CBC is asking the question, “Should we use gender-neutral pronouns instead of ‘he’ and ‘she’?“ Citing Sweden’s addition of a gender-neutral pronoun to the National Encyclopedia and a news story last year about a Toronto couple who wished to raise their child genderless until the child decides, and asks: Do
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Dented Blue Mercedes: Potty panic in the halls of Parliament
Did he just say that? Xtra is reporting that during the first hour of discussion for the trans human rights bill C-279, Conservative MP Dean Allison attempted to link trans women with sexual predators. [Bill C-279 sponsor Randall] Garrison says not all Conservative MPs feel that way. “That’s at the
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans human rights Bill C-279 Second Reading debate begins tomorrow
Second Reading for Bill C-279 comes up on Thursday April 5th, There will be an hour of debate at around 1:30 EST (11:30 MST). This is only the first part of Second Reading process, and there will likely be another hour of debate in May or possibly June. Three things
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: On Trans* Beauty Contestants
I have to admit, as far as trans issues go, beauty pageants are way down my list of priorities. At a time when it’s difficult to access doctors willing to treat trans people for the flu let alone assist in transition, when even something as simple as basic human rights
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Parliament to debate abortion in April (and Jim Hughes declares the Canadian war on women’s reproductive rights)
Conservative Party backbencher Stephen Woodworth has put forward a motion that will result in a debate in Parliament on abortion in the guise of “when life begins,” in April. This debate is tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 26th, and will call for the creation of a special committee dominated by Conservatives.
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Consent, the frequent far-right blind spot.
Concerned Women for America doesn’t grok consent. And they’re not alone. Anti-abortion campaigner Jill Stanek is joining them, along with several other right-wing figures in North America who have responded to the discussions surrounding the tactic of legally requiring women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound before being able to access
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: A Lesson in Spin: Minimizing the Issue
I’ve been thinking on doing a few brief posts on seeing through spin, considering the growing escalation of techniques in Canada, which mirror an epidemic of it in the U.S. While my examples tend to look at the far-right, no one side of the social discussion is entirely innocent of
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canadian trans rights bill C-279 to be debated in April.
From the pen of Randall Garrison comes the following: NDP-Quebec LGBTT Commission, Canada Message from Randall Garrison: Gender identity bill to be debated in April Posted on March 3, 2012 by npdqclgbtt Dear friends, Spring is upon us and so is the fight to protect the rights of transsexual, transgender
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Coming out for reproductive justice.
Today is International Womens’ Day. It’s a day to stand together, to call for rights when they’re lacking, and to defend rights when they’re in danger. And there is some danger at the door, with a declaration yesterday that the “perfect storm” makes the perfect moment for the U.S. crusade
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Five reasons it’s important to support trans rights now.
(Previously offered to Xtra.ca. They did post a reply by Christin Milloy) Xtra’s Rob Salerno recently questioned whether it was important to work toward explicit inclusion for transsexual and transgender people in human rights legislation, by adding the terms gender identity or gender expression. He wrote this in response to the
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Transport Committee upholds gender marker match requirement
The Transport Committee has upheld the gender marker match requirement in the Aeronautics Act which has the potential to ban some or even most transsexual and transgender Canadians from flying. Although no one has come forward publicly to say that they’ve been denied passage since this went into force, reports
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: A motion on the trans air travel concerns, and a handy guide on how to get a proper passport.
The Transport Committee will be meeting again on Thursday to discuss a motion put forward by Olivia Chow with Randall Garrison and Dany Morin to remove the gender marker requirement from the Aeronautics Act. The motion reads: “That the Government repeals Section 5.2 (1) 3 (c) of the Identity Screening
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canadian MPs Allegedly Snicker and Mock Trans Screening Concerns in Parliament
Continuing the reportage of the new regulations that could potentially bar some trans Canadians from being able to board a plane. Here’s part one for the background, and a statement from the Trans Equality Society of Alberta. There are a few online petitions to address the issue, including this one
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: TESA: New Regulations Potentially Bar Some Trans Canadians From Air Travel
I just wanted to update folks on the Aeronautics Act regulatory change issue. Firstly, I caution people to avoid saying that that trans people are “completely banned” from airlines, especially since we don’t know yet if that’s how this will play out. The regulation has been around since July or
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: New airport screening regs raise questions for trans Canadians
Marathon runner Jennifer McCreath has pointed out a recent regulatory change that the Harper Conservatives have made to the Aeronautics Act (i.e. passed by ministerial fiat, rather than shepherded through Parliamentary process) that potentially affects many trans (and cis) Canadians and could even ban some from air travel: Sec 5.2(1)
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canadian government seeks to nullify non-Canadian same-sex marriages
During the March 2011 federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had vowed not to reopen the abortion and same-sex marriage debates. That was good enough for some Canadians, who elected the neo-liberal Conservatives to their first full majority government last year. While Harper reiterated his pledge not to reopen the
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: MARS Canada doesn’t want to be affiliated with homophobia / transphobia.
Not long ago, Charles McVety’s transphobic “Don’t Confuse Me” ads about a proposed LGBT-positive curriculum in Ontario made the rounds — first on the National Post (which apologized for running them) and then by Sun Media, which claimed they were free speech champions for doing so. The Toronto Sun and
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans woman asked by NWT Finance Minister to leave to accommodate “spooked” Governor General
CBC News is reporting that a human rights complaint has been filed against Northwest Territories’ Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger over an incident that occurred during the December 9th visit to Aurora College by Canada’s new Governor General, David Johnston. Miltenberger, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Thebacha, is alleged to have
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Parsing Hate: The motivation behind the “Transsexual Registration Act”
On December 10th, Monica at TransGriot pointed to a Facebook Group advocating for the creation of a “Transsexual Registration Act.” The creator of that page and the idea he presents are fringe enough that we typically don’t dignify them with attention, but sometimes it’s important to point to these things
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Credit where it’s due: Conservatives speak out against Nigeria’s anti-same-sex marriage bill.
The Stephen Harper Conservatives have spoken out against a proposal in Nigeria to further criminalize gays and lesbians, and — at least as significantly — those who would ally, advocate for or even just silently tolerate their existence. Yup, you heard that right. If you’ve read my other writings about
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