Italy Transgender MP Can`t Be Bridesmaid

A Catholic priest has blocked an Italian transgender parliamentarian from being a bridesmaid at a relative`s wedding.

A Catholic priest has blocked an Italian transgender parliamentarian from being a bridesmaid at a relative's wedding, drawing protest from her political party.

Vladimir Luxuria, who was born male but wears women's clothing and prefers to be called "she", said she had been asked by her cousin to be the bridesmaid at her Catholic wedding, to be held at an ancient sanctuary in Foggia, southern Italy.

But Father Francesco, the sanctuary's pastor, told Reuters the request was rejected because Luxuria, a former drag queen and defender of gay rights, "does not believe in family values, even from a political point of view.". . .

"His personal choices are another matter, I have already explained this to him," the priest said by phone on Wednesday.

Luxuria's Communist Refoundation party called the ban "illegal and racist".

"Once again, the Church shows its discriminatory and fundamentalist face," it said in a statement.

Thai Transgender Beauty Pageant Contestants Try to Raise Environmental Awareness

November 7, 2007

Miss United Kingdom shielded herself from the Thai sun in Pattaya with a lace fan and reluctantly gripped a baby turtle between two painted fingernails. Miss Costa Rica thought her turtle was getting too dry so she swished it in a bucket of water.

In a world increasingly concerned about climate change, the 25 transvestite and transgender contestants in Saturday's fourth annual Miss International Queen competition are trying to promote awareness on how people are damaging the environment. Organizers say the contestants often draw attention wherever they go.

On Tuesday, the buxom group released turtles from a sunny beach into the Gulf of Thailand, posing for group photos in matching lime-green polo shirts and white pants. Releasing baby turtles is a popular project among conservationists in Southeast Asia, where seaside development and pollution threaten the animals.

But some contestants were not amused.

''It's so slimy!'' exclaimed Camila Pryns of Switzerland, holding a turtle smaller than her palm and adjusting her dark sunglasses so they covered her penciled eyebrows. ''I love being here, and the air smells so good. But the turtles feel gross.''

This year's contest, managed by Tiffany's transvestite cabaret based in the rowdy coastal resort town of Pattaya for the fourth year running, has the theme ''Think About It'' -- to encourage people to protect the earth.

The contestants were traveling around Thailand ahead of the competition, joining green-themed projects like planting orchids and trees.

Shima Shyna, a contestant from Japan with a bouffant hairdo, said releasing turtles was a tradition for her.

''In my country, the beaches of Okinawa (island) have become a tourist destination, and the turtles are in great danger,'' Shyna said.

She said she and her family go to the beach every year to drive away birds so newly hatched turtles can make it safely to the sea. ''I love it. It's very spiritual for me.''

A contestant from the Philippines, Rain Marie, was sad to see her turtle go. After naming it Pawican -- ''Turtle'' in her language, Tagalog -- she gave the amphibian a big kiss.

''If you kiss them and make a wish before you release them, you will live a longer life because turtles live so long,'' she said.

Organizers believe the beauty queens' participation can make a difference.

''Whatever transvestites do, they always make more noise,'' said pageant spokeswoman Buranii Chandraparnik. ''Global warming is a mounting concern for the entire world.'' (Matthew Treib, AP). . . .

POV, Critique, Opinion: The Alarming Push for Transgender Rights

November 7, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

California law now protects cross-dressers like it does racial minorities—ignoring biology, reality and common sense. By Joel Hilliker

Some people think utopia is a place where sex is meaningless.

A group of lawmakers, judges, lawyers and educators in Britain and America want to engineer a world free from oppression and hate. They want to introduce a golden age of tolerance and understanding. They seek a society where everyone is accepted, where no one is condemned, where everyone feels emotionally validated, where no one’s feelings are ever hurt.

That might sound like a noble dream—but their version of it is a nightmare.

It is a world where the line between male and female doesn’t exist. Where not only is it just as common to be homosexual or bisexual as heterosexual, but every person has the choice—with society’s full, unflinching support—to act, dress or even biologically exist as either male or female, or anything in between. Where a school teacher, police officer, priest or president can be a man who likes wearing dresses and high heels, and anyone who expresses discomfort over the idea can be silenced with the full force of the law.

This utopian world removes pressure on singles to marry, pressure on married people to remain together, pressure on parents to make sacrifices for their children, and pressure on children to view their parents as authorities. In other words, it undermines the pillars of family life. . . .

FIGHTING FOR FUTURE FREEDOM

Eleanor Lister … “Most transsexuals know that we are going to be the ones that break same-sex marriage.”

My whole life changed about five years ago when I joined the Greens in outrage over the Tampa affair. I then helped organise the meeting that the Redfern community group REDWatch sprang out of. And soon I had enough confidence to come out as a transsexual, which meant hooking up with that community.

I found that there was a lot of fear in the transgender community that was preventing people from becoming active. But I am old enough now that I am not scared. I noticed that the transgender day of remembrance wasn’t being commemorated. So I organised it last year, and got us on the radar.

I knew a lot of people, not just transsexuals of both sorts, but intersex people and cross-dressers. And within that community I noticed certain cliques and factions. But I thought, when we are all being called freaks, when we are all supposedly going to hell on the same train, what is the point of fighting amongst ourselves? After we get our freedom we can then say, “I have got nothing in common with you,” and if we want, we can go our own way.

People are better informed about the transgender community these days. But it was impossible to come out when I was young. It was 1956 and I was living in Perth and it just wasn’t a viable option, there was no chance at all. Homosexuality was illegal, and transsexuality was regarded as a mental disease suffered by homosexuals. I could have been considered an insane criminal or a man.

I was 16 and terrified. What choice was I going to make? I tried to do the man thing but it didn’t work. I had female sensitivities, and that was so strong in me, I almost thought it was a magical power.

You feel slightly “schiz” – there is part of you that knows the truth, and another part of you that pretends not to. On some level I have always known who I was, but I worked very hard to not know.

The big deal about coming out for me is freedom – that is the only word that makes sense. To me, if it is not about freedom you are doing it for the wrong reasons. It has got to make you feel who you are, and make you feel strong.

Some transgender people don’t like to be equated with the gay and lesbian community, to the point that they say, “I am not gay, I am not lesbian, I am transsexual, I am just an ordinary woman.” And you say, “Yes, that is fine, but we have got the same enemies, and we might all benefit from that.”

When push comes to shove, there are problems with the 58 pieces of legislation as pointed out in the HREOC report. There are areas of the law that could have been examined that would have had more of an influence on the transgender community. They stuck strictly to sexuality and didn’t really consider gender, so that in a way is not going to be all that useful to a lot of us.

On the other hand we do feel that we are going to contribute a lot to the gay and lesbian community, particularly with same-sex marriage, with people like Grace Abrams, who is getting her identity established.

Why should she have to cancel her marriage, which is now a same-sex marriage? Why should she have to get divorced, to get an amended birth certificate? Most transsexuals know that we are going to be the ones that break same-sex marriage.

But while there is sometimes some animosity, there are also great unions. In the Greens, there are a couple of gay men who are terrific guys, who go an extra mile for me, and who I trust. I don’t have so many friends so I can’t afford to throw any away.

I do sometimes get offended when people call me sir. But if it’s being done by somebody who really doesn’t know what to say, and is trying desperately to be polite, such as a taxi driver, who just wants to be courteous, and says, “Have a nice day, thank you, sir,” well, I am not even going to raise an eyebrow. He is not being offensive, he is being courteous, and he just doesn’t understand.

The process of coming out as a transsexual varies a lot, but it starts as a road, and it never finishes.

What order people do things in is up to them. I had a phase in which I took hormones, dressed full-time and change my name legally, dating from June 1 2005. The idea now is to save up for the surgery.

Not everybody wants to, or needs to, have the surgery. How far you go is up to you. And even after you have the surgery, you are still on the path, you never leave it; you are on it for the rest of your life.

As told to Cara Davis

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is being held at Barme, 154 Brougham St (cnr William St), Kings Cross, on Sunday 18 November from 1pm. The program of events can be seen at http://webspinning.org/tdor2007.

Welcome to Your Second Life

Virtual worlds like "Second Life" offer opportunities for gender and role exploration.

Trans Words

November 5, 2007

Vanessa Sheridan of Apple Valley, MN writes:

I read your recent article about transsexual characters in the media with great interest. While it’s often helpful to raise the profile of transgender persons throughout society, and while newspaper/media-related articles like yours can be useful in that regard, I would like to point out
a few nuances that are significant in terms of how the general public can more effectively recognize and understand the realities of the transgender phenomenon.

I am a business diversity consultant, corporate trainer, and a transgender subject matter expert for ProGroup, Inc., a leading international diversity consulting organization. I am also the published author of two books on the transgender phenomenon, both of which were finalists for national literary awards. My latest full-length manuscript, on the topic of transgender in the workplace, is currently being prepared for publication. I’m telling you all this to establish my credibility and make you aware that I know whereof I speak when it comes to transgender issues.

Historically, transgender characters on television have been portrayed as either prostitutes or punchlines. That stereotype is (achingly) slowly beginning to change, but the titillation/abnormal sexuality factor is still present and, unfortunately, shows no signs of abating anytime soon. For a variety of reasons, people are intrigued and often simultaneously repelled by/sexually attracted to transgender persons. Television has discovered the potential marketing opportunities relative to that intrigue, and the medium (as with print and other media sources) has a tendency to sensationalize the lives of transpeople. (Jerry Springer, anyone?) While I understand the motive of the media (which is always profit-driven), I also look askance at the way in which transpersons are generally portrayed. Your article points out some prime examples of the stereotyping and inaccuracies that too often occur when transgender characters are presented on television shows.

In many of the television show plots/scenarios you described, the transgender person was always a sex object. (Of course, sex is a main area of interest in most tv shows these days, so that’s not necessarily a new idea.) Shows like “Ugly Betty,” “Entourage,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Big Shots,” and “There’s Something About Miriam” all place their focus on the sexuality of transgender persons and on the capacity of that sexuality to potentially titillate audiences, thereby driving ratings. It’s objectification, pure and simple, and that’s not healthy for either transgender persons or for the larger society. (Of course, the health of society is hardly a concern for the media conglomerates that create and air such programs—as we know, it’s always about ratings, money, profits, and power, and the well-being of society be hanged.)

In addition, you mentioned “The Riches,” a show in which the youngest son of a family of grifters prefers to dress as a girl. However, you described this young person as a “more normal depiction of a transsexual life.” I sincerely hope that was an honest mistake on your part, since the wearing of clothing of the opposite gender is in no way a primary indication of transsexuality. There are many, many transgender persons who wear the clothing of the opposite sex but who are not at all transsexual. Just for the sake of clarification, a pre-operative transsexual is a person whose internal gender identity is incompatible with their external body and/or other physical characteristics. Generally, the primary transsexual wants to correct what they deem to be a mistake of nature. This is usually achieved through a medically-supervised process that involves assessment and diagnosis of transsexuality, extensive psychotherapy, hormone replacement therapy, the real life test (in which the transperson must live full-time in the role of the opposite sex for anywhere from one to three years) and, finally, sexual reassignment surgeries. As you might surmise, this is a lengthy and expensive process that can take years to complete. For these and other reasons, many transsexual persons do not complete the entire process. Some don’t even begin it!

One of the major misunderstandings that many people have regarding the transgender phenomenon is the notion that all transpeople are transsexual. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fact is, most transgender persons are NOT transsexual, nor do they seek or desire a sex change. For most transpersons, this is about the personal expression of an internal gender identity. That identity is at the core of who the individual transperson is, and it’s the motivating factor for all transgender behaviors.

Stereotypical media portrayals of transgender people as overly sexualized beings does a disservice to the millions of hardworking, productive transpersons who are contributing to society in a myriad of ways. We’re not all hookers, we’re not all tramps or sluts, we’re not all wackos or perverts, we’re not all defined by our sexuality, and most of us are not all that interesting or newsworthy. In fact, we’re your neighbors, your co-workers, your family members, and your friends. We’re everywhere, and we as a group would appreciate not being labeled or portrayed as sexual deviants or as pathetic clowns. Despite the efforts of the media to sensationalize our lives, we deserve respect and dignity because we are intrinsically valuable human beings who happen to be gender variant.

I hope you find some of this information to be helpful. I realize that your article was not intended to be an in-depth analysis of the transgender phenomenon—it was simply a review of some of the transgender themes that are occurring on television these days. Insofar as it went, your article appeared to achieve its purpose. However, I believe it’s important to couch such articles in their proper context and to use appropriate terminology when referring to a group of people who have traditionally been oppressed and disenfranchised within the larger society. As a transgender person, a professional diversity consultant, and a concerned citizen, I wanted to share these thoughts with you.

Poll: 70 percent of LGBTs support noninclusive ENDA

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

According to a new poll, 70 percent of LGBT Americans prefer passing an Employment Nondiscrimination Act that does not include transgender people over not passing the bill at all.

The poll, commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign and conducted on October 26, surveyed 500 members of the LGBT community across the country.

A version of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), which does not include job protections for transgender Americans, was voted out of the House of Representative rules committee Monday night, and voting on the bill is very likely on Wednesday.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) may offer her amendment to add transgender protections to the bill. If she does, it will be debated, but will likely be pulled from the floor without a vote as soon as the debate ends.

HRC president Joe Solmonese said the poll numbers weren’t immediately obvious to him or to the organization before they conducted the polling.

"There were so many people out there speaking so emphatically about where the entire community was that I thought maybe we should get a sense of it, and that's why we did the poll," he said.

"So it was surprising to me, but I think it really speaks to the fact that there's a big, diverse community of GLBT Americans all across the country.". . .

Genderqueer

The term "genderqueer" began to be commonly used at the turn of the twenty-first century by youth who feel that their gender identities and/or gender expressions do not correspond to the gender assigned to them at birth, but who do not want to transition to the "opposite" gender. Characterizing themselves as neither female nor male, as both, or as somewhere in between, genderqueers challenge binary constructions of gender and traditional images of transgender people.

Genderqueers use a wide variety of terms to describe themselves, including transboi, boydyke, third gendered, bi-gendered, multi-gendered, androgyne, and gender bender. Sometimes they refuse to attach a label to their gender identities at all, feeling that no one word or phrase can adequately capture the complexities of how they experience gender. . . .

Why Is The Catholic Church Hatin' On Transpeople?

Monday, November 05, 2007

TransGriot post by Monica Roberts

In October 1953 a Cuban newspaper conducted an interview with Father Hilario Chaurrondo. At the time he was a blunt, outspoken, down to earth and very popular priest known throughout the island for his prison advocacy and other work that kept him close to the grittier aspects of life in pre-Castro Cuba.

I read this eye-opening snippet of the article in the book Christine Jorgenson-A Personal Autobiography. This particular chapter in the book covers Christine's visit to Havana to perform at the Tropicana. Here's what Father Chaurrondo had to say about Christine.

"I am familiar with the Cristina Jorgenson case right from its very beginnings. I have followed it in the press and have read her memoirs. Very interesting-very. These are the things which leave us bewildered by the progress of the days we live in.

A doubt came into our mind. Should we ask him or not? Well, when all is considered, Father Chaurrondo is considered a "man of the world".

"Father, you are aware that Cristina is legally a woman with all the rights and attributes inherent in such a social condition. Would you be disposed to give your blessing to Cristina marry a man in church?"

Father Chaurrondo doesn't flinch and he replies as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"If her application for a Catholic ceremony carries with it all the presiquites and prior dispensations of the Archbishop, I would say yes."

"Would Cristina's case involve special dispensations?"

"No. Only the normal procedure. Just as for any other woman. As far as we are concerned, Cristina is a woman since she has been so designated by the United States, where they know what they are doing."

"And the Archbishop's dispensation?"

"Cristina is an alien resident, and in such cases certain requirements have to be met for reasons of diocese and parish. I repeat, Cristina's case calls for no special treatment. I can marry Cristina Jorgenson in the church once the usual and current regulations have been complied with. The procedure will be no different with her than with any other woman."

Father Chaurrondo is clear, frank, simple and definite. Cristina Jorgenson can be married by the Church.

"Look my son, we priests nowadays have seriously to study the realities of life. We're not like the priests of sixty years ago, or as I was when I first began."

Chaurrondo's voice softened at memory of those first years of his priesthood.

"The secret of confession is inviolable, otherwise I would tell you stories of Cristinas and Cristinos of every color under the sun. At the beginning my soul grieved and sorrowed at the horror and shame. Now it's different. I read Maranon (Gregorio Maranon, a famous Spanish endocrinologist) and even dig football. Times change, but the eternal truths are immutable."

...we take our leave of Father Hilario Chaurrondo who remains behind in the yard before his Church of Mercy, smiling in his own kindly, jolly way which somehow makes him seem Don Camillo himself.

We carry the news with us like a bomb. A Catholic prelate in Cuba is the first representative of any church, religion or sect ever to make such a clear pronouncement on the Cristina Jorgenson case. It remains to be seen what the reactions to his statements will be amongst the Catholic congregations, not only in Cuba but throughout the world.

****

How prophetic the closing paragraph in that 1953 artcle was.

Fast forward to January 2003.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After years of study, the Vatican's doctrinal congregation has sent church leaders a confidential document concluding that "sex-change" procedures do not change a person's gender in the eyes of the church.

Consequently, the document instructs bishops never to alter the sex listed in parish baptismal records and says Catholics who have undergone "sex-change" procedures are not eligible to marry, be ordained to the priesthood or enter religious life, according to a source familiar with the text.

That document mentioned was completed in 2000 and was credited to Jesuit Father Urbano Navarrete of Spain (far left in this photo with Pope John Paul II) who is a retired canon law professor at Rome's Gregorian University. . . .

Marci Bowers, M.D., in the OR: MtF genital surgery

Transsexual host breaks TV taboo

November 3, 2007

Jeremy Page in Delhi

When Ramesh Venkatesan realised that he wanted to be a woman as a teenager he was too ashamed to tell his family and friends.

He even pretended to be in love with a girl at his college in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Today, aged 28, he not only wears a sari and make-up openly in the street, but next month he will become the first transsexual host of an Indian television programme.

Using his female identity, Rose, he will anchor a Saturday evening talk show addressing sexual and other traditionally taboo issues on Star Vijay, a popular Tamil television channel.

“I want to set an example,” Mr Venkatesan, who plans to undergo sex reassignment in Thailand in the next few months, told The Times. “The transgender community here is totally disempowered. It is very closeted and doesn’t integrate at all. I wanted to join mainstream society.”

His show, called Ippadiku Rose (Yours Rose), is a sign of how Indian economic growth and integration with the West are slowly breaking down social taboos.

Transsexuals have been part of Indian society for hundreds of years and traditionally sing and dance for money at weddings and birthday parties. Though many still perform this way, declining demand and higher living costs have driven them to begging and sex work in recent years.

Mr Venkatesan, who comes from a middle-class family in Madras, said that he had no desire to live such a life. Knowing that his father, a property dealer, would disapprove, he suppressed his identity to complete his education at engineering college. When he went to do a masters degree in the US and his parents started looking for a wife for him, he came out.

“My mother broke down in tears and couldn’t handle it for a long time,” he said. When he returned to India in 2004 his father threw him out of the home but eventually allowed him to return. He can now wear women’s trousers, but not saris, at home. Dressed as a man, he found work as an American-accent coach at a call centre but later became a freelance software engineer so that he could work from home in women’s clothes.

Mr Venkatesan’s ambition, however, was to work in the media, and he approached several television stations with his talk-show idea. The first two laughed him off, but the third, Star Vijay, embraced the concept.

“We were planning a late-night talk show and Rose just walked into our office. We were really impressed,” Pradeep Milroy Peter, the channel’s head of programming, said.

Star Vijay is watched by more than 60 million people in Tamil Nadu and is available all around India as well as in the US and Singapore.

“We want to push the envelope, but we don’t want to go overboard,” Mr Peter said. “India is still very conservative. We have cryogenics and space rockets, but are still discussing whether to have sex education in schools.” . . .

Man raised as girl tells of life as a wife

November 5, 2007

Hussein Rabei shows a photo of himself in traditional women's wear sitting on a car with his brother before his sex change.
Photo: Reuters

With his wrestler's build and deep voice, it is hard to believe that Hussein Rabei could ever be mistaken for a woman, but in the Middle East cultural norms can blind people to the glaringly obvious.

Formerly known as Zaineb, 33-year-old Rabei was raised as a girl after being born with genitalia that more closely resembled a vagina than a penis. Arab culture and its rigid views on gender meant doctors ignored growing signs that Rabei may in fact be male, he said.

"When I married, my husband used to say, 'It's funny, but when I'm with you it feels like I'm with one of the guys, not my wife,"' said Rabei, who is now divorced.

Rabei returned recently from an operation in Thailand to correct his gender -- a procedure for which he obtained consent from both Sunni and Shi'ite clerics.

He is the first Bahraini to go public with news of such an operation, his lawyer said. It triggered a flood of media coverage and condemnation from many of his fellow Bahrainis for what they see as a procedure forbidden by Islam.

Most Muslim scholars say changing one's sex is forbidden unless it is related to an intersex condition such as Rabei's.

His is one of a range of relatively rare conditions in which there is a mismatch between the body's sexual genetic code and its physical make up. Instead of having two X chromosomes -- the female pattern -- he has an XY or male configuration.

This is a complex issue that Rabei said much of Arab and Islamic society was not yet ready for.

"I want to talk, to educate society that this is an illness, not a sexual perversity ... many aren't listening," he said.

Although Iran permits sex-changes, homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran and by imprisonment and lashings in other Middle Eastern countries, highlighting rigid adherence to perceived gender norms.

A champion shot-putter and discus-thrower, Rabei has photos of himself as a woman towering over other female competitors, which prompted sporting authorities to raid his home looking for performance-enhancing drugs.

But his build was not enough to prompt doctors to entertain the idea that he was not a woman.

"Every time I went to hospital, they told me I was a woman," he said, adding doctors routinely failed to diagnose a lack of internal female reproductive organs. Staff at one clinic laughed when he went for tests to determine his genetic sex.

Doctors instead prescribed pills to induce menstruation and suggested an operation to open the hymen when Rabei could not consummate "her" marriage.

Not all those with intersex conditions are unhappy with their assigned gender, but Rabei was.

"It's Arab society, that's all I can say, with its customs and traditions. A man's a man and a woman's a woman," Rabei said.

Rabei turned to a foreign clinic, which found he was genetically male and lacked a female reproductive system.

Rabei's lawyer, who is fighting to have his sex and name changed on official documents, said her work was not easy.

"People have been attacking me personally, asking me why I encourage sex correction. According to them, this is haram, or forbidden in Islamic and Arab society," Fouzia Janahi said.

Rabei's employers have demanded his resignation and psychiatrists have declined to counsel him for life as a man.

"I'm not saying I'm not under intense pressure, but as long as what I'm doing is right medically, religiously and legally, I don't care what people say," he said. "Praise God, I feel like I'm a man, I feel like I'm myself." . . .

POV, Critique, Opinion: Little Boy Pink

"Declan, fix your tiara, it's slipping."

"Declan, lift up your dress, you'll slip on the tafetta."

"Declan, stop fidgeting, the nail polish will smudge."

As the mother of two boys, I thought that I'd never have to worry about Polly Pockets or learning how to French braid. But soon after my son Declan turned two, he ran up to me with a hopeful look on his face and said, "I want to dress up as a ballerina!"

It was inevitable; since we moved in with my sister, Declan's constant playmates are his cousins Erika, six, and Hilary, four. They're not just girls, they're girly-girls: Cinderella-loving, skirt-wearing, icky-bug-hating princesses. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

Declan has always been quirky. Soon after his younger brother was born, Declan hiked up his shirt and tried to breast-feed a baby doll. Just before he turned two, he started wearing socks on his hands; this evolved into a love of wearing gloves, which in turn became a love of wearing one glove (note to friends: enough with the Michael Jackson jokes). I don't even get embarrassed any more when we have guests over and Declan runs through the house naked, shouting, "Look at my penis!" So when he wanted to be a ballerina, I figured it was just par for the course. That first night, Declan ended up in a white leotard and black tights, and he and his cousins put on a marvelous ballet. But then at some point girly outfits just became his regular clothes.

Declan's certainly not the first little boy to find comfort in crinoline; it seems that everyone knows someone with a little boy who likes to play dress-up (mostly those with a big sis who likes to do the same). One friend introduced me to Tema, whose four-and-a-half-year-old son Adin began dressing up in his big sister's princess outfits when he was three. She took it in stride. "[We] thought it was incredibly cute and funny and wonderful that he was being interactive with his big sister," she says. "We think it's a natural phase of childhood and do not feel the need to discourage it." Adin's dress-up interests changed as he grew up, and now he is as likely to dress as Scooby Doo or a Power Ranger as a princess.

Whether because of his closeness with his girly cousins or due to some inner aesthetic, Declan has always shown a preference for the pretty. When I showed Declan a shoe catalog that came in the mail, he picked out the white Mary Janes with giant purple flowers. When I took him to buy sheets for his big boy bed, he picked out a pink set. And there's no place he'd rather be than by my side in the kitchen, helping decorate sugar cookies.

I've wondered if this means Declan is gay or will be a cross-dresser when he gets older, or if he will come out down the road as transgendered. But experts say probably not. "Some boys will be more interested than others in dressing up as feminine characters," says Dr. Robert Lindeman, a pediatrician in Natick, Massachusetts, when I ask. "This does not mean that they suffer from gender confusion."

According to Dr. Lindeman, Declan isn't expressing his innate sexuality when he puts on his cousin's Tinkerbell costume, he is simply playing with facts. "Little boys in the preschool years are starting to learn about gender differences," he explains. "To them, the differences are merely facts. When children 'cross-dress,' they are merely having fun with this new fact they've learned. If their parents laugh, it reinforces their sense that they're being funny."

And at our house, we do laugh. A little boy in a fuschia off-the-shoulder ball gown is funny. Everyone looks when Declan descends the staircase holding up the edge of his dress so he doesn't trip. He loves to be the center of attention. (His most oft-used phrase these days is, "Mommy, look!") And when Declan is dressed as Snow White, everyone is looking.

Which is fine for now. Declan still doesn't have any real friends, and the girls he plays with (his cousins and their friends) love to help him get dolled up. But I hope he'll have friends soon. What will the other boys think of the pink ruffles?

Dr. Lindeman tells me I've got plenty of time before peer pressure hits. "This occurs much later than most parents think," he says, "often not until age eight or nine." Until then, it's okay to set some boundaries on dress-up. "Most parents have decided that children should attend kindergarten in gender-appropriate clothes," explains Dr. Lindeman. "There are things a child can do at home that he shouldn't do at school, like put his hand down his pants or pick his nose at the table." Or wear a purple flowered tutu over striped fleece footy pajamas.

According to Dr. Lindeman, "the greater danger is from causing the children to become frightened of their game without knowing why they should be frightened."

Declan in drag has become a fairly frequent occurrence in our house, and we try not to draw too much attention to it or even talk about it; after all, if we make a big deal of it, Declan will come to think of it as a big deal. But one day his cousin Erika teased him: "You're dressed like a girl!" Declan replied indignantly, "No, I'm not!" This inspired the following conversation over dinner (when he was wearing the aforementioned fuschia off-the-shoulder ball gown):

My sister, Amy: Declan, what are you dressed as?

Declan: A ballerina.

Amy: But not a girl ballerina?

Declan: No.

In Declan's mind, he's not dressing like a girl; he's just wearing clothes he likes. What could possibly be wrong with that?

That's the philosophy Tema has maintained through two years of her son playing dress-up. "We encourage his creativity and love that he feels good doing it," she says. And her husband, Doug? "He certainly gets a good laugh out of his sturdy son wearing a pink princess dress."

When a little boy dresses like a little girl, "he is merely having fun," says Dr. Lindeman. "I recommend that parents try to have fun, too."

Fun with a boy in a dress? I can do that. When Declan puts on his tutu and starts pirouetting, I put on the classical music and grab my video camera. I can't wait to play it at his wedding (even if on the big day, he's still the one in the dress).

POV, Critique, Opinion: Kindergarten Cross-Dressing

by Christina Holder

4 December 2006

Well, I didn't think much could top adults in NYC being able to adopt their gender based on their feelings. But it looks like 5-year-olds in Oakland, Ca., are now being encouraged to cross-dress. Yes, that's right...boys donning pigtails and pink jumpers, if they feel so inclined. The same goes for girls who have a hankering for sporting boyish bobs and clothing.

The worst part...some psychologists are encouraging children at this young age to "be who they are," by cross-dressing in public.

This is outrageous considering the conclusions of a 30-year-study by Dr. Kenneth Zucker, head of the gender-identity service at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada.

Zucker, a psychologist, has worked with about 500 young children who have shown tendencies toward wanting to live as the opposite sex, also known in the field as "gender variant." He has discovered that 80 percent of these young children end up growing out of the behavior, while 15-20 percent continue to show anxiety about their gender.

There's no denying that homosexuality is mysterious, and for those struggling with it, the feelings are powerful and confusing. But this growing trend among parents to let their kindergartners cross-dress is the product of a culture that refuses to set and stand by rules (what five-year-old gets to tell his parents what he is going to wear to school?)

And why are we now taking advantage of our children in this way? Many homosexual adults are fighting to be accepted no matter how they feel or behave. Now our toddlers are learning they can act whatever way they want, based on their feelings?

Moreover, with an 80 percent chance of growing out this behavior, what cross-dressing five-year-old boy is going to grow up and say, "Hey, Mom and Dad. THANK YOU so much for letting me wear that princess dress and tiara to school!" It seems looking back on those school photos would cause a good deal of pain and resentment later in life.

It's time for parents across this country to take a stand. Don't let your five-year-old rule over you! Children look up to their parents to guide them and lead them. They need direction. Fathers, spend quality time with your sons. Mothers, teach your daughters how to embrace and celebrate femininity. Together, encourage your child to be happy with the gender God made him or her to be. This is a positive principle that has healthy benefits no matter your religious beliefs.

Finally, remember children are highly impressionable, so immediately stop your children from emulating any behavior or wearing any clothing that isn't consistent with his or her gender. That's obviously not going to remedy all feelings in all children. Children who grow up with homosexual feelings will need counseling, unconditional love, and God's strength to fight temptation. But what they don't need is to be confused even more by adults dressing them up as drag queens on the school playground. . . .

See Comments.

Pushing the transsexual envelope

Candis Cayne is a real-life transsexual who plays Carmelita, a blond transsexual with a low, sultry voice, on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money.

By ROGER CATLIN
Hartford Courant

Gay people on TV are old hat.

By now, Entertainment Weekly reports this week, 61 percent of college freshmen, who grew up with Will & Grace, approve of gay marriage. The finding in the national poll is up 10 percentage points from a decade ago.

A turn around the dial will bring you gay story lines in daytime soap operas, same-sex dating on MTV shows like Next and A Shot of Love With Tila Tequila, and prominent gay characters on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and several cable shows — FX's Nip/Tuck, HBO's The Wire and Showtime's The L Word.

Suspected of being gay is no longer the guaranteed laugh it was on TV anymore, even on macho shows like Two and a Half Men. And characters like George on Grey's Anatomy or Barney on How I Met Your Mother can be credible as virtual Lotharios, even though they are played by gay men.

Some surprises

No, to add shock to TV shows in 2007, writers have turned to transsexuals.

How surprising was it last season on Ugly Betty when Alex, the long-lost brother of Mode magazine editor-in-chief Daniel Mead, returned as Alexis, who was not only a woman but also a woman who looks like Rebecca Romijn (exactly like her, as it turned out)?

A story line over the summer on Entourage involved Johnny Drama trying to get in good with the mayor of Beverly Hills by hooking him up with what appeared to be a beautiful woman at a trendy bar. Her pre-op secret was revealed in one of those skirt flash shots the paparazzi so love. But the mayor (Stephen Tobolowsky) decided he liked his exotic new acquaintance, anyway.

Another politician on a TV series who decided to stick with his transsexual is William Baldwin's Patrick Darling on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money. Although a married New York state attorney general running for U.S. Senate, he is determined to continue his illicit relationship with Carmelita, despite entreaties from his family lawyer.

Carmelita, a sultry blonde with a very low voice, is notable because she might be broadcast TV's first recurring transsexual character who actually is played by a transsexual.

Other shows

She is played by Candis Cayne, whose previous credits include Wigstock: The Movie, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar and an episode of CSI: New York.

A transsexual story line also occurs early on another new ABC series, Big Shots, in which divorced cosmetics CEO Duncan Collinsworth, played by Dylan McDermott, hooks up with a transsexual prostitute at a rest stop — a tryst that threatens his career when the story gets out.

A more normal depiction of a transsexual life comes as a small part of the FX series The Riches, about a family of grifters, whose youngest son prefers to dress in women's clothes.

Even as more daytime talk shows take a more serious look at transsexuals, including an October episode of Oprah Winfrey, some in the transgender community are not encouraged by TV's tendency to depict transsexual women, especially those of color, as prostitutes. The only transsexual women who so far escape that profession are white.

But on There's Something About Miriam, an imported BBC series on the Fox Reality cable channel, a group of men vie for the affections of a Mexican woman. According to Fox Reality, the show involves "six eligible men, one beautiful model named Miriam and an enormous secret reveal you never saw coming."

Miriam speaks out

But in this season of transsexuals, of course you saw it coming.

And if you didn't, it was revealed in the premiere (shown, oddly, on Halloween, following the announcement of a winner on The Search for the Next Elvira).

"I'm not a real woman. I wasn't born as a girl, I was born as a man. I'm a transsexual," Miriam says with about 10 minutes left in the first episode. "I see myself as a girl because I've been living about half my life the way I am living now.

"I don't have any operation. I'm totally natural, this is me."

A doctor from Spain is then interviewed, so he can say, "I can confirm that she has got masculine genitals."

"I see myself as a girl, so basically I like straight guys," Miriam says. The guys won't find out until the final episode.

When There's Something About Miriam first aired in the United Kingdom in 2004, it was called "the cruelest reality-show idea yet."

Filed suit

Its participants sued the show for conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.

The cases were settled out of court, and the show since has been shown in Australia and Poland. Still, it is perhaps understandable that the cast refuses to do interviews related to the show's U.S. debut.

Mara Keisling, executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, has said, "It's just natural that as there are more trans people visible in public; that's going to be reflected in popular culture."

Some take offense

But with its emergence come terms that are offensive to the community, from "she-male" to "tranny."

And conservative watchdog groups are against it altogether.

Christopher Gildemeister, in the TV Trends column for the Parents Television Council, says ABC has an "apparent fetish for transsexuals" in a season where "bizarre forms of sex are being emphasized to a much greater degree on television than ever before." . . .

Sex changes put on police agenda

November 5, 2007

by Emma Stone

POLICE chiefs in Coventry are to get new guidelines on how to deal with officers who are going through a sex change.

West Midlands Police has plans to improve its policy relating to members of staff going through the sex change process and how it treats transsexual officers and civilian staff.

The current guidance used by managers in the force - which includes advice on dealing with the likely press interest, how to refer to individuals after surgery and how their pensions are affected - has been discussed by members of the Police Authority.

Members of the authority - the body that holds the force to account - asked the force to show them its current policy, so it can be discussed as part of the personnel committee's next meeting.

A transsexual is a person who believes that he or she belongs to the gender opposite to the gender they were born.

Having guidelines relating to transsexual and transvestite members of staff is now a must as part of sex discrimination regulations.

West Midlands Police diversity officer Emily Smith explained that the force's policy was unlikely to remain the same and would have to evolve.

She said: "We are trying to make sure that there is no discrimination in the ranks and that managers have an understanding of it - it is not something a lot of people know a lot about. We are looking at introducing a question in the staff data review, asking if the gender you identify with is the same as your birth gender.

"There is a lot of consultation planned before any of the changes are made.

"Transsexualism doesn't occur that often but it has done in the past and we have to be prepared to handle it in an appropriate and sensitive manner." . . .

FtM Transgender Documentary

AAP: Androgen Insensitivity Does Not Mean Immediate Surgery

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

November 02, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2 -- Many patients with the intersex syndrome of complete androgen insensitivity can safely delay gonadectomy and vaginal reconstruction at least until late adolescence, suggests a long-term study.

Action Points

• Explain to interested patients that this study found that people with the intersex syndrome of complete androgen insensitivity can safely delay decisions about orchiectomy and vaginal reconstruction.
  
  
• This study was published as an abstract and presented orally at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication.

Of 27 patients who underwent gonadectomy, 20 had the procedure in late adolescence or early adulthood, and seven had surgery in childhood, Todd Purves, M.D., of Johns Hopkins reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting here. None of the surgical specimens demonstrated evidence of malignancy.

Additionally, 11 patients have had vaginal reconstruction, 10 procedures performed after puberty. Seven of the 10 postpubertal patients who had vaginoplasty are sexually active, as are 12 of 15 who decided not to have the surgery.

"A woman who has a vaginal depth of two or four centimeters won't be able to have sexual intercourse, but that finding and that decision [about surgery] can be made at age 19," Dr. Purves said in an interview. "The decision can't be made at age two or three or four."

"One of the bottom-line findings of this study is that if a physician sees a two- or three-year-old child with this condition, it would be inaccurate, inappropriate, and wrong to tell the parents 'Your child is going to need vaginal surgery,'" he added. "That is incorrect. Not all of these patients need surgery."

Much of the debate about caring for patients with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome centers on the need for, and the timing, of gonadectomy and vaginal reconstruction or dilation, Dr. Purves noted. For patients who have surgery, the principal issue becomes timing: Should the surgery be done before or after puberty?

The testes are not necessary for development after puberty, but patients with the syndrome face a risk of malignant transformation of 2% to 5% per year after age 25. Additionally, some patients and parents are advised that surgery will be required for normal sexual functioning.

Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome occurs in two to five of every 100,000 live male births, according to the National Institutes of Health. Those with the condition have XY sex-determination chromosomes of males, but because their body does not respond to androgen, they may develop female characteristics, including sexual characteristics. . . .

The travails of the third gender

October 29, 2007

Karachi

Bindiya, a member of the Hijra (Eunich) community, won the hearts of a jam-packed audience at The Second Floor on Saturday night with her witty responses during the question-answer session after the screening of a documentary on her life entitled, ëBindiya Chamki Gií.

The 24-minute documentary was a short narrative on the lifestyle and challenges encountered by the Hijra community [also known as Khwaja Siras] in Karachi and Pakistan in general. Through the documentary, Bindiya highlighted the harassment they face at every step. ìBe it public buses or

public toilets, we are harassed by both men and women. We donít even know where to stand in public queues; the women say we should be with men, when we join the menís queue they tease us and ask us to join the women,î shared Bindiya during her interview with Ragini Kidvai, Director/Producer of the documentary.

Ragini, through her documentary, tried to draw peopleís attention towards this important segment of the population, whose rights are conveniently being ignored by the government. From the issuance of NICs to the provision of jobs, the presence of a third gender has still not been acknowledged by the state, she complained. Ragini informed that the Hijras can be classified

into three types - transsexuals, transgenders and crossgenders - and that most of the doctors are unable to determine the right gender at the time of birth.

In the documentary, Bindiya disclosed that her parents could not determine that she belonged to the third gender until she was old enough. “I had other brothers and sisters but could not relate to either of them. When I found out about Hijras I starting hanging out with them and realised this is where I belong and then abandoned my family to stay with other Hijras. However, I am still in touch with my family,” she said.

Bindiya said that the Khwaja Siras, would willingly accept jobs if offered by the government or the private sector. ìWe deserve as much respect and recognition as any other citizen of the country,î said Bindiya. . . .

Japan sex-change parents can't change records: court

October 29, 2007

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Supreme Court has denied pleas from two people with gender identity disorders to change their sex in government household records, their legal adviser said on Monday.

Masami Osako, 51, and Sayaka Morimura, 47, had wanted to have their registered sex switched to female from male after undergoing sex-change operations.

But both were denied the move under a law that says people who have children cannot change their sex on the household registry. Osako and Morimura each have a child with wives they had divorced before their sex changes.

Lawyer Toshiyuki Oshima, who advised the two separate cases, said he now planned to urge politicians to change the conditions under which transsexuals can change their records.

"Now that the Supreme Court has denied the change, we now have grounds to ask lawmakers to revise the law so that people with children can also have their registry changed," Oshima said by telephone.

Under a law in place since 2004, people diagnosed with gender identity disorder can change their sex in Japan's detailed household registry system, but under several conditions, including that they are unmarried and have no children.

More than 570 people succeeded in changing their registered sex under the law up until the end of 2006, Oshima said. Eight have been denied the change, all because they had children.

The Supreme Court ruled that allowing a registry change for someone with a child would "add confusion to family discipline and would possibly cause problems for the child's welfare." . . .