PETA is made of fail and racism (as well as ableism, transphobia, sexism, etc--check the Feministe comments). I recommend tweeting them to tell them how fucked up they are (@officialpeta)
Ren (and others) have been refuting a group of radfem's Thoughts On YaoiBDSM.
(btw, her epic comic post is pretty awesome- and this LJ comm is also fun)
Ginmar has some links for how you can help victims of he brushfires.
Recently, a Black man was posthumously exonerated for a crime he didn't commit--raping a White woman (this comment also has some great links).
I thought this post was very interesting, a genderqueer lesbian's thoughts on hir genitals and cultural messages about them (ugg, beware the cissexism in the comments though).
Georgia legislators are trying to get rid of Georgia Universities queer theory classes.
But here are some legislators doing the right thing: adding sexual orientation and gender identity to their local anti-discrimination laws. ^_^
Also, random tangent thingamajig...
Someone found my blog searching for "sexual magic blue pill "blogspot"" and then left a spam comment advertising viagra. The really, really weird thing is...the comment had good spelling and grammar. wtf world, wtf. o.0
(yes, I deleted it anyway)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
yeah, moar links
Saturday, January 31, 2009
My take on a transphobic trope
Sometimes this is expressed in a more more subtle manner: concern-trolling about poor lesbians and/or masculine girls who might get confused and transition, people who are anti- certain body modifications comparing medical transition to those body mods, or even throwing out a comment about how trans-related surgeries don't look/function well.
Sometimes, they are very, very obvious: talking about chopped up or mutilated bodies, outright saying that ev0l doctors and trans* people are coercing lesbians/butches into transitioning, that we're just delusional freaks, or that trans* people are like anorexic folks and medical transition is like liposuction or gastric bypass surgery.
First of all, compare a transphobe's thoughts on how being trans* is self-harm to a homophobe's view that being queer is self-harm.
There really won't be too many differences.
Usually the transphobe will say something about how patriarchy/Satan/etc causes trans* people to Not Be Good Cis* people or how in a more godly/feminist/etc world there would be less of us. Replace trans* with queer and cis* with straight and you have a homophobe's thoughts.
Compare “transitioning is harmful and it's wrong to remove healthy tissue!” to a homophobe's thoughts on how queer sex is Dangerous and Bad For You.
They sound the same and they are both just as wrong.
If you believe the notion that being trans* is self harm that means you believe there is something wrong with being trans*; that it is right and natural to be cis*.
It follows that you believe it is better to stop trans* people from being trans* (or, openly being trans*) than it is to remove transphobia and cissexism.
Because, in this view, transphobia and cissexism are good, right, normal, and natural; after all, if we didn't mess up your perfect world we wouldn't get hurt.
Sure, you'll say that they don't want people to be hurt, but then...as long as we just shut up you don't ever have to think about it, now do you?
Or, as Cedar says, “Society’s myth of universal cissexuality *is* incredibly fragile, and has to be protected at all times–but what has to be done is not to create a stronger foundation (which they never ever do) but to disrupt any other conversation that’s happening.”
Yes, being trans* can be difficult.Yes, there are a lot of dangers out there for trans* people.
But, removing transphobia and cissexism will remove most of those difficulties and dangers; really, the only ones intrinsic to being trans* are body dissonance, gender disphoria, and things like depression that result from denial and such.
Medical transition usually removes the body dissonance. Living as your actual gender, without discrimination and harassment, will take care of the issues caused by pretending to be the wrong gender; having your loved ones and social circle gender you correctly will as well. Therapy will take care of whatever that doesn't; talking through issues that childhood denial caused (and childhood denial should happen less often in a world without transphobia), therapy or anti-depressants should help with depression, etc.
So, since in a world without transphobia there would be few, if any, major difficulties or dangers to being trans*, being trans* is really not all that intrinsically harmful--it's the cis* world's cissexism and transphobia that are the problems.
I suppose to someone out there in the world there is some knee-jerk validity to the idea that you shouldn't perform surgery on healthy tissue...
But, you have to look at what you are considering healthy tissue and on how you are defining words like harm, needed, unnecessary, etc.
Is tissue that you feel, deeply and instinctively, to not even belong to you really all that healthy?
Is psychological pain not considered harm?
Should a person have to attempt all sorts of therapy and mental gymnastics to accept how their body is currently shaped instead of having surgery or hormones?
Is the former not as harmful as the latter?
Is removing psychological distress unnecessary?
Do you think that people can just ”get over it”, “cheer themselves up”, or ignore anything that isn't purely physical?
Well?
Well, I would say, that is someone needs to medically transition then whatever hormones or surgery they have are needed and necessary.
(personally, I do not have issues with body mods or other “unnecessary” surgeries, so if a trans* person who doesn't need to medically transition wants to, I have no issues with that. But I think that may be a little off-topic, I just wanted to make that clear...)
Sometimes you get people, sometimes well meaning but sometimes mean spirited, bringing up the actual or supposed limitations of medical transition: “Why would you want to have a penis that doesn't function?” “Aren't you afraid of looking like a freak?” “Wouldn't you rather keep your body how it is than worry about what sort of health complications transition could bring?” “But you're such a pretty girl?”
First of all, what is functional, working, pretty, etc is defined by the individual. Like how you hear a lot of static about how ugly and nonfunctional phalloplasty is, yet every guy I've heard from who actually had it loves the results.
Honestly, I don't see anything “freakish” about trans* people's bodies. Our bodies, no matter what medical treatments we have or have not chosen to have, are not freakish or ugly or disgusting. A lot of people have scars. A lot of people have had invasive surgeries to improve their quality of life; there is nothing disgusting or ugly about it.
Everyone has different preferences for facial features and the like; some people find “feminine” looking men (trans* and cis*) attractive, some people find “masculine” looking women (again, trans* and cis*) attractive. We will be attractive to some people out there; moreover, attractiveness is not the be and end all of happiness.
We also weigh the health consequences carefully. Yeah, when we choose to take hormones or have surgeries we gain a greater likelihood of some complications, but there are usually complications to not having those procedures as well.
Remember, how are you defining healthy? I'd say not-suicidal yet at a greater risk of heart problems is a hell of a lot healthier than being so depressed you can't take care of yourself and constantly try to kill yourself.
It's not like we jump into medical transition without thinking.
For instance, I've seen a few trans* guys who've had to come to terms with their beliefs about what constitutes healthy tissue and unneeded medical procedures and their need for surgery. Some suggested that trans* folks wrestling with these feelings think through it like I did above. Others said that they had had a dialogue with their body; telling their chest or uterus how while there may not be anything wrong with them, they simply didn't belong on their body, how much they needed this surgery, etc.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the trans*folks that had/have these feelings; we live in an ableist and transphobic world after all. But I do think we should examine these feelings and decide what are our ethical beliefs and what is just internalized shit.
There's also this idea that “1950's psychologists" invented trans*ism as a way to make queer and gender-nonconforming folks into straight conforming folks. Check out any decent history on trans*ism or trans* people, The History of How Sex Changed, Transgender History, etc, and that trope will be proven wrong.
Trans* people would comb through science/medical journals, write to the few drag/trans* newsletters, write to Christine Jorgenson, etc. begging for information on how to transition and who to go to. Women would take BC pills and other forms of estrogen and then go to doctors and say they were intersex. Even now we still have to work to get any help medically transitioning at all.
And ya know, we really don't seek out questioning people to convert to our Dangerous Lifestyle; our communities constantly have trans* people just coming out of denial coming to us asking for information and help.
Whenever I've seen people ask for help in figuring out their gender and what path is right for them, I always see people tell them that there are a number of possibilities and only they themselves can figure out who they are and what is right for them (though, yes, books and therapists and talking to others can help).
Though this trope is often thrown out too, I really don't want to address “butch flight” because I was never butch or involved in any lesbian/womens communities--but Gauge wrote a great piece.
There is also the ableist idea that being in an unaltered (“natural”) body is more moral/better than being in an altered (“unnatural”) body. --This feeds into the idea that our differences mean we are defective and wrong and need to be cured or eradicated.
There is the idea that being trans* is caused by some defect in us; whether a defective uterus that gave us the wrong dose of hormones, a defective brain that makes us hallucinate, or a society that gives us defective socialization. While some forms of trans*ism may be caused by hormones in the uterus or brains that are shaped differently or whatnot, this is not a defect (seriously, natural variations in populations do occur!).
(Eli Clare has written a few things on the similarities and intersections of trans*ism and disability much better than I ever could)
This is, by the way, true even if you ignore the times we are called crazy, insane, psychopaths, nutjobs, etc.
(I don't really know where I'm going with this point exactly, I just don't think this trend should be ignored. Maybe someone who has a better understanding of ableism would like to look into it, I really don't feel knowledgeable enough to do so.)
ETA: Cedar's poem Diseased is amazing.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Important News, Please Read These Links
If you're in the UK, please speak out against these proposed laws to your gov; they'll be very bad for sex workers and won't help prostituted folks. (h/t Ren)
Also, my bad, but I missed International Sex Workers' Rights Day. (in my defense, I was mostly freaking out about court that day)
ETA: from Debi Crow:
Please sign the petition here, organised by the English Collective of Prostitutes to decriminalise sex work and prioritise safety in the UK.
The petition reads:
* The tragic murders of five young women in Ipswich caused an unprecedented outcry. Each of us deserves to be safe regardless of gender, occupation, sexual preference, race, age, nationality, immigration status or lifestyle.
* Prostitution is a survival strategy to deal with poverty, debt, rape, low wages, homelessness, unemployment... Most sex workers are mothers or young people; often they are both. Many have been in care or have had their children taken from them.
* Criminalising consenting sex – targeting sex workers, clients or both – pushes prostitution underground. It deters women from reporting violence & exploitation. Fines & ASBOs force women into isolated, less well lit areas.
* When prostitute women are not safe, no woman is safe. Serial rapists & killers often have a history of attacks on partners & prostitutes. (The conviction rate for reported rape is a shocking 5.7%. Over 200 women are murdered each year.)
* Raids on premises increase street prostitution which is 10 times more dangerous.
* Criminal records prevent sex workers from getting other jobs.
* "Rehabilitation" for drugs or anything else doesn’t work if it is compulsory.
* New Zealand has successfully decriminalised prostitution, improving health & safety.
WE DEMAND:
1. The decriminalisation of prostitution. Sex workers must have the same rights and protection as other workers.
2. An end to Community Rehabilitation Orders, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and Anti Social Behaviour Orders which reintroduce prison for street offences through the back door.
3. The enforcement of laws against domestic violence, rape and other violence against women and children must be a priority.
4. An end to the use of anti-trafficking legislation to deport immigrant sex workers. Trafficked women must have the right to stay so they can report violence.
5. Viable economic alternatives to prostitution. Voluntary drug services, affordable housing, benefits, training, pay equity.
Sign here. Hat tip to Helen for the info about the petition, and make sure you check out the other links on her post too, if you haven't already.
Bush is a total fustilarian; I'd love to thank him in person for signing the order for doctors and everyone in the health industry to murder trans* folks, anyone with the ability to get pregnant, anyone with female-assigned reproductive organs, people with disabilities, sex workers, POC, actual or perceived illegal-drug users, and anyone else they see as less than human!
More police brutality, racism, sexism, etc. This time, they beat and attempted to kidnap a little twelve-year old girl because they thought she was a prostitute (obviously, if she had been a prostitute this would have been just peachy). Her and her father were both charged because she fought back (obviously, if someone attempts to kidnap you girls, you should just let them!) and her father tried to stop them as well.
Two years later and the little girl still has nightmares.
Galbeston Chief of Police, Charles Wiley, can be reached by phone at 409-765-3790, or by email at cwiley@cityofgalveston.org.
And these next two are not quite so urgent:
Julia Serano is looking for quotes, anecdotes and insights from trans* women and other mtf-spectrum folks about ways you have been hyper-sexualized.
If you are a trans woman (i.e., someone who was assigned a male sex at birth, but who identifies and/or lives as female), I would be interested in possibly including your experiences in my web article. I am particularly interested in the following types of scenarios:More info at her journal.
1) occasions where somebody sexualized you in an especially extreme or explicit manner specifically because they knew you were trans.
2) occasions where somebody assumed that you were motivated to transition to female for primarily sexual reasons (for example, to receive sexual attention from men, to engage in sex work, or to fulfill some kind of sexual fantasy or “perversion”).
3) occasions where medical or psychiatric professionals (particularly those fulfilling a “gatekeeper” role) made especially sexualizing remarks about your appearance, behaviors or motives/desire to transition, or were sexualizing in other ways.
4) occasions where someone sexualized your trans body, identity and/or motives for transitioning in order to dismiss your female identity or to insinuate that you are not a “real” woman.
And I should have included this in my last post, but I just remembered the post; Sylvia Rivera was a part of the Young Lords and her group, STAR, marched with them several times.
Btw, donating to SRLP would be a very nice thing to do this holiday season...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
back
Back from my grandparents house. OMG, I really dislike my grandma. I have to fight her to do any cleaning beyond dishes! I had to dust the walls/ceilings in secret because she got mad at me for doing it. o.0
I wanted to tackle a bit of the mess they call an attic, but noooo.... I can't be moving her precious shit around and actually putting it into boxes and stacking it neatly and getting rid of the obvious trash! GRRR.....
And there is way too much shit to process going on in the world:
Apparently Minnesota is all "yay forced electroshock-[torture]!!!"
And Duanna Johnson was murdered. Most likely by ex-officers Bridges McRae, James Swain, and/or their buddies on the force.
And the fucking [police]** don't have any leads. Because its not like she was beaten by two police officers a few months ago--which led to their being fired. Its not like she went public and was suing the city or anything (though the lawsuit will be going forward!). Its not like she was being harassed by the police for "prostitution" (aka: existing while black and trans* and a woman. and even if she was a sex worker, she may not even have been working at that moment).
**Does anyone know of a slur for the police other than "pigs"? I'm not a fan of pigs because of the fatphobic associations with the word pig.
Despite having a relative who was an officer (who does still have my respect), I have lost all respect for the institution and all members unless the individual proves they are not a power-hungry, abusive, rapist, bigot.
ETA: A paypal account has been set up to help Duanna's mom pay for her funeral.
Folks who think that prop 8 passed because of t3h 3vil POC can go DIAF. Seriously, blame the mostly white mormons and catholics for funding the bigoted/lying campaigns. Or maybe your own organizations' racism and FAIL.
Yes, I am in a bad and violent mood.
Uppity Brown Woman is also angry about several things; like Duanna's murder, "honor" killings, and lesbians being beaten for daring to pick their kids up from school.
Who'd have thunk that preaching racist anti-immigrant hatred all over the USA government/media would result in folks going out "beaner hunting"?
In other news, bears do, in fact, shit in the woods.
And I am totally failing at Nanowrimo; I have practically nothing written because of being at grandparents house and various apathy/depression things leading to writers block. But after I (eventually) get some sleep I'll post some of what I have in my lj (needs m0ar editing...). Theres also a story for Duanna; as she is unlikely to get justice.
But here is a killer bunneh and some pretty guys (yep, all three are guys) because I need some smiles and pwetty.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Link Farming
Lisa and a friend of Ginmar both could use some donations Ginmar's friend could also use some resources for MN sex workers, single moms, etc.
Australia to follow China's lead on censoring the internet? (h/t Ren)
GOP is yet again trying to steal the election, except this time they're also accusing Democrats (& ACORN) of voter fraud (h/t). And yes, this does affect trans* people as well as many other oppressed peoples.
Women's Rights advocate, Esha Momeni, was arrested by the Iranian police. She is a student and she went to Iran to work on her Masters thesis on the Iranian women's rights movement.
The shit with Stonewall and Julie Bindel is still going on. If you're in the UK near London and can get to the demo, please go and support trans* people.
(from transe-generation, which seems to be down atm)Yes, saying that trans* people should be morally mandated out of existence or that we should be barred from medically transitioning and instead go through
We are an oppressed group of people that you want to make not exist; what other word would you use for that? Or do you consider what Zucker is doing a "good start"?
"Talk therapies" DO NOT work to "cure" us; they murder: us, our self esteem, our voices, any chance of happiness...
"Talk therapies" are aversion/reparative therapy just as much as electro-shock therapy was. They have tried everything to "cure" us, from drugs to behavioral to the wrong set of hormones, and all they do is suppress our trans*ism and cause us pain and suffering and death.
We don't need curing. We don't need fixing.
Everything that is "wrong" with us can be fixed by fixing this transphobic, kyriarchal society and allowing us to self-determine what sort of transition is best for ourselves. AKA, we aren't in the wrong, y'all are.
(If anyone reading this has a facebook, you can link this on the wall to prove that Bindel has in fact endorsed "ex-trans" therapy).
And yes, I'm ranting and angry and my tone is totally not polite at all. Perhaps if I make her kri ;_; from my m33n words, Bindel should sue me with her e-laywers/gf. ;_;
Fuck the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.
Nix has an awesome excerpt from a lecture he'll be giving on cissexism in criticisms of Boys Don't Cry.
Dear Candidates, there are more colors than "Black, White, and Whatever". "That One" is also quite racist.
Palin is most definitely not an advocate for people with disabilities.
City dwellers and POC are "pro-American" too. I for one, was really moved by Biden's speech.
How black fathers are put on pedestals at the expense of black mothers via Womanist-Musings.
This is an interesting look at [transsexual-centric] transition; especially the difficulties of. One thing I'd like to add on the subject of Mike/Christine's re-transition, is that a number of trans* people have transitioned, re-transitioned, and then later transitioned again (often in a different way and/or to a more genderqueer gender). Most of the stories I've heard said that the pain, danger, etc of transition caused them to re-transition until they were in a better place or were more prepared for the hurdles of transition.
Happy news, I'm going to try Nanowrimo! Yeah, I know I haven't been updating much, but I hope this will get rid of my writers block and apathy.
ETA: I've also slightly edited my definitions post.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Three Notices
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2008
For information Contact:
Randy Alexander (901) 359-4982
Marsha Katz (406) 544-9504
www.adapt.org
www.duhcity.org50 Arrested as ADAPT Takes Affordable, Accessible Housing Crisis to Congress
Washington, D.C.—From their base at “DUH City”, groups of ADAPT activists fanned out on the Hill to hit congressional leaders who have responsibility to help solve the housing crisis for low income people with disabilities. Visits to the offices of Rep. Barney Frank (D, MA), a longtime leader on housing issues, and Senators Chris Dodd (D, CT) and Richard Shelby (R, AL), the Chair and ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs resulted in a total of 50 arrests.
“Our first stop was to see Rep. Barney Frank,” said Diane Coleman of ADAPT in Rochester, New York. “ADAPT has been in talks with him over the past year, and early on he told us in no uncertain terms that he could get 500 housing vouchers from HUD that would be targeted to free people with disabilities who live in nursing homes and other institutions. He repeated that promise for months, and we kept trusting his word, and then one day he suddenly says he can’t help us. We were also working with him to get funding that pays for segregated housing redirected to support integrated housing and more vouchers. Sen. Frank arranged a hearing on this funding, and not only did he not invite any people with disabilities to testify, he didn’t even notify us about the hearing. So, today, we decided to confront him on his broken promises and bad faith.”
Shortly after 13 ADAPT members entered Franks’ office, he ordered staff to have them arrested, refusing to even discuss the ADAPT concerns, or strategies to address the housing crisis for low income people with disabilities trapped in institutions for lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing.
ADAPT went to the offices of Dodd and Shelby because HUD and housing fall under the purview of their committee. Sen. Shelby declined to work with ADAPT saying, “I don’t help people who can’t help themselves.” There were 19 arrests made in Shelby’s office. An aide to Sen. Dodd spoke with ADAPT, but declined to put her remarks on paper after indicating she might be willing to do so. ADAPT conti
nued to wait for the written statement, and eventually nearly 25 people were arrested.“The TV is full of news about the bank crisis, and the mortgage crisis, and the need for candidates to appeal to middle income people,” said Cassie James, Philadelphia ADAPT organizer. “Meanwhile, people who live on disability benefits, and people who are trapped in nursing homes because of no housing are being held hostage while the government bails everyone else out. Rent has gone up so much, it’s higher than many monthly disability benefits. Not only do us younger people with disabilities need affordable, accessible housing, older people need it, too. This is a crisis, and we need help to solve it.”
ADAPT has been in D.C. since September 13, erecting DUH City, a tent city, on the plaza outside HUD headquarters to bring attention to the situation of the people who have been ignored in this election year- low income people with disabilities. The crises with the economy and housing extend well beyond the middle class, but the Presidential candidates and their parties have seemingly forgotten that fact. Not so, ADAPT.
Press release also posted here and here.
h/t Monica Helms and Lisa
save Bitch Magazine!
as many of you know, a slew of really awesome independent magazine (such as Clamor, Punk Planet, LiP, Kitchen Sink, to name a few) folded over the last year or two as a result of the whole IPA debacle. One of the few to survive was Bitch Magazine, but now they're facing more financial difficulties. So I highly encourage you to find out what you can do to help!
this is from their website:
First the bad news: The print publishing industry as a whole is staring into a void. Across the board, newsstand magazine sales are in a slump, subscriber numbers are down, and paper and postal costs continue to rise. But it's not magazines like US Weekly or Vogue that you'll see disappearing from the newsstands—they have the parent companies and the resources to weather industry ill winds. It's the small, independent magazines like Bitch that will disappear, because the odds are already stacked high against us. And simply put: We need to raise $40,000 by October 15th in order to print the next issue of Bitch.
Now the good news: While it's true that $40,000 is a lot of money, we know the number of you Bitch supporters is in the hundreds of thousands. And we're asking each of you who values independent, nonprofit media and intelligent feminist cultural analysis to contribute what you can to ensure that Bitch thrives. And while we can't say what form Bitch will take in the future (our direction will depend, in part, on your feedback), we can say that we've been hard at work to find an innovative publishing model that will allow us to maintain the spirit and integrity of Bitch while also reflecting the changing world around us.
Once again, the link to donate is:
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/bitchs-fat
help make the weiner dog grow!
-julia
Copy/pasting Lisa's edit:
Edit:
"As Cedar says in comments:
I’m frustrated, though, that 1)the few feminist presses that actually take (white) trans women seriously and publish folks like Serano & Stryker do busted, racist shit (I want there to be good folks and bad folks, damnit!), and 2)that other folks aren’t willing to say yeah it’s not ok, but they’re the only folks that are not doing this other kind of not ok thing… I don’t know, it feels very hierarchy of oppressions to me. …I want them to be held accountable and not have an option to keep doing this shit, AND I want to have the only people who have my back to stick around. (no, feministing does not have our backs)
And Renee:
I have not been reading bitch for long but I do know that it speaks for some women. They did have a good article up about black motherhood not to long ago. I believe that any magazine that is not created for the specific purpose of serving WOC means that white women will be privilege within its pages. Is that in and of itself reason enough to wish that Bitch closes…I don’t think so. It is still far more progressive that say a glamor magazine and we can over time push for it to take a more inclusive approach. When I think of where the best chance of being heard as a WOC is in a traditionally white magazine, I tend to think it would be at places like bitch over say cosmo.
And of course this scandal earlier this year. There may be other stuff (but I’m not clued in at the moment, and google hates me).
And this kind of thing, I think. Although Lisa Jervis fixed that quickly."
24,700 crowns and 5 years
That is what a Romany teenager's life is worth.
"The youth who beat dead with an axe a Romany, aged 14, in a street in Jasov, East Slovakia, was sentenced to five years in prison today, court spokeswoman Marcela Galova told CTK.
Besides, the assailant must undergo psychiatric treatment and pay a compensation of 24,700 crowns to the family. [currency converts at 813 British pounds, or 1,457 US dollars]
The attack was racially motivated, Galova said.
The attack occurred in early last December when a boy, aged 17, attacked the boy outside a house and repeatedly hit his head with an axe.
The Romany boy tried to escape, but as he fell down, the assailant dealt him more blows. He then pushed the body to a brook and left the scene.
He caused to the Romany boy a fracture of skull and brain concussion. The Romany boy died in hospital after a week.
The punishment was proposed by the prosecutor. The court today approved an agreement on guilt and punishment. There is no appeal against the verdict.
The assailant told the court today he regretted the crime, Galova said."
h/t Debi
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Various links and a wittle rant
This is why I want a gun of my own.
(Triggering)A Philadelphia judge has acquitted the killer of a trans woman of murder charges, despite an impassioned plea by the prosecutor that malice was behind the shooting. At the end of a three-hour bench trial on Aug. 18, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart convicted Terron Oates of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Alexis King.
Oh "trans panic" defense don't we hate you; though cis*folks are all too ready to believe you even when the evidence completely disproves you:
[...]
Minehart didn’t explain his ruling, but it appears he accepted the defense’s position that Oates acted in the heat of passion after he picked up King for sex in February 2006, then shot her twice after realizing she was a biological male.
[...]
“Mr. Oates isn’t so naïve that he can’t find a gun,” she said. “He has an illegal gun in his car, he’s out at five o’clock in the morning on a school night and he’s going to a strip club when he’s underage. He’s sophisticated enough to be doing those things. Yet the defense portrayed him as an innocent, naïve little boy.”Oates told police he didn’t realize King’s biological status until King grabbed Oates’ hand and placed it on King’s penis, inside the car.
Because Ms. King would totally put herself in danger (and out of a paycheck at the least) by being "sexually aggressive" and forcing her john to acknowledge that she isn't a cis*woman. Because, while getting shot in the back, she would totally be tucking herself back in. Then, more magic powers here, she would teleport herself and her blood into the street (not a hospital).
Oates did not testify during the trial but his early statements to police were read for the record.
However, Sgt. Daniel Dutch, who’s worked undercover as a “john” in the area, testified that he’s never heard of — nor experienced — such behavior by a transgender sex worker.
To the contrary, transgender sex workers normally go out of their way to avoid having the johns touch their penises, Dutch said.
And medic William Murphy, who administered emergency care to King after she was shot, testified that King’s penis was “tucked” between her legs, held in place by her panties, when he got to her.
The shooting happened in the Nicetown section, near the intersection of Bott and Kerbaugh streets. King was shot twice, from the side and rear, according to the medical examiner’s report.
Her body was found about 120 feet from Oates’ car, where she collapsed in a pool of blood, evidently trying to run for safety, said Feeney.
McMonagle [the defense attorney] said the shooting happened during “pandemonium” in Oates’ car, after he felt King’s penis, tussled with her for Oates’ pistol, then King moved toward him.
But Feeney refuted that scenario.
“At no time was she ever coming toward him when he shot her, because she was shot from the side and rear,” Feeney said. “That tells you right there that the defendant is lying. If you’re coming toward someone, your front would get shot.”
She said Oates’ actions after the shooting also contradict a heat-of-passion defense.
“He immediately got rid of the weapon,” Feeney continued. “If you can’t think straight, you’re not going to do that. Then he calls 911, does this act on the phone about a robbery and unknown gunman and lies to the responding officer and detectives. To me, that shows a pretty good presence of mind, don’t you think?”
Fuck that noise.
If there are any mutants or aliens with super powers in Philly, I nominate Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart and Terron Oates as the next recipients of your justice. And, please, only mutants and aliens with super powers; we all know ('cause Marvel told us so) that you folks aren't real vigilantes and you always do things for the right reasons and never get caught.
Helen is asking What If?
I'd like to ask too. So, transphobes whether you be feminist or Christian or just an average Joe/Jane, what the fuck do you expect us to do in your utopia? I know we've been told to pray harder, examine our beliefs, and choose a different life...but what if that doesn't work or we are post bottom surgery? Do we join the priesthood (despite some of us not believing), do we kill ourselves?
What exactly do your theories mean for us--the real live trans* people?
Fuck ableism. Making a woman crawl off a plane, beg for a frigin bathroom break?
Fuck the comments too; access to water and a bathroom are human rights. So is basic respect and dignity.
OMG, the military discriminates against trans* folk! Who knew?
But hey, the APA said they're going to try to take a leading role in ending discrimination based on gender identity! Though for some reason this sounds hollow to me (maybe because Zucker was on the task force and will still be working on the DSM-V).
Shout out to Rozk; and her awesome post about how transphobic feminists can and do really hurt trans* folk and anyone who cares for trans* folk.
Shout out to Cedar; I especially like this piece.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Waiting
So, since my sister is ill and my mom doesn't want to drive back alone from dropping me off, I have to wait to go to Camp trans till the morrow. No, I don't drive. Trust me, you don't want me driving, we would all die.
But yeah, that means no internet for a few days. Yay Camp Trans! ^.^
I was commenting on the F Word, but I bowed out because I thought I was leaving.
I can be quite mean when I want to be (just ask my sister); why should I comment there if I am told I was too mean when I wasn't even trying? Perhaps I just have a tougher hide since I'm used to the snark comms on LJ; Rachel should be happy it was me commenting and not Drea. Drea would have made her cry. ^.^ I <3 style="font-weight: bold;">am quite mean and I need to improve my tone.
Apparently, calling a trans* woman by nongendered pronouns when it is quite obvious she identifies as a woman and uses female pronouns (everyone uses female pronouns for her; it isn't hidden) is not sufficient evidence of a commenter's disrespect. Apparently, many people believe that if an oppressed person is too mean, those in the oppressive group don't have to care or listen; oppressed people must beg appropriately for our rights. If we are too mean, if we don't use the proper tone, we aren't deserving of rights or being listened to. (go greased lighteningwite magik, go wite magik!)
What I was reading and what I think you should read.
Message Received, by Woman.
"Even if it turns out that trans people provide scientific proof that gender is something that exists as a real biological phenonmenon rather than a strictly social construct, feminism remains intact. Sexism and the resulting oppression of women is a social construct, because it is founded on the idea that gender is a binary with proscribed behavioral expectations for either side. Transgenderism simply provides another dimension to the ideology of feminism: the fascinating idea that gender is far more complex than binaries.
...
There really isn’t any good reason not to allow trans women into feminist women-only safe spaces if they identify as women, only fears that the patriarchy gives us, and we have far more reason to reject that then we do to deny the inclusion of trans people whose fundamental premise (again, when you really listen) is a rejection of the patriarchal definition of gender."
Sweden is proposing to make sterilization mandatory for all trans* people who wish to medically transition. What was that we were saying about how horribly trans* people are treated by doctors? Honestly, medical questions are the most common questions to be asked in many of the trans* forums I read. Not only questions with finding decent doctors, finding therapists who won't turn you away, but asking questions that their doctors can't answer because they don't know or care about trans* health. Asking, because they may be afraid of even going to a doctor, if x symptom could be a result of their hormones; even if they aren't afraid of doctors they may be afraid that their doctor will take away their hormones. BTW, Nick Gorton's free book is recommended for learning about trans*men's health.
Its the Trans Agenda!!!
Debi Crow on Angie Should Still be Here. (fyi, women-only commenting)
"The point I am going to make is a simple one: Angie Zapata's life, and her murder, are just as important, equally as important as those of the 2 women a week who die in this country[the UK] at the hands of husbands, boyfriends, or male relatives. Just as important. And the women here dying every week are just as important, equally as important as Angie Zapata, and all the other trans women and men who are murdered for being trans.
...
And if you are a feminist who is concerned about the epidemic of male violence against women, but do not think that the death of a trans woman is that important, or anything you need to concern yourself with, you are not only lost, but also wrong."
More from Debi, the roma are being horrifically persecuted. Now the government is trying to mandate finger printing to control "thieves" and "immigrants".
A Letter to Kyle Payne from Outis.
I left a comment on his site, but he deleted it. I basically told him that Ren and the other "pro-porners" in the "smear campiegn" are better feminists than he is; given that he's raped a woman and all.
BFP thinks on how Angie is Latina, will this be used as another excuse to let Andrade off? Was this another reason Andrade felt she was less than human?
"Angie’s murderer may have assaulted her to find out if she was a ‘real’ woman–but he listened to her name, the way she spoke, he noticed her skin color, the clothes she wore–and ALL of those things, along with whatever he thought he felt or didn’t feel when he assaulted Angie, came together in his mind to create “it”–a thing worthy of murder, a thing nobody would care about if she came up missing."
Unfortunately, very, very true. Trans* women of color, especially if they are poor or are sex workers, are the ones most often killed and beaten and raped. Race, trans* status, her gender as a woman, her actual or supposed job as a sex worker, her class, these all an more come together to create a nonhuman in the eyes of the kyriarchy.
Ren's feeling better! Hopefully she won't scar and can get back to work soon. ^.^
She also has another list of folks writing on Payne.
Belle has written on Angie and how London Pride called for back-up against the trans* women who just wanted to take a piss. Later, one trans* woman was sexually assaulted after she was forced to use the mens bathrooms.
I haven't had time to read it yet, but Julia Serano published an article in Alternet (apparently, the comments are disgusting though).
I'm a little wary of linking to theFword due to how the tone argument got thrown at me and Emily, but I really like this post. Laura's rethinking her devotion to the "gender is entirely a social construct" theory. Personally, I think it is obvious that she still is against sexism and rigidly defined gender roles. Most trans* people are too you know. Rigidly defined gender roles need to be banished; genders should not have any scripted roles, especially not ones that are enforced with violence. We need to separate gender from assigned sex, gender and sex from gender roles, gender from orientation, etc. Trans* people are not inherently in the way of this (some individuals are of course, but then so are many cis* folks).
Miss Crip Chick's entire front page is interesting and awesome.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Yeah, just more links
Plastics and other commonly-used chemicals may be responsible for early puberty (as in 14-month old babies and 7 year old girls). I already don't eat meat and try to use soaps without chemicals in them...but I know its impossible to get away from them all.
Kate Bornstein on WALL-E. I <3 loneliness, WALL-E, and being trans*.
(I got both links from Helen).
Queen Emily is guestposting on Lisa's blog; she's doing an awesome job looking at common cissexist/transmisogynist tropes. So far, "You're really just a man/woman" and "patriarchal privilege" are up; and the comments are pretty good too imo.
London Pride shouldn't be proud of how they treated (and their non-apology) trans*women. At Pride, trans*women were barred from using the women's restrooms. The stewards called the police on them and the police demanded their gender recognition certificates. WTF.
The People's History of the American Empire (video).
Debs did a "Rape News Round-up".
And now I want to get a few of these books...
Bint Alshamsa tells us not to call her "differently abled".
Measure of Medication from Gehenna.
Over at Radical Masculinity there is a call for discussion about creating healthy models of masculinity. The posts sie (?) links to are very good reading (one of which is a critique of Robert Jenson's views on masculinity, the other is on butch identity and ableism). I highly recommend a lot of the posts on RM; Genderqueer Genders in Society and Masculine Privilege Without Male Privilege? are two great ones.
Also, if I'm still in MI I really want to go to Camp Trans. Is anyone else going?
Type rest of the post here
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Appleseeds!
So, given that I have seen some interest in this and she's been linked to in a feminist carnival (I'll link to this response instead because t3h awesomeness), I'm going to address and/or snark (whichever works) Miss Andrea's "Deconstructing Transgenderism" posts and comments. Seriously, she leaves these comments all over; reminds me of the rabbit shit left all over when you don't train them to use the litterbox.
Warning, this post will contain snark, condenscendationz, speaking in lolcat and 1337, geeky references, and some actual logic-not moonlogic. I will not be nice. I am not obliged to answer or refute every little thing Andrea says, especially as much of it is illogical and/or based off of strawtrannies. Moreover, I and other trans*folk have answered it all before.
Hopefully, trans*folks and our friends and allies can find my snarking amusing; hopefully my head won't plode from the fail. Yes, plode; my head could explode or implode, the fail is that high.
Hokay, so, heres the earth...oh wait, rong, its da m00n.
Here's the first post (no technorati ratings for you! http://feminazi.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/no-really-im-evil-transgenderism-preliminaries/), where she links to a nice post on the fword. Hey, it's on my trans* 101/201 links! Nifty.
Then she starts on about how she's addressing the "broader philosophical concept" and not individuals, but we'll see that she completely fails at this.
Next she starts talking about how some parts are not the whole and how feminists need to learn this and I sit and think she needs to practice what she preaches, but what the hell do I know? I'm a tranny, therefore retardedz and disorderedz. Somehow this ties into crying girls and pity shields against deconstruction... I think Andrea needs to go back and learn how to organize paragraphs and sentences; and the definition of 'logical' and 'argument'. I'm not the only one that thinks so, so it's not just my reading abilities; and I can make sense of Eliade and Tolkien and the like! I is smart: SMRT!
Oh look, now she's talking about how we can either look at the larger issue or make it about you and we can't have both.
So if I'm discussing how women (trans* & cis*) are treated shitty compared to cis*men, y'all can't give personal examples? Oh, and now apparently it's impossible to talk about someone, their experiences, and/or feelings without being mean. OK, the next time I discuss what it's like to be trans* I'll keep this in mind--by talking about me I've made it okay to call me a retard and a liar. Makes total logical sense; moonlogic that is.
And just as "freshly raped" person shouldn't argue about rape, freshly transitioned folks shouldn't argue about trans*ism. Yesh, this makes t0t4l s3ns3! 0, and that phrase, "freshly raped", is a direct quote. *headdesk*
Ya Rly, leik t0ta11y wh0a.
This post is all rather rambling and doesn't seem to say much. Except, of course, lulz 2 c0me!eleventyone
Now, "Deconstructing Transgenderism Part One":
After some more rambling, we come to this bit of fun, "Unless I am mistaken, she[Twisty] likes transgendered folk for the same reason that most feminists seem to like them — they prove gender is fluid."
So, I know there are some folks out there that think that we prove gender is fluid and being trans* destabilizes the pat and all that jazz. I've met, liek, one person that thought this, but then maybe I just haven't been in the right groups. Julia Serano talks about this sort of thinking in Whipping Girl and I think she, as someone who has had experience with them, is better at refuting this than I could be. To summarize Ms Serano's points: this sort of thinking privileges 'subversive' genders and gender expressions over 'conventional' ones. Moreover, they often ungender trans*folk who identify within the man/woman binary.
And there are obviously leik no feminists who like us because, ya know, we're their friends/family/coworkers/etc. and we're human beings. And, ya know, they don't think they have sup4r mind reading p0wers to disprove what we say about ourselves.
Next she acts like all trans*folk transition 'all the way to the end' (whatev that means) and identify within the binary. [insert long and verbose screed about how not all trans*folk transition or identify within binary; check out my trans* 101 links if you need it]
Unfortunately, all her posts and comments that I've seen seem to think this, so yeah. She's leik, way behind trans* activism and theories and whatnotz. Sooo 1950's.
And then theres more ranting about how no one would transition if we didn't think certain traits were male and others female...And I sit here thinking about how if that was why I transitioned I did it in the wrong direction.
...and now theres more of that wonderful "penis to pick up a hammer" analogy (only now with more sodium!vaginas picking up vacuums!) I quoted before... Dear Gods, why? Why must you keep referencing tentacle monsters and hentai! I didn't bring it up, you and your commenters do! It's your porno mind, not mine!
NOT MY KINK! But give me Sam/Bee transformers pron anyday...
And now, slightly better, I get the picture of stereotypical!gay-man-who-thinks-he-must-transition going around in a vag' boutique choosing which one he wants...while he has a little dog in his purse. And for some reason he looks and acts like Carson from Queer eye...
plx, save me?
Noes! Cannot be sav3d, i must make my time
now there is old meme, we transition for fetish or cause we gay. old meme makes Snape take points from Gryffindor; now you lose house cup.
Lastly theres something or other about trans*women's tear-stained bits...
Again, not my kink...
But, I can't forget the comments! Noes, t3h comments are almost better than the post itself. Theres the: OMGz!!! Trannies are totally trannies because they like hentai!! All tranies leik t3h hentai!
OMGz, fetish! perverts! disorderz! rapeistez! schitzoes! OMGZ!!!!!!11111!eleventyoneoneOhNoes!
"I can has hentai?" says the strawtranny.
"I madez you a hentai, but radfems eated pastryarchy" says the sex pox feminist.
There, we learn from t3h genious KA, that we all gotz t3h fetish or t3h OCD. I guess I must has t3h OCD since I don't has t3h fetish. Maybe I catch the fetish from my trans* friends? Afterallz, I can't stand being left out; justt leik I am a man because of how manly I amz. *strikes a pose*
*trips on feather boa* oops, my slip is teh showing.
Sastuma yet again tells how real lesbians don't like sex or porn... Maybe she knows all the lesbians who bring up sex are actually mtf folks because of her clear-eyed lesbean gaze?
KA does a remix on the trans*women luurve being abused whores trope:
"It’s the rape and total control over a synthetic female body, giving him and any other man he includes full access to treating women the way they both love to fetishize treating women. They then strengthen the conditioned response to female parts with their misogynist sex.That’s why you see so many misogynists patronizing MtF prostitutes, and MtF prostitutes happy to do it. Sexist men look out for each other and will cooperate to control women’s bodies in any novel way they can think of."
Yes, KA and Andrea (she told KA she loved her comments and how true the are) are saying that trans*women like being raped. That they like being prostitutes because they like enacting abuse on "synthetic female bodies".
I cannot make a joke out of this. And on that note, I'm done for now. After I eat and do the dishes I'll do the third post and various comments in another post. The FAIL, especially that last bit I quoted, is making me literally sick.
ETA: mAndrea does believe in differences between the sexes!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Moar Links
The history of trans* and/or gender variant folks working for and with gay rights groups.
I really like the Queer Nation quote, "We are Queer Nation. We are here to promote unity between all people--some of whom are like us, most of whom are not. We do not necessarily expect to understand the differences between our cultures, our desires, our beliefs, but we do seek to increase respect and acceptance for all our differences so that we may move into the twenty-first century with joy and dignity."
Brownfemipower's thoughts on Obama's Flint speech (which is on my TV right now).
More on how horribly immigrants are treated (how sexual assault and coercion not a feminist issue I ask).
Monica Robert's (of Transgriot) Fathers Day post; a very nice poem about trans*women relating to their fathers.
Discussing racism, sexism, etc. in our childhood movies in the IBTP forums. Right now I'm pulling together some thoughts on Ferngully, specifically on the Batty Rap song I downloaded awhile ago. Yeah, the song the bat who was driven insane by western medicine sings; the bat named Batty.
More of Kim's thoughts on the word "retard"; specifically when feminists use and defend their use of the word. I am not the most knowledgeable on disability activism, but I'm working on it. I think I've gotten rid of ableist words like lame, retard, fucktard, etc. from my written vocabulary...but I still say them though I try not to.
Medical rape.
Now, I don't much like Debs and I think she's a cissexist. But no one deserves to be treated like this--by either the medical community and by this so-called doctor Crippen.
To quote Belledame, "I am writing this because some shit is beyond the pale, and needs writing about. And because rampant misogyny, ableism and--yes! I agree with the author! rape apologists suck ass. As for my feminist creds, or the supposed harm I am doing to feminism by saying "hey, you know what? This guy is a sexist, hateful wankstain, and he's being a gratuitous, GIANT asshole to someone who didn't ask for it to boot"?"
Debs is being bullied by a much larger blogger and few are supporting her, this isn't right. She temporarily closed down her blog because of the abusive comments Crippen and his cronies were sending her btw. Oh yeah, the real Dr. Crippen? Famous for murdering his wife.
And Trinity, who has also been subjected to abusive and violating procedures and 'doctors', has her own contribution to make.
Apparently, mainstream white feminist organizations are silent on the racist and sexist treatment of Michelle Obama.
I'm not sure entirely of what I think, but this is an interesting discussion on when drag is similar to blackface. I think I agree with the OP, sometimes drag is similar to blackface (and sometimes, like with "Shirley Q Liqueur", they're one in the same), but drag itself is not minstrelsy.
On a less serious note, I've also been reading a lot of movieverse Transformers fanfics where Sam becomes some sort of human/autobot hybrid because of his contact with the allspark. Yeah, I'm a geek.
