You do not have to be a transgender person to be considered for this position (you do have to be willing to live and work in DC) , but I personally think it would be terrific opportunity for a qualified trans person.  Details are as follows …

NCTE Job Opening: Policy Analyst

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) is seeking a
Policy Analyst who will work to end discrimination against transgender
people at the Federal level. NCTE is a strong voice for transgender
people in our nation’s capital and fills a unique niche in the overall
movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. We are a
respected leader in working for the rights of transgender people and
are known to approach our work with enthusiasm, optimism and good
humor.

Job Description:

The Policy Analyst will work closely with NCTE’s Executive Director to
advocate on federal issues affecting transgender people; monitor
federal and state policy; and educate decision-makers, the media, our
members and the general public. The Policy Analyst will work to ensure
that the lives and needs of transgender people are reflected in our
federal laws and policies by addressing issues such as employment
non-discrimination, hate crimes legislation, health care reform,
privacy & documentation and many others.

Responsibilities:

Use research and analysis to create
recommendations for transgender-inclusive policies and practices.

Manage relationships with lawmakers and other
policy-makers to shape policies and government practices.

Cultivate sufficient knowledge to act as a
subject matter expert for community members, allies, lawmakers, and
the media.

Write policy reports, fact sheets, and columns.

Conduct presentations and workshops for
members and allies at conferences and public venues.

Skills & Experience:

Demonstrated ability to research and analyze
policy. Federal level policy a plus.

Excellent writing, verbal communications, and
interpersonal skills.

Clear grasp of federal government structure,
operation, and function.

Collaborative spirit and the ability to work
well within a team of fun-loving, hard-working professionals.

Commitment to full social justice and
understanding of issues affecting transgender people.

Preferred candidates will have either 2-3
years of experience working on progressive issues at the Federal level
or an advanced degree, but neither are required.

We are committed to building an organization that reflects the
diversity of our community. We strongly encourage people of color to
apply.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary range for the Transgender Policy Analyst is $40,000 – $55,000,
depending upon candidate’s existing skill set. We offer, a robust and
growing benefits package that includes fully-paid medical insurance,
transit benefits and flexible health spending account, federal
holidays and ten paid vacation days in first year. We are currently
considering adding additional benefits.

Send résumé and letter of interest to:

Stephanie White

1325 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20005

Fax: 202-393-2241

Email: NCTE@nctequality.org

The National Center for Transgender Equality is an equal opportunity
employer and employs personnel without regard to age, citizenship,
color, creed, physical or mental disability, economic status,
education, ethnicity, family responsibilities, gender identity and
expression, health status including HIV status, height, housing
status, marital status, matriculation, national origin, physical
appearance, race, religion, political affiliation, pregnancy, sex,
sexual orientation, union membership, veteran status or other unlawful
factors, with respect to recruiting, hiring, job assignment,
promotion, discipline, discharge, compensation, training and other
terms, conditions and privileges of employment and contracting. NCTE
is committed to creating a diverse staff made of people who are hard
working, kind, optimistic and committed to social justice from all
segments of transgender and allied communities.

___
NCTE Policy Analyst Job Opening.pdf

View
http://tinyurl.com/c7qh2q

Download
http://tinyurl.com/cobmwl
___

The opening is also posted on NCTE’s website.

I’ve read about studies on the subject of LGBT healthcare. I know one needs to out oneself when seeing healthcare providers because there are some medical issues associated with being LGBT (here, here, here, and here, for example).

It’s really unlikely that there are any significant intersecting health concerns with my toothache and LGBT status — but in the past I would always out myself to healthcare providers “just in case.”

Yesterday (January 16, 2009), I didn’t. Even being as out as I am about my sexual orientation and gender identity to just about everyone, I didn’t out myself to the unfamiliar, new dentist. I didn’t because I was concerned someone would invoke their right of conscience and decide not to treat me because I’m transsexual…because I’m transgender.

It’s a real worry. Folks who aren’t even trans are already suing the federal government because they believe the regulations were written way, way too broadly. From the Washington Post:

Seven states and two family-planning groups yesterday asked a federal court to block a controversial new federal regulation that protects health workers who refuse to provide care that they find objectionable.

In three lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, the states and groups sought an immediate court order preventing the regulation from going into effect Tuesday and a permanent decision voiding the rule.

“On the way out, the Bush administration has left a ticking political time bomb that is set to explode literally on the day of the president’s inaugural and blow apart women’s rights,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who filed one of the suits on behalf of his state, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island. “This midnight rule is a nightmare for hospitals and clinics, as well as women.”

Blumenthal’s lawsuit challenges the regulation on several grounds, charging that it is too vague and overbroad and conflicts with other federal laws and state laws…

[More below the fold.]

Read the rest of this entry »

News and views for Monday, December 1st and Tuesday, December 2nd …

[USA] Yesterday’s this day in history: “It’s front-page news when George Jorgensen Jr. is reborn as Christine Jorgensen, gaining international celebrity and notoriety as the first widely known person to undergo a successful sex-change operation … Jorgensen’s sex change, which may have been leaked to the press by Jorgensen herself, hit the headlines Dec. 1, creating an international sensation. “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty” screamed the banner of Jorgensen’s hometown New York Daily News … But Christine Jorgensen’s world was not an enlightened one, particularly when it came to transgenderism. She paid the cost for this lack of sophistication. A first announced engagement fell through, and a second one failed as well, when the state of New York refused to issue the couple a marriage license. Her intended husband also lost his job when the marriage plans became known. She later traveled the lecture circuit, talking about her experiences and advocating for the nascent transgender cause. Jorgensen died of cancer in 1989, a few weeks short of age 63.” — Dec. 1, 1952: ‘Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty’

[USA] While some people change, others don’t ever seem to change their tune. Not quite yesterday in history, but this was Matt Barber of the Concerned Women for America railing last December against “homosexual activism”: “Still, the real trouble begins when our government seeks — by force of law — to make all of us share in that delusion by enacting thought crimes edicts such as “hate crimes” legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). As I’ve said before, it’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” meets George Orwell. Homosexual activist legislation forces everyone to entertain the delusions of a very small percentage of the population who define themselves based upon aberrant and mutable sexual behaviors. These laws lend official government recognition to conduct that every major world religion, thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology have deemed both immoral and unnatural.”

And, this is Matt Barber, now with Liberty Counsel, yesterday: “With Brazil’s government caving in to homosexual activism, many fear America is not far behind. Brazilian activists have launched several lawsuits to silence Christian opposition of homosexuality, and a Christian author has been both censored and fined over comments in his book. Mat Barber, with Liberty Counsel, believes America will likely follow suit. “It’s really chilling, and people need to be aware that this is not a threat that is isolated to Brazil or Europe or Canada,” he contends. “It’s coming to our shores (America) as well.” Barber explains he has witnessed homosexuals seeking to legally silence Christians and notes similar governmental legislation will be reviewed in Washington in January. “Hate crimes legislation, the Employment Non-discrimination act — legislation that under a President Barack Obama and with liberals in control of the House and the Senate, we can expect to see passed,” he says. Barber cites Colorado as an example that some states already have similar laws in place. “Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that says it is essentially illegal to write anything that’s homophobic,” he adds. “So based on that law in Colorado now, to actually publish the Bible would be considered a violation of the law.”" — Will homosexuals silence America’s Christians?

[USA] Meanwhile, unlike Mr. Barber, the “homosexual activists” are looking forward to change: “Officials with the Human Rights Campaign and National Gay & Lesbian Task Force are hopeful that Barack Obama’s administration and Democratic leaders in Congress will help orchestrate the passage next year of two gay rights bills that enjoy widespread support. The Matthew Shepard Act, which would authorize federal authorities to prosecute anti-gay hate crimes, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, are considered high priorities among gay-supportive lawmakers, officials with the two groups said … [HRC's David] Stacy and Rea Carey, the Task Force’s executive director, said they believe the consensus among nearly all gay rights advocacy groups is to insist that Congress move forward with a version of ENDA that includes protections for transgender persons. Gay and transgender activists became divided in 2007 when Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), decided to vote on a version of the bill that excluded transgender protections. The two lawmakers said they determined that there weren’t enough votes to pass a trans-inclusive bill and that keeping trans protections in the bill would result in its defeat. The House passed a gay-only version of the bill that year, but the Senate never took up the measure. Capitol Hill observers have speculated that Senate leaders did not believe a trans-inclusive bill could clear the Senate and agreed to requests by gay and transgender activists to put the measure on hold until 2009. Frank told the Blade last month that a coalition of gay and transgender rights groups have made “good progress” in building support for a trans-inclusive ENDA in the year since the House passed the gay-only version of the bill, and he’s hopeful that enough support could be lined up to pass a trans-inclusive version of the bill next year. Obama said during his run for the White House that he, too, supports a trans-inclusive version of the bill. “It’s exciting that we will have a president who not only won’t threaten to veto the bill but who embraces it,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.” — Hate crimes, ENDA seen as top legislative priorities

[NY, USA] “Miller Hoffman knows what it’s like to be hassled for being a transgender person. “Discrimination against transgender people is part of our daily lives,” she told Binghamton city council on Monday night.The Binghamton resident was one of 11 people who spoke in favor of a local law that would make it illegal to discriminate against transgender individuals. The proposed law would also protect against discrimination because of height and/or Lose Weight Exercise as well as age, race, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. The proposed law would apply to employment, housing and public accommodations. Council members may vote on the proposal on Dec. 15.” — Advocates urge council to pass anti-discrimination law

[MI, USA] “The city of Kalamazoo has stepped beyond existing state and federal laws, making it illegal to use sexual orientation to discriminate in housing, public accommodations and employment. The Kalamazoo City Commission voted 7-0 Monday night to adopt an expanded anti-discrimination ordinance that makes it a municipal civil infraction to discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgender citizens.” — Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously approves gay-rights ordinance

[HI, USA] “Cross-dressers, queer concubines, and the Sin of Onan — the Hawaii of pre-European contact had it all. Most LGBT travelers to Hawaii think of the islands as a languid society, a “hang loose” place of tolerant politics where cultural differences are easily celebrated. But few tourists realize just how queer Hawaii actually was before the Europeans showed up … Another notable queer aspect of old Hawaiian culture that is still strong today is the concept of the mahu. Transvestitism is common in parts of Polynesia, where men choose to don women’s apparel, grow up as a girl, and even become a wife of another man, sometimes even cutting his/her thighs to “menstruate.” Some traditions dictate that a male, usually a younger brother, is compelled to take on the feminine role of family caretaker when a suitable daughter is lacking. Whether or not that connotes homosexuality is not important. Mahu hold a necessary role in the communal family and are usually not outcasts in Polynesian society. Now that modern media and politics have flooded Hawaiian culture, the word mahu is often used in a derogatory way to describe an effeminate man, or a gay man in general. But the mahu tradition refuses to go away: An annual transvestite beauty pageant, The Universal Show Queen, packs in crowds in mainstream Waikiki hotels. And Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is transgender, holds a seat on the state’s board of education — the highest office ever for an elected transgender person in United States. So there is hope that history will repeat itself, and the 50th state can draw on its ancient traditions to become a trailblazer of tolerance in the 21st century.” — Hawaii’s Polysexual Past

[Canada] “There are many things I don’t miss about university life. Foremost among them is the idiotic debate — which seems to be ongoing on most liberal-arts campuses — about bathrooms. I don’t mean the actual physical amenities inside the bathrooms. I mean the eye-glazing arguments about who gets to use what bathroom, unisex versus sex-specific, and — most commonly — the accommodation of pre-op, post-op, mid-op, non-op, quasi-op and paleo-op transgendered individuals, who represent about 0.1% of the student population, yet seem to dominate an enormous share of student-council deliberations. (Please bear in mind that the target of my ire is not the transgendered community itself, most of which is no doubt exasperated by the endless obsession over its bathroom needs, and has legitimate concerns about bathroom harassment besides — but rather the earnest campus activists who, starved for any sort of discrimination to fight in this hypertolerant age, have adopted the toilet as their equivalent to Rosa Parks’ bus seat.)” — Jonathan Kay on the idiocy of university bathroom identity politics: Why not just dig a big hole in the ground and make everybody use it?

[Italy] “What do Silvio Berlusconi and a communist transvestite have in common? That may sound like the set-up to a bad joke, but the search for a serious answer could just bring some focus to the bizarre spectacle of Italian public life. On Nov. 24, millions of Italians tuned into the ever-popular local version of Celebrity Survivor, or Isola dei Famosi (“Island of the Famous”). The show was wrapping up its sixth season with the coronation of the latest champion, Vladimir Luxuria, a former cabaret performer and Refounded Communist party member. In 2006, the unlikely politician became the first transvestite to be elected to Italy’s parliament. Luxuria’s participation had already ensured record high ratings for the 10-week-long show. Interest centered not only on how a communist politician would interact with two-bit stars and showgirls, but curiosity about what Luxuria would look like without her makeup.” — Italy’s Communist Tranvestite TV Star

[India] “Sitting cross-legged on the uneven floor of their bedroom in Dhobi Gali of old Sabzi Mandi in north Delhi is a coy, newly-wed couple. She is chopping vegetables while he carefully covers her face with a dupatta. The marriage, sanctified on November 30 at a nearby Shiv mandir, is unique because the groom, Deepak (name changed), was born a girl and has undergone three operations for a complete sex change, only to marry his childhood sweetheart, Savita (name changed).” — And she became he to marry her

News and views for Sunday, November 16th …

[NY, USA] Trans woman Teish Cannon was shot and killed Friday night in Syracuse, New York: “Moses “Teish” Cannon was openly gay, and his family said Saturday that is why he was shot and killed Friday night. His death should be treated as a hate crime, they said … [Cannon's mother Roxanne] Green talked lovingly about Moses Cannon and said she accepted who he was. “That’s the life he chose. That’s who he wanted to be,” Green said about her son … “Teish was loving, caring and compassionate,” said Rhonda Gary, Cannon’s aunt. “She carried herself with respect.” The family did not mince words. Cannon’s death, they said, was a hate crime. The family said the person who shot Moses Cannon deserves a sentence of life in prison without parole. “I feel the person who lured him there (to Seymour Street) should get the same,” Green said.” — Mother: Gay son targeted by killer

[NY, USA] Syracuse police have charged a suspect in the Cannon killing: “Dwight R. DeLee shot and killed Moses “Teish” Cannon with a .22-caliber rifle Friday night because he didn’t like that Cannon was openly gay, Syracuse police said … “There was no previous argument between these individuals, there was no previous fight, there was no bad blood,” [Police Chief Gary] Miguel said. “Our suspect took a rifle and shot and killed this person, also wounding his brother, for the sole reason he didn’t care for the sexual preference of our victim. Isn’t that sad? Isn’t that a sad situation that that’s the sole reason why? “I talk to you about this atmosphere of violence and that certain individuals believe that violence is the answer no matter what, and here’s just another example,” Miguel said. Cannon’s family said his death should be treated as a hate crime. Miguel said it’s up to the District Attorney’s office to decide if it’s a hate crime.” — Syracuse man was killed for being gay, police say

[TN, USA] “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, most of us are familiar with, maybe even comfortable with. But matters of gender identity — which are separate from sexual orientation — are less understood. Simply put, Johnson’s brain and soul did not match her genitalia. That was tough for Skinner to deal with. And it certainly didn’t line up with her religious beliefs. But — and here’s the lesson — Skinner respected that her daughter knew herself better than even a mother could. Her love for her child, God’s child, never waned, even if her understanding of what her daughter was going through wasn’t complete. Skinner wants people to know that Duanna was a good, loving person. “She was very smart, and that’s why I wanted her to get her life in order.” And order didn’t mean life as a male. “I don’t think she would have ever returned, because she said she could never be a man again.” Because in her heart, Duanna Johnson never was.” — Essence of person can belie physical

[TN, USA] “About 75 people marched through the Cooper-Young neighborhood on a cold Sunday night in memory of Duanna Johnson.” — Transgendered murder victim mourned at vigil

[TN, USA] “With candles in their hands and great sadness in their hearts, dozens of Mid-Southerners demanded justice Sunday, November 16, 2008 during a prayer vigil for Duanna Johnson. “We’re here to commemorate Duanna’s life,” says vigil participant Casey Lanham, “and to remember the sacrifice she unfortunately had to encounter.” “All citizens of Memphis,” says Amy Livingston of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center, “should agree that all human life has dignity and should be respected and valued. Duanna was a beloved member of this community. And by community, I mean Memphis.” … “This is a stand for a human being,” says Will Bates, “who was killed because she was different than everyone else. This is a stand for humanity. This is a stand for all of us.” — Mid-Southerners Demand Justice for Duanna Johnson

[MA, USA] Gunner Scott of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition spoke at the Proposition 8 Protest in Boston yesterday [begins at 01:12 of the video] …

[NC, USA] Pam Spaulding attended the 2008 Equality NC Conference at Duke University in Durham on Saturday, and provided this video of NCTE’s Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality talking about the HRC, the non-inclusive ENDA and transgender advocacy …

[USA] From Donna Rose, “I hope that some of the broader community outrage over denial of basic rights gets saved for ENDA. It’s a whole different thing being on the side getting your rights than being on the side denied. Many of those same people out marching this weekend will find a way to justify excluding others from getting theirs if and when they’re faced with those kinds of decisions. Many of those writing passionate letters about higher ideals will be ready to betray those ideals if they have the opportunity when ENDA rolls around again. They will have conveniently forgotten what it feels like to be on the outside.” – The Side Denied

[USA] From Becky Juro, “Unbelievably, it took the actual stripping of already existent marriage rights from gay and lesbian Californians to finally mobilize our community to loudly and proudly fight for our rights in significant numbers nationwide. At last, LGBT America has said “Enough!” and we’re taking to the streets in protest all across our country. It’s about damn time … For me, and I’d bet for many of you reading this, particularly if you are transgender, the parallels to the recent past are pretty obvious. When the transgender community was stripped from ENDA, we responded in much the same way, though on a much smaller scale. For the past year or so, there have been regular protests at Human Rights Campaign events nationwide, and while significantly smaller in size, they’ve been consistent and they’ve been active. Despite their small size, the message has gotten out, slowly but surely, not by force of numbers but by constantly being out there, constantly promoting the same clear message of equality and fairness, and by never, ever, backing down or giving up on what we know to be right. That’s how this battle will be won. Not by marching and protesting for a week or even a few weeks, but by being consistent and unrelenting, by making our voices heard wherever and whenever they need to be heard, over and over and over, until the message finally starts sinking in to the community, to those inclined to support us, and eventually to average fair-minded straight Americans. We’ve seen it happen with HRC and ENDA, and we’ll see it happen here, perhaps even more quickly because of the huge numbers involved.” — It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

[USA] “Over the summer, a wrangle between eminent psychiatrists that had been brewing for months erupted in print. Startled readers of Psychiatric News saw the spectacle unfold in the journal’s normally less-dramatic pages. The bone of contention: whether the next revision of America’s psychiatric bible, the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” should be done openly and transparently so mental health professionals and the public could follow along, or whether the debates should be held in secret.” — Wrangling over psychiatry’s bible

[UK] From Helen G at Bird of Paradox, “MPs call for Commons committee to consider representation of… well,
just about everyone but trans people, apparently.”

News and views for Friday, November 14th …

[VT, USA] “They started out loving me. They thought I was the greatest thing since Grandma’s apple pie,” he recalls. But Tony says things changed once town officials learned he was transgender. “It was like day and night. I went to work one day and no one talked to me,” he says. Tony says he was ostracized, harassed, and officers didn’t respond to calls for backup. On some occasions, he felt his life was put in danger. He was being forced out. “I was a victim,” Tony says. “I know I will never forget it and I will do everything in my power to prevent anyone else from going through it.” – Transgender Discrimination

[CA, USA] In Palm Springs, a restaurant has changed its dress code: “The revised policy no longer forbids male patrons dressed in drag … The owners’ policy change comes more than a month after Dink’s opened and three weeks after Palm Springs entertainer Tommi Rose was turned away from the restaurant because of his attire. Rose, who frequently performs in drag, visited Dink’s on Oct. 18. He had attended the Equality Awards earlier that night and was wearing an evening gown. The doorman told Rose that his “kind” wasn’t allowed there, Rose said. When he asked the doorman what he meant, he was told “‘men dressed in drag,’” Rose said.” — Men in drag now welcome at Dink’s

[OR, USA] From columnist Carol McAlice Currie writing in Friday’s Statesman Journal (alternate link here or here), “Hampton would have been within his rights to pull his son from the child care program. Instead, he took his grievance to the airwaves via the Lars Larson talk show. Larson declared that sexual orientations such as this employee’s are “illegal, disgusting, grotesque and perverse.” Hampton urged the conservative talk-radio fans to call the Y and make sure that other children weren’t “left in jeopardy” … Protect them from what, I asked? A person different from themselves? A person who has enough to deal with as she struggles to reject a gender assigned by genitals, but not borne out by feelings? … Seeking to shame or embarrass the Y and this individual is wrong, and so is the message the other children now are getting: that people who are different are to be despised.” — Father should teach tolerance

[GA, USA] “Is ‘butch’ an outdated word? Maybe. But there are still butch women — of course it’s there.” With the rise of transgender men, however, sometimes there is a blurring of the old-school butch/femme roles that became popular in the 1950s among working class lesbians. “Now we have tranny boys who date gay men, who date femmes, who date other transmen — the rainbow spectrum has really changed in the past four to five years,” Holder said … “A femme is about being a lady, beauty. I like to dress up, smell good, look good. I have always been a girly-girl,” she said. “A femme is the essence of being a lady. I hold myself to a certain standard.” Watson has dated both femmes and studs. She explained that “butch” is the word that tends to be used by white women while “stud” tends to be an African-American term … The hardest part of being a lovely femme is going to clubs and other women telling her she’s not a lesbian. “They think I’m straight because of the way I look. I always ask, ‘Well, what does a lesbian look like?’ I’m very comfortable with who I am.”” — Butch/femme dynamic thrives in Atlanta women

[CT, USA] “The weathered bronze statue strikes the classic Venus de Milo pose — a graceful female figure with rounded breasts and belly, standing in coy contrapposto, covering her genitalia with a casual hand. But the Grecian symbol of womanhood takes a new twist in this photo, sporting a pink tie and short blond wig, with playful orange balloons floating at its feet. Instead of the quintessential feminine image, viewers now face a wacky, whimsical, sexually ambiguous human figure. All of the art on display at the Afro-American Cultural Center gallery’s exhibit of Trans/Genderqueer art and photography seeks to similarly confuse the viewer’s preconceptions of biological, sexual and cultural boundaries.” — Full breasts exposed

[MI, USA] “In a late night session Thursday, the Michigan House passed a package of two bills to expand the state’s ethnic intimidation act. Under the bills, bias motivated crimes would be subject to more severe punishments, including extended prison time and upgrading of misdemeanor criminal acts to felonies … The set of bills expands the current definition of bias crimes to include sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity and/or expression. It also makes it a crime for targeting a person because they are perceived to be a member of a protected class.” — Michigan House passes hate crime package, sends it to Senate

[MI, USA] “Less than twenty-four hours after the Michigan House overwhelmingly approved the passage of a package of bills to expand the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act, a mother of a murdered transgender teen encourage the State Senate to move on the bills.” — Mother of slain transgender teen speaks out on Mich. house passage of bias crimes bill

[USA] Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality asked about ENDA (Will Congress be able to pass a trans-inclusive ENDA?), “Absolutely. We were so close last fall. Now, there are a lot of people doing a lot of work around ENDA and I am confident that if we all get the grassroots and DC work done that has to be done, we will have sufficient votes to pass ENDA and even overcome any possible parliamentary maneuver from our opponents. That being said, most of us do not expect ENDA to come up right away in this Congress though I wouldn’t want to venture a guess more specific than that.” — We Won, We Lost. What’s Next for 2009?

[USA] Rea Carey of The Task Force asked about her organizations’ legislative priorities, “The Task Force Action Fund has a number of legislative priorities, including expanding and strengthening existing federal hate crimes law and the repeal of ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but our top legislative priority will continue to be passage of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Leadership will likely move other legislation first, such as the hate crimes bill, and we look forward to working with them on those efforts as well. However, a key focus of our energy and expertise will be on creating federal employment protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” — We Won, We Lost. What’s Next for 2009?

[USA] “These past few years we have seen a number of serious researchers complain that anti-gay and “ex-gay” ideologues are distorting and cherry-picking lines from scientific publications. The cure for this, and the prevention for a repeat of the past eight abysmal years of American history, is, it seems to me, education. People need to learn to read critically, everyone should have a solid background in scientific methods, some statistical literacy would be a nice thing. Listen carefully when you hear them talk about education, about home-schooling and charter schools, and when they complain about our public schools. Some groups benefit when Americans are poorly educated.” — NARTH Misinterprets the Science

[USA] “I keep wondering just how much the many different configurations of body, gender, presentation and behavior (words from the Trans 101: Terms and Concepts workshop yesterday) that fit under the big umbrella of “transgender” are asked to fit there because of the rigidity of the binary gender packages of “male” and “female”, “men” and “women.” As presenter Beth Harrison-Prado noted at the outset, “transgender” is above all a word — albeit freighted with meaning in our culture — and a word required by people’s growing recognition that gender in real life, rather than in the movies, magazines, and the conventional popular cultural imagination, is complex and immensely variable.” — Gender Complexity

[USA] From ABC News, “Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who bore a daughter four months ago, has become the public face of an issue for many other transgender people: having their roles as parents legally recognized. In an exclusive interview airing tonight on “20/20,” Beatie told Barbara Walters that he is pregnant with his second child … As the biological parent, Thomas Beatie has legally secure rights. His wife, on the other hand, is not biologically related to their baby but is granted parental rights by virtue of her marriage to Thomas Beatie. So if the validity of their marriage were challenged, experts say, Nancy Beatie’s parental rights could be in jeopardy. “There is litigation in other states over whether their marriage would be recognized,” said Nancy Polikoff, a law professor at American University in Washington, D.C. Polikoff envisioned a scenario in which the Beaties moved to a state that refuses to recognize Thomas Beatie’s legal sex change in Hawaii. If that happens, his marriage would be revoked as an illegal same-sex marriage and Nancy Beatie’s parental status could be questioned. That would be a nightmare for the Beaties. “Oh, I think we’re very worried,” Nancy Beatie said. “We’re both very worried.” Said Thomas Beatie: “If something were to happen to me, I want to make sure that Nancy has custody over her daughter” … In order to secure Nancy Beatie’s parental rights, lawyers advise the Beaties to do what many same-sex couples with children do — have Nancy Beatie, as the nonbiological parent, adopt their baby. “When there is a slight question whether the marriage will be upheld by a court if it’s challenged, the nonbiological parent will take the step of adopting the child, not because it’s always necessary but just to make absolutely sure that the parent-child relationship is legally protected,” Columbia’s Goldberg said. Polikoff of American University said, “Adoption will guarantee recognition in all states.” The Beaties agree that adoption would protect them, but they don’t want to do that as a matter of principle. They see themselves as a legally married heterosexual couple. They note that they file taxes jointly as husband and wife. “We shouldn’t have to adopt our own daughter,” Thomas Beatie said. The Beaties are seeking legal representation to pursue a change in the birth certificate. “I feel that it’s a flawed document,” he said. “We’d like to see this process remedied for the next child, for the next pregnant man.” — Pregnant Man, Other Transgender Parents Face Legal Questions

[USA] A related article, also from ABC News, “No longer living on the fringes of society, transgender families are quietly raising their children in towns and neighborhoods across the country. Take the case of Andey and Leaf Nunes, and their son Antonio. Even in San Francisco, where the two men live, their relationship raises eyebrows and the questions of, “What is a woman? What is a man?” “We’re a gay male couple that got to have a child the old-fashioned way,” said Andey, a transgender man. “I am Antonio’s biological mother on his birth certificate.”" — Transgender Couples: Changing the Face of Family

[UK] “An Audience with April Ashley takes place in the Small Concert Room at St George’s Hall tomorrow at 7.30pm. Miss Ashley was born in Liverpool in 1935 and lived in Norris Green for all of her childhood. In 1960 she was one of the first transsexual people to undergo gender confirmation surgery in Morocco. She went on to develop a successful career as a model, appearing in Vogue amongst other magazines. She was “outed” as a transsexual by the Sunday People in 1961 and her marriage and subsequent divorce removed the ability of trans people to acquire full legal status. This was not satisfactorily resolved until the passing of the Gender Recognition Act of 2004.” — Out and About

[UK] Where Julie Bindel is scheduled to be on December 5th. — Public Debate: A Feminist Perspective on the Transsexual Debate,

[India/Nepal] ““Sexual minorities should be treated as fairly as other citizens. If a member of our community breaks the law by all means book him but please don’t round up every hijra or transsexual you can find, the activists who support them and brutalise them,” said Manohar of Sangama. ”Also, please stop spreading false and outlandish stories about people being kidnapped and castrated just to sensationalise issues and create more fear and mistrust among the public,” he added appealing to the press and the authorities.” — Reality bites

[Australia] “So say we all.” — In Parliament Yesterday

Egads.

My flight today to cover the U.S. House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions scheduled hearing on discrimination against transgender employees in the workplace was a no-go. And wow, what a craptacular story goes with that failure to take flight!

To begin with, I had two different itineraries from Travelocity for this trip. The first one had me leaving today — but apparently Travelocity changed my travel day, and sent a second itinerary I thought was a duplicate of the first one. So basically, I was actually scheduled to travel on the 25th (tomorrow) per the second itinerary, vice today as I thought.

Good thing too, as I lost my wallet this morning!

Here’s this story — I went to my local 7/11′s ATM this morning at a quarter of four to get some cash (again, thought I was flying today) for tips and such. Following that stop I drove directly to a long term airport parking lot in plenty of time to make it for the 6:30 AM flight. I got in the shuttle bus with my two pieces of luggage, and off the driver and I went to the appropriate terminal.

When I was checking my handbag for a tip for the shuttle driver, I found I had no wallet in my handbag — my wallet wasn’t on the floor of the shuttle either. We drove back to the lot: My wallet wasn’t in my car, and it wasn’t under my car. I started freaking out.

I took my luggage out of the shuttle, loaded the pieces back in my car, and then drove back to the 7/11. There I found out my wallet wasn’t at the 7/11 where the ATM was located either. Now I was really freaking out, and actually tearing.

At 7:00 AM, the manager was going to be in, and then could check the surveillance tapes to see if anyone grabbed my wallet — assuming I left it accidentally by the ATM. I left the clerk my cell phone number to call me with what they discovered when they reviewed the surveillance tapes.

So, I drove the block-and-a-half back to my apartment and called up Travelocity to explain my travel problem. After talking to them on the phone for a half-an-hour, I found out about that second itinerary — at least no $150.00 fee for changing my flight for a later flight.

I started destressing. I called up all of my credit card and banking card holders, and cancelled all my plastic. Then I crashed on my living room couch for three hours.

I checked my cell phone messages when I woke up. After a surveillance tape at the 7/11 clearly showed that I’d placed my wallet into my handbag after getting the cash, I got confused. So, I drove back to the parking lot, — my wallet wasn’t under the car in the space I’d parked in this morning, but it was well under the car that was parked next to where I’d parked in the long term lot that morning — it was far enough under that other car that I had to lay on the ground to reach my wallet.

* Whew. * The morning sucked sucktasticly, but it could have been much, much worse. The only lasting frustration is I’m traveling now without plastic. However, my credit union has branches in DC if I turn out not to have traveled with enough cash on hand — but it means I have to go to a branch in person during bank hours if I need to withdraw cash.

But hey! Tomorrow, my friends, is a brand new day! Tomorrow, I fly!

~~~~~
Related:
* Permanent Guest Barista Autumn On The Road This Week

I have a “insider” friend that sends me emails of interesting stories a few times a week, and over the past few weeks I’ve only posted on a few of these. I’ve been recovering very slowly from the gastric bypass, and as an activist I’ve been working locally when I’ve been able to support the decline to sign campaign when I’ve been physically and emotionally up to it, so I haven’t had the energy to post diaries as much as I’d like.

My friend is an activist, and she and I are both pretty clear as to were our agendas intersect.

Over the past few days, she’s sent me two stories of note. The first story, which is the subject of this diary, is regarding a meeting that occurred this week while transgender activists were in DC for the National Center For Transgender Equality (NCTE) Lobby Day and senior staff members for Senator Hillary Clinton. Here’s my source’s report:

At the NCTE lobby day on April 15th in Washington DC, Melissa Sklarz, a member of the New York delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and a presumptive 2008 delegate, let a group of transgender New Yorkers to the office of Senator Hillary Clinton, where they met with the Senator’s Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to discuss issues affecting transgender and gender variant gay and straight Americans, including ENDA, the Employment Non Discrimination Act, which has not yet been introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy in the US Senate.

They reported a very positive session with Senator Clinton’s senior staff in which there was agreement in the hope that Senator Kennedy would not introduce a non inclusive ENDA, as it was bad strategy and bad timing. The NY transgender constituents in their meeting with the Senator’s senior staff were very much aware of the divisive actions and reactions that followed within the LGBT and progressive communities that occurred when in 2007 protections for transgender and gender variant gays and straight people were stripped from the House version of ENDA.

So, Sen. Clinton apparently isn’t in favor of introducing any version of ENDA that doesn’t include gender identity and expression in the Senate prior to the November election. I’ll take that as a good thing.

~~~~~
H/t: Babs

For Sunday …

#1 – Grammatically speaking, trans goes transitive: An excerpt from a book review today in the Boston Herald …

Tommy Kaczmarek, Glenn Feldman and Malvina Lathan are among the most prominent boxing judges in the world, and must have scored close to a thousand title fights between them. The book manages not only to get all three names wrong, but transgenders two of them.

#2 – In Baltimore, you can yo your own way …

Baltimore, a city that for years clung to the word “espantoon” to describe what the rest of the world calls a “nightstick,” has always gone its own way with the language. Now comes an innovation, out of the city’s middle schools, that offers a solution to one of the more annoying aspects of English.

That’s the pronoun you use when referring to someone else. It might be “he,” or it might be “she,” but if you don’t know, it gets complicated or cumbersome. Sometimes you’re stuck with that “he or she” business that saps the energy out of just about any sentence.

Enter “yo.” This is a word that’s perfectly familiar in the sense of “yes,” or “hey,” or sometimes “you.” It used to be an Army term, and then it was Rocky Balboa’s, and now it’s a staple of African-American slang.

But Elaine Stotko, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins, began hearing of kids here who say “yo” to indicate another person of whatever gender, and after pursuing survey work over two years has nailed that usage down. Now she has a paper in American Speech, the journal of the American Dialect Society.

Some examples: “Yo handin’ out papers.” “Yo threw a thumbtack at me.” “She ain’t really go with yo.”

A little further study showed her (showed yo – it can stand in for “her” and “him,” too) that this use of the word doesn’t show up in other cities; kids in Washington say “youngin’” in a general sense, but typically that’s reserved for boys.

Ms. Stotko thinks it’s a great invention: “Why are we always forcing people into categories? Our society needs to change and stop dividing people on gender.”

Her son is a transgender person, so there’s a personal interest in the question, but still, yo is on to something here. Yo is on to “yo.” And it just might catch on, hon.

One size fits all

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not celebrating. ENDA passed without real or perceived gender protections. It sends me the message that effeminate men, emasculate women, and transgender people like me are just too problematic for Democratic Congressional Leadership to stand up and fight for.

My own experience of being sexually harassed in the Navy for gender expression — behavior that was interpreted as gay behavior by my subordinate and my Executive Officer — tells me this passing of the “substitute ENDA” leaves too many people behind. I also strongly feel that passing this “substitute ENDA” sent the wrong message to our LGBT youth on who is valuable in the LGBT community, and who is not.

Mara Keisling of NCTE had this to say in an E-Blast sent out after ENDA passed on a 235-184 vote:

Today, The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3685 the substitute Employment Discrimination Act by a vote of 235-184.

The staff and board of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) are deeply disappointed by today’s action in the U.S. House of Representatives in forcing through a flawed, divisive civil rights bill that virtually no civil rights organization wants and that has virtually no chance to pass into law.

NCTE pledges to continue our efforts to educate Congress and the public around issues of both sexual orientation and gender identity.

We praise the efforts of so many who worked tirelessly to protect all LGBT people, including the members of Congress who stood strongly with LGBT people in asking for protections for all LGBT people. We also express deep gratitude to the more than 350 LGBT organizations who are part of the United ENDA coalition. Transgender people should be comforted in their disappointment today knowing that the preponderance of the LGBT movement has stood with us absolutely rock solidly.

United ENDA sent out this message:

United ENDA Responds to Today’s Vote; Remains Committed to Passage of Fully-Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Over the past 5 weeks, the more than 360 organizations that comprise United ENDA have affirmed with unwavering clarity that we are one community linked by our united support for civil rights protections for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

In a remarkable flurry of action from coast to coast, from small towns and major cities, the LGBT community has generated unprecedented contact with legislators and in the process has impacted future conversations and legislation.

While the passage in the House of Representatives today of this stripped down ENDA is deeply disappointing, we have seen a tremendous shift in the commitment of a growing number of legislators to only support an inclusive ENDA in the future when passage in the Senate and the signature of a new President make the enactment of comprehensive employment protections a possibility.

We remain frustrated and disappointed that an inferior bill was brought to the floor. The stripping away of gender identity not only abandons transgender people – the most vulnerable within the LGBT community – it ignores the reality that gender identity and expression are at the root of much anti-gay discrimination.

It is distressing that Representatives were put in the untenable position of either voting for a bill that is not supported by most of the community it’s supposed to protect, or voting against a bill extending rights based on sexual orientation alone. We look forward to working with those members who voted yes on ENDA today, but who support a fully inclusive bill, to make sure they have an opportunity to vote on a fully-inclusive bill the next time ENDA comes up for a vote.

Despite the action taken today in the House, the United ENDA coalition continues to expand, and we intend to harness the passion, grassroots activism and local, state and national organization leadership. Collectively, we are committed to working with Congress towards the ultimate goal of passing a fully-inclusive ENDA. We also are committed to working with all the organizations in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, as the LGBT community needs the support of the entire civil rights community to make certain a fully-inclusive bill is introduced in the next Congress.

I’m glad there are those in my community who see a rainbow after this storm.

But, tonight I’m not celebrating; I see hope for the future like United ENDA does, but tonight I just feel the storm.

~~~~~
In the next day or two I’ll have a “link farm” post up highlighting the commentaries by LGBT organizations, religious right organizations, and congresspeople.

I’m the rather “large faced woman” talking after my friend Christine talks. It was at an NCTE gathering at Southern Comfort, last September. (Christine let me know the video was up on YouTube / Donna Rose’s website.)

Well, what a relief! The conservative religious organizations National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) say that whether or not transgender inclusive language ends up in ENDA, I’ll be protected for being transgender anyway! Suuuuuuuuuuuuuper!

NARTH has posted a legal analysis of ENDA on their website that says Individuals With Gender Identity Issues Arguably Still Would Be Protected Under ENDA. Specifically:

Although the recently modified version of ENDA removes gender identity as a specific protected class, individuals with gender identity disorders arguably would still be protected.

ENDA, as modified, still defines “sexual orientation” as heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality and still prohibits discrimination based on an employee’s “actual or perceived” sexual orientation. Significantly, the inclusion of the concept of “perceived” is a far broader protection than that provided for African-Americans, women, and people of faith under the landmark civil rights legislation, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ENDA, as modified, would still, in effect, protect any status that may be perceived by an employer or co-workers to fall within the three included categories. There is no condition of sexual abnormality that may not be perceived to fall within one of these categories, including the following categories excluded by the ADA: pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism and sexual behavior disorders.

Accordingly, gender identity disorders, even though removed from the current proposed ENDA legislation as a specific protected class, also could be “perceived” to fall within one of the three categories. Without containing an explicit exclusion, like that contained in the ADA, persons with these conditions likely will have protection under ENDA, with the result being that ENDA would provide greater and broader protection than those with disabilities under the ADA.

And, the TVC said ENDA will protect she-males transgender people like me when it wrote this week:

Individuals with gender identity disorders still would receive protection under ENDA even though language explicitly including gender identity as a protected class has been removed from the proposed legislation.

- ENDA poses a serious threat to businesses. Even though H.R. 3685 has removed “gender identity,” it will still be a litigation nightmare for any employer who has 15 or more employees. Anyone with a bizarre sexual orientation can claim protection under this legislation. The workplace is not just an employee’s cubicle. Workplaces are public facilities frequented by children-restaurants, stores, theaters, theme parks, hospitals/Dr office etc.

- H.R. 3685 includes the terms “actual or perceived” in it. The term “perceived” provides homosexuals and transgenders far broader protection than for African-Americans, Hispanics, women, or people of faith under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Equating cross-dressers or she-males to legitimate minority groups is a slap in the face to all who fought in the Civil Rights Movement.

- In addition, the word “perceived” can be used by transgenders to claim protection under ENDA. This word also covers 30 different kinds of “sexual orientations” in ENDA. Any person who is a heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual under ENDA can also engage in a variety of sexual orientations and bizarre behaviors listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders (DSM).

- With respect to faith oriented religious institutions, it is unclear what constitutes “propagation of a religion.” ENDA will force Christian schools, universities, publishing companies, day care centers, independent nursing homes, advocacy groups, etc., not directly connected to a denomination, to kowtow to the demands of homosexual and transgender employees.

Geez. Three-hundred LGBT and progressive organizations have been battling for an inclusive, United ENDA for nothing! Why, if those gosh darn religious right organizations say that I’ll be covered without transgender inclusive language, then I should be absolutely assured that the federal courts will rule to protect transgender people with or without transgender inclusive language!

…right?

Seriously, it’s a result predicted by some legislative activists: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with Representatives George Miller and Barney Frank, telegraphed to the religious right organizations exactly what arguments can scare them and their congressional peers into not supporting ENDA. And now, religious right organizations are now beginning to focus more of their arguments straight at transgender inclusion in ENDA — whether or not transgender/perceived gender protections will end up specifically included in the final version of ENDA language.

Now, tell me again exactly how dumping “perceived gender” from ENDA was supposed to be a smart strategy?

~~~~~Upates at the bottom of the post~~~~~

Last night, Window Media reported that ENDA is in trouble over transgender inclusion.

Today (September 27, 2007), twelve LGBT groups spoke out in opposition to the idea of stripping transgender protections from ENDA; the groups aren’t silent in objecting to the idea of removing trans protections from ENDA.

Leaders of 12 LGBT rights groups issued a statement Thursday opposing any effort to remove transgender protections from the latest iteration of the 33-year drive to add gay men and lesbians to federal anti-discrimination law.

“If true, this decision was made without consultation with leaders of the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community,” the statement read.

Signatories included leaders of PFLAG, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Stonewall Democrats, Lambda Legal, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and the AFL-CIO’s Pride at Work, among other groups, as well as the National Center for Transgender Equality’s Mara Keisling.

Human Rights Campaign spokesman Brad Luna confirmed that House leaders were likely to consider a bill without trans protections.

“HRC is deeply disappointed and did not assent to this position,” Luna said.

Adamske said that putting a trans-inclusive bill on the floor for a vote could result in a bruising debate that would make it very difficult to revisit the bill.

“The one thing we don’t want to do is embolden the enemy,” he said of Republicans who might be looking to exploit the vote as a wedge issue.

From a joint statement (as quoted in 365Gay.com):

Our organizations oppose the removal of protections for transgender people from ENDA. We would also oppose any employment nondiscrimination bill that did not protect transgender people,” the joint statement said.

While we don’t doubt the sincerity of congressional leadership’s intent to take action and be helpful to the LGBT community, we cannot disagree more with this strategy. We will continue to work with LGBT-supportive members of Congress to urge their colleagues to immediately drop this strategy.

The Advocate reported:

Earlier in the day, shortly after reports of the change originally surfaced on the Washington Blade’s Web site, LGBT advocacy groups fired off statements of disapproval.

“If media reports from the last 24 hours are accurate, it is unconscionable that congressional leaders would rush to a decision to strip protections for transgender people at the same time as states across the nation are adding these protections at an unprecedented pace,” said Matthew Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Foreman called it “incredibly ironic” that the House is considering such a move on the same day that the Senate voted 60-39 to allow a voice vote on a trans-inclusive hate-crimes bill. The House has passed a hate-crimes bill twice that included gender identity.

The National Stonewall Democrats put out a statement echoing Foreman’s sentiments, adding, “We would oppose any bill that did not protect transgender people.” Eleven other organizations signed on to the statement: Empire State Pride Agenda; Equality Texas; Garden State Equality; the Mautner Project; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; National Stonewall Democrats, National Coalition for LGBT Health; National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; and the AFL-CIO’s Pride at Work.

Noticeably absent from the group that stated “We would oppose any bill that did not protect transgender people” is the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The HRC’s HRC Back Story page has no story up as yet on the possible removal of transgender protections from the ENDA bill being considered in the U.S. House.

Emphasizing this point, Chris Crain (former Executive Editor of Window Media), in a Citizen Crain blog entry entitled Is ENDA about to go trans-free?, stated:

Missing, of course, are our friends at the Human Rights Campaign, even though the HRC board voted during Cheryl Jacques’ tenure to take a similar “trans or bust” stance on ENDA.

Fortunately, Barney Frank and the House Democratic leadership are more realistic politically and hopefully HRC’s usual pragmatism will keep it on board, even if trans protections are removed. If HRC holds tough, no one will sing their praises higher than your’s truly, though to me the decision is a political, moral and civil rights no-brainer.

As a transwoman, I’m reminded of a Martin Luther King Jr. quote:

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

With regards to ENDA, I hope we hear exactly what the HRC will or won’t support very soon. The silence is deafening.

~~~~~

A transgender inclusive hate-crimes bill advanced in the Senate today (September 27, 2007) with 60, bipartisan votes. The HRC wasn’t silent on this: HRC Back Story has a story up on the transgender inclusive Matthew Sheppard/Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Protection Act vote in the Senate.

Joe Solmonese releases video celebrating first trans-inclusive federal legislation to pass Congress

For at least that, we can be proud of our Senate. Too bad this victory was soured by news from the House.

~~~~~

Further reading:
* Transadvocate: It’s Put Up Or Shut Up Time
* Bilerico Project / Matt Foreman: A non-transgender-inclusive ENDA? No way!
* Transgriot: Political Good News-Bad News
* Press release: Nine national LGBT advocacy organizations issue collective call forgender identity to remain in Employment Non-Discrimination Act

~~~~~Update~~~~~

I received an email update from Cecilia Chung this evening from her personal e-address (not her business eaddress):

Dear Friends:

We just got confirmation this afternoon that the leaders in the House of Representatives have indeed stripped gender identity from ENDA. There is still time though for you to join me and contact all the democrats in the House, especially the leadership:

Speaker Pelosi
California-8th, Democrat
235 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0508
Phone: (202) 225-4965

Barney Frank
Massachusetts-4th, Democrat
2252 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-2104
Phone: (202) 225-5931

George Miller
California-7th, Democrat
2205 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0507
Phone: (202) 225-2095

It is imperative that we demonstrate unity and urge the Speaker to put gender identity back in the bill.

She included links to three articles.  Here’s the jist of what’s going on from Rep. Barney Frank, as told by the Bay Area Reporter:

The federal trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act that has been a centerpiece of LGBT legislation for the Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights groups appeared headed for collapse in the House of Representatives Thursday, September 27 with a plan by gay Congressman Barney Frank to introduce two versions of the bill – one addressing sexual orientation and one addressing gender identity.

…Foreman said that according to what he was told, the gender identity bill would be “left on the table,” meaning it would not be passed now.

There was no answer in Frank’s Capitol office late Thursday afternoon. A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

A message left for HRC was not immediately returned.

Asked if the recent developments were a surprise, Foreman said, “Yes, we were caught off guard by this.”

…Frank told the [the Washington Blade] that “the notion that we should let the whole bill die if we can’t pass [a] transgender [provision] is a terrible idea. It’s exactly the opposite of what the civil rights movement always did.”

The other two articles were linked to in my original post: the 365Gay.com article, and The Advocate article.

~~~~~Update 2~~~~~

TheSan Francisco Chronicle is reporting this morning House cuts transgender people from hate crimes bill:

Even as the Senate passed a hate crimes bill sought for a decade by gays and lesbians, House Democratic leaders decided Thursday to strip transgender people from another long-languishing civil rights bill, generating dismay in the gay community and furious but fruitless lobbying for more time.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Reps. George Miller, D-Martinez, Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., believe they lack the votes in the Democrat-controlled House to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if it includes gender identity along with sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for firing an employee.

Frank and Baldwin are the only openly gay members of Congress.

“People now accept the fact that we just don’t have the votes for the transgender,” Frank said.

Nervous Democrats had been hearing about Republican amendments to the employment bill, Frank said, “that would talk about schoolteachers, and what happens when the kid comes back from summer vacation and teachers change gender. We just lost enough Democrats and we couldn’t be sure of the Republicans.”

…Some gay activists said Democratic leaders were worried that including transgender people in the employment discrimination bill would expose conservative House Democrats to a tough vote.

Frank dismissed that charge as “stupid.”

“They had no idea what they were talking about,” Frank said. “We put them to a vote on transgender hate crimes. We’re going to put them to a vote on sexual orientation. The problem wasn’t that we were afraid of it. We just didn’t have the votes.”

To those who argue Frank and other Democrats were caving in by dropping transgender people from the employment discrimination bill, he said, “Have they been living in Sweden and thinking they were in America for the last 20 years? We’re going to go ahead with sexual orientation for the first time in American history. Why would timid people be pushing people to do that?“

Thursday edition …

#1 – Barbara Santiago Solla is running for a office …

A Puerto Rican transsexual said yesterday her candidacy for a seat in a municipal assembly is a sign the island territory has become more tolerant.

Barbara Santiago Solla was chosen by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party to be included among a slate of municipal assembly candidates in the city of Carolina.

“I don’t think discrimination will be a factor. I think this is something Puerto Rico wanted, to take a step forward,” said Santiago, 59.

She said she had surgery to become a woman 35 years ago in New York and legally changed her gender in her public records in her native Puerto Rico.

Sex-switch candidate named to ballot list

#2 – What’s up with bathrooms and gender identity and expression in Gainesville, Florida …

The issue of gender-neutral bathrooms has been gaining attention across the nation and is now growing in the South as well, said Bob Karp, who is on the board of directors for the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida.

…

Karp said unisex bathrooms could allow transgender individuals to feel safe from harassment, but Gainesville does not require public facilities to install these restrooms.

…

Gainesville is considered a tolerant place to live, but the law does not protect gender identity and expression, said Karp, who is gay.

He said if Gainesville does not give transgender individuals full rights, then “all you can do is cross your fingers and hope nothing bad happens.”

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, UF provides separate, unisex stalls on campus where people can enjoy more solitude, said Nora Spencer, the director of the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs.

She said she thinks UF is working hard to become more progressive and safe, but she would like to see gender identity and expression included under its nondiscrimination clause.

In the spring semester, 68 percent of students voted to add gender expression and identity to the Student Government’s nondiscrimination clause, said Student Body Vice President Vanessa Goodwin.

Karp said the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida is hopeful there will be some movement in the next couple of months to include gender identity and expression in Gainesville’s nondiscrimination code.

More unisex bathrooms would be a step in the right direction.

…

Bathrooms between genders

#3 – Priscilla might be headed to Broadway …

The New York Post’s Michael Riedel reports that the hit Australian musical adaptation of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert may trail feathers to Broadway or the West End.

Citing the high commercial possibilities of the show, Riedel writes: “Australian producers have begun laying the groundwork for London and Broadway …

Last fall, the musical version of “Priscilla” – directed by Simon Phillips – opened in a $6.5 million production in Sydney. The musical is based on Stephen Elliott’s 1994 film–in which two drag queens and a transsexual man hop aboard the bus of the title perform a cabaret show in the middle of the Australian outback.

…

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Musical Headed for Bway?

#4 – A story about an intersex baby born in India, where — as the article points out — “no one knows how many such babies are born because of the secrecy shrouding such cases” …

Hundreds are flocking to a house in Orissa’s Balasore district to glimpse and even worship a baby born with both male and female genitalia, being described as an incarnation of Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati.

The baby, now five-and-a-half months old, was born to Baijayanti Singh in Ayodhya Nagar Patana village in Balasore district, around 200 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

‘When the child was born (Feb 11) we thought it is a boy. But two days later we found that it had both male and female sex organs,’ she said.

‘We feel the baby is part of both Shiva and Parvati as it was born just four days before Maha Shivratri,’ added Guru Gobinda Singh, the child’s father.

Baijayanti had a normal delivery and the baby is healthy.

Describing the phenomenon, senior gynaecologist S.N. Sahu told IANS: ‘It is called an intersex (congenital anomaly of the reproductive and sexual system) baby and such incidents may happen.’

Though such a condition does not lead to ill health or cause physical pain, it is a serious health issue that needs to be treated medically, he said.

‘Surgically correcting the appearance of intersex genitals will not change the underlying medical needs,’ Sahu said.

The couple has a son and was expecting a daughter this time.

After news of the newborn spread in the locality, hundreds started flocking to their house to see it and offer prayers to the baby.

‘We have never seen such a baby before, not even heard of one,’ said Bishnu Prasad Mohapatra, a resident of nearby Remuna village.

‘We heard that Shiva-Parvati have arrived in this village, so we came here to offer prayers to the baby,’ added Katimani Singh, a local resident.

Meanwhile, doctors in the district headquarter hospital say the baby needs proper medical examination.

‘We have to verify whether the baby has testis or uterus and ovary and which organ is fully operational. It can be a normal baby after its inactive sex organ is removed,’ Sahu said.

‘I will discuss about the baby with the chief district medical officer. If possible we will carry out medical tests and keep the baby under observation,’ he said.

Social activists working in the health sector say no one knows how many such babies are born because of the secrecy shrouding such cases.

‘It is estimated that about one in 2,000 children, or five children per day, are born in the United States as visibly intersex. This figure is yet to be calculated in India,’ according to Dilip Kumar Parida, secretary of a local non government organisation.

Unusual baby draws crowds, worshipped as divine

#5 – This week’s Metro Weekly features an in-depth interview with Simon Aronoff of the National Center for Transgender Equality …

Simon Aronoff remembers being a child who would go to sleep with an expectation of waking up in a boy’s body, rather than the female one he had. As for the name, Jill, that could be changed a bit more easily. While the physical transformation didn’t took place, Aronff says he always had that identity that leaned toward the male end of the spectrum, even if he didn’t quite know what it meant. So, despite coming out as a lesbian at 15, Aronoff still felt more like a big brother than big sister to his younger sibling, Daniel.

”I taught him how to shave his face and we’ve always played in the dirt and things like that,” says Aronoff. ”I stopped picking on Daniel when he got bigger than me. I’m definitely his little big brother. He’s almost 6 feet tall.”

Though the older Aronoff brother may ring in a couple inches shorter than most men his age, he’s a giant when it comes to advancing transgender equality and other progressive issues.

You can read the rest of “Simon Says” here.

Per the Associate Press, N.J. officially becomes 9th state to ban transgender discrimination tomorrow — oddly enough on Father’s Day:

Starting Sunday, New Jersey joins eight other states in making it illegal for employers and landlords to discriminate against transgendered people.

The law, which sailed through the Legislature in December, has received little attention in a state that’s gaining a reputation for being welcoming to lesbian, gay and transgendered people. Earlier this year, New Jersey began allowing same-sex couples to unite in civil unions.

Advocates hope the new law will lead to more acceptance and awareness of people who are born one gender but live as the opposite gender. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality in Washington, said she expects more states to follow, including a handful in 2007 and 2008.

“It’s really simply a reaction to there being more (transgender) people who are out,” Keisling said. “As more people transition, it becomes safer to transition.”

The law makes it illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant because of his or her gender status, and companies cannot refuse to hire people because they are transsexual, cross-dressers, asexual, of ambiguous gender or simply not traditionally feminine or masculine. The law also bans discrimination in credit, business contracts and public accommodations such as stores or restaurants.

Labor law posters at work places notifying workers of their rights will include the transgender protection. Violators could be subject to up to 90 days in jail or fines up to $500.

The first such state law was adopted in Minnesota in 1993. Rhode Island, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Maine, Hawaii, Washington and the District of Columbia have adopted similar measures.

By January, laws also will be in effect in Iowa, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.

So that would be in January, per the Associated Press, states 10, 11, 12, and 13. Keeeeeeeeeewl. 

—————Update—————
There’s a another article on the subject in the Ashbury Park Press entitled Gender identity added to state’s anti-bias law with interviews of Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss and Barbara Casbar Siperstein.

Susan Ashley Stanton has introduced herself with a photo shoot with the St. Petersburg Times.

On Central Florida News 13 it was reported:

The former Steve Stanton was let go back in March after 14 years on the job.

Now, Susan Stanton says she’ll be in Washington this week to lobby for transgender rights.

Stanton now wears women’s clothing all the time, and says she found a new problem with her big change – shopping.

“I was in Saks Fifth Avenue, [and] found a really nice top,” Stanton said. “This is great. This is perfect. I picked it up and it was 650 bucks. I could see $625 but $650!”

Stanton says she wanted her first pictures as a woman to be in a controlled environment.

When she returns from Washington, Stanton will concentrate on trying to become Sarasota’s next city manager.

Snarkily, let me say I don’t care how much her suit and top cost. (Hee-hee!) Seriously, let me say I believe she’s going to be a great voice for the transgender community.

——
H/t: Shakesville.

———Update———
Related information:
- Decision Day In Sarasota
- Susan Stanton Doesn’t Get The Sarasota Job
- Steve Stanton
- Susan Stanton