hibiscus3

The Left OUT Party!! You're INVITED!

2008-07-19T04:47:36Z

YOU’RE INVITED!! Trannies, Queers, Studs, Twinks, High Femmes, Queens, and all fighters for social justice and fabulousness! COME TO THE ‘Left OUT Party: A Genderful Gayla!’

San Francisco’s all-inclusive celebration of our LGBT communities and the multitude of gender expression and variation throughout those communities will take place Saturday, July 26, directly across the street from the annual HRC gala fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis. The Left OUT Party will feature Annie Danger and a spectrum of genderfabulous performers and speakers. Plus, we’ll roll out the red carpet for the Left OUT Awards.

TIME: 4:30-8:30pm

LOCATION: 340 Powell Street (on Union Square, directly across from the Westin St. Francis Hotel)

ATTIRE: Glitter required

Email sfprideatwork@gmail.com to RSVP!

Please READ, ACT and FORWARD widely!

2008-03-04T15:23:49Z

A situation is brewing in Montgomery County, Maryland that concerns LGBT people across the country. The fate of both local and national transgender anti-discrimination measures could hinge on what happens in this suburban Washington, D.C. enclave of one million people over the coming days and weeks.

Last November, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a law to ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. After the law passed, anti-LGBT extremists, calling themselves Citizens for a Responsible Government (CRG), and buoyed by organizations like the Family Research Council, created a campaign of scare tactics. CRG established a web site (www.notmyshower.net), robo-called hundreds of thousands of people, and began distributing literature to scare County residents into believing that "men in dresses" are going to sneak into women's and girl's bathrooms and locker rooms and prey upon them. The rhetoric has been nasty, scary, and effective. Their goal was to collect 25,000 valid signatures to overturn the anti-discrimination law at the ballot this November. Equality Maryland and a local parents' group, Teach the Facts, mounted a modest "Decline to Sign" campaign. Still, this week, CRG turned in over 30,000 signatures to the Board of Elections in hopes of bringing the measure to referendum.

Equality Maryland believes CRG may have violated a number of election laws in gathering signatures; yesterday, EQMD hired legal counsel to help challenge signatures and oversee the County Board of Elections' certification process. The attorney is taking the case at reduced rates and volunteers are being solicited to help, but Equality Maryland is now bleeding out thousands of dollars it does not have, as well as critical staff resources that are being diverted away from Annapolis during the height of their three month legislative session -- a legislative session that could see the passage of a statewide transgender anti-discrimination law, among other crucial LGBT protections.

The issue is being followed closely by Washington, D.C. news stations, The Washington Post, and other local media that attract the attention of members of Congress. If this measure reaches the ballot in November, it will be the first stand-alone transgender anti-discrimination law in the country to go to referendum. If we cannot stop this from reaching the ballot, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and beyond will be faced with anti-transgender rhetoric for nine months. You can imagine how problematic a campaign like this could be, as we try to spend the rest of 2008 educating members of Congress about the need for gender identity protections in federal non-discrimination law.

Equality Maryland is fronting a lot of expenses to support this legal challenge, and those expenses are going to grow over the next week. Please join us in supporting Equality Maryland financially today at this crucial time. A secure donation can be made online at their web site: https://secure.ga3.org/01/memberdonation

Put "United ENDA" under special instructions, and your contribution will go directly to support the costs of fighting this possible referendum.

You can also call their office at (888) 440-9944 to make a donation over the phone or send a check with "United ENDA" in the memo line to "Equality Maryland, 1319 Apple Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910."

If you have friends who are attorneys or law students in the Washington, D.C. or Montgomery County area who can volunteer in the next couple of days with the signature oversight, please have them contact our volunteer coordinator, Maryanne Arnow, at allwayscooking@juno.com. Volunteers are meeting at the Task Force office in DC this weekend and through next week to review every signature that’s been turned in.

Regardless of whether this measure goes to referendum in Montgomery County, let's use this opportunity to educate our neighbors about why all LGBT Americans deserve basic anti-discrimination protections.

hibiscus3 @ 2008-01-04T00:35:00

2008-01-04T08:54:26Z

did obama really win tonight? hmpf. iowa surprises me sometimes. maybe even impresses me. my godmother lives in ames and my grandma's family was from some tiny town in west iowa...i guess it's a political animal that i dont even understand--those caucus deals. like how does that affect your strategy as a candidate....or as a voter? you gotta kinda rank all the candidates so that when your person has clearly lost you lobby for your next choice until there's a majority or whatever (or maybe it's more about how many favors can i guilt my neighbor into doing me after i side with his candidate). who the hell cares, really...but, for some reason, i can get really caught up in it. i'm actually completely undecided at this point. i dont think i've voted in the last several elections held here in sf. i think i voted in the last presidential election. and, ultimately, why vote in the next one? the dems/lesser of two evils are clearly going to win. maybe cuz this will be a historic election--the first poc or woman prez.

the gendercator bunk

2007-10-27T23:06:31Z

after the event julie (my pal from chicago who moved to sf a couple years before me) and i approached catherine to say hello. catherine recognized me at some point during the q and a and waved to me--so i figured why not say hello too. i gave her a very light half hug and she looked me in the eyes and said, "Look what you have wrought!" of course, i was speechless and completely blown away by her complete arrogance and lack of accountability (which she repeatedly invoked during the evening, "I'm completely accountable for my film and i stand behind it blah blah blah)." And then she was like, "when you do your first film, i want a copy before anyone else ok? just like you said in your letter to me....and, really i thought about you a lot while i was making this film (which she has said before and i still dont understand what she is trying to convey besides a HUGE insult."

and that is why i didn't even want to bother going to the event. Catherine is an egomaniac who can't wrap her big head around ideas beyond her own vapid experience. ugh.

We're Making Progress...Still More Calls to Make!!

2007-10-17T16:26:00Z

THIS STATEMENT IS BEING RELEASED BY UNITED ENDA. FOR A LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED BY UNITED ENDA, GO TO http://www.thetaskforce.org/activist_center/ENDA_oct1_letter

United ENDA Supports Congresswoman Baldwin’s newly announced efforts to restore gender identity protections to Employment Non-Discrimination Act

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced today that she has secured an agreement from the Democratic leadership to introduce an amendment to H.R. 3685 that would restore gender identity protections to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The amendment would be considered on the House floor next week, after the bill moves through the House Education and Labor Committee this Thursday. After her announcement, the United ENDA coalition released the following statement:

Two weeks ago, our community was told that gender identity would not be included in any version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Congressional Leadership expected our community to acquiesce. However, United ENDA effectively communicated the strong opposition of hundreds of organizations and millions of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to leadership's efforts to advance a stripped down version of the bill.

It is because of our unprecedented efforts that new options, such as the proposed amendment by Congresswoman Baldwin, are able to come before Congress. Members of Congress responded to the successful strategy of our coalition and many expressed their strong desire to vote for an inclusive bill that protects all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Clearly, our preferred strategy is to pass the original ENDA (H.R. 2015) out of committee. However, if we are faced with a non-inclusive bill following the committee vote, we will work with Congresswoman Baldwin to repair ENDA to include protections on the basis of gender identity. We appreciate that Congressional leaders like Congresswoman Baldwin continue to share our commitment to pass an inclusive bill, and we expect Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership will actively support the Baldwin amendment.

PLEASE FORWARD and MAKE SOME CALLS to fam and friends

2007-10-15T17:28:50Z

From the Nation Center for Transgender Equality:

A team of us just returned from a meeting with leadership staff. I wish I had better news to report. Here's the rundown:

They intend to move forward with a non-inclusive bill. They intend to schedule the sexual orientation-only bill for next Thursday in the House Education and Labor Committee.

While they have offered to keep HR2015 (the fully inclusive bill) on the table for consideration, it was clear to everyone at the meeting that with this proposed strategy, it would be much more difficult to have a vote on a united bill anytime soon. HR2015 is the bill we must continue to fight for.

You can find a list of the House Education and Labor Committee members here:
You can find a list of the House Education and Labor Committee members here:
http://edlabor.house.gov/about/members.shtml

In Unity,

Mara Keisling
Executive Director
National Center for Transgender Equality

hibiscus3 @ 2007-09-16T10:41:00

2007-09-16T17:52:48Z

Sadly, my crush has held me at bay this week. He turned me down for lunch during the week and only called me fri pm after i texted him...several times. I met him and his best bud who moved to London yesterday on fri night briefly, but they were going to hot pants. I was tired and have never been interested in going to hot pants. He also mentioned his gf directly in relation to me which i kind of take as a signal that i need to lay off. I like his gf and definitely don't want to come between them.

My hope now is that he'll be so lonely, he'll be dying to hang out with me. Or, that i find a new crush or other distractions.

I'm working on a fiscal sponsorship for the narrative piece i've been collaborating on and we've had other exciting developments in pre-production this week. plus, cowen wrote this great little script for a short. it's hIlarious.

Some activism for Zak and Rae to engage in Indiana!!

2007-04-11T21:03:11Z

Check out the f'd up film my colleague from chicago (and now in indiana) has produced. UGH!

here's the link if you're interested in forwarding any comments, checking out screenings, etc:

http://www.catherinecrouch.com/mainwebsite_html/filmsDetail.php?pageID=gendercator

The Gendercator is a short satirical take on female body modification and gender. The story uses the “Rip van Winkle” model to extrapolate from the past into a possible future.
In 1973 a group of hippie women are celebrating Billie Jean King’s victory over Bobby Riggs. They are partying in the rural woods outside of Bloomington, Indiana. Our heroine Sally is a simple minded, sporty type who overindulges at the party and passes out under a tree. Sally wakes up 75 years later in 2048 to discover (amongst other social changes) that feminism has failed utterly and completely. Sex roles and gender expression are rigidly binary and enforced by law and social custom. When Sally rejects the feminine hairdo and short skirt she is given, the doctor at the emergency room calls in the “Gendercator”, a government official who informs Sally that butch women and sissy boys are no longer tolerated – gender variants are allowed to chose their gender, but they must chose one and follow its rigid constraints.
Sally is baffled by this brave new world. All she wants is to “do her own thing” – but her own thing is no more. Sally is a simple-minded stoner, indoctrinated into 70s feminism. She is no poster girl or freedom fighter, just a gentle tomboy dropped into the future with a tendency to respond in slogans such as “sisterhood is powerful”.
Nurse Nancy locates some of Sally’s former friends – they are 100 now, but because of advances in the medical profession (cloning spare parts), they are still healthy and thriving. The friends tell Sally they heard she moved to California and that’s why they never looked for her. One of her friends appears to be a man and tells Sally, “They made me do it. They’ll make you too.” They explain to Sally that in the early 2000s the evangelical Christians took over the government and legislated their strict family values, legally sanctioning only “one man, one woman” couples. Advances in sex reassignment surgery have made it possible to honor an individual’s choice of gender AND government policy. Sally is comfortable in the middle of the genders, an unacceptable choice in 2048.
Director’s Note
Things are getting very strange for women these days. More and more often we see young heterosexual women carving their bodies into porno Barbie dolls and lesbian women altering themselves into transmen. Our distorted cultural norms are making women feel compelled to use medical advances to change themselves, instead of working to change the world. This is one story, showing one possible scary future. I am hopeful that this story will foster discussion about female body modification and medical ethics.

hibiscus3 @ 2007-03-24T19:49:00

2007-03-25T03:21:02Z

ok, so i have to post about the tranny conference i'm at. it's tg law center's tg leadership summit...sponsored by numerous org.s and companies in ca...i.e. the conference is free and they even had scholarshps for many, many of the participants who cannot afford a hotel. how valuable is that? a conference that is accessible to virtually all who want to participate (although only 250 capacity); and the good news is, that kind of structure ensured representation of many, many voices. and is very much planned by a diverse group of trannies in CA, beyond TLC.

i even am able to excuse the fact that Grumann, a fat cog in the military industrial complex, is a sponsor of the conference. Shit their money paid for discounted rooms at the Bonnaventure for lots of trannies who would not have been able to come otherwise.(Amanda something or other? a tg woman who ran for arizona congress apparently is an engineer at Grumann and has made all kinds of inroads there on behalf of trans workplace policies and protections....and $$) Strange bedfellows we end up with--sluts through and through! speaking for myself anyway.

Vigil for Ruby Rodriguez on Friday

2007-03-22T17:22:52Z

from EL-LA PROGRAM PARA TRANS-LATINAS in the Mission:

THE T/G GIRL FOUND DEAD ON CESAR CHAVEZ AND INDIANA WAS IDENTIFIED
YESTERDAY BY TONI CERVANTES AT THE MORGUE, IT WAS RUDIE [aka Ruby] RODRIGUEZ, A NATIVE
FROM NICARAGUA.
SHE WAS PART OF THE TRANS-PROJECT PROGRAM WHICH IS COORDINATED BY FERNANDA
VALDEZ AND SHE ALSO HAD A CASE MANAGER AT LYRICS.

WE WILL BE ANNOUNCING A VIGIL IN REMEMBRANCE OF RUDIE PLANNED FOR FRIDAY
03/23 AT THE CORNER OF 24TH AND MISSION FROM 6 TO 7 PM.
REST IN PEACE RUDIE!

hibiscus3 @ 2007-03-19T15:29:00

2007-03-19T22:48:53Z

Back from Vegas but not quite recovered. It was fun to go on a real vacation, as opposed to a queer conference/outing, with friends. And, I might even return if i had a room a caesar's palace or the wynn--cause the pools there are over the top fab. Unfortunately, Vegas is #1 spring break destination for drunken, sport-lovin frat boys of the u.s. (it's not Cancun, trust me!). The worst part of their presence was when i was forced to engage with them while waiting in the numerous queues for drinks, for cabs, for food, for checking in, for checking out. The really awkward and somewhat scary aspect of those exchanges was that they assumed i was one of them. So, i pretty much had the choice of playing along or...playing along.

Fun HIV/STI Prevention Skillsbuilding group

2007-03-14T17:43:53Z

In case you haven't heard.....

The St. James infirmary is starting a new group that will train YOU to be a health peer educator. Please distribute widely.

We will cover topics including HIV, Hepatitis C, sexually transmitted diseases, negotiation skills, and more. The group is open to all transgender people (FTM, MTF, genderqueer, etc.) who are interested in sexual health and the well-being of the community. The group is free, confidential, and no experience is necessary

There will be six sessions, beginning Thursday, March 29, 2007. Participants should sign up ahead of time if possible and commit to attending every session. Depending on attendance, participants can receive up to $60 in grocery vouchers.

Thursdays 1-2:30PM @ St James Infirmary
1372 Mission St (between 9th & 10th)

Contact Luke at 415-934-3465or LWoodward@waldenhouse.org to sign up.

hibiscus3 @ 2006-12-04T16:09:00

2006-12-04T23:09:28Z

hooray, we're moved! when's the housewarming party?? dunno, but it's coming...as are numerous dinner parties.

mmm....cooookie

2006-07-21T16:40:55Z

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth.

You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around.

You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking

How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

hibiscus3 @ 2006-07-18T15:00:00

2006-07-18T22:08:46Z

if anyone (trans/genderqueer) is looking for a job or knows any trans folks looking for jobs, Larkin is really actively seeking out some trans staff, particularly for one of their queer/trans programs but in general as well. check out their website.

Dallas/Butch Ballet Research

2006-06-01T23:51:11Z

Umm...i'm leaving for Dallas, TX tomorrow. Is there any kind of primary research that needs to be done down there for the butch ballet/Dallas musical?

hibiscus3 @ 2006-05-22T09:15:00

2006-05-22T16:15:46Z

Klein Sexual Orientation Grid

I scored an average of 4.14

Heterosexual

Bisexual

Homosexual

Meaning

This result can also be related to the Kinsey Scale:

0 = exclusively heterosexual
1 = predominantly heterosexual, incidentally homosexual
2 = predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3 = equally heterosexual and homosexual
4 = predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5 = predominantly homosexual, incidentally heterosexual
6 = exclusively homosexual

Summary

The idea of this excercise is to understand exactly how dynamic a person's sexual orientation can be, as well as how fluid it can be over a person's lifespan. While a person's number of actual homo/heterosexual encounters may be easy to categorize, their actual orientation may be completely different. Simple labels like "homosexual", "heterosexual", and "bisexual" need not be the only three options available to us.

Take the quiz

This quiz was seriously flawed when it comes to *my* orientations.

Come by Eagle Sat night

2006-04-29T04:12:18Z

so, i'm not particularly satisfied with the grant ap i just finished. i'm hoping for some good feedback as well as some time to work more on it this weekend. heh, right. my friend from chicago comes in tonight, and we're going out tonight. we're going to marin with some other chicago transplants for my bday tomorrow and hanging at the eagle tomorrow night (stop by if you're around!). sunday we're meeting some other chicago friends for brunch, which leaves sunday afternoon before i go out on a date sunday night. i better take a nap; i'm getting exhausted and excited thinking about it.

i think that i'm not a big holiday person in general, but i am typically excited around my birthday as it signals better warmer weather back in illinois and of course it used to signal bday parties, presents and pinatas. but as an "adult," i'm really not into my own bday parties. i like going to other peoples but i feel kind of weird celebrating mine. i think maybe my 32nd bday kind of killed the spirit of the day for me. and i will take responsibility for that. it was ugly--many things were happening for me including opening day of softball season (i confess) and one of the first beautiful spring days in Chicago but also the building pressure cooker within me around talking to my mom and rest of family about deciding to transition. Unfortunately, my celebration culminated in me passing out *in* my dinner at a really, chi-chi restaurant with my mom, aunt and cousin. oh god, my mom was so pissed. what's also possibly fucked up is i kind of crack up when i think/reminisce about it. but aside from that disastrous bday, my other adult bdays have been low key, no big parties. i do plan on having a big party for my 40th though. i will let people know weeks in advance about my party.

hibiscus3 @ 2006-04-26T09:26:00

2006-04-26T16:26:34Z

<td align="center"> hale macpherson thompson --
[noun]:

A person who is constantly high

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

Heh! How prophetic is that!?

hibiscus3 @ 2006-04-24T10:12:00

2006-04-24T17:21:56Z

i'm fearing that Kozy, Zak's cat, will be retaliating/acting out soon. Her Dad is gone and she does not like her cat food--a lethal combination. Plus, i saw this big grey furry animal with a long pink tail (perhaps a youngish o'possum, or a long-haired rat??) grazing in our little courtyard this weekend. My fear is that i will come home this evening and find that beast's carcass ripped to shreds in the middle of our living room. even Manis is onto this creature. Last night, i was doing laundry in the garage and Manis had come down with me. Except when i left to go upstairs, i found Manis trapped underneath our back stairway--where the furry beast seems to run for cover when it's caught like a deer in the headlights in our courtyard. Of course, Manis had no problem getting into that little space, but damn he sure was hesitant to get out of it.

...a slaughter is brewing...

hibiscus3 @ 2006-04-23T11:08:00

2006-04-23T18:20:09Z

thanks for the dallas/farewell party last night Rae. although i wasn't feeling my dancing moves at the point at which you insisted on them, i can't wait for the butch ballet! fer real.

shani and i are going to try to shoot some stuff in the TL and Mission today. of course it's raining so we're already behind schedule. on friday, the weather channel said rain on fri and sat and sunny on sun. it's been the opposite. so, we cant shoot any of the sunny stuff i need, just the dreary. SFGH, Tom Waddell, Diva's, Buena Vista, Golden Gate Park sign, street signs for these locations, etc.

And, my date for this evening just cancelled on me. She's still sick, an illness that may stem from our first date--when i had a sore throat on monday...but i hope not.

i may check out this tranny fag coffee hour at ritual this evening.

and, of course, i'm hoping to take a look at that damn puzzlay. maybe i'll stop by for it if we finish shooting before 6pm. we might get rained out at this point. i can never tell if it's trying to clear up or if bernal heights has this warped perspective.

hibiscus3 @ 2006-04-20T18:42:00

2006-04-21T02:11:24Z

i guess spring/summer has arrived. i'm not sure if it is the changing of the seasons or the workshop i attended the other night, but i am so much more productive at work and on my own projects at the moment. i'm hoping to ride this wave for as long as possible.
i'm gonna watch a '92 video of jamison green and other tranny activists leading some kind of rally. then, i'm going to watch a john waters movie, a dirty shame.

how'd google make so much money this quarter? and could we organize some kind of boycott or maybe a murderous gang against duke university. i get nauseous every day when i have to look at the mug shots of the two lax players (i don't think that those two are necessarily guilty but i'm willing to bet a whole lot that three of the 45 team members are). i'm really fearing that the cops and the d.a. are going to botch the case. Duke/Durham/college athletes everywhere (men) need a good shake up.

the mystery of mucus membranes

2006-04-18T17:51:18Z

Went to the dr. yesterday to get a throat culture as i could see little white patches on my tonsils,plus my tonsils looked really pronounced and different than usual. i was a bit run down yesterday but today i feel pretty good except for when i swallow. but even swallowing isn't as painful as i remember strep throat being. maybe my flu shot is helping lessen the blow. *or* i have gonorrhea, *or* some other random viral infection. can't wait to get the results of my throat cultures!

he's casper the friendly ghost

2006-04-17T16:57:44Z

of course it's a gorgeous day after a rather wett weekend. i called in sick as i do have a big lump in my throat. i looked at my tonsils and they do seem more pronounced than usual but it's not llike i really look at them often enough to know if they really look any different. i have a "date" tonight for our big 30th anniversary party for gmhc so i'm gonna try and get rest and maybe get a throat swab for gonorrhea just to rule out that possibility.

besides dying eggs yesterday, the highlight of the weekend was seeing the Devil and Daniel Johnston (aka Casper the Friendly Ghost), a beautifully crafted documentary that has restored my faith in humanity and reinforced my hardon for community-building through the arts.

gotta mail my taxes in today too. i still haven't jumped through that bureaucratic hoop that would enable the federal and state govt to recognize me as HALE rather than my birth name. ARRGGH!! this year i'm requesting my refund be directly deposited in my bank acct so i can circumvent the rage i experience when i receive mail in my old name. we'll see how this strategy works.

i wonder if it's cold out at baker beach....

macademia bliss

2006-04-08T21:37:10Z

can i just take a moment to say how grateful i am to benefit from meredith's momentary/accidental fascination with all recipes calling for macademia nuts? one of my favorite foods, i savored part of a macademia nut brownie with my coffee this a.m. and it wasn't just any ol choc brownie with mac nuts. it was some kind of complicated, layered goodness. and now, for lunch, i am salivating over macademia nut-crusted mahi mahi with brown rice and blood orange butter.

Meredith, you are amaning with those nuts!