Vitale Letter #247, December 16, 2002 Anne Vitale PhD, Editor
- Archives of back issues
- Notes on Gender Transition
COMMENTARY The Last Time By Sheila Mink 12/16/02 Nation's transgenders watch New York State's human rights vote The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) Gwen Araujo - A Transsexual Martyr Roslyn L. Manley
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Re: New Law to protect rights of transsexuals" From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Re: Change sex for pension From Grahame Atkinson, Sheffield Re: Beyond human rights From: Andrew Sibley, Pontprennau, Cardiff Re: Gender rightly reflected From: David Smith, Bristol Re: Defined at moment From: Elizabeth Burgess, Slough, Berkshire Sex change madness Telegraph Group Limited Re: CYCLING WEEKLY DECEMBER 14 2002 page 28 From Claire Ashton
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LEAD STORY--UNITED KINGDOM--PROPOSED NEW LEGISLATION TO GIVE TRANSSEXUAL PEOPLE THEIR CONVENTION RIGHTS
Editor's Note: As you can imagine, virtually every newspaper in the United Kingdom carried some version of this story. Rather then reprint them all here, I am including several of the factual pieces I chose at random and one dissenting piece from the religious right.....ed LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT PRESS NOTICES Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D http://213.38.88.195/...076f582b80256c8e00387b01 http://213.38.88.195/coi/coipress.nsf/3125f7fc7de1d0fb80256bf4003374ad/3e820 6ea076f582b80256c8e00387b01?OpenDocument 441/02 13 December 2002 NEW MEASURES TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF TRANSSEXUAL PEOPLE Proposals for new legislation to give effect to the European Court of Human Rights' judgments in Goodwin and "I", and to give transsexual people their Convention rights were announced by Rosie Winterton, Minister at the Lord Chancellor's Department today. The proposed legislation will give legal recognition in their acquired gender to transsexual people who can demonstrate that they have taken decisive steps towards living fully and permanently in their acquired gender, as opposed to the gender in which they were registered at birth. That will make it possible, from the date of recognition, for transsexual people to marry in their acquired gender, claim State pensions at the appropriate age, and request updated "birth" certificates. Rosie Winterton said: "The Government has long been concerned by this issue and is now committed to implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and ensuring that transsexual people are given the rights they are entitled to. "Our legislation will enable transsexual people confidently to take up those rights which have been denied to them in society - including the right to marry in their acquired gender - whilst preserving other obligations entered into in the original gender. "I have been impressed by the case put forward by the Trans community and the persuasive arguments they have used in illustrating the plight of an often forgotten minority in society. If democracies are measured by how they treat their minorities then I believe it is absolutely right that the 5,000 strong Trans community be afforded the same rights enjoyed by the other millions of us in the UK. "We will be pleased to receive comments on our proposals, which deserve the support of all who have in the past expressed concern at the lack of legal recognition of transsexual people in the United Kingdom". The effect of the judgments in the Strasbourg court is that the UK must change laws to comply with our international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People has considered the implications of the judgments and made recommendations to Ministers. The way forward has been agreed across Government, and a draft outline Bill will be published for consultation in due course. We propose that: - Formal recognition in the acquired gender will bring with it the rights and responsibilities appropriate to that gender, including the right to marry in the acquired gender. It is expected that rights and obligations previously incurred will continue, in most areas: a parent, for example, will not lose his or her obligations and rights as father or mother to the child - Full disclosure may still be needed, where relevant and subject to data protection and other legislation, by insurance and pension companies whose decisions on cover and premiums depend on gender and medical history; - The Criminal Records Bureau must be able to demand full disclosure for clearance to work with children and other vulnerable people, but modifications have been made to their procedures, so that the privacy of transsexual people in relation to their former identities is fully respected. Procedures are being similarly modified in Scotland; - Applications for legal recognition in the acquired gender will be scrutinised by an authorising body, given legal powers to assess medical evidence before the transsexual person is allowed to register in the new gender. In some cases, where the person undertook gender reassignment years earlier, the assessment may be straightforward; in others, the authorising body will need to be assured that in addition to meeting medical criteria, the transsexual person has lived successfully in the acquired gender for at least two years. The medical criteria may include medical treatments to modify the person's sexual characteristics, but the Government will not require surgery as a condition of registration in the acquired gender. - The authorising body will empower the Registrar General to create a new record in relation to the transsexual person, from which a new certificate stating acquired name and gender may be drawn. This certificate will be indistinguishable from a birth certificate. Original birth records will remain in existence unamended, and will continue to be made available when needed. The link between the original and the revised record will remain confidential within the Registrar General's office. Notes for editors: 1. The announcement can be found under 'What's New' on the LCD Website at: http://www.lcd.gov.uk/whatsnfr.htm 2. The Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People was reconvened on 9 July to re-examine the implications of granting full legal status to transsexual people in their acquired gender. The original Working Group was set up by the Home Secretary in April 1999. The report of the original Working Group was presented to Parliament in July 2000, and can be found at http://www.lcd.gov.uk/constitution/constitpol.htm. 3. On 11 July, the European Court of Human Rights found against the United Kingdom in the cases of Goodwin v the United Kingdom and I v the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was found to have breached the Convention rights of these two transsexual people under Article 8 (right to respect for private life) and Article 12 (right to marry). The judgments imply the right to a revised birth certificate in the transsexual person's new gender (which, in turn, implies legal recognition): they explicitly require the right to marry in the new gender. Neither is possible under UK law as currently interpreted. The Government is obliged, under international law, to implement the judgments as soon as possible and agrees with the Court's assessment at paragraph 90 of Goodwin that: "In the twenty-first century the right of transsexuals to personal development and to physical and moral security in the full sense enjoyed by others in society cannot be regarded as a matter of controversy requiring the lapse of time to cast clearer light on the issues involved." Top
Government Announcement on Transsexual People Top Lord Chancellor's Department - Transsexual Pe... http://www.lcd.gov.uk/constitution/transsex/statement.htm Friday, December 13, 2002 From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D THE LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT Transsexual People Government Announcement on Transsexual People by Rosie Winterton MP Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department 13 December 2002 -- Background On 11 July the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgments in the cases of Goodwin -v- The United Kingdom <http://press.coe.int/cp/2002/366a(2002).htm> and I -v- The United Kingdom <http://press.coe.int/cp/2002/367a(2002).htm>. The Court found that the United Kingdom had breached the Convention rights of these two transsexual people, under Articles 8 and 12 (the right to respect for private life and the right to marry). In answer to Questions <http://www.lcd.gov.uk/constitution/transsex/tpeople.htm#pq> before the Parliamentary recess, colleagues and I made clear the Government's commitment to announce later in the year how we proposed to implement the rulings. The Interdepartmental Working Group, whose initial report <http://www.lcd.gov.uk/constitution/transsex/transpeo.htm> the then Home Secretary presented to Parliament in July 2000, had recently been reconvened to give further consideration to the implications of giving transsexual people full legal recognition in their acquired gender. In light of the Goodwin and "I" judgments, the Group's terms of reference were expanded and it was tasked to report in October. Ministers have now collectively considered the recommendations received from officials. Legislation We will aim to publish, in due course, a draft outline Bill to give legal recognition in their acquired gender to transsexual people who can demonstrate that they have taken decisive steps towards living fully and permanently in the gender acquired since they were registered at birth. That will make it possible for them (if otherwise eligible) to marry in their acquired gender. The Government is committed, therefore, to legislating as soon as possible to give transsexual people their Convention rights. Whether Parliament at Westminster should legislate for the whole of the UK on this matter is under consideration, particularly in view of the inter-relationship between devolved and reserved policy aspects. Rights Except where limited exceptions will be created in the legislation, we propose that formal recognition in the acquired gender will bring with it the rights and responsibilities appropriate to that gender - normally, from the date that the change is recognised. Registration in the new gender will not cancel out rights and obligations previously incurred. A parent, for example, who changes gender, will not lose his or her obligations - and rights - as father or mother to the child. Provision will be needed for disclosure to be requested in certain circumstances. For example, insurance and pension companies, whose decisions on cover and premiums depend on gender and medical history, may need to continue to require full disclosure, where relevant and subject to data protection and other legislation. The Criminal Records Bureau must be able to demand full disclosure for clearance to work with children and other vulnerable people; but I am pleased to announce that modifications have been made to their procedures, so that the privacy of transsexual people in relation to their former identity is fully respected. Procedures have been similarly modified in Scotland. Recognition Changing legal identity is a serious step, with significant consequences. It is important that no-one should embark upon formal recognition in the acquired gender without convincing evidence. We will therefore propose that applications should be scrutinised by an authorising body, given legal powers to assess medical evidence before the transsexual person is allowed to register in the new gender. In some cases, where the person undertook gender reassignment years earlier, and has lived successfully in the acquired gender, that assessment may be straightforward. In other cases, the authorising body will need to be assured that, in addition to meeting medical criteria, the transsexual person has lived successfully in the acquired gender for at least two years. The medical criteria may include medical treatments to modify the person's sexual characteristics, but the Government will not require surgery as a condition of registration in the acquired gender. We do not intend history to be re-written. Original birth records will remain in existence, unamended, and will continue to be made available when needed. But the authorising body will empower the Registrar General to create a new record in relation to the transsexual person, from which a new certificate stating acquired name and gender may be drawn. This certificate will be indistinguishable from a birth certificate, in order to remedy the breaches of Article 8 identified by the European Court of Human Rights. The link between the original and the revised record will remain confidential within the Registrar General's office. We are committed to facilitating, as fully as possible, transsexual people's assimilation into the gender to which they feel they belong. We share the Court's view that society may reasonably be expected to tolerate a minority of individuals living in dignity and worth in accordance with the identity they are driven to assume. We do not seek, however, to erase all trace of their former identity. We have concluded that there is no need for transsexual people to be given new National Insurance numbers on registering in their acquired gender. NI numbers give no indication of gender, and employment and data protection legislation should give adequate protection against careless or malicious disclosure in the rare instances where the number enables a link to be made between former and current identities. Our aim is to ensure that in future transsexual people will be better protected from having constantly and unnecessarily to reveal their history. Our legislation will enable transsexual people confidently to take up those rights which have been denied to them in society - including the right to marry in their acquired gender - while preserving other obligations entered into in the original gender. We will be pleased to receive comments on our proposals, which deserve the support of all who have in the past expressed concern at the lack of legal recognition of transsexual people in the United Kingdom. Top
The Labour Party - Transsexual rights protected Top http://www.labour.org.uk/transsexuals/ From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D Transsexual rights protected Friday 13 December 2002 Transsexuals will be able to request updated birth certificates and marry in their acquired gender, under planned changes to the law. The government is committed to changing the law to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention now recognises the right of transsexuals following recent judgements by the European Court of Human Rights. An authorising body will look at applications for legal recognition. It will be given legal powers to assess medical evidence before the transsexual person is allowed to register in the new gender. Under draft legislation, full disclosure may be required where it is relevant. For example, decisions on insurance cover may depend on gender and medical history or checks may have to be made on those working with children. But procedures will ensure the former identities of transsexuals are protected. Rights and previous obligations will still apply in most areas. A parent, for example, will not lose his or her rights and obligations as father or mother to the child. The proposals will be published as part of a draft Bill for consultation. Rosie Winterton, Minister at the Lord Chancellor's Department, said: "I have been impressed by the case put forward by the Trans community and the persuasive arguments they have used in illustrating the plight of an often forgotten minority in society. If democracies are measured by how they treat their minorities then I believe it is absolutely right that the 5,000 strong Trans community be afforded the same rights enjoyed by the other millions of us in the UK." Extra info... The Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People looked at the implications of granting full legal status to transsexual people in their acquired gender. The original Working Group was set up by the Home Secretary in April 1999. The report of the original Working Group was presented to Parliament in July 2000. Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland Promoted by David Triesman, General Secretary, The Labour Party, 16 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Top
Transsexuals Welcome Marriage and Birth Certificate Reforms Top NEWS.scotsman.com - Latest News - Transsexual... http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=5525088 Fri 13 Dec 2002 4:26pm (UK) From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D Transsexuals Welcome Marriage and Birth Certificate Reforms By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent, PA News Transsexuals will be allowed to marry in their adopted sex and apply for substitute birth certificates showing their new genders, ministers said today. The Lord Chancellor's Department made the historic announcement following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights this summer which said current UK law breached transsexuals' human rights. Transsexuals welcomed the move as "brilliant news" which would bring an end to 33 years in a legal limbo as "non-people". But the Evangelical Alliance said it was a step towards gay marriage which would force ministers of religion to perform wedding ceremonies for two people of the same original sex. Britain is currently one of four European countries &endash; alongside Albania, Andorra and Ireland &endash; to refuse transsexuals permission to alter the gender recorded on birth certificates. It has prevented them marrying in their adopted sex and affected the age at which they qualify for the state pension. Transsexuals who want to register under their new genders will be able to apply to a new authorising body, said Lord Chancellor's Department minister Rosie Winterton. Applicants will have to meet medical criteria and "live successfully in their new gender for at least two years before they are given a new document to replace their birth certificate. Ms Winterton said: "We do not seek to erase or trace of their former identify. We're not going to rewrite history. "It will be possible for the historical records to be traced if necessary for certain categories of organisation. "But for the purposes of privacy of the transsexual person, when they are required to show a birth certificate they will be able to show something that protects them in their new gender. "If democracies are measured by how they treat their minorities then I believe it is absolutely right that the 5,000-strong transsexual community be afforded the same rights enjoyed by the other millions of us in the UK." The Government will not require the transsexual to have undergone surgery in order to register under a new gender. Ms Winterton said it would be possible for someone born, for example, as a male to hold a female birth certificate even if they retained male sex organs. But they would have to satisfy the authorising body that they had been diagnosed as having gender dysphoria and lived in their new sex for the minimum period. Transsexuals will retain rights and obligations incurred under their old gender, such as being a mother or father, she added. To protect transsexuals' privacy members of the public will not be able to make a connection between new certificates issued by the Registrar General and original birth certificates. Although the new version will be "indistinguishable" from certificates issued at birth, the original documentation will remain on file unamended. Some agencies, including the Criminal Records Bureau, police and Inland Revenue will be able to access the originals. Ms Winterton said the Government will also consult pensions and insurance companies to see what kind of access they may require to original documents. A draft bill will be published in due course, said the minister. She was unable to indicate when the law may change. Claire McNab of transsexual campaign group Press for Change, said: "The Government's promised legislation will finally bring Britain into line with the rest of Europe and the developed world. "For nearly 33 years, since a court judgment took away our rights in 1970, we have been non-people. "Our claim to recognition has been opposed by successive governments, who have fought us in every court in the land and every court in Europe." She said the legislation should be introduced as soon as possible. "Every day without new legislation is another day where our families go unrecognised and our privacy continues to be breached." But the Evangelical Alliance said: "Granting legal recognition to transsexuals or gender confused people, in tandem with parallel proposals for civil partnerships, is designed to make same-sex marriage acceptable. "The reality is that it is not possible for a person to change their sex," said spokesman Don Horrocks. "Therefore any ensuing 'marriage' of transsexual people of the same sex could not be regarded as marriage &endash; at least from a Christian perspective, since it would not be between one woman and one man." The move would "radically affect" longstanding matrimonial law, he added. Ministers of religion could find themselves "legally obliged to go against their own beliefs and perform suspected same-sex marriages" if they were unable to access original birth certificates, he said. In July, European judges ruled the UK's failure to recognise transsexuals in law breached their rights to respect for private life and their right to marry under human rights laws. Former male bus driver Christine Goodwin and another woman identified only as "I" both won backing for their fight for legal recognition as women after going to Strasbourg. Both women complained about their treatment in relation to employment, social security, pensions and the ability to marry. Another male to female transsexual, Elizabeth Bellinger, was due to go to the House of Lords next month to overturn previous rulings which prevented her 20-year "marriage" being recognised. Last year Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and Lord Justice Robert Walker ruled that she was not female under current law but added the situation was "profoundly unsatisfactory". Today, Ms Winterton said the proposals would not affect the legality of Mrs Bellinger's "marriage" because it would not be retrospective and so the applicant would remain legally male at the time she took the vows in 1981, she added. Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris said: "Arguments that these legal changes will effectively create same sex marriages only serve to deflect attention from the main aim of achieving equality. "They will affect a small group of people and do not set any sort of precedent." ©2002 scotsman.com
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Committee
of experts to vet transsexuals' claims for legal
recognition
Independent News
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/story.jsp?story=361426 Committee of experts to vet transsexuals' claims for legal recognition By Robert Verkaik, Legal Affairs Correspondent From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D 14 December 2002 A committee of medical and legal experts is to be set up to approve applications from people who want their change of sex to be given legal recognition. The plan for a regulatory authority is part of the Government's commitment to giving full legal and social recognition to Britain's 5,000 transsexuals. Under plans announced yesterday, transsexuals will for the first time be allowed to marry in their adoptive sex and apply for a substitute birth certificate. Those who want to register their new gender will have to show they have lived "successfully" in that state for at least two years and submit medical evidence to support their application. A transsexual will not need to have surgery to register under a new sex. Rosie Winterton, a minister at the Lord Chancellor's Department, said that, for example, someone born male could hold a female birth certificate even if male sex organs were retained. They would have to satisfy the authorising body that they had been diagnosed as having gender dysphoria, a state of unease about their sex. Transsexuals will keep rights and obligations incurred under their old gender, such as being a parent, Ms Winterton said. To protect privacy, the public will not be able to make a connection between the new certificates issued by the Registrar General and original birth certificates. Although the new version will be "indistinguishable" from original birth certificates, those will remain on file unamended. Some agencies, including the police and Inland Revenue, will have access to the original documents. Ms Winterton said the Government would consult pension and insurance companies to see what access they needed to original documents. She added: "It will be possible for historical records to be traced if necessary, for certain categories of organisation." The Government proposals follow a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in July that UK law breached the rights of transsexuals. END © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://www.eauk.org/CONTENTMANAGER/Content/press/EA_021210a.cfm Top
Evangelical Alliance Calls For Full Public Consultation Over Transsexuality Proposals Top December 10 2002 From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D In response to reports that transsexuals are expected to be given the right to marry and be legally recognised in their adopted gender, the Evangelical Alliance is calling on the Government to hold a full public consultation before any legislation is announced. "Our position remains that it is not possible for a person to change their sex," said Public Affairs Manager, Don Horrocks. "Therefore any ensuing `marriage' of transsexual people of the same sex could not be regarded as marriage from a Christian perspective. "Considering that the longstanding matrimonial law of this country will be radically affected by these proposals, together with traditional understanding of what constitutes male and female, we would expect the Government to consult the public as widely as possible before proposing any detailed legislation," he added. The Alliance believes in championing the basic human rights of minority groups and we can appreciate some of the difficulties transsexual people may face. But these proposals, which follow a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, are of such immense importance that they deserve wider scrutiny. Giving transsexuals the right to change their birth certificates should also be resisted. If the green light is given for birth certificates to be legally altered to reflect an individual's self-chosen desire to change the way they wish their gender legally to be presented and treated by others, appropriate third parties must retain the right to see original documentation indicating an individual's sex at birth. Top
Annulled marriage of a former merchant seaman began quest for justice set to end with change in law Top Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Transs... http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,11812,857079,00.html Transsexuals' 33-year battle for legal rights From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D Annulled marriage of a former merchant seaman began quest for justice set to end with change in law Clare Dyer, legal correspondent Tuesday December 10, 2002 The Guardian The battle by transsexuals for legal recognition in their adopted sex goes back 33 years, to the celebrated case of April Ashley. The former merchant seaman, who went through one of the earliest sex change operations, married Arthur Corbett, who was well aware of her history. The marriage was unhappy and Arthur petitioned for a decree of nullity in the high court. The judge, Mr Justice Ormrod, ruled that sex is determined at birth and the marriage was null and void from the outset because both parties were male. Stephen Whittle, of the transsexuals' campaigning group Press for Change, recalls that he first took part in a demonstration at the British Medical Association in 1974. A legal academic and a female-to-male transsexual, he is a nominee for the 2002 human rights award, to be conferred tonight by the civil rights organisations Liberty and Justice. His nomination is for "extensive commitment and dedication to ensuring the advancement of rights for transsexual people in the UK, Europe and around the world through judicial means". Through the 1980s and 90s a succession of British transsexuals took their cases to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, arguing that the law deprived them of the right to respect for their private and family life. One was Dr Whittle, who sought the right to be named as father on the birth certificates of the four children his partner conceived by artificial insemination from a donor. Because they could not change their birth certificates, the transsexuals argued, they were deprived of the right to marry. Employers, when they went for a new job, inevitably learned that they had been born in the other sex. They suffered a series of losses at Strasbourg, but each time the majority of judges against them grew smaller. Each time, the judges urged Britain to reconsider its stance in the light of changes in social and medical opinion. Medical research had discovered that there were observable differences between the brains of lifelong males and those of male-to-female transsexuals. Transsexuality, or gender dysphoria, was recognised as a medical condition, and the British courts forced reluctant health authorities to fund sex-change surgery. Meanwhile, the European court of justice in Luxembourg ruled that discrimination against transsexuals at work was unlawful. But because there was still no right to change a birth certificate to reflect the new sex, there was no way of concealing the fact of the sex change from a new employer. In July 2001 the court of appeal rejected an attempt by Elizabeth Bellinger, who started life as a male, to have her 20-year marriage to a man declared valid. One of the three judges ruled in her favour, but the other two reluctantly dismissed her appeal, while admonishing the government for failing to change the law. Her case is due to go to the House of Lords next month. The decisive blow was struck last July, when two transsexuals succeeded at the human rights court in Strasbourg. Christine Goodwin, a former bus driver, and "I", an unnamed male-to-female transsexual, won a ruling that British law's insistence that sex is established at birth violated their rights to respect for private life and the right to marry under the European convention on human rights. The court accused the government of having effectively done nothing despite its admonitions. The ruling will at last force the government to change the law to allow transsexuals full legal recognition in their adopted sex, including the right to marry. The judgment will oblige the government to introduce legislation allowing a new birth certificate to be issued after a sex change. The result should be that those who have sex changes will be treated as if they had been born with the acquired sex - including the right to marry and the age at which they qualify to draw a state pension. Special report Gender issues http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/0,11812,670739,00.html -- © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 Top
Transsexuals' rights victory after 30 years Top Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Sex ch... http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,11812,857161,00.html From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D Sex change victory after 30 years Transsexuals' rights victory after 30 years Clare Dyer, legal correspondent Tuesday December 10, 2002 The Guardian Transsexuals are to be given the right to change their birth certificates and marry in their adopted sex, after a 30-year legal battle. The lord chancellor, Lord Irvine, is poised to announce the change just weeks before a male-to-female transsexual was due to ask the House of Lords for a ruling that her 20-year marriage to a man was valid. The move has been forced on ministers by a judgment last July from the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, holding that the UK law, which insists that gender is irrevocably established at birth, violates transsexuals' right to respect for private and family life. The Strasbourg judges said: "A serious interference with private life arose from the conflict between social reality and law, which placed the transsexuals in an anomalous position in which they could experience feelings of vulnerability, humiliation and anxiety. "In the 21st century the right of transsexuals to personal development and to physical and moral security in the full sense enjoyed by others in society can no longer be regarded as a matter of controversy requiring the lapse of time to cast clearer light on the issues involved." The UK is one of four countries in Europe - with Albania, Andorra and Ireland - which still refuse to allow transsexuals to alter their birth certificates. The ban has barred them from marrying in their new sex, affected the age at which they qualify for a state pension and infringed their privacy by ensuring that their previous history is inevitably revealed to any new employer. A month before the Strasbourg judgment, which the government expected to lose, a working group of officials from 12 government departments was reconvened to consider how to take reforms forward. In a series of court cases judges have expressed sympathy for the plight of transsexuals, but said reform was a matter for parliament. Elizabeth Bellinger, whose case is scheduled for hearing in the House of Lords next month, narrowly lost her case by a majority of two to one in the court of appeal in July 2000. Both judges who ruled against her called on the government to change the law. Last July the Strasbourg court ruled in favour of Chris tine Goodwin, formerly a male bus driver, and another male-to-female transsexual named only as "I". Ms Goodwin claimed that the UK government violated her right to a private life and discriminated against her by making her wait until she was 65 for a state pension. Ms I argued that her right to respect for her private life was breached because she had to produce a birth certificate showing her as male to register for a nursing course. Stephen Whittle, of the transsexuals' campaigning group Press for Change, said: "I'm really pleased they're finally doing it. The fact that they're waiting nearly six months from the Strasbourg decision is appalling." Dr Whittle, a female-to-male transsexual and law lecturer who has played a leading role in the campaign for transsexuals' rights, said the group was concerned that there might be loopholes in the new law and delays before it went on the statute book. "There's no point in doing it if there are loopholes. The nature of the loopholes is what has caused trouble in the past. "What I really want to know is that they're going to do it in the next session. Are they going to put in place more consultative processes because if they are we're on a hiding to nothing." He said that one stumbling block was what should happen to people who had changed sex but remained within existing marriages, in some cases for pension reasons. Ministers were divided on whether they should have to divorce if they wanted to change the sex on their birth certificates. Christine Burns, of Press for Change, said: "It's vital that the proposals provide full legal recognition for all purposes. If there are any exceptions, it will be worthless." Lynne Jones, Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak and chairwoman of the parliamentary forum on transsexualism, said: "I hope any measures the government introduces will get a fair wind in the Commons and the Lords and we'll start to catch up with more advanced countries." -- Special report Gender issues http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/0,11812,670739,00.html -- © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 Top
The how and when of a government Announcement--Press for Change Top Source: Press for Change Author: Claire McNab Date: Dec. 9, 2002 I'm sure you've all been wondering what is happening in government. The Inter-Departmental Working Group was reconvened in the summer, and in July ministers told Parliament that: "Recommendations on a course of action will be put to Ministers in October for collective decisions to be reached during the autumn." We have had regular contact with the Lord Chancellor's Department in the months since then, helping civil servants to address the many complex points of specific detail which the government has to consider. We don't know what they have finally decided, but we do know that they have been working hard. We have no reason to believe that the decision-making process has been abandoned or blown off-course ... so we hope that an announcement may be made before parliament rises for its Christmas recess. If the announcement is not made then, we will be vigorously calling for some greater urgency ... but do remember that it is likely to be in the government's own interest to make an announcement before too long. The House of Lords Judicial Committee meets in late January to hears Liz & Mike Bellinger's appeal against the refusal of lower courts to recognise their marriage. The Law Lords are likely to be unimpressed if government has not at least come up with some formal proposals to implement the ECHR decision, and take Liz and Mike out of legal limbo. So, as we've said before -- expect something before Christmas. * * * * When the announcement does come, PFC's press machine will be ready for action. We are already making the usual preparations -- contact lists, draft statements, availability schedules for interview and so on -- and will ensure that the voice of the trans community is reflected properly in any media coverage. But I want to take this opportunity to suggest ways for YOU to assess any announcement. Don't forget that this government, like any other, has a well-oiled and well- resourced press office -- a team of skilled people who will want to present any move they make as good news for everyone. We all need to read between the lines and see what this actually means for us. When we see the announcement, I hope that it we will be one which allows us all to say "well done!" to the ministers, something which allows us to celebrate. But that depends on what they say -- and on what they do NOT say. Look carefully for what's missing! So ... the first two questions to ask are simple: HOW? and WHEN? Take these one at a time. ** 1. HOW WILL THE PROPOSALS AFFECT TRANS PEOPLE? Will the proposals grant us full recognition for ALL legal purposes? Or will they merely provide us with a sort of second-class recognition, where our status is recognised in some areas of law but not in others? Will the proposals grant those people who have permanently transitioned full recognition of their new gender role for ALL legal purposes? Or will they merely provide some sort of second-class recognition, where status is recognised in some areas of law but not in others? We have repeatedly stressed to government that this question cannot be fudged. Anything short of full recognition would be virtually useless, and it must be explicitly labelled as FULL recognition: it won't be enough to provide a list of areas where we are recognised, leaving others unclear or not covered. Partial recognition would have three damaging effects: a) it would leave people in the appalling position of continuing to have one sex for one purpose, and another sex for another. That would create countless tangles both for us and for those who work with us. b) It would leave the way open for mischievous people (such as employers or public bodies) to argue that their situation did *not* fall within the areas for which recognition is granted. You don't need to be a lawyer to see the opportunities which that would create for new and complex forms of discrimination ... leaving all of us still spending far too much time in court. c) It would sabotage our privacy. Anything less than full recognition would provide a legitimate excuse for all sorts of people to enquire whether someone is trans -- whatever it says on an amended birth cert. The Inter-Departmental Working Group addressed this question its report in July 2000, and concluded that "We were very doubtful whether there could be a half-way house between the present position and full legal recognition for all purposes" (para 3.8). But we cannot rule out the possibility that somewhere along the way, those doubts may be set aside. ** 2. WHEN WILL THE PROPOSALS BECOME LAW? Whitehall cupboards are full of proposed laws which were never laid before parliament. Do these ones come with a promise of action, soon? Now here's the tricky bit! It is probably too late now for a bill to be drafted and pushed through in the current parliamentary session, which ends in October 2003. So, the next opportunity comes in the 2003-2004 session of parliament, which means that the bill must be included in the Queen's Speech in November 2003. If we don't get a bill passed in that session, then the next opportunity will probably not be until after the next general election ... which means we could be waiting for another four of five years. And that, of course, presumes that a new government would still want to legislate -- it might take a very different view of our rights! So, any government announcement should include a *specific* commitment to legislate soon. The magic phrase might be "in the next session of parliament", or it might be "before the end of this parliament" ... but if there is no timeline, we will have to protest vigorously. It would be absolutely no use for government use vague words to say something like: "this is what we will do someday, if and when we get around to doing anything". We need a firm timeline. ******************* I have deliberately left till last the third question: WHO? That's not because it is unimportant! It's a crucial question. But whoever is included in any proposals, whether it is legal recognition of the new gender for ALL those trans people who have permanently transitioned as PFC wants, or some limited group of (for example) those who have had genital reconstructive surgery ... the first two questions (HOW? and WHEN?) are the ones to ask first. Even if you are included in the group, the proposals will be no use to you if they do not offer *full* legal recognition ... or if they are merely a ministerial pipedream. 3. WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THESE PROPOSALS? I will be very brief on this point: PFC objectives are very clear. They are set out in the "Five Principles" which you can read on the PFC website at http://www.pfc.org.uk/campaign/ ... and in much greater detail in our submissions to the government working group -- also on the website, at http://www.pfc.org.uk/workgrp/ If you have not read those documents recently, now would be a good time to re- read them. They represent the consensus view of all the major groups representing trans people in the UK, and are designed to ensure that no-one gets left behind. If you re-read them now, then you will find it much quicker to make sense of who will benefit from any government proposals ... and who might get left behind. **************************************** OK, so there's a lot to read in all that. So here's a quick summary of the crucial checkpoints for any government proposals ... the questions YOU need to ask when an announcement is made. You may want to print out this summary and keep it somewhere handy, ready for the news bulletins. **************************************** QUICK SUMMARY: HOW TO ASSESS ANY GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS FOR LEGISLATION [1] HOW WILL THE PROPOSALS AFFECT TRANS PEOPLE? Will they grant us full recognition for All legal purposes? Or will they be limited to partial recognition, for some purposes only? [2] WHEN WILL THE PROPOSALS BECOME LAW? We need a clear timetable for action. Anything less than that may just be a way of postponing action indefinitely, or at least of leaving a loophole to allow further delays [3] WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THESE PROPOSALS? Will the proposals include those who have not had surgery? How much do they depend on medical gatekeepers? What about those who are already married? How will they affect trans men and trans women? *************************************** Sorry this was so long -- but I hope it helps. And I hope we won't be waiting much longer! Best wishes Claire McNab (Vice-President, Press for Change) http://www.pfc.org.uk Top
ANNOUNCEMENTS [1][USA: San Francisco Bay Area--MTF Group Reforming--Advanced transition / Recent post-op. Facilitater---Anne Vitale PhD Top This group is for MTF's who are either in an advanced stage of transition (living full time in the female gender role) or has had SRS in the last year. The group has been meeting for the last 20 weeks and is well established. But due to natural attrition, there is room for two new members.
Call Anne Vitale PhD at 415-456-4452 or send an email to Group@avitale.com for more information. Top
[2] New Essay--Current Thinking Regarding the Etiology of Gender Dysphoria December, 2002., Anne Vitale PhD Posted December 16, 2002 http://www.avitale.com/etiologyreview.htm Top
This is taken in part from a paper I wrote in 2001. It was originally published in Gender and Psychoanlysis, An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 6 No. 2, Spring 2001. ...Anne Vitale
It begins with the following paragraph:
Although the origins of being gender dysphoric can not yet be declared outright, there is a growing body of evidence that Gender Identity Disorder (GID) as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (1994) is at least in part, the result of insufficient or inappropriate androgenization of the brain at a critical stage of embryonic development. As a result, the affected individual may be left with between a partial and a full sense of having a cross-sexed gender identity. It is this difference that may be the root cause behind an overwhelming need to transition.......
[3]UK: Call for Submissions--Please help the 11th Tranny Guide
Source: Wayout Publishing Author: Vicky Lee Via: Press for Change Date: November 27, 2002 Vicky Lee writes: Hello from Vicky Lee I am writing today to ask for your HELP .... (Help to bring together the 11th Tranny Guide) I HAVE LOST contributions of picture, text and listing updates gathered on my computer following a major virus attack. I stupidly had not backed up this crucial file of tit bits, stored emails and web site favourites. I have learnt the hard way that if you are connected full time to the internet - you MUST have a firewall. The attack I received made it obvious that the computer had been directly infiltrated - but NOT through email - and when Norton Personal Firewall was installed it finally triggered the hard drive to be scrambled. If YOU have contributions of text or pictures for reports or articles for The 11th Tranny Guide PLEASE contact me and send them (again if already sent). Deadline for contributions is end of December. I am looking for YOUR tips to pass on to Tranny Guide readers about events, groups, clubs, restaurants, hotels, services, shops. I am looking for YOUR review of your town or a place that you have visited. I am looking for pictures to illustrate your tips and pictures of you and your friends. I am looking for an update on YOUR service / organisation / business (a form is below) The 11th Tranny Guide is scheduled to be available in April 2003. However the recent computer disaster has dented the schedule and put this target at risk. BUT it WILL be available close to that date. 2002 has been a tough year for The Tranny Guide as I have given a lot of my time to the wonderful Transfandango Event and the new Utterly FABULOUS magazine. My personal assistant Marion is expecting her first baby next week and has gradually slowed to a halt, as must be expected, in terms of the help she can give me. I was facing exhaustion at the end of October and took a much needed 10 day rest with my partner Lesley. On returning to my computer I had lost my collection of tips and contributions. How do I feel ? ........ GREAT. My 10 day rest re-energised me. I can't wait to meet the baby whose name (boy or girl) will be Alex. Marion plans to return to work with me as soon as she can WITH baby Alex. (We will train my Peggy dog to baby sit). Karen and Alli are standing by to help in January to turn your news into fresh new Tranny Guide pages - Issue 2 of Utterly FABULOUS magazine will be available next week and issue 3 is being prepared for March - The WayOut Club is better than ever and the new WayOut Restaurant is gaining a good reputation - Jay's "Lippy" film goes into production at Pinewood in April and the date for the next Transfandango has been set for 27th September. Life IS good BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT BETTER for everyone that is looking forward to a new edition of The Tranny Guide ... PLEASE take a few minutes to send YOUR contributions and updates. name of business, service or organisation ... area in UK ... (nationwide if national or predominantly mail order) ... tel ... contact name (if pos) ... postal or walk in address ... email ... website ... brief description (up to 30 words) NOT FOR PUBLICATION - postal address if different ... Best regards Vicky Lee This is an update from WayOut Publishing WayOut, P.O.Box 70 Enfield Top
[4] USA: TexasTransgender Appointed to Dignity USA Board of Directors Top Source: DignityUSA Author: Pat McArron Via: GLB-PRESS Date: Dec. 3, 2002 Press Release Pat McArron writes: I invite you to join me in welcoming Chellie Griffin to the DignityUSA Board of Directors. Chellie received a unanimous vote of confidence from the current members of the board. Her appointment to the board is effective immediately. Michelle "Chellie" Griffin is an out transsexual lesbian cradle Catholic. Chellie has two grown children, three grandchildren and is employed as a Management Information Systems Consultant. Chellie joined Dignity in Dallas in 1998, was a member of Regional and National Houses of Delegates from 1999 through 2001. Chellie has served as Chapter Liturgy Committee Chair person since 1999, Chapter Board member since 2001 and this year as Chapter vice president. Chellie graduated from the Leadership Lambda training program in 2001, founded their Youth Programs Committee and serves as its co- chair. Chellie also serves as a Member of the task force implementing the Diocese of Fort Worth "Ministry with Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and other sexual minority Catholics." Chellie is also an active member of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance political action committee, GLSEN in Dallas and Tarrant counties, the Gay Prom Committee, and works in support of persons living with HIV and AIDS in North Texas. Chellie brings to the board a "can do, will do" attitude. She is a no-nonsense person who has a reputation of getting things done. Sincerely, Pat McArron, President mailto:ptmcarron@dignityusa.org DignityUSA 1500 Massachusetts Ave NW Suite 11 Washington DC 20005-1894 http://www.dignityusa.org 1-800-877-8797 Top
[5]
USA: Oregon--Tara Foundation announces fund to help transsexuals
achieve their goals by providing monetary assistance in the form of
grants.
News Release:
Tara Taylor writes:
The Tara Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity dedicated to helping transsexuals achieve their goals by providing monetary assistance in the form of grants. Procedures for which assistance will be provided include sex reassignment surgery, electrolysis/laser along with HRT and gender identity therapy.
Other programs that may be implemented are conferences featuring speakers experienced in GLBT issues, employer education to assist employees in transition, and programs that address trans youth.
The foundation is asking for help in the form of donations to do its much needed work. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Trans persons that would like to be notifed when we're ready to take applications for grants should send an email to taragem@juno.com
Sincerely,
Tara Taylor, Founder Tara Foundation http://tarafoundation.org Please send donations to: Tara Foundation 1969 NW Johnson St. #324 Portland, OR 97209 Top
GENERAL INFORMATION
[6] INDIA : lucknow--Horrifying tale of a eunuch
Top
From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D.
Horrifying tale of a eunuch - The Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=313
00608
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002 11:58:48 PM]
LUCKNOW: Frustration and hunger pangs drove a eunuch to amputate his
underdeveloped genitals. In a shocking incident, which reveals the darker
side of our society and the miserable life led by eunuchs as well,
40-year-old Iqbal was recently brought to the surgical emergency ward of the
Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) with his genitals
chopped off and profusely bleeding. Later, after emergency treatment, the
eunuch was taken away in a mysterious way by some members of his community,
leaving the doctors a puzzled lot.
It was around 2 pm on Saturday last when Iqbal walked into the emergency
ward, limping and holding his genitals, while reeling under acute pain.
Doctors at the emergency ward immediately rushed him for operation.
After examining the patient, doctors found that the genitals of Iqbal were
chopped off and were stitched haphazardly along with the urethra, thereby
closing the urinary track. Subsequently, the urinary bladders were choked
and had swelled as the patient was not able to urinate, causing acute pain
in the lower abdomen. A team of five doctors, of the surgery department,
operated upon Iqbal for over two hours and conducted urethrostomy, after
opening his urinary track for the passage of urine, thereby bringing him an
immediate relief.
Doctors were puzzled as it was the first time they were attending a eunuch
as the community is popularly known for not taking any medical assistance.
When enquired, Iqbal told doctors the horrifying tale about his miserable
life. Though his behaviour and physical features were more like a eunuch
but, due to the presence of genitals, in vestigial form, he was being not
accepted in the community. Caught in a piquant situation, Iqbal told doctors
that he neither used to get any share out of the collections made by the
community, nor he was accepted as an employee by the outside world for
obvious reasons. As a result, he had to live at the mercy of a few
'generous' eunuchs who, however, used to exploit him for the little they
spared.
For days he was going without two daily meals when, finally, out of
frustration Iqbal decided to get the genitals amputated so that he could
'resemble' and be the part of the eunuch community. He contacted a local
doctor, apparently a quack, who chopped the genitals with a blade and
stitched it haphazardly. However, as soon as the urinary bladder swelled
with liquid, the bleeding started profusely. When desi treatments could not
bring any relief, Iqbal rushed to medical college. After emergency treatment
doctors advised him to undergo "urethroplasty", the surgery which would help
him live a normal life. However, late in the night four eunuchs walked into
the ward and, despite opposition of the doctors, took Iqbal away.
--
© 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.
Top
[7a]USA:California--Not guilty pleas in killing of transgendered teen
Top
Mercury News | 12/14/2002 | Not guilty pleas ...
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4738899.htm
Posted on Sat, Dec. 14, 2002
Not guilty pleas in killing
THREE MEN ARE ACCUSED OF SLAYING TRANSGENDER TEEN FROM NEWARK
By Yomi S. Wronge
Mercury News
Three remaining defendants charged with the beating and strangling of a
17-year-old Newark transgender teenager pleaded not guilty Friday to murder
with a hate crime enhancement.
Police say the men murdered Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo, who identified as a girl,
Oct. 3 after discovering at a party that Araujo was anatomically male.
Jose Merel, 23, of Newark, and Fremont residents Jason Cazares and Michael
Magidson, both 22, barely glanced into the packed audience at the Fremont
Hall of Justice as their lawyers entered pleas and set future court dates. A
fourth man, Jaron Nabors, 19, of Newark, has already pleaded not guilty.
Almost two weeks after the killing, Nabors led police to Araujo's body,
where he had helped bury it in a shallow grave some 150 miles away in the
Sierra Nevada foothills, court records say.
``He didn't strike anybody; he didn't participate in any homicide,'' Nabors'
attorney, Robert J. Beles said after the brief proceeding, adding that it's
too soon to tell whether Nabors will testify against the other defendants.
The young men all knew Araujo, whom they said used the name ``Lida.'' Police
say at least two of the defendants may have had a sexual relationship with
the teen, though none of the men has acknowledged such a relationship.
Wanda Merel said Friday that her son, Jose, was not involved in the crime,
which police say took place at the party inside his house.
``My son . . . did not hit, he did not kick, beat or strangle her,'' she
said. ``He was not present. There will be no evidence linking him to this
case.''
Judge Dennis J. McLaughlin set aside Jan. 29 and 30 for a preliminary
hearing in the case to determine whether each defendant should stand trial.
All four have been charged with a hate crime, but hate crimes do not fall
under the special circumstances category that would make a defendant
eligible for the death penalty if found guilty.
That angers Araujo's family.
``When this case reaches its conclusion, we plan to approach the Legislature
to assist in changing the law to send a message that crimes of bias that
result in murder will be treated in the most serious way that the law
allows,'' said the family's attorney, Gloria Allred.
Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, did not attend Friday's court proceedings.
Guerrero's daughter, Pearl Serrano, said her mother was not up to seeing the
defendants.
--
Contact Yomi S. Wronge at ywronge@sjmercury.com or (510) 790-7315.
Top
[7b] USA: Suspects in death of transgender Newark teen plead innocent
Top
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002
From: "Mrs. Petra Henderson <petrahenderson@yahoo.com>" <petrahenderson@yahoo.com>
--- In transgendernews@yahoogroups.com,
tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@y...> wrote:
Source: AP
Via: Herald Tribune (Southwest FL)
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20021213&Category=APN&ArtNo=212130841&Ref=AR
Date: Dec. 13, 2002
All four suspects in the beating and strangling death of a Newark
transgender teenager have now pleaded innocent.
Jason Cazares, Jose Merel and Michael Magidson entered their pleas in a
Fremont courtroom this morning. Jaron Nabors had entered a plea earlier.
All are charged with murder and a hate crime in the October third death
of Eddie Araujo (ah-RAH' ho) -- who was also known as "Gwen."
Araujo was attacked after party-goers discovered he was male instead of
female.
Police were led to a shallow grave 150 miles east of San Francisco in
the Sierra foothills two weeks after the party from which Araujo
disappeared.
The 17-year-old was found buried with his wrists and ankles bound. He
was still in the miniskirt he had last been seen wearing at the party.
Witnesses told police Araujo was beaten, dragged into the garage and
strangled with a rope after a girl at the party discovered the teen was
actually a boy.
Top
[8] SOUTH KOREA : Incheon--Ha Ri-su now a woman ?? legally
Top
English JoongAngIlbo
http://english.joins.com/Article.asp?aid=20021214024028&sid=300
From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D.
Ha Ri-su now a woman ?? legally
by Chung Young-jin
December 14, 2002
INCHEON -- Ha Ri-su, 27, an actress who was born a man but underwent a
sex-change operation, now is legally a woman.
The Incheon District Court yesterday permitted Ms. Ha to change her sex in
her family registry to female from male, and her real name from Lee
Gyeong-yeop to Lee Gyeong-eun.
Ms. Ha is only the second transsexual to be allowed to change her legal
gender status, following a 30-year-old woman in Busan who did so in July.
The court noted that Ms. Ha had been disqualified from her mandatory
military service during the physical examination, and remarked that "it
would be too harsh for him to live as a male."
The court decision read: "Ms. Ha is a male in terms of her DNA. But she
wants to live the life of a woman and her appearance and behavior are that
of a woman. She should be given the right to live life happily as a woman."
In trying to determine Ms. Ha's status, the court spent two weeks probing
her military records, sex-change operation records and photo albums.
The court asked a doctor's medical opinion about Ms. Ha, looked at photos of
her and watched a videotape that had been recorded by her.
Ms. Ha will be given a new resident registration number and will be allowed
to marry a man.
END
Copyright 2002 JoongAng Ilbo, Joins.com. All rights reserved.
Top
[9] UK: A Question of gender, CTT threatened with discriminatory action
Top
Courtesy: "Claire Ashton" <claire@c-ashton.fsnet.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 20:33:46 -0000
OCR'd by Claire Ashton
CYCLING WEEKLY DECEMBER 14 2002 page 12 NEWS SECTION
A QUESTION OF GENDER
CTT THREATENED WITH DISCRIMINATORY ACTION
A female cyclist is threatening to take Cycling Time Trials to court over a
regulation she claims is „discriminatory, degrading and humiliating‰.
Claire Ashton, of Wrekinsport Cycling Club, has undergone gender
reassignment. She told Cycling Weekly that Regulation 10 of the CTT,
formerly known as the Road Time Trials Council, contravenes the Sex
Discrimination Act.
Regulation 10 states that competitors „must ride in the category relating to
their gender at birth‰, with an exception for those who have undergone
gender reassignment. Riders who have undergone the procedure are required to
provide medical proof of gender reassignment and undergo a physical
examination by a doctor appointed by the CTT. Ashton states that this
constitutes a breach of privacy.
Ashton told Cycling Weekly „I want to ride time trials and I feel inhibited
in doing so. I‚m a woman and I want to race as a woman.‰
She is refusing to undergo the tests, and is waiting to hear from the CTT as
to whether she will be allowed to compete. If the court case goes ahead, it
could cost the CTT up to £15,000.
Phil Heaton, national secretary of the CTT, told Cycling Weekly that they
were taking legal advice on the matter.
„We don‚t want to break the law, and we want to be fair to everybody,‰ he
said. „Regulation 10 is in place in order that people who have undergone
gender reassignment can compete, and we will be enforcing it unless it is
proved to be outside the law. There is also an appeals procedure in place
under CTT regulations,‰ he continued.
At the recent CTT AGM, a motion proposing that regulation 10 be amended to
allow cyclists to compete only in the category of their gender at birth was
dropped from the agenda.
Top
[10a] USA: Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Success
Top
Source: Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Date: December 9, 2002
Item: Press Release
Event largest multi-venue transgender event ever.
The 4th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, held November 20th, 2002,
was an event on a scale never before seen in the transgender community.
In over 90 different locations across the world, transgendered people
and their supporters took a stand against anti-transgender violence.
Events were held in eight different countries - Australia, Canada,
Chile, France, Israel, Italy, Spain, and the United States. In the US
alone, events could be found in 31 states and the District of Columbia,
stretching across the country from Massachusetts to California.
Several key locations held events this year, including 9 of the 10 most
populace cities in the United States, over half the areas where an
anti-transgender murder took place in 2002, and 8 of the 9 "most
dangerous" cities according to the statistics presented via the
Remembering Our Dead web site.
There were nearly four times as many events as in 2001, with growth
being seen mostly in the number of High Schools, Colleges, and
Universities hosting activities. Over half of this years' events were
held on school campuses, leading to new and unique ways of getting the
message across. Some schools opted to present chalk outlines of
transgender victims around their school, while Wesleyan College took on
one of the most contentious of locations -- the restroom -- making the
men's and women's rooms on their campus gender neutral for the day, and
papering the walls of these place with slogans and information about the
needs of the transgendered.
The involvement at the International level was notable this year as
well. Italian transgender activists joined forces to host events in four
different cities, and got the largest labor union in Italy to note the
event on their site. Perth, Australia and three locations in Canada
represented the British Commonwealth, and even a small group of
transgendered people in Tel Aviv took a moment to remember those we've
lost at the hand of anti-transgender violence and prejudice.
This was also an event that brought together a number of organizations.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance has long been a project of Gender
Education & Advocacy (www.gender.org), but the Gay and Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation, Female to Male International, the National
Transgender Advocacy Coalition, and the National Consortium of LGBT
Educators in Higher Education also lent a hand in making the event a
success in 2002. Even old foes of the transgender movement, the Human
Rights Campaign, noted the Day of Remembrance on their web site.
Given that 2002 also has been one of the worst on record for these sorts
of violent acts, it was only fair that the turnout was this high. As of
the day of the event, 27 people had been reported killed since the
previous Transgender Day of Remembrance. 13 of those deaths were in the
United States, with the most recent being that of Gwen Araujo. She was
beaten and strangled to death at a house party in Newark California.
For more information on the Remembering Our Dead project and the Day of
Remembrance, see www.rememberingourdead.org
A project of Gender Education & Advocacy.
Top
[10b]USA: California In Her Own Words - Day of Remembrance in San Jose
Top
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002
From: "tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>"
<tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>
Source: OutNow (GLBT monthly, San Jose area)
Author: Shelly Prevost, Silicon Valley Transgender Community
URL: http://www.outnowmag.com/dectext2002.html#Anchor-IN-18116
On Nov. 20 the transgender community held its 4th Annual Day of
Remembrance (DoR) for transgender hate crime victims. This is a
special day that honors the people who died of transgender hate
crimes since the previous years DoR. There were fifteen national and
twelve international deaths this year. DoR started four years ago
when Rita Hester, a transgendered, San Francisco woman, was murdered.
The murder is still unsolved. Transgender murders often go unsolved
and are usually ignored by the media. A small group of Rita's friends
got together and held a vigil. From this the DoR has grown into an
international event that is held in four countries and over 70 sites.
The victims being remembered can be gay and/or transgender or
straight and/or transgender. The focus is on why they were murdered.
DoR is about gender expression not sexual orientation. Because gender
expression is visible it is common for transgender people to be the
target of hate crimes. Police crime statistics fail to differentiate
between transgender and gay hate crimes. Hence we keep our own
statistics.
It is also on this day that we disseminate information about our
community to help educate the public. With the outrageously poor
media coverage of the Gwen Araujo murder public education has never
been more important. Even Sylvia Gurrerro's lawyer, Gloria Allred, in
her speech at the Newark vigil, managed to insult many in her
audience with her poor understanding and insensitivity of the
transgendered community. We still have a very big job ahead of us to
educate not only a predominately heterosexual society but also the
Gay community in how to speak about transgendered victims in a
respectful fashion.
The evening of the 20th was very emotional. Michael Fletcher
addressed the audience and related his experiences in prosecuting the
Alina Barragan case. Alina was a transgendered 19 year old San Jose
resident, who died at the hands of Kozi Scott three years ago.
Michael Barragan, Alina's brother, got up and spoke out against
violence and about his love for his sister. Aunt Fran, the recently
transitioned DJ that was formerly on KOME and KFOX, connected well
with the audience in relating her experiences . Siggi ( Rebecca
Bernstien-Croft ) sang a beautiful original song she wrote for the
event. A Gwen Araujo Memorial Video was shown, that showed footage of
Sylvia Guerrero speaking out against violence, Gwen's funeral,
marches and vigils. The 27 names of the victims were read next by
Dana Rivers. A candle was lit for each one. Michael Barragan and
family lit a special candle for their sister Alina. Rev. Denis Moore
gave a moving benediction. We then closed the ceremony singing, "Let
there be Peace on Earth" in a solemn candle lit room.
DoR happens every year and is not focused on a particular person. We
were here before all the media coverage and we will still be here
after it goes away. I was very moved to see the enormous support for
the transgender community. It is my hope that this energy will
translate in a positive and long lasting change in our society. ON
Top
[10c]USA: California-- Never Forget - Transgender Day of Remembrance in Los Angeles
Top
Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 2
From: "tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>"
<tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>
Source: Frontiers Magazine(GLBT, Los Angeles based)
Author: Christopher Lisotta
http://la.frontiersweb.com/w_current/news6.htm
Date: Dec. 20, 2002
Title: Never Forget;
Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorializes and Inspires
AP/FAMILY PHOTO
(caption) Gwen Araujo's Oct. 3 hate-related murder was on everyone's
mind during the Day of Remembrance memorial.
"I have grief because California has seen the most of these murders,
and I have even more grief because they are not killed once, but
killed twice, by a media that will not let us be who we choose to be."
--Masen Davis of the FTM Alliance
With the death of Northern California transgendered teen Gwen Araujo
still firmly planted in many minds, more than 100 people took part in
the Los Angeles-area Day of Remembrance event as a way to mourn the
loss of the more than 20 people killed in 2002 simply for being
transgendered.
Now in its fourth year, the Day of Remembrance began after the murder
of Rita Hester of Boston in 1998. Like many transgender murders,
Hester's attackers have never been caught. A San Francisco group
started the "Remembering Our Dead" Web site soon after, and in 1999
held its first candlelight vigil. So as not to interfere with
Thanksgiving holidays in the U.S., the Day of Remembrance is now
observed on Nov. 20.
In Los Angeles, a service was held at West Hollywood's Metropolitan
Commu-nity Church. In total, more than 80 cities in seven countries
held Day of Remembrance events. In Perth, Australia, one group
sponsored a dinner vigil and an anti-violence roundtable. In Tucson,
Ariz., another group held a silent march, and in Washington, D.C.,
activists and mourners met at the reflecting pool on the Mall.
"These are the martyrs," said the Transgender Resource Center's
Cassandra Ramirez, one of the evening's organizers, pointing at the
names of the transgendered who died over the past year, which scrolled
by on a big screen. "I don't think I should be sad for them. I feel
sadness for their families."
"The names go on and on and on," said Masen Davis of the FTM Alliance.
"I just keep wondering how many more names I'll see on that list. I
have grief because California has seen the most of these murders, and
I have even more grief because they are not killed once, but killed
twice, by a media that will not let us be who we choose to be."
Davis referred to a theme heard throughout the evening when he brought
up the media. A number of activists and groups have been critical of
the media's portrayal of Gwen Araujo, who was often described as a
"cross-dresser" and as a "man pretending to be a woman." In
particular, many groups were offended that Araujo was described in the
mainstream press using male pronouns.
Other speakers spoke of the challenges within the LGBT community, and
how losses in the transgendered world appear to be treated differently
than when a gay man or lesbian woman is attacked. Considering the
scope of the memorial service, speaker Maria Roman wondered why more
gays and lesbians didn't come to share their outrage. "I call to all
the people who are not here, Are we being hypocritical calling it an
LGBT community?" she asked. "Should we claim the 'T' back?"
West Hollywood Sheriff's Station Capt. Lynda Castro also attended the
service and added her support, and the support of the L.A. County's
Sheriff's Department. "I feel honored to have been asked to be here
tonight," she said. "It's very important from a sensitivity
perspective, but also out of respect that you feel as loved and
especially protected as anybody else."
In a statement in honor of the Day of Remembrance printed in the
evening's program, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Executive Director
Elizabeth Birch noted how far we have come, but also how far we have
to go. "This year alone, 10 cities extended discrimination laws to
cover their transgender citizens, including Chicago, Boston,
Philadelphia, New York and Dallas," she wrote. "More than 56
jurisdictions now have such laws, compared to only 13 in 1995."
Public opinion also seems to be changing. According to a recent HRC
poll, 61% of Americans believe that the country needs laws to protect
transgendered people from discrimination, and 68% believe that we need
laws to protect against anti-transgender hate crimes. But 57% also
incorrectly believe that transgendered people can't be fired legally
because of their gender identity and expression.
In a sign of that change, the West Hollywood memorial became a
candlelight march. The crowd walked down Santa Monica Boulevard to the
Matthew Shepard Human Rights Triangle to dedicate a site for an
eternal memorial of remembrance of transgendered lives lost.
"I hope our names aren't on here," Ramirez said, "but I don't fear
that. That's my reality."
Copyright © 1996-2002 Mercury Capital Publishing, Inc.
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[10d] USA: Ohio--Goodale Park vigil (in Ohio) honors victims of anti-TG violence
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Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 23:11:45 -0000
From: "tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>"
<tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>
Source: Gay Peoples Chronicle (GLBT weekly, Ohio)
Author: Kaizaad Kotwal
http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories02/02dec6.htm#story7
Date: Dec. 6, 2002
Columbus--Sixty people gathered around the Goodale Park gazebo
November 20 to remember people murdered in acts of anti-transgender
violence.
They joined groups in 35 other cities nationwide, marking the third
annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. The events were intended to
raise public awareness of and spark discussion about violence against
transgender people.
The Columbus vigil brought out twice as many lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender people and supporters as last years' event, mainly
because the weather was better.
The event began with members of the MCC choir leading the crowd in
singing a few songs of protest and solidarity, including Bob Dylan's
"Blowing in the Wind" with a special verse written for transgendered folk.
Katheryn Kereluik, whose partner Dawn Kereluik is transgendered, noted
that the two of them became victims of transphobic violence.
Accompanied by Dawn and two children, Kereluik told of a July 11
incident in which a neighbor and two others beat her and Dawn in their
front yard.
The past year has been particularly tragic, with the October 3 death
of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo in Newark, California bringing the toll to
26 killings since last year's Day of Remembrance. The number of
victims has doubled in 2002 from the previous year. Kereluik said that
much of the increase in victims had to do with greater reporting of
hate crimes and not necessarily with an increase in violence.
Kereluik argued that naming the victims was important.
"By our naming them," she said, "we resurrect them and give their
lives meaning. By our naming them, we acquire the power to change and
educate the world."
Gloria McCauley, executive director of the Buckeye Region
Anti-Violence Organization, said that it was important to understand
that "LGBT people are attacked not because of who they are but because
of the hate and ignorance."
"When we say that someone was attacked because they are
transgendered," she continued, "we take the blame for what the hateful
people are doing. It's the hate that kills. Let's put the blame where
it belongs, not on the victims or the survivors, but on the perpetrators."
McCauley also said that she was aware that she was sounding like a
"stuck record" by repeating over and over for the past twelve years
that, "We need to start speaking out, we need to start letting people
know what is happening."
"In the name of all those who cannot speak for themselves," she
concluded, "let us not be silent."
Chuck Gurney, openly gay weatherman with WSYX Channel 10, spoke about
his ex-partner of ten years in Buffalo, New York, who was the victim
of a hate crime.
"The only reason his perpetrator was caught," Gurney explained, "was
because he reported the crime."
Referring to lit candles floating in the pond behind the gazebo where
the vigil was being held, Gurney asked the crowd to "reflect on the
candles in honor of the spirits prematurely extinguished."
A few members of the crowd came up to the podium and gave
testimonials. Well-known drag performer Vivi Velure spoke about the
brutal murder of "my friend and fellow drag queen Brazon."
Brazon, whose given name was Gary McMurty, was murdered in Columbus on
May 17 of this year.
The Columbus vigil was organized by BRAVO, the National Organization
for Women, Stonewall Columbus, the Ohio State University Gay Lesbian
Bisexual and Trasngendered Student Services Office, the Crystal Club,
TransMission and other concerned community members.
For more information about the National Transgender Day of
Remembrance, see www.gender.org/remember/day/.
© 2002 KWIR Publications
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[11]MEXICO: Baja City Can't Skirt This Issue
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Source: Los Angeles Times
Author: Anna Gorman
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tecate26nov26.story
Date: November 26, 2002
Tecate's ban on male cross-dressing gets a mixed response. One result
has been a surge in gay pride.
TECATE, Mexico - This city may be minutes from cosmopolitan San Diego
and just over the Mexican border, yet life moves as slowly as a colonial
village and residents hold tight to their traditions. The town's central
square fills each afternoon with young couples holding hands, old
friends playing dominoes and farmers in cowboy hats lounging on park
benches.
Just off the square, however, Saidi's Salon breaks with both history and
tradition. Inside on a recent day, Ruben Obregon chatted with customers,
his tight brown blouse fitted at the waist and his jeans laced up to the
knees. Jose Alberto Villagomez - black locks in a shoulder-length bob
and red shirt coming only to his belly - trimmed and styled a longtime
customer's hair.
But now Tecate's city council has approved an ordinance that could make
the way Obregon and Villagomez dress a crime. The one-sentence law,
approved last month, translates: "Men dressed like women in public who
are disturbing the peace can be cited for a lack of morals." The
ordinance is designed to reassert the city's traditional values, protect
children and, according to its authors, curtail the sort of promiscuous
lifestyle that they worry could contribute to the spread of AIDS.
Suddenly, men who had felt a measure of acceptance and some comfort in
this conservative town say they feel threatened. Under the law, they can
be arrested, fined $50 and jailed for two days - as they see it, simply
for being who they are.
Activists throughout the region have attacked the ordinance as not only
vague - failing to specify what constitutes cross-dressing - but grossly
unfair in suggesting that men who dress in untraditional ways are a
social and public health threat.
City officials say police officers will make the judgment calls required
by the ordinance: Do painted nails, pierced ears and makeup constitute
"dressing like a woman," or do only a dress or skirt justify an arrest?
And what is necessary to show that peace has been disturbed?
At least one city councilman believes cross-dressers should be arrested
if they are kissing in public or talking to young people
"inappropriately" - for example, standing too close to them.
Advocates for the cross-dressers - including gay community leaders on
both sides of the border - say the law has had a silver lining, bringing
attention to their issues as never before.
Twenty years ago, most cross-dressers rarely left their houses for fear
of being beaten up or harassed, said Saidi Garcia, owner of the hair
salon. But this month, they were able to dress in drag and march
peacefully through town, even drawing vocal support for their cause.
"We are in our element now," he said. "We are not so repressed. The
culture is more open and we are more united." The controversy in Tecate
started this spring, when Mayor Juan Vargas heard from a local doctor
that one cross-dressing man reportedly tested positive for HIV. Vargas
and the city council drafted the new ordinance, which passed, 9 to 2,
with one abstention.
"We don't want AIDS in Tecate," said councilman Cosme Cazares Burgueno.
"The government has an obligation to protect its people. That's the
reason we have to take these measures."
Cazares said that he doesn't have anything against gays and that the
ordinance could be used to cite others, including men who disguise
themselves as women to commit robberies. Councilwoman Sonia Chavez
Aguilar said the ordinance should help cut down on gay street
prostitution and remove a bad influence for children.
"That's not what I'd like my kids to see," Chavez said. "It's immoral."
Chavez said she would also like to make gays take regular blood tests
and carry health cards. Councilman Jose Carlos Perez Perpuly tried to
convince his colleagues that Mexican law does not let local governments
infringe on the right of free expression. He called "absurd" the
argument that the ordinance will cut the spread of AIDS.
"The resolution doesn't achieve anything," he said, shaking his head.
"It doesn't solve the public health problem. We can't repress a group of
citizens that is part of our town. We have the responsibility to secure
the rights of all citizens."
The local chapter of the state human rights office opposes the ordinance
and plans to challenge it in court as unconstitutional.
Tecate's gay activists say their community includes perhaps 30
cross-dressers, but midriff tops and brightly painted nails are a
glaring contrast with the routine attire of most men: worn jeans and
work boots.
Hairstylist Villagomez said city leaders are using AIDS and public
health as a pretext to apply the ordinance. "This is a homophobic law
from the last century," said Villagomez, a 26-year-old man who plucks
his eyebrows and wears earrings and, occasionally, women's clothes. To
fight against the ordinance, Obregon and several friends formed the
Rainbow Gay Pride Group, which now has a membership of about 40. They
delivered a petition to City Hall and twice in two weeks staged protest
marches unlike anything ever seen in the rural town.Dozens of men
wearing tight skirts and high-heeled boots paraded through town during
the most recent rally this month. Among the 200 marchers were residents
of Tijuana, Mexicali and San Diego, city officials said.
The new ordinance has divided this city of about 80,000, which is
surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards and is perhaps best known for
the beer that bears its name. Beatriz Lopez, a waitress at Cafe Los
Pinos in the main square, said she thinks the law and a new curfew for
youths are making Tecate a better place to live and visit. Antonio
Carrillo, 74, however, looked up from a game of dominoes to say that the
law is crazy and that men should be allowed to dress as they wish.
For Obregon, 38, there have always been stares and occasional name
calling about his appearance. But in the last few weeks he has been
arrested three times. The first time, he paid a $20 fine and was
released. He said officials from the city's human rights office helped
free him after the other arrests.
Earlier this month, Obregon went on a local radio program to raise
awareness about the dispute and to say that more should be done to
educate the public about HIV and AIDS. Tecate's gays say they know it
won't be easy to get the town leaders to reverse their decision, but
that they will keep fighting.
"We are in a macho culture," Obregon said. "We have advanced, but very
little. We knew, with a march, we weren't going to win the battle. We
have to keep fighting."
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[12] UK: The Human Rights Award 2002 awarded to Dr Stephen Whittle
Top
http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/events/human-rights-awards/index.shtml
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
LIBERTY
21 Tabard Street
London SE1 4LA
Tel: 020 7403 3888
Fax: 020 7407 5354
info@liberty-human-rights.org.uk
Human Rights Awards 2002
On Tuesday 10 December 2002, UN International Human Rights Day, Liberty and
JUSTICE honoured the 2002 winners of our prestigious annual Human Rights
Awards.
The Awards honour the dedication and achievement of those campaigners and
lawyers who have made an exceptional contribution to protecting and
promoting rights and freedoms. They are organised in association with the
Law Society Gazette, with additional sponsorship from the General Council of
the Bar and the Institute of Legal Executives.
Writer and journalist Sheena McDonald hosted the awards this year, with
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC delivering the keynote speech.
2002 - Special Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award - the Hon Mrs Justice Cox QC
The award recognises her commitment to the protection of equality and human
rights - in particular her achievements in securing rights for transsexual
people, notably through te case of Goodwin & I v UK at the European Court of
Human Rigts this year. In October 2002, Laura Cox QC became only the seventh
female High Court judge.
Judges' Award - Christopher Digby-Bell
A special Judges' Award was presented to Christopher Digby-Bell, the
honorary legal adviser to the Down's Syndrome Association, for his
innovative and unique project teaching children with learning difficulties
about the law, justice and their rights.
2002 - Annual Awards
Human Rights Lawyer of the Year 2002 awarded to Richard Meeran (Leigh Day &
Co)
For his commitment to protection of workers' rights to decent working
conditions and a safe environment, through ensuring access to justice for
workers injured by UK multinational corporations abroad. This year alone his
work has ensured that 7,500 South African miners receive compensation for
suffering sustained while working for Cape. UK multinationals can now be
held to account for injuries to workers and damage to the environment in
developing countries.
The Peter Duffy Award 2002 (Young Human Rights Lawyer of the Year) awarded
to Monira Hussain, Inesons Solicitors
For outstanding personal and professional commitment to helping secure basic
rights for Asian women, asylum seekers and young offenders. She has done
extensive community and legal work and, through lobbying in Bangladesh, has
highlighted the rights of women prisoners and those prevented from joining
their families in the UK. She has worked to bring about positive change in
the community since she was 15 - setting up an organisation for Asian women,
working as a human rights and immigration adviser and now working as a
trainee solicitor.
The Human Rights Award 2002 awarded to Dr Stephen Whittle, Press for Change
For commitment and dedication to ensuring the advancement of rights for
transsexual people in the UK, Europe and around the world through judicial
means, most recently in the Court of Appeal Case of A & The Chief Constable
of West Yorkshire Police. An academic at Manchester Metropolitan University,
he co-founded Press for Change in 1992.
More information on the winners is available from Liberty.
The awards judges were:-
- Jonathan Ames, Editor of the Law Society Gazette,
- David Bean QC, Chairman of The General Council of the Bar,
- Anthony Robinson, Legal Director of the Commission for Racial Equality,
- Sir Nicolas Bratza QC, European Court of Human Rights,
- Diane Burleigh, Secretary General of the Institute of Legal Executives,
- The Honourable Lady Justice Hale, Court of Appeal,
- Carolyn Kirby, President of the Law Society,
- Bob Nightingale, Law Centres Federation,
- Roger Smith, Director of JUSTICE,
- John Wadham, Director of Liberty,
- Lord Woolf QC, Lord Chief Justice
For more information:
zoeg@liberty-human-rights.org.uk
Liberty Events Manager
Top
MEDIA WATCH
[13a]USA : Arizona --Sex change surgeon relocating to Arizona
Top
The Associated Press
Dec. 12, 2002
SCOTTSDALE - One of the nation's 20 doctors specializing in sex change operations plans to open a practice in Arizona next month, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Dr. Toby Meltzer, who is now in Portland, Ore., would be the first physician in Arizona to specialize in gender reconstruction surgery, according to the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. The group is a professional organization devoted to issues involving transsexuals.
Local experts and members of the Phoenix area's transsexual community told the East Valley Tribune that Meltzer will be a boon to the state medically, socially and politically.
John Thorne, co-chairman of Transgender Harmony, a referral, support and educational group that meets in Tempe, said Meltzer's presence will mark an opening of acceptance for the stigmatized transgender community.
"In a political sense this is a plus for the transgender community to have this doctor who does exceptionally good work relocate to Phoenix considering the conservativeness and religiousness of this state," Thorne said. "For the community to accept this kind of surgery is great - it shows an openness and forward-thinking."
Dr. William Leighton, president of the Arizona Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and a Scottsdale plastic surgeon, said Meltzer's arrival means more access to the procedure for those who need it.
Now, the closest center that offers the surgery is in Denver.
Meltzer's office wouldn't comment on his relocation when contacted Thursday by The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2002 Tucson Citizen
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[13b] Sex Change Doctor
Top
http://www.12news.com/headline/SexChange121202.html
Thursday, December 12, 2002
One of the few doctors in the nation specializing in sex change operations
reportedly plans to open a practice in Scottsdale next month.
He is Portland plastic surgeon Doctor Toby Meltzer. He is reportedly one of
just 20 doctors in the country to specialize in such operations.
Word of his opening a Scottsdale practice comes from the Harry Benjamin
International Gender Dysphoria Association. The group is a professional
organization devoted to issues involving transsexuals.
The group says Metzler would be the first physician in Arizona to specialize
in gender reconstruction surgery.
Meltzer's office wouldn't comment on his relocation when contacted by The
Associated Press.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2002 KPNX-TV, a division of Multimedia Holdings Corporation
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[14] USA San Francisco --Chron Pushes Transgender Agenda
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By the ChronWatch Founder, Jim Sparkman
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
The Traditional Values Coalition notes the Chronicle's promotion of as sorts of transgender info in an apparent attempt to make it all seem ''normal.'' They also link the ChronWatch article on the subject by Cinnamon Stillwell.
Summary: The San Francisco Chronicle is doing its part to promote the normalization of cross-dressers, drag queens, and transsexuals&emdash;known collectively as "transgenders." These sexually confused individuals need professional treatment but now they're the new ''victim class'' in the ever-growing homosexual movement.
The San Francisco Chronicle is doing all it can to promote the normalization of cross-dressers, drag queens, and transsexuals&emdash;known collectively as ''transgenders.'' The Chronicle has been running a series of articles describing the trauma of sexually confused teens ''coming out'' to their parents as transgenders.
The newspaper recently ran an article about ''Jack Thompson,'' formerly known as ''Devin Thompson,'' a sexually confused girl who thinks she's a boy. Devin first informed her parents that she was a lesbian and then decided she was actually a boy and wanted to be called ''Jack.''
In an editorial titled ''A Sad, Familiar Tale,'' the paper sides with Rosalyne S. Montgomery of Transgenders United for Equality. Montgomery says that the public schools are the best way for transgenders to advance their cause. Children, says Montgomery should have freedom of thought and freedom of gender expression. This means that schools must allow boys to think they're girls and girls to think they're boys. It also means that individuals who think these teens are mentally ill will be punished for having such ''intolerant'' thoughts.
The transgender movement is gaining strength, of course, because most mainstream media outlets have been co-opted by homosexual activists. Any new sexual deviation is fine as long as it is being promoted by homosexuals.
To read more about this travesty, go to: http://www.chronwatch.com/editorial/contentDisplay.asp?aid=802
Read TVC's Special Report on the transgender movement, "A Gender Identity Disorder Goes Mainstream" at: http://traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=19
The link for the article is at:
http://traditionalvalues.org/print.php?sid=614
Other Info & Links:
• Posted by: the ChronWatch Founder, Jim Sparkman
• Category: Chron Critiques & Commentary
Posted Reader Comments:
There are 23 comments posted for this page. Add yours below!
* Uneducated Editor Fears Thought Police, from a ChronWatch Reader
11/22/2002 2:58:02 AM
""as sorts of transgender info?" No real newspaper would hire Mr. Sparkman, who doesn't even bother to proofread his own opinions before publishing. "...they're the new ''victim class'' in the ever-growing homosexual movement." If its ever-growing I guess you'll join someday, eh, Jim? No, they're v..." Read more...
* BRAIN MAY DETERMINE SEX, NOT GENITALS, from a ChronWatch Reader
11/21/2002 4:26:04 PM
"OUR brains could be hard-wired to be male or female long before we begin to grow testes or ovaries in the womb. This discovery might explain why some people feel trapped in a body that's the wrong sex, and could also lead to tests that reveal the true "brain sex" of babies born with ambiguous genita..." Read more...
* SCI-contribution, from XXY
11/21/2002 2:10:41 PM
"Many transgender people say that they feel as if they are trapped in the body of the wrong sex. Now, there is biological evidence in the brain that lends credence to those feelings. The research was published in the May issue of the esoteric Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Dr. Fr..." Read more...
* XXY is not hermaphrodite/intersexual, from a ChronWatch Reader
11/21/2002 2:08:51 PM
"Just to make that clear!"
* MY FRIEND IS TRANSGENDERED, AND HAVE XXY CHROMOSOMES, from XXY
11/21/2002 2:06:55 PM
"BUT HAS A VAGINA.....WHAT GENDER YOU CONSIDER HER? WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE CHROMOSOMICAL SEX, THE GENITAL SEX, OR GENDER IDENTITY?"
* I AM TRANSGENDERED, I HAVE XXY CHROMOSOMES, from XXY
11/21/2002 2:03:35 PM
"My Chromosomes are XXY, I have a penis. What gender you consider me?"
* ASSUMING THAT EVERYBODY THAT DOESN'T AGREE WITH YOUR HATE, IS GAY OR TRANSGENDER IS FALLACIOUS, from Looney
11/21/2002 1:53:19 PM
"As it don't make you more of a man, advocating oppression to other people, advocating for equality! Or you feel more manly spewing ignorance and bigotry against other people, whether gay or trans, to use them as your pedestal? "
Copyright © 2002 ChronWatch. All rights reserved.
[15] More Than Just Cross-Dressing: Identifying the Transgender Market Top Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 From: "Mrs. Petra Henderson <petrahenderson@yahoo.com>" <petrahenderson@yahoo.com> In transgendernews@yahoogroups.com, "transgender_news <terisa_gibson@h...>" <terisa_gibson@h...> wrote: This article is a nominee for GLAAD's "Oustanding Digital Journalism Article" award. Source: DiversityInc Author: Kipp Cheng http://www.donnarose.com/DiversityInc_101702.htm Date: Oct 17, 2002 When Donna Rosen interviewed for her current position as an IT specialist and project manager at Dell, one of her first concerns was shopping for the perfect outfit for the meeting. Rosen wanted to wear something that would project confidence and professionalism, but also would reflect her outgoing personality and personal style. She settled on an understated black dress and matching suit jacket. The interview went off without a hitch and Rosen was offered a job. Worrying about the selection of the right attire was more than mere pre-interview jitters. For Rosen -- who is a male-to-female transsexual person -- it was the first time she had ever interviewed for a new position as a woman. Donna had spent more than 30 years of her life known as Dave. "A girlfriend coached me on how to behave during the interview," said Rosen. "Like not to look the male interviewer directly in the eyes for too long and to maintain the proper posture throughout the meeting. I was still growing into my new body." Rosen's situation may seem unique, since there's little data on how many people in the corporate sphere go through gender transitions in the workplace. However, said Rosen, who discussed her workplace transition last week on DiversityInc.com, her experience as a consumer reflects the kinds of issues those in the transgender market face in terms of finding products and services that cater to their special needs. "We joke that [discount-retailer] Ross Dress for Less should be renamed Ross Cross-Dress for Less because they carry a lot of women's clothing in larger sizes that we can wear," Rosen said. But it's no joke to consider the sometimes blatant hostility and discrimination that gender-nonconforming people -- those who do not present themselves as stereotypically male or female -- confront as consumers. Transgender-rights activists say much of this animosity from business owners against the transgender market comes out of misconceptions about gender-variant consumers. "We live in a binary world," said Jamison Green, author and transgender-rights activist. "People understand thing in terms of right or wrong, male or female. Things that they don't understand, they tend to put on the side of wrong." Mainstream society's lack of understanding of the transgender community and market is derived from the limited exposure to transgender people, through mostly unflattering or inaccurate portraits in the media or in advertising. Michael Wilke, executive director of the Commercial Closet, a Web site that tracks the portrayal of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes in mainstream advertising, said when transgender people are portrayed in advertising, it's frequently as the butt of jokes or as objects of fear or disgust. "There's a segment of mainstream advertising that uses cross-dressing not as a way to address transgender people, but it's usually straight men who throw on dresses with ulterior motives," Wilke said. He cited commercials for Bud Light and Dunkin Donuts that portray visibly masculine men in dresses as a vehicle for humor. "The implication is that [cross-dressing] is a bad thing." Wilke said the "shock and repulsion ads" that feature cross-dressing men are supplemented by media portrayals of cross-dressing males who overcome adversity "to teach straight people how to be straight. It's the tranny with a heart-of-gold scenario." Examples include the movies "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Flawless." Either way, the portrayals of gender-nonconforming people in U.S. media are incredibly limited. "When a friend told her family that she was transitioning from male to female, the first thing they asked was whether she was going to become a drag performer or a sex worker," said Rosen, who added wryly, "Those aren't exactly the most upwardly mobile professions." The notion that all transgender people are prostitutes and adult entertainers is not only false, said Dallas Denny, editor of Transgender Tapestry magazine, it disregards the reality that the transgender market -- like all emerging niche groups -- is comprised of people from all different walks of life. "Transgender people are literally doctors, school teachers, lawyers and even rocket scientists," Denny said. "Some have high-paying salaries and live lifestyles that are commensurate with their incomes. The segment of the U.S. population who are transgender is larger than most people might think because many [transgender people] are not out as such." Denny said although there is limited data on the total number of transgender people in this country, most research indicates that there are between 20,000 and 30,000 people in the United States who have elected to have sex-reassignment surgery. "Most of the studies are conducted by clinicians," Denny said, and therefore only count transsexuals who have opted for surgery. The overall transgender market, Denny added, is comprised of many people who never have surgery, as well as those people who identify as transgender because they live their lives in a gender-nonconforming way. "Plus, transsexuals are only a small part of the larger transgender community," Green added. The preoccupation that many people outside the transgender community have with genital surgery underscores the continuing misunderstanding about what it means to be transgender. According to statistics from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, data from smaller countries in Europe with access to total population statistics and referrals suggest that roughly 1 in 30,000 adult males and one in 100,000 adult females seek sex-reassignment surgery. (The figures are decades old, and there has not yet been any calculation of the total number of people who seek sex-reassignment surgery in the United States.) The challenge for the transgender market, then, is for marketers to identify this diverse group, which may not be possible given the changing nature of the market's definition, according to Katherine Sender, a professor of media studies at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications. "People don't really understand what transgender means," Sender said. "Partly because it's going through a very interesting period of fluidity in how it's defined. It's a group that potentially could include a lot of people." According to Green, the transgender umbrella covers people who present themselves as something other than their biological gender all the way to transsexuals. "The more education work I've done in the mainstream, more gay and lesbian people say to me, 'I'm not a transsexual and I never thought of myself as part of the transgender community before, but I'm beginning to realize all of the ways in which I am transgender,' " Green said. Sender said marketing to niche groups -- whatever its composition -- is always a tricky proposition, especially when their numbers cannot be easily defined. For the transgender market, in particular, the issue arises of whether a transgender person wants to be appealed to by a marketers not as the gender they were born with but as a transperson or as the gender with which they now identify. "If it's a person who was born female and has transitioned to being male identified, does he want to be appealed to as a man? Or does he want to be appealed to specifically as a transgender person? Or does he want to be appealed to as someone who has a political commitment to a fluid notion of gender?" Sender asked. "Given how much marketing is based on very strict categories -- you're either a man or a woman, you're 30-plus, you're Asian, or whatever -- niche marketing is about incredibly clear categories," Sender said. "That's one of the reasons that conceptualizing a bisexual or transgender market is incredibly hard. The very existence of these groups is based on very fluid notions of boundaries that most of us tend to keep very solid." Fluid definitions notwithstanding, some transgender-rights advocates believe the market, while still in its nascent stage, is becoming more clear. "The transgender market is essentially grouping together people who don't conform to gender stereotypes," said Chris Daley, an attorney and coordinator of the Transgender Law Project in San Francisco. "One way to think about the group is in a spectrum. At one end are people who may be perceived as being non-normative in their gender presentation -- an effeminate man or a masculine woman -- and on the other end is a transsexual person who has had sex-reassignment surgery." Daley said regardless of how the market and community are defined, it's critical to create a compassionate and supportive marketplace environment for all people in this emerging and frequently misunderstood group. But are there products and services that are specific to transgender consumers' needs? Denny conceded that there isn't any consumer research about spending behavior for transgender consumers. After all, there isn't such a thing as a transgender brand of soap or a transgender automobile. However, for Denny, therein lies the opportunity for marketers looking to reach a niche market. "Transgender people are like everyone else. They shop, they buy cars," said Denny. In terms of media catering to the transgender community, there are a handful of publications, notably Transgender Tapestry (which has a print run of about 12,000 issues), Transgender Community News, Ladylike and numerous Web sites that promote gender rights and equality, as well as create transgender communities on the Web. Denny said the publication of Transgender Tapestry is largely foundation supported and has yet to receive national advertising (the magazine is published by the International Federation for Gender Education). But there is an opportunity for marketers of specialized products, such as cosmetics, clothing and personal-care products, and services, such as plastic surgery and electrolysis, to reach an attentive audience for a fraction of the cost of general-market media. Those opportunities, as limited as they are, offer progressive marketers a chance to appeal to consumers who haven't yet been courted by virtually any other marketers. And in some ways, the growth of visibility of the transgender market over the past several years is similar to the emergence of the gay and lesbian market two or three decades ago. Sender said in order for the transgender market to gain understanding, it's a matter of increasing visibility, as the gay and lesbian community has done over the last few decades. "We may actually know many more transgender people than we realize, in the same way that people 20 or 30 years ago may have known a great deal more gay and lesbian people than they realize," Sender said. "Historically, transsexual people have been discouraged from outing themselves by the medical profession, as well as by the stereotype about themselves in this society that they simply do not want to confront," said Green. Still, for some transgender people, such as Rosen, identifying with the transgender market and community is an important step toward empowerment and self-discovery. "Some people totally reject their past lives," said Rosen. "Some [transsexual] people refer to the person in their past lives as being their brothers. I know people who make up entirely fictitious lives in order to escape from the truth. But I don't. I have nothing to hide. This is who I am." * * * * * © 2002 DiversityInc.com Top
LEGISLATIVE ACTION [16a]USA : New York State Gay Rights Bill Set for Vote Top Newsday.com - NY Gay Rights Bill Set for Vote http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stgay163047416dec16,0,6583480.sto ry?coll=ny%2Dstatenews%2Dheadlines By Andrew Metz ALBANY BUREAU December 16, 2002 Albany - For months, Larry Lane had been receiving enthusiastic praise as the New York regional manager of a nationwide floor covering company when he was summoned to a hotel lobby after a sales meeting and fired. "Let's just say you don't fit in," he was told by the same vice president who had been part of a chorus of compliments since he'd been hired two years earlier. Lane was assured the dismissal had nothing to do with his performance or work ethic. The reason, he concluded, was that executives at Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings Inc., had found out he was gay, and so he took the company to court to prove it, using a New York City law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. "If I had worked in almost any other city in New York State, or unfortunately, in almost any other state in this country, I would have absolutely no recourse," the Holbrook man told a congressional committee earlier this year. "I don't believe that my right to work without fear of harassment - or fear of being fired because of my sexual orientation - should depend on whether I live in a few limited areas that prohibit such discrimination." After three decades of opposition, New York's Republican-led Senate is scheduled to vote on a gay rights bill tomorrow that would amend state law to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment. If the Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Act passes, as many in Albany predict, Republican Gov. George Pataki has promised to sign it, making good on a campaign pledge. While advocates are anticipating the possible end of a long battle, many proponents of the legislation are acknowledging that the victory may be more symbolic than substantive until there is an overhaul of the agency meant to enforce the new law. "They don't have the resources to do the work they are supposed to do right now," said David Raff, an attorney for the New York branch of the National Organization for Women who sued the administrations of Pataki and former Gov. Mario Cuomo over backlogs and shoestring staffing at the Division of Human Rights. The 1994 NOW suit was thrown out of federal court in 2001 over jurisdictional issues. However, a lower court judge ordered the agency to hire staff and provide more funding to deal with a backup that at the time was more than 16,000 cases. The judge also ruled that the Pataki administration had improperly dismissed more than 5,000 cases to reduce the backlog inherited from the prior governor. "The problem is that people are led to believe that their rights will be protected through government enforcement," Raff said. "But it is a sham." Pataki has strenuously rejected such attacks, also levied by his Democratic rival, State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, who issued critical audits of the division and tried to make its performance a campaign issue. During his election bid, Pataki convinced the Senate to take up the legislation and won the backing of the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York's largest gay rights group. The claim that he gave short shrift to civil rights never stuck. "We are doing everything we can to change things around here," said Denise Ellison, a spokeswoman for the Division of Human Rights. She said that since the governor took office in 1995, the backlog has dropped to 8,223 cases. The agency's $18-million budget has increased by $5.5 million during Pataki's two terms, and even as other government agencies have been told to cut back in the face of a huge budget deficit, the governor's aides say the division will be afforded special dispensation. Ellison said that "obviously SONDA will have some impact on the division, but the extent of it is really hard to ascertain." In January, she said, the agency will be presented with a study on how the law will affect the stream of about 5,000 new cases a year. Despite this uncertainty and spotty history, there has been very little debate about the division's role in the new law. As a handful of other states and local jurisdictions in New York, including New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties, have passed their own anti-discrimination laws, critics of the division and gay rights advocates have deferred the enforcement issue and concentrated on overcoming conservative opposition. "It is a mixed blessing in relation to the human rights division," said Jeanne Bezko, the executive vice president of NOW's New York State chapter. "But we are hoping that the gay and lesbian community will be part of a broad coalition to pressure the governor to get moving on the human rights division and its inadequacies." Ross Levi, the Empire State Pride Agenda's legislative director, said the group plans on making the division's dysfunction a "political issue," once the law is passed. He said the measure will provide sure footing for lawsuits, which often result in bigger settlements than state action, anyway. Furthermore, the law itself, he said, will have a chilling effect on discriminatory behavior. "It is codifying a sentiment, a policy, that the people of the state of New York do not feel that sexual orientation is a legitimate ground to oppress someone," Levi said. "And that has value just as a statement." The Democratic-led Assembly has already passed the bill, as it has since the 1970s, and for the first time, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) is bringing it to a vote in a special session devoted to leftover legislation. Bruno, who has great influence over GOP senators, has refused to reveal his voting intentions, but he said recently, "I'm satisfied that this bill would not be a destruction in anyone's life, and it may be the time for it to be placed before the legislature and move on to other issues." Still, in the final hours, there has been fierce lobbying from Catholics, Orthodox Jews and the influential Conservative Party, whose leader has called support of the legislation a "betrayal." Despite top Republican calls to pass the bill, from Pataki to the state party chairman, some proponents worry that too few Republican senators will end up joining Democrats to pass the bill. There is also last-minute fissure among Senate Democrats, some of whom are urging that the bill be revised to include protections for members of the transgender community, as New York City recently did. Bruno has ruled out such a modification, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has said he has no intention of bringing his colleagues back into session before the new one begins next month. With one option on the table and unprecedented momentum, Lane and many other gays and lesbians see the current legislation as the best hope, whatever imperfections may persist. "The immediate future is so bleak on the federal level that the state legislation is all the more important," said Lane, 40, whose 1999 suit was recently settled out of court. "I've had so many people come up to me and thank me for taking a stand. So many people have not been able to do that and have had to continue to live in the workplace, day to day, in fear." -- © 2002, Newsday, Inc. Top
[16b] USA: New York State--Vote on sexual orientation bill could be landmark for Senate Top Newsday.com - Vote on sexual orientation bill... http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--lawmakersreturn1215dec15,0, 1893887.story?coll=ny%2Dap%2Dregional%2Dwire By JOEL STASHENKO Associated Press Writer December 15, 2002, 1:05 PM EST ALBANY, N.Y. -- This week's expected vote on a bill outlawing discrimination against homosexuals could be the most dramatic sign yet of the moderating politics of the Republicans who control the state Senate. Tuesday's scheduled consideration of the Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Act also fulfills a political promise Republicans made to the Empire Pride Agenda, the state's most influential gay and lesbian advocacy group. The organization endorsed Republican Gov. George Pataki for a third term in November after the Senate's Republican leader, Joseph Bruno, announced that he'd bring the anti-discrimination bill up for a vote. Pataki has promised to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The upcoming vote is something of a rarity in the 61-member Senate, where Republicans almost never bring measures to the floor without having enough votes among themselves to pass them. Republicans will almost certainly need at least a handful of Democratic votes to pass the anti-discrimination bill, however, because the most conservative GOP members will not vote for it. Republicans control the Senate by a 36-25 margin, with 31 votes needed for passage of bills. While Democrats have long favored the anti-discrimination legislation, the issue has become complicated in the past few years by sentiment within the gay community for prohibiting bias against transgenders at the same time it's outlawed against homosexuals. "I think it would have been more prudent to include everybody in this bill," said state Sen. Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat and the Senate's only openly gay member. "I am going to still fight to see if I can't get transgender inclusion in the bill." Transgenders range from people who dress in the opposite gender's clothing to those involved in the process of undergoing a sex change. Most are not homosexuals, but the gay community has embraced them because they are being "absolutely and terribly discriminated against," Duane said. Dean Spade, a staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center, said expanding the anti-discrimination measure to include transgenders would serve to protect many heterosexuals, too, such as a "masculine woman or a feminine man, a woman who refuses to wear a skirt at work, that kind of thing." "If you look at it that way, every single person in the state could be subject to discrimination," Spade said. The Democrat-controlled state Assembly has for years passed bills banning discrimination in the workplace, housing and public service based on sexual orientation, only to see the measures die in the Senate. If the Senate approves the measure this week, it would become one more example of movement to the center _ if not the left-of-center _ by the chamber's Republican majority. Also in the past few years, the Senate has passed legislation toughening penalties for "bias" crimes committed on the basis of a victim's race, sexual preference or other personal characteristics; required background checks for those purchasing firearms; and approved the widest expansion of casino gambling in the state's history. State Conservative Party leader Michael Long predicted that approval of the anti-gay bias bill would open the door to eventual adoption of other measures, such as the anti-bias bill against transgenders and the legalization of gay marriages. "This is more than a slippery slope, this is a fast sleigh ride for dumbing down the values of New York state," Long said. He also questioned how discriminated against homosexuals are in New York. "We have gay legislators, we have lesbian legislators," he said. "I believe the gay community is a fairly wealthy community. ... They are very successful in business, in the arts, in every walk of life." The Senate also plans to take up a bill Tuesday reducing from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent the blood alcohol level for an automatic driving-while-intoxicated conviction in New York state. While Assembly members plan to be in Albany early this week, Speaker Sheldon Silver repeatedly maintained that he had no plans to call his chamber into session. END © 2002, The Associated Press © Newsday, Inc. Top
HEALTH AND SCIENCE [17] Fighting weight gain while on HRT Most women gain 12 to 15 pounds while on hormone therapy Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Fighting weight gain while on HRT http://www.msnbc.com/news/778109.asp?0si=- Saturday, December 14, 2002 By Joan Starker, PhD, MSW WEBMD Estrogen therapy and menopause can both result in weight gain. Educating yourself about the changes going on in your body is the first step toward dealing with this problem. The opinions expressed herein are the guest's alone and have not been reviewed by a WebMD physician. If you have a question about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This event is meant for informational purposes only. Question: I recently started on a low-dose birth control pill for HRT, and it works great &emdash; stopping my night sweats and not being able to sleep immediately. But in the 30 days since I've been on HRT, I've gained 10 pounds. This is devastating to me. I have always struggled with my weight, and this is causing me great mental anguish. Is there an alternative? I am now willing to put up with the night sweats and terrible nights of sleep to return to my goal weight. Answer: The majority of women tend to gain weight during the menopause transition. In fact, some research conducted found that the average weight gain was about 12 to 15 pounds. Unfortunately, estrogen therapy can contribute as it may result in fluid retention. There is also a drop in metabolic rate and a change in body configuration, i.e. from pear to apple shaped. You might want to read "Fight Fat After Forty" by Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH. Joan Starker, PhD, MSW, a clinical social worker since 1970, has spent a major portion of her career helping individuals cope with normal life transitions such as midlife and menopause. A member of the North American Menopause Society, she is on the advisory board of the Oregon Menopause Network. WebMD content is provided to MSNBC by the editorial staff of WebMD. The MSNBC editorial staff does not participate in the creation of WebMD content and is not responsible for WebMD content. Remember that editorial content is never a substitute for a visit to a health care professional. -- © 2002 Top
[18] Epilepsy May Worsen in Some Women Taking Estrogen Top From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Yahoo! News - Epilepsy May Worsen in Some Wom... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=571&ncid=751&e=4&u=/nm/2002 1211/hl_nm/epilepsy_estrogen_dc Wed Dec 11, 1:51 PM ET SEATTLE (Reuters Health) - Some women with epilepsy report that estrogen-containing compounds, such as oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, seem to make their seizures worse, according to the results of two studies reported here this week at the American Epilepsy Society's 56th Annual Meeting. The results suggest that estrogen was implicated, although it is not conclusive, study author Pavel Klein of Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, told Reuters Health. "But if a doctor has a patient with epilepsy, it is worth inquiring whether the epilepsy has been sensitive to hormones. And if that is the case, then it may be worthwhile to be somewhat cautious about using estrogen-containing oral contraceptives," he said. In the first study, the researchers evaluated 142 women with epilepsy between the ages of 14 to 55. Roughly half of the women had never used oral contraceptives. Among those who did, the duration of usage ranged from 2 months to 14 years. "Approximately 20% of women had worsening of seizures when using estrogen-containing contraceptives," Klein said. "But the study couldn't pinpoint a specific type of estrogen because too many types were used to get any meaningful statistical analysis." Of the women who had used the Pill in the past, 22% did not remember the type or brand of contraceptive they had used. But 21% of those who used birth control pills containing estrogen said that their seizures had worsened. "Another interesting point of the study was that women who used long-term progesterone contraceptive methods, either injectable such as Depo-Provera or implantable like Norplant, did not have worsening of their seizures," explained Klein. "It may be wise to exercise a little more caution, and to think about using the Depo-Provera," he added. In the second study, Klein reported on two women with a history of seizures who experienced more seizures after they started using estrogen replacement therapy to treat menopausal symptoms. Conclusions can't be drawn from these two isolated cases, he said, but as with oral contraceptives, it may be worthwhile to be more cautious about using hormone replacement therapy if a patient has seizures that are susceptible to hormones. -- © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Top
[19]ITALY: Sex change possible in 1 surgery, some may opt out Top Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Health News: Lifeclinic.com http://www.lifeclinic.com/healthnews/article_view.asp?story=23355 Thursday, December 12, 2002 Last Updated: 2002-12-11 17:00:22 -0400 (Reuters Health) By Alison McCook NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Italian researchers have successfully performed a procedure that changes a woman into a man in one operation, a process that normally takes multiple surgeries to achieve. While the idea of one operation to achieve sex-reassignment is likely attractive to many, some argue that the benefits of the procedure are often outweighed by its costs, both literal and figurative. In the recent issue of the journal BJU International, Dr. C. Trombetta and colleagues from the University of Trieste in Italy describe operations during which they removed the breasts, ovaries and uterus of three women, then used tissue from their abdomens to fashion a penis. All of the steps in the complicated process of sex-reassignment were completed during one operation. The operations required two surgical teams, one to remove the patients' breasts, the other to remove their female sexual organs and to manipulate the skin to form a penis. The entire procedure lasted 6 hours, and patients returned home after 12 days in the hospital, with no major complications. The patients were apparently satisfied with the appearance of their new bodies--something not all patients who undergo sex-reassignment surgery report. The authors also describe a new procedure that fashions a penis out of the skin of a patient's abdomen, a variation on current techniques that take skin from other parts of the body. In an interview with Reuters Health, Denise Leclair, executive director of the International Foundation for Gender Education, who reviewed the article, said that there are many reasons why some people opting to go from female to male might want it all taken care of during one procedure. Often, she said, women are not permitted to receive the procedure until after they have dressed and acted--in short, lived--as a man for one year, during which they are often subject to prejudice and harassment. "It's nice to be able to get through this stuff as quickly as possible," she said. However, Leclair added that sex reassignment surgeries are often prohibitively expensive, and are not covered by insurance in the US. For instance, removing a patient's breasts costs approximately $6,000, while the procedure to fashion a penis out of the patient's own skin can run upwards of $100,000. And for some patients, that is too much money to put up all at once, Leclair said. Dean Kotula, the author of the new book "Phallus Palace" about the procedures used to change a woman's body into a man's, said that he believed taking skin from the forearm might suit patients better than taking it from the abdomen and other body regions. Parts of the forearm are more sensitive to touch than skin from other areas, he noted, and the forearm skin also bears a strong resemblance to that of a penis. Kotula added that in Europe, sex reassignment surgeries are much more common than in the US. As a result, he said, many European doctors are becoming experts at the technique while, in the US, only a few know the procedure. Consequently, a procedure like the one described in the current study is possible in the US, but assembling a team of American doctors to perform all parts of the surgery at once would be very difficult, Kotula said. "There's plenty of doctors that will do the mastectomy," Kotula said, referring to the breast removal portion of the surgery. "There's less than a handful that will perform the lower part of the surgery." He added that the entire female-to-male procedure can take a large psychological toll on the people who go through it, and those who can wait to change their bodies, emotionally speaking, may prefer to space out the procedures. People who wait may also benefit from new, as yet undiscovered technologies, which might give them a penis that would look and feel better than the procedures used now, Kotula said. SOURCE: BJU International 2002;90:754-757. © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. © 2002 Lifeclinic.com Top
[20]USA: Texas--Toy choice among boys, girls a matter of monkey business Top Toy choice among boys, girls a matter of monk... http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-12/tau-tca121002.php From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Public release date: 10-Dec-2002 Contact: Ryan A. Garcia rag@univrel.tamu.edu 979-845-4680 Texas A&M University COLLEGE STATION, December 10, 2002 &endash; Sure Santa Claus asks boys and girls what toys they want, but, why they want them is a better question. The answer may have to do with a biological pre-wiring that influences boys' and girls' preferences based on the early roles of males and females, says a Texas A&M University psychologist. It's commonly believed that boys and girls learn what types of toys they should like based solely on society's expectations, but psychologist Gerianne Alexander's work with vervet monkeys is challenging that notion. Alexander, whose research focuses on sex differences in behavior and the biological factors that influence them, examined the monkeys as they interacted with toys. She and her collaborator, Melissa Hines of the University of London, found that the monkeys' toy preferences were consistent along gender lines with those of human children. The study was published earlier this year in "Evolution and Human Behavior." Though the monkeys had no concept of a "boy" toy and a "girl" toy, they still showed the same gender preferences in playing with the toys, Alexander says. That is, compared to female monkeys, male monkeys spent more time with "boy" toys, and the female monkeys, compared to their male counterparts, spent more time with "girl" toys, she notes. "Masculine toys and feminine toys," Alexander says, "are clearly categories constructed by people. However, our finding that male and female vervet monkeys show similar preferences for these toys as boys and girls do, suggests that what makes a 'boy toy' and a 'girl toy' is more than just what society dictates &endash; it suggests that there may be perceptual cues that attract males or females to particular objects such as toys." In the experiment, Alexander says, male monkeys spent more time playing with traditional male toys such as a car and a ball than did female monkeys. The female monkeys, however, spent more time playing with a doll and pot than did the males. What's more, both male and female monkeys spent about the same amount of time with "gender neutral" toys such as a picture book and a stuffed dog. The implication is that what makes a "girl toy" and what makes a "boy toy" isn't just human society or stereotypes but rather something innate that draws boys and girls to different types of toys, she explains. Alexander believes her findings suggests that there are certain aspects of objects that appeal to the specific sexes and that these aspects may relate to traditional male and female functions dating back to the dawn of the species. She says the toys preferred by boys &endash; the ball and the car &endash; are described as objects with the ability to be used actively and be propelled through space. Though the specific reasons behind the monkeys' preferences have yet to be determined, she says, the preferences for these objects might exist because they afford greater opportunities for rough and active play &endash; something characteristic of male play. Also, the motion capabilities of the object could be related to the navigating abilities that are useful for hunting, locating food or finding a mate. Males, she says, may therefore have evolved preferences for objects that invite movement. On the other hand, females may have evolved preferences for object color, relating to their roles as nurturers, Alexander notes. A preference for red or pink &endash; the color of the doll and pot &endash; has been proposed to elicit female behaviors toward infants that enhance infant survival, such as contact. Alexander says that the stereotyping of toys in society probably unknowingly builds on these types of innate preferences. ### Contact: Gerianne Alexander, 979-845-2567 or via email: gam@psyc.tamu.edu or Ryan A. Garcia, 979-845-4680 or via email: rag@univrel.tamu.edu. Top
COMMENTARY The Last Time By Sheila Mink 12/16/02 Top When was the last time that you went to the grocery store, the cashier asked for your "store card", you gave it to them, and you were not given the discount because it did not state your height? When was the last time that you went to the library, the librarian asked for your library card, you gave it to them, and you were not permitted to check out a book because it did not show your weight? When was the last time that you went to a bar, the person at the door asked for your driver's license, you gave it to them, and you were not permitted to enter because you were too tall? When was the last time that you were arrested, the police asked for your driver's license, you gave it to them, and you had to wait while they called for an officer who had the same eye color as was stated on your license to frisk you? When was the last time that you went to a casino, went into the restroom, someone complained to the management that you were in the wrong restroom, they asked for your driver's license, you gave it to them, and they were apologetic when they saw that it confirmed your reason for being in that restroom? Can you see where I‚m going? I think that we are living in a society that wants to have more control over where we are permitted to spend our time! On the one hand, our country was founded upon the principles of life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness. Our forefathers left Europe to escape the intolerant attitudes that they were subjected to there. Yet, here we are, hundreds of years later, faced with these attitudes, only we are doing to ourselves! In Goins vs. Minnesota, the male-to-female transsexual defendant was not permitted to use the women's restroom at work, which was consistent with the gender that they were living full time, because they chose not to offer proof whether they were pre or post-operative! Had they been able to, and chosen to, prove that they were post-operative, they would have been permitted to use the women‚s restroom. So, said the Minnesota Supreme Court. I think that there are three main reasons that our driver's licenses have a sex designation on them: to know who should frisk us, to know which jail or prison cell to put us in, & to know which restroom we should use! Certainly, it stating that we are female or male does not indicate how well we drive! The current situation in Colorado, and some other states, where pre or non-operative transsexuals, who live full time in the gender role that is consistent with their mental-emotional self-image, are not permitted to change the sex designation on their driver's license looks as though the real intent is to restrict using a particular restroom to only those have been documented as having "all the right parts"! HUGS, Sheila Mink "In my opinion, the 1st step to a better world for all of us is to make more more aware!" --- Sheila Mink Top
Nation's transgenders watch New York State's human rights vote The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) Top For Immediate Release: Dated December 14, 2002 From: The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) Contacts: Robyn Walters, Seattle, Washington Chair, Vanessa Edwards Foster; Houston, Texas Contact Email: ntacmedia@aol.com media@ntac.org Contact Phone: 832-483-9901 360-437-4091
Website: http://www.ntac.org
New York's state legislature will reconvene on December 16, 2002 for a second try at voting through a pending Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA). As the session nears, the eyes of the nation's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersexed (GLBTI) community are focused on the SONDA vote in the third largest state in the union.
At issue is whether the bill submitted and enacted will be a fully inclusive equality bill submitted by Thomas Duane (D-New York), a non-inclusive bill submitted by Senate Speaker Joseph Bruno (R-Saratoga Springs) that leaves transgenders, intersexed and anyone of non-conforming gender presentation unprotected, or an amended, all-inclusive compromise.
While the favored bill is Senate Bill 720 (SB 720), sponsored by Sen. Bruno, the transgender community and its supporters have been vocal about working for a compromise, or considering Senate Bill 1985 (SB 1985), sponsored by Sen. Duane, which would include all New Yorkers.
Opposition to the current bill has been vehement from both arch-conservatives wanting no "special rights' legislation to segments of the queer community seeking to thwart legislation that leaves parts of the community as "pariahs without rights," according to the chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC), Vanessa Edwards Foster.
"I am always surprised how many people think anti-gay discrimination is no longer a problem," said Matt Foreman, the new executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA). "This is a myth."
In an optimistic December 10 editorial in the New York Blade, Foreman said that a successful vote on Sen. Bruno's SB 720 "can only be good for lesbians and gay men across the state. It will also be good for lesbians and gay men across the country."
Underscoring Foreman's sentiment was the recent firing of Jeanine Presa, a Senior Vice President at the financial investment firm Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds (ABP). She was a star-employee in her 3 years at ABP's New York office, but the Dutch firm's view of her allegedly changed immediately after her manager discovered Presa was a lesbian. Soon after, she was inexplicably terminated.
"In our society, we as Americans are discriminating towards each other," said Presa in an interview with NTAC. However, Ms. Presa and her partner, Denise Ives, have come out in support not of the ESPA / Sen. Bruno-sponsored bill, but for the all-inclusive SB 1985 sponsored by Sen. Duane.
"The action that Senator Tom Duane is taking in amending SONDA to be totally inclusive is extremely important to protect human rights for all," Presa stressed. "We need to take a step forward in unity," she added. "When I meet with Senator Duane this Monday, I will strongly urge him to vote against [Sen. Bruno's version of] SONDA."
"When it is time to vote as Americans, each vote counts regardless of your gender identity or expression."
ESPA, however, has weighed in supporting the bill on which they worked closely with Sen. Bruno. Admittedly the bill leaves out the transgender and intersexed community, as well as those gay and lesbian citizens that fall outside of the gender norms. Many in the transgender community wonder aloud whether 'a deal was struck with the devil', where for concessions, the GOP leadership would support the proposed bill at the expense of the most vulnerable portions of the community.
New York TransGender coalition (NYTG) and HousingWorks, Inc. (a charitable HIV/AIDS housing and support services organization that is one of the transgender community's most staunch supporters) are at the forefront of the criticism. NTAC has now added its voice to the chorus urging Sen. Bruno to "do the right thing" and pass legislation that covers all New York's citizens, not just handpicked segments.
As bad as discrimination is within the gay and lesbian community, it is much more abjectly so with those who fall outside of traditional gender norms. "Unemployment and discrimination are most rampant within the transsexual and intersexed population - two of the categories not covered under Senate Bill 720," said Foster of NTAC. "ESPA and Senator Bruno act as if we don't exist."
New York's Democrats have taken keen interest in what transpired between ESPA and the state's GOP legislators and are examining how this affects their relationship with the state's pre-eminent gay and lesbian civil rights group. In the governor's race, ESPA endorsed incumbent Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, and the state's Democrats have yet to overlook that.
The SONDA non-inclusion issue has turned into a divisive one within the queer community, and within the political alliances forged over the years. As New York State and the nation looks on, the legislators reconvene a week before Christmas to take another try at enacting equal rights. Will there be gifts in the holiday stockings? Or will there be lumps of coal for some citizens … or for all?
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Gwen Araujo - A Transsexual Martyr Roslyn L. Manley Top Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 02:44:52 -0000 From: "tgnews_moderator <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com>" <tgnews_moderator@yahoo.com> Source: Orange County and Long Beach Blade(GLBT monthly, Calif.) Author: Roslyn L. Manley http://www.metrog.com/headline/blade/1202/transitions.html Date: December, 2002 TRANSITIONS (Column) (photo) (caption)Gwen (Eddie) Araujo "The pain ... please don't hit me. I want to be loved, I want to be your friend. Nicole, why did you betray me? I am a girl! No! Don't stab me! Oh! You cut my face. I can't see ... where are you taking me? It hurts so much. Why are you laughing at me? No, don't! I can't breathe! I can't see! I can't hear you! I need air! Please ... Oh my God! The pain ... it hurts so much! Why are you hurting me? I AM a girl! Please don't laugh . . . Oh agony ... Blessed silence ... Peace ... quiet." Gwen, did you know you were going to die? Did you expect to become a martyr? Seventeen year old Gwen (Eddie) Araujo was murdered October 3 at a local party in Newark, Calif. She knew some of the people at the party, but it is not clear if they knew she was born male. Gwen had consumed a large quantity of beer and had anal sex with 24- year old Jose Merel, a boy she had a crush on. Perhaps she had sex with Jose's friend, 22-year old Michael Magidson. For some reason, Nicole Brown, Jose's brother's girlfriend, followed or took Gwen into the bathroom where she discovered that Gwen was biologically male. "It's a man," she yelled out. Gwen was knocked to the floor with her skirt pulled up. According to the police report, someone asked for a knife and 19-year old Jaron Nabors offered his pocket knife. Gwen was stabbed and slashed in the face. Jose and Michael then dragged the barely conscious girl to the garage where she was strangled with a rope. The boys later put her body in the back of Michael's truck and drove her into the mountains where she was buried in a shallow hole, still bound hand and foot. Everyone at the party must have known she was beaten, even if they didn't know she was murdered. The story of Gwen's death was told and retold until it gained the stature of an urban legend, having several different versions. One of the murderers told a friend about it out of remorse. That friend told another and it spread out for nearly two weeks before Gwen's family heard it and called the police who placed a concealed microphone on a friend of the alleged murderer. Nabors allegedly revealed details of the murder. Police arrested Jose Merel, 24, Michael Magidson, 22, and Jaron Nabors, 19, charging each with murder with a hate-crime enhancement. A fourth suspect is being sought. It had been apparent for years that Gwen (Eddie) Araujo was transsexual. S/he began wearing lipstick and nail polish in middle school, and had a fully feminine presentation in high school . . . when she went. She smiled and laughed as they taunted her - she didn't want them to know how much it hurt. She left high school for continuation school, but the taunting continued. Finally, she dropped out with plans to get a GED and dreams of becoming a Hollywood makeup artist. The system had failed Gwen. Raised in a single parent home, Gwen's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, loved and accepted her, but could not control Gwen - who regularly abused drugs and alcohol. Many nights she did not come home. Sometimes she was gone for a week or more. Gwen's mother and extended family accepted and loved her, but could her death have been averted had they supported visits to a gender specialist and enforced a family curfew? Why didn't the schools intercede as required under California Education Code Section 200, the Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act, that requires schools to protect students from harassment and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation? Why didn't the schools provide or recommend counseling? Why did the schools smile and pretend everything was normal? The family and system failed Gwen, who otherwise seemed to be an intelligent, friendly, and likable young lady. Their combined failure undoubtedly contributed to her death. Young people and adults are capable of having intelligent dialogue, discussion and understanding about gender identity and sexual orientation when it is made available. Unfortunately for Gwen, that dialogue was delayed until after she died. Nearly a thousand somber faces representing Newark's diversity attended Gwen's funeral. High school students cut classes to attend and others traveled hundreds of miles to pay respect to Gwen and to speak out against anti- transgender violence. According to the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition Web site, this is the deadliest year on record. So far, they have recorded twenty-seven deaths arising from anti-transgender violence. Gwen is not the first teenage death this year, not the first teenage person of color, nor the first attractive girl. Yet, there is something about this tragedy that has caught the attention of the entire LGBT community. Dozens of vigils and commemorations have been held. The local and national press have printed lengthy articles that are sensitive and fairly portray the challenges faced by the transgender community. The stories have been picked up by the "New York Times," "Associated Press," "USA Today," "CNN" and the network news. Perhaps this is the result of the focus provided by the well-informed and savvy LGBT community in the San Francisco Bay area, the effective investigation by local police and early attachment of the hate crime enhancement, or perhaps because of her beauty. Gwen, may you find peace and serenity wherever you are. Copyright © by The Orange County Blade.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Re: New Law to protect rights of transsexuals From Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Top Sadly both your Dec 13/02 headline: "New law to protect rights of transsexuals" and... Number 10's headline: "New legislation to protect the rights of transsexuals" fail to reflect the Government's own present day accepted terminology: "Transsexual People" vis-a-vis the no longer acceptable noun "transsexuals..." Respectfully... Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. Top
Re: Change sex for pension From Grahame Atkinson, Sheffield Top Source: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/...opup.jhtml http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/Content/displayPopup.jhtml?xml=/o pinion/2002/12/16/dt1614.xml&site=15 Date: 16 December 2002 Sir - I am a 58-year-old male and am seriously considering wearing ladies' clothing for the next two years and applying for a revised birth certificate to confirm my "gender reassignment". Having done this, I intend to retire at 60 with a full state pension. From: Grahame Atkinson, Sheffield Top
Re: Beyond human rights From: Andrew Sibley, Pontprennau, Cardiff Top Source: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/...opup.jhtml http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/Content/displayPopup.jhtml?xml=/o pinion/2002/12/16/dt1612.xml&site=15 Date: 16 December 2002 Sir - As your leading article suggested, the Government's plans to give transsexuals the right secretly to change their birth certificate and then marry go beyond human rights. Giving rights to people according to lifestyle choices, such as this, violates the human rights of others. Someone who marries a transsexual unknowingly might have good reason to feel violated with the complicity of the state. Some clergy might also feel compromised in carrying out such marriage ceremonies. From: Andrew Sibley, Pontprennau, Cardiff Top
Re: Gender rightly reflected From: David Smith, Bristol Top Source: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/...opup.jhtml http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/Content/displayPopup.jhtml?xml=/o pinion/2002/12/16/dt1611.xml&site=15 Date: 16 December 2002 Sir - With respect, you are wrong to claim that the new laws regarding transsexuals make an "ass of the law", and that their new birth certificates "sanction a lie" (report, Dec 14). Until the recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the law had failed to recognise a person's gender characteristics, with birth certificates previously reflecting only a person's biological traits. Medical science and the European court have accepted that gender characteristics play an essential role in determining a person's "sex". As a result, and in addition to the added benefits of privacy and non-discriminatory treatment by employers, transsexuals can now enjoy seeing their birth certificates reflect their true gender, and not simply their anatomical make-up. Should common sense not, in this instance, be reflected by the phrase "live and let live"? From: David Smith, Bristol Top
Re: Defined at moment From: Elizabeth Burgess, Slough, Berkshire Top Source: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/...opup.jhtml http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/Content/displayPopup.jhtml?xml=/o pinion/2002/12/16/dt1613.xml&site=15 Date: 16 December 2002 Sir - You denounce proposals to give transsexuals the right to change their birth certificates and marry in their "acquired" gender on the grounds of the "commonsense" view that gender is defined at birth in law and should remain unalterably fixed thereafter. It seems a far more defensible and commonsensical view to me that the appropriate time to define the sex of two individuals wishing to marry is at the time of the marriage. After all, every other aspect of one's ability to enter into a contract of marriage - whether one is single or not, old enough or not, or even of the appropriate religion in the event of a religious ceremony - is defined at the time of the marriage, not at birth. From: Elizabeth Burgess, Slough, Berkshire Top
Sex change madness Telegraph Group Limited Top Source: Brenda Lana Smith R.af D. opinion.telegraph.co.uk - Sex change madness http://www.dailytelegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2002/12/14/d l1403.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2002/12/14/ixoplead.html (Filed: 14/12/2002) On the subject of sexual identity, English common law has hitherto reflected common sense. In the eyes of the law, it is your sex at birth that counts. This is now about to change. Following two judgments by the European Court of Human Rights, the Government was obliged to grant transsexuals the right to marry under their assumed sex. It has, however, gone further, promising transsexuals the right to obtain revised "birth" certificates enshrining their "gender reassignment" in law. The link between the original and the revised certificates will remain confidential. What this means is that the law will sanction a lie. The new "birth" certificate will state that X was born a woman, when in fact X was born a man, or vice versa. While the state - the Criminal Records Bureau, say - will be entitled to find out a transsexual's original identity, the public will not. The right to privacy has been elevated above reason, logic and truth. Is this not a reductio ad absurdum of the ideology of human rights? And does it not make an ass of the law? News: Marriage looms for transsexuals http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/14/ntran14.x ml © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2002. Top
Re: CYCLING WEEKLY DECEMBER 14 2002 page 28 From Claire Ashton Top Courtesy: "Claire Ashton" <claire@c-ashton.fsnet.co.uk> Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 I see that Justin Clarke, who sits on the board of British Cycling, says: „We need to develop a sport that is socially inclusive.‰ (ŒHave your say‚ Cycling Weekly December 7). Let‚s start with the scrapping of BC‚s policy of excluding anyone with a transsexual history from racing unless they agree to undergo, at their own expense, a degrading and humiliating procedure in front of a medical board with no avenue of appeal. Even then they risk their name being divulged to anyone contacting their Manchester head office, as I discovered recently. Tests and examinations of this nature were dropped at the Olympic Games many years ago and plainly breach the Sex Discrimination Act in this country. As in many cases, discrimination of this nature persists only because of the small numbers involved and the risk they run of publicity that they wish to avoid. BC can‚t even bring themselves to put this policy into their rules, they keep it hidden to be dusted off when they think fit. So I challenge BC to drag themselves into the 21st century and abandon this policy and show themselves to be truly „socially inclusive‰. Would anyone who has a transsexual history and has been discouraged from competitive cycling or has undergone the procedure with either of those bodies please contact me IN THE STRICTEST CONFIDENCE. My bona fides can be checked with an internet search. Claire Ashton Walsall Roads CC Wrekinsport CC Top
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