The Furious Flower

So far, (and I'm knocking on every single wooden surface I can find so I don't put a hex on the whole year), 2015 is looking fabulous for our resident genius, DJ.  She, along with some of her peers,  has been selected out of over 400 NASA community college scholars to go to a NASA facility where they test rockets.  Excuse the pun, but we are all OVER THE MOON about this.  OK, not all of us-we can't track Bulldog down at work so he still doesn't know yet.

Goodwrench, (who deserves a different moniker now that he has left that line of work and works in a lab now-yeah Goodwrench!!) and Romeo are thrilled for their sister.  Flying Pig is bragging on Facebook.  Mimi is tickled pink.  Bean is so proud.

DJ is typically modest about all this.  As I read Flying Pig's Facebook post denoting her "freakishly smart, genius niece," DJ just shook her head and said, "I don't think of myself that way."  I replied, "I know you don't and that's part of what makes you so lovable."

I don't know if she'd ever have gotten this far as JD.  All that emotional, intellectual and creative effort would have been channeled into keeping up the facade of JD; JD quite possibly might never have achieved all "he" could living the false identity "he" was living.  No sooner did DJ come out as her true self than she started to blossom-and furiously!!!

#Proud mama!  If only we could reach Bulldog!! Ten bucks says he gets all choked up on the phone… 

Never too old or too young to come out

It appears more people in the public eye know, love, or possibly are, transgendered folk.  As a rule, I'm not a Hollywood follower.  I rarely watch TV anymore, only go to the movies a few times a year and never watch the awards shows, but I do take note of magazine covers when I'm standing in line at the grocery store. Granted, the magazines at the grocery store are not scholarly or peer-reviewed, but there are some whose headlines I may consider true-ish.

Bruce Jenner's transition has been in the "gossip" papers for some time.  While Jenner's look is certainly changing, far be it for me to assume that a transition it taking place, despite the appearance of it. Yet, when People magazine featured his story, I began to believe it might be true.

http://www.people.com/article/bruce-jenner-transition-whats-next

What I like about the article is that it attempts to educate in an appropriate fashion; the article explains what the term "transgender" means, to a fair enough degree.  While most of us are sheep and tend to readily accept whatever famous people do as "normal,"in this instance, it is a good thing!  Certainly, when Jenner's kin elect to broadcast the details of their personal lives on TV, they simultaneously become laughingstocks, and, to some, role models.  I shudder to think that DJ would ever engage in some of the public ridiculousness that is being Kardashian, but…well, some people simply insist on engaging in idiocy.  However, there are instances when publicity can help "normalize" others who are otherwise and inappropriately viewed as "abnormal," and are thus marginalized.

When celebrities use their status to inform, to educate, to foster equity and acceptance, not merely tolerance, they have used their privileged status well.  Kudos to Brangelina for publicly sharing their support of their child who currently seems to be living as a young boy with XX chromosomes.  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have shared her story of her battle with cancer in an effort to educate, but also to share their story of supporting John, their oldest biological child. I hesitate to refer to John's gender, while it may seem obvious, because until John's parents can share the gender identity John professes, far be it for me to suggest anything.  Not my place.  Nonetheless, the fact that John's birth certificate identified John as a natal female and Brangelina "permit" John to, one, be called John rather than the name they gave John, which was Shiloh, and further purchase clothing that John desires, rather than what society might dictate, all the while very much in the public eye, denotes their obvious love and acceptance of their child.  Given societal propensities to accept as gospel that which comes from the rich, famous and beautiful, it seems the Pitt/Jolie family heads have made good use of their prominent positions, while I doubt that was their goal.  Their goal was likely to simply be good parents to their kid.

http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2014/12/20/brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolie-support-their-kid-wearing-suits

It's interesting that the two individuals I mention as being possibly transgender are of such disparate ages and both appear to be embracing their true selves, and in the public eye.  I can only wonder at what it's like for Jenner as the "male" Jenner face and identity has been well-known in America for decades.  So many of us thought that winning the decathlon would be Jenner's crowning victory, when actually, coming out may be.  John's "male" name and style of dress seem to indicate John is already  out of, and perhaps was never in, the closet.  How very different experiences they are.

Truthfully, I'm thankful for those who share their stories in the public eye.  It takes enormous courage.  I'm thankful for anyone who has the courage to be themselves, because they too are in the public eye in their own worlds.  For those parents whose kids are coming out, this world is far different than it was even five years ago when conducting a search for "transgender" support led to few places.  I'm not purporting to say you have it easier, only that I'm thankful there are more faces to see that happiness for your child is possible, and to know that there are more resources available.

For my part, as I've not posted anything new regarding resources, I will do some searching and see if I can't update the links on this blog.  If anyone cares to share what they know, please do. Either enter a comment or shoot me an email. My email is openarms2lgbt@gmail.com 



Peace to you all.

DJ has a new sister

Congrats to Romeo and Juliet!!! They are recently engaged to be married.  Juliet already told DJ that they're sisters now and that, of course, DJ will be a bridesmaid.  I think DJ is tickled pink at their happiness and the promise of the sister she never had.  Good stuff :)

Mission: The STARS!

Boo-Yah!!! DJ has been accepted as a transfer student into the four year college she wanted. She'll be a physics major.  Our girl has set her sights, figuratively and literally, on the stars.  She's decided she hopes to be an astronaut someday. She's off to a great start as she completes the final stages of  her design for a Mars Rover for a NASA- sponsored study program.

Her brain is….well, it's out there.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have no idea where she came from 'cause there ain't nothin' in the DNA on either side of the family that will explain her brilliance! And she loves learning. She gets all giggly and talks fast and gestures…it's adorable and inspiring.

Another best part: DJ wrote a letter to the Dean of her community college thanking them for the NASA opportunity. In return, the community college published a piece on DJ in their newsletter. That led to a faculty person contacting DJ to see if she'd be interested in speaking to girls in middle school about going into the sciences.

I'm thinking back on the tough years and will readily admit, I had difficulty envisioning my child being happy. Not because she is a transgender person, but because the world can make life difficult for transgender persons.  I hoped for this kind of opportunity for her in any part of her life she chose.  Seeing it come to fruition is sublime…..astronomically sublime.

ZERO is the goal

It's 9:40 in the evening and I just finished my homework. I'm finally finishing my Bachelor's degree, just in time for my 50th birthday in May.  I'm a masochist because I'm taking accelerated, 8-week classes, four at a time, to finish quickly.  I cannot wait for this 8-week session to end.  The courses that I thought would be so interesting are just plain making me mad, mad, mad.

One is on sociology and another is on ethics in management. Both topics are zeroing in on discrimination and all its forms: gender, age, orientation, race, ethnicity…ad infinitum.  Any attempt to have a real discussion among my online peers is met with the sound of crickets chirping.  Oh, lest I forget-one person did respond to my post about sexism to say that it was some people's "perspective."  As if pay disparity is up for interpretation: "You say Po-tay-toe, I say Po-tah-toe."

Another guy actually wrote that "racism isn't as much of a problem anymore." Any people of color who care to chime in on this?  Any female people of color care to chime in?  Or, how about the triple whammy: any transgender female people of color care to comment?  The fact of the matter is that a person's "perspective" tends to be skewed by which end of the racism, sexism, or any other "ism" specter one is on.  I would be surprised to hear a natal white man say of black people, "Hey, it ain't so bad for you people anymore. It's not like people are burning crosses in your yard nowadays."  True, but black kids are getting shot, without real provocation, nearly exclusively as a race, by figures of authority who are almost exclusively white.

Or on my asking a D.C. firefighter, who was trying to recruit new hires, what it's like being a female firefighter in D.C., to have him reply that they have "this one" who is great and they "let her" hang with them.

So yes, President Obama mentioned transgender people and yes, it was glorious.  But clearly, that has not laid LGBT discrimination to rest-it has served only as a wake-up call.

I'm a paramedic/firefighter and I tend to equate many things to paramedic analogies.  If you find that is annoying, read no further.  I teach new EMTs and paramedics too and I've found a common mistake among such folk is thinking that persons having a heart attack who are experiencing little pain, or an improvement in pain need no further intervention in the form of medication administration.  That is WRONG.  It's wrong as wrong can be, actually. If a person has chest pain equal to a 3 on a scale of 10, or her pain is down to a 4 from a 6, that does not mean we stop treating the chest pain, because ANY pain means the problem is still ongoing.  It's just seems like it's gotten better.  The goal is ZERO pain and we keep plugging away at reducing the pain as long as the patient can tolerate it, until we reach ZERO. Nada. Zilch.

The same is true for "isms."  Yes, improvement is desirable; it's encouraging and gives us incentive to keep fighting the good fight.  But it does not mean the "danger" has passed, because it has not.  It's just masquerading as being a "lesser" problem, which is even more dangerous, if you ask me.

So, we don't rest on our laurels. (What are laurels, anyway?  Shouldn't an author know the meaning of the words she uses?  Isn't that a rule somewhere?) We rejoice in the important step forward, and then say, "Nope, not good enough." That's right-we stay dissatisfied until the world is equally satisfying to those who are getting ripped off from enjoying what other people get to enjoy simply because their chromosomes and their brains don't agree.

There will be a backlash, and likely more than one.  But that can't stop progress.  You moms and dads out there who are helping your kids in being who they truly are- you folks have to be the warriors for your kids.  As if I'm telling you something you don't already know!! And you adults who have bravely lived hidden, and equally bravely refuse to hide anymore, you too are entitled to all of it.  The whole shebang- acceptance, love, marriage, child-rearing, work, education, safety, physical health and emotional wellness, by God-happiness, even. So yes, keep pushing that envelope. Any level of discrimination, exclusivity and hate above a zero means the problem is still threatening, and is therefore unacceptable. Keep fighting the good fight :)