The Chatsubo, or simply The Chat, is the bar made famous by William Gibson in his 1984 cyber-punk masterpiece NEUROMANCER. The Chat is where the cyberjocks, razorgirls and joeboys came to gather information and kick back. Please feel free to do the same here.
by JoAnn Roberts - CyberQueen
"You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." -- Unknown
The most curious thing happened. The Arts & Entertainment (A&E) cable channel produced an hour-long Investigative Report titled the Transgender Revolution. The piece was supposed to document the rising transgender civil rights movement. Prior to airing, there was a tremendous amount of hype about the show. The week before the air date, I received at least one email message a day urging me to watch the show. Okay, so I watched the show and then... Nothing. There hasn't been a single word about the show on the net or in any of several expected venues. What happened? Well, here's my take. IR host Bill Kurtis did an excellent job of presenting transgender issues in an non-sensational, non-prejudicial manner. The show covered both transgendered and transsexual people, including several FtMs. I thought the section featuring TOPS (Transgendered Officers Protect & Serve) founder, Tony Baretto-Neto was outstanding. Also, the section featuring Nancy Nangeroni was also extremely well-done. Nancy's sister is to be commended for exposing herself to criticism while coming out in support of her transgendered sibling. Overall, the show was very well done as far as it went. And that is my main criticism; it didn't go far enough. There were no transvestite/crossdressers shown as part of the tg rights movement. That alone was a major tactical error on the part of the people involved in the preparation of the special. Several very prominent community activists were conspicuous by their absence. They weren't mentioned by the activists on-screen leading one to believe those on-screen may have started the movement, which is not the case. Ah well, those who led the way did so because it was the right thing to do; not because they expected any glory.
Last month I mentioned that Parents, Families and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG) voted over- whelmingly to include transgendered people in the group's mission statement. here are some follow-up details-- PFLAG's By-laws now read: "The purpose of this Corporation shall be: To promote the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons..." A special interest group within the organization, The Transgender Special Outreach Network (TSON), was directly responsible for the trans-inclusion statement. Network members met several years ago at a PFLAG conference. Network Chair Mary Boenke said the group looks forward to helping PFLAG members work toward providing the same kind of critical support on behalf of trans-people that they have always provided for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. "We're pleased and excited. We've been working for this trans-inclusion resolution for 3 years. It's a benchmark of a long process that has just begun. We passed the law; now the work of education begins."
It's official -- there will be a convention put on by the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) despite postings on the Internet to the contrary. While meeting at Southern Comfort 98, the IFGE Board of Directors responded to many community members urging them not to abandon the annual conference. As a result, the board has allowed BoD members, Alison Laing and S. Kristine James to take full financial and operational responsibility for a conference to be held in Louisville, Kentucky on March 17-21, 1999. The Blue Grass Belles (Ky.), along with the Tennessee Vals (Tenn.), IXE (Ind.), Crossport (Ohio), and local GLB organizations will act as local hosts. The convention will include a Transgender Health & Wellness conference and will try to reinstate the Congress of Transgender Organizations. The Belles are planning to host several entertaining evening events as well as sponsor several professional gender specialists who have not previously been presenters at other national events. For more information write or call: IFGE Convention, P.O. Box 61, Easton, PA 18044-0061, 610-759-2347.
The IFGE-Virginia Prince Award flap that I mentioned last month resulted in a 3 page letter from the IFGE Award's Nomination chairperson, Winnie Brant. Ms. Brant took my remarks as a personal attack on her integrity. That was never my intention, and my apologies go to Ms. Brant for any pain caused by my comments. For as long as I've been acquainted with Ms. Brant, I've never had cause to question either her integrity or her sincerity. My bitch is with the nomination/election process that relies so heavily on the personal integrity of its administrator. There are ways to remove that burden of responsibility. My personal experience with IFGE, however, is that those in charge are resistant to change.
The recent murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming brings sharp focus on the issue of hate crimes. According to one source in New York city, since May at least four, and possibly as many as seven, gay and trans-people have been killed in Greenwich Village. Of the four confirmed to be bias murders, two of the four people were trans-identified. Trans-activists Rosalyn Blumenstein and Carrie Davis of the Gender Identity Project explained that some people in our community: "...are particularly at risk because they are often homeless, economically marginalized, and sometimes sex workers at a time when [New York City] is waging a 'quality of life' battle against street people." Other activists say the recent rise in hate crimes stems from theocratic, religious-right, anti-gay rhetoric. That seems to be the case for Shepard who was beaten and left to die tied to a fence because he was openly gay. We all need to be vigilant and work for protecting ourselves from hate crimes. Don't think because you live in a big city like Chicago,
Los Angeles, or New York that it can't happen to you.
The Millennium March on Washington (MMOW) continues to create problems for its proponents. An ad was placed in the September 18th issue of the Washington Blade. The two page centerfold ad was signed by nearly 300 individuals, including many well-known GLB organizers, artists and activists. The ad was placed by the Ad Hoc Committee for an Open Process, a group of veteran organizers that formed in March '98 in response to the "top-down" process of the Human Rights Campaign and the Universal Fellowship of the Metropolitan Community Church as they announced plans for a March on Washington, DC in the year 2000. Members of the Committee for an Open Process include many of the central organizers of the three previous national marches on Washington. The ad text says in part: "They say it's a March on Washington. We say it's trampling on our movement.... We believe in inclusion, respect for our diverse communities, justice and democracy. And equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But the first step toward equality should always begin in our own communities.... when the Human Rights Campaign and the Metropolitan Community Church initiated their call for an event in the year 2000, there has been a disregard for our movement's history of grassroots empowerment. Closed door meetings. Back room dealings. Last-minute invitations after the table had long been set and the main course served... This is about reclaiming the heart and soul of our fight for equality, justice, freedom. This is about power and how it is wielded, manipulated and abused. Who sits at the table and who decides how the table is set.... Claims to diversity mean nothing if... no genuine effort is made to include the perspectives and leadership of lgbt's from different races, classes, sexualities and genders. Help us organize community meetings, let the national organizations know what you think, write letters and columns for the press, and join our Thursday, Nov. 12th meeting in Pittsburgh and attend our workshops at the Creating Change Conference. Contact us today and make your voice heard. To sign on send your name and address to: Leslie Cagan lcagan@people-link.com." I'm going to try and get to Creating Change in Pittsburgh this year. If you are within 6 to 8 hours drive time of Pittsburgh and reading this, I urge you to attend as well.
I've heard from Dr. Stephen Whittle that the Third International Congress on Sex & Gender (ICSG) was a smashing success. As such, I'm looking forward to the Renaissance Transgender Association hosting the Fourth Congress here in Philadelphia in 2000. However, I've also been told that the Fifth and Sixth Congresses are in the planning stages. The Fifth Congress will be held in Australia in 2001 and the Sixth will go back to Manchester, England, in 2002. So, it looks like the ICSG will be an annual event.
On to fashion news... technology comes to the rescue. Throw away your eyelash curler 'cause now your mascara will do the job instead. After coating the tops of the lashes, they will curl themselves. Maybe not quite as much as with a mechanical curler, but enough. L'OrÚal was the first with Le Grand Curl, but by now all the lines will have one. Try Maybelline's WonderCurl. Most stores are having trouble keeping these self-curlers in stock.
Everyone thought that Laser Hair Removal was the ultimate answer in depilatories. As it turns out, it's not. It's pretty good, but not permanent by any means. Now comes word of another method using... microwaves. Now, don't run off and shove your head in your kitchen unit. The new technique uses special waveguides to direct the energy to the hair, while the skin's surface is chilled with a coolant to keep from being scorched. In animal studies conducted by the Microwave Medical Corp., in Scottsdale, Ariz., hair follicles were nuked in one shot and no hair regrew after several months. Larger studies are required for Food and Drug Administration approval, but the technique looks very promising.
Is the day of the "supermodel" over? Could be. Several of the fashion mags have started using celebrity women on their covers rather than the supermodels we've gotten so used to. Marie Claire for the last two months have used non-models on its covers. The October issued featured Julianna Margulies, while the November issue features Sandra Bullock. Last month, Top Model magazine, which featured only supermodels, folded after just three years on the street. I've got the issue that featured Cindy Crawford, complete with an untouched photo of her face. Maybe it will become a collectible now that the mag has died.
So, those are my opinions, but, hey, what do I know? I thought tg civil rights were for everyone. Comments? Write care of this publication or email them to CyberQueen@cdspub.com.
© 1998 by JoAnn Roberts
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