[UK]
Trans woman fighting for pension rights
A trans woman who refuses to divorce her wife is fighting to get her pension backdated to the age of 60.
Christine Timbrell completed her transition in 2000 but is not legally recognised as a woman because she will not divorce her wife of 42 years, Joy.
Currently, women can claim a pension from the age of 60, while men must wait until 65. This is slowly changing and will be equalised by 2020.

[UK]
Sex swap 'David Brent' snapper ruins bride's day
Fuming bride Melanie Vaughan last night told how her wedding day was ruined - when the photographer turned out to be a transsexual.

[India]
Plea for backward class tag to Bangalore transgenders
The Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission (KSBCC) called for a public hearing of hijras, kothis, jogappas, female to male transgenders (F2M), and some others who identify themselves as mangala mukhis to examine if they can be included in the backward class category, on Wednesday.

[China]
China frets over its 'sissy' boys
Excerpt: Beneath her good-humoured banter, however, lies a deeper concern: that her pampered son may perhaps grow up to be not much of a man, given the absence of sufficient male influences and role models in his day-to-day life.
That concern is widely shared in China today by many parents who believe that a social and education system that places a premium on gender equality is perhaps turning their boys into “sissies”.

[USA]
Leaders: ENDA will get House vote this month
Legislation can be like a train: It runs on a track and makes certain stops along the way. But, in Congress, the train doesn't run on time.
Last September, openly gay Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) said the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would likely get a House committee vote in September and a floor vote that fall. Didn't happen.

[USA]
America’s VH1 debuts Trangendered women reality show
VH1 and Left/Right Inc. have teamed up to create a new edition of fashion makeover shows with “Transform Me.” Each half-hour episode follows the makeover of one woman badly in need of a transformation — on the outside and inside. The subjects quickly find out this won’t be your typical makeover. They’ll be transformed by three transgender women. The ultra-glamorous makeover team, led by Laverne Cox (VH1’s “I Want To Work For Diddy”) with Jamie Clayton and Nina Poon, travel across the country answering “style 911 calls” in their deluxe fashion ambulance, helping subjects find the right style — and the confidence that comes with it. The new eight-episode 30-minute series will premiere Monday, March 15, 2010 at 10:30PM ET/PT.
“‘Transform Me’ is a show about everyone who’s ever felt that the person they are on the inside isn’t quite reflected in who is seen on the outside. Transgender folks are in many ways the ultimate example of this. We’ve taken extraordinary steps to bring who we are on the inside?out, and we’re committed to helping other women do the same thing. If we can do it, anyone can!” said Laverne Cox.
(Photo: Transgendered personality Laverne Cox has hit the big time. The former “I want to work for Diddy” cast member is about to launch her own reality show on the VH-1 network. I cannot recall any other transsexuals who actually have starred in their own reality shows.)

[USA]
Prodigal Sons: Sibling Rivalry Assumes a New Gender Dynamic
In the late '60s, the McKerrow family of Helena, Montana, had three sons: one adopted, two biological. Today it has a daughter, transsexual middle sibling Kim, who returns from New York to film her 20-year high-school reunion.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Drag Queen Ray Fetcho Can't Be a Licensed Nurse, Because 34 Years Ago He Hosted a Wet Underwear Contest
British man John Crawford was arrested, at age 19 and over 50 years ago, for buggery, a crime that is no longer, in fact, a crime — and yet he must still tell potential employers about his criminal record. Now there's Ray Fetcho, who performs in drag as Tiny Tina. He is 61, has spent the last forty years as a registered nurse, and just lost his job because in 1976 he was arrested for the promotion of a lewd act. It was a wet underwear contest.

[CA, USA]
Transgender union worker claims bullying, harassment
A well-known union and LGBT activist in San Francisco is claiming he has endured bullying and harassment at work.
Robert Haaland, who is transgender, is political coordinator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021.
(Union political coordinator Robert Haaland, shown here at a 2008 rally, has filed a harassment complaint against local union officials. Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland.)

[CA, USA]
Police seek suspects in beating of transgender woman
San Francisco police are looking for two men suspected of beating a transgender woman and her boyfriend in January and are seeking the public's help in the case.
According to Inspector Milanda Moore with the police hate crimes unit, at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, January 31, a transgender woman, her boyfriend, and a male friend were at Taqueria Los Coyotes at 3036 16th Street in the Mission District.
Moore said the 19-year-old woman, who is "absolutely gorgeous," was getting a lot of attention for her looks, but two men began making disparaging, anti-transgender remarks, and a verbal argument started.

[MA, USA]
Transgender group alleges discrimination
A transgender organization with local ties has accused a Peabody restaurant of discrimination for denying its members entrance.
Ashley Bottoms of Saugus alleges that two employees of Capone’s Italian American Restaurant refused to let members of social club Sisters Family eat inside because of their appearance.
Bottoms, who goes by the legal name Robert Knowles, was part of a group of eight transgender individuals who drove to Capone’s on Jan. 29 to unwind following a Sisters Family meeting. (Photo: Courtesy. Ashley Bottoms of Saugus was part of a transgender social club that claims a restaurant barred them from eating there.)
Transgender discrimination alleged at Peabody eatery

[ME, USA]
Maine Human Rights Commission Debates ‘Biology-based Bathrooms’
The Maine Human Rights Commission is debating whether the state’s 2005 Human Rights Act makes a "biology-based" separation of bathrooms - that is, different bathrooms for boys and girls - illegal in schools. The division of sports teams and dress codes along biologically sexual lines were also under scrutiny.

[NY, USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Trans Experiences: Why GENDA is Necessary in New York State
Transgender New Yorkers face widespread discrimination, harassment and even violence, resulting in not only great personal harm to themselves but also societal costs to the state as a whole. Still, there is no statewide, comprehensive law to explicitly protect people from discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

[NY, USA]
Transgender Buddhist priest shares story
television show co-host, playwright, author, filmmaker, coven priest, co-owner of a fabric shop and an engineer at a major Fortune 500 company.
She was also, at one time, a man.

(Photo: Media Credit - Danielle Parhizkaran)

[Argentina]
Autorizan joven chica transexual a ir vestida acorde a su genero en una escuela de Argentina
Tiene 17 años, se llama Kyle, foto, y es una jovencísima transexual del Departamento de Nogoyá (Entre Ríos) Argentina. Con un promedio 9 en la Escuela Normal de Nogoyá, por lo que se ganó ser escolta de la bandera. Para sus compañeros, y para su ciudad, no es novedad su identidad de género y que se vista con ropas de mujer. Aunque cuando lo quiso hacer en la institución estalló la polémica.