France Drops Transsexualism from List of Mental Disorders
By GAËLLE FAURESubmitted by Cam Bonham & Sage Tembreth Several decades have passed since the West stopped considering homosexuality a mental illness. But for transsexuals, that kind of milestone has been elusive - until now. Last month, France became the first country in the world to remove transsexualism from its official list of mental disorders - a major victory when it comes to acceptance of this oft misunderstood condition. "I'm relieved. People might begin to look at us differently," says transsexual blogger Caphi (a blended name she's chosen to represent Philippe, the man she was born as, and Caroline, the woman she's transforming into). "It's a start."
But only a start, many transsexuals in France say. In practice, the declaration will do little to improve their legal or medical rights in the country. For example, transsexuals are still required to have a sex-change operation before they can change their gender in the eyes of the law. And to get the green light for surgery, they must still undergo extensive medical and psychiatric evaluations. "It's a symbolic victory," says Georges-Louis Tin, president of the Paris-based IDAHO committee, which fights homophobia and what it calls "transphobia," or discrimination against transsexuals. "Transsexuals are no longer mentally ill," he says. "They're normal citizens. But we haven't yet reached the point where they're allowed to make their own decisions instead of depending on doctors and psychiatrists."
Some transsexuals say the country's open-minded Health Minister, Roselyne Bachelot, removed transsexualism from the list of mental disorders because it was an outdated classification and because she wanted to acknowledge the work transsexuals have done to further their cause. But others see a potentially more troubling motive. Tin worries that politicians may be making allowances on this front to avoid engaging in debate on legalizing gay marriage or removing barriers to allowing gay adults to adopt.
Indeed, the French transsexual community doesn't exactly consider the country to be at the forefront of promoting the rights of sexual minorities. A just-released study commissioned by the Health Ministry, for example, paints a dreary picture of the treatment of transsexuals from a legal and medial standpoint. Sex-change surgeries and treatments are covered by the state - as in some other countries - but those who opt for surgery have little choice in selecting their doctor. Surgeons complain that they are poorly equipped to perform the complicated procedures and that few have received specialized training, according to the survey. And some even say they are ostracized by their colleagues if they perform such surgeries. For these reasons, many transsexuals choose to undergo the procedure - at their own cost - across the border in Belgium, home to some of the best sex-change specialists in the world.
Laure Laudet, who is scheduled to have an operation in France to become a woman in the fall, has been so worried about French doctors' lack of expertise in the field that she's done much of her own research, particularly on which hormones she should take. "In the trans community, people have to find their own information, figure out who the good doctors are and negotiate their treatments," she says. Recently, she had to travel 250 miles (400 km) to visit with a second psychiatrist - not the one she's been seeing for two years - to sign off on her operation. At the last minute, she says, the psychiatrist canceled the appointment to travel abroad. "And then they're surprised that some people try to commit suicide or castrate themselves," she says.
But what advocacy groups find most egregious is that France, like many other countries, requires transsexuals to undergo surgery - and become sterilized - before they can receive identity cards and other official documents confirming their new gender. "If we refuse, we're basically undocumented," says Caphi. According to most advocates, about half of transgender people - a term many prefer, though the French state doesn't use it - have no desire to go under the knife, preferring instead to simply live their lives as a member of the opposite sex in their dress and behavior.
This will be the next big battleground. Spain and Great Britain have adopted more lenient stances, even though transsexualism is still technically on the books in both countries as a mental illness. Spain requires transsexuals only to undergo some form of hormonal treatment to modify their physical appearance before it will issue new documents, while the British simply ask applicants, with recommendations from their doctors, to promise to live out the rest of their lives as their chosen sex.
In France, several members of the advocacy organization TransAide have unsuccessfully sued the state in recent years to try to obtain a legal sex change without an operation. They've since lodged appeals and intend to bring their cases before the European Human Rights Court if necessary. "We want to prove that sterilization is what's really at play here," says Delphine RavisÉ-Giard, one of the plaintiffs. And the group's got friends at the European level. Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, has been fighting to end the mandatory sterilization of transsexuals in the European Union, calling it a human-rights violation.
The tide may be turning. At least that's what IDAHO's president hopes. The French Health Ministry has already agreed to push other countries in the E.U. to drop transsexualism from their lists of mental disorders. And that, Tin says, is a start.
Penn State OKs coverage for sex-change surgeries for students in health plan
By Robert Moran, Inquirer Staff Writer Submitted By Laura O'Lacey
The University of Pennsylvania has approved health-insurance coverage for students who want sex-change surgeries and related treatments, officials said Wednesday.
Penn president Amy Gutmann recently approved the coverage, which the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee had recommended, university spokesman Ron Ozio said.
The benefit applies to students who participate in the Penn Student Insurance Plan, which is available to students who do not have health coverage through their families or other means.
All Penn students must have some form of health insurance. About 8,000 to 9,000 of Penn's more than 20,000 students annually buy the school insurance, Ozio said.
The transgender coverage will be available this fall.
The coverage for surgery is capped at $50,000, Ozio said. The benefit also would pay for psychotherapy and hormonal treatments that go with the surgery.
Ozio said the premium increase for students would be small because very few - if any - students would likely take advantage of the coverage.
"It's going to end up being a few cents [more] per student," said Dennie Zastrow, 22, a senior and former board chairman of Lambda Alliance, which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students at Penn.
Zastrow said students who had the school insurance - largely graduate students - paid about $2,000 a year for coverage.
He said he had pushed for the insurance benefit to bring more attention to the needs of the transgender community. He added that the coverage would bring the health benefits in line with the university's nondiscrimination policy.
The university's policy is to not discriminate based on "gender identity," Ozio said.
Bob Schoenberg, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at Penn, said employees at the university should also have the coverage.
"Frankly, I think it's only a matter of time," said Schoenberg, a Penn employee. "It's a little bit inequitable to have coverage for students but not for staff."
Jury Deliberates in Transgender Beating TrialWednesday, 14 Apr 2010
sumitted by Anja Gensel
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The fate of a former Memphis Police officer now lies in the hands of a jury after closing arguments were delivered Wednesday in the trial of Bridges McRae, accused of violating the civil rights of the late-transgender Duanna Johnson during a beating caught on tape.
He has been surrounded outside court by friends and family for more than week. But, as a federal jury pondered his fate beginning Wednesday afternoon, former Memphis Police officer Bridges McRae only sought the support provided by prayer.
"I have peace in God. He gives me strength. That's who I rely on."
The 9th day of McRae's trial on one count of violating the civil rights of the late transgender Duanna Johnson began with federal prosecutor Jonathan Skrmetti's summation of the case against the 30-year old.
Standing before the 5 men, 7 women jury, Skrmetti reviewed the testimonies of 10 prosecution witnesses honing in on 5 of them who were eyewitnesses to McRae's alleged beating of Johnson, graphically captured on surveillance tape at the Shelby County Jail in February 2008.
Skrmetti emphasized all the witnesses agreed they saw no legitimate law enforcement purpose for McRae to punch Johnson in the head with handcuffs to gain compliance in securing a thumbprint during the booking process.
Later during the rebuttal, veteran Assistant District Attorney Steve Parker referred to McRae as a "bully with a badge." He called McRae's testimony that he fought Johnson in self-defense after he became afraid for his own safety simply a "lie."
Parker argued McRae deliberately taunted Johnson by not referring to her by the name "Duanna." Parker asked the jury to deliver a guilty verdict in the face of testimony from the five eyewitnesses and the 52-second tape which has been the focal point of the trial throughout.
In his final argument before the jury, McRae's defense counsel Frank Trapp dramatically bashed a pair of handcuffs on a book six times to simulate the number of blows McRae was seen on the tape hitting Johnson with. But, Trapp asserted it was a prosecution "myth" that Johnson suffered serious injuries.
Trapp also referred to the assumed victim as a known "Drama Queen" who could have easily complied with McRae's orders instead of disobeying them. Trapp also tried to impugn the testimony of two of the eyewitnesses, including two police officers who he said refused to side with McRae's account of what happened. After court, I ask Trapp why he alleged their testimony consisted of "scripted stories" in which each called the incident a "beatdown" and not a fight.
"Well, I wouldn't want to talk about that outside court, particularly while we're waiting for a jury," replied Trapp.
As jury deliberations began, it was another of Trapp's summation statements which seemed to sum up not only his defense, but the prosecution's as well: "The video is what it is."
Good News on Alaska Hate Crimes Bill! Thursday, March 18, 2010
Submitted by Marsha Buck
Not only did SB 202 (Alaska Hate Crimes Bill) pass out of Senate Judiciary committee this afternoon, it did so with the amendment we requested! Please thank everyone you know who sent messages and Public Opinion Messages (POMs) to Senate Judiciary members, and thank you for your messages, too!
When a bill is amended, a Committee Substitute (CS) is written and posted on the Alaska Legislature website, but since the bill just moved out of committee the CS is not yet posted and I can't send you the amended version, but you can check the following to see the full CS once it is publicly available: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20202&session=26
The CS to SB 202 passed out of Senate Judiciary on a vote of 3 to 2. The Senators who voted with us were French, Egan, and Wielechowski. Senators McGuire and Coghill voted against the bill. I was very disappointed in Senator McGuire's vote but expected Coghill's.
The CS wording is great for us! It not only adds gender identity to the list of motivations that are included, but also defines gender identity as "actual or perceived gender-related characteristics." Senator French's staffer explained to me that Senator French requested the CS and used words from the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act (Matthew Shepard Act). One additional amendment that Senator French included in the CS is the addition of both sexual orientation and gender identity in a different section of the Alaska Statutes, the section the committee referred to as the "aggravater" section. I don't know what that term means (or if that is even spelled correctly), but I intend to learn because even Senator Coghill was pleased to see this section addressed in the CS!
The one thing that wasn't stated was whether the bill now moves to Senate Finance, or to Senate Rules for scheduling of a floor vote as requested by the bill sponsor. That determination will be up to the Senate President and will be posted on the Alaska Legislature URL given above when it is decided. Once we know that information, our next action will be to either testify in Senate Finance and send messages to those committee members, or to send messages to the entire Senate if it goes to Rules for a floor vote.
June 30th, 2009
New Iranian film "Tedium" explores transsexuals' lives in Iran submitted by: Anja G
VENICE, Italy - Organizers of the Venice Film Festival waited to announce the Iranian film "Khastegi," or "Tedium," by first-time Iranian director Bahman Motamedian until the last minute to avoid alerting authorities to its sensitive subject: transsexuals in modern-day Iran.
The struggles of seven transsexuals depicted in the film are made more complicated by Iran's strict gender codes and cultural obstacles. But filmmaker Motamedian, who is best known in Iran for theater work, insists the problems they face are universal to transsexuals anywhere in the world: finding their identity and seeking acceptance from their families.
"We know that throughout the world these problems exist," Motamedian said. "The idea was to raise awareness among families especially, because this is the first layer of barrier, and to help people to realize they are not alone and be able to face the problem."
Motamedian said he was inspired by the Italian neo-realists in his film-making, and for the movie he cast actual transsexuals, not professional actors, to act a role that he created.
"The cast I worked with had no cinematic training, which I thought would be useful to access things that a professional actor wouldn't be capable," Motamedian said. "Usually an actor is trained to show things. I thought it was important to show what a person was hiding," Motamedian told a news conference on Friday."
The movie delves into the lives of seven transsexuals — six male-to-female transsexuals and one female-to-male.
They struggle with the question of whether a transsexual can find true romantic love, whether or not to go through with a sex change operation, how to tell their families — and in one case, a wife — and whether or not to remain in Iran.
Motamedian said the most difficult casting was for Shiva, the female-to-male transsexual.
"Right up to the day of shooting I hadn't found a suitable character to play that role ... and I even thought about cutting her out," Motamedian said. "As it is a very masculine and male-oriented society, the thought of really coming out and revealing that fact they wanted to come out and revealing they are not a 'real' male ... has real problems. All of the women I met who wanted to be male didn't want this to be known, for them it was a real problem coming out."
The dilemma is illustrated in one scene when Shiva, working as a taxi driver, is asked by a police officer to show his license, which identifies him as a woman. The officer's first question is where her veil is, and Shiva speeds off when he refuses to return the license.
Perhaps the most revealing scene is at the end, when one of the transsexuals says she would never consider a sex change operation while living in Iran, because of all of the limits on female freedom in his country.
Motamedian said the film was made without going through official channels to get permission — meaning that they did without government financial support. But it also means the film won't be shown in Iran.
February 17, 2009,
Fairbanks School District adds protection for Transgendered students
In a first for the State of Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District passed the motion to include "gender identity" as a protected group in both their anti-discrimination and harassment policies.
There is more work to be done. Now that the policy is in place, it is important to encourage the board and school administration to follow through with the implementation by providing appropriate education and training for teachers, administrators and staff.
Identity's Barbara McCarthy plans to speak at the next board meeting during the Non-agenda time frame. She will be asking them to direct the School District Administration to plan a teacher/administrator inservice specifically for this purpose.
If anyone is aware of a model training program or an individual with the expertise to facilitate this training, she would appreciate being notified.
Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city, located some 400 miles north of Anchorage, in Alaska's Interior. This is a great day for transgendered Alaskans!
DECEMBER, 2008
New Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations to Affect Transgender People.
as reported by: The Nat'l. Center for TG Equalitysubmitted by: Laura O'Lacey
There are some changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that could impact the lives of transgender people. The FMLA was enacted in 1993 to ensure that employees would be able to take unpaid leave from work in certain circumstances related to medical care for them or their families. The emphasis on medical privacy in the original FMLA is especially vital for transgender people.
However, on November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor published final regulations for the FMLA that erode medical privacy and could have long-lasting adverse effects on transgender people when they take effect as planned on January 16, 2009. These new regulations appear to be part of the Bush Administration's final effort to enshrine ideologically driven policies in advance of the Obama Administration taking office.
The new regulations reveal private medical information and could subject transgender people to harassment and discrimination. Unlike the current policy, the new policy requires doctors to list their specialization as well as medical facts relating to the employee's condition on the medical certification form given to one's employer. A person's transgender status could be revealed, requiring the individual to choose between a job and important medical care related to transition.
The new regulations allow the employer to contact the employee's health care provider to authenticate the medical certification, as long as the employer representative making that contact is not the employee's direct supervisor.
The new regulations allow employers, not doctors, to determine whether an employee has a serious health condition that would make them eligible for unpaid leave. Because the recovery times for transition-related surgery and treatment are often extensive, it is extremely important that employees be allowed to take leave when doctors say it is warranted, regardless of whether employers believe the time off is medically necessary.
Family members may have to reveal the transgender status of their partners, children, or relatives to receive leave. A family member who is trying to take FMLA leave to care for their partner, child, or relative may be subjected to increased harassment and discrimination, and the family member's FMLA claim may be denied.
NOVEMBER, 2008
Nepal grants Rights to TGs. submitted by: Laura O'Lacey
The Nepal Supreme Court issued its final judgment in a huge LGBT rights case, defining each lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgendered, or intersex individual as a "natural person"and said that sexual orientation and gender identity are expressions that are part of the natural growing process. Sunit Pant, the country's only out member of Parliament, said his eyesfilled with tears when he read the decision, the Pink News reported. "Thus,equal rights, identity, and expression must be ensured regardless of theirsex at birth," the newspaper reported. The court appointed a blue ribbon commission to recommend a same-sexmarriage bill to the government, which is led by the Maoists who were, until2006, a rebel group fighting a guerilla war against the monarchists. Morethan 12,000 people died in that fighting. LGBTI people joined the Communist Party, part of the ruling coalition, to push for their agenda.
Transgender man elected mayor of Silverton, Oregon.
story by:JackPenning, for kgw.comsubmitted by: Laura Lacey
This election marked the first African-American President. The first time in 40 years an Oregon Senate candidate beat an incumbent Senator. And in tiny Silverton, Oregon, residents have elected the man who's believed to be the first ever openly transgender mayor in the United States. KGW report on transgender mayor
Stu Rasmussen served two terms as the Mayor of Silverton in the 1990s. But he hadn't admitted to being transgender. He's not the same man now that he was then. Today he wears a skirt and high heels. He has breast implants, and long red hair. He looks like a woman - but he's not.
"I identify mostly as a heterosexual male," Rasmussen said. "But I just like to look like a female."
Rasmussen is a man. He even has a girlfriend. He says he's always been transgender, but he only "came out" a few years ago.
"Some guys' mid-life crisis is motorcycles or sports cars or climbing mountains or trophy wives or whatever." Rasmussen said his mid-life crisis was quite different. "I always wanted cleavage, so I went out and acquired some."
With the way he looks, he wasn't sure how his run for Mayor would go.
"The first 30 seconds they think, am I in a freak show? Is there a camera behind me? What's going on here?" Rasmussen told NewsChannel 8. "And then we get down to discussing whatever the issue is - city business or business or whatever - and they figure out this guy's different, but he knows what he's talking about."
It's Rasmussen's knowledge of the issues, and of the town, that won over so many voters. As one voter said, "Stu's very devoted to this town."
Rasmussen won by a hefty margin - 13 points. It really wasn't close.
"He wants to maintain the integrity of Silverton," voter Gail Frassenei said. And she said she isn't sure Rasmussen would be elected anywhere else. "I think it's amazing a small town like this can be so open-minded, to elect someone that's made a life change."
"I'm prejudiced, but I think this is just about the coolest town on Earth," Rasmussen said, just before he broke down, a tear gently running through his eyeliner, and onto his cheek. He can't wait to take office in January. He said he's finally confident enough to be himself, as he runs his hometown, wearing his signature heels.
