Mini-documentary about Midwest trans activist, JAC Stringer: by Hunter Stuart at Stuart Productions

The Midwest is crawling with queers. Not because of any strong presence but in the more literal sense. Queers are crawling because we do not have the space to stand up. We do not have the resources that would enable us to live full, healthy lives. We, like so many others, are isolated in our homes, in our towns, controlled and confined by others, longing for life and being unable to live it.

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I came out as trans I didn’t know anyone who was like me and I had no way of finding them. The city‘s “gay“ scene was practically extinct and no trans or queer scene it had never existed in the first place. There was no space for me, so I decided to try and make one.

Apparently January is the 2nd annual National Drag History Month. A month-long event that “salutes the richness of drag culture and pays tribute to the courageous queens & kings who have fought for equality while inspiring, educating & entertaining us all.” Sounds cool right?  But when you click the link you may feel the same disappointment I did in seeing that “drag history month” is nothing but a LOGO ploy for programming (also see excellent blog by Queerty). You may become depressed at the fact that the link itself has the word “franchise” in it. Or you may just be downright confused how there is not one mention of any female-bodied or gender transgressive/genderfuck performers. I guess National Drag History Month is for girls only… or is it for boys only because they are drag queens? Either way, WTF? Do drag kings have no history of doing anything? Not that LOGO would know either way because no actual history is ever talked about in the programming.

It is a common misconception that drag kings and genderfuck performers don’t exist, but we actually do. It isn’t like we aren’t out and about. Now days its hard to hit up a lesbian bar without finding some trace of drag kings or go to a queer space without at least some knowledge somewhere of genderfuck performers. Female bodied gender performers have been gaining speed and spectrum, in the past ten years especially, but still we get thrown to the back of the bar. Why?  I remember when I was first getting into drag and I told my sister about a drag king show. Her response, not knowing any better at the time, was “Drag king? But isn’t the point of drag being flashy with sequins and glitter? Boy clothes are boring.” I responded with a very humble,  “Well… but… I wear sequins too…”

Male bodied gender transgression has always been more visible, either because of guarding masculinity or simply because they are a lot taller. As a result so many female bodied performers have busted their asses with character, choreography, and costume and still never gotten to top the bill when queens are around. Now don’t get me wrong, I have some very dear friends who are queens, drag or otherwise. Some of my favorite performers are drag queens. That said, the constant removal of non-male bodied drag and gender performers from the drag movement, or even the queer movement, is fucking bullshit. Drag queens have long been a trademark representative of visual queerness, not because they are better in any way, but mainly because of the cultural dissonance caused by any male person “giving up” their masculinity for the less than desirable feminine presentation. I’m not saying drag queens haven’t been around the block, fighting the good fight. I’m just saying they weren’t the only ones there. Another element that I feel may contribute to the muffling of drag kings is the stereotyping of female-bodied queerness. it isn’t just straight porn projecting “straight looking” women fucking each other anymore. Shows like the L Word promote a gender-normative, hyper-sexualized female queerness that leaves no room for anything or anyone else. Who decided that genderfucked female bodies weren’t sexy? Homonormative, HRC pumping queer gentrification rears its ugly head again.

x posted MidwestGenderqueer, AmplifyYourVoice.com, TransgroupBlogs,

(This is a repost of my Facebook Note posted yesterday, June 9, 2009. I believe the subject is important enough that it must be shared with those not on Facebook).

Among my endeavors is the title of Webmaster of the modern-day Gay Activists Alliance International website. (http://www.gayactivistsalliance.org). The GAAI have taken a stance along with other organizations to boycott London Pride for their lack of support of the trans-identified community. The GAAI is FULLY INCLUSIVE of trans-identified individuals.

I am a trans male. I was born female-bodied, but having the gender identity of a man. I have medically and socially adjusted my body to match my gender identity.

I’ve been around the GLBT community for 30+ years. I have seen many changes. I have seen the acronyms grow from just G to GL to GLB to GLBT and continuing on with the Q and the I ….

Forty years ago, we were ALL part of the “Gay” community. There were no separatists (*see Note below). Whether we were male, or female, nellie, flaming, butch, dyke, queen, crossdresser, transvestite, transsexual (a medical term, btw), liked men, liked women, liked both, or even were simply gender-variant – we ALL made up the Gay community.

Remembering Stonewall today requires knowing the TRUTH. The truth has been skewed and warped through the years, as our ONE community has split into its smaller fragments of acronyms.

The truth is, Stonewall was initiated by what we would NOW term the gender-variant people, or “TRANS”. There would be NO PRIDE if it weren’t for TRANS men and women.

Let me repeat this. THERE WOULD BE NO PRIDE IF IT WERE NOT FOR TRANS MEN AND WOMEN.

The truth is, the FIRST riot where we all protested has now become a forgotten piece of history – The Compton’s Cafeteria Riots”. These riots were initiated by TRANS people in San Francisco, three years BEFORE Stonewall, in 1966.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton%27s_Cafeteria_Riot and www.comptonscafeteriariot.

Pride – Freakish or Fun

I’ve always been a big one for gay pride marches, especially when there’s a bit of trans* pride in them as well, and although I’ve only been to one so far, I love the atmosphere, and I plan to get myself to two this year, so imagine my surprise when a transwoman said that she felt they were freakish.

I can sort of understand her perspective, taking a step back – it’s taking sexuality (or gender identity, but I’m focussing on sexuality right now) and running through a town absolutely parading it for everyone and anyone to see, and  I can understand why some people might prefer that it was kept private, “what you do in the bedroom is your own affair”, but calling it freakish did seem like a step too far, to say that to dress flamboyantly for a day, and parade in public for your equal rights was making yourself into a freak.

A freak, in this context, is somebody who is visibly different from the norm, but surely in this case a straight person at pride would be the ‘freak’ (I say, flippantly) because most people are there because they’re… guess what? Gay and Proud. I don’t think being gay is a particular achievement honestly, so I can see why people would be a bit leery of the idea of being proud of it, but for so long in Western culture it’s been presented as something to be ashamed of that maybe it’s right for one day to wear it proudly.

The other irritation was that this transwoman didn’t seem to realise that if being gay and wearing not-a-lot, or wearing bright colours or feathers in public was freakish, ebcause it wasn’t normal, what about being a male bodied person wearing female clothes? Surely, by her definition, that’s just as abnormal.

She went on to rant about activists. I am an activist, I don’t want to hide who I am, I want to pave the path for other people, that they might transition more easily. I’m only alive and sane now because other people have paved that path for me, and in turn I want to do it for others, I want to be a father figure to young transboys just finding their feet in the same way Michael has done for me.

To be a freak is to be abnormal. To be abnormal is deviating from the average. Surely transpeople do that in a way that few others do? And maybe it is something to be proud of, that we have the confidence and self assurance that we can walk through the streets saying “This is who I am, and you know what? I’m not going to change that”.

I was asked if I wanted to spend my life standing in the spotlight, or trying to be as normal as possible, and do you know what? I want to spotlight it, I want to do everything I can for the next generation of GBLTQ children to have it as easy as possible. If that means that my life is a level the harder, then so be it, I’ll do that, to ease it a bit more for the ones who come after.

Being “stealth” means very different things to different people. You get some people who choose to be stealth, and see the bounds of that as telling their partner, but nobody else, whereas other people can see being stealth as not wearing the transgender logo on every single item of clothing, or maybe not shouting it from the rooftops. There is quite a noticeable divide in the trans* community between people who think being stealth is a good idea, and what should be aimed for, by any self-respecting trans person, and people who consider it cowardice, and denying ones heritage. I’m not out fully, but in areas where I present male, I’m typically not stealth, but more about that later.

I think that the trans* community is one that’s open to divides occuring (I’ve got another blog planned regarding those divides), but I think this one is an odd one.

From a stealth perspective, looking at people who are not stealth

• They aren’t assimilating, they are displaying their trans* status, therefore they are not proper men/women (the assumption that goes along with this is that to be a “real” man or woman, one should wish to hide the fact that one might have a different biological make-up to others)
• They make it harder for the rest of us to pass, because people are more aware of trans* people (on the other hand, they raise awareness, which helps when people want information or understanding, and surely people transition to be themselves anyway, not to help or hinder others passing)
• They just want the attention of being different (it seems a rather risky sort of attention to crave)

From the perspective of people who are not stealth, looking at people who are stealth

• They are ashamed of being trans*, and are hiding (choosing to protect oneself by not disclosing ones biological make-up and chromasomes does not equal being ashamed of it)
• They are doing nothing to help the next generation of trans* people (transitioning carries no obligation to help other trans* people)
• They are making things harder for themselves by not accepting that there is a difference between them and cispeople (to a lot of people genitals are irrelevant, so it might seem as if, on a day to day basis, there really is no difference between a trans* person and a cis person)

I’ve seen all those points made, from people who I had always tended to think were considered and rational, and it feels like in taking sides in this debate, people are ignoring the basic fact, that you transition because you need to for yourself. Transitioning is a basic selfish act, and that there is nobody who has the right to tell you to hide it or exploit it, any more than anyone else has the right to tell you to transition, or not to transition.

The reason I came to write this blog was because everywhere online that I interact as James Alexander Casimir Greyson, as a man, I internact as a transman. Or, should I say, everywhere except one place, where my boyfriend introduced me to his cisguy friend as male, not seeing the need to mention what was in my pants. However, we progressed to swapping photos of ourselves in varying levels of dress (or lack thereof) and I was shocked, astounded, surprised that the cisguy friend never stopped to realise that I wasn’t a cisguy, and hence that he’d seen me in boxers alone, and still seen me as male, not as trans*, but as male. (He hasn’t figured out that I’m a transguy yet even). This is my first experience at being stealth, and I’m not sure I like it, for myself it feels uncomfortably decietful, that he doesn’t know.

Does there honestly need to be a divide between people who choose to leave their trans* identity behind them, and people who don’t? I’ve seen some people who pass amazingly, and choose still to be relatively stealth, and I’ve seen people who are totally stealth do activism, and successfully. The community seems almost, as a whole, to seek out petty divides within itself, and cause argument for the sake of causing argument, for the sake of showing that everyone who is not identical to themselves is weird.

I will never be a “normal” man. I will never have a “normal” penis. I will never have XY chromasomes, I will never have had primary male socialization. What a lucky guy I am, I’ve got to grow up experiencing female socialisation, I get to have XX chromasomes, I’m lucky enough to have a sensate chest, to be able to bear children, and maybe I need to remember these benefits, rather than considering whether I’ll display or hide my differences. They’re still a part of me, whether I accept or reject them.

I am writing this in response to an article written by David Crary from the Associated Press. The article can be found here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081224/ap_on_re_us/obama_gays

What Melissa wrote and quoted in the article sums up my feelings on this whole Warren business:

“Before we change minds we must change hearts,” Etheridge wrote. “Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands.”

I don’t agree at all with Obama choosing Warren, but I choose to look at the overall picture. Having the Lesbian and Gay Band is a positive statement for our community. Choosing Warren is a positive statement for their (“fundamental Christians”) community.

Why should it be all about the GLBT community? It’s about PEOPLE. We all have our likes and dislikes, our individual political stances, our own causes, our own beliefs. We will never ALL agree. Period.

Yes – I’m a part of the GLBT community, and I stand up for my rights and the rights of our community. I am out at certain protests and rallies. But I’m not going to stoop to the level of HATE like they have done.

Just my .02 cents for early this Christmas Eve day.

Seize the day!
 Michael

By  thinkMTV

1. ACT: Educate yourself about discrimination. There are countless ways to get involved. Check out some ways to promote tolerance in your life:

Ideas for Yourself
Ideas for Your Home
Ideas for Your School
Ideas for Your Workplace
Ideas for Your Community

2. SPEAK UP: Discriminatory actions and speech should be exposed and denounced. Speak up when you hear offensive jokes or slurs. Let people know that biased speech is never acceptable.
Using your voice, however, can be difficult and uncomfortable to do. Learn how to speak up no matter what situation you’re in.

Respond to a bigoted comment
10 ways to fight hate
101 Tools for tolerance
Respond to hate at school
Learn the Lingo

3. UNITE: Get involved with the existing groups in your community that promote diversity and fight discrimination. If these groups don’t exist, encourage those around you to form one. Don’t wait for someone else to take action. You and a few friends could be the catalyst for change.

4. BE A LEADER: Work with teachers, principals, politicians and community leaders. Working with the people in charge can be a great way to get more done. Discourage the use of discriminatory ideals and practices. Acknowledge and celebrate the diverse leaders in your community. Invite these leaders to speak to their communities about their experiences with discrimination. Urge and help leaders to promote tolerance, equality, and opportunity.

5. DIG DEEPER: Explore your own prejudices and stereotypes. Where do you fit in? Seek out books with diverse characters and themes. Reading can be a good way to learn about the lives of people whose experiences are much different than your own.

Just by becoming aware of the words we use, we can begin to change the way we think about each other and our differences. Consider the language we use and the power it has to affect the ways we organize our world and each other. The words we choose are often a subconscious way we communicate and perpetuate discrimination.

Learn how we diminish people’s importance by comparing them unequally, even when we don’t realize it. (PDF)By assuming things based on “norms,” we perpetuate stereotypes. (PDF) Observations often carry a positive or negative point of view, even if we think we are getting just the facts. This point of view can have a huge impact on what we think and repeat as truth. (PDF)

Source (copyright):  http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF0002D79C001A00989991/