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From All Over:
GenderNews
In the Mainstream Media: |
Posted July 22 1998 |
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From InYourFace on-line news. For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org
The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTF), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), and GenderPAC wrote a
letter to Ford protesting the ad. It said, in
part, "Please realize that representations like
[the Ray and Charlie ad] trivialize our lives
and identities, and only make it harder for us
to gain access to safety and equal rights...
As you well know, these short spots leave an
indelible impact on impressionable minds, and we
urge you to rethink the inherent message that
this one has about transgender people."
GLAAD and GenderPAC responded with a letter of protest. In part, it stated, "We can appreciate [another guest's comment] that Myers, as a transperson electing not to have surgery or hormones, sounded like a lazy transexual... This is different than Maher's invalidating Myers' gender identity altogether... Mr. Maher's comments help cement the impression that we are silly, deviant, or just weird. As you are no doubt aware, transpeople face real problems and real discrimination, as the eight transmurders in recent years... remind us." |
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Granada TV has added a major tg character to the popular soap opera "Coronation Street," also seen in Canada. On the BBC, there was a feature about a politician who began his MtF transistion after election to the Bristol city council.
Coronation Street
You can now follow the story on the web, thanks to an internet site which I've been told about this week. http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/plaza/ec91/ . . .behind the scenes over the last few months, Press for Change have had more than a little bit of influence in the development of the "new" Hayley. Those words she speaks are words she has been given by a real trans woman, whose identity will be our little secret. That past, which Hayley is starting to give glimpses of, is a past written for her by someone we introduced a few months ago to the researcher and writers. Kindest regards,
Home Ground: New Labour, New WomanFrom the Sunday Times July 5 TV & Radio Guide, "Critics' Choice" by John Dugdale A documentary telling the tale of Rosalind Mitchell, a controversial Bristol councilor who was elected last year as David Spry but, after a few month's, adopted her new name and began wearing women's clothes. The programme all but takes Mitchell's side, particularly when a women's meeting asks her to leave, and it exposes the intolerance of elements in the Labour party: her enemies' objection to Mitchell's "media strategy" are not explored, and the viewer never learns why she did not come out as a transsexual before the election. . . .From Christine's post: On Tuesday night this week, a national audience had the opportunity to see the much acclaimed documentary about Bristol City Labour Councillor, Rosalind Mitchell, first shown locally in early March this year. On Wednesday night I spoke to the programme's producer, who told me that the programme had been watched by just over a million viewers, which is much higher than normal for the early evening BBC2 slot. As she said, many of the reviews carried in the papers the morning after had rather missed the point she had been seeking to make about the difference between New Labour's national "face" (as a transformed and sophisticated, caring and forward looking party) and the "business as usual" reality of its' local government alter ego. She was disappointed that, instead, the majority of the reviewers .. and most papers wrote about it .. had paid a rather disturbing amount of attention to Rosalind's appearance. We mused over the similar way in which other women politicians, like Mo Mowlem (Labour) and Ann Widdecombe (Conservative), had often seen what they stand for forgotten in discussions of what they look like. Looking on the bright side, I guess that means that perhaps our greatest achievement to date, in Press for Change, is that we've achieved the right for Ros to be trivialised for her looks on an equal basis with other women .. though I doubt that's much comfort. A careful reading of some of the reviews confirms that we've come a lot further than that though. There is an understanding of the reality of the problem faced by people in transition, backed by an acceptance of the reason they are doing it in the first place. And, in one of the two reviews below [not shown here], you will see what I think to be the first ever acknowledgement in a national newspaper that the crude trial of nerve which we call RLT serves the victim rather badly and, ultimately, proves nothing. Christine Burns
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Excerpted from InYourFace on-line news.
Titled "Trans Across America," the article features two transactivists, Shannon Ware of St. Louis and Shannon Minter of San Francisco, who embody the growing efforts by transpeople to build a movement through political organizing and education. Ms. Ware, an engineer who transitioned in her forties, has recently become an activist. She meets one-on-one with elected officials to educate them and advocate for transpeople. Mr. Minter is a lawyer at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. His comments relect the focus of activists and the tone of the article. "What's important is hate crimes and job discrimination," he said. "Why does everyone want to talk about my genitals?" The article, written by John Cloud, presents a straightforward, unsensational account. It mentions GenderPAC's national survey on transviolence that reveals 60% of trans-identified people have been the victims of assault, Lobby Day which brought Congressmembers face-to-face with transpeople, and the meeting facilitated by HRC last year between transactivists and officials at the Department of Justice. . . .Look for the article on Time Magazine's web site. |
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July 15th: The paper carried a photo of the United States team in action, with the caption noting the unusual participation of a man. . . .July 16: The Sports section had a photo of Bill May and Kristina Lum in the water, and a feature article by Frank Litsky headlined "Competing, Perfectly in Sync, Across Gender Gap." It was a friendly profile of Mr. May, the only man taking part in the highest levels of competitive synchronized swimming. With his partner, Kristina Lum, he won the national championship last September, and was representing the United States in the duet and team events at the Goodwill Games. The article covered the generally positive reception Mr. May has received from his teammates and others, as "a man in a woman's world." Said Mr. May, "I started this sport because I loved it. I love the competition. I love creating new things. I love performing. It didn't occur to me that not many men were doing it. Now I think I'm just another member of the team." In the modern era, men have been scarce in this sport; and current international rules forbid them from the Olympics and world championships, although some are trying to change that. There is some unhappiness in the synchronized swimming community about May taking the place of an eligible Olympic contender. . . .July 21: The Sports section had a photo of May above an AP story about the results of the competition. May won a silver medal in both the duet and team events, edged twice by Russian swimmers. Describing the duet team of Lum and May, the story began: "She wore blue with silver spangles and a head full of hair gel. He showed off his bare chest and a haircut straight out of boot camp." |
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Send news stories or comments to the editor at iphge@hotmail.com.
GenderNews Headlines GenderNews Index List of Community Notices |
Page prepared by Beth Lewis.
[New York, NY: 1 Jul 98] Ford Motor Company's
recent "Ray and Charlie" television ad campaign
features a spot where the loser of a bet must
dress in women's clothing; it's played as a
joke.
On the 19 Mar 98 telecast of ABC's
"Politically Incorrect", host Bill Maher
ridiculed Harvard's Alex Myers, a transgender-
identified man. Maher laughingly dismissed
Myers as a confused lesbian.
Those international readers who may be feeling a little bit left out after
last week's news, when we mentioned the saga of Hayley Patterson and her
beau in the UK's biggest soap opera, "Coronation Street", need feel excluded
no longer!
[New York, NY: 14 Jul 98] This week's Time
magazine (20 Jul 98) devotes two pages to
the burgeoning transgender movement. In an
even-handed manner the magazine profiles
the work of transgender activists across
the country.
With the Goodwill Games in New York, the