Words That Transcend

Coming Out is Never Having to Say You're Sorry

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:52:00 +0000

The following is excerpted from an email sent by my dear friend, Donna, who recently transitioned. The nature of her profession makes “coming out” a repeat performance. Her latest “Déjà vu” moment occurred Thursday, July 22nd. These experiences continue to forge her character. Stealth is seldom an option in either her career or lifelong avocation. Donna takes full ownership of her life on her terms. No excuses, no apologies and no more hiding.

These days she’s proud of her identity as an everyday transgender woman.

And it shows. Here’s the letter:

Keri,

I just had to tell you...

At 12:30 pm I was called into a last-minute project. It involved local police bike officers who patrol the business district. I knew it would be tough being there; at least at first because I had to meet them at the police station. Quite a few of the officers I’ve come to know very well, working with them over a period of many years.

As I approached the front door of the station an associate of mine was standing outside with three officers. Two of them I’d be following around town. One was the sergeant, a 60-something career officer. He’s been on the force since the 70’s. I’ve worked with him quite a lot.

“Sarge” has always been a real nice guy. He has a big laugh and is very friendly, but takes no crap. He's married to a judge.

Shortly after we all met and determined what we were going to do “Sarge” says to me, “So what's up with you? What's going on?” He quickly rifled a few more questions, “How have you been? I mean when you walked up to us at the station I thought...”

I cut him off and gestured, “Let's stand over here.” We walked a few feet away where we could talk privately.
'
“When did this happen?” he asked. So, I told him that a few months ago I had some surgery. That this is something I had to do. That this was boiling up inside of me for 50-some years and I had to finally do something about it.

After a pause the first words out of his mouth were, “You're tougher than any cop I know.” He said he was really proud of me and admires me so much.

He kept going on and on about how wonderful this is, that he loves it when someone actually does something great for themselves. 'You look great!” he said. “I mean it. You really look great'.

I thanked him over and over for saying something, anything and told him I had wanted to say something to him earlier, but thanked him for giving me the chance to eventually talk about what's going on.

Again he said, “You really look great. I'm so happy for you”. I gave him my new biz card.

He asked again about things at work. I told him how on my first day back after surgery, an HR rep who handles our area came to meet me at work. He shot my new ID badge, then escorted me to my office— really a huge open floor of cubicles—a place I've worked for 25 years. I'm being walked in like a new employee.

“Sarge” thought this was wonderful! He just shook his head and smiled in happiness as I talked. I could tell he was deeply moved.

At this point he told me I had a little lipstick on my teeth, telling me his wife is always asking him to let her know when she does. So he thought he should tell me, too. I thanked him profusely—even though I was terribly embarrassed.

I told him I wished I had done this (transition) 25 or 30 years ago.

“Sarge” said it would have been a lot harder then, commenting that now this kind of thing is getting a lot more public attention. It's seen as being all right, a lot more acceptable.

He again asked how work was with all this. I was delighted to tell him that from the top down everything's been great. He was happy to hear it.

As we were walking away together “Sarge” held the front door to the store for me. He said if there's ever anything he can do for me, if anyone gives me any trouble, just let him know. It was absolutely fantastic seeing his warm reaction to me, especially after having such initial fears about having to go to the police department to meet.

He told me that when he was a young officer he knew of someone who worked at a large foundry, a big burly guy, who had a “sex change”. Everything went fine for that person because everyone liked “him” a lot. But it had been a huge story around here in the 1980’s.

“Sarge” and I worked together for a few more hours. He kept saying, “This is great, this is just great!” He said he couldn't wait to tell his wife. That this story made his day.

I told "Sarge" he made my week. I told him that, speaking of his wife, the judge, I could be standing before her one of these days. He immediately asked if I was going to legally change my name. When I said yes, he told me she only works criminal cases. We came up with three judges who do handle civil matters. I told him it'd be great to have him in the courtroom when I do (my legal name change) anyway.

And he kept telling me how tough and strong a person he thinks I am for having the courage to change—and live my life my way.

When our business together was finished, I told him I was going to head back to the office. He said we should get together again and talk.

This was such a wonderful event.

Donna

My Father’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:08:00 +0000

Father’s Day is almost over. This story has just begun.

Out of respect to my Father and after surmounting a wave of denial, the story grudgingly unfolds. It took 76 years to get here. All the same, it came too soon.

This story will be re-told, if not resolved, by recounting the whirlwind events of the past two months.

Earlier this week Mom mentioned Dad requested his favorite menu for Father’s Day. BBQ ribs for the main course. Pineapple upside down cake for dessert. No argument from mom or his 8 adult children, 5 of whom gathered at my parent’s home today, as is customary for the big event.

Father’s Day has always been doubly special and at times doubly painful for my Dad. If you’re in my family it’s best to circle June 20th on the calendar. Then draw a bullseye. Dad’s particular about getting his due on his special day.

You see Father’s Day coincides with Dad’s birthday.

Two cards, two gifts, two wishes and two treats. Nothing less will do. This year it’s BBQ and Pineapple upside down cake. Sorry to repeat myself. Some things are simply hard to get out of the system after 52 years. Father’s Day, Dad birthday and yeah, my Dad in general, but that’s another story, and the rest is yet to come.

Happy Birthday Dad. Happy Father’s Day, too.

The Zero Hour

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:30:00 +0000

My friend Donna is transitioning as I write---transitioning on the job.

It’s a position she’s trained for most of her adult life. All the same, there’s nothing rash or impulsive about it. She conducts business as if her life depends on it.

In fact, it does.

I can’t describe how remarkable it’s been to witness what Donna’s accomplished since the beginning of the year.

The decision to approach her high profile employer was monumental. Like many companies there have been mass layoffs where she’s worked for 26 years. Seniority was no guarantee of job stability. The time had come for her to place her misgivings aside and simply trust. Today marks the end of 56 years of placing faith in everyone but herself.

Today, Donna embarks on a new job, carrying out her own “right to work”, her own “right to life.”

Here I write, all cozy in my office, coffee to comfort me 21 months after my own transition. Life is good. And there’s Donna in the zero hour, adrenaline charged and moving forward, step by step, steeled safely from the negative cross-talk that had screamed within. Walking old halls, past cluttered offices to familiar cubicles, Donna appears all smiles. Inside she is stoic.

No one will see her sweat today.

These may be the same old walls, but Donna is the “New You” to everyone at work. This morning she is being re-introduced to staff. Her co-workers have been briefed days earlier. The groundwork however, was months in the making. A transition plan was discussed, formulated for Donna’s needs and set in motion, fully supported by local top management, endorsed by corporate ownership and implemented today by HR.

I can feel the joy of her smile as she walks down the hall, greeted by co-workers who will be inspired by her disarmingly genuine nature.

Today is no fluke.

Good things happen to good people. It’s a karmic reality I believe. Donna is not just “good people”. She’s isn’t another face in the crowd or the next “pretty woman”. She’s a respectful, caring, loving human spirit. Transcending even her gender identity, this is what’s at her core.

Forrest Gump might say, good is as good does.

And no doubt, so it goes for Donna as she marches past the zero hour, liberated into the future.

#####

POST SCRIPT:

Before I could post this entry, Donna called. Her voice was ebullient as she blurted the news, “Everything is GREAT, just GREAT.”

Fear and Transition

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:27:00 +0000

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that
brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me
and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its
path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain." --Litany Against Fear, from 'Dune', by Frank
Herbert.

Sunny read this thought-provoking Tweet to me over the weekend. I can relate to Herbert’s emotionally stirring words.

For 50 years, I was ruled by the fear of going public with my truth.

In the two years since transition I can say with certainty that facing fear is a character builder without peer. Facing fear continues to forge courage and build confidence.

Transcending fear presented me one of the greatest gifts of life, the conviction to honor the sacred voice inside me--the intuitive call of a knowing heart.

At some point every transitioner reaches a crossroads. There are but two choices. Face fear and move forward or turn back. Standing still is not an option. Life moves forward or back, but it never remains in place.

Transcending fear hasn’t waved a magic wand of happiness for me. It’s not a permanent free pass or get out of jail free card. But is has affirmed the quality of my convictions and in so doing, restored the quality of my life.

Help Build the Dream: The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:43:00 +0000

Monuments around Washington DC honor the legacy of great Americans. Another worthy memorial is in the works, a tribute to the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Build the Dream” is in the final stages of a $120 million dollar fund appeal to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The fund seeks donations to underwrite the final $14 million required for construction.

A MKL toolbar is free to download with .05 from every search donated to the fund.

The towering MLK stone monument, an inscription wall and bookstore will be located on the Tidal Basin of the National Mall, across from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It commemorates the life & civil rights legacy of one of the greatest humanitarians in U.S. history.

Ground was broken in 2006. The national monument is scheduled to open in late 2011.

For more information or to the support “Build the Dream” contact:

Lowell Dempsey,
BuildTheDream.org
Twitter @mlkmemorial
Facebook.com/MLKNationalMemorial

Bathroom Break

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:52:00 +0000

A 30-something mother rounded the corner. Head down with short, certain strides she was on a mission, her 4-year-old daughter locked in tow.

Looking up at me she stopped short. I was blocking access to the coveted door.

“Single stall?” she asked with a friendly smile. “Yup” I nodded empathetically, returning the favor.

Mom looked at her daughter, re-assessing the situation. She shot a glance at the locked door; cast a smile my way before returning her attention to the 4 year old.

Mom had a plan.

She reached for the bottom of her daughter’s inside out t-shirt. Up and away from her belly button it went. Before I could say “girl’s locker room” Mom had the wayward cotton shirt up to the neck of her daughter’s protesting little head.

The child’s modesty wasn’t lost on Mom.

Kneeling beside her she looked over her shoulder at me, reassuring the troubled child, “This lady’s seen plenty of little girls like you before. No need to worry.” Our eyes met with a smile, a stifled chuckle instead of a conspiratorial wink.

The little girl obliged, lifting her arms high over head. In seconds, Mom held the offending shirt in her hands, deftly turning it inside out—righting what was wrong--before redressing her daughter again.

The 4 year old skipped down the hall, no worse for the wear. Mom winked and followed suit.

I smiled, still waiting my turn to the restroom.

Ichiban! D.C.’s Japanese Street Festival.

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:03:00 +0000

Ichiban means “number 1”.

That esteemed designation doesn’t overstate the renowned Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival in Washington DC. Saturday’s 2010 venue was a first for Sunny and I, the 50th anniversary of this unique celebration of Japanese culture.

The festival opened in grand scale with a Macy’s inspired parade. A vibrant street market greeted festival goers with Asian food & drink, martial art demonstrations, fine art exhibits, dance, traditional costume and musical performances.

Like many cultural offerings in the District, the Sakura Matsuri festival is free.

Appropriately, the Capital building became an iconic backdrop to this bustling melting pot of ethnic diversity. It’s the largest single-day exhibition of Japanese culture in the United States, attracting more than 160,000 visitors, covering 6 blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Two Thumbs Up for Mass Transit

Our day began with two thumbs up as we scored seats on the Metro rail. Unlike last weekend when travelers packed rail cars like sardines en route to witness the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s peak blooms, Saturday’s passengers could breathe easy.

We arrived at the Federal Triangle and ascended into the middle of the action. It was easy navigating to the parade. We cued up in the steady advance of parade-goers leading to the route on Constitution Avenue.

Crystal clear, sunny blue skies made for stunning photo ops. Seasonal, 60 degree weather was perfect for parade patrons and marchers alike.

I Think I’m Turning Japanese

I admit I was surprised how long we waited for the first Asian inspired entry. A Japanese dance troop made it all worthwhile. Waif-like dancers, styled and costumed as traditional geishas, were amazingly light on their feet. They gently spun like rose petals fluttering in the breeze. I swear their feet never touched the ground.

Lilting up and down the street in colorfully patterned silk kimonos and traditionally styled updos, the adorable ballerinas danced to artistic perfection. Mesmerizing routines captivated adults and more than a few unsuspecting toddlers, earning two “Ichiban’s” from Sunny and I.

The market place like the parade route teemed with people. But it was a good-spirited vibe.

Long Lines Get Two Thumbs Down

I wish I could say the same about the food and public accommodations. Nothing good about standing in long lines when you’re hungry or “in a hurry”. Sunny and I agreed: Two thumbs down.

The lines were impossible to navigate by noon. I marveled at the patience of those who stood 20 deep or more waiting to order teriyaki chicken, sushi and Pad Thai, an Asian favorite with absolutely no connection to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Passing on long lines freed us to enjoy the balance of the afternoon taking in martial arts demonstrations, handicrafts and more authentic geishas---a bow of appreciation for kindly allowing me to photograph them.

A Bout with Japanese Pop: Split Decision

About the only thing Sunny and I disagreed on was the Japanese pop rock playing the music stage. A single thumbs up, I’m afraid.

Here’s a short clip of a Japanese rock-duo, fiercely playing their 3-string Shamisens. That’s banjo in Ameri-speak. I liked the repetitive groove. Though that might be my OCD speaking!

No denying these guys had fun.

Fun is the name of the game when you have a reputation to uphold as the #1 Japanese festival in America.

Lies of the Truth Truck

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:22:00 +0000

They call it the “Truth Truck”. I call it a lie. One of the Ten Commandments says “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”. Who knew?

Oscar Wilder once said, “Morality is simply the attitude we adopt toward people whom we personally dislike.”

Today that morality is simply hateful as any “truth truck” will attest.

These broken-down vehicles of bigotry are making the rounds. Friday, it was Annapolis, but they’re coming your way, too. It’s equal opportunity discrimination, a circus on wheels intent on spreading the word to legislatures in state capitals across America.

It’s the word of malicious hatred putting LGBT America on notice. Civil rights aren’t for you.

We’ve seen it before. The messaging remains the same. The target audience, however, does not. There will always be new converts to the cause of discrimination and religious oppression. As long as long as the LGBT community lobbies for equality the religious right will seek retribution through discrimination.

Like many executive directors, Morgan Meneses-Sheets of Equality Maryland has engaged a particularly bitter fight during the final days of the 2010 legislative session:

"The 'truth truck' is just one example in the string of truly crazy anti-equality antics that we have faced lately. Last week, Delegate Don Dwyer attempted to impeach our Attorney General in response to his opinion permitting the recognition of out of state marriage licenses.

There is also a bill that would permit state funds to be utilized to provide tax breaks for private schools, including religious schools, even though they refuse to uphold our state's anti-discrimination laws. With the recent firing of a lesbian teacher from a Catholic high school, we believe this would amount to state funded support of discrimination."

“Truth Trucking” may be a crude fear-mongering tactic, but its primitive ability to generate attention, to raise the ire of an otherwise self-absorbed voting public should never be dismissed.

Just as the tainted truck’s words of hate must never be dismissed as the right of religious freedom.

The truth is religious extremism and religious oppression is never right. It’s bitter-rotten to the core, covered by a morality of hate which gives no quarter to any truth other than its own.

Let’s call these words of “truth” what they really are: Evil, malicious lies. Sins against humanity and fellow Americans. Words that generate irrational fear, inflames emotions and ultimately consumes its followers.

Hate hurts. Hate Poisons. Hate kills.

It can only be stopped with equality.

You Say Espresso. I Say Expresso.

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:07:00 +0000

Either way we both get a mega hit of adrenalin. The difference being my jolt comes from exercise, not caffeine.

I discovered expresso.net quite by accident. Actually I credit the maintenance guys at the health club for the introduction. Their mechanical ruckus on an otherwise dull January day diverted my attention from a repetitious workout to the far side of the gym. There they gathered noisily at work installing a row of spiffy new stationary bikes.

Curiosity soon got the better of me.

The old school term “stationary bike” is too simplistic and perhaps a bit condescending to label this brainy, exercycle wunderkind. Stationary conveys going nowhere fast. Like someone stuck in a sedentary lifestyle. Being glued to a computer would be an apt comparison.

This upright bike is the next generation of indoor cycling, an exercise escape inspiring visions of the Great Indoors, if ever there could be such a thing. The Expresso bike is a computer powered pep rally on wheels.

After several months of touring the virtual countryside, I like what I see and love how motivated I’ve become to cycle.

The Expresso bike experience is interactively cool. Or perhaps I should say the software that drives the excitement is both programmable and personal. Kind of a high-tech hipness.

Cyclists choose a level suited to their personal goals and physical fitness. I spend much of my cycling on basic tours since I like my challenges “meat & potatoes” simple, nothing fancy.

My favorite course is the one-mile “Expresso Speedway”. Basic level, yes, but I can play it as stressful or as safe as I want with the shift of a gear. Moderate, Challenging and Extreme courses are designed to attract every skill and interest level, from beginner to advanced cyclist. True kamikaze competitors have the option of the ultimate challenge-- proving ground chases. So far, I’ve passed on that, but someday…

Each tour has multiple courses of varied lengths, unique topography (incline/decline) and native scenery. Expresso charts individual session results, all-time totals, global leader boards and motivational goals like its “100 mile Centurion trophy”. They’re all gimmicks to be sure, but tricks that work on me.

Even better they work for me.

The first course ride establishes a “ghost”. It’s literally a ghost image of my personal best ride. The phantom cyclist overlays all future rides, allowing me to compete against myself. Talk about masochistic.

I can also view how far I am from the all-time leader at any point on the course—a feature which amounts to an exercise in futility since the leaders are super humanoid, or at the very least, Olympic-caliber with their speed burning times. I’m toast just thinking about it. Thankfully, there’s a manual option which allows easy “off tour” riding, perfect for the casual cyclist and sometimes a refreshing change of pace for me.

Expresso tallies consumed calories, measures heart rate, plus average and maximum power pedaling stats. It all adds up to keeping me engaged and coming back for more.

Expresso offers free “bronze” member registration. I created an ID and password with the bike’s keypad on my first ride. That was it. No name, address, email or phone number required. It’s hassle-free, easy access. Me likes that—and the 30 gear shift handle bar,

Unfortunately, like a good Cup O’ Joe, Expresso is addictive, especially for competition junkies like me. Getting listed on the leader board requires an upgrade to “silver” membership. That was the rub until the Silver membership fee was waived for new registrants in mid-winter.

I should be ranked 33rd in a global field of 625 cyclists with a personal best of 2:41 on the one-mile Expresso Speedway course. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. It doesn’t count since I rode my personal best before being registered for the free Silver membership. If only I’d known.

Alrighty then. Being dissed only fires me up to do it all over again. Like a dog chasing its tail, riding to win is a silly exercise in futility. One I’m obsessively bound to repeat time and again. There’s always hope, but ultimate victory remains ever-elusive.

Could it be that was precisely the kind of addictive “fix” Expresso had in mind?

Fast or slow, competitively frenzied or casually carefree, it’s all good. I’ve seldom been this amped about indoor workouts.

Expresso cycling delivers a healthy rush; an adrenalin high without the caffeine.

Civil Rights in the Digital Domain: Sign the Petition & Strike out the ISP’s Big Three

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Big business special interests have proven to be the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing of the new world order.

Let me count the profiteering ways.

The unfettered greed of Wall Street crippled America’s Main Street, a domino effect contributing to global recession. Big Health insurance led by #1 United Health and its conservative lobbyists distorted facts, spread falsehoods and instigated near riot conditions from Town Hall meetings to Capitol Hill. It was a calculated, covert strategy of fear, employing everyday Americans to kill the health care bill. Reform intended to benefit them most.

The strategy worked. A disenfranchised and misinformed middle class rallied to dilute the positive impact of legitimate health care reform.

Now Big Telecom is successfully employing the same tactic, exploiting the very people it allegedly serves.

AT&T, Comcast & Verizon to the Rescue!

Yes, it’s the telecom industry’s turn at bat. AT&T, Comcast and Verizon will be taking a mighty swing at unregulated internet information exchange. To coin a baseball phrase the telecoms are playing long ball, swinging for the fences, greedy for the game winning home run.

We need to make them swing and miss now.

This isn’t a game. At stake is the right to an uncensored internet, a civil right to freedom of speech in the era of the digital domain.

Big Telecom believes the public interest will best be served only if internet information access is their sole gatekeeping province. If serving the “public interest” just happens to be their next cash cow, the telecoms will likely argue it a result of “good business practice”.

The FCC would like to preserve the status quo of free information exchange on the internet, protecting the American people with a policy of “net neutrality”. The FCC is encouraging all interested parties to weigh in on the matter. Lobbyists of the Big Three telecom industry have a huge head start on the public, a decided advantage on the outcome.

The Color of Change coalition opposes the vested profiteering interests of the telecom industry. It endorses the proposed ‘net neutrality” policy outlined is the FCC proposal:

The FCC is working to create rules that would protect "net neutrality," the principle that protects an open and free Internet and which has guided the Internet's operation since it began. It guarantees that information you put online is treated the same as anyone else's information in terms of its basic ability to travel across the Internet. Your own personal website or blog can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies. It's the reason the Internet is so diverse -- and so powerful. Anyone with a good idea can find their audience online, whether or not there's money to promote the idea or money to be made from it.
Free and open access to the “information highway” is arguably the greatest gift to freedom of speech in a generation. But that’s not the way telecom and their money-seeding lobbyists spin it.

Big Telecom Enlists the Black Community

AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would like to pilfer freedom of expression away, protecting us from ourselves. Like their Big Biz brothers of recent past the Big Three have recruited a heavy hitter. Once again, this powerful ally in the covert game of corporate profiteering would be the group most adversely impacted by the cause it supports.

That ally is the NAACP and coalitions of the Black community.

Color of Change reports that over the past 10 years AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have contributed millions upon millions of dollars to the coffers of the NAACP and the National Urban League. In exchange they’ve purchased the grass roots endorsement of these prestigious equality organizations. The telecoms do it with a ridiculous argument that greater internet control would generate greater profits which would in turn lead to investing in the Black community, expanding internet access where little is currently present.

If the past is any indicator of the future, it won’t be long before indignant, underprivileged members of this exploited community rise in outrage against the evils of “net neutrality”.

Concerned citizens can send a message to the FCC: Keep the internet free of corporate corruption by signing Color of Change’s online petition.

Follow-up on a Flawed System: Is HRT in Prison Life or Death?

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Last week’s court decision overturning Wisconsin law that precluded transsexual inmates from receiving transition-related care raised the age old question of equality.

Even fair-minded American tax-payers harbor conflicted feelings about subsidizing medical care for transgender inmates. I doubt I’m going out on a limb to speculate the majority do.

Likewise more than a few within the transgender community are at odds over the free lunch their incarcerated “cousins” receive on the tab of state taxpayers. Comparisons are made between the inequities of self-funded, transition-related medical care in the outside world and the assumed privilege of inmates receiving free transition care inside prison.

I’d argue there’s a fundamental misunderstanding at play. It’s based on a flawed system. That system has little to do with prison reform.

No Way Out

Transsexual individuals suffer a medical condition, defined by WPATH as “gender identity disorder” or “gender dysphoria”. In the real world a transsexual’s inability to afford hormone therapy can be excruciating. It delays and denies medically necessary treatment. The condition of gender incongruence, if unchecked, becomes an emotionally painful, psychologically debilitating and often life threatening reality.

Depression is a reality faced by many transsexuals lacking the ability to access medically necessary treatment. The vast majority of transitioning individuals, up to 88%--confront this profoundly disturbing economic fact-of-life and never surgically transition. Gender reassignment is the medical protocol recommended for treating Gender Identity Disorder by WPATH, the organization which governs transsexual Standards of Care.

In discussing Wisconsin’s federal ruling, transgender and cisgender taxpayers alike may have an axe to grind, but it shouldn’t be about prison “perks”. The broader discussion should be about the inequities of fatally flawed health insurance coverage, a health care delivery system that leaves transsexuals no way out of GID by excluding transition care.

Not An Issue of Prison Protocol

This is a health care reform issue, not an issue of incarceration protocol. For many within the transgender community, the prison industrial complex offering free transition care is akin to pouring salt on a festering wound. “We can’t afford it, why should you get it free, Ms. (or Mr.) Criminal?”

Similarly an uninitiated, uninformed mainstream—Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer— doesn’t realize transition care is medically recommended protocol for transsexuals. They seethe at the notion of offering hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery to transgender inmates. This segment of the population may view tax-funded medical services as an extravagance, akin to elective cosmetic surgery.

Suffice to say fundamentally far right taxpayers view transsexuality as a religious abomination. End of story. And since this group’s sense of fair play is limited to “their own”, I’m disqualifying their discriminatory viewpoint from an otherwise broad-minded discussion.

The Public Doesn't Grasp the Concept of Transsexual Medical Necessity

Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Incongruence--label it what you will--is a very real medical condition with troubling consequences for those who can’t afford access to medical treatment. Let me reiterate: most Americans have yet to grasp the concept of transsexual “medical necessity”. They do, however, grasp chronic conditions that affect them, their family and friends: Life threatening heart, liver and kidney disease, cancers of every kind; chronic conditions like asthma and arthritis to variant angina.

Some are acute conditions others less so. Each of them demands medical treatment. No one in their right mind would argue access—inside or outside of prison.

Most “conscientious objectors” argue that gender identity disorder isn’t in the same life-threatening league as heart disease or the like. A heart (liver or lung) transplant is on a different plane of critical care than a sex change.

I maintain both medical conditions deserve treatment.

GID Kills

The former chronic condition may take a life sooner, but the latter has the proven capacity to claim a life, too. Depression caused by GID leads to medicating behaviors which do kill—like alcoholism, drug addiction and suicide. Transgender sources often cite a transsexual suicide rate of 31%, with 50% of all transsexuals attempting suicide by their 20th birthday.

Transsexuals aren’t taking their lives because of depression over having sex-reassignment surgery. Only 1-2% of post-ops polled have transition regret. It’s a lack of economic means that sends most “pre-reassignment” transitioners over the edge. The dire consequences of being unable to reconcile mind, body and spirit through a combination of cost-prohibitive HRT and gender reassignment procedures cannot be overstated.

Heart disease is a physiological condition. GID is both a psychological and physiological condition. Neither chronic disorder discriminates. Both kill if untreated.

Even the Tax Court Agrees

Recently, medical treatment equality for transsexuals was upheld in another court of law.

On February 2nd, the US Tax Court ruled in favor of transsexual woman Rhiannon O'Donnabhain in her case against the IRS. The court denied the IRS claim that hormone therapy and gender reassignment procedures were “cosmetic”. The court's majority opinion declared GID to be a medical condition requiring medical treatment.

The O’Donnabhain verdict established precedent for deducting gender reassignment protocols, including HRT and SRS on tax returns.

The issue that underlies the conflict of gatekeeping health care benefits is health insurance—both behind bars and in the real world.

Health Insurance Disregards the AMA

The health insurance industry has yet to adopt the 2008 position of the American Medical Association to include treatment of GID. Had the insurance industry relocated medically necessary protocols like hormone therapy and gender reassignment from standard exclusions to policy inclusions the debate over the Wisconsin verdict would be moot.

Health insurance reform would enforce equality. It adds the health industry “seal of approval” to transition care. Tax payers and the transgender community alike would be served notice: life threatening conditions such as GID are to be treated like every other chronic condition.

Inclusion of GID in the standard package of health insurance benefits would signal an end to the onerous financial burden that drains the very life out of many transitioners. It would quell the uproar over tax payer funded “cosmetic procedures” and stop political spin that depicts a “travesty of justice” in the Wisconsin prison system and beyond.

A Final Note on Transgender Crime

As in the mainstream, transgender individuals are both victim and victimized. They are proportionately law abiding citizens and hardened criminals. A few commit violent crime, but more often transgender offense is non-violent.

Transgender inmates find themselves inside detention centers and prisons, not typically for committing hate crime or sociopathic violence, or white collar larceny, but as the result of crimes of desperation and destitution.

Prostitution, drug trafficking, transgender unemployment, transgender underemployment, transgender homeless youth, transgender hate crime, these are the major contributors to incarceration. This is the plight of the typical transsexual as the world turns today.

Until protections for gender identity & expression are federally mandated and enforced, until the health insurance industry is reformed to include transition care, the transgender community will continue to find itself desperate, misunderstood and often without hope—either in front of society or behind bars.

More trans will commit survival crime. Many more will take their own lives, unable to cope with a short list of unacceptable, unforgivable options.

HRT in Prison: Life or Death?

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:04:00 +0000

Inmates aren’t denied life saving drugs or medical care in Wisconsin prisons. Insulin is in ready supply for the diabetic inmate. Angina sufferers receive nitro quick same as asthmatics have access to an inhaler.

Even in prison the right to life remains inalienable, unless the inmate happens to be transgender and in need of hormone therapy.

Yesterday Wisconsin’s exclusionary medical care model, practiced in prisons across America’s Dairyland was found guilty in Federal Court. U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert declared Wisconsin’s discriminatory policy unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Rep. Scott Suder, (R-Abbotsford) called the verdict a “travesty of justice”.

One of the measure’s original sponsors, Sen. Ted Kanavas, (R-Brookfield), labeled the ruling “absurd”.

A spokesperson for Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the decision was being reviewed for possible appeal.

Since 2006 Wisconsin has denied transgender inmates hormone therapy, described by transgender plaintiffs as critical medical care prescribed to treat “gender dysphoria”.

Although the original measure to ban hormone therapy eventually received bipartisan support, it was signed into law by Governor Jim Doyle (D) only after a transgender inmate filed suit to have the state cover sex reassignment surgery.

Therein lays the real fear: Taxpayer outrage.

It should come as no surprise then, if someday another proposal rises from the dark recesses of a calculating, voter-starved politico, demanding the light of day. The next-generation of spending-conscious legislation hailed to end tax funding of all inmate surgeries, from kidney, liver and heart transplants to cancer treatments.

As the saying goes, they shoot horses, don’t they?

At The Peak! No Foolin’.

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:22:00 +0000

In case you missed it like I did, today was peak bloom at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC. Peak bloom arrives when at least 70% of the Yoshino Cherry tree blossoms that surround the Tidal Basin are open.

For all my fellow trivia junkies the average annual peak bloom date is April 4th. Last year it was April Fool’s Day. If the word “Yoshino” appears Asian influenced that’s because it is. The first of these beautiful white & pink blossoming cherry trees was a gift from Japan in 1912.

I don’t have any regrets about arriving at the Tidal Basin Saturday. The temps are predicted to crest at 80 degrees. Sunny blue skies and big, white & pink cherry blossoms all around, the perfect day for a springtime stroll.

What more could I want—besides my Nikon D90…

Let’s see. How about fireworks at the Southwest Waterfront. They’re scheduled to launch at 8:30pm.

If you’re within driving distance of Washington DC between now and April 11th, a walk around the Tidal Basin adjacent the National Mall is a “must see”.

Please Mr. Politician, Separate Your Church from My State.

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:12:00 +0000

In 2007 Delegate Ron George was elected to represent “we the people” of Maryland’s 30th District. We’re still waiting for him to vote like it.

Last week in Annapolis, George voted to represent his brand of extremist ideology, dissenting on House Bill 462. Once again he shamefully voted to perpetuate discrimination against the very people he represents. This time it’s our teachers. Once again he’s chosen to disregard his representative duty.

House Bill 462 proposes “altering a provision of law relating to discrimination in the employment of teachers in the public schools in the State to conform to other provisions of State law governing discrimination in employment.”

What it means is adding “sexual orientation” to existing protected State classes. This is the dangerous intersection where Church and State mix like snake oil and water. Nevertheless it’s an old fashioned, home recipe Delegate George like so many other social conservatives across America loves to follow.

The critical proviso of House Bill 462 reads:

“The State Superintendent, a county board, a county superintendent, or an assistant to any one of these may not make any distinction or discriminate in favor of or against any teacher in the employment of a public school of this State because of race, religion, color, ancestry or national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability…”

Last week the bill passed in the House by a vote of 131-3. It now moves to the Senate.

THREE BLIND MICE: JUST SAY NO

Mr. George was one of three dissenting, blind mice. Three delegates who are blind to reason, voting against inclusive anti-discrimination protections for all Maryland teachers. They are an insidious minority group, exercising political views far outside the mainstream.

131 of Delegate George’s congressional peers voted yes to equality. These Delegates believe civil rights equality is meant for every citizen much like the vast majority of their fair-minded Maryland constituents.

Of course, the issue isn’t equality for Delegate George. It’s propagating a vision of religious intolerance.

This is about Delegate George’s faith-based intolerance of gays and lesbians. Research his background, his personal & professional affiliations. Behind most of them lie the Legion of Christ and its lay branch the Regnum Christi. Their mission is “extending the Kingdom of Christ in society”. This extremist sect of Catholicism is under investigation by the Vatican for recruiting practices and the abuse scandals of its late founder, Father Marcial Maciel.

In 2009 the Baltimore sect of the Legion of Christ came under the scrutiny of Archbishop Edwin O’Brien for its “heavily persuasive methods on young people, especially high schoolers, regarding vocations”. At one point the Archbishop intended to expel these fundamentalist “Legionaires” from the Archdiocese.

IT'S TIME FOR INCLUSION

The inclusive wording proposed by HB 462 would protect teachers from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It’s time to hold Delegate George accountable for giving voice to his ultra-conservative brand of marginalizing, religious politics instead of listening to the voice of reason embraced by his collective constituency.

It’s time to call Delegate George on his abuse of political morality, a choice to promote his extreme personal ideology instead of the welfare of the people of Maryland District 30.

The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It also guarantees separation of church and state so that “we the people” may also have freedom from religion.

TAKE IT FROM A FOUNDING FATHER

Read the words of the principal author of our U.S. Constitution and one of our greatest Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.” -excerpted from Thomas Jefferson’s “Wall of Separation” letter to the Danbury Baptist Association

It’s past high time for Delegate George to separate his church from our state politics.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "...Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

Since Delegate George willfully disregards representation of the people of District 30 we have no choice other than to cast our vote against him in the November election.

And We Think We Have It Tough? Ask Somaly Mam.

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:47:00 +0000

Sunday our book club gathered to discuss “The Road of Lost Innocence” the real life story of Somaly Mam.

I’d never heard of this 30-something Cambodian woman before reading the book. It’s a story I’ll never forget. One I’d highly recommend reading before your next pity party.

Somaly embodies the selfless qualities of an old-fashioned hero, yet she’s an unlikely and reluctant one.

Somaly was born to a life of poverty in the isolated mountain forests of Cambodia, far from civilization, during the reign of terror of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. She holds no memory of her parents who abandoned her early on with no name. She was forced to fend for her life like a stray cat.

Somaly was marginalized for her ethnic heritage, shunned as a “dark-skinned savage” among the traditionally fair-skinned Cambodians of her village.

She never received formal education, but found inspiration in the occasional “home-school” lessons of her informally adoptive parents.

Those were her good years.

In early adolescence Somaly was sold to a man called “grandfather”. He was anything but a respectable authority figure, enslaving Somaly as a domestic laborer in his home and forcing her to work as a prostitute.

Ultimately “Grandfather” sold her to a “husband” for money. The cycle of physical, emotional and sexual abuse continued. Time and again Somaly was sold for the monetary gain of total strangers, men who wielded unquestioned patriarchal privilege.

A girl’s duty in Cambodian culture, as a woman’s, is to serve men unquestioningly.

Trafficked into slavery, sold into childhood prostitution, beaten, burned, emotionally tortured, sexually abused and mentally broken it was a miracle Somaly survived childhood. Many of the girls sold into slavery alongside her didn’t fare as well.

Forced into a life of sex—these little girls, some as young as 5, contracted STD’s, often becoming infected with AIDS. It was not uncommon for a child prostitute to be killed by a customer. One of Somaly’s friend’s was shot dead point blank by an infuriated “client”---a local policeman—for refusing to perform a degrading service.

Somaly’s fiercely independent nature, irrepressible spirit and unbreakable will to survive led to the teenager’s eventual freedom. She married an ex-patriot Frenchman and moved to France for two years. There she learned the ways of western culture before returning to Cambodia with a dream. Her vision was to end child trafficking, the sex slavery of girls, one life at a time.

In 1996 Somaly and her husband opened the doors of their home as a halfway house. It was her first, a humble beginning but a sign of good things to come. Over the next 14 years refuge homes for girls were opened in neighboring countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Somaly Mam became the first true champion of victimized girls and oppressed young women in Southeast Asia. She built credibility as a leading international activist in the crusade against child trafficking with the currency of her care, compassion and commitment, rescuing one victim at a time.

Somaly’s is a remarkable story of courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. It’s a tribute to the power of the individual spirit. The legacy of how a single person motivated to action can positively impact the course of many lives. Somaly Mam has reformed human rights for children well beyond the Cambodian border. Today, her tireless advocacy is renowned worldwide. She commands respect of the international humanitarian community.

Her relief organization has been responsible for saving thousands of girls and young women in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. In 2009, she was honored as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. She was also featured as a CNN Hero among her many international awards & achievements.

Forever her message will demand to be heard: The days of patriarchal privilege, a misogynist culture of female oppression, servitude and slavery will never more be tolerated.

In 2007 she founded the Somaly Mam Foundation to support these efforts.

An Hour a Day to Keep Women’s Weight at Bay?

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:31:00 +0000

Welcome to the newly prescribed exercise standard for middle-age women fighting the good fight in the battle of the bulge. A one--hour workout, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

That’s right, girls, 24/7/365. One, two, three, four—who do we abhor: The Journal of the American Medical Association, bearers of bad caloric tidings.

Those were the findings of a 13-year study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Division of Preventive Medicine. 34,000 healthy, middle-age women showed an average weight gain of 6 pounds by study’s end. Weight gain that parallels comparably aged women of the general population.

Women engaged in moderately aggressive activity one-hour each day-- such as brisk walking--tended to maintain weight. A second group, active between 21 minutes to less than an hour a day, and a third category, active less than 21 minutes daily tended to gain more than the 5-6 pound average.

I feel like I just went through a cardio workout typing those disturbing facts.

Do these drastic findings call for drastic measures? Must I move the treadmill into the living room, setup my stationary bike in the bathroom and bring the old ab lounge out of moth balls and have it join us in the bedroom?

Say it ain’t so, Joan!

Dr. Nancy Snyderman put forth a more sensible recommendation on NBC’s Today Show, hearkening to the time-honored traditions of our mother’s and grandmothers.

Don’t take the lazy way out.

Park further from the mall. Walk the stairs instead of riding the elevator. Focus on wholesome household chores like Mrs. Cleaver did in the good old days: cleaning and cooking and gardening. Watch what you eat. We need less as we age---far less than a 20 year old.

Work around the house. Walk around the block. Rock around the clock, but gently. .And exercise portion control every day. Common sense stuff, really.

Many of the so-called experts continue to endorse that 5 days a week and 30 minutes a day will keep the doctor away. Exercise this sensible, moderate approach to physical activity and studies show the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and type-2 diabetes will be significantly reduced.

I’d rather chew on those facts any day of the week.

Freedom for Women Everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:33:00 +0000

“No to war, poverty and militarism”.

That was the first sign I spotted a block or so away.

It seemed oddly reminiscent of late 1960’s America. The tense days of the Vietnam War protest movement. I couldn’t help but push forward with my Nikon, not certain what I’d find.

The message came courtesy of the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women, a group I'd never heard of. I shortly learned theirs was but one of hundreds of causes in banner-form streaming down M Street.

It was one of the many I captured during Saturday afternoon’s Anti-War march in Washington DC, an unintended happenstance of our visit to the National Geographic Museum.

I was handed a newspaper of sorts, called “Worker’s World”, subtitled, “workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite!” This was socialist propaganda pure and simple. The periodical like the protest parade made no attempt to hide it.

I scanned the paper to find the event was a coordinated anti-war protest targeting the 7th anniversary of the Iraq War. Similar marches were scheduled for New York City, Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, Chapel Hill and Providence Rhode Island.

Another headline read, “Hundreds of Thousands Mobilize to Demand Fund Education, Jobs for Youth.

“No to war, poverty and militarism.”

It could have well been the message of anyone among the diverse grassroots coalition. They shared the solidarity of the disenfranchised. You could see it in the clothes they wore and in their eyes. There was no starch in their shirts, no colored contacts in their eyes.

Their protest was different, personal.

These protestors didn’t scream. They didn’t spit. Their quiet dignity refused slanderous shouts. They passed by peaceably in many shapes, sizes and colors. Young and old, black and white, red, yellow and brown. American citizens, new immigrants and resident aliens alike marched in lock step. Women walked with confidence and children, too. Young men and gray-beards alike took up the cause. Aging veterans, hardened by the cruel realities of bygone wars, advanced an agenda of social reform even as the bitter aftershocks of war continued to reverberate inside their heads.

I have to say I thought the marchers were Tea Baggers at first, the very same whose offensive outbursts and raucous antics Sunny and I witnessed during last week’s ENDA lobbying.

Early Saturday, there we were again, seated among them during our Metro rail ride to D.C. on the eve of Health Care Reform. It was sadly disconcerting to hear their boisterous words echoing through the car---misinformed, virulent, categorical condemnations. It wasn’t the energy of a cause, more like a pre-game pep rally.

They disembarked the Metro, a swarm of stinging bees taking flight on Capitol Hill, in the process assuring headlines throughout the day.

Yet, by comparison, this Anti-War march which drew hundreds of thousands in cities across America barely made the headline news. Coverage apparently reserved for more politically correct conservative causes. Like the outlandish and disgraceful behavior of the Tea Party movement.

Two Thumbs Up for Nat Geo’s “Terra Cotta Warriors”

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:16:00 +0000

Saturday Sunny and I joined a social group to visit the “Terra Cotta Warriors” exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. We left in awe after experiencing history and remarkable artisan craftsmanship up close and personal.

It was like holding the keys to our very own time machine, a fairly rare deal at $12 a ticket.

Dubbed the Eternal Guardians of China’s First Emperor, 15 life-size “Terra Cotta Warriors” along with their weapons, armor, coins and other period artifacts stood proudly on display.

I was absolutely compelled by the grandeur of artistic design, the daunting scale of engineering endeavor and the enormous accomplishment of manpower. “Terra Cotta Warriors” offered a rare glimpse at 2,200 year-old history, painstakingly shaped by the iron will of China’s conqueror and first Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.

Qin (oddly enough pronounced “Chin”) was a brilliant, cunning and ruthless leader who conquered 7 warring states to forge the nation which would bear his name. A righteous advocate of his own eternal destiny, Qin left a lasting legacy with the creation a colossal tomb complex. A maze of burial pits contains both military and civilian figures buried in formation. 7,000 figures in all silently wait to rise again as protectors of the Emperor in the next life.

To date only 1,000 of the artifacts have been unearthed from burial sites or “pits” surrounding the original Emperor’s Palace. Qin’s sprawling palace is often deemed the “eighth wonder of the world”.

Sellout crowds have been the standard since the exhibit opened in November. In fact, our group missed an earlier opportunity to see the exhibit. Tickets to the exhibit go fast.

Snooze & lose I guess.

The National Geographic recently extended its hours to accommodate ever-growing crowds. The exhibit closes for good March 31st.

I consider myself fortunate to live within 30 miles of Washington D.C. There’s always something of note to do or see. A reasonable 50 minute drive was well worth our time to witness the largest collection of artifacts from China ever displayed in the United States.

Next up: The National Cherry Blossom Festival at the Tidal Basin.

Will Health Care Reform Resuscitate ENDA?

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Transgender advocates and allies across America gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill in support of ENDA while opponents of Health Care Reform sounded an entirely different alarm.

Both may see action as early as Sunday.

The ENDA support coalition was organized by the National Center for Transgender Equality, NCTE, as part of its National Policy Forum, “Moving Forward Together”. More than 100 Congressional offices were lobbied to support a gender-identity inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Workplace protections for sexual orientation and gender identity have been argued and denied since first proposed in 1994.

Likewise, ultra-conservative Tea Partiers mobilized by a “Red Alert” swarmed Congressional and Senate buildings albeit in far superior numbers Tuesday. Their agenda was straightforward. Defeat healthcare reform at any cost with an uncompromising “Say No” message of fiscal gloom and doom.

During my three Congressional meetings on behalf of ENDA Tuesday a common theme emerged. The protracted partisan struggle for Health Care Reform was cited as the #1 reason vote-worthy legislation like ENDA has been tabled.

The “Party of No”--much like their feisty “Just Say No” constituents--has wreaked diversionary havoc aimed to impede the legislative process for more than a year. Strong-arm, bully-tactics escalated to Town Hall scream-a-thons last summer.

Legislative business in the District of Columbia has been slowed to a nerve-wracking crawl ever since. The body of evidence is staggering. A backlog of almost 290 bills pending in Congress. Movement of ENDA through Congressional committee is grounded by the same gridlock.

The good news is Thursday’s release of the 10-year economic impact of HR 3590 and the “reconciliation” proposal on Health Care Reform. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that enacting both pieces of legislation would produce a net reduction in the Federal deficit of $138 billion from 2010–2019.

It’s precisely the shot in the arm Health Care Reform proponents and the Obama administration have long been seeking.

The federal deficit reducing outcome of Health Care Reform serves several functions. The money-saving news will to some degree mute fiscal conservative mouthpieces. If nothing else it derails the conservative argument of runaway government spending on Health Care.

More important, Thursday’s CBO release offers a credible rationale for moderate Democrats to climb aboard Health Care Reform.

The result could be a vote on Health Care Reform by Sunday. A favorable vote in turn would clear the runway for takeoff of many long grounded bills---like ENDA.

Asking Congress for an Overdue Anniversary Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:04:00 +0000

On Tuesday Sunny and I celebrated our 14th anniversary lobbying in Washington DC. We were there as part of a national advocacy coalition sponsored by NCTE. Between 150 and 200 transgender individuals, their families, friends and allies petitioned Senators and Congresspersons to support a transgender-inclusive ENDA. It was a beautiful day in our nation’s Capital as we gathered for a noon photo op on the steps of the Capitol. For one glorious afternoon, amidst Tea Baggers and lobbyists of every stripe we stood tall on behalf of LGBT equality. Below is the speech I drafted for our afternoon meeting with a legislative aide of my Congressman.

Sunny and I intended to do a “tag-team” read of the text; however, by day-end after 2 previous Senatorial meetings, we had it all but committed to memory. How could we not? Like so many others in the LBGT community we live it every day.

What follows is my transcript.

Why We Need Your Support of a Transgender Inclusive ENDA Now

Good afternoon and thank you for your time. My name is Keri Renault. This is my spouse, Sunny.

We are residents of Maryland and District X.

We voted for the Congressman in 2008. On August 28th 2009, we met a legislative aid of this office to request the Congressman’s support of a critically needed transgender inclusive Employment Non Discrimination Act.

We have yet to hear back.

We’re here today on our 14th Anniversary with our Maryland friends to again ask the Congressman to support HR 3017, the transgender-inclusive ENDA. This vital legislation is of urgent importance, long overdue since being introduced in Congress in 1994.

The time to act is NOW.

I have a college degree in mass communication. I have been General Manager of a television production studio. I have produced programming for PBS. Almost two years ago I transitioned to live my true gender identity. And, through no fault of my own, I have been unemployed ever since.

I’m here however not just to talk about the insidious impact of chronic unemployment on my life, but the dire consequence to families and children.

Loss of employment threatens the ability of Sunny and I to live in our home. This terrible stress erodes our mental, emotional and physical well-being.

What should be sacrificed first when there’s not enough money due to employment discrimination? Should it be food, monthly housing payments or health care insurance premiums?

All I seek is to be treated fairly in the interview process and on the job. A transgender-inclusive ENDA will provide workplace protections, assuring job applicants and employees across America are judged on their skills and abilities---not on the expression of their gender identity.

Today the unemployment rate nationwide stands at 10%. It is 2 and ½ times higher for the transgender community at 26%. 97% report job harassment. Transgender poverty is double that of the American average. 4 times as high for transgender minorities.

Finally, I appeal to the Congressman’s well known fiscal conservative nature as a “Blue Dog Democrat”.

ENDA will have a wide-ranging, positive economic impact:

A transgender-inclusive ENDA will lessen home foreclosures.
It will reduce delinquent rent payments facing landlords.
ENDA will take homeless people off the streets.
ENDA will ease the strain on shelters and food pantries.
A transgender inclusive ENDA will allow access to basic health care….
This will ease overcrowding in emergency rooms, thereby reducing the health care induced, tax-burden on Maryland citizens.

By including gender identity protections through ENDA, social welfare program use will decline, like unemployment compensation and food stamps.

Overcrowded courts and overburdened detention centers will be lighter because crimes of desperation, crimes of poverty will be replaced with job opportunity, personal self worth and workplace productivity.

I ask today for my Congressman to sign as a co-sponsor of a transgender-inclusive ENDA, HR 3017.

If that commitment is not a reality then at a minimum I ask him vote YES in support.

I need our Congressman’s support NOW. My wife needs the Congressman’s support NOW. We all do, every one of the transgender constituents of District X---and the many other lives a transgender individual impacts--- spouses, significant others, children, elderly parents, siblings and friends.

Sunny and I thank you and our Congressman for your support of a transgender inclusive ENDA.

Dressing for the Success of ENDA

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:25:00 +0000

One of the perks of living close to Washington D.C. is access to the political scene.

One of the perks of growing up in Wisconsin is the inside scoop on my favorite fashion discounter, Kohls, a Milwaukee-based retailer now in Maryland.

An odd couple you say? Maybe not so much.

These days I welcome both---the privilege of Federal advocacy in our nation’s Capital and the pleasure of “power” shopping for everyday value at my favorite Midwest clothing retailer, right here in the Maryland.

Take it from the source. “Business dressy” is the political advisory from the National Center for Transgender Equality in preparation of its annual Lobby Days.

I chuckle at the irony.

I’ve down dressed a long way, baby, since the stereotypically feminine, “dress for success” image of my pre-transition photo posted here, circa 2007. Playful “dress up” no longer carries either meaning or allure. I’m happy in my everyday-ordinary, post-transition style.

It suits me fine, no pun.

Now days my special thrill is reserved a good book, great conversation and political advocacy. However, I can and will make an exception to my modest wardrobe rule for a special day before my Congressional representatives.

Politics and fashion…

The two will never share equal billing, but this week both smart, fashion sense and political savvy will be on the same page. I nearly shopped till I dropped in search of a wardrobe that tows the line between political power and populist sensibility.

My fashion statement is conservatively progressive. I’m wearing a white, cotton ¾ length button down blouse, gathered at the bust, tails worn out with gold buttons for a dash of flash; accompanied by wheat colored pleated pants and a modest 1” heeled shoe in earth tones with a hint of gold.

How’s that for towing the line? Only time will tell. But I feel ready to pickup the cause of transgender equality in the District of Columbia. That’s got to count for something.

Sunday kicks off the National Policy Conference, hosted by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). The three day transgender civil rights mega-advocacy event culminates with Tuesday’s Lobby Day---meetings between transgender activists, allies and state-elected Congressional representatives in Washington DC. On the agenda, the penultimate push for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

ENDA has been the LGBT “Golden Fleece”, a long-lost political priority since 1994. That’s why Sunny and I are day-tripping to the District of Columbia beginning Sunday and continuing through Tuesday.

200 transgender activists, families and allies are expected to participate in the annual Congressional outreach event. Currently 198 members of Congress have signed as co-sponsors of ENDA. A straw poll also indicates growing support in the Senate. As in 2007, the tally is close, but far from over the top in favor of transgender anti-discrimination reform.

Lobby Days in Washington D.C., sponsored by the National Center for Transgender Equality runs March 14-16th. There’s never been a better time to dress for success in your own way.

Transgender Celebrity: Good, Bad or Ugly?

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:08:00 +0000

This post began in response to a comment I received from an acquaintance in the Netherlands. Angela referenced a recent blog of mine about transsexual woman Susan Stanton, exploring her sudden rise to the national media’s center stage in 2007.

Saturday evening CNN premiers the biographical documentary “Her Name Was Steven”.

Angela voiced concern about the overnight celebrity of ex-Largo city manager, the former Steven Stanton, propelled to national prominence after being outed as transsexual by the St. Petersburg Times in 2007.

Stanton was shortly thereafter introduced to the world as Susan. Thus began the year-long media-manufactured journey of transsexual woman Susan Stanton, embarking into the Brave New World of “real life experience”.

Regrettably, some of Ms. Stanton’s most memorable quotes during her maiden voyage in 2007 were her most divisive, polarizing a transgender community already enduring a self-inflicted identity crisis, an internal struggle for hierarchal and social supremacy. Among her choice words, “not being like men in dresses”; her observation that “transgender people need to be able to prove they're still viable workers” to most Americans, and that the greatest hurdle to an inclusive ENDA was “politicians think the ladies' rooms will be invaded by guys in drag, instead of someone like me."

Angela commented:

“Excuse me, but wouldn't holding her (Stanton) as an authority on transgender issues be the same as holding a 14 yr old girl as authority on women’s issues?

Besides that can someone be an authority on transgender issues?

…That we as lesbian, gay, trans and other non gender binary conforming people should stand together in our quest to be accepted fully just as “normal” people in society, with all the same rights and protections, is a no-brainer for me.”

Common sense and solidarity should prevail when it comes to a disenfranchised "community" struggling in the quest for civil rights equality. Equality is something to which every American is entitled. Yet the tenuous transgender coalition is often marginalized by itself.

The bitter irony is that the LGBT coalition tends to self-divide instead of conquering the real opposition. Prejudicial commentary perpetuates factionalism instead of promoting inclusion. It gives credence to the “disordered” argument of the opposition instead of presenting the credibility of a united front.

It’s no wonder the transgender community fails to build consensus in many political arenas, local, State or Federal.

Transgenderism and transsexuality continue to be a misunderstood constructs, often misrepresented and--not infrequently--continue to be sensationalized as hot button topics by the media, exploited in a desperate drive for ratings’ revenues.

Stanton was accorded 'authority' status by virtue of the media platform she was given in 2007. It was a de facto platform, courtesy of her relatively high-ranking public office as former city manager, Steven Stanton. Her credibility was implied, but certainly unearned by any measure of transgender "real life experience".

However, the media is far from the only guilty party in Stanton’s premature rise to fame.

Leadership within the transgender community must also accept culpability for elevating Stanton to authority figure stature. She was invited to trans-conventions as a coveted keynote speaker, to Washington for advocacy and of course, CNN followed her with lights, cameras and microphones, documenting her words every step of the way.

Was Susan Stanton a role model? Her 2007 record would indicate otherwise in my opinion. But I suspect like many, over time, she’s matured from her initial false-start into the media spotlight. Hopefully, her divisive rhetoric would change if she were granted a 2007 “do-over” today.

Hindsight's 20/20 to be sure. It’s easy to be an arm-chair quarterback. Yet, all the same each of us should learn from this important exercise in free speech and community-building, and then decide for ourselves.

Processing the mixed media-messaging created by Ms. Stanton's overnight celebrity is a lesson in the "do's and "don’ts” of consensus-building, mutual respect and legitimate transgender advocacy. Informing ourselves is a good beginning. Success on the road ahead is paved with good intentions and by learning from the mistakes of the past.

Knowledge is power, an effective tool for building a united coalition from a diverse community of competing ideologies, identity politics and a plethora of personal expressions.

To paraphrase, do and say onto others as you’d have them do and say onto you.

It’s the only sensible way to build bridges, safe harbors, and safe passages to transgender civil rights equality--and someday, societal legitimacy.

Fresh Air, Stale Legs, a Broke Spoke and Biz as Usual

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:18:00 +0000

It’s back to business as usual. Translated that’s no business at all. A callback failed to follow my recent job interview. Oh well, nothing ventured…

It came as no surprise, really. Jobs are scarce. I have a feeling the position was filled before I stepped foot on premises. You know the drill. The friend of a friend gets the early heads up, a coveted recommendation and the inside track. But, since the position is government contract-type I suspect I was interviewed as part of bureaucratic protocol.

The upside? Plenty of time to pursue other interests like biking the Great Outdoors.

Here in Maryland over the weekend we had a sneak peak of coming attractions. The sun goddess emerged in all her golden glory, warming the land after a snow-bound, winter slumber. Kids played appreciatively while neighbors washed cars, tidied yards and chipped away at the remnants of stubborn snow.

Good Boy and I enjoyed a leisurely 2 mile walk. I toasted vitamin D, compliments of Mother Nature. Good Boy relished even simpler pleasures like fire hydrants and street signs, courtesy of the DPW.

Yesterday I broke out the bike. Literally. My year-old Jamis seemed a bit stiff as I plied it from the rafters. Its rear wheel chaffed badly against the brake pad as I coaxed it down the driveway. Hanging in suspended animation all winter will do that, or maybe not.

Just my luck, a broke spoke.

Fortunately I still have my trusty 1994 Schwinn Cross-Cut. Its sturdy steel frame takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. Twice I’ve had nasty spills over the years, suffering lacerations, contusions, broken bones and a bruised ego. The Schwinn, however, is no worse for the wear, a few measly paint scrapes, battle scars proving its wares.

The 2009 Jamis is sleek, smooth as a figure skater. The Schwinn is a brute, a hockey player carving up the ice, a proverbial bull in the china shop. It was the perfect match for my first ride of the year down slippery streets and negotiating gravelly curves.

I welcomed fresh air after winter hibernation in a musky gym; the burn in my legs not so much. I was quickly reminded of the difference between the predictable response of a stationary bike inside cozy confines and the uncompromising challenges of biking the open road—where unpredictable terrain, changeable winds and gear shift calculus stretch mind and body.

I cut my trial tune-up of the season short at 12 miles, about 6 less than usual. The countryside ride felt great all the same.

I’m a bit stale this morning I have to confess, my legs heavy and slow. My back’s stiffer, too. But oddly enough it all feels right, the annual ritual reassuring me all systems are ready if not rarin’ to go. I’m not operating at peak performance by a long stretch, but I am on the way.

I’m ready to spring ahead.

My Civil Rights Are Different Than Yours

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:34:00 +0000

An ominous undertone pervaded hearings on Civil Marriage and Anti-Discrimination in Maryland last week.

Gloomy gray skies and rain prevailed outside the Miller Senate building. Inside the Judicial Proceedings Committee a storm of hateful discrimination raged.

Let me assure you it was far more frightening to be seated inside, part of an edgy, restless audience than standing outside, cold and alone in the rain.

The Bilerico Report--and my own words--were used to exploit.
A former gay-leader was cited to deny transgender equality.
A child was booed for her civil rights analogy, a plea for marriage equality.
And an oppressed minority played the oppressor.

It was a sad day; a mournful moment of déjà vu in the Free State and its capital of Annapolis.

Proponents and opponents of LGBT equality furiously rocked the boat over interpretations of civil rights, riding a turbulent sea of emotional upheaval in a contentious, tug-of-war rematch.

The annual battle renewed late in the day, long after many of the 11 bills on the docket and 117 speakers scheduled to testify had come and gone.

SB 583 proposes protections in employment, public accommodations and housing based on gender identity. But not if the Family Research Council, Maryland Citizens for a Better Government (notmyshower.com) and the Association of Maryland Families have the final say.

Ironically, it was the transphobic words of a longtime gay activist Ron Gold that were readily exploited, made-to-order for the fundamentalist coalition, denying gender identity and the need for anti-discrimination protections.

It was quick and effective strike. A short bio established Gold’s credibility as a longtime gay rights leader. Wasn’t I surprised when the opposition cited my own blog post, “The Delusion of Transphobic Labeling” as evidence of Gold’s respected position within the LGBTQ community:

“There may have been a place of respect for Ron Gold in the LBGTQ community…”---partial blog reference from the Bilerico Report cited by MCBG/Not My Shower.

Taken in full context my words are anything but an endorsement. The full opening text actually reads:

“There may have been a place of respect for Ron Gold in the LBGTQ community once upon a time long ago, but that place is now far, far away. Mr. Gold’s days as a gay leader are done, long gone after his Bilerico Report diatribe against the T-community. At least they are in my definition of a leader.” --Keri Renault, The Delusion of Transphobic Labeling.

Ron Gold, gay icon, exiled from the Bilerico Report for writing "No to the Notion of Transgender", turned unwitting martyr for the righteousness of LGBTQ discrimination. The opposition’s tainted sermon of half truth was more than disturbing. Like witnessing a mother or father in nature eating its young, it was impossible to digest the carnage without being disgusted.

Civil Marriage is a Civil Right

The concept of civil marriage as a civil right also came under attack from the ultra conservative coalition. In the balance rested the 7-day-old opinion of the Maryland Attorney General recognizing out-of-state, same-sex marriages.

The future of in-state, same-sex marriage was also at stake.

The Association of American Families, a not-for-profit organization associated with Focus on Family and bent on the same heteronormative, discriminatory family model, described its contingent gathered to fight same-sex marriage:

“Mega Church leaders from Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Prince George and Montgomery counties took the day off to stand for marriage in our state's capital. About 60 Pastors, ministers and congregants from prominate (sp) churches all across Maryland gathered…”

SB 852 targets the Maryland Attorney General’s favorable opinion. The bill would invalidate same sex marriage recognition, legally performed out-of state. HB 1079 goes a step further, aiming to create a constitutional amendment, establishing marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic legal union valid or recognized in the State.

13-year-old Maya Deane-Polyak, daughter of Gita Deane and Lisa Polyak took the podium on behalf of marriage equality.

“I believe that someday, my moms will be granted their civil rights just as women fought for equality and just as African-Americans fought for their rights, “

Her words of hope were met with jeers of disdain, catcalls of indignation from the pre-dominantly African-American contingent of opposition.

Anger was swiftly tempered by Elbridge James, a high ranking Maryland official of the NAACP and director of the Maryland Black Family Alliance.

He carried a message of equality on behalf of both civil rights organizations. James underscored the NAACP’s commitment to the civil rights of all Americans, an endorsement of civil marriage equality for same sex couples and anti-discrimination protections for gender identity.

He informed the hearing that the stance of the NAACP was the position of civil rights champion Julian Bond of Georgia. He informed the audience this was the position of Coretta Scott King.

James, himself a Black American, followed Maya Deane-Poyak to the podium. At first he seemed to agree with the dissent of his fellow African-Americans in the audience.

“You’re right”, he proclaimed “Our civil rights are different…”

Just as Jewish civil rights were different…..or Native American civil rights….and Asian and Mexican America civil rights and women’s rights, the rights of the disabled and elderly Americans.

Talk about the power of words. The silence was deafening.

Different civil rights issues every one. Civil rights abuses and atrocities in different times to be sure. But civil rights issues all the same. Each a gross violation of civil rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

There’s an old saying that a row boat can’t travel in two different directions at the same time. We’re in it together for the long haul, for better or worse, whether we’re gay or straight, black or white, transgender or cisgender, practicing an organized faith or following an innate sense of spirituality.

Or as the great Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

The Psychology of Social Conservatism on Lobby Day

noreply@blogger.com (Keri Renault) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:48:00 +0000

Lobby Day arrived in Maryland on the 22nd of February. It’s fitting this blog is posted two weeks late. The Blizzard of 2010 postponed the annual advocacy event 14 days. But on this lobby day of days, neither sleet nor snow, nor a steady rain during festivities could keep advocates from their appointed legislative rounds.

Delegate Ron George is one of 3 congresspersons representing my district and the lone Republican. He’s a businessman and jeweler by trade. His college degree is acting—visual and performing arts. Skills he noted with a chuckle he’s plied since his election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2007.

Little did our group know we were about to be entertained by a most unbelievable, one-man show.

Let the Sideshow Begin

Delegate George ushered about a dozen of his constituents myself included into a well-appointed conference room worthy of foreign dignitaries. In a way we were just that.

We were there to discuss Equality Maryland’s progressive agenda for the 2010 General Assembly. His jovial greetings were well received, fairly unexpected from a conservative politician about to be scrutinized by 24 cynical eyes.

But this is 2010, a new year and just maybe a new attitude for Delegate George. Resolution for change energized the air. The stage was set with the promise of positive dialogue.

From the outset the Delegate made it clear he wished to set the record straight.

He claimed solidarity with the gay and lesbian cause, noting he, too, grew up a bit different, disenfranchised as a highly sensitive child.

He felt our pain. Then he continued on.

Equality Maryland’s agenda for 2010 promotes several initiatives. The two receiving top bill are the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act and Anti-Discrimination workplace protections for gender identity.

Can I Get a Witness?

We quickly launched into our Civil Marriage platform after a pause in the Delegate’s soliloquy. We were here for a singular purpose: to determine the delegate’s political position.

But our foray into Civil Marriage equality neither upstaged nor deterred Delegate George’s show-stopping performance.

He continued an oratory of LGBT empathy uninterrupted, announcing he would neither condone gang activity nor hate violence in our schools. He underscored the need for educational reform to protect gay children.

How quickly our agenda veered off topic.

Nods of audience agreement met more than a few quizzical looks. A second request shortly followed for the Delegate to clarify his position on civil marriage, our collective impatience was palatable.

If Delegate George understands anything, it’s the importance of timing. He took the question without further adieu, quick to underscore his belief in the merit of civil union.

A pregnant pause, deaf silence, blank stares.

You’re 1,100 Miles Away

A constituent observed that civil unions do not equate to civil marriage in a court of law. Not an insignificant argument with more than 1,100 matrimonial rights and benefits at stake predicated on the designation of a single word.

The Delegate mulled this point warily, empathy pains etched in bold, deep in his forehead, theatrical pause added for dramatic effect. Like all good actors Delegate George needed but a momentary pause to regain character.

And with heavy heart he broke the news, the facts of marriage from the enlightened perspective of clinical psychology. Delegate George concluded the same-sex brain has yet to prove worthy of the special status of marriage. Amazing.

I wanted to vocalize something, anything, my incredulous reaction, SAY WHAT! Instead I was rendered incapable of speech as were my dumbstruck compatriots.

We were mired deep, very deep in the mind-numbing goo of political gobbledygook. It was surreal--a paralyzing feeling that our logic receptors had somehow been secretly stolen, diffused or otherwise deadened.

Delegate George required immutable proof; proof positive of the complementary nature of the “gay brain”—complementary as oh say, the male and female brain.

Class assignment: Present incontrovertible evidence and perhaps (Professor) Delegate George would indulge the merit of same-sex marriage equality.

Like I said, mind-numbing.

Help Wanted: Clinical Psychologist. No Experience Necessary.

Yet a fearless soul from our advocacy group persevered with just such proof. I later learned he was an accredited psychopharmacologist.

Not so fast psycho-babs.

Delegate George at once revealed another facet of his impressively credentialed, carefully choreographed background. He himself holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology, albeit from an obscure Northern Virginia school with—drum roll please---a religious affiliation, but no APA accreditation.

(Note to self: There was no mention of professional mental health care experience correlating to this “advanced degree” anywhere in his bio.)

The Delegate’s knowledge of the truth stood as irrefutable fact.

In that defining moment of suspended reality, I have no doubt the good Delegate saw himself as a beacon, a guiding light for the LBGT wayward.

I’m also quite sure Delegate George will never really see the light.

I’m not sure how, but I managed to shake my slumbering mind, just long enough to feign ignorance, asking Delegate George to rephrase his position against civil marriage equality in lay terms.

Words the uninitiated like myself might grasp—or dare I say, comprehend.

The Scorecard on Equality Speaks.

I asked him to comment on his anti-LGBT civil rights score card. He’d received zero points from Equality Maryland for his failure to support any of six pro-LGBT bills in 2009. His smile turned blank, replaced by the facsimile of a stare.

His mouth tried, but words failed to form. And in that uncomfortable moment, that painfully, pregnant pause which seldom delivers, divine intervention saved the day—along with a little help from his friend. A secretary entered the conference room, right on cue, insisting the Delegate’s highly educated presence was required elsewhere.

Uncorked from his chair like a pop tart from a fickle toaster, Delegate George hastened an apology, thanked us for our time and beat a retreat. Not another meaningful word was spoken.

Delegate George said more than enough in his 30 minutes. He told us all we needed to know. We learned what his brand of “representative democracy” is all about.

They call it social conservatism. I call it prejudice.

Thankfully his secretary saved the day.

She saved him from himself, if only for a day. Delegate George will most certainly hear from us again. We’ll come calling again---this November on Election Day.