Karyna Jaramillo lives in fear that she’ll be deported and sent back to her hometown in Morelos, Mexico where she could face persecution. “Deporting me is like sending me straight to my death,” she said in Spanish.
Jaramillo is a transgender woman, an undocumented immigrant and leader for migrants who fear persecution in their home countries and feel excluded by LGBTQ organizations in the U.S.
On Sept. 16-17, TLC, GSA Network and Trans Youth - Truth Project will host a two-day organizing workshop for transgender and gender nonconforming youth of color (14-21) in the East Bay Area.
Apply today: bit.ly/GetLitYouth
Across the country, the transgender community has been experiencing an unprecedented level of visibility. Openly transgender celebrities like actress Laverne Cox and model Isis King are proudly gracing television screens and newsstands. Gender dysphoria – the medical term describing those whose identities differ from their birth gender – is now widely recognized in the medical community, and many major health care providers cover gender reassignment surgery for those who are diagnosed with it. Here at home, the Detroit Police Department recently hired its first transgender officer, who will be graduating from the academy in June.
Berkeley High School sophomore Ellie began identifying as a girl last year. The 16-year-old’s birth certificate says male but, as she entered adolescence, it became clear to her that she was not a boy.
Ellie was homeschooled until high school. At BHS, she was thrown into a new environment where she found more opportunities to compare herself to her peers and consider how she fit in socially.
From TLC executive director Kris Hayashi:
Last week, as the House of Representatives passed President Trump’s dangerous bill undermining the Affordable Care Act, the President signed a so-called “religious liberty” Executive Order that attempts to chip away at the Constitution’s separation of church and state and encourages government agencies to discriminate.
Societal standards of beauty affect us all. From birth, we’re encouraged to internalize various myths, from the good ol’ “no white shoes after Labor Day” to the much more harmful “fat folks can’t wear tight clothes.” Transgender people face the same beauty myths, plus an extra helping of transphobia-flavored fashion rules, like “if a trans man wears makeup, it means he’s not really a man” and “all trans people must have gender affirmation surgery.”
There is an elevated stage in the basketball court-cum-community hall that Philippine Congresswoman Geraldine Roman is using to address her constituents, but she chooses not to use it.
Instead she remains on their level, cracking jokes and singing as she outlines her local government platform – emphasising her education and livelihood programmes and underlining her commitment to a national bill that will outlaw discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Model and Instagram darling Shay Neary is the first trans plus size model to land a major fashion campaign, and her inclusive spring/summer 2017 collab with retailer Yours Clothing is fab AF. Neary featured in a sleek urban photoshoot for the brand. The model also created a style guide for her fellow trans folks to go along with her selections from Yours Clothing’s trendiest pieces.
Researchers have published a study that proves trans kids are “never significantly different” from cisgender kids. The study, put together by University of Washington researchers Anne Fast and Kristina Olson and published by the journal Child Development, examined 36 different 3-to-5 year olds who had socially transitioned and were living as their gender. Due to their age, however, none have received medical treatment.
Today is #GiveOUTDay. Help the Transgender Law Center continue changing law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely and authentically by donating NOW for #TransLiberation here.
princesskane
“Gender identity is the color I get to put on the pages of my personal coloring book.”
Only I get to decide what that looks like and trust me, it’s fantastic! #transTRUTH