The Norwegian public transport provider #Ruter has made posters and a video that presents the many hardships of personal journey’s and how people are handling them.
One of the persons depicted is a transgender man, under the headline “From Matilde to Matias”.
The poster adds that regardless of what kind of journey you are on, you can travel with them.
Matias Frøystad is from the West Coast in Norway and lives in Oslo.
The other person depicted in the picture above is a Muslim woman who is traveling from “One in the crowd” to “Daring to take up space.”
The video below ends with the message: “Remember that everyone is on their own journey, just like you.”
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is a documentary by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, focusing on the life of Jackie Shane, a Black, openly trans R&B singer from the 1960s.
The filmmakers faced challenges due to limited footage of Shane, using live albums and phone conversations to recreate her story with Black trans actors and rotoscope animation.
The film highlights themes of overcoming fear and the erasure of trans history, showcasing Shane’s strength and musical talent.
Here’s Jackie Shane singing Walking the Dog back in 1965.
A Diverse American Coalition of Parents Protect Transgender Kids
Parents across the political spectrum, including Republicans, independents, and progressives, are joining forces to protect their transgender children’s rights, LGBTQ Nation reports.
This coalition is working through organizations like GRACE (Gender Research Advisory Council and Education) and participating in legal efforts such as co-signing a brief for an upcoming Supreme Court case on gender-affirming care bans.
Motivations and Actions
Personal experiences: Parents have shared how having a transgender child led them to become advocates, often despite their previous political affiliations or lack of activism experience1.
Cross-party outreach: The coalition aims to reach across the aisle, particularly to conservatives, using evidence-based information and personal stories1.
Legal and political engagement: Some parents have founded nonprofits, lobbied legislators, and even run for office to support trans rights1.
Impact of Anti-Trans Legislation
40% of trans kids live in states where anti-trans laws have passed. Parents emphasize the importance of fighting misinformation and bringing factual, medical evidence to the forefront of discussions.
The new Netflix series The Secret of the River follows Erik and Manuel, childhood friends from a small Oaxacan village, who reunite nearly 20 years later. Manuel, now known as Sicarú, is a transgender woman. They must confront their past together.
The show explores gender identity and the Zapotec indigenous culture, highlighting the concept of muxes, a third gender in Oaxaca.
On Red Hot’s side are more than 80 artists, including many transgender and nonbinary musicians, who created 46 tracks, yielding over three and a half hours of music. Exclusive tracks come from big names like Sade, André 3000 and Sam Smith, as well as scores of lesser-known trans musicians like Nina Keith, a composer from Philadelphia, and Clarity, a musician from Los Angeles. Showcasing the music of less exposed trans artists was a key goal for the organizers.
Sade’s new song “Young Lion” addresses her transgender son, Izaak, highlighting personal and emotional experiences. (Photo above).
Sade’s lyrics for her transgender son express love and regret: “Young man, it’s been so heavy for you/You must have felt so alone,” she sings. “I should have known.”
The album’s title comes from a 1972 LP by the Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso, Jim Farber reports. Veloso recorded that album when he was staying in London during Brazil’s Fascist period.
The project aims to raise awareness and support for transgender people, drawing parallels to Red Hot’s early work during the AIDS epidemic.
Historical Significance: The Glade nightclub in Honolulu’s Red Light District became a refuge for the māhū community in the 1960s, offering a space for gender fluid performers amidst widespread persecution.
Cultural Impact: The “Boys Will Be Girls Revue” was a groundbreaking show that ran for 17 years, attracting diverse audiences and helping to change public perceptions of the māhū community.
Persecution and Resilience: Performers faced significant harassment and legal challenges, including the “intent to deceive” law, but they often fought back and supported each other.
Legacy and Recognition: The Glade’s history is now being memorialized by institutions like the Bishop Museum and the City of Honolulu, highlighting its importance as a queer landmark.
Māhū (“in the middle”) are seen as third gender people with spiritual and social roles. Historically, the term māhū referred to people assigned male at birth. In 2003 the term mahuwahine was created within Hawaii’s LGBTQ community: māhū + wahine (“woman”). The structure of the word is similar to Samoan fa'a (the way of) + fafine (woman/wife).
The fact that Kamala Harris has chosen a pro-LGBTQ and a pro-transgender governor as her running mate is good news for trans and queer people in the US.
But this story is not only about Harris and Tim Walz. It is also about Peggy Flanagan, who may replace Waltz as governor of Minnesota if Harris and Waltz win. And she is a big supporter of transgender rights.
Flanagan, the lieutenant governor of Minnesota, is a Native American and a member of the White Earth Nation from the St. Louis Park suburb of Minneapolis.
Her support of indigenous people soon expanded into support for other marginalized groups and in particular trans people. She has been working for the right of transgender youth to transition.
She went viral last year for wearing the shirt while speaking at a press conference for Walz’s executive order making Minnesota a trans refugee state.
“This is life-affirming and life-saving healthcare,” she said. “When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them. That’s what it means to be a good parent.”
She was presenting Walz’s executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care for adults and youth.
The attacks against her reflects toxic transphobic attitudes.
The implicit goal of these attacks is to force all women to follow narrowly defined sexist ideas about what a proper woman should be and to uphold a clear divide between the two traditional genders.
This transphobia is mixed up with a racism that implies that strong Black women are a threat to white women and that they must therefore be classified as men.
TERFs like J.K. Rowling are deeply reactionary, fighting side by side with fascists and religious fundamentalists, and can no longer be seen as feminists.
Masoud El Amaratly was a renowned Iraqi folk singer and transgender man born at the turn of the 20th century in Iraq.
Marwan Kaabour presents the life of Masoud El Amaratly (also written as Masoud Al-Amartli, 1898 or 1901–1944) over at the Ajam Media Collective
El Amaratly began living as a man after an incident at age 18 when he courageously stopped two harassers, earning praise from his community. This event allowed him to express his gender identity more openly, adopting traditional male dress and pursuing a career in singing.
El Amaratly was part of the Mustarjil community, a transgender identity accepted among the Ahwari (Marsh Arabs) in southern Iraq.
The Mustarjil, meaning “becoming [a] man,” was a recognized gender category for individuals assigned female at birth who chose to live as men after puberty.
Rising to fame in the 1920s and 1930s, El Amaratly became known for his distinctive voice and his use of the abuḏiya style, a form of poetry and singing popular among the Ahwari.
