Eli Erlick

Happy pride (and even happier pride signs)!

New York Pride banned marchers in drag and leather in 1994, leading organizers to create the annual Drag March. It's now entering its 30th year. Here's a great flyer from the 2nd march I saw in the Lesbian Herstory Archives:

Have you heard about this 1936 trans film? My friend, researcher Michael Waters, just found an incredible reel of transgender Czech runner Zdeněk Koubek (1913-1986).

The beloved track athlete transitioned in 1935 and was widely celebrated in U.S. and European media. He had several other trans male friends and even performed with Josephine Baker while touring! He went on to compete in men’s rugby in Prague.

Be sure to check out Michael’s new book, The Other Olympians, for more about his story!

I guess the TERFs were right all along: trans can be dangerous!

This is one of the oldest surviving recordings of a trans person.

Masoud El Amaratly (1897-1944) was an Iraqi trans singer who became famous in 1920s Baghdad for his folk music. He worked as a farmer before transitioning in his teens. The mustarjil, a term similar to trans man, then moved to the city and sang in cafés. A music agent discovered him there and his fame spread across West Asia.

Enjoy this 1925 recording of him singing the traditional Iraqi song, "Khadri al Chai" ("Please Make Tea"). Check out Ajam's website for more.

This is correct, biologically speaking

"Always already" as a fashion statement.

This commentary will never get old.

I tried to take her bag away.

From trans_solidarity4gaza: "This GoFundMe was initiated by a network of trans people in NYC & across historic Palestine, to support 3 trans women in Gaza in their urgent attempt to seek asylum as they face the compounding threat of the current genocidal war enacted by the Israeli government and the vulnerability they specifically experience due to their gender identities.

Reem, Amal, and Noor are three close friends and Gazen trans women in their 20s, who have been part of an underground mutual aid network which attempted to support them in seeking asylum from Gaza before October 7th 2023. While the two decades of blockades have made this previous attempt challenging, the unfathomable escalation of restrictions and violence has now created an even more dire situation: where each of the three women not only faces displacement, starvation and the killing of multiple family members; but also the increased threat of hyper visibility caused by lack of access to medicine, housing, personal hygiene and increased interaction with transmisogyny and surveillance in the streets.

After months of coordination, we have found a possible way to support these women in crossing the border and arriving at a temporary queer safe house in Egypt - A first step in many, enabling them to find a new environment to rebuild their lives in relative safety. In order to execute said plan we need financial support to allow these women access to the most basic of necessities- including food, shelter, travel, legal support and essential personal belongings."

Of course OF COURSE the U.S. government risked thousands of lives spreading disinformation to undermine China's vaccine diplomacy. Read the full Reuters report here.

Happy Juneteenth! Here's a not-so-fun fact: the last president to rent or own enslaved people was not Ulysses S. Grant as is popularly claimed. It was Bill Clinton in 1992.

Funny how it's only "free speech" when it's violently racist.

Needing more trans tattoo art so bad. The homage to Tom of Finland. The explicit queerness. The throwbacks to iconic queer moments. Mel Perreault has it all.

A new South Dakota policy banned tribal affiliations and pronouns from University signatures. Don't you love it when racism and transgender panic come together so seamlessly?

In 1967, a trans woman named Vicky shared her life with an interviewer. The UCLA Film and Television Archive preserved the full short film, Queens at Heart, in 2009.