Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Ireland: Death threat terror of sex change couple
Evil drug-dealers were last night slammed for threatening to kill Ulster's own real life Roy and Hayley - Robbie McCullough and his sex-change partner Stephanie.
Speaking to Sunday Life from their under-siege Co Down home, Stephanie claims they have been subjected to a campaign of terror in recent months.
The 38-year-old transsexual woman and her 58-year-old husband have pleaded with the thugs to leave them alone.
The couple - married by controversial priest Pat Buckley in 2000 - also told how:
- They have been warned by cops they are under "severe" threat;
- Thugs have threatened to burn their house down;
- Stephanie has been branded "he-she" in the street;
- Drug-dealers promised to batter Robbie with a baseball bat and;
- Vicious rumours have been directed against them.
Stephanie - who is on anti-depressants because of the abuse - remains a prisoner in her own home.
She said: "The only time I can leave the house is when I have my Rottweiler Tini beside me.
"She is a great dog and also fantastic with kids, but she would rip anyone apart if they attacked me.
"I know I have been abused in the past by ignorant people, but this is more sinister now because the police have told us we are facing a serious threat.
"Robbie has also been told that we are going to be burnt out and we should not have to live like this."
Added Stephanie: "We are sleeping in the living room because we have to be very vigilant and watch to see if anyone is coming up the street.
"When I have been out of the house they have been calling me 'he-she', yet they don't know anything about me.
"I have a birth certificate to prove I am a woman and if these thugs want to see it, they can.
"They are telling lies about us and making up nasty rumours, but we just ignore them. Everyone knows we cause no trouble to anyone."
The couple, who have vowed to remain in Co Down, met in 1997, three years after Stephanie first started the process to become a woman. . . .
Babette Francis: A gender bender of a fishy tale
October 02, 2007 12:00am
THE view that humans come in two kinds, male and female, is under challenge if not outdated.
In a rear-guard action, the Fatherhood Foundation launched a booklet, 21 Reasons Why Gender Matters.
Several politicians, including Prime Minister John Howard, dropped in to the launch and more or less agreed humans consist of men and women, and marriage should be between a man and a woman.
However, they are all swimming against the tide. Sex changes are everywhere. Grace Abrams was born a male but has changed to female and complains she can't get an Australian passport as a female because he was married as a male.
Then 60 Minutes showed a boy who decided, as a two-year-old, that he was really a girl and dressed accordingly. He is now going to have hormones and surgery.
But the real insight into gender assignation comes from male fish in British rivers. About one-third of the male fish are developing female characteristics in a trend that could change the ecological balance of the waterways.
Concerned environmentalists are calling for a ban on pesticides, but the problem is not pesticides but estrogens from birth control pills.
Estrogens cannot be removed by existing methods of sewage treatment and, of course, we can't do without the Pill.
Lest anyone think British fish are just being eccentric as the British are apt to be (boys will be boys, or in this case, boys will be girls) the situation is the same in Washington DC.
Washington is separated from British rivers by a substantial pool, the Atlantic Ocean. But scientists have found certain species of male fish in the Potomac River are showing female traits. They are developing eggs in their testes.
Fish pathologist Vicki Blazer says the trend may be caused by chemicals -- read estrogen -- in the Potomac.
Professor Charles Tyler of Exeter University is worried. "The soup of estrogen is responsible for causing these changes to the fish. It is abnormal. These fish should be male or female," says the professor.
"The fact that we have such a large proportion across the country is not right." . . .
Fox Reality Channel to Air the US Premiere of Controversial UK Reality Show, ``There’s Something About Miriam''
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“There’s Something About Miriam” and that something has everyone talking! Fox Reality Channel, the only all-reality, all-the-time television network, will debut the controversial hit series on October 31 as a special sneak preview. The show’s regular time slot will be late night Sundays at 1:00 AM ET/10:00PM PT beginning November 4, concluding on December 9. “There’s Something About Miriam” first premiered in the UK in February 2004 and quickly became one of the most widely discussed and controversial reality shows ever aired due to its dramatic conclusion.
Hosted by Tim Vincent (“Access Hollywood”), “There’s Something About Miriam” chronicles the journey of six men who travel to a luxurious house in Ibiza, Spain, and enter into a heated dating competition to win the heart of a stunning 21-year old Mexican model, Miriam. But Miriam’s secret, that she was born a man, is not revealed to the contestants until the final episode.
The six contestants include: optician Mark Dimino, student Toby Green, chef Aron Lane, lifeguard and ex-ski instructor Tom Rooke, martial arts expert Scott Gibson and Royal Marine, Dominic Conway. The men engage in various dating “competitions” to win Miriam’s heart, including a swimming race, rock climbing, a chariot race and poetry writing. The final prize included 10,000 pounds, one week on a luxury yacht, and hopefully, Miriam’s heart. All are captivated by her outward and inward beauty and most do not suspect that she is a transgender woman.
“Fox Reality Channel is dedicated to bringing its audience the most talked about, edgy reality shows from around the globe,” said David Lyle, President, Fox Reality Channel. “We are at the forefront of airing programs that create and stir up dialogue.”
Miriam was born in Mexico in 1982 and realized early on that she wanted to be a girl. With the support of her family, she began her transition process at the age of 12. After launching a modeling career she decided that she would take a chance and star in the reality dating show, originally entitled “Find Me a Man.” Miriam explained to TV Plus, “I did it because I wanted to know if real love exists.” After the finale of “There’s Something about Miriam” in the UK, Miriam went on to become a guest visitor on “Big Brother Australia.” . . .
