World Changer Georgina Beyer Needs A New Kidney STAT.
http://farm1.staticflickr.com
Well, shit. But is treatable so good. She seriously just needs a new kidney as soon as possible.
Georgina Beyer is seriously ill.
The first transgender Member of Parliament has told the Woman’s Day she has been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. Jonah Lomu suffered from the same condition.
The diagnosis came just days before the 55-year-old was to announce her intentions to stand as Wellington mayor.
She will need to have kidney dialysis four times a day for the rest of her life until she gets a kidney transplant.
UPDATE – Threats and Killings Striking Fear Among Young Iraqis, Including Gay And Transgendered Youth.
http://www.nytimes.com/
A recent spate of killings and intimidation aimed at gay Iraqis and teenagers who dress in brash Western fashions is sending waves of fear through Iraq’s secular circles while casting doubt on the government’s will to protect some of its most vulnerable citizens.
Many details of what Iraqi newspapers have called the “emo killings” are murky, but the uproar comes at an awkward moment for Iraq. The country has been preparing to showcase itself to the world as host of a high-profile meeting of Arab leaders in late March, the first major diplomatic event here since American forces withdrew in December.
But the news that young men in tight T-shirts and skinny jeans are being beaten to death with cement blocks and dumped in the streets has threatened to overshadow the new palm trees and fresh paint. The violence offers a reminder that the government has been unable to stop threats and attacks against small religious sects, ethnic groups and social pariahs like gay men.
An Interior Ministry security officer said that in the past two weeks, officials had found the bodies of six young men whose skulls had been crushed. Reuters reported the toll to be 14 or more, citing hospital and security officials, while rights groups say that more than 40 young men have been killed, but have provided no evidence for this figure.
READ THE REST HERE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES.
New Staging Of ‘Yentl’ Tells A Transgender Story.
http://www.wbur.org
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is probably best known for her 1995 hit single, “I Kissed a Girl.” These days, she’s taking on a new musical project: the gender-bending play by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yentl.
Barbra Streisand turned Singer’s play into her 1984 hit movie musical of the same name. Although Sobule’s version features music, it’s a little more Singer and a little less Streisand.
“She changed the ending and made it kind of Funny Girl coming to America. … We keep to the word,” Sobule tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.
Sobule composed original songs for the new staging of the play, which is running through April 26 at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla. Unlike Streisand’s version, which could be seen as a feminist film, this new version of Yentl is more about a transgender person’s coming-of-age.
“If you read the book, and there was no word for it back then, but I think Yentl was transgender,” Sobule says. “I mean, it’s several times in the book where the father says to her, ‘You have the soul of a man and the body of a woman.’ “
Singer was critical of the singing in Streisand’s 1984 film when it was released. In this staging, none of the characters sings onstage. Sobule’s songs are heard through a kind of Greek chorus that offer a commentary to the play and the characters’ feelings.
READ THE REST HERE.
Transgender People are Completely Banned From Boarding Airplanes in Canada.
towleroad.com
THIS IS SO WRONG. AND TO NOT EVEN HAVE IT GO THROUGH PARLIAMENT TO BE DEBATED AND JUST PASSED INTO LAW? WELL, IT COULD ALSO HAPPEN IN NEW ZEALAND AND MANY OTHER PLACES, SO LET US ALL BE AWARE AND SHARE THE INFORMATION.
there is a disturbing new section in the Identity Screening Regulations used in airports throughout Canada. Simply put, Transgender People are Completely Banned From Boarding Airplanes in Canada.
The offending section of the regulations reads:
5.2 (1) An air carrier shall not transport a passenger if …
(c) the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents;
Although this obviously discriminatory smear of regulation did not come to significant public attention until very recently, it apparently came into effect on July 27th, 2011.
It is important to note that these regulations are not actually a piece of legislation, which would have had to pass through readings and votes in the House and Senate (which is probably why it went unnoticed until now). Rather, the Identity Screening Regulations are a set of rules implemented unilaterally by the Ministry of Transportation, as part of Canada’s so-called Passenger Protect, which is essentially the Canadian Federal Government’s equivalent to the U.S.’s “no-fly” list.
Minister of Transportation Denis Lebel is, of course, a federal Conservative MP appointed to the cabinet position by Stephen Harper.
So what does this mean? Well, in order to change the ‘sex’ designation on a Canadian Passport, the federal government requires proof that surgery has taken place, or will take place within one year. So for non-operative transgender persons, for gender nonconforming (genderqueer) persons, and for the vast majority of pre-operative transsexual persons, it is literally impossible to obtain proper travel documentation marked with the sex designation which “matches” the gender identity in which they live.
READ THE REST HERE.
Ru Paul Likes And Uses The Word ‘Tranny’.
zimbio.com
That’s nice dear. But as you do not speak for Transexuals, as you are a drag queen, I actually don’t give a fuck what you think and you should shut your stupid mouth. WITH THE AMOUNT OF HATE AND VIOLENCE DIRECTED AT TRANSGENDERED FOLK, THIS KIND OF BULLSHIT DOES NOT HELP. Idiot.
Speaking of drag, I’m curious about your thoughts about a controversy over this television show “Work It” that a lot of transgender activists feel mocks them. It’s about two men, who dress in drag — they’re straight men — it’s kind of like “Bosom Buddies,” back to that. They’re trying to get jobs, and all the comedic schtick that goes with that. Do you feel that mocks transgender people?
You know, I gotta tell you, my 10th grade teacher, Mr. Penell, told me, he said, “Ru” — my real name — “Don’t take life so seriously.” I didn’t get it then at 15 years old, but trust me, as the years went on I got it. We live in a culture where everyone is offended by everything. Everybody’s like, “Oh my god, I’m offended!” It’s an ego-based culture we live in. The ego has everything to do with identity. So, you know, drag actually mocks identity. So it doesn’t really make any sense. I think, in my world, in my circle of friends, we mock everything! [laughter]. Everything is up to be mocked. Don’t take anything seriously.
And listen, if you’re offended by a name that somebody calls you, or something, whatever, you gotta take that up with your therapist, kiddo, cause you know what, you’re not going to be able — now you got me riled up! You know, I live in the West Village, and everybody wants to make the world baby-safe, soften the corners, so that nobody gets hurt. It’s like, kiddo, this world, there will be blood — there will be blood — so you better toughen up now or you’re going to suffer the consequences later.
It seems like — or you tell me — that there is a tension between some transgender activists and drag queens, that they don’t really feel that drag has a place or see it as mocking and believe that it offends them. And I’m curious about your thoughts about that.
It’s the same. Everybody’s offended by something. And it really goes back to the ego — egoic mind and the ego-based world that we live in, where everybody is, their identify is everything. And this is what drag is about — you are not who you think are, you’re born naked, and the rest is drag. It’s all a facade — you’re much more than what you think you are. So this idea of people feeling they’re not being represented — I remember on [the '70s sitcom] “Good Times,” when black activists got upset with the fact that J.J., the lead character, didn’t represent what young black men in our culture — in fact the two leads of the TV show quit the show because they felt J.J., the Jimmy Walker character, didn’t represent. Well, the truth is, kids, this is a sitcom, this is a comedy — sitcom. If you want representation, you do it yourself. It starts on a personal level. If you want to change the world, change your mind. Your mind. Not anyone else’s mind. Your mind.
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