Tweeting on Twitter - rubbing virtual shoulders with Celebrities 2/23/2012

well, i have finally discovered twitter and understand the value and difference between twitter and other social media entities such as facebook.  i initially snubbed twitter thinking that 140 characters was not nearly enough for an outspoken person like me to make a point to anyone.  but then i realized, well, a quick and consice sound byte is probably all that celebs may have time to read. heck, they all have thousands of followers.

the trick is to be on twitter live during real time, when they are on line. make sure you tweet them when you know they are online and reading their screen. differentiate your message from the other hundreds of messages you think they are getting at the same time from others, and maybe, just maybe, they will not only read your tweet, but reply directly to you.

well, it works! i have managed to gain responses from some of the best known national and global celebs. including Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, pro-wrestler The Blue Meanie, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, The Score's tv personality Renee Paquette, Manitoba curling champion Kaitlyn Lawes, Nashville Country Music star Mike Jeffers of Pinmonkey, and Republic of Doyle actors Allan Hawco & Marthe Bernard. In one of these cases (i won't reveal which one, the tweeting has lead to a possible businesss relationship!). 

meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, by 'following' people, and tweeting at them, i have managed to get them to follow me back. this includes over 200 important media reps. so now, if i have something important to say, people will likely hear it faster!

so folks, it's time to get into the game. go to twitter.com and sign up for an account, then go to twitter.com/Jenn_McCreath and 'follow' me!

Why do we need explicit trans gender rights? 2/23/2012

been sick this week and haven't felt like typing much, here's a comment i posted on xtra.ca when one of their journalists questioned the value of Toby's Law...


"symbolism adds strength - with explicit protection in the codes (federally and provincially) it would be much tougher for health care systems to get away with discriminatory policies and procedures that inhibit the ability of trans people to access timely and affordable hormone treatments and surgeries. also, it would make it much tougher for governments to justify inacting legislation such as transport canada's gender-variant trans flight ban. what's even worse is that implying that sex= gender and that the government has a right to classify gender based on sex, opens risk for the erasure and elimination of trans issues. we need gender recognized as distinct from sex and we need a definition in there that clearly states that gender is a state of mind of the individual, and that nobody else can or should have legal rights to classify one's gender based on sex or any other identifiable trait. legislation might not change everything over night, but it has proven to be the most powerful tool in terms of moral suasion to society.. Jennifer McCreath, St. John's Newfoundland 02/23/12 11:41 AM EST"

Feb 18, 2012 - first run in 3 months!

Well, the first semi-serious run, that is. after having my physiotherapist bust up scar tissue in the ankle, i figured i might as well run on it while it is already tender. i have taken on a couple of light 1k jogs already this year, but nothing above 4.5k since early November. so i ran 6k today at a very light pace, on new shoes. ran down to the pond, stopped to feed the ducks, then ran to the animal shelter to visit and cuddle with about 20 orphaned cats, then ran home. good cardio work with lots of breaks.  rolled the ankle a few times on the icy uncleared snowy walking trails, but no major issues.

spend the rest of the day watching some curling and cuddling with my two cats here at home.  i guess the official comeback is under way! not sure where it will lead this time, but i feel quite similar to where i was jan 1/2007 when i went out for the first random run with the idea of 'well, i just want to lose some weight and get in shape'. that is exactly where i am at now. well, we shall see how the foot is tomorrow, but i sense there may be another run!

Jenn

Feb 19, 2012 - Joelle Ruby Ryan

Joelle Ruby Ryan is one of the most respected transwomen advocate in the world. She currently works as a Women's Studies lecturer at University of New Hampshire.  here are some videos of her great work.
2003 documentary about trans issues in a social world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf7mCWeriLA

2008 National Womens Studies Association's Panel on Dr. Michael Bailey's controversial transphobic writing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMJAK_IqQa4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1WLE0K4e7w

her blog:
http://transmeditations.wordpress.com/

Feb 13, 2012 - Trans Air Ban featured on CHRW radio!

http://www.betweenthemargins.ca/ is a bi-weekly one hour radio talk show that features Human Rights issues. This week, members of the trans community took over to discuss the controversial Canadian Government Federal Regulation that essentially bans transgendered people from boarding aircrafts.

It was my honor to join Toronto trans activist, blogger, and aspiring politician Christin Milloy, and London Ontario trans advocate and radio host Michelle Boyce, for a detailed chat about the implications and affects this rule will have, and in my case, has already had, on one's ability to travel while trans. The entire segment is downloadable via mp3 at the link mentioned.

Feb 9, 2012 - dealing with transphobia in gay community.

it sadly exists, and because it does, i have often spoke out against trans people sitting back and letting gays fight our battles for us. this often offends some gays who feel they are not transphobic. which is also a good point.  

anyway, i frequently face tons of hostile and childish personal attacks from many gays and lesbians here locally. ironically, i take much more abuse from them then i do from the straight people here. while i can be very harsh and blunt in my advocacy work, i like to think i always do so with respect, class, and dignity.  to have people who represent organizations such as Pflag Canada publicly support comments that suggest i should be committed and supporting Barb Kay's article from yesterday? it's really sad.

This leads into my next beef. the fact that Government of NL formed a $90000 partnership involving Egale Canada and the Department of Education and the Women's Policy office.  Seems nice on the surface, but while these entities may be up on gay issues, they are not up on trans issues. i know, because i have dealt directly with them all in recent years.

so my beef? where was the stakeholder engagement? this all went down with no invite to consult. not to me, not to St. John's Pride Inc., not the East Coast Trans Alliance. and not to other prominent provincial lgbt orgs, that i am aware of.  So folks, you want to vilify me for having the gaul or guts to challenge the mightly Egale? well go ahead. good government requires transparency and accountability. with this in jind, i am going to go digging for answers....  it will be interesting to see if i need Access to Information requests to get copies of the agreements. will keep you all informed

Jenn

  

Feb 9, 2012 - LIVE Radio interview on Monday! CHRW 94.9 FM

http://www.betweenthemargins.ca Catch me LIVE on CHRW 94.9 FM, a London Ontario radio station Monday 12.30 pm NST (11 EST, 8 PST) talking about trans air travel ban with Radio Host Michelle Boyce - who is also a trans advocate. a podcast of the interview will be archived.