Monday, June 30, 2008
Protect transgenders against discrimination
Monday, June 30, 2008
Deb Price
When David Schroer applied to be a specialist on terrorism at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, his stellar resume led to a job offer.
The highly decorated, retired Army colonel had served 16 years in Special Forces with combat experience in Panama and Haiti. Following Sept. 11, Schroer directed a classified 120-person Pentagon group involved in the war on terror.
But after telling his prospective boss over lunch that he was gender transitioning to Diane, Schroer recalls being told, "I was not a good fit for the library."
To transgender Americans, Diane Schroer's story is all too familiar. No federal law prohibits firing or not hiring someone who bravely decides to transition away from their birth gender.
But, in an historic first, Congress heard last week from Schroer and other transgender Americans about how honesty often leads to a lost career, homelessness and even suicide. "Hero to zero," Schroer aptly calls her experience. . . .Read More
Gay pride march debuts in Delhi
30 June 2008
Homosexuality is illegal in India
Hundreds of gay rights supporters have marched in the Indian capital, Delhi, for the first time.
Gays, lesbians and transgender people gathered in the central Connaught Place area in what was the country's largest ever display of gay pride.
Activists also marched in the cities of Calcutta, which has seen similar events in the past, and Bangalore.
The marchers were demanding an end to discrimination in a society where homosexuality is still illegal.
The gay pride marches are a global event held in the last week of June every year.
They commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York which broke out after police raided a gay bar. . . .Read More
Congress holds first hearing on transgender discrimination
By Tony Grew • June 30, 2008
The United States Congress held its first ever hearings on transgender issues last week.
The two openly gay members of the House of Representatives testified alongside transgender professionals who experienced employment discrimination, representatives of trans groups and business and legal experts.
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin told the House Education and Labour Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labour and Pensions:
"Corporate America and the American people are way ahead of the Congress in acknowledging the basic truth we hold to be self-evident.
"That all of us are created equal, and the laws of the land should reflect that equality.
"The importance of non-discrimination laws cannot be overstated.
"Substantively, they provide real remedies and a chance to seek justice.
"Symbolically, they say to America, judge your fellow citizens by their integrity, character, and talents, not their sexual orientation, or gender identity, or their race or religion, for that matter. . . .Read More
How do Bugis divas grow old?
The writer is a freelance correspondent.
IN the mid-1980s, she was a model, and then a fashion coordinator, and later, she took the stage as a performer at the Boom Boom Room.
Now, at 42, she says: 'Darling, those days are over.'
Miss Amy Tashiana, a transsexual, looks you in the eye and is perfectly open about discussing her life.
She said: 'We have gone through the extremes to get to who we are, fight to live as who we feel we should be. So it is natural that we grow over the years to become very tough and fiercely independent.
'In order for a man to come along to match that and share companionship, you need someone who is really, really big.'
Does that mean loneliness as they grow older?
Some of the first generation Bugis street transsexuals and transvestites are in their 60s today, like Mr Abdul Khalid Othman, the 61-year-old who was murdered, allegedly by a lover less than half his age.
One transsexual in her mid-50s said: 'When you grow older, sex is no longer important. Like normal people, we seek companionship.'. . .Read More
The New Paper, June 29, 2008
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IN the mid-1980s, she was a model, and then a fashion coordinator, and later, she took the stage as a performer at the Boom Boom Room.
Now, at 42, she says: 'Darling, those days are over.'
Miss Amy Tashiana, a transsexual, looks you in the eye and is perfectly open about discussing her life.
She said: 'We have gone through the extremes to get to who we are, fight to live as who we feel we should be. So it is natural that we grow over the years to become very tough and fiercely independent.
'In order for a man to come along to match that and share companionship, you need someone who is really, really big.'
Does that mean loneliness as they grow older?
Some of the first generation Bugis street transsexuals and transvestites are in their 60s today, like Mr Abdul Khalid Othman, the 61-year-old who was murdered, allegedly by a lover less than half his age.
One transsexual in her mid-50s said: 'When you grow older, sex is no longer important. Like normal people, we seek companionship.'. . .Read More
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