By Roger Catlin
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Queen - Live Aid - Part 3 (3/5)
One of the greatest rock groups of all time at one of the great concerts: 13.07.1985, London (Wembley Stadium), England.
Transgender discrimination outlawed
(Courtesy, Transgender Law & Policy Institute)Transgender activists outside the offices of the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign in this file photo taken Aug. 7, 2004. Montgomery County Council members unanimously approved a measure that outlaws discrimination against transgender people.
WASHINGTON - Montgomery County Council members unanimously approved a measure that outlaws discrimination against transgender people, despite the outrage of protesters who worried the measure would allow men access to women’s restrooms.
The legislation will “prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, cable television service and taxicab service on the basis of gender identity” and add gender identity discrimination to the lists of potential types of prejudice.
The measure, passed Tuesday, also says that there will be no change in how restroom access is determined, but that didn’t satisfy protesters such as Adol T. Owen-Williams II.
“I hope it’s on your conscience when little girls start showing up dead in public bathrooms,” Owen-Williams shouted at council members as they left the room.
About 25 protesters held signs that read “Gender ID Bill is LOO-NY” or “Safety.” Protesters said they wanted a bill that would specifically bar individuals with male genitalia from using female restrooms and locker rooms.
Michelle Turner, spokeswoman for local group Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, said she hoped the council would “reconsider it, rewrite it and then allow a public hearing so more citizens here in Montgomery County have an option or an opportunity to say something about it and have their voices heard.” . . .
Australia: DREADCIRCUS IN TRANSITION
 Jade Starr will once again rock the music scene. |  |
After months in the studios recording their next CD, singer Jade Starr and her troupe of transsexuals and lesbians, known as Dreadcircus, are set to launch their latest album this week before jetsetting to Adelaide for the Feast festival.
They will be joined on tour by Ikochi, an Asian transsexual band that promises to deliver a high-energy show thanks to its unique sound spanning the traditions of the Japanese Showa era through to rockabilly and punk.
Bass player Kota and drummer Datsuke will join Ikochi’s stunning transsexual lead singer and guitarist Chikako at the events.
But before the groups hit the road they will be playing at the Sandringham in Newtown on Thursday 15 November, then at Slide on Sunday 18 November with She Is. . . .
TV gives a role to transsexuality
With taboos being erased, story lines involving transgender characters have been emerging on prominent shows.
Gay people on TV are old hat.
By now, Entertainment Weekly reports, 61% of college freshmen, who grew up with "Will & Grace," approve of gay marriage. The finding in the national poll is up 10 percentage points from a decade ago.
A turn around the dial will bring you gay story lines in daytime soap operas, same-sex dating on MTV shows such as "Next" and "A Shot of Love With Tila Tequila," and prominent gay characters in ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" and several cable shows: FX's "Nip/Tuck," HBO's "The Wire" and Showtime's "The L Word."
Suspected of being gay is no longer the guaranteed laugh it was on TV anymore, even on macho shows like "Two and a Half Men." And characters such as George on "Grey's Anatomy" or Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" can be credible as virtual Lotharios, though they are played by gay men.
No, to add shock to TV shows in 2007, writers have turned to transsexuals.
How surprising was it last season on "Ugly Betty" when Alex, the long-lost brother of Mode magazine editor in chief Daniel Mead, returned as Alexis, who was not only a woman but a woman who looks like Rebecca Romijn (exactly like her, as it turned out)?
A story line over the summer on "Entourage" involved Johnny Drama trying to get in good with the mayor of Beverly Hills by hooking him up with what appeared to be a beautiful woman at a trendy bar. Her pre-op secret was revealed in one of those skirt flash shots the paparazzi so love. But the mayor (Stephen Tobolowsky) decided he liked his exotic new acquaintance anyway.
Sultry blond
Another politician on a TV series who decided to stick with his transsexual is William Baldwin's Patrick Darling on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money." Though a married New York state attorney general running for U.S. Senate, he is determined to continue his illicit relationship with Carmelita, despite entreaties from his family lawyer.
Carmelita, a sultry blond with a very low voice, is notable because she might be broadcast TV's first recurring transsexual character who actually is played by a transsexual. She is played by Candis Cayne, whose previous credits include "Wigstock: The Movie," "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" and an episode of "CSI: New York."
A transsexual story line also occurs early on another new ABC series, "Big Shots," in which divorced cosmetics CEO Duncan Collinsworth, played by Dylan McDermott, hooks up with a transsexual prostitute at a rest stop -- a tryst that threatens his career when the story gets out.
A more normal depiction of a transsexual life comes as a small part of the FX series "The Riches," about a family of grifters, whose youngest son prefers to dress in women's clothes.
Even as more daytime talk shows take a more serious look at transsexuals, including an October episode of "Oprah Winfrey," some in the transgender community are not encouraged by TV's tendency to depict transsexual women, especially those of color, as prostitutes. The only transsexual women who so far escape that profession are white.
'I'm totally natural'
But on "There's Something About Miriam," an imported BBC series on the Fox Reality cable channel, a group of men vie for the affections of a Mexican woman. According to Fox Reality, the show involves "six eligible men, one beautiful model named Miriam and an enormous secret reveal you never saw coming."
But in this season of transsexuals, of course you saw it coming.
And if you didn't, it was revealed in the premiere (shown, oddly, on Halloween, following the announcement of a winner on "The Search for the Next Elvira").
"I'm not a real woman. I wasn't born as a girl, I was born as a man. I'm a transsexual," Miriam says with about 10 minutes left in the first episode. "I see myself as a girl because I've been living about half my life the way I am living now.
"I don't have any operation. I'm totally natural, this is me."
A doctor from Spain is then interviewed, so he can say, "I can confirm that she has got masculine genitals."
"I see myself as a girl, so basically I like straight guys," Miriam says. The guys won't find out until the final episode.
When "There's Something About Miriam" first aired in the United Kingdom in 2004, it was called "the cruelest reality show idea yet."
Its participants sued the show for conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.
The cases were settled out of court, and the show since has been shown in Australia and Poland. Still, it is perhaps understandable that the cast refuses to do interviews related to the show's U.S. debut.
Mara Keisling, executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, has said, "It's just natural that as there are more trans people visible in public, that's going to be reflected in popular culture."
But its emergence comes with terms that are offensive to the community, such as "she-male" and "tranny."
And conservative watchdog groups are against it altogether.
Christopher Gildemeister, in the TV Trends column for the Parents Television Council, says ABC has an "apparent fetish for transsexuals" in a season where "bizarre forms of sex are being emphasized to a much greater degree on television than ever before."
Gay people on TV are old hat.
By now, Entertainment Weekly reports, 61% of college freshmen, who grew up with "Will & Grace," approve of gay marriage. The finding in the national poll is up 10 percentage points from a decade ago.
A turn around the dial will bring you gay story lines in daytime soap operas, same-sex dating on MTV shows such as "Next" and "A Shot of Love With Tila Tequila," and prominent gay characters in ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" and several cable shows: FX's "Nip/Tuck," HBO's "The Wire" and Showtime's "The L Word."
Suspected of being gay is no longer the guaranteed laugh it was on TV anymore, even on macho shows like "Two and a Half Men." And characters such as George on "Grey's Anatomy" or Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" can be credible as virtual Lotharios, though they are played by gay men.
No, to add shock to TV shows in 2007, writers have turned to transsexuals.
How surprising was it last season on "Ugly Betty" when Alex, the long-lost brother of Mode magazine editor in chief Daniel Mead, returned as Alexis, who was not only a woman but a woman who looks like Rebecca Romijn (exactly like her, as it turned out)?
A story line over the summer on "Entourage" involved Johnny Drama trying to get in good with the mayor of Beverly Hills by hooking him up with what appeared to be a beautiful woman at a trendy bar. Her pre-op secret was revealed in one of those skirt flash shots the paparazzi so love. But the mayor (Stephen Tobolowsky) decided he liked his exotic new acquaintance anyway.
Sultry blond
Another politician on a TV series who decided to stick with his transsexual is William Baldwin's Patrick Darling on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money." Though a married New York state attorney general running for U.S. Senate, he is determined to continue his illicit relationship with Carmelita, despite entreaties from his family lawyer.
Carmelita, a sultry blond with a very low voice, is notable because she might be broadcast TV's first recurring transsexual character who actually is played by a transsexual. She is played by Candis Cayne, whose previous credits include "Wigstock: The Movie," "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" and an episode of "CSI: New York."
A transsexual story line also occurs early on another new ABC series, "Big Shots," in which divorced cosmetics CEO Duncan Collinsworth, played by Dylan McDermott, hooks up with a transsexual prostitute at a rest stop -- a tryst that threatens his career when the story gets out.
A more normal depiction of a transsexual life comes as a small part of the FX series "The Riches," about a family of grifters, whose youngest son prefers to dress in women's clothes.
Even as more daytime talk shows take a more serious look at transsexuals, including an October episode of "Oprah Winfrey," some in the transgender community are not encouraged by TV's tendency to depict transsexual women, especially those of color, as prostitutes. The only transsexual women who so far escape that profession are white.
'I'm totally natural'
But on "There's Something About Miriam," an imported BBC series on the Fox Reality cable channel, a group of men vie for the affections of a Mexican woman. According to Fox Reality, the show involves "six eligible men, one beautiful model named Miriam and an enormous secret reveal you never saw coming."
But in this season of transsexuals, of course you saw it coming.
And if you didn't, it was revealed in the premiere (shown, oddly, on Halloween, following the announcement of a winner on "The Search for the Next Elvira").
"I'm not a real woman. I wasn't born as a girl, I was born as a man. I'm a transsexual," Miriam says with about 10 minutes left in the first episode. "I see myself as a girl because I've been living about half my life the way I am living now.
"I don't have any operation. I'm totally natural, this is me."
A doctor from Spain is then interviewed, so he can say, "I can confirm that she has got masculine genitals."
"I see myself as a girl, so basically I like straight guys," Miriam says. The guys won't find out until the final episode.
When "There's Something About Miriam" first aired in the United Kingdom in 2004, it was called "the cruelest reality show idea yet."
Its participants sued the show for conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.
The cases were settled out of court, and the show since has been shown in Australia and Poland. Still, it is perhaps understandable that the cast refuses to do interviews related to the show's U.S. debut.
Mara Keisling, executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, has said, "It's just natural that as there are more trans people visible in public, that's going to be reflected in popular culture."
But its emergence comes with terms that are offensive to the community, such as "she-male" and "tranny."
And conservative watchdog groups are against it altogether.
Christopher Gildemeister, in the TV Trends column for the Parents Television Council, says ABC has an "apparent fetish for transsexuals" in a season where "bizarre forms of sex are being emphasized to a much greater degree on television than ever before."
Bar installs new bathroom for transgender woman
11/12/2007
By Jennifer Korducki
A transgender woman has settled a civil rights complaint with a Scottsdale nightclub owner over the use of a bar’s bathroom.
A face-to-face meeting between Michele de LaFreniere and bar owner Tom Anderson over the weekend ended the dispute, now that the bar has put in a single-stall restroom available to every customer.
De LaFreniere originally filed a civil rights complaint over the use of the bar’s bathrooms against Anderson’s Fifth Estate a year ago.
The complaint was filed after Anderson banned de LaFreniere and some of her friends from the nightclub after women complained about men in dresses using the toilets in the women’s restroom.
De LaFreniere was also allowed to return to Anderson’s Fifth Estate, a downtown Scottsdale bar.
Rocky Risley Horror
Double Take: Rocky Horror Picture Show
November 14, 2007This weekend, red-lipstick wearing, feather boa bearing, experimental film enthusiasts united at Risley to celebrate the glory that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Huddled on the floor of Risley’s Great Hall, the students observed all of the traditions associated with this cult classic, with the aid of hosts Chris Macklin and Jasmine Haboubi ’08. For this weekend’s presentation of the show, students certainly dressed for the occasion, some in as little as lingerie, fishnets and high-heels. Others took the more traditional route, and dressed to emulate one of the stars of the show, yet this still did not entail much more in the way of body coverage. This costume-party atmosphere contributed greatly to the overall experience of the show.
Upon our arrival, the “virgins” were instructed to recite an oath: “I, virgin scum, do hereby admit, in front of all of these people, that I am a Rocky Horror virgin. I wish to lose all of my morals and accept decadence in my heart.” And as a sort of initiation, the virgins participated in various contests, some of which involved bananas and condoms, or faking an orgasm. The games were commenced, of course, on the count of 69.
The two usherettes opened the show, with a scintillating, choreographed routine to the opening credits, and the song, “Science Fiction-Double Feature.” While the iconic red lips mouthed the words on the screen set up behind the actors, audience members sang their own version, which complimented the original lyrics of the song. After this, the cast emerged in front of the screen, to reenact the events of the movie as they occurred.
For all of you virgins out there, The Rocky Horror Picture Show follows the newly-engaged couple, Brad Majors (Matt Taylor ’10) and Janet Weiss (Michele Batista ’10), as they attempt a visit to their friend, Dr. Everett von Scott (Scott Mooney ’11). When they get a flat tire along the way, they are left with no choice but to ask for help at the residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Ethan Samuels ’10), a transsexual mad scientist. Formerly very straight-edge, the pair soon learns to embrace the self-indulgent lifestyle of Franky and his gang of eccentric Transylvanians.
The audience participated vociferously at several points throughout the show. We waved our arms back and forth for the windshield wiper scene, held lighters up for the song, “Over at the Frankenstein Place,” and stood to dance the steps to the “Time Warp.” We applauded uproariously when Franky appeared on screen, and threw toast when he held up his flute of champagne during the dinner party scene and suggested “Let’s have a toast.” One member of the audience ran up just in time to give the appearance of having been hit by the lightning bolt that cracked on the screen. Several people also ran up to the screen at the end of the film, to make it look like they were spinning the projected image with their hands.
People yelled taunts and lewd comments at the screen, some of which were personalized to Cornell (i.e. comparing the wacky transsexual Transylvanians to the Cornell Football team). Overall, the show was a vastly entertaining experience, and I would recommend it to any of you Rocky Horror virgins out there. . . .
Living in a transgender world
Q&A clears up confusion in terms of gender
By: Freddy Hunt
11/14/07If Uncle Bill wants to become a woman - well, actually he's always been a woman, she's just stuck in a man's body - which public restroom will she use? What about her facial hair? Will she have surgery? And if she still likes women, is she a lesbian?
These are some of the questions raised by three children in a film shown at yesterday's workshop, Transgender, Allies and Social Change. The name of the film is "No Dumb Questions," which would have also been an appropriate title for the workshop since Joelle Ruby Ryan encouraged any and all questions.
Ryan, founder of Transcendence, the University based transgender support group, said workshops will be held throughout the week to further educate people on transgendered people and the obstacles they must overcome.
"Everybody asks, 'Why?', but nobody asks, 'Why are people heterosexual or gender normative?'" Ryan said. "The real question is, 'Why do we live in a world that wont accept people for being themselves?"
It is important to educate society on the difficulties transgender people face to gain allies and also because some people will go their whole lives unhappily living a secret, suppressing their identity, Ryan said.
Marlene Bomer, community liaison for Transcendence, said nothing felt better than when she came out and started living outwardly as she felt inside.
"Hello world this is who I am and if you don't like it, tough!" Bomer said sternly. "There's one person that I'm going to worry about and that is myself. If you don't like it, fine, just don't beat me up for it. I'm going to be myself."
There are many colleges and universities nationwide that have included gender identity and expression in their non-discriminatory policies, which would protect gender expression, but BGSU is not one of them.
Although Ryan said there is lots of support at the University, from USG, Faculty Senate and the Student Senate, a policy must be approved by the Board of Trustees in order for it to be implemented. . . .
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