Before You Read This…

Make sure you have taken your blood pressure and heart meds.

This story about a trans girl is making my blood boil! It is something out of the fifties and not the 21^st century.

Is Christian-run hospital forcing this 5-year-old transgender girl to be a boy?
LGBTQ Nation
By Dawn Ennis
March 5, 2017

A Facebook post from the mom of a transgender girl has gone viral, as concerned friends and advocates plead for help for a family in Illinois. Kathy Blazer-Williams wrote that a five-year-old trans girl named Stevie, with a host of medical issues, is not only being kept from her parents by a faith-based hospital, but is being forced to live as a male, the sex she was assigned at birth.

A lawyer representing the family told LGBTQ Nation this all started last month, with the parents trying to get medical help for their daughter, who has type 1 diabetes and epilepsy. Although they agreed to something called a “therapeutic separation,” the attorney confirmed the parents never signed any documents surrendering their parental rights or authorizing any treatment of her gender identity, and in fact have attempted to have her moved to another hospital.

And it gets worst!

But last week, the Illinois Department of Children and Families reversed an earlier decision to not get involved. DCFS took protective custody of Stevie on Monday, according to the family’s attorney, Rina Infelise. She told LGBTQ Nation in a phone interview Sunday evening that this kind of move requires a legal hearing, and so both the parents and DCFS are due in court this week to face a judge, who will decide Stevie’s fate.

Here in Connecticut we are trying to pass a bill banning Conversion Therapy but in this case it is the state that is doing the therapy to make her cisgender.

The Illinois Department of Children and Families is now forcing conversion therapy on the child, conversion therapy has been denounced by all of the major healthcare professional associations as being harmful on the child. If I hear anything new about the hearing that is schedule for this week I’ll pass it along to you.

And what gets me is that our so called lesbians and gay allies are on the state’s side saying that the child is too young to know her gender! Their comments shows their totally lack of knowledge about gender dysphoria.

Grrr…

Allies

At many of the meetings that I attend some of our allies at those meeting are Muslim and conservative Jewish groups. Every year CTAC gets a donation from a Jewish group. At hearings for LGBT human rights legislation we have a number of Christians religions write testimony for our bills.

Jews and Muslims defend trans rights
Pink News UK
By Nick Duffy
3rd March 2017

A number of US Jewish and Muslim faith leaders have joined a legal brief defending anti-discrimination protections for transgender kids.

The Supreme Court is set to hear the case of Virginian trans teen Gavin Grimm, whose school ordered him to use a toilet that correspond with his “biological gender”.
[…]
Ahead of the case, a legal brief has been filed on behalf of a number of faith groups defending LGBT rights.

A total of 1800 faith leaders and a string of religious groups joined the brief, including from both Muslim and conservative Jewish groups. Their brief attacks any ‘religious freedom’ justification for allowing discrimination,

In their statement, Muslims for Progressive Values profess a “belief in transgender equality as rooted in our understanding of our faith and the values at the heart of Islam, embodied in the commandment in the Holy Qur’an 5:8 to pursue justice”, interpreting the Qur’an as “having no concept of assigned gender roles, gender-based behavior, or separation of the sexes, deeming any discrimination on such bases as cultural and not to be given any divine mandate”.

The Jewish Theological Seminary, also a signatory, added: “JTS is compelled to act in the face of state and federal actions which undermine the Jewish principle of human dignity (kevod haberiyot) as it relates to our LGBTQ students, teachers, family members, neighbors, and all those targeted in the larger community.

“We are chagrined to find that the rights and security of [trans people] are newly under attack from the very government entities and institutions to which we are all entitled to look for protection.

“We are particularly distressed that the White House and Department of Justice have reversed existing government positions that provided protections to members of the LGBTQ community, in spite of President Trump’s earlier statements supporting LGBTQ rights.

It goes on to say…

“A Justice Department that fails to advocate on behalf of vulnerable minorities subject to discrimination and even violence forfeits the right to be known by that name.”

They added: “Laws such as the one at issue in the Supreme Court case have the effect, if not the purpose, of publicly humiliating transgender students by refusing them access to facilities consistent with their gender identities, and singling them out for discriminatory treatment in full view of their fellow students. As members of the Jewish community, our hearts bleed with theirs from such humiliation.”

Don’t paint the religions with a broad brush there are many that support us. I remember sitting in the hearing room where our non-discrimination bill was being heard and an Episcopal bishop was saying that God loves all his children including trans children and they need the protection of the law.

It is the vocal religious haters, who get all the press coverage. They create controversy that sells ads, a quite mannered Bishop just doesn’t sell papers like someone preaching fire and brimstone against us.

My Second Home

All the New England states but one has protections for us, and now that state is looking to pass a bill protecting us.

Emotional testimony on both sides of gender identity bill
Union Leader
By Dave Slomon
February 21. 2017

CONCORD — For the Rev. Jay McLeod, pastor at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New London, passage of civil rights protections for transgendered individuals in New Hampshire will mean his 12-year-old niece, born a boy, can grow up feeling safe.

“She’s happy to finally be herself and to cease having to pretend that she is a boy,” he told members of the House Health and Human Services Committee, as he testified Tuesday on behalf of HB 478, which would add gender identity to the state’s civil rights statute.

And of course you are going to have so testimony like this,

But for Beth Scaer of Nashua, HB 478 would create new threats in restrooms and locker rooms, where predators claiming to identify as women could stalk young victims.

But then you have  a legislator who says,

The comment prompted state Rep. Jerry Knirk, D-Freedom, to reply, “These bills always turn into bathroom bills.” Knirk held up his cell phone with a photo of transgendered female actress Laverne Cox, nominated for an Emmy for her role in the Netflix hit “Orange is the New Black.”

“You’d feel happier if she walked into the men’s room rather than the women’s room?” he asked.

In 2009 the last time they tried to pass a trans bill it failed miserably but this time it looks like they have done their homework and there is a good chance that it will pass.

Here is a video of the NH Chiefs of Police Association spokesman testifying for the bill.

I Think I Was The Only One Watching

Special Saturday Afternoon Edition!

The ratings were horrible, right at the bottom of the shows but I thought it was a good mini-series. I’m talking about the ABC show “When We Rise.” I saw the movie “Milk” and a lot of the characters from that were on the mini-series but the series started before they met Harvey Milk and ended on the steps of the Supreme Court.

I started watching it to see if there were any trans character in the miniseries but I got hooked on it, and yes there were a couple of trans characters in it. The first scenes were of a bar owned by a trans woman and then they had a number of other trans characters in the series.

The Buzzfeed says there were four minor trans characters in the series, but all were played by trans actors…

For the four trans roles in When We Rise, Black told the casting directors that they needed to hire trans actors. They recommended Ivory Aquino for Cecilia Chung, a main character, and sent her tape along to Black. “I got a little angry with them,” Black said. “I said, ‘I want to cast trans — go work harder, go find a trans actress.’ They said, ‘Ivory’s going to be calling you.’ She came out to me on the phone as trans.” Casting trans performers in trans roles has been a seemingly impossible task for Hollywood, from The Danish Girl to Transparent to Dallas Buyers Club. But that was not the case for When We Rise, Black said. “The big surprise was: It’s easy.”

Gomag reported that,

Cecilia Chung, played by out transgender actress Ivory Aquino, has spent much of her adult life working to advocate for those living with HIV. Though she was at first estranged from her family when she came out as trans, Chung later found reconciliation with her mother, which you’ll see happen in the ABC series. Chung is now a pivotal staff member at the Transgender Law Clinic, which is a continuation of her career in taking a stance for the LGBTQ community. In 2001 Chung became the first Asian and first transgender woman elected to San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee Board President. She has paved the way for many as the first person living openly with HIV to Chair the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Chung continues to make positive strides for the trans community.

Bobbie Jean Baker (Jazzmun) left Memphis, Tennessee for San Francisco in 1992. Baker became a pivotal leader in the trans community with her varied work as a peer advocate, case manager, domestic violence specialist and housing manager. Much of this work was done through her role as lay minister at Transcending Transgender Ministries. Baker was an ordained minister through the City Refuge United Church of Christ and served as the West Coast Regional TransSaints Minister of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. She was also well known for her role in the Transcendence Gospel Choir, an all-transgender singing group of which she was a part of for more than a decade.

After her untimely death in 2014, Tiffany Woods of the Tri-City Health Center in Fremont, California, told the San Jose Mercury News, “It’s a big community loss. She was huge in the African-American transgender community and the community at large. She was grooming the younger generation and mentoring them. Part of the work we are all doing is mentoring and teaching and training as much as we can.”

Since the focus of the series was marriage equality I expected to have any trans characters in minor roles but I was curious to see if there were going to be trans characters and I was delighted to see that there were some and the fact that they were all played by trans people was a welcome bonus.

Overall I thought it was an excellent miniseries but I knew the ratings would be low. Most people just don’t want LGBT shows; case in point is Doubt the short run show with Laverne Cox. But I think those who watched the enjoyed from the comments that I saw on Facebook.

My involvement in the LGBT movement didn’t start until the fall of  2006 and took off during the 2007 legislative season. I went around to the trans groups talking about the non-discrimination bills, a couple of times I went with Love Makes A Family people to talk after their marriage about our bill was passed about the future of LMF. Two times stand out, they both were after the marriage bill was signed into law by Governor Malloy, once I went down to New London to with Anne, Matt, and Gannon, and I remember the ride back talking politics and I thought I was way out of my league.

From the UConn School of Law
Town Hall Meeting

We did another town hall meeting that was at UConn School of Law and after I talked a lesbian couple came up to me and said that I persuaded them to continue supporting LMF. I remember going to the celebration about the signing of the law, the afternoon of the celebration I asked Gannon what to wear and she chuckled and said anything you want. I saw what she meant that night women were dressed everything from dresses to jeans and flannel shirts.

Matt is down in New York and is working at an AIDS foundation and Gannon is up in Boston. I am still friends with the former Director of LMF and I am working with her to pass the bill banning Conversion Therapy and worked with her on the Birth Certificate law that passed in 2015.

Saturday 9: Magic

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Magic (1980)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This 1980 video depicts Olivia Newton-John as a performer in small club. For the past few years, she's been performing regularly at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. Have you ever been to Las Vegas?
Nope and I have no desire to go to Las Vegas.

2) Many tourists who want to get away from the glitz of Vegas travel less than 20 miles to visit Red Rock Canyon. This national park is known for its hiking trails, which provide a view of the desert flora and red rock peaks. Tell us about a time you were impressed by natural beauty.
Probably the last time I saw a sunset. How can you not be impressed?

3) One of the best-reviewed restaurants in Las Vegas is Andiamo Italian Steak House. When you order a steak, how do you request it be cooked: rare, medium rare, medium, medium well or well done?
Medium.

4) Olivia Newton-John's father was an officer in MI5, the UK's secret service. Sam's most recent encounter with the law didn't have much drama or intrigue: she asked a cop for directions to the highway. Tell us about the last time you spoke to an officer of the law.
Um… it was when I called 911, I received an email that the person sounded like they were going to take their life. It turned out that they were depressed but not suicidal.

5) ONJ was awarded the OBE -- Order of the British Empire -- by Queen Elizabeth in honor of her contributions to the arts. Here's your opportunity to boast. What is something you've done lately that you received praise for?
Wednesday when I  did a training for a healthcare clinic.

6) A breast cancer survivor, Olivia helped found a cancer center in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. When you think of Australia, what comes to mind?
That they are heading for their fall while we are entering spring.

7) "Magic" was one of the top-selling records of 1980. Also that year, Post-It notes debuted. Do you enjoy shopping for office supplies, or do you consider it a chore?
It is a chore, something that has to be done.
I’ll tell you something that is a chore… on my laptop the space barissticky.

8) In 1980, the NASA space probe returned the first photos of Saturn back to earth. Do you believe intelligent life forms from other planets are trying to learn more about us?
The odds are in favor of life on other planets.

9) Random question: Are you more confident in your looks or your intelligence?
My intelligence. I am diffidently not a beauty queen, I like to say when I’m giving training that if you can’t tell that I’m trans get glasses and a hearing aide.

I am heading down to the shore today with my camera so I will not get to approve of your comments until I get home in the afternoon.

Updated: the photo trip was cancelled... it is 25F with a 20 mph wind. Brrr....

They Have Our Back… (Part 2)

With the Grimm’s Supreme Court case coming down to the wire the amicus curiae "friend of the court" briefs are coming in and some of them from a surprising source.

Salt Lake leaders file brief supporting transgender bathroom access
Position runs counter to brief filed by Utah and LDS Church
Deseret News
By McKenzie Romero
Published: March 2, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City leaders joined 31 other cities, counties and mayors Thursday in a "friend of the court" brief to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that transgender students should be able to choose which use bathrooms they use at school.

The amicus brief runs counter to those signed in January by faith leaders, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and state attorneys general, including Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski reiterated the city's committment to protecting LGBT rights and defending "principles of equality" in a prepared statement Thursday.

"This is no longer an issue of states' rights, it's an issue of equality and education," Biskupski said. "We should be focusing on helping our kids access books and not trying to control where they go to the bathroom."

The Salt Lake City School District currently has a gender nondiscrimination policy in place, which includes gender identity, according to the mayor's office.

The brief was filed in the case of Gavin Grim, a 17-year-old transgender boy in Virginia, who is challenging a policy from the Gloucester County School Board ordering him to use a single-stall restroom rather than the boys' restrooms at school. Gavin was born female but identifies as male.

And then there are corporations that back him.

Silicon Valley backs transgender rights in Supreme Court case
More than half the 53 companies that signed a brief supporting Gavin Grimm's case are from the tech industry.
CNET
By Erin Carson
March 2, 2017

Tech is throwing its support behind transgender rights in connection with an upcoming US Supreme Court case.

The Human Rights Campaign said Thursday that 53 companies signed an amicus brief in support of Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy from Virginia, who sued his school board in Gloucester County over the right to use the bathroom that aligns with his gender identity. More than half the companies that signed the brief are tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, eBay, IBM, Intel, Twitter and Yahoo.

"Across the country, corporate leaders are speaking out because they know attacking transgender youth isn't just shameful -- it also puts the families of their employees and customers at risk," said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, in a statement.

Chipmaker Intel wrote a blog post in addition to signing the brief, saying, "Intel signed this amicus brief to stand with our LGBTQ colleagues, customers, communities, suppliers and partners, and we firmly believe that equality for LGBTQ individuals is a civil right."

And then there was this amicus curiae from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund that was signed by 101 trans individuals including Ms. Jennifer Finney Boylan, Dr. Paisley Currah, Ms. Laverne Cox, Ms. Caitlyn Jenner, Dr. Jamison Green PhD, Mr. Diego Miguel Sanchez APR, Ms. Melissa Sklarz, and the Wachowski Lana and Lilly, and Dr. Jillian T. Weiss. These are just some of the names that I recognized on the amicus curiae.

Of course the negative amicus curiae briefs are also coming in, some of them are;

• Brief amici curiae of Religious Colleges, Schools and Educators filed
• Brief amici curiae of Christian Educators Association International, et al. filed.
• Brief amici curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation, et al. filed. (They are the ones who sued California over same-sex marriage)
• Brief amicus curiae of Safe Spaces for Women in support of neither party filed.
• Brief amici curiae of National Organization for Marriage and Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence filed.
• Brief amicus curiae of Women's Liberation Front filed

So the battle lines are drawn.

And if we win in court my prediction is you will see legislation introduced in Congress to strip us of our protections.

They Have Our Back… Really?

With the Republican controlled Congress I don’t expect much in the way of help coming form it.

As Trump Attacks, Members of Congress Tell Transgender People: ‘We Are With You’
The heightened advocacy on Capitol Hill comes as the Trump administration ditched protections for transgender students under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding.
Rewire
By Christine Grimaldi
March 2, 2017

Members of the U.S. Congress have a message for transgender people: We have your back amid escalating state-sanctioned discrimination.

“No matter the opposition, no matter the setbacks, no matter who occupies the Oval Office, we see you, we hear you, and we are with you,” Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) said during Thursday’s relaunch of the Transgender Equality Task Force, an initiative of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.

The caucus first created the task force in 2015 as a resource for lawmakers to learn about transgender issues, caucus executive director Roddy Flynn said in a phone interview. Through the task force and another on LGBTQ aging, the caucus provides “a ready-to-go force (not only) to respond to attacks, but also to design ways to advocate and ways to get out in front of issues.”

So are there any Republicans?

Democrats compose almost the entire 103-member Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, along with two Florida Republicans, Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Ros-Lehtinen is a vocal advocate for transgender rights, often speaking out with her transgender son.

The caucus has filed a brief for the Grimm’s Supreme Court case,

 The full Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus is spearheading a bicameral amicus brief on behalf of Grimm to the Supreme Court, said Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), the first openly gay parent in Congress. The brief included support from 156 representatives and 40 senators, according to a news release from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), who partnered with openly gay Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to collect signatures in the Senate.

Maybe they might be able to block any anti-LGBT bills from coming out of Congress.

Where We Get Our Hormones

Here in Connecticut and other places around the country one of the sources of Cross Gender Hormones for low income trans people is Planned Parenthood.

How defunding Planned Parenthood could wipe out transgender healthcare
For many transgender people, finding local clinics that provide medical services without bias can be near impossible, leaving thousands without basic careThe Guardian
By Molly Redden
March 2, 2017

Calvin Kasulke was living with his parents when he came out to them as a transgender man. All of a sudden, he recalled gingerly, “I was disinvited from living at home.”

He needed a new place to stay. And Ithaca, New York, where he had gone to college, was the obvious choice. He would have friends there, he figured, and a place to live.

“And also,” he said, “Planned Parenthood was there.”

Healthcare without Planned Parenthood: Wisconsin and Texas point to dark future

Unbeknown to many, Planned Parenthood is one of the largest sources in the US of transgender healthcare. The embattled provider offers hormone replacement therapy, which helps a person’s body appear more masculine or feminine, at dozens of its locations, and a growing share of its staff are trained to perform routine sexual health exams for trans patients.

“They are one of the most important providers of trans healthcare in the country,” said Harper Jean Tobin, the director of policy for the National Center for Transgender Equality, adding that their clinics are some of the few transgender healthcare providers located outside major cities. “Many of their clinics are the only places for miles around that trans people can go to for hormone therapy, HIV tests, and pap smears, and not face discrimination.”

They also provide healthcare that is “trans friendly” many trans people fear going to a healthcare provider because they are afraid of how they will be treated by the medical and office staff.

Planned Parenthood in recent years has sought to address that problem. And it has made its clinics a magnet for thousands with few other options. Starting with Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, in upstate New York, a growing number of its health centers have become places where trans people can begin to transition medically, as well as get basic reproductive services. Its centers use a newer model for gender transitioning that gives the patient input on whether to start their transition, rather than turning the decision over entirely to a psychiatrist. Some clinics have staff with detailed knowledge of how to update driver’s licenses, passports and social security cards to reflect someone’s name and gender.
[…]
Dinah says the care she has received at Planned Parenthood has been lifesaving. Recently, she worked up the courage to schedule her first physical in years. It was her first such exam since her transition, and during the breast cancer screening, she began to cry.

“It’s another thing that makes it real,” she said. “It meant that I’m a woman and I have to be treated like one.”

Sadly I don’t see any hope for us. With the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act that mandated healthcare coverage for us and the defunding of Planned Parenthood finding healthcare for us is going to get a lot, lot harder.

A Sad Week

The level of hate crimes have been ratcheting up and it has taken a toll on us with more trans women being killed this year, it sadly looks like it will be a record breaking year for us.

Four Transgender Murders in a Week "Alarming Trend"
SPLC
By Bill Morlin
March 1, 2017

In the past week, four transgender black women have been murdered in the United States — a trend that’s alarming civil rights and anti-violence advocates.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project, which tracks transgender crimes, says there have been seven murders of transgender people so far this year, well above the corresponding number last year.

The Anti-Violence Project documented the homicides of 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2016, the highest ever recorded by the coalition.

“As we face an administration which devalues the safety and rights of transgender people and people of color, we must work tirelessly to support transgender friends, family, and community members,” NCAVP manager Emily Waters said in a statement.

Three of the most-recent homicides occurred in Louisiana, two in New Orleans.
[…]
Because Ciara McElveen and Chyna Doll Dupree were killed in Louisiana, a state with hate crime laws that do not offer protections for gender identity, it is unlikely the charge will be pursued without federal support for the investigation. Keke Collier’s murder is the only one of the six carried out in a state with hate crime laws that protect transgender people.

In previous years, those not covered by state hate crimes laws could have placed some hope in the federal government under the Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Developed in the wake of the brutal 1998 murders of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man from Wyoming, and James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old African-African man, the act was used to prosecute an anti-transgender hate crime for the first time in 2016.

Let’s see if Attorney General Sessions will enforce the law.

Somehow I don’t think he will, I think that we will be left out in the cold.

Even In This Climate We Are Still Winning.

In the Trump era of hate and bigotry against us we are still winning battles in court.

Federal Court: Pennsylvania School Can’t Block Transgender Student Bathroom Access
Rewire
By Jessica Mason Pieklo
February 28, 2017

The ruling blocks a decision by a suburban school district and mandates transgender students have access to bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

A federal court on Monday ruled in favor of three transgender high school students and ordered their Pennsylvania school district allow them access to restrooms aligning with their gender identity.

Attorneys from Lambda Legal in October 2016 filed a lawsuit on behalf of three students at Pine-Richland High School in suburban Pittsburgh. Attorneys filed the lawsuit after the Pine-Richland School Board voted to reverse the district’s longstanding practice of allowing students access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The change was in response to pressure from anti-LGBTQ groups that claimed the policy put students at risk.

These claims were advanced despite no evidence of any issues with the district’s bathroom access policy, as noted by the court in its opinion. The policy at issue in the lawsuit mandates transgender students use either single-user bathrooms or bathrooms labeled as matching their assigned sex.

The district’s change in policy violates both the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, according to the allegations in the complaint. Attorneys for the school district deny these claims and argue the change in policy was both reasonable and consistent with Title IX.

You might recognize one of the plaintiffs in the case, Philly Voice wrote…

PITTSBURGH — A federal judge on Monday ruled that three transgender students at a Pennsylvania high school, including the sister of a singer who performed at President Donald Trump's inauguration, can use bathrooms that correspond to their stated gender identities while their lawsuit challenging the school district's policy continues.

The article goes on to say that,

Officials said at least one parent had complained on behalf of students uncomfortable with sharing restrooms with students who have different genitalia. So pending research on a formal, permanent policy, students were told to use restrooms that corresponded to their anatomical or biological sex, or one of the 10 unisex restrooms scattered throughout the school.

Ah yes, the old being uncomfortable, it was used to justify segregation… I am uncomfortable having a black man in the bathroom with young white boys. Or I am uncomfortable having a gay man in the bathroom with young white boys. Being uncomfortable is not grounds for discrimination.

Then we have,

Board members said there was concern that a student "would in essence masquerade as being transgender," using a restroom inconsistent with their assigned sex, Hornak wrote.

This is another “Ah yes” since the first gender inclusive non-discrimination law was passed in 1975 this has never happened!

It is going to be interesting to see how the Gavin Grimm’s case comes out in the Supreme Court.

How Many Times…

…Have you read a comment that says gender is determined by our chromosomes, if you are XY you have a penis or if you are XX have a vagina. Well they are totally wrong! There are so many other determines gender.

And now they found another thing that determines gender. I just came across this research paper,

A case report of an XX male with complete masculinization but absence of the SRY gene *
Middle East Fertility Society
By Ghalia Abou Alchamata, Marwan Alhlabib, Muhyiddin Issaa
Received 16 November 2009, Accepted 14 December 2009

Abstract

A 34-year old man with complete masculinization and a history of several years of infertility was referred to us for genetic reviewing. His semen analysis showed azoospermia. Conventional chromosomal analysis indicates a 46,XX karyotype, molecular analyses excluded the presence of SRY (the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome) gene. This case is one of the rare cases reported in the literature in whom testicular differentiation and complete virilization were found in a 46,XX chromosomal constitution, with the absence of SRY gene. This finding suggests that other genes downstream from SRY play an important role in sex determination. Through reporting this rare case and reviewing previous literatures, the aim of this report is to highlight the value of genetically screening all males with azoospermia who present for evaluation of infertility, since the phenotype does not always correlate with the genotype.
[…]
4. Discussion

XX male syndrome is a rare syndrome usually occurs as a sporadic event with a frequency of approximately 1/20,000–1/25,000 individuals. The vast majority, about 90%, has SRY detectable in their cells, the remaining 10% are SRY negative (8), although some research suggest a higher figure that reaches up to 20% of the cases (9). The cause of XX male negative for SRY gene is not known. It is well recognized that the presence of the SRY gene determines the sex in mammals by way of directing the sex determination pathway towards male development (10) but the existence of SRY-negative males ruled out the prevailing notion that the mere presence of SRY determines maleness (7), and the development of the testis and normal male genitals in a significant number of SRY-negative 46,XX males gives clue to the existence of other autosomal or X-linked genes in the sex-determining pathway (11). The etiology of development of male phenotype in most of the SRY-negative 46,XX males remains unexplained, researchers 12 and 13 suggested the presence of other mutations (autosomal or X-linked) which could be responsible for testicular determination in the absence of Y sequences. SOX9 and DAX1 genes have recently been proposed to function downstream to SRY gene in male sex determination pathway (14). The reporting of a Mexican family in which two siblings without genital ambiguities were SRY negative (4), suggested that an inherited loss of function mutation in a gene participating in the sex-determining cascade could induce normal male sexual differentiation in the absence of SRY gene. Another possibility for the etiology of maleness in these cases is a downstream gene on the X chromosome in which expression is influenced by X inactivation (15). Lastly, it has been postulated that the sex reversal in these patients is due to a defect on a yet unidentified autosomal or X-linked sex-determining gene (16). If the gene is autosomal, the degree of the male phenotype will be dependent on the extent of the loss or gain of function in the mutant gene. The phenotype in the heterozygotic mutants for X-linked gene will be determined by the ratio of the active and inactive copies of the gene (8). But until date, no clear explanations have been reached. Comprehensive genetic analysis of similar cases may help to detect new gene(s) involved in the sex-determining pathway.

This case is one of the rare cases we examined amongst the 262 patients, who came to our laboratory for genetic reviewing, this SRY-negative XX male have fully mature normal male genitalia with infertility as the main complaint. Cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic analysis showed only 46,XX cell populations without any numerical or structural chromosomal aberrations. Molecular study was negative for SRY gene and other Y-chromosome sequences. We conclude that the presence of such cases emphasise the importance of genetic evaluation of all infertile couples seeking reproductive assistance since not always the phenotype does correlate with the genotype.

This goes to show you how complicated gender really is, there’re so many variables and many of them are still not known. Just to name a few of the more common intersex conditions; Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), 5-alpha-reductase Deficiency, and Mosaic Genetics.

Nature loves diversity.

---

This morning I am out in Willimantic giving training to a clinic’s staff.

Passing Privilege

That is what it all boils down to, how well you can integrate into society. Back in the seventies the “Gay Liberation Front” (GLF) and the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) kicked Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson out because they couldn’t assimilate into society and now we are back to that era. Those who can blend in to the crowds do not get harassed.

Column: Transgender bathroom issue may be a matter of image
Chicago Tribune
By Eric Zorn
February 24, 2017

If you're near a computer or a smartphone right now — and, come on, you are — take a moment and perform an image search for "trans men."

That's the accepted term for people who were born female but have transitioned to male, just to be clear. And don't worry, the results are not particularly graphic.

What you'll see will look to you like a collection of pictures of guys. Guys in casual wear. Guys without their shirts on. Guys with stubble and full beards. Macho guys. Somewhat effeminate guys. Guys.

Now ask yourself. Should states and local units of government be allowed to force such people to use the women's restrooms? And would most women be OK with sharing a row of toilet stalls with them?

Now do an image search for "trans women." You'll see a similar range of pictures of gals, most of whom would occasion surprise if they walked into a men's room. Do you want them there nevertheless?
[…]
Trans adults have been doing exactly this for many years, quietly and without causing harm to anyone. So have trans children, who will feel the brunt of it when benighted communities force them into situations in which they and those around them will feel most uncomfortable.

And then came the Republican Party and they found they could use us to get votes and money.

What it comes down to is if you are a 6’5” trans woman with large male features you are going to be a target of violence and harassment when you go out in public. But if you are a 5’5” trans woman with feminine features you will get by in society without anyone knowing you are trans.

In the old days the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care would only let those trans women who could integrate in to society transition, if you could fit into the gender norms they stamped your ticket. If you didn’t fit into the bell curve of the gender standards you couldn’t possibly be trans. The standards were very biased.

But now modern science has realized they we come in all shapes and sizes, that we can also be gay or lesbian or straight and have gender dysphoria to various degrees that is when the haters found a target.

The Attacks Continues!

The Republican attack on our Human Rights continues.

The latest attempts to nullify our existence come from Tennessee.

Tennessee has declared war on same-sex families: Inside the legislation that would eradicate nearly all rights for LGBT couples
A brace of bills in the Tennessee statehouse is aimed at rolling back gains made by during Obama administration
Salon
By Nico Lang
February 27, 2017

Filed by State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, House Bill 1406 would prevent a couple from listing on the birth certificate the second parent (the spouse not giving birth) after a woman becomes pregnant through artificial insemination. The legislation would nullify a provision of the Tennessee Code Annotated 68-3-306, which was issued as part of the Vital Records Act of 1977. The law states, “A child born to a married woman as a result of artificial insemination, with consent of the married woman’s husband, is deemed to be the legitimate child of the husband and wife.”

If Weaver’s bill passes, Heather would not be considered the legal guardian of the child on the way. In order to gain that status, she would have to file for a second-parent adoption, a process that’s both costly and time intensive. The couple is raising a daughter the two adopted four years ago and it cost $6,500 for Heather and Chariety to gain her custody.
[…]
If Charitey were to be in a car wreck, for instance, Heather could make legal decisions for her but not for their expected child. The  newborn would have no rights to Heather’s inheritance or her insurance — an added complication for the couple. If HB 1406 were to be passed, it would go into effect on July 1, three months before Charitey is expected to give birth. Heather receives health care benefits through her workplace, but if the new baby would not be longer eligible for that coverage, who would pay for the hospital costs?

These bills are vengeful, draconian to deny us of our human rights.

They fly against the 2015 Supreme Court decision and against the Fourteenth Amendment.

WPATH Statement

This was posted on the WPATH website on the 24^th and states the position of WPATH to Trump’s revoking our protection.

For Immediate Release February 24, 2017

WPATH Supports Student Health and Safety

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) today affirms its commitment to the health and safety of transgender students in the U.S. and across the world.

In an ominous action for the rights of transgender students, the Trump administration eliminated U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance that provided rationale and encouragement to public school administrators across the country to recognize, support, and protect the importance of gender identity for all students, including those who are transgender.

Relevant federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, have not changed. That act states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The law applies to students of any age.

A joint statement, issued late on February 22 by “acting” officials in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, expressly rescinded two documents issued by officials in the Obama administration which provided evidence for including gender identity as a component of sex, and procedures for including transgender students in sex-segregated activities and facilities. The statement opines that the previous guidance did “not (…) contain extensive legal analysis” and that “formal public rulemaking should have occurred prior to the adoption of any such policy.”

Although the statement declares that “(a)ll schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment”, and that the two Departments are committed to the application of Title IX and other federal laws to ensure (…) protection” from discrimination, bullying, or harassment, it also highlights that “the Departments believe that, in this context, there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy.”

By invoking States’ rights, many WPATH members believe that the current administration seeks to create a context in which to establish policies defining sex as nothing more than one’s assigned sex at birth. Such policies blatantly reject established science, and could severely impact the health—and lives—of transgender students and their families.

WPATH members in the U.S. region, and more widely, stand ready to defend the science of gender diversity and fight against the health disparities that this regressive action is likely to exacerbate.

For additional background on this story, see https://nyti.ms/2lvgnF0

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health is a nonprofit educational association of over 1400 physicians, mental health providers, and social scientists whose work impacts the lives of transgender, transsexual, and gender-nonconforming people worldwide.

The Rise And Fall Of Trans Rights

We have been on a roller coaster, we reached our peak during President Obama administration and now in the Trump administration the question is “how low will we go?”

Understanding Transgender Access Laws
By The New York Times
February 24, 2017

The highly charged debate over transgender rights has resulted in a tangle of contradictory laws governing access to public bathrooms and locker rooms across the country. Many states permit transgender people to choose bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity, considering it a civil rights issue. But in a handful of states and cities, legislators are moving in the opposite direction. Here are some milestones in the national debate.
[…]
The Justice Department revises policy
December 2014 | In a memo by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., the Justice Department took the position that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to claims of discrimination based on gender identity. The memo was one of a combination of policies, lawsuits and public statements that the Obama administration used to change the civil rights landscape for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

May 2016 | The Justice and Education Departments issued guidance that, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s transgender status — and that the departments would treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX.
[…]
Houston voters reject an anti-discrimination ordinance
Nov. 3, 2015 | After a yearlong battle, Houston voters easily repealed an anti-discrimination ordinance that banned discrimination based on several “protected characteristics,” including gender identity. Opponents said the measure would allow men claiming to be women to enter women’s bathrooms and inflict harm. The message "No Men in Women’s Bathrooms” on signs and in television and radio ads turned the debate from one about equal rights to one about protecting women and girls from sexual predators. (Houston became the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor, Annise D. Parker, in December 2009; she had pushed hard for the ordinance.)

The article goes on to write about various state battles in Texas, South Dakota, Virginia, and other states. It then discusses federal policy.

The federal government issues guidelines
May 12, 2016 | The Obama administration took up a legal fight with North Carolina over the issue, quickly issuing guidance — signed by Justice and Education Department officials — that was sent to all school districts, outlining what schools should do to ensure that no student was discriminated against. The letter did not have the force of law, but it contained an implicit threat: Schools that did not abide by the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or a loss of federal dollars. The measure attracted criticism and support from across the country.

It also writes about how cities in the south are in opposition to their states,

A split emerges between Southern cities and states
Cities in the Deep South were increasingly at odds with their states on gay rights and other benchmarks, moving toward common ground with big cities on the coasts. And North Carolina, the rare Southern state that is evenly split between liberals and conservatives, was considered to be up for grabs in the November presidential race. But backlash against the law roiled the governor’s race and affected other crucial contests.

We were floating on air in President Obama’s administration and without a crystal ball we do not know how deep the crash will be with the Trump administration.

This Looks Interesting... Maybe

With the attack on our rights by the White House it is good that there is going to be a show that focuses on LGBT history.

Review: ‘When We Rise’ Charts the History of Gay and Transgender Rights
The New York Times
By James Poniewozik
February 26, 2017

“Identity politics” is one of those labels that say most about the labeler. Used as a pejorative (generally by people who already feel safe in their identity), it implies that causes like race, gender and sexual-orientation rights should be secondary to concerns that — so the argument goes — are more concrete and universal.

“When We Rise,” ABC’s sweeping four-night history of the gay rights movement, is a rebuttal. As a television drama, it often plays like a high-minded, dutiful educational video. But at its best moments, it’s also a timely statement that identity is not just an abstraction but a matter of family, livelihood, life and death.

Largely written by Dustin Lance Black, “When We Rise” begins in post-Stonewall San Francisco, tracing a trio of idealists — people who would not take “social-justice warrior” as an insult — whose lives intersect on and off over five decades. (Mr. Black wrote the screenplay for the film “Milk,” about the San Francisco gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, whose work and 1978 assassination figure in here.).

Okay, it is billed as LGBT history now let’s sees if they are going to cover the “T” in the series?

The early hours of “When We Rise” are impressively specific, both about the gay and transgender subcultures of the 1970s and 1980s and the nuts-and-bolts tactics of organizing, alliance and local politics. Roma’s community organizing introduces her to tensions between mainstream and radical feminists, gay women of color and “straight white Wellesley girls,” respectability politics and revolution.

But the article doesn’t say what the “T” will be; the article has about AIDS, marriage equality, and racial inequality but there is nothing about us in the article.

So will we once again be brushed aside and our contribution to the LGBT movement minimized? The show premieres tonight on ABC at 9:00 PM.

I Was At The Women’s Rally In Hartford

There has been a lot of discussion about holding a rally for trans people in Connecticut but I do think that we probably have less than a tenth of the people who came out for the women’s rally.

If You Marched In The Women's March, You Need To Show Up For Trans Rights
Bustle
By Mia Mercado
February 23, 2017

On Wednesday, news broke that Trump’s administration rescinded federal guidelines specifically protecting bathroom access for transgender students. These guidelines, put in place by the Obama administration, allowed students who are transgender to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The news was met with outcry by people already taking to the streets and even the White House to protest for transgender rights.

A note to my fellow cisgender women and men: If you were one of the more than two million people who participated in the Women’s March, you need to show up for trans rights.

If you are someone who considers themself a feminist, if you support human rights, if you actually believe all people were created equal, if you truly love thy neighbor: you need to show up for trans rights.

You need to do the work for and with your transgender family because they have shown up for you.

Well I didn’t go to the rally because I expected reciprocity; I went because it was the right thing to do for me.

But the resistance will not be successful unless it is intersectional. Trans rights affect women. They affect men. They affect people in between and outside the binary. They affect white people and people of color. They affect people who are Christian and Muslim and Jewish and atheist. They affect people who are poor, people who are disabled, and people who are LGB or Q. Because people who are transgender exist under all those categories, and more.

I would hope that cisgender people would attend because they saw the intersectionality.

Right now there is a discussion going on about having a trans rally here in Connecticut on March 31^st. I am pushing for a smaller rallies around the state instead of one large rally and True Colors is having a rally on the UConn Storrs campus on March 17^th.

One Of The Things That I’ve Learned

Is that we are all bitten with the Gender Dysphoria bug differently some get it really bad and some just have a mild case of dysphoria.

Not All Transgender People Have Dysphoria – And Here Are 6 Reasons Why That Matters
Everyday Feminism
By Sam Dylan Finch
August 13, 2015

I remember talking with a friend of mine who is transgender with the assumption that we both experienced dysphoria, which is the distress or discomfort that occurs when the gender someone is assigned does not align with their actual gender.
[…]
“Well, I don’t…” Kai paused. “Don’t judge me or anything, but like, I don’t experience dysphoria.”

At that point, I had never heard of a transgender person not experiencing some kind of dysphoria. But there they were, right in front of me.

My instinct was to be protective over my transness. The idea that dysphoria was not required, and that anyone could just identify as trans if they wanted to, seemed to water down the importance of my identity and the struggles of my community.

Take a look at the word “dysphoria,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it is “a state of feeling unwell or unhappy.” For a lot of trans people I think can cope without any intervention, they just life their life in their true gender and don’t seek an medical intrusion, while others need cross hormone therapy and surgery.

The article goes on to list the reasons it doesn’t really matter what level of dysphoria a person has.

1. It Suggests That Gender Identity Is for Outsiders to Decide
It’s weird that some trans people are totally on-board with making a rulebook for transness, instead of encouraging people to self-identify and declare their gender identities for themselves.

When we allow other people to make the rules, we strip away the rights of trans people to self-identify. If we tell trans people that their identities don’t belong to them, we uphold a culture where the naming of gender identities belongs to outsiders instead of ourselves.

I remember when I first started going to the Twenty Club there was a person there who didn’t believe that I was trans because I didn’t need GCS NOW! that I was taking my time to verify that this right for me because to her she needed surgery immediately and to wait one year was too long.

2. It Medicalizes the Experience of Being Transgender
The phrase “gender dysphoria” became the go-to phrase after “gender identity disorder” was deemed offensive and inaccurate. Since then, the two phrases have been used interchangeably in the medical realm.
Need I remind you that Western medicine has been less than kind to trans people historically?[…]
Placing the lives of trans people into an “illness” framework ultimately stigmatized their identities and left their needs to be dictated my “medical professionals” rather than trans people themselves.

The medical model disempowered trans people.
[…]
3. It’s a Eurocentric Definition of Transgender
A lot of trans folks will say that “transgender” as an experience didn’t originate in the West – and they would be correct. There have been “trans” experiences in many cultures globally, long before the West had any concept of “transgender.”

Some identities outside of the West that you might know of include two-spirit, hijra, and kathoeys, and they have a history that precedes ours.
[…]
4. It Equates Being Trans with Distress and Dysfunction
If someone came up to you and asked you what it was like to be transgender, it probably wouldn’t be as simple as saying, “It’s terrible.”

It can be terrible. The pain can be very real. But for most people, being trans is a very complicated thing that involves a whole spectrum of emotions.
[…]
5. We Privilege Some Narratives Over Others
I’ve been told before that I’m not “trans enough.”
[…]
At what point will we stop tearing each other apart and start lifting each other up?[…]
6. It Breeds Transphobia
There is a pervasive fear that if we leave “transgender” as a term that relies on self-identification, it will be rendered meaningless by people who claim it for the wrong reasons.

But this weirdly mirrors a lot of oppressive attitudes that are used against all trans people.

Take the trans bathroom debate, for instance. There is a widespread belief that cis people will pretend to be trans just to get into the wrong restroom and violate other people.
[…]
If trans people interrogate other trans people with disbelief, we are giving permission to the rest of the world to do it to us.

If we bully trans people and tell them they are deceiving other people, or following a fad, we’re telling cis people that they can accuse us of being imposters, too.

Long time ago at a First Event conference before I transitioned and I was still trying to discover who I was, I was sitting on a couch in the lobby and someone sat next to me and asked me if I was transsexual. When I said that I didn’t know she said “Oh” and walked away. I thought one of two things, first she wanted to talk about transitioning or two she was a snob and didn’t want to associate with a mere crossdresser. I took it as the latter because of the way she said “Oh.”

We are all on our own gender journey and no one else can define it for us, they can aide us on the journey but they cannot guide us, we have to find our own road to travel.

Saturday 9: I'll Be There

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: I'll Be There (1992)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…   
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Mariah pledges to "have faith in all you do." Have you recently given someone support or a pep talk?
Ha! I do it all the time, I volunteer two days a week at a health clinic and answer the support line.

2) Mariah was at the center of a controversy in Times Square on New Year's Eve when she had audio problems and claimed she could not perform. Times Square is at the busy intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue. If we went to the busy intersection nearest your home, what would we find? (A store? A church? McDonald's?)
A Dairy Queen, a consignment store, a feed and grain store (yes, we do have farms in town), and a garage,

3) Her nickname in high school was Mirage because she cut school so often. Did you ever play hookey?
I probably did but that was fifty years ago.

4) Mariah doesn't apologize for spoiling her dogs, who have been known to travel by limo. Do you know anyone who treats his/her pets like people?
Most definitely.

5) Mariah has something to fall back on. She studied cosmetology and worked as a hair sweeper in a salon. When you get your hair cut, do you socialize with the stylist? 
Again “HA” you have to have hair to get a haircut.

6) When married to her first husband, Mariah went vegetarian. Tell us about last night's dinner. Would it qualify as a vegetarian meal?
Most definitely no, I had meat lasagna for dinner and I paid for it this morning with a high blood glucose reading.

7) This week's song was introduced by The Jackson 5. Think of your favorite Michael Jackson song. Did he record it solo or with his brothers?
Well first you assume that I have a favorite Michael Jackson song which I don’t.

8) In 1992, when this song was popular, The Mall of America opened. Located in Minnesota, it's the biggest mall in the nation, with more than 400 stores. Think about the last thing you purchased. Were you shopping out of necessity, or for fun?
Well I just ordered online more Vanilla Extract - 6 oz (177 ml) for $12.30 because I ran out. But I also ordered Coffee Beans, Chocolate Covered - 8 oz for $7.45 and Cranberries, Dark Chocolate Covered - 5 oz and they were $4.50,I didn’t need them but heck I might as well order them while I was at it.

9) Have you ever shoplifted? (Don't worry. We won't tell.)
Nope.

P.S. (11:30 AM) Tonight's meal is homemade French onion soup. I'm making a crock pot full and freezing the rest.

Our Favorite Punching Bag

Caitlyn Jenner is in the news again. I know there are a lot of trans people who hate her because she is rich and/or a Republican. Well the other day she tweeted Trump.

Caitlyn Jenner tweets of Trump's 'disaster' transgender policy
Commentary: In a video, the Olympian turned reality star asks the president to call her.
CNET
By Chris Matyszczyk
February 23, 2017

President Donald Trump likely expected tech companies not to be happy about his decision to withdraw federal protections for transgender students in schools.

He might not have expected quite the robust reaction he got from fellow Republican Caitlyn Jenner.

She said in a video,

"You're winning," she said. "I know it doesn't feel like it today or every day, but you're winning. Very soon we will win full freedom nationwide, and it's going to be with bipartisan support."
[…]
"Now I have a message for the bullies: You're sick. And because you're weak, you pick on kids, you pick on women or anyone else you think is vulnerable. Apparently even becoming the attorney general isn't enough to cure some people of their insecurities," she said.

The last line appeared to be a pointed reference to new attorney general Jeff Sessions. He was reportedly behind this move, one that reversed the Obama-era policies by which public schools had to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Finally, Jenner addressed the president himself.

"I have a message for President Trump from well, one Republican to another," she said. "This is a disaster. And you can still fix it. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community."

Is she losing her faith in the Republican Party? Is she seeing the light?

Here is her video...