Transgender bias at Thruway

Former Army dispatcher wins $55,000 after firing at authority

By BRENDAN J. LYONS

January 9, 2010


ALBANY -- A transgender woman who was secretly subjected to harassment, openly called "drag queen" and "freak," and later fired by the New York State Thruway Authority has been awarded more than $55,000 for her ordeal.

She is still seeking reinstatement to her job.

A judge with the state Division of Human Rights has issued an order sustaining a complaint by Mackenzie W. Valentine, 29, a former Army dispatcher and military police officer from Cohoes who was diagnosed with gender identity disorder and underwent a court-approved gender change several years ago. The transformation took place around the time that Valentine, who changed her name from "Matthew Valentine," began working for the Thruway Authority in Albany as a $15.30-an-hour dispatcher. . . .Read More

Being First Sucks

BigThink.com | January 17, 2010

"Being first sucks." That's what Amanda Simpson, one of the country's first two openly transgender presidential appointees, told ABC News. "I'd rather not be the first, but someone has to be first."

Amanda Simpson started two weeks ago at the Department of Commerce, where her job will be to keep track of the export of American military technology. Dylan Orr, who is also openly transgender, was recently appointed to a lower-level job in the Department of Labor, but Simpson is apparently the highest-level transgender executive official ever. A former test pilot, Simpson holds degrees in physics, engineering, and business, has worked in the aerospace and defense industry for thirty years, and is eminently qualified for her position. Nevertheless, the Christian group Focus on the Family released a statement accusing President Obama of appointing her as "payback to his far-left base for their political support." And Peter LaBarbera, president of an anti-gay group called Americans for Truth asked if there was going "to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration?" . . .Read More

Sixteen-year-old becomes Spain's youngest transsexual

• Teenager required court ruling for operation in Barcelona
• Judge granted permission after request by parents

by Giles Tremlett

12 January 2010

A Spanish clinic today revealed it had performed a male-to-female sex-change operation on a 16-year-old, making her the youngest patient to undergo the operation in the country's history.

The unnamed teenager had been taking hormones to change her body since she was 15, according to doctors who treated her at Barcelona's hospital clínico, and she had been seeing doctors and psychiatrists for even longer. "The patient has been in treatment for nearly three years," said the surgeon who carried out the operation, Dr Iván Mañero.

A sex-change operation on a minor requires the approval of a Spanish court to override a law that sets the minimum age for such operations as 18. . . .Read More

Transsexual reality star Miriam Rivera is a £300-an-hour 'escort'

Suzannah Hills and Will Payne 17/01/2010

The transsexual who rose to fame on the hit reality TV show There’s Something About Miriam is working as a £300-an-hour “escort”.

Miriam Rivera, 28, caused ­controversy on the dating show when she duped six male contestants – competing for her affections and £10,000 prize money – into ­believing she was a woman.

It was only in the final episode of the cult 2004 programme that Miriam ­revealed the truth… that she was born male. The outraged contestants then sued the producers for personal ­injury. . . .Read More

Do You Have the Perfect Hourglass Figure?

by Lesley Kennedy

January 12, 2010


Am I a pear? Or an apple? Maybe a banana? Most days I feel like a donut.

The body shape food analogies just make me hungry, so let's try measuring devices: spoon, ruler, cone or hourglass?

I, like most women (and men), according to a recent survey, prefer the hourglass description. We're talking Marilyn Monroe curves here -- tiny waist, big chest, full, round rear, everything in perfect proportion. That's the stuff legends are made of.

Unfortunately, legendary curves are hard to come by. The survey found that 72 percent of men are attracted to curvier women, and 63 percent of women wish they had the womanly bodies of stars like Helen Mirren or Kate Winslet, the Telegraph reports. . . .Read More