It's not a big surprise to anyone that Ophrah loves the trans men, but this article by Allison Cooper over on Ophrah.com showed a side of the story that we don't hear about as often... falling in love. In the article Allison talks about falling in love with her now fiance', who happens to be a trans man, and it's one of the sweetest stories that I've heard in a while.
Sometimes it seems like there is so much wrong in the world, and it's stories like this that help me to see that it's not ALL bad. I definitely recommend heading over and checking it out.
Most major cities, as well as the FBI, continue to lump hate crimes based on gender identity and expressing in with those based on sexual orientation. However, in 2007 Washington DC began tracking hate crimes based on gender identity and sexuality seperately. And while the results of this change in tracking won't surprise anyone from the transgender community, they do serve to confirm what we already know... that we face a great risk every day, just for being ourselves.
While I may not have been surprised by the amount of crimes based on gender identity, I was shocked to learn how high they were when compared to other common hate crime motives like race, ethnicity and religious or political affiliation.
Since DC began tracking hate crimes based on gender identity and expression there have been 16 recorded crimes in only three years. In contrast there have been 11 recorded crimes based on race, 6 on religious beliefs and 3 on political affiliation. All of this pales in comparison to the staggering 75 attacks based on sexual orientation. However, the fact remains that, per capita, the transgender community faces the most risk due to the small size of the community.
I've said to several times in the past, and still believe whole heartedly, that the only way to combat these kinds of statistics is to be more visible in the public eye. Yes, this can mean an increase in personal risk, but the fact is that people who know or have met someone who is transgender are much less likely to hold a prejudgice against those within the community. Just like the gay rights movement and the masses of people who came out of the closet, it takes visibility to change minds... you can't make a difference from the shadows.
This weeks video has been around for just over a year now, and has recieved a LOT of views on youtube, but I came across it again today and just couldn't resist sharing. If you've seen this one before then why not watch it again? If you haven't, well then you're in for a real treat.
I myself am a singer/songwriter and have attempted to write many songs about my own experiences with gender, yet nothing I've written has come close capturing the emotion of transition in the way this song has... at least for me. Enjoy!
When I came out as a transsexual to my Dad he had a reaction that I didn't expect: he blamed himself. If only he had only spent more time with me, or helped me be better at sports. Maybe it was his genes that he passed on to me... who knows. I honestly wasn't expecting this reaction from my father, but did he have a point? Were any of those reasons valid? This came up in a letter I recieved this week from a mother, worried that she may have passed her own G.I.D on to her son.
Dear Grishno,
I have started my transition from a male to a female, a secret I have been hiding for a very long time. Now my family knows about me and still loves and supports me. I'm a Father of two wonderful boys who I only get to talk on the phone. Talking with my youngest son, who is now four, keeps saying he wants to be a cowgirl and a mommy and he keeps saying he's a girl. His Mother keeps telling him he is a boy and he corrects her by saying "I'm a girl". My question is if being Transgender could have passed that gene unto my son. No matter what my son wants to be I will love him or her.
This weeks video comes from one of my absolute favorite people in the entire world (unmeasuredinstances/Transpositions). Sarah has a relationship with words that I can only hope to achieve some day, and this video only serves to belabor that point. But I'll go ahead and let the video speak for itself.
It's not a big surprise to anyone that Ophrah loves the trans men, but 
Most major cities, as well as the FBI, continue to lump hate crimes based on gender identity and expressing in with those based on sexual orientation. However, in 2007 Washington DC began tracking hate crimes based on gender identity and sexuality seperately. And while the results of this change in tracking won't surprise anyone from the transgender community, they do serve to confirm what we already know... that we face a great risk every day, just for being ourselves.
Since DC began tracking hate crimes based on gender identity and expression there have been 16 recorded crimes in only three years. In contrast there have been 11 recorded crimes based on race, 6 on religious beliefs and 3 on political affiliation. All of this pales in comparison to the staggering 75 attacks based on sexual orientation. However, the fact remains that, per capita, the transgender community faces the most risk due to the small size of the community.
Dear Grishno,
