Cristan Williams

Out trans judge Phyllis Frye’s touching acceptance speech...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:03:24 -0500

Out trans judge Phyllis Frye’s touching acceptance speech after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Transwoman VS Ciswoman: An unfair transgender advantage?

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 22:11:27 -0500

Transwoman VS Ciswoman: An unfair transgender advantage?

alphabonesoup: Here it is! I’m not 100% sure if I like how it...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:14:40 -0500

alphabonesoup:

Here it is! I’m not 100% sure if I like how it came out… it almost seems a bit too cutesy for the subject. Maybe I just like drawing cute clothes and bright colours too much!

This is for a contest with the Canadian Human Rights Agencies for their conference in May. All the Advanced Illustration students and Design students had to enter as part of their final. Kinda pissed that they required us to print it off at 24 x 36…. which I think is way too big and expensive ($50!!) for most students and their budget. We don’t even get to keep the posters. And the top prize is only $200. I feel kinda ripped off. :/

EDIT: A couple of people have sent me notes saying that “Transgendered” is incorrect terminology. I apologize, I kind of added the text last minute, and should have known better. I’ve uploaded a fixed version. :)

Audio

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:04:38 -0500

Gender Orientation: Intersex Conditions Within The Transsexual Brain

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:50:52 -0500

This is part of a lecture given on May 5, 2010 by Prof. Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University. Prof. Sapolsky reviews studies he feels make a compelling case for those who assert that transsexualism is actually a type of intersex condition.

More on gend…

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There is no box

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:06:19 -0600

There is no box

Trans Rapper Murdered: The Official Story vs. The Friend's Story

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:36:54 -0600

Trans Rapper Murdered: The Official Story vs. The Friend's Story:

Multiple news outlets have reported on the recent torture, murder and mutilation of a mid-western trans rapper. The rapper, Evon Young went missing January 2. The official story is that 5 men were arrested for torturing, mutilating, murdering, immolating and then throwing Evon in a dumpster because someone thought Evon maybe stole something… or maybe it’s that Evon was killed as part of a gangland initiation rite… or may it’s that Evon was killed in a burglary gone wrong. While the official story might not always agree with itself, one thing’s for certain: Evon’s trans status HAD NOTHING TO DO with what happened to him because nobody new about Evon’s trans status. This line is repeated in just about every story about Evon. Also, officials and media have been very clear about another thing: Evon was a she and she was a woman (and a lady, a daughter, a girl, a female and most certainly not male and not a man).

Court documents identify the victim as Ebony Young, a female. She had initially been identified as Evon Young, 22, also known as Yung LT. - UPI

Young, who also known as Yung LT, has been missing for three weeks. Her mother, Annette Cross-Perry, reported her daughter missing January 2 after Young failed to show-up for a promised visit to her home and did not report for work. - Milwalkee Community Journal

Yung LT, whose real name is Ebony Young was an up and coming transgender rapper, who was reported missing by her mother on January 2, after she didn’t show up for work and didn’t show up for a meeting between her and her mother. All of the men claimed in their statements to police that Young’s transgendered status did not play a factor in their brutal killing. - Hip Hop Enquirer

Young was a female to male transgender rapper, but police believe that had nothing to do with the murder. - CBS58

Police say Young was beaten, strangled, shot, thrown in a dumpster and set on fire. - CBS58

On January 2, 2013, Annette Cross-Perry, the mother of Ebony Young walked into Milwaukee Police District #4 and spoke with Police Officer Susan Stirmel. Ms. Cross-Perry further stated that Ebony had failed to call her in the morning, which she normally does, and… Ms. Cross-Perry had called all of the hospitals and had been unable to find Ms. Young. - Milwalkee Police Dept.

That’s the official story… and here’s the story as told by Evon’s longtime friend. Over the course of the last few days, I’ve been able to talk with a friend of Evon and Evon’s brother, Jovan. Considering what just happened to Evon, this friend spoke with me on the condition of anonymity. For the purpose of this article, I’ll refer to Evon’s friend as James. Evon used his birth name around James, so James refers to Evon as “Ebony” throughout our interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzN0_-96HgM

I met him years ago. The last time I talked to him he said we should go out clubbing together. He and I got along well. I’ve got tattoos, which were an interest of his… so we talked about that often. He lived completely as a man. He had girlfriends. He had facial hair. I know he used the mens restrooms. He and his brother got into playing rap shows and recording music. Jovan got him into it but Ebony really took it seriously. I would talk with Jovan regularly about how to market their music and how to promote their shows. He didn’t seem to push the macho envelope too hard. It seems like his music is mostly about partying. I don’t think he subscribed to much of the thug gangsta image. Jovan just recently had his first child, which seems to be helping out a lot since his brother’s death. When Ebony went missing my initial fear was that someone had murdered him after finding out about his gender status. I had a gut instinct that something bad was going to happen to him, considering the crowd that he and his brother had been running with. He didn’t seem to have any connection back to a transgender supportive community so it felt like it was only a matter of time. Jovan’s friends would go on homophobic rants.

I believe that the media response was so atrociously slow because a missing black male rapper doesn’t interest the suburban demographic the local news here in Milwaukee tries to cater to. [/pullquote]came out as being gay or transgendered. After a string of ignorant talk about that hypothetical situation, I could tell that Jovan seemed uncomfortable with the conversation. I felt bad that Jovan was having to deal with a close friend being so openly hostile towards something that exists in his family. I’m passing all of this information along to you because I think it could eventually help people, but I’m definitely hearing things third or fourth hand and I can’t vouch for anything. Ebony had gone missing on New Years Eve. I learned about it around January 3rd. A university student named Nick Wilcox went missing that New Years, and his name was all over the news by January 2nd. The first new report on Ebony was on January 7th. Supposedly, the family had to contact a Chicago news station to get any media attention. They were the ones who finally got the Milwaukee news on the case. There’s some understandable anger in the family that it took so long for the media to cover the story. I believe that the media response was so atrociously slow because a missing black male rapper doesn’t interest the suburban demographic the local news here in Milwaukee tries to cater to. The missing white UWM student was plastered on the news wall to wall for weeks before Ebony’s news got out. I believe that the transgender issue made the crime more entertaining and that’s why it’s now getting some traction. I heard Ebony’s roommate knew more about his disappearance than he was telling anyone. I was nervous that his gender status might have been discovered and that something bad had happened. I heard at some point someone burglarized the apartment that Ebony and his roommate lived in. The roommate had a bunch of musical equipment stolen, but nothing of Ebony’s was missing. Supposedly they attacked Ebony for being responsible for the theft. The brutality of the murder was out of the ordinary, though. From what I’ve been told, they’d originally decided to beat him up for the robbery but when they discovered he was female in the process, it pushed the violence to an extreme level. The roommate had explained something about Ebony’s disappearance to Jovan, I believe he described what coat Ebony was wearing when he left. The problem was that the family had come to the apartment to retrieve Ebony’s belongings at some point and had the coat that the roommate claimed he was wearing when he left. So, they went back to the apartment when they made that connection and were going to confront the roommate but the police were already there ahead of them. They walked in as a detective was interrogating the roommate, who wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone and was visibly nervous. Once they arrived, some of his story started to change because he had to correct what he’d told the police to what he’d told the family. Simultaneously to this, there was a forensics team working in the basement. They heard the people in the basement ripping out parts of the wall and using blacklights. The roommate was shaking and appeared to be scared while this was happening and at one point had to be told to stay away from the basement. The family is really wary about outsiders right now. They’re worried that someone is going to try and take advantage of the situation. I don’t believe Ebony was connected to any sort of LGBT community and that makes me uncertain as to how the family would react to being contact by an LGBT group. Personally, if publicizing this case helps anyone out I’d love it. I think a lot of good could be done by getting this story some more attention. [hr] The official story is that nobody - not even the Evon’s roommate, Billy Griffin - knew of Evon’s trans status. However, my source tells me that the people who knew both Evon and Billy were aware of Evon’s trans status. Furthermore, I’m told that - contrary to what the media is reporting - Billy was also aware of Evon’s trans status. It’s apparent that Evon’s friends knew about his trans status. The fact that Evon was okay with friends like James using “Ebony” to refer to him also seems to contradict the notion that nobody knew about Evon’s trans status.

Candlelight vigil for Evon

Evon’s last moments were gruesome. He was tied up. A bag was placed over his head and he was beaten. When Evon passed out, he was beaten harder… with blunt instruments. Then, he was shot multiple times. After that, they set him on fire… and then threw him away in a dumpster. After Evon’s murders stripped him of his life, both the media and public officials stripped him of his identity. [hr] Below are court documents recently filed in the murder case:

Criminal Complaint: Ron Allen and Devin Seaberry
Criminal Complaint: Billy Griffin, Ashanti McAlister and Victor Stewart

Below are the mugshots of the individuals being charged in the death of Evon:

Victor Stewart

" data-medium-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Victor_Stewart.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Victor_Stewart.jpg">Victor StewartAshanti McAlister

" data-medium-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Ashanti_McAlister.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Ashanti_McAlister.jpg">Ashanti McAlisterRon Allen

" data-medium-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Ron_Allen.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Ron_Allen.jpg">Ron Allen
Billy Griffin

" data-medium-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Billy_Griffin.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Billy_Griffin.jpg">Billy GriffinDevin Seaberry

" data-medium-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Devin_Seaberry.jpg" data-large-file="http://www.transadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MJS_Devin_Seaberry.jpg">Devin Seaberry

Insidious: Extreme Pressures Faced by Trans People | Social anxiety rates, Cis pop: 6.8%; Military pop: 8.2%; Trans pop: 55%

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:49:28 -0600

Insidious: Extreme Pressures Faced by Trans People | Social anxiety rates, Cis pop: 6.8%; Military pop: 8.2%; Trans pop: 55%:

"So, what was Stonewall?"

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:28:35 -0600

"So, what was Stonewall?":

In the wake of the President’s historic speech referencing Stonewall, NPR ran a piece asking and purporting to answer the question, “So, what was Stonewall?” The article calls upon Martin Duberman, now 82, to retell the story of Stonewall. Martin Duberman published the first history of Stonewall in 1993. His history significantly featured trans folk. Bizarrely, the NPR author Liz Halloran seems to rewrite Duberman’s history, spending many lines minimizing the trans aspect of Stonewall.

The Houston Intersex Society (THIS) on 90.1 KPFT’s Queer...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:36:55 -0600

The Houston Intersex Society (THIS) on 90.1 KPFT’s Queer Voices radio show from 1/14/13.

[FIXED] The Missing Link: Gender...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:22:03 -0600

[FIXED] The Missing Link: Gender Orientation
http://www.cristanwilliams.com/b/2013/01/11/the-missing-link-gender-orientation

1979: Transpeople – Umbrella Term Official Souvenir Program of...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:49:25 -0600

1979: Transpeople – Umbrella Term

Official Souvenir Program of the 1979 National March on Washington, Page 40

NOTES:

This…

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1988: Transgender = Transsexual On Being Gay: Thoughts on...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:41:29 -0600

1988: Transgender = Transsexual

On Being Gay: Thoughts on Family, Faith, and Love by Brian McNaught, 1988, page 28

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1975: Transgenderism = Umbrella TermFI News,...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:39:53 -0600

1975: Transgenderism = Umbrella Term

FI News, 1975

SALMACIS OFFER LECTURES
FRANCES L. DOWELL, President, Salmacis Society

Salmacis, the…

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Photo

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:12:30 -0600

youwontlivethisonedown: Last week, as part of a cultural...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:59:11 -0600

youwontlivethisonedown:

Last week, as part of a cultural discovery project for one of my classes, I spent three days wearing ‘girls’ clothes while going about my day. I wanted to explore the general reaction and preconceptions that people in my city have to clothing, especially in regards to gender. To me, the idea that a piece of fabric or accessory can be so intertwined with who are in our conscious is perplexing. I didn’t want to show off, or offend anyone by my act of curiosity. Rather, I wanted to act as a meticulous observer of the times, to see if the community around me was really as open-minded as I wanted to believe that it was. After all, if such things really only had a place in the realm of high-fashion and in Scottish tradition, then something bigger must be at work.

On the first day, I wore a long-sleeve pink top cropped at the collarbone. I received many compliments, a few glares and even a free Venti gingerbread latte. On the second, I rocked a pink blouse with a high-waisted belt. Again, the same amount of well-wishes, questions and passing eye-rolls. These things were to be expected, as it isn’t necessarily the norm to see someone like me wearing things like these. I felt collected and confident in these modest outfits, seemingly convinced that the world around me could care less about the clothes someone wore. Most affirming was the response to my nails, which were almost always met with a cheerful grin, a high-five and a few words of encouragement.

What happened on the third day changed my perspective on humanity forever. I dressed myself as I normally would; band t-shirt, cardigan, plain Vans, etc. However, instead of black jeans, I complimented the outfit with a plain black skirt and matching set of tights. For me, this was a huge step in self-image. Years ago, I was barely confident enough to leave the house for school. These days, the opposite couldn’t be more true. As I set off about my day, the absolute worst in people came out in a full-force flurry of expletives and discomfort. I was ridiculed in whispers. I was mocked in glances. I was obnoxiously and filthily cat-called by a construction crew who, from behind, couldn’t tell that I was a man. Stopping by a bathroom before a lecture, a frat-bro went out of his way to shove me into the adjacent wall after eyeing me up and down on his way out. Expletives and names that might induce me to vomit were I to repeat them, were casually thrown in my direction with almost zero passing thought. By day’s end, I feared a full-on breakdown, unable to stand up for myself or what I believed in to maintain the integrity of the observer’s perspective. In a way, I had no right to feel that way, mostly because of the realization that this is the way that many have to live their lives. I fought back tears as every stare and ill-formed word engrained themselves in my sub-conscious.

Though I may not know you, I think that it’s important that we all come to understand why these things happen. In my book, cat-calling, shaming and harassment are among the worst actions we can engage in. As a heterosexual male, I will never truly know the fear that women may experience while walking home from work, going see a friend for lunch, or being sized-up in public based on their clothing. I will never truly know the gut-rot that a transgender individual may feel while being eyed up and down at the store or in class, strangers seeming to think as if the clothing they see before them begs a legal invitation of ridicule. I will never truly know the plights of these people, but as an ally and a human being invested in true equality, it is now my obligation to stand up for them as if I did.

What scares me the most is not the glances, mixed emotions, or 10-page paper that will inevitably come as a by-product of this project. No, what scares me is that this is the world we live in. We exist in a place where individuals living their truths can be subjected, directly or otherwise, to fear simply for living those truths. We live in an age where feeling ‘normal’ in your own clothing can create unfathomable contention with strangers, despite them having zero investment in their lives. We live in a world where the material, the fabric, the pieces that adorn you are somehow allowed to say more about who you are than the convictions in your heart and the sincerity in your deeds.

I don’t know about you, but I refuse that world. I refuse to let these things overcome the passion and genuine honesty that I’ve been so fortunate to bear witness to in my time. I refuse to let backwards, unprogressive mindsets stifle the glow and drive of those who are undeservingly robbed of it. Don’t say it can’t happen to you. If it happened to me, under the most average of circumstances on the streets in a progressive-leaning city, it could happen to anyone, and that is something I truly do not understand.

After all, it’s just a skirt.

What is it about a piece of inanimate, plain fabric that scares you so much?

Lana Wachowski: In Her Own Words

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:59:20 -0500

Lana Wachowski: In Her Own Words:

Lana: [I remember thinking about my dad’s words, his acceptance of me, when my wife and I first read about Gwen Araujo. It seemed impossible that something like that could happen so close to this city, yet here was this person like me murdered by ignorance, by prejudice, murdered by intolerance, it seemed in direct inverse proportion to the acceptance of my family. Murdered by a kind of fear that seeks to obliterate any evidence that the world is different from the way they want to see it, from the way they want to believe it to be.

Invisibility is indivisible from visibility; for the transgender this is not simply a philosophical conundrum — it can be the difference between life and death.]

Awesome speech. Simply awesome.

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:33:03 -0500

Awesome speech. Simply awesome.

bindersfullofwomen: Ermahgerd Brindrs full of Wormern!

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:29:29 -0500

bindersfullofwomen:

Ermahgerd Brindrs full of Wormern!

bustygirlcomics: Comforting.

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:32:45 -0500

bustygirlcomics:

Comforting.