November 20th: Transgender Remembrance Day

I was ignorant of the fact that Wednesday was Transgender Remembrance Day until I was reading my twitter feed after dinner that night. There, I found someone I follow (a public figure rather than a personal friend) had retweeted this tweet:

Found here: https://twitter.com/reiley/status/403301899979350016

This was shocking to read and I relayed it to Colin. We got to wondering what would make the age so low and if it could possibly be true. Since Colin had set up his office at the dining room table for the day (he was making chili which needs constant attending over many hours), he readily starting googling for more information. I listened as he relayed tidbits as he found them, then later looked up on my own and asked for the links he'd found. The "fact" in the tweet stands on very shaky ground when it comes to reliable references. There's no link to where the tweeter learned it, but below is what we were able to find regarding it.

Long story short: There is nowhere near enough data to make any solid conclusions of the average life expectancy of trans people versus the rest of the population. Such information is simply not available. There are studies, but they usually focus on a selective group, such as those with HIV/AIDS. There is also the unknowable percentage of those who aren't out about being transgendered and the lack of historical data with a bracket for the trans population.

Guernica has an article (http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/spade_3_1_11/) that opens with: "The average life span of a transgender person is twenty-three years." It goes on to say how it makes sense:

Gender non-conformists face routine exclusion and violence. Transgender people are disproportionately poor, homeless, and incarcerated. Many of the systems and facilities intended to help low-income people are sex-segregated and thereby alienate those who don’t comply with state-imposed categories. A trans woman may not be able to secure a bed in a homeless shelter, for example."

All these points are valid and important, but they do not prove the statistics stated. Nor is there any citation or reference given in the article for the opening statement. (The rest of the article is excellent to read, though.) After wandering around other sites, I found exactly what I was looking for. It is from a page referencing another page which is a dead link now, but fortunately the text was quoted fully. The pithiest part:

I emailed the editors at Guernica to ask where the figure came from and they referred me to a 2010 article in The Daily Texan (caution: contains problematic reporting).

[…] Because of high rates of suicide, homicide and homelessness that impact the trans community, the international average life expectancy for a trans person is 23, according to the Equity (sic)Network.

Tracking back from there to the website of the Equality Network, it seems that the Daily Texan reporter has taken a speculative comment and rewritten it as if it’s an absolute, objective fact (this is not the first time I’ve seen journalists do this and I doubt it’ll be the last). The original wording on the Equality Network site is:

Globally average transgender person’s life expectancy believed to be around 23 – due to suicide, murder, and large percentages of transgender young teenagers in various countries ending up homeless and involved in drugs/prostitution/crime. [Via Crossing the Strands: Transgender workshops]

The key phrase there is “believed to be“: a significantly different emphasis from stating that it “is“. It’s also interesting to note that the Equality Network quote is from a 2007 report of a conference workshop although the origin of the “twenty-three years” figure is not attributed to any specific source. However, it’s interesting to note that, according to a 2007 UK survey, the average age for trans women undergoing surgery between 2004 and 2007 was 41 years.

Found at: http://justaguywitharrows.tumblr.com/post/12181508971/re-the-average-life-span-of-a-transgender-person-is This tumblr also summed up exactly how I feel:

Because I appreciate the sentiment but I also don’t believe in spreading disinformation.

Going off on a slight tangent, I also want to share another piece of information I found. Something I've often wondered is just what the ratio is for MTF (male-to-female) versus FTM (female-to-male). At http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/93/1/19.full:

From the start of the gender clinic in 1975 up to 2006, 2236 male-to-female and 876 female-to-male transsexuals have received cross-sex hormone treatment.

Of course this is far from a complete picture, but it helps me realize that perhaps the higher visibility of MTF is slightly closer to reality than I thought.

If you are interested in reading what else we found, here's some more links:

• http://shoredagainstruin.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/violence-and-harassment-against-transgender-people-in-the-united-states/ (also addressing the Guernica quote and its reliability, it gives a very clear picture of what trans people truly face)
• http://pinkessence.com/profiles/blogs/transgender-health-and-life-expectancy (very hard to follow, but still has interesting information)
• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2012/05/murder-statistics-of-transgender-people/ (here we find out that murder statistics in the LGBTQ community reveal that there is a much higher risk for non-hetero people who are not white)
• http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/james-hetterley/a-critique-of-modern-gend_b_1157948.html (this has a similar quote with no citation, but the rest of the article is an excellent read)
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64800/ (very in-depth but the clear outline helps) 
• http://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,91783.20.html?PHPSESSID=5ug1n4fua5tvo6htjbd49rfbl1 (very informal and anecdotal but also informative)

Hello again - remember me?

Been contemplating starting up my blog again. I gave up on feeling guilty about not publishing anything months ago, and then a couple days ago I felt the desire and urge to share things I learn, either through research or experimentation. 

The topics don't fit nicely into any one category, since I focus on such an eclectic range of things. So, as always, this blog remains un-themed, unless you call "things that Karen learns or experiences" a category. 

A list of some that I can think of right now:

• harvesting walnuts and making walnut ink; 
• which is the best mandoline, can opener, or tv tuner; 
• recipes for homemade frosting, pumpkin cheesecake, and panna cotta; 
• observations about (and from) the dog; 
• what second degree burns are and how to treat them;
• my current favorite way to keep track of daily lists and happenings; 
• books I read and TV/movies I watch; 
• what happens to the tomatoes and giant squashes;
• online surveys and other non-traditional ways to earn money; 
• what happens when I cut the number of my clothes by at least a third. 

I spend time and thought on many different things and enjoy helping others benefit from my efforts (one of the reasons librarianship appeals to me). But even if no one else ends up reading or utilizing what I've found, I feel a lack of solid accomplishments these days. It's not that I'm unhappy with the way things are, it's just that I often don't have something concrete to show off. Documenting these things will also give me focus and clarity on the projects themselves.

But before I dive into these topics, let's fast forward through the past year and change, picking out the highlights. 

Sidenote: I checked my blog to see when the last post was, and I stumbled across the Stats section. Apparently at least one person a day visits my blog, and the most popular post? http://trailmaniac.blogspot.com/2010/02/drawing-hollow-circles-on-pictures.html Yes, about how to draw circles. Over 600 views! The second one is http://trailmaniac.blogspot.com/2011/01/spain-santiago-de-compostela.html which has over 150 views. 

I did quite a bit of crocheting for Christmas 2012 presents, including a little penguin to go with the donation gift for my reddit Secret Santa.

There was more than the usual holiday travel late last year. We spent Thanksgiving in Duluth, went to Houghton twice - once to see Laura's H.P. Lovecraft play and once for her graduation from Mich. Tech. - and then went directly to Charlevoix for Christmas before stopping in Duluth on the way home. Phew.

Went to SF for two weeks in January. Went to SF again for over two weeks in March plus a train ride from there to Chicago with Colin's parents. And then again for a week in May. Had great first Airbnb experiences at three different places.

I got a Macbook Air. And yes, it still runs with the original OS. For now.

Finally put the books on the shelves!

Decided to stay in the same apartment for another year.

Brought home a rescue dog named Hannah. Mutt with indications of pitbull, boxer, and terrier. Age is only estimated, roughly a year and a half now. We've declared the day we got her to be her birthday (June 5).

The only gardening I did was the usual "Hey, let's put this mystery plant that's growing in the compost in a pot and see what happens." But our landlord and his girlfriend planted a huge garden that they were willing to share (begged). So we reaped many of its benefits. Still are in fact - down to two boxes of ripening tomatoes and 3 jumbo squashes.

There were weddings: Whitney and Dave's in Traverse City, Tom and Keegan's in Muskegon, and Alex and Amanda's in Lisle.

There were days at the cabin up north. Then Rachel left for study abroad in Ecuador.

I got a second cortisone shot for my DeQuervain's tendosynovitis (on the wrist but quite different from carpal tunnel syndrome) and went through lots of physical therapy. It was quite a bit of trial and error, since it had been years living with on-and-off pain for an injury that cropped up ten years ago. In fact, the therapy is so slow I'm still doing the first few "easy" exercises months later, but it's already worlds better. I'm aiming at being able to crochet this winter, canoe next summer, and do Nanowrimo next November. Oh, and to be able to scribble and sketch to my heart's content.

The walnut trees dropped tons of nuts this year. So I've made ink, dried husk to make ink in the future, and have 360 curing walnuts.

We carved pumpkins at Jake's. Well, we started to and then realized we hadn't used just a dremel but the speedball (stamp cutting tool), so we waited until we had time a couple nights later to finish them. Colin did a mouth with teeth and a tongue sticking out (if you've never watched the annoying orange, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD5UKQggXTc). I did a silhouette of Gru from Despicable Me surrounded by minions.

Colin got a really short haircut way back in June. Then he shaved all his facial hair off for Movember. And now he looks like a scruffy bear. Today I said he should get his hair cut again before we head to my family's for Thanksgiving.

Emily left for Wales. I don't have a picture of this occurring, but I do have one of her wanting to get a bumblebee costume for Hannah - and Colin said "No."