San Francisco Chronicle: Shaking up transgender assumptions

Reviewed by Julie Foster

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Transparent

Love, Family and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers

By Cris Beam

HARCOURT; 323 Pages; $25

---

Real women can have penises. And "the brain and the heart are the only organs with a gender, and ... all genital modification or lack thereof is simply a personal aesthetic choice." These are some of the titillating ideas explored in "Transparent," Cris Beam's first book.

But Beam's engaging narrative does more than just provoke or amuse. It helps readers adjust their assumptions, as Beam admits hers were adjusted, about a world many may be unfamiliar with.

Beam teaches creative writing at the New School and Columbia University and has written for Teen People, Parenting, Out, Mademoiselle and the radio program "This American Life." But in 1998, she was a freelance magazine writer with spare time. She began volunteering at a high school in Los Angeles for gay and transgender teens.

After 2 1/2 years Beam burned out and quit. But she loved her students, even with "their attitudes, and the occasional danger and regular tragedies," and she maintained contact with several of the kids.

"Transparent" is the result of those meetings, which occurred from 1998 through the summer of 2005. Beam found her way into this nuanced world through the lives of four transgender girls, Christina, Domineque, Foxxjazell and Ariel, genetic males living as females. She intersperses their stories with edifying facts, figures and definitions, clearing away the distortions and misconceptions embedded in today's gender-rigid society. . . .

Transgender American Veterans Association

The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) was formed to address the growing concerns of fair and equal treatment of transgender veterans and active duty service members. As the population of gender-different people increases, then so does the population of veterans and active duty service members who identify as such. TAVA serves as an educational organization that will help the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense to better understand the individuals they encounter who identify as being gender-different. As veterans, we have also served proudly, and will continue to do so. TAVA is here to help where we can.

It's a trans world

The author of a new book about transgender teenagers in Los Angeles talks straight about hormone smuggling, life on the street, and the rise of America's first trans-rapper.

Jan. 5, 2007 | "Transgender": Does even the word confuse you? If you were asked to define it, could you?

If not, you're hardly alone. For years, the transgender community has existed in the shadow of the gay, lesbian and bisexual rights movement -- though most trans-people agree that redefining their gender has little to do with their sexual orientation. The word is applied to everyone from drag queens and sex reassignment surgery patients to femme gay men and butch straight girls. And these days, when discussions of transgender do happen, it's usually in the context of the sex industry or debates about unisex bathrooms and gender-blind hallways in college dormitories. With such boundless, cloudy meanings, is it any surprise that even the most sex-savvy, gay-friendly, politically correct among us still have a hard time explaining the term?

Cris Beam, the author of "Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers," hopes her new book will help take on some of the mysteries and misconceptions that still haunt the transgender community. Beam, now 34, moved to Los Angeles in 1997, while her girlfriend attended graduate school. Lonely in her new city, she became intrigued by Eagles, a local high school specifically for gay and transgender kids; with the time left over in her freelance writing schedule, she began to work there as a volunteer. During the two and a half years Beam taught at Eagles, she discovered a complex but marginalized tribe of transgender teens who had nowhere to go but the streets. "Transparent" chronicles those stories, and describes how, within a few years, Beam found herself deeply involved in the kids' lives, entangled in their dreams, disappointments and their search for the truth about themselves and their gender. . . .

The TRANSSEXUAL PHENOMENON by Harry Benjamin, M.D.

Click on the title above to access an online copy of Harry Benjamin's history making book.

Looking Back: Friday, Dec. 02, 1966 - A Body to Match the Mind

When ex-G.I. George Jorgensen went to Denmark and returned, after a series of operations, as "Christine," the U.S. public and medical profession alike were appalled at what seemed to be "mutilative surgery." Attitudes have changed so much since 1952 that last year a Baltimore court ordered Johns Hopkins surgeons to perform an identical operation on a 17-year-old boy. And last week the university announced that it has opened a center for the diagnosis and treatment of transsexuals. Hopkins surgeons have already operated on five men and five women.

Emotional Crossover. The longtime champion of these unhappy people is Berlin-born Dr. Harry Benjamin, 81, who swings his practice between Manhattan and San Francisco. It was he who coined the word transsexual, and his new book, The Transsexual Phenomenon (Julian Press; $8.50), is already the standard reference on the problem. It is of prime importance, says Dr. Benjamin, to define what a transsexual is not. He is not a hermaphrodite, to whom a cruel quirk of nature has given some of the organs of both sexes. He is not a pseudohermaphrodite, with the organs of his own sex so unusually formed that they are mistaken for those of the other. He is not a homosexual in the accepted sense. He usually has a normal male physique, but feels emotionally like a woman. The converse criteria apply to the masculine-oriented woman. Both types of transsexuals are likely to be transvestites, preferring the clothing of the "opposite" sex.

There is no explanation in heredity or hormones. A possible cause in some cases is that a boy was born when his mother wanted a girl, and she treated him as a girl. By adulthood, says Dr. Benjamin, the crossover of emotion and thought may be so deeply ingrained that "true transsexuals feel that they belong to the other sex, they want to be and function as members of the opposite sex, not only to appear as such." Psychiatric treatment, including long-continued analysis, has proved virtually worthless to patients who do not want to be changed emotionally, leading Dr. Benjamin to conclude: "Since the mind of the transsexual cannot be adjusted to the body, it is logical and justifiable to attempt the opposite, to adjust the body to the mind."

Radical Procedures. Adjusting the body means, for the male transsexual, castration and the creation of an artificial vagina. For the female, it means enclosing the urethra in a pseudo penis (which is not capable of intromission) and reducing the breasts. These procedures are so radical that most U.S. surgeons have been reluctant to try them. Among Dr. Benjamin's 152 transsexual patients, only 51 have had surgery, and nearly all have had that surgery outside the U.S.

Last week's announcement from Johns Hopkins marked the first time that a prestigious medical center has risked its reputation to give organized help to transsexuals, who are estimated to number 2,000 or more in the U.S. They are probably about evenly divided between men and women, according to Hopkins Psychiatrist Norman J. Knorr, but more men than women ask for, and get, sex-changing surgery.

Dr. Benjamin and the Hopkins group, of which Surgeon John E. Hoopes is chairman, emphasize that they are not interested in simply transforming a male so that he can more nearly simulate a female sex partner. They are concerned with the entire health and personality of the crossover deviate, whom they maintain on hormone treatments for the rest of his, or her, life. Dr. Benjamin evaluates the results in his 51 patients as: good, 17; satisfactory, 27; doubtful, 5; unsatisfactory, 1; and unknown, 1. As evidence of good results, he cites twelve formerly male patients who have married successfully as women; some have achieved motherhood by adoption.

Dr. Benjamin admits that many patients remain disturbed after the operation, but he insists that they are better off than before. He contends that if a miserable male transsexual can be happier as a woman, society benefits as well as the individual. Hopkins Surgeon Milton T. Edgerton Jr. says: "We're not sure yet that we are on solid footing. We're still looking for the best ways to bring these patients full relief."

Pakistani couple gets prison for lying to judge about sex-change operation

By Asif Shahzad THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAHORE, Pakistan— A couple who sought legal protection from harassment were separated and sentenced to three years in prison yesterday for lying to a Pakistani judge that surgery had turned one partner into a man.

The case of Shumail Raj, who was born female but had breast- and uterus-removal operations 16 years ago, and Shahzina Tariq has raised issues of homosexuality and transsexualism largely taboo in this conservative Muslim society.

The couple, who married last year, had approached the Lahore High Court for protection against harassment by Tariq’s relatives. They said they wed to protect Tariq from being sold into marriage to pay off her uncle’s gambling debts.

Court-appointed doctors who examined Raj ruled the earlier operations were not complete and that Raj was still a woman. The couple admitted they had lied about 31-year-old Raj’s gender because they were in love and wanted to live together. Raj, who has a close-cropped beard, has expressed a desire to go abroad for surgery to become male. . . .

Church to hold transgender forum

Male-to-female minister will preach at service

From Staff Reports

CHAPEL HILL -- John Thompson has never met a transgender person, that he knows of.

"I've met someone I think might be, but that person has not said they are," Thompson said Tuesday.

"But I'm going to," he added.

That's because Thompson, an elder at The Church of Reconciliation, is helping to bring a transgender minister to town next month for a free weekend workshop on transgender issues.

The Rev. Erin Swenson, a Presbyterian minister, is the first known mainstream Protestant minister to transition from male to female while remaining in ordained office, according to conference organizers. . . .

Israel's Dana International singing Diva in winning Eurovision song contest.

Nick offers some observations from about 12 years on testosterone.

Christine Daniels blog

Christine Daniels is a veteran sportswriter who has worked at the Los Angeles Times for 23 years -- as Mike Penner. Christine shocked many readers on April 27, 2007, when she announced her decision to change gender. She will be blogging about her transition over the days to come.

Click on the post title above to access her LA Times blog.

Transgender status unlikely to derail Stanton

The Sarasota manager job will go to the most qualified candidate, leaders say. Their top pick and a runnerup will be announced Wednesday.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published May 29, 2007

---

SARASOTA - Here are three factors that probably will help determine whether Susan Stanton becomes Sarasota's next city manager:

Communication skills, budget know-how and experience as a city manager in Florida.

And here's one that people who know Sarasota well expect to play a lesser role - if any - in the decision:

Stanton's transgender status.

"If Susan is not selected, it is because there's another candidate that is more qualified, " said former Sarasota City Commissioner Mary Anne Servian, who met Stanton two years ago and encouraged her to apply for the job.

It would not be, she said, "because they lack the courage to select Susan if she's the best." . . .

India: Transgenders in Tamil Nadu get more than government help

While the state has banned discrimination against transsexuals, two agencies are offering free courses

Abhinav Ramnarayan

Chennai: Seven years ago, 27-year-old Gopal Gopinath walked out of the jewellery store where he worked, unable to bear the lampooning and the mistrust directed at him by his employer.

“I had pierced my ears, and I had grown my hair long, like a woman—and the way I walked and spoke was feminine,” Gopal explained.

No employer he ever worked for quite let Gopal be—whether it was in the jewellery store where he first took up a job, or in a shoe factory, where he endured misery for seven years.

Finally, tired of the posturing, Gopal renamed himself—or rather, herself—Gomathi, and joined the Thamilnadu Aravanigal Association (Thaa), a body run by transgenders that aims to uplift their community in the state.

The association spells its name thus because the acronym Thaa means ‘give’ in Tamil.

“My dream is to have a nine-to-five job in any field, in any capacity,” she says.

What she also means is a job with dignity.

Two agencies, the Stenographers’ Guild and the government-run Women’s Development Corporation, have stepped in to offer free vocational courses in basic computing and hand embroidery for the transgender community—hoping to do just that.

Gomathi took up the course in basic computing, which includes training in spoken English and other interpersonal skills, with the aim to make it possible for transgenders to take up secretarial positions, says Stenographers’ Guild president S.V. Ramasamy.

Ramasamy himself is a product of the guild, after which he joined Indian Bank where he eventually became a senior manager. After retiring two years ago, he has devoted himself to the association that first gave him a leg-up.

The vocational course for transgenders is his brainchild, and the first batch of 10 students, including Gomathi, has just completed the course. The second batch is about to begin. . . .

United Methodist pastor speaks of transgender experience

May. 25, 2007

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom*

A transgender United Methodist pastor has shared his story with other members of the denomination's Baltimore-Washington Conference in the hopes of promoting a broader discussion about gender identity.

The Rev. Drew Phoenix - formerly the Rev. Ann Gordon - spoke at both a closed clergy session and a general plenary session on May 24 during the annual conference meeting at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington. He is pastor of St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore.

"I was very grateful for the opportunity to be able to share my story and who I am," Phoenix told United Methodist News Service in a phone interview following those sessions. "I was very pleased at the number of people who were very honest in their reflections and questions."

He said he has been undergoing medical procedures for the transition from female to male during the past year, with "a great team of medical people who helped me think it out."

In his statement to the plenary session, the 48-year-old pastor explained that "last fall, after a lifelong spiritual journey, and years of prayer and discernment, I decided to change my name from Ann Gordon to Drew Phoenix in order to reflect my true gender identity and to honor my spiritual transformation and relationship with God."

By sharing the story of his spiritual journey and relationship with God, Phoenix said he hoped the conference participants "will commit ourselves to becoming educated about the complexity of gender and gender identity and open ourselves to those in our congregations who identify as transgender."

Phoenix, who was ordained in 1989 and previously served in the Bethesda area, said he joined the ministry because of "a calling to be in service to folk who are oppressed, who are poor, who are excluded, who are marginalized."

Although he was named Ann and declared a girl, Phoenix said he always felt he was male and had trouble understanding "the disconnect I was experiencing between my physical, external self and my internal, spiritual self."

"Fortunately, today, God's gift of medical science is enabling me to bring my physical body into alignment with my true gender," he told the plenary session. . . .

Biomotion: What are some differences in walk for men vs women?

Move the sliders left and right, back and forth:

A) male vs female

B) heavy vs light

C) nervous vs relaxed

D) happy vs sad

From Tim to Kim: Germany's youngest transsexual

Tim started a transition to Kim when about 12 years old. Here's an article in German with pictures.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

vor >>

Von Tim zu Kim

© stern TV

Das ist Kim. Sie ist heute 14 Jahre alt.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

20th Century Transgender History And Experience

Kay Brown

Today’s highly visible transgender movement is the continuation of a century of experience and activism. From the beginning it has been an international effort to gain self-determination and medical and legal recognition, with heroes, villains, triumphs and defeats in every decade. The experiences of transsexuals, transgenderists, cross-dressers and intersexuals have interwoven as definitions of sex, gender, perversion and disorder evolved from Victorian to Post-Modern. This class will explore the people and the issues they faced as the transgender community formed and helped create today’s celebration of diversity. The medical, scientific, cultural and legal changes brought about by determined transgender people will be covered. We will also collectively analyze strategies and tactics that might be used in the future. This class is for transgender people and others who wish to understand where we have been and where we might be going.

TransHistory FAQ

Who was the first transsexual to have surgery?

It is hard to say who was the “first”. It depends very much on definition. In the ancient world castration and penectomy were common among transsexuals in Europe, the Middle East, South & South-East Asia, and China. The practice was suppressed in the Christian world (not counting castration of male singers as boys to maintain voice quality) but throughout Asia it continued right to the present, notably in South Asia; India and surrounding countries. The modern form of Male to Female surgery in which a vagina is also formed is believed to date from 1930 in Germany. Mastectomy and Radical Hysterectomy for Female to Male is known to have occurred as early as 1917 in the United States... and an unconfirmed reference suggests 1912 in Europe. Phalloplasty is more recent but still dates to the middle of the 20th Century. . . .

Violence For Transgender Women Up In NorCal

(BCN) SAN FRANCISCO While discrimination and hate crimes against gays, lesbians and transgender individuals plummeted in 2006, severe violence has spiked around Northern California, according to a report released Tuesday morning.

Transgender women of color are particularly at risk, according to Community United Against Violence, the San Francisco-based organization that released the Report of Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Violence.

The overall murder rate for gays, lesbians and transgender people in Northern California doubled from 2005 to 2006, from two to four cases. Half of those victims were transgender women of color, according to the report. . . .

Vermont: Transgender bill gets governor's signature

By Lauren Ober
Free Press Staff Writer

May 25, 2007
After years of lobbying, the state's transgender population has won the battle for protection against discrimination

Tuesday, Gov. Jim Douglas signed a bill into law that prohibits discrimination based on a person's gender identity or gender-related characteristics.

At this time last year, the governor vetoed a similar bill that had widespread support in both legislative chambers, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the crowd gathered outside of R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center on Thursday to celebrate.

The bill, which passed through the Legislature on May 3, protects transgender Vermonters from discrimination in banking, employment, education, health care, housing and public accommodations, and provides them some legal recourse if they are discriminated against.

R.U.1.2? Executive Director Kara DeLeonardis said the law goes a long way toward providing equal rights for transgendered people.

"This is going to make such a big difference in people's lives," DeLeonardis said. "It's just a great feeling to finally have these important legal protections for transgender people that everyone else takes for granted."

Kelly Brigham considered herself transgender based on her gender expression. While Brigham says she has no plans to transition to a man, she doesn't dress traditionally like a woman and because of that she's been discriminated against. She said the law will help protect her gender expression.

"It also makes gender more fluid," Brigham said.

Up to this point, DeLeonardis said, the transgender community has been left behind regarding legal protections in Vermont. Although the gay community was afforded civil unions and the rights and protections associated with them, the transgender community had little in the way of protection from discrimination.

Not only does the law protect transgendered or gender-variant people from discrimination, it also helps educate the general population, said Jes Kraus, a transgender activist with Vermont TransAction. . . .

New initiatives seek jobs for trans people

Sparked by crackdown on trans prostitutes, activists seek ways to find legal employment

By DYANA BAGBY
May. 25, 2007

Transgender prostitutes working the streets of Midtown have drawn the ire of numerous residents tired of seeing them in their neighborhoods.

Two proposed initiatives — one by queer and trans activists and another by the Atlanta Police Department — hope to quell that resentment by helping the sex workers find legitimate jobs.

The Queer Progressive Agenda and transgender activists and allies are starting a Transgender People of Color Workers Project. The project seeks to join forces with gay business organizations to find employers willing to hire transgender employees as well as offer job training, tips on writing a resume and help with interview strategies. The project is also compiling a database of available jobs.

And the Atlanta Police Department is slated to hold a job fair later this year specifically for transgender people and bring in employers who won’t discriminate against a person based on gender identity.

Both initiatives were sparked by a crackdown by the APD approximately a year ago. Working with the Midtown Neighborhood Association, officers worked to reduce sex workers in the area, including many trans women.

APD Officer Darlene Harris, the gay liaison for the department, said she became frustrated seeing members of the community — including gay people — stigmatize transgender sex workers, but she also understood residents wanting to keep their neighborhoods safe.

The sex workers “weren’t going anywhere because of discrimination they faced trying to find jobs, so we thought it would be great to get employers together and help them so they don’t feel the need to be on the street,” Harris said.

As far as any recent police stings on transgender sex workers, Harris said this week she has not heard of any reports for some time.

“It’s been pretty quiet on that front,” she said. . . .

Transgender minister reappointed in Maryland

By BRETT ZONGKER Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — A transgender United Methodist minister will be reappointed to lead his congregation in Baltimore, church officials announced Thursday at a regional convocation.

The Rev. Drew Phoenix told the church's Baltimore-Washington conference that he had gone through "spiritual transformation" in the past year, since changing his name from Ann Gordon and receiving medical treatment to become a man.

The denomination bans sexually active gay clergy but does not have any rules about transgender pastors.

"It is my intention and hope that by sharing my story that we commit ourselves as Christians and as United Methodists to become educated about the complexity of gender," Phoenix said. "Each of us is a beloved child of God — no exceptions."

Phoenix, 48, has led St. John's United Methodist Church for nearly five years. His term expires in July, and one of the purposes of the regional meeting is to reassign ministers for periodic terms with churches.

Bishop John Schol said that the church's 50-member congregation was fully supportive, and that no objections were raised during a closed-door meeting of the clergy. St. John's, a church that describes itself as diverse and inclusive, has more than tripled its membership since Phoenix arrived. . . .