Trans-attracted or transgender, you have a place

backupThe conservative social agenda is a losing one.

Progress is inevitable. No matter how those who revere tradition try to hold it back, progress inevitably comes.

I saw “conservative” defined somewhere that made sense. While I thought it was a wishful description, I could see how conservatives would warm to the definition. It neatly explained many of the positions conservatives take, positions which often have oppressive results for non-conservatives. The definition also contained its fair share of superficial criticisms of the left (the left is opposed to driverless cars???). Criticisms that are as false as some leftist criticisms of the right.

No matter how you try to argue the point, conservatism is about preserving tradition. It’s about revering the way things are and favoring that over something new. I can understand preferring something that works over something untried, which is a conservative core tenet. But just because something is untried (such as freeing slaves, allowing women to vote, or recognizing transgender equality) doesn’t mean it need be resisted. And as we have seen, reverence for “what works” tends to mean restricting people’s rights (freedom of expression, freedom to pursue one’s happiness, labor rights, association rights and of course, equality) particularly those, who at the time, don’t look in ways or act in ways which make conservative people comfortable.

Those people used to be women. Then it was blacks. Then it was hippies. Then it was gay people. Now it is transgender people.

But in every case where conservatives have resisted the groups of people described above – including transgender people – conservatives have either lost or are losing the contest. For whether it’s suffrage, slavery, free love, inter-racial marriage, gay marriage, gays in the military or using whatever bathroom one wants, those who have opposed these massive social changes have lost or are losing.

IN YOUR FACE
In our IN YOUR FACE EPISODE recently we talked about how the progressive agenda is the winning one.

I must acknowledge what was mentioned in a recent IN YOUR FACE show: Conservatives appear to be winning….to some limited or even significant degrees in “red states.” The US education system is woefully inadequate for low-income and black communities. But those battles, while significant to those living in red states including those minorities struggling under those policies in those states, are not reflective of the general contest between conservative and progressive agendas. There is no mistaking that progress is winning the general contest. Even with a republican administration. And that means, transgender equality is a done deal. It also means even the red states must (and will, gradually, if imperceptibly) change.

You create your reality through the stories and emotions you entertain. Working alongside your stories is a meta-story that can’t be resisted: All That Is is constantly seeking to express itself in as many varied and diverse ways as possible. That includes “conservative” expression. There is no way to prevent this. Whether it is children coming into the world far less concerned about what’s between a person’s legs, children coming into the world on a transgender journey, or populations which find that journey an abomination, All That Is will find a way to keep progress moving forward. It will also ensure expression of all kinds is as diverse as possible. It is what puts “eternal” in “eternity.”

The good news to all that is trans-attracted or transgender, you have a place, a sovereign, equal right to existence, whether you acknowledge that or not. All That Is is backing you up. And with that behind you, there’s just no way conservatives will win.

 

Eight election victories….

Victory
Elected officials who happen to be trans. l-r Danica Roem, Lisa Middleton, Andrea Jenkins

There’s reason to celebrate.

With eight elections going to transgender candidates in the US, and some number more going the same way in Canada, it’s hard to believe the hype of those who fear “Trumpism.” For the alt right belief system is backfiring (as seen from alt-right believers). From our perspective though, it’s just exactly as we expected: Trump is doing transgender people a HUGE favor by galvanizing people to be MORE sympathetic to the cause.

Already there is a two-third majority in the US saying the nation has not gone far enough to address issues transgender people face. Don’t listen to the headline news. They are trying to sustain their advertising revenues. It is not as bad as it seems to be in society. If you take control of the stories you tell, your life will get even better than it is.

On top of these election wins and the overwhelming number of people supporting more support for transgender people, we have the Pentagon paying for the surgery of a transgender soldier in direct contradiction of Trump’s proposed ban tweet. If you think Trumps stupid decree was going to signify some collapse of support of transpeople, how do you explain this?

We have and will always contend the world is getting better for transgender people. If you aren’t having that experience, you have within your possession the ability to change your experience: the power rests within your ability to choose what you focus on.

We expect to see more things going the way of transgender people in the future. These outcomes, such as the recent news out of the Pentagon and the recent election wins, are indications of more to come.

For we haven’t seen anything yet.

The civil rights issue of our time

McBride_with_Vice_President_Biden
Sarah McBride and Joe Biden

Sarah McBride’s book is coming out soon. Former Vice President Joe Biden wrote the forward for her memoir saying transgender equity is the civil rights issue of our time.

I agree.

It’s one of the many reasons why I frequently draw parallels between transgender equality and the civil rights movement of the 60s. There are so many common struggles, events, tactics and strategies being used in the transgender equality movement that almost identical to those used to bring civil rights to black people.

You may remember Sarah McBride. She made history by becoming the first transgender woman to address a major political party when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Her new memoir is called Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.

We also had a small cameo in her illustrious life, featuring her on our YouTube show this year.

I’m not surprised McBride got the Obama-era VP to write the forward for her memoir, just as I’m not surprised at the parallels between this modern-day civil rights issue and the one from the bygone era. I’m just happy to be doing my part with The Transamorous Network to make it possible for transgender people everywhere to get the rights they deserve.

Kudos Sarah. And thanks to Biden for recognizing the plight of transgender Americans.

This should be no surprise

The number of transgender people running for office recently has skyrocketed. That’s such wonderful news, because it more representation in our “lawmaking halls” will mean more legislation favorable toward transgender people.

Here’s an awesome perspective on this, which was excerpted from this report:

A survey of 2,400 U.S. state lawmakers regarding their choice to support or reject same-sex marriage conducted by Alissandra Stoyan and Andrew Reynolds from UNC’s LGBTQ Representation and Rights Research Initiative revealed the votes of straight lawmakers were importantly influenced by their LGBTQ colleagues.

The reason behind this appears to be that simply knowing someone who is LGBTQ makes people more likely to support LGBTQ rights.

“Being visible and present continues to change hearts and minds, and humanize us and our issues,” Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, President and CEO of the Victory Fund, told NBC OUT.

According to Reynolds, “When LGBTQ people come out, they become your daughter, uncle, friend, work colleague. They become humanized, normalized. We know that the number of people who support marriage equality tracks the number of people who say they know someone who is gay.”

Check out this great graph. It shows the increasing number of transgender people running for office and the number elected. These data are from 2015. They don’t include this year or last. What this tells me is, the future is bright. Very bright. That’s cause to celebrate.

Screen Shot 2017-07-25 at 20.50.56 PM

Now, if you frequent our content, you know that focusing on news like this, creates more awareness of similar news. As you focus on more of that kind of news, you feel better. As you feel better (whether you believe it or not) you are creating by virtue of feeling better, more experiences of connecting with more similar kinds of news. That means you create more of this kind of progress in physical reality.

If instead you focus on news that is depressing, negative, and disempowering, the same holds true. You feel worse. As you feel worse you are creating through your negative feelings more experiences of connection with similar kinds of news. That means you create more of this kind of (negative) progress in your physical reality.

And this is where your freedom comes in: you are free to create whatever “reality” you want to experience. The choice it completely yours. So why not create what you want, instead of what you don’t?

A wonderful life experience can be yours.

60 companies that think you rock

Sixty companiesThe Equality Act, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity among prohibited categories of discrimination.

There are good reasons a company might want to support this Act. Workforce retention is one. If you’re trying to keep your great employees and one of those lovelies comes out as transgender, you better be on the right side of that issue if you want to keep him. Another is recruitment. The younger populations are increasingly non-binary. Particularly if you’re looking at creatives. If you’re a business owner looking to hire such people, you better be perceived as supporting causes these people care about. Finally (but probably not least, I could only think of three this early in the goddamned morning), if you’re wanting to attract customers to your place of business you better be seen as being on the right side of history. And the right side is always the inclusive one.

Here are 60 companies supporting the Equality Act. Which means, they think you rock. If you’re not already, support these companies. Let them know you appreciate their support when you do.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., New Albany, OH
Accenture, New York, NY
Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Airbnb Inc., San Francisco, CA
Alcoa Inc., New York, NY
Amazon.com Inc., Seattle, WA
American Airlines, Fort Worth, TX
American Eagle Outfitters, Pittsburgh, PA
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC
Best Buy Co. Inc., Richfield, MN
Biogen, Cambridge, MA
Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corp., Ridgefield, CT
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, VA
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., Lake Success, NY
Brown-Forman Corp., Louisville, KY
CA Technologies Inc., Islandia, NY
Caesars Entertainment Corp., Las Vegas, NV
Capital One Financial Corp., McLean, VA
Cardinal Health Inc., Dublin, OH
Cargill Inc., Wayzata, MN
Chevron Corp., San Ramon, CA
Choice Hotels International Inc., Rockville, MD
Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, CA
The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, GA
Corning Inc., Corning, NY
CVS Health Corp., Woonsocket, RI
Darden Restaurants Inc., Orlando, FL
Delhaize America Inc., Salisbury, NC
Diageo North America, Norwalk, CT
The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI
Dropbox Inc., San Francisco, CA
EMC Corp., Hopkinton, MA
Facebook Inc., Menlo Park, CA
Gap Inc., San Francisco, CA
General Electric Co., Fairfield, CT
General Mills Inc., Minneapolis, MN
Google Inc., Mountain View, CA
The Hershey Company, Hershey, PA
Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Palo Alto, CA
Hilton Worldwide Inc., McLean, VA
Hyatt Hotels Corp., Chicago, IL
IBM Corp., Armonk, NY
Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA
InterContinental Hotels Group Americas, Atlanta, GA
Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ
JP Morgan Chase & Co., New York, NY
Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, MI
Kenneth Cole Productions, New York, NY
Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco, CA
Marriott International Inc., Bethesda, MD
MasterCard Inc., Purchase, NY
McGraw Hill Financial, New York, NY
Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Taylorsville, NC
Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO
Moody’s Corp., New York, NY
Nike Inc., Beaverton, OR
Office Depot Inc., Boca Raton, FL
Oracle Corp., Redwood City, CA
Orbitz Worldwide Inc., Chicago, IL
PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, NY
Pure Storage Inc., Mountain View, CA
Qualcomm Inc., San Diego, CA
Replacements Ltd., McLeansville, NC
Salesforce, San Francisco, CA
Sodexo Inc., Gaithersburg, MD
Symantec Corp., Mountain View, CA
T-Mobile USA Inc., Bellevue, WA
Target Corp., Minneapolis, MN
Tech Data Corp., Clearwater, FL
TIAA, New York, NY
Twitter Inc., San Francisco, CA
Uber Technologies Inc., San Francisco, CA
Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
WeddingWire Inc., Chevy Chase, MD
The WhiteWave Foods Co., Denver, CO
Williams-Sonoma Inc., San Francisco, CA
Xerox Corp., Norwalk, CT

Source: Human Rights Campaign