Monday, December 17, 2007
A Preview of Kortney Ryan Siegler’s film, still black
by j. brotherlove
Kortney Ryan Ziegler is doing some of the most important work in my opinion. She recently posted this excerpt from still black, her “current experimental film project which is the first documentary to investigate the lives of black transgender men” on her blog blac(k)ademic. . . .
Transgendered candidate cries foul
By ANDY BLATCHFORD, CP
Micheline Montreuil alleges she was told by an NDP official her sexuality hindered party attempts to woo new Quebec candidates into the fold.
"They just said I do not fit in the NDP anymore," the prominent family and labour lawyer said yesterday.
"They also told me . . . that many people who wish to be a candidate for the NDP do not wish to have their name associated with the name of Micheline Montreuil, because I am transgendered."
In a letter, the party told her she lost the candidacy for statements she made in media interviews, her difficulty maintaining support in the local riding association and for not working in a team, she said.
Montreuil, nominated last spring to carry the party banner in the provincial capital riding of Quebec, disagrees with the allegations in the letter.
But she said a chat with an NDP member has caused her the most concern.
Montreuil declined to discuss details of the conversation, but alleges there are other "unpleasant" reasons for her dismissal, which must be "corrected" within the party. . . .
Transgender student denied campus housing at public Utah college
InterstateQ.com Exclusive
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Dec. 14, 2007 - Demonstrating the need for gender neutral and inclusive housing policies for public and private universities across the nation, a 22-year-old transgender student in Utah has been denied campus housing specifically because of his gender-identity and expression.
Kourt Osborn (pictured right, during the Soulforce Equality Ride, March-April 2007), a youth activist who participated in the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride, decided to be open and honest with his gender-identity when preparing to attend school at the public Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Kourt approached the housing department prepared to deal with the issue of his life as a transgender person.
He prepared a long essay explaining to housing officials who he is and including some “Trans 101″ type of basic lessons on transgender people and issues they must face.
Although Kourt said the process of getting housing — he had applied to live in the male dorms — was “bumpy and stressful,” he thought things were going okay. But when he received a message from housing officials, he knew something was up. . . .
Unlocking the Mysteries of Cross-Gender Writing
Fresh research into the phenomenon of transvestism in literature will attempt to unlock the mysteries of cross-gender writing.
Dr Rossella Riccobono and co-editor Dr Federica Pedriali from the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh respectively will launch "Vested Voices II", a volume of essays exploring writers who attempt to take on the persona of the opposite sex, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Edinburgh today (13th December).
Work on the pioneering project began in 2005 when academics from the US, UK, Italy, New Zealand, France and Switzerland gathered for a two-day conference at the National Library of Scotland examining the possible social or personal reasons for the style of writing.
Dr Riccobono, a lecturer in the Department of Italian at the University of St Andrews said, "This study has attracted a lot of attention because it is a very provocative topic in a new field. There has been some research done in America and Spain but this is certainly the first of its kind in Italian literature.
"In this second volume we apply some of the pioneering theories of the first book which I co-edited with Erminia Passannanti, studying exceptional texts in a less technical way.
"The aim of this study is to broaden the scope of first volume by checking and double-checking the theories, and analysing whether or not the authors can successfully penetrate the psychology of the opposite sex." . . .
Bad taste: cross-dressing David Gest looks just ex-wife Liza Minnelli
David Gest, who is already notorious for his vulgarity, certainly enjoys pushing the boundaries of bad taste.
The former I'm A Celebrity star made an appearance last night apparently dressed as his ex wife Liza Minnelli, who is currently being treated in a US hospital after collapsing on stage earlier this week. . . (see full story and photos)
Twisted Sister
TransNation
12/13/2007
By Jacob Anderson-Minshall
Twist, a queer pop-rock musical that opened December 1st in L.A., weaves Victorian erotica, dark comedy and gender-bending into Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, imaging Oliver as a young man searching for love. Driven by physical desire, but begging for more, Oliver journeys into an underworld ruled by a male dominatrix with a nasty temper—Fagin—played by Alexandra Billings.
“[This] is the first time in twenty-plus years of theater that I’ve ever played a man,” exclaims the trans actress, whose novice years included shows with luminaries like Carol Burnette, Yul Brynner and Sandy Duncan. Formerly a female impersonator, Billings made the leap to professional acting in the 1980s, when she starred in Chicago’s rendition of Charles Busch’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. . . .
