With Cindy Martin
Transgender Forum Publisher
© 1997 Transgender Forum
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February 24, 1997
he cowardly bombing of the Otherside bar in Atlanta on February 20 is a reminder, as if we needed one, that there are still people who hate us so much that they to want to kill us.
But we cannot let these cowards win even the smallest victory. They want us to go back into hiding. They don't want to see us or hear about us. It isn't going to be that way.
If anything we must redouble our efforts to let the world know that in 1997 we won't be intimidated by a few low lifes who know how to stick some powder in a pipe. We must increase our visibility, not be scared into the closet.
We offer our sisters in Atlanta our support and our love.
he bombing may be some form of twisted backlash to the increasing visibility of transgenders, gays and other sexual minorities, but I have no doubt that the basic direction society is following is one in which full public acceptance will become a reality while most of us are around to enjoy it.
However, we aren't being helped any by internationally syndicated radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
A few days ago the conservative Dr. Laura, who has a locally broadcast show on KGO Radio (kgo810@aol.com) took a call from a cross-dresser who had been married for 15 years and dressing secretly. He was guilty about this and wanted to know whether he should tell his wife.
Dr. Laura's answer was no. Okay, her opinion, that's talk radio.
But the reason she said he shouldn't tell his wife was because his behavior was "deviant". Basically, she told this transgender that he was a pervert who shouldn't burden his family with his dirty secret.
This person's radio show reaches 15 million people. If you'd like to reach her you can do so by going to the KGO Radio mail page. Just as an aside, Schlessinger's press clippings call her: "witty, opinionated, intelligent, wise, hip, humorous and understanding".
But since they've added her to the local talk show lineup in the last month I've got another description for her: mean.
he best news all month was the incredible reaction by our community to the Holiday Inn SuperBowl advertisement fiasco. As word got out about what had happened, ordinary TGs bombed the Holiday Inn corporate offices with e-mail, letters and calls objecting to the company's decision to pull the ad.
In case you missed the story, the hotel chain ran a commercial featuring a person playing a transexual during the big football game. It was pulled from circulation after complaints by some local hotel managers and haters who thought it was disgusting to have an advertisement positively depicting a TS.
But what was truly weird was the reaction -- or rather the lack of one -- by the so-called "media watchdogs" and "trans-activists" who claim to represent this community.
Three days after this story broke I received an e-mail from a person at a media watchdog group. They are a national organization. This person said that the Holiday Inn folks had told him that they pulled the ad, at least in part, because gays and transgenders had complained about it. He wanted to know what the "consensus" of the community was, apparently before firing off a note to the hoteliers.
I was taken aback. I have no doubt that a few TGs and gays called or wrote complaining about the ad. But to believe that Holiday Inn killed this ad campaign because of us is a little silly. "Oh yeah, we killed that ad because we didn't want to offend transexuals. That's the ticket."
C'mon.
A day after the story broke on the national wire services, Transgender Forum reporter Angela Gardner was told by the company that the ad was pulled was because of complaints from reactionaries. Period. We also had an inside source who said that the ad was on shaky ground anyway going into the Superbowl. Objections by a few hotel managers combined with those from the bible-beaters sunk the ad. Salving the bruised feelings of unhappy transexuals played no role. But it was great excuse and for some reason, our "leadership" seemed willing to except this cockamamie idea. Why? Why were there no black t-shirts pacing around Holiday Inn's Atlanta HQ? What happened to the "in your face" faxes in this case?
Why didn't the activists act? It was plain from the first day this broke that the overwhelming majority were angered that the ad was pulled. The ad didn't offend most of us, but that wasn't the point. It was the action that was offensive.
I cannot prove it, but I suspect very strongly that the activists were paralyzed because they personally didn't like the advertisement. Sure, it wasn't a masterpiece of sensitivity, but most of us thought it was humorous and positive. The bottom line is that the leadership completely misjudged the sensibilities of ordinary transgenders. This advertisement was a very big deal to many of us. There was talk about it for days on the 'Net. At the ETVC Cotillion the night before there was tremendous anticipation. People with no interest in football were taping the game just to see this ad. Somehow, the leadership didn't know this or care about it.
This incident did prove one thing. You get our community riled up and they will be heard. I know now that Holiday Inn received more than 2,000 emails about this disaster, most of them the result of an informal campaign originating among Transgender Forum readers. Good going.
ody Alchemy is Loren Cameron's intensely personal photo documentary of female-to-male transexuals (FTMs). A Transexual himself, Cameron brings a
sensitive, sophisticated insider's eye to his subject matter.
Loren will be talking about the book and the project at Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid, St. Louis, Mo. on March 15, 7:00 pm. Call (314) 367-6731 for more information.
hen the young men behind the counter at the gas station don't notice you it means one of three things:
Naturally, I like to believe the third alternative, 'cept I rarely run into gay men working at the shop 'n rob gas stations I use, even in San Francisco.
I'm not sure how I feel about this situation. On the one hand, I'm glad that I apparently pass, on the other, well dang it, they're supposed to notice a little.
he ETVC Cotillion, which is one of the community's premier events, was incredibly good this year. Bravos to Producer Leslie Bailey and directors Lulu Blau and Trauma Flintstone for the show held on Jan. 25. For 13 years ETVC has been selecting a Miss ETVC at this show, which has had some real stinkers in the past...this was definitely NOT one of those either in result or in presentation.
There was also a major TGForum influence at this year's event: two TGF readers placed in the top three. Sandra Brewer, who has written for TGF and has a photo here (subscribers can see her in our photo op albums) was second runner-up. Dale Carlson, another regular TGF reader, was selected Miss TGF 1997 in a very tight contest. She is an excellent selection. Congratulations Dale and Sandra!
We'll carry a full report, complete with many pictures next week.
ooks do matter, much as we'd like to think they don't.
There have been many studies showing that an "attractive" person is likely to do better in life than an "unattractive" person with the same general background. This is terribly unfair, and terribly shallow, yet we ignore the realities of "lookism" at our peril.
One of the stereotypes of this community is that we spend way too much time on how we look and too often emphasize glamour over internal development. We talk a lot about overdressing in this community, but we hardly ever talk about another appearance stereotype in this community: looking like crap.
I have met far too many people in our community who seem to believe that looking like a "real" woman means having ratty hair, no makeup and hairy legs. Hey, you want to look like a fishwife that's fine with me, but please don't bitch about how hard it is to find a job in management or acceptance in a "transphobic" society.
Not long ago I had the distinct honor of sitting in with a group of women on welfare who were going through a class on successful job hunting. Building the self-esteem of these women, who often have extremely low views of themselves, is being recognized by enlightened reformers as a crucial to their chances of landing a job and keeping it. Obviously if you think of yourself as a loser, that is going to come across to others, including possible employers, and you'll be treated accordingly.
At one point during the class the trainer poses a question about appearance. It goes something like this: "No one is going to force you to look any particular way when you go to an interview. But ask yourself what you would do if you have two people, with about the same qualifications competing for the same office job. One is neatly groomed and interviewed in business clothes . The other comes in wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Who do you think is going to get the job?" The hard truth is that those in our community who make no effort to be attractive, particularly those who do it out of some political belief, are totalled out in the work world. First and foremost we have to fight the terrible prejudice against us for being transgender. Toss a miserable appearance into the mix and you've added an unnecessary complication that can only make life more difficult.
Most of us are not gorgeous or young or small or powerful or whatever it is that you think makes someone attractive. Most of us have no control over whether our features are regular or our skin is poreless. But anyone can look like they respect themselves, and others, by dressing in a neat, clean manner.
Society IS transphobic. It's also body order-phobic, obnoxious-phobic and slob-phobic. Don't make it easy for people to reject us, because honey, they will.
otes to "Brad" in California and "Rusty" in Canada: I have tried repeatedly to answer your messages but your addresses keep coming back as non-existent. Check with your Internet service providers for solutions to the problem with your "Reply" addresses.
oes pop history always repeat itself? Once again it is becoming hip for young male musicians to wear make-up on stage. It isn't quite the early '70s again, but when big name bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson are loading up with eye mascara something is going on.
Marilyn Manson himself wears a dress in publicity photos along with tons of bizarre makeup. Looks totally transgender to me. The band has angered Christian fundamentalists with anti-religious lyrics in some songs and has been the target of a number of demonstrations. At a recent concert in San Francisco, three bomb threats were phoned in, none of them real, during an appearance at the Warfield Theatre. My daughter, who was there, reports that the band was extremely good. She's usually right in these matters (Tip: "Garbage" had the best record of 1996)...
ubscriber Joan Rowe, who also happens to be a good friend, agreed to do a quick review of the "Holiday Inn TS" commercial that aired during the SuperBowl (that's America's big football game) on Sunday because I wouldn't be near a television. Here is her report:
"I hope you didn't blink when the commercials began 5 minutes into the fourth quarter of SuperBowl XXXI today. If you had, you'd have missed Holiday Inn's new spot featuring a pretty transsexual.
"It's a reunion party for the class of '75, and a striking woman in a leopard skin dress with bare shoulders and low-cut neckline walks in. The camera focuses on her nose, ``$6000'' says the narrator; lips, ``$3000;'' chest, ``$8000.'' The woman encounters a former chum, who says, ``I never forget a face.'' As he struggles to remember her name, he gasps in amazement, ``Bob Johnson?'' And the woman softly utters, ``Hi Tom.'' The narrator explains ``It's amazing the changes you can make for a few thousand dollars. Imagine what Holiday Inn's will look like when we spend a billion. Holiday Inn---On the way.
I knew this commercial was coming. Earlier in the week, the newspapers carried a photo of the model, who passes beautifully, with but a suggestion of XY in the shoulders. The story line was that Holiday Inn might compromise its wholesome reputation, but needed to make an impact nonetheless.
The commercial is tasteful, and I wish Holiday Inn well in their efforts.
Joan Rowe
San Francisco
h convergence...
Yours truly decided a little post-show party for some of the cast and other folks from the ETVC Cotillion (see above item) might be fun this year so I booked a room at, you guessed it, a Holiday Inn. Before checking in I warned the registration desk that some folks would be coming by in the early AM for a small get-together and would she put us in an area of the hotel were we wouldn't disturb others? She put us right next to a loud party full of very young people.
Hotel security came by twice to tell us to pipe down. He told us that he knew it was the kids, not the room full of sequins that was making all the ruckus, but felt in fairness that we should be warned also.
After this nice man left, someone mentioned the commercial and I realized that, hey, they aren't going to throw us out. How would it look if the company that was now using transgenders to promote itself boot out a group of TGs who were doing nothing more than drinking sodas and a little white wine? We were invulnerable!
Actually, we were tired and left, quietly at about 2:30 a.m. Pooped, but proud!
Actually, the Holiday Inn Golden Gate on Van Ness Avenue, which rented me the room, is very very nice to TGs. It was the host site for California Dreamin' in April 1996 and has often been used for events by the local drag community. When in town, patronize them if you can. Be as classy to them as they are to us...
t looks like the transgender community in the Bay Area (that's what we call it here in San Francisco) is going to get a real home of its own. A few weeks ago the sartorially-gifted Mayor Willie Brown gave final approval to a $1.3 million grant to help start work on a
lesbian/gay/bisexual/ transgender community center near the famed Castro neighborhood.
The project would renovate an existing Victorian house and add a structure to be used for everything from meetings to nonprofit offices. Besides the $1.3 million grant, $1.1 million has been pledged by the City's Redevelopment Agency and there is a $220,000 federal grant. Now that is cool.
Community fund-raising efforts are expected to fill in most of the rest of the project's estimated $7 million plus cost. The expected date for opening is late 1999.
The local organized transgender community has been somewhat wary about this project, mostly out of concern that our name is being stamped on it to soothe liberal consciences, but this does seem like the real thing, not just tokenism. The city's powerful gay and lesbian community has made it very plain that we are going to be partners in this facility with them and have held hearings to discuss issues like office space and other uses. Quite frankly, in this day and age, we need a facility like this far more than the G/L/B community does.
I'll keep you posted.
eader Sally Nelson asks that those of you who want to show support for transgender prison inmate Dee Farmer can do so by contacting the local media in Wisconsin where her lawsuit is moving forward.
Farmer was raped in prison and has charged that prison authorities - who knew of her transgender status -had failed to take proper steps to protect her from a sexual assault which was virtually inevitable.
I have very little sympathy or interest in criminals, but everyone has the right to being safe from attacks, including those behind bars.
If you want to voice your opinion Nelson suggests you write to the following:
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel onwis@onwis.com
Wisconsin State Journal wsjopine@statejournal.madison.com
The Capital Times tctvoice@captimes.madison.com
r. Gordene MacKenzie, author of the book "Transgender Nation"
and a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico, has scheduled
course titled "Transgender Identity, Politics, and Representation" for
the spring 1997 semester.
The course will be offered as an elective in the Women Studies program. Dr. MacKenzie, who once facilitated a support group for transgendered persons in the Albuquerque area, says the course will be the first, or one of the first, college courses specifically covering the subject of transgendered persons.
Dr. MacKenzie is attempting to raise money to hire a California female-to-male transsexual to serve as a teacher's assistant for the class.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the effort to raise funds to pay a teacher's assistant can make a tax-deductible check out to "Women Studies TG Course."
The check would be deposited in a University of New Mexico Foundation account. Checks can be sent to Dr. MacKenzie at the University of New Mexico, 2134 Mesa Vista Hall, Albuquerque, N.M. 87131. Anyone wishing to discuss the course or contributions can reach Dr. MacKenzie by voice mail at (505) 277-3818, or via e-mail at gordene@unm.edu