By Adunni

Just the exact way you say it to remind us of outdoing the box, 

An imposing call to order,

reminding us that we might just be doing too much.

After all, we paid dues with our heads buried under the waters 

And dreams dying in thoughts.

Yet, we are advised to TONE IT DOWN!

Denying ourselves of existing at their comfort,

While we are made aliens in our birthplace, homes and even to ourselves.

They say, the more the normality, the better the acceptance.

We have been taught to

HATE who we are, 

BE AFRAID of what we’ve become

and BEAT DOWN at anything that takes our form.

They say you do not have to be out and loud

but you, you… While you stay flourishing in the regretful corner of your heart,

your freedom is to impose restricting opinions on our expression of self.

For what we love, who we are, brings us together and so that same…

the same is the joy to exist differently and free.

How so sweet to consider our safety

but it’s not in our position to apologize

when they are not close to comfort with our lives.

The post “Tone It Down”: Poetry By A Black Trans Femme appeared first on TransLash Media.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1943, Sir Lady Java is a Black trans entertainer and activist who moved in the same circles as James Brown, Richard Pryor, Don Rickles, Lena Horne, Rudy Ray Moore (better known as Dolemite), Sammy Davis Jr., and more.

For Black History Month and every month, we at TransLash honor trans icons like Sir Lady Java, who continue to inspire us today.

By Zarina Crockett and Daniela “Dani” Capistrano for TransLash Media, video editing by Brennen Beckwith

Sir Lady Java Explainer Transcript

Zarina: Hey TransLash fam!

Step into the spotlight of Sir Lady Java: a pioneer and trailblazer for transgender rights and the entertainment industry.

Born in the vibrant heart of New Orleans in 1943, Lady Java was someone who knew from a young age that she was destined to shine and she did just that in a world that was not ready for her light.

Java’s charisma uniqueness and talent made her an iconic pillar of Los Angeles nightlife.

She was adored by many for her performances and her amazing look.

Lady Java challenged rule Number 9, which was a law that targeted trans reformers. It basically said that you can’t perform or crossdress without a specialized permit.

Lady Java was important to pioneering the fight for transgender rights. Her legacy of activism glamour and the full perspective of a life of a Black transgender woman still endures today.

Sir Lady Java’s story inspires us all to live authentically and fight for every voice to be heard.

Learn more about Sir Lady Java or other icons in Black trans history in the Black Trans History Month Guide at translash.org.

Did you find this resource helpful? Consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post Sir Lady Java: Black Trans Woman and Icon appeared first on TransLash Media.

We’ve created this space to honor and remember the transmasc and nonbinary siblings we have lost so far in 2023 to anti-trans violence, intimate partner violence, oppression, and mysterious circumstances. TRIGGER WARNING: trans death.

Transmasc Deaths In 2023

By Daniela “Dani” Capistrano and Alex Guerra

As first reported by pghlesbian.com, we have lost 38 known TGNC siblings in the United States in 2023. Some mainstream news outlets continue to fetishize our deaths for clickbait and comments; deadnaming and dehumanizing our community. Transmasc people are often treated like an afterthought.

With this memorial page we remember the 7 known transmasc and nonbinary siblings who were taken from us this year. We say known because trans people are often misgendered and deadnamed for months and even years by mainstream media, our stories often going unreported for months and years after our deaths. Trans lives continue to matter even when the media erases us.

We thank HRC, Them, Advocate, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, @TDORINFO, and others for their dedication to reporting on trans lives and deaths with respect and accuracy. We have linked to these sources below.

As you learn about our young trancestors’ lives and their deaths, please take the time you need to step away and care for yourself; these stories are triggering.

Dominic Dupree, also known as Dominic Palace

PRONOUNS: Dominic used multiple pronouns on publicly visible social media.

AGE: 25

WHERE HE’S FROM: Gary, Indiana

WHERE HE DIED: Chicago, Illinois

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: October 13, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot

Dominic Palace Dupree was inside his vehicle in a Chicago alley around 10:46 p.m. when gunfire broke out, according to police. They were struck multiple times throughout the body and pronounced dead at the scene. Dominic was a graduate of Thea Bowman Leadership Academy and an accomplished entrepreneur who owned two businesses: Private Protection Division LLC in Gary as well as Hondo IV Lawncare & Snow Removal LLC.

“Dominic had an entrepreneurial spirit and was passionate about providing services to help others. Dominic was only 25, loved by so many people and surely had so much more to give.” – Tori Cooper, Human Rights Campaign Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative

Dominic’s family has set up a crowdfund for funeral expenses. The page uses their name assigned at birth and male pronouns.

SOURCE: HRC and Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Luis Ángel Díaz Castro

PRONOUNS: He/Him

AGE: 22

WHERE HE’S FROM: Bayamon, Puerto Rico

WHERE HE DIED: San Juan, Puerto Rico

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: August 12, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence

Luis Ángel Díaz Castro’s mother knew her son was missing; she told police that Luis had recently reported his ex-partner Domingo Rafael Aquino Ubri for domestic violence. She gave permission for them to search his apartment. Police ultimately found Luis’ body decomposed in his ex-boyfriend’s closet.

Díaz Castro was killed the day after his abuser was released.

After graduating from Luis Muñoz Rivera High School, Luis Ángel went on to study at Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo and was working for the Department of Education at the time of his death. 

His family remembers him for his love of music, with Hector Maysonet and Chema y JohnD as his favorite musicians.

For more information on the impact of intimate partner violence on the trans community, click here.

SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Camdyn Rider

PRONOUNS: He/Him and They/Them

AGE:  21

WHERE THEY’RE FROM: Orlando, Florida

WHERE HE DIED: Winter Haven, Florida

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: July 21, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence

Camdyn Rider was shot and killed by their partner. Camdyn was pregnant with his first child at the time of the shooting. He had taken to social media to share just how excited they were about having a baby boy that was due in August. 

People remember Camdyn for his humor, wit, and wry observations as well as his love for traveling, concerts, camping, photography, art, music, and books.

Trans people are disproportionately likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV), according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey

SOURCE: Them

Jacob Williamson

PRONOUNS: He/Him

AGE: 18

WHERE HE’S FROM: Laurens, South Carolina

WHERE HE DIED: Monroe, South Carolina

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: July 4, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence

According to Union County sheriff’s deputies, in that last month and a half before his death, Jacob began an online relationship with Joshua Newton from Monroe. They said Newton picked up Williamson for a date on June 30, then brought Williamson back to a home on Bethpage Lane in Monroe, where they believe he killed Williamson.

At age 18, Jacob was the youngest trans masculine person taken from us so far in 2023. A month and a half before his murder, he had finally begun to experience his authentic life: socially transitioning and moving in with supportive friends after his own family failed to accept him. He had recently begun working at a local Waffle House restaurant.

“This world was so cruel to Jacob his entire life. I find peace in knowing that in the last month and a half, he found peace.”– Promise Edwards, Williamson’s close friend and coworker

SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Banko Brown, also known as Banko Paso

PRONOUNS: He/Him

AGE: 24

WHERE HE’S FROM: San Francisco, CA

WHERE HE DIED: San Francisco, CA

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: April 27, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot

Banko Brown was fatally shot by a security guard in a San Francisco Walgreens. He was the first transmasc death to be reported in the US this year.

The Young Women’s Freedom Center, a San Francisco nonprofit that provides support for young women and trans youth of all genders, identified Banko as a community organizing intern for the nonprofit. He had been involved with the organization since he was just 12 years old and was currently serving as a community organizing intern. His work involved street assessments during the pandemic.

People closest to him remember him as bold and funny. Julia Arroyo, the co-executive director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center said that Banko “was brilliant and made everyone laugh.” 

“He reached my heart, Arroyo said. “He really did reach my heart. He was so funny and he was bold too, he knew what he was striving for.”

Detectives with the San Francisco Police Department Homicide Department arrested a suspect on April 27, identified as 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony. He has been charged with homicide. In October, San Francisco supervisors unanimously passed a law that limits private security guards’ right to wield a firearm, drafted in response to Banko’s violent death.

SOURCE: SFNews deadnamed Banko in their reporting so we aren’t linking to them here. Additional source: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents.

Tortuguita, also known as Manuel Esteban Paez Terán

PRONOUNS: They/Them

AGE: 26

WHERE THEY’RE FROM: Venezuela

WHERE THEY DIED: Atlanta, GA

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: January 18, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot

Tortuguita was shot and killed in Atlanta, GA. They were the first nonbinary person and first Indigenous person to be reported shot and killed in the US in 2023. In August, NBC News reported that Tortuguita was a protester who opposed construction of a vast law enforcement training center near Atlanta. They were shot at least 57 times in a police confrontation, an autopsy revealed.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Tortuguita is alleged to have shot and wounded a state trooper, and then officers opened fire. Relatives and friends have insisted that Tortuguita had their hands raised and was no threat to police.

“We are devastated to learn that our child, our sweet Manny, was mercilessly gunned down by police and suffered 57 bullet wounds all over their body,” Tortuguita’s mother, Belkis Teran, said in a statement.

The family and its representatives said they still have too many unanswered questions.

“We cannot even begin to determine what happened on the morning of January 18 until the GBI releases its investigation,” family attorney Brian Spears said in a statement.

After attending FSU’s Panama Campus from 2016 to 2019, Tortuguita attended school in Tallahassee from January 2020 to April 2021. They later graduated in December 2021 with a B.S. in Psychology. Tortuguita divided their time between Atlanta and Florida where they helped build housing in historically marginalized communities. They were a passionate environmental activist and forest defender.

Tortuguita was a trained medic, loving partner, dear friend, a brave soul, and so much more, according to their closest friends. Their mom stated they “loved the forest, they meditated there, the forest connected them with God…I never thought that [Tortuguita] could die in a meditation position. My heart is destroyed.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.

SOURCE: NBC News

Dacoda ‘Codii’ Lawrence

PRONOUNS: He/Him

AGE: 25

WHERE HE’S FROM: Steubenville, Ohio

WHERE HE DIED: Weirton, Brooke County, West Virginia

CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: September 5, 2023

CAUSE OF DEATH: car accident, with whisperings that Codii was not alone.

Dacoda ‘Codii’ Lawrence was struck by a vehicle on September 5, 2023, in Weirton, Brooke County, West Virginia. The driver responsible surrendered to the police immediately and is co-operating with the authorities.

Codii graduated from Indian Creek High School and most recently had worked as a cook at a Steubenville restaurant. Codii enjoyed music, tv shows, books, games, and hanging out with his friends.

Friends and family describe Codii as “the most genuine and caring human being” and said “his smile was contagious”. A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.

SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

Explore our guide to TDORR, which includes global trans deaths statistics. We will continue to update this 2023 Transmasc Memorial page; if you know of a transmasc and/or nonbinary person we missed, please let us know. We will confirm details and make the update, crediting you as the tip source with your consent. Thank you.

Did you find this resource helpful? Consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post Honoring the Transmasc Siblings we lost in 2023 appeared first on TransLash Media.

The three part series features conversations with trans rights advocate and investigative journalist, Imara Jones. Each episode underscores the efficacy of social entrepreneurship generated by a historically marginalized community, with unique and compassionate approaches to problem-solving.  

The docuseries features:

• Kayla Gore, Executive Director of My Sistah’s House, an affordable housing advocate in Memphis, TN;

• Breonna McCree, Co-Executive Director of The Transgender District, who helps trans people start and build businesses in San Francisco, CA;

• Oluchi Omeoga, Co-Director of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project in Minneapolis, MN, who is building a support network queer Black immigrants and refugees.  

Episode Summaries

Episode 1: Kayla Gore – My Sistah’s House

Home ownership is the cornerstone of stability. Set in Memphis, Tennessee, Episode 1 tells the story of Kayla Gore, whose own experience with homelessness led to her founding My Sistah’s House. Building 20 tiny homes, Kayla’s one-of-a-kind program offers zero-barrier housing for the trans and gender nonconforming community. Kayla’s journey of overcoming adversity fuels her mission to create a pathway to home ownership for those who are often overlooked. 

Episode 2: Breonna Mccree – The Transgender District

For an entrepreneur, economic independence is the path to freedom, stability, and self-fulfillment. The Transgender District is the first legally recognized transgender district in the world. Located in San Francisco, it was founded by three Black trans women in 2017 with the mission to “create an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people and its deep roots in the southeastern Tenderloin neighborhood.” The district also “aims to stabilize and economically empower the transgender community through ownership of homes, businesses, historic and cultural sites, and safe community spaces.” In this episode we follow the district’s co-executive director, Breonna McCree, as she supports and celebrates the economic empowerment of trans people, opening up opportunity and the possibility of a brighter future for the broader community.

Episode 3: Oluchi Omeoga – Black Lgbtqia+ Migrant Project

For immigrants to the United States, the difficulty of crossing borders is compounded by a volatile political climate. The challenges are even greater for those seeking refuge in the United States because of LGBTQ+ persecution.  This episode focuses on Oluchi Omeoga, who is based in Minneapolis and works to safeguard those at the intersection of immigration status, race and gender identity as the co-director of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP). The project was created in response to the increasing number of Black LGBTQ+ migrants who were in vulnerable situations after fleeing persecution in their home countries or were exposed to discrimination in the U.S. due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

“American Problems, Trans Solutions shows how Black trans leaders are tackling some of the pressing issues of our time — affordable housing, trans rights, and the plight of — with hope and real solutions,” said Imara Jones, series co-creator, founder and CEO of TransLash Media. “As we reflect on the contributions of the Black trans community this LGBTQ+ history month,  I wanted to tell the stories of living-history innovators who show how those forgotten by the rest of society can actually be vital sources of creating a bright future for everyone.  Our goal with this series is to show how, rather than being victims, Black trans people are pivotal visionaries.” 

Did you find this resource helpful? Explore all of our Black trans femmes content and consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post American Problems, Trans Solutions – WNET Premiere appeared first on TransLash Media.

By Brennen Beckwith, with additional reporting by Daniela “Dani” Capistrano

Vico Ortiz Q&A: Full Transcript

VICO: I am really glad that it’s happening. I’m also scared, because change is terrifying.

There’s a big part of me that I’m just like, “why do we have these big studios?”

I mean, like, I understand why, but I’m also just like, what if we take this opportunity to just burn it all to the ground and then start anew? Without this requirement for these really capitalistic structures that are heavily following white supremacy.

What if we begin following the structures of community building that we do for independent films? I mean, I don’t have all the answers. But I’m just like, what if we take this opportunity to reframe everything, change everything — really restructure. Take a good look of like how we are currently working and see how unsustainable that is. And find more sustainable ways for not only economically, because we still operate unfortunately under a capitalist structure.

But like how do we operate in a way that is satisfactory to our soul, to our mind, to our hearts, to our community; and not in a way that just benefits the, you know, top five.

So I’m really glad it’s happening. I’m also terrified because I’m just like, when am I working again? I don’t know. But again, I don’t really need those studios to work again.

And art should just be art. (laughs) 

How do I like, nurture my soul and nurture something that I really love to do, and still make a living with it? Without necessarily requiring the need of like big studios?

So yeah, I’m very into the strike and very into taking this opportunity to see how we can do better for the next time.

BRENNEN: I think the studios just suppress queer art.

VICO: It’s not surprising that all of a sudden, when we had the highest numbers of diverse creators both in front of and behind the camera, all of a sudden it was like oh we’re, we’re not getting paid. Like what the fuck is going on? And it’s not surprising that it’s us who are — like we gotta change this shit. It’s clearly, it was meant for to work for a very specific type of person and that’s just not how society works anymore.

BRENNEN: And you’re breaking the mold.

VICO: Always and forever, always and forever. 

BRENNEN: So they’re pushing back.

VICO: Correct.

BRENNEN: I feel like we’re going through a queer Renaissance in film and television right now.

VICO: Yes, yes, yes.

BRENNEN: You’re right: it just so happens to also be one of the worst times for actors and writers to break into the scene and to make a living and a career out of it.

VICO: I mean, like you very much, said we’re, you know, as queer people we’re constantly breaking the mold. So what another perfect opportunity to be like, we’re gonna break the mold again! Because y’all clearly don’t want to work sustainably for the community. We are very much like how can we make this work for everybody and not just like the few five. So yeah, I love that.

BRENNEN: You’re so right. 

VICO: YOU’RE so right! Haha.

It’s really upsetting what’s happening all around and how studios are using the strike as a way to excuse poor behavior. Already the industry as is, is so uncertain. And the way that they’re maneuvering around stuff to pay less taxes, or just like save money. I’m like y’all are making millions millions of dollars. Like come on y’all, like do you really need all that? What are you doing with it, you know?

I’m taking the moment to sit down and also just like assess the way that I also work around myself right. You know the second the world opened up, the cycles of capitalism began once again. I noticed myself again like barely sleeping, trying to go go and I’m just like, wait a minute this is not sustainable for me either.

So again, taking this opportunity as well to kinda be like, how can I really nurture myself in a way that when this new contract comes in, or like whatever proposals we make and whatever agreements we make, or if we burn it all to the ground and start anew. How can then I have a sustainable practice with myself?

BRENNEN: Hopefully we come out the other side, better.

VICO: I hope so too, I hope so too. It’s gonna take a bit though, it’s gonna take a bit. It’s gonna be, it’s gonna be a long one….but very necessary. Very, very necessary. 

About the SAG-AFTRA Strike

As of August 30, 2023, it is now day 121 of the WGA strike and Day 48 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

On July 14, 2023, the Screen Actors Guild – the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, also known as SAG-AFTRA, announced they would be going on strike due to ongoing labor issues with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The Today Show reported that the union represents an estimated “160,000 people in the entertainment industry, including actors, recording artists, radio personalities, and other media professionals.”

Actors and other SAG-AFTRA members are on strike for better pay and working conditions. Union members are asking for an 11% increase to their baseline pay and an 8% raise over the next two years. This raise will make up for the inflation, as explained in a document shared by SAG-AFTRA.

Reduced compensation is one major concern for the union, especially around payments called residuals. Actors receive residuals when their work is re-used beyond its initial performance, such as when a movie or show is re-aired or re-released on DVD or basic cable.  

Actors receive residuals when their projects are shown on streaming services, too — but according to SAG-AFTRA, they are compensated at a much lower rate for streaming projects, and their pay is calculated differently.

Vico is far from the only queer actor speaking out about their frustration with the streaming industry. In an interview with the Evening Standard, Billy Porter discussed the financial strain of the strike forcing them to sell their house.

LGBTQ+ writers held a “Trans Takeover” in May picket outside Netflix. Sydney Baloue told Variety “we don’t have a trans or non-binary ‘Will and Grace.’ We’re not in sitcoms. We have yet to even have truly a trans movie star,” Baloue explained. “We want to write those roles for those people. This is a civil rights movement of our generation.”

Trans actress Tommy Dorfman expressed in a Threads post that “I did all of the promo, flew round trip from New York to San Francisco to shoot for every episode, was kept for days without pay/working. I barely qualified for insurance. Within the first 28 days of release, season one garnered a total of 476 million view hours. This is why we strike.”

 “Our Flag Means Death” Season 2 continues the swashbuckling adventures of Stede and Blackbeard, with heartbreak and romance at the forefront. The Season 2 trailer dropped on August 30, 2023, welcoming back familiar faces and introduces new characters, promising a thrilling and entertaining high-seas journey.

Season 2 premieres with its first three episodes on Thursday, October 5, on Max. Two episodes will air weekly leading to the season finale on October 26. Watch the teaser trailer below:

Subscribe to receive alerts: translash.org/connect

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The post Vico Ortiz on SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘Burn it all to the ground and then start anew’ appeared first on TransLash Media.

Over 59,000 LGBTQ+ people live in Hawaii, according to a MAP/Williams 2020 report. The media is actively reporting on displaced Maui families and individuals, but so far only washingtonblade.com has reported on the needs of LGBTQ+ Maui residents.

Here Are More Lgbtq+ And Ally, Native-Led Organizations In Maui To Support:

Maui residents have been displaced and need shelter. Randy M. Soriano, the executive director of Hawai‘i LGBT Legacy Foundation, Honolulu Pride and the LGBTQ Center Honolulu on the island of Oahu is asking for assistance.

The Maui Strong Fund is providing resources that can be deployed quickly.

Hawai’i People’s Fund’s Maui Aloha: The Peopleʻs Response: Hawaiʻi Peopleʻs Fund has helped to support, build capacity, and amplify the impact of grassroots social change movements in Hawaiʻi since 1972.

Maui Rapid Response: An ahupua’a based citizen disaster response team. Linking locals to resources and needs. 100% of donations go directly to local families in need.

Hawaiʻi Workers Center: https://www.hawaiiworkerscenter.org/donate/ (Write in the notes section: “Lāhainā Fires” for the donation)

Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement, Alaka’ina and Kakoʻo Haleākalā

Transcend Maui is a comprehensive primary care clinic available to all transgender and gender diverse patients of Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. 

Follow and support Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a prominent trans kumu (teacher), activist, filmmaker. Wong-Kalu is the co-founder of Kūlia Na Mamo, a Native Hawaiian and transgender-led health organization, and a proud māhū in Hawai‘i. 

Trans Hawaiian History

The word “māhū” historically has been used as a transphobic and homophobic slur. Māhūs are third-gender people with additional spiritual and social roles. Artists and advocates like Wong-Kalu have made it their mission to reclaim māhū as a term of queer & trans empowerment.

Follow and support Cathy Kapua, another Native Hawaiian trans woman and activist.

Meet Moe Hoapili, one of an estimated 1,260 Hawai‘i high school students who identify as transgender.

Help Maui Residents With Direct Mutual Aid

Kay Ulanday Barrett, a disabled trans artist/poet/activist and TransLash community member, has been sharing Maui mutual aid resources on their Instagram account. They told TransLash Media in a DM that “it’s so necessary; we know agencies and institutions don’t always get people in crisis what they need!!”

(Watch Kay Ulanday Barrett and TransLash Media founder and CEO Imara Jones speak at #BeyondBinaries: the first ever high-level meeting on gender diversity and non-binary identities, held at United Nations headquarters in NYC on July 15, 2019)

Giving mutual aid directly to native Hawaiians is the fastest way to offer support. Explore this Google sheet of Maui mutual aid opportunities; it’s being updated in real-time with fundraising links.

More ways to support:

Learn more about predatory Maui land grabs and take action.

Send support via the Lahaina Ohana Venmo: a Venmo-based mutual aid initiative by Lahaina residents for Lahaina residents affected by the August 2023 fires.

About The Lahaina Fire

The fire that ignited on August 7, 2023, and destroyed the town of Lahaina in West Maui, is now the deadliest US blaze in over 100 years, according to US Fire Administrator Lori Moore-Merrell. 

A mix of land and atmospheric conditions known as “fire weather” — along with the collapse of Lahaina’s water system — knocked out local communication and destroyed thousands of homes and historic buildings. Thousands have evacuated or been displaced, more than 100 people have been killed, and more than 1,000 people are still missing.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green described the fires as the “largest natural disaster Hawaii has ever experienced” — with over 2,000 structures destroyed and losses “approaching $6 billion.” Search and recovery efforts are still ongoing, but local officials expect the death toll will likely rise.

An online, centralized hub to respond to the impacts of the Maui Wildfire Disaster was launched at mauinuistrong.info.

Local and national activists are decrying the United States government’s history of colonialism and capitalist greed being the foundation for this avoidable tragedy.

As native Hawaiians witness tourists being given preferential treatment, many have been questioning whether the tourism businesses that fund their livelihoods should continue during a tragedy, as the island’s economy heavily depends on the travel industry. 

Translash Podcast: ‘AAPI and Trans’

ICYMI: Imara interviewed two leading AAPI trans community organizers for TransLash Podcast with Imara Jones.

She spoke with Hawaiian cultural ambassador and activist Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, who shares her coming out experience and talks about ways gender is expressed across Polynesian cultures and languages. Imara was also joined by outgoing Executive Director of Transgender Law Center, Kris Hasyahi, to discuss his nearly 30 year-long career as a trans activist.

If you are a business, individual, or organization that would like to collaborate with native Hawaiians to support #MauiStrong efforts, please fill out this form to be matched to the needs and offers that are coming in on the islands and beyond. This form was made by Maui Rapid Response.

Did you find this resource helpful? Consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post How to Help LGBTQ+ People in Maui appeared first on TransLash Media.

It’s been a difficult time to be transgender in the US recently. Republicans have turned our very existence into election fodder and the conservative media ecosystem is seemingly obsessed with us, our healthcare, and our demonization.

In a very short period of time, our society went from attempting to learn the etiquette around using trans peoples’ pronouns, to it being socially acceptable for numerous conservative media members to call for our elimination. Even some previously supportive liberal allies have decided that we’re expendable as long as our elimination helps them win elections.

It’s difficult to describe to outsiders who aren’t paying attention just how swiftly the political situation has shifted under trans people’s feet in this country. It feels like dark days are certainly ahead for American trans people.

But there are rays of trans hope poking their way through the ever-darkening cloud of conservative hate.

First and foremost has been a relatively unexpected boost from the federal court system, which had temporarily blocked anti-trans bills in Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee from taking effect. Though two of those laws have since been allowed to go into effect by circuit courts, even conservative judges have had difficulty justifying the worst bills conservative state legislatures managed to pass this past year.

In mid-June, Robert Hinkle, a Clinton-appointed federal district judge, made two important determinations in his written ruling granting an injunction temporarily blocking Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. He declared that gender identity is real, pointing out that even the state’s preferred doctor witnesses, who spoke during a seven-day trial, all admitted that gender identity exists as a concept. He also found that the law, which in recent weeks began affecting access to care for even adult Floridians, is likely to be found unconstitutional because it specifically targets a distinct minority without a viable state interest.

In a ruling that temporarily blocked a similar bill in Indiana, a Trump-appointed federal judge found that gender-affirming care for trans youth provides a positive effect on mental health. “There’s evidence that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy reduces distress for some minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” Hanlon said in his ruling in mid-June. “The risk or irreparable harm, therefore, supports a preliminary injunction.”

It’s not all good news on the legal front however, on July 8, a conservative-majority 6th circuit panel allowed the care ban in Tennessee to go into effect. A few days later, the federal judge allowed Kentucky’s ban to go into effect as well, citing the previous ruling in favor of the state of Tennessee. Even the Tennessee ruling favoring conservatives was tepid, with the majority openly declaring that they do not know if their own ruling is correct.

In the end, all of the federal court machinations over these laws will end up before the Supreme Court, where trans rights face a likely uphill battle. Even on that front, there is reason for slight hope. Despite the 6-3 conservative majority that represents the court’s current ideological makeup, there are still two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch, who ruled in favor of LGBTQ employment rights in Bostock v Clayton County. Those two conservatives could potentially have a sympathetic ear and could join with the three liberal justices in further trans-related cases, however unlikely that scenario seems at first glance.

Beyond the current court situation, there are some state legislative developments that should encourage trans people and give us hope. At the forefront of that are the trans-safe refuge laws that have been passed by blue state legislatures.

These bills offer legal protection to trans people and caretakers of trans youth who move to the state to escape red-state persecution. In other words, if a family with a trans kid from Texas were to move to California, which passed a refuge law last year, California would not honor extradition or investigation requests from Texas law enforcement agencies who may be investigating the family for providing their trans child with gender-affirming care.

So far 11 blue states and the District of Columbia have passed such laws, and they’ve been key in facilitating the burgeoning internal trans refugee crisis in the US. According to a Data For Progress report, 40% of trans Americans have considered moving to a safer, bluer state to escape state legislature persecution.

While this type of legislation certainly won’t help every red state trans person, it shows that there are government officials at varying levels who aren’t ready to give up on us. Just this week, Wisconsin Democratic governor Tony Evers made a big deal on Twitter for vetoing a transphobic bill passed by the state’s gerrymandered state legislature.

Ultimately, political hope for trans people should come from the existence of politicians like Evers, or even in electing candidates who themselves are trans. Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride has perhaps the best shot in recent history to become the first-ever openly trans congressperson as she recently announced a run for the newly vacated seat in her state.

Electing more trans people would mean the GOP would be forced to work opposite people like us while they systematically try to legislatively stamp us out of society. But beyond just electing more trans people, there are early signs that the Republican obsession with trans people is backfiring electorally.

One early prognostication indicator for the election appetite of the country is how the parties perform in off-cycle special elections, and so far, it seems like Democrats are significantly overperforming expectations heading into the 2024 presidential election year.

Last week, in Wisconsin’s 24th Assembly district special election, Republican Paul Melotik won over their Democratic challenger by 7 percent. However, the district in question is historically very red. During the last election, it went Republican +23. That Democrats came within seven points of winning such a red district in a low-turnout special election is incredibly encouraging — and is a sign that Republican transphobia is an election-losing issue.

Historically, this has almost always been the case, despite many centrist attempts to tie Democratic losses to support for trans people. In 2016, in a red wave election that put Donald Trump in the White House, the patient zero of Republican transphobia, former North Carolina Governor (of HB2 bathroom bill infamy) Pat McCrory lost his election and Republicans haven’t been able to reclaim the governor’s mansion ever since, despite gerrymandering a vast majority in the state’s legislature.

In 2022, a whole string of anti-trans politicians saw their election campaigns falter and fail, with the notable exception of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is now in the midst of one of the most pathetic runs for president from a legitimate contender in recent memory. Truly Jeb Bush vibes there.

Republican transphobia failing to land with everyday voters shouldn’t be all that surprising. Most voters don’t know a single trans person, which serves as a double-edged sword of its own. Not knowing a trans person helps the GOP lie about and demonize trans people for a wide audience, but at the same time, basing your party’s entire political agenda around a demographic that most people simply have no interaction with means your platform will have little to no relevance to voters’ everyday lives.

Ironically, it may be that our small numbers as a people that offers us the political salvation we’re all hoping for. None of these instances of hope are all-encompassing, after all, there are no magic bullets in civil rights struggles. But taken together, they all add up to hope for trans people. And we could all use a little hope right now.

Katelyn Burns (she/her) is a freelance journalist and columnist for MSNBC. She was the first openly transgender Capitol Hill reporter in US history.

The post Rays of Trans Hope Break Through the US Political Landscape appeared first on TransLash Media.

Stereotypes about Appalachia run rampant, and one of the most pervasive is that the region is uninhabitable for LGBTQ+ people. There’s a push from some rural queer folks for queer people to form communes unto themselves apart from the “backward” people in Appalachia, or escape to a big city—preferably one near the coast. But talk to Stacy Jane Grover (she/her) for five minutes, author of the newly released memoir-in-essays Tar Hollow Trans, and she’ll show you why that’s a reductive and often incorrect way to view the region. 

The Appalachian region itself is as contested as what goes on inside of it. A brief history: The federal government declared a war on poverty in 1965 and formed the Appalachian Regional Commission, an economic development entity that identified 423 counties spanning from southern New York state to northern Alabama and Mississippi as being impoverished and in need of special attention in order to more fully participate in capitalism. 

However, as we know from Indigenous activists, borders are often arbitrary, so cultures, communities, and family connections don’t stop at county lines. In the most technical sense, the rural southeastern Ohio county Grover grew up isn’t in Appalachia according to the federal government, but it’s surrounded by ARC-designated counties on three sides and many of the cultural traditions carry over. 

“I reference the historian Emily Skidmore who wrote True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. These trans men specifically moved away from the city to live in rural areas to live out lives,” Grover said. “Skidmore also talked about just how easy it is to find trans people in small-town newspapers where the newspapers are using correct pronouns.”

Finding True Sex while in grad school for her master’s in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies was validating for Grover. “It was something I always felt growing up, and that book showed me it was real, not just vibes,” she said. 

In Grover’s lived experiences growing up in Carroll, a village in Fairfield County, Ohio––which just hit a population of 500 in the 2020 Census––it’s not being queer or trans that Appalachian people take issue with, it’s disrupting the rural way of life. 

“It’s not being gay or trans that was disruptive. It was like, ‘Don’t bring that city slicker shit out to my neck of the woods,’” Grover said. “People know my family as farmers and people who worked in the paper mill and the glass factory. People know that you show up to help in a barn fire. People know if you come to church. If someone is about to lose their kids, people know how to step up to help with food. We have all these mutual aid networks in rural places, so you have to show up.” 

Showing up and being present in the lives of others is the basis of any community, and it’s no different in Appalachia. Grover writes beautifully in her memoir about the rural goth scene she was a part of, which included a number of queer people who showed up for each other constantly. Whether poverty or loneliness, addiction or mental health, they helped one another navigate uncertain futures and achieve what sometimes felt like unattainable dreams, like going to college or finding a trade that would allow for some semblance of upward mobility. 

It’s in these passages that she addresses yet another stereotype about Appalachia: that if you are out in the region, there’s one queer community and it’s a monolith, so there’s only one “acceptable” way to be LGBTQ+. That, too, couldn’t be further from the truth. Not every queer person gravitated toward the goth scene Grover was a part of simply because they knew they’d be accepted there. There were other queer spaces to join, so there was no need to shoehorn yourself into a scene that you didn’t actually identify with. 

If Appalachia is not as inhospitable to trans and nonbinary people as the dominant societal narrative would have us believe, a world of possibility opens up for LGBTQ+ people who may feel pushed by queer culture to flee rural areas for the city, even though they find themselves more at home in more sparsely populated areas away from the coasts. Yet this pressure to flee reveals even more stereotypes about Appalachia that don’t hold up –– namely that the entirety of Appalachia is rural, so one must leave the region to live in a city. 

“Cornell University in New York is in an Appalachian county, but that’s not what you think of when you think of Appalachia,” Grover pointed out. “Look at West Virginia. The whole state is in Appalachia and parts are an hour or half hour from D.C. It happens everywhere.” 

And as Grover discovered when she moved to Columbus, Ohio –– the notoriously gay-friendly 14th largest city in the country just a half hour from Grover’s hometown –– the promises of a queer haven and community in the city don’t always happen as hoped for. 

“What makes you belong is different in the city. What gives you your card to the club of certain scenes is, do you know and cite certain histories? Do you know and like certain pop culture? Like how every queer person seems to know astrology,” Grover said. “I don’t remember at the time ever feeling like I needed to get out of my hometown and I don’t know that I ever wanted to. It just kind of happened…I had such a rich understanding of being gay and the lived experience of being trans in my home area with my chosen kin and my friends, then I got to the city and it was like everything I was doing was a cheap white trash knockoff of what the city had to offer.”

It’s not that Grover is discounting trans and nonbinary people’s very real concerns over safety and belonging, but rather that through Tar Hollow Trans, she’s casting light on experiences like hers, which don’t get talked about nearly enough.  

“A lot of people’s life stories are: I was closeted, I couldn’t come out in my hometown, so I went to the city and found community. Even though we know that’s not the case in all rural places and it’s not everyone’s rural experience, that’s the forgotten part of all this,” Grover said. “When you’re a country person, a rural person, and you’re Appalachian, you move to the city and you want to do that same kind of connecting but you don’t want to assimilate. A lot of times you’re locked out of the promise of community.” 

As Tar Hollow Trans shows, if we open our minds, trans and nonbinary community isn’t as difficult to find in rural places as city slickers might believe.

 Mandy Shunnarah (they/them) is an Alabama-born, Palestinian-American writer who now calls Columbus, Ohio, home. Their essays, poetry, and short stories have been published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Entropy Magazine, The Normal School, Heavy Feather Review, and others. Their first book, Midwest Shreds: Skating Through America’s Heartland is forthcoming from Belt Publishing. Read more at mandyshunnarah.com.

The post In Community and at Home as a Trans Person in Rural Appalachia appeared first on TransLash Media.

Learn about Abigail Shrier and her anti-trans book Irreversible Damage in Episode 4 of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine Animated Series, a companion to Season 2 of TransLash Media’s podcast series The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality.

‘A Voice For Anti-Trans, Mass Media’ Transcript

“Today I’m going to explore how Abigail Shrier, someone with no real scientific or medical credentials, has become a go to source for spreading anti-trans disinformation, especially about trans kids across the media landscape.

Shrier started as a lawyer with an Ivy League education, but ended up with an opinion column at the Wall Street Journal.

There, she pushed the junk science concept of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.

Using anti-trans fear, ultimately led to a publishing deal for her book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.

Her book argues that social influences make kids trans and that parents need to reclaim the home as a place where moms and dads model strict gender roles to stop social contagion.

By moving from channel to channel, the buzz around Shrier’s book got louder and louder and eventually became impossible to ignore.

She was a regular fixture of Tucker Carlson on Fox News, which before its cancellation, was the highest news program on any cable news channel, as well as Joe Rogan‘s podcast, which has an audience of over 11 million listeners making it the number one podcast on Spotify, and these are just a few.

The vast reach of these outlets, and her voice is why the appeal for parents to resist when kids say that they are trans has found its way to ever larger audiences.”

Share this story and learn more by visiting

www.translash.org/antitranshatemachine.

About This Series

The Anti-Trans Hate Machine Animated Series, part of our #AntiTransHateMachine campaign, explains in easy to access videos how anti-trans pseudoscience and disinformation has become widely accepted as fact. From conversion therapy, to rapid onset gender dysphoria, to “watchful waiting,” a vast network of Christian Nationalist organizations and bad-actors have used both rightwing and mainstream media to change the way an entire nation thinks about the validity of trans people.

Did you find this resource helpful? Consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post A Voice For Anti-Trans, Mass Media’: Animated Short appeared first on TransLash Media.

Learn more about 4th Wave Now’s influence. This is Episode 3 of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine Animated Series, a companion to Season 2 of TransLash Media’s limited podcast series The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality.

Transcript

“Today, we’re going to tell you the story of 4th Wave Now, a critical force in the anti-trans movement, specifically the sweeping attacks on trans kids.

It’s where parents who are hostile to their trans children gather to find ways to support each other in undermining them.

Now, this sounds far-fetched, but sadly, it’s true.

4th Wave Now is where the idea of transness as a social contagion gained steam, and actually, it’s where the idea of “rapid onset gender dysphoria” originated and was conceptualized by the pseudoscience of Dr. Lisa Littman, who used 4th Wave Now conversations to create the concept.

Based on 4th Wave Now she encourages parents to believe that their kids are being brainwashed by YouTube, or social media, or even their friends.

Trans social contagion has become one of the most potent ideas out there. It has spread far and wide, even to mainstream and supposedly non-biased platforms like The Atlantic magazine.

The problem is it’s based on highly biased research.

And now this idea of social contagion has become a vital piece of right wing propaganda and popularized by writers like Jesse Singal.

Organizations that are apart of the anti-trans hate machine ran focus groups to see the best way to attack the idea of trans people overall.

They landed, spreading the belief that trans youth coming out is some sort of a social contagion.

And now this disinformation has transformed into conventional wisdom.

Share this story and find out more by listening to our podcast.”

About The Series

The Anti-Trans Hate Machine Animated Series, part of our #AntiTransHateMachine campaign, explains in easy to access videos how anti-trans pseudoscience and disinformation has become widely accepted as fact. From conversion therapy, to rapid onset gender dysphoria, to “watchful waiting,” a vast network of Christian Nationalist organizations and bad-actors have used both rightwing and mainstream media to change the way an entire nation thinks about the validity of trans people.

Did you find this resource helpful? Consider supporting TransLash today with a tax-deductible donation.

The post ‘Seduction of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’: Animated Short appeared first on TransLash Media.