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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Leonard to Leona, Singapore transsexual bares all
Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:20am EDT
By Miral Fahmy
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - At the age of 10, Leonard Lo was determined to become a woman.
Now 22 years later, Singaporean transsexual Leona Lo details the shame and anger she felt on her journey in a cathartic book that is raising eyebrows in this regulated city-state with old-fashioned attitudes toward sex.
Lo, 32, runs her own public relations company. She has an Australian boyfriend, polished nails and an engaging, slightly nervous, laugh. She has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and attempted suicide. Her middle-class, conformist Singaporean-Chinese parents took several years to accept her.
Lo is not Singapore's only transsexual, but one of its most outspoken. She has her own Web site (www.leonalo.com), speaks extensively to the media, lectured at universities and corporate functions, driven, she says, by desire to spare other transsexuals from a "difficult" society.
"From Leonard to Leona: A Singapore Transsexual's Journey to Womanhood" is Lo's first book but she is working on another -- a woman's guide to relationships.
Q: You're very frank in your autobiography. Was this hard?
A: "I like to think of my book as inspirational, to show that no matter what life throws your way, you can choose to be happy. I've reached the end of the road, I've attempted suicide, but now I am excited about life. A lot of sweat and tears went into this book, but I feel I have to share my story because I don't want another male child to go through the pain."
Q: Was it difficult to grow up as a transsexual in a conservative place like Singapore?
A: "I am conservative! I do not sleep around, I do not lead a deviant life. The problem with Singapore is the culture of silence which is the most terrible thing in the world, of sweeping things under the carpet. There is discrimination against transsexuals, there is stigma, there is shame. What did we ever do to deserve this? It took a lot of anger for me to overcome my shame and to realize that in Singapore, we need someone to help other transsexuals come out, which is what I am trying to do."
Q: Are you trying to be a role model?
A: "There is a lot of negative portrayal in most of Asia of transsexuals: they are all prostitutes or entertainers, people on the fringe. This is not the case in Europe or the United States, where transsexuals are respected professionals. I would like to be a voice for transsexuals in Asia. In some places like China and Japan, transsexuals are playing a public role, but in Southeast Asia, they're "ladyboys" who entertain. Why can't I become a member of parliament or contribute to my country?"
Q: You've been both a man and a woman. What's the best part of being female?
A: "Vanity! A woman is such a colorful person, able to express herself in so many ways, to dress up, to dance like crazy, to let herself be. You get away with a lot being a woman."
By Miral Fahmy
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - At the age of 10, Leonard Lo was determined to become a woman.
Now 22 years later, Singaporean transsexual Leona Lo details the shame and anger she felt on her journey in a cathartic book that is raising eyebrows in this regulated city-state with old-fashioned attitudes toward sex.
Lo, 32, runs her own public relations company. She has an Australian boyfriend, polished nails and an engaging, slightly nervous, laugh. She has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and attempted suicide. Her middle-class, conformist Singaporean-Chinese parents took several years to accept her.
Lo is not Singapore's only transsexual, but one of its most outspoken. She has her own Web site (www.leonalo.com), speaks extensively to the media, lectured at universities and corporate functions, driven, she says, by desire to spare other transsexuals from a "difficult" society.
"From Leonard to Leona: A Singapore Transsexual's Journey to Womanhood" is Lo's first book but she is working on another -- a woman's guide to relationships.
Q: You're very frank in your autobiography. Was this hard?
A: "I like to think of my book as inspirational, to show that no matter what life throws your way, you can choose to be happy. I've reached the end of the road, I've attempted suicide, but now I am excited about life. A lot of sweat and tears went into this book, but I feel I have to share my story because I don't want another male child to go through the pain."
Q: Was it difficult to grow up as a transsexual in a conservative place like Singapore?
A: "I am conservative! I do not sleep around, I do not lead a deviant life. The problem with Singapore is the culture of silence which is the most terrible thing in the world, of sweeping things under the carpet. There is discrimination against transsexuals, there is stigma, there is shame. What did we ever do to deserve this? It took a lot of anger for me to overcome my shame and to realize that in Singapore, we need someone to help other transsexuals come out, which is what I am trying to do."
Q: Are you trying to be a role model?
A: "There is a lot of negative portrayal in most of Asia of transsexuals: they are all prostitutes or entertainers, people on the fringe. This is not the case in Europe or the United States, where transsexuals are respected professionals. I would like to be a voice for transsexuals in Asia. In some places like China and Japan, transsexuals are playing a public role, but in Southeast Asia, they're "ladyboys" who entertain. Why can't I become a member of parliament or contribute to my country?"
Q: You've been both a man and a woman. What's the best part of being female?
A: "Vanity! A woman is such a colorful person, able to express herself in so many ways, to dress up, to dance like crazy, to let herself be. You get away with a lot being a woman."
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Teenage and Transgendered
Liz and Amber were just friends until Liz became Jay
By Megan Feldman
Published: September 20, 2007
Jacoby James' palms were sweating. It was almost his turn. As a camera flash illuminated the curtains in front of him, he waited to have his senior picture taken at the Academy of Irving. The photographer's assistant beckoned. Wishing he weren't so nervous, James stepped forward.
The woman directed him to a clothes rack with two kinds of outfits made to slip over the head—for the girls, v-necked bodices modeled after dresses, and for the boys, half-shirts made to look like suits. James reached for one of the suit and tie sets.
"What's your name?" the woman asked.
He hesitated. "Missouri Flowers," he said, looking at the ground. He purposely left out Elizabeth, his middle name.
The woman stared at him for a moment, confused, then glanced down at her list.
"I'd like to wear the suit and tie," James told her.
"Um...I'm not sure we can do that," she finally said.
James steeled himself. He was no longer a frightened eighth-grader whose screaming classmates told teachers there was a boy in the girls' bathroom. As far as he was concerned, Elizabeth Flowers was gone. Gone with her longish brown hair and those blouses he'd always hated; gone with her quiet, almost painful inhibitions and the stomach-wrenching anxiety that came as people looked back and forth, confused, between the feminine name and more masculine features. His friends, family and teachers had been calling him Jay James for almost a year now—he had a straight girlfriend, for God's sake. There was no way in hell he would appear in his senior picture wearing that ridiculous, frilly piece of fabric. . . .
By Megan Feldman
Published: September 20, 2007
Jacoby James' palms were sweating. It was almost his turn. As a camera flash illuminated the curtains in front of him, he waited to have his senior picture taken at the Academy of Irving. The photographer's assistant beckoned. Wishing he weren't so nervous, James stepped forward.
The woman directed him to a clothes rack with two kinds of outfits made to slip over the head—for the girls, v-necked bodices modeled after dresses, and for the boys, half-shirts made to look like suits. James reached for one of the suit and tie sets.
"What's your name?" the woman asked.
He hesitated. "Missouri Flowers," he said, looking at the ground. He purposely left out Elizabeth, his middle name.
The woman stared at him for a moment, confused, then glanced down at her list.
"I'd like to wear the suit and tie," James told her.
"Um...I'm not sure we can do that," she finally said.
James steeled himself. He was no longer a frightened eighth-grader whose screaming classmates told teachers there was a boy in the girls' bathroom. As far as he was concerned, Elizabeth Flowers was gone. Gone with her longish brown hair and those blouses he'd always hated; gone with her quiet, almost painful inhibitions and the stomach-wrenching anxiety that came as people looked back and forth, confused, between the feminine name and more masculine features. His friends, family and teachers had been calling him Jay James for almost a year now—he had a straight girlfriend, for God's sake. There was no way in hell he would appear in his senior picture wearing that ridiculous, frilly piece of fabric. . . .
Argentine boy sex change approved
By Daniel Schweimler
BBC News, Buenos Aires
A court in the central Argentine province of Cordoba has for the first time agreed that a sex change operation can be carried out on a minor.
The case concerns a 17-year-old male called Nati who wants to be a woman.
The decision ends a long-running legal process for Nati, who suffers from the transsexual disorder known as Harry Benjamin Syndrome.
The judge insisted that Nati receive counselling after the operation, which will take place in the next few days.
Nati knew from an early age that she had been born with the wrong body.
The decision by the court in Cordoba, the first of its kind in Argentina, means that that can now be put right.
Legal fight
After the operation Nati will also be able to officially change her name and apply for new documentation.
I'm very happy, she said, that my real identity has been recognised.
This has become an emblematic case for people who have a gender identity different to their biological one
Cesar Cigliutti
Her parents and friends have supported the 17-year-old during a long and often tortuous legal process that saw some decisions go against her.
The president of the Argentine homosexual community, Cesar Cigliutti, was one of those supporters.
"Not only the operation has been authorised but also the necessary changes to her birth certificate," he said.
"What's important and unusual about this case is that Natalie is a minor - she is not yet 18 years old - and this has become an emblematic case for people who have a gender identity different to their biological one."
BBC News, Buenos Aires
A court in the central Argentine province of Cordoba has for the first time agreed that a sex change operation can be carried out on a minor.
The case concerns a 17-year-old male called Nati who wants to be a woman.
The decision ends a long-running legal process for Nati, who suffers from the transsexual disorder known as Harry Benjamin Syndrome.
The judge insisted that Nati receive counselling after the operation, which will take place in the next few days.
Nati knew from an early age that she had been born with the wrong body.
The decision by the court in Cordoba, the first of its kind in Argentina, means that that can now be put right.
Legal fight
After the operation Nati will also be able to officially change her name and apply for new documentation.
I'm very happy, she said, that my real identity has been recognised.
This has become an emblematic case for people who have a gender identity different to their biological one
Cesar Cigliutti
Her parents and friends have supported the 17-year-old during a long and often tortuous legal process that saw some decisions go against her.
The president of the Argentine homosexual community, Cesar Cigliutti, was one of those supporters.
"Not only the operation has been authorised but also the necessary changes to her birth certificate," he said.
"What's important and unusual about this case is that Natalie is a minor - she is not yet 18 years old - and this has become an emblematic case for people who have a gender identity different to their biological one."
Androgynous boy with female genitals refuses to become woman
25.09.2007 Source: Pravda.Ru
A Moscow-based hospital performed an operation on an androgynous boy who had a genetic set of chromosomes typical of female organisms. At his very young age the boy was diagnosed as having cryptorchidism. His parents, natives of the Middle East, wanted the son to grow older to have a special operation to solve the problem. The boy faced first problems in connection with the diagnosis at the age of twelve when he discovered that his genitals were bleeding. He told the mother about the problem. After special medical examinations doctors were shocked to discover that the male patient had an uterus and adnexa. The discovery in its turn clarified why the boy had his genitals bleeding. The boy had regular menstruation, head of the Urinology and Andrology Department at the Moscow Pediatrics and Infant Surgery Research Institute, Asaad Matar, told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
The patient had a genetic test as a result of which it turned out that there were female chromosomes in his organism. Besides, the teenager felt that his breast was growing. Taking the transformations into their consideration, doctors suggested that the parents should have their son converted into a girl with the help of sex-change surgery. The medics explained that such a transformation would include the plastic surgery of the teenager’s vagina and the removal of the organ resembling a male penis. As a result of such changes the patient may have a chance to have children, like any healthy woman, specialists said.
But the young man insisted that he wanted to remain a boy. His parents said they were used to having an elder son, but not daughter.
Afterwards, the boy underwent a different surgery to have his female genitals removed. The boy endured the operation well. Two silicone testicles are going to be implanted into his scrotum soon.
Even though the operation was a success, doctors warn that the patient will never become a natural father. What is more, he will have to take a course of hormone therapy to maintain his male phenotype till the end of his life.
Experts say that hermaphroditism can be diagnosed at the age of puberty only when a child turns ten or twelve years old. As for the above instance, ovule fertilization first gave birth to a girl. But then some abnormalities occurred during the cell fission, and the embryo acquired features of the male sex. It is not ruled out that androgynism could arise from an incestuous union in the family.
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Translated by Maria Gousseva
Pravda.ru
A Moscow-based hospital performed an operation on an androgynous boy who had a genetic set of chromosomes typical of female organisms. At his very young age the boy was diagnosed as having cryptorchidism. His parents, natives of the Middle East, wanted the son to grow older to have a special operation to solve the problem. The boy faced first problems in connection with the diagnosis at the age of twelve when he discovered that his genitals were bleeding. He told the mother about the problem. After special medical examinations doctors were shocked to discover that the male patient had an uterus and adnexa. The discovery in its turn clarified why the boy had his genitals bleeding. The boy had regular menstruation, head of the Urinology and Andrology Department at the Moscow Pediatrics and Infant Surgery Research Institute, Asaad Matar, told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
The patient had a genetic test as a result of which it turned out that there were female chromosomes in his organism. Besides, the teenager felt that his breast was growing. Taking the transformations into their consideration, doctors suggested that the parents should have their son converted into a girl with the help of sex-change surgery. The medics explained that such a transformation would include the plastic surgery of the teenager’s vagina and the removal of the organ resembling a male penis. As a result of such changes the patient may have a chance to have children, like any healthy woman, specialists said.
But the young man insisted that he wanted to remain a boy. His parents said they were used to having an elder son, but not daughter.
Afterwards, the boy underwent a different surgery to have his female genitals removed. The boy endured the operation well. Two silicone testicles are going to be implanted into his scrotum soon.
Even though the operation was a success, doctors warn that the patient will never become a natural father. What is more, he will have to take a course of hormone therapy to maintain his male phenotype till the end of his life.
Experts say that hermaphroditism can be diagnosed at the age of puberty only when a child turns ten or twelve years old. As for the above instance, ovule fertilization first gave birth to a girl. But then some abnormalities occurred during the cell fission, and the embryo acquired features of the male sex. It is not ruled out that androgynism could arise from an incestuous union in the family.
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Translated by Maria Gousseva
Pravda.ru
My Secret Self
My Secret Self
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Physically, it's obvious what gender we are from the moment we're born. But some children insist they were born with the wrong bodies. Little boys, absolutely convinced they should be girls.
Reporter: Barbara Walters
Producers: Alan B. Goldberg, Joneil Adriano
Physically, it's obvious what we are from the moment we're born.
We're either a boy or a girl. And for the vast majority of us, that's the way it stays.
But for some children, toddlers even, it's not so simple. They insist they were born with the wrong bodies. Little boys, absolutely convinced they should be girls.
Little girls, who wouldn't wear a frilly party frock if you paid them.
They've been diagnosed with GID — Gender Identity Disorder — and on Sunday night some of them and their parents tell their touching stories to Barbara Walters.
But you have to ask, how can children so young really know who they are?
Transcript
BARBARA WALTERS: On the surface, Scott and Renee Jennings and their four children are a typical family. They could be your neighbours. Their youngest, Jazz, is a six-year-old who has been living with a secret until now. Your child was born a boy and now you call him a girl? Yes?
RENEE JENNINGS: Yes.
< BARBARA WALTERS: Jazz is transgender and one of the youngest documented cases of an early transmission from male to female. What was the first time that you had any inkling that this little boy, Jazz, was different?
RENEE JENNINGS: The day she came up to me — and I'll never forget it, Barbara — she said, "Mummy, when is the good fairy going to come with her magic wand and change my genitalia?"
BARBARA WALTERS: How old was Jazz then?
RENEE JENNINGS: Two.
BARBARA WALTERS: What did you feel?
RENEE JENNINGS: Just numb, frozen. . . .
Transgender community works to gain protections in South Florida
Policies would seek to protect civil rights
By Patty Pensa
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 24, 2007
Transgender is quietly becoming a protected class in South Florida as cities vote to prohibit discrimination against a group that faces tremendous challenges fitting in.
Palm Beach and Broward counties may extend the protection next, which could leave the broadest imprint by affording civil rights to people for their gender identity or expression. The movement accelerated with the March firing of Largo City Manager Susan Stanton, who transitioned from male to female this year.
"It shined a light on what this discrimination is," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Stanton's attorney. "It really underscored how important it is to have these ordinances."
Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Tequesta and Oakland Park have approved nondiscrimination clauses this year either covering city employees or all residents. Oakland Park was the latest last week and Wilton Manors may consider adding transgender as well.
County ordinances would go further by outlawing discrimination in the workplace and housing in all cities and unincorporated areas. Thirteen states and more than 90 cities and counties already have such laws, with the first passed more than 30 years ago. Advocates hope local ordinances will lead to a statewide law, health insurance coverage for sexual reassignment surgery and greater acceptance.
"I've been dealing with this since I was born," said Heather Wright, who transitioned from male to female almost 10 years ago. "I finally took the steps to take care of it and feel comfortable."
Wright, who runs a gender support group in West Palm Beach for transgender individuals and their family, supports nondiscrimination ordinances so "people have a chance to prove they can do their job."
Too often, transgender individuals are fired once employers learn of their plans to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. Wright said she was lucky to work for a Fortune 500 company with a progressive outlook. . . .
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Waria of Indonesia
Islam, and to a lesser extent Catholicism, are two religions that may be influential in the lives of these transgendered people.
Defining waria
Indonesia’s transgendered community is raising its profile.
Irfan Kortschak
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Popular stereotype: the waria hair salon worker |
Before she even opens her mouth, the petite, jilbab-wearing and refined looking Shuniyya Ruhama Habiiballah has already gone a long way towards achieving one of her driving missions in life: to challenge the dominant stereotype of Indonesia’s large transgendered community, who describe themselves as waria, a term for transgendered people derived from the words wanita (woman) and pria (man).
As Shuniyya says in her softly spoken, decidedly feminine voice: ‘People see the waria as sex workers on the side of the streets at night, dressed in mini-skirts, with silicone-inflated breasts as large as watermelons. They see the show business drag queens who perform on stage and on television. They see these waria and think that they know what a waria is. They don’t. The waria they see are just the most obvious and easy to identify, and the ones the straight community are most likely to meet.’
Shuniyya is uncomfortable with many of the current definitions of the term ‘waria’, simply because these definitions are not sufficiently inclusive. For example, she disputes well-known gay activist Dede Oetomo’s definition of waria as men who imitate women in their clothing styles or mannerisms ‘while retaining a masculine identity’. She says that while this may be true for some, a significant proportion would strongly disagree that they consider themselves to be men.
‘The waria community is very diverse,’ Shuniyya declares. ‘It includes individuals who continue to identify as male but who imitate certain feminine mannerisms, and perhaps occasionally wear makeup and women’s clothing. Others identify so closely as female that they are able to pass as female in their daily interactions in society. As waria, these individuals become almost invisible.’
Shuniyya is strident in her dismissal of the stereotyped image of the waria as a flamboyant cross-dressing sex-worker living on the fringes of society. ‘Many waria come from middle class backgrounds and have a high level of educational attainment. Many hold respectable positions in established companies. There are waria who work as designers, psychologists and sociologists. The image that all waria are sex workers or employees of hair salons is simply a myth,’ she says. ‘In the end, only a waria knows what it means to be a waria. We have to define ourselves.’
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Finalists ‘under quarantine’ in JakartaIrfan Kortschak |
However, Shuniyya does acknowledge that social prejudice and discrimination mean that waria often find themselves with limited work options. Very many work in the beauty and cosmetics, entertainment and fashion industries, or in the NGO sector, particularly in NGOs dealing with gender issues. Describing her own employment at a foundation dealing with transgender issues, she says: ‘Looking at me, no-one would guess that I’m not a woman.’ However that does not mean that she has a woman’s freedom to choose her field of employment.
This is because while her identity card (KTP) shows her to be female, other official documents like her birth certificate and academic transcript identify her as male. Legally, there is no precedent for a transgendered individual, including post-operative transsexuals, to alter the gender that that they are identified with at birth. Thus, when applying for almost any form of formal employment or going through any other formal process at which a full range of personal documentation is required, a waria cannot pass as female.
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HIV/AIDS educationIrfan Kortschak |
Given social attitudes, this bureaucratic hitch is often a critical impediment to obtaining a job. It explains why Shuniyya’s examples of waria who hold respected professional positions seem to be the exceptions, rather than the rule. She seems reluctant to admit that in the face of this strong social prejudice, employment options are limited, and a significant proportion of waria do, in fact, at least occasionally engage in sex work.
The Miss Waria Indonesia pageant
Shuniyya herself is employed at the Yayasan Putri Waria Indonesia, an institute founded by former waria beauty queen Megie Megawatie to keep the Miss Waria Indonesia pageant running as an annual event. From these roots, it is now also involved in a range of other activities, including those related to sexual health education, employment creation, anti-discrimination, and advocacy.
In fact, according to the distinctly glamorous Megie Megawatie, the Miss Waria Indonesia pageant is itself a powerful means of achieving all of these aims. ‘First and foremost, the idea of the pageant is to challenge the stereotype of the waria, not only amongst the broader community, but amongst the waria community itself. We want to demonstrate to the public that we are capable of staging a spectacular, high-profile event in which waria can show the world that they have a diverse range of talents, skills and assets.’
‘We want to demonstrate that waria are an important, integral part of the Indonesian community,’ she says. ‘But perhaps even more importantly, we want to provide members of our own community who may not be secure in their identity with role models. We want them to know that they, too, can be accepted, valued members of society.’
A number of events staged at the pageant are clearly intended to demonstrate that the acceptance of waria into Indonesian society is part of established tradition. In 2006, performances by guest stars included a traditional performance by a troupe of bissu, the group of ritual specialists formerly attached to the royal houses of South Sulawesi, who are often described glibly as ‘transvestite priests’.
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Co-opted waria?: bissu from South SulawesiIrfan Kortschak |
The main event of the pageant, the selection of the year’s reigning Miss Waria, follows the pattern established by standard beauty pageants almost entirely, with the usual parades and talent quests. One finalist is chosen to represent each of Indonesia’s 30 provinces, by committees or representative organisations established in each of those provinces. These committees operate with a considerable degree of autonomy, although they conform loosely to standards established by the central organising committee. . . .
Transgendered in Malang
The waria community in this East Javanese city are out in the open, but misunderstanding and prejudice are still widespread.
Kim Heriot-Darragh
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Ibu Siama at the volleyball matchKim Heriot-Darragh |
Jumping off a motorcycle in a kampung not far from Malang’s Gajayana train station, I asked some men where I could find Ibu Siama. She had insisted that anyone in this part of town could direct me. My question, however, was met with bemused expressions as the cluster of men tried to deduce just who Ibu Siama might be. Eventually, a look of realisation dawned on one man’s face. He broke into a smile and laughed. His friends were laughing too. ‘Oh, you mean Pak Saleh. He’s over here…’
The confusion arose because I was looking for an 82 year old male to female transgendered person – reputedly, the oldest waria in East Java. The men’s reaction was a good illustration of the position of the transgendered community in Malang: Ibu Siama was not treated maliciously, but she was not taken altogether seriously either.
Conflicting perceptions
While living in Malang in 2006, I encountered a number of waria who varied greatly in their perceptions of themselves, the transgendered community, and the extent to which they felt they were accepted in society. Some looked like men in drag; a couple of others betrayed no indication that they were anything other than women. Some saw themselves as ‘real women’ in a man’s body. Others understood themselves to be a third gender, neither male nor female. I also knew one waria who perceived himself to be fundamentally male: he liked to dress and act as a woman, but ultimately he would die and be buried a man. Though I knew some who sported impressive breasts, I never knowingly met any waria who had undergone a sex-change operation.
In the wider community, perceptions were similarly mixed. Many people are unaccustomed to using the word ‘waria’ to describe transgendered people. More often they use offensive terms like ‘banci’ and ‘bencong’. A neighbour of mine was quick to use the English word ‘faggot’ when he learned of my interest in the local waria community. A number of people were unaware of differences between homosexuals and waria: several times during research work I was introduced to baffled homosexual men.
Waria in society
Despite this confusion about who they really are, waria are certainly an identifiable presence in Malang. No one seems to have heard of any incidences of violence directed at them, even though expressions of hostility against waria are sometimes reported from other cities. Local political parties are aware of the issue of waria (as well as gay) rights. One occasionally hears stories of waria entering mosques dressed as women, and there are a small number of Christian waria who say they have never felt estranged from their religious communities. The majority of waria I knew claimed to have solid relations with their family.
Every few years the Malang city government has offered employment training programs in which waria participants are trained and financially assisted to establish beauty salons (part of an effort to dissuade them from engaging in prostitution). When I enquired in 2006, the Malang city government’s Social Affairs Division told me the last program was held in 2005 and had enrolled 25 participants.
Famous waria enjoy an extensive public profile as entertainers and talk-show hosts. Similarly, Miss Waria Indonesia 2006 Merlyn Sopjan captured considerable public attention, particularly in her hometown of Malang. All copies of her second book, Perempuan Tanpa V (Woman without a Vagina), had apparently sold out by the time of its launch in Malang. Arriving for the launch (broadcast live on a talk-show from the Malang town library), I was surprised by the size and diversity of the audience. The room was packed with university students, waria, and young women wearing jilbab. . . .
POV, Critique, Opinion: Where is our culture?
22 September 2007
Yesterday, I had an experience that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. I was outside for a few minutes, and a kid, probably about eleven or twelve, pedaled by on his bicycle. He kept looking over his shoulder at me, and then quickly rode away. Just as I was going back inside, the kid came back around the block. As I was closing the door behind me, I heard a young voice say excitedly “I saw the homo! I saw the homo!”.
Yeah, fun times. Not that I actually care what a twelve-year-old and his friend think of me, but it is interesting nonetheless. I’ve apparently become something of a neighborhood attraction. I suppose this really shouldn’t surprise me. I go outside in all manner of gendered presentation, full makeup, no makeup, boobs, no boobs. Of course, I don’t actually go anywhere unless I’m properly put together, but I’m not going to bother just to walk to the mailbox or get something from my car. This particular time I was in full makeup, hair done, but I’d changed out of what I was wearing…all of it, including most of my bust…and was wearing sweat pants and a Josie and the Pussycats t-shirt. Oh and of course, my nails are done. In other words, I was looking about as totally genderqueer as I get. It’s a look I’m perfectly comfortable in at home or around certain close friends and family, but it’s not really something I do intentionally, by actually going for that look (anymore).
What’s most interesting to me about this is not that these kids think I’m a sideshow attraction, but that they think it’s because I’m homosexual. I resist the temptation to label this kid a bigot because I doubt he’s old enough to have any real understanding of what a “homo” actually is. Hell, he might turn out to be one himself in just a few short years. And yet, even though the ignorance of a child is surely not a reliable guide in such things, I find myself wondering if that’s part of the problem, that for the most part, despite all the political progress we’ve made recently, we’re still essentially socially and culturally invisible as transpeople in mainstream society.
I’m not talking politics here, not really. What I’m starting to wonder is if transpeople are perceived as joined at the hip with gays and lesbians because we want to be. That begs the question, of course, DO we want to be? Of course, it makes sense politically, but where is the culture that belongs to transpeople alone? Can we even say we really have one?
There are many aspects of gay and lesbian culture, especially those involving sex and romance, where transpeople often find themselves welcome to be present but not participate, or are simply excluded from. Where are the corresponding trans-exclusive spaces? They are out there, but you’ll have to search them out, and of course, that’s assuming you have a trans community in your area which cares enough to create one.
A few years ago, I co-founded a weekly trans group rap at my local Pride Center. We got a few people the first few meetings, and then…nothing. No one. After a few more, we gave up. As far as I know, the one and only trans group that still meets at the Center is the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey (GRAANJ), the political advocacy group.
There’s more to life than politics, despite how it probably feels to a lot of us sometimes. It’s wonderful that we share so many cultural spaces with gay and lesbian people. In many ways, it’s an excellent model of how other differences, such as race and ethnicity, can be all but ignored within the greater context of a community, even as many in that community will tend to divide up along gender lines socially. The problem comes in when you try to fit unconventionally-gendered people into gender-specific spaces. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it works for some but not for others.
Those of us who create media can help in that, but our impact goes only so far. We can give people a place to come together and to speak to each other through the media we create, but there’s always a buffer there, the media we use in which to get our message out. Some media, like talk radio, is personal, community-oriented, and very interactive. Other media, like the Internet or print media, is less or non-interactive but still helps tour community connect to each other. We can speak to and speak with our community on the grand, worldwide scale far more efficiently than we’re able to face-to-face, person-to-person.
Gays and lesbians generally don’t have this problem, or at least, not to the extent we transfolks do. Think fast: How many local gay bars or clubs can you name? Now, how many lesbian bars? And how many tranny bars?
I used to know of two tranny bars in Manhattan, but one got shut down during the Giuliani Administration. The other, Edelweiss, I believe is still around…and that’s it, as far I know, for the entire City of New York. Nothing in Jersey, except for a club I knew of in Atlantic City twenty-five years ago, nothing in Philly. Even the Pride Centers of these cities don’t offer a whole lot for us.
Where is transgender culture?
For transpeople, it seems that home is where the Internet is. The largest physical gatherings of transpeople almost always involve an event to which transpeople often must travel a long distance in order to attend, such as a organizational convention, and many of these events are wrapped up in political advocacy. Aside from those kinds of events, the vast majority of our intra-community socialization takes place online.
It’s not surprising, therefore , that most of our community-relevant media is Internet-based as well. Attempts have been made to bridge the cultural gap between the transgender community and the mainstream, but none have proven truly successful yet. We have no LOGO, nothing on Bravo, nothing that really serves that kind of gate-opening role for transpeople that Ellen Degeneres and “Will and Grace” did for gays and lesbians.
As someone who has made her own attempts at trying to span that divide, even after all this time I still wonder how long it will be before the mainstream media begins to get us as well and starts to incorporate us and our perspectives into the mainstream. When you’re still fighting for representation in even the mainstream media which is directly intended and marketed to your own community, hoping for real mainstream inclusion may be just a pipe dream..for now.
Where is transgender culture?
Chances are, you’re not going to find it by turning on your television or even your radio. If you’re not actually travelling somewhere where it happens to surface periodically on a regular basis, you’re probably going to find it online and in print. You can read a hundred writers and get a hundred different takes on what it means to be a transgender person. You can listen to and participate in shows like mine or Ethan’s for social and political talk and debate. You can listen to any of the many great podcasts being created by transpeople. There’s relevant trans community media out there for those who want it and seek it out, but precious little for those who can’t or won’t dig deep enough to find it.
It’s not unreasonable to believe that the reason why everyone seems to think we’re all just another variety of “homo” is because that’s what most of our popular media tells people we are, intentionally or not. We can create our own versions of virtual transgender community centers and rap groups, but it won’t be until our faces, voices, and perspectives become an integral part of popular media that we’ll begin to see that perception begin to change socially and politically in the mainstream in any real way.
Where is transgender culture?
When you really get right down to it, it’s in our hearts, in our minds, in our voices, and in our fingertips. It’s in our collective desire to reach out to each other and be a part of something far greater than ourselves. It’s in the lives we live, the media we create, and the relationships we develop with others like ourselves and those who care about us. It’s in the way we present ourselves, both to the outside world and to each other. It’s in the way we work together, play together, love together, mourn together, and fight together. It’s in how we speak up and say “We are here!”.
It’s not what others have, and maybe it never will be, but, for now, transgender culture is whatever those of us who reach out to touch each other make of it. Until we have the tools to take it to the next step, though, it’ll have to be enough. I just hope we won’t have all that much longer to wait.
Yesterday, I had an experience that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. I was outside for a few minutes, and a kid, probably about eleven or twelve, pedaled by on his bicycle. He kept looking over his shoulder at me, and then quickly rode away. Just as I was going back inside, the kid came back around the block. As I was closing the door behind me, I heard a young voice say excitedly “I saw the homo! I saw the homo!”.
Yeah, fun times. Not that I actually care what a twelve-year-old and his friend think of me, but it is interesting nonetheless. I’ve apparently become something of a neighborhood attraction. I suppose this really shouldn’t surprise me. I go outside in all manner of gendered presentation, full makeup, no makeup, boobs, no boobs. Of course, I don’t actually go anywhere unless I’m properly put together, but I’m not going to bother just to walk to the mailbox or get something from my car. This particular time I was in full makeup, hair done, but I’d changed out of what I was wearing…all of it, including most of my bust…and was wearing sweat pants and a Josie and the Pussycats t-shirt. Oh and of course, my nails are done. In other words, I was looking about as totally genderqueer as I get. It’s a look I’m perfectly comfortable in at home or around certain close friends and family, but it’s not really something I do intentionally, by actually going for that look (anymore).
What’s most interesting to me about this is not that these kids think I’m a sideshow attraction, but that they think it’s because I’m homosexual. I resist the temptation to label this kid a bigot because I doubt he’s old enough to have any real understanding of what a “homo” actually is. Hell, he might turn out to be one himself in just a few short years. And yet, even though the ignorance of a child is surely not a reliable guide in such things, I find myself wondering if that’s part of the problem, that for the most part, despite all the political progress we’ve made recently, we’re still essentially socially and culturally invisible as transpeople in mainstream society.
I’m not talking politics here, not really. What I’m starting to wonder is if transpeople are perceived as joined at the hip with gays and lesbians because we want to be. That begs the question, of course, DO we want to be? Of course, it makes sense politically, but where is the culture that belongs to transpeople alone? Can we even say we really have one?
There are many aspects of gay and lesbian culture, especially those involving sex and romance, where transpeople often find themselves welcome to be present but not participate, or are simply excluded from. Where are the corresponding trans-exclusive spaces? They are out there, but you’ll have to search them out, and of course, that’s assuming you have a trans community in your area which cares enough to create one.
A few years ago, I co-founded a weekly trans group rap at my local Pride Center. We got a few people the first few meetings, and then…nothing. No one. After a few more, we gave up. As far as I know, the one and only trans group that still meets at the Center is the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey (GRAANJ), the political advocacy group.
There’s more to life than politics, despite how it probably feels to a lot of us sometimes. It’s wonderful that we share so many cultural spaces with gay and lesbian people. In many ways, it’s an excellent model of how other differences, such as race and ethnicity, can be all but ignored within the greater context of a community, even as many in that community will tend to divide up along gender lines socially. The problem comes in when you try to fit unconventionally-gendered people into gender-specific spaces. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it works for some but not for others.
Those of us who create media can help in that, but our impact goes only so far. We can give people a place to come together and to speak to each other through the media we create, but there’s always a buffer there, the media we use in which to get our message out. Some media, like talk radio, is personal, community-oriented, and very interactive. Other media, like the Internet or print media, is less or non-interactive but still helps tour community connect to each other. We can speak to and speak with our community on the grand, worldwide scale far more efficiently than we’re able to face-to-face, person-to-person.
Gays and lesbians generally don’t have this problem, or at least, not to the extent we transfolks do. Think fast: How many local gay bars or clubs can you name? Now, how many lesbian bars? And how many tranny bars?
I used to know of two tranny bars in Manhattan, but one got shut down during the Giuliani Administration. The other, Edelweiss, I believe is still around…and that’s it, as far I know, for the entire City of New York. Nothing in Jersey, except for a club I knew of in Atlantic City twenty-five years ago, nothing in Philly. Even the Pride Centers of these cities don’t offer a whole lot for us.
Where is transgender culture?
For transpeople, it seems that home is where the Internet is. The largest physical gatherings of transpeople almost always involve an event to which transpeople often must travel a long distance in order to attend, such as a organizational convention, and many of these events are wrapped up in political advocacy. Aside from those kinds of events, the vast majority of our intra-community socialization takes place online.
It’s not surprising, therefore , that most of our community-relevant media is Internet-based as well. Attempts have been made to bridge the cultural gap between the transgender community and the mainstream, but none have proven truly successful yet. We have no LOGO, nothing on Bravo, nothing that really serves that kind of gate-opening role for transpeople that Ellen Degeneres and “Will and Grace” did for gays and lesbians.
As someone who has made her own attempts at trying to span that divide, even after all this time I still wonder how long it will be before the mainstream media begins to get us as well and starts to incorporate us and our perspectives into the mainstream. When you’re still fighting for representation in even the mainstream media which is directly intended and marketed to your own community, hoping for real mainstream inclusion may be just a pipe dream..for now.
Where is transgender culture?
Chances are, you’re not going to find it by turning on your television or even your radio. If you’re not actually travelling somewhere where it happens to surface periodically on a regular basis, you’re probably going to find it online and in print. You can read a hundred writers and get a hundred different takes on what it means to be a transgender person. You can listen to and participate in shows like mine or Ethan’s for social and political talk and debate. You can listen to any of the many great podcasts being created by transpeople. There’s relevant trans community media out there for those who want it and seek it out, but precious little for those who can’t or won’t dig deep enough to find it.
It’s not unreasonable to believe that the reason why everyone seems to think we’re all just another variety of “homo” is because that’s what most of our popular media tells people we are, intentionally or not. We can create our own versions of virtual transgender community centers and rap groups, but it won’t be until our faces, voices, and perspectives become an integral part of popular media that we’ll begin to see that perception begin to change socially and politically in the mainstream in any real way.
Where is transgender culture?
When you really get right down to it, it’s in our hearts, in our minds, in our voices, and in our fingertips. It’s in our collective desire to reach out to each other and be a part of something far greater than ourselves. It’s in the lives we live, the media we create, and the relationships we develop with others like ourselves and those who care about us. It’s in the way we present ourselves, both to the outside world and to each other. It’s in the way we work together, play together, love together, mourn together, and fight together. It’s in how we speak up and say “We are here!”.
It’s not what others have, and maybe it never will be, but, for now, transgender culture is whatever those of us who reach out to touch each other make of it. Until we have the tools to take it to the next step, though, it’ll have to be enough. I just hope we won’t have all that much longer to wait.
Brown University: Deserving a debate
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Editorial
Excited rhetoric on both sides may obscure the issue, but the debate over gender-neutral facilities at Brown has a fairly straightforward problem at its core: Transgender students, who are among those in our community most vulnerable to abuse and discrimination, are not well-served by gender-segregated housing and other facilities. Greater flexibility for first-year housing and gender-neutral housing for upperclassmen deserve serious campus debate and consideration.
Taking the issue of gender-neutral housing and bathrooms seriously is difficult because, quite simply, we do not live in a gender-neutral society. Our language isn't equipped to deal with people who do not fit into the so-called "gender binary." Our society recognizes important and real differences between men and women. Allowing male and female students to live together is not the purpose of these changes. But the implications of that - and the potential that male and female students would be uncomfortable sharing a bathroom - are legitimate concerns.
Yet ultimately, as Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Russell Carey '91 MA'06 points out, the purpose of gender-neutral facilities is "to provide choice and options so all students feel comfortable and safe in their living environment." The Human Rights Campaign notes that one expert estimates that transgender individuals in the United States have a one-in-12 chance of being murdered, compared with a one-in-18,000 chance for the general population. Brown is and should be a space of tolerance and respect. But between 2003 and 2005, there were 52 hate crimes on campus ranging from assault (reportable) to vandalism (non-reportable), according to Department of Public Safety data. We shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that discrimination is a problem for other people.
UK: ‘It took 46 years to stop me living a lie’
Sep 24 2007 | |
by Peter Collins, South Wales Echo | |
FOR most of his life, 46-year-old Andrew Cross has been tortured by the feeling that inside his man’s body and mind a woman has been aching to get out.
Suppressing the almost overwhelming feelings he had of being a woman led the former chef in the Royal Naval Reserve to sink into the depths of depression.
From his early 40s he suffered Bipolar Affective Disorder, often known as manic depression, which saw his moods swing like a pendulum from abject despair to sublime elation.
Various treatments and medication for the disorder helped for short periods, but the underlying cause – his need to be a woman – remained.
That was until December 12 last year when Andrew John Cross, of Barry, decided to become Anne-Marie Cross, of Barry.
The life-changing decision was celebrated at the Golden Cross pub, in Cardiff, and also at the city’s Barfly nightspot.
In her first press interview on her life-changing experience, Anne-Marie told the Echo how, despite losing friends and family because of her decision, she was optimistic about the future and was preparing to launch a book about her life. The book will tell how Cardiff-born Andrew was engaged to be married on two occasions, first when he was 28 and again when he was 32.
Both relationships failed because of his need to be a woman.
He had “15 great years” travelling around the world with the Royal Naval Reserve, ending when he was 40 years old, when he suffered his first major attack of manic depression.
“The depression was always there,” said Anne-Marie. “But it surfaced when my father died and because I was suppressing my need to be a woman.” . . .
Sunday, September 23, 2007
David Tennant's British TV Debut as a Transsexual Barmaid
Here's David Tennant (The current "Doctor Who") in his first ever role on television, playing a pre-op transsexual bar maid called "Davina."
Trans Youth Advocates for His Peers
By Jacob Anderson-MinshallPublished: September 20, 2007
Shawn-Dedric Pearson
With a growing number of trans children vocalizing their gender identities, there’s a growing need for outreach to and services for trans youth and their families. Fortunately, efforts are afoot to do just that. GenderPAC hosted a youth summit this summer; earlier this month, Seattle’s Gender Odyssey premiered the first family-centered conference for people raising gender variant and trans youth; and Oct. 19-21, the Midwest Trans Youth Conference will descend on Ferndale, Michigan.
Increasingly, it’s the parents themselves who are making changes, as is the case with a new national education and activist organization, Trans Youth Family Advocates (TYFA), founded last year by several mothers to provide support for all transgender and gender variant youth.
One of those mothers is Kim Pearson, the group’s executive director, whose 15-year-old trans son Shawn-Dedric Pearson, also works with TYFA (imatyfa.org), as a youth advocate. Together the Pearsons have appeared on CNN and traveled the country speaking on behalf of transgender and gender variant youth.
“I answer questions about my personal experience and give information about how to be respectful of transgender [or] gender variant youth,” the teen says. “Usually people understand the topic better when I… describe my first-hand experiences with being trans. They seem to like meeting a transgender youth… it gives them something tangible.”
Pearson says he’s driven to do this advocacy because, “I know how supportive my family is, and I’m thankful for it everyday. I want all trans kids to be able to have a more positive experience… and the only way that’s ever going to change is if more transgender youth start speaking up and being public.”
TYFA believes that children have a right to be heard, especially when they address “something as core to their sense of self as gender identity.” The organization offers advice to parents and caregivers that includes, “respect your child’s feelings about their gender identity above all else.”
“The best advice I can give parents,” Pearson adds, “is to just let [their kids] be themselves, at their own pace and in their own comfort level. Don’t put your own expectations or dreams on their shoulders because it makes things all the more difficult. Specifically for parents of transgender or gender variant kids, I’d say let them set the pace and listen to what they are telling you.”
Recognizing that many adults, even within the LGBT community (especially those who experienced their own gender variance as youth), have serious concerns about children transitioning, Pearson explains that before puberty a trans child would only undergo a “social transition, which is completely reversible if the child later on decides to take a different path.”
Furthermore, he contends, “There’s a large difference between a trans child and a child that’s a little more feminine or masculine than society normally accepts. Chances are, the trans kid would feel things much more strongly and express their difference more prominently for a much longer time. What counts as a phase exactly? Trans kids tend to continue to speak out or act ‘differently’ for long periods of time unless someone pressures them to hide themselves. If the kid continually presses the issue for many years, then someone needs to consider the possibility that they are trans. It hasn’t gone away.”
Pearson identifies as a pansexual transman. “Gender, sex, body image, genitalia, whatever, don’t matter to me. It’s all about what’s in a person’s head and heart.” He says he feels like “just an average teenager,” and he plans to graduate from high school and college before going on to be a police officer, “and hopefully, I’ll eventually be a detective.”
“I also plan to continue to always be active in the LGBTQ community and keep doing this work. The path to acceptance can only be set when we stand up for ourselves and create a better environment through our own hard work.”
While the Pearsons hail from Arizona, there are also TYFA advocates in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Indiana and Michigan.
Trans writer, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, co-authored Blind Leap, the second book in the Blind Eye Mystery series, available in October. Contact jake@trans-nation.org or visit Anderson-minshall.com for more information.
Berners-Lee challenges 'stupid' male geek culture
Tom Espiner ZDNet.co.uk
Published: 21 Sep 2007 15:47 BST
The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has called for an end to the "stupid" male geek culture that disregards the work of capable female engineers, and puts others off entering the profession.
Berners-Lee said that a culture that avoided alienating women would attract more female programmers, which could lead to greater harmony of systems design. "If there were more women involved we could move towards interoperability. We have to change at every level," he said.
According to Berners-Lee, a culture exists where women can be put off a career in technology both by "stupid" behaviour by some male "geeks", and by the reactions of other women.
"It's a complex problem — we find bias against women by women. There are bits of male geek culture and engineer culture that are stupid. They should realise that they could be alienating people who are smarter and better engineers," said Berners-Lee. . . .
Published: 21 Sep 2007 15:47 BST
The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has called for an end to the "stupid" male geek culture that disregards the work of capable female engineers, and puts others off entering the profession.
Berners-Lee said that a culture that avoided alienating women would attract more female programmers, which could lead to greater harmony of systems design. "If there were more women involved we could move towards interoperability. We have to change at every level," he said.
According to Berners-Lee, a culture exists where women can be put off a career in technology both by "stupid" behaviour by some male "geeks", and by the reactions of other women.
"It's a complex problem — we find bias against women by women. There are bits of male geek culture and engineer culture that are stupid. They should realise that they could be alienating people who are smarter and better engineers," said Berners-Lee. . . .
POV, Critique, Opinion: GIULIANI IS EVERYONE'S WORST NIGHTMARE
By Pastor Chuck Baldwin
September 21, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
Former New York City Mayor and Republican Presidential contender Rudy Giuliani said this week that he was "liberals' worst nightmare." However, the truth is, Rudy Giuliani is everyone's worst nightmare.
That Rudy Giuliani is currently trying to cast himself as a conservative is beyond laughable--it is hilarious. This is a man who is unabashedly pro-abortion. He has been seen walking down Fifth Avenue with thousands of homosexuals demanding "gay rights." He himself is a cross-dresser. He has had numerous marriages and only God knows how many sexual affairs. He has been one of the country's most radical proponents of gun control. He made New York a sanctuary city for illegal aliens and is a strong proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens. As a prosecutor, his abuse of power and disregard for law are legendary. [Read]
In addition, Rudy Giuliani is a senior partner in the law firm that "represents CITGO, the oil company controlled by Venezuela's anti-American and terrorist-supporting ruler Hugo Chavez." Giuliani's law firm also acts "as the exclusive legal counsel for Cintra, the Spanish firm that has been granted the right to operate a toll road in the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) project."
(Please read Cliff Kincaid's entire column for more on Giuliani's shady and untoward activities)
Yes, my friends, the umbilical cord connecting the SPP, NAFTA Superhighway and burgeoning North American Union is also connected to Rudy Giuliani.
Yet, Rudy Giuliani wants people to believe that he is "liberals' worst nightmare"? Who is he kidding? Giuliani is a liberal. Actually, Rudy Giuliani is worse than a liberal. He is a liberal that likes to hurt people. I tell you the truth, Rudy Giuliani scares me far more than Hillary Clinton does. Far more. I'll say it right here: if the 2008 Presidential election comes down to Hillary vs. Giuliani, Hillary is the "lesser of two evils." That's how bad Giuliani is. . . .
September 21, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
Former New York City Mayor and Republican Presidential contender Rudy Giuliani said this week that he was "liberals' worst nightmare." However, the truth is, Rudy Giuliani is everyone's worst nightmare.
That Rudy Giuliani is currently trying to cast himself as a conservative is beyond laughable--it is hilarious. This is a man who is unabashedly pro-abortion. He has been seen walking down Fifth Avenue with thousands of homosexuals demanding "gay rights." He himself is a cross-dresser. He has had numerous marriages and only God knows how many sexual affairs. He has been one of the country's most radical proponents of gun control. He made New York a sanctuary city for illegal aliens and is a strong proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens. As a prosecutor, his abuse of power and disregard for law are legendary. [Read]
In addition, Rudy Giuliani is a senior partner in the law firm that "represents CITGO, the oil company controlled by Venezuela's anti-American and terrorist-supporting ruler Hugo Chavez." Giuliani's law firm also acts "as the exclusive legal counsel for Cintra, the Spanish firm that has been granted the right to operate a toll road in the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) project."
(Please read Cliff Kincaid's entire column for more on Giuliani's shady and untoward activities)
Yes, my friends, the umbilical cord connecting the SPP, NAFTA Superhighway and burgeoning North American Union is also connected to Rudy Giuliani.
Yet, Rudy Giuliani wants people to believe that he is "liberals' worst nightmare"? Who is he kidding? Giuliani is a liberal. Actually, Rudy Giuliani is worse than a liberal. He is a liberal that likes to hurt people. I tell you the truth, Rudy Giuliani scares me far more than Hillary Clinton does. Far more. I'll say it right here: if the 2008 Presidential election comes down to Hillary vs. Giuliani, Hillary is the "lesser of two evils." That's how bad Giuliani is. . . .
Euro court rules for Lithuanian transsexuals
The European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling Sept. 11 strengthening the rights of transsexuals in Lithuania.
Such individuals already had the right to officially change their gender but the nation has failed to pass enabling legislation necessary for them to gain access to full sex-reassignment surgery through the country's health care system.
In a 6-1 ruling in a case brought by a female-to-male transsexual, "Mr. L.," the court said the lack of access to full surgery violates the European Convention on Human Rights' guarantee of respect for one's private and family life.
"This is a very positive judgment [that] highlights a problem with some European countries which formally permit gender reassignment and amendment of identity documents but lack legal clarity and consistency, and available medical facilities," said the European branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
The court gave Lithuania three months to fix the problems or face a 40,000 euro (US$55,612) payout to Mr. L., who was granted 5,000 euros in damages immediately.
Mr. L. was prescribed hormone therapy in 1998 but denied further therapy in 1999 because it was not clear he would have access to a sex-change operation. He continued the therapy on his own and, in 2000, had his female breasts removed.
In 2003, a new law granted transsexuals the right to gender-reassignment surgery when medically possible, but additional measures that were necessary to implement the law were never adopted, and medical facilities to carry out a full female-to-male sex-change operation apparently do not exist in Lithuania.
In court, the government suggested that individuals such as Mr. L. might be eligible to undergo surgery abroad at state expense.
But, for now, the court said, Mr. L. faces unacceptable and distressing uncertainty regarding his private life and recognition of his true identity.
Such individuals already had the right to officially change their gender but the nation has failed to pass enabling legislation necessary for them to gain access to full sex-reassignment surgery through the country's health care system.
In a 6-1 ruling in a case brought by a female-to-male transsexual, "Mr. L.," the court said the lack of access to full surgery violates the European Convention on Human Rights' guarantee of respect for one's private and family life.
"This is a very positive judgment [that] highlights a problem with some European countries which formally permit gender reassignment and amendment of identity documents but lack legal clarity and consistency, and available medical facilities," said the European branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
The court gave Lithuania three months to fix the problems or face a 40,000 euro (US$55,612) payout to Mr. L., who was granted 5,000 euros in damages immediately.
Mr. L. was prescribed hormone therapy in 1998 but denied further therapy in 1999 because it was not clear he would have access to a sex-change operation. He continued the therapy on his own and, in 2000, had his female breasts removed.
In 2003, a new law granted transsexuals the right to gender-reassignment surgery when medically possible, but additional measures that were necessary to implement the law were never adopted, and medical facilities to carry out a full female-to-male sex-change operation apparently do not exist in Lithuania.
In court, the government suggested that individuals such as Mr. L. might be eligible to undergo surgery abroad at state expense.
But, for now, the court said, Mr. L. faces unacceptable and distressing uncertainty regarding his private life and recognition of his true identity.
Baldwin's Not Hiding This Candy
William Baldwin, Candis Cayne
Could Candis Cayne become the first transsexual Emmy winner?
Come Sept. 26, she’ll definitely have a shot at it. Cayne pops up in the new ABC prime-time drama Dirty Sexy Money playing Carmelita, the secret transsexual lover of a U.S. senator, played by William Baldwin.
“It’s kind of funny that I was here [in Los Angeles] last weekend for the Emmys, because I remember last year sitting and watching the Emmy Awards and I was almost a little depressed,” Cayne told me during a break from shooting the series yesterday. “Like, Wow, I’ve always wanted that since I was little, and I’ve always want to experience that. And so, maybe now that could happen one day.”
The series centers around the Darlings, a superwealthy New York family. In addition to Baldwin, it stars Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh and Samaire Armstrong.
Patricia Field, the iconic wardrobe stylist from Sex and the City, was working on Dirty’s pilot when she suggested producers consider Cayne for the part. After an audition and just one callback, Cayne was on board.
“I got to the first table reading, and it’s, like, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, Peter Krause and Billy Baldwin sitting there,” Cayne says. “I walk in, and they all look up, and Craig [Wright, the show’s creator] is like, ‘Sit down, Candis!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my holy God!’”
Cayne, who was born Brendan McDaniel, grew up in Hawaii. Even before she decided to transition from a man to a woman about 10 years ago, she was a local celeb in New York’s gay community for her drag act. (Back when I lived in NYC, I’d often catch her Saturday-night show at a restaurant on lower Sixth Avenue. Dressed in a Wonder Woman-inspired outfit, she would stop traffic—literally—by dancing into the middle of the busy street. At least once, Cayne even jumped into a cab and took off, leaving the audience wondering if she’d return. She did a few minutes later, stepping out of the cab—and without missing a beat—dancing right back into the restaurant.)
She says Baldwin couldn’t be nicer. “He is so amazing,” she says. “So sweet and generous and open to this whole new world. He’s just really giving and made me feel really comfortable.”
Well, they better be comfortable with each other, because Cayne and Baldwin do have some steamy moments together. “There are a lot of love scenes,” Cayne says with a laugh.
So, how does Baldwin rate as a kisser? “Well, it’s an acting kiss,” she says with another laugh. “For acting kisses, he’s great.”
How long will she be on the series? “I have no idea,” Cayne says. “I’m not on contract. I’m doing weekly. So, basically, I just wait and read the script and hope for the best and hope that there are no J.R. Ewing moments in there.” . . .
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