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Tennessee Vals
Newsletter DECEMBER 2001
Upcoming
Group Meetings
In This Issue:
The Queens Throne by Marisa
Richmond
marisaval@aol.com
Are we really in December already? Where has the year gone? This millennium is already flying by! I swear, the year 2001 went by a lot faster than the movie....It certainly has been an interesting and busy year. Some things were more pleasurable than others, but all was educational.
Shortly after New Year’s, I went to Boston for the annual meeting of the American Historical Association. Although I had gone to college there, I still found myself able to get out and do a few things I had not done before: like eat lunch at Cheers and visit the headquarters of IFGE. I was also quite fascinated in September to see my hotel there being overrun by FBI agents looking for possible terrorists....
In the spring, I attended the IFGE convention in Illinois. I do believe some good came of this, especially since many did agree that we need to coordinate and work better together in order to accomplish our goals. Unfortunately, we just have not yet decided which ones should receive priority. One interesting moment from that convention was our visit to the Riki Swin Institute. When I wrote about this in my May column, I stated “as a professional historian, I would have enjoyed getting a look at the actual resources which were boxed up....” Since I wrote that, I have read many similar comments from others in attendance who seemed to feel the reception was more self serving than anything else. If RSI really intends to serve the community, then it is time they published a list of research resources available for scholars interested in transgendered subjects. I also agree with many others who argue that grants to financially struggling transgendered organizations would go a long way towards helping others doing significant work around this very large country.
I then spent much of the summer concentrating on two things: organizing Southern Comfort and my own personal transition (yes, you read that right!). Southern Comfort was definitely the bigger of the two headaches, but despite all the events of mid-September, we went forward and still drew 600 attendees determined not to live in fear.
Here in Nashville, we did have an additional problem caused by a former Treasurer of the Tennessee Vals. We discovered she had embezzled money–to the tune of nearly $1600–which led us to prosecute the case in court. She pled guilty in court and is required to pay back the money in full within nine months or face a jail term. This should be a lesson to all that this community shall not allow itself to be victimized by anyone, including predators from within our own circles. On a more positive note, our newsletter editor and web mistress, Julie Phillips, had a beautiful commitment ceremony in late July in which I got to be one of the bridesmaids.
Even though we are now completing the first full year of the 21st Century of the Christian Calendar, we still have far to go in order to rid our world of hatred and prejudice. Sure, the perpetrators of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and whomever is responsible for the anthrax mailings, have a total disregard for human life, but intolerance and prejudice still persists in many other ways. Even as the U.S. Armed Forces transforms the Killing Floor that is the mountains of Central Asia, how many of you support true freedom of speech, even if that person supports burning a flag to oppose U.S. policy? How many support freedom of religion, as long as it does not include Muslims, pagans, wiccans or atheists? How many in our own community desire acceptance because they are “not gay”–as if that was a bad thing? Yes, we definitely have a long way to go.
As for me, I plan to do the same things in 2002 that I have done in 2001 and before: working to educate others (I am a teacher after all!) to identify those engaged in hypocrisy and prejudice. Of course that job would be a lot easier if I had my wrist radio and magic decoder ring....
And don’t forget to renew your membership or this newsletter will be your last. Have a happy Holiday season–regardless of which Holidays you may recognize.
This year, for your holiday dining and dancing pleasure, Auntie Pam and the staff of Left Of Center have decided to offer as our gift to you (...no purchase necessary), our rendition of the classic The Night Before Christmas. Written by Clement Moore in 1822 as a gift for his six children, the poem was originally titled A Visit With St. Nicholas. Its first publication was in the Troy Sentinel the following year, 1823. We're obligated to give some background since we're going to skewer a classic piece of American literature. Besides, we managed to fill up more space writing about feeling obligated. So, with sincere apologies to Clement Moore, here is the transgendered version of: The Night Before Christmas.
'Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the
mall
The stores were all
closing
Except Gals Big And Tall
I needed a gift
For a friend named
Paulette
Who looks like a
fullback
After loosing a bet
You hard to please
people
You know who you are
We search for your
gifts
Both near and both far
"This store is still
open,"
A voice called to me
As I walked through the
door
It was pleasing to see
A miniature salesclerk
Of uncertain gender
Could be a drag queen
In her holiday splendor
"Honey, come here,
"What do you think?"
She said, as she showed
me
A gown, with a wink
"If the colors just
right
"Then this one will do
"'Cause I know your
friend,
"She's a size 32."
"We have shoes to
match
"Now what do you say?"
All I could think of
was
"Where do I pay?"
She said, "We take
Visa
"And American Express
"Care to Discover
"Which payment is best?"
I said, "I'll pay
cash!"
As I dug through my
purse.
Hey, these prices ain't
bad
I coulda done worse
I turned round to thank
her
but with a snap of her
wrist
We were outside the
mall
And I heard her say this.
"My mascara has run
"My God, I'm a sight!
"Shopping season's now
over,
"Merry Christmas, Good night!"
A
Blonde, Brunette AND Redhead
byJulie
Phillips FabulBabe@aol.com
I was lying in my bed, soundly enjoying a long winter's nap when out in the living room, there arose a loud clatter.
I bolted upright in my bed, fearing what kind of uninvited guest has just entered my home. “Please, let it be something harmless, like a rabid possom,” I thought to myself.
I barely had time to reach for the nightstand, grab my good hair and slap it on my head before the sound of footsteps started echoing down the hall. Judging from the loud thud, thud, thud of the footsteps, this intruder must have been as big as a linebacker.
The room was dark, save the dim rays from a hallway nightlight that slipped through the cracks of the bedroom door. (Pretty dramatic sentence, huh?) I could hear the doorknob turning. The door slowly opened, revealing the outline of a huge person, almost seven feet tall, dressed in what looked like—velvet?
"Oh, great," I thought. "I'm being robbed by a pimp!"
Then suddenly, this loud commanding voice erupted from the intruder who stood in my door.
"Ho, ho, ho!" boomed the voice. “And that would be you!”
I was right. It WAS a pimp!
As I reached for the light, and my lipstick, the visitor declared, “Don't be alarmed, for I am Shantay Claus!“
She was dressed in a gorgeous red velvet outfit, trimmed with faux rabbit fur, and showcasing an unnecessarily deep plunging neckline. No wonder she made so much noise coming down the hall: she wore six-inch vinyl platform boots that came up to her thighs.
“Shantay Claus? Bahhh, humbug,” I said, unable to stop myself from using that obvious cliché.
“Perhaps you‘ve seen me on Jerry Springer, or caught one of my frequent late-night infomercials. I replaced Miss Cleo when she went to jail.”
“Yes, I HAVE seen you,” I announced, having caught that Springer episode just days earlier. “It’s a shame you got into a wig-pulling slap-fight with that dwarf.”
“Embarrassing, to say the least. But back to business. I am Shantay Claus, the fantastical, magical drag queen who travels around the world one night a year to deliver gifts to all the good little crossdressers everywhere! And in this bag, I have all the gifts you’ve wanted this year. “
That's when I noticed the bag over her shoulder, and it wasn't a Gucci. It was a huge, lumpy red thing, so full it was practically bursting it's velvet seams.
"You wouldn't happen to have Brad Pitt in there,” I asked, because if she did, I wanted to do a quick touch-up on my eyes first.
“No, you hussy. You’ve already got your Mr. Wonderful. You see, Shantay Claus knows everything about you. I even know when you’ve been naughty or nice— or nice-and-naughty. He-he-he-he. Wanna buy a videotape of it?”
“No, you pervert,” I snapped.
“Well then, let me dig into my magical bag and see what wishes I can fulfill for you.”
Shantay Claus reached deep into her velvet bag as she spoke. “I know you’ve been performing in a lot of drag shows this past year. I’ve seen quite a few of them, so I’m bringing you exactly what you need to improve your act.”
Would she pull out a gorgeous evening gown? Or perhaps huge rhinestone-encrusted earrings the size of cantaloupes? My imagination was running wild with the possibilities when, out from the bag popped a hot pink leather Barcalounger recliner. Huh?
“Girl, I’ve seen your act, and you cannot dance worth a DAMN. Sit down and lip-synch and you’ll make twice as much in tips.”
Well! I was insulted! Who knew the good fairy was really such a nasty old queen?…..However, it was a Barcalounger, and they are the world leader in comfortable home furnishings at affordable prices, so I begrudgingly said, “Thank you, Shantay Claus.”
“I also know you entered a pageant and, sadly, you didn’t do well. You won no crown. No gift certificate to the mall. No Miss Congeniality. Nope. You won squat! But I am here to make you forget about that humiliating, tragic evening.”
Again, she reached into the bag with her long, red salon applied nails. This time, however, she pulled out no additional furniture. A matching ottoman for the recliner is the least she could do. Instead, she pulled out a tiara!
“A crown? For me?” I shouted with glee. (Forgive me, but something always has to rhyme in these holiday stories.) “This is soooooo cool! I‘ve always wanted to win a crown!” My girlish delight quickly diminished as I read the title inscribed on the tarnished tiara: “Miss Transmission Fluid, Iowa State Fair, 1963.” What the——????
“I got it for a steal at an estate sale. Look sister, I’m on a budget, too. This outfit isn’t exactly off-the-rack. You‘ll take it and you‘ll like it.”
I was preparing to grab her by her collar and throw her back UP the chimney when she announced that she had to hit the road.
“I’d love to stay and have a few cocktails, maybe help you with a makeover, but I’m on a very tight schedule. I’ve got thousands of other crossdressers to see before the sunrise and you know I’m not going to be caught in the daylight. Not with these fashion length eyelashes on. It would just be wrong.”
Putting a finger aside of her nose, she made a loud snorting sound and then mumbled something about a sinus headache. I really wasn’t listening at that point. I was far more interested in sulking over the lousy gifts I‘d received.
“I’m already behind schedule tonight,” Shantay Claus continued. “I went to visit this one closeted CD and had to wait an hour til her wife left the house.”
Shantay Claus climbed into the fireplace, prepared to bid adieu. There were many girls to visit before the night was through. (Sorry, another rhyme slipped in.)
Before rocketing up the chimney, she turned to me and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to buy one of the video cassettes? I’ve got ten copies in the van?”
As I reached for the lighter to start the fire, she rocketed up the chimney and out into the starry night. Then she exclaimed as she flew out of sight,,,,Uh, something about having a good night. I really wasn’t listening then either. I was busy trying to sand the inscription off the tiara.
My Closet by Leslie Louise DuPaix lldupaix@hotmail.com
Thanksgiving
I (Lesa) remember a time when “Bubba” (the nice guy I live in) was still denying me. I didn’t have a name yet, and it was hell for both of us. I tried to not be difficult and he in turn would bounce around between trying to ignore me, getting rid of me all together and trying to understand me. It wasn’t like he didn’t have plenty of problems in other areas of his life. A job that paid very well, but made sure he earned every penny of it and all of the challenges that go with a two-kid family and a sometimes-difficult spouse. He also had some religious conflicts going on, some of them to do with me; some of them to do with the position of his chosen religious franchise and the issue of family planning. The fact that he tended to take serious things very seriously added up to a lot of pressure inside and out.
It was summer, and the wife and kids were visiting relatives 1,000 miles a way and would not be back for several weeks. He had worked late Friday so he could have a 2-day weekend and had spent the morning mowing the lawn, washing the car, doing the laundry and the week’s accumulation of dishes. In these times alone, that would usually happen once a year, he would try and deal with me. He would acknowledge me, but try and keep me at arms length. He would read, and he would dress and he would try and come to some sort of terms with all of this.
This particular Saturday some 25 years ago, he was tired. He had stayed up past his bedtime calling me forth the night before. In the morning he felt guilty and tried to work off his guilt by doing the things I mentioned. By early afternoon the heat had added to his fatigue and he had said “enough,” and eaten a light lunch, showered and was taking a nap. He was wearing his new nightgown and as he lay between the sheets he was torn between feeling guilty and enjoying the feeling of lying there, safely, as I told him “Thank you,” as best I could and tried to tell him it was all right.
He broke out of his conflict and prayed. He thanked God for the joy he was feeling and for the opportunity to explore his femininity. He told God that he was sorry if he had offended Him in any way, but that he now considered his feelings a gift of sorts, and he accepted it as such, and was not going to fight it any longer. He asked that it be given a Christian meaning, pleasing to God. He thanked God again, and went to sleep and slept very soundly.
I mention this because it was a gigantic step out of the pleasure/guilt/shame loop he had been in for so long. I mention it also because this incident contained authentic thankfulness, and with Thanksgiving just past, I think it is worth thinking about such things.
I am thankful that:
- I live in a time and place where
I can explore my T-ness in relative safety.
- I live in a society that is at
trying to understand T-ness and other things. Things that it was not even
interested in at all when I was growing up.
- I live in a society where there
are enough resources available to me that I can take care of my obligations
and have enough left over that I can attend to the material aspects of my
T-ness and have more “things” than I ever imagined.
- I live in a society where just
about anything is “femme” so I can work on becoming a whole person
beyond gender and enjoy the gray areas.
- I have found a group with a newsletter
and a kind editor that allows me to publish my columns.
- I have the columns to express
my thoughts; and through the columns I can heal and grow and as Lesa I have
meaningful work to do that is recognized as mine by others.
- My columns have touched others
in a positive way and that sometimes they share that with me (and if my columns
have upset someone, they have been kind enough not to tell me about it).
- I have a mind and spirit that
wants to ride my bicycle 10 miles or more, and that I live in a place where
I can do that starting at my driveway and that I have a body that allows
me to do just that.
- I have sufficient resources that
allow me to have a good bicycle and the time to use it.
- Bubba and I are growing in
understanding and appreciation of a greater part of creation than most folks
(especially those folks with reproductive tracts similar to Bubba’s).
- I have enough food available to
me that I have to worry about eating too much.
And . . . .
I am thankful that Bubba’s
prayer was answered and that I now have a name and a respected presence as
part of an expanded and much improved Bubba.
Left
of Center by Pamela DeGroff
We've heard a lot about "survival" this year. It started innocently enough with all the survival themed TV shows. Reality based programming starring greedy miscreants all willing to knife each other in the back for a buck. This stuff quickly became the most popular prime time pabulum...for a while.
American TV viewing changed drastically after the events of September, 11, 2001. That date is etched, along with December 7, 1941, in our collective conscientiousness as a turning point in our nation's history. Survival meant something again, something beyond greed and soap opera intrigue.
The warnings that we're hearing-from the media, from our leaders, from religious sources-all tell us that we'd better be prepared to be in survival mode for quite some time. More recent events, such as the anthrax scare and the economic downturn, have helped to solidify the survival mindset.
So at the end of the first year of a new century, it would be easy to forecast nothing but doom and gloom, It would be just as easy to incorporate a spirit of foreboding into the transgender community. After all, doesn't heightened security mean closer scrutiny and the possible erosion of our civil rights? Some gender activists think this to be so. Others, including the leadership of national organizations such as NTAC, are aware of the implied, even possible, curtailment of certain activities. Accordingly, the attitude is more towards developing new strategies, being able to work within tighter parameters, but not giving up the fight. True transgender activism will carry on-true transgender activism will survive.
Our own organization, the Tennessee Vals, has had our own problems of a financial nature to survive. This newsletter and the leadership of the Vals has already discussed the situation at length. Through the generosity of several individuals, we remained solvent. With the professional services of a well known attorney who is a member of the local community, we were able to take the proper legal steps to begin recovering our funds. We learned a hard lesson, but we survived. And we couldn't have done it without several people coming together to make it happen.
We have the example of our nation surviving a tragedy and pulling together. The T-Vals have survived something not nearly as devastating or far reaching, but hurtful nonetheless. Even on our level, our survival was the result of focused leadership and the combined efforts of caring individuals.
On a very personal level, I'd like to share something that is in its own way an example of survival. My birthday is in September, and during our monthly meeting back then, a birthday cake for Pam showed up. This was a real surprise because I didn't know anyone knew when my birthday was, or even cared.
I found out that a cousin of mine from Ohio, Sacha Leu, had contacted the Vals and made arrangements. (She's really my fourth cousin, or something. It's one of weird lineage things, like my grandfather's second cousin and her grandfather 9th cousin four times removed on Uncle Abner's (the sheep farmer) side were related. This is the kind of convoluted family tree Southerners usually have.)
I had outed myself to Sacha after she kept bugging me to read some of my writing. She found out about the writing from my Dad, but the story gets longer and weirder at this point, so let's leave it at that. Anyway, she now visits the Vals web site on a regular basis, and knows what Pam looks like. (She particularly liked this year's Halloween pictures.)
Last month’s short op-ed piece I wrote about how September 11th might affect the trans community brought a response from her that I would like to share:
"It does seem that a light monkey wrench has been thrown into the TG community-not by Americans trying to keep you down but by terrorists and now, more than likely, Americans in fear. I can't begin to know what you and the others go through each and every day to feel 'normal' and to be honest I don't exactly know how to respond. I hope this doesn't end up throwing some back in the closet and keeping others from coming out. Then it seems you'll be back where you started. I think now more than ever we need to really teach tolerance...people need to stop fearing everyone they see because they're different. I agree with Ted Nugent who wrote '...we don't need more laws protecting people, such as hate crimes, we just need to enforce the laws we have. All crimes against people of any kind are hate crimes.'
"Unfortunately, I doubt that'll ever happen so we need more and more laws, which are basically saying the same thing as the laws we already have...As far as the TG community is concerned, if everyone had a TG person in their family maybe we'd all be a little more tolerant and we wouldn't need these laws and you wouldn't have to put yourself at risk.
"I'm learning more all the time about the TG community, but as I've said, I really have no way of knowing how this really affects you and the rest. I can only try to imagine. All I can say to you and the rest of the Vals is to please be careful...no way do I want you or the rest to go back into hiding and it may be more of a death to do so than to face things as they are now but please, please, use caution. We, as family and friends, love you all and care about you-even with a stuffed chili on you head!"
Okay, that last bit was a reaction to the Halloween pictures. But this was a totally unsolicited response. It's also the type of spirit more of us-in and out of the GLBT community-will need in times to come in order. And it's going to take all of us to do it.
The Blouse by Leslie Louise DuPaix lldupaix@hotmail.com
(Editor’s Note: We first ran this piece last December. In our attempt to start a holiday tradition, much like the annual airing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, here it comes again.)
I remember when I was young, three or four years old, my mother had a white blouse that fascinated me. I thought it beautiful then, and today I think it beautiful still.
It was silk, or a silk-like material - smooth and cool. Smooth and flowing; yielding to the touch. When worn, it would flow into different combinations of folds and drapes, and the full-length billowy sleeves would constantly change shape. Bigger, then smaller; covering the wrist, then exposing the narrow cuff; symmetrical for an instant, then asymmetrical as the arms were moved forwards and rearwards; up and down.
I know I was more than two because my first sibling had been born. I know I was less than six because I remember the house where we lived, and that was not the house we lived in when I was six. Later we moved to my grandfather's house, and then to another house where another sibling was born when I was 6, so I know with certainty that I was older than 2, and several years (and moves) shy of being 6. Even so, in spite of being quite young, I remember the blouse quite well.
As long as I can remember, well before my brother was born; well before I was three; I remember wishing, or hoping, that I could become a girl. And parallel with this was a desire, even then, to wear girl things.
The most luxurious, desirable girl-thing imaginable was my mother's fantastic dress-up-go-to-town-shopping blouse, with the string bow tie at the collarless neck, and the fascinating, billowy sleeves.
How I yearned for a chance to put it on; to be like my mother, and to feel the soft smooth fabric envelope my entire body. Sometimes, when we were alone, I would ask to wear it, and sometimes, she would agree. She would help me pull it over my head, and find my hands so that she could button the cuffs. She would make a big thing of tying the bow, and then look at me, and perhaps say something along the lines of, “My, you look just like a pretty little girl.” And I would be so pleased. The blouse, of course, hung down nearly to the floor, so I could feel the material about my legs, as if it were some wonderful dress. I don’t recall how long I would get to wear it, nor how the dress up would end, but I do recall the sheer delight when I would ask to wear the blouse with the bow at the neck, and when my mother would say “yes.”
It is my third Christmas season. It is the day my mother goes shopping, and she is saying good-bye. She is crouched down at my level, in spite of a slim skirt, and is wearing my favorite blouse. She asks what I want Santa Claus to bring me, as she will probably see him.
I know exactly what I want. A blouse just like hers! With a bow at the neck.. for me.. to wear whenever I want.
" I don't know. I'll have to ask Santa," she replies, and kisses me good-bye, and leaves.
The hope that Santa would get me one was immense. I was happy all day. I am sure that I will have my own blouse. I imagine a store with lots of blouses, and my mother finds one just like I want - for me. Santa maybe even helps her pick it out. I can hardly wait for the afternoon and her return.
In the afternoon I am playing on the swings when I spot her walking up the street to get me. She is happy and bouncing up the street, swinging her arms. I run excitedly to her and shout as I run, "Did you get it?!! Did you get one?!!"
I remember a neighbor lady asking what I was so excited about, and my mother laughed, and replied that "He wants a blouse like this.!" and flicked the bow at the neck of her beautiful blouse.
She knelt down and hugged me. "No," she said. "Santa said that they did not make blouses like this for little boys."
This is such an unthought of possibility that I am confused. I want to cry. On the way home I badger her about making me one; about trying another store, ... another Santa. Because I want a blouse like hers so badly. But of course that is the end of it.
As an adult, I understand why I could not have a blouse like my mother's. The child in me did not understand then, and she does not understand today.
Epilogue:
Fifty years later, a situation came
up where it seemed reasonable to share all of this with my mother, and she
seemed to understand. I also told her that if she felt comfortable about
it, and a situation developed where "it felt right," that it would be OK
to buy me a blouse as a symbolic gift. For my small child, a validation that
her needs did count, and that there was a Santa; and for my mother a symbolic
gift to replace the ones she wanted to give but never did because of society,
reigning opinion, or culture. She smiled and saw the possibilities.
The adult in me knows that it might happen. The small child wants to know how soon, and I tell her that we'll just have to wait and see. Besides, it is not Christmas yet.
A year after this conversation, slightly over a half-century after the small child’s disappointment in Santa Clause; as a birthday gift, my mother did send me a marvelous blouse. One in many ways like the one I remember and desired so intensely as a small child. In so many ways, at so many levels, it was the most wonderful gift I have ever received.
NEWS TRANS-missions
news, media mentions, etc...
Denver Approves TG Protections
Councilman Ted Hackworth was the lone vote against the ordinance, which passed 11-1.
The new ordinance is significant because transgendered people will be protected on the job, in finding housing and getting health care, said Jessie Shafer of the Gender Identity Center. "This is going to correct a lot of long-standing injustices in our community." Shafer said, "Now we'll have some recourse".
Denver's anti-discrimination law currently includes race, religion, age disabilities, sexual orientation and marital status.
A visibly angry Hackworth said he wouldn't vote for the bill because he hated the entire "stupid act" that protects minorities. Hackworth said a Hispanic family in his neighborhood called him racist because he asked them to adhere to another city law "I don't believe any group is entitled to special recognition", Hackworth said.
"Gender Identity" is defined in the ordinance as a person's individual attributes that may not be in accord with one's physical anatomy, chromosomal sex, genitalia or sex assigned at birth. "Transgendered" is another term for people whose gender identity doesn't conform to their physical sex...
Source: Rocky Mountain News 11/06/01 .
.
4 out of 5 Drag Queens Say She's 'da Bomb
Syndicated
columnist Liz Smith reports that Nicole Kidman won an Internet poll that
asked drag queens who they would most like to resemble or be. Following Kidman
in the survey were Elizabeth Hurley, Jennifer Aniston, Shania Twain, and
Penelope Cruz.
.
.
.
.
Source: The Advocate 11/02/01
.
TG Lefties More Common
British geneticists say left-handedness is more common among the transgendered.
Dr. Richard Green and Robert Young of Charing Cross Hospital in London say there are indications that the two might share a common developmental origin.
They believe that handedness is determined by prenatal exposure to male hormones, or androgens, in the womb and a fetal preference for one hand over the other ``has been observed as early as week 15 of gestation.''
One theory is that this hormonal exposure influences the structural development of the brain, which later helps determine which hand a person favours.
They, and other British researchers have long held that homosexuality is linked to androgen exposure during fetal development.
Green and Young point to research that suggests structural differences between the brains of men and women, as well as gay and heterosexual men, may occur early in brain development.
Their study of 443 male-to-female transsexuals and 93 female-to-male transsexuals showed that the transgendered were less likely to be exclusively right-handed compared with a ''control'' group of 284 volunteers.
Dr. Anne Lawrence, a Seattle clinical sexologist who is also transgendered said she tends to agree with the British doctors.
But, what about transsexuals who are solidly right-handed? Lawrence said: "'One of the things we know about transsexuality is that it develops differently in different persons; this suggests that there might be more than just one cause.''
source: Beth Shapprio at 365gay.com 11/17/01
ACLU Files Against Winn-Dixie for Fired CD
The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against grocery store giant Winn-Dixie on behalf of a heterosexual male truck driver who was fired because away from work he sometimes dresses in women's clothing and expresses a feminine identity.
Peter Oiler, 45, worked for 20 years at Winn-Dixie, a top Fortune 500 company with more than 1,100 grocery stores in 14 Southern states. Last year, after Oiler's supervisors learned that he occasionally cross-dresses off the job, he was fired.
By terminating Oiler because he did not conform to the company's stereotyped notions of how a man ought to look and act, Winn-Dixie violated state and federal laws that bar sex discrimination, the ACLU contends.
"Peter Oiler followed all company policies, never violated the dress code and, most importantly, he did a good job and earned numerous promotions and raises," said Jennifer Middleton, staff attorney at the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "His termination strikes at the very core of why these civil rights laws exist - to keep bigotry and bias out of employment decisions."
Source: ACLU press release 10/23/01
The annual number of surgical breast augmentations has doubled to 203,310 in 2000 since 1997, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and implants are the second most popular cosmetic surgery after liposuction...
The new
vacuum-powered apparatus, known as Brava, consists of oversize plastic cones
fitted under a large zip-up sports bra that has to be worn at least 10 hours
a day for a minimum of 10 weeks…
Yet some doctors say there are still questions about how much permanent extra breast tissue the new system can deliver.
In initial studies, 200 women using it added a bra cup size to their breasts, according to the Miami company that developed and markets the system. Brava LLC says the idea of using tension to stimulate tissue growth is far from new, but they are the first to use it to trigger breasts to grow.
After being placed over each breast, the system’s plastic domes are connected to a machine that draws air out of the domes and pulls on the breast tissue…
But Dr. Robert Greenberg, a past president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, asked, “How many women are really willing to wear a suction-cup apparatus for a minimum of 10 hours a day for 10 weeks?”
Source: The City Paper 11/01
Salvation Army
Blocks DP Benefits
The Salvation Army's national leadership
on Monday instituted a new policy stripping its regional entities of the
authority to make decisions regarding health care benefits for employees,
essentially derailing a plan announced November 1 by the group's Western
territory to begin offering domestic-partner benefits to employees' same-sex
partners.
"Today the commissioners' conference established a national policy to extend health benefit access to an employee's spouse and dependent children only," Salvation Army commissioner Lawrence Moretz said in a statement issued Monday. "I assure you again that the Salvation Army has not changed its position on marriage and the family, homosexuality, or other position statements, nor have we changed any of our basic doctrines or moral positions. In rescinding the policy and establishing a national policy on health care benefit access to spouses and dependent children only, we must stand united in the battle that will undoubtedly follow from those who would now challenge our biblical and traditional position. We will not sign any government contract or any other funding contracts that contain domestic-partner benefit requirements."
The Western territory announcement to offer the benefits came several years after the Salvation Army backed out of a $3.5 million contract with the city of San Francisco because it refused to comply with a city ordinance requiring domestic-partner benefits to be offered. Following the Salvation Army's announcement on Monday, the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign issued its own statement. "We are dismayed that the Salvation Army's national leaders stepped back in time and usurped the strong leadership of a local division to include and support all families," said HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch. "We urge the organization to return to basing its policies on 'moral and ethical reasoning' instead of what appeases antigay political pressure groups. If this decision stands, the Salvation Army will have unambiguously identified itself as an antigay organization."
Source: The Advocate 11/14/01
GLBT Friendly
Medical Listings
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
(GLMA) today announced it would expand its highly successful physician referral
program to include all licensed health professionals and that it would embark
on a major campaign to enlist more members who could respond to the
ever-increasing rate of referral requests.
"More people are seeking LGBT-friendly physicians than ever before," said GLMA Executive Director Maureen S. O'Leary. "Last year, we saw the number of inquiries on our Physician Referral Program jump from 140 or so a month to as many as 2,000 in the United States and Canada. There is a genuine need out there. It makes sense to expand this free public service to include all licensed health professionals."
"Imagine a young isolated gay youth in Alabama who believes he's contracted an STD and is too frightened to go to the family doctor," O'Leary said. "Think about the lesbian in rural Ohio who is told that because she is a lesbian, she doesn't need a Pap Smear. This happens all the time. And there are no health professionals accepting LGBT referrals in Alabama or in rural Ohio or in a number of other places."
"Unfortunately," said Christopher E. Harris, MD, new GLMA President, "the immense success of our program has revealed its immense weakness. We have pockets in this country where there is no one to help."
During its recent conference in New Orleans, GLMA decided to change things. They put all 50 states and the District of Columbia up for sale. The price? $5,000 each. The campaign is called "Cover the Country with Care" and the money it generates will be directed toward the expansion of the referral program's on-line capabilities and maintenance. It will also be used to create public relations and advertising campaigns to recruit new licensed health care professionals to meet the special needs of the LGBT population and the increasing demands that this population is making on the program.
Harris sees two reasons for the incredible growth in inquiries. One, he says, "is that the LGBT public is beginning to realize how important it is to be out to their doctors and other health care providers. To do that, patients must feel they are in a safe, caring place. They need to be able to find physicians, for example, who easily accept a person's sexual orientation or gender identity." The other reason, he says, is that GLMA has become increasingly more visible in the LGBT community.
The referral system, which now allows people seeking a local LGBT-friendly health professional to access a member list at the GLMA web site, began as a “physicians only" program at its inception in 1993. However, the recent explosion of inquiries triggered discussions that l brought about the inclusion of licensed, non-physician members who have health-related services to offer and who want to let the public know they welcome LGBT patients. The program is now called GLMA's "Health Care Referrals" program.
"The referral program has been a remarkable benefit to everyone," said Harris. "Our physician members and now our allied professional members gain new patients and clients; and LGBT patients can now seek a fuller range of health care options from professionals who are able to provide friendly, appropriate, and non-judgmental treatment.
"We encourage all LGBT-friendly MDs as well as psychologists, dentists, nurse practitioners, therapists, eye care specialists, chiropractors, and all other licensed health professionals to join GLMA and become part of what may become the largest LGBT health care referral network in North America."
There is no charge to LGBT patients to use the program, and there is no cost to GLMA members to be listed in the referral service. Access to LGBT friendly physicians and to an increasing number of other licensed health care providers is available by going to www.glma.org.
GLMA represents the interests of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender physicians, medical students, and allied health professionals as well as millions of LGBT patients throughout North America. The largest organization of its kind, GLMA was founded in 1981 to combat homophobia in medicine and promote quality health care for all LGBT people.
source: VIA GAIN 10/30/01
HIV+ Prostitute Causes Panic in Turkey
A positive result on an HIV test for a transgendered prostitute in Istanbul, Turkey, has spread panic throughout the country, where local media reported Friday that as many as 5,000 people may have been exposed to HIV by the individual, who worked at a state-supervised brothel, Agence France-Presse reports. Government officials have placed the prostitute in quarantine, said regional health chief Recep Gur Ustaoglu. "We mustn't panic," Ustaoglu said. "This is the first case to arise in a Turkish brothel, while the real danger is in illegal prostitution." The 46-year-old individual, identified only as F.S., was determined to be HIV-positive during a routine three-month testing program for all prostitutes working in Turkey's state-supervised brothels. Turkey's interior ministry last November decided to open state-run brothels to gay and transgendered prostitutes in an effort to clamp down on illegal prostitution and the spread of HIV in the country.
.Source: The Advocate 11/10/01
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Michigan TS Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter
A transsexual in Michigan has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the death of her uncle. In exchange for the plea, Harry Titlow--who goes by the name Vonlee Nicole Titlow--agreed to testify against her aunt, Billie Jean Rogers, 62, who is charged with first-degree murder in the August 12, 2000, suffocation death of Donald Rogers. Titlow was also charged with first-degree murder. Titlow pleaded guilty Monday in Oakland County circuit court to the manslaughter charge and agreed to a sentence of seven to 15 years in prison, The Oakland Press of Pontiac reported.
"It's unfortunate [Titlow] made so many different statements, or we could have gone to trial," Titlow's attorney, Richard Lustig, said after the plea. "It was a good conclusion to a very hard case." Titlow is to be sentenced December 19.
Medical examiners said the 74-year-old businessman was smothered after being force-fed alcohol. His blood-alcohol level was more than four times the amount considered legally drunk under Michigan law. In sworn statements, investigators said Titlow and Billie Jean Rogers poured vodka down the businessman's throat until he passed out and then smothered him with a pillow. A witness testified that Rogers was in danger of being cut out of her husband's will because of a $13,000 gambling debt and that Titlow stood to gain $25,000, which she needed to complete a sex-change operation. The trial for Rogers, who is free on bond, is set for November 29.
.Source: The Advocate 11/01/01
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