LGBTQ* Books You May Want To Read

Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman

LGBTQ* Representations in Art, Graphic Novels, and Comics

Artist: Sam Orchard

LGBTQ* Legislature You Should Keep an Eye On:

Senate Bill 1432

(following from AZ Family)

Several weeks after the city of Phoenix voted to extend legal protections to transgender people, a new proposal at the state Capitol could make it a crime for them to go into the bathroom in which they identify. 

The proposal is scheduled for debate Wednesday in the House Committee on Appropriations and would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor for someone to enter a public restroom that is designated for the opposite sex. 

It would be punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. In a hotly debated move last month, the Phoenix City Council voted to give legal protections to transgender people under the city’s anti-discrimination law.

A divided council approved a proposal (5-3), which added gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people from being discriminated against in city contracts, housing, employment, and public restaurants. 

LGBTQ* Petitions Currently Circulating

(From We The People Petition)

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:

Recognize non-binary genders.

Legal documents in the United States only recognize “male” and “female” as genders, leaving anyone who does not identify as one of these two genders with no option. Australia and New Zealand both allow an X in place of an M or an F on passports for this purpose, and the UK recognizes ‘Mx’ (pronounced “Mix”) as a gender-neutral title.

This petition asks the Obama administration to legally recognize genders outside of the male-female binary, and provide an option for these genders on all legal documents and records.

————————————————————————————

As of March 18th, 2013, 79,000+ signatures are still needed.

Should you wish to add your signature to this petition, click HERE.

LGBTQ* Grants (and Deadlines) You Should Know

Trans Justice Funding Project

Information

Accessibility

We aim to make this process as accessible as possible, so please let us know about any other needs you have and we will do our best to meet them. An audio version of the application is available on request.

Timeline

Applications are due on February 15th, 2013 by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Decisions will be made in mid-March 2013. So you can expect to hear back from us by April 1st and, if you are funded, to get your check soon after that.

How will the funding process work?

A panel of 7 activists from across the country will come together for a series of conference calls and a weekend-long in-person meeting to review all the applications and decide on the grantees. You can read more about our the panel members at transjusticefundingproject.org/who-we-are/. While we are very grateful to all the contributors making this project possible, funding decisions will be made solely by this community-led panel.

What does trans justice mean?

We  use  the  term  “trans”  in  its  most  inclusive  sense,  as  an  umbrella  term  encompassing  transsexual,  transgender,   genderqueer,  Two-Spirit  people,  and  more  generally,  anyone  whose  gender  identity  or  gender  expression  is  non  conforming   and/or  different  from  their  birth-assigned  sex.

We see trans justice as a commitment to creating a world where trans and gender non-conforming individuals and communities have the freedom to self-define and express their genders without fear of violence, discrimination, or harassment. A world where we recognize and honor that our communities have knowledge and expertise in matters relating to our own lives that no one else will have.

(Thank you to Leeway Foundation and Ryan Li for the adapted definitions above)

Grant size

The funding panel will be distributing a total of $50,000. While it’s unlikely that grants will be smaller than $1,000 or larger than $5,000, the final decisions about grant size will be made when the panel meets to review all the applications.

Is multi-year support available?

Right now, this is only a one year project to distribute $50,000. In a way, it’s an experiment. We’re not sure what’s next, but no matter what, we want to do our best to get the word out about our grantees to as many donors as possible and to provide an example of an alternative, community-led funding model to those who want to support trans justice.

What we fund:

• Groups, projects and organizations across the U.S. from rural areas to big cities
• Groups that have 501c3 status or fiscal sponsorship
• Groups that don’t have 501c3 status or fiscal sponsorship
• Established organizations
• Groups that are just getting started

What we don’t fund:

• Individuals
• Groups outside the U.S.

Criteria

We are committed to supporting groups that:

• Are run by and for trans communities.
• Support and encourage trans leadership.
• Are guided by a commitment to trans justice and anti-oppression work.
• Center the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions.
• Collaborate with other local groups and think of themselves as part of a bigger picture of trans-led work that seeks dignity and justice for all people.
• Are meeting the needs of different local communities and using organizing and/or providing services to help bring people together.

Just email us at info@transjusticefundingproject.org about any questions. We’ll get back to you as fast as we can! (Though please keep in mind that it’s just the two of us putting this together in our spare time, so it might be a little slower than we’d like.)

In Solidarity,
Gabriel Foster and Karen Pittelman, co-organizers

(source)

For more information visit TransJusticeFundingProject.org

LGBTQ* Magazines We’re Reading Right Now

(following from DUDE)

DUDE is a collection of queer and trans perspectives on various topics related to trans guys.

DUDE is a not for profit creative resource designed to celebrate positive representation of trans guys and to share skills and knowledge within our wider community.

DUDE magazine explores sex, relationships, bodies and diversity between transguys and the wider community. Our specific goal is to facilitate smoother, less awkward interactions between transguys and other people; particularly so we can all enjoy hotter, safer sex in more places, more often, with more people!

LGBTQ* Graphic Novels to Keep on Your Radar

(AKA, LGBTQ* graphic novels the KNOWhomo team is currently reading)

TRANSPOSES by Dylan Edwards

“Transposes will teach you something about what it means to have  a body and to feel desire. About what it means, in short, to be human.” - Alison Bechdel From the foreword by the New York Times bestselling author of FUN HOME and ARE YOU MY MOTHER

TRANSPOSES separates gender from sexuality and illustrates six fascinating true stories of transgender men who also happen to be queer. The result is a laugh-out-loud, funny, heartbreaking, challenging, inventive, informative, and invites the reader to explore what truly makes a man a man. 

Interested? Read some of the first pages HERE.

Note from Rebecca: 

I ordered TRANSPOSES after running into it time and time again online. (I am an avid comic book and graphic novel reader.) I ordered it from NORTHWEST PRESS and had it in my hands within 2-3 days (at regular shipping price). If you are unfamiliar with NORTHWEST PRESS and enjoy queer graphic expression and fiction, I highly recommend spending some time on their site. 

queerbetweenthelines:

Ever want to see F. Scott Fitzgerald in drag?

Of course you did.

(following from Buzzfeed)

The photos were taken in 1916 to help promote The Evil Eye at Princeton’s Triangle Club. Fitzgerald was in his third year at Princeton when the musical-comedy troupe performed the bawdy lyrics [penned by the future Great Gatsby writer].

In a review of his performance, the Times referred to Fitzgerald as “the most beautiful” girl in the whole production.

For more on queer* literature, check out queerbetweenthelines 

(which is moderated by KNOWhomo’s Ruth Elizabeth)

Moderator Posts That Made the Entire KNOWhomo Family Smile

Riley’s Family Tree “Outing”