Re-think the "Obvious"

“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

– John Steinbeck (via secretcinema2)

Social Security Allows Transgender People to Change Gender Records Without Reassignment Surgery »

thepoliticalfreakshow:

Transgender men and women will no longer have to provide proof of complete sexual reassignment surgery to change their gender on Social Security records, according to a new ruling by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

A report from ThinkProgress says the SSA will now accept a certificate from a physician confirming appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition, court order, 10-year passport, or birth certificate as proof of gender transition.

Sexual reassignment procedures are expensive and also makes the individual give up their ability to reproduce. The SSA, instead, will now view documentation of appropriate changes to lifestyle as sufficient evidence to change gender records.

A statement from the National Center for Transgender Eqaulity explained that “appropriate clinical treatment” varies.

“The new policy recognizes that people’s medical needs vary, and that treatment options must be decided by health care professionals on an individual basis,” the statement said. “You are entitled to an updated gender marker if you have had the clinical treatment determined by your health care providers to be appropriate, in your individual case, to facilitate gender transition. No specific type of treatment is required, and details of your treatment should not be included in the letter from your physician to SSA.”

“This is a tremendous victory for our community,” said Transgender Law Center legal director Ilona Turner in a statement. “The Social Security Administration was one of the last agencies to hold onto an outdated, one-size-fits-all standard for gender change. Transgender people will now be able to change all their federal documents with a simple letter from their doctor recognizing that they have undergone the appropriate treatment for them.”

Mara Keisling, president of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which advocated for the policy change, told Metro Weekly in a statement that the small policy change will have a large impact.

“All information for Medicare comes from Social Security, including the gender marker on the Medicare card,” Keisling said. “If you are not able to change your gender marker on your Social Security account, your gender marker is going to be messed up in other places. Until today, we’ve had to fix each program one at a time.”

The SSA also issued instructions to staff to be sensitive to pronoun usage when speaking with transgender clients and to use proper confidentiality, The Advocate reported.

Sources: Raw Story, ThinkProgress

Whaatt? Crazy! How cool is that?

Next stop: doctor-ville.
O how I look forward to the day when I can choose my doctor based on merit and soul-owning. And the few that qualify aren’t tied to networks and prior authorizations.

positive-press-daily:

Quebec Soccer Team Wears Turbans To Protest Ban & Support Sikh Players

awkwardsituationist:

When the Quebec Soccer Federation banned players from wearing turbans on the highly dubious grounds they pose a safety risk, preventing Sikhs in the province like Aneel Samra and Rasnamjeet Singh Ahluwalia (pictured) from playing, a team of fourteen year olds, none of whom are Sikh, took it upon themselves with the support of their parents and coach to defy the ban by sporting turbans donated by a local Laval temple at the players’ request.

Read more.

What’s that saying again? All for one and one for all? Love thy neighbor as thyself? Don’t be a f’n dbag?

Ya, now that is what I call patriotism- making sure your country’s actions represent everyone who lives within the bounds of that nation-state.

not that the U.S. isn’t the greatest country ever or anything…(cue “blame Canada”?)

14-Year-Old Girl Gets Raped, Gets Pregnant, Gets "Whore" and "Slut" Scrawled on Her House »

Anti-choicers love to wax poetic about how beautiful it is for teenage girls to “choose life,” even when raped. Unfortunately, as a recent story out of Indiana shows, the reality is anything but beautiful. In the small town of Elwood, Ind., a 13-year-old girl was raped by a 17-year-old and impregnated. The victim opposes abortion, and while she briefly considered making an exception for herself in this case, she ultimately went ahead with the pregnancy. The result? She’s become a target for abuse and harassment in Elwood, and the formerly outgoing young woman is now a recluse.
P.s. this happens all the time

I am no less appalled but we need to stop pretending that:
a) this is rare
b) this reaction is due to a single person or place.

I’m going to point to slacktivism on this one. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to this kind of crap. It will only be impacted by a complete paradigm shift; which takes a persistent effort on the part of individuals.
Social media has created a new opportunity to bring this into the open. but we can’t pretend that’s a solution on itself.

Speak up.
Rape culture is just that, a culture. What that means for us is that presenting the shock value is not enough. Challenging words like ‘whore’ ‘easy’ etc. in everyday language- even if it is not directly related to rape -is the first step in confronting this.
When we leave this rhetoric unchallenged in everyday language, well- You can be disappointed, but you can’t be surprised.

Note: This commentary is directed towards societal and communal actions and responsibilities. Not rapists.

Got PMS? Psychiatry has a new mental diagnosis for you »

“Got PMS? Psychiatry has a new mental diagnosis for you” is the name of this piece of work

1. there is no such thing as PMS!
This is been studied over and over again. Physical discomfort of course affects mood. But PMS, as currently understood, is completely a phenomenon of a self-fulfilling prophecy (she’s such a bitch she must be PMS-ing. Omg I feel so gross that’s probably because I’m PMS-ing)

2. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is a serious, psychiatric mood disorder.
This article is saying that the APA has decided that when women get moody, invariably a week, day before/after, or during her menstrual cycle, it is because they are mentally ill.
No, general population- that was you.

3.The APA added PMDD to the long awaited DSM V as a recognition for the cluster of symptoms identified as related to hormonal and chemical changes due to menstruation in the brain that cause interference with day-to-day life, as is par for any DSM diagnosis.

I was tracing a different post to it’s source and ended up at this site. This obsession of Freudian-era conclusions regarding psychology has got to go. Psychology is science; complicated, tricky, tedious, and political, just like any field in life. But it is a science. Diagnoses are not names to play with. Health insurance companies force clinical psychology to play that dangerous game for coverage.
We don’t have to.

and another thing ...: U.S. Senator Delivers Immigration Speech in Spanish, Is Labeled a Traitor to America »

publicshaming:

What happens when Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia makes a 13 minute speech in Spanish on the Senate floor in support of immigration reform? Why, he makes history as the first Senator in history to delivery an entire speech on the floor of the Senate in a language other than…

Can we just point out that you are generally forced to learn a foreign language in high school. You know, to be cultured n all that.

So perhaps, this has more to do with a long-held resentment/crush on your high school Spanish teacher and the now foreign sounds of a C- spark the pain of an unrequited love.
because honestly- the odds of that being true are a little greater than a Senator disowning his country by speaking a language that you do not understand.

So again, perhaps the motive was more along the lines of making the point that denying the existence or widespread use (one might even say worldwide) of other languages will only leave you looking dumb and confused.