[Italy]
The paparazzo, the spin doctor and the trans-sexual hooker: only in Rome

Politics don't get much more Italian than this. An investigation by a maverick magistrate born in Somerset is stirring up a hornet's nest of allegations involving blackmail, transvestites, prostitutes, footballers, businessmen and, just for good measure, government spin doctors. And, at the base of it all, are the antics of the paparazzi in the land of their birth.

[India]
Mrs Doubtfire wants to be Miss India

Malaika wants to be a model and win the Miss India pageant. Rose is looking for her dream man to settle down with.

Nothing unusual about these wishes except that till recently, neither would have come true. Rose, 28, an engineering student, and Malaika, 29, a hotel management graduate, were both born men.

[USA]
Gender benders

Before Christine Jorgensen shocked the world in the 1950s by undergoing a male-to-female sex change, Laura Dillon went the other way. Dillon, a British medical student, is the first person on record to make the switch from female to male via surgery.

Pioneer of sex change surgery

Laura Dillon faced a double conundrum. She knew she was different from everyone else. She also knew there were no words to express that difference. Born into an upper-class British family in the early 20th century, Dillon came to believe that she was a man trapped in a woman's body.

[USA]
Protections for Transgender Workers on Rise

Although federal law does not explicitly prohibit organizations from firing transgender workers, that doesn't mean companies won't be sued for such terminations. Nine states and almost 100 local jurisdictions, from Key West, Florida, to Tacoma, Washington, have passed laws protecting transgender employees in the workplace.

[FL,USA]
Today's Letters: An example of courage and strength

Thank you for publishing the moving and beautiful story of Steve Stanton last Sunday. In a nation of individual freedom where we encourage everyone to be him or herself, why can't "Steve" be "Susan"? Why can't Largo city commissioners pay attention to work experience and not zero in on appearances? Steve or Susan has the same expertise to keep bringing progress to Largo.

Embracing Change

Often, theirs is a quiet world, a place they share with a few trusted friends and loved ones. Rarely do they trumpet their presence, not when doing so can lead to ridicule, rejection, even violence.

Man Decides to Become Woman, Gets Fired

A Florida city preaches tolerance, but officials fire the city manager after news of his planned sex change surfaces Even though he was fired, the city manager of Largo, Florida, still defends the city's diversity program.

[FL,USA]
Reassignment Surgeon Boasts 100% Success

Plastic surgeon Daniel Greenwald didn't set out to become a national go-to guy for sexual reassignment surgery.

[VT,USA] [Commentary]
My Turn: Transgender bill rife with problems

Under the banner of equality, the Vermont Legislature seeks to protect transgender behavior (i.e. transvestite and transsexual) from discrimination (bills S.51 and H.228).