Subscribe to Breaking NewsVanasco: BET.com’s list of the LGBT ‘Who’s Who’ forgets the ‘T’
, editor in chief, 365gay.com 07.09.2009 3:54pm EDT
Entertainment & Sports
The Bilerico Project points out that BET.com’s otherwise laudable annual list of Who’s Who in the black LGBT community includes no transgender people (it’s not clear to me whether there are any bisexuals).
Who is included?
Thirty-three gay men and lesbians, including Wanda Sykes, John Amaechi, E. Lynn Harris, Angela Davis and Anthony Woods, a West Point grad with a Harvard Master’s degree who was kicked out of the military under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and who is now running in a special election in California’s 10th Congressional District. If elected, he would become the first Black openly gay representative in Congress.
BET is as sort of homophobic as LOGO is sort of racist.
FoxxJazell.
Hello? The Lady Chablis? Cyon Flare? Don’t get me started…..
Sessy, I’m asking this with a true heart; how is Logo racist? I’m a white lesbian and I do notice the obvious racist and bigoted shows or comments on shows, but I don’t see it in Logo. Please explain. I want to know what to look for; although I’m a well educated person, life experience teaches so much more.
Actually, I notice that Logo has ALOT more shows for Gay men than lesbians, but I enjoy those as well. The shows they have for lesbians are all Soap – Opera -ey. Like Bad Girls, and Gimmee Sugar (those two are pretty lame), and L-Word repeats (night-time Soap-Opera_ey)
Christina in AZ
Rick Garcia, DO get started! That’s the point. I’m dying to be educated. I checked out the The Lady Chablis and Cyon Flare on Google. It’s easy to check out black transgendered people on Google, but we need recommendations on who is amazing!
I second the Lady Chablis! She was fantastic in “Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil.” She should be on the list.
I don’t include the “b” in my alphabet rainbow. A bisexual is not struggling the same way as a homosexual or lesbian. When you can shapeshift to get through life w/ your sexuality, there is no way we are going through the same fight.
There are many good places to hear the voices of transgender and LGBT PoC activists including the Bilerico site mentioned in the article (and Bil the founder is a really nice guy). Don’t blame others for your lack of knowledge if you never get out of your comfort zone. Perhaps the lack of easy visibility for transgender (and bisexual) people refelcts our (including the LGBT community’s)discomfort with them.
@menstruator: I think its always inappropriate to play the who suffers more game, but I also think it would be easy to at least make an arguement that Bs and Ts struggle more than Gs and Ls. At least Gs and Ls aren’t having to constantly justify their existence to the rest of the LGBT community. And are you really using the “choice” argument against bisexual people.
@menstruator
“A bisexual is not struggling the same way as a homosexual or lesbian.”
When they are involved with someone of the same sex they ARE struggling just as we do. Their relationship is viewed by the “straights” just as ours. They don’t and can’t shapeshift when they are dating or involved with someone of the same sex.
Of course when involved with someone of the same sex you are correct.
I know several Bi’s that are in both categories.
(Of course when involved with someone of the same sex you are correct.)
That would be:
Of course when involved with someone of a different sex you are correct.
Wow, it never ceases to amaze me how the LGT spectrum of the rainbow will put down bisexuality. So hypocritical to discriminate. And not only that, but as a bisexual woman who has only dated a woman as of yet, I don’t believe that we shapeshift, or that if I turned around and dated a man, things would suddenly be easy, because everyone seems to think that this is a phase, and if I dated a man, perhaps the phase would be over.
I’m just sick of the B in the alphabet rainbow getting slammed by people who are scared.
And Mentruator – “When you can shapeshift to get through life w/ your sexuality, there is no way we are going through the same fight.”
No, it’s not the same fight, because not only to I have to deal with stupid straight people, but I have to deal with idiotic gays and lesbians as well.
@Equality. When you look at ads and show(s) on LOGO, it is only occasionally that you will see a POC and a lot of times they are just to give the illusion of inclusion. The one show that they did have going for it (Noah’s Arc) magically didn’t make it past two seasons and now you hardly if ever even see the reruns, unlike QAF and the L Word which are still shown constantly (granted QAF more so than the L Word). They will sometimes have the occasional show that encompasses SGL POC, but they are few and far in between just like BET in regards to SGL people. One difference though is that BET doesn’t try to give the illusion that they are totally inclusive of SGL people (but they at least do make the attempt). A network like LOGO for the most part does it in order to uphold the illusion that the LGBT community is inclusive of all crossing not only sexuality but race. The main word there is illusion, just like when the HRC tries to do something for the transgendered community or POC by having a token representative that is only brought out when they need to show how “inclusive” they are, and then those same tokens are packed away until needed again.
Sorry for not breaking it apart into paragraphs. I didn’t realize that I forgot until it was too late.
I think one of Beyonce’s back up dancers in the Single Ladies video is also trans. I would like to know more about her.
Well, let me help you peeps you can’t think of a single AA transperson, despite the fact in the article I named two.
Kylar Broadus, attorney, college professor and board chair of the National Black Justice Coalition
Dr. Marisa Richmond, professor, historian, chair of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, first elected African-American transgender delegate to a major political party convention (DNC Denver 2008), second African-American transperson to win the IFGH Trinity Award, second highest honor for service to the US transgender community.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville. Activist, 2000 inductee into Chicago GLBT Hall of Fame
Valerie Spencer activist, participant in first all transgender production of the play the Vagina Monologues, advisor to actress Kerry Washington for her role in ‘Life Is Hot In Cracktown Movie.
Zion Johnson, First African-American president of FTMI (F to M International transman’s group)
Tracy Jada O’Brien local activist in San Diego area
A. Dionne Stallworth one of the founder of GenderPac, the first transgender political action conmmittee.
Dawn Wilson, founder of NTAC (national Transgender Advocacy Coalition, helped pass transgender rights laws in Louisville and Lexington KY, first NTAC board chair, first African-American transperson to win the IFGE Trinity Award in 2000
Cydne Kimbrough, board member International Federation of Black Prides, activist, fonder and president of Baltimore, Md based org helping transpeople
the late Alexander John Goodrum, who played major role in getting GLBT protections passed in Tucson, AZ
and your truly, the 2006 winner of the IFGE Trinity Award (the third AA transperson to do so) founder of TransGriot blog, helped organize the 2005-2006 Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conventions, the first transgender conventions specifically geared toward African-Americans, NTAC founder