Sunday, August 31, 2008
Iranian film explores transsexual world
By COLLEEN BARRY
August 30, 2008
August 30, 2008
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Organizers of the Venice Film Festival waited to announce "Khastegi (Tedium)" by first-time Iranian director Bahman Motamedian until the last minute to avoid alerting authorities to its sensitive subject: transsexuals in modern-day Iran.
The struggles of seven transsexuals depicted in the film are made more complicated by Iran's strict gender codes and cultural obstacles. But Motamedian, who is best known in Iran for theater work, insists the problems they face are universal to transsexuals anywhere in the world: finding their identity and seeking acceptance from their families.
"We know that throughout the world this problems exists," Motamedian said. "The idea was to raise awareness among families especially, because this is the first layer of barrier, and to help people to realize they are not alone and be able to face the problem."
Motamedian said he was inspired by the Italian neo-realists in his filmmaking, and for the movie he cast transsexuals, not professional actors, to act a role that he created. . . .Read More
Now he really is Jahn the Man
August 31, 2008
BY LYDIA MARTIN
Jahn Kirchoff calls to check in, and the voice on the phone is startling. It has dropped considerably in just a couple of weeks. No way it sounds like a woman's voice anymore.
''Yeah, my voice is getting deeper. My vocal cords are expanding -- and my beard is really growing in now,'' says Kirchoff, who is getting used to five-o'clock shadows.
In 2004, after living as a biological woman for 48 years, Kirchoff had surgery to remove his breasts. In August he marked the one-year anniversary of the start of hormone treatments.
''It takes almost three years of taking the hormones for all the changes to happen,'' Kirchoff says in his sweet, laid-back way.
As stories about gender transitions go, this one is remarkable for what Kirchoff hasn't had to endure: He was never shunned by family or friends. As co-owner of the popular Deli Lane cafes in South Miami, Brickell and Sarasota, he doesn't worry about being fired. Over the years, he has gotten plenty of ''long looks'' from strangers but isn't afraid, even as his transition from female to male becomes more obvious. . . .Read More
BY LYDIA MARTIN
Jahn Kirchoff calls to check in, and the voice on the phone is startling. It has dropped considerably in just a couple of weeks. No way it sounds like a woman's voice anymore.
''Yeah, my voice is getting deeper. My vocal cords are expanding -- and my beard is really growing in now,'' says Kirchoff, who is getting used to five-o'clock shadows.
In 2004, after living as a biological woman for 48 years, Kirchoff had surgery to remove his breasts. In August he marked the one-year anniversary of the start of hormone treatments.
''It takes almost three years of taking the hormones for all the changes to happen,'' Kirchoff says in his sweet, laid-back way.
As stories about gender transitions go, this one is remarkable for what Kirchoff hasn't had to endure: He was never shunned by family or friends. As co-owner of the popular Deli Lane cafes in South Miami, Brickell and Sarasota, he doesn't worry about being fired. Over the years, he has gotten plenty of ''long looks'' from strangers but isn't afraid, even as his transition from female to male becomes more obvious. . . .Read More
Dads who found love together
Aug 31 2008 by Katie Bodinger, Wales On Sunday
JENNY-ANNE Bishop and Elen Heart are a very unusual couple – they both have the bodies of men and were once husbands and fathers.
But they gave it all up to dress as women and become a “lesbian” transgender couple.
Like all transsexuals, Jenny-Ann, 62, who used to be Paul, and Elen, 65, who was once Alan, think they were born in the wrong bodies.
But they have decided against sex-swap surgery because of health risks at their age.
Instead they both take female hormones, doll themselves up in fashionable dresses, lipstick and mascara, and curl and style their hair and wigs.
“Our relationship is hard to define,” said Jenny-Anne who was married for 35 years before she met Elen. “We’re not exactly lesbians, but people might use that word. . . .Read More
Thursday, August 28, 2008
"Oxford Janitor Changes From He To She"
"A 8/19/08 news report from WBZ in Boston on Brianna Bonin, an elementary school janitor in Oxford, Mass., who changed gender over the summer. (8/19/08)" StephanieKayStevens
Off the Record
in loco parentis
by Diogenes
August 28, 2008
An article in Georgetown University's newspaper The Hoya welcomes the new director of its Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) Resource Center and does some end zone celebration for our benefit. Georgetown, you may remember, is a university in the Jesuit Tradition. You'll be edified by the following details:
Jack Harrison (SFS '09), co-chair of GU Pride, also said he hopes to work closely with the new director in developing programming for the year. … Harrison said GU Pride is looking to launch efforts this year to make the campus more "trans-friendly" by working to provide bathrooms and better housing options for transgender individuals.
It's futile, as we all know, to point out the conflict between the Catholic view of the human person and Georgetown's LGBTQ enthusiasms. . . .Read More
Transgender Emergency Fund Will Start Offering Assistance in September
August 27, 2008
The Transgender Emergency Fund, a Central Mass.-based program that will provide critical assistance to low-income transgender or transsexual people, will begin providing financial assistance to people next month, says Jesse Pack of AIDS Project Worcester.
“As a result of stigma and discrimination, transpeople are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed, live in poverty, and to be homeless or near homelessness,” said Pack in a statement. “The fund will provide people with financial assistance with utilities, prescription co-pays, medical co-pays, and other basic needs.” In order to receive assistance, individuals must fill out a short application and provide copies of bills and proof of income. Individuals who receive assistance through the fund will not in any way be publicly identified as being transgender. . . .Read More
The Transgender Emergency Fund, a Central Mass.-based program that will provide critical assistance to low-income transgender or transsexual people, will begin providing financial assistance to people next month, says Jesse Pack of AIDS Project Worcester.
“As a result of stigma and discrimination, transpeople are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed, live in poverty, and to be homeless or near homelessness,” said Pack in a statement. “The fund will provide people with financial assistance with utilities, prescription co-pays, medical co-pays, and other basic needs.” In order to receive assistance, individuals must fill out a short application and provide copies of bills and proof of income. Individuals who receive assistance through the fund will not in any way be publicly identified as being transgender. . . .Read More
A trend of transgender movies
A feast of transgender and intersex films are highlighted at the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILM WRITER
Friday, August 29, 2008
Do nine transgender and intersex films make a trend? They do if they're all playing during the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, Wednesday through Sept. 7.
Films about transgender characters are not as rare as you might think. A raft of contemporary features — 'The Crying Game,' 'Boys Don't Cry,' 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch,' 'Transamerica,' to name a few — dealt seriously with the issue. At least two entire film festivals — in Seattle and the Netherlands — are devoted to transgender-themed movies. . . .Read More
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Britney Spears Derrick Barry America's Got Talent
"Americas #1 Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry on America's Got Talent aired June 17, 2008." ElfBoyProduction
Senate gets transgender, gay rights champion
By Ron Hughes
28 August 2008
Transgender and marriage rights advocates have welcomed Senator Louise Pratt's commitment to LGBT rights.
28 August 2008
Transgender and marriage rights advocates have welcomed Senator Louise Pratt's commitment to LGBT rights.
The newly-elected WA Senator, whose partner is a transgender male, made her inaugural speech yesterday, saying, "I look forward to a time when we have removed at a federal level all discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and sexuality.
"A time when my partner isn’t denied a passport because his gender’s not recognised under our laws, when my friends’ children all enjoy the same rights and protections under Commonwealth law, regardless of whether their parents are straight or gay, and a time when my gay and lesbian friends who wish to be legally married can be.". . .Read More
Meet the transsexual Britney Spears impersonator taking America by storm
By
27 August 2008
27 August 2008
In case one Britney Spears wasn't enough, there's now another taking on America.
Derrick Barry left talent judges open-mouthed when he donned a schoolgirl outfit and danced to the pop star's hit Baby One More Time.
The male impersonator, who has performed as Britney for five years, made it through auditions for America's Got Talent earlier this year with a rendition of the singer's hit Toxic. . . .Read More
Young transsexuals should be allowed to put puberty on hold
Halting development allows teenagers time to consider their potential treatment, says Richard Green
Richard Green The Guardian, Thursday August 28 2008
Richard Green
Your article ('My body is wrong', G2, August 14) sensitively reports the anguish of the young teenage transsexual as the body changes in the direction of the wrong sex. That anguish is medically treated in other countries. But in the UK the "wrong puberty" is allowed to progress for years before treatment. Not only are these unwanted body changes traumatic as they develop, but if the teenager goes on to live as an adult of the other sex, they pose additional hardship. Aptly, the article tells of a mother whose (now) daughter was denied hormone treatment "until the age of 16, by which point she already had an Adam's apple, a deep voice and facial hair".
Having spent a decade heading the adult gender identity clinic at Charing Cross hospital, the world's largest treatment programme for transsexuals, I have interviewed many patients who regretted not having treatment during their early teens. . . .Read More
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Bizarre Disorder Makes People Want to Sever Their Own Limb
by Andrew Moseman in Health & Medicine, Mind & Brain
We’ve heard a lot about “cutters” and other people who feel compulsions to hurt themselves. But there’s an extra, extreme level above that: Body Integrity Identity Disorder.
BIID’s somewhat cryptic name belies a strange affliction—its sufferers feel that their normal bodies are wrong, and that they were born to be paraplegic or handicapped. The compulsion is so strong that some with the disorder try—and succeed—at amputating their own limbs. Newsweek mentions one who, after many failed attempts to lose his left hand, cut it off with a power tool and then lied to his family that he lost it in an accident. Another man froze off his own leg.
Many doctors don’t even know how to classify such a strange phenomenon. Those lobbying for its inclusion as a mental disorder compare it to Gender Identity Disorder, in which people get sex changes because they feel out of place in their natural body. But performing a sex change operation is one thing, and amputating a healthy limb is quite another. . . .Read More
Hijra (South Asia)
August 25, 2008
For other uses, see Hijra.
Hijra in Goa, India
In the culture of the Indian subcontinent, a hijra (Hindi: हिजड़ा, Urdu: حجڑا) is usually considered a member of “the third sex” — neither man nor woman. Most are physically male or intersex, but some are female. Hijras usually refer to themselves linguistically as female, and usually dress as women.
Although they are usually referred to in English as “eunuchs”, relatively few have any genital modifications.
Contents
Fly-past tribute to RAF veteran
26 August 2008
They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne's involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people. . . .Read More
A FLY-PAST of a lone Vulcan bomber across Morecambe on Friday was a
fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.
The life of Lynne Janine Braithwaite BEM, who died on August 12, was celebrated at a packed Lancaster Cremator-ium where friends and family said their farewells to a remarkable person.fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.
DETERMINED: Lynne Braithwaite.
They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne's involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people. . . .Read More
Study: Transgender vets face discrimination
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Aug 26, 2008
Aug 26, 2008
A new study by a California research center finds that transgender veterans — people who changed their sex after getting out of the military — believe they are facing discrimination and disrespect at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.
Transgender people also complained they had a difficult time while in the military, with repeated inquiries about their sexual orientation. Such questions were more likely to be faced by men planning to become women than for women planning to become men, according to the study by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The survey is based on interviews with 660 people identifying themselves as transgender veterans who were asked about their military and nonmilitary experiences, including 18 who said they began their gender transition while still in uniform. . . .Read More
Monday, August 25, 2008
Born in the Wrong Body-Change of Heart
"MSNBC's latest show on transgenders changing back--part of the story that was left out."
returnedhome
Make houses of worship truly inclusive
By Jody M. Huckaby, August 20, 2008
The doors to our houses of worship ought to be open to all. That includes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, who often feel that religion has been used to divide and conquer their families and their rights.
On Saturday night at the Saddleback Church forum, Pastor Rick Warren asked both candidates about their definition of marriage, and both said that it was between one man and one woman.
This felt like exclusion, if not discrimination, to many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. And unfortunately, neither presidential candidate was asked about how they would welcome the LGBT community into the conversations about faith.
That’s too bad because history and progress are often made in the pews. The struggle for civil rights for blacks began largely in our churches — and was led largely by clergy — and was born out of a deep sense of religious conviction, rooted in the tradition of loving thy neighbor as thyself.
Today, however, LGBT Americans struggle to find the same passion for equality within some communities of faith. . . .Read More
Day Zero: I’m in Denver
By Marisa Richmond
25 August 2006
Well, I’ve made it & I have survived the first full day.
I was taken to the airport this morning by my friend Mark, whose partner, Julie, usually cat sits for me. My plane had several TN delegates including Congressman Lincoln Davis & House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. There were also delegates from NH & VA. After I finally got to the TN hotel, I picked up my delegate package, which included up to date information, & lot of little gift, including a bottle of Jack Daniels. . . .Read More
Man faces torture for dowry charge despite sex change
Aug 25th, 2008 | By Sindh Today | India
Patna, Aug 25 (IANS) A Bihar court has framed a charge sheet alleging that a man tortured his wife for dowry before their divorce, officials said Monday. The accused then underwent a sex change operation and married a man.
Phul Sharief, in his 30s, is a resident of Sonepur village under Rosra police station in Samastipur district, some 100 km from here.
Sharief’s sex change came to light last Friday when he appeared in a local court dressed as a woman.
‘Phul Sharief stunned everyone including the judge and lawyers in the court when he informed them that he had undergone a sex change operation after being divorced by his wife. Sharief then married a man,’ a court official said. . . .Read More
Trapped in a male body: Maxine about her life as a transsexual
| maltastar.com team | Sat, 23 August 2008 |
 | |
Maxine’s dream is to have a complete sex change so that one day she starts living her life as a woman, the way she felt since she was born.
In a full interview, to be published in Sunday paper Kullhadd, Maxine Attard, 25, who won the first edition of Ms Klozet 2008, speaks about how difficult it is to get a sex change in Malta.
“To have a sex change is my life’s dream. I want it so that one day I can say I am myself. But despite Malta being an EU member, I still have to buy pills which are too expensive. Sometimes I feel that everybody is closing the door in my face, especially when I know that in other European countries they [transsexuals] find help,” says Maxine.
Maxine describes herself as a woman trapped in a male body, and that at times she cannot express her real self, “what I really am.” . . .Read More
Sunday, August 24, 2008
POV: Transgenders in Oprah’s show
Dare to be different
8.24.2008
Who watched the Oprah show on
transgender families and gender identity ?
8.24.2008
Who watched the Oprah show on
transgender families and gender identity ?
Julia
Dear readers, meet Jake. I mean, Julia. A little girl who likes trucks, climbing on tree and pretend to be the dad of the family when she plays. Now, meet Jake. 16 years-old who once though she was lesbian but finally understood that she wanted to be a male role model, a husband and a father. Julia started her transformation to become Jake at a very young age when at 13, a friend of hers told her he was a transgender. That was exactly what she wanted to be! Now, Jake is happy, and I believe that this is what is really important. I mean, I have been really depressed as a teenager and now that I’m all good, I can easily say that depression is one of the worst thing ever. I wish that to nobody. . . .Read More
transgender acquaintance
karlkunkel
8.24.2008
I had an interesting and coincidental, brief encounter yesterday in High Point, NC's Wal-Mart with a former acquaintance. Out of all the checkout lanes in the store, I happened to choose one with a female clerk probably in her mid-50s with long reddish-blonde hair. I happened to look at the name tag, "Robbi", and something clicked.
I knew this woman from years ago, late-1996, I believe, but at the time, she was "Rob," a guy. At the time I was a staff writer with a regional business weekly, and we frequently wrote business profiles on interesting entrepreneurs and owners. Rob and his wife had a thriving business following the Grateful Dead around and taking photos of the performances (licensed and approved by the Dead organization)and then selling quality photos, often framed, to the Deadhead followers. She also made jewelry and sold that, too. . . .Read More
8.24.2008
I had an interesting and coincidental, brief encounter yesterday in High Point, NC's Wal-Mart with a former acquaintance. Out of all the checkout lanes in the store, I happened to choose one with a female clerk probably in her mid-50s with long reddish-blonde hair. I happened to look at the name tag, "Robbi", and something clicked.
I knew this woman from years ago, late-1996, I believe, but at the time, she was "Rob," a guy. At the time I was a staff writer with a regional business weekly, and we frequently wrote business profiles on interesting entrepreneurs and owners. Rob and his wife had a thriving business following the Grateful Dead around and taking photos of the performances (licensed and approved by the Dead organization)and then selling quality photos, often framed, to the Deadhead followers. She also made jewelry and sold that, too. . . .Read More
Campus life, fully exposed
By John Leo
1/2/05
1/2/05
In the fall of 2000, I promised my daughter the freshman that I wouldn't write about Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) until she graduated. As a result, you readers learned nothing from me about the naked dorm, the transgender dorm, the queer prom, the pornography-for-credit course, the obscene sidewalk chalking, the campus club named crudely for a woman's private part, or the appearance on campus of a traveling anti-Semitic roadshow, loosely described as a pro-Palestinian conference.
Instead of hot news items like these, you usually just hear that Wesleyan is very "diverse." Newsweek once hailed the school as the "hottest" diversity campus in America, apparently using the word diversity in its normal campus meaning of "no diversity at all." A one-liner about the campus is that "Wesleyan is so diverse that you can meet people here from almost every neighborhood in Manhattan." And the students tend to have opinions from every known corner of MoveOn.org. . . .Read More
MSNBC Premieres BORN IN THE WRONG BODY: A CHANGE OF HEART Sunday August 24 At 10 PM ET
realitytvwebsite.com
August 15, 2008
Following on the success of the "Born in the Wrong Body" series, MSNBC premieres "Born in the Wrong Body: A Change of Heart," Sunday, August 24th at 10 p.m. ET. In this riveting hour-long documentary, MSNBC invites viewers into the lives of Josef Kirchner and Michael Burke, also known as "Judy" and "Michelle," and shares the story of their extraordinary journey from man to woman... and back again.
Josef Kirchner appears to be the epitome of masculinity. With his large frame and enormous muscles, it is difficult to believe that he lived as a woman for 20 years. Growing up as a boy was difficult for Josef. He was attracted to men, but didn't feel he was gay... he believed he was a heterosexual woman born in the wrong body. But two decades after having sexual reassignment surgery to become "Judy" he had a drastic change of heart. Josef now lives -- again-- as a man. . . .Read More
August 15, 2008
Following on the success of the "Born in the Wrong Body" series, MSNBC premieres "Born in the Wrong Body: A Change of Heart," Sunday, August 24th at 10 p.m. ET. In this riveting hour-long documentary, MSNBC invites viewers into the lives of Josef Kirchner and Michael Burke, also known as "Judy" and "Michelle," and shares the story of their extraordinary journey from man to woman... and back again.
Josef Kirchner appears to be the epitome of masculinity. With his large frame and enormous muscles, it is difficult to believe that he lived as a woman for 20 years. Growing up as a boy was difficult for Josef. He was attracted to men, but didn't feel he was gay... he believed he was a heterosexual woman born in the wrong body. But two decades after having sexual reassignment surgery to become "Judy" he had a drastic change of heart. Josef now lives -- again-- as a man. . . .Read More
Friday, August 22, 2008
TRANSGENDER STRUGGLE
From Jen to Kip: One woman's journey to become a man
Bruce Ward , Canwest News Service August 22, 2008
Bruce Ward , Canwest News Service August 22, 2008
"Mom, I think that is what I am."
Unless you've been there, it's hard to understand what Jaime Johnson was feeling when her 20-year-old daughter Jen looked at her and said those words as they watched a TV show on transgendered people.
"I was in total denial and panic," Jaime says. "I thought everyone is going to think she's a freak."
When Jaime (their names have been changed) got home from work that summer's day in 2003, Jen was watching Oprah. It wasn't one of the upbeat, sunny episodes. Oprah had assembled a panel of male-to-female transgenders, and each of them spoke about the steep cost of their transition - lost jobs, estrangement from family and friends, complicated surgical procedures, the ridicule and threats of violence they endured.
"It was horrible. I didn't want my child to have to face that. And I didn't want to face it myself." . . .Read More
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fox News: America's Newsroom 08.15.08 -- Apology
"Fox News host Gregg Jarrett apologizes for inappropriate comments made on August 14, 2008 about a transgender contestant that will appear on America's Next Top Model." glaadvideo
America in Transition: A Transgender Special Forces Colonel vs. the Library of Congress
Wed Aug 20, 2008
By Matt Coles, Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project. Originally posted at the ACLU Blog of Rights.
Diane Schroer’s case against the Library of Congress went to trial on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in D.C. The basics of the case are pretty well known. As David, Schroer spent 25 years in the Army, and retired as a decorated full Colonel in the Special Forces. Her specialty at the end was counter-terrorism.
ACLU's diary :: ::After retiring, she applied for a job as a Research Specialist in Terrorism and International Crime at the Library of Congress. She got it. But when she told her prospective boss that she was transitioning from David to Diane, and wanted to start work as Diane to minimize any fuss, things changed. The Library decided that as it turned out, she was "not a good fit" and yanked the job away. Diane came to the ACLU LGBT Project and we sued.
There’s not much dispute about what happened, just about what it means. First, there is a disagreement about the law. The government insists that the law allows it to refuse to hire someone because she or he is transgender. The ACLU says (to simplify a bit) that what the Library did is sex discrimination because the Library was more than happy to hire Dave, but wouldn’t hire Diane with the exact same abilities and qualifications. . . .Read More
Dressing like a harlot isn’t the half of it on Village stroll
By Laurie Mittelmann
August 20-26, 2008
On Staten Island, 20 wigs crowd the public housing unit of transgender model and prostitute Shawn Rachel, 28.
In the West Village on a recent late night/early morning, long, straight black hair, pushed back with Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, framed her face. It matched her “devil” bag: a black leather purse with spikes around the strap, one small remnant from her gothic period.
Thirty blocks south of Fashion Ave., Christopher St. is the runway for transgender divas strutting down sidewalks blowing kisses and hollering at each other, “Hey Sexy, I like what you wearing.” Fashion is their social lubricant and how they embrace female glamour — it’s their key to beauty, self-esteem and money. . . .Read More
South African Trans-woman in beauty pageant furore
By Jamie Skey • August 21, 2008
A row has erupted over a transgender woman who has apparently been snubbed by the organisers of the Miss South Africa pageant.
The transgender woman, Lindiwe Ringane, reportedly wanted to enrol in a workshop for potential participants but was made to feel unwelcome by the organisers, Sun International, reported Beeld, an Afrikaans daily newspaper.
While the organisers say that there is no clause in the rules of Miss South Africa to prohibit a trans-woman from taking part, participants must also sign contracts for international pageants such as Miss World, which the winner would be expect to take part in.
Sun International explained that these pageants specifically bar anyone who is not a natural-born woman from participating. . . .Read More
Marriage Equality, Transgender Medical Access Poll Well in Jersey
In a Zogby poll of 803 likely New Jersey voters taken August 7 to 11, 59 percent said they would "be fine with" public officials legislating full marriage equality for same-sex couples in the state. Thirty-six percent voiced opposition. Even when reminded specifically that the state already has a civil union scheme in place, the response to a 2006 state Supreme Court ruling, voters polled preferred full marriage rights 50.1 to 42.3 percent. Fully 69 percent of New Jerseyans said marriage equality is inevitable in the state.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Marc Almond Baby Dee Safe Inside the Day Wiltons 28.4.2008
"Here we have Marc performing with Baby Dee live on the 1st Night of the Wiltons Shows. Marc was truely fantastic." keptboy
Baby Dee: Peace Beyond Tragedy
By Kathryn Yu
'Safe Inside the Day' by Baby Dee 
'Safe Inside the Day' by Baby Dee
courtesy of Baby Dee
Baby Dee's voice is a force of nature, marked by dramatic outbursts and an unmistakable air of tragedy. . . .
NPR.org, August 20, 2008 - Transgender singer-songwriter Baby Dee has a rich, captivating, otherworldly voice. It soars majestically over mournful, sustained piano chords in "Safe Inside the Day" before retreating and returning, boldly and forcefully.
Baby Dee's resume includes stints as a harpist, a street musician and a sideshow performer, but it seems as if she'd be most comfortable in a world of her own creation, singing vaudeville. . . .Read More
Transgender Job Bank Website Launching
August 20th, 2008
by mj petroni
T-Job Bank (www.tjobbank.com) is designed to connect trans-friendly and trans-positive employers with trans job seekers. Spurred by a transgender job-seeker dissatisfied with her experience of recruiters, career fairs and other mainstream job search methods, the site includes criteria for “Inclusive” and “Truly Inclusive” companies—truly inclusive is limited to companies who can be verified as having actually hired a transgendered person who was living in their perceived gender at the time of hiring. . . .Read More
‘Becoming a Man’ sets Atlanta actor free
Play about transgender ordeals enlivens 7 Stages
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
As a camp counselor in Costa Rica a few years ago, Scott Turner Schofield suffered a serious blow to the head that required a detailed medical examination and extended hospital stay. When his doctor realized the athletic young man had the body of a woman, he thought the kid was just confused.
“Son, you have a terrible brain injury,” the doctor said sternly.
After having a heart-to-heart conversation with another doctor about his quest for a sex change, Schofield was informed that Costa Rica is the cosmetic-surgery capital of Latin America. And the surgeon offered to remove his breasts on the spot. . . .Read More
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Transgender Army veteran Diane Schroer
"CNN News reports on transgender Army veteran Diane Schroer and her discrimination case against the Library of Congress (Jan. 5, 2008)" StephanieKayStevens
Transgender Army Veteran Sues Library of Congress for Discrimination
August 19, 2008
by Anne Szustek
Retired Col. Diane Schroer claims the national library rescinded a job offer after she disclosed that she was receiving gender therapy.
A federal court in Washington, D.C., is set to start hearings today as to whether the Library of Congress was in violation of legal precedent on sex discrimination when revoking Col. Schroer’s offer of employment.
David Schroer served 25 years in the Army, and was an Airborne Ranger and headed a classified national security operation. The retired officer was recently hired as a senior terrorism research analyst with the Library of Congress. . . .Read More
Trial Begins on Potentially Landmark Employment Case
A federal court in Washington, D.C., is set to start hearings today as to whether the Library of Congress was in violation of legal precedent on sex discrimination when revoking Col. Schroer’s offer of employment.
David Schroer served 25 years in the Army, and was an Airborne Ranger and headed a classified national security operation. The retired officer was recently hired as a senior terrorism research analyst with the Library of Congress. . . .Read More
Teenager acquitted of murdering transvestite
August 19, 2008
SKNVibes.com
KINGSTON, Jamaica - AN 18-year-old Jamaican who was charged with the murder of a transgendered woman, Kellie Telesford of Thornton Heath, United Kingdom, was found not guilty on August 14, 2008.
SKNVibes.com
 |
| Kellie Telesford |
According to the Met Police press release, on November, 21, 2007, officers in Thornton Heath responded to reports of concerns from friends for the occupant of 81 Leander Road, Thornton Heath.
After arrival and forced entry they found the body of the 40-year-old who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The release also went on to say that a post mortem conducted at the Mitcham Mortuary the following day revealed that death was caused due to strangulation.
Shanniel Hyatt, 18 of Northborough Road, Norbury, was subsequently charged with Telesford’s murder.
The trial had begun on August 1, 2008 and, according to the prosecution, Hyatt’s motive for the murder came after Telesford performed oral sex on him and he became angry after discovering that she was a transsexual. . . .Read More
Gender games
BY CECIL ADAMS
August 19, 2008
If a man has a sex change, can he compete in the Olympics as a woman? —Stephanie Ketchum
In our enlightened age, when science has made it possible to be the sex you feel like rather than the one nature stuck you with, some think it stuffy to insist on doing things the old-fashioned way. Why not let transsexuals compete as the sex they change to? Obvious rejoinder: Because it’s no fair letting a hulking genetic male go up against smaller genetic females just because he now calls herself Kathy. But as always it’s not that simple.
There’s a history of men sneaking into women’s sports, typically ordinary guys trying to take advantage. One was German high jumper Hermann Ratjen, who competed in the 1936 Olympics under the name Dora Ratjen, placing fourth. Soviet gold medal-winning sisters Tamara and Irina Press, sometimes called “the Press brothers,” were widely suspected of being males in disguise. . . .Read More
Monday, August 18, 2008
Transgender Focus on Passing
"Why is passing so important? Is it not allowing others to define who you are and who you will be?" IXTGQ
Few options for UK’s transgender children
By Viv Grskop
THE GUARDIAN, LONDON
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Should teenagers who believe they are transgender be helped to change sex? And if so, what about the four-year-olds who feel the same way?
“She was our first child,” said “Sarah,” a mother of two who lives in the south of England.
“But from age three we knew something was wrong. She was very introverted, isolated. When she started school at four she came home and said she was a freak. It seemed a strange word for a four-year-old to use. She was always quite a sad little person,” she said.
Sarah’s daughter was born and grew up as a boy. Now 19, she is far happier in a woman’s body as a post-operative transsexual. It took two years for the family to get used to calling her “she.”
Sarah said her daughter experienced her childhood as mental torture, especially during puberty.
“Looking back, we could never find any tape in the house. It was because she was taping her genitals up every day. She said to us later that she thought it would all go right for her at puberty, that her willy would drop off and she would grow breasts. She said she was going completely crazy because she knew in her head that she was a girl,” Sarah said. . . .Read More
THE GUARDIAN, LONDON
Monday, Aug 18, 2008
 |
| When the plight of children who don’t fit ‘the pink or blue box’ is ignored, it can lead to serious depression and suicide attempts |
“She was our first child,” said “Sarah,” a mother of two who lives in the south of England.
“But from age three we knew something was wrong. She was very introverted, isolated. When she started school at four she came home and said she was a freak. It seemed a strange word for a four-year-old to use. She was always quite a sad little person,” she said.
Sarah’s daughter was born and grew up as a boy. Now 19, she is far happier in a woman’s body as a post-operative transsexual. It took two years for the family to get used to calling her “she.”
Sarah said her daughter experienced her childhood as mental torture, especially during puberty.
“Looking back, we could never find any tape in the house. It was because she was taping her genitals up every day. She said to us later that she thought it would all go right for her at puberty, that her willy would drop off and she would grow breasts. She said she was going completely crazy because she knew in her head that she was a girl,” Sarah said. . . .Read More
Can Miss SA be an ex-Mr?
18 August 2008
Eagan Williamson, Beeld
Johannesburg - The organisers of the annual Miss South Africa pageant have been in crisis the past week, after a woman who had had a sex-change operation wanted to enrol in a workshop for prospective participants, and encountered a very chilly welcome.
Eagan Williamson, Beeld
Johannesburg - The organisers of the annual Miss South Africa pageant have been in crisis the past week, after a woman who had had a sex-change operation wanted to enrol in a workshop for prospective participants, and encountered a very chilly welcome.
The identity of the woman, who used to be a man, was not revealed by Sun International, which owns the pageant.
It must still be decided whether the woman may participate in the contest. . . .Read More
APA RESOLVES TO PLAY LEADING ROLE IN IMPROVING TREATMENT FOR GENDER-VARIANT PEOPLE
August 17, 2008
American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Gender Identity Task Force Calls for Nondiscriminatory Guidelines, Better Research and Training
BOSTON—The American Psychological Association urged psychologists today to take a leading role in ending discrimination based on gender identity, calling upon the profession to provide "appropriate, nondiscriminatory treatment to all transgender and gender-variant individuals" and encouraging more research into all aspects of gender identity and expression.
The action came at APA's Annual Convention when the association's governing Council of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting full equality for transgender and gender-variant people. The resolution also calls on APA to:
- support legal and social recognition of transgender individuals consistent with their gender identity and expression;
- support the provision of adequate and medically necessary treatment for transgender and gender-variant people;
- recognize the benefit and necessity of gender transition treatments for appropriately evaluated individuals;
- call on public and private insurers to cover these treatments.
In addition to adopting the wide-ranging resolution, the Council of Representatives received a report by APA's Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance. The six-member task force spent more than two years reviewing the scientific literature, as well as APA policies regarding transgender issues. It was also charged with developing recommendations for education, professional training and further research into transgenderism, and proposing how APA can best meet the needs of psychologists and students who identify as transgender or gender-variant. . . .Read More
Simon Cowell admires 6ft drag queen’s legs!
Music mogul Simon Cowell told 6ft drag queen, SaHHara, that she had fabulous legs.
Paying anyone a compliment is a very rare thing for the acid-tongued judge, and for the glamorous pre-op transsexual Cowell’s praise of her legs made up for the nasty comments. . . .Read More
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Fox News: America's Newsroom 08.13.08 - Top Model Contestant
"Fox News' Gregg Jarrett interviews Us Magazine editor-at-large Ian Drew about the transgender America's Next Top Model contestant. Both make anti-transgender comments." glaadvideo
Shame on FOX News, Ian Drew
by Rebecca Armendariz
August 15, 2007
FOX News doesn't have a very clean record when it comes to the treatment of trans people in the news. Morning show Red Eye showed horrendous statements regarding pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie, and now GLAAD has sent out an alert regarding anchor Gregg Jarrett.
During a segment discussing the transgender contestant on the upcoming season of "America's Next Top Model," Jarrett and US Weekly editor Ian Drew made disgusting anti-transgender comments. . . .Read More
My husband the transsexual
August 17, 2008
Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk
One day the man you married reveals that he wants to become a woman. How do you cope? Anna Moore meets two couples whose relationships have survived the ultimate test - and even flourished
Seated close together in their cluttered country cottage, laughing in unison, interjecting and correcting one another, the Conways are - on one level, anyway - typical of any couple who've managed to remain married for 33 years.
 |
They can recall how - to the day - they met ('The eighth of November 1971, Leicester University. I was on my way to a chemistry practical and she made me late!'), and, from there, the story sounds unremarkable. Paul and Sigi married in their early twenties. Paul was a bank manager, while Sigi taught maths. They had one daughter, Ros, now married and living close by with Abbie, their grandchild. They enjoy walking and boating and, at 55 and 56, remain, in their words, 'best friends'. . . .Read More
Five Questions With… Monica Canfield-Lenfest
helen boyd’s journal of gender & trans issues
1) First, tell me about COLAGE & how the book for Kids of Trans happened, what your goals were.
COLAGE (www.colage.org) is a national movement of children, youth, and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer parents. We build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy. I first contacted COLAGE five and a half years ago, when I was working on my undergraduate thesis: “She’s My Father: The Social Experience of People with Transgender Parents”. Looking for references for my project, I discovered a diverse community of queerspawn who gave me the space to better articulate my experience and encouraged me to continue my work, since there are hardly any resources for transgender parented families. . . .Read More
Civil rights should protect all people
By Ruth Schneider | The Olympian
August 15, 2008
"When I grow up, I want to be a boy," Alix Elder told me when she was 2 1/2 years old.
I was tucking her into bed for the night and we were playing the usual game . Her goal was to come up with a topic that pushed bedtime a few minutes later; mine to complete the bedtime ritual as soon as possible.
That isn't a blow-it-off kind of statement.
"Well, that is something you can decide when you get older," I told her.
I understood her thinking. Boys had the coolest toys. Who wants to play with dolls when you can protect the world from evil?
Her heroes at that age were basic: Batman and "the red one," Power Ranger. Both had cool toys and great moves.
At 4, she was throwing pennies into fountains, still wishing she was a boy. . . .Read More
August 15, 2008
"When I grow up, I want to be a boy," Alix Elder told me when she was 2 1/2 years old.
I was tucking her into bed for the night and we were playing the usual game . Her goal was to come up with a topic that pushed bedtime a few minutes later; mine to complete the bedtime ritual as soon as possible.
That isn't a blow-it-off kind of statement.
"Well, that is something you can decide when you get older," I told her.
I understood her thinking. Boys had the coolest toys. Who wants to play with dolls when you can protect the world from evil?
Her heroes at that age were basic: Batman and "the red one," Power Ranger. Both had cool toys and great moves.
At 4, she was throwing pennies into fountains, still wishing she was a boy. . . .Read More
Another kind of bullying
August 15, 2008
LoHud.com
A Journal News editorialWe know that parents in New York have an awful lot on their minds, from keeping the lights on to filling the gas tank. What no parent should have to worry about is whether their children are safe in school. The classroom should be a sanctuary for all students, not just from physical violence, but also bullying and harassment. Someone should have to answer for it -students, parents, teachers, administrators - when these minimal expectations aren't met. That should be the major takeaway from a weekend story about Michael Arone, 16, the transgender teen at Rockland's Clarkstown South High School, where he has been treated to all manner of perjoratives this summer, the litany from "faggot" to "queer," and relegated to using a separate entrance.
Arone, a North Rockland school district 10th-grader enrolled in the summer-school program at Clarkstown South, is a male transgender teen who publicly goes by Melissa Andrews and prefers to be referred to as a female. As staff writer Ben Rubin reported, Arone wears eye shadow and lipstick, straightens her shoulder-length brown hair and carries a purse. This reality is too much for some of Arone's classmates; she told Rubin she is routinely called "faggot," "she-male," "it" and "queer," and in one instance a female student threw a punch her way. "Come fight me, you faggot," the girl called out, according to the Clarkstown police report. In response, school administrators had Arone use the separate entrance, changed her class period, and escorted her to and from class. . . .Read More
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Transsexual / Transgender Spouses - Embracing Hope, an interview
"If there is just one of these videos that you watch, it should be this one. I interview Randi and Shellie from Phoenix, Arizona. Randi just recently transitioned successfully from male to female while on the job, and her relationship with her spouse Shellie has withstood the test of time. Shellie and Randi explain some of those reasons, and they encourage anyone who is transgendered / transsexual, or is a friend, family member,or spouse of someone who is transgendered, that they can hold on to hope and overcome the trials that come your way." lorisrevival
Metamorphosis
by Mister Marcus 8.14.2008
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Yes, from Left to Right, that's Scott Brogan, Jay Harcourt and Ray MacKenzie performing at Marlena's last Saturday, Aug. 9th. Don't you just love those polka dot dresses? |
The line outside of Marlena's bar stretched almost half a block last Saturday night, August 9, obviously because the word was out that several local leather titleholders would be performing in drag. A busload of tourists from Sacramento was lamenting the fact that the bar was filled to capacity and as one or two people left, only one or two people were admitted.
Now most of you who know me well are aware that I am not exactly a big fan of drag, but I can appreciate the expensive gowns, the outrageous hairdos, the dazzling jewelry, and the lip-synching expertise of most drag entertainers. . . .Read More
MARYLAND BRIEFING
August 13, 2008
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Court to Weigh Transgender Law
Maryland's highest court has agreed to hear a case involving a referendum on Montgomery County's new transgender rights law.
The Court of Appeals will determine whether voters are asked in November to keep or throw out the law that provides protections for transgender individuals in housing, employment and public accommodations. . . .Read More
Transtheatre comes to Saint John
The Silicone Diaries hit the stage at Theatre on the Edge Festival
August 14, 2008
canadaeast.com
August 14, 2008
canadaeast.com
A famous transsexual is coming to town.
Wrapping up their Theatre on Edge Festival, the Saint John Theatre Company in partnership with Port City Rainbow Pride, is premiering The Silicone Diaries, a one-woman tour-de-force written and performed by well-known author, actress and transsexual Nina Arsenault.
"I first became aware of Nina through her media work," says the company's Artistic Director Stephen Tobias. "I read her series from Fab Magazine, and the articles are funny, sad, compelling, and intriguing. They offer insights into a world that few of us encounter or understand."
Arsenault's honesty and candidness is part of her charm. . . .Read More
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Looking Back: RIP Steve Dain - FTM Pioneer
February 28, 2008
by Max Wolf Valerio
So, I found out recently, that Steve Dain died of cancer at the age of 68. Steve Dain was an FTM who transitioned in the late 70's and lost his teaching job, he was a gym teacher in Union City. This was a big scandal and made the San Francisco papers, including the gay paper that was then -- "Coming Up" instead of "The Bay Times". I remember being 24, in late 1981, and reading about Steve in the local gay paper "Coming Up" and feeling an odd mixture of shock, excitement and queasy fascination. I remember accounts of him changing his ID, and speculation by the lesbian and gay press as to his motivations for changing his sex from female to male. Of course, I had heard of sex change, even female to male sex change. but what I had heard was vague. Later, I saw a picture of Steve, it was scratchy and dark in the San Francisco Chronicle. I had never, ever seen a photo of an FTM before in my life. I found it disturbing and unspeakably magnetic.
Those two articles were about Steve Dain and his fighting for his job as a teacher, a battle that he lost. Although the court would eventually decide in his favor, and allow him to go back to teaching, he was not able to find a school that would hire him.
After hearing about Steve, I did not hear of female to male sex change for another 7 years. The next time I saw anything about transsexual men would be in "On Our Backs", the lesbian sex magazine in 1988. There I spied the tiny ad that Lou Sullivan placed in the back pages for a support group for "Female to Male Transsexuals and Cross Dressers". He also offered information with a newsletter and handbook. I wrote to the address he listed in time, and began my own transition. . . .Read More
by Max Wolf Valerio
So, I found out recently, that Steve Dain died of cancer at the age of 68. Steve Dain was an FTM who transitioned in the late 70's and lost his teaching job, he was a gym teacher in Union City. This was a big scandal and made the San Francisco papers, including the gay paper that was then -- "Coming Up" instead of "The Bay Times". I remember being 24, in late 1981, and reading about Steve in the local gay paper "Coming Up" and feeling an odd mixture of shock, excitement and queasy fascination. I remember accounts of him changing his ID, and speculation by the lesbian and gay press as to his motivations for changing his sex from female to male. Of course, I had heard of sex change, even female to male sex change. but what I had heard was vague. Later, I saw a picture of Steve, it was scratchy and dark in the San Francisco Chronicle. I had never, ever seen a photo of an FTM before in my life. I found it disturbing and unspeakably magnetic.
Those two articles were about Steve Dain and his fighting for his job as a teacher, a battle that he lost. Although the court would eventually decide in his favor, and allow him to go back to teaching, he was not able to find a school that would hire him.
After hearing about Steve, I did not hear of female to male sex change for another 7 years. The next time I saw anything about transsexual men would be in "On Our Backs", the lesbian sex magazine in 1988. There I spied the tiny ad that Lou Sullivan placed in the back pages for a support group for "Female to Male Transsexuals and Cross Dressers". He also offered information with a newsletter and handbook. I wrote to the address he listed in time, and began my own transition. . . .Read More
‘Top Model’ to feature transgender contestant
Isis identifies herself as ‘a woman born physically male’
Tyra Banks is known for breaking down walls in the world of modeling, and the supermodel-turned-television mogul is at it again — this time doing something she’s never done in the previous 10 cycles of “America’s Next Top Model,” adding a transgender contestant.
Access Hollywood
Aug. 13, 2008Tyra Banks is known for breaking down walls in the world of modeling, and the supermodel-turned-television mogul is at it again — this time doing something she’s never done in the previous 10 cycles of “America’s Next Top Model,” adding a transgender contestant.
The reality show about a host of pretty faces vying for a modeling contract and an advertising campaign, will feature Isis, a transgender contestant, a rep for The CW confirmed to Access Hollywood.
“My cards were dealt differently,” contestant Isis told Us Weekly about herself. . . .Read More
'My body is wrong'
Should teenagers who believe they are transgender be helped to change sex? And if so, what about the four-year-olds who feel the same way? Viv Groskop meets the parents and doctors in favour of intervention.
Viv Groskop
August 14, 2008
Viv Groskop
August 14, 2008
'She was our first child," recalls Sarah (not her real name), a mother of two who lives in the south of England. "But from age three we knew something was wrong. She was very introverted, isolated. When she started school at four she came home and said she was a freak. It seemed a strange word for a four-year-old to use. She was always quite a sad little person."
Sarah's daughter was born and grew up as a boy. Now 19, she is far happier in a woman's body as a post-operative transsexual. It took two years for the family to get used to calling her "she". Her mother says her daughter experienced her childhood as mental torture, especially during puberty. "Looking back, we could never find any tape in the house. It was because she was taping her genitals up every day. She said to us later that she thought it would all go right for her at puberty, that her willy would drop off and she would grow breasts. She said she was going completely crazy because she knew in her head that she was a girl." . . .Read More
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
DIVA
Short Film: "Escaping his home-town that completely rejected him, alone, Vincent
goes to Paris to be entirely Herself, but life is never that simple. . ." josephineonearth
Tilda Swinton in W Magazine September 2008
Looking one moment like a Park Avenue matron and the next like a punked-out artist, Tilda Swinton is doing what she commonly does when she alights in a city from her home in the Scottish Highlands: gallery hopping.
But on this particular weekend in New York’s Chelsea, she is portraying an assortment of über New York women for photographer Juergen Teller. Inside Barbara Gladstone’s gallery, wearing seven-inch stilettos and a silk miniskirt, she gets down on the floor and raises herself into a shoulder stand, jackknifing her legs so that they dangle precipitously. At Andrea Rosen, her 5-foot-11-inch frame skyrocketing another 10 inches atop platform wedges, she pokes her head between the hairy legs of one of David Altmejd’s colossal sculptures of giants.
The next day, as the shoot winds down in a SoHo loft, Teller asks Swinton to play herself. “Do you want me as I am?” she asks, running her fingers through her styled red hair and across her blushed cheeks. “Because this isn’t how I look.” Without waiting for a reply, she walks over to the bathroom, scrubs the makeup off and dunks her head under the faucet, letting the cold water run over her face and ears until they’re pink. Teller snaps away in close-up as Swinton turns toward him, her head in the sink, caring not a whit that the bright, unforgiving afternoon light is streaming through the window. . . .
. . .Her status as a style icon has also been helped along by Stafford, her sounding board in all fashion matters. “She’s always been interested in ambiguity, transformation, transgender,” he says. “Clothes are an extension of this. She loves taking the idea of a lady and just twisting it on its head. It’s Nancy Mitford meets David Bowie.” . . .Read More
London Transgender Film Festival announced
By Rachel Charman • August 12, 2008
2008 London Transgender Film Festival will take place at Ritzy Picturehouse, 7th-9th November.
Organisers describe the festival as ‘Independent, experimental, cutting edge and diverse.'
They hope to 'increase trans visibility and acknowledgement, question the gender binary, to dispel ignorance and demystify stereotypes, unite and support a diverse LGBTQI community and celebrate trans spaces and their friends.'
The films featured are to represent and focus on intersex, androgyny, gender variance, trans feminists, gender queer, and gender fluid persons of all natures, all races and cultures, ages and abilities.
As well as film screenings, the festival will include an exhibition, workshops, and a panel with special guests. . . .Read More
Issues & Risks Transgender People Face
August 12, 2008
MyFOX Colorado
DENVER (MyFOXColorado.com) - Imagine living your life as a man physically, but you are a woman emotionally and psychologically.
It's what drives some to undergo a transformation so they can live as the gender they identify with. . .but they also take on great risk.
The TransgenderSoul organization provides information and resources for persons interested in learning more about transgender and transsexual issues. . .Read More
MyFOX Colorado
DENVER (MyFOXColorado.com) - Imagine living your life as a man physically, but you are a woman emotionally and psychologically.
It's what drives some to undergo a transformation so they can live as the gender they identify with. . .but they also take on great risk.
The TransgenderSoul organization provides information and resources for persons interested in learning more about transgender and transsexual issues. . .Read More
New Rocky Horror film
Qwen Gibson
August 13, 2008
August 13, 2008
More than 30 years after they introduced the public to a "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania", the makers of The Rocky Horror Picture Show have reunited to do the time warp one more time.
Sky Movies yesterday confirmed it would co-finance a remake of the cult 1975 musical starring Tim Curry that still draws a full house of fans dressed as characters from the film to late night screenings. The original kitsch parody of science fiction and horror, which cost $1.2m (£630,000) to make and has taken more than $140m at the box office, is the longest running cinematic theatrical release of all time. The new version, financed by Sky and MTV in the US, will be overseen by the original film's executive producer, Lou Adler. . . .Read More
Monday, August 11, 2008
Daily Assaults on Personal Dignity
by Donna Rose
August 8, 2008
As transgender people feel more and more empowered to come out of the shadows to take their rightful place as contributing and accepted members of society, incidents against us based on discrimination, hatred, and ignorance are on the rise. These incidents range from the relatively minor indignities that we often come to quietly accept as simply part of the journey, to brutal, life-threatening physical attacks.
Whether it's the horrible video in Knoxville where police verbally and physically assaulted a trans-woman earlier this year or the brutal murder of Angie Zapata in Greeley, Colorado where her murderer referred to his victim as an "it" - the assaults many of us face on a daily basis are part of a constant de-humanizing assault on our personal dignity and sense of self-worth. Although we can sugar coat it with statistics of growing acceptance and protections for transgender people in workplaces, cities, counties, and states across this country, the soul-sucking reality that many of us face on a personal level can easily become overwhelming.
Being transgender is a difficult life. There are no two ways about it. To hide it is to struggle with the life-long conundrum of knowing that you're living a lie, a constant battle with the fear and shame of being discovered. To acknowledge it is to submit to the discomforts and ignorance of others, and to risk everything you know and love. For what? For the simple peace that comes with being authentic about who you know yourself to be. Unfortunately, many of us will never know that peace no matter which direction we choose. . . .Read More
My Peeps Transgender Ignorance
Monica Roberts
August 11, 2008
I continue to be amazed and appalled at the breathtaking levels of ignorance that have been leveled at transpeople by some of my fellow African-Americans.
That ignorance takes many forms. Sometimes it's people spouting anti-transgender comments steeped in bigoted stereotypes across the Net. Sometimes it's bloggers writing endless posts speculating on whether celebrities such as Ciara or Wendy Williams are transwomen because they have physical, emotional or behavioral traits that some people perceive as not belonging to their gender.
Sometimes it's hurling the 'tranny' epithet at women they don't like. Sometimes it's disrespectfully and cattily calling a transwoman who is unmistakably feminine on the outside and lives her life that way for decades a 'man'. . . .Read More
August 11, 2008
I continue to be amazed and appalled at the breathtaking levels of ignorance that have been leveled at transpeople by some of my fellow African-Americans.That ignorance takes many forms. Sometimes it's people spouting anti-transgender comments steeped in bigoted stereotypes across the Net. Sometimes it's bloggers writing endless posts speculating on whether celebrities such as Ciara or Wendy Williams are transwomen because they have physical, emotional or behavioral traits that some people perceive as not belonging to their gender.
Sometimes it's hurling the 'tranny' epithet at women they don't like. Sometimes it's disrespectfully and cattily calling a transwoman who is unmistakably feminine on the outside and lives her life that way for decades a 'man'. . . .Read More
Dem platform called 'strongest ever' on gay rights
Document calls for 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity' protections
By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade | Aug 11, 7:10 PM
By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade | Aug 11, 7:10 PM
A final draft of the Democratic Party’s 2008 platform strengthens the party’s support for gay civil rights and calls for an end to discrimination based on gender identity.
The document, which is to be presented to the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month for final approval, also includes what party officials described as strongly worded language opposing the Defense of Marriage Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which precludes openly gay people from serving in the military.
But the platform draft approved Aug. 9 by the party’s 186-member Platform Committee apparently omits any mention of the words “gay” or “lesbian,” which had been included in the Democrats’ 2004 platform.
The document, discussed by Democratic officials and gay activists during a conference call Monday with reporters, was not publicly available. The Democratic National Committee has yet to release a final draft of the platform approved in Pittsburgh. . . .Read More
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Vigil Held For Murdered Transgender Woman
"Friends and family remembered a loved one at a candlelight vigil on the evening of Saturday, August 9, 2008. They celebrated the life of transgender woman Angie Zapata."
autumn59
Transgender city worker dismayed by intolerance
By Brian Meyer
8/10/08
The person who made history six years ago by becoming the first city employee to openly transition from male to female in the workplace has never found a burning cross outside her home.
The acts of bigotry and intolerance have been more subtle — but every bit as disheartening, said Camille Stephanie Hopkins.
Crude notes have been slipped under her office door. She hears giggles — sometimes sarcastic whistles — as she walks the halls. When elevator doors open, friendly chatter often turns into an icy hush.
“It hurts, because in some people’s eyes, I’m a freak,” she said.
Compounding her pain is Hopkins’ belief that the city has contributed to what she calls a climate of intolerance. City leaders have failed to provide enough sensitivity training and taken a dismissive attitude when she has raised concerns, Hopkins claimed.
She was even brought up on departmental charges for wearing a T-shirt that sported the phrase “fagbug,” a word the gay community considers a statement against hate crimes and homophobia. . . .Read More
8/10/08
The person who made history six years ago by becoming the first city employee to openly transition from male to female in the workplace has never found a burning cross outside her home.
The acts of bigotry and intolerance have been more subtle — but every bit as disheartening, said Camille Stephanie Hopkins.
Crude notes have been slipped under her office door. She hears giggles — sometimes sarcastic whistles — as she walks the halls. When elevator doors open, friendly chatter often turns into an icy hush.
“It hurts, because in some people’s eyes, I’m a freak,” she said.
Compounding her pain is Hopkins’ belief that the city has contributed to what she calls a climate of intolerance. City leaders have failed to provide enough sensitivity training and taken a dismissive attitude when she has raised concerns, Hopkins claimed.
She was even brought up on departmental charges for wearing a T-shirt that sported the phrase “fagbug,” a word the gay community considers a statement against hate crimes and homophobia. . . .Read More
BOCES, transgender teen face challenge
By Ben Rubin • The Journal News • August 9, 2008
Michael Arone has been called every pejorative someone could direct at a transgender teen.
But, while most harassment the 16-year-old West Haverstraw resident faced has been short-lived, Arone reached a breaking point at a summer program in Clarkstown South High School.
Arone, a North Rockland school district 10th-grader, is a male transgender teen who publicly goes by Melissa Andrews and prefers to be referred to as a female.
Arone said classmates have routinely called her "faggot," "she-male," "it" and "queer" in response to her wearing eye shadow and lipstick, straightening her shoulder-length brown hair and carrying a purse to school. . . .Read More
Nation’s first transgender MP takes up next challenge: reality television
Left-wing campaigner heads for celebrity island
From Philip Willan in Rome
THE ANNOUNCEMENT that Italy's first transgender MP will participate in a Survivor-style reality television show in September has surprised her many admirers. Vladimir Luxuria - whose real name is Wladimiro Guadagno - was one of many left-wing MPs to lose their seats after Silvio Berlusconi's crushing electoral victory last April.
An actor and campaigner for homosexual rights, Luxuria, 43, was viewed with suspicion by many when she was first elected to parliament two years ago for the Communist Refoundation Party. The parliamentary controversy for which she is best remembered concerned her right to use the ladies' toilets in the Chamber of Deputies, a right that was fiercely contested by the former TV showgirl Elisabetta Gardini, who was beginning her parliamentary career with Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party. . . .Read More
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Gender Barred
Transgender inmates sue for hormones
by Nathaniel Hoffman
August 6, 2008
Natalia Whitefeather Flores, as she calls herself, is getting her hormones.
by Nathaniel Hoffman
August 6, 2008
Natalia Whitefeather Flores, as she calls herself, is getting her hormones.
But the Idaho Department of Corrections waited until she filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against the state, got a visit from the American Civil Liberties Union and contacted BW to provide Flores, whose given name is William Ray Flores, with her estrogen pills and a testosterone blocker.
"France does the best sex changes, I hear, and that's where I want to go," Flores said in a call from the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
But she's not going anywhere until at least September 2009 when she may be up for parole. Flores was born a woman in a man's body on the Rocky Boy Reservation near Havre, Mont. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and has spoken Cheyenne, Spanish and English from an early age.
At 5 years old, Flores, who then called herself Susie, was diagnosed with gender identity disorder, a psychiatric disorder that the Idaho Department of Corrections defines as dissatisfaction with one's biological sex. The department has recognized GID since 2003, after an earlier lawsuit forced officials to develop a policy.
Flores is transgender in that she desires to become a woman. But she also considers herself two-spirited, a condition recognized in Native American society long before 2003.
"We are considered more spiritual than most people because we've got the spirit of a woman and the spirit of a man," Flores said. . . .Read More
New book explores trans kids
by Zak Szymanski
7 August 2008
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Co-author Rachel Pepper, with her daughter, Frances. Photo: Tony Ferriola |
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More children these days are insisting upon their right to claim a variety of gender identities and expressions. But for most of these kids and their families, the issue isn't about queer politics – it's about struggling through a society still ill-equipped to handle gender-variant youth, all while navigating the fine line between happiness and safety.
Writers Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper hope to make that path a bit easier with their new book The Transgender Child, published earlier this summer by Cleis Press. This Sunday, August 10, Books Inc. at Opera Plaza in San Francisco will host a 4 p.m. reading and discussion of the book. Brill, who runs the support group at Oakland Children's Hospital for gender-variant children, and Pepper, a journalist and the coordinator of the LGBT studies program at Yale University, will both be at the event. A wide variety of people are encouraged to attend. . . .Read More
Friends stand up for Angie's life
Her alleged killer appears in court, facing a crowd of people who knew the transgender woman and want to remind others of her heart and popularity.
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