Welcome to SALGA’s new resource for folks who identify anywhere on the transgender spectrum and their allies! When we say “transgender,” we mean anyone who transgresses the gender boundaries of our society. We use it as an inclusive umbrella term to include those who identify a myriad different ways, including gender-non-conforming, gender-queer, transsexual, FTM, MTF, transman, transwoman, etc. SALGA is committed to being a safe and welcoming community for our transgender members and a resource for all allies. We understand that creating a safe space takes work and understanding, and we are committed to doing that work both within our community and without, until everyone is free to express the beautiful gender they are without fear.
Here on this page, we have assembled all kinds of resources. We encourage you to browse through them. Whether you are newly discovering your transgender identity or someone who’s been around the block, whether you are a friend or family member trying to understand a loved one’s transgender journey or a an ally looking for info, this page is for you.
As we grow in our work with our community, so will this page! We encourage you to give us feedback, refer us to sites we haven’t seen before, and be a part of this project!
Please scroll down for Basic, Health Care, Community Organizations, Legal Aid & Anti-Violence, Conferences & Campaigns, and Art & Activism Resources.
Some Basic Resources for Everyone
These tips are put out by the UC Davis LGBT Resource Center. Their first tip reads: “Don’t ever out a transperson. This is dangerous to their safety & can invalidate their identity. Likewise, be aware of your surroundings when discussing trans issues with a transperson. For their safety & comfort, they may prefer not to discuss these topics in public places or among strangers.”
Trikone, our queer desi allies in San Francisco, have some wonderful resources on their Youtube page. What’s particularly wonderful about this resource is that it’s desis telling their own stories.
Transgender Basics by Rosa Juel Nordentoft is a 20 minute educational film on the concepts of gender and transgender people. Two providers from the Gender Identity Project discuss basic concepts of gender – sex, identity and gender roles – as three transgender community members share their personal experiences of being trans and genderqueer. Tfilm targets service providers and others working with the LGBT community, but it also provides a fascinating glimpse into gender and identity for the general public.
Do’s and don’t when talking to a transgender person about their journey.
Teaching Transgender A resource from the National Center for Transgender Equality, January 2009.
Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People The nine keys to making lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations fully transgender-inclusive.
A support guide for parents, families and friends of transgender and gender-non-conforming people put out by PFLAG.
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members and supporters and over 500 affiliates in the United States.
Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace provides human resource and other employment professionals with best practices for transgender workplace inclusion—from discrimination and benefits policies to internal practices that reflect how gender is expressed and integrated in the workplace—as well as the state of legal issues encompassing gender identity in employment situations. The guide also covers topics such as appropriate terminology with which to discuss gender identity and expression, the creation of policies that protect transgender workers from discrimination, and the expansion of diversity programs to include gender identity and expression. (See also, Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey)
National Geographic tells the story of Emmie Smith a trangender woman and follows Emmie into her gender reassignment surgery to bring the world into one of the most intimate moments a transgendered person can experience.
Health Care Resources
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center provides sensitive, quality health care and related services primarily to New York’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities—in all their diversity—regardless of ability to pay. To further this mission, Callen-Lorde promotes health education and wellness and advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender health issues.
Positive Health Project (PHP)
To Be Determined (TBD), a bi-weekly drop in social/support gathering for anyone who was assigned female at birth but feels that is an incorrect or incomplete label. Anyone who identifies on the trans-masculine spectrum and/or genderqueers are so welcome and encouraged to join! Bi-weekly group meets 1st and 3rd Mondays from 6:30-8:00pm at the Positive Health Project, 301 W 37th Street, 3rd Floor. For more information, please contact Jesse at: jgeguzis6(at)gmail.com.
APICHA is a non-profit organization providing HIV/AIDS related services, education, and research to Asian and Pacific Islander Communities in NYC. APICHA has a Trans Health Clinic.
The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color community organizing center, focusing on the New York City area. Within ALP is TransJustice, a political group created by and for Trans and Gender Non-conforming people of color. TransJustice works to mobilize its communities and allies into action on the pressing political they face, including gaining access to jobs, housing, and education; the need for Trans-sensitive healthcare, HIV-related services, and job-training programs; resisting police, government and anti-immigrant violence.
Established in 1983, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center has grown to become the largest LGBT multi-service organization on the East Coast and second largest LGBT community center in the world. It’s located on West 13th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, NYC.
Q-Wave is a community organization dedicated to strengthening the voices of lesbian/bisexual/queer women and transgender/gender variant people of Asian descent.
Founded in 1990, the Gay Asian & Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) has provided a safe and supportive social, political, and educational space for gay, bisexual, and questioning men and transgender people of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area.
The Queer Commons is a community-based organization dedicated to developing and supporting free educational events by and for queer and LGBT folks, particularly people of color, noncitizens, trans, gender nonconforming, genderqueer and intersex people, and all those who exist outside of the gay mainstream. Our events, which include peer-led discussion groups, panels, participatory workshops and more, promote dialogue around social justice-based themes, support the health and well-being of the queer community, empower queer organizing, and encourage new leadership from within the queer community.
HOTPOT! is a Philadelphia-Area gathering working to build community for Queer Asian and Pacific Islander women, trans, gender variant and gender queer/non-conforming identified folks through social gatherings, political action, and good food.
Legal Aid & Anti-Violence
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project provides free legal services for low income folks and people of color who are trans, intersex and gender non-conforming. At their free monthly legal clinics, attorneys are available to answer questions and to provide assistance with name changes, identity documents, public benefits, immigration, shelter and more.
The New York City Anti-Violence Project is dedicated to eliminating hate violence, sexual assault, stalking, and domestic violence in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected communities through counseling, advocacy, organizing, and public education.
Conferences & Campaigns
The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference offers three full days of workshops and activities focused on the health and well-being and transgender communities. The conference is free and draws a diverse group of over 1400 transgender people from all over the country.
The Legalize Trans* campaign is an artistic and educational campaign intended to create dialogue and draw attention to the lack of inclusivity within the popular American Apparel “Legalize Gay” campaign.
Welcoming Faith Communities
TThe Freedom Center for Social Justice (FCSJ) invited a group of transgender people of color to the table to shape and frame a summit to train a cohort of transgender people of faith to work as grassroots activists and opinion leaders around issues of sexuality within their respective faith and general communities. Ultimately, the Summit provided resources and technical support to educate, develop appropriate strategies, and increase networking opportunities for transgender men and women as they build, grow, and mobilize around ‘personal’ and policy relevant issues. A Christian organization devoted to creating a welcoming place for LGBT folks within the Christian community.
Welcoming Islamic Organizations include Muslim Alliance on Gender and Sexual Diversity (MASGD).
News, Blogs & Resources
Sampoorna is a listserve for trans South Asians. It was founded by Satya, and he continues to run it today. The group is a source of community and support for South Asians living across the globe. Satya has also had the following articles about transgender lives and struggles published online:
Tatte Girao, Hijra Hattao: Satya Rai Nagpaul)
(We are grateful to the many Sampoorna members who have shared their blogs with this resource site.)
A resource to help people find safe bathrooms to use. You can add bathrooms you know about, or check it for bathrooms in specific locations.
This is a forum to discuss all things related to mental health, psychotherapy and support for transgendered, transsexual, gender queer and gender variant individuals and their friends and family.
Gaysi Family was started to provide a voice and a safe space to desis who identify as LGBT. What began as a simple idea of sharing stories about what it meant to be gay and desi (gaysi!) has evolved into a space with multiple authors and multiple sections and traffic from around the world. One blogger in particular, Rashmi, is trans and makes an effort to keep our stories and news part of the conversation on (gaysi). Deen, from the NYC community, is also a contributor.
The journey through a social and/or physical gender transition can be confusing. There are those who have done it and chronicled their journey, hoping it might be of help to others in the future. Everyone’s journey is unique and different, but there is much that is shared, not in the least the sense that we are not alone. The following blogs are offered by their authors for your perusal. (If you have a blog you think would be helpful to transgender or questioning community members, let us know and we’ll list it here.)
Articles & Columns
“Trans-men break their silence” (Express Buzz, Chennai, India)
“Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide” (TvT) is a comparative, ongoing qualitative-quantitative research project conducted by Transgender Europe. The project provides an overview of the human rights situation of trans persons in different parts of the world and develops useful data and advocacy tools for international institutions, human rights organizations, the trans movement and the general public.”
Art & Activism
“…Realize that bodies are only a fraction of who we are
They’re just oddly-shaped vessels for hearts
And honestly, they can barely contain us…”
Tony Porter talks about growing up in NYC, an the pressures to be a certain kind of man, and the way he was taught to view women: “My liberation as a man is tied to your liberation as a woman.”