Month: June 2018

Ohio transgender reporting bill: Teachers would be forced to ‘out’ students to their parents – CNN

Ohio transgender reporting bill: Teachers would be forced to ‘out’ students to their parents – CNN:

Two Ohio state legislators want teachers to inform parents at the first sign that their child may be transgender.

Reps. Tom Brinkman and Paul Zeltwanger, both Republicans, introduced House Bill 658, which would force teachers to immediately notify parents if they see any signs of gender dysphoria. “If a government agent or entity has knowledge that a child under its care or supervision has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner opposite of the child’s biological sex, the government agent or entity … shall immediately notify, in writing, each of the child’s parents and the child’s guardian or custodian. The notice shall describe the total circumstances with reasonable specificity,” the legislation says.

The World Health Organization might have just made things worse for intersex people · PinkNews

The World Health Organisation might have just made things worse for intersex people · PinkNews:

The World Health Organization has sparked concern from intersex rights activists by maintaining existing guidelines on intersex people and even adding a new diagnosis for intersex children.

50 Songs That Define the Last 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride | Pitchfork

50 Songs That Define the Last 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride | Pitchfork:

LGBTQ+ people have always been at pop’s vanguard, as performers and audiences; the history of pop music is queer history. Blues originators like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, both openly bisexual, helped form the foundation of what would become R&B and rock‘n’roll. In the 1920s and early ’30s, Prohibition’s end gave way to the “Pansy Craze”: cabaret drag performances that brought gay nightlife to the masses and carried their aesthetics into mainstream musical theater. In the mid-’30s, at the edge of the Great Depression, moral backlash—sometimes disguised as economic conservatism but usually explicit in its bigotry—shut down many of these clubs and formally criminalized gay sex at a scale that had never before been seen. The closet door, which hadn’t even existed as we know it now, slammed shut.

Ohio conservatives consider ‘license to abuse’ bill for parents of transgender kids – ThinkProgress

Ohio conservatives consider ‘license to abuse’ bill for parents of transgender kids – ThinkProgress:

Conservatives in Ohio are pushing a bill that would make it incredibly easy for parents to block their transgender kids from accessing the care they need. It’s perhaps one of the most dangerous anti-trans bills that has been introduced in any state.

Trying To Understand

I apologize if this turns into a rambling mess. Right now I’m not sure what I am feeling or why. I just know it seems as though I’ve been drained not only of energy but of any vision of who or what I want to be when this is over.

Not so long ago I felt confident in the path I was following but lately, when I look inside all I find is a blank space. Where I could close my eyes and see myself as I have for so long, now the canvas is empty. Where I could let my mind go quiet and I could hear my voice clearly, now only silence answers me. When I cast out to understand the ways in which I experience the world, everything blends together… past and present until it seems as though who I am know has never changed from who I was for so long even though all those memories have been colored by thoughts and expectations I could never fully understand or relate to. In too many ways I feel as separated from what a part of me thought I should be as from what the world and those around me believed I should have been. As if there was an invisible wall between us.

For so long I would catch the briefest of glimpses of my deepest self or at least what I thought it was. A movement, a glance, a turn of phrase. A thought, a hope, even the fading memory of a dream. Now, all of these things leave me feeling more empty than I can fully express and dreams leave me with a lingering sadness which often carries throughout the day.

Now I sit here and try to convey this sadness to you so someone might understand…

End of the road?

Hasn’t been a good day, depression, anxiety, and headaches. I’m at the point where I have to wonder why I started writing in the first place, which is pretty sad since I’ve been doing this for 6 years. I just don’t know if there’s anything left to say.

It feels as if I’ve reached the end of the road and there’s nothing here but a cliff at my feet and a bottomless pit beyond.

Why some transgender women don’t feminize their voices through voice therapy.

Why some transgender women don’t feminize their voices through voice therapy.:

In a world that’s perpetually connected via social media, cellphones, and computers, the power and significance of your voice can be tremendous. Whether you’re listening to a loved one over the phone or hearing an actor on TV, you probably hear hundreds of unique voices every day. But have you ever put much thought into your own voice?

The USA Withdrew From The United Nations Human Rights Council: Here’s What That Means For LGBT and…

The USA Withdrew From The United Nations Human Rights Council: Here’s What That Means For LGBT and…:

The United Nations Human Rights Council is a committee of 47 seats occupied by diverse, signatory nations of the United Nations General Assembly. This panel was established in 2006 in response to the inhumane treatment of minorities- specifically people targeted by their own governments based on their race, religion, gender or LGBT identities. The council, which rotates countries who occupy the seats every 3 years, with each having a maximum term of six years, is designed to assess threats to vulnerable citizens whose human rights come under threat and intervene on behalf of the United Nations. Countries that have committed heinous acts of abuse and violated the rights of it’s citizens are not permitted to participate in the council which is hosted in neutral territory, Geneva, Switzerland.