you may remember a series of articles in the examiner suggesting that transsexuals are in the mainstream these days, thanks to tv (no pun intended) and the internet. well, i came across the above ad in the phoenix new times, our local free culture & entertainment weekly newspaper – i’d equate it to the village voice, for those who read my blog on the east coast.

on the up side, there’s no “shemale” or “chick with a dick” verbiage, and compared to the rest of the ads for, um, escorts, it’s rather, well, mainstream. is there a downside? i suppose that depends on where you stand on the sex work issue. while i like to imagine that no woman should be forced to engage in sex work, i also understand that for many trans women, especially those of us who are not white and educated, as i am privileged to be, there are sometimes few other options. i just hope she does well, and doesn’t get hurt.

i had a doctor appointment today. i needed to renew my hormone prescription and have my annual blood work. also, my job is making me sick, literally. i’m fortunate that i have medical insurance, an excellent medical group that specializes in lgbt care, and enough credit money to pay for the co-pay.

it looks like i’ll live, pending the results of the blood work. i also got a flu shot for the first time.

it was my 3 year anniversary on wednesday, so we loaded up and headed up to laughlin and the aquarius hotel.
(more…)

there’s a rather long thread on feministe regarding some rather racist illustrations in a recently published feminist book. many others comment.

there’s been talk by some that this is another reason to abandon feminism as a movement. i’ve been told by a number of feminists that i can’t be a feminist, because i’m trans. and to some, that means i’m male, and suffer from male privilege, having been exposed to it for so long.

right away in the comments on the feministe thread, there are feminist type people talking about safe space. what i found interesting is that when feminists start talking about safe space, i, as a trans woman, can’t help but to think of the michigan womyn’s music festival, and space that specifically excludes me.

i guess when it comes to feminism, i consider myself a student, and not a feminist.

edited to add:
apologies ensue.

this story was featured on feministe as the “craziest sex scandal yet”. as a jew and a trans woman, i know a little about power dynamics, what it feels like to be seen as a monster, and what it feels like to be told about monstrous people, in excruciating detail. and i’ve encountered a few monsters myself.

frankly, i’m not impressed.

what people do in their bedrooms is their own business, and i’m not in the habit of judging others. on the other hand, i’m also not in the habit of video taping my own bedroom antics, and allowing that to be posted on the internet. as far as i’m concerned, this man is an idiot. not for what he does, but for broadcasting what he does to the world. for what he does, he might just be an anti-semite and a sexist pig. which, by itself, should be enough to get him fired. except in this crazy world of ours. that just might get him promoted.

from the san francisco bay times:

“What shocked me working at the National Center for Transgender Equality…was the sheer level of discrimination out there,” maintains the group’s former Deputy Director Simon Aronoff. “Not letting [transgender] employees use the restrooms…or just blatantly firing them; extreme harassment, police brutality…The discrimination and oppression out there…is just really intense.”

Having left NCTE to do public interest communication, Aronoff maintains, “Particularly for trans folks, communications need to take a leading role, because for us, a really basic battle is public education, public awareness around what our lives are like and what kind of discrimination we face. Those are stories that need to get out there…and more of us need to be comfortable telling these stories in clear and compelling ways.”

the problem is that many trans people don’t tell our stories “out there” because of the sheer level of discrimination “out there”. we don’t want to loseWeight Exercise our jobs, we want to be able to pee, we don’t want to be harassed, and we don’t want to be brutalized by the police. of course, those who don’t have a choice in being “out there” take the brunt of this discrimination, while the rest of us watch in horror.

of further interest, simon aronoff mentions at the end of this piece that he stopped using testosterone after 7 years. i’d be interested in what types of side effects are caused by a lack of hormones (assuming he’s not on estrogen now, or produces it naturally). even when i went to a very low dose of estrogen after my bottom surgery, i started experiencing pretty extreme side effects, like night sweats and hot flashes. it’s another catch 22 – transition, and you’re doomed to be a slave to the megapharms.

so joe solmonese emailed me again today, with the above post title as the subject of the email, to say the following:

Dear Nexy,
Today, I witnessed something that just a year ago seemed nearly impossible. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

We are one step closer to our ultimate goal of ensuring that all GLBT Americans no longer live in fear of losing their jobs.

well that’s great joe, i’m happy you were able to get your enda thingie passed. i think it’s wonderful that when the president vetos it, you can say you came “this close” to achieving your impossible goals. perhaps one day, i’ll come “this close” to achieving mine.

i really ought to unsubscribe from the hrc campaign list. it’s just pissing me off.

according to this article, “almost 10 percent of transgender people will be murdered, compared to 0.0055 percent of the general population. in addition, 60 percent of all transgender people become victims of hate crimes.”

that doesn’t quite align with my experience. then again, i belong to a rather privileged group within the trans community, being white and able to move through the world with few people clocking me as trans. the statistics are said to have come from gender evolve, though after a quick look through the site, i didn’t come across either the stats, nor any sources for trans population stats.

i’d imagine that gathering trans stats would prove extremely difficult at best. many of us live outside the grid or in stealth. and many who are not transparent, belong to privileged groups.

i was going to wait until i finished it, but i just can’t. this book is amazing. julia serano is insightful, intellegent, and cuts right to the root of the issues. i was amazed even after the introduction and the trans woman manifesto, which are even before part one, chapter one. she rocks. this is required reading for *everyone*. and it’s even available on amazon. buy it and read it. now.