Bad taste: cross-dressing David Gest looks just ex-wife Liza Minnelli

14th December 2007

David Gest, who is already notorious for his vulgarity, certainly enjoys pushing the boundaries of bad taste.

The former I'm A Celebrity star made an appearance last night apparently dressed as his ex wife Liza Minnelli, who is currently being treated in a US hospital after collapsing on stage earlier this week. . . (see full story and photos)

Twisted Sister

TransNation
12/13/2007

By Jacob Anderson-Minshall


Twist, a queer pop-rock musical that opened December 1st in L.A., weaves Victorian erotica, dark comedy and gender-bending into Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, imaging Oliver as a young man searching for love. Driven by physical desire, but begging for more, Oliver journeys into an underworld ruled by a male dominatrix with a nasty temper—Fagin—played by Alexandra Billings.

“[This] is the first time in twenty-plus years of theater that I’ve ever played a man,” exclaims the trans actress, whose novice years included shows with luminaries like Carol Burnette, Yul Brynner and Sandy Duncan. Formerly a female impersonator, Billings made the leap to professional acting in the 1980s, when she starred in Chicago’s rendition of Charles Busch’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. . . .

Drag Queen Puppet Bingo Show - Opening Video

Drag Queen Bingo has neighbors blushing

Women's World - New look and a new start

12 December 2007

By Diane Crabtree

MOST females who shed the stones will tell you they feel like a new woman.

But none can say it with the same conviction as Kathy Mytton who has just lost 85lb.
Kathy is a new person in the true sense. Because she used to be a burly rugby player called Peter and fathered three children by two ex-wives.

But now the 55-year-old artist, who lives in Cragg Vale, is starting the New Year on a high because she's well on her way to having the body she always dreamed of.

Kathy, who was born in Worcestershire but moved to Calderdale 27 years ago, claims she knew from the age of four that she was trapped in the wrong body but only worked up the courage to do something about it five years ago.

She "came out" to her friends and, 18 months ago, changed her name by deed poll and started dressing as a woman full-time.

Now she attends a clinic in Leeds and has started hormone treatment to become a woman. She hopes to have sex reassignment surgery, paid for by the local health authority, soon. . . .

Former HRC trans business

Trans activist and author Jamison Green

by Heather Cassell

12/13/2007

Two transgender business leaders once involved with the Human Rights Campaign have taken matters into their own hands and launched their own employment education project.

The move comes in response to HRC's decision to back a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that does not include protections for gender identity. HRC, the nation's largest gay rights group, had previously committed to supporting a trans-inclusive version of ENDA.

The sexual orientation-only version of ENDA passed the House of Representatives last month.

Bay Area resident Jamison Green, 59, and Donna Rose, 48, of Arizona, tendered a joint resignation from HRC's business advisory council November 27 and launched the Transgender Employment Partnership to continue the work they began at HRC, they said.

Rose had previously resigned from HRC's board of directors, but had remained on the business council until her recent resignation. . . .

Drag Queen Bingo

Dec 12, 2007

These are the ladies who run the show, and these are the ladies who love them. It's called Drag Queen Bingo, an event so increasingly popular, it's booked for the next two months.

But, all this raucous has also become increasingly annoying to the man who lives next door. He lives less than 20 feet away. He's written letters to commissioners, called police, anything to put an end to this.

"For one person to go to so much trouble is ridiculous," thinks Lou Schultz, owner of the Canvas Cafe.

The neighbor only agreed to speak to us on the phone. He said it's not the drag queens he minds, but the sexually explicit, make-you-blush kind of words his daughter is being exposed to. . . .

Woman sues over 30-year-old sex change

Dec. 12, 2007

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A German woman whose female sex organs were removed 30 years ago as an 18-year-old is suing the surgeon who performed the procedure. . . .

Don't Tick Off Trans

Transgressive questions likely to be a transgender conversation-ender.

By Andrea James

From The Advocate December 18, 2007

Let’s say you’re at work, a social setting, or political event, and a real live transgender person says “Hi!” You don’t want to say anything wrong since you recall the tedious questions and responses you’ve endured about your sexuality, but you want to appear interested and engaged. Thankfully, there’s etiquette for talking to trans people. Here’s a look at questions to avoid. Trans people will thank you for it.

What’s the T doing in LGBT? You probably get the L and the G from extensive personal experience. You might even get the B (we’ll save that for another article). But that pesky T can be a real mystery. LGBT people (in fact, all people) have a gender identity and expression. That’s how many LGBT people are oppressed. . . .

Gay vs. Trans in America

Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Transgender. In the aftermath of ENDA, can’t we all just get along? An Advocate round table on the state of the community now.

By Tim Murphy

Excerpted from The Advocate December 18, 2007

The LGBT “community” has never seemed less communal than in the last few months. When Barney Frank decided in September to move forward with a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act that covered sexual orientation and not gender identity, it was as if an earthquake had gone off in the queer world, laying bare the differences between us. Within days, 300-plus LGBT organizations around the country had united in opposition to that version of ENDA, saying it wasn’t fair for some members of the community to gain rights when others would not, while Frank, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, and political insiders savvy to the legislative process argued that passing an imperfect measure was better than no measure at all. Caught in between was the Human Rights Campaign, which initially declined to support or oppose ENDA in an effort both to preserve its valuable Capitol Hill relationship. . . .

Boy Girl Thing (wakeup)

trans law 101

Transamerica (2005) – a Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated independent comedy-drama - is one of the first mainstream movies to look at the practical problems faced by a pre-operative transgender woman.














While we now have books and court decisions on "transgender rights," maybe we need a bit of guidance on terms and issues. Here is an introduction on Trans Law 101 by Prof Douglas Sanders.
_________________________________________________________

“Transgender” started to be used in the 1990s as an ‘umbrella’ term covering transvestites, transsexuals and others whose behaviour fell outside the Ken and Barbie standard-brand images of males and females. It does not include all gays and lesbians. And it does not include intersexuals.

[PIC]The term “transsexual” refers to individuals who identify as members of the “opposite” sex. They go further than simply choosing clothing and hairstyles that give them an androgynous appearance, or a “butch” or “fem” look. They may cross-dress much or all of the time. They may go further and seek some bodily change by hormones or surgery. And they may seek sex reassignment surgery (SRS).

Sex reassignment surgery started to become generally available in the West in the 1960s. Since that time it has become available in most parts of the world. It is prohibited in Malaysia for Muslims, but allowed in Iran. I have not seen a list of countries which ban the procedure.

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, formed in 1979, issued a set of “standards” that are relied on by most doctors internationally.

An individual seeking SRS must be assessed by psychologists or psychiatrists as having “gender identity disorder” (the phrase used by the American Psychiatric Association, DCM-IV) or as being a “transsexual” (the term used by the World Health Organization, ICD-10).

The person will then be prescribed hormones and after living in the desired sex for a period, perhaps two years, will be eligible for SRS. This pattern was illustrated in the US movie TransAmerica.

The Harry Benjamin Association has been renamed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the “standards” are to be reconsidered.

Personal documents

The first issue that went to court concerned personal documents. Transsexuals faced problems every time they had to use personal identity documents, whether opening a bank account, showing a driver’s license, interviewing for a job or international travel. Nong Toom, Thailand’s most famous transsexual (of Beautiful Boxer fame), recalled having problems at virtually all immigration check points when she traveled.

When the issue first went to the European Court of Human Rights, the judges were unfamiliar with transsexual issues and not yet really sympathetic to sexual orientation claims. They generally rejected the claims. The Court reversed itself in 2002 in Goodwin v United Kingdom. The judges held that Goodwin, a post-operative male-to-female (MTF) transsexual, was entitled to have her identity documents changed, including driver’s license, birth certificate and passport.

In Grant v United Kingdom in 2006 the Court ruled that the post-operative sex had to be respected. Grant was entitled to a government pension at the age of 60, the age of eligibility for women. She did not have to wait until she was 65, the age for men.

The right of post-operative transsexuals to have their documents changed is now recognised throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In Asia it is recognised in Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. Some individuals have been able to get corrected documents in China as well, but patterns there may not be nationally consistent. The Supreme Court in the Philippines in 2007 rejected the right of an MTF to have personal documents changed. . . .

Lambda Legal Challenges Denial of Rights of Feminine Gay Male Student to Wear Dress to Prom

There are ways to write policies that both create rules for student behavior and also respect their rights — but this isn't one of them.

(Gary, IN, December, 12, 2007) — In court papers filed today in the Northern District Court of Indiana, Lambda Legal says that West Side High School violated Kevin "K.K." Logan's First Amendment rights when it barred him from his prom for wearing a dress.

K.K. Logan attended West Side High during his junior and senior year and expressed a deeply rooted femininity in his appearance and demeanor. Both classmates and teachers at the school supported him in his daily attendance dressed in clothes typically associated with girls his age.

However, on May 19, 2006, Principal Diane Rouse stretched her arms across the door of the Senior Prom, blocking Logan's entrance. His classmates and friends rallied to his defense to no avail — even though a female student was allowed entrance dressed in a tuxedo. . . .

A Revitalized Resource

By Emily Leach, Dec 12, 2007


TRANS: THRIVE opens under A&PI Wellness Center

SAN FRANCISCO — Take a step into TRANS: THRIVE’s drop-in center on the second floor of 815 Hyde Street, and it feels immediately like a home away from home, with couches, books, a shower and friendly people around every corner.

TRANS: THRIVE — which stands for Transgender Resources and Neighborhood Space (TRANS) and Transgender Health & Resource Initiative for Vital Empowerment (THRIVE) — aims to eliminate health disparities affecting transgender communities of color by providing support groups, case management, harm reduction training, life skills education, shower facilities, as well as referrals and linkages to substance use treatment programs.

TRANS: THRIVE fills the need left when UCSF TRANS closed its doors in June 2007. After that center’s closing, a year before its grant with the government Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ended, a public outcry from the transgender community prompted the San Francisco Department of Public Health to step in and ask for the remaining funds for the year. TRANS: THRIVE is a collaborative effort between the department, Community Behavioral Health Services and the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center.

Transgender people often experience discrimination and health disparities markedly different from others in the LGBT community. “Trans people are often more visibly queer at a younger age. A gay kid may not be recognized and harassed at home or school, but a trans kid will,” said Luke Woodward, a program coordinator with TRANS: THRIVE. “So it starts often in youth that trans people are harassed and kicked out of their family, and the way that people survive is through sex work.”

Often, male-to-female transgender people, or “M2Fs,” face the harshest experiences. Woodward has met many trans women, M2Fs, who began sex work at the age of 14 or 15. A lot of trans women do sex work for survival, and often along with sex work is violence, trauma and drugs. Homelessness, viruses and/or incarceration often follow drug usage. . . .

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." . . .

No 'dress' Barred!

12 Dec 2007,MANJARI SABHARWAL,TNN

Ritesh Deshmukh (TOI Photo) More pics

Pakistan's famous TV host Begum Nawazish Ali may still be making heads turn because of cross dressing but back home, our actors have made no lesser impact.

And never mind even if it was only for a small act in a movie, these actors have held their own... and quite well too. Then be it Kamal Hassan in Chachi 420, Govinda in Aunty No.1, Aamir Khan in Baazi, or most recently Ritiesh Deshmukh in Apna Sapna Money Money. So while cross-dressing remained a necessity for actors during the initial days of cinema, it’s quite a hit concept today.

And with the trend of cross-dressing fast being picked up by filmmakers to add a comic element in the film or to just further their storyline, KT takes a look how Bollywood, make-up and fashion industry have crossed all age and sex bars to be where it is today.

Drawing a comparison between intricacies involved in cross over dressing of yesteryears and today, ace actor Raza Murad who acted in Aunty No.1 and Baazi , says, “Bollywood has come a long way. Earlier, most of the cross over dressing roles were that of eunuchs which are easier to perform as compared to dressing and performing like the opposite sex. Secondly, now with a lot of technical advancement actors or actresses work over their voice modulation and dub their original voice according to that of the opposite sex contrary to past. In fact, in Rishikesh Mukherjee’s Biwi Aur Makan Biswajeet acted like a girl but the voice was dubbed by some lady. So these minute details can be taken care of today. Besides, earlier directors and actors seemed to go overborad while performing such roles. But today the the actors are more composed and seem to be doing a better job of the role they have taken on as a person of opposite sex.” . . .

A Transgender TV Debut

Host of Southern India's 'Yours, Rose' Seeks to Challenge Stereotypes, Social Taboos

By Rama Lakshmi

Washington Post Foreign Service
December 9, 2007

CHENNAI, India -- In a congested neighborhood full of trash heaps, cows and auto-rickshaws lives a budding star named Rose.

Her photographs are splashed across newspaper pages and magazine centerfolds. She speaks at upscale women's clubs and poses for fashion shoots in her diva-like designer chiffon sari. She gets free makeovers at the mall from admiring cosmetics saleswomen. . . .

Q&A: Righting Past Wrongs - Defending the Right to Sexual Diversity in Cuba

Interview with Mariela Castro

HAVANA, Dec 13 (IPS) - Cuban sexologist Mariela Castro shocked the world, and a good number of people in Cuba, this year when she announced a proposed legal reform in this socialist Caribbean island nation which would include the full recognition of the rights of gays, lesbians, transsexuals, transvestites and transgender persons.

The director of the National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), Castro has followed a strategy of awareness-raising on sexual diversity in Cuba since 2004, and is one of the few people in Latin America and the Caribbean to carry out a campaign of such magnitude on this issue from a government institution.

The CENESEX proposals include non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, recognition of de facto unions between same-sex couples, the right of same-sex couples to adopt children, and the responsibilities of families and society towards transsexuals, transvestites and transgender persons.

In an interview with IPS correspondent Dalia Acosta, the niece of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and daughter of acting President Raúl Castro said that although amending current laws would not imply an automatic change in social attitudes, it would lay the foundations for such a change and prompt the country’s institutions to move towards guaranteeing the rights of sexual minorities.

IPS: What stage is your proposal at?

MARIELA CASTRO: We have three draft proposals. The first is a Ministry of Public Health resolution to implement integral health care for transsexual persons, including the creation of a clinic to provide care, from diagnosis and hormonal treatment to sex-change operations and post-operative follow-up. . . .

Varla Jean Merman, "The Bearded Lady"

Sometimes You Can't Go Home Again

DECEMBER 12, 2007

Homelessness among homosexual and transgendered teens is a problem under the radar for most

BY HOLLY WALL

Sometimes going home isn't an option.

"You're going to burn in hell."

More likely than not, someone who is openly gay and living in Tulsa has heard these words, if not spoken directly to him or her, then at least as a generalization used by a condemning observer to describe his or her peers.

In the very worst cases, a young person has heard these words spoken directly to him from the mouth of a parent.

Michael heard these words twice in his life between the ages of 12 and 18, once spoken by his mother and once by his father. At 12 years old, he knew he was very different from his peers, but he couldn't find the words to describe the difference he was feeling. While the other boys his age were attracted to girls, he found himself attracted to other boys.

In an effort to put a name to what he was feeling, Michael went online and searched "homosexuality." When his mother caught him unexpectedly, they were both equally shocked, and it was then that his mother blurted out those painful words.

Although society has made great strides in the last 20 to 30 years in being more open and understanding to those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning, there is still a stigma associated with LGBT issues that makes it difficult for those people to be open and honest about their sexual orientation. For youth and teens coming to grips with their sexuality, especially those raised in devoutly religious homes, the trauma of coming out can be magnified by their parents' rejection of them based on their sexuality. Oftentimes youth coming out in hostile environments will be disowned by their parents, kicked out of their houses, abused or neglected.

Though Michael was one of the "lucky" ones--his parents didn't kick him out of their home and they were never physically abusive, but, thinking their son could very possibly be gay, they never treated him with the same love and understanding that they did before his sexuality became an issue--many children in Tulsa are forced onto the streets after coming out to their parents. . . .