6/4/13

LA Transgender Woman Victor Diego Savagely Beaten And Left For Dead

According to family members Ms. Victor Diego 'dressed up' meaning she put on feminine attire before leaving work at Beso—a Hollywood hotspot co-owned by Desperate Housewives actress & Obama ally Eva Longoria. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime according to family members.

Editors note: During the KCal9 interview Ms. Deigo's family uses male pronouns to describe Ms. Diego who presents as female when she is able. They also unwittingly revictimized her indicating her gender expression misleads people and could have been a contributing factor for the attack. This blog will identify her as female until such a time that we learn differently.



LAPD Crime Stoppers On Line

TEXT-A-TIP
To provide anonymous tips, text CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone and begin the message with the letters LAPD.

You may submit an anonymous tip anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477)



6/2/13

SheZow Transforming Saturday Morning Super heroines !GO GIRL!

OK so a boy finds a a belt tries it on and he suddenly has super hero powers except one thing. He becomes a girl externally, when he says 'Go Girl', but he retains all the bumbling innocent endearing ineptitude of a adolescent boy regarding all things female.

So is this child's superhero identity really a metaphor for transsexuality? Creator Obie Scott Wade tells Zap2it no.
"SheZow is not transgender. He's a boy, his gender never changes, he's just trapped in a silly costume."

Sounds like great harmless fun and a unique learning tool as boys come to respect and understand girls.



Not everyone feels the way I do though like the Christian Post which is pushing the Million bigot Mom petition calling for a end to the 'transgender' show saying "This appears to be a not-so subtle indoctrination attempt by the gay, lesbian and transgender community—this time with impressionable children."


Note to the Christian Post. This advertisement was on top of your website when I visited. It shows a hot young girl in an extremely short mini skirt on top of a pool table on her knees in what is inevitably construed as a sexual position by men. Is this what you want your impressionable children who visit your site to emulate? Really? Get off your high self righteous preposterous patriarchal bigoted 'christian' horse.

And so what if some kids assume SheZow is transgender? Your own bible tells you three times to love and accept transgender people. Open it for once would you?






Transgender Pole dancer Natasha Payne is representing Great Britain in the Masters Championship in London.

Natasha Payne's road to the World Pole Sports Championship 2013 wasn't a easy one however the difficulties she has had to overcome have all have centered around the physical challenges of the sport. Being able to concentrate on competing has allowed her a chance at the championship. Natasha told Sky : "The girls have been so welcoming. I've come across no barriers, they've been so accommodating it's unbelievable, even down to things like changing rooms.

"It can be hard, many people like me can end up just at home isolated. I'm so lucky, I've met so many friends through pole dancing."

"I'm really excited about the competition and I'm just looking forward to taking part. I've not met any other transgender pole dancers yet."


There's reasons for that Natasha! Many trans peeps including myself, haven't the physical abilities that you have and would be extremely uncomfortable being judged and scrutinized so carefully in phosphorescent lighting! A fact not lost on other competitors, I'm sure. You are our heroine! Go Natasha!



Watch Sky Tyne and Wear reporter Joe Daunt try out male pole fitness...



What Joe so bravely attempted is is captured here in this video clip of the 2012 championships.



Be inspired by our international athletes. Join us at the World Pole Sports Championships 2013 at York Hall Bethnal Green London. The IPSF is a not-for-profit organization run by dedicated members of the Pole Sports Industry, who donate their time and energy for the promotion of Pole Sports.



6/1/13

Puerto Rico's New Anti Discrimination Law Is A Transgender Screw Job

Monica Roberts post WTF Just Happened In Puerto Rico With SB 238? piqued my curiosity. Didn't Puerto Rico just pass a anti discrimination bill including public accommodations provisions for transgender people.

Monica wrote:
"Who the hell LGBT activist wise was watching the Puerto Rican legislature and the governor's office to ensure the tougher bill was the one that received Governor Garcia Padilla's signature? Instead of doing the civil rights job right the first time you'll now have to (like Massachusetts is painfully doing right now) go back to the Puerto Rican Legislature and refight the pitched battle you just fought to have those categories the Senate just stripped out added back into the law."

"A human rights law without public accommodations language in it is not only unjust, it's a worthless law."

It was all over the Internet via Gay media and the NGLTF saying they passed a inclusive law. Heck, even Mara Keisling said they did....Or did they?

It was really difficult to find out. The Puerto Rican Legislature website has no direct links to bills and nether does the Puerto Rican governments. So I had to trace the bill through both houses using multiple media reports.

I found out what happened not by what was announced, but what was not talked about. We were quietly thrown under the bus.

Apparently the House bill was stripped of public accommodation provisions in a deal with right wing politicans and fanatical religious zealots to get Bill 488 passed, amending the "Law of Prevention and Intervention in Domestic Violence" providing equal protection to all couples regardless of marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

To answer Monica's question, Pedro Julio Serrano a native of Puerto Rico and communications director for the NGLTF was the one we trusted to watch over the bill.

Serrano's May 16th video recorded his reaction when the Puerto Rican Senate on Thursday approved the non-discrimination bill that would ban anti-LGBT discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and government services in the U.S. territory.



But there was little fanfare when the house passed the legislature and subsequently signed by the Governor,  only this announcement and this press release on May 24th making no mention of what was sacrificed:
Statement by Pedro Julio Serrano
Founder, Puerto Rico Para Tod@s
Communications Manager, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

"Today is a thrilling day in Puerto Rican history. A decade ago, LGBT Puerto Ricans were criminals under the sodomy law, today we're second-class citizens and when this bill is signed into law, we will be closer to achieving the first-class citizenship that we deserve. Equality is inevitable. Puerto Rico will be for all."

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

"We celebrate with the Puerto Rican LGBT community this amazing milestone. The nondiscrimination bill that will become law with the signature of Gov. GarcĂ­a Padilla is a testament to the resiliency and steadfastness of the Puerto Rican LGBT community and its allies.

"The Puerto Rican LGBT community has endured an epidemic of anti-LGBT violence that has taken more than 35 lives in the past three years. Nonetheless, this community has continued to stand strong in the face of adversity and today can celebrate this glorious victory. We thank all the activists that have been part of this effort, especially our own Pedro Julio Serrano, who has been a steadfast and uncompromising leader in this struggle."
The question then becomes "who is watching the NGLTF? We did it it in 2010 when the NGLTF and HRC tried to trade a non discrimination bill sans public accommodations for gay marriage in Maryland.

Equality Maryland left that battle with their tail between their legs, their lies exposed, humiliated with members deserting them by the hundreds. They learned the hard way not to fuck openly with the trans community. A lesson evidently not lost to Gay.com this year in Puerto Rico. Do it quietly. Keep it hushed, trans people will wake up under the bus not knowing what hit them.

It's a sad state of affairs when we as poor trans people without the resources that these behemoth gay.coms have must fight, scratch and claw, THEM for our most basic rights.

Like Monica said. What the fuck.



5/31/13

Tampa Teen Charged as An Adult With A Hate Crime After Shooting Transgender Woman

Tavares Spencer is charged with attempted murder, robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The charges carry enhanced penalties because officials are considering this a hate crime.

Spencer met the victim Coco McDonald, at a party April 9th and invited her to meet a week latter at 5014 N Winnie St. in Tampa. The house was vacant and the meeting turned out to be a trap. Coco told Bay News 9 "I tell anyone, whether its platonic, intimate, I let everybody know because I'm not ashamed of who I am. I'm very confident about my sexuality,” said McDonald. "I'm transgender, if you really don't want to have any dealings with me I understand, but I'm just letting you know so there's no confusion."

Coco makes it clear that she makes no bones about being transgender, a fact that is at odds with the the majority of news media articles which inevitably state she is a man and imply that she tricked Spencer into meeting her believing she was a 'real' woman.

*Trigger Warning: There are many transphobic media reports about this, some that I have used as sources that blatantly use problematic verbiage to revictimize Coco. The embedded video from ABC was the only one I could find that made any attempt at using the AP Style Guide in stark contrast to the highly problematic accompanying online article TPD: Tampa teen charged with a hate crime after shooting a man in woman's clothing

WTSP reports "Police say Tavares was already in jail, arrested for an unrelated crime when they charged him."

"A warrant enabled them to check his cell phone, which they say contained text messages making defamatory statements about Coko's lifestyle transgender status. The messages were sent within an hour of the crime."

"It was enough to charge him with a hate crime... for which he did not seem sorry, say detectives."

"He wasn't willing to make a lot of statements, but my detectives were taken by his lack of remorse in this incident. He showed very little to none," said Sgt. Michael Stout.

5/30/13

Ground Breaking Kenyan Transgender Short "HOW TO SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA"

kujitambua na kujiamini.

Maria a transgender woman from Kenya explains how HRT and transitioning has affected her saying  "I feel complete now, I'm complete now I know I am, complete, complete. Her movie, the first in a series about transgender people in the east Africa premiered today at the 4th Regional Changing Faces Changing Spaces Conference in Naivasha, Kenya.

The conference brought together activists from the sex worker and LGBTI movements in East Africa, as well as activists working in other regions of Africa, and allies in the health and legal professions, human rights activists and organisations, and donor partners working in the Region (Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi).

For the past 4 months Scottish film maker Tristan MG Aitchison has been working under commission documenting the transgender and intersex community of Nairobi. Six brave members opened up and shared their experiences of being transgender and intersex in Kenya - Living on the edge of the edge of society.



Learn more about at transgender kenya.com