T-Equality Blog

Making Calls in Support of ENDA

2009-07-02T09:32:00.001-04:00

For the last week, in my capacity as an NCTE intern, I have been making calls to congressional staffers to urge them to have their member of Congress sign-on as a co-sponsor to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). To be honest, it can be slightly nerve racking to make a cold call to a congressional office, and eventually I did get tired of hearing my own voice. Yet, I was surprised with how rewarding the simple act of making a call can be. Over the course of a week I spent several hours calling and witnessed the number of co-sponsors jump quite significantly (we currently have 127 co-sponsors).

Certainly I cannot take sole credit for this, many others in the office were also making calls, and I know many of you at home were doing the same. The rollout of ENDA was yet another example of the power of grassroots action. I had many a staffer tell me that they had met with constituents or received calls from them in regards to ENDA and would be looking into co-sponsorship. The next day I would see their names added to the list.

So thank you to all of you who have already made calls. Let’s keep it up! I promise when you see your member’s name added to the co-sponsorship list you will feel the same sense of satisfaction I have these last few days.

You can find out who your Representative is by following this link. Once you find out who your Representative is you can go to their website to find the number of their DC office or you can call the Congressional Switch board at (202)224-3121.

Let the revolution continue

2009-06-29T16:41:00.004-04:00

Forty years ago, queer people famously fought back against the police when they raided a bar called the Stonewall Inn in New York City. It was a time when people whose sexual orientation or gender identity set them apart from society had begun to form political, social, religious and cultural institutions where they could gather with like-minded people. The revolutionary impact of Stonewall was not that organizing hadn’t taken place before; it was that when the police cracked down on the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, they were met with people willing to defend their rights with increasing strength. Symbolically, it meant that government and societal oppression would not be simply accepted or left unchallenged.

The people in that bar used different words to describe themselves and faced a different world than LGBT people today do. In a very real sense, we are the descendants of those rebellious people of Greenwich Village and the pioneers who worked for LGBT rights before and after those famous nights in June 1969.

At NCTE, we honor all those who stood up for themselves and, ultimately, for us. We recognize that among the people at the Stonewall Inn on that fateful night were people along a wide range of the gender spectrum—drag queens, butches, cross-dressers and more. Their courage and determination moved us forward.

This year, the White House is holding a reception to honor the anniversary of Stonewall and this is how it should be. It is important that the highest levels of our government recognize the times when Americans took action to make our society freer and brought it further in line with the democratic ideals we proclaim. It is more important, however, that we are inspired to continue that work and keep alive the spirit of self-determination.

NCTE is attending this afternoon’s reception as a way of honoring the transgender people and those who fought beside them in the Stonewell Rebellion. It is also a way to reaffirm that civil rights for transgender people must apply everywhere from city streets to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Let the revolution continue …

View the video of President Obama's remarks.

Week in Review

2009-06-26T15:27:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy week, so we put together a summary of the major pieces of legislation and policy that we have been working on, plus detailed information about how you can learn more and take action.

This has been an important week in our work for transgender equality. Find out now what you can do. View our Week in Review.

Thanks!

Hate crimes hearing

2009-06-25T16:09:00.002-04:00

The Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on S.909, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, are still available on their website. Follow the link on Harper Jean's post below to view it. You can also view NCTE's testimony online.

Please continue to tell your Senators to support the measure and work for its passage. If you call the Senate, please make sure that you are absolutely clear that you support the bill.

Live webcast of Senate Hate Crimes hearing

2009-06-25T09:54:00.005-04:00

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing today at 10 a.m. on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. Witnesses will include Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Gail Heriot, among others. The hearing will be webcast live from the committee's website. Hearing video is also typically archived for later viewing.

New York Times article on federal employees

2009-06-24T08:22:00.003-04:00

Today's New York Times includes an article about the Obama Administration's work to ban employment discrimination based on gender identity. You can find the story in the print edition on page A17 and online.

The article includes statements from John Berry, the Director of the federal Office of Personnel Management and NCTE's Mara Keisling:

"'The president is making a very clear statement that transgender people won’t be discriminated against,' said Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, a group that has been talking with the White House about the new provisions."

Eliminating Prison Rape

2009-06-23T18:19:00.004-04:00

This morning, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission issued a comprehensive report of its work to investigate the causes and impact of sexual assault in prison and their recommendations of ways to address and eliminate this crime. The bipartisan commission was formed as a result of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, which was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress.

The report demonstrates a notable awareness of transgender issues, with sensitivity and specific recommendations to address the very clear and heightened risk of sexual assault faced by transgender people who are incarcerated. At NCTE, we applaud the work of the commission and their inclusion of urgently needed standards to increase the safety of transgender people within the prison system. We particularly want to thank all of the transgender and allied advocates who advised the commission and the transgender people who courageously shared their stories that became a part of this report. The impact of their work is clear here.

The rape of prisoners by officials, guards and other inmates is unconscionable and must never be tolerated. We hope that today’s report will move us one step closer to safety for transgender people who are behind bars.

Some of the transgender specific areas of the report include:

A recognition that transgender people are particularly at risk for rape and the use of examples of transgender people who have suffered sexual assault

A call for the determination of inmate placement on an individual basis, which is to include a consideration of multiple factors and not simply genital status

An emphasis on protection, rather than segregation: “Segregation must be a last resort and interim measure only. The Commission also discourages the creation of specialized units for vulnerable groups and specifically prohibits housing prisoners based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity because it can lead to demoralizing and dangerous labeling.”

The need for screening of prisoners for risk factors, including gender identity and gender non-conformity, that could make them more vulnerable to sexual assault

A recognition of the particular risks faced by transgender girls who housed with boys in youth facilities, as well as the dangers to adult transgender people

The inclusion of specific language addressing searches of transgender people, “Medical practitioners conduct examinations of transgender individuals to deter¬mine their genital status only in private settings and only when an individual’s genital status is unknown.”

The full report can be ordered, viewed or downloaded on the Commission’s website at http://nprec.us/publication/download/

We will continue to work with advocates for transgender people who are in prison and look to the implementation of the commission’s work.

Mara Keisling Really Just Did Say That

2009-06-18T18:14:00.002-04:00

Whenever I am fortunate enough to be on national television, it seems to get a lot of attention in the trans community. Usually NCTE will hear from transpeople and allies and enemies and usually, no matter how good or bad I thought the particular appearance, we get both positive and negative reviews. Oddly, this time, it was not my appearance on CNN news last week that got the attention and comments, but my giving background information on the telephone to a reporter from CNN.com. We don’t actually keep track, but I think this is the media mention that has generated the most comments in NCTE’s history—both good and bad—and I find that really interesting.

At NCTE, all of us have learned to listen to the comments and learn from them—sometimes we learn to communicate better to the media and sometimes we learn that we need to communicate with transpeople better.

It is clear though that, at the very least, we haven’t adequately communicated to our own family about how and why we do media and what are the things we’d like you to take into account when you hear us in the media. First, be assured that we have a very passionate commitment here to do the very best we know how to do to make a positive difference in the lives of trans people. We may not always get it right, and we recognize that as transpeople we don’t always agree, but everything we do is with an eye towards furthering trans equality.

Let’s talk about what was in the CNN story and how it happened and then I’ll explain why I stand by what I said—though I believe it was given more emphasis than it should have.

Last week, as most of you know, a celebrity was reported to be transitioning. The celebrity in question is not someone I have ever met. Neither he nor his publicist has been in touch directly with NCTE. However they did issue a statement confirming the transition and asking for privacy. This meant that NCTE was going to get calls, but we are very resolute about respecting every transperson’s privacy. If a reporter asked a direct question, giving a “no comment” or too evasive of a response could be read as a negative comment (i.e. we have some issue with this person in particular and that’s why we won’t say).”

The first thing we do at NCTE when a potential big news story emerges is gather a group of experts and advisers and consider a) what is the right messaging and b) who are the right messengers. We take our messenging very serious and approach it thoroughly, thoughtfully and professionally. In this case, the who was much clearer than the what. The half dozen or so folks who met about this initially agreed that one of the best parts of this story was that it was among the first times a celebrity or potential celebrity was going public from the FTM spectrum. This might be a chance for us all to address the relative invisibility of transmen. With that assumption, we all agreed that the best spokespeople for this story would be transmen. Thus, I did almost no media interviews, background or otherwise—just the very first CNN request, a Florida newspaper when a reporter I knew called, and then the CNN television thing when none of the several prepared transmen were available to be near a suitable studio.

So before we had assembled and discussed a strategy, a reporter from CNN called and said something like “so I suppose you have heard that Chastity Bono announced she is having sex change surgery.” I said something like, “be careful, that is not what the announcement from his publicist said. It said he was transitioning.” The reporter said something like “I don’t understand. Don’t you need to have sex change surgery to transition?”

I then explained factually, as I have done over the years to dozens and dozens of reporters that no, transitioning is first and foremost not about surgery but about gender identity and living and expressing that identity. For some people surgery is desired or necessary, for others it is not. For some there are medical contraindications that preclude surgery. And many, if not most, trans people just can’t afford it and many others don’t feel surgery is necessary for them to live consistently with their gender identity. In fact, most transpeople do not have any kind of surgery.

I know that the general public and even transgender people find that surprising, but it is nonetheless true. Every study that I am familiar with supports that. The findings from a survey of 6,500 transpeople that NCTE has jointly conducted with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will be released soon and that study supports this as well. I have no doubt about the accuracy of what I said. Whether it is interpreted to be about “transgender” people, “transsexual” people or even “transsexual people who are living consistently with their gender identity,” it is still accurate. Very few trans people ever have surgery. More importantly though, and the point I made to CNN, is that the important thing for them to consider when covering transgender people is gender identity not surgery.

We have seen that the media and public preoccupation with transition-related surgeries has had demonstrable negative impact on policies that affect transpeople. It should not be acceptable to us or to society that people’s human rights or access to appropriate ID documents or ability to live safely be dependent on their ability to be able to afford surgery which most transpeople cannot. And the preoccupation with our surgeries and the assumption that we all have surgeries or want surgeries makes these bad realities acceptable to the public.

As our collective work to make medical care more available to transpeople succeeds, the numbers of surgeries are likely to rise, but we have an obligation to discuss the realities of transgender lives in ways that are true to who we are and also help advance humane and useful policies.

A challenge to nondiscrimination falls flat

2009-06-18T15:24:00.004-04:00

Opponents of equality, recognizing that they are losing the public debate, have been arguing in a variety of contexts that recognizing the basic civil rights of transgender people, and of LGBT people generally, will somehow threaten the rights of others. These claims are always either nebulous or demonstrably false, so it is no surprise that they were soundly rejected by voters in Gainesville, FL in March of this year. The truth is that securing equality for transgender people in employment, housing, education and public accommodations harms no one and benefits everyone. Although opponents have tried to focus these debates on bathrooms, the truth is that transgender people have to use the bathroom just like everyone else.

This point is illustrated by an ill-conceived, and recently dismissed, lawsuit brought to challenge California Senate Bill 777, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression in education. Anti-equality groups brought this lawsuit last year, claiming that SB 777 is overly vague and violates the rights of teachers and students. They argued that students and teachers would be at risk of unintentionally discriminating against other students because they were unable to ascertain other student’s gender identities. They also argued that students’ safety and privacy would be threatened by having to share a locker room with a transgender student. Several LGBT organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case extensively rebutting these arguments.

Two weeks ago, the Sacramento Superior Court dismissed the suit, saying it was meritless. The court said there was no reason to think the law would be difficult to apply, and the fact that identical laws have been in place in numerous other jurisdictions, and in different areas of California law, without difficulty, indicates that it is not too vague. The court also said that the challengers failed to point to any instance in which the law threatened any individuals’ safety or privacy. The only incident alleged in the suit concerned a student who claimed he was forced to use the same locker room as a transgender student. The court said that this bare, “conclusory” allegation did not suggest any threat to anyone’s safety or privacy. The court appeared to accept, as the LGBT groups argued in their brief, that merely being uncomfortable around someone else is not a violation of one’s rights.

This ruling will doubtless be appealed, and just as surely it will be affirmed. The groups bringing the suit declined the court's invitation to add further allegations showing how students or teachers would be harmed by the nondiscrimination law. Tellingly, the groups declined to do so. In court, opponents of equality can't simply recite vague concerns about "privacy and safety"; they have to be able to back them up. The problem for equality opponents is that they can't back these arguments up with any specifics; there is nothing to them.

46,584 Federal Jobs Available

2009-06-15T10:59:00.002-04:00

A survey conducted in 2006 by The San Francisco Bay Guardian and the Transgender Law Center in the San Francisco Bay Area found a 35% unemployment rate among transgender respondents. We understand that employment discrimination coupled with the downturn in the economy has made it even more difficult for many of us to find jobs.

According the USAJOBS, the official job site of the US Federal Government, there are 46,584 US Government job opportunities worldwide. The Federal Government currently reports that they do not discriminate against applicants on the basis of gender identity and expression. Here at NCTE we are working with our allies to urge the Obama administration to issue an executive order that would solidify a nondiscrimination policy that unequivocally protects transgender applicants from employment discrimination within the Federal Government. We are also actively encouraging the Obama administration to hire qualified transgender people.

Go to http://www.usajobs.gov/ if you are interested in applying to any of the many job opportunities available in the federal government.

Celebrity Visibility

2009-06-12T17:34:00.003-04:00

As I'm sure you've all seen the news by now of Chaz Bono's transition. At NCTE we don't do a great deal of celebrity/media work, but the media have come calling today - in buckets. Normally, much of the celebrity gossippy requests we get are a distraction from our work. We try to keep our focus on our mission of changing national policies and practices.

But here's the good thing about this story. People are really curious to understand what's going on, and what this means for Chaz. For example, here's Mara on CNN this morning:

Embedded video from CNN Video

We've had the opportunity to do some good "Trans 101" trainings with several reporters today. In the midst of one such call, a reporter asked Justin, "So, does it help at all to have celebrities come out as transgender?" At least in this case it has opened up a great conversation with more people in America.

Thanks, Chaz!

Our sympathies

2009-06-10T22:49:00.002-04:00

In the wake of the shooting this afternoon at the Holocaust Museum (CNN's coverage), it is a close-to-home (both literally and figuratively) reminder of the work we still need to do to combat hatred in all its forms. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us, whether we are a staff member at the Holocaust Museum or a trans person.

We extend our sympathies to the family and loved ones of the slain officer, Stephen Tyrone Johns, and to all those impacted by this tragedy.

The Power of Language

2009-06-05T14:36:00.012-04:00

There has been a lot in the news this week regarding language. There was President Obama's recent speech in Cairo, the offensive Sacramento radio show that Justin commented on yesterday, and Bill O'Reilly's excoriating treatment of assassinated doctor, George Tiller. All of this has me thinking a lot about the power of language.

While some of the defense of the radio shock jocks have included protestations that "Come on, it's only words," the criticism of President Obama's speech has also included, "Well we'll see what happens, this is only words." So, do words matter or not?

Unfortunately, those of us who have been the target of hateful speech clearly understand the power of language to harm and to sometimes set the stage for physical harm. Many people have drawn the connection between Bill O'Reilly's comments about Dr. Tiller and his recent murder. And I can't help but notice the unfortunate timing between the Sacramento radio host's words and the recent report from the Triangle Foundation of the shooting of two transgender women near Detroit, MI.

But language can be a force for good as well. Like all power, it's just a tool, like a wrench, that can be used to repair or harm depending upon who wields the tool. Politicians, like President Obama, understand the power of language to lay the foundation for future action. The words help to create a space to allow action to be even possible. Nadine Smith in her recent post on Bilerico encouraged us all to imagine what the world would be like without discrimination and then start acting as if it were true. Words do have power.

Furthermore, our laws are made of words, and while those words alone don't make our lives different, they lay the groundwork for meaningful actions. Like the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act that many of you came to DC to lobby for in April. We all know that hate crimes will still happen even if this bill becomes a law. But the words create a path for action that our government can take in response to future hate crimes.

NCTE exists to end discrimination and violence against transgender people at the federal level. That's a heavy task and, in order to be successful, we need real power to get it done. One aspect of our power is our ability to use language to be persuasive and one piece of evidence of our power is our ability to shape the language of America's laws and policies.

Children are freaks?? Absolutely unacceptable.

2009-06-04T16:39:00.001-04:00

Controversy has been swirling around KRXQ-FM’s radio program, Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning, in Sacramento, California, after two of the hosts made dehumanizing statements this week about transgender children, calling them, among other things, freaks. While we defend the right of free speech, we also know that journalists and commentators have a responsibility to convey accurate information. In this case, in addition to Rob Williams and Arnie States calling trans children names, they incorrectly advocated that taunting, physical violence and therapy could be employed to change a child’s gender identity. This is both cruel and blatantly untrue.

Host Dawn Rossi, however, both stood up for transgender children and, on the evening following the show, spoke with transgender and allied activists and conveyed compassionate and accurate information on the follow up show.

NCTE recognizes the critical work being done on this case by Kim Pearson, Executive Director of Trans Youth Family Allies, as well as transgender blogger Autumn Sandeen, and by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) through their Director of National News, Cindi Creager, and Senior Media Analyst, Andy Marra (a long time member of NCTE). All of them spoke with Dawn Rossi to provide balanced information. Thank you for holding members of the media accountable for their statements and for taking the time to educate people are the realities of trans children.

GLAAD has issued an Action Alert, which we urge you to read and take action.

You can listen to the show and following up programs on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn website.

Working Together for Transgender Children

2009-06-01T16:13:00.004-04:00

In the past few weeks, we’ve fielded some amazing phone calls about transgender children and their families. A school nurse called the other day about a trans child who will be starting 5th grade in the fall. She was looking ahead to ways they could work over the summer to prepare so that the child will have a positive experience. A woman called a couple of weeks ago because her church had refused to allow a 2nd grader to return to their parochial school next year, unless the child was dressed according to her birth gender, not her gender identity. She was outraged that this little girl had been excluded from school activities simply because she had been identified male at birth. She said, “this just isn’t right.” What is right is that she reached out in caring for a child.

We told them both, and the others who have called, is that it matters immensely that these children know they have caring adults in their lives—their parents, educators, fellow church members, cousins, and so on—who will stand up for them. These children are listened to when they say who they are. Their safety and happiness are valued. Things aren’t going to be perfect (but what life is?) but it is going to be better because of caring people around them. What has made the last few weeks interesting to me is that these are people beyond the immediate family—they are getting involved because the lives of children, of transgender children, matters to them. And while it may be cliché to say it takes a village to raise a child, it really is true. We need to care and take action for these kids.

One of the places we refer callers to is the Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA). If you’d like more information about practical ways to support transgender children, please visit their website. They are doing important work.

Today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day; here are few are just a few blogs that wrote about trans families or gender today:

How to Bring Your Kids Up Queer, Bilerico, GenderQueer Mommy

Fly My Pretty, Cross-dressing Toddlers

No Designation, My Two Moms <3 Their Trans Daughter

Q: Who Would Want to Build a Career With a Trans Job?

2009-05-29T17:47:00.003-04:00

A: Some of the best and the brightest, that's who.

As many of you know, NCTE just completed an exhaustive search for a policy analyst to add to our staff. When we began the search I was hopeful that we would get 50-60 applicants to choose from. I assumed we would get plenty of transgender-identified people who wanted to join us, and I expected that we would get many lesbian, gay, and bisexual applicants who are not transgender but who embrace the full LGBT movement.

What I didn’t expect was the sheer volume of applicants, their varied backgrounds, and the large number of people who have no direct connection to transgender rights. We received over 200 applications for this one position. We heard from academics, lawyers, researchers, social workers, and activists of all stripes. There were human rights activists, civil rights activists, and social justice junkies. We heard from longtime workers, career-switchers and newly-minted college grads looking to jump-start their careers.

I’m sure that some of this has to do with the current state of the economy. But that alone can’t account for this unprecedented level of interest. For some of the applicants, they were moved to action after watching family or friends transition and then struggle with inequality. But many people simply consider transgender rights to be the forefront of the civil rights movement. Today, a job working for transgender equality is seen as a career builder and that is a great position for all of us to be in.

TSA in the news....

2009-05-28T16:45:00.003-04:00

MSNBC has an article about the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) new program called Secure Flight. The article can be found here.

This new program requires all airline passengers to submit their full legal name, date of birth, and (of all things) gender to TSA before they are issued a boarding pass. TSA will then take this information and check it against their federal No-Fly list to make sure that you, the passenger, aren’t a terrorist.

It is just a passing mention, but the author of this MSNBC article writes “(I wonder what transgender travelers will be asked to do.)” This particularly piqued my interest because this issue is exactly the issue that I have been working on for the last week. What does TSA expect transgender travelers to do? If the passenger has an old gender marker on their documentation, are they going to be stopped? If a passenger has different gender markers on various forms of identification, will they face trouble at security checkpoints?

I’ve been talking to some TSA officials about this for the last week or so. Apparently the answer is no; transgender travelers should face no new travel barriers as a result of Secure Flight. Security protocols do not change, and it seems that neither TSA nor airline personnel are even expected to verify that the date of birth and gender you submit when booking flights is consistent with what your identification says. Why, then, do they make us provide this information?

I’m not convinced that this process will move forward without flaws, and I’m not convinced that gender is even necessary to maintaining security on our flights. I’m going to keep working on this and update you when I have better answers. I just thought this was an interesting mention of an issue that we’re working on, so I wanted to share with you all. Keep your eye out on our website for resources on how TSA’s new flight security procedures affect transgender people and how to avoid delays at the airport.

Patrick

Gender matters

2009-05-26T15:06:00.002-04:00

On CNN's website coverage of Sonia Sotomayor, under the heading Controversial statements, they quote her saying, "Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." I've heard over and over again discussions in the media today about whether gender matters in judicial decisions.

We know, of course, that gender does matter. In fact, it is pretty baffling to me that some people argue that it doesn't. Or that this is a "controversial statement" as opposed to a simple statement of fact. Anyhow, an interesting day of gender in the news.

Being Allies

2009-05-19T14:36:00.003-04:00

Last night, a progressive ally was asking me about NCTE's role in working for a transgender-inclusive ENDA this year and why LGBT organizations were so involved in this when this is "our" issue. I think her concern was that allies not speak for transgender people, rather than letting us speak for ourselves.

It is easy to get swept up in the publicity and fervor about why we should have a trans-inclusive bill and all of the politicking about trans people, but it's important to remember that inclusive means that it will address both sexual orientation AND gender identity. The passage of an inclusive hate crimes bill and an inclusive ENDA also mark major victories for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.

ENDA is a major priority in all of the work NCTE is doing this year. We'll continue to do everything we can as we work with folks across the country to educate our lawmakers about why transgender people need protection against job discrimination. And our lesbian, gay and bisexual allies are giving that same message, which is so important. As trans people, we also need to be committed to protections for all the folks whose jobs are at risk because of their sexual orientation. Discrimination is wrong, period.

Okay, off of my soap box and back to work.

Whole Body Imaging at Airports

2009-05-18T13:48:00.006-04:00

Today, NCTE signed on to a letter, with other organizations concerned with privacy, to the Department of Homeland Security calling for the suspension of a policy that would utilize Whole Body Imaging as the primary screening technique at airports. Additional time is needed to evaluate privacy and security concerns.

The technology allows TSA personnel to view what is under a person's clothing; in other words, a naked body. This raises major questions about privacy, of course. NCTE is concerned about sensitivity to transgender bodies which appear on the screen as well as the fact that this policy could essentially require travelers to reveal their unclothed bodies to government employees in order to board an airplane.

The machines are currently in use in 19 airports and the primary screening method in 6 of those.

You can read about whole body imaging on the TSA website.

CNN also has a lead story about this today, with a poll (about having way down on the right side) asking, "Would you be willing to be subjected to "whole-body imaging," which critics say performs 'a virtual strip search'?"

A little perspective helps a lot

2009-05-12T11:23:00.003-04:00

One of the things I'm working on is updating our website. We've got so many issues in progress that it requires a lot more time to try to keep current on everything, not to mention the fact that it just plain needs maintenance. After all, I learned web design because the NCTE website got handed to me one day a few years ago and I knew nothing at that point. It means that all of my mistakes as I was learning are coded right into it; it is kind of a record of my own learning curve as I got a certificate in web design and learned a whole lot more.

But beyond the personal, our website is also a record of transgender progress. I was working on the news pages, moving things to archives and it gave me a chance to reflect on how monumental some of those early victories really were. I also revisited those days when our news seemed pretty bleak--a series of bad regulations that made things worse for trans people and there didn't seem to be much change on the horizon. What a cool thing to be moving those stories out of the way to make more space for us to report positive events. It's not all smooth sailing now, of course, but we are moving forward.

The website updates are more functional fixes than glamorous changes right now, but that pretty much suits our organization, too.

Transgender Families at the White House

2009-04-13T20:49:00.003-04:00

Photo: some of the NCTE participants standing in front of Sasha and Malia Obama's play area.

Today NCTE got to focus on inclusion and acceptance of transgender people and that was a wonderful thing. We do a lot of meaningful work that involves listening to and telling stories about the discrimination and violence our community faces but it’s important to also celebrate what is right in our lives.

Today, I went with a group of children and parents to the White House Easter Egg Roll. Different people that went with NCTE went in in different shifts (there were five total time slots), but the group I was in included a family with a trans child and members of my family who have always accepted me.

It was great to hear about a child picking out a very special outfit for this occasion, one congruent with a child’s sense of self and gender. Talking with the child’s mom, she said you would have thought they had gone shopping in Paradise. We all need those moments when the world seems absolutely perfect.

When I came out to my brother and sister-in-law more than a dozen years ago, long before they had kids, one of their first comments was that I was going to be a great uncle to their kids. I think I helped make good on that today by taking the kids to the White House.

The kids participated in the Egg Roll, wielding their wooden spoons very effectively, including tossing one egg over the fence. We saw Spongebob and Clifford the Big Red Dog and, of course, the Easter Bunny. We found the jungle gym that has recently been installed for the new, young residents of the White House and listened to Bob Marley in the distance.

Of course families aren’t perfect and with the kids today came the usual challenges of standing in lines, being hungry, dealing with siblings stepping on each other’s shoes. But there was also the beauty of families that accept transgender people in their midst exactly as we are. Family is, after all, not about who you can leave out but about who you can come home to with all of the exciting and tear-filled moments of school and life and the world out here.

The Obama Administration extended invitations to all kinds of children, recognizing that the America we live in has families that are very diverse. NCTE was proud to help bring transgender children and trans-affirming families to the White House on this special day.

The phone's ringing off the hook!

2009-03-30T15:25:00.002-04:00

Starting at a little after 8 in the morning up until about 6 in the evening, the phone has been ringing, ringing, ringing and the caller ID says, "US Capitol". We've requested literally hundreds of meetings with members of Congress for people coming from around the country to our 09 Lobby Day and congressional offices are responding to set up meetings with trans people and our families, friends and allies.

A few people have asked us if there is still time to sign up ... absolutely! There's still plenty of time for us to fax a request for you and we've been faxing daily so please register.

So keep our phones ringing! It's making us feel popular. :)

Gainesville Victory

2009-03-25T18:51:00.001-04:00

From Mara Keisling:

March 24, 2009
Gainesville, Florida: NCTE congratulates the wonderful advocates at Equality is Gainesville's Business who organized and executed a highly professional and effective campaign to counter yet another organized anti-LGBT fear mongering effort. With 100% of the city ballots counted, the discriminatory Charter Amendment One has been soundly defeated by a vote of 58% to 42%.

Charter Amendment 1 was an effort by national rightwing organizations to repeal the city's new anti-discrimination law that would-and now will-allow gay, bi and transgender people to work and live based on their qualifications.

Equality has won. Truth has won. The LGBT-obsessed Right Wing Lie Machine has fallen way short again.

And residents of Gainesville and the amazing people at Equality is Gainesville's Business ROCK.

Lobby Day--are you going to be there? April 26-28

2009-03-18T17:04:00.003-04:00

As of today, we have people registered for Lobby Day who together represent 65 different congressional districts, from 25 states plus the District of Columbia.That is amazing. We have also filled 75% of our room block at our host hotel. This is going to be a powerful experience.

And we do need all of these voices and many more to help educate Congress about why it is so vital to pass and send to the President legislation that will ban employment discrimination, will work to prevent hate crimes and much more. They need to hear from us.

A cheer goes up in the offices here each time another registration comes in because that strengthens the message we are taking to Capitol Hill in April. We hope to hear from you, too!