Last month I highlighted some good research done by Lal Zimman at the University of Colorado, where he found two conceptions of coming out among trans people that were very different from the way the term is used by lesbians and gay men. In the comments, my friend Caprice Bellefleur hit on the next point [...]
Courtney O’Donnell blogs about media representation of trans people, and serves a useful watchdog role. It’s possible to go overboard with that, and normally she recognizes it. Last September she wrote, “As for ‘transvestite’, some have made it know they find this word offensive, too, however, I’m also aware that it’s usage as an umbrella [...]
You may think you know what “transgender” means. But if you’ve been around the trans community for any length of time, you know that the word has been fought over before. There are at least three different ways that the word is used, and all apply to a somewhat different group of people. First let’s [...]
As you could probably tell, I feel bad describing research like the Trans Mental Health Study in such strong negative terms. I know that the authors wanted to do something to help the trans community, and they thought that was what they were doing. I want to balance that out by highlighting examples of transgender [...]
Recently, I got some messages asking me to press for transgender and lesbian, gay and bisexual inclusion in the Violence Against Women Act, a law that sunsets regularly but has just been reauthorized by Congress. The action alerts also talked about “gender identity,” and the definition that came to mind is this one from GLAAD, [...]
You’ve all heard the Trans 101 definition: “irrational or persistent fears or non-acceptance towards people whose gender identity or expression differs from the gender they were assigned at birth. Transphobia can lead to direct or indirect discrimination or harassment in a variety of forms; the common theme is a misunderstanding of, or failure to respect, [...]
Tonight I came across this interview about GLB issues with Barack Obama, and one passage in particular resonated with me: A college professor of mine helped me to see the lives of LGBT people from a different perspective. He was the first openly gay professor that I had ever come in contact with, or openly [...]
Sometimes trans dogma can be funny when it paints itself into a corner. Here’s an example from the current news about Thomas Beatie. Beatie is a transman who just gave birth to a baby girl. This Metafilter thread claims that he’s “first legally transgendered man to become pregnant.” This is just one of the many [...]
I just looked at this package in my cosmetics collection. It says, Jean-Pierre Cosmetics Eye & Make Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes It’s not a short-term glitch; that’s the official name of the product. I had already used it when I noticed this, but I double-checked, and it didn’t remove any of my eyes. Whew! I [...]
I recently came across an interesting blog post about the MTA’s weird practice of having its commuter railroad conductors mark the gender of passengers on their monthly passes. My friend Donna has experienced this on the Long Island Rail Road, and last week a blogger named Bobby posted his experience from the conductor’s point of [...]