Gender and Life's Paths

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Trans women get ready for 'Catwalk' event

by Katie Dettman

3.13.2008

Tita Aida, who has hosted numerous charitable benefits over the years, has something new this month – "Catwalk '08," which is billed as an "elite modeling competition and beauty pageant for the transgender community."

The competition is expected to feature 16 transgender women, said Aida, who during her day job at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center is Nicky Calma, a transgender woman herself who was named to the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women last month.

Aida, who is a health program supervisor at the API Wellness Center, said the agency will receive most of the proceeds from the March 22 Catwalk pageant, which she is producing along with Lee Evans. She explained that she used the word "elite" to describe the event because "we hope to bring it one step higher for the TG community. It is time for the TG community to get what they truly deserve, a well put-together event and competition." Aida hopes to hold the event annually. . . .Read More

Transgender Teen Tells Her Story

03/13/08 1:03 PM

In her own words, a transgender teen talks candidly about acceptance and tolerance.

Rika Navarro

We were shocked by the recent murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King--a young boy who was openly gay and reportedly wore mascara, lipstick and jewelry to school. Transgender teens have been in the spotlight lately and have left a lot of parents at a loss when it comes to talking to their own kids. Rika, pictured, a 17-year-old boy who came out as a girl during her freshman year (pictured), sheds a little light on the world of transgender teenagers.

Mom Logic: How did your parents react when you realized that you were really a girl?

Rika: I was in this depressive state. I didn't know if I was gay. I had good friends I was able to connect with, but I wasn't really sure of myself. At that point it was a taboo thing for me to wear female clothing. I was doing badly in school. And my parents asked me questions to know what was wrong and to help them help me. Finally I came out and told them, "Yes I am transgender." Then we went to Puerto Rico and I wore feminine clothing comfortably. That was my freshman year of high school. At that point, I went to a therapist and she said, "Well, she knows that she is a girl and it would be more polite to refer to her as 'her.'" . . .Read More

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Calpy Slams - Reading Comments on Transamerican Love Story

Calpernia and Andrea read some of the worst comments people have left on perezhilton.com and abc.com in response to "Transamerican Love Story", their new Logo transsexual dating show coming out in February.

Advocates turn out en masse for transgender civil rights bill

by Ethan Jacobs

Bay Windows
Monday Mar 10, 2008

Supporters of a bill to add gender identity to state civil rights laws far outnumbered opponents at a marathon public hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary at the State House on March 4. The committee listened to 10 hours of testimony on a host of bills related to same-sex marriage, abortion, victim’s rights and other issues. But the bulk of the hearing, which lasted until 11:30 p.m., was devoted to H.B. 1722, the first major piece of transgender rights legislation to come before the Massachusetts Legislature. . . .Read More

Patricia Arquette: 'Brother's sex change shocked me'

0/03/2008 - 6:25:00 PM

Patricia Arquette questioned how open-minded she was when her transgender brother Alexis first announced he was going to become a woman.

The True Romance star admits she felt "a loss" when Alexis - born Robert Arquette - told her of his transition plans. . . .Read More

Australia: Trans films welcomed

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Rachel Cook

Melbourne’s trans community has welcomed the increase in films about transgender and intersex issues at this year’s Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF).

The festival is showing 19 films, including short film, features and documentaries, covering a wide range of topics regarding trans and gender variant subjects.

MQFF Festival Director, Lisa Daniel, told MCV that the festival has always wanted, and had a trans element, but that the quality and quantity of films previously available hadn’t always been as strong as they were this year.

“We search a lot trans films festivals, and a few more trans festivals are popping up now and so more films are being made,” she said. . . .Read More

Author: Gender theory needs to be questioned

Bornstein draws about 100 people to Spring Pride lecture

By Caitlin Schneider, For the Daily on 3/12/08

Author Kate Bornstein threw conventional wisdom out the window as she discussed gender issues before about 100 people in the Michigan League last night.

"I want people to question gender," Bornstein said.

Bornstein's address, which served as the keynote speech for the Spring Pride and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Week, delved into what it's like to be transgender in a world that largely focuses on just men and women.

Bornstein was born a man and underwent reconstructive surgery 22 years ago to become a woman. After her transition, Bornstein discovered she still didn't feel comfortable in her gender. She said she still feels like she's pretending to be a woman.

"I am not a man, and I am not a woman," she said. . . .Read More

Transsexual bares all in 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'

Derek Campbell

3/10/08

German, transsexual, would-be rock star trapped in a small Kansas town in the glam rock era of David Bowie sounds like culture shock at its best. Steven Eubank's production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" provides just that, and more.

As the audience filtered into the Off Center Theatre at Crown Center, they entered the world of Hedwig, a young male-to-female, post-operative transsexual who fled East Berlin while the Berlin Wall still stood.

Biting, sarcastic and humorous, Hedwig's character represented the battle all people face in discovering their true identities. As Hedwig stripped layers of clothing during the course of the show, she bared more about her true self. . . .Read More

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

ABC NEWS: BECOMING MEGAN: THE JOURNEY

View a slideshow

M( )

From Michael to Megan. . . .Read More

Telegraph iPlayer pick: Transsexual in Iran (BBC2)

26/02/2008

By James Walton

Click here to watch or download Transsexual in Iran from BBC iPlayer

The title of Transsexual in Iran (BBC2) might have led you to expect a profile of one individual. Instead, we met several – because it turns out that more sex-change operations are performed in Iran than in any other country, except Thailand. Under Shiah law, these operations aren’t merely allowed, but apparently encouraged as an Islamic cure for people trapped in the wrong body. The Government provides half the medical fees and, once you’ve changed sex, amends your birth certificate accordingly. . . .Read More

Transsexual Brigitte Fell in angry shop outburst

Exclusive by Neil Keene

February 20, 2008 12:00am

A TRANSSEXUAL who was allegedly outed to her boyfriend by two police officers found herself back in court yesterday but this time on the wrong side of the law.

Brigitte Fell made international headlines after two police officers faced court charged with breaching privacy laws by allegedly telling her boyfriend she had undergone a sex change.

Ms Fell appeared in court again yesterday, this time for a violent New Year's Eve outburst in a suburban shopping centre in Newcastle. . . .Read More

Handling the transgender issue

By MICHELLE T. JOHNSON

Special to The Star

How might a progressive employer handle a transgender employee who, for example, goes from female to male, or male to female? How does one address those in transition? — Concerned About Change That Makes Sense

Dear Concerned: Which bathroom is the new man or new woman going to use? That’s going to be the No. 1 challenge for an employer. Or at least the one that other employees will bring to an employer’s attention.

On the surface, it may not appear that employees having sex change operations — or sex reassignment surgery — would pose a wide diversity issue. But it happens enough for there to be a number of groups and literature to assist with the decision, a growing body of law that prevents discrimination surrounding the decision, and an increasing number of companies addressing the issue as part of company policy. . . .Read More

Obama Rolls Out More LGBT Supporters

The Barack Obama campaign aims to target specific sectors of the LGBT community to improve his odds in the remaining primaries.

by Kerry Eleveld

An Advocate.com exclusive posted March 11, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign rolled out a new swath of 40 national LGBT supporters, adding to the original list of about 60 queer supporters it announced last year. (The new list is available at the end of this article).

“This continues to show the momentum that the Obama camp is demonstrating in all different slices of the electorate,” said Eric Stern, who has been actively courting gays and lesbians to join the Obama team. . . .Read More

Buenos Aires legislature confers award on transsexual on Women’s Day

Buenos Aires, Mar 11, 2008 / 03:06 pm (CNA).- In order to mark International Women’s Day, the legislature of Buenos Aires decided to confer honors on twenty Argentinean women who “broke the traditional molds,” including a transsexual activist.

The transsexual activist underwent an operation in a public hospital and last year received an official ID under the name of Alejandra Portatadino. Currently she works in the law division of the Argentinean Homosexual Community. . . .Read More

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

gender privilege

Legal clinic proposed to address those with gender-related issues

Feb 3, 2008

BALTIMORE - A group of Maryland lawyers hopes to start a legal clinic that would serve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people - underserved groups that advocates say have special legal problems.

When the proposed FreeState Law Project opens this fall, it would be the first of its kind in the state and one of a few in the country, organizers said. . . .Read More

TYFA launches Support/Referral Source for families of gender variant/transgender children ages 3-18

TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc. (TYFA) is proud to announce the launch of TYFA-TALK!

TYFA_TALK is an online support group and referral source for parents, grandparents and guardians negotiating the journey of raising gender variant and transgender children ages 3-18. Members will be able to ask questions, gather information and seek support and referrals from TYFA Board Members and other parents, grandparents and guardians who are also raising gender variant and transgender children. . . .Read More

City passes transgender ordinance

By MEGAN ROLLAND
Sun staff writer

2.2008

Gainesville city commissioners voted 4-3 early Tuesday morning to approve an ordinance protecting the rights of transgender citizens, after listening to more than two hours of comments.

A majority of citizens who spoke during the meeting opposed the ordinance, and several times Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan had to ask the large crowd to quiet down their cheers and jeers. . . .Read More

Dean names three from Boston to Democratic Convention roles

MARC LAROCQUE

2.3.2008

. . . .(Diego) Sanchez, a longtime South End resident, will be the first transgender member of a national convention committee. He is one of a record-setting seven members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community who were chosen. . . .Read More

Gender variance or nonconformity is found wherever one finds people.

A closer view reveals many variations in gender expression. Note “sex” refers to biology, genes, hormones, body development, whereas “gender” is social role, cultural expectations for appearance and behavior. Gender expression varies over time and throughout cultures and may vary in the lifetimes of individuals. We sometimes hear “male or female”, “masculine or feminine”, as defining “the binary”. Typically, many want males masculine and females feminine, in a world where being androgenous or a hybrid may actually work better. Yet many individuals, for example, parents, teachers, and friends, including some with gender issues, crave the binary. In the case of a significantly gender variant person, gender expression often does not match the social or binary gender role assigned at birth. Nevertheless, the person's expressed gender may feel correct or natural. Thus a gender nonconforming person, maybe someone who even sees themselves as “non-binary”, may feel very uncomfortable with the gender expression expected by parents and significant others. Fortunately, there are a growing number of resources to help those interested understand gender, development, change and adaptation. And there are creative paths one may explore to hopefully find comfort, experience a measure of peace and happiness, and in the process find the gender expression that works best. Here I offer some news, information, resources, opinions and POVs to help you learn more about gender expression and life situations. We now know there are a variety of paths individuals discover that may contribute to positive life changes.

Books you may find interesting:

Benjamin, Harry. (1966). The Transsexual Phenomenon. New York: The Julian Press, Inc. Full text and photographs available as an electronic book: http://www.symposium.com/ijt/benjamin/

Blanchard, Ray and Steiner, Betty W. (1990). Clinical Management of Gender Identity Disorders in Children and Adults. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.

Bolin, Anne. (1988). In Search of Eve: Transsexual Rites of Passage. South Hadley, Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey.

Boenke, Mary, (Ed). (2003). Trans Forming Families. Hardy, VA: Oak Knoll Press.

Bornstein, Kate. (1994). Gender Outlaw: On men, women and the rest of us. Routledge: New York & London.

Brill, Stephanie & Pepper, Rachel. (2008). The Transgender Child. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Brown, Mildred L. & Rounsley, Chloe Ann. (1996). True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brownmiller, Susan. (1984). Femininity. New York: Linden / Simon Schuster.

Buss, David M. (1994). The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. New York: Basic Books.

Califia, Pat. (1997). Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Cameron, Loren. (1996). Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits. San Francisco: Cleis Press.

Colapinto, John. (2000). As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. New York: HarperCollins.

Cromwell, Jason. (1999). Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Devor, Holly. (1989). Gender Blending: Confronting The Limits of Duality. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Devor, Holly. (1997). Female to Male Transsexuals in Society. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Docter, Richard F. (1988). Transvestites and Transsexuals: Toward a Theory of Cross-Gender Behavior. New York: Plenum Press.

Ehrensaft, Diane. (2011). Gender Born, Gender Made. New York: The Experiment, LLC.

Green, Jamison. (2004). Becoming a Visible Man. Nashville:Vanderbilt Univerrsity Press.

Griggs, Claudine. (1996). Passage through Trinidad: Journal of a Surgical Sex Change. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co.

Griggs, Claudine. (1998). S/He: Changing Sex and Changing Clothes. Oxford: Berg.

HBIGDA, Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders, Sixth Version. (2001). http://www.hbigda.org/socv6.html#top

Kessler, Suzanne and McKenna, Wendy. (1978). Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Serano, Julia. (2007). Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Women on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. San Francisco: Seal Press.

Stuart, Kim Elizabeth. (1983). The Uninvited Dilemma: A Question of Gender. Portland, Oregon: Metamorphous Press, Inc.

Available from Metamorphous Press, Inc. P.O. Box 10616, Portland, Oregon 97210-0616. Fax (503) 223-9117 or Toll Free 1-800-937-7771

Sullivan, Lou. (1990). Information for the Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transsexual. Seattle, Washington: Ingersoll Gender Center.

Available from Ingersoll Gender Center. 1812 E. Madison Seattle, Washington 98122-2843. (206) 329-665

Williams, Walter L. (1986). The Spirit and The Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture. Boston: Beacon Press.

Zucker, Kenneth J. and Bradley, Susan J. (1995). Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents. New York: Guilford.

Disclaimer: This site should not be viewed as providing therapeutic advice. The material is presented without profit or monetary gain and should not be used as a substitute for a formal medical/psychological diagnosis or treatment with a qualified professional. Copyright Statement: Material in this blog is for information and educational purposes only. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C. section 107. The content of the postings do not constitute endorsement of the articles by Dr. Auge; Point of view, critique or opinion articles may also help educate interested readership about contrary and unfavorable positions. It is important to be aware that what is often regarding as "truth" or "reality" is a function of time, place and circumstances. Dr. Auge does not warrant the completeness, correctness, timeliness, usefulness or accuracy of any of the information provided herein. You should not rely upon this information as a substitute for consultation with a qualified physician or mental health provider prior to starting any treatment or if you have any questions related to your health, physical fitness, psychological or medical conditions. Reading or using the material on this site, without being a formal client of Dr. Auge, does not constitute the establishment of a client / therapist relationship with Dr. Auge. Practice good judgment and discuss your concerns with a qualified licensed therapist experienced in working with clients on gender related issues.

Blog design concept © (2006) by Rebecca Auge, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No claim to other authors' works is intended or implied. Dr. Auge is a licensed psychologist (PSY 6644) in California with specialties in relationships and gender related issues, assessment, therapy, and consultation. If Dr. Auge's name and address appear with the article, a complete article published on these web pages and authored by Dr. Auge may be reprinted in nonprofit organizations' newsletters. Please do not quote portions of articles out of context. Other publications must obtain written permission from Dr. Auge to reprint articles. Please send a copy of your gender / transgender related publication / URL to Dr. Auge.