[Australia]
Transsexual Brigitte Fell in angry shop outburst

Brigitte Fell made international headlines after two police officers faced court charged with breaching privacy laws by allegedly telling her boyfriend she had undergone a sex change.

Ms Fell appeared in court again yesterday, this time for a violent New Year's Eve outburst in a suburban shopping centre in Newcastle.

Photo: Brigitte Fell

[India]
First ever welfare board for transgenders

In a recent progressive step, the Tamil Nadu government is set to become a model for protecting rights of sexual minorities. And has given succor to people on the margins of society that their voices can be heard in the corridors of power.

[New Zealand]
Rainbow WGN wants action on trans issues

LGBT advocacy network Rainbow Wellington is demanding action by MPs to follow up on several recommendations set out in the Human Rights Commission's recently released report on transgender discrimination in New Zealand.

[Canada] [Blog/Commentary]
It's all in your head

It started like this. I read a blog entry, followed a link, read a comment, and followed the author's link to her blog, and from there to Google and to the health-related material that the company I work for indexes. That was my introduction to Harry Benjamin Syndrome (HBS).

I know who Dr. Harry Benjamin is, of course, but I had never heard of HBS. Through my research, I see that the medical community considers the term HBS to be interchangeable with transsexualism. But there are some who are considering HBS somewhat differently. There is a claim that HBS is a specific syndrome in which something in the brains of those who have it is physically different from the brains of those who don't. Therefore, runs the argument, HBS is entirely physiological and not psychological and should not be confused with transgenderism, transsexualism, or Gender Identity Disorder, the current DSM-IV diagnosis.

[NY, USA]
Transgender rider gets OK from Brooklyn judge to sue NYC Transit

A transgendered straphanger got the green light to pursue a lawsuit against NYC Transit for "bigoted epithets" she said were hurled at her when she complained her MetroCard didn't work.

[Blog/Law] Brooklyn Court Rules Trans Customer Protected Against Discrimination by Transit Worker

A state supreme court justice in Brooklyn ruled on February 13 in Bumpus v. New York City Transit Authority & Jane Doe, 2008 N.Y. Slip Op. 50254 (U), 2008 Westlaw 399147 (unpublished disposition) , that New York City's ban on gender identity discrimination is binding on the New York City Transit Authority. Justice Robert J. Miller rejected a contrary ruling by another Brooklyn state trial judge while rejecting an attempt by a NYCTA employee to have a transgender customer's harassment suit thrown out of court.

[USA]
Death at the Beach: What Did America Learn in School Last Tuesday?

The end of the winter break ushered in another school semester of frightening harassment for thousands of tormented children across the United States. Among those kids was 15-year-old Lawrence King. The young man who had been bullied year after year had finally self-identified as gay. He hoped with that bold stroke the delinquents at school would allow him some of his stolen childhood peace. The anxiety and stress Lawrence experienced would have been unbearable for most, but he had adopted the thick skin a young gay man must develop to survive the bullying threats that push thousands of other young gay Americans to suicide each year.

[Blog/News/Events] Vigils for Lawrence King

Several vigils are being held throughout California for Lawrence King, the gender-nonconforming teenager who was shot and killed in Oxnard last week.

Slaying of Gay Oxnard Student Spurs Diversity Education Bill

Excerpt: "This incident is another heartbreaking reminder of how often young people must endure intimidation or violence in school because of their sexual orientation or the way they express their gender identity," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

[OR,USA]
Oregon inmate loses sex-change lawsuit

An Oregon prison inmate has lost a lawsuit to force the state to pay for a sex-change operation and transfer him to a women's prison.

[Blog/News] Transexual prison inmate loses sex-change lawsuit

A federal judge has rejected an inmate's lawsuit seeking to force Oregon prison officials to pay for a sex-change operation and a transfer to a women's prison.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Apparently, Transgender People Are "A Violation Of Natural Law," "Wacky," "Don't Align With The Bible," And Are Nazi "Brownskirts"

Excerpt: The screaming rhetoric just keeps coming out of Montgomery County, Maryland. From a piece entitled THE BROWNSKIRTS ARE COMING! comes a comparison between transgender people and Nazi's:(...)

[USA] [Blog/History/Commentary]
Transgender History: The Rise of Hatred (the Middle Ages)

[EDITOR'S NOTE:] Frequent guest blogger Mercedes Allen has written a six part history of transgender people for the Project that is running weekly on Tuesdays. A listing of the other sections is at the bottom of the post.