Transgender

A shelf full of books on a shelf.

Redefining Realness: How Janet Mock Is Teaching Me To Be A Better Trans Ally

By pwsbuilder / April 7, 2014 /

“We need to give trans people space to tell their own stories, and we should follow the lead of people who are out there and being visible, and actually advocating for these rights.” –Janet Mock Over the past few months, transgender women and men have been in the news a lot. From Laverne Cox and…

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A man and woman hugging in front of a parking lot.

The Lynchings Haven’t Stopped

By pwsbuilder / March 21, 2014 /

On March 6th, in Galveston, Texas, a city outside of Houston, a young African-American lesbian couple was killed and dumped near a dumpster. Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson (pictured left) were 24 years old and out to their families, yet the main suspect for this crime is Cosby’s father. These two women shared the same age and race…

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A man and woman walking in a park.

Attempt To Repeal The School Success And Opportunity Act Fails

By pwsbuilder / February 25, 2014 / Comments Off on Attempt To Repeal The School Success And Opportunity Act Fails

Today, the effort to repeal the School Success and Opportunity Act—California’s new law ensuring that all children have opportunities to do well in school—failed to qualify for the ballot. The law—also known as Assembly Bill 1266—went into effect on January 1st, ensuring that schools have the guidance they need to make sure all students, including…

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A black and white photo of people walking down a hallway.

Building Safer Spaces For Our Transgender Youth

By pwsbuilder / January 28, 2014 / Comments Off on Building Safer Spaces For Our Transgender Youth

When I was in high school in rural North Carolina, I wasn’t very out. It was the early days of what you might call online social connection. I set up dummy email addresses to create secret identities on usenet forums where I tried to figure out what it meant to be transgender. I had friends…

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A colorful firework explodes over a church.

Learning From Others: A New Year’s Challenge

By pwsbuilder / January 9, 2014 /

As we move into this New Year, I would like to share and reflect on three stories from my life that have helped shaped my message for today’s blog: A few weeks ago I was working in Ohio. My organization, Integrity USA, is working there to help gay, lesbian, bi, and trans* people get housing, employment,…

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The sun shines through a window in a house.

Loving Trans People As Ourselves

By pwsbuilder / December 13, 2013 /

Debates over California’s AB 1266, which is scheduled to go into effect in California in January 2014, are bringing out troubling arguments against transgender students in California. AB 1266 restates existing state and federal laws that ensure transgender students can fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities that match their gender identity.…

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A man and woman holding a sign that says our lives are valuable.

Ensuring Decent Care For Transgender People

By pwsbuilder / November 20, 2013 /

Our first Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) Ceremony was at a small United Methodist Church in Tacoma, Washington, in 2009. There were 40-45 persons present, most from the local transgender community. Peterson Toscano was performing “Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible.” During one segment of the service, the names of reported victims of anti-transgender violence were…

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Two men holding a candle in the dark.

Courage To Connect: Observing The Transgender Day Of Remembrance

By pwsbuilder / November 19, 2013 / Comments Off on Courage To Connect: Observing The Transgender Day Of Remembrance

Earlier this year, I was able to attend the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference. For those of you who may not know, this is a gathering of trans, genderqueer, gender bending, gender transcending and otherwise gender non-conforming (GNC) people of all ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations and income levels, as well as our families and friends, for…

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