Trans News/ Issues

[DapperButch]

Hey, guys, I can vouch for the place below if anyone has an interest. It looks like a great opportunity to get your head in the door with the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health. Who wouldn't want to work with them? They set the tone for all trans health care in the U.S.



The University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) is hiring a transgender patient care navigator. This will be initially a 1 year, 75% time position, located in San Francisco. This is an exciting opportunity to have an impact on how transgender care continues to develop at UCSF. Position requires a bachelor degree and 2 years of some kind of health related experience. Trans people and people of color are encouraged to apply. Please circulate widely and e-mail Madeline.Deutsch@ucsf.edu for the full job description.

[Nadeest]

I am very, very glad that that proposed florida transgender bathroom bill didn't become law. However, I had a thought about it last night. It would be funny as hell, IF that law had passed, and ftms followed that law, and used the women's bathroom, AND when they did so, to leave the seat up afterwards. :P

[LeftWriteFemme]

Obama appoints first transgender White House staff member


http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/18/politics/transgender-white-house-obama-first-staff/index.html

[Kelt]

I missed this one on 6/16, an episode of Charlie Rose The Brain Series: Gender Identity (http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60578677). It's not an infotainment piece, but rather a panel discussion of scientists about the causes and manifestations brain biology on gender identity.

[Kelt]

Today-Obama Defends Health Rights for Transgender Americans (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/09/03/obamacare-expands-rights-for-transgender-patients)

[Liam]

Stitching together Cid's Manhood (http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/10/sitching-together-cids-manhood-inside-the-operating-room-for-a-female-to-male-surgery)

The Guardian interviewed Cid Isbell, about his bottom surgery.

[DapperButch]

I just came across this. Article was written on 9/2/15.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ecbfa49358664333af28407c2069317e/parents-seek-halt-48-year-olds-gender-reassignment

[Gemme]

Marine MTF (http://www.mandatory.com/2015/10/20/this-transgender-us-marines-transformation-is-amazing/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl10%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-568073873)

i6HaVYg6kB4

[Gemme]

US School District Violated Transgender Student's Rights (http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/03/us-school-district-violated-transgender-students-rights/21257994/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl40%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D23269607 5)

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education said Monday that a suburban Chicago school district is violating the rights of a transgender student by refusing to allow her the unrestricted use of a girls' locker room.

Education Department officials and lawyers for the student say the decision was the first of its kind on the issue.

The student, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a federal complaint against Illinois' Palatine Township School District 211, asking for unrestricted access to the locker room. The district had proposed a compromise that would allow access but require the student to change and shower in a separate area.

"All students deserve the opportunity to participate equally in school programs and activities — this is a basic civil right," Education Department Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Township High School District 211 is not following the law because the district continues to deny a female student the right to use the girls' locker room."

Lhamon went on to say the district can provide access to the student while also respecting all students' privacy and encouraged the district to comply with the law and resolve the case.

District 211 has 30 days to change the policy, or risk losing millions in federal funding.

In a statement issued by the ACLU, the student, who hasn't been identified, said she was pleased by the Education Department's decision.

"All students deserve the opportunity to participate equally in school programs and activities - this is a basic civil right."

Education Department Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon

District 211 Superintendent Daniel Cates said in a statement the district does not agree with the department's stance.

The policy the department "seeks to impose on District 211 is a serious overreach with precedent-setting implications," Cates said. "District 211 continues to believe that what we offer is reasonable and honors every student's dignity."

[ProfPacker]

Interesting experience filling out forms for my medical today. I go to this HUGE practice (almost like a little hospital in NJ). They now have a patient portal and you update your files and papers online before going for the physical.

this was new


Birth Id:
Gender Id
Sexuality

also they just added someone to the practice who focus in LGBTQI health concerns. They were limited in their Gender and Birth ID's towards the binary but it is a start. You know I will educate my doc when I see her about the limitations.

[DapperButch]

Interesting experience filling out forms for my medical today. I go to this HUGE practice (almost like a little hospital in NJ). They now have a patient portal and you update your files and papers online before going for the physical.

this was new


Birth Id:
Gender Id
Sexuality

also they just added someone to the practice who focus in LGBTQI health concerns. They were limited in their Gender and Birth ID's towards the binary but it is a start. You know I will educate my doc when I see her about the limitations.

PP,
Was it a drop down menu, or could you write in your own identity?

[DapperButch]

<Gemme's article>

I work with trans teens and adults.

This school year I helped a number of FTM teens and their parents navigate the teens coming out socially at their high schools. So, far, they have not had any problems, even though none of them are currently on hormones. They have been accepted onto male sports teams and have the option to use the male bathrooms.

None of them have chosen the bathroom option, all preferring to use the administrator or nurse bathroom. I am actually glad that they are all comfortable with this option, as I worry that parents will make a ruckus if they knew the teens were using the bathroom of their identified gender, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth.

I would really be concerned if there was a MTF teen in my school district who wanted to use the girl's bathroom. I bet there would be even more push back from parents if a "boy was allowed in the girl's bathroom".

The school district does not have any protocols/policies around trans teens, but they been very supportive.

As a reference point, I live in a mid-atlantic state.

[JDeere]

Houstons' HERO ordinance did not pass the vote this evening. It is a very sad day for not only GLTBQI folks but veterans, disabled veterans, POC and any non white/hetero.

It means that we can be booted from jobs still, not hired for jobs, etc. A long list goes on and on.

Sad part is the voters, either party, was brainwashed by scare tactics using the bible and their own imagination by not know the difference between a transgender person and a pedophile.

[ProfPacker]

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.684144

U.S. Reform Jewish Movement Set to Pass Resolution on Transgender Rights
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.684144

[JDeere]

Thommi Clinton, her response to the HERO ordinance not passing in Houston.




http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j129/NewAddiction29/trans_zpsabjmmyoc.jpg (http://s79.photobucket.com/user/NewAddiction29/media/trans_zpsabjmmyoc.jpg.html)

[*Anya*]

Transgender Day of Remembrance- November 20

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

http://www.glaad.org/tdor

[Cin]

More Transgender People Have Been Killed in 2015 Than Any Other Year on Record

At vigils across the country today, people are honoring the victims of fatal anti-transgender violence as part of an annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. At least 21 transgender people have been killed in the United States already this year, which is more homicides than any other year on record, according to a recent report by Human Rights Campaign. During the first six months of the year alone, more transgender people were killed than in all of 2014. Most of the victims were transgender women of color. So far, none of the attacks have been deemed hate crimes.

On Tuesday, a congressional task force launched in response to the "epidemic of violence against the transgender community." The Transgender Equality Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), who has a transgender granddaughter, aims to understand the causes of anti-transgender violence and identify what the federal government can do to improve the situation.

Activists say it's hard to know exactly how many transgender people are killed every year. One problem, they say, is that police officers often refer to transgender homicide victims with names and pronouns reflecting their gender of birth, rather than their gender identity. (For example, transgender women are often described by police officers as men.) And while the FBI last year began publishing statistics on hate crimes against gender-nonconforming people, the bureau's figures only reflect cases reported to authorities. Some crime-reporting programs at the state level have also opted, for budgetary reasons, not to collect data on hate crimes against transgender people, according to an FBI spokesman. Lauren Smith, a press contact for Honda, the chair of the congressional task force, said the issue of data collection has come up in discussions among task force members, but that the group won't be meeting until shortly after Thanksgiving to hammer out specific agenda items they hope to address.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/11/more-transgender-people-have-been-murdered-2015-any-other-year-record

[Jesse]

I realize this is not news that relates directly to trans people as it stands, yet I am choosing to post it because it is important news that will hopefully improve lower surgeries for trans men in the not too distant future. -Jesse

"Within a year, maybe in just a few months, a young soldier with a horrific injury from a bomb blast in Afghanistan will have an operation that has never been performed in the United States: a penis transplant.
The organ will come from a deceased donor, and the surgeons, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, say they expect it to start working in a matter of months, developing urinary function, sensation and, eventually, the ability to have sex..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/health/penis-transplants-being-planned-to-heal-troops-hidden-wounds.html?_r=1

[DapperButch]

Thanks for posting this. I read this too. I do wonder though if we will start to see organ donors say that they don't want that organ used. I wonder if penises would be a special request item they (the organ people who hawk around waiting for your family member to die) would have to ask a family member for even if the person is a "organ donor".

Anyway, I suspect that a cis man would get a donated penis well before they would give one to a trans man. However, if donating penises become a norm, there may be enough to go around! :D


I realize this is not news that relates directly to trans people as it stands, yet I am choosing to post it because it is important news that will hopefully improve lower surgeries for trans men in the not too distant future. -Jesse

"Within a year, maybe in just a few months, a young soldier with a horrific injury from a bomb blast in Afghanistan will have an operation that has never been performed in the United States: a penis transplant.
The organ will come from a deceased donor, and the surgeons, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, say they expect it to start working in a matter of months, developing urinary function, sensation and, eventually, the ability to have sex..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/health/penis-transplants-being-planned-to-heal-troops-hidden-wounds.html?_r=1

[Angeltoes]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8i9lG1IUAAhC7w.jpg

[Jesse]

Lol! Yeah I don't see donated penises making it our way, at least not for many years to come. I do think it is possible for it to improve the surgery results of trans men in the near future.

The picture you painted of organ people hawking around waiting for a family member to die is comical in a way, but sad because I can envision it happening. :)

Thanks for posting this. I read this too. I do wonder though if we will start to see organ donors say that they don't want that organ used. I wonder if penises would be a special request item they (the organ people who hawk around waiting for your family member to die) would have to ask a family member for even if the person is a "organ donor".

Anyway, I suspect that a cis man would get a donated penis well before they would give one to a trans man. However, if donating penises become a norm, there may be enough to go around! :D

[Gemme]

Food for thought:


Why Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation?


122,318 people are waiting for an organ
22 people will die each day waiting for an organ
1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives


Here's a link for trans donation information: linky (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=122008.0).

[Jesse]

In case, anyone else feels that I was mocking the people whose job it is to talk with families regarding a deceased loved ones organ donation please know that I was not mocking them. I would think if you read what I typed it would be obvious this was not my intent at all. I was merely smiling at the way Dapper worded his post, please lighten up.

[DapperButch]

It's funny that you came in here, Jesse to clarify your intent because I was laying in bed last night thinking that I wanted to come in and say something when I got up this morning.

I have huge respect for those who work with organ donors and their families. I am also an organ donor.

I said the word "hawking" because I knew someone who had a very hard time with a person who she felt was "hawking" her and her family when they were trying to make the decision as to whether or not they should let their loved one go. They felt a lot of pressure that interfered with their own decision making and emotional process of letting go through medical means.

Thanks to the person who wrote me a note suggesting I think about the way my post was worded.

[Gemme]

Caitlyn Jenner (http://mic.com/articles/130297/people-are-speaking-out-against-caitlyn-jenner-s-hypocritical-transphobic-comments?utm_source=AOL&utm_medium=content&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl9%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D-1554603333#.56AlZAvIW) discusses passing and public interpretation of her presentation.

Is she harmful to the Trans community?

[DapperButch]

Hell yeah!

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/12/16/3732840/ex-trans-reparative-therapy-clinic-closing/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/camh-gender-identity-1.3366424

[Liam]

How the Affordable Care Act Helps Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Patients Webinar
Touchpoints: BPHC, HAB, OPAE
On October 14, 2015, ORO San Francisco convened and presented a webinar titled, How the Affordable Care Act Helps Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Patients. This webinar was attended by almost 540 participants and highlighted how the Affordable Care Act has improved access to health care for transgender and gender non-conforming patients, best practices for navigating issues with insurance coverage and challenges that still face the community. The target audience was other HRSA grantees, healthcare providers, public health officials, and community advocates. The webinar has been archived and can be viewed here:

HRSA Webinar (https://hrsaseminar.adobeconnect.com/p2y1aqcckl7/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal)

The Webinar is close to 105 minutes long, but I thought some folks here, might be interested in knowing how the Affordable Care Act can help them.

[*Anya*]

HRSA Webinar (https://hrsaseminar.adobeconnect.com/p2y1aqcckl7/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal)

The Webinar is close to 105 minutes long, but I thought some folks here, might be interested in knowing how the Affordable Care Act can help them.

Thanks Liam. I will watch this and I may be more helpful for my Trans clients by having the information.

[DapperButch]

http://www.jpost.com/International/North-African-men-attempt-to-stone-transgender-women-in-German-city-441695

[Liam]

Anybody who has had, considered, or thought about top surgery should take
this survey. All questions are optional, time to complete is 10-20mins.

Help us gather lots of data! Spread the word by sharing widely.
http://tiny.cc/topsurgerysurvey

[Soon]

Hell yeah!

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/12/16/3732840/ex-trans-reparative-therapy-clinic-closing/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/camh-gender-identity-1.3366424

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/02/how-camh-explained-zuckers-firing-to-its-staff.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/01/23/group-protests-closure-of-youth-gender-identity-clinic-at-camh-director-s-removal_n_9061480.html

From what I read Zucker did, indeed, prescribe puberty blockers if attempts failed to get gender dysphoric children to feel comfortable with their physical bodies. When 60-90% of 'GNC' children grow up to be gay or lesbian, I think some precaution is a good thing before prescribing blockers.

Looking forward to reading this: "An upcoming Science of Us feature story will dive deeply into this controversy and explain, in depth, the views of the clinic’s critics and defenders, as well as what parents of former patients think of the shutdown."

[Gemme]

It would be nice if more public business did this (http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/28/a-kroger-sign-is-going-viral-for-its-defense-of-unisex-bathrooms/21334518/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D482243236 ).

[Greyson]

Obama appoints first transgender White House staff member


http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/18/politics/transgender-white-house-obama-first-staff/index.html

I got a chance to meet Rafi in the Spring of 2015. This was right before her appointment to the Obama administration. We were part of Trans activist group retreat held in South Carolina. She was a delight. A very intelligent young woman born in Central American, adopted by Jewish American parents and a life long New Englander.

I am grateful she is advocating for Trans and other Queer people.

[DapperButch]

Another trans teen suicide. This time it was Blake Brockington, Trans teen activist.


http://www.advocate.com/obituaries/2015/03/24/trans-teen-activist-homecoming-king-dies

[JDeere]

Another trans teen suicide. This time it was Blake Brockington, Trans teen activist.


http://www.advocate.com/obituaries/2015/03/24/trans-teen-activist-homecoming-king-dies

He died in 2015. Its sad nonetheless.

[DapperButch]

He died in 2015. Its sad nonetheless.

Wow. How did I miss that ? I was thinking at the time that I had thought the trans guy who was Homecoming King had already suicided, but then I figured I must be confused with the kid who fought to wear his tux to Prom.

Thanks so much for rectifying this!

[DapperButch]

Happy Transgender Day of Visibility my sisters and brothers!

We have a lot to be proud of. Lets keep pushing forward!

:pirate-steer:

[Gemme]

Federal appeals court rules in favor of trans kids in public schools (http://www.aol.com/article/2016/04/19/appeals-court-rules-on-transgender-bathrooms-in-schools-case/21346932/).



A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that public schools must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity, the first such decision of its kind.

The ruling is a victory for a Virginia high school student, Gavin Grimm, who was born female but identifies as male, has undergone hormone therapy, and has legally changed his name.

School officials were supportive and allowed him to use the boys' restrooms, but the school board later barred the school from making that accommodation.

On Tuesday, by a 2-1 vote, a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed a lower court decision that had been in favor of the school board.

"Tuesday's ruling says quite clearly that forcing transgender students to use the wrong restroom, one that doesn't accord with their gender identity, is sex discrimination," said the ACLU's James Esseks.

[DapperButch]

http://commondreams.org/news/2016/05/13/obama-administration-transgender-students-you-are-safe-you-belong


The Obama administration will tell U.S. public schools on Friday that transgender students must have access to bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

The joint guidance (pdf) from the Departments of Education (DOE) and Justice (DOJ) "sends a clear message to transgender students across the country," said Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division: "Here in America, you are safe, you are protected, and you belong—just as you are."

The document does not lay out any new policy or propose any new law, but "makes clear that both federal agencies treat a student's gender identity as the student's sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX," according to a DOJ statement.


-------------------

Say GOODBYE to having to use the wrong bathrooms or the "nurse's office", kids! Yay!!!!!

I am very much looking forward to passing this along to my adolescent clients' school districts. :cheer:

It is clear to me that Obama is seeing the potential discriminatory writing on the wall for trans people and he is doing all he can before leaving office to protect us. Damn I wish he could stay in office forever!

[Nadeest]

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and tonight I took action.

Currently, the Social Security Department and the State Department will change a person's gender marker with a statement from a doctor, stating that this individual has been, or is being treated to help them transition. However, there is a catch. The form that the doctor has to fill out requires that the doctor provide their pharmacy authorization number. A lot of VA doctors do not have such a thing, as they are only employed by the VA.

Tonight, I wrote President Obama and asked him to correct this flaw, so that veterans whose medical care is through the VA can get their gender marker changed, as well.

Hopefully, he is able to do so.

[*Anya*]

These are probably resources you have already but it was in a peer review article on physician resources for trans clients & patients, so I thought that just in case someone might need it, I would post them:

TABLE 1
Resources for Physicians of Transgendered Patients

Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (http://www.glma.org)

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (http://www.hbigda.org)

Transgender Law and Policy Institute (http://www.transgenderlaw.org)

[*Anya*]

These are probably resources you have already but it was in a peer review article on physician resources for trans clients & patients, so I thought that just in case someone might need it, I would post them:

TABLE 1
Resources for Physicians of Transgendered Patients

Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (http://www.glma.org)

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (http://www.hbigda.org)

Transgender Law and Policy Institute (http://www.transgenderlaw.org)

The link for The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association does not work-sorry.

This link does and includes standards of care.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~colem001/hbigda/hstndrd.htm


The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA) is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders. There are approximately 300 members from around the world from the fields of psychiatry, endocrinology, surgery, psychology, sociology, and counseling. The HBIGDA provides avenues for scientific interchange through its biannual conferences and publications. The HBIGDA is responsible for establishing Standards of Care for the treatment of gender identity disorders. These standards are internationally accepted guidelines which promote the health and welfare of individuals with gender dysphoria.



For Further Information contact: Bean Robinson, Ph.D, Executive Director
c/o The Program in Human Sexuality
1300 South Second Street, Suite 180
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454
USA
Tel: 1-612-625-1500
Fax: 1-612-626-8311

[DapperButch]

Hey, Anya,

Just to let you know, The Harry Benjamin International Gender Association changed names a number of years ago to the World Professional Association for Transgender health.

They are now on their 7th Standards of Care, which came out in 2012.

Here is a link if you have an interest www.wpath.org

I am not sure if you are looking for medical provider resources, but there is some great information here:

http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=protocol-patients

[Soon]

Does anyone want to speak to the issues presented in this article?

The Transgender Bathroom Debate and the Looming Title IX Crisis

Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently stated that North Carolina’s new law regarding transgender people and public restrooms is in violation of federal civil-rights law.

This month, regional battles over the right of transgender people to access public bathrooms were elevated to national legal theatre. First, the Justice Department told North Carolina that its recent law, requiring education boards and public agencies to limit the use of sex-segregated bathrooms to people of the corresponding biological sex, violated federal civil-rights laws. Governor Pat McCrory responded with a lawsuit, asking a court to declare that the state’s law doesn’t violate those federal laws. Meanwhile, in a suit filed on the same day, the Justice Department asked a court to say that it does.

To top it off, on May 13th the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (O.C.R.) and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division issued a Dear Colleague letter announcing to the nation’s schools that, under Title IX—the 1972 law banning sex discrimination by schools that receive federal funding—transgender students must be allowed to use rest rooms that are “consistent with their gender identity.” The threat was clear: schools that failed to comply could lose federal funding. Protests of federal overreach immediately ensued, including from parents citing safety and privacy as reasons for children and teen-agers to share bathrooms and locker rooms only with students of the same biological sex.

In chastising North Carolina, the Justice Department explained that if non-transgender people may use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, then denying transgender people access consistent with their gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. Similarly, the Dear Colleague letter states that the federal government “treats a student’s gender identity as a student’s sex for the purposes of Title IX.” These interpretations of federal anti-discrimination law are new and surprising. It is not at all obvious that the “sex” in sex-discrimination law means not sex but gender, let alone “an internal sense of gender,” as the Letter says. But it is also reasonable to interpret sex-discrimination law to prohibit discrimination against transgender people. Given that single-sex bathrooms have never been seen as constituting sex discrimination, the tricky question is whether limiting them based on biological sex, rather than gender, does indeed discriminate on the basis of sex.

Quite apart from a possible legal right, it is reasonable to think that the appropriate bathrooms for transgender people to use are ones fitting their gender identities. But the parents’ rhetoric of federal overreach on Title IX is not off base. It is of course unexceptional for the federal government to enforce federal law. But, unlike the Education Department’s many regulations, the Dear Colleague letter is not law, because it wasn’t enacted through legal procedures, involving public input, that federal agencies must follow when making law. The Education Department’s rule that schools must provide prompt and equitable grievance procedures to hear complaints of Title IX sex discrimination results from that required process and is legally binding. But the agency chose not to have such a process for its missive on transgender students.

This is a familiar but controversial O.C.R. strategy. Its last Dear Colleague letter about Title IX, in 2011, said that sexual violence is a form of sexual harassment and is therefore sex discrimination. It detailed how colleges and universities must discipline perpetrators and prevent such incidents. It too came with a threat to cut off federal funds, and O.C.R. proceeded to investigate hundreds of schools for noncompliance. (O.C.R. found Harvard Law School, where I teach, in violation of certain terms of the Dear Colleague letter. I have been critical of the federal pressure on schools to adopt policies and procedures that deny fairness to accused students in the name of Title IX compliance.) Several lawsuits claiming that O.C.R. unlawfully promulgated and enforced the contents of its Dear Colleague letter on sexual violence are currently pending in the federal courts.

Whether or not the federal government acted unlawfully, it has now set in motion a potential Title IX collision course between its directives on sexual violence and on bathrooms. Schools attempting to comply with the federal bathroom policy have at least two possible ways of doing so: allow students to use sex-segregated bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity, or move away from sex segregation of such facilities. The latter, gender-inclusive arrangement, which was in place in my college dormitory more than twenty years ago, is not uncommon on campuses, and a social movement to desegregate at least some portion of bathrooms is growing. Some colleges have made every bathroom on campus open to any gender, and this solution could well become a practical choice at K-12 public schools.

But there is also a growing sense that some females will not feel safe sharing bathrooms, shower rooms, or locker rooms with males. And if a female student claimed that a bathroom or locker room that her school had her share with male students caused her to feel sexually vulnerable and created a hostile environment, the complaint would be difficult to dismiss, particularly since the federal government has interpreted Title IX broadly and said that schools must try to prevent a hostile environment. This is not wholly hypothetical. Brandeis University found a male student responsible for sexual misconduct for looking at his boyfriend’s genitals while both were using a communal school shower. The disciplined student then sued the school for denying him basic fairness in its disciplinary process, and a federal court recently refused to dismiss the suit.

Continuing to have segregated bathrooms could also put schools in a bind on Title IX compliance. According to the federal government, a transgender girl who is told to use the boys’ locker room, or even a separate and private stall, instead of the girls’ facility, has a claim that the school is violating Title IX. A non-transgender girl who’s told she must share a locker room with boys may also have a claim that the school is violating Title IX. But would she not have a similar claim about having to share with students who identify as girls but are biologically male? Well, not if her discomfort and “emotional strain” should be disregarded. But this week, in a letter, dozens of members of Congress asked the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education to explain why they should be disregarded. The federal government is putting schools in a position where they may be sued whichever route they choose. (Catherine Lhamon, the assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, declined to comment on this issue.)

The debate around which bathrooms transgender people should use has given rise to deeper questioning of why we even have a norm of gender segregation for bathrooms in the first place. But a push to make those spaces open to all genders comes up uneasily against feelings of female sexual vulnerability and their effect on an equal education or workplace. To make things more complicated, the risk of sexual assault and harassment of transgender females in male bathrooms is a salient reason for providing access to bathrooms according to gender identity, while many worry about transgender males being sexually bullied in male bathrooms.

The common denominator in all of these scenarios is fear of attacks and harassment carried out by males—not fear of transgender people. The discomfort that some people, some sexual-assault survivors, in particular, feel at the idea of being in rest rooms with people with male sex organs, whatever their gender, is not easy to brush aside as bigotry. But having, in the past several years, directed the public toward heightened anxiety about campus sexual assault, the federal government now says that to carry that discomfort into bathrooms is illegitimate because it is discrimination. The sense that the Education Department has not looked down the road to consider the conflict is only confirmed by its penchant for announcing bold and controversial rules in letters, rather than through lawful processes.

[Kelt]

Interesting link (http://www.refinery29.com/2015/03/83531/transgender-rights-by-state) comparing trans rights by state.

Seems this last move took me from "Very good" to "Unacceptable" :blink:

[Jess]

These are probably resources you have already but it was in a peer review article on physician resources for trans clients & patients, so I thought that just in case someone might need it, I would post them:

TABLE 1
Resources for Physicians of Transgendered Patients

Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (http://www.glma.org)

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (http://www.hbigda.org)

Transgender Law and Policy Institute (http://www.transgenderlaw.org)


thanks!

In the D/FW area (and soon to have chapters in OK), a great and thoughtful support group.

http://www.dfwtranscendence.com/

For health resources in D/FW

http://www.rcdallas.org/

[Nadeest]

Simple solution , but VERY complex implementation: Quit perpetrating 'rape culture', and teach men and boys not to rape, and that NO means NO.

[dreadgeek]

The link is a guest post I wrote for the Basic Rights Oregon web site:

http://www.basicrights.org/news/my-employer-has-empowered-me-to-be-who-i-am/

Please feel free to spread around so that folks will know that things *do* go right--even for us black transwomen.

Cheers
AJ

[Nadeest]

The VA is proposing lifting the ban on transgender surgeries. :) Finally, I have some hope! :)
http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/6/02/va-proposes-lifting-ban-gender-confirmation-surgery

[*Anya*]

Transgender-Care Exclusion Case Faces Trial

By ADAM KLASFELD

MANHATTAN (CN) — With New York's longstanding transgender-care exclusions declared illegal, the Empire State must now stand trial over what treatments currently labeled cosmetic or banned for minors qualify for Medicaid, a federal judge ruled.

Former Gov. George Pataki's ban on Medicaid payments for transgender care had been on the books for 16 years before Bronx resident Angie Cruz led a class-action lawsuit opposing the policy in 2014.

The following year, the state's Department of Health lifted the prohibition but stopped short of the full spectrum of coverage. The reformed regulations denied payments for facial feminization surgery, breast augmentation, tracheal shaving and other treatments that the state considered cosmetic.

The state also refused Medicaid coverage for transgender care administered to people under the age of 18, such as pubertal suppressants, commonly known as puberty blockers.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff found that the blanket ban on "cosmetic" treatment violated the Medicaid Act, which requires the state to provide "medically necessary care."

Cruz's lawyers celebrated the ruling in a conference call on Thursday evening.

Kimberly Forte, a supervising attorney with The Legal Aid Society's LGBT Law and Policy Initiative, said that the clients she contacted have been "thrilled" with the judge's decision.

"It's very unclear as to when the regulation will actually be changed and the new regulation will go into effect," Forte said.

A date has not been set for a trial to determine whether treatments like puberty blockers quality for coverage.

On the road to trial, Cruz's lawyers presented testimony by such expert physicians as Johanna Olson from the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and Nicholas Gorton from Kings County Hospital in New York.

Mary Eaton, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, said that the city had "no medical experts, no experts at all."

Judge Rakoff's opinion confirms that this is not an exaggeration, blasting the state for submitting "inadmissible hearsay" and concluding that its sole expert "did not opine on the efficacy of treatments for individuals with gender dysphoria."

Eaton added in a statement that the ruling demonstrates "Albany turned a deaf ear to the chorus of medical experts" on transgender treatment for 16 years.

For Mik Kinkead, an attorney with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, or SRLP, the development marks a victory "not only for the transgender community but also all low-income New Yorkers" to keep the state from determinations of medically necessary care.

Founded in 2002, SRLP takes its name from the late transgender activist Sylvia Rivera, one of the central figures of the Stonewall Inn uprising that launched the modern LGBT liberation movement.

The organization has been fighting Pataki's regulation from its earliest days, and Kinkead said of its namesake: "I think she would be very excited, especially for young people, because she advocated for young people."

The Department of Health said it is reviewing the judge's decision.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/07/07/transgender-care-exclusion-case-faces-trial.htm

[DapperButch]

I feel so bad for LGBTQ people who live in republican controlled states.

I think about how while we are supposed to be ONE NATION, literally lines in the sand determines LGBTQ people's equality and freedoms.

This little 5 year old girl isn't free or equal enough to use the bathroom that her heart and head tells her she should use. I hope the bathroom she is forced to use is a safe place for her.

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/08/texas-school-rules-transgender-girl-will-use-boys-bathroom/?utm_content=bufferc16b1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer#.V64X8y-U2Ds.facebook

[Jesse]

Rae Lynn is the 19th KNOWN trans person, (many of them young black transwomen) to be murdered this year! Such a tragic loss!

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/12/ohio-trans-woman-raelynn-thomas-murdered-mothers-ex-boyfriend

[DapperButch]

Rae Lynn is the 19th KNOWN trans person, (many of them young black transwomen) to be murdered this year! Such a tragic loss!

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/12/ohio-trans-woman-raelynn-thomas-murdered-mothers-ex-boyfriend


"Known". Exactly.

[*Anya*]

August 22, 2016 The Associated Press

Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked an Obama administration directive on bathroom rights for transgender students in U.S. public schools.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth issued the preliminary injunction Sunday.

Texas and 12 other states asked O'Connor to halt the directive after the federal government told U.S. public schools in May that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity.

That announcement came days after the Justice Department sued North Carolina over a state law that requires people to use public bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had likened that law to policies of racial segregation.

Republicans have argued such laws are commonsense privacy safeguards.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[DapperButch]

August 22, 2016 The Associated Press

Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked an Obama administration directive on bathroom rights for transgender students in U.S. public schools.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth issued the preliminary injunction Sunday.

Texas and 12 other states asked O'Connor to halt the directive after the federal government told U.S. public schools in May that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity.

That announcement came days after the Justice Department sued North Carolina over a state law that requires people to use public bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had likened that law to policies of racial segregation.

Republicans have argued such laws are commonsense privacy safeguards.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Hopefully, Obama will remove the Texas's federal funding. Texas didn't want federal money to help expand Medicaid when the federal government was going to pick up 90% (95%?), of the cost for them. Nor did they do what was needed to get their citizens good priced health plans with the marketplace. I guess they don't care about the education of their students, just like they don't care about the health of their poor.

They certainly aren't stopping trans men, it is masculine looking females that get the harassment. Their expectation is that FTMs would look like masculine females or as "inbetween" genders. They would never expect that the guy with the full beard who uses the men's room is the one that has a birth certificate that says female on it.

Idiots.

[BullDog]

Hopefully, Obama will remove the Texas's federal funding. Texas didn't want federal money to help expand Medicaid when the federal government was going to pick up 90% (95%?), of the cost for them. Nor did they do what was needed to get their citizens good priced health plans with the marketplace. I guess they don't care about the education of their students, just like they don't care about the health of their poor.

They certainly aren't stopping trans men, it is masculine looking females that get the harassment. Their expectation is that FTMs would look like masculine females or as "inbetween" genders. They would never expect that the guy with the full beard who uses the men's room is the one that has a birth certificate that says female on it.

Idiots.

Yes, that is what is so stupid. Of course it's highly discriminatory, but there is no way it could be enforced.

[dreadgeek]

I was published at Huffington Post! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrienne-kincaid/post_12733_b_11258546.html

[DapperButch]

When I read these articles I always feel this desire to invite every trans Texan to move into my home....

I am so blessed to live in in a democrat heavy/liberal state.

http://www.houstonpress.com/news/texas-seeks-to-allow-doctors-right-to-refuse-treating-transgender-patients-8696654?utm_content=buffer6b33d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Lyte]

Yeah... Texas blows in this area. :(

[JDeere]

Yeah Texas is pretty bad but why cut federal funding, if they do it affects me and some of my friends, to me that's not cool!

Then again I have differing opinions on issues.

[DapperButch]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/11/entertainment/alexis-arquette-obit/

Very sad.

[theoddz]

OOOOOOOOO RAHH!!!!! :cheer:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/19/politics/transgender-military-policy/index.html

I never thought I'd ever see this in my lifetime. :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[DapperButch]

OOOOOOOOO RAHH!!!!! :cheer:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/19/politics/transgender-military-policy/index.html

I never thought I'd ever see this in my lifetime. :winky:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

This is excellent! Is this the first person to come out as trans and indicates his intent to physically transition? Or is this just the first in the Marine corp?

If so, I am VERY glad there is someone who began this process prior to Donald Trump coming into office because it would be harder for him to "undo" the federal order I would think (if he could?), since it is not like he will be able to "prove" that it has been disruptive to the military.

I do know that there are some FTMs already, who have been on hormones and such. There was that one guy, Army, who when overseas lived as male. When he returned (>6months ago?, his command allowed him to continue to live as male).

I really appreciate this post, as I have been worried about this specific issue. Cis women being allowed in the Army infantry has already gone into effect, right? I think it was supposed to occur this past June and I may have read that 3 women have already moved into those positions...or were in the process and 1 made it in...or something like that?

[theoddz]

This is excellent! Is this the first person to come out as trans and indicates his intent to physically transition? Or is this just the first in the Marine corp?

If so, I am VERY glad there is someone who began this process prior to Donald Trump coming into office because it would be harder for him to "undo" the federal order I would think (if he could?), since it is not like he will be able to "prove" that it has been disruptive to the military.

I do know that there are some FTMs already, who have been on hormones and such. There was that one guy, Army, who when overseas lived as male. When he returned (>6months ago?, his command allowed him to continue to live as male).

I really appreciate this post, as I have been worried about this specific issue. Cis women being allowed in the Army infantry has already gone into effect, right? I think it was supposed to occur this past June and I may have read that 3 women have already moved into those positions...or were in the process and 1 made it in...or something like that?

Dapper, Aaron's facebook page states that there are "over 15,000 transgender troops serving in the US Military.", so he's apparently not unique in his transition while on active duty. Of course, we don't know if the other 15,000 are actively transitioning and/or identifying as "transgender".

As far as the status of women serving in the Infantry, you might find more current information regarding that here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_combat).

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[DapperButch]

Dapper, Aaron's facebook page states that there are "over 15,000 transgender troops serving in the US Military.", so he's apparently not unique in his transition while on active duty. Of course, we don't know if the other 15,000 are actively transitioning and/or identifying as "transgender".

As far as the status of women serving in the Infantry, you might find more current information regarding that here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_combat).

~Theo~ :bouquet:

Hey, Theo. Yes, I know that trans people have been serving forever in the military, I was just wondering if to your knowledge if this was the first marine to take advantage of the new policy of coming out while living in your birth sex and then transitioning within the military system, or just the first person in the military

But, I see that I misread the article and he is not even the first FTM marine to transition with the military's help. I hadn't heard of any military personnel yet taking advantage of the new policy, so that is why I was asking. Even though I have never been in the military, I have been excitedly waiting to hear about the first trans person coming out and then medically transitioning under the new policy. This is the first I have heard that it has happened.

Thank you for the link. It answered my questions. <thumbs up>

[Kelt]

How the heck did I miss this last June? :blink:

Oregon court rules that ‘nonbinary’ is a legal gender (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/oregon-court-rules-that-nonbinary-is-a-legal-gender/)

[*Anya*]

Dec. 8, 2016 11:38 AM ET

Major survey of transgender Americans finds pervasive bias

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The largest-ever survey of transgender Americans paints a grim picture of pervasive discrimination and harassment, to the point that many of them attempt suicide at some point.

Released on Thursday by the National Center for Transgender Equality, the survey assesses input received in 2015 from 27,715 respondents from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. The largest previous transgender survey, conducted by the center and a partner organization in 2008-09, had 6,450 responses.

There have been some important gains for transgender rights in the years between the two surveys, but the new survey showed little or no improvement in terms of transgender people's day-to-day experiences with bias.

One finding remained virtually unchanged from the earlier survey: 40 percent of the respondents said they had attempted suicide at some point. Researchers have estimated that the overall attempted suicide rate in the U.S. is less than 5 percent.

Another notable finding: 59 percent of survey respondents said they avoided using a public restroom in the past year because they were afraid of confrontations or other problems. About one-third said they limited the amount that they ate and drank to avoid using a restroom.

"Discrimination and violence threaten transgender people's ability to have even the basics: food, a place to sleep, or a job," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the national center. "This survey demonstrates that there is a lot of work ahead to achieve simple parity and full equality for transgender people."
According to a recent estimate by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, there are about 1.4 million transgender adults in the United States.
In the year prior to completing the survey, 46 percent of the respondents reported being verbally harassed and 9 percent said they were physically attacked because of being transgender. Forty-seven percent said they had been sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime.

The abuse can start before adulthood. Of the respondents who were out or perceived as transgender while in school, 24 percent said they were physically attacked because they were transgender and 13 percent said they were sexually assaulted. Seventeen percent said they left school because of severe mistreatment.

The survey found significant economic disparities, with 29 percent of respondents saying they lived in poverty — roughly double the percent of the overall U.S. population. The unemployment rate among the respondents was 15 percent, three times higher than the national rate at the time of survey was conducted. Only 16 percent of the respondents said they owned their own home, compared to 63 percent of adults nationally. And 30 percent of the respondents said they had experienced homelessness at some point.

According to the survey, problems of discrimination were particularly high for transgender people of color, those with disabilities, and those living in the U.S. without legal documentation.

More than one-third of the survey respondents identified themselves as "non-binary" — a term used to describe people whose gender identity is not exclusively male or female.

Karen Parker, director of the Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office at the National Institutes of Health, hailed the survey as "an unprecedented and comprehensive insight into the experiences of transgender people."

In an email, she also said the survey's detailed findings on health care could potentially help ease the barriers that sometimes deter transgender people from obtaining appropriate care. Nearly one-quarter of the respondents to the survey said they did not see a doctor when they needed to because of fear of being mistreated.

The report's release comes at a time of uncertainty for transgender Americans. President Barack Obama's administration has taken many steps to expand transgender rights — including some workplace protections and a directive advising public schools to let transgender students use restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity. Transgender activists fear that some of those initiatives might be slowed or reversed after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

They also are concerned by possible developments at the state level — such as a proposed bill in Texas that would limit transgender people's bathroom access. The Texas proposal is similar to legislation enacted in North Carolina in March that triggered an extensive economic and political backlash.
___

Associated Press
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2016-12-08-US--Transgender%20Survey/id-b1965fc37aad4dd3a05f88b5104479b7

[Jesse]

Ah, thanks for the reminder Anya! :)

Here is the link to the 2015 US Transgender Survey Complete Report & the Executive Summary that was just recently released.

I meant to post this the other day when I received it in my email box but life got in the way.

http://www.ustranssurvey.org/report

Also, here is the live video:

P7enwOuHQrM

[*Anya*]

Inside the Landmark, Long Overdue Study on Chest Binding

by Zing Tsjeng

SEP 28 2016

Chest binding is an everyday reality for many transgender and non-binary people, but healthcare professionals know little about the practice. The first ever medical study on the practice says that it's time to change that.

"I remember the first time I put on a binder," recalls Naomhan, a non-binary trans activist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. "An ex-boyfriend gave me his old binder and after I put it on, I remember looking down at my chest and then into the mirror, feeling euphoria at how happy it made me feel."

Chest binding is a fact of life for many people, including trans men, some gay women, intersex people, and gender non-conforming individuals like Naomhan. Flattening the appearance of one's breasts—whether that's through Ace bandages, compression undergarments, layered T-shirts, sports bras, or commercial binders—doesn't just make it easier to pass in public as the correct gender or wear masculine clothes. For many, it's a matter of psychological well-being.

"I couldn't take my binder off except to sleep," Naomhan says. "It would be the first thing I put on when I woke up in the morning, and I would feel dysphoric even sitting at home without my binder on."

Outside of the queer community, chest binding remains a relatively unknown phenomenon. It is more commonly discussed by trans vloggers (the search term "my first binder" brings up about 114,000 results on YouTube) than it is by healthcare professionals. But new research conducted by The Binding Health Project and published in Culture, Health, and Society—which they say is the first study on chest binding published in a medical journal—shows that a discussion on how to help people bind safely and effectively is long overdue.

A qualitative report from the five-person strong research project goes into more detail about the benefits of binding for those they surveyed: "Based on our preliminary analysis, for most participants, binding was a positive experience and led to improvements in mood and self-esteem, minimized gender dysphoria, anxiety, and depression, and helped them to feel in control of their bodies," a report they published on the study reads.

"In fact, some reported that a positive impact on emotional and behavioral health makes the physical discomfort of binding worth it.""Binding is a part of daily life for many, but it can have negative impacts on your physical health—ranging from minor to severe—across a wide range of symptoms, from pain in different parts of your body, to shortness of breath, to bruising or other skin changes," explains researcher Sarah Peitzmeier. She is a member of the Binding Health Project, which hopes to "expand and contribute new information on the physical and mental health effects of chest binding." It comprises of Boston University medical students and graduates, as well as a PhD student at in public health at John Hopkins.

The researchers hope that the study will provide an initial roadmap for change, educating physicians on the benefits and impacts of binding and allowing those who bind to take charge of their health. They scoured peer-reviewed literature and information from health clinics, LGBTQ organizations, and online community resources, coming up with 28 potential health outcomes from binding. 1,800 respondents answered an online survey with questions ranging from how often they bound, what they used to bind their chests with, and their gender identity.

According to the study, binding was a "daily occurrence" for its participants. Just over half of respondents bound their chests seven days a week, with people binding for an average of ten hours a day.



https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/chest-binding-health-project-inside-landmark-overdue-transgender-study

[Gemme]

National Geographic gender documentary, hosted by Katie Couric, airs on February 6th.

I've heard great feedback from it so far.

Linky loo (http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/national-geographic-explores-gender-through-new-issue-documentary-n695966)!

[gotoseagrl]

This reminded me of a really good one I saw recently which focuses on the younger generation. Not sure if it's already been listed, but free to watch:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/growing-up-trans/


National Geographic gender documentary, hosted by Katie Couric, airs on February 6th.

I've heard great feedback from it so far.

Linky loo (http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/national-geographic-explores-gender-through-new-issue-documentary-n695966)!

[DapperButch]

National Geographic gender documentary, hosted by Katie Couric, airs on February 6th.

I've heard great feedback from it so far.

Linky loo (http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/national-geographic-explores-gender-through-new-issue-documentary-n695966)!

Lets hope she doesn't ask anyone what is in their pants this time. :seeingstars:

I did hear positive things about it.

[DapperButch]

This reminded me of a really good one I saw recently which focuses on the younger generation. Not sure if it's already been listed, but free to watch:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/growing-up-trans/

I agree this is a good video. I used a clip of it when talking with some medical residents end of last year.

[homoe]

[QUOTE=Gemme;1124489][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="YellowGreen"]National Geographic gender documentary, hosted by Katie Couric, airs on February 6th.

I've heard great feedback from it so far.

I just wish it were ANYONE else rather than Couric! There is just this gut feeling I get from her and not in a good way:|

[Gemme]

Lets hope she doesn't ask anyone what is in their pants this time. :seeingstars:

I did hear positive things about it.



I just wish it were ANYONE else rather than Couric! There is just this gut feeling I get from her and not in a good way:|

I didn't see the one Dapper referenced but I did see her talk about it on Ellen and some clips and she was very careful about the terminology she used.

She seemed respectful to me, but again, I didn't see the one that referenced what's in someone's pants.

[Kelt]

So the last couple of days I've been immersed in watching the panel discussions at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland (What? Doesn't everyone?) and came across this, the last place I would have thought;

nY5KcPU4iCg

It is hosted by the National Geographic coinciding with the release of this months issue that the NG Gender show is apparently derived from. There is interesting discussion also about binary/non-binary millennial perceptions and the idea of a post-identity world that I found interesting too.

[*Anya*]

Transgender Americans Race To Finish Paperwork Before Trump Administration

December 17, 2016

Jeff Brady/NPR

Many transgender people in the U.S. are rushing to change their designated gender on government documents before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They worry the next administration may take that ability away.

There's no indication so far that this is a priority for Trump. Mara Keisling with the National Center for Transgender Equality says Trump's positions on trans issues are not clear. But she's concerned about people he's nominated for key positions in his administration.

"Virtually every — if not every — appointment he has announced so far has been an extremely anti-LGBT person," says Keisling. She says trans advocacy groups around the country have been fielding calls from concerned people ever since the election. And they are not alone.

"The calls to our office have increased a lot," says Benjamin Jerner, managing partner of the Philadelphia law firm Jerner & Palmer, which specializes in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal issues.

States control many government documents, such as birth certificates and driver's licenses, Jerner reassures his clients. A new president won't affect those.

Of more concern, he says, are gender designations on federal documents such as passports, immigration papers and Social Security accounts.

Jerner says passports are the biggest concern because State Department rulescould be changed relatively easily under a new administration.

Deciding whether to change gender designations on documents can be an especially tricky question for parents of transgender children. Jerner recently held a legal clinic for such parents in Philadelphia and says 18 families showed up.

"I think that just tells you the level of fear and anxiety that's out there," he says.

Among those attending were the parents of 10-year-old Dylan, who was born a boy but — with her parents' encouragement — has long hair, wears pink and lives as a girl.

That fits with guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the leading U.S. group of doctors serving children. The general idea is that parents should support their child and not make any big decisions that could limit the child's options in the future. That's because some children who appear to be transgender early on are not when they grow up.

NPR agreed to use only first names for Dylan and her family. Some groupsconsider it a form of abuse to allow a child to transition to the opposite gender — even though it's in line with the AAP. Dylan's parents — Marla and Jennifer — say other families have had child abuse reports filed against them after they were identified in news stories.

Marla says Dylan has identified herself as a girl for as long as she could talk. "It took us about three years to really sort out with Dylan what that meant," Marla says. "We kept telling her, 'Oh, there's lots of ways to be a boy — you can be a fancy boy, you can be a sparkly boy.' " But Marla says Dylan steadfastly insisted she's a girl.

Marla says they plan to administer puberty blockers when Dylan reaches that stage. That will make it easier for Dylan to physically transition to female later if she chooses.

Dr. David Levine, a professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, says this is a good approach.

"I predict this 10-year-old is going to do great, because the parents are so on board and so supportive of their child," he says.

Levine says he's not too worried that a Trump administration will make big changes that will affect transgender people. But he also is not opposed to parents who want to change their child's gender designations now because, technically, that's something that could be reversed in the future if it became necessary.

Dylan's parents had planned to change her gender on government documents when she got a driver's license. Because of their concerns over the political climate, they are doing that now instead.

So, on a recent evening — just as Dylan and her siblings were finishing up homework — a notary came to their home to witness Marla and Jennifer signing a short stack of papers. Once filed, they will change the gender listed on Dylan's birth certificate, Social Security account and passport — when she gets one — to female.

Correction
Jan. 12, 2017

A previous Web version of this story labeled the American College of Pediatricians an "anti-LGBT group." That is not an accurate description because the group holds opinions on a wide variety of issues.

http://www.npr.org/2016/12/17/503753624/transgender-americans-race-to-finish-paperwork-before-trump-administration

[DapperButch]

It is relatively easy to change one's gender on a passport and it is also easy with social security. No surgeries required. All trans people should do this right away. The other pieces are connected with states, so don't believe that he can touch those.




Transgender Americans Race To Finish Paperwork Before Trump Administration

December 17, 2016

Jeff Brady/NPR

Many transgender people in the U.S. are rushing to change their designated gender on government documents before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They worry the next administration may take that ability away.

There's no indication so far that this is a priority for Trump. Mara Keisling with the National Center for Transgender Equality says Trump's positions on trans issues are not clear. But she's concerned about people he's nominated for key positions in his administration.

"Virtually every — if not every — appointment he has announced so far has been an extremely anti-LGBT person," says Keisling. She says trans advocacy groups around the country have been fielding calls from concerned people ever since the election. And they are not alone.

"The calls to our office have increased a lot," says Benjamin Jerner, managing partner of the Philadelphia law firm Jerner & Palmer, which specializes in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal issues.

States control many government documents, such as birth certificates and driver's licenses, Jerner reassures his clients. A new president won't affect those.

Of more concern, he says, are gender designations on federal documents such as passports, immigration papers and Social Security accounts.

Jerner says passports are the biggest concern because State Department rulescould be changed relatively easily under a new administration.

Deciding whether to change gender designations on documents can be an especially tricky question for parents of transgender children. Jerner recently held a legal clinic for such parents in Philadelphia and says 18 families showed up.

"I think that just tells you the level of fear and anxiety that's out there," he says.

Among those attending were the parents of 10-year-old Dylan, who was born a boy but — with her parents' encouragement — has long hair, wears pink and lives as a girl.

That fits with guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the leading U.S. group of doctors serving children. The general idea is that parents should support their child and not make any big decisions that could limit the child's options in the future. That's because some children who appear to be transgender early on are not when they grow up.

NPR agreed to use only first names for Dylan and her family. Some groupsconsider it a form of abuse to allow a child to transition to the opposite gender — even though it's in line with the AAP. Dylan's parents — Marla and Jennifer — say other families have had child abuse reports filed against them after they were identified in news stories.

Marla says Dylan has identified herself as a girl for as long as she could talk. "It took us about three years to really sort out with Dylan what that meant," Marla says. "We kept telling her, 'Oh, there's lots of ways to be a boy — you can be a fancy boy, you can be a sparkly boy.' " But Marla says Dylan steadfastly insisted she's a girl.

Marla says they plan to administer puberty blockers when Dylan reaches that stage. That will make it easier for Dylan to physically transition to female later if she chooses.

Dr. David Levine, a professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, says this is a good approach.

"I predict this 10-year-old is going to do great, because the parents are so on board and so supportive of their child," he says.

Levine says he's not too worried that a Trump administration will make big changes that will affect transgender people. But he also is not opposed to parents who want to change their child's gender designations now because, technically, that's something that could be reversed in the future if it became necessary.

Dylan's parents had planned to change her gender on government documents when she got a driver's license. Because of their concerns over the political climate, they are doing that now instead.

So, on a recent evening — just as Dylan and her siblings were finishing up homework — a notary came to their home to witness Marla and Jennifer signing a short stack of papers. Once filed, they will change the gender listed on Dylan's birth certificate, Social Security account and passport — when she gets one — to female.

Correction
Jan. 12, 2017

A previous Web version of this story labeled the American College of Pediatricians an "anti-LGBT group." That is not an accurate description because the group holds opinions on a wide variety of issues.

http://www.npr.org/2016/12/17/503753624/transgender-americans-race-to-finish-paperwork-before-trump-administration

[Soon]

BBC Two - Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best? (https://ia801507.us.archive.org/6/items/BBC-trans-kids/bbc.mp4)

[DapperButch]

BBC Two - Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best? (https://ia801507.us.archive.org/6/items/BBC-trans-kids/bbc.mp4)


I have not watched the documentary....

What is this about? What is balanced? And what is your goal in posting this?

Honestly, if it is another post where you, as a cis person, are questioning the accepted medical care/looking to debate the care or rights given to trans people, I wish you would create another thread for that.

It doesn't feel good to see those kind of posts in a trans thread, by a cis person. I will be honest and tell you that I am not sure of your agenda and it makes me uncomfortable.

[Soon]

I have not watched the documentary....

What is this about? What is balanced? And what is your goal in posting this?

Honestly, if it is another post where you, as a cis person, are questioning the accepted medical care/looking to debate the care or rights given to trans people, I wish you would create another thread for that.

It doesn't feel good to see those kind of posts in a trans thread, by a cis person. I will be honest and tell you that I am not sure of your agenda and it makes me uncomfortable.

It's a documentary discussing the varying ways of treating GNC and/or trans kids. I thought this WAS the appropriate thread. It doesn't "feel good" for me to post a documentary on this issue and I must have some nefarious agenda? My *agenda* was only to give people the link if they were interested. I don't appreciate the accusatory and arrogant tone of your post or suggesting that I create another thread. As for the word "balanced"--there is much to be discussed with not just one way of treating children who are GNC or trans. I can't help that you are uncomfortable with a link to a documentary that presents different approaches, personal stories, and medical opinions/treatments. You haven't even *watched* the documentary and you're coming at me like this b/c of the word "balanced" in the title of my post? Wow.

ETA: As an educator who teaches GNC and trans kids, this phenomenon of children transitioning is of great interest to me. This IS the Trans Zone. It is a documentary on this issue. I thought others may wish to view it. Don't watch it if you're not interested.

[*Anya*]

I have not watched the documentary....

What is this about? What is balanced? And what is your goal in posting this?

Honestly, if it is another post where you, as a cis person, are questioning the accepted medical care/looking to debate the care or rights given to trans people, I wish you would create another thread for that.

It doesn't feel good to see those kind of posts in a trans thread, by a cis person. I will be honest and tell you that I am not sure of your agenda and it makes me uncomfortable.

I frequently post articles or medical peer reviewed studies in this thread that I think may be of interest to trans folks and I am a cis person, too.

Are we not allowed to?

I have never posted anything in this thread that was insulting or transphobic and have always posted coming from a place of genuine care.

[DapperButch]

I frequently post articles or medical peer reviewed studies in this thread that I think may be of interest to trans folks and I am a cis person, too.

Are we not allowed to?

I have never posted anything in this thread that was insulting or transphobic and have always posted coming from a place of genuine care.

I suppose anyone can post anything that they want as long as it is not against the TOS. I have enjoyed the things you have posted. I have never thought anything that you posted was insulting or transphobic. :)

[MsTinkerbelly]

An FYI for California residents.

The state has just proposed a bill allowing California ID's to have 3 choices for gender. There will be male, female and non-binary options. The bill (which is expected to pass easily), will also include making the process of changing gender markers on birth certificates streamlined and less time consuming.

[DapperButch]

Hey, guys. So the shit has already started for us trans folks.

Transgender Rights are under attack in these 11 states

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/transgender-rights-bathrooms-state-legislature-texas-arizona-wyoming-kansas

I would strongly suggest that you get whatever document changes you can do in your state ASAP, even those that are democratic states.

I would even more strongly suggest you change these two federal documents:

1) passport
2) change your gender marker with social security.

[DapperButch]

Although the change is not due to acceptance that we don't have any control over our gender, at least our kids are no longer being turned away from scouting!

I didn't expect this to happen with Trump in office, but gender identity discrimination laws are keeping them from being able to access meeting areas and such. It impacts them from being able to run their business, you see...


"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports, and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs,” Delimarkos said in explaining the thinking behind the new policy. “However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state.”

https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/the-boy-scouts-just-announced-they-will-allow-transgender-bo?utm_term=.ccbBlRXAG#.mr5Qb0wlE


Of course, the Girl Scouts have always let all girls in... :cheesy:

[*Anya*]

San Francisco to name part of Tenderloin as first transgender historic district

By Dawn Ennis · Friday, February 3, 2017

San Francisco politicians, local activists and a hotel and condominium developer came together this week to announce the designation of the first transgender historic district in the United States.

“I’m excited that for the first time ever, and and as far as I know in the world, that we are commemorating a social cultural district for Transgender and non-gender conforming community,” said San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim on Tuesday.

The location is within the Tenderloin, which is where what’s believed to be one of the first LGBTQ protests originated. It will be called the Compton’s TLGBT District and will cover six blocks in the Tenderloin district from Market including two blocks of 6th street.

The new historic district gets its name from the Compton Cafeteria riots of August 1966.

A cafeteria owned by Gene Compton was a local gathering place for the transgender community. Staff complained about the cross-dressing patrons and asked police to crack down, because cross-dressing was illegal at the time. Police raided the business, sparking demonstrations and riots.

Although an LGBTQ protest at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1965 preceded the uprising, the Compton Cafeteria riots are considered the first transgender riot in the United States, preceding Stonewall in New York City by three years, and a deal was struck with the developer to preserve that history.

“This is a great thing. Everyone ended up a winner. The SRO housing will be built. It will be a thriving district and not just a plaque on the wall”, said Honey Mahogany of the Compton district to KTVU-TV.

The station reported the boarded and vacant building in the 900 block of Market will be replaced with a hotel and condo complex which will transform the district and create a safe haven for the transgender community as well as low-income people.

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/02/san-francisco-name-part-tenderloin-first-transgender-historic-district/

[DapperButch]

National Geographic gender documentary, hosted by Katie Couric, airs on February 6th.

I've heard great feedback from it so far.

Linky loo (http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/national-geographic-explores-gender-through-new-issue-documentary-n695966)!

I hope it is good. I think I will tell my mother to watch.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/gender-revolution-a-journey-with-katie-couric/

[DapperButch]

Wisconsin pulled the plug on their trans healthcare that was required to go place as of January 1, 2017 (Section 1557 of the ACA = Affordable Care Act)

They have no fear they will be held accountable as Trump made an executive order to [go easy] on states/companies not following the ACA rules.

I am sure we will see other red states follow...


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/07/wisconsin-pulls-plug-on-trans-health-care.html?utm_content=buffer77354&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

As I said on another post/thread, Trump won't give a shit who is stepping on trans people...they are lowest on the socio economic scale. They don't have the money or power or influence that the Gs in the LGBT community have. (Gs = gay men).

[MsTinkerbelly]

Hi all.

My spouse is trans, but not transitioning.

Kasey is on the phone as a travel agent all day long, and at 64 something is happening with his voice. Kasey is being called ma'am by everyone he speaks with...this has just started the last few weeks and is driving him batty.

Any suggestions?

[Liam]

Hi all.

My spouse is trans, but not transitioning.

Kasey is on the phone as a travel agent all day long, and at 64 something is happening with his voice. Kasey is being called ma'am by everyone he speaks with...this has just started the last few weeks and is driving him batty.

Any suggestions?

Does Kasey feel safe? Is Kasey feeling stressed out? Is Kasey holding his breath? Anything that would tighten the vocal chords would make the voice higher. I'm sorry it is driving him batty, that is just probably making it worse. Maybe its time for a check-up.

Best of luck.

[Liam]

If anyone is unaware of the Transgender Law Center (https://transgenderlawcenter.org/), please take the time to click, and check it out. Based here in San Francisco, they are such wonderful folks, and like every other marginalized group of people, they are trying to raise funds right now. They know that they have a busy year ahead. Even if you can't donate something to them, check out their web site, its full of all kinds of information.

[Jesse]

BREAKING: On February 10, just two days after Jeff Sessions was sworn in as Attorney General, the Department of Justice took a first step toward dropping their defense of the transgender student guidance in court. While the guidance is still in place, this is a major signal that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is likely planning to stop defending the guidance entirely and may try to reverse the guidance. It is more important than ever to take action now to stop this from happening...

http://www.transequality.org/school-action-center

[DapperButch]

BREAKING: On February 10, just two days after Jeff Sessions was sworn in as Attorney General, the Department of Justice took a first step toward dropping their defense of the transgender student guidance in court. While the guidance is still in place, this is a major signal that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is likely planning to stop defending the guidance entirely and may try to reverse the guidance. It is more important than ever to take action now to stop this from happening...

http://www.transequality.org/school-action-center

Lovely. I just spent a year explaining what this was to school administrators (over and over and over again), and pushing them to support our trans kids in using the right restroom. I don't expect that the schools who have trans kids will tell them to go back to using the "nurses office", but no longer having the "federal guidance" in place certainly isn't helpful when trying to work with new schools to let trans kids use the right restroom.

Thanks for posting this Jesse.

[DapperButch]

Jeff Sessions has removed his support from the "federal guidance", that we let our children use the bathroom and locker rooms that are appropriate for their gender identity.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/13/callous-attack-trump-doj-drops-protections-transgender-students?utm_content=bufferb4e41&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Trump said that he will not take back protections on LGBT people, but really what he means (and what most people mean when they use that acronym), is that they will not take away protections from lesbians and gays. You can discard trans people in a way that you cannot discard LGB people. There are less trans people and they have no power. They have no money. They are the lowest of the socio economic classes. They make less money than any other minority group. If Caitlyn Jenner wasn't such a douche, she could fight for our kids.

I actually CAN imagine school administrators calling parents with glee saying, " Psych! Your "daughter" has to go back to the boys bathroom. hahahaha" I feel fortunate to live in a state that I am pretty confident that I won't have one of my adolescent clients walk into my office any time soon and say that they have to go back to using the "wrong" bathroom, but they are the lucky ones. I am the lucky one because I don't have to see this happen to them. But, many other states? It breaks my heart...

41% of trans people attempt suicide? Yeah, lets watch that number increase. :(

I wish Rachel Maddow talked about this.

[Orema]

Trump shows his true hand on LGBTQ rights (http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/13/opinions/trump-true-views-on-lgbtq-rights-holbrook-opinion/index.html), by Tim Holbrook

(Tim Holbrook is a professor of law at Emory University School of Law. He is a member of the boards of directors of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia. The views expressed are his and his alone.)

There has been some uncertainty as to how President Donald Trump would treat the rights of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. For example, during the Republican National Convention, President Trump became the first Republican presidential nominee to mention the LGBTQ community. Of course, he did so in a very narrow context -- protecting LGBTQ persons from terrorism by radical Islamists.

The President noted that Caitlyn Jenner was welcome to use the bathroom of her choice in Trump Towers. He also stated the issue of same-sex marriage is "settled."

These statements could be viewed as a gesture by Trump to be more inclusive to the LGBTQ community. In contrast, his choices of Vice President Michael Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions were viewed as troubling, because both Pence and Sessions have opposed LGBTQ rights.

So, what direction would the Trump administration take?

The Trump administration showed its hand on Friday, when the Department of Justice withdrew its request that a Texas district court lift its stay in a case dealing with access to bathrooms for transgender students. The Obama administration had issued guidance that schools should permit transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The Texas court blocked implementation of this approach.

Under the Obama administration, DOJ had asked the appellate court to reject the stay. The Trump DOJ has withdrawn support, removing its backing for these transgender students. It turns out the Trump DOJ, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is not a friend to the LGBTQ community.

This move may be a harbinger. Across the country, there are a number of lawsuits arguing that federal law should prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. During the Obama administration, most of these lawsuits had the backing of the DOJ, Department of Education, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Part of the arguments in these cases is that the courts should give deference to these agencies' interpretations of the relevant federal civil rights statutes.

For example, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. on March 28. The lower court determined that a trans boy should be able to use the boys' restroom in his public high school. One of the issues the Supreme Court is addressing is whether courts should afford such deference to these types of agency pronouncements.

If the Trump administration changes its position in the case, it may remove that issue from the case and, seemingly, could tip the case against the transgender student. DOJ's action in the Texas case strongly suggests it will no longer support the trans student.

Similarly, a case out of Indiana is pending before a federal court of appeals, addressing whether federal anti-discrimination laws protect gays, lesbians and bisexuals against discrimination based on their sexual orientation. The EEOC has supported this position. Again, if the Trump administration alters its position on this issue, it could result in a loss to the LGBTQ plaintiff and a defeat for LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.

The Texas withdrawal of the challenge to the stay is an ominous omen. It suggests the Trump administration will pivot away from protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ persons. The withdrawal of support may tip these cases against the LGBTQ litigants.

While losses in these cases would be detrimental, there is even more at risk, such as marriage equality. Trump, in his pre-inauguration "60 Minutes" interview, stated that marriage equality was "settled" under the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. But he has also promised to appoint justices who will overrule the over 40-year precedent of Roe v. Wade. Of course, justices opposed to Roe are likely to be opposed to the far more recent establishment of marriage equality.

The same objections that judges and justices opposed to Roe have made apply equally to marriage equality: They argue that the court has manufactured new "rights" that do not exist in the Constitution. Additionally, there can be considerable overlap among those opposed to abortion and same-sex relationships, particularly on moral and religious grounds. If a case gets to the Supreme Court with Trump-appointed justices, the court could reject marriage equality.

Such challenges to marriage equality will not be difficult to manufacture by the states. Tennessee has already introduced legislation again to ban same-sex marriage. Any judicial challenge could end up at the Supreme .

At present, the broader threat to marriage equality is not as pressing. Even if Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the court, his presence will not change the court's political composition. The five justices who voted for marriage equality are still present, so, in the near term, marriage equality is safe. And it would be unlikely for the court to undo any existing same-sex marriages. But, if one of those five justices retires or dies, it is not difficult to fathom Trump appointing a justice who would be happy to overrule Obergefell.

The action by the DOJ in Texas on its face seems minor. In fact, it is quite revealing. LGBTQ rights will not be defended at the federal level. Those in favor of LGBTQ equality will need to defend themselves against efforts in states to ban the use of restrooms and to embrace so-called religious-liberty bills. The fight is now our own. We won't be able to look to this administration for help.

[DapperButch]

Everything is about money for Trump. Gay men make just as much as heterosexual men now. They are WAY too powerful. I don't see Trump wiping away same sex marriage. He's not stupid.

I also don't think that he is "pro life". But, Republicans are and the one thing that could have kept him from the nomination and winning the presidency is if he was pro choice.

With all the women Trump has been with over the years? Hell, he had to have handed over some cash to make sure things were "taken care of" 3 or 20 times. I don't see him as a guy who is carries a condom around in his wallet.

[DapperButch]

Article in response to Jeff Sessions supporting removal of protections.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/parents-of-transgender-children-plead-with-trump-to-maintain-protections/2017/02/15/e3b59f8a-f30b-11e6-b9c9-e83fce42fb61_story.html?utm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer5e767&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=.5a180e9cd0ba

[cathexis]

Hi all.

My spouse is trans, but not transitioning.

Kasey is on the phone as a travel agent all day long, and at 64 something is happening with his voice. Kasey is being called ma'am by everyone he speaks with...this has just started the last few weeks and is driving him batty.

Any suggestions?

Just to add a bit of advice that's not been mentioned. Has he seen an otolargynotologist (doctor who specializes in throats) for an exam just to make certain there's not a problem there? He's within the age range that I'd start looking at that.

Also, you might want to get an evaluation from a voice therapist which (depending) on your insurance may require a referral from his primary physician.

[Jesse]

"WASHINGTON — A fight over an order that would rescind protections for transgender students in public schools has erupted inside the Trump administration, pitting Attorney General Jeff Sessions against the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.

Ms. DeVos initially resisted signing off on the order and told President Trump that she was uncomfortable with it, according to three Republicans with direct knowledge of the internal discussions. The draft order would reverse the directives put in place last year by the Obama administration to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice.

Mr. Sessions, who strongly opposes expanding gay, lesbian and transgender rights, fought Ms. DeVos on the issue and pressed her to relent because he could not go forward without her consent. The order must come from the Justice and Education Departments.

Mr. Trump sided with his attorney general, these Republicans said, telling Ms. DeVos in a meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he wanted her to drop her objections. And Ms. DeVos, faced with the choice of resigning or defying the president, has agreed to go along. The Justice Department declined to comment on Wednesday.

Though an official order from the administration was expected to be released as early as Wednesday, Mr. Sessions and Ms. DeVos were still disputing the final language..."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/devos-sessions-transgender-students-rights.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection% 2FThe%20Trump%20White%20House&action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=Collection&region=Marginalia&src=me&version=newsevent&pgtype=article

[DapperButch]

I just received a notice. It was rescinded. First Jeff Sessiona said he would just not push back if any state had a problem with the Obamas "order", but now it has been rescinded.

Our trans kids will be going back to getting bladder infections because they have no where to use the bathroom all day.

Yes, we have done studies on this kind of thing.... higher incidence of bladder infections in trans people, especially trans kids. Nice, huh?

Well, some school administrations, teachers, and parents will be pleased as punch to hear the news.

[DapperButch]

I wish Rachel Maddow talked about this.

I just received a notice. It was rescinded. First Jeff Sessiona said he would just not push back if any state had a problem with the Obamas "order", but now it has been rescinded.

Our trans kids will be going back to getting bladder infections because they have no where to use the bathroom all day.

Yes, we have done studies on this kind of thing.... higher incidence of bladder infections in trans people, especially trans kids. Nice, huh?

Well, some school administrations, teachers, and parents will be pleased as punch to hear the news.

Well, today she did. Just now she talked about them rolling back protections for trans youth in schools. I am very happy that she highlighted this. She pointed out that President Trump said he would not do anything against LGBT folks and said that this was a sign of him starting. She made some reference to it being lovely (but that isn't the word she used), that he "started with kids'.

[JDeere]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/transgender-boy-2-wins-away-from-girls-state-wrestling-title/ar-AAnl9tV?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

[DapperButch]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/transgender-boy-2-wins-away-from-girls-state-wrestling-title/ar-AAnl9tV?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

There is no way around the fact that the trans boy has an advantage because he is taking testosterone. If he was not taking testosterone, than he would not have an advantage.

The issue is hormones, not how one identifies when it comes to fair competition.

The positive about this happening, is that when the parents become upset that their daughters' competitor has an unfair advantage, the rule will change in Texas and transitioning boys will wrestle on the male team (and hopefully, trans girls who are taking testosterone blockers will play on the girls teams). When this happens it will be fair for all the kids.

I think it is nice that a "resident of Austin" and one of the cis girls said they welcoming of him playing with the girls, but it just simply isn't fair. It isn't good for anyone.

Thanks for posting this.

[JDeere]

He won the girls state title by the way.

[DapperButch]

He won the girls state title by the way.

So, you posted it, but you didn't share your opinion on the article/situation. What is your opinion?

[JDeere]

So, you posted it, but you didn't share your opinion on the article/situation. What is your opinion?

Sorry I came home kinda tipsy from the bar, when I posted. I think it's an unfair advantage for him to wrestle against girls, but I'm glad to see a trans kid win state titles yet it should have been against his fellow guys.

Only thing that can happen now is that he can change the stigma about trans people and possibly change the law.

[Jesse]

A school board outside of Wichita, Kansas, voted this week to ban transgender students from bathrooms that match their gender identity, saying they took license for the new rule from the Trump administration. “Trump was basically leaving it up to us,” Tina Prunier, a member of the Derby Board of Education, told BuzzFeed News in explaining her vote in favor of the rule. “I thought it would be best for the district overall.”

But lawyers for progressive LGBT groups countered that regardless of the federal government’s position, private citizens can still sue the district if a transgender student comes forward with a complaint. “We are standing ready to file lawsuits against school districts like this one that are discriminating against transgender students,” Demoya Gordon, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal, told BuzzFeed News. “There is no staying out of this issue. This is a federal civil-rights issue. This district has exposed itself to a lawsuit.”

To get context for the school board’s vote on Monday, you must rewind to last year. At the time, the district had the same ban on transgender student restroom access it adopted this week — for example, transgender girls couldn’t use the girls restroom.

But in May 2016, the Obama administration announced that all federally funded schools must accommodate transgender students in facilities that match their gender identity. That guidance was based on an interpretation of Title IX, a civil rights law that bans sex discrimination in schools. The Derby Board of Education, in turn, voted to conform to that federal policy — leading some parents to complain.

Cut to 2017: The Trump administration last week withdrew the Obama-era rule, saying that states and local jurisdictions could decide for themselves.
Many states and district decided to keep their trangender-friendly rules in place. But the Derby Board of Education voted 5-2 this week to go back to their original procedure for transgender students. They voted on how they would handle the matter — to ban transgender students from restrooms that match their gender and attempt to offer them other accommodations — even though it was not codified in a written document.

In an interview, Prunier had a hard time explaining her vote to block transgender students from certain restrooms, other than saying that Trump allowed the district to do so, and that it was the district’s best interest.
“To be quite honest, it’s not something I have gone over in my mind,” she replied when asked why she said it was best for her district. “It’s not something I feel strongly one way or another about — their personal rights or how they wish to be.”con't...
https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/kansas-school-anti-transgender-bathroom-rule?utm_term=.mlDmb1epY#.syX1b5KNE

I truly hope that Prunier reads this article she is quoted in, especially the part I bolded, and does some serious thinking/soul searching. I also hope that one of the students does come forth and sue in order to have their rights reestablished. It sucks big time that we are still having to fight tooth and nail to be granted simple human dignities that most others take for granted! I'm so pissed right now!

[Jesse]

Supreme Court sends Grimm transgender case back to lower court in light of new federal guidance

The U.S. Supreme Court is sending the case of 17-year-old Gavin Grimm back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals after President Donald Trump overturned a federal policy on transgender students' access to school restrooms.

The high court announced its decision to vacate the case and remand it back to the lower court on Monday along with several other orders from its Friday conference last week, according to the SCOTUS blog, a law blog written by attorneys who follow the Supreme Court closely.

The U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on March 28.

“Nothing about today’s action changes the meaning of the law. Title IX and the Constitution protect Gavin and other transgender students from discrimination,” said attorney Joshuan Block with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Grimm in the case against the Gloucester County School Board.

“While we’re disappointed that the Supreme Court will not be hearing Gavin’s case this term, the overwhelming level of support shown for Gavin and trans students by people across the country throughout this process shows that the American people have already moved in the right direction and that the rights of trans people cannot be ignored,” Block said in a news release from the ACLU. “This is a detour, not the end of the road, and we’ll continue to fight for Gavin and other transgender people to ensure that they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

On Feb. 22 the Trump Administration withdrew previous federal guidance that said school divisions must allow transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

The court requested letters from both sides of the case in light of the Trump administration’s new guidance, which now leaves it up to states and local school divisions to establish policies regarding transgender restroom use.

The ACLU and the Gloucester County School Board asked the court to let the case proceed. The School Board also asked that the case be postponed to allow the federal government to file a brief.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond relied on the previous guidance from the Obama administration when it voted 2-1 in 2016 in Grimm’s favor to send the case back to federal Judge Robert Doumar with the U.S. Eastern District Court, telling him to reconsider the case.

In fall 2015, Doumar dismissed the claim in the suit that the school division’s restroom-use policy passed in December 2014 that requires students to use the restroom associated with their physical sex or single-stall private unisex restrooms violated Title IX. Doumar did not rule on the 14th Amendment claim in the lawsuit.

In a statement on Monday the Gloucester County School Board said, “the Board looks forward to explaining why its commonsense restroom and locker room policy is legal under the Constitution and federal law.”

Gloucester schools filed a petition last August asking the Supreme Court to determine if it is violating federal law by refusing to allow Grimm access to the boys’ restrooms. In addition to the question about the Title IX interpretation, the petition also questioned the previous guidance issued under the Obama administration.

Grimm, a senior at Gloucester High School, was born female but identifies as male. The lawsuit, filed on his behalf by the ACLU, would have been the first transgender restroom rights case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/gloucester-county/dp-nws-mid-grimm-scotus-conference-order-20170306-story.html

[DapperButch]

You know, Jesse, it is now something every day. Every few days there is a new reversal of state policy or new state discrimination policy. It doesn't even feel like news anymore.

Sad.

I am lucky as hell to live in the Northeast.

I knew they would come after us trans folks, first, and fast. We are the easiest to pick on. Easier than any other minority group.



Supreme Court sends Grimm transgender case back to lower court in light of new federal guidance

The U.S. Supreme Court is sending the case of 17-year-old Gavin Grimm back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals after President Donald Trump overturned a federal policy on transgender students' access to school restrooms.

The high court announced its decision to vacate the case and remand it back to the lower court on Monday along with several other orders from its Friday conference last week, according to the SCOTUS blog, a law blog written by attorneys who follow the Supreme Court closely.

The U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on March 28.

“Nothing about today’s action changes the meaning of the law. Title IX and the Constitution protect Gavin and other transgender students from discrimination,” said attorney Joshuan Block with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Grimm in the case against the Gloucester County School Board.

“While we’re disappointed that the Supreme Court will not be hearing Gavin’s case this term, the overwhelming level of support shown for Gavin and trans students by people across the country throughout this process shows that the American people have already moved in the right direction and that the rights of trans people cannot be ignored,” Block said in a news release from the ACLU. “This is a detour, not the end of the road, and we’ll continue to fight for Gavin and other transgender people to ensure that they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

On Feb. 22 the Trump Administration withdrew previous federal guidance that said school divisions must allow transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

The court requested letters from both sides of the case in light of the Trump administration’s new guidance, which now leaves it up to states and local school divisions to establish policies regarding transgender restroom use.

The ACLU and the Gloucester County School Board asked the court to let the case proceed. The School Board also asked that the case be postponed to allow the federal government to file a brief.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond relied on the previous guidance from the Obama administration when it voted 2-1 in 2016 in Grimm’s favor to send the case back to federal Judge Robert Doumar with the U.S. Eastern District Court, telling him to reconsider the case.

In fall 2015, Doumar dismissed the claim in the suit that the school division’s restroom-use policy passed in December 2014 that requires students to use the restroom associated with their physical sex or single-stall private unisex restrooms violated Title IX. Doumar did not rule on the 14th Amendment claim in the lawsuit.

In a statement on Monday the Gloucester County School Board said, “the Board looks forward to explaining why its commonsense restroom and locker room policy is legal under the Constitution and federal law.”

Gloucester schools filed a petition last August asking the Supreme Court to determine if it is violating federal law by refusing to allow Grimm access to the boys’ restrooms. In addition to the question about the Title IX interpretation, the petition also questioned the previous guidance issued under the Obama administration.

Grimm, a senior at Gloucester High School, was born female but identifies as male. The lawsuit, filed on his behalf by the ACLU, would have been the first transgender restroom rights case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/gloucester-county/dp-nws-mid-grimm-scotus-conference-order-20170306-story.html

[cricket26]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/03/14/bathroom-bill-gets-first-thumbs-texas-senate

[DapperButch]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/03/14/bathroom-bill-gets-first-thumbs-texas-senate

Right they want people to use the bathroom that matches their birth certificate. Their assumption is that our birth certificates always match our genitals.

But, since Texas doesn't allow new birth certificates after gender reassignment surgery, if the "rules" are followed, a trans man with a penis will still have to use the women's room. A trans woman with a vagina will have to use the men's room. So guess what? People's genitals do not always match their birth cert (and of course intersex individuals are completely ignored in this).

[cathexis]

Yeah, what are intersex folks to do...just hold it? Maybe protest by "going" in the hallway between the doors!

Archaic South (even though I'm a transplanted Southerner in NY).

[DapperButch]

Dem Senators (including Franken and Warren), write Devos asking for an explanation as to why she said states no longer had to allow students to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity.

http://thecolu.mn/24739/franken-sends-letter-secretary-devos-demanding-answers-title-ix-transgender-inclusion?utm_content=buffer32e45&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[DapperButch]

Caitlin Jenner gets gender reassignment surgery.

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/04/10/caitlyn-jenner-reveals-underwent-gender-reassignment-surgery/

It annoys me that she says that "part of her decision to undergo surgery was due to probing questions from the public about her genitals." Give me a fucking break. Internalized transphobia at it's best. Nobody get GRS because they don't want to be asked a question anymore.

Maybe I shouldn't say "like we didn't know this would happen", because certainly there are some trans women who actually like their penises, but it was pretty obvious to me that Caitlin wasn't one of them (even though she said she wasn't going to get surgery).

Of course, I am curious as to who her surgeon was, just like I am about her facial feminization surgery. She really does a good job sneaking around to offices and hospitals. You have to be in the hospital for 4-5 days after vaginoplasty and then stay very close by to your surgeon's office for the next 7 days. Maybe she got some surgical set up at home afterwards.

[Kätzchen]

LINK: http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/colorado-man-arrested-after-botching-unlicensed-surgery-transgender-woman-n762726


MAY 21 2017, 6:14 PM ET

Colorado Man Arrested After Botching Unlicensed Surgery on Transgender Woman

by PHIL MCCAUSLAND


A Colorado man faces felony assault charges for using an Army surgical kit to remove a transgender woman's testicles without a medical license, according to police records.

Members of the Denver Police Department arrested James Lowell Pennington on Thursday, a day after the botched surgery, after he confessed to the incident.

Pennington admitted to investigators that he performed the procedure using an Army medical kit that contained a scalpel, lidocaine, medical dressings as well as other minor medical equipment, according to the police report.

He used the scalpel "and surgically disconnected and removed the victim's [two] testicles and then sutured the opening back up," the report said.

James Lowell Pennington was arrested May 18, 2017, on suspicion of first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury for using an Army medical kit to castrate a transgender woman without a medical license in a 90-minute procedure performed at the woman's apartment. Denver Police via AP

The report says that the entire surgery took 90 minutes and Pennington told the transgender woman to call 911 if any complications developed.

A few hours later the victim's wife attempted to change the dressing on the suture and "a large amount of blood poured out of the incision." They then called 911.

According to the report, "the testicles could not be re-attached due to time delay of procedure to 911 call."

In a letter obtained by NBC News affiliate KUSA, the unidentified transgender woman wrote that she did not consider herself a victim of Pennington.

"I am not a victim of 57 year old James Lowell Pennington who is the suspect in this case," the woman wrote, identifying herself as Jane Doe. "I am a victim of a society and healthcare system that focuses on trying to demonize transgender people and prevent us from getting the medical transition we need instead of trying to do what is best for us. Arranging a back-alley surgery was out of pure desperation due to a system that failed me."

According to the Transgender Law Center, private health insurance companies do not cover these types of procedures, which can cost between $7,000 and $50,000. The center also notes that many transgender people do not have any form of health insurance anyway. It points to San Francisco as its example, a transgender-friendly city in which 51 percent of its transgender residents don't have health coverage.

At the end of her letter, the transgender woman warned that she may not be the last example of this kind of botched procedure.

"As long as this system continues in its present form there will continue to be events like this," Doe said at the end of her letter. "Until this system is fixed and transgender people are encouraged and able to get the care we need, there will always be cases like me."

[Kätzchen]

Caitlin Jenner gets gender reassignment surgery.

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/04/10/caitlyn-jenner-reveals-underwent-gender-reassignment-surgery/

*snipped*

It annoys me that she says that "part of her decision to undergo surgery was due to probing questions from the public about her genitals." Give me a fucking break. Internalized transphobia at it's best. Nobody get GRS because they don't want to be asked a question anymore.

Of course, I am curious as to who her surgeon was, just like I am about her facial feminization surgery. She really does a good job sneaking around to offices and hospitals. You have to be in the hospital for 4-5 days after vaginoplasty and then stay very close by to your surgeon's office for the next 7 days. Maybe she got some surgical set up at home afterwards.


I liked the questions you posed around GRS because the article I found about what happened to the Transgender Woman in Colorado (Jane Doe) clearly presented the argument on the way a person either has to have access to the best insurance in the world and access to proportionate income in order to hurdle the process of getting competent licensed medical care for gender reassignment surgery. Jane Doe stated that lack of money and qualified health insurance coverage is probably the number one reason why GRS is so hard to obtain, for members who need it but can't get it.

[DapperButch]

I liked the questions you posed around GRS because the article I found about what happened to the Transgender Woman in Colorado (Jane Doe) clearly presented the argument on the way a person either has to have access to the best insurance in the world and access to proportionate income in order to hurdle the process of getting competent licensed medical care for gender reassignment surgery. Jane Doe stated that lack of money and qualified health insurance coverage is probably the number one reason why GRS is so hard to obtain, for members who need it but can't get it.

Yes, trans men and trans women will do a number of unsafe things in an attempt to get relief. There is a lot of purchasing of illegal hormones, for example. This is because they can't get care due to lack of insurance. Plus, of course, bigotry. 41% of trans people attempt suicide.

[*Anya*]

Zack Ford

LGBTQ Editor at ThinkProgress.org. Gay, Atheist, Pianist, Proud SJW. Contact me: zford@thinkprogress.org.
Jun 15

The country’s largest medical organization is protecting transgender people from ‘bathroom bills’

The American Medical Association supports trans people being themselves throughout society.

The 2017 AMA House of Delegates meeting.

This week, the American Medical Association (AMA), the country’s largest medical organization, took several actions to solidify their defense of transgender people. This included a resolution opposing any policy or legislation — like “bathroom bills” put forth in North Carolina and Texas — that prohibits transgender people from living according to their gender identity throughout society.

During its annual meeting in Chicago this week, the AMA House of Delegates approved a resolution favoring “Access to Basic Human Services for Transgender Individuals.” As drafted, the resolution notes that laws that restrict which facilities transgender people can use “place undue harm on the physical and social well-being and safety of transgender individuals.” It also highlights the way that transgender minors “are at particular risk of social, mental, and physical detriment by being forced to disregard their gender identity or to publicly identify as transgender due to these policies.”

Thus, the AMA officially opposes “policies preventing transgender individuals from accessing basic human services and public facilities in line with one’s gender identity, including, but not limited to, the use of restrooms.”

The resolution also calls for the creation of additional policies that “promote social equality and safe access to basic human services and public facilities for transgender individuals according to one’s gender identity.”

The AMA has publicly supported trans-affirming medical care for nearly a decade, and in 2015, it also called for allowing transgender people to serve in the military.

Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called a special session of the legislature for July, ordering lawmakers to take up legislation that failed to pass during the regular session that would mandate discrimination against transgender people.

Such legislation now flies in the face of the country’s largest organization of medical professionals.

Inside the rotten repeal of HB2

HB2 is dead, but its anti-LGBT legacy lives on in North Carolina.

The resolution opposing “bathroom bills” was one of only several actions the AMA took to support transgender people.

Another resolution passed by the AMA’s House of Delegates called on the organization to improve public education about the “medical spectrum of gender identity.” According to an AMA News post, this resolution was necessary because gender is “incompletely understood as a binary selection.”

In other words, the medical community will do more to support people who identify as genderqueer or gender nonbinary and to raise awareness that a person’s gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex can all vary from each other.

A third resolution called upon the Food & Drug Administration to develop a gender-neutral patient categorization to protect transgender people from being discriminated against when it comes to reproductive care. This would ensure, for example, that transgender men who have retained their ability to have children aren’t denied care (or insurance coverage for that care) because of their gender identity.

The Trump administration has rolled back guidance protecting transgender people from health care discrimination, suggesting it’s unlikely to support such an expansion. This will likely have the effect of recreating barriers for trans people to access sex-specific procedures like mammograms, prostate exams, and cervical Pap tests.

What The Nation’s Doctors Say About Transgender Rights And Marriage Equality

To cement their commitment to honoring and protecting transgender people from discrimination, the AMA delegates also “called for future AMA meetings to take place, whenever possible, only in those counties, cities and states that have nondiscriminatory policies.”

Groups like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and GLMA (Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality) applauded the resolutions. HRC’s Mary Beth Maxwell noted in a statement that the AMA “knows better than most the harmful consequences of ill-conceived anti-transgender actions.” GLMA, which helped draft the resolutions, praised the new polices as being “extremely beneficial to LGBT individuals and the care they receive.”

Representing well over 200,000 physicians, medical students, and residents, the American Medical Association is the largest medical professional organization in the United States.

https://thinkprogress.org/ama-transgender-resolutions-ee58e8cb7ecc

[StoicStone]

There is no way around the fact that the trans boy has an advantage because he is taking testosterone. If he was not taking testosterone, than he would not have an advantage.

The issue is hormones, not how one identifies when it comes to fair competition.

The positive about this happening, is that when the parents become upset that their daughters' competitor has an unfair advantage, the rule will change in Texas and transitioning boys will wrestle on the male team (and hopefully, trans girls who are taking testosterone blockers will play on the girls teams). When this happens it will be fair for all the kids.

I think it is nice that a "resident of Austin" and one of the cis girls said they welcoming of him playing with the girls, but it just simply isn't fair. It isn't good for anyone.

Thanks for posting this.

Please forgive my ignorance on the subject of hormone therapy, but I fail to see how testosterone in and of itself would give someone an unfair advantage. I am old and there was no girls wrestling team when I went to high school, but if there were at 5' 11" and 180 lbs I could have easily beaten most girls and boys in my weight class, as I had a very muscular upper torso ,without testosterone therapy.
Greco Roman wrestling is more about upper body strength and center of gravity. (I am assuming that anyone wrestling is being aggressive, it is not a passive sport.)
Please enlighten me as to how the testosterone gave an advantage.

That being said I do believe that transgendered youth should be participating on the teams of their gender identity, not the gender on their birth certificates.

[DapperButch]

Please forgive my ignorance on the subject of hormone therapy, but I fail to see how testosterone in and of itself would give someone an unfair advantage. I am old and there was no girls wrestling team when I went to high school, but if there were at 5' 11" and 180 lbs I could have easily beaten most girls and boys in my weight class, as I had a very muscular upper torso ,without testosterone therapy.
Greco Roman wrestling is more about upper body strength and center of gravity. (I am assuming that anyone wrestling is being aggressive, it is not a passive sport.)
Please enlighten me as to how the testosterone gave an advantage.

That being said I do believe that transgendered youth should be participating on the teams of their gender identity, not the gender on their birth certificates.

The issue isn't whether or not some girls can beat some boys. Of course, they can, and do...in all sports.

However, natal men's bodies have more testosterone than natal women's bodies. All things being equal, they are naturally stronger (testosterone is responsible for the increase in muscle mass men have).

There is no difference between a female bodied person on testosterone and a male bodied person who produces their own testosterone. The levels of testosterone in the natal male and in the trans male, are the same. The amount of testosterone prescribed to a trans man is the amount that will mimic the same testosterone levels of natal males of the same age.


P.S. Please consider not using the term "transgendered". People are transgender, they are not "transgendered". :)

[StoicStone]

The issue isn't whether or not some girls can beat some boys. Of course, they can, and do...in all sports.

However, natal men's bodies have more testosterone than natal women's bodies. All things being equal, they are naturally stronger (testosterone is responsible for the increase in muscle mass men have).

There is no difference between a female bodied person on testosterone and a male bodied person who produces their own testosterone. The levels of testosterone in the natal male and in the trans male, are the same. The amount of testosterone prescribed to a trans man is the amount that will mimic the same testosterone levels of natal males of the same age.


P.S. Please consider not using the term "transgendered". People are transgender, they are not "transgendered". :)

I see. I understand that testosterone would allow someone to bulk up more muscle than a cisgender girl, however that muscle mass would have to build over time, so whether or not an actual advantage was to be had would be dependent on how long they had been on T, how much resistance training the youth did, how large the transgender youth was to begin with, etc.
My apologies for the error in term, as I said I am not super familiar with the subject in general, and am trying to understand.
As I said, I do agree that the youth should be competing with the other boys, I was just curious if the specific case actually involved an advantage to the degree that he title should be taken away. (I was not successful at gaining the information I felt was necessary to actually make a judgement call in this specific case)
Many cisgender girls use organic dietary supplements that allow them to gain larger muscle mass. I have heard of cases where their titles were challenged for unfair advantage, but no of none where someone's title was stripped. (This does not include steroid use, that is always a no, no and cause for disqualification from competition and removal of any titles gained)
Anyway, I am wondering if use of such dietary supplements should also be considered unfair and be banned.

My major concern is that people may try to exclude transgender youth from competition entirely (which would be completely wrong) instead of considering each case individually. The best and obvious solution is to allow transgender youth to compete with the appropriate biological gender (i.e. FtM with biological males, and MtF with biological girls)
Note: If my terminology is incorrect or offensive, please let me know as I have no desire to offend, just to gain understanding.

[DapperButch]

I see. I understand that testosterone would allow someone to bulk up more muscle than a cisgender girl, however that muscle mass would have to build over time, so whether or not an actual advantage was to be had would be dependent on how long they had been on T, how much resistance training the youth did, how large the transgender youth was to begin with, etc.
My apologies for the error in term, as I said I am not super familiar with the subject in general, and am trying to understand.
As I said, I do agree that the youth should be competing with the other boys, I was just curious if the specific case actually involved an advantage to the degree that he title should be taken away. (I was not successful at gaining the information I felt was necessary to actually make a judgement call in this specific case)
Many cisgender girls use organic dietary supplements that allow them to gain larger muscle mass. I have heard of cases where their titles were challenged for unfair advantage, but no of none where someone's title was stripped. (This does not include steroid use, that is always a no, no and cause for disqualification from competition and removal of any titles gained)
Anyway, I am wondering if use of such dietary supplements should also be considered unfair and be banned.

My major concern is that people may try to exclude transgender youth from competition entirely (which would be completely wrong) instead of considering each case individually. The best and obvious solution is to allow transgender youth to compete with the appropriate biological gender (i.e. FtM with biological males, and MtF with biological girls)
Note: If my terminology is incorrect or offensive, please let me know as I have no desire to offend, just to gain understanding.

Hi, Stoicstone. I don't have time to respond right now, but I just wanted to quickly tell you that you are on point with your language. I am glad you did not take offense to my correction and appreciate your openness to information on this topic. Of course, i find all things trans related to be interesting!

I will circle back and respond tonight.

[DapperButch]

I see. I understand that testosterone would allow someone to bulk up more muscle than a cisgender girl, however that muscle mass would have to build over time, so whether or not an actual advantage was to be had would be dependent on how long they had been on T, how much resistance training the youth did, how large the transgender youth was to begin with, etc.
My apologies for the error in term, as I said I am not super familiar with the subject in general, and am trying to understand.
As I said, I do agree that the youth should be competing with the other boys, I was just curious if the specific case actually involved an advantage to the degree that he title should be taken away. (I was not successful at gaining the information I felt was necessary to actually make a judgement call in this specific case)
Many cisgender girls use organic dietary supplements that allow them to gain larger muscle mass. I have heard of cases where their titles were challenged for unfair advantage, but no of none where someone's title was stripped. (This does not include steroid use, that is always a no, no and cause for disqualification from competition and removal of any titles gained)
Anyway, I am wondering if use of such dietary supplements should also be considered unfair and be banned.

My major concern is that people may try to exclude transgender youth from competition entirely (which would be completely wrong) instead of considering each case individually. The best and obvious solution is to allow transgender youth to compete with the appropriate biological gender (i.e. FtM with biological males, and MtF with biological girls)
Note: If my terminology is incorrect or offensive, please let me know as I have no desire to offend, just to gain understanding.

The trans boy wanted to wrestle on the boys' team and they would not allow him to.

I don't know how to explain the issue of strength any better than I have.

If you believe that a 17 year old boy has an advantage over a 17 year old girl, than this trans boy (who is taking testosterone), would have the same advantage.

I believe that those who have testosterone as the primary hormone flowing in their bodies (cis males, and trans males who are on testosterone), should compete against each other. I believe that people who do not have testosterone as their primary hormone (cis females, and trans female who are on testosterone blockers), should compete against each other. I believe that if a trans boy, who is NOT on testosterone wants to compete with the boys, that is his right. He is coming from a place of disadvantage, not advantage. I would have difficulty with a trans girl competing against cis girls if she was not taking a testosterone blocker. I believe that competition should start from a place of being on equal footing, not with one person having an advantage over another.

Supplements that supposedly increase testosterone do not work in cis women. They only work in men.

[StoicStone]

The trans boy wanted to wrestle on the boys' team and they would not allow him to.

I don't know how to explain the issue of strength any better than I have.

If you believe that a 17 year old boy has an advantage over a 17 year old girl, than this trans boy (who is taking testosterone), would have the same advantage.

I believe that those who have testosterone as the primary hormone flowing in their bodies (cis males, and trans males who are on testosterone), should compete against each other. I believe that people who do not have testosterone as their primary hormone (cis females, and trans female who are on testosterone blockers), should compete against each other. I believe that if a trans boy, who is NOT on testosterone wants to compete with the boys, that is his right. He is coming from a place of disadvantage, not advantage. I would have difficulty with a trans girl competing against cis girls if she was not taking a testosterone blocker. I believe that competition should start from a place of being on equal footing, not with one person having an advantage over another.

Supplements that supposedly increase testosterone do not work in cis women. They only work in men.

I agree that transgender youth should compete with the biological gender they identify with.
cisgender males have their entire life to build their muscle mass, so they have a clear advantage. The only real way to make 1 on 1 sports fair would be to measure muscle mass, and adjust the divisions of competition on that basis instead of weight, pero that is not likely to happen (people resist any kind of change).

I thank you for your patience and understanding and for the knowledge you have imparted to me. I have found another site that will give me more specific information on my grandchild's situation (MtF). I will bother you no further. I apologize for the intrusion into your conversation. Again, thank you very much for the insight.

[DapperButch]

I agree that transgender youth should compete with the biological gender they identify with.
cisgender males have their entire life to build their muscle mass, so they have a clear advantage. The only real way to make 1 on 1 sports fair would be to measure muscle mass, and adjust the divisions of competition on that basis instead of weight, pero that is not likely to happen (people resist any kind of change).

I thank you for your patience and understanding and for the knowledge you have imparted to me. I have found another site that will give me more specific information on my grandchild's situation (MtF). I will bother you no further. I apologize for the intrusion into your conversation. Again, thank you very much for the insight.

No interruption whatsoever! As a trans man I appreciate the opportunity to educate people on anything related to transition, or the community. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

[cricket26]

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/26/brief-july-26/


Vr2n6nSW_00

[cricket26]

https://scontent-dft4-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20294020_10154752104181778_413569043384977089_n.jp g?oh=e97b22632eeea8aff875d3083613d108&oe=5A38924F

[DapperButch]

Dr. Christine McGinn, a well known, well respected trans surgeon has offered to complete transgender surgery for free for those military personnel who are already scheduled for surgery through the military. She said that some are scheduled for surgery very soon.

She is amazing. I am actually pretty surprised since she is a surgeon who continues to not take insurance. I suspect that her veteran status is what really propelled her to do this. She was a flight surgeon who was once nominated as best flight surgeon in the entire Navy.

I am so impressed!

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/29/us/trans-military-surgeon-cnntv/index.html

[DapperButch]

I don't know why I didn't think this would really happen....

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/08/04/trumps-trans-military-ban-now-policy/

Though the policy—called “A Guidance Policy for Open Transgender Service Phase Out”—has not yet been made public, sources familiar with the planning said it would encourage early retirement, usher out any enlisted personnel after their contract is up, and would fire trans officers up for promotion. Basically, said a source, “the administration wants to get rid of transgender service members as fast as they can.”

No one yet knows what will happen to the service members currently fighting in combat. The new policy does allow trans service members to continue serving but apparently does not offer any protection from harassment or other efforts to get them to quit.

[Kätzchen]

Dapper???? Did you see the early morning news headline that a terribly tragedy occurred yesterday? An Transgendered girl was brutally beaten to death and their eyes were gouged out too!

Just horrific, the hate that's out there! :(

LINK:

http://nypost.com/2017/09/27/sheriff-insists-murder-of-transgender-teen-not-a-hate-crime/

[DapperButch]

I am not holding my breath that this will "stick", but it is a good sign...

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a White House policy barring military service by transgender troops, ruling that it was based on “disapproval of transgender people generally.”

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia found the administration’s justification for the ban, which was set to take effect in March 2018, to be suspect and likely unconstitutional. She ruled that the military’s current policy should remain in place.

“There is absolutely no support for the claim that the ongoing service of transgender people would have any negative effective on the military at all,” the judge wrote in a strongly worded, 76-page ruling. “In fact, there is considerable evidence that it is the discharge and banning of such individuals that would have such effects.”

Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted that the White House’s proposed policies likely violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution, writing that “a number of factors — including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself — strongly suggest that Plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment claim is meritorious.”

Monday’s ruling was seen as an encouraging step for supporters. It stops a plan to discharge all transgender troops, allows current transgender troops to re-enlist and permits transgender recruits to join the military starting in January.

“She basically wiped the slate clean,” said Shannon Minter, a lawyer at the National Center for Lesbian Rights who represented the plaintiffs, adding that while the ruling could be appealed, he was confident that it effectively marked the end of the ban because the judge said it violated the Constitution.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly did not impose an injunction on the ban on sex reassignment surgery because she said it did not apply to any of the plaintiffs. But the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that in blocking the entire policy, the ruling effectively shelved the ban on sex reassignment surgery as well.

President Trump announced in a series of Twitter messages in July that American forces could not afford the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of transgender troops, and said “the United States Government will not accept or allow them to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” A presidential memorandum released in August required all transgender service members to be discharged starting in March 2018.

The announcement blindsided many in the military, which had been moving ahead with plans to integrate transgender troops, based on a 2016 study commissioned by the military that found that allowing transgender people to serve openly would “have minimal impact on readiness and health care costs” for the Pentagon. It estimated that health care costs would rise $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year, representing an almost unnoticeable 0.04 to 0.13 percent increase in spending. The study also projected “little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness.”

Civil rights groups immediately sued the administration on behalf of transgender service members, arguing that the ban was discriminatory and violated their constitutional right to due process and equal protection under the law. A number of lawsuits are still pending.

The government had asked that the case be dismissed, but Judge Kollar-Kotelly denied the motion, writing that while “perhaps compelling in the abstract,” the government’s arguments for dismissal “wither away under scrutiny.” Judge Kollar-Kotelly was nominated to a lower court in the District of Columbia by President Ronald Reagan and was named to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton.

The suit was filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights on behalf of five unnamed transgender women serving in the Coast Guard, Army and Air Force. Many of the women had served for years as men and had been deployed to war zones before coming out to commanders when the ban was lifted in 2016. One is a few years from retirement, according to court documents. Another told her commander she wanted to keep serving, but would resign if the military moved to forcibly discharge her.

Big, huge news today,” said Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, a Navy supply corps officer who is transgender and is the director of Sparta, an L.G.B.T. military group with more than 650 active-duty members. “A lot of people’s lives were put on hold. They thought their careers were ending. This means we can continue to serve with honor, as we have been doing.”

Petty Officer Eva Kerry, 24, who is transgender and is training to operate nuclear reactors, said the ruling lifted an obsessive dread over the impending end of a Navy career she loves. “I remain optimistic that the Constitution I swore an oath to will continue to protect the rights of all Americans,” she said on Monday.

The decision is the latest in a series of controversial White House policies halted by the courts, including limiting travel from predominantly Muslim countries and withholding federal grant money from so-called sanctuary cities. Asked for comment, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the Justice Department was reviewing the ruling.

“We disagree with the court’s ruling and are currently evaluating the next steps,” the department said in a statement, calling the lawsuit “premature” because the military was still reviewing the policy.

The decision is a blow for social conservatives, who have pushed to curtail transgender policies since the ban was lifted in 2016. In June, some Republicans in Congress unsuccessfully sought to force a ban on sex reassignment surgery by attaching it to the annual military spending bill. In response, Mr. Trump made a far bolder move to ban transgender service members entirely.

At the time, Representative Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri, openly praised what she said was the president’s willingness to put national security first. On Monday, her press secretary said she would not comment on the ruling.

Democrats in Congress, who in September introduced legislation to protect transgender troops from discharge, were quick to mark a victory.

“Federal courts have again beat back the sinister specter of discrimination bred within the Trump White House,” Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in a statement. “This court order will allow our transgender troops to continue serving based on their ability to fight, train, and deploy — regardless of gender identity.”

Logan Ireland, an Air Force staff sergeant who was not involved in the lawsuits, said he and other transgender troops were hopeful but cautious. He said the president could still take steps to discharge them.

More than anything, the Afghanistan veteran, who leads security forces, said he hoped the end of the ban would allow him to concentrate more on his work.

“We want to go back to serving,” he said. “There are troops that work under me, there is work to be done. We want to do it. After all, we are here for our country, not who sits in the White House.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/u...-ban.html?_r=0

[*Anya*]

An Embattled North Carolina Seeks to Outrun a Law’s Bitter Legacy

By ALAN BLINDERNOV. 4, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. —

North Carolina wanted its reputation back.

Worn down by about a year of battles and boycotts, its leaders cut a deal in March to repeal a law that had restricted restroom access for transgender people. But North Carolina is finding that it is easier to plunge into a culture war than it is to leave one behind.

“This isn’t like the Cold War where it came, it went, it was over and people didn’t worry about it anymore,” a longtime Republican strategist, Carter Wrenn, said.

The day-to-day debate, Democrats and Republicans often note, has receded, and the national uproar that buffeted North Carolina beginning in March 2016 has largely abated. Still, a battered and weary state is slogging through a landscape of residual damage that some observers warn will not fade quickly.

The state’s most powerful elected officials just recently sparred, in effect, over the matter of who should be allowed to use which restrooms in publicly owned buildings. The politics of House Bill 2, as the now-repealed law is still commonly known, has also touched mayoral races in Charlotte and Raleigh.

States like California and New York have kept their bans on public employees using tax dollars for nonessential trips to North Carolina. And some transgender residents remain so anxious that they time meals to avoid the need to use public restrooms.

“It’s kind of like one of those hangovers you get in college that lasts for a few days,” said Matt Hirschy, the interim executive director of Equality North Carolina, an advocacy group. “Unfortunately for us, it’s going to last for a few years, at least.”

In a state where partisan rancor is a bipartisan pastime, people still marvel at how quickly and broadly H.B. 2, which required people in publicly owned buildings to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender listed on their birth certificate, reshaped perceptions of North Carolina.

The law was championed by Republicans, who argued that it was crucial to public safety and a rebuff to an overreaching city government in Charlotte, and attracted some Democratic support.

Critics organized a staggering backlash to a measure they called intolerant, anachronistic and contrary to generations of political moderation in North Carolina. Some of the nation’s most influential corporations openly attacked the law; the N.C.A.A. said it would stop hosting championship events in this sports-crazed state; and the Justice Department, under President Barack Obama, brought what could have become a momentous civil rights lawsuit.

About a year after the law took effect, with the potential economic costs projected to run into the billions of dollars, officials struck a deal that transgender rights groups attacked as a “fake repeal” that did not strip away the intent of the measure.

The national outrage ebbed anyway, business groups and convention planners appeared mostly satisfied, and the N.C.A.A. relented.

But, in a signal of how North Carolina has so far been unable to outrun the law’s legacy, political tensions flared again last month when Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, proposed a settlement in related litigation. As part of the deal, Mr. Cooper agreed to declare that “transgender people are not prevented from the use of public facilities in accordance with their gender identity.”

The General Assembly’s leading Republicans, who either declined to comment or did not respond to interview requests, swiftly condemned the proposal as “a stunt” that proved that Mr. Cooper “acted in bad faith and lied about wanting to end the focus on H.B. 2.” (A federal judge in Winston-Salem is considering the proposed settlement.)

Indeed, Republicans contend that any lingering discussion about the law and its repercussions is driven only by transgender rights activists, their elected allies and the news media.

“There is no escape because there are certain interest groups that want to keep bringing it up, and the media loves it, too,” said Pat McCrory, the Republican former governor whose support for H.B. 2 contributed to his defeat last November, when Donald J. Trump easily carried North Carolina.

“Most of us, including me, would just as soon move on,” Mr. McCrory added. Mr. Cooper, who said in March that the repeal legislation “cannot be the only step,” defended his decisions and said, “They set the fire, and I’m working to put it out.” “I think most North Carolinians believe we are moving in the right direction, but many of them know we still have more work to do,” said Mr. Cooper, whose actions last month were timed for the day before the deadline for proposals for Amazon’s second headquarters. “But I believe that North Carolina is a welcoming place and a great state to do business. We have taken enough important steps to signal to the world that we’re open for business, and it’s pretty clear that businesses are responding in a positive way.”

Strategists on both sides of the debate agree that voters have tired of talk about H.B. 2, but there is no consensus on how much the law will influence next year’s elections.

“I find it highly unlikely that you will find the national money trying to make North Carolina a cultural battleground state at the legislative level,” said Art Pope, a conservative financier who served in Mr. McCrory’s administration.

A poll conducted by Elon University in April found that about two-thirds of North Carolina’s registered voters thought the state’s reputation had worsened in the year since the law’s approval. Issues like the economy and education now appear most crucial to winning over state voters, but surveys suggest that residents remain irritated over H.B. 2 and the issues that surround it.

“I think the volume has been turned down,” Mr. Hirschy of Equality North Carolina said. “The fervor is still there in our community, and if you ask our opponents, their fervor is still there.”

Perhaps so, to the possible political benefit of both sides. An influential group of religious conservatives recently produced an advertisement complaining that a candidate for mayor of Charlotte “endorsed a radical, national L.G.B.T. agenda allowing men in women’s locker rooms and bathrooms.” The election is Tuesday.

But for many of the state’s transgender residents, estimated at nearly 45,000 by a research institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, H.B. 2’s repercussions do not play out on television screens.

They are reflected, transgender people said, in quick decisions about whether to have a second cup of coffee and in choices about how much to share about themselves in conversation.

“Before, whether or not you identified yourself as being transgender to someone was based on whether or not you perceived them as an ally or someone who would be O.K. with it,” said Candis Cox, an activist who is a transgender woman. “Now, what we have is a climate in which you really have a lot of trepidation about trusting people because we have now seen that people can seem to have all of the support in the world for you but have ulterior motives.”

And there is a measured sense that the fury of the H.B. 2 debate could someday be rekindled. On this matter, at least, there is some agreement. “What we’re seeing is a kind of holding of the breath,” Ms. Cox said. “That’s where we’re at right now because we were dealt this awful blow, and it’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. We don’t know where we are. The people who supported H.B. 2 — the citizens, the politicians — we know that they’re still there.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/us/north-carolina-transgender-law.html?_r=0

[DapperButch]

Transgender Candidate Danica Roem Wins Historic Election to the Virginia State Legislature
The 33-year-old Democrat will be the first transgender person elected and seated to a state legislature.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a13445060/danica-roem-wins-transgender-virginia-election/

[Mopsie]

Transgender Candidate Danica Roem Wins Historic Election to the Virginia State Legislature
The 33-year-old Democrat will be the first transgender person elected and seated to a state legislature.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a13445060/danica-roem-wins-transgender-virginia-election/

You beat me to it - was going to post on this. So proud of my state tonight!!

[DapperButch]

Just a reminder that today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. :vigil:

[DapperButch]

Most people have probably heard by now, but we are now allowed to enlist.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/11/politics/us-pentagon-transgender-enlist/index.html

Although trans service members weren't being kicked out, they weren't allowed to reenlist either. I believe that they were supposed to be removed if they were to move to a higher rank, however (?).

This link includes Dr. Christine McGinn who had agreed to perform surgeries for free for those service members who were already on her schedule for surgery (she is a Veteran). She said that in November she received a check from the government for the surgery that was already scheduled, for a pt. who had already been transitioning through her (could have been electrolysis, HRT, already had vaginoplasty but was getting a revision, ?).

Sooo for those of you who have had your heart on the military, go for it before they have a "change of heart".

[DapperButch]

Obituaries

Ben Barres, transgender brain researcher and advocate of diversity in science, dies at 63

By Matt Schudel December 30, 2017

Ben Barres, a neurobiologist who made groundbreaking discoveries regarding the structure and function of the brain that may have implications for understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative disorders and who, as a transgender man, became an outspoken opponent of gender bias in science, died Dec. 27 at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 63.

His death was announced by Stanford University, where he was a professor of neurobiology in the medical school. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Barres was one of the world’s leading researchers on glial cells, which are the most numerous structures in the brain but whose purpose was almost a complete mystery.

“Until Ben grabbed hold of this, there was very little known about what they did in the brain,” Beth Stevens, a Harvard University professor and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient who studied with Dr. Barres, said in an interview. “He made a remarkable number of discoveries and launched many avenues of research. He started a whole new field.”

There are three primary types of glial cells, or glia — microglia, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes — but before Dr. Barres began to look at glia, their functions were poorly understood. Most researchers concentrated on the brain’s neurons, which send electrical impulses.

Trained as a physician, Dr. Barres had an early interest in diseases of the brain. Other scientists had noticed that irregularly shaped glial cells were often found near damaged brain tissue, and Dr. Barres began to study whether the glia affected other structures in the brain.

“He has made one shocking, revolutionary discovery after another,” Martin Raff, a biologist at University College London who once trained Dr. Barres, told Discover magazine in August.

Dr. Barres sought to understand the normal functions of glial cells to understand what happened when things went awry. Among other things, the glia appeared to help neurons form synapse connections to transmit electrical signals throughout the brain. Some glial cells (oligodendrocytes) wrapped around neurons like insulation, making them work more efficiently.

Dr. Barres also discovered that some glial cells — the astrocytes, in particular — could have harmful effects. In what he described as “the most important discovery my lab has ever made,” he showed in a 2017 article published in the journal Nature that the glia could undergo changes or secrete substances that could damage neurons and other cells in the brain.

In other words, glial cells might contribute to the degeneration of brain tissue that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), glaucoma and other conditions. Dr. Barres’s work holds promise for other researchers to explore ways to treat or prevent such debilitating illnesses.

“He laid the groundwork for many other scientists,” Stevens said. “He’s really cracked open a whole new phenomenon.”

Dr. Barres began his scientific career when he was known as Barbara Barres. After undergoing hormone treatments and surgery, Dr. Barres became known as Ben Barres in 1997. His experience led him to become a powerful advocate for women and other marginalized people he believed were denied opportunities in a scientific world dominated by men.

I have this perspective,” he told the Associated Press in 2006. “I’ve lived in the shoes of a woman, and I’ve lived in the shoes of a man. It’s caused me to reflect on the barriers women face.”

In 2005, Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers attributed the relative dearth of female scientists to the “intrinsic aptitude” of women. The next year, Dr. Barres published a scathing essay in Nature, in which he wrote that the ad feminam statements by Summers and other scholars were “nothing more than blaming the victim.”

“The comments,” he wrote, “about women’s lesser innate abilities are all wrongful and personal attacks on my character and capabilities, as well as on my colleagues’ and students’ abilities and self-esteem. I will certainly not sit around silently and endure them.”

Dr. Barres cited studies showing that boys and girls had comparable test scores in mathematics and science but that the college science departments, tenure committees and grant-awarding panels were overwhelmingly controlled by men.

Two Harvard professors jumped into the fray, with one, political scientist Harvey C. Mansfield, calling Dr. Barres “a political fruitcake” and another, psychologist Steven Pinker, complaining that Dr. Barres had “reduced science to Oprah.”

.“If a famous scientist or the president of a prestigious university is going to pronounce in public that women are likely to be innately inferior,” Dr. Barres wrote in his Nature essay, “would it be too much to ask that they be aware of the relevant data?”

Citing his own experience, Dr. Barres recalled that, after his transition to life as a man, he led a seminar at an academic conference. A colleague overheard another scientist say, “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister’s.”

Dr. Barres wrote that in everyday transactions as well as in academic circles, “people who don’t know I am transgendered treat me with much more respect” than when he was living as a woman. “I can even complete a whole sentence without being interrupted by a man.”

[‘A towering legacy of goodness’: Ben Barres’s fight for diversity in science]

Dr. Barres was born Sept. 13, 1954, in West Orange, N.J. His father was a salesman.

From the age of about 4, Dr. Barres, who had a fraternal twin sister, preferred boys’ toys and clothing. For Halloween, the young Barbara Barres dressed as a football player or soldier.

“I felt like a boy,” Dr. Barres said on the “Charlie Rose” show in 2015. “The brain has innate circuits that determine our gender identity. And so being transgender is not a choice that I made.”

Dr. Barres had an early interest in science and became the first member of his family to attend college. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he later wrote, “I was the only person in a large class of people of nearly all men to solve a hard math problem, only to be told by the professor that my boyfriend must have solved it for me.”

After graduating from MIT in 1976, he received a medical degree from Dartmouth in 1979. He later enrolled in graduate school at Harvard, working nights as a physician. He received a PhD in neurobiology — his second doctorate — in 1990.

Dr. Barres then studied at University College London before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993.

When Dr. Barres was 41 — and still known as Barbara — he developed breast cancer, a disease his mother died of at about the same age. He underwent a mastectomy.

“I said, ‘While you are there, please take off the other breast,’ ” Dr. Barres said on “Charlie Rose.” “Since this cancer runs in my family, he did agree to remove the other breast.

“And I just can’t tell you how therapeutic that was. I felt so relieved to have those breasts removed.”

Dr. Barres later read an article about a transgender man who had undergone a female-to-male transition.

“I realized for the first time in my life,” he said in 2015, “that there were other people like me and that I might be transgender.”

He began to take testosterone, which led to a deeper voice, a beard and male-pattern baldness. Meanwhile, with the full encouragement of his Stanford colleagues, his scientific work continued without interruption. (Dr. Barres also had prosopagnosia, sometimes called face blindness, which made him unable to recognize faces. He identified people by their voices, hairstyles or other sensory cues.)

In addition to running a laboratory with 15 to 20 researchers, Dr. Barres taught classes in the medical school and became chairman of the neurobiology department. He also developed Stanford’s master of medicine program, combining clinical work and research, and became an informal adviser to female, gay and transgender science students.

Researchers at his laboratory were an unusually diverse group, with women often outnumbering men. His former students now run research labs at Harvard, Duke University, New York University and elsewhere.

“It was the most fun and creatively dynamic environment I’ve ever worked in,” said Stevens, the Harvard scientist who was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Barres’s laboratory from 2004 to 2008. “He created such a tight family. These are not just scientists working at the bench. These are people who are working together and helping each other.”

Dr. Barres had two surviving sisters and a brother.

After learning of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Dr. Barres arranged for other scientists to take over his laboratory, wrote recommendation letters and gave interviews about his journey as a woman and later as a man through science.

“I feel like I have a responsibility to speak out,” he said. “Anyone who has changed sex has done probably the hardest thing they can do. It’s freeing, in a way, because it makes me more fearless about other things.”



https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...=.fe1ee560057e

[JDeere]

http://www.afterellen.com/general-news/559907-queer-identified-women-jump-lesbian-outside-of-a-drag-show

What do y'all think?

[charley]

http://www.afterellen.com/general-news/559907-queer-identified-women-jump-lesbian-outside-of-a-drag-show

What do y'all think?

Here is one thing I do not understand at all, what is a Terf? I read the article and didn't get what was going on... Someone care to explain... And what is with this violence? Personally, I do not accept violence as a valid solution to any conflict.

[JDeere]

Here is one thing I do not understand at all, what is a Terf? I read the article and didn't get what was going on... Someone care to explain... And what is with this violence? Personally, I do not accept violence as a valid solution to any conflict.

I read it as well and it confused me too. I know what a terf is but the violence within the gltbqi community is ridiculous.

Terf is a trans exclusionary radical feminist.

[charley]

I read it as well and it confused me too. I know what a terf is but the violence within the gltbqi community is ridiculous.

Terf is a trans exclusionary radical feminist.

Thanks, JDeere; okay, so I finally googled Wikipedia:

"They are, in short, a hate group that by no means represents mainstream feminism."

Ah, I now get that their violence is motivated by hatred - absolutely horrid. First, I learned about the incel movement because of the Toronto van killings, and now this! Am stunned!
Women grouping together (vigilantism) & beating up transfolk - mind-boggling.

[JDeere]

Thanks, JDeere; okay, so I finally googled Wikipedia:

"They are, in short, a hate group that by no means represents mainstream feminism."

Ah, I now get that their violence is motivated by hatred - absolutely horrid. First, I learned about the incel movement because of the Toronto van killings, and now this! Am stunned!
Women grouping together (vigilantism) & beating up transfolk - mind-boggling.

There have been transfolk who have beat up on TERF'S as well.

[*Anya*]

I really have not wanted to talk about this here.

I have no way of knowing how it would be received here but it is a very, very, big issue out in the rest of the lesbian world.

There are blogs upon blogs and posts in Tumblr and Twitter and forums, of a large group of transwomen advocating violence against lesbians that chose to not have sex with them, but chose to have sex only with biologically female lesbians.

I have seen and could post here- but won't- of some of the most vicious calls for violence against lesbians, as well as documented celebrations of actual violence against lesbians.

It has become a "thing" in the world outside of BFP.

It upsets me beyond measure.

TERF is a slur. It is a vile slur.

It is once again women being attacked.

You won't find gay men being attacked verbally or physically by transmen if they chose to have sex with only biologically gay men.

No, Only lesbians get this treatment.

What JDeere is referring to is the most recent experience in which a lesbian in a bar made a comment pereceived to be anti-transwomen, so a group of her friends, including the transwoman, beat the shit out of the lesbian outside the bar and then celebrated that they did this online afterward. I read all of their posts.

What the everlasting fuck??!

After all the years that lesbians fought for their right to exist and fuck who they choose, lesbians are being verbally and physically attacked within the queer community?

It feels to many lesbians that there is an attempt to erase us.

BFP has been a safe place for me. I have not had to deal with this here but out in the rest of the real world and the online community it is now happening.

[Femmewench]

I was so eloquent in my first version of this post. Then the ether ate it.

TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) is to MtFs as incel (involuntarily celibate - men who can't find women willing to have sex with them) is to men. I don't owe anyone sex. To say that I do is to take away my right of self-determination.

And incels are talking online about getting what is owed to them - by force if necessary. This sounds remarkably similar to the group of MtFs who allegedly beat up the lesbian in the article. Give them what they want or they'll punish us. The first would be rape, and the second is battery. The amount of anger I felt reading that article stunned me.

Both reek to me of male privilege gone wrong. It's not the fact that the physical transition for the trans woman in the article isn't complete that ensures lesbians find her unattractive. It's the fact that anyone expects someone to have sex with them that makes them unattractive.

TERF is a term applied to us not adopted by us. And that slur doesn't effect me at all because it's not a descriptor of me. It does tell me all I would need to know about someone who uses the term.

I can't imagine living in a body which doesn't match my internal knowledge of my real self. It's not an excuse to belittle others or hurt others.

If I offended anyone with this post, please PM me. It was not my intent.

[*Anya*]

I was so eloquent in my first version of this post. Then the ether ate it.

TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) is to MtFs as incel (involuntarily celibate - men who can't find women willing to have sex with them) is to men. I don't owe anyone sex. To say that I do is to take away my right of self-determination.

And incels are talking online about getting what is owed to them - by force if necessary. This sounds remarkably similar to the group of MtFs who allegedly beat up the lesbian in the article. Give them what they want or they'll punish us. The first would be rape, and the second is battery. The amount of anger I felt reading that article stunned me.

Both reek to me of male privilege gone wrong. It's not the fact that the physical transition for the trans woman in the article isn't complete that ensures lesbians find her unattractive. It's the fact that anyone expects someone to have sex with them that makes them unattractive.

TERF is a term applied to us not adopted by us. And that slur doesn't effect me at all because it's not a descriptor of me. It does tell me all I would need to know about someone who uses the term.

I can't imagine living in a body which doesn't match my internal knowledge of my real self. It's not an excuse to belittle others or hurt others.

If I offended anyone with this post, please PM me. It was not my intent.

Thank you for this.

[Gemme]

http://www.afterellen.com/general-news/559907-queer-identified-women-jump-lesbian-outside-of-a-drag-show

What do y'all think?

I think the bloodlust is disgusting. Someone doesn't get someone else's identity so the solution is to beat them down the next time they come to the bar? I think that someone should have cooled their heels in a jail cell for that. What's wrong with debate and education?

[JDeere]

I think the bloodlust is disgusting. Someone doesn't get someone else's identity so the solution is to beat them down the next time they come to the bar? I think that someone should have cooled their heels in a jail cell for that. What's wrong with debate and education?

No clue. I was completely appalled at the whole situation in the article. I still have yet to fully understand.

[Wrang1er]

This is the first I have heard of TERF. It's horrible. It seems like hate is rampant these days. I suppose it was always there we just didn't have all the means of hearing about it as we do now. :(

[JDeere]

This is the first I have heard of TERF. It's horrible. It seems like hate is rampant these days. I suppose it was always there we just didn't have all the means of hearing about it as we do now. :(

I've known of TERFS for a very long time. Dont like em probably as much as they don't like me but ya know violence only makes shit worse.

[*Anya*]

I've known of TERFS for a very long time. Dont like em probably as much as they don't like me but ya know violence only makes shit worse.

TERFS are what lesbians are called that choose to have relationships with female born women.

They are called that by queer-identified transwomen that believe violence against lesbians that do not have sex with them is called for.

Is that what you mean when you say that you have known TERFS for a long time and don't like them?

TERF is a slur.

[Gemme]

TERF is a slur.

I hadn't heard the term before JDeere's article. If the energy that people use to tear others down was collected and applied to positive ventures, do you (general collective you) realize how far we could go as a nation and humankind?

[Medusa]

Hold up, folks.

I am getting messages and reports because several folks are very concerned about where this discussion is going...and I am too.

Just to be clear, this thread is a thread for Trans News and Issues. It does not feel safe or fair to have the "TERF" discussion in this thread since that term is being used to describe people who largely identify as Lesbians.

From my own studies, the usage of "TERF" has denoted Lesbians who are "Trans-exclusionary" from their brand of "Radical Feminism", meaning, they DO NOT view MtF's as "real" women. One could make the argument ( and I have seen it in multiple venues) that not seeing Trans women as "real" women is the real reason that Trans-exclusionists don't want to have sex with them.

Do we all agree that nobody of any gender owes sex to another person? God, I hope so. If not, get the fuck off of my site.

I would absolutely be down for having an in-depth, heated, radical discussion about the term "TERF" in the Red Zone, but not here.

Carry on.

Thank you,
Angie

[JDeere]

Hold up, folks.

I am getting messages and reports because several folks are very concerned about where this discussion is going...and I am too.

Just to be clear, this thread is a thread for Trans News and Issues. It does not feel safe or fair to have the "TERF" discussion in this thread since that term is being used to describe people who largely identify as Lesbians.

From my own studies, the usage of "TERF" has denoted Lesbians who are "Trans-exclusionary" from their brand of "Radical Feminism", meaning, they DO NOT view MtF's as "real" women. One could make the argument ( and I have seen it in multiple venues) that not seeing Trans women as "real" women is the real reason that Trans-exclusionists don't want to have sex with them.

Do we all agree that nobody of any gender owes sex to another person? God, I hope so. If not, get the fuck off of my site.

I would absolutely be down for having an in-depth, heated, radical discussion about the term "TERF" in the Red Zone, but not here.

Carry on.

Thank you,
Angie

Red zone is fine with me. My purpose was to bring to life the fact that this still exists and that the trans community should know shit like this still happens.

[nycfem]

Just a gentle reminder to all that if we mod, please don't respond on the thread to it. If you want to PM us regarding it, that's alright.

[Kätzchen]

I'm leaving an link today to some exceptional news coverage and latest articles found on the Huffington Post website. Lots of interesting stories about how current day activists and LGBTQ pioneers are shaping progress for others in the Trans community and how Matthew Shepherd policy advocates play an critical role in furthering social progress for all.

Cheers,
--K. :rose:

https://m.huffpost.com/us/feature/pride-2018

[Esme nha Maire]

Hi folks! I've just come across this article entitled "Non-coding DNA changes the genitals you're born with" on the Science Daily website:http://https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213729.htm

It's a fascinating and thought-provoking read!

[cathexis]

Hi folks! I've just come across this article entitled "Non-coding DNA changes the genitals you're born with" on the Science Daily website:http://https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213729.htm

It's a fascinating and thought-provoking read!

Really would like to read this article, there seems to
be some difficulty with the link. Would you be so kind
as to check and repost. Thanx

[Esme nha Maire]

Sure! That's weird, two posts in a row where I've posted links and they've not come out right. Never mind!

Here's the link again: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213729.htm

[cathexis]

Sure! That's weird, two posts in a row where I've posted links and they've not come out right. Never mind!

Here's the link again: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213729.htm

Works great now. Much appreciated. Really interesting article.

[cathexis]

The discussion about "TERF" vs FTM and the origin of the term and concept will be continued in the Red Zone. I will start a thread for further discussion pro or against.

[Esme nha Maire]

Diva magazine, the UK's only (I think) magazine aimed at lesbian and bi women, has spoken out against the shameful activities of the transphobic group calling themselves the "Lesbian Rights Alliance"
http://www.divamag.co.uk/Diva-Magazine/Views/An-open-letter-to-the-Lesbian-Rights-Alliance-You-do-not-speak-for-us/

I can say that from personal experience, as well as keeping a look out for items relating to trans issues, that it's clear that, at least in the UK, the LRA and those of like mind are but a tiny minority, and their agenda is firmly rejected by the vast majority of both lesbians and feminists.

[Kelt]

The quest to make German more gender-neutral (https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/07/26/the-quest-to-make-german-more-gender-neutral) (language)

[Kätzchen]

From the news headlines this morning, I read the latest article on how the current administration is trying to undo law on the books concerning Trans people in the greater LGBTQ community (see link below).

:firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck:


T***p Administration Eyes Defining Transgender Out Of Existence (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eyes-defining-transgender-out-of-existence/ar-BBOFkPk?ocid=spartanntp)

[CherylNYC]

From the news headlines this morning, I read the latest article on how the current administration is trying to undo law on the books concerning Trans people in the greater LGBTQ community (see link below).

:firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck:


T***p Administration Eyes Defining Transgender Out Of Existence (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eyes-defining-transgender-out-of-existence/ar-BBOFkPk?ocid=spartanntp)


This policy change would mean that intersex people would no longer officially exist.

[Kätzchen]

This policy change would mean that intersex people would no longer officially exist.

I think you are so correct, Cheryl.

The latest attacks levied against members of the greater LBGTQ community is very concerning and deeply worrisome.

I wondered what Dapper, Jesse or TheOddz or Anya (or other members of our community) might post concerning this issue and I came up with an excellent resource for press coverage on Trans Issues for members of our online community.

1) The Advocate (https://www.advocate.com/transgender)


and...

2) Here is an recent press release by The Advocate, covering what Trans members are doing locally and at national levels of press coverage.


We Will Not Be Erased (https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/10/22/major-lgbtq-organizations-stand-together-fight-anti-trans-assault) (video and press release by The Advocate)

[Esme nha Maire]

I am so proud of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association*; they're speaking up loud and clear against recent proposed changes to legislation involving trans and intersex folk in the USA, and calling for other sports bodies to speak up too:

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Condemns Discriminatory Policy in the US

*I'm a non-skating member of the Birmingham Blitz Dames, currently on sabbatical whilst I do my degree)

[cathexis]

From the news headlines this morning, I read the latest article on how the current administration is trying to undo law on the books concerning Trans people in the greater LGBTQ community (see link below).

:firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck: :firetruck:


T***p Administration Eyes Defining Transgender Out Of Existence (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eyes-defining-transgender-out-of-existence/ar-BBOFkPk?ocid=spartanntp)

It could cause transfolk to be disappeared as the Holocaust did to "gypsies". How many people nowadays have heard of the Romanies?

[Vincent]

It could cause transfolk to be disappeared as the Holocaust did to "gypsies". How many people nowadays have heard of the Romanies?

In Aust this has just been launched,to combat the same battle that is happening in the USA.
SAGE,won the high court battle for non gender specific birth certificates and passports.
The Norrie case.

Also in 2011,we won our case for me to get M,on my birth certificate,without having to be steralised "hysterectomy",although 3 yrs ago it was removed,due to ovarian cancer.

http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/national-news/new-suicide-prevention-project-launched-for-sex-and-gender-diverse-australians/173845?fbclid=IwAR3PfIhkZSKpF7wG5uNCtOOwBFrZtxMlhE SXjLmoaKhuEOSqVdGkfCCe4nc

ATM we have a full blown fundamentalist christian Prime minister,"not vai election"who is funded by the religious far right

[Bèsame*]

FILE - Reigning champion Patricia Manuel, of Commerce, Calif., competes in a 132-pound division at the 2010 USA boxing national championships, July 15, 2010, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Saturday night, Manuel, a transgender male, won his first professional bout.



A 33-year-old boxer entered the history books Saturday.

Pat Manuel is the first transgender male to fight professionally in the United States.

In a unanimous decision, Manuel was declared the winner in a fight against Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar in Indio, California.

“I’m a professional boxer now,” Manuel told the Los Angeles Times.

Saturday was not Manuel’s first foray into the boxing ring, however.

Olympic trials

He competed as a female in the 2012 Olympic trials for the London Games. A shoulder injury after just one fight dashed his Olympic dreams of competing in the first Olympic boxing tournament for women.

The end of one dream allowed him to pursue another dream he had held even longer — transitioning from a female to a male.

After months of hormone replacements and surgery, Manuel was ready to enter the ring again, but this time as a male.

California boxing authorities were not sure about issuing Manuel a boxing license. That all changed, however, when the International Olympic Committee ruled before the 2016 Rio Games that female-to-male transgender athletes could compete “without restriction.”

California license

California issued Manuel a license.

Aguilar, Manuel’s opponent Saturday, learned only two days before the fight about Manuel’s transition.

“It doesn’t change anything for me,” Aguilar said. “In the ring, he wants to win and I want to win, too.”

[JDeere]

It could cause transfolk to be disappeared as the Holocaust did to "gypsies". How many people nowadays have heard of the Romanies?

I have, maybe a handful of times, but I do know what you are speaking about!

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Romanies


However on the subject of trans people "non exisiting" I don't see it happening, native tribes to this day still acknowledge their members who are two spirit, I am thankful mine does!

[Kätzchen]

NCAA board of governors takes a stand in support of Trans athletes.

Article by Mother Jones:

https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2021/04/the-ncaa-signals-it-might-remove-championships-from-states-that-target-trans-athletes/

[homoe]

Brian Michael Smith of '9-1-1 Lonestar' is first transgender man to make 'People' list of 'Sexiest Men'.....




https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/brian-michael-smith-first-transgender-man-people-sexiest-men-182441455.html

[homoe]

Washington Post


The mental health establishment is failing trans kids.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/mental-health-establishment-failing-trans-002806212.html

[JDeere]

Washington Post


The mental health establishment is failing trans kids.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/mental-health-establishment-failing-trans-002806212.html

The mental health establishment and health care systems is failing everyone, but its failing more on lgbtqi individuals and indigenous people as well.

[cathexis]

The mental health establishment and health care systems is failing everyone, but its failing more on lgbtqi individuals and indigenous people as well.

Is there any single group that's being served properly by the medical/psychiatric community, not lgbtq, not cis-folk, not bipoc?

Medical workers are simply exhausted. I can't imagine having to be a nurse through a 2+ year long pandemic. Barely made it through a 10 day hurricane. I truly have no clue. My hat is off to all of those professionals.

[JDeere]

Is there any single group that's being served properly by the medical/psychiatric community, not lgbtq, not cis-folk, not bipoc?

Medical workers are simply exhausted. I can't imagine having to be a nurse through a 2+ year long pandemic. Barely made it through a 10 day hurricane. I truly have no clue. My hat is off to all of those professionals.

mainly rich people of all colors, get proper healthcare...