This Week in Transgenderism 2/9/09

The youngest SRS patient ever is looking forward to swimsuit season. A once-friendly artist has been laughing at, not with us all these years. A health club tells a TS she’s welcome in the ladies’ locker room. Will RuPaul, Dame Edna and Jude Law be wearing Hello Kitty this year? Somebody in the UK is offended by a trans-themed Nokia advert. More gender bending on stage, and on screen. And really: is anyone actually wearing Mantyhose?

And don’t skip ahead to the TWIT of the Week, either! You can’t have it until you’ve read all of TWIT Notes!

Beginning with a follow up: what’s happened in the week after a British support group got outted? The Chichester Observer says some good things, and some bad.

An artist known and loved for her paintings of drag queens and pride parades apparently gave money to the Proposition 8 campaign to outlaw same-sex marriages in California. Qweerty brings us the story.

Protests over Prop 8 continue. And right before Valentine’s Day, demonstrators in Dallas held a “kiss in“. Read moer at the Dallas Morning News.

And in Finland, marriage rights activists are pouring over a court decision regarding a TS who wants to stay married to her wife. But the law says, well, look. It’s complicated. Read YLE. They’ll explain it.

She has dreams of a pop career. And she’s looking forward to the summer, so she can wear her new swimsuit. Sounds like just about any 16-year-old girl, except for one tiny detail: she’s the world’s only 16-year-old post-op. You’ve met her here before, but now the Edge has more with Kim Petras. And MTV News has a brief story as well.

We’re coming up on the 25th anniversary of the death of a transgendered television pioneer. If you don’t know the name Don McLean, or you associate it with American Pie, it’d be best for you to read the San Francisco Chronicle‘s look at this day in history feature.

We’d laugh at a surgeon who promised to fix a broken bone with “the vapors“, and we’d run screaming if a doctor suggested the cure for influenza was a “good bleeding“. So, why is “reparative therapy” still presented as a treatment for transgenderism? And more importantly, why is a guy who pushes it on the board that will be re-writing the DSM-V? Qweerty also wants to know why this guy is suing Lynn Conway.

The man acccused of killing Angie Zapata just can’t seem to keep his nose clean. The Greeley Tribune says even though he’s in jail, he’s still causing problems. It’s a pity stuff like this can’t be used to show what a scumbag he is, at his murder trial.

Which Hollywood heartthrob is the latest to go on a bender? (A gender bender, naturally.) Well, if we told you, you might not read the story at Marie Claire. And the Strait Times has more about the movie itself.

If you’re going to do a story on transgendered rights, it’s probably not fair to ask an opponent of the bill for definitions of “transgender”, like One News Now does.

What’s up with TG legislation in Massachusetts? Bay Windows has an update.

Meanwhile, over in nearby New Hampshire, a bill designed to prevent employment discrimination is making its way forward, with little resistance. The Nashua Telegraph talks to one woman who testified about her job troubles.

Rep. Barney Frank has emerged as one of Washington’s most powerful lawmakers. And who has his ear? Diego Sanchez, who just happens to be FtM. The Advocate introduces us to Diego, and the future of ENDA.

The good news: marriages including at least one post-op TS are now recognized in Britain’s Channel Islands. The bad news: Anglican priests have the right to refuse to perform the ceremonies. This is Jersey has more. And if you don’t want to sound off here at TGForum, Channel Online wants your thoughts. (Though we’d love to hear them as well.)

Overcoming depression and social rejection through… song? That’s the key in Nepal, where, according Thaindian News, a GLBT choir is making all kinds of people happy.

“We’re everywhere.” Echos of the gay rights movement coming through loud and clear in the Journal Star‘s report on transgender visability in Central Illinois.

Southern Voice reports another city in Georgia has added transgender to the list of anti-discrimination laws.

And WWMT reports the city leaders of Kalamazoo, Michigan are, as they promised, working on fixing their non-discrimination codes.

The police aren’t doing anything about her, and the health club where she’s a member is siding with her too. So, who has a problem with Tammy Wronski, and why? CBS2 in Chicago has more.

In the interest of equal time, we present a guest editorialist at the Denver Post, railing against legal protections, and bathroom rights for trans folk.

Speaking of bathrooms, (and it seems we do frequently), one of the blogs at the Houston Press has found a rather useful resource for us.

Some students at George Washington University are calling for gender identity to be added to the non-discrimination list within the school’s code of conduct. The details are at the GW Hatchet.

A junior at the University of Pennsylvania is coming out, (or should we say “oout”) against the U’s insurance policy covering SRS. The editorial is at the Daily Pennsylvanian.

The victim of a hate crime is talking. She’s laying out the case for why transgender and intersex should be included in hate crime legislation, in the pages of the Kitsap Sun.

A columnist at the Boston Globe doesn’t like “Mantyhose” and doesn’t think they’ll catch on. And he finds a lot of support for this point of view.

A TG airline passenger is suing, because she was first told she wouldn’t need two seats, and then told she would. Why the mention she’s trans is beyond us, but Gadling seems to think it’s important.

Retro-makeup: cosmetic companies are keeping kitsch, producing package featuring favorite cartoon characters, either to draw in younger customers or attract older ones trying to feel young. The Frisky blog has details.

While the rest of the country was watching the Super Bowl and the associated commercials, some with no interest in hulky men in shimmering pants, were playing drag bingo. WCAX has more.

But drag queen bingo has apparently jumped the shark already. PrideSource indicates the new trend is porn star bingo. That oughta get the little old ladies in the door.

Is it a bad thing that the Ministry of Defense published a report on how the military should deal with transsexuality? Well, the guide is coming under fire, in the Daily Mail.

And here’s the definition of either “missing the point” or “proving it“: The TS we told you about last week upset over an anti-drinking ad campaign? Well, Brits seem to think she looks like a prominent sports figure. The Telegraph goes from there.

Whaddya know? An advertising agency actually asked someone who was transgender if a commercial with a TG theme was offensive. Brand Republic has more on the Nokia ad.

More gender bending at the opera: Prince Charming is a chick, in a new interpretation of Cinderella. The Indiana Daily Student has more.

Film female impersonator legend Charles Busch is back on stage, along with the actor who New York Magazine calls “nature’s drag queen“. Though you’ll have to read through a review of Will Ferrell‘s new stage show first to find it.

A human rights activist, who happens to be FtM, says yes, we should remember the victims of anti-GLBT violence, but we should also live our lives, as best we can. The editorial is in the Olympian.

From our musical maven, Pamela DeGrof:
“Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter is often accused of being a man. (Check Google suggestions for “Ann Coulter is a,” and see what pops up.) But it was he/she who went on the gender displacement offensive last week, suggesting Keith Olbermann is a “57-year old woman trapped in a man’s body.” While that’s a bold and difficult-to-prove statement, if Coulter had instead pointed out that Olbermann is nearing membership in the Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians Club, we would have agreed wholeheartedly.”

Coming soon, to the North Country of New York state: Another GLBT film festival. Only this one, features a film we’ve not heard of. The Watertown Daily Times has details, including the YouTube video of “Be Like Others“.

FilmThreat says the new flick “Defying Gravity” isn’t really good at all. But, the transvestite waitress, if you can ignore the sterotyping, looks good.

The United States isn’t the only nation struggling with the question of what to do with TG prisoners. And according to Malta Today, the US isn’t the only country where trans-inmates can be abused.

After some weeks of relative peace and quiet, we have a new TWIT exploding onto the scene. An 18-year-old posed as a woman online, and convinced other teenaged boys to send him naked pictures of themselves. And it gets worse from there. Qweerty has more, including CNN’s video report.

Bonding with your health care worker? Good. Stalking your health care worker? Bad. Confronting said health care worker? Very bad. The Daily Echo introduces us to James Julian, who would be the TWIT, but for the obvious mental health issues.

A transvestite is wanted in Malaysia for a series of muggings. We hope her tuck goes bad and causes her much pain during the next getaway. Read more at AsiaOne.

Do we have to keep saying it? Don’t pick up homeless men and take them home for sex. One Irish lass has the scars as proof, and the accused, according to the Irish Times, will have a home in prison for five years.

Heck. Who are we kidding? Be careful about anyone you go home with. See another story of life on the streets at Donga.

Category: All TGForum Posts, Transgender Community News