Some of the transgender news and views we came across on Tuesday …

#1 - Autumn spoke with Shannon Minter And Mara Keisling yesterday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. You can hear that here. And, if it’s your cup of tea, there’s plenty more coverage of the DNC at Pam’s House Blend.

#2 - “Removing ’some’ of the inequalities” … “still a political problem” … “has enough lobbying been done?” … so, to whom do you think Barney Frank’s referring?

…

He added that the Employment Non Discrimination Act still presented “a political problem.”

It was originally designed to make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or promote a person based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The decision to remove trans people from the scope of the legislation caused anger among the LGBT community in the US, with many demanding an “all or nothing” stance.

“The question now is whether enough lobbying has been done to include people who are transgender,” Congressman Frank said.

“We need more lobbying on that. We had a very good hearing on that issue and it helped. Previously, we were running into problems getting it out of committee, and I think the hearing we had a major impact on that. It also depends on if we get more Democrats.”

…

Congressman attacks gays who support McCain

Kat Rose over at ENDAblog had something to say about “more Democrats” …

And wait for those 15 to be ‘educated’ by those who say that they have our best interests at heart.

And then wait for him to say 15 more are needed.

#3 - Joshua Lynsen of the Washington Blade spoke with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at the DNC in Denver on Monday. Lynsen asked O’Malley about Montgomery County’s (Md.) upcoming transgender rights referendum …

Blade: Last question. There is a transgender rights measure that is going to the ballot in Montgomery County in November. Do you expect to become involved in that battle at all to help protect the rights of transgender people?

O’Malley: You know, I think we passed a similar bill in the city of Baltimore when I was mayor, if my memory serves me correctly. So, you know, there are bills at the local level. There’s bills at the state level. I typically don’t get involved with local ordinances. I try to focus my attention on statewide bills. But we did it in the city of Baltimore and dogs and cats didn’t fall from the sky. You know? It was — I think these bills — I don’t know. I think it would probably be a good thing for Montgomery County to do. I don’t have the legislation in front of me, but if it’s like what we did in Baltimore, it caused no problems whatsoever.

Blade: So it’s got your thumbs up?

O’Malley: Yes.

O’Malley reiterates call for civil unions

#4 - We haven’t heard much about Susan Stanton since early April (”Wife Seeks Amicable Divorce From Ex-Largo Manager Susan“). As a follow-up to that news, the Tampa Tribune reported yesterday …

Susan Stanton, the former Largo city manager known as Steven Stanton before a sex change, has mediated his divorce from his wife of 18 years, according to court documents.

The agreement was signed off on by a Pinellas-Pasco judge on Aug. 6.

…

Transgendered Ex-Largo Manager Gets Divorce Terms

The St. Petersburg Times noted (”Stanton’s marriage comes to an end“) that Stanton “has a good relationship with her ex-wife, but she has lost most of her friends” and “has been unable to find work.”

#5 - In the UK, the late Lynne Braithwaite was honored last Friday …

A FLY-PAST of a lone Vulcan bomber across Morecambe on Friday was a
fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.

The life of Lynne Janine Braithwaite BEM, who died on August 12, was celebrated at a packed Lancaster Cremator-ium where friends and family said their farewells to a remarkable person.

They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne’s involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people.

The fly-past of the Vulcan bomber was in honour of the work carried out by Lynne as an engineer on the Vulcan to the Sky project – a campaign to get the Vulcan airborne again which was only achieved months before Lynne passed away.

Lynne, of Westfield Grove in Morecambe, certainly led an inspirational life.

She was born Lawrence James Braithwaite on July 1, 1934 in one of Beatrix Potter’s houses at Near Sawrey in the Lake District.

She left school to join the RAF in September 1949, retiring as a Flight Sergeant on July 1 1989.

Lynne was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Honours List in 1976.

Her expertise was maintenance of Vulcan bombers. It was with this experience that she was called out of retirement as engineering consultant to the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

In early 2008 the Vulcan bomber XH558 passed its airworthiness tests and flew once again. Lynne was very proud of this achievement and it was therfore entirely appropriate that the plane was present at her funeral.

After leaving the RAF Lynne ran her own business making silver model aircraft until 1992, when it went bust during the recession.

Not long after her transition to female in 1994 aged 60, she contacted Lancashire Constabulary asking what policies and procedures they had regarding transgender people.

Lynne had significant input advising on best practice for trans people as service users and employees in the police service.

Until July 2008 she remained an active member of Lancashire Northern Police Division’s Independent Advisors Group where, over the years, she was consulted on a number of policing issues and policies. At the time of her death she was also an active member of Trans Lancs group – an advisory team for the constabulary, keeping them up to date with the legal and social issues affecting trans people.

She wrote several books including ‘Diaries of a Transfemale’ and ‘From Brigands to V Bombers’.

The Press For Change website, which campaigns for respect and equality for all transgender people, paid tribute to her: “Lynne was a vibrant, indefatigable person who was always active and approach-ed life with the enthusiasm of someone decades younger. She will be greatly missed.”

Fly-past tribute to RAF veteran

This is Part 2 of my chronology of some of the trans-related news archived (well over 6,000 items) during 2007 at Transgender News and TNUKdigest (see Part 1 here) …

MARCH (Continued)

In Spain, a transsexual geriatric care worker is taking her former company to court, alleging sexual discrimination. It will be the first court case in Spain where transsexuality is given as the reason for employment discrimination, and it comes just two weeks after Congress approved a new law which allows transsexuals to change their registered name
and sex without a sex-change operation.

In Vermont, a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people based on their gender identity or expression wins preliminary approval in the state Senate and the governor says he will likely sign it if it reaches him.

In Maryland, opponents of the new sex education curriculum being tested in Montgomery County schools will ask state officials this summer to quash the gay-inclusive lessons. As part of that curriculum students in eighth grade are taught to recognize health relationships and how to define sexuality, gender identity and other terms. Students in 10th grade receive a more thorough curriculum, including an examination of topics such as coming out and transgender discrimination.

In Georgia, a gay- and transgender-inclusive hate crimes bill passes its first test in a long, uphill battle to become law, by gaining broad bipartisan support during a state Senate Judiciary Committee meeting March 13.

Largo City Manager Steve Stanton files a written response to the city commission’s decision to begin the process of firing him because he is changing his sex. The document represents Stanton’s rationale as to why he should not be let go from a post he has held for 14 years. The gist of it reiterates what Stanton, 48, has said publicly: namely, that he should be judged on his job performance and not his plans to become a woman.

In Oregon, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people would gain protection from discrimination in employment, housing, access to public places and other areas, under legislation approved by the state Senate.

In Washington, DC, the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the U.S. House.

In Wisconsin, despite the state’s same-sex marriage ban, Barbara Lynn Terry and Nicole Winstanley carried purses into a judge’s office Friday and emerged as Mrs. and Mrs. Terry. But first, a doctor had to confirm the male anatomy of Barbara Lynn Terry, who was born a man, lives as a woman and has been undergoing hormone therapy for years. The judge performed the wedding after learning that gender-reassignment surgery hadn’t been performed on the person who used to be Ronald Francis Terry.

In Indiana, a state lawmaker decides not to call the hate crimes bill he’d sponsored after changes to it made it unpalatable to him. The proposed bill would have allowed judges imposing sentences to consider it an aggravating factor if the criminal selected the victim of the crime because of “color, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex.” A critic of the proposal objected to giving “cross-dressers … special legal treatment.”

Largo, Florida’s city commission votes 5-2 to uphold its Feb. 27 decision to fire its city manager. City manager Steve Stanton said he was fired because he revealed his plans to become a transgendered woman named Susan. [More here.]

Radio personality Michael Savage blames sexual reassignment surgery for the Columbine massacre. [More here and here.]

In Iowa, the Iowa Senate approves legislation prohibiting discriminatory practices in employment, public accommodation,
housing, education and credit based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Debate on the legislation now shifts to the House, where the outcome is uncertain.

Maryland legislators vote down an effort to bar discrimination against the state’s transgender residents and workers.
By a 6-5 vote, the Senate judicial proceedings committee rejected a measure that sought to outlaw discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, credit and public accommodations. [More here.]

In South Korea, a group of transgendered people will file a suit in April to seek the legal right to change their genders in
their family registries, a civic group said.

In Washington, DC, any thoughts that a transgender protection clause in the recently introduced federal hate crimes bill would slip through Congress without controversy were put to rest as social conservative groups blasted the legislation as a pro-homosexual measure that would promote “cross-dressing” and “transsexualism.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Autumn and I (along with our colleague, Meryl) are what she calls “news archivists,” so I felt I should present here over the next week or so (better later than never, I hope) a chronology of some of the news we’ve archived (well over 6,000 items) this past year at Transgender News and TNUKdigest …

JANUARY

A Japanese court refuses to amend the birth records of a transsexual because prior to sex reassignment surgery she had
fathered a child.

On Pakistani television, Ali Saleem, 28, portrays Begum Nawazish Ali, a flirty, teasing widow, to achieve both political and
personal goals.

The author of a new book about transgender teenagers in Los Angeles talks straight about hormone smuggling, life on the street, and the rise of America’s first trans-rapper. [More here.]

An American transsexual woman who says she was forced out of a job at Hitachi Data Systems in London has lost the biggest discrimination case brought by a transgendered person under Britain’s anti-bias law. [More here.]

New Jersey extends statutory rights and protections to civil union partners and prohibits discrimination on the basis of
gender identity or expression.

In Washington, DC, news surfaces about the Jan. 3 murder of Grafton Lee Person, a 42-year-old transgender woman known in the community as Diamond Lee Person, whose death has reverberated through the local transgender community. [More here.]

A Mexican transsexual wins a new hearing on claims both for asylum and, alternately, for protection in the U.S. under the international Convention Against Torture, or CAT.

Mordechai used to be known in his Toronto Orthodox community as Nord, short for Nord the Barbarian, which referred to his girth and hairiness. He now wishes to be called Nicole, and has chosen Neshama, or Soul, as a Hebrew name. [More here.]

With the Democrats in control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, gay rights advocates are optimistic about a vote in the House and Senate later this year on the long-stalled Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.

A Taiwanese teacher’s involved in sex-change drama.

A former San Antonio, Texas police officer is sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for the rape and
beating of a transsexual woman.

The Division of Corrections in Maryland wonders “Where To Place Transsexual Convict.”

In Ohio, cross dressers, transsexuals, gays, lesbians and bisexuals may be protected from job discrimination in the attorney general and secretary of state’s offices under soon-to-be expanded employment policies.

A conservative Christian minister began work on a referendum to overturn Washington state’s inclusion of gays
and lesbians in its human rights law.

A groundbreaking conference in California gathers transgender Christian advocates.

California’s first transgender administrative law judge is sworn in.

A Mexican congressman says he will submit a bill to Congress in March that would amend the country’s constitution to guarantee the rights of transsexuals and change civil laws to ensure they can legally change their name and gender. [More here.]

Gay Sports publishes a feature on 1932 Olympic gold medal sprinter, Stella Walsh –”The Story of Stella Walsh.”

Artnet Magazine publishes a feature on transgender artist, Greer Lankton.

In Austria, a boy of 12 is believed to have become the world’s youngest sex change patient after convincing doctors that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female. [More here and here.]

More U.S. employers are covering sex transition surgery. [More here.]

Read the rest of this entry »

For Tuesday, Transgender Day of Remembrance …

#1 - Another story on Michael Berke …

High on prescription painkillers and four days without sleep, Michael Berke raced his Harley to the megachurch where he’d found a home.

He barged into the church office, cursing loudly and wearing a mesh shirt printed with profanity. In his hands he held a picture of a woman with long, red hair and pouty lips.

“This is who I used to be,” he said.

“And this” — he gestured to his breastless chest, bald head and red goatee — “is who I’ve become.”

He was born a man. After a lifetime as a social misfit, he had transformed himself into Michelle, a saucy redhead. Then, three months ago, he had become Michael again — with the financial aid and spiritual encouragement of Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale.

Now, he wanted to be Michelle again, and he blamed Calvary for making him the man he had become.

…

Born a man, he became a woman, then a man again — what’s next?

#2 - Michelle Bruce is being accused of fraud …

Two unsuccessful Riverdale City Council candidates have asked a judge to halt an upcoming runoff election, alleging fraud by a candidate who ran as a woman …

The lawsuit alleges that Bruce, who identifies herself as transgendered and goes by Michelle Mickey Bruce, misled voters by identifying herself as a woman. The suit identifies her as “Michael Bruce.”

Bruce’s voter registration, notice of candidacy and driver’s license identify her as Michelle Bruce, a white female. Bruce’s birth certificate was not available Monday.

Bruce said she was “born transgendered” and declined to say if she had surgery to change her gender.

“That’s private,” Bruce said in a telephone interview Monday. “The people don’t care about it.”

…

Transgender candidate misled voters, suit alleges

#3 - Scottsdale, Arizona’s Personnel Board voted Monday evening to add deviant behavior gender identity to its list of protected classes in city’s equal employment and anti-discrimination policies …

The board voted 3-0 to recommend that the City Council add gender identity — a term often meant to refer to the transgendered — and sexual orientation to the list of protected classes in city’s equal employment and anti-discrimination policies. They will join existing protections for employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability.

The council could make a decision on the recommendation, and is scheduled to take up two other proposed anti-discrimination laws, on Dec. 4, said Neal Shearer, assistant city manager.

Issues of accommodation, such as which restroom a transgendered person is allowed to use in city facilities, will be determined on a case-by-case basis in an attempt to “devise a practical and dignified solution to these issues,” Shearer said …

Alice Porter said it could be precedent-setting.

“I think we’re playing with fire here,” she said. “I think it will have a rippling effect throughout the city.”

Roger Van Camp said sexual orientation and gender identity are issues of behavior, different from other classes like race or age.

“Deviant behavior is chosen by the individual,” Van Camp said. “I find it abominable that the city would even consider this. Their sexual orientation has nothing to do with their job.”

… The other two proposed anti-discrimination laws up for City Council discussion Dec. 4 involve prohibiting the city from contracting with groups that violate city anti-discrimination policies, and banning businesses in Scottsdale from discriminating against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Scottsdale panel moves to prevent discrimination

#4 - Susan Stanton spoke at the Unity Church of Clearwater on Monday …

It’s been exactly eight months and 23 days since Steve Stanton was fired from his job as Largo’s city manager.

He was escorted out of City Hall by some of the same officers he hired during his 17 years on the job.

That hurt, Stanton told a group at a transgender remembrance day service at Unity Church of Clearwater on Monday.

Now known as Susan Stanton, she counts each day since the dismissal, when the greatest test of her will and strength began.

During that time, she has been searching to find employment.

She applied for a job in Berkeley, Calif., but the fit wasn’t right.

In despair, she drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, where many people choose to end their pain.

She stood there in a “deep, dark hole.” She said she felt she had no future.

“You can feel the environment,” she said, “and that you want to jump into the hands of God.”

But she didn’t. And on Monday night, she spoke to an audience of some 150 people about her struggle to transform herself from a man to a woman …

Slender and soft-spoken, she appeared as feminine as most women in the audience who had come to hear her speak.

“It’s not like I’m going to walk around looking like Aunt Bea,” she told the Times earlier in the day. “I’m not out mowing the lawn in a dress. Sometimes I put on a T-shirt and shorts.”

She is living in Sarasota, takes female hormones and has joined a health club.

There is one downside to taking the hormones, she said with a laugh. “Without the hormones I could bench-press 90 to 120 pounds,” she said. “With the hormones, I can bench 20 pounds.”

Stanton is scheduled to have her first mammogram today. In May, she will travel to Phoenix for sex reassignment surgery.

Although the experience Stanton has endured is painful, she said it has brought her closer to her family, especially her son, one of her biggest supporters …

Sharing a life’s pain

#5 - Take those pants off, ladies …

Dresses epitomize womanhood in the Western world. Such has been the case since the western man adopted pants to replace the tunic in the sixth century (an aspect of the West’s Germanic barbarian heritage). Dresses allow us to differentiate between the silhouettes of men and women on restroom signs. Dresses are the indelible image of womanhood because of the symbolic nature of pants and dresses. If all fashions are symbolic, dresses in particular symbolize womanhood by more fully embodying the ideal of a true lady, the objective understanding of what men find attractive in the fairer sex: passivity, domesticity, childrearing, coital love, piety and fertility. These defining aspects of womanhood are immutable. We all tacitly reaffirm these attributes in our attempts to find a partner. Flirtation and courtship are reaffirmations of what it means to be masculine and feminine because it is only by fulfilling the obligation of our form that we can attract the opposite sex.

You might say these things were once true but times have changed. Not so. The nature of sexual attractiveness in women is objective, immutable and incontrovertible because it is directly related to the constant and unchanging physiology of men and women. What men find attractive in women is fixed because the physiology of humanity has been relatively unchanged. In this way, the ideal form of femininity is also unchangeable and without regard for cultural context or time period. What men find attractive in women - the form of a true lady - is objectively identifiable, just as it was in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. In short, femininity is sexy, and sexy is timeless and universal.

What’s not sexy is feminism (not to be confused with femininity), which is directly responsible for the disappearance of our beloved dresses and the adoption of pants by the “new woman.” Like all fashions, pants are symbolic of something - in this case masculinity - through their allowance of physical activity. Dresses, the antithesis of pants, symbolize femininity through grace and elegance. Men find elegance in women to be attractive, and dresses are a physical manifestation of femininity. The wearing of pants by women represents the masculinization of the fairer sex, which is not at all attractive.

In advocating the wearing of dresses, I must distinguish between the flowing elegant dresses of tradition and the more degenerate and immodest dresses of our present culture. The miniskirt, a dress of sorts that doesn’t extend below the knees, is both lacking in modesty and elegance. Elegance is essential to femininity, and the lack thereof implies a sort of masculinization. Modesty is essential to feminine virtue, and the lack thereof implies a state of whorification. Immodest, inelegant dresses constitute a degeneration and androgynization of true dresses.

The androgynous masculinization of the modern woman, through the donning of pants, suits, uncovered shoulders and unveiled hair, has in a sense led to the slow whorification of ladyhood. In discarding feminine dress, women seem to have symbolically discarded femininity and modesty (the virtues of women) in favor of sexual virility, promiscuity and immodesty (the vices of men). The ideal form of a true lady is a constant, immutable aspect of humanity, and this strange new development can only represent a bizarre aberration of a perverse and ignoble culture. Dresses are an essential part of any true lady’s attire, and they should be worn.

Who wears the pants?

What the heck is it with the mainstream media being so concerned about what transsexuals wear in public?  This is from the first paragraph of Phil Davis’s Associated Press account of Susan Stanton not being hired as the Sarasota City Manager:

Steve Stanton was fired as city manager in Largo two months ago after announcing his plans to become Susan Stanton. On Wednesday, Stanton, wearing a white skirt, pumps and makeup, applied for the top job in this cosmopolitan tourist town, and was turned down.

My male-to-female transsexual peers and I are more than just phr3qs wearing appropriate skirts, pumps, and make-up.

Hey Phil, Ms. Stanton was a city manager for 14-years — why would you think defining any other woman in the sexist terms of her skirt as good journalism? Would you think it appropriate journalism to describe exactly how a natal female applicants were dressed for a city job interview without describing in equal detail how the natal male applicants were dressed?

With all respects to Geico, Phil “sweetie,” are you a caveman?

 I’m e-mailing my GLAAD rep today or tomorrow — Hope it does some good.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

As she waits to see if she will become Sarasota’s new city manager, Susan Stanton expressed confidence that the “transgender issue” would not be a public concern.

I hope Susan is right about that.

But, however many times I see them, and though they may not be representive of the views and feelings of the majority of Sarasota’s citizens, I still find comments such as these quite irksome …

“Please vote for anyone except Susan Stanton.”

“Stanton will not be a good fit for the city, do you have unisex bathrooms or would you enjoy sharing with him?”

“I am very opposed to our lovely city becoming a beacon of sorts for transvestites such as Steve/Susan Stanton.”

———Update———
- Susan Stanton Doesn’t Get The Sarasota Job

Related information:
- Steve Stanton
- Susan Stanton
- Steve Stanton On The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

This is from an article by Tom Lyons at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

In the back and forth about Susan-formerly-Steve Stanton, the argument taking place in the Herald-Tribune’s Web site forum has been fairly predictable.

There are, of course, some people saying harsh and trashy things about the transgendered candidate for the job of Sarasota city manager.

One outraged chest thumper, while explaining that it would be insane to even consider such a person for the Sarasota city manager position, called Stanton an “emasculated drag queen,” and handled the pronoun confusion by calling Stanton “it.”

Mr. Lyons then interjects his own thoughtful comment to his coworkers’ less enlighted comment:

I’m going to go with “she,” as I would with anyone who goes by the name Susan and doesn’t look like Johnny Cash.

Thank you Mr. Lyons, sir. You’re a star in my book.

——
H/t: AEBrain

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

CNET News: Congress rethinks the Real ID Act
Excerpt: Opposition is growing to a forthcoming digital ID card for American citizens, but it may be too late to make sweeping changes to the controversial identification requirements.

Pam’s House Blend: Navy discharges Jason Knight - again
“I have now spent five years in the Navy, and I have loved every minute of it. It is unfortunate that in our country, which prides itself on being a beacon of liberty to the world, discrimination is still alive and well, even in our own government. I am proud to be among the one million gay veterans who have answered the call to duty, and I look forward to working alongside them to topple this un-American and counter-productive law.”
– Jason Knight, commenting on the Navy’s decision to give him a pink slip — again.

San Francisco Chronicle: Fire retreats from city on Catalina Island off LA coast
Firefighters working through the night turned back flames threatening homes on the edge of Santa Catalina Island’s main city, Avalon, and Friday’s forecast coupled with a massing force of fire trucks and water-dropping aircraft offered hope that the popular oceanside resort would be spared. (This is in my “backyard” — used to go to the island as a young adult.)

Out In Hollywood: Exclusive: “Ugly Betty” cast on the transgender storyline…
Excerpt: With the attention LA Times sportswriter Mike Penner’s transition to Christine Daniels has gotten along with Barbara Walters’ special last week about transgender children has had me thinking about the subject more than ever. I discussed this with [Eric] Mabius (Daniel) and [Judith] Light (Claire) before the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences event began. . .

Broadside - Fairfax,VA,USA: Stand-Up at Mason
Excerpt: “Hey there. I’m Alli, and I’m a transexual woman. For those of you who don’t know what a transexual is, I invite you to use your eyes.” With these words, senior anthropology major, Alli Medwin, began her stand-up comedy act.

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality: ENDA: The ‘Transgender Bathrooms for Businesses’ Bill
H.R. 2015 Would Force a Gender Confusion Revolution on U.S. Businesses (Opposition piece)

The Advocate: Transgender deceiver
Former Largo, Fla., city manager Steve Stanton attended a conference at city expense and dressed as a woman for two seminars without telling the city. Was he deceiving the citizens of Largo or just being incredibly prudent?

Gay & Lesbian Times: Mother courage: portrait of a transgender mom

Salon.com (Advice Column): Daddy’s becoming a woman!
How do I tell our 8-year-old daughter that her dad is having a sex change?

San Francisco Chronicle: Can’t-Hold-Their-Water Trap
An angry Tenn. mom videotapes drunk golfers urinating by her house at the 18th hole.

I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.That’s OK. I understand that I am not the only one in transition as I move from Mike to Christine. Everyone who knows me and my work will be transitioning as well. That will take time. And that’s all right. To borrow a piece of well-worn sports parlance, we will take it one day at a time.

Sportswriter Mike Penner announced in the Los Angeles Times today that he she is transitioning from Mike Penner to Christine Daniels.

Christine further stated:

A transgender friend provided the best and simplest explanation I have heard: We are born with this, we fight it as long as we can, and in the end it wins.

And. . .

When I told my boss Randy Harvey, he leaned back in his chair, looked through his office window to scan the newsroom and mused, “Well, no one can ever say we don’t have diversity on this staff.”

Fortunately for Christine Daniels, she lives in the most transgender friendly state in the United States. The Gender Nondiscrimination Act of 2003 (AB 196) was signed into law back in 2003, the law changed the California Government Code in two places.

First, it amended California Government Code 12926(p) which defines sex to read:

(p) “Sex” includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. “Sex” also includes, but is not limited to, a person’s gender, as defined in Section 422.56 of the Penal Code. California Government Code 12926 (Italicized portion is the amended language)

For the sake of statutory consistency, AB 196 did not create a new definition of gender to add to the statute. Instead it incorporated the definition from California’s Hate Crimes Statute. That statute defines gender as:

“Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth. California Penal Code 422.56(c)8

Christine Daniels, through her personal journey, provides another argument for an inclusive ENDA. It’s because unlike Steve Stanton or Julie Nemecek, Mike Penner couldn’t be legally fired for beginning the transition to Christine Daniels.

Christine Daniels’ story is an example of what laws protecting people against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity can do for LGBT employees. The Gender Nondiscrimination Act of 2003 (AB 196) changed the employment climate in California; the Los Angeles Times didn’t fire her. The Times may have accomodated her transition without legislation, but as it is they don’t really have a legal choice whether or not to accomodate her — they are required by law to accomodate her transition.

And of course, Christine Daniels‘ case is one more case that proves one can be male-to-female transperson and still really, really like sports.

—————
Related:

Mike Penner Coming Out as Transgender

Sports Writer To Become Woman

Mike Penner…on courage

———Update———

Chritine Daniels has a blog up entitled “Woman In Progress,” which includes the byline photograph above.

“Rob Riggle investigates the controversy surrounding Largo’s City Manager.“

(click image to view video.)

Segment title: “Suddenly Susan.”

I’m not going to comment on this, other than to say that Comedy Central’s Daily Show did thier usual excellent job of presenting the issues in their very funny, somewhat disheartening, and poingant way.

———
PS: There’s a part in the Video that refers to Galations 6:15. The text of that scripture actually is:

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

From the Associated Press: Fired transsexual city manager says he won’t sue Largo:

LARGO, Fla. (AP) - A city manager fired after revealing his sex change plans announced today that he will not sue the city that fired him and he will begin living as a woman full-time by the end of May.

Steve Stanton told Larry King during the taped segment that he will be living as Susan within the next 30 to 60 days. Stanton also said he and his wife will separate.

Stanton had previously said taking Largo to court would be like “suing my mother,” but the city of 76-thousand west of Tampa had expected him to sue.

The St. Petersburg Times says he, soon to be she, plans to try to teach others about transgender people.

“Litigation in this situation is not nearly as important as education,” he said. And now, he said, he plans to take advantage of having a national stage from which to help teach others.

Stanton also said he plans to begin appearing as Susan Stanton in the next 30 to 60 days and expects to separate from his wife, Donna, in June. He also hopes one day to work as a city manager again.

Thank you for taking on a role of being a voice for transgender people and issues so others’ transitions will be easier than your own has been so far.

And, good luck to you Steve . . . Susan. Please let us in the transgender community know what we can do for you in the future to make your alignment to Susan easier.

******Update 3*****

Comedy Central Video Link: Steve Stanton On The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 

*****UPDATE 2*****
Maybe I was in tune with the gawds!  The National Center for Lesbien Rights reports that there is a schedule change: NCLR Client Steve Stanton on “Larry King Live” Friday, May 13 Due to Schedule Change! Thank you for standing with us and for standing with Steve. –Warmly, Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights.
*****UPDATE 1*****
Egads, I got the day of the week wrong for Steve Stanton’s appearance. I was thinking Thrursday, but actually wrote Friday in the headline of this post’s original entry. GAK! His appearance is Thrursday!My apologies for mis-typing this — Thanks Dr. Weiss for correcting me.
~~A~~
***********

From the St. Petersburt Times: Stanton ready to go national; He will discuss his case on Larry King Live on Thursday. Excerpt:

Steve Stanton is poised to join a national campaign to make America more aware of the plight of transgender people.

Fired as Largo’s city manager a month after he acknowledged he planned to become a woman named Susan, Stanton is writing a book and plans to lobby Congress.

Thursday night, he’s slated to appear with his attorney on Larry King Live. And next week, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart is scheduled to broadcast its take on his case.

Stanton will announce whether he’ll sue his former employer on Larry King, said his lawyer, Karen Doering, senior counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

She wouldn’t say what Stanton will do, but did say Stanton has a “winnable” case.

“When the city terminated him they engaged in illegal discrimination,” she said.

Largo officials expect a lawsuit.

There’s more of the article at the link, and legal analysis of the Steve Stanton case by Dr. Jillian Weiss at Transgender Workplace Diversity.

–
H/t: Transgender Workplace Diversity

Laura Douglas-Brown, over at Southern Voice, published the article When boys are “girls”. As a self-identified lesbian, she questions whether the use of the gay male community’s use of the term girl to refer to each other doesn’t sometimes cross the line into sexism.

. . . The “Troy” cartoon that appeared in last week’s Southern Voice is one of those. The syndicated strip is reprinted on this page so you can see for yourself how buff Rigo sobs when his boyfriend, Jorge, repeatedly calls him “a total girl” and a big “woman”for being sensitive and worrying about a friend. Jorge uses the term as criticism, and Rigo takes it as an insult.

Think it’s not sexist? When was the last time you heard someone called a “total girl” when they were being strong and powerful?

AND IT’S NOT JUST gay men. Even as a lesbian, I am sometimes shocked by how much I can absorb the anti-woman bias that still exists in dominant society.

Groups like the Femme Mafia and high-profile femmes like the characters on “The L Word” prove that change is happening, but when I was a baby dyke coming out in the early ’90s, it seemed that most of lesbian culture aspired to an androgyny that looked more like masculinity.

I cut my hair short, wore men’s jeans and eschewed make-up and purses’ program coordinator but it never felt natural to me. It was only when I fell in love with a girl for whom all of those things did come naturally that I finally began to make peace with my own femininity.

Although almost every female-to-male transsexual will tell you their transition isn’t primarily about the personal empowerment from living one’s gender — it’s about aligning one’s physical presence to match one’s gender identity — yet there is an empowerment that comes from presenting as male in our society because being seen as a “total girl” is often perceived as “totally bad.”

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to sexual harassment law, probably one of the knowledgeable and insightful writers I’ve seen on the subject Joanna Grossman of FindLaw Writ. I’m not an attorney, but FindLaw Writ is one of my favorite news websites, and Ms. Grossman is one of my favorite writers at the site.

In her (longwindedly headlined) column Recent Firings Serve as a Reminder of the Employment Struggles Unjustly and Sometimes Illegally Faced by Transsexuals, she writes about the recent discriminatory workplace actions against Julie Nemecek and Steve Stanton in particular, and about employment discrimination transsexuals face in general.

And, of course she brings up Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, informing us as to why discrimination against transsexuals likely goes directly against this Supreme Court prescience.

Transsexuals have generally been unsuccessful in establishing rights under federal anti-discrimination laws. Most courts have held that neither transsexuals, nor gays and lesbians, comprise a protected class under Title VII. Efforts to enact federal legislation to protect against both these forms of discrimination have been undertaken, but thus far have been unsuccessful.

Fourteen states have adopted statutes banning sexual orientation discrimination, but only four of those statutes explicitly extend to discrimination on the basis of transsexualism. Many cities, however, protect transsexuals against discrimination through local ordinances.

I believe some of her numbers are a little off — the numbers have improved in the last few years to nine states currently that have civil rights protections based on gender identity, and seventeen states have civil rights protections based on sexual orientation. Although frankly, if one looks on the web one can still find the older numbers she references in greater frequency than the current numbers.

Nemecek has a better prognosis for her discrimination suit, and seems to be aware of that fact: Unlike Stanton, she has filed a complaint with the EEOC, an act that is the required precursor to filing a lawsuit. Her situation is legally more complicated than Stanton’s, but more likely to work out in her favor.

Nemecek is fortunate that, unlike Stanton, she can invoke the 2004 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in whose jurisdiction the state of Michigan falls) in Smith v. City of Salem. In that case, a transsexual firefighter argued that he had suffered adverse employment actions and retaliation because of a gender identity disorder that led him to “express a more feminine appearance on a full-time basis,” including at work. Contrary to rulings from several other federal appellate courts, the Sixth Court ruled that the plaintiff was indeed discriminated against on the basis of his sex, as Title VII requires, when he suffered discrimination on the basis of his transsexualism.

In what way does firing a transsexual employee constitute sex discrimination? The roots of the theory lie in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that sex-stereotyping in the workplace is actionable under Title VII. In that case, a very successful woman employee at Price-Waterhouse was turned down for partnership at least in part because she wasn’t “feminine” enough. Despite her superb rainmaking abilities, partners at the firm charged with evaluating her criticized her for being “too macho” and advised her to wear more jewelry and go to charm school.

That sort of gender policing, the Court ruled, violates Title VII. A woman should not have to “act like a woman” (particularly a stereotypical one) in order to keep her job if she’s otherwise good at it. In a quote that’s often repeated, the majority observed that: “[W]e are beyond the day when an employer could evaluate employees by assuming or insisting that they matched the stereotype associate with their group.”

This was a watershed case in sex discrimination law and, yet, it has been underutilized as a precedent in the 18 years since it was decided.

Granted, this precedent has enabled some gay male employees to successfully challenge harassment or other forms of discrimination even though Title VII has been held not to protect against sexual orientation discrimination. Thanks to Price-Waterhouse v. Hopkins, if an effeminate gay male is singled out for adverse treatment, whether by the employer or by co-workers who harass him, he can allege illegal sex-stereotyping. In Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant Enterprises, Inc., for example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that harassment of a gay, male employee reflecting hostility toward him because he was too “feminine” constituted illegal sex-stereotyping. (I considered this legal theory further in an earlier column).

But that theory is of no use for gays and lesbians who do conform to gender expectations. The simple fact that they may choose a same-sex partner has not been treated as “gender” nonconformity with the meaning of Price-Waterhouse, even though stereotypes still hold that they should choose an opposite-sex partner instead.

One might predict that the limited protection for gays and lesbians under Title VII bodes poorly for transsexuals, an even more ostracized gender minority. However, the premise of Price-Waterhouse - that employers cannot punish employees for gender non-conformity - is actually a better fit for discrimination on the basis of transsexualism, than for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. After all, gender non-conformity is the essential trait of transsexualism, while many gays and lesbians do not exhibit it.

The Sixth Circuit in Smith relied on this reasoning to hold that the transsexual firefighter was protected by Title VII. Discriminating against a male who assumes a female identity is a form of gender policing as well, it concluded: According to stereotype, a “real” man wouldn’t “switch” genders away from the one assigned to him at birth, and so a man who does so is singled out for maltreatment.

Joanna Grossman concludes:

In sum, while there may be some recourse for those within the range of the Sixth Circuit’s jurisdiction, the overwhelmingly majority of transsexual employees still face hard times in the current legal regime.

Thus, though an obvious target for bigotry and discrimination, transsexuals have little or no protection against it. Price-Waterhouse provides a way out of this regime, and a mandatory one at that. No court should be able to justify refusing to protect employees against transsexual discrimination, since the very essence of it is precisely the kind of gender policing that Price Waterhouse stressed was a noxious form of gender discrimination.

It’s employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination that propels me into transgender activism– the kind of discrimination that Ms. Grossman commented on in her article. Transpeople have to do legwork to fight discrimination to fight anti-transgender discrimination. 

Frankly, I believe people like me — and my transgender peers — should be part of the solution to anti-transgender employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination.   We can’t all sit back and wait for someone else to do the work — if everyone waited for someone else to do the work, nothing would get done.

——
Further reading:

Dr. Jillian Weiss is writing some insightful legal commentary in her blog Transgender Workplace Equality. She has several informative pieces up on both the Steve Stanton and Julie Nemecek firings.  One of her most recent pieces on Steve Stanton’s firing is Update on Law Covering Steve Stanton – Dr. Weiss in this piece goes over some Florida State case law she’s recently researched out, and how this may impact the Stanton case.