Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Chastity Bono comes out as Chaz Bono

Okay, I’ll admit it: the other day, when I heard that Chastity Bono (offspring of the famous Sonny and Cher duo) publicly came out as male-identified Chaz Bono, my first thought was, ‘here we go.’ Transitioning, even coming out as transgender, is very personal and oftentimes very difficult; can you even imagine how much more difficult it must be as a celebrity whose every move will undoubtedly be scrutinized by anyone and everyone with access to a sounding board?

I put off researching the news for a couple days because I wanted to write a ‘welcome-to-the-community’ post, not a ‘oh-look-we’ve-been-bashed-in-the-news-again’ post, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. When I finally did punch a couple words into a couple search engines, though, the results impressed me; I really couldn’t find any negative press about it. There’s a lot of pronoun-swapping and confused vocabulary, but no apparent intentional disrespect unless you actively search for it. And why do THAT?

To date, Chaz himself has not submitted to an interview on the topic; blogs and news clips all over the internet hail him as the new face of the transgender community even as they admit that Chaz seems intent to keep his transition as private as possible. Howard Bragman, a spokesperson for the family, confirmed the coming out story and Chaz’s wish for privacy, adding, “it is Chaz’s hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue,” just as his coming out as a lesbian nearly two decades ago helped bring lesbianism into public view.

Candis Cayne, transgender actress and activist, has spoken out in support of Chaz (view the clip here), and of course in support of the entire transgender community. Queer and transgender activist and support groups all over have similarly put out public messages of support.

A lot of those groups are congratulating Chaz on ‘living authentically’ or ‘taking the next step,’ which (perhaps only when taken out of context in a news article) seems to imply that transitioning is necessary or that everyone transitions in the same way. This is certainly not true; just as everyone handles gender differently, so will anyone who identifies as transgender or otherwise gender-variant approach the idea of transitioning differently. Transitioning—indeed, even coming out— is not right for everyone, but it is just as important to support those who take that path as those who take different ones. So, from all of us to you, Chaz: good for you, for doing what’s right for YOU.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

TLDEF Benefit for the Name Change Project


The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) is dedicated to helping transfolk achieve equality. TLDEF seeks to end discrimination against transgender people, and works on everything from national healthcare to fighting employment discrimination to individual legal cases. TLDEF creatively forms partnerships with other legal groups in order to offer helpful programs that many transgender individuals would not have access to otherwise.

One such project is the Name Change Project, which provides free legal name changes to transgender people who cannot afford it. As many of us know, changing one’s legal name is a huge step for a person who is transitioning. Many transgender people spend months or even years living with a new name, and getting the legal recognition of that new identity allows that identity to be acknowledged in ways that it was not before. A driver’s licenses, employment applications, etc. must show one’s legal name, which can sometimes be a painful or embarrassing topic for a transgender person.

Getting one’s friends and family members to embrace a new name is hard enough; legally changing one’s name involves courts, judges, and fees that are intimidating at best. The Name Change Project provides free lawyers for transgender people seeking legal name changes, and will even pay for the name change fee if the person is unable. At the moment, this great resource is only available in New York; hopefully, the Name Change Project or similar initiatives will become available in other areas soon!

Every year, TLDEF holds a Benefit to help raise funds for programs such as the Name Change Project, which has helped over 250 people since its beginnings almost two years ago. The benefit is to be held at the Vlada Lounge in New York City on June 16th. Join TLDEF for cocktails and conversation in order to raise money for the Project!

The cheapest ticket you can buy is $25, the “fixed income” price. Those of us who make minimum wage might find this cost of admission to a cocktail social a bit steep, but remember, the money is going to a terrific cause.

Even if you can’t get to the benefit, it’s good to know that resources like this are out there for our transgender friends, children, lovers and family members!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Trans Pride: Washington DC


I know most of you are probably based in New England like me, but I thought I’d pass along the fact that the Washington DC Trans Pride event is tomorrow! I didn’t even hear about this until today, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know!

The point of the event is to “celebrate the Washington DC metro area Transgender community,” although since it’s being held in DC (Madison Hotel) it kind of doubles as an affirmation for all of us. Perhaps surprisingly, this event has been going on for the past THIRTY-FOUR years. The theme this year is “Generations of Pride: Celebrate and Remember—Stonewall at 40,” embracing the common theme of GLBT events this year and this June especially. The event schedule and registration ($10) is available online! (Check out http://www.capitaltranspride.org/)Apparently they’ve taken a lot of new steps this year to ensure that it runs smoothly and is better than ever before, so if you happen to be able to check it out, let the rest of us know what it was like!

If you know of any upcoming trans pride or educational events, lectures, and so on, please please please don’t hesitate to post about them or send me an email so that I can. We want to keep communicating, and pride events offer an opportunity like no other to do just that!

Connecticut Pride is ALSO tomorrow, and although not specifically Trans-targeted, it’ll undoubtedly be a good time and a great networking opportunity. Anyone going, feel free to let us know how it was!