By DAVID LOWE
September 17, 2007
LOADS of men’s groups have stripped for cheeky nude calendars to raise money for charity.
Usually the lads are beefy firemen, hunky cops or even fun-loving farmers.
But now there’s a new bunch of blokes in the mix – and they all used to be WOMEN.
The revealing Calendar Girls-style ‘Transtastic Men’ project is intended to raise public awareness of female to male transsexuals in the UK.
An NHS estimate states around one in 100,000 women here will try to change sex, compared with one in 30,000 men.
Of course not everyone is sympathetic, but the organisers of the ground-breaking calendar hope they’ll at least prompt debate on a hidden facet of society. . . .
For more information about the Transtastic Men calendar shot by Paula James visit pfc.org.uk/calendar
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TIFF Review: XXY
TIFF Review: XXY
Posted Sep 16th 2007 8:06PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie
When XXY opens, we're greeted with beautiful, undersea masses, each looking like they exist in their own floating world -- while still being attached to each other through waving, living cords. It's a stunning, yet sadly apt metaphor for the film, because while these are interconnected, the characters in Lucia Puenzo's film are anything but. They are struggling -- both to connect with each other and to uphold what they think is right. Unfortunately, the realm of what is 'right' is wavering and unclear. In the first scene, we see the start of an autopsy on a dead turtle. When the shell is removed, marine biologist Kraken (Ricardo Darín) sadly states that it was a girl. Unfortunately, his world isn't as cut and dry as the slain turtle's.
He has a kid named Alex -- wonderfully played by Inés Efron. Alex is a hermaphrodite who has been living through her adolescence as a girl. The family has moved around a lot, and it becomes clear that they've done so for the young kid's privacy and comfort. Alex's mother Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli), without talking to her husband, invites a surgeon and his family to visit and assess the situation -- with hopes that Alex will agree to have her penis removed and finally transition into one sex. What Suli doesn't realize is that Alex has stopped taking the prescribed hormones.
When the surgeon arrives, Alex flirts with and befriends his son, Alvaro (Martín Piroyansky). Their friendship is strained and confused. Both kids are struggling to define their own identities, and Alex, in particular, is very wary of people's motivations, due to his/her own ambiguous existence. Alvaro fills the spot of Alex's best friend -- exposition explains that Alex got in trouble for punching him, and now they're estranged. As the two families meet and interact, Alex's struggle unfolds -- from the pressure to neglect bodily urges to appease the hopeful demands of family, to his/her existence in the world-at-large.
While the story is solid, Efron's amazing performance makes it shine. She not only brings Alex to life, but also infuses the character with depth. It helps that the actress is 22, and not Alex's age, but this isn't some 90210 casting. Efron is completely believable. Each time her large, blue eyes fill with water, it's heart-wrenching. Free from sobs and dramatic emotion, the tears perfectly illustrate Alex's inner struggle. What really stings about this story is that this young kid has no idea who (s)he is. Coming from a youth driven by hormone pills, Alex doesn't even know what life, and his/her body, would be like without them. There is no physical basis, or set "I" as home base. It's no wonder that the kid is struggling to find an identity.
The struggles of those around Alex are equally moving. Instead of falling into the familiar dramatic trap where each character embodies a certain attitude or purpose, they are rich and diverse. Alex's mom clearly doesn't understand or recognize the struggles her child is going through, but at the same time, she's not overly-pushy, controlling, or in denial, like you might imagine. But Alex's father is the only one who really tries to understand Alex's turmoil. That doesn't mean the scenario is okay with him, but his desire for Alex to be centered and happy rises above his own expectations and hopes.
XXY is refreshing because it doesn't exist in binaries. Alex doesn't know what the future holds -- life as a woman, a man, or just as (s)he was born -- and the film doesn't presume to know either. It's simply the struggle of a young, misunderstood kid who just wants to be happy, accepted, and at ease.
Tags: cinematical, film, Ines Efron, InesEfron, Lucia Puenzo, LuciaPuenzo, Martin Piroyansky, MartinPiroyansky, movies, Ricardo Darin, RicardoDarin, Valeria Bertuchelli, ValeriaBertuchelli, XXY
POV, Critique, Opinion: Wherein Matt 'races' to condemn 'she-males'
In a new commentary on The Employment NonDiscrimination Act (ENDA), the Concerned Women For America's liability-in-waiting, Matt Barber, says many egregious things. For one, he completely throws out the possibility that either gays or transgenders could have any bio-genetic root for their feelings, painting both as "chosen behaviors." He also offensively uses words like "cross dresser" and "she-male," and crudely depicts a theoretical transgender teacher as having "a five o’clock shadow, calves like Schwarzenegger, an Adam’s apple the size of a golf ball and is stuffed into a miniskirt like a ten pound turkey in a five pound bag." And then there's the parroting of the typical flawed "pro-family" rhetoric, with Matt asserting that this particular gay rights measure would just basically kill both free speech and religion as we know it.
So basically, we're saying that Matt's commentary is as reliably insulting to the LGBT community as one would expect from Mr. Barber. However, we would argue that this latest waste of text offends another community as well. Consider this passage (highlighting our own) and then we'll get back to you:
Sean was a redheaded, freckled lad of pure Irish descent. Growing up, he always felt something was wrong. He didn’t like green beer, corned beef hash or any of the other things the Irish were supposed to like. Rather, he was fascinated by African-American culture and eventually made the self-determination that he was, in fact, a black man trapped in a white man’s body. No, not like Vanilla Ice, Eminem or other posers; Sean actually believed it.
There were others who felt the same way, and a movement was formed. They called themselves “transracial.” They made up fancy, official sounding terms like “race identity” and “race reassignment surgery.” They demanded special rights and government-mandated benefits such as affirmative action and reparations.
Okay, that hasn’t happened yet (that I know of). The whole idea is pretty ridiculous, right?
So the ridiculousness of the passage -- which Matt goes on to juxtapose with a transgender situation, so as to make it seem as if both are bizarre "choices" -- is apparently known to even Matt. But to us, the above would also seem to transcend ridiculousness and venture into offense, due to the way Matt clumsily talks here in terms of cultural elements rather than actual identity. For instance, Matt asserts that folks like Eminem are inadequately trying to present themselves as black men trapped in white men's bodies. In saying that, he is painting African-American culture with broad, stereotype-laden brush strokes in a way that makes it sound as if one's affection or skills in regards to hip hop are effective gauges of their desire to be Black. And even though he has positioned his fictional "Sean" character as going beyond the Vanilla Ices of the world and into a realm where he REALLY thinks that because of certain cultural attractions that he is himself part of the African-American community, Matt is still acting as if there are certain unnamed cultural elements that automatically define the Black community (even if doing so in jest). And since he quite seriously tries to use the above to discredit transgeder individuals, he is, by extension, making it sound as if that movement also involves a desire to be part of a certain group's ways of operation and stereotypes, rather than an actual physiological yearning to reconcile body with mind. Ridiculous, indeed!
It may seem silly to even begin to analyze Matt's words when he resorts to tactics as mind-numbingly irrational as comparing gender identity to race. But to us, these kids seem to more fully reveal their hands every time they resort to such flawed games. They show just how little they understand about human nature, as well as how far they will go to make gays look unsavory. And it shows that while Matt and company so frequently accuse gays of "hijacking" African-American civil rights in their pushes for gay equality, it is truly their team who will exploit and misrepresent any and every group for their own unsavory gains!
So basically, we're saying that Matt's commentary is as reliably insulting to the LGBT community as one would expect from Mr. Barber. However, we would argue that this latest waste of text offends another community as well. Consider this passage (highlighting our own) and then we'll get back to you:
Sean was a redheaded, freckled lad of pure Irish descent. Growing up, he always felt something was wrong. He didn’t like green beer, corned beef hash or any of the other things the Irish were supposed to like. Rather, he was fascinated by African-American culture and eventually made the self-determination that he was, in fact, a black man trapped in a white man’s body. No, not like Vanilla Ice, Eminem or other posers; Sean actually believed it.
There were others who felt the same way, and a movement was formed. They called themselves “transracial.” They made up fancy, official sounding terms like “race identity” and “race reassignment surgery.” They demanded special rights and government-mandated benefits such as affirmative action and reparations.
Okay, that hasn’t happened yet (that I know of). The whole idea is pretty ridiculous, right?
So the ridiculousness of the passage -- which Matt goes on to juxtapose with a transgender situation, so as to make it seem as if both are bizarre "choices" -- is apparently known to even Matt. But to us, the above would also seem to transcend ridiculousness and venture into offense, due to the way Matt clumsily talks here in terms of cultural elements rather than actual identity. For instance, Matt asserts that folks like Eminem are inadequately trying to present themselves as black men trapped in white men's bodies. In saying that, he is painting African-American culture with broad, stereotype-laden brush strokes in a way that makes it sound as if one's affection or skills in regards to hip hop are effective gauges of their desire to be Black. And even though he has positioned his fictional "Sean" character as going beyond the Vanilla Ices of the world and into a realm where he REALLY thinks that because of certain cultural attractions that he is himself part of the African-American community, Matt is still acting as if there are certain unnamed cultural elements that automatically define the Black community (even if doing so in jest). And since he quite seriously tries to use the above to discredit transgeder individuals, he is, by extension, making it sound as if that movement also involves a desire to be part of a certain group's ways of operation and stereotypes, rather than an actual physiological yearning to reconcile body with mind. Ridiculous, indeed!
It may seem silly to even begin to analyze Matt's words when he resorts to tactics as mind-numbingly irrational as comparing gender identity to race. But to us, these kids seem to more fully reveal their hands every time they resort to such flawed games. They show just how little they understand about human nature, as well as how far they will go to make gays look unsavory. And it shows that while Matt and company so frequently accuse gays of "hijacking" African-American civil rights in their pushes for gay equality, it is truly their team who will exploit and misrepresent any and every group for their own unsavory gains!
New Corporate Equality Index finds record number of companies earning perfect 100 percent score on annual ranking of corporate policies toward GLBT em
September 17, 2007
Chris Johnson
Hrc_cei2008_thumbnailToday the HRC Foundation releases its new 2008 Corporate Equality Index, our annual guide on how companies in corporate America are measuring up in their industries and across the business spectrum in their policies toward their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. The increase in the number of companies that score a 100% on the Index each year (the 2008 CEI reports that 195 companies earned a perfect score - up from 138 last year) provides strong evidence that the business community recognizes that it just makes smart sense for them to make their workplaces welcoming and supportive of their GLBT workers.
Daryl Herrschaft, our workplace project director, says this year's record number of companies scoring 100% can be significantly attributed to one, key motivating factor - competition:
Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of HRC, released our annual Corporate Equality Index showing continued strong growth in companies address GLBT workplace fairness. An unprecedented 195 companies received the top score of 100 percent. Collectively, these companies employ more than 8 million workers and that validates the work of the HRC Foundation in “changing the air” in which GLBT issues are discussed. Because, even our straight colleagues at these companies get a message from their leadership everyday that GLBT Americans should be given equal treatment and equal respect at work.
But, the Corporate Equality Index does more than just track the changes that are occurring in corporate America, along with the work of GLBT employees, it drives the issue forward. It’s about one word: competition. Successfully vying for the best and brightest talent and the economic clout of GLBT consumers means one thing to these fair-minded companies: implement the policies on the Corporate Equality Index and reach the coveted 100 percent. That means providing equal benefits to domestic partners and transgender employees, banning anti-GLBT discrimination and giving back to GLBT community organizations.
Publishing the Corporate Equality Index involves a lot more than administering a survey and reporting the results. The professional staff of the HRC Foundation Workplace Project use every interaction with companies as an advocacy opportunity. The results have been impressive. As a sponsor of HRC’s Nashville Dinner, we worked closely with Bridgestone all year and helped them improve their score from 45 to 80. We met extensively with Starbucks regarding protections for transgender employees leading the company to add gender identity to its non-discrimination policy and achieve 100 percent for the first time this year. And for all of the companies that participate we provide: model policies such as gender transition guidelines; scholarly papers on benefits equivalency from family leave to pensions and beyond; and, real-time information on legal development that impact GLBT workers.
Enjoy the report. Use it to find that new job or decide which products to buy. It is chock full of information on many companies that striving toward equality, and, yes, even the ones that don’t. . . .
Chris Johnson
Hrc_cei2008_thumbnailToday the HRC Foundation releases its new 2008 Corporate Equality Index, our annual guide on how companies in corporate America are measuring up in their industries and across the business spectrum in their policies toward their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. The increase in the number of companies that score a 100% on the Index each year (the 2008 CEI reports that 195 companies earned a perfect score - up from 138 last year) provides strong evidence that the business community recognizes that it just makes smart sense for them to make their workplaces welcoming and supportive of their GLBT workers.
Daryl Herrschaft, our workplace project director, says this year's record number of companies scoring 100% can be significantly attributed to one, key motivating factor - competition:
Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of HRC, released our annual Corporate Equality Index showing continued strong growth in companies address GLBT workplace fairness. An unprecedented 195 companies received the top score of 100 percent. Collectively, these companies employ more than 8 million workers and that validates the work of the HRC Foundation in “changing the air” in which GLBT issues are discussed. Because, even our straight colleagues at these companies get a message from their leadership everyday that GLBT Americans should be given equal treatment and equal respect at work.
But, the Corporate Equality Index does more than just track the changes that are occurring in corporate America, along with the work of GLBT employees, it drives the issue forward. It’s about one word: competition. Successfully vying for the best and brightest talent and the economic clout of GLBT consumers means one thing to these fair-minded companies: implement the policies on the Corporate Equality Index and reach the coveted 100 percent. That means providing equal benefits to domestic partners and transgender employees, banning anti-GLBT discrimination and giving back to GLBT community organizations.
Publishing the Corporate Equality Index involves a lot more than administering a survey and reporting the results. The professional staff of the HRC Foundation Workplace Project use every interaction with companies as an advocacy opportunity. The results have been impressive. As a sponsor of HRC’s Nashville Dinner, we worked closely with Bridgestone all year and helped them improve their score from 45 to 80. We met extensively with Starbucks regarding protections for transgender employees leading the company to add gender identity to its non-discrimination policy and achieve 100 percent for the first time this year. And for all of the companies that participate we provide: model policies such as gender transition guidelines; scholarly papers on benefits equivalency from family leave to pensions and beyond; and, real-time information on legal development that impact GLBT workers.
Enjoy the report. Use it to find that new job or decide which products to buy. It is chock full of information on many companies that striving toward equality, and, yes, even the ones that don’t. . . .
American College of Physicians publishes 'The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health'
Groundbreaking textbook to teach current and future providers about health-care needs of sexual minorities
PHILADELPHIA, September 17, 2007 - In October the American College of Physicians (ACP) will publish "The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health." Edited by Dr. Harvey Makadon, Dr. Ken Mayer, and Hilary Goldhammer of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Community Health, and Dr. Jennifer Potter of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the textbook is designed to teach current and future medical providers about the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minorities.
"The American College of Physicians is pleased to present this outstanding text, which fulfills an important but currently unmet educational need for a broad range of health care providers," said Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP, Senior Vice President, Medical Education and Publishing at ACP.
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans, in addition to having the same basic health needs as the general population, also experience health disparities because of continuing discrimination and ignorance related to sexual orientation or gender identity. For example:
* LGBT people as a whole are 40 to 70 percent more likely to smoke than non-LGBT people;
* Gay and bisexual men continue to be at increased risk for HIV and other STD acquisition and transmission;
* Many providers have little knowledge of transgender people and their specialized medical and mental health needs;
* LGBT youth are often isolated and at higher risk for depression and attempted suicide;
* Lesbians may be at greater risk than other women for certain kinds of cancer.
Despite these disparities, many medical providers are unaware of specific health issues impacting LGBT people or are unskilled in making their practices welcoming and inclusive of LGBT patients. "The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health" draws on Fenway Community Health's more than 35 years providing medical and mental health care to the LGBT community to address this common disconnect between doctor and patient. . . .
PHILADELPHIA, September 17, 2007 - In October the American College of Physicians (ACP) will publish "The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health." Edited by Dr. Harvey Makadon, Dr. Ken Mayer, and Hilary Goldhammer of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Community Health, and Dr. Jennifer Potter of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the textbook is designed to teach current and future medical providers about the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minorities.
"The American College of Physicians is pleased to present this outstanding text, which fulfills an important but currently unmet educational need for a broad range of health care providers," said Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP, Senior Vice President, Medical Education and Publishing at ACP.
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans, in addition to having the same basic health needs as the general population, also experience health disparities because of continuing discrimination and ignorance related to sexual orientation or gender identity. For example:
* LGBT people as a whole are 40 to 70 percent more likely to smoke than non-LGBT people;
* Gay and bisexual men continue to be at increased risk for HIV and other STD acquisition and transmission;
* Many providers have little knowledge of transgender people and their specialized medical and mental health needs;
* LGBT youth are often isolated and at higher risk for depression and attempted suicide;
* Lesbians may be at greater risk than other women for certain kinds of cancer.
Despite these disparities, many medical providers are unaware of specific health issues impacting LGBT people or are unskilled in making their practices welcoming and inclusive of LGBT patients. "The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health" draws on Fenway Community Health's more than 35 years providing medical and mental health care to the LGBT community to address this common disconnect between doctor and patient. . . .
Research Reveals Two Types of Male to Female Transsexuals
A large international study of male to female transsexuals (n = 254,878) from ages 15 to 85 involving 37 countries on four continents showed that all subjects could be divided into two distinct groups, those 175 cm or taller and those less than 175 cm in height. Moreover, the shorter ones were on average significantly younger than the taller ones and in addition tended to weigh less. The shorter group also averaged smaller shoe sizes. In addition, the tall ones had an average annual income greater than the short ones. The tall group averaged higher scores on general knowledge of computers and related technology. However, one notable exception was that the extremes in ages, those between 15 and 25 compared to those between 75 and 85, showed the younger group scored significantly higher (p < .0001) on measures of computer skills than the older group. The younger group average was also significantly higher than the taller or shorter group averages. Interestingly, both members of the taller and shorter groups tended to report wearing sweaters when in colder climates; this was particularly true of those living in Canada, Northern Europe and Asia, and Tierra del Fuego. A popular beverage for the younger group was “Jolt” whereas the older group couldn’t identify “Jolt” and tended to prefer black tea with a shot of bourbon. It is hypothesized that female to male transsexuals can also be divided into short and tall groups. That study is now in progress.
(Satire prompted by those inclined to divide transsexuals into two simple groups and then give the impression that research is beyond criticism or social impact.)
(Satire prompted by those inclined to divide transsexuals into two simple groups and then give the impression that research is beyond criticism or social impact.)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Fuera del Closet
Gay and Transgender Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas
New America Media, Video, Sergio Chapa, Posted: Sep 17, 2007
Dallas-based journalist Sergio Chapa and photojournalist Ben Torres Jr.’s independent documentary "Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas" explores the way Hispanic immigration is changing the face of LGBT life in Texas.
DALLAS, Tex. – Although Dallas is often referred to as the "buckle of the Bible Belt," many gay Hispanic immigrants say they have found tolerance, acceptance and the ability to have their own clubs and bars without problems or harassment.
Hispanics are now the majority in Dallas neighborhoods that were predominately African American or Anglo as little as 10 years ago. The LGBT community is no exception.
Hispanic immigration has transformed Cedar Springs, the city's principal gay district. The once-segregated neighborhood now has a gay Latino club and other spots that appeal to Hispanics. Immigrants have also created a separate gay district of their own in another area of Dallas known as "Little Mexico."
At the same time, transvestite and transexual entertainers are bravely breaking barriers by performing at taquerías and Mexican restaurants for straight audiences across the metroplex.
These entertainers, who have performed in Mexico and California, say they have never performed for so large an audience as they have in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Dallas-based journalist Sergio Chapa and photojournalist Ben Torres Jr.’s independent documentary "Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas" debuted over Labor Day weekend at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists’ Association’s annual convention in San Diego.
New America Media, Video, Sergio Chapa, Posted: Sep 17, 2007
Dallas-based journalist Sergio Chapa and photojournalist Ben Torres Jr.’s independent documentary "Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas" explores the way Hispanic immigration is changing the face of LGBT life in Texas.
DALLAS, Tex. – Although Dallas is often referred to as the "buckle of the Bible Belt," many gay Hispanic immigrants say they have found tolerance, acceptance and the ability to have their own clubs and bars without problems or harassment.
Hispanics are now the majority in Dallas neighborhoods that were predominately African American or Anglo as little as 10 years ago. The LGBT community is no exception.
Hispanic immigration has transformed Cedar Springs, the city's principal gay district. The once-segregated neighborhood now has a gay Latino club and other spots that appeal to Hispanics. Immigrants have also created a separate gay district of their own in another area of Dallas known as "Little Mexico."
At the same time, transvestite and transexual entertainers are bravely breaking barriers by performing at taquerías and Mexican restaurants for straight audiences across the metroplex.
These entertainers, who have performed in Mexico and California, say they have never performed for so large an audience as they have in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Dallas-based journalist Sergio Chapa and photojournalist Ben Torres Jr.’s independent documentary "Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas" debuted over Labor Day weekend at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists’ Association’s annual convention in San Diego.
Gene determines whether male body odor smells pleasant
To many, urine smells like urine and vanilla smells like vanilla. But androstenone, a derivative of testosterone that is a potent ingredient in male body odor, can smell like either � depending on your genes. While many people ascribe a foul odor to androstenone, usually that of stale urine or strong sweat, others find the scent sweet and pleasant. Still others cannot smell it at all.
New research from Rockefeller University, performed in collaboration with scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, reveals for the first time that this extreme variability in people�s perception of androstenone is due in large part to genetic variations in a single odorant receptor called OR7D4. The research is reported September 16 as an advance online publication of the journal Nature.
Androstenone, found in higher concentrations in the urine and sweat of men than of women, is used by some mammals to convey social and sexual information, and the ability to perceive androstenone�s scent may have far-reaching behavioral implications for humans.
In the largest study ever conducted of its kind, researchers at Rockefeller University presented nearly 400 participants with 66 odors at two different concentrations and asked them to rate the pleasantness and intensity of each odor. When scientists at Duke University identified OR7D4 as a receptor that androstenone selectively activates, Leslie Vosshall, Chemers Family Associate Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at Rockefeller University and Andreas Keller, a postdoc in her lab, formed a collaboration with them, and began collecting blood samples from each participant and isolated their DNA. The Duke team, led by Hiroaki Matsunami, used DNA from each participant to sequence the gene that encodes the OR7D4 receptor.
�With this large dataset, we are able to say that people who express different variants of this receptor perceive this odor differently,� says Vosshall.
Although it has long been suspected that the ability to perceive the odor of androstenone is genetically determined, this study was the first to identify variations in a single gene that account for a large part of why people perceive androstenone�s scent so differently. . . .
New research from Rockefeller University, performed in collaboration with scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, reveals for the first time that this extreme variability in people�s perception of androstenone is due in large part to genetic variations in a single odorant receptor called OR7D4. The research is reported September 16 as an advance online publication of the journal Nature.
Androstenone, found in higher concentrations in the urine and sweat of men than of women, is used by some mammals to convey social and sexual information, and the ability to perceive androstenone�s scent may have far-reaching behavioral implications for humans.
In the largest study ever conducted of its kind, researchers at Rockefeller University presented nearly 400 participants with 66 odors at two different concentrations and asked them to rate the pleasantness and intensity of each odor. When scientists at Duke University identified OR7D4 as a receptor that androstenone selectively activates, Leslie Vosshall, Chemers Family Associate Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at Rockefeller University and Andreas Keller, a postdoc in her lab, formed a collaboration with them, and began collecting blood samples from each participant and isolated their DNA. The Duke team, led by Hiroaki Matsunami, used DNA from each participant to sequence the gene that encodes the OR7D4 receptor.
�With this large dataset, we are able to say that people who express different variants of this receptor perceive this odor differently,� says Vosshall.
Although it has long been suspected that the ability to perceive the odor of androstenone is genetically determined, this study was the first to identify variations in a single gene that account for a large part of why people perceive androstenone�s scent so differently. . . .
Korea: Gender Bending Shopping Goes Mainstream
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Tie-wearing women and lip-glossed men are no longer social taboos, but exemplify the up and coming metrosexual trend that makes marketers wonder if the local consumption swap is just a fad, or here to last.
A recent report by online retailer Interpark showed that, over the past three years, men buying cosmetics jumped 13 percent, while women purchasing athletics equipment went up 9 percent.
The data also indicated that men's jewelry sales hiked 40 percent over the past two years.
All of this, retailers say, opens a new ``in-the-middle'' market for them.
``Before, we had cosmetics for different female skin types, but makers are now putting out completely new lines made just for men,'' said Interpark spokeswoman Kim Sun-ae.
She said men in their 20s-30s are the biggest buyers of ``for men'' color lotion, powder set, mascara and lip gloss, however, now more men in their 40s are also showing interest.
``Before, color lotion was the top seller, but nowadays, they want more than that because society seems to call for clean cut, prettier guys,'' Kim said, adding that facial masks and foam cleansers are also popular.
Ted Kim, spokesman of GS e-Shop, agreed that the country's largest Internet shopping mall is also seeing similar consumer patterns.
``Television dramas and the competitive job markets are some factors that drive this `pretty boy' fad,'' he said. ``And this triggers more male groomers to shop online because they feel embarrassed buying traditional feminine items in regular stores.''
He explained that overall male shopping increased, in which the men to women ratio buying ratio went from 3:7 in 2002 to 5:5 this year.
The shift is also evident in the ladies' department, as Kim of Interpark says more men's wear-type outfits are taking center stage.
``Boxier styles, vests and baggy pants are selling better among women, while guys prefer tighter fitting shirts and pants with fancier designs,'' she said. . . .
Staff Reporter
Tie-wearing women and lip-glossed men are no longer social taboos, but exemplify the up and coming metrosexual trend that makes marketers wonder if the local consumption swap is just a fad, or here to last.
A recent report by online retailer Interpark showed that, over the past three years, men buying cosmetics jumped 13 percent, while women purchasing athletics equipment went up 9 percent.
The data also indicated that men's jewelry sales hiked 40 percent over the past two years.
All of this, retailers say, opens a new ``in-the-middle'' market for them.
``Before, we had cosmetics for different female skin types, but makers are now putting out completely new lines made just for men,'' said Interpark spokeswoman Kim Sun-ae.
She said men in their 20s-30s are the biggest buyers of ``for men'' color lotion, powder set, mascara and lip gloss, however, now more men in their 40s are also showing interest.
``Before, color lotion was the top seller, but nowadays, they want more than that because society seems to call for clean cut, prettier guys,'' Kim said, adding that facial masks and foam cleansers are also popular.
Ted Kim, spokesman of GS e-Shop, agreed that the country's largest Internet shopping mall is also seeing similar consumer patterns.
``Television dramas and the competitive job markets are some factors that drive this `pretty boy' fad,'' he said. ``And this triggers more male groomers to shop online because they feel embarrassed buying traditional feminine items in regular stores.''
He explained that overall male shopping increased, in which the men to women ratio buying ratio went from 3:7 in 2002 to 5:5 this year.
The shift is also evident in the ladies' department, as Kim of Interpark says more men's wear-type outfits are taking center stage.
``Boxier styles, vests and baggy pants are selling better among women, while guys prefer tighter fitting shirts and pants with fancier designs,'' she said. . . .
STREET'S TURN FOR THE WORSE
Kevin O'Sullivan 16/09/2007
Here's a very normal situation we can all identify with. Former fella Hayley Cropper spoke for the nation when she sighed: "I thought I'd changed after my gender realignment. But I haven't."
I'm not sure you're right about that, Hayley. Check between your legs and I think you might notice a rather fundamental change. But forget the physical details.
It's the mental turmoil of Coronation Street's Hayley we're supposed to give a damn about.
The poor thing has discovered that when she used to be Harold her single attempt at hetero-sex produced a son called Christian.
And now she's trying to forge a relationship with a guy who is about to find out his dad is a girl.
Hayley's everyday predicament has enraged her sexually-ambivalent husband Roy. Almost as much as it must infuriate millions of soap fans.
What the hell is happening on the Street? Old Elsie Tanner must be spinning in her grave!
"We can go on this journey together Roy," pleaded Weatherfield's resident gender bender. "Come with me."
"Please don't spout cliches at me," replied Roy. "There is nothing cliched about this."
He had a point. But, while avoiding the mundane is normally a good thing, is this farfetched nonsense really a plausible plotline for a venerable old ITV drama that prides itself on being in touch with its viewers?
Is it hell! It's absolutely ridiculous.
Even anything-goes Hollyoaks would think twice about this brand of garish garbage.
Loitering nervously outside the record store where Richard Hammond look-alike Christian works, Hayley fretted over making contact with her long-lost lad.
Until her bosom buddy Becky sensibly assured her: "He's hardly going to come up to you and say, 'Are you me dad?' is he?"
Another good point!
I'm all for transsexuals living their lives as they see fit. Whatever makes them happy. . . .
Here's a very normal situation we can all identify with. Former fella Hayley Cropper spoke for the nation when she sighed: "I thought I'd changed after my gender realignment. But I haven't."
I'm not sure you're right about that, Hayley. Check between your legs and I think you might notice a rather fundamental change. But forget the physical details.
It's the mental turmoil of Coronation Street's Hayley we're supposed to give a damn about.
The poor thing has discovered that when she used to be Harold her single attempt at hetero-sex produced a son called Christian.
And now she's trying to forge a relationship with a guy who is about to find out his dad is a girl.
Hayley's everyday predicament has enraged her sexually-ambivalent husband Roy. Almost as much as it must infuriate millions of soap fans.
What the hell is happening on the Street? Old Elsie Tanner must be spinning in her grave!
"We can go on this journey together Roy," pleaded Weatherfield's resident gender bender. "Come with me."
"Please don't spout cliches at me," replied Roy. "There is nothing cliched about this."
He had a point. But, while avoiding the mundane is normally a good thing, is this farfetched nonsense really a plausible plotline for a venerable old ITV drama that prides itself on being in touch with its viewers?
Is it hell! It's absolutely ridiculous.
Even anything-goes Hollyoaks would think twice about this brand of garish garbage.
Loitering nervously outside the record store where Richard Hammond look-alike Christian works, Hayley fretted over making contact with her long-lost lad.
Until her bosom buddy Becky sensibly assured her: "He's hardly going to come up to you and say, 'Are you me dad?' is he?"
Another good point!
I'm all for transsexuals living their lives as they see fit. Whatever makes them happy. . . .
Transitioning into new jobs and genders
At the first transgender career expo, men and women meet companies that accept them for who they are becoming.
By Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 16, 2007
ATLANTA -- -- The woman pulled her resume from a pink file folder and handed it to a recruiter.
Across the top of the page, in bold type, she had printed her name twice: first as "Mark," then as "(Meghan)." She was not quite sure if this was appropriate.
At the nation's first transgender Career Expo, job seekers were encouraged to use their new gender names on resumes.
But Meghan, 42, a transsexual who declined to give her last name because her current employer knows her as Mark, wanted to make sure prospective employers could find her -- or him -- if they ran a background check.
The etiquette of transgender resumes was just one of the myriad challenges facing job seekers who packed the Atlanta convention hall. For transgender people -- at Friday's expo, they ranged from cross-dressers to those who had changed their gender through hormone therapy or surgery -- the workplace can be a minefield.
Many cannot find jobs. Even those who come out after they have settled in with a company risk losing their job. No federal civil rights protection exists for transgender employees, but 12 states have passed legislation ensuring employment protection. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this month on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of gender identity.
The Career Expo -- organized by the Southern Comfort Conference, the country's largest annual gathering of transgender people -- drew recruiters from more than 20 major corporations including Microsoft Corp., Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young, American Airlines, Hewlett-Packard Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
A number of national and international corporations are developing transgender policies and protections. According to a report by the Human Rights Campaign, 152 of Fortune 500 companies prohibit job discrimination against transgender employees.
In some ways, the Career Expo was like any other job fair: Men and women walked from booth to booth, stopping to exchange business cards and promote their experience and skill.
Some scenes were more colorful: A woman with hooped earrings carrying a glossy platinum wig chatted with recruiters from Ernst & Young.
At the other side of the room, a woman in pearls wiggled her hips playfully as she walked up to a Hewlett-Packard booth. "Am I accepted?" she asked, coyly.
"Totally," the recruiter said, reaching over the booth to shake her hand. Hewlett-Packard, the recruiter said earnestly, earned a 100% diversity rating on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. . . .
By Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 16, 2007
ATLANTA -- -- The woman pulled her resume from a pink file folder and handed it to a recruiter.
Across the top of the page, in bold type, she had printed her name twice: first as "Mark," then as "(Meghan)." She was not quite sure if this was appropriate.
At the nation's first transgender Career Expo, job seekers were encouraged to use their new gender names on resumes.
But Meghan, 42, a transsexual who declined to give her last name because her current employer knows her as Mark, wanted to make sure prospective employers could find her -- or him -- if they ran a background check.
The etiquette of transgender resumes was just one of the myriad challenges facing job seekers who packed the Atlanta convention hall. For transgender people -- at Friday's expo, they ranged from cross-dressers to those who had changed their gender through hormone therapy or surgery -- the workplace can be a minefield.
Many cannot find jobs. Even those who come out after they have settled in with a company risk losing their job. No federal civil rights protection exists for transgender employees, but 12 states have passed legislation ensuring employment protection. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this month on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of gender identity.
The Career Expo -- organized by the Southern Comfort Conference, the country's largest annual gathering of transgender people -- drew recruiters from more than 20 major corporations including Microsoft Corp., Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young, American Airlines, Hewlett-Packard Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
A number of national and international corporations are developing transgender policies and protections. According to a report by the Human Rights Campaign, 152 of Fortune 500 companies prohibit job discrimination against transgender employees.
In some ways, the Career Expo was like any other job fair: Men and women walked from booth to booth, stopping to exchange business cards and promote their experience and skill.
Some scenes were more colorful: A woman with hooped earrings carrying a glossy platinum wig chatted with recruiters from Ernst & Young.
At the other side of the room, a woman in pearls wiggled her hips playfully as she walked up to a Hewlett-Packard booth. "Am I accepted?" she asked, coyly.
"Totally," the recruiter said, reaching over the booth to shake her hand. Hewlett-Packard, the recruiter said earnestly, earned a 100% diversity rating on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. . . .
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Trans/Formed
Trans/Formed
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TRANS/FORMED is a feature film documentary that looks into the life of the male to female transgender community living in Los Angeles; how they survive cultural upheaval and challenges to the social norm.
The film follows the lives of four transgender women of different ethnicities and background, creating an unfolding eclectic family album assembled without judgment. With a subtle sense of appreciation of human imperfection and courage, through statistics and visual imagery, we show an ever increasing appreciation of the unique transgender form.
TRANS/FORMED intends to expose the truths, challenges, revelations and many faces of the transgender world. Through unfiltered eyes and a variety of testimonies we will reveal past horrors, present taboos, and future dreams. From silicon injection parties and prostitution, the growing trangender porn industry and weekend yoga retreats to stand up comedy, TRANS/FORMED explores the many facets of this fascinating world, leaving us Trans/Formed.
Add to My Profile | More Videos
TRANS/FORMED is a feature film documentary that looks into the life of the male to female transgender community living in Los Angeles; how they survive cultural upheaval and challenges to the social norm.
The film follows the lives of four transgender women of different ethnicities and background, creating an unfolding eclectic family album assembled without judgment. With a subtle sense of appreciation of human imperfection and courage, through statistics and visual imagery, we show an ever increasing appreciation of the unique transgender form.
TRANS/FORMED intends to expose the truths, challenges, revelations and many faces of the transgender world. Through unfiltered eyes and a variety of testimonies we will reveal past horrors, present taboos, and future dreams. From silicon injection parties and prostitution, the growing trangender porn industry and weekend yoga retreats to stand up comedy, TRANS/FORMED explores the many facets of this fascinating world, leaving us Trans/Formed.
Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy?
By GARY TAUBES
Published: September 16, 2007
Once upon a time, women took estrogen only to relieve the hot flashes, sweating, vaginal dryness and the other discomforting symptoms of menopause. In the late 1960s, thanks in part to the efforts of Robert Wilson, a Brooklyn gynecologist, and his 1966 best seller, “Feminine Forever,” this began to change, and estrogen therapy evolved into a long-term remedy for the chronic ills of aging. Menopause, Wilson argued, was not a natural age-related condition; it was an illness, akin to diabetes or kidney failure, and one that could be treated by taking estrogen to replace the hormones that a woman’s ovaries secreted in ever diminishing amounts. With this argument estrogen evolved into hormone-replacement therapy, or H.R.T., as it came to be called, and became one of the most popular prescription drug treatments in America. . . .
"We're going to get him some NORMAL sandals, RIGHT NOW!"
Queen of the Scottish Fairies
About Mixed Emotions
About Mixed Emotions
Rutu Modan, an illustrator and comic book creator, is a chosen artist of the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation. She has done comic strips for the Israeli newpapers Yedioth Acharonot and Ma’ariv and illustrations for The New Yorker, Le Monde, The New York Times and many other publications. Her first graphic novel, Exit Wounds, will be published in June. Ms. Modan, usually based in Tel Aviv, is currently in Sheffield, England.
Mixed Emotions is translated by Jesse Mishori.
Be sure to see the comments, at the end of the cartoon, too.
Mircea Cărtărescu on men 'who have something feminine about them'
The 40-year-old writer, poet and university professor deconstructs the Romanian soul through hermaphrodite characters suffering homosexual aggression
A poet from the Romanian 'new wave' (Photo: Natalia Sosin)One of the most popular Romanian writers, Cărtărescu was born in the difficult year of 1956, with his first debut coming at 22. By turns he has been a teacher of Romanian, editor of a magazine called Caiete Critice ('Literary Notebooks'), a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam from 1994-95, and a lecturer in the literature department in the University of Bucharest since 1991.
I come to the meeting full of fear, because Travesti is terrifying. It is a strange novel exploring the gloomy insides of the human psyche and sexuality, describing traumatic childhood events and teenage initiations. It emanates evil, violence, dirtiness, filthiness and loneliness. It makes you grateful that you are through with the difficult period of growing up. The author himself has the hypnotising gaze of a starved wolf, which makes me feel awkward at the very least - until the moment he speaks. His voice is calm and nice, the evil charm is broken.
Study of a mental disease, or gay novel?
Travesti is a study of coincidence. The main character is a boy born a hermaphrodite and brought up as a girl until the age of four. Finally, his parents pick the sex – overnight, a girl becomes a boy. The child forgets about this memory, until it is re-awakened fifteen years later. The boy experiences homosexual aggression during his summer vacation, causing him to undergo a mental crisis. In the years afterwards psychiatrists use the therapy of writing as his treatment, reviving his memories. When the now grown man remembers what happened during his disturbing childhood, after a period of shock and transformation, he is healed.
'I myself didn't know what it was all about, even when I was close to wrapping up the book,' remembers Cărtărescu. 'I spoke to an older professor who eventually cleared it up for me. I was writing very slowly, during a whole year, feeling that I was creating a literary disaster. The publisher told me it was the worst book I had ever written. First reviews were very negative. I really had a hard time, thinking it was going to be the end of my career. It was only a year after publication that I got a positive sign – a woman came up to me in a park and said that she liked my book. This was more important to me than all of the bad reviews that I received.' . . .
Del LaGrace Volcano
| September - October 2007 - Queer Arts | |
|
 Del LaGrace Volcano When I was 18 I was...a girl, hitching across Europe with a friend, another girl, who had an old Rolliflex medium format camera. This impressed me greatly. After 6 months of high adventure, we returned to our small town on the California coast and I decided what I wanted to do with my life. I enrolled in every film, photography and philosophy course that the local community college offered and quickly made a name for myself. My first subjects were my family and later, when I moved north to San Francisco, the community where I lived. Thirty years later, my subjects are the same: family and community. The only difference is that my family extends far beyond the biological and there are no city limits in my community. I work with gender queers all over the world. Everything from drag kings and queens, knights and knaves, extremely camp followers and jolly sex slaves. My next book is called: Femmes Of Power: Exploding Queer Femininities, to be published by Serpent's Tail 2008 with Ulrika Dahl. | |
My work is QUEER. Not "Queer as Folk" but Queer as FUCK MY ARSE, if you dare. Queer work, at its best, resists commoditization and disturbs the heteronormative fabric that we have all been wrapped in from birth. I am intersex and intersectional. As a gender variant visual artist, I access “technologies of gender” in order to amplify rather than erase the hermaphroditic traces of my body. I name myself. A gender abolitionist. A part time gender terrorist, intentional mutation and intersex by design. I believe in crossing the line as many times as it takes to build a bridge we can all walk across. THAT is what my work is all about. . . .
Airline comes out with gay-themed flight
Trip will feature drag queens, pink cocktails, cabaret performed by crew
SAN FRANCISCO - Air New Zealand is delving into the gay and lesbian market with a special themed flight that will feature drag queens, pink cocktails and a cabaret performed by the flight crew.
The destination for the airline's one-time "Pink Flight," scheduled to depart San Francisco International Airport on Feb. 26, is the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, one of the world's most well-attended gay events, said Jodi Williams, an Air New Zealand marketing director.
"We are looking at tailoring the inseat entertainment and having gay-friendly movies and contests and different music and things like that," Williams said. The airline also plans to throw a "Get-Onboard-Girlfriend" going away party for its passengers, who will pay an average of $1,000 roundtrip. . . .
London club kids brush off violence
by shunji
Upcoming UK tranny star Viktor chatted to Skrufff about the practical issues of dressing up flamboyantly in London this week and advised avoiding walking and/or travelling in packs to avoid being attacked.
“London is definitely getting more and more dangerous in general, not just if you dress flamboyantly,” said Viktor, “However, it’s safety in numbers because there are so many people dressed up. It also depends on where you’re going and who you’re with. Where I live in Old Street, one feels fairly safe, but it’s a false sense of security as one wrong turn and you could end up in trouble, particularly if you’re a boy wearing makeup or in drag,” he warned.
“I was actually attacked a few months ago near where I live, which was a bit of a shock. It was a homophobic attack, the police were quite helpful, but the guy was never caught,” Viktor continued, “It didn’t stop me going out wearing what I want; it just cemented the fact that you can never be too careful. I’ve lived in London for six years and that’s the only time I’ve ever been attacked.”
The 20 something performer and make-up artist is just about to release his debut album ‘Dance like No-one’s Watching’ a phrase he said is about ‘not caring what people think’.
“And always get cabs” he advised, “It’s expensive, but it’s better to fork out a tenner (£10)to get somewhere safely than endure a bus or tube journey being hassled or worried. If you can’t get a cab, make sure you go out in a group. Another idea is to get a bike.
“When I used to go to Kashpoint every week I used to cycle there with a friend and change into my high heels when I arrived. It saves money, your feet won’t hurt as much and you might avoid getting gay bashed,” he recommended.
30-something former Kashpoint co-promoter turned All You Can Eat nu rave star Jim Warboy told Skrufff his gets attacked much less than when he was younger, since becoming more streetwise after living in London since his teens.
“I carry myself in a certain way that makes people less likely to readily harass me. This was learned behaviour as a result of the amount of abuse I used to get,” said Jim.
“Always look ahead on the road and see trouble before it’s staring you in the face. Think ahead and try not to leave yourself in a vulnerable position if it’s avoidable,” he urged.
“Don’t let a few mindless morons stop you experimenting and enjoying yourself. Use your common sense, if you think you can talk your way out of a situation then do it. If not, kick your heels off and run like hell!”
Jim pointed out that London has always been rough, saying ‘there is always an element of risk going out dressed up in London. People often paint the picture that London is getting more violent for everybody, not just those who dress up. I’m never convinced that it’s much more dangerous than it used to be.”
“I remember dressing up in the 80s and it was very dangerous then. There were numerous times that I had bottles thrown at me, weapons pulled on me and I was chased or otherwise attacked. It became a way of life for me in my late teens. I regularly got attacked by gangs, particularly National Front skinheads. I think the increased violence we supposedly face is exaggerated by media hysteria.”
He also stressed he’s never had violence inside his clubs, with All You Can Eat adopting door policies significantly different from most mainstream clubs. . . .
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