Drawn To Comics: “Detective Comics” Gets Even Queerer With Dr. Victoria October, Trans Woman and Bioweapon Specialist
by rory midhani
One of the best comics at DC right now is Detective Comics, which already starred the now-legendary lesbian superhero Batwoman, and recently the book has gotten even queerer. Harper Row, also known as Bluebird, came out as bisexual in December; now in Detective Comics #948, a new trans woman supporting character, Dr. Victoria October, is joining the cast. Batwoman, Batman and their team have been fighting off genetically altered monsters and they need help, so they turn to Batman’s old friend, the scientist and “post-human bioweaponry” expert Dr. Victoria October.
Art by Ben Oliver
The latest issue of Detective Comics, issue #948 also is the launching off point for the new Batwoman Begins comic book that’s going to be written by Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV, who both identify as queer. You might remember Bennett’s previous terrific queer and trans characters like every single person in DC Comics Bombshells. They include Alysia Yeoh, the trans former roommate of Batgirl who saw more action in Bombshells than she had seen before, and the stars of Marvel’s Angela books, Angela, a queer angel and Sera, her trans woman of color girlfriend. Tynion has also written his fair share of great queer and trans characters, including several in the book Backstagers, from Boom Studios. With these two talented writers I always feel confident when they introduce new queer or trans characters and I always look forward to it.
Art by Ben Oliver
Dr. Victoria October is pretty much exactly like ninety percent of the white trans women I know. She works in STEM, she chose her name because it has “panache,” she’s a nerd but also is snarky, she uses phrases like “pupal stage” and “deadname” (used by a lot of trans people to refer to their birthname) and she hangs out with superheroes. She’s introduced with a smile and a quip, the only that’s missing is a couple puns and a pickle. I like that she’s so stereotypically trans in this way. It’s not in the way that trans characters normally are. Instead she’s stereotypical in the way that real life trans women are, and she’s full of inside references to the trans community.
October also is shown using a cane, so it looks like she’s also representation for disabled trans people, which is excellent. Bennett herself uses a cane, so again, I trust her more than most writers to write a character who also uses one. I’m really excited to see that more and more queer and trans characters are being introduced into the DC universe and specifically into the Batman universe. A lot of Batman villains have typically been coded as queer, so I really really like that now we’re seeing heroes being actually queer. We need positive representation, and that representation is even better when it’s coming from queer creators. With Batwoman, Harper Row and Dr. October, this part of the DC Universe is becoming nice and comfortable for comic fans like us. Thanks to the people who made these characters possible.
New Releases (January 18)
Harley Quinn Vol 6 Black White and Red All Over HC
Harley Quinn Vol 5 The Joker’s Last Laugh TP
A-Force Vol 2 Rage Against The Dying of The Light TP
Black Panther: World of Wakanda #3
Mighty Thor Vol 1 Thunder in Her Veins TP
Scarlet Witch Vol 2 World of Witchcraft TP
Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.
If you have a comic that you’d like to see me review, you can email me at mey [at] autostraddle [dot] com.
Why I’m Unapologetic About My Sensuality as a Black Trans Woman
feature image via shutterstock.com
Author’s Note: This passage is coming from my experience as a Black Trans Woman, but is not meant to speak for all Black Trans Women, or to invalidate the spectrums of gray and asexuality. All perspectives, stories, and viewpoints are valid, but I can only be an expert on my own.
When I first attempted celibacy, I was identifying and living my life as a man, because I was being used for a sexual purpose, in exchange for validation that I could be wanted for something. I was constantly being told that I wasn’t “boyfriend material” (shocker and a half, right?), but word had gotten out around campus that I was a good fuck. That was years and years of living, and I was tired of it, so I decided that I would be the only one loving me, until someone was ready to love me for the person I was, and not what they could take from me.
Now I exist in my truth, as a woman, a sensual and unapologetic, but nervous, woman. The strange thing about this is that the things that used to trigger me about being a man (like lifting and playing sports) are things that now affirm me as a woman who cannot — and so, does not —conform. At this point in my life, sex has also been one of those things. While I was celibate the second time around, which only lasted about a month, to be honest, I realized something about me: sex is a form of self-preservation for me as a Black Trans Woman.
Meditate on this: a Black Trans Woman faces so many obstacles as a consequence for merely existing. She is hunted, not only by the state, but by her own people as well, as some sort of aspiration to an internalized sense of “manhood” by Black cis men. Add to this, the endless hurdles to find work and keep it, or to find other means of working that are not considered valid by society which increases the danger for them in many instances.
These are just outside factors to consider. Add to this the dysphoria, the constant misgendering from loved ones and close relationships that have proven to be mentally, physically or emotionally violent. Cap this off with the death toll, and the ever decreasing life expectancy, and I guess you could say a bitch like me might have a little bit of stress in her life! Go figure.
For me, as a Black Trans Woman, to witness sex as a form of affirmation, is to find the smallest diamond in a rough of shit covered knives, doused in lemon juice and sprinkled with salt.
For me, as a Black Trans Woman, to find her body not only as something worthy and magnificent (as it is), but to find someone to share that magick with, may very well be one of the only moments she has to enjoy a trying and very taxing life — one that’s always trying to kill her.
I was able to give my body to someone in this way recently, to feel a presence beside me and within me, that was a compliment to my being. Believe me when I say this: it was the first time in a while that I felt able to take on this strange, complicated, and altogether violent world I live in, with all of my identities attached. For a moment, there was music, sweat, voices, hands, mouths, hearts, and above all of this — peace…a moment of peace and bliss.
This… this is something I need. That’s an unpopular opinion potentially, but for me, it is something I need. In a world that seems to be all to focused on the idea of less and less women like me being in it, the moments where I can love my body, and share it with someone else who loves it, are moments I don’t think I could live without right now.
So I declare my celibacy absolved and my sluthood righteous, free moving and resurrected. I will work to center myself in other ways, so that I never fall into the shadow of another. I will focus my life, and then take self-care in the form of being a shameless fucking THOT, because that’s what liberation looks like for me.
To all my loves on their respective journeys, know that your journey, your story, your narrative, even when not in your hands, is still yours. You owe that to no one. Peace.
Time to Be Floored by Shea Diamond’s Stunning New Video for Trans and Self-Empowerment Anthem “I Am Her”
The first time I saw Shea Diamond’s (pronounced like She-A Diamond) hard-hitting video for her amazing song “I Am Her,” I was in love. It’s a total banger that forces you to move your body. The video is shot in gorgeous black and white and, like the song itself, it celebrates what it’s like being a trans woman out in society, even if sometimes it’s hard and ugly. This video and song were by far one of my favorites of the year. The song has a killer and infectious beat and Diamond’s vocals over it are powerful and rich, they feel like a warm summer day. Shea Diamond is a superstar in the making; once you get a taste you won’t be able to forget her.
Now, I’m feeling so beyond honored and blessed that I get to premiere this new live version of “I Am Her.” Diamond’s powerful anthem becomes even more powerful when it’s stripped down like this. In this black and white video we see Diamond singing a capella into a mic, alone in a room, standing in front of a blown up image of trans revolutionary icons Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera marching and proudly being themselves. When Diamond sings “There’s an outcast in everybody’s life and I am her,” you can feel all of her trans woman of color ancestors singing along and looking tall as they do it.
Diamond told me that she released this new version “in honor of the forgotten founding mothers of the Stonewall movement Marsha P. Johnson aAnd Sylvia Rivera. Without these pioneers there would no LGBT/TGNC liberation. They are the real inspiration behind this song! It was their fearlessness and power that paved the way.”
If you’ve slept on Diamond so far, she’s a Black trans woman singer/songwriter born in Little Rock, Arkansas, who now lives in New York City. She ran away from home at 14, and a few years later she was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in a men’s prison. According to her manager, Shea says that “I Am Her” “means that no matter who the world treats me, no matter if I’m rejected, accepted, denied or misunderstood, I will continue to live out my truth as Shea Diamond! It was in losing the world that I found myself & the will to keep living as the woman I am proud to be.”
2017 is going to be hard as hell, especially for women, disabled people, queer people, trans people and people of color, and especially for people who are more than one of those things. “I Am Her,” and Shea Diamond’s live video for it are going to be things that I return to over and over again to find pride in the fact that I am beautiful, I am strong, I am powerful and I am her.
“Growing Up Coy” Is A Timely Documentary That Should Melt Any Transphobe’s Heart
One of the very first things I wrote for Autostraddle was an article about an adorable little girl named Coy Mathis who was growing up in Colorado and who just wanted to be treated like every other girl in her class at school. She wasn’t allowed to use the girl’s bathroom at her school in small town Colorado because she is transgender, and so her family was suing to allow her access. Her story was one of a family that was brave and loving and was full of fierce fighters for the happiness of their children. Many people were inspired by their fight and by Coy’s courage and happiness.
The new documentary Growing Up Coy is a celebration of all of that. It’s also an examination of what it’s like to grow up as a young trans girl in a country that is constantly creating laws that target you. It shows Coy Mathis as the everyday girl she is, with a normal family trying to live a normal life when the public school system and media won’t let them.
Largely, this documentary serves as a way to humanize trans people, and especially trans girls. It shows that Coy is a normal six year old, her siblings are normal siblings, her parents fight like normal parents. This documentary also touches on how it’s not easy for all parents and families to fully accept and support their trans kids. Even parents who love their kids still sometimes have a hard time with all the new information and changes. When advocates talk about how to help trans people, one of the big arguments is that anti-trans voices don’t see us as people; Growing Up Coy hopes to change that.
When the documentary read the letter the family received from the school district my heart stopped. They constantly misgender Coy, a six year old girl at the time, and talk about how they’ve been bending over backwards to let Coy “dress up like a girl” at school, so they don’t know why the family is upset. The way they talk about this little girl like she’s just a freak who wants to go into girl’s spaces and bother them is so disturbing and upsetting. It gets even worse when we hear from news anchors and people on the internet who are obsessed with talking about a six year old girl’s private parts. Anyone with a heart who sees this will feel the same way I did and should realize how horrible it is to talk about trans children, or any children, this way.
Growing up Coy also spends a lot of time on the court case, and how it played out in the press. It shows how hard it was for the family, especially for Coy herself. She was just six years old when she was going through all this, and she was put right into the spotlight because she wasn’t allowed to do something as simple as going to the bathroom. We get to see how all the media attention affects her and her family, and even though she eventually won the right to be treated like a girl, it still caused some lasting damage. Coy Mathis and her family will never be the same.
While there was a lot I enjoyed about Growing Up Coy, I also couldn’t help but feel it was more of a documentary for cis people, perhaps people who are debating bathroom access issues or people who have trans family members. There was a lot of talk about Coy “being a boy who turned into a girl” or talking about how “he told us he was a girl,” and because Coy is a child, nearly all the talking was done by cis people. So if you’re a trans person, this battle might be all too familiar to you and you might not get a lot of out of this documentary, but if you’re looking to learn and feel for trans people, Growing Up Coy is a good option.
Growing Up Coy is available to stream internationally on Netflix as of Friday. It was directed/produced by Eric Juhola and produced/edited by Jeremy Stulberg. It’s especially timely right now, seeing as there are more bathroom bills targeting specifically transgender women and girls than ever before. As states like Texas, Virginia, Alabama, Washington, Missouri and South Carolina continue to argue that trans women and girls shouldn’t be allowed in women’s bathrooms, looking back at this documentary will be a great reminder of how hard the fight for trans rights as been and how strong those who fight are.
Angry Transgender Woman Writes Story About Texas Bathroom Bill, Changes the World
Like most people who managed to live through 2016, Texas has had an exceptionally, embarrassingly terrible year. Whether it be placing archaic restrictions on abortion procedures and women’s healthcare in general or blatantly ignoring presidential mandates meant to protect transgender students, Texas has been doing the most when it comes to mistreating already marginalized peoples. Unfortunately, with a Texas legislative session on the horizon and our state red as ever, 2017 is already looking like it’s gearing up for the next political trainwreck.
This brings me to Senate Bill 6, also known as the Privacy Protection Act, a bill being paraded around by conservative Texas officials, in particular our Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick who considers the bill a priority, under the guise of protecting (cisgender) women from the invisible trans feminine predators lurking bathrooms and private women’s spaces to ravage and molest unsuspecting (cisgender) women and girls.
According to the Austin-American Statesman, Lt. Gov. Patrick said in a recent press conference that SB6 would “protect businesses from government interference” by overturning local government non-discrimination ordinances that offer protections for transgender people. The Statesman went on to quote the bill’s author Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham who claimed that the bill would also require public schools and universities, along with government buildings, to designate bathroom use by people “according to their biological sex.”
To date, there have been no reported cases of transgender people assaulting anyone in public bathrooms in Texas, nor am I familiar with any cases like that occurring in any other state, and I’m sure if there were such cases, proponents of SB6 would be thrilled to have any sort of ammunition to use against the trans community, not that they need it to create such discriminatory legislation.
Conversely, there are numerous cases of transgender individuals experiencing assault, harassment and discrimination in most public spaces, notably in those that are segregated by gender like public bathrooms and locker rooms. With that in mind and also considering that the number of trans people murdered annually is at an all time high, it’s more appropriate to say that cisgender people are a threat to us, the trans community, not the other way around.
All of this transphobia and transmisogynistic rhetoric is fueled by the fallacies that trans people aren’t who we say we are and that a binary system of imagining and enforcing gender is absolute. Both ideas are incredibly far from the truth, and yet they’ve managed to dominate the mainstream, influencing policy-makers and voters alike. But what lies beneath all of this fear-mongering and hatred towards trans people, specifically towards trans women? If you ask me, it’s a whole lot of insecurity, ignorance and an inability to accept change.
So let’s tackle and unpack some of this bullshit, shall we?
I’ve noticed that the folks who speak out the strongest against trans people have a “two and only two” system in mind when it comes to gender. They believe wholeheartedly that gender is immutable and exists in physiology rather than in the mind. To them, any question to that system is deviancy and should be sought out and eliminated with the swiftness of a thousand… really swift things.
However, when looking at the most recent studies on gender, we find that sex characteristics, such as chromosomes and genitalia, are not indicative of gender and are in fact gendered because of proponents of biological essentialism, a framework which purports that gender is informed solely by our physical nature. In other words, to the average anti-trans legislator, girls have innies and boys have outties because that’s the way it is and always has been and always will be.
But having XX chromosomes does not a woman make. There is nothing inherently “woman” about a vagina nor is there anything inherently “man” about a penis. We as a society have long agreed to gender these terms that majorly serve to divide us into two groups: those who can impregnate and those who can be impregnated. But we as a species have evolved beyond that. There is such a vibrant spectrum of gender and gender expression to cultivate in this world, and there is no viable reason to maintain the “two and only two” system other than to maintain the cisheteronormative status quo, which is exactly what conservative lawmakers are setting out to do.
To transphobes, the existence of transgender individuals is an anomaly, an attack on all that is normalized, and they’ve no other approach but to demonize us as perverts trying to destroy the fabric of society, one public women’s restroom at a time. In reality, whenever a trans person uses a public restroom, we are doing one of four things: peeing, pooping, washing our hands or checking ourselves in the mirror with the possibility of a fire selfie session if the bathroom has good lighting. Imagine the horror when one of these anti-trans legislators realizes that trans bodies function like every else’s bodies do.
If this SB6 passes and goes into effect, I’ll have to pee, poop, wash my hands and look at myself in the mirror in a men’s bathroom, lest I violate the law of the land. But I haven’t been in a men’s bathroom in years, and should I enter one, I know I’ll be met with confusion, harassment and possibly an altercation of some sort. That is because I am not a man nor do I desire to be treated like one regardless of what’s under my skirt.
I refuse to place myself in danger because it makes some fools at the Texas capital uncomfortable that girls like me exist publicly. I will not be limited to a sexual fantasy or some kind of untouchable position in society because I am a transgender woman. I will NOT use men’s public facilities in any capacity, law or no law, because it is insulting to me and trans women everywhere to suggest I should.
We are not predators, we are valid functioning members of this society trying to do our business in peace, and it’s only a waste of time and effort and tax dollars to promote and push a bill like SB6 into law.
Two-Spirit Lakota Woman Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow Is the Second Reported Trans Woman Murdered in the US This Year
2017 is already proving that 2016 wasn’t a fluke. We’re only a week into the new year and we’ve just found out about the second trans woman of color murdered in the United States. This time, Mic reports that the trans woman who’s life was horribly stolen from her was 28 year tear old Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, a Two-Spirit woman who was living in Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Two-Spirit and Allies group said that Wounded Arrow was a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and was originally from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Image via Mic
Wounded Arrow was loved by many and will be sorely missed. Her murder is hitting the community hard. The Sioux Falls Two-Spirit group said “our hearts are broke as we will miss her very much. So again, prayers are needed. Pilamaye.” The Sioux Falls Center for Equality also released a statement saying “Sending Love and our thoughts to Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow and her family… This marks the second trans woman murdered in 2017, and it happened in our own back yard. While the investigation is ongoing, we see that gender and race often play a role in the escalation of violence toward transgender people.”
Police Lt. Michael Colwill said that “based upon the investigation, the victim’s death appears to be a homicide.” No other information was released at the time, but police will be releasing more information at a briefing on Monday.
Just a few days ago we reported on the murder of a Black trans woman from Mississippi named Mesha Caldwell. Who knows when we’ll report on another. It could be tomorrow or it could be next week, but based on the rates that trans women of color are being murdered over the last few years, it’s going to be soon. Also, while I’m saying this is the second murder, what that means is that it’s the second murder we know about. So often the murders of trans women go unreported. This can be because she was a sex worker or homeless and the police don’t care, or because she was misgendered, or because she was Black or Latina or Native American and the police and media don’t care, or most often, a combination of these factors. America hates trans women of color and while we get more attention when we die then while we’re alive, we still don’t get much then.
I don’t know how to talk about what it’s like being a trans woman of color to people who aren’t. I often say that it’s exhausting, that it’s terrifying, that it’s lonely. But a lot of the time, it’s just sad. It’s sad that I can’t go on a date without my friends and family being worried that I’ll be murdered. It’s sad that my friends constantly are going to funerals for their sisters and siblings. It’s sad that no matter how many times we ask for help, our cries fall on mostly apathetic ears. It’s sad. My heart has broken for Jamie Lee and her family, friends and loved ones. She was beautiful. Rest in Peace and Power.
The trans women murdered so far in 2017 are:
Mesha Caldwell, 41
Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28
Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills Get A Makeover into “Privacy Acts,” Take Hold in These Six States
With just a few days into the new year, lawmakers in six states have already introduced new bathroom bills they’re calling “privacy acts” and ensuring we have a long year of battles ahead of us. Republicans in Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas and Washington are fueling an anti-trans agenda that has gained momentum over the last couple of years and contributing to a long history of stifling the rights of trans people. Most of the bills are similar to each other and to North Carolina’s HB2, save for a few with different amendments and exceptions and coded in different language, but all in all it’s the same ole’ anti-trans bullshit. Here’s a breakdown of what each bill is about.
Texas, SB6
On Thursday during a press conference, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republican Sen. Lois Kolkhorst introduced the Senate Bill 6, aka the Texas Privacy Act. Patrick started off the press conference by prefacing the bill as having support from the “overwhelming majority” including “Hispanics, African Americans, Anglos, men and women.” Patrick also condemned the media’s unfavorable coverage of the bill, saying they were spreading “misinformation” and called it “fake news.” Patrick revealed he had been working on the legislation since September 1st and said he had several senators supporting it, including Kolkhorst. Kolkhorst introduced the bill and said it was “not to start a controversy but to end one.” As Kolkhorst introduced SB6, boos erupted outside the press conference room from folks against the bill.
Scene outside Senate chamber, folks booing loudly were heard during unveiling of TX "bathroom bill" #txlege pic.twitter.com/oWlsglMYbJ
— Alexa Ura (@alexazura) January 5, 2017
+ It requires people to use bathrooms in government building, public schools and universities based on “biological sex.” Schools would be able to make accommodations, including single-stall bathrooms and changing rooms, for transgender students.
+ It would overturn local government non-discrimination ordinances that protect trans people like the ones already found in Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin and would allow each business to form its own policies.
+ It would enhance criminal penalties for crimes committed in public bathrooms, locker rooms or changing facilities.
When asked during the press conference how they would enforce the bill, Kolkhorst said they wouldn’t have a “bathroom police” and instead the bill would allow for people who feel “uncomfortable” in a bathroom to report it. She also said if schools or cities violate the bill, people can file a complaint with the attorney general to penalize the schools or cities. According to the Austin American-Statesman, “Civil penalties would be $1,000 to $1,500 for a first violation, rising to $10,000 to $10,500 for each additional day of violation.”
The Texas legislative session officially starts on Tuesday, January 10 and it’s uncertain how this bill will play out during the session. The bill has strong support from Patrick and the Senate, where Republicans outnumber Democrats. However, Republican House Speaker, Joe Strauss has different priorities this session that may derail the bill, according to the Statesman. The Texas Association of Business, a major business lobby group that usually supports conservative measures, have spoken against anti-LGBT legislation like SB6, saying it would negatively impact the state. They published a report late last year that estimates Texas could lose between $964 million and $8.5 billion and more than 100,000 jobs if the state passes discriminatory bills like SB6. Patrick dismissed their data and research as “misinformation.”
Virginia, HB1612
In Virginia, House Delegate Robert G. Marshall filed a bill to monitor transgender people’s use of restrooms in schools, government buildings and even rest stops. According to Marshall, his Physical Privacy Act is about student safety and he says he fears men and boys will try to enter women and girls’ bathrooms and changing rooms.
“Some guys will use anything to make a move on some teenage girls or women,” he said. “Mere separation of the sexes should not be considered discrimination.”
What’s different about this bill is it requires school principals to out trans students to their parents by notifying them when they ask to use a different bathroom and want to go by a different name or pronoun.
It’s possible that the bill won’t be passed. Even if the Republican controlled General Assembly passed it, Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has”been clear that he will veto any bill that restricts the rights of Virginians based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” according to a spokesperson.
Alabama, SB1
Alabama Sen. Phil Williams from — get this — RAINBOW CITY, prefiled SB1, called the Alabama Privacy Act, before the holidays. It’s the same bathroom bullshit that other states have proposed, which is premised as a bill that “ensures the privacy of each individual making use of the restroom, bathroom, or changing facilities.” The kicker in Alabama’s law is that it would require an attendant outside any multi-sex restrooms in order to “to monitor the appropriate use of the restroom and answer any questions or concerns posed by users.” People who fail to follow the law would be fined least $2,000 for the first violation and at least $3,500 for each additional violation.
“But my legislation is designed to provide security to the public at large, and this bill could just as easily protect a transgender user of a public facility from being harmed as well,” Williams wrote in an op-ed back in May when the Obama administration released its trans bathroom directive. “The bottom line is that we have a right to privacy in place now; and liberals should not for a second think that Alabamians will simply stand by and allow the exceptions to throw out the rule.”
Washington, HB1011
As one of the most progressive states regarding LGBT rights, it’s something of a surprise to see Washington on this list. It was one of the first to enact marriage equality and has had a nondiscrimination law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity since 2006. Republican representatives in Washington prefiled a bill that would amend the Washington Law Against Discrimination in order to limit trans people’s access to bathrooms and similar facilities unless they’ve had genital surgery. The bill reads:
“Nothing in this chapter prohibits a public or private entity from limiting access to a private facility segregated by gender, such as a bathroom, restroom, toilet, shower, locker room, or sauna, to a person if the person is preoperative, nonoperative, or otherwise has genitalia of a different gender from that for which the facility is segregated. Nothing in this chapter grants any right to a person to access a private facility segregated by gender, such as a bathroom, restroom, toilet, shower, locker room, or sauna, of a public or private entity if the person is preoperative, nonoperative, or otherwise has genitalia of a different gender from that for which the facility is segregated.”
According to Rewire’s Legislative Tracker: “The bill is in response to new rules enacted by the Human Rights Commission in 2015 which allows trans people to use bathrooms based on their gender identity or gender expression.”
Missouri, SB98
Missouri’s “Student Physical Privacy Bill,” or SB98, was filed earlier this week and defines “biological sex” to mean whatever gender is on the student’s birth certificate and determined by chromosomes and anatomy. It bans trans students from using school restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms that correspond to their gender, and segregates trans students by only allowing them to use single-stall or unisex restrooms. This is the second time Senator Ed Emery has sponsored the bill, even though the first time the bill didn’t go very far during last year’s session.
South Carolina, H3012
Just like its sister state, South Carolina is trying again to pass an anti-trans bathroom bill. The bill, which was prefiled in December, would require people to use public restrooms or changing facilities according to their assigned gender at birth. It also prevents local governments from creating ordinances allowing trans people to use public bathrooms in accordance with their gender. The bill also tries to cover itself and says that the law isn’t discriminating against anyone. “A law or ordinance that requires a person to use such a facility designated for their biological sex would not constitute discrimination.”
Black Trans Woman Mesha Caldwell Is The First Trans Person Murdered in 2017
On Wednesday, 41-year-old Black trans woman Mesha Caldwell was found shot to death just outside Canton, Mississippi. She is the first reported trans murder of 2017, which is a monumentally fucked up sentence to have to write. Mesha Caldwell is the first. Her name will be at the top of every list we write of murdered trans women this year. There will be a list. Last year 23 trans people were reported murdered in the United States, breaking the previous year’s record of 22 trans murders.
According to Mic, Mesha Caldwell was a beautician and hairstylist. A family friend told Mic: “She always, always dressed like a girl. And as she grew up, she became beautiful just like a lady … I really don’t know why somebody would want to kill her … I don’t care what she put on. It looked good on her.” According to her Facebook profile, Mesha graduated from Canton High School and attended Jackson State University.
Here she is with her mom on Mother’s Day this year.
Most of the trans women who are reported murdered are victims of intimate partner violence, and most of their partners are men. Most of the trans women who are victims of murder are trans women of color, mostly Black trans and Latinx women. Trans women of color exist at the terrifying intersection of misogyny, racism, and transphobia. They are, by far, the victims of the most hate crimes in the LGBT community.
What’s extra horrifying this year is that the United States just elected a woman-hating, POC-hating, trans-hating, queer-hating president and vice-president, which has only emboldened Republican-led state legislatures. Five days into 2017 and trans-scapegoating legislation has already been introduced by GOP politicians around the country as Washington, Virginia, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas filed “privacy acts” (formerly “bathroom bills”) as soon as their 2017 legislative sessions began. North Carolina’s HB2 is still essentially in effect too, thanks to deceitful bargaining from the GOP-led congress.
All of these initiatives are led by the “Family Research Council,” a white evangelical anti-LGBT group that seeks to gain political power by villainizing and dehumanizing gay and trans people. In 2016 44 anti-trans bills were introduced into state legislatures during the first three months of the year, surpassing the 21 that were introduced in 2015. You can expect a record year of hate-fueled legislation with Trump in the White House, especially since trans scapegoating has become a pet project of Breitbart.
The coming years are going to be the fights of our lives.
A note from our Trans Editor, Mey Rude:
If we’re going to claim to be allies and sisters and lovers and friends of Black and brown trans women, we can’t just only talk about them when they get murdered. That’s not really doing anything to help them. We need to hire Black and brown trans women, we need to pay Black and brown trans women, we need to listen to Black and brown trans women. I’m a trans Latina but I have a lot of privilege because of how light my skin is, but it pierces my heart every time someone from my twoc community is murdered like this. There are plenty of us who are ready and capable to take this problem on. But we need help. It’s hard for us to get jobs and housing and healthcare and just support. We need cis people and white people to step up and support us while we’re alive. Please, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m okay begging for help. If you search this site and the internet you’ll see Black and brown trans women telling you what you need to do. You need to listen.
You can start by reading this list of 24 things you can do to help trans women right now. If you live in a state that is planning to (or already has) introduced trans-scapegoating legislation, you can call your state representatives.
This is the list of trans women murdered so far in 2017.
Mesha Caldwell, 41 (Canton, Mississippi)
Drawn to Comics: 10 Helpful Tips From a Trans Woman For Making a Trans Woman Superhero
by rory midhani
Feature image via Shutterstock
We’ve seen some great strides in trans characters in comics, but we’ve still got a long way to go. When the average person thinks of comic books, they think of superheroes, and this is where we’re lacking the most. There was Sera from Marvel’s Angela books, who was similar to a superhero, and over at Aftershock comics; there’s Chalice from Alters, who I like but is also a divisive character; and there’s Koi Boi from Marvel’s The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl who’s a trans guy. But we don’t have any trans women who are straight up superheroes and are popular or fan favorites.
Normally I offer this kind of service for a fee — I professionally consult on trans comics. But since the world might be ending soon and I want to see a trans woman superhero that I love before that happens, I decided to put some tips out here for free.
1. Make her a Woman of Color
Sera, a trans woman of color from Angela, Asgard’s Assassin. Art by Phil Jimenez
Trans women of color are not only the leaders of the trans and Queer rights movement but also are the ones of us who are most marginalized and at risk for anti-trans violence. By making your trans woman superhero a woman color, you’re recognizing and respecting those truths. This is especially true for Black trans women and, to a lesser extent, Latina trans women.
2. Honor our history
Trans history is filled with homeless people, sex workers and poor people, so if you write about trans characters, erasing that is erasing us. We need to honor our elders and heroes like Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, Marsha P. Johnson and Janet Mock, and that means honoring sex workers and street people. And that’s cool! There are so many great stories you can write if you just respect people and treat them as human beings!
3. Give her trans and queer friends
Jo, a trans girl, talking to Barney, a non-binary kid. Art by Brooke A. Allen, colors by Maarta Laiho.
Trans people don’t live in a vacuum. Most of us have tons of friends who are trans; I know I do. If you want your character to be realistic at all, she needs to have other trans and queer friends.
4. Also give her superhero/familiar character friends
Koi Boi and friends. Art by Erica Henderson.
This will help ground her in the universe. We want her to stick around and become a permanent part of the comic world, and one of the best ways to do that is to make her be friends with Anya Corazon Spider-Girl or Traci Thirteen or Spoiler or Hellcat. Even if she works at the Daily Planet or Daily Bugle, that would help keep her around, because it would make her seem more like a permanent part of your comics universe.
5. Put at least one queer and/or trans woman on the creative team
One of the things that makes DC Comics Bombshells and Marvel’s Angela books so great and all the queer characters so awesome and relatable is that its writer, Marguerite Bennett, is a queer woman. The same goes for Marvel’s Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat, which has a queer writer (Kate Leth) and a queer woman of color artist (Brittney Williams) who make it the most queernormative superhero comic ever. Marvel’s doing this again by having Gabby Rivera, a queer Latina, write the upcoming America Chavez book, a widely celebrated decision. Put some queer and trans people on this book too.
6. Don’t come up with what her name was before she transitioned
My favorite trans characters in comics have one thing in common (other than being trans): we don’t know their name before they transitioned. Sera from Angela is just Sera, Jo from Lumberjanes is just Jo, Ken Shiga (Koi Boi) from Squirrel Girl is just Ken. Readers don’t need to know a trans person’s birth name to know that they’re trans.
8. Give her a great costume
First of all, trans women of color are just super fashionable. It’s a fact. But also, this will again help her stick around longer and endear her to the fans. If she has an iconic look, the readers will have an easier time latching onto her.
8. Let her be happy
A very happy Chalice. Art by Leila Leiz, colors by Tamra Bonvillain.
Trans people experience enough angst and sadness and anger in our real lives. We also experience enough from every piece of trans media ever made. Why not let us read a story where we’re happy for once? Plus, to be honest, most trans women are huge nerds, so you know that if we got superpowers we’d be happy as hell.
9. Make her a legacy hero or sidekick
This isn’t a must, but honestly it would help a lot. Most of the time when new superheroes are invented, they don’t become popular. That is, unless they’re a legacy character (someone who’s taken on the mantle of an older superhero) or a sidekick. Look at the popularity of Kate Bishop Hawkeye, X-23 Wolverine, Damien Wayne Robin, Stephanie Brown, Superboy, Miles Morales Spider-Man, Bucky, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho Hulk and of course Ms. Marvel. All of them are successful characters who were introduced (or reintroduced) fairly recently. The same thing could be done to integrate a trans woman into the DC or Marvel universe.
10. Make her book fun as hell
Queer people like fun books. We love The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat, DC Comics Bombshells and Ms. Marvel. It’s important that there’s a lot of humor and character building, and not just broken up bank robberies and super villain fights. Give us a fun, funny, well written comic starring a trans woman of color and we’ll love you forever.
New Releases (December 21)
Black Widow: Web of Intrigue TP
Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat Vol 2: Don’t Stop Me-Ow TP
Spider-Gwen Vol 2: Weapon of Choice TP
Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.
If you have a comic that you’d like to see me review, you can email me at mey [at] autostraddle [dot] com.
North Carolina Pinky Promises To End HB2 As Long As Charlotte Stops Shielding LGBTQ People From Discrimination
image via shutterstock.com
The Charlotte city council unanimously voted to rescind the non-discrimination ordinance that protects trans people and their right to use the public facilities that match their gender. In an apparent deal, the city council voted to repeal the ordinance and in exchange the state’s Republican-led General Assembly will hold a special session on Tuesday to repeal HB2 entirely. Remember the last time the General Assembly held a surprise special session? Nothing went as planned, so who knows if they’ll honor their word. Just in case they don’t, the Charlotte city council added a clause that the non-discrimination ordinance would be enacted again if HB2 isn’t repealed by Dec. 31.
Governor-elect Roy Cooper was the one to encourage council members to rescind the ordinance. According to The Charlotte Observer, Cooper personally called council member Julie Eiselt on Sunday night. She says he told her, “If we cleaned up our books that the General Assembly was motivated to call a special session to repeal (the law) and we felt this was our best opportunity.”
“Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte’s vote, a special session will be called for Tuesday to repeal HB2 in full,” Cooper said in a statement shortly after the 10-0 decision. “I hope they will keep their word to me and with the help of Democrats in the legislature, HB2 will be repealed in full. Full repeal will help to bring jobs, sports and entertainment events back and will provide the opportunity for strong LGBT protections in our state.”
Earlier this year, HB2 was created in retaliation of the non-discrimination ordinance passed by the Charlotte city council that expanded legal protections for LGBT people, including trans people’s right to use the bathroom that matches their gender. HB2 was quickly passed and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory; it nullified Charlotte’s ordinance and other local nondiscrimination ordinances. The city lost millions of dollars in business as musicians and the NCAA cancelled concerts and special events in the state in protest.
Back in May, the city council rejected a similar deal and voted against repealing the ordinance. Mayor Jennifer Roberts defended the council’s decision on Monday and said the vote “should in no way be viewed as a compromise of our principles or commitment to non-discrimination.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore said they’ve been advocating for the repeal of Charlotte’s bathroom ordinance which “created the problem” in the first place, acting as if they’ve been waiting to repeal HB2 all along. Governor Pat McCrory’s spokeperson also said he advocated for the repeal of the “overeaching ordinance” and added: “This sudden reversal, with little notice after the gubernatorial election, sadly proves this entire issue originated by the political left was all about politics and winning the governor’s race at the expense of Charlotte and our entire state.” McCrory conceded just this month after a contested election during which he incorrectly claimed that voter fraud led to his defeat.
HB2 nullified Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance and now, I guess for Republicans, repealing the city’s nondiscrimination clause clears the way for the repeal of the state’s discriminatory law. Hopefully it sets a path for LGBT legal protections. As Vox points out, though, it might not be as easy to gain full protections for all LGBT people without having to battle the “bathroom issue” again, since Republicans have zeroed in on trans people.
The upshot seems to be that cities and counties in North Carolina will now be able to pass and enforce LGBTQ protections — which don’t exist under state law — as long as they avoid the bathroom issue. They should be able to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, education, and public accommodations, but only to some extent.
If cities and counties try to get into the bathroom issue again, they could spark yet another retaliatory law, like HB2, from the state legislature. (Still, the incoming governor, Roy Cooper, actively campaigned against HB2 and would likely veto such a measure. Republicans have a veto-proof majority for now, but it’s unclear if enough of them would be willing to restart the same battle over LGBTQ rights after going through nine months of controversy with HB2.)
Let’s hope HB2 will be demolished by the end of this year and let it be a reminder to continue to fight for liberation of all LGBTQ people.
Our Lives By the Numbers: How Data Is Used to Track LGBT Social Progress
Header by Rory Midhani
Feature image via shutterstock
In my very first industrial engineering class during undergrad, we were given an overview on “problem solving 101.” We used manufacturing-specific case studies, but the broader takeaway was this: you cannot make improvements to a system without knowing its current state. If you fail to establish a baseline, any other actions you take will essentially be wasted effort — because when all is said and done, how will you know whether you’ve made things better or worse? The first step to problem solving is to gain a clear understanding of the issue, and to lay it out in such a way that progress, improvements and setbacks can be tracked. Obviously this isn’t possible (or practical) to follow in every situation, but I do think this approach provides a solid framework for system improvements in a variety of contexts — including social justice and LGBT-relevant causes.
One example that comes to mind is the GLAAD’s Network Responsibility Index, an annual review of LGBT representation on TV. Reports were shared both with the general public and in direct conversation with the networks, pushing them year over year to increase the numbers of LGBT characters and stories on screen. Following a decade of tremendous progress, GLAAD issued its final NRI in 2015, determining that the report’s primary quality metric (“are LGBT people being pictured on TV”) was being met. GLAAD continues to track diversity and quality of depictions in its Where We Are on TV report.
In contrast, we have GLAAD’s annual review of LGBT representation in major Hollywood films, the GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index. When I covered the inaugural report in 2013, there were only a handful of movies with queer female characters. Results were similarly dismal in 2014, 2015, and 2016, and even a cursory glance at the data makes one thing very clear: the top seven major motion picture studios are neither providing sufficient LGBT representation, nor are they trending in the right direction. This doesn’t mean that the report is a failure! On the contrary, it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do: shining a light on the problem. GLAAD’s report is an immensely valuable tool, and continued tracking will help advocates hold the studios accountable.
So many queer ladies on TV last year!
On a more sober note, LGBT activists are also doing research and using data to track real life discrimination and violence against members of our community. In the past week, two standout reports have been released: Unerased by Mic, and the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Unerased: Counting Transgender Lives is a comprehensive database of transgender Americans who have been murdered since 2010. Using data collected by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs as a starting point, Mic assigned a team of five reporters to review news reports over the past seven years and conduct additional reporting to find out more about each victim and identify patterns that could help combat the problem. Reports Meredith Talusan,
From 2010 to 2016, at least 111 transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans were murdered because of their gender identity, 75% of them black trans women and gender-nonconforming femmes, who identify as neither male nor female but present as feminine. No group under the LGBTQ umbrella faces more violence than transgender people, who accounted for 67% of the hate-related homicides against queer people in 2015, according to the NCAVP.
But it’s difficult to know the full scale of the problem. When a transgender person is killed, each step in the process of accounting for their death risks erasing that person’s gender identity. … [Although there has been better data in recent years], what’s less clear is if the number of violent incidents is actually increasing along with the rate of reports about them. Without a log of historical data, it’ s hard to know how today’s anti-trans violence compares to even a decade ago.
While that particular challenge makes it difficult to rely on this data for baseline incident rate (ex: “more trans people were killed this year versus a previous year”), it is a fully appropriate source for assessing other patterns in anti-trans violence. This dataset overwhelmingly confirms an intersectional effect due to race, for example. Awful as it is to watch this database of tragedies grow, the fact is, anti-trans violence will continue to be carried out whether we are watching or not. Collecting data on the extent and nature of the problem is one way to fight back.
Via Mic.
On the same day Unerased was announced by Mic, the National Center for Transgender Equality also released their report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. With 27,715 respondents, it is the largest survey ever conducted among trans people in the United States. The survey was offered online in 2015 in both English and Spanish, and captured data from adults (18+) in all 50 states, Washington D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas. During the creation of the survey, many questions were adapted from pre-existing federal surveys, meaning that even beyond the benefit provided by the study’s huge sample size, the data is uniquely valuable for making direct comparisons between survey respondents and the general U.S. population.
The report is a few hundred pages long and includes thousands of data points, but some of the findings highlighted during the release event were:
- 46% of survey respondents had been verbally harassed in the past year because they were transgender, and 9% had been physically attacked. Among undocumented trans immigrants, the number experiencing physical attack rose to 24%.
- In the past year, 23% of respondents faced housing discrimination or instability, with 12% actually experiencing homelessness. Almost a third of all respondents had experienced homelessness in their lifetime. Among undocumented trans immigrants, almost half had experienced homelessness.
- Respondents had unemployment rates three times as high as the general U.S. population, and were twice as likely to be living in poverty. Among trans POC, the poverty rate was three times higher than the general U.S. population, and among disabled trans people, almost half were living in poverty.
- 40% of respondents had attempted suicide in their lifetime — a rate nine times higher than that of the general U.S. population. In the month preceding the survey, 39% of respondents reported experiencing serious psychological distress, based on the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale.
- 1.4% of survey respondents were living with HIV (a rate five times higher than the U.S. population), but among Black trans women, the rate was 19%.
Said NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling, “The survey’s a good reminder that there’s still a lot of work to be done. While there are so many good things to look at, so much progress being made, there are still tragedies and challenges happening every single day for trans people around the country. The policy stakes couldn’t be higher. We’ve always tried to be an extremely assertive policy advocacy organization, and there’s data in here that shows us some of the things we need to get into deeper and faster and better. We don’t have all the information yet about what the policy frontier looks like in the coming months, but we do know we have a tool now that shows lots of things that we need to be working on. This will help with that advocacy.”
Data on the impact of family support. Full report at www.transequality.org.
What useful data sets have you come across in your activism?
Notes From A Queer Engineer is a recurring column with an expected periodicity of 14 days. The subject matter may not be explicitly queer, but the industrial engineer writing it sure is. This is a peek at the notes she’s been doodling in the margins.
Disney Villain/North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Finally Admits He Lost The Election
Governor Pat McCrory, the man behind North Carolina’s now infamous and wildly unpopular HB2 bill, has finally admitted he lost the 2016 election. This after parading around for the last month making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud throughout his state. It is a huge victory for democracy, for Democrats, for people of color, and for LGBT folks — McCrory never met a minority group he wasn’t happy to scapegoat.
McCrory’s support of HB2, which made it illegal for trans people to use public facilities that correspond with their gender identity and stripped LGBT people of anti-discrimination protection, is ultimately what cost him the election. The bill passed in March and the backlash has been swift and catastrophic. Companies like Paypal and Deutsche Bank halted planned expansions into the state. Dozens of major cities and states banned all non-essential business travel into North Carolina. The Justice Department has sued McCrory and various public institutions for violating Title IX by implementing HB2. It’s estimated that McCrory’s refusal to stand down on HB2 cost his state thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tourism and investment capital, just in 2016.
So, that’s that. Guy’s a bigot, guy gets kicked out of office. Maybe it’ll even put a tourniquet on these free-bleeding post-election hot takes that continue to insist “identity politics” are what cost Hillary Clinton the presidential election. But even if that conversation calms down, Donald Trump is still going to be president and we’re in for the civil rights fights of our lives. A lot of what’s coming is going to take place in individual state legislatures, as Elizabeth Warren reminded the audience today at the State Innovation Exchange Conference.
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/805842747840139264
Even North Carolina isn’t in the clear. As Slate points out, McCrory could still pack the courts with anti-equality judges in the legislative special session playing out right now.
Luckily the internet exists and we can use it to organize and empower our activism.
The ACLU is tracking anti-LGBT bills across the country and updating their status every Wednesday. Most state won’t begin new legislative sessions until January 2017. There aren’t any anti-LGBT bills hanging around in committee at the moment; however, we can expect to see an unprecedented number of anti-LGBT bills in the coming year as anti-equality lobbying groups and anti-equality legislators find themselves emboldened by Trump’s presidency. All of his cabinet picks so far are vehemently anti-LGBT, after all. And remember Nom? The National Organization For Marriage? Yeah, they’re back with a four-point plan.
GLAAD has also launched a tracking system called the Trump Accountability Project, which will catalog the administration’s anti-LGBT actions and statements in the hopes of empowering journalists.
We’re in a holding pattern right now, expecting the worst — but Pat McRory’s defeat is a big victory and reminder that Trump’s electoral college win doesn’t signal the end of the war. Hillary’s lead in the popular vote is over two million; companies and Democratic-led city/state governments will make states that pass anti-LGBT laws pay; and minority voices matter. No one is more responsible for McCrory’s defeat than NAACP and Moral Monday leader Rev. Dr. Barber, who has stymied McCrory at every turn through classic grassroots activism.
And I think the lesson for progressives in Trump's America is push back hard. Stay visible. Capture the public's attention.
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) December 5, 2016
Keep Pounding
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) December 5, 2016
This is a a good win, and an admonishment to keep fighting.
Holigay Gift Guide: Sex Toys for Trans Women
Dating a trans woman is cool! Sleeping with a trans woman is cool! Fucking a trans women is cool! As long as you treat her as a human being and not a fetish or a secret or something. But you know what, all of these can be even more cool, and all you need in order to make that happen, is to add some fun toys to the mix. So if you’re looking for some ways to spice up your love life with that special trans woman you know, here are just a few suggestions. Obviously, a lot of toys you’d buy for a cis woman are great, but also, let’s be real, trans women have some special needs and desires. And to be clear, I’m not speaking for every trans woman on earth. In fact, I’m mostly just speaking for myself and picking out things I’d like, but hey, I’m a trans woman, so that counts.
Prostate Targeting Butt Plugs
Trans women have prostates! Or at least most of us do. And when it comes to sex, that’s a great thing! If she’s into that! Here are some toys to help you reach the g-spot in your favorite t-girl. This Pfun Plug is stainless steel and not only looks STUNNING, but is designed specifically to stimulate the prostate. For a vibrating plug designed for the prostate, the Protouch Plug is a great choice, or if you’re into glass, the Icicles P-Spot Plug looks terrific. If you’re looking to really, really make a statement, you can break the bank and buy the Lelo Earl, a freaking 18k gold butt plug that comes with cufflinks! If you want to propose to me, I’d take this over a ring any day (not really, I’m very huge into wedding traditions, so please get me a ring, but not with diamond because I don’t like diamonds.)
Kinky Fun
Maybe you’ve already got the butt stuff covered. If that’s the case and you want to try some different things, I’ve got some ideas. When you’re a trans woman and you start hormones, one of the results is that your nipples become ridiculously sensitive. In order to take advantage of that, you can get the Rings of Fire Nipple Press Set or Feather Nipple Clamps. Everyone knows that chokers are, like, the ultimate trans girl accessory, but if you want to take that one step further, you can get the Vegan Princess Collar or Panther Collar and Cuffs Set for your girl.
While this might not necessarily be super specific to trans women, I’m going to throw this Leather Pocket Paddle and Foxtails Leather Flogger in here because they seem really, really fun.
Condoms and Lube
Condoms aren’t just for men, you know; they can come in real handy for sex with a trans woman. If you want to go down on your partner, these Multiflavored Condoms are perfect, or if she’s the top in the relationship, why not try this Condom Sampler for a cute stocking stuffer? If you’re going to be enjoying anal sex with your partner, you’re gonna want some lube. My personal favorite is the Sliquid Sassy Formula, or Pjur Back Door Silicone Glide. You could also use this Lube Shooter to make applying the lube a little easier.
Lingerie
Trans women always look great, but if the trans woman in your life wants to get dressed up special, these gifts are perfect for that. These Lovehoney Open Back Briefs aren’t just cute, but they’ll make anal play extra easy. Or since it’s colder outside, why not wear these Crotchless tights over those briefs? Also, a lot of trans women have wider shoulders or busts than cis women, so a lot of us need larger sized bras. Check out this Longline Balconette Bra that comes in band size up to 46 and this Metallic Lace Front-Close Boost Plunge Bra that goes up to the same band size.
Also this Flocked Bodysuit is damn sexy. It would look great on any trans woman (but especially me).
Protect Our Community By Supporting The Trans Relief Project Today
We are entering such a dangerous time period for our community right now. Regardless of what your well-meaning relatives had to say this Thanksgiving, it is not an acceptable strategy for us to “wait and see” whether the hate-filled people soon to be in power actually mean the things they’ve said. They did, they do, and you and I both know it. We also know that LGBTQ women live at the intersection of multiple oppressions, and some of us are at greater risk than others. Trans women of color are particularly vulnerable to violence, and now is the time for our community to step up and do everything in our power to protect them. One avenue of support: the Trans Relief Project.
Now two weeks old, the Trans Relief Project is an organization working to help “as many trans and GNC people as possible get updated U.S. identification – passports specifically – before the regulations surrounding those rules potentially change.” After a very quick development cycle, TRP’s website now offers a resource page with helpful links for people updating their identity documents; an application for financial aid with that process; and a donation page for anyone who wants to help.
Below is an interview with the founders.
AS: Who are you? How did Trans Relief get started, and how did you choose this area as your priority to support?
TRP: We are a small group of friends and volunteers who wanted to do some good in the wake of the most recent US presidential election, the results of which we feel now threaten the rights and liberties of many Americans. One of our founders is trans, so it seemed like a natural fit to help trans and gender nonconforming people, especially considering the sheer number of scared people we’ve seen online.
What originally started as an effort to find and help 3-4 people whose passports we could personally pay for ballooned into a full-blown fundraising effort, with many more offers of help and many more requests for help than we could have imagined.
AS: Why is it so important for trans people to get passports now?
TRP: We’re placing an emphasis on passports for two reasons. First, the current administration’s policies regarding changing gender on a passport makes passports one of the best ways (and sometimes the only way, depending on the state a person lives in) they can obtain ID with the correct gender marker in their state without receiving SRS. The second reason is that we fully expect this to change as soon as the new administration has the opportunity and understanding to do so. We certainly don’t trust them to maintain one of the policies most friendly to trans people at the federal level, given their track record with women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
Via TransRelief.com.
AS: Do you need people’s legal names or to receive copies of any of their documentation?
TRP: At this time, all we’re asking for is an email address and a name for correspondence. It doesn’t have to be your legal name.
AS: Do you recommend getting expedited service at this point, or is normal okay?
TRP: Due to the time sensitive nature of this issue, we strongly encourage people to get their updated passports as soon as possible. If you have the money to afford it, it’s probably worth it to pay to expedite the process. No one can be sure exactly when this window will close though, so it’s hard to say.
AS: Any other tips for trans people seeking passports?
TRP: Get your documents ready. Go to the Department of State website and read up on what you have to submit. Obtain a doctor’s note from your MD or DO on their letterhead that shows their license number and the state their license is from that certifies that you’re receiving “appropriate treatment.” This can mean a number of things (not just surgery or HRT), so if you’re unsure if you’re under this umbrella, talk to your doctor about it.
Via @TransRelief.
AS: I saw that last week you gained sponsorship under the Trans United, a 501(c)3 organization, and also formed a relationship with the Born This Way Foundation. Can you tell me more about that? What does it mean for you and the people you’re helping?
TRP: We realized that as support for our efforts increased exponentially, it made sense to partner with a larger organization that could offer us financial and legal protection and possibly to boost our message to their audiences. Right now it’s still just our small team, however there may come a time very shortly where we may require additional volunteer assistance. Our relationship with Trans United came organically, while we were connected to the Born This Way Foundation via community organizer and activist DeRay McKesson.
AS: How many people have you helped so far?
TRP: We’ve currently helped over 100 people and have given away the entirety of the $21,000 we originally raised. We now have a form to fill out on our website in order to make the donation and distribution system easier for us (we began doing this on a case-by-case basis via emails, which was fine for helping a few people but no longer feasible once we were getting hundreds of requests).
AS: Aside from passports, what else is Trans Relief currently offering financial assistance for? What kinds of requests are outside the scope of Trans Relief?
TRP: We are currently funding passports and subsidizing some name changes (contributing towards filing and publication fees, especially), although we do have a cap to ensure donations can reach as many people as possible. Depending on the state, name changes can be expensive. We are currently not offering financial assistance for any surgical procedures, however we can offer some assistance getting the word out via social media if people are running their own crowd funding efforts. We aren’t offering to pay non-ID related legal fees, either.
AS: What’s the best way for people to get involved? If people can’t offer financial support at this time, is there anything else they can do to help?
TRP: We encourage people to help spread our message about the importance of an updated passport for people who are trans, intersex or genderqueer. We have some helpful infographics on our Twitter (@transrelief), which also host on the website. And of course, we encourage people who are concerned about the security of human rights to support other wonderful organizations (including Trans United, Born This Way Foundation, GLAAD, The Trevor Project, the ACLU, the Anti Defamation League and many others) either financially or by volunteering.
AS: Anything else you’d like to share?
TRP: People are incredibly scared right now. A lot of things about our future are uncertain. However, we want people to know that there are still helpers out there who are willing to take a stand for their rights and security. We stand united, armed with love and compassion, and even if we can only help some, it’s infinitely better than having helped no one at all.
For additional updates, visit TransRelief.com and follow @transrelief on Twitter.
Joshua Jennifer Espinoza’s “There Should Be Flowers” Is A Piercing Look At The Physicality Of Trans Women’s Lives
Feature image via Joshua Jennifer Espinoza’s Twitter
“So sometimes I forget my own power. So sometimes I need to be hurt in order to heal. So sometimes I need to be reminded that my body is mine. (So sometimes I need to be reminded I have a body) […] So sometimes there is something refreshing about the intimacy between strangers: its unfamiliar familiar honesty, its piercing candidness.” – Alok Vaid-Menon, “Massage”
For as long as I can remember, I have fled from my body in times of pain. Years of training in mindfulness meditation and psychotherapy have yet to take this from me. Disconnected from physical sensations – my beating heart as a male stranger grabs me on the metro, the grinding of my wrist bones caught in my ex-boyfriend’s drunken grip – and emotions like fear and rage, I soar into a place without feeling. Without home.
I knew too much
about myself to stay alive. I stayed
alive. I wrote names on my body with
pins, nails, knives, fire, anything
that would mark the flesh.
This kind of violence is a shrine
to itself. The way it touches you
without breathing, thinking, feeling
– I AM DRAPED IN HEAVENLY SKIN, There Should Be Flowers
Joshua Jennifer Espinoza’s second collection of poetry, There Should Be Flowers, is a journey back into the flesh, the physical world, and the simultaneous joyous and painful complexities that come with living inside skins that are marked with the stigmas of femininity, difference, madness, and grief. With signature lyricism and frank emotionality, Espinoza reclaims those two attributes of life that women (and especially trans women) are forbidden to own: our bodies and our feelings.
“I embrace my sadness because to name it and to perform it publically gives insight into what this world does to women, to trans and gender nonconforming people, to gay and queer people in general,” said Espinoza, who prefers to be called “Jen” or “Jennifer” in person and described herself as the “gayest gay who ever gayed,” and “criest cry who ever cried,” in an interview with Autostraddle. “My Twitter content and my poetry is about finding some kind of outlet for my pain as well as creating a space to perform that pain for an audience, to communicate my subject position the only way I know how.”
Espinoza’s perspective on emotion is reminiscent of cis digital artist Audrey Wollen’s Sad Girl Theory, which articulates the expression of feminine sadness – and particularly the sadness of young women and girls expressed on the internet through selfies – as a necessary political theme, in opposition to prevailing social attitudes that characterize sad girls as frivolous and shallow.
There Should Be Flowers is Sad Girl Poetry par excellence; it’s emo high school poetry blog material refined to a high art while remaining deeply accessible, which is to say accountable, to an audience that reaches beyond the often rarified (read: white, university-educated) demographic of most literary circles.
That is, the poems in There Should Be Flowers are raw and direct and say exactly what they mean: Sometimes it sucks to live as a trans girl of color in a colonized land. Sometimes it sucks to have a body that you didn’t ask for. These are poems whose rhythms and cadence are palpably shaped by the context of the internet – Espinoza has a sizeable Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook following, including yours truly – and are deepened by it.
I read another comments section of an article
about trans women and I want to die. To not exist. To let
them win. I don’t let them win. I circle the drain
and kiss my fingers hello. I welcome them back. This complex
trauma responds only to the dialectical. Only to the
heat and the cool, the death and the life.– I IMAGINE ALL MY CIS FRIENDS LAUGHING TO TRANNY JOKES, There Should Be Flowers
Yet Espinoza’s work also departs from the Sad Girl aesthetic in her exploration of land and belonging, a subtler counterpoint to her central preoccupation with the body. In this, she joins a long tradition of North American women of color writers whose work explores the (deeply wounded) relationships between identity and geography.
I identify as the earth
and as everything
that has ever happened to me.
I’d swear on my name
all of it is true
but I don’t have one. Not yet.– THE SUNSET IS SO BEAUTIFUL, There Should Be Flowers
“I’m always thinking about bodies as land, and land as bodies,” says Espinoza, “the way they are both named, occupied, colonized, stolen, and destroyed—how the line between a body and the land it moves through often becomes blurred—how the body itself feels like an injury.”
There is a sharp, gorgeous pain to reading There Should Be Flowers, an intimate exploration that feels at once universal and also incredibly particular to trans women of color (or at least to this particular TWOC reader). I don’t know any trans women of color who aren’t familiar with dissociation, with the strange magic of forgetting the body that at once allows us to survive daily inundation in dysphoria and violence while also imprisoning us within ourselves. I don’t know any of us who don’t dream of discovering a place where our bodies don’t feel like scars upon the landscape.
Skin is grown in fields
and names are made
on borders.
There are histories of blood
behind the words.
You taste it in your mouth
and it is like water
from above.
The stars dissociate.
The moon eats itself.
– I HATE THE POEM, There Should Be Flowers
Reading this book feels like tracing the lingering marks over the places where I used to hurt myself in order to remember that I was alive – a reminder of survival that is, yes, sad, but also sweet testament to my survival. Espinoza’s gift is her use of exquisite language and arresting images to capture this contradiction of self-destruction and resilience that lurks inside us, a piercing glance that is compassionate, but not pitying, into physicality of trans women’s lives.
“I think art can transform the way readers see and approach the world,” says Espinoza, “and that’s maybe something I’m trying to do on some level—to give names to things that haven’t been named, to misname things that have been named, to fuck with all those signals that supposedly determine who and what we are.:
There are couple aspects in which the book does leave me yearning for more. There Should Be Flowers cleaves so faithfully to its central images (the word “body” appears 84 times in the 100-page book) that at times it runs the risk of inundating the reader and thus obscuring subtle shifts in mood and message from poem to poem. And selfishly, I sometimes long to see Espinoza turn her exquisite gaze onto other trans women and the ways in which her relationships with them impact her experience of body and land.
Still, these are minor qualms against the scale of Espinoza’s shimmering talent and ambitious project, which is essentially to re-member the trans feminine body: To give it back its skin and bone, its delicate organs and bleeding limbs, and arrange them into new and beautiful constellations. There Should Be Flowers is a healing map, a compass that shows us back to the world after having left it for too long – that allows us to live inside the pain and love ourselves anyway.
I will survive it
like I have everything else
for twenty eight years.
All the new bodies
I’ve made. All the things I’ve said.
All the women I’ve been.– ALL THE WOMEN I’VE BEEN, There Should Be Flowers
Miss Major Stars in “The Personal Things,” a Powerful and Inspiring Animated Short for Trans Day of Remembrance
Today is Trans Day of Remembrance/Resilience, a day when we remember all the trans people who have been the victims of violent attacks over the past year and we remind ourselves that we are still resilient. In honor of that, Reina Gossett, Hope Dector and the Barnard Center for Research on Women produced the animated short “The Personal Things,” starring legendary trans elder Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.
The Personal Things from BCRW Videos on Vimeo.
Miss Major has always been a badass, and in this three minute long animated video, she’s no different. With all the spirit in the world in her voice she explains how we can each use our own personal acts to make political change. “You have to find your own way to strike back,” she says, inspiring all of us to be ourselves and reminding us that doing that, especially when you’re trans, is a radical act. Our existence as trans people is beautiful and powerful and amazing. It’s exactly the kind of message we need to hear on a day where we’re reminded that our existence is also something that threatens a lot of people and is hated by a lot of people. This is a beautiful short and Miss Major has some beautiful things to say.
The short was directed by Gossett, features art by Micah Bazant and animation by Pamela Chavez. You can buy posters of the artwork featured in the video in order to support Miss Major’s retirement fund (and wow, has she deserved a happy retirement) online.
On Trans Day of Remembrance We Look Back on the Worst Year Yet and Prepare for a Terrifying Future
feature image via Shutterstock
I’m writing this with tears streaming down my cheeks, a sick feeling in my stomach and a hole in my heart. I’m sorry I don’t have have something more hopeful to tell you today.
Every year Trans Day of Remembrance is a tough day. It’s hard to think about all the trans people we’ve lost. It’s hard to think about how we don’t even know the names of many, many more who were killed and misgendered or unreported. Every year, both in the United States and globally, most of the victims of anti-trans murders are Black and Brown trans women. Last year was exceptionally hard for a lot of us, because more trans women were murdered in the United States than any previous year on record. We were heartbroken and devastated. We felt hopeless. But we also were determined to be strong and to fight to make things better and to protect trans women, especially Black and Brown ones, and to make sure the United States was a safer place for trans women.
We were determined to keep in mind the intersectionality that puts trans women in danger. We wanted to focus on how racism and anti-Blackness contribute heavily to the murders of trans women, how most trans women who are killed are murdered by men they sleep with, how trans women who are poor or sex workers are more likely to be murdered. We talked about all of those things. We said something needed to be done to stop the most vulnerable from being killed at pandemic rates.
In 2016, the murders didn’t stop. The violence didn’t slow down. Instead here we are in November, and more trans people have been murdered in the US than were murdered last year. The numbers globally are even worse. Our goals were not met. Trans people are in the spotlight more than ever, with characters in movies, TV shows and books, but that’s only led to us being more at risk. Trans women, especially the ones who were already most at risk, are now hypervisible. Men who sleep with us are more afraid than ever that they’ll be found out. Politicians who hate us are targeting us in ways they never have before. People who want to commit violence against us are braver than ever before. Things aren’t getting better, they’re getting worse.
These are the names of the trans people we know of who were murdered this year, but only those we know of. We cannot forget them. We cannot ignore them. We cannot sweep them under the rug. If you have the strength, please fight for them and for the people who will be on this list next year, and the year after that. Contact your congresspeople, donate to trans organizations, call out transphobia and transmisogyny when you see it, volunteer your time. Don’t just talk about being an ally, actually do the work.
Monica Loera, 43
Jasmine Sierra, 52
Kayden Clarke, 24
Veronica Banks Cano, 40
Maya Young, 25
Demarkis Stansberry, 30
Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, 16
Kourtney Yochum, 32
Shante Thompson, 34
Keyonna Blakeney, 22
Reecey Walker, 32
Mercedes Successful, 32
Amos Beede, 38
Goddess Diamond, 20
Dee Dee Dodds, 22
Dee Whigham, 25
Skye Mockabee, 26
Erykah Tijerina, 36
Rae’Lynn Thomas, 28
T.T., 27
Crystal Edmonds, 32
Jazz Alford, 30
Brandi Bledsoe, 32
Noony Norwood, 30
I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty. I’m not saying that anyone should give up. I’m not saying to lose hope. There are plenty of people who have fought tooth and nail, and given up gallons of blood in this fight. If you’ve been fighting, if you’ve been working, thank you. But, also more of us need to work, and more of us need to fight. And we need to figure out new ways to do those things. We need to figure out how to make sure that white people and men and conservatives lose the power they abuse. We need to figure out how to make sure our hope turns into progress and protection.
I’m going to be honest. I think this is only the beginning. Our nation just elected a president and vice president who have already started the work to roll back protections for trans people. Not only that, but their public unrepentant homophobia, racism and violence against women is emboldening many across America to no longer hide those violent parts of themselves. I’m preparing for this year’s record to be shattered next year, and each year that Trump is in office. When people say we need to give him a chance, that if he’s really this terrible, we can vote him out after four years, or even impeach him after one, what I think of immediately is the thirty or forty or fifty or sixty trans people who are going to die each of those years because that will be the reality of Trump’s America.
Trans people, including trans kids have started killing themselves in order to make sure they don’t face a more violent fate at the hands of someone emboldened by our new administration. Trans children are so scared of the sixty million people who voted for Trump that they’ve decided that being dead is a better option. How did we get here? No, we’ve always been here. This is a nation of slavery, of genocide, of lynchings, of legal rape, of internment camps, of hate crimes and conversion therapy. This is a nation where a rapist is elected president. This is a nation where someone who wants to torture children until they hate themselves is elected vice president. This is nothing new for us, no matter how much we’d like to say it is. This is the direction we’ve been heading in since white people came to this country.
I’m not going to call these dark times. These are the palest of times. America is a pile of pale, broken bones, the bones of Black people murdered by police, the bones of immigrants murdered for coming to this country, the bones of children and church-goers and people out trying to have a good time who were brought down by mass shootings, the bones of Muslims murdered for not being Christian, and the bones of trans women murdered for existing in public. There is a cloud of smoke rising up from the fires of hatred lit by those who hate marginalized people. White Supremacy and White Christianity and White Conservatism teach Americans that it’s not only acceptable to hate all of these groups, but that it makes you more of a man, it makes you more of an American, it makes you more of a Good Person.
I don’t know how to be hopeful right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing or working or fighting, and I know everyone at Autostraddle stands firmly with me. I’m not asking other trans people to stay fighting with me, take care of yourself first. But I do ask that you at the very least stay alive. We need you. If you are feeling hopeless or need help, please reach out to someone or call the Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860 in the US or (877) 330-6366 in Canada. The Trevor Project can be reached at 1-866-488-7386, and they also have text and chat lines. The general National Suicide Prevention Hotline for the US can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
You are beautiful and wonderful and deserve happiness and life and love. We love you and we’re going to keep on working and we’re going to figure out how we can do things that will make real change.
Noony Norwood Becomes the 23rd Trans Woman We Know Of Killed In This Tragic, Violent Year
Noony Norwood of Richmond, VA, a trans woman of color who had just turned 30 a few days ago, was shot on Hull St and died of her injuries in the hospital the next day. Richmond police have “released a photo of a person of interest in the case;” the investigation is ongoing.
Zakia McKensey of the Nationz Foundation, which does health and wellness work for LGBTQ populations in Richmond, says she considered Noony her family, and that she “spent her days bringing love to everyone she encountered.” From Nationz Foundation’s official statement:
‘Noony’s energy always brightened the room. She cared about her community and always lifted up and supported her friends and family’, said Zakia McKensey, Founder and Executive Director of Nationz Foundation and long-time friend of Noony’s. Stacie Vecchietti, Director of the Virginia Anti-Violence Project, added, ‘We have lost yet another beloved member of our community to violence. This is a deeply painful and personal loss for many. It is also a reflection of the painful realities of transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, and racism that permeate our everyday environments and relationships and results in LGBTQ+ individuals of color being disproportionately impacted by violence.’
The foundation also expressed their hope that police and media would “respect Noony’s identity and maintain a level of decorum and understanding when interacting with her family and other individuals who identify within transgender and non-conforming communities.”
With Noony’s violent and tragic death comes a horrific milestone: the US has already passed last year’s previous marker of 22 trans women killed, and it’s only November. What’s more, we can expect to see an increase in violence against trans women (and especially trans women of color) after this year’s presidential election. Attention and action around the epidemic of deadly violence towards trans women of color is more important now than ever, as we’ll only see it heightened in the coming months. Already, we’re also seeing an increase in suicide and self-harm, with “two to eight” confirmed suicides of trans youth according to Guardian journalist Zach Stafford. The Trevor Project, which provides a crisis hotline for LGBT youth, says hotline traffic has doubled. The Trans Lifeline phone line says the number of calls to them has been “record-breaking.”
If you need support, you can contact the Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860 in the US or (877) 330-6366 in Canada. The Trevor Project can be reached at 1-866-488-7386, and they also have text and chat lines. The general National Suicide Prevention Hotline for the US can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
In terms of other resources for trans people, lots of forces and resources are mobilizing to support trans people especially around legal changing of names and gender markers as well as obtaining legal documents like passports as soon as possible, anticipating that trans people may be blocked from doing so soon. The hashtag #TransLawHelp on Twitter is a place to locate resources, advice and legal professionals who may be able to help pro bono. There’s also a website being built around the Trans Law Help conversation, Trans Law Help Online. Here are the TransEquality.org resources for getting a passport and a social security card name change. If there are other resources that people should be aware of, please feel free to share them in the comments! Take care of yourselves and each other.
Anti-Trans Bathroom Policies — and Trans Teen Gavin Grimm — Will Head to the Supreme Court
In the midst of an already extremely tumultuous and for many US citizens, dangerous political climate, the Supreme Court has decided it will take up the legal issue of trans people’s access to bathrooms that correspond with their gender by hearing the appeal of a case involving Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old trans boy from Virginia.
Grimm was “briefly allowed by administrators at his Gloucester high school to use the boys bathroom” after coming out, then the school board and local parents forced him to instead use a single-stall restroom in the school’s nurse’s office, which Grimm says “stigmatized him among other students.” Grimm sued the school board, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor, on the basis that Title IX “prohibits discrimination based on sex by federally funded educational institutions.” Central to the premise of their ruling, and of several other key rulings on anti-trans discrimination, is that discrimination on the basis of gender identity constitutes discrimination based on sex.
Now, the school board is appealing that decision, and the appeal has reached the Supreme Court. Sources reporting on the decision generally offer surprise that the SCOTUS has taken it on — the Bay Area Reporter writes that “to some extent, it is unusual that the court took this case because the ruling under appeal was a preliminary one, not one on the merits. The 4th Circuit’s ruling was issued in response to a preliminary motion in Grimm’s lawsuit.”
It’s momentous anytime an issue hotly contested in a number of state courts, like marriage equality or bathroom bills, reaches the Supreme Court. On the one hand, it represents the opportunity for a ruling that could echo and empower previous trans-affirming rulings; on the other, there’s the risk that it could overturn them and create a national legal precedent that sets the work activists have been doing to keep trans people safe by years.
In this case, the specific legal precedent that hangs in the balance is the interpretation of Title IX — and other federal legislation that refers to “discrimination on the basis of sex” as also referring to gender identity. The court’s ruling will, according to the Bay Area Reporter, “address only two of three questions that the school district attorneys posed: First, they ask whether the courts should give “deference” to the Department of Education’s interpretation of the law, given that it came in an “unpublished agency letter.” And, second, they ask whether legal effect should be given to the department’s interpretation of Title IX.” To take a look at what SCOTUS will be responding to in terms of the department’s interpretation of Title IX, it was this:
In its petition to the Supreme Court, the school district’s primary argument was that, when Congress passed Title IX, it intended the word “sex” to mean “nothing more than male and female, under the traditional binary conception of sex consistent with one’s birth or biological sex.” It says the Department of Education’s interpretation of “sex” to include “gender identity” amounts to creating new law.
This isn’t as clear-cut as the Supreme Court necessarily declaring once and for all whether “sex” also includes “gender identity” for legal purposes; it could also choose to issue a more “narrow” ruling where they only speak to whether the department’s definition of “sex” should be given validity in this particular case. Depending on how the court interprets that language and how broad a ruling it makes, the precedent set could even reach beyond bathroom bills and to legal interpretation of other legislation, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate in employment on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
A lot is hanging in the balance with the possibility of this ruling — potentially the future of trans people’s legal right to safely access bathrooms that correspond with their gender, as well as the future of potential legal avenues to push for expansion of trans rights in court if Title IX and Title VII are ruled as not applying to gender identity. And most immediately, a young trans person, Gavin Grimm, will find himself in the middle of a heated and very public legal battle, at risk for constant scrutiny, harassment and transphobia.
Also hanging in the balance is what the Supreme Court will even look like when they hear this case, a hugely important and totally unclear element. Following the death of Antonin Scalia, there are only eight justices on what’s normally a nine-justice court; and with Republicans doing their best to block the appointment of a new justice by any Democratic administration. Depending on the outcome of the election next week, we could have drastically different candidates for justices in that empty ninth seat, potentially tipping the balance of the ruling; alternatively, if the Republicans continue blocking a nomination, we could still just have eight justices. If that’s the case, we see the possibility of a split decision, with a 4-4 tie between justices. In that case, the legal outcome for Gavin Grimm would revert to the 4th Circuit Court’s ruling in his favor; his rights would be upheld personally but no larger precedent would be set.
We won’t see the outcome of this case for a while, but it’s important to keep an eye on, as it has the potential to impact vulnerable trans and gender nonconforming communities hugely, and the personal burden that Gavin Grimm is taking on highlights how frequently individual marginalized people find themselves bearing enormous pressure as part of the slow progression towards greater justice.
Trans People Are More Racially Diverse Than the General Population, New Study Finds
feature image via Shutterstock
Trans people are more racially and ethnically diverse than the U.S. general population, finds a new study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
In “Race and Ethnicity of Adults who Identify as Transgender in the United States,” the researchers used data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-level, population-based survey to compile their study. They found trans people are less likely to be white and more likely to be Latinx or Black than the general U.S. population. Among the survey-takers who identified as transgender, 55 percent identify as white, 16 percent identify as African-American or black, 21 percent identify as Latino or Hispanic, and 8 percent identify as another race or ethnicity. Here’s how that looks like compared to the U.S. general population:
At least one prior study, with smaller sample sizes, has had similar results, showing trans individuals as more racially and ethnically diverse than the US as a whole — it “found that in Massachusetts adults who identify as transgender are significantly less likely to identify as White and more likely to identify as Latino or Hispanic than the non-transgender adult population.” But the Williams Institute study is the first to give an estimate of the racial makeup of trans adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (In contrast, the racial makeup of the sample size for Injustice At Every Turn, the report on the national transgender discrimination survey, was 83% white.)
The study also finds that the racial demographic patterns of where trans adults live are similar to the broader racial demographic patterns found throughout the United States. For example, the highest percentage of trans Latinx people are found in the Southwest, just like there’s a larger percentage of Latinxs who live there in general.
“While our study confirms that people who identify as transgender are racially and ethnically diverse, the question remains as to why transgender people are more diverse than others,” Taylor N.T. Brown, a Public Policy Analyst at the Williams Institute, said in a press release. “We need more research before we can answer that question.”