Gender and Life's Paths: Jul 14, 2009

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This Morning - Worlds Youngest Transsexual: Kim Petras

World's youngest transsexual

At 16 years-old, with blonde good looks and a wholesome appeal, German pop singer Kim Petras is set to be a superstar.

But this is no ordinary girl - Kim was actually born a boy called Tim. Last October, after turning 16, she had a sex change operation to fulfil her dream of becoming a woman.

She is believed to be the youngest person in the world ever to have the dramatic surgery.

Kim says her family totally supported her decision to have a sex change: "They drove me to every doctors appointment and were there every step of the way." . . .Read More

ThisMorningChannel

Chicago Moms Blog: Just looking for a little support for my transgendered child

13 July 2009

By JEN KHATCHATRIAN
CHICAGO MOMS BLOG

"You are setting him up to fail" was the last thing I heard before my throat began to tighten and my eyes flooded with tears. How could my own family say such things to me? "I will not listen to you!" sputtered out of my mouth as I frantically searched for the button to drop the call. Did that just happen?

Heavy sobs rippled through me as I heard their final words ring through my head. Earlier in the conversation I shared that I was searching for a transgender play group for my child who has known for almost two years that he is a girl inside. Just recently he began wearing his dresses outside of the house and mentioning his loneliness for friends who felt the same way as he did. I assured him that I would find a play group and felt confident this was a positive step in supporting him as he navigated through his feelings.

Earlier in the day I felt disheartened after a trip to the Center on Halsted (well known for their support of the LGBT community) only resulted in a voice mail message. Instead of everything quickly falling into place as I hoped, I had to be patient and wait. If I thought that the frustration of the delay was bad, the phone call I made looking for some encouragement ended up being the lowest point of my day. . . .Read More

Transsexual Charged Again with Back-Alley Silicone Injections

by Natalie O'Neill

July 8, 2009

The male-to-female transsexual sent to jail after a client's botched cosmetic procedure ended in death was arrested again this morning. Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies and Florida Department of Health agents raided the quiet two-story home of Donnie Hendrix at 8 a.m. They collared her for practicing medicine without a license. She's accused of charging $400 to $600 for silicone injections, the same procedure that killed a 53-year-old Miramar secretary in 2001. . . .Read More

Female Pop Star, 16, Used to Be Male

13 July 2009

By ERICA DAVIES

At 16 years old, with blonde hair and a wholesome appeal, Kim Petras is set to be a superstar.

But this is no ordinary girl. Kim, of Cologne, Germany, was actually born Tim.

Last October, just days after turning 16, she had a sex change operation to fulfill her dream of becoming a woman.

According to doctors, Kim is the youngest person in the world to ever have the dramatic surgery.

"There never was a defining moment when I thought, 'I'm not meant to be a boy,'" said Kim, who spoke exclusively to The Sun. "I've lived my entire life as a girl."

Thanks to her campaigning, the legal age for transgender surgery in Germany was dropped from 18 to 16. Kim began hormone therapy at the age of 13 in Hamburg, and made headlines after appearing on a German TV documentary to push for the right to have a sex change. . . .Read More

Gender variance or nonconformity is found wherever one finds people.

A closer view reveals many variations in gender expression. Note “sex” refers to biology, genes, hormones, body development, whereas “gender” is social role, cultural expectations for appearance and behavior. Gender expression varies over time and throughout cultures and may vary in the lifetimes of individuals. We sometimes hear “male or female”, “masculine or feminine”, as defining “the binary”. Typically, many want males masculine and females feminine, in a world where being androgenous or a hybrid may actually work better. Yet many individuals, for example, parents, teachers, and friends, including some with gender issues, crave the binary. In the case of a significantly gender variant person, gender expression often does not match the social or binary gender role assigned at birth. Nevertheless, the person's expressed gender may feel correct or natural. Thus a gender nonconforming person, maybe someone who even sees themselves as “non-binary”, may feel very uncomfortable with the gender expression expected by parents and significant others. Fortunately, there are a growing number of resources to help those interested understand gender, development, change and adaptation. And there are creative paths one may explore to hopefully find comfort, experience a measure of peace and happiness, and in the process find the gender expression that works best. Here I offer some news, information, resources, opinions and POVs to help you learn more about gender expression and life situations. We now know there are a variety of paths individuals discover that may contribute to positive life changes.

Books you may find interesting:

Benjamin, Harry. (1966). The Transsexual Phenomenon. New York: The Julian Press, Inc. Full text and photographs available as an electronic book: http://www.symposium.com/ijt/benjamin/

Blanchard, Ray and Steiner, Betty W. (1990). Clinical Management of Gender Identity Disorders in Children and Adults. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.

Bolin, Anne. (1988). In Search of Eve: Transsexual Rites of Passage. South Hadley, Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey.

Boenke, Mary, (Ed). (2003). Trans Forming Families. Hardy, VA: Oak Knoll Press.

Bornstein, Kate. (1994). Gender Outlaw: On men, women and the rest of us. Routledge: New York & London.

Brill, Stephanie & Pepper, Rachel. (2008). The Transgender Child. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Brown, Mildred L. & Rounsley, Chloe Ann. (1996). True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brownmiller, Susan. (1984). Femininity. New York: Linden / Simon Schuster.

Buss, David M. (1994). The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. New York: Basic Books.

Califia, Pat. (1997). Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Cameron, Loren. (1996). Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Colapinto, John. (2000). As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. New York: HarperCollins.

Cromwell, Jason. (1999). Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Devor, Holly. (1989). Gender Blending: Confronting The Limits of Duality. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Devor, Holly. (1997). Female to Male Transsexuals in Society. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Docter, Richard F. (1988). Transvestites and Transsexuals: Toward a Theory of Cross-Gender Behavior. New York: Plenum Press.

Ehrensaft, Diane. (2011). Gender Born, Gender Made. New York: The Experiment, LLC.

Green, Jamison. (2004). Becoming a Visible Man. Nashville:Vanderbilt Univerrsity Press.

Griggs, Claudine. (1996). Passage through Trinidad: Journal of a Surgical Sex Change. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co.

Griggs, Claudine. (1998). S/He: Changing Sex and Changing Clothes. Oxford: Berg.

HBIGDA, Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders, Sixth Version. (2001). http://www.hbigda.org/socv6.html#top

Kessler, Suzanne and McKenna, Wendy. (1978). Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Serano, Julia. (2007). Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Women on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. San Francisco: Seal Press.

Stuart, Kim Elizabeth. (1983). The Uninvited Dilemma: A Question of Gender. Portland, Oregon: Metamorphous Press, Inc.

Available from Metamorphous Press, Inc. P.O. Box 10616, Portland, Oregon 97210-0616. Fax (503) 223-9117 or Toll Free 1-800-937-7771

Sullivan, Lou. (1990). Information for the Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transsexual. Seattle, Washington: Ingersoll Gender Center.

Available from Ingersoll Gender Center. 1812 E. Madison Seattle, Washington 98122-2843. (206) 329-665

Williams, Walter L. (1986). The Spirit and The Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture. Boston: Beacon Press.

Zucker, Kenneth J. and Bradley, Susan J. (1995). Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents. New York: Guilford.

Gender and Life's Paths

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This Morning - Worlds Youngest Transsexual: Kim Petras

Chicago Moms Blog: Just looking for a little support for my transgendered child

Transsexual Charged Again with Back-Alley Silicone Injections

Female Pop Star, 16, Used to Be Male

Gender variance or nonconformity is found wherever one finds people.

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