How Things Change (Or Maybe Not)

CN –  Mention of murder of Christa Leigh. 

As I sit here debating whether or not to make myself a coffee, looking at my journal for my upcoming posts in the next month, I had noticed one note I had written. It says “How things have changed for the LGBT community”. I thought yeah things have changed drastically for us in the past few years and that has been wonderful. Then I remembered yesterdays news. 

Yesterday the founding member of Miss Transgender America was found murdered. She is the first transgender woman to be murdered this year. She was murdered by her own husband. Her name is Christa Leigh… DO NOT FORGET HER AS YOU HAVE MANY OTHERS. Things haven’t exactly changed for us now have they?We are at the start of this year. THE VERY FUCKING START and already someone has been murdered. 

LGBT people are still under attack for being who they are, who they were born to be and in 2018 already there shows no sign of this stopping. Systematic oppression is still happening, intersectionality is still not a talked about thing and poverty is on the up. 

Fucking hell, non binary identified folk STILL cannot get married under their correct gender identity and we are supposed to have “equal marriage”. I’ve been barking up this tree now for actual years. YEARS. Myself and my partner have been discussing this issue for 5 years whilst we have been together and still it has not been a thing. I’m going to kick the fuck off about this because, you know what I have kept my mouth shut for a very long time, and I am just about done. When you agree to take part in a film, provide contacts, tell the film maker that no, they are not the first person to be bringing non binary identity into the limelight, give information previously about how your partner even spoke in the house of commons in 2012 to discuss equal marriage and the spousal veto…. Only for that to be disregarded, ignored and not even thanked, it is going to piss people off.  

You want to know what has changed – sweet fuck all, except for the fact that we now have the more vocal, more able bodied, camera pretty shitlords taking credit for something that they never even fucking started. For your information the first non binary person to enter a government building and speak to members of Parliament was in the 90s and not 2017. Oh and before I get the sudden barrage of hate mail that probably is going to come with this as folks realise which film maker I’m calling the fuck out on, you should know this.

• They were invited to film our non binary wedding in 2013
• We were interviewed during their wedding and it got cut – might have been due to the fact that I mentioned that I had a protest wedding for proper equal marriage in 2010
• I hit them up with a contact for the film.

Fuck that actually felt good to get out. But yes, it turns out that disabled trans people have been doing work for a good solid 20+ years and not getting recognised for their work. Something that really fucking hasn’t changed over the years. Will it ever? I fucking hope so but I’m not holding my goddamn breath. 

I mean this isn’t the first time intersectional LGBT folks have and will get shit on. I am public about the fact that even Brighton museum up until THIS MONTH wasn’t fully accessible to people wanting to see the museum of transology, and it was just a goddamn door issue. Poor working class LGBT folks are still being seen as the scum of the earth by many of the richer community folk, and their issues are never addressed and LGBT people of colour still get fuck all platforms and when they finally do speak, they are seen as problematic or trouble “for the rest of us”

I mean fuck, I went off on one because a no trans people had been asked to take part in a conference aimed at the history of someone who was speculated to be non binary and a goddamn trans person told me to stop campaigning and they didn’t give a shit about their peers feelings as they wanted to attend anyway. THIS IS OUR CHANGE. TRANS PEOPLE IN PRIVILEGED SITUATION’S SHITTING ON MARGINAL FOLK. Fucking hell the cishets™ can pack up and leave cause we have trans people doing the emotional labour of tearing down OTHER TRANS PEOPLE for them. 

So in summary – what has changed? Nothing except some of us can get married, and privileged LGBT folks can now shit on others 

The “Debate” On Trans Women

We have been shocked to the core with the TERF behaviour that’s gone on in recent days, weeks and months. Now it directs itself to women’s hour on the BBC, so I would like to add to this. 

THERE IS NO FUCKING DEBATE. TRANSGENDER WOMEN ARE WOMEN. THEY ARE REAL AND THEY EXIST! 

Thank you

Review – Street Fighting Woman

So as promised on twitter last week, I said I would do a review on Street Fighting Woman by Steve Thompson.
This is my first comic book or graphic novel review so bear with me.
The subject of the story is that a professional wrestler becomes a body guard for some guy who lives in England.
Now the drawings are not great. I personally feel that they are quite rushed and no care has gone into them. You know when you have got an essay due the next day and your trying to find a couple of extra words to fill in the space? Yeah that’s how the drawing feels. They show you another artist in the book that drew the first section and they seem so much better.
The story itself looks like it will be a good one. However if you are not into violence, women being the main characters or anything remotely implying empowerment to women, then this may not be for you.
I got really fucking frustrated at the end and I can tell you now, we have the preview copy of part two and it tells you fuck all that’s going to happen. You are left on a cliff hanger at the end of the book, so expect to get angry.

In summary not too bad, story is good, drawing is not so good in my opinion but its worth a read.

My Genitals Are Not News Worthy

It has been pretty fashionable the past 12 months or so to include transgender issues in the media. I don’t know about you, but personally I’m getting bored of it. Before the gates of hell open up and swallow me hole for saying such a terrible thing, I would like to explain why.
Firstly, its not just the TV or the latest buzzfeed article that goes on about transgender issues. Often there are articles talking about how “hot” passing trans people are or some petty cis parent “worried” about the corruption of their child because trans kids are in schools.

You see, whilst some things can be very productive and informative, often the posts and videos that get posted are often to cause a reaction to non trans folk or littered with inaccuracies because no actual research has been done. They often push surgeries, hormones and binary treatment as if its just the one path everyone takes. Also because of Caitlin Jenner everyone thinks the transformation is really quick and that we shouldn’t be so stressed out about how long it actually takes to “fully transition”. You never get told in the media that you are looking at about 10 years from start to finish, and that’s if you are a open and shut typical case. You never get told that you see about a million different doctors even before you get a chance to be on hormones alone. You also never get told properly about non binary people existing, or that gender isn’t just solely one thing that’s either masculine or feminine. We are often pressured to even hate parts of our body that we didn’t even hate before.

The bathroom posts, whilst helpful are also a hindrance too.
The thing is MOST pieces that hit mainstream media haven’t even been written by trans or non binary people. Media only wants to talk about either the bathroom issues or what genital surgery is like. There is nothing about what WE actually want. And god forbid that you bring up trans people who choose to not or cannot pass. We are constantly told that our worth is based solely on how well we present as the gender we are or how far along on our transition we are. All the bathroom “photo protests” are mainly with people who pass so well, they wouldn’t even be “questioned” in the first place.
The people the bathroom bills affect are the trans people that do not pass. It mainly affects trans women too. People are protesting about “how men shouldn’t be in the women’s toilets” and trust me, those people do not even think that there are female assigned at birth trans people. In fact anti trans protesters have openly said that “women in men’s bathrooms” is entirely different because there is no threat. Its bullshit, but guys we need to start fighting for the women who need us to fight now. Us walking into women’s bathrooms in protest is not helping the cause, its only making it worse.

I am at a point of privilege, whilst I’m not passing all the time, I get treated with male privilege often, regardless of my gender identity. I am also white and whilst I am not physically able and have disabilities, I am still given platforms in order to talk, and be listened to. I however am still trans and I still get discriminated on a weekly basis and constantly questioned about my genitals. I admin online in quite a cis white dominated environment and when I joined I was the first openly queer person working with “The neckbeards” It hasn’t run smoothly in the slightest and negative attention has  been given to myself and one of my partners because of this. So you can imagine how bored you must get when the media goes on about trans issues when you yourself are on social media very publicly.
I’m not saying that all the media coverage needs to stop, I’m just saying that if trans issues are going to be blasted all over the planet, at least let it get written by trans people please.

Fat Shaming Isn’t Cute Or Funny

Following on from that horrific YouTube video made by that god awful woman (I’m not even going to credit her, she’s not worth the virtual ink) , I think its about time we discussed fat shaming.

Don’t do it. Whatever you are thinking, just don’t. There is zero need for it.
There are people who are over weight, there are people under. There are many reasons as to why people are considered “unhealthy” and you know what. Its none of anyone’s business what shape or size a person is.
Do you know what is our business though? The way media and high street stores treat body shapes and sizes. Its cheaper for a company to make a product in a smaller size, regardless of size, every top that’s identical will be the same price. No company wants to make people pay £40 for a single T-shirt and actually think people are getting their moneys worth in material and time.

I’m over weight , the reasons for this are varied. Now, if I am totally honest in the past few weeks I have let myself down on my regular watching calories and carbs, and you know what. I have stayed the same weight. Now I get regular blood tests, check ups, body checks, and do you know what makes me officially over weight. My boobs. Boobs are a weight. I have very nearly zero body fat on my legs, and arms, my chest area is the only place where there is body fat.

I have tried it all, diets, excercise, praying to Satan himself, and I can safely say in a year of monitoring with my Dr, constant food checks, I lost 10kg. I built up muscle in areas, but that was it. And do you know why? Because some people will have bumps and curves and wibbly areas that no amount of exercise will clear. Sorry, but its life.

Do you know what we can control? Media representation.
Don’t buy the magazine that tells you that there are new fad diets. For starters, I will tell you now, in an expert on fad diets. THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE SHITS. THAT’S NOT HEALTHY.  Too much fruit will make you poop like you have never pooped before. I did this with a partner and we both experienced this trouble.
Don’t buy the magazines that point out peoples cellulite. Everyone has got it, its just bumpy skin. There is no need to point it out on other women , our own flaws. I say other women, because magazines like this are aimed at women (though if you have read men’s fitness, we dont fair much better if I’m honest)
Do not buy it if the “ideal beach body” is unobtainable. There is normally a fad diet attached to it, and see my previous point. Poop!
Instead question why you are buying these , are there alternatives. Find magazines that have real women and men in it. Check to see if photos are airbrushed. Whether curves and flat flawless skin is added. Tell yourself that you are an individual and that everyone has different bodies.
If a shop doesn’t have your size, ask then why. Explain that the average sized person is not a size zero.

Go out there and rock the body you were born with, and remind yourself that if you want to change, that’s your business and that no one can tell you otherwise.