Belgian trans man helped to die after failed gender reassignment operations

in:  http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/10/03/belgian-trans-man-helped-to-die-after-failed-gender-reassignment-operations/

 

Mr Verhelst underwent hormone replacement therapy in 2009 (Photo: Facebook)

A transgender man has been helped to die by doctors in Belgium after a series of failed gender reassignment operations.
Nathan Verhelst died in Brussels on Monday after being allowed to have his life ended on the grounds of “unbearable psychological suffering”.
The 44-year-old asked to die after undergoing a series of failed gender reassignment surgeries to transition from female to male. He had undergone hormone replacement therapy in 2009, and underwent the surgeries last year.
Prior to his death, Mr Verhelst had told Belgian newspaper Het Laatse Nieuws: “I was ready to celebrate my new birth. But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself.
“My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection. I do not want to be… a monster.”
Two doctors concluded that the 44-year-old did not simply have temporary depression, and his request to be helped to die via medical euthanasia was granted.
Dr Distelmans, the doctor who administered Mr Verhelst’s lethal injection, told The Telegraph: “The choice of Nathan Verhelst has nothing to do with fatigue of life. There are other factors that meant he was in a situation with incurable, unbearable suffering. Unbearable suffering for euthanasia can be both physical and psychological. This was a case that clearly met the conditions demanded by the law. Nathan underwent counseling for six months.”
Dr Jean-Michel Thomas added: “When we have a case which is… complicated, we ask ourselves more questions in order to be certain about the diagnosis.”
In 2002, Belgium became only the second country after The Netherlands to legalise medical euthanasia, which has since been legalised in Luxembourg also.
Euthanasia carried out by doctors differs from assisted suicide, whereby the patient is helped to take their own life.
Guidelines set out by the country’s parliament specify that patients wishing to end their own lives must be conscious when they ask to die. They must also be under a “constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain” resulting from an “accident or incurable illness”.
Patients must also give a “voluntary, considered and repeated” request to die.
There were 1,432 recorded cases of euthanasia in Belgium in 2012; a 25% increase on the previous year’s figure. They made up 2% of all deaths, the AFP news agency reports.



 http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/10/03/belgian-trans-man-helped-to-die-after-failed-gender-reassignment-operations/

Crohn's helps transgender pot producer avoid jail

in: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2013/08/14/21045621.html



A transgender Nova Scotia man with Crohn's disease avoided the usual jail sentence that comes with producing marijuana because of his "unique personal circumstances."

Jesiah Dean MacDonald pleaded guilty to producing marijuana after cops found 46 pot plants in an apartment.

The Crown sought a 30-day jail sentence, which is standard even for a first-time offence.

Instead, the judge fined MacDonald $1,000 and sentenced him to one year's probation.

MacDonald said he was being paid to look after the plants and the apartment, neither of which he owned. He gave cops the name of the owner, who was later charged.

He said he planned to use the money to fund female-to-male gender reassignment surgery.

He also suffers from Crohn's disease, an often painful bowel disease, and said he relies on marijuana to ease the pain.

"The difficulty in the present case is balancing the need for a strong statement of denunciation and general deterrence and addressing the offender's unique personal circumstances as well as the circumstances of this case," Judge N. M. Scaravelli wrote in his decision.

"I do not doubt that changing one gender's identity is a life-altering and difficult process.

"The offender's motive for committing the offence directly relates to the process of changing gender. The offender made a poor choice in attempting to achieve that goal."

Scaravelli also said MacDonald seems unlikely to lead a criminal lifestyle.

"I am also cognizant of the possibility that the offender's transgender identity could result in personal difficulties if placed in a correctional facility," the judge wrote.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2013/08/14/21045621.html

Transgender teen killed by mob in Jamaica as country addresses long-standing discrimination

in: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Transgender+teen+killed+Jamaica+country+addresses/8774929/story.html


In this Aug. 5, 2013 photo, street graffiti with an anti-gay message covers part of a privacy wall in the Papine neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. Advocates say much of the homophobia is fueled by a nearly 150-year-old anti-sodomy law that bans anal sex as well as by dancehall reggae performers who flaunt anti-gay themes. The island’s main gay rights group estimated that two homosexual men were killed for their sexual orientation last year, and 36 were the victims of mob violence. (AP Photo/David McFadden)

 

Dwayne Jones was relentlessly teased in high school for being effeminate until he dropped out. His father not only kicked him out of the house at the age of 14 but also helped jeering neighbours push the youngster from the rough Jamaican slum where he grew up.

By age 16, the teenager was dead — beaten, stabbed, shot and run over by a car when he showed up at a street party dressed as a woman. His mistake: confiding to a friend that he was attending a "straight" party as a girl for the first time in his life.

"When I saw Dwayne's body, I started shaking and crying," said Khloe, one of three transgender friends who shared a derelict house with the teenager in the hills above the north coast city of Montego Bay. Like many transgender and gay people in Jamaica, Khloe wouldn't give a full name out of fear.

"It was horrible. It was so, so painful to see him like that."

International advocacy groups often portray this Caribbean island as the most hostile country in the Western Hemisphere for gay and transgender people. After two prominent gay rights activists were murdered, a researcher with the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch in 2006 called the environment in Jamaica for such groups "the worst any of us has ever seen."

Local activists have since disputed that label, but still say homophobia is pervasive. Dwayne's horrific July 22 murder has made headlines in newspapers on the island and stirred calls in some quarters for doing more to protect Jamaica's gay community, especially those who live on the streets and resort to sex work.

Advocates say much of the homophobia is fueled by a nearly 150-year-old anti-sodomy law that bans anal sex as well as by dancehall reggae performers who flaunt anti-gay themes. The island's main gay rights group estimated that two homosexual men were killed for their sexual orientation last year, and 36 were the victims of mob violence.

For years, Jamaica's gay community has lived so far underground that their parties and church services were held in secret locations. Many gays have stuck to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy of keeping their sexual orientation hidden to avoid scrutiny or protect loved ones.

"Judging by comments made on social media, most Jamaicans think Dwayne Jones brought his death on himself for wearing a dress and dancing in a society that has made it abundantly clear that homosexuals are neither to be seen nor heard," said Annie Paul, a blogger and publications officer at Jamaica's campus of the University of the West Indies.

Some say the hostility partly stems from the legacy of slavery when black men were sometimes sodomized as punishment or humiliation. Some historians believe that practice carried over into a general dread of homosexuality.

But in recent years, emboldened young people such as Dwayne have helped bring the island's gay and transgender community out of the shadows. A small group of gay runaways now rowdily congregates on the streets of Kingston's financial district.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's government has also vowed to put the anti-sodomy law to a "conscience vote" in Parliament, and she said during her 2011 campaign that only merit would decide who got a Cabinet position in her government. By contrast, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding said in 2008 that he would never allow homosexuals in his Cabinet.

Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays, said there were increasing "pockets of tolerance" on the island.

"We can say that we are becoming more tolerant. And thankfully that's because of people like Dwayne who have helped push the envelope," said Lewis, one of the few Jamaican gays who will publicly disclose his full name.

Yet rights groups still complain of the slow pace of the investigation into Jones' murder, despite the justice minister calling for a full probe.

Police spokesman Steve Brown said detectives working the case are struggling to overcome a chronic problem: a strong anti-informant culture that makes eyewitnesses to murders and other crimes too afraid or simply unwilling to come forward.

Even though some 300 people were at the dance party in the small riverside community of Irwin, police have yet to make a single arrest in Dwayne's murder. Police say witnesses have said they couldn't see the attackers' faces.

Dwayne was the centre of attraction shortly after arriving in a taxi at 2 a.m. with his two 23-year-old housemates, Khloe and Keke. Dwayne's expert dance moves, long legs and high cheekbones quickly made him the one that the guys were trying to get next to.

Like many Jamaican homosexuals, Dwayne was careful about confiding in others about his sexual orientation. But when he saw a girl he had known from church, he told her he was attending the party in drag.

Minutes later, according to Khloe and Keke, the girl's male friends gathered around Dwayne in the dimly-lit street asking: "Are you a woman or a man?" One man waved a lighter's flame near Dwayne's sneakers, asking whether a girl could have such big feet.

Then, his friends said, another man grabbed a lantern from an outdoor bar and walked over to Dwayne, shining the bright light over him from head to toe. "It's a man," he concluded, while the others hissed "batty boy" and other anti-gay epithets.

Khloe says she tried to steer him away from the crowd, whispering in Dwayne's ear: "Walk with me, walk with me." But Dwayne pulled away, loudly insisting to partygoers that he was a girl. When someone behind him snapped his bra strap, the teen panicked and raced down the street.

But he couldn't run fast enough to escape the mob.

The teenager was viciously assaulted and apparently half-conscious for some two hours before another sustained attack finished him off, according to Khloe, who was also beaten and nearly raped. She hid in a nearby church and then the surrounding woods, unable to call for help because she didn't have her cellphone.

Dwayne's father in the Montego Bay slum of North Gully didn't want to talk about his son's life or death. The teen's family wouldn't even claim the body, according to Dwayne's friends.

They remembered him as a spirited boy with a contagious laugh who dreamt of becoming a performer like Lady Gaga. He was also a street-smart hustler who resorted to sleeping in the bushes or on beaches when he became homeless. He won a local dancing competition during his time on the streets and was affectionately nicknamed "Gully Queen."

"He was the youngest of us but he was a diva," Khloe said. "He was always very feisty and joking around."

Inside their squatter house, Khloe and Keke said, they still talk to their dead friend.

"I'll be cooking in the kitchen and I'll say, 'Dwayne, you hungry?' or something like that," said Keke while sitting on the old mattress in her bedroom, flinching as neighbourhood dogs barked outside. "We just miss him all the time. Sometimes I think I see him."

But down the hall, Dwayne's room is empty except for pink window curtains decorated with roses, his favourite flower.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Transgender+teen+killed+Jamaica+country+addresses/8774929/story.html

Frat raises $12,000 for sex change

in: http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2013/02/27/dnt-fraternity-helps-fund-sex-change.whdh


A man's fraternity brothers come to the rescue when his insurance company denies a claim to cover a sex change.

US: Massachusetts issues rules respecting identity of transgender students

in: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/18/us-massachusetts-issues-rules-respecting-identity-of-transgender-students/

New directives for schools in Massachusetts have been issued by the Department of Education, stating that transgender students should be allowed to use facilities according to their gender identity.

The 11-page document recommends that students be allowed to use bathrooms and play for sports teams that correspond to the gender they identify with. It follows a 2011 anti-discrimination law that gave more protections to transgender people in the state, but did not cover bathroom use.

The directive reads: “These students, because of widespread misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives, are at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimisation, and bullying.”

Some local school committee members did not support the directive. Brockton School Committee member Thomas Minichiello said: “I don’t have daughters. But if I did … I don’t think I’d feel comfortable having a boy going in the bathroom when my daughter is there.”

Brockton School was sued over a decade ago by a transgender child who identified as a girl, and wanted to use the girl’s bathroom and wear dresses to school. Her parents took the school to court after the child, referred to in the case as “Pat Doe”, was told she had to wear boy’s clothing and use the male bathroom.

Andrew Beckwith of the Massachusetts Family sided with Mr Minichiello: “Fundamentally, boys need to use boys’ rooms and girls need to be using the girls’ rooms, and we base that on their anatomical sex, not some sort of internalised gender identity,” he said.

Mr Minichiello and Mr Beckwith’s views stem from a lack of understanding of transgender people, says Jane Martin, Chair of the Easton School Committee.

Ms Martin said: “If you really truly understand the nature of transgenders [sic], there’s not a girl in the boy’s bathroom.”

She added that she supported the directives and said: “We are very proud of the record that we set,” noting the district was known for “respecting the rights of all our students.”

Gunner Scott of the Massachusetts Transgender Coalition said the guidelines would be ”immensely helpful to those parents who have been struggling with making sure that the school environment is safe and welcoming of their child.”

 

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/18/us-massachusetts-issues-rules-respecting-identity-of-transgender-students/

Transgender woman settles lawsuit with Boston over treatment during 2010 arrest

in: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/02/05/transgender-woman-settles-lawsuit-with-boston-over-treatment-during-arrest/jldg4ZWAzhEU5srQSiYANI/story.html


Officers’ actions under scrutiny

Brenda Wernikoff was arrested for refusing to leave a woman’s bathroom at a homeless shelter in Boston.

The city of Boston has agreed to pay a transgender woman $20,000 in exchange for dropping her suit against the officers who arrested her on disorderly conduct at a homeless shelter, in a case that highlights the department’s absence of written policies for dealing with transgender people.


The officers who arrested Brenda Wernikoff are now being investigated by the department’s internal affairs division.


The department is also continuing to work on training its officers on how to interact with the transgender community.


According to Wernikoff, Boston police did not just book her, they humiliated her.


After she was arrested for refusing to leave a woman’s bathroom at a homeless shelter, she said four to five male officers at the South End police station forced her to remove her shirt and bra and expose her breasts.


According to the federal lawsuit, “The officers then ordered Ms. Wernikoff to jump and down, causing her breasts to jiggle” as the officers laughed. “I mean belly laughs,” Wernikoff said, describing the May 2010 incident.


“The officers contend that was pure fiction. They are well-respected veterans of the department,” said Kenneth Anderson, a lawyer who is representing the officers in the department’s investigation.


Cheryl Fiandaca, spokeswoman for the Boston police, declined to comment on the lawsuit, but she said top commanders have been meeting with leaders in the transgender community about such issues.


“Currently, we are working with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition to develop new policies to deal with various situations and issues of importance that could arise with the police and the community,” she said.


Last Friday, the Boston Public Health Commission, which runs the Woods Mullen Shelter where Wernikoff was arrested, agreed to pay her an additional $10,000. Staff members at the shelter, who called police that day, were retrained after the incident, said commission spokesman Nick Martin.


“We place an extremely high priority on having policies that promote inclusivity and prohibit discrimination,” he said. “The commission has a clear policy to support transgender individuals — a policy that was in place well before this incident and reinforced in the wake of this unfortunate experience for one of our clients.”


Wernikoff, 60, said she hopes police officers will soon have clear guidelines on how to treat transgender people.


“It shouldn’t happen again to anyone,” she said.


The City of Boston has long had an ordinance that says people have the right to use restrooms, showers, and dressing rooms based on their gender identity, a rule that goes beyond state protections of transgender people.


The problem is that the city has failed to train many officers on its own ordinance, said Wernikoff’s lawyer, Howard Friedman, a well-known civil rights attorney.


He pointed to departments in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, which make clear in their rules and regulations that officers are to address a transgender person by their preferred name and use appropriate personal pronouns. They also instruct officers to conduct searches in the same way that they would on a non-transgender person.


Boston police did not follow those guidelines when they arrested Wernikoff, according to the lawsuit filed last November.


Wernikoff, whose birth name is Bruce Wernikoff and who began identifying as a woman when she was in her mid-50s, had been staying at the shelter for about a year. She said she had nowhere else to go after she left her uncle’s home, where she felt unwelcome by relatives uncomfortable with her gender identity.


Wernikoff was in a bathroom stall when a counselor, Margaretta Collins, came into the bathroom and told her she could not be there when other women were present.


Collins said in an interview that her supervisor told her that transgender people at the shelter were supposed to use another bathroom on the floor.


“For whatever reason, she chose to use the female’s bathroom and the females complained,” said Collins, who left her job about a month ago for health reasons.


The Boston Public Health Commission’s policy stipulates that transgender women may use the women’s restroom and showers. Martin said staff members are instructed to follow the commission’s protocol.


“If [Collins] was unfortunately given that advice by her supervisor that would have been a mistake,” he said. Collins said her supervisor called the police officer assigned to the shelter. Officer Loletha Graham-Smith appeared and ordered Collins to get out of the stall.

 

“She was trying to be professional,” Wernikoff recalled. But she never asked for Wernikoff’s identification and refused to acknowledge Wernikoff by her gender, according to the lawsuit.

In her report, Graham-Smith described her encounter with Wernikoff: “ ‘Sir, you have to leave this bathroom now,’ ” Graham-Smith said. “Said male stepped in officers’ face and started pointing his finger in officer’s face. . . . He was persistent in showing harassment and intimidation toward officer.”


At the booking station, the patrol officers repeatedly called her “Bruce,” Wernikoff said, and refused to let her reach for her wallet so she could show them her driver’s license, which showed she had legally changed her name to Brenda.


Officer Edward Fleming booked Wernikoff and Officer Frank Chiola searched her, according to the complaint. The officers did not give her a private space to change and did not ask whether she wanted a woman to search her instead, according to the complaint.


Wernikoff said she tried to show no emotion. “You survive the encounter any way you can,” she said. “That’s what you do.”


Prosecutors later dismissed the disorderly conduct charge against Wernikoff.


Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, has trained Boston police recruits in dealing with transgender people and said he is confident the department will draft a policy soon. Last spring, he provided the department with a copy of the Washington, D.C., police policy as an example of what it should adopt.


But Scott said his agency still receives complaints from transgender people that police sometimes do not take them seriously and often refer to them as as sir or ma’am, in contrast with their gender identity.


“Whether the person is a victim or assumed to have broken the law, transgender people should be treated with respect and should not be demoralized,” Scott said.


He praised Wernikoff for filing the lawsuit.


Wernikoff, who is now in a committed relationship and taking care of her ailing mother, said she tries to avoid police.


“We’re very, very misunderstood,” Wernikoff said. People “look at us and say ‘what is it?’ . . . We don’t do it to shock. This is who and what we are. We were born this way.”

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/02/05/transgender-woman-settles-lawsuit-with-boston-over-treatment-during-arrest/jldg4ZWAzhEU5srQSiYANI/story.html

Trans teen skates with hockey hero he named himself after

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-teen-skates-hockey-hero-he-named-himself-after300113

An amateur hockey goaltender from Canada, who is an open trans advocate, met his hero on the ice rink

A 16-year-old trans teenager from Canada always dreamed of meeting Vancouver Canucks hockey star Cory Schneider, but it always felt like he would never get there.

But for Cory Oskham, his dreams became reality when he met the star and shared the ice with his hero.

On 21 January, the teen and advocate was preparing to give one of his speeches on homophobia and transphobia in schools at the Dare to Stand Out Vancouver conference.

Just before the presentation, his mother wowed him by revealing his hero had heard about the teen and wanted to skate with him that day.

‘I’m a really big card collector,’ Oskham told the official Canucks website. ‘I was collecting all kinds of cards and my mom said to pick my favourite and collect him – it was getting a bit out of control.

‘Then I opened a pack of cards and pulled a really sick Cory Schneider card. It just clicked; I needed to start collecting him.

‘Around the time I started collecting Schneider, it was time to pick a name. I went through a handful: Will, William, Matt, Matthew, none of them really felt right, then my mom suggested Cory and I started using it around the house. It felt very right. Cory felt very right.’

Oskham, who also plays as goaltender for the Brittania School Hockey Academy, began taking hormone blockers at age nine and started taking testosterone a year and a half ago.

‘I went into high school not who I am, but being in grade 10 now I feel very much like part of the high school,’ Oskham said.

‘I felt like an outsider, but now I have a great support system and a great group of friends, which I’ve never had before. Life is great.’

http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-teen-skates-hockey-hero-he-named-himself-after300113

Trans girl, 11, writes inspiring essay on Obama’s inaugural speech

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-girl-11-writes-inspiring-essay-obama%E2%80%99s-inaugural-speech240113

When President Barack Obama became the first sitting president in US history to mention gay people in his inaugural speech, some people still felt left out.

For example Sadie, an 11-year-old vegan girl who transitioned in kindergarten, felt the president did not include her community.

Originally published by TransGriot, the full letter reads:

'The world would be a better place if everyone had the right to be themselves, including people who have a creative gender identity and expression.

'Transgender people are not allowed the freedom to do things everyone else does, like go to the doctor, go to school, get a job, and even make friends.

'Transgender kids like me are not allowed to go to most schools because the teachers think we are different from everyone else. The schools get afraid of how they will talk with the other kids’ parents, and transgender kids are kept secret or told not to come there anymore. Kids are told not to be friends with transgender kids, which makes us very lonely and sad.

'When they grow up, transgender adults have a hard time getting a job because the boss thinks the customers will be scared away. Doctors are afraid of treating transgender patients because they don’t know how to take care of them, and some doctors don’t really want to help them. Transgender patients like me travel to other states to see a good doctor.

'It would be a better world if everyone knew that transgender people have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else. We like to make friends and want to go to school. Transgender people want to get good jobs and go to doctors like they are exactly the same. It really isn’t that hard to like transgender people because we are like everyone else.'

Speaking to the Huffington Post, her mother Sage said she encouraged her daughter to write the essay ‘to know she has a voice’.

‘My dream for her is that she will be happy,’ she said. ‘That’s all, really. I just want her to be happy.’

http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-girl-11-writes-inspiring-essay-obama%E2%80%99s-inaugural-speech240113

Portugal passes trans hate crime law

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/portugal-passes-trans-hate-crime-law210113

Portugal's parliament has voted to include 'gender identity' as a category of hate crime law

The Portuguese parliament approved a revision of the country’s criminal code which will ban discrimination and hate crime against transgender people.

This addition to the criminal code was approved unanimously, following a proposal by the Portuguese Socialist Party.

Hate crimes against trans people in Portugal have been recorded in the recent past, transphobic violence made headlines with the murder of Gisberta Salce Júnior in 2006.

However, gender identity was absent from hate crime legislation.

Portugal’s parliament has now added ‘gender identity’ alongside ‘sexual orientation’ to articles relating to aggravated homicide and assault.

It also stressed the reprehensibility of these acts (and consequently strengthening the penalties) in case their motivation is based on the perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim.

The inclusion of ‘gender identity’ in the Portuguese criminal code was a long-standing demand of ILGA Portugal.

In a statement, ILGA Portugal said: ‘We hope that the recognition of the particular vulnerability of trans people extends to the remaining legal system, also with the broad support of various political forces.

‘We welcome, in any case, this ground-breaking recognition by the Portuguese law, following the gender recognition legislation - and we will continue to work towards the full recognition and protection of trans people’.

Portugal already included ‘gender identity’ in protection against work discrimination, which ensures no discrimination occurs to transgender people in the access to goods and services, education, health and social protection.

On 1 March 2011 the President ratified the Law of Gender Identity, said to be the most advanced in the world, which simplifies the process of sex and name change for transsexual people.

http://gaystarnews.com/article/portugal-passes-trans-hate-crime-law210113

Sweden ends forced sterilization of trans

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/sweden-ends-forced-sterilization-trans110113

Sweden repeals law which meant a trans person must be sterilized to have their gender change recognized legally

Sweden has officially ended the forced sterilization of transgender people after tens of thousands of Europeans fought to have the law repealed.

The legislation, which has been in effect in the Scandanavian country since 1972, meant a trans person must be sterilized or else their gender change is not recognized legally.

However, the practice was officially banned yesterday (10 January) after a ruling by the Stockholm administrative court of appeal on 19 December which said the law was unconstitutional and in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision follows a campaign by gay rights activists and appeals from Members of the European Parliament.

In February, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RSFL) and AllOut.org collected 47,689 signatures from European citizens urging Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to speak out against the law, having previously remained silent on the issue.

Ulrika Westerlund, president of the RSFL, welcomed the abolishment of the law which is thought to have been used on up to 500 trans people.

She expects many of those victims will now seek compensation from the state, adding that 200,000 kronor (€23,500, $31,000) per person would be a 'fair sum'.

'If lawmakers take the initiative to adopt a law outlining damages, we will not file a lawsuit,' she said, reported AFP.

http://gaystarnews.com/article/sweden-ends-forced-sterilization-trans110113

Fired trans teacher sues school which said she was 'worse than gay'

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/fired-trans-teacher-sues-school-which-said-she-was-worse-gay080113


A transgender teacher files a lawsuit against a Catholic school in New York, claiming the head banned her from wearing women's clothing

 

A transgender teacher is suing the New York Catholic school where she worked for 32 years claiming she was fired for dressing as a woman.

Mark Krolikowski, 59, filed a lawsuit against St Francis Preparatory in Queens after the private school sacked her last year following a complaint from a pupil's parents.

The lawsuit revealed that the music and social studies teacher told the principal, Brother Leonard Conway, she was transgender and would start coming to work dressed in women's clothing.

However, Conway reacted by telling Krolikowski that being trans was 'worse than gay' and she would be barred from attending public school events.

Speaking to ABC News, Krolikowski's lawyer Andrew Kimler said: 'He is extremely upset given the dedication and devotion he showed to the school for 30 years.'

Kimler added that his client is protected under state discrimination laws.

However, the school denied they fired Krolikowski because of her gender identity.

http://gaystarnews.com/article/fired-trans-teacher-sues-school-which-said-she-was-worse-gay080113

Transgender College Hoops Player Is Inspiring Others

New Zealand trans now able to change gender on passport easily

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/new-zealand-trans-now-able-change-gender-passport-easily051212

New Zealand transgender community rejoice in being able to change their gender on their passports by a simple declaration




Transgender citizens of New Zealand will be able to change their gender on their passports by a simple declaration.

The new procedure came into effect on Friday (30 November) allows people to state their gender as male, female or ‘X’ (indeterminate/ unspecified), without the need to change their birth certificates or citizenship records.

Joey Macdonald, the chair of Auckland’s GenderBridge changed the gender on his passport from female to ‘X’.

He told the New Zealand Herald daily: ‘It's amazing, it means that on this particular provision, New Zealand is leading the way and is one of the leading countries in terms of reducing barriers to having a national identity document for transpeople’.

A Human Rights Commission report recommended in 2008 that people should have the right to change their gender on their passports and other documents.

The law in New Zealand was changed in 2009 to allow changes from male to female or vice versa by a declaration from the Family Court, and a change from either gender to "X" by a statutory declaration.

A Family Court declaration is still required for a male/female gender change on citizenship documents, but it has been reported that this policy is under review.

A New Zealand passport office spokesman said gender changes on passports could now be made purely by a statutory declaration stating a person's preferred sex or gender identity and how long they have had that identity.

The passport application form still asks people to tick either male or female and gives no indication of any other option, but the spokesman said the ‘X’ option was known to the transgender community.

A commission report stated that about 400 people have already recorded their gender as ‘X’. Macdonald has already travelled to Australia and back with no apparent problem.



http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/new-zealand-trans-now-able-change-gender-passport-easily051212

American Psychiatric Association drops Gender Identity Disorder from manual

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/american-psychiatric-association-drops-gender-identity-disorder-manual041212

GLAAD says announcement is a 'historic change' but trans advocates are concerned about the definitions that remain in the manual of mental disorders

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced on Saturday that its manual would no longer list 'Gender Identity Disorder'.

But the new, fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) will include 'Gender Dysphoria', which it describes as 'a marked incongruence between one's experienced/ expressed gender and assigned gender'.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) released a statement describing the announcement as a 'historic change' and instructed the media to 'acknowledge that "Gender Identity Disorder" (GID) - as well as the idea that trans people are automatically "disordered" - are now antiquated ideas among healthcare professionals'.

GANDA Filippinas, a trans women's advocacy group in the Philippines told Gay Star News that while they welcome the removal of Gender Indentity Disorder (GID) from the manual, the remaining definitions relating to trans people are 'not exactly something to cheer about'.

'The removal of GID merely shifts diagnosing trans-identities as a mental disorder to highlighting the distress brought about by one's sex assignment at birth, which will be known as Gender Dysphoria (GD),' said GANDA Filippinas founder Naomi Fontanos.

The removal of GID from APA's manual is one of the demands of the Stop Trans Pathologization campaign, but the campaign also asks that APA drop GD from the manual.

Campaigner Kelley Winters from GID Reform Advocates said in a blog post in June that 'the [APA's] proposed Gender Dysphoria criteria continue to contradict social and medical transition by mis-characterizing transition itself as symptomatic of mental disorder'.

The US's National Center for Transgender Equality executive director Mara Keisling told LGBTQ Nation yesterday that the APA's announcement was an 'amazing step forward, and while not perfect, is a huge improvement for diagnosis and treatment'.

The removal of GID from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which was last published in 1994, can be compared to when APA stopped listing homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973.

DSM V has been approved by the APA's board of trustees and will be published in May 2013.

In a statement APA said the process of revising the manual has spanned over a decade and included contributions from 1,500 experts in psychiatry, psychology, social work and related fields from 39 countries.

'We believe that DSM V reflects our best scientific understanding of psychiatric disorders and will optimally serve clinical and public health needs,' said APA President Dilip Jeste.

'Our hope is that the DSM V will lead to more accurate diagnoses, better access to mental health services, and improved patient outcomes.'

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/american-psychiatric-association-drops-gender-identity-disorder-manual041212

Trans woman wins custody battle in Australia

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-woman-wins-custody-battle-australia301112


Federal Magistrates Court of Australia awards equal, shared responsibility for three daughters to a transexual woman after a three and a half year legal fight



 A trans woman has won three and a half year custody battle against her ex-wife in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.

The 49-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the privacy of the children, was awarded equal, shared responsibility in all areas except education and health for the former couple's three daughters aged seven, 12 and 17.

The children will live with their mother, who has remarried, but will be allowed to visit their father who has transitioned to live as a woman.

The Australian reports that the eldest two daughters are refusing to see their father.

Federal Magistrate Joe Harman praised both parents in his judgement saying they were doing their best for their daughters in the circumstances, but mentioned the mother's concerns which included allowing the children to be photographed at a Mardi Gras family fun day.

'My gender reassignment is different to my being a parent,' said the plaintiff in court.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-woman-wins-custody-battle-australia301112

Transgender Flag Rising... over the Castro

Massachusetts transgender inmate fighting for electrolysis

in: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/massachusetts_transgender_inma_1.html

 
In this Jan. 15, 1993, file photo, Robert Kosilek, aka Michelle Kosilek, sits in Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford. Kosilek, a convicted murderer who won a court ruling ordering Massachusetts prison officials to allow her to have a sex-change operation, is now fighting for electrolysis treatments.

 

 

Convicted murderer Michelle Kosilek fought for more than a decade before a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered prison officials to allow her to have a sex-change operation.

Kosilek is still fighting, this time for electrolysis treatments, another step she says she needs to complete her transformation into a woman.

Kosilek's lawyers will be in court Monday to ask U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf to order the state Department of Correction to provide the hair removal treatments. The department is appealing his ruling ordering sex-reassignment surgery.

Kosilek was born male but has received hormone treatments and now lives as a woman in an all-male male prison, where she is serving a life sentence. Kosilek was named Robert when married to Cheryl Kosilek and convicted of murdering her in 1990.

Kosilek, now 63, received seven electrolysis treatments in 2008 to remove facial and chest hair. The DOC discontinued the treatments after finding she had already received significant hair removal and saying her remaining hair could be removed by shaving or using depilatories.

Her lawyers declined to comment on the electrolysis request but argued in court documents filed last month that the DOC provided electrolysis for a limited time "to keep the issue from being fully litigated at trial, showing further indifference to Kosilek's serious medical needs."

The DOC also declined to comment but argued in court documents that Kosilek is attempting to get treatments that have already been denied by the judge.

Wolf has twice rejected requests from Kosilek for additional electrolysis treatments, but ordered prison officials to have Kosilek evaluated by an independent expert on gender-identity disorder. An evaluation was done in 2010, but Kosilek's lawyers objected to the use of a psychiatrist who works for the DOC, saying he could not be considered an independent expert.

In his Sept. 4 ruling ordering the DOC to provide Kosilek with sex-reassignment surgery, Wolf did not rule on the electrolysis request, saying the surgery "will be a material change in circumstances regarding any arguable serious medical need Kosilek may have for electrolysis."

Kosilek's lawyers filed a motion to amend Wolf's ruling in October, asking that the judge require the appointment of an independent expert to evaluate Kosilek's medical need for electrolysis. Wolf later ordered the DOC to provide the name of an independent expert who can give the court an opinion on whether Kosilek needs the electrolysis treatments if he orders an evaluation of Kosilek.

The DOC says Kosilek is not entitled to additional treatments.

Kosilek "is not seeking to correct an error of law or fact, but to relitigate the electrolysis issue raised at trial by obtaining new evidence and a rehearing," the DOC argued in court documents this month.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/massachusetts_transgender_inma_1.html

Top 10 Myths About Transgender People

in: http://everydayfeminism.com/2012/08/myths-about-transgender-people/


Millions of people in the US identify as transgender.
And yet, most people know almost nothing about them.
Even many feminists have trouble distinguishing identity from identity, term from term, myth from reality.
How many of your friends and family can properly define the term “transgender”?
If you’re like most of us, the answer is, not many.

Why do we know so little about transgender people?

When it comes to gender and sex, transgender people are breaking the rules.  And since patriarchy’s very existence depends on everyone’s compliance, those who break the rules are a threat.
So they must be silenced.

Transgender people are systematically silenced on a daily basis.

They are not adequately represented in politics, government, or media.  They are not encouraged to freely express themselves in a society that fears them.  They are often not even safe on their own streets.
We don’t know them because, frankly, we don’t see them.
When transgender people do live their lives in the open, they are deemed freaks, deviants, and perverts.  They are told that who they are is wrong.  They are even hated, hurt, and killed.
When transgender people are represented in the media, they are often portrayed as over-sexualized, uncontrollable freaks (think “Jerry Springer”).  Or are presented as drugged out prostitutes (think “Cops”).  Or are misidentified as flamboyant drag queens (think “RuPaul”).
We know this is wrong.
But, we may still not know what’s right.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of stereotyping this group that you may find hard to understand.  Maybe you already have.
That’s okay.  Being feminist doesn’t mean being perfect.  But it does mean making an effort to change your ways of thinking and debunk the myths that society tells us about certain groups of people.
So let’s confront some of the most common myths about transgender people, and change our ways of thinking about them.

Myth #1:  Transgender people live crazy lives.

This is probably the most common misconception about trans people.
Many people incorrectly associate being transgender with automatically living an “crazy lifestyle” based on tv and in the movies. This may involve drag performance, hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine behavior, drugs, or prostitution.
Some trans people (and some non-trans people too!) engage in the above behaviors. But all transgender people do the everyday things that are a part of life. They go to work, buy groceries, see movies, kiss their kids good night.
They are people. They do people things like everyone else.

Myth #2: Transgender people are confused.

Just because a person is different, doesn’t mean they don’t know who they are.
Trans people have a sex.  They are females, males, and intersex.
Trans people have a gender.  They are men, women, queer, and other genders.
They know their sex and they know their gender.
This can be confusing to us who inhabit more traditional gender roles, but to the transgender person, it is not confusing.  It is just who they are.
That said, coming to the realization that you are trans, and coming out publically as trans, in a society that doesn’t accept or understand you can be very confusing and hurtful.   Many transgender people have experiences of feeling “defective” or “wrong.”
This is a social problem, not a gender identity problem.

Myth #3: Transgender people are mentally disturbed.

It’s true that many transgender people suffer from mental illness.  But it’s not because of their gender identity alone!
It’s because in a patriarchal society, being gender variant causes a lot of distress.  So much distress, in fact, that it can be described by the diagnosis of a mental disorder.  This diagnosis is helpful because it tells us that this person is hurting and something needs to be done to help.
Transgender people have the same brains we do.  They are just faced with a lot more mental and emotional stress.

Myth #4: Transgender people are gay.

Gender identity and sexual orientation are two completely separate characteristics.   One is what gender we see ourselves as being.  The other is what gender(s) and sex(es) we are physically and romantically attracted to.
Knowing one doesn’t tell you about the other.

Myth #5: Transgender people are radical liberals with crazy ideas.

Transgender people come from all political and religious backgrounds.
Many trans people just want to lead their lives as part of “mainstream” society and be accepted and not condemned by their families, churches, governments and communities.
They should be allowed this.
Other trans people feel very strongly about changing the system that has oppressed them and adapt more radical beliefs about the gender system.  They wish to live outside of traditional social norms and not be deemed “freaks” because of it.
They should be allowed this too.
Transgender people are diverse.  Each will make a unique decision about the life they want to lead.

Myth #6: Transgender people hate their bodies.

This is a very common myth.  It does make sense that a person who identifies as a woman might be uncomfortable in her male body, and vice versa.  And some transgender people are uncomfortable and want to alter their bodies.  Others choose to live with their bodies as they are.
Neither choice means that this person hates themself.  On the contrary, a transgender person can love themselves through the whole process of transitioning.  And we can love them too!
Each person’s relationship with their body is unique and we should support every transgender person in doing what works for them.

Myth #7: Transgender people perform drag shows.

Conservative thinkers would love to point to a singing, shimmying, scantily dressed, heavily made-up drag queen slinking across a stage and say, “THAT is a transgender!”  But, they’re wrong.  In fact, did you know that the majority of gender performance is done by non-trans people?
Because, it’s just a performance.  It’s not about real people.
Drag Queens and Drag Kings “do drag” for theatrical, comedic, and at times, political purposes.  They do it for their art and they do it with you, the viewer, in mind.
When a trans woman wears women’s clothing or a trans man wears men’s clothing, they are not doing drag.  Nor are they cross-dressing.  They are just wearing their clothes.

Myth #8: You can tell someone is transgender just by looking at them.

This is a myth meant to make us believe that transgender people are all crazy freaks.  That you can “spot” one, like a cartoon villain or a sasquatch. “Look, a tranny!”
It is a hurtful and misleading lie.
The truth is, transgender people have bodies just like ours.  And they may display them in very traditional ways.
Some pass very well, others don’t.
As feminists, we don’t judge our bodies or anyone else’s.

Myth #9: Transgender people aren’t “real” men or women.

This is probably the most hurtful myth of all.  It tells us that transgender people are somehow less human because of their gender identification.  It is proof that they do not have a place in proper society.
It is hateful and unacceptable.
Everyone should have the right to be men and women, regardless of sex category or anything else.
There are many ways to be human.

Myth #10: Transgender people are weird.

When someone is unlike anything we have seen or known, we think, that’s weird.
It’s okay to have that thought.  It’s human nature.  But it’s important to understand that your perception of what’s “weird” is based on your experiences and your culture.
Many cultures think that living outside the gender binary (two-gender system) is perfectly normal.  Transgender people are integrated into mainstream society and may even be held in high esteem.
We can do the same!  As feminists, we think difference is good!  (and we embrace weirdness too).

Why do these myths exist?

These myths all have one thing in common: they justify the subjugation of transgender people.
Think about it:  if we all believed that transgender people were confused, crazy, mentally ill, radical freaks that aren’t real people, then why would we want them to have an equal place in our society?  If they’re not normal, and not right, why would we want them to be anything more than invisible?
It’s a calculated collection of stereotypes that serves to maintain patriarchy.
Just by knowing that these 10 myths are false, you know more about transgender people than most people in the country today.
And, because of this knowledge, trans people are one step closer to being understood and accepted in mainstream society.
Now, take a minute to think about how powerful that is.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2012/08/myths-about-transgender-people/

Americans tell their stories for Transgender Awareness Week

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-americans-tell-their-stories-transgender-awareness-week151112



Video campaign hopes to raise awareness of transgender issues in the US






A video campaign featuring prominent trans Americans has been launched to mark Transgender Awareness Week.

The 'I AM: Trans People Speak' videos feature New York Times bestseller Professor Jennifer Finney Boylan and actress Laverne Cox telling their own personal stories.

Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) attorney Noah Lewis and performance poet Kit Yan also share their experiences to camera in the campaign which aims to put transgender issues in the spotlight to educate the public and speak to trans youth and adults.

The videos' release by LGBT rights group GLAAD and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition coincides with Transgender Awareness Week.

The US campaign, which started 12 November and runs until 19 November, hopes to raise visibility and awareness of transgender people and issues.

'The stories of everyday transgender Americans remain relatively unheard in both national and LGBT media,' said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick.

'These stories will not only empower members of the transgender community who rarely see relatable stories, but also educate Americans everywhere about the fact that the community is a valuable part of the fabric of our culture.

'The campaign will also shine a light on the high level of discrimination that our transgender friends, family and neighbors continue to face in schools, the workplace and in their own communities.'

Transgender Awareness Week culminates with the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on 20 November, honoring the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Keep up with Transgender Awareness Week on Twitter by following hashtag #TAW12. Follow the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Twitter with hashtag #TDoR

Watch a selection of the videos below:

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-americans-tell-their-stories-transgender-awareness-week151112

Trans election success in the US

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-election-success-us091112



Stacie Laughton is first openly transgender lawmaker in New Hampshire, Stu Rasmussen is re-elected mayor in Silverton, Oregon




Among the historic milestones for minorities from Tuesday's election in America were two electoral successes for transgender candidates.

Stacie Laughton became the first openly transgender lawmaker in New Hampshire. She was elected as a Democrat to serve on the state’s House of Representatives and said on Wednesday that she hopes other sexual minorities will be inspired by her success.

‘I believe that at this point, the LGBT community will hopefully be inspired,’ Laughton said to local newspaper The Nashua Telegraph.

‘We are people, too, who still have talents and ideas. And I hope that people won’t be afraid to get into politics, or any other position, for that matter. Maybe in the next election, we’ll have a senator.’

Laughton said her priorities in office will be advocating for the homeless, people with mental illness and physical disabilities and improving public schools.

Laughton also said she’d wants to make it easier for transgender people to correct their gender on official documentation and to use public restrooms. ‘The state needs to be welcoming and affirming and sending that message that you won’t be discriminated against in New Hampshire,’ she said.

Across the country in Silverton, Oregon on the west coast. Stu Rasmussen was re-elected as mayor.

Cinema-owner and lifelong Silverton resident became America’s first openly transgender mayor in 2008. He dresses in a feminine way but uses the ‘he’ pronoun. On his website he describes himself as a ‘cross-dresser’ and ‘transvestite’.


http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-election-success-us091112