Trans Universe

Trans Universe would like to welcome our first new contributing author, Zan Thornton. Zan is a good friend of mine and has been a strong advocate for the rights of Disable Americans, specifically the rights of the hearing impaired for the last 10 years. Zan uses the word “deaf” and says those who are hearing impaired are not offended with that word.

Zan knows American Sign Language and has been an activist in the LGBT community for 30 years. She was one of the people who helped with the highly successful Olympics Out of Cobb Campaign in 1996. Just before the Olympics, Cobb County passed a resolution saying that “‘gay lifestyle’ was incompatible with the community’s standards.”

When the Olympics came to Atlanta in 1996, Cobb County was slated to hold the volleyball venue there. The LGBT community reacted quickly and decisively and after several protests and actions, the Atlanta Olympic Committee finally pulled the event out of Cobb. The county - home of Newt Gingrich at the time - later rescinded that resolution.

Zan served in the Army from July 1982 to July 1988 and is a member of the local chapter of the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER.) Her and I met at a chilly Veterans’ Day Parade in 2006, which was the first time the AVER Atlanta Chapter was allowed to march. Some people turned their backs on us or screamed obscenities as we passed by. Several problems occurred again in 2007 when some bigots accused us of showing some public display of affection in 2006. I was wondering how we were able to do that when we were marching in cadence. Paraphrasing Shakespeare, “The (people) dost protest too much, me thinks.”

Welcome Zan! I hope to see some good stuff come out of you. (No pressure.) <giggle>

The saying, “These colors don’t run” is one most every American has heard at one time or another, referring to the colors on the American Flag. It’s a saying that is supposed to tell everyone not to mess with America because we will not back down from a fight. Of course, in recent years, we happen to become the bully, picking on other countries first.

In the recent intense situation of transgender people fighting for their rights, I have decided to adopt the same attitude toward those who want to prevent us from being included in equal rights legislation. “These colors don’t run,” but the colors are not that of the American Flag, but of another flag that has been seen more and more lately, the Transgender Pride Flag.

Created in 1999, the flag that has been used mostly by the transgender community has five stripes on it. The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives. The one in the picture above is the original flag. (more…)

In 2001, I joined a Yahoo Group by the name of TSVets, which still exists to this day. This is a group that is opened to all transsexuals who have served our country in the military. The list has a variety of veterans from all branches of the service, all the modern wars, different ranks, different income levels and different levels of surgical status. Some are completely healthy, while others are disabled or have PTSD. In short, they are no different than the rest of America’s veterans.

As time went on, I realized that even though transgender veterans did all the same things in the military as their non-trans veterans counterparts did, the Veterans Administration medical facilities did not treat them equally as they did all the other veterans. We know today that the VA has a dismal record when it comes to how they treat all veterans. Transgender veterans would just like to be treated equally as crappy as everyone else.

I did not like what I heard on the TSVets list about the treatment some transgender veterans received at the VA and I discussed it with my friend Angela Brightfeather, an Army veteran and activist from North Carolina. At the time, we both served on the Activism Committee of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC.) She saw this as an important issue to undertake, which later led to the creation of the VA Committee in NTAC. As we dug deeper into the issues, we realized that the problems were not something a committee could handle, so we formed the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) in January, 2003, a national 501 (c) 3 organization.   (more…)

Many of us in the LGBT community are painfully aware of the religious fundamentalists who have such a wonderful time coming up with lies and fear tactics to throw out to the uneducated masses. They know full well that a great deal of those Americans will believe anything they are told, if you follow it up with “Praise the Lord.” Of course, their true God is the Almighty Dollar, which they get in abundance from those people who don’t know any better.

We hear a lot about the Islamic fundamentalists and how they are such a threat to America. In many ways, they are ranked amateurs compared to the Christian fundamentalists here in the US. Oh yes, we hear of gays being executed in the country that has no gays, Iran. I’m sure that every time that happens, Beverly LaHaye, ChairMAN of the Concerned “June Cleavers” for America, salivates, hoping we get a Republican President who will support that as well. I’m sure she would like it if President Eddie Haskell “gave us the business.” (The “June Cleaver” comment is not to put down the beloved character in “Leave it to Beaver,” but to emphasize the time period their mindset is in.)

Not to make light of it, but the Christian fundamentalists are a dangerous group of people, even if there weren’t any gay people for them to hate. Mike Huckabee’s comments on wanting to change the Constitution to reflects God’s laws instead of the Founding Fathers’ wonderful ideas is a prime example of the danger this group of Americans can be. (more…)