Are the government actually breaking the law here?  Specifically the 1975 UK Sex Discrimination Act.

As has been explained, abolishing the 10p tax band will hit workers on salaries of  £18,000 per annum or under.   It's mostly cleaners, secretaries, admin workers and shop assistants who earn £18,000 per annum and the majority of these employees will be female.  Furthermore, we've already been told that the scrapping of the 10p tax band will, in particular, affect women over 60.

Although the government may not have set out to discriminate against women, their move will nevertheless have a damaging effect upon women as a class disproportionate upon that to men as a class.  The UK Sex Discrimination Act clearly states that it is illegal to treat a group of people unfavourably on account of gender even if this treatment was unintentional.

Therefore, does the government's abolition of the 10p tax band not equal indirect sex discrimination?  Blatant sex discrimination?!

Apparently, Peaches Geldof is said to be 'furious' that online hackers have amended a Wikipedia article about her to read that she is a transsexual.

http://blog.pinknews.co.uk/2008/03/peaches-furious.html

Just had to make a comment there!  Here we go again; 'Lily Allen/Lowest Common Denominator Syndrome'...yawn, yawn... 

Seemingly though, porno rag 'The Daily Star' just can't understand her fury - chivalrously defending this woman honour, 'anyone can tell she's a girl' they say. 

Um...like, duh, so what's being, or not being *a girl* necessarily got to do with being transsexual?  Stupid question?  Not necessarily.  Transsexuals can identify as male, female, a bit of both in varying degrees or indeed, neither.  But we'll come onto that later.  (Sorry I'm in a bossy, dominatrix mood today:)

Factoid: The person/people who altered Peaches Wiki bio to give out the false information that she's trans did so because they wanted to humiliate her.  Such an attitude, and the mindset of assumptions that propels it, relies on the all-pervasive and deeply-held prejudice that society holds against accepting transwomen as being as legitimate as other women.  Otherwise, the frequent tactic of *accusing* someone of being a transsexual just wouldn't work. Instead, sadly as things stand, one could be forgiving that being identified as a transsexual is tantamount to being denounced as a communist during the McCarthy witch-hunt era America.  Imagine that:  'Are you now, or have you ever been a transsexualist?':)

As for our 'friends' the Daily Star?  (BTW- Sound like a bunch of *dang commies*, Senator McCarthy?)  Whatever, let's take a closer look at their propisition.  Anyone can tell she's a girl?  So, by the same principle then, does it indeed follow that *anyone* would be able to tell when 'she's a boy'? 

Factoid Numero Two:  No.  Many transwomen are just as indistinguishable from non-transwomen - two extreme examples on the femininity scale - but let's point out Korean actress Harisu and Israeli pop singer Dana International for instance.  Just how, pray tell me, would the *expert* transpotters at the Star be able to work out their trans status if Harisu and Dana happened to be walking down Fleet Street as they happened to be looking out of their office windows ogling 'the Laydeez' during their Diet Malt break?  Truth is, if they didn't recognize them specifically as being 'Harisu' or 'Dana International' the fact that they were trans simply wouldn't cross their drooling minds.

Therefore, the Star's confident assertion that 'anyone can tell she's a girl' is based purely on the assumption that transwomen are going to fit into the butch *pantomime dame* stereotype of a 'big, clumsy bloke trying to look like a woman'. 

Then again, this is all one can expect of a tabloid.  Granted, all transphobic and highly offensive rubbish that needs to be challenged as you and I know, yet we must try not to be beastly back to them.  After all, tabloid journos can't help it.  Studies have shown that there is a small organ in-between their ears that they fail to utilize...how sad.

Meethinks Auntie Beeb's got something of a problem with transgendered peeps.

I didn't watch telly much on Saturday night, but each time I came downstairs and took a peek at the old goggle box for a few minutes I was a confronted with a transphobic comment courtesy of 'our' supposedly progressive, people's television channel.

The first transphobic happening took place on BBC One's build-up to Eurovision programme in which several different singers and groups competed to be the UK's 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry.  Co-presenter, Claudia Winkleman, couldn't help make some comment about Dana International being from 'transylvania'.  Think it was supposed to be funny; but it just came across to me that it seemed like she thought Transylvania was in Israel!!!  Nulle pointe for geography there, Claudia!  (Un)funnily enough, I seem to recall Fern Britton making Dana International's transsexuality an attempt to get a cheap laugh on the same programme - but last year.  Just, that is, before she (famously incorrectly) announced the winner of last year's competition.  Nulle pointe, again Bigot's Broadcasting Company!

Anyway, I went back upstairs to listen to some music (not Eurovisiony) and do a bit of credit-card bashing on eBay.

When I returned downstairs a few hours later, I just happened to tune into the 'Gavin & Stacey' (let's show some old repeats) night on BBC Two.  The episode I caught was about a stag do and a hen do (well...there's a bi-gendered surprise).  I'm guessing it was Gavin's and Stacey's?!!  Anyway, cue queue of blokes standing outside a nightclub talking about which women they 'fancied'.  All of a sudden, to put the other guy down, one of the characters points out that he'd probably end up with transsexual Big Brother winner, Nadia Almada and then added something like it would be okay if he closed his eyes.

Here we go; the transsexual as the lowest common denominator in worth again!  I mean; the assumption seems to be so often that we're the bottom of the barrel in both looks and everything else.  The assumption is that we're the grossest fairies that you could find at the bottom of your garden; the assumption is that we're losers.  At best to be pitied and worst to be pilloried or even burnt at the stake...the bogey gender.

And...it does appear that transgendered people are one of the few groups left that the self-styled liberal, diligently politically-correct Beeb feels it 'safe' to offend.  After all, the assumption (yet another assumption) is that there are not that many of us and that we're likely to be largely defenceless.  If we all refused to pay our licence fees, the bold rebellion of a tiny minority would pose little danger of causing a dent in the mighty giant that is the British Broadcasting Corporation.  Plus Auntie Beeb is ever-keen to style and present itself as the 'people's' choice and, thus, by launching populist attacks upon what they calculate to be a widely-disliked minority of sexual perverts, they are hoping to further ingratiate themselves with 'the masses'.  Enemies of the people...that's what we are...um...apparently(!)  Or at least always 'game' for a laugh.

During World War Two, throughout the subjecated enemy-occupied lands 'conquered' by the Third Reich, listening to the BBC was banned - nowadays I've a feeling that Herr Goebbels would make tuning in to the BBC compulsory.

And...now for something completely different...

Yep...got called a 'boy' today - or at least got classed as 'one of the boys'.  This always totally mystifies me.  Can't they see that I look totally different from a male? 

Sometimes I think that there are those cisgendered people who do this on purpose because they are so uncomfortable with someone who is transgendered.  Why do they feel the need to play these games all of the time!?  Yet at the same time, certain people will point, laugh, catcall, insult, threaten and exclude us from their groups precisely for being transgendered.  It just really frustrates me. 

So, they know we're not the gender that they say we are; yet they go out of their way to misrepresent us as how they would like to see us.  They stamp over our identities as it pleasures them.  Oh well...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 

Never mind, here's a reason to be cheerful: transgendered comedy Mrs Inbetweeny airs tonight...um...on BBC Three.  Argghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

In the last few weeks, the tragic deaths of three, young transgendered people all under the age of eighteen have hit the headlines.

Cameron McWilliams from South Yorkshire, was by all accounts a desperately unhappy child; he was bullied and had few friends. He admitted to prefering 'girls' things', liked to cross dress and told his mother that one day he wanted sex reassignment surgery.  He hanged himself.  Cameron was 10-years-old.

Last Friday, Simmie Williams, a male-to-female transperson from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was shot dead after an argument with two men.  Simmie was 17-years old.

This morning, standing on the railway station platform on my daily commute to work, I opened my copy of Metro and learnt of the death of yet another child with gender identity issues.  Lawrence King from Oxnard, California had only recently 'come out' as gay and was suffering bullying from a group of male students as a result.  He had started coming to school wearing mascara, lipstick, jewellery and high-heeled boots and, all too predictably, the bullying intensified.  He was gunned down by a 14-year-old boy in front of 24 of his classmates.  Lawrence was 15-years old.

What a waste. 

I don't really know what to say at this point apart from offering my sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones of Cameron, Simmie and Lawrence.  I know full well that nothing I, or anyone else can do or say, will ever bring these precious young people back.  Of couse, it's sad when anyone dies, particularly if they're murdered or are driven to take their own lives.  These kids were so young...they had their whole lives ahead of them.

Will society learn from this?  Unfortunately, I doubt it.  The transphobia, genderism and sexism endemic in society played a very considerable part in the deaths of these three young people.  Moreover, we know only too well that they're not the first to suffer to the point of losing their lives because of bi-gendered society's hostility to transpeople and that, yes sadly, they probably won't be the last.

Children learn from adults.  One of the things that they are taught is to behave, dress and even think in a 'gender appropriate' manner.  Schools insist that boys and girls look different, act differently and think differently yet at the same time, claim to uphold equal opportunities and to empower children as individuals irrespective of gender.  No wonder transgendered kids are confused and depressed. 

What's more, some of the people who enforce these rules are those who consider themselves liberals, feminists even.  However, when you read about the lives (and deaths) of transgendered children it becomes apparent that supposedly caring adults are light years away from even being aware of children having gender identity issues.  The other week, Natacha Kennedy had an excellent article in the Guardian which dealt with this:

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/natacha_kennedy/2008/02/growing_up_in_chiaroscuro.html

One of the deeply disturbing statistics that Natacha relates in her article is that transgendered children are three times more likely to take their own lives than other children.  I was really shocked to read that a massive one quarter of transgendered children have, in fact, attempted suicide. 

So much for the 'male privilege' that certain radical feminist separatists claim that male-to-female transsexuals grow up with.  Seems like just another 'excuse' to exclude and hate to me.

Clearly the social, cultural and legal persecution of transgendered children has got to stop.  However, when even the self-proclaimed radical, progressive intelligentsia regard with scorn, distate and distrust those whom they feel are too gender diverse for their own good; I'm sorry to say that the outlook sure don't seem rosy.

So, the High Court has ruled that long(ish) haired lad, Grant Stranaghan, is not being discriminated against if his school forces him to get his hair cut in a short, 'conventionally male' style?  Quelle surprise.

http://www.newtownabbeytoday.co.uk/news/SCHOOL-WELCOMES-COURT-RULING-IN.3695166.jp

Transgendered people are having a tough time in Kuwait lately...

http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Jan/1802.htm

So much for the 'liberation' of Kuwait:(

I was reading the 60 Second Interview section of Metro on the bus the other night on my way home from work.  They were interviewing Tim Vincent, an actor and presenter, (lately appearing on ITV's Dancing on Ice complete with sequined shirts), who amongst many other past projects, presented the reality television show 'There's Something About Miriam'. 

For those of you who don't already know, the 'big joke' of this show was the fact that a group of male suitors competed for the affections of a woman whom they don't know is transgendered until this is revealed at the end of the series.  I've never seen the show but apparently, as far as I can remember from hearingabout/reading of it, several of the male participants sued, or tried to sue the show afterwards because they felt that they'd been made to look fools.  Many critics slammed the show because of it's cruelty in using these men, hurting their feelings and subjecting them to public humiliation.  As usual of course, (think of the furore about 'Jerry Springer: The Opera'), there was little mention in the mainstream media of whether or not the concept of, and rationale behind 'There's Something About Miriam' would be buying into something that may also be deeply offensive and hurtful to transgendered people. 

I once remember John Cleese pointing out in a television interview that whilst the Monty Python is best known for its anarchic humour there, nevertheless, always has to be a logic present behind every joke in order for it to work.  It seems therefore, that the logic behind 'There's Something About Miriam' would not work as 'humour' unless one accepts the pre-supposition that being transgendered is a bad thing to be, and that as a consequence of such a philosopy, Miriam is a grotesque 'let down' after these men have been led to believe something positive about her -and...within her supposed 'plummet from the pedestal', lies the 'shock value' of not conforming to what the makers of the programme presume that both the participants, and their onlooking audience, is likely to regard as 'normal'.  The idea behind the show was to set up 'Miriam' as the grossest thing that could happen to this group of supposedly 'normal' heterosexual batchelors, (their worst nightmare) and the schadenfreude derived from watching this drama unfold to its inevitable conclusion is supposed to be what makes the whole show funny!  Yep, so much of the world takes it as a given that us transgendered folks are abnormal freaks.  And don't they make us know it!!!  Roll up, roll up and see the freaks - that's entertainment folks! 

Anyway, after that rant, back to the newspaper article; I was intrigued to see that the last question in the aforementioned Metro interview asked Vincent: 'Have you ever inadvertently copped off with a transsexual yourself?'  'No, not knowingly.  Not so far as I'm aware'. was his reply.

But then again, that could be neither all that surprising nor accidental, Tim.  Who's to say that they're not purposely making a concious effort to avoid you?  After all, who'd want to 'cop off' with someone whom they knew would treat them at best as 'a joke' and at worst as the lowest common denominator in physical attractiveness? 

So, take a good look at yourself, mister.  Definitely.  There's something about Timothy.

It's tough being in the unforgiving public eye these days - even when you're a seemingly harmless, smiley, little six-years' old.  Of late, for example, it would appear that the claws are not only out for Canadian diva, Celine Dion but also for her little son, Rene-Charles .

And, why might that be? 

http://yeeeah.com/blog/2007/05/31/celine-dion-has-a-faggy-kid/ 

Problem?  Well, as you can see, Rene-Charles hasn't had his hair cut short yet.  In fact, the six year-old has said to his Mum that he doesn't actually want his hair cut.  To her credit, Celine Dion is adamant that she won't force him to get it cut and that it should be his decision.

Although, by no means does this necessarily mean that he has gender identity issues (in fact, I think I read somewhere that he's already a bit of a heavy metal fan:), the fact that he sports long, flowing tresses instead of the usual boyish crew cut has set busybody onlookers into a panic because they think he looks too 'girly'.

To me, the reaction of horror and disapproval from all these people (yes, mostly so-called 'grown-up' - adults) really does show up the transphobic bi-polar gender regime in all its nasty, petty, pathetic, bullying, insanely paranoid 'glory'.  Why is this an issue at all?  Some of the things that have been said about this little kid are really quite threatening and nasty.  It's almost as if many people feel that because little Rene-Charles' reminds them of a girl they have permission to give him hell when, in any other circumstance, ridiculing and treating a six-year old child with the contempt normally reserved for fellow adults would be way out of the question!

And would these debates really be going on if Rene-Charles were a girl?  People seem so concerned about boys not being boys these days and often let their imaginations run riot about some sinister, conspiratorial 'feminisation of society' being enacted by covens of man-hating feminist witches (whizzing around on broomsticks no doubt!)  Yet as we have seen, many feminists (whether female or male) are not particularly friendly to transfolk either.

Nobody likes us and we don't care..?  Hopefully, neither does little, Rene-Charles.  Maybe he's developing the strength of character to ignore destructive criticsm already and let's hope that he'll grow up to be his own person and live life free from any outside pressures to be somebody or something that he's not.  And let's hope that he keeps smiling.

As for some of his nastier critics however; what I want to say to you is: LEAVE THE KID ALONE AND QUIT PICKING ON SIX-YEAR OLDS - YOU COWARDS!!!  GET A LIFE!

Hi there!  Here I am again, back from my holidays!

I had a wonderful time (apart from two, gender-related incidents - which I'll relate in due course).  There were seven other people on the tour and in the space of fourteen days we saw so much - Lima, Cusco, of course the awesome Macchu Picchu, La Paz (went to the Valley of the Moon - fascinating!), took a boat trip across Lake Titicaca, saw the magnificent Iguazu Falls (first time I've seen a big waterfall - and wow...what a waterfall!)and visited Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. 

I found the people in South America to be very friendly, good humoured and courteous (especially in Peru and Bolivia) - even complete strangers often say "Buenos Dias" or "Hola" when encountering each other - especially early in the morning. 

Of course, we also came across plenty of negative things, too.  As we were travelling along in the coach we also saw a great deal of poverty (particularly in Peru and Bolivia).  Life in the countryside living in an adobe brick house without windows and basic amenities must be tough enough, but when we passed through some of the towns living conditions seemed even worse.  In La Paz especially, the fast and furious traffic chaos made it extremely dangerous to cross the roads and the amount of poisonous fumes belching out from vehicles has to be seen and tasted to be believed!  Hopefully, things will improve for people there soon.  Our tour guide told us that they are very pleased to see tourists because this contributes to their economy.

I think we all learnt so much in such a short space of time about places, peoples, cultures and histories that (unless you're specifically interested in South America) are rarely examined outside of that region.

We also saw some spectacular landscapes and wildlife.  That's the first time that I've seen glaciers, volcanoes, and of course - the Andes, experienced the effects of altitude sickness (Cusco) and seen so many different, colourful and unusual plants and animals all existing naturally - in the wild.  In our trip to the Iguazu national park area we saw lizards, beautiful giant butterflies in many different colours - blues, yellows, orange, purple, really cool, giant bugs with metallic-coloured coats, amazingly colourful birds and then there were these packs of racoon-type animals (Coatis?) that were wandering all over the park trying to get food off us tourists.  I actually saw one go into a cafeteria and attack a guy who, scarily for him, had decided to wear shorts that day.  Hmmm...wonder what would have happened if I'd decided to wear a skirt?!

Well...predictably I ended up using up 21 rolls of film!  I should really have taken my digital camera, but I'm a real duffer when it comes to technology (digital camera is highly 'technical' as far as my limited abilities go:)  When, I collect my pics from Boots next week, I'll scan some in of course and post them in the photos section here on my website.  So you've been warned...be prepared for photos of pavements, lamposts, possibly UFOs and of people who look as if trees are growing out of the back of their heads!

As I mentioned at the beginning, I did have two, negative gender-related experiences.  Isn't it amazing how these gender-identity problems happen all of a sudden in the most unexpected places and at the times when you think everything is okay?

The first bad thing happened at a gaucho show that I attended at the Santa Susana Ranch, some 100km outside of Buenos Aires.  It's a really 'touristy' type venue and show and I feel so stupid for getting so upset about what happened there - but I really did get VERY upset.  We spent a day there and I got a chance to ride a horse (another first for me - although we were only trotting, I was pretty scared!!!). 

But...the bad experience wasn't that - I was really happy that I had managed to ride a horse and had a picture to prove it! 

No, the scenario that upset me occured after dinner when the gaucho's were putting on a show to demonstrate their riding skills.  We were all seated along on benches under a canopy watching them (I'd estimate there to be about 200 spectators in all).  It was rather like a medieval tournament sort of theme, because the gaucho riders were approaching young females in the audience and giving them these rings that they had managed to scoop with cigars from hoops hanging from frames as they galloped through them.  They then started approaching women in the audience and giving them rides on the backs of their horses - continuing with the whole romantic thing - galloping off with a gaucho etc...

Anyway, pretty soon all the women in the audience were getting up from their seats and jumping up and down calling to the gauchos to give them a ride and the gauchos were riding back and forth giving rides to them.  Unable to resist this, (having trotted around earlier, I was curious to know what it was like to be on a horse when it was galloping) I got up.  As you can guess, I didn't have any success at being chosen.  After much jumping around and waving my arms in the air, one of the riders approached me and looked as if he was about to give me a ride.  He looked at me, I was just about to get on and then he stopped me and said 'una momenta' and pointed.  I looked beside me and there was a young woman and he was asking her if she'd like a ride.  I think that I was there before her and she actually offered therefore to let me go first - but, of course, he totally ignored me.  So, I never got to ride!

Well, sorry I'm going on a bit here.   

The second upsetting incident happened right at the end of the holiday en route to Heathrow, at Madrid Barajas Airport as I was being processed through their security checkpoint.  Up until then, (and our holiday had involved 8 flights) I hadn't had any gender problems with airport security.  I was beginning to feel that the initial fears described in my last post were totally unfounded.  Moreover, I always make sure that I religiously take off anything that may conceivably contain metal that may be about my person and put it all in the tray prior to going through the metal detector.

Well, this one time I had forgotten to take my purse out of the pocket of my jeans and its metal zip fastener triggered the metal detector alarm.  The security official (I actually think they were Spanish Police - they had truncheons) told me to turn out my pockets and to open up my purse.  Naturally, I had no problem with conceding to these demands and I then thought that he would ask me to walk through the metal detector again - minus my purse - in order to see if I still set off the alarm.

Instead, he subjected me to a full body intimate pat-down search, including the genital area.  I was under the impression that EU law stipulates that any pat-down search should be carried out by a security officer who is of the same gender as the person being searched.  Obviously, the authorities at Madrid Airport don't consider this right to apply to transgendered people.  There were plenty of other security staff around - including a female pat-down searcher who was standing right there beside me.

When I inadvertently set off the metal detector alarm last year at Shanghai Airport (I promise I try not to make a habit of these things:), a female officer very efficiently and respectfully searched me using a hand wand, quickly discovering that it was my the metal buckle of my belt that had set off the alarm.  Why can't Madrid have a similar system?

I know that it has to be done, but what I consider to be an inappropriate pat-down search has left me feeling very upset.  I've written a letter to Madrid Airport to explain how I feel.

Oh well, guess I'd better end here before I run out of webspace.  I'd be really interested to know if anyone has had any similar experiences with regard to airport security - transgendered or otherwise or indeed, of South America.

Well...back to work next week:)  Thanks for reading, folks!

Thought I'd better update my blog - I've been so lazy with it! 

Haven't really been doing much (as usual)...I'm so boring - and lazy!

Well, (as the title of this entry suggests), I'm off on my holidays soon.  I'm going to South America.  It's an organized coach tour (I'm hopeless at organizing things myself) and I'll be visiting Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.  I'm away for 14 days - yep...I know - that's quite a lot of countries to 'take in' in the space of a fortnight.  I guess it'll be a type of 'whirlwind' tour then and I'll probably be totally exhausted when I get back. 

Despite wondering how I'll cope - stamina-wise - (being an admittedly lazy couch potato an' all) - I'm very much looking forward to it.  I've been reading up a bit about the countries I'll be visiting and the culture, art and histories of these places are fascinating. 

Most of the continent's past is largely little-known outside South America itself.  In popular imagination  - most folk know a little bit about the Incas though.  The impression gleaned from scanning through my guide books and searching here and there on Wikipedia (just where would we be without that, eh?) is that despite being cut-off (to a certain extent) from the rest of the world's events - happenings, places and personalities in many South American countries are and have been, more often than not, larger than life.  Take the longest river in the word - the Amazon, for instance - it has 50,000 tributaries (50,000!!!), the amazing variety of plants and animals - many species undoubtedly are still waiting to be discovered in the lakes and jungles of the Amazon.   

Then there are the more negative things such as the poverty of many places -  I read that the Bolivian inflation rate, fairly recently, reached 35,000 per cent!  Going further back in time, the horrific War of the Triple Alliance (1865 to 1870) also known as the Great Paraguayan War (a conflict that most people outside South America have probably never even heard of) claimed the lives of over half the population of Paraguay.

Something that has crossed over from South America is its music and dancing - which in turn reflects the fusion of cultures that has taken place - Amerindian, Spanish, Portuguese, African - even German, Italian and North American.  Yes, many S.American countries are home to the descendants of communities from places as diverse as Japan, Italy, Korea, England, of course Wales (Patagonia)...and Germany (making, so I've heard, many of the beers very good there!)

Well, I fly off on Wednesday.  It's going to be a long flight.  On this note, I tend to be a bit of a coward.  I'm okay flying until the plane hits turbulence and then I tend to freak out a little bit!  Nothing too 'diva-ish' like screaming, shouting or running up and down in a panic crying 'we're all gonna die!'  Um...no I'm not quite that bad - but I know that I look scared because whenever this happens I've noticed other passengers looking at me out of the corner of their eyes - they probably think I'm gonna puke - or something:)  Not very good at putting a brave face on - I bet other people can even calmly apply their lipstick as the plane get thrown around energetically through the air.

Haven't mention the T-word yet in this blog!  I will now though.  One thing that upsets me a little is the possibility of being divided into either male or female as I go through airport security (as mentioned elsewhere on this site).  I know it has to be done, but I know that at the same time I'm gonna be really hurt to be categorized as male.  Not that I've got anything against men of course (or women for that matter) but that whole male or female thing just isn't me.  At present, I doubt that any airport security policies take into account what the practice should be in the event of passengers (customers?) turning up whom they can't class as female or male.  I know that I shouldn't get upset about this but I still do...know It'll end in tears afterwards. 

Little thing for most people but that's just one of the 'little' gender issues which gets to me so deeply.  It's a small demonstration of that whole bi-polar gender regime power thing in action which keeps on insisting that each and every one of us is both fundamentally and inevitably one of two genders.  I, and 'you', dear reader maybe(?), know that there are in fact more than two genders.

Don't write any updates to my blog for ages and then go and write a long one.  Typical, erratic, idiosyncratic me:)

The TUC guidelines on heavy lifing that are split into female and male gender categories are a load of sexist-genderist bollocks!

What, pray tell me, is an 'average' man or woman?  Not withstanding the fact that such 'guidelines' fail to take into account whether or nor a person has health issues that prevent that individual from lifting objects over a certain weight, this puerile 'attempt' at 'gender equality' does not even mention transgendered people.  Supposing I'm taking female hormones and/or in the process of a gender reassignment, for instance?  Somebody assumes that I'm the person to lift heavy things just because of how I look?

Idiots!  How do they know?  They don't...and furthermore, UK sex discrimination law actually guarantees that we don't have to tell them.  The Sex Discrimination Act says that we have the right to privacy concerning whether we are undergoing gender reassignment or not.  So, next time they try that sexist crap on you at work...try treating you as a male gender when you're third gendered or female just down your tools, fold your arms and tell them to mind their own bigoted business! 

WHEN WILL THICKO EMPLOYERS LEARN NOT TO TREAT THEIR WORKERS AS KEN AND BARBIE DOLLS?

I was stunned this morning.  I got up, walked downstairs and there in front of me I saw that the front door was open.  Well, slightly ajar actually (cue joke!)

Maybe Mum got up before me and there was wasn't any milk outside and so she decided to scoot up to the corner shop to get some for breakfast.  One of the first things I noticed was a carrier bag lying on the floor.  That's dangerous, thought I, and I picked it up in case of anyone (probably me) slipping on it.  Then I went into the front room and saw that my coat and bag were missing, plus some Christmas pressies from last year that we hadn't had a chance to give to people yet. 

It was all so surreal.  Nothing else seemed to have been touched.  Did we leave the door open all night, or what?  But we've got alarms an' all and we always lock up diligently every single night.   Then I noticed that there were skid marks on the front room window and yes, it had been open all night.  Felt such a dweeb for allowing this to happen.

I informed Mum, and when she came downstairs she noticed here handbag was missing, too.  So, I phoned the Police and a Scene of Crime Officer was the first to attend. He brought a really cool suitcase along with him that had an amazing array of different 'Sherlock Holmes' type equipment in it.  He donned special plastic gloves (I thought of Hercule Poirot) and had a shaving brush type thing that he used to lightly dust the marks on the window with.  Later we had a call from another Police Officer who took a Statement from us...Mum, got really upset and worried, and still is.  Two CID Officers turned up too.  It turns out that there has been a spate of robberies/burgalaries in the area and people's car keys, in particular, are being targeted.  Hence, the deliberate selection of the bags and coats.  Strangely, they took the coat that I bourgh for a fiver but they left the one that cost me sixty quid!  Still, my denim jacket was nice and it also had my mobile phone in it with around £30 credit.  They didn't get my cards, or the keys to my Micra, but they did manage to acquire my work keys that were in my bag and also a lot of personal info./documents about me(!)  Hey...they could steal my identity here, folks.  Wonder if they'll get the gender dysphoria that goes with it?  On the positive note: someone else, becomes third gendered!!!

Really scary to think that somebody got in so easily.  I'm looking at it philosophically; thanking my lucky stars that they weren't murderers or rapists!  I feel so stupid for leaving the windows open though.  Kind of inviting to thieves, ain't it?  Classic.  I'm really p***ed they took my nice, black canvas bag that I bought from H&M, plus my coat and of course, Mum's handbag, which was a Christmas present of many years' ago from me to her.   Sadly, most every every girl/boy/3G at some stage in her/his/hir lifetime!  Fortunately, Mum found her purse with the house keys in it.  However, that wasn't before we change the locks on the doors etc!!!  Oh, how could I be so stupid!!!  Like...duuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Feeling a bit fed up today.  Do you ever experience that feeling when as soon as people find out about your gender identity issues they talk about you as if they wouldn't touch you with a barge pole?  As if you're something dirty and/or dangerous that needs to be kept at arms length?  You can be as nice, approachable and proactively friendly to them as you like, but they still won't even acknowledge you and refer to you in the third person.  Then other, intelligent, otherwise reasonable people still think that third gendered and other transgendered people shouldn't be afforded the most basic of rights and everyone on the forum thread chimes in and agrees with them, as if excluding transpeople from places, events and societies was the most natural thing in the world.  Hmmm...forums are for discussion and argument, but I didn't expect opinion to be that much against me...like 100 per cent?!  Part of me says I shouldn't feel this way but I still do...yours, disheartened.