Transgender Community

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8400172.stm

Testosterone link to aggression 'all in the mind'

Giving women more of the male hormone testosterone can turn them into fairer and more amiable game players, according to tests.

A single dose of testosterone was enough to have this effect, European scientists found, but only if the woman was oblivious to the treatment.


Hormones may dictate only a small part of our attitude

If she realised she had received the hormone and not a dummy drug, she turned to greed and selfishness.

The work in Nature magazine suggests the mind can win over hormones.

Testosterone induces anti-social behaviour in humans, but only because of our own prejudices about its effect rather than its biological activity, suggest the authors.

They believe the same is true in men, although they only studied women.

Power of suggestion

For the study, they asked more than 120 women to pair up and play an "ultimatum" bargaining game with real money at stake.

In the game, one of the pair is the "proposer" and is tasked with suggesting to the other player - the responder - how to split the money between them.

The responder can then only accept or reject the offer.

This puts hormones in their place. Hormones provide a basic backdrop, but changes in levels will do little to behaviour compared to personality, culture and society
Endocrinologist Professor Ashley Grossman

If they reject it, neither of the pair gets any of the cash.

The researchers gave the proposers either a dummy pill or one containing testosterone, but did not tell the women which pill they had been given.

Once they had played the game, the proposers were asked to say which pill they thought they had taken.

Those who received testosterone behaved more fairly, had fewer bargaining conflicts and were better at social interactions.

However, women who thought that they had received testosterone, whether or not they actually did, behaved more unfairly than those who thought that they had received placebo, again whether or not they actually did.

The researchers, led by Ernst Fehr of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, said the results suggested a case of "mind over matter" with the brain overriding body chemistry.

"Whereas other animals may be predominantly under the influence of biological factors such as hormones, biology seems to exert less control over human behaviour," they said.

UK endocrinologist Professor Ashley Grossman said: "This puts hormones in their place.

"Hormones provide a basic backdrop, but changes in levels will do little to behaviour compared to personality, culture and society."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8330157.stm

Born in the wrong body
By James Fletcher
BBC News

Doctors in Britain are reviewing guidelines for the treatment of people under 18 with gender dysphoria. This is a condition where someone is born one sex but feels they are really the other. A key issue is the age at which young people can be prescribed drugs which pause puberty.


Around 1 in 4,000 people in the UK are receiving help for gender dysphoria

Sitting in her kitchen, 16 year old Nikki (name changed to protect her identity) looks and acts like any other teenage girl.

She gossips with her mum, teases her younger brothers, and giggles as she texts her new boyfriend.

The only difference is that Nikki was born biologically a boy.

"I've always felt like a girl," she says. As a child, she dressed up in girls' clothing, played with girls' toys, and gravitated towards other girls.

As she got older, Nikki realised there was a difference between what she felt and her body.

"It used to make me feel ill and so horribly down," she remembers. "I'd just wish that I wasn't around. Everything to do with me being male was horrible, I just couldn't stand it."

When she was seven Nikki was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Her parents initially tried to steer her towards accepting she was a boy, but by eight she was living as a girl at home, and by nine was going to school as a girl.

"I loved it," she says, "people picked on me a lot, but it was amazing in my eyes because I was allowed to show everyone who I was."
( Read more... )

From http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/?p=1802 .

via Helen Boyd

A month ago, a trans woman named Paulina Ibarra was stabbed to death in her apartment in Hollywood. The police have a person of interest, one Jesus Catalan, who is known to have been inside Ms Ibarra’s apartment. From the ABC article linked above:

Investigators say they know that Catalan was inside Ibarra’s apartment but they don’t know exactly what happened between the two. Police do know that Catalan is known to frequent transgender prostitutes.

Catalan is homeless. Detectives say they believe friends are currently helping him hide. Authorities are asking for the public’s help in tracking him down.

“There was an argument or a fight of some type and Ms. Ibarra was fatally stabbed,” said LAPD Lieutenant Wesley Buhrmester.

“We’re here to say that we’re not going to let somebody come in and kill one of our members and just let it happen and let it be forgotten,” said transgender activist Victoria Ortega.

Jesus Catalan is 24 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds, and has a tattoo on his right arm. He is known to frequent the Hollywood and West Hollywood areas. If you have any information on his whereabouts you’re urged to call the LAPD tip line at (877) LAPD-24-7. That is (877) 527-3247.

As for the article. Note the use of the word “person” – not woman. Note how it functions. Note how it actually means “not a person.” Note how it’s just tossed in there that Catalan frequented trans prostitutes, and how that works to imply that Paulina Ibarra may have been a sex worker, and how it redoubles her disposability (as a woman, as a trans woman, as a woman of color). It shouldn’t, of course, but in a misogynistic sex-worker phobic world, it sure does.

And then note the date when this occured – August 28th. This occured one month ago, and we’re just hearing now? It’s just making news? Well, that does sound terribly conducive to a search.

And then note what Victoria Ortega says, “We’re here to say that we’re not going to let somebody come in and kill one of our members and just let it happen and be forgotten,” and then pass this news on, please.

The Boy Who Was Born a Girl, which was referenced in the article and which aired on the UK's Channel 4 recently, is now available on YouTube.

Part one: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qWQPvzCZ64U
Part two: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dbb4zBLX-wg
Part three: http://youtube.com/watch?v=uGxmmfP5hWY

http://guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/05/transgender-human-rights-europe

The transgender rights deficit
Across Europe transgender rights lag behind those of other groups. We're working to change that
Thomas Hammarberg
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 September 2009 09.00 BST

The human rights situation of transgender persons has long been ignored and neglected, although the problems they face are serious and often specific to this group alone. Transgender people experience a high degree of discrimination, intolerance and outright violence. Their basic human rights are often violated, including the right to life, the right to physical integrity and the right to health.

During my official visits to the 47 member States of the Council of Europe, I have been struck by the lack of knowledge about the human rights issues at stake for transgender persons, even among political decision-makers.
( Read more... )

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8237886.stm

Transsexual wins prison transfer

The refusal to move a transsexual prisoner from a men's jail to a women's prison is a violation of her human rights, rules the High Court.

Deputy Judge David Elvin QC quashed Justice Secretary Jack Straw's decision to keep the 27-year-old, who cannot be identified, in a male prison.


The prisoner would be moved "as soon as possible", the court heard

Referred to as "A", she is serving a life sentence for manslaughter and attempted rape, committed when a man.

London's High Court heard the prisoner should be moved within a few weeks.

Deputy Judge Elvin said: "I declare her continued detention in a male prison is in breach of her rights under Article 8 (right to private and family life) under the European Convention on Human Rights."

Barrister Phillippa Kaufmann, for the prisoner, described her as "a woman trapped inside a man's body".

Although apparently born male, "A" later had her womanhood recognised by law - under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 - and her birth certificate amended accordingly.

Awaiting surgery

Hair on her face and legs had been removed by laser, and she had developed breasts from hormone treatment.

She is now awaiting gender reassignment surgery, but is not allowed to undergo the procedure while still in a men's prison, her lawyer has said.

"A" is currently detained on a "vulnerable prisoners" wing, and forbidden from wearing skirts, blouses and more than "subtle" make-up.

The Ministry of Justice and prison authorities argued that "A" was no more likely to be accepted at a women's prison, where she would require long periods of segregation at an extra cost of £80,000 a year.

They also argued that transfer might have a serious impact on her mental health, making it more difficult for her to reduce her level of risk to society and win early release.

http://nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/27/us/AP-US-Genderless-Bathrooms.html

Transgender VT Teen Wants Genderless Bathrooms
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 27, 2009

Filed at 7:06 p.m. ET

MONTPELIER, VT (AP) -- A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.

Kyle Giard-Chase, 16, asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission on Thursday to endorse the effort. He said that before he came out last year as transgendered, he was a three-sport athlete and the co-captain of the field hockey team, a girls' sport, at South Burlington High School.

At an away game, he said he was verbally harassed and threatened by the members of the host school's football team for using the girls' restroom.

"The harassment only stopped when I was reduced to tears and told them I was in fact a female," said Kyle, now a senior.

But Kyle said it wasn't the harassment that affected him the most.

"It was the fear and apprehension of possibly having to use the bathroom during the school day that caused me the most harm," he said. "By eighth grade I had almost made a game out of waiting for the end of the day so I could use the bathroom at my own home."

Gender-neutral bathrooms can be as simple as what are now considered handicapped accessible bathrooms that are in a single room, he said.

The commission expressed some sympathy toward the plight of young people whose struggles with gender identity make them uncomfortable using gender-specific bathrooms, but it didn't take any action.

Joseph Benning, chairman of the commission's board, told Kyle he should prepare to deal with resistance from school officials who wouldn't have the resources to change school bathrooms.

"You've begun the process by opening up doors even to us, who never would have envisioned this being a problem at all," Benning. "Once you start on that path, however, you are going to run into opposition. As you go down the road you need to be prepared for it."

No opponents of the idea attended the meeting, although Benning said they would be welcomed at future meetings.

Kyle is working with the Burlington-based group Outright Vermont, a social service organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

"The hope is that this is the first statewide gender-neutral bathroom campaign in the country,'' said Outright Executive Director Christopher Neff. ''Vermont is a leader. This is another opportunity to again be the first in the nation and say we are going to make sure that all of our students, no matter who they are, are safe and protected."

A Vermont Department of Education spokesman couldn't find anyone to answer questions about the issue on Thursday.

Vermont was the first state in the country that allowed same sex couples to form civil unions and earlier this year the Legislature approved same-sex marriage. State law also includes the Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act of 2007.

In a separate statement given to the board, Kyle said that he did not feel safe in gender-specific bathrooms. Throughout middle school he said he would "hold it" to avoid being harmed by others.

"This procedure of 'holding it' caused me to pay less attention in class, neglect my studies, and fear going to school in the morning," he said.

He said South Burlington High School has a number of unisex bathrooms and his feelings of "fear and apprehension" dissolved.

Neff told the board the process was just beginning and they hoped the board would take a stand on the issue that young people need to feel comfortable when they are in school.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/First-of-its-kind-A-clinic-just-for-transgenders/articleshow/4947057.cms

First of its kind: A clinic just for transgenders
Bosco Dominique, TNN 29 August 2009, 03:43am IST

PUDUCHERRY: Transgenders, often distanced by society, will soon have a clinic functioning exclusively for them in this former French enclave.

Even as a group of transgenders in Chennai launched a matrimonial website exclusively for them, in Puducherry the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute showcased a clinic, which, they claimed was the first such medical facility for transgenders in south India.

The clinic boasting of providing complete health care services for transgenders will offer consultation and treatment free of cost in the disciplines of gynaecology, urology, dermatology, psychiatry and paediatrics. "The transgender clinic will function thrice a week from 9am to 3pm," said Prof D R Gunasekaran, V-C of the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University to which the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College is affiliated.

The clinic screened first batch of 20 transgenders for various disorders on inaugural day on August 24.

"Transgenders are vulnerable to a host of ailments including HIV, skin complications and failure of various organs. We have roped in specialists from all disciplines to extend health care services to them," said Prof Gunasekaran.

The university has joined hands with an NGO, Sahodaran, to work on projects targeting males having sex with males, HIV+ and transgenders. The university has plan-ned to approach government and NGOs to enlighten transgenders on their new facility. "As a deemed university we aspire to engage in several innovative fields of specialization and to establish a greater interface with society. We decided to open an exclusive clinic for transgenders realising that they are most oppressed lot and are denied basic health care facilities," he said.

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2080/68/

"Buddies" Ease Transgenders' Hospital Visits in Argentina
Written by Marcela Valente
Wednesday, 26 August 2009

(IPS) - Keeping a hospital appointment in the Argentine capital is a far less fearsome ordeal for transgender persons, a sector of the population that according to doctors had "dramatic" statistics of illness, when they are accompanied by trained health promoters who, like them, have chosen a different gender identity.

"It's easier to communicate among ourselves than with hospital staff," Valeria Ramírez, a transgender promoter with the city of Buenos Aires' Programme to Facilitate Access to the Health System for the Transgender Population, told IPS.

In place since 2007, the strategy has increased the frequency of consultation and health check-ups by this marginalised community, as well as boosting the immune systems of those infected with HIV/AIDS.

Ramírez, who is also the coordinator of one of the centres run by the Buenos Aires AIDS Foundation (FBAS), meets transgender patients as they arrive at the Ramos Mejía Acute General Hospital, and accompanies them as they request appointments and have X-rays and other tests.

"The plan emerged in order to improve the treatment rate of 'trans' persons, who exhibited high levels of illness," Dr Marcelo Losso, of the hospital's department of services for immunocompromised patients, told IPS.
( Read more... )

http://fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?s=10975630

Nampa Woman To Sue Twitter
Posted: Aug 22, 2009 11:51 PM

Nampa - A transgender candidate for Nampa mayor is suing Twitter after someone created a fake account under her name and posted lewd comments. While social media like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter have their benefits, they also provide a lot of opportunity to falsify someone's identity. And for Nampa mayoral candidate, Melissa Sue Robinson, it's gone too far.

"I checked google and I saw something very lewd, very malicious, just down-right nasty with my name on it," said Melissa Sue Robinson.

A shock for transgender mayoral candidate Melissa Sue Robinson. Someone has created a Twitter account under her name with the title "woman with a penis". The fake account has also posted lewd tweets to a Michigan reporter, who said he immediately blocked the feed.

"I emailed Twitter and called them and did the same thing with google and asked them to remove it and that was month ago and they haven't removed it," said Robinson.

Robinson is now working with an attorney on a defamation of character and violation of privacy lawsuit. They'll try to get the name of the person who created the account, and then sue them.

"If you're just a transgender person living your life out you're working hard doing things to help society people shouldn't be malicious against you," said Robinson.

Robinson is not the first person up in arms against the social networking site. Tony La Russa, the manager of the St Louis Cardinals, sued after someone posed under his name, he eventually dropped the suit after Twitter canceled the fake account. And you may remember a few months ago Governor Butch Otter was caught up in a fake Twitter scandal, when someone posed under his name.

"It also states if it's clearly a parody of someone else if its clear that it is they probably won't do much about it unless you actually complain about it even then what they'll likely do is only take it down, " said Justin Foster, a social branding expert.

Foster says it can be very difficult to find out the identity of someone posing as you.

"Typically you just ask around say do you know who this is, if you can contain it in a geographic or local area you can typically find out who it is it didn't take long to find out who the fake Butch Otter was," said Foster.

He also says the best way to handle someone impersonating you on Twitter is to first use humor. Tell everyone you know that it's not you, and encourage them to send as many tweets to that account as possible.

Then as a last resort publicize it, similarly as you would hang up a false check in a restaurant.