The Public Scrutiny of Bruce Jenner’s Gender Identity

Bruce Jenner is changing. Yep we all know that. It does in fact even look like he might be in transition. Now as he is a ‘public figure’ people feel entitled to know more about him than he has released. He is mercilessly hounded by paparazzi and rumors are posited on TV shows about his changes. I hear this snooping into his business as justified as he is on TV. No. People are not entitled to all the information they can squeeze about their celebrity obsession. People are only entitled to watch the TV shows the Kardashians put on the tube, and only if they have paid for the cable or satellite, or they are viewing from a set that a friend has paid for the privilege of viewing said shows. That is it. He has a contract of some form with a production company to be part of a TV show. What they show you on the show is all you are entitled to know about this family. If Bruce is going through a private transition that he is not comfortable speaking on publicly, then it is a violation of his humanity to pry and speculate publicly about his private life.

I hope Wendy Williams and all the other gum flappers who have the audacity to speak on this personal private issue, feel like scum for how they are treating Bruce. He does not owe any of us any explanations. We are not entitled to gossip maliciously about him just because he is on our TV sets. It is not healthy and it is hurtful when we pry into people’s private lives. I know humans are prone to gossip but we need to strive to be better.
Sure go ahead and discuss all the stuff you see on the shows that Bruce is part of and have fun. But whatever is being kept private should not be violated.

If Bruce is in transition I feel for them with all my heart. I cannot imagine the personal hell it must be to go through something so personal and intrinsically private as transition, and then to have the gossip sharks circling all around the issue. Transition is not a public mater. Transition is a personal issue and it is not your business to pry into another person’s privacy.

My advice to Bruce Jenner if they are in transition: Just jump in and get it over fast. Come out with a statement from your publicist and move away for awhile; transition in a country where you will not be hounded by the paparazzi and gossips. When you are ready for public life again, come out with a fabulous splash and a new reality show. {Hey you gotta pay bills like the rest of us right? And a reality show is easy money for you and your family.}

 

TVTP, Transgender Violence Tracking Project

The TVTP:
http://www.transviolencetracker.org/
Allison Woolbert over at the TVTP is dealing with some issues with TERFS trying to mess with her.


Here is Allison Woolberts recent post on Facebook:

OK friends and allies of Allison Woolbert. I need some help. Can you write about 3 paragraphs with about 3 sentences in each? I know this sounds absurd, but I need your help in displacing the TERFs from taking over my name once again.
This seems to be an ongoing situation and is problematic on a number of levels.
So here is what to do- We need as many writers as possible to write a few paragraphs with my name in the title, several times in the text, and then put in as ...a keyword in the meta tags. I know most wont' know what to do with the metatag info- but we can fix that here.

If you are willing to write a three paragraph post on Allison and give us permission to reprint, we'll get them on the web and start displacing the TERF hate group Gender Identity Watch...
Subject matter might include the Transgender Violence Tracking Project, the ongoing work with your groups that I'm involved with, the calling out of the hate group GIW, the formation of TERF Tracker, or frankly anything else POSITIVE you might like to say that others could read. So- please consider giving me a hand to reclaim my name from the haters.

So here you go Allison. :)


If anyone else wants to help her, give her a heads up when you do.


Have a good day Alison Woolbert and Lizzy over at TVTP.

Choosing testosterone ~Sevan

The bigender girl by Anibunny

This post comes with all the normal warnings about this being my experience and only my experience and of course, I don't speak for anyone but myself.

In today's episode, I attempt to explain what motivated me to start HRT testosterone. We'll see if I can explain this in a way that makes sense to anyone but me.

Around October of 2009 I discovered the language surrounding non-binary identities. Before that, I didn't even know that anything outside of male/female binary existed at all. Cyndi had come out just a month before as trans feminine and I was looking for spouse support online. What I found instead was a section for "androgynes". That was such a HUGE "ah-ha moment" for me. Then came the few months of trying to figure out what to do with that information. I struggled with concerns about being accepted, being seen as a "freak" should I choose any transition action.

I was (and still am) adamant that I am not male and had huge concerns about being perceived male. Due to that, I was quite sure that testosterone wasn't going to be for me. I looked for transitional paths to follow, what worked for other genderqueer/non-binary people but struggled to find much information at all. I didn't know what I needed, but I was pretty sure that what I was doing wasn't working. I had a very hour glass shape and large breasts and ass. These features made it near impossible to dress androgynously. I also didn't like many of the styles that were considered androgynous. It just wasn't me. I like skirts and tshirts, and I'm still genderqueer when dressing that way. I tried to bind but found it extremely uncomfortable and unsuccessful. Binding seemed to make me more aware of my chest, not less. As a result, I rarely if ever wore a binder.

I planned to have a breast reduction and knew that it was gender based for me. I thought I'd be able to bind more once I had a smaller chest, which may well have been true but I found I just didn't need to bind. I was ok with my breasts after surgery. (That was a whole process, it wasn't just waking up from anesthesia and being ok. But I don't want to get into that tangent.)

My main support network was a group of transsexual women online. There was a great deal of talk about hormones and how people felt on them. The great sense of peace they experienced sounded wonderful. I started to think that maybe testosterone might be what I needed in order to find that mental peace. My mental state was unraveling from dysphoria. Knowing what was wrong, but not being able to do anything about it was a pain that was terrible. I looked everywhere for information about what testosterone might do. I found a few genderqueer people who had gone on T for short time and had success with it to get a more masculine appearance, but that wasn't what I wanted or needed. My search was wholly mental. I didn't hear anyone talk about that aspect of their transition with T.

Prior to Cyndi starting to transition medically she was prescribed T. The doctors said she had low T (go figure...) and could do well and have more energy on testosterone. She had some left over when she went off T and started estrogen therapy. It was so tempting, just sitting there on the shelf.

Finally, one day in early February I'd had enough. I was forming suicide plans and they made too much sense. Testosterone, with potential side effects were far better than suicide. I went and got the gel and started T. I thought perhaps it would prove silly, and not be worth it. All that hype, surly for nothing.

I looked through my journal and found this quote from when I first started T:

"Finally got dress and out the door headed for work. In the car I felt....almost hyper. Actually rather happy. I'm rarely happy on my way to work. Time to think means time to be depressed. But today I just bounced down the road singing along with my Ipod....having a very peppy drive. Huh.

Does this mean I'm a confirmed FtM now? I don't think so. Still me. Same person I was yesterday. Though it does seem that my body responds well to testosterone. So far. And that's all that means."

I had convinced myself that with a low dose of T I wouldn't see any physical changes, but would only experience the mental peace that I needed. That, was not true at all! I absolutely experienced physical changes. My voice lowered quickly, my emotions shifted, my dysphoria lessened significantly. My face structure shifted in ways I can't really express.

Here is a link to an article that does a wonderful job of talking about low dose T in more general ways: Click here to see Neutrois Nonsense

Please post comments.

When I write and no one responds, I feel no further need to write. Why bother, if it isn't noticed.
I imagine other writers feel similarly when their writing fails to elicit a response.


I see from the traffic monitoring programs in this blog software that I am getting views. But rarely do I get any response.


I try to write and make people think, not me.

Harm reduction modeling ~Sevan

TW for (casual, not in depth) mention of drug use/abuse, self harm, sexual activity, abortion.

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Hey blog world! Long time no see. (My bad...) I've been very very busy with entering school, crafting and working. So I haven't been writing much. I'm sorry about that.
Something that I've become passionate about recently is harm reduction. So I wanted to talk to you, the reader, about what it is and where it can be applied.
First, just what is Harm reduction? According to Wikipedia it can be classified as:
"Harm reduction (or harm minimization) is a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with various, sometimes illegal, human behaviors. Harm reduction policies are used to manage behaviors such as recreational drug use and sexual activity in numerous settings that range from services through to geographical regions."

So this can have a broad scope and can be applied to work surround sexual activity risk, illegal drug use, alcohol use/abuse, self harm behavior, and many other public health concerns.

As some of you may know, I work in a queer youth center. This week, my college class intersected with my passion for youth. The class is for social workers and the discussion was about abortion access for minors. I felt as though we started at the wrong end of the discussion really. There was no lead up, or talk of other public policies that effect youth prior to them getting pregnant. I was shocked that we were just going to start at the abortion side of the issue.

I see safe, legal abortion as part of an overall harm reduction strategy. Though first we have to back WAY up and talk about access that youth have to research based, accurate information about their bodied and sex. As someone who works with youth, I hear what they learn about in class. I live in the liberal state of Washington (though not a particularly liberal side of the state...) and even still, the information youth have access to either has holes in it (no pun intended. Well, kinda intended.) is outright wrong, or was misheard. When I look at maps of the US that show what access youth have to medically accurate information about sex I'm appalled.

If information is incorrect or shame based are we really shocked that our next step in harm reduction, which is contraception and barrier (condoms, dams, etc.) access either isn't used, or isn't used correctly? If the only information you have about a condom is that it doesn't really work anyway, would you bother to use it? Research* shows that young people who have access to condoms and other barriers are NOT more likely to become sexually active, but those who are already sexually active are more likely to be safe about it. The logic that educating young people about sex will make them want to have sex also doesn't hold up. When people are treated with autonomy and respect to make decisions about their own bodies they are more likely to think through and make healthier choices.

So most states don't have good information in their schools about safer sex, they don't provide access to barriers or birth control (or if they do, we know there is limited information about those choices) and then we're going to be really disappointed when they become pregnant, become infected with STIs (at very high rates right now^) and/or are considering or having abortions.

If we want to lower pregnancies and abortion rates then we MUST provide lowest harm reduction strategies such as education. You can't provide NO harm reduction and expect no harm to come! It doesn't work that way.

I could tackle any harm reduction policy but that would end up with a very very long blog post. It all follows the same structure.

*Sources: Sally Guttmacher, et al., “Condom Availability in New York City Public High Schools: Relationships to Condom Use and Sexual Behavior,” American Journal of Public Health 87 (September 1997): 1427-1433; and Susan Blake, PhD et al., “Condom Availability Programs in Massachusetts High Schools: Relationships with Condom Use and Sexual Behavior,” American Journal of Public Health 93.6 (June 2003): 955-961.

^The CDC estimates that half of new STD infections occur among young people. Americans ages 15 to 24 contract chlamydia and gonorrhea at four times the rate of the general population, and those in their early 20s have the highest reported cases of syphilis and HIV. Young men and women are more likely than older people to report having no sex in the past year, yet those who are having sex are more likely to have multiple partners, which increases the risk of STDs.

The Acquaintance Relationship

What is an acquaintance? According to the dictionary it is in most cases {and of which this is all about}: a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.

There seem to be many types of acquaintances we encounter in our lives. Let us divide them up in a few categories so we may delve into the topic I am reaching for more clearly.

Situational Acquaintance: these are the people you meet and have contact with due to life circumstances. Such as the various service and goods providers one comes into contact with as a consumer. Ranging from the butcher who is always at the counter the days you show up to the market to the police officer who gives you a ticket.

Family Acquaintance: these are the people who you know due to their proximity to a family member.

Friendly Acquaintance: these are the people you are connected in some fashion be it work, friends, family or indeed any other social connection, but your relationship is not what one could classify as a friends relationship. Let us divide them into two subcategories:

               A} People who you know but have no friendship feelings for
               B} People who you are almost friends with but due to many reasons you are not friends

It is the Friendly Acquaintance {B} relationship I wish to discuss, so now that we have that out of the way:

I have been thinking that perhaps this is the most vital of our social relationships in some ways. You know who these people are.
They are the people who you may have contact with on occasion, they are one of your friends other friends or they are connected to you via work, or a social group. You recognize each other and know each other by name. You will stop and exchange pleasantries and then move on about your day. You do not often initiate contact with these people and when you see them it is a pleasant surprise. You like these folks but for some reason you are not friends.
So what is the role of this social position in a healthy social circle? Support of the social structure would be my guess. If it is your friends’ best friend, or your study buddy in some class, the best role one can fulfill is the moral and social support role.
When you are in the role of friendly acquaintance you are part of the backdrop of another’s life and they serve in this capacity for you in return. They are your peers and they are in some ways part of the defining characteristics of your personal social circle. You are in return the same for them.

The nice thing about these relationships is they tend to honesty. Now I am not talking about those people who one may have rivalry with. Enemies and rivals is a completely different social structure system than what I am talking about. A friendly acquaintance is not a rival.
A friendly acquaintance typically has no reason to bullshit you and often you can count on them for a neutral point of view when you need to talk something out but talking with friends or family is either not possible or would be socially awkward.

There seems to be an aversion to admitting that a person is not a friend but is actually an acquaintance. Everyone must be friends, especially in the FaceBook era with the social media site referring to all of one’s social contacts as friends. This aversion to referring to people as an acquaintance is doing us all a disservice.
Enjoy your acquaintances and be the best acquaintance you can be for your society. Approach these relationships with best of intentions.

An Analogy

When one first starts their transition in some fashion it seems to be like being a shipwreck survivor.
At first the story starts with a woman floating unseen on a tiny lifeboat at sea. {The life boat is the man suit, the sea is life in general.}
She is unseen, drifting along however the currents take her. Eventually she sees a chance at life. Perhaps it is a civilized island, a pocket of humanity, or she sees a ship.
For the TS person the island is the body of knowledge available to humanity regarding transsexuals. The ship is the visible transgender community. Some are on the ship as fellow castaway; others are on the boat looking for castaways.
If she spots land and heads for it, or spots the ship and hails it, she can make her way out of the life raft and to a safer situation.
The ship is headed to the island she needs to get to, so there is something of a bonus for our castaway.

Now the island is full of savages who mean well but have odd customs and rituals. {The savages are the doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, society at large and various other gatekeepers and lore keepers.}
The only thing our castaway wants is to join the islands culture. But to join the culture and become a productive member of society she must follow the protocols and rituals of the gatekeepers. Once she becomes part of society she becomes much more functional as a person and is no longer drifting out to sea.