i’ve blogged about trans termonology here and here, and i believe i’ve finally found a definition for “trans” that works for me. you can find it on the blog no designation on their definition page. it reads:

Transgender or Trans - Traditionally defined as a person who doesn’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, I prefer to shift the focus away from assigned gender and define transgender as a person who’s gender is not universally considered valid. That means that someone, somewhere, will tell a transperson that they are not the gender they say they are. (ex: a transman is someone who identifies as a man and that there would be someone out there who would tell him that he isn’t a man)

this not only rings true for me with regard to my understanding of myself, but also with my experience as someone who is universally considered as a transsexual. since even the definition of the term “gender” is often shrouded in haze, i much prefer to define trans outside the context of gender, but not only because gender is a term whose definition is in flux.

if one looks at the traditional definitions of gender identity, it’s always in the context of how one views themselves in the context of an internal awareness of being a man or woman (or male or female). i’ve never had any such awareness. i wouldn’t know what an internal awareness of being a man or a woman is. and the fact that these traditional definitions often interchange “male or female” with “man or woman”, or “masculine or feminine”, as if these terms are interchangable. from my perspective, these terms mean very different things, and depending on which terms are used, the definition changes drastically.

on the other hand, i have personally experienced having my gender erased and invalidated, and i’ve personally experienced observing *all* trans people’s genders erased and invalidated, on many occasions. so this definition works very well for me.

on the flip side, many people who would be considered men and women based on their “identity”, that is, how they see themselves, their biology, that is, how they would fit into a classification based on whether they produce eggs or sperm, and their social standing, would also fit under this definition, while they would not consider themselves trans. .

and this is yet one of the many problems when we humans try to clearly delineate socially constructed classes of people within the infinite diversity of life.

via mombian, a new jersey high school gay couple’s photo was blacked out of their high school year book because newark school officials decided it was inappropriate. of course, kissing heterosexual couple’s photos were not “blacked out”. and you thought new jersey was progressive.

i have to wonder if the picture would still have been blacked out had the couple not been people of color.   i haven’t seen the other pictures of heterosexual couples kissing, so i could be mistaken.

i consider myself a student of the tarot. i own perhaps 30 different tarot decks, and i’ve spent countless hours studying them, along with tarot theory. i never performed any serious “readings”, and really don’t believe that a tarot reading can predict the future. however, i have always been facinated by the tarot, and very much enjoy the artwork and archetypes that the tarot offers.

i’ve even put together my own deck, which links to a fragment of my old website.

in wikipedia’s tarot cards in popular culture, italo calvino described the tarot as a “machine for telling stories”, and that’s one way i view the tarot, and find it particularly accurate from my own perspective and usages.

i came across a thread on the aeclectic tarot forums entitled transgender decks, and there’s even a link to an unpublished trans tarot deck (the site loads slowly so be patient). that deck doesn’t really work for me, but it motivated me to think about what a trans deck would look like, and how it might offer a different insight into the tarot, and subsequently, into beyond what a standard deck might offer.

while tarot decks can tell a story, and every trans person definately has a story, i’m wondering if the archetypical “transition” story might be the focus of a tarot deck, and what that might provide above and beyond any other deck. further, i wonder if a transition deck would be counter productive to trans people.

there have been several gay decks, and several feminist/lesbian decks, and these decks do offer additional aspects beyond the conventional (if there is such a thing) decks. i’ll be thinking about what a trans deck might look like, and what it might offer.

in the king james version of the bible, genesis, book 1, verse 27, it states:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

male and female created he them, in his image. so i take that to mean that god created *both* male and female in his image. both male and female are images of god. and because this was written 5000 years ago, before jesus christ walked the earth, before christian church leaders appropriated the holy jewish 5 books of moses, i imagine that those early jewish rabbis were not as worldly as some would have us believe. and that’s because “male and female” were and are not the only options.

we are all created in his image, every last one of us. remember that when you speak out against my existance. when you speak out against my validity. when you speak out against my sanity. when you speak out against my “lifestyle”. when you judge me. when you speak out against my rights, as a human being, and one who was created in the image of your god.

st. john’s of baltimore city, a reconciling united methodist congregation, is dealing with that very issue.

A woman who has served as minister at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Baltimore for five years has been re-appointed to the position – as a man, according to church officials.
[snip]
The move was not without challenge. Some ministers asked for a “ruling of law,” a move which automatically takes the issue to the church organization’s highest court, the Judicial Council, which will be meeting next in October.
[snip]
The church … has no explicit policy regarding sexual identity changes or sex change operations, officials said. Gordon/Phoenix’ congregation is among those that support what the members call the “reconciling” movement within the church, and campaigns to reject the church’s traditional biblical teachings on marriage and sexual ethics.
[snip]
Mark Tooley, director of the UM Action, a part of the Institution on Religion and Democracy, said gender, however, isn’t a choice but a reality. “The church’s calling is to facilitate healing, not echo the secular culture’s mantras about ‘diversity,’” he said.

gender is a reality? so in scotland, where men wear skirts, is “reality” on vacation? i guess we can’t be troubled about “diversity” and all those silly “mantras” echoing in secular culture.

apparently, “healing” involves beating conformity into the hearts and minds of humanity, whether or not said conformity aligns with god’s image. apparently, some people know the mind of god so well, they judge how others can live their lives, right down to their own self knowledge. apparently, they know not only god’s mind, but the minds of every other human being.

perhaps some people need a reality check.

via the view from (ab)normal heights

my son hasn’t spoken or seen me in going on 7 years now. the last few years we’ve been exchanging letters, for which i was extremely grateful. but i miss seeing him, i miss talking with him, and i miss father’s day with him.

i have issues with father’s day, though i always remember to at least send my dad a card.

for all the fathers out there, have a happy father’s day.

via kactus, Sex-changes in Cuba will be no-cost, like all health care. it’s a wake-up call when a country that is considered to be “third world” by many americans have a health care system that is free of charge. not to mention a health care system that actually recogizes that being trans means that certain treatments are a necessary part of being healthy.

from the article:

Mariela Castro Espín, director of the National Center of Sexual Education (CENESEX), has led the move to make sex-reassignment available to Cubans free to all who seek it. Mariela Castro, a leader in her own right, is the daughter of renowned revolutionary leader Vilma Espín and acting Cuban President Raúl Castro.

The newsletter Diversidad (Diversity) reported: “The measure would complement the present Identity Law that already acknowledges the right of citizens to change name and sexual identity. This places Cuba at the vanguard of the legislations that acknowledge the rights of transvestites, transsexuals and transgender in Latin America.”

in latin america indeed. i’d say the world.

speaking of pipe fittings, i came across one that is called male unions.

they also have female unions.

they even have female adapters.

i’ve got one of those. those plumbers have a fitting for every type of pipe, and every type of application. they don’t discriminate.
those wacky plumbers.

there’s been a few blog posts over the past week or so that got me to thinking about stereotypes, how they develop, how they play out in the world, and how each stereotyped group uses them against one another.

amananta of screaming into the void, posted several entries recently which i found to be excellent examininations of the stereotypes women endure and battle. at work all women are secretaries covers some of the attitudes she faces personally at her job, and i found myself in total agreement. read it - it’s a great post.

she says of the incident, when a group of her male co-workers laugh at her in earshot:

…they all had a good laugh at my expense because I’m such a difficult person and it is laughable how I expect other people to do their own shit work when I’m NOT THEIR FUCKING SECRETARY. Even though I ended up doing it for him. All because I didn’t acquiesce in a sweet little voice right away when he asked, selflessly interrupting my own work to make things easier on him.

He wants to see some fucking hostility? He’s going to get a face full of hostility now. How can you have a loud laugh at my expense in a room not 15 feet away and think I can’t hear it? Answer - of course they know I can, they just don’t care.

i disagree with one thing - they very much do care. see, having lived and functioned within the world of men, as a man, i can tell you, from what i’ve observed over the years, that some men very much do care about laughing out loud to other peoples’ faces. that type of hatred binds these types of people together, in the same way that the nazis’ hatred of the jews and queers bound a country together in such a way that it enabled them to come close to taking over the fucking world.

this is the patriarchy at it heart, male bonding through the common hatred, intimidation, and public humiliation of their objects. a behavior that is not only common, accepted, and expected, but used as a weapon against any other male who would not participate actively. even other males who do not show enough enthusiam in their participation are suspect, and subject to judgment as “fags”, the worst judgement a man could endure - worse than even being called a woman.

in this case, a woman rejected the stereotype of the compliant office worker, selflessly willing, and even at her own expense, to help any man who should ask. and she’ll be made to pay for that transgression, as i’ve seen so many other women made to pay. as i paid, for being that “fag”, indeed, that “fag who took it too far”.

and that brings me to another one of her posts in her series on on-line gaming, entitled male gamer sexism of the day. this too, (in fact, the entire series) is a must read. in it, she deconstructs a post made by one of her male co-gamers, completely and exquisitely. she also makes a great observation on another stereotypical female attribute - that there are only two kinds:

4. There are only two kinds of women, nice girls and bitches (who can be whores, insane, or lesbians - the word is blotted out because Blizzard Entertainment will not allow you to type in the word “lesbian” on its forums.)

ah yes, the binary stereotype, because some men can only process the world around them when they reduce it into a binary. binaries are so much easier to comprehend - black or white with no gray - because they eliminate that troublesome thinking that is required when seeing and describing the truth of the world’s diversity. why worry about people who don’t fall into the gray area of sex and gender when you can insist that there are only two kinds of people - men and women. or really, men and “not-men”. because gays and transwomen are no longer men - they’re “not-men”, which is the same as “women”.

the binary, which even our president enforces - one is either with him or against him.

and of course, the infamous trans binary that julia serano points out - the rich, white late transitioner who we love to see transforming from a man to a woman, and the poor transwoman of color sex-worker that we love to read about in the evening news.

the first somewhat healthy relationship i had after i started transition was with a man i met at a club, who i took home with me that one fateful evening (as i had done so many other times during that period of my life). incredibly, he stayed the night after we had our fun, and then went on to stay the weekend. even more amazing, he called a few days later, and came to visit the following weekend, and the next. and this went on for several months.

see, he lived in an area where all of the trans women were what he called “showgirls”. they all worked in the entertainment and/or escort industry. and while he dated a few, none of the relationships lasted. he found me so interesting, because he had never met a trans woman who had a regular job, paid her bills on time, kept an apartment without the help of a pimp, and enjoyed the types of activities that required a little thought, in addition to those that didn’t.

i broke the stereotype he held of transwomen, a stereotype that’s been built within my lifetime.

and that brings me to my last point for this post. see, the patriarchy is not the only group to develop and use stereotypes against smaller, marginalized minorities. i blogged about the post on women’s space/the margins entitled the colonizing of lesbian and women’s community: bitch performance at boston dyke march canceled by transgender activists in a previous post of mine. the thrust of the post is a strong objection against a lesbian musical performer, bitch, who whose performance was cancelled because she has also performed at the michigan womyn’s music festival. of course, the commenters in that post can’t help but to continue building and perpetuating the stereotypes that harm transwomen, while at the same time, accusing trans people of harming them.

“transsexuals seem to be focused on cultural gender roles and “feeling” like a woman;gender roles and standards which are particularly harmful to women and that a lot of the time are not embraced by feminists, especially not radical feminists. I’m sorry but in my Dworkinized opinion they are still very much men…”

“There is something about this transgender thing that seems fraudulent or if that is too strong of a word, temporary. Not temporary as in waiting to transition, but temporary in the sense that when the play acting no longer thrills them, or makes them hip or allows them to play with the cool kids they can and will revert back to the gender that their sex born them with under a patriarchy. I wonder if there is a common age range for people who identify with transgender. Something that may pinpoint a time when someone is refusing to grow up. Like if I wanted to play like a man and reap the benefits of being a man but then come home to a husband and pretend to get along in the patriarchy as a heterosexual in order to benefit however that may benefit me. It seems opportunistic. Let me be whatever I can be within whatever situation that will thrill me the most at any given time.”

“…is that [transperson's] ‘desire’ for, or no, what they feel is ‘attractive’ about being a woman, is actually the very thing that is the source of oppression of womyn…”

in all fairness, heart does point out on several occasions that the transactivists who are responsible for the cancellation of bitch’s performance and the showing of the gendercator are not *all* trans people, and that some of the transactivists may in fact not even be trans. and goes on to say that she, and all her michfest friends treat trans people as individuals and are “unfailingly accepting and supportive of her transgender friends and allies”. and in all honesty, that’s been my experience with heart and other michfest women in general, with few exceptions.

on the other hand, you would think that women who gather under a common banner of oppression since birth based on harmful stereotypes, who work together to destroy those stereotypes, who speak out against stereotyping, would be especially sensitive to stereotyping others.

apparently, if you thought that, you’d be wrong.

apparently, in the minds of at least some of the commenters on that thread, trans women are thrill-seeking children who are focused on cultural gender roles and “feeling” like a woman, fraudulent, opportunistic men.

i’ve come across several references online that have confirmed that bitch’s performance has been cancelled at the boston dyke march. apparently, this was initiated by some trans activists who did not approve of a musical artist who also performs at the michigan womyn’s music festival.

so, do we also stop buying indigo girls cd’s because they record on the sony music label, whose management engages in offensive and highly questionable behavior?

apparently, lgbt artists are also being silenced in the world of movies, as the gendicator was cancelled from showing at the san francisco lgbt film festival.

i am going on record here and now in saying that this type of silencing and censureship must stop. if we are to survive as human beings, we must allow everyone their voice.

i own and enjoy several indigo girls cd’s. i own and enjoy a bitch cd. and frankly, if gendercator comes to phoenix, i will buy a ticket and see it. or if it becomes available on itunes, i will buy it, download it, and watch it. then, and only then, will i offer an opinion about it.

and speaking on opinions, there are some comments on heart’s post like:

transsexuals seem to be focused on cultural gender roles and “feeling” like a woman…

which i totally disagree with, and i believe also perpetuate stereotypes about trans people. no kiuku, i am not focused on cultural gender roles, and i don’t “feel” like a woman. unless of course, you’d like to describe exactly what a woman feels like, and i’d be able to tell you whether or not i feel like one.

for the time being, i’m content in saying i feel only like me, because that’s the only experience i’ve had, and therefore, the only experience i’m qualified to speak to. and for the record, i feel like a trans person.

so while the commenters on that thread are complaining about silencing, please, stop silencing me and mine, and perhaps we’ll be able to work together in building a community dedicated to our survival. you know, if a man decides to rape me, he’s not going to initiate a chromosome test to make sure i was born a woman. he’s just going to rape me, same as you. just like my employer will impose that glass ceiling, without same chromosome test. just like people will dismiss my opinions, without said test.

i may be trans, but i move through the world as a woman, just like you. like it or not, we are in this together, even if i set off some people’s manometers. the people i encounter in the world, see and treat me as a woman, just like you.

my collection is complete. i just received namoli brennet’s first cd in the mail, boy in a dress. i got it in the mail, because it’s out of print. and, i might add, pretty darn expensive because of that. i would have much prefered to give her the money, but it’s just not available. and please, don’t ask me how much it was.

interestingly enough, this is probably my least favorite cd of hers. however, you can really hear where her roots are, and how she developed her style and talent over the years. and listening to her cd’s, one after the other, in chronological order, is a wonderful example of how a musical artist develops over the years.

and, well, when it comes right down to it, i was once, very much, a boy in a dress.