A Twitter message about spitting led Towson lawyer and lesbian advocate Cathy Brennan to file for a peace order against a transgender advocate.
Phylicia Sampson, a 28-year-old Baltimore resident, and Brennan, 42, were engaged in a heated debate on the social media site when Sampson wrote that she wanted to spit in Brennan's face.
Baltimore County Distict Court Judge Barbara Jung ordered Sampson to stay away from Brennan's home and place of employment, and to cease contact, according to the peace order. The order expires June 9.
Brennan, a former member of the Boards of the Gay and Lesbian Community
Center of Baltimore, said she has been a gay activist since 1995, but is of the opinion that transgendered women are male and should not have access to "female spaces."
"The balancing interest and concern between lesbians and transwomen is an issue," she said. "This is an issue in [the LGBT] community, but I don't think this has bubbled into the main stream yet."
She runs a controversial blog where she expresses her viewpoints.
Brennan said she met Sampson, a graduate student, through mutual friends in fall 2011, and had invited her into her home on several occassions.
"At some point, we came to a fork in the road because she believes transwomen are women," she said.
Brennan said Sampson had been sending her a slew of aggressive messages and continued to do so even after Brennan asked her to end their communications.
"I'm afraid of this person at this point," said Brennan, who added that she has received several death threats for her stance. "I take [threats] very seriously."
In a brief phone call with a reporter, Sampson said she has no plans to contact Brennan.
"[Brennan] uses the law as a form of manipulation," she said. "I have said some things but nothing personal about her."
Sampson has since blocked her Twitter page from public view.
PS: if you think otherwise, have your creator come talk to me. When it fails to show that should be proof enough that you are delusional by believing in little old men living in the sky controlling your life.
I would suggest that if you are one of those people who prefer to exclude someone because of your personal bias, that you are indeed a hater of some sort. I’ll leave it up to you to self-evaluate and take that long hard look in the mirror, because I really do not care how you feel. I will say this though, when you attempt to exclude anyone for such arbitrary and petty reasons the answers are self evident.
That is a (non religious) “parable” – a story designed to show the actions of situation by a comparison as opposed to any real and actual events. I put that in there because by all accounts, Ms Brennan being a lawyer would attempt to sue me for many reasons if I were to indicate that those events were in any way real ad Arson and insurance fraud are indeed real crimes of which I am NOT accusing her or anyone…. And no I am not a lawyer.
PS: I would almost be sorry if you feel I am intimidating you, but you pressed a button that once pressed you cannot unpress. If you would like to further discuss this rationally, I am open to such, and I have rarely (if ever) in my life ever been called “Intimidating”. Though I can be passionate at times. Also please look up information on the “Day of Remembrance” to get a sense of how and what many Transgender people have to live with daily, and while life is generally much harder on MtF, it is no cake walk for FtM either….
What an arrogant terribly bigoted comment. The vast majority of the worlds population believe in some creator Katra. I would never slur or insult you for not having any belief in a higher power and you should not slur anyone who does. That is as ignorant as it gets. Just as you would not want me to call you defective for being who you are. Far too many of those like you are the LEAST tolerant and most bigoted people around and your comment has shown that.
First as I understand it, Cathy uses the same standard of determining male from female as most of the world uses. She uses it to argue against such things as locking up a bepenised rapist with women because that person decides to become transgender in order to have access to more victims. She uses it to argue against the middle aged person with a penis who wants to shower with young women at a college. Second, arguing for protecting women from male violence is not the same as the sort of misgendering that takes place at a convenience store or on a bus. That happens to both sexes, regardless of transgender status. Neither instance is an excuse to threaten another with assault. Finally, taking out a protective order is an act of kindness. It is much kinder to give a potential assailant fair warning than to wait for the assault to occur and then have the perpetrator locked up. Being locked up while transgender in Baltimore is much more to be feared than a simple piece of paper.
You Wrote: "@John Flannery. Of course my opinion is biased; that’s why it is called “opinion.” First as I understand it, Cathy uses the same standard of determining male from female as most of the world uses. She uses it to argue against such things as locking up a bepenised rapist with women because that person decides to become transgender in order to have access to more victims. She uses it to argue against the middle aged person with a penis who wants to shower with young women at a college." Yes Dana, and most of the world uses a standard of determining whether LGBT people deserve basic rights that would have us barred from working with children and in some countries, executed. So you see, popular opinion means nothing. And I'd love to see some data on the number of people who "decide" to "become" trans to have access to women to harm them. You do realize that's the same argument used by those who would prefer that you were banned from using public restrooms that match your gender presentation, right? I like you Dana, but wake up. Your "friend" doesn't see you as a an equal or even as authentic. So much in fact she'd like to see your right limited by law. I just don't see how you can keep company with such a person. Obviously that's your business...but please don't make excuses for her hateful behavior. JF
Saying that a penis is a male organ is fact. It is not hate speech. Anyone who says otherwise is deluded. If you have a penis then you are not female. You may 'identify as a woman', but you do not have a vagina, thus you are not female. Sex and gender are entirely different things and gender is nothing but a social construct used to oppress FAAB women. Pretty basic stuff really. Also, I've watched the video, and the way Cathy Brennan was approached at the NYC Dyke March was abhorrent. If we're going to get into all this hipster Tumblr talk, then maybe the 'MTF' trans folk that surrounded her should realise that their male privilege was showing. Cathy Brennan has done a lot for women and the fact that people consistently threaten her and try to shame her on the internet makes me feel sick. FAAB trans allies should hang their heads in shame.
Women acknowledging biology does NOT "activate" male violence. Males being DENIED control over women activates violence, rage, abuse and unhealthy/irrational reactions. Tg activists and allies want to control women for the sake of men.... when men are the perpetrators of the violence.
In the recent issue of Baltimore Outloud, the Reverend Meredith Moise wrote of the latter incident saying, “I found it ironic that when DeSean Bowman, a young Black queer person, was killed in East Baltimore in June 2012, an employee of an LGBT organization wanted activists to prove that DeSean was LGBT although this was known in the community. In the midst of this, the employee wrote, "We just don't know. He could've been a straight man who lost a bet and had to wear a dress!" This type of attitude must end. Knowing the lives of young Black men in East Baltimore, we know that is at the very least an ignorant statement and at the very most, blatantly racist and horribly wrong.” At the time of that murder, I was the editor of that newspaper. Some of the most powerful voices in our community were involved in bringing public attention to the tragedy. Among them were Cathy Brennan, Reverend Moise, and Krush Kent of the Guardian Angels. The usual gay voices were absent. ALL of the self-proclaimed transgender advocates were silent.
If you are a trans woman, you don't have a vagina. You have an inside out penis. No part of the inside out penis is a vagina. The cells are penile and scrotum tissues.
Throw gas on her own house and light the fire? So by expressing a dissenting opinion she was asking for it? You are sick. If you threaten violence against someone it is your own fault if you are found out. We are not barbarians. We have the power of speech. You can say "I disagree and here's why..." Not "I'm going to kill you bitch".
Brain sex hypothesis and 'hormone wash' theories of transexualism are not peer reviewed scientific studies. There are a number of issues with the way in which these studies were designed and carried out.
"'As with all genetic association studies it will be important to replicate these findings in other populations" and "These defective copies of the AR gene could severely reduce normal testosterone levels, resulting in a more female-like brain. Consequently, male-to-female transsexuals might be expected to have a more feminised brain and are therefore likely to display a female gender identity" "May", "could", "might be" and "therefore likely" are not terms used for a definitive answer. It even states in the article that it can't explain all MtF trans. Says nothing about FtM either. If the theory holds true and the fault is low testosterone on the brain, wouldn't the next step be the introduction of testosterone therapy for these individuals?
Nice trolling there troll. Hahaha! If you're not a troll, you are wrong. If you think for a second that we're the looney fringe then you need to get out more. The rest of the world will see Colleen Francis type trans going into female bathrooms and they'll lose it. Nobody is buying your lies. You think Mr and Ms John Q Public are going to want men in female change rooms. Get real. Even medical establishments are waking up to this.
No one on the dreaded 'radfem' side wants to take away trans rights. They want protections put in place so that women don't have their rights trampled on. Google Colleen Francis. A man who identifies as a woman but still has a penis went into a female locker room and exposed himself. The females felt uncomfortable with him there and asked if he could be removed. They were told that because of Colleen's 'female identity' he had a right to be there. The females now change in a make shift locker room so Colleen and his 'womanly' penis can change in the female locker room. There are pages and pages of news articles about men sneaking into female locker and bathrooms for voyeurism. No one said trans are more likely to perpetuate these crimes. How are females to know trans from weirdo who wants to put cameras under the toilet seat? What is the criteria for female if it's not chromosomes or reproductive organs? When does a 'gender identity' trump a biological reality?
No one here can answer: How does giving transgender people the equality they deserve negate exising laws against rape and violence towards women?
False. Homophobia is based on misogyny. ** That acts of male on male sex is LABELED an "abomination" due to males taking a "female" receiving sexual position. ** Homophobia is based on misogyny due to the fact that females sexually refuse men and are not procreating as IT is their "patriarchal duty" as females to produce children. ** Homophobia is based on misogyny in controlling SEX. Sex is real. Biology is real. There is absolutely NOTHING bigoted IN acknowledging these two matters of FACT. The OP is about controlling a female lesbian w/acts of physical aggression who will not subjugate into IGNORING biology. THIS again is misogyny. Can you answer why you insist on ALSO ignoring this AND making it something else?
False Cause and Effect: Simply put relying on the naturalist fallacy to invalidate trans identities by derivation invalidates homosexual identities. False Assumption: The hypocrisies are clear, “** That acts of male on male sex is LABELED an “abomination” due to the males taking a “female” receiving sex position.” Gay men will take issue with you that not all of them like penetrative sex. Pleasurable sex is giver and receive; not necessarily male as giver and female as receiver. Biological sex must occur with male "giving" sperm to the female "receiver.". Biological Sex is the primary function of sex for the survival of the species. Human beings are sexual dimorphic in nature not to invalidate the hedro or homo realities; one takes on the dominate and other subordinate and/or giver and receiver roles. Your Intellectual Materialism: To have horizontal equity in your reasoning you must state, “**The acts of female on female sex is LABELED an “abomination” due to the female taking “male” penetrative (I.E. strap-on) sex position.” You can’t argue to the absurd; condemn the masculine or “giver” role then when a lesbian takes it on creates no relevant example to your position, unless you apply game theory. False. SEX IS BIOLOGY and propagation of the species is a function of the sexual mechanism. Notwithstanding its dual role as a “pleasurable” act, its primary function is survival of the species.
Fact of the political PR mechanism of this OP: Cathy Brennan is a political opportunist, using several sleazy tactics and the Klan Fallacy to demonize the transgender community. As did the KKK to blacks during Jim Crow. Her favorite in this case are: Bait, goad, Insult and intimidate her mark, her cronies in waiting recording the response, spin the response as the "mark is being a violent male", barnacle the RadFem agenda that all transgender women are violent men, then claim a false victim narrative, "I'm afraid for my life." The press has used these images to hijack the transsexual/transgender narrative for the last 60 years--its part of the political plan to keep us from full equality. Brennan is a vexatious litigator, using the law as a club to bully the ignorant who didn't take basic civics; "Peace Order" or "Restraining Order" to stigmatize the trans mark. This is evidenced when she brags about these carefully planned and calculated events on her Blogs, demonizing the entire transgender community every chance one of these orchestrated events happen.
well, apart from: Male-to-female transsexuals show sex-atypical hypothalamus activation when smelling odorous steroids. by Berglund et al Cerebral Cortex 2008 18(8):1900-1908; Male–to–female transsexuals have female neuron numbers in a limbic nucleus. Kruiver et al J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2000) 85:2034–2041 Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relevance for gender identity, transsexualism and sexual orientation. Swaab Gynecol Endocrinol (2004) 19:301–312. A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality. by Zhou et al Nature (1995) 378:68–70. A sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity. by Garcia-Falgueras et al Brain. 2008 Dec;131(Pt 12):3132-46. White matter microstructure in female to male transsexuals before cross-sex hormonal treatment. A diffusion tensor imaging study. - Rametti et al, J Psychiatr Res. 2010 Jun 8. Regional cerebral blood flow changes in female to male gender identity disorder. - Tanaka et al, Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010 Apr 1;64(2):157-61. “Prenatal hormones versus postnatal socialization by parents as determinants of male-typical toy play in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia” Pasterski VL, Geffner ME, Brain C, Hindmarsh P, Brook C, Hines M Child Dev 76(1):264-78 2005 Sexual Hormones and the Brain: An Essential Alliance for Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation Garcia-Falgueras A, Swaab DF Endocr Dev. 2010;17:22-35 Biological and Psychosocial Correlates of Adult Gender‐Variant Identities: a Review by J.F.Veale & D.E.Clarke, Personality and Individual Differences (2009) 48(4), 357-366 Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation D.Swaab & A.Garcia-Fulgaras Functional Neurology, Jan-Mar 2009: The microstructure of white matter in male to female transsexuals before cross-sex hormonal treatment. A DTI study Rametti et al Journal of Psychiatric Research Neuroimaging Differences in Spatial Cognition between Men and Male-to-Female Transsexuals Before and During Hormone Therapy by Scoening et al J Sex Med. 2009 Sep 14. Regional gray matter variation in male-to-female transsexualism. by Luders et al Neuroimage. 2009 Jul 15;46(4):904-7. Clinical Implications of the Organizational and Activational Effects of Hormones M.Diamond Hormones and Behavior 55 (2009) 621–632 Dichotic Listening, Handedness, Brain Organization and Transsexuality Govier et al International Journal of Transgenderism, 12:144–154, 2010 Atypical Gender Development: a review Besser et al International Journal of Transgenderism 9(1): 29-44. 2006 Specific Cerebral Activation due to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Male-to-Female Transsexuals Compared with Male and Female Controls: An fMRI Study by Gizewski et al J Sex Med 2009;6:440–448. Increased Cortical Thickness in Male-to-Female Transsexualism Luders et al, Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 2011 Prenatal exposure to testosterone and functional cerebral lateralization: a study in same-sex and opposite-sex twin girls. Cohen-Bendahan et al, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 Aug;29(7):911-6. Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol(DES) in males and gender-related disorders:results from a 5-year study Scott Kerlin. Proc. International Behavioral Development Symposium July 2005 Sexual differentiation of human behavior: Effects of prenatal and pubertal organizational hormones Sheri A. Berenbaum, Adriene M. Beltz Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 32 (2011) 183–200 ... and a couple of hundred others.