Trans News/ Issues

[Thinker]

What a great piece! Thanks for sharing it.

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

Read an awesome article in the Mirror today that told the story and experiences of a British transman. It was cool to see that the article just told it like he said and like it was instead of making assumptions, insults or falling into the usual stereotypes.



More: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-sto...5875-23154617/

[Jess]

from: http://glaadblog.org/2011/07/11/conn...mination-bill/


On July 5, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) signed legislation that will prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression. The law (“An Act Concerning Discrimination,” or HB 6599) was passed by the House of Representatives (77-62) on May 19 and the Senate (20-16) on June 4. It will go into effect on October 1, 2011, at which time Connecticut will become the 15th state (along with the District of Columbia) with a law that protects transgender people from discrimination.
Immediately following the Senate vote in June, Gov. Malloy called the bill’s passage a step forward “for equal rights for all of Connecticut’s citizens.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Gov. Malloy in a written statement released shortly after the Senate vote was taken. “It’s difficult enough for people who are grappling with the issue of their gender identity, and discrimination against them has no place in our society.”
In the lead-up to the Senate vote back in June – the bill’s final hurdle – GLAAD worked closely with Dr. Jerimarie Leisegang, the director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition, to ensure that journalists throughout Connecticut reported on the bill in a fair, accurate and inclusive manner.
Gov. Malloy signing the Connecticut bill into law is but the latest in a string of remarkable gains on transgender issues across the country.
GLAAD thanks Gov. Malloy for signing this important bill into law, and we congratulate all of our colleagues in Connecticut, many of whom have worked tirelessly for seven years to see the passage of this bill come to fruition. We look forward to October 1, when the law goes into effect, and to the day when it is illegal to discriminate against transgender people in all 50 states. In the meantime, we strongly encourage the media to report on the significance of what passing this non-discrimination bill will mean for transgender people in Connecticut. For more information on the prevalence of discrimination within the transgender community, please see the report “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey,” released earlier this year by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF).

[Jess]

from: http://www.gayrva.com/2011/07/15/tra...nts-recruited/



In January, 2011, the newly formed Thai airline company, called PC Air, hired six transgender women to be flight attendants. Over 100 transgender women applied for the job with more to be hired in the future.

As reported by the Daily Telegram, PC Airline president said, “I think these people can have many careers – not just in the entertainment business – and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess. I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It’s evolution. I’m a pioneer and I’m sure there will be other organizations following my idea.”

Oddly, the transgender air hostesses will be required to wear special gold name badges, that will identify them to passenge.


This last bit, I agree, seems "odd". I'm not sure why they are asked to wear a different color name tag and I wonder if the author of the article contacted the airline owner to ask.

[Jess]

Curiosity got the best of me, so I found a couple more articles regarding this. I am also writing the airline and asking them about the "gold" name tags.

This article was a little more in depth:
from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...i-airline.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Come fly with us! P.C. Air launches as the world's first 'ladyboy' airline

A new Thai airline is hiring transsexuals as flight attendants, aiming at a unique identity to set itself apart from competitors as it sets out for the skies.

Known as 'katoeys' or 'ladyboys,' transgenders and transsexuals have greater visibility in Thailand than in many other nations, holding mainstream jobs in a variety of fields.

They are especially common in cosmetics shops or health stores, which almost always have a ladyboy shop assistant.



PC Air, a charter airline set to start operations on Asian routes in April, originally planned only to hire male and female flight attendants.

But it changed its mind after receiving more than 100 job applications from transvestites and transsexuals.

Four were chosen, along with 19 female and 7 male flight attendants.

While the airline strives for equality, PC Air president Peter Chan, who chooses the transsexual cabin crew himself, said he needed to spend longer with interviews for such applicants.

'For male flight attendants, if I don't want to hire them, it's because of their attitude or their characters, like the way they walk and smile.

'When I knew that I got this job, I burst into tears because I'm very happy,' said 24-year-old Chayathisa Nakmai.





'I had sent many applications to different airlines.'

The airline said that the qualifications for the ladyboy flight attendants were the same as for female flight attendants, with the additional provisos that they be like women in how they walk and talk, and have a feminine voice and the right attitude.

Though there is very little discrimination against ladyboys in Thailand, they are not officially recognised as women and their identification cards will always say 'male'.

'For female flight attendants, if they have no patience and their character does not qualify, we won't hire them,' he added.

'For transsexuals, we can't just spend five or 10 minutes with them, we have to spend the whole day with them to make sure they have feminine characters.'



The airline said it may hire more flight attendants from the 'third gender' in the future since the Department of Civil Aviation has no objections.

Though excited by the opportunity, the transsexual flight attendants said they were aware they needed to prove themselves.

'People will keep their eyes on us... There will be more pressure,' said Dissanai Chitpraphachin, 23, who was crowned as Thailand's most beautiful transvestite in 2007.

'We have to prepare ourselves more than the women.'

The airline is initially set to fly to South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Based on the comments from the airline, while they are willing to hire transsexuals and transvestites, I would be willing to bet my beautiful old beast of a truck that they would NOT hire effeminate men or butch women. So, I'm not so sure PC Air really is PC. Moreover, I think they may well be very misogynistic, in their intense "need" for women to be beautiful and "feminine".

Wolf/ sheeps clothing?

[EnderD_503]

I think it's very important to look at the transphobia related to hiring only katoeys, in particular. I say transphobia especially, because I firmly believe that it's important for trans rights to recognise the differences/uniqueness between transphobia vs. misogyny or homophobia. It's important for trans visibility to recognise transphobia as distinct and within its own right. I think it's important to discuss that when it comes to an article or topic relating to trans issues.

I do think the airline in question is being extremely transphobic as it is intent on using katoeys as commodities. Katoeys may have achieved a higher level of visibility within Thai culture, but they have not necessarily reached a higher level of respect, given that most katoeys are employed in sex work, the beauty industry or other similar industries. They have a difficult time finding work outside those industries in Thailand, and so I think it's rather telling that this airline is intent on hiring katoeys and using them for publicity.

It's also interesting to note that transmen are pretty much entirely invisible in Thai culture, so when you say (or the article says) that the airline is now hiring transfolks, they are actually only hiring katoeys who are distinct from a number of others along the trans spectrum. Why? Because of the "notoriety" and "image" of katoeys specifically.

Just like the thread I started a while back about Pakistani transwomen in particular being targeted by the government to be hired as tax collectors, it's obvious trans people are once more being used by people who really couldn't care less about them, and non-trans society's curiosities and fears regarding trans people being played up in order for the role/publicity to be successful.

Edit: Also about your comments about not hiring effeminate men (who can also be considered katoey) or butch women. I'm not sure how correct you are there, unless you've read something I've not. Thai society interacts with these identities differently than Western society.

[Jess]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

I think it's very important to look at the transphobia related to hiring only katoeys, in particular. I say transphobia especially, because I firmly believe that it's important for trans rights to recognise the differences/uniqueness between transphobia vs. misogyny or homophobia. It's important for trans visibility to recognise transphobia as distinct and within its own right. I think it's important to discuss that when it comes to an article or topic relating to trans issues.

I do think the airline in question is being extremely transphobic as it is intent on using katoeys as commodities. Katoeys may have achieved a higher level of visibility within Thai culture, but they have not necessarily reached a higher level of respect, given that most katoeys are employed in sex work, the beauty industry or other similar industries. They have a difficult time finding work outside those industries in Thailand, and so I think it's rather telling that this airline is intent on hiring katoeys and using them for publicity.

It's also interesting to note that transmen are pretty much entirely invisible in Thai culture, so when you say (or the article says) that the airline is now hiring transfolks, they are actually only hiring katoeys who are distinct from a number of others along the trans spectrum. Why? Because of the "notoriety" and "image" of katoeys specifically.

Just like the thread I started a while back about Pakistani transwomen in particular being targeted by the government to be hired as tax collectors, it's obvious trans people are once more being used by people who really couldn't care less about them, and non-trans society's curiosities and fears regarding trans people being played up in order for the role/publicity to be successful.

Edit: Also about your comments about not hiring effeminate men (who can also be considered katoey) or butch women. I'm not sure how correct you are there, unless you've read something I've not. Thai society interacts with these identities differently than Western society.

I get your point in wanting to separate the trans issues from the other obvious issues of sexism. Point taken. I do get the "sideshow/freakshow" attention the airline seems intent on profiting from.

Regarding your "edit", I am quite sure I said it was my own take on what the article read to "me". I gathered my guess on the statements of how long they spent with the transwomen to "make sure they were feminine enough", which at least in my 48 years I have rarely found many butch women who would pass that test, mostly because we wouldn't have the patience to tolerate the bullshit of it.

Not being familiar with the specific ways in which the population of Thailand interacts with these identities, you may be correct in that I may be wrong. I am reading this article strictly from my limited knowledge base and to me, it seems quite clear the airline exercises several forms of gender based discrimination. I placed it in the trans issues thread, as the title of the articles were geared toward how "trans-friendly" they "appear" to be.

[Blade]

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