Tag Archives: transgender

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Anxious about EQUALITY

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I woke up this morning with a feeling of anxiety in my stomach, it was a combination of cautious hopefulness and dread. I feel in a surreal state of being, this feeling spread to my chest and coated the underside of my ribs where it has stayed the entire day.

The political decision that the court will make tomorrow at 10am has put me in this state. I have sensation because of my having finally entered in to a political consciousness. As a young person I was so concerned with my own survival and then my own reprocessing and growth from that survival that it took me much effort to expand my true consciousness to politics.

It truly is surreal to realize that there are other humans, whom I and most others this ruling will affect will never meet, in a room I have never and likely never will see, that will decide the possibility of my fate. They will make a LEGAL RULING that will declare whether or not I am treated equally in my state. It is one of the most intense sensations I have felt in my life. It is more intense to me than the first passing of California marriage equality simply because I was too narcissistic and shameful about myself to feel it. Now I am out and proud and have participated in advocacy for marginalized people. I have seen how legislation changes culture and culture changes legislation. I have seen and touched the differences that laws make in the every day lives of people. Here is one that is affecting the path my life can take. Actually it is offering the possibility of a new path my life could take, a path that had been blocked to me. I had decided since a young age that I would live my life the way I wanted despite the laws that make strong suggestions in a certain direction. I reaffirmed this in myself when I finally came out as gay, that I would live my life to fit my inner being, not the outer expectations. But this is something that can affect the number of choices I have in that life. This will legally declare equality.

This will declare legal equality.

This will make legal equality LAW in my state.

This surreal sensation is multilayered. I am excited to be declared equal, so that no one in this state can tell me other wise, law is law. But there is challenge in being place side by side those that discriminated you. Being placed next to the ones that considered you, “less than,” and called you “different but equal.”

A great weight has been lifted and a great responsibility has been granted.

There is certain strength and power to being in the margins. In a significant way, that will be relinquished tomorrow at 10am. I know this ruling is not a magic fairy wand that will fix all wrongs, but it is a grand jete over the rainbow!

Peace, Love, And Equality to All!

CG

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A Victory for a beautiful little girl and all trans and marginalized people!

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Coy Mathis’ has won her rights to use the girls bathroom at her elementary school. The school had informed her parents that she would not be allowed to use the girls bathroom and instead had to use the nurses station bathroom or a faculty bathroom because of her trans status. A tragic violation of a small child’s right to decide who they are. She has worn girls clothing and gone by female pronouns since the age of 18 months when she expressed her self identified gender. Thankfully her family held no hesitation in standing up for their daughter’s rights and won! Thank you to her parents for setting a high bar, one that should have been set long ago, but was gracefully raised by their steadfastness to their child’s rights and equality.

Read the story here: She WON!

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Research just for [some of] US!

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CARAS- Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities is dedicated to researching people who are considered participating in “alternative sex;” at this current time alternative sex refers to those in the BDSM communities, the LGBTQQI communities, polyamory, open relationships, and anyone who uses kink, fetish, and power dynamics, in their personal life and sexual life.

Because the genre of sex research is a young one and it was primarily focused on procreation trends, it therefore did not include the communities who were not having sex to bear children. This does not only include the communities I mentioned above, but also other minorities, the physically or mentally disabled, the elderly, and youth. These communities are just recently being researched. Why is researching these groups sex life so important? It is important because research that is published has a heavy effect on public opinions; historically research and medical opinions have shaped the mental health, medicine, and business fields, and shaped cultural opinions. These opinions, many time false or misquoted, continue pervasively to shape cultural perspectives that shape lives.

Here is a resource that is aiding in accurate information being published about some of us who have been neglected in research!

Go to C.A.R.A.S. here

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Oregon’s birth certificates can reflect true birth gender

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Oregon has opened the doors for transgender people to change their birth certificates to reflect who they truly were at birth. The only requirement is a doctors statement that their gender is true, there is no surgical requirement, just verification of the mental gender state of the person. This is a lovely change for the transgender population of Oregon. It allows ALL documents that run our life and our identity to sync. It will eliminate another unnecessary violation of privacy and lowers the risk of discrimination. This will help improve the possible quality of life available to transgender citizens by allowing smoother access to schools, housing, jobs, Social Security benefits and the many other things that require birth certificates.

This bill goes in to effect the first day of 2014.’

CHEERS OREGON! Thank you for setting a great example!

 

Oregons birth certificate bill!

 

For those wanting information about how to go about changing gender on a birth certificate in other states, here are a couple links I found that give some helpful information. Some of the information may be out of date, Oregon for example, but it is a good place to start.

Wiki Site on Changing Birth Certificate Gender

Dr.Becky Allison’s helpful list

Of course you should always do research and/or contact a local attorney to get the most updated information.

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Parents Who Are Doing it RIGHT! Human Rights that is!

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Their transgender daughter is being discriminated but the whole school, but her parents are fighting back. Read about parents who believe a child has more insight and knowledge in to their own being then they do. These are parents who are truly demonstrating unconditional love, whether or not their children ‘follow in their footsteps.’ They are recognizing the individuality and right to self expression of their young child and are choosing to stand up for her rather then mold her to societies constraints and desires.  That is love in action; read here

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Social Security Removes Surgical Requirement for Gender Marker Change

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Finally gender equality and privacy in social security! Read the long overdue story HERE & another insightful article HERE Thanks Obama:)

This step toward equality for transgender individuals is long overdue. Previously, transgender people required proof of surgical reassignment surgery in order to change their official gender withing the social security system. This was a gross violation of their human rights to privacy. Gender has more to do with their internal sense of knowledge and self then the body parts that are hanging, or not hanging off of them. This caused undue discrimination against people who for many varying reasons chose to not have any special surgery, either through cost constraints, or other personal reasons. Citizens who desire to change their gender and choose to go as far to change their documents, do not take the decision lightly. It is an extremely difficult endeavor to state to the world that the body you were born in to is does not match the internal state of gender identity in their mind. It is a struggle daily to wake up in a body that does not connect to the physical image one’s mind eye would like to feel. This process is not like changing someones name, which people can do and have done often with little reason. It is an intrinsic part of a person that requires sensitivity and some life altering, irreversible (for the most part) decisions, some that risk damaging their body to achieve their goals. So lifting the surgical requirement for gender change in the Social Security system will give those people who have not or do not wish to surgically alter their body at this point in time, but are 100% certain of their gender identity the right to have their documents match up with their self. So often societies feel that because people are on the margins of society, they have the rights to analyze and enter in to their private space more often in order to determine the level of acceptability they will assign to a specific action or way of being. This milestone says no to one violation, affording transgender people the privacy and discretion they deserve and all other citizens take for granted. To have the right to change ones gender in the Social Security system is a right that will save lives by aiding the reduction of discrimination caused by involuntarily exposing someones gender history.

This is another important step toward gender equality; to allow more people the possibility to become self actualized, which is the great goal of life.