Wednesday, December 05, 2007
TRANSGENDERED: TRAPPED IN THE WRONG BODY
Thursday, 6 December 2007
What would you do if you felt like you were trapped in the wrong body? What happens if you wake up everyday feeling like you are supposed to be the opposite sex. Today, we’re going to meet men and women who feel that they were born with the wrong anatomy. They each tell a different story, but they all have one common goal: to undergo sex reassignment surgery to get the body they feel they should have always had. We will meet Susan, a Harvard-educated professional who lost her job after it was revealed that she was going to have sex reassignment surgery. Now, Susan is looking for jobs in education and city management, she's writing a book, and considering a career as a public speaker. But that's not all that changed. Susan’s former life as "Steve" included a wife and a thirteen year-old-son. Were they supportive of Susan’s transformation? We’ll hear from Lee, who was outraged to learn that a pre-operation transgender student was given keys to the bathroom facilities at his daughter's dorm. Just how fair was the universities final decision? We'll also hear from Bill, who is in the process of transitioning from female to male. He was taunted as a child for being different and was always uncomfortable with his female body. Bill's mom, Gail, is supportive of his decision to become a man, but what is Gail ultimately afraid of? Pauline Park, who co-founded the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), will weigh in on what it was like to be the first statewide transgender advocacy organization in New York and what the organization has accomplished. . . .
Australia: Child porn accused: I have issues with gender
A Noosa man caught in possession of more than 66,000 child pornography images has claimed he has gender identity issues which sparked an interest in female genitalia.
Steven Lloyd Moulder, 48, pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court yesterday to two counts of child exploitation possession.
The Sunshine Coast Child Protection Unit executed a search warrant on his Ringtail Creek home in September last year and seized a computer and 15 discsfrom Mr Moulder.
The computer had about 30,000 images depicting male and female children between two and 14 years of age. Some images showed children in sexual acts. , , including penile and digital penetration, and oral sex with adults.
The compact discs had 100 folders containing 36,192 images of child abuse including still photograph and video files.
Mr Moulder told police the images were given to him on a CD in October 2005 but he would not reveal who gave him the disc. He had a previous conviction for possession of child exploitation material.
In reports tendered to the court, Mr Moulder claimed an interest in female genitalia but the judge noted there were pictures of males having sex. . . .
Contestants compete for Hoosier Daddy title
12/3/2007
On Thursday, three IU students dressed up as drag kings and practiced their masculine mannerisms to compete in this year’s Hoosier Daddy competition.
As the second annual Hoosier Daddy began, each contestant did a performance act in which they danced and lip synced to the song of his choice. Each was also asked one question concerning their role if they were to win the title of Hoosier Daddy.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Christina Sell, this year’s Hoosier Daddy winner. “My heart was racing. You never know what to expect. It’s a live show, so it was really nerve racking. I’m kind of shy so getting in front of all those people was hard.”
This was Sell’s, or Duke McAllister’s, second year in the competition. Sell came in third place last year out of five contestants.
“Going into it, it’s pretty up in the air,” Sell said. “I wasn’t sure what the other people were like as performers. My experience last year definitely gave me an advantage, but I was nervous up to the final minute.”
A group of judges, two of which judged for Miss Gay IU, collaborated after each contestant performed. At the end of the competition, the contestants received feedback concerning their performances.
The judges based their decisions on what the category was and how the contestant performed in it. For talent, the judges looked at whether they had practiced lip syncing before. Judges also judged contestant creativity and if it was thought out, said Joshua Sutton, director of promotions for OUT.
“I learned that in future competitions, I won’t leave the stage because people can’t really see me down on the floor and that I shouldn’t curse as much,” Sell said. “I also learned a lot about how serious people take (the competitions). You can actually make a living out of it. There are people who are really good at what they do.” . . .
Candis Cayne Goes Insane
by tmz-staff
Dirty Sexy Money" star
The gorgeous male-to-female transsexual performed in (and around) Brite Bar on Monday, and was the second person TMZ caught flipping-out in the middle of the road. Candis brings theater to the people!
Cayne did Blake McGrath one better though -- she performed with full back-up music and even scaled a telephone pole -- in heels! Fierce!
Video here.
The Meaning of a Transgender Homecoming King
The story from The Pasadena Star-News has now been picked up nationally: “King for a Day: Transgender Student Elected Homecoming King.”
For Andrew Gomez, the month of November has been one of firsts.
First, he broke the news to his mother that he was transitioning from a female to a male. Then the 24-year-old transgender student was elected Homecoming king at Pasadena City College. Neither event came easily, but the second milestone nearly did not happen. PCC’s Homecoming committee initially ruled Gomez ineligible because of his pierced ear.
But after students complained, lodging charges of discrimination, the committee relented and reversed its decision. Gomez said his election earlier this month as Homecoming king surprised him, even though he initially ran hoping to become a source of inspiration for other gay, lesbian and transgender students.
“I wanted them to feel like they could do something like this, instead of having them feel, ‘I am not straight so I can’t do this,’” Gomez said.
I’m very proud of Andrew, who was a student in my Introduction to Lesbian and Gay American History class in the spring of 2006. Andrew’s election — which has been reported as far away as Boston — represents a significant milestone for Pasadena City College and the broader Pasadena community. Pasadena, after all, is home to the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Queen. There are very few other communities in the United States where elected “courts” of queens or kings are taken more seriously than here. (Technically, in order to be on the Rose Court, a young woman must live within our college district boundaries, a little-known fact.)
Most community colleges in California don’t celebrate homecoming week with PCC’s enthusiasm and sense of tradition. We’re one of the state’s oldest community colleges (founded in 1924), and our homecoming tradition predates the days when Jackie Robinson starred for our football team (before he transferred on to the University of California at Los Angeles and the Brooklyn Dodgers.) So Andrew’s election — as a transgendered man, and not merely to the Homecoming Court but to “King” itself — is a remarkable and noteworthy occurrence.
Of course, the novelty of Andrew’s victory, as exciting as it is, is a reminder that on countless high school and college campuses this fall, homecoming rituals played out in ways that weren’t innovative or inclusive. In most places, the popular, good-looking kids who exhibited “ideal heterosexual behavior” won homecoming titles. In most places, the criteria for participating in this nearly-century old tradition haven’t changed in decades. Homecoming rituals may not have the same grip on the majority of students the way we imagine that they did in the 1950’s. That doesn’t mean, however, that for the substantial minority of students who do care passionately about who “wins” king and queen that the process has become any less sexist and reactionary. Of all the important battles that need to be fought on college campuses, the struggle to transform homecoming (or abandon it altogether) may not seem the most pressing. But Andrew Gomez’s victory reminds us that these rituals still have power, still have meaning, and still need to be confronted. . . .
