I gave a presentation with Sandy Jones (HACS) on Substance Use issues within the trans population at a conference today. Here’s the intro from the handout:

Working with transgender clients can raise fundamental questions of policy. A trans client’s presence can challenge long held assumptions and belief systems about the very nature of gender. Not only can these issues become challenging for the staff and management, a transgender person’s presence can present issues that may challenge the gender stereotypes held by other clients as well. A fundamental decision many facilities are faced with today is whether the client’s right to services is worth the possible challenges a transgender client’s presence may inspire. This resource presents information to assist providers in improving substance abuse treatment for trans clients by raising awareness about the issues unique to these clients. It is hoped that sensitizing providers to these unique issues will result in more effective treatment and improved treatment outcomes for transgender persons within the drug court setting.

I put this handout together over the last week. There’s some good info (best practices, terminology 101, etc) in it:

Here’s the presentation:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/80163396″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

I wanted to share an article I really enjoyed recently:

I have discovered that members of our community are policing each other and attempting to create a hierarchy of who is truly Trans or not. Many people are playing the same games of ‘normality’ that Gays and Lesbians have often pulled in an attempt to normalize themselves by othering people who are considered less normal. These situations really need to stop if we are going to strive for our goals. This shouldn’t be about picking each other apart, but pushing each other forward. It’s an easy temptation, I suppose, to sell out people who are not like you in order to advance yourself, but it won’t make change, and we will still be stuck always at the bottom of the barrel looking for a way to thrive in a world where we will never quite be accepted.

The primary belief I have seen is from people who insist that Transsexuality is more ‘normal’ than being Transgender. Often this is accompanied by acceptance that Transsexuality is an acceptable medical condition and occasionally with the belief that being Transgender is a choice and therefore not real.

This is a really good piece on that shame-based instinct to deal with internalized transphobia through rejecting, mocking, belittling, misgendering and otherizing trans folk.