National Survey on Transgender Experiences of Discrimination in the U.S.

14 September 2008

NGLTF

Purpose

You are invited to participate in a research project regarding transgender and gender non-conforming people in the United States. Your responses will be part of an important report on transgender people’s experiences of discrimination in housing, employment, health care and education. 

Procedures

You will be asked to complete an online survey. Your participation and responses are confidential. Please answer the questions as openly and honestly as possible. You may skip questions. The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Please note that you can choose to withdraw your responses at any time before you submit your answers. The survey results will be submitted directly to a secure server where any computer identification that might identify participants is deleted from the submissions. Comments provided will be analyzed using content analysis and submitted as an appendix to the survey report. Quotes from submitted comments will also be used throughout the report to give “voice” to the quantitative data.

Discomforts and Risks

There are no risks in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. Some of the questions are personal and might cause discomfort. In the event that any questions asked are disturbing, you may stop responding to the survey at any time. Participants who experience discomfort are encouraged to contact:

The Trevor Project
866-4-U-TREVOR
The Trevor Helpline is the only national crisis and suicide prevention helpline for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth; the Helpline can also help transgender and gender non-conforming adults. The Helpline is a free and confidential service that offers hope and someone to talk to, 24/7. Trained counselors listen and understand without judgment.

Benefits

The results of the survey will be part of an important report on discrimination against transgender people by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to help create better opportunities for transgender and gender non-conforming people. We are grateful to Penn State University’s Center for the Study of Higher Education for hosting the survey and maintaining the integrity of our data.

Statement of Confidentiality

You will not be asked to provide any identifying information, such as your name, and information you provide on the survey will remain confidential. In the event of any publication or presentation resulting from the research, no personally identifiable information will be shared. Your confidentiality will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology used (e.g., IP addresses will be stripped when the survey is submitted). No guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties. Please also remember that you do not have to answer any question or questions about which you are uncomfortable. 

Voluntary Participation

Participation in this research is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you do not have to answer any questions on the survey that you do not wish to answer. Individuals will not be identified and only group data will be reported (e.g., the analysis will include only aggregate data). By completing the survey, your informed consent will be implied. Please note that you can choose to withdraw your responses at any time before you submit your answers. Refusal to take part in this research study will involve no consequences. . . .Read More

If one of us ain’t free ...

September 14, 2008

By JULIAN C.H. LEE

An anthropologist reports on a very different Merdeka event he attended that dealt with a subject often swept under the carpet: alternative sexualities.

IN August last year, malaysiakini.com reported that a transsexual woman in Malacca had been brutally assaulted, allegedly by state religious officers, who also detained her because she was a man dressed as a woman, and that is an offence.

Sexual identities and behaviours attract a great deal of attention in Malaysia, and those who are seen to fall outside heterosexual norms are the subject of official punishments as well as vigilantism.

And yet, as a presenter at an unusual symposium held during the Merdeka weekend pointed out, alternative sexualities actually have a long history in this region. The crowd-pulling political scientist Dr Farish Noor (from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) hosted a session at which he delivered a lecture entitled From Panji to the Present: A Short History of Sexuality in Malaysia and South-East Asia. . . .Read More

Shedding The Light on Vampires in America (HBO)

(Might this be viewed as a metaphor for LGBT Rights? R.A.)

"Watch an exclusive exposé on the vampires living among us. For more information about True Blood, log onto HBO.com" HBO

'Transvestite toilet' for transgender people

September 10, 2008

by  ANI

A Thai school has added a third option to the standard'boys' and'girls' bathrooms' a 'transvestite toilet'.

The Kampang School unveiled a unisex restroom designated by a human figure split in half' part man in blue and part woman in red with words "Transvestite Toilet" written below, after 200 students said they considered themselves to be transgenger.

Although most rural Thais are conservative in many ways, the initiative at the school reflects Thai society's tolerance for transgender communities. "These students want to be able to go in peace without fear of being watched, laughed at or groped. . .Read More

What Has Sex Got to Do With It, Ex-Man Asks Court: Ann Woolner

11 September 2008

Commentary by Ann Woolner

Bloomberg.com

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- For a manly man, you could do worse than David Schroer, if you will pardon the sexual stereotype.

A full colonel when he retired from the Army in 2004 at the age of 47, Schroer qualified as an Airborne Ranger with 450 parachute jumps and won too many medals to name. He had commanded Special Forces in Haiti and southern Africa.

After the terrorist attacks on the U.S. seven years ago today, he was picked to create and direct a classified, interagency group to track terrorism and plan U.S. responses. He briefed officials up the line to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Schroer seemed a perfect fit when, in retirement, he applied for a job at the Library of Congress analyzing terrorism and international crime for Congress.

His high-powered references praised him and he wowed the Library of Congress interviewers. His qualifications made him ``significantly better'' than the other applicants, Charlotte Preece, the library manager who decided to hire him, told Schroer over lunch in 2004. . . .Read More

Transgender leader Rachel Crandall to receive prestigeous community award

by Jessica Carreras

9/11/2008

Just over ten years ago, Rachel Crandall was married, living as a man and unhappy. Then, she made the choice to be true to herself and lost her marriage, her job, her home and her life. But in the end, she says, she got all her happiness back - and then some.

On Sept. 17, the Michigan Bar Association will celebrate not only everything Crandall has gone through, but everything she has given. That night, she will become one of only two LGBT people - and the only transgender person - to receive the Liberty Bell Award, honoring her work as co-founder and executive director of TransGender Michigan.

The Liberty Bell Award is given to local citizens who have excelled in providing service within the community. It honors non-lawyer citizens who have donated their time and resources to help further the rights of others. They have been given out since 1986, but only once before to an openly gay man - Jeff Montgomery - in 2006.

"What was going was 'Wow,'" Crandall said of hearing that she had been chosen to receive the award. "I mean, it's really quite an award. It's quite prestigious. I was thinking have I really done things to really earn this award." . . .Read More

TransNation: Doubly Triggered

By Jacob Anderson-Minshall | 9/11/2008

Visual artist Georgette Freeman titles her current exhibit, Up From the Depths: Triggered. When I reach the sixty-one-year-old artist by phone in the same 275-square-foot San Francisco apartment she’s resided in for 33 years; she suggests, “We both know the word triggered. Mine was retirement. What was your trigger?”

When Freeman talks about things surfacing and about awareness—and actions—being triggered by significant life events, she’s speaking not only about her transgender identity but also her creative spark.

The duality is ironic because the aptly titled exhibit features Freeman’s collection of stereo card photographs. Captured by a single camera with two lenses set the same distance apart as the human eyes, the black and white stereo photographs offer dual images of the same subject that, when viewed through a stereoscope or special glasses, produce a 3-D image. . . .Read More

The Ballad of Sarah Palin

"The Ballad of Sarah Palin Song Written, Directed, and Performed by Mason Storm
Produced by Warpedcorp."   WarpedCorp

Michelle Obama Stands Up For Transgender "Rights" And Attacks Sarah Palin

9 September 2008

by Mr. Grey Ghost

What to do if you're a liberal elitist suddenly finding your hubby behind in the presidential polls? Speak to the gay elite in sunny California and join the rest of the loony wing in going after Sarah Palin:

Obama then took the podium, and told the crowd how her daughters, Malia and Sasha, met the pop group the Jonas Brothers at the “Ellen” taping. The daughters were not present at either fund raiser.

Obama then moved on to politics, where she first brought up her husband’s vice-presidential choice. “I think it was a really good pick—Senator Joe Biden,” she said, and later added, “People say they have amazing chemistry, and it’s true.”

Obama continued with talk about Biden when she said, “What you learn about Barack from his choice is that he’s not afraid of smart people.” The crowd softly chuckled. . . .Read More

High court blocks transgender referendum

September 8, 2008

by Bailey Quinonez

Staff Writer

Maryland's highest court, the Court of Appeals, blocked a referendum on Tuesday, Sept. 9, that would have led to a vote asking to overturn Montgomery County's transgender anti-discrimination law.

The law, set to have taken effect in February, was blocked after religious and conservative groups petitioned for a referendum. Tuesday's decision by the Court of Appeals reverses a lower court ruling that sided with opponents and puts the law into effect immediately.

The dispute between the supporters and local religious and conservative groups erupted after a unanimous vote by the County Council in November 2007 when County Executive Isiah Leggett signed the bill. Opponents circulated a controversial petition earlier this year for a referendum for November 2008. 

Equality Maryland, a gay and transgender rights group, alleged that the Board of Elections improperly submitted 26,000 signatures and miscalculated the number of signatures needed to bring the law to referendum. . . .Read More

Transgender Dancer's Hard Road to Love

Portraits of Young People in a Changing China

New America Media, Personal voice/Photo essay, Huang Ping - as told to Rian Dundon, Sep 09, 2008 

Editor's Note: As the glamour of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing fades, NAM takes a post-Olympic look at the country and the real lives of people there. Photographer Rian Dundon captured images and crafted intimate portraits of the lives of young Chinese men and women in a changing society. In the third in a series, Dundon profiles 20-year-old Huang Ping, a transgender dancer who worked at Changsha’s first gay bar, the Night Cat, for three years until it was recently shut down.

His coworkers there were mostly gay and transgender migrants—transient performers floating between different bars and clubs throughout the country. Like many gay bars in China, it featured a nightly variety show with acts that ranged from traditional Chinese opera to more explicit striptease. Since homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, it has seen greater acceptance in large cities like Changsha.

CHANGSHA, China—My mother had always wanted a girl, so even as I grew inside her stomach she hoped that I would come out female. When she finally gave birth to me and realized I was a boy she decided to raise me as a girl anyway by dressing me in female clothes. Then, when I turned 2, my parents divorced and the judge gave my mother custody of my brother and sent me to live with my father. My father later married again, and I’ve only met my mom five times since the divorce. I didn’t know my mother’s phone number for a long time, but in the last year I have gotten back in touch with her, and now we talk by phone. . . .Read More

Transgenders Life

"Video on rights issues for TG made at APNSW Trans-Stravaganza workshop in Thailand, 2006." apnsw

Transgender NYC professor warmly received by faculty, students

September 9, 2008

by Nick Langewis 

Students and staff at New York City's Yeshiva University have mixed, but largely positive, reactions to the return of tenured professor Joy Ladin, formerly Jay.

Fulbright scholar, poet and literature professor Ladin was put on indefinite leave after announcing her gender transition in 2006, according to anonymous staff members. After months of debate between rabbis, administrators, Ladin and her lawyers, Ladin was cleared to return. According to staff, the decision was to avoid a legal battle.

"I think it's fabulous and wonderful," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "I don't know of any other religiously conservative university that employs someone trans." . . .Read More

For transgendered Elis, a push for a home

September 9, 2008

Raymond Carlson

For many prospective Elis, the toughest question on a college application is the personal essay or the short-answer statement.

But for Ian R. from New York City, the hardest question is not a question at all — just two empty boxes marked male and female.

“Going into the college process, what I really hate is filling in the gender boxes on applications,” he said.

That’s because Ian R. is a queer, transgendered high-school senior applying to Yale, and while he identifies primarily as male, he is physically female. Academics are a high priority for Ian when choosing a college, but as is the case with many transgender applicants, other social factors weigh heavily on his mind. . . .Read More

Trans Singapore

September 8, 2008

By Wong Kim Hoh

A DEGREE from Curtin University, Western Australia, and a regional management position in a large logistics organisation.

While laudable, Juliet's achievements are not likely to make most people sit up and take notice.

Until, of course, the 40-year-old tells them she is a transsexual.

'When you say transsexual, a lot of people immediately think of Changi Village and Desker Road,' she says, referring to two of Singapore's most notorious vice haunts.

'People harbour so many stereotypes. Not all of us are prostitutes. In fact, a lot of us lead and want to lead very normal lives,' says the articulate professional whose company and colleagues know of her status.

Transsexuals - people who do not identify with the gender they are born in and sometimes change their bodies through surgery or hormone therapy - in Singapore have Bugis Street to blame for this albatross hanging around their necks. . . .Read More

Facial Feminization Surgery ( FFS ) - Before & After

"A series of pictures from my feminizing facial surgery on October 25, 2006"  TransgenderSupport

Singing the blues: Transgendered woman says Windsor Locks bar banned her from karaoke night

By Max Bakke

September 4, 2008

WINDSOR LOCKS — An Enfield woman has filed a complaint with the state liquor commission after the manager of a local restaurant refused to allow her to participate in the bar’s weekly karaoke night.

Michelle Merrill claims that the manager of the Skyline Restaurant wouldn’t let her sing on Aug. 22 because she is a transsexual. The 35-year old Merrill, who was born male, underwent sex-change procedures, including hormone treatments, starting 10 years ago.

Merrill said that when she asked the manager why he wouldn’t let her participate, he told her that she had used the women’s restroom the week before, triggering complaints from other patrons, and then told her that he didn’t want people like her in the bar. . . .Read More

Love triumphs across the line

September 6, 2008

smh.com.au

When being true to yourself means you must divorce your soulmate, the law really can be an ass, writes Adele Horin.

Eric and Joan loved each other so much they could not wait to get married. At 19, they eloped, fleeing England's marrying age of 21, to make their vows in easier-going Scotland.

Almost 50 years later, the couple have survived the vicissitudes of married life - the swinging '60s, migration to Australia, three children, and a heart attack. And their marriage has survived a challenge most couples would find overwhelming.

Eric underwent a sex change operation six years ago, aged 61. After a lifetime of confusion about his sexuality, decades of cross-dressing, years of hormone treatment, all with Joan's knowledge, Eric grabbed his last chance to be true to himself. Living as a woman was a secret joy he had allowed himself to experience on occasional weekends away with Joan. It was the heart attack - intimations of mortality - that propelled him to come out to his community and friends as a female, assume the name of Erica, go under the knife, and be liberated from the prison of pretence. . . .Read More

YE-SHE-VA

UNIVERSITY IS RATTLED BY TRANSGENDER PROF

September 8, 2008

By REBECCA ROSENBERG

A Yeshiva University professor left two years ago as a man - and returned last week as a woman.

Literature Professor Joy Ladin, formerly known as Jay Ladin, 47, showed up for her first day of school sporting pink lipstick, a tight purple shirt and a flirty black skirt. She cheerfully strutted through the doors of the Midtown campus' main building, where she oversees the writing center.

Many at the Jewish university are horrified by the presence of the transgender professor. Some fear the news could cut alumni donations.

Ladin and the school won't comment on the situation, but some rabbis are shocked that she's still a member of the faculty. . . .Read More

Trinidad Colorado - Sex Change Capital of the World