Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:51:32 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/ RSS Feed en-us http://www.ifge.org/images/logo.gif http://www.ifge.org/ office@ifge.org http://www.ifge.org/Article408.phtml TRANSGENDER WORKPLACE DIVERSITY by Jillian T. Weiss J.D., Ph.D is now available at the IFGE Bookstore Transgender Workplace Diversity provides explanation and how-to for HR and legal professionals on transgender policy development, training and communication strategies for the workplace. This book is intended for professionals in human resource   Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:51:32 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article407.phtml January 14, 2010 - Marietta Georgia Dr. Maxwell Anderson, born August 26, 1956, died today after a short bout with glioma, a highly aggressive type of brain cancer. He has been a prominent figure in the transgender community for many years, and is probably best known for his appearance in "Southern Comfort," the documentary about Robert Eads. Maxwell was a recipient of IFGE's Trinity award for his years of service on behalf of transgender people, and recently received his PhD in Psychology. Maxwell is survived by his sister Susie and his cat Blue. He left a farewell message on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/v/lHEod3CGskg His blog can be read at: http://drmaxwellanderson.com/ His Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/drmaxdaddy Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:34:26 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article406.phtml January 8, 2010 - Washington DC The International Foundation for Gender Education is calling on David Letterman to apologize for a defamatory skit that ran this week on the Late Show. On the program, Mr. Letterman announced President Barack Obama's appointment of Amanda Simpson to serve a national security role in the Commerce Department as Senior Technical Adviser. The show's announcer, Alan Kalter, ran offstage in a panic when Mr. Letterman stated that Ms. Simpson was transgender, implying that he had had a sexual relationship with her, and that she had deceived him. Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:36:00 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article405.phtml The Capital Conference 2010, IFGE’s 24th Annual conference, will have two segments. A Providers Day will be held on April 22nd in collaboration with the George Washington University's Department of Speech and Hearing Science with a theme of “Building Competencies for Serving TransPeople and their Families”. There will also be a poster presentation session that evening. The Provider Day will allow those who provide speech, medical and mental health services to the transgender community, to share their knowledge with an audience of other providers. We welcome applications for participation in the Provider Day Poster session. Poster presenters will receive a discount off the full registration fee. Seminars for the main Capital Conference will be held April 23rd-24th with a theme of “Education for Action; Knowing Yourself, Knowing Your Community and Committing to Action”. This component is targeted towards the broader transgender community. The Capital Conference may address gender related issues, emerging ‘trends’ and triumphs in the community, the politics related to gender issues, and other issues of interest. We are also interested in cross-disciplinary contributions from related fields such as medical professionals, mental health providers, researchers and educators of gender studies. Seminar sessions are typically 75 to 90 minutes and may be conducted by one or more speakers or another format as suggested by the submitter. It can present a case study, how to, big idea, theoretical discussion, new topic, a new way of looking at an existing topic, or other material. We welcome all applications for presenters at the Capital Conference. Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:02:59 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article404.phtml October 28, 2009 – Washington, D.C. Culminating years of effort by leaders across the nation, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House. This is the first federal law to specifically protect transgender people, adding protections for gender, gender identity, disability and sexual orientation to the 1969 Hate Crime Act, which already covered race, color, religion and national origin. "Transgender people have lived in fear far too long," said Denise Leclair, executive director of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). "When we are repeatedly targeted with acts of violence, we are deprived of the basic rights and freedoms that other people take for granted. This law sends a clear signal that we deserve, and are entitled to equal protection." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:47:34 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article403.phtml Oct 11, 2009 – Washington, D.C., - The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is pleased to announce that nominations are now being sought for the Trinity Awards – to be presented at the 2010 IFGE Annual Conference – The Capital Conference, to be held at the Hilton Mark Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia April 22-25, 2010. “The Trinity Awards honor our heroes: living transgender persons who have performed extraordinary acts of courage and love in service to the transgender community,” noted Yvonne Cook-Riley, Awards Committee Chair. “Participation across the entire transgender community, its allies and friends, is essential to the awards-nominating process, and we hope to see everyone at the awards ceremony at the Capital Conference next April, “ Cook-Riley continued. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:37:34 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article402.phtml Dottie Laing passed away this evening, September 5, 2009, about 6:40 p.m. just before sunset. Dottie was married to former IFGE Executive Director Alison Laing for over 50 years. Dottie worked tirelessly on behalf of the transgender community even though she was not transgender. She held many leadership roles such as Director of Fantasia Fair, and Fund Raising Chair for IFGE, as well as leading workshops and special Significant Others activities at conferences. Dottie's work was recognized by numerous awards from the transgender community including IFGE's Trinity and Virginia Prince awards, in addition to the Fantasia Fair Award of Merit. Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:51:54 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article401.phtml North Dakota is a key state in the fight for ENDA. There are three votes in play here. Please call them today to ask for their support. Facts and contact info after the jump. Senator Kent Conrad is a Democrat who previously voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, Conrad has a mixed record on gay rights. While he personally is opposed to gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on the matter and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Call him at 701-258-4648 to support S1584. Senator Byron Dorgan is a Democrat who has previously cosponsored a bill that inclusides the language of sexual orientation. Co-sponsorship suggests a higher level of support He also voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, Dorgan is one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate. He recently sent a letter to a constituent stating his support for sexual orientation discrimination protections, but said nothing about gender identity. Does he support an inclusive ENDA? Find out. Call him at 701-250-4618 to support S1584. Representative Earl Pomeroy is a Blue Dog Democrat. However, he voted yes on the hate crimes bill and voted yes on ENDA in 2007. Call him at 701-224-0355 to support HR 3017. Please list any info you get in the comments section below. We need to know where these three are on ENDA. If you want to see info on the ENDA target list for the Senate, click here. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:31:06 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article400.phtml A vote on ENDA, HR 3017, is rapidly approaching in September sometime, and where are we? According to my calculations over at the Facebook Inclusive ENDA House spreadsheet, we're at 205 confirmed votes, and we need 218. That's close, but no cigar yet. If you take a close look at the spreadsheet, you'll see there are 33 states with Representatives who are unconfirmed on ENDA. Them's a lot of states. Today's exciting question is who's who on ENDA over in Washington State? If you want to play along at home, featured below is a picture of a smiling U.S. Representative whose position on ENDA is unconfirmed. Can you guess who it is? WA State Representatives Jay Inslee - Co-sponsor of HR 3017 Rick Larsen - Co-sponsor of HR 3017 Brian Baird - Co-sponsor of HR 3017 Doc Hastings - Probably not (voted against in 2007) Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Confirmed no Norman D. Dicks - Confirmed yes Jim McDermott - Co-sponsor David G. Reichert - Unconfirmed Adam Smith - Co-sponsor of HR 3017 Fun Facts and Contact Info below the jump. If you answered Cathy McMorris Rogers, I'm sorry, you're not a winner today. Representative Dave Reichert is a Republican representing the 8th District of Washington State way over there on the west side of Washington State. Who is this man and how likely is he to vote for ENDA? Quite likely, if some people from Washington state pick up that phone and dial. Rep. Reichert voted yes! on hate crimes in 07 and 09 and voted yes! on ENDA in 2007. According to Wikipedia, he was the Sheriff of the Year in 2004 and narrowly won election in 2008 53-47 against his Democratic challenger. Call and ask him to support ENDA at 206-275-3438. If you're not from Washington State, send this to your friends who are! And while you're at it, call your own Members of Congress once in a while. You never call, you never write... http://bit.ly/i08p2 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:00:57 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article396.phtml Thursday, 22 April 2010 through Sunday, 25 April 2010 The 24th Annual Conference of the International Foundation for Gender Education The IFGE Capital Conference 2010 Follow our updates on Twitter and Facebook Conference Website: http://www.ifge.org/2010/ Location: Hilton Alexandria Mark Center 5000 Seminary Rd Alexandria, VA Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:36:10 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article395.phtml July 3, 2009 Philadelphia, PA Christopher Jermaine Scott, 36, has been identified as the murder victim who was found in Philadelphia on Wednesday Morning. See Original Story Below ******************* Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:49:23 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article394.phtml July 1, 2009 Philadelphia, PA An unidentified murder victim was found in Philadelphia on Wednesday Morning. The victim had been shot multiple times and was possibly a trans-woman. There were more than 330 homicides in Philadelphia in 2008. See Original Stories Below ********************* Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:09:31 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article393.phtml The Justice Department allowed the deadline for appealing the decision in Schroer v. Billington (Cv-05-1090) to pass without filing. Diane Schroer won her landmark discrimination case against the Library of Congress in September of 2008, for rescinding a job offer when she disclosed that she was transgender. This case is one of a small number which have held discrimination against transgender people to be sex discrimination. See Original Story Below ********************* Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:27:12 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article392.phtml The Maine Human Rights Commission has ruled in favor of a transgender child who was denied the right to use the gender appropriate restroom at her school. The commission recently ruled in favor of a transgender adult in a similar case as well. See Original Story Below ********************* Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:58:57 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article390.phtml 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3017 To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 24, 2009 Mr. Frank of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Polis of Colorado, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Castle, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Lance, Mr. Platts, Mrs. Biggert, Ms. Harman, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Meek of Florida, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Tsongas, Mr. Stark, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Doyle, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Wu, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Tierney, Ms. Norton, Mr. Berman, Mr. Honda, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Foster, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Holt, Mr. Filner, Mr. Sires, Mr. Hare, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Massa, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Clay, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut, Mr. Cleaver, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Linda T. Sánchez of California, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Welch, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Levin, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Ellison, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Olver, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Israel, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Bean, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Abercrombie, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Delahunt, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Engel, Mr. Peters, Ms. Kilroy, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Himes, Ms. Speier, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Hodes, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Payne, Mr. Heinrich, and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article388.phtml FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2009 WASHINGTON - The International Foundation for Gender Education welcomes the new White House directive to release same-sex marriage data from the upcoming census. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had been used to justify withholding federal statistics about same-sex marriages for the last decade. The new directive would put an end to this practice. "Transgender People have had their lives and identities discounted for far too long. Having legitimate marriages erased by bureaucrats is intolerable," said Denise Leclair, executive director of IFGE. "Reversing this offensive policy is a major step forward for the entire LGBT community. We thank the administration for addressing this injustice." Thousands of heterosexual marriages have become what are effectively same-sex marriages when one partner transitions to the other sex. Although these marriages are legal, rules enacted to prevent gay and lesbian marriages have frequently been used against them as well. - The International Foundation for Gender Education promotes acceptance for transgender people everywhere through education. Founded in 1978, IFGE is the largest transgender advocacy organization with members worldwide. Providing educational outreach for the emancipation of all gender variant people from restrictive gender norms, IFGE is a non-profit educational corporation with offices in Waltham, MA and Washington, DC and is recognized by the I.R.S. as a 501c(3) charitable organization . MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Battaglino 201.704.2996 NY | 202.207.8364 DC media@ifge.org Communications Director International Foundation for Gender Education IFGE | 272 Carrol St NW | Washington DC | 20012 | 202-207-8364 - 30 - Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:30:35 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article389.phtml 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2981 To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 19, 2009 Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. KIRK, Mr. LANCE, and Mr. PLATTS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article387.phtml June 1, 2009 Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:09:35 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article386.phtml Resolution Whereas people are naturally endowed with a wide diversity of gender expression, identities, and sexual orientations; Whereas, the distress felt by gender non-conforming people is fundamentally due to social prejudice and heterosexism, and is not a characteristic of their identities; Whereas diagnosis of psychological disorders has been used as a form of social control; Whereas, the inclusion of normal variations of behavior as diagnostic criteria has been widely used to justify discrimination against gender non-conforming people by individuals, governments, and corporations; and has resulted in material harm to people; Whereas, the principle responsibility of medicine is to "Do No Harm;" Therefore, be it resolved that we find the American Psychiatric Association to have a responsibility to ameliorate this harm, and hereby call for the following remedies: (1) We hereby call on the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association to issue a declaration stating that: Gender variance, and gender non-conforming behavior do not constitute a psychological disorder; (2) We hereby call on the American Psychiatric Association to remove the diagnosis of so- called "Transvestic Fetishism," which explicitly pathologizes gender non-conforming behavior, from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual; (3) We hereby call for the reform of any diagnosis that can be made solely based on gender non-conforming behavior, specifically including “Gender Identity Disorder in Children.” Resolved this day May 15, 2009 by the Board of Directors of The International Foundation for Gender Education Sun, 17 May 2009 04:02:38 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article385.phtml (TRENTON) April 27, 2009 – New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) Chief Administrator Sharon A. Harrington today announced that customers who are preparing to undergo sexual reassignment will be permitted to change the gender status of their New Jersey Driver License to reflect the new gender that they have begun to identify with prior to surgery. The policy update reflects the understanding that sexual reassignment is an extended process for the transgender community. Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:05:31 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article384.phtml WASHINGTON - The International Foundation for Gender Education applauds the citizens of Gainesville, Florida for their strong show of support for equality. More than 58% of the voters rejected Charter Amendment 1, which would have stripped protections for gender identity and sexual orientation from the city's nondiscrimination laws. Equality is Gainesville's Business brought together a powerful coalition of local and national organizations to prevent this amendment from being enacted. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:24:10 -0400 http://www.ifge.org/Article383.phtml Washington, D.C. - At the recently concluded 2009 annual conference, the International Foundation for Gender Education Board of Directors elections were held, resulting in the following slate of Directors: Executive Director: Denise Leclair Chair: Bree A. Hartlage Vice-Chair: Andrea Von Kaenel Secretary: Allyson Robinson Treasurer: Ethan St. Pierre Communication Director: Stephanie Battaglino Director: Wendi Reiss Director: Catherine Lynn Andrews Director: Robyn Webb Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:55:01 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article382.phtml Waltham, MA & Washington, D.C., January 5, 2009 - The Awards Committee of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is proud to announce the 2009 Trinity Award recipients: Ms. Lisa Mottet, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Mr. Spencer Bergstedt, North Sound Law, P.S. Mr. Gunner Scott, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:04:30 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article381.phtml TGSF will be having its Holiday party on Friday, December 19th, at 8:00 PM at the Blue Muse Restaurant, 370 Grove St., San Francisco (415)701-9888. Those of you who have been involved with TGSF for a long time will certainly remember The Blue Muse as the fine restaurant where we held our socials for many years. The restaurant closed several years ago, but the original owners recently reopened it in a new location. We are looking forward to seeing it once again. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:54:47 -0500 http://www.ifge.org/Article380.phtml Sweden: November 16, 2008 Transvestism, along with six other sexual behaviours, will be struck from Sweden Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:59:39 -0500