A reader writes: “I am curious to know of any experiences, negative or otherwise, you or your readers may have had with airport security in these times of full-body scans and/or pat-downs. “Those of us who are transgender may, thanks to hormones, convincingly appear to be the desired gender, but the full body scan or [...]
Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category
Ask Matt: Trans Privacy vs. Airport Security
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Information, Observations, tagged being trans, bodies, discrimination, gender expectations, gender expression, legal on April 19, 2012 | 18 Comments »
Ask Matt: Should Gender Dysphoria Be in the DSM?
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Information, Observations, tagged being trans, health, language, therapy, transition on April 16, 2012 | 34 Comments »
A reader writes: “The DSM-V is coming out at the end of the year, and the big question of whether or not gender identity disorder will appear is being decided now, I believe. I heard something about that they gave the revision of this part to the wrong people, and that something terrible could come [...]
Jenna Talackova and the Myth of Trans Dishonesty
Posted in Commentary, News, Observations, tagged bodies, discrimination, femininity, trans women, transphobia on April 2, 2012 | 38 Comments »
By now, everyone is probably aware that the Miss Universe Canada pageant organizers have disqualified contestant Jenna Talackova from the pageant. The reason they have given publicly is that she was “dishonest” on her application – but trans people know the real reason. Apparently, pageant rules state that a person must be a “naturally born [...]
McDonald’s Happy Meals and Asking the Right Question
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged family, femininity, gender expectations, gender identity, gender roles, masculinity on March 29, 2012 | 27 Comments »
“Is the Happy Meal for a boy or a girl?” I had no idea that McDonald’s Happy Meals were gendered, but then I’ve never ordered one before this week. I’ve been suffering from a nasty bronchial thing, which I thought was improving but which then circled back on me. I still had to run some [...]
The Fallacy of ‘Cosmetic’ Surgery for Trans People
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged bodies, health, legal, surgery, trans women, transition on March 22, 2012 | 26 Comments »
A woman who was arrested last year for providing dangerous “butt enhancement” shots consisting of cement, caulk, tire sealant, and other toxic and troublesome substances is facing new charges as more victims come forward. I don’t know how many of this woman’s clients were trans, but I suspect that at least a few were. The [...]
Ask Matt: What Should Therapists Know About Trans Issues?
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Information, Observations, tagged being trans, health care, language, therapy, transition on March 12, 2012 | 13 Comments »
A reader writes: “I have two related questions about psychotherapists and trans clients when the trans client is not specifically seeking transition-related medical approval stamps, but simply seeking psychotherapy for any number of things that may include trans and transition-related stresses. “For psychotherapists who are not very familiar with gender variation and trans issues, and [...]
‘I Would Never Date a Trans Person!’ Then Don’t.
Posted in Commentary, tagged bodies, LGBT, relationships, sexual orientation on March 1, 2012 | 27 Comments »
I took down two comments from my blog this week, something that I rarely do. The first one was a no-brainer – it blatantly violated my “no personal attacks” policy. The second one was debatable. I eventually took it down because, while it was civil, it contained language that was highly disrespectful of the majority [...]
Ask Matt: Why Do We Mistreat Our Allies?
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Observations, tagged allies, community, etiquette, language on February 23, 2012 | 74 Comments »
A reader writes: “I am avidly following your posts about how the T relates to the rest of the acronym. I’d like to bring up the A (or one of the A’s, as the case may be). Many people in the Queer community tend to alienate our Allies. I think this is abhorrent. “I have [...]
Trans Bashing Revisited: Trans People in Non-Trans LG Spaces
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged being trans, bodies, community, LGBT, sexual orientation, trans men, trans women on February 20, 2012 | 67 Comments »
The discussion that we had last week with the post Why Do Some Lesbians Bash Trans Men? was so engaging and enlightening for me that I thought we might continue it from a slightly different angle. Some of the commenters mentioned that trans women are not always welcome in lesbian spaces and can also be [...]
Welcome
Hire Me
Subscribe
Categories
Archives
Popular Topics
- Watch videos at Vodpod.
Worried That You’re Transphobic? You Might Be.
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged activism, community, discrimination, transphobia on April 26, 2012 | 11 Comments »
If you’re worried that you’re transphobic, the bad news is that you very well might be. The good news is that self-awareness is more important than a minor case of transphobia, because if you are aware of it, then you can prevent yourself from acting on it – and in addition to some self-regulation, your [...]
Read Full Post »