[International]
Queer issues take a global stage at the United Nations
Of the more than 3,000 non-governmental organizations holding consultative status to the United Nations, only a handful address gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex issues. This week saw an incremental but significant step towards change: two groups, COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals of Spain (FELGTB), gained admittance to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The Council brings together civil society groups to advise the General Assembly on promoting economic and social development and essentially grants groups access to the floor of international decision making.

[Suécia]
Crimes homofóbicos marcam semana da Europride em Estocolmo

Uma pastora revelou nesta quarta-feira, dia 30 de julho, que três igrejas luteranas de Estocolmo sofreram atos de vandalismo por apoiar a EuroPride, evento LGBT anual que acontece na capital sueca durante esta semana. Em outros dois incidentes, grupos de jovens gays foram atacados supostamente por homofobia.

[Rússia]
Moscou: 4ª tentativa de realizar Parada LGBT será em 2009

Após 3 anos de proibições consecutivas, ativistas LGBT de Moscou anunciaram que tentarão pela quarta vez realizar a Marcha do Orgulho LGBT na cidade. A celebração já tem data marcada e será no dia 16 de Maio de 2009.

[México]
Presidente se reúne com ativistas pela primeira vez

A exemplo do que ocorreu no Brasil durante a I Conferência Nacional LGBT, pela primeira vez na história do México o presidente do país, Felipe Calderón, se reuniu com representantes de 50 organizações da diversidade sexual e comprometeu-se a auxiliar na redução da homofobia e na redução dos custos de medicamentos anti-retrovirais.

[TN,USA]
How to Talk to a Tranny

Before transgender inmate Duanna Johnson was beaten by a former Memphis Police officer inside the Shelby County Correction Center, she claims her aggressor referred to her as "he/she" and "faggot" before plunging his fist into her face.

[CO, USA]
Arrest made in beating death of transgender person

9NEWS has learned the man arrested in the murder of an 18-year-old transgender person was on date with who he thought was a girl. Police say when the suspect discovered his date was actually a man, he killed her.

Alan Ray Andrade, 32, was arrested in Thornton on Tuesday and faces second-degree murder and aggravated motor vehicle theft charges.

In an arrest affidavit obtained by 9NEWS Andrade admits to police to killing Angie Zapata, 18, who was living as a woman but born as Justin Zapata.

[Brasil]

Bafo em pleno altar faz travesti de São Gonçalo acusar padre de estrangulamento e chutes

Um padre da cidade fluminense de São Gonçalo está sendo acusado por uma travesti de tê-la estrangulado e chutado em pleno altar no último domingo, 27, durante a missa das 19 horas da Igreja Matriz. A confusão começou quando um grupo de homossexuais fazia uma manifestação em uma rua em frente à igreja, o que motivou o início de uma série de agressões verbais contra os LGBTs, segundo os manifestantes, lanados pelo padre Ademar Pimenta.

[UK] [Science]
'Transsexuality gene' boosts male hormones
A gene variant has been identified that appears to be associated with female-to-male transsexuality – the feeling some women have that they belong to the opposite sex.
While such complex behaviour is likely the result of multiple genes, environmental and cultural factors, the researchers say the discovery suggests that transsexuality does have a genetic component.

[UK] [Entertainment]
Second annual Tranny Olympics to coincide with Beijing thing
Just 24 hours after the Olympics begin in Beijing, The Macbeth pub in London's Shoreditch will play host to its very own sporting event.
While there won't be as much pressure on the contestants, there will be plenty of friendly competition at the second annual Tranny Olympics on August 9th.

[Malta]
Woman born a man demands right to marry
A woman, who was born a man but was legally declared female following gender reassignment surgery, filed a Constitutional application today claiming that a previous court decision stopping her from getting married was in breach of her human rights and subjected her to degrading and inhuman treatment.

[China]
A Lab Is Set to Test the Gender of Some Female Athletes
By the time they arrive in Beijing, most athletes have resigned themselves to the possibility of undergoing a battery of tests for banned substances, like anabolic steroids and certain cough medicines.
But some female athletes may find they are asked to submit to an entirely different examination — one that will test whether they are, in fact, women.
The gender trap
We're familiar with drug testing for athletes, but officials at the Beijing Olympics will be taking things one stage further and examining competitors whose sex is in doubt. And it is far from being a new problem, as Emine Saner discovers.

[EUA]
X-Men migram para San Francisco em busca de aceitação
San Francisco "é a única capaz de aceitar os mutantes da maneira como eles são", foi com essas palavras que Axel Alonso, editor da marvel _que edita a série X Men_ explicou a decisão de mudar os personagens da Mansão Xavier, em Salem Center, Nova York, para a cidade californiana. A declaração foi dada em a palestra "Gays nos Quadrinhos", durante a San Diego Comic-Con neste sábado, 26.
Imagem: Colossus, personagem gay de X-Men agora morador de San Francisco

[USA] [Film/DVD]
The Brandon Teena Story: Collector's Edition
Someday, when sexuality and gender are less of a shooting affair, the 1990s are likely to be viewed as a turning point. The Brandon Teena case in 1993 and the Matthew Shepard case in 1998 forced Americans to confront, on tape and on video, the twisted hatred that gays, lesbians and transgendered people have long endured.

[Brasil]
São Paulo terá Encontro Regional de Transexuais e Travestis

Entre os dias 24 e 27 de agosto a cidade de São Paulo será sede do IV Encontro Regional Sudeste de Transexuais e Travestis, organizado pelo Instituto Aphroditte e celebrado sob a forma de palestras e debates.

[Malta]
Interview: Thinking pink
Excerpt: The AD spokesman pointed out that often enough, it is just about being more sensitive and it would not cost much to introduce more gay-friendly measures.
He mentioned a situation where a transsexual woman had to stay in a men's ward when she was admitted to hospital.
"This is downright humiliating. It really would not have taken much for the hospital to allow her to stay in a women's ward."

[Uganda]
Concern for missing Ugandan gay rights activist
One of three people who demonstrated at an AIDS international conference in Uganda has disappeared.
Usaam Auf Mukwaya was arrested at the HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting last month.
Their protest was sparked when the head of Uganda's AIDS commission said that gay people are driving up the number of infections in the country, but would not be targeted with prevention work.

[Singapore] [Blog/Commentary]
"Human Monsters" or just "Human"?

Sam Winter from Hong Kong University recently wrote to the Quasi Governmental Broadcast Authority in HK about a programme ATV ran a couple of weeks ago about Thai transwomen, "in which the Cantonese slang word 'yan yiu' ('human monster') was used consistently, and to the almost complete exclusion of any other word (for example 28 times in the space of just 11 minutes)."

[Thailand]
Teens ready for sex change?
Valee Pancharoen watched her son transform as he became a teenager, first painting his nails, then wearing a wig and, finally, the dresses he had been wearing for years but hiding from his parents.

[China] [Commentary]
Gender testing for female Olympians
Well, that didn't take very long. China's state media is reporting that female athletes suspected of "really" being males will be made to undergo gender screening at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, set to open in a few short weeks:(...)
OII Denounces Sexist Discrimination and Human Rights Violations of Intersexed Athletes in Beijing
The Organisation Intersex International is deeply committed to ending human rights violations of intersexed people around the world. OII has learned that the Chinese medical establishment is defying the International Olympic Committee's finding that sex or gender testing in Olympic sport is neither scientific nor humane, by re-instituting invalid, outmoded "sex tests" for the Beijing Games. An example of the Chinese medical establishment' segregious violation of scientific fact and their assault on human dignity is the notification of their decision to use chromosomal and genetic tests, as well as nude examinations of the appearance of women athletes competing in the Olympic Games in Beijing.
OPEN LETTER to Chair and board of IOC medical committee
Dear Dr. Ljungqvist and other IOC medical board members,
Organisation Intersex International (OII) has learned that a group of sports medicine professionals from China wish to re-institute "sex testing" of Olympic athletes at the Olympic Games in China – the very same place where a study performed in China has demonstrated that such testing is not valid.

[Vietnam]
Kaleidoscope (Beauty contest tells it straight)
Miss Angel 2008, an unofficial beauty contest for gay men and transsexuals held last Sunday in HCM City, was similar to similar kinds of events in Viet Nam except for its focus on HIV/AIDS prevention.

[Malaysia]
Malaysian Islamic court sends 4 Muslim men to jail for cross-dressing
An official says an Islamic court in northern Malaysia has jailed four Muslim men for taking part in a transvestite beauty pageant.

[Blog/Commentary] Kelantan Religious Officers Arrested Transgender Women

The Kelantan Islamic Religious Affairs Department sent a clear message to transgenders all over the world. Do not come to this conservative state in Malaysia if you identify as a transgender, or even as a transsexual. We will arrest you, jail you and fine you if we find you dressed up as women. It is reported in The Star on Friday, these Kelantanese religious moral guardians arrested young adult transgenders at a beauty pageant held within a nearby resort. The Malaysian Insider reported the arrest of 16 out of 50 contestants from all over the country, while 3 managed to escape by dangerously diving into the river, during this contest called the “Glam Nite Miss Universe Asia 2008″ at Tok Bali, Bachok.

[TN,USA]
Transgendered suspect arrested for prostitution
The transgendered suspect whose videotaped police beating led to the firing of two Memphis police officers was arrested early Sunday morning on charges of prostitution and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Neighbors Help Troubled Transgender Woman

To say that 43 year-old Duanna Johnson leads a difficult life would be an understatement. At her small, rundown, North Memphis house you'll find condom wrappers on the ground outside her door.

[TN,USA]
Several people shot at gay affirming church in Knoxville - Shooter may have targeted church because of its support for gays
Excerpt: Church services were disrupted today at a gay-affirming church in Knoxville when a lone gunman opened fire killing at least one person, and wounding several more.

Keepin the T in LGBT


[CA, USA] [News/Commentary]
Protesters Among the Gay Tuxedoed Crowd
"This is one for the history books," said Robert Haaland, a longtime San Francisco transgender activist. He couldn't be more on the money. A coalition of groups, including Pride at Work, And Castro 4 All, and the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, called a boycott and managed to get not only local politicians, but also the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) dinner's keynote speaker to cancel at the last moment. In the end, HRC, the national gay group that last Fall dropped transgenders from coverage in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), learned the power of the queer and transgender communities in San Francisco.
Villaraigosa drops plans for speech to gay rights group
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pulled out as keynote speaker for a gay rights group's fundraising event scheduled for Saturday night following intense lobbying from transgender activists angry over the group's stand on a federal gay rights bill.
[Blog/Commentary] Lesbian activist ousted from HRC dinner
Excerpt: At some point I was knocked to the ground and dragged out of the dining area into the outer room where they lifted me to my feet but did not let go. I then said to them: "let me go, I will leave." (We were walking to a stairwell). They did not let go and dragged me off my feet again and down the stairs to the exit on Post street.
Elderly transwoman assaulted at HRC gala by hired thugs
Catherine Cusic, a 63 year old lesbian from San Francisco, was forcibly evicted from this weekend's HRC dinner gala after she stood up during Joe Solmonese's keynote speech. According to witnesses and Ms. Cusic, while she had leaflets in her hand about HRC's ENDA debacle, she had not given any out before hired security grabbed her by the arms and literally dragged her from the room, down a flight of stairs and threw her onto the street. Ms. Cusic documented her injuries after not being allowed to regain her footing.
[Blog/Commentary] HRC and the Need for a "Second Stonewall"
"The rage against the HRC is not fuelled by one deception last year, but by a legacy of exclusion... . The HRC's insistence on adhering to the old patterns of disregard is why a second Stonewall has literally erupted at their door."

[NY, USA]
Change In The Air
For almost four years, Melissa Sklarz couldn't find a job approaching the stature of her previous position as an executive at a city export-import firm.
She landed gigs through friends, moonlighting as a waitress or doing office work off the books. But job performance issues had nothing to do with her inability to find fulfilling work.
What stood in her way were gender issues: She'd recently undergone medical procedures transforming her from male to female, changing her body to match the sense she'd long had of her innate gender.
Photo: ON THE JOB: Melissa Sklarz couldn't find work after she changed gender - today she's happily employed.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Lawrence King's Killer to be tried as Adult
Relying on past court decisions, a judge ruled Thursday that trying a 14-year-old boy accused of murder in an adult court does not violate the constitution, swatting down legal arguments raised by the boy's attorney that it was cruel and unusual punishment to do so.

[CO, USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Transgender murder gang related

The brother of an 18-year-old transgender woman who was murdered in Greeley has told the gayzette he believes the murder was gang related.
Gonzalo Zapata, 24, was Angie Zapata’s older brother. He said he believed his sister was dating a gang member and when the gang found out one of its members was dating a transgender woman, they needed to act.

[China]
Chinese to check athletes' genders in sex-change crackdown at Beijing Olympics

THE CHINESE have left nothing to chance - not even cross-dressing Olympic gender cheats. Beijing has set up a sex determination lab to test female Olympic athletes they suspect are men.

"Suspect athletes will be evaluated from their external appearances by experts and undergo blood tests to examine their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes for sex determination, " said Union Medical College Hospital's Professor Tian Qinjie.

[OH,USA]
Transsexual fights city of Cleveland over pool locker room

Karen Deamons wants to use the women's locker room, like a normal woman.

Deamons is transsexual - she presents herself and lives as a woman. But because she has not yet had sex-change surgery, Cleveland officials insist that she change clothes in the men's locker room of the indoor pool at Cudell Recreation Center, after they received complaints from a few women who said Deamons made them uncomfortable.

Transsexual fights Cleveland on locker room policy

An embarrassing question from a boy in a locker room inspired Karen Deamons to fight the city: Why was there a woman in the men's room?

Deamons, 53, decided she would no longer abide by Cleveland's rules that she must change in the men's locker room at the indoor pool at Cudell Recreation Center. A transsexual who identifies as a woman but has not had sex-change surgery, Deamons wants to be able to change in the women's locker room.

[VA,USA]
In Transgender Circles, Silicone is a Risky Shot at Womanhood

Excerpt: Vega paid a friend to shoot liquid silicone directly into her legs and hips to make them rounder, more feminine. The procedure is called pumping, and it's well-known among members of the local transgender community.

Pumping is illegal and risky, but it's a cheap alternative to the extensive cosmetic surgery required to turn a man into a woman. Often, people who pump experience no immediate adverse side effects. Yet things can go horribly awry. Vega barely escaped death and is reminded every day of that close call by discolorations along her legs that ended her competition days.

[CA, USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Enda United: We will not be divided

I went to the HRC protest event in San Francisco last night. I will say that I was pretty anti-HRC before it was cool. I mentioned in my last post that they don't represent a good value proposition in attaining full equality. There are other more efficient and effective groups. But, the failure of HRC to support an inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was the breaking point for many others. And by failing one part of the LGBT community, they fail the entire community.

[España]
Bono pide "eliminar" cualquier discriminación por razón de sexo hacia los transexuales sin pene en el Ejército

El presidente del Congreso, José Bono, se mostró hoy partidario de"eliminar" cualquier tipo de discriminación "por razón del sexo" en las Fuerzas Armadas sujetándose al ordenamiento constitucional y al "sentido común", en referencia al artículo legal, vigente desde 1989, que impide a un transexual sin órgano genital masculino pueda ingresar en los Ejércitos de Tierra y del Aire, la Armada, los Cuerpos Comunes de la Defensa y la Guardia Civil.

[Saudi Arabia]
Doctor advocates help for transgenders

A consultant at King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) said people who have undergone gender reassignment surgeries need help adjusting to their new lives. He suggests a charity be created to help patients adjust.

[Malaysia]
Sixteen Transsexuals Busted For Participating In Beauty Pageant

Sixteen transsexuals were busted by the Kelantan Islamic Religious Affair Department Friday for participating in a transsexual beauty pageant at a resort near here.

[CA, USA]
Human Rights Campaign SF Fundraiser Faces Boycott

Several gay rights groups are planning to boycott Saturday's black-tie fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign. They accuse the national gay rights group of excluding the transgender community.

[Brasil]
Transexual obtém direito de adoção na Justiça do Amapá
O juiz auxiliar da Vara da Infância e Juventude da Comarca de Santana, Luiz Nazareno Borges Haussler, concedeu à comerciante transexual Verônica Oliveira de Moraes a custódia de uma menina de 9 meses, reconhecendo, assim, não somente os direitos da transexual enquanto cidadã, mas também o seu direito à maternidade.

[Germany]
Even after a sex change, marriage is for life
A man who has sought legal recognition as a woman will be allowed to stay married to his wife, Germany's Constitutional Court has ruled.

German Government must Recognise "Sex-Change" of Married "Transsexuals"

A German highcourt has ruled that those who have undergone "gender reassignment" therapy can now change their legal name and sex while they are still in legal marriages. Previously, the law only allowed the recognition of "sex-changes" if the person was unmarried. Married "transsexuals" who wanted to change their designations on birth certificates and other official documentation had to first obtain a divorce.

[Mexico] [News/Commentary]
A Den of Sin or a Beacon of Liberty?
The serenading mariachis, the vast pots of tacos and the drunken salsa dancing made the May wedding look like any other Mexican nuptial celebration. What was different, of course, were the genders of the happy couple. Her glamorous white dress and towering high heels notwithstading, the bride Diana, 45, had actually been born Jose Guerrero — a man. Her tuxedo-clad groom, Mario Sanchez, 53, had been born Maria. Both had undergone sex-change operations.

[CO, USA]
Murder possibly a hate crime
Police investigate the death of a transgender woman in Greeley who"wanted to be beautiful."
Transgender teenager mourned as police investigate her death
Authorities still not sure if killing was hate crime
Family of Murdered Transgender Teen Speak Out
The family of a transgender teenager who was murdered one week ago is urging the killer to come forward.
18-year old Angie Zapata, who was born male, but lived as a woman, was buried Thursday.
Zapata remembered at funeral as courageous friend
Senior pastor Joe Sanchez solemnly stepped up to the front of the congregation, greeted those in attendance, and with a strong and commanding voice, offered his deep condolences.
[Blog/Commentary] Update: Police say murder of transgender Latina teen was "provoked by her lifestyle"
The murder of 18 year-old Angie Zapata in Colorado last week has been slowly gaining attention from national media with the latest report coming today from the national bureau at ABC News ("Transgender teen's death a hate crime?").
Slain Trans Teen May Have Known Killer(s), Say Police

Police aren’t releasing many details about the mysterious murder of 18-year old trans teen Angie Zapata, but they’re definitely digging into her background:

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]

Killer of Lawrence King to be tried as adult
The whole situation is tragic -- it's an example of how and why homophobia and transphobia are so toxic. One young man is dead, the other, acting on unchecked cultural bigotry, faces a long sentence if convicted. The adults in charge at E.O. Green School in Oxnard, CA saw it all coming and didn't realize or act upon the gravity of the situation, and the defense attorney relies on blaming the victim, a minor.

[EUA]
'Grávido' vende foto da bebé por 190 mil euros
Thomas Beatie, mais conhecido como o primeiro homem 'grávido' no mundo, vendeu uma fotografia da sua bebé a uma revista americana por uns alegados 190 mil euros (cerca de 300 mil dólares).

[USA]
Celebrity Daughter Kathlyn Beatty Rumored to be Transgender
A not-so-blind item posted on gossip guru Perez Hilton's website on Thursday has some speculating celebrity spawn Kathlyn Beatty may be living life as a transgender. Although Hilton does not name names in the gossip tidbit, investigation by other Hollywood bloggers has led some to believe the subject of the rumor is the daughter of movie stars Annette Bening and Warren Beatty.

[CA, USA]
Airline mechanic pleads no contest to gun charge

Excerpt: Bracken's lawyer says she had the gun because she was upset with a co-worker for taunting her as a transgender person.

[Portugal] (SEM LINK ONLINE - JN)
Patrões abrem caminho à discussão do nuclear

Associações entregam documento ao presidente, ao Governo e aos partidos.

Defendem coordenação entre Portugal e Espanha para atenuar crise energética.

Opção já está na agenda de consultas da EDP e da espanhola Iberdrola.

[Itália]
Lésbica é agredida em Roma com socos e pontapés

Uma mulher de 20 anos foi agredida na terça-feira, 22, em Roma por ser lésbica. Ela trabalha no bar Coming Out, totalmente homossexual, e ia para casa, por volta das 3 da manhã, quando começou a ser xingada e agredida com socos e pontapés por um grupo homofóbico, segundo denunciou Fabrizio Marrazzo, presidente da associação de defesa das minorias sexuais Arcigay Roma.

[Alemanha]
Transexuais passam a poder ficar casados com o cônjuge
O Tribunal Constitucional alemão decidiu hoje que quem queira mudar de sexo pode permanecer casado. Antes, o divórcio era obrigatório caso um dos elementos do casal fosse transexual.
German court rules in favour of transsexual rights
Germany's constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that a man seeking legal recognition as a woman will be allowed to stay married to his wife in a landmark decision that further strengthens the rights of transsexuals.

[Bahrain]
Final court victory for Zainab
A BAHRAINI woman who has successfully undergone a sex change operation has finally cleared the final hurdle in her fight to be recognised as a man. Zainab Abdulhafed Rabie can now use his preferred name Hussain after the Lower Civil Court agreed he could change his name and all other documents.

[GA,USA]
Transgender Woman Pursues Federal Lawsuit Against Georgia General Assembly
The Washington Blade is reporting that Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman, is pursuing a federal lawsuit against officials at the Georgia General Assembly, who, she said, wrongly fired her.

[CO, USA]

Man living as a woman murdered in Greeley

The family of a young man found murdered in his apartment in Greeley say they believe he was killed because he was living as a woman. 18-year old Justin Zapata, who goes by the name Angie Zapata, was found beaten to death last Thursday. But while Greeley Police will not confirm it's a hate crime, the Transgender Community is speaking out about the death.
Greeley Murder Victim Was Transgender
An investigation into the death of Justin Zapata, 18, of Greeley last week has taken a different step, as the victim (Photo) is now known to have gone by the name of Angie Zapata and was living as a woman.

Hundreds mourn slain teen; hate crime suspected
At least 200 people gathered Wednesday night to mourn an 18-year-old transgender person who was found beaten to death in a Greeley apartment.

Family believes hate crime was motive for murder

At least 200 people gathered on Wednesday night to mourn an 18-year-old transgender person who was apparently beaten to death last week.

Justin Zapata, who went by the name Angie Zapata and was living as a woman, was found dead in a Greeley apartment in the 2000 block of 4th Street on July 17.

She had fatal wounds to her head and face.

[IL, USA]
Sex workers hold local conference

Sex Workers Outreach Project ( SWOP ) , a national group that works on the decriminalization of prostitution, held its third annual conference in Chicago. Members attended panels on topics like sex trafficking and the issues facing transgender sex workers.

[TX, USA]
SETX Transgender Lawsuit Filed in Federal Dist. Court

A landmark employment lawsuit filed by a transgender employee suing for discrimination has made its way into the Federal District Court System.

[USA]
The Former 'Pregnant Man' Debuts His Baby
It's been three weeks since his blue-eyed baby debuted in this world, but Thomas Beatie – better known around the world as the Pregnant Man – can already say this about his daughter's personality: "She's easygoing and mellow and intelligent."
Filha de transexual é fotografada pela primeira vez
Com menos de um mês de vida, a pequena Susan Juliette, nascida no último dia 29 de junho, filha do transexual masculino Thomas Beatie e de sua esposa Nancy, já tem sua foto publicada em praticamente todos os meios de comunicação internacionais.
Thomas Beatie, with daughter Susan Juliette - Photo by: Regine Mahaux / Getty

[México]

México sedia 1ª Marcha Internacional Contra o Estigma, a Discriminação e a Homofobia

A Cidade do México sedia no próximo dia 2 de agosto a 1ª Marcha Internacional Contra o Estigma, a Discriminação e a Homofobia. Promovido por entidades mexicanas e internacionais de luta dos direitos humanos, o evento busca defender os plenos direitos da comunidade homossexual e cobrar dos governos nacionais compromissos com as causas gays.

[AZ,USA]
Man pleads guilty to attempted manslaughter of Amancio Corrales

Excerpt: Corrales, a 23-year-old gay man, was a cosmetologist who also performed as a female impersonator known as Dalila, impersonating celebrity singers.

Corrales was dressed as a woman the night he and Solorio Valenzuela met. After several attempts to fondle Corrales, Solorio Valenzuela realized his mistake and then allegedly stabbed Corrales.

[CA,USA] [Commentary]
Outside the HRC dinner

HRC's failed strategy on ENDA has needlessly divided our community at a time when we are poised to make great gains in civil rights

E as coisas vão acontecendo como se esperava. Ou pelo menos como eu previa. Eu e penso que muito mais gente, pois muitas vezes as pessoas só são enganadas porque se deixam ser.

Bem, com a boa declaração de intenções do candidato da JS sobre a identidade de género, fiquei na expectativa, aguardando mais notícias e/ou comentários futuros.

E eles chegaram em força. A JS, agora já com o seu candidato eleito, afirma que quer o casamento gay igual ao casamento hetero. O PS ainda tem medo e fala em “conversas com a população” sobre este assunto, embora eu não entenda, por exemplo, o que teria uma pessoa do Porto ou de Faro ou de Cascalheiras de Cima a ver com quem eu me casasse, se eu fosse gay. Quer dizer, ninguém se mete nos casamentos alheios a não ser que seja convidado. Ou da empresa fornecedora dos costumeiros acepipes comuns nessas ocasiões.

Até se debateu este assunto na Assembleia, com a presença das associações e grupos interessados. Ah, desculpem, parece que afinal só a ILGA Portugal esteve presente. Não sei se por indisponibilidade dos restantes grupos/associações, se os restantes não foram sequer convidados. Neste último caso, acho tal atitude da parte do PS muito estranha e mesmo muito sectarista. TODOS têm o direito a falarem de sua justiça e de serem ouvidos. O PS teria feito muito melhor em ter seguido o exemplo do Bloco de Esquerda, que no debate sobre transexualidade convidou todos os interessados. Fica bem a todos os níveis: não compromete mais do que o necessário, é respeitador do trabalho feito por outras associações/grupos e/ou activistas independentes e é democrático. Foi um mau exemplo de abertura e de democracia.

Claro que sobre a identidade de género, o silêncio foi total. Obviamente. Deixa-me a pensar que o que aconteceu a Gisberta e mais recentemente a Luna se deveu, não tanto ao facto de serem ambas mulheres transexuais, discriminadas por esse facto, impedidas por esse facto de encontrarem um trabalho digno, mas por não terem podido beneficiar da possibilidade de poderem contrair matrimónio com um/a parceiro/a do mesmo sexo.

A realidade é esta: a discriminação, baseada em qualquer argumentação faz mossa, dói e não poucas vezes mata. Mas há discriminações que fornecem mais condicionantes para matar que outras. E neste caso temos que pensar o que será mais importante: dar condições para que mais vidas humanas sejam preservadas, ou dar condições mais justas e melhor qualidade de vida a outras que não corram perigo de morte devido a condicionantes? Cada pessoa que pense por si.

Quero, no entanto, falar aqui de uma outra coisa que é muito importante, não só para os círculos LGBTTI, mas para toda a população em geral. Falo obviamente da construção de centrais nucleares em Portugal.

Muitas vozes ultimamente se têm levantado sobre este assunto, defendendo um debate e um estudo sobre o uso desta energia barata. Num ponto de vista meramente económico, nada a obstar. Mas um país é-o pela sua população. São pessoas que lá vivem, seres humanos, com todos os defeitos e virtudes inerentes a essa condição. Não são meros factores de produção económica, são PESSOAS.

Tenho reparado cada vez mais que as pessoas são vistas como meros elementos de produção económica. Deixam de ser pessoas, deixam de ter valor intrínseco por o serem, passando a ter valor somente na base da sua produção. Isto é um caminho errado, na minha opinião.

Não vale a pena falar aqui dos perigos das centrais nucleares, da energia nuclear. Toda a gente já os sabe. Quem não sabe ainda é porque não se interessa por tal assunto. Existe incontável informação na net sobre isso, basta procurar. Ou basta relembrar três exemplos: Hiroxima, Nagasaki e Chernobyl.

Isto é tão verdade que a comunidade internacional encontra-se em pânico com a possibilidade do Irão ter acesso a matéria prima desta natureza, de maneira a construir mísseis nucleares.

Temos zonas nos oceanos com contentores cheios de resíduos radioactivos, que mais tarde ou mais cedo deteriorar-se-ão e contaminarão os oceanos. E que fazer então com os restos? Ainda não existe uma resposta satisfatória para este problema.

Acidentes em centrais nucleares acontecem com uma frequência nada satisfatória. Aliás, neste assunto, um acidente já é demais.

A URSS era uma potência no seu tempo. De repente, acabou-se com a URSS. Resultado: Chernobyl. Quem sabe como Portugal estará economicamente daqui a dez, vinte anos? E depois quem arca com as despesas de manutenção? Corre-se um risco efectivo de existir uma Chernobyl à portuguesa.

Outra coisa, Portugal tem a sorte de ter um clima propício ao uso e desenvolvimento de energias renováveis, limpas. Temos muito sol, muita água para usar as forças das correntes, temos vento. Não fará mais sentido gastar recursos a desenvolver essas energias limpas, em vez de o fazer para criar energias que, embora baratas, são sujas?

[Bahrain]
Bahraini Lawyer Becomes First Woman To Win Two Sex Change Cases
A Bahraini lawyer has become the first woman in the Gulf to have won two cases of sex change, fighting all the odds in a society which considers it taboo.

[UAE]
Opinion split after transvestite arrests
A police clampdown on transvestites in the UAE has split opinion among Arabian Business readers, our online poll has revealed.

[Chile]
Transexual: Una mujer en cuerpo de hombre
"Es mucho más que llevar un cuerpo de hombre, es llevar una vida distinta a la que me correspondería. Tuve que aprender a actuar desde chico y asumir un papel que no es el mio", Nos confidenció Alfonso.

[El Salvador]
Andróginos, las apariencias engañan
Es hombre o mujer. En más de una ocasión, todos han vivido momentos de duda al conocer a una persona cuyo sexo es confuso, y no precisamente por sus preferencias sexuales. Más bien por su aspecto.
Sea por moda o por caprichos de la naturaleza, hay personas con un físico ambiguo que se prestan a los rumores y a la marginación.

[República Dominicana]
“Mi sueño es llegar al Oscar con la cinta Hermafrodita”
Los proyectos cinematográficos de factura dominicana no parecen detenerse en el tiempo restante de este 2008. Hasta el momento ya se han estrenado seis producciones locales, y en la actualidad se encuentran otras tantas en proceso de realización o de pre y post producción.

[HI,USA]
Makiki Murder Suspect In Court
A Makiki murder suspect made his initial apperance in court this morning. Police say 63 year-old Joel Allen stabbed Jason Namau'u to death Thursday night near Cartwright field. Namau'u was dressed as a woman at the time and witnesses say the two had been arguing in a car.

[MN, USA]
Transgender Candidate For Hastings City Council
A candidate for city council in Hastings is getting a lot of attention, even before the fall election push gets going. Lara Estes is a woman who used to be a man. Now, she's the first transgendered person to run for a city office in Hastings.

[GA, USA]
Trans woman sues Ga. lawmakers for wrongful termination
A transgender woman is suing in federal court the leaders of the Georgia legislature to return to her job in the state General Assembly after she was fired for stating her intention to live as a woman.

[CO, USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Another Trans-person of color has been murdered
Excerpt: On Thursday, July 17, Angie Zapata, an 18-year old Latina transwoman was murdered in her home in Greeley, CO. She suffered two severe fractures in her skull. Her family believes that she was murdered by her boyfriend or members of her boyfriend's gang because of her gender identity.
[Blog/Commentary] Another Transwoman Murdered, Another Media Diss
Umm, this is getting ridiculous on a lot of levels. It's my sad duty to report that another transgender teen has lost her life. This time it happened in Greeley, CO to 18 year old Latina Angie Zapata.
Her family was supportive of her transition, but you wouldn't know it based on once again, a reporter (Mike Peters) not cracking open the AP Stylebook and failing to follow the guidelines in it for reporting on transgender people.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell . . . and Don’t be Transgender Either
For years, Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been the official witch-hunt policy that gave the US military open-ended permission to ruin the careers of any person they suspect were "homosexuals." It never had anything to do with whether the person actually acted upon their sexual orientation, or even if the person was really gay or not. It mostly stems from the Department of Defense's archaic and narrow view of what they think should be gender-normative behavior for men and women, including sexual activities. Basically, you don't have to be gay, or act gay, or be sexually active with a same-sex partner, as long as they think you're gay. They hold all the cards.

[Portugal]
Partido Socialista quer adiar debate sobre casamento gay em Portugal

O líder parlamentar do Partido Socialista de Portugal, Alberto Martins, declarou nessa último sábado, dia 19 de julho, que o casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo deve ser previamente debatido pela população e discutido depois das eleições de 2009, quando se inicia o próximo período legislativo.

[Espanha]
Federação lança campanha de boicote à Igreja

A Federação Estatal de Lésbicas, Gays, Transexuais e Bissexuais da Espanha (FELGTB-ES) iniciou sua campanha anual “Nenhum centavo para quem te discrimina”, realizada desde 1999 com o objetivo de conscientizar os espanhóis a não darem dinheiro para os fundos da Igreja Católica no país. A Federação pretender fazer com que cada vez mais um número menor de pessoas destine parte de seu imposto de renda para as obras católicas.

[UK] Dee Palmer (1937 - ) keyboardist and arranger.

David Palmer was born intersex and had corrective surgery to make him definitely male.

He graduated from the Royal Military School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. He was clarinettist with the Royal Horseguards calvary regiment.

After scoring arrangement for the band Jethro Tull for several years, he was a full member as keyboardist and arranger 1976-80.

Ernest Boulton (1849 - ? ) and Frederick William Park (1848 - ?) performers.

Ernest Boulton was the scion of a family of Stockbrokers in the London suburb of Peckham. He had shown an extraordinary aptitude for playing female characters - even from his sixth year. He often performed in private theatricals; the parts he assumed were always female, and his performances were always popular and successful. He also played the piano and sang excellently. He always had photographs taken.

[Malta]
Pride and prejudice Excerpt:

MGRM recently presented a petition to the political parties calling for the formal recognition of same-sex couples, the inclusion of an article in the Criminal Code regarding homophobic violence and the inclusion of gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for transgender persons as part of the public health services, among other proposals.

[UAE]
Transvestite tourists detained in Dubai

A group of foreigners who recently visited Dubai have discovered that there are limits to local tolerance after being detained for cross-dressing at a city shopping mall.

[CO,USA]
Dead man identified, investigated as murder Editor Note: The victim has been described by my sources as a male-to-female transgender.

A man found dead in his southeast Greeley apartment Thursday afternoon as been identified as an 18-year-old from Greeley.

The Weld County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Justin David Zapata, 18, who lived in an apartment at 2025 4th Ave., where his body was found Thursday afternoon.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
The Silencing of Cathryn Platine

Excerpt: Are you tired of being…relegated to a third gender?

Are you tired of being…associated with crossdressers, drag queens, gender queer…the transgender…the Autumn Sandeens of the world?

Are you tired of being…just another pawn to the homosexual movement?

Join our cause.

Sign THE PETITION.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Newsweek on Larry King's death

It's surprising, even though it shouldn't be, to me that one of the most mainstream news publications in the US, in 2008, would be much more interested in dissecting the fact that a fourteen-year-old murder victim bought a pair of high-heels than the fact that the fourteen-year-old who murdered him was obsessed with Nazis.

[Spain]
Protesting transsexual found dead in Sevilla

Firemen in Sevilla have found the body of a transsexual in the city murdered in her home. F.P. was in the process of changing sex from a man to a woman and had been demonstrating almost every day outside the courts in Sevilla claiming a 'police mafia' in the city. The protest consisted of F.P. always wearing the same white skirt, and a t-shirt with messages against the police.

[China/Thailand]
Television programme calls transgender people "human monsters"

Television watchdogs were investigating after transgender people were described as "human monsters" in a Chinese language television programme, a media report said Sunday.

[Thailand]
Thai teens seeking sex changes grapple with new rules

Valee Pancharoen watched her son transform as he became a teenager, first painting his nails, then wearing a wig and, finally, the dresses he had been wearing for years but hiding from his parents.

[Malaysia]
M'sian activist: Transgender lot needs help as they can't get jobs

The Government's offer of welfare aid to homosexuals should be extended to the Mak Nyah (transgender) instead.

Pink Triangle Foundation programme director Raymond Tai said most homosexuals were "well-to-do" as they were employed just like "normal people" and would only face discrimination if they were open about their status.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Gender-change Surgery: medical care or cosmetic surgery?
Tip of the hat to Paul Caron's TaxProf blog for pointing out the AP story on an upcoming Tax Court case to determine the validity of the IRS position that sex-change surgery is a choice, like cosmetic surgery, rather than a deductible medical expense like psychiatric care or diabetes treatment.

[USA] [News/Religion]
'Uncensored Bible' - And Now For Something Different

Most believers would say the Bible is the Word of God, or at least a divinely inspired book written by divinely inspired men.

But what if the Bible had been mistranslated, or censored to remove the tawdry bits about pimps, cross-dressers or a, ahem, Brazilian wax as punishment?

That's what biblical scholars John Kaltner and Stephen L. McKenzie of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., were wondering, and they set out to investigate a handful of unorthodox interpretations of Old Testament tales.

[HI,USA]
File describes slaying and suspect’s capture

Witnesses were key in foiling the escape of the suspect in a fatal stabbing in Makiki Thursday evening, court documents show. Prosecutors charged Joel Chris Allen, of Nuuanu, yesterday with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 35-year-old Jason Namauu of Maui.

[Turkey]
Police Officers Finally On Trial For Beating Transsexual Esmeray

The police officers who beat up and insulted transsexual Esmeray in June 2007 for passing by the front of the station will be tried for the crime of "simple bashing and insulting."

[UAE]
Dubai bans cross-dressing

Dubai has banned cross-dressing in public places after complaints of dozens of "transvestite tourists" in the city's shopping centres.

Police this week detained 40 "cross-dressing tourists", the Gulf News reported, quoting police as complaining that transvestites were frequently being spotted.

Polícia de Dubai fecha o cerco a trans e homossexuais

A polícia do pólo turístico de Dubai efetuou a prisão de 17 pessoas na última quarta-feira (16), acusadas de apresentar comportamento homossexual em um shopping da cidade e em outros locais públicos.

[HI,USA]
Man Stabbed to Death in Makiki

Excerpt: "He thought that this guy was beating up on his kid, but when he got there the guy had actually stabbed a female," witness Jerris Bargas said.

Witnesses ran to help the victim, who was dressed as a woman, and was bleeding from multiple stab wounds.

[TX, USA]
Gay bar bans drag queens on ‘Trashy Tuesday’

Excerpt: "Drag queens act like they are divas and think they can't do no wrong," Moore said. "They have stolen money straight off the bar, hassled costumers for drinks and locked themselves in the bathroom with a bunch of guys. And with Tuesday being our busiest night, there is just no way for me to keep the draq queens under control then. I don't want draq queens in here that are going to misbehave."

[NY, USA]
Transgender/priest attack is troubling

Astoria's Steinway Street, like the rest of the neighborhood, embodies tolerance: Greek restaurants coexist with Starbucks coffee shops; women wearing headscarves brush shoulders with females who don't.

But last Monday, intolerance ruled there. Four neighborhood teens viciously attacked and repeatedly beat a transgender woman and a priest who had come to her defense.

[Portugal]
Casamentos 'gay' são tema fracturante... para o PS

Conferência. Juventude do PS promoveu ontem um debate sobre o casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo. Uma discussão em que ficou claro que esta é uma ideia longe do consenso entre os socialistas. Pedro Zerolo, dirigente do PSOE espanhol e orador convidado, veio dizer que a esquerda tem de "ter valentia"

Partido Socialista português não chega a consenso sobre apoio a casamento gay

O Partido Socialista de Portugal não chegou a um consenso sobre o apoio ao casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo no país. Em uma reunião realizada nessa última quarta-feira, dia 16 de julho, representantes do partido, incluindo o grupo de jovens, debateram a questão buscando definir o foco do partido já com o pensamento nas eleições legislativas de 2009.

[Brazil]
Offend a homosexual ... Go to prison for 5 years
Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil's Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives.

[España]
Tres personas agreden e insultan a la transexual Nova en el distrito de Chamartín
Tres personas agredieron e insultaron con gritos de "puto travelo" a la transexual Nova (foto), conocida por sus apariciones en televisión, mientras paseaba con su madre por la calle de Clara del Rey, en el distrito de Chamartín.

[UK]

Anger of gay rights groups over registrar court win

GAY rights campaigners have reacted with anger following Christian registrar Lillian Ladele's legal victory over Islington Council in refusing to carry out gay weddings.

[UK]
GPC negotiator announces sex change

GPC negotiator Dr Stewart Drage has revealed he has become a woman.

In a letter to Londonwide LMCs members today, Dr Drage said her new name is Michelle.

[Czech Republic]
Sex change treatment should start in adolescence - Czech experts

The government working group for sexual minorities wants the bill on special medical services to enable sex-change treatment to start being applied to people under 18, Minister for human rights and ethnic minorities Dzamila Stehlikova (Greens, SZ) told CTK today.

[India] [Blog/News/Commentary]
LGBT Activists March, Pull off Masks in India
Amidst the riotous colors of rainbow-colored flags, boas and saris, the beating drums and slogan-shouting and an atmosphere of defiance and celebration, sexual minorities made themselves heard in the three cities of Bangalore, Delhi and Calcutta at the Gay Pride Parade on June 29 -- a first-time for many, a decade old for some.

[PA, USA]
Panel of judges dismisses Repent America's lawsuit
Excerpt: Shortly before the arrests, one of the appellants, Mark Diener, called a transgendered person a "she-man," saying through a bullhorn, "The mirror lied to you this morning. Your shadow is showing" and "You won't be preaching like this in hell, she-man."

3rd Circuit Upholds Removal of Christian Protesters at Gay Pride Event

Excerpt: Stapleton found that the Repent America protesters "singled out a transgendered individual for abuse," repeatedly calling her a "she-man" and saying that her gender identity would send her "to hell."

"Once fighting words have been uttered," Stapleton said, "the police can intervene to the extent necessary to defuse the situation and prevent a breach of the peace. The response of the police in this instance was reasonably calculated to accomplish that legitimate objective."

[OH, USA]
City forces TG woman to dress in men's room
A city swimming pool has told a transgender woman that she must sign in as a man and use the men's locker room to change into her swimsuit.

[Portugal]
Assembleia da República acolhe Conferência Internacional sobre casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo

A Associação ILGA Portugal foi convidada a intervir - e estará presente - na Conferência Internacional organizada pela Juventude Socialista e intitulada “Nada mais que a Igualdade: o casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo".

[Portugal]

PS vai reforçar direitos das uniões de facto

Excerto: Um dos "eixos" dessa "renovação" programática seria, precisamente, "remover as discriminações que restam, na ordem jurídica e social portuguesa, designadamente as fundadas no sexo e na orientação sexual". O principal autor da moção foi Sérgio Sousa Pinto, actualmente eurodeputado e, em tempos, como líder da JS, "campeão" das "causas fracturantes".

Pergunta: E as discriminações pela identidade de género? É só 31 de boca?

[Brasil]
Visibilidade Trans

Travesti em posição de destaque fala sobre vida, trabalho, sexualidade e gênero

[Ireland]
UN committee to question rendition stance

THE IRISH Government will be asked by a UN committee today to justify its failure to act on extraordinary rendition and to legislate in the areas of abortion, transgender identity, non-traditional families and freedom of religion in schools.

[Italy]
Damages for gay Italian driver forced to retake test

A 26-year-old Sicilian man has won €100,000 (£80,000) in damages from the Italian state after his driving licence was taken away because he was gay. His lawyer claimed it was the first time that the state had been punished for discrimination against an individual on grounds of homosexuality.

[Canada]
Police selling out Ottawa's whores

Representatives from the queer community are telling police to leave sex workers alone, but the police aren't listening.

Sex workers — gay, trans and straight — were on Michele Penney's mind at the Ottawa Police Services' annual OUTreach conference on queer issues, in the wake of more measures designed to push the sex trade underground.

[USA]
Stunning: An Interview with Calpernia Addams

Calpernia Addams’ very first love story may have been with a fiddle.

[USA]
Press Conference at McDonald's World Headquarters Tomorrow Supports National Boycott of Fast Food Giant for Promoting Homosexuality

Americans For Truth has called a press conference tomorrow with other family groups from across the country at the world headquarters of McDonald's – to support the national boycott of the fast-food giant and highlight its record of promoting homosexual activism.

[GA, USA]
Activists discuss disability, transgender and intersex experiences

Three activists, Caitlin Childs, Scott Turner Schofield and Anne DelBene, will host a frank discussion about similarities in transgender, disabled and intersex lives.

[PA, USA]
Antigay group couldn't disrupt Phila. event, court rules

Anti-homosexual activists arrested during Philadelphia' s 2004 OutFest celebration had a First Amendment right to demonstrate but not to disrupt the coming-out festival, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.

[FL,USA]
White Found Not Guilty Of 2005 Murder

Arthur Lee White was found not guilty today in the stabbing death of a Lakeland man in March 2005.

However, because there are still some cases pending against him, White will not be freed from jail.

White, 50, of Winter Haven, had been charged with the first-degree murder of Gerald "Ricky" Franklin Jr. Franklin, 44, was a homosexual who occasionally dressed in women's clothing.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Will There Be Transgender Athletes In Beijing?

Standing on the top step of the Olympic medal platform with a gold medal around your neck while hearing your country's national anthem being played is a universal dream for all people who participate in sports.

Transgender athletes share that dream as well, and as we rapidly approach the August 8 start of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, we're aware that since the 2004 Athens Games transpeople have been eligible to compete thanks to rules changes enacted by the International Olympic Committee.

[USA]
Louis Gradon Sullivan (1951-1991) pioneer ftm activist

Sheila Jean Sullivan was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In her early 20s she worked as a secretary for the Slavic Languages Department at the University of Wisconsin, where she was noted for her speed and accuracy in typing even in Cyrillic, although she not understand the language.

[USA] [Blog/Comentary]
Top Ten Problems with the GID Diagnosis

What are the problems with the Gender Identity Disorder diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? How are overarching issues of psychiatric stigma and access to medical transition procedures related to specific flaws in the diagnostic criteria and supporting text?