Have a Facebook? Like our page! Get updates directly to your news feed and interact directly with us and others who support the cause!

An episode of “What Would You Do?” that concentrates on issues revolving around the desire for a boy to be a girl (transgender)

Hello everyone,

LGBTQEqualityNow is seeking lesbian and gay couples who are interested in taking part in a short video documentary called “My Same-Sex Love” and would like a video or picture of you with your loved one to use. Your name will get mentioned in the credits for participating. Around 5 couples are wanted. If more couples are interested, as many more videos as needed will be made.

Why the video is necessary:

While the ability to be a person out as a lesbian or gay man is larger than in the past, there are still some misconceptions about what it is to be lesbian or gay. Some think it is only about sex. Others think it’s a sin. Some are not sure of it at all and don’t know which side to take. There are plentiful other views among these, however, these seem to be the main ones. This video is for the people who do have those misconceptions. The goal: to show them that love is blind to gender and to clear some of their misunderstandings of same-sex relationships. By changing these minds, we help promote equality. I urge you and your significant other to submit a video or a picture and help with this goal.

Where the video will go:

Onto LGBTQEqualityNow’s YouTube and Tumblr. If you submit, you are agreeing to this.

Deadline for Submission:

March 24^th, 2012

[expected release: April 7^th, 2012]

There are two things you can to do participate; submission details will follow.

1. Submit a video between 1 and 3 minutes long –expect some editing- that answers these questions:

 Names of each person (last name can be excluded if you wish)

 How you met

 What you love about each other

  What you have to say to those who disagree with same-sex love (please keep this appropriate and do not swear or use insults; it will not be used if you do so)

OR

2. Submit a picture of you and your loved one with a short description. Keep it short. It will be read aloud.

How to submit

E-mail lgbtqequalitynow@hotmail.com with subject line: Submission for “My Same-Sex Love” and attach the video or picture. You can send links to pictures, however, the video needs to be attached since I cannot download off of YouTube. DO NOT SUBMIT IF: you do not want your video or picture on LGBTQEqualityNow’s YouTube and Tumblr. The final video will be put onto both and if you do submit, you are agreeing to let it be put onto both. 

The discrimination against people who are transgender negatively affects them, their families, friends, and allies. How can we allow this discrimination to continue when so many lives are negatively affected and when your own life could be affected? I want people of all beliefs to recognize the need for all human beings to be treated equally and justly regardless of their gender identity.

I have created a segment packed full of information about the discrimination people who are transgender face. There is also a list of things you can do to fight on behalf of the rights of those who are Transgender. I urge you to listen to this segment as all human beings deserve to be treated equal and I believe that people are not educated on this issue and must be so that the discrimination can end.

This video aims to get people who may be opposed or unsure of same-sex relationships to see that it is about love and equality; to see past the label of a gay or lesbian relationship and just see that two people, regardless of the biological sex of each person, are in a loving relationship. 
In it, I tell my coming out story and talk about one of my past relationships.

Song at the end: Heart by Jenna Anne.

Her tumblr can be found here: http://jennaanne01.tumblr.com/

This is a heartfelt song about what it can sometimes feel like to be gay and constantly questioned. Jenna Anne is a very talented musician and hosts a YouTube channel called LesbianAnswer where she gives great advice. 

jennaanne01:

Heart (Original Song) 

“So you’re gay?” That’s what they say, in a frazzled state. 
My hands are tied my mouth is wide they look to me. 
There’s confusion I’m improving my way. 
Because I’m learning how to reply when I speak.
They always ask me how I know who I am. 
As if I need some kind of test or an exam. 
My mouth is sure and it’s able, my words on the table, 
I draw in air and smile.

It’s soft lips and it’s hair. It’s fire I see when a woman’s there.
It’s not mind, not body, it’s heart.

If we could choose, then we would lose I know for sure. 
Because we’d change most everything we want and more.
I’ve bowed my head and heard the words of those who think. 
How can you argue with impossibility? 

I wish we didn’t see the label, I wish we didn’t see the kind. 
I wish we didn’t see the color, I wish we all could see man blind. 
I wish we didn’t see one making as the only path that’s right.
I wish we didn’t think that love is something worth causing a fight. 
It’s not mind, It’s not mind.

I am interested in the consequences of discrimination toward people who are Transgendered-people who seriously wish to live, or do live, as a gender different from the one they were born with. I believe that all people should be treated equal regardless of their gender identity. The discrimination against people who are transgendered negatively affects them, their families, friends, and allies. How can we allow this discrimination to continue when so many lives are negatively affected and when your own life could be affected? I want people of all beliefs to recognize the need for all human beings to be treated equally and justly regardless of their gender identity.

I had first become interested in the topic of Transgender Rights after coming upon the realization that those who identify as Transgender are a minority within a minority. That minority is LGBT which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Despite this, the “T” is all too often forgotten. I myself admit to having forgotten the “T” for years of advocating for LGBT issues. I realized that I had not been doing anything for Transgender rights. In fact, most of society declined to tackle the issue. I am taking steps to put the “T” back in LGBT. On February 16th, 2012, I participated in a Web Conference to become a community Ambassador for Transgender Rights in New York. It is my job as a Community Ambassador to make sure society knows that the discrimination against people who are Transgendered must stop and that they should be treated equally.

Today, 75% of youth who are Transgender are harassed or worse, 50% of people who are Transgendered reported being harassed in public, 17% of people who are Transgendered are denied health care, and one third has been homeless. Still, there is another statistic that may shock you as well. It is perfectly legal in 34 states to fire someone simply for being transgendered. How would you feel if you could be fired for being who you are? Would it cause you to hide yourself? Would it cause you to lead a double life?

I learned of a story of a transgendered man who lives a double life during my training to become a Community Ambassador. He is biologically a man, yet, as scientific research proves, his brain is a female. During the day, he works as his born sex. At night, he becomes himself and that is a female. This double life puts enormous stress on her. Another transgendered man in a different story experienced large amounts of stress as well.

A transgender man in the Hudson Valley, which I live in, was having an asthma attack. As anyone suffering from this would, he went to the hospital. What happened next was something that I believe no decent human being would allow to happen. The secretary told her that she could not get treated because they did not know where to put her. This was referring to the fact that the secretary could not tell whether she was a man or a woman. Imagine having an asthma attack and having to fight with secretary to get help. He surely must have experienced large amounts of stress. It is absolutely disgusting that a human being could be denied treatment simply because someone might not be able to tell if they are biologically a male or a female. There are absolutely no protections against this discrimination in New York State.

People who are Transgendered are still humans. They should not have to face discrimination from someone because they “don’t know where to put [them]” or for any other reason they may be unsure of them. Denial of health care can lead directly to death. If this is not bad enough, I promise, it gets worse. Refusal to hire someone who is transgendered as well as to fire someone who is are very common and also perfectly legal. If we don’t make this sort of discrimination illegal, many more people who are Transgender will die, live a lie, become homeless, commit suicide, or be the victim of a hate crime. These are human beings. Human beings we are going to loose if we do not fight for their rights. The “T” in LGBT must make a comeback.

Self Evident Truths is a photo project consisting of people who fall within the LGBTQ in the United States. “I challenge you to look into the faces and tell them they deserve less than any other human being.”