12/14/12

Chicago TransMan Levi Pine's Complaint Against King Spa is Wrong

A Chicago man has filed a discrimination complaint against the  King Spa and Sauna for denying him the use of the men's shower, pictured right. According to the Windy City Times Levi Pine felt degraded after the manager approached him while he was naked asking to speak with him.
The manager, who identified himself as John but declined to provide a last name to Windy City Times, questioned Pine about his gender. Pine told John that he was transgender, and John said he could provide Pine with a private shower.

Pine said he did not want a private shower and that he could use the same facilities used by other customers. But, John said, other customers had complained.
So I was curious, are youth allowed in the King Spa and Sauna so I called the Chicago facility.

The service representative told me children under 12 are allowed as long as they are accompanied by an adult of the same sex. Children over 12 after being admitted with an adult are allowed unrestricted access to the faculty.

"I shouldn't have to be sequestered into a private area," Pine later told Windy City Times. "Just because some people who go there are uncomfortable with my body, shouldn't change what I have to do and shouldn't change my rights as a customer."

The nity gritty. Transgender men have become used to identifying there Sexual Reassignment Surgery as a breast reduction and reconstruction and in addition to affects of hormone replacement therapy most trans men 'pass' easily. Until you drop you're drawers then passing becomes problematic.

The lone commenter on the Windy City Times, Amber, made a argument for his rights to use public accommodations as did John Knight, LGBT project attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and my good friend Attorney Joanie Rae Wimmer.


Amber makes a case for blind justice for transgender rights but in this case I think the blinders should come off.

Pine probably has a valid case under law but..
My 2cents.....

Mr. Pine is ether ignorant about the Spa's policy on admitting children, caught up in the cause or he's just uncaring.
I feel we have a moral responsibility as do the vast majority of those previously polled regarding nudity in public accommodations with to respect children.

It's not optional, it's not a case of discrimination regardless of consequences, its our duty as citizens if a person has not had bottom surgery, full nudity must be considered a condition reserved for consenting adults. If children are present or the possibility exists a child could enter the room under those conditions, it's not just wrong, it's immoral.



12/13/12

Trans bloggers and Other People of Good Will: You are Being Hijacked

Who would stoop to that level to intentionally misdirect and misinform with hateful lies?


Radscum. Filthy dirty filthy low life nasty hateful radscum.

I was playing with the idea of buying a domain for this blog and found that it was unavailable because it was already registered. The scum have registered planetransgender.com pointing everyone who searches for this blog using that domain to their wordpress hell hole! Those are some dirt bags for sure. Googling "planetransgender.com" you end on rad scum central. Just a heads up to other trans folk and other people of good will.

You might want to check this out. The scum might be hijacking you too.






ESPN Radio 980 Suspends Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin

ESPN 980 (Washington, D.C.) radio hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin suspended for their transphobic tirades berating transgender basketball player Gabrielle Ludwig.

The radio station belatedly took action following the outrage expressed by you and I.


The following message was posted on the ESPN 980 Facebook wall:


Many including myself felt the appropriate response would have been to fire these two after there second rant thinly discussed as an apology.

However the independently owned and operated sports radio station felt a suspension was fitting.  Awful Announcing brought up the point firing could and probably would have, in all fairness, inhibited future discussions about transgender people (transgender people's rights?).

This begs the question, what if that bigoted rant were focused at a black person? People of color are defined as a minority just as Gabrielle Ludwig is, would the station have felt a suspension an appropriate remedy then?



So what do you think?



12/12/12

Lady Gaga Born This Way Санкт-Петербург Россия

Lady Gaga говоря бросил переводчик сказал, что она "хочет уважения прав геев". Lady Gaga хочет сказать, что она ожидает уважения от других - она не здесь, чтобы оскорбить религию никому или веры, она здесь, чтобы объединить нас ".



Lady Gaga said at the concert that she "wanted to respect the rights of gays." Lady Gaga wants to say that she expects respect from others - she is not here to offend anyone religion or faith, she is here to join us. "

"Artists in Russia have begun warning of a new "iron curtain" falling over the country, as ever more western stars become targets of the country's crackdown on culture. Last week, prosecutors in St Petersburg opened an investigation into the Hermitage museum after complaints that an exhibit by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman showed signs of extremism. Responding to the investigation, the Chapman brothers said in a statement: "Note to selves: remember, forget Russia."

"The campaign against western artists has grown since the jailing of the punk band Pussy Riot, a case that highlighted the crackdown on freedom of expression in Vladimir Putin's Russia."
Source: Guardian

12/11/12

Tegan Smith Handcuffed Dragged Off Plane at Dallas Love Field "for being trans"

Transgender woman Tegan Marie Smith handcuffed, removed from a plane at Dallas Love Field because the "police" wanted to know "why she was transgender."

Rebecca Heineman posted about this on facebook:

Around 6PM Dallas time on Monday, December 10th, 2012, my good friend Tegan Marie Smith was at Love Field in Dallas TX on board her flight to Atlanta GA when the police boarded the aircraft, handcuffed and arrested her. They held her for a few hours telling her she had no rights and demanded why she was "Transgender". In the process she lost her phone and several other personal items and missed he...r flight. She is currently in a hotel in Dallas awaiting the next flight home..

This is a total outrage!! She didn't deserve this treatment. She only was in Dallas to see her family and was on her way home.

This is the text from Tegan's facebook page.

"Arrested in Dallas, detained for two hours in handcuffs, released. Most of my stuff, including phones, missing. I still had one credit card and my drivers license, so I got a nearby hotel and will try to fly home to Atlanta tomorrow. I had to give life story about being transsexual to officers. My earlier flight was cancelled, and I had a few drinks at the bar, no more than the others I was with. I was boarded, then removed, placed in handcuffs, not read any rights, was told I didn't have any. They demanded to know why I was transgender. I was finally released, my wrists are bruised, the handcuffs hurt like hell but I sure as hell wasn't going to let them see me cry. I feel pretty bad right now, I was singled out of six people from the bar near the gate, I am certain because of my height and size. I don"t have any phone numbers but one. my phone is gone, and she is not answering. A wonderful weekend in Dallas gone bad for no reason. I was told to stay away from the airport tonight, to fly out tomorrow. Likely I will have to buy another ticket, and I have no idea where my carry on bag, hormones, etc are.

No one is going to see me cry. Yey though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for I am the toughest Bitch in the valley."


Apparently Tegan is safe and on her way home. This was posted by a friend of hers...

(Tegan)"...messaged me to say that she had a stand-by boarding pass to get home on a 1245 flight, no charge. She said that the groundcrew at the check-in apologized and told her that her arrest was a manager's decision and that they never would have pulled her off of the flight themselves, but said that they couldn't do anything about it though.

All of her possessions were returned ...to her intact!
She has taken her prescriptions and photographed the marks on her wrists from the handcuffs that the police put very tightly on her yesterday. She said that NBC wants to talk with her. I don't know if they got to yet though. Let's all please say a prayer that she gets home safe and sound! A subsequent text message from her indicated that she was boarding at 12:32, so apparently she's in the air now!
There will be a lot in the mainstream news about this I'm sure.



12/10/12

ESPN Radio: Fire Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin

This sort of hate speech has no place on the court, in the stands and especially not on the Radio. This kind of attack was exactly what Gabrielle was so anxious about  although I don't think she could have imagined it would have originated from mainstream media.

What made this attack doublly dispicable is they did it in response to the incrediable article published by


"ESPN Radio's Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin went on a deeply transphobic rant about trans college basketball player Gabrielle Ludwig, calling her "it" and saying transgender people have no place in sports. Source: Out Sports.





chucksapienza980@gmail.com
Chuck Sapienza

Vice President/Programming
Red Zebra Broadcasting

ESPN980 and SportsTalk 570