AEGIS Internet News, Nov. 1997 – Jan. 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org. Subject: Re: News of the World… Nov 02/97… Page 33… Date sent: Sun, 2 Nov 97 18:28:27 +0000 From: Brenda L Smith <Brenda.L.Smith@btinternet.com> To: “Claire McNab” <claire@siberia.demon.co.uk>

She-male sues over job snub

A PERSON who claims to be male AND female is taking legal action ater being turned down for a job at a women’s centre. Sarah-Jane Brooks, also know as William Brooks, is suing for discrimination. The hermaphrodite–with male and femaile genitals–used to decide each day whether to be a man or a woman, but for 18 months has been living as a female. Mr/Miss Brooks, 40, applied to work at the council-run Watford Women’s Centre after holding similar jobs in London and Manchester. He/she said: “When I turned up they would not let me in because they said I looked too much like a man. “But I am both a man and a woman. They have no right to choose which sex to judge me on. I will be taking them to court over this.” A spokesman for Watford Council said: “We feel he cannot be admitted to the centre which is a focal point for women.”

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Return-Path: <TGirlMardi@aol.com> From: TGirlMardi@aol.com Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 01:54:05 -0500 (EST) To: aegis@gender.org Subject: some…umm…news.

Here is something for yoiur newsletter perhaps…if ya don’t mind “downer” news that is. The following I wrote:

Nov. 5 1997 Seattle WA.

Init 677, which would have mandated equal employment rights for GLB and T persons failed at the polls yesterday. The morning unofficial results show it losing 560,000 to 347,000 with over 50% of results in. Final official results will not be in until Wed., Nov 20th.

The only openly gay member of the WA legislature said that it set the clock back a generation for any hope for advancement of gay rights in this state. Opponents were, of course, joyful and claimed vindication and that this would be a message to be well noted by the US legislature re: ENDA.

The loss came dispite the pro 677 group outspending those against 10 to 1. ($775,000 to $72,000) Included in the promotion for the passage of the initiative were several versions of TV ads which were frequently aired in the last three weeks of the campaign emphasizing that discrimination existed, was legal, and that jobs were actually lost. No TV was used by the opposition.

Possibly figuring in the defeat was the presence of a gun control measure on the same ballot. The strong, well financed campaign by gun rights advocates, such as the NRA, guaranteed a heavy conservative turnout at the polls. The gun control measure, I-676, failed at a rate of 70%-30%.

Mardi Clark

Certainly it is a shame. Especially since we were included in the initiative despite early polling that predicted just this result! The same polling indicated easy passage without trans inclusion. Hopefully the backlash will be minimal.

Mardi

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Return-Path: <apc@wamani.wamani.apc.org> To: lista-ales1@wamani.wamani.apc.org Subject: Speeches # 3 – Buenos Aires LGTB Pride Parade From: ales@wamani.apc.org (Alejandra Sarda) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 97 21:43:24 ARG Organization: Red Wamani – APC Networks – Argentina

VI LESBIAN, GAY, TRANSVESTITE, TRANSSEXUAL AND BISEXUAL PRIDE PARADE Buenos Aires, November 1 1997

The following speech was read at the end of the parade.

TRANSVESTITES (Speaker: Lohanna Berkins)

When no consensus exists in the political discourse to deal with those problems more related to people’s lives and everything on the debate about security gets banalized, on the one side daily life’s dangers and the violence present in marginalized sectors are exaggerated as a way to justify authori- tarian responses, while on the other side police brutality never gets denounced beyond the level of “humanitarian concerns”. In our case, we transvestites have more than 70 victims, our sisters that are not here any longer.

It’s impossible to speak of us, transvestites, without relating to the perverted and sinister control that the State exerts on us. Every day we are brutalized and beaten, forced to a status of marginalization and forbidden access to spaces that should be open to everyone, like the educational system, for instance. We are forced to become society’s most vulnerable segment, and that very same society many times turns its face away. The way we are and the way we have chosen to be are rejected.

Here we are, expressing ourselves in all ways possible, before this patriarchal and sexist dominant system. The fight against all forms of racism, violence, exclusion, will not end before each one of us -in the deepest core of her/his being and her/his daily life- seriously attempts dismantling the oppre- sor that lives in her/himself. Because all of us have an oppressor inside and many times she/he does not alow us to live freely.

We have been fighting for a long time to be recognized as what we are, people; for the police to stop punishing us on a daily basis; to find our own dignity that has been thrashed for so long time. In this day of celebration we want to mention those groups that had worked for transvestites’life and dignity: ATA – Argentinean Association of Transvestites; OTTRA – Transvestite and Trans- sexual Organization of the Argentinean Republic and ALIT – Fight for Transvestite Identity Association, as well as all the groups that have been created in other parts of the country. We also want to remember our gay brothers, our lesbian, transsexual and bisexual sisters with whom we have work on equal basis all those years. They have shown their solidarity with us as did other people who have also walked this path with us. Today, transvestites celebrate our life with pride, repudiating discrimination and violence.

Escrita en el Cuerpo Lesbian, Bisexual and Different Women’s Archives and Library Peru 1330 4to., Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: (54 1) 581 01 79 Fax (54 1) 382 90 95 E.mail: ales@wamani.apc.org

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From ========================================= = QUOTE UNQUOTE #103 – Oct 17, 1997 = = by Rex Wockner = ========================================= Used by permission

<><><10><><>

“The physical appearance of gay men is determined by considerations of sexual attraction. A new breed of gay men is being shaped by its aversion to ‘femmishness.’ The trend is toward a body with tight muscles formed by machines that will not disturb hairstyle. The walk is becoming a strut in equal parts Madonna and Clint Eastwood. Hands increasingly cling to the hips in horror that idle hands may relax into a limp wrist, that hips may swish. The laughter, consciously brusque, often breaks into a shriek in the late hours of nonsexual contact. If that direction is pursued, there will emerge a figure of effeminate masculinity, a new, conforming ‘stereotype’ as identifiably gay as drag or leather — created to avoid ‘looking gay.'”

–Author John Rechy writing in the Advocate, Oct. 14.

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Here’s a very handy listing state by state of the status of same-sex marriage.

Dallas

Return-Path: <owner-glb-news@LISTSERV.AOL.COM> Approved-By: julie@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU X-Sender: lambda@aloha.net X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by listserv.aol.com id SAA16534 Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 13:34:22 -1000 Reply-To: Martin Rice <lambda@ALOHA.NET> Sender: Information Repository for News of Interest to GLB* Folk <GLB-NEWS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM> From: Martin Rice <lambda@ALOHA.NET> Subject: [GLB-NEWS] SA 274: POTENTIAL STATUS OF SSM IN THE U.S. To: GLB-NEWS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM

Aloha awakea kakou.

A research project follows to identify those states that could, in theory, support successfully the initiation of a same-gender marriage court case based on their constitutional law and the individual state’s degree of protection afforded to a suspect class.

It should be noted that this list is in no means complete or comprehensive of all of the factors and statutes that could come into play, but merely presents a guideline along the “Hawai`i-approach,” i.e., denial of marriage licenses to same-gender couples is tantamount to gender discrimination, could be initiated. But, this approach is by no means the only approach, as witnessed by the current New York and Vermont cases. The current Alaska case could be similar to Hawai`i’s, however, I’m not familiar with those dynamics either.

Also, if anyone has any additions, corrections, etc., please contact me directly so that they may be added and rebroadcast for everyone’s edification (lambda@aloha.net).

I would also like to express my MAHALOS to Bob Summersgill, in New Mexico, whose spontaneous volunteerism and enthusiasm regarding this project is greatly appreciated. I would also like to express gratitude to Richard Harold, Bill Lorentz, Frank Kameny, Bill Kelly, Alan Easton and Peter Cannon for their contributions too.

A hui hou,

Martin I. Same-Gender Marriage court cases currently initiated or pending:

ALASKA–http://www.gov.state.ak/ltgov/akdon/art01.html ARTICLE 1, SECTION 3. CIVIL RIGHTS. No person is to be denied the enjoyment of any civil or political right because of race, color, creed, sex, or national origin. The legislature shall implement this section. HAWAI`I–http://www.state.hi.us/lrb/con/conart1.html ARTICLE I, SECTION 4. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of his civil rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of race, religion, sex or ancestry. NEW YORK–gopher://lbdc.senate.state.ny.us:70/11/.const/ ARTICLE I, SECTION 11. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, creed or religion, be subjected to any discrimination in his civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state. VERMONT–http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/const/const.htm

II. Potential states that could support a SSM lawsuit (i.e. states that constitutionally and explicity ban discrimination based on “sex”):

COLORADO–http://www.ppld.org/costatutes/streldoc/coc0029.html ARTICLE II, SECTION 29. Equality of the sexes. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the state of Colorado or any of its political subdivisions on account of sex. Adopted November 7, 1972 — Effective upon proclamation by the Governor, January 11, 1973. (See Laws 1972, p. 647.) ARTICLE II, SECTION 30, PARAGRAPH b. No Protected Status Based on Homosexual, Lesbian or Bisexual Orientation. [Martin Rice’s note: Repealed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Evans v. Romer. “No state can make a class of its citizens strangers to it laws.”] CONNECTICUT–http://www.ctstate.edu/state/historical/ct-const.html ARTICLE XXI. Article fifth of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex or physical or mental disability. Adopted November 28, 1984. ILLINOIS–http://www.state.il.us/gov/bio/const1.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 18. No discrimination on the basis of sex. The equal protection of the laws shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex by the State or its units of local government and school districts. LOUISIANA–http://www.senate.state.la.us/sen/senate.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 3. Declaration of Rights. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. No law shall discriminate against a person because of race or religious ideas, beliefs, or affiliations. No law shall arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably discriminate against a person because of birth, age, sex, culture, physical condition, or political ideas or affiliations. Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited, except in the latter case as punishment for crime. [Special Mahalo to Bob Summersgill of New Mexico] MARYLAND–http://www.state.md.us/md/docs/mdright.html ARTICLE XLVI. Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged or denied because of sex. MASSACHUSETTS–http://www.state.ma.us/legis/const.htm ARTICLE XVI. Article I of Part the First of the Constitution is hereby annulled and the following is adopted: All people are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin. MONTANA–http://161.7.121.6/const.htm ARTICLE II, SECTION 4. Individual dignity. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. Neither the state nor any person, firm, corporation, or institution shall discriminate against any person in the exercise of his civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas. NEW HAMPSHIRE–http://www.state.nh.us/constitution/billofrights.html ARTILCE 1, SECTION 2. [Natural Rights.] All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights – among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin. June 2, l784, Amended l974, adding sentence to prohibit discrimination. NEW MEXICO–http://www.governor.state.nm.us/pubaccess/const/con_II.htm ARTICLE II, SECTION 18. [Due process; equal protection; sex discrimination.] No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor shall any person be denied equal protection of the laws. Equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person. The effective date of this amendment shall be July 1, 1973. (Adopted by the people November 7, 1972.) [Special Mahalo to Bob Summersgill of New Mexico] PENNSYLVANIA–http://www.state.pa.us/PA_Constitution.html ARTICLE I, SECTION 26. No Discrimination by Commonwealth and Its Political Subdivisions. Neither the Commonwealth nor any political subdivision thereof shall deny to any person the enjoyment of any civil right, nor discriminate against any person in the exercise of any civil right. ARTICLE I, SECTION 28. Prohibition Against Denial or Abridgment of Equality of Rights Because of Sex. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual. TEXAS–http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/txconst/toc.htm ARTICLE 1, SECTION 3a – Equality Under the Law. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. This amendment is self- operative. (Added Nov. 7, 1972.) VIRGINIA–http://hod.state.va.us/ctoc.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 11. Due process of law; obligation of contracts; taking of private property; prohibited discrimination; jury trial in civil cases. That no person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law; that the General Assembly shall not pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts, nor any law whereby private property shall be taken or damaged for public uses, without just compensation, the term “public uses” to be defined by the General Assembly; and that the right to be free from any governmental discrimination upon the basis of religious conviction, race, color, sex, or national origin shall not be abridged, except that the mere separation of the sexes shall not be considered discrimination. WASHINGTON–http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/other/washington_constitution ARTICLE I, SECTION 12. Special Privileges and Immunities Prohibited. No law shall be passed granting to any citizen, class of citizens, or corporation other than municipal, privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens, or corporations. ARTICLE XXXI, SECTION 1 Equality not denied because of sex. Equality of rights and responsibility under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. WYOMING–http://www.state.wy.us/state/government/constitution/ text_constitution.html SECTION 97-1-003. Equal political rights. Since equality in the enjoyment of natural and civil rights is only made sure through political equality, the laws of this state affecting the political rights and privileges of its citizens shall be without distinction of race, color, sex, or any circumstance or condition whatsoever other than individual incompetency, or unworthiness duly ascertained by a court of competent jurisdiction. SECTION 97-6-001. Male and female citizens to enjoy equal rights. The rights of citizens of the State of Wyoming to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens of this state shall equally enjoy all civil, political and religious rights and privileges.

III. States that could support a SSM lawsuit (i.e. states that implicity ban discrimination based on “sex” as a part of a broader range of inclusiveness):

CALIFORNIA–http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/const-toc.html ARTICLE I, SECTION 8, PARAGRAPH b. A citizen or class of citizens may not be granted privileges or immunities not granted on the same terms to all citizens. Privileges or immunities granted by the Legislature may be altered or revoked. INDIANA–http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/inconst/art-1.html#sec-1 ARTICLE I, SECTION 23. Equal privileges. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens. IOWA–http://www.sos.state.ia.us/register/r7/r7iacons.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 6. Laws uniform. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens. MAINE–http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/general/constit/conscont.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 6-A. Discrimination against persons prohibited. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof. [Special Mahalo to Bob Summersgill of New Mexico] MINNESOTA–http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/mncon.htm ARTICLE 1, SECTION 2. Rights and privileges. No member of this state shall be disfranchised or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the state otherwise than as punishment for a crime of which the party has been convicted. NORTH DAKOTA–http://www.harbornet.com/rights/nodakota.txt ARTICLE I, SECTION 20. No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted which may not be altered, revoked or repealed by the legislative assembly; nor shall any citizen or class of citizens be granted privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not be granted to all citizens. OREGON–http://www.sos.state.or.us/BlueBook/1997_98/constitution/ constitution.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 20. Equality of privileges and immunities of citizens. No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges, or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizen WISCONSIN–http://folio.legis.state.wi.us ARTICLE I, SECTION 1. Equality; inherent rights. [As amended Nov. 1982 and April 1986] All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. [1979 J.R. 36, 1981 J.R. 29, vote Nov. 1982; 1983 J.R. 40, 1985 J.R. 21, vote April 1986] [Note from Bob Summersgill: I found this to be very funny, and illistrative that the above language is meant to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex: ARTICLE I, SECTION 1 – ANNOT. Prostitution raid focusing only on female participants amounts to selective prosecution in violation of equal protection; in depth discussion of constitutional analysis. State v. McCollum, 159 W (2d) 184, 464 NW (2d) 44 (Ct. App. 1990).] [Note from Peter Cannon, Senior Research Analyst, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau: I know of no language in our constitution related to gender discrimination. There is language at 111.36, Wisconsin Statutes, prohibiting employment discrimination because of sex.]

IV. States that do not include equal protection hased on “sex,” but have anti-discrimination clauses or amendments based on other criteria (race, religion, etc.) embedded in their state constitution:

FLORIDA–http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/flconst.txt ARTICLE I, SECTION 2. Basic rights.–All natural persons are equaL before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion or physical handicap. History.–Am. S.J.R. 917, 1974; adopted 1974. MICHIGAN–http://www.migov:state.mi.us/constitution/i.html ARTICLE I, SECTION 2. Sec. 2. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of his civil or political rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of religion, race, color or national origin. The legislature shall implement this section by appropriate legislation. [Note from Richard Harold of Michigan: “. . . discrimination based upon the sex of the individual is illegal in Michigan via statute, known as the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. We may not have it in our constitution, but we have it on the books.] NEW JERSEY–http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/folio.pgi/njconst.nfo ARTICLE I, SECTION 5. No person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil or military right, nor be discriminated against in the exercise of any civil or military right, nor be segregated in the militia or in the public schools, because of religious principles, race, color, ancestry or national origin. ARTICLE X, SECTION 4. Wherever in this Constitution the term “person”, “persons”, “people” or any personal pronoun is used, the same shall be taken to include both sexes. [Bill Lorentz’s note: See: N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.] RHODE ISLAND–http://www.state.ri.us/rihis/riconst.htm ARTICLE I, SECTION 2. Laws for good of whole, Burdens to be equally distributed, Due process, Equal protection, Discrimination, No right to abortion granted. All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety, and happiness of the people. All laws, therefore, should be made for the good of the whole; and the burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied equal protection of the laws. No otherwise qualified person shall, solely by reason of race, gender or handicap be subject to discrimination by the state, its agents or any person or entity doing business with the state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant or secure any right relating to abortion or the funding thereof.

V. Anti-discrimination laws of a non-constitutional nature:

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA [Note from Frank Kameny: The D. C. Human Rights Law or Act is found at Sections 1-2501 through 1-2557 of the D.C. Code.] [Note from Bill Kelly: I am fairly conversant with online legal research and can find no online source for D.C. ordinances, except a very few not relevant here.] IDAHO–http://www.idwr.state.id.us/idstat/const/constTOC.html TITLE 18, CHAPTER 73, PARAGRAPH 1. Freedom from discrimination constitutes a civil right. The right to be free from discrimination because of race, creed, color, sex, or national origin is recognized as and declared to be a civil right. This right shall include, but not be limited to: (1) The right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination. (2) The right to the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, facilities or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage or amusement.

VI. Anti-discrimination clauses not found:

ARIZONA–http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/const/const.htm DELAWARE–http://www.state.de.us/facts/constit/welcome.htm GEORGIA–http://www.law.emory.edu/GEORGIA/gaconst.htm BUT: ARTICLE 1, PARAGRAPH 25. Status of the citizen. The social status of a citizen shall never be the subject of legislation. KANSAS–http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/KSL/Ref/GovDocs/ Kan/State_Const/ks_const.html KENTUCKY–http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/const/000.htm BUT: ARTICLE I, SECTION 2. Absolute and arbitrary power denied. Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended. MISSISSIPPI–http://www.mscode.com/msconst/index.htm MISSOURI–http://www.moga.state.mo.us/const/moconstn.htm [Mahalo to Alan Easton of Missouri] NEBRASKA–http://unicam1.lcs.state.ne.us/legdocs/consti~1.htm NORTH CAROLINA–http://hal.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/STGOVT/PRECONST.HTM OHIO–http://members.aol.com/OhioAtty/Const.html or http://www.conwaygreene.com/oconst.htm OKLAHOMA–http://www.onenet/oklegal/okcon/index.html SOUTH CAROLINA–http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/reports/sccnst00.htm SOUTH DAKOTA–http://www.state.sd.us/state/pride/con-index.htm TENNESSEE–http://www.state.tn.us/sos/tnconst.htm UTAH–access at http://www.scvol.com/states/utah.htm WEST VIRGINIA–http://www.state.wv.us/const/default.htm

VII. Sex anti-discrimination clause not determined for the following state constitutions because:

ALABAMA–on-line version not found ARKANSAS–under reconstruction, will be posted in the future NEVADA–incomplete at http://www.harbornet.com/rights/nevada.txt and, hard to read at http://www.scs.unr.edu/bgic/nev_cons.html End

 

From aegis@gender.org Mon Nov 3 12:29:04 1997 Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from camel8.mindspring.com (camel8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.58]) by mrin64.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id MAA18493; Mon, 3 Nov 1997 12:28:37 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-37kbu2j.dialup.mindspring.com [207.69.248.83]) by camel8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id MAA03701; Mon, 3 Nov 1997 12:24:29 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199711031724.MAA03701@camel8.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Date: Mon, 03 Nov 1997 12:47:50 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News Digest 11/3/97

AEGIS Internet News Digest 11/3/97

AEGIS Internet News Digest is provided as a service by AEGIS, the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

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From the Spout-Off Feature in Etcetera:

“Atlanta may be going to hell in a handbag, but it’s a Chanel handbag, sweetie, and that makes all the difference.”

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Note: The 10/23/97 issue of the Atlanta-based Southern Voice contains three letters from transpeople (John Fleckenstein, aka Lola Cola; Dallas Denny; and Charlotte Henry), written in response to Chris Crain’s editorial in the 9/25 issue, which was posted here. We haven’t bothered to include them, but the essence of each is that in the authors’ judgement the issue of transgender inclusion in the G/L/B community is no longer controversial, but pretty much a fait accompli.

From Southern Voice, 9 October, 1997. Reprinted with permission.

GEP Fights Transgender Battles

To the editor:

Both a letter to the editor from Dr. Erin Swenson in the Sept. 18 issue, and an editorial by Chris Crain in the Sept. 25 issue, remind us of the ongoing and oft-heated discussions regarding inclusion or exclusion of transgendered people in gay/lesbian/bisexual organizations. Both cite examples of conscious choices to limit a focus to sexual orientation. Absent in both are examples of organizations that have chosen to include gender identity. Such exist nationally, but perhaps more pertinent to your readers, there is a local and statewide group that dared probe far deeper than the “political realities and historic obligations” you referenced and emerged convinced of the absolute importance of and need for inclusiveness. The Georgia Equality Project deliberately included “transgendered” in its mission statement two-and-a-half years ago, and, as a part of the proposed language for a Georgia Employment Nondiscrimination Act, voted unanimously to name “sexual orientation and gender identity” as categories to be protected under such legislation. This was not a whimsical decision on the part of bleeding heart liberals changing mantras to utopia: the probably and potential repercussions were carefully and painstakingly evaluated from numerous perspectives, ranging from the persona to the practical to the political. We are proud of our decision, and equally proud of the process that led us there– one that highlighted the foundatio philosophy of GEP. The months and years ahead will reveal wha can actually be accomplished in our state’s climate; our hunch that the degree of freedom we enjoy is proportional to our involvement in the process. Consider this an invitation to all– most especially to those in the transgendered community who are, admittedly, unde represented– to join one of the few organizations working for full equality, politically and legislatively, for all Georgian

Cindy L. Abel Executive Director Georgia Equality Project

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GLAADALERT October 31, 1997 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Trans-stupid Turn At Union Square On the Halloween (October 30) episode of Union Square, a new NBC show by Caroline in the City creator Fred Barron and Marco Pennette revolving around people who frequent a New York coffee shop, what could have potentially been an enlightening and humorous show on transgender issues devolved into a series of jokes leaving the transgender character as the butt of the joke. In the episode, a man dressed as a disheveled woman enters the coffee shop. Union Square regular Gabriella Diaz (Constance Marie) begins to talk to the new customer and finds out that he is dressed that way as a dare by his friends for Halloween. As they talk more, they both begin to find out that they have many things in common and decide to see each other again the next day. When the do meet again, Gabriella, much to her chagrin, finds that her date is still dressed as a woman. She reminds him that it isn’t Halloween anymore and that she thought he was embarrassed last night because his friends dared him to dress up. He says, “Yes, as a floozy! This is the way I normally dress.” Finally, when she asks why he is interested to her when he is gay, eavesdropping waitress Carrie (Christine Burke) tells her, “He’s a crossdresser. He’s not gay, he just likes to dress in women’s clothing.” Gabriella’s date thanks Carrie for clarifying and says, “See, its all perfectly normal.” Unfortunately, Carrie retorts, “Well, I didn’t say that.”

From there the show turns from what could have been an educational show about transgender issues into cheap transphobic humor. Gabriella tries to overcome her fear of her dream date being a crossdresser, but everytime her date turns around, she makes off-hand comments about him that provoke the audience to laugh. In the end, she tries to leave the restaurant with him, but after someone cat calls to him, she runs back in the restaurant, screaming, “I can’t do it.” While the transgender character was a confident and proud person who is comfortable dressing in women’s clothes, he is, in the end, the butt of the joke and Gabriella is the one with whom the viewers are intended to empathize.

Please let Fred Barron and Marco Pennette know they were on the right track with such a confident and comfortable transgender character, but in the future, should make it an opportunity to use humor to educate that transgender people are people, not props for cheap laughs. Contact: Fred Barron and Marco Pennette, Executive Producers, Union Square, NBC Studios, 330 Bob Hope Drive, Burbank, CA 91523, e-mail: UnionSquare@nbc.com.

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Psychologist/Assistant Professor Wanted

The Program in Human Sexuality (PHS) at the University of Minnesota Medical School is seeking a Psychologist/Assistant Professor with a clinical, research and teaching background in sexuality. Duties include conducting individual, family, couple and group psychotherapy. PHS is a unit within the Department of Family Practice and Community Health; therefore, the applicant should possess a strong interest for collaborative research and teaching in family medicine. Our faculty are strongly committed to the promotion of sexual health through research, educational, clinical, and community health programming. Applicants should have a superior record of scholarly activity and ability to attract external funding. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or Psy.D degree and be eligible for Minnesota licensure. Apply by December 31, 1997. Start by March 31, 1998. Send letter stating clinical, research and teaching interests, representative publications, a curriculum vitae and three references to Eli Coleman, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Program in Human Sexuality, 3100 S. 2nd Street, Ste. 180, Minneapolis, MN 55454.

Postdoctoral Clinical/Research Fellowship

The Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School is seeking applications for its 2-year postdoctoral fellowship training program. The fellow will provide individual, family, couple and group psychotherapy in a large clinic treating a wide range of sexual dysfunctions and disorders including sex offenses, marital and sexual problems, gender identity disorders, sexual orientation concerns, compulsive sexual behavior and paraphilias and HIV counseling. Fellows are expected to complete a research project within one of the faculty’s research projects. Applicants must have their Ph.D., Psy.D. or M.D. and be eligible for Minnesota licensure. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The stipend is $22,000-$26,000 with excellent benefits. Send letter stating clinical, research and teaching interests, representative publications, a curriculum vitae and three references to Eli Coleman, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Program in Human Sexuality, 3100 S. 2nd Street, Ste. 180, Minneapolis, MN 55454.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

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From Etcetera, 13(42), 17 October, 1997.

Midnight in the Garden of The Lady Chablis

(Note from Dallas: For another good article about The Lady Chablis, Clint Eastwood, and the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” see the current The Advocate (11 November, 1997). You’ll find Clint on the cover). Throughout her career, the Lady Chablis has always gone after what The Lady Chablis wanted. So when Clint Eastwood signed on to direct the film version of John Berendt’s best-seller “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” which features the performer, and started casting the film, The Lady Chablis knew no one else could fill her shoes.

by Jim Farmer “I’m a living person, and there’s no other like me. Who else could play me?” she said. A year-and-a-half ago, while Lady Chablis was in Los Angeles, she jumped at the change to me with Eastwood’s camp. Although the director wanted her to do a screen test, she balked (later telling Eastwood that if he wanted to see her perform, he could get one of her cassettes or come to one of her shows). Eventually, though, she got the part, putting to rest rumors that the role would go to Diana Ross or to Angela Bassett. “They both rallied for it, as well as some others, but I think it was a given that the role would be given to me,” Chablis said.

“I told Mr. Eastwood that if he wanted to get himself an Academy Award nomination, he had better cast me. As for me, I’m going to win Best Actress and Best Actor.”

Chablis, the female impersonator who for years performed in Atlanta and in Savannah before becoming a household name with the publication of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” was certainly happy to add actress to her ever-expanding resume.

Reached by phone at her Columbia, S.C. office and home (where she greets callers with the line “Hello, this is the Grand Empress,”) Chablis is eager to discuss with Etcetera the film and her upcoming plans.

She felt very positive about nabbing the role once she met and hit it off with director Eastwood. “meeting Clint was like going home and meeting your boyfriend’s daddy. He was a perfect gentleman. He was filming “Absolute Power” at the time and introduced me to the case. When he offered me the part, I thanked him for his courage, because he didn’t know if I could act. He told me afterwards it would not be my last movie,” Chablis said.

The filming lasted almost ten weeks, starting in May of this year, with exteriors shot in Savannah and the interiors in Hollywood. Like most film adaptations, though, some of the book had to be left out. “Obviously some of the book had to be cut. The movie is based more on the trial. But some material has bee added. In the book, I didn’t have much to do with the trial, bu in the movie I do,” Chablis said. Altogether, she has eight scenes, including one of the famous Debutante Ball.

In the film version, Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey takes on the role of Jim Williams, the gay antiques dealer put on trial for shooting his lover, while John Cusack is journalist John Kelso. In the movie, Kelso’s character has a girlfriend, played by Eastwood’s daughter Alison.

Chablis has not seen the finished product, but will be in Los Angeles for the star-studded premiere November 17. The movie opens nationwide November 21.

Initially, according to Chablis, a lot of the crew were uncomfortable with her. “There was a lot of whispering and mumbling the first few days,” but eventually Chablis charmed them. “By the time filming was almost over, the crew was tight.

“In my [show] monologue I usually have audiences say, ‘Hey Bitch.’ That’s a compliment to me. One day I was PMSing and Clint and everyone else knew it, and all at once they yelled ‘Hey, Bitch.’ Near the end of the filming, Clint would come up and say ‘Come and sit on Daddy’s lap.”

On the set Cusack and Eastwood’s daughter Alison apparently had their own romance, although Chablis jokes that both she and Alison were vying for the actor’s attention.

Although she didn’t get a chance to work much with Spacey, she did get t know him and is very unhappy with the recent Esquire magazine, which outs the actor. “To me, it was rude and trashy. It was right out of the National Enquirer. If you’re going to point the finger, go ahead and do it. I have no idea and don’t care what Kevin’s sexual orientation is.

“However, I do feel that today, if Ellen can come out, it is the perfect opportunity for anyone. I tried to live my life secretly for a while, but now that it’s out, it’s a weight off my shoulder,” she said.

A minor “to-do” occurred this summer when Chablis was asked to attend Atlanta’s gay and lesbian [and bi and transgender, dammit! — Dallas] Pride celebration. At the last moment, however, she was called to Los Angeles to complete some reshoots. “It was basic stuff, like shots from other angles. I had to make a decision, to show up for Pride or do this. I chose the filming, because I wanted to make the role perfect, and make sure everyone could be proud of this.”

By now, though, Chablis should be used to running with the stars. Years ago when Demi Moore was filming “Now and Then” in Savannah, the two hit it off and have remained close.

“She caught my show one night and everyday after we were together. We would go out dancing and shopping. She didn’t show me the movie star. She showed me the mother, the friend, the party girl, the girlfriend. She paid me to do the wrap party for the movie,” said Chablis.

She also hung with “Now and Then” costars Melanie Griffith (who kidded Chablis that then-hubby Don Johnson had a crush on her) and Rita Wilson and her husband Tom Hanks. Rosie O’Donnell wa also on the set, but Chablis found her “frosty.”

Last year Lady Chablis’ biography “Hiding My Candy” came out, chronicling her turbulent childhood years (born Benjamin Edward Know in Quincy, Fla., she soon realized she was not like everyone else), her beginnings as a female impersonator and her problems with drugs and run-ins with the law before her big break performing in clubs in Atlanta and Savannah.

One thing Lady Chablis bristles at is the notion that she is a “drag queen.” “I di not like that phrase, it’s offensive. I don’t like to be labeled. Only your parents can label you. I prefer to think of myself as a female impersonator,” she said.

Despite her notoriety, Chablis claims that little has changed since she became famous. “I travel more. I have more bills. Honey, you should see my cellular phone bill. Also, there are a lot more expectations. I’m a role model, and I don’t want to be that.”

“I do get letters from kids and elderly people, and visitors from different countries come to see me. It’s much harder to socialize because everybody _recognizes_ me these days.”

As The Lady Chablis will tell you, though, it’s hard to keep a good girl down. With the success of “Hiding My Candy,” she has sold the book rights to a film company. In a few weeks she will be flying to New York to do a small part in Mike Meyer’s comedy film about Studio 54. She has also signed with the William Morris Agency, will be emceeing a celebrity wedding (she is reluctant to give out details) and is still doing shows at Club One in Savannah and at conventions and private parties. She is also thinking of opening a restaurant (think Planet Hollywood, with the Chablis signature). On November 1, Lady Chablis will be hosting “Burnin’ down the House in the Garden of Good and Evil,” a benefit for PALS (Pets are Loving Support) in Atlanta. Of course, she can’t divulge what she will be wearing, but does promise a grand entrance.

“I’m happy; my health is good; traveling is fun; I’m still engaged. But there’s nothing grand about me. I still have chipped fingernails and am the same person I always was. God has blessed me, and I’d like to be able to open doors for others and help those who helped me get where I am.” The Halloween masked costume ball, “Burnin’ Down the House in the Garden of Good and Evil,” benefitting PALS, was November 1, at the Atlanta Women’s Club and Axys Courtyard.

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From The Buffalo News, 10/10/97

Sexual Harassment Suit Filed by Transsexual Will Proceed

New York– Sexual harassment is sexual harassment– even when the true gender of the intended target isn’t clear, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Whitman Knapp ruled Thursday that a transsexual can go forward with a $14 million lawsuit against New York University, saying the claim is protected by federal law.

The plaintiff, Jennifer Miles, was in a graduate studies program and undergoing hormone treatment when Professor Cliff Eisen allegedly began the harassment in February 1993.

Eisen fondled Ms. Miles’ breasts and buttocks, forcibly tried to kiss Ms. Miles and repeatedly requested a sexual relationship, Ms. Miles’ lawsuit claims.

NYU sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.

“There is no conceivable reason why such conduct should be rewarded with legal pardon just because, unbeknownst to Professor Eisen and everyone else at the university, plaintiff was not a biological female,” Knapp wrote.

Ms. Miles filed a complaint against the professor with the school’s Sexual Harassment Committee in March 1993. The school gave Eisen a written reprimand but let him continue to teach.

The school later assured the professor that the reprimand would have no effect on its decision to award him tenure, the judge said. Knapp called the assurance “bizarre” considering that four female students had previously accused the professor of inappropriate sexual advances.

The professor was not awarded tenure and his contract was not renewed.

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From Etcetera, 24 October, 1997. Reprinted with permission.

Opera with a Dash of Crossdressing

More drama comes to New York’s theatre scene next month with La Gran Scena Opera Company’s performance of “Vera… Life of a Diva.”

In the tradition of Les Ballets Trockadero du Monte Carlo, La Gran Scena Opera will perform the all-male production at the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse November 25-29. Through song and sketch, “Vera… Life of a Diva” tells the story of the troupe’s ———————————————————————— beloved Prima Donna, Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh (Ira Siff), from triumph to trauma and farewell to comeback. The performance reportedly rivals that of any grand opera.

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From Etcetera, 24 October, 1997. Reprinted with permission.

She’s Out There GenderF*** Gender

by Debbie Fraker

What is your gender? Okay, then, what is your biological sex? My guess is that you feel pretty certain about your answer, since most of you who are reading this magazine consider yourself lesbian or gay, you must have pretty definite idea of your sex in order to identify yourself as homosexual. But, this is me asking, so it’s probably a trick question.

Frankly, on a simple biological level, some of you would probably be surprised. Do you know, for instance, your chromosomal makeup? As to your cultural gender, how closely do you fit the American ideal of male or female? I have done a lot of reading on this subject lately, and it is a much more complicated question than you might guess. (Have you seen k.d. lang lately?) But I also just went to the Southern Comfort transgender conference held her in Atlanta earlier this month. I must admit first off that I felt like a kid in a candy store. Admittedly, I was like a kid in a candy store without cash, since my relationship kept me from doing anything but flirting. But flirt I did! So many of the women were gorgeous, and female-to-male transgender men really get me going. At the risk of appearing to idealize and stereotype a group of people, I often see the best of both genders in transgender men and women. I also find myself aching with desire for bodies that are the epitome of gender fuck. But this is also a political issue for me (I don’t suppose that surprises anyone), and I don’t want to sound like I am only interesting sexually objectifying transgender bodies. Too often I have heard people offer “support” for queer youth or people of color when, if you listen to the subtext, what they are really saying is “I want to fuck one.” Transgender politics are the issues that should be at the forefront of our movements. Feminist politics certainly have a lot to learn from a gender movement that brings us all together rather than dividing us into binary subsets. This gay and lesbian movement also should recognize gender as the issue at the core of our oppression. For years the feminists have reminded us that gender oppression is at the root of prejudice against lesbians and gay men. We do not operate in the neat little categories that our culture expects us to inhabit, particularly the categories labeled “man” and “woman.” For starters, according to our culture’s idealization of these labels, men are supposed to be sexually attracted to women and vice-versa. We come along and totally screw up that arrangement. Men are supposed to “act like men,” not nellie limp-wristed perverts who throw like girls. Women are supposed to be “feminine,” which means, of course, that bulldagger car mechanics are nothing more than a joke on womanhood. Some of you may want to remind me of lipstick lesbians and gay gym-butches. But if you think putting muscles on a gay man or make-up on a lesbian makes us more gender acceptable to mainstream straight America, you just don’t get it. But a lot of lesbians and gay men (and certainly feminists) also “don’t get” transgender politics. Is a post-operative male- to-female transsexual just a transvestite who has mutilated himself, as some still believe? Is a female-to-male transsexual a traitor to feminism? And, of course, transsexuals are not necessarily gay or lesbian, so they don’t belong in “our” movement, right? In many ways, transgender queers subvert the whole concept of sexual orientation, so maybe they just confuse the issue too much. Then again, maybe they don’t belong in “our” movement. Maybe we should politely ask them to charge to the front, leading the movement to abolish gender prejudice of all kinds. We should be learning together what the real issue is here. We should recognize that gender oppression affects us all. I bet that because you were born with your penis, you think that makes you more of a “man” than the man whose penis was constructed for him (at a very high cost, I might add). Maybe because you were born with your vagina, you think you are more of a “woman” than the women who went through years of name-calling, humiliation, and saving money to finally get her own built-in vagina. When a redneck bully drives up beside you as you casually walk down the sidewalk in midtown and shouts “faggot,” what does he mean? He just means that you aren’t “man enough” to suit his image of a “real man,” regardless of your hard-earned muscles. When a woman in the ladies’ room whispers to her friend between dabs of make-up, “She’s just a dyke,” the “just” means you’re not a real woman, even if you do wear the same brand of lipstick. When someone wanders past a feminist rally and loudly proclaims,” They all just need a good fuck,” doesn’t that mean that, straight or gay, a feminist is not the right kind of “woman”? A transsexual woman is likely to get called a faggot whether or not she ever was. She has clearly not treated her penis with the appropriate respect (any more of less than a gay man does). But, just as we are being told we don’t fit gender expectations, we turn around and say the same thing to someone else. Aren’t we all struggling against the same oppression here? Okay, so me personally, I’d like to do a little more than just “get along.” But that’s only one fantasy. Another fantasy is that lesbians, gay men, feminists, bisexuals and transgender folks all learn that our struggle is, at its heart, the same. Instead of an increasing laundry list of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender tacked onto organization names, I could get behind a banner that proclaims Queer Pride. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But in my other fantasy, when I find myself on my knees doggie-style submitting to some lovely gender queer pervert, I know that I am no more or less gender-acceptable than he or she is.

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AEGIS Internet News is a service of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or

Contents

Transcommunity Merger is OFF Message from Gay Games to TransWomen — Drop Dead! President Clinton’s Speech at HRC Dinner What Clinton REALLY Said on “Meet the Press” Same Sex Marriage Precedent for Canada Call for Papers: How Queer are We Here? Conference

————————- AEGIS Press Release For immediate release 11/12/97 Transcommunity Merger is OFF

A telephone conference call for representatives of AEGIS, Renaissance Education Association, and IFGE has been cancelled due to the decision of the Renaissance Board of Directors to pull out of a study of ways in which the three organizations could work together. Called the “merger” study, representatives had been given the mandate to examine the three organizations and their services, and come up with a plan which would reduce duplication of services and help the organizations better meet the many needs of the transgender and transsexual community. The committee was empowered to make recommendations as it saw fit, up to and including the merger of any or all of the three organizations. The cancelled telphone conference call was to have been the first meeting of the committee.

The plan for the merger study came out of a June dinner in Philadelphia, at the 2nd International Congress on Sex and Gender issues,. The dinner was attended by AEGIS Board Chair Marisa Richmond, AEGIS Executive Director Dallas Denny, IFGE Executive Director Alison Laing, Renaissance Executive Director Angela Gardner, Renaissance Co-founder and past AEGIS Board Chair JoAnn Roberts. Unfortunately, the study was in trouble from the start, with at least one IFGE Board member arguing against Roberts’ involvement. Renaissance’s Board voted to pull out after hearing that IFGE Board Chair Linda Buten had written an editorial for the IFGE membership newsletter, questioning the wisdom of the study. Apparently, no one on the Renaissance Board actually saw Buten’s article.

Regarding the cancellation of the study, AEGIS’ Executive Director, Dallas Denny, said, “It’s terrible that transgender community politics, such as they are, prevented the committee members from even talking together. AEGIS had put its development plans on hold pending the committee’s report, as we felt that the recommendations of the committee would be in the best interests of the community, and we were very interested in that feedback. We were completely prepared to follow the recommendations of the committee. Now, tragically, we’ll never know what the commitee would have recommended.”

Denny continued, “The news of the cancellation was very discouraging. I can only say that in my opinion the organizations have sent a clear message to the transgender community that they are more interested in power games and self-gratification than in providing services to the people they are supposed to be serving. I’m proud of AEGIS for having the self-discipline to abide by the agreement made in Philadelphia. We never questioned the study, not at any level.. We’re still interesting in working with other organizations to help meet. the community’s many unmet needs. Hello? is anyone listening?”

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Date: Sat, 8 Nov 97 21:38:18 UT From: “Christine Burns” <C_Burns@classic.msn.com> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Subject: Message from Gay Games to TransWomen — Drop Dead! The following message was brought to the UKPFC-forum list earlier this week by a contributor who was rightly incensed and appalled by the content .. and its’ implication.

I’m rebroadcasting the message to the larger UKPFC-News list, however, because I think the story requires a much wider airing .. until the stench of hypocrisy and bigotry which it contains has been blown away .. and because some may have blinked and missed it the first time.

I am sure that ordinary, decent, thoughtful gay and lesbian people would be appalled to learn that a body purporting to represent them practices apartheid in this form. FOR THAT IS WHAT IT AMOUNTS TO.

The only thing missing from the “Policy and Procedures for Gender Transitioning Participants” in the forthcoming “Gay Games” is a stipulation that transgendered contestants should have a nice bright triangle stitched on their tracksuits .. or is that to be added in a later revision ?

Contributions from any Lesbian or Gay leader in the UK who would like to offer an explanation .. perferably accompanied by an apology .. may be submitted direct to the editors of this list, at

UKPFC-News.submit@mbcomms.net.au

We are waiting.

Christine Burns Press for Change

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PLEASE CIRCULATE AND PUBLISH THIS MESSAGE WIDELY

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Return-path: <MtMInFo@aol.com Envelope-to: jhl@gael.u-net.com Delivery-date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 03:42:10 +0000 Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 22:11:28 -0500 (EST) From: MtMInFo@aol.com Subject: Fwd: Gay Games to TransWomen – Drop Dead! Forwarded Message: Subj: Gay Games to TransWomen – Drop Dead! Date: 97-10-28 08:10:41 EST From: riki@pipeline.com (Riki Anne Wilchins) Gay Games is officially going to require that any transwomen desiring to compete “prove” they are really, seriously women, and not just men in drag trying to crash women’s events (as if we’re all just dying to fly to Amsterdam to do so). We will have to provide therapist letters, proof of crossliving for 2 years, proof of name change, and have completed electrolysis (of course, lesbians with beards are completely welcome).

In effect, Gay Games V has completely roled back all the advances we made at Gay Games ’94 when transwomen were allowed to compete (just like everyone else) in the sex in which they live their normal daily lives, without special stigma and without having to submit paperwork and proofs.

If anyone out there lives in Colorado, the next meeting on the Gay Games policy for transwomen is in Denver. Below are the contact addresses. Also, you may want to contact Lee Sharmutt, TNYnews@aol.com, who helped us change the policy in ’94 and has been all over this. suskennedy@aol.com PeoBumJong@aol.com Janssens@gaygames.nl ===========

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR GENDER – TRANSITIONING PARTICIPANTS These Policy and Procedures are set in place to protect and ensure the philosophies of the Gay Games as well as the Transitioning Gender participant.

These Policy and Procedures are not difficult to follow if a Gender Transitioning individual has been serious about what they are doing and are progressing in a healthy and legal direction. 1. Proof of a completed legal name change to match the desired gender role.

2. Letter from a medical physician stating that the participant has been actively involved in Hormone Treatment for a minimum of two full years without any time lapse. Letter also needs to explain current health condion.

3. Letter from a mental health professional therapist stating that the participant has been actively involved in psychotherapy for a minimum of eighteen months. Letter also needs to state that this participant had emotionally and psychologically transitioned info the desired gender role and why it would be impossible or severely detrimental for this individual to participate in their biologically born gender.

4. Proof of participant’s cross-living and employment in the desired gender role for a minimum of two years.

5. Transitioning male to female participants will need to have had all identifying male facial hair removed.

6. Those who comply with the above shall be treated equally as their gender identification implies.

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President Clinton’s Speech at HRC Dinner

November 9, 1997

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. President in history to address an audience of gays and lesbians. In his speech to the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington, D.C., Clinton called for passage by Congress of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and urged gays and lesbians to come out to their families, friends and co-workers so they may see that we are just like other Americans.

GLO Radio, an Internet service [AOL keyword: PNO Radio], carried the speech live. A transcript follows:

Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign:

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

President Clinton:

Well, you have just made me feel the way I did when I made my very first speech as a public official, more than 20 years ago now. You know Elizabeth [Birch] just stood here and gave that magnificent speech. She actually said just about every thing that could be said. And then, you gave me this wonderful welcome which makes me reluctant to say anything. And I was sitting there thinking in the back of my mind that this reminded me of a Rotary Club banquet I spoke at years ago and I’ll tell you why. Only the punch line is the same, but you’ll have to listen to the story. I’d just taken office as attorney general almost 21 years ago now. And they asked me to speak at this Rotary Club banquet. There were 500 people there. The dinner started at 6:30. I didn’t get up to speak til a quarter to ten. Everybody that was at this banquet got introduced but for three people and they went home mad. The guy who got up to introduce me was so nervous he didn’t know what to do. And we’d been there forever and he didn’t mean it this way, but here’s what he said. He said, “You know we could have stopped here and had a very nice evening.” And we could have stopped with the applause at Elizabeth’s speech and had a very great evening.

I’m delighted to be here. I thank the members of Congress who are here. I congratulate your honorees. I know that a number of my recent appointees are here, including Virginia Apuzzo, our new assistant for management and administration. Fred Hofberg, John Berry, Jim Hormel — where’s Jim Hormel? He’s here. Jesse White. Hal Preel. Hal Preel is now the most popular person I have appointed in the Congress because the Maritime Commission broke the impasse on the Japanese ports, which destroys another stereotype here. I am so grateful for what they did and a lot of Americans are going to have a decent income because of it and I want to thank him for that.

We have a lot of people here from the White House as well. I want to thank Richard Socarides, Sean Maloney, Tom Shea, and our AIDS czar, Sandy Thurman for all of their work. And, because it’s dark here I would like to ask anyone here who works for this administration and any department in the federal government or who has an appointment in any way to please stand.

A little more than six years ago I had this crazy idea that I ought to run for President. Only my mother thought I could win. And at the time I was so obsessed with what I thought had to be done, I thought winning would take care of itself. What bothered me was that our country seemed to be drifting and divided as we moved into a new and exciting and challenging area, where we were living differently, working differently, relating to each other and the rest of the world in very different ways on the edge of a new century.

And, I sat down alone before I decided to do this and asked myself, “What is it that you want America to look like when you’re done if you win?” My vision for the 21st Century now I have said hundreds of times but I still think about it every day. I want this to be a country where every child and every person who’s responsible enough to work for it can live the American Dream. I want this country to embrace the wider world and continue to be the strongest force for peace and freedom and prosperity. And I want to see us come together across all our lines of difference into one America. That is my vision. It drives me every day. I think if we really could create a society where there is opportunity for all and responsibility for all and we believe in a community of all Americans we could truly beat every problem we have and seize every opportunity we have.

For more than two centuries now, our country has had to meet challenge after challenge after challenge. We have had to continue to lift ourselves beyond what we thought America meant. Our ideals were never meant to be frozen in stone or time. Keep in mind when we started out with Thomas Jefferson’s credo that all of us are created equal by God, what that really meant in civic, political terms was that you had to be white, you had to male n and that wasn’t enough. You had to own property, which would have left my crowd out when I was a boy.

Now, over time, we have had to redefine the words that we started with. Not because there was anything wrong with them and their universal power and strength of liberty and justice, but because we were limited in our imaginations and how we could live and what we were capable of and how we should live.

Indeed, the story of how we kept going higher and higher and higher to new and higher definitions and more meaningful definitions of equality and dignity and freedom is, in its essence, the fundamental story of our country.

Fifty years ago, President Truman stood at a new frontier in our defining struggle on civil rights. Slavery had ended a long time before, but segregation remained. Harry Truman stood before the Lincoln Memorial and said, “It is more important today than ever to insure that all Americans enjoy the rights of freedom and equality. When I say “all Americans’, I mean all Americans.”

Well, my friends, all Americans still means all Americans. We all know that it is an ideal and not perfectly real now. We all know that some of the old kinds of discrimination we have seeked to rid ourselves of by law and purge our spirits of will exist in America today. We all know that there is continuing discrimination against gays and lesbians. But we also know that if we are ever gong to build one America then all Americans, including you and those whom you represent, have got to be a part of it. To be sure, no President can grant rights. Our ideals and our history hold that they are inalienable, imbedded in our Constitution, amplified over time by our courts and legislature. I cannot grant them, but I am bound by my oath of office and the burden of history to reaffirm them. All America loses if we let prejudice and discrimination stifle the hopes or deny the potential of a single American. All America loses when any person is denied or forced out of a job because of sexual orientation. Being gay, the last time I thought about it, seemed to have nothing to do with the ability to read a balance book, fix a broken bone, or change a spark plug.

For generations the American Dream has represented a fundamental compact among our people to take responsibility and work hard. You have a right to achieve a better life for yourself and a better future for your family. Equal opportunity for all, special privileges for none. A faith shared by Americans regardless of political views. We believe, or all say we believe, that all our citizens should rise as far as their God-given talents will take them. What counts is energy and honesty and talent. No arbitrary distinctions should bar the way. So when we deny opportunity because of ancestry or religion, race or gender, disability or sexual orientation, we break the compact. It is wrong, and it should be illegal. So, once again I call on Congress to honor our most cherished principles and make the Employment Non-Discrimination Act the law of the land.

I also come here tonight to ask you for another favor. Protecting the civil rights of all Americans..

[Interrupted by a heckler yelling “Americans are dying!”]

Wait a minute. I’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t been here tonight. People with AIDS are dying. But, since I’ve become President, we’re spending ten times as much per fatality on people with AIDS as people with breast cancer or prostate cancer, and the drugs are being approved more quickly and a lot of people are living normal lives. Yes, I could be working on it.

I want to ask —

Radio announcer:

The President apparently scoring a TKO against an AIDS heckler.

President Clinton:

I thank you, but this, too, is part of what makes America great. You know, we all have our sayings and no one has to be afraid when he or she screams at the President. That’s a good thing, a good thing. And at a time when so many people feel that their voices will never be heard, that’s a good thing. What is not a good thing, however, is when people believe their free speech rights trump yours. That’s not good.

Now, I want to ask you for a favor. You want us to pass the Employment Non-discrimination Act. You know, when we do — and I believe it will pass — you know when we do, it will have to be enforced. A law on the books only works if it is also a law in the life of America. And let me say, I thank you very much for your support of my nominee for the [U.S. Attorney General’s] Office of Civil Rights Bill Lee. I thank you for that. But he too comes from a family that has known discrimination. And now he is being discriminated against, not because there is anything wrong with his qualifications, not because no one believes he is not even-tempered, but because some members of the Senate disagree with his views on affirmative action. Now, if I have to appoint a head of the Office of Civil Rights who is against affirmative action, uh, it’s going to be vacant a long time!

That office is not there to primarily advocate or promote the policies of the government when it comes to affirmative action. It’s there to enforce the existing laws against discrimination. You hope someday you’ll have one of those existing laws. We need somebody to enforce the laws, and Bill Lee should be confirmed.

I want to say just one more word. There are some people who are in this room tonight who aren’t comfortable yet with you, and won’t be comfortable with me for being here.

Audience member:

We love you Bill!

President Clinton:

Now, wait a minute. This is serious. In issue after issue involving gays and lesbians survey after survey shows that the most important determinant of people’s attitudes is whether they are aware, whether they knowingly have had family or a friendship or a work relation with a gay person. Now, I hope that we will embrace good people who are trying to overcome their fears. After all, all of us can look back in history and see what the right thing to do was. It’s quite another thing to look ahead and light the way. Most people are preoccupied with the burdens of daily living. Most of us as we grow older, whether we like it or not, are somewhat more limited in our imaginations. So I think one of the greatest things we have to do is just to increase the ability of Americans who do not yet know that gays and lesbians are their fellow Americans in every sense of the word to feel that way. I think it’s very important when I say I believe all Americans means all Americans, I see the faces of the friends of 35 years. When I say all Americans means all Americans I see the faces of the people who stood up when I asked the people who are a part of my administration to stand tonight. When I say all Americans means all Americans, I see kind, unbelievably generous, giving people back in my home state who helped my family and my friends when they were in need. It is a different story when you know what you are seeing. So I say to you tonight, should we change the law? You bet. Should we keep fighting discrimination? Absolutely. Is this hate crimes conference important? It is terribly important. But we have to broaden the imagination of America. We are redefining in practical terms the immutable ideals that have guided us from the beginning.

Again I say, we have to make sure that for every single person in our country, all Americans means all Americans. After experiencing the horrors of the Civil War and witnessing the transformations of the previous century, Walt Whitman said that our greatest strength was that we are an embracing nation. In his words, “Union holding all, infusing, absorbing, tolerating all.” Let us move forward in the spirit of that one America. Let us realize that this is a good obligation that has been imposed upon our generation. And a grand opportunity once again to lift America to a high level of unity. Once again to redefine and to strengthen and to ensure one America for a new century and a new generation of our precious children.

Thank you and God bless you.

—————

Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 22:27:04 -0800 Reply-To: Doug Case <Doug.Case@SDSU.EDU> From: Doug Case <Doug.Case@SDSU.EDU> Subject: [GLB-NEWS] What Clinton REALLY Said on “Meet the Press” To: GLB-NEWS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM

>From the White House transcript of “Meet the Press” http://library.whitehouse.gov/ThisWeek.cgi?type=p&date=2&briefing=0

Q Let me turn to a cultural issue. Tonight you will be attending a gay rights dinner, the first sitting President in the history of the country to do so. What statement are you trying to make?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Tim, you know, I grew up in the segregated south in the ’40s and ’50s. And all my life, from the time I was a child, I was taught and I have believed that every person in this country — no matter what their differences are, in their lifestyle or their race or their religion, if they obey the law, show up for work every day or show up for school, if they’re good citizens, they ought to be treated with respect and dignity and equality. And they should be subject to no discrimination in the things that we all have to have access to, like education and a job and health care. What I’m trying to do is to continue to move that forward.

I know this is a difficult issue for a lot of Americans. I know that particularly for Americans who’ve never known anyone who was gay or lesbian personally, it’s an issue that often arouses discomfort. But I think it’s the right thing to do. I think we have to keep working until we say for everybody, the only test should be: are you a law-abiding, hard working citizen; do you do the things we require of all citizens. If you do, you should be subject to no discrimination and you ought to be part of the family of America. That’s what I believe. And if my presence there tonight advances that goal, then that’s a good thing.

Q Do you believe that homosexuality should be taught in schools as an acceptable alternative lifestyle?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t think it should be advocated. I don’t think it should be part of the public school curriculum.

But, on the other hand, I don’t believe that anyone should teach school children that they should hate or discriminate against or be afraid of people who are homosexuals. That is the real issue. The real issue is the one that we’re going to take up next week at the White House with the Hate Crimes Conference. We’re going to have the first Hate Crimes Conference ever at the White House next week. And we’re going to deal with that, not only against homosexuals, but against other groups of Americans.

I don’t believe that we should be in the business of ratifying or validating or politicizing the issue. I think the real problem in America is still continuing discrimination and fear and downright misunderstanding.

Q Now, Vice President Gore caused a stir when he said that Ellen, the TV star who will be honored tonight at the dinner –he said, “millions of Americans were forced to look at sexual orientation in an open light.” Was Vice President Gore correct?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think when she did that on television, and you got to see the interplay with her family and her friends who were not homosexual, you got to see all that — I think for many Americans who themselves had never had a personal experience, never had a friend or a family member who’s a homosexual — it did give them a chance to see it in a new light. So I think he was accurate about that.

My experience in life — all I can tell you is what my experience is — and I’m not talking about as President, I’m talking about as a citizen, as a person — is that most people’s attitudes about how homosexuals should be treated really are determined more than anything else based on whether they have ever known someone who is homosexual. Now, whether most people’s attitudes about whether the lifestyle should be condoned or condemned is a function, perhaps, of their religious training. But we’re not talking about people’s religious convictions here. We’re talking about how people in the public arena, as citizens, should be treated in terms of their right to education, to jobs, to housing, and to be treated free of discrimination.

And that is the agenda that I want to further for all Americans. And that is what I think we ought to be focusing on.

————–

From: “Christine Burns” <C_Burns@classic.msn.com> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Subject: Same Sex Marriage Precedent for Canada

Tuesday November 11th, 1997

Press cutting with comment from Christine Burns

—————————- SAME SEX COUPLE SET MARRIAGE PRECEDENT FOR CANADA —————————-

Canadian Press

NANAIMO — Tying the knot before a sex-change operation has allowed two West Coast women to make Canadian legal history as same-sex spouses. George — now Georgina — Scott and Linda Fraser were able to wed because Scott was legally and physically a man at the time of their marriage on June 24. Scott, a 46-year-old heavy-equipment operator, has since had surgery to complete the transition from man to woman. She plans to change her birth certificate to reflect her new legal status. She spent the past two years living as a woman and could legally marry Fraser because of her transsexual condition at the time of the ceremony. Most lesbians can have only a joining ceremony, Scott said. The Vancouver Island couple were married at a small ceremony in Vancouver, and plan on having a larger joining ceremony in January.

Fraser said the legal marriage was for both practical and political reasons. “Georgie said, ‘I want you to get my pension and insurance if anything happens to me.’ ” Fraser said there’s a chance the marriage won’t be called into legal question, which she says could set a precedent for gays and lesbians. “This could be a pivotal step in gaining recognition for gay and lesbian marriage,” she said.

Barbara Findlay, a lesbian lawyer and activist in Vancouver, agreed the marriage is unlikely to be challenged in the near future. “Probably nothing will happen when the application to change the birth certificate goes through because marital status is not indicated on the forms as far as I know. “The test will come when Scott attempts to rely on her marriage certificate to claim income tax benefits as spouses. They may be able to claim things that are available to heterosexual couples that aren’t yet available to same-sex couples,” Findlay said.

The union hasn’t been completely joyful. Scott says she had difficulty making the transition while working with an all-male crew. A crew member started “freaking out” when she first came out at work. “After that, no one asked me any questions. . . .” Her ex-wife and children haven’t responded well. Her children asked that she not contact them as they needed time to adjust. She recently gave a presentation to the Human Rights Commission asking that “gender identity” be added to the Human Rights Code. Comment by Christine Burns of Press for Change …

Although this story may be a “first” for Canada, it’s not the first time in the rest of the world that stories like this have pointed to the potential for transsexual people to help their friends in the gay and lesbian community, by thoroughly discrediting worn out and hoary old arguments about what would happen if two people of the same sex were to be married …

In London, on June 28th 1995, “Britain’s first Lesbian marriage” took place when twice-divorced Tracie-Anne Scott married her girlfriend Tina-Louise Dixon… Tracie was a transsexual woman, and her unquestionably lesbian marriage was made possible by the fact that she remains, to this day, a “man” in the eyes of UK law.

The British law which says that a transsexual woman cannot marry a man, doesn’t actually stop her from marrying another woman !

But it works the other way too ..

In several states of the US, dozens of couples have done their less dramatic bit in challenging anachronistic distinctions about socially legalised relationships, by REMAINING married to their partners AFTER a gender reassignment and legal change of sex status have turned them into legal same-sex marriages .. in a country vigorously trying to deny the same option to couples BORN with the same sort of genitals.

In other words though, whichever way you stack the legal cards, the relationships of transsexual people, before or after a change of gender role, will always create living examples of the very thing others are fighting to get for themselves !

The benefit to the LBG community in the US lies in the fact that panic measures like the “Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA)”, intended to prevent other means for same sex couples to marry, would threaten to “unmarry” all those people who stayed together through a role change .. without their consent. Voiding existing legally-contracted marriages as a result of a new statute would be an unprecedented violation of people’s rights, in a country which puts individual rights very high on the agenda, and US transgender rights campaigners continually stress the importance and benefits of recognising this anomaly, and the importance of being prepared to support those threatened by it.

This all rather neatly makes the point though that permitting transsexual people to marry heterosexually in the UK after treatment makes not one jot of difference to the status quo, as for every homosexual marriage you ENABLE by changing a married transsexual person’s legal status, there is another that you potentially ENABLE by continuing to hang on to the status quo !

Looking at it another way though, MAINTAINING the legal status of an already-married partner doesn’t make a relationship between two obvious women or men into the heterosexual one it was once perceived to be .. and insisting that a woman like Tracie is a “man” for the purposes of the law doesn’t make a lesbian partnership into a homosexual one.

Er .. well, unless you screw your eyes up very, very tight .. pull your judicial wig down over your face and stuff cotton wool in your ears.

So .. paradoxically one of the best arguments to advance against the belief that a change to legal status creates problems for marriage law, is to show that leaving things the way they are does the same thing ..

Got a headache ? For further reading on this topic see Stephen Whittle’s article “An Association For As Noble A Purpose As Any” from the “New Law Journal”, at

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/christine_burns/newlawj1.htm

IMPORTANT NOTE

Through PFC’s “Five Principles”, we make it clear that any approach to resolving the legal problems of transsexual people in the UK *must* be sympathetic both to the needs of couples who were married prior to transition, and to those who married same sex partners as a result of the status quo. Neither category should be required to divorce as a precondition for legal recognition of their “true” gender, although new marriages contracted AFTER a legally recognised change of status would, of course, have to be approached in the same way as for anybody else of that gender. The message to homophobic legislators is simple, therefore .. if you don’t want more and more homosexual marriages, the *pragmatic* thing is to bring transsexual people’s legal statuses into line with their social and sexual function. This won’t eliminate the same sex marriages that there are already, but then if we hadn’t had the Ormrod absurdity twenty eight years ago …

————–

CALL FOR PAPERS

QGPA, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Graduate and Professional Association of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Announces an Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference: “HOW QUEER ARE WE HERE?” INTERROGATING THE EFFICACY OF QUEER THEORY AND POLITICS APRIL 24-26, 1998 Univeristy of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Recent critical and political theory has attempted to formulate the notion of “Queer” identity as a radical response to various institutions of power and domination; critics have posited this queer identity as both a disruption of traditional subject positions as well as an opportunity for the creation of alternative, destabilized configurations of subjectivity. Increasingly, however, queer identity seems in danger of “assimilation” by the very institutions that it ostensibly challenges. Can queer theory and politics continue to offer effective resistance to these normalizing regimes of power, and if so what tactics of deployment will allow them to retain their subversive edge? Our conference will explore the current situation by posing questions including, though certainly not limited to, the following:

How–if at all–has the development of a “queer” culture problematized the earlier “gay” and “lesbian” cultures that came before it?

To what extent do the devotees of queer or other resistant sexual styles (S&M, Drag, etc.) illustrate the precepts of academic theory by recognizng their deployment of these styles as actually formative, rather than merely expressive, of their identities?

How do notions of queer identity intersect with the discourse of political action? How does queer theory “resist” or “subvert” hegemony? And can one speak of a “queer revolution?”

Have the strategies of radical organizations like Queer Nation enabled the creation of a quepractices merely reinforced the identity categories already in place?

Has the recent popularization of the “camp” aesthetic negated its subversive power to re-signify cultural products, thereby reducing camp’s resistance of the market economy to the commodified lure of “kitsch?”

Does the current trend toward sexual ambiguity in popular advertising signal the emergence of a new “queer” target audience? If so, what is the relation of queer identity to contemporary capitalism?

Has the surge of interest in “drag” performance created “queer” cabaret spaces in which variously sexed subjects can re-negotiate their own identity positions? Or do these performances simply repeat and thus replicate the common conventions of a male/female gender dichotomy?

What are the implications of genetic research for “queering” our notions of biological “sex?” Will the “encoding” of the body effected by the Human Genome Project reconfigure our definitions of gender, or further fix the criteria employed in the binary division of sex?

How will the increasing institutionalization of Queer Studies within the Academy affect its ability to challenge the dictums of power and authority? Please send a one page single-spaced abstract by December 15, 1997 to:

Thomas Haakenson Department of Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature 350 Folwell Hall, 9 Pleasant Street Southeast University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN 55455

For further Information, please send inquiries to the above address, or by e-mail to:

Thomas.O.Haakenson-1@tc.umn.edu or Awesley537@aol.com End

 

Dallas Denny, M.A., Executive Director

American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation P.O. Box 33724, Decatur, GA 30033-0724 (770) 939-2128 Business (770) 939-0244 Information & Referrals (answered live Tue. & Thur. 6-9 pm Eastern) (770) 939-1770 FAX aegis@gender.org E-Mail

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If you’re on AOL, try the keyword AEGIS

<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS Internet News 11/25/97 Date: 97-11-25 21:06:04 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegis@gender.org

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To subscribe or unsubscribe from this service or to write a letter to the editor, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

 

THE OLYMPIAN 11-23-97 SECTION C PAGE 4

GENDER QUESTION STYMIES KENNEWICK COURT

Kennewick, WA – Corrections officials and a judge are unsure where to imprison a convicted child molester who says she’s a man trapped inside a woman’s body.

Benton County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Brown, on Friday, sentenced Chris Wheatly to 22 months in prison and recommended that she be treated at an all male facility in Monroe because it has a program for sex offenders.

But Brown admitted she was unsure what to do with Wheatley, who takes male hormones, has grown a thin goatee, and fooled her victims into thinking she is a man. But authorities say the 21-year old Pasco resident has female genitalia.

Wheatley’s gender is “debatable”, Brown said after the sentencing.

Her lawyer, “referred to Chris Wheatley as ‘he’, but (Benton County Prosecutor Andy) Miller said ‘she'” Brown noted. “I made no reference to the esexual (identity) one way or the other.”

Wheatly entered an Alford plea to third-degree child molestation in June. Prosecutors said she dated and fondled a 14-year old Richland girl who was unaware of Wheatley’s true sexual identity.

An Alford plea means Wheatley did not admit guilt, but acknowledged a jury could find her guilty based on the evidence.

In a Franklin County case earlier this year, Wheatley pleaded guilty to third-degree rape of a child. Prosecutor said Wheatley used a ‘strap-on penis impersonation device’ to fool a 15 year old girl into having sex with her several times last year.

Officials at Twin Rivers Corrections Center, the Monroe facility Brown recommended, said Friday they neve accepted someone like Wheatley.

“Someone who has not been through (a sex change) surgery is always housed in the facility corresponding to gender), and sometimes they have to be put in protective custody for their safety,” said Debbie Hunter, the prison’s correctional program manager.

Wheatley’s lawyer, Bob Thompson, doesn’t want his client to be locked up alone in an isolated cell. “That’s no good – it destroys people,” Thompson said, noting Wheatly has been kept in isolation in the Benton County jail since April.

———————

Subject: Mom Fights Transsexual for Custody Date: 97-11-21 23:18:46 EST From: AOL News

c The Associated Press

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) – A woman should get sole custody of her daughter because the child’s father was born a woman and had surgery to become a man, making the union a same-sex marriage, her lawyer argued in court Friday. “We’re contending a person is born with a certain gender, a person is born with a certain identity, and nothing done by cosmetics can change that,” attorney Larry Ross said. Kristin Vecchione, 27, is seeking an annulment from her husband, Joshua Vecchione, who was born Janine 40 years ago, and custody of their 3-year-old daughter. The judge said he would make a decision next week. Vecchione began his sex change treatments and surgery in 1976 and has lived and looked like a man since. The couple’s daughter was conceived by artificial insemination, using sperm from Vecchione’s brother. Arguing on behalf of Vecchione, Taylor Flynn of the American Civil Liberties Union said that California law does recognize the rights of transsexuals by allowing them to apply for a new birth certificate with their post-operative gender. Ross contended Vecchione never applied for a new birth certificate in California. Mrs. Vecchione insisted she did not know her husband was born a woman. Rather, she said he told her he was born with the genitalia of both sexes, which she considered a congenital defect. “He didn’t tell me that truth that he was, in fact, born a female, and I consider him a female now. It was not my choice to marry a transsexual.” Vecchione argues that he always told his wife the truth. “I explicitly explained to her that I changed my sex,” Vecchione said. “I explained in detail the surgeries I had.” Outside court, he said he is the girl’s father regardless of his chromosomes. “She’s my little girl and I will not allow her mother to take her away and not allow her to have the right to two parents.” The parents have been sharing time with their daughter during the dispute. AP-NY-11-21-97 2314EST

——————- Return-Path: <CHenry8015@aol.com> From: CHenry8015@aol.com Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 22:53:13 -0500 (EST) To: AEGIS@gender.org Subject: Fwd: At the Movies: ‘Midnight in Garden’ ——————— Forwarded message: Subj: At the Movies: ‘Midnight in Garden’ Date: 97-11-20 15:17:29 EST From: AOL News

c The Associated Press By DOLORES BARCLAY AP Arts Editor Clint Eastwood’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” moves as slowly as a warm Georgia day. And that’s both a curse and a blessing for this adaptation of John Berendt’s hugely popular best seller about a notorious 1981 murder in Savannah, Ga. It’s a curse because it takes the filmmaker more than 2 1/2 hours to unspool a story that, at best, has a very slim plot. It’s a blessing because Eastwood wonderfully captures the tiniest eccentricities of genteel – and bizarre – Savannah. But even with such delightful characters as the man who walks an invisible dog, the ancient society lady who carries a gun wedged in her bosom, the man who travels with his own cloud of flies buzzing around him, and the Lady Chablis, a transvestite who steals the movie, the pacing is a tad too slow. There aren’t enough curiosities to propel you along, and the film becomes too languid to hold your attention. Still, there are outstanding performances, lovely photography and an exceptional soundtrack featuring the music of Johnny Mercer, Savannah’s native son. The film opens in a cemetery, focusing on a weathered sculpture, and closes with the same shot. Much happens in the cemeteries of Savannah, especially around midnight when good magic and bad magic brew their parallel spells. We see the grave of Johnny Mercer and then we’re led to Mercer House, the restored mansion that was built in 1860 by Johnny’s great-grandfather. It is now the landmark home of Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey), one of the town’s most popular and colorful characters. Jim, a restoration specialist and antiques dealer, lives with a virtual museum of antiques, artwork and other collectibles. Each Christmas, he throws a lavish party to which everyone covets an invitation. (Actually, Jim gives two parties: One is for men only.) Town and Country magazine sends freelancer John Kelso (John Cusack) to Savannah to do a 500-word story on Jim’s famous party and Mercer House. Jim is a delightful and gracious host, providing John with a tuxedo for the night and offering him full access to his home and to his guests. John mixes and mingles and discovers that just about everyone in Savannah, regardless of social position, carries a gun. He listens, wide-eyed, to their stories and collects enough color to write a 5,000-word piece. But his assignment takes a detour when Jim shoots and kills his lover, Billy Hanson (Jude Law). Jim is arrested for murder. He pleads self-defense. The trial and its outcome occupy the remainder of the movie. John decides to do a bigger story, a book perhaps, on Savannah and the Billy Hanson murder. He cuts a deal with Jim’s lawyer, football nut Sonny Seiler (Jack Thompson): John will hunt down clues for Jim’s defense and Jim will cooperate with John for the book. John’s quest takes him to the Lady Chablis, who knew Billy and all about his drug habits and violent tendencies. The exchanges between Chablis and John are a hoot, and John learns enough about Savannah and Jim Williams’ lifestyle to fill a book. The Lady Chablis, who is a real Savannah resident and character in the book who portrays herself in the movie, provides a scene-stealer when she crashes a debutante cotillion John is attending. John also goes with Jim to see Minerva (Irma P. Hall), a voodoo priestess who conducts her business in the cemetery. Minerva’s special rites will ensure the outcome of the trial. A romantic – and boring – subplot is tossed in between John and Mandy Nichols, who lives not far from Mercer House. The romance further slows the movie and accomplishes little else, despite the engaging Alison Eastwood, Clint Eastwood’s daughter, playing Mandy. Cusack plays it straight throughout and is a joy. Spacey is marvelous as Jim. He oozes charm like melted butter on a hot, flaky biscuit, and he does more with simple business than most of today’s actors: When he punctuates his sentences with a lazy “uh-huh,” you can almost smell the mint juleps. There’s excellent support all around, especially Hall and Thompson. But as stunning as Jack N. Green’s photography is, the camera work is marred by sloppy editing between a few scenes. “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” was filmed in Savannah, and the movie truly gives the city a starring role. Eastwood directed from a screenplay by John Lee Hancock. The Warner Bros. release was produced by Eastwood and Arnold Stiefel, with Tom Rooker as co-producer. It is rated R for some violence and adult situations. Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G – General audiences. All ages admitted. PG – Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 – Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children. R – Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 – No one under 17 admitted. AP-NY-11-20-97 1513EST

——————–

Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 20:00:36 -0500 From: glaad@glaad.org (GLAAD) Subject: GLAADALERT -11.21.97

GLAADALERT — November 21, 1997 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Drew Carey’s Brother Dresses For Success On the November 19 episode of ABC’s popular sitcom “The Drew Carey Show,” the title character’s brother, Steve, visits after he breaks up with his fiancee and shocks Drew by cross dressing. Unsuspecting Drew hires Steve for the cosmetic section of the department store he works at, and when Drew pays him a visit he finds Steve dressed as a woman. Steve explains that he is a cross dresser and that he could not think of any other way of telling Drew. Mr. Wick, Drew’s boss, insists that Drew fire Steve. In the end, Drew comes to accept his brother and saves Steve’s job.

Earlier this year, GLAAD briefly spoke with a writer from the show regarding issues of gender, cross dressing, sexual orientation and transgender people. Overall, the episode handles the issues around cross dressing quite well, breaking down a number of myths and stereotypes. However, the episode does make one large mistake. When Drew asks Steve if he is gay and Steve responds that he is not, Drew says that it is unfortunate because lesbians and gay men are protected from job discrimination by federal law. In fact, that legislation (Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA) failed to pass Congress last year, and is one of the most important legislative protections that the community is still fighting for today.

Please thank “Drew Carey” for a show that dealt with transgender issues in a progressive and fair manner, and encourage them to continue to feature Steve. Also stress that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is not protected from job discrimination by federal law, and that in fact hundreds lose their jobs each year simply because of their perceived sexual orientation or identity. Contact: … Jamie Tarses, Entertainment President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90037, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@abc.com; … Bruce Helford, Executive Producer, “The Drew Carey Show,” Warner-Brothers, 4000 Warner Blvd., Building 19, 1st Floor, Burbank, CA 91522. The Lady Chablis Lights Up Eastwood’s “Midnight” Today, the Clint Eastwood-directed “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” opens in theaters across the country, and features a number of gay and transgender characters. The story centers around Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey), a gay antiques dealer, who shoots and kills his gigolo boyfriend. The Lady Chablis, a black transgender performer in Savannah, Georgia, portrays herself and has been credited by a number of reviewers as the film’s “scene stealer.”

This film, sure to be a hit, treats with sophistication gay and transgender characters who could easily have fallen prey to Hollywood oversimplification and sensationalism.

Please thank Clint Eastwood, who had almost total control over the film’s production, for translating the gay and transgender characters from this entertaining and engaging best-selling novel to the big screen. Contact: Clint Eastwood, Malpaso Productions, Warner-Brothers Studios, 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522-001.

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From: transman@netgsi.com Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 08:18:59 -0500 21 November 1997, Laurel, MD, USA–For Immediate Release

PRESS RELEASE: Please forward to interested parties. Please drop us a line and let us know where you forwarded it. Thank you. The American Boyz present True Spirit Conference ’98 The Best Western-Maryland Inn, Laurel, Maryland, February 20-22, 1998 Featured speakers:

YOSENIO LEWIS black Latino f2m who will be speaking on inclusion and diversity issues

SPENCER BERGSTADT f2m lawyer who will be speaking on legal and political issues The organizing committee of True Spirit Conference ’98 invites all gender variant people on the f2m spectrum, and our significant others, friends, families, and allies to come celebrate the spirit within. The three-day event will include:

*Workshops with panelists reknowned in the gender community *A Latin/Club Dance with DJ Calico Rechy *Peacock Pageant *A Film Festival *A Swim Party *Informal Caucuses *Health screening and information *Transgendered readings by authors and playwrighs (last year we had Leslie Feinberg, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Laura Antoniou, Cecilia Tan, Gary Bowen, and many others) *Another chance to network and meet new (and old) friends

Conference registration: $45 until December 31, 1997. $65 thereafter. Price includes lunch on Sunday. Hotel Registration: Call 301-776-5300 for reservations. Rates (until January 31, 1998): Single/Double: $75; Triple/Quad: $85. Price includes a complimentary lunch on Saturday to all registered guests of the hotel. To get conference rates and complimentary Saturday lunch, you must mention True Spirit Conference when registering. After 31 January, standard hotel rates apply and lunch is not included.

Registration: Download and compete this form and send it with a check or money order to: The American Boyz/True Spirit Conference 98, P O Box 1118, Elkton, MD, 21922-1118.

Mailing Name:___________________________

Name for Badge:_________________________

Mailing Address:_________________________

______________________________________

Email:_________________________________

Phone:________________________________

Sunday lunch: Regular: ______ Kosher: ______ Vegetarian: ______ Other: ____

Yes! I want to volunteer!:______

I’d like to serve on a panel:_______ Panel Suggestions:_________________________

I’d like to make a donation to the scholarship fund: (amount) ______________

Have you attended a True Spirit Conference before?: Y N

The American Boyz is an organization for gender variant people of any orientation, including but not limited to tomboys, butches, f2ms, transmen, drag kings, crossdressers, intersexuals, and those who support us, including our Signficant Others, Friends, Families, and Alliess (SOFFA). Write us at: PO Box 1118, Elkton, MD, 21922-1118 or email us at: transman@netgsi.com.

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———————– Headers ——————————– Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay01.mail.aol.com (relay01.mail.aol.com [172.31.106.125]) by air08.mail.aol.com (v36.0) with SMTP; Tue, 25 Nov 1997 21:06:04 -0500 Received: from camel8.mindspring.com (camel8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.58]) by relay01.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id OAA19702; Tue, 25 Nov 1997 14:33:56 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-2k7i8fi.dialup.mindspring.com [168.121.33.242]) by camel8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id OAA05036; Tue, 25 Nov 1997 14:31:38 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199711251931.OAA05036@camel8.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”iso-8859-1″ Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 14:58:14 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 11/25/97

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<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS News Digest 12/1/97 Date: 97-12-01 11:55:44 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegis@gender.org

I’d heard rumors that the SOC revision would not go before the HBIGDA membership for vote, but this would seem to confirm it.

— Dallas From: “Stephen Whittle” <S.T.Whittle@mmu.ac.uk> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 16:08:24 +0100 Subject: (Fwd) HBIGDA: No Membership Vote

Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 08:59:35 -0600 To: TS Menace Mailing List <tsmenace@apocalypse.org> From: Joy Richards <tasha@uncle.org> Subject: HBIGDA: No Membership Vote

This is a “Must Read”. And it’s time to move _now_.

Joy

From: Becky Allison <beckster@primenet.com> Newsgroups: alt.support.srs Subject: Re: HBIGDA: No Membership Vote on New SOC Date: Wednesday, November 26, 1997 1:10 AM

In article <347a7a61.346409397@news.mindspring.com>, alawrence@mindspring.com (Anne A. Lawrence, M.D.) wrote:

> >HBIGDA Decides: NO Membership Vote on the New Standards of Care > > > >On September 13, 1997, in an unpublicized move, the Officers and Board > >of HBIGDA decided that only they, and not the membership as a whole, > >will be allowed to vote on the forthcoming revision of the Standards > >of Care. This is a major departure from past practice, one which > >changes the strategy for those of us who oppose more restrictive > >Standards. > <….> > >I believe that the best strategy now is for us to lobby the Officers > >and Board of HBIGDA in support of liberal and humane standards. In > >particular, it is important that they be asked to reject any document > >which creates a two-letter requirement for hormone therapy. > > > >Here is contact information for current HBIGDA Officers, Board > >Members, and Executive Director: > > > >(Partial list — will be updated as time permits) > > > >Richard Green, M.D., J.D. (President) > >Gender Identity Clinic > >Charing Cross Hospital > >London W6 8RF, United Kingdom > >Phone: 44-181-846-1516 > >Fax: 44-181-846-1599 > >Voice Mail: 44-181- 846-1394 > > > >Alice Webb, LCSW, Ph.D. (President-Elect) > >18333 Egret Bay Blvd., Suite 560 > >Houston, TX 77058 USA > >Phone: 281-333-2278 > >Fax: 281-333-2293 > >E-Mail: 75377.1141@compuserve.com > > > >Connie Christine Wheeler, Ph.D. (Secretary-Treasurer) > >1310 East 46th Street, Suite 12-H > >New York NY 10017 USA > >Phone: (212) 599-2254 > >Fax: (212) 599-2254 > > > >Sheila Kirk, M.D. (Board Member) > >P.O. Box 38114 > >Blawnox, PA 15238 USA > >Phone: (412) 781-1092 > >Fax: (412) 781-1096 > >E- Mail: SheilaKirk@aol.com > > > >Donald Laub, M.D. (Board Member) > >1515 El Camino Real > >Palo Alto, CA 94306 USA > >Phone: (415) 327-7163 > >Fax: (415) 327-2091 > >E-Mail: LBRSRT@aol.com > > > >Jude Patton, CMHC, CMFT (Board Member) > >1812 East Madison Street, Suite 102 > >Seattle, WA 98122 USA > >Phone: (425) 787-5094 > >Fax: (425) 787-5094 > >E-Mail: judepatton@aol.com > > > >Leah C. Schaefer, Ed.D. (Board Member) > >285 Riverside Drive, #15A > >New York NY 10025 USA > >Phone: (212) 866-1139 > >Fax: (212) 866-4500 > > > >Bean Robinson, Ph.D., Executive Director > >HBIGDA > >1300 South 2nd Street, Suite 1800 > >Minneapolis, MN 55454 USA > >Phone: (612) 625-1500 > >Fax: (612) 626-8311 > >Voice Mail: (612) 624-8078 > >E- Mail: robin009@gold.tc.umn.edu > > > The other three board members are: > > Peggy Cohen-Kettenis, Ph.D. > Dep. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry > University Hospital, University of Utrecht > 3508 GA Utrecht, the Netherlands > Tel: 31-30-508401 > Fax: 31-30-2505666 > p.t.cohenkettenis@psych.azu.nl > > Eli Coleman, Ph.D. > Director, Program in Human Sexuality > University of Minnesota > 1300 South 2nd Street > Minneapolis, MN 55454 > Tel: 612-625-1500 > Fax: 612-626-8311 > colem001@maroon.tc.umn.edu > > Joris Hage, M.D., Ph.D. > AZVU > Genderwerkgroep > P.O. Box 7057- Plastich Chirurg > 1007B Amsterdam, The Netherlands > Tel: 31-20-444-3517 > Fax: 31-20-444-0151 > j.jorishage@inter.nl.net > plastchir@azvu.nl > >I don’t think Bean Robinson has voting privileges; this leaves ten persons >voting. I think we can count on support from Alice Webb, Sheila Kirk, and >Jude Patton; and probably from Leah Schaefer and Tina Wheeler if we present >our case properly. That’s five. We will not have support from Richard >Green or Eli Coleman. I don’t know how the two from the Netherlands will >vote, but I don’t think we can count on them. That leaves a very important >vote from Don Laub, and I don’t think we should write him off as definitely >opposed. Anyone who considers Dr. Laub a friend should contact him on this matter as soon as possible. > >Incidentally I think our chances with the Board are much better than they >would have been with last year’s Board, and better than with the committee >now working on the revision. > >Becky Allison MD

Joy Richards, RSD (Registered Statistical Deviation)

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Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 15:58:08 -0800 From: Michelle Steiner <steiner@BEST.COM> Subject: [GLB-NEWS] Fwd: Employer’s Dress Code Draws Lawsuit To: GLB-NEWS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM

Employer’s Dress Code Draws Lawsuit

..c The Associated Press

ERIE, Pa. (AP) – To read Kristine Holt’s lawsuit, it would seem like her former employer had the strictest of dress codes, prohibiting her from wearing sheer pantyhose under her slacks.

But look closer, and things get more complicated: When Holt was working for the Northwest Pennsylvania Training Partnership Consortium Inc., she was a he named Richard undergoing a sex change.

Holt, 41, filed a discrimination lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Erie earlier this month against the consortium, which administers federal job training programs.

The suit alleges the consortium made up a dress code targeting Holt, whose work wardrobe included slacks, a bra and makeup.

“There was a lot of making up the rules as they went along. I’d go to a meeting, they’d see what I was wearing and they’d say, `You can’t wear this,”’ she said.

Holt, now a third-year law student at Temple University in Philadelphia, is seeking more than $140,000 in damages.

Holt describes herself as an “ex-transsexual” because “I’ve made the transition.”

But while acknowledging that she is still receiving hormone treatments, Holt refused to say whether she has undergone a sex-change operation.

The consortium first suspended her from her job as an employment assessment specialist on Dec. 15, 1992, then fired her about a month later, citing insubordination, Holt said.

The lawsuit contends the consortium imposed a dress code that applied only to Holt and was based on “notions of stereotypical male characteristics.” It says her employers refused to address her by her legal feminine name and forced her to act and dress like a man.

Harry Rudge, executive director of the consortium, said the organization had not yet been served with the complaint. He referred questions to the consortium’s lawyer, David Hotchkiss, who declined to comment.

AP-NY-11-26-97 1749EST

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Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 13:41:06 -0700 To: ISNA News <news@isna.org> From: ISNA News <news@isna.org> Subject: ALL THINGS CONSIDERED CONSIDERS INTERSEX WHAT: ALL THINGS CONSIDERED CONSIDERS INTERSEX WHEN: Friday November 28, 1997 Check local NPR affiliate for broadcast frequency and time

Sources tell us that the radio program All Things Considered will run a documentary by Robin White on medicalization of intersexuality this Friday. White interviewed the mother who founded the Ambiguous Genitalia Support Network; adult intersexuals who spoke about the harm done to them by shame, secrecy, and genital surgery; pediatric endocrinologist Dr Dennis Stein; Dr. Melvin Grumbach, whose texbook chapters render him an important figure in the field of pediatric endocrinology, and Helena Smith, who battled doctors determined to surgically assign her son male and who now operates the peer support group HELP.

Check your local NPR affiliate for times. You should be able to determine a local station carrying the program by visiting All Things Considered’s web page.

Missed the broadcast? You may be able to listen to the show in RealAudio at their web site after the broadcast. CONTACTS

All Things Considered http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/

Cheryl Chase Intersex Society of North America http://www.isna.org

Ambiguous Genitalia Support Network PO Box 313 Clements, CA 95227

HELP (Hermaphrodite Education and Listening Post) http://users.southeast.net/~help/

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Subject: Radio Talk-Show on Bisexuality From: ales@wamani.apc.org (Alejandra Sarda) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 97 13:55:49 ARG Organization: Red Wamani – APC Networks – Argentina

Escrita en el Cuerpo – Lesbian, Bisexual and Different Women’s Archives and Library

Electronic News Service

RADIO TALK-SHOW ON BISEXUALITY (Nov. 20, 1997)

“Sexualogos” is a daily talk-show hosted by a team of sexologists leaded by Dr. Roberto Gindin and Cristina Frydman, M.A. It’s a prestigious and popular program dealing with different aspects of sexuality in a plural, non- prejudiced way. This was the first time in two years that bisexuality was addressed. Special guests were Alejandra Sarda – activist and psychologist- and Mosquito Sancinetto – artist, drama teacher and female impersonator.

What the public says: (Man): I think that yes, most people are bisexual somehow. I don’t agree with that type of acts, for myself, but I understand them on others.

(Man): I would understand it in a person who is in jail, because he has not the freedom we all have, he has to manage with whatever is at hand. But most men are not bisexuals.

Mosquito: It happens many times that human beings have experiences with both sexes; some people say it and others don’t, they feel guilty, scared. So- mething that once had a revealing effect on their lifes then feels them with guilt. To me, being able to go through sexual experiences is not a burden but a learning opportunity. Nobody is a god to understand or tolerate others.

Alejandra: It’s curious how they refer to men only: women are not bisexuals, only wives and mothers; those “dirty” things are only done by men. Re.jail: all these “abnormal” behaviors always call for a reason: if you are a lesbian it’s because you were raped, if you are gay is because your mother was too dominant, if you are bisexual is because you are in jail and have to manage with the first thing you get.

(Woman): A friend of mine is like that; when she told me, I found it quite in- teresting. I think we all have somewhere deep down a curiosity towards people of our same sex. I am nobody to judge others.

Ms. Frydman explains updatings of the Kinsey scale including love, sexual attraction, fantasy and self-identification (besides behavior).

Mosquito: It was very easy for me to feel attracted by men and then it happened that women started attracting me too. Some women, not all. And at the same time I started to become more exigent regarding men too. It was all more indis- criminate before, more compulsive.

Question from a woman: When a bisexual has to choose what he wants the most, does he choose to be with someone of his same gender or the opposite? Alejandra: It depends on the person. It’s not like “I want someone of my same gen- der, let’s see what I find”. I like X person, she happens to be a woman. Ms. Frydman: Could you say it’s something like the color of the eyes? Alejandra and Mosquito: Yes, yes. Very good example. Alejandra: I always say “bisexuality” is quite an outdated term for me; “bi” means two and there are not just two genders, but many.

Dr. Flores Colombino explains the difference between sexual orientation (attraction) and identity (the gender you perceive yourself as being). He says a minority of homo or heterosexual people might go through a bisexual phase, but that does not deprive bisexuality of its status as a sexual orientation per se. He also differentiate between situational homo/bisexuality (jails, ships, etc.) and homo/bisexuality as an orientation and life choice.

Lohanna Berkins (transvestite activist): In this patriarchal society, where values are so absolute, very conflictive situations arise when you start questioning them. And you have to face violence in all its manifestations. Bisexuality, as well as transvestism, cross-dressing, and a lot of other choices, show that the diad woman-man does not exhaust all possibilities. I never say “I’m a woman”, what I do is to live out my wish to be a woman instead of making efforts to show I am one or I am not one. Alejandra: I think what you do by claiming the word “transvestite” is great because “transsexual” gives the idea of someone in transition, temporarily going from some- thing accepted like for instance being a man towards something that is also accepted like being a woman. But “transvestite” is not in transition towards anything, it’s something per se. Lohana: It’s true, when you say you did surgery society looks at you differently. They say, “oh, she is a woman, then”; they know where to place you. I’m not interested in that. Ms. Frydman: How do you feel about being with a bisexual person? Lohana: I’d love it. I learnt a lot by being an activist. Before I used to think that as a transvestite I could only love a man; today I would love any person, without asking her/his gender or sexual orientation. It was a huge work to arrive at that. My head had to change and open itself a lot, but now I feel as if seated here, all the time waiting for the next thing that would help me question what I feel is true. And welcoming it.

A man: Bisexuals are homosexuals in disguise. Alejandra: That’s a classical. Many people do not dare living according to what they are: some straights are homosexuals in disguise, some homosexuals are bisexuals in disguise … anything can be covered up if you need to. To be bisexual is to have the potential to feel attracted towards people of any gender; definition stops there, everything else is a judgement.

A man: Bisexual are people still more degenerate than homosexuals because they don’t make any choice at all. Alejandra: Do you have to make choices at this level? Anyway, we do choose because, like Mosquito said, he does not like all women or all men – nor do I. We choose: that woman, that man. Mosquito: Why do we have to choose anything else than that?

A man: According to what you are saying, bisexuality is less complicated than it seemed to me, more natural, just like what I feel towards women. Good to know it. A man: If we all would experience with different sexual behaviors, we would be de- generates. How would we raise our children, then? A woman: The subject is very new to me. Is that why I don’t understand? Mosquito: It’s great to see that people are questioning themselves. I am not a dege- nerate, none of us is. When I talk to my parents, they don’t see me as their dege- nerate child but as someone with the capacity to choose, and that’s quite different. Alejandra: Whatever humanity has learnt is because different people dared to explore. To raise a daughter or a son telling them “dare to explore” – obviously, taking care of yourself while you do it, like wearing condoms for instance- seems a great way of educating someone, to me at least. Dr. Gindin: What you are doing is dearing to question a lineal mode of thought – good/bad, black/white- and that is good. But is very hard, because we are brought up inside that mode of thought, it takes us a lot to accept the shades. Mosquito and Alejandra: It’s the same for us. Mosquito: I was scared at first, felt guilty, wanted to run away.

A woman: Those people seem very strange to me. What they are talking about only happens in the movies. Or may be they are promiscuos. Dr. Gindin: Is promiscuity a bad word for you? Why? Woman: It’s a problem caused by a very demanding genitality that can be satisfied by any means, even through mechanical devices. Ms. Frydman: What? Bisexuality? Noooo Alejandra: That’s trisexuality already (laughter) Ms. Frydman: I’m asking you, would one have a less imperative genitality if she or he had sex with the same person every hour?

Rafael Freda (gay activist): If bisexuality is the capacity to have an orgasm with a person of any gender, the same or a different one, then the amount of bisexuals in the human species must be very high. If bisexuality is the capacity to have a loving, committed and sexual relationship with any person of the same/other gender, then bisexuality is very rare. Nobody has to pass through bisexuality in order to reach homosexuality. What usually happens is that a person whose deepest desire is to have an affectionate, erotical relationship with someone of his same gender, i.e. a homosexual, due to cultural pressure lives a genitally bisexual and passing phase, in order to deal with the conflict that means for him to identify as a sexual minority’s member. Mosquito: I’m very happy with the way I am, the way I feel and above all with knowing I’m not limited. It’s good to know that even while men are my prefered choice I have the capacity to receive from a woman and give to her too. Alejandra: I’d like we all to keep thinking about allowing ourselves more and more choices, instead of shutting down or cutting up parts of our beings, to think that there are more than two choices for almost anything. Note: We have a similar program on Lesbianism we will be editing soon.

Escrita en el Cuerpo – Lesbian, Bisexual and Different Women’s Archives and Library. Avenida San Martin 2704 4to. C (1416), Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone (54 1) 581 01 79 – Fax (54 1) 382 90 95 – Email: ales@wamani.apc.org

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———————– Headers ——————————– Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay32.mail.aol.com (relay32.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.32]) by air13.mail.aol.com (v36.0) with SMTP; Mon, 01 Dec 1997 11:55:43 -0500 Received: from camel14.mindspring.com (camel14.mindspring.com [207.69.200.64]) by relay32.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id LAA29010; Mon, 1 Dec 1997 11:55:20 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-38lc8t7.dialup.mindspring.com [209.86.35.167]) by camel14.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id LAA32539; Mon, 1 Dec 1997 11:53:00 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199712011653.LAA32539@camel14.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 12:20:16 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS News Digest 12/1/97

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<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS Internet News 12/2/97 Date: 97-12-02 11:28:49 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegis@gender.org

AEGIS Internet News is a service of American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, pleast send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

In response to yesterday’s posting about HBIGDA, we received the following from Dr. Anne Lawrence:

Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 11:27:53 -0800 To: aegis@gender.org From: “Anne A. Lawrence, M.D.” <alawrence@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: HBIGDA: No Membership Vote on New SOC

Hi Dallas,

I see that the 12/1/97 AEGIS News Digest contains a post from Stephen Whittle, quoting a post from Joy Richards, quoting a post from Becky Allison, quoting me. (Whew!) If anyone is interested in the original:

The text of the message I received from HBIGDA Executive Director Bean Robinson, confirming that the membership will *not* be voting on the new Standards of Care, is available at my web site, <http://www.mindspring.com/~alawrence/hbigda.html>. This page also contains my analysis of the likely changes in the Standards, based on the fifth draft, and contact information for HBIGDA officers and board members.

A copy of the fifth draft of the proposed Standards is posted at <http://members.aol.com/tssource/draftsoc.html>; the text comes from a message that originally appeared on the alt.support.srs newsgroup.

Love and Sisterhood, Anne Study on Respectful Language

We (James Green and Dallas Denny) are doing a paper about the use of descriptive terminology in the professional literature of gender identity issues. Basically, we are interested in reforming the literature so it speaks respectfully about transsexual and transgendered persons. To do that, we must determine what transsexual and transgendered people like, and what they don’t like. We are asking community members to give us their opinions of certain terms which have been used in the literature, and some of the terms put forth by the community itself, so we can communicate the community’s opinions to the readers of our paper.

Responses to the following questionnaire can be e-mailed to TSTGMen@aol.com or aegis@gender.org, or sent via mail to AEGIS, P.O. Box 33724, Decatur, GA 30033. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the paper which will eventually come from this, be sure to indicate on your form. Survey of Language Usage

1. Do you want a copy of our final paper (if so, give your name and address or e-mail address. We consider this information personal and will use it only for distribution of the paper.

2. What is your year of birth?

3. What sex were you assigned at birth: Male Female Intersexed

4. What word or words would you preferentially to use to describe yourself (e.g., male, female, transsexual, transgenderist, crossdresser, androgyne, intersexed, new woman, new man, etc.).

5. Which of the following terms do you think best elaborates the description of you that you provided in 4 above:

androgyne crossdresser intersexed transgenderist transsexed transsexual nontransgendered/nontranssexual

6. On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate these terms below which have been used in the psychomedical literature (and/or in the community):

1 = I hate it 2 = I dislike it 3 = I’m so-so about it 4 = I like it 5 = I’m enthusiastic about it (love it)

Note: Some of these terms will of necessity not describe YOU. Please rate all terms 1-5. androgyne bi-gendered crossdresser female transsexual (to refer to someone born female who becomes a man) former transsexual (to refer to someone who has had sex reassignment surgery) FTM gender bender gender blender gender challenged gender dysphoria gender euphoria gender fuck gender gifted gender identity disorder male transsexual (to refer to someone born male who becomes a woman) MTF new woman/new man non-op nonoperative transsexual post-op postoperative transsexual pre-op preoperative transsexual sex change sex reassignment third sex tranny transgender transgenderist transie transman transsexual transsexual man (to refer to an FTM transsexual person) transsexed man (to refer to an FTM person who has completed his transition) transsexual woman (to refer to an MTF transsexual person) transsexed woman (to refer to an MTF person who has completed her transition) transpeople transwoman transvestic fetishist transvestite two-spirit

7. For someone who lives full time as a woman after SRS, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who lives full time as a man after SRS, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who lives full time as a woman without any surgery, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who lives full time as a man without any surgery, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who lives full time as a woman without hormones, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who lives full time as a woman without hormones, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who identifies as woman but has not begun transition, which pronouns should be used? Male Female For someone who identifies as a man but has not begun transition, which pronouns should be used? Male Female Which pronouns should be used to identify a crossdressed male crossdresser? Male Female Which pronouns should be used to identify a crossdressed female crossdresser? Male Female Which pronouns should be used to identify a noncrossdressed male crossdresser? Male Female Which pronouns should be used to identify a noncrossdressed female crossdresser? Male Female

8. How do you regard the use of quotation marks in the following sentences:

1 = I hate it 2 = I dislike it 3 = I’m so-so about it 5 = I like it 6 = I’m enthusiastic about it (love it)

Mary was happy in “her” new role as a woman.

Mario was happy in “his” new role as a man.

“Mary” was happy to take on the role of a woman.

“Mario” was happy to take on the role of a man.

Mary was pleased with her new “vagina.”

Mario enjoyed the appearance of his “penis.”

 

Thank you for participating in this study. <FONT COLOR=”#0f0f0f” BACK=”#fffffe” SIZE=3>

———————– Headers ——————————– Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay01.mail.aol.com (relay01.mail.aol.com [172.31.106.125]) by air12.mail.aol.com (v36.0) with SMTP; Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:28:49 -0500 Received: from brickbat8.mindspring.com (brickbat8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.11]) by relay01.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id KAA22062; Tue, 2 Dec 1997 10:56:51 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-37kbnnr.dialup.mindspring.com [207.69.222.251]) by brickbat8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA22028; Tue, 2 Dec 1997 10:55:04 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199712021555.KAA22028@brickbat8.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:22:13 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 12/2/97

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<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS Internet News 12/22/97 Date: 97-12-22 13:23:29 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegis@gender.org

AEGIS Internet News 12/22/97 AEGIS Internet News is a service of The American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

Thai Trannies Fighting Conscription! Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper. 18th December, 1997. TESTS DEFLATE RECRUITS BANGKOK: The Thai Army, battling falling recruitment due to a rising number of transsexuals showing up on draft day, has developed new techniques to test whether a conscript is faking his sexual preferences, army sources said yesterday. “For conscripts who show up with breast implants we have set up a committee of three doctors who will check the draftes’ reactions to certain stimuli,” said a recruitment officer. The exact nature of the testing was an army secret, the officer said. But he said that “fakers” who have had small breast implants to get out of the army may be posted to secretarial positions.

———————–

From: “Christine Burns” <c_burns@email.msn.com> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Subject: Tehran gets Touchy over Tootsie Clone Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:37:33 -0000

The following news item was contributed by Susan Marshall and is posted to UKPFC News on her behalf.

She writes … ————————

Here’s a rather depressing little item I chanced upon. The interesting thing is that the authorities allowed the film to be released. I wonder what the official view is of TSism. (Incidentally, did everyone see “Ma Vie en Rose”? It’d probably bomb in Isfahan but I loved it!)

TRANSVESTITE FILM DRAWS MILITANT FIRE TEHRAN (Reuters)

A film about an Iranian who resorts to cross-dressing in an effort to emigrate to the United States has come under fire from Islamic militants opposed to the government’s liberal policies permitting the screening.

Residents and newspapers said groups of militants over the past week attacked cinemas showing the Iranian film “Snowman” in several cities, including Isfahan, Shiraz and Rasht. The daily newspaper Salam said a group of militants from the Ansar-e Hizbollah (Supporters of God’s Party) attacked viewers leaving a cinema in Isfahan, including a disabled veteran from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

The violence was the latest in a series of recent incidents across the Islamic republic in which militants attacked cinemas showing the film.

The actions target attempts by the new moderate President Mohammad Khatami to ease censorship and fly in the face of his stated policies to reinforce the rule of law in Iran.

The black comedy, directed by Davoud Mirbaqeri and called “Adam Barfi” in Persian, shows a man disguising himself as a woman with heavy make-up in the hope of marrying an American and emigrating to the country of his dreams.

It has been attacked as immoral by the militants, despite its politically correct ending in which the man falls in love with an Iranian woman and both return to their homeland. The daily Salam said militants in Isfahan tore down posters at the cinema and stopped the screening of “Snowman.”

“Although the film is authorized and is being shown in 22 cities throughout Iran, the attackers threatened to set the cinema on fire so we were forced to stop showing it,” the manager of Qods cinema in Isfahan told Salam.

The film is being shown in 18 cinemas in Tehran alone, where tickets have been sold out for several days in advance.

Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Ataollah Mohajerani authorized the showing of “Snowman,” which his predecessor had banned. Asked about the incident in Isfahan, Mohajerani said police later detained the troublemakers, who had acted illegally, and the cinema had reopened.

He said such incidents were good publicity for the film, Iran’s top box office hit this year. But Salam on Saturday quoted Ayatollah Jalaleddin Taheri, a moderate senior cleric who leads Friday prayers in Isfahan, as criticizing police, intelligence ministry and provincial officials for not putting a stop to instances of militants taking the law into their own hands. In related incidents, the Salam paper said Ansar-e Hizbollah members stormed the Guidance Ministry headquarters in Isfahan on Tuesday, threatening female staff. The office’s director-general had filed a lawsuit against the intruders, it said.

The group also attacked the Sadr theology school in Isfahan the following day, beating up two clerics and damaging the school, the paper said.

“We have identified the members of the group and informed the police”, a security official told Salam.

Ansar-e Hizbollah members have also recently attacked the offices of Salam and Navid magazine in Isfahan, a library at Isfahan university, and the houses of a clergyman and a university lecturer, the daily said.

—————————–

Return-Path: <FTMOLInfo@aol.com> From: FTMOLInfo <FTMOLInfo@aol.com> Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 16:08:08 EST Subject: Legal Guide for FTM’s/MTF’s Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com) In a message dated 12/18/1997 16:04:38, Spencer wrote:

I have just written 2 books, both entitled “Transition and Beyond: A Legal Guide for () Transsexuals”. You might wonder what the () is for and why 2 books. Well, the answer is simple: within the () put either FTM or MTF, depending on which book you’d like to order.

Each book covers a multitude of legal issues as they relates to transsexuals. Included are such things as: Insurance, Marriage, Estate planning, Divorce, Child Custody issues, Name Change, Birth Certificates, Drivers License, Social Security, Workplace issues, Criminal issues and more. The book includes name, birth certificate and driver’s license, change information for all 50 states.

Each also includes a ton of resource information like reading lists, organizations, products, etc. specific to whether you are FTM or MTF.

The cost is $25.00 plus $2 s+h per copy.

Along with your name, address and phone number and the # of books you’d like to order.

Send check or money order to:

Spencer Bergstedt Attorney at Law 1122 E. Pike #1070 Seattle WA 98122 <MstrSpence@aol.com> 206/949-7469 <FONT COLOR=”#0f0f0f” BACK=”#fffffe” SIZE=3>

———————– Headers ——————————– Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay12.mail.aol.com (relay12.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.12]) by air12.mail.aol.com (v37.8) with SMTP; Mon, 22 Dec 1997 13:23:29 -0500 Received: from camel8.mindspring.com (camel8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.58]) by relay12.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id NAA02722; Mon, 22 Dec 1997 13:14:51 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-38lcogs.dialup.mindspring.com [209.86.98.28]) by camel8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id NAA25025; Mon, 22 Dec 1997 13:13:15 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199712221813.NAA25025@camel8.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 13:17:58 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 12/22/97

</PRE></HTML>

<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS Internet News 1/13/98 Date: 98‑01‑13 12:43:14 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegisnews@gender.org

AEGIS Internet News Digest 13 January, 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e‑mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

I would like to call the attention of list members to the publication of two important books. First, Gianna Israel and Donald Tarver’s “Transgender Care: Recommended Guidelines, Practical Information, and Personal Accounts” has been published by Temple University Press, and sells for $39 in hardback. This is a groundbreaking book, as it offers a comprehensive look at treatment of transpersons. It includes information about treatment as it relates to HIV/AIDS, ethnic and minority issues,and guess essays which reflect on various treatment essays. Transgender Care breaks also with the traditional clinical wisdom by discussing transgender alternatives to full sex reassignment. Gianna’s book leaves the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care in the dust.

Gianna is a the vice‑chair of the AEGIS Board of Directors.

I’m also pleased to announce that my edited text, “Current Concepts in Transgender Identity” has just been released. It contains chapters by Barbara Anderson, Anne Bolin, Holly Boswell, George Brown, Vern and Bonnie Bullough, Sandra Cole, Collier Cole and Walter Meyer, Jason Cromwell, Dallas Denny and Ahoova Mischel, Holly Devor, Dave King, Richard Ekins, James Green, Richard Green, Bill Henkin, Ruth Hubbard, Margaret Lamacz, John Money, Ira Pauly, Rosemary Basson and Jerilyn Prior, Stacy Elliott, Carole Rosenfeld and Shirley Emerson, Eugene Schrang,and Rosalyne Blumenstein, Barbara Warren, and Lynn Walker. Current Concepts pays tribute to Richard Green and John Money’s 1969 text “Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment,” and three of the original authors (R. Green, Money, and Pauly) provided chapters!

Current Concepts is published by Garland Publishers. It weighs in at 450 pages, hardback, and sells for $80.

Current Concepts breaks with 40 years of rigid academic thinking about transsexualism by discussing transgender alternatives to sex reassignment, yet includes chapters on counseling, electrolysis hormonal therapy (separate chapters for MTFs and FTMs) and SRS (unfortunately, MTF only, as the author I approached for metadoioplasty and top surgery for FTMS [Laub] did not respond to my queries). Three chapers discuss family and relationships issues.

 

 

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑

(Excerpted from) QUEEREST QUOTES OF 1997

by Rex Wockner

Reprinted with Permission

“I never wear denim but I wasn’t surprised to be asked by Levis to do [a TV] commercial. I’m not surprised by anything that happens in America anymore.”

‑‑Gay author Quentin Crisp, 88, to London’s The Pink Paper, Aug. 8.

<><><>

“The other day she said: ‘I hate your shoes. Are they men’s shoes?’ And I said, ‘Yes, they are and OK, so you hate them.’ A few years ago, I would have been crushed. I’d never be caught dead in the stuff she wears, and it totally doesn’t matter. I’m a butch dyke, I guess. I like men’s clothing. And Mom says, ‘But you’re so pretty.’ And I say: ‘What about k.d. lang? She wears men’s clothing.’ And she says, ‘I know, but you’re so pretty.'”

‑‑Chastity Bono, on Cher, to The New York Times, July 9.

<><><>

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as gay or straight. I think the only thing that exists is sexuality. … To me, a truly evolved person is bisexual, or at least open to the possibility of being bisexual. I don’t consider myself to be liberated because I sleep with men.”

‑‑Singer Boy George to Australia’s Outrage, July issue.

<><><>

“I used to fight with my daddy and my mama about the stuff I wore. I wasn’t doing it to be trashy. I was doing it ’cause I didn’t feel right just being ordinary. It was almost like being gay. It’s a good thing I was born a woman, ’cause I’da damn sure been a drag queen if I hadn’t. I can’t get flamboyant enough.”

‑‑Singer Dolly Parton to Out magazine, July issue.

<><><>

“I love my wife and I’m not gay. I’m married with three children. I’m not going to be out there screwing hookers off the street or anything like that. I’m just being a nice guy. … I was being a good Samaritan. It’s not the first hooker I’ve helped out. I’ve seen hookers on corners … and I’ll pull over … and they’ll go, ‘Oh you’re Eddie Murphy, oh my God,’ and I’ll empty my wallet out to help.”

‑‑Actor Eddie Murphy to Entertainment Tonight May 2 after he was stopped by West Hollywood Police at 4:45 a.m. when he picked up a transsexual prostitute in his car.

<><><>

“[D]espite the yearly fluctuations in his income ‑‑ in 1993, when he played Queen Elizabeth I in Sally Potter’s film ‘Orlando,’ he was flush ‑‑ there is no earthly excuse for the filth here. Lush, degenerate, I’ll‑never‑clean‑my‑room‑again filth. The potato peeler is rusted orange. The towels near the sink are blackened, and a corroded pot on the window sill holds water covered with film. Everything in the small room from the bed to the single chair to the dresser seems cloaked in a soft layer of grime; even the green blanket’s dust balls have gone black.”

‑‑The New York Times describing the one‑room apartment of eccentric gay celebrity Quentin Crisp, June 12.

<><><>

“In fishnet and feathers, he’s a unisex wreck.”

‑‑Fashion critic Mr. Blackwell naming Chicago Bulls transvestite Dennis Rodman last year’s “Worst‑Dressed Woman,” Jan. 14.

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ Excerpted from ============================================= = INTERNATIONAL NEWS #192 ‑ Dec 29, 1997 = = (c) Rex Wockner = ============================================= Used with Permission

‑‑> THAILAND EXEMPTS TRANSSEXUALS FROM DRAFT

Thailand’s military announced Dec. 17 that transsexuals who used to be men will be exempt from the draft because they cause “turmoil” among the troops.

“It is not that we are resorting to discrimination,” said Major General Banjob Jupawang. “Those people really belong in beauty parlors, movie studios or bars.”

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑

Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 20:04:58 ‑0800 (PST) From: gay‑editor@amazon.com To: gay‑editors‑subscribers@amazon.com Subject: I’ll Show You Mine and You Show Me … Oh!

The principal titles reviewed in this Amazon.com Delivers message include:

“PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality” by Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel, editors Publisher: Cleis Press

and

“Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender” by Riki Anne Wilchins Publisher: Firebrand Books

You can find these books and more at http://www.amazon.com/gay‑1‑1998

******

“The Barbie Question”‑‑well, that’s what my friend Sue calls it with a tone in her voice (part dread, part alarm) that usually surfaces only when she is speaking about conflicts in the middle East or dealing with her car mechanic. For baby boomers and others who think about children and sexual politics, “the Barbie question” is ever present. For many parents the curvaceous, leggy, girl‑next‑door sexpot has come to symbolize how children’s toys can reinforce limiting gender stereotypes. Sue is a lesbian mother and Emma (named after, of course, Emma Goldman), her 4‑year‑old daughter, wants her first Barbie. What to do?

It is no surprise that Barbie (modern icon that she is) has become a lightening rod of anxiety over gender. For the past 40 years‑‑since Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique,” woman’s liberation, and the gay rights movement‑‑traditional ideas about gender have radically changed. Sure, at first it seemed fine for men to be sensitive and for women to drive race cars, but now with Madonna strutting her stuff on MTV and the gorgeous RuPaul (who dresses better than Barbie) appealing to the young teen set, we have moved into a postmodern (PoMo) period of gender change. Lawrence Schimel and Carol Queen’s new anthology, “PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality,” is a terrific collection of 15 essays that map out the extent to which ideas about gender and sexuality have changed in the past decade.

Many of the essays in “PoMoSexuals” presume that while the heterosexual roles of “men” and “women” are obviously limiting, the identities of “gay” and “lesbian” are as well, and that maybe all categories dull and inhibit individuals’ sexual energy and capacity. In “Like a Virgin” gay novelist John Weir talks about wanting to experience sex with a woman, but *as a gay man.* Dorothy Allison’s “Her Body, Mine and His” meditates on the endless possibilities of the human body. And in “Identity Sedition and Pornography” sex guru Pat Califia writes about how her experiences as an S&M dyke have forced her to rethink her traditional feminist ideas about sexuality and power. With the excitement and rush of “PoMoSexuals” comes the desire of its contributors to question all rules and to go wherever their nerve and imagination takes them.

If “PoMoSexuals” questions sexual identities and sex roles, Riki Anne Wilchins’s book takes on the very concept of gender. In “Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender,” Wilchins, a male to female transsexual, has gathered together her personal reminiscences, essays, interviews, news‑reporting, and photos to give us a portrait of the transgender activist as a prophet and playmate. All gender, according to Wilchins, is constructed, and we would be better off not without it, but constructing our own. Wilchins is alternately witty and passionate, charming and demanding in her arguments against gender as we know it. But most of all, “Read My Lips” is extraordinarily intelligent: its author has thought more carefully and inventively about gender and sexual issues than most other writers who focus on the topic. Even when you may not agree with her‑‑although there is as much here that will engage as infuriate‑‑she is smart, savvy, and often convincing. “Read My Lips” is critical thinking and social commentary at its best.

So what about Barbie? I suggested to Sue that she buy a Barbie and a G.I. Joe who wore the same size. Or maybe a Barbie with lots of drag‑queen accessories. And what about Ken, who always did look a little queer? You could have “RuPaul Barbie” or “‘La Cage aux Folles’ Barbie,” “Don’t‑Ask‑Don’t‑Tell‑Ken,” or “G.I. Jane‑G.I. Joe.” As in the real world, the possibilities are endless. ‑‑Michael Bronski is the author of “Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility” (South End Press), and “The Pleasure Principle: Culture Backlash and the Struggle for Gay Freedom” is due from St. Martin’s in 1998. His collection “Taking Liberties: Gay Men’s Essays on Politics, Culture & Sex” was awarded the 1997 Lambda Literary Award for best nonfiction anthology.

You’ll find more great gay studies books, articles, excerpts, and interviews in Amazon.com’s Literature & Fiction section at http://www.amazon.com/literature

******

We want to be sure that our Amazon.com Delivers e‑mail message delivers the type and quality of information you want to receive. To reach us just hit “reply” and send us your comments.

******

If you have friends who might enjoy this mailing, please feel free to forward it to them. To become a new Amazon.com Delivers subscriber, or to sign up for additional categories, visit http://www.amazon.com/delivers

******

To unsubscribe from this mailing, send a blank e‑mail message to unsubscribe‑gay@amazon.com Copyright 1998 Amazon.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

<FONT COLOR=”#0f0f0f” BACK=”#fffffe” SIZE=3>

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ Headers ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ Return‑Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay13.mail.aol.com (relay13.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.13]) by air12.mail.aol.com (v37.8) with SMTP; Tue, 13 Jan 1998 12:43:14 ‑0500 Received: from camel8.mindspring.com (camel8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.58]) by relay13.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL‑4.0.0) with ESMTP id MAA21681; Tue, 13 Jan 1998 12:41:23 ‑0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user‑38lcote.dialup.mindspring.com [209.86.99.174]) by camel8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id MAA04121; Tue, 13 Jan 1998 12:38:08 ‑0500 (EST) Message‑Id: <199801131738.MAA04121@camel8.mindspring.com> X‑Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X‑Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime‑Version: 1.0 Content‑Type: text/plain; charset=”us‑ascii” Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 12:28:59 ‑0500 To: aegisnews@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 1/13/98

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Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:52:45 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News (1 of 2)

AEGIS Internet News 16 January, 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org. American Educational Gender Information Service and It’s Time, America! Joint press release– Please Distribute Widely

Contacts: Penni Ashe, Acting Media Director It’s Time, America! penn45@ma.ultranet.com Phone: (508) 626-8522

Dallas Denny, Executive Director AEGIS aegis@gender.org Phone: (770) 939-2128 AEGIS AND ITA Initiate Merger Negotiations

WASHINGTON, DC and ATLANTA, GA

— January 16, 1998 —

The Boards of Directors of two national transgender organizations, the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. (AEGIS) and It’s Time, America! (ITA) are pleased to announce that they have initiated serious discussions in pursuit of a merger of the two groups, with the intention of creating a new organization designed to meet the changing educational and advocacy needs of the transsexual, transgender, and other gende-different communities.

The boards recently approved mission and values statements and are working to develop goals and projects to meet the community’s needs. To better determine these needs, AEGIS and ITA have developed a survey form which solicits input from all interested persons and care providers. The respective boards hope to reach agreement on this merger in the near future, but in the interim, the independent operations of both organizations will continue.

The American Educational Gender Information Service has provided a variety of educational resources for professionals, transsexuals, and other persons since 1990. It’s Time, America! has advocated on behalf of transgendered and other gender-variant persons through state-level chapters since 1994.

-30-

——————————–

16 January, 1998 American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. (AEGIS) It’s Time, America! (ITA)

Questionnaire on Community Building

<Please Distribute Widely>

Please return completed forms via e-mail to community@gender.org or via U.S. mail to AEGIS, P.O. Box 33724, Decatur, GA 30033-0724. In an effort to determine the needs and opinions of transsexual, transgendered, and other gender-different people, we are soliciting your input. We will use the information you provide to help us restructure to better meet your needs. When data are analyzed, we will produce a report which will be disseminated to other community organizations to help them with their planning efforts. The report will also be sent to any community member who requests it.

Our goal is to reassess what transgender and transsexual organizations could and should be. How many should there be? What form should they take? What should they do? What shouldn’t they do? What alliances should they make? What can and should national organizations do to support local organizations? What should local organizations do to support nationals? Where should funding come from? How can transgender and transsexual organizations help you? Would you support them with your time and/or money?

We’re included a number of questions, but it’s important that you feel free to give us your opinions about whatever concerns you.

Part I: Demographics

1. Your name and address or e-mail address (optional) 2. Would you like a copy of the report that will follow? (If so, please fill out #1 so we’ll know where to send it.) 3. How do you self-identify in terms of your gender? (you may be as creative as you wish.) 4. In conventional terms, are you: MTF TS MTF TG Male Crossdresser FTM TS FTM TG Female Crossdresser Other Transgender IntersexNontrans (No gender issue) 4a. Are you a professional (do you provide professional services to the transgender community? Yes No. 4b. If Yes, what services do you provide? 5. Which term best describes you?: Transsexual Transgenderist Crossdresser None of these 6. What is your home state/province (and country if outside the U.S.)? 7. What is your ethnicity/race? 8. In what year were you born?

Part II: Questions about Community Organizations

9. Are you or have you been a member of any local or state-level transgender organization? (Please list) 10. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any local or state-level transcommunity organizations? [Please list and specify your role(s)] 11. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by state or local transcommunity organizations (please be specific): 12. On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with EACH state/local transgender organization you have been in touch with:

1 = Extremely negative 2 = Somewhat negative 3 = So-so 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

13. Please tell us how important state/local transcommunity organizations have been to you in the past:

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

14. How important are state/local transcommunity organizations to you now?

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

15. Are you or have you been a member of any national transgender organization? (Please list) 16. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any national transcommunity organizations? [Please list and specify your role(s)] 17. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by national transcommunity organizations (please be specific): 18. On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with each national transgender organization you have been in touch with:

1 = Extremely negative 2 = Somewhat negative 3 = So-so 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

18a. Please tell us how important state/local transcommunity organizations have been to you in the past:

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

19. How important are state/local transcommunity organizations to you now?

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

20. Have you ever attended a gender convention (e.g., Southern Comfort, Fantasia Fair, FTM Conference of the Americas, Esprit, New Woman Conference, IFGE Coming Together, Tri-Ess Holiday en Femme, S.P.I.C.E., True Spirit, Be-All, California Dreaming, Fall Harvest, Texas “T” Party, Full Circle of Women, Moonlight in Manhattan)? (Please list) 21. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any gender convention? [Please list and specify your role(s)] 22. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by gender conventions (please be specific): 23. On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with each gender convention you have attended:

1 = Extremely negative 2 = Somewhat negative 3 = So-so 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

24. Please tell us how important gender conventions have been to you in the past:

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

25. How important are gender conventions to you now?

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

26. Have you been active on the internet or on a computer bulletin board regarding gender? (Please list how) 27. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in gender telecommunications? [Please list and specify your role(s)] 28. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by telecommunications: 29. On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with gender telecommunications:

0 = Never on line 1 = Extremely negative 2 = Somewhat negative 3 = So-so 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

30. Please tell us how important gender telecommunication has been to you in the past:

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

31. How important are gender telecommunication to you now?

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

32. Please rate the following functions of a hypothetical national transgender organization:

0 = Not important at all 1 = A little bit important 2 = Somewhat important 3 = Important 4 = Very important 5 = Critically important

Public Education Information and referral for transpersons Publishing (Magazine, Newsletters) Publishing (Books) Holding a convention Education on HIV/AIDS and support for Persons Living with AIDS Ending employment discrimination Legal Aid Information about medical issues Inclusion of Youth Inclusion of the Aging Inclusion of Racial and Ethnic Minorities S/O support FTM inclusion Intersex inclusion Working with gay and lesbian organizations Advocacy Political Action Internet activity Telephone information line Telephone crisis line Other Functions (List as many you like)

Part III: Qualitative

33. Please let us know how you feel. You can talk about things we have addressed on this form or anything else you wish. Specifically, we would like feedback to help us better meet your needs. 99. I am interested in supporting this organization. Please contact me. My name and address are as indicated in question No. 1.

#30

Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:51:26 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News (2 of 2)

AEGIS Internet News (2 of 2) 16 January, 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

>From The Washington Post 27 December, 1997

Skeleton in Septic Tank Gives New Life to Probe Wealthy Transvestite Disappeared in 1987

by Terrence Petty Hopkinton, R.I.– On a September morning in the southwestern woods of Rhode Island, as the maples and oaks were changing into their autumn splendor, Green Siner noticed a stench as he walked by the septic tank of his rambling old Victorian home.

Siner shoved aside the heavy cement lid to see if the tank needed to be emptied.

“I looked in,” he said, “and there was a skull staring up at me…”

Siner rushed into the house to tell Gardner Young, who bought the home with Siner a year ago. Young called police.

Police believe the skeleton in the tank is all that remains of Camilla Lyman, the previous owner of the house, who disappeared a decade ago They also believe that Lyman, a transvestite millionaire and breeder of champion spaniels, was murdered.

What else did investigators find when they siphoned the septic tank? And who do they think killed Lyman?

Police, concerned about compromising the investigation, aren’t saying. Nor will they confirm rumors that they found cinder blocks wired to the remains.

Lyman’s disappearance didn’t arouse suspicion at first. In fact, there was no official search of Lyman’s 40 acres until John Scuncio, a retired state police detective, took over as Hopkinton police chief a year ago and re-opened the long dormant case. At the same moment that Siner found the skull in the tank, Scuncio was on another part of the estate, searching for a body.

Lyman, 54 at the time of her disappearance, was the daughter of Arthur T. Lyman, an affluent Bostonian with more than 30 years of public service in Massachusetts, including stints as commissioner of corrections and commissioner of conservation.

According to friends and family members, Lyman’s father doted on her and she deeply felt the loss after he died of lung cancer in 1968. Sometime after that, Lyman’s transformation into a man begin.

The Brahmin heiress attended national dog shows wearing short hair, a mustache she grew with the help of steroids intended for her dogs, bolo ties and herringbone jackets. In her masculine guise, Lyman bore a spooky resemblance to her father.

Lyman bought the Hopkinton house in 1984. When she wasn’t at dog shows, she had little to do with the outside world. She was cranky to her neighbors. A stockade fence at the front of her property kept out the unwanted. She had even grown distant from her own relatives.

“She was cute and perky,” in her youth, says Lyman’s sister, Mary Margaret Goodale of Boston. “She began to withdraw from us (the family) in the 1970s. I don’t know why.”

A small circle of trusted associates living around Hopkinton took care of Lyman’s practical matters, leaving the heiress to devote herself to her 58 dogs.

One of those associates was George O’Neil, a fellow dog breeder from nearby North Kingstown, whom Lyman apparently considered her best man friend. O’Neil cashed Lyman’s checks for her, picked up her mail, had power of attorney over her affairs and was the sole beneficiary in her will, according to testimony at a 1994 probate hearing dealing with Lyman’s estate.

O’Neil didn’t inform police about Lyman’s disappearance, even though he conceded noticing in July 1987 that she was missing, the probate records show. But O’Neil did keep maintaining Lyman’s house and taking care of her dogs.

Police learned of Lyman’s disappearance in December 1988, when her brother filed a missing persons report with the Hopkinton police.

George Weeden, then the local police chief, saw no reason to doubt O’Neil’s contention that Lyman frequently went off for extended periods without telling anyone. So Weeden chose not to dig up Lyman’s property to look for her.

Lyman’s brother and two sisters, however, were alarmed. They thought their sister loved her dogs too much to leave them for months. In August 1988, they hired a private investigator to look for her.

Six years later, after the search proved futile, the three siblings went to probate court to have Camilla Lyman declared legally dead– and to keep an estimated $2 million that had been set aside for her in family trust funds from falling into the wrong hands.

In a settlement with the Lyman family, O’Neil got Camilla’s Hopkinton property, which was sold to Siner and Young last year, but received no part of the family trust funds.

Hopkinton Probate Court Judge Linda Urso declared Lyman legally dead in June 1995. In her written ruling, Urso said that some “disturbing facts surround her absence” and that O’Neil’s testimony during the proceedings was “not wholly credible.”

“The circumstances surrounding Lyman’s disappearance as described Mr. O’Neil are sketchy, and his actions for a long period of time thereafter are unsettling,” Urso wrote, noting that “he continued to run Lyman’s affairs as if nothing had happened.”

Charles John Allen, the Boston private detective hired by Lyman’s siblings, said O’Neil told him early in his investigation that Camilla had gone off to Boston for a sex-change operation. Allen had informants in Europe’s transvestite scene snoop around to see if anyone fitting Lyman’s description had had the operation, but no trace of her was found.

Allen said he wanted to search Lyman’s property but O’Neil wouldn’t let him. Allen probed Lyman’s bank accounts to find out what was happening to interest income from her trust funds that was still being paid out after she disappeared.

“It was sort of troubling,” Allen said. “There were fairly large amounts of money that couldn’t be traced.” Allen would not go into detail, but said he has given his file on the matter to police.

Contacted by telephone, O’Neil refused to talk with the Associated Press. Cranston, R.I. attorney Roberta Regosta, who also helped manage Lyman’s financial affairs, has avoided reporters as well.

The Lyman case has been a frustrating one for Allen, whose firm boasts it has located all of the 8,000 or so people it has been hired to find over the years– all but Camilla Lyman.

———

Dear Dallas Denny:

I’m working on a story on the mysterious death of Camilla Lyman, a dog breeder who disappeared a decade ago and whose skeleton was recently found in a septic tank on what was her property in Rhode Island. I’m hoping you saw the AP story on Lyman, which ran a few days after Christmas (I can fax you a copy if you missed it) and I’m writing to ask if you know anyone who knew her, or might be able to suggest anyone in the Hopkinton, Rhode Island area who might be a good resource. The AP article mentioned the fact that Lyman lived as a man and took hormones, but there was no mention (imagine that!) of her involvement with the ts/tg community.

I would be extremely grateful for any suggestions or leads you could provide, including perhaps any local ts/tg groups that might be on top of the story and able to provide some insight into Lyman’s life and death.

Thanks so much for your help. You can contact me at this <Outmag@aol.com> or by phone at 212-334-9119 ext. 25.

Best, Deb Schwartz Research Editor OUT magazine

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From: “Stephen Whittle” <S.T.Whittle@mmu.ac.uk> To: trans-theory@mailbase.ac.uk Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 14:51:01 +0100 Subject: (Fwd) Congress on Sex and Gender THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON SEX AND GENDER An Inter-Disciplinary Conference trAnsGENDER AGENDA for the end of the millennium ______________________________________________________________ Exeter College, Oxford University, 18th – 20th September 1998 *************************************************** (REGISTRATION FORM FOR CONFERENCE IS 2nd part of this message)

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Louis Gooren, Endocrinologist and head of the Gender Clinic at the Free University Hospital, Amsterdam

The 1998 Congress will be held at the historical Exeter College. Dating from the 14th century, with former scholars including William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and J.R Tolkein, these wonderful buildings, including the Dining Hall, dating from 1618, will provide the settings for this exciting and important inter-disciplinary conference. Social activities will include a Conference Dinner and entertainment and there will be opportunities to explore the university and cathedral city of Oxford and its surroundings in the heart of middle England. The city of Oxford is only 40 minutes from central London.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Medicine, The Arts, Law, Social Sciences, Health Care, History, Cultural Studies, Education, Psychology Papers on any aspect of study of transgender, transsexuality and related aspects of sex and gender are welcomed. Titles and an abstract of maximum 200 words should be sent by the 15th May 1998 to: Dr Stephen Whittle, PFC, BM Network, London WC1N 3XX, Tel: +44 (0) 161 247 6444 Fax: +44 (0) 161 432 8454 email: Cong.papers@pfc.org.uk

FOR BOOKING DETAILS contact: Jan Cobb, PFC BM network, London, WC1N 3XX Tel: +44 (0) 1473 421385 Fax: +44 (0) 1473 421386, email:Cong.book@pfc.org.uk

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Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:14:58 +0100 To: trans-academic@mailbase.ac.uk From: J Davies <j.davies@uclan.ac.uk> Reply-to: J Davies <j.davies@uclan.ac.uk>

Dear Colleagues, Would you please note our following Call for Papers and pass on the details to anyone who might be interested. Joy Davies j.davies@uclan.ac.uk

CALL FOR PAPERS SEXUALITY AND GENDER IN 20TH CENTURY EUROPE 2-3 SEPTEMBER 1998

Since 1945, European politics, economics, society and cultural life has been radically transformed. The growth of feminist theory and the emergence of gay/lesbian studies in the 1960s-70s on the one hand, and the greater interface between the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies in the 1980s-90s on the other, provides scholars with the opportunity to make cross-cultural comparisons on a range of issues relating to sexuality and gender in 20th century Europe. How have these changes, and in particular the collapse of communism in the late 1980s-early 1990s affected sexuality and gender? This conference invites papers on either single countries or of a comparative or thematic nature. Innovative or path-breaking approaches which facilitate a fuller understanding or re-thinking of the past, present and future trends in sexuality and gender in contemporary Europe, East and West, are particulary welcome in ONE of the following areas:

Literary,cutural, historical, sociological and political perspectives on gender issues; theorising sexuality and gender; historicising sexuality; gender and nationality; sexual discrimination; sexual minorities; feminism and the women’s movement; gender and party politics; youth, sexuality and gender; sexual revolution: fact or fiction?; sexual inequality; sexuality and post-modernism; the construction of sexual identity; sexual and gender differences; sex and violence; sexuality and literature; ethnicity and gender; new sexual identities and values; sexuality and citizenship; sexual identity and politics; erotica and pornography; masculinity and femininity; bi-sexuality.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts of up to 500 words is 16 February 1998. Notification of acceptance will be given by the end of March 1998. It is intended to publish a selection of the papers in an edited volume with a major publisher.

Abstracts and informal enquiries in the area of history, politics and sociology should be addressed to Dr. Christopher Williams; or on literature and cultural studies to: Dr Petra Bagley, or Dr. Helen Jones, Department of Languages, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE; email:c.williams2@uclan.ac.uk / p.m.bagley@uclan.ac.uk / h.l.jones@uclan.ac.uk; tel: 01772 – 893927 or 893126; fax: 01772 – 892919 or 892909.

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Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 14:03:20 +0000 Subject: York Conference From: “Michael A. Gilbert” <gilbert@yorku.ca> To: TGC-L <TGC-L@yorku.ca>, trans-academic@mailbase.ac.uk QUEERING THE NATION

What is Queering The Nation? Queering the nation is a national broad-based conference working towards unifying, refocusing and re-energizing our diverse and expansive queer community. The conference’s basic principles are to challenge boundaries, develop strategies, empower, educate, and raise mainstream awareness. The conference takes place June 24 – 27, 1998 @ York University in Toronto.

We are looking for activists, academics, students, trade unionists, artists, seniors, teachers, youth, the unemployed or…whoever.

To present papers, practices, experiences, theories, perceptions, beliefs, ideas, controversies, contradictions, problems/solutions, digressions, representations on…whatever.

In the form of papers, presentations, film, poetry, prose, photos, theatre, dance, essays, workshops, new media, video, music, comedy or…however.

Registration packages will be available in March, 1998. To receive more information or to be added to our mailing list call, write or e-mail us at:

416.736.5658 queer@yorku.ca

Queering the Nation, York University Student Centre Suite 335 4700 Keele Street North York, ON M3J 1P3

Call For Submissions

The York University Student Centre will be hosting a national Queer Conference from June 24 – 27, 1998. “Queering The Nation” will work towards unifying, refocusing and re-energizing our diverse and expansive queer community.

We are looking for activists, academics, students, trade unionists, artists, seniors, teachers, youth, the unemployed or…whoever.

To present papers, practices, experiences, theories, perceptions, beliefs, ideas, controversies, contradictions, problems/solutions, digressions, representations on…whatever.

In the form of papers, presentations, film, poetry, prose, photos, theatre, dance, essays, workshops, new media, video, music, comedy or…however.

submissions are welcome in both english and french deadline for submissions is february 20, 1998 you will be contacted by march 16, 1998 on whether your submission will be included in the conference we will be unable to pay fees or honorariums to any presenters, however, subsidies will be available if you require financial assistance to attend the conference subsidies are limited and forms will be included in the registration packages to be mailed out in march 1998 if you are unable to participate as a presenter and are still interested in attending Queering the Nation registration packages will be available in march 1998

Send Submissions To: Queering the Nation Selection Committee York University Student Centre Suite 335 4700 Keele Street North York, ON M3J 1P3 phone: 416 736 5658 e-mail: queer@yorku.ca

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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 01:55:15 EST Subject: Fellowships and summer study From: JacCromwel <JacCromwel@aol.com> To: trans-academic@mailbase.ac.uk The following announcements were found in Anthropology Newletter, January 1998:

The Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Human Rights invites applications from post-doctoral scholars and advocates conducting innovative interdisciplinary work on intersecting themes of sexuality, gender, health and human rights, in both U.S. and international contexts. With overall program funding for three years, fellowships of varying lengths will be awarded, providing stipends, access to libraries, computer facilities, office space and equipment, as well as health insurance. Contact: Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Human Rights, Div of Sociomedical Studies, Columbia U, School of Public Health, 600 W 168 St, 7th Fl, New York, NY 10032; 212-305-5656; fax 212-305-6832; sms.sph@columbia.edu; http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gender. Deadline is February 15, 1998

 

The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) ia soliciting proposals for projects that deal with particular topics under the general title “Citizenship and Sexualities: Transcultural Constructions.” The Rockerfeller Fellowship program at CLAGS fosters exploration of the relationship between citizenship and sexuality within a broad spectrum of social settings that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people inhabit. Fellows are required to be in residence at CLAGS during the period of the award. Residency Fellowships are open to all academic or independent scholars in any discipline who have shown a genuine commitment to gay/lesbian studies. Applicants need not have an academic or organizational affilitation but must be working on a serious and relevant research project. Unaffiliated scholars and junior faculty are encouraged to apply. Contact: Jill Dolan, CLAGS, Graduate School and U CTR of CUNY, 33 West 42 ST, New York, NY 10036-8099; 212-642-2924; clags@broadway.gc.cuny.edu. Deadline is February 15, 1998.

 

The Universiteit van Amsterdam invites students to join the Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society, Amsterdam, July 12 – August 8, 1998, directed by Gilbert Herdt and Han ten Brummelhuis. The institute offers a four-week summer program for graduate and under-graduate students. All courses are focused on the study of sexuality across cultures and taught by a Dutch/American faculty team. Contact: Department of Anthropology, Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185, 1012 DK Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Summerins@pscw.uva.nl; http://www.pscw.uva.nl/projects/boundary/sumindex.html

<HTML><PRE>Subj: AEGIS Internet News 1/23/98 Date: 98-01-23 13:53:47 EST From: aegis@gender.org (Dallas Denny) To: aegis@gender.org

AEGIS Internet News January 23, 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to aegisnews@gender.org.

1. Kevorkian Present When Transsexual Commits Suicide 2. Test Tube Baby is Half-Boy, Half-Girl 3. “True Hermaprodite” Produed by In-Vitro Fertilization 4. Transten News 5. More Good News 6. Commitment Hour 7. TG-Medical List 8. In Your Face

———————

From Southern Voice January 22, 1998

Reprinted with Permission

Kevorkian Present When Transsexual Commits Suicide

Pontiac, MI– A transsexual woman with AIDS committed suicide in the presence of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his associate on January 18, 1998. Carrie Hunter, 35, of San Francisco suffered from AIDS-related complications, Kevorkian lawyer Michael Schwartz said Sunday night after the body was found at a motel by police. Kevorkian and Dr. Georges Reding, a Kalamazoo psychiatrist who has said he is doing a “fellowship” in assisted suicide with Kevorkian, were present for the woman’s death, Schwartz said. Ms. Hunter, who began her life as a man and had an operation to change her sex, suffered from advanced states of AIDS at the time of her death. Kevorkian, 69, has refused to disclose the number of suicides he has attended. At a December 31 news conference, ht put the number at between 80 and 100. Last year, Kevorkian, Reding and another associate were charged with 19 criminal counts covering 10 deaths. The charges were filed by former Oakland County prosecutor Richard Thompson. All charges were later dropped by Thompson’s successor, David Gorcyca.

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From: “Christine Burns” <c_burns@email.msn.com> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Subject: Test-tube baby is half-boy half-girl Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 19:21:32 -0000

From BBC News Online, Sunday Jan 18th 1998 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_48000/48100.stm)

—————————– Test-tube baby is half-boy half-girl —————————–

Medical researchers in Britain say they have found an unexpected risk in test-tube baby techniques.

They have discovered a case in which two embryos, one male and one female, fused in development to form a single child.

The case, outlined in the New England Journal of Medicine, surfaced when an otherwise healthy child was treated because his left testicle had not descended normally. Unexpected risk in test-tube baby techniques

Surgeons discovered an ovary and a fallopian tube on the left side.

In medical terms the child is known as a chimera, after the Greek monster that was part lion, part goat and part serpent.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland think that the standard practice of implanting more than one embryo in the womb during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) made it possible for the two embryos to fuse.

Chimerism can happen naturally but it is so rare that the researchers think this case suggests that IVF makes it more likely.

The risk of chimerism has risen in recent years because more women are taking fertility drugs which release multiple eggs for fertilisation.

In IVF doctors routinely put back more than one embryo into the womb to improve the chances of a successful pregnancy, which increases the risk of chimerism even further.

————————-

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 14:10:38 -0800 To: “Multiple Recipients of ISNA News” <news@isna.org> From: ISNA News <info@isna.org> Subject: “true hermaphrodite” produced by IVF

The January 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine carries a report of an infant produced by in vitro fertilization who was discovered to have one ovary and one testis. Genetic investigation revealed the child to have two cell lines, one 46 XX (female-typical) and one 46 XY (male-typical). The presence in one individual of cells derived from different conceptuses is called “chimerism,” after the mythical Greek monster. Because IVF implantations have a low success rate, it is common practice to implant multiple conceptuses to increase the likelihood of pregnancy; in this case two conceptuses amalgamated to form a single individual.

The presence of both ovarian and testicular tissue results in the child being labeled a “true hermaphrodite,” a term which gives the false impression that the child is somehow more hermaphroditic than others. In fact, “true hermaphrodites” are likely to have less anatomic ambiguity than individuals labeled “pseudo-hermaphrodite.” As Dr. Alice Dreger discusses in her book, “Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex,” due out from Harvard University Press in April, the distinction between “true” and “pseudo” was introduced by Victorian medical men as a sort of definitional legerdemain with which to dismiss the disturbing tendency of human bodies to contradict their conviction that each body must have a “true sex.”

Neither chimerism nor intersexuality are unusual enough to have warranted publication of a case report in a medical journal, were it not for the circumstance that this birth is the result of IVF.

The freakishness implied by the use of medical labels derived from Greek mythology, however, produces public interest. The case report was presented in a Washington Post article, and the story inspired the DJ of a Boston radio program was inspired to tease his co-host, calling him a hermaphrodite, saying that he engaged in coitus with himself, and comparing intersexuals to worms. Report of Boy With Mixed Anatomy Adds to Scrutiny of In Vitro Fertilization by Rick Weiss Washington Post Thursday, January 15, 1998; Page A04 Available URL http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/15/192l-011598-idx.html Strain, Lisa, John C.S. Dean, Mark P.R. Hamilton, and David T. Bonthron. 1998. A true hermaphrodite chimera resulting from embryo amalgamation after in vitro fertilization. New England Journal of Medicine 338 (3):166-169.

———————

TRANSNEWS from Cibeles, web of Identidad de Genero Number Ten

trans@mundivia.es http://personales mundivia.es/personales/trans/ The European Commission answers about the situation of transsexual people. LONDON, 4TH JANUARY. Mr Moorhouse MEP recently asked a question of the European Parliament, by the initiative of Mr Frank Hannah. This was a written question to the Commission and the Council of Ministers. The Council has not yet given its reply but the Commission’s reply follows.

A question to be asked of (1) the Council of Ministers of the European Parliament. and (2) the Commission. It is a Written Parliamentary Question (Rule 42) This means that it must have a written answer.

SUBJECT: Transsexual citizens in the European Union

TEXT: In the light of the Council of Europe Recommendation 1117 and the great disparity in the legal status and treatment of transsexual European citizens in the various Member States, are there any plans to introduce proposals to improve civil rights for this group of disadvantaged, and discriminated against, citizens? Is the Council /Commission aware of the extent of discrimination in employment, passport rights, rights in prison, rights concerning adoption and marriage and how differences in these are having a detrimental affect on the wellbeing, economic prosperity and happiness of many European Union citizens?

E-3542/97EN Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (5 December 1997)

The Commission is aware of the whole range of serious problems that transsexuals encounter and of their feeling of helplessness in the face of the prejudices against them that still exist in our society. The Commission wishes to inform the Honourable Member that there are no specific provisions in Community law governing the situation of transsexuals. However, the Community Directives adopted on equal treatment for men and women are universally applicable and therefore apply also to transsexuals. This has been confirmed in the case-law of the Court of Justice, which in a recent judgement1 considering that Article 5(1) of Coucil Directive 76/20/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implimentation of the principal of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions2 precludes dismissal of a transsexual for a reason related to a gender reassignment.

1 Judgement of the Court of Justice of 30 April 1996 in Case C-13/94 P. V. S. and Cornwall County Council.

2 OJ L 39 of 14.2.1976

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Return-Path: <DAINNA@aol.com> From: DAINNA@aol.com Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 22:15:54 -0500 (EST) To: PRFrye@aol.com Subject: Fwd: more good news!

Forwarded message: From: mah@stargate.com To: ita-online@stargate.com Date: 98-01-17 14:08:22 EST

I’m happy to say that I got the board of Diversity University (a non-profit MOO which promotes distance learning and education, http://www.du.org) to approve this:

I move that in section 3.1 of the policy guide, we add, at the end of the first paragraph ‘…Civil Rights Acts of 1964 (Title VII) and 1991.’ the following text: ‘DU also guarantees these equal employment opportunities without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or trans-gendered status.’

I hope that wording is ok….

Cheers,

Neal McBurnett

————————

Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 18:10:12 -0800 (PST) From: science-fiction-editor@amazon.com To: science-fiction-editors-subscribers@amazon.com Subject: Amazon.com Delivers Your Science Fiction Predilection

“Commitment Hour” by James Alan Gardner Publication date: April 1998

The idea of a town where kids alternate sex every year just popped into my brain. Then, of course, I had to come up with a science fiction explanation for the whole thing, a cast of characters, a point of crisis, and so on.

The first version of the story was a novella (still unpublished) in which the characters were more or less the same, but simpler. For example, the relationship between the narrator, Fullin, and Cappie, his friend/lover/roommate/conscience, was a one-note affair in the novella. In the novel, the relationship goes through a number of changes even though the whole book takes place within a span of 24 hours.

The setting for the story is the area around Tobermory at the end of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, which forms a good chunk of the eastern shore of Lake Huron. In the summer of 1971, I hiked the Bruce Trail with my high school friends, and the landscape impressed itself strongly on my mind: the trees, the limestone shelves of the escarpment, the marsh around Cypress Lake. I’ve played with a few details in “Commitment Hour”–after all, the story takes place in the future, and it’s reasonable to expect that things such as river courses will have changed–but the pictures in my mind as I wrote were of actual places we hiked through those many years ago. I once tried to write the true story of the days we spent hiking in the area, but the story went nowhere; to do the place justice, I had to turn to fiction.

Find James Alan Gardner’s “Commitment Hour” at http://www.amazon.com/gardner

Copyright 1998 Amazon.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

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From: “Christine Burns” <c_burns@email.msn.com> To: UKPFC-News@mbcomms.net.au (Press for Change News list) Subject: New tg-medical list Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 10:35:48 -0000

Sender: jal@cs.mu.OZ.AU To: UKPFC-News.submit@mbcomms.net.au Subject: New tg-medical list Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 17:19:31 +1100 From: Jane Anna Langley <jal@cs.mu.OZ.AU>

tg-medical is a discussion list that focuses on the medical needs and treatment of transgendered people. The list is to be a meeting place for transgendered people and medical professionals to connect in an informal environment. The intention is to empower and inform all participants to promote the wellbeing of transgendered people.

Trans* people, medical students and professionals are invited to join the list.

For the purposes of this list, `transgendered’ means anyone whose gender identity or expression is at odds to some degree with their original biological sex. This covers transsexuals, transvestites, cross-dressers, drag queens, gender outlaws etc…

tg-medical is hosted at queer.org.au in Sydney, Australia. tg-medical is managed by Jane Anna Langley, owner-tg-medical@queer.org.au

What tg-medical isn’t

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Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 10:16:54 -0500 To: <RIKI@pipeline.com> From: Riki Anne Wilchins <riki@pipeline.com> Subject: InYourFace: 3rd NATIONAL LOBBY DAY ANNOUNCED Sender: owner-iyf-online@asylum.apocalypse.org

MEDIA ADVISORY – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Riki Anne Wilchins (212)645-1753, Riki@Pipeline.COM .. 3rd NATIONAL LOBBY DAY ANNOUNCED .. GLAAD, GENDERPAC RESPOND TO FOX TV SHOW .. CROSSDRESSING SHOW DEBUTS ON FOX .. GENDERPAC ANNUAL REPORT 3rd NATIONAL LOBBY DAY ANNOUNCED ================================

[WASHINGTON, DC – 15 Jan 98] GenderPAC today announced the 3rd National Lobbying Day, to be held in DC from Sunday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 21st. Said Executive Director Riki Wilchins, “This year in addition to the gender community, we are hoping to draw from across the community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other sexual minorities. Issues like employment discrimination, hate crimes, HIV funding and same-sex marriage affect us all.

GenderPAC is a national advocacy group dedicated to pursuing “gender, affectional, and racial equality.” The last two Lobby Days have both drawn over a hundred grassroots activists to Capitol Hill on a variety of issues.

Groups or individuals wanting to sign up or receive information can email LobbyDay@Gpac.Org. The event is free, and starts with an in-service lobbying training on late Sunday afternoon, April 19th.

Dana Priesing, GenderPAC’s Washington, DC advocate, declared “We know from Congressional staff that it is the talk of Capitol Hill when we visit. We have their attention, and we should use it to educate them away from stereotypes. These Lobby Day visits are a very important tool, and we want all of our grassroots supporters and allies to attend if possible. Be there if you can.”

Contacts for National Lobby Day include: GenderPAC: Riki Wilchins (212)645-1753, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force: Betsy Gressler (202)332-6483 etx.3306, It’s Time America: Jessica Xavier (301)949-3822, BiNet USA: Stephanie Berger (510)601-1806, Transgender Officers Protect & Serve (TOPS): Tony Barreto-Neto (813)752-9226, Int’l Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE): Nancy Nangeroni (781)899-2212, Intersex Society of North America: Cheryl Chase (415)575-3885, F-to-M Int’l: Jamison Green (510)658-0474, National Center for Lesbian Rights: Shannon Minter(415)392-6257, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Susan Wright (718)383-3318.

### GLAAD, GENDERPAC RESPOND TO FOX TV SHOW =======================================

[NEW YORK, NY : 11 Jan 98] Following a transphobic portrayal on Fox’s new Ally McBeal show, GLAAD and GenderPAC have sent a joint letter to the station. The show in question drew on a portrayal of a transperson of color who works the streets. McBeal tries to “save” her, but she is drawn back to sex- work and her death.

Said the letter in part: “Instead, it seemed that there was indeed something “sick” about this character who returns to the street and was killed when the john found out “she was a he.” While this is the rationalization used by many who commit violence against transgendered people, it is little more than the “gay panic” defense, where a man having sex with another man justifies his violence against that man by claiming he didn’t know the man was gay, and attacked him in self-defense against the gay come-on.

“Most men who hire transgender sex workers do so because they specifically desire those transpeople. Unfortunately, none of this was explained .[in] the show’s failure to address the larger issues of societal transphobia and reliance on the stereotypical media representation on transgender people as sad, desperate hookers.”

### CROSSDRESSING SHOW DEBUTS ON FOX ================================

[NEW YORK, NY : 8 Jan 98] FOX TV has just added a crossdressing themed show called “Ask Harriet” to its Thursday night line-up.

The show, developed in part by David Cassidy (David Cassidy?) of Partridge Family fame, features news-writer “Jack Cody” who’s been fired from his job, but comes back to work en’ femme as a wildly successful women’s gossip columnist named “Sylvia Coco.”

As a Tootsie knock-off, naturally Jack hates wearing women’s clothes and only tolerates them to get a paycheck. In spite of what might seem rich material, the January 8 opening segment was remarkable for building the entire plot around the now-familiar “joke” of a man wearing a dress. It broke no new ground, and in fact failed to deal directly with crossdressing, sex roles, or gender at all.

### *===========================================* | GenderPAC | | | | Executive Director’s 1997 Annual Report | | | *===========================================* By any measurement, 1997 was an amazing year. We made important progress on nearly every front. Here are last year’s highlights in review. Thanks to all who made it happen.

Riki Wilchins Exective Director 1) Congressional Advocacy & the 2nd National Lobby Day —————————– Lobby Day ’97 again drew almost a 100 grassroots activists to Capitol Hill for 2 days of intensive lobbying. For the first time, congressmembers went on the record on gender-based violence, signing an open letter to Atty. General Janet Reno. Signatories included Representatives Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), Ed Towns (NY), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Ronald Dellums (CA), Caroline Maloney (NY), Mel Watt (NC), Bruce Vento (MN), William Clay (MO), Jerome Nadler (NY), and Barney Frank (MA). Both HRC and NGLTF were pivotal in this effort. 2) Hate Crimes —————————– GenderPAC met with the Policy Development staff of the US Dept. of Justice for the first time, to discuss hate crimes against gender-variant people. That meeting has now generated ongoing discussions with the Atty. General Reno’s staff, about ways to incorporate gender-based bias crimes into federal hate crimes statutes. HRC, NGLTF, BiNet, and TOPS all supported us in this effort. 3) Community-Based Research —————————– 1997 saw the completion of our 1st National Survey on TransViolence. This report formed the centerpiece of our presentations to congressmembers and the Dep’t of Justice. Almost 60% of our 400 respondents reported being the victim of a physical assault, either assault with or without a weapon, or sexual assault. Of the worst incidents reports, over two-thirds involved more than one attacker. These are terrible numbers we’re working to change. 4) N.O.W. —————————– Through the personal intervention of President Patricia Ireland, GenderPAC was invited to address the NOW National Board. After 3 years of patient lobbying, the following National Conference finally approved a resolution on trans-inclusion – unanimously. In addition, they broke ground on a totally new gender issue: Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM). 5) Media Relations —————————– GenderPAC succeeding in placing gender news stories with Newsweek (IGM), the AP Wire Service (parental custody), and the New York Times (IGM), as well as contributing to several stories on national news, including Dateline NBC, PrimeTime Live, Rolling Stone Magazine (IGM), and PBS’s regular gay news magazine “In The Life” (transgender activism).

1997 Staff: Congrsnl Advocacy: Dana Priesing Jessica Xavier InYourFace: Clare Howell Nancy Nangeroni Nat’l Research: Emilia Lombardi Stephen Russell Web Site: Dana Friedman N.O.W. Terri McCorkel Fundraising: Colton Bell Lobby Day: Penni Ashe Legal Advocacy: Chris DeEduoardo Intern: Michael Calfee

-30-

 

 

  <FONT COLOR=”#0f0f0f” BACK=”#fffffe” SIZE=3>

———————– Headers ——————————– Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> Received: from relay24.mail.aol.com (relay24.mail.aol.com [172.31.106.70]) by air13.mail.aol.com (v37.8) with SMTP; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 13:53:47 -0500 Received: from brickbat8.mindspring.com (brickbat8.mindspring.com [207.69.200.11]) by relay24.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id NAA17883; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 13:52:38 -0500 (EST) Received: from MS. (user-37kbu2o.dialup.mindspring.com [207.69.248.88]) by brickbat8.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id NAA11416; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 13:36:45 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199801231836.NAA11416@brickbat8.mindspring.com> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 13:37:13 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 1/23/98

</PRE></HTML>

Return-Path: <aegis@gender.org> X-Sender: aegis@mindspring.com Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 13:44:26 -0500 To: aegis@gender.org From: Dallas Denny <aegis@gender.org> Subject: AEGIS Internet News 1/26/96

AEGIS Internet News

Monday, 26 January, 1998

AEGIS Internet News is a service of aegis@gender.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to <aegisnews@gender.org>. Note: We recently obtained a modem for our Macintosh system and will be periodically sending out this digest from the MAC. If you see any differences in formatting, please let us know. The post that follows this will be from the Mac.

 

Contents:

1. Lady Day (Joey Arias) 2. Pollution Causing Sex Change 3. Misc. Conference Announcements and Calls for Papers

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>From Southern Voice, January 22, 1998

Time Out Lady Day for the Night

by David Goldman

New York performance star Joey Arias, whose homage to jazz diva Billie Holiday has won him international acclaim, returns to Atlanta this week.

Joey Arias has appeared in a half-dozen movies (“To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmarr”, “Wigstock– The Movie”) and HBO’s “Dragtime” documentary, sung backup for David Bowie on “Saturday Night Live,” sashayed on Paris runways for Thierry Mugler, and contributed a monthly column to New York’s Paper magazine for nearly a decade. He’s probably best-known, though, for his remarkable ability to “channel”– Joey dislikes the term impersonate– the physical and vocal presence of jazz great Billie Holiday.

Arias promises he will once again summon forth the electrifying, heartbreaking Lady Day when he performs on Wednesday, January 28, at Nomenclature Museum. On stage, Arias presents a dreamy, haunting Holiday. Far beyond merely memorizing the notes Billie sang, Arias has instead acquired her style of vocal delivery, producing renditions that often differ dramatically from show to show.

Arias was just seven years old when, agitated after watching Elizabeth Taylor in “Cleopatra,” he first explored cross- dressing. It was Andy Warhol, he said, who first heard him essay Holiday at a party and urged him to continue refining his presentation.

Arias’ party trick is now a full-fledged career. He makes weekly club appearances, his short “Strange Fruit” packs in celebrities and earned a glowing write-up in The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town,” and he travels frequently to engagements in Europe and Japan (He’s leaving for Vienna February 4). Once a month, he rings up someone from his daily Paper column “Chitchat” and delights in pelting the famous with nosy, raunchy questions. We attempted to follow his fine example when we recently called Arias at his Manhattan home.

SoVo: Hey, baby, how are you? Arias: Fine, sugar lamb! SoVo: What are you working on? Arias: We’re hitting our third year now at Bar d’O, this tiny cabaret in Manhattan (29 Bedford Street, three shows nightly on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday). We’ve been going to Japan a lot. I’ve started recording. I’m working with Thierry Mugler, the designer, on a joint project. SoVo: Your “Chitchat” interviews are really funny. Do you set a time when people know you’re going to call? Arias: Yeah. I often get people in the morning, about 11 or 12. People are just getting up, and they’re a little spaced-out, so they’ll forget I’m taping it. SoVo: What would you say is the funniest interview you’ve done? Arias: Oh, my God! There are so many wonderful ones. I did Esther Williams, the swim goddess from the ’40s. I asked her, “When you went underwater and your legs opened up, did you pussy ever show?” She said, “Oh, my kitty never showed. I had women who would watch me and take care of that before I even went into the water.” She talked about Johnny Weissmuller, and how frisky he was. SoVo: How do you describe your relationship with Billie Holiday and her music? Arias: I think she’s a role model. She had her feet on the ground, even though people didn’t think she did. She took changes, and she carved the way for a lot of singers. Billie was one of the first people to get out there and express herself as a black woman in a world that was very white and trying to keep women back. When she realized she couldn’t get past that, the drugs overcame her like a tidal wave. It became too much for her, and that’s why she died so young. When I pay homage to the visual of her, I’m trying to paint a silhouette. The tones that come out of my voice are channeling the feeling of what Lady Day was all about. SoVo: Why do you think she resonates with so many gay people? Arias: Her tonality; the feeling in her voice; her recklessness; her straightforward talking SoVo: What’s your favorite Billie song to listen to at home? Arias: “Lover Man.” SoVo: What was your favorite beauty item or fabulous fashion accessory you picked up in 1997? Arias: Any Mugler piece. He sent me a couple of cat suits. I’ll be wearing one of them in my show. SoVo: You used to work at Fiorucci, and you met people like Jackie O and the King of Spain. Madonna’s come to see your show. Arias: Many times. And we still keep in touch. I met her family right before she became who she is. They all come to my show sometimes. SoVo: Since you’ve known so many famous people and been around so much, are you ever going to write a book? Arias: People have been asking me that. I keep saying I’m too young. I need somebody to help me with it. But yes, I would like to write a book. SoVo: I won’t ask you to give away anything you’d want to save for your book. But without telling me what you’d reveal, whom would your hottest stories be about? Arias: I’ve been around a while, and I’ve seen a lot. Who would I really– ooh, Don Johnson, maybe? (giggles). SoVo: What’s it like in New York now? Is it still wide open? Arias: I swear to God, there’s so much going on, you could literally kill yourself in a month of going out. There are so many underground clubs– they’re very decadent. There might not be that many places for queens to perform, but there really is a lot happening if you look for it. You have to keep one eye opened, and one eye closed. SoVo: If you could have sex with any three people from the past, whom would you choose? Arias: Billie Holiday– that’s when I would do my lesbian thing- – Who else? Maybe George Washington. I think he was hot! Those pictures of him riding in that boat! That man was hung! Father of our country, honey! And probably James Dean. SoVo: Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Arias: I sure did. I want to start making films this year. I want to get my record out with Thierry Mugler. I want to be very clear, very straightforward. I want to move my career to another level. And hopefully get some kind of backing to start doing my one-woman show. SoVo: Do you have any resolutions for me? Arias: You should have bigger martinis. And I think you should come out with a book, with all the girls in the drag scene, and what Atlanta has done. It’s a hot town! SoVo: You had to change the time of our appointment today. What was your conflict? Arias: I gotta go get my hair done, and my nails and pedicure. I couldn’t get my appointment for tomorrow. The only time I could get it was today at 11. SoVo: Thanks for your time on the phone. Arias: It’s a pleasure. I can’t wait to get down there. And I want to go to Charlie Brown’s Cabaret’ while I’m there, too.

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This is re-posted from the Press for Change Newslist. Another article on the same subject will follow in the next digest. >From BBC News Online Thursday, January 22, 1998 Published at 07:13 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid%5F49000/49613.stm

—————————- Sci/Tech Pollution causing sex change —————————-

Research has shown that a large proportion of male fish in some British rivers are changing sex through exposure to pollutants.

Chemicals from sewage treatment plants and factories are causing male fish to produce eggs. The chemicals act like the hormone, oestrogen, which is normally produced in the ovaries of female animals.

The Environment Agency and scientists from Brunel University examined 2000 male roach taken from eight rivers.

They found that between 25% and 60% of them had produced eggs in their testes, and in some sites downstream of sewage treatment plants, all male fish had an ‘inter-sex condition’.

Although it was already known that oestrogen in river water could feminise male fish, the researchers said they were surprised by the extent and severity of the effect.

According to the agency it is now clear that effluent from sewage treatment plants does contain substances that change the hormones in fish, although further research is needed to determine exactly which pollutants are responsible for the changes.

Oestrogen-type substances exert a powerful effect at very low concentrations and fears have been raised that small amounts could find their way into domestic water supplies.

Dr Jean Ginsburg, a hormone specialist, said that any possibility of such substances entering the food chain is reason enough to implement tougher standards.

“What we ought to be doing is adopting what is called the precautionary principle,” she said.

“That means [that] when there is sufficient evidence for cause for alarm, we take steps to avoid it.” The Environment Agency says it now wants water companies to investigate ways of removing oestrogen-type substances from effluent.

Jan Pentreath, from the agency, said: “We want the water industry to look at this carefully and see if there is something they can do.

“We want industry to consider ways of phasing [the chemicals] out, finding alternatives, or at the very least minimising the risk of them entering the environment.”

——————— Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 13:18:24 +0100 Subject: Final programme – Gender & New Communications technologi From: “Stephen Whittle” <S.T.Whittle@mmu.ac.uk> To: trans-academic@mailbase.ac.uk

PLEASE REPLY TO informed@leeds.ac.uk

GENDER AND NEW (COMMUNICATIONS) TECHNOLOGIES

A joint seminar hosted by the Institute for Communication Studies and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies

Tuesday 20th January 1998, Venue: University House, University of Leeds Time 10.00 – 4.30pm

PRE-REGISTRATION PERIOD NOW EXTENDED Please send registrations to informed@leeds.ac.uk by 5pm 19th January FINAL PROGRAMME

10.00 Registration

Morning: Chair Sasha Roseneil, University of Leeds (CIGS)

10.30 – Sasha Roseneil – Welcome

10.35 Graeme Gooday, University of Leeds – Historical introduction

10.45 Gill Kirkup, Open University – Women and the new technologies: work and play

11.30 Deborah Trayhurn, Leeds Metropolitan University – Brickies or Bricolage?

12.00 Jenny Tizard, University of the Highlands and Islands – Developing an innovative curriculum for women access students using ICTs

12.30 Discussion

1.00 Lunch

Afternoon: Chair Stephen Lax, University of Leeds(ICS)

2.00 Lynette Hunter, University of Leeds – Situated knowledges of science and situated textualities in computing

2.30 Alison Adam, UMIST- Cyberfeminism: where do we go from here?

3.15 Break

3.45 Nina Wakeford, University of Sheffield and Visiting Professor at University of California, Berkeley – Desire and technology

4.15 Plenary

4.45 Close

Part of the Informed or Forewarned? seminar series (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ics/informed.htm)

Seminar fee stlg5 (stlg3 concession) to include lunch. ————————————————– REGISTRATION FORM: Gender and New Communications Technologies

To register please return form with fee by MONDAY 19th JANUARY

NAME:

ADDRESS: POSTCODE:

DAYTIME TEL NO:

EMAIL ADDRESS:

FEE (CHEQUES PAYABLE TO `UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS’): STLG 5 / 3

PLEASE INDICATE LUNCH REQUIREMENTS:

Omnivore Vegetarian Other (please specify):

Return to: Stephen Lax Institute of Communications Studies University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT

Tel +44 (0)113 233 5817 Fax +44 (0)113 233 5809

email: informed@leeds.ac.uk

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ics/informed.htm

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From: BabTrot <BabTrot@aol.com> Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 21:10:54 EST Subject: “T” Winter Weekend at the Woods

Hi All, This is just to let you know we are planning another informal “T” Winter weekend at the “Woodlands Resort” in Wilkes Barre, PA this coming March 6 and 7. The “Woods” is an upscale cosmopolitan sort of “straight” resort that welcomed us last January. It features an excellent ” New York” class restaurant, dancing to a live band, or a noisy disco if that’s your pleasure, access to skiing, a great view of their mountain stream, indoor swimming pool, health club, and the “biggest indoor jacuzzi in the East”. Bring you bathing suit..I’m bringing my swimming wig! The price of the room is $105 per nite. Meals are extra. If you are interested, please e-mail me..got to keep Carol busy making arrangements

Babs

Also if anyone needs tickets to Night of 1000 Gowns on March 28 , Susan and I are trying to put a couple of tables together!

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Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 16:03:54 -0800 Subject: [fwd] Call for Papers From: Marvin <tomboy@uol.com.br> To: trans-academic@mailbase.ac.uk

“Perspectives on Progress: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Issues”

 

Submissions are sought for inclusion in a volume offering topics that clarify, dignify, and/or politicize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Papers may, for example address any of the following:

* the complexities of everyday living in or out of the closet * mediated representations of various sexual orientations * social relationships with family, friends, and/or colleagues * hate crimes, domestic violence, harassment, and or discrimination * historical accounts of individuals and/or events that have impacted the gay community [and the transgender, I guess] * health, activism, linguistics, religion, and/or education Academic and non-academic submissions will be considered. This publication will be marketed as a supplemental text for Gender Studies, Gay & Lesbian Studies, Womens’ Studies, and other relevant courses. Please submit your paper to:

Linda A.M. Perry, Ph.D. The Department of Communication Studies University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110-2492 (619)260-4058 lperry@acusd.edu

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