While dining out with friends, Kupec is depicted being denied access to the correct restroom until two women intervene. The minute-long ad dramatizes the predicament faced by many transgender people across the nation in the face of heated rhetoric in places like North Carolina and Mississippi as they pass discriminatory laws aimed at curbing transgender civil rights.

“Most Americans want to do the right thing, but they have never met a transgender person, so they have misconceptions,” said Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director of the Movement Advancement Project. “This ad cuts through the political rhetoric and simply asks people to consider the serious challenges and discrimination faced by transgender people—discrimination that is still legal in most states.”

“Transgender people desperately need laws that protect us from being unfairly fired from our jobs, kicked out of our homes, and denied access to public bathrooms, just because of who we are,” said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

“Our newly released survey data shows that 59 percent of transgender people avoided bathrooms in the last year out of fear of harassment. A shocking one in ten (12%) transgender people reported being harassed, attacked, or sexually assaulted in a bathroom, and one third avoided drinking or eating so that they did not need to use the restroom. Eight percent have had medical problems like urinary or kidney infections from avoiding the restroom.”

The North Carolina legislature recently adjourned without repealing the state’s odious HB2, which nullified LGBT nondiscrimination protections statewide and requires transgender people to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate. The fate of the law is currently in the hands of the federal courts, but activists and Democratic lawmakers say the Governor will be forced to call a special legislative session to take action. The NCAA recently doubled down on their pledge to move the 2017 All-Stars Game from Charlotte if the law isn’t repealed.

Source

June 6, 2016

Dear Miss Dash,

When I was young, I remember watching the movie CLUELESS and seeing you on the big screen for the first time. I was mesmerized by your beauty and I thought, I wish I could be like that girl some day! I watched that movie over and over, and I always thought you were one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. More recently, I watched your ET Exclusive Interview and my childhood view of Stacey Dash changed…and not for the better.

In your interview, you pointed out that people think you are still Dionne, the fashionable and eloquent young black diva you portrayed in CLUELESS. In a better world you would be her, but unfortunately for us, you are not. Thanks to Wikipedia and to your ET Exclusive Interview, we know you were born in the Bronx and that you are black and Mexican—things you should be proud of—and far from being the Beverly Hills fashion queen we gawked at on the big screen. Yet, it appears to me that you have lost your sense of pride and identity in being a double minority. Please let me remind you.

As a half black and half white Dominican trans woman, I am offended and appalled by your ignorant remarks and your attacks on transgender people (the minority you speak of in your ET Exclusive Interview) and the many supporters of the equal rights and anti-bullying movements, such as Lady Gaga and Caitlyn Jenner. As a black and Mexican woman, you should know what it is like to be a minority in this country, or did you forget that approximately 160 years ago blacks were still slaves in this nation? The Black community and anyone of color should be grateful that there were men and women fighting for our freedom and our equality. They fought for people like you and me, Stacey Dash.

You mentioned “tyranny by the minority” when you referred to Caitlyn Jenner identifying as a woman and wanting to use the women’s restroom. But what you were really saying is that you don’t want transgender women in the same bathroom as you and your children. Well, (huff…here we go again!) 160 years back, when slavery was close to being abolished, the white masters might have said the same words you quoted in your ET Exclusive Interview:

“Why do I have to suffer, because you can’t decide what you want to be that day?”

Let me break it down for you, my dear Stacey…Transgender people DO NOT choose to be transgender in a day. We suffer through lifetimes living as the sex we never identified as (our born sex). The “choice” comes if and when we choose to be happy…or not. But I still don’t think you get it. I’ll try again. We choose to go through a physical transition in order to unify our bodies with our minds and be who we feel we are on the inside. The choice I made as a male-to-female transgender person was to become the woman I’ve always felt I was, but I never chose to feel this way. That’s as simple as I can put it. It’s now your CHOICE to understand it or not.

Let’s talk about your politics. You play the victim when you say that Hollywood dropped you because of your political views. As the “Hollywood outcast” you claim to be, you should then understand how it feels to be on the sidelines. But it appears to me that you are delivering to the transgender community the same deadly dose of hatred that Hollywood has given you. Allow me to quote you after Nischelle Turner from ET explained to you that being transgender is not a choice, but rather who we are. You stated:

“OK, then go in the bushes. I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m not gonna put my child’s life at risk because you want to change a law so that you can be comfortable with your beliefs—which means I have to change my beliefs and my rights? No!”

Your ignorance on the issue makes me feel pity for you…and anger. You sound like every other bigot and hatemonger out there that is looking to point a finger at the current scapegoat. Newsflash, Stacey! We are not interested in your child! We want equality in the eyes of the law, and we demand protection under the same law. If you’re concerned about child molesters coming into the women’s restroom, why haven’t you made a big stink about it years ago? Why now?

I’ll tell you why…

I believe that you are GUILTY of the same charges you accuse Lady Gaga of when you called her Anti-Bullying Campaign a farce. You are dramatizing the current events as a way to draw attention to your new, controversial book. Hurray! You learned to use one of Hollywood’s most despicable ploys to your advantage. Wait, didn’t you say that Hollywood had a liberal agenda? Clearly, you have an agenda of your own? So who is the real hypocrite now?

Oh, I almost forgot…

”What’s next for Stacey Dash?” asked Nischelle Turner.

“Umm…the White House,” Stacey responded.

“Come on, Stacey! The only house you’ll be visiting is White House|Black Market—the same place you bought that nasty little top you wore on your ET Exclusive Interview.”

Sincerely,

Daliah Husu
Author of “I Am Woman: Surviving the Past, the Present, & the Future”

daliahhusu.com
contact@daliahhusu.com

Are times really changing for the LGBT community? More specifically, is it really the tipping point for transgender folks? It appears that there is an increase in media attention covering transgender issues across America. But why? And what is causing this sudden interest with a community that has been living in the dark and has been oppressed for so long? As a trans woman and activist, I have formed my own opinions based on the current state of affairs that we are currently facing.

If we look back just forty-three years, we find that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and declared that homosexuality was not a mental illness. Not so long ago, were the gays and lesbians fighting to be seen as equals in the eyes of American law, but they were fighting to be seen as sane and mentally capable individuals. What is astounding is that within that movement, the transgender community was never mentioned, nor was gender dysphoria addressed. As a result, the stigma and fear that once accompanied homosexuality during those times of ignorance is the same stigma and fear that is currently placed on gender identity and transgender individuals.

To begin understanding gender identity it is important to acknowledge that it is not a choice, just like sexual orientation, but rather a state of consciousness that a fraction of the population experiences. The choice in this matter is choosing to live authentically, as the person we know we are within. Until the general public and the religious opposition begin to understand this fundamental truth—which most likely won’t be tomorrow—general views and acceptance of trans people will not shift or come about at the rate we would like it to. The transgender community, therefore, must continue taking actions to bring forth change at a local and national level to guarantee its very own protection. As the new “equal rights movement” in America, the trans community needs to look back at history and understand it, so that we may get a glimpse of our future. Just as the Jews were once oppressed by the Nazis, and the African Americans were once slaves and second-class citizens, we must fight our battle head-on and win. It is inevitable.

We may not change every mind or religious belief out there, but history tells us that we will gain equal rights in the eyes of the law, that we will gain complete protection from discriminating employers, and that law enforcement and elected officials will uphold and obey the law of the land and protect every citizen of this nation. The “Transgender Tipping Point,” as Times Magazine called it in its June 9th, 2014 issue featuring transgender actress Laverne Cox on the cover, is in fact approaching if not here already, and the signs are evident.

Just last month, Sheriff Chuck Wright, from the South Carolina’s Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department, spoke at a Republican’s women’s meeting and threatened to ‘whip’ any trans woman found in the women’s restroom. Not long after, Tracy Murphee, a Denton County, Texas cop, also threatened to beat transgender women that may be using the same restroom as his little girl. Various states have recently passed and are trying to pass more anti-LGBT legislation that blatantly discriminates against transgender people. It’s obvious that fear and ignorance are deeply rooted in our society and our government and that it is directed at trans men and women, whom many see as sexual predators and as mentally ill. What the masses are failing to admit is that the trans community is in fact the new focus for social injustices and that this community is being used as the new scapegoat for those who propagate their hateful religious agendas and bigotry. At this point in time, it is more socially acceptable to be gay, but it remains a disgrace and an abomination to be transgender. So how is all of this seemingly bad news a sign that things are changing for the better?

As with any equal rights movement, the opposition appears to get stronger as the movement makes great strides forward. The fearful and the ignorant will speak up against us, threaten our cause and even our lives. But they are inadvertently helping us gain more ground by showing the leaders at the top that it is time for change. Life has drastically changed in the past thirty to forty years for the queer community, and every injustice that a trans man or woman suffers at the hands of the oppressors—and often violent perpetrators—becomes one more notch on the scoreboard in favor of our cause. This in no way makes it admissible for any of us to become victims of violence or injustice. Simply put, we should not have to suffer or die in order to have equal rights. But this is the current reality we are facing as a community and as part of this largely divided and misguided society.

So where does this leave us now, and what must we do to move forward? For one, we must push harder than ever before. We must live in the face of opposition and not give into fear. Our stories need to be told and heard, and more of us need to flood the media outlets and share our journeys. Visibility in large numbers is the key to persuading our local and national leaders that we will not stand for it any longer. If we are to be known as “The United States of America,” tremendous changes will have to take place and local and state authorities will have to yield in front of our federal laws. This country has the potential to be great, and undoubtedly it is on its way there. But it is ultimately our responsibility to bring about those changes and a new day when our nation can proudly say, “United we stand!

Daliah Husu is the author of “I Am Woman: Surviving the Past, the Present, & the Future,” and she can be found on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and her personal website.

[amazonjs asin=”B01F9FW99K” locale=”US” title=”I Am Woman: Surviving the Past, the Present, & the Future by Daliah Husu (2016-03-23)”]

The current flap in conservative Christian circles about bathroom access is a bit baffling. They shout about God not making mistakes, as if God only works in binaries and anything falling outside of black and white cannot be from him. But we don’t have a black and white God; creation is so full of color and variation that it’s incomprehensible how we Christians struggle to pare him down to the limited palette of our individual expectations.

The worst offenders are the Christian’s who claim to take the Bible literally. Of course they don’t actually do that; they impose their own filters on stories and phrases to fit their particular ideology. If they really did as they claim to do, they would quickly see that Jesus must be, by their own exegetical rules, the first transgender male.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible and Christianity tell us.

The teaching of the church from ancient days through today is that Jesus received his fleshly self from Mary. The church also teaches that Jesus is the new Adam, born of the new Eve.

Now Eve is a fascinating creature for many reasons. The Bible tells us she is the first example of human cloning, which I touched on in this post. But the fun doesn’t stop there. If we take the Genesis account in it’s literal meaning, as conservative Christians demand that we do, she is also the first case of a transgender woman. God reached into Adam, pulled out a bit of rib bone, and grew Eve from that XY DNA into Adam’s companion. She was created genetically male, and yet trans-formed into woman.

Then Along Comes Jesus

Now the whole pattern is both repeated and reversed. The first couple’s refusal to cooperate is turned around by Mary’s yes, and the second act of cloning occurs. The Holy Spirit comes upon the second Eve, and the child takes flesh from her and is born. Born of her flesh. Born with XX chromosome pairing. Born genetically female, and yet trans-formed into man.

States that do not support trans persons’ right to choose the restroom that fits their identity demand that bathroom usage be based on a person’s “biological sex.” One can imagine a future in which state licences require not only a vision test, but also a genetic test so that bouncers proofing at bathroom doors have something tangible to review. And that means that if Jesus and Eve were walking around today, perhaps shopping at the mall for a Father’s Day gift, they’d have to swap restrooms. Now Jesus could surely manage to finesse his way around a woman’s room, but poor Eve…

A quick look at the dictionary for the prefix “trans” tells us that it means “across,” “beyond,” “through,” and “changing thoroughly,” all of which are great terms for the person of Christ. He cuts across all boundaries. He is beyond our understanding. He is through all and in all. He changes us thoroughly into new creations.

In his person, and in his salvific actions, Jesus is truly the first and forever trans man.

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I prayed when my son, Chris, who was assigned female at birth came out as transgender at age 12 that one day he would be able to experience a life of freedom as I had been given. I worried for his safety and delved into a comfortable role of advocate. I became my son’s bullet proof vest. I was in the front lines taking the bullets before they even dare look his way. I fought the bathroom battle with his school and with the help of the NYCLU I won. He has been using the boy’s room at school for almost 4 years without incident. As his senior year approached he obtained his driver’s license, got his first job and his first car just like I did at his age. I had hoped we were home free but freedom was just out of his grasp. He decided to go to a local community college next year in part because he feared how a college would handle the roommate, bathroom and locker room situation with a transgender student. I wanted to put his mind at ease but fear kept me from doing so. I would no longer be his comfortable bullet proof vest if he were to live away from home. We both have watched the anti-LGBT laws coming about this year with angst in our hearts. What if my son wanted to travel and was unsure of the latest bathroom bill along the way? Would my son’s life be put at risk when he needed to perform a basic human function? Instead of being excited for his future I began to fear his safety more and more when he was out of sight.

My fear dissipated a bit when the Federal government and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch took action and sued NC’s anti-LGBT HB2. My heart was filled with gratitude when Ms. Lynch spoke directly to transgender people and assured them that the government would not stand for discrimination of any kind. But, I also knew this was only one state. I knew we needed sweeping action to protect transgender people in every state and I worried with my son very quickly becoming a young man it may not come soon enough. I would soon breathe a sigh of relief when a hero brought me another life changing moment of freedom, as that early morning trip listening to In the Air Tonight did and that hero was: President Obama.

Dear President Obama,

Mary J. Moss

Feisty single mom to a terrific 17-year-old boy who just happens to be transgender.
Email me at: transparentmary@gmail.com
Tweet me at: @MsMaryMoss

Source
Author: Mary J. Moss

2. This party potty knows we are gathered here today only to get through this thing called a bowel movement:

3. These works of art just want you to get your business done.

4. This type A bathroom respects the rules and lays it all out (but also doesn’t give a fuck about your personal life):

5. Could. Not. Care. Less:

6. Feelin’ butch? Feelin’ fab? Great, hurry up there’s a huge line out here:

7. These dapper flappers only hope you, at the very least, remember to wash your hands:

8. And this loo accepts all life forms:

9. Seriously. Come one, come all, and don’t forget to flush:

10. Maybe you’d prefer one position to another? Whatever helps you work through that indian buffet from lunch:

11. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ :

12. When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go — just don’t graffiti the goddamn stalls:

13. Lady, gent, human with amazing hair? Get in here and get it done:

14. Royal blood or commoner, you’re welcome on this porcelain throne:

15. Viking lord or lady? Rest your Norse arse on this seat and raid the TP:

16. Gals n’ guys? Unzip those flies!

17. This WC doesn’t care if you don’t agree, just fuckin’ pee:

18. Punk is alive and well in this toilet for the masses:

19. What’s behind this magical door? Probably a bunch of toilets for you to sit on! How glorious:

20. You can cut it anyway you like, just don’t leave the sink on:

21. And really, there are so many other important things you should be focusing on while in the restroom, like your aim:

Source
Author: Sarah Karlan

The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education removed prohibitive language in its policy on defensive weapons this week but will continue to debate which items will be allowed on campus, reported the Salisbury Post.

One school board member said pepper spray and other chemical irritants should be allowed in case a court strikes down the state’s controversial HB2, better known as the anti-LGBT “bathroom bill.”

“Depending on how the courts rule on the bathroom issues, it may be a pretty valuable tool to have on the female students if they go to the bathroom, not knowing who may come in,” said board member Chuck Hughes.

An editorial in the Salisbury Post said the policy — and Hughes’ reasoning — were misguided.

“Actually, LGBT people — often targeted by bullies — might have more reason to carry pepper spray than most students,” the editorial board wrote.

Board members agreed to allow chemical irritant and other defensive items onto school property, rather than requiring them to remain locked in student vehicles, so students would not violate the ban if they forgot to remove the items from their purses or pockets.

“I don’t want to put the students in this weird situation when they didn’t really do anything, they just happened to forget to check their purse every single day,” said board member Travis Allen.

A local gun shop owner said he was concerned about the policy, saying he does not sell pepper spray and similar weapons to customers younger than 18 years old.

“It’s going to be risky,” said gun shop owner Larry Hyatt.

Allen dismissed concerns about allowing items designed specifically as defensive weapons, saying he could harm someone with a spray bottle of Windex or ammonia — or even by using a laptop computer as a weapon.

Board members agreed to allow students to carry disposable razors, as well — although they maintained a ban on straight-edge razors.

After some disagreement on razors, board members agreed to specify that personal razors should be used for shaving only while at school.

Source – RawStory.com

A person’s external genitals, the feds said, are “but one component of sex and not always determinative of a person’s sex.”

DOJ’s lawsuit highlights statements by North Carolina officials in support of the law, including a statement from Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R), who has said that a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance in Charlotte “would have given pedophiles, sex offenders, and perverts free rein to watch women, boys and girls undress and use the bathroom.”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the lawsuit “is about a great deal more than just bathrooms” and affects the “dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens.” Speaking directly to the citizens of North Carolina, where she herself was born and raised, Lynch said the law inflicts “further indignity on a population that has already suffered far more than its fair share.”

“This is not the first time that we have seen discriminatory responses to historic moments of progress for our nation,” Lynch said. “We saw it in the Jim Crow laws that followed the Emancipation Proclamation. We saw it in fierce and widespread resistance to Brown v. Board of Education. And we saw it in the proliferation of state bans on same-sex unions intended to stifle any hope that gay and lesbian Americans might one day be afforded the right to marry.”

“That right, of course, is now recognized as a guarantee embedded in our Constitution, and in the wake of that historic triumph, we have seen bill after bill in state after state taking aim at the LGBT community,” she went on. “Some of these responses reflect a recognizably human fear of the unknown, and a discomfort with the uncertainty of change. But this is not a time to act out of fear. This is a time to summon our national virtues of inclusivity, diversity, compassion and open-mindedness.”

The attorney general added that “what we must not do — what we must never do — is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans, for something they cannot control, and deny what makes them human. This is why none of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insists that a person pretend to be something they are not, or invents a problem that doesn’t exist as a pretext for discrimination and harassment.”

The administration’s lawsuit, announced at a press conference at Justice Department headquarters, came the same day that North Carolina officials sued the federal government for threatening to withhold federal education funds after DOJ’s Civil Rights Division informed the state that the bathroom measure violated federal civil rights laws. North Carolina’s lawsuit against the feds maintains that the state is “protecting the bodily privacy rights of state employees” and that the Justice Department is engaged in “baseless and blatant overreach” of its authority.

The Justice Department has argued that gender discrimination can occur against people who do not conform to gender stereotypes, such as transgender students. The Obama administration told an appeals court last year that “treating a student adversely because the sex assigned to him at birth does not match his gender identity is literally discrimination ‘on the basis of sex.'” The appeals court ruled in favor of a trans student who was denied bathroom access.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said at a Monday press conference that the country was “dealing with a very new, complex and emotional issue” that involved “balancing privacy and equality.” He called on Congress to clarify the law rather than allowing the executive and judicial branches to interpret whether laws intended to protect against gender discrimination also protected transgender individuals.

Source
Author: The Huffington Post News Team

The bill, which bans trans people from using bathrooms that do not match their birth gender, sparked an immediate response from the trans community.

The third-year Wake Forest grad student decided to post a personal response to North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, listing his personal frustrations. The post has been steadily circulating online since it was published last week.

“This is what trans looks like, Gov. McCrory,” Adam Plant writes. “I am trans, I am queer, I am a lover, a writer, an actor, and a singer.”

The rest of the post reads:

I am tired of the stares, the murmured hate, the aggression when I dare to hold another man’s hand on the street.
I am tired of my racing heartbeat, the catch in my breath, the worst case scenarios I have to think of when I walk in a public bathroom.
I am tired of my state supporting hatred and bigotry.
I am tired.
But that doesn’t mean I will ever stop fighting.
This is what trans looks like, Gov. McCrory. I am trans, I am queer, I am a lover, a writer, an actor, and a singer. I am a person of faith and when I was formed from the dust of the earth, the same breath of life that filled your lungs also filled mine. Do not mistake your privilege for superiority. It will not serve you forever. But for now, at the risk of sounding crude, suck it, McCrory.
I am trans, and I am not going away. Deal with it.

Plant originally posted the message privately, only setting it to public after urging from his friends. It now has well over 6,000 likes and has been shared thousands of times.

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“I had been struggling all weekend to articulate how I felt about the passing of HB2, but couldn’t find the words to express how I was feeling,” Plant told BuzzFeed News.

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Jenny L. Viars, Dancing Lemur Photography

A dedicated man of faith, Plant is currently studying at Wake Forest’s School of Divinity. The idea to publicly air his grievances was sparked during a discussion in his Old Testament class.

“We were talking about the book of Psalms. One of the forms that the Psalms take are laments, and my professor described them as ‘complaining in faith to God’ — a way for people to express their feelings of anger, frustration, and grief and to feel as if someone was hearing them,” Plant explained.

He added that writing the post was “cathartic.”

“[It was] a release of many conflicting emotions that I was no longer able to contain,” he said.

“It has been so overwhelming,” Plant said of the response his post has received. “The support and affirmation I have received has been incredibly moving.”

Plant hopes to use his voice and “relative place of privilege” to continue advocating for those the bill targets.

“The South is full of good, loving people, and this is not the picture that I want to be painted of our state,” he said. “We are not this.”

Source
Author: Sarah Karlan