by Peter Hackney
10 February 2010
World famous transsexual icon Amanda Lepore will be the Chief of Parade at this year’s Mardi Gras, it has been announced.
The role will see Lepore, arguably the world’s most famous transsexual, lead the floats up Oxford and Flinders Streets on Saturday, February 27 for the 32nd annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be invited to be Chief of Parade,” Lepore said. “I can’t wait to be a part of Mardi Gras and the celebration of our community.” . . . Read More
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Transsexual Phoenix Author to Speak at City Event; Sex-Change Patient Grew Up in Detroit in 1960s
By Ray Stern in Diverse City
February 2, 2010
In the late 1960s, Millie C. Bloodworth was a city boy from Detroit who didn't like guns, the Army, snakes on field trips, or the looming prospect of getting shipped off to Vietnam.
What he really wanted was a sex-change operation and a wardrobe of pretty dresses. Bloodworth, who describes her offbeat, coming-of-age tale in her 2008 book, The Exceptional, Impossible Woman Indeed! will chat about her life and society's evolving view of transsexuals during a free, city-sponsored event on Friday, February 19. . . . Read More
February 2, 2010
In the late 1960s, Millie C. Bloodworth was a city boy from Detroit who didn't like guns, the Army, snakes on field trips, or the looming prospect of getting shipped off to Vietnam.
What he really wanted was a sex-change operation and a wardrobe of pretty dresses. Bloodworth, who describes her offbeat, coming-of-age tale in her 2008 book, The Exceptional, Impossible Woman Indeed! will chat about her life and society's evolving view of transsexuals during a free, city-sponsored event on Friday, February 19. . . . Read More
MISS TRANSSEXUAL CROWNED
StartObserver.com
February 9, 2010
Chelsey Mikimoto, a transgender showgirl from Melbourne, was crowned Miss Transsexual Australia 2010 in the country’s first-ever beauty pageant for transsexuals and transgenders, held at Melbourne’s Bar 362 last week.
Contestants were judged on their creativity, talent, wit, beauty and confidence. Singapore-born Mikimoto, who performs at cabaret shows, nightclubs and entertainment venues around Melbourne, wowed the judges with her poise, talent and quick wit. She was announced winner over runner-up Patricia Licaros, a hospitality sales associate from Southbank. . . .Read More
February 9, 2010
Chelsey Mikimoto, a transgender showgirl from Melbourne, was crowned Miss Transsexual Australia 2010 in the country’s first-ever beauty pageant for transsexuals and transgenders, held at Melbourne’s Bar 362 last week.
Contestants were judged on their creativity, talent, wit, beauty and confidence. Singapore-born Mikimoto, who performs at cabaret shows, nightclubs and entertainment venues around Melbourne, wowed the judges with her poise, talent and quick wit. She was announced winner over runner-up Patricia Licaros, a hospitality sales associate from Southbank. . . .Read More
The Exceptional, Impossible Woman Indeed!
by Milicent Carter-Bloodworth (2008)
There is a ghost that has traveled with me all of my life. He has haunted the deepest recesses of my mind and is a part of the core of my soul. His name is Melton Bernie; as a young child he was my outer self that the world saw. Melton carried me through a childhood that was fraught with the frustrations of living in a discriminatory and prejudice filled nation which suffered the assassinations of political and religious leaders. Melton also helped carry my inner self through those times when fantasies of escape to places filled with hope were my only comfort. I had always had faith in God and myself to be true to myself and others. I have always felt that it is up to the parent, teacher and religious persons to teach all children that it is not only okay to be who we were meant to be, but to embrace all the diversity that is humanity. . . .Read More
There is a ghost that has traveled with me all of my life. He has haunted the deepest recesses of my mind and is a part of the core of my soul. His name is Melton Bernie; as a young child he was my outer self that the world saw. Melton carried me through a childhood that was fraught with the frustrations of living in a discriminatory and prejudice filled nation which suffered the assassinations of political and religious leaders. Melton also helped carry my inner self through those times when fantasies of escape to places filled with hope were my only comfort. I had always had faith in God and myself to be true to myself and others. I have always felt that it is up to the parent, teacher and religious persons to teach all children that it is not only okay to be who we were meant to be, but to embrace all the diversity that is humanity. . . .Read More
Saturday, February 06, 2010
The Prodigal Son
FI Film Fest 2008
Presented by Audi USA
DIR Kim Reed
PROD Kim Reed, John Keitel
This is a family reunion film like no other. it involves two rivals who were once like brothers, and are now like brother and sister; and the dna of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. this film is an unforgettable, moving first-person excursion into family dynamics, identity, gender and the past.
Presented by Audi USA
DIR Kim Reed
PROD Kim Reed, John Keitel
This is a family reunion film like no other. it involves two rivals who were once like brothers, and are now like brother and sister; and the dna of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. this film is an unforgettable, moving first-person excursion into family dynamics, identity, gender and the past.
Transsexual film-maker Kimberly Reed wows America with Prodigal Sons
The tale of two small-town brothers and their battles with identity, both sexual and biological, has defied all expectations
by Paul Harris
February 7, 2010
Paul McKerrow was an all-American boy. Raised in Helena, Montana, he was the quarterback for his high-school football team, which is as close to being idolised as many small-town Americans come.
He was also his class president, the valedictorian of his year in 1985 and voted most likely to succeed by his classmates. He was tall and ruggedly good-looking. McKerrow, in short, had it made and great things were expected of him.
So it was with some trepidation that McKerrow recently attended his 20-year high-school reunion as Kimberly Reed, a lesbian, New York-based film-maker who had had reassignment to become a woman.
"It was very emotional. I wanted it to go smoothly. People get freaked out enough by going to their high-school reunion. But having a new gender is a big surprise for a lot of people," Reed said. . . .Read More
by Paul Harris
February 7, 2010
Paul McKerrow was an all-American boy. Raised in Helena, Montana, he was the quarterback for his high-school football team, which is as close to being idolised as many small-town Americans come.
He was also his class president, the valedictorian of his year in 1985 and voted most likely to succeed by his classmates. He was tall and ruggedly good-looking. McKerrow, in short, had it made and great things were expected of him.
So it was with some trepidation that McKerrow recently attended his 20-year high-school reunion as Kimberly Reed, a lesbian, New York-based film-maker who had had reassignment to become a woman.
"It was very emotional. I wanted it to go smoothly. People get freaked out enough by going to their high-school reunion. But having a new gender is a big surprise for a lot of people," Reed said. . . .Read More
What being transsexual means to me
T-Notes
by Robbi Cohn
February 5, 2010
I think one thing many will agree upon is the critical need for change — personally, publicly, politically and socially. If these times seem to portend great decisions, a fork in the road perhaps, I think many of us have felt it coming. I don’t mean this in any kind of apocalyptic sense, merely that we are at a crossroads and that making a conscious effort to pay attention to what’s going on may be more important now than it has been in the recent past. We may be called on to have a bit more intentionality than the kind of whimsical existences to which we’ve become accustomed.
by Robbi Cohn
February 5, 2010
I think one thing many will agree upon is the critical need for change — personally, publicly, politically and socially. If these times seem to portend great decisions, a fork in the road perhaps, I think many of us have felt it coming. I don’t mean this in any kind of apocalyptic sense, merely that we are at a crossroads and that making a conscious effort to pay attention to what’s going on may be more important now than it has been in the recent past. We may be called on to have a bit more intentionality than the kind of whimsical existences to which we’ve become accustomed.
With that in mind, this new year I have decided to take my writing in a more personal direction. Over the past year, we have heard the word “reset” ad nauseum. It seems to me that what is really needed is a return to basics: honesty, tolerance, compassion, empathy and love. Maybe it’s time to reevaluate what “values” really mean, given how that word gets bandied about.
I’m a child of the ‘60s. I guess you could say I was/am a “dyed-in-the-wool” hippie — a denizen of avant-garde, cutting edge and what has come to be called “counter culture.” We lived our beliefs and we wore them on our sleeves. We had a dream. I will admit to a sense of naiveté we might have had, but we also had passion and guts and, above all, vision. We saw a world that embraced diversity, believed all living beings had rights and didn’t worship acquistion. We saw an end to poverty and hunger and embraced equal opportunity for all. We saw a world in which love prevailed. . . .Read More
Pakistan's 'third gender' seek greater rights
By ELENA BECATOROS
February 7, 2010
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Taunted at home, Sanhya ran away at age 12, searching for acceptance as she sees herself - neither male nor female, but a member of a third gender.
February 7, 2010
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Taunted at home, Sanhya ran away at age 12, searching for acceptance as she sees herself - neither male nor female, but a member of a third gender.
Pakistan's transgender community has long lived on society's margins, harassed by police, ridiculed as freaks, pitied as the outcast people of Allah and often rejected by their own families. Now the Supreme Court is giving them hope through a petition for their rights to be respected.
"People are recognizing that we are also human beings," said Almas Bobby, who acts as head of the community and fights for equal rights. . . .Read More
Transgender Surgery is Deductible; Medical Coverage Coming
February 3, 2010
by Joanne Herman
The United States Tax Court, in a decision reviewed by the full bench, has affirmed that medical treatments for Gender Identity Disorder (GID), including surgery and hormone therapy, are deductible medical expenses. The Court found that the Internal Revenue Service's existing position that such treatment is cosmetic in nature "is at best a superficial characterization of thecircumstances that is thoroughly rebutted by the medical evidence.
The case stemmed from the IRS's denial of Rhiannon O'Donnabhain's 2001 deduction of her sex reassignment surgery costs. The IRS called her surgery "cosmetic" -- like teeth whitening or hair transplants.
by Joanne Herman
The United States Tax Court, in a decision reviewed by the full bench, has affirmed that medical treatments for Gender Identity Disorder (GID), including surgery and hormone therapy, are deductible medical expenses. The Court found that the Internal Revenue Service's existing position that such treatment is cosmetic in nature "is at best a superficial characterization of thecircumstances that is thoroughly rebutted by the medical evidence.
The case stemmed from the IRS's denial of Rhiannon O'Donnabhain's 2001 deduction of her sex reassignment surgery costs. The IRS called her surgery "cosmetic" -- like teeth whitening or hair transplants.
O'Donnabhain's journey has been a long one. She first felt conflicted about gender identity as early as age eight, and says she "lived in anguish" thereafter as a male, struggling with the sense that she was, in fact, a female. At age 52 she was diagnosed with GID and undertook a course of professionally prescribed medical treatments that resulted in the recommendation that she undergo sex reassignment surgery. . . .Read More
Monday, January 25, 2010
We're 7 & 8 Years Old and Know We Are Transgender (2010/01/27)
Forthcoming: Wednesday, January 27th 2010
Two brave kids share their stories. At only 7 and 8 years old, these children are living as the opposite gender. Well hear from the kids and their families about what its like growing up transgender. Later, the two families will get a chance to meet. Then, we get an update on a former guest who has transitioned from girl to boy through the use of hormones. Finally, a heated debate on the subject -- with the executive director of Transyouth Family Allies, a transgender doctor and a professor/minister.
Being a Transgender and Sexual Preference
A very wise lady once said, your natural sex is determined by what's between your legs at birth; your gender is determined by what's between your ears. In this update, I thought I'd talk a little about being transgender and sexual (partner) preference.
For Transgender People, Name Is a Message
By WILLIAM GLABERSON
January 24, 2010
Katherine used to be Miguel. Olin had a girl’s name. And in October, Robert Ira Schnur, 70, became Roberta Iris Schnur, a Manhattan retiree with magenta lipstick and, she noted the other day, chipped silver nail polish.
“I wasn’t like other men,” she said.
Theirs are among hundreds of names a Manhattan court has changed over the last few years for transgender New Yorkers. That tally, specialists in the relatively new field of transgender law say, may make the borough’s workaday Civil Court one of the country’s biggest official name swappers — male names for female, vice versa and ambiguous. . . .Read More
January 24, 2010
Katherine used to be Miguel. Olin had a girl’s name. And in October, Robert Ira Schnur, 70, became Roberta Iris Schnur, a Manhattan retiree with magenta lipstick and, she noted the other day, chipped silver nail polish.
“I wasn’t like other men,” she said.
Theirs are among hundreds of names a Manhattan court has changed over the last few years for transgender New Yorkers. That tally, specialists in the relatively new field of transgender law say, may make the borough’s workaday Civil Court one of the country’s biggest official name swappers — male names for female, vice versa and ambiguous. . . .Read More
CUBA: Wendy - Reconciling the Inner and Outer Image
By Dalia Acosta
HAVANA, Jan 25, 2010 (IPS) - It was as if she had only closed her eyes for a moment. When Wendy Iriepa came round after surgery over a year ago, she tried to get up as if nothing had happened, but a nurse gently pushed her back into bed. "All done?" she asked, and the nurse replied, "Yes."
"I wanted to look at myself, and I managed to feel how I was now. That thing I had had to live with for 33 years of my life was gone for good," Iriepa, a Cuban transsexual who had the sexual reassignment operation approved by the Public Health Ministry in 2008, told IPS.
"When they finally removed my bandages, I went to the bathroom and I saw my reflection in a huge mirror. It was the happiest moment of my life. The 16 days I spent in hospital were neither an ordeal nor a form of imprisonment for me, but a spiritual liberation that freed my soul," she said.
As she tells her story, the tears flow again. But since her operation, her tears have been mostly of happiness. Basically she is still the same person, a hard worker and a stubborn rebel, yet she has also changed, and not just physically. Powerlessness and all its consequences are buried in the past along with that burden that was "always dragging me down." . . .Read More
"I wanted to look at myself, and I managed to feel how I was now. That thing I had had to live with for 33 years of my life was gone for good," Iriepa, a Cuban transsexual who had the sexual reassignment operation approved by the Public Health Ministry in 2008, told IPS.
"When they finally removed my bandages, I went to the bathroom and I saw my reflection in a huge mirror. It was the happiest moment of my life. The 16 days I spent in hospital were neither an ordeal nor a form of imprisonment for me, but a spiritual liberation that freed my soul," she said.
As she tells her story, the tears flow again. But since her operation, her tears have been mostly of happiness. Basically she is still the same person, a hard worker and a stubborn rebel, yet she has also changed, and not just physically. Powerlessness and all its consequences are buried in the past along with that burden that was "always dragging me down." . . .Read More
Top model admits being transsexual
asiaoneNEWS
23 January 2010
Taiwanese model Alicia Liu (Xun Ai) has admitted that she is a transsexual.
The 24-year-old model-cum-actress, nicknamed Xiao Ai, said she underwent sex-change surgery at the age of 18.
"My ex-boyfriend paid for it," she said in an interview with a Taiwan magazine on Friday. . . .Read More
23 January 2010
Taiwanese model Alicia Liu (Xun Ai) has admitted that she is a transsexual.
The 24-year-old model-cum-actress, nicknamed Xiao Ai, said she underwent sex-change surgery at the age of 18.
"My ex-boyfriend paid for it," she said in an interview with a Taiwan magazine on Friday. . . .Read More
Christine Daniels by any other name
20 January 2010
LGBT community remembers the transgender sportswriter
By Cyd Zeigler jr.
A rose by any other name is still a rose. Christine, by any other name, is still the most caring, kindest, sweetest, most giving, most talented person I’ve ever known.”
Those words began the eulogy for Christine Daniels last Saturday at the Metropolitan Community Church in Hollywood. They’ve echoed in my head since Suzy Horn, a close friend of Christine, uttered them.
It’s been over six weeks since Mike Penner ended his own life, and over a year since he ended the life of Christine Daniels, the woman he became before becoming Mike again. The family had held a private memorial service in December, to which none of the members of Christine’s church were invited. Some in the media criticized Metropolitan Community Church for having a memorial service for Christine when the family had had a service for Mike, and since last we’d all heard she had transitioned back to Mike. . . .Read More
LGBT community remembers the transgender sportswriter
By Cyd Zeigler jr.
A rose by any other name is still a rose. Christine, by any other name, is still the most caring, kindest, sweetest, most giving, most talented person I’ve ever known.”
Those words began the eulogy for Christine Daniels last Saturday at the Metropolitan Community Church in Hollywood. They’ve echoed in my head since Suzy Horn, a close friend of Christine, uttered them.
It’s been over six weeks since Mike Penner ended his own life, and over a year since he ended the life of Christine Daniels, the woman he became before becoming Mike again. The family had held a private memorial service in December, to which none of the members of Christine’s church were invited. Some in the media criticized Metropolitan Community Church for having a memorial service for Christine when the family had had a service for Mike, and since last we’d all heard she had transitioned back to Mike. . . .Read More
Girls may learn math anxiety from female teachers
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer – January 25, 2010
WASHINGTON – Little girls may learn to fear math from the women who are their earliest teachers. Despite gains in recent years, women still trail men in some areas of math achievement, and the question of why has provoked controversy. Now, a study of first- and second-graders suggests what may be part of the answer: Female elementary school teachers who are concerned about their own math skills could be passing that along to the little girls they teach. . . . .Read More
Act Two. Tom Girls.
This American Life
Chicago Public Radio 1.15.2010
Lilly and Thomasina have a lot in common. They’re both 8 years old. And they were both born boys, although it became clear pretty early on that they'd prefer to be girls. There aren’t all that many kids in the world like them, but recently, at a conference in Seattle on transgender parenting, they met. And they immediately hit it off. . . . Read More and listen to the kids
Chicago Public Radio 1.15.2010
Lilly and Thomasina have a lot in common. They’re both 8 years old. And they were both born boys, although it became clear pretty early on that they'd prefer to be girls. There aren’t all that many kids in the world like them, but recently, at a conference in Seattle on transgender parenting, they met. And they immediately hit it off. . . . Read More and listen to the kids
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Transgender bias at Thruway
Former Army dispatcher wins $55,000 after firing at authority
By BRENDAN J. LYONS
January 9, 2010
ALBANY -- A transgender woman who was secretly subjected to harassment, openly called "drag queen" and "freak," and later fired by the New York State Thruway Authority has been awarded more than $55,000 for her ordeal.
She is still seeking reinstatement to her job.
By BRENDAN J. LYONS
January 9, 2010
ALBANY -- A transgender woman who was secretly subjected to harassment, openly called "drag queen" and "freak," and later fired by the New York State Thruway Authority has been awarded more than $55,000 for her ordeal.
| |
A judge with the state Division of Human Rights has issued an order sustaining a complaint by Mackenzie W. Valentine, 29, a former Army dispatcher and military police officer from Cohoes who was diagnosed with gender identity disorder and underwent a court-approved gender change several years ago. The transformation took place around the time that Valentine, who changed her name from "Matthew Valentine," began working for the Thruway Authority in Albany as a $15.30-an-hour dispatcher. . . .Read More
Being First Sucks
BigThink.com | January 17, 2010
"Being first sucks." That's what Amanda Simpson, one of the country's first two openly transgender presidential appointees, told ABC News. "I'd rather not be the first, but someone has to be first."
Amanda Simpson started two weeks ago at the Department of Commerce, where her job will be to keep track of the export of American military technology. Dylan Orr, who is also openly transgender, was recently appointed to a lower-level job in the Department of Labor, but Simpson is apparently the highest-level transgender executive official ever. A former test pilot, Simpson holds degrees in physics, engineering, and business, has worked in the aerospace and defense industry for thirty years, and is eminently qualified for her position. Nevertheless, the Christian group Focus on the Family released a statement accusing President Obama of appointing her as "payback to his far-left base for their political support." And Peter LaBarbera, president of an anti-gay group called Americans for Truth asked if there was going "to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration?" . . .Read More
Sixteen-year-old becomes Spain's youngest transsexual
• Teenager required court ruling for operation in Barcelona
• Judge granted permission after request by parents
by Giles Tremlett
12 January 2010
• Judge granted permission after request by parents
by Giles Tremlett
12 January 2010
A Spanish clinic today revealed it had performed a male-to-female sex-change operation on a 16-year-old, making her the youngest patient to undergo the operation in the country's history.
The unnamed teenager had been taking hormones to change her body since she was 15, according to doctors who treated her at Barcelona's hospital clÃnico, and she had been seeing doctors and psychiatrists for even longer. "The patient has been in treatment for nearly three years," said the surgeon who carried out the operation, Dr Iván Mañero.
A sex-change operation on a minor requires the approval of a Spanish court to override a law that sets the minimum age for such operations as 18. . . .Read More
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