[Spain]
Transgender man: I met with Pope Francis
Has Pope Francis taken another step to push for tolerance in the Catholic Church?
Yes, says Diego Neria Lejarraga, a transgender man who says he had a private audience with the Pope in late January, reportedly a first for the pontiff. Neria was born as a girl in Spain and raised as a devout Catholic.

[UK]
Selfridges goes gender neutral
UK department store will no longer have men's and women's sections

[UK]
Soccer star Robert Huth gets two match ban after anti-trans tweets
He was also fined £15,000

[Austria]
Trans woman from Turkey killed in Vienna
Having left Turkey for Vienna due to transphobic pressure, trans woman Hande Oncu was killed in a hate crime. Oncu’s body will be brought back to Turkey thanks to Trans Angels’ extensive efforts.

[Poland]
Polish transsexual lawmaker announces bid for president
Polish transsexual lawmaker Anna Grodzka said Friday she would run for president in May elections, breaking new ground in the staunchly Catholic country.

[Turkey]
Turkish court fines hamam owner for denying entry of transgender woman
A Turkish court has ruled that the owner of a hamam, Turkish bath, in Istanbul is to pay 3,000 Turkish Liras for discriminating against a transgender woman by denying her entry.

[Turkey]
Trans woman killed and hidden under couch
In Istanbul, a trans woman was killed and hidden under a couch for 3 days by a man named Necat Y.
In Sirinevler, Istanbul, a trans woman named B.E. was killed by a man named Nejat Y. He kept the dead body of trans woman in a couch for 3 days. The murderer reportedly stayed in B.E.’s house for 3 days.

[Egypt]
Egyptian Court Sentences Trans Woman To Six Years In Prison On Prostitution Charges
It comes after 26 men were acquitted in Egypt’s most high-profile homosexuality trial in more than a decade.

[Vietnam]
Transsexuals banned from Vietnam women’s football competition
Transsexual players are not allowed to participate in the National Women’s Football Championship, which will kick off on March 5, according to the Vietnam Football Federation.
“The national championship is exclusively for women, so transsexuals will not be allowed,” Duong Nghiep Khoi, vice secretary of the federation, said Thursday.
“This regulation is to ensure fair competition and for the development of Vietnam women’s football,” Khoi said.

[Vietnam]
Vietnamese transgender comedy De Mai Tinh 2 breaks box office records
The LGBT community has however protested against the slapstick comedy's camp central character for humiliating and smearing gay people through overacted actions and expressions
With De Mai Tinh 2, has Vietnam finally embraced gay film-making?

[Malaysia]
Video: Malaysian prison turned her into a trans activist
“They asked me to strip naked in front of everyone. They made fun of me, because my body doesn’t conform to what men and women are supposed to be.”

[Philippines]
Philippine Court Rejects U.S. Marine's Bid to Drop Charges in Trans Woman's Murder
Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton still faces murder charges in the killing of Filipina trans woman Jennifer Laude, after losing an appeal to the Philippine Department of Justice.

[Canada]
Proof of surgery no longer required to officially change gender in Manitoba
The legislation comes into effect beginning in February

[USA]
Gender roles: Men and women are not so different after all
Gender is a large part of our identity that is often defined by our psychological differences as men and women. But a researcher says in reality men and women are more alike than we may think.

[USA]
Petition for 'Leelah's Law' Banning Conversion Therapy Heads to White House
Gathering more than 100,000 signatures in under a month, the petition hopes to end the damaging practice faced by late trans teen Leelah Alcorn and many other LGBT people nationwide.

[USA]
Transgender Kids Identify With Their Gender As Completely As Cisgender Kids
A new study finds that transgender children, young people who assert a gender different from what was assigned at birth, identity as consistently and innately with that gender identity as other kids their age who are not trans.
When Do Kids Know They’re Transgender? Earlier Than You Might Think
Landmark Study to Track ‘Pioneer’ Generation of Transgender Children

[USA]
Magic: The Gathering gets first trans character
Magic: The Gathering has got its first transgender character: a badass dragon slayer who goes by the name of Alesha.

[USA]
Navy grants transgender veteran first official name-change approval in military record
Last Friday, Paula Neira received an unexpected but welcome surprise in the mail. The Navy had officially approved her request, filed in March of 2014, for a name change on what’s known as a DD-214—the military form that veterans present as proof of service whenever they apply for jobs or a variety of veteran benefits and services.
U.S. Navy Approves First Name-Change for a Trans Vet
'Who I really am': Transgender vet applauds military name change

[USA]
Transgender Vets Will Receive New Military Paperwork Reflecting Their Correct Names
The National LGBT Bar Association—the country’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied legal professionals—announced Wednesday that the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records (BCMR) and Navy Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) will issue new military discharge paperwork (known as Form DD-214) to three transgender veterans, reflecting their correct names and identities. The veterans—Retired Army First Sergeant (Promotable) Dayna Walker; Retired Army Major Evan Young; and former Lieutenant Paula M. Neira, a Naval Academy Graduate—were represented by The LGBT Bar and Edwin G. Oswald and Stephen C. Lessard, both attorneys with the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Mr. Lessard is also a member of The Bar’s Military Working Group.

[USA]
LGBTQ Community Outraged with Ongoing Transgender Homicides
The National LGBTQ Task Force is joining LGBTQ community leaders and activists across the nation in expressing outrage against the ongoing string of homicides targeting transgender women. Just this month, three young black transgender women have been murdered. On January 9, Ms. Edwards was killed in Louisville, Kentucky and Lamia Beard was killed in Norfolk, Virginia on January 23. Earlier this week, Ty Underwood was murdered in Tyler, Texas.

[USA]
Bruce Jenner transitioning to female
Source close to family tells People: 'He is finally happy and his family is accepting of what he's doing'
Us Weekly Ran a Surprisingly Respectful Cover Story About Bruce Jenner’s Gender Identity
Gender Reassignment: Is It Time To Give Bruce Jenner Space And Privacy?

[USA]
Mary Cheney Compares Drag to Blackface
The out daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney is apparently no fan of RuPaul.

[USA]
Pivotal time for trans people as rigid notion of gender challenged
For Kate Bornstein, the American author and pioneer gender activist, this is a pivotal time in history for transgender people as the rigid concept of two sexes is challenged by a growing number of individuals who don't conform to either.

[USA]
Exxon adds discrimination protections in U.S. for LGBT workers
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, has changed its U.S. employment policies to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as now required by federal law.

[USA]
Media continues disrespectful reporting as transgender women of color are murdered
Last week, GLAAD reached out to several news outlets in Norfolk, Virginia, about their inaccurate and offensive coverage of Lamia Beard, a Black transgender woman who was killed in a shooting. Lamia, who was 30-years-old, was found by police on January 17 injured by a gunshot wound. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died. Monica Roberts at TransGriot noted the many problems with local media coverage of Lamia's murder.

[AZ, USA]
Advocates Rally Around Transgender Migrant Woman Detained In All-Male Facility
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has refused to release a transgender migrant woman from detention in an all-male facility, even though advocates say she has a credible asylum claim and has faced abuse from guards and fellow detainees.

[CA, USA]
Transgender man dies from injection at ‘silicone party’ in Santa Ana
Santa Ana police are investigating the death of a transgender person, who died from complications related to an injection he received at a “silicone party” in the city, a department spokesman said Thursday.
The victim, who police have not identified, was a 40-year-old man seeking to change his gender, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. He was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m., Jan. 21, Bertagna said.

[CA, USA]
Living Trans on the Central Coast
Most people have little understanding of what it means to be transgender. At the most basic level transgender is a term for a person who doesn’t clearly fit into society’s standards of how we believe a woman or a man is supposed to look or act. Transgender people often describe being born with typical male or female anatomies, but feel as if they were born in the wrong body. Transgender is not a sexual orientation, and while some may choose to have gender reassignment surgery, not all do.

[CO, USA]
Over 4,000 LGBTQ Equality Advocates To Convene in Denver for Creating Change Conference
The National LGBTQ Task Force has announced that over 4,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people and allies are expected to attend the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. Organized by the National LGBTQ Task Force, the conference will take place next week on February 4-8, 2015 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown. Creating Change is a unique five-day experience consisting of daylong institutes, dynamic plenary sessions, over 350 workshops, and more.

[FL, USA]
Transgender teen Leelah Alcorn honored at vigil at UCF
Dark and silent, a moment of recognition at UCF's Reflecting Pond on Wednesday matched the life of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen who committed suicide after suffering discrimination from her parents.

[ID, USA]
'Add the Words' bill fails to pass through House Committee
After more than 22 hours of debate, the so-called 'Add the Words' bill failed to pass through a House Committee Thursday.
House State Affairs Committee members voted straight party-line, 13 to 4 to hold the bill, effectively killing it.

[KY, USA]
Killing In Kentucky Leads To Confusion For LGBT Advocates, Media
Although some media outlets have said the victim was a transgender woman, family and friends of the victim, as well as police, tell BuzzFeed News he was a gay man who sometimes dressed in drag.

[KY, USA]
Transgender Hopkins County High School Student Working on Petition to Use Bathroon of Choice
A Madisonville North Hopkins County High School transgender student is working on a petition to allow him to use the bathroom he chooses instead of the handicap one made available for those who identify as transgender.

[MN, USA]
MN transgender attorney: Legal profession needs to welcome ‘trans’ lawyers
A Minnesota legal publication published an impassioned essay from a transgender attorney who says the often traditional legal world must do more to welcome transgender professionals.

[NH, USA]
Transgender woman sues county, claims jailhouse sex assault
No guidelines, training for transgender inmates, she alleges

[NY, USA]
Birth certificates ask parents if ‘woman giving birth’ is female
No, that’s not a typo.
A city Health Department form for new parents requesting birth certificates asks the “woman giving birth” if she’s male or female.
Along with routine questions — mother’s maiden name, mother’s legal name, mother’s Social Security number — is a gender question that has raised a few eyebrows.

[OH, USA]
Leelah Alcorn: Cincinnati police chief apologizes about newsletter on transgender teen's suicide
A police newsletter focusing on the suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn prompted an apology from chief Jeffrey Blackwell after several officers complained.
Community continues to opine over controversial CPD LGBT letter

[PA, USA]
Pennsylvania Trans Woman's Lawsuit Tests Exclusions in Americans With Disabilities Act
Continuing her years-long battle, Kate Lynn Blatt has now argued that not having her gender identity accommodated at work violated her rights under federal disability laws.
Advocacy groups support trans litigant

[PA, USA]
Temple students observe moment of silence for transgender teen
Temple University students observed a moment of silence Wednesday night for Leelah Alcorn on the one-month anniversary of the transgender 17-year-old’s death. Alcorn committed suicide on Dec. 28 by jumping in front of a tractor trailer on a highway in her hometown of Kings Mill, Ohio.

[VA, USA]
Conversion Therapy Ban Fails in Va. House
Subcommittee tables measure prohibiting "sexual orientation change efforts" on minors
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee on Wednesday dealt the final blow to hopes for a bill that would have prohibited the practice of so-called conversion or “reparative” therapy on minors by licensed therapists.

[Brazil]
Brazil’s largest city to pay transgender youth to finish school
Brazil’s largest city hopes to encourage transvestites and transsexual youth to return to school and finish their educations by offering them monthly payments.

[Argentina]
El Estado reemplazará las prótesis mamarias a travestis y transexuales
Serán en los casos en que se inyectaron metacrilato o aceites industriales para cambiar su aspecto. Explican que es por el "alto riesgo de vida" que implican estas sustancias. Les pondrán gratis siliconas homologadas.