The Past, Present and Future of Transgender Culture in Art by A.D. Anderson

Remembrance of the Past

 Artist Ria Brodrell 

“Brodell is an artist based in Boston whose current body of work addresses issues of gender identity, sexuality, religion, and contemporary culture. Brodell attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, received a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle (2002), and an MFA from the Museum School/Tufts University (2006). Brodell was recently awarded an MCC Fellowship in Drawing (2014), an SMFA Traveling Fellowship (2013), and an Artist’s Resource Trust Grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (2012) in support of their current series, Butch Heroes. Brodell has had solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S., including Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles (2010); Judi Rotenberg, Boston (2009); Swarm Gallery, Oakland (2008); Aqua Art, Miami (2008); DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA (2007); and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2005). Brodell’s work has appeared in ARTNews, The Boston Globe, Beautiful Decay, New American Paintings, Art New England, Art Slant: San Francisco, Daily Serving, The Phoenix, and Boston Magazine.”

 Source: http://artadia.org/artist/ria-brodell/

“The Museum of the City of New York features Gay Gotham, a show that chronicles queer creative networks in 20th-century New York, and the Leslie-Lohman Museum for Gay and Lesbian Art is in the process of nearly doubling its footprint. It also recently created the Hunter O’Hanian Diversity Art Fund to collect artworks from primarily female and transgender artists. Yet Donald Trump’s election has given the LGBTQ community new reasons to fear for their safety. Mike Pence advocates for “gay conversion therapy” and Trump has pledged to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, which would give businesses and landlords the right to discriminate against gay and transgender people. Since the election, 43 anti-LGBTQ incidents have already been reported to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

   In light of this new wave of bigotry and intimidation, it is heartening to see an unprecedented number of brilliantly self-determined art shows across the US presenting work by queer and transgender artists. While there have always been transgender individuals, for the longest time they were either forced to hide or be viewed as freaks. TV shows like Orange is the New Black, Transparent and I Am Cait have opened society’s constricted lens, and the media has celebrated what it perceived to be the “trans tipping point”. 

Sabine Heinlein

Source:https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/18/transgender-art-trans-hirstory-in-99-objects

Captain Wright by Ria Brodrell

“The newspaper recounts that when Captain Wright died, the body was found to be female, a “beard only excepted.” Of course large crowds of curious neighbors came to view the body, now referred to as a “creature” by the newspaper. Quickly, rumors spread, attempting to guess at the reasons behind the Captain’s “disguise”—property inheritance, blackmail, etc.? His coffin was engraved with the name Eliza Wright.”

Source and Image:

http://www.riabrodell.com/_/Current_Work/Entries/2016/4/14_%22Captain_Wright%22.html

Lisbetha Olsdotter aka Mats Ersson by Ria Brodrell

“Lisbetha Olsdotter was originally from Östuna Parish in Långhundra District, Upland.  She left a husband and two children and found work as a servant, a farmhand, and finally as a soldier under the name Mats Ersson (alternate spellings Matts Ersson or Mats Persson).”   

Source and Image: 

http://www.riabrodell.com/_/Current_Work/Entries/2013/½_Lisbetha_Olsdotter_aka_Mats_Ersson.html 

The Progress of the Present

Artist Astrotwitch   

“This incredible Melbourne-based street artist has taken to transforming public places and safe LGBTQIA+ spaces as way of celebrating trans bodies and shifting perceptions of normalcy.” 

Sam Leighton-Dore 

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/fast-lane/article/2016/07/22/emerging-trans-artists-you-really-need-follow 

*“Wonder down any alleyway in Collingwood and there is a great chance you will come across one of the bright flamboyantly feminine portraits drawn by Astrotwitch. The portraits are of strong, powerful women and are reliably lively, bold and loud. However, they are not just pretty pictures but statement pieces. The aim of these portraits is to shine a light on the often underrepresented female presence in today’s Street Art.” 

Source: scene.http://about-blank.co/a-womans-presence-astrotwitch/

“
Astrotwitch Melbourne street artist makes very colourful vibrant detailed pastie paste ups and stickers of queer peoples and types”

Source: http://allthoseshapes.com/astrotwitch_street-art/

“I think

it’s easier to attack a person than it is to attack a concept. I grew up in the middle of nowheresville, so whenever I visited museums I didn’t know much about the artists behind the art.” Astrotwitch   

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/fast-lane/article/2016/07/22/emerging-trans-artists-you-really-need-follow

Painting on Cardboard by Astrotwitch

Image: http://astrotwitch.tumblr.com/post/86554857214/painting-on-cardboard-acrylic-markers-and-pens 

Astrotwitch 

Image: http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/fast-lane/article/2016/07/22/emerging-trans-artists-you-really-need-follow

A Vision for the Future 

Artist Kalki Subramaniam  

“Shabharish aka Kalki is a 35-year-old transgender with her roots in a remote village located 30km from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Young and fierce, she carries the badge of being the country’s first ever transgender artist. She has lived through a journey that is no less than a roller-coaster ride. From battling gender disparities at her adolescence to today holding two master’s degrees, she written her own success story, the one that continues to be an inspiration to many.” 

Shruthi Mohan

Source: https://yourstory.com/2016/08/kalki-subramaniam-artist/ 

“The transgender community across India has been battling for basic livelihood, dignity and social acceptance. “Most of us have been thrown out by families, experience lack of education, lack good housing and medical services and live without any assurance and security for our future.” So Kalki has been actively advocating for legal recognition of the transgender community of India   — from lobbying for their rights with the judiciary to campaigning for gender non conforming students in educational institutions, for their right to education and continuing studies in an enabling environment when there is no discrimination in academic institutions and no school dropouts. She is also associated with Sahodari Foundation that is working for the social, legal and economic empowerment of the transgender community of India. “I am making an effort to bring a firm positive change in transgender people’s lives through Sahodari,” she adds.” 

Tanvi Dubey 

Source: https://yourstory.com/2015/05/kalki-subramaniam/

The Purple Princess by Kalki Subramaniam

Image: https://twicopy.org/mskalki/

Kalki Subramaniam

“All these transgender women that I am raising funds for want a future in education. They are really committed to the cause. Since I also believe that my transgender sisters should educate themselves, I have decided to support them,” says Kalki. Saswat Singhdeo

Source and Image: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/This-Activist-Is-Raising-Funds-For-Educating-Transgender-Women/#.54gyk0fck

Hope 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vw0UayoTMY&feature=youtu.be

Source: https://www.fueladream.com/home/campaign/278

Someday by A. D. Anderson

Things Are Not Better

The face of trans people are starting to become more accepted – or so it seems. While media sources are glamorizing the lives of trans people, with shows like Orange Is the New Black, I Am Cait, American Horror Story, the true lives of trans people are in constant fear of being taken away.

The lives of trans communities have been threatened, however, a turning point in 2015 has skyrocketed the death rates, causing an all-time high for homicides committed against trans individuals. Human Rights Campaign president describes the horror, “At a time when transgender people are finally gaining visibility and activists are forcing our country to confront systemic violence against people of color, transgender women of color are facing an epidemic of violence that occurs at the intersections of racism, sexism and transphobia – issues that advocates can no longer afford to address separately,”

NCAVP gathered data from anti-violence programs in 16 states and found that, while hate violence incidents have decreased, the overall number of hate murders of members of the LGBTQH community has increased by 11%. Of those murdered, 87% were people of color, showing an increase from 70% in 2010. Furthermore, people who identify as transgender were 28% more likely to experience physical violence than those who are gender normative, according to the media release about the report.

Heightened visibility has also put more people at risk of being harassed or hurt. While images of Caitlyn Jenner receiving a standing ovation accepting an award in a Versace dress might seem to herald a sunny time for transgender Americans, most of them are still greatly disadvantaged socially and economically. 

Transgender people are four times more likely than the general population to report living in extreme poverty, making less than $10,000 per year, a standing that sometimes pushes them to enter the dangerous trade of sex work. At least 34% may have been engaged in sex or survival work at the time of their deaths, and more than twice as many people were killed in the south-east as in any other region of the country.

Through research, improved training, and community advocacy, law enforcement’s response to victims of sexual assault has supposedly improved over time. Also, an awareness of and respect for transgender communities have increased within police agencies. However, trainings and language do not change the attitudes towards trans communities. 

For more info that can be done to lower the rates of homicide, check out: The Law Street, The Human Rights Campaign – Starting on pg. 33 and GLAAD’s LGBT Resource List

Norms and Deviance in two states

The purpose of this poetic work is largely to express my feelings regarding my experiences with disciplinary power in both Murphy/Plano, and Portland. Disciplinary power being that form of power that Michel Foucault describes in his combined works, as an interpersonal, bottom up form of coercion propagated by norms and microaggressions, for the purpose of establishing taboo, cultural guidelines, and ordered behavior within a community.

As a 12-17 year old, (my crucible years, not the only years i lived there) growing up in a Texas school child, those norms largely excluded homosexuality, and being a trans person from “acceptable standards of behavior” and thus a level of ostracisation was established as punishment for being perceived that way. When ostracisation is the mean behavior, deviation from that mean can mean violence occurs more often as a natural part of the bell curve, not as an outlier as it normally would. Acceptance becomes the outlier on the other side of the bell curve, instead of being an average response. My experiences growing up included a lot of violent, messed up things in them as a symptom. Most often “ostracization” was established over violence or acceptance. Some level of ignoring me, joking at my expense, teasing me around others in order to separate themselves from me, etc. They did not wish their reputation to be tied to mine. While most people did not resort to violence, those who did use violence used it frequently. More often, Adults made excuses for violence at the hands of my peers because they could empathize more with the behavior of my bullies than the behavior of myself. The situation escalated over 5 years.

In Portland, Largely, the trend has been a Racist, Transphobic, Homogenous population afraid of sounding such, and thus moderating their behavior in order to “not seem transphobic” or “racist” while actually not giving a shit about anyone but themselves. The default behavior was “acceptance” and so the ends of the bell curve swing from celebration to avoidance, with Some ostracisation, because really portland isn’t THAT radical. One of the primary differences between the two places, however, is that i have not experienced physical violence in this one. I largely attribute this to a culture that condemns “appearing too transphobic” instead of one that condemns, “appearing too queer”. This much is conveyed below.

Content below below is emotional in nature, does reference a time of trauma for me, and may, thus, be triggering for some readers.

Two states
Both right of center
Neither right at all
Into both i’ve entered
Into both i fall.

 
In the first i’m f****t
A stigma and a plague
A thing avoided at all costs
Lest i might infect the saved
Among the wayward losts.

 in the second i’m a token
An abstraction to support, in theory
But no one’s cup of tea
And though i’m mostly weary
I can be as Free as i can be pretty.

 In the first i’m alone
Isolated by my fear of others on the outside
And isolated by my fear of myself within.
Automation, violence, automation, guilt, automation,
Desolate and fighting to be forgotten

 In the second i’m lonely.
Isolated only by my own lack of confidence
But knowing at any moment, i could fly if i want to
School, work, sleep, work, acquiescing
Surrounded by friends, fighting to be loved

 In the first i am disgusting.
In the second, i’m disgusted
In the first i am wrong
In the second, it’s the system
In the first i’m unfree
In the second, my enemies lack the freedom to take mine

Proprietary, piety, penitence, and permanence
All of these stage one
Annoyance and apathy but fear of being labeled
All of these set stage two

Stage 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you’re afraid of being alone
You cannot afford to be afraid to open up
When you’re afraid to open up
You better be prepared to be alone.
Honesty may cause suffering
But one cannot live and never say anything real

How fast they run away when they see your real face.
Was it really that ugly?
The tides of bodies turn as the bell rings
And suddenly the gaze is inward.

They mock what their parents mock
But lose the purpose in the game
And fail to limit how much pain
They are willing to cause

I have broken the law
The laws of comfort come angry
Where the laws of regulation came cold
And I am not wanted

degradation poured by six boys
Their honor, justice, masculinity
which from my eyes they do defend
At my ultimate expense

One sin worth it for the many it could prevent?
But you sin all the time, now, in my dreams.
And i’ve transitioned anyways.  

“If you go through with reporting this, there’s no way to prevent your parents from learning about your extracurriculars. It won’t make things better on the bullying front either.”

Justice or safety?

Yes, Officer.

 

Stage 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A fear to swing the sword.

 A shield is that which stays the hand of your enemy
As they seek to run you through.
A limitation of their freedom
Their freedom, natural, to kill you

Though their hand is stayed,
Their hatred remains
Growing bolder with your frustration of their plans
To rid themselves of all you are.

“PC culture has run amok” they say
For they wish to hate who they hate
to mock who they wish to mock
To kill who they wish to kill
Without other people’s feelings in the way

And as the culture spreads, more and more their swords stop before our bodies.
Caught in a shield of paper thin chastisements.
Not by their morals, but for their reputation.

Violence as a bell curve.
To move the extremes, you must move the masses.
Change everyday acceptability
be islands, surrounded by mockery
but turn our ear away, shame the joke
and change the day

All must pay for the sins of the few?
Or few must pay for the sins of us all?
Which is the least fair?
few sins divided onto more shoulders is less weight per shoulder.
Is it not?

Shame the Shamers.
For though we cannot win a war
We can raise the opportunity cost for killing us
Until no one will win
And we all die together.

Or live, together.

A Brief History of Gender in Shoshone Culture

Before colonization, the Shoshone tribe had five distinct genders: male, female, and three other genders, falling somewhere in between, that could generally be referred to as tainna wa’ippe, which literally translates to “man-woman.” The first type of tainna wa’ippe is taikwahni tainnapa and is similar to what we would refer to as a trans feminine person. The second type is taikwahni wa’ippena and is similar to what we would refer to as a trans masculine person. Lastly, there is simply taikwahni, which I believe would refer to an intersex individual (but it may also refer to an agender person, my sources were not clear on that). Tainna wa’ippe were not only accepted members of the tribe, they were celebrated. Believed to have both male and female spirits within them, they were often seen as spiritual superiors and leaders, often taking on the role of the Shaman.

That being said, the Shoshone people had clear gender roles within their society. The men were in charge of hunting and fishing, while the women and children were in charge of processing and preserving the food. Men and women were also divided in spiritual practices and dances. There was a ritual, performed at puberty, that would determine one’s gender: the basket test. A set of items representing male and female roles, usually a bow/quiver and an awl/sewing bag, were placed in front of a brush which was then set on fire, and whatever items the child chose to save would determine their path in life.

Shoshone ideas of gender changed when they made contact with American settlers. The first bit of contact that the Shoshone had with Americans was when the Lewis and Clark expedition travelled through their land in 1805, but they did not have prolonged contact with settler until 1855 when a group of Mormon missionaries moved in. The Mormons only lasted three years in the area, but they managed to convert many of the natives in the area as well as marry a few Shoshone women. Needless to say, the missionaries left their mark on the Shoshone people.

In 1866, the Shoshone territory was taken over by a group of miners who found gold in the area and began setting up towns. The Shoshone had good relations with the settlers, who they relied on for trade, but peaceful relations led to assimilation. The Shoshone adopted western views on gender, as well as western words: tainna wa’ippe became berdache.

Berdache was a Persian word that was used to refer to male sex slaves. It was adopted by Europeans during the crusades and the French used it to describe the unfamiliar genders of the First Nations people they encountered. The new use of the term spread to other European colonists as well.

The introduction of berdache to the Shoshone people changed their views of gender. There were no longer five recognized genders, there were four: male, female, male berdache, and female berdache. On top of that, the Shoshone adopted western views toward gender and the berdache were highly stigmatized. This new shame and stigma would persist for the next century.

The gay liberation movement in the 1960s/70s and changing attitudes toward gay people in the larger American culture gave many natives a way to explore their own gender and sexuality off reservation. Spending time in the new “gay societies” gave people a new sense of acceptance, but many indigenous people also felt a loss of culture and spirituality in this new life.

In 1990, indigenous people from all over North America sought to change all of that. At the third annual Native American Gay and Lesbian Gathering in Winnipeg, representatives from many different tribes decided to eliminate the word berdache from the vocabulary in an effort to de-colonize and preserve indigenous culture. Instead of going back to the old words and traditions that they held before colonization, however, they decided to create a new term that would keep a sense of indigenous spirituality while tying together tribes from all over. The term they cam up with was two-spirit. Two-Spirit was chosen because there was a commonality in most native traditions that people of the third (or more, depending on the tribe) gender held multiple spirits within themselves.

While the tribes have agreed on using two-spirit as a gender identity, there is some argument as to whether or not gay and lesbian people can/should identify as two-spirit. It was widely accepted in the 1990s, but as concepts of gender and sexuality have changed in the larger American culture, they have changed within indigenous cultures as well.

Sources:

“…And We’re Still Here”

Gender and Sexuality in Indigenous North America by Sandra Slater and Fay Yarbrough

Gender Reversals and Gender Cultures: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives by Sabrina Petra Ramet

History of Idaho, Vol. 1 by Leonard J. Arrington

In Living Spirit by Will Roscoe

Newe Natewinapper: Shoshoni Stories and Dictionary by Wick R. Miller

Sacajawea’s People: The Lemhi Shoshones and the Salmon River Country by John Mann

The Shoshone-Bannocks: culture and commerce at Fort Hall by John W. Heaton

Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality and Spirituality by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang

Two-Spirit People of the First Nations

Two Spirit People (video)

We Are Part of Tradition

Janae Marie Kroc

While white trans women like Christine Jorgensen have received a large amount of recognition and inclusion in historical archives, trans women of color often do not receive similar treatment. Even today, the most famous and well-known trans folks are people like Caitlyn Jenner or Chaz Bono–people who are white, very wealthy, and have access to the resources they need. Trans folks are becoming more visible in popular media, and while that visibility may or may not ultimately be helpful to ending transphobia and transmisogyny, it is important to analyze who is and who is not visible, who experiences systemic violence, who has access to gender affirming medical treatment, etc.

Carlett Angianlee Brown was a black, intersex trans woman who sought gender affirming surgery in the 1950s. A U.S. Navy veteran and nightclub dancer, Brown faced many difficulties in accessing the medical resources she needed. She was able to access proper surgery only in Denmark or Germany, and as a working-class woman with no financial resources to spare, this made the trip difficult. Physicians in Denmark also only offered surgery to citizens, so Brown went about giving up her U.S. citizenship in order to gain citizenship in Denmark and eventually marry her partner, Sgt. Eugene Martin, an American solider who was stationed in Germany. Brown experienced further complications with accessing surgery through tax issues associated with citizenship and leaving the country. Before she could leave the country, she was arrested for wearing women’s clothing, followed by an order to pay back taxes that she owed. From the sources I have accessed, it is unclear whether she was eventually able to access gender affirming surgery, although she appears to have been given the title of the first black woman in the U.S. to seek gender affirming surgery. Her story highlights the problematic inaccessibility of healthcare for trans folks, especially trans women of color, that persists today. It is important that her story is visible and accessible in a world that often exclusively prioritizes narratives of trans folks who are white and wealthy.

Sources:

Bruno, Katie. “Carlett Brown: The Extreme Marginalization of Transwomen of Color.” OutHistory.org. 

MTPC Intern, Aaron. “5 Black Trans Women Who Paved the Way.” Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

“The Story of Carlett Brown.” TransGriot. N.p., 2 June 1995. Web.

-Shalana 

“For all those who have ever struggled with how to discipline children’s bad behavior, this week’s parashah, Ki-Teitze, offers an easy answer: stone them to death! (Deut. 21:18-21)Thankfully, Jews have recognized for over a thousand years that this is an unacceptable solution to a common problem. In fact, we learn in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 71a) that this apparent commandment of the Torah was never once carried out. Our Sages refused to interpret this verse literally, as it conflicted with their understanding of the holiness of each and every human life.With this scenario in mind, let us look at another verse in ourparashah: “A man’s clothes should not be on a woman, and a man should not wear the apparel of a woman; for anyone who does these things, it is an abomination before God.” (Deut. 22:5) Just as classical Jewish scholars reinterpreted the commandment that says rebellious children should be stoned to death, they also read this portion’s apparent ban on “cross-dressing” to yield a much narrower prohibition.The great medieval commentator Rashi explains that this verse is not simply a prohibition on wearing the clothes of the “opposite gender.” Rashi writes that such dress is prohibited only when it will lead to adultery. Maimonides, a 12th-century codifier of Jewish law, claims that this verse is actually intended to prohibit cross-dressing that is for purposes of idol worship.”

Rabbi Elliot Kukla is a Rabbi at the Bay Area Jewish Healing center in San Francisco, and is the first openly trans person to be ordained by the Reform Jewish Seminary – Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, California. Rabbi Kukla, who’s from Toronto, Canada, came out at transgender in 2005, which was two years after Reuben Zellman became the first openly trans person accepted to his same college – Hebrew Union College. In an article published in The Forward, which is an national publication based out of New York for a Jewish-American audience, Kukla says that Zellman paved the way for him, because at the same time he was getting educated to be a practicing Rabbi, the institution that was doing the education was also being educated on what it means to have and teach trans students. Kukla connected with Zellman during their educational endeavors, and became, in a way, the “spokes people” for topics surrounding and about gender transition and Judaism. Kukla and Zellman began receiving calls for help from Rabbis who wanted to understand how to convert a transgender congregant to Judaism, and also from rural Jews who wanted to dialogue about the isolation they felt. Both men started a blog, too, where topics like how to make a Jewish community all-gender inclusive and sections from the Torah are examined through a queer perspective. In this post you will find an examination of a parashah, which is a Jewish text. You’ll also find information from Kukla’s website and an example of a Jewish wedding service for queer and trans folk. 

For an example of a this, here’s an examination of a parashah, Ki-Teitze, where the Rabbi’s prove, through their perspectives, that “clothes most certainly don’t make the person”:

As Kulka and Zellman continued to explore the landscape of being openly transgender Rabbis, both realized the need to for continued, up to date and readily available resources, so TransTorah.org was created. In the about section of the website, the Rabbis along with other teachers and activists involved with the organization lay out that since the 1990s, trans Jewish people and allies began to create Jewish resources that spoke and mirrored their diverse experiences. Lots of (historically) Jewish ritual and prayer are gender based or were perceived as gender based through the lens of (usually) cis-male Jewish leaders, so having rituals and prayers that included and affirmed the multitude of Jewish transgender experiences were and are in high demand. The organizers of the website say that they created TransTorah to collect trans and genderqueer Jewish resources and to make them accessible for anyone who wants to read them. TransTorah is also not just about transgender people, and the website states that everyone suffers when we’re forced to conform to gender expectations that do not reflect the richness of our identities and gifts, so if you go to the website, and you don’t identify as transgender, you’ll still find useful knowledge and information. An interesting finding  that I’d like to highlight is from a piece put together by Kukla in 2006, titled Terms for Gender Diversity in Classical Jewish Texts:

Ay’lonit: A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud, 40 in classical madras and Jewish law codes.

Also, another interesting finding from Transgender Sensitive Spiritual Care: Some Best Practices for Providing Spiritual Care to Transgender Individuals Through Illness, Grieving, Death and Life Transitions, written by Rabbi Kukla in 2012:

4. Do know that transgender people express their gender in unique and extremely varied ways. Don’t assume that all transgender people see themselves as either male or female, though some may see themselves wholly as their chosen gender and not “trans” at all.
6. Do understand the ways sytemic injustice impact transgender lives especially in heaalth care contexts. Don’t assume that it is safe for transgender people to be “out” in all settings or use their chosen name/;pronoun in health care of family settings.

Rabbi Yose says: “The androgynous is a created being of its own.” – Mishna Bikkurim 4:5

I also found a Trans/Gender Queer Jewish Wedding Service that Rabbi Kukla put together and did. Here’s a copy, below:

Trans/Gender Queer Jewish Wedding Service
By Rabbi Elliot Kukla, July 2006
Introduction: Over the past months as a newly ordained rabbi I have had the privilege of officiating at a
number of weddings involving transgender and/or gender nonconforming people. In some ways
these weddings are no more or less unique than any other wedding and involve the same spiritual
complexities and personal nuances as a mainstream wedding, however there are also a few issues
that emerged that led to different ritual or pastoral decisions. This is a ritual template for creating
a Jewish wedding service that celebrates gender and sexual diversity.
This ritual template is very similar to a traditional Jewish wedding. I have made a few
linguistic changes in the service to more honestly speak to a variety of different identities, but the
flow of the ritual follows the classical pattern. This choice reflects my belief that rituals that have
organically developed over centuries are more effective and multi-vocal than the newly minted
kind. I also think that gender and sexual diversity has always existed within Jewish communities
and this diversity lies buried within the traditional texts of our tradition and it is up to us to claim
the richness of our heritage.
There are two main issues that are specific to weddings for transgender and gender
nonconforming families that impact the creation of this ritual:
1) Ritually signifying the gender identity of each member of the couple.
Weddings can be an opportunity to bring together relatives or friends from the
past. This is a wonderful chance to pull these people into the present life of the
partners however there may be confusion about how the partners want their
gender to be understood. It is up to the officiant to clearly indicate how each
member of the partnership should be celebrated: as a bride, as a groom or as
2
something else. It is possible to indicate gender subtly within the liturgical flow
of the service. This is a spiritually significant moment for these lovers and they
deserve to be seen and recognized as fully as possible.
2) Family of origin and chosen family. Because of the realities of homophobia
and transphobia many queer, transgender and gender nonconforming people
have estranged or difficult relationship with their families of origin.
Furthermore, within LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and
queer) communities the concept of “family” has been redefined to encompass a
wide variety of configurations and includes relatives not connected by the
traditional ties of biology or legally sanctioned marriage. It is important for the
officiant to understand who each member of the partnership does or does not
see as their family and extend the appropriate honours and visibility to these
people.
Finally, a note on the Hebrew used in this template. It is impossible to refer to an
individual without using gender in Hebrew. To solve this problem one possible option is to mix
up the gender of the pronoun and the gender of the verb as I have done through-out this template
in order to indicate gender complexity. If these “mixed up” options are bring used, they should be
explained and contextualized by the officiant so it doesn’t seem like simply incorrect Hebrew.
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Ritual Template
Outline
I. Welcome
II. Birkat Erusin (Blessings of Commitment)
III. Kiddushin (Blessings of Holiness)
IV. Ketubah
V. Sheva Brachot (Blessings of Joy)
VI. Birkat Kehilla (Blessing of Community)
VII. Breaking the Glass
I. Welcome
It is traditional to welcome the partners to the chuppah with a Hebrew blessing and this is
a good opportunity to immediately signal how the partners want their genders to be understood.
This can be done by saying something simple like: “We welcome Shoshana and Chaya with the
blessing for two brides…” Each member of the partnership can be welcomed individually or
they can be greeted together.
For a bride:
Brucha Ha’ba’a b’shem Adonai
For a groom:
Baruch Ha’ba b’shem Adonai
For an individual who wants to indicate an alternate gender identity:
Brucha Ha’ba b’shem Adonai
For two brides:
Bruchot ha’baot b’shem Adonai
For two grooms, for a bride and a groom or for a couple that wants to indicate as little gender as
possible:
Bruchim ha’baim b’shem Adonai
For a couple that would like to indicate complex genders:
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Bruchim ha’baot b’shem Adonai
Translation of all of the above:
Blessed are you who come in the name of the Eternal!
After welcoming the partners to the chuppah it has become a common tradition to
mention deceased loved ones who are not physically present, but whose memories we want to
honour at this ritual. This is an opportunity to signal to the community who is seen as “family” at
this event and identify deceased members of the couple’s chosen family as relatives.
II. Blessings of commitment (Birkat Erusin)
In a traditional wedding service birkat erusin, the blessing of betrothal, indicates that the
couple is entering into a “permitted” as opposed to a “prohibited” relationship. The definition of
“prohibited” relationships in traditional Jewish law includes LGBTIQ expressions of love and
identity. However, I think the idea of a blessing for commitment that asserts the idea that the
relationship we are celebrating is worth sanctifying is important. I wrote this alternative birkat
erusin
1
to reflect the idea that lovers of all genders and sexual identities can be holy, but only
caring consensual relationships are sanctified within Jewish sacred tradition.
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam, borey p’ri ha-gafen
Blessed are You, O Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World,
Who creates the fruit of the vine.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheynu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al
mitzvot beyn adam l’chaveyro, v’asar lanu nitsul v’hit’al’lut, v’hitir lanu britot ahuvim.
Baruch ata Adonai, m’kadesh amo Yisra’el al y’dey chupah.
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World, who has set us apart through
sacred obligations and commanded us about the responsibilities of all humans for each
other. You have forbidden exploitation and abuse, and permitted covenants of love.
Blessed are You, Eternal One, who makes your people Israel (all those who struggle with
God), holy with a chupah (a canopy of love and protection.)
1 Rabbi Justin Lewis helped me to formulate the Hebrew of this blessing.
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Partners share the wine.
III. Blessings of Holiness (Kiddushin)
Kiddushin, which literally means holiness or “setting apart”, is the heart of the Jewish
wedding service and signifies the sanctity of this moment. However, in traditional Jewish law the
words of kiddushin lead to the legal acquisition of the bride by the groom. Modern egalitarian
communities have tried to redefine these words, however I feel like the formula itself is
inherently problematic. I have changed the liturgy to reflect the idea that no acquisition is taking
place in an egalitarian wedding. Instead of saying: “Behold I am making you holy/set apart!” I
suggest that couples say: “Behold, you are holy/set apart for me.” This change in the language
shifts the beloved from the object to the subject of the sentence, hence avoiding any implication
of objectification!
Partners exchange an item of value and each says to the other:
To a groom:
Harai ata kodesh li!
To a bride:
Harai at kodeshet li!
To an individual who does not wish to identify as either a bride or a groom:
Harai at kodesh li!
Translation:
Behold, you are holy to me!
Some couples may choose to add the traditional words: K’dat Moshe v’Israel (accorording to the
religion of Moses and Israel)
IV. Ketubah and/or Personal Vows
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At this point in the ritual the in order to indicate the break between the legal betrothal and the
joyful celebration of the partnership, the wedding contract is usually read. A variety of forms of
ketubot can be written to reflect the particular needs of the couple. This is also an appropriate
moment to insert personal readings, vows, etc. to reflect the complex realities of queer,
transgender and gender nonconforming families. These vows may also reflect the cultural
diversity of chosen families or families of origin.
VI. Blessings of Joy (Sheva Brachot)
The seven blessings recited at a wedding shift the ritual from a legal commitment
ceremony to a joyful celebration of the union. Most of the words of these blessing can be used
with queer, transgender and gender non-conforming families with very small adjustments and/or
explanations.
The only language that I have changed is using “ahuv v’yedid” (gender neutral terms for
“lover and beloved”) in the place of the words “chatan v’kalah” (bride and groom). In the
seventh blessing I have also changed the word “narim” (servant boys) to “chevarim”
(friends/community) to reflect a queer sense of chosen family.
The rest of the language I have not changed, but I sometimes feel a need to interpret
some of these texts so that they make sense in a queer context. The focus on Zion and Israel in
the fifth blessing may feel overly particularistic to queer, transgender and gender nonconforming
individuals who are used to experiences of exclusion. I usually explain that the word Israel can be
understood as a non-national or ethnic concept in classical texts. The translation of “Israel” is
“God-wrestler” and I often suggest that we understand the word literally as all people who are
struggling to live a more whole life in relationship to the Divine.
The Garden of Eden and Adam and Chava, the first human beings, are mentioned in the
third and fourth blessings. To some LGBTIQQ people this reference may feel inherently
7
heterosexual, however it may be helpful to explain that according to the Midrash (Bereshit
Rabbah) the first human being created in the image of God was an androgynos, an intersex
person. Hence the primordial joy of the first human being connecting to another person is
relevant for lovers of all genders.
1) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam, borey p’ri ha-gafen
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World,
Who creates the fruit of the vine.
2) Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam,
she-ha-kol bara lich-vodo.
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World, who has created everything in Your
glory.
3) Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam, yotser ha-adam.
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World, who is forming the human being.
4) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam,
asher yatsar et ha-adam b’tsalmo,
b’tselem demut tavnito,
v’hitkin lo mimenu binyan adey ad.
Baruch atah Adonai, yotser ha-adam.
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World,
who has created us all in Your image,
in the image of the likeness of Yourself,
and placed within us an eternally renewing structure.
Blessed are You, Eternal, Architect of humanity.
5) Sos tasis v’tagel ha-akara,
b’kibuts baneha l’tochah b’simcha.
Baruch atah, Adonai, m’sameyach Tsiyon b’vanehah
Joy – bring joy and gladness to the lonely city,
by gathering her children to her in happiness.
Blessed are You, Eternal, who will make Zion happy with her children.
6) Sameyach t’samach chaverot(im) ha-ahuvot (im),
k’samey-cha-cha yetsir-cha b’Gan Eyden mi-kedem.
Baruch ata, Adonai, m’sameyach chaverim ahuvim.
Give delight, delight to these loving friends,
as you delighted Your creations in Paradise of old.
Blessed are You, Eternal, who delights these loving friends.
7) Brucha atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam,
8
asher bara sason v’simcha, ahuv v’yedid,
gila, rina, ditza v’chedvah, ahava v’achava,
v’shalom v’rey-ut.
M’hera, Adonai Eloheynu, yi-shama
b’arey Yehuda u-v’chutsot Yerushalayim,
kol sason v’kol simcha, kol ahuv v’kol yedid,
kol mitz-halot ahuvim mey-chupatam,
u-chaverim mi-mishtey neginatam.
Baruch ata, Adonai, m’sameyach ahuv v’yedid.
Blessed are You, Eternal, our God and Ruler of the World,
Who created delight and gladness, lover and beloved,
glad song, pleasure, merriment, laughter, love and companionship, friendship and wholeness.
Quickly, Eternal, our God, let us hear
in the cities of Judah and Jerusalem’s streets,
voices of gladness, voices of joy, the voice of the lover and the voice of the beloved,
voices of jubilant lovers at wedding feasts,
and friends at their banquets of song.
Blessed are You, Eternal, who delights the lover and the beloved.
VI. Blessings of Community (Birkat Kehilla)
This point in the service is an appropriate time to ask the community to silently offer
blessings to the couple and signal the significance of community/chosen family at this ritual.
VII. Breaking the Glass
MAZEL TOV!

Coury, Naomi ZeveloffJuly 15 2013nic, and Sponsored. “For Elliot Kukla, Gender Transition and Ordination Went Hand in Hand.” The Forward. N.p., 15 July 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.Website

Kukla, Elliot. “TransTorah Helps People of All Genders to Fully Access and Transform Jewish Tradition, and Helps Jewish Communities to Be Welcoming Sanctuaries for People of All Genders.” TransTorah. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

“Queer Clergy in Action: Rabbi Elliot Kukla.” My Jewish Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.Website

Santo, Orli. “Transgender? Judaism’s Got a Blessing for You.” The Times of Israel. N.p., 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

I also liked reading about Timtum which is a trans Jew zine published by Micah Bazant in 1999. Commentary and the zine are available on Kukla’s website. Some excerpts: 

Billy Tipton: A Profile

Billy Tipton was a trans jazz musician who revealed before his death in 1989, at 74 years old, that he was assigned female at birth, and had lived happily as a man for 50 years prior. The news came as a shock to his family, friends and fans of his music. After his death, the glory of his hard work as an artist was overshadowed by his gender identity.

Tipton was born on December 29, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to mother Reggie and father G.W. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri with his aunt after his parents’ divorce. In high school, Billy went by ‘Tippy’ and explored his interests in jazz, studying piano and saxophone.

In 1936, Tipton became the leader of a band that played on KFXR, a radio show based in Dallas, Texas. In 1938, just two years later, Tipton joined Louvenie’s Western Swingbillies, playing on KTOK and at Brown’s Tavern in Oklahoma City, OK. In 1940, he began touring with Scott Cameron’s band around the Midwest at dances. He started a two and a half year long performing tour with George Meyer’s band at the Cotton Club in Joplin, Missouri. He also toured with Ross Carlyle for an unknown amount of time, and toured around Texas for two years. In ‘49, Tipton along with George Meyer, toured the Pacific Northwest. George Meyer’s band become more successful and began working more prestigious jobs with The Ink Spots, Delta Rhythm Boys and Billy Eckstine at the Boulevard Club in Idaho.

It was in Longview, Washington where Tipton began playing the piano and started the Billy Tipton Trio, with Tipton on the drums, Kenny Richards on bass and Dick O’Neil on drums. During a performance at the King’s Super Club in Santa Ana, CA, a talent scout from Tops Records heard the trio and offered them a contract. The trio recorded two records, released in 1957, selling around 18,000 copies of the records in total.

The Tipton Trio’s Album Covers:

One song from the album, “Willow Weep for Me”

After the success of the albums, Tipton received two career offers: the first being a position in the house band at the Holiday Hotel in Reno and the second from Tops Records to record another four albums with the Tipton Trio. Tipton decided to decline both offers and move to Spokane, Washington, working as a talent broker while the trio became the house band at Allen’s Tin Pan Alley. Tipton had been known to impersonate celebrities such as Liberace and Elvis Presley in some of his shows.

The Billy Tipton Trio

Sadly, in the late ‘70s, Tipton was forced to retire due to worsening arthritis.

Tipton had multiple relationships in his early life, none of which he formally married, although they did legally change their names on driver’s licenses to  Mrs. Tipton. However in 1960, Tipton settled down with a nightclub dancer named Kitty Kelly, who later became Kitty Oakes. The two adopted three sons, John, Scott and William. Kitty and Tipton split in the late ‘70s, and moved into a mobile home in Spokane, where he lived until his death in 1989.

Kitty, Billy and their son, Jon

After his death, Billy’s name and story were used in books on how to ‘identify cross dressers and transsexuals’, artists appropriated him as a symbol, a group of female jazz musicians created the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, and Tipton’s life was present in many stage productions, one titled Billy, a story line provided by his obituary.

The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet & Ne Zhdali –

Wheel Of Fortune

This article was published after his death:

Billy lived an amazingly artistic life, and created wonderful music that will live on well past the time any of us are alive. What’s upsetting is that Billy’s success was so unimportant compared to the fact that he was a trans man. All of the work he put in, the time he spent traveling, the heart and soul he poured into his music was second to what was underneath his clothing. And although his music WILL continue to inspire many, most will not know Billy Tipton first as the amazing and talented Jazz musician, but as the ‘woman who lived as a man’. Most importantly, though, he is and always will be, a legend.

–Mercedes

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Tipton

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/middlebrook-suits.html

Photos:

http://www.jazzitalia.net/articoli/BillyTipton.asp#.WEeRLbIrK00

I was originally planning to do my archive on Ben Barres a neuroscience professor who transitioned in 1997. But as I was starting to work on that archive, I went to a showing of the The Lost Boys of Portlandia, a short documentary by Nili Yosha. This film covered homeless youth in Portland and at the showing they had some of the individuals from the film come and talk about it. One of the guys mentioned the importance of having a shelter for people that identify as transgender. That got me wondering about how much of the homeless population is trans* and what led them to it. Homelessness is a topic that doesn’t get talked about much because people either feel bad or because they believe it’s not their problem. It gave me more of a reason to create an archive on it. I created my own tumblr:

https://transhomelessness.tumblr.com/ 

to highlight the pathways to homelessness that transgender people face using the National Health Care for the Homeless Council as my primary source.

-Alondra Orozco

Kathoey: The Third Sex of Thailand

Kathoey, also known as “Ladyboy,” is the identity used to describe transgender and transsexual women in Thai culture. As a largely Buddhist country, this third sex category is sanctioned in Theravada Buddhism through a creation narrative inscribed in ancient, sacred religious texts. While Kathoey as a gender identity has been recognized in Thai culture for thousands of years, a tension lies between the perceived societal acceptance and the pervasive stigmatization that impacts the life chances of Kathoey in contemporary society. 

Although Thai culture celebrates Kathoey on a surface level, systemic and institutional barriers continue to act as oppressive forces against ladyboys, limiting opportunities and impacting life chances. For example, Kathoey are not encouraged to pursue education or enter higher paying professional fields. Further, insidious job discrimination leads them to find work largely in the cosmetics or sex industry. Similarly, cabaret shows, which are sexually charged performances analogous to Western drag shows that feature Kathoey, are perceived by dominant culture as an expectation and essential element in the normative narrative of the Kathoey experience. Moreover, high rates of sexual exploitation and trafficking among Kathoey are found in Bangkok and other urban areas, leaving ladyboys vulnerable to contracting or transmitting sexually transmitted infections without having many resources to seek out for help.

Although Kathoey is a widely recognized identity and common element of Thai culture, this population continues to face various forms of discrimination, oppression, and violence on the basis of their gender identity. Western influences of normative gender and beauty standards have impacted the acceptance level of Kathoey in Thai society, resulting in a conflation of gender and sexuality and a shift in dominant understandings of identity. While progress is being made by Kathoey, feminists, scholars, and advocates of Kathoey rights to improve the life experiences and chances of ladyboys in Thailand, progressive thought and radical activism is not a major aspect of Thai culture. Several tensions exist among ancient customs and beliefs rooted in Buddhism and contemporary life influenced by westernization and globalization that directly impact understandings of Kathoey, gender, sexuality, class, and other elements of identity in Thai society today.