Mar

15

Critics Suggest Link Between Priest Celibacy and Sexual Abuse

Filed Under International, LGBTQ, homophobia, misogyny, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | 11 Comments

Another round of allegations of sexual violence committed by Catholic priests has begun, this time centering in Germany. It is, of course, far from the first time that a culture of rape and silence within the Catholic Church has been exposed, though the problem rages on and denials as to the extent of the violence continue from officials at the top.

This time, though, they’re also denying an accusation about why there are so many sexual abuse cases within the Church:

The Vatican on Sunday denied that its celibacy requirement for priests was the root cause of the clerical sex abuse scandal convulsing the church in Europe and again defended the pope’s handling of the crisis.

Suggestions that the celibacy rule was in part responsible for the “deviant behavior” of sexually abusive priests have swirled in recent days, with opinion pieces in German newspapers blaming it for fueling abuse and even Italian commentators questioning the rule.

Much of the furor was spurred by comments from one of the pope’s closest advisers, Vienna archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, who called this week for an honest examination of issues like celibacy and priestly education to root out the origins of sex abuse.

“Part of it is the question of celibacy, as well as the subject of character development. And part of it is a large portion of honesty, in the church but also in society,” he wrote in the online edition of his diocesan newsletter.

It’s not often that you’ll see me agree with anything the Catholic Church has to say with regards to rape within their ranks, so be sure to mark this date on your calenders.

The suggestion that priests may be raping children because they are required to take a vow of celibacy is both absurd and utterly enraging. I think the long-term and imposed suppression of any and all expressions human sexuality is generally going to be a very unhealthy thing, and for that reason as well as my disdain for portrayals of sexuality as dirty and morally wrong, support the repeal of the celibacy rule. But I can tell you right now that of all the damaging side effects of the demand that priests be celibate, inclination to rape is not one of them.

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Mar

13

Sexual Assault Leads to Exposure of Police Views on Trans* People

Filed Under LGBTQ, bigotry, human rights, misogyny, patriarchy, rape and sexual assault, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 3 Comments

In a recent post, I mentioned a rape case in which a San Antonio police officer allegedly raped a trans woman while on duty. I also generally discussed the fear that a lot of trans* folks have of the police, based on a long history of profiling and abuse. A recent blog post over at San Antonio Current reveals specifically some of the depth of the problem:

After nearly three years of quarterly trainings by the all-volunteer Police Officers Training Committee, only one session for more senior officers has been held. That meeting exposed innate prejudices among officers, according to training committee member Antonia Padilla, which she attributes to negative interactions with transgender individuals on the job that are likely exacerbated by a lack of exposure to those with less traditional gender expression.

They’re prejudices not typically found among the younger cadets, she added.

In the above, the blog post’s author Greg Harman calls the transphobic prejudices held by the officers “innate.” I believe that he meant to say “ingrained” and have absolutely no desire to pick on him or make petty arguments, firstly because it’s easy to get two words confused and I’ve done it myself on many, many occasions, and secondly because I’m grateful that he wrote this post.

But I also think it’s worth emphasizing in any context and at any opportunity provided, even when not directed at anyone particular, that prejudice is not ever “innate.” Because too many people actually seem to think that it is. Prejudice is not the result of DNA or some kind of “natural order,” it’s the result of individuals absorbing and learning prejudice from a prejudiced culture, having their prejudice reinforced and supported, and failing to personally challenge their own privilege and assumptions. It’s not inevitable, it’s actively manufactured. And the manufacturing process is also actively ignored and denied.

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Mar

2

N.J. Police Allegedly Harass Trans Woman Based on Gender Identity

Filed Under LGBTQ, bigotry, discrimination, misogyny, objectification, patriarchy, rape and sexual assault, sexual exploitation and harassment, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 4 Comments

Trigger Warning for discussions of police harassment and violence against trans* people.

The New Jersey police department is being sued after two Newark officers allegedly harassed a trans woman on the basis of her gender identity.

Diana Taylor of Newark said two officers steered their cruiser into her path as she walked down a street two blocks from her home on March 23, 2009. According to Taylor, the officers made fun of her wig and demanded she show them her identification. She didn’t have it with her, but she gave them her legal name, [redacted].

The two officers had placed a bet on Taylor’s gender before they blocked her way, she said during a news conference after the ACLU-NJ filed the lawsuit in Essex County Superior Court on Wednesday, Feb. 17. One said to the other, “You’re right. I owe you $10. It is a man,” Taylor recalled.

She further alleged the officers began tormenting her by calling her a “chick with a dick,” “faggot” and other derogatory names. Taylor added they further embarrassed her by questioning her sexuality as witnesses gathered.

She said the officers handcuffed her and took her to a police station where they searched crime databases looking for a reason to arrest her. Although they found she had no record, Taylor contends police continued to humiliate her by frisking her in a sexually intrusive manner.

What these officers have allegedly done is not in the least bit unusual in terms of interactions between police and trans* people. For many trans* people of all identities (binary, non-binary, agendered/non-gendered, etc.), but particularly trans women, and particularly trans women of color, law enforcement is entirely synonymous with violence.

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Feb

26

Turkish Activists Demand Action on Transphobic Hate Crimes

Filed Under Asia, Europe, International, LGBTQ, bigotry, human rights, misogyny, patriarchy, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | Leave a Comment

There are exceedingly few places in the world where trans people are truly safe. Turkey, then, is only one of many, many countries where trans people, usually trans women, are violently attacked and murdered at epidemic levels simply for being who they are. The abuses there, however, could be considered particularly bad — and regardless, should not be accepted anywhere.

That is why, following yet more murders, Turkish and international activists have sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Turkey, demanding both protection of trans people and real efforts to change the social attitudes which make this violence acceptable. An excerpt from the letter appears below:

In order to end the ongoing violence and murders of transgender people in Turkey, we respectfully urge the Turkish government to take the following measures:

  • 1. Ensure an effective investigation into the murders of Fevzi Yener, Derya Y., and Sinasi Halimoglu, which will be capable of leading to the identification and prosecution of the alleged perpetrator(s) of these crimes. Ensure similar steps are taken in the event of any future crimes against the LGBT community.
  • 2. Enact anti-discrimination legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected status.
  • 3. Collect, analyze and disaggregate national and local data on violence, including violence on the grounds on sexual orientation and gender identity as a recognized category.
  • 4. Provide training to law enforcement authorities on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.
  1. Include sexual orientation and gender identity in school curricula as a way to combat gender stereotypes.
  • 6. Establish permanent communication mechanisms between the police and Turkish LGBT organizations.
  • 7. Revise the Law of Misdemeanors (No. 5326) that provides police the option to fine or otherwise treat individuals as criminals on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. The vagueness of this law-which purports to “protect public order, general morality, general health, the environment, and the economic order”- allows for prejudicial enforcement by police.

The full English text of the letter can be found here. (Here is the Turkish version.) I highly recommend that you take a moment to go read it, for further context regarding Turkish trans folks’ situation.

I have little else to add, other than to repeat that violence against trans people is an epidemic in many parts of the world, including in the U.S., where I’m writing. The violence is not going to end until we eradicate transphobia, and transmisogyny in particular, and put to rest the idea that cissexual and cisgender identities are superior to and more “real” than transsexual and transgender identities. And that is an enormous and international task.

I found the news of this letter via Helen G at Bird of Paradox. At the bottom of her post is a long list of links to other posts she has written on trans rights (or more accurately, the lack thereof) in Turkey over the past year. I strongly encourage you to click through and view that list of links, at the very least, as a visual reminder of the magnitude of the problem, and to take the time to read some of them.

Jan

7

Iowa “Pro-Family” Group Protests Governor’s Support for the Transgender Day of Remembrance

Filed Under LGBTQ, assholes, bigotry, human rights, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 2 Comments

Trigger Warning for transphobia

In Iowa, a so-called “pro-family” group of hate-mongers have put out a statement admonishing the Governor for doing the absolute bare minimum in terms of acknowledging the state’s transgender residents, by signing a declaration recognizing the Transgender Day of Remembrance last November. Governor Culver was so lackluster about proclaiming it wrong to murder people even if they are trans, that he didn’t even put out a statement about the declaration. But that hasn’t stopped the Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION from protesting his stance, anyway:

A pro-family policy group today is taking issue with a proclamation Gov. Chet Culver signed that declared a “transgender day of remembrance” in Iowa last year.

The Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION released a copy of the proclamation that Culver signed last Nov. 20 which the Pleasant Hill-based group acquired from the governor’s office through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The organization’s president, Chuck Hurley, said he views the proclamation as an attempt by Culver to use the power of the governor’s office “to promote sexual confusion and deviant behavior.”

Hurley said the action follows Culver’s failure to keep his 2006 campaign promise to defend marriage as only between one man and one woman.

…

“Iowans know that Gov. Culver does not share their values,” the Iowa Family Policy Council ACTION leader said. “As if the governor’s unwillingness to exercise the influence of his office in the defense of marriage wasn’t evidence enough, we now know that he is spending his time creating special days celebrating sexual disorientation. The question that Iowans ought to be asking is why Gov. Culver wasn’t proud enough of his work to make his actions public?”

This is beyond appalling. Usually, I wouldn’t want to give publicity to this type of hate being propagated by a smaller scale group. But what it openly reveals, in this case, is astounding enough to make me see it as worth mention. It comes as little surprise that they refuse to acknowledge the gender identities of trans people, and instead portray them all as cis gay folks. And it comes as little surprise that they would somehow try to tie the “issue” of Culver’s small show of support for the TDOR back into their opposition to marriage equality.

But that they would take support for this day, the Transgender Day of Remembrance — a solemn and emotional day of mourning for the trans community, a day in which the violence committed against that community on such a wide scale is finally given just a tiny bit of mainstream attention, a day in which those who are so regularly forgotten are in fact remembered — and attack it is despicable. That they would connect it to what they call “deviant behavior” is even more so.

Because what it suggests, rather blatantly, is that they view the very act of trans people being alive as deviant. They view the suggestion of a world in which trans people are not under constant threatened and actual physical assault as an attack on their belief system. To say that the governor’s decision to sign this declaration goes against their values is to say in fact that their values involve trans people being dead.

The fact that they feel this way doesn’t shock me. The fact that they’d so casually admit it does, however, come as something of a surprise. Even the organizations most dedicated to vitriolic hatred of LGBT people will profess to believe that the people whose rights they so vehemently fight deserve life and safety. It’s not that they want people dead, they will claim, so much as they want them invisible. This statement here belies that common assertion. Here, they let us know that they believe folks who don’t fit into their rigid gender and sex norms not only don’t deserve to have their safety defended by the government in even the most passive, hidden, and symbolic ways, but also don’t even deserve to have their lives mourned once they have been taken.

Oct

22

New York Ruling Eases Name Changes for Transgender People

Filed Under LGBTQ, courts, gender, human rights, trans | 4 Comments

The New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan has made a ruling that will make it easier for transgender people to petition for a name change. The ruling overturned a previous decision by a lower court:

Should a transgender person seeking judicial permission to change her or his name be required to furnish medical documentation justifying the change?

A panel of justices in State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that the answer is no. The ruling was a victory for the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

The fund had brought the case on behalf of a transgender man, Olin Yuri Winn-Ritzenberg, who had petitioned the New York City Civil Court seeking to legally change his name from Leah Uri Winn-Ritzenberg.

In February, a Civil Court judge in Manhattan, Manuel J. Mendez, denied the petition, ruling that Mr. Winn-Ritzenberg first had to provide a letter from a physician, psychologist or social worker documenting the “need” for the name change.

Michael D. Silverman, the executive director of the transgender advocacy group, argued that the state’s common law generally allows an adult “to change his or her name at will, for any reason,” and that transgender petitioners like Mr. Winn-Ritzenberg were being held to a higher standard. About 10 other people, all in Manhattan, have approached the fund with similar reports of having their name-changing petitions denied for the same reason Judge Mendez gave.

Legally changing one’s name is one of many major hurdles that trans people face during transition, and the unnecessary difficulty of the process is just yet another way that a cis controlled system polices trans people’s genders and identities. Cis people already regularly feel as though they get to call trans people by the incorrect name, and that’s all about reinforcing undeserved privilege. Further, the issue is about more than just respect and the right of every person to be called what they want to be called — which ought to be enough — but also about basic safety. In a world where transphobia is so regularly expressed through violence and seriously consequential discrimination, one’s official documents matching their identity can sadly be a matter of life and death, or of accessing needed services or not.

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Oct

12

Boss Admits to Firing Woman Because of Her Gender Identity

Filed Under LGBTQ, bigotry, discrimination, gender, human rights, legislation, misogyny, politics, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, work | 7 Comments

Vandy Beth Glenn was fired in 2007 when she informed her boss her boss that she was a trans woman with plans to begin her transition. With Lambada Legal, she has since launched a federal lawsuit against her former employer, the Georgia General Assembly. (Yes, you did in fact read that correctly — her employer was a government body.) In an interview, she said:

“Mr. Brumby told me that people would think I was immoral. He told me I would make other people uncomfortable, just by being myself. He told me that my transition was unacceptable. And over and over, he told me it was inappropriate.”

Then, Brumby fired Glenn.

“I’m not sure I was really thinking anything in that moment other than utter shock,” Glenn told ABCNews.com. “That he was so matter of fact about it blew my mind.”

Now, Sewell Brumby has actually confessed to firing Glenn on the basis of her gender identity, while still claiming to have done no wrong (warning: transmisogynistic/transphobic language contained in the quoted text):

During the deposition, Brumby describes Glenn, who is referred to in court documents by her pre-transition name of [redacted], as not being very good at her job and not particularly well-liked. Brumby said several times that Glenn’s transition would have been disruptive to his workplace.

“I think it would have been, I suppose, an unusual and notorious event. And I think when unusual and notorious events happen in the workplace it distracts the people in that workplace and takes away from the performance of their job duties,” he said.

Although the legislative cousel office has four one-stall gender-neutral bathrooms, Brumby was concerned about what would happen if Glenn were to use one of the public women’s bathrooms. He also expressed personal concerns about his reactions to Glenn’s transition.

“I think it would have made it very uncomfortable and emotionally upsetting for me to communicate with [Glenn's male name redacted] under those circumstances, and I imagined that some other number of our employees would feel likewise,” he said.

“It makes me think about things I don’t like to think about, particularly at work … I think it’s unsettling to think of someone dressed in women’s clothing with male sexual organs inside that clothing.”

Brumby couldn’t explain to Cole Thaler, the Lambda Legal attorney representing Glenn, why it was upsetting.

“It’s not something that I enjoy thinking about, and I think it would have been unsettling to have a constant reminder to think about something I don’t like to think about,” he said.

Brumby called her transition unnatural, but said he didn’t make moral judgments while acknowledging others would. He said that some in the legislature would view Glenn’s transition as “liberal or ultra-liberal” and could lose faith in the office’s required neutrality.

Shorter Brumby: In addition to generally being a transphobic bigot, I also can’t stop thinking about the genitalia of the women who work in my office, and see this as a reason why they should be fired instead of myself.

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Oct

3

Edmonton Teacher Fired Over His Gender Identity

Filed Under International, LGBTQ, bigotry, discrimination, education and schools, gender, human rights, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, work | 8 Comments

A trans man who worked as a substitute teacher in Edmonton, Alberta was fired by a Catholic school upon telling them about his plans to transition:

Jan Buterman is praised in a letter of dismissal for his teaching abilities, but told his gender change from woman to man is not aligned with the teachings of the Catholic church or its values.

The letter says the teacher would confuse students and their parents.

“I am horrified that this would happen to anybody,” said Buterman, 39, who taught social studies, German and French to students in Grades 7 to 12 in the well-to-do bedroom community of St. Albert north of Edmonton.

“I don’t think that someone’s medical condition is really fodder for your employer. It should not be any of their business. I respect people’s beliefs, I do. That doesn’t mean they get to ignore the laws we have around equality.”

Officials with the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board were not available for comment.

The letter suggests that board officials consulted with Catholic church leaders before telling Buterman that he was being removed from the list of substitute teachers on Oct. 9, 2008. Buterman filed the complaint Thursday before the time limit on filing ran out.

“The reason for removing you from the substitute teacher list follows a conversation we shared in which you indicated that you had been diagnosed with a gender identity medical condition and that you were undergoing physical gender changes from the female gender to the male gender,” wrote Steve Bayus, deputy superintendent of schools.

“In discussions with the Archbishop of the Edmonton Diocese, the teaching of the Catholic church is that persons cannot change their gender. One’s gender is considered what God created it to be.”

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Aug

19

New TSA Requirements Pose Risks to Trans Travelers

Filed Under LGBTQ, bigotry, discrimination, gender, human rights, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny | 10 Comments

Those of us who have been to the airport in recent years know that it is a much larger hassle than it was in pre-9/11 days. (Remember back when friends and family could come with you and see you off at the gate?) But as is usually the case, it’s a much bigger hassle for some people than others, and the increased frustration and outright harassment tend to fall along lines of oppression. If you breastfeed, you may be harassed about your pre-pumped milk. If you have a disability, you may be harassed about medical devices that are unfamiliar to screeners. If you have a certain national origin or heritage, or dress in accordance with certain religious customs — meaning, if someone could read you as Arab and/or Muslim — you may be harassed on the basis of racial profiling.

And if you’re transgender, you might be harassed on the basis of your government-issued identification, and whether or not it “matches” with your gender identity and presentation. Thus, the very real fear surrounding new regulations being implemented by the TSA:

Airlines this week will begin requiring some people making reservations for domestic flights to submit their dates of birth and genders as part of a screening process aimed at keeping boarding passes out of the hands of suspected terrorists, the Transportation Security Administration said.

The agency said the screening would all play out behind the scenes, meaning there should be no additional delays for passengers at airport terminals. The change will be phased in starting Saturday. Not all airlines are fully participating yet and might not request the data.

The TSA said it would be up to individual airlines or travel agents to decide how to collect the required information at the time a reservation is made. The program, called Secure Flight, is aimed at meeting congressional mandates, including those passed in 2007 to put into practice recommendations from the commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks. The government’s goal is to vet all passengers on domestic commercial flights by early next year.

Several others have already written about these new requirements: I strongly recommend checking out Helen, Monica, Jos, and Belledame.

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Jul

11

Transphobic Assault on a Woman in Queens

Filed Under LGBTQ, bigotry, misogyny, patriarchy, trans, transphobia and trans misogyny, violence against women and girls | 6 Comments

Trigger Warning

Earlier this week, yet another trans woman was assaulted in a transphobic hate crime.  Carmella Etienne was attacked on Wednesday night while walking home from the store. Two men started yelling slurs at her, threatened to kill her and rape her with a baseball bat, and then threw rocks and a beer bottle at her.  Carmella sustained a deep cut on her leg, and says that she is now afraid to leave her house.

The men have been arrested and charged with a hate crime.  I want to say first of all that I’m glad and relieved that the police department in this case has had a proper and respectful response to Ms. Etienne’s allegations.  Far too often, indeed I’m willing to go out on a limb and say a majority of the time, it’s just not the case, and police will dismiss assaults against transgender individuals, and often ridicule and/or assault the victim themselves.  This is especially the case when the victim is also a woman of color.  And that’s not even to mention all of the cases — also a majority, I’m sure — which are never reported for fear of that kind of response.  When Carmella announced that she was calling the police, her attackers responded that “the police don’t care about you, they won’t do anything to us.”  The sad fact is that in most circumstances they would have been correct.  So good for the police for proving them wrong for once by seemingly doing their jobs.

It’s unsurprising that a friend of the alleged assailants not only claims that her friends did not commit the hateful acts of violence, but chooses to additionally engage in transphobia and victim-blaming as a part of the defense.  The woman misgenders Carmella by using masculine pronouns, stereotypes her behavior based on her gender identity, and claims that the victim’s behavior is also responsible for the attack.

It’s particularly interesting and noteworthy to compare the friend’s statement to those found in the comments at Gothamist, where I originally found this story.  Though not engaging in overt victim-blaming, about half of the commenters feel the need and right to make transphobic remarks about Carmella’s gender by portraying it as illegitimate, to engage in trans misogynistic slurs and judgments about her appearance, and to refer to her as a “thing.”  Not only do they feel the need and right to do these things, they feel the need and right immediately after a violent attack on the woman they’re disparaging.  They feel that attacks on her gender identity and appearance are indeed an appropriate response to an article about that violent assault.

It’s worth noting that the physical attack on Carmella began with a verbal attack based in the exact same prejudices found in the comment thread.  Both aim to ridicule and thereby devalue the victim based on her identity as a person.  And we really shouldn’t be surprised when these kinds of attempts to devalue a person’s worth and right to be treated with basic dignity also lead to and end in violence.

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