Where have Kerala’s Hijras gone?

11 October 2008

K.P.M. Basheer

KOCHI: After a quarter century of tortured life as a woman trapped in a man’s body in a Kerala village, Geeta had fled to Chennai 16 years ago.

There, a small group of Hijras took her in. They sheltered her, burned her shirt and trousers, dressed her up in a sari and blouse and gave her the present name. Eventually, they nudged her into prostitution, at that time the easiest job available to a Hijra. She hated it initially, but found comfort in the identity as a Hijra (pronounced Hijda, meaning a transsexual person) and felt secure in sari-blouse and in the company of people of her own gender.

“Life in my village, near Thiruvananthapuram, was horrible,” Geeta recalls. “I was taunted, insulted and physically harassed at school, home and on the street, just because I talked and behaved like a woman.” Raised as a male and given a male name and male clothes, she yearned to be a woman though. She was more comfortable with cooking and housework at home than going out and doing the guy things.

“People in Kerala only accept males and females and not us, the trans-gendered people who are humans too,” she says in her Tamil-blended Malayalam. “It was my own family that insulted and harassed me the most, as they considered me as a curse.” Finally, when the family found a bride for her and the wedding date was fixed, Geeta tried to commit suicide, but ended up in hospital. One night, she left home and took a train to Chennai. Sixteen years on, Geeta is now an activist of a Chennai-based NGO that works for the welfare of trans-gendered people. . . .Read More

No Reservations - French Polynesia

"Tony Bourdain takes a look at transgender culture in French Polynesia."  wenkaimc

A Paleo-Feminist on Transgender Sexism Studies

by Debra Dickerson on 10/06/08

An extremely 'well intentioned' young white guy I work closely with said to me the other day that, appalled as he was by this "new" notion of white privilege he'd just heard of, thank god he'd never been its beneficiary. Others had, of course, but not him and man! would such a thing suck if it actually did exist.While trying not to either laugh at him or slit his throat, I informed him about a study done by U of Chicago and MIT professors. In that study, identical resumes were sent in response to their local papers' want ads. Identical, that is, but for names like "Jennifer" v. "Tanisha," and "Jamal" v. "Joe". Let's just sum it up thusly:. . .Read More

A positive change on reality TV

By Vanessa E. Jones

Globe Staff / October 7, 2008

Levi Valentine had never watched a full season of Tyra Banks's reality show "America's Next Top Model" in the 10 seasons it's been on the air. Then Valentine heard that a transgender woman, Isis Tsunami, was going to be one of the contestants. That was enough to persuade Valentine, a 29-year-old transgender man who lives in Jamaica Plain, to tune in.

"Top Model" isn't the only reality show featuring a transgender woman this season. On VH-1's new show "I Want to Work for Diddy," Laverne Cox battles other contestants to become the rap mogul's assistant. Even before the shows premiered, their casting was applauded by groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the gay news website AfterElton, and local organizations such as Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, which works to end discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression in the state.

Once the shows began airing, the two women gained a strong following among viewers.

"They've presented themselves pretty well," Valentine says, "but they're not doing this for the community; they're doing this for themselves, which is great to see. It's about time actually." . . .Read More

Opinion, Critique, POV: Schwarzenegger Signs Homosexual-Bisexual-Transsexual Bills

by cwnewz network, on 07-10-2008

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed three bills squashing moral values and religious freedom. By elevating the homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda above the rights of everyone else, Schwarzenegger has confirmed his legacy is being the most anti-family Republican governor in California history.

"There is no gay gene, but religious freedom is a God-given right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. So it's wrong and unfair to create new laws which make homosexual-bisexual-transsexual 'rights' superior to everyone else's rights," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, a leading West Coast family issues organization.

"The words 'discrimination,' 'harassment,' and 'tolerance' have been redefined and are actually resulting in reverse discrimination and intolerance against people with moral values," said Thomasson. "Under these new laws, foster parents, nurses, doctors, health insurance plans, city and county commissions, and court-appointed children's advocates must abandon their moral, social or financial values at the alter of the homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda. This crate load of homosexual-bisexual-transsexual laws embodies the same intolerant spirit of the recent California Supreme Court ruling that trampled the religious freedom of doctors at the behest of homosexual 'rights.'" . . .Read More

A life shunned

by Sharmila Billot

2008/10/07

Poh Si Teng with Natasha (right).

SHARMILA BILLOT speaks to Poh Si Teng about her winning short film on transsexuals.

FOR a young filmmaker, Poh Si Teng is bold and courageous when it comes to tackling controversial issues.

Poh’s short film, Pecah Lobang, was one of the winning entries at the Freedom Film Festival (FFF) 2008.

Pecah Lobang, which means “busted”, is about transsexual sex workers in Malaysia. It is also a term commonly used by transsexuals.

“They are just normal people who had no choice but to become sex workers in order to earn a living,” said Poh Si.
“Life is hard for them as they can’t secure proper jobs. To add to their misery, their families and society shun them. . . .Read More

Kids of Transgender Parents

"This is an interview with Monica from COLAGE. She explains their Kids of Trans program - very exciting stuff."   duzdonna

Transgender Candidate Who Ran as Woman Did Not Mislead Voters, Court Says

by ROBBIE BROWN

October 6, 2008

ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that a transgender politician did not mislead voters by running for office as a woman.

The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by two opponents of the politician, Michelle Bruce, who was born Michael Bruce, that said she disguised her sex while seeking re-election last year in Riverdale, Ga.

“This is a great victory for me and anyone who believes in equality,” Ms. Bruce said in a statement. “It gives me hope that the Georgia Supreme Court did what was right and did not buy into hate-based politics.”

Ms. Bruce, the first openly transgender politician in Georgia, served on the Riverdale Council for four years before losing her re-election bid in a runoff last year. Two of her opponents, Georgia Fuller and Stan Harris, who also lost, filed the lawsuit to request another election. . . .Read More

New TV shows hit the spot

by Nestor Torre
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10/03/2008

MANILA, Philippines—“Taboo” on the National Geographic Channel makes for an absorbing viewing experience, because it blows the lid off some really controversial beliefs and practices. Other shows also tackle controversy, but “Taboo” is generally more detailed and avoids shock tactics for shock value’s sake.

Last week, the edgy weekly series’ episode, “Gender Benders,” focused on the growing transsexual trend, with males transforming themselves medically into women, and vice-versa.

The documentary eschewed ethical or religious norms, and concentrated on the physical and psychological effects of sex change.

Impersonators

In the process, it revealed that in Thailand alone, the transsexual population count has reached over 100,000. Granted, most of them are “showgirls” or female impersonators, so they can’t be said to have moved into mainstream society.

Arresting images offered by the production included two couples who turned out to be cross-gender “adventurers”—in both directions: The males turned out to have been originally female, while their now female spouses were once men! . . .Read More

Living on the front line

The transsexual’s story

By Alison Bracken

October 2008

“I left in 1999 and went illegally first to Mexico and then to the US. I was in the closet when I left and the economic situation was bad. I was begging for food in Mexico. Eventually I ended up in Dallas, homeless and living in the Salvation Army’s shelter. Then I met another transsexual. She helped me get some work selling myself on the corner. Then I began going to nightclubs and picking up men and going to their apartment to have sex with them for money. I saw everyone else with cars and TVs, I wanted that and pretty soon I had it.

“Then I met a Mexican guy in a bar and we got an apartment together and he became my boyfriend. He had a wife and kids he was supporting in Mexico too. He sold cocaine. He started giving me $20 packages of coke to sell. One night, these undercover police came into the bar where I was working and asked me to get them some cocaine. I got them a little. Then they came back the next week and asked for an ounce. So I called my boyfriend and next thing you know, I’ve been busted for delivery of a controlled substance even though I only made a phone call. I spent two and a half years in jail. I took every class you can do, learnt English. I had a German boyfriend. . . .Read More

"Sex Change Hospital"

by  Karla Scoon Reid

Karla Scoon Reid

Tuesdays at 11 p.m. on WETV

Episode: "Episode 101" which airs Oct. 14

"Sex Change Hospital" easily could have exploited people in the guise of informing or entertaining television viewers.

Instead, this six-part series airing on WETV, is a real-life medical and family drama which primarily focuses on the emotional transformations of people seeking to find peace within their own bodies.
The show follows Dr. Marci Bowers who oversees sex change operations in Trinidad, Colo., the so-called 'sex change capital of the world.'

Dr. Bowers, who was once a man, is an understanding surgeon who shares her personal story along with the medical challenges involved in transforming a man to a woman and a woman to a man. While there strong warnings about this show's content, most of the surgery is concealed with blurry camera shots. . . .Read More

(Check your local listing. R.A.)

my parents coming out

"just bout me commin out to my parents"  Tristan14578

Catching Up

Although they have a long way to go, news organizations are beginning to report with more sophistication about transgender issues.

By Lindsay Kalter 

October / November 2008

In April 2007, the byline of a well-known Los Angeles Times sports columnist changed from Mike Penner to Christine Daniels. In her column announcing the transition, Daniels asked a question that reflects a significant void in media coverage: "How do you go about sharing your most important truth, one you spent a lifetime trying to keep deeply buried...to a world whose knowledge of transsexuals usually begins and ends with Jerry Springer's exploitation circus?"

It is this vacuum of knowledge about those who identify with the gender different from their sex at birth that news organizations are just beginning to fill. Discussion of transgender issues in serious media (as opposed to daytime talk shows) is relatively new--and like most fledglings, it is floundering on its way to maturity. As the topic becomes less taboo and is more frequently treated as one of social and political importance, the media struggle to evolve with the times--and don't always succeed. The result is what some social commentators believe to be the bipolar state of transgender news coverage. Stories ricochet between extremes: sensational and fair, confusing and enlightening, insipid and insightful. . . .Read More

Feds sue Harley dealership for firing transgender mechanic

by Matthew S. Bajko

2 October 2008

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing locally-owned Dudley Perkins Company, one of the country's oldest Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships, for allegedly violating federal law when it fired a transgender mechanic after she filed a sex discrimination complaint against it.

According to the federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, September 30, the dealership hired Bowen Dean, 44, as an entry-level lot technician on June 23, 2005. Yet, despite her training as a Harley-Davidson mechanic, Dean was never allowed to perform the duties she was originally hired to do, and instead was assigned to customer service and bookkeeping work, according to the results of the commission's investigation.

After she was repeatedly passed over for technical jobs filled by men who were hired from outside without her training or experience, Dean filed a sex discrimination charge with the EEOC in February 2006. Just two months later in April 2006, the company unjustly fired her, the EEOC said. . . .Read More

Prom Dress a Federal Case

By ARTHUR S. LEONARD

10/02/2008

In a September 25 ruling, a federal judge in Gary, Indiana, gave a green light to a lawsuit by a transsexual high school student suing over his principal's refusal to allow him to attend the prom in a dress.

US District Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen, of the Northern District of Indian, denied public school administrators' motion to dismiss the suit filed by Kevin "K.K." Logan against the Gary Community School Corporation. The court found that the defendants had not met the high standard for a motion to dismiss, which essentially is that they show that the plaintiff has no plausible claim.

Lambda Legal represents Logan.

According to the complaint, Logan identifies as a gay transsexual youth who prefers to wear feminine attire, and did so throughout his senior year at West Side High School in Gary. It is an interesting sign of the times that Logan claims he encountered no substantial problems at school due to his attire, finding both teachers and fellow students generally supportive. Even the assistant principal stated no objections when Logan inquired about wearing a dress to the prom.  . . .Read More

FTM Chest - 7 mths Post

"---as it says...NOT what 'I' say!
Surgery was on Feb20th so it's been 7 mths and 2 weeks! (time flies?)"  xenokyle

High Standards

by Tynan Power
Bay Windows Contributor
Oct 1, 2008


Standards of Care, a new work by transgender playwright Tobias K. Davis, comes to the stage in Northampton this week. This is Davis’s first play since his award-winning The Naked I: Monologues from Beyond the Binary, which earned the moniker "the trans Vagina Monologues." Claire Avitabile, who was the assistant director of The Naked I, will bring her 20% Theatre Company from Minneapolis to produce Standards of Care.

In this new work, Davis turns the typical love triangle on pointed end with the hilarious and moving story of Nancy, Jason and David. In some ways, Nancy is a typical mother who is not coping well as her 16-year-old, "Jessica," comes out as "Jason." However, Nancy isn’t just a typical mom; she’s also a gender therapist who treats transgender patients every day. What’s more, she’s falling head over heels for one of her patients, an FTM named David who is in therapy with her only to obtain the letter necessary for him to get "bottom" (or genital) surgery. Meanwhile, David is volunteering at an LGBT youth center where he meets Jason, but has no idea Nancy is Jason’s mother. . . .Read More

Transgender task force seeks operation coverage

By Shannon Simcox

October 1, 2008

Health insurance through the university doesn't explicitly cover the transgender community at Penn State, but one student wants to change that.

Denise Conner, a member of the Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students -- an advisory group focused on LGBT issues -- is lobbying on behalf of the Commission on LGBT Equity's Ad-hoc Transgender Task Force for better health plans for both transgender students and employees.

Official complaints have been filed with the insurance company for Penn State employees, Conner (graduate-chemistry) said, and there have been ongoing discussions between University Health Services and Student Insurance.

"We had conversations with people at UHS and Student Insurance two years ago that transition care was going to be covered under insurance. It's supposed to be explicitly stated, and it still isn't," Conner said. . . .Read More

Why A Federal District Court's Decision Is a Victory for Transsexuals' Right Not to Face Employment Discrimination

by Joanna Grossman

30 September 2008

In a thoughtful, well-reasoned opinion, a federal district judge handed transsexuals a significant victory against employment discrimination. The case was Schroer v. Billington, and the court was the federal district court for the District of Columbia.

The Case Against the Library of Congress

The facts of the case are these: Diane Schroer applied for a position as a terrorism specialist with the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress. The job, which requires a security clearance, entails providing expert policy analysis to Congressional committees, as well as members of Congress and their staffs.

No one disputes that Schroer possessed excellent qualifications for the job, which included an impressive set of relevant academic credentials and twenty-five years of service in the military, including time in combat as part of a Special Forces unit. The dispute arose, instead, because of Schroer's male-to-female transsexual status. (A transsexual is someone whose gender identity diverges from his anatomical sex at birth.)

At the time she interviewed for the position, she had been diagnosed with gender identity disorder and had been working with a social worker to develop a plan to transition to a completely female identity. When she had interviewed at CRS, however, she used what was then her legal name, "David Schroer," and presented herself to the interviewer with a male appearance. After the interview, on which she scored higher than any other applicant, CRS offered her the position. . . .Read More

Transgender Teen

Ben Briscoe talks to former headline maker, Rochelle Evans.   Dallasvoice