this "trans women have male privilege" argument

inchoaterica:

1. It makes an assumption that the pre-transition experiences of all trans women is the same as that of a cisgender man. In some cases, maybe this is true. In many cases, it’s not. 

2. It makes an assumption that all trans women have significant educational and employment exposure as an assumed-male person. This is not always the case. I spent two whole years in school as an assumed-male person, admittedly a result of having entered education later than i should have. Two. I’ve never worked a day in my life as an assumed-male person. And if someone has, again, see #1.

3. This argument is always raised in a way where it’s about how including trans women is problematic to a transexterminationist perspective, generally a TERF perspective but it gets used by MRA types and we all know they’re a bunch of transexterminationists too. Think about this, folks: it always comes up to remove and other trans women.

4. This argument also assumes that all trans women have identical educational and employment experiences *after* transition as cis women and that trans women thus have some boost from their experiences prior to transition. Admittedly, this is true in my case, with the caveat that multiple colleges rescinded my admission when i came out to them…other than that, pretty much the same. But trans women often deal with differential patterns of discrimination and gender policing than cis women.

Politely, i have a fuckton of privilege that stems from being assumed to be cis and having documentation that is congruent with my gender of presentation. This actually gives me far, far more privilege than any distant echo of “male privilege” that a transexterminationist can claim. I babysit now and then for a young trans girl who made it through kindergarten faking it as a boy…i mean, the transexterminationists will still claim she benefited from “male privilege” if it means running her over.

How about declaring abject fucking war on a culture that reifies maleness before you start coming at trans women and blaming us for this culture?

Source: ericainchoate

genderedintelligence:

thetestshot:

The Test Shot spent an evening with Open Barbers- a queer haircut social space run by Felix Bear Lane and Gerygory James Vass in Finsbury Park, London. This video is a portrait of the kind of work they do, and captures the essence of why it is so important to feel that your identity is understood by your barber as a transmasculine or genderqueer person. 

Check out this video! Great idea & space for queer/trans people in London or anyone who just wants a good haircut. You can find more about Open Barbers on their website or Facebook.

Source: thetestshot

genderedintelligence:

Trans Cabal: Right to Reply

This video has been compiled by TransBareAll as a response to recent transphobic articles in the press. We don’t aim to debate the merits of freedom of speech, or the rights and wrongs of different sides of an argument. Instead we want to show the real impact of the way language is used, how it can affect the people it targets.

In the media (and society in general) there are some words which we never use, such as the ‘N’ word. We don’t choose to avoid them because we are oppressed, but because we understand that due to their historical and social context they aren’t merely offensive, they are directly harmful. We understand that for some terms it is up to the group they have been used against to re-appropriate them. Some of the terms published lately are examples of these – terms so deeply rooted in discrimination, exclusion, hatred and violence, that it is just not ok to say them. Ever. Because of the damage that they do.

This short film includes trans masculine people and allies talking about the impact of this language. Although recent publications seem to refer specifically to trans women, the language used does not separate us – it includes all trans people, and everyone who loves and respects us. It refers to us. It refers to many of the people in this film. Using this language harms all trans people and our wider communities of families, friends, partners and lovers. This is not about offense, it is about hurt. It goes so much deeper.

Read More

Thought-provoking responses to the Julie Burchill situation, compiled by TransBareAll.

fyeahcuba:

Adela Hernández,  the first transgender woman to win office in Cuba

This month Adela made history by becoming the first known transgender person to hold public office in Cuba, winning rhw election as a delegate to the municipal government of Caibarien in the central province of Villa Clara.

Hernandez won office in early November by taking a runoff vote 280-170. Her position is the equivalent of a city councilor, and her election makes her eligible to be selected as a representative to Parliament in early 2013.

In a country where gays were persecuted for decades and sent to grueling work camps in the countryside, Hernandez, 48, hailed her election as yet another milestone in a gradual shift away from macho attitudes in the years since Fidel Castro himself expressed regret over the treatment of people perceived to be different.

‘‘As time evolves, homophobic people — although they will always exist — are the minority,’’ Hernandez said by phone from her hometown. 

(via originalplumbing)

Source: Boston.com

political-linguaphile:

wearenomadique:

Crossing Over tells the particular and complex story of the transgender Latin immigrant community in Los Angeles through three of its most distinctive members.

Brenda came to the United States from Mexico over ten years ago to escape mental and physical abuse, and after initially struggling to survive in the U.S. by any means possible, eventually sought asylum and was allowed to stay. Brenda works as a community advocate and HIV support-group leader, but it is her vivacious personality and light that truly makes her a matriarch among her community.

Abigail is newer to the US than Brenda, and though she too has sought asylum, she is still figuring out how to get by. She works as a nightclub dancer and quinceñara planner in order to put herself through community college. While she dreams of eventually becoming a lawyer to fight for the rights of people like her, she must battle what seem like insurmountable demons to achieve her goals—depression, addiction, and poverty.

Francis has worked for a decade as a housekeeper and caretaker for the same family in Los Angeles, and is on the brink of the final asylum hearing that will determine whether she can remain in the United States.

Each subject lives a very different facet of the trans-Latina experience, and yet the message that their stories convey is unified and clear—that this is a community that has faced inconceivable abuses and yet have risen to create an environment of love, leadership, and support, and for these reasons deserve to live in this country.

Watch the trailer below:

Crossing Over is currently in the stages of post-production.Look for the finished product September 2013. Katrina Sorrentino, from Nomadique, is the Producer for Crossing Over. This post was written by Alex Pitz, who is the Associate Producer and screenwriter for Crossing Over.

Photos taken by Isabel Castro

Very cool. I made a post about this documentary a few months back. You can check out the post and watch the trailer here. That post says that film was set to come out in January of this year, but it seems it has been delayed. Either way keep an eye out for this documentary. It looks amazing!

(via originalplumbing)

Source: crossingover.com

if you can give me more than ten...

toplioncub:

mattachinereview:

if you can give me more than ten well-cited examples of trans guys suing gender clinics after detransitioning and thus causing the gender clinic to fear allowing “real” trans men to access services—

I will give you twenty bucks and/or knit you an item of your choice

everyone likes a good bet, right?

we could do paypal, we could do a PO box, whatever makes you feel comfy

but obviously if there’s an epidemic there should be more than ten examples to cite, right? surely ten would be easy as hell to find? 

surely you can find ten examples, if not to get twenty bucks or a knitted item of your choice (because gosh, knitted items are kind of faggy, right?), then simply to humiliate me in public?

Not trans guys*. It’s not only female born people who have done this. It’s people who thought they were trans both male and female.

“One of the most serious cases concerns a female patient who regrets switching to a male role. She underwent hormone treatment and had her breasts removed. The woman is one of the complainants in the current GMC investigation.

Other cases include patients who were allegedly prescribed hormones at age 16.”

This is in regards to the UK, where there have been people, yes, over 10 people, regretting their transition and then complaining about it. This has led to more gate keeping on this particular doctor. It is now harder to get prescribed by him because of regretters. Considering he is one in a few of private doctors, this is definitely a dis service to the entire British trans population.

-http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/06/transexualism-gender-reassignment-richard-curtis

Here’s another one. A psychiatrist actually lost his job because of people regretting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/may/23/healthandwellbeing.health

Again with this person, it was over 10 as well.

Oh yes, the gender clinic which got shut down after regretters complained once more:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexchange-clinic-got-it-wrong-20090530-br3u.html

so you’ve given me one example of a clinic being shut down and two examples of cis people suffering? (spoiler alert: I am not at all concerned about the cis people suffering) which isn’t what I asked for?

I realized I may have misplaced a modifier, but I’m looking for more than ten examples of clinics, because that might begin to constitute a problem for trans people as a whole (not that we don’t already have larger problems)

an epidemic would definitely involve more than two psychs and one clinic

it would definitely involve more than one clinic

no knitted goods 4 u

there’s also a lot to unpack in these articles, but are you aware that at least one of their co-authors, Julie Bindel, is like, notoriously, FAMOUSLY, transphobic?  are you aware that the guardian, which published not one but two of those articles, recently published an article titled, “transsexuals should cut it out”?

these are people who do not like us! they do not want us to access treatment! they think we should be morally mandated out of existence!

they want us dead!

they have obvious motivations for portraying us as unreliable, and for portraying transition regret as THE WORST POSSIBLE THING END OF THE WORLD OMG

so, “well-cited”—no, these aren’t

more than ten—no, these aren’t

Gendered Intelligence: Life Drawing Project for Trans & Intersex People - All travel expenses refunded!

genderedintelligence:

image

Are you a trans or intersex person of any age (over 16) who would like to be involved in an exciting new life drawing project?

Gendered Intelligence has been awarded a £30,000 grant from the Wellcome Trust for“GI’s Anatomy”- a series of practical life drawing workshops with transgender and intersex participants exploring the science of non-normative sexed and gendered bodies through art.

The project will include:

  • A series of life drawing workshops drawing trans and intersex life models (no prior artistic experience necessary)
  • Presentations fromprofessionals on medical practice around sex and gender, including Mr Nim Christopher (phalloplasty surgeon) and Dr Polly Carmichael (specialist in gender identity development and disorders of sex development (DSD))
  • Group discussions around thescience of non-normative sexed and gendered bodies
  • Visits togalleries / art exhibitionsto inspire our work

The work produced on the project will then be showcased at a number of exhibitions and online via social media.

We’re looking for two groups of people to participate:

  • 15 young trans and/or intersex people aged between 16-25
  • 15 trans and/or intersex people aged 26 and over

Sessions will run on 9th February, 16th February, 2nd March and 16th March in London. Participants should be available to attend most/all sessions.

We can refund your full travel costs to London to attend the sessions. (UK only).

If you would like to participate, please fill in this application form. Places may fill up quickly - get in touch with us ASAP if you want to take part!

Don’t forget to apply if you want to get involved!

originalplumbing:

Hi, we are Amos Mac and Rocco Katastrophe and together we edit and publish Original Plumbing, a trans male culture print magazine that launched in San Francisco in the Fall of 2009. A year after the quarterly magazine was born we launched OP Online at originalplumbing.com featuring daily bloggers, first-person narratives, exclusive work from award-winning trans* writers you can’t find in our print editions, photo galleries and most recently the ”Talk About It” video campaign to share solutions around isolation around depression within the LGBTQ community.

In the past few years our website has turned dusty, grey and broken. It is disorganized, not sustainable, increasingly harder to find articles and has major video embedding issues. It does not do justice to the writers who have spent their energy writing for OP over the years. It is because of your interest and support that OP has grown bigger than the size of its tank! We need help tearing down the old OP website and rebuilding it from scratch — keeping all of our articles, user comments and galleries in tact while expanding and updating in a major way! This is where you come in.We have listened to your feedback and are making huge changes for our website and online community. We need your help to relaunch OP online v3.0! Help us afford a more inclusive, organized and aesthetically pleasing website that works, or simply help us by spreading the word. Thanks, everyone! 

genderedintelligence: transclothingswap: Announcing the next Trans* Clothing Swap! When: February 16th, 2013 from 12 to 4 PM Where: New Unity Unitarian, 277A Upper Street, London N1 2TZ This event is completely free. Bring clothes and/or take clothes! You do not need to bring clothes to take them. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. You can RSVP on Facebook or EventBrite. Our next clothing swap event organised by Gendered Intelligence volunteers!
Pop-upView Separately

genderedintelligence:

transclothingswap:

Announcing the next Trans* Clothing Swap!

When: February 16th, 2013 from 12 to 4 PM

Where: New Unity Unitarian, 277A Upper Street, London N1 2TZ

This event is completely free. Bring clothes and/or take clothes! You do not need to bring clothes to take them. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. You can RSVP on Facebook or EventBrite.

Our next clothing swap event organised by Gendered Intelligence volunteers!

(via partnersofmtf)

Source: transclothingswap

amydentata:

rbekzine:

wtftransdating:

I thought this video might be relevant.

Love this.  So much.

Yay I submitted to wtftransdating! If you haven’t seen this video yet, check it out for dating-while-trans hilarity. And check out the blog, it has a good mix of side-splitting and rage-inducing stories. Gotta vent about this stuff somewhere!

Source: wtftransdating

Queer and Trans Calls for Submission (non-erotica specific) January 2013

tgstonebutch:

Queer Calls for Submission (non-erotica) January 2013

These are LGBTQ calls that are not specific to erotica Erotic content may be welcome.

BROAD magazine (Women’s Studies & Gender Studies department at Loyola University Chicago) seeks a range of writing (academic, personal essay, poetry) for their LGBTIQ…

View Post

shared via WordPress.com

(via mrsexsmith)

Source: tgstonebutch

Gendered Intelligence: FS Magazine seeking gay trans guy for article on role models

genderedintelligence:

image

FS magazine are looking for a gay trans man / gay man with transsexual history for an article on role models - aspirational people that other gay men can look up to, eschewing celebrity.

The participant would need to be comfortable identifying themselves as a trans man / man with trans history in the article, and would also need to be comfortable having their photograph featured.

The participant can be anywhere in the UK, as the interview can take place over email / phone.

If you’re interested in participating, contact admin@genderedintelligence.co.uk and we’ll put you in touch.

The resource guide Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is looking for contributors to its chapter on intersections of immigrant...

fuckyeahmtfsofcolor:

Are you an immigrant or refugee, or do you come from a family of recent immigrants? Do you identify as transgender, or express your gender differently than is expected in your culture?

The upcoming book Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is looking for contributors to its chapter on intersections of transgender / immigrant identities. We are interested to hear about your experiences with gender in your culture and as an immigrant. If you would like to share your story, please email it to kate@transbodies.com by September 1st, or mail to Laura Erickson-Schroth, 564 First Avenue, 14D, NY NY 10016 (Email is preferred if you have access).

We are looking for pieces 300-800 words in length. Please also include the name you would like to use (pseudonyms are fine) and your age. If you feel comfortable, also include where you are from originally and where you live today. (Example: Chad, 37. Originally from Burma, now living in Arizona, USA.) The book will be in English, but if you strongly prefer to write in your native language, we will do everything we can to translate for you. If your story is chosen to be included, we will email you the text we plan on using so you have the chance to approve it.

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a resource guide for the transgender population, covering health, legal issues, cultural and social questions, history, theory, and more. It is a place for transgender and gender-questioning people, their partners and families, students, professors, guidance counselors, and others to look for up-to-date information on transgender life. For more information, visit www.transbodies.com or email kate@transbodies.com or amanda@transbodies.com with any questions or comments.

Sounds very cool to me!

Source: fuckyeahmtfsofcolor