happy trans day of visibility, y'all. remember to be kind to queer people of faith, people who may have to hide their gender identity around their families or communities, or both! ❤️ it’s scary being stuck between two communities and even scarier for me to post these, but here goes nothing.
Refuge Restrooms is now available as a native iOS application through the Apple Store. And best of all, the app is completely free!
We are so proud and excited about the work that Harlan Kellaway has been doing on this native iOS client here at Refuge! Attached are some screenshots from the app.
Our listings are worldwide (with over 5700 listings at this time). If you don’t see any near you, please help us out by adding nearby safe bathrooms to our database!
As always, you can always access the database from http://www.refugerestrooms.org - - And there is also an unofficial client with limited features on the android store as well (that unfortunately has adds, which we are trying to get the developer to remove). And the official Refuge Android application in currently in development.
Get stoked. Refuge is coming to iOS
REBLOG. REPOST. SHARE. LIKE. LET PEOPLE KNOW THE GOOD NEWS!
BREAKING NEWS - Russia is moving to ban people with “mental disorders” such as fetishism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism from driving. For some reason, they have chosen to include transgenderism among this list, under the guise that various “mental disorders” such as these are seen as a cause of road accidents.
In other words, Russia’s brutal campaign against LGBTQIA civil rights continues even further, this time targeting its trans citizens. The world’s taken notice— but when will it take action?
Trans people should be celebrated, no matter how they look, and especially if they don’t fit a stereotypical standard of beauty. This sentiment inspired Tumblr user Crystal (rambleonamazon) to create a template for trans individuals everywhere to create their own Caitlyn Jenner-esque Vanity Fair covers. Using the hashtag #MyVanityFairCover, they could “show the world the myriad faces of the trans community.” And plenty of people took on the challenge.
The 519 has a long history of working to build inclusive care environments for older LGBTQ people, including delivering training to
care providers. Given the aging population in Canada, we want to
continue to build upon those efforts.
The current generation of
older LGBTQ people have experienced a lifetime of discrimination due to
their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and
they face very specific challenges as they age:
- They are less likely to seek health care when they need it;
- They often do not disclose their sexual orientation and/or gender
identity and expression to their care providers for fear of
discrimination;
- They report more feelings of isolation from their communities;
- They are at a higher risk for negative health outcomes later in life,
including depression, suicide, substance abuse, smoking, etc.
(Brotman & Ryan, 2008)
The 519 Education and Training Team offer workshops and resources that
support safe, welcoming and inclusive care environments for LGBTQ older
people. The training supports organizations and individuals to
understand the needs of older LGBTQ people. Workshops will help
participants to:
- Identify and discuss reasons an older LGBTQ
person may be distrustful of the health or social care systems and/or
reluctant to seek the care they need;
- Demonstrate and share an empathetic understanding of the barriers faced by older LGBTQ people;
- Make appropriate use of pronouns;
- Propose ways to foster a safe and LGBTQ-inclusive care environment for older people, their friends and chosen families.
For more information about training and resources, please contact:
“The White House formally responded to a petition on WeThePeople.gov today seeking a ban on efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of young people, the The New York Timesreports.
The petition called for the creation of “Leelah’s Law,” ideally national legislation that would prohibit licensed therapists from engaging in the scientifically discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy.The petition on the government’s We the People website was authored in the wake of transgender Ohio teenager Leelah Alcorn’s suicide. In a note that went viral after she scheduled it to post to Tumblr after her death, the 17-year-old Alcorn detailed the harm she endured when subjected to conversion therapy by a Christian therapist she was taken to by her parents. The petition obtained more than 100,000 signatures in January, triggering a formal response from the White House.
Noting that the practice is often used on minors, “who lack the legal authority to make their own medical and mental health decisions,” senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett offered a full-throated support from the administration toward efforts to ban such “therapy,” which has been denounced by every major medical and mental health organization in the country as not only ineffective but likely to harm.
“We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer youth,” Jarrett wrote Wednesday night in the White House’s formal response to the petition.
“When assessing the validity of conversion therapy, or other practices that seek to change an individual’s gender identity or sexual orientation, it is as imperative to seek guidance from certified medical experts,” the statement continued. “The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.
“As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors,” the statement concluded.
The official response also included remarks from the president, who stopped short of outright endorsing national legislation — which has yet to be introduced — to ban such efforts. However, the official response did mention bans on the use of such “therapy” on minors in California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
“Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember,” said President Obama in a statement. “Soon, perhaps, he will decide it’s time to let that secret out. What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends and his teachers and his community. But it also depends on us — on the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”
Transgender advocates applauded the administration’s action.”
Talking about transgender issues and experiences can be tricky, unless you have the right language to talk about them.
“Things Not to Say to a Trans Person” brings together a slew of people from the United Kingdom across the gender identity spectrum to discuss frequent – and often inappropriate – questions they often get as trans individuals.
PHOTOS: Transgender Elders Show Us The Meaning of Survival
In the many years that Jess T. Dugan, a Boston-based trans photographer, has spent capturing images of gender-variant people, she says she’s consistently noticed a striking absence in both art and social sciences: imagery of older trans folks.
“And,” Dugan explains further on her website, “those [representations] that do exist are often one-dimensional.” So Dugan set out to fill this gap, teaming up with social work researcher Vanessa Fabbre since fall 2013 to develop the evocative photo project, “To Survive on This Shore.” In the recently released collection, diverse trans elders ages 50 to 86 are pictured at home or in meaningful spaces, gazing unapologetically into the camera, as if asking the viewer to look deeper into their unique context and life story.
Okay, can we talk about this? I have never been more disgusted with an adult in my entire life. SHE CALLED LEELAH’S BEST FRIEND AND TOLD HER NOT TO COME TO THE FUNERAL. HOW EVIL AND DISGUSTING DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO ACHIEVE THIS LEVEL OF IDIOCY. She already had to deal with losing Leelah, but then she wasn’t allowed to watch her get laid to rest??? And on top of that, she was yelled at and blamed for spreading the photo of Leelah and telling her story? What the fuck????????
