Sometimes I find myself well and truly disgusted with Virginia and its very much accepted culture of bigotry. This is one of those times. From the Virginian-Pilot:
For more than a year, Virginia’s largest women’s prison rounded up inmates who had loose-fitting clothes, short hair or otherwise masculine looks, sending them to a unit officers derisively dubbed the “butch wing,” prisoners and guards say.
Dozens were moved in an attempt to split up relationships and curb illegal sexual activity at the 1,200-inmate Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, though some straight women were sent to the wing strictly because of their appearance, the inmates and corrections officers said.
Vivian J. Paige
Pink – with triangles.
That story is disgusting.
John Doe
Wnt sm chs wth tht whn, Btch?
[MB: Disemvoweled. Cut that shit out. Do it again and you’re banned.]
Mike@Blueweeds
“Disemvoweled.” Heh.
I say John Doe (if that’s his real name) also loses all his “w”s for not bringing the clever.
Genevieve
Ridiculous. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens nationwide. I suggest that anyone who wants to get involved take a look at the Sylvia Riveria Project, which specializes in working with trans prisoners and those facing transphobia in prison who aren’t trans themselves. http://srlp.org/ They work with trans individuals in areas outside of prisons, but they’re best known for their work with prisoners.
I got to work with a number of those individuals last year on law journal; it’s a truly amazing organization. We need more like them.