“The question always comes up,” said Lunn, 27, a medical student from North Dakota at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “Do I want to come out or not?” This hesitancy is common with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients when meeting with a doctor for the first time. Often they’re scared away by homophobic comments, or simply by a basic lack of knowledge on the part of their doctor as to their unique health care concerns.
“The fear of insensitivity from their doctor has driven many patients away,” Lunn said. “Sometimes never to return.”
In an effort to continue the ongoing struggle of LGBT health activists to get adequate training of medical students on the unique health care needs within their community, a group of four Stanford medical students including Lunn have organized their own on-campus research group, called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Medical Education Research Group.
In the spring, the group will send out surveys to the deans of medical education at schools in the United States and Canada to determine what is being taught, before moving forward with recommended improvements.
“Right now, it’s just not known exactly what is being taught in medical schools,” Lunn said. “We have a little bit of content at Stanford, which is good. But nobody knows for sure about what other schools are teaching.”. . .Read More
“… Trans studies remains a relatively new field, even if many of us can make the argument that transgender people have an ancient history in many if not all of the world’s cultures. The relative newness of transgender studies as an academic field means that we, here, are still figuring out what the field is going to look like and where it’s going to go,” said Raskolnikov, who is also the director of lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender studies program.
The conference that took place Friday through yesterday included two keynote speakers and seven thematically organized panels with topics ranging from the medical treatment of intersex bodies to the Employment Non-discrimination Act to Nietzsche and transphobia. Approximately 20 panelists from a wide array of disciplines and backgrounds came from across and beyond the country to present papers, including invited speakers Paisley Currah, Leah DeVun, Shannon Minter law ’93, Vic Muñoz, Matt Richardson, Gayle Salamon and Prof. Susan Stryker, gender studies at Indiana University.
Stryker, an Emmy-award winning director of “Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria,” gave the first keynote in Lewis Auditorium on Friday night. Stryker, whose talk was titled “We Who Are Sexy”: The Transsexual Whiteness of Christine Jorgensen in the (Post)Colonial Philippines,” showed clips of the Filipino film We Who Are Sexy, a 1960s movie about seven gender deviant effeminate brothers, and discussed a cameo made by Christine Jorgensen, a 1950s international transsexual celebrity, in the film.
'Katastrophic': Rocco Kayiatos, also known as “Katastrophe,” takes the stage in Lewis Auditorium on Saturday night as part of the “F to eMbody” show.
Stryker expounded on how Jorgensen’s Eurocentric transsexuality interacted with the local, Filipino transsexuality, and the implications of Eurocentric domination in a postcolonial context.
Minter, the lead counsel for the same-sex marriage case in the California Supreme Court and legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, presented the paper “Category Mistakes: Why Gender Theory Should Not Guide Transgender Advocacy” in the second keynote on Saturday evening. . . .Read More
While the construction is expected to begin after the polls, the officials have already identified areas with a considerable transgender population in south and central Chennai. The first will be built in Saidapet, where it will cater to those living in Kothamedu, Theedeer Nagar and Athuma Nagar.
Each lavatory, with both male and female urinals for those who have undergone sex change as well as those who are yet to do so, is estimated to cost about Rs 12-15 lakh. Muncipal Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said that more such toilets would be built, depending on the response.
For the moment, the response has been rather mixed. While there are some who have welcomed the move, many feel that it would lead to more isolation of the transgender community.
“I don’t agree with this. We want to mingle with the mainstream. We don’t want to be separated like this,” said Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association. “Using separate toilets will open the way for discrimination. We want to be considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.”. . .Read More
"Mom, why did Grandma give me a dress?" she asked.
A perfectly reasonable question, since Sarah had refused to wear girls' clothing as soon as she knew the difference. Kathy explained that Grandma was just trying to be nice—Sarah didn't have to wear the dress.
"Why don't you tell Grandma that I'm a boy?" Sarah asked.
Kathy marveled at her child's logic. The mother chalked the child's comment up to the imaginative reasoning of a toddler.
A few weeks later, Sarah asked her Sunday school teacher to label her nametag "Steven." Soon, she was insisting that her parents call her Steven and refer to her as "he." Kathy and her husband, Joe (names have been changed), gently explained to their daughter that she was a girl, not a boy. But the toddler became so upset that they eventually conceded to calling her Steven at home. . . .Read More
Kenneth Starr and Shannon Minter, lead attorneys in the California Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of same-sex marriage in the state, are as different as the competing sides they represent.
Starr, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, is best known for leading the inquiry into President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern.
Since then, the former federal judge and U.S. solicitor general has dedicated himself to conservative causes, including writing briefs for the Mormon church in a previous gay marriage case in California.
Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, is a transsexual who spent his first 35 years as a female. He was a lead counsel in the state Supreme Court case decided last May that allowed same-sex couples to marry, a ruling that was reversed in November when voters approved Proposition 8.
Starr and Minter will square off Thursday in the most closely watched California Supreme Court hearing in a generation. They're set to deliver oral arguments in three suits in which supporters of gay marriage contend that Proposition 8, which limits marriage to a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.
Minter, 48, representing gay rights groups, will be the first attorney to address the court in San Francisco. Starr, 62, will deliver the final arguments on behalf of the Yes on 8 campaign. . . .Read More
She hung out with artists such as Andy Warhol and crossed paths with musicians such as David Bowie. Filmmaker Paul Morrissey put her in two movies. Lou Reed wrote the Velvet Underground song Candy Says with her in mind and included a verse about her in his Walk on the Wild Side.
And she inspired Jeremiah Newton -- the film, television and video liaison at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University -- to assemble the only known archive of items associated with Candy Darling, including diaries, letters, photos and her cremated remains. He gave the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh part of the collection more than a year ago and delivered the rest this month. . . .Read More
It is a statement open to so many misunderstandings. I was molested. I was not raped.
You see, many people make an assumption that being molested means that I was raped by a child predator. The reality is that molestation can run a gambit from simply being forcibly fondled by an adult to being raped. In my case, the man who molested me fondled me. He was obviously aroused, but did not go to the step of rape. In some ways, I was lucky. I know that sounds like a horrible thing to say, but I was lucky. From what I have been able to piece together about this man, who worked as a guidance councilor for my sixth grade school, is that his next victim was raped. And, again, luckily, he was arrested four years later while purchasing child pornography and did not escalate to murder. Luck is such a relative thing. . . .Read More
February 24th, 2009
Four transgender people will share their experiences at a panel discussion Wednesday night. “Tranny Talk,” hosted by Queers and Allies, is being held in observance of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s “Transaction Day” this Friday. The day and the panel are meant to encourage dialogue about gender, gender roles and gender identities to advocate safe, inclusive schools for all students.
Jayne Henson, junior and panelist for the event, said the panel was meant to educate students and community members on the importance of transgender rights and issues.
“This panel is important to me because I am transgender and have personally felt the effects of transphobia, which I believe is the direct result of ignorance,” Henson said. “I think the best way to combat this and help put an end to it is through education and giving people a face and a voice to go along with the term ‘transgender.’ ” . . .Read More
Do you have questions about the coming out journey? The Human Rights Campaign has a set of resources to help you along the way. Download a copy of our newly released Resource Guide to Coming Out, or read it online. Or download our Resource Guide to Coming Out for African Americans, the Spanish-language Guía de Recursos Para Salir Del Clóset or our guide to Living Openly in Your Place of Worship.
