The event raises money for health programs that Fenway Health offers to the community.  About 1200 lesbian, bi, and transgender women with their supporters and allies will be there to celebrate women’s health and raise money to implement it through Fenway Health.  It’s a fun time and for a great cause.  Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick are generally there as well so you can bet it’ll be swarming with lots of bling and fun. This year Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin will receive the Dr. Susan M. Love Award

So, while I can’t be there I’m raising a big, steaming mug of coffee to say Best of Luck to you June, Deb and Molly for this year’s event!!

That’s a great thing since Mona Rae Mason from the Transgender Project has noted that the percentage of homeless kids who are transgender is very high (see her post, “The Coming Out Party is Over“).  Places like Waltham House are safe places that help protect and nurture some of the kids.

But they often need money to do their job so Waltham House is sponsoring a Casino Night Fund Raiser on April 27th starting at 6PM at Club Cafe in Boston.  Sounds like a good cause doesn’t it?    You can learn more about this fund raiser so you can attend and have fun at this link, “Waltham House Casino Night“

The most current hot and public issue in the transgender community though on discrimination is the Capone’s of Peabody MA vs. SISTERS discrimination affair. To bring our readers up to speed, SISTERS, a Boston area Social and Support Group visited Capone’s on several occasions until one day, they attempted to visit to have a few drinks and dance and then there were told they could not come in and that they were not welcome. If it had been a private club that would have been that. But it was an open to the public venue and so, such behavior by Capone’s, really sounded like discrimination. SISTERS pushed the issue to the Peabody licensing board, in a professional and non-confrontational manner, and now the issue is in mediation. This whole thing might seem like a small issue but it’s not. It’s discrimination. Do all persons have to like all other persons regardless of race, gender, sex, or nationality. No, this isn’t about thought police. But people do have to treat each other with respect. And that’s what this issue is about.

Kudos to Ashley Bottoms and the SISTERS FAMILY for pushing this issue the right way and the professional way to bring about positive change.

You can catch up on all the back story at:

1. The Salem News
2. Boston.com
3. Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News
4. Urban Alternatives
5. Matt Kailey at Examiner.com

Update
2-26-2010: MTPC has issued a statement regarding the incident.  The last paragraph of their statement is imporant to note,

“MTPC calls upon the transgender community to rally behind the pending H1728/S1687 Transgender Civil Rights act that would finally establish clear legal guidelines and remedies for situations such as the one at Capone’s. There is no good reason why any good citizens of our Commonwealth should be treated in a demeaning fashion, and the law should reflect our state’s broad consensus in this.”

Amen to that!

Grace is the Executive Director for BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Youth.  BAGLY provides “weekly and monthly social activities and special events for people ages 22 and under. These activities provide an opportunity for youth to socialize, have fun and develop a sense of personal and community identity.”

So congratulations Grace and thank you for your work leading BAGLY to help so many GLBT youth in Greater Boston!

You get more details at MTPC’s announcement here:
http://www.masstpc.org/legislation/lobbyday10.shtml

The importance of todays lobbying effort is that our transgender equality bill is stuck in the MA judiciary commitee and needs a little push. If you can’t attend today (as I cannot) an email or call to your representative would help too.

A&A, in Newton MA, is offering Express Facials now, for a limited time, for $30 for 30 minutes!   I asked what the catch was and here’s the details on what they’ll do for your face:

• Cleanse
• Tone
• Moisturize
• Exfoliate
• Teach you how to take care of your skin

For $30 that’s a great deal.   If you make an appointment, please tell them Becki sent you.   Beck’s Cafe doesn’t make any money from this and you won’t get a better deal than the $30, but it’ll be nice for her to know that some of us do really listen to her suggestions to take care of our skin!

Women are starting their own businesses in record numbers, and from what these enterprising women say, it would not be surprising to find out that, as a result, the sales of pajama bottoms and sweatshirts have soared!

The facts on women entrepreneurship are hot; Between 1997 and 2002 women owned firms grew by 19.8% while all U.S. firms grew by 7% (SCORE Small Biz Stats & Trends)  The facts on women’s PJ sales growth I can’t find any data on – but I bet Ginger is right. When I’ve worked from home during long periods assigned to Asia or Europe PJ bottoms and comfy sweatshirts were easy!

Hmmm…might be time to reverse the trend and get that business a little extra bling.  Learn how at Ginger’s free teleclass.

As I heard Diego Sanchez say once in a meeting,  “We aren’t looking for any special rights; just the ones we somehow lost because we are trans”.   Well put and precisely the point of the outing.   So here are the details for all of you who can join in:

• Date: Thursday January 21
• Time: 2PM-5PM
• Location:  Nurses Hall, Massachusetts State House

More details are at MTPC’s site, “Transgender Lobby Equality Day, 2010“

Aster is as unassuming as she is talented. Creative to the core, she sews her own clothing. Helpful without a whine, she’ll take on a task be it cleaning a house for a friend or machining parts for a NASA re-entry vehicle. Giving, often donating money she earns to help others. Musical too, accomplished in flute, guitar and harp.  And she’s a transgender woman to boot.

Oh did I mention she plays the Harp?  Yes harp, as in classical music harp

When I first met Aster, harp is the last thing I would think she would play but big as life as I walked around the corner to the performance room in a transgender social and support club I belong to, TCNE, there it was, a dang harp like you find in classical orchestras! At first I couldn’t believe what I was seeing but then, Aster sat down and played. I was amazed at both her talent and the incredible music that comes from such an instrument. Aster writes virtually all of her own compositions.

Aster’s debut CD is simply entitled, “Music for Harp”. I’ve included a cut from her CD. You can click to Aster Shepherd The Cotswold Ram for a listen from her CD.  Aster plays in small venues in and around New England as she makes her home in the Boston area. If any of our readers is looking for some fantastic music as background or as a concert, just drop us a line here at Beck’s Cafe Email and we can introduce you.

Grab that mug of hot morning blend bold brew and have a watch; well worth the five minutes or so the interview takes by clicking over to CBS in SF: Sue Kwon speaks with JoAnne Herman, author, “Transgender Explained for Those Who are Not”.

The underlying message you might be reading into this perky post is that fashion is not about price it’s about choosing what’s right for you and your body, what dresses you up appropriate to the venue and what makes you feel good about  you.  When you look good, you feel good about yourself and your ready to take on the world!

One woman who has serious style and can stretch a buck is Punky Style; she really has an amazing sense of style and budget.  She’s big on vintage and there’s lots to learn from what she has to say and what she has to show too.

networking and centralizes information about upcoming events, volunteer and job opportunities, apartment postings and community announcements.

It’s focus is to help various groups, including transgender people, to network, find housing, possibly find a job and find opportunities to volunteer and give back.   Just visit The List and sign up to get plugged in

Suicide Prevention!

Of course, our community is a little at risk for this.  As we quoted in our earlier shocking news about Christine Daniels, suicide planning and actually execution are 7x-10x higher in our little transgender community than in normal groups!  My aren’t we special!!

On a personal note, I’ve lost two friends to this sad decision to take ones own life.  To be frank, it makes me cry every time I think of these two women since their deaths were so needless.  I think at some point we’ll have to delve into what would make someone  become so hopeless that suicide becomes a “rational” choice.  It never, ever is of course as the successful suicidist never gets to write the end of their own personal life story with anything but a sad ending.  We can’t let this go on folks.  Really, we just can’t.

Besides, who else is going to keep MAC in business if we aren’t around?

The people at The Samaritans were wonderful.  Paula and I discussed about who trans-people are, what makes us trans and what pressures we face as transgender men and women.  Things like jobs, family and societal acceptance and one of the biggest things of all, self-acceptance of ourselves as people with dreams, ambitions, and lives fully worth living.  They listened with attentive ears and great follow on questions.

Interestingly, the good folk at Samaritans shared that many times when transgender people call them the key thing the caller is needing is….acceptance.   Just someone who can listen to them and who will take them seriously.

Towards the end of our session we all came to the conclusion that transgender people (no matter where on their journey they are) aren’t really that different from anyone else.  We just want to be accepted, to be taken seriously, and then to go on with our lives.   It was nice to know The Samaritans were there, with a listening ear, just to take that call.

Transgender Lives has put out a call for such workshop presenters and the deadline to provide them with your concept is November 15th.  So if giving a workshop on a topic that may be important to the transgender community is up your alley, have a visit to the Transgender Lives site and send your form in.

The Trinity Awards honor our heroes: living transgender persons who have performed extraordinary acts of courage and love in service to the transgender community.  Participation across the entire transgender community, its allies and friends, is essential to the awards-nominating process.

The 2010 Trinity Award will be presented at the IFGE Annual Conference – The Capital Conference, to be held at the Hilton Mark Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia April 22-25, 2010

Nominations for this prestigious award must be submitted no later than November 20, 2009.  See the IFGE Site announcement for more details.

MTPC is creating a plan in order to advocate for resources, support,and further services for the transgender community that will hopefully lead to eliminating transgender health disparities in Massachusetts. The findings from the survey and our state wide health care community forums will inform MTPC’s health care advocacy plan.

Purpose of the Survey:

• Gather experiences and needs of the transgender community when it comes to access of health care and quality of care.
• Inform MTPC, policy makers, and key stakeholders about the needs,gaps, and current access to health care and social services of the Massachusetts transgender communities.

To take this anonymous survey please go to: MTPC Health Care Survey 2009

For more info or questions please ping:

Gunner Scott
Director
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition
PO Box 301897, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-778-0519
gscott@masstpc.org
http://www.masstpc.org

This, dear readers, is a fact.

Not, I AM Transgendered, en|Gender, Beck’s Cafe, or a host of other well known, well read, nails broken whilst typing, brows furrowed in focused writing, and dog eared blogs….no….as well honed as these others may be, Femulate is indeed Queen.

This realization dawned on many of us two weeks ago.

(overheard whilst I drank goblets of cheap wine with dear, super smart, beer chugging chica, Michelle at a local run down dive inhabited by drunk truckers, out of work physicists, and dangerous women)

Becki: “Did you see that article on Tall Women on Femulate? That Staci has a great list. She makes me feel so normal”
Michelle: “So true Becki, so true. You know, I think she’s just like me actually the way she glides effortlessly through both genders. I just love her.”

I didn’t think anything of my interaction with Michelle. I mean, we had been drinking afterall.

Then it happened, again, amongst a group of women who were both well heeled and well known and I realized something cosmic was happening.

As many of my jittery, caffeine addicted, readers know, Beckscafe was in Provincetown for Women’s Week ending and Fantasia Fair’s beginning. That’s a cosmic nexus by itself. But then the real planetary alignment happened. Sitting at lunch at the Crowne and Anchor in Provincetown, with Miqqui Gilbert (yes THE Miqqi Gilbert) and Jamie Dailey, my colleague in marketing crime on the conferenc scene, and two new friends, Robin and Abbey.

Becki: “Well Miqqi I write a blog, as you may know, and I found your name on the web as I did research on various and odd topics.” (I smile my best Ms. Sophisticate Smile; New England clam chowder smeared across my MAC lipsticked lips)
Miqqi: “I read your blog; on occassion”
Becki: (me beaming) “Why thank you SO MUCH Miqqi. You know, another great blog is that Femulate blog. Great reading. I get so much traffic to Beck’s Cafe from her too.”
Jamie: (light dawning on her face look)“Femulate blog…(she turns to Miqqi)…You know, Miqqi, I think our Fantasia Fair web site gets all its traffic from Femulate too!”

Jamie and I stare at each other and we realize that Femulate has become the center of our known blog universe!

So go have a look. I mean, EVERYONE gets their traffic from her so go ahead…just pick up your ice espresso, mocca thingy a gogo and go ahead…go see Femulate; you’ll see for yourself…she really IS the center of the blog universe

Beck’s Cafe will be down in Provincetown, MA this weekend for two fabulous events. One is the end of Women’s Week, the other is the beginning of Fantasia Fair.

If you can’t find anything to do this weekend you really NEED to come to Provincetown. There is something for everyone in every price bracket. And let met tell you, the Cafe’s till is lookin’ lighter these days so I’m excited about the range of fun activities that are open.

The Women’s Week Schedule is jammed more full than an undersized bra and here’s a couple of things that our barrista’s would recommend:

• Kate Clinton is doing several shows or talks or book signings all day.   She’s hilariously funny and has a truly keen sense of today’s culture.   See her at one of the four or five places she’s at on Saturday October 17.
• The 25th Anniversary Retro Disco Dance Party is happening at 9PM at Paramount at The Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street.  It’s $5 and will have you singing, Brick House, all night long I’m sure!
• All The King’s Men, New England’s Premiere Drag-King Troupe, will be at The Art House on Commercial St. 9PM
• There is way, way too much fun happening to list much more of it here from the “Women of Color & Friends Party” to book signings, wine tastings and more.

So what about Fantasia Fair?  The actual start date is October 18th, but, many visitors come into town on Saturday to get settled in.  So if you are attending Fantasia Fair do not hide in your room!  You are in one of the friendliest cities for lgbt folk and that includes all transgender folk.  So this means you too, yes YOU reading Beck’s Cafe and sipping your morning java.

If you are with friends or make some new ones, well, you’ve got an instant party in front of ya!   Choose any of the Women’s Week events from their calendar and attend and you’ll have a blast!  Or you could go grab some food and the wonderful ambiance of P-Town at these sponsors of Fantasia Fair:

• Bistro at Restaurant @ Crowne Pointe Provincetown
• Fanizzi’s By the Sea
• Napi’s
• Front Street Restaurant
• Lobster Pot

We give voice to women whose experiences, creativity, and insights are often unrecognized and undervalued. Through various avenues of expression, we will offer insights into our experiences and to the reality of homelessness.

Well worth a read with that first cup of coffee you have there this morning    Please click on over to the Voices Together Blog

Many of us women-folk don’t really understand the men in our community. We think we do, but, often times our stereotypes cloud our knowing these amazing guys. This night is sure to be extra special and enlightening for everyone who attends. Here’s more of the detail:

Where & When?

• Thursday, October 8, 2009, 7-9pm
• St. Luke’s and St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 5 St. Lukes Road, Allston, MA Corner of Brighton Ave & St. Lukes Road, one block from the Packard’s Corner T-stop The event is free and open to the public. Donations for the speakers will be appreciated.

What about those reading?

• Matt Kailey is a Denver author, speaker, and activist focusing on transgender issues. He is the author of Just Add Hormones: An Insider’s Guide to the Transsexual Experience, a Lambda Finalist, the editor of Focus on the Fabulous: Colorado GLBT Voices, the National Transgender Issues Examiner for Examiner.com, and the author of the personal blog Tranifesto. He can be reached through his web site at www.mattkailey.com.

• Max Wolf Valerio is a poet and writer, sometime actor, and long transitioned trans man who remembers Lou Sullivan and a time when the FTM Newsletter was one of the only sources of communication for trans men and their allies. The Testosterone Files (Seal Press) is his memoir about his first five years on testosterone. A poet, who has been writing, performing and reading his work for thirty years, Max began transition in 1989. He has appeared in many films and documentaries including the “Max” short in “Female Misbehavior” and “Gendernauts” both by German Director Monika Treut, and in “You Don’t Know Dick – Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men,” “Octopus Alarm,” and “Unhung Heroes” — the FTM comedy and the new “Maggots and Men”.

• Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is a scholar of religion and gender/sexuality studies and is the vicar of St. Luke’s and St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. One of his projects is to bring to publication the memoir of Michael Dillon.