[Discussion] Trans Issues and Rights

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This thread is for the discussion of current events relating to trans rights, for discussion of the lives of trans people and difficulties they face, and for basic questions about the lives and experiences of trans people. (If basic questions become dominant we'll look at making a Q&A thread at that time.)

This is a continuation of the pre-D&D thread “How to think about trans people” for conversations about trans rights. Feel free to post and discuss news about trans issues here, or even basic questions about trans lives. It's totally reasonable for major trans-related events to have their own threads, or to be discussed here if there's not a lot of other stuff going on.

We've already got a thread for talking about the NCAA's move to pull championships out of North Carolina due to things like the provisions of NC HB2 (thanks, Abu5217!), but I figured it's also time to bring this thread back so that we have a place to collect general musings, questions, and news.

<3

I was hopeful for this Strut show to be interesting, but after scanning the trailer on Youtube it looks a little too "reality show" to me. Maybe that's just the marketing team wrecking the trailer though.

I found it in a google search. It looks like the original shows up on this page, but I don't know where it originates before that. (I should probably know that if I put it on the page. :X)

(signing up the old way. nothing to see here.)

Meant to post this the other day but got distracted by being horribly ill with a cold-fluey thing.

Chelsea Manning went on full hunger strike last Friday in protest of the relentless bullying and harassment she receives from the government and her military captors, only worsened after her recent suicide attempt (apparently this is considered "misconduct" punishable by indefinite solitary confinement or moving to a maximum security prison because...misguided sense of revenge and spite? I assume? ).

Anyway, a couple of days ago she ended her strike after finally winning permission to have gender confirmation surgery

(Although, presumably just to twist the knife in because they can, her captors still refuse to let her grow out her hair, forcing her to keep it at 'regulation male length')

Meanwhile... Snowden gets his own blockbuster movie by Oliver Stone with an all-star cast, near-celebrity status in Russia and half the world clambering over each other to petition for his pardon.

*and while I'm still angry I might as well post this - here's Michelle Rodriguez's response to people calling her new exploitation film ("(RE)assigmnment" kinda sorta insulting as hell to the Trans community...

But speaking to Reuters, she said: “What is transgender? Is it a psychological thing or is it an operation, and does the LGBTQ community own the operation? Do they have a branding right over a sex change?

“Are they mad that somebody decided to take their branded transgender operation and use it on heterosexual people?

“It’s a B-movie noir genre comic book take on something.

“I’m bisexual. I do guys. I do girls. You can’t really argue with me because I’m you.

“So if I do a movie, I’d never do a movie with the intention of offending anybody in the LGBT community because I’m a part of it.”

I don't even know how to parse most of that. 0_o

I knew she was trouble ever since she said Resident Evil was a better game than Half Life on the first Resident Evil film commentary track. The nerve!

(Doing the same thing Roo did)

As a recently outed trans woman I really appreciate that this thread exists.

Sku Boi wrote:

As a recently outed trans woman I really appreciate that this thread exists.

In case you've not seen it, we also have a separate thread for all-inclusive gender issues (mostly non-news, more personal stuff) here as well.

News yesterday that NC Gov. McCrory is holding the Charlotte ordinance hostage, and saying he would repeal HB2 if that ordinance was repealed first.

pyxistyx wrote:

*and while I'm still angry I might as well post this - here's Michelle Rodriguez's response to people calling her new exploitation film ("(RE)assigmnment" kinda sorta insulting as hell to the Trans community...

But speaking to Reuters, she said: “What is transgender? Is it a psychological thing or is it an operation, and does the LGBTQ community own the operation? Do they have a branding right over a sex change?

“Are they mad that somebody decided to take their branded transgender operation and use it on heterosexual people?

“It’s a B-movie noir genre comic book take on something.

“I’m bisexual. I do guys. I do girls. You can’t really argue with me because I’m you.

“So if I do a movie, I’d never do a movie with the intention of offending anybody in the LGBT community because I’m a part of it.”

I don't even know how to parse most of that. 0_o

I knew she was trouble ever since she said Resident Evil was a better game than Half Life on the first Resident Evil film commentary track. The nerve!

Her argument seems to be that because she's not playing a trans character, but a cis character that gets a sex change operation, it can't possibly be insulting to the trans community because it's not a representation of them. All of which completely ignores that it's still perpetuating negative stereotypes. She's said she doesn't like the new title (it was originally going to be called Tomboy), probably because it makes the transgender connection more blatant, but she's got some serious blinders on with regards to how it could be offensive to the trans community regardless of the title.

But she's bi, so she can't possibly be transphobic!

Stele wrote:

News yesterday that NC Gov. McCrory is holding the Charlotte ordinance hostage, and saying he would repeal HB2 if that ordinance was repealed first.

Whaaaaaaaaat?

That is some world-class levels of "no" right there.

Hypatian wrote:
Stele wrote:

News yesterday that NC Gov. McCrory is holding the Charlotte ordinance hostage, and saying he would repeal HB2 if that ordinance was repealed first.

Whaaaaaaaaat?

That is some world-class levels of "no" right there.

Have to love those "small government" Republicans and their attempts to strong-arm power away from local municipalities in the name of false morality and fear.

bekkilyn wrote:

Have to love those "small government" Republicans and their attempts to strong-arm power away from local municipalities in the name of false morality and fear.

It's a pretty common tactic: be incompetent and/or evil to convince people they need smaller government and that private organizations would do it (whatever it is) better if the government would just give them free reign.

Depressing confession / moment of privilege. My wife and I are conducting a national search of up and coming tech areas to live when we move back to the US. One of the places on our list was the research triangle in NC. Once again, privilege is my only excuse, but it didn't cross my mind until I clicked on this thread just now what's happening in NC. Like I know what's happening there, but it was easy to forget being a cis male half a world away.

Taking NC off that list for now.

so I came across this webcomic, assigned male
and then kinda read the entire thing, there's some incredibly powerful stuff in there, this in particular dug deep in the feels;
IMAGE(http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55552781e4b087a17257badf/t/575dbd231bbee04cda4b0e2a/1465761069067/?format=1500w)

and I'm just so very glad that this forum is a place where this space can exist, and that for all the struggles and hate in this world that trans people in particular face some of you have nonetheless found those moments of happiness, thank you all again for sharing that journey and the experiences therein so openly here.

There were rallies in Charlotte yesterday encouraging the city council not to give in. Seems like they are (correctly) throwing the blame back on the state legislature and McCrory.

Fight the good fight friend!

Manning to be held for charges in regards to her suicide attempt via the verge.

This is absolute garbage. I find the timing very convenient and the type of review vindictive. I hope Manning can find her strength to continue. I know I would have trouble with this situation.

Sku Boi wrote:

Manning to be held for charges in regards to her suicide attempt via the verge.

This is absolute garbage. I find the timing very convenient and the type of review vindictive. I hope Manning can find her strength to continue. I know I would have trouble with this situation.

She was found guilty of "conduct which threatens" and was sentenced to 14 days in solitary confinement, seven of which were suspended indefinitely. She has 15 days to appeal the punishment if she so chooses.

She had no access to an attorney or advocate during the hearing and there are no publicly available records or transcripts of the hearing.

OG_slinger wrote:
Sku Boi wrote:

Manning to be held for charges in regards to her suicide attempt via the verge.

This is absolute garbage. I find the timing very convenient and the type of review vindictive. I hope Manning can find her strength to continue. I know I would have trouble with this situation.

She was found guilty of "conduct which threatens" and was sentenced to 14 days in solitary confinement, seven of which were suspended indefinitely. She has 15 days to appeal the punishment if she so chooses.

She had no access to an attorney or advocate during the hearing and there are no publicly available records or transcripts of the hearing.

This sounds like a negative feedback loop. If she's suicidal, isolation/solitary is going to exacerbate the problem, thus potentially causing another attempt, thus leading to more isolation/solitary...

This whole ordeal sounds like they're just putting her in her place. People wonder why the military is such a hostile place towards women....

Makes me so frickin' mad.

Today a coworker said 4 years old seemed like "too early" to decide you're trans.

I pointed out that no one seems to have any issue with a 4 year old deciding they are cis or het, and that no one is putting children on hormones, or surgery waiting lists. At most it's puberty blockers, which are completely reversable. (I think I was fairly diplomatic, though likely clearly annoyed, especially given it's electro day and I'm beardy and Female Doggoy.) They seemed to accept that.

But like, the kicker is this happened at the end of a meeting of the queer group at work. (This person is a cis het ally.)

It's frustrating how common that attitude is, and that it's based on such faulty assumptions that are never questioned.

I have a lot in that paragraph that frustrates me. My sister's kid came out as gender fluid. They're sister thinks that they're coming out for the wrong reason. When my sister probed for an answer my niece didn't know what a good reason. Just seems like there needs to be more education during your more plastic brain years.

Ofcom (UK broadcasting regulator) published the results of a recent survey on viewers attitudes to homophobic and transphobic language on UK tv.

Might be worth a look (warning for strong language throughout the report though). I just skimmed it briefly but here's a chart with a very quick summary of what they found re: the language used in shows/programmes.

(spoilered for homophobic/transphobic language examples.

Spoiler:

IMAGE(http://cdn.pinknews.co.uk/images/2016/09/shirt-lifter.png)

The report also covers abelist and racist language as well.

Apparently there is a new "people have concerns about supporting trans children!" article floating around. This twitter moment by Avery Edison talks about why these articles are so incredibly dangerous and frustrating.

Avery Edison wrote:

American Girl: How Young Is Too Young To Be Trans?

How young is too young to be cis? How young is too young to be gay? How young is too young to be a woman?

Every six months someone writes an article like this so cis people can half-read it and come away thinking kids are getting breast implants.

REMINDER: "Medical intervention" for young trans children means puberty blockers. That's all–a largely-reversible step that gives kids time.

If you think kids are too young to "decide" to be trans, you should want ready access to blockers so they have as many choices as possible.

Every article like this, every hand-wringing "honest inquiry" about early transition, comes from the same idea: trans people aren't real.

These articles make explicit the subtext behind cis support for trans people: we'll indulge you, because we can't prove you're lying.

Kids, though? Kids make sh*t up all the time. They say they're dragons and princesses and superheroes. So we can refute their transness.

The best part is, the only people who'll stick up for trans kids are trans adults, and who's going to believe those deviants?

Trans freaks want to take your kids and make them trans too, and worse, because they transition so young, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TELL!!!!!!!!!

I get it: gender dysphoria is totally alien to cis people. Scary to think about, hard to understand. The solution is to TRUST US.

Trust kids who say they feel this way. Trust medical steps trans people have fought for and fight to improve. Don't trust your cis feelings.

Oh, and for f*ck's sake, stop writing fear-mongering articles about us. "Some people say." Get out of here with that OUTFOXED bullsh*t.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtyQJXnWEAESMIz.jpg)

Hypatian wrote:

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtyQJXnWEAESMIz.jpg)

Yuuup.

*mercilessly steals for future use*

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