Trans Universe

By Monica F. Helms

Today is a special day, a day that transgender bloggers across the country put fingers to keyboard to urge their friends and readers that we need to support Senator Barack Obama for President. This has been a historical week, but one we should have never seen. We have had eight years of a failed administration, led by a man who has failed in every company he has run, and failed as the Governor of Texas. Seems easy to see that if he can’t handle a company, should he have been handling a country?

On a Monday when the Dow had its highest numerical drop in history, transgender people are rallying to show that our community cares about the future of this country. We don’t want four more years of this failed policy. We want four years of an administration that actually supports the needs of the transgender community. We want four years of a chance to recover and to prosper once again. We want four years where other countries in the world trusts us once again. We want Obama!

This is why we have set this day aside to break some goals in the number of those who donate to Obama’s campaign from the transgender community, our friends and family members. We are looking for 200 donations and as I type this, we have 172. We also set out to break $10,000, which we have. I think we can bring both numbers well past the goals we set for ourselves.

To donate in the name of the transgender community, go to the Obama’s Transgender ActBlue page set up specifically for the transgender community. You don’t have to be trans to donate on that page. Our friends and allies who believe in equal rights for all people need to visit this page and help Obama’s campaign and show how much you support your transgender friends and family members. Let’s move this country in the right direction. Let’s help Obama win the White House.

By Monica F. Helms

   On Wednesday, October 1, I will be on a plane heading west to Southern California.  A Beach Boys song keeps ringing in my ears, “I wish they all could be California Girls!”  Ah, yes.  California girls.  My mind does wonder at times.  I will be in the San Diego area, the place I lived when stationed on the USS Flasher (SSN 613.)  I have several trans friends who live there and I plan on seeing them.

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By Monica F. Helms

I’m sure blog readers have heard the phrase “Friends with Benefits” quite often, since they consist of some rather sophisticated people out there.  Whenever people hear “FWB,” it conjures up all kinds of lustful images in their minds, mostly about noncommittal sex with a good friend.  This phrase came in existence in about the late 80’s, early 90’s by the younger crowd, but it has worked its way to all generations.

This subject has come up on occasions with some of my friends and ex-girlfriends, discussing it at lengths, which made me feel the need to write about my feeling on this.  The Internet has plenty of pages on FWB, so I’m not breaking into new territory.  Of course, most of what you find on the Internet has been geared toward straight people, but the idea has become common in the LGBT community as well.

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By Monica F. Helms

I received a phone call from a good friend, Zan Thorton, telling me that Congressman Barney Frank had fifteen disabled people arrested in his office, Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at around 3 PM.  Zan informed me that around fifty LGBT and straight disabled people entered the Congressman’s office around 1:30 PM and asked to speak to him about the housing crisis for disabled people.  They were there representing the Center for Disability Rights.

According to the Congressman’s Chief of Staff, Peter Kovar, the group, several in wheelchairs, came into the office, went right into Congressman Frank’s office and “moved things around” to have a place to sit.  He informed them that they couldn’t be in there and that Frank was about to go to the House floor for a vote.

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I heard a recently discussion that some transgender people feel far less patriotic toward the Good ‘Ol US of A since beginning their journey down this new adventure in life.  I have heard it coming from transsexuals and others who live full-time in a cross-gender life, but not so much from crossdressers and others who cross the gender lines temporarily.  Why would transsexuals feel this way?

Dictionary.com’s definition of Patriotism is:

“noun: devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.”

“Devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country?”  I have noticed that transsexuals who have served their country in the military don’t seem to have as much of an issue with their patriotism, and in many cases, are more patriotic than the average American.  I served eight years in the Navy and I am very proud of the service to my country, as I am with all the family members who also served.  I even have a memorial to my father with models of four jets he worked on when he was in the Air Force.  In a year, my mother will give me the flag that was on his coffin, and I will display it proudly.

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