[Thailand]
In burst of glitter, Thailand names most beautiful transsexual

A 21-year-old student and aspiring social worker was named Thailand's most beautiful transsexual late Friday, in a pageant bursting with glitter and sequins that has become a national spectacle.

Why not a transsexual for premier?

Thanyaras Jiraphatphakorn, after predicting that Thailand may one day have a "lady boy" for prime minister, was crowned the new Miss Tiffany Universe early Saturday morning at the country's oldest transvestite beauty pageant.

[Pakistan]
Pakistan gripped by trans marriage case

A couple in Pakistan are facing arrest arrested after doctors concluded the groom was actually a woman, despite a sex change operation.

[India]
Film festival on gender, sexuality draws crowds

Sensitive issues, poignant emotions and subjects that are not often discussed like cross-dressing, homosexuality and the human body were the mainstay of the international film festival on gender and sexuality, which attracted quite a crowd on its first day Saturday.

[USA]
Trans Hookers Get A Leg Up

If you think it's hard out there for a pimp, consider the harsh reality of being a tranny hooker. Not only do you have to scour the streets for a turned-on John, but then you have to explain your penis. Regrettably, not so many people are down with a so-called chick-with-a-dick and transfolk face more violent crime than their biologically gendered counterparts.

[USA]
Trans Rights Move Forward In Two Cities

The City of Berkley is considering a plan where it would pay for sex reassignment surgery under its employee healthcare system, and the City of West Palm Beach has passed an ordinance prohibiting trans discrimination.

[CA, USA] [News/People]
For transgender, an eventful life hits new heights

If ever there was a real-life, rags-to-riches fairy tale, Theresa Sparks' story is it.

[FL,USA]
Stanton to lobby in D.C. as a woman

Steve Stanton's first public appearance as Susan Stanton is expected sometime this weekend in Washington, D.C.

[FL,USA]
For Largo officials, a lesson in civics

Nadine Smith's "crime" was giving a piece of paper to a person who asked for it and asking why when a Largo police officer told her she couldn't. After being forced to the ground, she wound up in jail and faced charges of resisting arrest with violence and disturbing an assembly. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office wisely decided not to prosecute. Now Largo police should use this ugly incident as a teaching moment.

[OH,USA]
Critics block health talk on transsexuality

The topic was too much for the more conservative folks in Mansfield: transsexuality. Why not just tell people to live dangerously? The talk was planned Monday as part of AIDS Awareness Week at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus. A nurse was supposed to discuss how to better serve the transgender population, one of the highest-risk groups for HIV.