanford University neuroscientist wrote a letter to his colleagues. He signed the letter with his birth name, Barbara Barres, but made it clear that from now on he wished to be known as Ben. “Whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief,” he wrote.

“I hope that despite my trans sexuality you will allow me to continue with the work that, as you all know, I love,” he concluded his letter.
To Barres’ great joy, his fellow scientists responded with unwavering support. What they didn’t know was that he’d been unable to sleep for a week as he mulled whether to transition to male or commit suicide. His new autobiography — published, sadly, after his death last year from pancreatic cancer — testifies to his personal courage on two fronts: first, as a dogged investigator of glia, the brain’s most numerous cells, which many had written off as purposeless; and second, as an advocate for female and gender-nonconforming scientists.
[…]
His distress wasn’t enough to derail his career. Pulling 18- to 20-hour workdays in the lab fulfilled him and kept his identity issues at bay. When he set up his first lab at Stanford in 1993, he jumped into a project he’d begun while completing his Harvard University neurobiology doctorate: figuring out the function of glial cells.

The traditional belief was that glia were the neural equivalent of ‘junk DNA’: they took up space in the brain and served no well-defined purpose. But over time, and despite a series of grant rejections, Barres and his collaborators discovered there was much more to the story. Glia not only convey a variety of signals to neurons, they also control the formation of synapses, the crucial junctions between brain cells.
[…]
Barres’ most lasting legacy, however, may be his dedication to truth in an increasingly truth-averse era. Despite his fear that he could lose the neuroscience career that had taken him so long to build, Barres decided that presenting as his real self trumped that concern (which, especially in the 1990s, was a significant one). His decision, in the months before his death, to record his struggles and triumphs means he will continue to inspire seekers in uncharted territory — scientific and otherwise. “I lived life on my terms,” Barres told his friend Andrew Huberman just before his death.

“I have zero regrets and I’m ready to die,” he added. “I’ve truly had a great life.”
We have so many heroes in our community, it is almost like we push ourselves to excel to show the world that we are so much more that a trans.

Not Fit To Be Commander-In-Chief

[Rant]
Trump has not visited any troops in a combat zone; he has not visited the soldiers that he sent to the Mexican U.S. border. Where was he yesterday? At his little Thanksgiving Dinner.



TRUMP IS 'AFRAID' TO VISIT WAR ZONE COMBAT TROOPS BECAUSE 'PEOPLE WANT TO KILL HIM': REPORT
Newsweek
By Tom Porter
November 20, 2018

President Donald Trump has told aides and White House officials that he was afraid to visit U.S. troops in war zones, and didn't back the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“He’s never been interested in going,” one unnamed former senior White House official told The Washington Post. “He’s afraid of those situations. He’s afraid people want to kill him.”

Trump told advisers that he had considered visiting troops in overseas combat zones, after a series of decisions that critics said showed disrespect toward the military and the troops.
On Veteran’s Day he cancelled a trip to honor those who died to defend our country because he might get wet.
The president canceled a visit to a cemetery where thousands of U.S. Marines were buried during a trip to Europe for ceremonies marking the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I, and did not visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. ...saying had been busy with phone calls
He belittled the officer in charge of finding and killing Osama bin Laden
He belittled Senator John McCain for his war service because he “shouldn’t have gotten shot down.”
He has belittled gold star families.
He is not visiting the troops he sent to Mexican U.S. border for political reasons.
His call to the troops overseas he made it in to a call about him and politics.
Donald Trump Says Troops At Border Are ‘Tough’ Enough To Miss Thanksgiving
President Trump has deployed thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to respond to caravans of migrants seeking asylum.
Huffington Post
By Lydia O’Connor
November 20, 2018

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Donald Trump downplayed the fact that many U.S. troops will be missing Thanksgiving with their families this year because of his decision to send them to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Don’t worry about Thanksgiving,” Trump said. “These are tough people. They know what they’re doing and they’re great. And they’ve done a great job. You’re so worried about the Thanksgiving holiday for them. They are so proud to be representing our country on the border.”

The president’s comments came shortly before he boarded a flight to spend Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
I do not understand how any military servicemembers or veterans can respect Trump, I realize that they have to obey all lawful orders but they don’t have to respect him.


[/Rant]

Around The World Right-Wing Conservatives…

… Are pushing their bigotry against us. Case in point New Zealand where they are trying to change their birth certificate laws.
Bill on transgender birth certificates creates big issues
Stuff
By Martin van Beynen
November 22, 2018


Transgender people are a tiny part of the population but they occupy a big space at the frontier of minority rights.

As societies move beyond the normalisation of gay relationships and greater inclusion of diverse groups, transgender (gender identity doesn't match the sex people are born with) issues have gained a new prominence.
[…]
In this climate of sensitivity and inclusion, a piece of innocuous proposed law called the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill (the Bill) has created a sometimes fraught catalyst for transgender issues.

For both practical and philosophical reasons, transgender people want official records to match the gender they identify with. Passports and driving licences are relatively straightforward. Authorities require a simple self-declaration to change the documents or issue new ones.

However, as the law stands under the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 (the Act), the process for changing a birth certificate to the desired gender is more cumbersome and expensive. Transgender people must apply to the Family Court and satisfy it they have "taken decisive steps to live fully and permanently in the gender identity of the nominated sex". Expert medical evidence "that the applicant has undergone medical treatment to acquire a 'physical conformation' that accords with their new gender identity" must be supplied.

The Bill will change all that. As it has emerged from the Governance and Administration select committee, the Bill will remove the Family Court and the medical evidence from the equation.
And three guesses on what this push back is about.
A birth certificate, opponents say, is unlike a passport or driver's licence in that it is a foundation document and cannot be revoked.

Opponents' main fear is that the definition of transgender women (biological males who identify as female) as female will erode the protections and allowances for women. Self–declaration means any male can be female, they say.

The worries range from granting transgender women access to women-only spaces like changing rooms and refuges to lumping transgender women into female health funding and statistics. Scholarships designed specifically for females, equal opportunities provisions and sports teams are other minefields. Predatory males will game the new system, they say.
Hey does this find familiar?

Bathrooms! Locker rooms! Bigotry around the world looks the same as here; in Massachusetts the voter shouted down that argument loud and clear. Let’s hope that the New Zealand legislators see it the same as Massachusetts’ voters.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am away today at my nephew's in Connecticut, but for many people Thanksgiving and the Holidays are an especially lonely time, they might have been estranged from their family since they came out to them or their families and children have disowned them and for them Thanksgiving is a time when they feel their loss the greatest. Thanksgiving is a time where we reflect on all that we have been thankful for the year but for those of us it could also be a time a great sadness while they see others around them celebrating during the holiday seasons. So let us open our hearts and doors to them and invite them to the table.

I want to thank all the military men and women who are away fom their loved ones this holiday... thank you for your service.

On the lighter side... I leave you with some Thanksgiving cartoons ans what would Thanksgiving be without "Alice's Restaurant" and "WKRP" turkey drop.













One of my favorite sitcom skits was from WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkey Drop"

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Many Of Us Are Traveling This Week

Travel to our families, traveling to take advantage of a long weekend or for whatever reason one of our concerns is where to pee in peace.
The Freedom—and Fear—of Traveling While Transgender
When you travel as a transgender person, you are truly 'out' in the fullest sense of the word, refusing to hide from a world that would often rather you stay out of sight.
The Daily Beast
By Samantha Allen
November 10, 2018

One of the many ironies of being transgender is that, after coming out, “in” becomes the safest place to be: In your bedroom. In your apartment. Stick to your comfort zone and you avoid potential annoyance, harassment—even physical violence—but you end up seeing the paint on your own four walls and not much else.

Maybe that’s why traveling as a transgender person feels so incredible, despite all the hassles: Not only are you out as yourself, you are truly “out” in the fullest sense of the word, refusing to hide from a world that would often rather you stay out of sight.

The freest I have felt since coming out as a transgender woman wasn’t when I first started feeling the mood-lifting effects of hormone therapy, or when I woke up in the hospital after sex reassignment surgery—it was when I simply stood on top of a rock outcropping in the East Fjords of Iceland, listening to the Sveinstekksfoss waterfall plunge into a pool of glacier-blue water behind me. I was out, and I was out.
[…]
I want to see the rest of the world. But more than anything, I hope I live to see a world where all transgender people can taste the same freedoms I have started to feel.
Okay… one of the big factors that she doesn’t mention is “Passing Privilege” it is nice to be able to walk around and not be identified as trans but for many trans people that is not an option and that is where the danger lies.

There is a quote that I use in my training PowerPoint from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey…
Visual non-conformity is a risk factor in causing anti-transgender bias and its attendant social and economic burdens.
So what does that mean?

It means if you are a 6’6” trans woman with large bone structure, large hands and feet, with a deep voice you are going to face a lot more discrimination, hatred, and violence than 5’6” with delicate features trans woman.

When I went down to Asheville N.C. (before HB2) I was concerned where I was going to take rest stops even though all my documentation said I was female I still was concerned.

There is a website that list gender neutral and “safe” bathrooms and there is a book called Peeing in Peace that gives tips. But a word of caution; just because it is listed as a “safe bathroom” it may have since changed to a very not safe bathroom.

The support group that I’m with used to have a list of “safe” nightclubs one was a LGBT bar but it changed hand and became a country western bar and when some trans people walked in they got a very cold shoulder, so beware of lists.

Worrying about safety on the road is not new; it is as old as the human race… “Beware there are dragons here” used to be marked on the earliest maps and for black here in America there used to be something called the “Green Book” that listed safe places for blacks traveling here in the U.S.

And the sad thing is here in America the need for the “Green Book” and the “Peeing in Peace” is making a comeback.

One Thing Stood Out

At last night’s TDoR one city stood out and that was Jacksonville Florida they had three murders there of trans women this year and they were tied with Chicago which is a much larger city.
‘We Have Targets on Our Backs’: How Jacksonville Became America’s Transgender Murder Capital
Three of the 22 reported killings of trans people in America this year have taken place in Jacksonville, Florida—the victims all black trans women.
The Daily Beast
By Samantha Allen
November 19, 2018

As the Transgender Day of Remembrance approaches on Nov. 20, black transgender women in Jacksonville aren’t just mourning. They are also afraid.

Out of the 22 reported killings of transgender people in the United States in 2018 so far, three took place in Jacksonville, more than in any other city.

All three of those homicide victims were black transgender women: Celine Walker was shot in a motel on Feb. 4, Antash'a English was gunned down in a June 1 drive-by shooting, and Cathalina Christina James was killed in a motel on June 24. Another transgender woman was shot repeatedly in June, but survived—and police charged her alleged attacker in July.

After LGBT advocates criticized the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for misgendering these victims—rather than using the names and genders by which they were known in the community—the JSO created a nine-officer LGBT Liaison Team in August, as WJCT reported, in order to forge better ties with the community.

But now, months later, some black LGBT advocates say that relationships with the police remain strained.
It sound like the LGBT Liaison Team is just a show organization to parade out at press conferences and hasn’t really done anything.
But Kittle is still firmly of the belief that the LGBT Liaison Team is “a publicity stunt.”

“Creating this team literally was just to stop the momentum—and to split us up against the affluent white gays who were upset at first,” she told The Daily Beast, alleging that the Liaison Team has been selective about who they meet with: “They don’t want to talk to me and they don’t want to talk to people like Paige [Mahogany Parks].”
The police department continues to identify victims with their legal name and gender erasing their trans identity.
Such policies can impede investigations into transgender homicides, LGBT anti-violence advocates say, because many in the transgender community won’t recognize a deceased friend by their legal name and therefore can’t provide information to police until it is too late.

In fact, it is often the case that local communities do not even know that a transgender person has been killed until Houston-based blogger and transgender advocate Monica Roberts confirms it by cross-checking local media reports with social media accounts.
Unfortunately, this is the policy of many police departments around the country and I really don’t think that they care about us and that they only put in a halfhearted effort in catching the murders. That many police department view the murders as “it’s just another black trans woman.”

We will not be erased in life and death.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Thoughts On The TDoR

Reprint from last year...
There are two trains of thought about the Transgender Day of Remembrance, some are totally against it while some are in favor of it. The divide boils down to we should celebrate what is good about being trans while others believe that we should remember those who gave their lives for just being themselves.
Why I Don't Believe in Transgender Day of Remembrance
Them Us
By Aaryn Lang
November 20, 2017

My relationship with Transgender Day of Remembrance has been a rocky one. I haven’t attended a TDOR event in the past few years because I don’t find that they deeply honor trans life. When I think of my ancestors and the struggles they experienced just to get some semblance of basic decency in this world, I know that being able to draw breath and live my life authentically and openly is the true tribute to those who’ve died, more so than any vigil — especially one built on trans death as so little has been done to prevent living trans people from meeting similar, gruesome fates. I might be on board if the people who often hosted these vigils weren’t on payroll, if they actually took action leading up to TDOR and in the months following to interrupt the violence that continues to plague our communities.

Instead, what I often see are predatory nonprofits that capitalize off of the loss of bodies they wouldn’t employ, educate, or support, while reinforcing a narrative that makes “transgender” and “death” almost synonymous. What I often see are cisgender and privileged people, as well as non-melanated transgender people who are all too happy to perform remorse at these events, yet spend the rest of the year arguing against white supremacy’s role in transphobia on social media, and doing next to nothing to address the violence that they’re supposedly torn apart over. This perpetuates a cycle where the lives lost, and others like them who are living, but under precarious conditions, become mythical and secondary to the “concerned community” that feels that the two-hour event constitutes their service to the most vulnerable among us, even though little more has been done than the masturbation of their egos, while the heart and spirit of our community continue to disintegrate.
First I agree with the part about non-profits using it as a fundraiser, I am seeing more and more “LGBT” and also trans organizations with “Donate” buttons. I don’t like that, can’t you for once remove the donate button? It appears as Aaryn Lang says that you are using our deaths for your financial gains.

Second many of these “LGBT” organizations are not trans friendly, they have only gays and lesbians on their staff or have in the past backed lesbian and gay legislation at the determent of the trans community and now they are sponsoring the TDoR.

Third, I worry about the TDoR being used as a political tool of political parties to push their candidate or agenda. It is one thing to rally for legislation and is another thing to push a parties doctrine.

Many organizations are coupling the TDoR with Trans Awareness Week an idea that I like and many are also holding a Trans Pride event in another month other then November.

End of reprint



Out of the twenty-two trans people who were murdered this year just because they were trans nineteen were Latina or Black and ten of them were in their twenties



Last week I ran a poll on whether TDoR should be run or organized by trans people and eighty-two percent said yes.

There is a growing trend of businesses holding TDoRs. As Aaryn Lang said there is “predatory nonprofits that capitalize off of the loss of bodies,” and I would add churches to the list.

My thoughts on whether non-trans people or organization should hold a TDoR is that they better tread lightly and not just give lip services one day a year, that they have to have a 24/365 commitment to the trans community

TDoR


Every November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance is when we memorize the trans-people who were murdered in the last 12 months.  We remember trans people who were murdered for who they were; not for money or passion but were murdered but because of hate. They were killed because they had the courage to live their lives as the person they were.

On a personal level I went to my first TDoR on 2001 and it was very emotional for me as I read the name of Ontwon Curtis, I cried while I read her name. She was a stranger to me but we shared a common trait, we were both trans. It never gets easy reading the names.

This year’s TDOR is particularly poignant because of not knowing what we face with President-elect Trump. Fear is running rampant in the LGBT community. Will we be banned from using the bathroom of our gender identity, will we be unable to change our gender and our name on Social Security, Medicare, passport and other federal documents?

The vigil is held all around the U.S. and the world and you can find a place for where you can attend a TDOR here.

A list of the names of the people who were murdered this year can be found below along with a list the TDOR locations in Connecticut. I will be attending the Hartford services.



Hartford:
November 20, 2018
7:00pm
Hosted by the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford
155 Wyllys Street, Hartford CT 06106
(Parish House, Church of the Good Shepherd, entrance in the back)

New Haven:
November 20, 2018
5:30pm
Hosted by the New Haven Pride Center
Steps of the Clerk’s Office, 121 Elm Street

New London:
November 20, 2018
6:00p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Hosted by OutCT
New London Parade Plaza
New London, CT 06320

Norwalk:
November 20, 2018
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Hosted by the Triangle Community Center
650 West Ave, Norwalk, Connecticut 06850



Memorializing 2018

Argentina

Carolina/Camila Angulo Paredes
Buenos Aires, Argentina
29-Dec-17
shot

Lourdes Reinoso
Tucuman, Argentina
14-Jan-18
stabbed

Ynina
Puerto Madryn, Argentina
30-Jan-18
Unknown

Adriana Estefanía Bonetto
San Jose del Rincon, Argentina
8-Feb-18
stabbed

Cinthia Moreira
Villa Alen, Argentina
22-Feb-18
decapitated/dismembered

Sol Gómez
Santa Fe, Argentina
7-Mar-18
Unknown

Julia Ponce
Buenos Aires, Argentina
23-Jul-18
Unknown

Yanelis Rodríguez
Argentina, Argentina
31-Aug-18
Unknown

Bangladesh

Sonia Akter
Morrelganj, Bangladesh
31-Dec-17
Unknown

Brazil

L. de Souza Pereira
Manaus, Brazil
23-Nov-17
beaten

Unknown Name
Uberlândia, Brazil
28-Nov-17
shot

Milena
Arapiraca, Brazil
1-Dec-17
stoned

Andressa Xoda
Pauladas E Tiros – Salvador, Brazil
3-Dec-17
shot

Eduarda Figueiredo
Porto Seguro, Brazil
3-Dec-17
shot

Júlia Volp
Florianópolis, Brazil
4-Dec-17
tortured

Jéssica Dimy
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7-Dec-17
Unknown

Sabrina
Uberaba, Brazil
7-Dec-17
Unknown

Luany Aquamarine
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
9-Dec-17
beaten

Luna Shine
Viana, Brazil
11-Dec-17
stabbed

Marquete F. C. de Lima
Altinho, Brazil
13-Dec-17
shot

Kebeca G. de Souza
Gurupi, Brazil
16-Dec-17
shot

Larissa Paiva
Sao Paulo, Brazil
17-Dec-17
beaten

Rose
João Pessoa, Brazil
17-Dec-17
beaten

Lorrany “Lhoane” Oliveira
Santaluz, Brazil
26-Dec-17
tortured

V. O. Silva
Uberaba, Brazil
30-Dec-17
tortured

Silvia Gomes Marques
Belem, Brazil
1-Jan-18
Unknown

Fany Diniz
Belem, Brazil
3-Jan-18
shot

C. Sobral
Feira de Santana, Brazil
5-Jan-18
Unknown

Unknown Name
Brasília, Brazil
5-Jan-18
stabbed

W. Peixoto
Piripiri, Brazil
9-Jan-18
beaten

C. Figueiredo
Recife, Brazil
17-Jan-18
stabbed

Carol Alves
Tangará da Serra, Brazil
17-Jan-18
shot

Kelly
Belém, Brazil
20-Jan-18
shot

Unknown Name
Concórdia do Pará, Brazil
20-Jan-18
Unknown

Júlia de Arruda
Várzea Grande, Brazil
21-Jan-18
other

Lohane
Governador Newton Bello, Brazil
23-Jan-18
stabbed

Rios Dayane Macklarenn
São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
26-Jan-18
Unknown

Raquel Cosinele
Recife, Brazil
27-Jan-18
stoned

Samira de Alcantara
Nossa Senhora do Socorro, Brazil
29-Jan-18
stabbed

Natália Ketlyn
Campos Altos, Brazil
1-Feb-18
shot

Hemilly Dbx
Garanhuns, Brazil
6-Feb-18
stabbed

Anninha Ferreira Rochee
Colatina, Brazil
7-Feb-18
decapitated/dismembered

A. da S. Silvério
Vitíoria de São Antão, Brazil
8-Feb-18
shot

Lohan
Vitoria, Brazil
8-Feb-18
beaten

Milonga F. L. Martins
Pacajus, Brazil
9-Feb-18
shot

Dominique
Uberlândia, Brazil
10-Feb-18
beaten

Nayra Winston
Rio Largo, Brazil
10-Feb-18
shot

Unknown Name
Fortaleza, Brazil
11-Feb-18
shot

Bruna
Belém, Brazil
12-Feb-18
shot

Keila
Salvador, Brazil
12-Feb-18
shot

Unknown Name
Joao Pessoa, Brazil
12-Feb-18
shot

K. Silva
Manaus, Brazil
13-Feb-18
tortured

Pérola
Sao Paulo, Brazil
14-Feb-18
shot

Bruna Ferrari
Concórdia do Pará, Brazil
15-Feb-18
Unknown

Laysla Oliveira
Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
18-Feb-18
beaten

Amanda Rios
João Pessoa, Brazil
19-Feb-18
shot

Eduarda Brasil
Araras, Brazil
19-Feb-18
other

Rayana Ribeiro
João Pessoa, Brazil
20-Feb-18
Unknown

Bia Rocha
Recife, Brazil
23-Feb-18
Unknown

Claudia Oliveira
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23-Feb-18
shot

Fernanda Caetano
Lapa, Brazil
23-Feb-18
Unknown

Kimberlys Ochoa
Lara, Venezuela
25-Feb-18
beaten

Fernanda “Pit” Dias
São Mateus, Brazil
27-Feb-18
shot

Alessandra da Silva Alves
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1-Mar-18
shot

Shayene
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1-Mar-18
shot

Palola
João Pessoa, Brazil
4-Mar-18
shot

Samielly Castro
São Paulo, Brazil
4-Mar-18
shot

Pâmela Tabete
Craiba, Brazil
8-Mar-18
beaten

Thalita da Silva
Barra do Garças, Brazil
13-Mar-18
throat cut

J. Oliveira da Silva
Vila Velha, Brazil
16-Mar-18
shot

Unknown Name
Ilha do Governador, Brazil
17-Mar-18
decapitated/dismembered

Bruna Gabriel
Ananindeua, Brazil
19-Mar-18
shot

N. Naza
Ananindeua, Brazil
19-Mar-18
shot

Paola Oliveira
Luziânia, Brazil
20-Mar-18
shot

Alanis Burgo
Pelotas, Brazil
22-Mar-18
suffocated

Giorginye Dias de Siqueira
Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil
22-Mar-18
shot

Unknown Name
São Leopoldo, Brazil
22-Mar-18
shot

Daniela Santos
Ibicaraí, Brazil
23-Mar-18
tortured

Cleide Aládio Zaramarine Neto
Itaberaí, Brazil
25-Mar-18
beaten

Hilda de Melo Matias
Barbalha, Brazil
25-Mar-18
shot

Eduarda Amaro
Pelotas, Brazil
29-Mar-18
shot

Elvira Costa Ferreira
Maranguape, Brazil
2-Apr-18
shot

Andressa Muda
Macaé, Brazil
3-Apr-18
Unknown

Benjamin de Jesus Sousa
Teresina, Brazil
6-Apr-18
stabbed

Angra Alessandra Cupertino
Feira de Santana, Brazil
7-Apr-18
stabbed

Millany Spencer
Nossa Senhora do Socorro, Brazil
14-Apr-18
Beaten and strangled

Nati da Silva
Lajeado, Brazil
20-Apr-18
shot

Nycoly Souza Nardoni Bhals
Governador Valadares, Brazil
22-Apr-18
shot

Gabriely Fancciny
Porto Velho, Brazil
28-Apr-18
stabbed

Matheusx Passarelli
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
29-Apr-18
burned

Raunna Silva
Niterói, Brazil
30-Apr-18
shot

Unknown Name
Campo Grande, Brazil
30-Apr-18
shot

Bianca Santos Albuquerque
Araras, Brazil
30-Apr-18
shot

Paulinha
Fortaleza, Brazil
1-May-18
shot

C. Alves
Vitória da Conquista, Brazil
8-May-18
shot

Myrella Mhell
Pirapora, Brazil
21-May-18
shot

Pandora
Santa Rita, Brazil
21-May-18
shot

Beatriz Ribeiro
Bacabal, Brazil
25-May-18
stabbed

D.R.C.
Jundiaí, Brazil
25-May-18
beaten

I. Silva
Itaberaí, Brazil
29-May-18
Unknown

Patrícia Pereira
Maracanaú, Brazil
31-May-18
shot

Nayra Matos
Maracanaú, Brazil
31-May-18
shot

Britney Vaz
Colniza, Brazil
3-Jun-18
shot

Vitória
Salvador, Brazil
3-Jun-18
shot

Unknown Name
Manaus, Brazil
6-Jun-18
shot

Kamila Roberta
Florianópolis, Brazil
7-Jun-18
beaten

Fernanda Reichert
São Leopoldo, Brazil
9-Jun-18
stabbed

Tiffanny Montel
Boa Vista, Brazil
10-Jun-18
stabbed

Agatha Gomes (Bebê)
Belford Roxo, Brazil
19-Jun-18
shot

Thalia Costa Barboza
São Borja, Brazil
21-Jun-18
stoned

Nikolly Silva
Cabo Frio, Brazil
22-Jun-18
stoned

Gaby Scheifer
Ponta Grossa, Brazil
23-Jun-18
run-over by car

Índia da Silva Pellegrine
Salvador, Brazil
25-Jun-18
shot

Bruna da Conceição
Lagarto, Brazil
25-Jun-18
shot

Carla Croft
Pacajus, Brazil
29-Jun-18
shot

Deepa
Jalandhar, India
3-Jul-18
stabbed

Mirela
Balneário Camboriú, Brazil
4-Jul-18
strangled/hanged

Shirley dos Santos
Recife, Brazil
4-Jul-18
shot

Michele Silveira
Itaperuna, Brazil
7-Jul-18
shot

Fernanda da Biz
Campo Grande, Brazil
8-Jul-18
stabbed

Aisha Albuquerque
Curitiba, Brazil
13-Jul-18
beaten

Daniela Cicarelli
Gurupi, Brazil
17-Jul-18
shot

Lay Neves de Santana
Camaçari, Brazil
17-Jul-18
shot

Unknown Name
Itaperuna, Brazil
20-Jul-18
shot

Paola Villefort
Nova Serrana, Brazil
23-Jul-18
stabbed

Daiane Souza
Porto Alegre, Brazil
26-Jul-18
shot

Gaby Arantes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
28-Jul-18
beaten

Dudu dos Santos Duarte
Paraisópolis, Brazil
3-Aug-18
shot

Lalesca
Salvador, Brazil
5-Aug-18
throat cut

Paloma Ferreira
Fortaleza, Brazil
6-Aug-18
shot

Paolla “LelÍ” Blayton
Campos, Brazil
7-Aug-18
shot

Karlla da Silva Balbino
Caratinga, Brazil
9-Aug-18
strangled/hanged

T‚nia Lopes
Florianópolis, Brazil
10-Aug-18
shot

Renata
Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil
12-Aug-18
shot

Krispim Souza de Araujo
Mossóro, Brazil
14-Aug-18
shot

D. M. Teixeira
Mossóro, Brazil
20-Aug-18
shot

A. L. da Silva Bezerra
Mossóro, Brazil
20-Aug-18
shot

Evelin Ferrari
Caruaru, Brazil
21-Aug-18
shot

J. F. de Souza
Curitiba, Brazil
23-Aug-18
stoned

Sheila dos Santos
Buriticupu, Brazil
23-Aug-18
stoned

Paola dos Reis
Cuiaba, Brazil
30-Aug-18
stabbed

Rayka
Praia Grande, Brazil
30-Aug-18
Unknown

Unknown Name
Manaus, Brazil
31-Aug-18
stabbed

Deia Alves Maciel
Goiania, Brazil
1-Sep-18
stabbed

Maria Luíza
Sao Paulo, Brazil
1-Sep-18
beaten

Rafaela Sena
Xique-xique, Brazil
2-Sep-18
shot

Unknown Name
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6-Sep-18
Unknown

Monique Manardi Lee
Sao Paulo, Brazil
11-Sep-18
beaten

Abya Passos Mantovanny
Cuiaba, Brazil
15-Sep-18
stabbed

Kemily
Belem, Brazil
16-Sep-18
shot

J. Oliveira de Araújo
Martins, Brazil
24-Sep-18
Unknown

Nicolly
Lagarto, Brazil
26-Sep-18
beaten

Bolivia

Veronica Carbajal Pinto
La Paz, Bolivia
27-Nov-17
suffocated

Adri Adely Jurado
La Paz, Bolivia
13-Jul-18
stabbed

Chile

Paloma
Santiago, Chile
14-Feb-18
beaten

Colombia

Marilyn Cipriany Guzmán
Medellín, Colombia
30-Dec-17
shot

Chelsy/Cristal Grisales Molina
La Virginia, Colombia
24-Jan-18
shot

Silvana Pineda
La Dorada, Colombia
27-Jan-18
shot

J. A. Marín Marín
Soacha, Colombia
1-Feb-18
stabbed

Tatiana/Tetris/Muelas
Bogota, Colombia
10-Feb-18
stabbed

Alexa Amero Sierra
Bogota, Colombia
9-Mar-18
stabbed

Lorena Molina López
Montenegro, Colombia
25-Mar-18
shot

Alejandra Torres Torres
Manizales, Colombia
22-Apr-18
stabbed

Abril Natasha Quiñónez
Cali, Colombia
12-Aug-18
shot

Lili Chirinos Carrillo
Valledupar, Colombia
18-Aug-18
shot in the head

Unknown Name
Cordova, Colombia
31-Aug-18
Unknown

Carol Perez Guerrero
Ciudad Bolivar, Colombia
22-Sep-18
shot

Unknown Name
Cochabamba, Colombia
23-Sep-18
beaten

Valeria Sandoval
Cali, Colombia
28-Sep-18
asphyxiated

Dominican Republic

Blanca
La Vega, Dominican Republic
27-Jan-18
stabbed

Ecuador

Isabel Borja Suárez
Quevedo, Ecuador
13-May-18
stabbed

El Salvador

Unknown Name
Departamente de la Paz, El Salvador
30-Nov-17
Unknown

Unknown Name
Chalchuapa, El Salvador
18-Jan-18
stabbed

Unknown Name
Cuscatlan, El Salvador
8-Mar-18
stabbed

D. A. Portillo Jiménez
El Salvador, El Salvador
21-Mar-18
stabbed

Geovanny Romero Ortiz
Santa Ana, El Salvador
3-Jun-18
Unknown

Unknown Name
Soyopango, El Salvador
31-Aug-18
Unknown

France

Flávia Luiza
Paris, France
27-Dec-17
Unknown

Vanessa Campos
Paris, France
17-Aug-18
shot

Fiji

Lucky Salavuki
Suva, Fiji
17-May-18
stoned

Guatamala

E. G. Sarat
Xela, Guatamala
27-Nov-17
shot

A. Sis
Salama, Guatamala
16-Jul-18
shot

Yessika Ruedas Gómez
Jalapa, Guatamala
28-Aug-18
stabbed

Débora Ramos Cordón
Chiquimula, Guatamala
22-Sep-18
beaten

Honduras

Tyty
San Pedro Sula, Honduras
23-Jan-18
Unknown

India

Mohit
New Delhi, India
17-Dec-17
beaten

Devudamma Surya Narayana
Anakapalle, India
24-Dec-17
burned

V. Alphonze
Madurai, India
10-Apr-18
stabbed

Chanchal
Aashiana, India
22-Apr-18
shot

Manju
Khajrana, India
7-May-18
stabbed

Chandraiah
Hyderabad, India
26-May-18
beaten

Italy

Ximena Garcia
Nemi, Italy
10-Mar-18
Unknown

Rafaella Rotocalco
Rome, Italy
11-Sep-18
Unknown

Unknown Name
San Giorgio, Italy
23-Sep-18
stabbed

Mexico

Kendrika Itzel D Espino
Chihuahua, Mexico
24-Nov-17
Unknown

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
30-Nov-17
Unknown, one of four cases on this date

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
30-Nov-17
Unknown, one of four cases on this date

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
30-Nov-17
Unknown, one of four cases on this date

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
30-Nov-17
Unknown, one of four cases on this date

Sandra
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
30-Nov-17
beaten

Unknown Name
Estado de Mexico, Mexico
7-Dec-17
stabbed

Geraldine Contreras
Colima, Mexico
9-Dec-17
Unknown

C.N.
Guerrero, Mexico
17-Dec-17
shot

Canoa
Fortaleza, Mexico
17-Dec-17
shot

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
31-Dec-17
tortured

G. Carrera
Tamaulipas, Mexico
5-Jan-18
stabbed

Unknown Name
Veracruz, Mexico
11-Jan-18
throat cut

Jessica González
Veracruz, Mexico
11-Jan-18
Unknown

Paola Carranco
Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
26-Jan-18
shot

Brigith
Quintara Roo, Mexico
27-Jan-18
shot

C. Antuan
Guanajuato, Mexico
12-Feb-18
shot

Unknown Name
Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
17-Feb-18
shot, one of three cases on this date

Unknown Name
Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
17-Feb-18
shot, one of three cases on this date

Unknown Name
Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
17-Feb-18
shot, one of three cases on this date

Samantha
Guerrero, Mexico
6-Mar-18
Unknown

Unknown Name
Sinaloa, Mexico
7-Mar-18
Unknown

Sheila
Nayarit, Mexico
15-Mar-18
shot

Charly
Puebla, Mexico
22-Mar-18
decapitated/dismembered

Yoselyn
Veracruz, Mexico
4-Apr-18
Unknown

Grechen Alina Lara García
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
9-Apr-18
tortured and suffocated

Unknown Name
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
17-Apr-18
Tortured and strangled

Brisa
Veracruz, Mexico
22-Apr-18
shot

Unknown Name
Puebla, Mexico
23-Apr-18
stabbed

A.
Jalisco, Mexico
25-Apr-18
stoned

Unknown Name
Guerrero, Mexico
27-Apr-18
shot

Unknown Name
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
21-May-18
suffocated

Yamileth Quintero
Sinaloa, Mexico
24-May-18
shot

Maritza Harrera
Guerrero, Mexico
25-May-18
stabbed

S. Antolli
Chiapas, Mexico
29-May-18
stabbed

J. Martínez Cepeda
Coahuila, Mexico
10-Jun-18
asphyxiatied and hit by a rock

Unknown Name
Michoacan, Mexico
14-Jun-18
shot

Unknown Name
Colima, Mexico
16-Jun-18
Unknown

Nataly Briyith Sánchez
Chiapas, Mexico
19-Jun-18
Unknown

Alexa GutiÈrrez
Aguascalientes, Mexico
24-Jun-18
Unknown

Katy
Morelos, Mexico
24-Jun-18
shot

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Chiapas, Mexico
30-Jun-18
Unknown, one of six cases on this date

Unknown Name
Estado de Mexico, Mexico
10-Jul-18
Unknown

Chanel
Estado de Mexico, Mexico
15-Jul-18
shot

L. M. Cocom Guzmán
Yucatan, Mexico
15-Jul-18
strangled

Alexa Altamirano Martínez
Guanajuato, Mexico
23-Jul-18
beaten

Alaska Contreras Ponce
Veracruz, Mexico
26-Jul-18
tortured

Linda
Estado de Mexico, Mexico
26-Jul-18
suffocated

Unknown Name
Guanajuato, Mexico
5-Aug-18
shot

M.R.M.
Quintana Roo, Mexico
6-Aug-18
shot

J. C. M.
Oaxaca, Mexico
12-Aug-18
shot

Unknown Name
Guerrero, Mexico
30-Aug-18
shot

Jhoana Hernández
Veracruz, Mexico
1-Sep-18
stabbed

Ana Corina Burgos
Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
11-Sep-18
shot

Azuani Díaz García
Chilapa, Mexico
22-Sep-18
shot

Dayana Letran
Acayucan, Mexico
26-Sep-18
shot

Paulina Domínguez Hernández
Cotzacoalco, Mexico
27-Sep-18
shot

New Zealand

Zena Campbell
Wellington, New Zealand
11-Feb-18
strangled/hanged

Pakistan

Spogmai
Peshawar, Pakistan
26-Nov-17
shot

Chutki
Peshawar, Pakistan
27-Mar-18
shot

Sheena
Swabi, Pakistan
22-Apr-18
shot

Muni
Kotkay, Pakistan
4-May-18
shot

Sania
Hafizabad, Pakistan
20-Jul-18
shot

Nasir Naso
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan
18-Aug-18
Aug-18

Unknown Name
Sahiwal, Pakistan
6-Sep-18
burned

Paraguay

Ada Mía Naomi Gomez Rivas
Piribebuy, Paraguay
27-Aug-18
stabbed

Nicol Ortellado Ferreira
Puerto Oblidago, Paraguay
27-Sep-18
stabbed

Peru

J. E. Ruidíaz Fernández
Lima, Peru
11-Feb-18
shot

Yamilet
Iquitos, Peru
14-Mar-18
stabbed

Philippines

Unknown Name
Pasay City, Philippines
23-Jan-18
Unknown

South Africa

Ousi Kagiso
Rustenburg, South Africa
6-Jan-18
strangled/hanged

Gugu Modise
Ventersdorp, South Africa
1-Sep-18
stabbed

Spain

Eli
Valladolid, Spain
22-Sep-18
beaten

Trinidad and Tobago

Keon Alister Patterson
St. Clair, Trinidad and Tobago
5-Dec-17
Shot

Turkey

I. Y.
Zonguldak, Turkey
5-Dec-17
shot

Kader Ataman
Ayvalik Sarimsakli, Turkey
13-Dec-17
shot

Kristina
Beyoglu, Turkey
8-Mar-18
shot

Nefes
Ankara, Turkey
10-Mar-18
strangled/hanged

Simge Avci
Samsun, Turkey
13-Jul-18
shot

Begüm
Bursa, Turkey
19-Aug-18
burned

Esra Ates
Beyoglu, Turkey
25-Aug-18
stabbed

United Kingdom

Naomi Hersi
London, United Kingdom
18-Mar-18
stabbed

United States of America

Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
27-Nov-17
Shot to death

Brandi Seals
Houston, Texas, United States of America
13-Dec-17
Shot

Zakaria “Z” Fry
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
Jan-18
Blunt force trauma

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien
North Adams, Massachusetts, United States of America
6-Jan-18
Stabbed and bludgeoned

Viccky Gutierrez
Los Angeles, California, United States of America
10-Jan-18
Undetermined

Celine Walker
Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America
4-Feb-18
Shot

Tonya Harvey
Buffalo, New York, United States of America
6-Feb-18
Shot

Phylicia Mitchell
Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
23-Feb-18
Shot

Amia Tyrae Berryman
Baton Rogue, Louisiana, United States of America
26-Mar-18
Shot to death

Sasha Wall
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
1-Apr-18
Shot to death

Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon, United States of America
Dallas, Texas
9-May-18
Strangled to death

Nino Fortson
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
13-May-18
Shot multiple times

Gigi Pierce
Portland, Oregon, United States of America
21-May-18
Shot

Antash’a Devine Sherrington English
Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America
1-Jun-18
Shot

Diamond Stephens
Meridian, Mississippi, United States of America
18-Jun-18
Shot

Cathalina Christina James
Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America
24-Jun-18
Shot to death

Keisha “Pokey” Wells
Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
24-Jun-18
Shot and killed

Sasha Garden
Orlando, Florida, United States of America
19-Jul-18
Undetermined

Dejanay Stanton
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
30-Aug-18
Shot to death

Vontashia Bell
Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America
30-Aug-18
Shot

Shantee Tucker
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
5-Sep-18
Shot

Londonn Moore
Port Charlotte, Florida, United States of America
8-Sep-18
Shot

Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
3-Oct-18
Shot to death

Venezuela

Vicky Julieth Alvarado
Moran, Venezuela
27-Jan-18
stabbed

Malvina Paiva
Caracas, Venezuela
3-Mar-18
shot

China Colón
Naguanagua, Venezuela
24-Apr-18
shot

Rosada Durán Romero
Lara, Venezuela
17-May-18
shot

Carol Pérez Guerrero
Bolivar, Venezuela
23-Sep-18
shot


Presented by the Remembering Our Dead Project, http://www.tdor.info

Additional sources provided by TvT research project, http://transrespect.org/en/trans-murder-monitoring/tmm-resources/