Vietnam: Underground but loud
The increasing popularity of homosexual beauty contests has raised eyebrows, with people asking whether or not such events are legal. A week doesn’t go by without a beauty pageant or fashion show making headlines in Ho Chi Minh City. One popular pageant is the annual Miss Angel Contest for homosexual men, first held in 2006 by The gioi thu ba (The Third World) Co. Ltd. and gay club Bau troi xanh (Blue Sky). Contestants, aged 16-24, compete in three rounds including the female costume round and a session in which they must demonstrate their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. The jury consists of make-up artists, psychologists and members of the Ho Chi Minh City’s AIDS Prevention Committee. This year’s pageant was held in June, attracting hundreds of contestants from HCMC and other provinces. An audience member who wished to remain anonymous said most of the contestants were transvestites but that some transsexuals had also participated in the event.
UK: Sexual healing - Our teenage son cross-dresses
Q: My wife has had some items of clothing go missing over the last few months, which baffled us. A few weeks ago, she went into our 15-year-old son’s bedroom to wake him up and thought he was wearing tights and a skirt in bed. While he was at school we discovered a stash of her clothes concealed in his wardrobe: bras, tights, sports bras, swimsuits and sports skirts. We have no idea how to deal with this situation. Doing nothing doesn’t feel right and anyway, my wife would like her clothes back.
USA: 46, XY female with cloacal exstrophy and masculinization at puberty - Abstract
Cloacal exstrophy of the bladder is a rare complex disorder occurring 1 in 400,000 live births and associated with cryptorchidism, vesicoureteral reflux, severe phallic inadequacy, omphalocele with short-gut syndrome, exstrophied bladder separated by exstrophied ileocecal segment, and pubic symphyseal diastasis. The association of undescended and ectopic testis with cloacal exstrophy is not uncommon, but the presence of an unexpected persistent ectopic testis at the time of puberty is quite unusual. We report the case of a 17-year-old girl with a history of 46, XY cloacal exstrophy and gender reassignment presenting with an ectopic testis of unclear location. We then review controversial literature surrounding gender assignment in these patients.
USA, CA: Oakland conference aims to give butches a voice
The word or label “lesbian” never truly fit Joe LeBlanc. Nor did the terms woman or man accurately reflect LeBlanc’s gender. Instead, the Tacoma, Washington resident saw the word butch as a perfect descriptor for his sexuality and gender identity. “It really fits where other labels, other identities haven’t really fit before,” said LeBlanc. A growing number of women who do not feel comfortable with the term lesbian are choosing to self-identify as butches, or, depending on where they live and if they belong to a certain minority group, are using other terms that better describe how they view themselves and the more masculine roles they have assumed in their relationships with other women.
Calcutta, India: Boy sent to girls’ home - Teenager wants sex change
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 18: Questions regarding the identity of a teenage boy, recently thrown out of a women’s remand home where he stayed for 10 days posing as a married woman, has thrown railway police off guard. The case of Mam Shah, 15, who was briefly put behind bars and is now in the “custody” of Bolangir railway police, has managed to baffle the force that can’t fathom what to do with him.
Los Angeles Times, CA: New York man gets 25 years for transgender killing
Syracuse, N.Y. - An upstate New York man has been sentenced to the maximum 25 years in prison for the hate-crime killing of a transgender woman. Dwight DeLee was found guilty of manslaughter last month for shooting Lateisha Green because of anti-gay bias. The 20-year-old construction laborer is only the second person in the nation to be convicted of a hate crime for killing a transgender victim. In April, a man was convicted of first-degree murder and a hate crime in the death of a transgender teen in Colorado.
Pakistan: Eunuchs in cricket win
Eunuchs in Pakistan have won what is believed to be the first cricket match their team has ever played in the country. Their opponents were “normal” young men from a local cricket club in the southern city of Sukkur. Eunuchs - or castrated men - are seen as social outcasts by Pakistan’s largely conservative Islamic society, which has ignored them over the years. They mostly earn their living as dancers, sex workers and by begging.
Germany: IAAF calls for Semenya gender test
The IAAF has asked the South African athletics federation to conduct a gender verification test on an 800-meter runner amid concerns she does not meet the requirements to compete as a woman. Africa’s Caster Semenya caught the IAAF’s attention by greatly improving her personal bests in the 800 and 1,500. The 18-year-old Caster Semenya is a favorite in Wednesday’s 800 final at the world championships.
South Korea: Transsexuals Will Have Easier Legal Sex Change
Male-turned-female transsexuals will no longer need to fulfill their military service before changing their legal sex in family records. The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it had revised a regulation on transsexuals’ legal sex change approval to delete the clause stipulating that when a man changes his legal sex to female, he should have already fulfilled military service or been exempted from it. The clause was designed to prevent men from dodging the mandatory service by getting a sex change. Male-turned-female transsexuals, who have not changed their legal sex, used to be exempted from the service due to their “mental illness.”
Bangladesh: Hijras hit Dhaka catwalk in unique campaign
Dhaka, Aug 18 (bdnews24.com)—The audience at a show titled “Agony and Ecstasy,” at the National Museum on Tuesday, were treated to a unique event as Hijras took to the catwalk in a fashion show as part of the programme’s aim to to sensitise the larger community on transgender issues. The programme, also aiming to create awareness about the risks of HIV/AIDS and drug-use, was organized by the Bandhu Social Welfare Society, which works for the wellbeing of the socially excluded “males and their partners” through the provision of sexual health services, support of their human rights and alternate livelihoods.
Pink News, UK
Trans mayor censured by city council for short skirt
By Staff Writer
 A complaint was received when Rasmussen visited a youth programme in a short skirt.
Silverton Together director Brenda Sturdevant said his “high heels, a very short skirt and some sort of halter top revealing much of his bosom, shoulders and back” were inappropriate. She added that his choice of clothing was in violation of the city council’s dress code.
The city council decided to uphold the complaint publicly reprimanded the mayor. Rasmussen admitted wearing high heels, an open-backed swimming costume and a miniskirt. He identifies as a heterosexual man but expresses his gender as female and has had breast surgery. > MORE
Satan incarnate Bill O’Reilly, perennial right-wing conservative blowhard, and host of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, took issue with the recent headlines of Silverton, Oregon mayor Stu Rasmussen, who identifies as a transgender male. Rasmussen recently created a stir when he arrived at a local school wearing high heels, and a mini skirt. > MORE
Which Face Is Male?
Richard Russell, PhD researches facial recognition at Harvard University. This research led him to study Prosopagnosia, also called “Face Blindness”. This disorder impairs the brain’s ability to recognize facial features.
Dr. Russell said, “My research is inspired by the question: How is perception shaped by sensory, conceptual, and social structures? I am particularly interested in the perceptual processes of recognition and preference judgments.”
While doing research, he noticed that certain cues - specifically contrast - inspires the mind to interpret a face as being male. The anthropologist Peter Frost, PhD has shown that male skin is darker than female skin. Dr. Russell found that while male skin is darker than female skin, male eyes and lips are not much darker than female eyes and lips. The result is greater contrast in female faces between the eyes, mouth and the rest of the face. He found that people use this sex difference in facial contrast to decide the sex of a face and how masculine or feminine it is. Manipulating this facial contrast has opposite effects on male and female attractiveness. Interestingly, cosmetics exaggerate this sex difference, which suggests that cosmetics are used to manipulate sex differences to make the female face more feminine, and hence attractive.
If you are still wondering which face in the above photo is male, the answer is: both. They are the same photo except that one has had the contrast reduced and the other photo had the contrast increased.
ABA Journal - Chicago,IL,USA
Civil Rights
Fla. City Manager Fired Over Sex Change Gets New Job—and a Pay Raise
Posted Apr 9, 2009, 05:22 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
A little over two years ago, when it became public that a longtime city manager in Largo, Fla., planned to undergo a sex change, he was immediately fired from his $140,000-a-year job.
A number of people were outraged, but some also said the incident could be a wake-up call for Congress to enact federal legislation to protect others from such discrimination, as the Associated Press reported at the time.
PrideSource, MI, USA
Transgender Day of Visibility takes nation, world by storm
Detroit events mark success of first annual day for trans pride
by Jessica Carreras
Originally printed 4/9/2009 (Issue 1715 - Between The Lines News)
ROYAL OAK - The first ever international Transgender Day of Visibility was held March 31, and at the epicenter was metro Detroit - where the idea for the day began.
Local events for the day included a panel at Five15 Media, Mojo and More in Royal Oak, where over 30 people gathered to have a dialogue about transgender issues. The panel consisted of activist and public speaker John Corvino, Michael Layne of public relations firm Marx Layne and Company, Triangle Foundation Director Alicia Skillman and Transgender Michigan Co-founder Rachel Crandall.
Crandall, who was the primary organizer for the day, called the panel - and the outpouring of events throughout the nation and world - a success.
“It was kind of like, rather than a panel it was more like an event,” she said. “So we, the transgender community worldwide are taking this day, March 31 of every year, for our day.
The Maneater (University of Missouri), MO, USA
Gender identity referendum passed
Gender identity clause passed with 82 percent of the vote.
By Campbell Massie
Published April 9, 2009
A Missouri Students Association referendum to include “gender identity and expression” into the organization’s non-discrimination clause passed Wednesday with 82 percent of the vote.
Gender identity and expression is meant to protect those who are ”gender non-conforming” from discrimination, which refers to people who identify as transgender, a gender that is not their biological sex. The inclusion of this language goes “to support the larger effort to offer equal opportunity to all students,” the referendum states.
The ballot contained the gender inclusion referendum as well as MSA Senate candidates and the change to the academic calendar.
Diverse - Fairfax,VA,USA
Texas Christian University To Offer Housing for GLBT Students
by Jazelle Hunt
Apr 9, 2009, 09:20
This fall, Texas Christian University will offer on-campus apartments for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students, as well as heterosexual students who support them, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
DiversCity Q, as the community is called, is one of the fall additions to TCU’s “living-learning communities,” which are themed sections of housing that allow students with shared interests to live together. The university will also offer two Christian-based living communities and one for fine arts, among others.
Shelley Newkirk, a TCU sophomore who proposed and gathered support for DiversCity Q, hopes the community will be a common space for heterosexual and GLBT students to hang out.
The Daily Evergreen (Washington State University), WA, USA
Legislature passes hate crime bill
The law would make it a felony to injure or threaten people because of their sexual identity.
Andy Jones
The Daily Evergreen
Published: 04/10/2009
Transgendered people will receive hate crime protection under a new bill passed by the state Legislature on Wednesday.
The state’s hate crime law makes it felony to “threaten, damage the property of, or physically injure someone because of ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.” The new bill would add “gender expression or identity” to the definition.
GIESORC Director Heidi Stanton said the announcement continued a great week for the GLBTQ community across the country.
On Friday, same-sex marriage was legalized in Iowa after a unanimous court decision by the state Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the Vermont state Legislature legalized same-sex marriage, the first time it has been legalized by a non-judicial decision.
Denver Post, CO, USA
Trial next week
By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post
Posted: 04/10/2009 12:30:00 AM MDT
Prosecutors are worried that jury selection in next week’s trial of a man accused of killing a transgender woman in Greeley in July has become a lot more complicated.
That’s because 50 groups sponsored a full-page ad in 22 Colorado newspapers and purchased online advertising to commemorate the life and death of 18-year-old Angie Zapata. The ad ran Wednesday in newspapers ranging from the Westminster Window and Durango Herald to the Gazette in Colorado Springs. It did not appear in the Fort Collins Coloradoan or the Greeley Tribune.
Jury selection, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, could take much longer if enough people saw the ad and are so influenced by it that they could not serve on the jury, said Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck.
“We are concerned because of all the publicity the case has received, including the ad,” Finch said. “It could be that much longer to seat a panel.”
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