Last evening's (June 22nd) Open Mic Open Soul was dedicated to the Transgender community also in attendance were CAISO T&T's Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation representative Colin Robinson and also representatives from Jamaican bloggers the Pink Report/Grata Foundation although both gentleman left before the discussions got really intense as usual in the latter hours of the night, three very prominent divas on the circuit were guests on the panel and the host Couture Oasis' founder and one half of the Underlined Response team as well Stacy guided the presentation along for the better part of three hours. The three divas are well known within the community and one in particular had made some national news some time ago.
Remember this?
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Taken from an old post on my sister blog on the Wordpress platform:
Anyway .........
Thankfully Open Mic Open Soul for now seems to be the spot for real life LGBT exchanges and where persons of all walks can sit and enjoy a pleasant outdoor atmosphere while sipping wonderful liqueurs, juices, have a burger or fries at some point, pina coladas or red/white wine although the wine selection needs to be greatly improved from just Yellow Tail, Level UP!! CE as they always say which is their favourite tag line. Angel, Peanut and Tiana (former Miss Gay World 2009 and Dancehall Queen 2010) kept it real and simple during the exchange. Everything from cruising to transvestitism and accounts of previous transphobic and homophobic abuse were discussed openly with a captive audience. One thing was clear the "girls" knew what they were about although noticeably absent was Laura the leading Jamaican transgender figure who has been in transition since the early 2000s. Her last public appearance on record was on radio on Newstalk 93FM where she spoke of sexual identities with leading US sexologist Dr. Susan Volker and local expert and host of "Love & Sex" Dr. Karen Carpenter
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After the opening remarks from Stacy the question "Who is a transgender person?" was posed to break into the topic, answers such as someone special, someone who has a sex change, a drag queen and other not so close response to the real thing came from participants indicating to me that we have a long way to go on this issue but it was clear though that the audience was waiting to learn more as the attentive behaviour of most was encouraging.
The audience's response to the opinions if the ladies on re-assignment surgery was telling as when I questioned them nearing the end of the spirited exchange about wanting to transition only Tiana was clear in her answer she said yes but she would still prefer to also have sexual contact with women none the less although she also sees men, the matter of trans-homo has not been really brought out openly before in any discussion that I am aware and it was suggested to be explored in the future. Trans homo covers persons who have or are or may not transition literally for e.g. Female To Male (FTM) who are attracted to males (FTM/M) and Male To Female(MTF) who are attracted to female or (MTF/F) but it was a good place to start the education process of the LB & G communities for better understanding.
Another clearer indication yet that we ought to continue this particular dialogue was the transvestic component of the ladies, the overhead projector and laptop which was set up was manipulated easily by the ladies who proudly showed photographs of themselves dressed in women's clothing and elegantly so which was in stark contrast to their features and aesthetics for the discussion. Peanut aka Barby was in full male swagger attire and it was shocking to many audience members at the complete transformation when she dawns female gowns, dressed and shorts. The outward appearance is also of vital importance for persons with gender dysphoria who feel they are not matched with what's between the ears or brain versus what's between the legs or gender represented by the genitalia present which is most distinguishing feature used to identify sex. I was pleased with the topic chosen and the reaction of the participants and panellists this can only auger well for future exchanges there or elsewhere.
Re-assignment surgery does not seem to be an option at this time as cost is a factor and the girls especially Angel is quite happy as a male but will experiment with hormones and silicone implants as she had done by surgery to her buttocks. Tiana presents publicly as a woman and passes easily so a clear indication of the use of stealth as more and more Jamaican transvestite and transgender persons are expressing themselves through dress more openly, I found it curious though that she mentioned that adults can be fooled or not recognise that the individual is a drag queen properly dressed or a cross dresser but children seem to have an innate sense or perception in recognizing them and telling it despite how careful and how beautiful the subject may look.
Alot learned here in just the first on this topic we hope we can talk more on this.
Peace and tolerance
H
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