Thursday, January 10, 2008
Fathers & Sons, Men & Women. From I'm Looking Through You
"Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of SHE'S NOT THERE, reads from her new book about growing up in a haunted house. In this video, she encounters her father, with whom she has a conversation about men and women, father and sons, and spirits."
28th First Event to take place Jan. 16-20
by Ethan Jacobs
Jan 10, 2008
Long Island activist Juli Owens, keynote speaker for the 28th annual First Event conference, said she plans to talk about the choices that transgender people are forced to make to balance their transgender identity and the need to survive in an often hostile world. Owens speaks from experience; she is openly transgender, but in some parts of her life she presents herself as male, her biological gender, and in other parts she presents herself as female. First Event, organized by the Tiffany Club, is one of the largest transgender conferences in the country, and it runs from Jan. 16-20 at the Boston Marriott Peabody.
"From a definition standpoint I’m called bi-gendered, which means I have two separate lives running at the same time," said Owens, who has been a First Event regular since 2003. "There’s a work and family life I carry on in male mode if you will, and there’s the work I carry out as an activist and an advocate that I carry out in my Juli life. ... One of my choices was I’ll continue to live this double life until I don’t have to anymore."
Owens, who has worked as a manufacturing manager for 30 years, said that presenting herself as male at work has allowed her to maintain a rewarding career and to put her daughter through college. But when she is off the clock she has a second life as a transgender activist, working as co-chair of Gay and Lesbian Democrats of Suffolk County and working with a number of transgender support and advocacy groups in the Long Island area.
As part of her activist life Owens has worked to increase awareness about transgender issues within Long Island’s gay and lesbian community. She said she began that work by going to LGBT meetings and events, and before long she found herself the go-to trans person within the local activist community. By being active in politics she said she has raised the profile of transgender people in Suffolk County, a relatively conservative part of the state. Earlier this week she attended a swearing-in ceremony for an out lesbian judge for whom Gay and Lesbian Democrats of Suffolk County had actively campaigned. . . .
Jan 10, 2008
Long Island activist Juli Owens, keynote speaker for the 28th annual First Event conference, said she plans to talk about the choices that transgender people are forced to make to balance their transgender identity and the need to survive in an often hostile world. Owens speaks from experience; she is openly transgender, but in some parts of her life she presents herself as male, her biological gender, and in other parts she presents herself as female. First Event, organized by the Tiffany Club, is one of the largest transgender conferences in the country, and it runs from Jan. 16-20 at the Boston Marriott Peabody.
"From a definition standpoint I’m called bi-gendered, which means I have two separate lives running at the same time," said Owens, who has been a First Event regular since 2003. "There’s a work and family life I carry on in male mode if you will, and there’s the work I carry out as an activist and an advocate that I carry out in my Juli life. ... One of my choices was I’ll continue to live this double life until I don’t have to anymore."
Owens, who has worked as a manufacturing manager for 30 years, said that presenting herself as male at work has allowed her to maintain a rewarding career and to put her daughter through college. But when she is off the clock she has a second life as a transgender activist, working as co-chair of Gay and Lesbian Democrats of Suffolk County and working with a number of transgender support and advocacy groups in the Long Island area.
As part of her activist life Owens has worked to increase awareness about transgender issues within Long Island’s gay and lesbian community. She said she began that work by going to LGBT meetings and events, and before long she found herself the go-to trans person within the local activist community. By being active in politics she said she has raised the profile of transgender people in Suffolk County, a relatively conservative part of the state. Earlier this week she attended a swearing-in ceremony for an out lesbian judge for whom Gay and Lesbian Democrats of Suffolk County had actively campaigned. . . .
Transgender Teens/Sex Change
Jan 10, 2008
Qualinesta
I was watching Transgender Teens on Discovery Health, and the subject of the show was a male to female transgender who was beginning the sex change process.
She was very upset that because she had a small frame, she couldn't have the size breasts she wanted. She mentioned not feeling "complete" without the size breasts she had in mind.
At this point, to me, it seemed to become more than an issue of not being the correct sex.
I'm having a hard time understanding exactly why that bothered me, but it did. . . .
Qualinesta
I was watching Transgender Teens on Discovery Health, and the subject of the show was a male to female transgender who was beginning the sex change process.
She was very upset that because she had a small frame, she couldn't have the size breasts she wanted. She mentioned not feeling "complete" without the size breasts she had in mind.
At this point, to me, it seemed to become more than an issue of not being the correct sex.
I'm having a hard time understanding exactly why that bothered me, but it did. . . .
She’s still here
by Ethan Jacobs
Jan 10, 2008
Jennifer Finney Boylan’s new memoir, I’m Looking Through You, is a bit of a departure from her 2003 memoir She’s Not There. While the latter book catapulted her to the top of the best sellers list and onto the Oprah show with her comic, intimate account of her transition from male to female, the new book takes a turn for the supernatural, recounting her experience growing up in a suburban house in Philadelphia that, according to local legend, was haunted. As part of her research for the book Boylan brought a team of paranormal investigators with her to go ghost hunting in her childhood home and had them moderate a conversation between herself and the ghost of her father. But Boylan, a skeptic about things that go bump in the night, spends much more time in the book writing about ghosts in a psychological sense, as pieces of her past that continue to haunt her. She said that while the new memoir is not as focused on transgender identity as She’s Not There, the idea of being haunted is one that has special resonance for the transgender community.
"I’ll say that I’m less interested in the Scooby Doo variety of ghosts than I am in the other kind, the psychological kind. ... If you’re a trans person you really do feel like sometimes it’s very hard to make sense of your life and really feel like there was a before and an after. Many trans people I know are kind of haunted by the ghosts of their younger selves, or, if you’re a young person, by the ghost of the person you might become but can’t quite figure out how to undergo that transformation," said Boylan. "So how do we find peace with the ghosts of our younger selves or the ghosts of our future selves? It’s a memoir not only of growing up in a haunted house but a memoir of someone who lived in a haunted body. Issues of gender are right there at the heart of the book as well."
Boylan will read from I’m Looking Through You, which will be in stores Jan. 15, at a special Jan. 19 luncheon during the Tiffany Club’s annual First Event conference, one of the largest and oldest transgender events in the country, which runs Jan. 16-20 at the Boston Marriott Peabody. Boylan will also present a workshop at the conference that afternoon on how to tell one’s personal story through memoir writing.
For readers of She’s Not There, the new book fills in some holes in Boylan’s history, focusing on her relationships with two people who were largely absent from the first memoir. One of those people is her father, who died long before she transitioned.
"If you’re a transgender woman the figure of your father does kind of loom above you," said Boylan. "And my father never got to see me as an adult and so never really knew me, and certainly never knew me as a woman. And so there’s a sense of sorrow and of guilt, like, ’Oh my God, did I disappoint him? Did I let him down?’"
While Boylan went into the research for I’m Looking Through You feeling more than a bit dubious about the paranormal, she said one of the most surprising moments was when she had what she believes may have been a conversation with her father’s ghost, courtesy of the paranormal investigators she invited to scope out her childhood home. . . .
Jan 10, 2008
Jennifer Finney Boylan’s new memoir, I’m Looking Through You, is a bit of a departure from her 2003 memoir She’s Not There. While the latter book catapulted her to the top of the best sellers list and onto the Oprah show with her comic, intimate account of her transition from male to female, the new book takes a turn for the supernatural, recounting her experience growing up in a suburban house in Philadelphia that, according to local legend, was haunted. As part of her research for the book Boylan brought a team of paranormal investigators with her to go ghost hunting in her childhood home and had them moderate a conversation between herself and the ghost of her father. But Boylan, a skeptic about things that go bump in the night, spends much more time in the book writing about ghosts in a psychological sense, as pieces of her past that continue to haunt her. She said that while the new memoir is not as focused on transgender identity as She’s Not There, the idea of being haunted is one that has special resonance for the transgender community.
"I’ll say that I’m less interested in the Scooby Doo variety of ghosts than I am in the other kind, the psychological kind. ... If you’re a trans person you really do feel like sometimes it’s very hard to make sense of your life and really feel like there was a before and an after. Many trans people I know are kind of haunted by the ghosts of their younger selves, or, if you’re a young person, by the ghost of the person you might become but can’t quite figure out how to undergo that transformation," said Boylan. "So how do we find peace with the ghosts of our younger selves or the ghosts of our future selves? It’s a memoir not only of growing up in a haunted house but a memoir of someone who lived in a haunted body. Issues of gender are right there at the heart of the book as well."
Boylan will read from I’m Looking Through You, which will be in stores Jan. 15, at a special Jan. 19 luncheon during the Tiffany Club’s annual First Event conference, one of the largest and oldest transgender events in the country, which runs Jan. 16-20 at the Boston Marriott Peabody. Boylan will also present a workshop at the conference that afternoon on how to tell one’s personal story through memoir writing.
For readers of She’s Not There, the new book fills in some holes in Boylan’s history, focusing on her relationships with two people who were largely absent from the first memoir. One of those people is her father, who died long before she transitioned.
"If you’re a transgender woman the figure of your father does kind of loom above you," said Boylan. "And my father never got to see me as an adult and so never really knew me, and certainly never knew me as a woman. And so there’s a sense of sorrow and of guilt, like, ’Oh my God, did I disappoint him? Did I let him down?’"
While Boylan went into the research for I’m Looking Through You feeling more than a bit dubious about the paranormal, she said one of the most surprising moments was when she had what she believes may have been a conversation with her father’s ghost, courtesy of the paranormal investigators she invited to scope out her childhood home. . . .
THE PEOPLE SPEAK: Bill would approve of aberrant lifestyles
January 8, 2008
Catherine White
There have been stories and editorials supporting or condemning Miss Oklahoma’s appearance at the Okay High School assembly in October. Part of her engagement included a skit in which male students cross-dressed.
Catherine White
Muskogee
There have been stories and editorials supporting or condemning Miss Oklahoma’s appearance at the Okay High School assembly in October. Part of her engagement included a skit in which male students cross-dressed.
According to the Phoenix Oct. 15 story, students “loved the skit.” The paper was right that “our society always has found cross-dressing amusing, despite its disapproval from the general public.” One reason underlying public disapproval is that such action reflects an attempt to make gender differences disappear.
God did not think such disappearance was appropriate as his word tells us he made “them male and female.” There is an admonition not to wear attire which is opposite to one’s gender. . .
BAM: OUR 1ST WOMAN PREZ?
By LUCY BERRINGTON & JEFF ONORE
January 7, 2008 -- Barack Obama's win in Iowa was the latest upset in the long, discredited history of gender assumptions. A large and apparently decisive bloc of voters widely thought to be Hillary Clinton's - young to middle-aged women - preferred Obama.
January 7, 2008 -- Barack Obama's win in Iowa was the latest upset in the long, discredited history of gender assumptions. A large and apparently decisive bloc of voters widely thought to be Hillary Clinton's - young to middle-aged women - preferred Obama.
This may prove critical. Women are more likely than men to turn out to vote - and more likely to vote for a Democrat. In Iowa, that Democrat was more likely to be Obama, giving him a victory and momentum going into other states. In a Lifetime/Zogby poll last month, a quarter of New Hampshire female voters said they'd base their choice on the Iowa results.
Yet it's not only Obama's policies and strategies that appeal to women. He is like a woman: slim, good looking, with long elegant fingers, appealingly dressed - all terms more typically ascribed to female candidates. . . .
WOMAN ALLEGES DISCRIMINATION AFTER COLLEGE JOB REJECTION
8 January 2008
Sex-swap woman Sandra Leslie is taking a further education college to an employment tribunal claiming she was passed over for a job because she is a transsexual.
Ms Leslie, 59, claims City College Plymouth is guilty of sexual discrimination in turning down her application for a post.
She is due to tell a tribunal in the city on Thursday that she was qualified for the job of student union assistant but college managers decided to re-advertise the post rather than give it to her.
Ms Leslie said it was not the first time she had been turned down for a job because of her sex-change status.
She is unemployed but has an honours degree in social policy and administration and more than 30 years' experience of community work.
Ms Leslie, who lives on the Barbican, said that she was well qualified for the 'subordinate' role promoting events among the students on a pro-rata salary of £13,500 a year.
But she claimed that of the four people who applied for the post in July one was appointed, one withdrew and the other was offered the job but turned it down. . . .
Sex-swap woman Sandra Leslie is taking a further education college to an employment tribunal claiming she was passed over for a job because she is a transsexual.
Ms Leslie, 59, claims City College Plymouth is guilty of sexual discrimination in turning down her application for a post.
She is due to tell a tribunal in the city on Thursday that she was qualified for the job of student union assistant but college managers decided to re-advertise the post rather than give it to her.
Ms Leslie said it was not the first time she had been turned down for a job because of her sex-change status.
She is unemployed but has an honours degree in social policy and administration and more than 30 years' experience of community work.
Ms Leslie, who lives on the Barbican, said that she was well qualified for the 'subordinate' role promoting events among the students on a pro-rata salary of £13,500 a year.
But she claimed that of the four people who applied for the post in July one was appointed, one withdrew and the other was offered the job but turned it down. . . .
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
MTF SRS 1/2
Ｗarning:
This is a clip of male to female sex re-assignment surgery and involves bloody scenes. If you are under your local legal age, please don't watch it.
Part 2: MTF SRS 2/2
How to Understand Transgender Issues
by Nancy Larson
Introduction
Imagine that you had a debilitating birth defect and no one understood or even wanted to hear about it. That’s how many transgender individuals feel--that their body is a mistake. Inside they feel like one gender but the world perceives them as another. It’s a sensitive issue that’s only just being explored in popular discourse.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You'll Need
- Empathy
- Willingness to take in new information
Steps:
Step One
Know that being transgender is a medical condition called gender dysphoria. Transgender persons are not mentally ill, any more than any other segment of the population, though they may struggle more with a lack of support. Being transgender is not something that people “make up.” It is a lifelong disability.
Step Two
Be aware that coming out as transgender is often a gradual process. Hormones are a first step for many transgender persons. Another early move is to begin dressing as their true sex in situations they perceive as safe.
Step Three
Understand that transgender persons can undergo sexual reassignment surgery (SRS), but not everyone does. SRS is a good solution for many people, but it is expensive and usually not covered by insurance. Some male-to-female transgender persons have only the “top surgery,” or removal of their breasts.
Step Four
Know that coming out as a transgender person is risky business. Transgender persons are not protected in the area of employment by federal or most state laws. A boss can fire them for simply being who they are. They are often targeted as victims of abuse and even violence. . . .
Anyone For Some T?
10 January 2008
What does my mum not get? She’s insisting on cutting my hair tomorrow. She said in front of my sister so I couldn’t say “No, don’t cut my hair, I want it long” because my sister would get suspicious. My mum knows I can’t tell my sister and it seems to me like she’s using that against me.
Ok, it may need tidying, but I can just imagine my Mum going crazy on my hair as soon as she got the opportunity, making it look boyish. I don’t trust her in that respect. I wish she would give me more room, more of my own life. Yes family is important, and of course I love then all, but I’m 20 now, I need a life of my own, and a life I want to lead more importantly.
Since telling my parents I’ve thought about the possibility of moving out a lot more. I’ve even thought about moving out the country. It is a good time to move to the US after all with this Dollar to the Pound being so high. But, of course, I have things that still need doing in this country. Not all of my friends know, and neither do any of my family except my parents. Also if I’m going to go through with the SRS and everything, this is certainly the right country to be in, with the ‘free’ treatment. The ‘free’ treatment that seems nigh impossible to get from where I’m standing. I think I’d prefer to earn the money to do it right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure British doctors are capable, but I’d just feel better in the hands of someone who’s done this sort of thing many times before. I don’t want to look like a freak and not work properly after this! I also don’t want to look like I’ve had any surgery, I want to keep as much of my own body as possible. As much as I hate aspects of it, I have to realise that it’s the body I’ve been issued with and if I don’t respect it, then who will?
I wish my parents understood more, but I knew it would be difficult for them. They are both in their 50’s, so are a little out of touch with the modern mindset. They are also very reserved people generally. They have probably never thought more than a minute about transgendered people simply because they’ve not needed too. There’s not a whole lot of need to know about it if you’ve never come across it before. That could do with changing. Everyone knows about gay people, and everyone has an opinion about gay people, but transgendered people are forgotten about. They are the mysterious misunderstood T of LGBT. . . .
Audrey Conrad: Outside The Box
Those In The Transgender Community Find A Warm Embrace At Real Art Ways
The doors have been open for barely half an hour, but a strong crowd has already gathered at Real Art Ways. They stand inside the gallery space of the Arbor Street arts center and cinema with arms crossed, cocktails dangling and noses reaching toward the wall — all the better to inspect the intricacies of the exhibited photographs.
It's the third Thursday evening of the month, which means it's Creative Cocktail Hour, a regular event that melds art, music and mingling — and for the past five years has given people good reason to venture out on a "school night."
"The interesting thing about it is it isn't the same group of people every month," says Audrey Conrad, among the minglers this December evening. She wears a knit mini and black knee-high boots.
"There are some hard-core Creative Cocktail Hour addicts who you'll see every month. But depending on what [art or music] is being featured, you get … a whole different contingent of people," she says.
Conrad is one of the event's "hard-core addicts" — self-proclaimed and such an advocate of Real Art Ways that the folks there had the good sense to ask her to join its board of directors about a year and a half ago.
If you've gone to a cocktail hour, fundraising event or art happening there, you've likely seen her. That's her in the short blond bob, chatting up old faces and welcoming new ones. . . .
The doors have been open for barely half an hour, but a strong crowd has already gathered at Real Art Ways. They stand inside the gallery space of the Arbor Street arts center and cinema with arms crossed, cocktails dangling and noses reaching toward the wall — all the better to inspect the intricacies of the exhibited photographs.
It's the third Thursday evening of the month, which means it's Creative Cocktail Hour, a regular event that melds art, music and mingling — and for the past five years has given people good reason to venture out on a "school night."
"The interesting thing about it is it isn't the same group of people every month," says Audrey Conrad, among the minglers this December evening. She wears a knit mini and black knee-high boots.
"There are some hard-core Creative Cocktail Hour addicts who you'll see every month. But depending on what [art or music] is being featured, you get … a whole different contingent of people," she says.
Conrad is one of the event's "hard-core addicts" — self-proclaimed and such an advocate of Real Art Ways that the folks there had the good sense to ask her to join its board of directors about a year and a half ago.
If you've gone to a cocktail hour, fundraising event or art happening there, you've likely seen her. That's her in the short blond bob, chatting up old faces and welcoming new ones. . . .
TransNation: The Trans Year to Come
by Jacob Anderson-Minshall
2008-01-09
With presidential elections looming, 2008 promises to be a politically contentious year. At least this summer's Olympic Games promise to distract us from American politics, and there's some hope—via trans cyclist Kirsten Worley ( nominated as one of the most influential women in Canadian sports in 2007 ) —of having an openly trans contender. To get through the rest of the year, there's plenty of trans-themed material coming your way in 2008.
2008-01-09
With presidential elections looming, 2008 promises to be a politically contentious year. At least this summer's Olympic Games promise to distract us from American politics, and there's some hope—via trans cyclist Kirsten Worley ( nominated as one of the most influential women in Canadian sports in 2007 ) —of having an openly trans contender. To get through the rest of the year, there's plenty of trans-themed material coming your way in 2008.
Books
When it comes to academic works, Haworth Press may cement its position as the leading publisher of nonfiction addressing trans subjects. Several of their new books address medical professionals, like Principles of Transgender Medicine and Surgery and Guidelines for Transgender Care; the latter written and edited in part by trans activist/health educator Joshua M. Goldberg. For a psychological and sociological perspective Haworth, offers Head Over Heels: Wives Who Stay With Cross-Dressers and Transsexuals and Male Bodies, Women's Souls: Personal Narratives of Thailand's Transgender Youth.
Duke University Press addresses a similar audience with Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category, which documents the rise and development of ‘transgender' as a category of collective identity and political activism. The Lives of Transgender People, a collaboration between genderqueer college administrator Brett-Genny Beemyn and feminist scholar Sue Rankin will be published by Columbia University Press later this year. . . .
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Donna Rose: My Trans-America - Part 2
Over Nov. 1-4, 2007 I traveled across country from Rochester NY to Washington DC to Phoenix AZ. This is Day 2, a 1000 mile drive starting in Wash. DC and stopping in Little Rock AR around midnight. The scenery across Virginia and Tennessee was beautiful - rolling hills, autumn colors, sunny skies.
This is a copy of my Trans-America video saved as a Divx file before uploading. I'm testing the various upload options to figure out which converts best.
Evolution Tips the Balance in Mom's Favor
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
12.12.2007
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Given that a woman's abdominal mass increases by a third during pregnancy, it's a miracle that such a significant shift in gravity doesn't have her tipping over during her final trimester.
Now, a new study describes a surprising set of anatomical reasons why the delicate balancing act works.
According to researchers, the female spine has evolved differently, most likely to accommodate the tremendous demands of pregnancy. Without these evolutionary adaptations, women would probably experience even more back problems than they already do during the gestational period.
"The maternal center of mass shifts forward about three to five centimeters during pregnancy, so that it's no longer beautifully aligned with the hips and feet," said study author Katherine Whitcome, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University's department of anthropology who began the research as a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin.
Whitcome explained that the female body compensates for this shift in several ways. One is to recruit more back muscles. Solely using these muscles, Whitcome said, would quickly cause muscle fatigue and make women more prone to injury. Instead, the female back has evolved to allow three lower vertebrae to form a larger curve to support the growing fetus. In men, only two vertebrae form this curve, called lordosis, she explained.
Females also have a key hip joint that is larger and can flare out further, according to the study, published in the Dec. 13 issue of Nature.
"It's a nifty little package of adaptations. We see it in modern humans, but it's also apparent from the little bit of vertebral anatomy we see in earlier hominids," said Whitcome. "It seems part and parcel of the challenges of bipedalism [walking on two feet rather than four]." These changes would have allowed women in prehistoric times to continue to forage for food, as well as quickly avoid predators, she said. . . .
HealthDay Reporter
12.12.2007
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Given that a woman's abdominal mass increases by a third during pregnancy, it's a miracle that such a significant shift in gravity doesn't have her tipping over during her final trimester.
Now, a new study describes a surprising set of anatomical reasons why the delicate balancing act works.
According to researchers, the female spine has evolved differently, most likely to accommodate the tremendous demands of pregnancy. Without these evolutionary adaptations, women would probably experience even more back problems than they already do during the gestational period.
"The maternal center of mass shifts forward about three to five centimeters during pregnancy, so that it's no longer beautifully aligned with the hips and feet," said study author Katherine Whitcome, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University's department of anthropology who began the research as a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin.
Whitcome explained that the female body compensates for this shift in several ways. One is to recruit more back muscles. Solely using these muscles, Whitcome said, would quickly cause muscle fatigue and make women more prone to injury. Instead, the female back has evolved to allow three lower vertebrae to form a larger curve to support the growing fetus. In men, only two vertebrae form this curve, called lordosis, she explained.
Females also have a key hip joint that is larger and can flare out further, according to the study, published in the Dec. 13 issue of Nature.
"It's a nifty little package of adaptations. We see it in modern humans, but it's also apparent from the little bit of vertebral anatomy we see in earlier hominids," said Whitcome. "It seems part and parcel of the challenges of bipedalism [walking on two feet rather than four]." These changes would have allowed women in prehistoric times to continue to forage for food, as well as quickly avoid predators, she said. . . .
Katoey: An explanation
By Petteri Stenberg
1.5.2008
"Amazing Thailand" has become more like a slogan these days. And there is more than one valid reason for such an adjective being attached to Thailand in context of travel and tourism. As you travel to this great country, there are so many things to see, do, and participate in. Chances are high that you will also come across at least one ladyboy or katoey. As a matter fact, the presence of this katoey, which is like a nickname given to the Thai ladyboy, makes an increasing number of tourists consider Thailand to be a place so amazing.
There are several misconceptions about the presence of the ladyboy in Thailand. Many people think that this phenomenon is a result of the Western influence in the culture of Thailand. With the recent boom in tourism in the country, they feel, the concept of the katoey has been imported in the cities like Phuket or Pattaya. It is a totally wrong thinking. As a matter of fact, the real reason behind the presence of the katoey in Thailand in such a high proportion is the tolerant nature of the Thai society. They are allowed to express themselves and not repressed as is so common with so many nations.
Apart from the various aspects of sightseeing and the multitude of activities that you can get involved in once you are in Thailand, the idea of dating somebody too may creep in to your mind. And there is nothing wrong in it? Isn't it? After all, you are here to enjoy life. So you need to take it all the elements of vigor that it has on offering. You may also cherish the idea of experiencing a dating that will be unique and totally on of its kind. Well, in this connection let me tell you something that is very specific and unique to Thailand only. . . .
1.5.2008
"Amazing Thailand" has become more like a slogan these days. And there is more than one valid reason for such an adjective being attached to Thailand in context of travel and tourism. As you travel to this great country, there are so many things to see, do, and participate in. Chances are high that you will also come across at least one ladyboy or katoey. As a matter fact, the presence of this katoey, which is like a nickname given to the Thai ladyboy, makes an increasing number of tourists consider Thailand to be a place so amazing.
There are several misconceptions about the presence of the ladyboy in Thailand. Many people think that this phenomenon is a result of the Western influence in the culture of Thailand. With the recent boom in tourism in the country, they feel, the concept of the katoey has been imported in the cities like Phuket or Pattaya. It is a totally wrong thinking. As a matter of fact, the real reason behind the presence of the katoey in Thailand in such a high proportion is the tolerant nature of the Thai society. They are allowed to express themselves and not repressed as is so common with so many nations.
Apart from the various aspects of sightseeing and the multitude of activities that you can get involved in once you are in Thailand, the idea of dating somebody too may creep in to your mind. And there is nothing wrong in it? Isn't it? After all, you are here to enjoy life. So you need to take it all the elements of vigor that it has on offering. You may also cherish the idea of experiencing a dating that will be unique and totally on of its kind. Well, in this connection let me tell you something that is very specific and unique to Thailand only. . . .
OPINION: EDITORIAL: Beware of the ‘Gender Identity’ Bullies
By Deacon Keith A Fournier
1/8/2008
1/8/2008
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Rather than seeing our gender as a gift and a given, this movement tries to place some perceived power over sexual identity in the hands of individuals so that they can make their own decision as to whether they are men or women; or even change their minds regularly on the subject.LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - In December of 2007 the City of San Francisco, California was featured in USA Today for its plans to issue municipal identification cards to all of its residents.
In an age concerned with security, one might have thought that move was an attempt to ascertain whether the residents were illegal immigrants or intended to uncover some kind of potential security risk due to past undetected criminal behavior.
However, that was not the case.
The newsworthy aspect of the story was the fact that this City, known for its “avant-garde” approach to so many things, had decided to eliminate the denotation of whether the carrier of the card is male or female. In other words, gender is no longer a factor in San Francisco.
Rather than seeing our gender as a gift and a given, this movement is a part of a growing effort to place some perceived power over sexual identity in the hands of individuals so that they can make their own decision as to whether they are men or women; or to change their mind regularly.
These new municipal identification cards will contain birthdates and photos. However, they will not indicate whether the holder is male or female. Why? Because the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco have determined that to do so is somehow "discriminatory'.
So called “transgender” activists added this provision to the ordinance.
Let’s begin with a simple definition.
Transgender" is a term in vogue with some proponents of a new Cultural Revolution who want a new “right” to determine whether they are male or female, or a little bit of both. The term includes cross-dressers, transvestites and transsexuals. Anyone who does not agree with what transgender activists like to call their “birth sex” are to now have a right to determine differently. And, to disagree with their determination will subject you to the police power of the government.
As with many of the issues in this new Cultural Revolution, there was a public interest legal group associated with the effort. The “Transgender Law Center in San Francisco.” Kristina Wertz is the legal director of the group. She was quoted by the paper as saying "The card really makes gender a non-issue." . . .
Notes from the Trans Leadership meeteing with HRC Joe Solmonese
1/5/08 San Francisco
lobolance's journal
(I wrote this yesterday, as a letter to my ftm group)
I am just returned from the meeting the HRC
called with San Francisco
trans community leaders. I am very grateful to Cecelia Chung of the
Transgender Law Centerfor bringing me in. Yea for south bay
representation. :-) (I feel like I say that a lot in all of my
communities ;-) )
There were about 50 San Francisco area transgender leaders present, in addition to a few people from HRC.
This will probably be long. Fair warning. And I don't claim to not have any opinions. to say the least.
I'll start by saying, I am not feeling any better about the HRC than when I
went up there. I had a pretty open mind, meaning ready to listen. Not
'joyful' as some folks said they were, but ready to listen. I listened
a lot. I think it's time for me to (finally) investigate what it takes
to join the TLC.
Note: FTMI is now officially the Lou Sullivan Society.
Initially, Joe spoke. Joe started off with a two pronged apology, one part being
about poor communication at the height of the ENDA strategy conversion,
and the other part about acknowledging they caused a lot of pain by the
course they chose. He then spent some time explaining the legislative
process in DC.
He also said that he did not expect to change any minds
by the discussion today, though discussion was important; he knew that
actions had gotten the community into the state it is in, and it will
be actions that will get it out.
I'm just gonna list a lot of points next.
I don't have the numbers and stories to back up all the points; I was just taking general notes. If you're interested, check with the many tg services in San Francisco. This is just my experience and take on things. . . .
lobolance's journal
(I wrote this yesterday, as a letter to my ftm group)
I am just returned from the meeting the HRC
called with San Franciscotrans community leaders. I am very grateful to Cecelia Chung of the
Transgender Law Center
for bringing me in. Yea for south bayrepresentation. :-) (I feel like I say that a lot in all of my
communities ;-) )
There were about 50 San Francisco area transgender leaders present, in addition to a few people from HRC.
This will probably be long. Fair warning. And I don't claim to not have any opinions. to say the least.
I'll start by saying, I am not feeling any better about the HRC than when I
went up there. I had a pretty open mind, meaning ready to listen. Not
'joyful' as some folks said they were, but ready to listen. I listened
a lot. I think it's time for me to (finally) investigate what it takes
to join the TLC.
Note: FTMI
is now officially the Lou Sullivan Society.Initially, Joe spoke. Joe started off with a two pronged apology, one part being
about poor communication at the height of the ENDA strategy conversion,
and the other part about acknowledging they caused a lot of pain by the
course they chose. He then spent some time explaining the legislative
process in DC.
He also said that he did not expect to change any minds
by the discussion today, though discussion was important; he knew that
actions had gotten the community into the state it is in, and it will
be actions that will get it out.
I'm just gonna list a lot of points next.
I don't have the numbers and stories to back up all the points; I was just taking general notes. If you're interested, check with the many tg services in San Francisco. This is just my experience and take on things. . . .
OPINION: Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut, Sometimes You Don’t
By Mike S. Adams
January 8, 2008
Sometimes I have a hard time sifting through my email and determining what is real and what is not. I’ve received lots of rebates from the IRS, lots of offers to hold on to the fortunes of rich African widows I’ve never met, and lots of offers from lonely housewives. I just assume all of those are fraudulent. But, for some reason, I decided to investigate a strange claim made by a group of angry citizens from Montgomery County, Maryland.
January 8, 2008
Sometimes I have a hard time sifting through my email and determining what is real and what is not. I’ve received lots of rebates from the IRS, lots of offers to hold on to the fortunes of rich African widows I’ve never met, and lots of offers from lonely housewives. I just assume all of those are fraudulent. But, for some reason, I decided to investigate a strange claim made by a group of angry citizens from Montgomery County, Maryland.
The concerned citizens who contacted me made the odd claim that their county had introduced and passed a new “gender identity” bill. The bill had disturbed many women because it would allow “men” to have open access to women's and girl’s public restrooms, locker rooms and showers by simply stating that they self-identify as (read: feel like) a woman.
The bill, proposed by the Montgomery County Council, alters the state’s existing non-discrimination laws by adding the phrase “gender identity” in order to protect transgendered “persons” and transvestites. One would expect such a proposal from a committee of professors in the so-called social sciences or humanities at a public university. But it is particularly shocking coming from a body of elected officials serving outside the state of Massachusetts.
Opponents of the bill rightly criticize it for this vague definition of gender identity: “An individual’s actual or perceived gender, including a person’s gender-related appearance, expression, image, identity, or behavior, whether or not those gender-related characteristics differ from the characteristics customarily associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.” . . .
Georgie's story set for silver screen
NZPA | Tuesday, 08 January 2008
Hollywood might be calling, but Georgina Beyer's tale is no longer for sale.
The world's first transexual MP got a call in 2005 from Australian-based producers Sally and Roger Simpson, wanting to put Beyer's story on to the big screen, to which she agreed.
"I've had offers even since these people have been doing it - from American cable networks wanting to make the telly-movie and all of that sort of thing - but, thank god, this lot got me before I could be seduced by money."
However, Beyer said, as it was her life, the real appeal was in the quality of the movie. . . .
Overcoming gender
George Dvorsky
Sentient Developments
Jan 6, 2008
Your gender is a constraint. This is an inalienable truism, regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman.
We can no longer deny that males and females are profoundly different. The hallucination is over. Scientists and behaviorists are discovering that men and women differ not just physically, but cognitively and emotionally as well. These differences are not merely the result of gender-specific socialization; they are innate—the result of thousands of years of sexual competition and selection.
Your gender assignment and sense of sexual identity is an imposition. Like many of your other characteristics, you are largely the result of a genetic lottery that happened beyond your control. Consequently, you are in no small way predetermined. Your physical and psychological capabilities are very much constrained and dictated by your genetic constitution.
Sure, the environments that we find ourselves in and the ways in which we are socialized play a contributing factor to our health, personalities and broader perspectives. But let’s not fool ourselves, each and every one of us has characteristics that are forever limited by our genetic code. . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
