Category — Harassment

The following is a press release from Gender DynamiX  [first African based organisation solely focussing on the transgender community] regarding the negative and transphobic reporting of Caster Semenya, an 18-year-old who had never competed outside of Africa, before this week who aroused suspicions when she posted the fastest 800m time in the world this year, winning gold at the African junior championships. [Guardian article]

20 August 2009

This week South African media, in particular radio DJ’s and print media have been having a shameless orgy with the gender dispute of our gold medalist heroin competing in Berlin.

Last year we lost a South African sport star to a hate crime because she transgressed gender boundaries. Banyana soccer star Eudy Simelane was murdered in a township because she challenged expected gender stereotypes.

Is our media putting a South African hero’s life in danger on her return, gold medal in hand?

Instead of being proud of our champion the South African media and public is on a witch-hunt trying to define Semenya’s sex. DJ’s on radio are dissecting Semenya’s person to a point of reducing her accomplishments to her genitals. [Read more →]

Contact:
Cindi Creager
Director of National News
(646) 871-8019
creager@glaad.org <mailto:creager@glaad.org>
Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org <mailto:ferraro@glaad.org>
June 2, 2009— In a lengthy May 28 tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5 FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5 FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children. While discussing a recent story about a transgender child in Omaha, Nebraska and her parents’ decision to support her transition, the two hosts spent more than 30 minutes explicitly promoting child abuse of and making cruel, dehumanizing and defamatory comments toward transgender children. [Read more →]

PROVIDENCE, RI

Show your solidarity with the uprisings in Athens, and the people of Gaza.
We are planning a funeral procession in solidarity with all victims of war
and state violence on Saturday, January 10th, through the streets of
Providence. We will speak at various sites of state violence throughout
the city. Anyone interested in planning or speaking please come to a
planning meeting Monday January 5th at 6pm. Email whatqueer@gmail.com for
info, even if you can’t make it on the 5th.

Called for by What Queer?! a radical queer collective in Providence.
Please forward widely.

November 17, 2008 (See more @ saffolicious.blogspot.com.)

Hello everyone. My name is Saffo and I am trans. Some of you may know me by my birth name, Fokion. As many of you will already know, to many trans people, changing our names is an important rite of passage. Coming out as trans, choosing a new name and transitioning my identity has been a difficult, beautiful, emotionally exhausting, revitalizing and spiritually empowering process. Some of you who have known me for years have struggled to remember to call me by my new name, and by my new preferred pronoun. I assure you that it’s been even more difficult for me, adjusting to a new name, to a new relationship with the world. But it is so important and I appreciate the many people in my life who have supported me through this struggle, as well as the countless many trans and gender variant people who have struggled and fought so hard before me— many of whom have sacrificed their lives for the chance to name themselves. After all, today is the day of remembrance, so I must remember with a sense of gratitude and humility those who have fought before me and made the ultimate sacrifice.

So what’s in a name? Many of us live out our lives with names that were given to us by our parents, which may or may not have any real meaning or significance. Your name is perhaps the most important, most deeply engrained social marker you will have in your life. It claims to define you— and yet most people did not choose their name, or may not feel that it has any real meaning to them. Coming out as trans has given me a sense of solidarity with people everywhere who have chosen to rename themselves. Similarly, it is through this politics of naming that we are also able to name the forces of violence that oppress us. Transphobia, Heterosexism, Racism, Classism, Imperialism, Ageism, Ableism, Capitalism, Sexual Assault and Violence, the Prison Industrial Complex. The list goes on. Naming the systems of violence that oppress us and those around us is a vital first step in our various struggles for liberation. And so it is through naming both ourselves, our communities, and the forces of violence that oppress us that we are able to fight back. [Read more →]

This article is re-posted from Diana’s Corner. Check out more from Diana by clicking here.

Transgender Singer Files Complaint.

Associated Press
11:50 AM EDT, September 4, 2008

WINDSOR LOCKS - A transgendered woman who says a Connecticut bar refused to allow her to sing on a karaoke night has filed a complaint with the state Liquor Commission.

Michelle Merrill says a manager at the Skyline Restaurant in Windsor Locks would not let her sing on Aug. 22 because she is a transsexual. The 35-year-old Enfield resident was born a male and began sex-change procedures 10 years ago.

Merrill says the manager told her other patrons complained that she used the women’s bathroom and he didn’t want people like her in the bar. [Read more →]

As more and more information surfaces here in the Twin Cities—beyond the news or more raids, mass arrests, brutality, etc—I cannot help but feel like I am taking a step back to see a more complete, more startling picture than what I had previously seen, and I know I am not alone in this.

The first revelation, ironically, was that the seemingly gargantuan forces at work to bring the streets of St. Paul to a standstill were little more than a determined core of militants, who were admirably committed but desperate enough to create a facade that victory was all but certain, in the hopes that such blind optimism would bring forth a cascade of young anarchists to flood the streets—not so dissimilar from the posture of the Weathermen when they were promoting their national action, known later as the Days of Rage. There were, however, hundreds of militants who were both tactical and disciplined in their efforts, but this could not substitute for the shortcomings of the organizational model being utilized. This is the most obvious thing that one is struck by when assessing the situation on the ground, but this simple truth is perhaps inconsequential compared to what is becoming more and more evident. [Read more →]

forwarded from our comrades at rha

Kailah Hayes, a client of Sylvia’s Place, was arrested yesterday by officers from the 77th precinct and charged with assault for defending herself against a trans-phobic attack. She is being held pending arraignment in Brooklyn, under the name Anthony Hayes. Yesterday, two of Kailah’s roommates, both trans women, were returning home when they passed an adult woman, a boy, and a group of little girls. The boy began yelling “that’s a man, that’s a man” at them. One of the trans women asked the adult to tell the boy to stop, and they continued home. Shortly after, the same group came up to them in front of the building, and the boy again started yelling “that’s a man” and then went across the street and began pointing them out to a couple of adult women in the van, who were staring and laughing at the trans women. [Read more →]

NEW YORK (AP) — A priest who runs a shelter specializing in outreach to homeless transgender youths was beaten with construction equipment and paint cans by a group of teenagers in a possible hate crime, authorities said Tuesday.Two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old were awaiting arraignment Tuesday on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, Queens prosecutors said. A 15-year-old was being charged as a juvenile in the Monday attack outside the Carmen’s Place shelter, prosecutors said. [Read more →]

On August 11 2007, while marching in solidarity with our union
sisters and brothers of the Industrial Workers of the world (IWW) 460/640
campaign in NYC, the Providence, RI IWW branch was attacked by the out of
control North Providence Police force. During the attack Providence IWW
member Alexandra Svoboda was brutally maimed by officers of the NPPD and
arrested. Jason Friedmutter, also of the Providence IWW branch was
arrested as well. Alex has faced a long road to recovery that she is still
on. Alex and Jason both face dubious criminal charges that the City of
North Providence has drummed up in order to thwart Alex from receiving
justice and to protect their violent, inexperienced police force.
Included in this article is a brief, but all encompassing account of
August 11, ‘07, Alex’s injuries and recovery, Alex and Jason’s legal
status at the time of this writing.
[Read more →]

We will Repeal DADT

Cannon Fodder YES!

No repeal Of  DOMA

Marriage NO!

With friends like these—————————

“You claim that all the Democratic candidates for President are for repealing DADT but that doesn’t mean squat. Their party has been in power since 2006 and everything they’ve done is a stab in the back. They raped ENDA, refused to repeal ENDA because they’re pigheadedly opposed to same-sex marriage and conveniently let the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Bill die so it wouldn’t be an issue in 2008. And let’s not forget their other stab in the back, DOMA. Nobody even bothers to ask them to repeal that. You say to move on and I agree–let’s move away form the parties of war, union busting and bigotry–the Democrats and Republicans are proven enemies.”

……Bill Perdue on the Bilerico Project, responding to/Mr. Big Dog Traiangulator:DADT’s legacy isn’t my fault.

A BIG HEARTY THANKS TO BILL PERDUE FOR ALL HIS WRITING.

For a related postings click on QWB Archives for September 2007 and read Punk Pink’s article, Hillary, Billery, No! No! No!.

Press conference & peaceful protest against sexual harassment on Public Sidewalk outside Outback Steakhouse, North Haven

Friday January 4, 7 p.m. (Directions Below) [Read more →]

Unidad Latina en Accion takes Outback Steakhouse to task for their worker abuses.

From the New Haven  Independent.

At 6:23 PM ET, the House of Representatives voted on and passed HR 3685, the Non-Inclusive ENDA, by a vote of 235 to 184 with 14 Not Voting. Click here to view vote tally.“

– Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition

true to form, the democratic party congress voted by the polls, which is to say, by straight, middle-class america’s values, not principle, and squashed employment protections for the people who need them the most — transfolk.

CTAC, LMF and many national orgs waged a valiant campaign to keep a fully inclusive gender-identity bill intact. I salute your efforts.

this is one battle, but it sure as hell is not the war!

I suppose we have the director of ICE (Immigrantion and Customs
Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security) to thank for demonstrating
that the struggle for the rights of immigrant workers, against the
prison industrial complex, and against racism are all connected. [Read more →]

An article in today’s Hartford Courant reports that at least one person was arrested and eight detained during Friday’s sweep in the Parkville section of Hartford by the Fugitive Operation Team of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One person was arrested on an outstanding deportation order and the 8 others who were swept up in the raid were suspected of being illegal aliens.