[UK]
Breast enlargements in just over an hour!

Women in the UK could be getting breast enlargements in their lunch time as soon as 2008, reports Lisa Melton in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the Society of Chemical Industry.

[Cuba]
Cuba surpasses world on same-sex, trans rights

The Communist Party of Cuba has welcomed an update of the revolutionary Family Code to include same-sex and trans rights, reported National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX) Director Mariela Castro Espín at the 5th International Culture and Development Congress held in Havana on June 11-14.

[USA/Canada]
Transgender Singer Makes Statement

Lucas Silveira wears his heart on his tattoo sleeve.

The frontman of Toronto rock band The Cliks bares a turbulent tapestry on his arm: a dragon leaping through flames and waves, two guns bearing wide wings, and the word "Survivor."

[USA] [Books]
San Francisco stories

Excerpt: The transsexual Anna [Madrigal] (whose name is an anagram of "a man and a girl") was in some ways the central consciousness of the series, but in its finale, that role devolves upon Michael, who is also the novel's narrator.

[DE, USA]
Trouble At Delaware Psychiatric Center

Excerpt: "After nine years there I walked away with significant emotional scars," Hurst said. "It was so homophobic. I watched people abuse homosexuals and transgenders there. Because I advocated for them, I paid. It was the worst part of my life."

[USA] [Blog/News]
National Statistics on Transgender Unemployment

Richard Juang, a respected scholar and activist, has posted some national statistics on transgender discrimination. He cites studies showing a 35% unemployment rate and 60% earning less than $15,300, as well as high rates of workplace termination, denial of employment and harassment. It's interesting to compare these to the statistics in the general US population.