G e n d e r   N o t i c e s
November 2002
To put a notice here, or give feedback to the editor, write to blewis@ifge.org. Use your own good judgement in regard to these notices -- we can't investigate them before posting. General inquiries for the IFGE office should go to info@ifge.org. Many thanks to those responsible for Gender Advocacy Internet News (GAIN), where most of these notices came to our attention.

 
 Posted November 3, 2002

TG Vets Asked To Share Their Stories

As seen at: http://www.trans-health.com/Vol2Iss2/news.htm

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recently unveiled a new area on their website dedicated to LGBT veterans. In collaboration with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), HRC is collecting stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans, some of which will be posted on their web site at http://www.hrc.org in honor of Veterans Day, November 11, 2002.

The project, "Documenting Courage: Veterans Speak Out," is part of a continuing effort to better inform the public, Congress and the administration about the many contributions made by LGBT service members.

The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition supports this project and urges transgender veterans all over the country to submit their stories to ensure that the transgender community is well represented in this project. Stories can be submitted via the form located at https://www.hrc.org/documentingcourage/sharestory.asp.

NTAC asks participating veterans to also paste a copy of the completed form in an E-mail sent to NTAC's Veterans Affairs Committee at veterans.affairs@ntac.org. Stories that cover all aspects of military service, regardless of whether they are good stories or tragic, are encouraged.

In addition to military stories, NTAC would also like to hear from transgender veterans-- particularly pre- and post-operative transsexuals-- regarding treatment by the Department of Veteran Affairs health system. Of specific interest are responses to quality of health care afforded veterans once out of the military and living in the new gender role, such as:

  • Have local facilities, offices, and VA personnel treated the veteran with respect?
  • Has the veteran been denied any medical services because of transgender status?
  • If denied services, has this impacted the veteran's health, financial situation, or ability to transition?

These are as important as the stories of how one fared while serving in the military, knowing that one was "gender different."

Monica Helms, Chair of NTAC's Veterans Affairs Committee says to America's transgendered veterans, "Always remember this one important phrase: We served proudly, too. And, we will again."


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 Posted November 3, 2002

IFGE Appoints Executive Director

From the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE), http://www.ifge.org/

The Board of Directors of the International Foundation for Gender Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Denise Leclair as their new Executive Director. Ms Leclair has served as IFGE's General Manager for the last year, implementing a major reorganization effort.

Ms Leclair has also been a member of the Tiffany Club of New England since 1994 where she has served as Treasurer and is currently on their Board of Directors. She has been active as a public speaker on behalf of the Transgender community in numerous outreach efforts, traveling extensively and speaking at dozens of engagements a year. She recently testified before the Boston City Council on the importance of adding Gender Identity to their non-discrimination policy, and has been featured on NBC news, Court TV and the Discovery Channel.

Prior to coming to IFGE, Ms Leclair was employed by Fitchburg State College as the Laboratory and Hazmat Manager after serving with the Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Lab. She has been the MIS director for several Boston area businesses, and holds degrees in Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as Chemistry.

"I'm honored by the opportunity to lead this organization. IFGE has been a cornerstone of the transgendered community and a beacon of hope for so many, including myself. My goal is to reach out to everyone possible and let them know 'Its OK to be Transgendered'." Denise Leclair can be contacted at:

IFGE
PO Box 540229
Waltham, MA 02454
Tel (781) 899-2212
e-mail: info@ifge.org


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 Posted November 3, 2002

Florida Will Change Birth Certificates

From The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC)

The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services needed time to implement internal policy changes following the June 2002 news that intersexed people and post-operative transsexuals born in Florida were to be allowed amended Florida birth certificates reflecting their corrected sex and gender-appropriate names.

The policy clarification, implemented in mid-October 2002, reflects current medical knowledge concerning transsexuals as well as their realistic needs.

Intersexed or transsexual persons requesting an amended Florida birth certificate must provide the Florida Department of Health with (1) a copy of the court order granting a change of name under either Florida Statute, Section 68.07 regarding legal name change or a substantially similar statute from another state; (2) a notarized affidavit from the physician who performed the sex reassignment surgery; and (3) a fee for birth certificate amendment (currently $20). Use of Florida Department of Health Form DH 430, Affidavit of Amendment to Certificate of Live Birth, is recommended. The affidavit must include the physician's medical license number and be accompanied by medical records, signed by the physician who performed the surgery, certifying that the individual has completed sex reassignment in accordance with appropriate medical procedures and is now considered to be a member of the new gender for all medical purposes.

The issued birth certificate will be marked "Amended" but without identification of what has been changed. Additional copies may be ordered for a moderate additional cost.

Both Equality Florida [http://www.eqfl.org] and the National Center for Lesbian Rights [http://www.nclrights.org] will post a Florida Name Change/Birth Certificate Amendment kit at their respective websites. The kit will include required forms as well as a sample physician's letter. NCLR has supported Equality Florida in its efforts to bring about this policy change.

Intersexed and postoperative transsexuals born in Florida can obtain additional information by contacting the Office of Vital Statistics, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, P.O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. (904) 359-6929 or (904) 359-6931.

Contact Person: Vanessa Edwards Foster; Houston, Texas
Contact Email: ntacmedia@aol.com
media@ntac.org
Contact Phone: 832-483-9901
Website: http://www.ntac.org


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 Posted November 3, 2002

TG Day of Remembrance on November 20

From Gwendolyn Ann Smith, gwen@gender.org

Event Honors Twenty-Four Victims since 2001 Memorial

In a year marked with two dozen reported anti- transgender murders, members of the transgendered community will be holding events on November 20th to honor those lost.

"Too often people want to make our dead into forgotten people," said event founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith, "Now, more than ever, we need to stand together and say that taking life from anyone is not acceptable. Now, more than ever, we must remember, and let those memories spur us to more education and more action to safeguard the diverse character of our communities."

The event is designed to draw those from across the community to come out and say that each and every human is valuable and honored, that no one should ever be so marginalized that their death doesn't matter.

From candlelight vigils to performance events and art installations, each city finds a unique way to make the lives of those murdered visible.

A total of 19 states and the District of Columbia will have Transgender Day of Remembrance events, and four countries -- the United States, Canada, Chile and Spain -- will hold them within their borders.

In addition, several prominent transgender websites will also be blacking out their main pages on November 20th, as a show of solidarity with the cause.

Events this year include a candlelight march down Market Street in San Francisco, California, a rally in Washington D.C., the dedication of a permanent memorial space in West Hollywood, California, an on- campus event at Ohio State University, and a memorial service in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Transgender Day Of Remembrance began in San Francisco in 1999 as a response to the murder of Rita Hester, a transgendered woman who was stabbed to death in her apartment. A murder that, like most transgender killings, remains unsolved.

Through the work of the Remembering Our Dead project which spawned the Transgender Day of Remembrance, it was discovered that an average of one person is reported dead due to anti- transgender violence every month.

In 2002 this figure has doubled, with 24 cases since last year's event.

Organizers point to better reporting, rather than an increase in crime, as a primary reason for this jump.

"Some might think that the rise in numbers points to an increase in deaths this year," Smith said, "While I think there may be some weight in that, I personally feel this points more to aa heightened sensitivity to these cases in the media and amongst our community. The sad thing is that it could well mean that these cases have always happened in numbers like what we are finding now -- and that there is a chance, perhaps a good one, that there are even more still out there we are missing."

Although not every person represented during the Transgender Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgendered - that is, as a transsexual, cross- dresser, or otherwise gender-variant - each was a victim of violence based on bias against trans- gendered people.

Information on Transgender Day Of Remembrance events around the US is available online at... http://www.gender.org/remember/day

Contact: gwen @ gender.org

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 Posted November 3, 2002

Creating Change Conference in Portland, OR

From Lisa Mottet, NGLTF, lmottet@ngltf.org

Greetings Trans Activists and Allies:

Creating Change is going to be great this year! There will be tons of transgender and gender-related workshops, discussions, and caucuses on top of our all day Pre-Conference Institute on November 7, Gender Splendor, which will be focusing on issues important to and affecting transgender people of color.

Creating Change is in Portland, Oregon, from November 7-10. The Gender Splendor Pre-Conference Institute starts on Thursday, the 7th, at 9:00am. The Conference ends at 1:30 on Sunday, November 10th. (Monday, the 11th, is Veteran's Day.)

For those of you who don't already know, this year we launch the first-ever Creating Change Conference theme: Building An Anti-Racist Movement. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is firmly committed to addressing the impact of racism in this country and in our movement, and to that end, much of the programming, workshops, discussions will be oriented toward issues of racism both inside and outside of our communities.

Our slate of transgender-themed programming is extensive. Our Gender Splendor day is coming together, with a planning committee including about thirty transgender people of color from around the country. On Friday night, there will be a gathering for transgender activists to get to know each other and network. A tremendous performance piece, B4T, by Imani Henry will also be performed on Friday, at 1:00 PM.

Transgender-related workshops and caucus discussions cover a full gamut of topics including federal legislation, youth, healthcare access, genderqueer identities, and sex. This year, the Transgender Civil Rights Project has worked to create more opportunities to talk about the federal agenda than ever before, with one workshop being a discussion of the transgender federal agenda and another focusing on the best methods for lobbying for transgender inclusion at the federal level.

NGLTF received over 300 workshop proposals for only 150+ available workshop slots. Our schedule is completely full; our conference director was unable to schedule many, many great proposals. In fact, we added additional workshop time slots in order to accommodate more workshops over our three days together.

I hope that everyone will come to this year's Creating Change so that we may all learn about and from each other, as people, as activists, and as sisters and brothers in the movement.

See you in Portland! (Complete registration and housing information for the conferences is on our website at http://www.creatingchange.org (including info about free community housing) and if you can't find something on the web, call the NGLTF Creating Change information number at (202) 639-6333.).

Lisa Mottet
Legislative Lawyer
Transgender Civil Rights Project
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
lmottet@ngltf.org (202) 639-6308

Read more about the Project at: http://www.ngltf.org/statelocal/transgender.htm

Below is a listing of most of the programming relating specifically to transgender, gender, and intersex issues. Please be aware that things may change before the conference!

Pre-Conference Institute
Gender Splendor: Building an Anti-Racist and Diverse Movement for Gender Freedom and Transgender Equality

This Institute explores the diversity of transgender experience, paying particular attention to issues affecting and important to transgender people of color. This Institute will focus on ways we can work together across our many differences and will provide attendees with a better understanding of the ways in which racism and transphobia intersect in our lives. Topics include non-transsexual and gender-queer identities, intersex issues, significant others, family, friends, and allies (SOFFA), and the impact of age, ability, race, class and immigration status. Innovative programs and projects that address these issues will be discussed. All people are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Gathering for Transgender Activists (Friday evening)
This gathering is for transgender activists and allies of every level - local, state, federal - whether you are new to activism or have been working for decades. Let's meet each other, learn about what others are doing, and make connections to help each other and ourselves in our collective fight for transgender equality.

Performance
B4T (before testosterone), written and performed by FTM activist Imani Henry, is a multi-media theatre piece that intimately explores race, sexuality and gender expression through the lives of three Black, masculine female-bodied people. Through a series of monologues and video clips, B4T (Before Testosterone) portrays the realities of various gender and sexual identities-including "butch," "lesbian," and "transgender".

Workshops/Caucuses/Discussions
*Marginalize No More: How to Incorporate the Needs of Transgender Communities of Color Into HIV and Other Healthcare Services
Despite evidence of high HIV/AIDS infection rates among transgender persons, comparatively few HIV care and prevention programs exist to meet their needs. This interactive workshop will feature participants in a discussion of the barriers and challenges to delivering effective HIV and other healthcare services to transgender communities of color, and will identify strategies for enhancing services to transgender communities at the Federal, State and local levels.

*Building a Federal Transgender Agenda
What should the transgender movement be doing at the federal legislative level? Participants will hear differing opinions and then will engage in a collective discussion about the different options and priorities to achieve transgender equality at the federal level. This session is for transgender activists and committed transgender allies.

*Lobbying for Transgender Inclusion in Federal Legislation
Participants will first discuss and learn the most effective messages and stances to take in advocating for transgender inclusion at the federal level. Second, participants will practice a lobby visit with the goal of having a Member of Congress agree to explicit inclusion of transgender people in a piece of federal legislation. Whether you are a beginner or have plenty of experience, you will learn something at this workshop!

*Transgender Victories and Challenges: The Policy Arena
This year has been a mixed bag for transgender people in the policy arena. Activists have created great statewide victories like the New Jersey safe schools bill and the Hawaii human rights commission decision. We've also seen local anti-discrimination laws pushed to passage in large and/or diverse localities such as Allentown, PA; Dallas,, TX; Multnomah County, OR; New York City; and Tacoma, WA. But there have also been some setbacks, like the Minnesota decision and the Kansas marriage case, to name a few. We'll cover these things, and also take a sneak peek at bills that may pass soon and cases on the cusp of decision.

*What Does the American Public Think About Transgender Issues?
This workshop will deliver the results of the groundbreaking Transgender Polling Project conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) that was completed earlier this year with the assistance of a diverse group of Transgender activists from around the country. The results of this project provide useful data that will help activists to develop messaging to communicate the issues that face the transgender community to legislators and mainstream America.

*Best Interests of the Child
This workshop will present topics and discussion on the issues a transgender parent may face. Topics include custody and transition; what are the legal, social and/or psychological issues for trans parents rights, custodial and non-custodial; who is the mom?; who is the dad?; what about the children?. This workshop will include video clips from the Court TV case of Kantaras v. Kantaras.

*Gender, Disability, and Medical Abuse
This workshop investigates the parallels between the experiences of trans people and that of intersex people, but not through the lens of gender theory as they are commonly addressed. Instead, it attempts to explore alternative approaches to building a true intersex-trans alliance through drawing knowledge from the critical disability theory and disability activism that problematize the social construction of normalcy and criticize the abuse of power inherent within the biomedical model.

*Gender Theory / Gender Politics (Part I and Part II)
Are some genders "real" and others boy-dykes, bio-girlz, trannie-boys and trykes "artificial?" Is gender something we are, or something we do? Is homosexuality a fact of bodies, or a way of politicizing their pleasures? If Feminism is about women's political needs, then who counts as women? Identity politics, genderqueers, and problem of knowledge -- join a lively, low-impact look at what theorists like Judith Butler are saying and why it should matter to you.

*Supporting Trans Youth: Allies 101
This interactive session will provide essential information for service providers and others who want to support trans youth. Topics include relevant terms and concepts, the transition process, the specific service needs of youth in transition, differences between issues/needs of transitioning youth and adults, messages from trans youth about what they want and need from us, and challenges and rewards of supporting trans youth.

*First Stop the Harm: Intersex in the 21st Century
A new medical protocol is being prepared by intersex activists. The revolutionary patient-centered protocol will dramatically alter the landscape for the future intersex births and the way they are treated within the medical community. The new protocol, already being adopted by progressive hospitals, dramatically changes the way intersex children and their families are treated within the medical community. It seeks to end early surgical intervention by replacing it with treatment within the psychological realm and with peer support. This workshop will introduce this new patient -centered protocol being prepared by ISNA. A comparison of the outdated concealment-based and the new, patient-centered protocol will be included to give attendees a basis on which to speak about the issues afterwards within their own organizations. Action items and a plan for activists to work with towards the implementation and adoption of the new protocol will be discussed.

*Beyond the Basics: Transgender Workers Building Solidarity
A look at contracts, internal union practices, and how the labor movement has dealt with LGBT civil rights concerns. We will hear about recent successes, do some concrete brainstorming, examine strategies for working to change union non-discrimination policies and negotiating transgender protections in the collective bargaining process.

*GenderQueer Across Generations: A Continuing Dialogue
This is an interactive session, for youth and adults to explore and create a space to dialogue across generations of GenderQueer folks, trying to figure out how we can work together to create a space for young people to lead in the movement for change in our community understanding of gender. What are the issues that gender questioning youth face and what are the issues that transgender, transsexual youth, and differently gendered youth face in our movement and our society, and how we can learn from each other.

*GenderQueer Activism in the LGB Movement
This roundtable will be a community dialogue space to discuss GenderQueer identity, organizing in the LGB movement, and looking at what some of our challenges and successes are, and where we go from here.

*Playing Doctor: Renaming Desire - Trans/Non-Trans Sex
The caucus will focus on sex between trans and non-trans people, and the fears, desires and assumptions about that sex. This will be an opportunity for people to gather and talk honestly about sexual attraction between and among trans and non-trans people and the political implication(s) of manifesting that attraction. We will talk about identities and gender roles and assumptions and the limitations of such. We will do all this and more in an atmosphere of openness and clarity. ATTENDEES: Please be aware that we will be using adult language in this caucus.

*Gender-izing and Racial-izing Desire: How Do We Get Who We Want and What We Want?
What does it mean to be queer, sexual and a person of color? Which words are used to describe us? Which words are words we would use versus what is attributed to us? In what ways have we been acculturated to think about desire and to think about gender and race in relation to desire? What purpose does that type of thinking serve? Who does it serve? How does oppression fit into our notions about race, gender, sexuality and desire? How do we reinvision a world where desire transgresses the realms of memory and lived experience? How do we redefine the language used to express desire? Please join us as we engage in a lively discussion on the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, desire and cultural oppression. ** People of color only **

*Breaking Down the Barriers Between the Transgendered and Non-Transgendered
Lesbian Issues of sexism, transphobia and discrimination are occurring in the lesbian community toward the transgender lesbians. In this workshop attendees will articulate and weigh perceived issues, participate in discussion, and arrive at potential solutions. The goal is to gain an understanding of each other and determine an action plan to begin the process of improving relationships within the lesbian sisterhood.

*Transgender College Students
Transgender students are beginning to demand more from their colleges and universities across the country. In this networking session, we hope to bring together those people who are researching the experiences of transgender college students. We hope to share ideas, strategies, and findings that will enable participants to return to their institutions with a network of people who are willing to work together to make the lives of transgender students better.

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