Sometimes I get that “It’s about me.’ Not even because something really is about me, but because folk want to make it about me.

Over at the blog Gender Reality; It’s not about the clothes they have a post entitled Stop both engines…. It apparently is an ad hominem post by one of the bloggers at that blogsite — just a bit earlier in the week, another blogger at the blogsite posted another ad hominem piece entitled Autumn Sandeen – you’re a dick.

Well anywho, the Stop both engines… post is about me wearing a military uniform consistent with my gender identity. The photos on the site are three years old, but only now is when the writer of that post is objecting to my wearing of female U.S. Navy uniform.

And here’s part of the writer’s argument against me wearing a uniform consistent with my female gender identity:

We’re having a bit of a dilemma here, and for a change, it is all about the clothes. You see, some people have suggested that Sandeen is treating the female naval uniform as a costume. Others are not so charitable.

The thing is, when you look at the pictures of Sandeen, you might get the impression that she served in, and retired from the US Navy as a female.

Nope.

She never wore the female uniform. She bought it after she retired from a navy that would have kicked her out for being transsexual. It get’s worse, as she deliberately wore the very same uniform when she chained herself to the White House fence, knowing full well that she would be arrested and processed as a transsexual.

…Be proud of your service – that’s fine and admirable, but quit wearing that uniform as a costume – Autumn Sandeen never wore a female uniform while serving…

In the comment thread, the blog author of the piece responded to commenter in the comment thread who wrote “The military does not recognize her as female. Neither does the State of California. She’s playing dress up.” by writing:

To be fair to Sandeen, if she managed to get her birth certificate changed we’ll apologize to her for the error. If…

The responses are personal, even though I have no idea who the blog author or the thread commenter are.

A retired, U.S. Navy Chief wrote a comment though that I thought needed a response. First, the Chief’s comment:

Common sense and dignity govern when and where a military retiree can wear a uniform. For formal occasions, retirees and veterans can wear the current uniform or the last one worn on active duty. A local commander can authorize the wearing of other uniforms. Wearing a uniform is forbidden for business or personal gain or while participating in an event that may cast the military in an unfavorable light.

Regardless of her motives, Sandeen violated 10 USC CHAPTER 45 by wearing that costume. That was not brave, it was grandstanding to draw attention to herself, gather more fame and a lame attempt to increase her ‘credibility’ as a trans crusader. The only reason that she was not remanded by federal authorities was that they had the common sense not to provide her with a free venue and the attendant publicity where she could whine and cry about being persecuted for being transgender, as opposed to be hauled up on the carpet for breaking the law and code of uniform justice.

And here’s how I responded to the chief:

The actual violation I engaged in by wearing a Navy uniform to protest against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is found in the U.S. Navy’s Uniform Regulations, specifically found in Chapter 6, Section 10. The relevant paragraph in the section states:

“Retired personnel are prohibited from wearing the uniform in connection with personal enterprises, business activities, or while attending or participating in any demonstration, assembly or activity for the purpose of furthering personal or partisan views on political, social, economic, or religious issues.”

The violation of that regulation made my two 2010 protests Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) offenses — specifically Article 92 offenses for which I could have been court martialed. The maximum punishment for an Article 92 offense includes 2-years confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

It would have taken a lot of effort on the U.S. Navy’s part to reactivate me, charge me under Article 92, and then prosecute me for what many perceive to be a relatively minor offence. However, if the U.S. Navy had decided to take that tact back in 2010, and I’d have been found guilty of one or more Article 92 offences at court martial, then there was a possibility that I could’ve lost my retirement pay and benefits under the Hiss Act. The Hiss act is codified under 5 USC Chapter 83, Subchapter II – FORFEITURE OF ANNUITIES AND RETIRED PAY, and loss of retirement pay and benefits for the on if the offence of wearing a uniform to protest against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would have depended on whether the offense rose to the level outlined in § 8312 – Conviction of certain offenses. Frankly, I’m not an attorney — I’m just not sure.

When I chose to join with GetEqual to protest Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) with a number of uniformed lesbian and gay veterans, I had two reasons for protesting. The first is that DADT was wrong and needed to be challenged. Secondly, I wanted to send a message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) community members that for me, if an issue is an issue for even one subcommunity of the LGBT community, then it’s my issue — my hope was, and still is, that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people would in turn work on trans issues with the same intensity that I worked on a purely LGB issue.

My broader point was, and still is, that civil rights aren’t about you or about me, or about yours or my demographics. Instead, civil rights are about us — all of us. Civil rights are human rights, and we’re at our human best when we embrace fighting for the ordinary equality of all of us. I believe we haven’t started living until we can rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Martin Luther King Jr. stated that “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” Paraphrasing that thought, I broke a regulation to protest a law that my conscience told me was unjust, and I willingly accepted the punishment I did receive, and the potential punishments I knew I could receive. I took the action I did because I wanted to arouse the conscience of the President, Congress, and broader society over its injustice towards LGBT community members, and I protested in uniform with very much the highest respect for the military in which I’d served 20-years.

I certainly respect the Chief’s viewpoint on protesting in uniform. However, my lesbian, gay, and bisexual siblings in LGBT community can now serve openly in the U.S.’s five military services — that makes the very small part I played in DADT’s repeal worth it. Basically, I’d do what I did again — even if I knew ahead of time I’d definitely have the character of my discharge downgraded and lose my pension for protesting in uniform.

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. In whatever way one wants to define me as being nonconforming, I’ll take it if it means furthering the cause of ordinary equality.

I’m not likely going to ever convince people who believe I’m a narcissist that I’m not — it likely doesn’t matter to those folks that I’ve both a psychiatrist and a psychologist (who treat me for my actual bipolar type II/cyclothymia condition) who would disagree with them on the narcissism diagnosis. Or, that I’ve worked on issues regarding ordinary equality for LGBT people because I care about those who suffer in broader LGBT community, and especially those who suffer in the population of transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people — I’m sure as hell not a part of the struggle ordinary equality for any personal fame. From experience I can say that there are big personal downsides to being well known in and out of trans community, and though I advocate being out and proud as trans, the negatives of being “famously” out and proud as trans far outweigh any personal benefit to being well known as trans.

But a trans blogger at a pro-transsexual/anti-transgender blog writing about my photos in uniform that are now more than three years old, and writing about my taking to White House fence in protest to DADT over two years after I first took to the fence — wow. For that trans blogger, it really is seemingly all about Autumn…the Autumn that she apparently hates in large part because I identify with the term transgender.

It’s been a bit of a while since we heard any news on Jan Hamilton.  Hamilton, whose doings frequently appeared on this blog when I was posting on a regular basis, is famous for being tagged Britain’s “sex-swap paratrooper” and for her lawsuit against the Ministry of Defence.  Today, the Daily Mail is reporting that Hamilton, who is now calling herself Abigail Austin, will become Scotland’s first trans police officer …

A paratrooper who underwent a sex-change operation has been accepted by the police as a trainee woman constable.

Jan Hamilton, formerly Captain Ian Hamilton, quit the Army in 2007 after 20 years’ decorated service and embarked on a full gender reassignment programme.

Now living in Glasgow, she has been accepted by Strathclyde Police to begin two years’ probationary training, making her Scotland’s first transgender police officer.

A source said that Miss Hamilton, 44, had ‘sailed through’ the initial six-month selection process: ‘Jan Hamilton scored highly in the written tests and had no problem with the fitness tests.

‘She completed the mile-and-a-half run in about 11 minutes, even though women are allowed to take up to 16.’

The source added that senior officers had given their full backing to her application.

The fact that Miss Hamilton was born a man will have no bearing on the way that she is expected to operate because she is legally recognised as a woman.

For example, she will only be able to search other women, in line with police guidelines.

She will also wear the uniform of a Strathclyde Police woman constable, including the reinforced bowler hat.

It is understood that Miss Hamilton will be working in Maryhill, one of Glasgow’s most dangerous areas and the setting for gritty television detective programme Taggart.

Over the next two years Miss Hamilton, who will earn the standard starting salary of £21,000, will study and train at Strathclyde Police’s Training and Recruitment Centre at Jackton, East Kilbride, and at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, Fife, as well as working as a beat officer in Glasgow.

In 2007 Miss Hamilton, as Britain’s first transsexual paratrooper, took the Army to an industrial tribunal on grounds of sex discrimination for its refusal to acknowledge her legally enforced female status.

She won her case and later received a written apology. Since then she has undergone a remarkable physical transformation.

As Captain Ian Hamilton she weighed 16 stone, boasted of having 14in biceps and was deployed on long-term engagements with the elite Parachute Regiment in Kenya, Oman, Kuwait, Cyprus, Germany and Bosnia.

As Jan Hamilton she still stands at a manly 6ft but says she is five stone lighter, has a feminine figure thanks to hormone therapy, and says she is a size 12.

Miss Hamilton is not the first transgender police officer in the UK. In 2001 North Yorkshire Police said that, after 26 years in the force, Sergeant Chris Lamb had decided to live as a woman and would henceforth be known as Sergeant Nicola Lamb.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: ‘We cannot confirm or deny any information that constitutes personal information. The Force actively promotes itself as an employer to all sections of the public.’

Sex change Army hero Jan to become Scotland’s first ‘transgender’ police officer

You know, those of you in Gainesville, Florida or Montgomery County, Maryland or elsewhere, you lost.  Here’s a new crusade (remember $4 gasoline?) you can embark on (leave, go, and just let transgender people pee in peace) …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Before her wedding last year, Huda Batterjee went abroad to buy her bridal lingerie — she just couldn’t bear the humiliation of discussing her most intimate apparel with a man.

She had little choice: there are almost no saleswomen in Saudi Arabia.

Now a group of Saudi women — sick of having to deal with male sales staff when buying bras or panties, not to mention frilly negligees or thongs — have launched a campaign this week to boycott lingerie stores until they employ women.

It’s an irony of the kingdom’s strict segregation of the sexes. Only men are employed as sales staff to keep women from having to deal with male customers or work around men.

But in lingerie stores, that means men are talking to women about bras or thongs, looking them up and down to determine their cup sizes, even rubbing the underwear to show how stains can be washed out.

The result is mortifying for everyone involved — shoppers, salesmen, even the male relatives who accompany the women.

“When I buy underwear in Saudi, some salesmen say, ‘This is not the right size for you,’” said Batterjee. “You feel almost taken advantage of. Why is he looking at me in this way?”

So for her wedding trousseau, the 26-year-old went to neighboring Dubai to shop. She now lives in Virginia with her husband.

Heba al-Akki, a businesswoman who supports the boycott, said when she shops for underwear, “I go to a store, pick this, this and that and leave quickly. It’s as if I’m buying illegal stuff.”

It’s not easy on the salesmen either.

At one lingerie boutique in a Riyadh mall Wednesday, salesmen blushed when asked about their jobs. All said they back the campaign to hire female sales staff.

“Even in such open regions as the U.S. and Europe, men do not sell underwear to women,” said store manager Husam al-Mutayim, a 27-year-old Egyptian. “I don’t let any of my female relatives buy underwear from men. It’s just too embarrassing.”

Mannequins — headless in keeping with a ban on realistic depictions of women — were displayed in the shop window dressed in modest pajamas. Inside, racks held an array of colorful bras, lacy panties and sexy nighties — along with more day-to-day undergarments.

Under Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, women are required to cover themselves head-to-toe in black robes in public. But in the privacy of their own homes — and bedrooms — they can wear whatever they want, and sexy undergarments are popular.

But buying them is another story. Fitting rooms are banned in the kingdom — the idea of a woman undressing in a public place with men just outside is unthinkable. So a woman is never sure she has chosen the right size until she gets it home.

“I have bras with sizes ranging from 32 to 38 because I can’t get to try them on,” said Modie Batterjee, Huda’s sister and one of the boycott organizers.

Even male relatives get dragged into the embarrassment. Women are allowed to shop without a male relative, but husbands or brothers sometimes insist on coming along — or the women want them there — to ensure salesmen stay respectful.

Modie Batterjee recalls how her husband fled a lingerie store because he could not bear to hear her explain to a salesman that she wanted high-waisted underwear to hold in her tummy after their daughter’s birth.

The boycott was launched on Tuesday by about 50 women who gathered in the Red Sea port of Jiddah at the Al-Bidaya Breast-feeding Resource and Women’s Awareness Center, which is run by Modie Batterjee.

The aim is to push for implementation of a law that has been on the books since 2006 which says only female staff can be employed in women’s apparel stores.

The law has never been put into effect, partly due to hard-liners in the religious establishment who oppose employing women in mixed environments like malls, where religious police are always on the lookout to keep men and women from interacting.

Hiring women would also deprive men of jobs in a country where more than 10 percent of men are unemployed.

“We are raising awareness and calling for the implementation of the law,” said Reem Asaad, a finance lecturer at Dar al-Hikma Women’s College in Jiddah, who supports the boycott.

The campaign calls on women to shop at the country’s few women-only lingerie stores. Usually stand-alone boutiques or located in malls that have women-only sections, these shops have no windows to ensure passing men cannot look in — and giving women the freedom to actually try things on.

How much impact the boycott call will have is unclear. Almost 1,700 people signed an online petition posted by Asaad on the social networking Web site Facebook. A few Saudi papers have written about it, but the campaign depends mostly on word of mouth.

Not all women support the idea. At the Riyadh lingerie shop on Wednesday, one woman — only her eyes visible through the black veil covering her face — said she is suspicious of women-only lingerie shops.

“Bad things happen there,” she said.

What might that be?

Women can sneak a picture of you changing with their mobile phones, she replied and refused to give her name.

Saudi woman launch lingerie shop boycott

Autumn and I received this e-mail from Melissa, commenting on one of our posts (I believe this is the one) back in September 2007.  With Melissa’s permission, I wanted to pass along what changes she has seen occur since then …

Hi Autumn and Stephanie,

It was a pleasure to find your blog at transadvocate.com and I’d like to write in and say hi.

Also, I should provide an update for an article that you wrote in September 2007 that mentioned the legal situation of transpeople in Australia.

At the time, the Howard government had done everything it could to make our lives difficult and uncomfortable.

This included:

* Changing a policy allowing pre-ops to get passports in their new gender when they travel overseas for surgery.

* Trying to overturn a decision of the Australian Family Court allowing transsexuals to marry in their new gender (fortunately, they were unsuccessful)

* Refusing to recognise the gender of transsexuals who were married in their old gender.

* Planning legislation that would prohibit us from marrying anyone in either gender.

* Allowing religious institutions to discriminate against us (for example, granting exemptions to anti discrimination laws for homeless shelters so they could refuse to admit transpeople).

* Removing pre-operative hormone therapy from the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.

However, we have since had a change of government and the new Labor government is far more trans-friendly and has reversed most of the above.  One Labor senator actually is married to an FTM and she has helped a lot.

The passport issue has been reversed, and divorce is no longer a condition for gender recognition.

Unfortunately, we still have not been allowed pre-surgery passport changes, and the change to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme has not been reversed yet, but I would expect both problems to be solved within the next 2-3 years.

I should also point out that we have a very pro-trans environment generally.

* Australia’s two largest states (Victoria and New South Wales) both have strong anti-discrimination legislation protecting transgender people in employment, education, and housing. This legislation is effectively enforced, and was upheld even during the time of the Howard Government.

* We formally recognise sex change under Federal law and under the law of each Australian State. All but two of our states will accept partial surgery (e.g. Orchidectomy) as sufficient for recognition and there is a strong move underway to remove the surgery requirement altogether. If successful, this will make Australia the first place in the world (to my knowledge) to recognise pre-ops under law.

* In many places and in many industries, transition is view positively and many people have transitioned on the job without any opposition or difficulties (myself included)

* Australia has national social security which provides enough money (although barely) for someone who is unemployed to have where to live and what to eat. This significantly improves the prospects of transgender youth when they have to leave home.

* Sydney has a full-time gender centre with counselling, support, employment training, and even assistance with accomodation. Importantly, this is run by trans people and not by the medical establishment or other third parties.

* In Melbourne, while we do not have a formal full time gender centre (yet, one is being set up) but there is a strong informal network of “successful” trans people who provide the time and money to help other people going through the process.

Importantly, laws do not tell you about what is happening in society.

In Melbourne and Sydney, it is possible to be openly transsexual and accepted by most people in mainstream circles – especially if you are friendly and have good social skills.

Based on my experience, the experiences of my friends in Australia, and of other friends in Thailand, Israel, and the USA, Australia is definitely the best of these places to be transgendered in…

Anyone thinking of visiting (or relocating to) Australia is welcome to contact me for more information about where is the best place to go…

Regards,

Melissa

Well, not exactly, but I can’t help but believe that one of “the usual suspects” will put some of that spin on this news story …

COEUR D’ALENE – Police in the Lake City are investigating a reported rape on North Idaho College’s campus involving a cross-dressing man who attacked a student in a bathroom.

Coeur d’Alene police are not commenting on their investigation at this point only to say they do not feel students are not in danger because the victim said she knew her attacker.

NIC student Janea Kelso heard about the alleged rape from a friend who got an emergency alert on her phone.

“It’s scary considering this is a small school,” Kelso said.

The text message said a man dressed as a woman was hiding in the first floor bathroom of the Meyer Health and Science Building and raped a woman last Friday. Kelso says teachers warned female students to be careful.

“They just said be careful when leaving class go in buddy system,” she said.

The victim told police she knows the rapist, who is described as being white with brown hair and is clean shaven. The attacker is 48-years-old and is not an NIC student. Police are not releasing the man’s name and no one has been arrested

NIC administrators notified students of the attack and said security officers are watching for suspicious people but they are not adding additional patrols.

“We have no indication since this was according to police someone known to her, we don’t believe nor does our security or police that is someone looking for targets at this time but still urging everyone to be vigilant,” NIC vice president John Martin said.

Police have declined comment on the case but did say that a rapist is not roaming the streets.

Students on guard after alleged rape at NIC

As I think about race and racism during the week of President-elect Obama’s Inauguration and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I’m stuck that Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has released a report entitled Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation’s Schools. The report looks at student experiences at intersections of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

As many of us already suspected was true, ethnic minorities who also indentify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender experienced increased discrimination and safety issues. Key findings from the report, as reported in the media release for the report:

• Across all groups, sexual orientation and gender expression were the most common reasons LGBT students of color reported feeling unsafe in school. More than four out of five students, within each racial/ethnic group, reported verbal harassment in school because of sexual orientation and about two-thirds because of gender expression. At least a third of each group reported physical violence in school because of sexual orientation.

• More than half of African American/Black, Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander, and multiracial students also reported verbal harassment in school based on their race or ethnicity. Native American students (43%) were less likely than other students to report experiencing racially motivated verbal harassment.

• About a quarter of African American/Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students had missed class or days of school in the past month because they felt unsafe. Latino/a, Native American, and multiracial students were even more likely to be absent for safety reasons – about a third or more skipped class at least once or missed at least one day of school in the past month for safety reasons.

• Native American students experienced particularly high levels of victimization because of their religion, with more than half reporting the highest levels of verbal harassment (54%), and a quarter experiencing physical violence (26%).

• Less than half of students of color who had been harassed or assaulted in school in the past year said that they ever reported the incident to school staff. Furthermore, for those students who did report incidents to school staff, less than half believed that staff’s resulting response was effective.

• Native American (57%) and multiracial (50%) students were more likely than other students of color in our survey to report incidents to a family member.

• Performance at school also suffered when students experienced high levels of victimization. Students’ overall GPA dropped when they reported high severities of harassment based on sexual orientation and/or race/ethnicity. Students experiencing high severities of harassment also reported missing school more often.

• The report also looks at differing experiences based on the racial/ethnic make-up of students’ schools. For all groups, LGBT students of color who were minorities in their school were much more likely to feel unsafe and experience harassment because of their race or ethnicity than those who were in the racial/ethnic majority.

The media release spoke to why they released the report now:

GLSEN is releasing the report in conjunction with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Organizing Weekend, which takes place January 16-19. Dr. MLK Jr. Organizing Weekend provides an opportunity for students and Gay-Straight Alliances to honor the coalition-building work of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders, such as Bayard Rustin, by reaching out to others committed to working toward safe schools for all students.

For those youth who want to be activists for civil rights in their schools, Bayard Rustin has a poignant quote on the protesting, dignity, and humanity:

When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.

[Below the fold: Looking at the demographics of this report - especially the trans-related demographics.]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Los Angeles Times has a recent piece out (December 29, 2008) on how the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, entitled DSM psychiatry manual’s secrecy criticized. The subheader for the piece is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is being revised under a cloak of confidentiality. Critics say the process needs to be open, and cite potential conflicts of interest. From the article:

An update is underway for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known as the DSM, which defines the emotional problems for which doctors prescribe drugs and insurance companies pay the treatment bills. Psychiatrists working on the new edition were required to sign a strict confidentiality agreement.

Critics contend that the American Psychiatric Assn. should allow outside observers to review the scientific debate behind new and revised diagnoses.

Among the most prominent to speak out is the editor of the manual’s third edition, Dr. Robert Spitzer, hailed by peers as the most influential psychiatrist of his generation. If the DSM is often called the profession’s bible, then the DSM-III is the King James Version. Released in 1980, it set the standard by which others are measured.

Recently, Spitzer broke ranks by publishing an open letter to the profession protesting the confidentiality mandate.

A copy of Dr. Spitzer’s open letter is here. Here’s an excerpt from the letter:

[Below the fold, the Spitzer Letter and possible transgender/transsexual related issues behind the lack of transparency.]

Read the rest of this entry »

From GolfMagic.com‘s Long drive champ had a sex change:

TV golf-watchers in the US sat aghast over Christmas when it was revealed that the winner of the RE/MAX world long driving championship for women – shown on the ESPN network – was a former male policeman who used to play off a plus one handicap.

The new women’s world champion is 55-year-old bartender Lana Lawless from Palm Springs, California whose longest drive into a 40 mph headwind at the Mesquite event travelled 254 yards to beat reigning champion Phillis Meti (21) from New Zealand by four yards.

The rules governing transgender golf competition allow for those like Ms Lawless, who have received a ‘sex-change’ operation to take part in such events as long as they provide mandatory doctor reports, lab results within normal female limits and onsite testing…

Let’s be clear: Lawless didn’t beat previous winner Phillis Meti by much at all.

Having lost a significant amount of upper body strength myself in the last six years, I know on a personal level that after a short period of time, having a male history provides one no athletic advantage. Most male-to-female transsexuals loseWeight Exercise a significant amount of muscle mass as a result of blocking or removing the testosterone from their natal testicles, and actually over the period of just two years after genital reconstruction surgery, male-to-female transsexuals have no competitive advantage over natal women.

However, it’s always going to be said in any competition in which male-to-female transsexuals compete that they have a competitive advantage due to their male history — their male genetics. It doesn’t need to be true to be repeated over and over again.

News and views for Wednesday, December 24th through Friday, December 26th …

[TN, USA] “Making it the fourth hate based shooting in three years, another Memphis transgender woman has been shot and is in a Memphis hospital in critical condition … My Eyewitness News reports that [the victim, Leeneshia] Edwards, is in critical condition at “The Med”.  Nicole Holliwell, her cousin,  told My Eyewitness News that  Edwards was shot in the jaw, side and back and is undergoing multiple surgeries.” — Memphis transgender woman shot

[USA] “The Bush administration issued a “right of conscience” regulation last week that could enable health care workers to deny treatment to gay patients based on religious beliefs, according to activists. Issued Dec. 18, the rule allows the federal government to withhold funds from health care facilities if they do not permit workers to opt out of performing medical procedures they find objectionable based on religious or moral grounds … In a Dec. 19 statement, HRC said a health care worker might be able to refuse to administer an HIV test to gay patients and even be exempt from telling them where else they could receive the test. Additionally, pharmacists could refuse to fill a prescription for hormone therapy if they have objections to transgender people, HRC says … The regulation goes into effect around the time President-elect Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20. Cristina Finch, senior legal counsel for HRC [Human Rights Campaign], said Obama could issue another rule to rescind President Bush’s upon taking office, but undoing the regulation could take several months. Congress also could take action on the regulation, but there is no indication from lawmakers or from the Obama administration on how they plan on reacting to the rule, Finch said. The Obama transition team did not respond to a request for comment on how it would respond to Bush’s regulation.” — Rule change could allow doctors to reject gay patients

[USA] The San Francisco Bay Guardian has an article on the disproportionately high risk of sexual assault faced by LGBT prison inmates: “This year, the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted the first national survey of violence in the corrections system. It found sexual orientation to be the single greatest determinant for sexual abuse in prisons — 18.5 percent of homosexual inmates reported sexual assault, compared to 2.7 percent of heterosexual prisoners … Alex Lee, a co-director of the Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project, read a statement from Bella Christina Borrell, a 56-year-old transgender inmate: “Female transgender prisoners are the ultimate target for sexual assault and rape. In this hyper-masculine world, inmates who project feminine characteristics attract unwanted attention and exploitation by others seeking to build up their masculinity by dominating and controlling women.” Of course, there are policies in place that should protect inmates from each other. PREA [the Prison Rape Elimination Act, passed by Congress in 2003] stipulates that sexual assault during incarceration can constitute a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, and mandates that facilities employ a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse. However, like many things in life, the theory and practice have little in common … Advocates recommend that an effective classification system must be implemented. First, corrections officials have to acknowledge that factors like an inmate’s sexual orientation or transgender status put them at an exceptionally high risk for violence. Second, steps must be taken to reduce the instances of harassment, abuse, and sexual assault suffered by inmates. Female transgender inmates must be issued sports bras and should be allowed to shower separately from the general population to curb humiliation and predation. If an assault occurs, victims should not be placed in punitive custody, the complaint must remain confidential, and assailants cannot be allowed the opportunity to retaliate. Finally, corrections officers should have to participate in an extensive training program to help them deal with these factors. Bambi Salcedo, a transgender ex-convict who now works with transgender youth at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles put it simply: “We have to realize that homosexual and transgender inmates must be treated with dignity in the correctional system.” — Sentenced to rape

[USA] At Polymorphous Perversity, “In White v. U.S. [PDF of the opinion here], the D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed a sentencing enhancement for a prison guard who physically and sexually assaulted a transgender prisoner … While I’m generally predisposed to favor more lenient sentencing, this strikes me as appropriate. “Reduced physical capacity” is a real stretch, since trans people aren’t physically impaired in any way by virtue of being trans. But trans people are certainly especially vulnerable to abuse in prisons, especially given the dominant practice in the U.S. of housing inmates on the basis of their birth sex. And when a prison guard exploits that vulnerability, a sentencing enhancement may serve to deter such exploitation in the future.” — Increased sentence for targeting trans prisoner

[USA] “Special rights and protections under the law of the land” could be coming for “transgender and transsexual people” in 2009, one of a number of troubling prospects foreseen by one “Bible-believing Christian.” — Why Christians should be troubled by the election of President-elect Obama

[Canada] “A transsexual Quebec inmate who hasn’t physically completed the transformation to a woman has created an incarceration quagmire for federal corrections officials after being transferred into a men’s prison … Veilleux had previously been held at the Tanguay prison for women in Montreal while awaiting sentencing, but other female inmates weren’t comfortable with her presence there … said lawyer Andre Boissonneault. “Legally she is a woman but she hasn’t had her operation, so she’s partly a man,” Boissonneault said. “That caused some problems.” … [transgender Quebec lawyer, teacher and politician Micheline] Montreuil, who has visited clients in the prison where Veilleux is currently incarcerated just north of Montreal, says it is a rough institution that caters specifically to men. “I don’t know how she’s going to react but knowing how inmates are, she could face harassment and could even be assaulted,” said Montreuil.” — Transsexual Quebec inmate sentenced to serve time in male prison

[New Zealand] “Noeleena Lochhead feels like she has been let out of an asylum. It has been 18 months since the 61-year-old transformed from Noel to Noeleena. The Waimate woman had a sex change operation in Thailand in May last year a decision she has never regretted. “I have never had any regrets. I feel more at peace and feel I am free,” she said. “I use the analogy that I have been let out of the asylum. I climbed over the fence and ran and ran and I am never going back to the asylum because I had been inside for 50 years.”" — Sex change brings `freedom at last’

[UK] “The Christmas angel tells us: “Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy for all people.” The Pope, on the other hand, has been using this Christmas season to spread entirely the opposite message, a message of fear and exclusion that seems more bad news than good … In direct opposition to the theology of Deuteronomy, Isaiah writes that “to the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths and hold fast to my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name that is better than sons and daughters” — yes, better than sons and daughters. And what is true for eunuchs is true, by direct analogy, for people who are gay. Inclusion is not a piece of trendy modern theory. It is a biblical imperative. Those who take the Bible as if it were a reference book cannot mentally accommodate the idea that the story being told is about the developing consciousness of the people of Israel, of how they got it wrong and how they are led to a new understanding by God … And one last thing. Why on earth did the Pope think Christmas a good time to ignite this sort of row? For while we are all spitting tacks, those worryingly androgynous angels are trying to get their own message across: peace on earth and goodwill to all. And all means all.” — The Pope has forgotten Christ’s word

Pretty much right after I came out to my Mom as a transsexual — a transgender woman — my Mom entered an Orthodox Christian monastery as a novice nun. I was never quite sure if my coming out wasn’t the “last straw” event that led her to join the monastery; however, she left her particular order about a year-and-a-half after joining it.

For those who aren’t aware, the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church split in 1057 over the idea of a Pope being in charge of the church — the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are pretty similar in their approach to Christianity otherwise.

Within this past year, my Mom converted to Catholicism, so she has chosen to embrace a church where I believe the doctrine states that the Pope is infallible — at least, as a non-Catholic, that’s how I understand the doctrine to be. Does my Mom believe the Pope is infallible, or at a minimum speaks with tremendous spiritual authority? I have no idea — I never asked her what her thoughts are on the subject of her faith regarding the Pope.

But, with that thought of an infallible Pope in mind and my Mom’s recent conversion to Catholicism, perhaps I let things news like this get to me a bit too much: The Pope’s Christmas message included the message that the world needs to be protected against gays and transsexuals.

Time Magazine adds:

Without actually using the word, Benedict took a subtle swipe at those who might undergo sex-change operations or otherwise attempt to alter their God-given gender. Defend “the nature of man against its manipulation,” Benedict told the priests, bishops and cardinals gathered Monday in the ornate Clementine hall. “The Church speaks of the human being as man and woman, and asks that this order is respected.” The Pope again denounced the contemporary idea that gender is a malleable definition. That path, he said, leads to a “self-emancipation of man from creation and the Creator.”

This goes a bit beyond what the Catholic Church has said about transsexuals in the past (here, here, and here).

So, Merry Christmas, gays and transsexuals, from the Pope!

I have to admit, I almost burst into song (which would have felled a few trees) when I was reading this …

Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

“(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed,” the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican’s central administration.

“The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less.”

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality “a deviation, an irregularity, a wound.”

The pope said humanity needed to “listen to the language of creation” to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as “a destruction of God’s work.”

He also defended the Church’s right to “speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected.”

Pope likens “saving” gays to saving the rainforest

News and views for Wednesday, December 17th and Thursday, December 18th …

[PA, USA] “The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is investigating a complaint filed by a transsexual woman against Harrisburg Area Community College, claiming she was suspended for not using a unisex bathroom. Shannon Powers, director of communications for the commission, confirmed a complaint by Jamie Nicole Anderson against the Lancaster campus of HACC was filed Oct. 16. She said the agency began its investigation last month. Because it is under investigation, Powers said she could not reveal details of the complaint. However, according to published reports, Anderson is a male-to-female transgendered student who was studying nursing at HACC.” — HACC student sues over rest room suspension

[USA] From Transadvocate yesterday, “Sources on the Hill confirmed to The Transadvocate that Barney Frank’s office will announce the hiring of Diego Sanchez today. Sanchez will replace outgoing senior policy adviser, Joe Racalto. Sanchez is currently the Director of Public Relations & External Affairs for AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.  He made history this past August as the first transgender person appointed by the  DNC to the  Platform Committee and is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Boston Steering Committee and the HRC Business Council.” — Diego Sanchez Named Senior Legislative Adviser To Barney Frank

There’s more on the Sanchez appointment at Bay Windows and at EDGE Boston, and transactivists Becky Juro and Vanessa Edwards Foster offer their thoughts on the hiring here and here.

[USA] The Windy City Times has an interview with Dr. Marci Bowers, who is featured in the documentary drama series Sex Change Hospital on WeTV. Sex Change Hospital will air Dec 23, Dec 24 and Dec 30. — Paging Dr. Bowers: Talking about Sex Change Hospital

[USA] “I am very saddened to learn today of the death of actress/comics writer/friend Maddie Blaustein at age 48. It’s being reported that she died in her sleep after a brief illness. Blaustein started out in the comics industry at Marvel, where he was known as Adam, but gradually went on a path that few could imagine — first as a very successful, talented and well-known voice actress, most notably as the voice of Meowth on the US version of Pokemon. Second, as a transgendered individual. She also wrote several issues of Milestone comics, including a run on STATIC. Aaron McQuade, who profiled Maddie for The Advocate, has more on his blog: ‘Maddie (born Adam Blaustein) might be the most recognizable transgender voice on the planet, from her roles as Meowth on Pokemon, and Solomon Moto on Yu-Gi-Oh, not to mention dozens of other anime and video games … ‘ ” — RIP Maddie Blaustein

[USA] From Media Matters, “On The O’Reilly Factor, Dennis Miller ridiculed Thomas Beatie, a transgender man who recently gave birth to a child, calling him a “nympho satyr” and saying: “[A]ll I know is the guy’s more pregnant than the old woman in the shoe is. And somebody has got to get some protection for this guy, be it a condom or an IUD or a satellite dish or a catcher’s mitt. I don’t even know what he needs down there, but I need an equipment check on aisle five.” Referring to the baby, Miller had video of the polar bear cub at the Berlin zoo aired.” — On O’Reilly Factor, Miller ridiculed transgender man, child he gave birth to

[USA] From The New York Times today on DSM-V, “The book is at least three years away from publication, but it is already stirring bitter debates over a new set of possible psychiatric disorders … The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual as “strong and persistent cross-gender identification,” is already burning hot among transgender people. Soon after the psychiatric association named the group of researchers working on sexual and gender identity, advocates circulated online petitions objecting to two members whose work they considered demeaning. Transgender people are themselves divided about their place in the manual. Some transgender men and women want nothing to do with psychiatry and demand that the diagnosis be dropped. Others prefer that it remain, in some form, because a doctor’s written diagnosis is needed to obtain insurance coverage for treatment or surgery. “The language needs to be reformed, at a minimum,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equity. “Right now, the manual implies that you cannot be a happy transgender person, that you have to be a social wreck.”” — Psychiatrists Revising the Book of Human Troubles

[Turkey] The latest on Bulent Ersoy, who was facing up to four-and-a-half years in jail:  “A transsexual Turkish pop star has won a free speech case against the country’s powerful army, which accused her of turning public opinion against military service.” — Turkish transsexual star acquitted of insulting army

[Uruguay] “Uruguay’s Senate passed a bill allowing people aged 12 and older to legally change their name and gender on their identity papers, a move that opens the doors to gay marriage. The measure is meant to ease legal difficulties faced by transsexuals and cross-dressers, but would make gay marriage legal since it states that whoever changes their name and gender can “exercise all of the rights inherent to the new condition.”" — Uruguay takes step towards gay marriage

[Thailand] From the Bangkok Post, a feature on Treechada “Nong Poyd” Malayaporn, Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2004 and Miss International Queen 2004: ” … deep down, Treechada admits that she is oversensitive when anybody calls her a katoey. Surprisingly, when people say she’s much more beautiful than a real woman, Treechada does not appreciate it either. She just wants to be recognised to as “Nong Poyd” and live her life like an ordinary person. “I will not become arrogant or forget where I came from, but it hurts when people call me a katoey even though I really am one. As I said earlier, I’ve lived all my life like a woman. My mother is a woman. My beloved sister is a woman. All my best friends are women. So I am not going to compete with them. I do not want anybody to compare me with somebody else because, after all, I just want to be one of those ordinary women.” — Miss Tiffany Queen

News and views for Saturday, November 29th and Sunday, November 30th …

[FL, USA] “In tight-knit groups of few or many, 1,500 Broward school children marched through downtown Fort Lauderdale to tell the world that they were tired of bullies and strong enough to stop them. ”No more bullying, no more bullying, no more bullying,” thundered a unified chant from 15 school contingents, parents, teachers, community activists and school officials … Denise King, mother of Simmie Williams, 17, who was gunned down last year in Fort Lauderdale, said she was forced to remove her son from public high school because of the humiliations he suffered daily from students because he was gay. ”I hope now that something like that won’t happen again to anyone anymore and anywhere,” King said.” — Broward students march on bullies in Fort Lauderdale

[ME, USA] From Jenny Boylan, “I knew, before we left the house, that someone was going to call me by the wrong pronoun, because someone always calls me by the wrong pronoun. This little slip-up happens virtually every time I am out with friends from Colby College, where I have worked for 20 years now. I know full well that most of these slip-ups are unconscious, and not intended as hurtful. But they hurt, maybe because they are unconscious. The ol pronoun slip is an issue we’ve talked about ad nauseum, over at MHB/community, as well as on my own site. I’m not trying to plow any new ground here. I understand the reasons people mess up, sometimes, and I accept that most people who do so mean well, most of the time.
But it still hurts, god dammit.” — The ol’ pronoun glitch

[GA, USA] “As the Atlanta Police Department’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Liaison, Officer Darlene Harris has served as a symbol assuring fair treatment and greater protection since 2005, when she was appointed to this post. When she disclosed she is intersex in July 2008, Harris garnered attention for her bravery and for drawing focus on the subject of intersex identity and experience. Her story was first featured in Southern Voice magazine on July 4. The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper also ran a story about Harris on August 31. She has increased local and national discourse about intersex and other minority gender constructs in a forthright and professional manner.” — Atlanta’s Intersex Police Officer Seeks Awareness

[NY, USA] From Professor Arthur Leonard, “Rejecting a trial judge’s objection that a gendered name-change would cause “confusion,” a unanimous panel of the New York Appellate Division, 3^rd Department, ruled on November 26 in _Matter of Earl William Golden III_, No. 504992, that the trial court should have ordered the name change, but should include in its order a statement that the name change could not be used as proof of a change of sex. Franklin Romeo of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project represented Golden on the appeal.” — NY Appellate Division Rules on Transsexual Name-Change Petition

[NY, USA] “The origin of Rena Dunsworth might be traced to fall 2006, when a small woodworking company in Denver modified its discrimination clause, for that was when Stanley Wilcox started wearing pink nail polish to work. Then 51 and a maker of custom wooden doors, Mr. Wilcox had sensed since he was 6 years old that he was meant to be female, and he had also sensed for about as long that this was not a feeling for which he would be rewarded. “I would often fantasize about becoming different women I knew,” Ms. Dunsworth — formerly Mr. Wilcox — says now. “Then I would kind of clamp down really hard, afraid people would see the girl in me.” When his workplace put in writing that the sexual orientation and dress of its employees did not matter, Mr. Wilcox was heartened. But after the nail polish, he noticed that his colleagues treated him differently. Then, one day in February 2007, he overheard a co-worker allude to his imminent dismissal. “Turns out it did matter,” Ms. Dunsworth says.” — Road to a New Identity Is Not Without Its Hazards

[USA] From Monica Roberts, “Since some peeps make tons of money off pre-op transgender images with their adult films, magazines and various websites, and transgender people of color are the ones disproportionately bearing the brunt of the anti-transgender violence, when you ask Eddy’s question in that context, somehow it doesn’t seem as insulting as it did at first knee-jerk glance. So did shemalewhatever.com and its like minded cousins black out their website for the day? Did they stop filming the latest epic adult transgender film for release? Did they cancel that trip to Thailand or Brazil looking for poor or young transpeople to take pictures of? Did any of the adult transgender stars or the young transwomen participating in the destruction of our images show up at the TDOR events in West Hollywood, New York or elsewhere? Did they even stop to care? Come to think of it, Eddy’s question is one that we all deserves an answer to.” — Does The Transgender Porn World Celebrate The TDOR?

[USA] From Helen Boyd, “Some things you just never expect. NPR recently did a show about a crossdressing husband & father that was about as off the mark as Dr. Phil usually is. Pathologizing, full of the embarassed & shamed comments by the wife and commentary of the narrator, it was rife with ignorance and misunderstanding, and seemed to equate this person’s other mental health issues with his need to crossdress. Wow. I wish I were more often pleasantly suprrised by the media, but I really never expected this kind of crappy story-telling from NPR. Just one opinion that offset all the negativity would have been nice. That the story is about someone who is deceased makes it all the more sickening. There is no one to represent Doug/Donna to explain what crossdressing is all about. You can listen to it here – all of 12 minutes & nothing redeemable! – & narrated by a family “friend.” Feh.” — Crossdressing Husband & Father on NPR

[Canada] “The B.C. Federation of Labour has passed an emergency resolution supporting a new high school course called Social Justice 12 and accusing the Abbotsford board of education of “homophobic and transphobia behaviour” for its refusal to offer the elective course this year.” — B.C. Fed backs course

[International] “We are proud to announce that the Organisation Intersex International has its website in Chinese thanks to the tremendous efforts of one of our Chinese speaking board members. The site already contains our Official Positions, our mission statement, information on Intersex Solidarity Day, a translation of 10 Misconceptions about Intersexuality, videos and a news service containing articles related to intersex issues.” — OII now available in Chinese

[Ireland] At The Irish Independent, a “conversation” with an Irish transwoman: “I am what you call a ladyboy, or a pre-op transsexual. I have breasts but I still have meat and veggies too. I’m not going to have the full operation — I want to stay this way for good because I want to be special. If I had the full operation, people would just categorise me as female, and I want to be different. You can have the best of both worlds.” — Dale Belino

[Ireland] An upcoming screening in December at the Irish Film Institute: “Fresh from its world premiere at the Cork Film Festival, where it was greeted with laughter, tears and warm applause, Identities, Vittoria Colonna’s new feature-length documentary, is this month’s Ireland on Sunday selection. Identities is a sensitive and compelling documentary which explores the multicoloured, multicultural transgender community in Ireland. Five personal stories give shape to the different but parallel worlds of transvestism, transsexualism, drag, sexual identity and gender dysphoria. Documented in a series of revealing black and white interviews, each narrative is preceded by a colour performance art piece, and more abstract self-representation. At its heart, this is a film about the human spirit and overcoming stereotype and categorisation. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Vittoria Colonna and producer Rachel Lysaght.” — Ireland On Sunday: Identities

News and views for Friday, November 21st through Sunday, November 23rd …

[AZ, USA] “Namoli Brennet’s name is inspired by the word “anomaly,” meaning an exception to the rule. She is that, and also a singer-songwriter with keen talent … in 2002 she released the album “Boy in a Dress.” The title of the album hinted at a larger life issue Brennet was grappling with: Brennet was born male but identified as a female. Sometime after 2002, Brennet started the transition to living her life as a female … Despite her unique life journey, Brennet’s lyrics are accessible and capable of speaking to shared experiences. Although she doesn’t often refer directly to gender transition, the theme of self-discovery informs her work. “I feel like a lot of people go through a process like that, where they sort of have to buck other people’s expectations,” Brennet said.” — Brennet’s life transition sparks musical growth

[FL, USA] “Simmie Williams Jr., the gay teenager slain nine months ago on Sistrunk Boulevard, will be remembered at a pair of events over the next couple of days. Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance around the country, and a ceremony is planned for 6:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church’s Sunshine Cathedral. The church is at 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? – Click Here.. The day is aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes against the transgendered community. Also, a vigil to mark his birthday will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the corner where Williams was shot: Sistrunk and 10th Avenue. It will include a cake and candlelight march down Sistrunk. Williams was dressed in women’s clothing when he was shot to death Feb. 22. His murder remains unsolved.” — Fort Lauderdale: Events to remember slain gay teenager

[NY, USA] “Dwight DeLee’s family doesn’t believe that DeLee shot and killed Moses “Teish” Cannon and doesn’t buy the motive police have announced for the shooting – DeLee’s dislike of Cannon’s sexual orientation … Dwight DeLee was on parole for a drug conviction and had about three more weeks to go in a halfway house before his release, Williams said. Some family members believe that DeLee was set up as a fall guy for the shooting because he was on parole. “He’s the easiest to hold because he’s on paper (parole),” said Harry Washington, an uncle. Dwight DeLee didn’t catch too many breaks growing up, family members said … ” — Dwight R. DeLee could face hate crime charge in fatal shooting of transsexual

[OH, USA] “[The Cleveland] City Council is considering measures to make this the third Ohio city with a domestic partner registry and the fifth to protect transgender citizens from discrimination … [the] second ordinance that will come before council was introduced quietly by Santiago in August. That ordinance will add gender identity as a protected class every place in city law where other categories such as race, religion, sex and sexual orientation are currently included.” — Cleveland to add TG non-bias and partner registry

[USA] Kit Yan of the Good Asian Drivers has a video response to the Human Rights Campaign’s TDoR video. — Trans Day of Remembrance – Response to HRC

[Belgium] “Attitudes towards gays and lesbians in much of Europe and around the world may have made remarkable advances over the last 20 years, even if some regions of the EU are more hospitable than others. But for transgender people, discrimination, marginalisation and outright hostility remain part of daily experience. Transsexual people are often fired from their jobs when undergoing gender reassignment procedures. They are turfed out of their apartments, refused insurance and confronted with bigotry within the health community. Gender non-conformity is still used as an excuse for harassment, violence and even murder … [According to Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner] “Ignorance seems to be the main reason [behind the discrimination] and this lack of knowledge has led to prejudices which in turn have opened for discrimination and even hate crimes,” he said. “But it also stems from traditional concepts of what it means to be masculine or feminine in our society. We tend to shy away from discussions about sexuality and gender identity, but we need to deal with these issues head on.” There is hardly any area where discrimination does not take place, he believes.” — Transgender people face fear and hate across Europe

[Europe] “The correlations of this polymorphism with various endocrine and phenotypic features of men have been exhaustively studied. Many, though not all of these studies, demonstrate inverse correlation of the repeat length with androgenicity, suggesting that men with longer repeats have weaker overall androgen action. The phenotypes found to correlate directly with the CAG repeat length include poor spermatogenesis and male-to-female transsexualism.” — Increased Estrogen Rather Than Decreased Androgen Action Is Associated With Longer Androgen Receptor CAG Repeats (Abstract)

[India] Life has recently become even more difficult for hijras in Bangalore: “Shortly after, police claimed they had rescued a teenage boy from a “gang of hijras” who had allegedly castrated him without consent. They claim they have broken up a racket, but there are many unanswered questions about the case, which is still under investigation. Nothing has been proved yet but this hasn’t stopped the authorities from using the incident to vilify the community and justify its harassment. As Jenny (name changed) puts it, “After this case, everybody is looking at us as if we are monsters out on the prowl. If this abusive and discriminatory atmosphere prevails, I am worried about what the future holds for us.” To make matters worse, two weeks ago, at least 100 hijras were forced onto the streets in Bangalore’s Dasarahalli locality. “We are living in a constant state of tension. People are being arrested every other day. It was never like this before,” an activist said.” — Life in dire straits

[Japan] “Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they’ve quickly become one of its most popular items.” — Bra for the boys an online bestseller in Japan

[Japan] “Takeshi Shimozato, a third-year student at Haebaru Nansei Middle School in Okinawa Prefecture, was awarded the H.I.H. Prince Takamado Trophy on Saturday after winning the 60th All Japan Inter-Middle School English Oratorical Contest … Shimozato began his speech by explaining his gender identity disorder condition, about which he was sometimes teased during primary school days. One day as a fourth-grader, Shimozato saw one of his female friends playing the piano at his school, surrounded by others. “They all looked so happy. I wanted to be able to smile like her,” he recalled. “More importantly, I wanted others to smile at me.”" — Okinawan boy wins English speech contest

[Mexico] “Attaching flowers to a ribbon headdress, pulling a lace slip under an embroidered skirt and draping a necklace of gold coins over his head, Pedro Martinez puts the finishing touches on the traditional costume of Zapotec women in southern Mexico. “When I get all dressed up like this my father always says, ‘Oh Pedro! You look just like your mother when she was young,” beams Martinez, 28, gluing on fake eyelashes in front of a mirror. Martinez spent two hours in the hair salon he owns getting ready for this weekend’s festival of the “muxes,” indigenous gays and transvestites in the town of Juchitan who have found a haven of acceptance in Mexico’s macho society. The muxes (pronounced moo-shes), mostly of ethnic Zapotec descent, are widely respected in the southern town where a dance and parade that crowns a transvestite queen and celebrates the harvest has been held annually for the last 33 years. Anthropologists say the tradition of blurring genders among Mexico’s indigenous population is centuries old but has been revived in recent decades due to the gay pride movement.” — Mexican transvestite fiesta rocks indigenous town (Photos)

[Netherlands] In the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, an article on new research by Madeleine Wallien and Peggy Cohen-Kettenis: “Conclusions: Most children with gender dysphoria will not remain gender dysphoric after puberty. Children with persistent GID are characterized by more extreme gender dysphoria in childhood than children with desisting gender dysphoria. With regard to sexual orientation, the most likely outcome of childhood GID is homosexuality or bisexuality.” — Psychosexual Outcome of Gender-Dysphoric Children

[New Zealand] “”JOBLESS BEYER EYES AUSSIE,” trumpeted Wellington’s Dominion Post back in August. “Former Labour MP Georgina Beyer plans to move to Australia because she cannot find work,” the bleak article began. Yikes – is New Zealand really in danger of losing its highest profile transgender activist?” — She’ll be right – Georgina Beyer keeps it Kiwi

[Uganda] The GayUganda blog comments on the beating and arrest of Fatuma Segiyirira: “What crime has this lady committed? Daring to dress like a woman. Deceiving her acquitances. Those seem to be the most heinous crimes, according to the article. And what has been the punishment, which the community meted out fast and furiously? A not so public check to confirm the genital sex. A public beating. Paraded naked, for 5 good kilometres. Jailed. Was there any mention of bail or police bond? To court soon, charge- impersonation. Of a woman. (Any woman!!!) The police commander is not happy. Second time offender, so more charges, he adds grimly. The price of ignorance. Why should a man dress as a woman? Why would one risk one’s very life to do that? As a gay man in Uganda, I realize that I am fine in a way. For a long time, and at great cost to myself, I have learnt to hide. It is simply a necessity of survival. I hide so well that I can get lost in my own deception. A trans person in Uganda is more disadvantaged. Much more disadvantaged, and Segiyirira has paid the price. It could as easily have become a lynch mob.” — A Trans in Uganda

[UK] “The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Children, Young People and Families has said that new guidance is being developed for schools on gender and gender identity. Baroness Morgan was speaking at the pre-launch event for LGBT History Month last night … She later told PinkNews.co.uk that plans for the guidance are well-advanced.” — Education minister reveals new guidance for schools on gender identity

[UK] “People who are undergoing a sex change will be allowed two cards – one in each gender. But they will also be forced to pay twice – landing them with a £60 bill. The Home office said it had been giving careful thought to how it would deal with the cases of ‘transgender’ people. It has decided they will have to hold a card in their current sex, which can be used for travel in the EU. But they will also be able to apply for a card – with corresponding picture – in the name and sex they are undergoing treatment to become. In other words, they will dress and appear as they will once the sex change is complete. This will not be valid for travel but can be used to prove their identity in a second gender reliably and securely and reflects a different name, signature and photograph, the consultation paper says. Finally, when the change of gender is complete, they will hand the card in their original sex back. The one in their new identity will then become fully usable.” — One for each sex: ‘Transgender’ individuals to get two ID cards

[UK] From The Observer on London’s Portman Clinic, which is 75 years old: “But Ruszczynski did give me a copy of an audit showing the reason that patients were referred to the Portman. Most were there because of ‘compulsive sexual behaviours’ – fetishism, transvestism, transsexualism – and some for sexual and criminal offences, including exhibitionism … These days, the clinic is often visited by transvestites and transsexuals, and people who practise bondage and other sexual fetishes. ‘They come here because the desired effect of those things, what they were intended to do, has started to break down, usually when they’re in their thirties,’ Davies says. ‘The papering over the cracks that those practices fulfilled is no longer working. Some patients who are just post-operative can be despairing.’” — Porn addicts, sex offenders, rapists, paedophiles…

News and views for Wednesday, November 19th and Thursday, November 20th (Transgender Day of Remembrance) …

[CA, USA] “A transsexual former California state prison inmate, who claimed to have suffered repeated sexual assaults and beatings at the hands of two cellmates, can pursue a negligence damage claim against prison officials, an appeals court ruled on November 14, but she was not entitled to seek damages under the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the State Constitution … As a result of the appellate court overturning that dismissal, Alexis Giraldo, sent to Folsom State Prison in January 2006 while serving time for a parole violation, will be given a trial on her charge that prison officials were negligent in failing to protect her. However, the court found, the California Constitution does not afford an individual right to sue for damages for violations of the cruel and unusual punishment provision, which can only be enforced through a suit seeking to end unlawful punishment. A trial jury considered but rejected Giraldo’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.” — Trans Inmate’s Suit Revived

[GA, USA] “Doraville has become the latest Georgia city to add transgender employees to its nondiscrimination policy. The move means transgender workers — those whose biological and gender identity are not the same — cannot be fired or mistreated in the northern DeKalb County city. “We have never discriminated against anyone, and we never will,” said Mayor Ray Jenkins. “We want to stay ahead of the issue.” The policy puts Doraville in rare company. Atlanta and Decatur are the only other cities in the state that protect transgender workers. In fact, while the protections have become more common in private business, they are more unusual at the municipal level. That is why, to advocates, it’s symbolic for a former industrial city of just 10,000 to approve the policy. The change comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit by Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, a transgender woman who said she was fired from her job at the Georgia General Assembly because of her decision to change her gender from male to female.” — Doraville won’t discriminate against transgender employees

[OR, USA] “Stu Rasmussen promised a new administration if he was elected, and he’s as good as his word: Silverton residents not only are getting a new mayor; they’re also getting a new Stu … Silverton appears to have come to terms long ago with Rasmussen’s nebulous gender, which he describes as “25%, maybe 30% between” man and woman, and his “adoption of the twins,” as the mayor-elect refers to his breast surgery. But he still manages to catch some people off guard. “Guys come up to me in the bar and say, ‘Hate to tell you this, but I saw this woman on the street the other day, and I’m thinking, great legs, nice tan, and she turns around and I go, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Stu!’ ” Rasmussen recounts in the deep voice that seems always softened with a trace of humor. “If I could have a face transplant, it’d be perfect. A face like this, only a mother could love. But people overlook the face now,” he says, glancing discreetly down at his tank top, “because there’s all this other real estate.”" — The mayor-elect’s new clothes: Silverton, Oregon, elects a transgender leader

[USA] An interview with Julia Serano: “The rising visibility of trans, intersex, and genderqueer movements has led feminists—and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world—to an increasing awareness that m and f are only the beginning of the story of gender identity. With the release of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard: a transfeminine critique of both feminist and mainstream understandings of gender.” — Gender diversity: A Transsexual Woman’s view of Sexism

[USA] From Kelley Winters, “To summarize, the term “autogynephilia” means far more than a description of erotic phenomenon. “Autogynephilia,” and its corollary “homosexual transsexualism,” have come to represent an over-arching body of derogatory stereotypes that are promoted as science but remain dogmatically resilient to contrary evidence … The term “autogynephilia” has grown to represent an affront to the human legitimacy and dignity of many transitioned women. It serves no constructive purpose in an evidence-based diagnostic nosology. I strongly urge the American Psychiatric Association to remove this offensive term from the supporting text of the GID diagnosis and refrain from adding it to the nomenclature of paraphilias in the DSM-V.” — Autogynephilia: The Infallible Derogatory Hypothesis, Part 2

[USA] From Donna Rose, “In a related note, the Human Rights Campaign has produced a video commemorating the Transgender Day of Remembrance. I don’t mind sharing that although I appreciate these kinds of things in principle I’m having a hard time appreciating this. I blame this organization for actively supporting the single-most destructful thing to be forced upon the transgender community despite their commitments to the contrary. I blame this organization for continuing to treat us with disrespect and, over the past year, could have used their resources to create untold amounts of support and education – but has not. I blame this organization for actually penalizing legislators who demonstrated a higher standard and a greater commitment to full Equality than HRC held itself to. I blame this organization for doing more to fracture the GLBT community than anyone from the outside would ever have been able to do. I blame this organization for trying to become a voice for transgender people when, in fact, they have no right to speak on behalf of any of us: they need to talk with us before they can hope to talk for us. All these things make these kinds of videos feel like a slap in the face more than something to appreciate. They don’t seem to learn that how you do something is just as important as what you do and they continue to do things wrong. –The best way to get the message across that you really care isn’t to produce flashy videos that include only HRC staffers. It’s to treat us with respect, to be honest with us, to engage us, and to actively help find ways that we can work together. It’s to actively build tools to help educate, to help get transpeople jobs, to do the difficult work or rebuilding some level of trust that continues to lay in shambles for most of us. If some of that had come before this video I might feel differently. However, it hasn’t. As a result, recent Press Releases and videos feel more like the same old tired HRC PR tactics than anything heartfelt or sincere to me.  Those looking for a DOR 2008 video created by and with transpeople simply need look here.” — Warning: HRC rant

[MN, USA] Minneapolis radio host Chris Baker, who last week referred to Thomas Beatie as a “mutilated lesbian” and a “freak,” on Tuesday blamed the murder of trans woman Latiesha Green on the media: “Doesn’t some of the blame lie with the American media who enables this fraud? … I would say a majority of the blame does not lie with the nitwit that shot him, other than the fact that he’s a nitwit and a guy who should have been in prison in my opinion, who shot him. But to me, this is the — this is an example of how, by enabling people and trying to push this false reality, leads to horrible crimes like this.”" — Baker: Media have “blood on their hands” for murder of transgender woman because they created “false sense of reality”

[TN, USA] “A former Memphis police officer pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to civil rights charges in the jailhouse beating of a transgender prostitution suspect that was captured on video. An indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses Bridges McRae, 28, of using unreasonable force by repeatedly striking Duanna Johnson with his fist and handcuffs in the intake area of the Shelby County Jail in February … Johnson, 43, who had a long history of prostitution arrests, was shot to death on a Memphis street by an unknown assailant earlier this month. The killing is still under investigation and no arrests have been made … The beating and Johnson’s murder have drawn the attention of advocates for gay and transgender rights, including the Human Rights Campaign, a national group that has called on the Memphis Police Department for a “commitment to treating transgender people with respect and fairness.”" — Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Videotaped Beating of Transgendered Woman

[Australia] “A doctor has been found guilty of performing an indecent act on a suicidal transsexual patient. Sulieman Hamid, 53, of Melbourne, touched the cognitively-impaired patient on her breasts and lips while he treated her for a slashed wrist in a cubicle at the Sunshine Hospital emergency department in June 2007. The court was earlier told the patient propositioned the doctor while he was treating her. A jury in the Victorian County Court today found that the touching did not constitute the more serious charge of indecent assault. It also found him not guilty of raping the woman at her home the following day.” — Doctor touched transsexual patient

[Canada] “Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) has been funded in Ontario since June, but the minister of health still seems confused about it. The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) has been paying for SRS since Jun 3, after it was announced in May that the government would be relisting the procedure again after 10 years. But health minister David Caplan — who replaced George Smitherman in the portfolio in June — seems unaware of that or that the debate over exactly what shape the final process for SRS in the province will take is ongoing.” — Caplan confused about SRS: Health minister sends contradictory messages

[Finland] An update on Olli Aalto: “The Evangelical Lutheran bishop of Mikkeli, eastern Finland, says that an Imatra vicar who plans to undergo gender reassignment treatment can keep his job … During a joint press conference with Aalto on Thursday, Bishop Voitto Huotari confirmed that Aalto has a legal right to retain his post. Huotari denied that he had ever threatened to dismiss Aalto. He added that it is up to the vicar to decide if he will continue working. Aalto said last week that he had been encouraged to leave the Church and that he would consider legal action if he was expelled from his job. The cleric says he is tired of leading a double life, noting that extensive studies have diagnosed him as a transsexual. Aalto says the Church has a responsibility to provide work for someone who has been a faithful servant.” — Transgender Vicar Allowed to Keep Job

[India] “Police in Bangalore reportedly forced about 100 hijras (working-class transgender people) from their homes last week. Human rights groups said this is part of a pattern of prejudice-driven violence and abuse in the city aimed at hijras, mostly male-to-female working-class trans people … When challenged on their unconstitutional actions, the police told some of the activists that they had orders from higher up to round up hijras in Bangalore. Hijras are often unable to obtain identity papers because their gender identity and appearance do not correspond to their sex at birth. As a result, many cannot find housing, education, or legal employment – or, in many cases, even vote. The effective loss of basic citizenship rights – coupled with widespread social prejudice leaves them economically marginalised and exposed to police abuse.” — Indian police accused of “social cleansing” after another attack on trans community

[New Zealand] “With Jack yesterday were Nicky Gerard and Brooklynne Michelle, who were both born with male bodies and had transitioned to females. One of the toughest tasks was getting a job, and even though they both had university degrees it hadn’t helped, they said. “The discrimination is always there. I mean, you’re upfront with who you are, but generally being that truthful doesn’t help. It’s hard trying to be accepted in a work situation,” Nicky said. Brooklynne remembers before her transition walking down the street to a favourite cafe for a coffee with a mate being no problem at all. “Not now. The minute I’m out walking in the street, the sniggers, the ridicule, the abuse follow me all the way. It’s tough.” The three said that “being trans” was never a lifestyle and it wasn’t choice.”It’s the way we were born.”" — Boys will be girls and life will be tough

[Sweden] “Maria Sundin from Sweden’s Trans Oresund network said: “The demand for the exclusion of certain diagnostic criterias such as transvestitism, sado-masochism and fetishism from the Swedish verison of ICD-10 (KSH97) has been supported by the GLBT community for quite a while.” The World Health Organisation’s coding of diseases is known as the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and it is on its 10th Revision (ICD-10). “It’s also important that the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare will work towards an elimination of these diagnostic criterias from the ICD-10 on an international level,” said Ms Sundin. “As far as I can see this action will not influence how our national health insurance will fund various medical needs for the transgender community. Access to treatment is based on the diagnosis of transsexualism, which will remain in the Swedish version of ICD-10.” — Sweden removes transvestism and other ‘sexual behaviours’ from list of diseases

[Sweden] “It sounds like a lost episode of The Twilight Zone. A man enters a laboratory, dons a special headset and shakes hands with a woman sitting across from him. In a matter of seconds, he feels like he’s inside the woman’s skin, reaching out and grasping his own hand. Strange as it sounds, neuroscientists have induced this phenomenon in a series of volunteers. People can experience the illusion that either a mannequin or another person’s body is their own body, says Valeria Petkova of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. She and Karolinska colleague Henrik Ehrsson call this reaction the “body-swap illusion.”” — Your body is mine

[Germany] Only the sky was the limit when Yvonne Buschbaum soared to big heights as one of the leading women’s pole vaulters in Germany. Now the sky is wide open for Buschbaum, who feels the lightness of being after revealing her transsexuality last year and undergoing a gender change to Balian Buschbaum since then. “Courage is the road to freedom. I woke up in complete freedom today. The sky is wide open,” said a recent diary entry on his website … A year has passed since Buschbaum revealed that she felt like a man trapped in a women’s body and would undergo the gender change to find her personal freedom. She appeared in television talkshows and also won respect in the athletics scene for her courage. But the medical implications of the gender change – the use of doping substances [testosterone] – required Buschbaum to quit pole vaulting … ” — The sky is no limit for gender-changed vaulter Buschbaum

[UK] “The 9th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance has been marked in the UK by the Trades Union Congress with a call on employers to stop discriminating against people on the grounds of gender identity … Although there have been improvements to the law, there remain gaps and widespread exemptions that leave trans people without full protection in employment … Earlier this week the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, held a meeting about the human rights situation of transgender people and discrimination based on gender identity. He said the problems of transgender persons as to go to the “very roots of what human rights are: the protection of the most vulnerable in society, the integrity of the human body and the right to be free from inhumane treatment.” Professor Stephen Whittle, Jane Thomas and Richard Koehler represented TransGender Europe at the meeting. TEU co-chair Julia Ehrt said: “It is clearly unaccaptable that a transgender person has to trade off legal properties like the right to integrity and self determination versus the recognition as a trans person.” The group said that in most European countries sterility and being single are forced pre-requisites to obtain name and gender change.” — Unions call for an end to discrimination on Transgender Day of Remembrance