Trans News Updates:

Compiled and edited by Lynn Conway

[Version of 5-11-08]

These pages links to news of special interest to the trans community. It also serves as a window into the media's focus and the public's interest in trans issues - enabling us to track shifts in social scripts and story-telling paradigms over time. We also exploit these pages as a searchable news archive, by using "find" in browsers and using the internal Google search-box above. E-mail Lynn if you hear of interesting news for listing here. You can monitor for such stories using "Google News", searching on words such as transgender, transsexual, sex reassignment, sex change, gender identity, gender expression, gender variance and gender transition. 

2008:   Jan,  Feb,  Mar,  Apr,  May 

2007:   Jan,  Feb,  Mar,  Apr,  May,  Jun,  Jul,  Aug,  Sep,  Oct,  Nov,  Dec

2006:   Jan,  Feb,  Mar,  Apr,  May,  Jun,  Jul,  Aug,  Sep,  Oct,  Nov,  Dec

2005:     -       -       -      Apr,  May,  Jun,  Jul,  Aug,  Sep,  Oct,  Nov,  Dec

News Notes:  In July of 2007, Ken Zucker, as editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior (ASB), subverted that scientific journal into a propaganda machine in support of his ASB editorial board members Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence. In a highly prejudicial and scientifically unethical action, Zucker announced and pre-published Alice Dreger's bizarrely one-sided history of the Bailey book investigation, presenting Dreger's piece as if it were an independent scholarly work (and devoting the entire June 2008 issue to Dreger's defense of Bailey). Ardent Bailey supporter Ben Carey followed up with a New York Times article on 8-21-07, portraying Bailey as a great scientist under siege for 'telling the truth'.

Dreger then went on to attack a graduate student who had simply proposed a conference panel on transphobia in academe (see Elise Hendrick's commentary at this link and Lynn's comments at this link - and the article about Joelle at this link). For more on these attack on the identities of transwomen by Bailey, Dreger and Zucker, see the Bailey Investigation Pages, the BBL Clearinghouse and the Log of Breaking News.  See also "The Bailey Affair, Again" by Joan Roughgarden, Ph.D. , and letters to WPATH members from gender counselors Wal Torres, Ph.D. and Sandra Samons, Ph.D.

For an analysis of the 'science' purveyed by Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence, see Élise Hendrick's essay at this link. For an excellent deconstruction of the Times article, see Élise's essay at this link.  Julia Serano has also published an exposé of this attempt to resurrect Bailey's disgraced career - and we highly recommend Julia's new book to those wishing to understand the context surrounding these recent events: Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity.

For a recent media expose of Ken Zucker's inhumane reparatist treatment of gender-variant children, see "But For Today I Am A Boy" in the May 9, 2008 issue of  Torontoist - and listen to a heartbreaking NPR documentary which contrasts Zucker's approach to more modern treatments. 

May 2008:

5-11-08:  Delco Times (PA; article of 5-5-08): "Haverford school counsels transgender’s classmates" - "Third-graders get help in dealing with new identity of their schoolmate" - "Two weeks after parents of Haverford School District third-graders learned that a guidance counselor would be talking to their children about a male classmate who is now living as a female, the transgender classmate is reportedly doing fine"

5-11-08:  Global Politician (re India): "Tamil Nadu Shows the Way to Transgenders in India"

5-09-08:   The Torontoist"(Canada): "But For Today I Am A Boy"  (This very important article exposes Ken Zucker's reparatist treatment of gender-variant children at CAMH)

"There is little more dreadful for a parent than unintentionally hurting one's own child. There is little more traumatic for a child than having something they dearly want taken away from them. A Toronto psychologist is under fire for recommending controversial treatments which some believe cause just that.

5-09-08:  "Atlanta Pride turns away HRC sponsorship over trans fight" - "Festival says HRC not ‘inclusive’ enough"

5-09-08:  Times of India (India): "Govt gives software training to transsexuals" - "“No group has ever scored such high marks,'' said ELCOT managing director C Umashankar"

5-09-08: Aftenposten (Norway): "Surprising transsexual aid" - "Norway's Christian Democrat Party continues their support for transsexuals, in contrast to the conservative image of party leader Dagfinn Høybråten"
 

5-08-08:  Catholic Online: "‘Sex-change’ treatment for ‘transgender’ kids? Hospital clinic draw moral criticism" - "“This is cooperating with psychosis,” commented moral theologian Father Anthony Mastroeni" - "The Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 2000 issued a document that authoritatively concluded “sex-change” operations are invalid — they do not change a person’s sex, according to a Catholic News Service report reprinted in LifeSiteNews.com"

5-08-08:  The Journal News (Hudson Valley, NY): "Transgender teen says he has support at Brewster school" - "Brewster High School student Michael Loscalzo said he was scared to go to school yesterday, given all the attention he's received for his recent decision to start dressing as a girl" (more)

5-08-08: Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand): "Study tackles gender development" - "Jaimie Veale says she first realised that she was inside the wrong body when she was just five years old"

5-08-08:  NPR.org: "Parents Consider Treatment to Delay Son's Puberty" - "New Therapy Would Buy Time to Resolve Gender Crisis"

5-08-08:  NPR.org: "Q&A: Doctors on Puberty-Delaying Treatments" - "A small group of doctors around the world have introduced a controversial approach to the treatment of preteens and teenagers who believe they are the opposite sex"

5-07-08:  NPR.org: "Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences" - "Psychologists Take Radically Different Approaches in Therapy"
 

5-07-08:  NPR.org: "Q&A: Therapists on Gender Identity Issues in Kids" - "Psychologist Ken Zucker is a gender identity specialist who works at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. His treatment approach is to try to make kids with gender identity issues feel more comfortable with their biological sex" (i.e., Zucker is a 'reparatist')

5-07-08:  The Donna Blog: "Zucker revisited: The lunatics rule the asylum" - "Yesterday I mentioned that Dr. Ken Zucker has been named as the leader of the group that would be recommending/making changes to appear in the next updates to the DSM. This is horrible news for trans people, their families, and those who care about them", by Donna Rose

5-07-08:  PamsHouseBlend: "Gender-Variant Children And Transsexuals Will Likely Still Be Disordered In DSM-V"  

5-07-08:  GayNZ.com (re Brazil): "Brazil: Footballer's transgender sex scandal" 

5-07-08:  Southern Voice: "HRC president apologizes for ‘misspeaking’ at transgender conference" - "Solmonese talks with Atlanta activists in private meeting"

5-05-08:  Catholic World News: "Massachusetts hospital offers sex-change treatment for children" - ""This is cooperating with psychosis," Father Anthony Mastroeni, a New Jersey priest who has studied sex-change surgery, told the Anchor"

5-03-08:  American Psychiatric Association Press Release (of 5-01-08): "APA Names DSM-V Work Group Members - Experts to Revise Manual for Diagnosis of Mental Disorders".    Ken Zucker, who heads a reparatist clinic for gender-variant youth in Toronto, was named as Chair of the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group for DSM Revision. Ray Blanchard, widely known for pronouncing that transitioned women are "men without penises", was appointed as a member of that Work Group. Any bets on how this is going to turn out?

5-03-08:  The Plain Dealer (Cleveland): "United Methodists decline to act against transgender clergy"

5-03-08:  Star-Telegram (Forth Worth): "Protesters at Methodist conference in Fort Worth decry take on gays"

5-03-08:  Philadelphia Inquirer: "School challenge: Transgender student is age 9" - "Some medical experts think parents should not let a child change gender roles at a young age. Paul McHugh, a psychiatrist and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studied sexual reassignment surgery in the 1970s, said a school's decision to support a student's transition could have long-term psychological consequences. - - - There is no evidence that the transition ultimately helps the person, he added. McHugh said he reached his conclusions after studying the issue for 30 years, especially in the 1970s, when Hopkins was pioneering sexual-reassignment surgery."

5-02-08:  SFGate: "AsiaSF gender-bending club goes Hollywood"

5-02-08:  Associated Press: "Doc Theorizes Pharoah Had Feminine Attributes"

5-02-08:  Stanford Daily: "Performance Review: Meet Jin Xing: Crosses her legs, comfortable with contrasts" - "Meet Jin Xing, China’s most famous modern dancer/choreographer. "

5-02-08:  New York Times Movie Review: "XXY (2007)" - "How must the world appear to someone who has been treated as an exotic clinical specimen from birth?"

5-02-08:  Daily Mail (UK): "Transsexual husband annuls marriage and enters into civil partnership with wife to keep pension benefits"

5-01-08:  GayWired: "The 'Naked' Playwright’s Transgender Jesus" - "“I’ve always been interested in the strange relationship that exists between transgendered people and the medical and therapist community,” says the award-winning trans playwright Tobias K. Davis. He explores those issues in his latest play, Standards of Care, which examines the relationships between a therapist and a transgender patient."

5-01-08:  Bay Area Reporter: "Mother of slain trans teen backs judge candidate"

April 2008:

4-30-08:  Thaindian News (re Pakistan): "Pakistan court allows woman to change sex" (more)

4-30-08:  Citizen-Times (Ashville, NC): "Asheville's transgender community speaks"

4-29-08:  ACLU Press Release: "ACLU Takes On High School Principal For Discriminating Against Male Couple" - "A public high school principal who posted the names of two boys on a list of students believed to be couples, revealing their relationship to their parents as well as other students and teachers, violated the students' constitutional right to freedom of association, the American Civil Liberties Union charged today" (see the details of this incredible situation in the ACLU demand letter (3mb pdf ))

4-29-08:  Pink News (UK): "Report reveals disturbing divide in treatment of transexuals in the EU" (more)

4-29-08:  Chronicle Live (UK): "Pain of daring to be different"

4-28-08:  NGLTF Press Release: "Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People" - "New publication provides invaluable ‘how-to’ advice to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations seeking to become fully transgender-inclusive" (more; link to the new report (3mb pdf ))

4-28-08:  Women's e-News: "Transgender Rights Run Into Bathroom Politics" - "A county ordinance in Maryland that protects transgender rights is facing a public referendum challenge in November. One transgender advocate says it looks like a test case for national opposition to the antidiscrimination push."

4-28-08:  The Post (Ohio University): "Beyond black and white" - "Transgendered students speak out"

4-28-08:  Pink News (UK re Kyrgyzstan): "Police storm international meeting for gay rights in Kyrgyzstan" - "Human rights groups have highlighted the plight of the LGBT community in Kyrgyzstan after a police raid on a leading gay rights group"

4-27-08:  New York Times: "Through Sickness, Health and Sex Change"

4-26-08:  Associated Press: "Business is personal for satellite radio, drug entrepreneur" - " Martine Rothblatt founded Sirius Satellite Radio from a desire to link people together. She founded United Therapeutics from a desperation to save her daughter's life. . . And she accomplished much of this during a time of personal transformation, undergoing a sex change in the early '90s."

4-26-08:  LGBT History Month (UK): "Calpernia Addams: Widowed by Hate" (originally posted 4-10-08)
 

4-26-08:  Ottawa Sun (Canada): "Coming out the hardest part for cross-dresser"

4-25-08:  Ottawa Sun (Canada): "Ottawa's one-man health care sector" - "Dr. Norman Barwin the only MD specializing in transgender care issues"

4-25-08:  Reuters: "TV has never seen more transgender characters"

4-24-08:  The Times of India (India): "Transsexuals tormented by drunk youths"

4-24-08:  The Independent (UK): "Lonely road: Why school is hell for transgender pupils" - "When 'Lauren' decided she wanted to be recognised as a girl, life at school became a nightmare. Should teachers be doing more for transgender pupils?" (an important story from the UK)

4-24-08:  United Methodist News Service: "UMNS GC17 - Transgender United Methodists share stories"

4-24-08:  PrideSource (re Lithuania): "Euro court trans decision on Lithuania is final" - "Lithuania must implement a process for allowing and funding sex-change operations or pay 40,000 euros ($63,600) to transsexuals who seek the surgery so they can go to another country to get it, the European Court of Human Rights said April 9."

4-23-08:  American Family News Network: "Sex-change therapies on children 'beyond the pale'" (yet another religious group attacks the work of Norman Spack, M.D.; see also 4-21-08 and 4-19-08)

4-22-08:  Times of India (India): "Tamil Nadu to create transgender database"

4-21-08:  LifeSiteNews.com: "Children's Hospital Boston Offers "Sex Change" to Adolescents" (another religious group attacks the work of Norman Spack, M.D.)

4-21-08:  Isle of Man Today (IOM): "Transsexual to be recognised under new Manx law" - "Transsexual people will have their acquired gender recognised in law under draft legislation"
 

4-21-08:  The Asian Age (India re Germany): "German 1st man to give birth 10 yrs ago"

4-21-08:  The Telegraph (India): "A pageant for the third sex"

4-20-08:  Inside Vandy (Vanderbilt Univ.): "University moves forward in creating GLBT equality" - "Vanderbilt is moving forward in making the campus more welcoming for all students regardless of their gender identity"

4-20-08:  San Jose Mercury News: "The China connection - Stanford's Pan-Asian Festival focuses spotlight on best of Chinese Music, dance and arts" - Among the many performances will be the Jin Xing Dance Theatre:

"Originally a dancer in the Chinese military, Jin Xing founded the first contemporary dance troupe in Beijing and made her reputation as a thrilling choreographer and envelope-pushing, transgender personality: Jin Xing was born a he. This is the American debut of her world-famous company, performing original works and (with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Chorus) Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." 8 p.m. Saturday April 26 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday April 27, Memorial Auditorium, $12-$50. Tickets: livelyarts.stanford.edu or (650) 725-2787.

4-19-08:  WorldNetDaily: "Children's hospital launches sex change for kids program - 'This isn't conjecture, it's happening now'" (religious group attacks the work of Norman Spack, M.D.)

4-19-08:  CampKC (Kansas City): "A Great Moment for K.C. Transgender Community"

4-18-08:  Pink News (UK): "Isle of Man drafts gender recognition legislation" - "Transsexual people on the Isle of Man will have their new gender recognised by law under draft legislation"

4-18-08:  Washington Blade: "200 trans rights advocates lobby Congress" - "Visitors from 29 states ask lawmakers to oppose gay-only ENDA"

4-17-08:  Washington Post: "Lawyers Maneuver Against Transgender Referendum" - "Lawyers involved in a challenge to the referendum on overturning the (Montgomery, MD) county's new protections for transgender people were in court last week to talk about the scope and timing of the case"

4-17-08:  Pridesource.com: "Detroit undergoes trans-formation"  - "City Council passes gender identity discrimination ordinance"

4-17-08:  Sydney Star Observer (Australia): "Show Some Bloody Respect" - "Being accepted by everyone has to start with your own community. The courage it takes that person to walk down the street as who they really are should be applauded, not used to ridicule"

4-16-08:  SX (Australia): "Trans interests excluded from 2020 Summit" - "GLBT advocates have slammed the apparent non-inclusion of trans representatives in the 2020 Summit this weekend."

4-16-08:  Xinhua News Agency (China): "Tianjin transsexual gets new Chinese ID card as a woman "

4-14-08:  Southeast Texas Record: "Transgender refinery worker sues employer for sex discrimination"

4-14-08:  Organization Intersex Internationale (OII): "Homochromosexuality: A new psychiatric disorder" - ". . . these people stubbornly cling to the idea that there is a marker somewhere for the “true” sex of an individual and that there are only two sexes. Whereas the general population often shares this delusion, it is not a psychosis in most people because they are not obsessed with the delusion to the degree that many researchers, religious leaders and certain radical feminists are, who often spend a large part of their lives in useless research and polemics to defend their delusional thinking."

4-14-08:  Crain's Detroit Business: "Eaton Corp. helped transgender employee" - "Audrey Hopkins, 47, became the first transgender individual hired into Eaton Corp.'s 100-member information-technology group in October 2005."

4-14-08:  The Los Angeles Loyolan (Loyala Marymount Univ): "Celebrate Transgenders", by Jennifer Beckwith - Note: It took a lot of courage for Jennifer to write this article. After all, Loyola Marymount is a Catholic University in the Jesuit Tradition, and it's leaders must follow official Vatican proclamations derived from Paul McHugh's teachings that transgender people are mentally ill sexual paraphilics.

4-13-08:   The Bilerico Project: "Equality Through Intimidation? The Houston HRC Dinner Protest" (more)

4-13-08:  The San Francisco Chronicle: "GENDER IDENTITY AND PHANTOM GENITALIA" - "This suggests that an intact body image - the maps of the body laid down in the brain before and after birth - can develop without actual limbs . . . For transgender men and women, he (Ramachandran) says, the body image laid down prenatally could similarly differ from the external body anatomy."

"I expect a lot of criticism," Ramachandran says. "Those who study transsexuality tend to be territorial because they themselves have made so little progress. There is no literature that illuminates the underlying mechanisms, other than psychological mumbo jumbo."
 

4-12-08:  Victoria Times Colonist (Canada): "Mountie disciplined after looking for transsexual love in uniform" - "A B.C. Mountie has received informal discipline for posting a dating profile online using a picture of himself in his red serge uniform to find transgendered and transsexual mates." 

4-12-08:  National Health Service (UK): Health Encyclopedia: "Gender Dysphoria" - The UK NHS has just added a new section on gender dysphoria to its online Health Encyclopedia, to bring it in line with recent changes in policies and services.

4-12-08:  Tehelka (India): "The Rationing of Rights" - "Tamil Nadu’s recent addition of a third gender column on ration card applications is one of a series of much needed, progressive reforms that benefit hijras"

4-12-08:  Taipei Times (Taiwan): "Pregnant man points way to new identities"

4-11-08:  Houston Voice: "Transgender Lobby Day is next week"

4-11-08:  PRNewswire: "GED Program Launches for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Youth"

4-11-08:  Inquirer.net (Philipinnes): "Pregnant man"

4-10-08:  Gay City News: "Trans Woman Can Sue" - "US District Judge Nancy F. Atlas in Houston has ruled that a transsexual Texan, Izza Lopez, can pursue a sex discrimination employment claim against River Oaks Imaging & Diagnostic Group" (see also story of 4-08-08)

4-10-08:  Daily Herald (suburban Chicago): "Colleges reaching out to recruit gay, lesbian and transgender students"

4-10-08:  Just Plain Sense (UK): " Gender Dysphoria: A Mother’s Tale" - "What do you do when your child exhibits markedly gender-atypical play behaviour almost as soon as they can walk and tells you, by the time they are four years old, that there’s been a mistake? (Podcast of Christine Burns interview of the child's mother) 

4-10-08:  Out In Detroit: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds passage of transgender nondiscrimination laws in Detroit and Kansas City"

4-10-08:  Bay Windows: "ENDA again"

4-09-08:  365Gay.com: "Detroit Bans Transgender Discrimination"

4-09-08:  Vietnam News (Vietnam): "Transsexual’s marriage opens societal discussion" - "Singer Cat Tuyen, who had a sex change, created a huge media buzz by marrying another artist on Monday at the Quoc Thanh Restaurant in HCM City."

4-08-08:  Telegraph (UK re Thailand): "Thai surgeons reject cosmetic castration ban"

4-08-08:  Catholic Online: "Commentary: Pregnant 'Man' is Really a Pregnant Woman" - "What we need to understand is how this story fits into the sweeping agenda of the forces gathered to destroy the family."

4-08-08:  Houston Chronicle: "Plaintiff wins round in transgender case" 

4-08-08:  Agave Clinic (Marbella, Spain): Maxillofacial surgeons Dr. Bart van de Ven and Dr. Daniel Simon have opened a new clinic in Marbella, Spain. Both trained and worked with Dr Noorman van der Dussen of Belgium, and one of their specialties is Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS).

4-08-08:  The Baltic Times (re Lithuania): "Transgender victory" - "after losing the case in Strasbourg, the Baltic state will have to adopt a sex change law or pay compensation."

4-07-08:  Daily Yomiuri (Japan): "Gender registration rules may be relaxed with bill" - "The ruling parties likely will relax the legal requirements for people with gender identity disorder to alter their officially registered sex, ministry sources said Saturday"

4-06-08:  Just Plain Sense (UK): "Half an Hour with Calpernia Addams" (Podcast of an interview of Calpernia by Christine Burns)

4-06-08:  Merinews (India): "The plight of the Transgenders"

4-06-08:  New Straights Times (Malaysia): "Spotlight: Speaking up for their gender" - For the estimated 30,000 transgenders in the country, dealing with rejections from the "normal" members of society is a daily preoccupation. And the first rejection is almost always from family members.

4-06-08:  New Straights Times (Malaysia): "Spotlight: Mak nyahs have not abandoned God"

4-04-08:  Uptown (Canada): "Identity issues Clik for singer - Lucas Silveira is comfortable in his own skin - and sounds like it"

4-04-08:  LifeSiteNews: "Media Deception: "Miraculous" Pregnant "Man" is Really a Woman" - "Paving the way for the next wave in the battle against the family - an attack on gender itself . . . it has been turned into a giant media deception to forward the homosexual and transsexual agenda" (the Catholic theory of the Thomas Beatie story)

4-04-08:  This Is London (UK): "Amazing pictures of pregnant man as he tells Oprah 'people may try to kill my baby' "

4-04-08:  The Nation (Thailand): "A more open, informed attitude to sexual identity" - "Castration of young boys is now a controversial issue being closely watched by society as a whole and debated by different groups."

4-04-08:  The Advocate: "Kansas City Passes Transgender Protections "

4-03-08:  Daily India (India): "Shelter for ostracised transgenders in Kolkata" - "There are plans to set up more such shelters across the country with the hope that the society will accept them and be more tolerant towards the transgenders"

4-03-08:  Metro Weekly: "Uncommon decency - Transgender women prepare to file lawsuit in response to treatment in D.C. jails"

4-03-08:  Bangkok Post (Thailand): "Castration conundrum" - "Yolada Suanyot, leader of the Transsexuals Group of Thailand, insists the removal of testicles is an option for ladyboys and any medical ruling must take into account their needs and concerns. Since transsexualism is a gender identity disorder which can be medically corrected, the government should make sex reassignment operations part of the national medical welfare scheme, she insists. Also, patients' age should not be a primary requisite for treatment, but their needs. As expected, her plea fell on deaf ears. Which is why the top-down ruling on castration surgery will not serve the transsexuals but the medical profession itself." (more, more, more)

4-03-08:  Michigan Daily: "Bridging the gap between art and activism"

4-02-08:  The Martlett (Univ. of Victoria, Canada): "Reconciling gender and sex - One UVic student’s journey to live life outside the box — even if it’s built by society"

4-02-08:  The Advocate: "In Response to "Labor of Love"" - "An FTM activist responds to the media coverage of Thomas Beatie after his article appeared in The Advocate."

4-02-08:  Reuters (re Thailand): "Thailand bans cosmetic castration"
 

4-02-08:  Associated Press: "Kennedy jumps into controversy over transgender exclusion" (more)

4-02-08:  Yale Daily News: "Gender-neutral housing explored" - "Committee will spend next year drafting report after LGBTQ students pressed administration"

4-01-08:  Canada.com (Canada): "'It wasn't my choice to be a transgender' - "William, born female, has always known he was really male"

March 2008:

3-31-08:  Human Rights Watch (re Kuwait): "Kuwait: Halt Dress-Code Crackdown - Authorities Should Repeal Repressive Law, Free Detainees" – New arrests show that Kuwait has resumed enforcing a repressive dress code that criminalizes “imitating the appearance of the opposite sex” "

3-30-08:  The Sunday Times (UK): "Best of Times, Worst of Times: Kate Craig-Wood" - "Kate Craig-Wood, 31, is a finalist in the BlackBerry Women in Technology Awards and managing director of her own IT company. Born Robert Hardy Craig-Wood, she underwent gender reassignment and officially became a woman in 2006"

3-30-08:  Arizon Daily Star: Tucson Region: "Transgender forum here Tuesday - Region viewed as accepting of gender variance"

3-30-08:  The Boston Globe: "Q&A with Norman Spack - A doctor helps children change their gender" - "My philosophy is, "Who am I to say what it's like to be transgendered when I have people who are living with it every day?" These kids won over the hospital, one department at a time"

3-30-08:  The Province (Vancouver, Canada): "Sex-change tourists - Critics say B.C. is wasting thousands of dollars by sending transgendered patients to Quebec for specialized surgery we could do here"

3-30-08:  The Province (Vancouver, Canada): "'It wasn't my choice to be a transgender'" - "William, born female, has always known he was really male"

3-30-08:  The Canadian (Canada): "Transgender Dating: Breaking the Ice in the First E-mail"

3-30-08:  Nashua Telegraph (NH): "Surgery can take more than year of preperation"

3-29-08:  ChristineBurns.podbean.com (UK): "The Men with Baby Bellies" - "The problem with debate on a topic like this is that, whilst people are often quick to voice an opinion, based on the immediate gut reaction they feel, very few of them have much clue about the background facts." (podcast)

3-29-08:  The Mirror (UK): "Is the pregnant man Thomas Beatie a hoax for April Fool's Day?" (more)

3-29-08:  Trinidad and Tobago Express (Carribean): "I am a sex worker: Regional sex workers speak up" -  A fascinating report that raises many questions. 

3-29-08:  MLive.com: "Julie reflects on past year"

3-28-08:  ABC News: "'My Mommy Is a Boy' - Young Children More Easily Adapt to News That a Parent is Transgender" - "It might take me a while to get used to my mommy being a boy, but she seems happier now"  NEW

3-28-08:  The Spoof (UK): "Transsexuals Banned From City" - "A small city in Arkansas has banned transsexual men from entering its city limits after complaints from women of the city that the gender confused drag queens were better looking than them" (a pretty cool spoof)  NEW

3-28-08:  Bangkok Post (Thailand): "THIRD GENDER - Young boys warned not to seek early castration" - "Mr Natee said he received many complaints from the parents of ladyboys who were keen to have their testes removed, possibly due to the influence of widespread advertisements on the internet which claimed it was inexpensive and the result was similar to a sex-change operation." (more)
 

3-28-08:  Pink News (UK re Lithuania): "Mayor "not ready" to support gay rights" - "Lithuania is a member of the EU but remains one of the most socially backward nations in Europe. The vast majority of the population are Roman Catholics, and the church is openly hostile the rights of sexual minorities."

3-28-08:  The Guardian (UK re the US): "'Being a pregnant man? It's incredible'" - "Is it a miracle? A hoax? Or just tragedy in the making? Patrick Barkham on the frenzy surrounding the US transgender man reported to be expecting a baby girl"

See also the Village Voice story from June 20, 2000:  "Family Values: Two Dads With a Difference—Neither of Us Was Born Male"

3-28-08:  The Blackpool Gazette (UK): "Support floods in for sex change soldier"

3-27-08:  UTNE Daily: "The Evolution of Transgender Media Coverage"

3-27-08:  Nashville Scene: "Sex, Document Style - A new bill in the state legislature would entitle sex-change recipients to revised Tennessee birth certificates"

3-27-08:  AFL-CIO.org: "Andre Wilson: Winning 'Equity and Access' " - "A union activist in Ann Arbor, Mich., since the late 1970s, Wilson was the first openly transgender person to head a contract negotiating team for a local union—the American Federation of Teachers Local 3550, better known as the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) at the University of Michigan."

3-27-08:  SABC News (South Africa): "Transsexual plans to take access case to court"

3-27-08:  The Oregonian: "Sex-change law questions arise after Bend man says he's pregnant - Oregon's statute doesn't detail procedures needed for a legal gender change"

3-27-08:  Washington Blade: "In first, black trans woman headed to Dem convention" - "Richmond, a Clinton delegate, would be happy with Obama as nominee" (more)

3-27-08:  BBC News (UK re CUBA): "Castro champions gay rights in Cuba - There is a Castro who is fighting to introduce radical changes in Cuba." - "It is Raul's daughter, Mariela Castro. . . Mariela's mother, the late Vilma Espin, was an internationally recognised champion of women's rights. For Mariela, it is the rights of homosexuals and transsexuals that need fighting for."

3-26-08:  SX (Australia): "Across the divide" - "GLB and T – do we really all belong together? Katrina Fox reports"

3-25-08:  Foster's Daily Democrat (NH): "Colby College author emerges as public face for the transgendered"

3-25-08:  Bangkok Post (Thailand): "Up in the air as a woman - A transsexual, physically a woman but legally a man, opens her female heart" (original link broken)

3-24-08:  Premier Magazine: "Writer-Director Olaf de Fleur on 'The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela' - The Icelandic filmmaker discusses his 'visiomentary'" - "Queen Raquela is not about sex-change operations or identity quests, but the touching, dreamlike, quasi-autobiographical tale of Raquela Rios, a transsexual Cebu City prostitute who longs to leave the Philippines, meet a nice straight man and visit Paris."

3-23-08:  The Canadian (Canada): "American author explores crossdressers and transsexuals in Get Dressed!"

3-21-08:  Discover: "The Unusual Story of the Pregnant, Bearded Man" - See also Thomas Beatie's essay in the Advocate:

3-21-08:  The Advocate: "Labor of Love - Is society ready for this pregnant husband?" - "To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don’t appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child."  (originally published on 3-14-08). (more)

3-20-08:  AAAS 'Eureka Alert' Press Release: "Counselors should target discrimination and be advocates for transgender clients" - "University of Oregon doctoral students address workplace and psychological issues for overlooked population" - News of an interesting report in the March issue of the Journal of Career Development (link to abstract).

3-20-08:  Bay Area Reporter:  "Slain transgender woman to be remembered" - A demonstration will be held in San Francisco on Friday, March 21, in remembrance of Ruby Ordenana, 24, who was murdered last year. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the 24th Street BART station on Mission Street.

3-20-08:  Express India (India): "Life on the Fringes" - "Solidarity bound them together, Reema, Kajol, Pritambar, Suman and hundreds of other “sisters”, who thronged the south Kolkata park last week to participate in a candlelight vigil."

3-19-08:  Sarah Brown's Journal (UK): "Charing Cross GIC in Breath of Fresh Air Shocker!" - Fascinating report of a Translondon Support Group meeting with Drs Stuart Lorimer and Leighton Seal of the Charing Cross Gender Clinic.

3-19-08:  The Guardian (UK): "New 'trans guidance' for universities" - "The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) has put out guidance for universities to follow when dealing with "trans people" who are changing their gender" (ECU Report PDF (3.4 mb); ECU Report text (82 kb))

3-19-08: Windy City Times: "UIC Holds First LGBT Research Forum"

3-19-08:  Ottumwa Courier (Iowa): "Ottumwa City Council amends proposed ordinance — ‘gender identity’ deleted; law moves back to first reading" - "Citizens who spoke against it said the ordinance would enable a man to put on a dress, enter a women’s restroom and molest or kidnap a female youngster."

3-19-08:  Florida Baptist Witness: "Not my shower: Breaking biological barriers"

3-19-08:  Charlestown City Paper (NC): "North Charleston murder highlights absence of state hate crime law"

3-19-08:  AFP (re Thailand): "Thai army to introduce 'third category' for transsexuals"

3-17-08:  LynnConway.com:  "The ICRME Board of Directors unanimously votes to accept the resignation of Benjamin Paige"  - "In a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mtn. Court System on Sunday, March 16, 2008, the Board has unanimously voted to accept the resignation of Benjamin Paige from the Board of Directors" (for more on this case, see the investigative report re Paige's hideously transphobic column in the Gayzette Denver)

3-17-08:  PageOneQ: "Transgender rights org praises changes in federal REAL ID regulations, opposes overall bill"

3-17-08: Daily Mail (UK): "The 6ft ex-soldier who has won a personal war - by becoming a woman" (more, more)

3-17-08:  Daily Record (UK): "Sex-Change Ex-Paratrooper Wants To Become A Mum" - "SEX swap soldier Jan Hamilton has revealed she would like to adopt a child now she is finally a woman."

3-17-08:  Inter Press Service (re Cuba): "CUBA: Transvestites and Crossdressers Key Workers Against AIDS" - "Activism against AIDS is uniting a group of transvestites and crossdressers in western Cuba in a project that is going beyond peer education and making inroads into the world of culture."

3-16-08:  LynnConway.com: "An update from Jazmine James regarding the climate within the ICRME" - Jazmine reports that she and her husband received deafening applause at a major ICRME event Saturday night - in support of her stance against Benjamin Paige's column.

3-16-08:  TSRoadmap.com: "Benjamin Paige remains on ICRME board, issues statement" - "ICRME has stated that Benjamin Paige remains as a member at large of the Board of Directors despite submitting his resignation as Corporate Development Officer. ICRME plans to make a determination on his board position soon."

3-16-08:  Times of India (India): "Response to TN govt scheme 'overwhelming'" - "Tamil Nadu government's decision to include the third gender in ration cards also paves the way for transsexuals, who have fallen off the state welfare nets because there is no official space for them to exist, to eventually write 'T' against the sex column while applying for admission to educational institutions or government hospitals."

3-16-08:  Times of India (India): "Third sex gets official status in Tamil Nadu" - "In Tamil Nadu alone, where transsexuals like Pooja started getting ration cards on Thursday, it would allow the estimated 40,000 members of the community to identify themselves as a third gender"

3-16-08:  The New York Times Magazine: "When Girls Will Be Boys" - A feature article about young transmen in women's colleges, and the issues thereby raised.

3-16-08:  Dayton Daily News: "Transgender people step out, risk ridicule, worse" - "Jobs, friends, families at risk, but transgender people take chance to understand themselves and be understood." (more)

3-15-08:  Femtastic (UK): "Patricia Arquette admits uncertainty over sibling’s sex change" - "“I always imagined myself to be a very open-minded person. So when I was feeling a level of judgement… I really had to think about myself.”"

3-15-08:  Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire: The ICRME releases a "Formal Statement" regarding the transphobic article by Benjamin Paige - In this interim report, the ICRME Board whitewashes the Paige situation. It goes on to claim that the organization welcomes all, even though that claim has been exposed as untrue by recent reports from Dana Yost and Jazmine James.

3-14-08:  Dayton Daily News: "Finally Herself: Transgender life in Dayton" - "Jennette "Jenny" Caden has been been very active in educating the community, including businesses, about transgender issues. Caden, born male, has been living and working as a woman for the past six months"

3-14-08:  IndyBay.org: "Nearly 400 Activists Gather to Strengthen Transgender Civil Rights, Equality Movement in California"

3-14-08:  LynnConway.com: "Open letter to the Leaders of the Imperial Court System regarding the anti-transgender climate within the ICS"

3-14-08:  Express India (India): "Citizens show solidarity with the transgender community" - "In a show of solidarity, around 300 citizens joined a candle light procession to condemn the violence on March 9, in which three members of the transgender community were beaten up by locals of the Rabindra Sarovar area."

3-14-08:  ABC News: "Politicians 'Anti-Gay' Speech Sparks Outrage"

3-14-08:  Dallas Voice: "Homophobic official may have gay son" - "OKC legislator’s tirade saying ‘homosexual agenda’ poses bigger threat than terrorism heard by over 700,000 since being posted on YouTube"

3-13-08:  MomLogic.com: "Transgender Teen Tells Her Story" - "In her own words, a transgender teen talks candidly about acceptance and tolerance"

3-13-08:   LynnConway.com: "An open letter by Jazmine James regarding the anti-transgender climate within the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire" - Another report re the ICRME in the wake of the hideous article by Benjamin Paige.

3-13-08:  YouTube: "Ellen calls Sally Kern" - Pretty cool video re the hatemongering politician in Oklahoma.

3-13-08:  Tulsa World (Oklahoma): "Local gay organization denounces Kern's comments against homosexuality" - "Community leaders Thursday denounced state Rep. Sally Kern's recent comments against homosexuality and asked legislators to respond by passing hate crimes legislation that encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity." (more)

3-13-08:  The Sun (UK): "Sweet on some Candis Cayne?" - "IF only all we girls could look as good as curvaceous Candis Cayne, the star of new Channel 4 show Dirty Sexy Money"

3-13-08:  The Telegraph (UK): "Female RAF pilot tells of sex change operation" - "Now she has remarried, to a man. She said of her husband: "He is as straight as they come and I had to tell him about my past." - Sqdn Ldr Jones was in charge of all air movements out of Basra in southern Iraq last year after she was posted there for a six-month tour in June" 

3-13-08:  Bay Area Reporter:  "Helping Trans Kids Out of the Shadows" - "Dedicated to preventing another causalty, the founder and executive director of TransActive Education & Advocacy (transactiveonline.org), a Portland, Oregon based organization, works with parents and schools to support transgender and gender variant children."

3-13-08:  Bay Area Reporter: "Trans women get ready for 'Catwalk' event" - "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.""

3-13-08:  SUU News (Southern Utah Univ.): "OP-ED: Consider gender-blind policy"

3-12-08:  The BG News (Bowling Green State Univ.): "Campus community tries to increase transgender support" - "Joelle Ruby Ryan, founder of Transcendence, said the Bowling Green community and the country as a whole need to realize the bigotry that leads to violence against particular groups in society"

3-12-08:  The Charlotte Observer: "Voices for, against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools measure" - "CMS board approves anti-bullying policy - Critics worry wording promotes homosexuality" (update)

3-12-08:  The Age (Australia): "Street prostitutes given 'green light' by police" - "The Office of Police Integrity has uncovered evidence that appears to support claims a group of police have protected transsexual prostitutes in exchange for sexual favours"

3-12-08:  The Sun (UK): "Chopper Ace; My sex change" - "An RAF squadron leader yesterday told of her amazing transformation – from a man to a woman" - "Sue, based in London, was posted to Iraq last June and was responsible for all air movements in and out of Basra" - Note: The UK the military does not discriminate against GLBT individuals, and welcomes all into the ranks.

3-11-08:   LynnConway.com: "An open letter by Dana Yost regarding the anti-transgender climate within the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire"

3-11-08:  BBSnews: "Anti-gay Tirade by OK State Rep. Sally Kern Sparks National Firestorm" - "Rep. Kern said "the homosexual agenda is destroying this nation" and the threat was larger than international terrorism" 

3-11-08:  CNNMoney.com: "UPS expands supplier diversity" - "UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, is stepping up its supplier diversity efforts to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-owned businesses"

3-10-08:  Kansas City Star: "Handling the transgender issue" - "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"

3-10-08:  The Edge (Boston): "Advocates turn out en masse for transgender civil rights bill"

3-10-08:  American Family News Network: "UMC officials expected to address issue of 'transgendered' clergy at upcoming meeting"

3-09-08:  Washington Post: "Transgender Law Opponents Put Measure on Ballot" - Opponents of the anti-discrimination measure, who contend it could lead to indecent exposure in locker rooms, have collected enough valid signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot"

3-08-08:  Notes from Eden (Blogspot): "An Open letter to a community service organization" - "Today I am terribly sad to report that a wonderful community service organization I once worked with has come under negative attention due to the published writings of a current Board member. The Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire. The Publisher has published a retraction already, I hope this organization also takes a public stand" - Eden Lane

3-08-08:  LynnConway.com: "Update on Benjamin Paige's hideously transphobic column" - Paige is an up-and-coming member of Denver's gay community. Could this explain why he's being let off the hook, even though he's never apologized?

We've identified Paige as a member of the Board of Directors of "The Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire" (a major drag organization) and a recipient of one of their "White Rose Scholarships". Paige's exposure as a raving transphobe is a terrible stain on the image of that organization, raising disturbing questions such as whether he is "representative of the culture of the Imperial Courts?" 

Could it be that the Imperial Court also intends to whitewash this situation, and retain Paige on their Board? If so, they're going to have some serious explaining to do. (The update includes contacts at ICRME you can e-mail to ask about that).

3-08-08:  The Edge (Boston): "Trans conference debates merits of anti-discrimination laws"

3-08-08:  Gazette.net (MD): "Transgender opponents collect enough signatures for referendum" - "Voters will vote county law up or down in November"

3-07-08:  Feministing.com: "A “Bailey Controversy” Follow-Up" by Julia Serano -  " . . . last week there was yet another development in the ongoing Bailey saga. The Northwestern University school newspaper (where Bailey and Dreger are professors) reported that psychologist Robin Mathy, a research fellow at the University of Minnesota's Medical School, filed ethics charges against both Dreger and Bailey." 

3-07-08:  PageOneQ: "Gay publication apologizes to community for article about transgender Colorado student" - Note: This article deliberately avoids naming Benjamin Paige as the author of the hideous article that appeared in the March issue of GayZette Denver.  Paige himself has not apologized for the article, and yet the gay community is letting him off the hook. What's wrong with this picture?

3-07-08:  China Daily (China): "Wife finally fulfills dream by becoming a woman" - "A man from a poor rural family in Heilongjiang province who had been living as another man's wife for 11 years recently fulfilled his dream of becoming a woman by having a sex change operation in Tianjin municipality"

3-07-08:  The Edge (Boston): "Heavy hitters go to bat for transgender civil rights bill"

3-06-08:  Huffington Post: "Former GOP State Rep And Obama Backer Discusses Switching Party, Gender

3-06-08:  The Sun (UK): "C4's sex change soldier" - "The story of the first ever Para to have a sex change is to be told in a Channel 4 documentary"

3-06-08:  Bay Windows: TransNation: "Activist Creates Compelling PR", by Jacob Anderson-Minshall

3-06-08:  LynnConway.com: "Media Alert: GayZette Denver publishes a hideous rhetorical attack on seven year old trans child and her family"

In this alert, Kelley Winters says: "As most of you know, a young affirmed girl, her family and her school district were cruelly attacked in the national press following a sensational and defamatory report by Denver NBC affiliate KUSA-TV on Feb 7.  Sadly, the worst of all, the most hateful, the most sickening attack on this innocent child has come not from the religious right but from within our own GLBT community in Denver."

Note: Following the initial alerts about this article, the publisher of the GayZette quickly pulled the online version of the article by Benjamin Paige, and issued a retraction and an apology. For further commentary on the article and the retraction, see this page in Andrea James' site.

3-06-08:  The Campus Press (Univ. of Colorado): "Transforming perceptions - Transgender awareness combats society's preconceptions"

3-06-08:  The Phoenix (Swarthmore College): "Expansion of gender-neutral housing proposed"

3-06-08:  Enkidu Magazine (Mexico, re Japan): "Trans Man Sues Employer for Discriminatory Cancellation of Employment Contract"

3-05-06:  The News Record (Univ. of Cincinnatti): "Transgender issue needs attention - UC should be more accepting of students with gender issues"

3-05-08:  The Boston Globe: "Patrick backs bill to protect rights of transgendered" - "Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday he supports a bill protecting transgendered people from discrimination, legislation similar to laws already enacted in more than a dozen states"

3-05-08:  PC World: "Your Virtual Sex Change" - "Everybody's doing it, according to a new study in the journal Cyberpsychology and Behaviour, so why not you?"

3-05-08:  BBC News (re India): "India's transgender talk show host - A controversial new talk show has hit TV screens in southern India"

3-05-08:  Long Beach Press Telegram: "Council supports LGBT measure - Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students have a right to attend school and live without harassment, the City Council made clear at its Tuesday night meeting"

3-04-08:  South Florida Sun-Sentinal: "Transexual teen has faith in self, others"

3-04-08:  International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC): "IGLHRC Announces 2008 Felipa de Souza Award Winners" - "The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) announced today that it would award its 2008 Felipa de Souza Award to two outstanding nominees - the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO) and Chilean trans activist Andrés Ignacio Rivera Duarte. IGLHRC's Felipa Award recognizes the courage and effectiveness of groups or leaders dedicated to improving the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) and other individuals stigmatized and abused because of their sexuality or HIV status. Each award winner will receive a $5,000 stipend. The awards will be presented at a special ceremony in New York on April 28, 2008." (in Persian)

3-04-08:  Duke Chronicle (Duke Univ.): "LGBT Task Force catalyzes change - Despite low profile, group pushes progressive gender policies for campus"

3-04-08:  The Justice (Brandeis Univ.): "Editorial: Gender-blind housing needed"

3-04-08:  Catholic News Agency: "Catholic hospital to allow transgender surgery after being sued" -  "In 2006 a doctor told Charlene Hastings, 57, that Seton Medical Center in Daly City would not allow him to perform breast-enhancement surgery on a transsexual. Hastings claimed that upon further inquiry a surgical coordinator at the hospital said to him, “It’s not God’s will” and “God made you a man.”" - "Hastings will not undergo surgery at Seton, saying he would not be comfortable because he would feel the hospital would be “doing it under duress.” " (note how the Catholic News continues to defame Charlene by using male pronouns)

3-04-07:  Bay Windows: "Attorney General Martha Coakley comes out for civil rights protections for transgender community"

3-03-08:  The Salem News (MA): "My View: For some, a job well done isn't enough", by Nancy Nangeroni

3-03-08:  The Tartan (CMU): "Students discuss transgender issues - Toilet Training sparks discussion and debate"

3-03-08:  The Guardian (UCSD): "Blurring the Gender Line" - "UCSD takes initiative to create a friendlier climate for those on campus who break the boundaries between male and female"

3-03-08:  The Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotia): "Grits pass sex-change proposal but it’s low priority, McNeil says" (more)

3-02-08:  "Advocates, opponents of trans rights bill to have their say on Beacon Hill" - see also related article: "Contrada warns of trans apocalypse"

3-02-08:  Human Resource Executive: "How's Your Inclusiveness Rating? - The Corporate Equality Index has emerged as the scorecard of choice for measuring GLBT-friendliness"

3-01-08:  Feministe: "It’s ain’t easy being television’s most eligible transsexual bachelorette…" - Cool article about Transamerican Love Story, starring Calpernia Addams and eight bachelors who "vie for her heart" - Be sure to watch the video at the included link, where Calpernia discusses "Questions Never to Ask a Transsexual Person".

&