To Boldly Go Where No Trans Or Non-Binary Persons Has Gone Before.

Paraphrasing the Star Trek mission statement, “To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.” the new session of Star Trek Discovery has new characters, a trans person and a non-binary crewperson.

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Introduces First-Ever Non-Binary And Trans Characters With Blu Del Barrio And Ian Alexander
Deadline
By Dino-Ray Ramos
September 2, 2020



Blu del Barrio will make their screen acting debut as the non-binary character Adira, who is highly intelligent with a confidence and self-assurance well beyond their years. They will find a new home on the USS Discovery and form an unexpected bond with Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz).

Ian Alexander will play the transgender character Gray, empathetic, warm and eager to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a Trill host, but he will have to adapt when his life takes an unexpected turn.
[...]
Del Barrio is a non-binary actor who uses they/them pronouns. Del Barrio was in their final year of studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art when they auditioned for the role. Del Barrio has been acting in theater and short films before making their debut in Star Trek: Discovery.

Alexander, who uses they/them and he/him pronouns, is best known for his roles as Buck Vu on Netflix’s The OA and Lev in the video game The Last of Us Part II. Alexander made history as the first out transgender Asian-American person to act on television. He is also an advocate for transgender equality, racial justice and mental health awareness for LGBTQ+ youth. Alexander and Del Barrio will be recurring guest stars.

In addition to having the first-ever openly non-binary and transgender characters, Star Trek: Discovery was moving the needle with inclusivity since season one. Sonequa Martin-Green made history as the first woman of color to lead a show in the Star Trek franchise. In addition, the aforementioned Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz play the first openly gay characters who are in a same-sex marriage in the franchise.

Did you read that? A trans and a non-binary actors are playing in a major television role!

There is no longer an excuse that there are no trans people good enough and with enough viewer draw for major movie and television shows.

Let’s end using cis-gender people playing trans parts.

Crossdressing & LTC Facilities

You are a crossdresser and you have reached that stage in life where you need a Long Term Care facility what are your options?

So I am researching a presentation for a Department of Corrections facility on best practices for incarcerated trans people and one of the articles that I found also addresses LTCs (you have to admit prison is a “LTC” facility).

Social and Medical Transgender Case Advocacy
International Journal of Transgenderism
By Catherine White Holman & Joshua M. Goldberg
October 17, 2008

Long-Term Residential Care
Long-term residential care, sometimes described as continuing care, refers to long-term medically supervised housing for people unable to live independently, or with loved ones. As in hospitals and hospices, trans-specific protocols should be implemented to ensure respectful and sensitive personal care, particularly in bathing, physical examination, or any other procedure involving the chest or genitals of transgender patients. Privacy and confidentiality are also key concerns for many people in long-term care, as information can spread very quickly throughout a facility. As the majority of long-term care residents are elderly, advocacy relating to long-term care includes advocacy specific to transgender seniors (discussed in more detail in the section on work with specific populations).

Crossdressing or other gender-variant behaviour is seen by some residential care providers as “acting out” and is often actively discouraged. In our experience there is particular confusion within long-term care about crossdressing being an “inappropriate” expression of sexuality, as crossdressing is stereotypically considered a type of sexual fetish. We have found it useful to educate staff about the diversity of reasons people crossdress, and also to encourage frank discussion of the sexual needs of long-term care residents. Advocacy may include the filing of formal complaints if transgender residents are being punished for crossgender expression.

Transgender people in residential care often experience severe isolation, complicated by barriers to accessing peer support. Community social workers may be able to assist by coordinating transportation planning and caregiver assistance to make it possible to access transspecific community peer support groups and events, or to facilitate inpatient visits. Other clinicians in long-term care facilities can also proactively educate colleagues to help ensure that transgender visitors who are providing peer support to a resident are treated respectfully by all staff.

Connecticut law states (I am not a lawyer and these are my own interpretation of the laws)…

PA11-55 An Act Concerning Discrimination
(21) "Gender identity or expression" means a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth, which gender-related identity can be shown by providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related identity or any other evidence that the gender-related identity is sincerely held, part of a person's core identity or not being asserted for an improper purpose.

Okay first thing to note: there is nothing about transitioning, full time, or anything else that limits the scope of the law. In other words the law applies to those who have transitioned, those who crossdress, those who are drag queens or kings, those who are gender queer, those who are non-binary, and it even applies to straight people.

So what happens if you want to crossdress in a LTC facility?

It seems clear to me that they have to let you crossdress.

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I am also on the State Department on Aging: Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) committee on inclusion and I want to make sure that all trans people are included in any policies or training that the committee develops.

Your Papers Please

I like flying but I don’t like flying when you're packed liked sardines and I don’t like having to go through the TSA screening.

Flying While Trans
The T.S.A. subjects transgender passengers like me to humiliating and dehumanizing treatment.
The New York Times
By Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
April 17, 2019

Flying while transgender — a term that increasingly includes not just those who are male or female but also those who identify as both or neither, like me — is undeniably improving. Last month, United Airlines expanded its gender options: Passengers can select male, female, undisclosed or unspecified, and can choose the honorific “Mx.” “Fly how you identify,” the airline touted in its feel-good tweet — and American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines quickly promised they’d make similar changes.

But it’s not actually possible to “fly as you identify” as long as the Transportation Security Administration screening process relies on the idea of binary gender. As the T.S.A.’s own guidelines state, “When you enter the imaging portal, the T.S.A. agent presses a button designating a gender (male/female) based on how you present yourself” — that is, how the agent perceives you as presenting yourself. This selection triggers expectations that guide the screening process. If, for example, an agent presses the pink “female” button for someone wearing boxers, an alarm will be triggered on the scanner, because loose fabric around the crotch of a female body is considered unexpectedly gender nonconforming. A compression shirt on the chest of someone for whom an agent presses the blue “male” button can do the same.
[…]
My cisgender friends did not know that T.S.A. agents judged their bodies and presentation every time they flew. They’ve never had to know. But among my gender-nonconforming and transgender friends, experiences like mine are common. In 2015, a survey of transgender passengers revealed that 43 percent had negative experiences with T.S.A. screening in the previous year.

As more states recognize a third gender will the TSA and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers will they recognize the state IDs?

Look what happened down in California to a trans girl.

9-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Detained for 32 Hours After Crossing the Border to Go to School
Time
By Suyin Haynes
 March 22, 2019

A 9-year-old U.S. citizen was accused of lying about her identity and was detained for more than 30 hours by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers when she tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this week, her family said.

Julia Isabel Amparo Medina was stopped on the routine journey from her home in Tijuana, Mexico to her school just over the border in San Ysidro, California, her mother Thelma Galaxia told local news outlet NBC 7 San Diego. Medina was being driven by a family friend, Michelle Cardenas, along with her 14-year-old brother and two other children.

Medina and her brother are both U.S. citizens with American passports.

But that wasn’t good enough for the CBP officers, they could figure out that she was trans for over a day.

After questioning, Medina was detained overnight and was only released and reunited with her mother roughly 32 hours later after CBP had verified her identification.

Why did they detain her?

A CBP spokesperson told TIME that Medina had provided “inconsistent information” during her inspection,” and that she was taken into custody “to perform due diligence in confirming her identity and citizenship.” The spokesperson added that, “It’s important that CBP officials positively confirm the identity of a child traveling without a parent or legal guardian. Some specifics of our techniques for determining the true identity of a person crossing the border are law enforcement sensitive information.”

Why did it take over a day for them to figure out she is trans?

This seems to me like blatant harassment and discrimination.

And you wonder why many trans people don’t like to travel.

This & That In The News

A couple of news articles caught my attention…

An article in the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank funded by the Koch brothers, reported that trans and gender non-binary people have been denied gun licenses.

The ATF Attempts to Deny Non-Binary and Trans Americans Guns
By Matthew Larosiere
January 14, 2019

At the end of January, someone at the National Shooting Sports Federation asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) about non-binary people purchasing firearms. The ATF responded that, despite gender non-binary licenses being acceptable identification, the individual must still select either “male” or “female” on the standard firearm transfer form 4473.

The ATF’s rigid, unreasoned response makes it clear there’s a huge disconnect between the purpose of the form, and the ATF’s interpretation. Form 4473, which everyone must fill out when they purchase a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, is intended to identify the purchaser of the firearm, have them confirm they are legally eligible to receive the firearm, and give enough identifying information to run a background check.

How can forcing a prospective gun owner to select “male” or “female” make any difference in identifying them when they have already provided a driver’s license, a home address, place of birth, full name, and even social security number? When a form has so much information, it’s clear that someone’s sex adds little to its ability to properly identify them. Even in the odd situation where completely filling out the form would still yield multiple results, the ATF offers the creation of Unique Personal Identification Numbers (UPIN’s). Still, even with all these avenues of precisely identifying a person, the ATF insists that dealers may not transfer a firearm to a purchaser who refuses to “check the box.”

It is strange that a libertarian think tank is taking the side of trans and gender non-binary causes but it fits their libertarian beliefs in having less government interference.

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Anti-LGBTQ+ violence is increasing all over the world as white supremacist increase their violence against us.

Homophobic arsonists torch HIV testing center in Athens
HIV testing is continuing in a mobile unit parked outside the torched building
Gaystar News
By Shannon Power
13 March 2019

The Greek government has condemned an arson attack on a LGBTI sexual health organization in Athens.

Unknown assailants set fire to the Athens headquarters of Checkpoint during the early hours of Monday morning. Located in the central and tourist area, Monastiraki, fire fighters were able to stop the fire spreading to the second floor and adjacent buildings.

The arsonists scaled the first floor balcony, ripping down the external Pride flag and throwing gasoline through the windows.

The Greek government and civic leaders spoke out against the violence.
‘The Rainbow flag will be waving again today in our structure as a political statement that human rights do not succumb to any fascist extortion.’

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Finally some good news!

Last week I testified for a bill to add a third option for gender on state IDs and forms, in my testimony I said that there were eleven states to have the third option well that has now changed.

Vermont Will Become 8th State to Green-Light Gender-Neutral IDs
Republican Gov. Phil Scott added that the new ID policy “is consistent with our Vermont values of inclusion and acceptance.”
The Advocate
By Nico Lang
March 14, 2019

Mark your calendars, Vermonters.

This week, the Green Mountain State announced it will begin issuing gender-neutral IDs and driver’s licenses to transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people this summer. Residents will soon be able choose between “M,” “F,” or “X” on their identification.

After announcing plans to roll out a third gender option last year, the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles finally confirmed the changes Wednesday.
[…]
The update will make Vermont one of at least eight states, along with Washington, D.C., that allow residents to print something other than “male” or “female” on their IDs. Others include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon. Earlier this week Vice President Mike Pence’s home state of Indiana became the latest to join the growing list.

There seems to be a disagreement over the number of states with a gender non-binary option, Vermont according to my count is the twelfth state with the option.

But also note that this is not a law in Vermont but a regulation by the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.

New Horizons… A Religious Sorority

We are being accepted in more and more places.

A Transgender Person is the New Leader of a Jewish Sorority in Ohio
Friendly Atheist Patheos
By Sarahbeth Caplin
January 12, 2019

In a milestone for both the transgender and Jewish communities, a religious sorority has named a trans woman as their president.

Elliot Draznin, who is nonbinary and uses the pronoun “they,” will lead Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, or SAEPi, at the University of Cincinnati.

Um… they are not a trans woman. They identify as non-binary!

“It was a lot of deciding that I believe in this mission, so even though I don’t identify as a woman, I’m going to stay in this gendered space to keep the idea of a Jewish space for women alive on the University of Cincinnati’s campus,” Draznin told JTA last week.

In August, SAEPi, which was founded in 1998 and has 23 chapters and colonies across the country, changed its policy to make it clear that transgender and gender nonconforming people are welcomed as members.

The decision was prompted both by Draznin and two other transgender individuals joining the sorority, as well as conversations happening around inclusion with other Greek organizations, according to executive director Chayla Furlong.

I know a lot of people are going to have a hard time coming to grips with this. The best answer is let them decide where they want to be sororities or fraternities it is their decision to make not ours.

The Spectrum

When I do training I talk about the gender spectrum or continuum, that gender is not a binary.

This is a few years old but I think at this time it is important to bring back again.

Challenging Gender Identity: Biologists Say Gender Expands Across A Spectrum, Rather Than Simply Boy And Girl
Medical Daily
By Samantha Olson
March 1, 2015

The sex designation of your brain and body may not be as black and white as scientists have believed it to be. Instead gender may fall somewhere on a gray scale. Scientists are trying to unravel the complex biological breakdowns of gender, and as they learn more, it’s becoming more apparent there aren’t just men and women among us. In a comprehensive breakdown published in the journal Nature, geneticists weigh in on the question of gender identity.

“The main problem with a strong dichotomy is that there are intermediate cases that push the limits and ask us to figure out exactly where the dividing line is between males and females,” biology sex expert Arthur Arnold at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Nature. “And that's often a very difficult problem, because sex can be defined a number of ways.”

The scientists discovered the XX and XY cells that differentiate between genders can actually behave in different ways. When scientists took a closer look, they found not all people have cells that contain the same set of genes. Instead, it’s more like a mosaic of different unevenly divided sex cells, which biologists have taken to calling “mosaicism.” Although it’s a rare condition that only affects about 1 in 15,000 people, it still leaves an unidentified population of society outside of the familiar dichotomy.

I think that this is something that intersex people know and most trans people know that there is more to gender than chromosomes.

When you think of gender as a spectrum then genderqueer and gender non-conforming makes more sense because they fall within the middle of the spectrum.

Because a human being cannot legally be labeled as anything but male or female in most countries, biologists believe it may be difficult to breach the matter. However, if societal acceptance can catch up with the science, sex on a spectrum may have a future in human history. Transgender and intersex advocates hope for a day when a person’s sex or gender are irrelevant in society’s parameters, albeit the skepticism of scientists such as Greenberg.

Since this was written more and more states and countries recognize gender non-conforming people. California just allowed an “X” to be used in place of a “M” or “F” on government documents.

It Is The Best We Can Do In English

The English language has many drawbacks and one of them is no gender neutral pronouns.

All Your Questions About Gender-Neutral Pronouns Answered
From grammar to what to do if you mess it up.
Teen Vogue
By Desmond Meagley and Youth Radio
October 17, 2018

People say the darnedest things about the singular “they.”

When I tell someone that my preferred pronouns are they/them/their, I never know what to expect. Sometimes people say okay and move on, but other times, they’ll start to ask a whole bunch of questions that I don’t really feel like answering. It’s usually well intentioned; I get that people are just trying to understand. But I do get tired of explaining the same things over and over.

So to save everyone (myself included) some time and confusion, I’ve rounded up some responses to the most common weird questions I get about my pronouns.

I use this video in my training…

“You’re only one person! How does that work?”It’s really, really simple. In English, we already use singular “they” all the time when the gender of a person is unknown. Say you see fifty bucks on the ground and pick it up. You might say:

“Oh, someone dropped their money here. I’ll set it aside for them, I bet they are looking everywhere!”

Using “he or she” and “his or hers” in this situation is awkward and clunky, so we use singular they instead. When someone uses they/them pronouns, all you have to do is apply that same sentence construction:

“Oh, Desmond dropped their money here. I’ll set it aside for them, I bet they are looking everywhere!”

Now if only I could get fifty bucks every time someone’s rude about my gender. No, I’m kidding. Let’s move on.

Okay I have to admit that sometime I have a problem with using they, them, and their.

“I try to use they/them pronouns when people ask, but it’s so hard! I keep messing it up.”
That’s okay! It happens to everyone. It takes time to adjust to new ways of speaking and thinking. Personally, I would much rather my friends and family mess up than give up entirely.

All I ask is for you to not make it my problem. Getting really apologetic or changing the subject to how difficult you find my pronouns won’t make me feel any more comfortable after I’ve been misgendered. Don’t tell me that you’re trying, show me. Try, and then if you get it wrong, correct yourself and move on.

Of course, there are people out there who will be harsh about good-faith mistakes. Sometimes it’s because they’re sensitized to being gendered a certain way. Other times, they’re just jerks. (Jerks come in all genders.) But in general, accidentally messing up pronouns is not the end of the world, as long as you’re holding yourself accountable.

If you think of gender as a spectrum or a continuum it is easier to see that there is a middle where someone may not identify as male or female.

They In The Dictionary

Non-binary and genderqueer people have a problem with the English language we don’t have any gender neutral pronouns.

Someone post this on Facebook…

It’s OK To Use “They” To Describe One Person: Here’s Why
Dictionary.com

Has someone ever asked you to refer to them as they instead of him or her? Are you hedging because you can’t possibly refer to one single person as they? What if we told you that they has been used to refer to just one person since at least the 1300s?

How can they be a pronoun for one person?
Elementary English teachers tend to go over the basic pronouns. Those are the words in the English language that can be subbed in when nouns (people, places, or things) aren’t up for playing … or when it just takes too much time to say the full noun form.

I, he, she, and you are all pronouns you might have learned along the way. Maybe you also learned that they were used to refer to singular nouns or words that describe just one person, one place, or one thing. “I am going to eat chocolate for breakfast.” is a sentence that you automatically know is just about you, the one person who is living their best life with a decadent daily treat.

But, you notice how we just used they when we were talking about a whole bunch of pronouns? They is often used as something called a plural pronoun, a word that’s used to describe multiple people, places, or things. They all read Dictionary.com, for example, would probably mean a bunch of really cool logophiles sat around on a Friday night looking for definitions together, right? (Hey, we tried).

But, they is not only a plural pronoun.

But get a load of this…

This chameleon word is also a singular pronoun, and it has been for centuries. Etymologists estimate that as far back as the 1300s, they has been used as a gender neutral pronoun, a word that was substituted in place of either he (a masculine singular pronoun) or she (a feminine singular pronoun).

So that got me thinking what does the Merriam-Webster dictionary have to say about “they?”

Can they, their, them, and themselves be used as singular pronouns?: Usage GuidePronoun, plural in construction

They, their, them, themselves: English lacks a common-gender third person singular pronoun that can be used to refer to indefinite pronouns (such as everyone, anyone, someone). Writers and speakers have supplied this lack by using the plural pronouns.  and every one to rest themselves betake  — William Shakespeare  I would have everybody marry if they can do it properly  — Jane Austen  it is too hideous for anyone in their senses to buy  — W. H. Auden The plural pronouns have also been put to use as pronouns of indefinite number to refer to singular nouns that stand for many persons.  'tis meet that some more audience than a mother, since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear the speech  — William Shakespeare  a person can't help their birth  — W. M. Thackeray  no man goes to battle to be killed. — But they do get killed  — G. B. Shaw The use of they, their, them, and themselves as pronouns of indefinite gender and indefinite number is well established in speech and writing, even in literary and formal contexts. This gives you the option of using the plural pronouns where you think they sound best, and of using the singular pronouns (such as he, she, he or she, and their inflected forms) where you think they sound best.

As Dictionary.com said…

So, next time someone asks you to use they in the singular, tell them you’re on board. The dictionary approves!

Shh…

There are sometimes when good news flies under the radar and we don’t hear about it until it is done, in this case being able to put an “X” for your gender on your driver license.

Arkansas — Yes, Arkansas — Quietly Begins Issuing Gender-Neutral IDs to Non-Binary People
Into
By: Kate Sosin and Nico Lang
October 16, 2018

An unlikely state has joined the wave of municipalities recognizing the identities of trans, non-binary, and intersex people: Arkansas.

At least two transgender people have been issued gender-neutral ID cards since the beginning of October. When Zach Miller saw that a friend, long-time trans organizer Beck Witt, successfully updated their state identification with an “X” marker on Oct. 8, Miller went down to the local DMV in Little Rock to do the same.

While the DMV representative was initially confused by the request, Miller described her as “receptive.”

“Hey, you learn new things every day,” the representative reportedly said when informed that Miller identifies as neither gender. In conversation with INTO, the nonbinary activist identified as “gendervoid” and requested that this story use neither male nor female pronouns when referring to Miller.

It was fantastic that they were able to do that but what is even more surprising was…

According to spokesperson Scott Hardin, that policy has been on the books for eight years. It was quietly rolled out in December 2010, when former Assistant Commissioner of Operations and Administration Mike Munns announced the change in an internal email shared with INTO.

“Our official policy is to allow a licensee to change their gender as requested, no questions asked, no documentation required,” he told staff. “Please see that this policy is followed.”
[…]
The change was implemented, however, without a formal announcement. The state of Arkansas has historically operated without a clear public policy as to changing gender markers on driver’s licenses and IDs.

Yeah, it has been on the books for eight years, but why the secrecy?

Having an ID that doesn’t have you true gender can be dangerous,

Miller remembered being pulled over a few years ago with a headlight out and presenting a female ID card.

“The police officer wasn’t especially aggressive, but then when I showed him my ID, he had a second officer come up,” Miller recalled. “He had his hand on his weapon. They accused me of having a fake ID. Then even when I told them that I was transgender, they became more aggressive. I was very concerned for my safety.”

But I have to wonder if having an “X” on your ID will create any problems, I hope that law officers will know what an “X” on your ID means.

Gender Queer In Court

How will a court deal with someone who identifies as non-binary?

Will they force them into the binary boxes?

Pronouns matter: SDNY judge opts for plurals in case with genderqueer plaintiff
Reuters
Alison Frankel
May 1, 2018

(Reuters) - I write often about whether judges should permit plaintiffs to litigate anonymously, so I knew I’d be interested in an April 27 decision by U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken of Manhattan in Doe v. Fedcap Rehabilitation. What I didn’t realize is that the judge’s use of pronouns would turn out to be as interesting – perhaps more interesting – than his analysis of Doe’s privacy rights.

The plaintiff suing Fedcap under the pseudonym Jaime Doe identifies as genderqueer. Doe claims to have experienced discrimination and retaliation based on sexual orientation and gender nonconformity after returning to work at FedCap following breast cancer and a double mastectomy. Doe’s lawyers at Phillips & Associates argued that their client’s already fragile emotional health would be further battered if Doe were required to litigate the case without a pseudonym.

Doe was allowed to file the complaint under a pseudonym, but Fedcap’s lawyers at Epstein Becker & Green subsequently contended that Doe had already revealed confidential information about gender nonconformity in public posts on Facebook and Twitter. Doe, who is no longer employed at Fedcap, was also featured, by name, in two New York Times articles disclosing some of the same sensitive information Doe’s lawyers sought to keep private. “Plaintiff was a ‘surprisingly eager’ participant in the New York Times articles that revealed to the general public the very alleged personal facts that Plaintiff now claims are highly sensitive and confidential,” the Fedcap brief said.

Judge Oetken agreed. The judge said he was sensitive to Doe’s concerns about public filings exposing intimate personal information that could lead to discrimination at Doe’s new job and even bullying of Doe’s school-aged children. But Doe was already identified in one of the Times stories as genderqueer, Judge Oetken said. A photo accompanying the story “specifically illustrated plaintiff’s non-conformance with gender norms,” he wrote. Balancing Doe’s “difficult and uncomfortable” exposure as a publicly-known plaintiff against Fedcap’s diminished leverage if Doe is allowed to litigate pseudonymously, the judge concluded that Doe must use their real name.

So a take-away from this is beware what you post online if you are planning on suing, it can and will be used against you!

Judge Oetken paid Doe the same respect and fairness in his opinion. The judge noted Doe’s preferred pronouns in the second paragraph of his opinion and used “they,” “them” and “their” in place of masculine or feminine pronouns throughout the body of the decision. I will admit, as a self-appointed member of the grammar police, that it was a bit jarring to read a judicial opinion employing plural pronouns to describe a singular plaintiff. (For example: “Plaintiff argues that defendants’ alleged discrimination left plaintiff emotionally scarred, and that outing them on the public record would compound that trauma,” or, “Plaintiff argues that genderqueer individuals suffer disproportionately from discrimination, and that, if outed, plaintiff would be at further risk of discrimination by employees at their new job.”) I bet it was jarring for Judge Oetken, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, to write an opinion that breaks old-school grammar rules. On the other hand, Judge Oetken is a convention-buster: When the U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment in 2011, he was the first openly gay man to become a federal judge.

So legal precedent has been set!

Let’s hope other judges follow through.

Seeing Is Believing

I want to believe he is turning over a new leaf, but his actions and words will be the true test that he has changed. In the past he has badly hurt the trans community and it will take a lot to heal the deep wounds.

RuPaul tweets 'regret' over controversial transgender comments: 'The trans community are heroes'
Entertainment
By Joey Nolfi
March 05, 2018

RuPaul has issued an apology for controversial statements he made about members of the transgender community.

“Each morning I pray to set aside everything I THINK I know, so I may have an open mind and a new experience,” the two-time Emmy-winning host of RuPaul’s Drag Race tweeted Monday, two days after the The Guardian published an interview with the LGBT icon in which he indicated he likely wouldn’t allow a post-operative transwoman to join the show’s cast. “I understand and regret the hurt I have caused. The trans community are heroes of our shared LGBTQ movement. You are my teachers.”

In the past he has named segments of the show "You've Got Shemail" or the game "Female or Shemale" where you try to identify the cisgender woman; he has far to go to show that he is culturally aware and it is going to take a long time to show me that he changed.

I do not hate drag queens, it is just not my “cup of tea,” I know many “drag queens” and I know many trans women who started off as drag queens, but Ru Paul has hurt many trans women by his comments, let his actions and words show that he has changed.

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Back in 2014 it wrote this…

Ru Paul
Okay, here is my two cents.

There is a lot of lateral hostility within our community… I’m transgender* you are not… I’m more transgender than you… and on and on.

There are many exclusionists in our community and they usually draw the line under them, drag queens are looked down on by crossdresser, transsexuals look down on crossdresser, post-op transsexuals look down at pre-op transsexuals, and those that can integrate into society look down at those who cannot and call them “men in a dress.” Some transgender people think I am not a “true” transsexual because I haven’t hocked my house to have surgery even though I have been living full time for almost seven years.

So why is this? Why do they want to separate themselves from other people they see as being below them?

The origins of lateral hostility have its roots in our internalized shame as we worked to overcome our own feeling of inadequacy; we transfer that guilt to other people that we see as being below us… I am not like “those” drag queens. We cannot attack those who oppress us so we distance ourselves from those that we see as being below us and oppress them. It is also caused by internalized homophobia/transphobia, our fear of being labeled as gay, transsexuals’ fear of being “just a crossdresser,” and post-op transsexuals who can integrate into society fear being seen as a transsexual.

Another part of the problem is the way the media looks at us. When the media covers a pride event what photos do you see in the newspaper or on TV? Usually it is the flamboyant drag queens or the six foot seven crossdresser, and not the trans-woman who is integrated into society.

We also lump together those that we feel as being below us. Ru Paul is one person, and he is not the “Drag Community” (even though he thinks he is). But we demonize the whole drag community because of him. I am a firm believer that you hate that what you don’t know; so here is a homework assignment for you this Pride month. Get to know a drag queen. That’s it nothing more.

*My definition of transgender is anyone who crosses the gender norm. That transgender is a spectrum from drag queens/kings to post op transsexuals.

A Lecture I Would Like To Hear

I go to lectures at my alma mater or to other venues from time to time and this is one lecture I would like to hear about trans monks.

ROLAND BETANCOURT LECTURES ON TRANSGENDER MONKS AND EUNUCHS OF THE BYZANTINE ERA
The Underground
By Isabella Langston
January 24, 2018

Roland Betancourt, assistant professor of art history at the University of California, Irvine, presented his lecture “Transgender Monks, Ethiopian Eunuchs: The Intersectionality of Gender and Race in Byzantium” as part of the Dickson Memorial Lecture Series. In it, he discussed transgender women and men during the fourth and ninth century in the Byzantine era.
[…]
Betancourt analyzed how the Byzantine era dealt with their own definitions of gender reassignment.

“The most surprising thing about this material is seeing, not just the question of transgender identity in terms of transitioning, but also in terms of nonconforming gender fluidity,” Betancourt said.

Wow! This just is amazing, in the third century they recognized gender non-conforming people… so much for people who claim that trans people is a modern phenomenon.

I have to see if he is lecturing anywhere around here in Connecticut.

Leading The Way

Oregon just became the first state to have a third option for gender on driver licenses, F, M, or X.

Oregon becomes first state to add gender-neutral option on driver’s licenses
PBS Newshour
By Corinne Segal
June 15, 2017

Oregon officials voted Thursday to add a gender-neutral option on state IDs, making it the first state in the country to recognize non-binary people on their driver’s licenses.

The unanimous decision by the Oregon Transportation Commission is the final step in a year-long process that began in June 2016, when Portland resident Jamie Shupe became the first legally non-binary person — identifying as neither male nor female — in the country.

The option, which will be available starting July 3, will make a difference for non-binary and transgender people for whom using an ID marked “M” or “F” is inaccurate or even dangerous, advocates say.

“I think this will make a real difference in people’s lives, and I think it is a great step for removing even more barriers,” said Amy Herzfeld-Copple, co-director of LGBTQ advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon.

As more and more people identify as non-binary I think this is a good option but I do have some reservations in how other states will deal with the Oregon license and as someone on the internet pointed out, how will states like North Carolina and Texas handle non-binary people? Will they face more discrimination?

So what do you think?

polls

Enforcing The Gender Norms

All of these anti-bathroom bills are trying to enforce the gender norms, anyone who does not fit into the them is suspect.

I’m Proof Bathroom Bills Are Not Just a Transgender Issue
Time
By Sally Kohn
May 9, 2016

I’m a lesbian and I fear public restroom confrontations

I hate using public restrooms. Airports and rest stops are my least favorite. I avoid locker rooms whenever possible. But really every restroom is bad. In fact, it happened to me just the other day in my fancy office building in New York City. I was at the sink, washing my hands, when a woman walked into the restroom and did a double take, first looking at me and then looking back at the sign on the still-open door of the restroom. Was she in the wrong place? Or, implicitly, was I?

I am a biological female who identifies as a woman. I am not, for any intents or purposes, transgender. But as a non-gender conforming butch lesbian, I have my own tiny window into our nation’s current political debate about bathrooms—the always looming fear that easily slips into shame, and the occasional outright harassment, all because I have to pee. And that’s from using the bathrooms that I “should” be using according to vicious anti-transgender bills sweeping the nation.
[…]
What these “bathroom bills” are actually about is enforcing traditional gender codes and norms in an increasingly diverse and shifting America. Single-sex restrooms just like single-sex dormitories have always been rooted in compulsory heteronormativity and the sense that we have to protect women from men who can’t expect to be reigned in. This still echoes today, as when an all-male elite club at Harvard University suggested that allowing women to join would increase the potential for sexual assault. And notice that no one seems to worry about pedophiles being forced to use the little boy’s room instead. The point is that girls need protecting

And femininity must be protected, too. Or even enforced. A video that recently went viral shows a woman being forcibly evicted from a restroom because she looks more masculine. Should women not only have to be born women to use the ladies room but wear skirts? Maybe have their hair a certain length and curled?

As I have said before these bills are nothing more than "bathroom purity" laws that seek to enforce the gender norms, anyone who falls outside of these norms are suspect.

Too Tall Women

For trans people being tall is a curse. They are always being “read” and have to put up with all the negative comments that go with it. Even trans people call them names. Gender dysphoria has no rules on who is bitten by it; nature doesn’t just limit gender dysphoria to those who can integrate into society.

But it is even worst to cis women who are tall.

Why being 6ft 2in tall makes it hard to be a woman
Jes Fernie has never fitted in to society’s idea of a typical female. Now her daughter’s height is shooting up, will she face the same problems?
The Guardian
 By Jes Fernie
Saturday 26 December 2015

As a 6ft 2in woman, I have been able to monitor, on a daily basis, the extent of society’s limited parameters of what it is to be female. Now that my daughter is fast approaching my height, I am looking at the situation anew, scratching around for any signs of progress. Will she be called “sir” with the regularity of a finely tuned clock? Will she be mistaken for a transvestite and nearly beaten up in a dark Manchester side street? Will she be offered sex in Soho (“Looking for a good time, mate?”) or be asked if she is a model (“A model what? A model citizen? Certainly not an aeroplane”). Will she have to cross to the other side of the road late at night when walking behind a woman who thinks she is a man? (The mental gymnastics!)
[…]
Every bit of social cueing pitched me as an aberration. Every film I had seen, every advertisement, every relationship I witnessed, taught me that the natural order of things is that a woman looks up to a man. This relation of small to tall is so elaborately enshrined in the minutiae of daily life that it is pretty hard to unravel. It sets up a pattern of well-honed oppositional binaries: protector/ protected, masculine/feminine, powerful/powerless. It dictates who we are attracted to, and how our fantasies are constructed. The archetypal photo of a male-female couple (his arm around her, her head nuzzled against his chest) speaks volumes about the strict code of behaviour expected of each sex.

Society does not like anyone who is outside of the gender norm; people can be cruel to them. Society tries to push us into those little boxes of male and female but at the same time nature is exploring ways to expand those boxes. For those who are born intersex trying to be crammed into those boxes starts the day they are born.

Ask yourself this question, why do they even have boxes on birth certificates. I know that some birth certificates record the footprint or hand print of the baby, doesn’t that make more sense than recording the gender of thee baby?

Gender Pronouns

Have you ever had pushback from stating your “preferred” pronouns?

Do You Exclude Transgender People?
Huffington Post Politics
By Andrew Royce Bauer
Posted: 11/28/2015

Sitting down in a room of strangers brought together for the very first time to discuss emerging topics such as sexuality and inclusion - I made the mistake of making too fast an assumption, committing an 'oops' before walking all the way through the door.

We began our meeting with introductions: 'name, organization representing, pronouns, and something unique about yourself,' said the moderator, a very popular trans womyn of color in the activist community. Each person present went down the list of items, but I noticed the careful attention some took to deliberately articulate their pronouns (he/him/his, they/them/their, she/her/hers, etc).

In that moment, I was affixed with being proven wrong. Obsessed with the way in which everyone's gender would be exposed to me. It was the first time I had come across a space where my gender was hyper visible, not only to those around me, but to myself.

When it came to be my turn, I blurted out my name, my human rights organizer status, and how I run my business ROYCE as a special talent. Immediately I turned to look over to the next person to signal I had finished. Staring at them staring at me, I realized my introduction was incomplete. Upon making this realization, I blurted out, 'he/him?' and looked again to my neighbor to distract from the hyperfocus on my body.

If there was one takeaway I learned from my introduction to gender, privilege means not having to think about it. I am rarely challenged to wear my gender, although I perform it in every situation whether sitting amongst friends or those I have never met.

It is an interesting way to put it, “privilege means not having to think about it” but it is true. For many cisgender (Cisgender means identifying with your birth gender) people pronouns are obvious. If your gender presentation matches your gender identity pronouns come naturally but for some people they are more androgynous and their gender identity is not obvious.

A couple of weeks ago we were giving a training seminar for homeless shelters staff and 211 operators and we had one woman who very strongly pushed back on having to state her gender. We used that as a learning moment to help everyone understand what it is like to have your gender questioned.

We use gender specific words all the time and I question why.

When we call up customer service why do they say “Thank you sir” or “Thank you ma’am” when they are talking to you and they don’t know your gender and all they hear is your voice? Why can’t they just say “Thank you” and leave off the sir or ma’am.

The Umbrella

When I do training I have a slide at the beginning of the section on definitions, it says…

• Every culture has their own language 
• Definitions evolve
• Words can have different means to different people
• Some people are very passionate about labels
• Some of the more common definitions (At least for today) are…

And one of those words that are evolving is the word “Transgender” back when I was coming out it was an umbrella term that covered anyone who cross the gender norms.

Trans* Women Are Not Freakshows and Drag Queens: The Problem With the Transgender Umbrella
Huffington Gay Voices
By Nikki Araguz Loyd
Posted: 11/24/2015

Over the last couple decades, societally, the term "transgender" has become an umbrella term, joining all transsexual, intersex, transvestite, cross-dressers, non-binary people and others who either identify as either male and female, or neither male or female into one category of human. While in most cases, I have found myself relating to my "lumped together" counter-parts, there seems to be a movement amongst some "transgender" identified individuals that I don't agree with, the "bearded lady" movement, and it makes me increasingly frustrated at the appropriation of our community by individuals who seek to push the boundaries of societies gender roles while positioning themselves as victims of it. Sometimes, it reminds me of the kids in high school that would change their preferences based on what was "cool" at the moment. I guess, right now, trans is cool.
[…]
Just because I am transgender, it doesn't mean that I am required to completely disregard society's gender role norms, including choosing to not shave and become the "bearded lady." In fact, I actually like stereotypical gender roles; my first dream was to be a mom and a housewife.

It's sad that in our individual assertion of our right to choose the gender we most identify with, some far left-wing, anti-binary activists insist that we must also then ignore all socially accepted gender identities and if we don't, we then are considered racist or privileged. I guess I could say, that by my following societies gender norms, it has afforded me acceptance. Which is one of the reasons why my organization, Transgender National Alliance, is the only organization that provides financial support for life changing name and gender marker changes as well as medical procedures, helping others to achieve their own personal goals. Sometimes, people choose to live a "non-binary," "androgynous" and even "cross-dresser" existence because they are afraid to transition or they think they can't "pass" as their chosen gender, and our organization exists to knock down those obstacles inspiring others to fearlessly walk in their truth.

When I have talked to children and young adults, they are more fluid in their gender. It seems to me that the old we are the more rigid we are to the binary. I believe as I mentioned before that “Transgender” does cover drag queens and kings, it does cover crossdressers, it covers all those who are outside of the gender norms.

There are many trans people who do not blend into society and there are some who do not want to integrate into society.

She ends the article with,

In the end, being transgender does not mean I dislike binary roles, and liking binary roles doesn't mean I dislike non-binary people. But the bottom line is intersexed people, crossdressers, drag kings and queens, transsexuals (non/pre/post), effeminate men, masculine women, questioning and gender queer individuals should view each other through the eyes of equality in that we are all a part of the same community and none of us are better than, more authentic than and/or more legitimate than any other type of trans person.

I have written in the past about lateral hostility (here, here, and here) we cannot let it tear us apart. We cannot have "them vs. us." We should push aside our biases and embrace all who cross the gender norms.

When No Gender Fits

There are a large number of people who identify as genderqueer or genderfluid, they do not want to be pinned down to a gender but want to either be able to flow between genders or by androgynous.

When no gender fits: A quest to be seen as just a person
Washington Post
By Monica Hesse
September 20

Kelsey’s gender identity is “non-binary.” Or, “agender.” It’s what Kelsey feels comfortable with, even though the world keeps insisting, in a million little ways, that Kelsey has to choose. Like the OkCupid profile some friends are always suggesting Kelsey create online. When Kelsey looked at the matchmaking site’s opening screen, it presented an immediate problem: “I am a [male/female].”

Which box do you check when you don’t belong in any box? How do you navigate the world when the world is built on identifying with one group or another group, male or female, and the place that feels most right to you is neither?
[…]
For Kelsey, identifying as agender wasn’t an immediate realization but a gradual awakening, a recognition that what applied to other girls didn’t seem to apply to Kelsey. People would say Kelsey was pretty, and it made Kelsey squirm — not because Kelsey felt unattractive but because other people’s definitions of pretty, or handsome for that matter, didn’t work. Dresses and makeup only made Kelsey feel uglier, but boy clothes weren’t right either. It wasn’t about being a tomboy. It wasn’t a personality trait. It wasn’t even about the clothes, although those were an immediate shorthand for Kelsey’s discomfort. It was something different and deeper.

The first thing that is asked when a baby is born is whether it is a boy or girl. From that day forward that label puts them in a box with certain expectations and some people don’t want to be put in a box, they don’t want to be tied down to life goals that is tied to what is between their legs.

What is wrong with wanting to live in a non-gendered world where people see you as a person and not as a male or female?