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A July 30th press release from UKPFC. For more info, see their web page at http://www.pfc.org.uk

Leaders of Press for Change, the UK's transsexual rights campaign today condemned the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Kristina Sheffield and Rachel Horsham. The court's decision, announced this morning, rejected (by 11 to 9) the claims of both women that the British Government's continuing refusal to correct their legal status to reflect their social gender role violates articles 8, 12, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court also unanimously ruled that the two women had not been sexually discriminated.

The court's decision is the fourth successive snub which British born trans people have received from the court in ten years. On each previous occasion Mark Rees (1987), Caroline Cossey (1991) and the family of PFC leader Dr Stephen Whittle (1997) failed to persuade the court that the government's refusal to recognise what the majority of other governments have already recognised should be censured.

Press for Change Vice President, Stephen Whittle, himself a law lecturer, said today..

"Once again the ECHR has failed to recognise the intolerable situation transsexuals in the UK are forced to live with. It is a very sad day for Human Rights throughout Europe but we have never thought that this would be a battle easily won. As far as we are concerned we will continue to fight, not just through the courts, but also in everyday society for transsexual people to have the respect and equality they deserve as full members of our society"

The Sheffield and Horsham cases both extensively highlighted the discrimination and threats to privacy endured by trans people when they have taken steps to live and present themselves according to their innate gender identity rather than in the sex role assigned to them at birth on a cursory examination of their genitals alone.

Simple acts like obtaining car insurance or arranging a pension are transformed into a nightmare in which the applicant is obliged to reveal details of their medical history and former identity to complete strangers for irrelevant reasons. Relatives of a deceased trans person are even obliged to tidy up their affairs with a death certificate which identifies them in the same way as on their birth certificate. Most find this very distressing.

Yet a recently conducted survey by Liberty, produced specially to brief the judges in this case, highlighted that Britain and Ireland stand virtually alone in Europe on this issue. Of 39 Council of Europe members investigated by Liberty, only Britain and the Republic of Ireland (along with Andorra and Albania) refused to accord an appropriate legal status to trans people once their treatment had been concluded.

"Never mind Coronation Street's Hayley Patterson", says PFC campaigner Christine Burns, "This is a problem which affects over 5,000 REAL people in Britain every day of their lives". "The court was quick enough to rule that a man's name should be taken off a birth certificate recently, even though it's hard to see what actual hardship it would cause him. Here we are dealing with REAL problems, REAL embarassment, REAL limitation on the ability for people to get on with their lives in peace and privacy and they don't want to know. It's not justice to my mind. It stinks"

.     .     .

From Stephen Whittle --

If you wish to refresh your memory of the Sheffield and Horsham cases the details can be found at these European Commission web site addresses.
Sheffield case: http://www.dhcommhr.coe.fr/eng/22985rep.htm
Horsham case: http://www.dhcommhr.coe.fr/eng/23390rep.htm

The decision is now available at:
http://www.dhcour.coe.fr/eng/SHEFFIELD%20AND%20HORSHAM%20eng.html

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A few items about TG issues at the 1998 Gay Games. The web page for the in-progress event in Amsterdam is at http://www.gaygames.nl/. The web page for the international organizing body, the Federation of Gay Games, is at http://www.gaygames.org.

The first item is from InYourFace on-line news. For other IYF press releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org

Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Groups
Protest Gay Games Policy for Trans-Atheletes

[New York, NY: 25 Jul 98] A Coalition of gay, lesbian, and transgender groups has written a letter to organizers of Gay Games 98 to protest policies that they say stigmatize transgender people and discourage trans- athletes from competing in the games being held in Amsterdam this summer.

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), FTM International, The National Center for Lesbian Rights, GenderPAC and other groups object to parts of Gay Games' policy that apply only to transgender people who wish to compete in the games.

Transexuals must provide: "Proof of completed gender transition in active daily life [sic] since at least two years (photos, personal correspondence, employer's declaration, etc.); and, a letter from a medical physician stating that the participant has been actively involved in hormone treatment for a minimum of two full years without any time lapse..."

Speaking of these requirements, the letter states, "These requirements are irrational and unnecessary. They perpetuate the stereotype that transsexual people are inherently untrustworthy and deceptive by suggesting that they are likely to deceive the organizers of the Games about their "true" gender identity...

"Transsexual people are not all under the care of physicians; they are not all out to their employers... Thus, well-qualified athletes in their stated gender category may be unable to produce the corroborating documents the committee requires...

"Trans people already experience rampant discrimination in the form of violence, ridicule, and exclusion, not to mention economic marginalization. It is only further demeaning to receive this kind of treatment from the Gay Games."
 

The next two pieces from Martin Rice, lambda@aloha.net, appeared on a UKPFC-News message of July 26th.

Not-So-Gay Games?

By Martin Rice

"It's awful," said Steven, last Friday night.

He wasn't referring to the multi-hued pastel sunset at Kaua`i's Kealia Beach or the bonfire that had just been lit by my partner, Fred.

Steven was referring to a letter that he had received from officials of the Amsterdam Gay Games just prior to starting the yearly vacation that he and his partner, Lyn, anticipate.

Steven J. McCarthy, of Los Angeles, is also known as Madame Dish.

And Madame Dish has a swarthy Brazilian Ball Room Dance partner who, together, have been anticipating, and practicing for, a grand entrance at this year's much-touted Gay Games set to begin in a few short days.

What is so awful about that letter? The officials had sent a copy of the "new" updated rules stating that Steven and his partner could be disqualified before they step onto the dance floor. The officials are worried enough about the image of the Games to perpetuate the type of macho-sports homophobia that is usually the hallmark of het sports.

"Transvestism," states the letter, "is not appreciated."

The letter noted that in Western culture, women wearing pants is acceptable, but men wearing dresses is not. And for the sake of the overall positive image, Madame Dish will be disqualified if she refuses to change costumes if asked.

Cut to the chase: the San Francsico-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has organized a press conference in Amsterdam regarding that letter, and will swing into action if, as anticipated, Steven is asked change his costume.

"It's awful," said Steven, last Friday night.

And then he turned his gaze to the smoldering bonfire, and smiled.

.     .     .

Gayer Games

By Martin Rice

"That's wonderful news," said Steven J. McCarthy, a.k.a. Madame Dish, in a telephone interview from Maui last evening.

He was responding to a communication that was read to him over the phone from the Dancing Gay Games Co-ordinators Heleen Wolinga and Cor Moons.

"The Working group Dancing Gay Games," the communication read, in part, "has chosen not to forbid transvestism. However, they would like to make it clear that they do not consider transvestism as a starting point for a dress code in a dance competition for same sex partners. A transvestite dance couple, that wishes to take part in the competition, will neither be refused nor disqualified, nor will they be marked any differently to other couples."

This communication was an apparent reversal from an ealier one which piqued Madame Dish, and read, in part, "Transvestism is not appreciated." Madame Dish and her Brazilian dance partner feared disqualification, but were determined to participate in the Gay Games due to get underway in Amsterdam in a few days.

"I'm pleased with the change [in the rules] and I'm very happy. I feel that by speaking out I've helped to change those rules," continued Steven. "I've been helped by many people with this issue, but my original intention has always been to participate in the Games."
 

NY Times Covers the Story

On August 1st the New York Times had a page one article by Kirk Johnson, "Event Founded to Fight Bias is Accused of It", that looked at the controversy surrounding the Gay Games. It focused on the irony of the Games restricting participation based on gender identification.

The article looked at the rules for the dance competition, where only same-sex couples will be allowed, irrespective of their dress or sexual orientation. "We think it is quite unique in a dance competition to have all same-sex couples -- it will be one of the most interesting things in the Gay Games," said Niek van der Spek, the director of operations for Gay Games 5.

Also covered were rules for those atheletes who have changed sex, as described in the InYourFace article on this page. (The Time's pointed out that similar rules were proposed for the previous Games, held in New York in 1984, but not implemented. In that event, applicants simply declared their sex.) Some quotes:

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This letter appeared on a July 3rd GAIN release, via Jessica Xavier, TheXGrrrl@aol.com. It refers to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, http://www.michfest.com, to be held August 11 - 16.

The web page for the DC Lesbian Avengers is at http://www.well.com/user/barmitag/dcavengers.htm

From the Washington, DC Lesbian Avengers
To the organizers of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

Dear Sisters,

The Washington, DC Lesbian Avengers want to thank you for the tremendous impact you have had on our community. The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival has been an annual source of pride, sisterhood, self-discovery, music, gossip, sexual energy and fierce networking. Without it we might never have heard some of the musicians who have given us the strength to go on in the fight against oppression or sung us the clues about how our sexuality worked. Your efforts have touched the lives of many womyn in our community who have never had the opportunity to go to the festival by raising the visibility of new bands, by giving our sisters a space to meet and gain energy from each other and by spreading zines, cool jewelry and movement issues all over the country as womyn return to their homes.

We write not just to thank you for your work of the the past and present but also to urge you on to the work of the future. As a group and as individuals we feel that your "womyn-born-womyn only" policy is unnecessary, arbitrary and harmful to our community. The Lesbian Avengers here in DC have benefited from the inclusion of transgendered peoples in more ways than we can count. Our mission statement is clearly trans-inclusive and welcoming. Trans members and allies have brought vibrant energy to our marches, actions and meetings. They have broadened the discussion and opened minds to the fluidity of gender. Together we hope for and work towards a community free of gender oppression, whether aimed at lesbians, butch dykes, transsexuals, the ambiguously gendered, the inter sexed or those who want the freedom to explore their own choices and possibilities.

Until the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival brings about a public change in its transphobic policy, we will not be visiting the Land. This is not a call for a boycott, but a plea to our community to refuse entrance to no womyn- identified person. Our vision is of inclusion, of freedom of choice, of personal strength and public joy in the diversity of our community. Please let us all enjoy the music together.
 

From the DC Avengers web page --

The DC Lesbian Avengers is a nonviolent direct action group of lesbians,bisexual women, and transgendered people focused on issues vital to lesbian survival and visibility. Our purpose is to identify and promote lesbian issues and perspectives while empowering queer women to become experienced organizers who can participate in political rebellion.

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