July 2006

A friend of mine and I were gabbing on the phone about some things we’d like to do to better the transgender community where we live. We were brainstorming discussion groups we’d like to lead, organizations with very focused missions, and the general state of how to better the transgender community in the Boston area.

Well, wouldn’t you know that this same topic would come up while I was reading Helen Boyd’s blog, (EN) Gender.  I stumbled upon her post entitled “Three More Ways” which talked about how the National Center for Transgender Equality is in the process of listing a total of 52 Things You Can Do for Transgender Equality. I’ve posted a few here to wet your reading appetite:

#1: Take a Trans Person to Lunch

Or dinner, coffee or afternoon tea. Where and when you go doesn’t matter, but connecting with another person does. Networking strengthens our activism and reminds us why we are doing this work, plus you might make a new friend. So, maybe think of that person in your support group, the cross dresser who doesn’t always talk but is such a great listener—why not get to know her better? What about the transman who volunteered at that event you went to—what about saying thanks to him? How about that college student from the genderqueer organization—seems like an interesting person? Or a person from a group that’s very different than your own—how about finding out what makes them tick? You get the idea. Think of folks you don’t yet know well and drop them an e-mail or give them a call. Let’s start our year of activism with that all important human contact. In future weeks, we’ll include resources on how to put the ideas into action, but we’re sure you’ve got this one covered. So, make plans this week to take a trans person to lunch.

Here’s another one that is a real issue for trans-folk but to which you can really help:

#25: Make a Restroom More Accessible to Trans People

Recently I walked into the offices of a very transgender-friendly group, and yet there was still a restroom problem. There were two single use restrooms, one labeled for men, the other for women. When I pointed it out, they said that they thought transgender people could just use whichever one they felt comfortable with. They were very flexible about restroom usage but hadn’t thought through what their signs conveyed.

The Transgender Law Center has a great resource on bathroom issues called, “Peeing in Peace: A Resource Guide for Transgender Activists and Allies.” It has a wealth of information on everything from how to handle difficult situations in restrooms to how to take action to make policy changes. You can go to their website and click on the box marked “Peeing in Peace” or follow the link above to view or download download the whole document or a summary.

This issue is important because we need safe places to use the restrooms and because it challenges the assumption that everyone fits neatly into a category. When agencies, schools, and groups make clear that their restrooms are safe places for transpeople, they send a message that they are genuinely welcoming to trans people, they’ve considered our needs and planned ahead for our participation.

The group I mentioned at the beginning has already started talking to the other agencies they share space with about their intentions to change the signs. This week, let’s take steps to make restrooms more accessible to trans people.

Other neat ideas include:

• #2: Ask your library to carry books that deal positively with trans people
• #11: Hold a workshop on how to effectively advocate for yourself when seeking medical care or therapy
• #14: Preach or speak at a local community of faith, such as a synagogue, church or mosque
• #18: Educate a local homeless shelter about how to be trans inclusive
• #21: Start a local support or education group

You can find this work in process article at the National Center for Transgender Equality web site by clicking to this link HERE.

By the by, this is not about special rights. This is only about equal rights. Indeed for many of us these are simply the same rights we had prior to coming out. We just want them restored that’s all.

(52 Things graphic used courtesy of National Center for Transgender Equality website)

In my day job I have to constantly learn about new technology. The good news is that it’s nice to be learning something new everyday or at least every week. The bad news is that it can sometimes feel like your constantly drinking from a fire hose. But now there’s help for me and for you. And, as we like to say at the Frugal Tech, it’s free and it’s good which is the best combination.

The source of this is ZDNet’s free, easy and quick learnin’ at ZDNet’s WhiteBoard. You can reach this fabulous service by clicking to The ZDNet’s White Board site at this link HERE. Whiteboard is basically a series of podcasts on various technologies. Everything from what is Wireless Networking, to understanding what Open Source technology is, to dealing with Demand Forecasting in Business is covered. The podcasts last from two to three minutes, are entertaining and informational. One of the best features is being able to get a transcript of the podcast for free.

Go check it out You’ll learn something new and be entertained too and for free. A nice frugal tech deal indeed!

(photo courtesy of katielips photos, used under Creative Commons License)

Reading a blog post by Kellie posted on July 16, 2006 on the topic of smearing got me thinking. I’ll repost a snippet here but you should go back to her site to read the full story (at this link HERE) and her excellent thoughts:

Read this news story [Ed.-from Boston.com regarding a new intolerance that is sweeping Provincetown]. Now, consider for a moment what the response would be from certain quarters were/when equally bigoted, insulting, derogatory comments are made toward the lgbt community by a handful of equally bigoted, insulting, derogatory folks. Inevitably the usual (read: Left-leaning) suspects would decry and tar the entire- take your pick- conservative/Republican/Christian/traditionalist communities for the ignorant bigotry espoused by some within their midst. Should we now equally decry and tar the entire lgbt community as ignorant bigots based upon the despicable acts of some as accounted in the above story?

I think Kellie is on to something very important in her post on this case of potential reverse discrimination in Provincetown, MA. I was at a Gender Coalition meeting for tolerance and rights for transgender folk about two months ago. In the midst of that meeting someone said that the “right” really hates transgender folk and will try to put a stop to any actions we might take to gain equal rights (not special ones, just the same old rights we all had before some of us came out as transgender - which if we do that we do generally to make other people feel comfortable with us; talk about catch-22). I had to stop and (politely) challenge this person saying that not everyone on the right is bigoted or small minded and unable to see that being born with the incorrect birth anatomy or being somewhat off center from the standard issue gender is a horrific event. Indeed, there are many who have no issue with us at all and would happily defend us, why? By and large, most of us aren’t doing anything to harm anyone else, we’re just seeking a little balance and normalcy in our lives and many on the right see that as well.

Bottom line? Neither the right nor the left should be whitewashed for the extreme activities of some of their members. I would argue those extreme elements need to exist in their groups to actually ignite change and to cause open debate, but to whitewash ALL the left or ALL the right unfairly with the extreme (and many times wrong view) is just that, it’s unfair.

(image courtesy of Emdot, used under Creative Commons License)

Could it be true that you could get a return on your invested dollars and do something good to help out others? Well you may be surprised to learn that there is such a vehicle. It’s managed by the Calvert Foundation, In their owns words:

The Calvert Social Investment Foundation (Calvert Foundation) was established with a simple goal: to help end poverty through investment. It serves as a facility for individuals and institutions, seeking to place capital on softer terms to finance affordable homes, fund small and micro businesses and to make available essential community services. Calvert Foundation works to provide investment capital to local partner non-profits that use common sense and compassion to help people in disadvantaged communities to work themselves out of poverty.

Vehicles such as the Calvert Foundation are the providers or funnel of capital from people like you and me to programs of Social Entrepreneurship that do one thing; drive solutions to the many problems plagueing our society rather than letting them languish any longer. You can read about the Calvert Foundation by clicking to their web site at this link HERE.

“You run like a girl” often implies that the person running (be they girl or boy) runs a little less then optimally shall we say. Such a term would never be implied to such amazing athletes as Joan Benoit, Grete Waitz, Paula Radcliffe, Svetlana Masterkova, or Rita Jeptoo. Of course if you ran like any of the women I just listed you’d want to run like a girl!

But what if you had a chance to run as a boy and then as a girl? Does gender matter in athletics for performance? Without going into the science behind it one woman knows both, as Runner’s World wrote in this excellent article on Janet’s Furman’s life, her transition, and her being an athlete:

Ever wonder how much faster (or slower) you’d run if you were the opposite sex? Janet Furman Bowman may be the only runner in America who knows.

You can read Janet’s incredible story at this Runner’s World article by clicking to it HERE.

(picture courtesy of M_M_Mnemonic and used under Creative Commons License)

Victims of domestic violence are often in a pretty bad way by the time you come to know them. Surprisingly one out of every four LGBT persons are battered by their partner. Here is a good definition from The Network La Red a Boston, Massachusetts based organization that advocates for victims of abuse:

What is abuse?

Abuse is a pattern of behavior where one person tries to control the thoughts, beliefs or actions of a partner, friend or any other person close to them. It can include physical, emotional, sexual and/or economic abuse. While some folks who are abused fight back, abuse is never mutual. Domestic abuse happens in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and straight communities and crosses all social, ethnic, racial, and economic lines. An individual’s size, strength, politics, gender presentation, or personality does not determine whether s/he can be abused or an abuser.

Sadly, in a report from October 27, 2005 by the GLBT Domestic Violence Coalition and Jane Doe, Inc., found that 57% of GLBT Domestic Violence victims become homeless(you can download a copy of that report from this link HERE).

If you happen to find yourself in that situation or know of someone who is the one thing keeping them in an abusive relationship maybe not knowing they can go someplace safe and not have to live on the street.

The Network La Red is a place to turn in those situations. You can reach them at The Network/La Red Hotline, 617-423-SAFE (7233) v 617-338-7233 TTY, and speak with a staff member or a trained peer volunteer, You can also go to their web site for help by clicking to The Network La Red HERE.

Economically China represents a wonderful opportunity to reduce the costs of goods being developed and a market for new goods. But when it comes to Christianity, it’s not welcome at all. Please read this story about Zhang Rongliang being imprisoned at this link HERE or at Radio Free China at this link HERE.

Is this a commercial market with no soul in China? I’ll be the first to confess I am not an economist. But I do live in a (mostly) free market system in the United States. What do I think makes our system works? A few pieces really but they work together, sometimes painstakingly slowly, but they appear to work together none-the-less. Those pieces are:

• A (mostly) free market (for commerce, thought, social ogranization and communication)
• Democracy of government
• A social system that enforces the rule of law where people won’t behave morally or ethically
• Some ingrained sense that ethics and people matter (imperfectly even; with a chance to change people’s views where they don’t)

I don’t pretend it’s perfect. For example, Morwen posted at Gentilly Girl a report that made me furious regarding the doctoring of a plan to develop Category 5 hurricane protection across the state of Louisiana. The doctoring was done, inexplicably, by the White House! (you can read her post at this link HERE). So no, we aren’t perfect. But what we have does seem to work and has stood, for now at least, the test of time.

But certainly you have to take a pause when you buy that $25 chair at the local shop and it’s been made in China. I love the low cost goods and in my professional work the pressure to “go to China” for manufacturing is very high. Still, reports like the one on Zhang Rongliang have made me pause as I reach for that inexpensive dress. In this country I can usually (though not always) work for change. In China, I fear that may not be possible. A free economy is only part of what it takes to have a free country. You must have freedom of thought too and trust that your people, though they will voice an opinion, love their country enough not to tear it apart but to see it made better.

Have you ever thought about your job in the negative sense being positive?

I can here you saying to your screens now over your latte’s “Becki, lay off the sauce”. Hey, I’m serious here!

Let’s take a look at some recent examples then you tell me, are negatives in marketing really positive in disguise, or do they go too far to get attention?

Culprit #1
As reported in the June 12, 2006 Wall Street Journal, the Dixie Chicks are postponing as many as half the 42 dates announced for their coming “Accidents and Accusations” concert tour that was reported to start on June 21st. The article digs into some apparent disagreement that the band is having with it’s traditional fan base (country music) as it finds it is having more broad appeal, in Europe of all things. The key thing I want to highlight though from the article is this; they are getting press and visibility and that for free due to the bands friction. I wonder how many people are being reached to think about or to investigate the Dixie Chicks who might not otherwise have? Sounds like a negative win to me.

Culprit #2
Who would think the “Fresh Maker”^(TM)“, Mento’s Candy, would cause such a stir. As if you didn’t get enough zip from your rum and cock, two enterprising “inventors” have come up with a mentos and coke for a smashing good time (see story about them at the Boston Globe here). In a nutshell, the two invented a way to make geysers out of combining Mentos the candy with Coca-Cola. The result is quite explosive as you can see on this video of the event at this link HERE. Do you know what Mento’s did when they heard of this rather unusual use of their famed candy? They put the video up on the Mento’s main web site! That’s right. Instead of sueing the inventors or issuing a press release that such use of Mentos is improper, they highlighted it. Guess who’s got lots of sweet mindshare from what might have been a negative message on what to do with their candy? Mentos of course.

What does this all mean?
Well some types of negative marketing are good and working with it can actually draw more people, eyeballs, minds and money to you rather than push them away. So what negative things have happened to your company’s message that could actually be a positive? Have you reacted to embrace or embellish the negative to advantage your company, organization or group or have you tried to distance yourself, and why? These lessons work for non-profit and for-profit companies alike. Look carefully at those negative messages though. Like magnets with opposite polls set together the negative message may bring positive results to your bottom line.

(negative photo courtesy of Saudi Photo, via Creative Commons License)

I’m not exactly a pro when it comes to customer service but of this much I am sure, when a customer is angry, it’s always better to listen to them. Angry customers will say things to harm you, maim you and generally make you feel bad. They may be mostly wrong BUT their hearfelt and raw input is just the thing you need to make your business, service or organization of any kind more customer responsive and successful. It’ll hurt in the short term but help you in the long term.

Some companies can’t hear that though, and so resort to bizarre means to shield themselves from the customer onslaught and then mask it as being more attentive to the customer. The primary means of this is either technology that makes it appear (at least statistically) that you are getting better service or by offshoring and throwing poor souls trained only to follow a script at the problem.

I think the best most recent example of how not to hear your customer’s though is found in this post at the Inquirer about Sutton & East Surrey Water. In their own words:

LONDON’S second-leakiest water company has installed paradigm shifting leading edge award winning new technology that promises to do absolutely nothing to help the poor, dehydrated suckers who make up its customer base.

You can read the story for yourself by clicking HERE

(super cute photo courtesy of Shopping Diva used under Creative Commons License)

Ar de ar mate and hoist the jolly roger your bound to set sail for fun with Dead Man’s Chest!

Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest is a really fun movie. I liked the original, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl and was hooked on Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), the Undead crew and the man who most embodies what a pirate is (in my opinion) Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush). Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest, is no slouch either.

The movie begins with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) being served a summons for their arrest in helping Captain Jack Sparrow in the first film. Through various means (that I shant reveal less the movie be spoiled) Will and Elizabeth escape to find Jack in order to clear both their names. And here is where things get interesting as both Will and Elizabeth are thrust into the midst of Captain Sparrows grave misfortune; he owes a blood debt to none other than Davey Jones, himself cursed and the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Jack must figure out how to pay off this debt while Elizabeth and Wil try to figure out how to clear their own names. Sound straight forward enough? Well it might be except this is a pirate movie.

Ahhhh pirates. You can’t trust them, or can you? One double cross and surprise leads to the next as personal vendettas are intertwined with others. It seems you can’t trust anyone.

The movie starts a bit slow and picks up the pace gradually until the finish. Ahhh the finish, it will surprise you and is the best bridge to a third movie I’ve ever seen. Well worth seeing, mate!

(Photo courtesy of Venturout Photos, used under Creative Commons license)