This site is the most comprehensive on the web devoted to trans history and biography. Well over 1400 persons worthy of note, both famous and obscure, are discussed in detail, and many more are mentioned in passing.

There is a detailed Index arranged by vocation, doctor, activist group etc. There is also a Place Index arranged by City etc. This is still evolving.

In addition to this most articles have one or more labels at the bottom. Click one to go to similar persons. There is a full list of labels at the bottom of the right-hand sidebar. There is also a search box at the top left. Enjoy exploring!

26 July 2015

Maritza/Mark Cummings (1964–) Part II: serial monogamy and dissent

Continued from Part I

In 2012 Mark met his second wife female partner, Jessica Lynn (1974 - ), in a transgender show girl bar. Jessica transitioned in her 30s with the help of a therapist after two failed suicide attempts and a few years as a gay man. She took Mark's surname even before though they were married never registered their relationship. They had each others name tattooed on their bodies.
"In spite of our differences, Aries and Cancer, I have never loved anyone as much as I love her".
They started the internet program Transition Radio, which featured extensive video interviews with various US trans persons and others. A recreational vehicle was purchased, they set up a new blog Transgender Highway and traveled around the US. Mark published a health guide for travelers.
In 2013 their relationship was featured in both The New York Post and The Daily Mail.
Mark and Jessica

In 2014 Mark was interviewed in LGBTQIA where he spoke about how he felt
"honored to be part of the many great inspirational Trans men that [Lynn Conway] has showcased on her site. Success is a very personal word and means many different things to many people. I personally believe that being successful means being happy with who you are and what you have accomplished." and "“I believe being transgender is a gift a Spiritual awakening that is manifesting in physical form … We as transgender individuals have a major responsibility to enlighten the world. Instead we are blending in and doing much of the same, this solves nothing and that is why we continue the hamster wheel".
Later that year, Mark was told that he had been selected for the 2014 GLAAD Trans100, (a list that seems to have been removed from the internet).  However he made critical statements about Janet Mock and her interview by Piers Morgan. He was then deselected. On his Facebook page he wrote:
"I am seeing a very strange twist in our community, and why are we all of a sudden admiring individuals who have recently come out as advocates with little to no experience in that role. One is an actress, the other stealth for many years working at Peoples magazine behind a cubicle and now decides to write a book and is identifying as a fierce advocate? Both trans woman of color, which seems to be a very prominent twist these days as if they are the only ones in the trans community who have suffered and constantly harp on how bad they have it, leaving behind the rest of us. Separating themselves, creating their own groups and associations and hijacking the community at large."
For this he was denounced as prejudiced against persons of color. In July Mark and Jessica sympathetically interviewed Cathy Brennan, the Maryland attorney associated with antagonism towards trans persons. Shortly afterwards they broke up as a couple.

Mark's third wife is Lynna Lopez who also took his surname when they married in June 2015.
Lynna & Mark
“Falling in love for the first time in my life has allowed me to feel my true nature, which
is my feminine self".
Lynna is now co-host on Transition Radio, which has changed its message. Mark now denounces the therapist and surgeon who enabled him to transition:
“I went on Testosterone, and 5 months later, I had my precious breast and my amazing reproductive organs ripped out of me, all in a quest to be a ‘man’. What sane person does this, and what medical professional who swears to do no harm goes along with this diabolical plan? I am sorry but now that I have come to my senses and see what this vile community has become, I see the reason for the vileness and the darkness in its intent.”
Transition Radio lost all its sponsors, and Lynn Conway removed Mark form her Successful Trans Men site. Mark/Maritza is also now speaking out against supporting trans kids and especially against prescribing puberty blockers to them. The New York Times gave him a platform where he argued that no-one should transition before their mid-20s.  He has said: "And it’s usually a Munchausen by proxy-driven mother and it’s always a kind of wimpy dad-kind of thing going on, mom wears the pants in the family.”

 Transition Radio featured DirtyWhiteBoi, who in return published an interview on her blog with Matitza:
"I always felt different but never the typical programed response the community harps on. In my opinion there is no such thing as being born in the wrong body. It’s a neurological impairment, behavioral and mental issue, nothing wrong with the body. … I think much different now. But unfortunately, the changes are so deep, that it is hard to go back. I do identify as a female, I will never deny my truth. … I regret all my surgeries, they are butchery and not necessary. Hysto and top surgery. … I got sick of the trans community and how they badger people. I saw the vile behavior, the lies, I could not longer be part of that. They have deeper issues than gender problems and are in denial about it. Its time the gender specialists stepped up and did their job and looked at the deeper issues."
When Dawn Ennis writing for The Advocate asked Mark to nominate a sponsor or well-known public figure to speak on his behalf, he suggested Cathy Brennan.  Mark still chooses to be addressed by male pronouns as that has been the case for the 12 past years.  He says that  he and Lopez now identify  as “two-spirit” or “gender-variant,” saying, “We all have this duality".
TransitionRadio    Vidensbanken     TransgenderHighway
_____________________________________________________


With each wife, Cummings discovers love for the first time!!   A gentleman would not take that attitude to his previous wives.

"And it’s usually a Munchausen by proxy-driven mother and it’s always a kind of wimpy dad-kind of thing going on, mom wears the pants in the family.”  This is of course a return to Robert Stoller, the 1950s and the sexist idea that homosexuality, transgender and many other psychoanalytic conditions are caused by a weak absent father and a dominant mother.

Whether or not Cummings is racist, to denounce him as prejudiced against 'persons of color' is problematical as he himself is Hispanic.

Whilst not aligning with Cummings' position, some of the issues that he has raised should be getting more discussion within the trans community: 
  • The issue of the increase in numbers of trans persons over the last 50 years as due to the toxic chemicals in the environment has the virtue of being the only theory that explins the increase in numbers.   The classic account is by Christine Johnson, 2004.  PDF.   It is summarized in Deborah Rudacille's The Riddle of Gender, 2006, Chp  7.
  • the increasing practice of adulating trans persons when they step out of the closet or from stealth and shunting aside the activists who have been working for years or decades.  Cummings was rather careless in naming only black celebrities.  He should have paid more attention to what happened to Peter Tatchell.   There is no shortage of white celebrities who could have been mentioned: Bono, Beck, Maloney, Jenner.

 ______________________________________________________________________________

Dawn Ennis' article on the Cummings includes "Brennan’s statement, however, contradicts a February finding by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine who concluded 'there is increasing evidence of a biological basis for gender identity'."   As Gender Identity Watch was delighted to point out, this sentence is not to be found in the journal article in question.   The claim was not needed for Ennis's article, and it was a sloppy error to make. 

36 comments:

  1. What you're leaving out is how Cummings' ex accused him of domestic violence. http://transgenderhighway.blogspot.com/2015/02/real-men-dont-hit-women.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean wife #2 Jessica. I did come across that claim, but elsewhere Jessica does not/chooses not to repeat that. When couples separate things are said in the heat of the moment, that are later regretted. I felt it better to be cautious and leave that claim out.

      Delete
    2. you were smart to leave that claim out because, if anyone was abused was I by a very angry conniving trans person, who I was very good to and doesnt have a way to repay the kindness of my heart and only created this whole circus due to her jealousy when Lynna and I got together. If you want a true character reference of me ask my ex wife Violet and of coarse my new wife Lynna.

      Delete
  2. Hello Zagria, just wanted to point out some mistakes you have on your history of me. I was never married to Jessica, when she changed her name and gender marker with the courts she took on my last name since I did not want to legally marry her. The RV was purchased by me, since Jessica did not have a dime to her name, I paid for everything including her Orchie.

    Violet was my first wife, now Lynna is my second and last and we were married July 16th. not in June. One can love someone, but to be in love is only a once in a life time chance, what do you or anyone know what my heart feels. I Loved Violet and Jessica, but was never in Love with them, hence why I am no longer with them. I will not settle, and owe no one an explanation. I have never claimed to have any strong religious faith, I am spiritual agnostic, where are you getting your facts? You are lying and misleading in many of your so called facts about me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In most jurisdictions these days the distinction between common-law and registered marriage is minor. Along with this, if a common-law couple make a major purchase, it is deamed to be shared property at the dissolution of the relationship, even if technically only one partner paid for it.

      Trans and gay persons have, for many decades, not been allowed to marry. To insist, as you are doing, that a common-law marriage is not a marriage, is to demean the authentic marriages of thousands of gays and trans who were not legally permitted to register their marriages. It also puts you at odds with the millions of cis heterosexuals who live common-law and feel no need to have their relationship validated by a state.

      I have altered my text to include the words 'common-law' as that is so important to you.

      Delete
    2. I seriously would consider retiring as a writer and information bearer. First of all we were not common law couple, the purchase was made by me, nothing I owned or bought belongs to Jessica. She never worked a day during our 2 and a half years of living together. But besides all that here is a tid bit of facts for you: There is a common misperception that if you live together for a certain length of time (seven years is what many people believe), you are common-law married. This is not true anywhere in the United States.

      Only a few states recognize common law marriages, and each has specific stipulations as to what relationships are included:
      Alabama
      Colorado
      District of Columbia
      Georgia (if created before 1/1/97)
      Idaho (if created before 1/1/96)
      Iowa
      Kansas
      Montana
      New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)
      Ohio (if created before 10/10/91)
      Oklahoma (possibly only if created before 11/1/98. Oklahoma’s laws and court decisions may be in conflict about whether common law marriages formed in that state after 11/1/98 will be recognized.)
      Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05)
      Rhode Island
      South Carolina
      Texas
      Utah
      http://www.unmarried.org/common-law-marriage-fact-sheet/

      I suggest you take down this article you have still not fixed the many lies such as who did surgery on me, your timeline of events and addiction claims, my religious believes. My business was in existence since 1998 way before I ever got together with Violet and many more, to many to mention, you are out of line and lying. You are spreading libel.

      Delete
    3. You are really hung up on legal definitions. Who cares whether you registered your marriage or not. A queer activist would regard registered and non-registered realtionships as equal. If two persons present as a couple, it is only polite to refer to them as married. You were with Jessica much longer than the man whom you married in Florida, even though that marriage was registered -- or did the newspapers make that up?

      As I said, a gentleman would not speak of his ex as you do of Jessica.

      Delete
    4. Jessica did not deserve a gentleman, she was a whore who I picked up at a tranny bar and tried to help, yet she used and abused me, and swore to bring me down when I no longer wanted to continue to be her sugar daddy.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2/8/15 19:04

      Wow, transphobia and misogyny in a single sentence.

      Delete
    6. there is no such thing as transphobia, the community created the word to try to shame people that dont agree with their delusion. And misogyny, you are not a female, I was born as such it is you, just by the act of thinking you are a female that are being misogynistic towards me and other real females, not some wanna be fantasy filled person.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It appears that not even once did you cite me or give me any credit for whatever you took from my site. That is wrong and it is very bad journalism on your part.

      Please stop stealing from me in this fashion.

      Delete
    2. You falsely advertise your sight as a credible site. You will be discredited and will be made countable for creating this blog entry about me.

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for putting it into the public record that you do not know how to do research.

      Delete
    2. Of all the books and all the web sites, the best and most informative on Harry Benjamin is the series by Zagria. Lynna is so ignorant that she needs to go to Zagria to find out that Benjamin wrote a book, and so dumb that she does not stop and read what is an excellent account. And it seems that she is unaccustomed to the convention of citing one's sources.

      Delete
    3. And all of you men who claim to be woman only know how to insult and try to push your geeky IT self personalities on the world. Real women don't act the way you all do. But please keep it up the world is watching and I plan to continue to expose every single one of you. You are making it really easy. Just like at Zoey, and all of the violent trans females as of late on the news. Claiming to be victims when in fact it is you who are the bullies.

      Delete
    4. I use the known pronouns as in They since I don't see you as a female, this is what is PC as of late is it not?

      Delete
  6. Like most people I sleep at night. I logged on this morning, to find that Mr & Mrs Cummings had posted yet more of the same late last night. Apparently they think it is outrageous that I do not log on in the middle of the night to release their abusive comments: "Thanks for not letting my posts into your blog, you obviously cannot tolerate it when you are called to question". Futhermore they have desecended into homophobic abuse: "And thank you for proving to be a closeted gay man and a joke as a blogger". Remember that Maritza was a lesbian before transition.

    Enough is enough. I wrote a balanced article and defended Cummings from from of the criticisms hurled at him, but the fact that I was polite about Jessica, whom he insists was not his wife although he/they got The New York Post and The Daily Mail to write them up as a couple, he now finds intolerable. Obviously my opinion of Mr Cummings has desecended during last 24 hours. However I will let the article stand as it is, and not put a negative slant into it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It seems quite strange in the rants of the Cummings pair if they believe that TS is not a fact that they should both be using the "born with" names even if current legal is different. So it should be Maritza & Louie non-transition radio show. So -- excuse me but just trying to get things straight -- that someone who did NOT follow the SOC and was fully transitioned in 5 months is part of that 0.2% of "regret" transitions. And now proclaims that they have both had revelations of the error of tens of thousands of successful transitions and they expect to be taken seriously??? Seems as though the term wacko would fit both of these persons. Both say that their euphoria of finally feeling that the life they were meant to live wasn't real. The years living in the other gender, which they appear to still be doing, was fake. So if the opposite gender is wrong, WHY are they still presenting in that fake wrong gender??? Seems as though you would have to be unstable to say what you are doing is totally wrong and know its wrong but keep doing it anyway... or hypocrites to gain audience by spewing controversy.....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Glad to still be alive, I will answer your question or set your confusion regarding our life and message to rest. First of all get our message right, we are quite aware that gender and this trans thing is all a product created to sell drugs and procedures. Second, the sad thing is that as victims of perceived pain for wanting to fit into societal boxes, many have been duped in believing that they can change their gender. I have always walked life in both, feeling that I don't fit into one particular box, the mistake was to believe that I needed to fit into either one of them.

    As far as following the standard of care, please excuse me if I laugh, cough or roll my eyes at you. Very few in this so called community actually follow the made up standards that was created by a mad scientist who had an obsession with homosexuality, children and eugenics, yes that would be Dr. Benjamin. So please give me a break with your so called standards and realize that not one doctor, therapist or the WPATH has a clue, everyone is shooting at the hip.

    I am a woman, I am a man and I am both, and I will present myself as I wish, seeing that I have both genitals, I have progestin induced virilization and as many with a variety of Karyotypes are the true candidates to question their gender or feel they are entitled to walk the walk. The rest of you, are just individuals who either are following a fetish, fantasy or are to afraid to be labeled gay, lesbian or what not.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. On a Facebook page Cummings addresses me as 'they'. We would like to say that we are amused. However we is just one person. If we were multiple would we get more done, or just get in each other's way?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. We already knew that you have no sense of humour.

      Delete
  11. In the comments to the Dawn Ennis article in the Advocate some one claims that Taino-descended Cummings cannot be two-spirit because he is not 'native American'!! In a sentence such as 'Two-spirit is a native American tradition', American=the double continent including the Caribbean and associated cultures in Siberia. It does not mean the US only. After all the term 'two-spirit' was decided on at a convention in Winnipeg.

    The question would be: do other Taino two-spirit recognize Cummings as such?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't need other Tainos to recognize me, I was born in the Island and my ancestors are Tahino. Please educate yourself you are proving to be dumber than I thought.

      Delete
  12. You need to update this article. The people in question have now detransitioned and identify with Christianity. I do not know exactly what form of Christianity they identify with, that would be best explained by them.

    ReplyDelete
  13. These two used the trans community to get attention, they used radical feminists to get attention, they used lesbians and gay men to get attention, they used Facebook friends to get attention (including me) now they are using the religious right to get attention.

    Telling lesbians we need to have a good f@cking by a man for Jesus is completely disgusting and also supporting rape culture and corrective rape. Their channel is a disgusting homophobic shit fest for attention.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. If anyone wants to know what's going on with this real life soap opera since: they broke up, both went back to transitioning, no longer able to sponge off Lynna's disability checks Mark got a job at Walmart, Lynna spoke out about Mark's controlling behavior in their relationship, Mark threatened to report Lynna for disability fraud (despite his help in her getting it...) so she deleted those videos and shortly after they got back together and Lynna's now Mark's 1950s-type housewife.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Cummings seems to have reverted to living as Mark rather than Maritza once more, and has now adopted another set of views. Much more conservative and anti-feminist, which extends to opposing gender critical feminism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6/2/24 14:45

      Cummings is not at all remotely Conservative nor is he gender critical. He has taken a step back from being a voice on his social media platforms. He is focused more on day to day life and just being a positive presence in this world.

      Delete

Comments that constitute non-relevant advertisements will be declined, as will those attempting to be rude. Comments from 'unknown' and anonymous will also be declined. Repeat: Comments from "unknown" will be declined, as will anonymous comments. If you don't have a Google id, I suggest that you type in a name or a pseudonym.