Massachusetts' height/weight anti-discrimination bill -- House Bill 952!

#Massachusetts’ height/weight #antidiscriminationbill has a hearing TODAY!  Before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, along with many other bills, between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. in A-2; #HouseBill952, An Act Making #Discrimination on the Basis of Height and Weight Unlawful.

As always, I thank Representative Byron Rushing for presenting #HB952, and Representative Denise Provost for being among the sponsors, and for their work on both halves of #TransLawMA (MA's transgender civil rights law, which has been put on next year's ballot by opponents!).  And Marilyn Wann and Sondra Solovay for first making me aware of this bill some years ago. My testimony is below the hashtags.

#weightdiscrimination #heightdiscrimination #employmentdiscrimination #antidiscrimination #fatjustice #fatactivism #fatpolitics #MApoli #MALeg #ByronRushing #DeniseProvost

October 16, 2017

Senator William N. Brownsberger Representative Claire D. Cronin

Senate Chair, Joint Committee on the Judiciary House Chair, Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Sonia Chang-Diaz, Vice Chair James M. Cantwell, Vice Chair

Massachusetts State House

24 Beacon Street -- Rooms 136 and 504
Boston, MA  02133

Via email: Caroline Sherrard

Legislative Director,
Office of Representative Byron Rushing, Assistant Majority Leader

Massachusetts State House

24 Beacon Street -- Room 234

Boston, MA  02133

Caroline.Sherrard@mahouse.gov

Dear Senators Brownsberger and Chang-Diaz and Representatives Cronin and Cantwell --

My name is Mycroft Masada Holmes, and I lived in greater Boston for more than 37 years, from my birth in 1976 until January of 2014, when I moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland to begin living with my partner.  I love and miss Boston and the rest of Massachusetts, and have always been proud to call them my home.

I write to you today primarily as a faith leader – my current national roles include membership in TransFaith’s National Council and TransEpiscopal’s Steering Committee; I also co-chair the MoCo Pride Center here in Montgomery County.  Before my move, I was the Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE), and a board member at Congregation Am Tikva.  I was one of the leaders of the interfaith campaign for both of Massachusetts’ transgender civil rights laws, the second of which went into effect a year ago this month (and unfortunately has been put on next year’s ballot by opponents).

Today, I testify in support of House Bill 952 -- An Act Making Discrimination on the Basis of Height and Weight Unlawful -- as I have done in person and/or in writing for the last few legislative sessions.  At one hearing, I also read the written testimony of attorney Sondra Solovay.  This bill and the second trans rights bill actually crossed paths in the hearing two years ago this month.

In my personal and professional life, I have experienced and witnessed a great deal of discrimination – especially in employment -- and much of it has been based on physical appearance and information, including height and especially weight.  This discrimination is wrong, profoundly damaging, pervasive, and rapidly increasing -- in Massachusetts and the rest of our country -- especially since the election in November; those who would discriminate in these ways are among those who have been empowered by the new Presidential administration.  We must do what we can to change this as soon as we can, and HB 952 can help.  This bill is also an critical educational tool – its implementation process will help dispel the widespread and increasing ignorance, misinformation and fear about weight.  You will be given expert testimony about these issues today and during the rest of this session – ample evidence of the significant and urgent need for this legislation.

My faiths teach that like the Adam, the first human being, all people are made b’tzelem Elohim – in the image of God -- people of all weights, heights, sizes and shapes.  Our infinite diversity of bodies and their changes over our lifetimes are gifts and blessings, meant to be lived and shared with joy and pride.  God creates and loves all of us, equally, in body and spirit.  And all of us should be equally recognized and protected by the law.

And as much as I speak to you as a person of faith, I also speak as a life partner.  My wonderful partner of more than eight years, Julia McCrossin, and I are the same height, and she weighs well over twice what I do; I’ve always been thin, she has always been fat.  Julia is a lifelong resident of Maryland and Washington DC, and visited me in Massachusetts several times.  After her father passed away, I moved to Maryland to begin living with her, largely so that we could help care for her disabled mother and the family dog.

We are very privileged to live in Maryland, not to mention Montgomery County, for many reasons.  Our county, state and neighboring DC have trans-inclusive civil rights laws, and DC’s Human Rights Laws consider height and weight included in “physical appearance”.  We are privileged in other ways as well – as much as we and those like us struggle, daily life is far more challenging for those directly facing other intersecting oppressions, such as racism, classism and ableism.  At the same time, we worry about moving to and through places where we are legally unprotected, which we often need and want to do.  We and so many others need An Act Making Discrimination On The Basis Of Height And Weight Unlawful to pass into law as soon as possible.  I pray that this can be another way for my home state to provide social justice leadership to the rest of the country.    

My partner and I want to visit Massachusetts together, hopefully have our wedding there, perhaps make our next home there.  And we have much to offer my great state.  I want her to have full civil rights wherever she is.  I want her to be able to continue to live, work and play better than she has done, contributing even more to our communities than she already has.  I want this for all residents of and visitors to Massachusetts.  I don’t want anyone to experience discrimination – and yet I know that some will, and I want them to be able to take appropriate action.  

I urge you to do everything you can to further this vital and long overdue legislation so that it can be passed into law this legislative session.  

Thank you,

Mycroft Holmes

[my postal and e-mail addresses]

Pete Fosselman's Out For Pete campaign event

Tonight I went to Out For Pete -- an LGBTQ-focused event for Pete Fosselman’s campaign for Montgomery County Maryland’s Council (District 1) at Denizens Brewing Co. (where the #MoCoPrideCenter had our second Social last month, which is the first time I'd been there).

I know Pete because he’s been a fellow Visionary (founding leader) at the Center -- though of course we don’t endorse candidates -- and he would indeed be the first openly LGBTQ member of the Montgomery County MD Council; he is a cis (non-trans) gay man.

And a highlight of the event was a talk by candidate Danica Roem, who would be the first openly trans legislator in Virginia (and her election for Delegate is November 7th).  

#PeteFosselman #DanicaRoem #DenizensBrewingCo #OutForPete #MCMDCouncil

Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition -- my first meeting

Tonight I went to my first Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition (MCCRC) meeting -- their August meeting; they meet monthly, trying to move around the County each time, and they co-sponsor events. I wanted to see #MCCRC for myself, and represent the MoCo Pride Center, where I’m a Visionary (founding leader). It was also a good way to see the Islamic Center of Maryland for the first time.  MCCRC is a citizen body, not a County one -- “We are individuals and organizations organizing to protect our civil liberties and civil rights everywhere by protecting them where we live — in Montgomery County, Maryland.”

Senator William C. Smith, Jr. presented and took questions, and then we broke into committees -- I attended #PoliceAccountability, where we focused on “student resource officers” (SROs, police officers in / on call for schools). Then we regrouped for committee reports -- the others were #AntiIslamophobia, #Sanctuary / #Immigration, #Surveillance and #BystanderIntervention training.  We were joined by some County and state candidates, and invited to #IslamicCenterofMaryland’s prayer service which began during the meeting.

MCCRC is also working on forming an LGBTQ committee, and is part of the upcoming event Resisting Surveillance of MoCo Youth, which is also at and with the ICM. Special thanks to MCCRC member Lee Blinder for helping me get connected.

More about the meeting is here in MCCRC's e-mail, and on Facebook as an event and as a post.

#MoCoCivilRights #MontgomeryCounty #MoCoMD #MoCoMaryland #MoCo #civilrights #resist #MoCoPrideCenter #IslamicCenterMaryland #IslamicCenterMD

4th (Mostly) Annual Maryland Trans*Unity Potluck

Today was the 4th (Mostly) Annual Maryland Trans*Unity Potluck (we took a break in 2015, and have sometimes called it a picnic, which it also is), this time at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (CLUUC) in Bethesda (which is where Trans*Unity lives).  

It was for all transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people and their allies – including families of all kinds and children of all ages. We the organizers supplied some food, non-alcoholic drinks (this event is alcohol-free), paper products and games, and invited guests to bring something to share they could, but to know they were welcome if they couldn't – their presence was our present. And members of groups that serve the trans community were welcome to wear their flair and/or bring their materials.

It was co-sponsored by the Church and the new MoCo Pride Center (founded last year shortly before that Potluck and announced at it). And for the first time we had Heart To Hand with us, with their mobile testing unit and staff -- HTH "supports those infected and affected by sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, in Prince George’s County".

The Facebook event is here, and the flyers (the pictured one, and a quarter-page version) are here, though they will probably be taken down when the MoCo Trans Day Of Remembrance (TDOR) ones are put up. And here is our fabulous cake, as last year custom-colored like the trans and other community flags by Costco.

I WAS ON THE RADIO TODAY! WPFW’s Inside Out LGBT Radio show

I WAS ON THE RADIO TODAY!  WPFW’s Inside Out LGBT Radio show, talking about the MoCo Pride Center with my fellow #MoCoPrideCenter Visionaries (founding leaders) Rev. Jill McCrory and Janine Rauscher (there are several others).

Hosted by Michael Sharp (one of the show’s seven hosts), with special guest and co-host Michael Knaapen of the Montgomery County LGBT Democrat Club. From 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., and people could listen live and call in -- though it may have been best that no one called, because we had a lot that we needed to say, and we said it.  

To listen to the audio recording, click here and scroll down to June 20th and “Inside Out with Dr. Nicole Cuts and The Collective…” or click here to go right to our episode’s play page.  

#WPFW #WPFWDC #WPFWFM #InsideOutLGBTRadio #InsideOutRadio #DCradio #radioshow #talkradio #LGBTQradio #Pride2017 #PrideCenters #LGBTQCenters #communityradio

CLUUC Tapestry class -- non-gendered language

Today I co-taught a Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (CLUUC) Tapestry class with my local trans advocacy partner Ezra Towne – a 75-minute one-off on “Non-Gendered Language” -- we actually spent at least as much time on gender-inclusive language, i.e. the kind that affirms that there are infinite genders in infinite combinations, and that some people don’t experience gender internally. Which is an especially important witness for those of us who are both / neither / other than men and women.

“Have you ever wondered how to remove gender from our daily language? Even though feminists worked hard to remove words like mailman, fireman, stewardess and actress from our occupational vocabulary, we fall short in so many other areas. How can we adapt the way we speak, and the words we use, to eliminate the assumption of gender?”

#CLUUC #CedarLaneUUChurch #CedarLaneUU #religiouseducation #religioused #genderneutral #genderinclusive #UnitarianUniversalist #UU #UUA #1stUUprinciple #firstUUprinciple

MoCo Pride Center's first event!

Today was the MoCo Pride Center’s first event (Facebook event here)!  From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Agrodolce in Germantown MD, who also co-sponsored it.  I am one of the Center’s several Visionaries – founding leaders.  I was out of state on a pre-scheduled vacation with my partner, but I hear good things and see good pictures.  Among other things, I know that we premiered our Center logo window stickers.  

The Center will have our second event on Saturday July 29th at Denizens Brewing Co. in Silver Spring -- Facebook event here.  Please Like and Follow the Center on Facebook, too.  And please visit our website to give us your e-mail address, take our community survey, and more.  Yes, Maryland's Montgomery County finally has an LGBTQ center, and we look forward to helping to organize and grow our LGBTQ+ and allied community.  #MoCoPrideCenter

May Joe Kivett-Ward's memory be a blessing

I lost another friend yesterday -- Joe Kivett-Ward met with an untimely and accidental death last night. May his memory be a blessing, as we say in Judaism. 

Joe was a fellow BAGLY alum (Boston Alliance of LGBT+ Youth), but was a decade older, so we weren’t there at the same time (he was 80s, I was 90s). In the early 2000s, when I was Administrative Director of SpeakOut Boston (the country's first LGBT+ speakers bureau), Joe wanted to become one of our speakers. As it turned out, he didn’t really have time. But we connected personally as well, and became friends, especially because of our shared love of Star Trek (particularly the Original Series), writing (our own and others’), and classic style / design.

Speaking of which, the image is a photo I took after his passing of some of Joe’s gifts to me on one of my birthdays (the box contained a set of the coordinating stationery, and I bought the cup and trivet, and some teas, with his Teavana gift card). 

We became friends at quite the dramatic time in my life, though, and largely because of that, we had a falling out and became estranged. But we remained connected on some level, and in a way that had always seemed rather Vulcan to both of us. And in time Joe contacted me, knowing that we needed each other, and we met “at the appointed place” – his mother’s wake, funeral and luncheon, as it happened – and we renewed our friendship. It was mostly through e-mail and then Facebook, especially because of our busyness, but it was meaningful, and we just had a Messenger conversation on April 18th.

We were both fortunate enough to find true love in recent years -- Joe with a man named Lynn, who he married in August of 2015; we were each co-parenting a dogter, too. Just last December, Joe and family moved to Las Vegas. Joe – a fellow (almost?) lifelong Bostonian -- was sometimes homesick, but still very happy and hopeful. I thought we might visit them if and when we visited my aunt in Nevada. And then on May 19th, Lynn came home from a trip to Boston to find that Joe had drowned in their pool. Lynn is planning to have a memorial service in Boston at some point.

Another layer of meaning and mourning for me is that Joe and my late friend Chris Hannon knew each other through me, and were similar in some ways (including that I met Chris at BAGLY), and Chris took his own life in January 2015 (when he was in his 30s), and I was the one who told Joe that. I believe in an afterlife, and believe that Joe and Chris have reconnected there, and that I will reconnect with them eventually. But oh, how I wish that they were still in this life! I love, miss and thank you, my friends – you did not live long, but you prospered more than many, and you found some peace though not long life.

Communities United Against Hate's #CUAHLaunch

Today was Communities United Against Hate (CUAH) of #MontgomeryCounty’s #CUAHLaunch -- keynote and other speeches*, panel including an LGBTQIA+ student activist**, resources fair including a MoCo Pride Center table (our first!!). My partner Julia and I were there, and I helped staff the #MoCoPrideCenter table -- I’m a Visionary (founding leader) at the Center. #CUAHLaunch  

These photos of my fellow Visionary Rev. Jill McCrory and I tabling with a community member were taken by a third Center Visionary. And, #CUAHMCMD interviewed us on video (and I was overly serious, as I tend to be in video interviews!).

The Center’s friends at Maryland Trans* Unity and our local LGBTQ+ youth groups also had tables -- there were some other LGBTQ+ and allied groups as well, though as usual most were DC- or Baltimore-based, which is why we started the Center. There were also many other organizations, politicians and other who sponsored the event.  In addition to their website and Facebook Page, our CUAH is on Twitter and Instagram @CUAHMCMD.  

*Keynote by Brian Frosh, Maryland’s Attorney General; **panel moderated by the awesome James Stowe, Director of our County’s Office of Human Rights was Althea, a local high school student and LGBTQIA activist; Doron Ezickson, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League, Washington, DC; Mimi Hassanein, Middle Eastern Liaison, County Office of Community Partnerships; Dr. Rajwant Singh, Senior Advisor, National Sikh Campaign; Rabbi Batya Steinlauf, Co-Chair, Faith Community Working Group; Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA of Maryland.

#CommunitiesUnitedAgainstHate #CUAH #MoCo #MD #MoCoMD #Maryland #MontgomeryCountyMD #MoCoMaryland #MarylandTransUnity

TransFaith’s Being Brave Together retreats - #5 in Boston

TransFaith -- where I'm a founding National Councilmember -- launched our Being Brave Together model last year (2016), and the centerpiece is our Being Brave Together (BBT) retreats for trans* and allied spiritual/cultural workers in cities / regions around the country.  We’ve done them in Miami once (last February), Philly twice (last April and June), and Baltimore (last December), and I’ve co-facilitated all four (and blogged about it briefly here).

Our fifth and latest BBT retreat was today in Boston, at the Second Church in Newton UCC (United Church of Christ), and it was the best one yet – which is really saying something! Todah rabah, many thanks!! I co-facilitated with Louis Mitchell (also a TF staff member), in partnership with other TF staff and a local planning committee, and we had a dozen participants.

And we are planning them in several other cities for this year and next, and want to plan them in more.  And for that we need local hosts and planning committees, not to mention participants.  So please connect with us if you haven’t already -- transfaithonline.org/connect/being_brave_together/.  We have many other ways to connect, engage and gather as well, online and off.

This also enabled me to visit Boston for the first time since I moved here (three years ago, after being there since birth in 1976) – I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell or see more people, but hopefully it won’t be too long before the next time, and I can bring my partner Julia.

#TransFaith #BeingBraveTogether #retreats #leadershipretreats #trans* #faith #Boston #Newton #2ndChurchNewtonUCC #2ndChurchNewton #spirituality #faithtradition #religion #transgender

Trans students' rights presentation @ Leisure World

This afternoon my local trans advocacy partner Ezra Towne and I presented on “Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Students’ Rights and the Gavin Grimm Case” (including Montgomery County Public Schools) at the #UnitarianUniversalist group of Leisure World of Maryland, with guests from the #LGBT group, and it was a great experience.

The image is the first slide of our superb PowerPoint – and I can say that because it was Ezra who worked super hard on it.  And we will probably publish it online this Summer.

#LeisureWorld is a 610-acre (1ish square mile), ~8,000-resident, 200+-employee gated community for people 55+, founded in 1966; this was my first time inside.

#LeisureWorldMD #UU #transstudents #GavinGrimm #AshtonWhitaker #transyouth #Trans101 #trans* #gendernonconforming #transgender #MCPS

Trans United's first Organizing Call

Tonight was Trans United's first Organizing Call, and I was there, along with close to 100 of my closest colleagues, and it was quite a thing -- and it’s not too late to get involved.

"Trans United Fund is committed to building the political power of trans and gender expansive communities and our allies to advocate for trans equality."

#TransUnited #TransUnitedFund #trans* #transgender #gendernonconforming #genderexpansive #transled #transfocused #grassroots #organizing #conferencecall #CasaRuby #LaGender #TranscendLegal #TransLatinxCoalition

Field trip to The Frederick Center

Tonight Julia and I visited The Frederick Center’s Trans and Gender Non-Binary Community Group for the first time, and shared good pizza, soda, and conversation about many aspects of moving forward together as a community.  Thank you for inviting and having us! We continue to be inspired by you as we create the MoCo Pride Center. And it was certainly an unusually good way to spend Erev Inauguration (oy vey!!).

"This monthly TFC group is open to all Trans and Gender Non-Conforming adults (ages 18+ only). We provide a safe space to discuss issues of interest – including identity, coming out, transition – to support one another in gender exploration, to build connections and socialize with one another. Meeting topics and activities will largely be determined by group interest. We will commit to Respect, Direct Communication, Gentleness, Exploration, and Confidentiality.  Significant others welcome."

#TheFrederickCenter #Frederick #FrederickMD #FrederickCounty #MD #trans* #nonbinary #enby #transgender #LGBTQ

DMV Fat-Friendly Community holiday party 2016

The DMV Fat-Friendly Community holiday party was today, and it was great, greatly thanks to our hostesses with the most. A smorgasbord of sweet and savory snacks (provided and potluck), clothing swap (complete with shoes, socks, accessories, jewelry…), “white narwhal” gift swap* (based on your favorite holiday movie), and more.

*Pictured is the gift we brought – a stationery set I made to look like sushi-to-go (more of my art at http://masadarts.blogspot.com/2014/12/mycroft-masada-masadarts-my-artwork.html).

This is the group my partner Julia founded a few years ago; it has over 100 members, and the more the merrier.

#DMV #fatfriendly #community #fatcommunity #DC #MD #VA #holidayparty #party #potluck #clothingswap #giftswap #whitenarwhal #fatacceptance #fatjustice #fatactivism

Montgomery County MD Police LGBTQ Community Meeting #3

Tonight Julia and I attended the Montgomery County Police Department's third LGBTQ Community Meeting.  The first was in June, and the second in September; the next and fourth is scheduled for Tuesday March 7th, and the contact person is Lieutenant Nick Augustine at Nicholas.Augustine@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov -- a gay officer who speaks at and MCs these meetings.

There were no members of the media at all this time, apparently, and again less people (than last time, which was much less than the previous, first time); but hopefully that will change, especially as we continue to create the MoCo Pride Center (we have finally started an LGBTQ center for our county).  And, it is December and all!

The agenda included:
- A holiday safety demonstration by the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service (which I especially appreciated as my paternal grandparents and great-aunt died in the fire at Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub during Thanksgiving week of 1942; too, my brother is a firefighter and EMT in Ohio)
- A presentation on the current substance-abuse epidemic -- focusing on heroin, and including a demonstration of how to use the latest overdose-antidote delivery devices
- A Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office presentation on the legal perspective of hate-crime prosecution

#LGBTQcommunity #LGBTQ #MontgomeryCountyMD #MoCoMD #MoCo #MontgomeryCounty #Gaithersburg #MD #Maryland #police‬ #countypolice

TransFaith Being Brave Together retreats -- #4 in Baltimore

TransFaith -- where I'm a founding member of the new National Council -- launched its Being Brave Together model early this year, and the centerpiece is our Being Brave Together retreats for trans* and allied spiritual/cultural workers in regions around the country.  We’ve done them in Miami once (February) and Philly twice (April and June), and I’ve co-facilitated all three.  
Our fourth and latest BBT retreat was today in Baltimore, at the GLCCB (GLBT Community Center), and it was good! Thanks, everyone!! I co-facilitated with Vann Millhouse, in partnership with the TF staff and a local planning committee; as usual, we had some other TF leadership with us as well.

But what IS Being Brave Together, you ask? What is in the binder, and the TF carrying case? And what are the river rocks and glass pebbles for? Well, maybe you should come to a BBT retreat and find out.

We are planning them in several places as we speak – including two in my home state of MA -- and want to plan more, so be in touch and stay tuned (transfaithonline.org/connect/being_brave_together/).

#TransFaith #BeingBraveTogether #retreat #trans* #transgender #faith #Baltimore #GLCCB #DMV

DMV Fat-Friendly Community field trip to mini golf

My photo of the course’s seahorse statue at one of the holes, taken during one of my and Julia’s previous visits; I like seahorses, especially as they are dragon-like, and a trans*(-gender et al) symbol.

Today my partner Julia and I took the DMV* Fat-Friendly Community on a field trip to our city’s mini golf course.  I know, a city with its own mini golf course!  Gaithersburg MD, Julia’s hometown, is similar to my second hometown of Newton MA (first is Brookline MA), but for weather and other reasons I don’t think mini golf would be a good government investment there; (more) private mini golf is still pretty popular in MA though, especially at Summer vacation areas like Cape Cod.  We had a lot of interest in the event, but also a lot of scheduling conflicts – but we did have two other families join us, and all had a good time.  (*DC / MD / VA, as in District of Columbia / Maryland / Virginia; Julia founded the DMV FFC a few years ago.)

Here is the text of the Facebook event:

“DMV FFC Goes To G-Burg's Mini Golf

Come join Julia McCrossin and I at Gaithersburg's mini golf course (our town and her hometown)! We've been a few times, most recently on Labor Day weekend.

Start time is flexible (with notice), and we can host two rounds -- the last one must start by 6 (they close at 7, and the last players must start an hour before). Also, we have 6 free passes (residents $6, non $7, seniors $5/$6; groups of 10 $5).

And again, it is a pretty accessible place -- from Julia: "Just a note about accessibility, the course is not flat, but has paved walkways that are built for wheelchair/stroller access to each hole. Many, but not all, of the 18 holes have a sturdy metal bench for sitting. There is one pretty steep, but short, walk to a hole with a very steep incline."

Official site at http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/about-gaithersburg/city-facilities/miniature-golf-course.

We will bring the remaining Birkenstocks Julia's mother is giving away, for those who want to try them on (see my post in DMV Fat-Friendly Community for details).”

Montgomery County MD Police LGBTQ Community Meeting #2

Tonight Julia and I attended the Montgomery County Police Department's second LGBTQ Community Meeting.  The first was in June, planned before and then galvanized by the mass shooting at Latin Night at Orlando's Pulse LGBTQ nightclub earlier that month.

There was only one member of the media present this time, apparently -- a reporter from WHAG, who did publish a story (video and transcript), and quoted my colleague Rev. Jill McCrory and I -- and not as many people; but hopefully that will change, especially as we continue to create the MoCo Pride Center (we have finally started an LGBTQ center for our county, and Rev. Jill is in leadership there as well).  And Julia's mother came with us for the first time (you can see both of them in WHAG's video).

The agenda included:
- The Department of Homeland Security's video “Run, Hide, Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event" (produced with Houston TX's public safety people)
- An overview of the Montgomery County Family Justice Center and its services available to the LGBTQ community
- A review of recent bias-related incidents in Montgomery County
- The Department of Justice's law enforcement training video “Effective Interactions with the Transgender Community”
 
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday December 7th, and the contact person is Lieutenant Nick Augustine at Nicholas.Augustine@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov -- a gay officer who speaks at and MCs these meetings.

#LGBTQcommunity #LGBTQ #MontgomeryCountyMD #MoCoMD #MoCo #MontgomeryCounty #Gaithersburg #MD #Maryland #police‬ #countypolice

Fat Studies Journal call for proposals -- Fatness & Temporality

(I couldn't find a web page for this CFP, so I gave it one here. My "Good News : A Sermon On Fat Justice" appears in the Journal's Religion & Fat special issue of April 2015 (volume 4 issue 2).  : > ))

Special issue of Fat Studies: Fatness and Temporality

Guest edited by Jen Rinaldi, Emma Lind, May Friedman, Crystal Kotow, Tracy Tidgwell

The “Fatness and Temporality” special issue of Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society considers the relationship between fat identity and the social construction of time. The editors invite papers on a variety of topics that explore, for example, how fat bodies interrupt, disrupt, engage, or resist ideas about normative timelines and expectations of the human lifespan. Building upon queer theory’s temporal turn, our interrogation of fat temporalities considers the impacts of affect, sensation, and memory through the lens of fat citizenship. We seek to answer questions such as: what is the fat body’s imagined past and future? How might we theorize fat futurity? How do fat subjects “fall out of time” in their disavowal of normative life scripts?

This special issue invites papers across disciplines that may consider themes such as:

● Fat bodies as sites of metamorphosis and, thus, atemporality;
● Age-specific weight guidelines and the normative construction of the growing adolescent body;
● The exclusion of fat bodies from “youthful” standards of idealized bodies;
● The pressures to lose weight in anticipation of rites of passage like marriage;
● The “perils” of fat as violations of the necessity of long life and prosperity at any cost;
● Fat bodies as retreating to childlike states in terms of both external controls and the imperative to shrink;
● The recursiveness of fat bodies which may yoyo through different states;
● Fat as outside of normative timelines of romance and reproduction and the limitations and opportunities offered by existing outside of these frames;
● Implications for fat reproduction and/or fat parenting as impossible or highly fraught states;
● Fat history and the association of obesity with industrial modernity.

To submit a proposal for inclusion in this special issue of the journal, please send a 250-500 word summary of your article as well as a current CV to Jen Rinaldi, at Jen.Rinaldi@uoit.ca by October 1, 2016. Any questions about the special issue can be directed to this email address as well.

First drafts of full manuscripts will be submitted for editorial review by December 1, 2016. Full final manuscripts will be required in March 31, 2017. Final submissions should be between 3,000 and 6,000 words, including all notes and references. If you wish to include reproductions of visual images with your essay, you will need to receive permission to do so from the artists/ copyright holders of the image(s). All authors will need to sign a form that transfers copyright of their article to the publisher, Taylor & Francis / Routledge.

Fat Studies is the first academic journal in the field of scholarship that critically examines theory, research, practices, and programs related to body weight and appearance. Content includes original research and overviews exploring the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. Articles critically examine representations of fat in health and medical sciences, the Health at Every Size model, the pharmaceutical industry, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, legal issues, literature, pedagogy, art, theater, popular culture, media studies, and activism.

Fat Studies is an interdisciplinary, international field of scholarship that critically examines societal attitudes and practices about body weight and appearance. Fat Studies advocates equality for all people regardless of body size. It explores the way fat people are oppressed, the reasons why, who benefits from that oppression and how to liberate fat people from oppression. Fat Studies seeks to challenge and remove the negative associations that society has about fat and the fat body. It regards weight, like height, as a human characteristic that varies widely across any population. Fat Studies is similar to academic disciplines that focus on race, ethnicity, gender, or age.

Maryland Trans* Unity Picnic 2016

After taking a break last year, today’s 3rd (Mostly) Annual Maryland Trans*Unity Picnic at Open Door Metropolitan Community Church (a beautiful building in beautiful grounds) was very good indeed. 

Thank you, everyone!!! Very special thanks to MD Trans* Unity organizer Ezra Towne and family, who among other things provided this amazing cake -- which not only includes the trans* flag but colors from genderqueer and other community flags!

(And the bakery left out the asterisk, so I made one using a Sharpie on the back of a glass pebble.)

Good fellowship, good food, good games and sidewalk chalk, and good news -- we are finally starting a queer community center for our county (!) -- the MoCo Pride Center.



And a good way to spend my mother's 16th yahrzeit (she passed on 16 years ago today, primarily due to alcoholism).

#MDTransUnity #MarylandTransUnity #picnic #potluck #OpenDoorMCC #BoydsMD #Boyds #MD #Maryland #trans* #transgender #DC #Washington #WashingtonDC #Baltimore #MoCoMD #MontgomeryCountyMD #MontgomeryCounty