I'm From Driftwood
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My Facebook and G+ newsfeeds have been filled with pink and red lately, so it seemed important to point out to the queer and allied in my life that Human Rights Campaign actually has a track record of promoting some rights at the expense of others. Being a fairly rough-and-tumble sort of cisgender queer man, I waded in.
It’s frankly unconscionable; transgender rights are integral to queer liberation, and moreover transfolks are our sisters and brothers, have shed the same blood, sweat, and tears in horrifying numbers for the same goals. The fact that names like Virginia Prince and Sylvia Rae Rivera aren’t as prominent in our histories as Harvey Milk says, I think, all it needs to about the need for some pink and purple soul-searching. Go forth and introspect.
Visually, too, I think the HRC equality logo leaves a bit to be desired, but I made minimal changes. The colors are based on the transgender pride flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999, the most widely used of several designs and to my eye, the most pleasing.
Considering that HRC seems to be continuing to give lip service to trans folks while throwing them under the bus, this is important and timely.
People need to know that the most visible LGBT “equality” organization out there continues to only fight for gay and lesbian equality at the expense of everyone else.
Trans allies, please repost. (And don’t give money to HRC.)The lack of notes on this is troubling to me.
Should we get rid of the equal sign altogether? And come up with something HRC hasn’t tarnished? Discuss!
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Every time I see this on my dash, I refuse to repost it, because of the logo. You can change the colors, but that logo was designed to represent HRC. A better image would go in harder against HRC instead of just jacking the logo, it almost looks like an official HRC ad supporting trans* people, which would still be very no since I don’t trust their asses.
(via hellnogaycism)
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tolerance is not respect. equality is not antithetical to oppression.
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"She Was My Mommy Too" 
It has been 13 days since one of my moms died. She had become sick very quickly, and then the call came; the call I wish had never come- she had died. When I was three my mom fell madly in love with Linny (my other mother). They loved each other like I have never seen love before – for 20 years they loved each other. Linny helped raise me. She read Are You There God it’s Me Margaret? to me, she kissed boo-boos and told me she loved me every night. She was my mom too. Everyday after school Linny would help me with my homework and quiz me for upcoming tests. We were inseparable, best friends, mother and child.
I am writing this because at Linny’s funeral there was no mention of my life with her. It was an intentional disregard for the beautiful life the three of us had. Linny would have wanted the world to know that she loved not only another woman to her fullest capacity, but that she had a daughter. She was a lover of nature, animals and peace. She nursed injured birds back to health and rescued abused dogs from animal shelters. What was said about Linny at her funeral was not about my mom. The story told at Linny’s funeral was a story of a woman I did not know. There was actual mention of Linny’s “husband,” with whom she’d divorced more than two decades ago! It was a façade her family spoke of out of fear of letting who Linny really was to come alive.
You see, while Linny was sick I was not allowed to visit her in the treatment facility. But that didn’t’ stop me from sneaking in to see her. When she turned to look at me she said, “It’s Maygen- my daughter.” I’ll never forget those words, that smile, and that last kiss I gave her. Read more.
Maygen’s story is heartbreaking, but I’m so grateful that she shared it. We have to make sure that the circumstances of Maygen’s loss, and that of countless other children of same-sex parents in similar situations, are not in vain. We’ve got to fight and demand equality so that this stops happening.
