Mycroft Masada is a nonbinary trans and queer Jewish leader with 30 years of experience who moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland (Montgomery County near Washington DC) from their lifelong home of Boston in 2014. A TransEpiscopal Steering Committee member and former Congregation Am Tikva board member, Mycroft is particularly called to pursue LGBTQ+ and fat justice, and is an advocate, organizer, consultant, educator, trainer, writer and artist. They are married to Julia McCrossin, the mas(s)culine fatshion blogger, and with her they co-parent a dogter. Their central online home is MasadArts.blogspot.com.


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Thursday, February 28, 2013

GLADHour was indeed a glad hour


GLAD's GLADHour last night at Lir was indeed a glad hour -- actually, a couple of glad hours.  The focus was on GLAD's Transgender Rights Project, including a shpiel by TRP director Jennifer Levi.  

Here I am with Julie and Ty.  I don't know why I'm doing my Zombie!Croft impression.  Maybe I shouldn't have had that big Shirley Temple.



Wednesday, February 27, 2013

"Smile, Sizeist!"



"Smile, Sizeist!" is a new anti-sizeism-harassment project by Substantia Jones of  Adipositivity fame.

http://smilesizeist.tumblr.com/  
http://www.facebook.com/SmileSizeist 
https://twitter.com/SmileSizeist

"About
Next time someone's a dick to you about your size, raise your most powerful weapons. Your voice and your camera.

Description
When it comes to weight bullying, one size does not fit all. In my opinion, educating the perpetrator is a noble and worthy goal, but a distant third behind physical protection and walkawayability. Walkawayability is your lingering comfort level with what just went down. This is prime objective stuff, ‘cause it lasts forever. Your safety and psyche matter more than the harasser’s personal growth. Sometimes the walkawayability of an exchange will be at zero or one. You can’t always get it right. But there will be times it’s a full-out ten. There are as many correct responses to sizeist harassment as there are objects of it. Here’s my personal fave:

1) Aim your camera.
2) Say “Smile, Sizeist.” Or don’t.
3) Shoot.
4) Share. Preferably both the image and the story. At www.smilesizeist.com.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

When creating and/or posting photos or videos with accompanying text, please don’t do anything violent, dangerous, or illegal. I’m also kinda weird about cursing in front of children, but I guess sometimes y’gotta fight fuckery with ‘fucks.’ Unkind references about the harasser’s appearance, age, race, gender, sexuality, or physical ability will be deleted.

I’m busy. Don’t make me edit you, a’ight?

Submit by going to http://smilesizeist.tumblr.com/submit. You don't need to have a tumblr account to submit. If you’d like to post anonymously, make certain you’re not logged in to tumblr when submitting.

FAQ

Q: Oh hi. I can post pics of my actual dick, right?
A: Nope.

A: Are you that chick who takes pictures of naked fat ladies?
Q: Yup.

Q: How might one contact you to lodge a series of complaints, tell you you’re a misguided idiot, or inquire as to why you’re spelling ‘sizeist’ with an e?
A: smilesizeist “at” gmail.com

Q: Why do you spell ‘sizeist’ with an e?
A: I know, right? That’s actually the correct, common, and accepted spelling. Seems counter-intuitive and unpleasant to look at, doesn’t it? Kind of fitting.

Q: I find that many fun and/or satisfying things are illegal. Is this one of them?
A: In the US, a photo taken in public is owned and controlled by the photographer, not the subject. The exception to this is when it's taken in a public place which offers a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a public restroom. If you believe it may be unlawful where you live, check that first. Conversely, if a submitter uses a photo taken by someone else and therefore owned by that someone else, and they do so without the owner's permission, that is wrong, illegal, and wholly skank. If I learn that a stolen photo has been submitted to SmileSizeist.com, it will be removed, and the user banned. HULK SMASH.

Q: So let me get this straight. Can I or can I not submit pictures of my penis?
A: Really rather you didn’t. This is for the beastly human sort of dick. Not the actual genital winky variety.

A: Would you like me to help spread the word about this, following Smile Sizeist on Twitter and Facebook, saying awfully nice things about you and using the proper URL, smilesizeist.com?
Q: Why yes. Yes I would.

Preesh!
~Substantia Jones"

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Happy Purim!!


Happy Purim!!

I Googled Purim and fat for a while, and of course most of it was drama about the horror of a holiday that God forbid features cookies.

But I did find Queer Fat Femme's "Get Me Embodied: Bevin’s Story of Disembodiment" from last March, illustrated with photos of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ)'s Purim Ball (last year's theme was "bodies").

And on BeliefNet there was "Mardi Purim (There are many similarities between Mardi Gras and Purim, and nowhere are they clearer--or more fun--than here in New Orleans)".

And there was a Jewish humor page that was pretty positive. I think my favorite is --

Patient: "How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?"

Doctor: "Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one...".

Monday, February 18, 2013

Think chocolaty, act locally


So now that the surprise won’t be spoiled, I can tell you about the Valentines I got for my Julia and my mum-in-sin. I wanted to get locally-made chocolate, and I was almost out of time before the blizzard, so I went to City Feed and Supply.

For Julia, a Vianne Chocolat (Jamaica Plain) Organic Pug Bar – a chocolate bar molded as a row of sitting pugs; only $3 yet 25 cents of each is donated to the MSPCA-Angell.

For mum, a packet of two EHChocolatier (Somerville) Pecan Clusters (turtles -- she loves the animal and the confection).

And I’d found the perfect gift wrap at Boomerangs -- a handmade dog-print fabric pouch with a bone-print ribbon and button closure, and a pottery jar that said “GRANDMA’S TREATS”. And I added a homemade card and whatnot.

And they sent me the sweetest cards – including one from Ursula!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Wheelock College multiple identities panel

Yesterday, as a few times before, I was on a panel for Wheelock College’s class “Creating Welcoming Environments for LGBT Families in Education and Human Services” (undergrads in social work / early childhood education / education) taught by Ellie Friedland and Melody Brazo and sometimes Kim Westheimer; I spoke with Elizabeth Castiana and David Wilson -- alas, Roy Old Person and Ashleigh McClenthen couldn’t make it -- about what it means to live our multiple identities including our GLBTQ (et al) ones (as usual, I focused on being a transperson of faith and a fat ally called to social justice work); then we took questions.

As much as we missed Roy and Ashleigh, and as much as the unusual traffic made David and I late, I think this may well have been the best yet.

Thanks, everyone!!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentines Day!!!



Happy Valentines Day!!!  

I heart this so hard, and have been meaning to share it for months.  

From Simon Rosati’s Tumblr “Simon’s Bear Art” -- http://spidey0192.tumblr.com/ -- WARNING: this and some other images NSFW; his other art is at http://simonrosati.blogspot.com/.  

You wouldn’t think that so much of my abbynormal brain could ‘splained by a stranger’s three-panel cartoon that doesn’t even have text.  And you would be wrong.  Wow.  LOL.  *BLUSH*  I know, maybe I shouldn’t tell the blogosphere that butch bellies are Croft-kryptonite. Then again, I think the fat’s out of the bag at this point.  

Monday, February 4, 2013

First Event 2013



Just confirming that as usual, I had a good time at First Event a week ago Shabbat.

Special thanks to Bobbi Taylor for co-presenting ICTE’s Interfaith Trans & Allied Discussion Session with me and schlepping the MTPC table materials and myself and journalist Becky Garrison; Chris Miller for presenting MTPC’s Know Your Rights & The State of Trans Equal Rights Movement (which alas, I missed); Alishia Ouellette, Maxwell Ng and friends for tabling for MTPC; Konnor Crewe, FE 2013 Workshop Coordinator; Joelle Ruby Ryan for her Beauty Bias: Exploring Weightism, Looksism and Body Image in the Trans Community and more; and Raven Kaldera for his Transgender Spirituality and more. 

For more about the 3 workshops I attended and the 6 others I most wanted to attend, read on…  

The 3 workshops I attended:

Beauty Bias: Exploring Weightism, Looksism and Body Image in the Trans Community
Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan

Do you have a positive body image? Have you ever been judged by another trans person about your appearance or weight? Could your self-esteem use a little boost? Then please come and join us for this facilitated discussion and sharing circle! The workshop leader will begin by sharing her own story, and provide examples of looksism and weightism in the trans community. She will also link these issues to gendered presentations/expressions and notions of “passing.” Then she will open up for others to share and reflect on these important topics. The goal of the workshop is to question society’s beauty standards and promote healthy self-esteem for people of all appearances, weights, shapes and sizes! (Saturday 11:30am-12:50am Salon B)

Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan is a Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). She is a member of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Chair of the Transgender Policy and Climate Committee (T-PACC). She also co-directs the annual Gender Identities Awareness (GIA) in November and the Transecting Society Conference in April. She is the founder of TransGender New Hampshire (TG-NH) and sits on their Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Trans-Feminine Working Group for the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference. In addition to trans issues, her areas of professional and academic interest include: feminism, asexuality, sex worker rights, media studies and production, fat studies, weightism and body image.

Interfaith Trans & Allied Discussion Session
Mycroft Masada Holmes, Bobbi Taylor

Gather with other trans and allied people of faith for a gently facilitated discussion session, shaped by attendees’ needs. Share experiences, information, inspiration and support. Learn how to connect with local and national trans faith community and work. (Saturday 2:30-3:50pm Independence)

Mycroft Masada Holmes is an interfaith transgender leader based in hir native Boston, Massachusetts; Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s Interfaith Committee, board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft is also a thin ally in the movement for fat social justice, and a writer and artist. Bobbi Taylor is a transgender activist living and working in the Boston area. In addition to being a housewife, husband, and father, as well as a member of various committees of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Bobbi has a background in Zen Buddhism, evangelical Christianity, and Paganism.
See their web sites here and here.

Transgender Spirituality

We have been symbols of the sacred two-in-one for thousands of years. Come hear the ancient stories about us, and rediscover our sacred nature. For transgendered people of all stripes, and anyone who is just interested in more direct ways of spiritually balancing male and female. By the author of “Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook”. (Saturday 4:00-4:50pm Constitution)

Raven Kaldera is a queer FTM transgendered intersexual shaman. He is the author of too many books to list here, including “Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook” and and “Double Edge: The Intersection of Transgender and BDSM”. He and his partner and co-presenter Joshua Tenpenny have been teaching and presenting workshops regularly for many years to the transgender, BDSM, Neo-Pagan, Sex/Spirituality, and other communities. ‘Tis an ill wind that blows no minds. Website: www.ravenkaldera.org

The other workshops I most wanted to attend:

Sunday Worship Service
Sarah Carpenter-Vascik                                                                                                                                                                                                   

A nondenominational worship service, open to all who wish to attend. Communion will be served. Service begins at 9:15 and will conclude before 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Reverend Sarah Carpenter was raised in a conservative Republican, Pre-Vatican II Catholic household and has known she was an M to F transsexual from age 5. It was only through counseling that she transitioned and began living as herself. Reverend Sarah Carpenter was ordained in 1996 with a Bachelors Degree in Religion and Philosophy. She received a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies in 2000 and was awarded a Doctorate in New Testament Theology in 2006.

Transitioning with a Third Gender Identity
Raven Kaldera with Bella Kaldera and V. Eugenides Hardy

Let’s think clearly about what physical transition means when it intersects with identity. Wondering whether to physically transition but held back because you don’t have a solidly male or female identity? That doesn’t have to be a barrier. Let’s talk about the ambivalencies of shapeshifting your flesh when your identity is all over the place. Come with questions!  (Saturday 2:30-3:50pm Constitution)

Raven Kaldera is a queer FTM transgendered intersexual shaman. See the complete bio above.
V. Eugenides Hardy is an FTM transsexual artist and radical queer Christian who finds fulfillment in spiritual service. He is dedicated to helping transgendered, queer, and otherwise sexually unusual people to feel good about themselves and their place in the Universe.
Bella Kaldera is an MTF transsexual who lives on a small farm in Hubbardston, MA. She loves target practice, watercolors, and heritage skills, and can often be found holding forth on a wide variety of subjects.

I Don’t Want to Have Sex: Understanding Asexual Identity
Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan

In this workshop, we will discuss the often ignored and misunderstood phenomenon of asexuality. In a hyper-sexual society such as ours, asexuality is an enigma to many people. In this workshop, we will explore the following questions: What does it mean to be asexual? What are the myths associated with asexuality? Why is there so much stigma and prejudice directed against asexuals? How can we build support and understanding for asexual people in the GLBT Community? In addition, we will reflect on people who are both asexual and transgender and challenges faced by asexual people in relationships. (Saturday 4:00-4:50pm Salon D)

Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan is a Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). See her complete bio above.

Know Your Rights & The State of Trans Equal Rights Movement

Do you have the right to be served in a restaurant, rent a hotel room, or be treated at an emergency room? Can your employer not promote you because you transitioned on the job? Transgender communities deal with a myriad of issues created by flawed policies, ignorance, and the binary gender system. This workshop will provide a summary of the legal protections afforded to cross dressers, transgender, transsexual, and genderqueer people at the local, state and federal levels. We’ll also consider the work that still needs to be done, and discuss the ways in which ongoing education and policy efforts are essential to making sure that positive laws and policies make a real difference in peoples’ lives. (Saturday 1:00-2:20pm Constitution)

Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. Chris Miller is the chair of MTPC’s training committee and a steering committee member. For the past seven years he has been a self-employed multicultural consultant conducting trainings and providing executive coaching addressing issues of privilege/oppression in the workplace. See their Web Site and a Bio for Chris Miller.

What if God is Transgender?


As transgender people we can often have a difficult relationship with the organized religion in which we were raised–or a difficult time finding loving affirming religious community as adults. What if we enlarged the discussion? What if we drew together the best of what faith and spirituality have to offer us? What if we decided to create our own relationship to the Divine, own understanding of God? To experience God in a much more personal, yet universal way? Interested the journey? Workshop will be a guided discussion introducing participants to a new, comforting, inspiring way to approach All That Is. (Friday 4:00-4:50pm Independence)

Reverend Moonhawk River Stone, M.S., LMHC, is an Interfaith Minister, psychotherapist, consultant, educator, writer and keynote speaker in private practice in the Albany, NY area. In his psychotherapy private practice he works with transgender clients of all ages and with their families. His consulting and educational work take him all over the country into corporations, colleges, K-12 schools, clinical and professional conferences. Mr. Stone is an advocate and activist for transgender human and civil rights and works to develop transgender health care policy and transgender employment policy. He is active in working on issues related to eliminating Gender Identity Disorder’s continuing presence in the DSM and in the areas of Aging and Disability, Spirituality and Interfaith. Stone has over 25 years of non profit LGBT board of director experience, most notably with Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA), The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), GLSEN-NYCR, the Empire State Pride Agenda. He has over 25 years conference organizing experience. Stone is a member of the LGBT National Aging Roundtable and of Out & Equal’s Transgender Advisory Committee. Formerly he served as Co-Chair of the Ending Disparities Committee at National Coalition for LGBT Health and as Chair of the Transgender Health Care Committee at the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. See his Web Site and his Vimeo or YouTube videos.

Naming Ceremony


For those who have decided on a new name, Rev. Weekley conducts a rite of passage ceremony to honor this very special milestone. Held Sunday morning, 10:15-11:15am.

Reverend David Weekley, author of “In From the Wilderness: Sherman, (She-r-Man)” , represents a unique perspective in the trans masculine community due to his early transition in the 70s. Reverend Weekley is the only out trans* minister in the United Methodist denomination in the United States, having come out to his congregation in 2009 after serving the United Methodist Church for 30 years. He also offers an interesting historical perspective on phalloplasty surgery due to being one of the first people to undergo phalloplasty in 1974. Reverend Weekley is studying for a PhD. at Boston University Theological Seminary and comes to us after recently having moved 3000 miles across the country from Portland Oregon. See his Web Site.