TDOR

Today at St. Olaf, we celebrated Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The MN GLBTA Campus Alliance came to Olaf to give a workshop called (trans)gender 101.

It was very good. It was one of the better workshops we've had. We learned about gender systems, what makes up identity, about different genders and sexual orientations. Our facilitators were Mike and Anna. Mike is has a really long job title at Augsberg. Anna also has a shorter job title at Metrostate. Both are GLBTQA coordinators at their colleges, basically.

We also had a display throughout the day. We had a tall kiosk. On one side we had information about TDOR, resources to be involved with orgs that work with the trans community, a few stories of some of people who have been murdered in the past year.

On the other side was a list of all 354 people who have died as the result of transphobia. Most were stabbed, shot or strangled. One three year old boy was beaten to death by his father because he wasn't acting tough enough a few years ago. A 19 year old gay man was decapitated, dismembered and then burned in Puerto Rico earlier this year. One person died of AIDS because the hospital wouldn't treat her because she was transgender.

We also had a large pile of shoes to represent all the people who have died. We covered it with chicken wire (mainly for symbolism, but also to prevent shoe theft).

It is so good that we had that pile of shoes. So many more people looked at our kiosk just because they had no idea why the pile of shoes was there.

I normally don't have much patience for making displays like that. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything to make it. I'm not so good with that sort of thing. I'm more of an organizer, not an artist. I put the kiosk together while Matt and Willa put the shoes together.

Very good day, imo. Nothing huge, but it was successful.

Soldier's Girl

I watched the movie Soldier's Girl today. I guess this is technically a spoiler alert, but it's all in the movie description, and it's based on a true story, so we already know what happens.

It's about a soldier (during peacetime) who is stationed in Tennessee and who has a kind of screwed up roommate. I think he has some mental health issues. Anyway, Barry (the main character) ends up falling in love and having a relationship with a transwoman and drag queen who he met at the gay bar his roommate dragged a bunch of them to (as a "test"). Characters and developed and introduced, everyone kind of knows that Barry is in love with a tranny, and the plot begins to develop. His roommate talks a new recruit, who gets in fights with Barry often, into beating Barry while he sleeps with a baseball bat. Barry dies. We see the reactions and reflections of people. End of movie.

I was fucking bawling my eyes out.

The movie as a movie was not that great. The story that is in the movie however, is so heartbreaking. The things that make a movie good were lacking and actually made the movie rather dull. However, the movie allows you to imagine what is really happening inside these people's heads and lives that they don't show in the movie. Which is what made me burst into tears and sob for a good 10 minutes while Barry got his head bashed in with a baseball bat.

Overall, bad movie, good story. If you have an imagination and care about the issues faced by soldiers and transpeople, and the people who love soldiers and transpeople, it's a good movie. If you're apathetic and unimaginative, it's a bad movie.

Speaking of soldiers/sailors, my brother moved out again. He was home for about a month. It was really nice. I had someone to talk to, and joke with, and who didn't mind driving me places, and while he can be really judgemental about my choices, is generally a nice, polite, funny brother. He is now living with my cousin in Snobville. His impetus for moving today? His local gym membership expired yesterday, and his Snobville gym membership starts tomorrow. My brother the bodybuilder. What a weirdo. We have always had very opposite interests.