[Brasil]

12ª Parada GLBT de SP reúne 3,4 milhões de pessoas

A Associação da Parada do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo (APOGLBT) acaba de divulgar em seu site que cerca de 3,4 milhões de pessoas participaram da 12a. Parada do Orgulho GLBT realizada no último domingo (25) - número menor que em 2007, quando 3,5 milhões estiveram na Paulista.

[Spain]
Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez (1964 - ) sex worker, singer, prisoner.
Jose Antonio Ortiz Rodriguez was born in Almeria, Andalucia, Spain. At a young age she went to Madrid and transitioned.
Cristina was working as a prostitute when she was discovered by Pepe Navarro. She became famous on Navarro's television show and with a single 'Veneno pa tu piel' (Poison in your skin). She became known as Cristina La Veneno (the poison).

[UK]
Georgina Somerset (1923 - ?) dentist.
George Turtle was born with an underdeveloped penis and some female organs. His parents hesitated and then raised the child as a boy. He went to Reigate Grammar School for Boys, but didn't feel right as a boy. He did not go through puberty, and grew neither breasts nor facial hair.

[UK] [Commentary]
Discrimination: Is it time to extend the age laws

Excerpt: As things stand, UK age-discrimination legislation only covers the workplace. In contrast, laws that combat discrimination on racial grounds or on grounds of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief are much broader, extending protection to individuals in their dealings with suppliers of goods and services.

[Mexico]
How Maria Met José or How "Mario" Met "Diana": Bizarre Transsexual Wedding in Mexico
Excerpt: The proposed law, which may be attractive to criminals seeking to hide their identities from law enforcement, likely will face a vote in Mexico's Congress sometime this week. The law would also oblige public hospitals in the Federal District including Mexico City to perform sex-change surgeries with taxpayer money.

[Singapore]
Transsexualism far more common than believed, say researchers
A new statistical study by Prof Femke Olyslager and Prof Emeritus Lynn Conway suggests Singapore rates for male-to-female transsexuals are over 1 in 2,000, whereas rates for female-to-male transsexuals are over 1 in 4,000.

[Australia]
Parents The New Trans Focus
A family planning clinic plans to educate parents about transgender issues following the decision by the Family Court to allow a 12-year-old to start puberty-blocking medication.

[Australia]
Get Fighting Fit
Excerpt: Alex Ariti and Delilah Slack are two students who have blossomed under Gulliver's guidance. Both transsexuals, Ariti recently won in the Open Beginners/Intermediate division of the International Sport Kickboxing Association tournaments, while Slack took out the Open Weapons division at the Australian Martial Arts Association tournament.

[CA, USA]
Man is charged with hate crime
In what was labeled a hate crime, a 34-year-old man attacked two transgender homeless men Saturday afternoon, but was arrested after one of the victims stabbed him in the leg, according to police.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
The APA’s DSM-V Development: Kenneth Zucker’s Involvement
Recently the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced their new panel for the revision of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Named as chairperson of the work group for "Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders (GID)" is Dr. Kenneth Zucker, known for his reparative therapy work on transgender children with Dr. Susan Bradley. Additionally we have Ray Blanchard, who famously renamed "transvestism" to "transvesticfetishism," a term that is based on sexual fantasies in the DSM-IV(1994). There are other changes made by both Blanchard and Zucker. Mr. Blanchard is also the creator of the term "autogynephilia." For the sake of brevity, I will concentrate on Dr. Zucker's ideologies and the potential negative influence on DSM-V.
Task Force questions critical appointments to APA’s Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is questioning the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) recent appointments of Kenneth Zucker, Ph.D., to chair the Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders for the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), and Ray Blanchard, Ph.D., to serve as a committee member. These appointments are raising great concerns within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
[Commentary] Open Response to Jack Drescher and The APA
Excerpt: Ken Zucker has made the following public statement, which clarifies his view on the diagnosis of homosexuality:
The "most acute ethical issue may concern the relation between GID and a later homosexual sexual orientation. Follow-up studies of boys who have GID that largely is untreated, indicated that homosexuality is the most common long-term psychosexual outcome."

[NY, USA]
New York to Back Same-Sex Unions From Elsewhere

Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.