A Probability of Being

 Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance . It is the day to memorialize the people who had died as a result of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. It's a day to remember people who have been killed quietly, targeted easily due to the transphobic nature of today's society that still refuses to acknowledge the humanity of people who transition from one biological sex to another. There are many explanations for these crimes. "Gay panic" and "trans panic" are still considered reasonable explanations for acts of violence visited on these marginalized people. That transgendered people are marginalized makes them easy targets for crimes that will go unaddressed and unpunished. That transgendered people are victims of high crime rates as opposed to any other gendered group goes unnoticed by most people. Their names disappear into the darkness, forgotten. Why are they killed?  These people were killed for being trans, or suspected of being trans. They wer...

Recently, Queen Emily pointed out at Feministe how a new women-only pharmacy was excluding, well, women . Namely, transwomen. This is just another incident in a long pattern of ciswomen telling transwomen, "no, you're not really women, you're actually men, and we say so, no matter how you feel, because there are arbitrary rules you have to obey in order to be a woman, and you have to have obeyed them from birth and biology." Then there are some crazy so-called feminists who attack transwomen, saying, that transwomen are upholding patriarchal values by buying into the gender binary, are tearing down efforts to get rid of the gender binary by using the terms 'male' and 'female' as they like without paying attention to biology. And then there are just the plain ugly people who call transpersons "freaks" just because the latter group happen to dress in ways that they feel express their true gender which may not be consistent with how their gender...

I am aware of Lateisha Green . I know she is a transgender WoC. To be specific, she is a black WoC, which identifies her difference from Angie Zapata - Lateisha Green is - was, though it makes me weep to correct myself - darker-skinned. But unlike the Zapata case, the media hasn't been following this case. The trial of Dwight Delee has been moved to mid-July, when it was originally slated for June 11. However, still not a peep from the media on the case. Not even close to the amount of coverage for Angie Zapata, which, in itself, was still not enough . And now there is even less attention. This is not right. I don't really have much else to say, except that I am aware of Lateisha Green, that she existed, that she died, and that the public at large seems not to notice. I am trying to keep an eye out on newbits on her. Lateisha Green deserves all the recognition she can get, not because she was black, not because she was transgender, not because she was killed, but because she is...

This is what happens when you give the right to free speech to hateful people: Talk show: KRXQ, Sacramento, Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning Williams and States took turns referring to gender dysphoric children as "idiots" and "freaks," who were just out "for attention" and had "a mental disorder that just needs to somehow be gotten out of them," either by verbal abuse on the part of the parents, or even shock therapy. "Allowing transgenders to exist, pretty soon it becomes normal to fall in love with the animals." States bragged that if his own son were to ever dare put on a pair of high heels, States would beat his son with one of his own shoes. He urged parents whose own little boys expressed a desire to wear a dress to verbally abuse and degrade them as a viable response. "Because you know what? Boys don't wear high heel shoes. And in my house, they definitely don't wear high heels. I'm going to go, 'You kno...

Each year, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (the “IDAHO”, as it is usually called), will see actions and initiatives take place in many countries and contexts and on many different issues. All these activities and initiatives are a very strong signal to all, decisions makers, public opinion, civil rights movements, human rights defenders, etc. throughout the world that our fights for our Rights as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, etc… is vibrant! The Day provides all different kind of actors with a very powerful opportunity to express their demands and to advocate for their case. Each year also, the IDAHO aims at using the extra public, political and media attention that it provides at all levels to highlight one specific aspect of the struggle for sexual rights. This year, we chose to highlight the often neglected but important issue of Transphobia. Here's the appeal for the rights of trans people all over the world in PDF ...

h/t to Transgriot On June 11, Dwight DeLee will go to trial for the murder of Lateisha Green. He shot her on November 11 in Syracuse, New York. He also shot her brother, Mark Cannon, 19 and gay. As usual, newspapers are failing to Get It Right by referring to Lateisha as "Moses Cannon". The DeLee family is trying to drum up sympathy by stating that he was set up, introducing his previous crime record, and that "six members of the DeLee family is already in jail". Whilst I understand that PoC often unfairly suffer police brutality and get the short end of the legal system stick quite regularly, evidence points to the fact that DeLee was homophobic and transphobic. And it looks to be that the "trans panic" defense will once again be used. More [excellent] coverage from here . Cross-posted to the Redux Edition

It's difficult for me, being an ally. A friend recently told me how good it was to see me blogging about "gay and trans issues" even though they don't affect me. Ze's not the only one, either, since another friend, in a meme, said one of the things that reminded her of me was "transgender issues". The only reason why I can see myself giving them this impression is that I wrote quite a bit on Angie Zapata's case . And even then, I didn't cover it as extensively as I could have. Partly because I didn't know what to say that wasn't already said. Partly because I tend to follow a lot of other things and I sort of rely on the blogs I read to give me the news I want. I've only ever known one transgendered person in person. I don't know where she is now. We were never close, but we spoke when we encountered each other, and would move seats on the bus to sit together if we encountered each other there. One time we even walked together. Sh...