Monday, August 20, 2007
UK: Nothing like a Dame
At 68, Diana Rigg is shunning ‘crusty classics’ to star in a racy, gender-bending comedy
Exploring the mystery of human genitals with Dame Diana Rigg is like being privy to Miss Marple’s case-notes on sex. “I’ve learnt so much,” marvels Rigg in that gloriously fruity voice. “I had no idea there was such a big trade in men . . . MEN,” she booms, “who grow bosoms, and keep their penises.” Her eyebrows arch in wonder. There is a polite pause as we think of men with large breasts in Kevin Spacey’s cramped office at the Old Vic, where she will appear in an adaptation of Pedro Almod�var’s film All About My Mother. “I vaguely assumed people were born hermaphrodite,” muses Rigg. She reaches a freckled hand into a lumpy bag and fishes out a packet of cigarettes. “I didn’t know they deliberately chose to be like that,” she shrugs, sinking into Kevin’s casting couch in a puff of blue smoke.
It is, of course, strictly forbidden to spark up in any theatre unless you’re very, very grand.
“Ah, the wine. Thank God,” trumpets Dame D, as a cold bottle of pinot grigio makes a welcome landing on the Perspex table in front of us. The venerable aristocrat has just finished a draining rehearsal, and she’s in surprisingly jolly form. I was expecting Rigg in full armour. But age has defrosted the famous froideur, and time has softened her face. I barely recognise the glacial actress I interviewed 14 years ago for her terrifying turn as Medea. In fact I barely recognise her at all. The neat bob of hair has been dyed a fashionable shade of EastEnders blonde. The baggy jumper, jeans, and scuffed trainers are perfect uniform for the launderette.
Rigg’s crash course in gender-bending is the fault of Almod�var. She has cornered a terrific part in an adaptation of his 1999 Oscar-winning hit. She plays Huma Rojo, a Spanish diva at the crumbly end of a forgotten career who is infatuated with a young female co-star in a creaky touring production of A Street-car Named Desire.
“Oh, I can’t tell you the sheer joy of being able to play Blanche Dubois at my age,” purrs Rigg. “A little late perhaps . . . but better than never.”
The diva befriends a devastated mother whose teenage son is flattened by a lorry after watching the actress perform on stage. The play is obsessed with the many different ways women tend to mother one another through good times and bad.
“That’s why the title is so appropriate,” Rigg says. “ All About My Mother is a kaleidoscope of women, whatever form they decide to take. If it happens to be a ‘fella’ who decides he’s a woman – even though he’s got a penis – so be it. The play is about acceptance. It’s about outsiders.” Does Rigg regard herself as an outsider? “Oh yeah. Very much so. I don’t mean to be, but I am. I was born an outsider.”
Spending her formative years in India might have had something to do with it. Rigg was actually born in Doncaster in 1938, the daughter of an engineer, Louis, who answered an advert in The Times in 1925 for railway engineers to work in India. His wife made a brief sojourn back to England for the birth. When Rigg was shipped back to gloomy Yorkshire and boarding school in 1945, she felt like a fish out of water. But by 1959 she was an aspiring actress at the RSC, and then a leading member of Olivier’s National Theatre company at the Old Vic.
Rigg’s beauty put her beyond the reach of mere mortals. She was theatrical Viagra for critics who recall her taking her clothes off in Abelard and H�loïse, and Tom Stoppard’s Jumpers. Most of her tabloid fans remember her as Emma Peel in that classic series, The Avengers. Once a week, her alter ego reduced grown men to dribbling schoolboys. Her karate chops and spray-on catsuit were a lethal mix.
“That stuff is still around,” she sighs. “It’s all over the place on the internet. Apparently I’m used as a screensaver. I’m also a mouse pad. How low can one get? You are looking at a mouse pad,” she splutters. . . .
Brazil to provide free sex-change operations
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Brazil’s public health system will begin providing free sex-change operations in compliance with a court order, the Health Ministry said Friday.
Ministry spokesman Edmilson Oliveira da Silva said the government would not appeal Wednesday’s ruling by a panel of federal judges giving the government 30 days to offer the procedure or face fines of $5,000 a day.
“The health minister was prompted by the judges’ decision,” Silva said. “But we already had a technical group studying the procedure with the idea of including it among the procedures that are covered.”
Federal prosecutors from Rio Grande do Sul state had argued that sexual reassignment surgery is covered under a constitutional clause guaranteeing medical care as a basic right.
On Wednesday the 4th Regional Federal Court agreed, saying in its ruling that “from the biomedical perspective, transsexuality can be described as a sexual identity disturbance where individuals need to change their sexual designation or face serious consequences in their lives, including intense suffering, mutilation and suicide.”
The Health Ministry said it would be up to local health officials to decide who qualifies for the surgery and what priority it will be given compared with other operations within the public health system.
Patients must be at least 21 years old and diagnosed as transsexuals with no other personality disorders and must undergo psychological evaluation for at least two years, the ministry said. . . .
Prisoners of gender
New support helps children unhappy with sexual identity
When words failed her, Deena expressed herself the old-fashioned way -- she screamed and sobbed. She was never so fluent as the morning she graduated to big-girl panties.
As the 3-year-old convulsed with emotion, her mother finally understood.
Deena wanted to wear boy's underwear, not panties. "It was a need," her mother, Carol, said. "She wouldn't have left the house otherwise."
The little girl also refused to wear dresses and get her hair beaded. She wanted a penis like her brothers so she could urinate standing up. She was vehemently disturbed by pictures of herself at 18 months in a dress and braids.
The pieces began to fit. Carol and her husband understood that their now 9-year-old girl identifies as a boy.
They aren't fighting it. Under her brothers' hand-me-down baggy basketball shorts, Deena wears boys' underwear. And she adopts boys' names when it suits her. They enrolled her in a private school when public school was an emotionally decimating experience. "She was sobbing in her bed after school," Carol said. "It's killing us financially, but she's one of the better-liked kids in her classroom."
As Deena and her mom played "horse" at their backyard basketball hoop on a recent sunny day, Deena looked every inch a boy, her shoulders broad and her arms muscular.
Her East Side parents, who've chosen to remain anonymous, are steeling themselves for some hard decisions that will be demanded of them soon.
"We're in a state of calm," Carol said, "but we're expecting complications as puberty hits." Carol got a preview when she had the classic mother-daughter talk about puberty. Deena was repulsed.
If Deena gets her first period "and nosedives into a depression," Carol said she would consider using puberty-blocking medications. This would buy the child time to better understand herself and her future options, including gender reassignment surgery.
No one knows how many children believe they're living in the wrong body -- a condition that the American Psychiatric Association calls Gender Identity Disorder. It is unrelated to sexual preference.
The best guess is that it affects one in 30,000 males and one in 100,000 females, said Dr. Edgar Menvielle of Children's National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. He based his calculation on the number of sex reassignment surgeries in the Netherlands.
People with gender identity issues traditionally lived beneath the radar, forced into silence by prevailing cultural expectations. The genitals defined gender, and gender roles were sharply defined. Deviation from the norm was a punishable offense.
But mass media changed everything. The world became a village in which everyone knew everyone else's business. Deviation from the norm was news fodder, and the entertainment industry worked the angles.
Tom Hanks dressed like a woman in "Bosom Buddies;" Julia Sweeney played the androgynous Pat on "Saturday Night Live;" Dr. Phil plumbed the depths of a man who became a woman; Barbara Walters interviewed children with gender issues; and Jerry Springer let all hell break loose on the set when a family railed about a transsexual cousin. And documentaries around the dial have explained everything we ever wanted to know about sex. . . .
UK: Man accused of illegally using silicone on transgender patients
By DAVE FORSTER, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 16, 2007
Last updated: 4:13 PM
SUFFOLK - Police have arrested a man they say injected silicone into transgender patients at his home without a license to practice medicine.
A former client of Francis Rene White reported the situation to police, said Lt. D.J. George, a department spokeswoman. White, 36, has since been charged with two counts of practicing medicine without a license. He turned himself into police Wednesday.
Police have two former clients who say they went to White's home in the 300 block of S. Main St., and let him inject silicone into their face or breast area, George said. White charged them for his services, they said.
George said she did not know if either of the two known customers suffered any complications from their procedures.
The police believe White had other clients and would like to speak to them, George said. They are asked to call Det. Sgt. Robert Ross at (757) 514-7947.
Detectives believe White generally serviced transgender clients, but he may have practiced on other people as well. George said she did not know how much he charged. Police believe he also worked as a bartender.
S.F. Drag King Contest bends the rules of gender until they break
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The Indra, left, and Lu Read share master of ceremony duties at the 12th annual San Francisco Drag King Contest, which offers more performances this year. Chronicle photo by Chris Stewart
Colorado Springs: Inside/Out
From health services to a home away from home
by Jill Thomas
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| Cassie, 16, pictured playing foosball with Inside/Out facilitator Bryan Simms, is one of 300-plus clients. |
| Photo By Brienne Boortz |
"It was either change who I was, or leave," says Kory, now 20, in a quiet, even voice. He closes his eyes for a moment as if replaying the scene, then continues. "So I left."
Though he first came out as a lesbian, Kory now identifies himself as transsexual and has begun the process of becoming male. He takes hormone therapy in preparation for the operation he hopes will one day complete the process. And, while he's still legally female, his sensitive, dark eyes look out from the face of an attractive young man.
Kory had to leave, but it wasn't easy.
"Until I came out, my entire life revolved around my family and my church," he explains. "Now I don't think I'd be welcomed there."
Indeed, in virtually every city, but especially the conservative stronghold of Colorado Springs, there are places where young people like Kory aren't welcomed. But two years ago, he discovered a place with an open door. That place was Inside/Out Youth Services.
The challenge
Ironically, Inside/Out fills the basement of a former church on Nevada Avenue (the same building that houses the Independent's offices). Though it's largely an underground space, it's colorful and comfortable. A circle of couches forms a giant conversation pit. Nearby, there are pool and foosball tables, a piano, a small library, computers, cable TV and a mini-fridge full of soft drinks. It could be mistaken for any church youth-group hangout if it weren't for the baskets of condoms, dental dams and safe-sex brochures placed on a table.
As teens gather outside the door, laughing and talking, the scent of popcorn wafts up the stairwell. A key jingles in the lock and Deborah Surat, the executive director, opens up to let them in.
"Hey, Deb," they greet her, with smiles and hugs, as they file in for an evening meeting.
The organization, founded in 1990, was originally created to address health issues among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. Today, for the 300-plus young people who come here annually, it's a support network, a resource center, an educational forum, even a home away from home.
"We can't be everything they need," says Surat, "but if we can't provide it, we'll work to find someone in the community who can."
It's not an empty platitude. When a young person comes in the door for the first time, Inside/Out gives him or her a computerized assessment on major risk factors. If it reveals increased risks for depression, substance abuse, suicide or other issues, she connects the youth with a professional who can help.
On one table, there are free clothes and school supplies; on another, a sign-up sheet for the showing of a televised presidential debate, and volunteer forms for the upcoming Downtown Diversity Celebration.
"Deb is always asking for ways we can improve things," says Talia, a college student and young mother who comes to the center. "We all have a say."
One of center's most popular services, its food pantry, grew out of simple observation.
"At first we were only serving pizza on Fridays," says Surat. "But during the meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I realized they were eating chips like it was their only meal of the day."
Now the kitchen shelves hold cereal boxes, trail mix, mac and cheese, tuna, peanut butter, applesauce and other foods that require little cooking.
"The kitchen is there for anyone who is hungry," says Surat. "They are welcome to take food with them or eat it here. No questions asked."
It's a policy that makes a difference to teens who aren't always comfortable using religious charities or those that collect data that might "out" them. Because approximately half the youth no longer live at home, and a quarter of those are homeless, according to Surat, it's an important service.
The future
But the pantry is not at the top of any lists when teens are asked why they come to Inside/Out. The things they mention are the intangibles. Like the way the center has given 17-year-old Shane the confidence to come out to his friends and family.
"I like the support and the topics that we talk about," Shane says. "They're real-life issues."
Cassie, a 16-year-old, found the center after her father reacted violently to her coming out.
"At Inside/Out I get support, I get comfort, I get good friends and people I can call when I need them ... Basically everything except a shower and a place to sleep."
Bryan Simms, one of the center's 12 adult facilitators, understands how they feel.
"I came from a conservative home," he says. "And I'm here because I wish there was a place like this when I was young. It's a safe place where they don't have to be ashamed of who they are, and they learn that someone cares about them."
Talia smiles a big, easy smile when asked what she has found here. She names her friends and her fiancé Kory at the top of her list.
"He's the best thing that ever happened to me," she says. "The time I've spent here has been some of the best in my life." 
Photo By Brienne Boortz
Kory has seen many changes in his life since he first came here two years ago, when he had nowhere else to go. With the encouragement of Inside/Out staff, he recently took the GED test and received the highest score the testing center has ever given. Last week he received an Inside/Out scholarship that will help him attend local college in the fall.
And, in addition to attending the center's groups himself, he now volunteers as a peer facilitator. He openly shares the most personal details of his life to help others.
"I want other kids to know that Inside/Out is a great place to go," he says, adding, "For the first time in my life, I found a place where I felt it was OK to be myself."
Ireland: Good news for wimps
It's probably a good thing that the weather has been so bad because it has saved me the embarrassment of having to show my scrawny white body on the beach. Irish men do not do beaches well not only because of the whiteness – we all look like a newly distempered gable wall – but also because we don't particularly go in for the Charles Atlas, body-building type look. Personally I reckon this is a good thing since there is nothing quite so disconcerting as an overtoned male body poured into one of those sleeveless tee-shirts which invariably have all the male paraphernalia (cigarettes, wallet etc.) tucked under one shoulder. Having said that it might be good occasionally to think that one was not a total wimp destined to have sand kicked in one's face at any available opportunity.
But it seems there is good news for us wimps. A survey reported in the Observer this week has found that over 90 per cent of females said they did not like the 'macho' look preferring their men to have female features which they reckoned made them more caring. We will leave aside the obvious comment that this is a contradiction since all the females I know with female features are far from caring in any shape, form or size and concentrate instead on the fact that it is reassuring that females want us to find our feminine side. All they need to do now is explain exactly what this means.
I presume it does not mean that we should start beautifying ourselves with various creams and potions. Not only would this be beyond the sartorial pale, but it would clearly impinge on the amounts of money left for the acquisition of female potions and creams. I have watched in steady horror over the years as the amount spent on creams has grown from double to treble figures while the actual jars of cream have grown smaller. There seems to be some inverse relationship between cream and cost; the dearer the cream the smaller the amount purchased. This is the marketing trick par excellence. In a nutshell if it is smaller it must be better. The key of course is the number of ingredients. The more expensive, the greater the list and the more extensive the ingenuity in getting this expanding list of anti-aging chemicals onto an ever-decreasing label size. Eventually I am convinced females of a certain age will pay extortionate amounts of money for nothing but a promise that if you have entered a particular shop scientific tests have proven that you will stop aging.
Having said that it appears that females do not want us to stop shaving just yet. Any kind of face fuzz was scorned upon so we will have to continue purchasing the female equivalent of the small cream jar, known as the multi-blade razor. The latest has four blades and vibrates like an electric toothbrush. It is an object of terror and one which I have not yet managed to wean myself on to. I'm up to two blades now and feel that I am just beginning to manage the number of cuts inflicted by these. The hospitals are not yet equipped to deal with a male population let loose with four blade shaving tackle. . . .
XY Doc
Miss International Queen
The cheeky sound of the "Mr Miss World" competition suggests that it's an enlightened, self-aware version of the Miss Universe pageants. But this is no tongue-in-cheek Priscilla, darlings - it's a cut-throat, superficial world in which stilettos and sticky tape are more important than camaraderie.
D.C. to Fire 3 Over Woman's Detention as a Man
By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 16, 2007; B01
District officials plan to fire three corrections officers who failed to realize a woman was being held in the male detention unit at the D.C. jail last month even after she had been strip-searched and allowed to shower with male inmates, government sources said yesterday.
Virginia Grace Soto, 47, was arrested July 14 and thought to be a man despite her repeated protests otherwise, according to two internal reports by D.C. police and the Department of Corrections obtained by The Washington Post.
Although Soto came in contact with at least nine jail employees, only three are being terminated. Government sources wouldn't disclose their names yesterday, but one was said to be a supervisor.
The corrections officers "failed to comply [with] standard intake search policies as mandated," a 73 - page internal report by the Corrections Department says.
"We want to send a signal that this behavior will not be tolerated," said a high-ranking D.C. government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the termination proceedings are underway. "They should have taken the right precautions to verify the sex of person. And she should have been treated with a lot more respect."
According to the reports, mistakes were made at several points in Soto's arrest and court processing, including by D.C. police officers and the U.S. Marshals Service. The only disciplinary action being taken now is against the corrections officers.
Soto was interviewed for the corrections report. The 105-page police report, dated Saturday, concludes that the error was not the result of misconduct by police. The report says that Soto "has not filed a complaint" about the mix-up and that "attempts to locate her have been unsuccessful."
Soto, a white Hispanic woman originally from the Dominican Republic, is 5-foot-3 and weighs 130 pounds. She has a "slight build," with brown hair and brown eyes, according to the corrections report, which describes S oto as "androgynous in nature." Soto has used aliases and has a history of misdemeanor and felony arrests in the District, New Jersey and Virginia, the report says.
The reports reveal that Soto was arrested twice since April and that both times officials classified her as a man.
The mix-up began April 28 when Soto was arrested on suspicion of prostitution. Although she told the two arresting officers she was a woman, she was ultimately booked as a man after being interviewed by Sgt. Tania Bell of the city's Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.
Bell told investigators that Soto was belligerent and incomprehensible during the interview, part of which took place through an interpreter who spoke to Soto in Spanish, according to a report by the police department's internal affairs division. Bell ultimately classified Soto as a "transgendered male."
Soto was released on her own recognizance and failed to show up for a trial in that case. She was arrested again July 14 on drug-related charges. Although the offic ers, and hospital workers who examined her that day, thought her to be a woman, she was processed as a man by an unidentified cell block technician based on computer records related to her April arrest, according to the report by the corrections division.
Soto spent two weekend nights in a solitary holding cell in an area reserved for male suspects awaiting a court appearance July 16, when U.S. marshals took her to D.C. Superior Court. Soto told investigators that she informed the marshals she was not a man but was "mocked" and called "thing."
After her arraignment, Soto and 11 male prisoners were taken by the marshals to the men's receiving unit at the D.C. jail. Two officers who interviewed her during initial processing failed to follow proper procedures that should have detected the mix-up, according to the corrections report.
Soto was then strip-searched by two other jail officers who failed to notice she was a woman, in part because she had covered her genitals with her hand, the report said. The only thing unusual that the two officers reported spotting was "the bandage on the lower left side of her back."
"I didn't see nothing," one jail officer told investigators, "but I was still thinking male." . . .
