Trans Universe

I have been keeping track of where people are logging in from and I am very pleasantly surprised to see that I have been getting hits from over 40 different countries, from all over the world and on every continent. I just want to take this time to welcome my international readers. It is so wonderful that the world can stay in communication with each other at an instant. The internet has shrunk the world to a true global village.

I love all of you, not because you are reading my blog, but because you have a desire to stay informed on any issue that interests you. I hope that I can spread out my message to include the needs of my new international friends. If you have any interest that I might be able to fulfill, don’t ever hesitate to ask. If I don’t have the answer, I’ll find someone who does. I really hope that even without any questions, you will find the time to post a comment here just to say “hello.”

Also, I am taking this chance to put out a special request to my international friends. If any of you are transgender military veterans in your country, or know of transgender military veterans in your country, please have them contact me at president@tavausa.org. As the President of the Transgender American Veterans Association, we want to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters who served in the military in their countries and form a coalition of transgender veterans throughout the world.

Again, thank you all for logging in. Have a great day.

In about a week, we will once again celebrate one of our country’s patriotic holidays, Independence Day, also known as the 4^th of July.  The other two major patriotic holidays are Memorial Day and Veterans Day, whereas Flag Day is a minor one that people seem to miss.  Inevitably, on the three major patriotic holidays, LGB people have a desire to write articles about the need to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  I am fully supportive of the need to repeal this stupid law.  What I’m not happy about is that in these discussions and articles, transgender veterans are always left out.

I’m writing this article a week before the 4^th of July to point out why it is time that transgender people should be included in the DADT discussion and included in the upcoming articles written about it.  Transgender people are at just as much risk of being kicked out under DADT as LGB people are and we now have proof of that.  There should be no excuse for any upcoming articles to leave us on the cutting room floor.

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“Yer a cute girl.”

“I’ll let our mechanic take a look at this.”

“You still have a penis?  Then you’re not really a woman.”

Yes, in order to communicate as a human being, we need to label things to give other people a better understanding on what it is we are talking about.  If it weren’t for labels, we wouldn’t find the right foods in the grocery store.  We have to have labels to take the correct drugs, in the correct combination and at the correct time.  Harsh chemicals need labels to keep us from thinking we can use them in our mix drinks.  Labels not only help make our lives easier, but safer.

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The following was an E-mail response from Pastor Paul Turner, the Senior Pastor for Gentle Spirit Church, Atlanta, GA to an invitation to the Atlanta HRC Dinner, May 3, 2008. Read after the break.

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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…)