Mourning the Loss of
Sylvia Rivera, NYC-based Activist

Excerpts from an article by Bebe Scarpinato and Rusty Moore on the GAIN service. Read the entire article.

Sylvia Rivera, Stonewall Riot Veteran, and life-long activist for transgender people, died during the dawn hours of February 19, 2002 at New York's St. Vincent's Hospital, of complications from cancer of the liver. She was fifty years old. Born July 2, 1951, her activism developed after leaving home at age 11 and finding herself in the Times Square subculture of the 1960's. The harassment of gay persons, in particular the flamboyant gender variant people such as herself, led her to become a staunch, proud, completely unrepentant, and uncompromising advocate for drag queens, transvestites, transsexuals and other gender variant people throughout her life.

In 2000 Rivera and other trans-activists re-activated S.T.A.R. as the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries. Under her leadership S.T.A.R. was instrumental in achieving a more inclusive approach toward transgender people by the Human Rights Organization, and in the organization of the New York State Transgender Coalition, which is presently conducting a campaign for the inclusion of trans people in the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. Rivera and S.T.A.R. conducted the rally at the historic Intro 754 hearings on trans-inclusion in the NYC non-discrimination ordinance, where she received a standing ovation from the Councilmembers present as well as the overflowing gallery. She organized the Amanda Milan Rally in 2001, and S.T.A.R. continued to be the focal point for political action related to Amanda's murder in front of Port Authority while taxi drivers applauded.

Rivera received lifetime achievement awards from many organizations, including the Puerto Rican Gay and Lesbian Association of New York, the Neutral Zone Youth Organization of New York, the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, AmBoyz Organization, and the MCC-NY Recognition for Lifetime Activism Starting with Stonewall, and many others.

Sylvia Rivera is survived by her life partner and lover, Julia Murray, and the hundreds of her "children," people she helped in both a practical and spiritual way by her determination and example throughout her life.

Funeral Services will be held at the MCC-NY Church, 36th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, in Manhattan at 7:00PM on Tuesday, February 26, 2002. The service will be followed by a memorial in front of the Stonewall Inn, from which her ashes will be carried in a horse drawn carriage to the Christopher Street piers, where the youth will place a wreath, near the spot where Sylvia's long-time fellow activist Marsha P. Johnson died.

There will be a viewing at the Redden Funeral Home, 14th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, in Manhattan, on the evening of Friday, February 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Information on arrangements are available from Transy House, 718-832- 1080, or the MCC-NY.

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Metropolitan Community Church, 212-629-7440, http://www.mccny.org
Transy House, 718-832-1080, http://www.transyhouse.org
STAR, http://www.geocities.com/catskillmarina/index.html

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Swag and Drag Drive for
SF Area Queer Youth

From B. Holman, queeryouthapalooza@yahoo.com

San Francisco, CA (February 14, 2002) - San Francisco Bay Area queer youth launch Swag and Drag Drive to get community donations for the first Queer Youth party in the newly built community center. Donated items will benefit queer youth (26 or so and younger) from throughout the Bay Area including many street and homeless youth.

San Francisco's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center will be feted with an opening gala of events and the Bay Area's queer youth have their own night. The Queer-Youth-A-Palooza & Drag King Junior Contest will be Friday March 8, 2002 as a part of an entire week of opening events March 2-10. The Swag and Drag Drive will stock the drag and craft rooms.

Swag and Drag Drive organizer and community activist Benji Holmann "We are going to have one of the largest gatherings of queer youth ever in what is essentially their new home. They will be the front lines for queer groups, businesses and activities for the next decades. The love and donations that are shown to the youth now will be returned many times over in the years to come."

Swag is the umbrella term for promotional items, which can range from key rings to computers and higher-end goods. "Some of the companies are donating because they have piles of useful cups or t-shirts, office supplies and equipment that they can make the difference in someone's life," says Holmann. The event has a non-profit fiscal sponsor so all donations are tax-deductible as well.

"The kids are always appreciative of the items people donate," said Mitcho, local artist and queer youth organizer, "just the other night a young woman was stunned when someone donating a carload of items handed her a sleeping bag she really needed - it's cold right now!"

Freshly cleaned items can be dropped off Monday-Friday, 9a-9p and Saturday from 10a-5p at the Eureka Valley Teen Program (attn: Mitcho) - at 100 Collingwood Street (between 18th and 19th streets). Items sought include drag and street clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, samples of soaps/shampoos, make-up, towels, fabric, décor items, arts and crafts supplies, incredibly cool books and magazines, sleeping bags/blankets and other items that queer kids might find useful.

Good working order computers, boom boxes (stereos), televisions, VCR or DVD players and other equipment that queer youth might use for activities and organizing.

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The Center merges an historic Queen Anne Victorian and a new state-of-the-art structure into a 41,000 square-foot campus, making it among the nation's largest LGBT community centers.

Located at 1800 Market Street, The Center offers a permanent physical location for LGBT people to have fun, access services, meet new people and attend meetings and events. The Center will operate 17 programs with 40 collaborating organizations and holds space for meetings, dances, film screenings, art exhibits, parties, community forums and other activities. The Center provides 23 organizations with office space, and houses rooms for classes, youth services, elder programs, children and family activities, art and history displays, computer classes, internet access, a reading room and café.

San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center
http://www.sfcenter.org

Queer-Youth-A-Palooza & Drag King Junior Contest
Friday, March 8, 2001 - 6p-1a
Be very there!

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MAN TOOL: New Photo eBook
by Loren Cameron

Photographer Loren Cameron, author of the best-selling Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits, has now released his second book, which takes advantage of the World Wide Web to deliver a new look at female-to-male surgery.

His new book, "MAN TOOL: The Nuts and Bolts of Female-to-Male Surgery" addresses urgent and intimate questions about plastic surgery options for the female-to-male transsexual. Through anecdotal text and over forty, close-up photographs of body modifications, it explores personal issues about sex and gender relative to transsexual men.

Cameron's new book is only available as a World Wide Web-accessible eBook, which will allow a greater distribution than many transgender-themed books are able to attain. It can be reached by anyone with a modern web browser and computer access at http://www.lorencameron.com/mantool.

The site for "MAN TOOL" was designed by noted transgendered web developer Gwendolyn Ann Smith.

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TS Housing in Rural New York

From Cathryn Platine, cathyplatine@yahoo.com

Announcing Gallae Central House

For several years I've dreamed of a transsexual housing co-operative. Last year I decided to make it a reality. Together with three sisters, we started searching out sites for a possible "transie trailer park". While in that process early last fall, the Goddess led us to an old, turn of the last century resort hotel nestled at the foot of the Catskill Mountains in the cove made famous by the story of Rip Van Winkle.

Waterfalls, hunting, world class skiing, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, canoeing, bargain shopping and much much more is literally within minutes from us.

We are now in the process of moving into our dream house. Breathtaking views, a beautiful quaint village, outdoor sports to delight anyone are all within minutes as well as over 3 acres of grounds for gardens, fruit trees and just plain soul soothing. It's hard to believe we've found and managed to buy this place.

Now it's time to let our sisters and brothers know. Our vision is a collective home, for this is our home. Shared expenses, cooking and housekeeping, inexpensive rooms and a quiet home atmosphere, our plan. We have several smaller single rooms and a couple of two room suites available now as well as a nice three bedroom, one bath house behind the hotel for a family or special group. More rooms will be available later as we remodel our third floor.

We hope to host monthly area meetings in our huge meeting room downstairs. We are located about 2 hours north of New York City, 45 mins by highway from Albany and near Woodstock.

If you cannot join us, we could also use donations and/or help to keep this dream alive. We still have a lot of work to do here, but we are now ready to have others join us in sharing our dream and our home.

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Call for Papers:
Marriage and Parenting in the 21st Century

From Stephen Whittle via UKPFC-NEWS http://www.pfc.org.uk/pfclists/news.htm

Call for Papers:
Marriage Partnerships and Parenting in the 21st century
Turin, June 5th- 8th, 2002
GLBT rights and their future
http://www.glbtlawturin2002.org

Papers wanted on trans marriage and parenting.

contact Stephen Whittle, s.t.whittle@mmu.ac.uk
(some bursaries may be available)

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Seeking Submissions: A New Trans Book

From Sheila Mink and Jay Warner

Transsexuals come in all shapes, sizes, colors, beliefs, and backgrounds.

We are currently accepting submissions from people interested in contributing to an upcoming book, True Stories of Transition and Beyond. Stories can be funny, encouraging, sad, or frightening. We want to reflect what it is truly like to try to interact with society in a gender other than a birth gender.

The main focus of the book is to bring together the insights and experiences of transitioning people as they attempt to move from their birth gender to the gender presentation that feels most like them. For some this does not involve a complete switch to the opposite pole (male to female or female to male), as they transition to the place on the gender continuum that brings them the best sense of personal equilibrium. Submissions are not restricted to binary gender presentations.

Says Jay Warner, "There are so many hidden stories out there that I would like to see brought out in the open for the benefit of both transgendered people and the society we live in." This book will bring together anecdotes, stories, essays and poems that reflect the many layers of being transsexual.

Says Sheila Mink, "During my year as a facilitator of a transitions support group, I kept thinking, how can I expand the benefits that the attendees are receiving even more"? This book will help, as the wisdom gleaned from the writers is made available.

Once completed, we feel that this book will be a tremendous asset to those in transition, those contemplating transition, and even society at large, as it seeks to better understand us!

For more information, or to submit an essay, our web site is:
http://www.tsbeyond.com

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Request for Submissions:
Educational Interview Questions

From the RSI Rikki Swin Institute, http://www.rsinstitute.org/
Gender Education, Research, Library and Archives

Dear Friend and Colleague:

RSI is preparing to begin production of the first in a series of digital video education films. This completed production will be disseminated to professionals and laypersons having potential influence regarding transperson-youth. We are primarily interested in identifying and offering possible solutions to issues they may encounter with these youth. At RSI we have determined that our long range mission will best be served by first addressing those with influence over the acceptance and inclusion of transperson-youth in mainstream society. By aiding professionals and laypersons to teach non prejudicial attitudes toward transperson-youth, we will ultimately reduce the number of adults that have little or no knowledge of transpersons. Furthermore we will begin to shift an increasing number of adults from harboring negative prejudices.

The video production format will be that of an interview conducted within an educational documentary. The "players" will be today's experts i.e., those who have professional and personal experience with the issues. The questions and concerns can vary between cultures, while some will be universal.

This is an invitation for you to submit questions that you would like presented. We would like to know what you consider to be the most pressing issues surrounding the transperson-youth of today. While we prefer straightforward questions that we will put to the experts, we will be happy to accept your contribution in whatever format you choose. Perhaps you have a firsthand experience you would like to share. We are open to your input.

The audience will be educators, school administrators, school boards, parents and family of transperson-youth, their peers, transperson youth, and their peers. The completed production will be distributed through marketing efforts targeted to reach these specific individuals. At this writing we have secured the endorsement of a major educational system in the Midwest. We feel that other such relationships can be readily accomplished, however this will be best served after the product is available. Along with in-person contact, other forms of marketing will include professional trade publications as well as other forms of media. This product will also be made available via digital streaming video on the Internet.

Please don't wait until we're done to comment. All too often people say, "I would have done it differently." Of course, that's only fair if you weren't asked for your opinion in the first place. This time you are being asked. Please take a moment and tell us what questions and issues you would like to see presented. If you feel like it, suggest potential interviewees. We value your thoughts. Please indicate if you choose to be identified as a contributor and we will include you in the credits if appropriate.

We also welcome your suggestions regarding future topics and or audience groups to add to our potential list. The primary emphasis is, and will always be, our mission, which is to "Stimulate Changes in culture to improve transperson understanding and acceptance."

Sincerest thanks and best wishes,
Rikki Swin for RSI
RSInstitute@aol.com

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Help Improve New York Rights Bill

Via The New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA). Website: http://www.nyagra.org

Civil Rights for All
A Position Statement by the Metropolitan Gender Network (MGN)

The Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act (SONDA, S720/A1971), sponsored by Former State Senator Roy Goodman and Assemblyman Steve Sanders and promoted by the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) is pending in the NYS Senate. We believe SONDA is incomplete. By not including gender identity and expression as protected classes, SONDA would exclude discrimination based on gender identity and expression as well as many of the gay and lesbian discrimination cases it was intended to cover. Transgender as well as gender variant gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual people would still be legally susceptible to discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Civil rights are imperative to people whose gender identity or expression does not conform to preconceived definitions of female and male. Gender-inclusive civil rights legislation is needed to protect both those who identify as transgender and gender variant lesbians and gay men who are routinely denied access to basic health care, service in restaurants or stores, housing, employment and contractual services because of their gender identity and expression.

For example, in New York City a federal discrimination suit was recently filed against a beauty salon that fired one of their many lesbian employees for looking "too butch". Such discrimination would still be permissible under SONDA legislation as it is currently written, marginalizing and stigmatizing tens of thousands of New Yorkers while extracting a huge toll in lost wages, increased expenditures on social services and the denial of basic human dignity to which everyone is entitled.

The Goodman/Sanders version of SONDA would add "sexual orientation" to existing protected classes listed under current anti-discrimination law, and defines sexual orientation as "heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality, whether actual or perceived."

To be fully inclusive, gender, defined as "gender identity, self image, appearance, behavior or expression whether or not that gender identity, self image, appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth" must be added to the bill. Until this language is added we cannot support this bill.

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To join the list of endorsers for an inclusive SONDA bill, or for further information please call the Metropolitan Gender Network at (718) 221-2130, or (718) 832-1080 or email MetGender@hotmail.com

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