[International]
Lesbians in relationships with trans people
Trans people are increasingly part of the lesbian/queer community as our relationships and families expand. Katrina Fox talks to couples in which one partner is trans about their love and the special bonds they’ve forged, often as a result of facing adversity together.

[Portugal]
Editada biografia de Filipa Gonçalves
Filipa Gonçalves, a bem conhecida modelo filha de Néné acaba de lançar a sua auto-biografia intitulada "Obviamente Mulher".
Confissões de Nené: ex-jogador do Benfica conta o que sofreu quando o filho decidiu tornar-se mulher

[South Africa]
Caster Semenya Cleared To Return To Competition
Caster Semenya has been cleared to return to competition in women’s sports by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Semenya was forced to undergo genetic testing in order to determine her genetic sex after several allegations regarding whether or not she might be male or intersexed surfaced.

[South Africa]
I'm not a fake woman, says intersex Jennifer
A Glenwood woman is fighting for a South African identity document and also to be recognised as a female South African.
Jennifer Kisten, 42, who is intersex or transgender, wants to be accepted and recognised as a woman.
Kisten, who returned to South Africa six months ago after spending 20 years in the Netherlands, has been battling to get a new ID number, change her name from Gordon to Jennifer, and be classified as female.

[Pakistan] [Books]
Book on trans-sexuals
Journalist-cum-activist, Akhter Hussain Balouch’s book, “A study of sociology of trans-sexuals of Sindh’ provides a valuable insight into lifestyle of this “third sex”, their history, and problems faced by them.

[Pakistan]
Call to recognise transvestites as distinct gender
Transvestites (eunuchs) should be allowed to identify themselves as a distinct gender as per the apex court’s ruling and they should be included in government support program so as to help them develop skills and become respectable and contributing members of society.
Third gender should be given due status: Speakers

[India]
A Film fest for transgenders opens on April 22
The Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (MIQFF) 'Kashish', the biggest LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) cine event in India will begin here from April 22.
The four-day festival, which promises to sensitise people on gay issues will present 110 films from over 25 countries at two venues in Mumbai.

[New Zealand]
Wait till May for campaign decision says Beyer
Georgina Beyer says she will wait until early May before making a firm announcement about whether she will return to politics by campaigning for the Masterton mayoralty.

[Australia]
Another black trans death in custody . .
On March 10, 2009, three days after the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, 34-year-old Veronica Baxter was arrested by Redfern police. She was charged with six counts of supplying a prohibited drug and held on remand at the all-male NSW Silverwater Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre.
Despite being a trans woman, she was placed in the maximum-security jail for men. Six days later, after a 14-hour break between checking her cell, she was found dead, hanging in her single cell.

[USA]
Major Revisions to Psychiatric Definitions Stir Debate
The way psychiatrists describe childhood mood swings, gender identity, autism and dozens of mental health disorders could soon change drastically.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is in the midst of massive revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, better known as the DSM. This tome is the repository of diagnostic criteria for everything from schizophrenia to insomnia.
Response to the APA’s New GID

[USA]
Students Mark National Day of Silence
Hundreds of thousands of students nationwide are expected to keep their mouths shut today to bring attention to anti-gay and lesbian name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Once Again, Erasing the Role of Transphobia in Hate Crimes
Back in December I wrote a blog entry Remembering Jorge While Forgetting What Binds Us, a commentary how some gay activists ignored, misrepresented or actively denied gender variance in the horrific murder of Jorge Steven López in Puerto Rico. About the case and the reaction from some gay activists, I wrote,(...)

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Once Again, FOX Turns Transgender Acceptance Into Toilet Talk
What is the Republican fascination with toilets? Every time they talk about transgender people, it goes to bathroom talk. Men in women’s bathrooms! Run!

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Not Sure About The Transgenders in ENDA; CBS pushes hate group message
An article appeared yesterday in Roll Call, a DC newspaper covering legislative news.
In it, Rep. Collin Peterson, so-called "Democrat" of Minnesota, said he's not sure whether transgender people should be included in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that coming up before Congress.
[Blog/Commentary] Andrea Lafferty: ENDA will lead to the molestation of disabled veterans
ENDA, schools, and your children
ENDA Vote Coming Soon

[USA]
Justice Department Seeks Dismissal of Spurious Challenge to Inclusive Hate Crimes Act
The US Department of Justice this week sought dismissal of a frivolous challenge to the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Government argued that the plaintiffs, four anti-LGBT pastors and political activists, lacked legal standing to challenge the law, which criminalizes violent physical attacks based on religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion in certain circumstances. According to the DOJ’s brief, the plaintiffs’ claimed fear that they would be prosecuted as violent criminals for issuing anti-LGBT speeches and publications was so obviously at odds with the provision of the law that the suit should be immediately dismissed.

[USA] [News/Film]
Gwyneth Paltrow pulls out of transgender film
Gwyneth Paltrow has pulled out of appearing in The Danish Girl, a film about trans painter Einar Wegener.
Paltrow was herself a replacement for Charlize Theron for the part of the painter's wife Gerda.
She told Harper's Bazaar she pulled out of the role due to a change of shooting location, which she felt would be problematic for her children.
Paltrow Out of Kidman Transgender Drama
Gwyneth Paltrow drops out of movie to spend more time with family

[USA]
From Chastity to Chaz: Cher's gender-swap son steps out with his girlfriend
With his arm round his girlfriend, this is a proud moment for Chaz Bono.
The offspring of Cher and her late ex-husband Sonny Bono is in the final stages of a gender swap from female to male.
Chaz Bono Interviewed On The GLAAD Media Awards' Red Carpet
Cher's daughter Chastity Bono in final stages of sex change

[CA,USA]
Investigators crack cold case killing of male prostitute
Nearly six years after a cross-dressing prostitute was found dead of multiple stab wounds near a lonely corner of 1st Avenue and Broadway, police arrested a 34-year-old man blocks away from where the crime occurred.
It was halfway past midnight on May 19, 2004 when officers found 22-year-old Thyotis Jackson face down with a cut throat and stab wound.

[CA, USA]
White supremacist rally at L.A. City Hall draws violent counter-protest
A rally of about 40 white supremacists Saturday on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall drew hundreds of counter-protesters, sparked brawls in which two people were severely beaten and ended with crowds of demonstrators hurling rocks and bottles at police and departing supremacists.

[MA, USA]
A transgender prisoner’s right to receive necessary medical treatment
On April 16, 2010, Fox News focused on a transgender prisoner who received a mammogram. Fox was apparently outraged that Michelle Kosilek, a transgender woman, underwent a routine health screening.

[MA, USA]
Massachusetts GOP's Gubernatorial Pick Is Pro-Gay. And Anti-Trans
At yesterday's state GOP convention, Charles Baker received resounding support as the party's pick for governor, shutting down Christy Mihos's attempt with a 89-11 percent vote. Not only is he in favor of same-sex marriage, but he's campaigning with Richard Tisei (pictured, right), the out state senator. (He'll face off against Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick and State Treasurer Tim Cahill, the Democrat running as an Independent.) Not that they see eye-to-eye on all things LGBT.
Mass. GOP Picks Pro-Gay Gov. Candidate

[NC, USA]
N.C. a leader in visitation rights
President Barack Obama's order to require hospitals to let patients decide who can visit them will have little effect in North Carolina, because the state adopted a similar policy two years ago.

[NY, USA]
College of Staten Island making some restrooms gender neutral
Most people aren't given funny looks when they walk into a restroom. Or yelled at to get out. Or even arrested. But for transgender people or parents with small children of the opposite sex, entering a bathroom can be a daily challenge.

[OH, USA]
Anti-gay hate crimes persist, advocates say
Gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people in Greater Cincinnati continue to encounter physical and verbal harassment based on their sexual orientation, say organizers and supporters of a Columbus-based, anti-violence group that is relatively new to the area.

[TN, USA]
Judge Demands McRae Verdict By Monday
The video needed to be subtitled, but federal prosecutors thought it was crystal clear on the issue of intent.
The suspect reluctantly asked, "Were I to admit I'd done this to myself? You'd offer me some sort of help or something like that? But, not criminal charges or anything?"
Jurors in Transgender Beating Case To Continue Deliberations

[UT, USA]
Park City passes anti-discrimination ordinances, protecting the gay and transgender population
Add Park City to the list of Utah communities that have passed ordinances protecting gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and employment matters.
Park City passes anti-discrimination ordinance

[Puerto Rico]
Has anything changed in Puerto Rico since Jorge Steven López Mercado’s murder?
As Puerto Rican prosecutors prepare for the start of jury selection in the trial of the man who they contend killed Jorge Steven López Mercado last November, activists maintain the outcry over the gay teenager’s brutal murder has already produced tangible changes on the island.

[El Salvador]
Homosexuales y transexuales salvadoreños alertan sobre el sida
Grupos de salvadoreños homosexuales y transexuales, los más afectados por el sida en el país, recorren todas las noches las calles de ocho departamentos para entregar condones y alertar sobre el VIH a quienes ejercen la prostitución y se enfrentan también a la violencia generada por la discriminación.
Transexuales de El Salvador alertan del Sida y de violencia, el año pasado fueron asesinadas cerca de 20 trans