[Spain]
Is It Barbie Or Ken?..Or Both
A show called InVisibles is intending to increase the visibility of transsexuals in society and opened at the Sala Miguel Hernández of Alicante University on Wednesday March 31 with Transsexual Barbie dolls that are at the centre of a photographic exhibition organized by the DecideT Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals in Alicante.
Barbie transexual
Mattel autoriza la Barbie transexual: «No tenemos problemas con los gays»

[Itália]
Transessuali a convegno a Livorno dal 9 all'11 aprile
Si terrà a Livorno, il 9, 10 e 11 aprile presso l'hotel Villa Morazzana, la tre giorni del Iº Congresso Nazionale Transgender e Transessuali.

[Macedonia]
Skopje Urged to Include Sexual Orientation in Anti-Discrimination Law
Macedonian MPs should put their country in line with European values and adopt an anti-discrimination law that includes measures against discrimination based on sexual orientation, EU Ambassador Erwan Foeure said on Thursday.

[Malawi]
Human Rights Watch urge Malawian President to intervene in gay marriage case
Human Rights Watch (HWR) has written to the President of Malawi urging him to intervene in the sentencing tomorrow of two gay men convicted for taking part in a marriage ceremony.

[India]
Haryana, too, will now give jobs to eunuchs
Following in the footsteps of Punjab, the Haryana government has decided to consider eunuchs for government jobs. To facilitate this, there will be a separate category of ‘transgender’ in the employment forms. Those selected will be, however, eventually considered in the category of men.

[Indonesia/Thailand]
A shadow on Surabaya
The biggest pink news at the moment is Ricky Martin coming out as a "proud homosexual man". As wonderful as it is, it only confirms what most of us have known all along.
But there's another piece of news that deserves more attention. Last weekend the International Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) was forced to cancel its regional meeting in Surabaya, Indonesia, due to threats of violence from religious fundamentalists and the police's unwillingness to provide protection.

[Australia]
Australia Rescinds Special Status for "Non-Specific" Sex
Last month, the Australian government made international headlines for being the first to officially recognize a third gender on a state-issued document. Just days after conferring the new "sex not specified" status, the government rescinded the certificate, leaving a raging controversy over the definition of "gender" in its wake.

[Canada]
Police looking for ‘scapegoats’: lawyer
A man accused of assaulting a drunken female impersonator and the man’s girlfriend were made “scapegoats” by a police department desperate to appease an angry gay community, a defence lawyer alleged Wednesday.

[USA]
Pregnant Man and Transgender Health Care
Imagine needing medical care but being refused by doctors. Not because they are unable to help or because of financial barriers, but because the doctors are simply unwilling to help you.
That is exactly what happened to Thomas Beatie, also known as the Pregnant Man. Beatie decided to get pregnant and give birth due to his partner's inability to bear children. But he was refused treatment from doctors, going through nine doctors during the course of his pregnancy.

[USA]
Kimberly Reed and"Prodigal Sons” on “Oprah” (video)
As filmmaker Kimberly Reed appeared on Oprah to discuss her film Prodigal Sons, a banner ran across the screen reading “Kimberly—born a boy”. With its soft purples and powdery feminine font this caption drew a soft, but immovable line between the purposes of the guest and the host on the show. While Oprah focused on Reed’s gender change as a personal journey that all can take heart from, Reed takes a far broader approach to transformation.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
No Joke-NY Media Fails To Read AP Stylebook
You know, how hard is it for media people to grasp this concept?
transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.
Once again, the media fails in a story involving a transwoman, and this time it happens in our country's so-called media capital.

[USA]
Queering Easter: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Redefine Sainthood
An order of queer nuns, founded in San Francisco thirty-one years ago, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is now a full-fledged pastoral and charitable organization, having given away more than a million dollars. They've also raised pioneers in LGBT and AIDS/HIV rights to sainthood, creating their own holy calendar.
(Photo: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 1983)

[USA]
Beautiful Darling: A Positive Transgender Media Portrayal
With all the talk about negative portrayals of transgender people in movies lately (and by the way, did you hear they're changing the trailer on the trashy one?), it's heartening to hear that some directors have class. From Wednesday's New York Times comes word of what seems like a positive portrayal of transgender actress Candy Darling:

[NY, USA]
Transgender woman found strangled to death in Queens apartment
Police continue to investigate the death of a transgender woman who was found murdered inside her Queens apartment on Tuesday, March 30.
The Daily News reported Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar’s friends found her naked body on her bed in her ransacked apartment on 62nd Street in Ridgewood. The medical examiner concluded Gonzalez-Andujar’s killer strangled her to death.
Transgender Woman Murdered in New York
Male Date May Have Strangled Transgender Woman: Report

[NY, USA]
Transgender Job-Seekers Face Discrimination
The pervasive discrimination faced by transgender job-seekers in New York and elsewhere was discussed Wednesday on WNYC FM in light of a devastating new report.

[PA, USA]
Protest turns spotlight on SEPTA
Transit riders heading out of Center City Tuesday afternoon encountered more than the usual rush hour at the rails.
About 40 members and supporters of Riders Against Gender Exclusion rallied inside the SEPTA concourse at 15th and Market streets Tuesday to protest the use of gender markers on SEPTA transpasses, which demonstrators said discriminate against transgender and non-gender-conforming riders.

[PA, USA]
The Attic revives trans youth programming
The Attic Youth Center is calling all transgender and questioning youth to be active participants in the revitalization of a program that seeks to educate and empower the young trans community.

[TX,USA]
Parker issues extensive non-discrimination order
On March 25, Houston Mayor Annise Parker issued an extensive executive order protecting city employees based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. This order expands on an earlier one issued by former Mayor Bill White that addressed only sexual orientation.

[WI, USA]
Judge: Transgender inmates have right to therapy
A federal judge has struck down a unique Wisconsin law that prohibits transgender inmates from receiving taxpayer-funded hormone therapy, which alters their appearance to be more like that of the opposite sex.
A group of male inmates who identify as female had challenged the 2006 law with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Lambda Legal, a national gay rights group. They say they need the hormones to treat their gender identity disorder, and not having them would lead to severe health problems.
[Commentary] Judge: Criminal Transgenders Entitled to Your Tax Dollars

[Dominican Republic]
Estrangulan homosexual de 26 años
Un hombre estranguló ayer con una sábana a un homosexual que se dedicaba a la prostitución en la avenida José Ortega y Gasset, con quien estuvo en una de las habitaciones del hotel restaurant Londres.
Ramón de Jesús Crisóstomo de León (Monchina), de 26 años, fue hallado muerto este martes a las 10:30 de la mañana por una empleada del hotel restaurant que está ubicado en la avenida San Martín casi a esquina 14 de Junio en el Distrito.
(...)Explicó que Crisóstomo de León se trasladaba de noche a la avenida Ortega y Gasset casi a esquina San Martín, donde se ganaba la vida como trabajadora sexual.

[Argentina]
Impulsan leyes que benefician a travestis y a transexuales
Se trata de dos proyectos presentados en el Congreso: uno es para facilitar el cambio de nombre en el DNI; el otro busca que las operaciones de cambio de sexo puedan realizarse sin una autorización judicial