You know the drill. What awesome social-justice-y things did you do this week?
About ozyfrantz
Ozy Frantz is a student at a well-respected Hippie College in the United States. Zie bases most of zir life decisions on Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and identifies more closely with Pinkie Pie than is probably necessary. Ozy can be contacted at [email protected] or on Twitter as @ozyfrantz. Writing is presently Ozy's primary means of support, so to tip the blogger, click here.
I called someone out for writing a blog article mocking people for finding the word ‘faggot’ offensive. Their argument was that it wasn’t used ina homophobic way – in the same way that young people might say ‘you’re so gay!’ I pointed out a) public figures need to watch their language and b) ‘faggot’ is an uglier word than simply ‘gay.’ I also explained why using the verb ‘to rape’ lightly might be triggering. No response so far…
“Valerie: High five! We queers need to watch out for each other.”
“We must love each other or we will die.”
Christopher Isherwood (or somone like that back in the 60’s)
Won my tribunal appeal against the loss of my social security benefits on the grounds of mental health. This was my second such win in five years.
I have a rather peculiar mix of functionalities, disfunctionalities, and nonfunctionalities. One problem is that the functionalities tend to be immediately apparent, while the dis- and nonfunctionalties can only be seen by those who know me well, and sometimes not even by them. I am thus under perpetual threat of being deemed capable of things I’m not.
Quebec is harsh! The area I’m in is known for its poor treatment of the LGBT community but “common use” is considered a fine reason for a name change. Though, it is also public record… not sure if that’s the case in Quebec and perhaps the reason for the stricter treatment? Still, doesn’t excuse the extra restrictions on trans people, if anything that should be the exception that speeds up the process!
(also, Schala I sent an email to you earlier today not sure if you got it)
In Quebec province (and maybe other places?), to legally change name you are required to prove you are taking HRT, and are going to continue doing so, by a doctor (can be any doctor I guess – who prescribes them to you), plus a GID diagnosis by a psychologist or psychiatrist (and my endo required the latter to see me, as well).
That or you could have an unpronounceable first name. Good luck there. They want a “serious reason” for changing it, and barring GID, they require 5 years of (non-legal, but known) usage in real life.
Ah… well then I just wrote a couple-hundred words for the sake of exercising my fingers… nah, that’s not true, I did education. Informed-consent should be our MINIMUM civil rights demand… so many people ignore it and focus on making sure that there’s a 20-life sentence for murdering a trans person instead of a 15-life sentence, or ensuring that those who can afford a transition and know their rights are in a position to sue a terrible employer, or focusing on funding of surgery that many trans people don’t even want… whereas access to adequate medicine will actually make a… Read more »
Vielen dank, Valerie! Although, just to clarify I’m not a trans woman myself (or any sort of woman). Don’t want to mislead, it’s just that I’ve heard people talk about informed consent but usually with a follow up of “but it’s pretty much impossible so just go get your letter”. Never really in the context of “and here’s how you do it”. And you are right in saying people who need those services needs to know where they are, and I am a fan of knowledge and like to see it spread… also, considering the shady history of GID’s introduction… Read more »
@Orange I recommend searching “Informed Consent trans HRT” or other variations. I know that Chicago, San Fran, New York, Norfolk VA, and somewhere else in VA, offhand… Beyond that, try Planned Parenthood, screw up your courage and go into a walk-in GP’s office, or if you live in NOT CANADA, try here: http://www.inhousepharmacy-europe.com/ If you can afford a hundred dollars a month, and let’s not fool ourselves folks, MOST of us can find that kind of money, then self-medication, followed by a declaration to a free-clinic doctor that you are self-medicating and bloodwork to follow, are eminently affordable. If you… Read more »
Valerie: High five! We queers need to watch out for each other. 🙂
Any tips on finding informed consent clinics in general? As that seems like that’d be useful information to have… unless the only way is just to call up and ask every last one which I suppose works well enough.
I gave a seventeen year-old pre-HRT trans woman who isn’t out to her not-understanding parents yet information on informed consent clinics in her area.
Deb – that was probably a ploy to get more women to bowl there, similar to Ladies’ Night at bars, but I agree that when you think about it, it’s actually pretty condescending to women, like saying they lack the same ability as men and need easier goals. I’d have said something too.
ok this may sound kind of weird but I let the bowling ally next to my house know that there midnight run where they reward women for getting a Spare but men for getting Strikes was unfair to men and insulting to women.
I helped draft a letter to my state government, arguing that they need to keep giving public schools permission to teach secular ethics as an alternative to the (extremely conservative) Anglican religious ed that is the default.
It’s me again, making sure everyone knows what name I switched too.
/tangent
If I may use this as an open thread for a second, I’m going to switch to the screen name I usually use on the internet for the comments on here.
At a blog, that shall not be named, I linked to an explanation of intersex genitalia and got people discussing infant circumcision and such. Happily most were against it, plus I think I educated people on some intersex issues.