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News & Photos

Here are a few quick highlights of my journey that I enjoy sharing with others. 

Speaker at Dallas City Hall Rally

I had the opportunity to speak at the Gay Marriage Rally in front of Dallas City Hall.  My speech was called “We Do This For Them”.  I believe that banning gay marriage adds to the increase of GLBT teen suicide.  When we allow gay marriage, we come into acceptance.  Rejection, isolation and loneliness are the biggest reasons for suicide.  We are in a crisis with 50% of gay youth trying to commit suicide with success rates of 1 every five hours.  In this photo, I am addressing a crowd of 1200. 

 

Click here for Dallas Voice article.  Click here to read my speech.

Photo By Permission of  Dallas Voice, Nov. 20, 2008

Photo By Renee Baker, May 15, 2008

Meeting Chastity Bono, now Chaz Bono

 

I have attended the Texas Diversity Conference, LGBT Summit meeting in both 2008 and 2009.  In 2008, I had the opportunity to write a story on Chaz Bono, before he began his transition.  I was pretty excited to have my photo taken with him and he was open to a hug too!  What a neat guy, he gave a great speech.  Feel free to read the article I wrote by clicking here. 

 

Mike Farrell on Human Rights

 

My brother Phil and I had an opportunity to meet Mike Farrell at a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls, SD.  Mike spoke on human rights, including being supportive of gay marriage, and on the death penalty.  He is definitely one of my heroes, and of course a favorite from M*A*S*H, as B.J. Hunnicutt.

Photo By Renee Baker, June 3, 2008

Judy Shepard Speaks to Frito Lay

 

Judy Shepard needs no introduction in the LGBT community.  She became a prolific speaker on LGBT rights after her son Matthew was murdered.   We listened to her family’s story at the Frito Lay diversity conference in Plano, TX.

Photo By Renee Baker, June 13, 2008

Meeting Del Shores

 

Del Shores has been a kind supporter to the LGBT youth center where I am currently an advisor to.  Del of course is a writer/director and known for his movies and theatre.  My favorite of his is Sordid Lives, but I’m also partial to Southern Baptist Sissies, which we saw at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas.  Del donated 50 tickets so all the youth could come to the play, awesome!   Del has come to the youth center more than once and we are always glad to have him.  He’s amazing!

Photo By Renee Baker, Nov 17, 2008

Photo By Wendi Bates, Aug 11, 2007

Meeting Robert Bly

 

Robert Bly is so much one of my heroes.  His writings on gender and the men’s movement helped me to clarify who I was.  He is well known for his book Iron John, but his Little Book on the Human Shadow helped me put important pieces of my puzzle together.  My partner Wendi and attended Angles Knocking at the Tavern Door, a Texas Nafas performance by Bly and Coleman Barks, another amazing poet and translator of Rumi.

Photo By Renee Baker, July 26, 2007

Meeting Rochelle Evans

 

Rochelle Evans is a young transgender girl that began her transition while attending a high school in Ft. Worth.  The school kicked her out for “crossdressing” and she stood her ground and won her right to continue to go to school as a woman.  Read about this amazing young gal here.  She demonstrated her depth of poise to us at Youth First Texas where she shared her story.

A Poetry Reading

 

Here I am at the Dallas Poetry Society reading some of my poetry.  I don’t write as much poetry as of late, but I have written close to a thousand poems.

Photo By Wendi Bates, July 6, 2007

Meeting Patricia Nell Warren and John Selig

 

Patricia Nell Warren has written the most famous gay novel of all time, The Front Runner.  She graciously flew in from California to visit our youth and put on her Youth Writes program for us, all at no charge.  John Selig, another award winning LGBT writer, joined us for the workshop.  What a weekend!

Photo By R. Baker

April 28, 2007

Jamy Spradlin, Donna Rose, Michelle Luna,

Renee Baker.  In front, Wendi Bates

Photo By Renee Baker, Nov 17, 2007

Marc’s partner, Marc Adams, Renee B.

Photo By Renee Baker, Apr 19, 2007

Wendi Bates, Dreya Weber, Renee Baker

Photo By Renee Baker,  Nov 11, 2007

With Joe Dispenza from What the Bleep

Photo By Renee Baker,  Jun 13, 2007

Renee Baker, Ph.D., LMT

3530 Forest Lane, Suite 306

Dallas, TX 75234

214-607-5620

renee@genderpower.com

Texas DSHS License MT104375

With Donna Rose (c) and Feleshia Porter (r)

at YFT.  Photo By Renee Baker.  Mar 23, 2007.

At a Southern Comfort session with Holly Boswell SCC Sep 15, 2007.  Holly is front row,  3rd from left.  You can find me!  Photo By Renee Baker,  

In the paper!  At Gay Bingo Dallas.

Photo By Lakewood News  Jul 15, 2006

With Dr. Yvon Menard in Montreal.  Photo By Renee Baker, Aug 2006,  

With Dr. Jeff Spiegel (FFS surgeon) and Office Admin Kelly  Photo By Renee Baker,   May 2006

With Cynthia Schepps, director of the Blue Moon  Dance and a dear friend.  Photo By Renee Baker,  

Oct 17, 2006.

Black Tie Dinner / Staging a Walkout?

 

Several of us gender warriors stepped out into the lobby during Joe Solomonese’s talk at Black Tie in Dallas.  I am not sure it is fair to say we “staged a protest” as reported in the Dallas Voice, but we all at least felt strongly enough individually to all get up and walk out, only to discover each other in the hallway.  That to me speaks more strongly than staging a protest.  Solomonese is the President of HRC and did not stand up for transgender people in our time of need in regard to ENDA, while previously declaring he would after taking our financial contributions.  His leadership led to Donna Rose (an HRC board member) and Jamison Green (HRC Business council) both turning in resignations.

Meeting Dreya Weber

 

Wendi and I got to meet director/actor Dreya Weber during the OUT TAKES film festival, of which Wendi was the Artistic Film Director.  Dreya starred in the lesbian film The Gymnast which Wendi and I really related to.  The romance film seemed to mirror our relationship so much, that we told Dreya all about it.  She is an amazing gymnast too and performs aerial acrobatics.  Amazing film, my favorite of the year for sure and it won best film of the festival as I recall.

Meeting Joe Dispenza

 

Well if I knew I was going to meet Joe Dispensa from What the Bleep Do We Know, I might have wore something other than a T-shirt, ha!  He starred with Marlee Matlin and so many other brilliant minds in this amazing film about how the universe, brain, mind and consciousness all intermingle.  From quantum physics to basketball, this film has it all. 

 

Joe wrote a book called Evolve Your Brain which I read.  His story as a chiropractor is amazing.  He severed his spine, then healed it back together with mind over matter techniques.  Very amazing man.  I met him at a talk he gave in Dallas.

Meeting Marc Adams

 

When I found out Marc Adams was in town, I rushed to the phone and was able to get through to him.  He graciously accepted an invitation to come speak to our youth at YFT.  He is known for his award-winning book The Preacher’s Son.

Donna Rose & Feleshia Porter

Here I am pictured with two of my favorite people.  Donna Rose came to visit us at our youth center too.  She is always such a gracious speaker.  She wrote Wrapped In Blue and is a well known international speaker on transgender issues.  Donna has been a wonderful role model for me, as a writer, speaker and as an activist working towards equality. 

 

Feleshia Porter was on the board of directors with me at Youth First Texas.  She was also my counselor once upon a time and provided me with the right words to heal my soul.  She is like a spiritual big sister to me and one of the best role models for being a loving human being that I have ever had.

Meeting Holly Boswell

This was taken at SCC in Atlanta in 2007.  Wendi and I were there together.   I had given a talk called Reinventing the Self From the Inside Out.  I wanted to help others learn how to sit with their pain, learn to quiet their minds, know who they are and then rebuild their ego-self / personality to one suited to their desires.  It was a nice talk (I hope) filled with much of my poetry.

 

This photo is with the ever well known Holly Boswell.  Holly is well known for her article on gender variance that kicked off the transgender grassroots movement in the early 1990’s and for promulgating the usage of the word transgender.  She spoke to all of us at this meeting.

With My Surgeon 

 

Well, here I am with Dr. Menard, who performed my gender reassignment surgery.  I still can’t believe it.  He is one of the most compassionate men to give his life to help people like me reach our dreams. 

Striking a pose at Gay Bingo, in my 50’s outfit!  Jan 2007.