Vitale Letter #239, October 21, 2002 Anne Vitale PhD, Editor
Slain Newark teen balanced between two worlds3 charged in death of youth who was living his dream as a female Three Men Arraigned in Death of Transgendered Teen. NTAC Urges Hate Crime Charges in Brutal Bludgeoning Death Three Men Charged in Cross-Dresser's Death KPIX-TV http://www.kpix.com is organizing a fund to help the Araujo family meet the funeral costs
I am extremely saddened after reading this news article below and I was wondering if some of us could write a note to the mother of this child and give her a little support telling her her daughter was not alone. A memorial fund is being set up to help with the burial expenses. It is: Gwen Guerrero Family, account #631001301508, SanBenito Bank, 300 TresPinos, Hollister, Ca. 95023 It doesn't have to be a lot of money but if she gets numerous contributions it will add up and it will give her encouragement and condolences. Warm Regards,
ANNOUNCEMENTS [1]USA :Washington D.C.--The American Boyz to Hold Seventh Annual True Spirit Conference [2] USA: Now, More Than Ever: Transgender Day Of Remembrance Honored with National, International Events
[11]USA: Dynamic leader of thriving GLBT student alliance The Eagle online (student newspaper, American University, Washington, DC) [12] Cross Purposes--At the fringes of American sexual life, writer Amy Bloom finds truth stranger than fiction. NORTHEAST
[14]USA: Florida Okays Gender Amendments on Birth Certificates
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
[22] US A- When the role calls for a vamp, Nick Garrison's your man
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LEAD STORY Top
Slain Newark teen balanced between two worlds...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2002/10/19/MN243494
.DTL
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Eddie Araujo was finally living as the female he always knew himself to be.
And in the end, police say, that may have cost him his life.
Three years ago, at age 14, Araujo worked up the courage to come out to his
family. He called himself Gwen and lived as a young woman, growing long hair
and wearing crop-tops and women's jeans. He dreamed of becoming a famous
Hollywood makeup artist.
Araujo was different. And police say that is why three men beat and
strangled the 17-year-old at a party in Newark two weeks ago and then dumped
his body in a shallow grave in the Sierra.
"His tombstone will say Gwen," Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, 38, said
Friday. "This kid was a great kid, and he suffered so much. He's my Gwen,
and he's beautiful.
"I just wish I could have saved him from this," Guerrero said.
Three men have been charged with the slaying, which has shocked the sleepy
Silicon Valley suburb, where the high school is preparing to stage the
Laramie Project, a play about the impact of the beating death of gay college
student Matthew Shepard on his rural Wyoming community.
The suspects also face a hate-crime enhancement that could add as many as
four more years in prison if they are convicted.
Michael William Magidson, 22, Jose Antonio Merel, 22, and Jaron Chase
Nabors, 19, were arraigned Friday in Alameda County Superior Court in
Fremont. They did not enter a plea and were held without bail.
Merel's brother, Paul Richard Merel Jr., 25, who was arrested with the
others, was released Friday. Reached at home, Paul Merel said he was
"obviously" not involved and declined to comment further. The Oct. 3 party
was held at the Merel household on St. Matthew Drive.
Araujo was attacked after Paul Merel's girlfriend emerged from a bathroom
that Araujo had been using and announced that he was male, according to
police reports. It was not clear how many of the dozen partygoers saw the
attack or kept quiet about what happened.
HELP DIDN'T MATERIALIZE
"We're dealing with a number of people who could have helped, stepped in,
prevented or reported this," said Newark police Lt. Lance Morrison. "None of
them did."
Jose Merel, Nabors and Magidson punched Araujo in the face, then dragged
him, semiconscious, to the garage and strangled him with rope, authorities
said. They drove Araujo in Magidson's pickup truck to a campground east of
Placerville and buried him, Nabors told police.
Araujo's body was found Tuesday, clad in women's clothing and wrapped in a
blanket. His hands and feet were tied up, police said. He died of
strangulation and blunt-force trauma to the head, the Alameda County coroner
said Friday.
Araujo's slaying is reminiscent of other high-profile slayings of
transgendered youth. The story of Brandon Teena, a 21-year-old Nebraska
woman slain because she identified as a man, may be best known, thanks to
the movie "Boys Don't Cry."
NAVAJO TEEN KILLED LAST YEAR
Last year, a 16-year-old transgender Navajo teen named Fred Martinez Jr.,
who wore makeup and carried a purse, was killed in Cortez, Colo.
Closer to home, a 22-year-old San Jose man was convicted last year of the
1999 strangulation murder of 19-year-old Alina Marie Barragan, a biological
male who dressed as a woman and legally changed his name from Manuel Reyes
Eredia.
"We really have a responsibility to be very vocal, particularly with cross-
dressing boys, that this is a dangerous world for them," said Wiggsy
Silvertsen, a gay activist and director of counseling services at San Jose
State University.
Guerrero said Araujo had borrowed her peasant blouse and a friend's
miniskirt to wear to the party. She said that it was the first time he had
worn a skirt out and that she had warned him she was afraid he might still
look too "manly."
Guerrero said Araujo normally checked in with her, so she began to fear
something had happened to him when he did not come home the day after the
party. She called police on Oct. 5 to report him missing.
About two days later, a friend of Nabors described him as appearing
distraught and "acting like something was bothering him," according to
records.
Nabors, a waiter at a San Leandro restaurant, led police to the grave site
on Tuesday, records show.
"They're going to pay for what they did," Araujo's aunt, Imelda Guerrero,
said outside court Friday. "I hope everybody out there who sees this learns
something from this, because he was a beautiful person inside and out."
LOVING RELATIONSHIP
Speaking at her home in Newark, a distraught Guerrero described a loving
relationship with her child, who never felt like he was male and had
struggled his whole life to be accepted for who he was.
She said she suspected her son was gay since he was just a toddler. His
older sister, Pearl, said by the time Araujo reached junior high school, he
was tormented because of his voice and the way he carried himself, she said.
His grades began to slip.
"Ever since he was little, I always protected him," she said. "But by the
eighth grade, people started calling him names. The f-word, faggot."
An avid music fan, Araujo took the name Gwen after his favorite musician,
Gwen Stefani, the lead singer of the rock group No Doubt. He also used Wendy
and Lida.
Araujo attended an alternative high school and didn't return this fall,
school officials said. He was also turned down for several jobs because he
didn't look like the legal name -- Eddie Araujo -- he wrote on his
application, his mother said.
"He went through a lot of pain, and people didn't respect him," Guerrero
said. "It took a lot of guts. He's strong, and he finally came out."
NO COMMENT
Relatives and friends of the three suspects declined to comment.
Nabors' attorney, Robert Beles of Oakland, said his client is a college
student who would not "actively participate in any type of homophobic
activity. "
At nearby Newark Memorial High School, drama instructor Barbara Williams sat
and watched as 19 students rehearsed the "Laramie Project," a play about the
Shepard's death four years ago in a hate crime and its impact on the
community.
"It's Laramie in Newark. It's like deja vu," Williams said, shaking her
head. "There hasn't been a lot of teaching today, but a whole lot of
learning has taken place."
Amy Johnson, a 17-year-old senior who plays the police officer who
discovered Shepard's body and feared she may have exposed herself to the
AIDS virus, said Araujo's death has made her fear for the safety of her gay
friends, even in the liberal Bay Area.
"You think that people would have more tolerance," Johnson said. "But it can
happen anywhere."
A few more stories ...
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/4842263p-5855552c.html
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/4317594.htm
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1624121
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/101802_nw_cross_dresser_killed.html
Chronicle staff writers Christopher Heredia and Janine DeFao contributed to
this report. / E-mail the writers at kstjohn@sfch
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Page A - 1
Top
Three Men Arraigned in Death of Transgendered Teen.
NTAC Urges Hate Crime Charges in Brutal Bludgeoning Death
Top
For Immediate Release: Dated October 19, 2002
From: The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC)
Contact Person: Vanessa Edwards Foster; Houston, Texas
Contact Email: ntacmedia@aol.com
media@ntac.org
Contact Phone: 832-483-9901
Website: http://www.ntac.org
Three Men Arraigned in Death of Transgendered Teen.
NTAC Urges Hate Crime Charges in Brutal Bludgeoning Death
The body of a transgendered Newark, California teen who failed to return home after an October 3 party was discovered nearly two weeks later, buried in a shallow grave 150 miles away. Seventeen-year old Lida (born Eddie) Araujo was found on Wednesday, October 15, after her mother reported her missing. Araujo was severely bludgeoned about the head, then strangled.
Police are currently investigating the murder as a possible hate crime. The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) strongly urges authorities to diligently prosecute and, if found guilty, to punish those responsible for this brutal killing to the fullest extent of the law.
Late Friday, prosecutors charged Michael William Magidson, 27, Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, and Jose Antonio Merel, 24, all from Newark, in the murder. A fourth suspect arrested Wednesday, Jose's brother, Paul Richard Merel Jr., 25 was not arraigned.
Police reports state Lida Araujo, who also used the name Gwen, was assaulted and killed at the Oct. 3 party. "We're dealing with a number of people [at the party] who could have helped, stepped in, prevented or reported this," said Newark Police Lt. Lance Morrison. "None of them did."
Police speculate Araujo was killed in Newark, and then transported to a remote part of Silver Fork campground east of Placerville, CA, where the body was buried. Morrison described it as a "haunting and gruesome situation."
The defendants allegedly beat Araujo, gashing her head, and then dragged the semiconscious body to the garage, where they tightened a rope around Araujo's neck until she appeared dead.
According to an affidavit, Paul Merel's girlfriend, Nicole Brown, discovered Araujo's secret after taking her into a bathroom at the Merels' house to determine her gender once and for all. After Brown announced that Lida was a boy, Jose Merel punched Araujo to the floor and Nabors and Magidson joined in, police said.
Paul Merel said he was sleeping when his girlfriend then woke him up and insisted they flee, saying, "It's a man, let's go." He told police he saw Araujo lying on the floor with her skirt pulled up as they left the house, but knew nothing more.
"There's no bias in him," said Jaron Nabors' attorney, Robert Beles. Beles added there was nothing to indicate that Nabors "would actively participate in any type of homophobic activity."
A neighbor of the Merels, who asked to remain anonymous, said she's known her neighbors for 10 years and characterized them as "nice, pleasant, well-mannered boys."
"I hope everybody out there who sees this learns something from this because he was a beautiful person inside and out," said Araujo's aunt, Imelda Guerrero. "We want to remember him as the human being that he was," she said, crying. "Nobody deserves to take his life, his young life, he didn't deserve it."
In fact, Newark Unified School District Superintendent Ken Sherer characterized Araujo as "a rather non-aggressive individual".
A teacher who knew the victim told the San Jose Mercury News she was a "happy-go-lucky" and intelligent teen who was well liked by peers.
Araujo "was always smiling," added Superintendent Sherer. "He selected his friends very carefully and, according to some students, did have more female friends than male," he said.
Other teachers in the district expressed shock and sadness at the news. "We're heartsick," said Mary Kay Henderson, a teacher at Newark Memorial High School.
Although Lida Araujo would've been a senior this year, she did not return to Newark's Crossroads High School. Pastor Ed Moore, who knows Araujo's family, said she had been ostracized.
"People did not really want to accept him, he didn't get a job because of who he was," Moore said. "And so not only was there personal struggles, but also struggles with how she was viewed by society."
Meanwhile, the nation's Transgender Community has been rocked by the brutal murder.
"Yet again, hatred rears its ugly head," said an irate Vanessa Edwards Foster, the chair of NTAC. "It's the byproduct of ignorance, personal phobias, and total lack of value for the lives of transgenders, and in fact, anyone who's 'different' in society.
"What makes it worse," Foster added, "is the utter lack of attention by many of this country's leaders towards addressing the issues of hatred and prejudice - specifically against the transgendered."
"It's horrible," said Gwen Smith, founder of the Day of Remembrance, an observance by the nation's Transgender Community that takes place November 20. "Again we see a young transgendered person killed before their prime, simply because someone was uncomfortable with their gender identity."
"If it's not a hate crime, I don't know what other crime it could be. Why would you do that to a young person?" said Rachael Janelle Light, president of Transgender San Francisco (TGSF). "We all lose a piece of ourselves when this happens."
NTAC requests a vigorous prosecution, and a just and meaningful punishment of those convicted in the brutal death of Lida Gwen Araujo.
Imelda Guerrero, the victim's aunt, cried, "They're going to pay for what they did!"
Top
Three Men Charged in Cross-Dresser's Death Top By MICHELLE LOCKE .c The Associated Press
NEWARK, Calif. (AP) - Three young men have been charged with murder in the beating and strangling death of a cross-dressing 17-year-old boy whose body was found in a shallow grave two weeks after he disappeared.
Police said Eddie Araujo showed up at the house party as a girl named ``Lida,'' and was assaulted and killed after it was discovered he was a boy.
The defendants allegedly beat him, gashing his head, and then dragged his semiconscious body to the garage, where they tightened a rope around his neck. Then they drove his body to a remote spot in the Sierra foothills and buried him in a shallow grave, a police affidavit said.
``They're going to pay for what they did,'' said Araujo's aunt, Imelda Guerrero. ``I hope everybody out there who sees this learns something from this because he was a beautiful person inside and out.''
Michael William Magidson, 27, Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, and Jose Antonio Merel, 24, all of Newark, appeared in court on charges of murder with a hate-crime enhancement Friday. They entered no pleas and were held without bail.
Nabor's lawyer, Robert J. Beles, said his client was a college student who had no violence in his background.
``There's no bias in him,'' Beles said, nothing to indicate that Nabors ``would actively participate in any type of homophobic activity.''
A fourth suspect arrested Wednesday, Jose's brother Paul Richard Merel Jr., 25, was released when the district attorney's office determined there was not enough evidence to prosecute him. Police have not ruled out other suspects.
According to the affidavit, it was Paul's girlfriend, Nicole Brown, who discovered Araujo's secret after taking him into a bathroom at the Merels' house to determine his gender.
After she announced he was a boy, Jose Merel punched Araujo to the floor and Nabors and Magidson joined in, police said. Paul Merel said he was sleeping when his girlfriend woke him and insisted they flee, saying, ``It's a man, let's go.''
He told police he saw Araujo lying on the floor with his skirt pulled up as they left the house, but knew nothing more. Police said the other three drove the body to the mountains.
Araujo had been dressing like a girl ``for some time,'' and had clashed with the suspects about a week before the Oct. 3 party, said Newark Police Lt. Tom Milner.
``We don't know if that's the prime factor in the altercation or if there were other factors involved such as revenge,'' Milner said. ``These things are all definitely in play.''
The boy was reported missing by his mother when he didn't come home from the party.
On Wednesday, two weeks later, police said Nabors confessed and led them to the body, buried about 150 miles east of his home in Newark, a San Francisco suburb.
``We're dealing with a number of people who could have helped, stepped in, prevented or reported this,'' said Lt. Lance Morrison. ``None of them did.''
It remained unclear whether the teen died in Newark or in the wilderness area where he was found, near the Silver Fork campground in El Dorado County. The site was so remote, it could only be reached by a four-wheel drive vehicle, Milner said.
Araujo identified himself as both a male and a female, sometimes also going by the name Gwen, said Milner. His aunt said singer Gwen Stefani of No Doubt was one of his favorites.
In a recent family photo, Araujo had carefully groomed eyebrows and makeup and his hair was highlighted and cut into a shoulder-length bob.
Araujo's friend, Daisy Bernal, said people didn't accept him as a female.
``People just didn't like him,'' she said. ``She gets mad when I used to call her Eddie. She would be like, 'Shut Up. Don't call me that.' After I called her that, she just said, 'I'm a girl, I'm just a girl trapped in a guy's body. God made me like that.'''
Violence against transgender people -- a broad range of identities including cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals and those born with characteristics of both sexes -- is unfortunately common, said Rachael Janelle Light, president of Transgender San Francisco, an advocacy group.
``If it's not a hate crime, I don't know what other crime it could be. Why would you do that to a young person?'' Light said. ``We all lose a piece of ourselves when this happens.''
10/19/02 02:22 EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. >> Top
Bay Area resources Top
KPIX-TV http://www.kpix.com is organizing a fund to help the Araujo family meet the funeral costs
Some resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and their families: -- Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, San Francisco. (800) 246-PRIDE (7743), http://www.lyric.org -- Youth Gender Project, San Francisco and Berkeley. (415) 865-5625, (510) 665-9234, www.youthgenderproject.org -- Lambda Youth Project, Hayward. (510) 247-8217, http://www.gayprom.org -- Pacific Center for Human Growth, Berkeley. (510) 548-8283 -- Billy DeFrank Gay and Lesbian Center, San Jose. (408) 293-2429 -- Sexual Minority Alliance Alameda County, Oakland. (510) 834-9578 -- The San Francisco Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. (415) 865-5555, ext. 1 -- Community United Against Violence, 24-hour crisis line, San Francisco.
(415) 333-HELP (4357)
Top
ANNOUNCEMENTS Top [1]USA :Washington D.C.--The American Boyz to Hold Seventh Annual True Spirit Conference Masculinity: The Magical Mystery Tour www.True-Spirit.org February 14-17, 2003 The Washington Court Hotel . 525 New Jersey Avenue, NW . Washington DC 20001 (202) 879-7936 . (800) 321-3010 PRESS RELEASE Contact: Michael Woodward, TSC 2003 Media Director, media@t... FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 1, 2002 The American Boyz is pleased to announce the seventh annual True Spirit Conference (TSC), to be held at the Washington Court Hotel, Washington, D.C.From February 14-17, 2003. TSC focuses on the social, physical, emotional, spiritual and relational health of all gender variant people on the female-to-male (FtM) spectrum and their partners, family and allies. The workshops and panel presentations to be held during this event will address a variety of topics from a trans-positive perspective, including relationships, health and wellness, legal, political and employment issues, spirituality, and the specific concerns of diverse groups such as youth, older people, people of color, and individuals with physical challenges. Town Hall meetings will provide an opportunity for highly focused group interactions with a panel of experienced transgender activists, while workshops and support groups will provide participants with increased opportunity for in-depth discussion and examination of specific issues. Conference entertainment will provide regular opportunity for social interaction and networking on a different, more relaxed level and is planned to cover the spectrum from artistic to gospel to spoken word performance.This year's conference continues to feature keynote speakers, access to medical screenings with trans-sensitive providers, author readings and a film festival. The focus of the True Spirit Conference is to provide a forum for individuals who were designated to be female at birth, yet who express masculinity along a wide and diverse continuum. TSC provides a space for FtM/transgender people's partners, family and allies to join together for support, information and celebration. This past year's conference drew over 700 attendees from the United States and abroad. The transgender community is a growing and diverse group of people spread out geographically across the United States and abroad, and this conference provides not only education and support, but also networking opportunities for this increasingly politicized and visible community. Workshop submission requirements may be found on the website (www.true-spirit.org), along with increasingly detailed programming information as the conference date nears. Conference registration fees range from $50 to $90 and a discount is given for early registration. Representatives of the press are invited to attend TSC 2003 but are required to register as a press person as well as sign and comply with all TSC press and camera regulations no later than February 1, 2003. All registered press will receive a TSC 2003 press kit upon their arrival at the conference. Please contact Media Director, Michael Woodward, at media@t... for all press or media matters.
Top
[2] USA: Now, More Than Ever: Transgender Day Of Remembrance Honored with National, International Events Top From: Gwendolyn Ann Smith <gwen@gwensmith.com> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 02 15:12:45 -0800 Subject: [RELEASE] Transgender Day Of Remembrance Honored with Nationwide Events For Immediate Release Contact: Gwen Smith gwen@gwensmith.com Event Honors Twenty-Four Victims since 2001 Memorial In a year marked with two dozen reported anti-transgender murders, members of the transgendered community will be holding events on November 20th to honor those lost. "Too often people want to make our dead into forgotten people," said event founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith, "Now, more than ever, we need to stand together and say that taking life from anyone is not acceptable. Now, more than ever, we must remember, and let those memories spur us to more education and more action to safeguard the diverse character of our communities." The event is designed to draw those from across the community to come out and say that each and every human is valuable and honored, that no one should ever be so marginalized that their death doesn't matter. From candlelight vigils to performance events and art installations, each city finds a unique way to make the lives of those murdered visible. A total of 19 states and the District of Columbia will have Transgender Day of Remembrance events, and four countries -- the United States, Canada, Chile and Spain -- will have them within their borders. In addition, several prominent transgender websites will also be blacking out their main pages on November 20th, as a show of solidarity with the cause. Events this year include a candlelight march down Market Street in San Francisco, California, a rally in Washington D.C., the dedication of a permanent memorial space in West Hollywood, California, an on-campus event at Ohio State University, and a memorial service in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The Transgender Day Of Remembrance began in San Francisco in 1999 as a response to the murder of Rita Hester, a transgendered woman who was stabbed to death in her apartment. A murder that, like most transgender killings, remains unsolved. Through the work of the Remembering Our Dead project which spawned the Transgender Day of Remembrance, it was discovered that an average of one person is reported dead due to anti-transgender violence every month. In 2002 this figure has doubled, with 24 cases since last year's event. Organizers point to better reporting, rather than an increase in crime, as a primary reason for this jump. "Some might think that the rise in numbers points to an increase in deaths this year," Smith said, "While I think there may be some weight in that, I personally feel this points more to aa heightened sensitivity to these cases in the media and amongst our community. The sad thing is that it could well mean that these cases have always happened in numbers like what we are finding now -- and that there is a chance, perhaps a good one, that there are even more still out there we are missing." Although not every person represented during the Transgender Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgendered &emdash; that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant &emdash; each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgendered people. Information on Transgender Day Of Remembrance events around the US is available online at http://www.gender.org/remember/day . Top
Top [3] USA: Arrest and Charges in new Hate-Crime Attacks on a Gay man and TS-woman in Hollwood, California From: Petra Henderson [mailto:petrahenderson@yahoo.com] Two new attackers seized in Los Angeles Wed Oct 16, 8:22 PM ET Christopher Lisotta, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network SUMMARY: Two men were arrested and charged on Tuesday in a pair of brutal attacks on Oct. 13 on a gay man and a transsexual in Hollywood, Calif. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=101&ncid=101&e=2&u=/po/2002 1017/co_po/two_new_attackers_seized_in_los_angeles Two men were arrested and charged on Tuesday in a pair of brutal attacks on Oct. 13 on a gay man and a transsexual in Hollywood, Calif. The suspects emerged from a car and beat the victims with an aluminum bat, in what appears to be an eerie repeat of the September attacks of gay men in nearby West Hollywood. Unlike the West Hollywood attacks, which left actor Trev Broudy with serious injuries, the suspects in the Hollywood case are charged with hate crimes. "Their motive for the crime was the victims' perceived sexual orientation," said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney. "They used a slur for 'gay' toward (the victims) and threatened their lives," she told the Los Angeles Times. In Broudy's case the attackers reportedly did not make any slurs. In a highly controversial move that left county leaders and the GLBT community frustrated, the district attorney decided not to charge suspects in Broudy's case with hate crimes, sparking noisy demonstrations and a very public political debate. According to a press release provided Tuesday by the district attorney's office, Ever Wilfredo Rivera and Selvin Orlando Campos, both 19 and from Los Angeles, were charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and one count of robbery. In addition, authorities added hate crimes enhancements based on the victims' perceived sexual orientation, which adds an additional year or two to their sentences if convicted. Bail for Rivera was recommended at $185,000 and bail for Campos was recommended at $135,000. Both were arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court, where they pleaded not guilty. Authorities said the 46-year-old male victim was attacked around 5:30 a.m. and struck on the head with an aluminum baseball bat. He fled to his nearby home, but left his keys in the door, authorities said. They said the attackers took the keys as they fled. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital. The other victim also was attacked, but managed to deflect a baseball-bat blow. She was cut with a knife, but was not hospitalized, authorities said. Earlier reports described both victims as men. Top
[4]CYPRUS: Pre-op MtF and political refugee in limbo Top Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 From: "Mrs. Petra Henderson" <petrahenderson@yahoo.com> --- In eurotransgender, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eurotransgender "Terisa Gibson" <terisa_gibson@h...> wrote: The Cyprus Mail via HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Instititute, voluntary organization) October 9, 2002 http://tinyurl.com/217a http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cmnews/2002/02-10-09.cmnews.html Forensics called in over detainee's gender By Alex Mita FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST Eleni Antoniou was summoned by police on Monday to verify the sexual identity of an Iraqi, who was kept in the female ward at a Limassol detention centre until his inmates called security. The pre-operative transsexual arrived in Cyprus on September 28 demanding political asylum but was detained by the authorities after he failed to produce a valid identification. He was taken to the Limassol District Court on October 3 where he was remanded in custody for a further eight days. Due to his female attire, he was placed in a cell along with female inmates. When it became apparent that the detainee was not what he presented himself as, officers had no other choice but to call forensics. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Antoniou said the transsexual had male genitals, but had induced the growth of his breasts with special hormones. "He is, was, definitely male, and still is in a way," she said. "He claims he came to Cyprus to have his penis removed because he couldn't have the operation in Iraq." "The law doesn't forbid anyone to dress or present themselves in any form they wish," she said adding that it was not the first time she was summoned to verify someone's sexual identity. "There were three more cases," she said, "but they were younger." The detainee is now at a male ward in Omorfita in Limassol until police investigations are completed. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 Top
[5] USA Boston MA--Group wants transgender bathrooms for UMass Top Boston Globe Online / Sunday | Learning / Gr... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/293/learning/Group_wants_transgender_bathr ooms_for_UMass+.shtml By Benjamin Gedan Globe Correspondent 10/20/2002 Transgendered students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, unable to persuade administrators in the past year to create coed bathrooms, are shifting their strategy from private talks with school officials to a petition drive and mass mobilization. The Restroom Revolution group, as students are calling themselves, will meet Wednesday to gauge student response to its campaign to create coed bathrooms, which they say are needed to help transgendered students - who exhibit the appearance and behavioral characteristics of the opposite sex - feel safe from ridicule and physical harm. ''Transgendered students have nowhere to go to the bathroom on campus,'' said Mitch Boucher, 33, a PhD candidate organizing the campaign. ''We decided we needed to put on more pressure.'' About 30 Restroom Revolution activists, including leaders of gay and transgendered advocacy groups, met earlier this month and announced their new focus. Activists said they began meeting with UMass-Amherst administrators last year to discuss the issue. Students said one of their members received an e-mail in May from Paul Vasconcellos, assistant dean of students, promising he would ''look to create gender-free bathrooms in two residence halls,'' including the Prince and Crampton dormitories. But Barbara Pitoniak, a university spokeswoman, said she had no knowledge of the e-mail and that Vasconcellos did not have the authority to make such a promise. He is currently on sick leave. Although negotiations have stalled, university officials say they remain open to further talks and have not ruled out coed bathrooms. For now, though, complaints from transgendered students will continue to be handled on a ''case-by-case'' basis as administrators work to accommodate the ''very small group'' of students who feel uncomfortable using either male or female lavatories, Pitoniak said. Citing budget constraints and state building codes that require a minimum number of female and male bathroom facilities in campus buildings, UMass-Amherst has no plans for a campuswide solution, Pitoniak said. State building codes do not sanction coed bathroom facilities, according to Joe Peluso, executive director of the state Board of Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters. Rules governing dorm restrooms say ''bathroom facilities for males and females should be separate and so designated.'' ''It's not legal,'' Peluso said. But coed bathrooms can be found in the dorms of some local universities, and in some cases students have been allowed to redesignate bathrooms on their floor. At Hampshire College in Amherst, bathrooms in student ''mods'' (apartment-style suites) have been coed since the school opened in 1970. Amherst College allows students on a dormitory floor to designate their bathrooms coed, said Paul Statt, director of media relations. And at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, undergraduates can voluntarily create coed facilities, said Scott Chesney, director of residential life. Although many schools lack an official policy toward transgendered students, some schools have specifically altered housing policies in response to their demands. At the University of Minnesota, for example, transgendered students are housed in private apartments, or located ''in close proximity to the bathroom they identify with,'' said Mannix Clark, director of Housing and Residential Life. But at UMass-Amherst the prospects remain uncertain. Efforts to raise awareness of transgendered concerns led to sensitivity training sessions for adult dorm staff and student residential assistants this past summer that will now be conducted annually. ''It's an issue that concerned my residents, so it concerned me,'' said Edward F. Kammerer, a 23-year-old senior and former resident assistant who lived next to five transgendered students last year. He was inspired to join the Restroom Revolution group. ''We're trying to show we have the support of the campus as a whole, students and faculty,'' Kammerer said. But Stephen Pereira, assistant director of the Stonewall Center, a campus resource facility for gay, bisexual, and transgendered students, believes that until the campus community learns more about transgendered students, mobilizing broad-based support may be difficult. ''There's varying degrees of support,'' he said. While the debate continues, transgendered students caught using a bathroom designated for the opposite sex can be charged with a violation of the code of conduct and subject to disciplinary action. ''We are in full support of these students, but we don't have the authority to change the bathroom policy,'' Pereira said. ''It's been a struggle.'' -- This story ran on page C13 of the Boston Globe on 10/20/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Top
[6]USA:Washington--Pistol-packing proponents of gun-owner tolerance Top The Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: Pist... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/134555765_matt16.htm Wednesday, October 16, 2002 By Matt Rosenberg Special to The Times Call them gays, gals and geeks with guns. These "double-affinity" gun-rights supporters are changing the political landscape nationally, and in the Northwest. Nicole Shounder of Lynnwood is an out and proud, post-operative transsexual lesbian who voted for George W. Bush. The former Air Force sergeant, now a nurse, heads a regional group called Cease Fear. It promotes firearms education and training for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered (GLBT). Her story is part of the upcoming documentary, "Guns and Roses," by Seattle filmmakers Soyon Im and Jhett Bond. Shounder says, "I'm in sync with Democratic Party values, but their gun-control stance doesn't work. We stand out as possible targets, and we are not going to let harm come to ourselves or our loved ones." Shounder owns a Smith and Wesson .45, a discreet Kel-Tec .32 for formal dress, and a non-lethal Taser. Unlike the heinous sniper terrorizing suburban Washington, D.C., Shounder vows never to use her weapons on another person unless for defense. Cease Fear is part of a nationwide network of GLBT firearms education and training groups usually called Pink Pistols. Ex-Microsoftie and Puget Sound refugee Joe Huffman assisted in the formation this summer of a Pink Pistols group in the Palouse, straddling the Washington-Idaho border. This National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor is married with kids. His Palouse Pink Pistols self-defense course draws gays and straights. Huffman says there's good-natured joking, and everyone's tolerance has grown. As a tech-support staffer, Rolf Nelson helped found the Microsoft Gun Club. Members take target practice (off-campus, of course), arrange bulk ammo buys, and attend club-sponsored lectures. Another technology-industry group involved in firearms education and advocacy is Geeks with Guns, based in Austin, Texas. Now completing a master's degree in education for a job as a high-school teacher, Nelson says that "the typical stereotype of a gun owner is a redneck who goes out Bambi-blasting each fall. But gun owners are a real cross-section of society." He adds half of U.S. homes have firearms (recent estimates range from 45 to 50 percent). Nelson says Al Gore shot himself in the foot with his gun-control position in the 2000 presidential campaign. From the Democratic Leadership Council to Gore's old Memphis, Tenn., congressional district, the party's brain trust agrees. More specifically, Democratic and independent political analysts say that Gore would have carried Tennessee, Arkansas, West Virginia and Missouri &emdash; thus winning the presidency &emdash; but for his strict gun-control platform. It included national photo IDs and licenses for gun owners, plus a vow to oppose legislation bolstering the rights of non-criminals to have concealed weapons. According to a recent Washington Post article, Gore's gun stance was also seen as a factor in seven key 2000 House races in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, which cost Democrats the House majority. Since then, Democratic candidates for the U.S. House, Senate and governorships in Southern, Midwestern, Plains and inland Western swing states have dramatically softened gun-control positions to win over "Reagan Democrats" and younger "NASCAR dads." Meanwhile, new firearms laws here won't go far, as the diversifying gun-rights lobby continues flexing its muscle. For instance, Shounder lobbied attendees at this year's Washington State Democratic Party Convention with Cease Fear's Ray Carter and Joe Waldron, executive director of the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Shounder says Washington Democrats were attentive and open. Democratic incumbents doorbelling in Seattle &emdash; outside the Birkenstock zone &emdash; have been known to get an earful from those in favor of preserving gun rights. Also in the mix is Second Amendment Sisters, a 10,000-member national gun-rights group for women. The organization's Washington state spokesperson, Robin Ball, a Spokane shooting-range owner, says, "You make a call to 911 and they're not on your doorstep fast enough. Single women with children, especially, feel it's their responsibility to be able to protect their families." Ball trains NRA "Refuse To Be A Victim" class instructors on topics including arms, non-lethal force, home and auto security, identity theft and financial fraud. To many, the letters N-R-A remain as unsettling as recent events in Maryland and Virginia. Eastside resident and software developer Don Baldwin, who describes himself and his wife as political moderates, once felt that way. He reports, "I joined the NRA fearful I would be surrounded by nuts and racists. That not being the case, I am now a life member. ... The NRA was teaching NAACP members safe gun use in North Carolina in the 1950s" &emdash; and, Baldwin adds, today in Washington has supported outreach to gays and lesbians. Firearms involved in tragedies make headlines and fuel sweeping prejudices. Far more often, they are used safely and legitimately for sport or deterrence, though that's rarely "news." Seattle filmmaker Im says the firearms owners she encountered while working on "Guns and Roses" were "extremely responsible, and very cautionary." That's true of the vast majority, and their influence will only grow. Seattle writer Matt Rosenberg is a regular contributor to The Times' editorial pages. E-mail him at oudist@nwlink.com. © 2002 The Seattle Times Company Top
[7]HUNGRY: Sex change: Couple switch roles Top Sex change: Couple switch roles http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Europe/0,1113,2-10-19_1272733,00.html 17/10/2002 08:00 - (SA) Budapest - A Hungarian couple have given new meaning to the idea of wife-swapping with a pair of controversial sex-change operations that changed their sex - and incited a hospital riot. Both partners in the unnamed couple underwent successful sex reassignment surgery, with him becoming a her and her becoming a him at a clinic in the southern city of Szeged. But patients in the women's ward rioted after finding out about their new comrade, who had to be moved to the men's quarters, tabloid daily Blikk said. A doctor at the clinic said he was horrified that details of the case had leaked out. A former patient who also had a sex-change was attacked by skinheads after his name was revealed in the press. - Sapa-AFP News24 - all rights reserved Top
[8]: AUSTRALIA; Sydney steps out for Gay Games Top International news from swissinfo, the Swiss ... http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1394108 Monday, October 14, 2002 By Sophie Hares SYDNEY (Reuters) - In a sunlit Sydney gym a professional choreographer puts "The Newtown Gym Brats" through a frenetic team Step aerobics routine to the beat of Madonna's "Vogue". With tight-fitting Lycra outfits and Olivia Newton-John-inspired coordinating sweat bands and leg warmers, the six member gay and lesbian team are working frantically to hone their routine in time for the Sydney 2002 Gay Games. "We're putting in some pretty serious effort, but participation would be our first objective and having fun second. If we do well along the way, then so be it," said Johnathan Street, 27, a member of the "brats" who are named after an unglamorous inner-city gym in the suburb of Newtown. Just weeks before the sixth Gay Games bursts into action on November 2, muscles are being toned, bodies buffed and thousands of sequins stitched by 13,000 participants in one of the world's biggest gay and lesbian events. Mixing aerobics and same-sex ballroom dancing with traditional sports, the Gay Games are tipped to draw 30,000 people and A$100 million (35 million pounds) to Australia's biggest city, home to the 2000 Olympics and the flamboyant annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Flying under the banner "participation, inclusion and personal best", the Games are open to anyone wanting to compete in the 31 sports, regardless of sexuality, age, ability or HIV status. "Whether we win or not is secondary to having fun...it is just an excuse to get over there and enjoy not just Sydney, but the whole Gay Games experience," said San Diego basketball player Jeff Wyngaert, 34. Aged from 18 to a sprightly 89, participants from 70 countries, including some where homosexuality is outlawed, will flock to Sydney for the week-long sport and entertainment event. Most will attend from Australia, North America and Europe but some are expected from Africa and from Asian and Middle East countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Wild dance parties and a cultural festival featuring the irreverent "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence", former "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur and scores of plays, exhibitions and performances are on the agenda for the less athletically gifted. GLAMOUR ON A SHOESTRING "What we're looking at is some fantastic sport in extraordinary venues, I think the parties will be extraordinary and the ceremony is building to be spectacular," said Bev Lange, co-chair of the Sydney 2002 Gay Games. Cash-strapped organisers working on a A$16 million budget are relying heavily on 4,000 volunteers and big name stars to perform for just a nominal fee. But that's not likely to take the gloss off a glittering opening ceremony touted as "Olympics meets Mardi Gras", with "dykes on bikes" roaring around Aussie Stadium, drag queens, marching bands, fireworks, and lesbian icon kd Lang and singer Jimmy Somerville topping the bill. "It will certainly have its glitz, but it's going to have some real substance and some real heart to it," said organiser Ignatius Jones, who worked on Sydney's Olympic ceremonies. But for serious athletes, including a handful of Olympic medallists, parties and high class performances simply don't mix. "I've been heavily training just for the Games. I'd like to better my times and of course I'd like to win, but I recognise my age group is highly competitive," said Oregon swimmer Chris Gaarder, 37, one of almost 5,000 Americans taking part. Others are taking a decidedly more light-hearted approach to the Gay Games which were first held in San Franscico in 1982. New York figure skater Bradley Erickson has devised a "sexy" solo routine based on musical "Moulin Rouge" and plans to rope his unwitting 62-year old mother into an unrehearsed mixed event. "That's one of the beauties of the Games. Some aspects of it are so competitive, but at the same time there's a type of camaraderie, you don't have to feel embarrassed, you know you'll be supported by the audience," said the 39-year old fashion designer. NO BOUNDARIES Heterosexual participants are welcome and the Gay Games' complex gender policy includes categories for intersex or transgender athletes who can prove they have undergone hormone treatment or lived as their chosen identity for two years. Melbourne ballroom dancer Joy Tansey plans to strut the tango across the dance floor with her "straight" 18-year old niece after failing to find a lesbian Latin dance partner. "There will be lots of glitter and sequins but it's not Mardi Gras, we're all quite serious about our dancing," said Tansey, 48, rushing to sew her white tailcoat in time. For Felix Sudarto, the Games will be his first opportunity to compete in the Cha, Cha, Cha and waltz classes with a male partner after years of competing internationally with women. "I can't see the difference at all, dance is dance, once you're on the floor you have to perform," said Sudarto. The Games for others will be a chance to prove they can overcome adversity and live life to the full. Melbourne runner Paul Skipper successfully fought off cancer diagnosed after he competed in the 1998 Amsterdam Gay Games, but was almost paralysed this year after fracturing his vertebra. Reuters © Copyright swissinfo SRI
[9]USA: Boston MA--Fighting HIV by reaching out to transgender prostitutes Top Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Boston Globe Online / Health | Science / Espe... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/288/science/Especially_shunned_especially_ vulnerable+.shtml Tuesday, October 15, 2002 Especially shunned, especially vulnerable By Adrianne Appel, Globe Correspondent, 10/15/2002 Tatiana, Alexis and Tinoyia got dolled up one evening last week and headed to Jacques, the racy transgender bar in Bay Village. But instead of selling sex, they handed out condoms and advice, hoping to prevent yet another case of HIV in transgender prostitutes, their straight male clients, and the men's wives and girlfriends. ''We want to tell people, `Just have safe sex,''' said Tatiana, who is a male-to-female transgender and former prostitute who does street outreach through Gender Identity Support Services for Transgenders, or GISST, one of the only programs in Boston assisting transgender sex workers. Transgenders exist at the far margins of society, hidden to most people except for those who seek them out. Largely shunned, many live in extreme poverty. Many abuse drugs and work as prostitutes, performing acts that other sex workers avoid. And many inevitably contract and spread HIV. ''Quite often, the transgender woman doesn't think of using condoms. They live for the moment,'' Tatiana said. Alexis, a member of the GISST team, had a good job with the state Department of Mental Health until she realized she wanted to be a woman full time. She didn't feel comfortable dressing as a woman at work, so she quit her job and soon became homeless. ''At least at the shelter I was able to be me,'' she said. Portia, another team member, found work at peep stores in Chinatown. ''They put a coin in and I shimmied,'' she said. All three want to bring more dignity to their lives, and GISST is helping them. Anecdotal reports and a handful of recent studies indicate that transgender prostitutes have very high rates of HIV and AIDS. ''Those of us seeing transgenders know it is a significant problem,'' said Dr. Gregory Fenton, medical director of the Sidney Borum Jr. Community Health Center of Boston, a clinic for disenfranchised youths, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. Fenton said that HIV has existed within the transgender community for years, but unlike other populations with high HIV rates, there has been little outreach to them and little recognition of their dire need for health services. He has between 20 and 30 transgender patients, he said. One reason there are few services and funds available is the lack of data describing exactly how big the transgender HIV problem is, said Martin Risteen, program manager of GISST. Risteen's group keeps its own numbers, based on its outreach. Risteen estimates there are 50 to 100 transgender prostitutes working in Boston and at local escort services. According to Risteen and his team members, the vast majority of the sex workers' clients are ''straight'' men, many married or with girlfriends. The state Department of Public Health has disbursed funds to groups assisting transgenders for about eight years. Last year, Boston identified HIV in transgenders as a public-health issue in need of more attention. But given current budget constraints, more funds, especially for data collection, are not likely to come from the state, said Jean McGuire, assistant commissioner at the Department of Public Health and director of the HIV and AIDS Bureau. ''In a time of very limited resources, it's a big deal that we say this is a commitment of ours,'' McGuire said. Fenton estimated that 30 percent of the transgender prostitutes he treats are HIV-positive, with the rate higher among adolescents. Two studies in San Francisco have placed the HIV rate of transgender sex workers at 19 percent and 35 percent, respectively. This can be compared with the federal Centers for Disease Control estimates of the rate of HIV among men who identify themselves as having sex with other men, which is also high and which may include gay and bisexual men, as well as transgenders. The rate of infection among these men ranges from 3 percent for white men to 14 percent for African-American men. Why transgenders engage in risky sex in the first place, despite decades-old messages about its relationship to HIV, is due to complex psychosocial and economic factors that cannot be remedied easily, said Belser Louie, a psychologist, founder of the GISST program, and executive director of the Beacon Hill Multicultural Psychological Association. ''Many are coming from such dysfunctional places, much of their behavior and attitudes are unhealthy,'' said Louie, who has counseled Boston's transgenders for decades. ''Many [transgender] people seek validation from a sex partner. If he's the only one saying, `I see you as you are; you are a girl, you are a woman,' that is intensely important,'' said Grace Sterling Stowell, a transgender who is the executive director of the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. Tinoyia agreed: ''They made us feel whole like we wanted to feel.'' But money also plays a big role. Many transgender sex workers are homeless, or using narcotics or sex-changing hormones. The temptation to do what is necessary for more money is strong. ''Time after time they've told us they get paid more for doing something unsafe,'' Stowell said. ''It's hard to turn down when it is a freezing cold night in winter and you don't have a place to stay.'' Physicians who treat transgender sex workers say that, because of the often horrifying circumstances of their lives, their overall physical and mental health is poor and their rate of drug abuse, HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis is high. Getting them the services they need, however, is not a simple matter of taking them to the doctor, Louie said. ''That's been an uphill battle.'' Louie said transgenders have faced discrimination at local clinics, including being harassed in the waiting room and bullied into declaring themselves either a male or a female. Currently, just a handful of clinics are openly accepting of transgenders, Louie said. Fenton said that some transgenders avoid doctors out of fear that they will be forced to stop taking hormones. Fenton treats transgenders, but even from his empathetic perspective, it isn't easy. It is difficult to treat an HIV-positive person who is taking hormone supplements because adding HIV drugs to the mix can cause liver damage. ''How do you balance the treatment for transgenders' anatomical changes with their need to live?'' Fenton said. In the meantime, the GISST team will continue to try to build a community of transgenders who together can advocate for their needs. ''We're trying to bring them to a place,'' Tatiana said, ''where they no longer have to live in the underworld.'' This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 10/15/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Top
[10]USA: New legal clinic gives transgenders a good name
Top Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 From: transgender_news <transgender_news@lycos.com> and Rica Ashby Fredrickson <rica@netaxs.com> The Villager (alternative weekly, New York City) October 17, 2002 http://tinyurl.com/21w8 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5738060&BRD=1840&PAG=461&dept_id== 112392&rfi=6 New legal clinic gives transgenders a good name By: Jane S. Van Ingen (photo) (caption) Among those attending the ribbon cutting for the new clinic were Tom Hickey, third from left; Melissa Sklarz, fourth from left; and Carrie Davis, fifth from left. A who's-who's of gay and lesbian lawyers and transgender activists gathered at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center on Oct. 7 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the West Village Trans-Legal Clinic. The free clinic, which meets on the first Monday of every month starting at 6 p.m., assists transgendered people in obtaining legal name changes. They also provide information on how to go about changing gender on identification documents. Among the attendees were Pauline Park, a board member of NYAGRA ; Roz Richter, an acting justice on the New York Supreme Court; Janet Weinberg, director of development at the Center; Marcy Kahn, one of the first openly lesbian judges elected to the New York Supreme Court; and Carrie Davis, a counselor at the Center's Gender Identity Project. The brainchild of the clinic is Thomas Hickey, a court attorney for a judge at the New York State Supreme Court. The chair of the L.G.B.T. committee of the New York County Law Association and a board member of the LeGal (New York's Lesbian and Gay Law Association) Foundation, Hickey had been working with the community for a number of years to find long-term solutions for issues facing transgender prostitutes. Hickey worked with a group of lawyers to discuss starting a clinic and the legal community came through; the clinic currently has about 20 lawyers working pro bono on a trial basis. The lawyers are volunteers from various Bar groups, LeGal and other legal associations. (Frank Nervo, president of Village Independent Democrats, is one such volunteer.) Hickey also worked with NYAGRA and Davis, who said the clinic is a first step in normalizing transgender identities. "What makes this clinic so wonderful is it gives people a legal identity," Melissa Sklarz, chairperson of Community Board 2's L.G.B.T. committee, enthusiastically told a crowd of about 30 people. "If transgendered people don't have a gender identity, they're discriminated against," Hickey explained at the ceremony. Hickey and Sklarz both emphasized that the ability to change one's name gives people the chance to obtain gainful employment and keep their jobs. Although the clinic does not represent clients, it gives them legal advice and the means to go to court, if necessary. The money for the clinic came from the Sonya Staff Foundation, which gave $5,000, and Community Board 2, which allocated $5,000 from the board's Archive committee, which was discontinued last year. Aubrey Lees, Community Board 2 chairperson and an attorney who has moderated panels at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York on transgender issues, also worked with Hickey and the L.G.B.T. committee to get the clinic started. Lees, who has represented members of the transgender community for years on different issues and does a lot of name changes, plans to volunteer for the clinic, schedule permitting. "It's very hard for members of the transgender community to start their lives and get employment," Lees said before the ceremony. The Meat Market has traditionally been a magnet for transgender sex workers, and police make frequent sweeps of the area. But finding a solution to the problem was easier said than done. Board 2 worked for a long time to try to find a solution to the problem of prostitution in the West Village. At one point, there was discussion about passing a resolution that would decriminalize and legalize prostitution, a suggestion that provoked much ire from board members. When it became apparent that there was money available from the board to open a clinic, that went over much better, and the board quickly put a plan in place. Before the clinic's grand opening, it had been open for about five months to get an idea of what clients are looking for. "It's working well so far," Sklarz said. ©The Villager 2002
MEDIA WATCH Top [11]USA: Dynamic leader of thriving GLBT student alliance Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 From: transgender_news <transgender_news@lycos.com> and Rica Ashby Fredrickson <rica@netaxs.com> The Eagle online (student newspaper, American University, Washington, DC) October 17, 2002 http://tinyurl.com/21wj http://www.theeagleonline.com/section.cfm/80/2/3543 Kelly Costello is the director of Queers and Allies. Costello centers on activism By MACKENZIE RYAN Eagle Staff Writer Thursday, October 17, 2002 In a room full of people, you might not notice Kelly Costello at first; at under five feet, you might even mistake the petit redhead for a child ˆ she barely looks 16, let alone 21. But let your eyes adjust to the lighting; you'll see a spunky, popular college activist who sometimes wears rainbow-suspenders and, without trying, becomes the center of any group. Like many other college students, Costello has struggled with figuring out who she is and what her calling is. Now as an AU senior, her confidence and work ethic is unwavering. It's National Coming Out Week and as director of AU Queers and Allies, a social and political group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and ally (GLBTA) students on campus, she has a million things to do, but just enough time to chat. "We hope that through National Coming Out Week we are acknowledged as an important group to fostering acceptance and diversity in the AU community," Costello said. "We all have more to learn about each other and hopefully National Coming Out Week allows us an opportunity to explore ourselves and our identities." Different activist issues became important to Costello as she went through high school and college, and she often found herself focusing on GLBTA issues. In high school she helped form a gay-straight alliance with a handful of students and teachers. As a freshman in college, Costello first stumbled upon the GLBTA Resource Center when trying to find the yearbook office, and later applied for a work-study position. "She came back so many times that I almost had to give her the job," Mindy Michels said, who is coordinator of the GLBTA Resource Center and has been working at the center for six years. Costello began attending AU Queers and Allies meetings with her boyfriend at the time, a natural transition from her high school group. "I made a lot of excuses about why I got involved, " Costello said in retrospect "It was a way to put my energy out there even though I hadn't come out to myself yet." Michaels said that the GLBTA Resource Center is one of about 80 university-funded centers with professional staff nationwide. It offers programs, counseling, training, advocacy and educational material such as books, magazines and videos about different gay issues. "All different identities are taken into account," Costello said of the center. "We try to reflect as many different experiences as we can." Although many students assumed that during her freshman year Costello was a lesbian because she worked at the office, she actually had a boyfriend throughout fall semester and didn't come out until that April. "The office puts you out there, whether you're GLBT or not," sophomore Reid Ethier said, who has worked in the office since last year. While Costello, Etheir and many other students who visit the office find it a safe place to work or relax, others - whether GLBTA or not - are uncomfortable, Ethier said. Costello wasn't one of those people. Always at ease in her own skin, she tends to surround herself with caring, tolerant people. Many understand the different emotions and frustrations she feels, especially when confronted with uncomfortable situations. Her roommate Anna Inazu doesn't care what assumptions are made, whether it's assuming she is romantically involved with Costello (she's not) or that she a lesbian (she's straight), because she values her friendship with Costello more. "It wasn't a big deal," Inazu said, who graduated from AU last spring and is now working at the National Coalition of the Homeless through Americorp. "There was nothing that all of a sudden happened that made me think different of her [after Costello came out]. It was just a normal friendship, a conversation." Although Costello feels that most students at AU are supportive and she hasn't experienced many dramatic homophobic reactions, there have been times that people have confronted her because of her gender expression. Since Costello does not look like a typical girl, some people mistake her for a male in the ladies bathroom. She's experienced different levels of confrontation. Some angrily repeat, "This is the ladies room," to her. Others only have to look at her to express their disgust. "I don't fall into gender norms," Costello said, "It's hard to find a language. Once they make an assumption, it's hard to break that." Other gay students haven't been so lucky, and often find that unless it has been a physical assault, there isn't much that a victim of discrimination can do about the incident besides telling their resident advisor or resident director, junior Christine Neejer said, who began working at the center two years ago, citing a time when someone left feces outside one student's door along with an anti-gay message. While that person was caught, sometimes it is difficult to follow up on offenses. The University does make an effort to catch offenders. When students become victims of homophobic acts, the resource center and the people who work there becomes a vital network of support. "Coming out isn't a one time deal, it's a process," Neejer said. "Whether you're getting a new job or meeting new people·[Costello and I] have seen each other deal with different people that were challenging." Always the optimist, Costello believes that things are looking up. In the past, membership of Queers and Allies has increased when they took on specific injustices: the group was a strong force behind including gender identity and expression in the University's nondiscrimination policy, in providing benefits to University staff members' partners and gaining University funding and a full-time staff member for the GLBTA Resource Center, Neejer said. Today, membership has increased without any pressing injustices to rally behind. While Costello's modest demeanor would never permit her to admit it, her inclusive and bubbly personality is one of the reasons it's grown so much. "She thrives off of individual relationships with almost all the people in a room," Jamez Terry said, Costello's boyfriend. He is a transgendered person (although not born biologically male, he identifies, dresses and has legally changed his name to fit his male identity) who Costello met through her GLBTA activism in the greater D.C. area. "She'll probably always be actively involved as much as possible," Terry said. "She doesn't have one specific mission, she has a lot of ideas on how the world can be better." © Copyright 2000-2002 Top
[12] Cross Purposes--At the fringes of American sexual life, writer Amy Bloom finds truth stranger than fiction. Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. ctnow.com | Cross Purposes http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/northeast/hc-murmur1020.artoct20,0,5528253.s tory?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dnortheast NORTHEAST October 20, 2002 By DYLAN FOLEY Transsexual CEOs. Crossdressing cops. Hermaphrodites with attitudes. It's not the latest corporate scandal, FOX reality TV special or oddball hip-hop act. It's the subject of Amy Bloom's new book, "Normal." Oh, and not to be confused with Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex," this is nonfiction. It's a new turn for Bloom, author of the National Book Award nominee "Come to Me" amongst other fiction, a practicing psychotherapist and 49-year-old mother of three who lives outside New Haven. In a book that is part travelogue, part social exploration, Bloom uses compassion and humor to raise the possibility of expanding the American sexual spectrum. Along the way, she introduces readers to characters like Dixie, a 6-foot-4 transvestite state trooper who dares people to knock anything off his shoulder. Yes, sir! Northeast: How did your interest in writing about transgender people start? Bloom: I was wandering around my house, working on a short story when I saw one of those Jerry Springer-type TV shows, with over-the-top Vegas showgirl transsexuals. I thought to myself, where are the female-to-male (FTMs) transsexuals? Do they come out looking like John Wayne? How come they aren't in our consciousness? Northeast: FTMs originally made up only one in four transsexuals, but with phalloplasty (penis-building operations) technology improving, their number is increasing in America. You write so vividly about phalloplasties, I feel like I could build one myself. Surgeons seem to be concerned with building big penises. Is that true? Bloom: That is an issue. Surgeons don't become surgeons because they are obsessed with the human psyche or because they are intrigued by ambiguity. They become surgeons to solve problems. The saying is, "You don't go to a surgeon unless you want surgery." Northeast: Some of the men profiled in the book said that they had to choose between buying a condo or operations to build penises. Why would someone spend $20,000 on a nonfunctional penis? Bloom: Why do 75-year-old men buy Maseratis? Some people feel that it is critical that the package look a certain way. Other people are more indifferent to appearance. It is highly idiosyncratic. Northeast: I've always wondered what the wives of toupee wearers think. Bloom: A toupee wearer is an excellent example. Some wives think, "If it makes you happy, I'm happy." And some probably wish their husbands would dump that rug. It is often the issue of the quality of the appearance. In lots of instances, how successful a replica [is] is important to how people perceive you. With crossdressers, the ones who are easily feminized are more accepted. We don't like people to stand out in any direction. Northeast: Do heterosexual crossdressers have a bias against gay drag queens? Bloom: The heterosexual men who dress in drag are by no means all biased. There are many heterosexual crossdressers who are very anxious to be perceived correctly as heterosexual. To that end, it is disturbing that the most common image of a crossdresser is of a gay man. These are men who have gone to a lot of trouble to reassure their wives they are not gay. Northeast: What happened at the convention you were at where the crossdressers bumped into a convention of swingers [couples into wife swapping]? Bloom: The swingers were so unexpected. That was just too funny. It was at a horrible hotel, where the poor staff was going to be fired. The swingers would pop up dressed more brilliantly than the rest of us early in the morning. An unbelievable mingling of American elements. Northeast: Like "Love American Style"? Bloom: The swingers were not necessarily a group that is particularly sophisticated or progressive in their points of view, but this is something they do. It places them out of the mainstream. The crossdressers thought the swingers were really quite shocking, and it wasn't the right way to act. Northeast: At the end of the convention, you wound up dancing with the crossdressers' wives. What happened? Bloom: I do like to dance ... Dylan Foley is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, N.Y. He has never been to a crossdressers' convention. END © 2002 by The Hartford Courant Top
[13] AUSTRALIA--Y-fronts didn't spare the drag divas Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Y-fronts didn't spare the drag divas - smh.co... http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/14/1034561099797.html By Anthony Dennis October 15 2002 Carmen's recollections of Sydney's first gay bar, The Purple Onion, nearly 40 years on, are foggy now but there's something she vividly recalls: the Y-fronts. Y-fronts were what Sydney's notorious police at the time expected female impersonators to be wearing under their frocks at the time of their frequent arrests, often as they were leaving The Purple Onion at Kensington, nowadays a gay sauna. Police officers would not tolerate drag queens wearing women's underwear, but for Carmen, now 66, even Y-fronts did not stop the brutal, repeated bashings. "They beat us badly," she says. "I got beaten up there four times a week, either as a gay man or in drag. They used to pull our wigs off as we walked down the street. We were beaten up so badly it's amazing I still have a face left." Carmen - with a number of other Sydney drag "divas" - is to be honoured during a segment at the opening ceremony of the Gay Games at Sydney Football Stadium on November 2. The segment, called "Struggle", is being billed as a gay history of Sydney, with organisers preparing to honour The Purple Onion and its drag performers as pioneers of the gay community that is now a distinctive and important component of the city. James Lee, director of the Struggle segment, says that, based on his research, he is confident the Purple Onion was Sydney's first genuine gay bar. Although more famous nightclubs, such as Les Girls and the Jewel Box at Kings Cross were operating around the same time as The Purple Onion, and also featured regular drag acts, they were designed to attract a straight clientele. Mr Lee says that it was not until 15 years after The Purple Onion opened that Sydney's gays and lesbians asserted their civil rights in the 1978 riot that led to the creation of Mardi Gras. "Struggle is an opportunity for the Gay Games to fill the void left by Mardi Gras, which doesn't really cover the history of the gay community," he says. "But, while dealing with history of the gay community in the segment, we also want to look at the bigger picture of the struggle as well." Yet Sydney's acceptance of gays, lesbians and transgenders has not come far enough for someone like the New Zealand-born Carmen to feel comfortable having her surname appear in a newspaper. Entering Carmen's inner-city flat is like entering Aladdin's cave, with paintings, photographs and memorabilia adorning the walls: a veritable museum of drag in its own right. She has even kept some old, faded black-and-white pictures of herself as "Kiwi Carmen" from her Purple Onion days in which she appears in various guises as a lithe stripper, hula-girl and even a snake charmer. She says she is excited about her special Gay Games appearance, before a crowd of 40,000 - an audience somewhat larger than the ones she entertained in dingy, smoky bars over so many years. "I'm proud of what I am," Carmen says. "I am going to die happy." © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. Top
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
[14]USA: Florida Okays Gender Amendments on Birth Certificates
FLORIDA OKAYS GENDER AMENDMENTS ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES
The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services needed time to implement internal policy changes following the June 2002 news that intersexed people and post-operative transsexuals born in Florida were to be allowed amended Florida birth certificates reflecting their corrected sex and gender-appropriate names.
The policy clarification, implemented in mid-October 2002, reflects current medical knowledge concerning transsexuals as well as their realistic needs.
Intersexed or transsexual persons requesting an amended Florida birth certificate must provide the Florida Department of Health with (1) a copy of the court order granting a change of name under either Florida Statute, Section 68.07 regarding legal name change or a substantially similar statute from another state; (2) a notarized affidavit from the physician who performed the sex reassignment surgery; and (3) a fee for birth certificate amendment (currently $20). Use of Florida Department of Health Form DH 430, Affidavit of Amendment to Certificate of Live Birth, is recommended. The affidavit must include the physician's medical license number and be accompanied by medical records, signed by the physician who performed the surgery, certifying that the individual has completed sex reassignment in accordance with appropriate medical procedures and is now considered to be a member of the new gender for all medical purposes.
The issued birth certificate will be marked "Amended" but without identification of what has been changed. Additional copies may be ordered for a moderate additional cost.
Both Equality Florida [www.eqfl.org] and the National Center for Lesbian Rights [www.nclrights.org] will post a Florida Name Change/Birth Certificate Amendment kit at their respective websites. The kit will include required forms as well as a sample physician's letter. NCLR has supported Equality Florida in its efforts to bring about this policy change.
Intersexed and postoperative transsexuals born in Florida can obtain additional information by contacting the Office of Vital Statistics, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, P.O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. (904) 359-6929 or (904) 359-6931.
LEGAL ISSUES [15] United Kingdom: ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2001/2002 Top http://www.cjsonline.org/library/pdf/att_gen_review_of_the_year.pdf RETRIEVED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2002... August 01, 2002 Extract Page 25... (c) Part III of the Family Law Act 1986 Under Part 111 of the Family Law Act 1986 individuals may ask the court to make a declaration about the validity of a marriage; a person's parentage (including legitimacy); and the status of adoptions effected overseas. These matters may be of importance to individuals, for example, because of claims under the Inheritance Act, maintenance or contract Applications for declarations of parentage are often made when the father of a child has died before, or shortly after, the child was born and so was not named on the birth certificate. Applications for declarations of the validity of marriage or divorce often arise in circumstances where the marriage or divorce (or sometimes both) took place outside the UK and the question is whether the UK recognises these. -- Recent cases in which the Attorney General has become involved include Bellinger v Bellinger. This is a case in which a post-operative male-to-female transsexual has sought a declaration that her marriage to Mr Bellinger is valid. The current law, as set out in the case of Corbett, holds that Mrs Bellinger is still regarded as a man and that any marriage ceremony with another man cannot therefore lead to a valid marriage. Counsel on behalf of the Attorney General argued, in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, (a) that this was a matter which had wider implications and involved complex issues of social policy, and which was therefore better suited to resolution by Parliament; and (b) that medical knowledge had not yet moved on to the point where a better test than that set out in Corbett could be applied by the courts. Mrs Bellinger has now appealed to the House of Lords, where the case will be heard later this year - (SNIP)
[16] USA: Judge nixes Lopez motion to toss conduct charges
Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Judge nixes Lopez motion to toss conduct charges http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/lope10172002.htm by David WebeR Thursday, October 17, 2002 The retired judge presiding over next month's hearing of misconduct by Superior Court Judge Maria I. Lopez has denied her motions to dismiss two charges lodged against her by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. But E. George Daher, former chief justice of the state's Housing Court, said he would wait to hear all the evidence in the Nov. 18 public hearing before he decides whether Lopez violated the canons governing judges' conduct. Lopez was the subject of harsh criticism in September 2000 after she disregarded a prosecutor's request for an eight- to 10-year prison sentence and instead sentenced transsexual attempted child rapist and kidnapper Charles ``Ebony'' Horton to five years of probation and no time in jail. The sentencing hearing, caught by TV cameras and chronicled in newspapers, featured Lopez angrily berating prosecutor David Deakin for characterizing Horton's crime as an extremely serious offense. Several Beacon Hill lawmakers tried to have Lopez removed from the bench, and she became a target for incensed radio talk show hosts and newspaper columnists. In response, Lopez allegedly contacted Horton's court-appointed defense lawyer, Anne Goldbach, and Goldbach's boss at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, William Leahy, in an attempt to get them to defend Lopez. Lopez also allegedly tried to recruit Boston police Detective Jay Greene, who investigated the Horton case, to tell a court spokeswoman that there were facts that would support Lopez's sentence. Among the charges brought by the CJC against Lopez in May were two counts charging that her contact with Goldbach and Leahy was improper because the case was still pending and because it created a possible perception that Lopez could unduly influence the lawyers and vice versa. Lopez argued in her motions she did nothing unsavory in the aftermath. She also argued she could not be charged with commenting on a pending case because the case closed when she pronounced her sentence. ``Whether unique circumstances allowed Judge Lopez to carve an exception that permitted her to make specific comments as alleged, without compromising the validity of any order or ruling entered by her, is left for trial,'' Daher wrote, referring to the Nov. 18 hearing. ``The commission is entitled to prove its case as to the charges, and only after all the evidence is in, will this hearing officer be able to assess the validity of those charges.'' Lopez's attorney, Richard Egbert, could not be reached for comment. END © Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc. Top
[17] USA: Supreme Court Refuses to Hear
Transsexual Marriage Case
For Immediate Release: Dated October 17, 2002 From: The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) Contact Person: Vanessa Edwards Foster; Houston, Texas Contact Email: ntacmedia@aol.com media@ntac.org Contact Phone: 832-483-9901 Website: http://www.ntac.org
The Supreme Court has the final authority to make pronouncements on the application of existing laws, by actively considering, or by passively rejecting consideration of a case. On Monday, October 7 the Court did the latter by rejecting the case of J'Noel Ball Gardiner.
Under Kansas law, Ms. Gardiner, whose marriage was called into question after her husband, Marshall Gardiner, died in 1999 without a will, should have been entitled to half of her husband's estate. Her husband's son, Joe Gardiner, wanted the marriage invalidated on the grounds that J'Noel, a transsexual, had been born male.
Joe Gardiner challenged J'Noel's inheritance claims in probate court, and a trial court agreed with the son. But a Kansas Appellate Court later overturned the decision. The Appellate Court ruled that gender is not fixed and that gender at the time of marriage is the determining factor in the validity of that marriage.
Joe Gardiner appealed this decision to the Kansas Supreme Court, which ruled, in a 9-0 decision, that J'Noel was "male for purposes of marriage." Relying heavily on dictionary definitions, the Kansas Supreme Court announced: "The words "sex," "marriage," "male," and "female" in everyday understanding do not encompass transsexuals.
"The common, ordinary meaning of 'persons of the opposite sex'", according to the state's Supreme Court opinion, "contemplates what is commonly understood to be a biological man and a biological woman. A post-operative male-to-female transsexual does not fit the common definition of a female."
The Kansas Supreme Court decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court's concurring sidestep of the issue, is problematic on several levels. It defines "male" and "female" according to ability to produce sperm or ova and to beget or bear offspring. But this seems to render sexless any women who had a hysterectomy or man who was infertile. It would also exclude those with extra chromosomes, or ambiguous genitalia at birth.
The decision should be a "wake-up call to the entire post-operative transsexual community," according to attorney, Alyson Meiselman, based in suburban Washington DC. She opined that it's possible the petition to the nation's high court may not have "properly preserved or argued" the Article IV issue. Meiselman, herself transsexual, added that "unless that attorney is an expert in transsexual legal matters, the transsexual client's cause will suffer."
"The court's ruling completely ignores the existence of intersexed citizens and totally denies their rights to marry," stated Vanessa Edwards Foster, chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC). "There are a large number of American citizens who are now legally barred from marrying." Foster continued, "Women who are unable to conceive, men who are impotent, males with androgen insensitivity syndrome - none of them have the right to marry thanks to the state of Kansas. And the Supreme Court apparently agrees."
Perhaps the most troubling issue in this decision is its violation of the U.S. Constitution. Article IV, clause 1 of the Constitution states: Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and Judicial Proceedings of every other State.
Gardiner's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court asked whether this clause "requires a State to recognize an individual's sex as reported in a birth certificate issued pursuant to court order by the State in which the individual was born." The State of Wisconsin recognizes J'Noel Gardiner to be female as manifest on her birth certificate.
The state of Kansas has opened a breach in Article IV of the Constitution. "The decision of the Supreme Court of Kansas side-stepped the Full Faith and Credit issue" based on the Kansas Appellate Court ruling, according to attorney Meiselman.
The attorney who petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Christie Lee Littleton, Meiselman added the high court's declining to hear the case would have two effects. "First, it leaves the Kansas Supreme Court's decision as the law in Kansas, as well as being authority that opponents to recognition will use in future cases outside of Kansas, as persuasive authority."
On the other hand "it allows the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court may address the issue in the future," though Meiselman added it's unlikely given the ultra-conservative ideological make-up of the conservative Justices.
The decision not to consider the Gardiner v. Gardiner case definitively brings the case, and marriage, to an end. Meanwhile, J' Noel Gardiner, an assistant professor of finance at Park University, has had her personal and professional life turned inside out.
Gardiner, who met her husband at a university reception four years after having undergone sexual reassignment surgery, issued a statement after the ruling. "The pain, intrusion of our privacy, and the anger that runs through our blood could not be felt by anyone not in our shoes - not even the well-intentioned."
"People don't realize we have personal lives," lamented Christie Lee Littleton, who endured her own mistreatment at the hands of the courts. "What J'Noel needs right now is privacy. She just needs time to heal."
"The media wants to get quotes from us, and people call us wanting to help, but they don't realize we just want to be left alone," Littleton added. "We just lost our husbands ... we need time to grieve."
"We're just human beings."
Top
[18] AUSTRALIA: Transgender student sues over university expulsion Top [thanks to KathyTS via Terisa Gibson to transgendernews] Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 17:07:29 -0000 From: Terisa Gibson <terisa_gibson@hotmail.com> Subject: [transgendernews] Australia: Transgender student sues over university expulsion Article posted by KathyTS in the TransAdvocacy mail list ----------------------------------- ABC Sydney (news station) September 25, 2002 article no longer available on line http://www.abc.net.au/sydney/news/metnsw-25sep2002-13.htm A transgender student is suing the University of Sydney, claiming she was unlawfully expelled. Taragh Wilde, 43, claims the vice-chancellor wrongfully accused her of misconduct, after she was allegedly assaulted by three of the university's security guards. Ms Wilde claims that in September 2000, the guards pinned her to the ground, dislocating her shoulder and smashing a dental plate, after she used a male toilet on campus. She also alleges that a guard entered her room without permission in the middle of the night and intimidated her. Ms Wilde is seeking compensation for her injuries and wants to be allowed to complete her Master of Letters. 09/25/2002 14:03 AEST © 2002 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Top
HEALTH AND SCIENCE [19] United Kindom: Gender-bending risk to children Top Independent News http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=344178 19 October 2002 22:33 BDST By Geoffrey Lean Environmental Editor 20 October 2002 Minute amounts of ''gender bender'' chemicals found in food and the environment are affecting the behaviour of pre-school children, new research shows. The Environment minister Michael Meacher said yesterday the research was very disturbing and he would ask his officials to "urgently'' examine its implications tomorrow morning. The study &endash; carried out by doctors and scientists at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam &endash; is the first in the world to show that normal levels of the chemicals affect humans. It follows a host of studies showing that gender-benders can turn wildlife species, from gulls and alligators to fish and turtles, into hermaphrodites. In the case of the children in the study, the chemicals caused girls to play with guns and pretend to be soldiers, and boys to play with dolls and tea sets and dress up in female clothes. The research, published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is part of a long-term study into the effects of PCBs and dioxins on children. The researchers measured levels of the chemicals in the blood of 207 mothers in their final month of pregnancy, in umbilical blood at birth, and in breast milk two weeks after birth, to determine exposure in the womb. They later asked the parents of the children, now aged seven, to record their patterns of play. The girls exposed to higher levels of PCBs were more likely to engage in masculine play, while similarly exposed boys were more likely to enjoy feminine play. Dioxins produced more feminine play in boys and girls. The most disturbing aspect of the study is that the mothers were exposed to routine amounts of the chemicals &endash; probably from eating normal food, experts believe. Previous studies have found that the chemicals damage the immune systems, neurological development and intelligence of children. Nearly one and a half million tons of PCBs have been spread around the world in materials such as paint and plastic. They have been banned in industrialised countries but persist in the environment and in body fat. Dioxins and PCBs both contaminate food at low levels. END © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd Top
[20] Testosterone Fluctuation Tied to Women's Sex Drive Top Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
Health - Reuters
Wed Oct 16,10:26 AM ET
By Roxanne Nelson
SEATTLE (Reuters Health) - A fluctuating level of testosterone may account for a reduced libido in women in their 30s and 40s, researchers report.
Previous studies have found links between lower levels of male hormones such as testosterone and decreased libido in women, but findings have not been consistent or conclusive. But now researchers believe that it may have more to do with the stability of levels, rather than the level itself.
"We compared hormone levels of women reporting a decline in sexual interest," Dr. Clarisa R. Gracia of the University of Pennsylvania, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. "Women with fluctuating levels of testosterone reported decreased sexual interest while those with stable levels did not."
Gracia, who presented the findings here at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting, and her colleagues followed 333 women between the ages of 35 and 47 for four years. Hormone levels were measured every six to nine months, and at the end of four years, the women also completed a questionnaire. Eighty-seven of the study participants reported a decreased libido, but the researchers found that their testosterone values were similar to those of women who reported normal sexual desire.
However, they found that the more fluctuation or variability there was in testosterone levels, the more likely women were to report a decrease in sexual desire.
Fluctuation in hormonal levels is not unusual in this age group, explained Gracia. "As a woman transitions to menopause, all hormones fluctuate, and this may have to do with the slow shutdown of the ovaries."
She added that female sexual dysfunction is a complex disorder, consisting of numerous physiologic and psychosocial factors. These include depression, the presence of a child under the age of 18 living at home, marital status, education, vaginal dryness and alcohol use. But even after accounting for these factors, the researchers still found an association between testosterone and a decreased libido.
Traditional hormone replacement therapy, which is sometimes prescribed to relieve menopause symptoms, does not contain male hormones. Some women do respond to preparations containing testosterone, Gracia pointed out, and it may be that supplementation helps maintain steady levels of the hormone. However, more research is needed in this area.
As far as using testosterone to treat low libido in younger women, Gracia says it may be a possibility. "But that is not part of this study," she said, "And it is just a hypothesis for right now."
[21] It may be your brain not your genitals that decides what sex you really are Top From: Anonymous and Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Thu, 17 Oct 2002 12:31:21 +0100 Transcribed New Scientist. 19 October 2002, p 17 (Gender Identity) Our brains could be hard-wired to be male or female long before we begin to grow tested or ovaries in the womb. This discovery might explain why some people feel trapped in a body that's the wrong sex, and could also lead to tests that reveal the 'brain sex' of babies born with ambiguous genitalia. Till now, the orthodoxy among developmental biologists has been that embryos develop ovaries and become female unless a gene called SRY on the Y Chromosome is switched on. If this gene is active, it makes testes develop instead. This switch is seen as the key event in determining whether a baby is a girl or a boy. Only after the gonads form and flood the body with the appropriate hormones, the theory goes, is the sex of our minds and bodies determined. But in a study of mice, a team at the University of California, Los Angeles, has now found that males and females show differences in the expression of no fewer than 50 genes well before SRY switches on. "It's the first discovery of genes differentially expressed in the brain", says Eric Vilain, who led the UCLA team. "They may have an impact on the hard-wired development of the brain in terms of sexual differentiation independent of gonadal induction." Vilain is presenting details of seven of the fifty genes to the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Baltimore this week. Three of these genes are dominant in females and four are dominant in males the next step for Vilain and his team will be to show that the genes in question really do influence brain sexuality - and not just in mice. This is likely to be a much tougher proposition than merely showing there are differences in expression. But if the findings are confirmed, they could one day yield blood tests that allow doctors to establish the brain sex of babies born with genitalia that share the features of both sexes. At present doctors and parents have to guess which gender to assign for surgical 'correction'. Robin Lovell Badge of the National Institute for Medical research in London, who discovered the SRY gene, is already looking at mice with a Y chromosome lacking the SRY gene, to see if their brains and behaviour are in any way male despite their lack of testes. "The growing feeling is that there will be direct effects on the brain, anatomy, and behaviour due to X or Y-linked genes," says Lovell Badge. "It's early days yet, but we're pretty sure there are effects on some aspects of aggression and reproductive behaviour independent of gonadal sex." (Andy Coghlan) Top
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT [22] US A- When the role calls for a vamp, Nick Garrison's your man Top [The Seattle October] From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. The Seattle Times: Arts & Entertainment: When... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/134557264_nick18.htm Friday, October 18, 2002 Theater Preview When the role calls for a vamp, Nick Garrison's your man By Misha Berson Seattle Times theater critic CHRIS BENNION Nick Garrison describes Fay, a pivotal character in Joe Orton's helter-skelter black comedy "Loot," this way: "She's a young nurse by profession, very controlling and confident. She's really warm and witty, but in the end it turns out she's a serial killer. She's a charming person, who happens to be insane." She also happens to be a woman, which doesn't bother Garrison at all. That is because this 28-year-old male actor has been cast in numerous female roles in his stage career. Portraying Fay in the Intiman Theatre's new mounting of "Loot" is just his latest exercise in gender-bending. Though "more of a T-shirt and jeans person," Garrison has donned wigs, false eyelashes and women's wear to play spacey Anne Welles in Annex Theatre's recent staging of the camp-classic film "Valley of the Dolls," and for his cabaret show at Re-Bar about a low-rent pop diva, Randee Sparks. Even when he's portraying men, they're usually, well, men with a penchant for dress-up. Like the flamboyant transsexual punk-rocker Hedwig in Re-Bar's "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." And the Elizabethan boy-thespian who gets all the girl roles in Shakespeare plays (in "The Beard of Avon" at Seattle Repertory Theatre). Last spring he played Oscar Wilde, in Chris Jeffries' inventive musical "Vera Wilde," and then, too, Garrison found himself slathering on the scarlet lipstick and pastel eye shadow. Though he swears he'd love to tackle more "regular" guy roles, Garrison isn't complaining about type-casting yet. Neither are the Seattle audiences and critics who admire his highly nuanced, cannily comic performances, and his strong, pleasing singing voice. "Some people think I must be a drag queen," says the slender, upbeat actor, who divides his time between New York and Seattle. "But I'm not. I just seem to get cast a lot as women. For me it's just playing a character." Born in Kodiak and raised mostly in Alaska and Hawaii (his father was a commercial fisherman), Garrison spent his high-school years in Seattle, attending the Northwest School of the Arts. He was the only one in a family of five kids to display talents for writing and performing. He studied psychology and music in college, then turned to acting professionally &emdash; and to his little sister, Chelsea, for inspiration. "I think the impetus behind the character of Randee Sparks, which I created with Grady West, was Chelsea," he explains. "She just passed away last year at 21, and was very frail and ill all her life. She was a big influence on Randee, who is also a tragic, fragile person. "But there's this whole other, spoofier element to Randee, too. She's a poor man's Liza Minnelli, one of those entertainers who lives her life on stage and gets far too confessional in public. You know, the ones who see performing as psychotherapy, which I find fascinating and horrifying." Garrison views his work in more craftsmanlike terms. After being recommended to director Craig Lucas for "Loot," he first read for male parts. Orton's spiky farce concerns a pair of a young thieves, who stash their hot loot in the coffin of one of their mothers on the eve of her funeral. "Craig decided later it might be interesting to put a guy in a female role. So I read Fay, and it worked really well," Garrison says. As usual, Garrison didn't object to being hired for a gender-switch. The part of a scheming, homicidal vamp was just too juicy. "I feel this performance is my homage to all my favorite British female actors," he declares. "There's this Maggie Smith, 'Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' quality to Fay that I really love." Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com. Theater Preview "Loot," previews tonight through Tuesday, opens Wednesday and runs Tuesday-Sunday through Nov. 17, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Center; $10-$42, 206-269-1900. © 2002 The Seattle Times Company Top
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
RE: THREE MEN ARRAIGNED IN DEATH OF TRANSGENDERED TEEN
From Stephen L. Braveman
We spoke at length regarding this issue yesterday at the Monterey Transsexual Support Group. The responses were mixed as expected. Most were hurt, scared and angry. some were numb. My guess is that these feelings are generally shared in our communities as a whole across the entire nation.
Unfortunately, there were probably also some misguided responses. some ignorant responses and some that actually cheered this violence on. Very sad indeed.
Events like this do predictably bring out the best in some. Communities find union. Unfortunately, this effect only lasts a short while.
It is because of these events and responses that I daily applaud the brave souls who come out and search for their true selves.
I also call on all other service providers to speak up on a regular basis. this means openly advertising their services. this is so that not only do trans folk find the help they need but also to educate the public that professionals, many who are not trans, not GLBT, are not only aware of people with diverse sexual/gender/identity issues, but accept and support them. I urge other providers to attend special educational events so that we stay as up to date on these issues as possible. Speak up politically so that the current administration does not eliminate sexual rights we have all been fighting for (*note: the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Sactcher, contacted us at AASECT - American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, WAS - World Association of Sexology, etc., for help. He drew on actual scientific knowledge and put together a national Call to Action which strongly urged comprehensive sex education, promotion of condom use and full acceptance and protection for all genders, orientations, etc.. The Bush administration took one look at this, killed it and called for Dr. Sachter's immediate resignation).
Together we, trans folk and service providers a like, need to work toward full sexual rights for all. Hopefully some day we will, as a society as a whole, end such senseless discrimination and violence.
May no more innocent people wi