Newsletter
October 2000
.
Upcoming Group Meetings
In This Issue:
Vals' Special
Events:
Saturday, October 28, ARTRAGEOUS, Nashville Cares, Gaylord
Center
Saturday, November 18, The Nashville
GLBT Center Fall Dinner @ Edgehill United Methodist Church
The Queens Throne by Marisa
Richmond
marisaval@aol.com
Ahhh, October. The month that begins with my annual 29th birthday and ends with the Transgender National Holiday, Halloween. I certainly intend to enjoy myself much of this month. If you are still very closeted, and are making excuses for not joining a support group, then at least get out for Halloween. It is the easiest weekend of the year to get out and express yourself.
Over the years, I have heard all sorts of excuses from people explaining why they have not joined a group. Usually, it comes down to fear, but after being raised in a male dominated society where men are supposed to be strong, many M2Fs often cannot bring themselves to admit to being afraid. It never seems to occur to them that the very people they refuse to join have actually had the exact same feelings they have and are, therefore, better able to help someone overcome it than anyone else. With few exceptions, most who eventually do attend a group meeting or convention usually admit the experience was a thriller. After all, it is not like we would ever push anyone to do anything scary or dangerous–like insist you drive on Firestone tires.....
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a person from Charlotte who first joined a support group approximately two years ago. She is 77 years old! When I came out just after my third annual 29th birthday, I felt really old and was convinced I had missed a lot. Meeting others over the years has certainly given me a different perspective on my own life and accomplishments. But in being involved in leadership roles with support groups for most of the past decade, I have become aware of how it seems to be more difficult for others to find that level of acceptance in themselves. A person's generation and religion both appear to be major factors in determining the speed at which that moment arrives, which is why we must continue to make an effort at education and acceptance within our own community for all regardless of category. We must revel in our diversity instead of treating it as if it was some obscenity.
Here in Nashville, we were lucky to have had Samantha Tayloe amongst us. Samantha passed away in mid August at the age of 63 from cancer, but since she joined the Vals in 1993, she has been a regular attendee at monthly meetings and many different local GLBT events as well as various other national transgender events like Southern Comfort. Samantha never made excuses despite the fact that being deaf made communication with the hearing world quite difficult. Our society places many barriers in front of people who do not fit the norm, and being both transgendered and deaf creates unusual challenges, and yet, Samantha proved herself to be remarkable in many ways. She was intelligent, successful and confident. I wish I could same the same thing about everyone.
Of course, the very first day of the month will feature one of the most perennially boring events ever conceived, the Olympics' Closing Ceremony. This year, however, the show, a tribute to Austrialian culture, will include nearly 200 of Sydney's finest drag queens in a dedication to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. As in every other country, this embrace of diversity has annoyed Austrialia's right-wing politicians and religious leaders. Good! I'll be sure to have my VCR ready.
As the Aussie right-wing gets its panties in a knot over a bunch of drag queens, battles continue to be fought here. In Columbus, Ohio, the parents of six year old Aurora Lipscomb, diagnosed as MTF be certified professional therapists, had Aurora taken from them by a judge who decided they were not proper parents for permitting their anatomically male child to begin living and socializing as a girl. But in Texas, Jessica and Robin Wicks are getting married in San Antonio since the state of Texas claims in the Christie Littleton case that sex cannot be changed. Jessica and Robin are both women; Jessica lives and presents as a woman. Of course, two women born with vaginas continue to be denied the right to marry. Hmmm, do you sense a case of discrimination on the horizon? In addition, Stefanie Schumacher, a former Co-Chair of Southern Comfort, recently married her partner, Lesa, in Georgia. Both of them now live and present as women. Let's see what sort of big government reaction the Religious Reich tries to use to deal with that!
Finally, we began Pride Week with our Transgender Mixer at The Chute. I thought the turnout and energy was wonderful. I write this before the actual Pride celebration on the Bicentennial Mall, so my final report on Pride–as well as Southern Comfort–will appear next month.
...Not Too Blonde by Holly D. Storm stormdp1@aol.com
Well, I
did it again! I told another one of my close friends about little ole Holly.
This time, I “came out” to my best friend, J.T. We’ve known
each other since kindergarten and we’ve managed to stay close over the
years. We’ve talked about it all—well almost all. I thought it
was about time to talk; I’ve wanted to tell him about me for the longest
time. I’ve seen him several times in the past year, but I just
couldn’t come clean.
J.T. came to a nearby southern city for a seasonal job and we planned to get together. I wanted to show him around Nashville and hit the clubs like we used to. I wanted to tell him about me before he drove up—you know, to lessen the blow. But I just couldn’t tell him over the phone. Sure, I’ve been hinting to him over the phone, using “fabulous” in every other sentence. I told him that I had something very important to confess about myself. He knew something was up.
We had planned to meet at one of the Nashville clubs. I told him I’d be in the cowboy hat. But I forgot to tell him it would be a gray, snake skin cowboy hat with matching flare bottom, spandex pants, with a black tank top and black stacked shoes. Oh, and that I have a cool shade of Espresso lipstick on, and long blonde hair.
It was early, just about 9:30 PM, and the club wasn’t crowed yet. He was going to be there at any minute, and I was a nervous wreck. I saw him pull into the parking lot and I began to relax a little because I just knew everything would be cool. I walked over to his car. As he got out he said, “Damn Girl!” That’s when I knew everything was totally cool. He grinned and we hugged and then we went to another one of Nashville’s happening clubs. He met most of my friends and we danced to “high energy” and “house” music, like we had done years ago.
We stayed up until dawn, catching up and talking about old times. I had to tell him about all the things Holly is into these days. The thing that got to me the most was when he said, “This isn’t going to change a thing. You’re still my best friend. Oh—and that hat is just too cool!” Hey, it only took me 25 years to let the cat of the bag. Can I keep a secret or what! Thanks J.T.!
Note from the Board Chair of the Tennessee Vals
I wanted to thank everyone who came out to our Vals TG mixer held at the Chute, and those who came to this year’s Pride celebration held at Bicentennial Mall in Nashville. The Vals did a great job in representing the Transgender community during the festival! I was surprised—then again wasn’t surprised—at how much of the GLB community wasn’t aware of Transgender issues. I hope we did educate and inform those who asked us questions at our booth during the festival. OPEN (the Nashville Pride organizers) have really embraced the Vals and the rest of Transgender population this year and I would like to convey my gratitude to all of the organizers and volunteers of OPEN. Thanks!
A Blonde, Brunette AND Redhead by Julie Phillips FabulBabe@aol.com
Give ME An Award
You cannot turn on the tube anymore without seeing an awards show for something. There are the comedy awards, top box office money maker awards, Blockbuster rental store awards, MTV awards, VH1 style and fashion awards, Latin music award, several country music awards. If the same person would win them all one year, they could consolidate twenty shows into just one. There would be room on the schedule for another season of Suddenly Susan. Just give them all to Garth Brooks—he wins everything anyway—for singing a Salsa number, peppered with witty lyrics, from the soundtrack of a movie a movie he’s starring in and planning on renting. Get Brooke Shields on the phone!
For my money, there are only three of those awards where winning really matters: The Oscars for films, the Grammy’s for music, and the Emmy’s for television. You win one of these babies and it’s included in your obituary.
Two longwinded paragraphs later, we get to the point, which is this years Emmy awards, handed out just a few weeks ago. Good heavens; it couldn’t have turned out nicer if I’d rigged the voting myself! (Actually, it was rigged by a gay former Soviet crossdressing operative with lots of time on her hands these days, and an unhealthy hatred of Law and Order. But that’s a story for another day, kids.)
Not only did Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally win for Supporting Actors in a Comedy (“Just Jack” and “Karen”, respectively), but Will and Grace took away top prize for Best Comedy Series. And that’s just a warm-up, because British CD and actor/comedian Eddie Izzard won for Best Comedy/Variety Special and for the writing of the show, Dress to Kill.
I was so disappointed that he wasn’t there to accept. I would love to have seen what he’d wear to an awards gala. Instead, he was doing laundry with Garth Brooks. OK, actually he was filming a new movie, All the Queens Men. I’m leaving a blank line for you to insert your own joke: __________________________________________
Regular
readers know that I am just two bricks shy of stalking Regis Philbin and/or
Brad Pitt. (Don’t waste your time trying to figure this one out. My
rule of life: There’s just no accounting for taste.) Well, who should
show up at the Emmy awards with his new wife Jennifer Aniston but Mr. Pitt.
They were seated on the front row, so there were many shots of him and her
during the broadcast. What the home viewers didn’t see is me making
a red carpet entrance with Brad. As they stepped from their limo, I had Joan
Rivers call Aniston away for an interview. (By the way, it’s amazing
what Joan Rivers will do for just a hundred bucks.) That’s when I made
my move, latching onto Brad’s arm and proceeding into the theatre. Sadly,
right after being seated, one of her Friends pointed out that I wasn’t
Jennifer and I was promptly ejected by burly— though well-dressed in
tuxes by Armani—guards.
Keep an eye on your back Aniston! Someday Brad will be mine! (Lots of diabolical laughter goes here).
Please, dear readers, mention nothing of this to my boyfriend, AKA Mr. Wonderful. Thanks.
Nashville Pride 2000
I hope you made it to Nashville’s Pride celebration this year. The Vals truly had a presence there, both with our booth and the number of us who turned up. OPEN (Our Pride Encompasses Nashville) is the group that put it all together this year and they really reached out to us to make sure the Vals and TG people were included in the celebration.
There are always people in the GLBT community who belly-ache about the need of a celebration. I think it’s still important for us to be seen as the large slice of the population that we are. It’s also a great way to meet people you otherwise never would. Besides, any reason for a party is a good reason!
My Closet by Leslie Louise DuPaix lldupaix@hotmail.com
On the Inadequacy of Labels (and a modest alternative thereto)
What am I? What are you? What are we?
“Labels,” I am sure someone must have said, in fact I think I read it somewhere, but am not sure where, “hide ignorance.” (And if no one will claim the statement, I, Leslie Louise DuPaix will accept full credit for it!). Labels are useful for sorting things out, but they do not guarantee any great knowledge of the subject labeled. I am often amused when I go to a doctor with some mild complaint and s/he looks me over, and then in a most serious tone simply translates my description of my complaint into Latin, as if knowing the Latin description of my problem in and of itself indicates any sort of understanding of my condition. At best it allows the doctor to look it up in a book organized by Latin names, and the entry could very easily say something to the effect of “Don’t really know.”
The Doctor looks at my red, irritated skin and says, “Ahah! You have dermatitis.” (Which I know is Latin for “red, irritated skin.” “Ahah!!,” the Doctor says to a Val, “you are a transvestite,” and if you have done your reading you know that is simply Latin for “cross dresser” and that there is very little known or agreed to about the causes, dynamics, treatment and all the rest.
When I get bothered by an annoying thought, rather than fight it, I will sometimes attempt to follow it to its most ridiculous extreme (ad absurdum or perhaps en extremis should there be any doctors reading this). If pressed as to what am I, I might reply, “I am a male, heterosexual transvestite.” A reply with enough Latin and Greek to imply vast understanding and knowledge, but which is simply a compound fancy label hiding mostly ignorance - both mine and the listener’s. What would be an adequate answer as to what we are (Val or otherwise)? May I humbly offer the results of my excursion ad absurdum in search of a better answer, the soon to be famous “L.L. DuPaix’s 3-Axis Comprehensive Sexuality Index” (CSI). To the best of my knowledge the CSI is an original work, but I would not be surprised to discover that someone else has also invented it.
The most primitive thought process is bi-polar, or attribute, or digital; two possibilities -good/bad; up/down; male/female; straight/gay. Two-possibility sorting is useful for making cheap, quick categories, but what it gains in simplicity it loses in preciseness.
Two points define a line. A line has one dimension - length. If the two possibilities are stretched apart a bit, then we have a line and the distance on that line can be subdivided, allowing us to label some of differences between the extremes. We no longer have “male” or “female” but degrees of maleness or femaleness. Now the gender continuum has one dimension 2 directions and is bi-polar - M on one end, F on the other, and degrees of extreme in between. If you can think of a third possibility that is not on the M-F line or axis, then you now have 3 points and a 2 dimensional plane (3 points define a plane and the 2 dimensions are length and width) and now have an area of opportunity. That is what Venn diagrams are about. Going from a 1-D model to a 2-D model can be helpful.
It seems that for the most part, our life on earth is essentially three dimensional i.e. if one is really after some understanding of something, unless one is juggling three measures of the subject, understanding is going to be very limited. Some examples: to discuss time, you must be able to deal with past, present and future. A child thinks only in the “now” dimension. A child develops and learns from the “past.” A developed adult hopefully thinks also of the future. A fighter pilot must balance altitude, fuel, and speed. When thinking of national strength and security a national leader must balance national wealth, national consumption, and national defense.
Following up on that I fail to see how one can even begin to understand or discuss sexual behavior without looking at it as a three dimensional construct. (My! My! Read enough pop psyche books and before you know it, you start talking psychobabble). Three fundamental dimensions are:
If we allow our selves to be bipolar and allow only two possibilities to each of the three dimensions then we have 8 possibilities (2 responses raised to the 3rd power). If you are familiar with DOE (design of experiments) you can think of this as a 2-level, 3-factor experiment, with the runs covering the possibilities.
As a table, this could look like this:
| Sex | Gender | Focus |
| M | M | M |
| M | M | F |
| M | F | M |
. . . and so on until all the combinations of M and F are exhausted. This immediately begs the question: Is a male homosexual an M-M-M combination or would an M-F-M also qualify? Does the focus have to match the gender or the sex? Where must the congruency lie to qualify as homo? Or conversely, is a M-F-F “straight” or “homo”? (See how much ignorance the simplistic labels we constantly use hide?).
What if we say, “OK, but howz ‘bout the bisexuals?” Well, OK, rather than 2 responses we have three: M, B, and F. Now we have 27 possibilities (3^3=27). Howz ‘bout the researcher who says there are 6 points on the sexual continuum? Well, OK, then, we’d have 216 possibilities (6^3). How fine do you want to cut it? At least my modest model will not be accused of being simplistic.
About now, a question that might be posed is: What do we gain by all of this? And one answer is that it does not take much to show the inadequacy of a classification system that limits itself to a 1-D bipolar approach - and the resulting lack of understanding and knowledge is not surprising at all.
An interesting exercise would involve moving from a 2-D, 3-point matrix into a 3-D space presentation. To do so, lets make three M-F lines with divisions, one for sex, another for gender and a third for sexual focus. Let each line/category become an axis, running from -10 to 0 to +10. Arrange each axis so it is 90 degrees to the others. An intersection of 2 lines creates a plane. Therefore we have 3 planes, each at 90 degrees to the other two. Each Plane represents a dimension or category (sex, gender, and focus) and an area of opportunity.
Let the origin (the place where the 3 axes cross) or zero, equal complete neutrality. Let +10 be maximum maleness; and -10 is maximum femaleness. Thus a value on each axis taken together will correspond to a discrete point in space. A really super masculine guy, who thinks super masculine and focuses his attention exclusively on females, would be a 10,10, -10. A hermaphrodite androgynous bisexual would be a 0, 0, 0.
Most hetero-CD/TV’s might be 0 thru 10 on the sex scale; -10 thru +7 on the gender scale; and 5 to -10 on the sexual focus scale. That is: physically they would run from an androgynous body through very masculine body/sex; genderwise from very female to above a midpoint on the male scale; and above the median on heterosexuality as far as focus goes. (No data, just speculation based on questionable reading and certainly open to discussion.)
The advantage of this is that it reinforces the concept that each of us is a unique individual with our own point in space. If I feel a need to do so, I can label myself and feel comfortable that I have been properly labeled - at least as far as my ability to measure my 3 dimensions allows me.
Does this have a practical value? I am not sure. When asked, “What are you?” the answer needs to take into account who is asking, why, and do they deserve an answer (wow! 3 variables again). “How are you?” is as more of a greeting than a question, and the answer should take this into account and be “Fine,” in most circumstances, unless the questioner is one’s physician and is going to bill you for your visit. My thinking on this is somewhat Sicilian in nature: “Truth is a dangerous commodity and should be doled out sparingly.” I would tend to give as vague an answer to such a question as would be appropriate, so in most instances, my index is not useful for casual discussion in a social setting.
The index is a construct, and like a label can hide a lot of ignorance, as well as being of some value, if only to point out how limited other systems are. Likewise, like other constructs, it should not be overused, nor used in a way that will limit possibilities and positive experiences. At least I have a source for a better fitting label, one that doesn’t pretend to cover a large area. Sometimes when I feel adrift, I might feel better knowing with a little work I could find my point in space rather than being stuck on a very large label like a fly on an indiscriminately large piece of fly-paper. Other times I might not want to think of me as limited to a point in space.
A danger with labels is that sometimes we tend to mold ourselves to fit the label, and if it is a small label, we will have limited our growth possibilities. Most of the time, then, I probably will keep my thoughts to myself, put my labels in a shoebox and put the box in my closet. Should you ask me what I am, if I think you are safe and there will be a positive outcome, I might say that “I am a Val,” and that is probably all you really need to know - a label with plenty of room for movement, progress and growth.
Left of Center by Pamela
DeGroff
CONCLUSION:
During the last year’s Tennessee Vals Holiday Banquet, Professor Bill Turner was honored as the 1999 recipient of the coveted Tranny Award. As one of the most active leaders of Nashville’s GLBT community, he has always been a supporter of Transgender people and Transgender rights. Originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he received a Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt University, and has taught US History Survey at MTSU. While there, he was also involved in teaching Lesbian Studies/Feminist Theory.
As of June 31, 2000, Prof. Turner resigned as Co-chair of the Lesbian and Gay Coalition for Justice, an organization he has been involved with since 1994. The reason? Prof. Turner will be leaving middle Tennessee by the end of July in order to accept a teaching position at St. Cloud University, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. “What happened,” he explained, “is that I’ve been applying for academic jobs all over the country for five years, and it just so happens that a school in Minnesota decided to hire me.”
When asked
if he intended to maintain all his old contacts back here in Nashville, he
answered,“I have two books coming out in the fall. I assumed it would
be a simple matter for me to have a book signing for both those books here
in Nashville because I’d be here. As it happens, I still want to have
a book signing in Nashville, because I hope people in Nashville will want
to buy my books. In some ways, it’s a very personal thing. I hope that
sometime in November or December, I’ll have an opportunity to come back.
Also, I want to know what’s happening, because I just started this new
organization...(Equality Tennessee), and I want to know what’s happening
to it.”
Since Prof. Turner has been a supporter of the TG community, I wanted to offer him the chance to speak to our community, and the larger GLBT family. What follows is the result of a very pleasant yet informative conversation conducted one afternoon at a small coffeehouse in Murfreesboro, not far from the university.
PAMELA DeGROFF: You were instrumental
in starting a new organization called Equality Tennessee. There has only
been one meeting so far, and that was just organizational in nature. Care
to give a little insight into Equality Tennessee, and discuss what you think
it might be able to accomplish?
DR. WILLIAM TURNER: I hope
that it will become a truly statewide organization. I think it already is,
in an important sense, truly statewide. We had people from Memphis, Jackson,
Cookeville, Knoxville, Johnson City, Kingsport, literally all across the
state, present at that meeting. And I think that it should be able to provide
really basic organizing education for GLBT persons all across the state.
I hope that it will affiliate with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence
Projects. That we well see a systematic effort to inform people about the
existence of the hate crimes law, and encouragement for them to report a
hate crime act as they happen. How to deal with law enforcement officers,
and to make sure that law enforcement officers are reporting hate crimes
as hate crimes.
Also, things like voter guides. We’ve sent out candidate questionnaires. Hopefully, other people around the state will choose to do that.
There were only a few trans people
at the initial meeting. How do you think we can get more transpeople involved
at the state level?
I don’t know. I wish I knew
the answer to that. I guess the answer to that is the same as the answer
to how do you get anybody else involved. I don’t know the answer to
that in general because I have never been able to get as many people as I
wanted involved in any of these things.
Ultimately, it boils down to a matter of relationships. Primarily what you’re doing is making basic contacts and pursuing that contact with legislators, with appointed officials, with reporters. With all different kinds of people like that. And the more you get to know them, and the more you let them get to know you, the more they understand your issues, and the more they care. You just have to get in there and do it. It’s going to be the case that a lot of times, the first one, or two, or five times you walk in the door, that persons gonna say ‘...fuck off! Get out of my office!’ That person’s just not gonna care. But just keep plugging away at it, and sooner or later they’re going to recognize they have to care, because it’s their job, and if they won’t you’ll find somebody else who will. People see it as complicated, as difficult, but also there’s no instant gratification. You’ve got to assume that you’re going to get involved in projects that are going to take a year, two years, three years.
In all your years as an activist
here in Nashville, what do you feel was your greatest accomplishment? In
other words, what are you the most proud of? And, any regrets or unfinished
business?
I don’t think I have any regrets,
no. I recognize at the most basic levels what my inadequacies are as an
organizer. In some ways, I wish I’d gotten over those, but I also know
there’s only so much you can do.
I guess the thing that I’m happiest about, that I think is going to be the biggest accomplishment in the long run, that makes the biggest difference, is the founding of Equality Tennessee. If it turns out as I hope it does to be an onstatewide organization, and the first of its kind here in the state of Tennessee, then it should have an enormous impact over the long run. Again, it’s going to take time...I think we do have the capacity to make Tennessee a better place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. I think Equality Tennessee can make that happen.
After the recent article on Calpernia
Addams that was published in The New York Times Sunday edition, there
was some criticism over use of the male pronoun in reference to Cal. Cal
was never pressured to refer to herself as a genetic male, but there was
still a lot of confusion as to whom said what. Care to shed some light on
the incident?
Yeah, the problem is with the press.
What we did was, we had a conversation that Calpernia herself was involved
in. What we said was, look, here’s the deal. These two assholes beat
Barry Winchell to death because they perceived him to be gay. And apparently,
by all accounts, Barry Winchell perceived himself to be gay. After he started
dating Calpernia. So, from my perspective, it was an anti-gay hate crime.
Now, that raises the complication. If you say Barry Winchell had a girlfriend,
how’s anybody going to understand him to be gay? So we tried to figure
out exactly how to do that. I sat and watched Calpernia, over and over again,
at Ft. Campbell, talk to reporters, very carefully, and very openly, about
what it meant for her to be transgendered, and what that meant for their
relationship, and it still didn’t come out
right.
Now, it didn’t come out right for a lot of reasons. One of which is that reporters are human beings like anyone else. When I say reporters, I’m referring broadly to all reporters who have written on this issue since last July. Specifically with respect to The New York Times article, the fact checkers were told repeatedly, but they went ahead and reported it anyway. I think the reason for that was that the editors of the New York Times magazine decided that they had an angle that was going to sell the story, so they were damn well going to go with that angle, to sell the story regardless of whether the actual information backed it up or not.
It’s interesting to me the way in which, since about February, and that Advocate article about the problems reporters had in reporting about Calpernia in her relationship to Barry, this story has stopped being about Barry Winchell and has started being about Calpernia Addams. In many ways, that’s a good thing. It’s a good opportunity to give a lot of information about transgender issues. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a transgender story has ever appeared on the cover of The New York Times magazine. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing to have The New York Times magazine saying to everybody, ‘Hey, here’s this issue here that most people don’t know about.’
In both the New York Times magazine article and the Advocate article, it says very specifically that Barry Winchell thought of himself as gay, after he started going out with Calpernia. Now, the thing is, you and I can sit here until we’re blue in the face and say, ‘Oh well, no, because Calpernia Addams presents herself to the world as a woman, and he was first attracted to her as a woman.’ That makes sense to me...but, the point is, we’re not Barry Winchell, right?
I’ve just gone through this with Sara Fox. This is why it’s important this is a story about Calpernia Addams, not about Barry Winchell. Because we absolutely have a responsibility to respect Calpernia Addams presentation and understand of herself as a woman.
Of course,
that’s a major transgender issue...
Oh, I understand it is, and it ought
to be. But, at the same time the problem with that is, it’s exactly
the same principle that leads me to say that if Barry Winchell thought he
was gay, then he was gay. Right? I mean, according to our logic, if Calpernia
Addams believes herself to be a woman, and she certainly looks like one,
then any man who goes out with her must be heterosexual, because he’s
going out with a woman. That’s the basic logic there. That’s what
Sara Fox is thinking. Well, I understand that logic, and I don’t dispute
it. But, the problem with that is, according to the reporting that I have
seen, Barry Winchell understood himself to be gay. Now, this is exactly what
I mean about exploding categories, if we didn’t want to say, well
we’ve got to put people in this box over here if they do this, and
we’ve got to put people over there if they do that, we wouldn’t
have this problem to begin with.
That’s the interesting thing about Transgender issues, is that it’s more obvious than with most categories how difficult it is to define the category.
That leads into my next question...as
a person outside the gender community, is there anything you’d like
to say to the community, or any general perceptions? Your idea of
“exploding the categories” is good.
I think that my notion of
“exploding the categories” is something I think applies to a lot
of people besides transgender people. At the same time, there is nothing
that I want to say to transgender people in that sense, because, one has
to be careful about things like that. Because I think it’s much too
easy to fall into this mode of saying ‘Well, what YOU PEOPLE need to
do...’ I’m not in a position to say that, just as no one is in
a position to say that to me.
At the same time, I want to be clear that when I say that, the one thing that I will say is I want to make sure that any organization that I’m working in includes transgender issues and transgender persons. Which is why I specifically made a point to try to do that with Equality Tennessee from the outset.
It’s not my organization. Even if I were staying and not leaving, it still would not be my organization. It’s the organization of the people who choose to show up and make it happen. So it needs to belong to transgender people as much as it does to gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. I want us all to work together, but that’s only going to happen when we respect each other enough to have conversations instead of lecturing each other.
In your role as a teacher, I
know you’ve dealt with young people for many years. What would be your
advice to someone who is just coming to terms with the realization they are
gay, lesbian, bi, or trans?
I would say that what you should
do is try your best to develop a network of friends as the basis for being
increasingly ‘out’ to other people.
I was on WKDF back when it was a teen bop rock station during a National Coming Out Day, and we got this phone call from this woman who said a friend of hers had taken everybody’s advice and had come out to everybody, all at once. And he lost his job, and his family disowned him and he had to move out of town, and all these horrible things happened. We need to realize that kind of thing can happen. It doesn’t happen all the time, and it certainly didn’t happen to me. That’s perhaps the one that we all have in common. We know that there’s always risk when we say we’re GLBT; somebody in our life is gonna flip out.
A network isn’t going to prevent horrible things from happening, but it gives you something to fall back on in case it does. I think we all need to keep that in mind, to be prepared to help each other when these horrible things happen.
On the one hand, there are important differences between gender and sexual orientation. I find very frustrating the presumption or stereotype in our culture that lesbians and gay men all necessarily have some sort of gender confusion.
Do you have any final thoughts,
words of wisdom, or parting shots you’d like to say to Nashville’s
GLBT community?
I guess what I would say to a lot
of people... is-say everything you want to say and need to say about the
events and actions that you see going on around you, but don’t be personal
about it... I think that we’re always going to have people in leadership
positions who make mistakes and who fuck things up from time to time.
That’s inevitable. We’re human.
What I do have a problem with is getting to the point of saying, okay,
here’s a problem that we need to address, and instead of focusing on
the problem, spend all your time bitching and moaning about who created the
problem, and how it got that way in the first place. So I guess what I would
say is insist on accountability, but refuse to make it
personal.
.
NEWS TRANS-missions
news, media mentions, etc...
Transwoman and Partner Celebrate their Lesbian Marriage Texas’ Groundbreaking LEGAL Same-Sex Marriage
Transwoman Jessica (nee Grady) Wicks and her female partner Robin Manhart Wicks celebrated their marriage in San Antonio September 16; the couple had obtained a Texas marriage license based on a state appeals court ruling that defines who may wed based on "chromosomes not genitalia," although a Bexar County clerk in fact examined only their drivers' licenses and birth certificates. Although they make their home in Harris County, the couple had been denied a marriage license there on the grounds they were a "same-sex" couple, not the "one man and one woman" Texas specifies for legal marriage; the state's 4th Court of Appeals ruling applies to only 32 of Texas' 254 counties.
Jessica Wicks told the Houston Voice beforehand that, "I am not in this action affirming anything male about me. We have from the beginning emphasized that we are two lesbians seeking a legal wedding as a result of a misguided appellate decision [Littleton v. Prange]. We really do believe love is love and that anyone ought to be able to get married if they love each other. People see this as a transgender issue. But I identify as a lesbian, and I'm doing this because I love Robin. The bottom line is that we are two people who love each other."
In the legal case Wicks referred to, transwoman Christie Littleton's marriage to a man, after seven years of being recognized by Texas and the federal Internal Revenue Service, was abruptly nullified when she was found to have no legal standing to pursue a malpractice claim in connection with her husband's death. Littleton filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the Texas Supreme Court declined to review her case.
The evening ceremony with about sixty friends and family, held in conjunction with the San Antonio Equal Rights Political Caucus' annual Fiesta Del Jardin fund-raiser, was a simple one. The Wickses vowed to each other, "I promise to share with you the bitter things in life as well a the sweet" and "to strive for a life of courage, faithfulness and dignity and to seek for understanding among all people." They exchanged rings. The couple's pastor, Reverend John Nicholas of Houston's Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, told the couple that, "your simple presence here is testimony that love is stronger than hatred, hope stronger than despair and faith in God's goodness stronger than fear of people's malevolence." He pronounced them "one in holy union" and they shared a long kiss...
Outside the apartment complex where the wedding was held, members of the Family Worship Center, led by their pastor Raymond Dean, picketed in protest of what they called an "abomination."... But most people from the religious right who've spoken with reporters agree with the court's method of defining gender, and so have not objected to what they view as a heterosexual marriage that only looks like a lesbian one.
The Wickses' legal marriage brings them some advantages even a Vermont civil union cannot, because it will presumably be recognized by the federal government. They can share federal benefits including Social Security and Medicare... In theory, their marriage should be recognized by other states, although it's not clear that if they leave the state another court will share the opinion of the Texas appeals panel as to what constitutes "same-sex" marriage, which more than thirty states have said they will not recognize...
Source: PlanetOut 09/18/00 AOL KEYWORD: PlanetOut www.planetout.com
VCR and Movie ALERT: Drag Queens on Parade, Wonderboys Re-released to Theaters
Set your
VCRs for the most unusual of the Halloween TV specials: coverage of New
York’s Village Halloween Parade. It’s airing Halloween night, October
31st, at 6PM on both USA and Sci-Fi channels. Then it repeats that night
at 8PM on Sci-Fi and 10PM on USA. If you want to see some seriously flamboyant
drag queens, our bet is you’ll get your wish with this
telecast.
The movies...Paramount is trying something unusual by re-releasing the film Wonderboys to theatres November 8th. The film was originally released in February and promptly ignored by most movie-goers, despite great reviews.
Wonderboys stars Michael Douglas as a burned out writer and professor, and Robert Downey Jr. as his bi-sexual editor who has a crossdressing girlfriend.
Official Website Wonderboys
British “Girls” Outsmart ‘Ladies Night’
...Pals Tommy Marsh and Matthew Spencer had a skinful for free in their local - by dressing in drag.
Done up as busty brunettes in high heels, they slipped into a Ladies' Night that offered free drinks for women. They spent four hours knocking back cocktails and shorts - and even a few flirty blokes...
Printer Tommy, 27, said he and Matthew
couldn't afford to hit the town to celebrate his birthday. So he had a
"brainwave" and got a pal's sister to lend him a silver-grey dress and leather
jacket. She gave mechanic Matthew, 22, a pink-and-black outfit.
They spent hours shaving, padding their bras and putting on make-up and jewelry - then tottered along to the Travellers' Rest in Shipley, West Yorks.
Matthew said: "We got strange looks at first, but then people started chatting."
Tommy added: "We had a right laugh and having free drinks all night was great, even though fellas kept trying to chat us up. But we won't make a habit of it.
"And I'll never moan again about how long it takes women to get ready."
source: The Sun UK 09/22/00
UPDATE: Dr. Laura Premieres, Continues to Lose Sponsors, Bores TV Critics, Causes Protests
Dr. Laura, the television talk show, finally premiered amid nationwide protests, including one here in Nashville, where it airs on WKRN, Channel 2. With three weeks of programs already produced, insiders report that her topics do NOT include anything relating to the GLBT community. The good doctor continues to hemorrhage sponsors as a result of her rabid anti-gay opinions (the term “biological error” has come back to haunt her) and she has had equally unpleasant things to say about TG’s in the past.
Her faithful radio
listeners don’t seem to be flocking to see her mug on the tube. First
week ratings show a 15-to-28% drop in viewers from the show that airs just
before hers. In fact, after just two weeks on the air, the program has shut
down production for “retooling”; we can expect to see a more combative
and offensive Dr. Laura when the show resumes tapings. Critical response
to the first week’s worth of shows has been abysmal, with the word
“dull” cropping up in more than one review. With that in mind,
enjoy the following highlights from reviews from two of the nation’s
leading television critics.
First up: Robert Bianco of USA
Today, 09/18/00:
Dr. Laura had better hope gay groups
keep monitoring her new TV talk show. Because after her first five episodes,
I can't imagine why anyone else would bother to watch...
...The Paramount-produced Dr. Laura is as dry, humorless and as skeletal as its host... Cold and rigid, she has a tendency to send her voice soaring into an upper-register squeak, particularly when she's trying to be cute; and the faster she talks, the higher it goes. When she tries to be charming, coyly batting her eyelids and putting on a friendly voice, she's so forced and unnatural that she's sort of frightening. Even her smile looks predatory...
In the end, Dr. Laura is so didactic and unyielding, so proud to be an unsympathetic nag, you can't help being offended. Who is she to preach to us? We should take lessons in honesty from a woman with a doctorate in physiology who lets viewers assume she's a medical doctor, and who seems to be going to extraordinary lengths to pass herself off as younger than she is? We need lectures about courage from a woman who ran from the press in the summer? No thanks…
And Tom Shales of The Washington
Post, 09/15/00:
...Apparently Dr. Laura was of the
opinion that gay people hadn't suffered enough bigotry and ignorance over
the years and so she volunteered to offer yet more...
On the second show, regarding the
delicate matter of whether one spouse can engage in extramarital sex when
the other spouse is totally incapacitated by illness, Dr. Laura said, "Now
I have something to say about this."
Of course she does! She has something to say about everything. Not just opinions but pronouncements. Not insights, but what to her seem inarguable holy truths. On one program, she preceded her own statement by deriding the consensus of "so-called experts." Physician, deride thyself...
Mostly it's Dr. Laura preaching, hammering home her dogmatic beliefs, trotting out people who support her and dismissing or bullying those who don't. The woman's ego is an entire solar system unto itself--vast, limitless and appealing to only the bravest explorers…
She's the anti-Oprah…
When a member of the studio audience said he would deal with a drug-taking child by smacking the kid "upside the head," Dr. Laura laughed approvingly. Perhaps narrow-minded talk show hosts who think they know everything ought to be smacked upside the head instead…
One can understand the appeal of Dr. Laura's Old Testament moralizing, and even the value of it, in an environment dominated by the sordid and violent exploitation concocted in Hollywood--by such studios as, for example, Paramount... It is lamentable, deplorable and worrisome.
And yet Dr. Laura's prescription seems worse than the disease. It basically amounts to having all of us kneel and kiss her Gucci-booted feet.
...Dr. Laura spends part of her time in the audience...the way Oprah does--and a drabber, more forlorn studio audience you may never see. They look like hostages, not guests. Lord knows where the producers find them...
(Editor’s Note: I think we have an answer to that question. More than one “spy” who went to tapings discovered some audience members were actors hired to be there. The New York Post now reports that a researcher on the staff appeared twice, participating in discussions. And, WCBS-TV in New York is considering bumping her to overnights.)-j.p.
Sources: USA Today, The New York Post, Washington Post, www.stopdrlaura.com, PlanetOut
Emmy Awards: Eddie and Will and Grace
Will and Grace received 11 nominations and took home three Emmy wins, including Outstanding Comedy Series, at this year‘s Emmy Awards, held September 10th.
Both of Will and
Grace’s second bananas won in the Supporting Comedy Actor and Actress
categories: Sean Hayes (AKA “Just Jack”) and Megan Mullally
(“Karen“).
Will, Grace, Jack and Karen presented the award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Who should win it but Eddie Izzard, British crossdressing comedian for his HBO special, Dress to Kill. Plus, he also beat out the writers for Letterman for comedy writing in a variety show!
Cher, who presented the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, know for her love of wigs, actually changed her hair color mid-show. "I was so upset about not winning (she lost to Eddie Izzard) that my hair turned blonde."
Sources: Mr. Showbiz and PlanetOut AOL KEYWORD: Planetout
The taunting of two men dressed as women in downtown Des Moines early Tuesday preceded a crash that injured five people, witnesses say.
Joshua Farrell, 19, and Casey Forrester, 23, both of Des Moines, said a crowd of people was yelling threats and throwing cans. One man hit their car with a ball bat.
"It started out as gay bashing or transsexual bashing, whatever you want to call it," Forrester said. "Once people realized we were drag queens there was instant hate. One guy was spitting at us from his car."
Police arrived and Farrell and Forrester pointed to a Jeep, which carried the bat-wielding man, police reports said. The officer started chasing the Jeep, but it disappeared in busy downtown traffic.
Minutes later, the Jeep crashed into a van at Beaver and Madison avenues, police said.
The Jeep's driver, Jeremy Hughes, 21, of 901 Morton Ave., was listed in critical condition Tuesday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. His passenger, Luke Floyd, 19, of Grimes, was listed in serious condition at Mercy Medical Center.
The driver of the van, Syed Rizbi, 20, of 1300 34th St., was listed in fair condition and one of his passengers, Ritesh Batra, 21, of 2900 Forest Ave., was in good condition at Iowa Methodist. Ang Sherpa, 20, of 1333 30th St., another passenger in the van, was treated at Mercy and released.
Officers said they had been pursuing the Jeep but were not behind it at the time of the crash.
Police said charges were pending, but by Tuesday night none had been filed.
Farrell and Forrester said a crowd of people confronted them near Eighth and Locust streets. Forrester said they called police after someone hit him on the hip with a full can of pop. Someone spit on Farrell, they said, and someone else bumped their car from the rear.
Another man yelled that he wanted to kill them. When a teen-ager tossed a lighted cigarette at Forrester, he tried to spray him with a chemical deterrent. "I missed," he said.
Farrell said the group grew larger but that some girls were telling the men to leave them alone. "The others were calling us faggots."
"People think they can abuse you and you have no recourse," Forrester said. "In a way they are right.
"These people brought this on themselves when they decided to hate. And it came back on them. We wanted the police to pull them over and tell them it wasn't right what they did. But we wouldn't wish the rest of it on anyone."
source:By Tom Alex Des Moines Register 08/23/00
A six-year-old transgender child in Columbus, Ohio, taken by authorities from her parents apparently after they registered her for school in her self-identified female gender rather than as the male she was labeled at birth, will remain in foster care at least until after a trial in November; a Franklin County juvenile court made its ruling September 12. Although Aurora (nee Zachary) Lipscomb has identified as female since age two and has been formally diagnosed with gender identity disorder by Cincinnati Children's Medical Center, the public defender appointed to represent her testified that the parents might be trying to gain attention for themselves by pushing their child to act feminine. The attorney representing Children Services called the gender identity disorder (GID) "a red herring," indicating the child behaved in masculine fashion while in foster care. Meanwhile the case has attracted widespread attention from the media and from transgendered people, many of whom were aware of their identities as toddlers.
Dozens of people have joined the defense of parents Sherry and Paul Lipscomb, contributing to their legal costs, complaining to Children Services and writing to local newspapers to say the couple were following the child's doctor's orders by allowing her to live as a female. Transgender supporters believe the Lipscombs were trying to save Aurora from years of pain they themselves experienced, and as one said, forcing the child to conform may be "creating a time bomb." At least one psychologist has written a scathingly critical letter to Children Services for their ignorance and "terror tactics." A spokesperson for Children Services told the Columbus Dispatch that county social workers were not disputing the existence of gender identity disorder, on the same day their attorneys were making the "red herring" remarks in court.
The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) claims that when Children Services obtained an emergency order to remove the child from her parents "for her own welfare" on August 23 (see PlanetOut News of August 28), there were no signs of physical, sexual or mental abuse. NTAC has reviewed court documents confirming that it was school employees who questioned the GID diagnosis and that, "During a preliminary custody hearing, the courts apparently agreed with Franklin County Children Services that it was better to break up the family rather than allow a child to grow up not conforming to social gender stereotypes." NTAC has vowed to do whatever is necessary for the reunion of the Lipscomb family.
Columbus' Gay People's Chronicle reported that the Lipscombs had problems with Children Services even earlier. The child has been diagnosed with both attention deficit disorder and Asperger syndrome, has behaved violently towards herself and others leading to four hospitalizations, and is taking lithium; her mother describes her as "very fragile." When Sherry Lipscomb was having mental health problems of her own, the family arranged voluntary supervision with Children Services in February, but broke off that arrangement in July citing "discomfort with the tone" of the agency. The Lipscombs' attorney transsexual Randi Barnabee told the Chronicle that, "The family felt that Children Services was trying to make them conform to [Aurora] living as a boy."
GenderPAC executive director transsexual Riki Wilchins urges taking action not only for Aurora Lipscomb but also to reform the GID diagnosis, saying, "It's past time gender was removed as a basis for psychiatric and state mistreatment and terrorizing of little children like Aurora. Call the American Psychiatric Association's [President] Dr. Alan Tasman and the Committee on Gay Lesbian Bisexual issues of the American Psychological Association and tell them to remove gender as a basis for mental illness in little children like Aurora Lipscomb."
Source: PlanetOut 09/15/00 AOL KEYWORD: PlanetOut www.planetout.com
NOW
IN THEATERS: Woman on Top
.
In the comedy Woman On Top, currently in theaters, Penelope Cruz plays Isabella, a captivating woman who moves to San Fran and rooms with her best friend, recent ex-con and transsexual drag queen Monica, played by Harold Perrineau, Jr. There’s some plot about a spell she has cast by Yemanja, goddess of the sea to tame her philandering man. But who cares, since the co-starring character is a transsexual drag queen! It’s getting nice reviews, but you’d better see it quick.-jp
Official movie website: www.womanontopmovie.com
.
Michigan Politician’s Wife Decides to Insult Everyone Who’s Not Just Like Her
The wife of the Michigan state house speaker is being criticized by gay activists for sending an E-mail that insults gays and lesbians. The Triangle Foundation, a gay statewide group, says Jenny Perricone, the wife of Republican speaker Chuck Perricone, sent an E-mail to a list of recipients in which she said the “pre-requisites” for being a Democrat include believing that “the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding,” “gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural,” and “homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected.” Chuck Perricone said his wife had inadvertently forwarded the message because it was attached to another message. He told the Kalamazoo [Mich.] Gazette that the message was “tasteless, crude, and without merit. Once my wife realized the nature of the E-mail she had received, she immediately apologized to all concerned. She feels badly about this.” Sean Kosofsky, director of policy for the Triangle Foundation, said the message was “offensive and irresponsible. The Republican Party has attempted to posture themselves as ‘compassionate conservatives’ who are tolerant of gays and lesbians, but the actions of Perricone show that the party is still living in the dark ages when it comes to acceptance and diversity.”
source: The Advocate 09/22/00
Nashville’s
Pride Celebration, as Reported By The Tennessean
It was a day for balloon rainbows and barefoot dancing, for political messages and being with both of your mommies.
Nashville Pride 2000, an all-day, all-inclusive event celebrating gay solidarity, drew a crowd of about 2,000, including dozens of alternative families, to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall yesterday.
Hayden Andrews-Looper, 2, looked around with an expression of pure contentment, a lollipop lodged between two ample cheeks. His mothers, the Rev. Cynthia Andrews-Looper and Allyson Andrews-Looper, chatted with friends and dozens of people wandering around an array of booths on the mall lawn.
Past them, on two stages, bands jammed, a church choir swayed, and dogs, cats and an award-winning turtle competed in a beauty pageant for animals dressed in drag.
Children ricocheted off blow-up walls in an inflatable trampoline. Vendors peddled stickers and T-shirts. Politicians and public service groups passed out pamphlets and candy.
In past years, the pinnacle of Nashville Pride had been a march on public streets to demonstrate the gay community's strength.
Organizers of this year's event, pressed for time and hoping to attract a more diverse crowd, planned activities for all ages and dropped the parade from its schedule. About 70 Pride volunteers came together 90 days ago after nursing student Raney Pollos and several other people realized that no plans had been made for a rally and parade this year.
The Lesbian
and Gay Coalition for Justice in Nashville and the Washington, D.C.-based
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a legal support group for gays in the
military, helped arrange speakers, including the parents of a Fort Campbell
soldier who was murdered after fellow soldiers heard rumors that he was gay.
The result was a mixture of earnest political and social messages, and street fair fun activities.
Acting Pride co-chairman Deborah Marshall said she was "amazed at how many people have turned out ... Especially children. We've had a lot of children. We wanted to be a family festival, and I think we've achieved that."
Participants were equally satisfied with the mixed crowd. "We get a real sense of us as a community in this setting. We see each other walking around, we see families walking around and we're able to interact," said Cynthia Andrews-Looper, pastor of Holy Trinity Community Church in West Meade. Her son, still a toddler, is too young to understand the gathering. But his mother said she hoped in future years that the annual event will be "affirming for him."
She and her partner are teaching him that there are all kinds of families, Cynthia Andrews-Looper said. "He'll be able to see other families like his. He'll be able to see two mommies and two daddies."
Pat Kutteles, mother of the late Pfc. Barry Winchell and a psychiatric nurse who has worked with gay children rejected by their families, was particularly pleased with the positive atmosphere of the Nashville event.
Since her son was killed, she and her husband have been battling the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which says gays can serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation hidden.
But as they make public appearances and speak with people about their son's death, the Kutteleses have broadened their target, urging all people to let go of prejudices. "We hope that, among the changes we're making, there'll be more freedom and welfare for the children," Kutteles said yesterday.
source: by Monica Whitaker The Tennessean 09/17/00
MORE VALS PICS FROM PRIDE INCLUDED IN THE VALS' PHOTO GALLERY
Priscilla:
Queen of the Olympics
American TV viewers got nary a glimpse of the controversy-causing drag queens atop the Priscilla float in the Olympic closing ceremonies. The floats in general got minor coverage as NBC opted interview athletes during the finale. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that “details of the catfight after Cindy Pastel was picked to ride on top of the bus will probably never be known…”-j.p.
.
Register at Home Depot, then Move to The Netherlands. Even More Marriage News!
The Netherlands, long among the gay rights vanguard, enacted a bill converting the country's registered same-sex partnerships" into full-fledged marriages, complete with divorce guidelines and wider adoption rights for gays.
Proponents say the legislation will give Dutch gays rights beyond those offered in any other country.
Lawmakers thumped their desks in approval when the vote passed 109-33, and some of the scores of witnesses in the packed public gallery applauded and embraced.
Parliament had discussed the bill last week, when only a few small Christian parties voiced opposition during an emotional and often heated three-day debate. It gained speedy approval Tuesday.
In Norway and Sweden, gay couples can already register their partnerships and Denmark has gone a step further -- it was the first country to allow gay marriages in 1989...The law is expected to take effect early next year..
AP 09/00
QUICK HITS: Media Mentions
The Advocate / 08/22/00
Honorary Queen of Pop, Boy George, is less than happy over Elton John’s recent defense of rapper Eminem’s controversial antigay lyrics as “intelligent hard-core” and “poetry.” New York Post columnist Neal Travis reports Boy George’s response: “I am shocked to hear that Elton John has called queer-baiting Eminem the most important voice since Bob Dylan...Cool singers or bands hate being championed by fellow artists they consider uncool, and Eminem will not take kindly to being championed by one of the world’s most famous diamond-studded homosexuals.”
Newsweek / 07/17/00
Karen Kerin, Vermont’s first openly transgender candidate for Congress, complains about the press: “I wish reporters would ask me more about what’s in my head and less about what’s between my legs.”
EXP / 07/28/00
Rupaul, explaining to a Missouri gay magazine why her website address isn’t what you’d expect: "Some bitch stole the name www.rupaul.com and held it hostage and tried to bribe me into buying it.”