Vitale Letter #245, December 2, 2002 Anne Vitale PhD, Editor
- Archives of back issues
- Notes on Gender Transition
GENERAL INFORMATION [6] AUSTRALIA--Fostering shortage met by gay couples [7]UK: Crackdown on homophobic crime includes crimes against Transsexuals [8] USA: Ohio--Transman Again Denied A License To Marry [9] USA: California Student group addresses sexuality, gender issues [10] USA;Tuscon ,Arizona--Wilson K-8 teacher under investigation for inviting speaker without clearance [11] MALAYSIA: 'Mak Nyah' community 'happy with given name [12] INDIA: A eunuch joins the bandwagon [13]INDIA: Eunuchs drive home point [14]USA Alabama --Sex-change man jailed after attack [15] UNITED NATIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY
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ANNOUNCEMENTS [1] USA: Dr. Toby Meltzer is pleased to announce that he will be moving his practice to Scottsdale, Arizona Top http://www.tmeltzer.com Dr. Toby Meltzer is pleased to announce that he will be moving his practice to Scottsdale, Arizona, effective the first week of January, 2003. Several of his staff members will be moving with him. He will be practicing out of Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, Osborn Campus. Please watch our website for updates on this exciting move. Top
[2]USA : Coloradao--Driver's License sex designation requirement change Top Sheila Mink writes 12/2/02 Noon I just talked with a person from the Colorado Driver's License Department. Since 1996 it has been possible to change the sex designation on a driver's license, if the license holder is living full time in their chosen gender role & is under the care of a licensed physician or psychiatrist. They now require that a TS be able to prove with documentation that they are post-op! The notice was sent out 11/15/02. The reason given to me for the change was to make Colorado consistent with the laws in other states. (I do not know how many states currently permit changing it as a pre-op.) (One of the concerns was that a person might change their mind prior to surgery & want to change their sex designation back.) As of July 1, 2002 a person must present 2 forms of ID to get their license or to transfer from another state after having moved to Colorado & establishing residency. I asked if at the time of renewal for a person who is pre-op would they be asked to change the designation back to conform to their body, but was not given a clear answer. If anyone that gets this message wants to help in this area, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you! Thanks. Life is difficult enough for we TSs who are pre-op or non-op! HUGS, Sheila Mink Top
[3] USA: Rhode Island--Trans Identities in Academia Symposium Invitation and Proposal Application due December 7, 2002 Top We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the trans academia symposium that will take place February 1, 2003 at Brown University in Providence, RI U.S. Due to the overwhelming response from our first call for presenters, we are asking people to submit a formal proposal according to the format outlined below. On Saturday, February 1, a one-day symposium will be held, in which there will be three ninety-minute dialogues on how trans issues challenge how curriculum is taught in colleges and universities. The three topics or sessions will focus on feminist studies, ethnic studies, and queer studies. We want to view these fields not as disconnected, but rather look at how curriculum can include and/or discuss race studies, trans theory, and gender identities/expressions. Specific Note to Undergraduate Students: We are sending out a second call specifically to encourage undergraduate students, particularly people of color, people with disabilities, people of lower-incomes, and immigrants/first-generation people to submit a proposal to present. One central focus of the symposium has been the need to provide a space for undergraduate students to incorporate our voices, experiences, and visions in a central and respectful way, along with the graduate students and professors who will be presenting/attending. We encourage all of you who have never presented on a panel to see this as an opportunity to gain some new experience, and for those that have presented to continue your involvement in these discussions. Our voices as youth are key and must remain central in helping to frame this important discussion. We are still accepting proposals by transsexual and transgender-identified students and professors who would be interested in speaking briefly at the beginning of each dialogue. We encourage transsexual and transgender-identified undergraduate, graduate student s and professors, particularly people of color, people with disabilities, people of lower-incomes, and immigrants/first-generation people to present their work. These conversations will include what students want in terms of what they are being taught to in school, and how this teaching can incorporate trans identities/experiences. This is an opportunity for students and professors to talk together and crystallize in language what a lot of students already feel about what is missing from academia, or what can be improved upon. Presenters would be responsible for helping to frame a larger discussion, asking some interesting questions, and engaging with some of the issues that have informed their experiences within academia. These conversations are not focused on research necessarily (although we are also accepting proposals that are research-based), but rather on people's experiences in, and changes that they would like to see in response to, working within fields of studies that have relied upon, and continue to rely upon, binary systems of sex and gender. We have received many inquiries from law students who would like to present as well. This symposium is not focusing specifically on legal issues in academia, however, we are interested in proposals that bridge this field of study with the three main dialogues we will be having on queer, feminist, and ethnic studies. The event is open to all who are interested in attending. A word about funding: We are currently fundraising in order to cover travel and accommodation costs for presenters. However, if you are able to secure funding from your individual universities, we would appreciate it if you could please apply for funding from them tohelp us secure funds for those who are in need. Travel and Accommodations: For travel directions and accommodations, please look at this link to Brown University's website. www.brown.edu/webmaster/visitors.html We are also looking for more trans folks and allies to be involved in the planning of the symposium. If you might be interested in helping with the organizing of the symposium, please contact jkrawitz@smith.edu or sqw2864@nyu.edu. If interested in presenting, please fill out the proposal application below. thank you in peace cole krawitz sel wahng Proposal Application Please return completed proposal to cole krawitz at jkrawitz@smith.edu or sel wahng at sqw2864@nyu.edu by December 7, 2002. Name: Home phone: Work phone: Address: Email(s): Age: Student/Professor Status: (undergraduate, graduate, law, professor, etc): Ethnicity(ies): Country of origin: Sexual orientation: Gender Identity(ies): Class background (affluent, upper middle class, middle class, working class, etc.): Do you have any disabilities either visible or invisible? Religious/spiritual practice: Current occupation(s): Organizations you work with: Please tell us about what trans communities, if any, you are involved in: Skills/perspectives you specifically hope to bring to the group: Why are you interested in coming to a symposium on trans identities in academia?: What session(s) you would be interested in presenting in (queer, feminist and/or ethnic studies): Please provide us with a brief presentation proposal below. The presentations will be 7-10 minutes in length with the goal of helping to spark a larger conversation with everyone in the room. Please review the description above and make sure that the proposal fits within one of the three fields of studies. Smith College 98 Green St Box 7555 Northampton, MA 01063-1000 413.585.6312 Top
[4] USA: San Jose, California --Seminar Announcement: Gender Matters Top Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) URL: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4624231.htm Date: November 28, 2002 ``Gender Matters.'' A public-media professional forum to discuss local San Francisco Bay Area news coverage of the Eddie Araujo slaying and the transgender community. 7 p.m. next Thursday. Almaden Room, Student Union, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose. Top
[5]USA : Arizona --Analyzing the rainbow; ASU to present GLBT studies conference Top Mon, 25 Nov 2002 Echo Magazine (GLBT weekly, Arizona) Author: Matthew Bell URL: http://echomag.com/news/news2.html Date: November 21, 2002 PHOENIX ASU will soon be joining Dorothy and Toto in Munchkin land, where research about gays and lesbians in media, or discussions on reducing homophobia in schools, won't get a house dropped on you. This safe space arrives when ASU presents its GLBT studies conference, Over the Rainbow: Building an Inclusive Movement, March 27-29. According to press material, Over the Rainbow is requesting proposals for panels, performances and exhibits from all members of the GLBT community: scholars, students, policymakers, artists, and activists. Suggested topics for panels include how race, class and gender intertwine with homophobia and heterosexism, violence in/against GLBT communities, GLBT youth, GLBT movements and activism, and representations of GLBT persons in the media and the law. Three nationally known activists will headline the conference: Advocate columnist and former director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, Urvashi Vaid; transgender author and activist, Leslie Feinberg; and award winning filmmaker Arthur Dong. According to one of the conference organizers, ASU professor of social work Stephanie Brzuzy, Over the Rainbow is intended to push the boundaries of research into sexuality and gender identity, bringing together personal and academic perspectives. "We want participants from the university, the greater Phoenix community, and national figures," Brzuzy said. "We're really trying to mix research, entertainment, and activism. That's another part of our inclusiveness." Fellow organizer, ASU Women's Studies professor Amy Lind is looking forward to one of the presentations already slated, a discussion with Rebecca Castle. Castle will speak about the problems surrounding her recent legal battle with her employer. When superiors wanted to subject Castle to a strip search to determine whether she was a woman, and was using the "appropriate" restroom facilities, she refused and was fired. Both Lind and Brzuzy would like to see the conference galvanize Arizona's residents to work for positive change for GLBT persons. "It's really trying to create an intellectual sexuality studies community and campus, and connect it with community issues and struggles," Lind said. To that end, the women are fundraising and collaborating with organizations like the Greater Phoenix Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. If they can raise the remaining $15,000 needed to cover speakers' fees and other expenses, Over the Rainbow will be entirely free and open to the public. "In a time of budget cuts we're going for broke. We're hoping this will become an annual event," Brzuzy said. "Right now all the national speakers have said they'll come, we just have to find the money to bring them." To submit a proposal, send a 150-200 word abstract of your presentation or performance, and complete contact information for all presenters with brief biographical information. To send proposals, donations or requests for more information, individuals should contact Lind or Brzuzy. The deadline for proposal submissions is Jan. 1, 2003. Letters of acceptance will be sent out by Jan. 15. Contact Lind at ASU's Women's Studies Program, Box 873404, Tempe, AZ 85287-3404, or call 480-727-6354. Contact Brzuzy at ASU's School of Social Work, Box 871802, Tempe, AZ 85287-1802, or call 480-965-0886. Issue 344 · 11.21.02 ©ACE Publishing Top
GENERAL INFORMATION [6] AUSTRALIA--Fostering shortage met by gay couples Top From: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Fostering shortage met by gay couples - smh.c... http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/30/1038386361619.html Saturday, November 30, 2002 By Kate Cox December 1 2002 The Sun-Herald Same-sex and transgender couples are being actively targeted by foster care organisations in an attempt to find homes for thousands of disadvantaged children. Although Western Australia legalised gay adoptions earlier this year and Tasmania will from the middle of next year, same-sex couples in NSW are still not able to adopt children. There are almost five children for every carer and new Department of Community Services (DOCS) notifications every day. DOCS has 1,894 accredited foster carers. By June 30 last year, there were 9,151 children in out-of-home care in NSW - with 5,007 entering care during that year - but only 3,000 were in foster care. Leading foster care agency Barnardo's regularly advertises in Australia's national lesbian magazine, LOTL, and many others across Australia run fostering courses for gay couples. Mary Jane Beach, treasurer of the NSW Foster Care Association, said foster caring had deteriorated immensely in recent years, with a major shortage of foster carers and abused and disturbed children being left without appropriate care for too long. Children in care need to live somewhere else because their parent or parents have drug, alcohol, crime or aggression problems and have either signed their children over to state care or cannot be found. Ms Beach said: "There is so much more reporting of children now and DOCS is so understaffed they don't have the resources to meet all the complaints they get." Although fostering by single parents is accepted by the public, she said same-sex couples still struggled for recognition and information, even though they made natural foster parents. "Often for some kids, the best thing for them is to be with a couple who don't have children and they can get intensive one-on-one treatment," she said. "But the agencies don't promote it enough. There are a whole lot of people out there that would be ready, willing and able to foster if they knew that they could. Often the workers have this ideal that every child will go to a mother and a father and two kids, but they haven't caught up with the times. "In an ideal world, that would be great, but that just isn't happening. "Prejudice against gay and lesbian couples is alive and well. Often people are angry already because their child has been taken away from them so if they can rally against anything else then they will. And there's still people in society that think gays are pedophiles, even though the vast majority [of pedophiles] are married men." When Luke, 4, is picked up from kindy by his doting foster mum Lauren - while his birth mother recovers from mental illness in hospital - his eyes light up and he jumps into her arms. "Mama!" he cries. "What's for tea?" He has three mums and one dad - and that's just the way he likes it. Lauren and her partner Jen were the ones who noticed his speech impediment last year. He is working with a speech therapist and teachers have remarked on how much more articulate and confident he has become. When Lauren met Jen four years ago, she saw no reason to stop fostering. "Kids don't care whether you're black, white or yellow. They just need a loving family. Gayness isn't catching." Top
[7]UK: Crackdown on homophobic crime includes crimes against Transsexuals Top From: "tgnews_moderator" <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> The Guardian Unlimited Author: Clare Dyer, legal correspondent URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,849410,00.html Date: Nov. 28, 2002 The crown prosecution service yesterday announced that perpetrators of anti-gay offences will be treated with "zero tolerance" in future. The initiative, which includes crimes against transsexuals, will cover incidents regarded by victims as homophobic or "transphobic"- based on the service's definition of a racist crime as one perceived as racist by victims. The move is designed to encourage more victims of anti-gay crimes to come forward. Studies show that male victims of rape, for example, are reluctant to report attacks to police. The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, said: "Homophobic crimes strike at people's right to feel safe and secure, and to abuse or attack someone because of their sexual orientation and gender identity is a hate crime which cannot be tolerated. "The CPS today sends a clear message to those who commit such crimes that they will be dealt with firmly." <<editor note: please use go to the the original website to access these extra links>> Special reports Gay rights Gender issues Useful links - UK Stonewall Outrage! Peter Tatchell's site Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights Organisation Useful links - international National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation International Gay and Lesbian Association Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 Top
[8] USA: Ohio--Transman Again Denied A License To Marry Top Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 07:08:13 -0000 From: "Mrs. Petra Henderson" <petrahenderson@yahoo.com> --- In transgendernews@y..., "tgnews_moderator" <tgnews_moderator@y...> wrote: Source: WKBN-TV (Youngstown) URL: http://www.wkbn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1029497 Date: Nov. 29, 2002 A man and woman in Trumbull County have again been denied a license to get married. Erin Barr and Jacob Nash got married in August but they want to make it legal. Nash became a man several years ago after a sex change operation. For a third time, Probate Court Judge Tom Swift says because Nash won't answer questions about the operations, he believes the couple are actually the same sex. And Ohio law only allows marriages between a man and woman. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2002, WorldNow and WKBN. All Rights Reserved. Top
[9] USA: California Student group addresses sexuality, gender issues Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 From: tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: Stanford Daily Author: Alison Pierce http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=9707&repository=0001_article Most Stanford students probably don't spend time thinking about what it means to be "queer." However, an increasingly visible and vocal queer community exists on campus, and a new student-run group called Querillas seeks to support it by increasing awareness about gender, sexuality and racial issues through activism, discussion and bimonthly meetings. Querillas' stated mission is "to create and sustain queer activism and to mobilize, educate and empower members of the Stanford community. This is to effect fundamental, long-lasting changes in the University's structure to ensure a commitment to furthering queer liberation." Querillas borrowed its name from a group of female artists called the Guerilla Girls who protest the "maleness" and "whiteness" of the art world through "guerilla" tactics and art. The group uses the word "queer" -- which has been used as a pejorative term for homosexuals -- in an academic sense. "Queer" is an identity category that was reclaimed partly as a political tool, the way African-Americans reclaimed the word "black" as a political identity. This perspective has been expressed by several academics, including Annamarie Jagose, a famous queer theorist. "For me, 'queer' is a gender-neutral term with which I identify that also includes my Native American self-identification as being two-spirited in the context of a normative culture," said sophomore Marlon Footracer, president of Querillas. The group hopes to explore a wide range of issues like queers of color, homophobia in communities of color at Stanford, transgender issues and diversity with respect to sexual orientation. Other interests range from domestic partnership rights to the rape of gays in prisons. The group has several ideas for expanding its collective voice, such as establishing a Queer Studies Department at Stanford, building a coalition among the broader community, and connecting queer issues with other types of campus activism. "The purpose of our group, in my view, is to raise the consciousness of how even the subtlest labeling of gender as good or bad disallows for safe and affirming spaces which should be a priority of the University," Footracer said. "Gender affects everone, queer or otherwise." Querillas, now 60 students strong, started last spring with only a handful of people and has yet to secure school funding but is moving forward in the application process. Coordinators include Footracer, senior Shin-Ming Wong, and the group's founder, a student who asked not to be named because it would jeopardize the founder's scholarship. "Besides, I don't see myself as starting [Querillas] as much as I was merely helping to institutionalize a widespread and deeply felt discontent with the state of queer activism on this campus," the group's founder said. "I felt the discontent around me in my interaction with other queer people." In light of the recent murder of transgender youth Gwen Araujo in Newark, the group's founder said the group sees more significance and urgency in its activities. "It looks like we have a long way to go in making people feel comfortable with others who challenge their traditional notions of gender," the group's founder said. Upcoming activities include a "guerilla" flyering campaign where the group will post unisex flyers over the original male / female bathroom door signs on campus. "The purpose of unisex bathrooms is to both eliminate gender categories for people who do not fall into the strict male-female binary as well as to make the bathroom space safer and more welcoming for genderqueer (a term that relates to being neither 'sharply' male nor 'sharply' female) and trans folks," the group's founder said. Querillas is also working on a demonstration next quarter against homophobic and sexist speech patterns that people use every day without considering their insensitivity towards queer people. The group will broadcast a string of homophobic yet commonly used phrases in White Plaza. The voice will be mechanical to symbolize how automatic these patterns are. Some examples are "What's up? I'm straight," "That's so gay," "Damn you faggot," and "What's up guys?" Querillas organizers said that the group also plans to hold queer sensitivity training workshops for communities of color and is working with the Stanford Coalition for Peace and Justice to protest military recruiting on campus in the spring because they believe the military discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation. For more information or to join the group, subscribe to Stanford's "queer-activists" mailing list. Membership in Querillas is open to everyone regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender. Top
[10] USA;Tuscon ,Arizona--Wilson K-8 teacher under investigation for inviting speaker without clearance Top Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 From: tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: KGUN 9 News Author: Terry Gonzalez URL: http://www.kgun9.com/story.asp?TitleID=2855&ProgramOption=News An Amphi School District teacher is under investigation for inviting a certain speaker to talk to middle schoolers without administrative approval, or parental consent. The principal at Wilson says last Friday- without his knowledge- a member from the group Wingspan came and spoke to about 60 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Wingspan is a group which supports the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community. Now- school officials want to know why they did not know about the presentation before hand, and exactly what those students were told. Kindergarten through eighth grade students at Wilson School study pretty basic cirriculum- but on Friday, 58 6th, 7th and 8th graders received an unexpected lesson on a pretty controversial issue- gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender lifestyles. "I was shocked and surprised." Amphi Board member Ken Smith says the presentation was completely unexpected because the life skills teacher who invited the speaker did so without getting permission. Smith says the teacher made an error in judgement. "The administration would have placed restrictions upon that speaker if the speaker had been allowed to speak at all." Wingspan executive director Kent Burbank says the presentation given by one of his members was meant to educate the school about protecting the young gay and transgender student population from harassment and violence. "Our staff member went in just to talk to them about definitions of what it is to be a lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender person, talked a little bit about the stereotypes that are commonly found particularly among that age group." Burbank says the students at Wilson were also shown a video about a 16-year-old transgender. Students were also given this pamphlet called "Queer Voice" which encourages youth to get involved in Wingspan programs. Wilson parent John Waress has two students at Wilson, and although they did not hear the presentation, he's a bit concerned it happened without parents knowing about it. "I guess I'd be upset to some degree if it was something that I found later that was something I didn't want them to view or hear without my approval." No one from the school or the district's administration would comment on camera because they say this is a personnel issue. The district is investigating, and the teacher may be disciplined. Top
[11] MALAYSIA: 'Mak Nyah' community 'happy with given name Top Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 From: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. 'Mak Nyah' community 'happy with given name http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/11/27/nation/afmaknyah&sec=n ation Wednesday, November 27, 2002 'Mak Nyah' community 'happy with given name By FARID JAMALUDIN KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the country's transsexual community &endash; commonly referred to as mak nyah &endash; are happy with the name which society has given them and do not want it changed. This was the feedback from a survey compiled by the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers following a government move to give the community a "more dignified name." Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil proposed the idea last year in order to give the group more respect from the community as she felt the name mak nyah was not suitable for the "more feminine" group. She was expected to come out with the name this year. According to a spokesman of the network, the transsexual community was happy with the name that had been accorded to it since 1986. The name mak nyah gained more recognition when the then Welfare Minister Datuk Abu Hassan Omar was invited to initiate the formation of the first such association in the country &endash; the Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Mak Nyah Association. However, the association failed to receive support from the relevant authorities. The spokesman said the members would appreciate it if the Government could "sit down" with them to discuss a range of topics involving them. Among the matters it wants to discuss is the need for the group to be treated like other Malaysians. The spokesman said that in a neighbouring country for example, transsexuals in the entertainment line were categorised as "entertainment workers" and enjoyed fringe benefits such as EPF and bank loans like other citizens. The mak nyah community last year had requested Shahrizat to include it under her ministry's care. The mak nyah, according to a study completed by a research group from a local university, number more than 50,000 nationwide. END © 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) Top
[12] INDIA: A eunuch joins the bandwagon Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. A eunuch joins the bandwagon - The Times of I... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=296 01552 RADHA SHARMA TIMES NEWS NETWORK THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2002 12:17:17 AM AHMEDABAD: The Shahpur constituency has a formidable "third force" that can give the jitters to the BJP and the Congress nominees, Kaushik Patel and Pankaj Shah. The name of this third force is Imran Ajmeri, a 26-year-old eunuch. "Muslimsconsider me one of their community. For Hindus, I am a revered mataji. Besides, people are sick of all mooch (the moustachioed) and chotli (women) candidates," Ajmeri says unabashedly as he gears up to give a tough fight to his rivals in this riot-hit constituency as an Independent. Ajmeri finalised his candidature on the last day of nominations, disillusioned with the Congress' choice. "We never had any hopes from the BJP. But we were confident that the Congress will field a better candidate like Jeetu Shah or Badruddin Sheikh. Pankaj Shah is totally unacceptable. People here are fully aware of his active role in the demolition of Mai Fatehshah Dargah and even the Jain temple near Delhi Darwaja. He is neither with the Hindus nor with the Muslims," says Ajmeri. Ajmeri seems pretty popular with the masses and claims support of a big chunk of the Muslims, the Dalits and even the Hindu community. Ajmeri is being officially supported by Mohammad Husain "Mummy" of the newly-launched National Minority Party. © 2002 Times Internet Limited. Top
[13]INDIA: Eunuchs drive home point Top Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 16:45:18 -0500 From: skylark <skylark@terminalgarden.com> Source: ahmedabad.com URL: http://www.ahmedabad.com/news/2k2/nov/elec2k2/25eunuch.htm Ditched by political parties in the last Assembly elections, about 3,000 eunuchs are now seriously contemplating to nominate their representative from Sayajigunj for the forthcoming Assembly elections. Interestingly, they have managed to muster support of about 1,000 "fake" eunuchs, who "support their cause". However, the final decision about contesting the election would be taken on Monday, the last date of filing nomination papers, president of the Gujarat eunuch association Veena Masi said. Veena Masi said, "The Congress had promised support to us. But we realised that politicians never keep their promise. We faced trouble during the recent communal riots and we made frantic calls to Dalsukh Prajapati of Congress but nobody came to help us. This time we have decided to keep away from political parties and take independent stand." According to Veena Masi, a meeting of eunuch association was convened recently and members from adjoining Anand also participated in it. "At present we are getting mixed response but the picture would be clear by Monday. We would communicate with our members in other parts of the state and get their opinion before taking the final decision." There are about 3,000 eunuchs based in Baroda, Ahmedabad, Surat, Saurashtra and other regions of the state. Veena Masi also informed that there is a large number of fake eunuchs in the market. She said, "Though they are fake they have assured their support in case we decide to fight elections." However, Asha Masi of Baranpura area expressed that she has lost faith in politics and would like to remain away this time. She said, "We had a bitter experience last time. I would like to contribute my time in doing good things for the society rather than be a politician." She maintained that even if a member of her community stands for election, she would keep away from it. Top
[14]USA Alabama --Sex-change man jailed after attack Top icBirmingham - Sex-change man jailed after at... http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm?objectid =12412442&method=full&siteid=50002 Nov 29 2002 By Staff Reporter, Birmingham Post A father-of-three undergoing sex change treatment has been jailed for his part in a violent attack on a man who was left with a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain. Sentencing Lisa Marie Whittall, formerly known as Ian, to 15 months in prison, Judge John Shand said he had reduced her sentence because of the "exceptional circumstances" regarding her sexual identity. Whittall (37), who changed his name by deed poll, of Redwing Road, Cannock, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mark Edwards, his wife's former husband. Michael Duffy (27) of Elizabeth Road, Cannock, was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to cause serious harm. Tracy Lloyd-Nesling, prosecuting, said Mr Edwards was formerly married to Duffy's sister and was also the ex-husband of Whittall's wife. "In June this year late at night Whittall and Duffy went to Mr Edwards's home. He answered the door and remembers nothing else until he woke in hospital," she said. "Neighbours saw an argument. Whittall was seen to punch Mr Edwards then she ran off. "Duffy then jumped on Mr Edwards with both feet then kicked his head like a football and left him motionless on the floor. He was unconscious and bleeding from the ears." She said Mr Edwards was in hospital for two weeks after suffering a fractured skull which led to a blood clot on his brain. Blood stains on Duffy's shoes were sent for a DNA match which showed one chance in 40,000 that it was someone else who carried out the attack, she added. Simon Drew, defending Whittall, who appeared in court in a black trouser suit with an open-neck blouse and carrying a black shoulder bag, said: "Immediately after the punch she fled and was not involved in kicking or stamping on Mr Edwards." Whittall was now undergoing hormone therapy which would curb her aggression, he added He said: "She has a genuine on-going personality problem. On the night of the attack she gave in to pressure and tried to prove her masculinity. Since this problem she has been forced to confront her life." Michael Anning, defending Duffy, said: "He is genuinely remorseful and regarded with disbelief that he was capable of this conduct." Sentencing Whittall at Stafford Crown Court, Judge Shand said: "I have considered carefully your vulnerability in custody but courts consider it their duty sometimes to send people to prison. You are someone with problems with gender identification. You may be vulnerable in prison. "I reduce the sentence I was going to pass because of exceptional circumstances." © owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2002 Top
[15] UNITED NATIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE AND Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. UN Wire: An Independent News Briefing About t... http://unfoundation.org/unwire/current.asp (SNIP) Nov. 25, 2002 (SNIP) TORTURE: U.N. Panel Ends Session After Reviewing Five Countries; The U.N. Committee against Torture on Friday finished its latest session after reviewing reports from Spain, Egypt, Estonia, Cyprus and Venezuela on compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (SNIP) Venezuela was criticized for its many reports of torture, degrading treatment, abuse of authority, arbitrary acts and use of excessive force. The committee expressed concern about reports of persecution and attacks against sexual minorities and transsexual activists. The panel recommended immediate and impartial investigations into all torture allegations and asked Venezuela to set up a sound regulatory framework to ensure victims' rights and fair compensation for abuses. Venezuela should improve prison conditions, prevent violence by prison staff and between prisoners and improve prison inspections, the panel said. Positive developments in Venezuela included a new constitution that includes human rights protections, a new state obligation to compensate victims and a recognition of victims' right to rehabilitation. At the committee's next meeting, scheduled for April 28 to May 23, it will review reports from Belgium, Moldova, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Turkey and Cambodia (U.N. release, Nov. 22). (SNIP) © 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. Top
MEDIA WATCH [16] UK--Transvestism Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. BBC- Onelife - Personal - Relationships - Tra... http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/personal/relationships/transvestite.shtm l RETRIEVED: Sunday, December 01, 2002 ONE LIFE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Transvestism As a transvestite Andrew goes by the name of Caprice, here he discusses some of the more common misunderstandings surrounding transvestism. One practice in modern life that isn't dealt with very often is that of the transvestite and transgender community, and there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings surrounding them: Men who dress as women are gay. Not always. Determining the sexuality of a cross-dresser is just as varied as determining the sexuality of the next person you pass on the street. There are a lot of sub-groups in the cross-dressing community and they all do it for a variety of reasons: * Sissy: cross-dressers who dress purely for the amusement and pleasure of others. This is an extreme form of role-play and can involve dressing up in uniforms of occupations like nurse or school girl, and women's clothes in general. Most sissies are thought to be straight. * Drag Queen: Very glamorous and flamboyant, drag queens are probably the most well known type of cross-dressers. A general rule of thumb is that most drag queens are gay; but as some transvestites adapt drag looks, it also covers straight and bisexual dressers. * Transsexual: Transsexuals are sometimes seen as the butt of jokes ('I found out my wife was really a man'), however even here sexuality is not clear-cut. Transsexuals believe they were born in the 'wrong' body, and suffer from a condition known as gender dysphoria. Whether the individual chooses women or men following the surgery is a choice of the individual. * Transvestite/Tranny/TV/Crossdresser: The terms are used interchangeably, but dressing ranges from those who wear women's lingerie under male clothes, to the man who goes shopping in the latest ladies fashions to the man who lives 24/7 as a women. It is impossible to classify what cross-dressing is to each tranny, statistics have shown that over 80% of cross-dressers are straight. * It's wrong to wear women's clothing: No. How many women have you seen wearing trousers? Or baggy jumpers? It's no more incorrect for men to wear strappy sandals and backless dresses as it is for women to wear the aforementioned items. A lot of cross-dressing involves confidence and achieving a look you are happy with. Not to mention that cross-dressing is associated with glamour, decadence and excess. Even celebrities have adopted androgynous looks, women's clothes or drag. Wesley Snipes, Brad Pitt, Mick Jagger, David Bowie and even David Beckham have played with their feminine side. Am I putting myself at risk? No more than with anything else. Safety is all-important and it is up to the individual how far they wish to take their cross-dressing. Should I tell me family/friends? It depends on your personal situation. The biggest scenario every girl dreads is coming home to find her husband/boyfriend stretching her new dress and imitating a girl's voice. You know your friends best, and you must judge for yourself how they may react. As a tranny myself who has told my friends and family, I must admit it took an immense burden off my shoulders and let people into a side of my personality that some didn't see before. This all sounds very heavy. Any good points? Of course! Dressing is one of the coolest things around, as it is very creative and artistic. 'Girly' shopping (ie. shopping for the hell of it) is often a delight to cross-dressers, and the whole subject of fashion is open for discussion. There are plenty of clubs - both non-TV and TV based - that accept glamorous TV's through their doors. And whilst unspoken about, most girls do have a soft spot for guys willing to adopt the drag look! The possibilities are endless. Sadly, whilst most cities have several transvestite bars and clubs, smaller towns do not. Such bars/clubs will be listed in your local paper or guides such as City Life (Manchester) or Time Out (London). See next page for our section on taboo relationships. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/personal/relationships/taboo1.shtml For useful contacts see Further Info http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/personal/relationships/relationships_inf o.shtml Top
[17] USA California-- Mom of Slain Cross-Dresser Recalls His Pain Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 From: tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/GoodMorningAmerica/GMA021126Slain_cross_dresser.html 'I Don't Fit in Anywhere' Mom of Slain Cross-Dresser Recalls His Pain [photo] [caption: Eddie Araujo called himself Gwen, after Gwen Stefani, the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt.] Sylvia Guerrero says her oldest son -- a 17-year-old boy who dressed like a girl and lived in two worlds -- was killed simply for being different. Eddie Araujo and his family lived in Newark, Calif., a middle-class town of working families 35 miles east of San Francisco. Guerrero, who was raising her four children, said her son took a lot of abuse from other children. "Kids teased him -- called him fag, beat him up, looked at him different," Guerrero said. "He felt like he wasn't normal and that was very hurtful to me." Police believe that Araujo's habit of cross-dressing, which he started in his teens, led to his death. On Oct. 3, Araujo showed up at a house party in Newark dressed as a girl, wearing a skirt and shirt. He often went by the names "Gwen" or "Lida." At the party, Araujo had sexual relations with three men, who became enraged when they realized he was a boy, police said. Three men -- Michael Magidson, 22, Jason Chase Nabors, 19, and Jose Merel, 24 -- face murder charges in his death. A fourth man, Jason Cazares, 22, was also arrested last week on suspicion of murder, though police have not revealed his alleged role. 'I'm Not Normal' While he was growing up, and especially as he got into his teens, Araujo struggled with his identity, his mother said. When Araujo used to say, "Mom I'm not normal," his mother always had the same response. "I'd say, 'Yes you are. You're a child and you're my child,'" she said. As a little boy, Araujo liked to do the things that other little boys enjoyed, and he was well-known and well-liked. "I talked to some officers that remembered Eddie when he was young enough to be trading Pokemon cards," said Lt. Lance Morrison of the Newark Police Department. Araujo also played Little League baseball, and "he was very good at it, but he was teased," Guerrero said. "He was different," she said. "He was soft-spoken. He was gentle. He was more sensitive." When Araujo was 14, he and his mother had a conversation that she had known would come. "He said 'mom, you know I feel like a woman. I feel feminine,'" Guerrero recalled. "He said 'I don't connect with my anatomy.'" Loved for Who He Was Guerrero tried to comfort him, but her son sobbed as he told her, "I don't fit in anywhere and I feel like a freak," his mother said. "And I held him and I held him and I said, 'you know what, baby? You're not a freak.' So I gave him confidence to -- the approval to be who he was." Soon after, Araujo began to dress like a girl and call himself Gwen, after Gwen Stefani, the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt. But even as he transformed on the outside, Araujo remained a popular kid among the friends he had, who found respect for who he was becoming. "A lot of people respected him for who he was," Araujo's friend Jamie Rodriguez said. "As Eddie, and when he turned into Gwen, they still respected him the same." His mother agreed. "They loved Eddie or Gwen for the person he was," she said. But that didn't hold true for everyone. According to witnesses, Araujo's true gender was revealed after a sexual encounter. The night of his death, Araujo was beaten and strangled to death in the garage of the home where the party was held. His body was taken to the Sierra Nevada foothills. A Bad Feeling When her son didn't come home the night of the party, Guerrero said she was surprised, because he always checked in. By the next day, she feared the worst. "I couldn't stay at work any more. I was uneasy. I had a bad feeling. And I went home," she said. She paced the floor, sleepless and hoped for the best. "Just hoping that he was out partying, just an extended day," Guerrero said. "But it was abnormal. Something he would never do." Araujo's body was found buried in the Sierra Nevada foothills Oct. 16. After convincing the friend of one of the suspects to wear a wire, police arrested the three local men, none of whom had grown up with Araujo. They were charged with a hate crime, which would extend their murder sentence if they are convicted. A hearing is set for Dec. 13. Butterflies Released at Service Guerrero attended the arraignment with Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who specializes in women's rights cases. "People who are prejudiced or bigoted who think that a human being has to fit a stereotype reduce that human being to something that they're not," Allred said. "We're all entitled to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness and all of that was taken away from Eddie on that tragic night. Led by hymns and signs of support, Araujo was laid to rest in Newark. The crowd of nearly 800 overflowed the church into the street. His mother made sure that he was buried as Gwen, in a black dress and gloves ... a final sign that she loved him as he wanted to be. At the end of the service they released butterflies, one for each year of his life. "No one will ever hurt him again, Guerrero said. "He's my beautiful angel. I'll see him again" --- Memorial Fund A fund has been established in Araujo's memory. For more information or to send donations, write to: Eddie Araujo Jr. Memorial Fund San Benito Bank 300 Tres Pinos Road Hollister, CA 95023 Top
[18]ITALY--Being FTM in Italy Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 07:03:42 -0000 From: "tgnews_moderator" <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> In Italian Source: La Repubblica.it/ Author: Ambra Radaelli Via: Disforia mail list http://www.dweb.repubblica.it/archivio_d/2002/09/21/attualita/attualita/102ftm318102.html Date: September 21, 2002 Title: SCELTE ESTREME. Uomini fuori Top
[19]USA Detroit--Transgendered people gain rights Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 From: "tgnews_moderator" <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: The Detoit News Author: Deb Price URL: http://www.detnews.com/2002/editorial/0211/25/a09-19223.htm Living a double life had finally become too much for Debra Davis. So she told administrators at her suburban Minneapolis high school not to expect David, the much-loved librarian whom everyone had known as a man, to keep coming to work. Instead, having happily transitioned from David to Debra everywhere else, Debra Davis now wanted to be the same person on and off the job. "David was a lie, a person I was pretending to be. Most of the staff liked David, and so the vast majority also ended up liking Debra," explains Davis, who had worked in the school district for 29 years before revealing that she is transgendered. What happened after her 1998 revelation should encourage employers and government officials to behave humanely: Workers, after all, are not widgets; we don't all need to look and act exactly the same. That understanding is rapidly spreading. Just this month, the Chicago City Council voted to join the 51 other localities and two states (Minnesota and Rhode Island) that outlaw anti-transgender discrimination. A dozen cities, including Boston, New York and Philadelphia, joined the trend this year. The list includes Huntington Woods, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. Back in 1998, Minnesota was the only state prohibiting job discrimination solely because a person is transgendered. Working together, top school officials and Davis hosted a staff meeting to explain the librarian's transition. To the delight of Davis and her bosses, the staff responded warmly. The next day, teachers used part of class time to explain the change students should expect in the library. Any fears Debra had of rejection by students vanished when they came to the library with a 40-foot banner that read "Welcome Debra." Hundreds of students stopped by to sign the banner. But teacher Carla Cruzan didn't want to hop on the welcome wagon. She was upset that Davis was allowed to use the faculty women's restroom. Even though one-person restrooms were also available to Cruzan, she sued the school, claiming she was being forced to work in a hostile environment. In a watershed ruling, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with school officials, ruling "a reasonable person would not have found the work environment hostile or abusive." It's too early to gauge the positive ripple effect of that June ruling. But recent and pending litigation covers such diverse issues as the right to dress as one likes off the job, to inherit a spouse's property if one changed gender before marrying and to maintain a parental role after an ex-spouse tries to claim a marriage was never valid because both parties were born the same sex. "The legal rights for transgendered people are very well protected in some respects because what we are really talking about is sex discrimination, which is protected all over the place in federal and stae law," says Tamara Lange, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Davis. "What we're talking about is sex stereotyping to an extreme -- that you can't step outside of the gender others expect you to be." Transgendered people identify themselves as the opposite of the gender they were born. Some, but certainly not all, physically alter themselves through surgery and hormones. More and more transgendered people are rightfully -- and joyfully -- expressing what they feel is their true gender identity. When conflicts result, courts should always be a last resort. Davis' Maple Grove school district showed the far better course: Work to make co-workers and students feel comfortable with an unfamiliar subject. Having retired from her library, Davis teaches businesses and schools how to create supportive environments (See debradavis.org). "We all have closets," says Davis. "And if you can get rid of them, it is so liberating because you can focus on important things. I don't live in fear anymore." Deb Price You can reach Deb Price at (202) 662-7384 or dprice@detnews.com Copyright 2002 The Detroit News. Top
[20] Lebanon's gays find closet door firmly closed Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Zawya.com | arab business and finance http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1038535447nL28451849&Section=Main&page=Hom e&channel=Features%20and%20Analysis%20&objectid=C5C3675B-FF61-11D4-867D00D0B 74A0D7C By Lin Noueihed BEIRUT, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Lebanon may pride itself on being the Arab world's most open society but as far as its gays and lesbians are concerned the closet door is still firmly closed. "I'm 'out' to friends and I eventually know which colleagues to tell, but I can't be out everywhere and to all," Ghassan said. "It's hard after going to university abroad to return to Lebanon and go back in the closet. You have to be careful all the time." Although the Lebanese have a more relaxed attitude to sex than their conservative Arab neighbours, homosexuals say they are routinely picked on and discriminated against in a country where many people regard homosexuality as perverted and immoral. And while Beirut's trendy nightspots have, in recent years, come to include a handful of bars and clubs that cater to an openly gay clientele, a recent case of two lesbians charged for having "unnatural sex" was an ugly reminder that homosexuality is not only frowned upon socially but considered a crime. Lawyers say Lebanese law makes no specific mention of homosexuality but forbids "unnatural sex", which is punishable by up to a year in jail. Lawyers say that article leaves gays and lesbians with no legal recourse if they do face abuse. After a few years in Lebanon, Samer -- not his real name -- avoids going out and is considering moving back to Europe where he was a student and lived his life as a woman. "The comments people make sometimes are so hurtful. It's just obscene how people stare, whisper to each other and giggle," he said over a coffee in downtown Beirut, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. "I feel like saying what are you laughing at? I gave up some more flamboyant gay friends because I couldn't take the reaction any more, even though they're nice." NOT WELCOME Samer, who appears feminine and considers himself a woman trapped in a man's body, says he eventually plans to have a sex change. In the meantime, he is considering seeking asylum in Europe, where he believes gay rights groups will defend him. "Once, I was walking down the road with a friend and some guys on motorbikes kept driving around us and shouting abuse," he said. "Then they came back and started throwing eggs at us. I like going out but the reaction was just becoming unbearable." Although homosexuals are unhappy with the situation in Lebanon, they admit attitudes can be more conservative in other parts of the region, such as Egypt, where authorities last year cracked down on a flourishing underground gay scene. Often dressed in the latest European fashions and switching effortlessly between French, English and Arabic, many Lebanese pride themselves on being well-travelled and socially liberated. But beneath the Western veneer, young people are expected to live at home until they marry and face tremendous pressure to raise a family, forcing many homosexuals to lead double lives. "I try to bring it up with my Mum but she doesn't understand," said 23-year-old Imad. "I'm an only child and my parents want grandchildren. They'd find it incomprehensible if I tried to explain I can still have a family." On weekends, young homosexuals crowd into one or two sweaty Beirut nightclubs where they can flirt and swap numbers. Lebanon has its share of dancers and celebrities whose sexual orientation is an open secret. A smattering of the capital's sleek bars quietly hold "pink nights" when gays who can afford the pricey drinks and smart dress codes mingle openly. For others, finding sexual partners means nights spent fearfully cruising a seedy seaside strip just north of the capital or prowling notorious beaches for anonymous encounters. STRICT SOCIAL RULES Social scientist Sofian Merabet says there is no cohesive group that can be described as a gay "community" in Lebanon, let alone a gay rights movement. And gay pride? Forget it. "There is even a lot of homophobia even among people who would consider themselves gay," Merabet said. "If there's something about yourself you'd rather wasn't there, what do you do when you see that something in someone else?" he said, adding that such "self-hate" was brought about by pressures within Lebanese society to conform to strict mores regarding sexuality. "There is a certain level of permissiveness that lets people follow a gay orientation to some point," said Merabet. "There are hardly any people who take risks and try to push the limit." Many say it is simply too early to bring gay rights to the political agenda in a country still struggling with painful sectarian divisions following the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon's handful of gay rights activists say they cannot wait forever. They believe a change in the law is needed to give the fledgling movement the push it needs to come into the open. "Once the law changes, things will change," said one activist. "We need a push from the law first because once something is legal people begin to get used to it." Nizar Saghiyeh, a lawyer who works on rights issues, said any campaign to legalise homosexuality would face strong resistance from politicians and religious leaders, comparing it to an ill-fated movement to introduce civil marriage. In Lebanon, no legal procedures exist to allow individuals from different religions to marry, let alone members of the same gender. Saghiyeh said cases of "unnatural sex" typically were prosecuted linked to other crimes -- as local media reported was the case with the arrested lesbians -- in order to preclude public debate on the issue. "If its only homosexuality, you can get sympathy for a couple as imprisoned for love, but if they are also charged with theft the human rights groups won't touch it," Saghiyeh said. ((Beirut newsroom, tel 9611 983885, fax 9611 983889, beirut.newsroom@reuters.com)) © Reuters Limited. © 2002 Zawya.com Ltd. All rights reserved. Top
[21]USA : National Transgender Day of Remembrance held; In interview, mom talks about Rita Hester Top Source: Bay Windows (GLBT weekly, New England) Author: Beth Berlo URL: http://www.baywindows.com/news/330182.html Date: November 21, 2002 Nov. 20 marked the fourth annual National Transgender Day of Remembrance. Boston and several other cities across the nation participated in a commemoration for those whose lives were violently cut short as a result of hate and intolerance. The Day of Remembrance is held in November in honor of Rita Hester, a former Boston resident whose murder has never been solved. Hester was found stabbed to death in her Allston, Mass., apartment Nov. 28, 1998, after leaving a neighborhood lounge. Her family in Connecticut still grieves. In an interview with Bay Windows this week, Hester's mother, Kathleen Hester, said she remains frustrated at what she believes to be police indifference regarding the murder investigation. ``I don't believe they're looking for anybody," she said. ``Police always tell me there [are] no new leads when I call." Following Hester's 1998 murder, both the gay and mainstream press referred to her as `he' so frequently and with what activists felt was such disregard for who Hester was, that it sparked demonstrations in front of newspaper offices, including Bay Windows. The protests consequently were the beginning of change among some media outlets in the way ``he" and ``she" pronouns were later used in stories relating to transgender persons. ``She lived for seven years exclusively as a woman," said Nancy Nangeroni, a local transgender activist and former acquaintance of Hester. Nangeroni, who hosts the Monday night radio program ``Gender Talk," helped lead the demonstrations in Boston in 1998. For newspapers not to honor who Hester lived her life as, Nangeroni said, ``It was really insensitive to transgender issues," and ultimately became ``intolerable." Mrs. Hester, who referred to Rita as her ``son" throughout the interview, said, ``Everybody in Boston knew my son as Rita. I knew him as William and Rita." Hester recalled Rita's fondness for animation and cartoons right up until the time of her death: ``He was funny," she said. ``Inside him there was a little boy or a girl or whatever, and every time a good cartoon would come out or movie like `Beauty and the Beast,' he would always bring the video here for his niece and nephew to watch." Hester, who traveled to Europe frequently and liked to lip-sync in night clubs, would always return home bearing gifts for her family, Mrs. Hester said. But the money Hester used to finance her trips became fodder for speculation, given that she was not known to be working at the time of her death. But Rita's mother, who often made trips up to Boston to help pay Rita's rent, questions some of those accusations, she said. ``If my son was making all this money that people claimed he was making, he would never have let us pay his rent," she pointed out. Whether or not Hester was involved in prostitution, Nangeroni said, ``When one is a transgender person, one has great difficulty finding work." As an M.I.T. graduate and engineer, Nangeroni was always able to choose who she wanted to work for, she recalled. ``But after I said, `By the way, I'm a transsexual,' I never got any offers," she added. ``Prior to that, I hadn't been to an interview that I hadn't gotten the offer." Gunner Scott, another Boston-based transgender activist, said he remembers the short time between when Hester was killed and Matthew Shepard was killed, and was particularly struck by the differences in media attention the two murders received. ``I remember when Rita was killed and not too long after, Matthew Shepard was killed, but all the vigils were for Matthew Shepard," Scott said. Mrs. Hester recalled the news reports surrounding the beating death of Matthew Shepard also, saying, ``When I heard how that boy was tied to a fence and left to die, I cried. I knew it was someone's child and it hurt me." According to Mrs. Hester, Rita always went home for the holidays. The Thanksgiving that preceded Hester's death in 1998, however, was the first she ever missed at home, Mrs. Hester said. ``I talked with him on that Thanksgiving, and he said he had a good day, but missed my cooking," she said. The two hung up with Rita telling her mother she'd be home for Christmas, but that would be the last time they ever talked. Hester was murdered the following night. Prior to Hester's murder, the last transgender person killed in Boston was Chanelle Pickett in November 1995. That case outraged GLBT activists after William Palmer, Pickett's alleged murderer, was acquitted. Palmer's defense lawyers argued that he did not know Chanelle Pickett was a transsexual when the two met at the now defunct Playland, a seedy gay club, often frequented by transsexuals and transvestites. According to the Web site Gender.org, which monitors anti-transgender murders around the world, there were at least 15 transgender murders in the U.S. over the past year, including the most recent, high- profile killing of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo in California on Oct. 3. She allegedly was beaten to death at a party after it was revealed she was born male. As Mrs. Hester was preparing to head to Boston for the candlelight vigil Nov. 20, she said of Rita, ``His life was his life and everybody should live life the way they want. I don't believe being gay [or transgender] is a choice. I believe people are who they are." Rita Hester was 34 when she died. (For more information on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, visit www.gender.org) Beth Berlo is a staff writer at Bay Windows. Her e-mail address is bberlo@baywindows.com. Comments, criticism or praise regarding this article or writer -- or just about any other subject of interest to the lesbian and gay community -- are always welcome. Send comments for publication to letters@baywindows.com. © 2002 Bay Windows - 631 Tremont Street - Boston, MA 02118 Top
[22] USA: Remembering Gwen - article in The Advocate Top Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:49:28 -0000 From: "tgnews_moderator" <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: The Advocate Online Author: Jeremiah Hall URL: http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/877/877_araujo.asp As the mother of murdered Bay Area transgendered teen Gwen Araujo prepares for her first television interview Monday, Gwen's friends and family remember the joys of her life and the horror of her death. By Jeremiah Hall An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 22, 2003 Editor's note: The first television interview granted by Gwen Araujo's mother, Sylvia, will be broadcast Monday, November 25, as an episode of the syndicated John Walsh Show. Check local listings. Sylvia Guerrero knew her 17-year-old son, Eddie Araujo, was more comfortable living as a young woman named Gwen. But she feared Newark, Calif., their sleepy suburban community of 43,000, wasn't ready for her transgendered daughter˜despite its proclamations of tolerance and its proximity to liberal bastion San Francisco. Sadly, she was right. In October, Araujo˜wearing her mother's skirt and meticulously applied makeup˜was brutally murdered at a party after three young men discovered she was biologically male. "I was always afraid that something awful might happen to Eddie," says Guerrero. "No mother should have to bury their child." Now Gwen Araujo's family and the town are faced with the difficult task of making sense of her short life and bringing change to a community that many residents thought was a safe and tolerant place. "It's horribleˇno one really thought it could happen here," says 17-year-old Steven Mathisen, a friend of Araujo's who attended Newark Memorial High School with her. Still, it's clear that Newark wasn't that welcoming: Araujo's family says she left Newark Memorial because of unending harassment. "I could see the pain in his eyes," says Guerrero. "People were really mean to him at school. He really tried, but no one accepted him." Araujo enrolled in a nearby alternative school this year, although friends say she rarely attended. But the harassment continued there. "We knew he got picked on by some kids, but we never thought it would become violent," says Mathisen. Araujo had long dreamed of becoming a makeup artist but was turned away from local beauty schools. Her mother says no one was willing to give her a job. Friends say the torments and rejection were taking its toll. Feeling isolated and depressed, the teenager began to abuse alcohol and drugs. According to police reports, Araujo attended a party at Jose Merel's house on October 3 and had sex with Michael Magidson, 22, of nearby Fremont, and Jaron Nabors, 19, and Merel, 24, both of Newark. They later found out that Araujo was biologically male. They are accused of strangling her after making their discovery and then burying her body 100 miles away in the Sierra foothills. None of the partygoers are talking publicly, but hushed accounts of Araujo's death reportedly circulated around Newark Memorial for two weeks before police were finally tipped. The silence and lack of help are particularly troubling to Araujo's friends and family. Police say about a dozen teenagers and young adults attended the party. "Eddie was at a large party, taken to the garage, beaten, and then strangled. No one heard? No one helped?" says Araujo's friend Crystal Mason, 17. "All those people who didn't say anything are guilty by association," adds Araujo's uncle David Guerrero. Some transgender activists hope the family will be vocal advocates of tolerance and acceptance. "There is certainly a place for Sylvia to push for change," says Dana Rivers, a transgender activist who visited with friends and family at Araujo's funeral. But so far, Araujo's mother has been reluctant. "Everyone is focusing on [Gwen's] lifestyle and not the murder," Sylvia Guerrero says. "It's not a lesbian, it's not a gay thing. It was his life, and life was hard for him." Guerrero says the family is concentrating right now on bringing the alleged perpetrators to justice. Nabors, Merel, and Magidson have all been arrested and charged with murder, boosted with a hate-crime enhancement. Nabors has pleaded innocent, while Merel and Magidson have not yet entered pleas. A fourth man, 22-year-old Jason Cazares of Fremont, was arrested on suspicion of murder November 16 and charged with the crime three days later, although he did not receive a hate-crime enhancement. At press time, he had not entered a plea. Meanwhile, those who were close to Araujo continue to struggle with their loss and their desire for something meaningful to come from her death. "I can't stand that this has happened, says 15-year-old Leslie Enciso, a friend and former classmate. "We need to make people understand that it's OK that people are different." Friend Stephanie Bauman, 17, says that the world lost a valuable and loving person in Gwen. "She had a beautiful smile and a love for everyone," she says. "Much like the butterflies she adored, she was beautiful and gracious. She put a smile on everyone's face that knew her." And while Araujo's mother is too busy coping with her child's death to think about activism right now, she does recognize that change needs to happen on a large scale before people like Gwen can live safe, happy lives. "People shouldn't see color, shouldn't see race, shouldn't see a lifestyle. They should see what's on the inside," says Guerrero. "I hope people will learn something from this." To honor her child, Guerrero buried Araujo in a dark dress and perfectly applied makeup with a hint of glitter. "Just as Gwen would have wanted it," she says. Hall also writes for The San Francisco Examiner. Advocate.com © 2002 by Liberation Publications Inc. All rights reserved. Top
[23] USA: Pupil's cross-dressing father ruffles feathers in Francis Howell district Top BY SHANE ANTHONY Of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch 11/23/2002 From Bill Henkin
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[24] USA California-- Understanding Gender Identity; Sonoma County couple changing way society sees transsexuals Top November 26, 2002 By SUSAN SWARTZ THE PRESS DEMOCRAT One August morning in 1996, Dick Giles announced to his math students at Santa Rosa Junior College that he was a cross-dresser and from now on was identifying as a woman. His public declaration and the reaction of faculty and students became a front-page story. Since then, Dick has become Diane, combining his old name with his wife's, Anne, and has had sex-change surgery. He also retired a year after his transformation. To say things have changed at the Giles house is an understatement. What has held is the Gileses' 39-year marriage. "We're joined at the hip," said Diane, this day in blue sweater and slacks and her nails painted mauve and wearing more makeup than Anne. The Gileses are not the only couple whose marriage has survived a gender change. They regularly meet with 12 other such couples at their hilltop home outside of Santa Rosa. The couples come from Sonoma County, Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno and the Mount Shasta area and include a former Redwood Valley truck driver named George, now Ginger, with his wife, Bobbie. All were married as man and wife. Now they live as wife and wife, retaining the legal benefits of traditional marriage while facing the challenges of acceptance by family, friends and society. Transgender is the umbrella term given to those who identify as the opposite sex and includes those who may be cross-dressers. A transexual has taken the ultimate step of surgery to make the change permanent. All of the transgendered people who meet with the Gileses are men who became women. Many, like Diane, have had surgery, electrolysis and a tracheal shave, which removes the Adam's apple. There is no official count of the number of transgendered or transexual people. No such distinction is made by the U.S. Census, and support groups can only guess at the numbers. "Most people who are transgendered have been taught to be silent, so they will not respond to surveys," said Denise Leclair, director of the International Foundation for Gender Education in Waltham, Mass. As to how many of them remain with their original marriage partner, Leclair said, "Not many couples seem to survive transition in the long term." When the Gileses put out the word about a couples group, they expected two or three to respond. They've had up to 15 couples show up at their bimonthly meeting. Gender studies specialists say the numbers of people identifying as transgendered is growing but not necessarily the population. More people are coming out due to the wider availability of hormones and sex-change surgery and to improved social acceptance since the gay and lesbian movement began including transsexuals in its activism. Diane calls this year her sixth birthday as a woman because it was 1996 when she started living full time as a woman. She taught her last year as a woman and she and Anne informed neighbors, friends and family, including their 10 children and Diane's mother. First-born son Darren Giles recalled that first meeting with his parents: "My mother told us that they had news they needed to share with us. I drove up from San Jose thinking 'Oh, no, what if dad has cancer or something?'" Son had mixed feelings When his father announced he was a cross-dresser, Darren said he was both relieved and puzzled. "It was a pretty big surprise, just out of the blue like that. I think I said something like 'you're kidding.' It was more awkward than anything else. But it has never been a moral issue to me." His brother Dana said in retrospect there were clues, and recalls once crawling into his parents' bedroom closet looking for a confiscated BB gun. "I found a very large woman's shoe that I knew was not my mother's." Both sons think their adjustment had a lot to do with the fact that theirs has never been a traditional family. In addition to their two birth children, the Gileses adopted eight children of mixed ethnic identities and some with special needs. "My parents raised a family who recognize that the value of people is far beyond skin deep," Darren said. Two years after they were married, Anne discovered her husband wearing her stockings and some of her underwear. "Dick told me he was a cross-dresser and wanted me to know before we started having children." She uses both names, Dick and Diane, for her mate, depending on whether she's referring to the old days or the new. Diane said, "It was our secret, a quiet unspoken part of my life," and they decided to keep it that way, at least until the kids were grown. Their youngest child was 23 when Dick publicly became Diane. There wasn't total family acceptance. One child refused to speak to her father for more than two years, but they've since reconciled. Some of the children still call Diane "Dad," but most of them and their grandchildren call Diane "Ama," which is Korean for grandmother. "I am one of the unusual and lucky ones," Diane said of her family's acceptance. "People lose friends and family and can have ongoing problems. There were a few of my colleagues who didn't handle it well. There were a couple of people who turned away when they saw me coming." The recent slaying of a transgendered East Bay youth brought back memories of their own adjustment period. "I remember when this first started with Diane, I worried we'd be beat up," said Anne. "But then I decided we couldn't live in fear." As a young man Dick was aware of the risks. "All my life I was a male impersonator," said Diane. "I grew up in a small town in Illinois, and there was an effeminate man in our neighborhood who was always getting beaten up and couldn't hold a job. I decided I better be macho. I tried to copy my Uncle Harry's walk." He joined the Army at age 18 thinking it would stop his desire to cross dress, and after falling in love with Anne he thought marriage would make the difference. Anne said it was not an issue for most of their marriage. It was only in the last year before he came out that she fully recognized the pressure on her husband and their relationship. "That last year I felt that life had no zest," said Diane. "Anne forced me to confront myself. She told me that I was a good and kind person and a good father." Living a life As a couple they attended a transgender support group similar to the one they now lead at their home. Diane, 64, and Anne, 60, have become leaders in the transgender community and are regular speakers at Bay Area churches, schools and colleges. They have no problem with being public and in fact believe it's essential to transforming misconceptions. "Dick was a popular and respected teacher," said Anne. "When the person is a pillar of the community, people have to take a second look because this isn't what they thought a transsexual person would be." When Dick Giles was interviewed by The Press Democrat in 1996, his major concern was public ridicule. When the story was picked up by the Associated Press, Rush Limbaugh made some disparaging comments, but close to home they've felt accepted. Another couple, Ginger (formerly George) and wife, Bobbie, had a different experience when George came out. A neighbor called Child Protective Services and reported them for child abuse. Social workers talked to the children and concluded they were not endangered by their father's gender change. George Anderlohr was a 20-year Air Force man and truck driver, but he said he knew he was the wrong gender from age 6. At age 50, he came out to his family, friends and trucking company boss. "I went off on vacation for 30 days and came back Ginger. I was the talk of Highway 101." With his wife he wasn't as abrupt. "I tell other men who are doing this to take it slow or you'll lose your marriage. You have to let a person understand what you're feeling, give them a chance to get used to it." Having surgery is the final and most irrevocable step for a transgendered individual, and Anne Giles gave her blessing. "I told her, do what you need to be complete," she said, adding with a smile, "Frankly it was a little off-putting to be living with a woman whose anatomy didn't match." While almost 40 years of marriage helps her to be more accepting than some might be, she doesn't dismiss the difficult challenges for wives of transgendered men. "In many ways you are experiencing the death of the person you knew and going through a grieving process," said Anne. "The neat thing is that all the good aspects of that person are still there." Bobbie Anderlohr called Anne one night and said, "It just hit me. I'm losing my husband." Anne said, "You hear a lot of wives say that. You also hear that what they don't miss is the man who was uptight, angry and pretty miserable." Another thing that happens is wives suddenly find themselves with a new public image. Anne calls it becoming a "situational lesbian," which has its own acceptance problems. "Now we have to be guarded about two women showing affection in public." Anne kids Diane, that of the two, Diane has more interest in clothes and manicures, and that after many years of being in charge of her kitchen, "now I have to share it with another woman." Through all the change, they remain a long-married couple who long ago divided up the domestic chores. Recently when the gutter at the Giles home needed attention it was Diane who crawled up on the roof. You can reach Staff Writer Susan Swartz at 521-5284 or sswartz@pressdemocrat.com. Press Democrat Top
LEGISLATIVE ACTION [25] UK: Transsexuals: What the law says Top Explains legal protection for transsexuals under the Sex Discrimination Act. ukonline.gov.uk: Search results http://www.ukonline.gov.uk/Search/SESearchResults/1,1059,~801b22~fs~en,00.ht ml?qt=transsexual&mt=0&sr=0&ha=7&callingPage=globalSearch&id=%7E801b22%7Efs% 7Een&nh=20&cs=utf-8&x=7&y=2 RETRIEVED: Monday, December 02, 2002 http://www.eoc.org.uk/cseng/advice/transsexualism_-_law.asp 28/11/02 Equal Opportunities Commission Need more advice? EOC Helpline 08456 015901 Transsexuals: What the law says The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate on the ground of sex in employment, education and the provision of housing, goods, facilities and services. The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 have extended the SDA to make it unlawful to discriminate on grounds of gender reassignment, but only in the areas of employment and vocational training. The Regulations do not apply to discrimination in education or in the provision of housing, goods, facilities and services. In employment and vocational training, the SDA protects individuals who are discriminated against because they: * Intend to undergo gender reassignment * Are currently undergoing gender reassignment * Have already undergone gender reassignment Anyone who is treated less favourably by an employer or vocational training body on any of these grounds compared with someone for whom no gender reassignment grounds exist will have a claim under the SDA. Victimisation Individuals have the right not to be treated less favourably compared to others because they have acted in good faith to assert their rights under the SDA. You will have a victimisation claim if your employer treats you less favourably than another employee because you have complained about discrimination on gender reassignment grounds; for example if your employer dismisses you or does not promote you because of your complaint. Who is covered by the SDA? The SDA covers a broad range of workers, including contract workers, and also: * covers people who are applying for jobs or vocational training * applies regardless of service in employment and regardless of the number of hours worked * allows you to take a case to an employment tribunal. If your case is successful, you will be awarded compensation for any financial loss you have suffered; an award for injury to feelings can also be made. Examples of discrimination in employment Employers must not discriminate on gender reassignment grounds: * at the recruitment stage - this covers the arrangements made for filling a vacancy, and in deciding who should have the job * during employment - this covers equal treatment in promotion, training, transfer, and access *to employment related benefits, including pay, and entitles you to a working environment free from harassment on the grounds of gender reassignment * when ending your employment - this covers dismissal and selection for redundancy Discrimination in vocational training There must be no unlawful discrimination against transsexuals who apply for vocational training provided by employers or training organisations, including the Training and Enterprise Councils and their suppliers (in Scotland, the Local Enterprise Companies). There must be no unlawful discrimination against you by such bodies in terminating your training. This means equal access to training on equal terms - and an equal chance to complete it. Exceptions to the SDA In certain limited circumstances it is lawful to discriminate in recruitment, training, promotion and transfer in a job for which the sex of the worker is a genuine occupational qualification (GOQ). The SDA allows an employer to restrict applications for a vacancy to women (or men) if the essential nature of the job, or particular duties attached to the job, calls for a woman (or a man). GOQ's can only be claimed in relation to: * Physiology (excluding physical strength and stamina) - for example, a female model for women's clothes * Privacy and decency - for example, a male care assistant whose job involves helping men dress or use the toilet * Certain work in private homes - for example, a live-in carer * Single sex accommodation - for example, working on board a submarine * Single sex establishments - can only be claimed when the job holder has to live in the premises provided, which are normally occupied by persons of one sex and there is no separate sleeping accommodation for persons of the opposite sex * Personal welfare or educational services - for example, a female counsellor in a rape crisis centre * Jobs outside the UK in a country whose laws or customs are such that the job can only effectively be done by a man * The employment of married couples - for example, residential posts of female warden and male caretaker. * An employer cannot claim that a GOQ applies if there are enough other members of staff of the appropriate sex to cover the duties in question. For example, it would be unlawful for an employer to restrict a vacancy in a clothes shop to women on the grounds that part of the duties involved assisting in the changing room, if there were enough women sales assistants already employed to cover that aspect of the job. * If someone who has been recruited to a single sex GOQ post commences gender reassignment, the amended SDA allows the employer to consider dismissing that individual, but only as a last resort after all other avenues, such as transfer or redeployment, have been explored. * The amended SDA also includes the following GOQs which apply only in cases of discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment: * The job involves the holder conducting intimate searches pursuant to statutory powers, for example The Police and Criminal Evidence Act * The job involves the holder working in a private home and the employer because of the intimate contact in those circumstances can show reasonable objection. * There are also some temporary exceptions which apply only during the actual process of gender reassignment: * The job involves the postholder sharing accommodation, and it is not reasonable on privacy or decency grounds for an individual to do so with either sex while in the process of undergoing gender reassignment (for example, work on board a ship where private facilities are not provided). Where an individual already working in such a post commences gender reassignment, the employer should either provide alternative accommodation, or, if this is not possible, take other steps such as redeployment or temporary replacement until gender reassignment has been completed. If there are no steps, which can be taken, the employer may dismiss the individual, but only as a last resort. * The job requires the postholder to provide vulnerable individuals with personal services promoting their welfare, or similar personal circumstances, and in the reasonable view of the employer, those services cannot be adequately provided by a person while undergoing gender reassignment. An employee in such a post who commences the gender reassignment process should be transferred where possible to other duties. Discrimination in education, and in the provision of housing, goods, facilities and services The Regulations that amended the SDA were introduced to ensure that the SDA complies with the Equal Treatment Directive, which outlaws discrimination in employment and vocational training. The Regulations have not been extended to cover discrimination on gender reassignment grounds in education, or the provision of housing, goods, facilities and services. Although the Regulations do not apply, it is not clear how a court would view a case brought by a transsexual person under any of these provisions of the SDA in light of the decisions already made by courts under the employment provisions. Cases taken under these sections of the SDA are heard in the county or sheriff court. If you have been discriminated against in any of these areas, you can contact the EOC for further information. There is a six month time limit for bringing claims to the county and sheriff courts. END © 2002 Equal Opportunities Commission Top
[26]USA: Pennsylvania -- Hate Crimes Bill passes Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 18:00:01 -0500 From: tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: PA Gender Rights Via: Mara Keisling Date: Nov. 27, 2002 [2 items] After years of hard work and coalition building, the hate crimes bill (HB1494) was passed late this evening in the State House of Representatives by a vote of 118-79. It passed the Senate in June 2001 and Governor Schweicker has told us he will sign it into law very shortly. Pennsylvania is now the fifth state in the country (CA, MO, MN, VT plus DC) to have hate crimes laws that includes gender identity and the 28th to have sexual orientation. This is the first time a statewide law has passed in Pennsylvania that protects Transgender people. This bill has been the single state legislative priority for the LGBT community in Pennsylvania as well as for the PA Gender Rights Coalition. As importantly as the victory though, the effort to pass this bill has resulted in a tremendous coalition of LGBT and other progressive groups coming together to make sure that everyone is as protected as possible. While the PA Gender Rights Coalition and Transgender people around the state played a pivotal role in the passage of this bill, it would not have been possible without the total commitment to our inclusion exhibited by our partners at PAGALA, SPARC, the Center for Lesbian and gay Civil Rights, Outfront, PFLAG and many others. Stacey Sobel (Executive Director of the Center), Steve Black (political director of PAGALA) and Steve Glassman (Co-Chair of SPARC) deserve special callout. Technical support and assistance was also provided by several national LGBT groups, most notably NGLTF, NCLR and HRC which also responded to the Gender Rights Coalition's request for funding for a professional lobbyist who was really pivotal in the home stretch. Our lobbyist, Tony Barbush of Triad Strategies, also worked way harder than we had any right to expect. A group of committed legislators, who will be singled out in a more detailed summary of the victory tomorrow, also came through big time for us. Tonight caps off a great year for Pennsylvania Transgender people. A year which has thus far seen four local anti-discrimination ordinances pass that protect us (Erie County, Allentown, Philadelphia and New Hope.) A year that has seen the election of a Governor who actually talks about the need for anti-discrimination and other protections for Transgender people. A year that saw the appointment of an openly gay State Human Relations Commissioner, Steve Glassman, who is one of the most vocal and effective advocates of Transgender Rights in the Country. A year in which an openly Transgender woman, Alberta Hamm, was elected student body president at Harrisburg Area Community College. Most importantly, a year which saw us take our place side by side with our Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual allies as important civil rights players working for the civil rights for all of us, with everyone withstanding the pressure to leave any of us behind. It is significant that this victory comes during the week which includes the National Transgender Day of Remembrance. The work of the PA Gender Rights Coalition on this bill is dedicated to the many Transgender people who have lost their lives to hate violence. Hopefully this effort may in some small way help prevent future murders. Below is a joint press release from PA Gender Rights Coalition along with SPARC, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights and PAGALA. For more information, please contact Mara Keisling at mara@keisling.com. PRESS RELEASE BEGINS BELOW NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stephan A. Glassman, 717-624-3339 Steve Black, PA-GALA 610-863-4961 Mara Keisling, PA-Gender Rights Coalition, 717-439-7111 Stacey Sobel, Center for Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights, 215-731-1447 X 11 PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE PASSES LANDMARK HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION Bill Adds Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender and Disability to Ethnic Intimidation Act. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 26, 2002 (Harrisburg, PA) - Today, at 8:45 p.m., the Pennsylvania House passed legislation to amend the state's Ethnic Intimidation Act by adding actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, mental and physical disability, and ancestry to the existing law. This legislation is believed to be the most inclusive language of any hate crimes bill in the country. The bill's passage was the result of a broad-based community effort from numerous organizations and individuals across the state strong bipartisan support from the leadership in the house The community effort was lead by: the Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition (SPARC), the state's largest network of individuals and organizations dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) legislative advocacy; the Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Alliance (PA-GALA), the largest gay and lesbian political organization in the state; the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, the state's only LGBT legal aid and public policy organization; the Pennsylvania Gender Rights Coalition, a statewide organization working for transgender rights; OUTFRONT a public education, legislative advocacy and political action organization, the Log Cabin Republicans of Pennsylvania, Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG, parents, friends, families, of lesbians and gays, many LGBTA youth organizations along with a wide variety of student groups across the Commonwealth, among others. A number of house members were instrumental in the bill's passage including several of the amendment's sponsors, including Steve Nickol, Pat Browne and Lita Cohen. The bill won passage by a 118 to 79 vote after two hours of discussion. "We are all gratified to see that, for the first time in Pennsylvania's history Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people will be equally protected under the law," said Steve Glassman, SPARC's co-chair. Pennsylvania has joined 27 other states and the District of Columbia in extending hate crimes protections to gay, lesbian and bisexual people and the fifth state to add gender identity. Steve Black, political director of PA-GALA said, "Pennsylvania now has the most inclusive hate crimes law in the country - we applaud the legislature for taking this step to protect all Pennsylvanians from hate crimes." Stacey L. Sobel, Esq., the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights' executive director, who drafted the bill's language added, "The legislators who voted for this bill stood up for their most vulnerable constituents and let it be known that we will not condone hate crimes in this state. When this legislation becomes the law, we will finally have the tools we need to aggressively prosecute these crimes and assist victims in Pennsylvania." "Working together we have reminded the legislature that Pennsylvanians are decent people who want every person protected from hate violence", said Mara Keisling, co-chair of Pennsylvania Gender Rights Coalition. Top
[27]USA New York State--Gay-rights measure hits last-minute snag Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 From: tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: NY Times Union Author: ELIZABETH BENJAMIN http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=77020&category=FRONTPG&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/27/2002 ALBANY -- A landmark gay-rights bill, which last month appeared poised for passage when the state Senate returns to Albany on Dec. 17, now faces an uncertain fate. Since Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, announced in October that he would allow a vote on the Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Act, members of New York's transgender community and their supporters have launched an unprecedented campaign against the measure. They say SONDA doesn't adequately protect some of the state's most marginalized residents, including transsexuals, cross-dressers and effeminate men, and should be amended. "Right now, SONDA protects one class of folks and leaves out another class that arguably needs more protection," said Michael Kink, legislative counsel of Housing Works Inc., an AIDS advocacy group that is running radio ads in the Capitol Region calling for a transgender amendment. Bruno has repeatedly said he has no intention of allowing an amended bill sponsored by Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, to come up for a vote, arguing that transgender people are either protected under the existing state Human Rights Law or will be covered by SONDA. "It's unnecessary," Bruno said. "Our counsels tell us that if this one bill makes it and gets signed by the governor that it covers whatever it is they're asking for." Members of the transgender community say that theory can only be tested in protracted legal battles, during which they would have no protection outside the few municipalities that have added specific language in anti-discrimination laws to cover them. The transgender community may have an ally in newly elected Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, D-Manhattan, who said he might not support SONDA without an amendment. Advocates and lawmakers agree if enough of the 25 Senate Democrats follow Paterson's lead, SONDA cannot pass, because there isn't adequate support among the 37 Republicans alone to pass the bill. "I don't want to see anyone get left out," Paterson said. "I support (SONDA), and I'm for passing it. But how long would it take to get something to protect these citizens?" The Democratic-controlled Assembly in February passed the unamended version of SONDA, which would protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, education, housing and public accommodations. The Assembly has passed a gay-rights bill every year since 1993. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, has said his members will not return to Albany this year. But advocates say Assembly Democrats have indicated they would be willing to pass a bill that includes protection for transgender people next year. The question of whether SONDA should be amended has sparked a heated battle in New York's gay and lesbian community, particularly within the state's largest gay-rights group -- Empire State Pride Agenda -- which after fighting for more than three decades has perhaps never been closer to seeing the legislation pass. Many were angered by what they saw as a political deal in which Empire State Pride Agenda endorsed Republican Gov. George Pataki's successful bid for a third term in return for Bruno's promise to allow SONDA to come up for a vote this year, but not a pledge that it would pass. "I don't have a problem per se with the Pride Agenda seeing itself as a political prostitute," said Charles King, co-president of Housing Works Inc. "I have a problem with the price that they demanded. At the very least, SONDA should have been an all-inclusive bill." Both Bruno and Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Matt Foreman insisted there was no quid-pro-quo agreement in exchange for the endorsement -- the first for a Republican governor in the group's 12-year history. But insiders said Bruno made it clear he expected the trade-off. Pataki has said he would sign the current version of SONDA. Foreman on Tuesday said Empire State Pride Agenda supports protecting transgender people, but he maintains an amendment to do that would be a poison pill for conservative Republican senators who now support SONDA. "The bill before the Senate now is the bill that's been before the Senate for 31 years, everyone knows what it does and doesn't do," Foreman said. "The same can't be said about an amendment, which hasn't been vetted in the same way." Foreman also expressed concern that SONDA will be relegated to the legislative back burner if it doesn't pass now, overshadowed by the multibillion-dollar fiscal crisis the state is facing next year. Bruno himself confirmed that fear on Tuesday, saying SONDA will likely decrease in significance once this session ends. But supporters of a transgender amendment say passing SONDA is important to the Senate majority because it would deprive the Democrats of yet another weapon against Republicans come election time. "This issue isn't going away," King said. "If the Assembly passes a transgender-friendly bill, that will give the Democrats one more club to use to beat up the Republicans." Top
[28]USA:California-- San Jose adds transgenders to list of groups protected under anti-discrimination policy Top Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 23:23:46 -0000 From: "Mrs. Petra Henderson" <petrahenderson@yahoo.com> Source: Mercury News http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/4612873.htm Prompted by the recent murder of a transgender teen in Newark, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously today to add transgenders to the list of groups protected under the city's anti-discrimination policy. Councilman Ken Yeager proposed changing San Jose's harassment policy after learning about the beating death of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo last month. Araujo was killed after his dual identity was discovered at a party. Members of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, a gay and lesbian political advocacy group that Yeager co-founded in 1984, approached him and Mayor Ron Gonzales about changing San Jose's anti-discrimination policy. The amendment will add protections for gender identity in addition to current protections for race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, and religion. According to Yeager, cities including San Francisco, New York City, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Seattle have adopted similar policies. Yeager said he knows of only one transgender city employee in San Jose, but companies that receive city contracts also would have to comply, he said. Top
[29]UK: Transsexual People's Rights Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. The United Kingdom Parliament http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmedm/21127e01.htm RETRIEVED: Thursday, November 28, 2002 House of Commons Session 2002 - 03 House of Commons Wednesday 27 November 2002 Notices of Motions for which no days have been fixed ('Early Day Motions') -- * The figure following this symbol is the total number of Members' names submitted in support of the Motion, including names printed for the first time in this paper. After the initial printing, Motions are reprinted only when names are added or amendments are submitted; only the first six names and any names added since the last printing are listed. After the week in which a Motion is submitted and the following week, added names and amendments appear only in the paper distributed on the next Thursday. In the meantime they are available for inspection by Members in the Table Office and the Library. (SNIP) 214 TRANSSEXUAL PEOPLE'S RIGHTS 27:11:02 Lynne Jones Dr Evan Harris Tony Baldry Mr Tony Banks Dr Jenny Tonge Glenda Jackson * 43 John Austin John Barrett Richard Burden Harry Cohen Mr Terry Davis Mr Bill Etherington Jane Griffiths Nick Harvey Mr Nigel Jones Mr Tony Lloyd John McDonnell Ms Meg Munn Alan Simpson Mr Harold Best Mrs Patsy Calton Mr Michael Connarty Mr Hilton Dawson Mr Neil Gerrard Mr Mike Hancock Mr Kelvin Hopkins Mrs Jackie Lawrence Rob Marris Mr Tony McWalter Mr Stephen Pound Sir Robert Smith Mr Paul Tyler Mr David Borrow Mr Martin Caton Valerie Davey Mrs Janet Dean Dr Ian Gibson Mr David Lepper Mr Paul Marsden Mr Michael Moore Bob Russell Mr Paul Stinchcombe Derek Wyatt That this House notes that it has been over five months since the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of Christine Goodwin's case for the right to respect for private and family life, the right to marry and to found a family in relation to her status as a transsexual person; and calls on the Government to bring forward legislation to give transsexual people full rights and legal recognition, without delay. (SNIP) © Parliamentary copyright 2002 Revised 28 November 2002 Top
[30]AUSTRALIA --Queensland Parliament has passed the Government's controversial new anti-discrimination laws. Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. ABC Politics - 29/11/02 : Qld Parliament pas... http://www.abc.net.au/news/politics/2002/11/item20021129190547_1.htm Fri, Nov 29 2002 8:14 PM AEDT Qld Parliament passes anti-discrimination laws Queensland Parliament has passed the Government's controversial new anti-discrimination laws. It follows two days of emotional and revealing debate. The laws give people in gay and de facto relationships the same rights as married couples, and allow transgenders to change their birth certificates. Ho