Suited.

Credit: Benedict Evans.

Credit: Benedict Evans.

Tailors Rae Tutera and Daniel Friedman show off their suits for transgender clients in a new documentary, Suited.

The Girls creator and star produced an HBO documentary chronicling the rise of the duo’s store, Bindle & Keep. Directed by Jason Benjamin, the film premieres June 20.

The film follows the stories of clients, many of whom are transgender, as they come into the shop to find a perfect outfit.

“They all have fascinating lives and do really interesting things. Their gender and their gender presentation is just really the tip of the iceberg of who they are,” said Dunham in an interview with W magazine.

For their Sundance premiere, the entire crew, including Dunham, wore suits made by the Brooklyn company.

“I just felt strong and beautiful and powerful, which was really cool and unexpected,” said Dunham.

Via Out. Bindle & Keep.

Cool Stuff Friday

Image via Adidas

Image via Adidas

Stitched with thread produced from discarded fishing nets, Adidas‘ newest shoes are a collaboration with the ocean activist collective and company Parley for the Oceans. The idea for the shoe was hatched last year, but was more of a idealistic prototype than a ready-to-wear option for the masses. Today however, Adidas is releasing fifty pairs of the sneaker, a shoe composed of more than 16 old plastic bottles and 13 grams of gill nets.

This limited number of pairs is due to the difficult task of taking the collected trash and spinning it into fiber suitable for high performance shoes. Plastic bottles are relatively easy to transform into a useable material, but when it comes to the gill nets (which emit the smell of rotting fish) the task is a bit more difficult. Not only is the smell difficult to scrub from the nets, but the nylon is extra tough and requires being ground into a powder before it can be reformed into a material fit for the Adidas sneaker.

To collect these environmentally damaging materials, Parley partners with small countries that have large ties to marine pollution—locations like the Maldives, Grenada, and Jamaica. After partnering, Parley team members help clean up fisheries and other oceanside spots while teaching locals alternatives to using plastic in their businesses. The materials collected by Parley are then distributed not only to Adidas, but also institutions such as Parsons School of Design, which might help change the way new generations of designers think about incorporating these materials into future designs.

An announcement will be made soon on how to win one of the 50 released pairs of the collaborative shoe on Adidas’ Instagram.

Via Colossal Art.

American Apparel.

American Apparel.

Help to make America Gay Again!

American Apparel is taking a jab at the presumptive Republican presidential nominee with a new clothing line that promises to “make American gay again.”

The Pride 2016 collection includes T-shirts, tanks, and hats printed with the play on words of Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

Created in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign and The Ally Coalition, the clothing line supports the fight for LGBT equality across the country.

30 percent of sales and 100 percent of sales from American Apparel and the HRC stores, respectively, will go to supporting the Equality Act. The bill would protect sexual orientation and gender identity under federal civil rights law.

The clothing line comes with a social media campaign, #MakeAmericaGayAgain, and videos from supporters—including recording artist and Glee alum Alex Newell (below).

I’m getting the tank top. Via Out.

Dirty Fit: Positive Pedalers.

Jamil Eric Wilkins.

Jamil Eric Wilkins.

“I bike to stay ahead of my condition. I want to be an example that we can thrive with HIV and live a happy and healthy life.” — Jamil Eric Wilkins.

Andrew Wilson.

Andrew Wilson.

“Don’t let the words of others influence what you believe or the way you dress.” — Andrew Wilson

Thousands of cyclists and volunteer “roadies” on a 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles will partake in “Red Dress Day,” an over-the-top and fun  AIDS/LifeCycle tradition where cyclists wear a red dress, representing a red AIDS-awareness ribbon, on wheels.

Continuing this mission to reduce new HIV infections and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV or AIDS, YouTuber Davey Wavey has partnered with Positive Pedalers on the photo campaign, END STIGMA, to show that HIV-positive people are thriving with a positive status, not despite it. Comprised of repurposed bike parts and fabulous red costume, the images expand upon what “Red Dress Day” means for the riders on this inspiring and challenging ride through Callifornia.

“During my first ride, I noticed the big plus symbol on the PosPed’s jerseys and their tagline, Eliminating stigma through our positive public example,” said Wavey. “I was moved and impressed. Instead of surrendering to shame and stigma and hiding, these brave individuals are loudly saying, ‘Here I am!’ And showing the world that they’re not just surviving, but thriving.”

The Positive Pedalers (from left): CB Kirby, Andrew Wilson, Jamil Eric Wilkins, Larry Bryant, and Will Harrell.

The Positive Pedalers (from left): CB Kirby, Andrew Wilson, Jamil Eric Wilkins, Larry Bryant, and Will Harrell.

Full-frontal Fabulousness!

Save 10% with discount code “red” at http://www.dirtyfitapparel.com
The Positive Pedalers: http://www.pospeds.org
Super special thank you to PosPeds member Blake Strasser for connecting DirtyFit with the incredible riders and supporters from BRAKING AIDS® Ride that modeled for this campaign.

Via Plus.

Words For All: You Are A Warrior.

Image: Vice President Joe Biden speaks to '60 Minutes' (Screen capture)

Image: Vice President Joe Biden speaks to ’60 Minutes’ (Screen capture)

VP Joe Biden has written an open letter to the woman raped by Brock Turner. The only thing I have to say is that these words are for all victims of rape and sexual assault, not just women. Via Raw Story.

An Open Letter to a Courageous Young Woman

I do not know your name—but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages.

Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.

I am in awe of your courage for speaking out—for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity.

And I am filled with furious anger—both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth.

It must have been wrenching—to relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking.

You are a warrior—with a solid steel spine.

[Read more…]

The punishment for rape should be longer than a semester in college.

Ted Poe calls for Judge Aaron Persky to be removed (C-SPAN/screen grab)

Ted Poe calls for Judge Aaron Persky to be removed (C-SPAN/screen grab)

I never thought I’d be supportive of a conservative congressperson, but I am all the way with Ted Poe here.

Conservative Texas Congressman Ted Poe (R) on Thursday lashed out at Judge Aaron Persky after he sentenced former Stanford student Brock Turner to six months in jail for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman.

“The woman, just 22 years of age at the time, was being raped and the rapist was caught in the act,” Poe explained in a speech delivered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. “Brock was found guilty of the sexual assault on three counts. His sentence, a mere six months in prison and three years probation.”

“Because the judge said a prison sentence would have a ‘severe impact’ on him,” the Texas Republican continued. “Well, isn’t that the point? Mr. Speaker, the punishment for rape should be longer than a semester in college.”

[…]

“This judge got it wrong,” he insisted. “There’s an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain’t sin as long as good folk do it. In this case, the court and defendant’s father wanted a pass for the rapist because he was a big shot swimmer.”

“The judge should be removed,” Poe remarked. “The rapist should do more time for the dastardly deed that he did that night.”

Poe added that he hope an appeals court would “overturn the pathetic sentence and give him the punishment he deserves.”

“The entitlement mentality of being a good college athlete and self-righteousness do not trump justice,” the lawmaker declared. “The criminal has given her a life sentence of mental pain, anguish and turmoil. When rape occurs the criminal is trying to steal the very soul of the victim.”

“Justice demands the judge be removed!” he exclaimed. “And we, the community, must assist the victim in all possible ways. Because rape is never the fault of the victim. And that’s just the way it is.”

Wow, sing it, Mr. Poe! Here’s hoping he is listened to, and yes, that travesty of so-called sentence needs to be overturned.

Via Raw Story.

Bombing Bathrooms.

Police investigate bomb in Target women's bathroom (Photo: Screen capture)

Police investigate bomb in Target women’s bathroom (Photo: Screen capture)

EVANSTON – A small bomb exploded in the women’s bathroom at a Target store in Evanston on Wednesday, and officials are investigating whether it’s connected to the company’s policy allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.

Commander Joe Dugan says no one was inside the bathroom when the small explosion happened a little after 4 o’clock. It caused minor damage and no one was injured. Early indications are that a plastic bottle was used but no projectiles like nails or tacks were inside it. Investigators are gathering evidence including examining store security camera video.

Yep, someone went there. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and it wasn’t a major effort as far as bombs go, but that doesn’t matter much. What does matter is that the first person with a very dangerous mindset has done this, because I’m pretty sure we all know this won’t be the last. Terrorism has a face, and it’s in the house with us.

Via WGNtv.

Securing A Position With Bigotry.

Minnesota Democratic House candidate Erin Maye Quade (left) and her wife, Alyse Maye Quade. CREDIT: Courtesy Of Erin Maye Quade.

Minnesota Democratic House candidate Erin Maye Quade (left) and her wife, Alyse Maye Quade. CREDIT: Courtesy Of Erin Maye Quade.

During a Republican district convention in the suburban Twin Cities last month, Ali Jimenez-Hopper helped seal her endorsement as a state House candidate with a speech that attacked her Democratic opponent on the basis of her sexual orientation and race.

Referring to Erin Maye Quade, a staffer for Keith Ellison who has a black dad and is married to a woman, Jimenez-Hopper said “she is really far left [in] her values.”

“She brings up that she is half black and she uses that as a strength. She brings up that she is in support of LGBT and that lifestyle and puts out pictures on Twitter of her and her wife,” Jimenez-Hopper continued. “I believe in the traditional marriage in the sense that it’s between a husband and wife and God and that family is important. We need to have these values so we can go forth and think about your community.”

Oh, the horror! Ms. Quade is confident and proud of her heritage, and she posts photos of herself and her spouse, oh no, why that’s just evil. Pure evil. I much prefer the evil of a married couple posting photos than I am with the idea of the Christian Ménage à trois. So, it’s only the Christian trio family that’s important, the rest of us don’t matter at all. I can’t even process we need to have these values so we can go forth and think about your community. What does that mean? Go forth and think about your community, not our community, that’s a discordant note. Perhaps it’s simply as blatant as it seems, “hey, we’re going to stick our nose in all the things we shouldn’t!”

Following that speech, Jimenez-Hopper was officially endorsed as the GOP candidate for the House seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Tara Mack. Neither Jimenez-Hopper or Maye Quade face primary challengers, meaning they’re set to face off in the general election this November.

There isn’t even the slightest attempt to hide their bigotry now, no trying to disguise it with flowery language, not even going with the tried and true baffle them with bullshit.

Reached for comment, Maye Quade said that like many people, she first heard audio of Jimenez-Hopper’s remarks when they were detailed in a thecolu.mn report published Wednesday. She said she came across the article this morning while in bed with her wife Alyse.

“This isn’t a Republican or Democrat thing, it’s basic human respect and it’s shocking to hear from anyone,” Maye Quade told ThinkProgress, adding that she’s never met Jimenez-Hopper. “That’s not the tone I want for this election — at least for me.”

I love that she mentions being in bed with her wife. If I was a Minnesotan, Ms. Quade would definitely get my vote.

The Full Story is at ThinkProgress.

Strong Reactions.

Ellie, left, who is transgender, hugs her brother Ronnie. (Courtesy Ford family)

Ellie, left, who is transgender, hugs her brother Ronnie. (Courtesy Ford family)

Ron and Vanessa Ford are the parents of a 5-year-old transgender child, and they recently wrote for The Washington Post about why they appreciate and support the Obama administration’s directive to schools on accommodating transgender students.

[…]

For the Fords, the debate about bathroom access is really a debate about discrimination, and about whether the government will or will not sanction discrimination against their child.

“We are an interracial couple,” they wrote. “Fifty years ago, in many places across the country, it would have been legal to discriminate against us because, many people said, a fundamental part of who we are was somehow offensive and perverse. Our daughter is transgender. In many places across the country, it is legal to discriminate against her because, many people say, a fundamental part of who she is somehow offensive and perverse.”

We asked readers to weigh in on how the bathroom debate compares to earlier civil rights debates. There were many responses, representing the wide range of views and strong feelings that have characterized the discussion about transgender rights in America.

It was good to see mostly support from readers, but it wasn’t just support. I dislike reading the non-supportive contributions, but I think it’s important to keep a current insight into how people are not only viewing certain issues, but how they are viewing people. It seems to me that in such views, beyond all the regular reasons for being anti and upset, there’s a distinct current of “no, not human”. This is othering, but it’s taking on an ugly extremism, with people even citing the violence directed at transgender people as a reason to refuse gender dysphoria being real, and gender affirmation as being absolutely wrong. Then there are those who are not concerned with actual people at all, just upset at what they see as co-opting the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s.

[Read more…]

The Lambda Literary Awards

lammy-awards-01_0

The winners of the 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards (the “Lammys”) were announced last night in a gala ceremony hosted by comedienne Kate Clinton at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The Lambda ceremony brought together over 500 attendees, sponsors, and celebrities to celebrate excellence in LGBT literature and 28 years of the groundbreaking literary awards. The celebration continued at Le Poisson Rouge at the Official After-Party with celebrity DJs Sammy Jo and Tikka Masala, VJ Bleue Liverpool and an electrifying performance by Macy Rodman.

[…]

Clinton summed up the event saying, “Never have the Lambda Literary Awards ever sounded so much like the People’s Choice Awards.”

You can see a host of photos here. 28th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners:

[Read more…]

Religious Freedom Flood

AP Photo.

AP Photo.

The current backlash of religious liberty legislation won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but it looks like we will be in for a long courthouse ride on the current wave. The Advocate has an excellent article providing a good summation of Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, and their various permutations now piling up on courthouse steps. As noted, attempts at circumventing civil rights rulings aren’t new at all, but some groups are getting more savvy about language use, which can allow some discrimination to be passed, where the ones with blatant discriminatory language won’t.

Religious freedom is all the rage these days. To hear it told by conservative activists, the constitutional promise of each citizen’s free exercise of religion is under attack like no other time in U.S. history. Surely, such an urgent question is headed for the Supreme Court, right?

Maybe not so fast. Several out attorneys who have spent decades fighting for LGBT civil rights tell The Advocate that we may be settling in for another long, drawn-out battle that challenges discriminatory laws state by state, clause by clause.

[…]

Perhaps proving they’ve learned from Romer, though, anti-LGBT lawmakers these days are less explicit about which groups they’re targeting. The trend in RFRA legislation is to never include any mention of the words “gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,” or even “sexual orientation or gender identity.”

[…]

Some of the modern iterations of these religious freedom laws hew closely to the federal RFRA, which is comparatively narrow in scope, and therefore generally considered constitutional. But the new wave of bills claiming to protect religious freedom have a broader and, advocates say, more sinister motive.

“It’s not just about LGBT people,” Warbelow explain. “It’s about so much more. That’s an element of why these states are trying to pass [religious freedom laws], but it’s also very much about birth control. It’s very much about restrictions around abortion or even having to talk about abortion. It’s about creating a system in which the religious majority gets to live out their faith regardless of whom it hurts.”

The challenge, these attorneys agreed, is that litigation is designed to address one particular issue or constitutional question at a time. With laws that enable such widespread, multifaceted discrimination, each of those discriminatory provisions will have to be struck down individually, in every state where such a law exists. And even if this Herculean effort is successful, there’s nothing stopping determined anti-LGBT lawmakers from reintroducing slightly amended versions of bills that may have already been struck down in court.

“I actually think the American people are fundamentally with us, on understanding how the effort to use religion as a sword needs to be rejected in this [election] cycle,” says Wolfson. “It’s a multiple set of engagements we need to do, but the big lesson of the marriage work is: Get ahead of it. Have an affirmative strategy. Don’t just be reacting.”

Warbelow agrees and stresses that the problem isn’t with the concept of religious liberty.

“There’s still a real need for protections for religious minorities,” says Warbelow. “It’s just that the [federal RFRA] law has been misused by the courts.”

She points to the Do No Harm Act, a piece of legislation introduced by two Democrats last month in the U.S. House of Representatives that looks to revise the federal RFRA to clarify that it cannot be used to discriminate against members of any minority class, be they religious minorities, LGBT people, and/or women. The bill, Warbelow says, seeks to “restore RFRA to its original intent.”

“We need to reenvision what it means to protect religious liberties,” Warbelow says, “without creating a system in which it’s a free-for-all for discrimination.”

Full Story Here.

Norway Moves Ahead on Trans Rights.

A general view inside the Norwegian parliament in Oslo August 1, 2011. © 2011 Reuters

A general view inside the Norwegian parliament in Oslo August 1, 2011.
© 2011 Reuters

Thanks to a new healthcare law voted in by Norway’s Parliament yesterday, the country’s transgender people will be able to self-declare their appropriate legal gender. In the past, they needed to undergo compulsory psychiatric evaluations, diagnoses, and sterilization surgeries in order to be legally recognized as who they are.

The vote makes Norway only Europe’s fourth country to separate medical and legal processes for legally recognizing transgender people.

Already in Denmark, Ireland, and Malta (following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights), transgender people can legally self-declare their own gender free of any medical assessment or procedures.

[…]

Norway’s new law was introduced in parliament by the Ministry of Health. Healthcare professionals have an important role providing affirmative care for transgender people, free from discrimination and to the highest standard possible. But the process for legal recognition of gender identity should be separate from any medical interventions.

Since the 1970s, Norway has required that the Oslo University Hospital certify to the Norwegian Tax Administration that a “real sex conversion” – based on surgeries and psychiatric evaluations – had taken place. This subjected transgender Norwegians to a bureaucratic nightmare while simultaneously stripping them of their autonomy.

Forty-one states in Europe have legal gender recognition provisions in place. Thirty-five of them require a psychiatric diagnosis to obtain recognition. Twenty-four require sterilisation before recognizing gender identity.

Legal gender recognition has been gaining global momentum as governments start to uphold their commitment to the core idea that the state or other actors will not decide for people who they are.

Countries like Norway are charting a path others should follow. This basic legal dignity cannot come a moment too soon for a minority that shoulders a disproportionate burden of violence, discrimination, and negative health consequences often stemming from the lack of recognition before the law.

Kyle Knight has the Full Story.

I don’t want to sound like a victim, but I’m a victim.

CS

Former Major League Baseball player Curt Schilling, who was recently fired from his ESPN analyst position for a transphobic Facebook post, joined conservative radio host Rick Wiles on his show on May 18, where he attacked ESPN and its parent company, Disney, claiming that his firing was just another case of white Christians being marginalized in America.

“I don’t want to sound like a victim because I’m not trying to sound like a victim but I think the only thing people now acknowledge publicly is that it’s okay to infringe upon or talk down on white Christians,” Schilling said.

“We all knew this was coming,” he continued. “The Scripture’s pretty clear on what’s gonna happen with us, to us, and about us in, you know, many parts of the Bible.”

[…]

“The only positive I’ve seen in this administration is the sale of firearms has gone through the roof in the last seven and a half years because law-abiding citizens are arming themselves to protect themselves from what feels to be every bit that the tyrannical government, the Second Amendment was created to protect us against,” Schilling said.

Wiles claimed that “the left is pushing us towards civil war and they don’t realize we have all the guns.”

“The left is pushing a civil war that they would never fight,” Schilling said. “They don’t have the guts to stand up.” He then claimed the left wants the government to fight in the civil war for them, as, unlike conservatives, “they want the government to do everything for them.”

Right Wing Watch has the full rant.

Stuart2012

Stuart Shepard. Family Policy Alliance.

Stuart Shepard, of Family Policy Alliance, descended into incoherence when trying to express how much transgender people are victimizing and oppressing all the normal humans.

Shepard claimed that transgender people reject the existence of a God who creates everyone with purpose in mind. “When you reject the idea of the ability to know what’s true, you’re essentially rejecting God,” he said. “You’re saying, ‘You put me in the wrong body,’ if you accept that there’s a God, or, ‘There can’t possibly be a God so none of this matters and everything is fluid and unknowable therefore.’”

[…]

Regarding the federal government’s protection of transgender individuals’ rights, Shepard said, “All of these, I mean every time you see it, they say, ‘Well, this is about discrimination.’ Well, their solution is to discriminate against all of us who don’t accept that point of view. It is a discriminatory act that they’re proposing, but they don’t even see it as that.”

He said of transgender people, “They just can’t get to that view of the world to realize that their own actions are discriminatory at the most private level possible, with the other humans that we share this country with.”

Ultimately, Shepard said, accepting transgender rights will undermine the traditional family structure and create chaos. “It comes down to this rejection of everything that’s come before, the idea of mom and dad and male and female and marriage or not married, about all of those things, they want to throw it all out,” he said. “…They want to bring us to a state, essentially of chaos where whatever you feel about anything is acceptable, and we all just think and feel the way that we do about everything, including the most foundational elements of culture and society: the family.”

“There is a deeper question here of, ‘What can we know is true if you can’t even know whether your child is a boy or a girl, what can you know?” Shepard said. “I mean, what’s left that is knowable? And that’s where we’ve gone. We’ve gone from an understanding of everything to be found through science to this understanding of, ‘Everything I know is what I feel. I feel this way. Therefore, it is. And you can have your own feelings and feel the way you do.’”

Hey, Stuart, about knowing the gender of your child? It’s pretty easy, you just listen to your child, they know what gender they are. There are good parents everywhere who could have clued you into that little bit of knowledge. As for this “understanding of everything to be found through science”, how did science get in the word salad? I thought this was all about god. You should stick with god, Stuart. You really wouldn’t like what science has to say about, well, pretty much everything.

Right Wing Watch has the full word salad.

Look Past Pink And Blue Campaign.

sub-buzz-30717-1464990409-1

New York City Commission on Human Rights

“Use the restroom consistent with who you are,” say the ads, sponsored by the New York City Commission on Human Rights. They will appear in subway cars, bus shelters, phone booths, newspapers, and more. The ads will also run in ethnic newspapers in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Bengali.

“In NYC, it’s the law,” the ads say. “No questions asked.”

The campaign, which will cost $265,000, comes after transgender people filed complaints with the city about being barred from restrooms and facing other types of discrimination in places of public accommodation.

Seth Hoy, spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights, told BuzzFeed News in a statement that the agency “has investigated such cases in the past and continues to receive and investigate complaints where individuals are harassed or denied entry to restrooms because of their actual or perceived gender identity.”

That sort of discrimination is illegal in New York City.

sub-buzz-16588-1464990674-1

New York City Commission on Human Rights

In December, the commission released enforcement guidance on gender identity protections under the city’s 2002 nondiscrimination law, making clear that transgender people are entitled to access restrooms consistent with their gender.

Mayor Bill de Blasio followed up in March with an executive order directing agencies to provide access to single­-sex facilities without requiring people to show identification or other documents that verify their gender.

The ads feature trans New Yorkers, including Alisha King and Charles Solidum.

“Bathroom discrimination is a regular occurrence for the transgender community,” King said in a statement. “So much so that many of us avoid even using public restrooms to begin with. I sincerely hope these ads help people understand that transgender people are just people just like you. We just want to use the restroom safely and be treated with respect.”

Via Buzzfeed.