Maine FTM's' Journal (original) (raw)

maine transgender law	[14 Dec 2008\|08:14pm]
Hey everyone,I am having a problem with my employer. Management told me that I have to wear a name badge that has my legal name on it (although other employees wear nicknames or shortened names on their badges) and that I must not use the single-stall, locking men's restroom. I referred them to the Title 5 amendment in Maine law that prohibits discrimination against people because of gender identity.I'm having a bit of trouble finding out how this law can or has been interpreted, especially with regards to name usage and bathroom access. The only clarifying language I find in the statutes referring to Title 5 use the word "disability," which doesn't seem appropriate for the situation.Maine law is found here: http://maine.gov/portal/government/law.htmlA search for "sexual orientation" will turn up Title 5 and definitions, and a search for "gender identity" turns up an explanatory definition page (where the word disability is found, seems to be in blanket reference to title 5 but i can't tell.)Any help I can get on this is so great. Thank you for your time. :)Brandon
1 comment\|post comment

[14 Dec 2008|08:14pm]

Hey everyone,I am having a problem with my employer. Management told me that I have to wear a name badge that has my legal name on it (although other employees wear nicknames or shortened names on their badges) and that I must not use the single-stall, locking men's restroom. I referred them to the Title 5 amendment in Maine law that prohibits discrimination against people because of gender identity.I'm having a bit of trouble finding out how this law can or has been interpreted, especially with regards to name usage and bathroom access. The only clarifying language I find in the statutes referring to Title 5 use the word "disability," which doesn't seem appropriate for the situation.Maine law is found here: http://maine.gov/portal/government/law.htmlA search for "sexual orientation" will turn up Title 5 and definitions, and a search for "gender identity" turns up an explanatory definition page (where the word disability is found, seems to be in blanket reference to title 5 but i can't tell.)Any help I can get on this is so great. Thank you for your time. :)Brandon

1 comment|post comment

Queer Youth & Allies Writing Project	[14 May 2008\|10:44pm]
WRITERS: Add Verb Productions presents: Queer and Ally Youth Writing Project We are looking for Performance Texts from: Writers age 12-24 Genres – all texts created to be performed Queer, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, questioning and allies Short plays, monologues, scenes,spoken word poetry, songs, stories, etc We hope to present pieces surrounding the idea of allies. Allies helping those within the queer community, queers being helped by allies, and queers being allies to others in the queer community. If any of your writings reflect these ideas please send them my way! Send submissions to ellis.d.perry@gmail.com Submissions will be reviewed by a Youth Editorial Team, under the guidance of Add Verb staff and artists, and may receive feedback for further development before put into final script. Submissions accepted through June 2008 Thanks if you can and thanks anyway if you can't. Please forward this to anyone you feel might be able to contribute.
post comment

Queer Youth & Allies Writing Project

[14 May 2008|10:44pm]

WRITERS: Add Verb Productions presents: Queer and Ally Youth Writing Project We are looking for Performance Texts from: Writers age 12-24 Genres – all texts created to be performed Queer, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, questioning and allies Short plays, monologues, scenes,spoken word poetry, songs, stories, etc We hope to present pieces surrounding the idea of allies. Allies helping those within the queer community, queers being helped by allies, and queers being allies to others in the queer community. If any of your writings reflect these ideas please send them my way! Send submissions to ellis.d.perry@gmail.com Submissions will be reviewed by a Youth Editorial Team, under the guidance of Add Verb staff and artists, and may receive feedback for further development before put into final script. Submissions accepted through June 2008 Thanks if you can and thanks anyway if you can't. Please forward this to anyone you feel might be able to contribute.

post comment

Transgender study	[20 Feb 2008\|02:39pm]
Greetings,My name is Branden . I am an adult trans guy living in Portland and I am a full-time student at USM, enrolled in the undergraduate Social Work program. I recently took a job as a research assistant with one of the professors at school. He is Jim Messerschmidt, a Sociology professor in the Criminology Department who is also active in the Women and Gender Studies program. He is the process of doing research for a book about transgender people. The title of his study is: _TRANS_FORMED AS YOUTH: UNRAVELING THE SEX-GENDER-SEXUALITY NEXUS. He is doing interviews with transgender folks, taking oral histories. My job is to locate participants for the study. The study has Institutional Review Board approval . Participants must be willing to complete two interviews. The first is about 3 hours long and then if needed, a second interview to clarify things from the first interview. The second interview should be shorter than the first. Jim is willing to travel (within reason) to do the interview, or the participant can meet him at the university (this is ideal). I was interviewed myself last week. The process was quite painless and actually very interesting to dig around inside myself. Ideally, participants are between 18 and 25, and began to transition before they turned 18. With that said, let me clarify some things. The age window is designed to draw participants who are still very much in touch with their youth and have vivid memories that they can convey; however, older subjects are welcome as long as they can be accurate and detailed about their youth without embellishing their story. Next, "to begin transitioning before age 18" simply means that they had some awareness that they did not fit the mold of their assigned birth gender and they made some sort of declaration about this, either to themselves or to someone else. It does not mean that they had to begin medical intervention before 18. He would most like to speak to folks who span the continuum of gender expression. They can range in expression from "tomboys" and "Sissies" all the way to people who have completely transitioned and anywhere in between. Basically anyone who behaves or expresses their gender in a way that does not conform to the birth assigned gender.Send me your e-mail address and I can send you a copy of the research proposal (Microsoft Word document) for you to take a look at. I would appreciate it if you could pass along this info to folks that you may be in contact with. If they are willing to be interviewed, they can contact me at t_boi_blue at yahoo dot com and we can set up an interview. All information gathered is completely confidential and anything that may be published will be changed in such a way as to make it impossible to identify the participants. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you,Branden Parker
post comment

Transgender study

[20 Feb 2008|02:39pm]

Greetings,My name is Branden . I am an adult trans guy living in Portland and I am a full-time student at USM, enrolled in the undergraduate Social Work program. I recently took a job as a research assistant with one of the professors at school. He is Jim Messerschmidt, a Sociology professor in the Criminology Department who is also active in the Women and Gender Studies program. He is the process of doing research for a book about transgender people. The title of his study is: _TRANS_FORMED AS YOUTH: UNRAVELING THE SEX-GENDER-SEXUALITY NEXUS. He is doing interviews with transgender folks, taking oral histories. My job is to locate participants for the study. The study has Institutional Review Board approval . Participants must be willing to complete two interviews. The first is about 3 hours long and then if needed, a second interview to clarify things from the first interview. The second interview should be shorter than the first. Jim is willing to travel (within reason) to do the interview, or the participant can meet him at the university (this is ideal). I was interviewed myself last week. The process was quite painless and actually very interesting to dig around inside myself. Ideally, participants are between 18 and 25, and began to transition before they turned 18. With that said, let me clarify some things. The age window is designed to draw participants who are still very much in touch with their youth and have vivid memories that they can convey; however, older subjects are welcome as long as they can be accurate and detailed about their youth without embellishing their story. Next, "to begin transitioning before age 18" simply means that they had some awareness that they did not fit the mold of their assigned birth gender and they made some sort of declaration about this, either to themselves or to someone else. It does not mean that they had to begin medical intervention before 18. He would most like to speak to folks who span the continuum of gender expression. They can range in expression from "tomboys" and "Sissies" all the way to people who have completely transitioned and anywhere in between. Basically anyone who behaves or expresses their gender in a way that does not conform to the birth assigned gender.Send me your e-mail address and I can send you a copy of the research proposal (Microsoft Word document) for you to take a look at. I would appreciate it if you could pass along this info to folks that you may be in contact with. If they are willing to be interviewed, they can contact me at t_boi_blue at yahoo dot com and we can set up an interview. All information gathered is completely confidential and anything that may be published will be changed in such a way as to make it impossible to identify the participants. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you,Branden Parker

post comment

Intro	[04 Jan 2008\|04:12pm]
[ mood \| curious ] Hey all.My name is Mykah.I live in the Portland area,and have lived in Maine...Always.Ive been in and out of the transgendered closet for sometime now.I used to go to the Portland OutRight and at one of there weekend get aways is when I first figured out what transgendered was and some of the reasons why Ive felt this way.Anyway hope to meet some cool people.Mykah
post comment

Augusta, Maine	[02 Jan 2008\|08:51am]
Hey,I was wondering if anyone knew of any trans/LGBT groups in the Augusta Maine area? I know we had Outright at one point but that hasn't been going on for awhile. I live about ten minutes south of Augusta... so, I can't go to Portland once a week. :-P Anywhere in a 20 mile radius would be excellent.Thanks,Aidan
1 comment\|post comment

	[10 Aug 2007\|04:45pm]
Hey, my name is cole. I have gone through the process of getting a psychologist to write me a letter for T, but he needs me to find a doctor to see specifically what they require the letter to say. I don't know how to go about finding a trans friendly/knowlegable doctor. does anyone know of one in the greater portland area?
1 comment\|post comment

my intro	[13 Dec 2006\|10:10am]
Hey everyone.I thought I would take this time to introduce myself as its been pretty quiet around here, and well, I haven't done so yet. I grew up in Maine a long time ago, I haven't lived in Maine for nearly 10 years, but I have family there. Family I am about to come out to. I was going to wait until I visited to come out, but it is clearly becoming more and more difficult to do this. Especially if there is going to be any closeness with my family at all. I have family in Old Town, Orono, in and around Presque Isle. and an aunt and uncle who used to live in Portland, and I lived with them for a while when I was attending the U of S. Maine. They have moved further up in the state, and I can't remember exactly where they are now. When I was at USM, I was just coming out as a lesbian, and was one of the femmy "girls" who went to the Women's Centre whenever "she" could get there. Living with my Aunt and Uncle was very taxing because it was hard to hide liking girls sometimes. My aunt dropped me off at the women loving women conference one time, and I panicked when I saw the sign outside for it. My uncle asked me one time if I was a lesbian. I said no, I wasn't. actually.. it wasn't a lie...LOL.I graduated from Old Town High School in 1997, and only stayed in the area for a year or so before moving in with my boyfriend in Lewiston. It was in 1999 that I finally started attending USM and was then living with my aunt and uncle. I have been living as a male since late spring, and I only first discovered the gender stuff in January of this year. July 1st was the first day I went by my new name, and there's been no looking back since. I've never been truly happy with anything in life or with life itself until this summer, and I am doing quite well these days. I have just set up my first appt to see a doctor, and with it being at a queer health centre, I know things will be relatively smooth for all this. anyway, thats about all for now, I'm really happy to find a group like this. I know that whenever I am visiting my family, or vacationing or whatever, I will not be alone in the boonies that is Maine.. ;)thanks,j
post comment

my intro

[13 Dec 2006|10:10am]

Hey everyone.I thought I would take this time to introduce myself as its been pretty quiet around here, and well, I haven't done so yet. I grew up in Maine a long time ago, I haven't lived in Maine for nearly 10 years, but I have family there. Family I am about to come out to. I was going to wait until I visited to come out, but it is clearly becoming more and more difficult to do this. Especially if there is going to be any closeness with my family at all. I have family in Old Town, Orono, in and around Presque Isle. and an aunt and uncle who used to live in Portland, and I lived with them for a while when I was attending the U of S. Maine. They have moved further up in the state, and I can't remember exactly where they are now. When I was at USM, I was just coming out as a lesbian, and was one of the femmy "girls" who went to the Women's Centre whenever "she" could get there. Living with my Aunt and Uncle was very taxing because it was hard to hide liking girls sometimes. My aunt dropped me off at the women loving women conference one time, and I panicked when I saw the sign outside for it. My uncle asked me one time if I was a lesbian. I said no, I wasn't. actually.. it wasn't a lie...LOL.I graduated from Old Town High School in 1997, and only stayed in the area for a year or so before moving in with my boyfriend in Lewiston. It was in 1999 that I finally started attending USM and was then living with my aunt and uncle. I have been living as a male since late spring, and I only first discovered the gender stuff in January of this year. July 1st was the first day I went by my new name, and there's been no looking back since. I've never been truly happy with anything in life or with life itself until this summer, and I am doing quite well these days. I have just set up my first appt to see a doctor, and with it being at a queer health centre, I know things will be relatively smooth for all this. anyway, thats about all for now, I'm really happy to find a group like this. I know that whenever I am visiting my family, or vacationing or whatever, I will not be alone in the boonies that is Maine.. ;)thanks,j

post comment

Transgender Day of Rememberance event in Portland	[12 Oct 2006\|02:59pm]
Hey guys,I am on the planning committee for the Trans Day of Rememberance event being held in Portland on November 18th. I am currently looking for trans youth (not neccessarily FTM identified) who would be interested in participating on a panel for one of the workshops. If you are interested, or know of someone who might be, please contact me at kpscapes @ gmail . com. If you haven't done public speaking before and would like to give it a shot, I can help prepare you for the panel.If you're interested in volunteering for the event but don't want to speak on the panel, there are plenty of other things you can do. Just let me know. I'll be posting more info about the event as details become solidified.Feel free to forward this message.-Kaelx-posted to maine_ftm and queermaine
post comment

Transgender Day of Rememberance event in Portland

[12 Oct 2006|02:59pm]

Hey guys,I am on the planning committee for the Trans Day of Rememberance event being held in Portland on November 18th. I am currently looking for trans youth (not neccessarily FTM identified) who would be interested in participating on a panel for one of the workshops. If you are interested, or know of someone who might be, please contact me at kpscapes @ gmail . com. If you haven't done public speaking before and would like to give it a shot, I can help prepare you for the panel.If you're interested in volunteering for the event but don't want to speak on the panel, there are plenty of other things you can do. Just let me know. I'll be posting more info about the event as details become solidified.Feel free to forward this message.-Kaelx-posted to maine_ftm and queermaine

post comment

	[14 Sep 2006\|07:47pm]
Trans group - mondays at PFS Transgender social and support group will be meeting MONDAYS through the end of October at People's Free SPace in Portland, 144 Cumberland Ave, at 7:00 PM. If you plan to attend please email feyseraphim@gmail.com. thanks!
post comment

The Star Project	[03 Aug 2006\|03:42pm]
[ mood \| excited ] (This post is cross posted with various trans and butch/femme communities) So. After doing some thinking, I've decided to start a subdomain on my website called "The Star Project". It is something that may of us inthe 'community' have talked about doing for a long time. Basically, the project will document people's "Star Tattoo's" and theirreasons for getting them, it will be an oral history project that will becoupled with photography. Hopefully the site will grow with both peopleI know, and people from elsewhere who have star tattoo's. I will borrow a little 'history' from books such as "Leather Boots, Golden Slippers: Lesbian History". And try to find the 'originatingsource' of the blue/black/pink star tattoos, both here in Portland Maine and elsewhere as it pertains to the Queer/Butch/Femme/Lesbian/Transgender communities.The book indicates that the star tattoo originated in Buffolo, NYwhich is possible, and states that it 'started as a dare to be out'.If you have a star tattoo and would like to be interviewed and photographed, or if you know someone who has a star tattoo and would like to beinterviewed or photographed. Please get in touch with me. The site will be up by the end of the week at http://starproject.nikaaskini.com . Stay Tuned!The Pink Star Princess~Danielle
post comment

The Star Project

[03 Aug 2006|03:42pm]

[ **mood** |

excited ] (This post is cross posted with various trans and butch/femme communities) So. After doing some thinking, I've decided to start a subdomain on my website called "The Star Project". It is something that may of us inthe 'community' have talked about doing for a long time. Basically, the project will document people's "Star Tattoo's" and theirreasons for getting them, it will be an oral history project that will becoupled with photography. Hopefully the site will grow with both peopleI know, and people from elsewhere who have star tattoo's. I will borrow a little 'history' from books such as "Leather Boots, Golden Slippers: Lesbian History". And try to find the 'originatingsource' of the blue/black/pink star tattoos, both here in Portland Maine and elsewhere as it pertains to the Queer/Butch/Femme/Lesbian/Transgender communities.The book indicates that the star tattoo originated in Buffolo, NYwhich is possible, and states that it 'started as a dare to be out'.If you have a star tattoo and would like to be interviewed and photographed, or if you know someone who has a star tattoo and would like to beinterviewed or photographed. Please get in touch with me. The site will be up by the end of the week at http://starproject.nikaaskini.com . Stay Tuned!The Pink Star Princess~Danielle

post comment

	[19 Jun 2006\|02:02pm]
TRANS SUPPORT GROUP A peer support group for transgender and gender varient people will begin meeting at People's Free Space (144 Cumberland Ave, Portland) in August. We will meet Tuesdays at 7 pm. Email feyseraphim@gmail.com with any questions.
2 comments\|post comment

genderfucked by association	[20 May 2006\|09:54pm]
[ mood \| contemplative ] my boyfriend [ftm] & i live in biddeford, maine. we both still attend highschool. and i still threaten to beat anyone down who refers to him as "the ugly name" as i call it. his mother hates me because i call him noah. his ex girlfriend hates me because i was the only one who supported him when he came out. we were friends for a long time who eventually fell for each other. i was identified as lesbian before noah came out-- but some time apart, & a budding romance made me rethink a few things. i love noah, the boy i help bind.i love noah, the boy who opens doors for me.i love noah, the boy who struggles everyday.i love noah, the boy who is forced to use the girl's bathroom.i love noah, the boy who is a man.any other partners of ftm's in this community? ♥,Courtney
2 comments\|post comment

genderfucked by association

[20 May 2006|09:54pm]

[ **mood** |

contemplative ] my boyfriend [ftm] & i live in biddeford, maine. we both still attend highschool. and i still threaten to beat anyone down who refers to him as "the ugly name" as i call it. his mother hates me because i call him noah. his ex girlfriend hates me because i was the only one who supported him when he came out. we were friends for a long time who eventually fell for each other. i was identified as lesbian before noah came out-- but some time apart, & a budding romance made me rethink a few things. i love noah, the boy i help bind.i love noah, the boy who opens doors for me.i love noah, the boy who struggles everyday.i love noah, the boy who is forced to use the girl's bathroom.i love noah, the boy who is a man.any other partners of ftm's in this community? ♥,Courtney

2 comments|post comment

	[15 May 2006\|03:38pm]
This Wednesday is Diversity Day at my high school. I am presenting "Trans 101" as our Civil Rights leader so lovely put it. It is a workshop, and I am allowing only two classes to attend the first workshop. (roughly 40 students). It is just going to be me presenting, and now that I think about it, it scares the shit out of me. So I was wondering if anyone had any tips, useful information, ideas or whathaveyou for myself, and this lovely day that is fast approaching. Thanks!
post comment

[15 May 2006|03:38pm]

This Wednesday is Diversity Day at my high school. I am presenting "Trans 101" as our Civil Rights leader so lovely put it. It is a workshop, and I am allowing only two classes to attend the first workshop. (roughly 40 students). It is just going to be me presenting, and now that I think about it, it scares the shit out of me. So I was wondering if anyone had any tips, useful information, ideas or whathaveyou for myself, and this lovely day that is fast approaching. Thanks!

post comment

testosterone	[08 May 2006\|10:01am]
Hi guys,I was wondering if any of you are on half dose /lower dose testosterone and what your experiences are. Mainly, what have the physical effects been, how soon did they begin, what is good and bad about it, and how difficult it was to get. I am mainly interested in whether it is more difficult to procure than full dose. I am genderqueer so I doubt I could get it easily unless I lie & say I'm a transsexual but then I fear they would want to give me a larger dose.Thanks guys!Brandon
3 comments\|post comment

testosterone

[08 May 2006|10:01am]

Hi guys,I was wondering if any of you are on half dose /lower dose testosterone and what your experiences are. Mainly, what have the physical effects been, how soon did they begin, what is good and bad about it, and how difficult it was to get. I am mainly interested in whether it is more difficult to procure than full dose. I am genderqueer so I doubt I could get it easily unless I lie & say I'm a transsexual but then I fear they would want to give me a larger dose.Thanks guys!Brandon

3 comments|post comment

	[23 Apr 2006\|07:05am]
oh, gosh, i hate being at ftm.it's so, you know, manly!
post comment

	[27 Sep 2005\|07:58pm]
hi, im brandon. i live in south portland right now but i'll probably be moving to portland soon. i'm a fairy.
2 comments\|post comment

	[22 Jun 2005\|04:56pm]
well I was wondering how much it cost to have your name legally changed in Maine, and how long it takes...I plan on doing it this summer, I just have to talk to my dad, because I know both parents have to sign if they are divorced but both have legall guardianship or whatever...
post comment

navigation
[ viewing \| most recent entries ] [ go	earlier ]