Paul Scott, republican candidate for Michigan secretary of state  released his platform last week and was kind enough to include transfolks in his agenda. Among his desired changes of immigration restrictions and traceable RFID  chips inside state IDs he has included a statement for us trans folks too:

" I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance."
                                                    -Official Paul Scott Weblog

Now, the average person doesn't know a thing about trans-related issues in any scope, let alone specific ID policies.  So how can such an issue be of public interest? As with all discriminatory smears it is surely a scapegoat to screen the state's real problems. But out of the potpourri of things that conservative right-wingers hate, why pick on the genderqueers? Honestly, I think that Scott wanted to pick something that would shock people in a "look what the dirty liberal government did behind your back" kind of way. By bringing trans elements to the forefront he is gaining attention via a conservative fear mongering crusade. And with abortion being way overused and therefore unexciting, he had to find something that would appall people more than dead unborn fetuses. Enter transSEXuals, cause they aren't just out to get fetuses, they're out to get everyone.

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Mini-documentary about your favorite pink haired femme boy, JAC Stringer!
by Hunter Stuart at Stuart Productions

You can also access the video on YouTube. Please help us to SHARE this video by RATING it (the five little red and grey stars), COMMENTING, and SENDING to your friends and coworkers!

The Midwest is crawling with queers. Not because of any strong presence but in the more literal sense. Queers are crawling because we do not have the space to stand up. We do not have the resources that would enable us to live full, healthy lives. We, like so many others, are isolated in our homes, in our towns, controlled and confined by others, longing for life and being unable to live it.

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I came out as trans I didn’t know anyone who was like me and I had no way of finding them. The city‘s “gay“ scene was practically extinct and no trans or queer scene it had never existed in the first place. There was no space for me, so I decided to try and make one.

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Apparently January is the 2nd annual National Drag History Month. A month-long event that “salutes the richness of drag culture and pays tribute to the courageous queens & kings who have fought for equality while inspiring, educating & entertaining us all.” Sounds cool right?  But when you click the link you may feel the same disappointment I did in seeing that “drag history month” is nothing but a LOGO ploy for programming (also see excellent blog by Queerty). You may become depressed at the fact that the link itself has the word “franchise” in it. Or you may just be downright confused how there is not one mention of any female-bodied or gender transgressive/genderfuck performers. I guess National Drag History Month is for girls only… or is it for boys only because they are drag queens? Either way, WTF? Do drag kings have no history of doing anything? Not that LOGO would know either way because no actual history is ever talked about in the programming.

It is a common misconception that drag kings and genderf*ck performers don’t exist, but we actually do. It isn’t like we aren’t out and about. Now days its hard to hit up a lesbian bar without finding some trace of drag kings or go to a queer space without at least some knowledge somewhere of genderfuck performers. Female bodied gender performers have been gaining speed and spectrum, in the past ten years especially, but still we get thrown to the back of the bar. Why?  I remember when I was first getting into drag and I told my sister about a drag king show. Her response, not knowing any better at the time, was “Drag king? But isn’t the point of drag being flashy with sequins and glitter? Boy clothes are boring.” I responded with a very humble,  “Well… but… I wear sequins too…”

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22 years ago the US government enacted a travel ban that prohibited any person who had HIV/AIDS from entering the US.   In 1987, under direction of the Regan administration, the Public Health Service listed HIV as a "dangerous and contagious" disease, preventing anyone with it from entering the country, including refugees seeking asylum. The ban was codified into law in 1993 under Clinton. In 2008 Bush signed a five-year, 48 billion dollar bill to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world which was intended to also end the ban, but the ban was never actually lifted. Visit AIDS.org for a more detailed history.

Today the news hit that the ban has been lifted by the Obama administration, and, the first HIV positive passenger entered the US freely and safely.  It has also been announced that the 2012 World Aids Conference would be held in Washington.

xposted midwestgenderqueer.com

So Maine didn't get marriage, yeah sucks to be Maine. As for me, I don't give a flying f*ck.

I understand that marriage is an important issue because of all the legal and civil benefits attached to it. Though my personal feelings are wholly disinterested, even disgusted, by the "LGBT" movement's preoccupation with marriage, I am not outside recognizing the benefits of legalizing queer marriage. What I want to know is, if this "marriage issue" is so important why are people more interested in fixing it for others but not themselves? Ohio has TWO DOMA amendments, TWO, because one wasn't enough. But no, yeah, you take care of Maine. They need more help than we do.

I agree that these rallies on behalf of California and Maine could be part of a bigger movement to promote visibility. But I don't know how folks in Ohio are going to prove anything by stating they won't stand for marriage inequality in Maine when they must not mind marriage inequality in Ohio.  I think the main reason is this: Everyone else is doing it. People love to be part of something bigger, so why not get on board to support other states and have no idea what is going on in your own. Its not like you live there or anything. It's easier to complain about what's going on in someone else's yard than to take a long hard look at what your own place. Every day I see listserv and blog posts by people who live in Ohio or the Midwest but all they talk about is the east or west coast and what we can do to "help them." Forget that, they're blue states with high-income non-profits and god-damn celebrities. They can help themselves. Better yet, they can help me. I have a vet bill to pay and radical activism doesn't cut me any checks.

I've had people tell me that we need to focus on the easy parts first, keep in line so we don't scare folks off. Well, I'm not gonna get any less scary after you pass your legislation that doesn't have me in it and Ohio isn't gonna get any easier once your state is in it.  I try not hate on folks who are good hearted and want to work for change, even if its not how I would do it. However, I can't help being opinionated about people who tell me I'm not a "team player" and they themselves do absolutely nothing.

NEWS FLASH: Posting a facebook event is not the end all be all of change. Shocking, I know.

Don't judge me and my work when all you have is a motherf*cking facebook account. If you want to complain, that is not my problem. Go update your status about it. Your HRC fan page friends will love it.

It has finally happened. Gender Identity Disorder (GID) has infiltrated Thailand. GID was previously only in countries whose mental health coding was determined either by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)  or the ICD (the International Classification of Diseases, whose GID diagnosis directly based off of the DSM's language). Now GID is now making moves East.

Countries like Thailand have been one of the last harbors for those seeking gender confirming surgeries without GID and without the high price. The Medical Council of Thailand has now moved to following similar requirements to those in the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care where psychiatric evaluation(s) and "one year life experience" are demanded to prove the legitimacy of a person's identity. Thailand also requires that foreigners looking to have gender confirmation surgery there must get approval from a psychiatrist in their home country AND one in Thailand before being approved. The Medical Council of Thailand representatives state that "at least two psychiatrists must give guarantees" in order for someone to be allowed access to services. What kind of guarantees are they looking for?

Like the person mentioned in the article, by the time a person is ready for a gender confirming surgery they have already been living as themselves, some for over 20 years. Some people don't have the luxury to live as themselves because it isn't safe where they live, and some people live in ways that doesn't match with what GID describes as "real life experience." And apparently the concern isn't for our well being alone. We also need to worry about the society we live in.

"Sex reassignment surgery would affect the physical body (of the person undergoing the operation), as well as people's mental health and society around them."

Well, Hella forbid I upset someone else with my identity. If I ever wanted to have surgery, not only am I sure that my life would not be considered "real" male experience, I am certain that I would not be considered a promoter of society's mental health. Does that mean I'm not trans? Who makes the decision? Apparently they do. Silly me for thinking I should know myself. Do I even need to continue my rant here? Or should I just write out a big FUCK YOU. In the wise words of Cartmen I say,"Whateva, I do what I want!"

I do want to point out that I don't think that greater regulation of these procedures isn't needed. Many people have experienced serious problems due to the lack of regulation of surgeries in ALL countries. My interpretation of that is that the lack of accessibility is forcing people to put themselves at risk. Spreading the malice of GID is not the answer to bettering out lives and our access to transitional medical care. What we need is accountable AND accessible care that doesn't force people to die of infections or bleed out on tables because they don't have the money or the means to access the system's care.

xposted midwestgenderqueer.com

This weekend I attended the Sex Education Youth Summit which the Ohio Advocates were helping Planned Parenthood organize. It was a great day and I met lots of inspirational youth. One in particular was a young activist from rural Ohio. They are twelve years old, came out as queer at eleven, and are working on queer activism in their school. How awesome is that? Sometimes you just get lucky and meet someone that sparks the suffocated, warm fuzzy hope that got you into activism in the first place.  In that moment, you suddenly don't feel so jaded, and the hard work and bullshit is all worth it.

 

A groundbreaking bill was introduced, the Ohio Prevention First Act, a bill requiring comprehensive sex education in Ohio schools. Not only does the bill mandate age-appropriate medically and scientifically accurate sex education about abstinence and safe sex, it is also inclusive of gender, race, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Some key points of the bill:

*"Ensure that sexual assault victims have access to emergency contraception and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases in all hospital emergency rooms.

*Create a state teen pregnancy prevention task force that would recommend medically accurate and scientifically proven effective programs for reducing Ohio’s teen pregnancy rate.

*Require a pharmacy to dispense any prescribed drug, device or over-the-counter medication in stock without delay, consistent with the normal timeframe, and ensure that every licensed pharmacy does not intimidate, threaten or harass its customers in the delivery of services.

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My fabulous friend Hunter Stuart filming in Wisconsin. View his full blog, and more about the story, here.

It’s official. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ no longer requires a letter stating a person has had gender-confirmation surgery. It's an amazing victory! Now people are able to correct their licenses gender marker enabling them safer, more accurate identification. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.

This past week I was sent the unofficial, pre-press printout of the new BMV form. I was thrilled, like a kid on Christmas. My head was swimming with the possibilities, not just for myself, but for so many others. I opened the PDF and started to read.

“To be qualified, the medical professional must attest that the transition is being conducted in accordance with World Professional Association for Transgendered Health (WPATH) Standards of Care. This change is only to be made as part of a permanent, full time gender transition.”

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I have just found out that the radical, genderqueer activist organization I founded almost four years ago has reworded its description. What once described the group as "a radical queer group for all gender identities and sexualities, focusing on queer, trans, and genderqueer issues" now reads that it is a "queer social, support and activist group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied students focusing on gender issues." In the year and a half I have been gone, GenderBloc has gone from being a genderqueer and trans focused, queer radical organization to a LGBTQ social activist group... and just like the rest of the movement gender has moved from the forefront to an afterthought.

I cried when I read it.

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Today, with a vote of 56 to 39, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The Bill protects all queer folks, not just the A-gays, which is clearly a big deal. Its the 1st time a vote protecting queer folks has come to the Ohio General Assembly in the history of the state.

The bill is on its way to the Senate, and I'm anxious about the progress. When lobbying for the bill this past summer, I was unsure it would even get this far. Some reps I spoke with were optimistic about the bill, referencing their gay cousins and the fight for equality. Other reps couldn't understand why the bill was needed, or even what it was for...

All we can do is wait. I'll keep you posted.

x-posted MidwestGenderQueer.com

The open house was packed. I fought my anxious impulse to disappear, reminding myself that now it wasn't just my responsibility to be a visible, social-activist butterfly... it was my job. I wandered my way to the middle of the mass and into a conversation with two first-years: One from D.C. and one from Northern Kentucky, near my hometown of Cincinnati. The Kentucky student and I chatted briefly about the conservative environment and the contrast Oberlin had to offer.

"Really?" the D.C. student asked. "Cincinnati is conservative?"

I stopped, amazed at the concept of someone reading the 'Nati as a liberal space.

"Yeah, you wouldn't think it is..." said Kentucky, "Its a city, but its a more conservative city."

I was even surprised at this implication that all cities were automatically full of the enlightened. "Its a red city." I said, hoping to impart the severity I was feeling. "Blood red."
D.C.'s eyes widened brightly. "Whoa, so you've actually met a real republican?"

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There has been a lot of exciting talk about the equality march in Washington D.C. this October. I’m always up for starting a required ruckus. My question is, is this required or redundant?

In anticipation of this magic march I started to ask what this “equality” event is about. Cleve Jones says he wants “full and equal protection” in “all matters” which is awesome, but from what I can find marriage is the only issue specifically mentioned anywhere. Last time I checked, marriage rights and equality are not the same thing. Well, not unless you’re the HRC.

How much of this event is for “equality” and how much is about egos? Everyone knows there is a certain amount of hip-ness to being the underdog. And while I’m glad people are getting involved, people aren’t much help when they’re all glory and no guts.

Cleve Jones is hoping the march will launch a “new chapter” in the queer rights movement. I agree with him in saying a grassroots method is better for stirring change than a fancy dinner could ever be, but I can’t help but be question this particular effort. I would love to see a population, stirred by a mass rally, returning home to work hard on local issues, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Queers, particularly younger ones, are drawn to the concept of gaining some sort of status by saying “I was there.” More than likely, people will attend the march, feel special (which is worth something, I’ll admit), yell a lot, and then return home to business as usual leaving us worker bees in the same spot we’ve been in for years.

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The newest trans-media craze has hit. A semi-celebrity, who I am not naming, has come out as trans and announced his transition. Clearly the announcement was made to circumvent a mass-media fest. In his announcement he also specifically requested privacy. Of course he’s not getting it. Who’s surprised?

I realize the media sensationalizes the most minimal things for entertainment. That said, I have found particular attention is paid to queer and trans concerns. The media either crucifies the person or tries to highlight how amazingly normal the person is (in effort to be supportive to the poor, gay soul). Who would ever think a queer person could be well-adjusted? Holy heterosexist, Batman! In the case of this person coming out, some news articles have been surprisingly well written and mostly focused on actual trans issues. However, the majority are full of the expected trans-ignorant language like using the wrong pronoun and terms like “gender switching/swapping,” “Girl Boy,” “she/ he,” “it,” and my favorite-“wow.”

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“…What do the young know or care about health insurance?”

According to conservative columnist Michael Barone young people have “the fewest medical problems of the whole population.”  Clearly this guy hasn’t talked to me. I’m one of the millions of young people carrying the permanent label “sick-for-life.”

I’ve been in and out of doctors offices and hospitals for as long as I can remember. As a kid I was lucky enough to have health care through my parents plan, but I still understood my treatment had a cost. My parents voices still echo in my head: “Without insurance we’ll go bankrupt. We’re not going to just let you die.”

As I got older, the expectation of losing insurance became a serious pre-occupation with getting insurance. I calculated the costs of the bare-minimum medication I need to get by… It’s over $3,000 a month.

No one should have to be rich to be healthy.

For the rest of my life I have to be sure to have a job with benefits, not just any benefits, good benefits. Some plans don’t cover prescriptions, others don’t cover certain types of doctors or testing. “PRE-EXISTING CONDITION” is a haunting phrase. If you got it when you get there, then its not covered. My condition is pre-existing…

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Last week, two female presenting people, possibly transwomen or crossdressers, where attacked and robbed in Cincinnati. One was shot when the thief tried to take her purse. How did no one hear about this? (Myself included and I’m on the look out). Needless to say, it wasn’t headline news. But then again, maybe its better it wasn’t because the media did such a terrible job of covering the story. Wrong pronouns everywhere. “…Attacker shot one of the victims, who was dressed as a woman, while trying to steal HIS purse.”

If it is clear someone is presenting in one gender, why are people determined to get the pronoun wrong? People are determined to stick to their brain’s sex binary. To add insult to injury, the civic response to this is thing short of a sick-minded comedy hour.

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This week I went to lobby in Columbus, Ohio’s capital, for the LGBT Equal Housing and Employment Protections Act. Equality Ohio collected almost 500 people for the event, most of whom were age 35 and up. Going in, I expected a degree of trans identity ignorance from some fellow lobbyists. What I didn’t expect was what I got...

I was one of the only experienced lobbyists in our group, but before I even reached the capital building I had been called both a kid and a child. I received a seemingly well intentioned yet authoritative lecture from an older activist on my generation’s apathetic nature, which was followed directly by being asked what grade I was in. I was never spoken to directly by the group leader or informed on the day’s agenda, nor where the other two younger people in the group. I was ushered from office to office like a kid on a grade school field trip. I had no opportunity to represent my district or my community. I might as well have not even been there.

Response: First of all, I am not a child. I’m 25 years old and the director a non-profit that I founded (without the help of anyone over 35, thank you very much). Second, if I had been the team leader I would not dominate the group so that my voice was the only one heard. I would not have missed appointments with representatives for no good reason. I would not have ignored members of my team because they looked young. And I would not have let lobbyers hand representatives blank “Thank You” cards (Wtf?). Lastly, my generation’s “apathetic nature?” Yes, I’ll admit my generation needs work, but what about the generations before mine? Maybe youth wouldn’t be so apathetic if YOUR generation hadn’t f**ked everything up. Maybe youth would be more involved if you treated us like people, not prospects. I keep hearing how youth are the future, but no one lets us make the future happen.

cross-posted on MidwestGenderQueer.com

I want this to be my bank.



I wish I had some way of knowing (or recording) reaction to this ad. If we as a civilization had any hard data on queers and genderqueers and our impact on commerce, the numbers would surely show the benefit of including us. The "pink" economy as Queer commerce has colorfully been coined, is getting bigger and bigger."DINKS" - (Double Income No Kids) an expression previously meant for hetero couples, commonly extends to queers now.  Gay Tourism has hit such a boom, major cities all over the world are creating LGBT specific websites such as Gay-Friendly Philadelphia. The Simpsons even spoofed at jumping on the gay-pay wagon by having Springfield approve gay-marriage so the city could profit from the taxes and tourism.

I'm conflicted about this 'inclusion' into society. I suppose I should be thankful that queer people are gaining the opportunity to consume at the going rate of other communities. We should all follow the examples of big companies and understand that it doesn't matter what your identity is, just how much money you have.

How much does fear and sadness motivate? Does it motivate at all?

I mentor my old high-school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and the last big project was Day of Silence. I listened as the students listed the hardships of being queer, what we aren’t allowed to do, how many of us have died… I didn’t feel inspired, I felt depressed. Is this what our youth have to look forward to?

“It’s good to educate about oppression.” I said to the students, “Maybe we can take it a step further and not only promote the voices of those who have been oppressed, but also the voices of those who have overcome. Show people what they are missing by not hearing us.”

The idea seemed to pump them up, but in the end it didn’t sell. I guess it’s more dramatic and “moving” to talk about dead people. And that is a big face of queer activism: death. Transgender Day of Remembrance (the only “trans day” there is) is about remembering dead people. Day of Silence is about loss of power and lack of recognition. Every queer storyline in mainstream media ends with us losing our loved ones or being raped and murdered. Organizations fund vigils and memorials but not drag shows and parties. There is no showing the joy of queer life, or offering information and knowledge, only the sadness and penalty is given.

The message being sent is: “Come out and join the movement! Your life is going to suck and then someone’s going to kill you.”  Sounds like a great plan, and look how well its worked so far.

cross-posted on MidwestGenderQueer.com

An Update on the University of Cincinnati: For over three years we’ve been jumping through administrative hoops trying to get a campus queer center with a staff person. This week we had a rally in hopes of getting some recognition. It was a good turn out, considering it was snowing, and we did get some recognition from the university community. Well, we got our picture in the paper anyway…

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Some friends and I were driving up to Bowling Green, and as is the case of every northern trip up I-75, I proposed we stop in at Hustler Hollywood. Yes, the place is totally heteronormative and corporate, but I love to check out the newest sex toys and see the cute salesgirl I’ve made friends with.

While browsing porn, I looked over the aisle two see a couple… and their three year old son. I wasn’t quite sure what to think. My first reaction was “Super cool, sex positive, family porn time!” Then I realized that the parents probably weren’t planning on having a sex-positive discussion later, or explaining the whats and whys of the porn industry. That three year old, wide eyed and pointing to dildos and sex-scene stills, was likely to have no explanation of anything he saw. I wonder what his life is gonna be like, what his concepts of sex are and will be, and what his parents will have to do with it.

cross-posted on midwestgenderqueer.com

Ever since I came out as a guy my mom has been calling me a lesbian. To be fair, my mom has made a lot of head-way in supporting me, but there are a couple things that she keeps getting stuck on.

“Why you can’t just be a lesbian?” she says passionately, “There is nothing wrong with being a lesbian, you know.”

 “I know.” I say back to her, “And if I could be one I would, but I’m not one so I can’t.”

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I Hate the L Word - part II
cross-posted on midwestgenderqueer.com

Some of my friends recently had an L Word party to mark the final L Word episode, but it wasn’t a celebratory “Ding dong the witch is dead!” party as I would hope. It was a get together to watch the last episode and mourn the loss of the show.

I realize that the L Word creates visibility for the lesbian community, offers media representation of “homosexual” women, and has hot sex scenes. Knowing all that, it still isn’t a good enough reason for me to understand the support of it.

A lot of my friends groan or give me a silenced look when I get angry for their L Word interests. They act like I shouldn’t be upset about it, like I should let it go. It’s easy for them to overlook the shit the L Word does cause it’s not their identity on the line. If there was something (like a TV show) that was great for me but shitty for my friend, I couldn’t support it in good conscious no matter how much I enjoyed it.

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