Sex Identification

One of the boxes that are on any company or government form when applying for anything is the boxes they use to identify one’s sex. Do you check the F or M box on forms? Why do you have to mark either one, when the government says that the company can’t discriminate?

i.e Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Just why does your boss really have to know what sex you ascribe to? I would like to know. Just why does the government need that box on your state’s driver’s license? My Military Identification Card doesn’t have that box on its card; why is it needed on other forms of identification? Is it to make sure that the company hires equal numbers of males and females, and couldn’t they determine that fact in the initial interview? The Social Security Administration knows the sex of each one of us, and their data is never changed, so why do we need to mark one of those boxes on the form we fill out. What will happen if we don’t mark it? I always thought it strange that while I was an Army First Sergeant, I was required to treat everyone the same, that on the front lines it didn’t matter what one’s ancestry was; but several government department required that we brake down all personnel accounting data according to race and sex when it came time to report the information to the appropriate government office.

Do the government bean counter hiding in their little cubicles, really need to know how many males or female a company hires. Is this why we are so stuck on classifying people according to a binary system identification of sex traits? Do we really need to have the sex identifier on our national ID card? We just can’t waltz into any government and ask for a new driver license to change our name, no! We must submit a document and have the legal system review the request and then have a judge sign the thing. How many times are we fingerprinted in our life, or do we require fingerprinting? Believe me; if I was ever arrested because the government thought I was someone else, I would be glad if they could do a fingerprint check to tell the government we are not the bad person they are looking for. But having us put our sex identifier on our national ID card; is that really necessary?

Turn of Events

It have become my habit to walk every, if not, most mornings. The route I walk takes me two circuits around the University’s main campus. Nice wide front lawn carefully mowed and cared for is a weekly task by the large numbers of ground keepers. The campus has a great many pine and magnolia trees and azalea bushes which are beautiful when they bloom in early spring. It is a pleasant walk which takes about an hour to complete; it is a quiet time for me since I prefer to walk without headphones. I get charged for the day just listening to sounds of the birds and wind in the trees and even the rush as the cars whiz by; but it is also a good time to think, have dialogues with myself answering pointed questions as I think of them.

Which brings me to my becoming involved with the PFLAG movement; last school term, several groups with the University sponsored a diversity day on the front lawn of main campus and one of the tables was for PFLAG. Kay and I had been talking with a therapist about what we could do to support our GLBT students and families. In wondering how to get invitations to talk to civic groups explaining the purpose of PFLAG and our purpose is to provide a safe place to meet and discuss the problems that people face on a daily basis.

The dialogues turned into sermons and lectures as to how I should best response to rejection and anger that I am imagining will happen. My thoughts jump to the story of Jesus and the woman at the well and I talk about the woman’s societal place and that Jesus, as a Jew, is not suppose to even talk to her because she is an adulterous woman; and has no husband. In asking her to draw him a cup of water he is reaching out to a woman who has been marginalized by society and is not one to associate with. The point that I get from this story is who Jesus will time and again reach out to the people who have been cast aside by society to forgive them, bless them and bring them into the fold of his new flock. And then tie the previous moral lesson to other stories of Jesus and what who he told us to love. All this to make people think about the value of their child life as opposed to the "unworthiness" with his or her being gay.

Anyway the turn of events seems to be how I have managed to redirect my energies to successively organizing a chapter of PFLAG in our growing metropolis in South Georgia. We want to bring people who have been scorned or ridiculed by our society to a safe place where they tell their story.

I am excited and look forward to our PFLAG chapter being a supported resource to the community.

PFLAG

There is a small group in town that is charging forward to organize a chapter of PFLAG. We have had 3 planning meetings and hope to have our first organized meeting in August (keep checking this blog for more updates if you do not have a myspace page.) If you do have a page with myspace, then go to www.myspace.com/genderconversations to keep in touch with what is happening around our town.
As always, we celebrate diversity and encourage those who consider themselves to be GLBT, Genderqueer or whatever you think yourself to be and especially parents of children who have declared themselves to be 'gay' to come to any meeting for support and encouragement.
We will show videos, movies, and have copies of resource book and information.
We all are G-ds children and are loved by him.
Sarah

Today’s appointment

Today I had my 5^th appointment to be injected; only 60 cc since I am doing quite well. The tissue expander is doing its job very nicely; however because I had some lymph nodes removed when I had my mastectomy, my underarm has quite a small area that is drawn up! Anyway, I have noticed a similarity between the breast prosthesis that I was using and the shape that my breast has taken after 380 cc’s of saline being injected into the expander.

I am aware that my arm brushes against my breast just as it did when I wore the prosthesis. I am also noticing a defined shape to the edges of the breast and that my left breast is really getting envious of the right; but only for a few more weeks. I had bought two new bras a few weeks after my surgery; but with the quick development of the right breast, those are not going to work much longer. Tonight I am having some mild discomfort with today’s procedure; and not sure if is wearing the new bras or something else.

A few years ago Kay and I went to Tallahassee to go support some friends because they were doing a drag show as part of the King’s performance. But one the female performers doing her solo act was sporting a pair of ‘HH’ boobs, (they were the size of volley balls at least). I now know what she must have subjected herself to in order to get breast that large, and she didn’t have to start expanding after a mastectomy.

I now know that I will have about 4 more appointments in order to over expand my breast tissue and then we will replace with silicone implants. They will need the extra tissue to construct a new nipple and the PA will match the color of my left nipple when she tattoos a matching areola. It will be great to have two headlights instead of just the one (sorry) so if and when I go braless or wear something sheer; not see through, but sheer, they will at least match.

Stay tuned for more!

Celebrations and Ceremonies

“Ceremonies”

Soldier’s parade marching in step

Bands play music timed with steady beat

Precision oozing from every pore

Established military sequence to be followed

National colors placed in center of troops

Military honors given, heads bare

Hands over heart, Lyrics recited

Old Soldiers stand, eyes filled with tearful

Memories of bygone years

Chest full of fading ribbons

Metals for campaigns won

Remembering company buddies

Fallen comrades left on the battlefield

Ceremonies conclude with “Pass-in-Review”

The band leads the marching troops

To their respective place

Found before the Retiring Soldier

Marches played to the Troops in passing

Finishes the final salute

Leaving with the “Army Song”

As they march into the rising mist

SJ Riggle

January 31, 2002

Today is a day of ceremonies and remembrance of our counties struggle to be free. As a Viet-nam era veteran, and with 20 some years connected with the military community, how I remember well all those July 4ths of years past of parties, and fireworks and concerts played on the parade fields.

But as with Veterans Day and Memorial Day let us look our veterans in the eye's and tell them thanks for a job well done. Sit with them to hear their stories of their glories and heartbreak for fallen friends. This is our Independence Day but the celebration and ceremonies rests of the shoulders of military veterans. Well Done, Band of Brothers, Well done.

Next Chapter

The continuing story of the ballooning expander.

Since my last post I have had two appointments to inject saline into the expander. I really have had no amount of pain as of today. With 320 cc of saline having been injected, she is a looking pretty good; I’ve got some real nice cleavage going showing when I want. The other breast is getting some strong boob envy; but that will work out when they replace the expander with the implants. We have one more appointment for some more saline and then the Doctor will decide the next step. We’re getting a real close to being done.

The only pain is from the two different sticks from the two syringes that the doctor has to use to put 100 cc for each appointment. I’m not saying that the next person won’t have pain, but I haven’t had any pain at all.

Some People

Some people absolutely baffle me. Tonight we hosted a meeting in our home. One of the women is a very disagreeable and critical sort. She had fussed at the kids during dinner. After dinner, while we were talking, she began a discussion about Bp. Gene Robinson. She stated that 1300 bishops had signed some kind of letter opposing him at Lambeth. And then she made a comment about his being gay and living with his partner. That's when I corrected her and told her he was now married. "She almost had a "conniption fit." She said that was not possible. I assured her it was possible in New Hampshire. Thank God, one of the other women abruptly changed the subject.

Did she miss the fact that the 2 women in whose home she was a guest is in a transgender relationship?? Did she not see that we present as a lesbian couple? Surely, she did not miss the gossip when we were legally married.

I think this situation may illustrate some of the problems we face in society. In a nutshell, it simply has to do with good old fashioned manners. Now that I have this off my chest, maybe I can go to sleep.

Good night to all.