This Week in Transgenderism 5/18/09

Phyllis Randolph Frye

States smoothing the paper trail for transitioners. A TS on hunger strike in the UK. Two murder convictions upheld in California. Thailand has a new beauty queen. A Nebraska family encourages their grade school daughter’s transition. A shocking marriage in China, while Tennessee refuses to recognize a union. Jenny Boylan weighs in on same-sex marriages, including her own. One gang of TS kidnappers out on bail, while another pair are sentenced for rape. And a GI caught with his trousers down. All this, and the TWITS of the Week, inside this edition of TWIT Notes.

A big thank you to our friend Phyllis Randolph Frye, in the form of a thank you. Her alma mater has named a diversity award after her, according to the Dallas Voice.

California lawmakers are trying to make the whole identity paper trail thing easier for TG’s. Now, if they could just make the whole gender identity thing easier. The Desert Sun has more.

New Jersey is following suit, at least for driver’s licenses. That story is in the Philadelphia Gay News.

Gwen Araujo

An appeals court has upheld the murder convictions of two Californians in the brutal murder of Gwen Araujo. The San Francisco Chronicle explains.

As Congress starts to debate the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a columnist at the Boston Globe warns it’s not a well written law.

A Turkish politician is starting to look into creating a hate crimes law to protect the GLBT population there. Hurriyet has that story.

The third largest city in Turkey likes to think of itself as more Western than Asian, and by discriminating against TG’s, they’re doing a pretty good job. The story is in Today’s Zaman.

Meanwhile, an Australian filmmaker is in Turkey to shoot a documentary on the TG population there. Hurriyet also has that story.

Thai Beauty Pageant

While Americans continue to salivate over Carrie Prejean, and her politically incorrect response to a question about same-sex marriage, Thailand has crowned their most beautiful transsexual.

The story is in the Inquirer. (And video of the pageant at Xinhuan, with photos at Zimbio.)

The State of Tennessee has invalidated the marriage of a TG woman and her husband, saying the state doesn’t recognize the gender change, and doesn’t cotton to same sex-marriage. But as you read on, consider this: the story in the Knox News doubles as a TWIT of the Week.

Jenny Boylan has written an op-ed piece for the New York Times on that grey area that’s created when a couple stays married after transition, in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

Jackie McReynolds

Transgendered prostitutes in Washington DC have a way out of “the life” if they want it. Read the Washington Post and meet Jackie McReynolds.

An FtM is dead, after being hit by a car. Was it suicide, or carelessness? No-one but the victim will probably ever know. St. Petersburg Times has the facts as they are known.

This week’s “meet-the-drag-queen” interview is found in the Charleston City Paper.

Grade School Transition

A little girl won’t be able to re-enroll in Catholic school next year, simply because she was born with boy-parts. KETV in Omaha has more.

And in a related story, this week’s “meet-the-therapist” story comes to us courtesy of KMEG.

A British advice columnist has some words for an FtM who is afraid to come out. FtM or not, the message in the Sunday Metro rings true for anyone who’s scared of coming out.

Another advice columnist over at Eye Weekly dives into a debate over that all-important question of “when to tell“.

This is why early disclosure is important: A Chinese man was shocked to find out his bride of three years was actually a man. The story is in the Sun.

Hunger Strike

A British TS is on a hunger strike, hoping to persuade the local council to fund her SRS. The BBC has details.

Albertans are still debating whether or not to fund SRS, and someone who knows more about transsexuality than your average Canadian is sounding off on it, as she starts her PhD. program. The Sun talks with her.

An American was arrested in Moscow at a gay pride protest. The official charge, according to the Right Perspective is that he was “walking with a transvestite.” That’s apparently the Russian equivilent of “ridin’ dirty“.

Pink undies

“No, I’m all man. I even fought in W.W.2. Of course, I was wearing women’s undergarments under my uniform.” A real Ed Wood moment for an American soldier in Afghanistan. Were the undies supposed to be pink or did he just wash them with the red shirt? We go to the Times Online.

TWITS of the Week:

Lock up your sons! Eleven of India’s TG prostitutes are out on bail, awaiting trial on charges they castrated at least one boy and forced him to work for them. Indiopia has details.

You can unlock your daughters. It’s ten years in prison for an Indian TG who raped two girls, and forced them into prostitution. The Times of India has that story.

Trolley driver

The Boston trolley driver who crashed into another trolley earlier this month was texting his girlfriend at the time. Oh, and he’s FtM. ABC News says charges are being prepared. And a special TWIT nomination for the Boston Herald columnist who seems to think the trolley driver’s gender identity is the most important part of the story.

A Scottish sicko is off the streets, after police caught him chasing a woman, while dressed as a woman. What’s sick is what he had in his car. The Scotsman has the chilling details.

Category: Transgender Community News