Gunner Scott: the trans activist not the wrestler

My trip to Occupy Wall St for "Trans-form the Occupation" on Sunday, November 13, 2011

2011-11-25T18:35:00.001-05:00

I was invited down to Occupy Wall St. to participate in The "Trans-Form The Occupation" a transgender awareness event on day 58 of Occupy Wall Street in Liberty Plaza on November 13, 2011 in New York City. This was trans 101 type panel, put on by some of the members of QueeringOWS. Some of the speakers included Jenn and Craig from QueeringOWS; Noah from TLDF; Pauline Park from NYAGRA; Michelle Abdus’Shakur; Representatives from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project; myself; and a performance from Mx Justin Vivian Bond. There were also a few trans members that spoke at the speak out portion.

I spoke about the experiences of poverty of transgender people, the experiences of employment and educational discrimination and need for gender identity non-discrimination laws.

To listen to the full audio visit http://outfm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120:trans-forming-occupy-wall-street&catid=34:feedburner

Why We Are Voting For Felix G. Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley for Boston City Council At-Large

2011-11-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

By Robbie Samuels and Gunner Scott

Felix G. Arroyo has been a long-time LGBTQ ally. In 2002, he was an early supporter of the successful bill adding gender identity and expression to Boston's non-discrimination law. As a first-term Boston City Councilor-at-Large he used his position to highlight discrimination by the organizers' of South Boston's St. Patrick Day Parade, saying, "As an At-Large City Councilor, I represent all of Boston and all of Boston’s residents. I take that responsibility very seriously. An entire community that I represent is excluded from marching in the parade. While the Supreme Court said it is legally permissible to exclude LGBTQ groups, I cannot in good conscience march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade until everyone else can." To clearly show his support, Felix hosts an LGBT event when the parade is taking place.

His transgender advocacy continues with his introduction of a City Council resolution in support of the statewide Transgender Civil Rights Bill — passed unanimously this year on March 9th. He also issued an official resolution celebrating the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s 10-year anniversary, stating, “With this milestone, we have a great opportunity to recognize the service MTPC has provided to the transgender community. As Chair of the City Council’s committee that focuses on human rights, I am proud of our history of supporting LGBT rights and I understand the importance of continuing our work to promote equality."

Felix' progressive advocacy isn't limited to LGBTQ equality. He recognizes that members of the LGBTQ community are also concerned about libraries closing, education cuts, youth job cuts, small businesses suffering and supporting the #Occupy Movement. Shortly after taking office he brokered a compromise that ended a long-running contract dispute between Mayor Menino and the firefighters union. When the mayor proposed a plan to close four libraries, Felix took the lead forcing the Menino to abandon his short-sighted cost-saving plan. When Arizona passed a law allowing police to ask people for their papers if they have "reasonable suspicion" they are illegal immigrants, Felix led the effort to divest in Arizona companies that do business with Boston.

Even before the #Occupy Movement highlighted nefarious practices by big banks, Felix called for a council hearing to discuss which banks the city now uses and to investigate how to give priority for city funds to banks that "invest locally by supporting small business, lending to home buyers, have a foreclosure prevention plan and invest in Boston-based development projects." In response to concerns about how much #OccupyBoston is costing the city in police overtime, Felix said, "The question is, though, what the cost is to the city if we don't change our economic practices now, what is the cost then and that's the lens I hope we [use to] look at this, to say what is the cost to all of us if we continue on this track, if we continue on the track where 99% of the population is essentially struggling and 1% has all our wealth."

Ayanna Pressley is a newcomer to the Boston City Council, but before being elected to her first term she was at LGBTQ community events asking how she could help the community. Ayanna listens and responds to the needs of an ever growing and changing Boston. Her advocacy reflects the voices and the issues of those who are often marginalized or underrepresented in our local government.

In her first term, she has supported our transgender community by authoring a resolution that gained the unanimous support of the entire City Council urging the Legislature to extend equal rights and protections to our transgender friends, neighbors and constituents. She has said numerous times that it is unconscionable for us to allow any member of our community to be treated as a second class citizen and denied basic protections in the workplace.

Ayanna has taken on addressing sexual education in our schools. There is nothing controversial about providing our young people with a medically accurate, age appropriate, culturally competent sexual education curriculum, including teaching healthy behaviors and responsible decision-making. The only controversial thing would be to sit back and do nothing while our young people were left to rely on their peers, the Internet or pornography for sexual health information.

Ayanna has spoken up about the high rate of suicide attempts among our LGBTQ youth and that is critical there is an early intervention to ensure bullying of youth and particularly LGBTQ youth, is addressed at an early age, and that LGBTQ youth have access to teachers and counselors who can provide the necessary support during what can be an isolating and painful time in their life.

Ayanna is taking on public accommodations discrimination, because no one should be treated unfairly because of who they are or what they look like. Several months ago, she demanded an investigation after the Cure Lounge barred black Harvard alumni and graduate students from their own private party. In recent weeks, her office has seen other establishments cited for similar incidents. However, while many people associate the public accommodation laws in Boston with racial discrimination, there is a growing need to educate licensed venues to protect our LGBTQ community. Boston’s LGBTQ community is growing- which is something we should take pride in- but with the growth occurring in neighborhoods not traditionally home to significant LGBTQ populations, there is an increased need to educate licensed venues about their legal obligations. Additionally, while incidents of blatant discrimination are more easily addressed legally, we must also respond to more subtle harassment and intimidation that can take place inside our venues.

It's important that we re-elect Felix and Ayanna to represent us on the Boston City Council. They're advocacy on a range of progressive issues has given a voice to the LGBT community, communities of color, women, youth, workers, and poor people. What's critical is that they understand that there are intersections of oppression and that these issues are not isolated. This is evident by the high number of endorsements they've each received on SoJust's Progressive Voter Index (www.ProgressiveVoterIndex.com). A vote for Felix and Ayanna is a vote for a more progressive Boston.

A low turn-out is expected, so every single vote matters! Not sure where to vote? Visit www.wheredoivotema.com. Polls are open Tuesday, November 8th from 7am-8pm.

Robbie Samuels

www.RobbieSamuels.com

www.twitter.com/RobbieSamuels

Gunner Scott

www.GunnerScott.com

www.twitter.com/MrGunnerScott

Only 20 days into Occupy Boston

2011-10-24T23:48:00.000-04:00

Occupy Boston 9/30/2011 "We are the 99%"

2011-10-01T11:34:00.000-04:00

A few quick photos from Alaska

2011-09-11T19:04:00.001-04:00

I took over 1400 hundred photos while in Alaska. The weather was not participating, it was rainy, cloudy and gray the majority of the trip, like 90% of the time, but I got a few good shots. It will take me some time to go through them all, but that is part of the fun of traveling, looking back.

Boston Waterfront

2011-08-10T17:07:00.000-04:00

Night Photography: Do Not Attempt in Boston

2011-07-26T22:36:00.001-04:00

One of the assignments for my photo class was to take a night photo. Being a procrastinator this past week, I decided to just shoot some photos near an intersection not far from my house. I wanted to get th blur effect of the cars going by. Not a few minutes into taking a some pictures, which are long exposures 5 to 10 seconds, a car drives by then backs up, so I move up onto the side walk, off the side of the road. The window rolls down, the car reeks of pot smoke, and a head pops out and growls "Hey you taking pictures of my license plate?"

To which I reply "No, I am taking pictures of the street" in a tone that implies his question was the most ridiculous in the world.

He shakes his head, swears at me under his breath and drives away. I keep backing up onto the sidewalk into the shadows until he turns the corner.

I was a bit shaken.

About five years ago, I was in the middle of a shooting at Forest Hills T station. Literally in the middle between the shooter and the guy he was shooting at. Like all parts of the city, there is violence in the section I live in, not often, but it happens. Generally, I feel comfortable walking around Boston, but I was a bit anxious to be standing outside on a dark side street with a camera on a tripod.

When I have traveled in Europe I have often felt like I was going to be pick-pocketed at any moment and in a few places, like the Eiffel Tower at night, that I might get mugged. I don't feel that level of anxiety in Boston usually, but lately with what seems to be an increase in street crime and having been harassed on the street a few times lately I just feel less inclined to be outside in the evenings.

So after the incident I finished up quickly, only taking 16 photos and not very well. The one above was the best out of all of them. Most were too blurred from shaking the camera, because I was not taking my time. I think I will practice this technique when it gets a bit colder out, there will be less people out and about.

Sunset Marigolds

2011-07-24T20:06:00.000-04:00

Norway, Maine

2011-07-11T00:36:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I drove up to Western Maine to help at the Norway Arts Festival for a dear friend, Goddard Alum, and the owner of Bliss Healing Arts in Maine. I ran the sound for the "Dancers on the Green" Next to the Norway Memorial Library. Saturday started at 7:30 am for me with set up and then the dance sets went from 9:15 am until 11 am. There were several belly dance troupes and a modern dance troupe all performing for a small audience sitting on lawn chairs on a grassy area. I love small town festivals.

I spent the afternoon wandering about taking photos. The bulk of my photo taking was for Olas Flamenco Music and Dance, in which one of the dancers was also a friend and Goddard Alum. If you get a chance to see them, take it! Seriously amazing.

I finished up the trip with drive around Paris, Maine to get some classic New England shots.

Fog Covered Beaches of Provincetown

2011-06-20T00:08:00.000-04:00

Summer is Starting at SOWA

2011-06-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

Jamaica Pond in Winter

2011-01-17T20:12:00.000-05:00

Who did I donate to this year? Trans, Queers, Lions, and Higher Ed

2010-12-29T22:18:00.000-05:00

Did you know the majority of donors to non-profit organizations are middle to lower income folks? Yes, its true. So as one of those types of donors I wanted to share which organizations I gave to this year. I typically give two ways, monthly or one-time donations. Most of the organizations I tend to support are local, smaller, and focused usually on transgender communities or LGBT. This past year I have added animal welfare and a college to giving list. There is still time to give your end of the year donation(s) or how about a New Year's Resolution of becoming a monthly donor, giving just $10 or $20 each month goes a long way for many organizations and monthly donors provide stable funding so organizations can spend more time doing their work.

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) - http://www.masstpc.org/
MTPC is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.

Even though I work here, I still give, because I believe that much in this organization. We are turning 10 years old next year! In this past year we assisted over 70 people dealing with discrimination or identity document issues, presented over 44 trainings, and produced a number of materials.

National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) - http://transequality.org/
(NCTE) is a 501(c)3 social justice organization dedicated to advancing the equality of transgender people through advocacy, collaboration and empowerment.

I was the first donor to NCTE when the organization was still forming, because I believed and still do that we need a strong independent national organization that focuses on issues facing transgender people on the Federal level. NCTE assisted with getting the passport gender marker policy changed, has worked with the TSA about trans air passengers and is working on a boatload of other policy changes on the Federal level.

Equality Federation - http://www.equalityfederation.org/
Equality Federation is the national alliance of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organizations. The Federation works to achieve equality for lgbt people in every state and territory by building strong and sustainable statewide organizations in a state-based movement.

Most (almost all) of the changes for LGBT rights has been on the state and local level and every state needs a strong LGBT and trans organization and the Equality Federation helps to provide tools, resources and support to state-level LGBT and Trans groups (like MTPC) that's why I support Equality Federation and I am on the board. Equality Federation also was very vocal about supporting a trans inclusive ENDA.

The Network/La Red: Ending abuse in lesbian, bisexual women's and transgender communities
Acabando con el abuso en comunidades de lesbianas, de mujeres bisexuales y de gente transgénero
http://www.thenetworklared.org/

This organization saves lives. Seriously, as a survivor myself and a former staffer I can think of no other organization that does such amazing work in environment that does not always recognize the issue of domestic violence in LGBT communities.

Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth (BAGLY) - http://www.bagly.org/

Our youth need support, empowerment, and some place to just be themselves and BAGLY does all that plus so much more

Goddard College - http://www.goddard.edu/
Its mission is to advance the theory and practice of learning by undertaking new experiments based upon the ideals of democracy and the principles of progressive education asserted by John Dewey. At Goddard, students are regarded as unique individuals who will take charge of their learning and collaborate with other students, staff, and faculty to build a strong community. Goddard encourages students to become creative, passionate, lifelong learners, working and living with an earnest concern for others and for the welfare of the Earth.

I had such a great experience at Goddard as an older student, as a trans person, as an extremely busy person that needed to finish their degree and Goddard let me be me and helped me to like school, writing and researching.

Trans Emergency Fund (TEF) - http://tgemergencyfund.org/
The Transgender Emergency Fund (TEF) first opened in 2008. Since then, we have distributed more than $18,000 of financial assistance to low-income trans people throughout the state of Massachusetts. We are one of the first funds of its kind in that our efforts are focused on providing relief to low-income transgender community members.

TEF can mean the difference between a trans person being in their home or homeless. Once a person becomes homeless it is extremely difficult to get back into housing, even with a job, if someone can even keep a job with out a stable place to live. TEF's gives small grants to those who are dealing with extreme poverty and need to make their rent or pay a light bill or get their ID changed. Being trans for some means a downward spiral into poverty because of discrimination.

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders GLAD - http://www.glad.org/
Founded in 1978, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England’s leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.

Because laws don't change themselves, an old GLAD tag line that just sticks with me. GLAD is one of the few larger orgs that I support, but I see their work hand in hand with MTPC's.

and

Born Free Foundation - http://www.bornfree.org.uk/
The Born Free Foundation is a dynamic international wildlife charity, devoted to compassionate conservation and animal welfare. Born Free takes action worldwide to protect threatened species and stop individual animal suffering. Born Free believes wildlife belongs in the wild and works to phase out zoos. We rescue animals from lives of misery in tiny cages and give them lifetime care.
Born Free protects lions, elephants, tigers, gorillas, wolves, polar bears, dolphins, marine turtles and many more species in their natural habitat, working with local communities to help people and wildlife live together without conflict.
This is new one for me, I am specifically giving to the campaign for lions, because they are close to becoming endangered. I think that if animals cannot live free then at least they should be in sanctuaries that provide as close to natural habitat as possible. Born Free also does advocacy work for laws and policy changes for animal welfare.

Queer the Census - not really counted, but fun to do

2010-03-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

To get your own sticker go to http://www.queerthecensus.org/

Homage to Wonder Woman

2010-03-08T00:47:00.000-05:00

I created this piece for a friend's birthday. His party was a Wonder Woman theme, so I thought an art piece that reflected his admiration of Wonder Woman was appropriate.

On bristol board with acrylic paint and ink jet photos.

Traveling

2010-02-21T12:16:00.000-05:00

Looking out the window while flying from Boston to Dallas 2/3/10

Traveling

I do a lot of traveling in a year, usually for work, meaning something trans-related. This means some kind of conference, lobby day, meeting, or event. I have the airport check-in down to a science with the type of bag I carry, shoes I wear, and right sized toiletries. I still get a bit stressed out that I am going to miss my flight, but overall I get annoyed by the inconvenience of the lines.

I am amazed how much I fly these days. I had not been on airplane until I was almost 20 years old. Flying was just way to expensive for my family. If we wanted to go on vacation we got into the wood paneled station wagon and drove to another state like Pennsylvania or Maine. Then we would all cram into one hotel room, 2 adults and 4 kids, until each kid had melt down at least once and each parent threatened to either take us home early or leave one us on the side of the rode (neither event happened and I never feared that they would).

Our longest drive when I was a kid was to Florida and back to go to the ultimate childhood destination of Disney World. This was long before its expansion, when it was still just the "Magic Kingdom." I actually don't remember much except for being totally terrified on the Space Mountain ride and really wanting a pair of Mickey Mouse ears (which I never got). I do remember going to Sea World and petting Shamu the killer whale and the smell of oranges.

Even without a lot of money my parents tried to gives a the middle class style of life, at least by having us go on vacation every year. We may have gone to some of the middle class destinations like Disney World, but we still ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that my mom made instead of going out to lunch everyday or went the amusement park after 4p when the entrance fee was discounted. Vacations that didn't involve pitching a tent in the backyard meant planning and saving for at least a year in my family. To this day, I still can't believe we did some of these trips with the number of kids and the amount of money my parents made.

My mother called me the other night and asked if I wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise with her, its an all inclusive deal. Half-jokingly, I asked if we were going to drive up to meet the boat so we wouldn't have to pay for the airfare to get to Seattle, she is probably calculating the cost savings. I know if I do save up to do this, which I will have to do because vacations like this are still out my price range, and we do go she will have packed peanut butter and jelly so we can make sandwiches in our cabin for lunch.

Dear Massachusetts

2010-01-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

This is not the end - it is just the beginning.

This is the time to stand up, speak out, and work even harder for what we believe in. Be sad for the next few hours then dust yourself off and keep on going. Change is always painful and slow and sometimes there are big boulders in the way. This is just boulder and with a few more hands and some time we can move it.

Vote for Martha Coakley

2010-01-18T13:34:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder this blog represents only my personal views, not the views of any organization that I am or have been affiliated with.

This Tuesday is going to be a big day.

I was asked by someone close to me in my life how I could just let the Republicans take away the Senate seat here in Massachusetts. Well, it is not just up to me to get Martha Coakley elected, its up to all of us here in Massachusetts and those of you outside the state with friends and family here. Its up to us to vote on Tuesday and remind, bug, pester, and bug some more our friends and family to go vote and to go vote for Martha Coakley.

Martha Coakley was the first state wide politician to publicly support the Trans Civil Rights Bill, H1728/S1687.

The Republican candidate does not. I have no expectations he will be our friend or could even learn to tolerate us. He has never voted for any pro-LGBT legislation in the state, including gay adoption.

I am voting on Tuesday and I am voting for Martha Coakley.

New habits

2010-01-13T01:18:00.000-05:00

I was recently given a Kindle, the electronic book reader, and I think it is pretty great. It is like an iPod for print. No more lugging around a giant book, I carry enough already. Since my Kindle acquirement I decided it was time for me read regularly print news besides the Metro so I subscribed to the Boston Globe via the Kindle. Two days in and I have read most of the daily editions, some on the train in the morning and the rest in the evening. I am totally into it.

After graduating for Goddard late last year I took a little reading break. I had been reading about three books and several journal articles every three weeks for school and towards the end I was tired of reading. Now, I am ready to consume the written word again, especially since it is in such an easy to handle package. I have not quite mastered the notes and highlighting feature, but I can clip articles and save them. Handy feature when I want to refer back to some study or statistic in a grant or training.

Do I still have over three giant bookshelves of books? Yes. Will I never buy another book in paper format again? Probably not, the Kindle I have only shows photos in black/white and seeing has I am into photography books, they just would not be the same. There are so many books, especially GLBT books, not yet available for the Kindle or any other reading device like it, but there is a good selection of travel essays, food essays, and fiction to keep me happy for long time. The Boston Globe arrives to my device every morning, probably hours before even wake up, that is pretty cool.

New Year/Decade

2010-01-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

In four short months I will be turning 40, unbelievable. I did complete two of my goals from the last decade. One was to graduate from college before turning 40, success twenty years after I had tried for the first time. The second was to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

I am not one for making resolutions or even some semblance of a life plan, just an occasional goal which often stems from some dream or desire sparked by curiosity or some other internal compass pointing in a direction I just need to go in. Besides graduating from college, the other goals that have been kicking around for a decade or so mostly involve travel. Specifically, Paris and India. I have no idea why Paris, but the thought of sitting in a cafe in Paris drinking coffee, eating cheese and bread on some Parisian street corner after touring the Louvre makes my heart swoon with the thought. A more recent trip desire has been to go to India. I blame the many travel essays I tend to read on for this desired destination. I would like to see the Buddhist temples, visit the town the Dalai Lama resides in while exiled, and just experience the many cultures that continent has to offer.

So in the tradition of having some vague goals/desires for this next decade, Paris and India are still on the list, having a small dog at some point, and doing more art, maybe even professionally.

So to close out 2009 photos from a short series titled From Inside Out: Camera lenses from a car window

Commonwealth Ave to Kenmore, Boston, MA

Vermont I 89

Thank you

2009-12-25T23:35:00.000-05:00

I just want to take a moment and thank the many people who share amazing gifts with me. Gifts like love, listening, and treating me like a real person who is human and many times makes awful mistakes, yet forgive me for such failings. I have been especially thankful for the lovely conversations I have had this past week with wonderful people about art, books, food and music, with very little about the state of trans activism. Thank you for this break.

When cats are forced to celebrate holidays

2009-12-23T13:30:00.000-05:00

Graham is thinking about escape, but this holiday shirt will give him away on the streets. At least it's not an ugly Christmas sweater.

Sunset on Snow Day

2009-12-20T16:41:00.000-05:00

Snow Day

2009-12-20T16:21:00.000-05:00

Means loading up the breadmaker for fresh loaf of honey wheat bread, laundry, and puttering... lots of puttering. I am starting my two vacation, this will be my first consecutive two weeks off without homework, being at a residency for school, or overlapping with a conference since 2007. I have plans, probably more than I have time for all that I want to do, but it will be delicious not to be trying to keep all the balls in the air for a two weeks.

I will be going to Vermont for a few days to visit friends, going out to a few clubs and parties, and organizing my home office. I never really did organize my office when we moved, I just kind of dumped everything on the desk. So its time to toss, archive, file, and clear off some surfaces.

Here is a shot of Goddard's Campus from February 2007

I also just got a new lens for my old school film camera - Nikon N70. I am going to go buy some film (do they still sell film?) this week and go out and about to do some shooting. Of course I will have to get it developed at CVS or something, but it will be fun to use the camera anyways.

Season's Greetings from the White House

2009-12-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

I went to the post office box this morning to get MTPC's mail and along with some returned fund raising letters was this heavy cream colored envelop embossed with "The White House." Inside was a Season's Greetings Card from Barack and Michelle Obama... Okay I swooned just a little as it was addressed to me. I made it onto the "list" now maybe I will be invited to one of those state dinners... as transgender person it would be unwise for me to crash one.

More pics from San Fran

2009-12-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

I know its been almost week since I went, but I got the rest of the photos uploaded and wanted to share. Overall, I had good time in San Francisco, but I am not sure if I would want to live there. There are three different bus/subway lines that cross over Oakland and San Fran and they all require a different pass or exact change, that is a bit crazy.

I did have lunch with the only other queer from my high school (that is out) and it was fantastic to see him. We met in the Castro for sushi. He is quite funny and very sweet, hopefully we will catch up when he is back in Mass for Xmas with his family. I totally missed him playing though (he is still a musician) as I had already committed to going to K'vetch with folks from the Equality Federation board meeting I was attending.

K'vetch was a throw back for me. There were some folks that read that I had read at Gender Crash so long ago and much like Gender Crash was there was the good, the bad, and wow open mic pieces.
On my last day of sightseeing before the board meeting I went to the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art.

Where am I today...

2009-12-10T15:27:00.000-05:00

I am at Google's office in Cambridge learning about all their free products for non-profits. Hopefully, I will get some new tools for organizing MTPC and my work. This is timely as I am currently (or really never ending) drowning in emails and phone calls to return. I currently use many google products including having a phone that is google enabled.

At lunchtime, I was at the State House at the Commonwealth Seminar end of the year event with the keynote from Gov. Deval Patrick. The Commonwealth Seminar provides legislative training, networking opportunities with top policymakers, and public service job opportunities for diverse leaders in Massachusetts. I hope to build a relationship with this organization in order to get transgender folks into the trainings, myself included.

Where will I be tomorrow? Hopefully in my office catching up on all those emails and phone calls.

I took off for the west coast and encountered an orange toe biting furball

2009-12-05T00:11:00.000-05:00

I am in San Fransisco, technically for my third time, but my first trip was for less than 36 hours and my second - I spent really in Oakland, in a hotel conference room and only ate dinner in San Fran on my way to the airport. This time I have two days to site see and then I will be stuck in a hotel conference room. So today, the big plan was to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, by public transit. That was a feat in itself, the maps at the stations - not so helpful and the tour books gave suggested public transit routes, but I felt like I was going in circles until I took out my phone with GPS.

Let me tell you I fell in love with my phone all over again, I put in my destination and hit the directions on transit and BAM! bus routes right from where I was standing... told me which bus to get on, what bus to change to about how long each ride would take. I got myself all over the place with that handy GPS and google maps feature, even back to where I a staying in Oakland. Granted, I missed my bus stop by 4 blocks, but that was my fault, I couldn't see the street signs in the dark.

So for $12 Bart fare and $2 bus ride I went to from Oakland to Golden Gate Bridge, to Russian Hill, to Chinatown, to Union Square, and back to Oakland. Cheaper than a rental car or zip car. I even managed to find a Trader Joe's along the way and pick up some dried mango and chocolate.

Some shots from today

Seriously... it was Wednesday an hour ago

2009-12-03T00:50:00.000-05:00

I totally let this week slip away. I am leaving for San Fransisco in about 12 hours and I still needed to do laundry, pack, organize, figure out where I am going and how I am going to get around while I am there... oh yeah breathe. Not to mention some transphobic BS blowing up just before I left the office that required some attention and time... breathe.

Fred is beside himself with the sight of my bag packed, pacing, chirping, and pushing things over. He is more bonded to me... for this cat, I am his person.

I hope he doesn't act up and tear up the place while I am gone.

World AIDS Day 2009

2009-12-02T00:06:00.000-05:00

I attended the Medicine Wheel at the Cyclorama earlier this evening with a friend who had never been before. It seemed so bright in there this year in past years I remember it feeling dimly lit which made the space seem more intimate. The space feeling larger and brighter was probably because the installation consisted of quite a bit of black ink block prints on white paper. It still quieted my heart to be there.

My favorite cousin died of AIDS during what I call the first wave, the early years. He was the older one, probably 17 when the rest of cousins were still under 10 years old. I didn't find out he had died until almost ten years after his death. No one ever talked about him being gay, let alone be dying of some new virus. It wasn't until his father's funeral, my uncle, did we find out, in quiet whispers in the back room of the funeral parlor, that he was gay and that he had died in the 80's of that "gay disease" - like it was dirty secret.

What is the dirty secret that needs to be told is the number of transgender people, most being transgender women, that have died of AIDS or who are living with HIV, but we never hear about them. Mostly, because that data is wrapped up in with the same data collected for those labeled MSM - Men who have sex with men. Not exactly the label I would use for someone who is MTF, not even close. As for FTM's well we are almost completely invisible, yet I keeping meeting FTMs who are living with HIV more and more.

AIDS is still killing us.

No photos today, but...

2009-11-30T23:00:00.000-05:00

I did have a pretty amazing dinner with a friend. I like food and food I think, likes me, maybe a bit too much. Anyways, I had the "Italian butcher block with cheeses" small plate at Ivy - with a fig & cherry balsamic compote, assorted fruits, toasted almonds, sweet chili honey, a selection of cheeses, grilled crostini, and a warm goat cheese crouton.

The goat cheese crouton was amazing, crispy on the outside and warm and slightly melted on the inside, a very upscale version of the "fried mozzarella stick" without all the heavy oily feeling of it. I also loved the fig & cherry balsamic compote especially on the rustic bread. I was not crazy about the honey with sweet chili, the chili overpowered it a bit much. The meats were okay, one nice salami, but the other looked and tasted like sandwich meat from my 6th grade school lunches. A prosciutto would have been a better choice, especially for the price.

My dinner companion had a house salad feled greens, kalamata olives, artichokes, roasted cherry tomatoes, and a goat cheese crostini which looked good and not skimpy. We also shared a black pepper tuna, which was seared and served rare, it was quite good.

No dessert, but overall it was good choice for quick bit after work.

Concepts, creativity, and hopefully drama

2009-11-29T18:29:00.000-05:00

I have decided I must come up with some kind of photographic concept for slide show film-esque piece similar to how Nan Golden first presented The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. She showed the slides continuously with a backdrop of music and let the images tell a story, as images should. I don't want the theme to be the same as hers, just the concept of showing it.

I spent the afternoon taking a bunch of shots in the Arboretum, mostly of tree bark. It is so textual. With winter fast approaching the colors were mostly grey, brown and misty and the trees looked like spindly arms reaching out towards the sky.

After wandering around I came up with contrasting and comparing layers that surround living things, like trees, pets, humans, and plants... that one is a maybe. The second idea was based off the idea of a birthday party, that one will need some willing souls to model for it.

Where did last month go

2009-11-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have been hectic with Trans Awareness Week, seeing the amazing Kate Borstein, Trans Day of Remembrance, and criss-crossing a Massachusetts a few times in one week. Now, I am recovering from Thanksgiving, which includes making various dishes that include turkey, like soup, pot pie, and anything else I can safely hide turkey in.

Last month I replaced my six year old digital camera, it was high tech at the time with a 3.2 megapixels, my current cell phone camera has more megapixels. So like I do for all gadget purchases, I research what what is out there and who likes what. I then go to the store and circle the camera counter for about an hour checking out all the features, realizing the one I thought I was going to buy relies on old school batteries, so knock that off the list, until I finally settle on a 12.2 megapixel Fuji. It is almost the exact same size as my old camera, but much more features and bigger LCD screen. I have been at the store for a good 40 minutes.

This is the type of place you need a sales associate to come over and get the merchandise for you. The whole time I was circling there were 2-3 sales people where right near by, but as soon as I want to pay for something, they ignore me. First, I thought okay they are just busy, but when I approached one he turned away from me and walked over to a couple that had not even made it to the counter yet. I stood waiting 10, 15, 20 minutes, then I thought why should I give these guys my money, why should they get a commission from my sale. I walked out and drove to another store where I was immediately helped.

Overall, I like the camera, I mean it's no digital slr, but for a point and shoot it works. Of course I have to remember to take pictures now and then.

Can a self-described work-a-holic be overworked?

2009-10-01T00:35:00.000-04:00

I think I could literally work 24 hours a day seven days a week and still not completely clear my to do list. Working for transgender rights and fighting against discrimination takes a lot of time and resources. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I have no down time, ever. I know that many folks take those quick internet breaks to check facebook or whatever, but I don't even have time for that, there is just too much to do for one person. Part of the problem is that I want to do everything, because the issues that affect my community are just so huge and need to be tackled. The other part of the problem is that I am a self-diagnosed work-a-holic. Lastly, the issues that affect my community are so huge and so varied that they need more than one person who full-time paid job is devoted to this. It is true I have several talented and dedicated volunteers and interns that do an amazing amount of work, but the need/demand is greater than the current resources.

What triggered this micro burst? I was just trying to clean out my in box. I did get down from over 4500 emails to just below 3900, progress for 12:30 am. So some of my friends and colleagues will wake up to a long over due email tomorrow morning and others, well they are still waiting.

Narratives

2009-09-28T00:16:00.000-04:00

I am having writer's block or I am just tired, could be a little of both. I am pondering an essay about the announcement of Chaz Bono writing a memoir about his transition... mostly because I am feeling mixed about this. Is there a need for another transperson medical transition narrative? I am sure someone is screaming "YES, it is a good educational tool!"

I am not so convinced, I just don't think we need to justify ourselves in order to put non-transpeople at ease, to make them comfortable with us. Shoot, I am doing quite enough just to be comfortable with myself, let alone the rest of the world.

I would personally like to read about trans folks lives after the "coming out and the medical transition" narrative. There must be something interesting about us after we have transitioned, like how for some of us we lose our incomes and our class standing. For others, we gain some measure of privilege, but it too can be taken away if we are outed. But that's just me...

I will ponder this some more.

Coakley for U.S. Senate, yes…

2009-09-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

In response to last week's column by Jeff Epperly in Bay Windows newspaper

Letter to the Editor:

I think that Jeff Epperly needs a reality check when it comes to recognizing the all work Martha Coakley has done for the LGBT community as State Attorney General. First, when Martha Coakley was the Middlesex District Attorney she reached out to and built relationships with LGBT domestic violence programs like the one I was working for at the time, The Network/La Red. Standing up for survivors of same-sex domestic violence doesn’t happen nearly enough in the LGBT community, let alone with the larger criminal justice system, but that was something Martha Coakley just did.

Second, as State Attorney General, Martha Coakley came out early for transgender civil rights as the first statewide elected official to publicly supporting “An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes.” In addition to supporting the transgender civil rights bill, since taking office she has sought civil rights injunctions in numerous cases involving hate crimes against LGBT victims. This included obtaining a civil rights injunction against two men who attacked a transgender teenage in a Dorchester pizza shop. Typically, transgender people, especially young people, are ignored by our criminal justice system, but this has not been the case with Martha Coakley.

Additionally, the staff in her office respond to every referral I have made regarding situations of mistreatment and discrimination against members of the transgender community. This type of action from her staff reflects Martha Coakley’s own strong commitment to the LGBT community and serving those whose voices are not always represented. I feel that Martha Coakley stands up for those who have traditionally been shut out of the system. Whether they are victims of violence, transgender teens, or same-sex couples that seek to have their relationships recognized by our federal government, she has been a strong advocate as our State Attorney General. No one will ever be Senator Kennedy, but I strongly believe that Martha Coakley will continue in the role of advocating for those who are less privileged, for all the citizens of Massachusetts, and in the best interests of the Commonwealth as our Senator in Washington DC.

This represents my own opinion and not that of any organization I work for or have worked for.

Welcome

2009-09-23T02:06:00.000-04:00

I have been called "blunt," "intimidating," and "serious" by those that only know me through my trans activist work, but my friends would probably say that I am bit dorky, funny, and not at all like my pictures. Well I am not sure about all that, but I am definitely not a WWF wrestler. You might have thought that Brent Allbright's manager might have googled "Gunner Scott" before suggesting it has new stage name for the wrestler. Well either way he gave up that stage name and I stopped getting emails from 14 year boys wanting to know the latest wresting moves. My usual response to such emails was "I am sorry but I am not the wrestler Gunner Scott, but actually the transgender activist Gunner Scott. For more information about transgenderism please visit Gender Talk's definition page Transgenderism: Transgressing Gender Norms"

As you might imagine, I don't think I won any new fans with these kids, but it was fun while it lasted. Now that I have gotten the url gunnerscott.com away from the impostor it brings you to this, a blog. How often will I write? Depends on how much of my time isn't sucked by stupid people doing mean things to trans people and me having to write, call, email, or yell at them for doing it. What will I write about?

Well, I will probably mention my cats, Fred and Bert, at least every other blog post and the rest... I guess that will depend on what I am either cranky or happy about it. Anyways... maybe I will take requests about topics or maybe I will just go on about the joys of my bread maker. I figure if I could have written 304 pages for BA thesis I can get out at least a handful sentences for this blog.

If your an editor of some kind of academic journal and want to publish a thesis about the 2007 ENDA implosion, trans people being written out of gay rights history, and the work of transgender activists of today, email me about the thesis. Otherwise it lives on shelf in the Goddard College library.