German judge faces a 'tough call' he-or-she sex-change decision

12 December 2007

DPA


Cologne, Germany - A German judge, who must decide on a damages claim by a German person who was surgically converted to a man, said Wednesday it would be a tough call to decide. The court was told the claimant, who looks male, was intersexual or "hermaphrodite," a person born with a mixture of male and female physical features who is neither strictly a he nor a she.

Asked to choose whether to be called him or her in court, the claimant said she felt "mainly female." The judge said the evidence was that her chromosomes were definitely female.

The claimant, 48, who was raised by mistake as a boy, is suing the doctor who cut out her ovaries and womb when she was 18. The retired doctor did not appear in court in Cologne, but was represented by a lawyer.

Presiding judge Dietmar Reiprich said it would be "particularly difficult" to accept her claim because many of the records from 30 years ago had vanished. A verdict would be handed down on February 6. Both sides rejected an agreed settlement.

The rare medical condition is distinguished from trans-sexualism, where a person's physical sex is clear but they behave as the opposite sex and sometimes request cosmetic and other sex-change surgery. . . .

some notes on Living

The One, The Only, Chloe Elise!

December 13, 2007

Chloe Elise


So, as the readers here have guessed, I am the young transexual woman on YouTube posting informative and witty VLOGS (Video Logs) to educate the masses. Why am I doing such a thing? Why am I exploiting myself so? The answers are simple in their own complexity.

I have been publicly "out" as a MtF (Male to Female) TS (Transexual) for about a year now, and it pains me to no end to glance in all directions to see people staring at me. Are they trying to size me up? Are they trying to figure out if I am man or woman? Didn't their mothers tell them it's rude to stare at people? Most mothers do teach such valuable lessons. It's all a part of displaying good manners, and civil respect to other people. The problem lies deeper however.

We (transfolk) bring out a certain kind of fear in people. The words "male", "female", "man", "woman", "he", and "she", are so embedded into Western culture that they have become concrete establishments. Suddenly, when society sees a transgender individual, who is not afraid to be the person they are, that very solid bedrock part of their own identity is challenged. They begin to think, "Hey... what if I am trans as well?". This is not only a shocking revelation, but a very difficult thing to admit. Even those who are cisgender (not transgender) began to think twice about just how firm of a foundation gender really is. Well, I'm one to tell you the line between male and female is less than paper thin.

The problem goes even deeper than that.

Those who openly identify as transgender are subjected to scorn, disbelief, ridicule, harassment, discrimination, and even homicide. Transgender people are misunderstood more than anyone else on the planet. Misunderstanding breeds insecurity. Insecurity breeds fear. Fear breeds hate. Hate breeds anger. Anger is a path to the Dark Side of the Force. Seriously, though... that's the cycle that people go through when they don't understand what is different. As Professor Milton Diamond once pointed out: Biology loves diversity; society HATES it. The world we live in (contrary to popular belief) is not black/white, male/female, straight/gay. We live in a world where there are a multitude of ethnic backgrounds, a spectrum between male and female (which includes cisgender people as well), and a world where there are many different facets to our own sexual orientation.

It used to be impossible for black people to make people understand that they are people, just like everyone else. Now we have Black History Month, BET, and quite a few cultural icons such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Some of us still misunderstand why black people feel as if they were mistreated as human beings, so, we still have racism. It's not quite as bad as it used to be because strong, courageous leaders in the black community took a stand. They took a stand for a dream they collectively had: To be respected, and treated like the human beings that they are. Equal on all levels.

Women were subjected to the same treatment. They were treated as the "weaker sex". They weren't allowed to work in the same fields men were accustomed to. The scale tilted heavily on the male side. Women's Lib fixed the majority of the problems, but it didn't fix everything. Male chauvinists still exist much to our dismay. Yet, feminism took hold, and (please don't hate me for this!) gradually turned into, in my honest opinion, female chauvinism. Women do however have a lot more respect, but they are still harassed and discriminated against by these horrible male pigs. No offense to men or women (these are merely my opinions and I don't discriminate anyone based on sex or gender!). What was womens' primary objective goal through Women's Lib? To be respected, and treated like the human beings that they are. Equal on all levels.

Then, of course, we have gay marriage. Why is this even an ISSUE?!?! Do you? I do. Do you? I do. I now consider you man and man/woman and woman. You may kiss your life partner. Why is this so hard? Two people, who obviously love one another, want to tie the knot and seal their lives together in unity... and people are against it. Here's what I have to say about it:

You STRAIGHT people make me sick! BREEDERS DISGUST ME! You don't deserve to get married! Why should you have the same rights as homosexuals? Go make babies somewhere else, you HETEROS! I want no part in your sinful lives, so take your desire to get hitched and go somewhere I don't have to be around you, you SICKOS! . . .

Transgender student fights for rights; Born a girl, NECC student wants to use men's locker room

Ethan Santiago, a transgender student at Northern Essex Community College, is fighting school officials' refusal to assign him a locker in the men's locker room.

Santiago, 20, was born Elizabeth Santiago, but said he lives and identifies as a man.

But his college ID | the one he had to show when he made the locker request | says differently. It lists his legal name and gender: Elizabeth. Female.
December 12, 2007

Staff


Nita Lamborghini, an assistant dean, consulted the school's lawyer before making a decision.

The lawyer recommended that the school deny Santiago's request.

"Our legal counsel indicated that an individual's anatomy determines which space they should use," said Lamborghini.

Santiago is still anatomically female. He has not had surgery to change his gender, but is in psychotherapy and taking hormone therapy while considering that option.

Lamborghini said the school's decision was also based on fear that he would not be safe in the men's locker room. Santiago said Lamborghini told him she would feel responsible should he be harmed. . . .

Parents

December 8, 2007

Miss Use


I just emailed a letter coming out to my parents.

I wonder if this feels similar to what it would be like to hit the button that starts WWIII. Nothing to do but to sit back and wait for the return fire. . . .

Gender identity, gender change: Stratham school child case brings issue to forefront

by Charles McMahon

December 12, 2007

STRATHAM — Whether a girl is called a tomboy, or a boy has been told he throws a football like a girl, everyone in some way or another is affected by the issue of gender identity.

Most recently, after a letter was sent out to the parents of a Stratham Memorial Elementary School classroom regarding a student's choice to be recognized as transgendered, the frequency of the situation has surfaced as being more common than generally thought.

Unlike transsexuals, people who identify themselves as transgendered can be physiologically male or female, but feel as though they're trapped in a body of the wrong sex.

Tawnee Walling, executive director of Seacoast Outright, who has been in contact with the family of the 9-year-old student, confirmed on Tuesday that the school department sent a letter to the parents of students in one particular classroom, and that the letter addressed the student's decision to change his name in order to be recognized as a female.

According to Walling, children are able to differentiate their gender identity by the age of 3, and she herself has worked on 20 different cases this year alone involving transgendered youth in the Seacoast area.

"This isn't something to take lightly," said Walling. "It's a serious decision that has to be made related to the health and well being of the youth."

She also said that the student's parents, who do not wish to come forward at this time, have been very supportive of their daughter's choice and have done a considerable amount of research.

They also say they understand the risks entailed in the process, which is not a sex change, but a reassignment of the gender the person presents to the world.

"It's more about survival and not about gender identity," said Walling.

Craig Russell, My First Inspiration

How I Made a Gender Transition on the Job

How I Made a Gender Transition on the Job

By Ina Fried

Winter 2007

Deciding to transition at work was one of the toughest decisions of my life.

I had known I was transgender for more than a decade, but I was unsure whether I would be able to bring together my work life with who I knew myself to be. After three years of working as Ian, a male, at CNET News.com, would my co-workers and sources be able to accept me as Ina, a female? And how would readers and viewers react? Although the bulk of my job is writing print stories for our Web site, a part of it is appearing in broadcast media to talk about technology issues as well as conducting video interviews of top executives.

But while there were lots of reasons to be worried, there were also things urging me to push forward. I was tired of wearing floppy sweatshirts at the grocery store out of fear that I would run into a colleague or source. I also felt that I was in a unique position, having had access to education and financial security that so few in my community possess. Who was I to stay hidden?

For a while, I tried to wait until I was sure that things would work out. But, in the end, that just wasn’t possible. I thought things would be manageable, but there really weren’t any guarantees. I didn’t think I would get fired, but I wasn’t sure if it would hamper my ability to do my job. I worried that my gender would become the story, rather than the story being the ones on which I was trying to report. Eventually, though, I decided it was more important to be who I knew myself to be.

I thought my managers would be understanding, but not necessarily knowledgeable, on what to do. So by the time I approached them I had come up with a plan. First I would send an e-mail to my colleagues in the newsroom. Then, after they (and I) had a week or two to adjust, I would reach out to my contacts and sources, hundreds of them.

I had planned to wait a little longer than I did, maybe work on making my voice a little less deep, or be more sure of how I would present myself at work. When a new opportunity as Microsoft beat reporter came open, I was forced to speed things up. I didn’t feel right accepting a new assignment without telling my co-workers what I was planning. I accepted the new beat, and they accepted my new gender. . . .

My life in fashion: Grayson Perry

December 12, 2007

Nicola Copping


The transvestite ceramic artist Grayson Perry says he loves to dress in frills, lace, leather and rubber – but he also likes a nice headscarf. . .


The artist Grayson Perry, 47, won the Turner Prize in 2003 for his ceramic work. He received his prize dressed as his alter-ego, Claire, wearing a pink dress embroidered with bunny rabbits. In 2005, he received a Royal Television Society award for his Channel 4 documentary Men Wear Frocks, in which he examined transvestism and masculinity. Perry is married and has a teenage daughter.

I get my ideas from sexual fantasies. These are mainly about the clothes that would be most embarrassing for me to wear. I imagined myself winning the Turner prize dressed as a little girl and, hey presto.

I have been dressing up for 34 years. It started when I was 13. It was a secret then; it’s not something you brag about in the playground or to your parents. I started dressing like my mother – well, I used her clothes, I couldn’t do much else. When I was a student I dressed like an off-duty nurse in hippy dresses. When I had more money I was high street, so Marks & Spencer and quite conservative. I wore prosthetic bosoms; I was a 36B, I think. When I was in my twenties I would go to Oxford Street dressed as a woman and no one would notice. I worked out that that was a bit boring. So I got into the fetish scene and wore a lot of corsets and rubber. . . .

Transgender Veterans Survey

1. Introduction

This survey is for Transgender Veterans, Intersex Veterans and Transgender-Identified Active Duty Service Members only, so if you did not serve in the American military or currently serving, then we request that you do not take this survey. The purpose is to get an idea of various problems facing transgender veterans, intersex veterans and military people, whether it is with the VA, finding and keeping work, and life in general. Since our veterans and military people are unique within the transgender/intersex community, they face problems that are also unique to them, as well as the problems all transgender people face. We would like to see if the transgender/intersex veteran and military population have more or less problems that the general transgender and intersex population faces. Based on the answers of this survey, many of us involved in helping veterans will be able to form a positive direction to help resolved some of these problems. . . .

Gay and the Masculine Mystique

Dave Muskera, M.A.

December 10, 2007

E.M. Forster’s novel “Maurice” (written in 1913 but not published until 1971) tells the story of a young lad of good family and upbringing who discovers himself to be homosexual. Raised in the behaviorally rigid social structure of Edwardian England, he later works - as expected - in his families London brokerage firm. But he is greatly distressed by seeing himself as an “unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort”. Early in the story, he seeks treatment for his sexual “malady” - first from the family doctor who tells him his feelings are “rubbish” and then from a hypnotherapist who advises him to exercise and “stroll about with a gun”.

Maurice came to the big screen in 1987. It’s a lush and well done Merchant-Ivory production with Hugh Grant and Ben Kingsley who plays the part of the hypnotherapist. You can find many reviews of the book and the movie on the Internet.

I begin this article with these bits of book and movie trivia because Forster’s line, delivered by Kingsley in the movie, advising his homosexual client to go strolling about with a gun as an antidote for his “gayness” unfortunately still reflects much of today’s thinking about what constitutes homosexuality. Here we are nearly one hundred years later and confusion about the differences between the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender role performance still abounds. In this same 100 years of scientific advance, we have gone from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and from wind-up toys to Play Stations, but our cultural views on homosexuality have, in some quarters, not progressed much beyond the late 1800s.

In the advice given Maurice, it’s implied that going strolling with gun (a presumed masculine activity) will somehow re-ignite his manliness and rid him of his dastardly homosexual urges. In essence, the view expressed is that male homosexuality is the opposite of manliness. That all gay men are soft or effeminate - utterly devoid of typical masculine characteristics. This view also extends to cultural expectations that gay men are mostly found in certain feminine identified occupations: hair dressers, nurses, home decorators and others of a similar nature. Yes I know, it’s silly and out of date but you might just be surprised at how many folks still think this way. . . .

Intersex American's illegal marriage to NZer

By GayNZ.com News Staff - 11th December 2007

A New Zealand woman who married an intersex American has had her marriage licence quashed and been refused permission to stay in the United States.

The woman, who has not been named, married Stephan Thomas Calewarts – also known as Stephanie Tia Calewarts – in September 2006.

According to court records, Calewarts was born with "ambiguous genitalia" – tissue for both a penis and a vagina – but his birth certificate identified him as male.

Stephanie Calewarts – whose name was legally changed in 2000 – asked a Brown County, Wisconsin circuit judge in October 2006 to change his birth certificate back to a male gender.

When the judge refused, the county revoked the couple's marriage licence because his birth certificate listed him as female and same-sex marriages are illegal in Wisconsin. . . .

Julia Serano interview with Velvetpark

To those who think I am a cross dresser

December 9, 2007

Nick K.D Chaleunphone


To those who think I am a cross dresser or anything else their warped mentally deranged min can think of. I AM NOT OR WILL EVER BE A CROSS DRESSER AND I AM FLATLY SAYING THAT I AM NOT OR WILL EVER BE A CROSS DRESSER. I am intersex and I have Kallmann's syndrome. For the record, Intersex people can not cross dress because Intersex is considered it's own gender. For the record, I will never ever be a cross dresser and I do not call myself a cross dresser because that is not me and I have no desire whatsoever to think about it.

To those who still think that intersex and transgender are the same. They are not looking at the genetic and DNA level. They see it as if they have something in common which is very remote and not even close. The difference is more clear, intersex is more medical and genetic based. Transgender is more personal and feeling based. Both are very different and you have people out their who find anything that says that intersex and transgender are the same despite the medical science that is out their that says otherwise. Those people are very delusional, very narrow minded and nitpick the ones they feel they can win arguments on. If these people can only pick up a med school text book on genetics and endocrinology and read it page by page. Then you will learn what it all means. . . .

Intersex groups and the intolerance towards the difference of views.

December 7, 2007

Nick K.D Chaleunphone


The one thing that gets me with intersex groups is that if you are against transgender, you are shunned, outcasted and judgmental. The problem I am finding with intersex groups is that you have to tolerant towards the transgender, which to me I am not the most tolerant person because of my views on the transgender community. The way I see it, if your not tolerant towards the transgender, most people in the intersex groups would shun you or outcast you because of your intolerance towards their transgender friends. See, I see it as those in the intersex groups as being intolerant of those views are different from those who have a common view.

For me, I am not tolerant towards the transgender and my reasons are obvious, I feel as an intersex person, I feel threatened by their presence. I am one of the old school intersex who feels that transgender should not be in any intersex only space because they do not have medical grounds to be in intersex space. I also I am not of a fan of intersex who do transition because to me that is saying that your more of a transgender than an intersex. I don't like having transgender in intersex groups because their would be confusion about the true intersex in the group. I am more of a traditional form of intersex where to be called intersex, you had to have a genetic DNA medical condition. The idea of someone being transgender in intersex space without having a valid genetic DNA medical condition dose not sit well with me. I am more of a science person and I go by what the current science on the intersex condition that is out their right now. I am not the one that goes by what an individual or what society feels. . . .

South Africa: Graduates working in brothels

December 8, 2007

By Helen Bamford


Some of Cape Town prostitutes working in brothels are former physiotherapists, nurses and teachers who lost their jobs or needed to earn more money to support dependents.

Nineteen percent of them have a degree or diploma and on average earn R500 a day, compared to street-based sex workers who earn R334 a day.

The Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) surveyed 200 adult prostitutes in the Cape metropole to try to get a clearer picture of people who worked in the sex industry.

Researcher Nicole Fick said 104 of the sex workers surveyed worked in brothels or massage parlours while 96 worked on the street.

A total of 93 percent were women, 6 percent men and 1 percent were transgendered, while the ages varied from 18 to 54 years, but the average was 27.

The study looked at reasons for entering the industry and found that for street-based prostitutes 63 percent couldn't find another job while 11 percent said it allowed them to earn more than in other jobs. . . .

MALE CALL

The men's room: Brace yourself

Ross Werland

December 9, 2007

The move at universities to create "gender-neutral bathrooms" has provoked a morality backlash that makes little sense. The fear is that "gender neutral" means "transgendered" or "martian" or something. Ooooooooo. Scary.

We're talking about single-stall, lockable bathrooms. Your plumbing doesn't change -- poof, I'm a lady! -- when you walk in.

I, on the other hand, have a bathroom complaint that means something. I think "men" on the bathroom door means "transspecies," because something going into those public bathrooms ain't human. They don't just visit; they spew. . . .

The unique drag queen

pallavijassi

December 10, 2007


Chat show host Begum Nawazish Ali is a rage in Pakistan. Now watch her get up, close and personal on Indian TV.

Begum Ali presents a picture of demure, feminine beauty with perfectly coiffed hair and impeccable make-up. Dressed in a glittering red and orange sari, it’s tough to tell that Ali is a transsexual, until she speaks, in a husky, manly drawl. She’s in Delhi to promote her chat show, Begum, on channel 9X that airs on 15th December. “I interview people from different professions doing interesting things, with an element of fun,” smiles Ali. Her first interview was with Bollywood hunk, John Abraham. “He is such a cutie,” says Ali. . . .

Pakistan's Nawazish Ali to India: Don't love a dictator

Manish Chand - 12/9/2007


New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) "Don't talk about borders. Instead, look at borders in women's saris. And it's time India stopped rolling out the red carpet for a dictator." This is the view of the inimitable Pakistani cross-dressing diva Begum Nawazish Ali who is determined to add some spark to the ongoing conversation between India and Pakistan.

Ali, the famous chat show queen of Pakistan, is set to captivate Indians in a new irreverent chat show with 'her' glamour, wit and iconoclasm, and in the process rake up a controversy or two.

The unique show, to be called Begum, will air on Channel 9X on Dec 15 and will be the first to be hosted by a Pakistani television impresario in India.

"When a dictator gets a hero's welcome in India, then it hurts. You boast of being the world's largest democracy," Ali, clad in a dazzling orange sari, told IANS in a chat here.

"The government of India needs to be more sympathetic to democracy," said Ali - born Ali Saleem - literally asking India to meddle in what New Delhi considers the internal affairs of the neighbouring country.

"The Indian official reaction to the imposition of emergency was too mild. It amounted to tacitly supporting emergency," says Ali, whose "Late Night Show With Begum Nawazish Ali" became a huge hit and made her an icon in Pakistan. . . .

Xerjoff adds three new fragrances to line

by Danielle Osborne, 08 December 2007.

Luxury Italian house Xerjoff have announced three new releases for the end of the year: XXY, 17/17 Ensamble and 17/17 Irisss. They are a follow up to the Xerjoff 17/17 fragrances that were released earlier this year.

XXY (pictured) features bergamot, grapefruit, peach, ylang-ylang, jasmine de Grasse, orris, black pepper, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, labdanum, vanilla beans and musk.

XXY is inspired by the story of Hermaphrodite, a greek myth about the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. The young man was beautiful and on his travels a nymph named Salmacis fell hopelessly in love with him. When he rejected her she threw herself on him in an embrace and begged the gods to ensure that they never parted. The two bodies fused and became one being. Italian sculptor Marco Gas has drawn on this inspiration to create a statue of two bodies merged as one, in the base of which is the XXY fragrance. . . .

POV, Critique, Opinion: Sex change with public money

Another smart initiative of the “progressive” political parties in Mexico

December 9, 2007

The Social Democratic Coalition -- the group of political parties which last April approved unrestricted abortion in Mexico’s Federal District (which includes Mexico City), and in November 2006 approved the “Gay Marriage” initiative -- is now proposing to reform the district’s civil code and health law in order to provide sex-change services.

The initiative has two main goals. One, to expedite the name-change procedure in official documents; and, two, to include the sex-change surgical operations in health services of public institutions. In other words, the initiative seeks to finance sex-change operations with public money. . . .