Canada: Transsexual left in limbo

Taxpayers won't fund sex-change assessment: Judge

By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

14th March 2009

BARRIE -- An inmate of an institution for the criminally insane was left in limbo yesterday after a judge refused her request to have the government pay for a $15,000 assessment that would qualify her for a sex change.

"It's pretty upsetting," said Shauna Taylor -- formerly named Vance Egglestone until she got a legal name change -- an inmate at the maximum security Oak Ridge Division of the Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene. "I don't know who should pay, but somebody should pay."

Except for a brief stint of freedom, Taylor, 52, has been incarcerated since 1976 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for the brutal rape of a Toronto woman.

BATTLING IN COURT

This past year she and her lawyer, Michael Davies, have been battling in court to try to get the judge to order the Attorney General to pay for a complicated assessment that will determine whether she should qualify for an orchidectomy -- the surgical removal of the testes -- to complete her transition into a female. . . .Read More

Body of evidence: A special report into the lives of transsexuals

15 March 2009

By The Catherine Deveney interview

The up trapped in the wrong gender causes hundreds of people to take their own lives. Surgery gives others a new start, but in many cases the price of happiness is still very high.

HE IS clearly a man. I say 'clearly' because when James Morton walks towards me in an Edinburgh hotel he is dressed like any young professional male, in a suit and tie, he has light beard growth on his face and myriad little signals he transmits suggest masculinity. Should I tell you that once he had breasts, a womb capable of bearing children, that in fact he was female, your eyes would tell your brain that this is a lie. You would feel the confusion that James has felt all his life. Growing up, when he looked in the mirror and saw a female body, he thought, 'Who is that?' For in both his conscious and unconscious mind, even in his dreams as he slept, he was male. "Waking up was just like… 'Oh my God, yes, of course. Back to the complicated mismatch that I have.'"

Even now, things are still confused. James has a legal certificate saying he is male. Underneath the 28-year-old's suit, breasts have been removed, his chest reconstructed. He no longer has a womb. But he does not have a penis. Two gender experts in Scotland, and one internationally renowned expert, Dr Griet De Cuypere, in Belgium, have approved him for surgery. But despite continuing to fund male-to-female surgery, Lothian Health Board has refused to fund phalloplasty, the surgical construction of a penis, which would complete his transition from woman to man. "It's a nightmare situation," says James's doctor, Lyndsey Myskow, associate specialist at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary's sexual problems clinic. "There are a number of people in Lothian who have found themselves in this position." . . .Read More

GenderVision: Trans Partner - Gender & Relationship

An extended, in-depth interview with well-known transgender advocates Helen Boyd and Betty Crow. Helen is the author of the book "My Husband Betty", which explores the relationships of crossdressing men and their female partners, as well as a follow-up, "She's Not the Man I Married", a more serious and expansive examination of gender roles in relationships. Betty Crow is a professional actor who has appeared on daytime TV in "All My Children" as a transgender woman, who also works as a web designer and 3D animator.

NNangeroni

Sex-change for free

by Vinay Sitapati

March 14, 2009


Ippadiku Rose (Yours, Rose) is by any yardstick, an unusual TV programme. The Tamil talk show deals with sexuality and sexual taboos. And its host, the lovely Rose — formerly Ramesh Venkatesan, graduate of Lousiana Technical University — underwent a sex-change operation and is now a transgender icon. It’s no coincidence that the show’s a hit in Tamil Nadu. The state has perhaps the world’s most creative schemes for transgender welfare.

It’s not easy defining who a ‘transgender’ is, but the term broadly includes those whose self-identified gender and physical gender don’t match. The pedant may quibble over precise definitions, but society doesn’t — India’s one million transgenders (colloquially called eunuchs, or more uncharitably hijras) are targets of focussed discrimination. Officialdom is slowly waking up to this injustice. In 2005, the Centre introduced the category ‘E’ in passport forms for eunuchs, and in some states they’ve entered politics. But they still face social ostracisation and economic boycotts, and attempts for even a national census have faltered. The Supreme Court last month refused the plea, by a eunuch, to set up an All-India Commission for Transgenders, similar to those for scheduled castes and tribes . . . .Read More

Opinion, Critique, POV: Catholic publications outraged by transgender week

Alex LaCasse

3/11/2009


Produced by Seattle University's Trans and Allies Club, Transgender Awareness Week included everything from a Transgender Bible study to a day reserved for criss-cross dressing-encouraging students to dress in their best "gender bending outfits."

While the week itself was calm and uncontroversial on Seattle U's campus, national Catholic organizations have taken to the Web, expressing concerns over the awareness week and its place on a religious campus.

The Catholic News Agency, in a story published March 1, highlighted several Jesuit universities who have recently sponsored events described as "obscene events promoting sexual ideologies" by the news agency. Among those schools were Georgetown University, Loyola University of Chicago and Seattle University.

Cardinal Newman Society president Patrick J. Reilly, speaking with the news agency, said Catholic-identifying universities should be concerned for sponsoring such events. . . .Read More

Transsexual a Finalist for City Manager Job in Lake Worth

By Deirdra Funcheon in Palm Beach, 13 March 2009


Susan Stanton was the city manager of Largo, Florida for 14 years until she announced she was becoming Steve Slanton. She was subsequently terminated. Stanton's case made huge headlines two years ago. Now Stanton is a finalist for the city manager job in Lake Worth.

According to a story in the Palm Beach Post, "Stanton's gender was not mentioned by city commissioners Thursday during a discussion of city manager finalists."

That alone makes Lake Worth more open-minded than Largo. "We're a wonderful community, says Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill, who I reached by phone today. "We're an accepting community." . . .Read More

Looking Back: Susan Stanton's lonely transformation

A year after Steve Stanton became Susan, the physical and emotional changes are surprising sources of wonder and pain.

By LANE DeGREGORY, Times Staff Writer
December 31, 2007

SARASOTA -- Every morning, Susan Stanton wakes early and takes three pills. They help her suppress who she was and become the person she believes she should be.

At 9 a.m., still in her pajamas, she climbs the stairs in her Sarasota bungalow, clicks on her computer and goes to work. Looking for a job.

"I miss the 16-hour days, working with so many bright people, leading the city. I still love Largo," she says.

"I think I'm suffering from 'Pretty girl syndrome': People assume I'm making tons of money, traveling around speaking. But the truth is: I need help. I'm starting to approach people I know in the area, which I never thought I'd be doing.

"Maybe that's the last part of the transition: Losing my male ego." . . .Read More

Natural Transitioning: EXERCISES (Part One)

The founder of TransAmerica Tristan Skye provides EXERCISES part one **(I had just trained for over an hour so forgive my lack of energy in this one guys)** -- also, make sure to read Tristan's blogs, they detail out everything on supplements, testosterone, weight training and pretty much everything else to help answer at least 90% of your questions. Also, Chef Franky has blog on TransAmerica of testosterone boosting recipes. Can I just say...ROCK ON?!?!

TristanSkye79

Transsexuals can now be admitted into the Spanish armed forces

By h.b. - Mar 6, 2009


The recent case of a 29 year old transsexual from Jaén has highlighted the matter in Spain

Spanish Minister for Defence, Carme Chacón, has kept her word and changed the law so that transsexuals can be accepted in the armed forces in Spain.

The changes needed in medical admission procedures were approved on Monday, and became law when they were printed in the Official State Bulletin on Wednesday. . . .Read More

Stanford Medical Students Want to Help Gay Patients Be Comfortably ‘Out’ in Doctor’s Office

10 Mar 2009

Stanford University Medical Center


STANFORD, Calif. - (Business Wire) Every time he goes to a new doctor, Mitchell Lunn faces the question anew: Should he tell his doctor he’s gay?

“The question always comes up,” said Lunn, 27, a medical student from North Dakota at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “Do I want to come out or not?” This hesitancy is common with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients when meeting with a doctor for the first time. Often they’re scared away by homophobic comments, or simply by a basic lack of knowledge on the part of their doctor as to their unique health care concerns.

“The fear of insensitivity from their doctor has driven many patients away,” Lunn said. “Sometimes never to return.”

In an effort to continue the ongoing struggle of LGBT health activists to get adequate training of medical students on the unique health care needs within their community, a group of four Stanford medical students including Lunn have organized their own on-campus research group, called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Medical Education Research Group.

In the spring, the group will send out surveys to the deans of medical education at schools in the United States and Canada to determine what is being taught, before moving forward with recommended improvements.

“Right now, it’s just not known exactly what is being taught in medical schools,” Lunn said. “We have a little bit of content at Stanford, which is good. But nobody knows for sure about what other schools are teaching.”. . .Read More

Transgender, and Looking for Work...During A Recession

2/13/2009

by Michael Lamb


The civil rights movement is constantly evolving. This past century saw advances among women, African Americans and even Gays and Lesbians. These groups are still fighting for equality in many ways and with each step towards acceptance; the “fear of difference” slowly ebbs from the human psyche. Part of their success is due to the concept of promoting an understanding of a group’s differences, challenges and similarities as key to forming a positive perception by the majority.

Although the transgender community is embraced by many LGBT organizations, their outreach to be understood has not been as progressive as Gay and Lesbian voices.The plight of the transgender community still struggles with acceptance and may be years behind.

Stephanie Dykes, a male to female transsexual, seeks to join the ranks of other transgender activists, like Donna Rose and Jamison Green by coming out of her closet. After working as a market research professional spanning the past 13 years, Dykes was displaced this past October from Wachovia and is now facing what many Americans are now struggling with: a job search.

In addition to continuing her pursuit of another market research position, Dykes has opted to make her gender identity public by speaking to the media and offering herself as a consultant and speaker to progressive companies and like-minded organizations on transgender issues in the workplace. Among the many topics she offers is “Transgender 101.”

Although she counsels a cautionary path of tempered disclosure to her peers, Dykes is going public to advance the outlook on the trans community and possibly land herself another market research opportunity at the same time.

ECHELON – What prompted you to come out and tell your story? . . .Read More

Spot with transgender woman.

This is a spot from Argentina which includes a transgender woman. It talks about tolerance and teaches us that all people are the same even if they are straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

caroldelpozo2008

Conference Explores New Field of Trans Studies

March 9, 2009
By Alex Berg


On Friday afternoon, there was standing room only in the Goldwin Smith English Lounge as Prof. Masha Raskolnikov, English and feminist, gender, & sexuality studies introduced TransRhetorics, a conference exploring interdisciplinary approaches within the field of Transgender Studies and the rhetorics that represent transgender lives.

“… Trans studies remains a relatively new field, even if many of us can make the argument that transgender people have an ancient history in many if not all of the world’s cultures. The relative newness of transgender studies as an academic field means that we, here, are still figuring out what the field is going to look like and where it’s going to go,” said Raskolnikov, who is also the director of lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender studies program.

The conference that took place Friday through yesterday included two keynote speakers and seven thematically organized panels with topics ranging from the medical treatment of intersex bodies to the Employment Non-discrimination Act to Nietzsche and transphobia. Approximately 20 panelists from a wide array of disciplines and backgrounds came from across and beyond the country to present papers, including invited speakers Paisley Currah, Leah DeVun, Shannon Minter law ’93, Vic Muñoz, Matt Richardson, Gayle Salamon and Prof. Susan Stryker, gender studies at Indiana University.

Stryker, an Emmy-award winning director of “Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria,” gave the first keynote in Lewis Auditorium on Friday night. Stryker, whose talk was titled “We Who Are Sexy”: The Transsexual Whiteness of Christine Jorgensen in the (Post)Colonial Philippines,” showed clips of the Filipino film We Who Are Sexy, a 1960s movie about seven gender deviant effeminate brothers, and discussed a cameo made by Christine Jorgensen, a 1950s international transsexual celebrity, in the film.

'Katastrophic': Rocco Kayiatos, also known as “Katastrophe,” takes the stage in Lewis Auditorium on Saturday night as part of the “F to eMbody” show.

Stryker expounded on how Jorgensen’s Eurocentric transsexuality interacted with the local, Filipino transsexuality, and the implications of Eurocentric domination in a postcolonial context.

Minter, the lead counsel for the same-sex marriage case in the California Supreme Court and legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, presented the paper “Category Mistakes: Why Gender Theory Should Not Guide Transgender Advocacy” in the second keynote on Saturday evening. . . .Read More

Chennai: Move on toilets for transgenders sparks off debate

by Chinki Sinha

9 March 2009


New Delhi: Besides “ladies” and “gents”, public lavatories in Chennai may soon offer a third option — for transgenders. The Chennai Municipal Corporation has set aside Rs 45 lakh for a pilot project to build three such lavatories for transgenders in the city.

While the construction is expected to begin after the polls, the officials have already identified areas with a considerable transgender population in south and central Chennai. The first will be built in Saidapet, where it will cater to those living in Kothamedu, Theedeer Nagar and Athuma Nagar.

Each lavatory, with both male and female urinals for those who have undergone sex change as well as those who are yet to do so, is estimated to cost about Rs 12-15 lakh. Muncipal Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said that more such toilets would be built, depending on the response.

For the moment, the response has been rather mixed. While there are some who have welcomed the move, many feel that it would lead to more isolation of the transgender community.

“I don’t agree with this. We want to mingle with the mainstream. We don’t want to be separated like this,” said Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association. “Using separate toilets will open the way for discrimination. We want to be considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.”. . .Read More

How your looks betray your personality

11 February 2009 by Roger Highfield , Richard Wiseman and Rob Jenkins

NewScientist


THE history of science could have been so different. When Charles Darwin applied to be the "energetic young man" that Robert Fitzroy, the Beagle's captain, sought as his gentleman companion, he was almost let down by a woeful shortcoming that was as plain as the nose on his face. Fitzroy believed in physiognomy - the idea that you can tell a person's character from their appearance. As Darwin's daughter Henrietta later recalled, Fitzroy had "made up his mind that no man with such a nose could have energy". Fortunately, the rest of Darwin's visage compensated for his sluggardly proboscis: "His brow saved him." . . .Read More

7yr. old Jazz's thoughts on being a Transgender Child

For More on Jazz Go to: http://www.transkidspurplerainbow.com...
Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation...please help us, and donate $5 today! There needs to be more research, education and studies about Transgender children.

Gnetluvsgreg

Ambiguous procedures

Surgery is appropriate option for intersexual individuals

by Andrew Geist Vanguard Staff

March 3, 2009


Fall 2008 brought a controversial change to what is covered in the supplemental PSU health plan (not the mandatory one): gender reassignment surgery for “true” transsexuals.

Or, it should be controversial. The policy, under the insurance company Aetna, covers elective surgery for transsexual individuals but not intersexual people, of which the latter ought to be the appropriate case.

The reason for the one’s appropriateness and not the other’s lies in responsibility and choice. Born intersexual, those with ambiguous combinations of genitalia, secondary sex characteristics or sex chromosomes are often “given” a sex and gender as infants.

Notable cases include Cheryl Chase, founder of the Intersex Society of North America. According to The New York Times, Chase was raised as a boy for 18 months, and then parents and doctors decided on gender reassignment surgery, as she had female chromosomes. Now, Chase essentially lives as a homosexual female. . . .Read More

Transgender kids: How young is too young for a sex change?

Erin Carlyle delves into the often blustery worlds of transgender youth

By Erin Carlyle

March 03, 2009

ON HER THIRD birthday, Sarah Barnett tore open a package from her grandmother that would delight most girls her age. Gently folded on a pillow of tissue paper lay a frilly, ruffled dress. Sarah looked up at her mother, Kathy, perplexed.

"Mom, why did Grandma give me a dress?" she asked.

A perfectly reasonable question, since Sarah had refused to wear girls' clothing as soon as she knew the difference. Kathy explained that Grandma was just trying to be nice—Sarah didn't have to wear the dress.

"Why don't you tell Grandma that I'm a boy?" Sarah asked.

Kathy marveled at her child's logic. The mother chalked the child's comment up to the imaginative reasoning of a toddler.

A few weeks later, Sarah asked her Sunday school teacher to label her nametag "Steven." Soon, she was insisting that her parents call her Steven and refer to her as "he." Kathy and her husband, Joe (names have been changed), gently explained to their daughter that she was a girl, not a boy. But the toddler became so upset that they eventually conceded to calling her Steven at home. . . .Read More

Of Clothing and Being Transsexual

Lez Get Real

by Sei

March 2009


The most difficult thing for any transwoman is finding clothes that fit. Most women’s clothing is designed around a woman who is, typically, around 5′5 to 5′7. I, for example, am 5′11, and I am lucky. My frame is built like any woman’s but grown from 5′5 to 5′11. That means, well, for one thing, it’s hard to find pants that fit. For another, it’s hard to find shirts that fit. In fact, it is rather hard to find any clothes that fit. What’s worse is that this isn’t unique to being transsexual. Many a woman tall of stature has had trouble finding decent clothing.

My biggest issue has been finding pants. Now, most transsexuals have a big issue with making sure that, well, they aren’t showing. That is, that the danglely bits between the legs aren’t obvious. There are numerous methods from tucking between the legs and wearing tight undergarments to the use of specially designed undergarments which level off all the bits and pieces. Unfortunately, this is something of a baffling issue for me since my weight makes it unusual for anything there to show up, and I wear skirts anyway due to a combination of my height and weight. . . .Read More

Ken Starr vs. transsexual in Prop 8 case

March 3, 2009

BY AURELIO ROJAS | SACRAMENTO BEE/SHNS

Kenneth Starr and Shannon Minter, lead attorneys in the California Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of same-sex marriage in the state, are as different as the competing sides they represent.

Starr, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, is best known for leading the inquiry into President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern.

Since then, the former federal judge and U.S. solicitor general has dedicated himself to conservative causes, including writing briefs for the Mormon church in a previous gay marriage case in California.

Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, is a transsexual who spent his first 35 years as a female. He was a lead counsel in the state Supreme Court case decided last May that allowed same-sex couples to marry, a ruling that was reversed in November when voters approved Proposition 8.

Starr and Minter will square off Thursday in the most closely watched California Supreme Court hearing in a generation. They're set to deliver oral arguments in three suits in which supporters of gay marriage contend that Proposition 8, which limits marriage to a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.

Minter, 48, representing gay rights groups, will be the first attorney to address the court in San Francisco. Starr, 62, will deliver the final arguments on behalf of the Yes on 8 campaign. . . .Read More