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LGBT
Dec 30, 2021 19:25:28 GMT
Post by Admin on Dec 30, 2021 19:25:28 GMT
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LGBT
Jan 2, 2022 15:27:38 GMT
Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2022 15:27:38 GMT
Is The Matrix a trans film? Revisiting the Wachowskis through a trans lens www.alternet.org/2022/01/matrix-movies-trans/With Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections about to hit theatres, we’re going to see a lot of criticism interpreting siblings Lana and Lilly Wachowskis’ body of films through a trans lens. I’m really looking forward to it: it’s a great opportunity for trans critics, and there are so few Hollywood movies – or pop culture in general – with openly trans creators for us to talk about. Lilly Wachowski, quoted in the excellent Cael M. Keegan text The Wachowskis: Sensing Transgender, once said: “There’s a critical eye being cast back on Lana’s and my work through the lens of our transness, and this is a cool thing, because it’s an excellent reminder that art is never static.” The Matrix, being the Wachowskis’ most popular film, is ripe for a trans reading. Vulture critic Andrea Long Chu summarises it as: “Neo has dysphoria. The Matrix is the gender binary. The agents are transphobia. You get it.” I would also caution the risk of the Wachowskis’ art becoming “static” as trans art. Identity politics, celebrity culture and the ritualisation of “coming out” all influence our understanding of the Wachowskis and their work. It would be easy to interpret the Wachowskis’ canon as innately trans, but in doing so, we might be relying too heavily on auteur theory in film.
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LGBT
Jan 3, 2022 11:41:42 GMT
Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2022 11:41:42 GMT
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LGBT
Jan 12, 2022 23:39:21 GMT
Post by Admin on Jan 12, 2022 23:39:21 GMT
POET, PROPHET, FOX: A REVIEW abeautifulresistance.org/site/2022/1/12/poet-prophet-fox-a-review“A book about a trans man set in ancient pagan Ireland, and dedicated to transgendered youth? There couldn’t be a book more perfect for my genderqueer and pagan child. That’s why Salem ended up reading this book before I did, and why this is really two reviews in one: first Salem’s and then mine.”
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LGBT
Feb 15, 2022 15:54:26 GMT
Post by Admin on Feb 15, 2022 15:54:26 GMT
Yes, words can harm young trans people. Here’s what we can do to help February 15, 2022 12.29am GMT theconversation.com/yes-words-can-harm-young-trans-people-heres-what-we-can-do-to-help-176788All children and adolescents have the right to live free from discrimination. However, the public debate last week around the proposed religious discrimination bill threatened this right. While the bill has been shelved, the debate is a continuation of a discussion in which the existence, rights, and lives of trans children and adolescents have been called into question both in Australia and overseas. These young people have endured intensified stigma and discrimination that negatively impacts their health and well-being. Poorer health outcomes Trans people make up between 2.3% to 3.7% of Australia’s youth population. Although many trans people live healthy, fulfilled lives, research from overseas shows a disproportionate number have poorer mental health than their peers. Recent Australian studies paint a similar picture. One study found: 90% of trans young people experienced high or very high psychological distress in the previous four weeks 54% had self-harmed 71% reported suicidal ideation 14% had attempted suicide in the preceding 12 months 38% reported having attempted suicide at some point in their life. Another study found trans young people in Australia were 15 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. Minority stress Minority stress arises from the social, psychological and structural discrimination associated with belonging to a stigmatised minority group. Negative media commentary can directly contribute to minority stress among trans people, as can legislation and policies that seek to exclude trans individuals from schools and workplaces. Negative representations of trans children and adolescents in the media shape public attitudes and practices. This can not only stoke fear and mistrust that further marginalises trans young people, but also lead to violence against them. In Australia, one study found 89% of trans young people had experienced peer rejection. Some 74% had experienced bullying, while 69% had experienced discrimination. Another study found 68% of trans young people in Australia had felt uncomfortable or unsafe in their educational setting because of their gender or sexuality diversity. A third study found young trans Australians were four times more likely to have experienced sexual violence or coercion. Public debate about trans young people also impacts their families. For instance, a recent study reported parents of trans children and adolescents in the United States experienced significant stress as a result of legislation introduced to prevent young trans people accessing medical and surgical gender affirmation. Not surprisingly, parents viewed these bills as increasing stigma towards their child and the broader trans community. Health harms of public debate Apart from fostering stigma and discrimination, public debate about trans people can also negatively impact their health. Physical activity in adolescence is important for long-term health. Trans young people already experience multiple barriers to participating in sport and physical activity. Public commentary questioning involvement of trans people in sport acts as a further obstacle. Negative press coverage about affirmative health care for trans young people has also been associated with reduced referral rates to specialist paediatric gender clinics overseas, and highlights the role public debate is likely to play in reducing access to such care. Finally, trans young people report exposure to negative news stories adversely affects their mental health by provoking experiences of depression, anxiety, and/or fear. So what can we do to help? Strikingly, previous research has shown when trans young people are supported and their gender is affirmed, they have similar mental health outcomes to their cisgender peers. While parental support no doubt plays a key role, emerging evidence indicates having safe and supportive schools is critical too. School safety and connectedness, for example, are protective factors against depression, self-harm, and suicide. Similarly, peer and school support provide a buffer against the negative impact of gender-related victimisation on mental health. Policies and procedures that enable a trans young person’s gender, name and pronouns to be accurately recorded are also important. Research shows having identity documents that match one’s affirmed gender is associated with lower rates of serious psychological distress and suicide. Finally, the media itself may help to promote better health for trans young people. For instance, trans adolescents have reported experiencing happiness and increased hope after exposure to positive news reports about other trans people. Trans young people flourish with support from family, friends, and the broader community. Hopefully, future commentary about trans young people’s rights takes this into account. Associated articles - ‘I will never be considered human’: the devastating trauma LGBTQ+ people suffer in religious settings February 8, 2022 7.12pm GMT theconversation.com/i-will-never-be-considered-human-the-devastating-trauma-lgbtq-people-suffer-in-religious-settings-176360Almost half of trans young people try to end their lives. How can we reduce this alarming statistic? theconversation.com/almost-half-of-trans-young-people-try-to-end-their-lives-how-can-we-reduce-this-alarming-statistic-83221Why the way we approach transgender and non-binary healthcare needs to change theconversation.com/why-the-way-we-approach-transgender-and-non-binary-healthcare-needs-to-change-149816What are gender pronouns and why is it important to use the right ones? theconversation.com/what-are-gender-pronouns-and-why-is-it-important-to-use-the-right-ones-169025
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LGBT
Mar 4, 2022 15:01:19 GMT
Post by Admin on Mar 4, 2022 15:01:19 GMT
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LGBT
Apr 9, 2022 14:22:50 GMT
Post by Admin on Apr 9, 2022 14:22:50 GMT
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LGBT
Apr 28, 2022 18:53:03 GMT
Post by Admin on Apr 28, 2022 18:53:03 GMT
Trans Lifeline: Naming Trans-Specific Harm in Mental Health An interview with Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline who envision a world where trans people have the care everyone needs and deserves – free of prisons and police. By Karin Jervert -April 27, 2022 www.madinamerica.com/2022/04/trans-lifeline-naming-trans-specific-harm-in-mental-health/Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline work towards connecting trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive. Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community. Their hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers and does not contact police without consent. The Cops out of Crisis initiative, which you can learn more about here, does advocacy work based on the negative impact of non-consensual law enforcement intervention and forced hospitalization on those in marginalized populations. The Trans Lifeline envisions a world where trans people have the connection, economic security, and care everyone needs and deserves – free of prisons and police. This is the third and final interview in a series of conversations being conducted around the issue of hotline tracing and intervention. The first interview was with Vanessa Green, founder of Call BlackLine and the second was with Sera Davidow from The Wildflower Peer Support Line. It is part of Mad in America’s Suicide Hotline Transparency Project, which was born out of the belief that creating transparency and public access around suicide hotline intervention and call-tracing policies should be a priority. This project includes a directory of lines that do not trace or intervene without consent, a public poll, survivor interviews, and an open call for art. Please visit the project page to find out how you can participate.
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LGBT
May 12, 2022 19:12:18 GMT
Post by Admin on May 12, 2022 19:12:18 GMT
POLITICS & HISTORY Transgender Legal Battles: A Timeline New laws regarding transgender youth are based on the assumption that the gender binary is natural. daily.jstor.org/transgneder-legal-battles-a-timeline/In 1952, Christine Jorgensen stepped off of a plane from Denmark, where she had received groundbreaking medical care and had grown into herself as a “blonde beauty,” as the New York Daily News declared upon her return to the United States. By most accounts, she was accepted whole-heartedly into mainstream society and fawned upon as an ideal feminine figure, a somewhat unexpected response to the first well-known transgender woman in the country. In a 2011 article in Feminist Studies, historian Emily Skidmore argues that Christine Jorgensen’s success stemmed from her ability to uphold cultural norms of whiteness and femininity, both by playing the part expected of her, and rejecting any associations with “sex deviates” such as gay men, or transgender women without access to sex reassignment surgeries. Ironically, the first key congressional mention of gender identity came almost sixteen years later in 1968, during a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations in which Dr. Stanley F. Yolles, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, described the use of federal funds to study and treat these same “sex deviates”.
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LGBT
May 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT
Post by Admin on May 14, 2022 20:31:04 GMT
NEWS LGBTQ RIGHTS Families of Trans Kids in Texas Struggle With Options Amid Crackdown on Care truthout.org/articles/families-of-trans-kids-in-texas-struggle-with-options-amid-crackdown-on-care/Cameron Wright, 16, has always seen himself as a “dude.” As a young child, Cameron didn’t have the words to explain the disconnect between how he saw himself and how the world saw him. But he knew that despite being born in a girl’s body, he was meant to be a boy. After taking reversible puberty blockers that pause a teenager’s body changes, Cameron considered whether he wanted to begin hormone therapy to physically transition more permanently. He did not take the decision lightly. Cameron said his doctor made him spend almost a year mulling over the question, working with his therapist, and thinking through the life-altering implications before the doctor believed he was ready to start taking the medications in 2020. “I thought about if I stayed a girl, life would be so much easier,” said Cameron, who uses the pronouns he and him. “But this is what I want, and I’m not going to let anything stop me from being who I want to be, whether it’s hard or not.”
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LGBT
May 30, 2022 16:14:56 GMT
Post by Admin on May 30, 2022 16:14:56 GMT
Opinion: Biological Science Rejects The Sex Binary, And That’s Good For Humanity www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/opinion-biological-science-rejects-the-sex-binary-and-thats-good-for-humanity/At the recent U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Marsha Blackburn triggered controversy when she asked Jackson to define the word “woman.” After Jackson declined, several Republican congresspeople chimed in with definitions for “woman” that ranged from dubious to shocking, including “the weaker sex,” “someone who has a uterus,” and “X chromosomes, no tallywhacker.” Such notions haven’t evolved much since 1871, when naturalist Charles Darwin told the world that “man is more courageous, pugnacious, and energetic than women, and has more inventive genius.” Most 19th- and 20th-century evolutionary theories (and theorists) asserted that evolution created two kinds of creatures—male and female—and individuals’ behavior and nature reflected this biological binary. Today a chorus of scientific-sounding claims about “blue and pink” brains, testosterone, and male primate aggression are offered up as natural explanations for masculine and feminine behavior, along with gaps in pay, jobs, political and economic leadership, and sexuality. In the political and legal realms, the belief that biology creates two types of humans is invoked in a range of attempts to mandate and enforce how humans should behave. These assertions and beliefs are wrong. In addition, the commitment to a simple binary view creates a fictitious template for a “battle of the sexes” that manifests in miseducation about basic biology, the denigration of women’s rights, the justifications of incel and “men’s rights” violence, and the creation of anti-transgender laws. Science points to a more accurate and hopeful way to understand the biology of sex. By recognizing the true diversity of the human experience, humanity can embrace an expansive and multifaceted way of envisioning and experiencing human nature. This evidence-based outlook is not only far more interesting than the simplistic and incorrect “tallywhacker versus no tallywhacker” perspective, but also more conducive to respect and flourishing. Starting at the most basic level of animal biology, there are multitudes of ways to be female or male or both. The oceans are filled with species of fish that change from one sex to another midlife, and some who change back again. There are invertebrate hermaphrodites and ladies-only lizards who reproduce by recombining their own chromosomes. In some mammals, females are brimming with testosterone and have large “penises.” In various fish and mammals, males do all the caretaking of infants. And in a variety of species, females are authoritarian, promiscuous, and—yes, Darwin—pugnacious. Of course, there are patterned differences between females and males in many species. But there is far more diversity, complexity, and collaboration than most people realize. When one looks closer at the biology of sex in animals, including humans, it is clear that Darwin, biologist E.O. Wilson, geneticist Angus Bateman, and various Republican politicians are minimally way off base and mostly flat out wrong. "Man/woman and masculine/feminine are neither biological terms nor rooted exclusively in biology." Sex, biologically, is not simply defined or uniformly enacted. In humans, having two X chromosomes or an X and a Y chromosome does not create binary bodies, destinies, or lives. If we could crawl into the womb with a fetus at about six to eight weeks of age, we’d see a few clusters of cells in the emerging body get nudges by DNA activity and start to generate new organs, including the clitoris and penis, labia and scrotum, ovaries and testes. All genitals are made from the exact same stuff. Since they have a few differing end functions, their final form is different. But there is a lot of overlap. In fact, of the 140 million babies born last year, at least 280,000 did not fit into a clear penis versus labia model of sex determination. Genitals, hormone levels, and chromosomes are not reliable determinants of sex. There are, for example, people with XY chromosomes who have female characteristics, people with ambiguous genitalia, and women with testosterone levels outside the typical “female” range. Biologically, there is no simple dichotomy between female and male. As I demonstrate in my book Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You, brains are no more “sexed” at birth than are kidneys and livers. Rather, brains are “mosaics” of characteristically female and male features. Read an excerpt from Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: “Busting Myths About Sex and Gender” Of course, there are clear bodily differences in capacities to give birth and lactate, and ranges of patterns in the development and distribution of body size, strength, and myriad other processes. But such patterns are mostly overlapping, and only a few are distributed in clear or functional dichotomies. Numerous studies have found that the differences between adult men and women are overhyped and largely influenced by the dynamics of biology and culture. Humans are naturenurtural—a fusion of nature and nurture. For example, many explanations for differences between males and females rest on assumptions about the disparate evolved costs of reproduction between them. But human reproduction is more complex than two individuals having sex, then the female giving birth and taking care of the offspring. While today it is common in many societies for women to raise children on their own or with a male (who often does not contribute equally to child-rearing), this setup developed very recently in human history. There is massive evidence that the genus Homo (humans) evolved complex cooperative caretaking more than a million years ago, changing the patterns and pressures of our evolution. Such “alloparenting” practices are still widespread among many human groups, in which mothers and fathers, grandparents, other female and male relatives, and boys and girls in the community all help feed, teach, and care for children. This complex overlap in social and reproductive roles is exciting and hopeful. When it comes to raising kids, humans don’t come in two kinds. Rather, we evolved to be a collaborative and creative community. The data-driven bottom line is that “man/woman” and “masculine/feminine” are neither biological terms nor rooted exclusively in biology. The lack of an explicit binary is especially evident in humans given the complex neurobiologies, life histories, and morphological dynamics in our species. There are many successful, biologically diverse ways to be human, and millions of people embody this diversity. Growing up human means growing up in a world of varying gender expectations, body types, reproductive options, family structures, and sexual orientations. So, instead of listening to people who are misogynistic, sexist, or homo/transphobic; incels; or politicians who base their ideologies on a biological sex binary and myths about its evolution, we can and should be open to a serious understanding of biology and its better options for human flourishing. The simple male/female binary does not effectively express the normal range of being human. Understanding this and incorporating it into our education, lives, and laws offers better possibilities, greater equity, and more joy for human society.
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Post by Admin on May 31, 2022 17:19:27 GMT
Trans Lifeline: Naming Trans-Specific Harm in Mental Health An interview with Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline who envision a world where trans people have the care everyone needs and deserves – free of prisons and police. By Karin Jervert -April 27, 2022 www.madinamerica.com/2022/04/trans-lifeline-naming-trans-specific-harm-in-mental-health/Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline work towards connecting trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive. Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community. Their hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers and does not contact police without consent. The Cops out of Crisis initiative, which you can learn more about here, does advocacy work based on the negative impact of non-consensual law enforcement intervention and forced hospitalization on those in marginalized populations. The Trans Lifeline envisions a world where trans people have the connection, economic security, and care everyone needs and deserves – free of prisons and police. This is the third and final interview in a series of conversations being conducted around the issue of hotline tracing and intervention. The first interview was with Vanessa Green, founder of Call BlackLine and the second was with Sera Davidow from The Wildflower Peer Support Line. It is part of Mad in America’s Suicide Hotline Transparency Project, which was born out of the belief that creating transparency and public access around suicide hotline intervention and call-tracing policies should be a priority. This project includes a directory of lines that do not trace or intervene without consent, a public poll, survivor interviews, and an open call for art. Please visit the project page to find out how you can participate. The transcript below has been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the audio of the interview here.
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Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2022 17:25:40 GMT
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? From Christopher Scott Thompson: “In the United States before the Civil War, any position other than abolitionism was collaboration. The same thing is true when it comes to transgender issues.” abeautifulresistance.org/site/2022/6/8/which-side-are-you-onNO MORAL MIDDLE They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there. You’ll either be a union man Or a thug for J. H. Blair… Which side are you on? I’ve always loved this old labor song, which dates back to the Harlan County War of 1931-1939 and the coal miners’ struggle to organize a union. I love how it frames the conflict as a stark moral choice: “You’ll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair.” Many conflicts in life are more nuanced than the participants would like to admit. Many are matters about which reasonable people could disagree, matters about which family members and friends often do disagree. You don’t stop being family because of that type of disagreement. Some conflicts are not like that. Between abolitionists and slave owners there was no moral middle ground. Between the Nazi regime and the Resistance, there was no moral middle ground. The center, in such conflicts, is a position with no moral integrity. In Nazi-occupied Europe, any position other than resistance was collaboration. In the United States before the Civil War, any position other than abolitionism was collaboration. The same thing is true when it comes to transgender issues. EIGHT AGAINST ONE Imagine you’re walking in the park with a few of your friends, not bothering anyone, just enjoying the sunlight and the fresh air. Enjoying the company. Suddenly, two young men appear and start calling you a “pixie,” mocking you because you don’t dress or act the way they think you should. Now imagine they’re both armed with sticks. You start to run, knowing that if they catch you, these hate-filled boys who are suddenly hunting you, they could beat you to death with those sticks they’re holding. How would you feel? What would you do? This happened to my child, to my loving, intelligent, and creative child who is just about to turn 14. At an age when they shouldn’t have to be afraid of anything they were literally running for their life – for no other reason than our society’s hatred for transgender people. And it wasn’t the only time. Just a few weeks later, while waiting for their mother to pick them up from school, my kid was surrounded by a group of eight boys. The boys kept circling them, demanding they sing the song “I’m a Barbie Girl.” Demanding, in other words, that they affirm their femininity in the most degrading way their imaginations could conceive of. In the first of those incidents, my kid suddenly found a stick, picked it up, and turned around to confront the cowards who were chasing them. Those boys turned and ran the second they realized they were facing a fight, even though they still had the advantage of numbers. In the second incident, my kid refused to sing the song, despite the terror of being outnumbered eight to one. As the attackers gave up and wandered off one by one, the two most aggressive boys remained and continued to insist that they sing the Barbie Girl song. Suddenly my child took off their backpack and said, “You’d better back off or I’m going to fuck you up.” “You can’t do that,” said one of the boys, not knowing who he was dealing with. That’s when my kid came in swinging. This is the world transgender youth live in every day. A world where they can never feel safe, where they can never afford to let their guard down. A world like that is like the Harlan County War; there are no neutrals. You’re either one of the people helping my child be a little safer, helping them feel like they have a place on this Earth – or you’re one of those people circling them, telling them to perform gender correctly or take the punishment for their defiance. Which side are you on?
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LGBT
Jun 14, 2022 13:17:34 GMT
Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2022 13:17:34 GMT
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LGBT
Jun 17, 2022 13:29:11 GMT
Post by Admin on Jun 17, 2022 13:29:11 GMT
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