Have You Ever Had to Convince Someone You're a Woman? (VIDEO)

Have You Ever Had to Convince Someone You're a Woman? (VIDEO)
Just a few days ago news broke that Russia had enacted new rules banning people with “mental disorders” from driving. In Russia transsexualism and transgenderism are listed as “mental disorders,” making it criminal for transgender people to drive there.

It is hard to disagree when people say that some areas of the world are going in the wrong direction when it comes to human rights. People are discriminating against, harassing, and murdering trans people every day, not just in Russia but in all countries, though I think these issues have started to get more attention with big stars like Laverne Cox and Janet Mock telling their heartbreaking stories to the world. The world is essentially evolving, but at the same time it’s very clear that countries like Russia are going in the wrong direction.

In some places more and more hostility toward the trans community is being created. Even though I think it’s absurd that we in 2015 are calling trans people mentally ill, I can understand that the lack of accurate media coverage of this topic has had a negative effect. With almost no stories coming out showing trans people as human beings, there’s a huge disconnect between the trans community and the general public. Adding to the problem, few people have ever met a trans person.

Because of this, I think the fifth episode of The Pearl of Africa has special value. Not only does it give a glimpse into the trans community, but it does so within the context of a hostile society in Uganda. I hope that this Web series will help change the perception of transgender people as mentally ill, and that Cleo’s story will create the feeling of having met a trans person for anybody who hasn’t had that chance.

This week’s episode covers discrimination against LGBTI people in Uganda. Cleo is invited to a secret meeting with the Ugandan government to prove that she’s real. In the episode I search for an answer to the question of why it’s so hard for people to accept anything that doesn’t fit into society’s norms.

If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes, you can find them here.

www.huffingtonpost.com/jonny-von-wallstrom/have-you-ever-had-to-conv_b_6471582.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Anti-Gay Cardinal Raymond Burke Blames Catholic Church's Woes On Womankind: VIDEO

Anti-Gay Cardinal Raymond Burke Blames Catholic Church's Woes On Womankind: VIDEO

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Grumpy Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the most outspoken anti-gay Catholic activists, has blamed women for the problems the church is facing today, reports the Irish Times.

6a00d8341c730253ef01b8d07fe14f970c-150wiIn an interview with The New Emangelization –  a website that aims to address the “man crisis” in the church – Burke suggests that Catholicism has become too feminized and argues that the use of altar girls and the women’s rights movement may be the crux of the problem:

“Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women…the activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved. Men are often reluctant to become active in the church. The feminised environment and the lack of the church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out.”

Burke was in Rome last week to meet Pope Francis following the pontiff’s decision to demote the cardinal from his role in the powerful Apostolic Signatura to a largely ceremonial one with the Knights of Malta.

The cardinal was one of the most vociferous opponents of an attempt last October to introduce language aiming to be more inclusive of gay people and conciliatory on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Speaking at a conference on “the Catholic family” in Ireland last November, Burke said he would refuse holy communion to any politician who has been supportive of same-sex marriage. 

Watch Burke explain why it’s “perfectly good and just” to discriminate against gay people, AFTER THE JUMP


Jim Redmond

www.towleroad.com/2015/01/anti-gay-cardinal-raymond-burke-blames-catholic-churchs-woes-on-womankind-video.html