Japan: Weekend Beat: When you're the boss, you can be yourself

08/11/2007
BY MAYUMI SAITO, STAFF WRITER

Nel Kisaragi smiled as she handed over her business card. Slender and fair-skinned, she is the president of Newgauge Inc., an IT marketing and system-consulting company with a dual mission: to make a profit and to improve the lives of members of the transgender community.

Kisaragi, a man until she adopted her female identity two years ago, is now in her late 20s. She started Newgauge in September 2005 with two other transgender executives. Among the company's 17-member staff, seven are male transsexuals.

The name Newgauge was chosen to convey the idea that new social standards or gauges are needed to enable society to better understand and accept differing sexual identities. Newgauge intends to establish itself, Kisaragi says, as a gender-free corporation competing in the computer and mobile-phone marketplace.

Workplace prejudice

The transgender community still encounters prejudice, especially in employment. "I've had many friends who say their only options were night jobs (bartending or working as hosts in transgender bars)," she says.

Gender-identity disorder (GID), a condition in which an individual has been assigned one gender, usually on the basis of their sex at birth, but identifies as belonging to another gender is now widely accepted.

In 2003, a law was enacted that allowed a change in gender registration, with certain restrictions, in family registries. However full acceptance in the workplace is still a long way off.

"In Japan, onee-man (literally sister-man) is in style, part of a fad in the fashion, beauty and entertainment industries. But you don't see them as bank tellers or stockbrokers," Kisaragi says.

Kisaragi explains that even if transgender individuals change their biological sex and gender in the family registry, many, by society's standards, don't look "right" for the target gender.

She says conservative employers are often concerned about how clients will react to transgender workers or fret about the use of restrooms.

"There are many bright people among the transgendered. They should be given more opportunities. Our company can demonstrate their potential in the IT field," Kisaragi says. Newgauge plans, designs and manages Web and mobile sites. It also does blog marketing, system consulting, production publicity and dispatches IT specialists to client firms.

She says a stereotype held by many young Japanese women--that transsexuals possess a heightened sense of beauty--works in her company's favor. Newgauge targets young women, she says, explaining that female consumers are big Internet shoppers, especially in the mobile-phone market. . . .

How Immigration Crackdown Policy Affects Transgender Community

By ILENE JONES, on Friday, 10 August 2007

ORLANDO (Genderology.com) - A policy meant to crack down on illegal immigration and terrorists will affect the LBGT community as well. Those people who are currently "in transition" will be affected by this policy, making it harder for them to get new jobs without "outing" themselves. Some transgender people who are now post-operative -- have had gender reassignment surgery, also known as genital reconstructive surgery and SRS -- but have not had their gender markers changed will also be affected by this, and other similar policies. These policies do not take into account the trouble that they cause for someone in this unique situation, because the position is not understood by many law makers. The transgender community is beginning to get more air time on TV, but very few shows detail the legal issues that a transgender person would have to endure during transition. Because most transgender people choose to live stealth, it has been difficult to bring these issues into the forefront.

This policy will cause the most problems for anyone who is pre-operative, living "full time", and has an employer who sends gender markers to Social Security as part of the verification. These individuals will be flagged, and if they are unable to clear the issue with the Social Security Administration, they will have to out themselves at work or risk loosing their jobs. Before the Social Security Administration will change the gender marker on a Social Security Card, they require a letter from the surgeon. There are many individuals who are unable to have surgery for medical reasons, and these individuals will always be "in transition" as they are unable to complete surgery and the final steps of the process. This same problem exists for most states and Birth Certificates, which must also match the Social Security Card.

An Orlando local writes, "Previously, the Social Security Administration was sending out letters to businesses where employee's name or gender marker on their file weren't matching.

These "No-Match" letters told the company that they had 60 days to fix this information or have the employee update their information. This previously caused transgender employees to be outted at their workplace. A new policy going into effect will require companies to fire employees if they do not fix the information within 90 days. If this policy goes into effect, there will be a lot of unemployed transgender individuals. I've actually received a notice from my employer a few months ago regarding one of these letters from the SSA. I'm definitely seeing this issue popping up again for me in the near future. . . .

Transcript, from CNN.com: Larry King Live. . .

Men who have surgery to become women, women who become men. . . .

Aired August 10, 2007 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Tonight, having surgery to change their sex. Men becoming women, women becoming men, a dad turned mom here with her sons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She took away our father, but in return she gave me another parent, a better parent. Our love is unconditional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: An 18-year-old in transition from male to female aiming to be the first transgender Victoria's Secret model. A former city manager named Steve who was fired after announcing his plan to change genders. He's here now as Susan. They are all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening. Tonight's show takes on the topic of gender reassignment surgery and the people who have had it. They are born one gender but emotionally they feel more like the opposite sex, so at some point in their lives they embark on a long, tough journey to physically change themselves into the person they feel like most rather than the person they were born as.

We begin with the amazing story of Jessica Lam, born a man, went on to marry, father children, eventually underwent gender reassignment surgery. Let's take a look at part of her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA LAM, FORMER MAN: When I was little, I used to wish that I could like get up and put on a skirt. Like I was this little boy who wanted to be a girl and now that I can get up, go grab me a skirt and wear it to work, guess what I'm wearing? A pair of jeans.

It's not what the world around me would say was normal, you know. I hate having to say that, normal, and I don't have to go around like telling people that, you know. I shouldn't have to. Just accept me. I'll take care of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Technically pizza is healthy because it's got meat and if you want can you have fruits and vegetables.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm upset that she took away our father but in return she gave me another parent, a better parent for me. JESSICA LAM: Some in my family did not agree with my decision, you know. They were uncomfortable with it and some of them are still uncomfortable with it, but they are willing to accept me.

Chris, you want to say grace then.

And our love is unconditional. . . .

Natalie's Trans Vlog: Self-Critical

A Family Doctor's Journey From Man to Woman

And what it means for his family of patients.

In 1988, Dr. Roy Berkowitz-Shelton opened Davis Square Family Practice in Somerville and sent out this letter to attract patients. The practice grew quickly. (Globe Photo / Christopher Churchill)

By Neil Swidey | August 10, 2007

The following is an excerpt of a story coming in Sunday's Boston Globe Magazine.

On May 22, 2006, Mike Foster was sitting on the padded exam table in his doctor's office, undergoing his annual physical. It was a familiar place. For 14 years, he'd been coming to see the same doctor in the same Somerville office a few blocks from the same two-family home that had been in Foster's family for four generations. And it was a comfortable place. Despite having to wear a hospital johnny that stretched to cover his 6-foot-7 frame, Foster felt at ease, because of the doctor sitting across from him. Roy Berkowitz-Shelton, a soft-spoken, bald, middle-aged family physician a foot shorter than Foster, always managed to convey competence and caring at the same time.

Foster, who managed truck sales for a local Chevy dealership, looked younger than his 52 years, with his full head of light-brown hair just beginning to admit some gray. But his body, which had served him well during his days playing basketball for Somerville High School, was definitely showing its miles. Bad knees, bone spurs in his heels, a blood clot in his leg, and a back so bad it required triple fusion spinal surgery. Throughout it all, Dr. Berkowitz-Shelton had been his source of stability, coordinating care with other specialists.

There was something else that made his doctor special. During visits, he always reserved ample time to talk about Foster's personal life, about his children, his marriage, his work, his level of happiness. They found that despite their different backgrounds, they had a lot in common: Both were 52-year-old, hard-working men devoted to their wives of 25 years and their college-age kids.

"He was a friend, a confidant," Foster says. "I felt I could talk to him about anything."

PHOTO GALLERY: A family doctor's journey

But as this exam was winding down, it was the doctor who chose to do the confiding. Peering over the glasses resting on the tip of his nose, he told Foster there was going to be a major change in the practice in about a month. A letter would soon be going out to all his patients, but he wanted to give Foster advance notice.

From the seriousness in his doctor's voice, Foster sensed he was about to tell him he was moving to California or retiring early or leaving medicine. He had built up so much trust in the guy that he dreaded the prospect of losing him.

"I'm going to be transitioning to live my life as a woman," the doctor said.

Foster was floored. He stared at Berkowitz-Shelton, and for the first time noticed that he was not just cleanshaven but now appeared to be devoid of facial hair. This was no joke. Foster struggled to come up with an appropriate response. But his first thought was how some of the tougher townies he grew up with in Somerville might have responded had they been sitting on the exam table, wearing the johnny. Would they have just punched him in the nose? Foster put that thought aside and said, "That's interesting. How are your peers taking the news?" Continued...

India: Another eunuch undergoes sex change surgery

Vellore, Tamil Nadu, Aug 10: Encouraged by the successful sex change surgery undergone by Simran on August 2,2006, a fellow eunuch, Bhanumathi, underwent the surgery at the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital.

Hospital Dean Dr S Manivel told newspersons here yesterday that the surgery was performed on Bhanumathi successfully and her health condition was normal.

Simran was recovering well after the successful surgery, he added. The Tamil Nadu Government had announced that such surgeries would be performed on eunuchs free of cost to enable their entry into the mainstream of society and save them from social ostracisation.

The hospital had received as many as 12 applications for the surgery. Of them, eight were shortlisted as the remaining four tested positive for HIV. The others would come under the scalpel in phases.

You can't keep your cross-dressing in the closet

CLAUDIA DEY

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

August 9, 2007 at 8:55 AM EDT

Group Therapy is a weekly relationship-based advice column that allows readers to contribute their wisdom. Each week, we'll offer up a problem for you to weigh in on, and then publish the most lively responses, with a final word on the matter delivered by our columnist, Claudia Dey.

The question

A reader writes: My wife and I have been married for a long time. Recently, I started acting on long-standing fantasies I've had about dressing as a woman. I keep it private. I'm not dating other people, nor have I gotten involved in a relationship with anyone while dressed as a woman. Regardless, I'm quite certain my wife would leave me in 10 seconds if she found out. But I hate keeping a secret from her. What's the best way to deal with a problem like this?

BE BRAVE, TALK IT OUT

This is a problem for you as an individual, because dressing as a woman seems to be important as an expression of your deep self. I applaud your courage in acting on your long-held desires. But it is also a problem for your marriage.

I believe you, but don't know why you think your wife would leave you "in 10 seconds" if she found out. Is it lack of tolerance on her part? That's something you could probably talk about with her, especially if you can talk it out over time. But that would mean keeping a secret from her for a long time, which would also not be good for your relationship.

I suggest you get some support from a counsellor who is familiar with transvestism. And if your wife's feelings are based on religious beliefs, see if you can find counselling that is knowledgeable about and sensitive to her religion.

You've already found your courage; now hold on to your patience, your compassion and your love for your wife. Good luck!

- Elise Moser, Montreal

KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF

Why do you hate keeping this a secret?

I can understand your guilt if your fantasy is not simply to dress as a woman, but to engage in a relationship while dressed as one. However, if your fantasy is simply to dress as a woman, I don't see what the issue is. You are being fulfilled, your wife isn't being hurt, and your relationship continues along its merry way. . . .

eFeminate Introduction

Compare Natalie's experience and process with that of a transgender person.

eFeminate is a blog about me, Natalie: an intersexed asexual who is taking estrogen to fully develop as a female. I’m in my 20s and discovering more and more about the strange and rare condition that caused me to generate an almost complete female anatomy while having a 46,XY karyotype.

Come with me on my journey as my body becomes feminine, and I face the challenges of female puberty in my adulthood. I’m completely candid and open about my experiences - there is simply not enough on the web about XY females for me to reserve myself. Let me be a force of learning in a world that doesn’t think people like me exist. There must be a place for the two-spirits of the world.

Where do you start? Try my Introduction. Alternatively, you can learn more about my condition here.

UK: Review of Cairn Hotel

RealTravel

“My weekend with the Transvestite/Transgender Congress”

By Joseph Smith

Okay, imagine this. You're in an area where there are many hotels and many more people who need hotel rooms.

It's the season for English holidays (vacations for those of you who haven't read or watched movies) and that equates to the season where lots of English hotels are full.

Here I am, on my own for the weekend to fend for myself in a foreign land. It's Thursday and I don't have a place to stay yet. I've called several places and no one seems to have any room at the Inn...

So imagine my surprise when a fairly nice hotel in Harrogate says that they can accommodate me for the weekend. Beautiful!

As with most hotels, the Cairn offers breakfast as part of the cost of the room. The breakfast buffet consists of scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms, stewed tomatoes, English bacon, fried eggs, baked beans, potato dumplings, toast, coffee or tea, sausage (herb and Leek or Cumberland), fruit juice (orange, apple, grapefruit).... They call it a "Full English Breakfast." Enough food even for a large, hungry American.

There I was, finishing up my breakfast when it starts to slowly register in my mind that most of the English ladies I'd seen walking in had been extraordinarily... Well, not nice looking. Once that goes from subconscious to conscious, I begin to notice that these ladies are also seriously tall for women. That's followed shortly by the fact that some of the ladies seem to be wearing wigs and still others seemed like they probably should have shaved a little more carefully.....

This is England. There are some cultural differences between our countries. Could be that this was some sort of strange men's club that required it's members to dress up as women and go to breakfast at a local restaurant. I mean, we have "The Hawgs," Washington Redskin fans who dress up as pigs in women's clothing and go to all the Redskin home games. Then they resume their normal lives the following day.

Okay, I'm very "live and let live." I'm very secure in my own sexuality and I figure everyone elses sexuality is their own affair. But wading through 60 or 70 extremely well-dressed (I'm talking pearls, silk dresses, furs, and some lovely perfumes...) "ladies" is a little odd. Following dinner, I felt like I needed to find out what was going on.

Me: "Um, can I ask you a question?"

Hotel Employee: "Certainly sir."

"The, um... Ladies in the other room...?"

"Yes?"

"Uhh... I don't want to be rude, but what's going on?"

That's when I found out that I was there during the Transvestite and Transgender Congress. Apparently an annual event hosted by the Cairn Hotel. . . .

A big year on the small screen

While a lot of work remains to be done, the 2006–2007 television season saw some important milestones for transgender people.

By Joanne Herman

An Advocate.com exclusive posted August 8, 2007

Last year, for the first time, we saw transgender characters in recurring roles on popular television programs, as opposed to one-episode, single-season cameos. In prime time, viewers of the popular ABC sitcom Ugly Betty saw the return of Alex Meade as Alexis (played by actress Rebecca Romijn). And during the day, viewers of ABC’s long-running soap All My Children witnessed Zoe (played by actor Jeffrey Carlson) deal with her transition to female.

ABC was very careful to seek the guidance of media watchdog GLAAD about Zoe’s character and chose to cast a male actor for the role, resulting in a very realistic and perhaps even overly sensitive portrayal. And while Ugly Betty’s story line does not lend itself to educating the public about transgenderism, Alexis has managed to avoid many of the stereotypes and sensationalism that have characterized transgender roles in the past.

I suppose we can forgive the casting of the gorgeous Romijn as Hollywood’s idea of a trans woman, in much the same way we still watch The L Word in spite of its slick L.A. lesbian chic. And I have to admit I had fun imagining myself in Zoe’s place as she fell in love with the very cute Bianca (played by actress Eden Riegel), the lesbian character known for participating in the first romantic kiss between two women on a daytime soap opera (All My Children in 2003).

Previously, the closest we had come to a recurring transgender character was on the CBS show The Education of Max Bickford in 2001. Actress Helen Shaver (of Desert Hearts fame) played Erica Bettis, a 40-something professor at an all-female college who had just returned to work after her sex-reassignment surgery. While Shaver played the part very realistically and her character dealt sensitively with some real-life transgender issues, Erica quietly disappeared from the show after only a few episodes. Some say that was the beginning of the end for the series, which was canceled only a few weeks later.

Of course, all of these television transgender roles have been played by nontransgender actors and actresses. But here we have a milestone too. This season saw trans woman and actress Candis Cayne as a murder victim in the episode "The Lying Game" on the hit CBS series CSI: New York. Her role, too, was a step up for the whole CSI series, in which transgender characters central to the plot have previously appeared only as murderers—Paul Millander in 2002 and Dr. Lavalle in 2004—although it’s true that some transgender people did have ancillary noncriminal roles in that 2004 episode.

In spite of that progress, CSI still has a long way to go. Cayne’s character was a confusion of transgender types. She clearly presented as a woman and yet was shown using the men’s room, probably because the writers thought that’s what we do when we have not had sex-reassignment surgery. Even though there was nothing about her character that felt like a gay man in drag, the murderer responded with the “ick factor” over the thought that he kissed a “guy,” offending many LGBT viewers in the process. And when the victim’s body was discovered, the detective declared that “Jane Doe is actually a John,” as if all transgender people are involved in sex work. Even the episode’s title was a slur against trans people who have not had surgery.

On the serious side, there was a huge milestone achieved this past season thanks to the ABC newsmagazine 20/20. Barbara Walters devoted an entire program to an informed and sensitive look at the issues of transgender children. For many viewers, it was their first exposure to trans kids and—more significant—an introduction to amazing parents who understand and do not reject their child’s gender non-conformance. ABC further posted additional helpful information on its Web site, including a comprehensive list of resources for parents.

But as good as that 20/20 episode was, this past season also included one of the worst televised documentaries in recent memory. MSNBC’s Born in the Wrong Body set a new low for the portrayal of transgender women. Virtually every camera shot seemed to be of a trans woman putting on lipstick or pantyhose, as if that’s the overriding reason someone would transition to female. This is yet another example of the sexism we trans women are subjected to, as I wrote about in my last column.

It’s too bad, because that documentary also featured some very insightful and useful segments from an interview with Simon Aranoff, deputy director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Speaking of Simon, his Trans Media Watch blog highlights another problem we had last season—the f word. No, not the one you were thinking of. Transgender people have an additional f word—freak. Radio talk show host Michael Savage used it in reference to murder victim Ruby Ordenana, as if transgenderism justified her murder. OK, so Savage’s show is not on TV, but his rant did make nightly news broadcasts. . . .

Larry King Live:

Men who have surgery to become women, women who become men. I go inside the world of transgender people. Tonight, 10 August 2007 9 ET.

New Jewish Reform movement manual

By Ben Harris

NEW YORK (JTA)—In a groundbreaking move to recognize the experiences of transgender Jews, the Reform movement has published several prayers for sanctifying the sex-change process.

The Union for Reform Judaism this week released the second edition of Kulanu, the union's 500-page resource manual for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion. The guide includes two blessings authored by Rabbi Elliot Kukla for transitioning genders.

Kukla, who was known as Eliza when ordained in 2006 by the movement's New York seminary, originally wrote the blessings for a friend who wanted to mark each time he received testosterone therapy. Still, Kukla believes they are appropriate for multiple moments in the sex-change process, including "moments of medical transitions."

Broad sections of the Jewish community now accept gays and lesbians serving as rabbis and cantors, and many support rabbinic officiating at same-sex commitment ceremonies. But the Reform movement, the country's largest synagogue denomination, had never gone as far as to say that it is kosher to recite a blessing for a sex change.

"There was a conversation about what we should include and what we shouldn't include," said Rabbi Richard Address, one of Kulanu's editors and the director of the union's Department of Jewish Family Concerns. "This was going to be a little bit out there."

The first Hebrew blessing praises God as "the Transforming One to those who transform/transition/cross over." A second blessing, intended to be said after completing the transition process, praises God, "who has made me in his image"—a reference to the description in Genesis of the creation of Adam.

A final blessing is the familiar Shehechiyanu, traditionally recited to mark special events or notable firsts.

"The midrash, classical Jewish exegesis, adds that the adam harishon, the first human being formed in God's likeness, was an androgynos, an intersex person," Kukla writes in a brief introduction. "Hence our tradition teaches that all bodies and genders are created in God's image whether we identify as men, women, intersex, or something else." . . .

Venus Xtravaganza. . .from the film, "Paris is Burning"

from Wikipedia:

"Venus Xtravaganza (died 1989) was a transgendered Latina saving up money for sex reassignment surgery while earning a living as a prostitute in New York City. She appeared in Jennie Livingston's Paris is Burning, a 1991 documentary film about New York City ball culture.

While her birth name and date of birth remain unknown, her last name was given to her because of her membership in the House of Xtravaganza. The house, like similar houses, is named in the style of European fashion houses (e.g. House of Chanel) and is an affiliation of young drag queens and transgendered youth who have come together around the Harlem drag ball scene.

During a 1987 interview in "Paris is Burning," she says she want to be "a spoiled, rich, white girl living in the suburbs." [1] She shares a story of her time as a prostitute where one of her clients became enraged upon the discovery that Venus was not a biological woman. Venus fled through a window and, fearing for her life, claims to have left the prostitution business as a result, opting instead to work as an escort.

According to her drag mother Anji Xtravaganza, Venus Xtravaganza was found strangled and stuffed under the bed in a New York hotel in 1989. [2] Her body was discovered by a stranger 4 days after her death.[3]"

Unfair and unequal: Attorney Minter champions rights of sexual minorities

Nov. 29, 2005

by George Lowery

When Shannon Price Minter, J.D. '93, returned to Cornell Law School Nov. 16 to speak about the future of gay rights, he brought a different perspective to bear on the issues. Minter, who attended the Law School as a woman, is now a married man and legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) in San Francisco.

Sheryl Sinkow Photography

Shannon Price Minter, who attended Cornell Law School as a woman, returned as a man Nov. 16 to speak about the future of gay and transgender rights.

"I remember my time here very vividly, and it's great to be back," said Minter, whose talk was sponsored by the Law School's Cyrus Mehri Public Interest Speakers Series. As a law student, Minter interned at the NCLR and helped start a legal aid program for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) who had been forcibly hospitalized for psychological treatment to change their gender identity.

In a dozen years with the NCLR, Minter has become known for his tireless work on precedent-setting cases. "We litigate across quite a wide range of issues across the country," said Minter. "Our goal is to advance the human rights and safety of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, so we end up litigating in state and federal court across the country." His successes include helping to pass anti-discrimination laws protecting transgender people in employment and health care.

"A really wrenching aspect of our work, one that is very dear to my heart, is working on behalf of LGBT youth in foster care and juvenile justice systems," Minter said. "No one can work in this area without being struck, first and foremost, by the overwhelming racism of our current child welfare system. The vast majority of children who are taken out of their homes and put into foster care or incarcerated are youth of color. And their families are subject to a degree of state surveillance and intervention that is rarely if ever directed at middle-class or upper-class families.

"For youth who are dealing with being gay or transgender on top of that, it's really hard to describe the brutality they're facing currently. It's really, literally, a nightmare for those young people. They are subjected to sexual assault, physical assault from other youth and often from staff. There's been very little legal progress in this area. We're representing a young gay man from Tennessee who went into a foster family that forced him to undergo repeated exorcisms to cure him of being gay."

Minter has also brought national attention to transgender parents threatened with losing parental rights. In 2003 Minter represented Michael Kantaras, a transgender father, in a custody battle televised in its entirety on Court TV. "Whatever theories or philosophies any of us may have about gender or about child development, the reality is that, for whatever reason, there are children born into this world who have a very deep-seated internal conviction that their gender is different than the one assigned to them at birth," Minter noted in a 2002 speech. . . .

Feminine guys better for long-term love: study

FP - Wednesday, August 8 01:20 pm

LONDON (AFP) - Women see masculine-looking men as more unsuitable long-term partners but men with more feminine features are seen as more committed and less likely to stray, researchers said Wednesday.

Scientists at the universities of Durham and St Andrews came to the conclusion by asking more than 400 British men and women to make judgments on character after looking at digitally-altered pictures of men's faces.

The web-based test asked participants to rate the face for traits such as dominance, ambition, wealth, faithfulness, commitment, parenting skills, and warmth.

Men with square jaws, larger noses and smaller eyes were classed as significantly more dominant, less faithful, worse parents and as having less warm personalities.

Those with finer facial features, fuller lips, wide eyes and thinner, more curved eyebrows on the other hand were viewed as a better bet for long-term relationships.

And healthier-looking faces, for example those with better complexions, were seen as more desirable in terms of all personality traits compared to those who looked unhealthy.

Older faces were also generally viewed more positively compared to younger ones.

The scientists said there was a "high amount of agreement" between women about what they see in terms of personality when seeing a man's face and they may well use their impression to decide whether or not to engage with him. . . .

Embracing the Spectrum

Gender educator Stephanie Brill has a mantra to spread: Let your kids be who they want to be.

By Lauren Gard

Published: August 8, 2007

When people claim their goal in life is to make the world a better place for children, it typically comes off as a painful cliché. But when Stephanie Brill says it, you believe her.

Brill at home

The Orinda mother of four isn't dedicated to reversing global warming or raising awareness of Darfur's plight. She merely wants to help people understand gender. In particular, to help parents and educators realize that kids don't automatically identify as the gender their chromosomes dictate. And that if your son adores dresses or your daughter considers herself more "boy" than "tomboy," that's okay. Or at least it should be.

That's also the essential mission of Gender Spectrum Education and Training, the Orinda pending nonprofit Brill cofounded and directs. In some ways, it's a natural extension of Maia Midwifery & Preconception Services, Brill's longtime practice catering primarily to queer couples. Through Maia, she helps clients understand that conceiving a child does not require a traditional partnership. And through Gender Spectrum, she spreads the gospel that being a child does not require being traditionally male or female: "If we were just to honor each child and each person as, hmm ... who are you? What are you interested in? How do you like to play? What colors do you like? What kind of clothes do you like? How do you like to wear your hair?" she says. . . .

Transgender inmate castrated himself with disposable razor

10:04 AM MST on Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Monique James KTVB-TV / KTVB.com


Watch Video

Inmate claimed cruel and unusual punishment

BOISE, ID -- A federal judge has ruled a Boise transgender inmate will receive female hormone therapy, paid for by the state of Idaho.

Jenniffer Spencer, who changed her name from Randall Gammett, castrated herself with a disposable razor blade after she was refused female hormone therapy for her gender identity disorder during her time in prison.

The Idaho Department of Corrections, funded by the state and taxpayer dollars, must provide psychotherapy and estrogen to Spencer for the duration of her time in prison, which is two more years.

Spencer was biologically born a man. She sued the Idaho Department of Corrections, and the physicians there, for failing to diagnose Gender Identity Disorder and treating it using female hormones.

Instead, doctors diagnoseda non-specific gender disorder as well as bi-polar disorder and offered her the male hormone, testosterone, not estrogen which she says she needed.

In the suit, Spencer claims her constitutional rights were violated and that she was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment with the state's failed diagnosis. . . .

Transending Spencer

Spencer's Transition Journal.

About Me

Name: Spencer

You've stumbled upon the domain of an 18 year old Transman residing in Australia.

Friday, February 16, 2007

I am whole.

I'm on the flip side, my chest is amazing.

My surgeon, Dr. Hassall of Sydney, did an amazing job.

She is well known within the ftm community as a reputable chest reconstruction surgeon in Australia, and had performed the operation countless times with sucess prior to operating on me, which was my main reason in choosing her. As well as the convenient location.

Surgery was uneventful, which is a good thing. I woke up and all I cared about was peeing, because I thought I'd piss myself. After that, I looked down and realised that although I was bound with a surgical binder and cotton; my chest was far flatter than I had even been able to get it whilst binding at home.

I first saw my chest a couple of hours after the surgery was over, when my Dr. came in to check on it. I cried.

I can't even write down here what it meant to have those...things...off my chest for good. What it means now, even though I have to bind for 4 more weeks, is that now when I shower and look down, I don't feel disgusted.

I feel proud.
About my own body.
Who would have thought? . . .

Guest Commentary: Calpernia Addams

Wednesday, August 8

By: John Polly

More on: calpernia addams, Guest Commentary, Trans Issues, Transgender

NO TRANS PERSON LEFT BEHIND
Actress and activist Calpernia Addams sheds light on how trans Americans get shut out of the system, and what needs to change.

As George W. Bush’s eight years in the office of President come to a close, we can survey the damage done and see why the upcoming election is profoundly important to the GLBT community. While many may make easy snipes at his seeming difficulty with expressing coherent ideas and his confidence-shattering permanent facial expression of bewildered petulance, the larger view shows a nation entangled in war, manipulated by fear and shaped by often hypocritical religious ideals that mostly benefit a conservative herteronormative Christian upper class.

If we allow conservatives to enthrone another President, there might very well come a day when we are all swiping our National ID card to buy a ten dollar gallon of dirty gasoline on the way to cover for the hetero office-mate who left for the work-sanctioned honeymoon vacation we will never have.

On a deeper level, most of the rights and provisions that gay and lesbian people want are tied to legal identity in fundamental ways which they never have to consider. Jane Smith will most likely always be Jane Smith, so the marriage issue is a matter of securing equal access to marriage’s legal privileges for same-gendered partners and preventing heterocentric language like “one man and one woman” from being amended to the Constitution.

For trans people, our right to legally claim even our basic gender identity is barricaded behind an often unhelpful, unaccepting bureaucracy of heterosexual faces, and frequently at the whim of a particular clerk or presiding judge.

When a person’s legal gender identity does not match their gender presentation, even accessing justice normally accorded to “everyone” becomes difficult at times, much less the advances being sought by the larger gay and lesbian community. This fact highlights the looming danger to trans people from conservative pet ideas like a “National ID card,” which would tie a trans person’s history of governmentally determined identification into a central national database available to unspecified agencies and businesses. Once identification is codified and centralized into this Big Brother system, a single governmental decision along the lines of “a transsexual woman is not really a woman” could expand into every instance of a trans person’s interaction with government, work and commerce.

For trans people, before even issues like equal marriage rights are considered, I believe we must attain full and protected legal rights as our gender. This will not happen under a Republican controlled government.

Voting in a Presidential election is a simple process for most people, but registration and contact with governmental agencies is required. Many trans people have dealt with rejection by crucial support systems such as family, school and the medical establishment beginning at an early age. They shift to living off the government’s radar by abandoning their incongruent legal identity and earning their living in parallel economies of grey market employment and under-the-table payments. They lack the mentoring necessary to learn basic civic procedures like voter registration, and often are reluctant to reveal or reactivate their abandoned, wrong-gendered identities in order to perform these procedures. The GLBT community, and specifically those in the trans community with the time and ability, could add crucial voters to their rosters by helping trans people accustomed to living outside of the legal system register to vote.

A significant section of the trans population is occupied with simple survival, and another section lives hidden in precarious stealth to avoid society’s prejudice. But there are many trans people who are out and active in the GLBT community, and they can bridge to the larger trans community with some help.

Trans people are often among the most visible representatives to outsiders, so involving, helping and mobilizing this “face of the community” serves to disarm some of the favorite conservative criticisms and empower an inspiring part of our group. I hope that the GLB community will continue to grow their appreciation of the T, and make sure no one is left behind as we marshal our forces in this upcoming push to elect a President who will consider our needs along with those of every other American.

52 Things You Can Do for Transgender Equality

Achieving our goal of transgender equality requires activism at the local, state and national levels. While NCTE focuses on federal policies, we strongly support and encourage the vital work of grassroots activists. Each week during 2006, we featured an idea for action that you can take at a local level. Some are challenging, while others are relatively simple; all are effective ideas and include links, resources and thoughts to help you get started. Some are things you can do on your own, while others are ideas for local groups to work on. We hope that you will take on projects that spark your interest and that meet a need in your community as we work together for equality for all people.

You can print out our free poster of 52 Things You Can Do for Transgender Equality and put it on your wall where other people can see it and get inspired to take action of their own. Or, click on an idea here to read more details and find resources on how to accomplish each of these things.

#1: Take a Trans Person to Lunch
#2: Ask your library to carry books that deal positively with trans people
#3: Attend an anti-racism training and put into practice what you learn
#4: Run for Office
#5: Invite your mayor or other elected official to address a trans group or town meeting
#6: Plan an Art Show of Works by Trans Artists . . . .