8/3/11

Rick Perry Lone Ride out of Politics on the Third Rail to the AFA Day of Hate


The Third rail of Hate.

As noted by the Times Record News of Wichita Falls Texas Governor Rick Perry political gamble that others would embrace hate disguised as Christianity has failed.

No one disputed Mr. Perry's right to pray, it is the company that he chooses to keep that offends. At least that's the sentiment of most Americans and the overwhelming majority of politicians.

The "response' event has only confirmed 10% of the seating available at Reliant Stadium.

Only Kansas Governor Brownback and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana of the 49 governors invited have agreed to ride with Perry on this Third Rail. This is in despite of Perry's invitation and political muscle having been the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2009.

Even Perry has downplayed and backpedaled his involvement a fact not unnoticed by the AFA. Obviously becoming aware of the political suicide by association with the AFA Perry has distanced himself saying he may not speak and may only usher at the event. How humble. How ridiculous! Christs love is not political expediency or populism.


There are many third rails, and the lord knows as a Christian transgender woman I am a rider on many, I pray I will never buy a ticket on the rail to hate.

Years ago I joined with Soulforce to visit one of the "response" pastors John Hagee, trying to bring Christs message of radicaly inclusive love to his Cornerstone Church.

Even though we have made a substantial impact its not time for Texans to rest on our laurels. We must take to the streets in Houston on the 6th. Lets make sure other would be political hate mongers know where riding that third rail will take them.

8/1/11

Transgender Cleansing on Social Media Facebook and Google+ You may be next

Are you on Facebook or Google+ and using a pseudonym instead of your legal name. Most transgender and transsexual people do and have very valid reasons none of which include malicious intent.

Most of us free to do so online and remain blissfully unaware of any ramifications.

Until now.

Katie Glover the transgender editor of Frock magazine was deleted Facebook for allegedly using a "Fake" profile. Many ask 'why is we have never heard of this happening before?'

Well, you are hearing about it now! I am outspoken advocate (loudmouth) and have never had a close personal friend who also happens to be my editor deleted before! Maybe as suggested by other transgender people, this has happened before, but the victims just disappeared.

So I asked my friends as a birthday wish to tag me in a facebook with pictures like the one to the right.

Why can't we pretend its not happening? After all I'm still on facebook asks Ima Anione?

Just like cisgender womankind, transgender woman can be some of the hardest to convince of our vulnerability and the requirement of action.

A timely example of this is TransDIYer's (left) Youtube slamming me for my simple birthday wish while embracing ignorance pandering to those who would embrace her faux brand of populist activism. Just for the record TransDIYer followers, by her own admission, she repeatedly commented' trolled on my profile and that is why I banned her.

"I have a hard time believing that this is a a real issue. I hate frivilous BS"- TransDIYer-Youtube rant.

But TransDIYer's screed does beg a valid question, if this is real and not some "friviolious BS" from some attention starved peep why haven't we already heard about it?

No one wants to acknowledge it's happening.

The sad fact is woman both cisgender and transsexuals are equally capable of being dismissively misogynistic and even cruelly inhumane to there own gender.

"Transgender cleansing" is a new social construct and the idea that Transgender cleansing could or is happening is naturally further buried in media's patriarchal hierarchy.

But in truth on a devastating level it is happening now in Sweden where it is law transgender people must me sterilized prior to sexual organ alignment surgery.

Defining "transgender cleansing". Lets further our understanding of ethnic and sexual cleansing to include the ongoing social media cleansing of the gender diverse.

Now on to Facebook and Google Plus.

Google plus TOS requires all to requires you "use your full first and last name in a single language." Failure to do so makes you subject to deletion.


Facebook TOS 1.You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.

Nowhere do ether TOS state or imply Transgender people may self identify or are exempt from these rules.

Jillian York's excellent article A Case for Pseudonyms explores our marginalization and potential for apparent arbitrary deletion as she writes: "Nevertheless, policies requiring "real" names are nearly impossible to enforce at scale, and as several examples have demonstrated, enforcement tends to be skewed against individuals who are well-known or have enemies, a result of community reporting mechanisms."

So why was Katie Glover's profile deleted at that moment?

Perhaps it happened because she choose to make a social statement and stand up for us?


Just prior to her deletion Katie published an in depth interview with Peter Tatchell in FROCK about the injustices being done to the LGBT Moscow Pride participants.

Perhaps my "Grass Roots" interview of Russian gender queer Anno Komarov about his trials as a leader of that same Russian Pride upset the Russian government so much they used their political muscle to push Katie off facebook!

I know the morning Katie sent me the email about her deletion my profile had been suspended for a couple of hours. Maybe facebook was checking me out, however I being a minority among us I enjoy the benefit of using my legal name.

Kelli Anne Busey. Gender: Female. You can look it up.

Fantasy? No, its not. That same thing has happened to me a few years ago. planetransgender was deleted by google after I exposed the correlation between the public revelation of Congressman Barney Franks 10 year rent boy relationship and his first utterance of the transphobic phrase describing transgender people as "men with penis's in the ladies room". It was obvious to me he was using our lives to deflect interest and condemnation of his young prostitute/boyfriend.

And I did piss him and his ilk off!

The only thing that saved planetransgender was a fellow blogger called NG. He asked why enough and one day a few weeks later my blog mysteriously appeared although sans the article about Franks.


So it happens. You are asking what can I do about it. You are saying to yourself if I remain silent and invisible no one will notice. Maybe like TransDIYer pointed out there are drag queens and nothing has happened to them. Well nothing against drag queens but how many do you know that are making a public statement other than to say hey look at me I got ladies undies on? I know of one or two. They too, like you will be overlooked until the time when "there is no one else for them to come for."


So, Facebook and Google are not transgender inclusive. What can we do?

For one you can talk about it. Whether you agree or not our conversation elevates our concerns to cisgender ears. And you can be proactive:

There is a reason 40,000 people have joined the NCTE cause Tell Facebook to recognize transgender people. Many of those who joined that cause are aware of the consequences should if we continue not being allowed to self identify.

You can sign and share the Change.org petition Tell Facebook You are NOT a Transgender FAKER!

Working on Facebook is not a answer to this problem, They just ignore you.

I started a facebook event eventually leading to the creation of TransAction ConVergence calling on Facebook to Include Transgender in Profile Options". We eventually had over 20,000 participants and I was sure we would be considered in the changes they were initiating at that time. They ignored us and as you can tell by clicking the plancast link the event is no longer available for viewing. I did not cancel it and unlike all the other previous TransAction ConVergence events, it was not archived.

Believe this! Gender cleansing on social media is real, its happening and we must stop it.

Gun Hill Road Papi Esai Morales on CBS "The Talk"




CBS The Talk hosted Esai Morales who's latest film “Gun Hill Road”, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green will premier Aug 5th in LA and NYC. “Gun Hill Road” is a drama based on a true story, which explores the dynamic in a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx when its father, played by Esai, returns home from prison after a 3-year absence and discoverer's that his child who he thought of as his son when he left, is now his daughter.

7/30/11

Gun Hill Road Director and Actors True Transgender Metal

The New York Times ran an amazing article "When They Play Women, It’s Not Just an Act" By Erik Piepenburg about the phenomenal new release "Gun Hill Road"


"What sets this movie apart is it has transgender actors playing transgender roles" Erick explains "but this hasn't always been true."

Indeed there have been a multitude of cisgender actors cast in movies which misrepresented and in some cases where problematic for transgender and transsexual people.

Gun Hill Roads transgender lead actress Harmony Santana a NYC native was precisely who director was looking for. He understood from experience trying to cast cisgender gay actors there was a intangible ingredient missing. He learned from trial and error he needed a sister who shares our road less traveled and finding Ms. Santana was a gift from above! She was early in transition having come up the hard way still living in a homeless shelter for LGBT youth even as the movie was being filmed living the experience.

And complementing the metal of the movie is the NYT author's grasp on our issues as he as he explores the results that drag and exploative movies have had on the Transsexual and Transgender community by interviewing another well know transgender actress Laverne Cox.

My heart went to my throat as the author's article went further examining transgender roles by interviewing Israel Luna director of the movie "Ticked Off Tra##ys With Knives" which was intensely protested by the transsexual and transgender community.

It is a sad commentary that TO#WK movie would be held as a standard for transgender movies but in truth Erik did us a solid in contrasting that movies problematic senseless violent exploitation of transgender people with the true transsexual metal Gun Hill Road.

Hopefully in the future we will see many more movies like Gun Hill Road on our shared road less traveled.

Read the NYT article in full HERE.

7/27/11

Washington Blade article: Dear Moms So Sad your Daughter was killed Where the Tranny Whores Hang out

Its been just months ago that I called out the Washington Blade writer Lou Chibbaro Jr for erroneously presenting our opposition to HB235 as being led and organized by transphobic and homophobic hate groups.

The Washington Blades intent was to ignore the local poor transgender community and maliciously stigmatize us "out of state bloggers" as the enemy of equality, undesirable and unworthy. We were the only voice against gay oppression of trans people then and well, he's at it again.

Now they might have just as well called a slain transgender sister a whore in the same article they documented the mourning of her family and mother.

And the DC Trans Coalition is pissed. They are calling for fair minded people to respond with there article Fighting Biased Reporting After Tragedy
"Like many of you, we’re still reeling from last week’s tragic killing of Lashai Mclean. We were then especially appalled when we reviewed The Washington Blade’s coverage of the vigil held in Lashai’s memory, in which the reporter suggests — based on no evidence other than location — that Lashai was engaging in sex work at the time of her death."
They are asking for members to write and call the Washington Blade editor and express your dismay.

Kevin Naff
Editor, The Washington Blade
knaff@washblade.com

7/26/11

Video: Ashley Love takes over NAACP LGBT Town Hall "Sorry for the Misrepresentation of Trans people".


NAACP LGBT Town Hall Los Angeles CA: Activist Ashley commandeers the microphone after sending this mobile upload telling us "Wow, CNN's Don Lemon just said transsexual and transgender people are really just "gay" and are the "same thing as gay". Unbelievable!"

Don Lemon (far right) obviously aghast at having his gay assimulist patriarchal misrepresentation of transsexuals blown up by Ashley looks on at NAACP's former director Julian Bond in horror as to say HEY I thought it was an unspoken agreement, no transsexuals or dogs?



Ashley is humble in victory latter telling us "Julian Bond was kind and fair enough to let me speak at the end, though Don Lemon interrupted me and made excuses for his misinformation."

This episode of transsexual educating gays would have been completely unnecessary had the transgenders communities request for a transsexual panel member been heeded. Instead, it was this adacious act of advocacy that saved the day.

Ashley on her facebook page explained her frustration "Its amazing that Don Lemon, a man who"s been out for only a few months, has the audacity to tell me, a woman who has been seeing a doctor about her transsexual & intersex condition for FIFTEEN YEARS, who I am, & that I'm the "same thing as gay". Sorry Don, women like me are not here to drag impersonate singers on a gay club's stage for you to laugh at. I'm a woman, deal with it. And stop the miseducation, its harmful."