Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Bizarre Disorder Makes People Want to Sever Their Own Limb
by Andrew Moseman in Health & Medicine, Mind & Brain
We’ve heard a lot about “cutters” and other people who feel compulsions to hurt themselves. But there’s an extra, extreme level above that: Body Integrity Identity Disorder.
BIID’s somewhat cryptic name belies a strange affliction—its sufferers feel that their normal bodies are wrong, and that they were born to be paraplegic or handicapped. The compulsion is so strong that some with the disorder try—and succeed—at amputating their own limbs. Newsweek mentions one who, after many failed attempts to lose his left hand, cut it off with a power tool and then lied to his family that he lost it in an accident. Another man froze off his own leg.
Many doctors don’t even know how to classify such a strange phenomenon. Those lobbying for its inclusion as a mental disorder compare it to Gender Identity Disorder, in which people get sex changes because they feel out of place in their natural body. But performing a sex change operation is one thing, and amputating a healthy limb is quite another. . . .Read More
Hijra (South Asia)
August 25, 2008
For other uses, see Hijra.
Hijra in Goa, India
In the culture of the Indian subcontinent, a hijra (Hindi: हिजड़ा, Urdu: حجڑا) is usually considered a member of “the third sex” — neither man nor woman. Most are physically male or intersex, but some are female. Hijras usually refer to themselves linguistically as female, and usually dress as women.
Although they are usually referred to in English as “eunuchs”, relatively few have any genital modifications.
Contents
Fly-past tribute to RAF veteran
26 August 2008
They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne's involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people. . . .Read More
A FLY-PAST of a lone Vulcan bomber across Morecambe on Friday was a
fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.
The life of Lynne Janine Braithwaite BEM, who died on August 12, was celebrated at a packed Lancaster Cremator-ium where friends and family said their farewells to a remarkable person.fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.
DETERMINED: Lynne Braithwaite.
They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne's involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people. . . .Read More
Study: Transgender vets face discrimination
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Aug 26, 2008
Aug 26, 2008
A new study by a California research center finds that transgender veterans — people who changed their sex after getting out of the military — believe they are facing discrimination and disrespect at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.
Transgender people also complained they had a difficult time while in the military, with repeated inquiries about their sexual orientation. Such questions were more likely to be faced by men planning to become women than for women planning to become men, according to the study by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The survey is based on interviews with 660 people identifying themselves as transgender veterans who were asked about their military and nonmilitary experiences, including 18 who said they began their gender transition while still in uniform. . . .Read More
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