Trans News Updates:

Compiled and edited by Lynn Conway

[Version of 2-09-10]

These pages link to emerging news of special interest to the trans community, citing key lines that convey the gist of each item. These links serve as a window into the media's focus and the public's interest in trans issues as time goes by, enabling us to track gradual shifts in media spins and social attitudes over time. You can exploit these pages as a searchable news archive by using the internal-site Google search-box, at the top right of this page. E-mail Lynn if you see interesting news for listing here. To access current or past news, click on the month/year in this table:

2010:   Jan,  Feb

2009:   Jan,  Feb,  Mar,  Apr,  May,  Jun,  Jul,  Aug,  Sep,  Oct,  Nov,  Dec

2008:   Jan,  Feb,  Mar,  Apr,  May,  Jun,  Jul,  Aug,  Sep,  Oct,  Nov,  Dec

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

SPECIAL ALERTS:

2-02-10: "Tax Court Allows Deduction for Woman's Sex Change" (more, more, more)

01-07-10:  "Toronto: global epicenter for oppression of sex and gender minorities," by Andrea James" (more, more)

12-12-09:  Video of Sass Rogando-Sasot's UN speech: "Fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity" (transcript)

12-11-09:  "Transphobia in the Gay Community (Part I)", by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss (Part II, Part III, more)

12-11-09:  New Scientist (Editorial): "Time's up for psychiatry's bible" ; see also "Psychiatry's Civil War"

12-10-09:  APA News Release: "DSM-5 Publication Date Moved to May 2013" 

11-20-09:  "A call for the removal of gender identity variance from the psychiatric diagnostic manuals", by Sam Winter, Ph.D. (ES)

11-02-09:  "What motivates Ray Blanchard’s oppression of sex and gender minorities?", an exposé by Andrea James

10-21-09:  Exposed by Andrea James: "$325,000+ in salaries for Zucker & Blanchard to pathologize trans people"

10-15-09:  Stop Trans Pathologization-2012: Press Release: "Action Day October 17th 2009 – STP 2012 Campaign" (more, more)

05-30-09:  "We say, to the APA, stop sexualizing us!", by Julia Serano, Ph.D.

05-20-09:  "GID Reform Now Protest At Annual APA Meeting - Speaker Madeline Deutch, M.D." (with video)

05-19-09:  Psychiatric Times: "Gender Identity Disorder: Has Accepted Practice Caused Harm?" (Could the APA be waking up?)

05-16-09:  Transsexualism will no longer be classified mental illness in France (FR, DE, ES, NL, PT, SU)

This special section is being used for reference/coordination in investigations now underway. It contains compilations of news about Ken Zucker's trans-reparatism, his role in the DSM revisions, and his and his colleagues' attacks on their trans critics:

1. News re Zucker's trans-reparatism and his role in revisions of the APA's DSM: 

In April 2007, this site began an exposure of Zucker's trans-reparatism in a webpage entitled: "Drop the Barbie: Ken Zucker's reparatist treatment of gender-variant children", reflecting back on a 2001 article that had broken the story and coordinating with Andrea James who posted a parallel exposé of Zucker's reparatism.

The following year National Public Radio broadcast a heartbreaking documentary on May 8-9, 2008 contrasting Zucker's decades-old reparatist methods to more modern treatment protocols.  A further exposé of Zucker's reparatist treatment of gender-variant children, "But For Today I Am A Boy" (Français), was published in the Torontoist (on May 9, 2008).  OII followed up by raising important questions about Ontario's sponsorship of Zucker's work (see also OII's Open Letter to WPATH)

However, even though he was known to be a trans-reparatist, Zucker was selected to lead the revision of the American Psychiatric Association's section on 'sexual and gender identity disorders' in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). With Zucker thus empowered, there appears to be little chance for removal of GID from the DSM, and trans people will likely be stigmatized for another decade as being mentally ill even after transition.  See the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) press release protesting Zucker's DSM selection. The huge scale of the protest was made even more visible in a petition against Zucker's DSM selection that gained over 9,500 signatures (noticia en español). See also the petition protesting Ontario gov't support of Zucker's work. (more, more), and the petition in protest of Zucker's key role in a UK conference on adolescent transitions. More recently, Zucker’s and Blanchard’s gender clinics came under criticism even from within CAMH itself, in a scathing report issued by CAMH's own Diversity Program Office.

For background on needed DSM reforms see GIDReform.org and Kelley Winters' essays ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ), especially "Blinded Me With Science: The Burden of Proof".  See also "DSM ON THE BOOKSHELF", an open letter to WPATH by clinician Tracie O'Keefe [PDF], "DSM: Diagnosing for Status and Money" (more, more, more).  See also Prof. Sam Winter's report on how the 'mental-illness' classification causes transphobia all around the world.

On Feb 6, 2009, Joelle Ruby Ryan (chair), Julia Serano, and Kelley Winters, Ph.D. presented a workshop at IFGE 2009 entitled “Disordered” No More: Challenging Transphobia in Psychology, Academia and Society" [NEW], in response to the pathologization of gender variant people by reactionary psychiatrists and sexologists. You'll find a report on the workshop at this link and we'll be posting videos there soon. See also the text of Joelle's presentation, “The Transgender Tipping Point: It is Not the Transperson Who is “Disordered” but the Society in which S/he Lives”, by Joelle Ruby Ryan [PDF], and Kelley's presentation  on “Top Ten Problems with the GID Diagnosis”, by Kelley Winters, Ph.D. [PDF]

For more on the pathologization of transpeople by the DSM, see Kelley Winter's new book: Gender Madness in American Psychiatry, Essays from the Struggle for Dignity", by Kelley Winters, Ph.D. [announcement PDF] .

2. Updates on Zucker's attacks on his transgender critics, with the support of his political operative Alice Dreger: 

In July '07,  Zucker as editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior (ASB) subverted that journal as a propaganda machine in defense of ASB editorial board members Bailey, Blanchard, Lawrence (BBL). Zucker did this by announcing and pre-publishing Alice Dreger's one-sided history of the Bailey book investigation. Zucker promoted Dreger's anti-transgender hit-piece as if it were an independent scholarly work, devoting the entire June '08 ASB to Dreger's defense of Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence – in a not-so-veiled attack on Zucker's own primary trans-critics (Andrea James and Lynn Conway).  Ardent Bailey supporter Ben Carey followed with a New York Times article on 8-21-07 in which Dreger portrayed Bailey as a great scientist under siege for 'telling the truth'.

Determined to stop trans criticism of Zucker, Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence, Dreger went on to launch e-mail attacks and threaten the academic career of graduate student Joelle Ruby Ryan who had proposed a women's study conference panel on transphobia in academe (see Élise Hendrick's commentary, Lynn's comments and this article). Dreger's attempt to prevent Joelle's panel backfired. It was held as scheduled on June 21, 2008 (see flyer and handout), and produced powerful essays that further exposed Bailey and Dreger (see detailed report at this link) including Élise's essay on the odd form of 'academic freedom' claimed by Bailey and Dreger and Andrea's essay "Fair comment, foul play".  Videos of all the presentations are posted on YouTube.  See also the prestigious Point Foundation 's mention of Joelle's NWSA panel at this link and her upcoming IFGE workshop at this link.                                          

Julia Serano has published an exposé of Dreger 's effort to resurrect Bailey's disgraced career, and her book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity provides the context for understanding these events. For an overview of BBL pseudo-science, see "Science and Ideology: The Blanchard-Bailey-Lawrence Model of Transsexuality, by Élise Hendrick and "The Bailey Affair, Again" by Joan Roughgarden. For a deconstruction of Carey's Times' article, see this essay by Élise Hendrick. Dreger's scholarship was further questioned in June '08 in ASB peer commentary papers highly critical of Dreger's 'history'.

3. Zucker exploits the 'other' APA (Amer. Psych. Assoc.) to push his views and suppress opposition:  During 2008, Zucker attempted to suppress evidence that the prevalence of transsexualism is much greater than he has previously claimed:  See: "Falsification of GID prevalence results by the APA Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance", an Investigative Report by Lynn Conway, 8-28-08 [PDF].  See also Lynn's letter to the President of the APA re that Task Force, 9-05-08 [PDF], and this open letter and investigative report re the APA's response.

4. Zucker's attempt to suppress Lynn's website and attack her freedom of speech:  Lynn's exposure of Zucker's trans-reparatist therapy and of his exploitation of the ASB to disseminate anti-transgender propaganda has apparently unsetted Zucker.  On January 27, 2009, Zucker responded by falsely accusing Lynn of libel in a letter sent by CAMH attorney Peter Jacobsen to Lynn and to her university - in a clear attempt to suppress Lynn's website on the eve of an IFGE workshop that would prove embarrassing to Zucker. 

Lynn called Zucker's bluff by openly reporting the attempt to infringe her rights (En Español, En Français).  (For a humorous view of the events, see the cartoon by Jayna Pavlin). The IFGE workshop went on as planned, and a presentation by Joelle Ruby Ryan ("The Transgender Tipping Point") further revealed Zucker's and Dreger's efforts to silence their critics. News of Zucker's attack quickly spread, as in the Queerty article  "Dr. Kenneth Zucker's War on Transgenders" and in essays by Kelley Winters and Mercedes Allen, and  Lynn was interviewed by LOGO-TV about Zucker's attack. See also this YouTube video and the 365Gay.com News video: "Transgender Crusader". Evidence then emerged that Zucker had engaged in a pattern of threats against other women. In June '09, Lynn filed a formal complaint of academic misconduct against Zucker (PDF) for launching that unfounded attack.

5.  News re the DSM and the pathologization of gender variance:

2-06-09:  “Disordered” No More: Challenging Transphobia in Psychology, Academia and Society", an IFGE 2009 workshop.
4-27-09:  Facebook Group launched: "Close the CAMH Gender Identity Clinic" (reaches > 1000 members!)

4-29-09:  Documentary Video re the DSM Controversy

4-30-09:  "The War Within: CAMH battles notorious reputation of Zucker’s and Blanchard’s gender clinics with scathing report"

5-15-09:  "Reform GID Now: A Protest to demand the APA Reform Gender Identity Disorder"

5-15-09:  "Resolution by IFGE BOD to APA" (IFGE calls for DSM Reform)

5-16-09:  "Transsexualism will no longer be classified as a mental illness in France  (FR, DE, ES, NL, PT, SU)

5-19-09:  Psychiatric Times: "Gender Identity Disorder: Has Accepted Practice Caused Harm?"

5-20-09:  "GID Reform Now Protest At Annual APA Meeting - Speaker Madeline Deutch, M.D." (Links to Video)

5-23-09:  "Call to Action to Urge Trans-Affirming Position Statements by the APA"

5-30-09:  "We say, to the APA, stop sexualizing us!", by Julia Serano, Ph.D.

10-21-09: Exposed by Andrea James: "$325,000+ in salaries for Zucker & Blanchard to pathologize trans people"

11-02-09: Exposed by Andrea James: "What motivates Ray Blanchard’s oppression of sex and gender minorities?"

11-04-09: GID Reform: "Update: Statement on Gender Identity Disorder and Transvestic Fetishism in the DSM-V"

11-11-09: ENDAblog: "The Dredge Is At It Again"

11-20-09: "A call for the removal of gender identity variance from the psychiatric diagnostic manuals," by Sam Winter, Ph.D.  (ES)

11-24-09: "Doctor Promotes Medical View of Transgenderism - Clinic founder decries labeling transgenderism as a psychological issue"

12-11-09:  New Scientist: "Psychiatry's civil war "; "Time's up for psychiatry's bible" (more)

1-07-10:   "Toronto: global epicenter for oppression of sex and gender minorities," by Andrea James

1-08-10:   "You will become mentally ill in 2013" by Andrea James

1-18-10:   "Essays expose CAMH’s despicable practices toward transgender people"

1-24-10:   "Academic pathologization of transgender people" (a graphical overview) by Andrea James

2-06-10:   "A Taxing Question of Medical Necessity" by Kelley Winters, Ph.D.
 

February 2010

2-09-10:  Sydney Star Observer (Australia): "Miss Transsexual crowned"

"Chelsey Mikimoto, a transgender showgirl from Melbourne, was crowned Miss Transsexual Australia 2010 in the country’s first-ever beauty pageant for transsexuals and transgenders . . . "

2-08-10:  Toledo Blade (Ohio): "Pastor offers support, sanctuary to area's transgender community", by Claudia Boyd-Barrett

"Pastor Cheri Holdridge of the Village Church in Toledo is setting up a support group to provide members of Toledo's transgender community with a space where they can talk and be understood. On Feb. 28, the church and two Ohio organizations will host the first meeting of a Transgender Support Group. They want to provide members of the city's little-known transgender community with a space where they can talk and be understood."

2-08-10:  This Is Derbyshire (UK): "My transsexual love forced me to move jobs"

"A caretaker who married a transsexual has been transferred from the school he was working at following complaints from parents. Ian Young worked at St Chad's Infants school for more than two years, but has been switched to a junior school after parents said they were "very uncomfortable" about his relationship with Malaysian bride Fatine."

2-07-10:  The Guardian (UK re US): "Transsexual film-maker Kimberly Reed wows America with Prodigal Sons"

"The tale of two small-town brothers and their battles with identity, both sexual and biological, has defied all expectations . . . The movie, called Prodigal Sons, is getting its cinematic release in New York in two weeks and has already won plaudits from the critics for its painful and honest depiction of Reed's experience, as well as that of her ­family, ­especially her brother, Marc. It has been called "exceptional" by the Village Voice and "superb" by the San Francisco Chronicle and has won nine awards."

2-07-10:  California Chronicle (re UK): "Lost pal inspires brothers ; Song Hails friend", by Billy Sloan

"OSWALD have revealed the real life tragedy behind their superb new single Flying To The Ground (more). It was written after the death of a close friend who'd undergone a sex change operation."

2-07-10:  Washington Post (re Pakistan): "Pakistan's 'third gender' seek greater rights"

"Pakistan's transgender community has long lived on society's margins, harassed by police, ridiculed as freaks, pitied as the outcast people of Allah and often rejected by their own families. Now the Supreme Court is giving them hope through a petition for their rights to be respected. "People are recognizing that we are also human beings," said Almas Bobby, who acts as head of the community and fights for equal rights."

2-06-10:  GIDReform.org: "A Taxing Question of Medical Necessity", by Kelley Winters, Ph.D.

"Many trans and especially transsexual Americans were relieved this week by the U.S. Tax Court decision to reverse earlier IRS positions and allow costs of hormonal and surgical transition care to be deducted as medical expenses. The ruling concluded:

Petitioner has shown that her hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery treated disease within the meaning of section 213 and were therefore not cosmetic surgery. Thus petitioner’s expenditures for these procedures were for “medical care” as defined in section 213(d)(1)(A), for which a deduction is allowed under section 213(a).

However, this recognition of the legitimacy of medical transition came at a cost to the dignity of transsexual women and men. It relied on the flawed diagnostic nomenclature of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and its implication of mentally “disordered” gender identity."

2-06-10:  Examiner.com: "Brazilian Film Festival continues today with the L.A. premiere of "Paulista"",  by Luiz Calado

"Today, (Saturday, February 6) is the Los Angeles premiere of the film “Paulista”, featuring award winning transsexual actress Maria Clara Spinelli (PT). Her performance has earned rave reviews in the festival circuit and a best actress award. Directed by Roberto Moreira, “Paulista” is a movie about dwellers of an apartment building on Paulista Avenue and their respective attempts to find and deal with love. In a case of art imitating life, Spinelli plays Suzana, a buttoned-up lawyer who tentatively opens her heart to another attorney but her lover cannot resolve the fact that Suzana was once a man."

2-06-10:  Peninsula News Journal: "UWF policy includes transgender students", by Rebekah Allen

"The University of West Florida has made it loud and clear: equality for transgender students and staff. President Judy Bense attended a Student Government Association meeting Friday afternoon to deliver the announcement to students, after denying the request last week. Effective immediately, she said, the university's harassment and nondiscrimination policy will be updated to include "gender identity." . . . There are 282 colleges and universities that include language protecting transgender people, and UWF is the second in Florida to make the distinction . . . "It's something that's happening all over the country. It's a movement," Bense said. "I can relate to a movement . . . This is the way we do things in our country when we want change. We speak out.""

2-05-10:  The Ottawa Citizen (Canada): "The gender police are back again"

"Prior to the Vancouver Games, the men who run international sport have been scrambling to determine who qualifies as a woman athlete . . . The IOC is most worried about a condition referred to as "Disorders of Sexual Development." In the eyes of the IOC, and obviously those in the medical world who dream up names for conditions that place people outside conventional sexuality, not being biologically absolutely a man or absolutely a woman is seen as a disorder. IOC officials say their concern is about fairness, as women who have one of the DSDs (once called intersexed, which makes more sense) may have a biological advantage over women who don't have DSD characteristics. This is indeed a murky area as all athletes at the Olympic level have genetic advantages of different kinds."

[The effects of Alice Dreger's insidiously pathologizing DSD terminology continue to unfold.] 

2-04-10:  Jewschool.com (posted 2-03): "Mazal Tov: Tobaron Waxman is the winner of The Jewish Museum’s first-ever Audience Award" (more)

"The first transgendered artist to be exhibited in a major Jewish museum exhibition has won the Audience Award for the favorite work in the exhibition . . . Tobaron Waxman is the winner of The Jewish Museum’s first-ever Audience Award, selected from nearly sixty international artists. Votes were gathered from visitors to the exhibition in person and online, between September 13, 2009 and January 11, 2010. Waxman was selected for his provocative installation Opshernish, 2000/2009. The piece examines the construction of gender in Judaism by recreating and condensing a multi-part performance installation"
 

2-04-10:  The Economist: "That way, madness lies - A new manual for diagnosing diseases of the psyche is about to be unveiled"

"ON FEBRUARY 10th the world of psychiatry will be asked, metaphorically, to lie on the couch and answer questions about the state it thinks it is in. For that is the day the American Psychiatric Association (APA) plans to release a draft of the fifth version of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Mental illness carrying the stigma that it does, and the brain being as little-understood as it is, revising the DSM is always a controversial undertaking. This time, however, some of the questions asked of the process are likely to be particularly probing . . . February 10th will be the first chance most people, including the critics, have to look at the document. When they do, the criticism is likely to get louder."

2-04-10:  ILGA (Re Cuba; posted 1-24): "STATEMENT ON DESPATHOLOGIZATION OF TRANSSEXUALISM. Cuban Multidisciplinary Society for Sexuality Studies"

"Express our support for the removal of transsexuality from the international classification of mental disorder, especially in the DSM-V update . . . Reject the application of psychological therapies for transgender people, in order to reverse their gender identity . . . Reaffirm that transsexuality and other transgender identities are expressions of sexual diversity . . . Also reaffirm that the implementation of these procedures respects sexual rights of each person, and are consistent with bio-ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice . . . Reaffirm in addition that transgender care should be comprehensive, beyond just medical and psychological care, to ensure recognition and respect for their individual rights."

2-04-10:  Cenesex (Cuba; posted 1-22): "Presentan Declaración sobre Despatologización de la Transexualidad en el V Congreso de Sexualidad" (en español)

"Expresamos nuestro apoyo a la retirada de la transexualidad de la clasificación internacional de enfermedades mentales, especialmente . . . en la DSM-V . . . Rechazamos la aplicación de terapias psicológicas reparadoras a las personas transgéneros . . . Reafirmamos que la transexualidad y otras expresiones transgéneros son expresiones de la diversidad sexual . . . Reafirmamos además que la aplicación de estos procedimientos respeta los derechos sexuales de cada persona y son congruentes con los principios bioéticos de autonomía, no maleficencia y justicia . . . Reafirmamos también que la atención a las personas transexuales debe tener un carácter integral, que garantice el reconocimiento y respeto a los derechos de la persona, mucho más allá de la mera atención médica y psicológica."

2-04-10:  Columbia Spectator (Columbia University): "Binary Operations - the struggle to redefine gender at barnard and columbia"

"Despite personal tensions within the queer community, and the inability on the part of the administration to accommodate students, the student body continues to question gender norms and push for change with initiatives like gender-neutral housing and GendeRevolution’s transgender resource guide."

2-03-10:  New York Times: "Woman Says Sex-Change Tax Battle Also Helps Others"

"A woman who battled the IRS over a tax deduction for the costs of her sex-change operation says she feels like she won a victory for all transgender people."

2-03-10:  National Secular Society Petition (UK): "Make the Pope Pay - Say NO to a State-funded Visit to the UK"

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ask the Catholic Church to pay for the proposed visit of the Pope to the UK and relieve the taxpayer of the estimated £20 million cost. We accept the right of the Pope to visit his followers in Britain, but public money would be better spent on hard-pressed schools, hospitals and social services which are facing cuts."

2-03-10:  The Pink Triangle Trust (UK, posted 2-01): "The Pope is Paranoid Say UK Gay Humanists"

"“This pope has shown himself to be paranoid about homosexuality. His opposition to LGBT rights knows no bounds. He has declared that saving humanity from homosexual behaviour [and transsexualism] was as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. This must be the most outrageous and bizarre claim yet made by someone who has already got a well-deserved reputation as one of the most viciously homophobic world leaders on a par with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. . . . Mr Broadhead concluded: “It is imperative that the strongest possible protest be made when his so-called holiness visits the UK . . . we must pull out all the stops to demonstrate our opposition.”"

2-03-10:  Inquirer.net: "‘My BF doesn’t know I’m not a woman’", by Ted Laguatan

"Paula looked great in tight designer jeans topped with a soft blue cashmere turtle neck sweater . . . She had a naturally pretty mestiza face framed by long soft brownish hair. Nice body too—a slim, 5’6” frame, long legs. She was 26 but looked 19. “Attorney, I’m absolutely crazy about this guy. He wants to marry me, but I can’t marry him.” I sensed desperation in her voice. Was she married and needed a divorce? “No, attorney. I don’t need a divorce.” “What then?” “My boyfriend doesn’t know that I am not a woman.”"

2-02-10:  Washington Post (re UK): "Pope's swipe at UK equality laws provokes foes"

"Pope Benedict XVI's condemnation this week of British equality legislation designed to protect gays and women in the workplace has deepened the battle lines between the Vatican and secularists, who demand that taxpayers not foot the security bill for his newly announced September visit." 

2-02-10:  The Tech (MIT): From the Editor:

"A headline last Wednesday, “Sex Changes Just Got Easier!” was offensive as well as technically inaccurate. The headline has been changed to “MIT Reduces Paperwork for Gender Changes” on our website. Headlines are not written by the bylined authors of articles, but by The Tech’s News Editors. We did not intend to offend or make light of the difficulties associated with sex and gender transitions. We apologize."

2-02-10:  GLAD: "In re Rhiannon O’Donnabhain"

"Victory! On February 2, 2010, the U.S. Tax Court issued an important decision in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, ruling for the first time that treatment for gender identity disorder qualifies as medical care under the Internal Revenue Code, and is therefore deductible"

2-02-10:  ABC News: "Tax Court Allows Deduction for Woman's Sex Change - Tax court OKs deduction for Mass. woman's sex change in potentially wide-ranging ruling" (more, more)

"The legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which represented O'Donnabhain, said the ruling could potentially affect thousands of people a year in the U.S. who undergo similar operations. "I think what the court is saying is that surgery and hormone therapy for transgender people to alleviate the stress associated with gender identity disorder is legitimate medical care," said Jennifer Levi, a GLAD attorney."

2-02-10:  TaxProfBlog: "Tax Court: Gender Reassignment Surgery Is a Deductible Medical Expense (But Not Breast Augmentation)"

"In a long-awaited decision, a fractured (8-5-3) Tax Court today ruled in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner, 134 T.C. No. 4 (Feb. 2, 2010), that male-to-female gender reassignment surgery qualifies as a deductible medical expense under § 213, reversing the IRS's position in Chief Counsel Advice 200603025."

2-02-10:  Feminist Law Professors: "Sex Reassignment Surgery Is Tax Deductible"

"The opinion is quite long, but does have its entertaining moments. One concurring judge chided the majority for dragging the court into the culture wars . . . Another concurring judge accused the dissenters of lacking basic knowledge of grammar and the English language . . . This is not the kind of stuff you see everyday in judicial opinions, especially tax opinions! Dealing with the deduction for medical expenses, this case ineluctably contributes to the medicalization and pathologization of gender identity."

2-02-10:  Yale Daily News: "Univ. nears coed housing decision"

"When Gabe Murchison, a transgender high school senior from Sherborn, Mass., began openly identifying as male two years ago, he said it was a test to see who his real friends were. . . So when he began thinking about visiting for Bulldog Days, he e-mailed the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, which agreed to allow him to stay with a suite of males in April. But until University President Richard Levin makes a decision about mixed-gender housing, Murchison’s housing configuration when he arrives as a freshman in the fall is still up in the air."

[Yale is the only Ivy League school that has not made plans to introduce a mixed-gender housing program.]

2-02-10:  Salt Lake Tribune: "A growing majority"

" . . . if you would like to see all Utahns accorded these most basic human rights, you're part of a growing majority. Opinions regarding legal protections and equal rights for Utah's gay and transgender community are changing, and for the better. Unfortunately, Utah laws that could make those intrinsic rights a reality are not."

2-02-10:  Rediff (re India): "Transgenders find dignity, and life, through microfinance"

""It is only because transgenders are not given any mainstream job that they indulge in sex work and intimidate shopkeepers for money. Even if they do any work, the society won't accept them. But ever since we started Menmai Idli, there is a lot of acceptability for us in the society. Our lives changed drastically after this. Even if you start a small idly shop or a flower shop, even if you make only a small amount, the society respects you for what you are doing," said Gopika."

2-02-10:  The Daily Mail (UK): "Pope condemns Harman equality drive as 'violation of natural law' "

"The Pope yesterday made an unprecedented attack on Britain's equality legislation . . . Benedict XVl condemned Labour's Equality Bill in extraordinary terms as an assault on the 'natural law' of Christianity  -  in other words a sin . . . which many in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church say could force them to hire homosexuals or transsexuals."

2-01-10:  Bilerico.com (posted 1/31): "Catholics For Equality", by Father Tony

"There is something Catholic in the wind and it smells a bit like mutiny. It sounds like the early morning clarion call on the hushed day of battle, with a hint of frustration and a dollop of American liberty all tied up in larger issues of equality for women and minorities. It is laced with the strong conviction that the bishops no longer speak for the Catholic Church and that the voices of the bishops are no longer the voice of Jesus Christ. If yesterday's planning session is any indication, it will probably be called "Catholics for Equality" and if all goes as tentatively planned, you may look for it in a diocese near you by Pentacost Sunday . . . "

[The masses are stirring against the persecution of women and LGBT people by the Vatican and the bishops. Stay tuned.] 

2-01-10:  Sherbourne Health Centre (Toronto, Canada): Trans Support Group: "Gender Journeys"

"11 weeks of reliable information and meaningful community connections for anyone thinking about their own gender changes. The next group will be on Wednesdays (6:00 - 8:45 pm) from March 3 to May 12, 2010"

[The Sherbourne Health Center is a great alternative to the notorious CAMH gender clinic for Canadian transpeople.]

2-01-10:  Student Pulse: "The White Feather Campaign: A Struggle with Masculinity During World War I", by Peter J. Hart

"Their efforts were successful but the campaign eventually incited a feeling of outrage among the English population for the terrible shame that they brought upon both deserving and undeserving men . . . by choosing to make a judgment of noncombatant men’s identity, these women unintentionally forced a harsh criticism to be made of English women. An attack on one gender identity caused ripples to run through the other, the White Feather campaign did not simply affect masculinity but also brought femininity into the light for condemnation. The recruitment movement of the white feather waged outright war against English masculinity and before it was over, both male and female gender identities changed as a result of this tactic."

[A fascinating essay - highly recommended.]

2-01-10:  Student Pulse: "With REAL ID, Privacy Concerns for the Transgender Community"

"According to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), one of the main problems with REAL ID is the collection and retention of the identity documents required to obtain a REAL ID (2009). State DMVs would be required to verify the accuracy and validity of these documents, and then maintain a digital copy attached to an individual’s electronic license record. This presents a security risk for many transgender people, as the documents required to obtain a license can often reveal their personal medical history to anyone accessing their records."

2-01-10:  The Guardian (UK): "Julie Bindel's dangerous transphobia", by CL Minou

"I don't much care for Julie Bindel, unlike Beatrix Campbell, who defended her on this site yesterday. That does not mean I don't admire her. As a feminist whose radicalism would probably surprise her, I appreciate Ms Bindel's advocacy and the genuine good that has come for her work against violence directed at women. Yet in her long, lonely crusade against transsexuals she contradicts three of her own four feminist principles:"

January 2010

1-31-10:  The Guardian (UK): "Censoring Julie BindelTransgender activists who seek to ban her from speaking are wrong – we need to hear Julie Bindel on gender politics", by Beatrix Campbell

"Transgender people who used to live as men and now live as women persuaded the May 2009 NUS women's conference to mandate its officers to share no platform with Julie Bindel. Proponents say they are offended by Bindel's critique – aired in the Guardian since 2004 – of "trannies"' perceived cultural conservatism and anatomical violence."

1-31-10:  The Sun (UK):  "Transsexual told she can't use ladies' toilets"

". . . she was stunned when a member of staff approached her and told her she was no longer allowed to go in the bar’s ladies toilets, and would now have to use the disabled facilities, because she is neither a man nor a woman"

1-30-10:  Grand Rapids Press: "Group wants driver's licenses for transgender people to be an issue in Michigan Secretary of State race"

"Jena Lewis believes getting a Michigan driver's license that identifies who you are should not be a political issue. Lewis, who went through a sex change more than five years ago, carries a driver's license that identifies her as a female. But Gary Glenn, leader of a Midland-based anti-gay group, believes Lewis' license should still bear an "M" instead of an "F.""

[The American Family Association wades into the Scott controversy]

1-30-30:  BBC News (UK re India): "Beauty pageant inspires India's transgenders"

"This contest is a historical moment. The community has had to stay in the closet for 262 years and this contest will provide them a platform," Ms Narayan said. She said she wanted "hijras" (or eunuchs) to be in regular jobs. "For a community member, to be loved with dignity is the biggest thing. Hijras enjoy womanhood to the extreme.""

1-29-10:  Washington City Paper: "Victim Blaming and Transgender Rape Victims"

"Yesterday, the New York Daily News reported that a New York woman recently filed a lawsuit against former NFL player Eric Green, claiming that Green “forcibly sodomized her” in his Scottsdale, Ariz. condo. . . . At this point, no armchair observer in this case could reasonably determine whether this woman’s story checks out or not. But the New York Daily News commenters are already inventing dozens of reasons why the assault could never have occurred—and if it did, she deserved it!"

1-29-10:  The Guardian (UK re Pakistan): "Harassed, intimidated, abused: but now Pakistan's hijra transgender minority finds its voice"

"New civil rights for Pakistan's long-oppressed 'wedding dancers' offer hope of a better life . . . Pakistani hijras, or transgender men, at a function on the outskirts of the garrison city Rawalpindi. Pakistan's supreme court has issued a number of groundbreaking orders for the government and police to afford hijras the same civil rights as other citizens."

[Someone should alert the Guardian that hijra are transgender women, not transgender 'men']

1-29-10:  Brooklyn Daily Eagle: "Local Courts Making Transgender Name-Changes Easier, by Samuel Newhouse

"Courts around New York City have recently earned a new distinction, that of being one of the easiest and most popular places for transgender individuals to change their names. Two recent rulings in New York have eased the name-change process for transgender people . . . a Westchester judge recently ruled that the general requirement that name change and home addresses be advertised in newspapers should not apply to transgender people . . . In the other case, an appeals panel rejected a Manhattan civil court judge’s requirement that transgender people obtaining name changes present doctors’ notes giving reason for the change . . . "

1-29-10:  Asia One News (Asia): "Transgender celebrities"

"Lianhe Wanbao listed out certain known personalities who have had a sex change - Taiwanese model Alicia Liu Xun-ai, Japanese Haruna Ai, Korean Harisu Lee Kyung-eun - have all made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. Besides Liching, Taiwanese model Alicia had admitted to going for a sex change operation when she was eighteen, and gone on to become even more famous than she already was."

1-29-10:  Channel News Asia (re Taiwan): "Taiwanese TV host Liching: Both man and wife"

"Popular Taiwanese television host Liching, who married a man 14 years her junior in 2002, was not born a hermaphrodite as she had claimed six years ago but was a man, revealed the Taiwanese doctor who treated her . . . Dr Zhang Qizhong wrote an article in a Taiwanese medical journal a year and a half ago to share his experiences in his 35 years of practicing medicine. . . Many say that Dr Zhang acted unprofessionally when he revealed his former patient's identity in his article. . . "

1-28-10:  Pridesource.com (Michigan): "Distraught over Scott - Sec. of State candidate's anti-trans stance raises concerns", by Jay Kaplan

"Hmm ... our state is in critical condition; Michigan's unemployment is double that of the nation; we are drowning in budget deficits; young college graduates are leaving in droves - and Mr. Scott's priority issue for this statewide election is scapegoating transgender individuals?"

1-28-10:  World Net Daily (posted 1-25): "'Gay' plan for bathrooms called 'moral insanity'"

"Gay activists are now demanding that their own private mental delusions about sex be accepted as public policy . . .  asking all of us to participate in a form of collective moral insanity, a mass delusion spread by the homosexual lobby . . .The Maine Human Rights Commission proposed a set of guidelines . . . Under the proposed guidelines, boys who self-identify as female will have access to girls' sports teams and cheerleading squads, girls' bathrooms, and girls' locker rooms."

1-28-10:  Scienceblogs.com: "Worldnutdaily: Do Try and Keep Up", by Ed Brayton

"The Worldnutdaily has yet another idiotic screed about how equal rights for gays and lesbians will mean cross dressing men raping your daughters in the women's bathroom. . . Right, because the first thing straight men who want to leer at women think of is to pretend to be a transsexual - because that's such a great way to pick up women, isn't it? Hundreds of cities and many states already have ordinances that protect against discrimination on the basis of gender identity; there isn't a single example of any woman ever being harmed or peeped on in a bathroom by a transsexual or transgendered person. That's precisely why they have to use examples of straight men doing it before such laws are adopted."

1-28-10:  Weekly Alibi: "Transgender Politics", by Joni Kay Rose

"Simpson isn't the first transsexual appointee in the Obama Administration. Shortly before her appointment, Dylan Orr was appointed as a special assistant to the Labor Department. And it's been more than a year since Congressman Barney Frank brought Diego Sanchez onto his staff. But Orr and Sanchez are transsexual men, and thus don't create the kind of weird fantasies in the minds of bigots that transsexual women like Simpson do. Why is this? "

1-28-10:  Virtue Online (posted 1-26): "Dr. Paul McHugh: "There Is No Gay Gene""

"Well, as I have said, there is no gay gene . . . It really is amazing ... I mean, 50 years ago [homosexual behavior] was a crime, and now we're talking about [same-sex marriage]. Anyone who wants to stick with the tradition is accused of being a biblical literalist or a homophobic racist, because, in part, of the more fundamental change in our society towards permissiveness, that is, easy divorce, cohabitation and concubinage, abortion, pornography ... and euthanasia. The issue of the homosexual is not separate ... it's all part and parcel of the pandemonium that the permissive movement has brought. We have just licensed all kinds of behavior."

[Check out McHugh's latest rants.]

1-28-10:  New York Daily News: "NFL player Eric Green forcibly sodomized transgender New Yorker Angelina Mavilia, her lawsuit claims" (more, more)

"A transgender New Yorker has filed a $10 million sex assault suit against an NFL player - and in a separate action is also suing the city, saying she was abused and humiliated by cops."

1-28-10:  The Telegraph (UK re Italy): "Italy opens first prison for transsexuals"

"Campaigners welcomed the initiative, the first of its kind, because they said transsexual prisoners face discrimination in Italy's mainstream prisons and are rejected by both male and female inmates. They often have to be segregated for their own safety."

1-28-10:  The Christian Institute (UK; posted 1-26: "16-year-old to become UK’s youngest sex-swap patient"

"However, critics of sex change operations say that gender dysphoria is a psychiatric problem, not a physical one, and radical physical surgery does more harm than good. In 2002 doctors from the NHS Portman Clinic – an internationally acclaimed centre – stated, “what many patients find is that they are left with a mutilated body, but the internal conflicts remain”."

[Note: The Portman Clinic is the UK's version of the notorious CAMH in Canada - i.e., an old-fashioned, regressive, trans-reparatist clinic.]

1-27-10:  The Tech (MIT): "Sex Changes Just Got Easier!", by Meghan Nelson (see later correction of editor's headline)

"The Registrar’s Office has modified its requirements for students to officially change their recorded gender. Since last week, instead of requiring evidence of sex-change surgery, students now may provide documentation from a licensed health care professional to verify their gender with the Registrar. The former requirement for surgery was a “very high bar,” said Abigail M. Francis, program coordinator for LBGT services . . . The alteration to the Registrar’s policy came after a four year effort by the Trans Issues Group . . ."

1-27-10:  Inter Press Service (re Cuba; posted 1-25): "Wendy - Reconciling the Inner and Outer Image", by Dalia Acosta

""We are open to all who wish to get to know us, and discover that we are not monsters and that we have not broken social norms just because we wanted to, but because this is the way we are, and that we deserve to be respected. We deserve a place in society, and to be looked upon not as strange creatures, but as people of this society, people of these times," she said. And in spite of knowing how much still needs to be done before society will accept her as she is, just looking Wendy in the eye or watching her walk through the streets of Havana is enough to know that she is a free and happy woman. In her view, "happiness is made up of moments in life that you treasure inside yourself, and they determine the direction of your life.""

1-27-10:  The Telegraph (UK): "World's 'second pregnant man' expecting baby boy next month" (more)

"The world's second known "pregnant man" is expecting his first baby with his transgender husband next month. Scott Moore and his partner, Thomas, were both born as girls and have undergone surgery and hormone treatments to transform their sex."

1-27-10:  Express.co.uk (UK): "Sex Swap Police Want You to Fund Transgender Group"

"Cross-dessing and sex-change police officers are seeking taxpayers cash to fund their own group within the force. . . John Midgley, of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, recently said: “We don’t need organisations like this. It’s just madness.”"

1-26-10:  San Francisco Chronicle blogs: "Is a 16-year-old too young for a sex change?"

"The British press are spreading the news of a 16-year-old boy who is hoping to become the country's youngest sex change patient . . . What do you think? Is a 16-year-old too young to make a decision about having a sex change?"

[Readers wrote the author of this blog post about the way it addressed the issue (not to mention the snarky responses) and she removed it.]

1-26-10:  Intersex Australia (OII Australia; posted 1-22): "Having Betrayed Intersex through ISNA, Bo Laurent Vanishes from Its Successor, the Accord Alliance", by Angela Erde

"So the ISNA (Intersex Society of North America) trojan horse has done its work and the very last intersex member of successor organization, Accord Alliance (AA), has vanished from its ranks. Good-bye, Bo Laurent aka Cheryl Chase . . . Bo Laurent and her alter ego Cheryl Chase never appeared in public on the same stage . . . often signed the same legal documents as if two different people and at least once one alter ego referred to the other as if a separate person . . . Dreger, too, seems to have some kind of multiple personality disorder. One moment she is a self-styled ‘intersex activist’ wringing her hands on behalf of that poor, oppressed minority. The next she is hatching the concept of DSDs – Disorders of Sex Development – that are specifically designed to pathologize intersex people . . . "

1-26-10:  ENDAblog: "Should Paul Scott Be Expelled From the University of Michigan Law School", by Katrina C. Rose

"You do, of course, recall Half-Term Paul Scott, the clown who – in the state with the worst economic situation in the nation - is running for Secretary of State on an anti-transsexual platform? . . . And then it hit me. You see, in addition to being a Sarah Palin of the Michigan Legislature, he’s also a law student at the University of Michigan Law School."

[In a truly bizarre move, Paul Scott announced that if elected he would change the gender markers of driver's licenses of post-op transpeople back to their birth gender - claiming “That’s who you are. You can have cosmetic surgery or reassignment surgery but you are still that gender” - and that it was about “preventing people who are males genetically from dressing as a woman and going into female bathrooms. ” I.e., under Scott's logic, all postop women would be forced to use public men's rooms.]  

1-26-10:  San Francisco Chronicle: "Maximum term for attack on transgender woman", by Jaxon Van Derbeken

"A San Francisco judge handed down the maximum sentence of 17 years and eight months in state prison Monday against a man convicted of sexually assaulting a transgender prostitute and suspected of committing several similar attacks."

1-25-10:  Abilene Reporter News: "Police: Transgendered person slays own pastor before hanging self" (more)

"Two bodies discovered Saturday in a gruesome crime scene were identified by Abilene Police Monday as an Abilene pastor and a parishioner she was counseling through a sex change operation. . . .Karen Lee Johnson, 61, pastor of Unity Church of Christianity, suffered multiple stab wounds in an attack by Renata Antoinette Monet, 61 of Abilene, police said. . . . Monet’s personal Web site indicates — in her earlier life as a male — she fantasized about killing women when she was as young as 10 years old."

1-25-10:  Before It's News: ""Stock Shock" Movie about Sirius XM Radio now on Netflix"

""Stock Shock" also interviews the satellite radio's founder: Martine Rothblatt--formerly known as Martin Rothblatt. In 1994 Rothblatt, a male-to-female transsexual, underwent sex reassignment surgery and changed her name to Martine Aliana Rothblatt. She has since become a vocal advocate of transgenderism and later founded United Therapeutics in 1996. "She literally has an understanding of science that ranges from the vastness of the stars, to the microscopic world of cellular biology," says the director. "She is one of the most interesting and evolved people I have ever met.""

1-25-10:  Abilene Reporter News: "Police: Transgendered person slays own pastor before hanging self"

"Two bodies discovered Saturday in a gruesome crime scene were identified by Abilene Police Monday as an Abilene pastor and a parishioner she was counseling through a sex change operation."

1-25-10:  My Fox Houston: "Transgender Community Seeks Answers to Murder" (more, more)

"Organizers of a candlelight vigil Monday night say say it was the largest transgender event in Houston's history. About 200 people attended, wanting to know who killed a transgender woman one week ago."

1-25-10:  Los Angeles Times: "A showcase for experimental filmmaker Chris Langdon", by Reed Johnson

"Chris Langdon was arguably the most interesting and important experimental L.A. filmmaker that most people had never heard of. Even many of Langdon's old friends . . . didn't know what had become of her over the last 30 years.  As it happens . . . she'll be making one of her first public appearances in ages when she attends a retrospective of some of her work, "Now You Can Do Anything: The Films of Chris Langdon," at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles. But Langdon acknowledges that old acquaintances may have trouble recognizing her as Inga, the female incarnation she assumed several years ago after a sex change. "

1-25-10:  Inside Higher Ed: "The Transgender Athlete", by Pat Griffin and Helen Carroll

""I was really worried about coming out as transgender to anyone else because I knew there weren’t any policies. I was so afraid that my school would ban me from my sport and that was the only thing I had at the time. I finally decided to come out my senior year of college because I was going down a slippery slope and I didn't think I could pull myself out if I didn't come out."--A transgender former college athlete"

1-24-10:  New York Times: "For Transgender People, Name Is a Message", by William Glaberson

"Over the last two years, volunteer lawyers from 19 big corporate law firms in New York City have worked on nearly 400 transgender name change cases, according to the advocacy group that is running the project, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. “In a way, it’s a big coming-out process — with a judge,” said the group’s executive director, Michael D. Silverman"

1-24-10:  Student Pulse: "Research Shows Lack of Support for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth in U.S. School Systems", by  Tonei Glavinic

"Transgender children are some of the most vulnerable students in America’s schools. Nobody knows how many there are, and very few educators know what to do with them. Despite extensive advocacy efforts, trans youth are subjected to bullying and harassment in the classroom; diagnosed with nonexistent learning disabilities and psychological problems; and generally misunderstood by their doctors, teachers, and classmates. As a result, these students get lower grades than their classmates and are less likely to pursue higher education. The lack of a basic understanding of trans youth puts them at an extremely high risk for failure and unsatisfactory performance in schools"

1-24-10:  TS Roadmap: "Academic pathologization of transgender people", by Andrea James

"A major social paradigm shift is now occurring in which increasing numbers of people reject the pathologization of gender variance. As we look back at those involved in the effort to stigmatize trans and intersex people as being disordered, we see that most are in their 40s or older - with only a dwindling handful of protegés clinging to their outmoded ideology . . . Below is a streamlined two-dimensional representation of key figures in the academic pathologization of sex and gender minorities."

Note: This page provides a graphical overview of the groups of academics and allies responsible for the pathologization of gender variant people - and is very helpful in visualizing the roles of these people and how they are interconnected. It includes the following entries:

Key figures: Paul McHugh, Ken Zucker, Ray Blanchard, Richard Green, Susan Bradley, J. Michael Bailey,

Other academics: Kurt Freund, James Cantor, Meredith Chivers, Steven Pinker, David Buss, Lee Ellis,  Simon LeVay, Richard Pillard, Alan Sanders,  Khytam Dawood, Dean Hamer, Seth Roberts, Colette Chiland, Janice Raymond, Alice Dreger, Germaine Greer, Susan Mineka, Jon Meyer, George Rekers, Susan Coates, Gerulf Rieger, Elizabeth Latty, Martin Kafka, NARTH, Joan Linsenmeier, Domenico di Ceglie;

Media apologists:Steve Sailer, John Derbyshire, Dan Seligman, Jim Marks,Benedict Carey, Duncan Osborne, Barbara Kline Pope, Stephen Mautner;

Trans apologists: Anne Lawrence, Maxine Petersen, Denise Tree, Heike Spreitzer, Cheryl Chase, Willow Arune, Lisanne Anderson, Hontas Farmer, Anjelica Kieltyka, Jenn Ross

1-24-10:  IEEE Computer Society (posted 1-20):  "Computer Society Names Computer Pioneers" (more, more, more)

"University of Michigan professor Lynn Conway, who helped revolutionize Very Large System Integration design, and Jean Sammet, an early programmer and expert on programming languages, are the 2009 recipients of the IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award. 

The Computer Pioneer Award was established in 1981 to recognize and honor the vision of those people whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry . . . So far, nearly 100 people around the world have been honored for helping lay the foundations for modern-day computer architectures, cryptology, database management, hardware, networking, programming, software, and other technologies."

1-24-10:  News Of The World (UK): "I'm not too young to have sex change, I've known since I was 12"

""People might think I'm too young to make such a huge decision but I know my own mind and this is what I want. I've known for years I'm a woman. I think and act like a woman, not a man. In my mind I'm a woman, so all I need now is the operation." Trainee hairdresser Bradley has been told the surgery to give him breasts and change his genitalia from male to female should happen within 18 months. The £10,000 procedure will be funded by his local NHS trust in Hull, East Yorks."

1-24-10:  aebrain.blogspot (posted 1-10): "A Charitable View of Mary Daly", by Zoe E. Brain"

"As for Mary Daly, the dark bloodstains of her unrepudiated (publicly at least) views will forever marr her legacy and memory. And as we continue the process of slowly applying the notions of Universal Human Rights to more of the populace until one day the word Universal becomes accurate in practice as well as theory she will be taught about in University classes of the future as one of those shamefull sort who built their classes progress on the deliberate misstreatment and vilification of others with less power and already suffering more oppression."

1-23-10:  Asia One News (re Taiwan): "Top model admits being transsexual"

"Taiwanese model Alicia Liu (Xun Ai) has admitted that she is a transsexual. The 24-year-old model-cum-actress, nicknamed Xiao Ai, said she underwent sex-change surgery at the age of 18 . . . Liu, whose original name was Zi Hua, became popular following her appearances on a parody television programme. She was described as having a face as innocent as an angel with sexy curves and a sweet voice . . . Liu's "real" identity was exposed when a schoolmate a year her junior revealed her "secret" on the Internet recently."

1-23-10:  Daily Mail (UK): "Amy Winehouse's ex Blake Fielder-Civil denies 'dating a pre-op transsexual'"

"Blake Fielder-Civil has denied today's reports that he went on a string of dates with dark-haired transsexual 'Mia' McHugh. Mia, 17, who also likes to dress up as his former wife Amy Winehouse, alleged that she had a relationship with Fielder-Civil while still technically male. He reportedly met the part-time hairdresser through Facebook."

1-22-10:  NBC Washington: "Loudoun Supervisor Under Fire for Anti-Gay Remarks"

 "Eugene Delgaudio . . .  is at the center of a political firestorm. He’s accused of using controversial language targeted at transgender individuals. It all started back on January 5th when the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to ban discrimination in hiring someone based on their sexual orientation. Delgaudio – who voted against it – then sent out an email to his constituents explaining the boards decision by saying "if a man dressed as woman wants a job, you have to treat ‘it’ the same as a normal person." But it wasn’t just the "it" word that has people riled up. In that same original email Delgaudio used the phrase "cross dressing freaks.""

1-21-10:  The Michigan Messenger: "Paul Scott targets transgendered people in race for Secretary of State - Prohibiting gender change on licenses a top priority", by Todd A. Heywood (more, more)

"State Rep. Paul Scott, (R-Grand Blanc), announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination for Secretary of State just five days ago, but he’s already caused a shock wave . . . with a promise he made in his Jan. 15 announcement letter,  . . . "I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance" . . .  he said it was about “preventing people who are males genetically from dressing as a woman and going into female bathrooms.” . . . He said his mandate would be in place even for those who had completely undergone sex reassignment surgeries. “That’s who you are. You can have cosmetic surgery or reassignment surgery but you are still that gender,” he said."

1-21-10:  Boingboing.com: "Caster Semenya and the apartheid of sex", by Andrea James

"One of the most troubling aspects of the Caster case is the repeated use of the controversial term "disorders of sex development" (DSD). This disease model of human diversity was concocted by a handful of misguided and short-sighted academics . . . The person who has made the most money from promoting this terminology is Alice Dreger, a former mommy blogger turned bioethicist who exemplifies the reproductive ideology behind DSD. Dreger is sort of the Diane Arbus of academia, exploiting conjoined twins, transgender and intersex people, people of short stature, or any other vulnerable minority where its members rarely get to speak for themselves. She got paid to be a key promoter of the term "disorders of sex development," even working with the DSD Consortium to jam their ideology down the throats of everyone else through a number of pamphlets and unilateral "consensus statements.""

1-20-10:  New York Times: "I.O.C. Panel Calls for Treatment in Sex Ambiguity Cases"

"A panel of medical experts convened by the International Olympic Committee recommended Wednesday that the issue of athletes whose sex seems ambiguous be treated as a medical concern and not one of fairness in competition . . . The panel’s recommendations were criticized by some athletes, who said that athletes with masculinizing disorders are so different from other women that their presence in competition is unfair."

1-19-10:  Havana Times (Cuba): ".Cuba Carries Out Sex Change Operations" 

"The director of the National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), Mariela Castro, confirmed today to the press that sex change operations are being done in the country. Around half of the persons waiting for the procedure have already had it."

1-19-10:   European Association of Urology (Europe):  "Implantation of erectile prosthesis is complicated"

"The final step in the multidisciplinary approach of gender reassignment therapy in female-to-male transsexuals consists of the construction of a neophallus to allow the patient to void while standing and to have sexual experience after he is accustomed to his new voiding abilities. The main limiting factor is that there is no good substitute for the unique erectile tissue of the penis. The largest retrospective study by Hoebeke et al. evaluates the outcome in 129 female-to-male transsexuals after implantation of a hydraulic erectile prosthesis.

1-18-10:  TSRoadmap: "Essays expose CAMH’s despicable practices toward transgender people"

"These two essays were submitted by a reader and offer a cautionary tale about Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), one of the last of the antiquated “gender clinics” and one of the most regressive facilities in the world. They are also home to the largest reparative therapy clinic for gender-variant children"

1-18-10:  Archives of Sexual Behavior (posted 12-29-09): "A Further Assessment of Blanchard’s Typology of Homosexual Versus Non-Homosexual or Autogynephilic Gender Dysphoria", by  Larry Nuttbrock, Walter Bockting, Mona Mason, Sel Hwahng, Andrew Rosenblum, Monica Macri and Jeffrey Becker (available as a PDF for $34.00)

"Blanchard’s studies of sexual orientation and transvestic fetishism were conducted more than two decades ago, with most respondents then typically in their mid-40s, and little reported variation in ethnicity (assumed to be mostly White). A central finding of this study is that the very factors on which his sample can now be regarded as insufficiently diverse (age cohort and ethnicity) are, in fact, important and statistically independent predictors of transvestic fetishism . . .a classification of the MTF population, based solely on sexual orientation, is fundamentally limited. An adequate understanding of this population will only be achieved if social dimensions of the transgender experience, as framed by age and ethnicity in particular, are fully considered."

[This study exposes Blanchard's research as being narrowly conceived in time, place and cohort selection - leading to fundamentally flawed results. Unfortunately, its publication in the ASB limits its availability to ASB subscribers and those willing to pay $34 for the PDF.]

1-18-10:  ATME e.V. (Germany): "Transsexual People in Germany - a human rights report " (173 page PDF document in English and German; 2mb)

Note: This report from ATME e.V. discusses the pathologization of transsexual people in Germany, and how it derives from the DSM, the ICD, the practice of psychoanalysis, the theories of John Money and the WPATH Standards of Care.

1-17-10:  The Mirror (UK): "Transsexual reality star Miriam Rivera is a £300-an-hour 'escort'"

"Now Mexican-born Miriam is ­advertising her services online as a “companion”, operating from ­Knightsbridge, West London. The former glamour model . . . offers clients a “full service” for £300 an hour . . .  She says: “I do absolutely everything – I do a full service. Once you have paid for me, you can do whatever you want.” Her internet advert boasts . . . “Probably hear about me being one of the most beautiful transsexuals in the world and famous for my reality show ‘There’s Something About ­Miriam’.”"

1-16-10:  YouTube: "In Remembrance of Maxwell Anderson"

"This is our tribute to a great friend and beloved man, Dr. Maxwell Anderson. We will all miss you, our dear friend. We will see you again in the future. May you rest in peace."

1-16-10:  Examiner.com (posted 1-15): "Trans activist Dr. Maxwell Anderson dies at 53"

"The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) reports that trans activist Dr. Maxwell Anderson died on January 14 at the age of 53."

1-16-10:  IFGE (posted 1-15): "Dr. Maxwell Anderson of "Southern Comfort" Passes at 53"

"Dr. Maxwell Anderson, born August 26, 1956, died today after a short bout with glioma, a highly aggressive type of brain cancer. He has been a prominent figure in the transgender community for many years, and is probably best known for his appearance in "Southern Comfort," the documentary about Robert Eads. Maxwell was a recipient of IFGE's Trinity award for his years of service on behalf of transgender people, and recently received his PhD in Psychology.

Maxwell is survived by his sister Susie and his cat Blue.

He left a farewell message on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/v/lHEod3CGskg
His blog can be read at: http://drmaxwellanderson.com/
His Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/drmaxdaddy" 

1-16-10:  Shapeshifter films: "She's a Boy I Knew - Official Trailer" (YouTube video) (more, more)

"Filmmaker Gwen Haworth documents her male-to-female gender transition through the voices of her parents, sisters, best friend and wife. The film explores the relationships of a family who unexpectedly find their bonds strengthening as they overcome their preconceptions of gender and sexuality."

1-16-10:  NECN: "New Englander killed in Haiti identified as Vermont artist" (with video)

"The State Department is confirming six American deaths in Haiti. One of those killed was an artist from Vermont. 39-year-old Flo McGarrell . .  His parents say Flo was a dedicated and talented artist, who was pursing a lifelong dream. About five years ago, Flo, who was born a woman, made the decision to become a man, and began the process, taking hormones. He was very open about being transgender."

1-15-10:  Main Justice: "Justice Department Cites Title IX on Behalf of Gay Teen", by Ryan J. Reilly

"The Obama administration has intervened in a court case on behalf of a gay teenager by using a novel but not unprecedented interpretation of a law intended to ban gender discrimination . . . arguing that the protections against sex discrimination laid out in the Title IX amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to gender identity as well."

1-14-10:  Pride Source (Michigan): "Between Ourselves", by Jessica Carreras

"Knoll Larkin is a trans and community activist. The Detroit resident works in the University of Michigan's Bioethics Program as a research technician associate - but hasn't given up on his passion for the LGBT community . . . Check out Knoll's blog at http://f-t-somethingelse.blogspot.com."

1-14-10:  Sunderland Express (UK): "A safe place to meet and escape from a double life"

"A man awaiting a sex-change op and an open cross dresser are just two people who have found a lifeline and safe haven at Age Concern Sunderland which has struck a first in the region for the charity in a Tea With Dorothy group."

1-14-10:  Facebook (re France): "Bambi au Divan du Monde 2009", by Peggy Guex

A wonderful video of Bambi at a famous Paris nightclub last year - a stunning performance that's all the more remarkable when you consider that she's now 74.  Bambi began performing at Le Carrousel in 1954, transitioning while there and working there on into the 1960's. She quietly studied on the side at the Sorbonne, and become a college professor (in stealth). Her story and photos from the Le Carrousel years were widely circulated in the early 60's, helping many of us who transitioned back then to realize what we needed to do. Bambi is a true pioneer, and has lived an amazing life. Her story should be widely told and celebrated! [For more about Bambi, see her website and also this link]

1-14-10:  Metro Weekly (DC): "On Being First - Amanda Simpson can help us all learn about trans issues"

""Being the first sucks," Amanda Simpson, one of the first openly trans appointments to a federal government position, told ABC News. "I'd rather not be the first but someone has to be first, or among the first. I think I'm experienced and very well qualified to deal with anything that might show up because I've broken barriers at lots of other places and I always win people over with who I am and what I can do.""

1-14-10:  Yourtango.com: "Teddy Pendergrass & The Transsexual Tenika Watson"

"The late, great R&B singer was with a transsexual the night of his tragic accident 28 years ago. . . . With his death, old rumors . . . have been injected with new life. Chief among them that he was not alone in the car that night. Riding along was "casual acquaintance" Tenika Watson, a 31-year-old transsexual model, nightclub singer and rumored prostitute."

1-14-10:  The Mainichi Daily News (Japan): "Filipino woman arrested over fake marriage scam"

"A Filipino woman who is believed to have been involved in fake marriages between Japanese men and Filipino transsexuals was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly illegally immigrating to Japan."

1-13-10:  Anchorage Press: "To tell or not to tell, that is the question"

"On Monday, January 4, Schofield made an appearance on Conveyor Belt . . . Back before 2004, when he began his legal, medical and social transformation, Scott Schofield was first Katie Kilbourne, a debutante and homecoming queen hopeful, and then later, KT Kilbourn, a lesbian. And just recently, that last part might have become news to the folks at ABC, as well."

1-13-10:  The Desert Sun (re Brazil): "A remarkably unremarkable role", by Maggie Downs

"One actress attending the Palm Springs International Film Festival hopes her movie will do more than entertain — she wants it to be a positive step for transgender people everywhere. Maria Clara Spinelli is one of the stars of the Brazilian film “Paulista,” which follows three people plunging into love . . . She is not played for shock value. She is not torn about her identity. She is not exploited. She is simply a woman who wants to be loved. That's what makes the character so fascinating,” Spinelli said, with the help of a translator. “She is a paradox. The fact is that she's a transsexual, but she's the most conservative one in the film. People assume that she would be the flamboyant, overly sexual one, and it is not so.
“The fact that she is a transsexual is just one part of her. She is so much more than that.”"

1-13-10:  AFP (re Japan):  "Japan holds Philippine transsexuals for fake marriages"

"Police near Tokyo said Wednesday they had arrested three Japanese men and their transsexual "wives" from the Philippines for faking their marriage registrations. The Philippine nationals used the identification papers of women in their home country to pretend they were born as females so they could marry their Japanese partners, police said."

1-13-10:  Melbourne Leader (Australia): "Gender bender divas centrestage at Midsumma"

"The late Vivien St James, a queen of drag, is the focus of a costume retrospective showing as part of the Midsumma Festival."

1-13-10:  Guardian Weekly (UK re Indonesia): "Jakarta's haven for an excluded community"

"In this week's Indonesia diary, Arnaud Guiguitant meets members of Yogya­karta’s gay or transsexual community and witnesses a defiant stance from those who do not believe they are breaking ­religious rules"

1-13-10:  Helsingin Sanomat (Finland): "Nearly 600 quit parish of transgender vicar", By Juhani Saarinen "

"The Lutheran parish which has been rocked by the vicar’s decision to change genders has been hit by something of an exodus of members."

1-12-10:  Bay Windows (re Iran): "Iranian transgenders reclassified", by Rex Wockner

"Iran’s military will no longer classify transgender people as "mentally disturbed," said Hasan Mousavi Chelk, who heads the Socially Vulnerable Groups section of the State Agency for National Well-Being . . . From now on, transgender people being separated from the military will be labeled as "diabetics" or "people with a hormonal imbalance," he said."

1-12-10:  BBC News (re Italy): "Italy 'to open first prison for transgender inmates'"

"The prison, at Pozzale, near the Tuscan city of Florence, is expected to house inmates who mainly have convictions for drug-related offences and prostitution."

1-12-10:  Sakaal Times (India): "Hunt for most talented transgender begins" (more)

"The first-ever beauty pageant for transgenders – 'Vcare Indian Super Queen' – formally commenced from Monday – and the contestants would be judged on the basic of their creativity, special skill sets and confidence. The grand finale would be held on February 21. "

1-12-09:  Daily Mail (UK re Spain): "Spanish boy, 16, becomes one of world's youngest transsexuals after having sex-change operation"

"Dr Manero, head of the hospital's Gender Disorder Unit, added: 'He is not the first person under 18 to have come for sex change advice, but he is the first one whose parents where prepared to confront the Justice system so their child could be happy.' Under Spanish law under 18s cannot have a sex change without the permission of a judge, which has never previously been granted."

1-11-10:  WREG.com (Memphis): "Former Memphis Cop On Trial For Transgender Beating"

1-11-09:  Japan Times (Japan): "City's birth challenge linked to sex change" (more, more)

"A Hyogo Prefecture man who has legally changed his sexual status said Sunday that the city where he lives told him to register his son, who was born through artificial insemination, as an illegitimate child. . . .  the municipal office knew he had changed his sex in his family registration record, apparently leading it to reject the legitimacy of his son, they said. "This man is lawfully married. It is discriminatory not to recognize him as the father," said Toshiyuki Oshima, a Kyushu International University professor and head of the Japanese Society of Gender Identity Disorder."

1-10-10:  Des Moines Register: "Searching their souls: Can church include transgendered?" (more, more, more)

"The firing of the transgendered woman who worked part time as parish housekeeper and who, as an independent social worker, used parish offices to provide counseling for transgendered clients. Nearly 100 parishioners organizing separate prayer services instead of going to Mass because they said they sought a welcoming place for all. And angst in a once-tight faith community about how the church should minister to those whose lifestyles aren't condoned by the church."

[Yet another innocent transwoman falls victim to Roman Catholic witch-hunting.]

1-10-10:  New York Times: "The Americanization of Mental Illness", by Ethan Watters

"“We say we are being kind, but our actions suggest otherwise.” . . . “Viewing those with mental disorders as diseased sets them apart and may lead to our perceiving them as physically distinct.  Biochemical aberrations make them almost a different species." In other words, the belief that was assumed to decrease stigma actually increased it . . .Unfortunately, at the same time that Western mental-health professionals have been convincing the world to think and talk about mental illnesses in biomedical terms, we have been simultaneously losing the war against stigma at home and abroad. . . . It appears, in short, that the impact of our worldwide antistigma campaign may have been the exact opposite of what we intended.""

1-10-10:  Boingboing.net: Re "The Americanization of "mental illness"", by Andrea James

"Ken Zucker and Ray Blanchard are egregious examples of this problem, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. It's one of the most important political issues of the 21st century, but it is one of the most difficult for both practitioners and the general public to step back and see in its historical and geopolitical context. It involves challenging some of the most deeply held beliefs about how the world works. Today, the New York Times has an excellent introduction to the concept, by Ethan Watters, author of Therapy's Delusions. It's a good overview of his upcoming book."

1-10-09:  Fabulous Magazine (UK): "‘My longed for little girl will soon be my son’"

"Discovering her teenage daughter was desperate to be a boy was only the start of a soul-searching journey for Jacky Jones. This is her family’s emotional story " 

1-10-09:  AFP (reSouth Africa): 'Crime lord's' fake penis falls off in raid"

"South African police caught more than they expected in a Cape Town drug raid when a strap-on dildo fell off a suspected crime lord during a search, the Sunday Times reported. Fat Murphy, feared on the streets of Cape Town's notorious Cape Flats suburb, told a court that he is a hermaphrodite who holds male and female identity documents - one under the name Fadwaan, the other under Hilary."

1-10-09:  Times Live (South Africa): "'I look like a man, I talk like a man, I am a man' - Underworld flabbergasted to discover 'Fat' Murphy is a hermaphrodite"

"On the drug-ravaged streets he's known as Fat Murphy. Feared by many, the burly suspected drug lord is clean-shaven and wears his second wife's name tattooed on his arm. "

1-09-10:  Pam's HouseBlend: "Dylan Orr Has The Honor Of Being First Trans Person Appointed To Obama Administration", by Autumn Sandeen (more)

"A tip of my beret goes to Lisa Keen, writing for Pride Source. Through her, we now know who the first trans person that the Obama Administration appointed was, and it wasn't Amanda Simpson. That honor goes to Dylan Orr, a trans man."

[NCTE needs to improve their fact-checking: This historically important appointment was a senior "Administration Appointment" rather than a "Presidential Appointment" as claimed by NCTE, and it helps neither Amanda nor our cause to knowingly over-claim such things.]

1-09-10:  News Fix (Canada): "Toronto may get first transgendered councillor in 2010 election"

"Former ‘supermodel’ Enza Anderson is running to replace Kyle Rae in Toronto Centre-Rosedale. Rae was the first openly gay person elected to city council back in 1991. But he’s announced he will not be going for re-election, which means Anderson’s chances have just gone up. Winning would make Anderson the first out trans person ever to serve on a city council in Canada"

[I wonder what Zucker and Blanchard are saying about this?]

1-09-10:  YouTube: "Questions about my Transition"

"Samantha answers some reader questions about the beginning of her transition"

[A wonderful video.]

1-09-10:  Globalcomment.com: "Goodbye, Mary Daly, and please take the transphobia with you"

"Daly’s transphobia was in full effect in Gyn/Ecology as well when she referred to trans people as “Frankensteinian” and living in a “contrived and artifactual condition” . . . Daly (also) supervised Janice Raymond’s PhD dissertation, which then morphed into the notoriously transphobic 1979 screed, The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-male. The book argued that transsexual women were agents of the patriarchy infiltrating women’s space. This disco-era book is the underpinning for much of the haterade spewed by current trans-despising radical feminists such as Julie Bindel.."

1-08-09:  LifeSiteNews.com: "Obama Appoints “Transgender” as Latest Homosexual Nominee"

"President Barack Obama has achieved another “first” for homosexual advocates by nominating a “transgender” man to a post in the Commerce Department . . . In remarks later given to ABCNews.com, Simpson said "being the first sucks," because he feared that his sexual identity rather than personal merits would be credited for his obtaining the job."

[Yet more foot-stomping by the religious reactionaries.]

1-08-10:  International Foundation for Gender Education: "IFGE calls on the Late Show with David Letterman to apologize for trans-panic joke."

"This skit is in shockingly poor taste since it is the stated defense of numerous murderers accused of killing transgender women, the so-called "trans-panic defense". The use of this defense has resulted in sentences of less than two years in some cases. In the last 10 years almost 300 transgender women have been murdered in this country. Despite the recent passage of the federal Hate Crimes Law, very few of these cases are ever solved, and even fewer result in conviction."

1-08-10:  Boingboing.net: "You will become mentally ill in 2013"

"Now CAMH "experts" have set their sights on declaring many of you mentally disordered because of your sexual preferences. Do you prefer people who are "too fat," or "too skinny," or "too tall," or "too short"? Do you think transgender people are beautiful, or do you prefer to date disabled people? Do you get tingly watching sexy cartoons or prefer dressing up and roleplaying during sex? Do you like dating people who are "too old" or "too young" for you? Under the expanded definition of "paraphilia" which CAMH experts hope to codify in 2013, you will likely become a mentally ill paraphilic. This diagnosis could then be put in your medical records and other databases, with all the attendant joys of being declared mentally disordered. "

1-08-10:  Just Out: "Kindergarten Complications - What the journey of transitioning from female to male means for a five-year-old in Silverton, and for those around him"

"At first glance, Oliver is a healthy, jovial seven-year-old boy. In the schoolyard he’s known for his gelled faux-hawk, and his favorite color is blue. His favorite book is The Dangerous Book for Boys. He loves to sprint the 200-meter in track and watch Sponge Bob on the weekends with his best friend. His rambunctious attitude and boyish tendencies belie a core reality: Oliver was born a girl."

1-08-10:  Just Out: "A Proactive Process - TransActive’s executive director on the “youngest members of the GLBT community”"

"According to Burleton, the average time­line for transitioning youth depends on the support or resistance received from parents and family, upon whom the child relies to fa­cilitate the process. “Kids transition as soon as parents will tolerate it,” Burleton says, adding that the vast majority of children her organi­zation has worked with are under the age of ten. “The kid’s preference is to do it as soon as they possible can: ‘Mommy, this is who I am. Can I be this person?’”

1-08-10:  Tuscon Citizen: "Is Transgenderism a mental illness"

"The American Psychiatric Association thinks so, or is history repeating itself? . . . The issues around psychological classifications and associated stigma have recently become more complex since it was announced that colleagues from The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a consortium of mental health clinics at several sites in Toronto will serve on the DSM’s Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group. CAMH has aims to ‘cure’ transgendered people of their ‘disorder’, especially in children"

1-07-10:  Boingboing.net: "Toronto: global epicenter for oppression of sex and gender minorities," by Andrea James"

1-07-10:  PrideSource.com: "Obama makes first trans appointmentsDylan Orr, Amanda Simpson make history in newest positions", by Lisa Keen

"Amanda Simpson starts work this week as one of the first presidentially appointed transgender persons to the executive branch of any administration. The honor as the first belongs to Dylan Orr, a 30-year-old law school graduate from Seattle."

[This article surfaces the question of why NCTE so widely promoted the Simpson appointment, while not mentioning Orr's.]

1-07-10:  AllAfrica.com (Africa): "Africa: Pro-Transgender Development - Challenges Posed by Religious Extremism" by Audrey Mbugua

"To label people as death-deserving enemies because of disagreements about real world politics is bad enough. To do the same for disagreements about a delusional world inhabited by archangels, demons and imaginary friends is ludicrously tragic.'"

1-07-10:  The Frisky: "Seeing My Transgender Roommate Transition Changed Me Too"

1-07-10:  Dallas Voice: "Trans woman seeks uterine transplant - Sarah Luiz of The Colony, who’s no stranger to the media spotlight, aims to be world’s 1st trans mom"

"To many this may seem as if it’s going too far, and it will require a uterine organ transplant — a controversial and dangerous operation. Doctors are only beginning to perfect this surgery, and no human has become pregnant with a transplanted uterus. But Luiz has begun the medical candidacy interview process, and she says New York doctors at Downtown Hospital are looking her way."

1-07-10:  The Local (Swedish News in English): "Give young transsexuals special ID cards: doc"

"Young Swedes who suspect they are transsexuals ought to be issued special ID cards allowing them to hide their undesired gender during their trial phase as the opposite sex, according to one of the country’s most respected child psychiatrists. “This has to do with the practical aspects of living life as the opposite gender,” Per-Anders Rydelius, chair of the maternal and child health department at Karolinska Institutet’s Astrid Lindgren's Children Hospital, told The Local. “They must be able to show their ID card without people thinking they are being deceived.”"

1-07-10:  Bay Area Reporter: "Suspect in trans murder found guilty in separate case"

"The man suspected of murdering a transgender woman in San Francisco more than two years ago has been found guilty of several charges related to the rape of another transgender woman. The March 2007 murder of Ruby Ordenana is still under investigation, but Donzell Francis, 41, could face 15 years in prison for charges related to the rape of another transgender woman in 2007."

1-07-10:  Mumbai Mirror (India): "Now, transgenders have the chance to parade their talent"

"With big names sitting in judgement, India Super Queen 2010, to be launched in March with auditions across 10 cities, is an endeavour to help change society’s attitude towards transgenders . . . "We want to show that they too have similar talents and capabilities as socially defined and acceptable sexes.” It is precisely for this that the event has been planned on such a grand scale, and top-end celebrities and stars have been roped in. The event is expected to arouse such curiosity and interest among people and media that issues of transgenders will be brought into the public forum and discussed without intellectual hangovers."

1-07-10:  AsiaOne (re Singapore): "Is 'she' actually a 'he'?" (more: "Men openly molest girl but no one helps", more, more)

"The identity of the molest victim in the Siloso Beach incident has been heavily discussed online.Netizens who claim that they were at the scene of the incident speculate that the woman is in fact a transsexual from Thailand. One netizen, reficul10, said: "Just so you know...she's not even a real girl. Okay let's cut it short. She's a tranny. A transsexual. Another netizen, viper2007 said that he does not think that molesting a transsexual is permissible."

1-07-10:  San Francisco Bay Times: "Openly Transgender Primary Care Provider Joins Lyon-Martin"

"Fulfilling their commitment to provide quality healthcare to Bay Area women and transgender patients, Lyon-Martin Health Services has proudly announced the addition of Dr. Suegee Tamar-Mattis to their well-respected community clinic. "

1-07-10:  The Scotsman (Scotland): "Row over transsexual woman searched by male Holyrood guard"

"An investigation was launched after the visitor, who was born a man and now lives as a woman, asked to be searched by a female security guard at the public entrance at Holyrood. However, the female security guards on duty refused, as they understood the visitor was a man, and a male security guard carried out a search"

1-06-10:  Edge: "Fringe Right, Letterman React to Obama Trans Appointee"

"One right-wing activist went so far as to call the appointment "political correctness run amock," reported anti-gay publication Catholic News Agency in a Jan. 5 article."

1-06-10:  USA Today: "David Letterman under fire for transgender joke" (more, more)

"In a skit during Letterman's opening monologue, the Late Show host announced Simpson's historic appointment and revealed that she is transgender, displaying a photograph of her. The show's announcer, Alan Kalter, then feigned "trans panic," implying he had some prior relationship with Simpson but was not aware of her gender history, and ran yelling from the stage."

1-06-10:  PopEater: "ABC Dating Show Features Transgender Contestant?"

"Some curious internet super sleuths found contestant Scott Schofield's website which confirmed that he was in fact a transgender performance artist (via Videogum). He even tweeted during Monday's broadcast that he "never thought this would air.""

1-06-10:  New York Times: "U.S. Job Site Bans Bias Over Gender Identity" 

"The Obama administration has inserted language into the federal jobs Web site explicitly banning employment discrimination based on gender identity. The protection is expected to apply to the small transgender population — people who identify their gender differently from the information on their birth certificates — and it merely formalizes what had been increasingly unchallenged government practice over several years. But civil liberties and gender rights groups welcomed it on Tuesday as the clearest statement yet by the Obama administration that such discrimination in the federal workplace would not be accepted. . . . When the administration foreshadowed the change back in June, it was thought the guidelines would be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors. Their inclusion instead in the equal-employment opportunity notices on www.usajobs.gov, the federal jobs site, was viewed as even more significant."

1-05-10:  SheWired.com: "Radical Lesbian Feminist Mary Daly Dies at 81" (more, more)

"In her book Gyn/Ecology (1978), Daly asserted her negative view of transsexual people, whom she referred to as "Frankensteinian." She labeled transsexualism a "male problem" and claimed that post-operative transsexuals exist in a "contrived and artifactual condition.""

[One of our greatest tormentors, Daly was responsible for introducing a vicious strain of transphobia into the feminist movement. Daly was closely associated with and influenced the thinking of Janice Raymond, another of our tormentors.]

1-05-10:  New York Times (re Uganda): "Americans’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push "

"Last March, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” homosexuals have been widely discredited in the United States, arrived here in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks. . . thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how “the gay movement is an evil institution”. . .  Now the three Americans are finding themselves on the defensive, saying they had no intention of helping stoke the kind of anger that could lead to what came next: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior."

[Example of how evangelical Christian teachings are fueling anti-GLBT violence all around the world.]

1-05-10:  Contexto (Argentina; posted 12-29-09): "Una famosa travesti de Gualeguaychú murió de gripe A en Francia" (more, more)

"The famous transvesti "Arena" died in Paris, a victim of influenza, where (she) was for work purposes. . . "Arena" had traveled to France to the possibility of signing contracts to work there and was with part of (her) family at the time of (her) death."

1-05-10:  Womens News Network: "What’s the big deal about gender? – Female Identity as Intersex"

"Sexual identity in society based on gender recognition has caused much suffering for those who are intersex. Discrimination, harassment, and ongoing misunderstanding of the condition is part of the problem."

1-05-10:  Korea Times (South Korea): "Actress Lee Shows Off 'Handsome' Look"

"Actress Lee Na-young, a symbol of cheery Audrey Hepburn-esque grace and femininity, was thrilled to have her looks compared to male stars such as Jung Woo-sung. In the upcoming family comedy ``Lady Daddy,'' the screen beauty dons a ``handsome look,'' complete with a necktie and mustache. She plays the role of Ji-hyeon, a charming photographer whose perfect life is disrupted with the sudden arrival of a young boy who claims she fathered him, before her sex-change operation. Ji-hyeon is forced to spend a week with the boy, and tries to fulfill a ``more conventional'' role as a dad."

1-05-10:  The Huffington Post: "Religious Right Goes Nuts Over Transgender Appointee Amanda Simpson"

1-05-10:  Catholic News Agency: "Transgender appointment is 'political correctness run amok,' critic charges"

"President Obama recently appointed a “transgendered” man as a Senior Technical Adviser to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Amanda Simpson, a former test pilot for Raytheon who now identifies himself as female, will serve in the Bureau of Industry and Security. . . . “He may very well be qualified for this position but it appears that he was not picked (merely) for his qualifications, he was picked because of his wardrobe,” Barber commented to CNA. “That is not diversity or tolerance. It's political correctness run amok.” "

[The Catholic Church wades in re Amanda's appointment . . . ]

1-04-10:  Citizen Link: "President Appoints 'Transgendered' Individual to Federal Post" (more)

"Matt Barber, associate dean at Liberty University, said the appointment "boggles the mind." "This isn't like appointing an African-American in order to try to provide diversity and right some kind of discriminatory wrong," he said. "This is about political correctness. President Obama, before he was inaugurated, told the world that he had signed off on every single demand of the homosexual-activist lobby." LaBarbera said it's just another way to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism."

[The Christian Right reacts to Amanda Simpson's appointment]

1-04-10:  ABC News: "President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department"

"President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. In a statement, Simpson . . . said that "as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.""

1-04-10:  Projectqatlanta.com: "Neil Patrick Harris, gay panic, trans appointee?"

"Widely reported claim by NTCE that Obama made his first transgender appointment, former DNC delegate and failed 2005 Congressional candidate Amanda Simpson (top photo), is hard to confirm as true. It could be a direct hire by the Commerce Department, not an appointment"

1-04-10:  Examiner.com: "Claim of transgender Presidential appointment not supported by White House website" (more)

"It is being widely reported in the last few days that a transgender named Amanda Simpson has been "appointed" by President Obama to a federal post involving security, and that she hopes hundreds of transgender appointments will follow.  But this reporter is unable to find that name on a list of presidential nominations and appointments on the website for the official  White house list of such apointments. The only source cited in articles viewed up to this point is an organization whose initials are NCTE, based in Washington, D.C"

1-04-10:  Globe Gazette (Iowa): "Pro-family group opposes transgender observance" (more, more, more)

"A pro-family policy group today is taking issue with a proclamation Gov. Chet Culver signed that declared a “transgender day of remembrance” in Iowa last year. . . The organization’s president, Chuck Hurley, said he views the proclamation as an attempt by Culver to use the power of the governor’s office “to promote sexual confusion and deviant behavior.”"   

1-04-10:  BBC News (UK): "Paper guilty of transsexual slur" (more)

"A Belfast newspaper has been found guilty of breaching the press code of practice for describing a transsexual as 'a tranny.'"

1-03-10:  ABS-CBN News (Philippines): "Rica Paras leaves PBB house without tears and fears" (more, more)

"Rica, a transgender, told the other housemates not to shed tears as she left them and Big Brother behind . . . She said she wished she stayed inside PBB house longer to show the public that transgenders are not different from them. She also wished for people to have the strength to fight for their loved ones who are seen and treated differently"

1-03-10:  Tranifesto.com: "Amanda Simpson and the trans Catch-22", by Matt Kailey"

"This is a major step for trans people. Simpson's appointment reflects positively on us all, and she serves as a wonderful role model for people in our community. It would be a real shame if Simpson's trans status was not acknowledged. So while I completely respect people's desire to assimilate and to stop using a "trans" identifier, and I understand the argument and the science behind it, I'm also very happy that Amanda Simpson does use such an identification, whether it be transgender, transsexual, or both."

December 2009

12-31-09:  Examiner.com: "Amanda Simpson: transgender woman appointed to Department of Commerce" (more, more)

"Amanda Simpson, who has served on NCTE's Board of Directors for the past three years, has been appointed by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. She'll be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security . . . Simpson brings considerable professional credentials to her new job. For 30 years, she has worked in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz." 

12-31-09:  NCTE News Bulletin: "Presidential Appointment Announced - Amanda Simpson appointed to Department of Commerce"

"Amanda Simpson, who has served on NCTE's Board of Directors for the past 3 years, has been appointed by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. . . "I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.""

12-31-09:  Philadelphia Gay News: "LGBT provisions in question for healthcare bill"

"The Senate version, which passed strictly along party lines with all Democrats and two independents voting for it and all Republicans against, is considered the more conservative version of the legislation, dropping the House’s “public option” and numerous provisos that would have benefited the LGBT community."

12-31-09:  Baltimore Sun: "MVA delays policy change on transgender documentation: New rule would require court order or amended birth certificate to change gender on license"

"The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration has postponed a policy change that, starting Jan. 1, would have required transgender residents to obtain a court order or amended birth certificate to change the gender on their driver's license or identification card. The delay drew praise Wednesday from gay rights advocates who mobilized to protest altering the policy that's been in effect since 2000 and allows applicants to change their designation if they provide a physician or psychologist's report confirming they are undergoing a sex change."

12-31-09:  St. Louis Today: "TV talk shows for Jan. 1"

"11 a.m. Jerry Springer: A man learns his girlfriend is a transsexual; a man unknowingly hooks up with a transsexual; a man cheats on his wife with a transsexual."

[Springer never lets up on his obsessive sexploitation of transwomen.]

12-30-09:  Broadway.com: "Holly Woodlawn Musical to Premiere Off-Broadway?"

"The Village Voice is reporting that plans are in the works to bring a new Holly Woodlawn musical to an off-Broadway theatre . . . the writing team will include Penny Rockwell and Lance Cruz, who will also star as Holly . . . Holly Woodlawn is a transsexual and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1972). Her life was summarized by Lou Reed in his song "Walk on the Wild Side""

12-30-09:  PrideSource.com (Michigan): "Between Ourselves"

"Jena Lewis is an activist, trans educator and mother. The Grand Rapids-based woman also participates in the Bells of River City dance team, paints and is active in the United Church of Christ."

12-29-09:  AFP (re India): "India's transsexuals try Internet dating"

""We feel love and passion like anyone else and we want to have a family and a husband, even though we can't bear children. We'd like to adopt children," says Kalki . . . she had about 200 responses from men in India, Europe, the United States and Middle East, including doctors, engineers, journalists, scientists, teachers and businessmen. She has high hopes of selecting someone suitable for the women after a "very serious" screening process. "Out of the six girls, if one person gets married I'll be totally happy," she adds."

12-28-09:  BoingBoing.net: "Welcome to the Boing Boing guestblog, Andrea James!"

"I am very happy to introduce Boing Boing's latest guest blogger, Andrea James. She explains.... I'm a writer, activist and filmmaker. I wrote ads in Chicago for ten years, which led me into consumer activism that focuses on quackery and fraud, especially in medicine and academia.""

12-28-09:  New York Times: "Helping Youths Who Struggle With Identity"

"Vidari DeGuzman was a New York City teenager searching for acceptance when he first came to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a service organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths. Now 24 and with reassignment surgery behind him, he is a youth worker at the institute, located in the East Village."

12-28-09:  City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul): "Pawlenty angers transgender group with Newsweek comments" (more, more,  more)

"Pawlenty has seriously pissed off a national transgender rights organization with his assertion that little kids are going to be "confused" because of legislation he once signed."

12-28-09:  Schorer (Netherlands): "“Moving from Intentions to Action” Second International Expert Meeting on HIV Prevention for Men who have sex with Men (MSM), Women who have sex with Women (WSW), and Transgenders (TG) Amsterdam, 5-6 November 2009" (PDF of report)

"Reclassification of transgenderism: Gender identity variance (“transgenderism”) should be reclassified from its current classification as a mental health disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Classification Of Diseases (ICD). Instead it should be classified as a medical condition. This would provide a diagnostic category in the ICD that would accommodate the needs of those gender identity variant people who require medical care for their condition, but without the stigma attached to mental disorder." - on page 19 of the report

12-28-09:  Global Times (re China): "A natural woman" (more)

"A cross-dressed male college student named Liu Renwei who longs to release his inner female spirit stands on the pedestrian lane of Shengli Road in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province holding a sign that reads: "I won't give up my dream of having a transsexual operation even if I die, because I want to be a real woman.""

12-27-09:  Atlanta Progressive News: "Legislative Editor Fired over Sex Change, Seeks Reinstatement"

"A former legislative editor for the Georgia House of Representatives is suing her former employers after she was fired for announcing her intent to transition from a man to a woman."

12-27-09:  SiluetaX.com (Ecuador): "El Grupo Femenino Silueta X, se une para participar en esta casa abierta organizada por la Defensoria del Pueblo." (more, more, more)

[SiluetaX in Ecuador provides transgender information and support in a major new Spanish-language website (you can use the 'translate' function in your Google toolbar to read the pages)]

12-27-09 CNNGo.com (Asia re Japan; 12-23): "'Cross-dressers are okay so long as they're pretty' - A Japanese blogger explores changing attitudes towards male cross-dressers"

"In response to an article by Japan's Sankei News about increasing numbers of young men choosing to dress as women in Japan, the blog news109.com posted a round-up of some of the country's top cross-dressing bloggers. The general consensus? "It's okay so long as they're pretty." Truth be told, Japan has always had a live-and-let-live attitude towards transvestitism. Onna-gata, male actors in drag, are a beloved part of the Kabuki theater. But the recent explosion in interest among young urban men is a different trend."

12-26-09:  The Jakarta Post (Indonesia): "Court approves sex change for 30-year-old man"

"The Batang District Court in Central Java has approved a request filed by a man to change his sex. Agus Widodo, 30, now officially is Nadia Ilmira, tvOne reported. Agus underwent a sex change operation in Dr Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, in 2005."

12-26-09:  The Jakarta Globe (Indonesia): "Indonesian Mullahs Says Sex Change is Haram"

"Nadia, who went by the name Agus before having gender reassignment surgery, filed a court petition and won her fight for legal recognition as a woman. But now Nadia, and other women like her, has another battle on her hands with the religious establishment. The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) has publicly raised concerns over the verdict . . .  MUI chairman Amidhan said on Friday that gender reassignment surgery was considered haram , or forbidden, by Islam."

12-26-09:  Daily Contributor (Pakistan): "Pakistan Supreme Court Recognizes Third Gender" (more, more)

"The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered the national government to recognize the hijra community as a distinct third gender. The hijra community consists of transgendered people, transvestites and eunuchs. The court ruled that the federal government starts allowing the people to register as “hijra” when applying for the national identity card . . . An estimated 300,000 hijras live together in slum areas as they are shunned by the large Muslim community. They commonly live as beggars or work as dancers in weddings and carnivals while some resort to prostitution."

12-25-09:  Daily Times (Pakistan): "Medical examinations to sort out ‘fake transvestites’"

"Authorities says hesitation to get registered encouraging impostors to queue up for govt assistance"

12-25-09:  The Arizona Republic: "Transgender activist leaves legacy - Death of de LaFreniere quiets major voice in gay community, friends say"

"Considered one of Arizona's most vocal transgender activists, de LaFreniere is famous for the national media storm she ignited in Scottsdale when she filed a discrimination complaint against the owner of a downtown nightclub, Anderson's Fifth Estate. "

12-24-09:  Gay City News (re Honduras): "Honduran Regime Martyrs LGBT Leader - Walter Trochez played pivotal role in bringing queer issues to fore in Resistance", by Doug Ireland (see also original alert of 12-14)

"Walter Trochez . . . knew he was taking his life in his hands when he began a militant campaign to document and publicize 16 murders of LGBT Hondurans since the illegal June 28 coup d’etat that . . .  unleashed a reign of terror on civilian opponents . . . The assassination of Trochez “is really a warning for all those involved in reclaiming the human rights that have been taken from us — and this does not just pertain to Walter’s death, because . . . they have taken the lives of 18 people in the LGBTI community in threatening and terrifying ways that have included the dismemberment of our travesti sisters . . .referring to the fact that, two days after the assassination of Trochez, the castrated and decapitated body of a young travesti in his early 20s was discovered in two plastic bags by a highway near San Pedro Sula . . .

. . . This reporter would like to thank Professor Adrienne Pine for multiple translation services in the preparation of this article. Pine’s blog, which contains the full texts of a number of Walter Trochez’s writings, articles and statements on his murder, and other updated human rights news from Honduras in translation, is at http://quotha.net/node/3. The Spanish-language web site of COPRADEH (the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights in Honduras) is at copredeh.gob.gt/."

12-24-09:  "Drag ornament sparks "controversy" on Obama's Tree" (more)

"An ornament featuring well-known celebrity drag performer Hedda Lettuce has the right-wing outraged the night before Christmas."

12-24-09:  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "East Point adds protections for gay, transgender workers" (more)

"East Point has become just the second city in Fulton County -- and one of a handful statewide -- to adopt protections for its gay and transgender employees."

12-23-09:  drmaxwellanderson.com/blog (by Stormie): "Maxwell Scott Anderson: Medical Updates"

Update of 12-24: "He knows that he is dying. He accepts it and he cares so deeply for all of us that he doesn’t want us to hurt… true form for Maxwell… at the heart, a tender and caring man above all else."

[This is such sad news: our friend Maxwell Anderson is suffering from a very serious brain tumor. Please leave a message for him in the comments section of the medical updates.]

12-23-09:  YouTube: "Words from Maxwell Anderson to his friends"

[A video from Max's bedside]

12-23-09:  Daily Triplicate (Northern CA): "Ending an inner ‘war’: Former DN music director discusses being transgender"

12-23-09:  Transgender Asia (re UN): “Opposing grave human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”

Transcript of the memorable speech by Sass Rogando-Sasot, Filipina transpinay (woman of transgender experience), delivered at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, Thursday, December 10th 2009.

12-23-09:  YouTube (re UN; posted 12-12): "Fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity"

An highly eloquent and moving affirmation of the right to gender variance, and a denunciation of the prejudice, discrimination, harassment and violence which gender variant persons suffer worldwide. Delivered, at the United Nations in New York, by Sass Rogando-Sasot. [A must-see video of Sass Rogando-Sasot's moving speech]

12-23-09:  ATPN Press Release (Thailand): "World's First Asia Pacific Transgender Network Launched to Champion Health and Rights of Transgender Women in the Region−Diverse groups from warias, kathoeys and hijras to be represented" (more) (photo of participants)

"Transgender women from 10 Asia Pacific countries and areas are coming together to say “No!” to discrimination and marginalisation by forming the world's first Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN). After three days of intense meetings, it was decided that the APTN, composed entirely of transgender women across the region, will champion transgender women's health, legal and social rights." [See also Prof. Sam Winters' TS Asia website)

12-23-09:  Open Press: "First Event 2010 to feature a TransMasculine Track "

"Jamie Haley, chairperson of First Event 2010, announced that FE 2010 will offer more programming for the FTM community than ever before. Said Jamie, “With the TransMasculine Track, we are increasing the choices in programming for FTM folks at the conference . . . Initiated and coordinated by Anderson Clark, a FTM activist seeking to increase resources for the transmasculine community, the FTM track features a lineup of speakers and workshops. that will address many of the challenges that transmen face."

12-23-09:  Chicago Tribune: "Chicago Free Press staff leaves"

12-22-09:  Edge Boston (re Denver): "Transgender Activist Pleads Guilty to Democrats’ Office Vandalism" (more)

"A transgender anarchist has pleaded guilty to smashing windows at the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters office in Denver."

12-21-09:  DNA (India): "Kareena is Transgender Miss India" (more)

"Mumbai: Transgenders from across the country vied for a beauty crown during a contest in Chennai on Saturday. Kareena Shaline of Mumbai was crowned as Transgender Miss India."

12-21-09:  Bangkok Post (Thailand): "No skirts for sex-change graduates" (more, more)

"The Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) meeting on Monday has refused to allow male-to-female transgender graduates to wear woman's clothing to receive their degrees. CUPT chairman and Chulalongkorn University president Pirom Kamolratanakul said all 23 university presidents agreed that graduates should dress in normal uniforms and that there should be no change in the regulations."

12-20-09:  New Straights Times (Malaysia): "Embrace diversity of transgenders"

"The story of transsexual Fatine Young, 36, who married a British man and is about to be deported to Malaysia for overstaying, is yet another plight of a transgender. But as the world evolves and society advances, is it time we got off our high horses and started acting more humane? Whether their courage and lifestyle is right or wrong, admirable or sinful, do transgenders deserve less respect and dignity than anyone else?" 

12-19-09:  AFP (re India): "India hosts its first ever transsexual beauty pageant" (more, more, more)

"More than 100 hopefuls vied Saturday for the title of India's most beautiful transsexual at the country's first such pageant for members of the marginalised community, an organiser said. The event in the southern city of Chennai was unique in a country where transsexuals live on the fringes of society, drawing 120 contenders between the ages of 20 and 35 from across India"

12-19-09:  AsiaOne (re UK and Malaysia): "Fatine's story"

"Things appear to be looking up for Fatine, the Malaysian transsexual who caused a furore back home over her marriage to a Briton. The 36-year-old make-up artist has just received an acknowledgement from the Home Office about her application for a Right to Family Life under the Human Rights Act in Britain. Although it did not state the processing time or the chances of approval, Fatine believed that she did not fear deportation to Malaysia for the time being."

12-18-09:  Wisconsin Law Journal: "Commentary: What About Roberta?"

"Whether transgender employees are afforded protections under state and federal laws has not always been clear and, in many jurisdictions, is still not clear to this day. According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, “transgender employees have historically faced nearly unchecked amounts of discrimination [and harassment] in the workplace.”"

12-18-09: Bilerico.com (posted 12-15): Building The LGBT Alliance: Transphobia in the LGBT Community Part III", by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss

"There is transphobia in the gay community in the US, and it threatens our political solidarity for the accomplishment of our political objectives, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and marriage equality . . . The truth is that we in the LGBT community have been doing very little to build alliance with and among each others' communities. Some people have pointed out that there is no true "LGBT community." It is time to start building one, and not living with the fantasy of one. "

12-18-09: Bilerico.com (posted 12-13): "Transphobia in the Gay Community, Part II", by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss

"When Christine Jorgensen made headlines in 1951, she was viewed as a homosexual by all, including her doctors. She understood her identity very differently. Today, in our LGBT world, the difference may seem abstract, particularly to younger people born in a different social climate. I will try to recreate here from the dry historical facts the climate of the times in which transphobia took root in the gay community. Please read this not as a history of facts, but as a history of emotions, and powerlessness, and how those led us directly to the situation today. "

12-18-09:  Bilerico.com (posted 12-11): "Transphobia in the Gay Community (Part I)", by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss

"Recently, an icon of gay activist history, Ronald Gold, posted a transphobic diatribe on The Bilerico Project . . . The post hurt many of our readers across the spectrum of sexual orientation and gender identity. It received literally hundreds of comments describing the pain they felt. Like many readers, I was very disturbed by the post. I woke up in the middle of the night struggling for a response."

12-18-09:  PamsHouseBlend.com (posted 12-13): "Does anti-trans bigotry in some men stem from penile amputation anxiety?", by Lurleen

"Seriously . . . the fact is that Gold was so preoccupied with severing a penis is indicative of the unattended-to misogyny in that slice (no pun intended) of gay men who don't understand or socialize enough with lesbians or trans folk to work through it. "

12-18-09:  Bilerico.com (posted 12-10):  ""No" to the notion of transgender", by: Ronald Gold

"Let me state it categorically. There is no such thing as a male or female personality. Personality is not a function of gender. So where does that put the concept of transgender? In my view, down the tubes! . . . I would, however, get after the doctors - the psychiatrists who use a phony medical model to invent a disease that doesn't exist, and the surgeons who use such spurious diagnoses to mutilate the bodies of the deluded."

[Ronald Gold is an older-generation gay man who played a role in the removal of homosexuality from the DSM. His thinking is a good example of the near-hysterical "Fourattist" reactions of such men to "sex changes" back in the early days of transsexual medical treatments.]

12-17-09:  Houston Press: "Transvestites Are Robbing Banks In Wharton. Wharton?"

"We're guessing -- and we freely admit we could be wrong -- that the population of black transvestites in the sleepy rural town of Wharton does not threaten to reach double digits. But one of them -- or maybe just a crossdresser with wanderlust -- robbed the Texas Gulf Credit Union yesterday."

12-17-09:  The Oakland Tribune: "My Word: Treating transgender children as mentally ill creates the problem"

"As parents of a beautiful, happy and healthy transgender child attending school in Alameda, our hearts are broken by the thousands of gender-nonconforming children who face violence, verbal and sexual harassment, increased dropout rates and institutional bias — and who take their own lives at three times the rate of their peers — largely because they have been diagnosed as mentally ill and treated accordingly . . .  If they face psychological problems, it's because they experience an inner sense of not belonging along with external discrimination and denial of basic human rights."

12-17-09:  CNN World (re Gaza): "Rare gender identity defect hits Gaza families"

"At birth, doctors identified Nadir and Ahmed as girls, because they appeared to have female genitalia. As a result, they spent the first 16 years of their lives dressing and acting like girls. It was a role that grew increasingly difficult to play, as they hit puberty and their bodies began generating testosterone, resulting in facial hair and increasingly masculine features . . . Dr. Jehad Abudaia . . . has diagnosed nearly 80 cases like Nadir's and Ahmed's in the last seven years. "It is astonishing that we have [so] many cases with this defect, which is very rare all over the world," Abudaia says. He attributes the high frequency of this birth defect to "consanguinity," or in-breeding."

12-17-09:  Express Buzz (India): "Health hubs for trangenders"

"Health hubs named Arokiya Vazhvu Maiyam exclusively for trangenders will be set up in government hospitals in 12 districts."

12-16-09:  New Scientist Magazine (UK): "New Scientist Calls For End Of The DSM" (more)

12-16-09:  Frontline - India's National Magazine (India): "Seeking identity - Interview with Priya Babu, transgender activist."

"Priya Babu has been working for the welfare of transsexuals as the leader of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association . . . She hit the headlines five years ago when she filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court demanding voting rights for members of her community."

12-16-09:  Barcelona Reporter (Spain): "National Police break organized group forced foreign transsexuals into prostitution in Barcelona"

"The twelve detainees brought up to 50 men from South American countries, notably Brazil, to Spain where they were sexually exploited to recover travel costs"

12-16-09:  Queensland Pride (Australia): "Radio row goes superNova"

"The row over on-air jokes about transsexuals on Brisbane’s Nova 106.9 FM has ramped up considerably, with the Australian Transgender Support Association of Queensland lodging a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland."

12-15-09:  Calgary (Canada): "Art auction to aid student's gender change"

"An art auction Thursday will help a 25-year-old art student raise the money she needs to complete the final step in a gender identity change because this procedure is no is longer covered by Alberta health care. Brooklyn Fink, a fourth-year student at the University of Calgary, was one year away from having sex reassignment surgery when the provincial government stopped funding the procedure last April"

12-15-09:  TLDEF Press Release: "Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Hails Governor Paterson's Signing Tomorrow of Executive Order Barring Discrimination Against Transgender State Employees" (more)

"New York will become the ninth state to protect public employees from discrimination based on gender identity or expression, after Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania."

12-15-09:  Weekend Post (South Africa): "Transvestite raped in court cell"

"A transvestite was gang- raped in a Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court holding cell minutes before his court appearance yesterday. Court staff said the 29- year-old man, due to appear on a theft charge, was severely traumatised and was taken to Dora Nginza Hospital."

12-14-09:  Wired.com: "Move to National ID Cards Delayed"

"None of the states are in full compliance with the law, first adopted in 2005, requiring state motor vehicle bureaus to obtain and internally scan and store personal information like Social Security cards and birth certificates for a national database . . . About half the states oppose the mandate, or have said they would never comply."

12-14-09:  Beyond Chron: "Shrinks at War
"The effort to update the book, designated DSM-V, is being described as a “civil war.” It is contentious, to say the least. And well it should be. A lot is at stake."

12-13-09:  MalaysiaKini (Malaysia; posted 12-09): "There is a place for transsexuals in Islam"

" . . . the best way for Fatine and other trans-women to try and sway Malay 'public-opinion' which has traditionally frowned upon her gender issue is by using religious arguments . . .  it is about time people knew that there is room for Fatine and other transwomen and transmen in Islam. It is time for intelligent journalists to go read Khomeini's Fatwa for Freedom."

12-13-09:  Out in Baltimore (posted 12-11): "MVA Threatens to Change Policy on Gender Markers"

"The Maryland Vehicle Administration (MVA) is currently considering an update to their policy regarding changing the gender marker on a driver's license effective January 1, 2010. Current Policy: To change the gender marker, an applicant must provide a physician or psychologist's report to confirm that the applicant is in active treatment . . . New Policy: The new policy would require an amended birth certificate."

12-13-09:  Bangkok Post (Thailand): "Katoeys told put on pants"

"A meeting of Rajabhat Institutes has rejected a request by cross-dressing katoey students to wear female outfits at their commencement ceremony."

12-12-09:  AlterNet: "The Religious Right's Potty Paranoia"

"The next big culture war battle is about to be waged in an unlikely place: the restroom. After many years, Congress may finally have the votes to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The measure . . . would ban workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians, and transgendered people. But Christian right groups are fighting the legislation -- on the grounds that it would force businesses to allow transgendered and "transitioning" men and women to use opposite-sex restrooms or face lawsuits . . . "

12-12-09:  The Local (Sweden): "Gender-reassigned face health hurdles: study"

"This year 60 people have applied to change their sex in Sweden . . . “For most transsexual people, their life improves, but it’s not easy immediately after the operation,” Cecilia Dhejne, a scientist and doctor at Karolinska University Hospital . . ."

12-12-09:  Tampa Bay Online: "Woman proves not all angels wear halos"

"Jean Batronie started out privately helping the homeless. Now she operates St. Jude Helping Hand Foundation. . . . If that's all there was to this story, we could just smile and think pleasant thoughts about Jean's selfless deeds. But there's more to the 63-year-old, and some of it is bound to leave some people uncomfortable . . . Jean Batronie used to be Gene Batronie."

12-12-09:  Earth Times (re Brunei): "Arrest of transvestites spurs debate in Brunei"

"The arrest of seven cross-dressers by Brunei police this week has sparked debate over the rights of the individual vs religious mores in the Islamic sultanate, observers said Saturday . . . The arrests outraged transgenders in the country, who objected to "unfair marginalisation by the authorities.""

12-11-09: America's Most Wanted: "Strange Twist In Hollywood Murder"

"For many, California dreaming begins -- and often ends -- in Los Angeles. It's sandy shores and bright lights were a place where 24-year-old Paulina Ibarra felt she was free to be herself and start life fresh when she moved there a few years ago. On August 28, 2009, Paulina’s happiness ended in a scene right out of a horror movie."

12-11-09:  Times Online (UK): "Schools told to act on ‘transgender bullying’"

"Children who engage in “transphobic” bullying in the playground or classroom could be guilty of a hate crime and investigated by police under new government guidance. Pupils could be expelled and their parents forced to attend counselling if they refuse to accept that such behaviour is wrong."

12-11-09:  New Scientist: "Psychiatry's civil war "

". . . the DSM is in the midst of a major rewrite, and feelings are running high. Two eminent retired psychiatrists are warning that the revision process is fatally flawed. . . . Some of the harshest criticisms have come from those who led previous revisions of the DSM, in 1980 and 1994. In July, Robert Spitzer and Allen Frances, both now retired, wrote a stinging letter to the APA, accusing it of planning unworkable changes and making grandiose claims. In a separate editorial in the magazine Psychiatric Times, Frances complained that most of the authors are university-based researchers who are cut off from typical doctors and patients."

12-11-09:  New Scientist (Editorial): "Time's up for psychiatry's bible"

"The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is in the midst of rewriting the mammoth tome called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM . . . and fights are breaking out all over . . . It doesn't have to be this way. With the advent of the internet, there is no longer any compelling need to rewrite the diagnostic criteria for the whole of psychiatry in one go. Yes, diagnoses should be revised as new scientific findings come in. But for this, specialists can be assembled when necessary to address specific areas that have become outmoded."

12-11-09:  APA News Release (posted 12-10): "DSM-5 Publication Date Moved to May 2013"

"The American Psychiatric Association revised the timeline for publishing the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, moving the anticipated release date to May 2013. “Extending the timeline will allow more time for public review, field trials and revisions,” said APA President Alan Schatzberg, M.D. “The APA is committed to developing a manual that is based on the best science available and useful to clinicians and researchers.” The extension will also permit the DSM-5 to better link with the U.S. implementation of the ICD-10-CM codes for all Medicare/Medicaid claims reporting, scheduled for October 1, 2013."

[The APA goes on the defensive, as pressure mounts against many upcoming DSM revisions.]

12-11-09:  Human Rights Watch (re UN): "UN: Landmark Meeting Denounces Rights Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity"

"A United Nations General Assembly panel that met this week broke new ground and helped build new momentum for ending human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a coalition of sponsoring nongovernmental organizations said today."

12-11-09:  Espicopal Life (re Uganda): "Proposed law potential 'genocide' for LGBT Ugandans"

"As the Ugandan Parliament considers anti-homosexuality legislation that could require the execution of some gay and lesbian people, I can't help but wonder what it will take for the cries of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks in Uganda to be heard. Who will act to stop it? What will the role of the church be?"

12-11-09:  The Telegraph (UK): "Battle of the sexes - one gene keeps us either male or female, scientists find
Women and men are constantly battling to suppress their masculine and feminine sides - at least biologically, claim scientists."  (more, more)

"Researchers have found that the body is in a constant fight to remain either female or male and the suppression of just one gene could cause it to "flip" from one to the other. The remarkable findings refute the generally held view that sex is determined at birth and is irreversible in later life."

12-11-09: "Scientists find single ‘on-off’ gene that can change gender traits" (more)

"When this gene was artificially “switched off” in adult female mice their ovaries began to turn into testes and they started to produce a level of testosterone found in healthy male mice . . . The research, published today in the journal Cell, challenges a common perception that gender is determined purely by the X-chromosomes and Y-chromosomes. The gene that was switched off, known as FOXL2, lies on a non-sex chromosome that is shared by males and females."

12-10-09:  The Arizona Republic: "Miss Indian Transgender competition"

"Mesa resident Ricki Quintero gazes proudly at two Native American dresses in her apartment . . . These dresses are meaningful to the 30-year-old member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Not only did she make them, but she wore them when she won the 2007 Miss Indian Transgender Arizona Pageant, a title she has held for two years . . . The event started in 2005, and each winner reigns for two years. A transgender person is one who identifies and lives as a member of the opposite sex."

12-10-09:  Metro Weekly (DC): "Punch-Line Politics - Riki Wilchins's ''one trans show'' takes her from serious to stand-up, but her mission stays the same"

12-09-09:  Examiner.com: "Jenny Jones chooses Houston TG Center for 'Jenny's Heroes' grant"

"Talk show host Jenny Jones surprised Cristan Williams, director of Houston’s Transgender Foundation of America (TFA), on December 7 with a phone call informing Williams that she had been chosen as a “Hometown Hero.” Williams applied to receive a “Jenny’s Heroes” grant of $5,000 to purchase trans-related books for the Foundation’s TG Center library and was chosen from thousands of applicants to receive the money."

12-09-09:  Southport Visitor (UK): "Transgender work scheme in Sefton gains national praise"

"The Transgender Volunteer Programme is thought to be the first of its kind in the country. It supports Sefton’s transgender (trans) residents to gain workplace experience within the local health service whilst, at the same time, improving their physical and mental health and wellbeing."

12-09-09:  Edinburgh News (UK): "Interview: Transgender playwright Jo Clifford"

12-08-09:  The BWOG (Columbia Univ.): "In Transition"

"There’s been a lot of ink spent in the off-campus press on the recent gender-neutral housing proposal, but most of it has ignored one targeted community: trans students. But gender-neutral housing is just one of several issues facing the trans community at Columbia."

12-07-09:  The Sentinal Online (North Idaho College): "Gender neutral - Transgender student shares path, self discovery"

"Stern moved here last December, leaving parents there and a stepsister in Illinois. Not having family here Stern has found support in other ways, including the GSA and religion."

12-07-09:  Miami Herald: "‘We do not hire faggots’: McDonald’s in Orlando accused of not hiring transgender 17-year-old", by Steve Rothaus (more, more)

"Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund today filed a Complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations against an Orlando McDonald's restaurant for refusing to hire 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy because she is transgender . . . On July 28, after managers at McDonald’s learned that Zikerria is transgender, she received a voicemail message from one of the managers telling her, "You will not get hired.  We do not hire faggots.""

12-07-09:  TS Roadmap: "New book: ‘Facial Feminization for the Transgendered Woman’ by Douglas Ousterhout"

" I just got my preview copy of Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman by FFS pioneer Douglas Outserhout. It’s an excellent 185-page overview of available procedures, with many illustrations and images. I highly recommend it for anyone considering these procedures, as it is the definitive consumer guide . . .It is scheduled to be available in December 2009 and is already available for pre-order." - Andrea James

12-07-09:  CNY Link (Syracuse, NY): "Remembering LaTeisha Green"

"On Thursday, Nov. 12, people from across Syracuse filled the Syracuse University Warehouse auditorium to commemorate LaTeisha Green’s life on the first anniversary of her death."

12-07-09:  BRU Direct (Brunei): "Transgender Irked Over Tests"

"Transgenders in Brunei are crying foul as reports of law enforcement agencies conducting HIV/AIDS tests targeting the transgenders have begun to circulate . . . "

12-07-09:  Thenutgraph.com (re Malaysia): "Why Fatine can’t come home"  (more)

"The Malaysian authorities are being discriminatory and ignorant in their treatment of transsexual woman Fatine, who is facing visa problems in the United Kingdom. Instead of assisting Fatine in negotiating with the UK authorities, the Immigration director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman has instead threatened her with stern action for overstaying in the UK."

12-06-09:  The Star (Malaysia): "Live and let live"

" . . . transsexuals in Malaysia have normalised a lifetime of abuse. It has become a part of their daily living to be taunted in the streets, groped, harassed by enforcement officers, physically assaulted, and discriminated and laughed at in school, at work, in clinics and hospitals and by landlords. It is no fun to show your identity card or driving licence with the face of a man, sexually identified as a man, the name of a man and you look and dress as a woman. The sniggering and abuse begin immediately."
 

12-04-09:  Xtra.ca (Canada): "Celebrated genital surgery doc retires - Montreal's Yvon Ménard passes reins to his protégé"

"At the end of November, one of the world's most celebrated gender reassignment surgeons retired after more than 30 years of performing genital reconstruction and other transition-oriented surgeries. His work has profoundly changed the lives of thousands of trans men and women all over the world. "We take care of them as if they were our children, our brothers and our sisters," Dr Yvon Ménard once said of his team at Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) Montreal."

12-04-09:  Namibia Economist (Namibia): "Raising awareness on human rights"

"Sister Namibia has been raising awareness on equal human rights of LGBTI people throughout regular features in the bi-monthly Sister Namibia magazine, weekly radio show Women’s Voices on Base Fm and recently also in their youth magazine REAL! . . . "Families and communities put pressure on LGTBTI people to conform to heterosexual norms by getting married to a straight partner or at least producing children to prove they are ‘normal’ is still very strong, and those who resist are still at great risk of all sorts of violations of their dignity and rights."

12-04-09:  Malaysia Kini (Malaysia): "Transsexual a 'great shame'? What about our hypocrisy?"

"What is truly shameful about Fatine's situation is what it reveals about our prejudices. Discrimination against transsexuals in this country runs the gamut from violence to official restriction on changing their gender identity or photos in their documents. This discrimination is further perpetrated by how they are portrayed in the media. We are deeply disappointed in some members of the press and in the authorities for referring to Fatine as a 'he'. Fatine clearly identifies as a woman."

12-04-09:  The Star (Malaysia): "Transsexuals: The paperwork is just too much"

"For some transsexuals, it is easier to have their sex reassigned but it is almost impossible to change their gender and photograph from male to female in their identification papers. Expressing support and empathy for transsexual Mohammed Fazdil Min Bahari, popularly known as Fatine who is embroiled in a controversial wedding to a Briton, they have spoken up on the plight of those like her."

12-04-09:  Manchester Evening News (UK): "Sex change trucker: At last I am happy"

"Nikki Jane Weston, formerly known as Nigel, hopes to soon complete a sex change that will forever alter her and her family’s life."

12-03-09:  Herald-Sun (Australia re Japan): "Transsexual queen calls for tolerance"

"Japanese TV personality Ai Haruna said she wants her country to be more tolerant toward people of diverse sexual orientations, a month after she was crowned the world's most beautiful transsexual." 

12-03-09:  The Jewish Daily: "From Jewish Exiles to Sexual Exiles"

"Longtime refugee advocate, Neil Grungras, founded the Organization for Refuge, Asylum, & Migration last January and it is on the verge of launching a historic global survey about prevailing attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender migrants. Starting in January 2010, ORAM will query more than 100 NGOs worldwide about their protocols for helping gay and transgender individuals — “the most persecuted group on the planet,” according to Grungras . . . The son of a Polish-born mother who survived Auschwitz, and a German-born father who survived Polish work camps, he sees “striking parallels” between the persecution of Jews in the Holocaust and the persecution of gay and transgender people in many countries . . .  “I’m trying to help them find a place where they can be safe. Jews immediately get it. Few groups are so hated just for being themselves.”"

12-02-09:  AFP (re Vatican City): "Gays 'will never go to heaven': cardinal" (more, more)

"VATICAN CITY — Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven", a leading Roman Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday . . . and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," the cardinal said, in comments reported by the Ansa news agency. . . It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the human body is an insult to God," he said."

[The Roman Catholic Church further escalates its demonization of LGBT people.]

12-02-09:  Mediaite: "Mourning for Christine Daniels"

"The complicated story of the death of Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner–who famously transitioned to Christine Daniels in 2007 and then apparently detransitioned back to Penner in 2008–raises complicated questions as  the media is grappling with telling the story of one of its own, but also the complexity of talking about transgender people."

12-02-09:  Toronto Sun (Canada): "Chilling portrait of transgendered victim"

"It's taken nearly three decades, but thanks to technological advances investigators are finally able to put a face to the skeletal remains of an apparently slain transgendered man who was found in a rural part of town. "

12-02-09:  Chicago Now (posted 11-17): "For transgender people, acceptance is hard to find-even in LGBT community"

"A transsexual woman with a shy smile, King, 21, moved to Lakeview earlier this year in hopes that gay-friendly Boystown would offer a haven safe from the harassment and abuse she suffered in her South Side neighborhood. But Boystown wasn't always safe, and it wasn't always friendly. "

12-01-09:  The Star (Malaysia): "M’sian transexual in Britain may face action if deported"

"The Malaysian transsexual, who married a 30-year-old man in Britain, may face action by the Immigrations Department when he returns to Malaysia if he has violated laws here, said department director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman. Abdul Rahman said the department could not take action as long as Mohammed Fazdil Min Bahari was in Britain but would investigate him if he was deported back to Malaysia by British authorities."

12-01-09:  Manila Standard Today (Philippines): "Amazing and fabulous"

 Ride a jeepney and see what happens when a transgender comes aboard: the other people will snicker, whisper to each other or throw dirty looks at that person. In worse cases, these people will call out “bakla!” The mainstream belief is that being a transgender is wrong and is a sin. But a more radical school of thought says that the standard treatment for diagnosis of being a transgender is to reassign the individual to a physical sex congruent with his or her gender identity, a process involving the administration of appropriate hormones and surgery."

12-01-09:  Plain Dealer: "Cleveland City Council approves anti-discrimination protection for transgender citizens"

"Cleveland's anti-discrimination laws will grow to protect transgender citizens under an ordinance passed Monday by City Council . . . Activists in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community had lobbied for more than a year to include gender identity and expression."

12-01-09:  Middle-East Online: "Lebanon's other women 'out' in force"

"Group of lesbian, bisexual, transgender women have braved law, social taboo in Lebanon with little pink-and-white book. They remain anonymous, but their voices are out in force and bold print: a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women have braved law and social taboo in Lebanon with a little pink-and-white book. . . . The book, the first such initiative in the largely conservative Arab world, is published by Meem, a support group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning women in Lebanon."

November 2009

11-30-09:  Pink News (UK): "Trans recognition laws to come before Irish parliament"

"Cat McIlroy of Transgender Equality Network Ireland (Teni), told the Irish Examiner: "Having your identity validated and respected by the government and the rest of your peers is important for everyone. Trans people can have their passport amended or have their name change, but not their birth certificate and that is crucial to the identity of many people."

11-30-09:  Washington City Paper: "Should We Remember Mike Penner or Christine Daniels?"

"On Saturday, Nov. 28, Los Angeles Times sportswriter Mike Penner was found dead in his Los Angeles home, the victim of an apparent suicide . . . the writer’s public profile skyrocketed in April of 2007, when he came out as transgender . . . and changed his byline to Christine Daniels. The world lost Christine Daniels before it lost Penner: In 2008, Daniels quietly detransitioned back to Mike. Penner’s impermanent gender transition left obituary writers with an identity problem. Whose obituary to write: Mike Penner’s or Christine Daniels’?"

11-29-09:  The Huffington Post: "Mike Penner Dead: "LA Times" Sportswriter, AKA Christine Daniels, Committed Suicide At 52, Colleagues Say" (more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more)

11-29-09:  Right Side News: "ENDA Threatens the Practice of Religion and Our Nation's Children "

"If ENDA passes, transsexuals, drag queens, cross-dressers and she-males will be federally-protected minority groups and can freely exploit our nation's public school kids. ENDA is proposing newly invented rights for individuals who engage in a variety of bizarre sex acts.. ENDA pits constitutional rights of religious freedom and free speech against individuals who cross-dress or engage in dangerous sexual activities."

[Example of scare-tactics used by the religious right against passage of  ENDA, including exploitation of the DSM to demonize transpeople.]

11-29-09:  Daily News and Analysis (re UK): "Daughter finds long lost dad, living as a woman"

"London: A daughter was left with eyes wide open after reuniting with her long lost father who was living as a transvestite and called himself Chloe."

11-29-09:  The Salt Lake Tribune: "Transgender officer living his dream -- as a cop and a man"

"As a child, Kerry Bell dreamed of growing up to become a policeman -- both a police officer and a man. Becoming a cop was relatively simple -- Bell joined the Bountiful Police Department 14 years ago. Becoming a man took more time. Born female, Bell came out as transgender about a year and a half ago and started a transition to a new life as a man. He always had felt male, but did not think switching genders was a viable option until he saw transgender people gaining wider acceptance, along with advances in medical technology."

11-28-09:  The Star (UK): "Transvestite students allowed to cross line"

"Cross-dressing students at The University of Sheffield are to be allowed to join the women's committee - after the union passed a motion to treat 'self-defining women' as females. The decision means membership of the women's committee will be open to all students who consider themselves to be female - even if they are transvestite males"

11-27-09:  YourNabe.com (New York City): "Woodside men indicted in transgender attack: DA"

"Gilberto Ortiz, 32, and Trinidad Tapia, 19, were arraigned Friday on seven counts, including assault as a hate crime, attempted assault, weapon possession and harassment. If convicted, each faces up to 15 years in prison . . . At 4:20 a.m. June 19, Leslie Mora, 31, a transgender woman, was walking near 72-11 Roosevelt Ave. when Tapia and Ortiz, who perceived Mora to be gay, allegedly hit her on the head with a metal belt buckle, the DA said."

[New York does not yet protect transender people from hate crimes. In this case the perpetrators perceived Moya to be gay and she came under state protections for sexual orientation.]

11-27-09:  The Independent (Ireland): "Collusion of Church and State led to huge loss of faith"

"A systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust inflicted on helpless and innocent children. This is how the Government has described the shocking report of the Commission of Investigation. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has vowed that the offending clerics will continue to be pursued. He has warned them "there is no hiding place" and that "justice -- even where it may have been delayed -- will not be denied." These stirring words contrast with the long period of cosy Church-State collusion -- and an era of 'kid glove' treatment of the Catholic Church by gardai."

[See more below]

11-27-09:  Irish Times (Ireland): "30 years of church and State cover-up of child sex abuse"  (more, more, more, more, more, more)

"The abuse of children in Dublin was a scandal. The failure of the archdiocesan authorities to penalise the perpetrators is also a scandal,” it notes. The report says it is abundantly clear that child sexual abuse by clerics was widespread throughout the 30-year period it examined. It says there was no doubt the reason for covering up information was to ensure as few people as possible knew of priests’ problems. "

[Next to the psychiatric community and its DSM, the Roman Catholic Church is the most powerful worldwide force behind the demonization, ostracism and mistreatment of transgender people - and yet this same RCC has long tolerated and actively covered up the worldwide predations on young children by huge numbers of their priests. What is wrong with this picture? How on earth can the RCC maintain any semblance of "authority" in matters of gender and identity? 

In the meantime Paul McHugh, the Vatican's scientific authority on sexual matters and himself an obsessive defamer of transpeople, has been defending such priests by saying that their accusors suffer from 'False Memory Syndrome'!]

11-27-09:  The Korea Times (South Korea): "Transsexual Model Fights Prejudice"

"Choi Han-bit, a 22-year-old male-turned-female fashion model, has recently added her energy to what critics call a "fruitless" campaign with the hope that her efforts will help advance the equal treatment of people regardless of their sexual identity . . . Asked the way to cope, she simply answered: "Self-confidence. During this period, I have found many sexual minorities who distanced themselves from society to avoid public exposure," Choi said. "I would like to advise them that not to hide and come out. With a fear of public attention, it's all but impossible to change people's attitude toward us.""

11-27-09:  The Sun (UK): "I fell for the woman of my dreams... and she turned out to be a he"

"Ian, 30, who owns his own property maintenance company, says: "I know it is hard for people to understand but I love Fatine. I feel lucky to have met such a caring, wonderful person. "It doesn't matter to me that she is a transsexual - it's the person she is inside that I care about and love."I can't contemplate the idea of us not being together. I look at her and see a beautiful woman.""
 

11-27-09:  Reuters AlertNet (re Colombia): ""They love us at night, they hate us the rest of the time": the story of Colombian transgender Pamela"

"Her name is Pamela. She is one of the dozens of transgenders selling their bodies in what the locals call "Calle del Pecado" (The street of the sin") near the historical centre of Cali, Colombia's third largest city . . . Even if she officially became "Pamela" only a few years ago, since the age of 6, the boy that she was at that time immediately felt that he was different from the other boys and wanted to be considered as a "she"."

11-26-09:  Ham&High (UK): "Tragic story of murdered transsexual, whose uncle was one of the Guildford Four"

"Destiny Lauren, 29, born Justin Samuels, was found dead at around 1am on Thursday November 5, in her flat on Leighton Crescent. It was almost four years to the day since her mother Elizabeth Hill took her own life outside the same flat. During her life Belfast born Elizabeth Hill had to cope seeing her brother Paul, one of the Guildford Four, suffer a gross miscarriage of justice when he was wrongly convicted in 1975 of two pub bombings. She was questioned herself and then had endure the strain of relentlessly campaigning for the innocent man's release over the next 15 years."

11-26-09:  The Harvard Crimson (posted 11-24):  "Doctor Promotes Medical View of Transgenderism - Clinic founder decries labeling transgenderism as a psychological issue"

"Norman P. Spack, a pediatric endocrinologist who works with transgendered youth, promoted the treatment of transgenderism as a medical condition, as opposed to a psychiatric disorder, during a talk hosted by the Harvard Transgender Task Force yesterday evening. During the event, which was held to kick off Transgender Awareness Week, Spack said that looking at transgenderism from a medical perspective will change the public perception that it is a psychological problem . . . Spack said that he and other members of the medical community recognize transgenderism as a medical condition and are pushing to have it viewed the same way by psychiatrists, insurance companies, and the general public. “These people aren’t crazy,” Spack said. “It’s a medical condition.”"

11-26-09:  IGLHRC (re Turkey; posted 11-19): "Turkey: Change Law of Misdemeanors to End Abuse of Trans People"

"In recent months, the harassment of transgender and transsexual persons in Turkey has intensified as police abuse the country's Law of Misdemeanors to legitimize daily fines, extortion, eviction, detention, and police brutality . . . Join the Pink Life LGBTT Solidarity Association in Ankara and the International Gay and Lesbian Commission (IGLHRC) in requesting that the Law of Misdemeanors in Turkey be rewritten to protect the rights of transgender and transsexual persons to move, associate, and express themselves freely."

11-26-09:  Indian Express (India): "Match made in heaven"

"A site tries making the impossible look within reach — it facilitates tansgender marraiges . . . the website has been flooded with queries from all across the country—men who want to marry the featured women in the website, and transsexuals who want to put up profile in the website."

11-26-09:  Latin American Herald Tribune (re Argentina): "Transsexual Is Argentina’s “Woman of the Year”

"A transsexual who recently prevailed in a 10-year-long court battle to receive a new identity document recognizing her as a woman has been honored by lawmakers as Argentina’s “Woman of the Year.” “I am what I am. The right of one person is the right of all,” Marcela Romero said during Tuesday night’s event in the Argentine Congress."

11-25-09:  AFP (re Thailand): "Thailand tightens sex change laws"

"Growing up in Thailand, a country with one of the largest transgender populations in the world and surgeons who have pioneered ever cheaper and quicker sex change techniques, Punlop's ambition was always within reach. For as little as 2,000 dollars, he became a woman. But the government is making it tougher for patients like Punlop to undergo the procedure, forcing them to prove they are psychologically fit to change sex. From Wednesday, anyone wanting to swap gender in Thailand must live as a woman for at least a year, take a course of female hormones, and obtain the approval of two psychiatrists."

11-25-09:  Xtra.ca (Canada): "A steamy night with trans pornstar Buck Angel - Exposure festival shakes up conservative Edmonton"

"So imagine Buck Angel, unstoppable trans pornstar, stopping in Edmonton with his brand of unapologetic queer sexuality. Imagine the Exposure Fest organizers having the balls to invite him. And imagine the thrill of local queers who rarely get kink of that stature in their midst."

11-24-09:  Telegraph (UK):  "April Ashley: 50 happy years for sex-swap pioneer - Britain's first transsexual is, in a new exhibition, again challenging ideas about gender, identity and DNA."

"'It always makes me laugh when people say I was born a man," says April Ashley, who in 1960 became the first Briton to undergo sex-change surgery. "I was born a baby, not a man. From the year dot, I knew I was female, so as soon as I could kneel down to say my prayers, it would be 'God bless Mummy, God bless Daddy, and please let me wake up and be a girl.' ""

11-24-09:  Reuters Blogs (UK): "The wrong pronoun?"

"A Brazilian transsexual … found burned to death in his home Friday.” His? Shame on you. This is transgender week of remembrance. I’m astonished that Reuters of all organizations could do this."

11-24-09:  Edge: "Intersex Las Vegas resident Tia Owen makes her mark

"Ask if Tia Owen is gay and you are likely to get quip and simple answer. "My answer is no, but I’m mildly elated," Owen, 61, said. "I don’t consider myself gay or lesbian. To be a lesbian you need to be a woman; to be gay you need to be a man. " Owen isn’t just being facetious. Owen, who now is the chief operating officer for a publicly-owned nutritional company in Las Vegas, was born with both female and male reproductive organs."

11-23-09:  WeHo News: "First In Nation Transgender Memorial Plaque Unveiled In WeHo"

"West Hollywood, California (November 23, 2009) - West Hollywood unveiled the first Transgender Memorial Plaque in America last week during a commemoration of The Transgender Day of Remembrance at the Matthew Shephard Memorial Triangle in the Creative City."

11-23-09:  Daily Mail (UK): "'Give my 14-year-old son sex change treatment on the NHS', demands mother" (more, more, more)

"The mother of a 14-year-old boy who is desperate to undergo sex change treatment has hit out at the NHS for refusing to give him hormone blockers. She wants her son to receive the medication now to stop his adolescence from progressing. By the time the youngster, who wears make-up and dresses like a girl, turns 18 it will be too late for him to look like a woman, the mother believes."

11-23-09: Transgender Asia: "Una Llamada a Favor de la Remoción de Identidad de Género de los Manuales Diagnósticos Psiquiátricos", Escrito por Sam Winter en el Día de Conmemoración Transgénero"

"El tiempo va transcurriéndose en el debate sobre psicopatalogización. La OMS (Organización Mundial de Salud) y la ANP (Asociación Norteamericana de Psiquiatría) van actualizando, respectivamente, la CIE (Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades) y el MDE (Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de Trastornos Mentales), la campaña cada vez más internacional STP-2012 (Termine Patalogización Transgénera) se refuerza, cada vaz más artículos científicos esclarecen los vínculos que conducen de psicopatalogización para enfermedad y muerte"

[Spanish translation by Sonia John of the recent alert by Prof. Sam Winter of the Univ. of Hong Kong] 

11-23-09:  India Today (India): "Transsexuals win identity battle"

"First it was the Election Commission and now the universities across the country have suddenly woken up to the fact that India's population includes a few million transsexuals that do not want to be categorised as either male of female. In a historic move universities like the Shivaji University in Kholapur have taken a lead in asking colleges to admit transsexuals and stop the discrimination against a section of the population. The battle has gone on for over half a century and 62 years after Independence."

11-23-09:  Global Times (China): "Sex change rules mended"

"The rules about who can and cannot get permission for a sex change operation has been changed. Only those 20 or above with documented psychological reasons will be allowed to become a transsexual. And only surgeons with at least 10 years of related experience in hospitals approved by health authorities may carry out such procedures, according to the new regulations unveiled by the Ministry of Health . . . "Some institutions performed surgeries without the correct process," Chen said, adding 60 percent of his patients sought corrective surgery after botched procedures."

11-23-09:  AfterEllen.com: "Should I not let on I can tell he's transsexual?? Advice please!"

"So I'm a clueless cisgender person and yesterday I was at this meeting at an LGBT center and this guy walked in late and I could tell he was transsexual, post-op most likely. I found myself really wanting to keep looking at him, because I really haven't been around or even met a lot of transsexuals(that I know of obviously), and I'm not used to seeing a sort-of feminine face with a beard and a male body . . . Anyway I wondered if he realized I was staring and if he would call me out on it and hate me or something."

11-23-09:  Washington Post: "New U.S. civil rights chief pulled back into transgender staffer fight in Montgomery" (more)

" . . . the former Maryland labor secretary and Montgomery Council member was given a little welcoming gift Friday by council member Duchy Trachtenberg: a letter seeking to bring him into a messy Montgomery dispute regarding ethics proceedings against a transgender council staffer. Dana Beyer, a doctor and top Trachtenberg aide, says claims she threatened or tried to intimidate opponents of a 2007 transgender rights law are baseless."

11-23-09:  Adnkronos International (Italy): "Italy: Transsexuals to be deported after prostitute's death"

"Italian authorities are moving to deport 10 Brazilian transsexuals who were reportedly friends of Brenda, the prostitute at the centre of a sex and drugs extortion scandal found dead in Rome on Friday. According to Italian media, nine of the transsexuals were living illegally in Italy. They are expected to be deported from Italy within a week and return to Brazil."

11-22-09: MomLogic (posted 11-20): "Transgender Kids: Girls Will Be Boys"

"If your child longed to be the opposite sex, would you let them "switch teams"?"

11-21-09:  Santa Barbara Independent: "Killed Because They Were Different - Santa Barbarans Observe Transgender Day of Remembrance"

"Community members gathered in the courtyard at the Santa Barbara Courthouse on Friday evening in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance, a date on which people around the world are asked to think about those who have been killed because they were transgender."

11-21-09:  Forbes.com: "South African Runner Keeps Medal But Loses Identity"

"Until this Summer, Caster Semenya was simply a woman who could run fast. Now her gender has thrust her into an international media circus.This week, South Africa’s sports ministry issued an announcement that 18-year-old runner Caster Semenya would keep her medal for this summer’s much-contested 800-meter win in Berlin, along with $60,000 in prize money and title of World Champion. The issue at stake? Not her ability, but her gender."

11-21-09:  San Franscisco Chronicle: "Suspect's DNA sat in lab as rapes multiplied"

"The San Francisco police evidence lab failed to process DNA samples from the 2007 slaying of a transgender prostitute for two years, leaving the suspect free allegedly to rape and brutalize at least three other transgender women before being arrested . . . Donzell Francis, 41, of San Francisco, is now in custody and awaiting trial on kidnapping and sex assault charges stemming from an attack that happened six months after Ruby Ordenana was raped and strangled."
 

11-21-09:  Independent Online (South Africa): "Woman who was born as a boy"

"Laura Meads is slim, sexy and very feminine. It's almost impossible to believe she was born a boy. "

11-20-09:  Transgender Asia: "A call for the removal of gender identity variance from the psychiatric diagnostic manuals," posted by Sam Winter on this Transgender Day of Remembrance , 20th November 2009"

"Time is pressing on in the psychopathologisation debate. The WHO and APA proceed in revising ICD and DSM respectively, the increasingly international STP-2012 (Stop Transpathologisation) Campaign gathers force, more and more research articles detail the links in the chain leading from psychopathologisation to illness and death . . .  I and an increasing number of others (both within the transgender community worldwide and among many professionals working in the field of transgender rights, welfare and healthcare) therefore call on organisations concerned with the health and welfare of transpeople (APA, WHO, WPATH etc) to note our widespread and increasing alarm that, some decades after the removal of homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and from the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Classification Of Diseases (ICD), gender identity variance (transgenderism ) continues to be regarded as a mental disorder.

11-20-09:  TS Roadmap.com: "Paul McHugh on transsexualism"

"Paul Rodney McHugh (born 1931) is an American psychiatrist who is a key historical figure in the academic pathologization of sex and gender minorities. A noted Catholic conservative, McHugh famously shut down the gender identity clinic at Johns Hopkins in 1979, based on a follow-up study by Jon Meyer that claimed there was no real benefit to these services. McHugh argues that gender variance is essentially a lifestyle choice or an ideology, and that offering trans health services is effectively collaborating in a patient's delusion."

[An updated exposé of the infamous Catholic trans-pathologizer.]

11-20-09:  XPress Magazine (SFSU): "Journeys through Transition"

"Marissa Martinez felt out of place most of her life because she was born in a man's body. Her discomfort did not stem from some sexual attraction to males. Instead, she truly felt she was meant to be a woman . . . The most misunderstood aspect of gender transition is the motivation, because the catalyst is not defined by want. On the contrary, the feeling, absent of casual desire, is a need to correct a mistake. "It's something you can't escape and no matter how hard you try to suppress it, it won't go away," explains Martinez, who completed her surgical transition from male to female three months ago."

11-20-09:  Windy City Times (re Puerto Rico): "Chicago and national vigils Sunday to remember murder victim" (more, more)

"On the night of Nov.13, 19-year-old Jorge Steven was beheaded, dismembered and burned in a senseless act of hate. Communities across the country have expressed outrage by calling for an end to this type of crime . . . "We must work to address the violence in all our communities and mobilized because we could not just stand back and do nothing," said Dulce Quintero, board member of Orgullo en Accion. "Puerto Rican, Latino of Color, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Queer communities of Chicago stand in solidarity to Puerto Rico and rise to take action against the death of George Steven Lopez Mercado. We are taking action to honor the passing of this Puerto Rican teen and all of the souls who left this world because of homophobia and transphobia""

11-20-09:  Telegraph (UK re Italy): "Transsexual prostitute in Italian political sex scandal burns to death"

"'Brenda', a transsexual prostitute linked to a sex and drugs scandal which brought down the prominent Italian politician Piero Marrazzo, has been found burned to death in her apartment . . .  Police are investigating what may have started the fire which engulfed the Brazilian prostitute, known only as Brenda . . .Magistrates were treating the death as murder, according to court sources quoted by the Italian media."

11-20-09:  The Globe and Mail (Canada): "Becoming a woman is only the beginning of this personal transformation"

"Transsexual writer and star Nina Arsenault became a minor celebrity for an incident at Toronto's Ultra Supper Club where she ended up sitting on the lap of an unwitting Tommy Lee doing tequila shots. Arsenault plays that out in full in her autobiographical show, but the event turns out to be as tense and emotional as it is comical. She also digs into unsettling questions about modern male sexuality. What does it mean that Pamela Anderson's ex was attracted to her? "Pamela is a caricature of a woman. And I am a caricature of her.""

11-20-09:  Tampa Tribune: "Tampa Council approves transgender protections" (more, more)

"Opponents of the measure framed it as a thinly veiled assault on the Christian faith that would open the door for sexual predators and all sorts of abhorrent behavior. Supporters argued it was needed to protect a group that faces rampant discrimination. Following two hours of testimony from grandmothers, ministers, transgendered people and representatives of Fortune 500 companies, the city council voted 5 to 1 on Thursday to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public facilities based on "gender identity and expression.""

11-19-09:  Metro Weekly (DC): "Trans Awakening - Earline Budd's journey has been difficult and dangerous -- and led her to bring compassion to her activism"

"It's a discharge-planning volunteer effort Budd started more than six years ago and it's become one of her many duties as a treatment and healing specialist for Transgender Health Empowerment (THE), an organization that she helped found in 1996."

11-19-09:  Medill Reports (Northwestern Univ.): "Giving voice to the silent 'T' in LGBT"

"Transgender individuals still face many hurdles, even within the LGBT world. And the photo identification policy at northwest suburban Hunters Nightclub has come to represent some of them."

11-19-09:  The Times (UK): "Caster Semenya and the middle sex" (more)

"As athletic leaders meet to decide the sex of the South African runner, our writer reveals that the NHS has pioneered a new approach to the hundreds of UK babies born each year of unclear sex . . .  for the past ten years British parents have been discouraged from surgery purely for reasons of social acceptability, thereby allowing the child a decision when they are older. It’s not always easy. One surgeon said the parents of a genetic girl, with an enlarged clitoris, were begging him for surgery, “rather than the other way around”. Creighton says that the risks have to be carefully explained — surgery will affect any future sex life, for example. “We are leaders in this field, worldwide, in terms of disclosure to the parents and child, and challenging surgery,” she says."

11-18-09:  Transgender Europe: Press Release (Europe): "Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring Project reveals more than 160 murders of trans people in the last 12 months"

"In the first 10 ½ months of 2009 already 150 murders of trans people have been reported.  Yet, we know, even these high numbers are only a fraction of the real figures. The truth is much worse. These are only the reported cases which could be found through internet research. There is no formal data and it is impossible to estimate the numbers of unreported cases."

11-16-09:  Asia Times (re Hong Kong): "Hong Kong plays transgender catch-up"

"In the biggest challenge yet to traditional Chinese values about sex in this city of 7 million people, a male-to-female transsexual is suing the government for the right to marry her male partner. Moreover, because the plaintiff makes such a compelling case, traditionalists find themselves on the legal defensive. No matter the ultimate ruling in this unprecedented courtroom drama, it is another indication of how attitudes toward sex and sexual orientation are changing in Hong Kong and all over Asia. Such a conjugal union is already legally sanctioned in Singapore, Japan and South Korea - and even in some places on the Chinese mainland."

11-16-09:  Chicago Tribune: "Ill. amends rules on giving new birth certificates"

"Illinois has made it easier for people who have had sex reassignment surgery to change their birth certificates to reflect their new gender . . . The ACLU says the Illinois Department of Vital Records has changed its policies and now allows transgender people who had sex changes overseas to get new documents. Previously, people could only change their birth certificates if their surgery was performed by a physician who's licensed in the United States."

11-16-09:  Bay Windows (re Bolivia): "Bolivian transvestites win battle over ID pictures"

"Until now, police have forced transvestites to be pictured in keeping with their biological gender. The ID cards will still list Bolivians’ legal names."

11-15-09:  Dallas Morning News: "17 years on the job, Officer Joe became Officer Debbie"

"Because the city of Dallas does not offer health insurance coverage for sex-change operations, Grabowski paid for the costly procedure herself. In recent years, a few cities – and a growing number of private employers – have decided to cover the cost of these surgeries, and the city of Fort Worth is considering whether to join them."

11-14-09:  ENDAblog: "Has Alice Dreger Gone Neo-Con?", by Joelle Ruby Ryan (more)

"There are so many things wrong with Dreger’s piece that it is difficult to know where to begin. What I do know is that is Dreger is obsessed with unleashing a torrent of hatred against transgender women, women who have dared to speak out and who have dared to speak truth to power."

11-13-09:  OpenPress.com: "Dr. Jillian Weiss to be Keynote Speaker at FE 2010

"Paula Howard, Chairperson of the Tiffany Club Board of Directors, announced that Dr. Jillian Weiss, noted expert on transgender workplace issues, will be the keynote speaker at Tiffany Club’s FE January 13 – 17, 2010 . . . Her message to First Event attendees will be that we must come together and rise up as a community to demand respect, especially in regard to respect from the law. The ability to get and keep a good job without fear of discrimination is essential for success in life. The federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would stop job discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression, requires our full participation in order to pass into law in 2010."

11-12-09:  ENDAblog (posted 11-11): "The Dredge Is At It Again"
"Yes, Alice Dreger - J. Michael Bailey’s one-woman, Guggenheim-funded Greek chorus of anti-transsexual hatred – is at it again. This time its in the October newsletter of the – get your gag reflex ready – History of Science Society. And The Dredge is now not simply misappropriating scholarly victimhood, she’s shooting her wad, going for broke, yadda yadda yadda . . .  In the Service of Galileo’s Ghost: A Short Guide to History, Assault, and Ideology (see p.10-13)

Sorry Alice, but you long ago stopped being curiouser or even merely a curiousity. You’re light-years beyond Wonderland on the wackadoo scale."

[This is a representative example of trans-community reactions to Alice Dreger's obsessive defense of J. Michael Bailey.]

11-12-09:  AlterNet: "Transgender Asylum-Seeker Caught in Immigration Detention Hell"

"Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home."

11-12-09:  AllAfrica.com (re Kenya) "Kenya: Hardships Faced by Transsexual People", by Audrey Mbugua

"Transsexual people face an array of hardships in Kenyan society . . . These can take the form of name-calling, physical assaults, rape and the destruction of one's property . . . Transsexual Kenyans face entrenched prejudice in Kenya's medical sector . . . There have been numerous cases of police officers beating up transsexual Kenyans . . . Cases of members of the public orchestrating violent attacks against transsexual Kenyans . . . Additionally, consider the hostility some doctors face from their colleagues whenever they try to offer the right medical services to transsexual Kenyans."

[Audrey Mbugua is a member of Transgender Education and Advocacy, a Kenyan organisation formed to address social injustices committed against the country's transgender community.]

11-12-09:  BBC News (re India): "Indian eunuchs given separate IDs" (more, more)

"India's Election Commission has given eunuchs an independent identity by letting them choose their gender as "other" on ballot forms. The commission said it had received representation from various individuals and interest groups on the subject. So far, eunuchs were forced to put down their gender as either male or female. There are about 500,000 eunuchs in India. Known as hijras, they comprise the hermaphrodite, transvestite and transsexual communities."

[Note how the BBC continues to this day the despicable British colonial practice of referring to Hijra as "eunuchs", even though this very article says they are actually "known as hijras" in India. Incredible!]

11-12-09:  MTSU Sidelines (TN): "Transgender student finds haven - James Huff discovers identity, acceptance through his attendance at MTSU"

"James, 20, is a typical college sophomore: he makes good grades, hangs out with his friends and spends time with his girlfriend. Each day he makes the commute from Nashville to Murfreesboro for work, because he says that MTSU makes him feel like he belongs. James is transgender, a term describing an individual who feels that the gender assigned to them at birth is not correct or a complete description of what gender they truly are. He says while times are still hard, MTSU is one of the first places he’s ever been fully comfortable to not only be different but free to be his self."

11-12-09:  PrideSource.com (MI): "Celebrating Crandall - Birthday fundraiser honors Transgender Michigan founder's life of giving"

"It would be hard not to call Rachel Crandall a giving person. She is a busy psychotherapist who sees low income clients and volunteers her services, the helpline coordinator at Affirmations LGBT community center and the founder of Transgender Michigan, a statewide organization that connects transpeople throughout the state with support and information, advocacy and social events."

11-12-09:  The Temple News (Temple Univ.; posted 11-10): "Trans-sexual author tells students what makes life worth living"

"Temple students swarmed the Women’s Studies Lounge in Anderson Hall last Wednesday to listen to notorious trans-sexual author, playwright and performance artist Kate Bornstein speak about gender and queer-related issues. . . . Students were so captivated by Bornstein and filled the room to capacity to the point where students were willing to sit on the floor to listen to the author speak. Amanda Ramsaran, a junior film and media arts major, said Bornstein’s speech was, “very empowering because it pointed out that it’s OK to have any identity you choose, even if you are just in between.” Junior religion major Cody Long said he was enamored with Bornstein’s talk. “Nothing else mattered today but seeing Kate Bornstein,” he said."

11-12-09:  Islington Gazette (UK): "Trans sex prostitute is found strangled in flat"  (more)

A murder investigation has been launched after a transsexual prostitute was found strangled in her own home. Destiny Lauren, 29 - who was born male but had become legally female - was found collapsed in her flat . . . Police have confirmed that she worked as a prostitute. On an internet posting, a "sex worker" going by the name of Destiny TS described herself as a "slim, elegant, sensual, London Pre-op Transsexual escort" and offered services starting from £150 at a "discreet flat in Kentish Town""

11-11-09:  Earth Times (re Hong Kong): "Hong Kong transsexual battles for right to marry after sex op "

"A Hong Kong transsexual was preparing Wednesday for a High Court battle for the right to marry a man after having a sex change operation to become a woman. The transsexual, who is in her 20s and has asked to remain anonymous, has been told she cannot marry her boyfriend because Hong Kong law only recognizes marriages between a couple born as male and female . . . Marriages of transsexuals to people of their original gender are possible in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and parts of mainland China as well as countries in Europe. However, in Hong Kong, transsexuals can change their identity cards and school certificates to their new sex, but they do not have the right to marry someone of their birth gender. "

11-11-09:  Star-Telegram: "Fort Worth votes to expand anti-discrimination ordinance"

"The City Council voted 6-3 late Tuesday to expand its anti-discrimination ordinance to include transgender people, capping a marathon debate over a series of gay-rights proposals that were forwarded after a controversial inspection of a gay bar."

11-10-09: Affirmations: Gay and Lesbian Mormons: "Gay Mormons Applaud LDS Church Action" (more, more)

"Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons applauds the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for endorsing the employment and housing non-discrimination act now before the Salt Lake City (Utah) Council. Discrimination based on a person’s identity, including race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, has always been wrong. It is commendable that the LDS Church is taking a step toward living up to its own teachings . . . “We pray that the words spoken tonight are to be followed up with positive action,” said Affirmation Assistant Executive Director Micah Bisson." 

11-10-09:  Bay Windows: "Bostonian author of ’Transgender Explained’ to hold book signing"

"Boston local Joanne Herman, author of the new book Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not, will hold a reading and book signing Nov. 17 at Fenway Health (1340 Boylston St.) from 7 to 9 p.m. The 148-page book explains in unpretentious language what it means -- and how it feels -- to be transgender. The text is aimed at just about anyone who wishes to better their understanding of transgender issues."

11-10-09:  The Vancouver Sun (re Ontario, Canada): "Ontario gym owner fumes after transgender bathroom battle"

"A fitness club owner in southwestern Ontario said Tuesday he has wasted tens of thousands of dollars fighting a legal battle with a transgender woman over which washrooms she should use, only to have the case thrown out by the Ontario Human Rights Commission . . . "I have been a proud supporter of gay, lesbian and transgender issued for the past decade in St. Catharines," he said. "They're picking on the wrong guy. The OHRC (rights commission) needs to be rejigged . . . before other people end up being in a situation where they feel like they're being extorted.""

11-09-09:  Wired Magazine: "Engineered Rabbit Penises Raise Human Hopes"

"Using tissue grown in a laboratory, researchers have engineered fully functional replacement penises. The organs were made for rabbits, but the technique may someday be useful for people. “This technology has considerable potential for patients requiring penile construction,” wrote researchers in a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

11-09-09:  Bay Windows: "Boston to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance"

"Boston residents will be remembered Friday, Nov. 20, in Allston, as the LGBT community gathers in honor of the worldwide Transgender Day of Remembrance."

11-09-09:  The Mindanao Examiner (Philippines): "Rain Marie Madrigal: The Reigning Queen"  (YouTube video)

"Professional title-holder Rain Marie Madrigal eventually wound up wearing the most coveted Queen-Universe crown, after edging out her fellow veteran contestants during the first-ever Queen pageant held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino  . . . As "the" Queen, Rain's biggest dream is"...for Cebu society to fully acknowledge and respect our sector which is the LGBT community, and for our country to fully respect our human rights as well."

11-09-09:  Gay NZ (New Zealand): "Trans student needs $14,000 for top surgery"

"23-year-old transgender student Max Prendergast's breast removal operation next month will cost $14,000 - so he's doing his best to fundraise for the surgery he says will be "the end of an era and the beginning of something new and exciting"."

11-09-09:  The Philidephia Inquirer: "Finally a Lady"

"A small but growing number of people are identifying themselves as transgender. Richard/Renee Ramsey is likely the oldest to make the surgical switch."

11-09-09:  Destructoid.com (re China; posted 11-05): "Chinese MMO sex verification: Gender identity system"  (more)

"You know you've made an MMO character that was not the same sex as your own. Don't lie. Boy playing as a girl? It's fine, right? Not in China . . . For some reason, Chinese MMO King of the World has a new Gender Identity System that checks your face, via webcam, to see if you're a guy or a gal. I guess they don't want any Queens of the World, if you catch my drift."

11-08-09:  Kalamazoo Gazette: "ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW TAKES EFFECT City works on process for filing grievance"

"Kalamazoo voters approved an expanded anti-discrimination ordinance Tuesday, but the process for filing a complaint alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is still a work in progress."

11-07-09:  San Francisco Chronicle: "Theresa Sparks running for S.F. supervisor"

"Sparks was married twice and fathered three children before undergoing sexual reassignment surgery and moving here to live as a transgender woman in 1997. She's also an impressive public speaker and a well-connected political advocate in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community"

11-07-09: CBC News (Canada re US): "Paltrow joins Kidman's transsexual film The Danish Girl" (more, more)

"Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, pictured here in February in New York City, will portray a painter who asks her husband to pose as a woman, starting his journey to becoming one."

11-07-09:  The Star (Malaysia): "Roxanne walks on the wild side"

"Life as an occasional drag queen can be a drag, Roxanne said. “Malaysia – unlike Thailand and the Philippines – is not open to transvestites, and they tend to look down on pondan and Ah Kua (Malaysian slang for transvestite)."

11-06-09:  New York Times: "Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?"

"In recent years, a growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate — or confound — gender identity and sexual orientation. Certainly they have been confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans. "

11-06-09:  Kansas State Collegian: "Transgender therapy coming to K-State"

"Campus Creek Complex, located behind Justin Hall, is home to a new program called the Transgender Therapy Program. It was created by K-State students and its goal is to help transgendered individuals. The Marriage and Family Therapy program at K-State is starting a new specialized treatment team, called the Transgender Therapy Team. The program will train students in the MFT master’s and doctoral programs to provide therapy services to transgender individuals and individuals who are questioning their gender."

11-06-09:  Examiner.com: "Great news for Tampa's transgendered!" (more)

"Tampa is adding gender identity to it's human rights ordinance. The city council members voted 6-1 in favor of adding it, late this afternoon Council member Joseph Caetano changed his vote to a "Yes" to make it unanimous. It is technically not quite a done deal because there will be a final vote in 2 weeks."

11-06-09:  Oregon Live: "White House boosts Merkley's anti-discrimination bill" (ENDA)

"The Obama Administration Thursday endorsed full-scale protections for gay and transgender workers from job discrimination, giving a major boost to legislation written by Sen. Jeff Merkley that is based on similar protections offered in Oregon. ``No American should be denied a job or the opportunity to earn promotions, pay raises and other benefits of employment because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identify, which have no bearing on work performance,'' Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights told a Senate panel."

11-06-09:  The Hill: "ENDA will provide critical employment protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers," by Jaime Grant, NGLTF

"The state of the U.S. workplace for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people — transgender Americans in particular — is absolutely shameful. Thankfully, our nation is on the cusp of seriously addressing this injustice: Congress is currently considering the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

11-06-09:  Philadelphia Gay News: "Trans teen files complaint against DHS" 

"According to the complaint, L.P. was repeatedly intimidated, threatened and harassed by boys in her unit and feared for her safety. The complaint states that other residents often called her a “faggot,” “gay” and “wannabe girl” and that, while YSC staff instructed the youth not to call each other names, they did not follow up with any other reprimands. . . . “Given the inadequate response by YSC staff, the YSC residents not only continued but escalated the harassment,” the complaint states. “YSC staff allowed [the] complainant to be subjected to ridicule and cruel and degrading verbal treatment on a daily basis,” which the complaint said escalated to “physical assaults.”" [an update with more details on this case]

11-05-09:  Daily Illini (Univ. of Illinios re Maine): "Mainers need to get a grip," by Phil Reese

"On Tuesday, voters in Maine approved a bill establishing second class citizenship for millions of American citizens by a slim margin. Despite the tireless work of organizers, fundraisers and the amazing turn-out by the supporters of equality, in the end, discrimination won over fairness. We see across the country voters choosing to create two types of citizenship: the folks we’re comfortable with get first tier, and those we aren’t comfortable with get second tier."

11-05-09:  UConn Daily Campus (Univ. of Connecticut): "Lecture explores obstacles facing transgendered people seeking medical help" (print)

"The Rainbow Center's "Out to Lunch" lecture series continued yesterday afternoon with a lecture from speaker Pauline Park. . . . "I don't think I have a gender identity disorder," she said. "I think society has a gender identity disorder." Nevertheless, in order for transsexual and transgendered people to receive transitional treatments as hormone replacement therapy and sexual reassignment surgery, they must first be diagnosed with GID. While many individuals seeking such treatment consider the diagnosis of GID as a necessary step in the process, the implications speak to the greater issue of transgender's cultural stigmatization. "In order to get access to hormones or surgery, you have to get yourself declared mentally ill," Park said."

[A thoughtful article about this important issue, with great quotes by Pauline Park.]

11-05-09:  The Times (UK): "Evangelical outrage over play featuring transsexual Jesus" (more, more, more)

"A controversial play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual woman was defended yesterday by its writer who has herself crossed the gender barrier to live as a woman. Jesus, Queen of Heaven, has caused a storm of protest from Christian evangelical groups, who picketed the Tron Theatre in Glasgow when it opened this week."

11-05-09:  XTRA! (Canada): "Pretty, amazing - ON STAGE / Nina Arsenault is truly a self-made woman"

"Becoming the woman she is today is the subject of The Silicone Diaries, Arsenault’s solo show opening at Buddies on Tue, Nov 17.  Originally commissioned by the Saint John Theatre in New Brunswick, the play is based on a series of autobiographical columns she wrote for Fab magazine about her experience transitioning, undergoing 60 surgeries and working in the sex industry to pay for them. . . . “A lot of people have told me that the type of woman I want to be is not a real woman,” she says. “Why do I have to be someone’s idea of what a woman should be? Can’t I just be what I want to be?" (Nina's website; Wikipedia bio)

11-04-09:  Politico: "Conservatives shop sex ops ban to GOP"

"The federal government would be banned from funding sex change operations and other services for transgender individuals if social conservative activists get their way. . . .“Unfortunately, some insurance companies broadly interpret language excluding transgender-related care and services to deny coverage for non-transition-related procedures for transgender individuals. Insurers justify these exclusions by stating that your current medical problem is somehow related to your transition,” the Transgender Law Center wrote in a fact sheet posted on its Website. "

11-04-09:  The Salt Lake Tribune: "Gay-rights group pulls Mormon-style handcart to make point - Load of petitions presented at LDS office building"

"It's way past time to send out the rescue committee," said Gary Watts, a former Mormon who has two gay children among his brood of six, "and bring these gay brothers and sisters back into the fold." The group, comprised of present and past Mormons, contends that LDS policies on homosexuality have had a harmful effect on many Mormon families with LGBT members, contributing to estrangement, suicide and homeless youths. . . . The trek drew its inspiration from the famed efforts of LDS Church leaders to rescue members of the Martin and Willie handcart companies, who struggled to reach Utah late in 1856, suffering from food shortages and cold-weather exposure."

11-04-09:  WZZM13 (Kalamazoo, MI): "Anti-discrimination lawsuit passed in Kalamazoo protecting gays, lesbians and transgenders" (more, more, more)

"Overwhelming turnout in Kalamazoo helped pass an ordinance that includes gay, lesbian, and transgender people in an anti-discrimination ordinance. The ordinance passed with 62-percent voting yes, and 38-percent voting no."

11-04-09:  GID Reform.org: "Update: Statement on Gender Identity Disorder and Transvestic Fetishism in the DSM-V"

"I strongly urge elimination of the scientifically capricious and socially punitive Transvestic Fetishism diagnosis from the DSM-V. I am especially troubled by a September report from Dr. Raymond Blanchard, chairman of the Paraphilias Subcommittee of the DSM-V Task Force. He proposes to retain the TF diagnosis, renamed “Transvestic Disorder” with its existing diagnostic criteria that ambiguously label all “behaviors involving cross-dressing” by those assigned male at birth as sexually deviant on the basis of their sexual orientation. Moreover, Dr. Blanchard proposes to add the deeply offensive and inflammatory term, “autogynephilia,” as a specifier to the diagnosis. I ask the DSM-V Task Force and elected officials of the American Psychiatric Association to reject his proposal."

11-04-09:  The New York Times: "Loss in Maine Sets Back Gay-Marriage Drive"

"They had far more money, ground troops and political support, and geography was on their side, given that New England has been more accepting of same-sex marriage than any other region of the country. Yet gay-rights advocates suffered a crushing loss in Maine when voters decided Tuesday to repeal the state’s new law allowing gays and lesbians to wed, setting back a movement that had made remarkable progress nationally this year."

11-03-09:  New York Times: "Gender Identity in Kids"

"Where is the line between pushing your child and following his or her lead? Not just when it comes to gender, but to any preference in their life?"

"Among parents and child psychologists, “there’s a tendency to want to forecast a child’s future based on current behavior,” says Ken Corbett, a professor of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis at New York University and the author of the new book Boyhoods: Rethinking Masculinities (Yale University Press). . . . “We’re stuck between advocacy and reactive pathologizing,” he says. . . .  there is one oft-cited study—which is outdated, according to Corbett—used to address questions of sexual orientation among gender-variant youth. In 1987, Richard Green, M.D., published . . .  The “Sissy Boy Syndrome” and the Development of Homosexuality . . . The small study validated, for many, the practice of “reparative therapy”—the baseless attempt to make “sissies” more interested in football than fairies—which resulted in countless kids growing up filled with shame and self-hatred . . . "

11-03-09:  BBC New (UK): "Transsexual Jesus sparks protests"

"About 300 protesters held a candlelit protest outside a Glasgow theatre over the staging of a play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual."

11-03-09:  The Telegraph (UK): "Transexual burglar escapes jail"

"A burglar caught stealing make-up and women’s clothes has been spared a prison sentence after a judge decided she had endured “a rotten life” as a transsexual."

11-02-09:  TS Roadmap: "What motivates Ray Blanchard’s oppression of sex and gender minorities?" (more)

"What drives this key figure in the oppression of sex and gender minorities? Since he feels entitled to ascribe labels and motivations to others, let’s turn the tables. Why is Ray so reticent about revealing his own sexual interests and behavior, when his career involves “catching” people not being open and honest about their sexual interests and behavior?

This article examines Ray’s childhood, family life, sexuality, Catholic upbringing, and interest in penile tumescence. It also examines how CAMH became the world’s largest publicly-funded forced feminization sex dungeon and transgender reparative therapy clinic. Finally, it examines what Blanchard’s most important legacy will be: the broad expansion of “paraphilia” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) to further oppress sex and gender minorities as mentally disordered."

[A must-read discussion about the motivations of one of the trans-community's greatest tormentors.]

11-02-09:  On Top Magazine: "Anti-Gay Dobson To End Radio Career"

"The announcement comes on the heels of several rounds of lay offs at the ministry and the summer announcement that it was exiting the “ex-gay” business. In an August letter to donors, Daly explained that the group is about $6 million in the red for the year . . . "

11-02-09:  The Advocate: "Kalamazoo Ordinance Foes Target Transwomen" (more)

"Opponents of the LGBT non-discrimination ordinance on the ballot Tuesday in Kalamazoo, Michigan launched an ad singling out members of the transgender community to claim that the measure, Ordinance 1856, would allow men to use women’s restrooms."

11-02-09:  Times Online (UK re Japan): "Girly men of Japan just want to have fun"

"Definitions vary, but the new herbivores could be described as metrosexuals without the testosterone. Although most of them are not homosexual they have in common a disdain for the traditional accoutrements of Japanese manhood, and a taste for things formerly regarded as exclusively female . . . Sociologists worry about the effect on the shrinking population of a generation of men who are not interested in girls. Marketeers ponder how to sell to this new, unfamiliar demographic. Cultural commentators have produced volumes attempting to explain the phenomenon to the rest of Japan, with titles such as Love Study of Herbivores, The Men Who Wear Bras and the Women Who Don’t and Herbivorous Girly Men Are Changing Japan. 

11-02-09:  Straights Times (Singapore re Thailand): "Transsexual beauty crowned" (photos, more, more)

"Shimmering in a gold evening gown, a Japanese television host wept and called for greater tolerance as she was crowned the world's most beautiful transsexual at a pageant in Thailand. Ms Haruna Ai, 37, beat 20 other contestants at the Miss International Queen 2009 who came to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya from as far as Brazil and the United States. . . .Millions of Thais watched the show live on television on Saturday as the beauties - all born men but whose sexual identification is entirely with the opposite sex - strutted their stuff at Tiffany's Show Pattaya, billed as the world's largest transsexual cabaret."

11-02-09:  New York Daily News: "This transgender custody battle is odd, even for New York"

"In an unusually tangled custody battle, a Brooklyn mom is fighting her ex - a woman who lives as a man - for custody of her 7-year-old son."

11-01-09:  Malta Today (Malta): "The luxury of diversity"

"Actress, campaigner and politician VLADIMIR LUXURIA is in Malta for an international conference on gay rights. She talks to Raphael Vassallo about her struggle against prejudice, both in and outside politics."

11-01-09:  Gazette Live (UK): "Nicholas Darroch thanks Gazette readers for their support"

"A TEESSIDE transgender patient has thanked Gazette readers for their messages supporting him in his bid to join the army as a man."

11-01-09:  Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland): "Shock as Kevin becomes counsellor Keira"

"Meet the TRANSSEXUAL rape counsellor who saw vulnerable victims while wearing HIGH HEELS, LEGGINGS and LIPSTICK. Burly Keira McCormack, 47"

11-01-09:  Wales Online (Wales, UK): "Millionaire businesswoman had to fight after she had a sex change"

“When it first came out, I became a pariah overnight,” she recalled. “All the companies who wanted to headhunt me suddenly didn’t want to know. It’s far harder for women than men to get to the top and for a transsexual it is almost impossible. “I lost my job and my family and everything . . . There were happier times ahead, though, as Stephanie married David and the two built up one of the most respected business partnerships in North Wales with their portfolio of six hotels considered the jewel in the crown. “Most people who meet me are fine,” she said. “We have a home in Spain and the neighbours there are very welcoming. I live by the mantra that people who mind don’t matter and people who matter don’t mind.”

11-01-09:  Philadelphia Inquirer: "DHS discrimination against transgender teen alleged"

"A transgender teenager who identifies as a girl said she was subject to constant abuse and discrimination during 18 months in the custody of Philadelphia's Department of Human Services . . . The complaint contends she was physically attacked by other residents and orally abused by staff every day for almost a year and a half."

October 2009

10-31-09:  IPS News (re Bahrain): "Q&A: "Guardian Angel" of Gulf Transsexuals - Suad Hamada interviews Bahraini lawyer Fawziya Janahi"

"Transsexuals in the Gulf call Bahraini lawyer Fawziya Janahi "guardian angel". She is the Arab world's only female lawyer who takes up cases on behalf of clients who want to change their sex. Janahi's clients want legal permission to undergo sex change operations. While the law is quite straightforward on this in Bahrain, the lawyer says it is more difficult in other countries in the region."

10-31-09:  "Transsexual wins apology over passport" (more)

"Ms Imbruglia had lived for two years as a woman before applying for a passport to travel to Thailand for sex realignment surgery in October 2007. She wanted her passport to identify her as a female. But the Howard government rescinded an established practice of issuing transsexuals who were to travel abroad for surgery a one-year limited passport in their nominated gender."

10-30-09:  The Morning Call (PA): "Group says transgender teen was abused in Philadelphia agency's custody"

10-30-09:  News Channel 3 (Kalamazoo, Michigan): "Living in Transition"

""In the first part of Newschannel 3's special report . . . we introduced you to a transgendered man and woman from West Michigan. . . . to better understand their lives and what they have to deal with. Both have been taking hormones and going through therapy to make their transition, but they have not had their gender reassignment surgery . . .To better understand that part of the transgender experience, Newschannel 3 traveled to Pennsylvania to meet a surgeon who specializes in gender confirmation surgery. . . "

[Includes an excellent video interview with Christine McGinn, M.D. and two of her patients.]

10-30-09:  Anti-discrimination struggle in Kalamazoo turns on gender identity - Fear and misunderstanding of transgender issues fuels opposition (more)

"A debate is simmering in Kalamazoo over an anti-discrimination ordinance up for a vote in Tuesday's elections. . . Over the last several weeks in Kalamazoo, campaign mailings and door hangers have revived the same molesters-will-prey-on-women-in-the-bathroom approach from Gainesville – even utilizing some of the identical graphics . . . Mara Kiesling, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Transgender Equality, is well aware of the tactic. . . . Most of these people are still uncomfortable with straight men being in a restroom with gay men. And there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable about being in restroom with people of different races,” she said. None of that, Keisling argued, is a good reason to indulge discrimination."

10-30-09:  MSNBC: "Chaz Bono’s girlfriend supports sex change" (more)

"‘I feel really grateful to be going through this with a partner,’ says Bono . . . He adds: “Our relationship always modeled a heterosexual relationship, emotionally and intellectually. So now it does physically as well.” Bono has said he felt male from the time he was a child. “I feel like I’m living in my body for the first time, and it feels really good,” he tells “ET.”"

10-30-09:  The Sun (UK): "A SEX-SWAP patient is waiting for a breast removal op - to join the Army as a man."

Nicholas Darroch, 21, who was born a girl called Siobhan, hopes to be able to fight on the frontline . . . Nicholas, of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, said: "My dad calls me crazy but I want to be with all the other lads fighting for my country.""

10-30-09:  Pams Houseblend (posted 10-24): "Is It Transphobia Or Just Bad Journalism At Seventeen Magazine?" by Autumn Sandeen
"I just knew I was not going to like the take on trans people when I had an article entitled My Boyfriend Turned Out To Be A Girl . . .The gist of the article, from the article headline to the bolded and highlighted text, seemed to be that female-to-male transsexuals are really females who are deceiving others."

[On Facebook: "Letter campaign to Seventeen Magazine"]

10-29-09:  Richmond Times-Dispatch: "At W&M, transgender homecoming queen is ‘no issue’"

"Those folks inclined to vent over Vasold's election by W&M students would be advised to save their energy. The civil-rights movement of the 21st century has left the station and is barreling down the tracks. Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the extension of federal hate-crime statutes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Vasold -- who prefers the transgender pronoun ze instead of he or she -- represents America's future. So do the students who supported Vasold and others who didn't but see the election as nothing to panic about. "It's a general change across the country, not just at William and Mary," said Myron Kimble, a senior and a friend of Vasold's. "We're tired of the old way.""

10-29-09:  BBC News (UK): "Born in the wrong body"

"Doctors in Britain are reviewing guidelines for the treatment of people under 18 with gender dysphoria. This is a condition where someone is born one sex but feels they are really the other. A key issue is the age at which young people can be prescribed drugs which pause puberty. . . . Over the past ten years, doctors in several countries have begun prescribing blockers in the early stages of puberty, at around 12 years old. This gives adolescents more time to explore and make decisions about their identity. This approach was pioneered by the Amsterdam Gender Clinic for Children and Adolescents in the Netherlands. "If you wait too long, the adolescents go through their puberty and have changes they don't want to have," says the clinic's head, Professor Peggy Cohen-Kettenis." 

10-29-09:  Bangkok Post (Opinion)(Thailand): "Nothing sick or abnormal regarding transsexuals"

"Ask any transsexual in Thailand what happened to him on military conscription day, and he will painfully tell you how he had to bear with humiliation, ridicule, and - quite often - sexual harassment. As part of the physical examination, for example, transsexuals are required to take off their shirts and have their bare breasts measured in full public view. The sight is considered "hilarious" and the photos of bare-breasted "katoeys" often appear in newspapers the following day . . . The pain did not end with the conclusion of conscription day. Since transsexuals are legally male, they are required to show the conscription exemption papers to their prospective employers. How much chance do they have when the official papers routinely describe transexuals as mentally ill? "

[Article points to serious problems in Thailand (though unfortunately using male pronouns), problems made more serious now that psychiatrists' letters are required for SRS (i.e., a formal diagnosis of "mental illness" is required)]

10-29-09:  Bay Area Reporter: "Report: Even with protections, transgenders in California"

"More than five years since state legislation to ensure employment and housing protections for transgender people went into effect, many still face discrimination, according to a recently released report . . . 67 percent of the people who responded to a 2008 survey said they had experienced workplace harassment or discrimination directly related to their gender identity."

10-28-09:  Miami Herald: "‘A historic milestone’: Gay activists, allies cheer presidential signing of Matthew Shepard Act"

"Today marks a historic milestone for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and for the entire country. With the president’s signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, both sexual orientation and gender identity have, for the first time in U.S. history, been explicitly included in federal law."

10-28-09:  "Mattress Factory brings back Greer Lankton's 1996 installation for permanent display"

"Like the artist herself, Lankton's dolls and environments possess a disarming mix of innocence and decadence, hope and pathos. She said her work was "all about me," reflecting her life as an artist, a transsexual and a drug addict. But beyond this, from her position as an outsider, Lankton eloquently explored and questioned accepted norms of gender and sexuality, as well as the powerful imagery of popular culture and consumerism. After it was exhibited, her piece was placed in storage. Now, thanks to the generosity of the Lankton family, it has been donated to the Mattress Factory for permanent display."

[Wikipedia entry, Memoir on ArtNet, photos]

10-28-09:  National Public Radio: "Obama Set To Sign Bill Widening Hate Crime Laws" (more)

"At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon, President Obama plans to sign a bill into law that was more than a decade in the making. It is an update to the federal hate crimes statute that Congress initially passed in 1968. For the first time, the law that had previously protected people from attacks motivated by race, religion or ethnicity will include gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people. "

10-28-09:  The McGill Daily (McGill Univ., Canada; posted 10-26): "Birth certificates: a gendering apparatus"

"Generally speaking, the state assumes that all people are cis (or “non-trans”). As a result, it sees no problem in assigning each citizen a perceived sex via the birth certificate, then putting this assigned sex on subsequent documents, such as driver’s licenses and passports. In order to reverse this assignment of sex on all gendered documents, it’s often necessary to change it on the birth certificate first. This legal gendering reinforces the gender binary, providing a bludgeon against people who don’t conform to their legal sex. "

10-28-09:  Xtra (Canada): "Sex reassignment surgery in Canada: what's covered and where - Province-by-province breakdown of SRS coverage"

[This interactive map reveals that CAMH not only controls the fate of gender transitioners in Ontario, but in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland too.  It also reveals that CAMH requires a two-year RLE in all cases, in non-compliance with the WPATH Standards of Care].

10-28-09:  AsiaOne News (Singapore): "New sex change regulations set to take effect"

"Areeya Milintanapa, a 26 year old transvestite, had hoped to undergo sexual reassignment surgery at a private clinic in Bangkok next year, but her plans have hit a setback - new regulations by the Medical Council of Thailand. The council moved recently to strictly control sex change operations and require that transgender people consult a psychiatrist, live as a woman for a year and receive hormone therapy before being such an operation is allowed. For Areeya the new rules are an inconvenience. "I have already spent my whole life as a woman - since I was a little boy - and why (do) I have to live as a woman for another year to undergo sex change surgery?" she said."

[The psychiatric community has succeeded in extending its power to demonize and control "sex changes" even into Thailand.]

10-28-09:  Philadelphia Inquirer: "Asylum bids cite sexuality - More immigrants who are gay or transgender say that imperils them in their homelands."

10-28-09:  The Spartan (San Jose State Univ.): "Transgender student finds support at SJSU"

10-27-09:  Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (posted 10-23): "Victory on Federal Hate Crimes Legislation!"

"Now that the bill has passed both the House and the Senate, it's on to President Obama for his signature. He has promised to sign the bill into law. This is huge. Our supporters have spoken out, written letters to elected officials, and signed petitions demanding hate crime protections for our community. Your efforts have paid off in a big way."

[President Obama will sign the bill tomorrow, Wed. Oct 28th]

10-27-09:  The Times of India (India): "Training and placement for transgenders" (more)

"In an attempt to help transgenders stand on their own feet, members of the Dojo Chakra, a private organisation, have found placements for 30 of them as security guards in apartment complexes, hotels and corporate offices in the city. A six-day training programme in self-defence, yoga and meditation, and confidence building was organised here to give them the basic physical skills and mental outlook that would help them fare well in a their position."  

10-26-09:  Michigan Messenger: "Anti-discrimination struggle in Kalamazoo turns on gender identity - Fear and misunderstanding of transgender issues fuels opposition"

10-26-09:  Independent Online (re Italy): "Priest suspended after transsexual marriage"

"An Italian priest who blessed the marriage of a 64-year-old transsexual to her 58-year-old male partner has been suspended, the Archbishop of Florence said in a statement on Monday. Father Alessandro Santoro, a priest based in Piagge . . . married Sandra Alvino - who underwent a sex change more than 30 years ago - and Fortunato Talotta in a religious ceremony on Sunday. . . Cardinal Renato Martino, a senior Vatican official, had strongly criticised the decision to wed the couple. "I do not understand how something like that can be done. It's against nature and it does not bring anything to the church . . . Biology, that God made man and woman, cannot be changed by trickery," he said."
 

10-26-09:  Daily Press (College of William and Mary, VA): "Spotlight still on transgendered William and Mary homecoming queen - "It's (the crowning) allowed the conversation to happen," Vasold said." (more)

"Moments after Jessee Vasold was crowned homecoming queen Saturday, the College of William and Mary junior quickly was engulfed by a media frenzy. The crowning of the university's homecoming queen usually happens without much publicity, but by Monday it had attracted the attention of the Fox News television show O'Reilly Factor and newspapers as far away as Australia — who all wanted to hear about the 20-year-old college student's quest for the title."

10-26-09:  Daily Press (College of William and Mary; posted 10-24): "W&M crowns first transgender homecoming queen - Vasold makes homecoming history at William and Mary" (more)

"Jessee Vasold, William and Mary 's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison U. today in Williamsburg. "

10-26-09:  Washington Blade: "Obama to sign hate crimes bill Wednesday"

"President Obama intends to sign into law Wednesday a long-sought hate crimes protection measure as part of a major defense bill, according to an administration source . . . The measure would make illegal hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, among other categories, and would allow the Justice Department to assist in the prosecution of such crimes."

10-26-09:  Radar Online: "New Photos: Chaz Bono Steps Out In West Hollywood"

"She was the blonde haired little girl who stole America's hearts when she appeared on stage with her famous parents Sonny Bono and Cher. But these days, Chaz Bono is almost unrecognizable as she morphs into a man before the world as part of a very painful transgender switch."

10-26-09:  Bianet (Turkey) "Transsexuals Complain at Prime Ministry about Police Violence"

"About 80 people gathered in Ankara upon the call of the Pink Life Transgender Association. Despite police resistance they managed to hand their petition for redress to the Human Rights Presidency of the Prime Ministry. The petition is concerned with police violence against transvestites and transsexuals and rights violations occurring in the Act on Misdemeanour"

10-26-09:  Independent Online (re Italy): "Transsexual marriage blessed by priest"

"Rome - A priest in Italy on Sunday blessed the marriage of a 64-year-old transsexual to her 58-year-old male partner, in defiance of Vatican guidelines, the ANSA news agency reported . . . Father Alessandro Santoro gave his blessing to the marriage, which was attended by some 200 people, despite the Roman Catholic Church advising him not to go ahead with it."

10-25-09:  The Scotsman.com (Scotland): "Interview: Jo Clifford, playwright"

"One of Scotland's most respected playwrights, Jo Clifford talks about the long, painful journey to becoming an 'out' transgendered woman""

10-25-09:  Telegraph (UK re Italy): "Italian Left in turmoil after governor quits because of transsexual prostitute blackmail case"

"Italy's main opposition party was in turmoil yesterday as its supporters voted in a primary to select a new leader after one of its high profile politicians was forced to step down because of a video apparently showing him with a transsexual prostitute."
 

10-25-09:  Dawn.com (re Pakistan): "Kiss and tell"

"An official selection at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival and shown at the 33rd Festival des film du monde Montreal (Montreal World Film Festival), Chan di Chummi (Kiss the Moon) is a revealing documentary about the lives of transsexuals in Pakistan. In the opening scene, script writer and director Khalid Gill says that as a child he was mystified by the transsexuals and he has tried to demystify them in the film.

10-23-09:  The Portugal News Online (re Portugal): "Campaign launched to end classification of transsexualism as ‘illness’"

"A campaign that aims to end the classification of transsexuals as individuals who suffer an ‘illness’ as well as educating the general population that sexual diversity not limited to the male and female genre was launched in Lisbon this week.Identical events were held simultaneously in 38 cities in Europe, Latin America, the USA and Asia, to promote the Stop Trans Pathologisation 2012 movement that has been organized by more than 180 international associations."

10-23-09:  The Gothamist (New York): "Ruling Eases Name Changes For Transgender" (more)

"The State Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a transgender person seeking a name change does not have to provide proof of any medical procedure justifying the change, striking down an earlier ruling."

10-22-09:  The Advocate: "Senate Passes Hate-Crimes Measure"

"The Senate voted 68 to 29 Thursday to pass a Defense Department funding bill that includes a measure extending hate-crimes protections to people targeted on the basis of their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. The National Defense Authorization Act now goes to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature."

10-22-09:  The Local (Germany): "Court rules insurance must pay for ex-soldier's breast surgery"

"A transsexual has won a lawsuit against her German health insurance, which will now have to pay for the former British soldier's re-constructive breast surgery, news magazine Der Spiegel reported late on Wednesday."

10-22-09:  The Canadian Press (Canada): "Transgendered soldiers fall into grey zone for otherwise open Canadian military"

"Chris already has manly muscles, facial hair, a baritone voice and was accepted years ago by family and friends as a man. But he's been told he cannot work for the Canadian military until he also gets a penis. The story of this transgendered applicant to the Canadian Forces suggests that even in the far more liberal climate of recent years, there are still grey areas when it comes to sexual identity and the military."

10-22-09:  The Times (UK): "From Erika to Erik, a long journey of self-discovery"

"It is a long way from the subtropical valley cradling Pretoria to the snow-clad mountains of Carinthia, in Austria, but if there is anyone who knows how Caster Semenya feels, as the 800 metres world champion awaits the results of her sex tests, it is Erik Schinegger . . . Without wishing to prejudge Semenya’s test results, Schinegger hopes his story, with its themes of renewal and defiance in the face of public opinion, will be encouraging. “It is still an issue,” he said of discrimination. “All those who enter the world with inter-sex conditions are at a disadvantage. People still react as if you’re an alien.” "

10-21-09:  TS Roadmap: "$325,000+ in salaries for Zucker & Blanchard to pathologize trans people", an exposé by Andrea James

" Transgender taxpayers in Canada help foot the bill for their own pathologization, helping to pay nearly $328,000* in 2008 to two conservative Toronto psychologists working to turn back the clock on the rights of sex and gender minorities worldwide.

Public disclosure documents show that Ray Blanchard was paid over $172,000 in 2008, and Kenneth Zucker was paid over $155,500. Both men work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. This former “lunatic asylum” is home to the most notorious and regressive facility in the world dedicated to preventing and “curing” gender non-conforming behavior in children and adults.

Both Blanchard and Zucker are also heavily involved in the political push within psychology to continue labeling sex and gender minorities as disordered and diseased. Homosexuality was depathologized in 1973, but these men have an obvious and substantial financial interest in not just maintaining the status quo, but in expanding the definitions of sexual “disorders” that can be applied to all people. Their CAMH clinics are major recipients of taxpayer funds via the provincial and federal healthcare systems in Canada, so more “disordered” people means more money for their clinics and themselves.

The full article discusses their reactionary opinions about sex and gender minorities, why both men headed to Canada during the Vietnam War, and why their “support” for transpeople is tied to their job security. " (*Canadian dollars)

10-21-09:  Reading Post (UK): "We will never stop loving Andrea Waddell"

"Tributes have been paid to a former Reading School student whose strangled body was discovered in a flat fire in Brighton . . . The family said: “Andrea was often incapacitated by pain and unable to work, and we know she was concerned about how to make a living and be indepenent. “If her decision on how to achieve this took her down unusual paths, who are we to judge?” They added: “Our lives will never be the same again but we will never stop loving her, being proud of her and being grateful for having her with us for 29 years."

[Finally we're beginning to see compassionate treatments of this tragic story.]

10-21-09:  Detroit News (re The Vatican): "Pope offers Anglicans a place in church" (more, more, more)

"Pope Benedict XVI approved a church provision that will allow members of the Anglican church -- known as the Episcopal Church in the United States -- to become Catholics while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions . . ."

[In a historic development, the Catholic Church exploits the schism in the Anglican/Episcopal Church - moving to increase its power and further spread its misogynistic and anti-GLBT ideology.]

10-21-09:  Newsweek: "The Kindest Cut - In Colorado, a surgeon helps restore feeling—and so much more—to victims of female genital mutilation."

"Sila, a patient at Mt. San Rafael Hospital in Trinidad Colorado, prepares for her clitoroplastal reversal surgery . . . The surgery, (center) performed by Dr. Marci Bowers, reverses the effect of female genital mutilation and attempts to rebuild the clitoris, eliminate pain and restore pleasure."

10-21-09:  Xtra.ca (Canada): "An exclusive interview with Patrick Califia"

"Patrick Califia has been pushing the boundaries of queer culture for a couple decades now. Committed to opening up new choices, he advocates for change and expands  awareness of lives lived on the margins of queerdom"
 

10-20-09:  Examiner: "Kings County Supreme Court rules transsexual father has standing to petition for custody of child"

"In a complex decision released yesterday, the Supreme Court of Kings County ruled that a transsexual father has standing to petition for custody of a non-biological child."

10-20-09:  Washington Post: "Which side are you on? In athletics and elsewhere, the line between male and female can be hazy"

"Researchers say it's difficult to know how common cases of conflicting gender indicators are: Some people are reluctant to make their conditions public, and others may live and die not knowing they have them. In total, scientists estimate, one in every 100 people has some kind of "disorder of sex development," in which one indicator of sex is subtly or severely out of step with the others."

10-20-09:  Washington City Paper: "Transgender Shoplifting Story Inspires Absurd Corrections"

"NBC Washington shows what happens when news outlets fail to confirm the correct gender identity of their subjects before publication. The outlet has just posted another story about the two shoplifting suspects who were shot by police near the University of Maryland last Friday. Here’s the absurd lede: Upon closer review, it appears two shoplifting suspects shot by a Prince George’s County police officer weren’t men, as originally reported, or cross-dressers, as was later reported, but transgender women."

10-20-09:  Edge (Boston): "U.N. Terrorism Report Cites Transgender Prejudice"

"Notes the report, "Enhanced immigration controls that focus attention on male bombers who may be dressing as females to avoid scrutiny make transgender persons susceptible to increased harassment and suspicion." "

10-20-09:  People's Daily (China): "American 8-year-old child becomes world's youngest transsexual" (more)

"At the age of six, Josie was referred to a gender specialist who confirmed the diagnosis and the family began accepting Josie as a real girl. After making a brave and painful decision, her parents allowed their 8-year-old son to live life as a girl."

[It is interesting to see China disseminate this very positive media coverage of a childhood transition.]

10-19-09:  Edge (Boston): "Fresh Controversy Surrounds 8-Year-Old’s Gender Identification"

10-19-09:  Daily Mail (UK): "Agony of sex-change prostitute's middle-class family after she is found murdered in her flat" (more, more)

[Comment: Even though this story reveals what a remarkable young woman Andrea Waddell was, and how much she suffered from physical disabilities, the Daily Mail continues to trash her memory in tabloid-style headlines. Why can't people visualize that she was very likely seeking a tiny bit of warmth and affection in life - in what may have been the only way she could find it?]

10-19-09:  Mirror.co.uk (UK): TV: "Age Eight And Wanting A Sex Change - C4, 9pm"

"People who go through sex changes often talk about enduring years of misery as youngsters convinced they were trapped in the wrong body . . . This film travels to the US, where we meet boys and girls as young as eight who are certain this isn’t just a phase they’ll grow out of. Doctors prescribe one set of hormones to stop puberty and another set of hormones to start the transition process. In the meantime, their parents let them live as the opposite sex and, despite the additional problems that entails, the kids – Kyla, Josie, Bailey – seem far happier than they would otherwise have been."

10-19-09:  Channel News Asia (re India): "Transgenders in Chennai launch their own marriage website"

"Kalki Subramaniam said: "Our website is an initiative; it is a hope that we are all women and we should have the right to marry. We can have a family, we can have a husband and we can have adopted children. And we are sick and tired of this exploitation." The matrimonial website is one of the many small initiatives being taken to integrate transsexuals into mainstream society."

10-19-09:  Vietnam.net (Vietnam): "Hanoi welcomes back transsexual models"

"The Pattaya group’s five transsexual models made an appearance at a special fashion show held at the Dong Son Restaurant in Cau Giay district on October 15. “Our earnings are modest, but we love working as models,” one model observed. “I wish that people would not view people of our “third world” so strictly.”"

10-18-09:  Daily Mail (UK): "Sex-change graduate working as a prostitute strangled before killer set fire to her flat" (Telegraph, BBC)

"A murdered student who had been working as a prostitute had once been a man, her family has revealed. Andrea Waddell's body was discovered by firefighters called to tackle a blaze at the address. The 29-year-old had been strangled. As detectives hunted her killer, her grieving relatives disclosed the troubled life the murder victim had suffered before her untimely death."

[This is an incredibly sad and tragic story about a young woman who suffered terribly in life - made all the worse by the awful headlines the Mail and the Telegraph used to trash her memory. Note how the BBC handled the story more respectfully.]

10-18-09:  Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton): "That’s So Gay: Translating trannies"

"Midway though my junior year in high school, a transgendered transfer student shocked the student body when she enrolled in our school. . . . I had never seen her walk to class with a friend or eat lunch with the girls. As midterms began to wrap up, I decided I would invite her to sit with my friends during lunch. But as quickly as she came to our school, she was gone. I never saw her again. . . . As it turned out, she had been bumped from school to school because of the ridicule she encountered regularly. Looking back, I wish I could have stood up for her or at least have come to my realization about her loneliness sooner."

[Look beyond the topline, and you'll find a compelling story.]

10-17-09:  Blabbeando (re Spain): "Spain: Calendar features transgender models posing as the Virgin, controversy follows" (Link to Calendar photos)

"Of course, the predominant factor that sets these images apart is the use of transgender models posing as the Virgin. The include Carla Antonelli, a leading Spanish transgender rights activist . . . "I posed myself the following scenario: Why is it that a transsexual woman can't represent a religious icon given life by so many other actors and actresses throughout history? To not do it would be akin to internalizing the same discriminatory principles that people want to throw against us", she said."

10-17-09:  El Mundo (Spain): "'Vírgenes' transexuales - Indignación entre los católicos por 'la ofensa'" (Link to Calendar photos)

"Ésa es la escena que ha protagonizado en el calendario laico la mítica Carla Antonelli, reconocida activista de los derechos de los homosexuales. Vestida en la foto de pies a cabeza, tocada a su vez por una corona fálica, la artista canaria relata que aceptó prestar su imagen a la causa tras sopesar que probablemente generaría polémica. "Me hice el siguiente planteamiento: ¿por qué una mujer transexual no puede representar un icono religioso al que han dado vida otros tantos actores y actrices a lo largo de la historia? Negarme a hacerlo sería interiorizar los propios principios discriminatorios que quiere cargar la gente contra nosotros", alega."

10-17-09:  Intersex News (re Uganda): "SIPD Uganda contests III World Congress in Toronto" (more)

"As an intersex African and a rights activist for intersex children and people in Uganda, it concerns me greatly that convenings aimed at discussing intersex issues never have intersex representation . . . The time is ripe that a human rights approach is applied when addressing intersex people and issues and that we - as intersex people - are involved in . . . Intersex may not be the typical but how 'disorderly' it is, is a debatable subject. SIPD Uganda challenges the 3rd World Congress on Hypospadias scheduled for November 12-15 2009, to consider intersex in its entirety and to desist from painting a medically biased and stigmatising picture . . . We strongly contest the live non-consensual surgical demonstrations of intersex infants as part of the congress activities." -  by Julius .K. Kaggwa, Program Director

10-16-09:  Southern Voice: "What not to wear to school? - Student told his female attire ‘disruptive’ at North Cobb High"

"Nothing in the North Cobb High School student manual bans students from wearing opposite-gender clothing, but one recent arrival from Miami says he was told not to report to school unless he was dressed as a boy."

10-16-09:  The Grio: "A mother's story: Hate crime brings new bond with transgender child"

" everything changed in December 1999, the day my daughter Michelle became the target of a hate crime. While standing in line with her friends at a club in Atlanta, Michelle was struck in the head with a metal pipe by a stranger who did not like the fact that she was a transgender woman. She fell to the ground and her skull split open. . . . I was fully aware of the homophobia that haunts our community. However, it was not until my child was beaten and left for dead did I ever truly believe that having the courage to be true to oneself could result in being killed."

10-16-09:  TES Magazine (UK): "A girl on Friday, a boy by Monday"

" . . . vicious bullying is almost a rite of passage for transgendered pupils . . . The most recent victim in the UK was 10-year-old Cameron McWilliams from Doncaster, who hanged himself last year having expressed a desire to be a girl. Two cases of bullying also featured in the media last month when a 12-year-old and then a nine-year-old boy went to their respective schools dressed as girls.

Parents of transgendered children have reacted angrily to the coverage, saying it fails to differentiate between transgendered and transsexual children. Both may feel trapped in the wrong body, but the vast majority of transgendered people (95 per cent) will never have gender reassignment surgery. The reports also make out that this is a very rare occurrence . . . In fact, whether they know it or not, teachers are likely to encounter a number of transgendered children during their career. A primary school of 300 children will usually have three transgendered children on roll - a large secondary even more."

10-15-09:  YouTube (Spain, re Germany): "Kim Petras, adolescente transexual. Part 1"  ( Part 2,  Part 3 ) (more, more)

"Kim Petras comenzó el tratamiento para la reasignación de sexo a los 12 años; además cuenta ya con varios sencillos como cantante juvenil de pop en Alemania. Entrevista durante su primer viaje a España."

Kim Petras was interviewed on Telecinco (TV5) on 10-15-09. Someone has posted video on Youtube of the entire interview and subsequent discussion in three parts (about 27 minutes total.). It appears she was wearing an earpiece, hearing translations of the talk show host's questions and answering in English. Her answers are voiced-over by a Spanish translator, but with a little effort (and by following her lips) you can understand her responses. Brief comments by Norman Spack, M.D. and Carla Antonelli are included in Part 1, and Kim performs a song in Part 2. Part 3 includes a discussion of the issues surrounding early transition. The overall effect of the interview is a profound demonstration of the advantages of early transition.
 

10-15-09:  The Daily Mail (UK re US): "Pictured: Josie Romero, the eight-year-old 'sex change girl' who was born a boy"

"The transgender youngster, then called Joseph, knew at the age of four that she was the wrong sex and even told her parents: 'I am really a girl. . . . By the time she reached six, Josie had been diagnosed as transgender and was beginning her transition to becoming a female . . . 'We discovered a site called Transgender Youth Family Allies where there were 100 children who were all going through the same thing as Josie.'  Venessia started giving Josie options about how she wanted to live. . . . Her case has already been referred to Dr Norman Spack at Boston Children's Hospital a top specialist in transgender children. Josie said: 'I am happy that everyone knows I am a real girl, and that I don't have to pretend to be a boy anymore."

10-15-09:  Stop Trans Pathologization-2012 (International campaign): Press Release: International Trans Depathologization Network: "Action Day October 17th 2009 – STP 2012 Campaign"

"On Saturday, October 17th 2009, demonstrations and other actions will take place in 38 cities in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia, to support the campaign Stop Trans Pathologization STP 2012, which was initiated by the International Trans Depathologization Network. To date (date of information: 15/10/2009), 181 groups from 40 countries in different world regions and 7 international networks declared their support of the campaign. The principal demand of the campaign is the removal of Gender Identity Disorders from the international diagnostic catalogues (DSM-IV y ICD-10)."

[For more information, see this link to the STP 2012 website]

10-15-09:  Edge (Boston, re international news): "’Stop Trans Pathologization’ campaign kicks off Oct. 17"

"The Trans Depathologization Network, a group committed to the removal of ’gender identity disorder’ from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, has been joined by seven international networks and 161 trans groups in the two weeks leading up to its campaign kick-off on Oct. 17. The groups hail from 37 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The ’Stop Trans Pathologization’ campaign kick-off will be held 30 cities in 18 countries around the world."

10-15-09:  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Documentary of Western Pennsylvania Transsexual's journey part of Lesbian & Gay film fest

"A man born as a woman and the filmmaker documenting the transition that began on a bucolic Western Pennsylvania farm are coming to Pittsburgh for a showing of their film "Gender Redesigner.""

10-15-09:  Telegraph.co.uk (UK re US): "Boy, 8, has 'sex change'"

"An eight-year-old boy, Joey Romero, has become a girl called Josie in a remarkable US gender-swap case that features in a new Channel 4 documentary. "

10-15-09:  National Post (Canada): "Sex changes for inmates a touchy new therapy"

10-14-09:  Channel 4 (UK re US): "Age 8 and Wanting a Sex Change"

"As experts consider a review of UK guidelines for treating transgender children, this film follows a number of children in the US who told their parents they were born in the wrong body. In America, children under 16 can be prescribed hormone 'blockers' to prevent the onset of puberty, with a view to then follow with hormone treatment to become their new gender. This film follows the American experience . . . These children and their parents reveal what it is like to face life-changing questions, giving a frank insight into a subject most people never have to consider."

10-14-09:  BeyondChron: "Gay Activist Divisions are Political, not Generational"

"The strategic wisdom of last Sunday’s national gay march in Washington DC is worthy of debate. But the common framing of this question in generational terms plays upon long discredited perspectives of young activists as questioning and radical vs. older activists who prefer working through the system and are politically moderate.  Such a dichotomy has little basis in reality. . . . It was the ACT UP generation that . . . laid the groundwork for the more militant and activist politics whose legacy includes events like Sunday’s march. But despite the ACT Up Generation’s activist legacy, Congressman Frank was the only person above age 36 quoted in the Times account of the march, and he disparaged its effectiveness . . . countless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activists over fifty could have given a more subtle and perceptive assessment of the march than Barney Frank . . . But framing a story around a gay generational split required ignoring these voices."

10-14-09:  The Age (Australia): "Survivor revisits her battle of the sexes"

"Transsexual actor Vanessa Van Durme has turned her life story into a critically acclaimed touring show . . . Van Durme is a tall, 60-something woman of handsome looks and slightly imposing manner who comes across as an amalgam of Vanessa Redgrave and Germaine Greer, though somewhat warmer. Like those two redoubtable leaders of public life, the Belgian performer tours the world's stages holding forth before adoring audiences. But unlike the British actress and the Australian intellectual, Van Durme tells a story that is at once dramatic, deeply personal and a reflection of how Western mores have changed in the past 30 years."

10-14-09:  ABC News: "Transgender Man Posed as 15-Year-Old Boy, Cops Say"

"Jack Kaiser, Formerly Jennifer May, Allegedly Tried to Hoodwink School, Police and Child Protective Services"

10-14-09:  Mirror.co.uk (UK):  "Alex Reid: It's fun to dress up as a woman"

"Jordan's cagefighter boyfriend Alex Reid has finally admitted he's a secret cross-dresser . . . "I've got nothing to hide and I'm proud of who I am. If I go out and wear a dress, so f***ing what? I don't want a sex change.""

10-13-09:  Se7en Magazine (UK): "The true meaning of ‘identity crisis’ in the UK"

"The recent gender debate surrounding South African athlete Caster Semenya has sparked off much media interest the world over, no less so than here in the UK. However, the reaction in the press is not simply emblematic of the usual tabloid hysteria which accompanies cases of gender ambiguity. It also highlights that anyone who appears to lie outside the bounds of what is considered ‘normal’, is automatically treated with apprehension, fear and often outright repugnance."

10-13-09:  BBC News (re Uruguay): "Uruguay approves sex change bill" (more)

"Transsexuals in Uruguay will soon be able to legally register a change of name and gender after the country's senate approved a controversial bill. The law, which was passed unanimously, is strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church . . . Under the new legislation, transsexuals will be able to change their name on all official documents, from birth certificates to passports, to reflect the gender of their choice."

10-12-09:  "Schwarzenegger Approved Gay Rights Bills, But Not Transgender Ones"

"Although two major gay rights bills were signed by Governor Schwarzenegger this weekend, two dealing with transgender issues were vetoed. One would have aided transgender people to revise their birth certificates and the other would have provided protections for transgender people in prison."

[Now we know how Arnold feels about us.]

10-12-09:  The Bilerico Project: "The Day After: Where Are We On ENDA Now?" by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss"

"Our next step in our federal agenda should be focusing on ENDA in the Senate. Of all our initiatives, that will affect the largest number of people in our community in the most important area of our lives: the ability to get and keep a job. And it's achievable in the next few months . . . The real fight on ENDA is in the Senate, where there are only 49 confirmed yes votes . . . We can do it, if we as a community get focused on calling our Senators. (Calls are much more persuasive than emails.) Names and contact info of the legislators to target after the jump . . . pick up the phone and call one."

10-11-09: "Two Men Arrested in Assault on Transgender Queens Female"

10-11-09:  The New York Times: ".Gay Rights Marchers Press Cause in Washington"

"Impatient and discouraged by what they see as a certain detachment by President Obama on their issues, gay rights supporters took to the streets Sunday in the largest demonstration for gay rights here in nearly a decade. The rally was primarily the undertaking of a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates who have grown disillusioned with the movement’s leadership."

10-11-09:  Associated Press: "Gay rights advocates march on DC, divided on Obama"

10-11-09:  Southern Voice (posted 10-09): "Time to march - National Equality March serves as a reminder of the work that remains "

10-11-09:  Washington Blade (posted 10-09):  "Equality March leader seeks end to ‘incrementalism’"

10-11-09:  Associated Press (posted 10-10): "Frank says D.C. gay rights march misses mark"

10-11-09:  The Independent (Ireland): "Transexuals graft against the odds", by Donal Lynch

"I've been thinking about transsexuals lately. Not because I would actually want to have my genitals hacked off in some clinic in Morocco, you understand, but I have to admit it would be really cool to have access to a completely new pool of guys. I'm tired of trying to truffle-hog out the decent gays from the measly 10 per cent of the male humanity I have to work with. Transsexuals, it seems to me, have bravely refused to take these odds lying down."

[Yet another Fourattist-type gay guy bashes transwomen, using 'humor' as a pretense for his actions. And in Ireland this %#&^ gets published in a national newspaper.]

10-11-09:  Mirror.co.uk (UK): "He's done it since he was a boy.. his parents know"

"The ex-girlfriend of Katie Price's lover Alex Reid today reveals the jaw-dropping moment she stumbled into his room to find the macho cage-fighter dressed as a woman... in full make-up and painstakingly painting his nails. Danielle Sims, 34, suspected muscle-bound Alex was cheating on her and had another girl in his life. But when she stormed round to his house to confront him, she discovered she was only half right - because the other woman was HIM."

10-10-09:  OII (re Canada): "Toronto hosts conference that will stigmatise and promote non-consensual surgery and hormonal treatments for intersex children"

"Zucker is moderating two of the talks at the upcoming conference on Hypospadias and Disorders of Sex Development in Toronto, and he is giving one himself. Notice the way he titles his sessions, using 'disorders' over and over again, and mentioning "brain development" and "psychosexual differentiation and disorders" so as to insinuate that intersex kids are "mental cases" too. I think Zucker is now attempting to initiate a new patient flow - i.e., to have the parents of intersex kids who have been surgically "corrected" to send them to him for "mental corrections" too."

[Link to conference program, where you'll find the titles of Zucker's talks.]

10-10-09:  CitizenShift (Canada): "Engendered Questions for T.O.’s Sick Kids"

''Curtis Hinkle, a spokesman from Intersex International, said the IHSID (the International Society on Hypospadias and Intersex Disorders) recommends ‘correcting’ sex ambiguity in infants within the first six months of their lives. Hinkle said the University of Toronto’s is legitimizing IHSID’s recommendation and this should send a chill down the backs of Canadians. “Most Canadians aren’t aware of the retrograde practices coming out of Ontario,” he said."

10-10-09:  Southern Voice (posted 10-08): "Ga. legislative counsel explains why he fired transgender employee" - "Brumby: It would be 'unsettling' to think of trans woman's 'male sexual organs'"

"A recently filed deposition is shedding new light on the discrimination lawsuit filed against legislative leaders by a transgender woman who was fired from her job as an editor for the Georgia General Assembly.

Brumby . . . expressed personal concerns about his reactions to Glenn’s transition . . . “It makes me think about things I don’t like to think about, particularly at work … I think it’s unsettling to think of someone dressed in women’s clothing with male sexual organs inside that clothing.” Brumby couldn’t explain to Cole Thaler, the Lambda Legal attorney representing Glenn, why it was upsetting. “It's not something that I enjoy thinking about, and I think it would have been unsettling to have a constant reminder to think about something I don’t like to think about,” he said."

[A rather typical situation: The creepy thinking of a boss is used as an excuse to fire a trans employee.]

10-09-09:  Gay People's Chronicle (Ohio): "Ohio makes it easier to change gender on licenses"

"Since mid-September it has been easier for transgender Ohioans to correct the sex marker on their driver license and photo identification cards. A regulatory change at the state Department of Public Safety creates uniform procedures and a new form for making the corrections . . . The change does not affect the prohibition on correcting Ohio birth certificates. Ohio remains one of only three states, with Florida and Idaho, that will not change a birth certificate or issue an amended one, even for post-surgical transsexuals."

10-09-09:  On Top Magazine: "After Election Loss, Mayor Admits To Transgender Photos"

10-09-09:  XTRA (Canada): "Firing "blindsided me": trans teacher" - "Jan Buterman takes on Catholic school board"

""Since you made a personal choice to change your gender, which is contrary to Catholic teachings, we have had to remove you from the substitute teacher list," wrote deputy superintendent Steve Bayus in an Oct 2008 letter to Buterman. The reason for this decision . . . is that "the teaching of the Catholic Church is that persons cannot change their gender. One's gender is considered what God created us to be." Buterman met the response with shock. "It's very difficult to put into words how you feel when you're given something like this, it's pretty overwhelming," he tells Xtra.ca. "It blindsided me quite honestly.""

10-09-09:  Nursing Times (UK): "New book tells extraordinary tale of sex change nurse"

"A 76-year-old ex-soldier who underwent a sex operation before becoming a nurse has had her life story published . . . Despite being up against social prejudices from colleagues, friends and her own family, Miranda went on to become a highly regarded nurse who has not missed a single shift in two decades of nursing."

10-09-09:  UK Gay News (re U.S.): "Gay Rights March: Out of My Black Church, Into the Streets", by Rev. Irene Monroe

“Because of religion-based bigotry spewing from the pulpits of many black churches, we have a crisis in the African American community: an epidemic of homelessness among LGBTQ youth.”

10-09-09:  UNAIDS (UN): "Michel Sidibé congratulates Indian sexual minority communities for uniting against Section 377"

"UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé attended an event in Delhi today to recognize the activists whose efforts contributed towards the recent annulment of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The law, which criminalized consensual sex between men and transgendered people, was overturned in a historical judgment by the Delhi High Court on 2 July 2009"  

10-09-09:  WSIL-TV (Illinois): "Woman Arrested for Posing as 15-year-old Boy"

"We have an adult that came in last Friday to our High School and attempted to enroll what he said was a 15 year old student." The student claimed to be Jack Stones. In reality, Stones, otherwise known as Jack Kaiser or Jennifer May, is in fact a 24-year-old transgender woman. Hudgens says, of course, office staff asked for ID on the student, but the adult with her said there wasn't any available... "

10-08-09:  Philadelphia Inquirer: "The march to end a century of persecution - Gay-rights advocacy must shift to the national stage"

"This weekend, thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans will march in the nation's capital. They won't be marching for marriage rights alone. They'll be marching for complete federal equality - an end to second-class citizenship.

Few realize how long that history actually is, but federal hostility to homosexuality is at least a century old . . . In 1909, an immigration official named Marcus Braun sat down to type out a report warning of a "new species of undesirable alien" who he believed should be barred from entering the country: "the moral degenerate," or homosexual . . . After Braun stood up from his typewriter, the architecture of second-class citizenship for homosexuals was gradually constructed across the federal bureaucracy. By the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. government had distinguished itself from other Western democracies in its hostility to homosexuality."

10-08-09:  The New York Times: "House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition" (more)

"The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay and transgender people . . . The new measure would broaden the definition to include those committed because of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability . . . The hate crimes legislation would give the federal government authority to prosecute violent crimes of antigay bias when local authorities failed to act."

10-08-09:  Daily Mail (UK): "Thugs attack two transvestites... who turn out to be cage fighters wearing fancy dress"

"Two thugs who attacked what they thought were a pair of transvestites picked on the wrong men - when their intended victims turned out to be cage fighters on a night out in fancy dress. Dean Gardener, 19, and Jason Fender, 22, singled out the two men walking along a street in wigs, short skirts and high heels . . . Gardener was caught on CCTV confronting one of the men in a pink wig, black skirt and boob tube - then seen swinging a punch, a court heard.  But the other cage fighter, wearing a sparkling black dress and matching long wig, sprang to his friend's help, delivering two lightning-quick punches to the two stunned yobs . . . Gardener and Fender were left dazed and seen staggering to their feet after their failed attack."

10-08-09:  The Smith College Sophian: "Transgender coeducation: Smith is more than just a women's college" 

"The transsexual, transgender and gender queer populations of Smith College are valid and flourishing, whether they make it onto the "I Am Smith" Web page or not. In an age where single-sex education is a niche market and a deep source of pride at Smith College, the transient population and all forms of masculinity on campus simply must be addressed."

10-08-09:  Telegraph (UK):  "Transsexual in court appeal for breast enlargement" (more, more)

"A transsexual refused breast enlargement surgery on the NHS is to take her case to the High Court, at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds to the hospital's budget."

10-06-09:  Calgary Herald (Canada): "Sex change teacher as equal as anyone" (more)

"Here we go again. You'd think in this day and age, in Alberta, that people should no longer have to fear losing their jobs because of who they are . . . Apparently not, because Jan Buterman, 39, a substitute teacher with the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board, has lost his job for being transgendered . . . All the St. Albert students have learned from this current ugly scenario is that if someone is different from you, you can treat him as less worthy by discriminating against him and depriving him of his job."

10-05-09:  The Edge (Boston): "How the Gay Community Is Complicit in Trans Violence"

"Loree Cook-Daniels, a program manager for FORGE, a Milwaukee-based transgender advocacy group, commented on the attacks. She said that, though violence is rare, day-to-day discrimination and exclusion were common among the transgender community’s gay and lesbian peers. "Of course LGB people aren’t innocent of transphobia," Cook-Daniels said. "It even makes sense that they may be more transphobic, due to gender allegiance - to be a "gay man" you have to assert both your own male gender and the male gender of those you love - and to the popular conflation of sexual orientation with gender identity." "If you’ve spent a lot of time asserting how your gender identity is normative, you may well develop a prejudice against those whose identity is not normative," Cook-Daniels continued"

10-05-09:  The Temple News (Temple University): "Translating Gender"

"Since last year’s merge with TransAction Student Network, Queer Student Union has expanded both its membership and diversity. Still, some issues in the transgender community are beyond reach of a student organization . . .when transgender students are forced to disclose a gender with the choice of only “male” or “female,” it can create embarrassing and awkward situations for those who don’t identify with either. “The invitation still happens to trans people in the classroom is that question: ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’” said Scott Gratson, director of undergraduate studies in the School of Communications and Theater. “It’s an intimate question that gets into medical issues. Do people realize that question is as invasive as asking any other personal medical history?”"

10-05-09:  Pink News (UK; publ 10-02):  "Raped trans woman 'harassed in public and on the internet'"

"A Welsh trans woman who was raped has said she was forced to move house after her identity became public. The unnamed victim saw her attacker, Kiron Singh, Chand, jailed for eight years this week . . . However, the woman has said she received verbal abuse in the street and was subjected to a humiliating poster campaign. She added that she was vilified on social networking websites such as Facebook. . . . "My family and I have been through hell because of it. "I was the victim and I was being treated like the criminal.""

10-05-09:  Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia): "Gender correction surgeries up"

"The number of “gender correction” operations conducted at hospitals in the Kingdom has risen markedly in recent years, according to specialists in the field . . . a 2008 Saudi study showed that in one year 60 such operations were carried out compared to only 300 in the previous 25 years. . . Operations that “correct gender” . . . are to be distinguished from “sex-change operations”. . . “Sex-change operations are not permitted in Shariah, whereas there is no prolem with gender correction as it addresses faults in the reproductive organs ”"

10-04-09:  The Christian Post: "Upcoming Film Follows a Transsexual's Ordination Journey"

"The journey of a transsexual woman seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been documented on film, which is set to release next year. "Thy Will Be Done: A Transsexual Woman's Journey Through Family and Faith" follows Sara Herwig, who transitioned from male to female and is seeking to "fulfill God's call." . . . The film points out that conservatives recognize Herwig not as a female but as a gay man. At the same time, they maintain that Herwig is in a same-sex relationship with a woman and thus cannot be ordained. Robert Gagnon, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a conservative ordained elder of the PC(USA), argued in a 2007 paper that "transsexuality is in some respects an even more extreme version of the problem of homosexuality" as it is a denial of one's own sex and "an overt attempt at marring the sacred image of maleness or femaleness formed by God.""

10-03-09:  CBC (Canada): "Teacher's sex change firing 'wrong message': expert"  (more, more, more, more)

"An expert in gender identity says the firing of a transgendered teacher by a Roman Catholic school board in Alberta sends the wrong message to students . . . "The question could be asked, 'Would the school board, if it's adhering to the tenets of its faith, fire those teachers who are divorced?'""

10-03-09:  The Edmunton Sun (Canada): "Transgender te