Political Cartoons 9-15-2024

 

Florida county restoring dozens of books to school libraries after ‘book ban’ lawsuit

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A central Florida school district this week agreed to restore 36 books that were challenged and previously pulled from campus libraries in a settlement of a federal lawsuit fighting how local officials carried out the state’s policies for shielding students from obscene content.

As part of the agreement, Nassau school officials acknowledged that “And Tango Makes Three” — a kids book about a penguin family at New York’s Central Park Zoo with two dads — contains no “obscene” material and is suitable for students of all ages.  See my post "And Tango Makes Three".

The Washington Post: Arizona’s Republican Party announced Tuesday that it had designed about a dozen of the billboards in the Phoenix area in response to false claims shared by some top Republicans that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating Americans’ pets. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who plans to visit Arizona on Thursday, amplified those claims at an ABC News debate on Tuesday, despite police telling local news outlets that there was no evidence of anyone eating pets.

Never Say Never...

 

6 Fall Fashion Tips ...

 For Trans Women In Transition

From someone who's gone through it. 

By Corey Rae

As fall weather is (almost) upon us, we begin to refocus and change our wardrobe for the cooler times ahead. Fashion trends today come and go just as fast as summer does, and it can be hard to keep up with what to wear—especially if you’re transgender and beginning a physical transition. And as a transgender woman who can’t get enough of fashion herself, I’m here with some fall fashion tips for trans women in transition.

Of course, becoming so confident with fashion and honing my personal style didn’t happen overnight. In the fall of 2009, I began transitioning when my mom kindly offered me her clothes to wear. She and I have very different body types; she’s shorter with a beautiful hourglass figure, while I’m a bit taller and lankier. Her clothes on my body made me look androgynous, which was a great first step for me because I lived in a cookie-cutter town where no one even knew what “transgender” meant—yet. At first I wore her jeans (which were baggy on me) and her long-sleeved shirts and cardigans (most of which were too tight, too small in the armholes or didn’t flatter my undeveloped chest.)

While my hair grew longer over the course of the next seven months, we bought androgynous shoes, I donned a simple necklace and eventually wore mascara. That spring, I also started wearing a bra stuffed with pads I took from a high school fashion show I walked in. By May, I felt validated and seen for the first time by my classmates when I wore a dress to prom and became the first openly transgender girl to be voted Prom Queen.

During that first year of my transition, there was so much going on for me socially, emotionally, mentally and physically. I had started hormone blockers that winter and the next year I started estrogen. I learned a lot about my body and how hormones can affect your everyday life then. I was excited for the changes happening, but finding clothes that suited how I felt on the inside became uncomfortable and difficult.

I already hated dressing a body I didn’t identify with, and now I had to dress one that also got hot flashes, chest and back acne, easily greasy hair and oily skin. Eventually those side effects subsided, but during the first few years of transitioning, this took a toll on my confidence and general state of well-being. 

My friends made me feel better by giving me their old clothes and shoes—but none of those pieces reflected my own personal style. Looking back, I was lucky enough to have my mom there to help style me. And now, after having learned the importance of developing your own unique sartorial identity, I’m paying it forward by helping you navigate your own transition, too.

Here, my top fall fashion tips for those transitioning, plus tons of street style inspo.

See each of these with descriptions and photos:

Outfits Can Be As Androgynous, Masculine Or Feminine As You’d Like

When in Doubt, A Long Top Over Leggings Is A Great Go-To Outfit

Maxi Dresses Are A Great (And Effortless!) Fashion Staple

Have Fun With Stylish Pants In Different Textures And Silhouettes

Autumnal Colors Are Always Flattering

Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize

Sarah McBride’s for US Congress

Delaware Democrats back Sarah McBride’s bid to become first openly transgender person in US Congress

Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride

 CNN: Dover, Del.

 — 

State Sen. Sarah McBride has won the Democratic primary for Delaware’s lone seat in the US House of Representatives in a bid to become the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.

“My heart is filled with hope and gratitude,” McBride told The Associated Press. “I’m grateful, I’m hopeful and I’m motivated.”

McBride said Tuesday’s results reflect the “goodness” of Delawareans who judge a candidate “based on ability, not identity.”

“I’m not running to make history,” McBride said. “I’m running to make historic progress for Delawareans.”

“The only identity I want to be known for is my identity as a proud Delawarean,” she said, adding that she wasn’t saying her identity doesn’t matter. “It’s just one part of who I am.”

McBride won Tuesday’s primary over businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom reported raising any money for their campaigns. Cooper is a political newcomer, while Weir finished dead last in a 2016 congressional primary with less than 1% of the vote.

McBride, meanwhile, raised almost $3 million in contributions from around the country. McBride achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.

McBride will face James Whalen III, a retired state police officer and construction company owner from Millsboro, who won the GOP primary race against Donyale Hall, a Dover businesswoman and a Gulf War-era veteran of the US Air Force. Democrats have held the seat since 2010.

The House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who has no primary opponent as she seeks the US Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper. With a victory in November, Blunt Rochester could become one of only two Black women in the Senate next year, joining Angela Alsobrooks of neighboring Maryland if she is also victorious in her campaign.

Non-Binary Outfits, Gender Neutral Clothing and Androgynous Style Ideas

What do your clothes say about you? How do they make you feel? 

Our clothes are important. Or rather, they should be. They should make us feel good about ourselves, or protected or safe. They’re central to the visual narrative that defines us. Saying who we are, what’s important to us, whether we’re style conscious or we prioritise function or comfort. They can tell whether we’re extrovert or introvert. They make us feel part of a community. They’re the way we express ourselves. 

And for centuries they’ve been a visual marker of our gender.

So as more of us define our gender as being outside the binaries we’re finding that traditional styles and fits don’t necessarily work for us any more. And while society, led by Gen Z, is changing quickly, the fashion world is taking longer to reflect the needs and wants of consumers. 

So we have to work harder and be more creative to find a look that matches our gender expression. 

The idea that you need to look a certain way if you're non-binary is a harmful misconception propagated by the media. Although the world is still grappling with the idea that gender identity is different to gender expression. It’s really up to you how you express yourself. 

Of course some people are happy with gendered clothing, and that's completely valid. But generally Enby people seem to have three approaches to expressing themselves outside of the binaries. The first is to cover up any sign of gender, the second to avoid gendered clothing entirely, and the third is about not being bound by any gender norms and breaking out to wear whatever feels good.

Of course these are not prescriptive. You can take a single path or mix it up. How you express yourself is down to whatever matches your personality and feels good, because it really depends on who you are and how much you want to draw attention. 

So here we’ve put together a few fashion and styling ideas to help you look good and feel good wherever you go. But remember, you might not get it right on your first try. This is very much about experimentation and it’s your style to define.

Read More

The word androgynous refers to the quality of possessing both masculine and feminine traits. So androgynous fashion incorporates both feminine and masculine. Wearing androgynous clothing is much more of an act of resistance, it says “I refuse to comply to what you consider socially acceptable.”

Feminine Differential - The Cami

 

A camisole is a sleeveless undershirt typically worn by women, extending to the waist. The camisole is usually made of satin, nylon, silk, or cotton. Wikipedia

Historically, camisole referred to jackets of various kinds,[1] including overshirts (worn under a doublet or bodice),[2] women's négligées, and sleeved jackets worn by men.

Modern usage

In modern usage, a camisole or Cami is a loose-fitting  sleeveless undershirt which covers the top part of the body but is shorter than a chemise. A camisole normally extends to the waist but is sometimes cropped to expose the midriff, or extended to cover the entire pelvic region. Camisoles are manufactured from light materials, commonly cotton-based, occasionally satin or silk, or stretch fabrics such as lycra, nylon, or spandex. 

A camisole typically has thin "spaghetti straps" and can be worn over a brassiere or without one.

My note: I love the look or the cambric shirt shirt and a Cami underneath allows for button to left open. This past week at my lingerie store, Soma, I purchases one with a bra built in that has small seamless pads and no bra structure; just basic . It is described as the "EnblissTank With Built-In Bra"

Definitely a feminine (sexy) differential.

My Son To Be A Flower Boy

 Why Did It Take So Long?

BY MEG KEENE*

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA MCNEILL

The other day, in the car, my gender nonconforming six-year-old brought up a family wedding that happened two years ago. “You made me wear a suit,” he said. “Why did you make me do that?”

The truth is, I didn’t want to make him wear a suit, to that wedding, or anything, ever. I’d done everything I could, given the situation. There had been serious late-night discussions, and later a lot of late-night tears. But, in front of our kid, we tried to sell it as a compromise. His sister got to wear a dress, but we got to dye his suit purple, which is his favorite color. Those compromises came at a cost: a little boy in a bright purple suit and a flower basket was not what anyone had been planning for. But in the end, the compromises weren’t enough. Wearing a suit he didn’t want to wear was painful enough that two years later (that’s a third of his life), he was still upset about it.A family at a wedding

“You should have told them we wouldn’t go to the wedding if I couldn’t wear what made me comfortable. I never want to wear a suit again.”

He’s six. That (tragically) is old enough to know that the world doesn’t accept who he is. But it’s not old enough to understand all of the thought and negotiation that goes into keeping him safe, emotionally and physically. He doesn’t know, because as his parents, we try really hard to hide that from him, because the world is a terrible enough place for a gender nonconforming kid. So he didn’t know about the arguments over the suit, the same way that he didn’t know that I was trying to keep the macho Texan (who wanted to talk to the “cute little girl”) on the airport shuttle from finding out he was a boy before I was able to rush him off at our terminal. My job is to keep him feeling as safe as possible, with his relationships to adults as intact as possible, while still being able to be himself. It’s not always an easy task.

But I did make a promise to him: I would never make him wear a suit again, no matter how many fights I had to get into.

I work in weddings, and while my kids don’t totally understand what that means, it does mean they are more familiar with tying the knot than the average kid. Which means that when family weddings happen, my oldest knows enough to ask to be flower girl… without anyone calling him a girl. He just wants a big beautiful dress like his sister’s, and for nobody to make him feel bad about it. And up until late last year, that had not been in the cards for him.

But then my longtime friend Gina got engaged. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I was overwhelmed and delighted. I didn’t expect her to ask my kids to be in the wedding, because while they’re almost family (her niece and nephew are my kids’ informal cousins), she had a lot of actual family under the age of six to account for.

But then, I got a text from Gina, where she asked not one, but both of my kids to be flower children. My six-year-old was over the moon. Turns out, Gina had always wanted to be a flower girl as a child but never had the chance. So, when it came to her own wedding, she wanted to have a group of flower children that included any kid who wanted to be one. And for once, that included my son.

Instead of endless fighting and negotiating about suits that might be acceptable to him, this time he got to pick from a bunch of dresses that made him happy. Instead of arguing over what kind of shoes he’d be willing to wear with a suit, he got to pick from a ton of sparkly shoes where each delighted him more than the last. And when the flower crowns got passed out, there was one for him, and you could see the pure joy that swept over him in that moment.

Read more of Meg's comments on GENDER AND WEDDINGS

So I’m so grateful to Gina for creating just enough safe space at her wedding that my kid was finally able to live his dream of being flower child. Because all that worry and toxic mess aside? He fit right in with the other kids. And all you could see was the glow on his face—how damn happy he was to get to be his true self at the wedding.

*Meg Keene  - Meg is the Founder of A Practical Wedding (APW) and has been the sites EIC for the past twelve years. She has written two best selling wedding books: A Practical Wedding and A Practical Wedding Planner. Meg’s work has been referenced in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Jezebel, and Refinery29. She’s also written hugely viral wedding articles for Buzzfeed. She lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and two children. For more than you ever wanted to know about Meg, you can visit MegKeene.com.

Political Cartoons 9-8-2024

 

Shoes Transform...

 

I Love A Success Story - Nathan Westling

Nathan Westling is one of the most high-profile transgender male models in the industry.

Introducing Nathan Westling

CNN by Allyssia Alleyne

Nathan Westling

When I ask Nathan Westling what he sees in the mirror, he describes "a masculine version of my old self." His red hair is shorn short, his voice has deepened and his face seems more angular, despite the fact he's about 20 pounds heavier than he was six months ago. ("But it looks good," the 22-year-old insists, laughing. "I'm growing into my young adult male body.")

He hasn't sprouted any facial hair, to his mild disappointment, but otherwise Westling looks like just another Santa Monica skater boy -- albeit one with an otherworldly beauty about him.

Until recently, it seemed like you couldn't open a major fashion magazine without seeing Westling's dark eyes staring out at you from behind his signature cascading curls. Since making his high fashion debut on the Marc Jacobs runway in 2013, when he was still going by the name Natalie, Westling had ascended to the upper ranks of the industry, fronting ad campaigns for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Chanel, Dior and Alexander McQueen, and appearing in Vogue's American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French and Russian editions.

But by last April, his priorities had shifted from his career to himself. After a decade spent receiving therapy and medication for depression, anxiety and anger issues, he finally decided to address what he'd always known to be the underlying problem. To do so, he decamped from his base in New York to Los Angeles to begin transitioning from life as Natalie to life as Nathan.

Read more here.

However, out trans male models remain rare in fashion, and when Westling returns to the industry, he'll instantly become the most high-profile trans man working at the top tier. He and his agents have already been in touch with past major clients, and he says the responses have been universally supportive. A week before our interview, Westling was shot for the cover of a major fashion magazine (no, he won't tell me which one), and while he declines going into detail, he says the designers he's worked closest with have promised to stand by him.

Feminine Differential - Sometimes Physiological

Madden Girl
Playy Chunky Lace-Up Sneakers

Sigmund Freud allergically said, "Sometimes a sneaker is just a sneaker." Or was that a 'cigar'. 

Perhaps the most famous phrase attributed to Freud, however, there is little evidence that he actually did said it. My point is that some items of fashion are so utilitarianism and androgynous that only the wearer is cognizant of it's gender designation.  

What is interesting in my daily wardrobe; I have few male designated articles of clothing/apparel left. Somewhat intentional - Somewhat by happenstance.  

At work 

Early in my crossdressing days, every (few and far-between) dress-up events were well planned and executed outing. For conventions, I had elaborate spreadsheets prepared of outfits designated by morning, lunch and evening. Later in my crossdressing life, evening out to a club or support group meeting warranted days of planning and shopping to match dress, shoes, purse.  

No, I have not moved on. Being transgender is still an integral part of my internal operating system. It has, at the very minimum, complicated relationship and social interactions. Still I am proud of my activism and being what/who I am. Being transgender has added so much to my life; nothing ordinary going on here.   

My transgender life is no longer just a support group cocktail party or hiding in the back row at a piano concert.  I have worked as an administrative assistant, museum membership director, office manager, serve on several boards, and just for fun, work part time at a retail lingerie shop. I shop at the market, have Dr. visits, and recently upgraded my motorcycle as the person, "I AM".     

I strive for what is described below with my feminine differentials:

A Zen condition is a state of being that involves a calm attentiveness, where actions are guided by intuition rather than conscious effort. It can also refer to a state of mind where one is completely immersed in the present moment, practicing mindfulness in every action and thought. 

With the sneakers above, few if any will, notice that these are gendered female. I will know and enjoy the internal moment of being. 

 

Why Would Any Guy,,,

Fred C. Ellis (5 June 1885 – 10 June 1965)

 

My Note:  I am not sure of the ordinality of this but it does appear to be a recaptioned drawing. Maybe it started from the famous cartoonist C. Ellis?  If anyone has more info, please share.

This had such a ring of truth, I wanted to share it!  

Moms For Liberty Goes All In On Transphobia

“There’s no such thing as a transgender child,” the far-right group’s co-founder told HuffPost at a convention that platformed speakers fearmongering about LGBTQ+ rights.

By Nathalie Baptiste

WASHINGTON ― Hundreds of mostly white women gathered at a swanky downtown hotel to hear prominent conservative speakers and strategize with other moms about how to spread their message across the country.

Decked out in everything from stylish pantsuits, light-up American-flag jackets and, obviously, Donald Trump swag, the crowd at the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit cheered and hollered as speaker after speaker spewed hate about transgender people ― all under the guise of protecting children.

Moms for Liberty Embrace Trump 

Moms for Liberty, a far-right group that largely focuses on getting conservative parents elected to school boards, grew out of the pushback against pandemic school closures and masking requirements. It has since morphed into a so-called parental rights organization that rails against racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, and takes up such causes as pushing schools to remove books that don’t embody the group’s conservative values.

At the 2024 summit this week, the focus was on fearmongering about trans kids and criticizing school employees who support them.

“There’s no such thing as a transgender child,” Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, told HuffPost in an interview.

Her position is a common one among conservatives, who have taken to attacking trans rights around the country ― even as less than 1% of the U.S. population identifies as trans. The right wing has attacked gender-affirming care as “child abuse,” though the American Pediatrics Association says such care can be lifesaving by reducing the risk of suicidal ideation.

Seth Dillon, CEO of the conservative satire website Babylon Bee, talked about “gender madness” when he addressed the crowd. Actor Rob Schneider, who had a prime-time speaking slot on Thursday night, claimed that children were getting “mutilated.” Texas state Rep. Shawn Thierry, who lost her primary this spring, announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party in part because of members’ views on transgender youth. Maud Maron, a former New York City community education council member who was removed from her post for sending anti-transgender text messages, claimed men were playing in women’s sports.

“I think the federal government pushing child abuse really concerns American parents,” Justice said when asked why there was so much focus on trans issues at the summit.

“Cutting off the healthy body parts of children is pretty extreme, right?” she said. “We’re cutting off the healthy body parts of girls.” She was referring to gender-affirming surgeries such as mastectomies, which are very rarely performed on minors.

...

“If you see buzzwords like ‘inclusivity’ and ‘safe and welcoming,’ that means gender ideology is alive and well in that school,” she warned.

Happy Labor Day '24

 

Yes, I am working today. However, it is a job I enjoy

Political Cartoons 9-1-2024

 

US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery

The cemetery [Arlington National Cemetery] said it “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” which includes “photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”

One Day...

 

I Love A Success Story - Hailey Davidson

Begins quest to become first transgender woman to earn LPGA card at Q-School

By - Beth Ann Nichols
August 19, 2021 

The par-4 fifth at the The Dye Preserve in Jupiter, Florida, used to be a juicy risk/reward hole for Hailey Davidson at about 290 yards with a cut driver. Now Davidson jokes that she could get the luckiest bounce off a concrete path and still not reach the green. Six years into her gender transition, Davidson reckons she’s now shorter off the tee than the Korda sisters.

“Lost another half a club of yardage,” bemoaned Davidson earlier this month. “I thought I was done losing yardage.”

This week Davidson, 28, becomes the second transgender woman to tee it up in the first stage of LPGA Q-School. The first, Bobbi Lancaster, was a 63-year-old physician from Arizona who earned Symetra Tour status in 2013, but ultimately spent her time traveling the country as a human rights advocate.

Now Davidson, who earned a scholarship to play on the men’s team at Wilmington University, an NCAA Division II school in Delaware, before transferring to the men’s team at Christopher Newport, an NCAA Division III school in Virginia, begins her journey toward trying to become the first transgender player to earn status on the LPGA.

Davidson began undergoing hormone treatments on Sept. 24, 2015, a date that’s tattooed on her right forearm, and in January, underwent gender reassignment surgery, a six-hour procedure that’s required under the LPGA’s Gender Policy.

On May 13, Davidson won her first professional title on the NWGA tour (National Women’s Golf Association), beating several LPGA players in the process including Paula Creamer and Perrine Delacour. She is believed to be the first trans woman to win a professional tournament in the U.S. and now owns three titles.

On June 8, Davidson received confirmation from the LPGA that she was eligible to compete in tour qualifying school, after having met the tour’s criteria of at least one year of hormonal therapy and gender reassignment surgery. The 72-hole event, held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, is being staged Aug. 19-22 and a minimum of 95 players and ties will advance to Stage II out of a field of 339.

Davidson knows that any kind of success she might enjoy on the LPGA will be laced with controversy. Her quest comes at a time when anti-transgender legislation is being passed and debated across the United States.

I guess that’s what frustrates me the most. If I play bad, then people will feel justified – ‘Oh well, she played bad and wasn’t good enough.’ – If I do anything good, it won’t be because of the fact that I put my whole life into this … it would be because I’m trans.

See Hailey's Blog "Becoming Hailey" and read more here.

Feminine Differential - The A-Line White Dress

StyleWe
Urban Daily Loose Plain Shirt Dress

I know, a lot more that just a differential; a full blown feminine presentation. Something called out to me with its cool summer look; it's shortness and understated elegance. I can see this being worn for an outdoor cafe  lunch or just a mall trip. Most any heels or sandal would turn this into a statement dress.  A little bit of a retro-look from my teen years.  

I purchased similar dresses from Macys, and two from Amazon.  Neither were anything close to the look shown here. So did purchase from StyleWe and it does look just as good in person as with the model.    

One reviewer stated: "Cute and versatile, this dress can be dressed up or down effortlessly."   I completely agree. 

It is cotton that has substance, a crisp feel (not thin), shirt collar and comes in small to XXL.  

For me a change from my, oh so typical, jeans, tee and sneakers. Enjoy.   

Musical Interlude - You Belong With Me

 

You Belong With Me - Song by Taylor Swift

Cute … 

"She wears high heels, I wear sneakers..."

Feminine Differential - Pairing Shoes to Jeans

A Woman’s Guide to the Best Shoes to Wear with Jeans in 2024 | ShoeTease

By: AuthorCristina Ehm  February 18, 2024

Welcome to ShoeTease: The shoe & style blog that brings shoe lovers together! Learn all about ShoeTease on our About page.

 With many women stepping back into their jeans from a long hiatus (you know, from sweats and leggings!), a recap on how to style jeans – specifically what shoes to wear with jeans, is in order!  

My Note:  I am not a slave to fashion rules.  Like the rule.  "no white after Labor Day", etc. However, sometimes suggestion make sense and add just the right "Feminine Differential".

Enjoy:

PBCHRC Summer Soirée

 

Political Cartoons 8-25-2024 - A Musical Sunday

Classic TV Theme: Gilligan's Island

The Addams Family Theme song

Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows

The three Cs

 

Florida's Official Tourism Website...

Quietly Scrubs 'LGBTQ Travel' Page

The removal is being called "yet another deliberate step in making Florida a hostile environment for LGBTQ people." 

By Nina Golgowski
August 21, 2024

A billboard welcoming visitors to
"Florida: The 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' State"

Florida’s official tourism website has quietly scrubbed a page promoting local LGBTQ-friendly travel destinations, in what has been widely interpreted as another in a long series of steps meant to intimidate, persecute and marginalize the LGBTQ+ community under the state’s conservative governor, Ron DeSantis.

VisitFlorida.com’s “LGBTQ Travel” section ― which featured links to the state’s “top 10 gay beaches” and information about LGBTQ chambers of commerce and LGBTQ road trips ― was last documented as being operative in mid-April by the internet archive site Wayback Machine, as first reported by NBC News on Monday.

“SUNSHINE FOR ALL,” the page had declared when it was active. “There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activities ― a draw for people of all orientations, but specially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.”

An official reason for the page’s removal was not immediately clear. Representatives with Visit Florida did not respond to HuffPost’s calls and emails seeking comment. The website’s calendar of events still includes listings for upcoming LGBTQ-themed events across the state.

Visit Florida is not a government agency, but it receives public funding in a public-private partnership with the state legislature, which has worked to strip and limit LGBTQ+ rights throughout the state under DeSantis’ leadership.

These policies include the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law (which was recently amended under a settlement), as well as laws regarding public school bathrooms, books and children’s sports. Indirectly, there was also a recent summer ban on cities lighting up bridges at night with colors other than red, white and blue, after a county commissioner objected to a rainbow display on a Tampa Bay bridge, as The Washington Post reported.

Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida ― which issued a travel advisory last year for the state, as did other civil rights organizations ― said the removal of the tourism page “is yet another deliberate step in making Florida a hostile environment for LGBTQ people.”

Read More...

The survey ― published by the IGLTA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association ― also found that 53% of respondents said they would not attend an LGBTQ+ event in Florida because of the state’s laws and policies.

Worldwide, about 47% of those surveyed perceived the Sunshine State as somewhat unwelcoming or very unwelcoming for LGBTQ+ travelers. Within the U.S., 80% of respondents said the same thing.

When asked what might prevent them from visiting the state, an overwhelming 84% of respondents cited DeSantis’ statements or legislative priorities. The same percentage cited the state’s unfriendly laws and policies toward LGBTQ+ people.

What should you wear to work if you’re nonbinary?

 

According to Mx. Olivares, government needs
 to embrace the idea of people wearing
“whatever makes them feel powerful
and confident
and secure." Credit...


Clement Pascal for The New York Times

How nonbinary professionals thread the needle of getting dressed for the office.

By Shane O’Neill

It may not be the most pressing question that gender-nonconforming people face on the job, but with approximately 1.2 million L.G.B.T.Q. Americans identifying as nonbinary, employers and employees alike are exploring what professional attire can look like.

“I think people treat me with more dignity when I dress more masculinely, but people are way nicer to me when I dress more femininely,” said El Layla Johnson, 33, a former restaurant server who is now a therapist.

For Mx. Johnson, getting dressed for work has been a struggle since adolescence.

“I just feel like there’s a manual or rule book that people receive and that my copy got lost in the mail,” said Mx. Johnson, who, like many nonbinary people, uses the pronouns they and them.

Mx. Johnson recalled regularly crying while getting dressed for work at an upscale restaurant in Seattle. It wasn’t just that they found the restaurant’s dress code to be ugly (though they did). Mx. Johnson had a hard time finding clothes that fit at all.

“I’m six feet tall, I’ve always had really big feet and wide shoulders but a small waist and a really big butt,” they said. “And so it is not easy for me to find clothing in the men’s section or the women’s section that fits me well.”

Cooper Howell, an actor and bartender
 who sometimes opts for a kilt instead of jeans 

Now, as a therapist who works with L.G.B.T.Q. patients, Mx. Johnson finds that their own agender identity can be an asset. “The fact that I have a rat tail and piercings and tattoos, I actually believe that people might feel more comfortable with me or relate to me more easily,” they said.

Deciding what’s appropriate for work can be fraught for employees of any gender, especially in this post-lockdown-but-still-Zooming “power casual” moment. But many nonbinary people report unique pressures that accompany choosing a work outfit.

For video call sessions, Mx. Johnson usually opts for simplicity. “I pick one shirt and I wear it all week and I hang it on the back of my office chair,” they said. “And that is great because it just takes so much of the consideration out of it.”

_____

“The nonbinary people in your workplace have so much to give,” Mx. Dunham said. “Don’t let stumbling over pronouns or the dress code make it difficult for what are going to be some of your best employees.”

Musical Interlude - Those Were The Days

Lauren, Remember those good old day /nights in Tampa. 

Those were the days with April and Edie at BJ's and Baxter's.  

 

Those Were The Days - Mary Hopkin {Stereo} 1968

Phil Donahue Dies At 88

Phil Donahue, talk show host pioneer dies at 88

My Note:  One of my first viewed mainstream discussions on Cross dressing  occurred on his daytime show.  In the show below he even cross-dressed himself.  He was respectful and the show was informative. This was not his last show on the seldom discussed subject.  Thank you Phil.  See my 2016 discussion on the show. 

Phil Donahue, an innovative TV host who rose to fame in the late 1960s after being the first person to interact with a studio audience and bring new ideas into American living rooms, died Sunday, his family said. He was 88.

"Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie," said a statement from his family

History Repeating - 1933 / 2024

 

Florida College Discards Gender Studies Books Ahead Of New School Year. The tiny state-run college endured a hostile takeover by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.

2024

When hundreds of books got hauled away in a dumpster from the library of the New College of Florida on Thursday, the tiny liberal arts college with a governing board dominated by appointees of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis once again found itself at the center of the state’s culture wars.

“We abolished the gender studies program. Now we’re throwing out the trash,” Christopher Rufo, a DeSantis appointee to the Sarasota college’s governing board, posted Friday on X, formerly Twitter.

The American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, condemned the college for “a brazen act of censorship.”

“These actions are nothing short of a cultural purge, reminiscent of some of history’s darkest times, where regimes sought to control thought by burning books and erasing knowledge,” Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACU of Florida, said in a statement.

Both sides were responding to accounts spread through social media that officials at the campus of roughly 700 students had sent a large collection of books from the college’s recently shuttered gender studies program to a local landfill.

But a statement by New College administrators said people were confusing two different batches of books. It said volumes taken away by dumpster came from a routine culling of the main library’s collection, largely to get rid of old and damaged books. Books related to gender studies, it said, were also placed outside the library and “were later claimed by individuals planning to donate the books locally.” [still taken away from the University]

1933

Beginning on May 10, 1933, Nazi-dominated student groups carried out public burnings of books they claimed were “un-German.” The book burnings took place in 34 university towns and cities. Works of prominent Jewish, liberal, and leftist writers ended up in the bonfires. The book burnings stood as a powerful symbol of Nazi intolerance and censorship.

On 6 May 1933, the Institute of Sexology, an academic foundation devoted to sexological research and the advocacy of homosexual rights, was broken into and occupied by Nazi-supporting youth. Several days later the entire contents of the library were removed and burned.

The institute was initially occupied by The German Student Union, who were a collective of Nazi-supporting youth. Several days later, on 10 May, the entire contents of the library were removed to Berlin’s Bebelplatz Square. That night, along with 20,000 other books across Germany, they were publicly burned in a symbolic attack by Nazi officials on their enemies.

Founded in 1919, the institute had been set up by Magnus Hirschfeld, a world-renowned expert in the emerging discipline of sexology. During its existence, thousands of patients were seen and treated, often for free. The Institute also achieved a global reputation for its pioneering work on transsexual understanding and calls for equality for homosexuals, transgender people and women. Hirschfield himself was a passionate advocate for homosexual rights and had long appealed for the repeal of Paragraph 175, the law that criminalised homosexuality in Germany.

Jewish, gay and outspokenly liberal, Hirschfeld was an obvious target for the Nazis, and the seizure and destruction of the institute on 6 May took place only three months after Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany. During the attack and subsequent book burning, Hirschfeld was working in Paris. He saw the burning of his own library in a news report at the cinema. Among the texts thrown onto the bonfire at the Bebelplatz was Heinrich Heine’s Almansor, in which the author noted:

‘Where they burn [destroy] books, in the end they will burn [destroy] humans too’.