Another murder of a Brazilian Trans-woman

 
By Sabrina Samone, TMP

For decades, Transgender people of Brazil have enjoyed a relative normal and supportive life than any other country. Hormonal and surgeries provided by the government and very low rates of harassment. We have to thank the American Evangelical movement for changing that. In the past few years the transgender Brazilian community is increasingly becoming more of a target, along with funded American evangelical organizations preaching intolerance, now murders are reported nearly weekly. The latest is Savannah Vougue, a Brazilian trans-woman.

Savannah Vougue who was hit and shot in the face, died yesterday afternoon at the age of 28. A drive by that resulted in the shooting of two transgender women. On the evening of Friday, two trans-women, Savannah and 26 years old India suffered shots from a hate crime. A car stopped near the viaduct Promaorar the South zone of Teresina in Brazil, the driver called the two trans-women over and fired about 11 shots at them.

Savannah was shot in the face and was promptly transferred to a local hospital in serious condition. India was shot in the shoulder and wrist. The shooter was described in local Brazilian papers as a middle aged man and was described screaming at the two women during the incident.
According to information from the police, police patrols are now being held in the region in order to identify and arrest the suspected driver who shot the two women. 

  A country that was once one of the safest havens for the Transgender community is quickly joining the ranks of other nations with atrocities against LGBT people, like Russian, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Greece, America and several other nations that have seen a rise in violence towards people "supposedly" deemed undesirable my "so called" Christian organization

Now more than ever the United Nations and Amnesty International should be pressured to encourage all nations to protect the lives and dignity of LGBT people.
       









 Petition United Nations for Equal Human Rights for Transgendered People   Transgender Petition to the United Nations  : With links to several other petions including a petion to stop Transgender violence in America.                              


                                 RELATED TOPICS ON TRANSMUSEPLANET

 Stop Killing My Sisters

 

Are we witnesses to the beginning Genocide of the LGBT in Russia and Uganda? 

 

If Trayvon Martin was a gay black man or transgender person of color...?

 

                CLICK TO LIKE TRANSMUSEPLANET ON FACEBOOK

 

Pride week Charleston Style: Charting a Course for Change

By Sabrina Samone, TMP

 Finally, it’s that time again peeps, to don your rainbow apparel for Charleston Pride week 2013.  In 2010, Charleston Pride held its first Pride weekend in North Charleston as an alternative to the event in Columbia, for South Carolina’s largest LGBT community which lies in the Charleston Metro area. Last year, organizers created a terrific event with nearly Ten thousand in attendance. Every year it has grown and with the main focus, the parade, now being accepted by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, the crowd is expected to be the largest Pride Event in South Carolina for a parade down king street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

This year, the weeklong event is packed with activities for everyone regardless of age. Charleston Pride week starts Monday July 29^th, with a family picnic, short film festival, a party in the Park and culminating in the highly anticipated downtown parade on Saturday August ^3rd, then a blow out party at the nationally known Music Farm, nestled between Dudleys On Anne, which is like an LGBT version of Cheers and Pantheon ,  the best diva show in the state and shirtless muscled guys galore. Finally, for those few souls able to make it out of bed the next morning, it all ends with a nice relaxing Sunday Brunch on the 4th.

In my time I’ve enjoyed many Pride Events, from NYC, Atlanta and Miami, but I’m really excited about the weeklong events that are planned here. The largest crowd ever for a South Carolina Pride event is expected and the weekend blowout. My guest rooms are all booked up already with my girlfriends from out of town, whom I can’t wait to party like it was still 1999 with again lol. Some of the things I’m most looking forward too is meeting many other transgender women and men from around the state when I join them in the march with Palmetto Transgender Association and the newly formed SC Equality Trans Action, a new extension program of SC Equality, that fights for LGBT rights in this state. Trans Action focuses its work on the transgender and gender variant community. Also, I will be attending a night of LGBT Short Films July 30^th, with several films all lasting 90 min and on August 3^rd, the talk is that the must see show will be the play I Lost Everything and Now I Am Hungry, starring my Trans-brother Ron’Rico Jay. Finally, the girls are demanding I get drunk and party Saturday night, but I will not be wearing heels and extensions like I did last year and sat there melting. I will be the girl with the slightly see through easy breezy sun dress, I am not planning on breaking much of a sweat this year, maybe lol. One thing of note that I'm overwhelmed with joy about, organizers,  the bars and all the LGBT community has gone beyond the norm for our state, to make sure this Pride event is a Pride Event for all demographics of the TBGL Community. I've heard of several weekend BBQ's and gatherings planned among TBGL members in the Arican-American-Jewish and a Latino Trans pool pageant and with events planned at Club Dejavu in North Charleston, it surely will be a Pride week for the record books.

The excitement is really building around town so I had to ask a few friends around the area what they are most looking forward to enjoying this week at Charleston Pride 2013.

Jessica Anderson will be looking forward to her second Pride Event  ever and says, "Every time I've been downtown I always have a strong fear of getting "found out." Though I like being able to at least get people to question gender, the fear of physical assault prevents me from being excited about being in large groups of people and enjoying myself."

Dale Brown is on the Board of Directors of Charleston Pride and has been a long term volunteer for the event. He says, "Saturday is going to be a blast...we have our biggest parade yet, then the rally and really looking forward to our after party with Detox (from the Rupaul Drag Race), and Spikey Van Dikey."  

Fey Prevesk  says," I'm looking forward to just seeing my friends and other people in the LGBT community."

Ava Clear is one of the headliners of the popular and the most packed LGBT bar in the state, Pantheon and says. "She's looking forward to riding and representing Pantheon on the float."

Noah Arjani will be expierencing his first ever Pride Event and says, "I'm looking forward to everything lol. I'm excited to exerience something new yet so familiar and expand my knowledge about the community    

Shane Bryant says, "Well I've attended the parades before and loved them, but I'm not a morning person, so I'm most looking forward to the Compass Party at the Music Farm, mainly because detox from Rupaul Drag Race will be performing."










So get ready folks it looks like it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride of FUN, LGBTQ style and you already know that we know how to throw a fabulous party, so see you soon. Now you know the whose who of the southeast LGBT* will be there, here is the itinerary, what event will we see you at?

Charleston Pride 2013

CLICK LINK TO SEE RECENT INTERVIEW WITH PRIDE ORGANIZERS ON COUNT ON 2

Plan now to join us for Charleston Pride 2013
in historic downtown Charleston!

Schedule of Events

Monday, July 29th

5:30-8:00pm
We Are Family / PFLAG Pride Family Cookout
Stono Shelter, James Island County Park
$1 Admission to the Park

Tuesday, July 30th

7:00pm
Special Event - A Night of LGBT Short Films
North Charleston Picture House
4820 Jenkins Ave, North Charleston

Click here for more information about our featured short films

Wednesday, July 31st

5:45pm
Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) Symposium
Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Blvd.

Thursday, August 1st

6:00-9:00pm
Takeover Charleston
DIG in the Park, North Charleston

Friday, August 2nd

6:00-9:00pm
Pride Festival Meet & Greet
Aqua Terrace Bar at Host Hotel - Marriott on Lockwood

Saturday, August 3rd

9:00 AM
Pride Parade
Downtown Charleston
The parade will start on Ann Street and continue down
King Street to Broad Street and end at Colonial Lake.
Viewing is recommended on King Street.

11:00 AM
Pride Rally
Brittlebank Park - Downtown Charleston (ending at 4:00 PM)
Beer garden, food trucks, performers, speakers, and vendors.

Compass - The Official Pride After Party
9:00pm-2:00am
Featuring Detox from RuPaul's Drag Race,
Spikey Van Dykey and DJ Kelly DeFazio
Music Farm - 32 Ann St
Purchase Tickets Online

Sunday, August 4th

11:00am-3:00pm
Brunch is a Drag
Joe Pasta - 428 King Street

HERE IS YOUR DETAILED LIST OF LINKS ASSOCIATED WITH CHARLESTON PRIDE 2013 AND OTHER TBGL RESOURCES
All you need to know at Charleston Pride Festival.org

Charleston Pride Festival Facebook Page

Club Pantheon 

Club Dejavu

Dudleys On Anne

The Music Farm Pride After Party 

Pride Family Pic Nic 

A Night of LGBT Short Films 

The Play: I lost Everything and Now I'm Hungry

SC Equality

SC Equality Trans Action

Palmetto Transgender Association

Charleston Area Transgender Support Group

Alliance for Full Acceptance

We Are Family

The Campus Pride

College Of Charleston's Safe Zone

College Of Charleston's TBGL Resource


RELATED TOPICS ON TRANSMUSEPLANET
South Carolina Equality announced the introduction of H.4025: “The Workplace Fairness Act” at a press conference at the State House

Roll Call: South Carolina LGBTQ…Please stand 

Charleston SC is actually shocked they were named snobbiest city?

The Colllege of Charleston to install gender neutral bathrooms for trans students  


CLICK TO LIKE TRANSMUSEPLANET ON FACEBOOK
 


 

Horror at the Hands of the Hateful

Prelude to guest blog post by Sabrina Samone, TMP

Lately I’ve heard too many horror stories of violence against Transgender women, especially trans-women of color. Unfortunately, we all as transgender women live in a hostile world. A world of men that value the female as lesser and the lives of Transgender women as extinguishable.

Elizabeth VonGeist is an artist, peace loving and hopeful type of Trans-sister. She plays with her band, Revenant Odyssey and plans to start a Trans assistance foundation with her bands support. She’s endured a life that is so familiar yet tragic, that many transgender women can relate too, but as many of us do, refuse to let it destroy us.

She has decided to share her story in hopes it may shine light on those that don’t understand or know what Transgender women face every day in this world and inspiration for those that need reminding, to keep their heads held high against a world that has labeled us as targets.

I’m proud to present my first guest blog from Elizabeth VonGeist, to the readers of Transmuseplanet.

Guest post by Elizabeth VonGeist

This is my personal account of a horrific act of bigotry, hatred, violence and torture that I had the honor to survive, and live to tell the tale so that our Trans-sisters and brothers, may not be subjected to such atrocities. This is but one chapter of a life of agony that I had not the choice to choose, but the duty to endure and sacrifice of myself so that others may be saved.

Illumination begins:

Though I may appear white to most people, I am descended from Jews, Arabs, Persians, Egyptians, my great great grandmother was full blooded native American my history is comprised o a vast array of ethnicity...and of course I am also mtf Transgender, a lesbian and by the narrow minded opinions of many also Wiccan.

I have personally endured racism, hatred, abandonment, discrimination, defamation n of character and survived a brutal rape and torture by three men who broke into my semi truck while I was sleeping on the seventh night of sitting at a truck stop after all four of my freight brokerages abandoned me. Not for failing in my duties, nor violating strict dot laws, but simply because I had begun my transition and renounced the costume of the person I never was by dressing as myself as I felt comfortable.

The first month of my new life of freedom and truth, I was two states away from my home, my now acrimonious ex wife, my beloved long lost furry puppy children and each and every single member of my entire biological family (whom I loved so dearly and endured 13 suicide attempts from an very early age in the desperate but futile attempt to protect their feelings and to keep from losing them all), abandoned me. All but for their vicious, cruel, intermittent bursts of psychological warfare in attempt to destroy my spirit via deep emotional trauma against my heart, that had endured a nightmarish hell of misery since the age of three, simply because I was born by no fault or choice of my own as a female imprisoned within the visage of a male, gender dysphoria.

The last of those seven day I was stranded with very little money for food and certainly nowhere near enough to buy diesel fuel to make it back to my home in South Carolina, with my cheap synthetic wig, a dress that my wife had given me and leggings to stay warm from the bitter cold. I siphoned what little remaining diesel fuel there was in the fuel tank of my great dane/thermoking refrigerated trailer, into my semi truck's fuel tank, in order to keep the caterpillar 15.2 liter twin turbo c15 motor running, so that I might keep warm inside what I believed to be the safety of my big black K-whopper semi truck.

That seventh night, I awoke to the horror of three men inside my truck. The first thought that entered my mind was, 'thank the goddess, my precious little fur ball, golden Pomeranian, Lou-Lou, was not with me as she had always been before. Surely they would have killed her and they were about to do just that to me. My next thought was, I'm no longer afraid to die, for at least this time, I would draw my last breath as myself and no other. I endured hours that seemed without end of...pain...vicious cruelty...torture...repeated rape and innumerable verbal and physical gestures of merciless violence, that I felt sure would mean my death.

They wasted no moment to degrade, dehumanize me; speaking with such ferocity of hatred, insanity, rape and tortured me until my spirit was broken. None could hear me if I called for help over the impenetrable sound barrier of that powerful caterpillar diesel engine running in my ken worth that bore the name of my very own d.o.t., commercial trucking authority (Revenant Transport), and the many other engines clamor from the other nearby semi trucks.

Somehow, by the grace of God himself, they finally stopped the horror, left my truck and disappeared into the early darkness before dawn. I immediately locked my doors, which I had always done without fail before, tied the door handles to each other across the front seats and fell upon the bed that was stained with blood and other things. I threw up several times, cried, shook and screamed in the disbelief of what had just befallen me...and I lay there for hours, days it seemed not knowing what to do or say next. I finally knew what I had to do.

Forgive them, unconditionally, without reservation, hatred, anger or a desire for revenge...for if I did not, I would never be able to heal and continue in the hope of peace and have a normal and happy of a life as possible through my transition to freedom as myself, the woman I was born...imprisoned in a lifeless carcass bearing the image of another, a man whose life was not my own. I was a woman, breaking her chains and defining her own life. The men who raped, tortured and brutalized me had done so in the attempt to break my spirit and steal my womanhood. THEY FAILED; that is an unbreakable part of me.

I love my fellow humans, know that all life is precious and my sole purpose in this life is the pursuit of freedom, equality and to save as many lives as I'm able, by whatever means I am able too. My fellow male to female transgender of all ethnicity, all nationalities, all cultures, all religions or without one; are my main priority, for we are the most victimized demographic that encompasses all races and aforementioned diversities. We all bleed red, each and every single human being, all of us. There is truly no difference between any of us. We are all one human species despite the labels of division that society has enforced, indoctrinated and brainwashed us into afflicting upon one another.

May God, have mercy on the human race, for we can't seem to grant it to each other. I will not give up, I will not abandon my Trans-sisters and brothers like I and so many of us have so mercilessly suffered.

 

                                   RELATED TOPICS ON TRANSMUSEPLANET

Stop Killing My Sisters

I had a dream today, that ALL men are created EQUAL

Are we witnesses to the beginning Genocide of the LGBT in Russia and Uganda?

This is dedicated for all my sisters, myself included, who live with the scars of rape.

                                  Click to follow Transmuseplanet on Tumblr