OUT & ABOUT

By Diane Frank

Self-Defense Seminar
Back at the August Transfamily meeting, a couple of out, gay police officers gave a short workshop on self-defense. What follows are my notes. Please be aware that these notes are in no way recommendations for you to follow. Take from them what you will, at your own risk.

* The first and most important point about self defense is prevention -- that’s environmental awareness and self-awareness.

* Check area crime stats on google before you go some place.

* Don’t appear to be a victim.
* Don’t flash money.
* Don’t avoid eye contact, looking down to right.
* Make eye contact, then let go, looking up to left.
   (the eye contact advice applies to men and women)

* Let local people see you around at different times of the day.
* Carry your keys between your fingers when going to the car.

* Don’t slouch, walk upright and confidently.
* Make yourself feel at home by envisioning the environment you grew up in.

* Don’t let people get close to you bumming a cigarette or a light.
* Go out with a buddy.

* Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.
* If you must talk to a stranger, be aware of who is behind you. Don’t glance over your shoulder, but turn all the way around, taking in everything.

* Carry pepper spray. (change out your pepper spray once a year)
* If you’re going to be a victim, be an expensive victim.
* Keys at the eyes.
* Box ears.
* Yell, have a police whistle, make noise.
* Run!
* Don’t sneak up on people.
* Have cell phone in hand.
* How to deal with Police: Don’t be “in contempt of cop.”

There were physical demonstrations about what to do if grabbed, but rather than repeat them, I suggest you take a self-defense course and practice.


C-Space and Trans Hip-Hop
While I was looking for venues for Helen Boyd to talk, C-Space was recommended to us. It didn’t work out, but when I saw an event posted where two FtM young men were going to rap, I had to check the place out…and educate myself about live rap. C-Space is definitely counter-culture friendly. It has adjacent parking, and isn’t in the greatest part of town.

Here’s the announcement that came out:

Friday, 8/24 - HEATWAVE TOUR:
Team Gina, Katz & Katastorphe
8pm - $7 sliding scale

Concert featuring:
Team Gina - a dynamic dance duo; political, queer & anti-oppression.
Katz - poetry with a kick in the a$$; using his poetry to entertain & inform trans gendered issues are one of his hot topics!
Katastrophe - alternative/hip hop, using his struggle as a trans man and his contested place in contemporary queer and hip hop culture as a springboard to express issues of community, space, privilege, sex and self-worth.

Sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bi-Sexual Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

@ C-Space
4323 Clark ave (W 44th & Clark)
Cleveland, OH 44109
[www.clevelandspace.org]

Team Gina is a pair of young women who rap from a lesbian feminist perspective. Katz and Katastrophe are the FtMs. I really can’t tell you whether this was good rap, bad rap or whatever. What I learned about rap is that rap is to traditional poetry as tap dance is to the ballroom dance. Classical poetry has a constant meter. Ballroom dance has a constant rhythm. Tap dance changes rythms, and so does rap. Sometimes it seems that the percussive effect is more important than the words or their literal meaning.

Oh, be aware that C-Space is a store front with no air conditioning. I’m glad I wore very lightweight clothing that evening.


Old Bailey Strikes - Again!
For those of you who bother with these things, Professor Michael Bailey (writer of The Man Who Would Be Queen:) is back in the news. The overboard efforts to discredit Bailey by some women of transsexual history have, as we would have predicted, backfired. Alice Dreger, an academic whose speciality is intessexual issues has written a history of the whole affair and it does not reflect well on the anti-Bailey faction, even if it doesn’t totally exonerate Bailey, especially with regards to Anjelica Kieltyka. You can read her piece on-line here: [Alice Dreger pdf]

What concerns me in all this is the framing of Bailey as a victim and the loss of ability to criticize his work or understanding of things. Dreger has erroneously concluded that the work by Blanchard that Bailey draws has been replicated by others. Her citations, for example of the work of Cohen-Kettenis is improper. Suffice it to say that I have it on the strongest authority that Cohen-Kettenis’ does not replicate Blanchard’s work and what work they have done and their clinical practice do not support Blanchard’s uber-theory of autogynephilia. It is clear from my personal investigations of this that there is fear and intimidation on all sides and authoritative public comment on the facts of these matters will not come forth until everything settles down a bit.


Transgender Art Show
Last Saturday, September 1st, a transgender art show (assembled by two Cleveland area CDs--Glenda and Jamie) opened at Bela Dubby Art Gallery & Cafe - a community watering hole on the west side. Bela Dubby is a comfortable place where people of all sorts hang out, browse the web and drink the beverage of their choice. It's not the conventional bar, even if beer is served.

It’s my belief that art has transformative power, not only for the audience but the aspiring artist. Encouraging people to share their creative work in a public setting is a fine way for us to generate a good image for the various communities of people under the transgender umbrella. So, I contributed some of my poetry. Maybe I’ll read some at an AO meeting some time.

From Bela's website:

What is Bela Dubby, you ask? We are an art/coffee house in Lakewood. We serve Phoenix brand Fair-Trade roasted coffees and a great selection of microbrews. Brooklyn Beer exclusively on tap. Art shows every month. Live music. Free WiFi, kid friendly and non-smoking. Comfy vintage kitchen tables, chairs and couches. Great place to read a book, run the home office, check yer email, drink coffee or have a beer and order from a local pizzaria for delivery right to Bela Dubby.

Link to Bela Dubby: www.myspace.com/beladubby
(might violate your community standards)


Erin O'Brien
Erin, who wrote Dress Blues (an article about various aspects the trans-communities in Cleveland), sent me a note about her comments on the affair-de-Craig, the Idaho Senator (or former Idaho Senator) embroiled in a scandal about soliciting sex from an undercover vice office in an airport men's room. Links to her two blog posts:

http://erin-obrien.blogspot.com/2007/08/senator-craig-redux.html

http://erin-obrien.blogspot.com:80/2007/09/last-notes-on-craig.html

Erin's commentary has some unusual sympathy for Craig. (Assuming the allegations about him are true.) Her point is that eventually the pressure to be yourself becomes too much and it boils over--whether for Craig, or people like us. I'll add that closeted conservative gay men have few places to turn.

For people dealing with crossdressing, regardless of ideology, The Alpha Omega Society does offer a safe, secure venue to let the steam out of the pressure cooker on a regular basis, for those in need of such.