Kylie, LGBT And Everyone Else Lose Their Minds At Sydney Mardi Gras

According to Gay Cities, " Aphrodite herself, Kylie Minogue, was on hand to celebrate Sydney Mardi Gras, the city’s unique version of a gay Pride festival. Thousands marched down Oxford Street on Saturday—the culmination of weeks of parties, concerts, screenings and more—decked out in costumes celebrating a theme of “Infinite Love.” Other performers included Sam Sparro, Sneaky Sound System, Shauna Jensen and RuPaul. (You can watch an hour of highlights from the parade on the Sydney Mardi Gras website.)

This was the first Mardi Gras since producers re-branded the event as a more hetero-friendly affair. (the “Gay and Lesbian” was removed from “Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.”)

Click here to view all the great photos, and get a link to watch an hour of footage.

Obama Keeps Pushing

Say what you want, this president has been the most inclusive of minorities than any before him.  And finally, a president has reached out to include transgender people.  Beginning with the appointment of Amanda Simpson as technical advisory for the Department of Commerce,  he is once again pushing the boundaries. Yesterday the White House hosted the LGBT Conference on Housing & Homelessness in Detroit, Michigan, in partnership with the Ruth Ellis Center. It is the second in a series of conferences being held across the country to address the unique needs of gay and transgender Americans, and comes on the heels of the announcement by Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who's department in January announced the new equal access rule, which will help reduce housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

If we can get legislation to protect transgender people, while at the same time activists and advocate can educate the general public, slowly, I think we'll continue to see the gap on injustice and discrimination close.  

Obama’s former transgender Indonesian nanny overwhelmed by sudden celebrity, job offer

As many of you may know, the Associated Press broke the story recently about the former caretaker to the president (when he was a child in Indonesia). Born a he, Evie considers herself a woman, but after years of abuse has lived mostly male. Now at 66 years old,m she says that “After living without hope for so long, like I was locked in a dark room, I now feel like the door is open,” said Evie, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “It’s like the winds of heaven are blowing hope for me. Even my relatives who never cared about me are now coming to see me.”

Read the full article here

There are so many that suffer to same -- or worse -- discrimination for presenting themselves the way that feels most natural to them, this kind of world attention might provide much needed attention on the transgender topic.

What do you think?  Will it help?  

Are Pinoys ready for a transgender president?

Heart Diño’s election as the first transgender chair of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Student Council last March 1, 2012 excites many political observers who view it as a portent of greater participation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos in the political arena. They have every reason to be excited. Today, indicators suggest that the Philippines will be electing more LGBTs into public offices, including Congress, in the 2013 elections. But are we ready for a transgender president? Read More here.

Judging by what is happening around the world, with so many gay and transgender people assuming roles in government and politics, that we should see more in the Philippines. However, being that it took 200 years for a black man to reach president in the United States, I don't see a transwomen obtaining that position in the Philippines -- or anywhere else for that matter -- in a VERY VERY long time, if ever. 

Should We Lock Away The Different?

Yet another story of a kid with such a strong sense of gender identity, that before she could "learn" who she was expected to be, she already knew who she was.  That seems to scare onlookers when :"who she is" doesn't fit the status quo of who she should be. Why do adults believe that when a kid feels something so strongly that they (the adults) actually know better the internal feelings of the child?

I would argue that a child -- who has not yet had any social conditioning -- is better in touch with who they are than adults are.  How many adults follow a life's path based on the expectations of others?  They have passions as a child and teenager, and then are molded by parents, teachers, and/or peer groups to fulfill the agenda of someone else.

When I am out and about, I've had so many "straight" men tell me that they admired the freedom that I display in being who I am, or choose to be. Is there a component in our society that inhibits men from being open and pursuing what makes them happy?

The kid in question is being torn between parents, who divorced over the issue.  But the father has  gotten a court to commit the child, while the mother filed an appeal.

Progressive Transgender Movement

For all its chants of being the greatest country on the planet, America has really lagged behind Asian and South American countries when it comes to transgender rights, which is really just equal rights. Argentina recognized same-sex marriages a few years back, while South Korea and others have recognized post transition females as women, and many of them have married. Colombia has also been showing signs of a new respect for trans-people there; demonstrated by the recent appointment by the mayor of Bogota, who appointed Tatiana (shown above) to head up the Social Integration Department. The more we come out and hold jobs of responsibility, and do them well, the sooner we can get the mainstream past their ignorance and bigotry. Well done Colombia!!

Lady Bunny

I've had the pleasure of meeting Bunny at several events, and although she is not for the faint of heart, she is still funny as can be.