Topic: Law

Anthony Barreto-Neto won a landmark civil rights case in Vermont on April 22, 2004. The Vermont Attorney General ruled that the Town of Hardwicks dismissal of Mr Barreto-Neto was due to his identity as an transsexual, and that it was a violation of Vermont law banning discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation. The Town of Hardwick settled the discrimination claim brought by the former officer for $90,000 and is required to enact a formal non-discrimination policy against transgender people, as well as conduct trainings for employees regarding transgender issues.

IFGE has joined MassEquality.Org, an alliance of leading advocacy organizations to support marriage rights for everyone regardless of gender. The resolution can be read below:

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #102, Summer 2003.

by loocefer

As the transgender community struggles even today to gain recognition and actual inclusion within mainstream lesbian, gay, bisexual politics, pre-operative and non-operative transgenderists and gender-variant individuals also strive to overcome the oppressive hierarchy within the transgender community. Such hierarchy is based on a tranny?s process of transitioning, and it assumes that all transgenderists and gender-variant people ultimately wish to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. Indeed, the assumption goes that most if not all transgenderists break the norms of their assigned gender in order to become the opposite sex. While that assumption may accurately apply to transsexuals and many transgenderists, it doesn?t by any means hold for the entire transgender community.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #102, Summer 2003.

After more than three decades of governmental hostility towards British transsexuals, there?s good news. Recent decisions by the European Court of Human Rights have forced the U.K. government to grant certain rights to transsexuals. The battle is far from over, but things are at long last looking up. This is primarly due to the efforts of the pressure group (i.e., lobbying organization) Press for Change, of which Stephen Whittle is a principal. ?Ed.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #101, Spring 2003.

By Tracie O?Keefe

I remember April Ashley, the famous English woman of transsexual origin, saying to me: ?I just don?t understand it, darling. All those professionals are just poking their noses in your business. In my day, you just took hormones, had an operation, and that was it.? April, as anyone who knows her will tell you, has always been an individual in her own right. Because all her life she has had to be a groundbreaker, she took a lot of flack, so she had to create her strong survivor persona.

Of course, there have been many people who have adjusted their sex and gender identities with minimal professional help, and done very well in their lives. However, for most people who undergo some kind of sex and gender transition, it can at times be difficult, confusing, isolating, and overwhelming. Truth be told, even April, when she was barricaded above her restaurant in London?s Knightsbridge, hiding from the press, could probably have done with some help.