| Variously spelled with one "s" or two. "Transsexual" was originally coined with one "s," and the logos for the TS Menace are still spelled that way, but common usage has changed it elsewhere.
Whence the Name?
Pictured with "Rocky Horror" style dripping-blood logo, the concept of a "Transexual Menace" borrows from the Lesbian Avengers. Like the Avengers, their name evokes superhero and supervillain images (depending on your perspective) and pokes fun at transphobia.
Where'd They Come From?
The Toronto Transexual Menace site says, "The Transsexual Menace began when a group of transsexual protesters created Transsexual Menace t-shirts to gather a unified look and attract attention when leafleting outside the courthouses, police stations and politicians' offices where ignorance and transphobia were running rampant." One of the group's founding members, Riki Anne Wilchins, went on to form GenderPAC, a group lobbying the United States government for gender rights.
What Do They Do?
There are Transexual Menace groups here and there all over the world. Some are just a website providing information and action alerts; others are organized direct action groups.
The Boston-area group organized Camp Trans across the way from the Michigan Women's Music Festival to provide a space for transwomen and genderqueers who were turned away from the MWMF when it implemented a series of highly controversial policies against MTF entry. They were joined in this by the Boston Lesbian Avengers group, which pushed for the camp to become an annual event instead of a one-time protest.
Other TS Menace groups have organized vigils against the victims of anti-trans violence like Brandon Teena and Tyra Hunter, and held many a community gathering to organize transgendered folks against oppression. For example, an article on the Transgender Forum (http://www.3dcom.com/pw/lob2.html)
describes how "From 8-9 am Oct. 4, 1995, over 40 gender activists from around the US, most of them participants in Lobby Day, demonstrated in front of Mayor Marion Barry's office, many in black Menace t-shirts, handed out over 800 fliers calling for a full investigation into Tyra Hunter's death and an end to DC Fire Department's coverup. Deputy Sheriff Tonye Barreto-Neto of TOPS (Transgender Officers Protect & Serve) arranged a meeting with the Mayor, at which he pressed Mayor Barry to call for full inquiry into the behavior of the EMS surrounding Tyra's death."
Where Are These Folks, Then?
A few Transexual Menace sites:
Boston: http://www.butchdykeboy.com/menace/
Toronto: http://www.interlog.com/~sarah/
International: http://www.helenavelena.com/tsmenace
| 
