Blogs

I was wandering through Craigslist tonight, and just had the urge to look and see what was going on under jobs in the TV/Film/video category. To my surprise, there was something very interesting. I answered the ad myself, and thought I would cross-post it here in case anyone else was interested.

Oscar nominee casting film about MEN’S GROOMING

Date: 2010-08-23, 3:57PM PDT

Reply to: mensgroomingdoc@gmail.com ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

One of the themes I'm hearing over and over again is that we're
moving toward a single online identity. Information has begun to pile up
closer and closer together. The Internet has been a point of learning
and connection for the trans communities for years. We discover facets
of our identities, find trans positive services, and those of us in more
isolated areas connect with the larger community for support.

To me, the idea of our online identity's solidifying has possible
direct implications for the trans communities. We already know that
human resources reps do Web searches on candidates, and the idea that we
should "just not say anything we don't want others to know" doesn't
necessarily hold water in our cases.

A lot of us use the Web for community building and information sharing. Here are just some of the ways I can think of:

• Trans related blogs, especially from voices that don't get air time in the mainstream LGB-T media
• Compiling information about physicians, counselors, and other service providers who work with us
• Rating those service providers
• Putting out dates and times for conferences, support groups, and other community events.

What do you think about our lives, the role the Internet plays in
growing our community, and protecting our information in this age where
information is increasingly bought and sold without transparency? I see
us as an untapped market, so part of the reason I'm asking is to start a
conversation about how to guard and grow our information in the future.

This week in Seattle is Geek Week (August 13th-22nd), and part of
this week's events is a conference devoted to exploring privacy,
technology, and access to information. I'm here to understand what's
going on now, trending topics, and how these movements in privacy affect
the trans community.

We have a great need to protect the privacy
of our information for a variety of  obvious reasons. Information is
currency now, both literally and figuratively. In my mind, it would be
beneficial for the trans community to understand this and not get left
behind. We are making gains in the legal realm. I think this shows that
we're starting to take control of the words and concepts used to define
us. The next step in this evolution is to broaden this out and make sure
that we begin to control who profits from our lives and experiences.

I'll have more as the conference goes on...

Lincoln

Well, ok, the study actually says they're looking for non-trans people, but I'm trying to use the term cisgender more and more. I picked up the link from an article on www.trans-health.com .

They say they are going to develop online HIV intervention materials to protect the health of these non trans cisgender partners and trans people. There is a $30 gift certificate in it for those who finish the survey.

Here's the weblink:

https://www.allgenderhealth.org/

Although I am glad (and shocked!) to see that they included trans men, part of me wonders how effective online resources will be for protecting the health of our community. I guess only time will tell!

Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle starts penpal program for transgender inmates

Seattle, WA—

Raised Voices is a new ministry being offered by Emerald City MCC. Letter writing programs are often popular among inmates, since mail may be someone’s only contact with the outside.

Members of Emerald City noticed that there are many Christian programs, as well as amazing queer and trans specific penpal projects. But there wasn’t one that brought the two elements together. And so Raised Voices was born.

Why the name? “It’s a mission statement in itself,” says Lincoln Rose, program coordinator. “As queer Christians, we are mandated to speak against the evils of the prison industrial complex. This is the time to show our incarcerated TGI cousins that they are not forgotten. Our intent is to form relationships and provide support.” As of this writing, they are unable to give money to inmates who ask.

Raised Voices currently serves TGI inmates at facilities in Washington State and Oregon. They feel a regional focus will help with relationship building and resource referral.

Inmates don’t have to be wary of getting religion pushed on them if they sign up. “Absolutely not,” explains Ray Neal, Emerald City’s pastor. “You never have to talk about God if you don’t want to. The mission is to support inmates.” But he does know there’s a need for the faith aspect. “There is rarely any queer-affirming pastoral care provided in the prison system. We want to be available if people do have questions.”

If you or someone you know is incarcerated in Washington or Oregon, let them know about Raised Voices. They can send a letter to this address:

Raised Voices
C/o Emerald City MCCS

This post is originally part of my blog Talk about Gay Racism, which you can find here.

Talk About Gay Racism

Monica's blog, TransGriot, can be found here:

http://transgriot.blogspot.com

Monica Roberts is an amazing activist. One of the founders of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC), she's been involved in making the world a better place for trans folks since 1998. An accomplished fiction and nonfiction writer, she focuses her writing and activism on increasing the visibility of trans people of color. She is one of four African American trans women to win the International Foundation for Gender Education's Trinity Award, the highest honor that international organization bestows. Her blog, TransGriot, has been going strong since 2006, and is one of the main places I get my news about what's going on in the world. I caught up with her on Facebook, and she was gracious enough to grant me a quick interview for TAGR.

Monica, thanks again for doing this. I read your blog regularly. What made you decide to start TransGriot?

I got fed up with the lack of diversity in the trans blogs at the time, the whitewashing of trans POC's out of trans history and the ignoring of our accomplishments. That led to the January 1, 2006 birth of TransGriot.

Outside of your blog, are you writing anything else?

Several news sources are reporting that a transgender woman was assaulted while she was waiting on the bus yesterday afternoon. This situation is happening far too often. So many transgender people are assaulted or murdered solely because they are or were transgender.
The question as a community is how do we empower ourselves to counter this hate. How do we protect ourselves from those who would do us harm?

The police are investigating this as a hate crime, as they should. Unfortunately, the police report mis-identifies the victim as male. A spokeswoman for the SPD later clarified that the victim identifies as female. I am ready to bet that she said as much at the scene. Whether this is because the woman's identifying documents show she is male or female is beside the point. This situation presents an opportunity to learn. The Seattle Police Department needs to make sure that all officers are presented with culturally competent training. Perhaps the officer would have asked whether or not the woman is transgender and could have added a note about her gender identity in his report instead of simply identifying her as male.

I'm carrying on an interesting conversation on another one of the websites that I run. We were talking about the age-old dilemma of how do we define gender? He wrote about the sheriff's department in his county that is attempting to develop some policies for transgender prisoners. 

To rely upon genitalia for deciding gender is essentialist bullshit. What about intersex people with ambiguous genitalia? Think of it this way: What about the Bobbits of the world? Is he now a woman because his dick was cut off? Of course not. If a woman has a hysterectomy, does that make her male? Believe it or not, many women think it does. If a woman wears a strap-on, does that make her a man? If so, I bet alot of women would be packing in the workplace if it meant they'd be paid the same as their male counterparts.

To rely upon genitalia with regard to transpeople is also a class issue. As it stands now, health insurance policies that pay for transition costs are very rare. In fact, it is commonly listed as a specific exclusion in most policies thanks in no small part to Janice Raymond and others of her ilk who argued that we were just psychotic and that the medical community should not humor us by giving us medically appropriate care. This means that our healthcare visits are paid out of pocket, unless our providers code it as something else. Transpeople have to pay full-price for hormones which can run over $2k/yr. Considering that transpeople are unemployed or underemployed at double the rate of society, not many of us can afford to get the medically necessary care that we need.

My top surgery costs close to $8k, none of it covered by insurance. Bottom surgery would cost anywhere from $10k-$100k, depending upon which method I'd choose. I'm super-fortunate that the surgeon who did my hysto was able to get the insurance company to cover it so I paid about $500 out of pocket for a $25k surgery.

Unfortunately, the surgery is still rather primitive for FTMs and most of us are not in the mood for taking a risk of loss of erotic sensation for something that doesn't really look like a penis and doesn't function like a penis (well, I could pee out of it but would need a rod inserted to make it hard enough for sex). If interested, look up metoidioplasty or phalloplasty to
see what is available to FTMs. I think women are paying around $15-25k for all of the surgery that they need. 

Your sheriff's department should look at the King County, Washington incarceration policy. Many transpeople were involved in the development of the policy so I think it serves as a pretty good example for how to respectfully treat transpeople during their incarceration. It is by no means perfect and would probably sue some revision but it is far better than the policy in the county of my friend.

I am fortunate to sit on the board of Ingersoll Gender Center, an organization that has provided peer support services and a speakers bureau for over 30 years. Ingersoll was there for my wife when she transitioned 20 years ago and it was there when I began my transition two years ago. My work with Ingersoll is so gratifying because I get to see people recreate themselves so that they can live a more authentic life. I've been a grassroots activist since I came out in 1985. Now, I am learning how to work from the inside while not forgetting my roots. I believe that grassroots organizing and institutional organizing both have a very important role in our movement and when working together, form a powerful force for change.