Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Gender Queer Me
An attempt at describing my gender identity, which, now I have had the surgery, I can finally be open about!
Hopefully this will be of value to those of you questioning your own?
This is an understanding that took me many years to feel comfortable with and in, never mind being confident enough to share publicly! xenokyle
Students go out in style - drag style
Jody Pollock
3.26.2008
It was all about the purple fishnets.
College sophomore Cameron Clark spent the past few weeks preparing for his debut as Britney Spears last night, and he couldn't have done it without the "proper purple fishnets."
In towering black lace-up boots and a pink miniskirt, Clark was just one of the many Penn performers who participated in the second-annual gender-bending drag show last night. The show was part of QPenn, the annual lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender pride and awareness week.
"This is a drag show," said the emcee of the night, MC Liza, who hosts a weekly drag show at Bob and Barbara's, a bar downtown. "So don't be conservative. If you're going to be conservative, we'll send you somewhere else."
But the audience wasn't shy, and the five drag acts, which included a group of PennQuest leaders and a contingent from alpha Kappa Delta Phi, were met with a great reception. . . .Read more
3.26.2008
It was all about the purple fishnets.
College sophomore Cameron Clark spent the past few weeks preparing for his debut as Britney Spears last night, and he couldn't have done it without the "proper purple fishnets."
In towering black lace-up boots and a pink miniskirt, Clark was just one of the many Penn performers who participated in the second-annual gender-bending drag show last night. The show was part of QPenn, the annual lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender pride and awareness week.
"This is a drag show," said the emcee of the night, MC Liza, who hosts a weekly drag show at Bob and Barbara's, a bar downtown. "So don't be conservative. If you're going to be conservative, we'll send you somewhere else."
But the audience wasn't shy, and the five drag acts, which included a group of PennQuest leaders and a contingent from alpha Kappa Delta Phi, were met with a great reception. . . .Read more
Transgender adults seek congressional support in workplace
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 3/26/2008
Transgender activists will descend on Capitol Hill next month to lobby members of Congress to include "gender identity and expression" in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Transgender activists will descend on Capitol Hill next month to lobby members of Congress to include "gender identity and expression" in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
In first, black trans woman headed to Dem convention
Richmond, a Clinton delegate, would be happy with Obama as nominee
By REBECCA ARMENDARIZ, Washington Blade | Mar 26, 2008
Marisa Richmond has been involved in national political conventions since 1980, when she worked on Sen. Edward Kennedy's bid for president.
But this election year will likely be more memorable for Richmond, as she is set to become the first black transgender delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
This year, Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean also named Diego Sanchez from Massachusetts to one of the convention's standing committees. Sanchez is the first transgender person to be selected by the chair of the DNC and the first to serve on the platform committee.
Richmond, a college history professor at Middle Tennessee State University, transitioned in 2001 at age 42. Though she knew since age 7 that she felt like a woman, she said she didn't know the terminology — or what was possible — until later. . . .Read More
By REBECCA ARMENDARIZ, Washington Blade | Mar 26, 2008
Marisa Richmond has been involved in national political conventions since 1980, when she worked on Sen. Edward Kennedy's bid for president.
But this election year will likely be more memorable for Richmond, as she is set to become the first black transgender delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
This year, Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean also named Diego Sanchez from Massachusetts to one of the convention's standing committees. Sanchez is the first transgender person to be selected by the chair of the DNC and the first to serve on the platform committee.
Richmond, a college history professor at Middle Tennessee State University, transitioned in 2001 at age 42. Though she knew since age 7 that she felt like a woman, she said she didn't know the terminology — or what was possible — until later. . . .Read More
Transgender Man's Baby May Have Health Problems
Experts Debate the Long-Term Effects of Testosterone on Eggs
By AINA HUNTER
March 26, 2008
Among the important issues raised by the pregnancy of Oregonian Thomas Beatie is whether a female-to-male transgender person who becomes pregnant might be endangering the fetus, especially someone like Beatie, who has been taking testosterone for at least 10 years.
By AINA HUNTER
March 26, 2008
Among the important issues raised by the pregnancy of Oregonian Thomas Beatie is whether a female-to-male transgender person who becomes pregnant might be endangering the fetus, especially someone like Beatie, who has been taking testosterone for at least 10 years.
There's very little research on the subject to date, and some experts are at odds about it. Dr. Charles Garramoni, a Florida plastic surgeon who specializes in female-to-male transgender surgery (but was not involved in Beatie's case), said the chances of complications are probably slim. . . .Read More
Author Jennifer Finney Boylan emerges as public face for transgendered
Jerry Harkavy, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 25, 2008
March 25, 2008
BELGRADE LAKES, Maine - Jennifer Finney Boylan never set out to be the public face for the transgendered.
But the novelist and English professor at Colby College was thrust into that role by her 2002 best-selling memoir about the transition to womanhood that freed her from the decades-long torment of being a female trapped in a male body.
With three appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," two on "Larry King Live" and numerous other interviews and public appearances, Boylan, 49, has become a sunny-faced activist for the transgendered and one of the most widely recognized transsexuals of recent years.
"Activism for me takes the form of living a normal life and doing so very publicly," she said. . . .Read More
Monday, March 24, 2008
Meet The Transsexuals (Recorded in 1999)
Information on transsexual living from the founder of the Transgender Support Web Site:
MelanieAnnePhillips
American author explores crossdressers and transsexuals in Get Dressed!
by Brianna Austin
March 25, 2008
March 25, 2008
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Crossdressers and Tranassexuals, although both under the transgender umbrella, are really very different things, which Gina Lance talks about in her new book entitled: Get Dressed!
Gina Lance, the Editor In Chief of TGLIFE.com, may be the most well known cross-dresser on the planet. After producing and co-hosting TV-TV for Century Cable in 1997, Gina went on to publish Hollywood TVs, a retro pin up girl calendar, and then in 1999 founded Girl Talk Magazine which became the Vogue of trans publications in ten countries.
In the last decade, Gina has been featured on MSNBC’s documentary “The Secret Closet,” ABC’s “Philly After Midnight,” MTV, Showtime, HBO, E Channel, FOX and NBC’s “To Tell The Truth,” along with hundreds of radio interviews from London to New Zealand and across North America discussing what it means to be a crossdresser. She has been keynote speaker at TG conventions such as Atlanta’s ‘Southern Comfort Conference, Arizona’s ‘Puttin’ On The Glitz’ and Arkansas’s ‘Eureka En Femme Getaway’ and also participated in the West Hollywood, California “Transgender’s in the Media” televised town hall event. . . .Read More
Transexual teen has faith in self, others
The night I heard that a cross-dressing teen had been shot and killed on Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, I immediately thought of Willie Litersky.
I had interviewed Willie, another cross-dressing teen, for a column about the challenges that gay and transgender kids face.
I had been so impressed with Willie's courage and self-confidence that I wrote, "When I grow up, I want to be like Willie."That was 18 months ago. When he was 15. When Willie was still Willie.
Monday, Willie turned 17, the same age as murder victim Simmie Williams Jr.
And Willie is now Niki.
"Nicholas was her middle name," Niki's mom, Linda, explained. "Niki's totally transsexual now. She's dressing as a girl all the time."
After receiving a recommendation from a therapist, Niki soon will be going to an endocrinologist. She expects to begin the hormone therapy needed to move toward eventual sexual reassignment surgery. . . .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
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
Glamour queens
Anniversaries can be such a drag—and at Kit Kat Lounge, that’s not a bad thing.
DIAMONDS NIGHTS The ladies from Kit Kat Lounge sparkle.
Forget ogling strippers or getting sweaty with hot strangers at a dance club. The new bachelorette party activity of choice is hanging out at a transsexual female–celebrity-impersonator supper club. At least that’s what Kit Kat Lounge’s Madame X (pictured, second from right) believes, considering such parties make up about 70 percent of her business. Founded in 2000 by business and life partners Ramesh Ariyanayakam and Edward Gisiger, the sleek Boystown lounge serves gourmet martinis (try the Sake-it-to-me), kicky menu items like “Just for the Halibut,” and drag from artists like Madame X, Delores Van Cartier and Sandy Solis, who perform in the aisles between tables every 20 minutes or so while pop music by Madonna, Tina Turner and Shakira plays through the swank space. . . .Read More
Thai army to introduce 'third category' for transsexuals
3.19.2008
BANGKOK (AFP) — Thailand's military will stop branding transsexual conscripts as mentally disturbed, and will list them in a new "third category" as neither male nor female, a senior officer said Wednesday.
Thai men are required to report for the draft once they turn 21. Under the current system, transsexuals are rejected as suffering from "a mental disorder."
Gay rights groups complained that the label penalises transsexuals for the rest of their lives, because men are required to prove if they have completed their national service when they apply for jobs or bank loans.
When transsexuals submit their military rejection forms declaring they have a mental disorder, they are automatically disqualified from many jobs and mortgages. . . .Read More
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Change gender/sex virtually. . .
The Sims 3 will launch in 2009
Third installment to sport brand new engine
20 Mar 2008
"It is this type of open-ended gameplay that inspires endless creative possibilities"
Ben Bell Executive producer, The Sims 3
Electronic Arts has released the first official details of the next version of The Sims, one of the world's best selling computer games, which will launch in 2009.
With 98 million games sold around the world in 22 languages, the transgender appeal of the franchise has made The Sims the third best selling game in history, behind Mario and Pokemon. . . .Read More
Trans job fair
compiled by Cynthia Laird
3.20.2008
3.20.2008
. . .The San Francisco LGBT Community Center will host its next transgender job fair Wednesday, March 26 from 1 to 4 p.m., at 1800 Market Street. Organizers said that this event has 25 employers signed up, and that there are many more private sector employers attending the event.
Ken Stram, director of the center's economic development program, said that a new feature for next week's event is a "Dress for Success" component, where hair and makeup professionals will be on hand to help job seekers look their best to meet and greet prospective employers.
The event is part of the Transgender Economic Empowerment Initiative, a collaboration between the center, the Transgender Law Center, Jewish Vocational Services, and SF Transgender Empowerment Advocacy and Mentorship. . . .Read More
For more information, visit http://www.sfcenter.org.
Slain transgender woman to be remembered
by Seth Hemmelgarn
3.20.2008
3.20.2008
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A demonstration to remember a transgender woman whose naked body was found on a San Francisco sidewalk last year will be held Friday, March 21.
Ruby Ordenana, 24, whose legal name was Rudy Ordenana, was found dead in the 1600 block of Indiana Street, near Interstate 280, on March 16, 2007, according to police. The death was ruled a homicide.
Community United Against Violence is inviting people to remember Ordenana and others who've been lost to violence. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the 24th Street BART station on Mission Street.
San Francisco Police Department spokesman Sergeant Neville Gittens said the investigation remains open but there are no leads in the case.
Mayor Gavin Newsom's office has authorized an increase in the reward. . .Read More
Counselors should target discrimination and be advocates for transgender clients
University of Oregon doctoral students address workplace and psychological issues for overlooked population
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Two University of Oregon doctoral students dove into issues of transgender identities -- in the workplace and professional counseling -- and surfaced with a call for psychologists and vocational counselors to not only treat but to act as advocates for their clients -- and to help end discrimination in the workplace.
"One of the main points of our paper is that not only do we need to be, as vocational psychologists or career counselors, working with transgender people at an individual level to help them get hired, but we also need to be doing a lot of social advocacy work -- working with employers and workplaces -- improving antidiscrimination policies and doing legal advocacy," said lead author Maya Elin O'Neil.
The study, co-authored by their doctoral adviser Ellen Hawley McWhirter, a professor of counseling psychology, provides transgender-issue terminology related to gender identity, suggestions for addressing problems of both clients and on-the-job difficulties and lists available resources -- filling a void in both the academic literature and support possibilities. The study appeared online in February and in print in the March issue of the Journal of Career Development.
"We've had lots of requests for reprints of the article from people who have heard about it, and they've repeatedly said that there is nothing out there about the workplace angle," O'Neil said. Request for copies have come from psychologists, vocational counselors, university administrators, especially those dealing with diversity issues and planning, and even workforce managers, said co-author Alison Cerezo.
O'Neil and Cerezo both are pursing doctorates in counseling psychology. O'Neil also is a statistician and works as a therapist with at-risk youth. Cerezo also studies issues related to college retention and career self-efficacy among Latino/Latina college students. . . .Read More
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I'm Awesome!
"The first part in a series of blogs dedicated to my ego getting completely out of control! "
grishno
Barack Obama's Open Letter to the LGBT Community
by Barack Obama
An Open Letter to the LGBT Community:
I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.
Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.
The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives. We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia– that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president.
That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.
Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.
Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike.
Barack Obama
Transgender History: Toward the Future (1996-2007)
by Guest Blogger
March 18, 2008
[The Bilerico Project EDITOR'S NOTE:] Frequent guest blogger Mercedes Allen has written a six part history of transgender people for the Project that is running weekly on Tuesdays. A listing of the other sections is at the bottom of the post.
It is interesting that it really wasn't until after Stonewall, when the GLB and T communities started to define themselves, that marked divisions occurred among them. From the earliest ages, gender variance and same-sex love were seen as connected and congruous, even if one aspect manifested entirely without the other. Before the oppression of the Middle Ages, both were also seen as equally innate and equally respectable. The rifts that began in the early 1970s (albeit with some earlier genesis in The Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis), deepening with third-wave feminism and other movements, would start to come closer together again as Western culture approached the new millennium, and as the various communities learned that they could distinguish themselves, and still learn to understand and respect each other. The trans community would remain outside the longest, not seeing any protective civil rights legislation pass until 1993. But as inclusion would spread, so would protections. . . .Read More
March 18, 2008
[The Bilerico Project EDITOR'S NOTE:] Frequent guest blogger Mercedes Allen has written a six part history of transgender people for the Project that is running weekly on Tuesdays. A listing of the other sections is at the bottom of the post.
It is interesting that it really wasn't until after Stonewall, when the GLB and T communities started to define themselves, that marked divisions occurred among them. From the earliest ages, gender variance and same-sex love were seen as connected and congruous, even if one aspect manifested entirely without the other. Before the oppression of the Middle Ages, both were also seen as equally innate and equally respectable. The rifts that began in the early 1970s (albeit with some earlier genesis in The Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis), deepening with third-wave feminism and other movements, would start to come closer together again as Western culture approached the new millennium, and as the various communities learned that they could distinguish themselves, and still learn to understand and respect each other. The trans community would remain outside the longest, not seeing any protective civil rights legislation pass until 1993. But as inclusion would spread, so would protections. . . .Read More
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