The picture of a sunny day.

(Source: neutrois)

neutrois:

A must read.

As it is written now, Transvestic Disorder can be applied to any person who is sexually active while wearing clothing incongruent with their birth-assigned sex. It also canonizes the term “autoandrophilia” as a sexualizing diagnosis that can be applied to trans male/masculine folks. And while GID/Gender Dysphoria are pathologizing, Transvestic Disorder is both pathologizing and sexualizing.

kfffunk:

I made a coming out comic for facebook. Have a happy coming out day, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

(via fuckyeahfeminists)

artoftransliness:

World AIDS day is December 1st.

fenwayhealth:

Read more about new information on HIV/AIDS among young people in the U.S.

You can also help raise awareness by sharing these infographics on Facebook.

Download/share a high-res PDF of this infographic here. 

(via neutrois)

transaurus-rex:

Transgender people, the majority of whom have never had problems voting in the past, may now lose their right to vote due to dozens of new voter suppression laws. Over 25,000 transgender people could have their voting rights taken away. In response to these dubious new laws, we have released two resources to help transgender people reclaim their voting rights.

Definitely take a look at this website if you’re eligible to vote this upcoming election! It’s extremely important, considering that Romney will literally try to take away our basic human and legal rights. Spread this around as well so your trans* followers can see it.

(via madamethursday)

“Is Drag the imitation of gender, or does it dramatize the signifying gestures through which gender itself is established? Does being female constitute a ‘natural fact,’ or a cultural performance, or is ‘naturalness’ constituted through discursively constrained performative acts that produce the body through and within the categories of sex?”

- Judith Butler, 1990 preface to Gender Trouble

(via fatbodypolitics)

(via glitterfarm)

maiamorgan:

It’s about fucking time.

(Source: fuzzyhorns, via goforthandagitate)

mmmajestic:

Prison Industrial Complex - Trans Views

subtitles here

[T.W. conversations of rape, violence, transphobia, cissexism]

“ Transgender women from TGI Justice speak out about their experience with the Prison Industrial Complex. http://www.tgijp.org

During the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) training series, members learned about the politics of prisons in the U.S., honed their public speaking and leadership skills, and shared their own personal thoughts and experiences about the Prison Industrial Complex. Additionally, as a key part of the training, members wrote, directed, and filmed a mini-documentary in which they interviewed each other as first hand experts on the effects of the Prison Industrial Complex on trans women and their communities.”

(Source: heavymuffintop)

glitterfarm:

While the Transportation Security Administration has implemented new policies revolving body scanner and patdown airport security screenings, many people weary of traveling, especially transgender people and survivors of sexual assault

The advanced imaging technology scanners—used to detect prohibited items including weapons, explosives and other metallic and non-metallic threat items concealed under layers of clothing without physical contact—previously created a detailed image like this one:

The scanner image leave little to the imagination. While the TSA maintains the images do not show faces and are deleted, there have been reports of scanner images leaked online. And blurring faces does not mean the photos are anonymous, as scars, tattoos and other body modifications can identify a photo.

Newly implemented software would create an image like the one below, with a generic outline of a person, locating on the body potential threat items, weapons or anomalies:

But the new scanners require screeners to select a male or female gender for the passenger based on the passenger’s gender presentation, which is potentially problematic for transgender passengers. When asked if a transgender woman with a penis was scanned as female, “the reality is, an anomaly will come up if the individual appears to be female–is female–and has parts that may not be expected, additional screening will be necessary,” said Stephanie Stoltzfus, a representative of the TSA Office of Civil Rights and Liberties, External Compliance and Public Outreach Division, while unveiling the new software.

“Let’s say [a TSA agent] hits the blue button, [indicating male],” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, to TruthOut.org. ”There’s three kinds of people for whom they might hit the blue button, all of whom the TSA agent perceives to be male. And the person might be the person who has stereotypical genitalia, a normal-sized penis and testicles. But the person might be somebody who has disproportionate, or unexpectedly large genitalia; or unexpectedly small, or no genitalia.”

Passengers whose bodies don’t conform to a TSA agent’s expectations of their perceived or stated gender—whether those expectations are encoded in a device or the human mind—become targets of suspicion, and can be targeted for further security screenings and patdowns.

If a person opts out of the body scan, they will be subject to pat-downs in which TSA agents touch a passengers inner thighs, as well as between and below breasts.

In its body scanner FAQs, NCTE offers these travel tips:

• Travelers should make sure the gender provided when they book their flight matches the gender designation on the government-issued ID they bring to the airport. TSA travel document checkers will check to ensure that information on your ID matches your boarding pass; it does not matter whether your current gender presentation matches the gender marker on your ID or your presentation in your ID photo, and TSA officers should not comment on this.
• Both travelers and TSA personnel have the right to be treated with dignity, discretion and respect. If you encounter any issues, politely ask to speak to a supervisor immediately. Remain polite. Do not raise your voice or threaten TSA staff; this only results in additional delays.
• You have the right to opt out of a full-body scan in favor of a manual pat-down. It is your choice.
• You have the right to choose whether a pat-down is conducted in the public screening area or in a private area, and, if in a private area, whether to be accompanied by a travel companion.
• You have the right to have manual search procedures performed by an officer who is of the same gender as the gender you are currently presenting. This does not depend on the gender listed on your ID, or on any other factor. If TSA officials are unsure who should pat you down, ask to speak to a supervisor and calmly insist on the appropriate officer.
• Transgender people should never be required to lift, remove or raise an article of clothing to reveal a prosthetic item and should not be asked to remove it. This applies to items such as breast forms and packers.
• You should not be subjected to additional screening or inquiry because of any discrepancy between a gender marker on an ID and your appearance. As long as your ID has a recognizable picture of you on it, with your legal name and birth date, it should not cause any problem.
• Foreign objects under clothing, such as binding, packing or prosthetic devices, may show up as unknown or unusual images on a body scan or patdown, which may lead TSA personnel to do additional screening.  This does not mean that you cannot fly with these items, but you may be forced to undergo further screening. Be prepared to explain what these items are or check them in your luggage so that you can minimize scrutiny and delays.
• Items containing liquid, gel or powder substances will trigger additional security screenings; therefore, we strongly recommend you pack these items in your checked luggage or leave them at home.
• Wigs or hairpieces may require additional screening if they are bulky or not form-fitting. If you have gone through a metal detector or body scanner and TSA personnel want to do additional screening of a wig or hairpiece, you may request that a patdown be limited to your hairpiece or that you be permitted to pat the area down yourself and have your hands swiped for chemical residue.
• If you are carrying medically prescribed items, such as syringes for hormone injections or vaginal dilators, it is very helpful to have proof of the medical necessity of the item. Ask your doctor for a letter stating that he or she has prescribed the item, or keep medical devices in their pharmacy packaging that includes a prescription label. Be prepared to briefly explain the purpose of the item if asked.

Additionally, many aspects of airport security can further traumatize a sexual assault survivor. According to Newsweek:

“After a sexual assault, it seems that many survivors have difficulty having their bodies touched by other people,” says Shannon Lambert, founder of the Pandora Project, a nonprofit organization that provides support and information to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. This fear of contact even extends to partners and, often, medical professionals. “A lot of survivors do not want to be in positions where they’re vulnerable. They put up defenses so that they can be in control of their body. In cases like this, it seems like some of that control is going away.”

If that sense of control is violated, it can lead to more than hurt feelings. There’s a physical reaction associated with a triggering incident, and the response can vary from person to person.

“We’ve had a number of survivors who have had their pictures taken and put online,” as part of a sexual assault, says Lambert. “So for them, even though [the TSA photo is] deleted, even if the person is in the other room, the idea that the photo’s being taken can be difficult to handle.”

If taking to the skies is the only travel option, Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Servicesrecommends survivors familiarize themselves with TSA security procedures to help avoid a potentially triggering incident.

Passengers may opt to communicate sensitive personal or medical matters on a standardized notification card created by the TSA. While this card does not exempt anyone from security screenings, it serves as a means to discretely inform agents about a passenger’s situation. The Pandora Project has created cards like these specifically for survivors of sexual assault to use in potentially triggering situations.

The TSA policies regarding body scanners and pat-downs leave travelers with few options. Unfortunately, if there is no travel alternative to flying, passengers must weigh the options and decide what makes them feel least uncomfortable and unsafe.

If you dislike the new security policies or a TSA agent acts inappropriately while screening you, contact the TSA and/or the American Civil Liberties Union to file a complaint.

UPDATE: Need to report harassment by a TSA agent? There’s even app for that.

Originally posted on Stuff Queer People Need To Know.

fuckyeahfeminists:

In a groundbreaking decision late last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said a refusal to hire or otherwise discriminate on the basis of gender identity is by definition sex discrimination under federal law.

mmmajestic:

my gender is filthy, contradictory, performed —a persistent metamorphosis. it is wandering hands and hot lips, it is fists and rhinestones and guttural moans. it is vintage glamour daddy and deep, tender strength. it is everything stable you thought you could rely on about binary gender except that it has been pulverized and regurgitated in an incoherent mess. 

my gender is a cultural mockery. it is an homage to pain, connection and transformation. it is both a rejection and an acknowledgement of the ways that i am trapped by beauty, gender and desire. it is from this place that i pervert beauty. it is from this place that i highlight the fallacy of a natural, or neutral body. it is here, in this place of uncertainty, that my transformation continues. 

majestic

(via heavymuffintop)

(via glitterfarm)

excerpt from Deborah Rudacille’s book The Riddle of Gender (via trans-gressions)

(Source: nosuchfinishline, via artoftransliness)