[Spain]
Hundreds of thousands attend Madrid Gay Pride parade

Hundreds of thousands of gays, lesbians and their supporters on Saturday took part in a colourful parade across Madrid, the capital of a country that has become a world leader in gay rights.

[UK]
Sex-change woman claims hate campaigners almost killed her

A transsexual who started a new life in a north-east village claims hate campaigners almost killed her.

Beverly Paul, who was born a man, said she suffers name-calling and verbal abuse whenever she steps outside of her home at New Deer, in the heart of rural Buchan.

A dead rat has even been left on her doorstep.

And the 48-year-old said she was nearly killed after vandals targeted her car, hammering four nails into a back wheel.

[UK]
Primary school children should be taught about homosexuality, union says

Primary schoolchildren should be taught about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual relationships to stop bullying, according to a union.

The TUC said much has been done to counter racism and sexism through equality education but not enough has been done to tackle homophobia.

[UK]
Bill Allen (1906 -1949) mill worker, labourer, bus conductor, murderer.

Margaret Allen was born in Bolton, Lancashire, the twentieth of twenty-two children, and raised in Bacup. He dressed as a man, even in childhood. Other people referred to him as Bill, but usually shunned him except when he was buying drinks in the pub. He worked in the mills, and loaded coal.

[UK] [News/Commentary]
Transphobia At Pride

The Pride march and rally are now over for 2008. A lot of fun was had by many, but unfortunately transphobia reared its ugly head at the Pride rally in Trafalgar Square. At about 6:30 in the evening, Roz Kaveney, long time human rights campaigner, journalist and transsexual woman, needed to answer that most basic call of nature and use the loo. What happened next is the sort of thing one is used to reading about in reports of sexual discrimination cases against transpeople.

[Petitions] Stamp Out Trans Discrimination at Pride Events

At the London Pride event on 5th July 2008 official stewards who were running the toilets at Trafalgar Square announced that transgender or transsexual women had to use the disabled toilets and were not allowed to use the regular women's toilets. A policeman, who was a LGBT liaison officer, claimed that trans women had to be able to show a Gender Recognition Certificate if they wanted to use the women's toilets.

[Germany]
Dörchen Richter (1891 - 1933) waiter, cook, maid.

The world's very first surgical transsexual.

Rudolph Richter was born in the Erzgebirge region of Germany. Dörchen or Dora attempted to tourniquet her penis at age 6. She expressed a strong dislike of male clothing, and was permitted to live as female.

[Malta]
MGRM wants recommendations of EU’s report on homophobia and discrimination acted upon

Excerpt: Another important conclusion of this report relates to the rights of transgender individuals to have their documents changed to reflect their new gender and to marry a person of the opposite sex.

MGRM said it noted that very recently, the Maltese courts manifestly failed to follow the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the issue, and urged Parliament to immediately legislate to clarify the issue. "It would indeed be regrettable, not to mention embarrassing for the country, should the issue have to be resolved by the court in Strasbourg rather than internally by Parliament," said MGRM.

[Hungary]
10 hurt, 45 detained as gay pride march in Hungary turns ugly

Forty-five people were taken into custody and 10 others were injured in clashes between police and homophobes during a gay rights march in the Hungarian capital Saturday, reports said.

About 450 people took part in the march in central Budapest when extremists began throwing explosive devices, eggs, cobblestones and bottles at police and the marchers.

[Australia] [Blog/Commentary]
The Stupid... It Hurts....

And in other news, the American Psychiatric Association has announced the appointment of a member of the Vatican Council to its panel on Gender Identity Disorders.

[USA]
Gender Change Man Has Baby The Natural Way

Thomas Beatie, a 34-year-old American man who used to be a woman, gave birth to a healthy baby girl in a hospital in Oregon last Sunday. Beatie made headline news in March when he revealed in Advocate, the gay rights magazine, that he was five months pregnant.

Male mum Thomas Beatie gives birth

A man did not have a baby. A woman who wanted to be a man had a baby - as women do.

[Commentary] Pregnant with discrimination

Ultimately it is prejudice about Thomas Beatie's perceived gender transgression that lies at the root of the objections to his decision to give birth

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
United We Stand, ENDA for All!

On September 7, 2007, President of the Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese attended the Southern Comfort conference and stood before a group of nearly one thousand transgender people and allies and proclaimed that not only would HRC not support legislation but in fact oppose legislation that was not fully inclusive and they have taken that message loud and clear to the Hill.