Sometimes there are so many stories which just don't really deserve a separate diary of their own.
Yesterday the ruling by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Title VII extends its protections to transgender people went into effect. Background is here: Sea Change in Transgender Employment Rights.
intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination ‘based on … sex’ and such discrimination … violates Title VII.
This is a historic day for human rights in the United States. From the Deep South to my home state of Missouri, starting today transgender and gender non-conforming people now have legal recourse if they face discrimination on the job. We no longer have to be silent when we are fired or not hired simply for being who we are. If you think you are being targeted with harassment or discrimination at work, I urge you to contact your local EEOC office and file a complaint.
--Masen Davis, Executive Director, Transgender Law Center
Although the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) gets little attention in the US, it has become quite popular overseas.
Primer Impacto, a television show on Univision created the story of a Mexican transwoman soccer player for IDAHO, which was May 17.
Miranda Salman grew up playing soccer. And she was good at it.
Basically it was the need to be outstanding so my other classmates wouldn't make fun of me what made me have that 'extra' thing in sports.
--Salman
You see, Miranda was raised a boy. She was so skilled at soccer that she turned professional and played for
Pumas, seven-times champion of Primera Division and winners of 4 international titles. But she was also effeminate and was mocked by her teammates for being "flamboyant".
Miranda suffered a fractured leg in the 90s which ended her professional career. She then underwent gender transition and sex reassignment surgery. Eight years after retiring from men's soccer, Miranda joined a women's team.
I don't speak enough Spanish to make a lot of sense out the video segment, but I'll present it anyway.
Miranda for me is spectacular. She knows how to handle the ball, she knows how to make plays. For me, Miranda is the number one player in our team.
--A teammate
Meanwhile
an IDAHO event in Rangoon featured an unnamed speaker who was a 106 year-old transwoman.
The woman, whose name wasn't released, told the audience how pleased she was to be part of the event, the first ever held in Rangoon. The centenarian has lived through British colonialism and Burmese independence.
The poster to the left was created by the
Human Rights Education Institute Burma. It says a lot that the HREIB is located in Thailand. The title of the poster is:
Homosexuality is not a sickness, but homophobia is.
There are those people who believe that transgender is a distinctly American phenomenon. I've done my best over the years that I have been posting here to try to dispel that myth. Consider this part of that action.
Returning to the story:
'She was almost in tears. She told the audience how pleased she is to see this event take place in Rangoon.
Youth wearing colorful outfits mingled with older men and women in traditional Burmese dress. Everyone was looking around, eager and excited for the first day of LGBT rights in Burma.
I am very happy to see this happen. I feel like the rainbow flag in Burma ties the event to others happening around the world. This event is a historic event that establishes the voice of the Burmese LGBT movement as one that will not be silenced.
--Aung Myo Min, HREIB
Previous Burmese
IDAHO events have been held in neighboring Thailand.
I'll finish with a transition story out of Southern California.