Siddharth Narrain
First Published : 27 Jun 2009 10:15:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 27 Jun 2009 10:47:13 AM IST
Karnataka Queer Habba: This year, Bangalore has given Pride celebrations a distinct local flavour with a week-long celebration titled the Karnataka Queer Habba. It began with a bang with an innovative cricket match. Titled “Queering the Pitch”, the match saw teams from different LGBT organisations pitted against each other. A live and humorous commentary interspersed with messages about LGBT rights and safe sex practices, ensured that no one was bored even for a minute. The Sangama team emerged the undisputed winner and was handed a trophy designed with queer symbols.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Russian man kills girlfriend after learning she was born male
Moscow:
A Russian man has shot his girlfriend dead and tried to commit suicide after learning that his beloved was a male by birth, police said on Wednesday.
Vladimir of southern Russian city of Volgograd shot Kamilla dead near a railway station after he learned that his partner had undergone sexual reassignment surgery at an Australian clinic, they said.
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A Russian man has shot his girlfriend dead and tried to commit suicide after learning that his beloved was a male by birth, police said on Wednesday.
Vladimir of southern Russian city of Volgograd shot Kamilla dead near a railway station after he learned that his partner had undergone sexual reassignment surgery at an Australian clinic, they said.
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Review: Be Like Others
Be Like Others
Created by: Tanaz Eshaghian
Regular airtime: Wednesday, 9pm ET (HBO)
Cast: Dr. Bahram Mir-Jalali, Anoosh/Anahita, Shahin, Ali, Ali Askar, Vida, Farhad, Hojatol Islam Kariminiya
US release date: 24 June 2009
Review by Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters Film and TV Editor
Full Review
Created by: Tanaz Eshaghian
Regular airtime: Wednesday, 9pm ET (HBO)
Cast: Dr. Bahram Mir-Jalali, Anoosh/Anahita, Shahin, Ali, Ali Askar, Vida, Farhad, Hojatol Islam Kariminiya
US release date: 24 June 2009
Review by Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters Film and TV Editor
Full Review
Disposable Income: How Gender and Sexuality Don't Add Up to Equal Pay
John Caldon
Posted: June 25, 2009 03:33 PM
June marks Pride Month, an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community's struggle for full equity. Despite the huge strides made toward this goal over the last few decades, there remains much work to be done. The historical patterns of workplace discrimination and pay inequity among LGBT and women workers still persist. On June 24, Representative Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts introduced the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would protect all workers from discrimination regardless of their sexual or gender identity.
A careful look at the earnings and workplace experiences of LGBT and women workers clearly illustrates the need for this legislation. Gender and sexual identity are intrinsically linked to pay.
Full Story
Posted: June 25, 2009 03:33 PM
June marks Pride Month, an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community's struggle for full equity. Despite the huge strides made toward this goal over the last few decades, there remains much work to be done. The historical patterns of workplace discrimination and pay inequity among LGBT and women workers still persist. On June 24, Representative Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts introduced the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would protect all workers from discrimination regardless of their sexual or gender identity.
A careful look at the earnings and workplace experiences of LGBT and women workers clearly illustrates the need for this legislation. Gender and sexual identity are intrinsically linked to pay.
Full Story
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New Protections for Transgender Federal Workers
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: June 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for President Obama are quietly drafting first-of-their kind guidelines barring workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees, officials said Tuesday.
The guidelines will be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors to be distributed and posted online in the next couple of months, and they could also be included in other materials for managers. They will list transgender people — those who identify their gender differently from the information on their birth certificates — as among several groups protected by antidiscrimination laws.
Full Story
Published: June 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for President Obama are quietly drafting first-of-their kind guidelines barring workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees, officials said Tuesday.
The guidelines will be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors to be distributed and posted online in the next couple of months, and they could also be included in other materials for managers. They will list transgender people — those who identify their gender differently from the information on their birth certificates — as among several groups protected by antidiscrimination laws.
Full Story
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Prosecutors: Colorado man accused in transgender slaying knew woman was biologically male
By: P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press
06/20/09 3:50 PM PDT
GREELEY, COLO. — A man accused of beating an 18-year-old transgendered woman to death with a fire extinguisher "snapped" after finding out the teen was biologically male, a defense lawyer argued Thursday as the murder trial began.
But a prosecutor contended Allen Andrade knew Angie Zapata's secret for at least 36 hours before the slaying — and killed her not in a sudden rage but because he disliked gays and transgenders.
Full Story
Associated Press
06/20/09 3:50 PM PDT
GREELEY, COLO. — A man accused of beating an 18-year-old transgendered woman to death with a fire extinguisher "snapped" after finding out the teen was biologically male, a defense lawyer argued Thursday as the murder trial began.
But a prosecutor contended Allen Andrade knew Angie Zapata's secret for at least 36 hours before the slaying — and killed her not in a sudden rage but because he disliked gays and transgenders.
Full Story
Friday, June 19, 2009
Laos tackles transgender taboos
A new drive to contain the spread of HIV/Aids in Laos is forcing officials to recognise a marginalised group - transgender men known as "katheoy". The BBC's Jill McGivering went to meet some of them in the capital, Vientiane.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Ugandan activist punished for transgender identity
Victor Juliet Mukasa chosen as international grand marshal by Pride for human rights work
Jun 18, 2009 04:30 AM
Elvira Cordileone
Staff Reporter
Grace and persistence under almost unendurable circumstances have earned Victor Juliet Mukasa a place at the head of this year's Pride parade.
Still, for someone who's been punished because of his gender identity, "a transperson," as the 33-year-old Ugandan calls himself, the prospect of serving as Pride Week's international grand marshal is scarey.
Full Story
Jun 18, 2009 04:30 AM
Elvira Cordileone
Staff Reporter
Grace and persistence under almost unendurable circumstances have earned Victor Juliet Mukasa a place at the head of this year's Pride parade.
Still, for someone who's been punished because of his gender identity, "a transperson," as the 33-year-old Ugandan calls himself, the prospect of serving as Pride Week's international grand marshal is scarey.
Full Story
Girls Don't Cry
An HBO documentary explores the growing number of transsexuals in Iran
By Ann Lewinson
Be Like Others
Premieres June 24 on HBO
Much of the best science fiction posits a society operating under a set of rules that cast our own society's unexamined assumptions in relief. Let's just say, for example, that homosexuality was a crime, punishable by death. And what if, in this same society, transsexuality were merely seen as an illness, curable with an operation partially funded by the state? But this is no Ursula Le Guin novel — this is Iran, which is second only to Thailand in the number of sex-change operations performed each year. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may claim that there are no homosexuals in Iran, but estimates of transsexuals run as high as 150,000. What happens when gender is mutable but sexual orientation is not? When science produces a medical solution for what religion prohibits? Tanaz Eshaghian, an Iranian-American filmmaker, set out to find out in Be Like Others, which premieres on HBO on June 24.
Full Story
By Ann Lewinson
Be Like Others
Premieres June 24 on HBO
Much of the best science fiction posits a society operating under a set of rules that cast our own society's unexamined assumptions in relief. Let's just say, for example, that homosexuality was a crime, punishable by death. And what if, in this same society, transsexuality were merely seen as an illness, curable with an operation partially funded by the state? But this is no Ursula Le Guin novel — this is Iran, which is second only to Thailand in the number of sex-change operations performed each year. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may claim that there are no homosexuals in Iran, but estimates of transsexuals run as high as 150,000. What happens when gender is mutable but sexual orientation is not? When science produces a medical solution for what religion prohibits? Tanaz Eshaghian, an Iranian-American filmmaker, set out to find out in Be Like Others, which premieres on HBO on June 24.
Full Story
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ottawa: Ladyfest confronts hot topics
LOCAL / Discussion explores women-centered spaces and gender identities
Ariel Troster / Ottawa / Wednesday, June 17, 2009
UP FOR DISCUSSION. Evan Hazenberg will be facilitating a discussion about the place of trans folk in women's spaces Jun 20.
Butch dykes and trans men are a diverse bunch. Some identify as one but not the other, some both. Some lesbians come to identify as trans, and some of them decide to transition.
Transitioning is the process of switching from living and presenting as one gender to living and presenting as another. For some it involves hormones and surgeries, for others no.
All of which complicates the definition of women's space.
Full Story
Ariel Troster / Ottawa / Wednesday, June 17, 2009
UP FOR DISCUSSION. Evan Hazenberg will be facilitating a discussion about the place of trans folk in women's spaces Jun 20.
Butch dykes and trans men are a diverse bunch. Some identify as one but not the other, some both. Some lesbians come to identify as trans, and some of them decide to transition.
Transitioning is the process of switching from living and presenting as one gender to living and presenting as another. For some it involves hormones and surgeries, for others no.
All of which complicates the definition of women's space.
Full Story
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
China: Sex change surgery guidelines drafted
By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-17 08:03
China is set to issue its first clinical guideline on sex-change surgery, according to a notice put on the website of the Ministry of Health Tuesday.
The ministry is now soliciting public and professional opinions on the draft guideline. The coming guideline aims to regulate and standardize sex reassignment surgery, part of a treatment for gender identity disorder in transsexuals.
Full Story
Updated: 2009-06-17 08:03
China is set to issue its first clinical guideline on sex-change surgery, according to a notice put on the website of the Ministry of Health Tuesday.
The ministry is now soliciting public and professional opinions on the draft guideline. The coming guideline aims to regulate and standardize sex reassignment surgery, part of a treatment for gender identity disorder in transsexuals.
Full Story
Group: Gay bias killings highest since 1999
By MARCUS FRANKLIN – 9 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to a year ago, according to a national coalition of advocacy groups.
Last year's 29 killings was the highest recorded by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs since 1999, when it documented the same number of slayings, according to a report released Tuesday by the coalition.
Full Story
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to a year ago, according to a national coalition of advocacy groups.
Last year's 29 killings was the highest recorded by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs since 1999, when it documented the same number of slayings, according to a report released Tuesday by the coalition.
Full Story
Monday, June 15, 2009
Women and Transgender Individuals Pleased at Cerrah's Departure
As Istanbul is preparing for a new Chief of Police, many segments of the city are happy that Celalettin Cerrah is going.
...
Women in Istanbul recall the annual harrassment of women at New Year in Taksim, accusing the police of remaining inactive.
...
Another group of people who are glad that Cerrah is leaving is the transvestite and transexual community of Istanbul.
According to transexual Beren, "During the six years that Celalettin Cerrah has been Istanbul Chief of Police, the violence against transvestites and transexuals (TT) has risen very noticably. His time in office has been a turning point for the worse."
Full Story
...
Women in Istanbul recall the annual harrassment of women at New Year in Taksim, accusing the police of remaining inactive.
...
Another group of people who are glad that Cerrah is leaving is the transvestite and transexual community of Istanbul.
According to transexual Beren, "During the six years that Celalettin Cerrah has been Istanbul Chief of Police, the violence against transvestites and transexuals (TT) has risen very noticably. His time in office has been a turning point for the worse."
Full Story
Trial set in transgender civil case that alleges discrimination at Park Central in Appleton
June 15, 2009
(Wisconsin) Sierra D. Broussard, 28, of Appleton, filed a civil suit against Park Central, a downtown Appleton nightclub, claiming she was denied admission June 21 because she is black and a transsexual.
Broussard said she was twice denied entrance to Park Central, 318 W. College Ave., and said an employee told her if she "used either bathroom it would cause confusion for the other patrons," and that she should go to a club that caters to "her kind."
Full Story
(Wisconsin) Sierra D. Broussard, 28, of Appleton, filed a civil suit against Park Central, a downtown Appleton nightclub, claiming she was denied admission June 21 because she is black and a transsexual.
Broussard said she was twice denied entrance to Park Central, 318 W. College Ave., and said an employee told her if she "used either bathroom it would cause confusion for the other patrons," and that she should go to a club that caters to "her kind."
Full Story
Friday, June 12, 2009
Jamison Green Commentary: Chastity, 'Good luck, brother!'
By Jamison Green
Special to CNN
Jamison Green is an educator, adviser and advocate on transgender issues, and the author of "Becoming a Visible Man" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2004).
Welcome, Chaz!
Before the word "transsexual" had been coined in English, an intrepid young person whose family belonged to the British nobility set out to transform herself from female to male. He received a medical school education, obtained hormones -- relatively new substances that were poorly understood at the time, and independently began living as a man in the early 1940s.
Eventually, he found a plastic surgeon to help him, and his physical changes were complete by 1949, but his family rejected him. The British tabloids hounded him. To escape publicity, he was forced to carve out a life for himself virtually alone. He became a Buddhist monk, and died in Tibet in 1962 at the age of 47.
His name was Michael Dillon, and he one of the Western world's first transsexual people, that is, someone who changes sex and/or gender by medical means. His extensive writings were suppressed and destroyed by his family -- only fragments survive.
Full Story
Special to CNN
Jamison Green is an educator, adviser and advocate on transgender issues, and the author of "Becoming a Visible Man" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2004).
Welcome, Chaz!
Before the word "transsexual" had been coined in English, an intrepid young person whose family belonged to the British nobility set out to transform herself from female to male. He received a medical school education, obtained hormones -- relatively new substances that were poorly understood at the time, and independently began living as a man in the early 1940s.
Eventually, he found a plastic surgeon to help him, and his physical changes were complete by 1949, but his family rejected him. The British tabloids hounded him. To escape publicity, he was forced to carve out a life for himself virtually alone. He became a Buddhist monk, and died in Tibet in 1962 at the age of 47.
His name was Michael Dillon, and he one of the Western world's first transsexual people, that is, someone who changes sex and/or gender by medical means. His extensive writings were suppressed and destroyed by his family -- only fragments survive.
Full Story
Trans Rights Go Global
BY DOUG IRELAND
May was an historic month for the transgendered around the world.
The issue of transphobia was inscribed on the global LGBT agenda thanks to new initiatives from the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). The effort includes a global petition campaign in favor of rights for the transgendered aimed at the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and governments around the world, which has already resulted in major changes in the status of the gender-variant citizens of several countries.
Full Story
May was an historic month for the transgendered around the world.
The issue of transphobia was inscribed on the global LGBT agenda thanks to new initiatives from the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). The effort includes a global petition campaign in favor of rights for the transgendered aimed at the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and governments around the world, which has already resulted in major changes in the status of the gender-variant citizens of several countries.
Full Story
'My Identity' Wins Human Rights Comp
12 Jun 2009 |
A film telling the true story of an Irish transgender person last night won the ICCL (Irish Council for Civil Liberties), Human Rights Film School Competition, at The Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin.
The short film entitled ‘My Identity’, directed by Vittoria Colonna, was among six films screened at the event. The winning documentary tells the story of Lee, a transgender person, and the impact which his identity has on his daughter Siobhan.
Full Story
A film telling the true story of an Irish transgender person last night won the ICCL (Irish Council for Civil Liberties), Human Rights Film School Competition, at The Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin.
The short film entitled ‘My Identity’, directed by Vittoria Colonna, was among six films screened at the event. The winning documentary tells the story of Lee, a transgender person, and the impact which his identity has on his daughter Siobhan.
Full Story
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Few leads for 'suspicious' transgender death in Sacramento
by Dan Aiello for The Bay Area Reporter Online
d_aiello@sbcglobal.net
In the eight months since fishermen found the body of a young transgender woman along the banks of Sacramento's American River, police have remained unable to determine whether the death was a homicide.
Sacramento police continue to call the death of 22-year-old Fernando "Ruby" Molina "suspicious," and the case remains assigned to homicide investigators. However, after eight months, the Sacramento County Coroner's office still has not completed its report or determined a manner of death and the case remains open.
The official cause of death is drowning.
Full Story
d_aiello@sbcglobal.net
In the eight months since fishermen found the body of a young transgender woman along the banks of Sacramento's American River, police have remained unable to determine whether the death was a homicide.
Sacramento police continue to call the death of 22-year-old Fernando "Ruby" Molina "suspicious," and the case remains assigned to homicide investigators. However, after eight months, the Sacramento County Coroner's office still has not completed its report or determined a manner of death and the case remains open.
The official cause of death is drowning.
Full Story
Police say hate motivated attack on transgender person near Franklin High
By Lewis Kamb
Seattle Times staff reporter
The brutal attack of a transgender woman by a group of youths at a bus stop near Franklin High School on Saturday was clearly motivated by hate, Seattle police say.
A 13-year-old boy arrested shortly after the assault in South Seattle faces felony malicious harassment and attempted-robbery charges, according to police.
Several other youths who allegedly joined the boy in the attack remain at large, police say.
The suspect "was uncooperative in providing information regarding the identities of the other suspects involved," Officer Wayne Johnson wrote in his report.
The attack occurred at 4:42 p.m. at a Metro bus stop near Rainier Avenue South and South Mount Baker Boulevard. The 36-year-old victim told police that she is in the process of changing her "name and appearance from a man to a woman,"according to Johnson's report.
Full Story
Seattle Times staff reporter
The brutal attack of a transgender woman by a group of youths at a bus stop near Franklin High School on Saturday was clearly motivated by hate, Seattle police say.
A 13-year-old boy arrested shortly after the assault in South Seattle faces felony malicious harassment and attempted-robbery charges, according to police.
Several other youths who allegedly joined the boy in the attack remain at large, police say.
The suspect "was uncooperative in providing information regarding the identities of the other suspects involved," Officer Wayne Johnson wrote in his report.
The attack occurred at 4:42 p.m. at a Metro bus stop near Rainier Avenue South and South Mount Baker Boulevard. The 36-year-old victim told police that she is in the process of changing her "name and appearance from a man to a woman,"according to Johnson's report.
Full Story
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Transgender transgression: how York reacted to GNTs
June 9, 2009
The LGBT welfare motions of the last UGM all reached quoracy and passed; perhaps highlighting that the university bubble is far more liberal than the big bad world. However, the most well-voiced reaction to the motions was disappointing.
Full Story
The LGBT welfare motions of the last UGM all reached quoracy and passed; perhaps highlighting that the university bubble is far more liberal than the big bad world. However, the most well-voiced reaction to the motions was disappointing.
Full Story
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Straight.com: NDP MP Bill Siksay calls for coverage of sex reassignment surgery
Vancouver: NDP MP Bill Siksay tabled today (June 3) a motion in the House of Commons which calls on the federal government to take action to ensure that sex reassignment surgery is covered by Canada’s health system.
Full Story
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Expressbuzz.com: Transgenders find place in college admission forms
CHENNAI: When Shakthi Sundar was filling up the application form for a course in Madras Christian College, she noticed that the application form had a third option in gender - transgender.
This coming of age move from colleges in the city is a result of a directive from the State Education Department last year asking all colleges to not discriminate against transgenders, to recognise the gender and provide facilities for them.
Full Story
This coming of age move from colleges in the city is a result of a directive from the State Education Department last year asking all colleges to not discriminate against transgenders, to recognise the gender and provide facilities for them.
Full Story
Change.org: Is Health Care Failing Transgender Patients?
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association released a study, based on the survey responses of more than 90 hospitals and 70 health clinics in the United States, on the care provided to LGBT patients, and the findings show an epidemic of insufficient care for transgender patients.
Full Story
Full Story
Reuters: Harvard University creates gay professorship role
BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University is creating an endowed professorship in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual studies, the first of its kind in the United States and reflecting a rise in sex-related academia nationwide.
The Ivy League school will invite visiting scholars to teach on sexuality and issues related to sexual minorities for one semester each, a Harvard official said on Wednesday.
Full Story
The Ivy League school will invite visiting scholars to teach on sexuality and issues related to sexual minorities for one semester each, a Harvard official said on Wednesday.
Full Story
BBC: Venezuela 'silent' on hate crimes rise
In a city where about 40 murders take place every weekend, it may not come as a big surprise that four prostitutes have been killed on the same stretch of road in Caracas in recent months.
But when you find out that all four were transsexuals or transgender, it changes the picture somewhat.
Full Story
But when you find out that all four were transsexuals or transgender, it changes the picture somewhat.
Full Story
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