Transfofa em Blog

Um espaço especial e pessoal, para dar relevo a cada momento único - Bem Vind@ ao meu Blog!

segunda-feira, agosto 31, 2009

[International] [Blog/News]
Stop TRANS Pathologization-2012
The main action of the stp2012 campaign is the simultaneous demonstration, in various cities around the world, every October since 2007.
[Blog/News] TGEU call for action/support -- "Stop Trans Pathologization 2012"

[UK]
Additions to GIRES Website
We encourage you to use the material in this site to inform and educate others.

[South Africa] [Commentary]
Castigated and celebrated
Had the acceptance by South Africans of athlete Caster Semenya’s difference been extended to murdered footballer Eudy Simelane she may have still been alive today, writes Mark Gevisser
[Commentary/Sports] Gender or Sex Verification of Athletes – Why?

[Australia]
Bend it like gender
Man-turned-woman Martine Delaney says the science of gender is not just black and white.

(Photo: Martine Delaney says she is driven by her desire to get people to think differently about their assumptions about gender.)

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Discrimination and Entitlement
Much has been said about employment discrimination with regards to the transgender. ENDA, the Employment Non Discrimination Act, is highly touted by both the GLB and the transgender. I have no feelings on ENDA one way or the other. But with well over a hundred combined municipalities and states having statutes and ordinances prohibiting employment discrimination based on GLBT identification…and, at least to hear that same GLBT talk, those statutes and ordinances having little or no effect on GLBT employment, it will be anything but the transgender holy grail.

[USA] [News/Health]
It's About Life and Death
Controversy over the "true" sex of South African 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya displays the anxiety many still have over gender. People that do not line up neatly as male or female face social ostracization, as well as outright hostility or violence. This can become a matter of life and death for those that decide to physically transgress the gender binary, not just due to physical attacks, but from the need for basic medical care. For transsexuals, trying to access health care can be an impossible ordeal, as it can result in being denied assistance by medical professionals, or being written off as having psychological issues. Writer Eleanor Bader looks at one facility, the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta, that decided to break this trend. The Center offers a model for other medical facilities to proactively care for the trans community and prevent any more needless deaths due to ignorance and fear.

[USA] [People/Entertainment]
Interview: Taking Woodstock's Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber has a reputation as a serious actor. He's played Hamlet onstage, after all, and even in this summer's gloriously ridiculous Wolverine, he brought some depth to his role as Sabretooth. When he walks in for a roundtable interview he definitely doesn't seem like the brooding type, giving thoughtful and friendly answers even to a question about whether he'll be in a Wolverine sequel. But it's when we ask about the research he did to play the part of Vilma, the drag queen security guard in Taking Woodstock, and he gives a 10 minute answer that covers the entire history of drag queens in the 1960s, that that "serious actor" reputation really comes true. (Photo)
Liev Schreiber cross dresses for 'Taking Woodstock' and contemplates doing a 'Wolverine' sequel

[DC, USA]
D.C. Transgender Killing Possible Hate Crime
A brutal attack on two transgender women in the Washington D.C. area has left one dead and a second seriously injured, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported.
Tyli'a "NaNa Boo" Mack: vigil held for murdered D.C. trans woman
[Blog/Commentary] Two Transgender People Attacked in NW, One Dies

domingo, agosto 30, 2009

[UK] [Television]
'I've felt like a boy for a long time' - First Cut: The Boy Who Was Born A Girl, Friday 4 September, 8pm on Channel 4
He suffered years of depression and bullying. Now, as he begins the process of becoming a man, Jon wants to help other transgender teenagers

[South Africa] [Letters to the Editor]
Gender not black and white issue
Because of the importance of gender in sports, technology is now forcing us to face what transgender people have been trying to tell us for decades – that gender is not 100 per cent one or the other.
Mulher ou homem? - Quando um cromossoma define um campeão
Christian Group Applauds Sex Testing of South African Runner
[Blog/Commentary] “Gender Doubt”
[Commentary] Life in the shadow of gender

[South Africa]
The journey from Selwyn to Sally
The life of Sally Gross challenges many of our preconceptions about who we are, especially in a society that accepts only two genders, male and female. Born Jewish, Gross later became a Christian and a Dominican priest. This was possible because she was classified male at birth. But Sally Gross is not transexual, she is intersexed. This article by Stephen Coan tells her story and examines the issues raised by intersexuality in a gender-stereotyped society. (This article was first published in The Natal Witness in three parts from February 21-23, 2000.)

[Pakistan]
The first step in the Pride walk
Transgenders in Pakistan are not only ostracised but also feared. Will the recent Supreme Court ruling change the way people perceive them, wonders Zofeen T Ebrahim

[India]
First of its kind: A clinic just for transgenders
Transgenders, often distanced by society, will soon have a clinic functioning exclusively for them in this former French enclave. Even as a group of transgenders in Chennai launched a matrimonial website exclusively for them, in Puducherry the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute showcased a clinic, which, they claimed was the first such medical facility for transgenders in south India.

[India]
A matrimonial website for transsexual community launched
Members of transsexual community in Chennai launched the world’s first matrimonial website for their clan.

[USA] [People/Religion]
Guess Who's Coming To Lunch?
Little did i know what was in store for me when I accepted a lunch invitation from a VOL reader whom I had never met. Soon, I found myself seated at a nearby Chinese restaurant, opposite a lady who proceeded to tell me that she is a transgendered person.

[USA]
Man's 'secret love' of transsexual women: Do new trends predict a second sexual revolution?
“Whether they want to admit it or not, the numbers on the web show us that there’s definite interest,” says Alex Ladd, co-owner and head of production for DVSX.com. In an interview with adult-industry newssource Xbiz.com, Ladd couched the trend in the language of his trade: “Straight men want trannies.”

[USA] [News/Commentary]
Transgender & Transsexual Issues 101: Are there more trans women than trans men? Part two
Trans women seem to be turning up everywhere in the media and are sometimes quite visible in everyday society, but trans men are frequently unseen, leading non-trans people to believe that there are far fewer trans men than trans women.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Tranny perv arrested in hate crime hoax
The other night in Denver, two people took a hammer and busted several windows at the state Democratic Party headquarters. Cops caught one of the suspects right away, 24 year old Maurice Schwenkler. Local Dems wasted no time in blaming the attack on “hate” being spread by right wing conservatives, because the windows held pictures of Obama and pro-Obamacare signs.

[VT, USA]
Teen Pushes for Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
For most students going to the restroom at school is a normal, simple part of the day. But 16-year-old Kyle Giard-Chase says it is not so simple when your gender identity doesn't match your biological sex.

[DC, USA]
Murder of Transgender woman in NW DC: Vigil Tonight
Daytime violence in any city stirs fear in the hearts of local residents, and when it appears members of a certain community were targeted, that community must remain aware. On the 200 block of Q street NW, two trans women were attacked near a Transgender support center, Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc On Wednesday at 2:30pm. There will be a vigil tonight at 6:30PM at 209 Q St. NW.
Uncertainty Remains Over Motive in Double Stabbing
News media sucks at reporting on violent attacks on transgender individualsin Washington, D.C.
[Blog/PR] DCTC Responds to Recent Violence in Our Community

[MI, USA]
A chance to be themselves
Pride in the Park offers fun and freedom for local transgender people - even if only for a day

[Perú]
Se realizó protesta por violencia contra personas trans en Lima
Portando pancartas, afiches y banderolas, más de treinta personas participaron de un plantón en el que manifestaron su repudio a la violencia contra las personas trans por parte de efectivos del Serenazgo y Policía Nacional, y exigieron a las autoridades acabar con las intervenciones que vulneran los derechos humanos de estas personas.

sábado, agosto 29, 2009

[Brasil]
Espetáculo de comédia em BH traz duas trans e uma drag no elenco
Setembro já começa com um clima super friendly no teatro mineiro. Na primeira sexta-feira, 04/09, entra em cartaz em Belo Horizonte a peça “A noite das mal-dormidas”, que ficará o mês inteiro no Teatro da Maçonaria e terá no elenco duas transexuais e uma drag queen. O trio, formado pelas trans Walkíria La Roche e Ingrid Vazz e por Rogério Viola (conhecido na noite como a divertida Marilu Barraginha), interpreta três solteironas virgens e recalcadas, que só sabem falar mal dos vizinhos. O Mix conferiu um ensaio do espetáculo em primeira mão, a convite de Wal La Roche, e bateu um papo com as atrizes e com o diretor. (Foto)

[UK]
Brazilian woman faces long sentence after setting fire to transvestite
A Brazilian woman who caused horrifying injuries to a transvestite by showering him with petrol at his Birmingham home and then setting him alight has been convicted of attempted murder.
Gabryela Passos was told to expect a “very long custodial sentence” by Judge Robert Jukes QC, after being found guilty of the charge by a jury at the city’s Crown Court.


[UK]
Sex change cabbie quits new job
A transgender driver's return behind the wheel of a taxi has lasted just a month.
Andre Edwards, 51, walked out of her job at Leyland-based Eco Cabs following a series of rows with her new bosses – and they don't want her back.


[South Africa] [Commentary/Sports]
Treatment of South African Runner Shameful, Repulsive
It was almost two centuries ago when, I suppose, the first indigenous young woman of what is now called South Africa showed up in Europe and was greeted with ugly fascination. She was paraded around, poked and prodded (sexual assault we'd call it today) because she looked so different than the European aesthetics of a female. Her name was Saartjie Baartman. She was 22 and she became known infamously as Hottentot Venus.
[Commentary/Sports] Caster Semenya- an assault on Womanity
[Commentary/Sports] Tom Knott: Engendering questions about a murky subject
[Commentary] I'll show you mine ...

[Pakistan] [Blog/Commentary]
Pakistan’s undesirables: ‘Dealing with’ the hijra problem
There’s a thought-provoking post over at Sherryx’s Weblog (link here) about the hijra community in Pakistan.
(T-Vox carries this definition of hijra: “In the culture of the Indian subcontinent a hijra is a physically male or intersex person who is considered a member of ‘the third sex.’”)

[Hong Kong]
Genderless toilet roils sex-change banker
A male bank worker who was assigned a genderless toilet after dressing as a woman at work has lodged a discrimination complaint against his employer.
The man, who works for banking giant HSBC in Hong Kong, is taking female hormone tablets in preparation for a full sex change and claims that as a result he is unable to use both the male and female toilets, the Hong Kong Standard reported.


[USA] [Commentary]
The Government Is Already Paying for Transsexual ‘Sex-Change’ Operations
Say No to Taxpayer-Funded “Tranny-Care”: No American citizen should be forced to pay for body-disfiguring “sex-change” operations with his or her tax dollars. In this photo, the (biological) woman at right — her healthy breasts surgically removed to match her desired “male” identity — marches in a Boston “transgender pride” parade. Urge your Congressman and Senators (202-224-3121) to oppose Obama-care, which will end up funding abortions and these hideous “trans” mutilations.

[USA]
Transgender Mayoral Candidate to Sue Twitter over Defamatory Fake Account
A transgender woman currently running for Mayor in Nampa, Idaho is planning to sue the social networking site Twitter for allowing a false account posted in her name to remain accessible for weeks after requesting that they take it down.
Melissa Sue Robinson, who entered the mayoral race in June,
told KTRV she was shocked to find a link under her name to a Twitter account titled “WomanWithAPenis.” This same account was also reported to have sent lewd tweets to a Michigan reporter. Robinson recounted:

[USA] [Blog/Law/Commentary]
Legal Analysis of ENDA, Sections 1-2
In about two weeks, Congress will go back into session, and a vote on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, will probably follow shortly thereafter. Known as HR3017 in the U.S. House of Representatives, and S1584 in the Senate, it appears poised for passage. (You can view the legislative spreadsheets here and here.) The bill contains a number of provisions that require interpretation. This is the first in a series of posts designed to explore the bill.

[CO, USA] [News/Commentary]
Transgendered anarchist is Democrat HQ vandal
Vandals broke out the windows of the Colorado Democratic party headquarters the other night, and did about $11,000 worth of damage. An anti-Obamacare poster was left at the scene, prompting Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak to suggest that “…opposition rhetoric over the health care debate led to the vandalism.”

[DC,USA]
D.C. Transgender Community Outraged After Fatal Stabbing
There's fear in D.C.'s transgender community after a stabbing that left one person dead and another injured Wednesday afternoon.
Family and friends of the victim gathered outside a transgender help center blocks from the crime Thursday. There, they denounced what happened to 21-year-old Joshua Mack who went by the name Nana Boo.
(Photo: Tyli'a “Na Na Boo” Mack)

[VT, USA]
Transgender teenager becomes public face of movement for gender-neutral bathrooms in Vermont
A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.
Kyle Giard-Chase, 16, asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission on Thursday to endorse the effort. He said that before he came out last year as transgendered, he was a three-sport athlete and the co-captain of the field hockey team, a girls' sport, at South Burlington High School.

[OR, USA]
Teacher breaks silence; he’s a she
A long time teacher has been hiding a secret for years and when students return to school they will go from calling him “he” to “she”.
For 20 years Nicholas Kintz taught math at West Linn High School and while at home for the last three years she’s lived as Nicole Kintz. (Photo)

[HI,USA]
Attorney: Victim was transgender inmate
The attorney for a man who was allegedly sexually assaulted Sunday at O'ahu Community Correctional Center said the victim is a transgender inmate and that the assailant is a male corrections officer.

sexta-feira, agosto 28, 2009

[UK] [Science/Medicine]
Several degrees of androgyny
It is the first question any parent asks after the birth of their child: is it a girl or a boy? In rare cases the midwife has to say honestly: ''I don't know.''

[Switzerland] [News/People/Medicine]
Doctors "playing God With Children's Sex"
It's a boy! It's a girl! But what happens when life doesn't fit in with greeting cards and the defining moment of childbirth becomes a bewildering puzzle?
Swiss intersex activist Daniela Truffer is spearheading a campaign to stop genital surgery and hormone treatment on children born with indeterminate sexual organs.
Truffer argues that affected individuals should be given the time to grow up and decide for themselves whether they wish to become male or female or remain in-between.

(Photo: (Keystone) Daniela Truffer protesting outside Bern University Hospital )

[South Africa] [Blog/Commentary]
A Nation Stands By Caster Semenya While She Gets 'Gender Verified'
Track star Caster Semenya stands accused of being a biological male, because she's whooping the crap out of her lady competitors around the world. So she's being tested by the International Association of Athletics Federations to see if she is really a he, which is exactly as invasive and uncomfortable as it sounds. Either way, South Africans are standing by her, whether Semenya is M or F, or somewhere in between.
[Blog/Sports/Science] Male... or female?
[Commentary] There are few certainties running in the human race
[Blog/Commentary] Caster Semenya Not Unique
[Blog/Commentary] Is the South African runner a man or a woman?
[Blog/Commentary] The Runner Who Is or Isn't a Girl, Part 2.

[India]
World's first matrimonial site for transsexuals
Kalki Subramanian is young, liberated and looking for an Indian man who is loving, compassionate, educated. Oh, and one more thing — he should be OK with marrying a transsexual.
But Kalki isn’t leaving her hopes for a suitable boy to destiny. The founder-director of the Sahodari foundation, that works for transgenders, is setting up a matrimonial website for transsexual women — the first of its kind in the world.

[Hong Kong]
She just won't stand for it
An employee assigned to a "genderless" toilet since coming out with plans for a sex change is fighting for the right to use a washroom reserved for the gender of his choice.

[Vietnam]
Pattaya ‘girls’ draw big crowds at Hanoi cafe
Among Hanoi’s thousands of cafés, the Dem Vong Café has enjoyed an unusual popularity – for nearly a year, it’s been the venue for fashion shows by ‘Pattaya,’ a group of five openly transsexual Vietnamese ‘girls.’
In HCM City, transsexuals are no longer uncommon. They often appear at cafes, bars, hairdressing salons and tea-shops. Not so in Hanoi. The show at Dem Vong Café is unique.
(Photo: Five members of Pattaya group.)

[New Zealand] [News/Commentary]
Transgender law changes: progress report
The long slow process of preparing a Bill to address legal identity and discrimination issues for transgender people has not made many headlines lately, but it continues nonetheless. Allyson Hamblett of Genderbridge, one of several groups and many individuals calling for the law to be updated, offers a progress report.
Transgender law change support grows

[Canada]
Trans issue makes front-page news in Manitoba
The Manitoba NDP government's refusal to fund sex reassignment surgeries has finally made headline news in the province's mainstream press.

[USA] [News/Commentary]
Transgender & Transsexual Issues 101: Are there more trans women than trans men? Part one
Frequently asked question: Why do we often see transsexual women (born male, transitioned to female) in the media and in public life, but we rarely see transsexual men (born female, transitioned to male)? Are there more trans women than trans men?

[USA]
Episcopal Church adopts trans-inclusive policies
They were a party of eight, four transgender women, two transmen, a gay man, and straight woman ally. They told friends, "We're going to Anaheim," not too far away from Disneyland.

[USA]
Bill banning sexual orientation bias introduced; some version likely to pass this year
The new version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2981, was introduced in Congress last month and has a good chance of passage this year. It would make it illegal for most public and private employers to discriminate against employees and applicants based on the person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status. The bill exempts religious groups, the U.S. military and veterans groups.
New impetus for bill banning anti-gay bias at work

[USA]
Liev Schreiber gets giddy in dress
Liev Schreiber has told how donning a dress to play a transvestite in his new film made him feel "giddy".
The 41-year-old macho actor plays a tough, ex-Marine transvestite in Ang Lee's new comedy Taking Woodstock.
Ator Liev Schreiber conta como foi viver uma travesti em novo filme de Ang Lee

[DC, USA]
Trans woman dead after double stabbing
One transgender woman was stabbed to death Wednesday and another was in stable condition with stab wounds from an unknown assailant following an incident along the 200 block of Q Street, N.W., according to sources.
Transgender Man Killed in Northwest Stabbing: Sources
[Blog/News] $25,000 Reward Offered in Transgender Stabbing Case
[Blog/News] Vigil Planned For Transgender Stabbing Victims
T.H.E. Client Killed
Hate Motive Probed in Stabbing of 2 Transgender People

[CA, USA]
A city truck, cross county chase and an arrest

Leigh McInnis Gaetjens, a self-described "transsexual lesbian girl living in a cruel world," is now facing the distinct possibility that reality is about to get crueler.

[CO, USA]
Transperson Arrested for Vandalizing Denver Democratic HQ
In what a Republican lawmaker has touted as a bid to win sympathy for Democrats, an anarchist transperson allegedly shattered windows at the Democratic headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
However, the status of one vandal, currently in custody, as an anarchist who writes for a site called "Queers Agaisnt Obama" seemingly contradicts that theory.(Photo Source: Denver Police Dept. - Maurice Schwenkler, a.k.a. Ariel Attack.)
Anarchists raise bail for Dem. HQ window-bashing suspect

quinta-feira, agosto 27, 2009

[Brasil]
Diretor do filme Jean Charles fala da relação que teve com travesti que cometeu suicídio
Henrique Goldman, o diretor do filme Jean Charles, escreveu na mais recente edição da revista Trip, sobre a relação de amizade que teve com uma travesti brasileira, que se prostituía e cometeu suicídio em Milão.

[España]
La FELGTB celebra la rectificación de Ibermutuatur respecto al tratamiento de la transexualidad
La Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales, FELGTB, celebra la modificación del protocolo médico de la mutua Ibermutuatur respecto a los informes médicos de una persona transexual a la que trataban como mujer, siendo un hombre ya en su documentación y el Registro Civil.

[España]
Las denuncias de gais por acoso laboral suben pero persiste el miedo
Pasar ocho horas un día tras otro en un lugar que alguien está empeñado en convertir en un infierno es un mal trago por el que pasan decenas de catalanes por el simple hecho de ser homosexuales o transexuales.

[UK]
Blue Peter presenter's trans comments not 'unfair treatment' says Ofcom
The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has not upheld a complaint from a trans woman against a programme celebrating 50 years of the children's TV programme Blue Peter.
Peter Duncan rapped over comments

[Allemagne/Afrique du Sud ]
De Zola Budd à Caster Semenya : les athlètes sud-africains brouillent les cartes encore une fois
L'Afrique du Sud a été bannie pendant près de trente ans (1964-1992) de toute compétition sportive internationale, à cause des pratiques de discrimination raciale du régime d'apartheid qui y avaient cours. Curieusement, les athlètes originaires de ce pays continuent de faire l'objet de discrimination pour des raisons complètement loufoques.
Sul-africanos demonstram apoio à corredora suspeita de ser homem. Federação aguarda exames
La atleta que no podía entrar al baño de chicas
DESORDRE - Développement du sexe : «La transition entre homme et femme est floue»
El sexo no es sólo una Y
Entretien avec….Dr Oumar Faye, Enseignant d’Histologie-embryologiste à l’Ucad : «Ces athlètes ne se font pas passer pour des femmes...»
Suráfrica hace del sexo de Semenya un asunto de Estado
[News/Commentary] IAAF responsible for prejudice athlete Caster Semenya facing
[Commentary] Sex typing is fuzzy science
[News/Commentary] Renee Richards breaks down X's and Y's of Semenya situation
[Commentary] Caster Semenya: What should the gender row 800m runner do next?
[Commentary] Policing Caster Semenya's gender
[Commentary] The ugly side of Semenya gender saga

[Pakistan]
Pakistan’s Undesirables: ‘Dealing with’ the Hijra Problem
There has been a lot of hype few days back in media and in the blogosphere about the radical pro-people Supreme Court. Some of these “radical” decisions include orders to destroy poultry feed which contained Pork , probably Pakistan’s public enemy number one and “granting of rights to the Hijra community, the traditional indo/pak transgendered community.

[Australia]
Transman victory
In a decision hailed as a victory by transgender activists, two transmen have won the right to be legally considered men without sex reassignment surgery.

[Dominican Republic] [News/Commentary]
A constitution to impose injustice
Excerpt: The homophobic campaigns by the mainstream media, government and the Church that blame LGBT people for the spread of the AIDS virus have created a dangerous climate for anyone to be open about their sexuality. Several transsexuals have been brutally murdered, creating panic and fear in a community that is under constant police watch.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Breaking news: WA transman assaulted by his own family
Our economy is crap. American families are facing homelessness in numbers not seen since the Great Depression and, like in the Great Depression, we find ourselves returning to family with greater frequency. This can be especially complicated for the individual with gender variance, especially when the transperson’s family is trans-ignorant or downright transphobic.

[USA]
'Gay' protections expanded to ex-'gays'
A court decision that is being described as precedent-setting because it applies standard non-discrimination protections now provided to homosexuals to people who have left the lifestyle is being publicized by an activist group involved in the dispute.
Split Decision on "Ex-Gay" Protections
PFOX victorious in gaining protections for ex-gays?

[USA]
Bash Back!: The New LGBT Activism?
Details magazine offers a provocative, if at times strained, feature on the “fearsome gay gangsters of Bash Back!” the “elusive band of transgender anarchists, radical sex workers, and queer troublemakers" who explicitly reference violence as an answer to oppression. The group has gained notoriety in the past year for in-your-face protest tactics that leave some members of the LGBT establishment feeling deeply uncomfortable.

[USA] [Film]
Taking Woodstock
As Ang Lee films go, Taking Woodstock is relatively painless. When he isn’t reaching for lofty, awards-baiting heights (Brokeback Mountain) or being deathly, soul-sappingly dull (The Ice Storm), the infrequent pleasures in the director’s work tend to rise to the surface. This adaptation of a memoir by Elliot Tiber, who was instrumental in organizing the 1969 “peace and love” concert, is most rewarding when it abandons narrative altogether.
Ator Liev Schreiber vira travesti em novo filme de Ang Lee. Veja foto
Liev Schreiber 'Giddy' Over Dressing in Drag


[USA] [Commentary]
LGBT community & Trans politics
Wikipedia defines human communities as being based on common intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. Based on that definition:

[USA]
Oprah protege Dr Phil accused of "pathologising" LGBT people
American TV personality Dr Phil has been accused of giving a platform to controversial ex-gay therapists.
The pop psychologist, who does not have a medical degree, first shot to fame as a regular guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and his own series of shows and self-help books have proved popular.

[USA]
The Wendy Williams Show Apologizes
An executive with The Wendy Williams Show has issued a formal apology to drag queen and performance artist Erickatoure Aviance, who was told at a taping of the show that she would be removed from the audience if she tried to appear on camera.

[ID, USA]
Trans Mayoral Candidate to Sue Twitter Over Fake Account
A transgender mayoral candidate in the city of Nampa, Idaho has sued Twitter for defamation of character and violation of privacy, after a fake account on the microblogging service posted lewd messages about her, Advocate.com reported, citing local Fox affiliate KTRV-TV.
Former Lansing transgender politician threatens to sue Twitter
Trans Candidate Defamed on Twitter (Photo)
VIDEO: Trans mayoral candidate threatens to sue over false Twitter account

[AZ, USA]
Tucson man sentenced for assaulting transsexual
A Tucson man has been convicted of assault and disorderly conduct for attacking a transsexual Vietnam veteran.

[Argentina]
Marcela Romero ya es Marcela Romero
La militante transexual reclamó por 10 años ser reconocida legalmente por su condición. "Es imprescindible resolver este vacío legal", dijo la titular del INADI.

quarta-feira, agosto 26, 2009

[Brasil]
Travesti que arrasou no Ídolos fala com exclusividade ao Mix sobre música e mudança de sexo
Na semana passada, a maquiadora Lívia Mendonça, de 20 anos, surpreendeu os jurados e o Brasil ao cantar divinamente uma música da cantora Maria Bethânia no reality show Ídolos, da Rede Record. (Foto)

[UK]
Ex-Blue Peter presenter rapped for branding transsexual
Comments made by a former Blue Peter presenter about a woman featured in a special show to mark 50 years of the children's TV favourite were 'offensive, insensitive and personally hurtful', the broadcasting watchdog said.
Peter Duncan described the woman, who appeared on the show in 1978 playing household objects as musical instruments, as 'this sort of half man, half woman, or in transition'.

Blue Peter's Peter Duncan's transsexual comments 'offensive', Ofcom says

[UK]
Man in Wales Performs Self-Serve Sex-Change Surgery
A transwoman in Newport, South Wales, was so determined to shed her male identity that she took up cutting implements and did the job herself in the family bathroom.
Man Performs Own Sex Change

[Germany/South Africa]
SAfrican Runner In Gender Row Returns Home A Heroine
World champion South African runner Caster Semenya, whose victory has been overshadowed by a gender testing row, returned home to a heroine's welcome on Tuesday.
Caster Semenya mobbed on her return home to South Africa as report suggests she had three times the female level of testosterone in body
Semenya row cuts deep
Caster Semenya has 'high testosterone levels'
Semenya tiene el triple de hormonas masculinas
[Blog/Commentary] Caster Semenya - An Intersex Perspective
[Blog/Commentary] How Legitimate is the "Gender Complaint" Against Caster Semenya?

[Poland/USA] [Blog/People/Sports]
Stella Walsh (Olson) (1911 –1980) athlete
Stanisława Walasiewiczówna was born near Rypin, Poland. Her family emigrated to the United Sates when she was three months old. They lived in Cleveland.

[Zimbabwe]
Husband, hermaphrodite wife rapes girl
A 36-year-old woman from Chiredzi who is believed to be a hermaphrodite ganged up with her husband and allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl, in a unique case that has raised the debate on whether she is able to use both her sexual organs.

[USA] [News/Science]
Higher level of testosterone in women linked to choice of risky careers
The battle of the sexes rages on, this time from the trading floor. While there has long been debate about the social and biological differences between men and women, new research by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Human Development explores how the hormone testosterone plays an important role in gender differences in financial risk aversion and career choice.

[USA]
TSA rules now require gender declaration in order to fly
As of August 15, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires airline passengers to provide legal name, date of birth, and gender in order to book a domestic flight.

[AZ, USA]
Tucson man convicted in attack on transsexual Vietnam veteran
A Tucson man was convicted of assault and disorderly conduct Monday for attacking a transsexual Vietnam veteran, who testified that her assailant mocked her before the attack.

terça-feira, agosto 25, 2009

[UK] [Blog/Commentary]
Brain Sex
Transsexual and intersex people are different, it is this that makes the transgender lobby nervous.

[UK] [News/Health]
NHS in Scotland spent £1.5m on sex changes
Doctors in Scotland have spent more than £1.5m over the past five years referring transsexuals for sex-change operations on the NHS.
More than 100 patients have undergone "gender reassignment surgery" at private clinics and hospitals in England because Scotland lacks the specialist facilities needed to carry out the operations.


[Germany/South Africa] [Commentary/Sports]
Girl Interrupted on the Track
At Olympic Stadium in Berlin this past week, the young South African runner, Caster Semenya, blew away the field in the women's 800 meters at the International Association of Athletics Federation's track and field world championship. Semenya is an 18-year ingénue from the village of Fairlie in the Limpopo province. The Pretoria University sports science student's brilliant performance caused critics -- we don't know who raised the challenge because complaints are kept anonymous -- to regurgitate decades-old slanders traditionally directed at women who appear too manly. They claimed that Caster is not a woman, and the IAAF has directed the South African governing body for track and field to determine her gender.
Gender Test For South African 'Wunderkind' : But Can GenderBending Be Genetic?
[Blog/Commentary] Caster Semenya: Should We Take "Her" Word For It?
Semenya gender controversy makes way to UN
[Commentary] Gender activists look on as track star Semenya abused
World Athletics: Caster Semenya tests 'show high testosterone levels'
[Blog/Commentary] The Gender Police Strike Again
[Letters to the Editor] Semenya at mercy of gender Nazis
[Blog/Commentary] Women Athletes: Choose Between Strong and Sexy

[India] [Blog/Sports/People]
Santhi Soundarajan (1981 - ) athlete
Santhi was born and raised in Tamil Nadu, the daughter of parents whoworked in a brick kiln.

[India]
Nothing but the truth
The night of August 26 is going to be interesting. Enlightening is more like it. After dark clouds of controversies, straight no from celebrities, frightening revelations and nail-biting suspense, Star Plus’s Sach ka Saamna has gained some sound footing, and finally got the ideal candidate for its hot seat - the queen of LGBT parade and gay rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi. And you know what, she’s always loved the truth.

[USA]
An interview with transgender author Matt Kailey
Matt Kailey wears many hats. He is a writer, editor, media personality and public speaker on transgender issues. He has spoken at universities across the country as well as appeared in documentaries. (Photo courtesy of author/Matt Kailey)

[USA] [Blog/Health/Medicine]
Does A Sex Change Really Change Your Sex?
Gender reassignment, known casually as a sex change, is any procedure performed to give a patient sexual characteristics that differ from those of the patient’s biological sex. The vast majority of sex reassignment surgical procedures are sought by male-to-female transgender individuals, but an increasing number of female-to-male transsexuals, sometimes called transsexual men, are seeking gender reassignment.

[Argentina]
Entregaron nuevo DNI a reconocida activista trans
Marcela Romero, reconocida por su activismo en ATTTA (Asociación de Travestis, Transexuales y Transgeneros de Argentina) y vicepresidenta de la Federación Argentina de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales y Trans, recibió hoy su DNI con su nombre de eleccion, después de una batalla legal que duró diez años. (Foto)

segunda-feira, agosto 24, 2009

Finalmente foi publicada a nova Lei de Educação Sexual nas Escolas, no Diário da República, 1.ª série N.º 151 de 6 de Agosto de 2009.

Para esta lei foi feita uma Audição Parlamentar sobre Educação Sexual nas Escolas do dia 14 de Abril, na qual não pude estar presente devido à tromboflebite de que fui vítima. No entanto, representantes de diversos movimentos, pro e contra, devem ter estado presentes. E de certeza que entre eles se encontravam representantes de movimentos LGBTTI.

Uma lei deste tipo, que visa ensinar as gerações emergentes sobre temas sexuais, deverá contribuir para acabar com os muitos tabús existentes na nossa atrasada sociedade sobre conteúdos de cariz sexual, nomeadamente a prevenção e contenção das (não) tão conhecidas doenças sexualmente transmissíveis e o reforço dos esforços para terminar com estereotipos gastos e ultrapassados sobre as diversas orientações sexuais e sobre a identidade de género, contribuindo para uma melhor desmistificação destas realidades, tão velhas como a humanidade, e para um contínuo cessar das discriminações existentes das maiorias sobre as restantes minorias.

Foi trabalho dos activistas presentes, ou deverá ter sido, o foco sobre os problemas levantados devido à não informação ou mesmo ausência total de informação em relação à assexualidade, pansexualidade, homossexualidade e bissexualidade, que lidam com a orientação sexual, bem como os problemas inerentes à androginia, transexualidade e intersexualidade, que lidam com a identidade de género.

Porque, ou se entende que se nasce de uma determinada maneira, constante e imutável, e nesse caso a informação não irá alterar nada, mas servindo para se acabar com fobias e discriminações, ou se entende que existem coisas que podem mudar ao longo da vida e que uma pessoa pode escolher determinadas coisas, e neste caso é necessária uma informação completa e não tendenciosa para que seja quem for possa decidir com plena consciência a sua vida.

Assim foi com surpresa e frustração que li na lei as alíneas referentes a estas questões, a alínea f) do artº 2º (finalidades) que diz o seguinte: O respeito pela diferença entre as pessoas e pelas diferentes orientações sexuais, e a alínea i) do mesmo artigo: A eliminação de comportamentos baseados na discriminação sexual ou na violência em função do sexo ou orientação sexual.

Não se encontram mencionadas as questões sobre a identidade de género. Ou seja, a identidade de género continua a ser considerada como filha de um deus menor, estando as pessoas incluídas neste grupo relegadas para uma ausência de informação com todas as cargas negativas presentes e de boa saúde e continuando a serem vítimas de uma censura imposta.

A que se deve isto? Ao governo, que no seu programa espantosamente (confesso que não estava à espera) tem mencionada a identidade de género com a seguinte redacção: “Durante a próxima legislatura, o PS compromete-se a combater todas as discriminações e, em particular, a envidar todos os esforços no sentido de proporcionar a todas as pessoas, independentemente da sua orientação sexual e identidade de género, o pleno usufruto dos direitos constitucionais. Com este passo, acreditamos contribuir para uma sociedade mais justa, estruturada no respeito pelos Direitos Fundamentais, pela democracia e pela inclusão de todas as pessoas.
• Propor a aprovação de uma Lei da Igualdade;
• Remover as barreiras jurídicas à realização do casamento civil entre pessoas do mesmo sexo;
• Aperfeiçoar os mecanismos de apoio a vítimas de discriminação em função da orientação sexual e identidade de género”?

Se até vem mencionado no programa do governo não me parece que fosse um tema tão obscuro que fosse intransigentemente excluído de uma lei que se quer educativa, completa e isenta.

Se foi por causa de elementos transfóbicos existentes na nossa sociedade, e que numa auditoria deste tipo teriam tanto peso como os apoiantes, deve-se relembrar que o secretário geral do PS, presentemente primeiro-ministro e candidato a primeiro-ministro nas próximas eleições afirmou a sua vontade (e do PS) de lutarem contra todas as discriminações ainda existentes.

Terá sido por causa da transfobia existente em muitos dos activistas existentes no nosso meio que bradam aos céus pelos direitos humanos de todas as pessoas? Todas? Não. Existem pessoas pertencentes a grupos que, numa analogia à aldeia de Asterix, agora e sempre são excluídas dos direitos humanos: as pessoas que se inserem nos temas relacionados com a identidade de género. E neste caso só uma coisa se pode dizer: os activistas presentes na auditoria fizeram um péssimo trabalho do qual, se tiverem um pingo de vergonha e dignidade se devem retratar. Que mais se pode chamar a isto senão uma vergonha para toda uma comunidade que se diz inclusiva mas que sistematicamente exclui a identidade de género das suas reivindicações?

E o mais grave é que, apesar desta transfobia declarada de exclusão de tudo que seja referente à identidade de género, ainda declaram ter um “grande prazer” (como descrevia um email que recebi) em divulgar mais uma manifestação da discriminação existente.

Como activista transexual só posso manifestar o meu mais completo repúdio pela inaptidão demonstrada no tratamento deste tema, num assunto que pode não parecer muito relevante momentaneamente, mas que futuramente se poderá revelar como uma excelente arma contra a homofobia e a transfobia, a educação sexual, e no prazer que demonstram em mais uma vez discriminarem um grupo de pessoas já de si tão discriminados pela sociedade. É uma vergonha para todo o "colectivo" LGBTTI a ausência da identidade de género nesta lei. E não se compreende como o facto de mais uma vez se excluir a identidade de género pode ser "muito bem recebido por todos os colectivos e activistas que trabalham as questões dos direitos humanos"(como está descrito no PortugalGay.pt na notícia relativa). Afinal é GLBT; como no post ou é só GLB? E que dizer então do trabalho destes activistas, que falharam numa coisa tão simples mas tão essencial como a educação? É assim que querem acabar com a discriminação? Tenham pelo menos a vergonha suficiente para não receberem tão "bem" a continuação desta discriminação, e assumam finalmente que não lutam pelas pessoas GLBT mas GLB, agora dizerem uma coisa e praticarem outra está muito, mas muito mal.

Como disse, o programa do PS inclui a identidade de género como segmento a defender. Esperemos que não sejam só mais palavras vãs do tipo politicamente correcto, tão usual nestes últimos tempos, e que se dediquem a ver as propostas existentes para uma lei de identidade de género, que tanta falta nos faz.

O programa do BE também menciona este tema com o seguinte teor:
• Medidas para que a identidade de género seja respeitada na lei, reconhecendo a autodeterminação das pessoas transsexuais e transgénero, que facilitem os processos de adaptação do nome e do sexo nos documentos de identificação;
Também neste caso se espera uma colaboração com activistas e com o governo, este último terá que demonstrar disponibilidade para tal para que as suas declarações no seu programa não sejam vazias de conteúdo, de maneira a que se acabe de uma vez com a censura existente em relação à identidade de género, e que se faça finalmente uma lei de identidade de género não inferior à espanhola, mesmo melhorando certos aspectos. Por estarmos em Portugal não poderemos conseguir isto? Como está muito em voga agora “Sim, podemos”.


[Germany/South Africa] [Commentary/Sports]
Caster Semenya: The Idiocy of Sex Testing

World-class South African athlete Caster Semenya, age 18, won the 800 meters in the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships on August 19. But her victory was all the more remarkable in that she was forced to run amid a controversy that reveals the twisted way international track and field views gender.
[Commentary] Semenya: the price of looking different
[Commentary/Sports] So quick she's become a blur
[Blog/Commentary] Germaine Greer Paints a Portrait of Transphobic Feminism
[Commentary/Sports] No sexing, please – let’s all race together
Of genes, gender and grey areas
[Commentary/Sports] Sunday Sauce - Si man ya?
[Commentary/Sports] Caster Semenya: that’s our girl you’re messing with
[Commentary/Sports] Row that tarnishes Semenya’s golden
[Commentary/People] In Defense of Saartjie Baartman
[Blog/Commentary] ‘Dropping your pants ain’t proof enough!’
[Commentary/Sports] Athletics: Semenya will never be as quick as rush to judge her
Tests may raise more questions than answers
[Commentary/Sports] Paul Lewis: Gender tests get shake-up

[USA]
GaySocialites Awards '09: Most Talked About Tranny
Better late than never, right? We were scheduled to announce the final two winners in the 2009 GaySocialites Awards on Friday, but the GaySocialites headed for Fire Island this weekend and got off track.

[NY, USA]
Lateisha Green Sentencing
Governor Paterson issued the following statement in response to the sentencing of Dwight R. Delee, who was convicted of a fatal bias-crime against Lateisha Green, an African-American transgender woman:
Un caso sin precedentes en Nueva York - Condenan a hombre afroamericano por crimen transexual

[NY, USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Fighting Hate Crime
New York, the first state in the union to enact an anti-discrimination statute, continues to be serious about the enforcement of laws prohibiting hate crimes. And while we have seen successes, we must maintain vigilance to stamp out such hate-driven behavior to save lives and to nurture a civilized social climate.

[CA, USA] [News/Commentary]
Cason Point: Making the grade on issues of gender
This coming week, just as many schools are ready to open, Brandon McInerney is scheduled to graduate early — to murder defendant.
Brandon, now 15, is accused of shooting and killing his classmate Larry King just before Valentine’s Day 2008 at E.O. Green School in Oxnard.

[Argentina] [News/Health]
"Buddies" Ease Transgenders' Hospital Visits
Keeping a hospital appointment in the Argentine capital is a far less fearsome ordeal for transgender persons, a sector of the population that according to doctors had "dramatic" statistics of illness, when they are accompanied by trained health promoters who, like them, have chosen a different gender identity.