America is a strange place these days.

While the government is slowly trying to take away women’s access to affordable health care and contraceptives, and simply ignoring national events, such as Pride Month, the American public is beginning to accept people who don’t identify as traditional male or female.

Another box to check

In June, Oregon’s Transportation Commission chose to add a third gender option to the IDs and driver’s licenses it issues. Now, Oregonians can choose male, female, or non-binary. The non-binary option is signified by a “X”.

“There are daily interactions such as checking out at a grocery store, checking in at a doctor’s appointment—and an incorrect gender marker means the potential to be misgendered and have painful and very uncomfortable experiences at all of those stages,” J. Gibbons, a 26-year-old college counselor who supports the change, says.

California also may add a non-binary option soon, too. The state’s senators recently passed the Gender Recognition Act, which will allow a third gender—non-binary—on all government forms.

Additions such as the formerly mentioned ones are technically small, but important for anyone who has never felt traditionally male or female.

Political candidates who represent the people

While small changes, such as a new box to check on government forms, are important, larger ones, such as transgender political candidates on ballots, are almost a bit bigger.

The U.S. government should reflect the country—that’s what makes democracy work, Joshua Goodman, political consultant in LA and Democratic Party activist, says.

“We need people who have the lived experience of being transgender or non-binary in government. Policies that effect their lives aren’t being made by people who can’t possibly understand them,” he says.

Although having transgender politicians on ballots isn’t as important as general cultural tolerance and expansion of the rule of law to include transgender and gender non-conforming people through criminal justice and bureaucratic reforms, there is something to be said for having transgender people in respected roles, Meg Arnold, a non-binary resident of California, adds.

“That helps to bridge the gap from fear to tolerance and, hopefully, to acceptance.”

Changing public opinion

Although having an inclusive political landscape is important, the landscape can’t change unless the public evolves a little quicker. What can speed up that evolution? Education about tolerance.

Transgender and non-binary are legitimate classifications. Once the public can accept these classifications, they also begin to support inclusive politics, rights, etc., Arnold says.

“A cornerstone of American culture is tolerance, and even if individuals are not able to accept trans and gender non-conforming people, there is something to be said for toleration,” Arnold adds.

Tolerance can help remove political barriers to self-expression and individual dignity. And understanding the bureaucratic hoops involved in transition is vital. But let’s not forget how expensive those hoops are. Hoops cost taxpayers; transgender and cisgender alike.

So, when tolerance wins, we all win.

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Continuing the trend of breaking body, social, and gender norms in the fashion industry, transgender models are making waves in the world of high fashion.

For the first time in decades, the modeling industry is finally beginning to depart from the cookie-cutter body type norms that we’re used to. From wheelchair-bound women gliding down the catwalk, to high-fashion models with Down syndrome, this is just a sampling of the major shakeups that have been happening. Thanks in part to the liberal, open-minded, positive, and expressive demeanor that is the Millennial, the strides in the fashion and beauty industries are becoming more pronounced every day, in part because of pushback from their desire to welcome with open arms what so many before them (foolishly) believed was intolerable.

While on the cusp of major fashion industry change, there has been an even newer trend emerging. Transgender models are not only a welcome and refreshing addition to NYFW and the like, but they’re needed now more than ever. According to a survey conducted in the United States, more than 1.4 million adults identify as transgender, and, in a separate research study, findings show that trans men and trans women have a high rate of suicide and attempts, which has been attributed to mental health factors, experiences of harassment, discrimination, violence, and rejection.

Fortunately, the work of several emerging and veteran transgender models, including the establishment of New York’s first ever transgender modeling agency, has given millions of trans Americans someone to look up to in the mainstream fashion and beauty industries.

1. Pêche Di

Pêche Di is a model and founder of the first trans modeling agency in the United States. After personally facing discrimination in the industry, Trans Models was born. Although the agency is small since it remains difficult for non-cis models to get hired, it is still a groundbreaking step for trans people. An outspoken trans supporter, on the topic of Transgender Day of Visibility, which began in 2009, Di had this to say: “We are part of society. We do all kinds of jobs, have all kinds of interests, come from all demographics. I resist staying silent and I won’t be quiet.”

2. Hari Nef

In addition to being an activist and an actress, Hari Nef is the first trans woman to be signed to IMG Worldwide. She began modeling while transitioning, and is open about the documentation of her gender reassignment surgery. Nef is often sought after for high-fashion shoots, but always keeps her feet on the ground, as evidenced by this advice to her more than 200,000 Instagram followers, “My experience with clothes is mediated by my job which often entails access to luxury garments. These are beautiful things, but they are by no means 1. the revolution, 2. the only conduit for sartorial healing and resistance. Whether it’s Gucci or Goodwill: stay colorful confrontational and weird.”

3. Shane Henise

Transgender researcher, advocate, public speaker, and model Shane Henise is a Columbia graduate student who appeared on Laverne Cox’s “The T Word” documentary and is signed by Trans Models NYC. He wanted to use the platform as an opportunity to show that trans people deserve respect and love, just like anyone else. When it comes to how trans people are portrayed, Henise believes, “Because trans people are not given visibility in media, our society only has one idea of what trans looks like. In reality, there are so many different ways to be trans and expressions of trans identity. I am hoping that moving forward people begin to think about what their perceptions of trans people look like and can begin to integrate a more comprehensive and inclusive picture.” He goes on to say, “I will always choose to be visible for those who are unable or unsafe to do so.”

4. Carmen Carrera

Carmen Carrera is a model, actress, and activist who is signed by Elite Models New York and L.A. Models Runway. She appeared on the reality television series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and was part of an issue-wide art project for W magazine. Carrera often speaks at universities and gives interviews on trans rights. When commenting on her appearance in the docuseries “Outpost,” she says of the alarming statistics of Brazil’s trans community, which includes 90 percent of people in Brazil working in the sex industry, 46.7 percent of the world’s trans murders happening in Brazil, and 40 percent of trans people contemplating suicide overall, “Learning these statistics, the world needs to change and I will do everything in my power to help protect the future of our trans youth.”

5. Laith Ashley (De La Cruz)

Singer, songwriter, dancer, and print and runway model, Laith Ashley launched his career with a shoot for Barneys New York and was one of the first transgender models to ever appear in a national campaign. When talking to Vogue, Ashley felt that growing up trans in the U.S. wasn’t that difficult for him since he had the support of his family and those closest to him. When addressing his more than 150,000 Instagram followers, he also includes poignant messages alongside photos of his muscles and megawatt smile. Ashley recently shared this sentiment: “I am black, I am latino, I am a child of immigrants, and I am an out transgender man. I proudly walk in my truth every day and try my hardest to serve the community with the platform I am so fortunate to have.”

6. Casil McArthur

Casil McArthur has been modeling since the age of 10, but when the gender dysphoria he had been struggling with for years could no longer be repressed, McArthur began his transition as a teen. After coming out to friends and family, he reportedly made his terms blatantly clear to his agents. If they wanted a girl, then he could no longer work for them. Perhaps one of the more fortunate trans models, in that he received representation, he was quickly signed by Soul Artist Management.

On social media, McArthur openly shares photos of his female-to-male transition. In a recent post showing side-by-side photos of him from age thirteen to fifteen to current day, he said “I’m so genuinely [sic] happy, you would not recognize my personality from before my transition. If you would compare it to who I am now. You wouldn’t recognize me. I didn’t think it’d make it this far, I thought I’d be dead before I’d ever see a day like this. But I’m alive and I am powerful.”

He goes on to encourage his followers by saying, “Never stop fighting for yourself, because the reward of winning is far too great. And I promise, if you’re struggling. You will get there, you WILL get there. Don’t you dare ever give up.”

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Girls have to wear pink, boys, of course, wear blue. Only women can wear skirts. But those skirts can’t be too short.

It’s all preconceived nonsense. But, sadly, we live in a world that has a hard time accepting people who don’t dress like their birth gender, don’t live a heterosexual lifestyle, or who identify as LGBTQIA.

Gradually, very gradually, people are becoming more accustomed to individuals who identify as LGBTQIA. That’s partly because more people, such as Jaimie Wilson, are talking about their appearance, sexuality, and transition.

We recently connected with Wilson, a musician who transitioned from female to male, over transitioning and how people who are transitioning can deal with people who are—let’s be honest—rude as heck.

EcoSalon: What’s your advice for someone transitioning if they don’t have a lot of support from their family?

Jaimie Wilson: I had no support from my family at all. So first of all, you’re not alone. Secondly, you can do this without them. You don’t need anyone in your life who isn’t supporting your life choices or who isn’t happy for you for being true to yourself. My parents were so concerned with what other people would think of me when I started dressing masculine and cut my hair. They loved the female I presented as before my transition. They didn’t love me. It’s going to be hard losing them, but it’s so worth it to be your true self. It’s not their life, it’s your life.

EcoSalon: How do you deal with inappropriate questions about your transition, and how you look?

Jaimie Wilson: I get inappropriate questions all the time. Strangers are always asking me about my genitals; some out of innocent curiosity, some because they have interest in transitioning, and some want to know because they have it stuck in their mind that penis = man, and vagina = girl. I usually don’t answer questions about what’s in my pants because unless we are sleeping together, you never need to know what I’m working with.

EcoSalon: Any other advice concerning how people can eliminate their preconceived notions about transitioning and people who associate as transgender?

Jaimie Wilson: The biggest misconception is, I guess, you have to “look” the part. I don’t agree. I presented very feminine before I transitioned and people didn’t believe me when I came out. You don’t have to show “signs” of being transgender. I played the part of a feminine girl because that’s what I thought I HAD to do.

I never thought the possibility of transitioning would ever happen for me, so I had to be convincingly female for my family—I didn’t hate myself or my body before my transition. It just never really felt like home to me. I knew I was attractive as a female, so, I just worked with what I had, not knowing I’d ever be able to change. Everyone’s transition is different, though. There is no right or wrong way to transition. Gender is a spectrum and not everyone fits 100 percent male or 100 percent female.

Just be YOU.

Check out Jaimie Wilson’s Instagram account here.

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The post Jaimie Wilson Wants You to Know that Transgender Doesn’t Have a ‘Look’ [Q&A] appeared first on EcoSalon.

Transgender people are about to feel a heck of a lot sexier thanks to an innovative lingerie designer.

Peregrine Honig owns and operates Birdies, an independent lingerie shop in Kansas City, Mo. The pieces she creates are beautiful and unique. About a year ago, Honig began thinking about the transgender community, specifically how they don’t have a line of undergarments that are practical, unique, and beautiful.

“I’ve always been interested in issues of gender identity and transition … all the gray areas,” Honig says. “I’m on a learning curve, because, you know, there’s no Rosetta stone for the transgender dialogue. But through the arts and through the Internet and through conversations, we’re able to educate ourselves, and we have no excuse not to make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

While Honig isn’t transgender, she felt compelled to create a line of functional and gorgeous undergarments after seeing what a friend who was transitioning had to wear. Honig was taken aback by how poorly constructed and “medical” the pieces were. Honig decided to do a bit of detective work to see if anyone was making attractive and well-made undergarments for the transgender community. Her findings? Really depressing. The items available were just as bad as her friend’s garments.

So, Honig got to work and began to research what she needed to do to make underwear for the transgender community. Luckily, Honig had some useful connections that helped her get the idea off the ground. “Miranda Treas, a designer whose lingerie is stocked in Birdies, mentioned to Honig that her aunt, Laura Treas, worked in the post-plastic-surgery industry and had experience in the garment design realm as well,” Today reports.

Just this past September, the new line, called All is Fair in Love and Wear, was successfully funded on Kickstarter. The line is dedicated to making “middlewear,” a term Honig created to “represent the transitional time that the garments are intended to accompany.”

So far, the company is producing “binders,” which are made of comfortable compression fabrics. These fabrics “bind” to create a silhouette while feeling great against a person’s skin. The sleek design makes the product pinch-free. The brand hopes to release more pieces soon.

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Image of All is Fair from the brand’s Facebook page

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Can you imagine how difficult it must be to be transgender in prison? The prison system is a terrible place to be; it’s full of injustice already. And according to Ashley Diamond, it’s even worse for people who are transgender.

Recently, The New York Times featured Diamond’s  frustrating, strong, and sad story about how she’s been/being treated in a Georgia prison. None of the horrible facts of her story are surprising, but that doesn’t make this story any harder to read or report.

Diamond has lived as a woman since she was an adolescent in Rome, Georgia. Before entering the prison system, she had been taking hormones for 17 years.

Diamond was sent to prison in March 2012 for various charges, such as burglary (her main charge), petty criminality, and ultimately, convictions of escape and obstruction of justice. (The last few charges are murky. Diamond and the police have conflicting stories concerning how she incurred those charges.) Ultimately, Diamond could be in prison until November 2023.

Since her first day in prison, Diamond has been defeminized. When she arrived in the Georgia prison, she was “ordered to strip alongside male inmates.” Since the 36-year-old woman entered prison, she has had to deal with the following abuse:

She has been denied her hormone treatment: Luckily, Diamond and other trans inmates recently got a bit of good news about hormone treatment. According to the Time, “Ms. Diamond and, through her, all transgender inmates won the unexpected support of the Justice Department, which intervened on her behalf in the federal lawsuit she filed against Georgia corrections officials in February.”

She has been raped “at least seven times” by inmates.

She has been called a “he-she thing” by prison officials.

She has been put in solitary confinement for “pretending to be a woman.”

All this news has come to light after Diamond filed a lawsuit. Her lawsuit requests the following:

“…Ms. Diamond asks the court to direct prison officials to provide her hormone therapy, to allow her to express her female identity through “grooming, pronoun use and dress,” and to provide her safer housing. She also seeks broader changes in policy and practice.”

I’m saddened that Diamond had to file a lawsuit to just get basic human rights. She should be able to “be” without consequence.

Read more about Diamond’s story here.

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The post The Harrowing Story of Being Transgender in Prison appeared first on EcoSalon.

New York Fashion Week has come and gone.

There was a push for more diversity on the runway by the Council of Fashion Designers of America but did it deliver?  Designers and celebrities worked to make the fashion’s takeover of the city mean more than pretty clothes. Tastemakers used their talents to bring awareness to causes that affected everyone on or off the runway.

New York Fashion Week has the reputation for being a shallow, exclusive affair. While it still attracts the elite, the definition of the insider crowd has evolved. When a star walks the runway, it does more than sell clothes. When a new supermodel is crowned, she may not look like what you expect. While the industry will always love the beautiful people, they just might be talking about what’s inside, not just the outside.

So how did New York Fashion Week make beauty further than skin deep?

1. Desigual’s star model

One of my favorite fashion shows to shoot each season is the Desigual runway. The Spanish brand’s signature esthetic involves lots of colors and patterns. They embrace the customer who is atypical and unique. The model they hired to represent that ethic was Toronto native Chantelle Brown-Young. She has a skin condition called vitiligo which causes skin pigment to disappear. She was mocked for her appearance as a child but now has the last laugh from the end of the runway.  You might have watched her compete on America’s Next Top Model after being scouted by Tyra Banks personally. For years, it was difficult enough to find models of color cast in major designer fashion shows. While progress is still slow, how great is it to see a model that represents multiple colors?

2. Go Red for Women

The American Heart Association’s Red Dress Collection hosts one of the most popular fashion shows each season. The event for Heart Truth opened with Rosie O’Donnell making us laugh while her personal experience having a heart attack moved us emotionally. She stressed the importance of knowing the symptoms of a heart attack for women, which are noticeably different than men.

The models that walked the runway included celebrities of all ages, cultures, and shapes. Each woman shared how she was personally affected by heart health. Models included everyone from “I Dream of Jeannie” Barbara Eden to Donna Mills. YouTube star Bethany Mota, fitness guru Tracy Anderson, divas Thalia and Ciara graced the catwalk. “Orange is the New Black” stars Dascha Polanco vamped it up and her co-star, transgender actress Laverne Cox, gave the best twirl of the night. The fashion industry’s top designers collaborated to outfit each star in a gorgeous red dress. Fans attended in their own red frocks in support.

3. Thrive Causemetics

I encountered beauty makeup artist and founder Karissa Bodnar backstage at the Charlotte Ronson fashion show. Thrive Causemetics provided the lashes for the models. Karissa conceived the premium cosmetics brand after losing her friend to cancer. She developed her luxury false eyelashes so that for each pair purchased, a pair would be donated to someone being treated for cancer that had lost her lashes through her collaboration with the Look Good Feel Better organization. Each style in her collection was named after someone affected by cancer.

4. Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief

The supermodel gathered her top designer and celebrity friends to host a fashion event to raise funds for the  Ebola Survival Fund. The organization works with community-based groups in Liberia and Sierra Leone to help those affected by Ebola. Singer Mary J. Blige, Paris Hilton, Michelle Rodriguez and a group of other celebrities were cheered on by their most passionate fans. Naomi Campbell established Fashion For Relief back in 2005 to inspire the fashion industry to produce events in cities around the world to support timely causes in need.

5. FTL Moda’s diversity casting

The Italian manufacturing promoter worked with Models of Diversity, a London agency that works with physically challenged models to work the finale of their Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week show. The runway presentation included a range of designers for handbags, evening wear to the avant-garde. Gorgeous models with prosthetics, amputee or wheelchair models drew cheers from the photographer’s pit and audience as they displayed the fashion beautifully. I am happy to say this has not been the only fashion show featuring models overcoming physical challenges. Over the past year, I have seen shows around the world featuring models such as this in what I hope is not just a trend.

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ColumnBisexuality has long been mocked as a layover on the way to the “Full Gay” (for men) or its sister stereotype – the “lesbian until graduation.” But it is indeed a real sexual orientation.

It’s not a joke: it’s people’s lives, their loves, and their sex. It’s no longer okay to deride gay men and lesbians for their sexuality (unless you’re on Duck Dynasty) so why is it still okay to make fun of bisexuals, or to ignore them altogether?  We’re well acquainted with the ugliness and systemic bias of homophobia. Many good people are working to eradicate it from the planet forever – and making some good progress. But biphobia – is that a word you’ve heard or used lately?

Thanks to Tom Daley’s new relationship with a man, bisexuality is having a moment, and it’s a teachable one. Other famous bisexuals have recently made news: the new first lady of New York City was an out lesbian before she met and married Bill De Blasio. Maria Bello recently wrote a Modern Love column for the New York Times in which she talked about her relationships with men and women. Cynthia Nixon (star of “Sex and the City” and political activist) was married and had a child with a man, but currently lives with her partner – a woman.

So what’s the big deal? These are just people falling in love, feeling lust, or finding companionship (or some combination of the three). Yet their choices are considered suspect – not just to the privileged hetero-normative culture we live in, but also by the gay and lesbian community. Dan Savage once questioned the authenticity of bisexuality, and then apologized for doing so. I’ve had conversations with gay friends, both men and women, in which they said bisexuals are just greedy or living a lie.

Here is bi activist Shiri Eisner’s take on the myth of bisexual greed:

Greed… is Western society’s fear of sexuality. Of anything not heterosexual-cisgender-coupled-monogamous-vanilla-missionary-position-intercourse-in-bed. Bisexuality is hypersexualized under the presumption that sex is bad, that wanting too much of it is bad, that wanting any of it is bad, that wanting people of more than one gender is bad. That wanting more than one person is bad. Bisexuality means sexual revolution. It means sexual independence for women. It means exploring and enjoying our bodies, our sexualities, our various genders and our sexual interactions, no matter who we are, no matter who our partners. In a society based on sexual fear and a culture of rape, taking our sexualities into our own hands is a revolutionary act.

Anecdotally — I’ve been told by straight women friends that my openness to dating a bisexual guy is weird and gross – yes, really. And male friends (and boyfriends) have had similar responses. Although Generation Y is starting to put these old stereotypes to bed, straight men can be pretty freaked out and threatened by bisexuality – unless they believe that it’s a performance for their pleasure. As long as they feel in control rather than sidelined (assuming the women are subjects to their objectification, as in porn) most dudes are cool with that.

Just as straight people don’t choose to be straight, and gay people don’t choose to be gay, bisexuals don’t choose their orientation. Scientists have begun to establish the fluidity of women’s sexuality, so we’re perhaps more comfortable with the idea of bi women. We’re also titillated by them – which is a huge part of the problem. Apparently Miley Cyrus has been experimenting with same sex liaisons – and it’s big news. Remember when Lindsay Lohan dated Samantha Ronson? The press religiously freaked out about that one. Oh, and also this week, Michelle Rodriguez made out with model Cara Delevingne and OMG OMG OMG. Calm down, people.

Also this week, transgender model Carmen Carerra and “Orange is the New Black” star Laverne Cox were interviewed by Katie Couric, and what happened is illustrative of the general hetero-normative response to anything that isn’t non-threatening vanilla sex (see a few paragraphs above). Couric kept going back to a line of questioning that was essentially, “Wait, but, you have different GENITALS??? How does that WORK?” Cox beautifully schooled Couric about the invasive nature of her questions, and let her know she was entirely missing the point: transgendered people at great risk of violence, and when the press keeps weirdly obsessing about their private parts, we miss the opportunity to talk about the real issues.

The bottom line? As the wise saying goes — love is LOVE.

Got a question for Stefanie? Email stefanie at ecosalon dot com and she’ll answer it in the next Sexual Healing column.

Keep in touch with Stefanie on Twitter: @ecosexuality

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The post You Say Hello, I Say Bisexuality: Understanding the B in LGBTQIA: Sexual Healing appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnChecking a box on a government form doesn’t make you a man.

While I was a student at Smith College in the late ‘90s, there were rumblings about whether a woman who had started identifying as male should be allowed to stay in school. There were debates about why someone who didn’t want to be a woman should be allowed at a women’s college. With perspective, I can see that I didn’t know shit.

As this woman was coming to the realization that she identified as male, or more likely, was finally in a place where she felt safe enough to live as she was, who were any of us to say she didn’t want to be a woman? To make a safe place unsafe? I was annoyed that the T was tacked onto the LGB. Didn’t we have enough problems without adding in a group even more stigmatized than we were, I thought?

To be fair, at 19, my understanding of transgender could be summed up in two words: drag queen. I didn’t have the exposure or information that I have now, but I am still ashamed to have had any question in my mind about whether or not this student should have been on campus. I even am more ashamed of Smith. It seems, despite the fact that kids are transitioning younger and younger and gender is increasingly seen as fluid, Smith has gained no perspective in the intervening years. A recent 17-year-old applicant from Connecticut, Calliope Wong, was denied a review of her application because she was born a male.

Calliope’s social security information identifies her as male, so her federal application for student financial aid form does as well—this, not discrimination, is the issue, according to the College. “Someone whose paperwork consistently reflects female identity will be considered for admission,” Laurie Fenlason, Smith’s vice president for public affairs, told ABC News.

The college says it allows students to transition from female to male after being accepted. But, the school doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with that policy either. Last year, the administration did not allow male transgender student tour guides to host prospective students overnight.

As one professor rightfully said when asked about the Calliope Wong situation, Smith has always been at the forefront of challenging gender roles and supporting lesbian and bisexual students. I think Smith should stay at the forefront, not hide behind paperwork and tighten its pearls.

I understand why Smith is seeking a definitive standard. Relying on how a person is legally categorized keeps the school from having to review applications from men who live as men, just want to go to Smith and say they identify as women (a small group, I’d assume). But this is a blanket approach to a problem that has already been solved by the admissions process itself.

At any school, judgment and opinion play a part. Kick-ass test scores, a 4.3 GPA and a four-page extracurricular resume don’t guarantee anyone a spot at Smith—and not having those things doesn’t necessarily mean a rejection letter. I never would have gotten into the school if the admissions team defined me by my credentials alone. As a transfer student, I wasn’t your typical well-rounded type-A Smithie, but I wrote a good essay, was passionate about the school and lucky enough to interview with someone who saw something in me.

Admissions officers are tasked with building a diverse student body that meets the school’s academic standards. So, if applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis as the college says they are, I think it’s safe to assume that a frat boy who calls himself Mary and applies for fun would be easy to identify. It should also, then, be easy for the admissions team to identify someone like Calliope who might miss the mark in one area—being born a woman—and make the judgment call that she’d be a good addition to the school.

While I was at Smith, one of our constant complaints was that the campus was a bubble; we felt we were all living in a fantasy world where everyone was at least a little queer. What I realize now is that the bubble didn’t exist for everyone—and the place I idealized is actually still just a fantasy.

Smith can talk about semantics and point at paperwork all day long. Students can spend Friday tea (yes, that still happens and it’s awesome) debating the finer points of what makes a woman a woman, but the solution is easy: trust women. Trust that women like Calliope cannot be defined by a box on a government form. None of us can.

Image: Daniela Vladimirova

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