“A Tokyo municipal official, the first openly transgender person to seek or win elected office in Japan. She was elected in April 2003. Kamikawa, then a 35-year-old writer, submitted her election application papers with a blank space for “sex.”
She won a four-year term as an independent under huge media attention, placing sixth of 72 candidates running for 52 seats in the Setagaya ward assembly, the most populous district in Tokyo. Despite an announcement that the government would continue to consider her male officially, she stated that she would work as a woman. Her platform was to improve rights for women, children, the elderly, the handicapped, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
In April 2007, she was re-elected to her second term, placing second of 71 candidates running for 52 in the same ward assembly. She is the only openly transgender official in Japan at this point.” xx
Ai Haruna (はるな愛)
Ai Haruna is a singer, actress, and businesswoman. Growing up she experienced a lot of pain and hardship due to the ignorance of her parents and Japanese society as a whole. However, this didn’t stop her from living out her childhood dream of becoming an idol and tv-personality. xx
Kayo Satoh (佐藤かよ)
She is a fashion model and particularly famous in the fighting game community. She was born in Nagoya and after she graduated middle school she ran away from home because of the pain she experienced in a society that didn’t understand her. That night, she went to her childhood friend’s house, who lent her clothes that suited her. She then worked at a convenience store, and 4 years later she got a job as a clerk at a women’s clothing store. Soon after, she was scouted by a modeling agency which she still works for. x
“a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, as well as being an author and actress. She is most recognised for her song ‘Tomodachi no Uta’, which was used as the theme song for the drama Watashi ga Watashi de Aru Tame ni (in which she also appeared as an actress). She’s also known for being one of the few openly [transgender] celebrities in Japan, having been [assigned male at birth], and has spoken of the struggles she underwent with issues of identity before transitioning. In 2006, she signed to popular record label avex trax, and in 2010 moved to Yamaha Music Communications.” xx
If you would like to help us spread the word about the anthology or have opportunities to advertise at your organization/institution, we have good news! We’ve made page-size posters that should be easy to print out using any black and white or grayscale printer. You’re free to print these out and put them up anywhere you want – at your school, neighborhood, etc. (The figures of women in the posters have been edited from cutouts and drawings by Matisse.)
Download links for five posters (PDF): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
-support trans women who have pattern baldness and can't wear their hair in "feminine" styles.
-support trans women who have sensitive skin and can't shave every day.
-support trans women who have pigment allergies and can't wear tons of makeup.
-support trans women who have blood disorders and other health problems that make surgery a preventively high risk.
-also, support trans women who do not have these problems but still do not feel obligated to live up to your cissexist standards of femininity.
pls support trans girls and trans women who like traditionally masculine things
no seriously please reblog this ive seen so many posts saying to support trans boys and trans men who like traditionally feminine things and those posts are good!! i love them!!
but i have never in my life seen a post saying to support masculine trans girls and trans women or trans girls and trans women who like traditionally masculine things and its really important to understand that showing support for trans women in any form is just as important as showing support for trans men so please, please reblog this.
support trans women and trans girls. support trans women and trans girls who like traditionally masculine things. trans women and trans girls who like traditionally masculine things are not any less valid than trans women and trans girls who don’t!!
After protests over the erasure of trans women of color from Robert Emmerich’s Stonewall, expectations are high for the short film Happy Birthday, Marsha!, about trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. If the trailer’s any indication, this movie will slay!
Marsha features acclaimed Tangerine star Mya Taylor in the title role.
The trailer shows off a sumptuous, hyper-real 60’s aesthetic.
The film also features trans actresses Eve Lindley, Cherno Biko, and Rios O’Leary-Tagiuri.
There’s even a glimpse of Marsha P. Johnson herself in the trailer!
That’s right — it’s gonna be legendary.
BuzzFeed News caught up with filmmakers Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel, who showed us some wonderful exclusive images from the making of the movie.
Gossett told BuzzFeed News: “The pictures were all taken during the shooting of our ‘Hotel Dixie’ scene in which Marsha, Sylvia, Bambi and Andorra are hanging out in a hotel room they share.The scene is a flashback to 1965 when Sylvia is new to their scene and to sex work. Marsha is acting a as a sort of mentor to Sylvia.”
Commenting on the rich look of the film, Gossett notes: “We wanted the movie to reflect Marsha’s beauty. She wasn’t really fancy but she was fanciful, and when we talk about aesthetics it’s about the beauty of how she relates to other people.”
Wortzel adds: “Frequently people expect that if a film is political it’s not going to be beautiful. It was really important for us to make a film that was deeply political and personal in many ways but also gorgeous to look at.”
Happy Birthday Marsha is currently raising funds on Indiegogo, to make sure the film will be as amazing and beautiful as possible.
A 26-year-old woman who is undergoing the screening process told The Times: ‘I crave that experience.
‘I want the morning sickness, the backaches, the feet swelling. I
want to feel the baby move. That is something I’ve wanted for as long as
I can remember.’
Dr Christine McGinn, a plastic surgeon, told Yahoo News: ‘The human drive to be a mother for a woman is a very serious thing.
“If sex isn’t the All Mighty Binary Universal Constant that some people
think it is, why do they place so much importance on it? The easy answer
is that it gives them an excuse to misgender and exclude trans people,
and specifically trans women. They can pretend they’re just standing up
for science, but they’re really just saying that trans women aren’t
fully women and that trans men aren’t fully men. People need to start
learning about what sex really is and what social constructs really are.
People need to stop misusing biology and spreading ignorance and
misunderstanding.”
“Trans women,
individuals who were assigned male at birth but identify and live as
women, CAN breastfeed. It is possible, and totally awesome! Health care
providers, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors, and trans women
themselves need to learn this important, empowering fact.“
