The Metropolitan Community Church of San Antonio will once again play host to the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance observance on November 17. The day honors the memory of those who have died as a result of anti-transgender prejudice. According to GLAAD, “Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed in late November in recognition of the…
Attorney María Salazar Is a Voice for the Vulnerable and a Builder of Bridges
María R. Salazar was 5 years old when she held her first important job. “I was the water girl,” she recalled of working at a tender age in the beet, onion and potato fields of Idaho, where her parents toiled as migrant workers. “Whenever it would get really hot, I would take the jugs out…
Metamorphoses: Medical Transition and Where Gatekeeping Is Headed
Like a large portion of transgender women, I have experienced immense difficulty accessing the proper care that I’ve required to medically transition. When I first came out publicly as a trans woman, one of my goals was to start hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as soon as possible, but I quickly learned that it isn’t as…
Documentary Portrays Emotional Transition of Young Texan
A short documentary that premiered in March at the South by Southwest Film Festival tells the emotional story of a young Texan who is transitioning from female to male, with mixed reactions from his family. The 13-minute film, “Becoming Blair,” is a truly personal effort by director Bri Barsalou, the cousin of Blair Hanner, the…
Texas Has a Sizable Trans Population. So Why All the Anti-Trans Politics?
Originally published in the San Antonio Current A recent study conducted by researchers at The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law shows that approximately 1.4 million adults consider themselves to be transgender. According to the study, the number is twice that of the transgender population estimated to have existed in the United States…
Trans Woman Complains of Poor Treatment at Walmart Pharmacy in San Marcos
A transgender woman says she was left wondering if the pharmacist at the Walmart store in San Marcos, Texas is transphobic after she experienced delays getting her prescription for hormones filled and then was told by the pharmacist that she could not buy the syringes needed to administer the treatments. Rikki Buffalino says she took…
Local Bartender’s Photo Suggests Trans Customers Pee in Bucket
A bartender at a local sports bar posted a picture on his Facebook page of a bucket with a sign thumbtacked above it that reads, “transgender bathroom.” Above the photo he suggested the bar is mindful of “social issues.” The photo, which started circulating on Facebook at around 11 p.m. on May 17, was posted by Brett…
Transgender student welcomed at Episcopal school
KSAT-TV in San Antonio is reporting that a longtime male student at St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Alamo Heights has returned to classes after the Thanksgiving holiday as a girl. In a letter sent to the parents of students, the school’s headmaster Thomas McLaughlin says, “After much prayer, research and thorough consideration, we have concluded…
What my transition taught me about how the world perceives men and women
“I know what it’s like on both sides of the fence.” You know what I miss the most about having breasts? People offering me free drugs (also: nipple sensation). I was born genetically female, and I lived that way for 16 years. By the time I was 17, I realized I wasn’t comfortable with this…