The Rainbow Times' November, 2015 Edition

2 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Facebook updates “real name” policy By: Nicole Lashomb*/TRT Editor-in-Chief

F

OPINIONS

acebook has been under fire by thousands of LGBT organizations, groups and activists and concerned users for its discriminatory “real name” policy, often resulting in suspension and eventual deactivation of transgender and gender non-conforming user accounts, until now.

The social media site’s “real name policy” currently requires users to register with the name that is most widely known to family and friends, according its regulations. Although legal names are not required, many transgender people, drag queens, other performers and other marginalized groups such as Native Americans have had accounts suspended for not using a name widely known as their identity. How does this come to be? Simply put, other users report them.

“We are deeply invested in making this better,” wrote Alex Schultz, Facebook’s vice president of growth, in a recent company announcement. “I’ve … heard the feedback from the LGBT and other communities that our policy and tools aren’t enabling people to be their authentic selves on Facebook.”

There are many additional reasons that individuals use a fake name on a social media network, including survivors of domestic violence, or those who must protect their identity for ongoing safety issues. Some may say, “They don’t have to have an account. In today’s social media obsessed culture, who doesn’t need a social media account? Personally, I can think of many who shouldn’t have one … pedophiles, rapists, bullies, and abusers who can use the platform to victimize others. But, those aren’t the people who seem to suffer from the current “real name” policy.

Personally, I can think of many who shouldn’t have one … pedophiles, rapists, bullies, and abusers who can use the platform to victimize others.

If a user’s “real name” was in question, under current policy, they are required to submit “proof” to Facebook, such as a utility bill, to prove their identity. Ridiculous and over the top, I say, and they finally said so too.

As of December when the new policy enters its testing phase, users who register under a different name other than what is listed on their driver’s license, can “provide some context as to why the name does not match,” without providing documentation, Yahoo News reported.

As for those who report others to the site for using a fake name, they will have to prove merit for their claim. Facebook hopes this will make it harder for false claims to To read the rest of this story visit: http://wp.me/p22M41-3SL

Reflections of a Scholar, Activist, & Theologian, Part II By: Paul P. Jesep*/TRT Columnist

J

FAITH

ustin Tanis (http://goo.gl/Jbka hs), Managing Director at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Mini s t r y (http://goo.gl/IBWXqy), established at the Pacific School of Religion (http://goo.gl/TnUYXz) for gender, religion, and sexuality, answered twelve questions submitted by The Rainbow Times after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality (http://goo.gl/XBEVLN). The answers deal with marriage equality and religious liberty from a professional standpoint, in this a four-part series TRT feature story.

Q. How can religious liberty of persons believing in "traditional" marriage be balanced with proponents of equality?

A. Marriage traditions around the world— and within the Christian church—vary widely. The church only began regularly blessing marriage in the 12th century and has included blessings of same sex couples throughout its history. The “tradition” of marriage as it is now being proclaimed is a fairly recent idea in human history and very Western in orientation. “Traditional” marriage isn’t all that traditional.

People who believe marriage means one man married to one woman in a monogamous marriage for life are free to continue to live that way.

The Supreme Court ruling means all couples are now free to accept the rights and responsibilities of marriage, nothing more and nothing less. This has no direct impact on the marriages of those who believe otherwise.

People who believe marriage means one man married to one woman in a monogamous marriage for life are free to continue to live that way. But that choice should not prevent others from making different choices they feel are ethically and spiritually right for them.

Q. What is biblical and social marriage?

See Religious Freedom on page 10

Planned Parenthood battle emblematic of a bigger struggle for women’s rights By: Mike Givens*/TRT Columnist

In 2015, a horrifying trend of abuse, marginalization and mistreatment is rearing its head publicly across the country. The history books are littered with references and clear examples of it and it’s something that we witness every day. Unfortunately, we’re not any closer to coming up with a solid solution to a horrifying reality: the oppression of women.

United States Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) recently declared his personal belief that Planned Parenthood should not receive federal funding (http://goo.gl/T3wTMr) in the wake of a public relations disaster this summer involving a heavily-edited video released by an anti-abortion group. The video, featuring a graphic conversation with the medical director of Planned Parenthood about the harvesting and sale of tissues from aborted fetuses, put the non-profit on the defensive as conservatives lobbed accusations of illegal profiting from abortion procedures.

It’s November and Planned Parenthood is still fending off public attacks and the question of whether tax dollars will continue to fund its services is still in limbo. The exact percentage of abortion services relative to the total services Planned Parenthood provides is still hotly contested (https://goo.gl/ATP8rx), but what isn’t in debate is that a woman’s right to do with her body what she chooses is still something that men feel the need to legislate.

Yo u ’ l l also remember that in October when Paul Ryan was nominated for the Speaker of the House seat he boldly told the media and his colleagues that he’d take the position if he could still have adequate time to spend with his family. Yet surprisingly, Speaker Ryan has opposed most federal attempts to provide paid family leave (http://goo.gl/5srxGB).

This year alone we’ve seen a horrifying increase in the number of transgender women

Letters to the Editor [Re: Ask a Trans Woman: A Single Act of Discrimination Changed it All for Me] Dear Editor, That kind of treatment is illegal in Cambridge. Also Boston, Somerville, Salem, Northampton, Amherst, Brookline, Medford, Melrose, Worcester, Newton, and Swampscott. All of those Massachusetts cities and towns have passed comprehensive transgender rights laws that include public accommodations.

—Shirley Dulcey, Online Dear Editor, This happened to me at restaurant in Harvard Square.

—Andrea Spragueboit, Online

Why make a life-saving drug affordable when you can jack up the price and make millions off the people who need it most? who’ve died violent deaths. Nationally, we’ve seen a number of regressive pieces of legislation pop up attempting to criminalize the rights of transgender people to live fully and genuinely. Crudely known as “bathroom bills,” these proposed laws in many instances seek to relegate transgender people to second-class citizens and offensively paint transgender women as delusional, ...

See Oppression of Women Page 15

The Rainbow Times The Freshest LGBT Newspaper in New England—Boston Based TheRainbowTimesMass.com editor@therainbowtimesmass.com sales@therainbowtimesmass.com Phone: 617.444.9618 / 413.282.8881 Fax: 928.437.9618 Publisher Gricel M. Ocasio Editor-In-Chief Nicole Lashomb Assistant Editor Sara Brown National/Local Sales Rivendell Media Liz Johnson Lead Photographers Alex Mancini Steve Jewett** Reporters Alex Gentile Christine Nicco Sara Brown Chris Gilmore Chuck Colbert Keen News Service

Ad & Layout Design Prizm PR Webmaster Jarred Johnson Columnists/Guest* Lorelei Erisis Deja N. Greenlaw Paul P. Jesep Natalia Muñoz* Francisco “Jimagua” Cartagena Mendez Keegan O’Brien* Mike Givens Affiliations National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association QSyndicate *Guest Writers

The Rainbow Times is published monthly by The Rainbow Times, LLC. TRT is affiliated with the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, NLGJA, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, NGLCC, The Connecticut Alliance for Business Opportunity,CABO, and QSyndicate. The articles written by the writers, columnists, and correspondents solely express their opinion, and do not represent the endorsement or opinion of The Rainbow Times, LLC or its owners. Send letters to the editor with your name, address and phone number to: The Rainbow Times (address shown above), or e-mail any comment/s to the editor at: editor@therainbowtimesmass.com. All submissions will be edited according to space constraints. The Rainbow Times, LLC reserves the right not to print any or all content, or advertisements for any reason at all. TRT is not responsible for advertising content. To receive The Rainbow Times at your home via regular mail, or through electronic delivery, please visit its website. The whole content and graphics (photos, etc.) are the sole property of The Rainbow Times, LLC and they cannot be reproduced at all without TRT’s written consent.

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 3

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Trans community & allies take time to honor Transgender lives during this year’s TDOR By: Sara Brown/TRT Assistant Editor

IN THE LIMELIGHT

BOSTON, Mass.—Every November, the transgender community focuses on the family, friends and loved ones they have lost to violence and prejudice. The Allston, MA vigil for slain transsexual Rita Hester in 1998, inspired this tradition.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people. It publicly mourns and honors the lives of transgender people who might otherwise be forgotten. The tradition also reminds non-transgender people that transgender people are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers and gives allies an opportunity to step forward and stand in vigil, memorializing those who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.

The day has special and different meaning to many.

“This is our concerted effort to raise the visibility of trans people who have for too long been victimized by our culture,” said Chair Emeritus of Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (http://tinyurl.com/ydem6fn), Nancy Nangeroni. “Trans women of color, especially, but also including everyone who has suffered violence or discrimination, as well as those who have taken their own lives to end the suffering, or perished due to the impoverishment imposed on those who dare to defy society’s gender conventions.”

“Transgender Day of Remembrance draws the attention of our community and the general public to the value of transgender lives—that each person we have lost is irreplaceable, and that their loss is unacceptable.”

—Janson Wu Nangeroni led the candlelight vigil for Rita Hester in November of 1998 that inspired Gwendolyn Smith to call for an annual TDOR observance.

For others, TDOR is a time of reflection.

“For me, it’s a time to reflect on the unique challenges faced by the transgender members of our community: violence, but discrimination, family rejection, homelessness and underemployment,” said GLAD’s Exec-

utive Director Janson Wu. “It is also a time to rededicate ourselves to fighting for fair treatment of transgender people.”

For Elizabeth Wintheiser, retired nurse, the day hits close to home due to her line of work.

“This day is important to all trans people and myself in particular as a nurse who has cared for my sisters who have been subject to the violence, hatred, insults and discrimination, which each of us faces, simply because our sense of self does not comply with the standards set forth for by others for us to comply with,” she said.

Mobile software engineer, Holly Schilling, said this year she is going to think of those who have taken their lives because of the stigma of being trans.

“Recently, there have been several suicides, including those of Leelah Alcorn (http://goo.gl/YZ4X93) and Ashley Hallstrom (http://goo.gl/DWVOFc), where being trans is cited as a direct cause, but the stigma attached to being trans still makes it a shameful secret that many would rather take to their grave than reveal,” Schilling said.

“The truth is we don't know how many suicides each year are transgender related, and we probably never will.”

Schilling has lost people in her own life due to suicide.

“This year holds particular meaning to me because I knew Ashley Hallstrom (or rather her Reddit name of /u/LittleColette) and I take her loss as a personal failure,” she said.

“We started talking one day when we were both having bad days as a way to cheer each other up. Now, I constantly question if I

PHOTO: SO BROWN

Musician and actor So Brown

could have done more to prevent her death.

‘If only I had talked with her that day… If I had said something more meaningful in our last conversation…’ There is a long list of Ifs that will never get answered satisfactorily.”

Schilling said it is important to remember those who are gone.

“Despite the abundance of suicides and murders, most often the latest victim becomes a hashtag trend on Twitter and quickly fades away,” she said. “If we ever hope to actually make a difference, these deaths need to be more than a fad. On this day, we take the time to remember those that have been lost and by doing so we can hopefully prevent more names from being added to that list.”

Musician So Brown agreed with Schilling.

See TDOR on Page 10

4 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Anti-Trans hatred, prejudice & Trans suicides: How we can stop them By: Deja Nicole Greenlaw*/TRT Columnist

I

TRANS NEWS

t's November and once again it is time for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, TDOR, the day where we memorialize our brothers and sisters who have died in the past year. The TDOR was originally set aside to include only those trans people who were violently beaten and killed by the hands of others because of anti-trans hatred and prejudice. In the past few years, however, many TDORs have also included our brothers and sisters who have taken their own lives.

Some TDOR purists might object to include these folks who have taken their own lives, but many folks now see little difference between how each trans person died because both groups of folks have lost their lives due ultimately to hate and prejudice from others. Some were physically beaten and killed and some were mentally and emotionally killed. Nonetheless, all were killed at the physical or emotional hands of others.

In this column I want to focus on those who have taken their own lives ultimately because of anti-trans hatred and prejudice.

Statistics show that 41 percent of all trans

people have attempted suicide. Many more have thought about it. Why is that? There are probably various reasons for each death. I cannot tell you exactly why. What I can tell you is that it's not easy living in a world where others do not accept you—especially if they dismiss you, ridicule you, or blame you for causing trouble just by being who you are. Sometimes there comes a point

conversations online and in person with other trans folk, I have some thoughts about what the problems may be. I would say that the number one problem is not getting acceptance from others. When others do not accept you, they will exclude you from their lives. You may be called out for “being selfish” by being trans and, as a result, have been blamed for destroying family relation-

My thought about the selfish part is: Who is really being selfish? Is it you for being who you are? Or, is it them, for wanting you to be who they want you to be? where you just can't take it anymore. Last year, Leelah Alcorn couldn't take it anymore and stepped in front of a tractor-trailer on an interstate highway in Ohio. Last month, Ashley Hallstrom reached her limit and stepped in front of a dump trunk on a U.S. Highway in Utah. Many others have killed themselves in various other ways. This needs to stop. How can we stop this? What needs to be done?

As I mentioned earlier, I do not know exactly why these souls take their lives, but with myself being trans and based on my

ships. If you had just remained in the closet and remained in your assigned birth gender, the others may claim that things would have been okay. But, they also may claim that you insisted, in a narcissistic fashion in their eyes, to live your life as female, which resulted in causing damage to family relationships. My thought about the selfish part is: Who is really being selfish? Is it you for being who you are? Or is it them, for wanting you to be who they want you to be? If others would have simply accepted you for who you are then this particular problem

may not even exist.

Some trans people have been mercilessly bullied and ridiculed, sometimes on a daily basis and especially in schools. This has to stop. Sometimes the bullying comes in the form of oppression due to religious beliefs.

Sometimes, it comes from people who feel a need to bully. Either way, if the bullying stops then this may eliminate this particular problem.

Many trans people have been forced out of their families and friends' lives and/or have lost their jobs because others do not want to accept them as trans people. They may even ridicule the trans person. As a result, the trans person may become withdrawn and may live a solitary existence. Living alone with limited contact with others may do strange things to your mind. You may feel like you are worthless and that you are a burden to society, which may prompt you to think you, may as well end your life. I can't say for sure, but these are some of the thoughts that may run through your mind.

I don't know if I may have the answers to stop the trans suicides, but I can offer this path which might help; being accepted by others and stopping the bullying, the ridiculing, and the blaming by others. How to get others to stop these behaviors would be the next step. If others would just not be so Read the rest of this story at: http://wp.me/p22M41-3SI

Ask a Trans Woman: Suicide & survival—Is there blood on your hands?

By: Lorelei Erisis*/TRT Columnist

L

PHOTO: DAVID MEEHAN

ately I’ve been pretty immersed in politics and activism. I’ve been trying to convince people to support and speak out for laws that are vital to the well being of trans people in Massachusetts and elsewhere. I’ve been hoping legislators will listen and that the light of truth and common decency will brighten the dark and fearful ignorance of our opposition.

And, in all this, the question I hear the most often from people who aren’t trans themselves or the cis-allies who are closest to us, is simply, “Why?” “Why do trans people need these protections?” They ask. It’s infuriating, but it’s not really an unreasonable question. A lot of the people asking this, the legislators whose support we need for instance, are being asked themselves, and need to have answers to give.

Of course, the answer to this usually involves a bunch of statistics about how dangerous it is to be trans, how much discrimination we face, the incredible unemployment numbers, the disproportionately high risk of suicide we face and it’s all just for daring to be who we are.

The month of November, when you will

THE RAINBOW TIMES DIVERSE............just like our team is OBJECTIVE..........someone has to be INCLUSIVE........no one is left behind .....That is HOW media should be.....

likely be reading this, is when we observe the Trans Day of Remembrance, an annual memorial for our dead in which we read the names of all those trans people who have been murdered over the previous year. It is a memorial that started right here in Boston with the brutal murder of a local trans woman named Rita Hester.

I hope that you will go to one of these memorials—read a name, listen carefully to the rest. Hear how they died and know these were human beings with full lives and peo-

choice in being trans is a false one. If you are trans, you are trans. No amount of wishing or “reparative therapy” will make it go away. The only “choice” any of us ever have is whether to do anything about it or not; whether to actively pursue transition, or not.

And, let me tell you in this lies the answer to why we transition, despite the dangers.

We do it because to not transition is often far, far more dangerous. Yes, we know the rough statistics of trans people who choose suicide, but only from those we can some-

For one thing, the idea that there is a choice in being trans is a false one. If you are trans, you are trans. No amount of wishing or “reparative therapy” will make it go away. ple they loved or who loved them, whose lives were cut brutally short. Give them one last remembrance.

You might wonder, as you are hearing the names of the dead, reading the starkly frightening statistics, why any of us would ever transition? Why would we subject ourselves to the many potential horrors and brutalities of being openly trans in a far too often unwelcoming world? Wouldn’t it be easier and frankly safer simply to hide, to keep our secrets?

No. No it would not.

For one thing, the idea that there is a

how identify as having been trans. What about all those whose suicides may never be linked to having been trans, to having kept that secret inside, eating up their will to live like a slow acid?

Or, even more insidiously, what about those who drown their secrets and their pain in the slow death of drugs and alcohol, never daring to tell the world why. Or, the ones who seek destruction by taking wild risks, who join the military, often the craziest, most dangerous branches, like the Marines or Navy SEALS or combat medics. Or they become stunt people. Or, they buy fast cars

and powerful motorcycles and drive them as recklessly close to the edge as they can.

Let me be clear. Allow me to bring this right close in. I’m not talking here just about theoretical trans people here. In listing many of these examples I’m talking about trans people I know. More than that, I’m talking about me.

In many ways, I’m perhaps an ideal example of just how deeply this pain can run and how hidden it can be because my own pursuit of oblivion was never as straightforward as any of these examples.

Allow me to share some of the story of my own pain with you.

To begin with, I was never going to be able to simply commit suicide in any very recognizable manner. My uncle committed suicide when I was quite young. He blew his head off with a shotgun.

I never knew my uncle Skip very well, but I grew up with the specter of suicide hanging over my family. I lived and breathed all the ways it affects those who are left behind— how it never really stops hurting for any of them; how it seeps into every choice and every interaction; the tears and the grief that follow all of those left behind well into their own lives.

My Uncle Skipper removed suicide as a choice for any of us. Those of us who remained would have to find other ways to deal with our demons.

My beloved Aunt Susan, filled with pain of her own, pursued the second option: The long, slow death of hard drugs and heavy drinking. Eventually, the drugs and the alcohol did enough damage that her body simply gave up and she passed away too. Her own

See Suicide & Survival on Page 15

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 5

6 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Black and Pink’s 10th anniversary: Org. moves forward, helps incarcerated people in MA By: Sara Brown/TRT Assistant Editor

IN THE LIMELIGHT

BOSTON, Mass.—A Boston nonprofit organization that supports LGBTQ prisoners’ rights recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.

Black and Pink (http://tinyurl.com/msotld9) is an open family of LGBTQ prisoners and "free world" allies who support each other. Their work toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex is rooted in the experience of current and formerly incarcerated people. According to the organization, they are “outraged” by the specific violence of the prison industrial complex against LGBTQ people, and respond through advocacy, education, direct service, and organizing.

“There are chapters of Black and Pink across the country,” National Director Rev. Jason M. Lydon said.

“From the outside, we support people on the inside.”

The organization supports LGBTQ prisoners with various programs and services.

One of them is an online pen pal program where LGBTQ prisoners can list their name, address, and 25-word (non-sexual) ad describing what they want from a pen pal.

They also have a monthly newsletter made up of stories, poetry, art, and essays by current and formerly incarcerated LGBTQ people. Currently, incarcerated inmates are encouraged to share their stories with Black

Formerly incarcerated LGBTQ folks from 18 different states joined Black and Pink to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

and Pink. In turn, the organization adds the stories to the newsletter to nurture a sense of connection between incarcerated LGBTQ people around the country.

Lydon said the newsletter can mean a lot to some prisoners.

“It’s often the only piece of mail they get on the inside. It helps them feel connected,” he said.

However, the newsletter does more than

just help people feel connected.

“It’s a way of organization. It gives people advice on how to fight back and demand for their rights,” Lydon said.

In late October, Black and Pink took some time to celebrate their accomplishments and decade of service over the course of a weekend. The weekend offered speeches from various former inmates such as CeCe McDonald, Bo Brown and Ashanti Allston. All

PHOTO: JASON LYDON

speakers were former inmates because Black and Pink wanted to make sure all speakers were inmates at one point.

“Often, prisoners are spoken for and not allowed to speak for themselves,” Lydon said. “We think it is important that everyone knows the power of their voice and their story.”

See Black and Pink on Page 11

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Page, Cumming, ‘Jessica Jones,’ ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ By: Romeo San Vicente*/Special to TRT

PHOTO: DEBBY WONG

HOLLYWOOD

star? Search your hearts and growling stomEllen Page: Flatlin- achs-—ou know the answer. ing Ellen Page, so Jessica Jones, who may be making out good in Freeheld with women sometimes Daredevil was a huge success for Marvel (in theaters as we speak), might very on Netflix, which means more and more well be stepping Marvel on Netflix, you lucky nerds. Next Jessica Jones, the former into Julia Roberts’ up? shoes. Or maybe superheroine/private eye, who joins The even Kiefer Sutherland’s shoes. Be- New Avengers alongside husband Luke cause someone is remaking Flatliners Cage. Recently, at New York Comic-Con, and Ms. Page is in talks to star. OK, the pilot episode was screened and its plotyou did not just say, “What’s Flatlin- line suggested that Jones (played by the very ers?” Come on, ’90s people, you re- cool Krysten Ritter) may have once been inmember Flatliners. It was that sci-fi volved with a woman. Does that matter? movie starring Roberts and Suther- Damn right it matters. And to make it even land and it was about sexy young sci- more enticing, co-star Carrie-Anne Moss entists researching the afterlife by making will play a woman-loving lawyer who hires Jones for a job. With so little people almost die and LGBT presence making it to studying what happens the TV and film versions of when the nearly-dead go toMarvel stories up to this point ward the light. Remember (it’s been happening in the how stupid it was but you comic books for a while alliked it anyway? Sure you ready), the importance of this do. OK, maybe you just redevelopment cannot be overmember that it existed at stated. Queer viewers, fire up all, which is enough. And it those DVRs. gives the renovation team a fair amount of artistic liAbsolutely Fabulous movie ficense, a chance to freshen it nally begins shooting up without worrying about Doesn’t it feel like we’ve radically changing the origbeen talking about the Abinal. Because no one cares. solutely Fabulous movie for 20 In fact, our level of caring is years? They got around to utterly dependent upon the making another Star Wars real-life sign-on of Ellen Alan Cumming movie with Harrison Ford bePage. Then we’ll care a lot, fore anyone could confirm that AbFab The jut not about the plot.

Film was even going to be a real thing. So Alan Cumming’s Florent changes its today is a special day; today is the day you learn that principal photography on Fox reservation In the late 1980s in New York City’s meat- Searchlight Pictures’ and BBC Films’ Abpacking district, idiosyncratic French restau- solutely Fabulous: The Movie has begun in rateur Florent Morellet opened a French the U.K. and the south of France. The shoot diner that faithfully served customers for 23 will last seven weeks. Stars Jennifer Saunyears (until the new New York, the one de- ders and Joanna Lumley will be joined by stroying itself with greed, rent-hiked him out original cast members Julia Sawalha, Jane of business). And now his story is coming to Horrocks and June Whitfield. Patsy and cable, thanks to Alan Cumming. Florent, an Edina will dress up, drink up and fall down. oddball comedy starring Cumming in the All will be right with the world. Speaking title role, was set up last year at Sundance officially on the matter, Saunders says, “I am Channel but has made the switch to Show- thrilled and excited to finally start filming. time. Written by Patricia Resnick (Mad We are all taking our medication and hoping Men) and directed by Rosemary Rodriguez for the best.” Begin planning your outfit for (The Good Wife, Cummings’ other job), the its 2016 release.

30-minute show promises to be a sort of *Romeo San Vicente is currently carrying a weird foodie’s guide to life. And honestly, Rick Owens live-human-being-backpack all does the world need another show about around Los Angeles. He can be reached care cops, lawyers or doctors, when what it really of this publication or via Qsyndicate at: wants is one where coq au vin is the guest DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 7

8 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

By: Chris Azzopardi*/Special to TRT

“Look. I don’t have breasts anymore.”

Peaches is reminiscing on a dear friend she grew up with, when he showed up at her door, and came out to her as transgender.

Memories of their summers spent together spill out of her as if they happened yesterday.

They didn’t, of course. Those summers are long past. But the influence of Sean (then Susan) on young Peaches endures because it was “quite big,” the music-making provocateur reveals as she traces her own path to self-discovery.

The Toronto-born, Berlin-based Peaches is 46 now, and as a revered wielder of raunch, she has devoted her 20-year career to cutting down gender norms with her electroclash throwdowns. And sex—she sings a lot about that too.

After dropping her 1995 debut Fancypants Hoodlum, released under her birth name, Merrill Beth Nisker, she ignited a sexual frenzy with “F$#k the Pain Away,” a song that’s about as subtle as its title. Rub, her latest queer contribution, doesn’t beat around the bush either.

In conversation, Peaches is just as freewheeling.

Q. You studied theater but then ended up going into music. How surrounded were you by queer culture during that period in your life? And how did what you experience shape you and your desire to explore queerness in your art?

A. It was an arts culture, but it wasn’t necessarily queer at that time.

But I did have a serious relationship at the time with a woman—or a girl, or a girl becoming a woman—so I was growing up spending my summers, from when I was 7 to 14, with one person. Her childhood name was Susan, and she told me when she was 7, “I’m a guy.

I don’t know why I’m in this woman’s body.”

She used to punch me in the stomach and be like, “See how strong I am!”

She was just a very strong character. Also humorous but scathing too—quite tortured. And then slowly, she became a man. At 18 she came over and

PHOTO: DARIA MARCHIK

Peaches lets it all hang out: Performer talks childhood trans friend, more said, “Look. I don’t have breasts anymore,” and became who he wanted to be: Sean. So early on I was already questioning these things through the experience of the one person I spent all my summers with.

Q. When did you feel you had a handle on who you were?

A. I was pretty spaced out for a long time and then, I don’t know. I guess, like, 30. (Laughs)

Peaches

Q. There was a time when it was taboo for females to be frank about their sexuality. You really blazed that trail.

A. And I’m really happy about that.

(People) would be like, “Why do you write these songs?”

And I’d be like, “I

feel like this is a missing link in what we actually need to evolve into,” and also, yeah, questioning what was mainstream and saying, “I don’t want to bow to the mainstream; I want the mainstream to come up to me.”

Now, 15 years later, the mainstream actually is coming to me. So I’m like, “Woooohoooo.”

Q. What kind of influence do you think Miley Cyrus and Caitlyn Jenner are having on the gender dialogue?

A. They’re just opening up the dialogue.

Let’s see if it’s a trend or if we’re really gonna change things, because things are moving exponentially in every direction. I mean, we still have Kim Davis. I love that whoever wrote “Eye of a Tiger” (Survivor frontman Frankie Sullivan) sued her for using the song. I’m so happy. When she got out of jail she did this whole speech, but she’s obviously mentally imbalanced. And Donald Trump too.

And anybody who’s going by these completely heteronormative patriarchal attitudes —what are you hiding from? Not them specifically, but why do you find what I do, which is like, “Hey, let’s be open,” offensive or transgressive? It’s about being open so that everybody can actually become the person they are and feel comfortable in their own bodies. We do all these things to get away from our own bodies, but we live in them.

Read the rest of this story at: http://wp.me/p22M41-3SQ

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 9

10 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

“Recently, there have Book Review: Hood’s Wisdom for a New Age Charles A. Hood shared his life perspective in New Millennium Bible – A new gospel been several suicides, for a new age (http://goo.gl/WMHFm7). He offers personal insights on money, enlightincluding those of enment, rational thinking, and the influences of modern religious establishments.

The 161 page book has 52 short chapters Leelah Alcorn and with each containing a series of verses.

Hood, with spiritual bravado, invites the Ashley Hallstrom reader on a sojourn into some of the social and personal issues that most individuals will confront or read about in today’s ever where being trans is changing world that directly impacts their community. cited as a direct Hood writes, “This book is here to replace the holy books, to fulfill all humanity to the capacity … we all belong to humancause, but the stigma greatest ity, and we are all worthy of dignity”.

He urges humankind to find the “path to tant influence of Thomas Paine. peace” through knowledge and the mind’s attached to being Life is to be lived fully in the here and now development. This development requires un- with no expectations of reincarnation or an derstanding of the spiritual and physical uni- afterlife. Focus on what may come after trans still makes it a verse.

Hood suggests humankind should not death prevents the individual from living a be shackled with religious or denomina- full, rich life with dignity and integrity. Ralimitations. shameful secret that tional tional faith needs to have a level of logic, His philosophy implies a humanist ap- reason, common sense, and by inference sciand at other times deistic or spiritu- entific deduction. many would rather proach ally universal in nature. He divides faith into See Book Review on page 12 “rational” and “delusional” hinting at a distake to their grave discrimination people in same-gender relaReligious Freedom from page 2 tionships face may make it even more vital to than reveal.”

A. Marriages in the Bible represent a com- have those relationships recognized by the

TDOR Stats P. 12

plex set of interactions, mostly the sale of women by their fathers to other men for the purposes of procreation. Many Biblical marriages include more than two partners, such as the marriages of David, Saul, and Jacob to multiple women. Many included slave marriage, in which a slave owner, such as the patriarch Abraham, had sex with Hagar, a woman that he owned. The woman’s consent was not considered relevant.

The Bible recognizes a variety of partnerships, including same sex ones, such as the intimate relationship between Jonathan and David and the profound bond between mother- and daughter-in-law Ruth and Naomi. One book of the Bible, the Song of Songs (the Song of Solomon), is an explicit love poem between a man and a woman who are unmarried lovers.

We don’t even know if Jesus was married— the Bible contains no information about this whatsoever.

Legally, marriage has become a contract of rights and responsibilities government grants.

It is a social declaration of a personal commitment to a relationship and it is deeply meaningful to many people. Same-gender couples are motivated by the same things that opposite gender couples are. The continuing

law—one’s partner is informed and participates in decisions if his/her partner is incapacitated.

In my ministry over twenty-five years, I’ve officiated at a large number of weddings, most without marriage licenses. Before samesex marriages were recognized by law, couples still chose to get married. Why? Because it was important and sacred to them to make a commitment to one another in the eyes of God and before loved ones. There was something incredibly special about those services because they were purely about love and a spiritual connection. Legal rights and responsibilities conveyed by a license are different than the spiritual value of the ceremony and the commitment it symbolizes.

Q. Has marriage been re-defined by the US Supreme Court?

A. No. Marriage has meant many different things to many cultures and times, including the right of two people of the same gender to make a commitment. This ruling simply makes space for people of diverse views to make choices for their own lives. * Paul is a corporate chaplain, seminary trained priest, and attorney in greater Albany, NY. Reach him through his business’ website: www.CorporateChaplaincy.biz.

TOP 10 BEST SELLER VIDEOS 1. Liz in September 2. All About E 3. The Girl King 4. Of Girls and Horses 5. Summer - Digital Only 6. 52 Tuesdays 7. Happy End 8. Life Partners 9. Tru Love 10. Orange is the New Black Season 2

GAY TOP 10

“These deaths will stop only when society accepts marginalized individuals as valued members of our society and community. In several states it remains an accepted defense for murder that a male panics upon finding this woman he just had sex with has a penis.

Events such as TDOR are important to put before the public the reality that transgender people exist and live among them peaceably while contributing to the community. And we are not leaving,” Wintheiser said.

Check out the full list of events at www.transgenderdor.org. If your event is not listed, please submit it transgenderdor@gmail.com. For more information, please visit www.masstpc.org.

Courtesy: WolfeVideo.com

PHOTO: HOLLY SCHILLING

“Every day of life is a day to celebrate, and I have to believe that those who have gone before us would want us to live and be bold and be fabulous, so that life can be inspiring for those living it,” they said.

Wu said the day helps remind people how important trans lives are.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance draws the attention of our community and the general public to the value of transgender lives—that each person we have lost is irreplaceable, and that their loss is unacceptable,” Wu said.

While there are no official databases, more than Holly Schilling 20 trans people are believed to have been murdered this year alone.

This statistic startles Wintheiser.

“Our sisters and brothers are being murdered daily. One report I have seen stated that 29 trans women are killed worldwide each day simply because of their gender presentation and many are women of color,” she said.

The fact that there is no database angers Wintheiser.

“Often the numbers are underestimated because officials misgender the victims for whatever reason. There is no federal, state, or local database to record the murders of trans people. This kind of database has been proposed and is being discussed at a Federal level in part because of events like TDOR,” she said.

Wintheiser said TDOR helps people acknowledge the violence the trans community faces.

LESBIAN TOP 10

TDOR from page 3

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

1. In the Grayscale 2. Big Eden 3. Eastsiders: Season 2 4. Naz & Maalik 5. Boulevard 6. Tangerine 7. Xenia 8. Do I Sound Gay? 9. Seashore 10. Tiger Orange

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 11

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Black and Pink from page 6 Lydon said about 300 people were in attendance.

“The prison system creates trauma and violence,” Lydon said. “It’s important to do healing work and to prioritize that we did it together.”

Lastly, the organization focused on the movement toward abolition of the prison industrial complex and how it relates to the specific realities of LGBTQ people and Black and Pink's role as they look to the future.

The celebration weekend also offered an opportunity for former prisoners to heal and to develop sharing skills. Overall, Lydon said the weekend was a “transformative” one.

“It was incredible,” he said. “It was touching and powerful.”

Black and Pink raised more than $1,400, over the course of the weekend.

They also released a telling report about life in prison called Coming out of Concrete Closets (http://tinyurl.com/o5xnjyy), a comprehensive analysis of the largest ever national survey of LGBTQ prisoners.

According to Black and Pink, this collection of information is possible because of the time taken by 1,118 prisoners across the United States to handwrite responses to their 133-question survey. The report shows the violent nature of the prison system.

According to the report, three percent of transgender, non-binary gender, and Two‐Spirit respondents are currently taking hormones in prison, while an overwhelming

44 percent report being denied access to hormones. Respondents were four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the general prison population.

Coming out of Concrete Closets seeks to offer a tool for organizers and advocates, both inside and outside of prisons, to strengthen national campaigns and grassroots efforts to alleviate the immediate suffering of prisoners and bring an end to the prison industrial complex while centering the needs of LGBTQ prisoners, according to Black and Pink.

One of the participants of the survey was Ashley Diamond who is on parole after spending three years in prison.

"As a prisoner who took the survey inside a prison, it was good to know that we were going to be heard," Diamond told Mic News (http://tinyurl.com/qclmaa4). "I took the survey and it was my way of being able to tell people about the horrors of what was actually happening to me. I encouraged all of the other LGBT inmates to do the same."

Diamond also said she is one of the 59 percent of transgender inmates who reported sexual assault in the survey.

"If you don't get uncomfortable with these findings, then there's something wrong with us," she added.

Moving forward, the organization wants to continue their work and help change the prison system.

“We want to see an end of solitary confinement. We want to see an end to strip searches,” Lydon said.

For more information, please visit www.blackandpink.org.

Understanding the sexual orientation of pansexuality By: Sara Brown/TRT Assistant Editor

BOSTON, Mass.—While LGBTQ individuals are continuing to gain more acceptance in society, there are still orientations that are often ignored or misunderstood.

Pansexuality is one of those.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pansexual as “exhibiting or implying many forms of sexual expression.” “Pan-” is a Greek prefix referring to “all” or “every” coming together as one.

However, others believe there is a more concise definition.

“Pansexual" is often defined as an attraction to a person regardless of gender. This could encompass any or all ("pan") identities along the gender spectrum,” said Kate Estrop, Co-President, of Bisexual Resource Center (http://tinyurl.com/y9y3zaj).

Many confuse pansexual with being bisexual. Estrop says that some people identify as both sexual orientations and use them interchangeability and that is ok.

“There's not a clear-cut answer to this, nor a clear-cut difference. Many who identify as bisexual are attracted to individuals across the gender spectrum, and therefore see the two in ‘bi’ to mean being attracted to those of their own gender, and those of different genders from their own,” Estrop said. “This means that when I identify as bisexual, what that means for me might be exactly the same as what it means for someone else to identify as pansexual. In fact, some people use both labels to describe themselves.”

According to Estrop, it comes down to

PHOTO: KATE ESTROP

Kate Estrop, Co-President Bisexual Resource Center

personal preference as to what some identifies with with any sexual orientation.

“What it really boils down to is personal preference,” Estrop said. “Labels should be descriptive, not prescriptive, and the assumption of one's attractions based on Latin roots propagates further erasure and phobia for all non-monosexual people, no matter what they choose to call themselves.”

However, others disagree and believe there is a distinct difference between being pansexual and bisexual.

“Bisexuality is only being interested in men and women. Pansexuality is open to

See Pansexuality on page 12

12 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Book Review from page 10 The author shares a personal cathartic element hoping to break down barriers that divide and ultimately defeat humankind, or at least keep it battling with itself. “Suppose humanity goes extinct,” he reflects in Chapter 34, verse 26, “then were will your divisions be”.

Pain in his early life, he writes, influenced “irrationality”. Anger and hatred for the world made it unbearable at times until transcendental revelation found its way to him.

Everyone has a unique path to enlightenment that everyone has a duty to find and explore.

“Do not strive for perfection. Only strive to know yourself, for knowing yourself is knowing God.” (Chapter 34:47-48). He seems to use “God” more as a metaphor than an actual illusive being, suggesting instead each person’s holiness as a unique cosmological creation.

Hood is on a mission. His purpose in life he writes in the last chapter is “to promote peace, rationality, and the abolishment of divisions within human society that cause destruction” (Chapter 52:52). He cautions against embracing absolute truths to fight and die for. They’re caused by hubris and vanity fueled by fear and division that individuals and collective humanity allow delaying its enlightened spiritual evolution.

Pansexuality from page 11 men, women, non-binary people, genderfluid people and just about any gender that there is,” New York resident Cassidy Corbin said.

Corbin started identifying as pansexual three years ago. She said she knows many people that confuse the two orientations.

“I believe people confuse the two due to the fact that they are quite similar but at the same time quite different,” they said.

Corbin has dealt with misconceptions of her sexual orientation since coming out.

“People often say ‘so you're just bisexual in fancy lettering" or "so you're attracted to anything? What if you fell in love with a dog,” Corbin said.

They also experienced people thinking they was legitimately attracted to kitchen appliances.

Others have dealt with even scarier misconceptions.

Nurse, Linda Barr, said she has people assumed, since she is attracted to all genders, that she would sleep with anybody.

“There were certain situations that people got very aggressive. They automatically assumed I would sleep with them based on my sexual orientation. Just because I am attracted to multiple genders doesn’t mean I am attracted to everybody I meet,” she said.

Some of the misconceptions come from not many people understanding or knowing what pansexual even is. According to Estrop, some might want to pigeonhole others into narrow boxes like straight or gay. That, she explains, doesn’t work for everybody.

“As bisexuality has been erased from many questions, the concept that it is possible for anyone to be attracted to more than one gender is erased from the rhetoric of ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ discourse alike. ‘Pansexual’ is one of those words that describes that concept, and until the concept as a whole stops being erased, individual labels won't appear either,” Estrop said.

For more information, please visit www.biresource.net.

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 13

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Prayers for Bobby: El suicidio de LGBTTs Pregúntale a Lambda Legal: ¿Fue un error dePor: Francisco “El Jimagua” Cartagena Méndez*/Especial para TRT

L

LATIN VISION

a película Plegarias para Bobby (‘Prayers for Bobby’) refleja una triste historia de la vida real sobre el suicidio de un adolescente gay de nombre Bobby. Sus padres eran cristianos episcopales fundamentalistas y al descubrir la homosexualidad de su hijo, lo rechazaron y condenaron.

Además intentaron “curarlo” con terapias psicológicas reparativas y religiosas para que dejara de ser gay.

Aunque su padre y sus hermanos comenzaron a ir aceptando su homosexualidad, su madre Mary pensaba poder “curarlo” con la ayuda de Dios. El inerte rechazo de su familia ante su orientación sexual, crearon un enorme sufrimiento en Bobby, por lo que saltó de un puente como salida al calvario que vivía cada día por ser diferente.

Luego que Bobby se suicidara, su madre realizó expresiones públicas en el congreso de la ciudad, en momentos que se discutía el aprobar o rechazar una Ley para que se permitiera un día festivo gay local. Sus expresiones estuvieron llenas de arrepentimiento y fueron muy conmovedoras y terminó siendo defensora de los gays.

Mary (madre de Bobby) expresó que la ignorancia que tanto ella, como su esposo tenían en torno a la palabra gay, fueron la causa principal para cometer el error de rechazar a su propio hijo por su homosexualidad. Además indicó, que cada vez que una persona dice la palabra “Amén” como afirmación a la condena contra los gays, el eco de ese Amén lo puede estar escuchando algún adolescente gay dentro del armario.

Esta película posee un enorme mensaje sobre los efectos negativos del fundamentalismo religioso y la homofobia contra las personas de la comunidad LGBTT en general.

Es una representación verídica del sufrimiento que puede llegar a vivir una persona gay, lo que tristemente como en el caso de Bobby puede llevar a una persona al suicidio.

Es importante destacar que en Estados Unidos y en todos los países del mundo hay muchos niños y adolescentes que, como Bobby, se encuentran pensando en el suicidio como una salida al sufrimiento que les provoca la homofobia. El 20 de noviembre, se celebra el Día de Recordación Transgénero. En este mes, hace muchos años atrás, la Bostoniana afroamericana Rita Hester fue asesinada en 1998. Su muerte fue la que provocó este evento, ahora mundial, en el que se leen los nombres de las personas transgéneros asesinadas debido al odio, la ignorancia, y especialmente el fundamentalismo religioso. Actualmente, dicha celebración también incluye la lectura de los nombres de los jóvenes y adultos transgéneros que se han suicidado debido al “bullying”, el odio, la transfobia, el rechazo familiar, el fundamentalismo religioso, la ignorancia, el miedo a estar con una persona transgénero, etc.

Aproximadamente el 25% de estudiantes y empleados universitarios lesbianas, gays y bisexuales han sido acosados debido a su orientación sexual, así como un tercio de aquellos que se identifican como transgénero, de

Por tanto, el fundamentalismo religioso es el principal factor que predispone a muchas personas a sentir odio o temor contra los gays. acuerdo a un estudio mencionado en el Chronicle of Higher Education.

El fundamentalismo religioso ha promovido creencias en torno a condenas “divinas” contra los gays. Cuando las personas crecen escuchando en sus iglesias que los gays se van para el infierno o que son aberrantes, comienzan por temerle a los gays y esas creencias totalmente falsas pasan generación tras generación.

Por tanto, el fundamentalismo religioso es el principal factor que predispone a muchas personas a sentir odio o temor contra los gays. También hace que muchos adolescentes o personas de todas las edades acosen o cometan “bullying” y agresiones contra personas de la comunidad LGBTT. La Fundación Iguales (2012) indicó que ciertos especialistas en salud mental se cuestionan si darle publicidad a casos de suicidios. Algunos de ellos opinan que puede producirse el “contagio suicida”, por lo que otros adolescentes pueden pensar que auto eliminarse es el camino para detener el sufrimiento.

Esta información nos permite comprender la necesidad de brindar mayor análisis y acción ante el tema de los suicidios en los gays.

El gobierno debe hacer más por educar a la sociedad sobre la importancia de no cometer acoso escolar o “bullying” contra los gays, así como crear campañas que tengan un impacto positivo en una población en desventaja social, como lo es la comunidad LGBTT. Como un buen comienzo se debe crear un diseño curricular sobre diversidad sexual y equidad de género en todos los niveles de las escuelas públicas. Como parte de esa nueva materia sobre diversidad sexual, se debe promover la empatía por las diferentes orientaciones e identidades de género.

También sería de un gran impacto positivo presentar la película Prayers for Bobby en las escuelas, para lograr dicha sensibilidad y empatía social sobre el efecto negativo de condenar y acosar a las personas gays.

De la película Plegarias para Bobby podemos reconocer que existe mucha ignorancia en la sociedad sobre lo que es ser LGBTT. Además se puede comprender la realidad de que hay padres que rechazan y agreden a sus hijos gays, así como que intentan curarlos de lo que no es una enfermedad.

Los adolescentes gays tienen un 90% mayor riesgo de cometer suicidio que los heterosexuales. Por tanto, si usted está leyendo estas letras y aún cree en las condenas sobre los gays y las pronuncia sin mesura, recuerde siempre que “un niño está escuchando”.

Comentarios a: eljimagua@live.com o via Twitter a El Jimagua: @eljimagua (https://goo.gl/ukQeJQ). *Escritor y activista de derechos humanos de Puerto Rico. Editado por Gricel Martínez Ocasio.

cirle a alguien en el trabajo que tengo VIH?

Por: Kyle Palazzolo/Abogada, Lambda Legal

P: Soy enfermera y me encanta mi trabajo.

No hay nada más gratificante que cuidar a mis pacientes y trabajar en equipo. Sin embargo, también tengo VIH. Hace poco se lo dije a un compañero de trabajo.

Aunque confío en mi colega, ahora me arrepiento porque tengo miedo de que otros se enteren y me despidan. ¿Podría ser legal que me despidieran? ¿Qué leyes me protegen, si es que las hay?

R: Con la excepción de circunstancias extremadamente inusuales, es contra la ley que alguien te despida por tener VIH o que te pregunte si tienes VIH durante el proceso de contratación.

El estatus de VIH de una persona no debe dictar lo que esa persona puede–o no puede– hacer en el empleo. Esto se debe determinar a partir de las cualificaciones de la persona, sus talentos y compromiso con el empleo.

Algunos empleados con VIH pueden requerir ciertos ajustes para poder desempeñarse bien en un determinado trabajo, otros pueden nunca experimentar limitación alguna que afecte su habilidad para trabajar.

Cuando los asuntos de salud afectan la habilidad para trabajar de una persona, se aplican las mismas reglas acerca de cómo manejar la situación, independientemente de si la persona tiene VIH o no.

Los empleadores están sujetos a las leyes federales, y en algunos casos a las leyes locales, que aseguran que los empleados con VIH tengan seguridad en el trabajo, privacidad y (cuando sean necesarios) ajustes razonables en el lugar de empleo, sin tener que sufrir acosos o incomodidades.

La principal ley federal que protege a los empleados que viven con VIH es la Ley sobre Estadounidenses con Discapacidades (ADA), que prohíbe la discriminación contra personas con discapacidad, o que son percibidas como personas con discapacidad, en todo lugar de empleo en el que haya al menos 15 empleados. En 2008, el Congreso enmendó la ADA para clarificar que sus mecanismos de protección se extienden a la gente que vive con VIH. La Ley de Rehabilitación de 1973 prohíbe la discriminación por discapacidad en las agencias federales o a contratistas o empleadores que reciben fondos federales. Bajo ambas leyes, los empleadores no pueden ne-

garse a contratar ni pueden despedir a una persona con discapacidad, a menos que la discapacidad realmente le impida llevar a cabo, en forma segura, las “funciones esenciales” de su empleo. Ten en mente que, aunque existen mecanismos legales de protección en contra de la discriminación laboral basada en el estatus de VIH, también existen lagunas en lo que esas leyes cubren.

Incluso cuando hay protecciones legales, es importante ser selectivo al momento de discutir tu estatus de VIH. Tampoco olvides que aunque a algunos compañeros se les requiere que mantengan tu estatus de forma confidencial por ley, a otros compañeros no se les requiere lo mismo. Lo mejor sería que no hubiera discriminación en primer lugar, pero piensa cuidadosamente a quién le vas a revelar esta información.

Lambda Legal recientemente radicó una demanda federal a nombre de un paramédico aéreo que perdió su trabajo luego de informar a la gerencia sobre su VIH. Al sacarlo de su trabajo, sólo a partir de su estatus de VIH, la compañía violó el Título 1 de la Ley sobre Estadounidenses con Discapacidades (ADA), La Ley de Rehabilitación de 1973 y las protecciones antidiscriminatorias locales. Seguiremos en la lucha para eliminar la discriminación contra las personas con VIH en el trabajo.

Para más información, consulta nuestro recurso en español: Conoce tus derechos (http://goo.gl/wBUQHJ).Si tienes alguna pregunta o sientes que has sido discriminado por tu estatus de VIH, comunícate con nuestra Línea de Ayuda al 1-866-542-8336, o ve a nuestra página web: http://goo.gl/zg7vIU.

14 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

QPuzzle: Street Smart ...

Across 1 Where men might sweat together 5 The Silence of the ___ 10 Bygone pump name 14 Type of sword 15 Turn inside out 16 Ed Wood star Johnny 17 Doctor Zhivago 18 Where to see chaps in chaps 19 AIDS flick Under ___ 20 He played a closeted gay man in 30-Down 23 Uttered obscenities 24 The Deep Six actor Zimbalist 25 Craig Claiborne's gumbo pod 27 Peter I, for one 28 They're outstanding 31 A woman named Arthur 33 Fouls, to the Pinball Wizard 37 Matchmaker of myth 38 Costar's first name in 30Down 40 Ramirez of Grey's Anatomy 41 Meat source Down Under 42 Caught at a gay rodeo 44 Spill one's seed 45 Umpire Dave 47 Homo chaser?

49 Hosp. scan 50 Verlaine's name 51 6-0 for Mauresmo 55 Mason portrayer Burr 59 "There oughta be ___" 60 Costar's last name in 30Down 62 "If ___ I Would Leave You"

63 Avis adjective 64 Contest venue 65 Q to a Scrabble player 66 Blowjob filmer Warhol 67 Title character for Barbra 68 Emmy award winner Ward Down 1 Professional voyeur?

2 Prepares to serve at the Manhole 3 Straight as an ___ 4 Footwear for Aspen 5 My Fair Lady lyricist 6 Own up to 7 Prefix for care 8 Songwriter Jacques 9 Wraps for female impersonators 10 Oscar nominee for The Hours 11 Part of a Tommy lyric 12 Orgasm, e.g.

13 Select, with "for" 21 Puts out 22 "___ first you don't..."

26 Cut down to size 27 Resort lake 28 Bottomless 29 Humorist Bombeck 30 2015 film named for a street 32 They could come from Uranus 34 30-Down, to 20-Across 35 Drop ___ (moon) 36 Tools for woody targets 38 Toto's home st.

39 Suffix with law 42 Big sticks

43 Say "She's just a friend" to a jealous lover, e.g.

46 Street named for Liberace?

48 Houston's WNBA team 51 Angelina's tomb-raiding role 52 Wife of Buck's Wang 53 Auction site 54 Receptacle weight 55 Musical critics were torn about?

56 Shrinking sea 57 Foster title role 58 De Matteo of Desperate Housewives 61 Boy toy?

SOLUTION

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 15

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015

Suicide & Survival from Page 4 pain finally washed away.

But of course the survivors still suffered, still felt the lingering impact of this sad, slow suicide. I know I did.

My Aunt Susan’s death did not completely remove the option of death by drugs and drinking. In point of fact, she did not finally succumb until after I had decided to transition. I had watched her painful decline though and it made me more aware of my own tendencies to try and drown my problems in drinking and drugs.

That “choice” was not the one for me either. In addition to my Aunt Susan, I had lost too many others of those close to me to that end already. I’d seen over and over the ugliness of it--felt the pain in horrible waves.

The path I chose was most similar to the last. I was never going to join the military.

My hippie pacifist upbringing had made certain of that. And, I just never had much interest in cars as anything other than a contrivance to get me from point A to point B. But, what I seemed to have was an innate talent for was finding adventure. I was drawn to dark alleys and dangerous neighborhoods. I avoided “hard drugs,” but I was more than happy to take the strange ones!

And, it was never just a little bit either.

I hung out in dangerous company. Heck, I sought out dangerous company! If there was a place I wasn’t supposed to go, I went there.

I made weird choices. I chose the paths most fraught with danger. Read Warning! signs as a challenge.

If I could not rid myself of the pain of being trans through suicide or by drowning myself in drugs and drinks, then I would put myself constantly in situations where death by “pure chance” became an increasing likelihood. Somehow, I kept being extremely, almost unnaturally lucky.

But, even the best run of luck eventually runs out.

All of this was connected with the pain I felt in trying to hide who I was. It was how I coped with the feeling that I would never truly be “allowed” to be the woman I knew myself to be. It was my unconscious exit plan.

By the time I decided that I had to transition, that I had to acknowledge that I was a woman and begin to actively pursue a gender transition, with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and everything else, I knew very well what I was doing. I was not just killing myself. I was dying. The man I was pretending to be was falling apart and I was increasingly taking steps to make certain that, as sure as my Uncle Skip putting a bullet in his brain, my choices would kill me soon.

So, I made the only choice open to me that wasn’t in the direction of death. I made steps to begin my gender transition. I sought out help. I began the never-quite-ending process of coming out to my friends and family and as it turns out, pretty much the whole world.

Despite the dangers I knew I would face, I chose to save my own life.

So, in this way, what I am trying to tell you is that as dangerous as it is to be trans in this world—out and visible as such—it is for those of us who are trans a reduction of risk.

If we do not, or cannot, transition, if we try to bury and hide our true selves, that itself is surely a death sentence. Whether it is a quick death or a long, slow one, the result is roughly the same.

Oppression of Women from Page 2

But if now, knowing these answers, you choose not to support protections for trans people? It is much as if you actively opposed these protections. Then, when you hear those names of the dead read out on the Trans Day of Remembrance, know that blood is on your hands too.

This, finally, is the answer to that question I mentioned way back at the beginning of this column: “Why?” “Why should you support these protections for trans people?”

It is because we have chosen life. We have chosen to fight harder, to endure the slings and arrows of being trans in the world rather than suffer the pain and eventual oblivion of the closet.

And, now that we have made our own choice towards life, we need your help with the things we cannot control. We need your help, the help of legislators and lawyers and the just good people of our larger communities to protect us from an often still hostile and fearful world, a world that murders us and denies us basic human dignity.

For our part, we are doing everything we can to help ourselves, to lift ourselves up, to be survivors instead of suicides. But, at the end of the day we don’t have a lot of power or privilege. You have more.

Help us help ourselves.

You have power and privilege. You have the opportunity to do good and to help your neighbors. Your support can help to save lives, perhaps prevent a few more murders of trans people. You can begin to staunch the flow of blood.

Truly, you can be forgiven for not having known these things. We hide. And, you often cannot see.

Now though, you have been shown. You have been told “Why.” You have the chance and you can make the choice to help.

But if now, knowing these answers, you choose not to support protections for trans people? It is much as if you actively opposed these protections. Then, when you hear those names of the dead read out on the Trans Day of Remembrance, know that blood is on your hands too.

We have chosen life. Won’t you help us to survive that choice? * Lorelei Erisis is an actor, activist, adventurer and pageant queen. Send your questions about trans issues, gender and sexuality to her directly at her e-mail address: askatranswoman@gmail.com.

perverted criminals who want to use women’s restrooms for nefarious purposes.

It’s important to note that there is no empirical evidence that transgender women have acted criminally in restrooms. However, there is evidence that transgender people who don’t use the restroom most closely aligned with their gender identity/expression are victims of assault and harassment.

It’s incredibly depressing, but women, both transgender and cisgender, are suffering disproportionately in a 1st world nation that lags behind others on so many issues of equality. When examining the intersection of gender and gender identity with such other demographics as race, ethnicity, class, education, sexual orientation, and an array of other characteristics, women continue to be even further marginalized.

What’s even more disturbing, more infuriating, is the audacity with which patriarchal societies legislate the bodies and actions of women, both in law and in social mores. Issues such as reproductive rights, parental leave and contraceptive coverage are largely dictated and regulated by men.

Socially, women are often objectified and commodified based on their looks and presumed adherence to societal norms such as chastity, matronliness, and class.

Where’s the equity in this and, more importantly, why is it that we as a society can’t shake these oppressive and regressive “rules” that have subsisted for centuries? We ironically live in a country where conservatives are staunchly opposed to a woman’s right to have an abortion, yet also oppose paying women if and when they choose to have children. Where’s the sense in telling a woman that she’s obligated to have a child, but when she does, not providing her the financial means to care for herself and that child?

My sense is that conservative politics are not clearly thought out, but are merely visceral. In 2015, politics in this country has ceased to be about a difference in ideologies, but a contest to see who can beat who. Whatever happened to a rational airing of ideas and opinions based on facts instead of mindless drivel and catchphrases that only seek to win debates?

I once had a history teacher in middle

It’s incredibly depressing, but women, both transgender and cisgender, are suffering disproportionately in a 1st world nation that lags behind others on so many issues of equality. school who consistently said the following about our rights in this country: “Your rights end where another person’s rights begin.”

That phrase always stuck with me and I truly believe it. However, there’s no denying that we’re living in the United States of Patriarchy, not America. We give Americans certain unalienable rights as individuals, but only to the extent that those freedoms uphold the oppressive, male-centered system this country was founded on.

If the current troubles facing Planned Parenthood are any indication, we still have a long way to go before we can call ourselves a “civilized” country in name and practice.

True equality, the type of equity that is not only espoused but fully lived, won’t be achieved until we truly embrace concepts like fairness and justice through a lens that is clear of the social grime and pollution hundreds of years of oppression has caked on our view of the sexes. *A graduate of the Boston University College of Communication, Mike Givens has been a social justice advocate for more than seven years. During that time he’s worked on a range of initiatives aimed at lifting up marginalized populations. An experienced media strategist and public relations professional, Michael currently devotes his spare time to a number of vital issues including racial justice and socioeconomic equity.

16 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

November 5, 2015 - December 2, 2015