“Trans Rights Are Human Rights”

“It’s not the child’s responsibility to teach the parent who they are, it’s the parent’s responsibility to know who their child is.”

-Tig Notaro

Light the charcoal. Sprinkle the sage. Negative energy go away! I hope everyone’s Pride month is going well. There’s just something about Pride month that feels so unique to the rest of the year. To me it’s almost like coming out of the closet for one month every year. The release of finally stepping out of that smothering closet into your truth and say, “This is who I am!” And after the  chaos that can happen, at the end of the day, you can finally sleep soundly knowing that you just set yourself free. You no longer have to pretend that you’re one way or another to appease, yet another, non-affirming straight person who wants to tell you how many different ways that you’re going to Hell. And for my fellow trans brothers and sisters, it can be so much more difficult.

First, you must understand what the term “Transgender” means. Transgender is very simply, when someone has the brain of one gender and the body of another gender. It’s difficult for many to understand. If you don’t understand, then you were never transgender. I’ll admit that I don’t understand everything. But that’s not the point. The point is that the person or people are my friends, and I accept them for whoever they are or want to be. And I understand how difficult that can be. 

Transitioning is so much more difficult than just saying that you’re trans. They go through physical, psychological and emotional changes. Not only do they have to say, ‘I’m different.” They also have to say, “I’m switching genders.” Based on the way that my family reacted to my own coming out, I would rather dive headfirst into a vat of hot lava instead of telling them that I was switching genders. I’m considered “soft butch” and there are a lot of problems because I’m not the stereotypical female.

Let me explain a few things.

· Transgendering behaviors are peppered throughout history in ancient civilizations and cultures of the world. 

· In the nineteenth century, people like Karl Ulrichs began to describe “gender confusion” as being “female psyche caught in a male body.”

· The Early 20th century the Germans began studies and treatments for gender dysphoria.

· In the 1950’s transgender rights in the United States began with Christine Jorgensen’s surgery coming to public attention. 

· 1960’s the term “transgender” appeared and then medical treatments like hormone therapy and gender affirming surgeries became possible.

· 1970’s The very first clinic dedicated to transgender health care opened in Canada. 

· 1980-Present the term “transgender” was popularized and the moment began to build momentum(HRC.org, 2024).

Transitioning can be something as simple as having a new hairstyle, name, pronoun or style of clothing. Not everyone transitions all the way through surgery. Some people have complete top and bottom surgery and hormones. And others do hormones and choose not to do surgery for several reasons. The complete process is individual to the person. And your opinions will not influence this. It’s not about you and your wants and needs! It’s about them.

I wish that some of you could be on this side of the “public bathroom” argument and realize how utterly ridiculous you sound. They want to simply use the bathroom that reflects their gender. They don’t want your precious “dangling genitalia” or your “cooterville.” And equally ignorant is the statement about being dangerous to kids. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, a lot of the time you won’t be able to identify these individuals by just looking at them. The whole concept of transitioning is about change. And not everyone transitions at the same pace. Peeing and pooping happens no matter what your gender. After my own sexual abuse, I would feel safer leaving my children with someone who is transgender versus someone who is straight and religious.

 That does not mean that I don’t love God through my own beliefs. It means that some of the people that I distrust the most are religious people I’ve been around. And no, I don’t believe that all religious people are harmful. I have some very beautiful christian people in my life that have become a backbone of strength for me. But my trauma has taught me since the age of 5 years old to be incredibly careful around people who say they love Jesus and then use that as a weapon to manipulate and hurt others. I watch actions and not religious rhetoric.

And the military argument? Really?! Like what soldier is going to say prior to his/her life being saved by someone who is transgender, “Wait! Drop your drawers. Do you have one a “banana hammock” or a “clam snuggler?” I wouldn’t care and would be screaming, “Kill this ISIS asshole!” And they are willing to lay their own lives down for a country that does not see them as equal or as deserving as their straight battle buddies. Think about that for a second. They are going out risking and laying down their lives for people who live in some kind of world where random acts of violence are conducted by a “Trans Monster” seeking out children and virginities. I have never seen so much stupidity until “Trans Rights” came into question.

If you think coming out as a gay person is difficult, talk to one of the Transgender Warriors. The term “transexual” is a very outdated and derogatory term. A transexual is the same thing as a cross dresser. There are no hormones or surgery involved. And drag queens and drag kings are not the same as transgender. Some do perform as kings and queens. However, transgender is not only when the individual dresses like the opposite gender. I have met some of these beloved and very courageous people. And I can tell you that a lot of people who transition are some of the most appealing and sexiest people on the planet. And don’t think that they have an insatiable sexual appetite like what is assumed by those not under the rainbow umbrella. Trust me, they have standards too.

I will always be an advocate for Transgender Rights. They deserve the same rights as anyone else. And I believe that if they are brave enough to go fight for my rights, then they’re also deserving of the same rights. They are fighting for our freedoms as I sit and write blogs with a cat in my lap. Have the courage to stand up for these people who are even more marginalized than I am. And to all of my trans friends and family, “I stand with you! You are deserving of love and compassion. You are not wrong. You are loved and accepted. And YOU ARE ENOUGH!”

Thanks for reading! Take what you can use and leave the rest. You are Wanted, Needed and Loved! Happy Pride Everyone!

Affirmation: Your gender and authenticity are beautiful.

***Don’t forget to watch the video!***

#Thispuzzledlife

 

LGBTQIA+ Terms and Explanations

“Gender is who you are. Sexuality is what you want.”

-C.N. Lester,”Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us”

Light the charcoal. Sprinkle the sage. Negative energy go away. Okie dokie! What I have learned about the LGBTQIA+ community is that there is almost a separate language that has been devised over time. Most of the terms I already know. However, the evolution continues. The common theme, though, is that no matter how you identify or what you prefer, our communities are all about inclusion. You are free to be who and what you are. And that’s what has kept everything so powerful. So many of us have been shunned or seen as “less than” by our families of origin. Therefore, we find comfort and solace in our “chosen” families where we can all take refuge under that beautiful rainbow flag with our straight allies. As I continue to attempt to “stomp out stupidity,” I have made a list of common terms and their explanations. This is by no means a comprehensive list. There could be volumes written on this topic. I did, however, try to make a list of the most common. Happy Pride! And happy reading!

Pride community-Alphabet mafia, Friend of Dorothy, Skittle mafia, Rainbow mafia,Fruit flies(also known as someone who is heterosexual but hangs out with gay males or lesbians).

Symbols for the gay community– Unicorns, lavender rhinos, rainbow, butterflies (gender transitioning), lavender plants, pink triangle.

Gay male-fudge packer, peter puffer, bender, catcher, twink, pillow-biter, punk, shirt lifter.

Gay females (lesbian)– muff diver, carpet muncher, vagitarian, girl kisser, La-dolla-bean (Le$bian), stirring the bean curd, FRIG, Sergeant, fusion, pancake, 

Running-shoe lesbian– over 35 who wear jogging shoes with everything.

Celesbian-a famous lesbian

High Femme– a lesbian woman who presents extremely feminine.

Baby Dyke– someone who recently came out as a lesbian.

Dykon– a famous woman (not necessarily gay), who is popular among lesbian women and seen as a gay icon.(Joan Jett, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen Degeneres. Portia de Rossi, Oprah, Laurel Holloman, Lady Gaga, Kate McKinnon, Lily Tomlin, Wanda Sykes.

Transitioning Individuals call the hormones of the opposite sex.

Titty skittles (estrogen pills)

Gender juice (HRT)

anti-HIS-tamines

Anti-boyotics

beach ball deflation

water balloon poppers

mammarinopes

Dic-tacs

Jack and Jill Party: A circle jerk that welcomed both gay men and lesbians who sometimes had sex with each other.

Fruit bat– People who associate with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people may be called fruit flies regardless of their sex.

Dopplebanger– someone who is attracted to others who look like themself.

Motorboating– the activity of putting one’s face between a woman’s breasts, and rocking, turning one’s head rapidly from side to side while making a noise like a motorboat.

Uhauling– a relationship that moves very quickly and the couple moves in together.

Gay Water– instead of mineral or sparkling water

Pillow princess– someone who prefers to receive sex rather than giving sex. This is not just in the gay community.

Cottaging – having or seeking anonymous gay sex in a public toilet, or ‘cottage’ (UK)

Down-low– homosexual or bisexual activity, kept secret, by men who have sex with men.

Femme– a feminine homosexual

Gaydar– the supposed ability to detect someone’s sexual orientation.

Gaussian – a gay Asian person

Gold star– a homosexual who has never had heterosexual sexual intercourse with the opposite sex.

Platinum Star(male)-gay male is someone who was delivered as a baby by C-section

Platinum Star(female)– gay female is an individual who has never slept with a man and was born via vaginal birth, meaning the first thing they ever touched was a vagina.

Prison Brides-Are individuals who engage in homosexual relationships while in prison.

Guydyke or lesboy – a man attracted to lesbian/bisexual women,

Scissoring – used to refer to lesbian intercourse.

Cock blocking– (male) someone who interferes with flirting, making out or having sex you’re interested in.

Cliterference– (female) someone who interferes with flirting, making out or having sex with someone you’re interested in.

Beach bitch – a gay man who frequents beaches and resorts for sexual encounters.

Top– usually the more dominant partner.

Bottom – a receptive partner in intercourse; also used as a verb for the state of receiving sexual stimulation.

Power bottom – someone who dominantly plays the receptive role in intercourse.

Otter-refers to a gay man who is slender and hairy,  a middle ground between a “twink” and a “bear.”

Baby butch – a young and boyish lesbian

Bambi lesbian – a lesbian who prefers cuddles, hugs, kisses, and other affectionate and sensual non-sexual acts over sexual acts

Hasbian – a woman who previously identified as lesbian but now identifies as heterosexual.

Lesbian until graduation (LUG) – a young woman who is assumed to be temporarily experimenting with same-sex behavior, but will ultimately have heterosexual identity.

Lipstick lesbian – a lesbian/bisexual woman who displays historically feminine attributes such as wearing make-up, dresses, and high heels

Soft butch – an in between femme and butch

Stone butch – a very masculine lesbian, or a butch lesbian who does not receive touch during intercourse, only giving.

Stud – a black butch

Chicken – a youthful gay man

Chubby chaser – a man seeking overweight males

Daddy – a typically older gay male.

Twink − a youthful, slim,flamboyant gay man.

Bear – a larger and often hairier man. The bear subgroup is among the oldest and largest of the LGBTQ community. Pride.com states “Bears are on the heavier side, either muscular, beefy, or chunky. They wouldn’t dream of shaving their body hair (which comes in abundance) and they usually have a full beard to match.”

Cub– a younger bear. Pride.com describes cubs as “baby bears” or “large, hairy guys in their teens and 20s who are on their way to becoming a bear.

Bear chaser – a man who seeks out and pursues bears

Wolf – Pride.com says, “Similar to an otter, a wolf has some hair and is in between a twink and a bear. Wolves typically have a lean, muscular build and are sexually aggressive. Wolves are “typically older and masculine” with a muscular/athletic build.

Bull– Pride.com says a bull is a “hunky, muscular” bodybuilder who weighs 200 pounds or more. Attitudesays bulls have a “super-muscular build” with any hair style, and can be any age.

Chicken – a young twink. Chickens are hairless and young with a slim or skinny build.

Chicken hawk – an older man who seeks younger men. From chickenhawk, a designation for several birds which are thought to hunt chickens.

Pig – someone who is focused on sex than anything else, often into kinkier and sexual practices.

Silver fox – an older man with gray hair.

Bi-sexual– sexually attracted to both genders

Pansexuality does not mean bi-sexuality. It is an attraction to personalities, not a specific gender.

Questioning– people who are unsure of sexual identity, orientation, gender or all three.

Cisgender-gender identity who corresponds to their birth, not transgender.

Asexual– someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others.

Intersexed– a person who is born with both genitalia, chromosomes and/or hormones.

Leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. The New York Stonewall Riots in 1969, members of the leather community stood next to drag queens to fight for equality; it was an act that kicked off the modern-day LGBT rights movement. And it  brought the leather culture out into the light. The Leather Community supports both within and from the LGBT community.

The Puppy movement involves both men and women wearing canine-shaped hoods and walking on all fours, just like a real puppy—or bio-puppy, as they are referred to.

“A leather boy is trained and it is a militant situation where the boy is there to serve a master. But a boy has a voice in the family. The puppy aspect is totally different. When you are in pup space, you are just going with whatever happens.”

Golden Showers– part of the philias where an individual gets off to someone peeing on them.

Kink subculture happens in both heterosexual and homosexual communities.

Two-Spirit: A term used by some Indigenous peoples in North America to describe people who embody both male and female spirits.

Furries • Xenophilia is the term for the sexual attraction to furry characters.Furries are people who identify with animals who have human characteristics, like cartoon characters. “Furry” is not considered a gender identity; it is a term referring to someone who has an interest in anthropomorphic animals, meaning animals with human characteristics, and is considered a fandom or hobby, not a personal identity related to gender. People who identify as “furries” are interested in creating or engaging with animal characters with human traits, not necessarily claiming to be an animal themselves.

Sources: Wikipedia, Quora, urban dictionary, lesbesocial.comrefinery29.compride.com, Attitude magazine, autostraddle.com.

I hope that some of these terms have helped to educate you on some of the language in the pride community. Some of these terms and classifications differ depending on where you are located. Take what you can use and leave the rest. Be who you are. And love who you are. Thanks for reading! Happy Pride!

“Shine with pride, because your light helps to brighten the world.”

-Unknown

#Thispuzzledlife