LGBT Alaskans on Sarah Palin

"Sarah Palin says she has gay friends but after dozens of conversations with LGBT Alaskans, it's clear they don't think she's a friend to the LGBT community. Get involved at http://www.hrc.org/YearToWin"   hrcmedia

Tech lecture series helps shed light on transgender issues

By Marlena Hartz | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

October 18, 2008

Alone, the boy grabbed his mother's lipstick from the bathroom counter. Clutched in his hand, it felt like a prize, one he knew his schoolmates in this tiny town in the Texas Panhandle, and his parents, who did manual labor to support he and his sister, would reject him, possibly hate him, for wanting.

But they weren't here. His parents at work, the boy, about 11, pressed the tube to his lips.

Since Bobby was about 6, he'd been drawn to his sister's dolls and his mother's heels and dresses. When he was smaller, his mother would giggle when he strutted around the house in her clothes, but as he grew older he learned these things were not for him.

The boy's heart jumped as he heard his father's car rumble into the driveway. The mechanic, hands perpetually stained from tinkering with broken cars, had come home earlier than expected. Scared, Bobby tried to wipe away the lipstick, but the makeup, a stubborn shade of red, had stained his lips.

Father and son stood face to face.

Are you wearing lipstick? . . .Read More

Transcending the Issue of Sexuality

BY LAURA TORRE

October 20, 2008

As students begin to settle in a routine at Columbia—finding their place in campus activities, learning the bureaucracy of the system, and slowly becoming caffeine addicts—a small group of students begins to question where it belongs.

Transgender people, those who choose to identify with the gender opposite to their sex, have a history of not fitting in. Defying their sex, transgender people break away from the gender and sexual binaries, so they fit in as neither women nor men, neither gay nor straight. Rather, they are a combination, a mix-and-match of characteristics that are difficult to define at first glance. For this reason, many find that students at Columbia, as well as the University’s general policies, do not know how to deal with transgender students. . . .Read More

POV: Transsexuality: Dating and Disclosure

October 20, 2008

Special to The Canadian

For some years I have grappled with disclosure issues in relation to friends, lovers and potential dates. I have wondered about both ethics of disclosure and the practical consequences. Like you, I doubt there's any clear-cut answer. Some days I feel so frustrated with the complexities that I feel like making an "I am a transsexual" t-shirt and wearing it everywhere to make life simpler.

The ethical questions are so complicated. On a basic level, of course it is the right thing to disclose. That way you live positively. There's nothing to hide. It's all out in the open.

There's a bravado attitude out there that says "if anyone doesn't accept it then they are not worth knowing" but it's easier said than done. It's all too glib for my liking. There are many, not terribly deep, interactions we have with people that help to make life enjoyable. So if it's not absolutely essential to a relationship then why spill the beans and have some of those easy relations transformed into weirdness and suspicion? That's the easy one. . . .Read More

POV: Transsexual Dating: Eligible Bachelorette

October 20, 2008

by Kennidi Monroe

Dating; Is It Easy For Anyone? I Used To Think That Dating Would Be Easier Being A Girl Versus Being A Boy. Wow, Was I Totally Wrong!

Many people say dating should come easy to me because I'm a beautiful girl. Guys should be swarming over me. Well the reality is that it's the total opposite. I may get a little bit of attention but I would never say men are dropping at my feet to be with me.

Here are some reasons why I think it’s hard for any transgendered person to date:

One: Most men interested in transgendered women have this fantasy about being with them. They feel that they can get their kicks off for being with "The Best Of Both Worlds" but reality sets in and they only want it as a fantasy. They can't deal with society accepting their fantasy. Men I think have a hard time accepting that they could actually want a relationship with a trans woman. Some guys would always wonder what would happen if their friends or family find out the woman they are with was once a man. See, it today’s society it’s still very taboo to be with a trans woman. Most people think that being trans is confusing, even people in the gay community. So they sell us short and use us for a fantasy but try to live that normal life. . . .Read More