GenderLife Forum: The Information Exchange

Flo McGarrell, who self-identified as a transman, was in Jacmel when the quake struck.

He loved Haitian culture and often used it as inspiration for his art.

http://lezgetreal.com/?p=25067

Note how respectful the press is, although for some reason they feel they have to mention his past.

Also notice how his mom still refers to Flo as "she" and "her."

Yeah,they just can"t resist doing that,can they.You"d figure that they would have some kind of respect for someone who just passed,and especially mentioning it in the main heading of the story.There was no need for that,IMO.It"s just igorance I suppose.

You"d never see a headline that reads-"Blank Blank,Who Was Born and lived as a Genetic Male/Female Died Today.....for someone who isn"t trans.

I think it"s just an ignorant reporters way of catching someones attention so their article gets read at the expense of embarrassing someone,and someone who just died on top of it makes it very ignorant and disrespectful,IMO.

Oh come on now. You see it all the time. "So and so, daughter of Mr. xyz, died yesterday" or "Paul Jones, son of actress Jamie Miller, was killed while on vacation in Miami by a stray shot in a holdup".

I thought the reporter treated his passing with great respect. She used the correct pronouns.How many times has that not been the case? His transition was / is and will always be a part of his history. He was proud of who he was and who he had become. What follows is a snip of a interview with Georgia Kotretsos,Art:21 Blog.

I have a few guiding principles, which I think must propel me toward this artistic freedom you speak about:

•Don’t hide, don’t lie.
•Do that which scares me.
•Resist the urge to settle.
•Be as many things as possible in this lifetime.
And so maybe that’s it.

But it must be acknowledged that I am a white person from a middle class (artist) family. I am extremely lucky to have an amazingly supportive family who puts up with all my crazy schemes. They seem to understand, respect and trust my drive. I am so thankful I was born into them, and do not take this for granted. This is where all my freedom really comes from. I don’t have to really sell any work because, if worst comes to worst, I can always go home. This is why I have the freedom to go work with people who are not so free at all, let’s not forget that. Someday I would like to sell some work somehow, but I am not going to start trying now.

I admit I am starting to have an identity crisis the longer I live in Haiti, at what point after moving there full time do I stop being an American? People are always telling me I have “Become Haitian” when they see me doing something like hand washing my laundry, or cooking a certain way, or jerry-rigging (Kombelan) something. But really come on, I’m not ever going to be Haitian-Haitian no matter how good my Kreyol is, or even when I have a child with a Haitian. I actually would just like to feel like I can just be someone there, like everyone else. That is an amazingly tall order. So far, considering I stick sooo far out, not just by being a white foreigner, but also presenting a total gender mash up (beard, miniskirt, etc) as a non-passing transperson, my gender identity is a constant and humorous topic of discussion. But Jacmel is a small town and I hope that eventually people will just get used to me as one of the town fixtures.

The video was ok.I just think it wasn"t necessary to have "And Transman" in the headline of the article.It just has nothing to do with his unfortunate demise=un-necessary sensationalization,IMO.

Was it necessary, no but in today's society any notable person will be subjected to these indignities without noting their many accomplishments. Just the facts,IMO. Speaking for myself,a nobody, it is doubtful that my past history will be a part of my obituary because it will be written by the people who love me and not by the press.

In our case, mediocrity can be bliss.

Quite so.