This Week in Transgenderism 7/06/09

Trans Pride

Going to the class reunion post-op. TAVA gets smaller. India’s Rose has something to celebrate. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act needs a push. A transgender bus boycott may be coming in Pennsylvania. Finally, photo galleries from Pride events. The T stands for trendy and topical in London. Another pop star bends gender in a new music video. A day in the life of a costume shop owner. And Australians will have to leave the country to get SRS.

And naturally, a TWIT of the Week. All this and a lot more in this edition of TWIT Notes!

The Transgender American Veterans Association has pulled the plug on a few regional chapters because those chapters were getting involved in extra-curricular activities. BayWindows has the debate.

Just Rose

India has decriminalized same-sex, um, sex. And few people there are happier than those in the trans-community. ThaIndian has that story, and IBN has reaction to the decision from India’s TG talk show hostess, Rose.

It’s not all rosy in India, though. There’s still employment discrimination. “We don’t encourage transgenders,” says one human resources manager, referring to his <ahem> “diverse workforce“. The story is in Express Buzz.

Transsexuals in Indonesia say they won’t be voting for any candidate in the upcoming presidential election, because all the candidates have snubbed them. TempoInteractive reports.

An underserved corner of our community, the intersexed, get some attention from the Times of South Africa.

New America Media says after the brutal attack on a trans-woman in Queens last month, the prosecutor is trying to get the suspects charged under hate crime statutes.

Philadelphia Police are investigating the murder of a transgender who had previous convictions for prostitution. That doesn’t make the crime justified, and someone really ought to tell Philly’s PD maybe they shouldn’t refer to the victim as “he”. The story is in the Philadelphia Daily News.

We’ve already told you that Congress is working on a trans-inclusive ENDA bill. Phyllis Frye warns it’s not going to happen automatically. She says it’s time to start phoning, e-mailing, visiting and telegraphing your elected representatives to tell them your thoughts on the bill. And if you don’t know what it entails, Phyllis has found the wording at GovTrack.

TransPass

Activists who use public transportation in Philadelphia have had enough of the pointless gender ID stickers on their monthly passes. They tell NBC they won’t be riding in the back of the bus, or the front of the bus until it’s fixed.

Brits who served in the military and then got SRS can apply to get their medals reissued in their new gender. How about that? The Express has more.

Another victory for Diane Schroer: Ms. Magazine reports the Obama administration will not appeal the judgment in her favor in her sex discrimination case.

Finally, a victory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where the off-and-on again anti-discrimination ordinance is on again. WZZM has more.

WBZ in Boston says opponents of an anti-discrimination bill are pulling out the old familiar, and flawed argument: child molesters will dress up like women and rape your daughters in public bathrooms.

The bathroom debate goes on in Maine, long after a civil rights board ruled against Denny’s for prohibiting a trans-woman from using the loo of her choice. Village Soup has more on the latest decision, involving an elementary school student.

Priscilla: Queen of the Desert

The New York Times says the Evening Standard says the must-have accessory for any haute couture woman in London is a crossdresser. Book your flights now, girls.

Last week, we mentioned the effort to get the T added to the non-discrimination codes of Lawrence, Kansas. Now, hear first hand from someone it affects, in the pages of the Lawrence Journal-World.

It’s not just TGs who lobby for their rights and for equal treatment. A straight couple in the Boston area have just been honored for their work. Bay Windows says they lost a transgendered child to an overdose, and they don’t want it to happen to anyone else.

An artist from Chatham University is planning on making a coffee table book with the portraits of t-girls. But she needs money. If you’re interested in donating, (and possibly appearing in the final project), contact EbbaSchmid@yahoo.com. And as always, be careful before sending money to people you don’t know.

Trans Pride

We told you about the Trans-Pride march in San Francisco earlier this month. And finally, we have IndyBay to thank for four pages of photos from the event. See if you recognize anyone! And IndyBay also has audio from some of the speakers, too.

Daily Kos has photos and a first person account from a TS who went to the NYC Pride parade this month.

And there’s several photos from a GLBT prom in Florida, too. The Florida Times-Union has that gallery.

A monk, a rabbi, a priest and an imam all… wait. That’s either the beginning of a bad joke, or a planned reality show in Turkey. And what’s the T connection? Hurriyet will tell you.

The Enquirer says a Northern Kentucky funeral home director has the remains of a TS that have yet to be claimed by the next of kin. He says it’s because of the economy, but we, unfortunately, know better, don’t we? If you know Marie Antoinette‘s family, let them know she may end up in a pauper’s grave.

It’s not always doom and gloom. The Independent says Ireland’s most famous TS has mended the rift with her family. And she admits, that break was at least partly her fault.

A Baltimore neighborhood has been inundated with tranny hookers. And residents are looking for ways to reclaim their streets. ABC2 has more.

Michelle Sullivan

Even if everyone attends, there will be one guy missing from a British class reunion. It’s because he changed gender in the last 20 years. The Brisbane Times has the interview with Michelle Sullivan.

Also down under, Christian Today is jumping all over the closing of Australia’s only SRS clinic.

What goes on in your average costume shop? Pretty much what we would expect. But it still makes for interesting reading at Manawatu Standard.

The Examiner says a new play is on stage in San Antonio, and it’s autobiographical. But, Miss America has some themes familiar to people who didn’t write it, too.

Harry Potter, er, Daniel Radcliffe happily admits, he still hanging out with t-girls. U TV has that teaser.

Mariah Carey crossdresses

The Frisky takes a look at gender bending rock-n-rollers and pop stars. They’re inspired by Mariah Carey‘s new video.

Our contributor Gina Vizavi found this tidbit in the Funny Times News of The Weird:
“Ironies — On April 8, the New Hampshire House of Representatives debated a controversial bill to outlaw discrimination against transgenders (those born of one sex but who identify as the other), and the legislation passed by one vote. Coincidentally, April 8 was the state’s Tartan Day, and by tradition, male lawmakers of Scottish ancestry wore kilts to work. Thus, some of the opponents of giving greater protection to men who wear skirts were men who were that day wearing kilts. (In any event, the state Senate subsequently rejected the bill.)”

TWIT of the Week: Crossdressing clown? The headline at the Denver Post says it all.

Category: Transgender Community News