Guest Post By Andy Marra Public Relations Manager, GLSEN Growing up, I remember making a pact with myself. As an adopted child I promised to find my family in Korea, but how exactly that would occur remained a mystery to me. I luckily had the unconditional support of my American family, even if they were [...]

The transgender population is a small population, and to my knowledge until this election trans voters haven’t been systematically targeted for voter suppression. Well, this year trans people are being targeted for voter suppression by True The Vote. A graphic from True The Vote’s Virginia training materials shows what the organization thinks about trans citizens.

According to Vice President Joe Biden, transgender issues are “the civil rights issue of our time.” There is a reason Trans United For Obama exists. The Obama administration has been a pro-trans issue administration. This is in stark contrast to when Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts when he was notably transphobic and biphobic, [...]

Allyson Robinson is a wonderful pick to head up the newly combined OutServe-SLDN organization. It’s a moment of transition in the post-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era. There is still work to be done to bring the lives of LGB service members to parity with their straight colleagues when it comes to civil rights. It is [...]

Today is the one-year anniversary of lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers being able to serve openly. With that in mind, I’m reposting this essay from December 19, 2010 — an essay (entitled Dan Choi: I Am Somebody! Autumn Sandeen: I Am Still Not Recognized As Somebody.) where I highlighted how with repeal of Don’t Ask, [...]

Helen Boyd — author of My Husband Betty and coordinator for Trans United For Obama — has recently spelled out why trans people should be voting to reelect President Barack Obama in her En|Gender post President Obama’s Accomplishments for Transgender Americans President Obama Took Pivotal Steps To Ensure That Transgender Americans Have Stronger Protections Against [...]

In December of 2009 I “came out of the closet” as having a mental illness. I have a bipolar condition that Dr. Hagop S. Akiskal, the psychiatrist who developed the bipolar spectrum and who was a few years ago also one of my diagnosing psychiatrists, describes as bipolar type II ½. Some others in the [...]

Vrom the NCTE entry HHS Affirms that Healthcare Discrimination Law Protects Against Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity: HHS Affirms that Healthcare Discrimination Law Protects Against Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that it views a 2010 law prohibiting sex discrimination in health [...]

It’s an open thread! Pleeeeease feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread… So, this is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob have been looking at since our last This & That post. • Navy Times‘ 70 years ago, WAVES paved way for Navy women: …The WAVES [Navy Reserve’s Women Accepted for [...]

Here in my adopted hometown of San Diego, California, I was asked to speak at this year’s San Diego Pride Stonewall Rally about open service for transgender servicemembers in the U.S. military services. The rally was held on July 20, 2012; the 20th through 22nd is Pride Weekend here. This was an important LGBT year [...]