Transgender Resources

[Gennee]

Originally Posted by Witch of Hope

My favorite book is written by Leslie Feinberg:

TRANSGENDER WARRIOR".

It's a book about our history, our fights and our struggles with a staight community who hates us for what we are.
And I like movies like :

Transamerica

Looking for Normal

Boy's don't cry (not the rape and killing scenes)


But it makes me mad if I hear from another suicide, another killing of a transperson, or another rape! It makes me sick and angry.

Transgender Warrior was the first transgender book I read. A good read. Transamerica was the first trans movie I saw.

Gennee

[Emproph]

Trained in the Ways of Men.

The Gwen Araujo story. One of the most 'popular' transgender murder stories that is out there.



The trailer doesn’t do it justice in regard to the depth of the interviews.

They went far beyond the known story, in that the entire approach of the film was geared toward attempting to answer, and /or understand the meaning of “What is gender?” Not just socially, but also in a legal sense.

There was even a segment that asked people on the street how they *knew* what their gender was, and despite the heterosexuality of many of the participants, it was a hard question to answer.

Which was kind of illuminating for me. I used to think, hey, it’s hard to describe that you’re a heterosexual female with a male body, so it must be totally easy to describe that you’re just one with your body... According to that portion of the film, apparently not.

Anyway, I actually bought the dvd, hoping to do a more detailed write up, but since the other movies were mentioned (which I‘ve also seen, btw), I thought it was important to mention now.

[Emproph]

Originally Posted by Gennee

You make a great point, Keltic. I had to come out to my wife sooner than I wanted to (she found my stuff). It was a shock at first but now she has come to accept me being transgender. It was easier with my son. I haven't come out to everybody ut there may be a day that I may have to. I'm aware of the cost because I have decided to be visible and vocal.

Tomorrow, I'm attending the sevenstraightdays event. I will be dressed and a lot of people will be straight, I believe. It will be an opportunity to share what it is to be transgender. The way I see it, if one mind is changed, the cost will be worth it.

Gennee

From The Vigilance Blog

Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Shower-Nuts Are Still At It

I only linked to that in case you wanted to respond to this specifically, or her personally. It can be rough territory, but this was one of the more inspiring things I've read in awhile.

Maryanne's transgender. She just started posting (and helping inform/educate) when the gender identity anti-discrimination law was passed, and then challenged by an extremist group (read lies and deceit).

It's usually a wolve's den over there, but that woman never has an unkind thing to say.
----

Maryanne A. Arnow said...

Here's an interesting thought.

I am going to live.

I am going to live and there is nothing that propagandistic fear-mongering can do about it.

I am going to live, and go to the grocery store when i need or want food and have the money to go there.

I am going to live, and i will go to the bank, and the post office, my gym and swimming pool, and to vote, and to pay my bills just like everyone else. (Provided people will give a job to someone based more on qualifications, than discriminations)..

I am going to live because i am a human being and you cannot take that from me no matter what you do or say. I am going to live and laugh and love, and hold my dearest best friend – my wife and soulmate.

I am going to live, and love my friends, and cry when i am sad, or when someone i love passes away, or becomes ill, or suffers some horrible misfortune.

I am going to cook the most incredible foods you could ever imagine and do it with love and passion and creativity. I am going to talk to people in public and make some friends in the process because i am a warm and outgoing person that likes to connect with other people.

I am going to live in the joy and wonder of a thunderstorm or, the wondrous beauty of a flower that I grew from a seed, and you cannot take this away from me.

I will help those in need even when i do not have enough to help my own self or my own household - and i have been this way for many years.

I am going to live and love and laugh and cry and experience the world, and my life as a woman in this world, and there is absolutely nothing that any of them can do to stop it - no matter what hatred they bring down, no matter how many minds they poison with lies and misperceptions and stereotypical cruelty and insensitivity.

I am going to live and be a part of public society, like it or not and there will be nothing any of you can do to stop it. No matter what you do. I am going to live forever because you cannot kill my spirit.

I am going to live, and even welcome those that do not welcome me.

I am going to live to the fullest extent of my ability as a free human being no matter what cage or construct or label you try to fence me in behind. I will break that fence, i will tear the labels, i will bend the bars of your cages and I.WILL.LIVE.

You cant even see the prison that you live in because it's all you have ever known.

I stand outside of your prisons of fear and hatred and lies, and look at you with sadness, and hope and pray that you will find a loving human heart that knows acceptance, instead of the fear that keeps you from seeing things as they really are or really could be.

I am going to live. Truly live with gusto and relish and boundless joy and unconditional love, with a clear conscience of being myself real and true, and with the God given freedom i was gifted with, from the moment i was born.

You cannot stop this. You will not stop it. You cannot claim the right of the only judge to do so, and that judge is not yourselves. Nor does your book give you the authority to claim such a right, and it never has.

I am going to live, and look the most heinous evils of lies and bigotry and hatred right dead in the eye, and i am not going to blink while you are exposed.

I an going to live despite what you think you represent, and have disgustingly scared or fooled others in to thinking is correct and true, when in fact it is lies and hatred disguised as love and truth.

I am going to live my life, and be the girl, and the good person, a good wife, and a good friend, and nothing you will do, can ever stop me from being the real human being that I am.

Many blessings always,

Most Sincerely,

I AM,


Maryanne

p.s. I hope some of you can join me sometime. Unconditional love and true joy sure outweighs hatred and falsehood and fear, by about 6 billion to the hundredth power.

September 16, 2008 11:59 PM

[Petrese]

Hi
I skimmed through all the posts and once again saw pretty Gwen and as always it tugged at my heart and a tear to my eye. Maybe her story has always affected me so because it occurred at the time I was beginning transition and really hit home, so sad, so senseless. As you all know the insanity continues. As some of you may not know once again this past July yet another young woman was murdered by a lover who found it too much to deal with his own hate when he found she was transsexual.

Allen Ray Andrade, 32, is currently charged with second-degree murder in the death of Angie Zapata. They had met and she invited him over. She did what a lot of us do and I don't want to hear any discussion of whether she should of told him first, I don't believe you should have to. She let him stay the night on the couch. The next day while she was out he started snooping around and saw some pics that made him wonder. When she got home he confronted her and grabbed her crotch. He then proceeded to beat her and grabbed a fire extinguisher to club her with. As she lay dying he left and stole her car to drive away. Her family found her dead. When apprehended Allen exclaimed: "I killed it".
See: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5487781&page=1

As a kid I found something in a Playboy of all things LOL that let me know there were people like me, that were male but knew they were really female. Not crossdressers, not drag queens, but women. When I first started transition years ago there was still little in the way of resources. But I did find a book that I still will say today is bar none the best book for transsexuals. It is titled: In Search of Eve, by Anne Bolin. 1988. She is an Anthropologist who took an anthropologists approach to studying a group of transsexuals. The book goes into all aspects of transition including hormone regimes, surgeries, etc. It isn't watered down like so many of the books I have read seem to be for me. If you are a woman that is transsexual at any stage of transition I would highly recommend it.

I have been all over the country. I am not going to pull any punches here. I will be frank with you. When I transitioned I went from a highly respected engineer to sleeping on a friends floor in a crack infested neighborhood in downtown Minneapolis. If it wouldn't of been for people like Morgan O'sullivan and Jendeen Forberg and a couple lesbian friends I probably wouldn't be here right now. (I know that you know them Bruce ) My immediate family, God blesses them. My saving grace though came when I met my best friend, Danielle. Her and I have carried each other many a time over the years.

And do I still have my faith? Yes, most importantly I believe God has been there when I have really needed that intervention. I don't think God just manipulates each move but certainly has a plan for each person. God gives us free will and shit happens. But when things really get overwhelming, he may intervene. I believe he brought Danielle and I together, it is rare to have such a friend. Find yourselves a friend people, it's important!!

It takes a lot of hard work to succeed at this and a lot of us do things we have to to survive. Whether that is sex work, taking menial jobs or just relying on others to help us through it all is survival. I think the most important thing is to find a friend you can count on. And trannys are a shady bunch so good luck. So I don't judge anyone for what they have to do to survive and succeed, I have been there. And there is precious little good advice for transitioning. Allanah Starr said something once that has stuck with me throughout the years: "I didn't want to wind up busted lookin, livin under a bridge somewhere and workin at McDonalds the rest of my life." Well, neither did I, so I didn't.

I am now doing more, am more successful than I ever was before and have found out that all things are possible. Yet every day I face those same demons: did they clock me? am I going to be fired for being TS? can I ever really find love? And so with that I know that I must still push on as an activist, a voice and work with others to help overcome this huge thing out there called prejudice, homophobia, transphobia. Because even if it isn't currently affecting me as much as it once did it certainly is affecting a lot of other GLBT people. And it definitely has adversely affected the families of: Gwen, Angie, Tracy, Brenda, Brandon Teena and a lot of others.

Peace and Love
Petrese

[BruceChris]

I have lived in Minneapolis for most of my life. I wish that I had known you, when things were hitting bottom for you. I have been involved with GLBT, and trans people for most of my life. I am sure that I could have put you in touch with resources of some kind.

Minneapolis is now a relatively trans friendly place, much better than it was years ago. And of course, PHS has many resources, but they have always been such an up tight place. I've heard that Sharon was usually a good person, but she was operating under a lot of constraints, and other people's hang ups. I guess that now Bockting is the head guy, and he's a real pain in the butt.

They have an educator there who teaches all about identity, orientation, genetic and embryonic stuff, and many things about sexuality that I can't put a label on. His name is Simon something, (Rosseter?)and he is a really good person to talk to. He is a gay man in a relationship, and they are raising some kids.

I believe that I mentioned my church is such a wonderful place, Check it out:

http://www.soulforce.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1093

I've got a household mini-emergency here, Get back to you soon

P&L, BC

[BruceChris]

I will continue to write this, but I may be in and out, so I'll proably just post it some time, and then come back and edit onto it indefinitely.

I haven't seen Jendeen for a few years, the last time I saw her, she was playing with "All The Pretty Horses", a trans band that played in gay and straight clubs around the Cities. And, as I recall, she was just this side of gorgeous. I don't know Morgan.

The mini emergency had to do with my sister, who was having a gall bladder attack, but by the time I got involved, she was already on the way to the hospital, with a friend.

I remember reading "Second Serve", by Renee Richards, and a book or two by Leslie Feinberg, and a couple of other bio's, whose names I can't remember. I've read a lot of books by medical professionals, but the only one I remember is Harry Benjamin. (John Money is definitely OFF my list)

There is a book about being a transsexual Christian, called "Transgender Jouirneys", by Vanessa Sheridan and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott. There is also a book by Mollenkott called "Omnigender". Vanessa Sheridan lives right here in the Twin Cities.

I just ordered "In Search of Eve" from the library, it should be at my local branch in a few days.

I see your photo, as an avatar and on your public profile, but it is such a small picture. You look nice in the picture, but it sure would be nice to see a better picture of you. Thoughts?

Peace and Love, Bruce Chris

[Petrese]

Bruce, I don't have a problem with that, here are two pictures for you although I doubt you will recognize me:




Bruce
I am sure you and I have a lot of similar aquaintences, but most of them I haven't seen in years. I spent a lot of time in Twin Cities almost 5 years but ran in more adult entertainer circles and rarely hung out with trannys, save the occational visit to the 90s or Vera's. I think, overall PHS is a good thing and ultimately does a lot of good. I always got along with Walter although he definately has his own style. I wish that more therapists would stick to the benjumin standards as they used to be with mosr stringent requirements for transition. I have seen a lot of people that move much to quickly and wind up tripping thewmselves up. So for that I agree with some of the PHS program.

But Minneapolis is a nice city to live in and who knows, someday I may wind up moving back. Still have a lot of friends there, although now most of them are married with a couple kids and not as wild LOL. I ultimately took a management position with the City of New York and it goes to show that hard work towards transition pays off. I am currently on the west coast in a more rural area and hold an engineering position here. I love working with small rural towns getting their infrastructure modernized and their towns re vitalized. I still have real estate in your part of the country and do visit from time to time. I actually did attend your church a couple times. Once for a day of rememberance ceremony.

Anyways,
chat lata

[Witch of Hope]

Did anyone read the book "TRANSGENDER WARROR", or had visited Leslie's webpage (transgenderwarrior.org) about trans-history?

[BruceChris]

You look very nice, and very feminine. I saw Jendeen playing at a local club, and she was playing with a small trans group, and they called themselves Mercy Kill.

Witch, I don't read much Leslie Feinberg, but I did see her some years ago when she gave a talk at Amazon bookstore. There were so many people there that she had to take it across the street, and give the talk in Loring Park. This was some time ago, as they have moved twice since then, and have now changed their name to True Colors Bookstore.

EDIT: Some years ago, the Minneapolis Amazon Bookstore Co-op was sued by Amazon.com, over the name.(Amazon was here first, but they didn't have the $$lawyers) Amazon Bookstore Co-op countersued. The outcome was that Amazon would go on as Amazon Bookstore Co-op, but that Amazon.com would ultimately own the name. Early last summer, Amazon ran out of money, and was up for sale. Amazon was bought by a wonderful lesbian woman, Ruta Skujins, and as a condition of settlement, Amazon is now True Colors Bookstore. But you can still find them by Googling Amazon Bookstore Co-op.

Namaste', Bruce Chris

[Petrese]

Bruce, thanks for the compliments, I need more surgeries! LOL Actually I am old, overweight and should probably have a better attitude LOL I just got some mail from Ms Jendeen, quite a lady. I miss Minnesota, I don't miss the snow, but I do wish I could spend more time with my friends there. On my way thru to NY last month I had a layover and got to see my friend Laura and her new baby, that was so fun. Time and distance always is an issue for me.

[Emproph]

In celebration of National Drag History Month, via Good As You:


Varla Jean Merman - Stonewall (Revue Your History)

[Emproph]

I know her from Teach The Facts, the Vigilance blog.

http://teachthefacts.org/vigilance.html

She has a sword-like wicked sense of humor, yet insightful, and always in a way that inspires compassion and self reflection.

Her's (videos) are the first two at the top. Her name is Cynthia.

So I offer them for what it's worth.

I know what it means to be transgendered, but she's gone through the process.

And I love her to death, and she is simply hunky dory.

Peace to you Cynthia,

-Patrick

[Petrese]

Varla Jean Merman - Stonewall (Revue Your History)
LOL That was really good

the other one, Cynthia, I don't know what 'process' she's gone through but it looks like shes got a ways to go on her transition.

[offog]

[QUOTE=Sherrie Z;23076]Great info here ... thanks!

Here's some more info on transgender issues:


I've just recently read Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein ... and She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan ... both interesting and informative personal accounts by M2F transpersons ... and both books make good use of humor ... : )

Hey cool! Great to see Kate Bornstein mentioned here! She's coming to a Saskatoon conference this spring and I'm hoping to make it to that event. I'll have to see if I can find her book at the library.

[BruceChris]

and the new kid is gonna be a handful. From out of town, no money, no place to stay, didn't even know what PHS was. (The Univ. of Minnesota's Program on Human Sexuality. Tranny central, around here.) But she's got good fashion sense, and she looks nice.

I'll keep y'all posted.

Bruce Chris

[Epigirl2]

Here are a few resources I relied on when I found out my daughter was transsexual...

PFLAG - Parents, Friends/Family of Lesbian and Gay...they take the whole spectum into consideration...lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, questioning...

www.pflag.org

Another organization here in Massachusetts is: Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition...great activist site...

http://www.masstpc.org

Hope this helps some...
Beverly

[Adam42]

I just came across this primer on transgender issues, it seems to be a good starting place for people.
http://sagatucson.org/saga/index.php...d=42&Itemid=94

In my queer club we started to say our preferred pronoun when we said our name at the beginning of the meeting. We hope it makes a trans-friendly space. Also our drag ball is "Transformed" so as not to reinforce the gender binary. We've got nothing against drag, of course... but nobody needs to be bound by the binary.

Also, I've met Kate Bornstein and she is amaaaazing!

[Legashira]

Hello folks;
It's been a while since I've posted messages on SoulForce Forum.
I chair the Publications Committee on DignityUSA's Board of Directors and am preparing to publish a few stories of Catholic Trans people in the 2nd Quarter 2009 QV Quarterly Voice of DignityUSA. This 12-page publication is disseminated as hard-copy to 2000 DignityUSA members and is posted onto our website. See www.dignityusa.org and click on "Publications" ==> "QV" for samples.

Anyway, I would like to have a couple more stories, since the Trans experience seems to be so multi-faceted and so multi-layered. In particular, the FTM experience needs more voices, but any story that captures readers' interests and educates us will be welcomed.

I'm looking for first-person narratives ranging from 400 (one column) to 1300 (three columns) words. Any aspect of your experience is fine, whether (Catholic) faith-related or not. Deadline for submissions, which I hope will include a photo or two, is March 31, 2009.

Contact me directly at Legashira@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Leo N. Egashira
Publications Committee Chair
DignityUSA Board of Directors
(Dignity/Seattle)

[BenL]

TransEpiscopal is the name of an organization of Episcopalians and Anglicans who are trans or who are partners, family or allies of trans people. It is also the name of the blog written by various members of the group. The blog has an email address to get more info about the organization and its activities within the Episcopal Church. I know it's monitored regularly, so anyone with questions will receive a reply.

[BruceChris]

I do what I can to get her out of the house, and into the trans community. Yesterday, we went to P-FLAG Twin Cities, and the program was about a group called TYSON, Transsexual Youth Support Networks. They are local, I think.

This is a group that does outreach to trans persons in their teens. The leaders are all trans persons in their early 20's, and so who is going to become one of the leaders, well, Natasa, of course. She's starting to make connections.

She has some videos of herself on Youtube, and even a website. I'll try to get those posted soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPTeclNsmKg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss96CiSN8Xs

She is an AWESOME child of God. And a real NEAT Babe! (And her favorite color is PINK)

This Thursday, we are going to Outfront Comes to the Capital. Outfront is the state's major gay rights group, and coordinates many other groups. Outfront is here:

http://www.outfront.org/

My weekend? I went to a 3 day Christian Feminist conference/reunion, full of women who share many of my beliefs. They call themselves Re-Imagining It's really nice to spend that much time among such wonderful people, my own kind.

Gender is what you make of it, Bruce Chris