Renaissance LSV October Newsletter 2005
Edited by Ellen Davidson
Renaissance LSV website: http://www.tg-support-centralpa.org/index2.html
Ellen’s Corner
There will be a meeting of Renaissance LSV on Saturday, October 1, 2005 at the MCC Church on Jefferson St in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The doors open at 8:00 PM and the meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 PM. Please bring something to share for refreshments.
Summer is over and the days will be getting shorter with the end of Daylight Savings Time. For those of you willing to venture out of your home dressed in your female finery, this will make it easier to get out without being observed. Why is this so important to us? Sometimes when you want to go out and express your femininity, the hardest thing to do is just get out the door.
There are some places that welcome us to the nightlife. Most gay bars and restaurants will not object to our patronage. We have lost another place to go out, however. The Velvet Rope in York closed its doors to the LGBT community this past weekend. At first there were a lot of patrons at the nightclub but the number has dwindled in the past two years for one reason or another. The owner explained it just was not financially practical to try to keep it open. Ironically the 5th year anniversary party was scheduled to start on Friday. I hope another club that will cater to the needs of the LGBT community soon opens to take its place or many of us in the York area will be dressed up with no place to go.
Halloween is coming up at the end of this month. Most bars and clubs have public Halloween costume parties. This is an excellent opportunity for the closet CD who wants to go out dressed as his alter ego for the first time. In keeping with the spirit of the season, no one questions when you buy feminine things for your self, including wigs and makeup.
Men in Dresses is a book written by Vernon Coleman from Britain and it is worth reading. I have read some of the text online. "Men in Dresses is full of common sense and good humor. If you read only one book about transvestism read this one." Skin Two
http://www.vernoncoleman.com/downloads/mid.htm
See you at the meeting
Ellen
A LETTER FROM THE CHAIR:
Hello all much has happened since you last have seen me or talked to me. Several things I need to pass along to you all for up coming events. Oct is up for grabs, Nov is elections and Dec is the Christmas party.
We need to get down and ready for the elections for the coming year. It’s a wide-open race and only the membership is allowed to vote. I need every one to Vote.
Now, for those who wish to know about Montreal but, first of all I want to thank you all for the support it helps a lot.
First of all my Surgery was on Sept 12 with Dr. Brassard He is a skilled DR in which I put much trust (my life) and I came out fine so far.
Just to let you know to get even considered for Montreal you must have two therapists and a home doctor. With that said.
Montreal was good and a learning experience that is once in a lifetime. I found 9 different people four of them where in my group and two were post-ops from the past week with three people for other construction. In my group there where two from the US and two from Canada.
I will tell more at the meeting.
Best wishes, Angela K. Garner
Cathy’s Chatter
By Cathy Dewalt
So here we are heading into October. It was a very active September meeting. I will start by mentioning that the two officers from the Harrisburg Police Force did indeed show up and speak to us. They introduced themselves as Oscar Lee Douglas Jr, the community policing coordinator, and Captain Richard Pickles. They were both very up front men and seemed at ease talking to us. I suppose the major question on everyone’s mind was restroom privileges. The bottom line is this: There are currently no laws in the state of Pennsylvania that forbid a transgendered person from using the restroom that she/he sees fit to use. Here is the catch, if you happen to expose yourself and are seen, you can receive a summons for indecent exposure, possibly disorderly conduct. Here is something else to think about while you mill that over. If you happen to be “read”, and the individual reports you to the management, a number of things can occur. At the very least, will probably be asked to leave. If the reader or the management chooses to call the police with the belief that they can have you arrested, you could be put into an embarrassing situation. More than likely you will have to answer a boatload of questions, then, still asked to leave. You may as well anyway as now everyone will know who and what you are when the whole idea was to remain low profile. On the other hand, should a MTF choose to use the men’s room, you could be jeopardizing your personal safety. There is no all around good answer that resolves this problem. If you are read easily and there are unisex bathrooms available, use them. If there are single restrooms available, then use those, so you are in there alone. Other than that, use common sense, if the place doesn’t seem inviting, don’t invite trouble. That actually goes with anything you do. A reminder also, that there is safety in numbers.
Another question that hit the floor concerned being pulled over by a police officer while out. Again, common sense, if you act suspicious, you will end up answering more questions and be detained longer. In reality, the officer doesn’t give a hoot how you are dressed. If you act like you dress like this all the time, he probably will not even ask about your dress, and if he does, so what? It is not illegal to dress as the opposite sex. If he brings it up, simply explain that you are a transgendered person, end of story.
What do you do when you are harassed? You could just take out your 9mm. and blow them away. I guess we would all like to do that, but that’s a column I’ll share another time. Remember, common sense, do not invite trouble, and safety in numbers. Diffuse the situation before it becomes a situation. This simply means do not get your self into a position where this can happen. If you happen to be the arrogant type, keep it in check. Like it or not, you are only asking for harassment. Keep in mind if you happen to be an MTF, you need to take the same precautions as any other woman.
So that about wraps up my report on the goings on at the September meeting. Be sure and read Ellen’s column in the September newsletter. It has an interesting column she scarfed off the Internet about presenting yourself in public. Then watch next month, as I will hit this with my own words. Just my thoughts.
Cathy
NCTE Breaking News - Dateline- 9/14/05
Victory!
Today, a majority of members of the United States House of Representatives voted by a vote of 223-199, including 30 Republicans, to pass a federal hate crime law that would include all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The provisions of HR2662, the first ever piece of major trans-inclusive legislation was attached as an amendment to the Child Safety Act.
According to NCTE Executive Director, Mara Keisling, “At least one chamber of Congress has finally made a statement that it not acceptable to hurt or kill transgender people because of who we are. This is a pivotal vote for transgender people who have been working diligently for years to educate Congress about transgender people and our lives.”
Ed. note: Mara Keisling is a former member of Renaissance LSV
Calendar for October
Sat Oct 1 – Renaissance LSV Meeting – 8:00 PM at MCC Church in Harrisburg
Shippensburg Pride
Thurs Oct 6 – Revelations Gothic club at Stallions
Fri Oct 7 – Star Karaoke – 9 PM Altland’s Ranch
Sat Oct 15 – Casino Night – Club Z in Williamsport
Fri Oct 21 – Country Dance Night – Altland’s Ranch
Fri Oct 28 – Drag show – Pink Lizard
Sat Oct 29 – Halloween parties everywhere- Altland’s Ranch, Klingers, Pink Lizard, Stallions,
Strawberries, Brownstone, and Neptune
Sun Oct 30 – Miss Tally Ho & costume contest – Tally Ho 10 PM Lancaster
