From The Eyes Of An Ally aka Ally Diaries

Written by Jennifer Obakhume



Ch. 2-"When Trannies Attack"...WHAT?!

I have a commentary to air out, so I am hoping you will indulge me. Besides, that's what blogs are for. Welcome to Chapter 2 of "From The Eyes Of An Ally." Today's topic: look at the above picture and that should suggest something. And no, it's not David Hasselhoff!

Not too long ago, I was watching a morning episode of Jerry Springer called “When Trannies Attack.” Let me first say that I definitely try to avoid Jerry Springer as much as I possibly can...it was on when I woke up. That's what I get for watching the news and not changing the channel after it's over (if I'm still awake). But this episode was the biggest bunch of BS I had ever seen before, and I think Jerry and his team really topped themselves this time around.

The part of the episode that was truly saddening was a fight between two men who had been together for a rather long period of time. One of them decided to have a sexual reassignment surgery, and came to Jerry to confess that he no longer wanted to be a man. He wanted to be “the woman I have always felt I was inside.” For the next 3 minutes, his boyfriend attempted to pummel him as much as he could, but thanks to the trusty security guards that halt fights that might break out on stage, no blood (real or fake) was drawn. When the boyfriend who wanted to have the surgery approached his boyfriend to try to calm him down, he would be attacked over and over again. The batterer then walked around in circles to make sure he wasn't touched. He didn't even want to hear his boyfriend's reasons for deciding to have the surgery.

It was like a circus for the audience-I had never heard laughing like that before in my life. This episode once again reminded me of how violent behaviors and tendencies are just another issue that folks need to work out within themselves. You go to the movies these days, and all you see are gun wars, car theft, and fighting. For humans to claim to be further advanced than animals, it reminds me of how so-called "claims" are fiction until proven to be true without a shadow of a doubt. I absolutely ABHORRED this title, for one thing. "When Trannies Attack"...what kind of crap is that? Kind of sounds like "When Animals Attack," right? Is that to say transsexuals are animals that like to attack people or something? I wonder if the two men featured were real people; if they weren't, they've done no justice out there for any of the queer folk out there, honestly.

Violence in any shape or form is wrong, but this type is particularly harsh because of all the folks who fall under the queer community umbrella, transgendered people are unfairly treated like sideshow freaks because they want to change their biological sex. My point is proved by looking at the couple on the screen: two gay men. One wants a sex surgery, and his partner treats him like the scum of the Earth. Further comments made by the partner against the surgery cemented the fact he thought being a transgendered person was ridiculous and that his partner deserved all the ridicule the world had to offer.

I'm observing this pattern, this history of discrimination and violence against GLBT people. I am also noticing that gay people are singling out transgender people, and instead of trying to figure out a solution that helps all 4 letters in the acronym, the main interest is in helping the first 3. The "T" is left on it's own, and that isn't right. On a show like Springer's, violence is the key to gold. And for the "T" already on its own, there is no help or assistance when the slander gets started.

Especially as much of the show is proving itself to be most fake, anyway. I mean, come on! People having fist fights and breaking chairs over someone else's head everyday can not be real. Actually, it's really kind of played out.

Then again, I'm a rather realistic person who isn't interested in anything this ridiculous. I want to see a real show-like pigs that actually speak Latin.

Sounds stupid, right? Just as stupid as this episode of Springer was.

Same Sex Marriages And The Proposed 28th Amendment

Written By Ohim Sheeme

After the first same-sex marriage in 2004, more gay and lesbian couples pursued marriage. Many same-sex couples succeeded in marrying before a series of bans were established into 11 states laws. Soon after, the topic of banning same-sex marriage seemed to fill the media. Conservatives such as George W. Bush have attempted to use the idea of traditions and customs to establish a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. They argue that traditions are not to be tampered with.

President Bush said, "If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from changing forever, we must enact a constitutional amendment in America." He stated that it would challenge the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. However, I would argue, all sanctity in marriage has already been lost, has it not? Marriage is often treated as a form of free play. People are given the opportunity to marry in the blink of an eye through the use of civil marriage. I don’t challenge the validity of this process; however people abuse this privilege quite often. A majority of civil marriages take place is Las Vegas in the spur of the moment. People get a rush of adrenaline or perhaps get drunk, and marry without the intention of fulfilling vows. Celebrity couples 52-hour marriage dramas, such as Britney Spears, and divorces take up full columns in newspapers. Intimate wedding details are spread across entertainment tabloids. Does that sound like the traditional marriage process that George W. Bush is trying to preserve? So what sacred tradition would this amendment protect if it has already been lost? In the 1950's, the divorce rate in America was at 11%. Within a course of 50 years the divorce rate has sky rocketed to nearly 60%.

Same-sex couples have slowly, but surely, moved up in the world. Gay and lesbian culture has become more recognized since the first gay right movements in 1969. What have they gained since then? Increased safe places for gay and lesbians, some acceptance in mainstream…anything else? Gay and lesbian folks should at least be given the right to marry. These following popular TV series have had at least one gay theme in their scripts: Brothers and Sister, Boston Legal, Law and Order: SVU, Desperate House Wives, Ugly Betty, CSI, NCIS, and more. These are nationally syndicated popular primetime shows that have managed to air season after season, winning Emmy after Emmy. The viewers obviously are very supportive; otherwise don’t you think these shows would have been cancelled due to lack of viewers?
So, why can’t same-sex couples marry? After all, in our country there is a separation of church and state, so what the church says about homosexuality is irrelevant to government policy. Same-sex couples are not condemned by the constitution, but rather by a couple of legislatures and people who’s opinions stand in their way. What gives them the right?

What experiences would change in heterosexuals’ daily lives? If same-sex couples are allowed to live in your neighborhood, then what difference would it make if they were married or not? I highly doubt that having a same-sex couple living next door would be any different then a heterosexual couple living next door. Only homophobia stands in the way. No daily changes, only personal prejudice and discomfort of knowing that there is a same-sex couple living next door. Their hatred can shape our future as families and committed couples? Why can straight people look at same-sex couples and think of our union as being less of value? We live the same day-to-day lives as a human being. We work and maintain families just as heterosexual couples do. We live in America as well, where we pursue the American dream.

So if same-sex couples are not given the privilege to marry, then why should anyone? After all, in some sense we are the same, so says the constitution. Yet, gay people are still subjected to domestic partnerships. Privileges such as tax breaks, visitation rights in hospitals, and home loans that are given to married couples are not stated in the constitution as being only applicable to heterosexual couples. So if you argue, what difference would it make if they were to get married, or not then I say that right back at you. What difference would it make if heterosexual couple were to marry? I say ban for all or ban for none. Simple, an eye for an eye as they say.

Same-sex couples are looked at to be disgusting and unnatural. Yet, when we hear stories about beastiality, we are disgusted. However, in some places on the globe it is legal to marry a pet. A man just recently married his dog in India. They had a wedding ceremony no different to the traditional wedding ceremony between man and woman. So a man can marry a dog, yet we are not allowed to marry the same sex? This doesn’t just apply to relationships between human and animal. In the news, we’d constantly hear disturbing stories of men and women marrying material items that they value, like the man in Japan who recently married a Barbie doll. Sorry that’s just sounds demented in its self.

So I ask again, what difference would it make if we were given the right to marry the same sex? Does it matter in a world were homosexuality continues to increase in the population? I ask that you take into consideration how it would feel if marriage were banned in general, and no one was allowed to marry. Think about how it would feel if you found out that your marriage was now invalid. Hopes and dreams would be stripped away for most. Then maybe you could understand how Same-sex couples feel.

From The Eyes of an Ally

Written by Jennifer Obakhume

Ch.1-What It means to be a GLBT supporter

In the United States, it is a belief held by many that in everyday life, there should be a husband, a wife, children, a day job that bugs the hell out of everyone, humdrum lifestyles without much room for indifference or change. Note: when I said husband and wife earlier in this paragraph, it was in note of what it the “proper” way of life-with a man and a woman living together raising their offspring. That’s fine and dandy and all, but life isn’t always that way. Some people do wish to have the career, the home, the car, the dog, kids, and a healthy relationship, but it is not always a relationship that requires both partners to be members of the opposite sex, does it? Just because it was my resolution to be with someone of the opposite sex, it doesn’t mean I feel the need to tell someone to live the way I do.

Let me introduce myself: My name is Jennifer Obakhume. I am a straight Black female, single, under the age of 21 that has never had a boyfriend (looking to no aval just yet), and has made up for that space by being both career and school oriented. I am a strong believer in God, although I am non-denominational (I don’t believe that just because one believes in God, it means they have to be attached to a church with other people-I will refer to this again later on in the blog, so don’t forget this point). With that, here’s four points I felt needed to be addressed immediately before we go any further:

Point 1: Just Because I Am Straight Doesn’t Mean That I Am Superior to Anyone Who Is Not.


With this information about me being straight, single, and a strong believer in the existence in God, does this mean that anyone who does not live the way I do (straight) is in the wrong? Is it right to support or befriend anyone who does not live their life the way I do? And furthermore, what is my place to voice my thoughts on this subject? Here are a couple thoughts for me:
I look at all these conservatives who always bash anyone who is a non-conformist that does not appear to want to live the standard “Picket Fence” kind of life with a woman and a man running the household. I have seen posters that say “God Hates Fags” by protestors on the streets. I would love for the Republicans

Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, GOD HAS NOT ISSUED THE RIGHT FOR HUMANS TO PASS JUDGMENT ON OTHERS AS MANY OTHERS HAVE A LOT OF DIRTY LAUNDRY THEY “FAIL” TO DISCUSS. I am tired of hearing people use the Bible in vain as a “green card” for their personal prejudices to come through. Sen. Larry Craig got a taste of his own medicine in that airport bathroom, didn’t he? This man went about in every aspect trying his hardest to deny the right to gay marriage and equal protection under the law, and then gets caught with his pants down (all puns intended) making advances underneath a bathroom stall to an undercover officer.

God loves all of his creations, and if there is anything he sees as incorrect, ONLY GOD will have the power to issue his judgment. I refuse to take his power away from Him, and the ones who are trying to (namely a host of these preachers) are the ones who will bear his wrath, using God’s name in destroying and intimating people’s way of life. I don’t think of myself as superior at all. I know people who are top achievers in their class, ASB Presidents, active volunteers in their community that have a common reality: they are gay. With that, let’s look at the next point…

Point 2: Homosexuality Is Not an Illness At All-For Many, It Is A Way of Life


It has always been that society has been harshly judgmental of anyone that was, or was even assumed, to be gay. So, of course, that means a refusal to even hear the stories behind why someone has taken the time to do some soul searching and thought that dating someone of the same sex was right for them-or even to hear the stories of people who understood from a young age that something was different about them, and just because they were born one sex didn’t mean they necessarily had to be that sex. It’s not like someone woke up one day and said, “Hey! I think I’m gonna be gay today!” It’s more to the story than that; again, listening to the stories and the events that have taken place can give a better picture, better understanding. Rarely have I heard a story where someone has been allowed to blossom into their sexualities with family support.

It's a common psychologist theory that through time that homosexuality is an illness, and in recent months, scientists are trying to locate a gene they think could tell parents whether or not their newborn child will develop gay tendencies in their lives. Let me say here: What a bag of B.S.

I made the choice to be straight-because I made a choice, does that mean something is wrong with me? Stop calling people’s way of life is an “illness”! The illness here I see is judgment. This could explain why I have run across several people who are GLBT in my life that has a preconceived notion that all straight people are biased idiots that need to be singled out the way they were singled out in their lives. Let me address this by saying this: I can understand the pain that anyone who has come out as gay to their community feels, and that walls are built up for protection. I will offer this note-the era of “us vs. them” battling needs to come to an end, because truth be told, we both need each other to get back, to survive. Wait, what the hell-I just remembered. WITHOUT PEOPLE HELPING EACH OTHER, THE HUMAN RACE WOULD BECOME EXTINCT.

Point 3: What I Love About Being An Ally



What can I say about this point? I have so many friends that either gay or bisexual, and you know what? I don't care about their choices, and I love them like my life; as of this writing, one of my closest friends in North Carolina is expecting her first child, of which I am the adopted aunt. This is a time of celebration for me, because I’m so happy about welcoming a new life into the world. I think about the day that Brittney looked worried, and asked if she could talk to me. She told me that she was bisexual, and was scared to tell me because she was worried I would not want to be friend s with her anymore. All I could say to her was, “Once you are a friend of mine, NOTHING changes anything about my support. You know my room number, you know my cell phone number. If I don’t answer, leave a message.” She cried, I cried. She could finally feel free enough to trust me with her pain, and I finally felt that I had found my place further in life as a sounding board, a listening ear, and someone who could be trusted.

As I look back over these events and these news articles, it makes me think about how society has fallen into this pattern of judging things that are not like what it expects it to be, which leads to my final point…

Point 4: Imagine If The Script Was Flipped-If Being Straight Was A Taboo



Imagine being trashed and hated on by ignorant people with no heart for not doing what they picture you doing. Threatened with being kidnapped, tortured, or murdered without any thought to you as a person, and getting blamed as the cause for own demise; being beaten repeatedly, and the targets or names and strange looks. Imagine if the script was flipped, and being gay was the accepted norm of society, and being straight was considered a taboo and something offensive “in the eyes of God.” I don’t even have to speak anymore on this. Look at what I wrote above-I don’t even have to provide any more visuals.

I will close with this final thought: I am human. I will not judge anyone, and this is the first perspective of “From The Eyes of An Ally.” More to come soon, so stay tuned.

Los Pasos del “Transgenero"

Escrito por Noel Ramon

Persona Transgénero: persona cuya experimentación o expresión de género difiere de lo convencional. Una persona transgénero puede ser un travesti, un transexual, o todo aquel que expresa características de género que no se corresponden con las características tradicionalmente asociadas al sexo de la persona.

El término Transgénero (Transgender) se ha vuelto popular en la última década como un término todo inclusivo para una amplia variedad de grupos de gente extremadamente diferentes, especialmente dentro de la comunidad gay. En realidad éste no podria ser un avance positivo, el término involucra una categoría demasiado amplia para concretar algo significativo sobre alguien, e implica similitudes que no existen. Es como tener una palabra que significa "juega al ajedrez, es asiático o tiene cáncer" -usarla para describir a alguien no te dice nada sobre esa persona.

La palabra “trans” tiene varios terminos que pueden guiar a alguien sin el conocimiento alguno ha mal interpretar la palabra. Los terminos de esta palabra son transexual, travestismo y transgenero; sobre todo son mas confusas o dificil de entender para los jovenes de hoy que en muchas ocasiones mal interpretan una con la otra.

Los transgéneros pueden ser heterosexuales, gays, asexuales o bisexuales. Los términos tales como gay y heterosexual no tienen mucho sentido cuando se aplican a los transgéneros. Para muchas personas este termino es dificil de entender y quiza se hagan preguntas como: ¿Es lesbiana un transexual que era hombre y después de la operación se convirtió en mujer y cuya pareja es otra mujer? ¿Y qué ocurre con un hombre que se hará la operación para convertirse en mujer y cuya pareja es un hombre? No todos los transgéneros se identifican como parte del resto de una comunidad gay, muchos lo hacen, y por cierto, el público en general y los políticos con opiniones negativas sobre los gays no los consideran heterosexuales, no importa a quién amen.

Casi todos los transgéneros e intersexuales crecen con un profundo sentimiento de vergüenza internalizada. No optan por ser quienes son al igual que las personas gay, las lesbianas o bisexuales; de hecho, muchos de ellos luchan activamente contra su misma verdadera naturaleza; privandola y buscando encajar desesperadamente en las culturas gay y heterosexual. Su proceso de "salir del closet" es igual al de los gays, lesbianas y bisexuales, y hasta en ciertos puntos pueden tener por consecuencia la pérdida del apoyo de la familia, los amigos y el empleo.

La discriminación contra los transgéneros es extrema, incluso mayor que para los gays y las lesbianas. Deben luchar por conservar sus empleos, ya sea como médicos, docentes, pilotos de líneas aéreas, camioneros o cocineros en restaurantes. Un índice desproporcionado de la violencia contra los gays está dirigida a los transgéneros, quienes por su propia naturaleza, son los miembros más visibles de la cultura gay.

Las leyes que afectan negativamente a los gays, las lesbianas y los bisexuales afectan a los transgéneros de la misma manera. Sus derechos de casarse, tener empleos y participar plenamente de otras formas como ciudadanos en la cultura norteamericana corren el mismo riesgo que los de los gays, las lesbianas y los bisexuales; y no obstante, sin un lenguaje específico que incluya a los transgéneros en proyectos de ley como el ENDA (La Ley de Antidiscriminación en el Empleo), los transgéneros pueden ser excluidos de dicha protección pero no toda la comunidad gay esta siendo protejida por leyes de organizaciones defendiendo sus derechos; como los transgeneros por ejemplo quienes estan siendo excluidos de esta ley. Por este motivo, en los últimos años los transgéneros han tenido una participación política activa; después de siglos de marginación, siguen luchando por sus derechos.

Muchas personas gay, lesbianas y bisexuales cuestionan su identidad de genero. Otras, no se consideran transgéneros en ningún aspecto, experimentan con estilos de vestimenta, peinados e indumentaria que atraviesan visiblemente la línea divisoria entre los sexos por ejemplo los Drag Kings y Queens- a veces hasta el pueden ser confundidos por miembros del otro sexo, o hasta el de sufrir la misma discriminación que afrontan los transgéneros. Tambien hay muchas personas que se identifican con orgullo como gays, lesbianas o bisexuales. Muchas organizaciones de gays, lesbianas y bisexuales en varias organizaciones Pride han abierto sus filas a los transgéneros incluyéndolos en sus nombres. Otras han sido renuentes a modificar sus nombres pero de todos modos aceptan a los transgéneros. Cada vez son más los gays, lesbianas y bisexuales que se dan cuenta de que los transgéneros no son "otros" extraños, sino seres humanos que luchan por vivir con dignidad.

Otros Blogs con informacion similar-

http://placeresocul.blogspot.com/2007/09/glosario-de-trminos.html

http://www.jeremiahproject.com/spanish.php?u=/TrashingAmerica/enda.html

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=W4zdllBdLOA