Mother of Trans Child takes on Paul Dacre and the Mail on Sunday

Following on from the Mail on Sunday's demonisation last week of the medical team that treats transgender children at the Tavistock and Portman Institude (see my blog about this here), a mother of a transgender child was so incensed by the article that she wrote a rejoinder which was published this week in the Sunday Observer which you can read here.

The article was published under the title "Transgender children know their identity. Bigots in the media don't" and told the story of her daughter's struggle to be who she really is - and the consequences of what happens when people seek to deny them this right.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA Test) for Transgender Women

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is an enlargement of the main blood vessel in the abdomen and if left untreated it can be fatal. Men aged 65+ are most at risk. A simple scan can tell you if you have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The Exeter and South Devon AAA Screening Programme sends screening invitations to men during the year they turn 65. Any men over 65 who have not already been screened can arrange an appointment by calling 01803 655441.
 
In addition if your gender is different now from that recorded at birth, you may still need to be screened.  Please contact 01803 655441 to self-refer. If you are a M2F transgender person living in the South Devon area and would like some further information about this, then read on.

I was fortunate to meet and talk at length to two members of the AAA screening team at the NHS Annual Equality Engagement Event symposium held in Torquay where they had a display stand.

They were very keen to reassure me of the total respect that they have for trans women and the problems that we might have in approaching them to book a screening. They reassured me that they will do their utmost best to help any trans person who approaches them to have their screening done without causing any embarrassment or fear of outing them.
To this end they have supplied me with a personal email address of the the leader of the team so that anybody who wishes to have a screening done can have a conversation with her about your privacy. All the team are well versed in Equality and Diversity issues and you will be treated with absolute respect.

Please use the contact form on the Transfigurations website  to contact me for her email address.

Breaking News:
Lynda has emailed me with a very important announcement to say that they are hoping (in the very near future) to take their screening services to the Laurels Clinic in Exeter (our Gender Identity Clinic here in the South West) so that screenings can be carried out at that location where anybody who is reluctant to be screened at one of their other locations, can be screened where they might feel more safe and at ease. I will update this page when it has been confirmed and let you have the dates when they will be at the Laurels.

If you live outside the South Devon Healthcare Foundation Trust's borders, then please contact the AAA screening unit for your area in order to have your screening carried out.

Why are Paul Dacre and the Daily Mail/Sunday Mail so Transphobic?

It is a question which really needs asking for the number of transgender people in the UK is actually quite small and the cost of effective treatments are miniscule if you consider the costs of non-intervention (depression and the cost of treatments for that, hospital costs for suicide attempts, ruined lives).  The Daily Mail and it's writers often sensationalise the cost of treatments yet always ignore the the much higher costs of failure to treat. Instead of educating their readers, they prefer to pander to their irrational phobias and dislikes which can have disastrous consequences as was witnessed when Richard Littlejohn decided to turn his own personal phobias onto Lucy Meadows.

Only a week after 6 major British newspapers were castigated for their "reporting" of another story about a transgender woman and their subsequent retractions of their "stories", the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday rolls out another epic piece of mis-information (which they actually published about a year ago - but, like a dog with a bone, they simply cannot leave alone and return to the same meme time and time again).

I did leave a comment in their comments section below the story that they ran which put the alternative viewpoint (very short due to the limited number of characters that you are allowed) but not surprisingly, they failed to publish this comment, prefering to publish the comments of their xenophobic/transphobic readers.

After a slight truce after their tragic hounding of Lucy Meadows and the subsequent castigation by the coroner who oversaw her inquest of the British press (and the Daily Mail in particular), the Daily Mail again shows its true colours as a paper consumed with transphobia.

Under an article whose headline screamed "NHS to give sex-change drugs to 9 year olds", the article proceeds to denounce the Tavistock and Portman Institute with a web of innuendos and lies.

Just the headline itself is pejorative with its use of the word "drugs"  and the complete phrase is wrong as puberty blockers on their own will never change a person's secondary sexual characteristics - even if they were to be taken all of their lives.  All they will do is prevent that person from entering puberty.  The compounds are not hormones, they are peptide molecules which bind to the normal hormone receptor sites in the pituitary gland and so block the hormones from binding there - this suppresses the release of luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary. In males, this reduction in LH subsequently leads to rapid suppression of testosterone release from the testes; in females it leads to suppression of oestrogen release from the ovaries).  These compound have been used since the early 1980's to suppress the puberty of young girls after they showed signs of entering puberty at a very young age.  Has the Mail ever campaigned against these GnRH agonists when used in these 7 to 9 year old children?  No they have not, presumeably because they are in favour of them being used in this way.

They go on to assert that these compounds can lead to permanent bone damage, but recent research by Dutch paediatricians has shown that after the introduction of cross-sex hormone therapy (or cessation of treatment with GnRH agonists), bone mass quickly reverts to normal values.  So this part of the story is a complete distortion of the truth.

The truth is that early intervention saves lives - as one mother of a transgender child said "I would rather have a living transgender daughter than a dead son" and when you consider the effect of not giving these children these blockers (depression, self harm, suicide attempts, reduced academic attainments, poor self esteem etc) plus you are subjecting them to painful (and expensive) treatments later in life such as electrolysis/laser treatments to remove facial hair, facial feminsation surgery to reduce the effects of masculinisation of the bone structure of the face (never completely reversible) and possibly breast augmentation surgery, or mastectomies for f2m trans men, when they do ultimately transition - then the medical profession is abiding by their committment to "do no harm" - especially in light of the fact that the effects of the GnRH agonist blockers are completely reversible if the person subsequently decides that they do not wish to proceed with their transition.  All they are doing in effect is buying the young person time - time to really find out who they are so that if they do subsequently decide to continue with their transition, they will not have to try to undo the effects of a wrong puberty.  Trans children would not be given the option of cross-sex hormone therapy until they are 16 or older - and old enough to fully comprehend what taking cross-sex hormone therapy involves.  Conversely, if they do decide to not go ahead with their transition, the GnRH agonist (puberty blocking) treatment can be stopped and the person allowed to go through the puberty of their natal sex - without any damage being done.

In a Radio 5 Live program aired on the Sunday evening, Dr. Polly Carmichael (clinical lead at the Tavistock and Portman Institute) was quite clear on the benefits which these GnRH agonists can have on young transgender children and re-iterated that children normally have to enter into a certain stage of puberty before they are given (Tanner stage 2 or later).  She went on to explain that prior to puberty, many children who show signs of being transgender change their minds on entering puberty, very few who express themselves as being transgender when they reach puberty actually revert back to their natal sex - 80% transition.  To withhold treatment at this age would be to consign that child to an unwanted puberty and put their health at risk (and risk them self harming or attempting suicide).  Perhaps the following video might also help:-



By publishing scare stories such as this, the Mail newspaper empire is guilty of mis-information that could lead to young people self harming or tragically taking their own lives.

I have today submitted a complaint to Press Complaints Commission about this article on grounds of accuracy and discrimination.  Hopefully others will do likewise to tell the Mail newspaper empire that trans people will not stand idly by and let inaccurate and discriminatory reporting like this be published without challenge.

Later:
The mother of a transgender child has written a brilliant rejoinder to this article which has been published in the Observer newspaper today.  I have also included a short post about it in this blog here.

Transfigurations Brochure

Our new brochure for the Transfigurations group has just been created which you can download from the website, here's a sneak preview of the 3 fold double sided brochure:-

Click on image to download the brochure

We're All Human

The L Project has just released another fantastic song about LGBT people which they are urging everybody to share and, if means allow, to download and purchase from Amazon.  All proceeds will go to supporting LGBT charities (including Mermaids UK, which is a charity close to my heart).  I have shared the video below for you:-



Stand beside the one you love
Stand up for who you are and what you believe
I wish they knew the love I always feel ...... the feeling of you next to me
And if you hear those words of hate, just know
Love knows no colour or gender, love will be itself
Harvey once said
"Burst down those closet doors
Once and for all,
Stand up and start to fight"

We've stood strong together for the longest time
And we all stand here united as our Rainbow Flags fly
I can tell you "It Gets Better" - Everyday of our lives
So stand up Proud  - let's all be human
'Cause love can only be right

We all fight, side by side in life
At home and overseas for what we believe
So many sleep alone under the stars
Without their stories ever being told
The day will come  When no labels are required
We'll justify our love - and how we're born to live
And One by One We'll challenge every law
And find a way to all be truly free

We've stood strong together for the longest time
And we all stand here united as our Rainbow Flags fly
I can tell you "It Gets Better" - Everyday of our lives
So stand up Proud  - let's all be human
'Cause love can only be right

And we all stand here united as our Rainbow Flags fly
I can tell you "It Gets Better" - Everyday of our lives
So stand up Proud  - let's all be human
And love can only be right

And we all stand here united as our Rainbow Flags fly
I can tell you "It Gets Better" - Everyday of our lives
So stand up Proud  - let's all be human
'Cause love can only be right

''We're All Human' ©
Music written by Georgey Payne
Lyrics written by Georgey Payne and Sofia Antonia Milone
Vocal Arrangement by Georgey Payne
Musical Arrangement by The L Project Musicians and Georgey Payne

Transfigurations Forums

After a lot of work setting up the original forums I soon found that they were attracting a huge number of spammers - so in the end I took them down and after a lot of research I found some alternative software that was highly recommended.  I am pleased to say that this new software seems to have done the trick and no spammers have registered on the site since it was created.

We have special sections for:-

1. The partners of transgender people (sometimes referred to as Significant Others - SO's) which is restricted to partners only, so it is a safe place for you to get support from other partners who have been through this.
2. The parents of transgender children and transgender youth because we realise that it is an emotionally draining time for you too - and you deserve some help and support to get you through this.
3. A forum which is restricted to transgender children and youth and their parents.  There are many safeguards in place in this forum to protect the children.

I hope that you will take a few seconds to have a look over the forums - but you can only see the top level forum as a guest, you will have to register if you wish to view all of the trans forums.

The forums can be accessed from the web site (Transfigurations) via the links buttons on every page - or you can go to the forums directly from here.

Transfigurations

The group that I have been running for transgender people in the South Devon area has now got its own web site and online forums.
Although the meeting place for face to face meetings with other trans individuals is really only appropriate for people living in the South Devon area, the website is open to everybody and the forums can be accessed by trans people from all over the UK and beyond.
Have a look and let me know what you think
To visit, just click on Transfigurations link

Paddy Power and the abuse of women

Last year Paddy Power came up with the insulting and demeaning campaign for their betting syndicate of "The Cheltenham 'Spot the Filly' Week" for which they were rightly castigated and made to withdraw the campaign (not before a great deal of damage had been done).  They blamed the advertising company that devised the promotion and assured everybody that it wouldn't happen again .......................

..................... for at least for another year it would seem - for this year they have gone even 'better' and have a new advertising campaign - "It's Oscar Time. Money Back If He Walks." referring to the Oscar Pistorius trial for the murder of his partner Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.  To trivialise the murder of this young woman in this way is totally reprehensible - and to do it to boost your profits is absolutely unforgivable.

Many women all over the world suffer both physical and psychological abuse from their partners and in the  UK alone last year 138 women lost their lives from physical abuse by men.  That is 138 lives which were needlessly lost and the effect on those people who loved them,  their parents, brothers and sisters, their children and their friends and wider family were shattering - but to Patrick Kennedy, the  CEO Paddy Power, this means nothing but an opportunity to make money.  Shame, shame, shame on you Patrick Kennedy for authorising this advertising campaign to go ahead.

There is an online petition calling on Paddy Power to withdraw this vile campaign and to donate any profit already raised from it to charities supporting victims of abuse which can be found here.  I would call upon anybody who has a shred of decency in their body, to support this campaign and tell Patrick Kennedy - enough is enough.

English Riviera Pride 2013

I was asked to put together a promotional video for Youtube and Vimeo of our Pride Weekend from last year to advertise what Pride is all about on the English Riviera - so here it is:-

Best viewed at 720HD setting

Set in one of the most beautiful resorts in the UK with stunning scenery and vistas, this just has to be THE Pride event that you should attend if at all possible.  We are planning the 2014 calendar of events for our 2014 Pride Weekend at the moment and have some sensational acts lined up for your pleasure and enjoyment.  Events will start on the Friday evening and will continue until the Sunday - so why not treat yourself to a long weekend and soak up all the fun.
Please keep an eye on the English Riviera Pride website, everything will be revealed shortly

Trans Youth Matters

Graphic courtesy of Trans Student Equality Resources

I came across this very revealing graphic whilst I was browsing the internet tonight  and the statistics contained within it hit me extremely hard as I contemplated how my own mother had reacted to my own coming out to her back in the very early 1970's and how fortunate I had been.
I was so struck with the information within the graphic I shared to my own Facebook page with the following message:- 
"Why would any parent reject their child just because of this. I suppose, mainly they didn't really love them in the first place if they are more concerned of what their friends or relatives will say."
A friend responded with another comment which read:-
"Nell S:  Parents often profess that they want them to be happy ......having a trans child determines whether this is the case or if they really want the child to actually make the parent happy. My heart and admiration goes to all parents, including my own mum, who enable their children to be their true selves."
To which I added my own feelings on the matter:-That is very true Nell - and I too echo your feelings about parents who want their children to be happy in their own bodies. I have often thought that we should have a special day of thanks for them - for they really are wonderful people and my heart goes out to them for their acceptance.
My Mum (bless her soul) was incredible in that she accepted me and this was back in the dark ages in the early 1970's when very little was known about the condition, even the medical profession was almost completely ignorant of it - yet my mother's reaction was to come over, put her arms round me and say "That's OK, we will see this (meaning my transition) through together" - and she did, I had the most wonderful support from her.
Yes, I was lucky to have such a mother, sadly, so many are are not.  They are disowned, thrown into the streets, physically abused - as if a beating would change who we are.  This so often can lead to mental health problems later and many will have to resort to prostitution or worse in order to survive.
Just look and absorb those figures - if your parents accept you, you are almost five times more likely to avoid mental health problems - and then you get people like Mona Charen publishing that she thinks it is child abuse if parents love and support their trangender child.  Ms. Charen, I have news for you - surely it is child abuse to try and force your child to be something that they are not and subsequently statistically far more likely to suffer mental health problems - or to disown them and throw them out into the streets.  You are a disgrace to parenthood Ms. Charen.

Nominations open in February for the UK’s Largest Diversity Awards

Your annual opportunity to nominate your own diversity role models.
One of Britain’s most well-known diversity awards celebrations are opening its nominations next month and welcomes your community to nominate.
If your organisation is a strong representative of true diversity or you would wish to nominate then please do not hesitate to get involved with this initiative.
The National Diversity Awards in association with Microsoft is a celebration of the outstanding achievements of positive role models, entrepreneurs & community organisations across the UK.
A collection of some of the nation’s most inspirational and selfless people gather annually to recognise the country’s rich tapestry of talent. The prestigious black tie event showcases the extraordinary work of those who have demonstrated their devotion to enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion in today’s society.
The UK has taken such an event to their hearts receiving thousands of nominations each year, and organisers are gearing up to receive an influx of names of people that have made a difference in their communities.
Support for the event has come from a growing list of top employers and celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Claire Harvey and Sol Campbell.
The 2014 ceremony will see Reality TV-star Brian Dowling and CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell return to host the awards.
Brian said ‘To witness the outstanding work of all the nominees and awards winners is extraordinary. The atmosphere is always incredible and I can’t wait for this year!’
Patron Claire Harvey was one of only two openly gay athletes in the Paralympic Games. Harvey said ‘I am proud to be both an elite athlete and openly gay woman. The National Diversity Awards is a great opportunity to celebrate achievement irrespective of difference. I feel honoured to part of such an exciting event, where those who are making a real difference to our society every day are recognised’.
Singing Sensation Misha B added, ’The National Diversity Awards was one of the most inspirational award ceremonies I have been to.
‘It was a pleasure to perform for such a diverse audience, and witnessing the amazing journeys of all the award winners made me proud to support this worthwhile cause. It’s my honour to continue celebrating diversity in all its glory during 2014!’
NDA founder Paul Sesay said, ‘It’s overwhelming to follow the inspiring stories of Britain’s unsung heroes. Let’s recognise true role models and continue to celebrate our nation’s diversity champions this year’.
There are several awards categories including positive role model, community organisation, entrepreneur of excellence, diverse company and lifetime achiever.
You can nominate a positive role model and community organisation under different strands including age, disability, gender, LGBT or race/faith/religion.
The National Diversity Awards will take place in the countries capital on September 26th, nominations open Monday 03rd February.
To nominate please visit www.nationaldiversityawards.co.uk
Or for a nomination form please email emma@thediversitygroup.co.uk

All for one - or one for all

Last year, as a committee member of English Riviera Pride, we held events for the LGBT community throughout the Bay.  We successfully raised over £2,200 for charity which was distributed to 3 charities, our local hospice (Rowcroft Hospice), an LGBT charity Eddystone Trust who do a lot of educational work about safe sex and other issues, and Mermaids, a charity which helps transgender children and their families.

A new committee was formed this year after several members left and it soon became apparent that forces were at work to undermine out efforts to raise money for charity, duplicating our events - they have even set themselves up as an alternative Pride event.  Whereas we hold our events spread out across the Bay supporting gay/trans friendly venues, the alternative Pride is based solely around one business and will therefore benefit just that one business to the detriment of the others.

We therefore ask them to reconsider what they are doing and to meet with us to try and work something out for the good of the whole community - and not just one small part of it.

One of the local businesses has just published an open letter - which I have reproduced verbatim below:-

"AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM A FUNDRAISER OF ENGLISH RIVIERA PRIDE AND OVER THE RAINBOW BALL 

 In support of the official English Riviera Pride I am writing this note with some concern and confusion, as no doubt soon you will have the same dilemma and thoughts as me.

As many of you may or may not be aware my company Greenway Ferry and Pleasure Cruises has provided support to both the Rainbow Ball and English Riviera Pride for many years donating in excess of £20,000 during this time to both causes in way of donations or monitory support. Being a company, which is gay, owned and operated and with a high percentage of gay staff we ‘pride’ ourselves in supporting a group that then supports the gay community and other charities including Eddystone Trust and Rowcroft. Most recently we took over Soho Bar and Lounge, which is catering to a mixed community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and straight people. We felt that the need for a sole Gay Bar in Torquay was obsolete even though homophobia still exists; straights and gays mix much more freely in bars and clubs.

I felt the best way to deal with this head on was to create a bar in the center of town which was not only unique in its style, premium quality drinks and ambience but one which did not hide from the fact that we had to be just gay but where people could mix in a safe trouble free environment. Our door person is gay, three of our bar staff are gay and we employ straights too. We are doing everything possible to make mixing a regular occurrence and increase the visibility of the bays gay community. How are we going to be excepted if we are hidden away, we are as normal as anyone else, so lets make ourselves be seen and heard and show that we are just like them…. Human!

Today it has come to the attention of English Rivera Pride that another Pride Group has just been set up and is advertising on Facebook as Bay Pride. This seems to be advertising our friends at the Meadfoot Inn and seems to be in complete competition to the English Rivera Pride which is set up and has been running for many years, raising money for charity and working alongside the Rainbow Ball Committee at some points with dual board members. Why? Why duplicate? Why not support the committee?

Why can’t our gay community of businesses work together and not against each other? Why can’t we all sit together and increase the events and charitable works? If it can be done in London, Manchester and other cities, what is wrong with our Riviera? It absolutely astounds me why businesses and groups can not work together in our bay (not just in this instance but others too).

So, my support shall remain with the Official English Riviera Pride and the Rainbow Ball Committee which has raised over £100,000. Not groups set up to forward one business or with an ulterior motive.

I challenge our Gay Businesses to come together, talk to each other and work together for the better of the bay and the better of the community we serve. I can be contacted below and as the previous Chairman of the Over the Rainbow Ball Committee and sure they, Riviera Pride, others and myself are at the table already waiting to talk.

So stop duplicating and lets make a difference. Why when English Rivera Pride are trying to raise money does a business serving the gay community decide to put on a rival event which is just serving their own pocket? Why is there so much backstabbing and bad feeling? We are a community which should work together!

Yours faithfully,

Will Ford

Greenway Ferry & Pleasure Cruises

SOHO Bar and Lounge"

Later:
The Facebook pages for the alternative Pride organisation for Torbay were removed shortly after the people that set them up saw the open letter which I reproduced above.
More condemnation for these shady practices were being forthrightly stated on various individuals Facebook pages all of today.  More will no doubt come of this over the coming months and I will post updates about what is happening here for all the world to see.

Wishing everybody a safe and happy New Year xxx

Happy Xmas/Yuletide/Hanukkah

Happy Festive Season to all

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2013 (20th November 2013)

Another year passes and yet more people are brutally murdered for simply trying to be true to themselves.  Around the world, the Trans Respect Monitoring site reports that 238 known murders have been reported since TDoR 2012.  Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg as many countries do not report trans murders or they are shrouded in secrecy.  Neither does it include those people who were driven to suicide by bigotry and hatred and who could not carry their burden any more.  Many of those people died without ever realising their true selves.
When will people realise that we are not a threat to their own lives and allow us to live in safety and in peace.
I would like people to remember Lucy Meadows, the young teacher from Accrington in Lancashire who committed suicide as a result of horrendous media coverage of her transition at the start of 2013.  Please remember also Chrisie Edkins,  a young inspirational trans woman who sadly took her own life in the summer.

Thank you to Artdamage for the moving video below and to Sarah McLachlan for the song 'Angels' featured in the video

Male violence against women

Last Saturday evening (2nd November) some people were out celebrating Halloween when an altercation took place in a restaurant in the small rural town of Totnes.  This resulted in a guy who stands about 6'6" tall, muscular and probably weighing around 18-19 stone punching a young girl in the face.  Her friends tried to argue with the man and a bystander in the food grill started to video the scene, which you can see below:-



The blonde girl, in frustration attempts to kick the thug who punched her friend, and ends up getting thumped by the man, after recovering she then attempts to punch him (misses) and the guy then punches her in the face so strongly that she is knocked back and through some security glass.
Yes, she was wrong in trying to kick him, but does that give leeway for the guy who stands over a foot taller than her and probably twice her weight and strength to punch her in the face in the way that he did.
The comments below the video I found to be appalling and implied that if we want equality, this is what we are in for.  This is not about equality, this is about human decency.  Discounting the fact that (on average) women do not have the same muscle strength as men, this fight would have been wrong even if it had been "man" on "man". 
The comments were practically gloating over the incident and shows the utter contempt and misogyny that some men hold towards women.  No wonder domestic abuse and violence towards women is on the increase when some men think  it is perfectly acceptable to behave in this way.  They see it as a means of fighting back against feminism - which just goes to explain that they have absolutely no idea of what feminism is about.  Feminism is about equality. Perhaps they realise that their white, cis-gendered male privilege is under real threat and this is their only way of standing up to it.
Subsequent to the above video - another one was released which glorified this thug's physical abuse of his victim - and yes, the comments below the video again try to justify the abuse in the name of "equality".



According to a news report in the Daily Telegraph, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage, and subsequently bailed, following an incident at Totnes Grill last weekend.

New National Curriculum Bill

Some of you may recall a while back that the new National Curriculum Bill omitted the phrase gender identity from from the final draft - despite it occurring in all earlier drafts. I wrote to my MP (Adrian Sanders Lib Dem) fearing that Michael Gove might have deliberately dropped this protected characteristic group quietly from the final draft.
Mr. Sanders has just written back to me because he raised this issue with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare (Elizabeth Truss) and she has just replied back to him that it was a "simple error" and the term 'gender reassignment' will be put back into the relevant section of the Bill which will come into law from September 2014.

A Statement of Trans-Inclusive Feminism and Womanism

I was particularly pleased and heartened to discover the following statement on the blog of  Feminists Fighting Transphobia

"We, the undersigned trans* and cis scholars, writers, artists, and educators, want to publicly and openly affirm our commitment to a trans*-inclusive feminism and womanism.
There has been a noticeable increase in transphobic feminist activity this summer: the forthcoming book by Sheila Jeffreys from Routledge; the hostile and threatening anonymous letter sent to Dallas Denny after she and Dr. Jamison Green wrote to Routledge regarding their concerns about that book; and the recent widely circulated statement entitled “Forbidden Discourse: The Silencing of Feminist Critique of ‘Gender,’” signed by a number of prominent, and we regret to say, misguided, feminists have been particularly noticeable.  And all this is taking place in the climate of virulent mainstream transphobia that has emerged following the coverage of Chelsea Manning’s trial and subsequent statement regarding her gender identity, and the recent murders of young trans women of color, including Islan Nettles and Domonique Newburn, the latest targets in a long history of violence against trans women of color.  Given these events, it is important that we speak out in support of feminism and womanism that support trans* people.
We are committed to recognizing and respecting the complex construction of sexual/gender identity; to recognizing trans* women as women and including them in all women’s spaces; to recognizing trans* men as men and rejecting accounts of manhood that exclude them; to recognizing the existence of genderqueer, non-binary identifying people and accepting their humanity; to rigorous, thoughtful, nuanced research and analysis of gender, sex, and sexuality that accept trans* people as authorities on their own experiences and understands that the legitimacy of their lives is not up for debate; and to fighting the twin ideologies of transphobia and patriarchy in all their guises.
Transphobic feminism ignores the identification of many trans* and genderqueer people as feminists or womanists and many cis feminists/womanists with their trans* sisters, brothers, friends, and lovers; it is feminism that has too often rejected them, and not the reverse. It ignores the historical pressures placed by the medical profession on trans* people to conform to rigid gender stereotypes in order to be “gifted” the medical aid to which they as human beings are entitled.  By positing “woman” as a coherent, stable identity whose boundaries they are authorized to police, transphobic feminists reject the insights of intersectional analysis, subordinating all other identities to womanhood and all other oppressions to patriarchy.  They are refusing to acknowledge their own power and privilege.
We recognize that transphobic feminists have used violence and threats of violence against trans* people and their partners and we condemn such behavior.  We recognize that transphobic rhetoric has deeply harmful effects on trans* people’s real lives; witness CeCe MacDonald’s imprisonment in a facility for men.  We further recognize the particular harm transphobia causes to trans* people of color when it combines with racism, and the violence it encourages.
When feminists exclude trans* women from women’s shelters, trans* women are left vulnerable to the worst kinds of violent, abusive misogyny, whether in men’s shelters, on the streets, or in abusive homes.  When feminists demand that trans* women be excluded from women’s bathrooms and that genderqueer people choose a binary-marked bathroom, they make participation in the public sphere near-impossible, collaborate with a rigidity of gender identities that feminism has historically fought against, and erect yet another barrier to employment.  When feminists teach transphobia, they drive trans* students away from education and the opportunities it provides.
We also reject the notion that trans* activists’ critiques of transphobic bigotry “silence” anybody.  Criticism is not the same as silencing. We recognize that the recent emphasis on the so-called violent rhetoric and threats that transphobic feminists claim are coming from trans* women online ignores the 40+ – year history of violent and eliminationist rhetoric directed by prominent feminists against trans* women, trans* men, and genderqueer people.  It ignores the deliberate strategy of certain well-known anti-trans* feminists of engaging in gleeful and persistent harassment, baiting, and provocation of trans* people, particularly trans* women, in the hope of inciting angry responses, which are then utilized to paint a false portrayal of trans* women as oppressors and cis feminist women as victims. It ignores the public outing of trans* women that certain transphobic feminists have engaged in regardless of the damage it does to women’s lives and the danger in which it puts them.  And it relies upon the pernicious rhetoric of collective guilt, using any example of such violent rhetoric, no matter the source — and, just as much, the justified anger of any one trans* woman — to condemn all trans* women, and to justify their continued exclusion and the continued denial of their civil rights.
Whether we are cis, trans*, binary-identified, or genderqueer, we will not let feminist or womanist discourse regress or stagnate; we will push forward in our understandings of gender, sex, and sexuality across disciplines.  While we respect the great achievements and hard battles fought by activists in the 1960s and 1970s, we know that those activists are not infallible and that progress cannot stop with them if we hope to remain intellectually honest, moral, and politically effective.  Most importantly, we recognize that theories are not more important than real people’s real lives; we reject any theory of gender, sex, or sexuality that calls on us to sacrifice the needs of any subjugated or marginalized group.  People are more important than theory.
We are committed to making our classrooms, our writing, and our research inclusive of trans* people’s lives."

Please visit the blog page and sign if you also support this statement

Added later (19/09/13):
I was also very heartened to learn that another feminist blogger (Sarah Thomasin) has just written and excellent article which challenges why some of the trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERF's) and some people in the LGB sector have difficulty in accepting trans identities.

In Solidarity with Julie Bindel against Threats of Violence

Following the vile and disgusting rape threats which were reported to have been directed towards Julie Bindel when she was scheduled to speak to an audience of students at the University of Manchester, I would like to issue the following statement:-

"I was shocked and disgusted to learn of a rape threat directed towards Julie Bindel by an alleged trans person (or ally), and condemn any and all such threats in the strongest possible terms.
Ms Bindel was due to speak at a debate at the University of Manchester regarding the porn industry and received the threat shortly before this happened.  A protest had been organised by a Manchester Trans group regarding legitimate concerns being raised by trans activists/ students on campus in the run up to the event because of her historical views on trans rights.
Whether the threat came from a member of the Trans community or from somebody against any possible restrictions being placed on the pornographic industry is unknown, but I applaud Ms. Bindel for her action in reporting this matter to the police and I sincerely hope that the perpetrator is quickly found and punished for their action.
I consider rape threats to be always unacceptable when used to try and silence women and subjugate us.
Whilst I strongly disagree with Ms Bindel on certain points of her philosophy which she has stated in the past, I do not believe that threats of this nature are the way to argue against her beliefs and therefore condemn these threats absolutely and wholeheartedly.
I would like to offer my solidarity with Julie Bindel against any and all threats of violence of this nature"

I would urge other transgender blog sites to condemn rape, threats of rape or any form of violence towards any woman (and trans women are women) as misogynistic attempts to silence all women.

Parental Acceptance or Rejection

I found that a  letter that a mother wrote to her intersex baby which was subsequently posted on the Facebook pages of the Scottish Transgender Alliance to be tremendously moving and warming.  It spoke of the love that a mother has for her child, who was discovered to be intersex.  A discussion followed later on the Facebook pages of Trans Media Watch where I shared that letter which revolved around parental acceptance of trans and intersex children.
Would the parents of a trans child kick their child out or disown them if s/he had been born with a cleft palette, with Downs Syndrome, a heart defect or one of thousands of other possible conditions. Yet so many parents do this if their child is born transgender. They see it as something worse than having a 'Damien' type of child - and if they examined their consciences closely, what it really boils down to is "what will the neighbours think?".  Yes, at the end of the day, they are ashamed of what their neighbours and friends will say.  What that says about them is far more revealing than what it says about their transgender child.
With the proper medical intervention at the right age, their child could grow up into a beautiful happy person and have a full enriching life. Too many transgender people are scarred from parental rejection and hate.