The Cutting Edge-February 18, 2014

By Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

 

The Transgender Law center (TLC) is organizing their 8^th annual Transgender Leadership Summit—a conference designed to build the foundation for community members to take action for transgender equality and justice.  There will be workshops in legal, healthcare, organizational development and much more.  It is scheduled for April 11-13 at Cal State U. @ Northridge.  For more info: info@transgenderlawcenter.org

Robina Asti, a 92 year old transwoman, was denied survivor’s benefits by the Social Security Administration after her husband’s death.  The ruling was based on their belief that she was “legally male” at the time of their marriage in 2004 despite the fact that the government has recognized Robina as a woman for over 30 years as attested to by her passport, FAA pilot’s license and driver’s license.  The back story: 9 years ago Robina, a WWII vet and pilot and her longtime sweetheart, Norwood Patton, were married in an airplane hangar in New York State.  When Norwood, 97, died in 2012, Robina applied to the Social Security Administration for survivor’s benefits.  As mentioned above, she was denied.  In June 2013, Lambda Legal filed a request for reconsideration but after 6 months has still not had a reply.  Stay tuned.

Did you catch the “Fashion & Style” section of the NYTimes (1/30/14)?  If not, you missed the story on the new Barneys catalogue and magazine campaign.  Nearly 20 transgender models were photographed by Bruce Weber wearing clothes from designers like Ann Demeulmeester, Balenciaga, Lanvin and Manolo Blahnik.  The models, ranging in age from 17 to “early 30’s,” are of various races and socioeconomic strata. The intent was to create awareness of a community that has been left behind as gays and lesbians have moved further into the mainstream.

 From a contribution to a listserve of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) the following entry bears circulating.  The writer tells of being denied funding by the CDC for a mammogram.  Despite having legitimately met the qualifications for a subsidy for the screening, denial was based on her identity as a transwoman.  She filed a civil rights complaint on the state and federal levels and the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Transgender Equality became involved on her behalf.  Subsequently, the CDC officially changed its discriminatory policy and now all transwomen who meet the income and age requirements, and are referred by a healthcare professional, are eligible for a federally funded mammogram.

Global Action for Trans* Equality and the American Jewish World Service conducted a survey of 340 transgender and intersex groups worldwide between July and Sept. 2013.  Revealed are the deep discrimination and multiple challenges faced by these groups.  Some findings:  The trans and intersex movements are young, many groups having been founded in the last 3 years.  Most focus on local issues and are led by community members.  Most are not independent but are programs of larger human rights and health organizations with broader mandates.  For more info on the survey’s findings, Google “Global Action for Trans* Equality.”

The Cutting Edge- January 2014

By

Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

 

Transgress Press has put out a call for letters from “Our Partners,” partners and spouses of transpeople.  They are seeking personal stories from individuals who are/have been in relationship with people who identify as transgender.  In 2011 they published “Letters for My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect,” an anthology of letters to trans partners.  Now they seek reflections on these relationships.  They are interested in stories about personal identity that address questions such as:

 1) How has your identity been challenged or supported by your partner’s identity?  Has your self-perception of your own gender evolved?

 2) How has disclosure impacted personal, community, family, or work relationships?  Affected your role as a partner or your identity?

 3) How has medical transition affected your relationship?  Has your partner’s desire or lack of such affected your role or identity?

 4) How has your relationship changed?  Has monogamy or polyamory become a lifestyle choice?  What has been the effect on children?

 f you’d like to know more about the project or are interested in submitting a letter of 2500 words or less, contact jess@iamsocialjustice.com

 

Are you aware of the controversy re: the term “trans*” vs. transgender among gender variant individuals, professionals who work with them and activists for the cause?  Some feel “trans*” has supplanted transgender and is more inclusive of all who identify as CD, TG, TS and gender diverse.

 Apparently, the “*” as an abbreviation comes from computer science.  It was prominent as a wildcard character in early operating systems in the 1970’s and remains so in Mac and Windows today.  Many global advocacy organizations have adopted “Trans*” such as GATE—Global Action for Trans* Equality.  A growing number of members of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) have adopted the term as well, although the “*” has not modified the title of the organization.

 Another point of view comes from a physician/Executive Director of an advocacy organization who says “I am not an asterisk.  Roger Maris may be an asterisk.  Barry Bonds may be an asterisk.  I am not an asterisk.”  These comments have been excerpted from online correspondence between members of WPATH.

 

“Massachusetts: Court Upholds Sex Change for Inmate”  is the headline of a NYTimes article.  The State Department of Corrections is required to provide SRS for an inmate serving a life sentence for murdering  his/her wife.  Michelle Kosilek, 64, was born male but receives female hormones and lives as a woman in a men’s prison.  A federal judge ruled in 2012 that surgery was necessary for her gender identity disorder.  Prison officials have concerns about protecting her post surgically.

 

 

The Cutting Edge Dec. 24, 2013

Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

 

In addition to my psychotherapy practice I have embarked on another venture—I have been deputized as a Marriage Commissioner by the State of California.  Once a week I report to San Francisco City Hall and perform marriages for couples who choose to take their vows at this most impressive site.  A large proportion of the individuals that wed are same-sex couples who became “legal” on Dec. 2, 2013.  After a bit of paperwork, I sign in a couple’s witnesses and we proceed to either a private room or up the grand staircase to stand under the cupola of this gorgeous building.  There, surrounded by family and friends, photographers and children, the spouses-to-be take their vows, exchange rings and kiss.  It is the high point of my day each week.

 

“Victory! Transgender Man Wins right to Work as Authentic Self” is the headline of an article on the Transgender Law Center’s site.  The organization responded to K.S.’s request for help when his employer refused to allow him to serve clients who had requested a male massage therapist.  K.S. had begun transitioning the prior year and had also been denied usage of his chosen name without a court ordered name change or a gender change on his driver’s license.   A TLC lawyer discussed the matter with K.S., explained his rights to him, and helped him identify the specific areas at work where he was treated differently from other men.  As a result, K.S. felt confident to meet with his employer and advocate for more equitable treatment.  He is now “booked” as a male massage therapist, wears a male uniform and uses his chosen name.

 

“Taiwan to allow legal gender changes without transitioning” appeared Dec. 11, 2013 on the site, GayStarNews.  After hours of debate, the Ministry of Health voted to drop previous requirements –“removal of all relevant sexual organs” and psychiatric evaluation—and now allows TG individuals to change their legal gender at will.  Taiwan has become only the second nation, after Argentina, to liberalize their laws to such an extent.  To the objections of a psychiatrist who cited 2 cases of individuals who committed suicide post-transition, a supporter of the ruling suggests that “adaptation difficulty is indeed more of a social problem….  It is the double requirement of evaluation and sex reassignment surgery, which together with monetary and physical constraints, prevents trans people from obtaining their desired legal gender and brings problems.” 

 

In July, California passed AB 1266, introduced by Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. It required public schools to allow TG students to use bathrooms and participate on sports teams consistent with their gender identity as of Jan. 1, 2014.  A conservative coalition has formed to repeal the measure in the 2014 election.  It needs to collect 305,000 signatures by Nov. 8 to get on the ballot.  A statement from political consultant, Frank Schubert, who masterminded the passage of Proposition 8, maintains that 500,000 have been collected so far.  If the referendum qualifies, the law will be suspended until voters decide.  (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 20, 2013)

 

In brief:  Lambda Legal has a great website which deals with such subjects as: identity documents; TG youth; restroom access rights; TG workplace rights; health care; TG seniors;  TGs and marriage laws; TG parents; and fighting anti-trans violence. It is www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/transgender

 

 

 

`The Cutting Edge-November 2013

By Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

 

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is preparing for its bi-annual conference in Bangkok, Thailand in Feb. 2014.  A featured speaker will be Antonio Guillamon, MD, PhD who will speak on “The Brain of Transsexual Persons.”  A summary of his presentation  follows: “The brain structures and mechanisms that support gender identity are unknown.  One way to approach this topic would be to compare males and females with dysphoria to those who do not feel dysphoria.  Two decades of research into brain differences in our laboratory, working with several species, including humans, has produced 2 main ideas.  First, sex differences are seen in complex networks and differences in any given structure must be approached in this context.  Second, sex differences in the brain can take 1 of 2 morphological patterns; in some structures males show larger measurements than females while in other structures the opposite is true.

 “…post-mortem studies of hormonally treated m-t-f transsexuals have reported that 2 nuclei, which are located in the hypothalamus… are feminized.  The idea that the brain[s] of transsexual persons might be feminized in m-t-f transsexuals or masculinized in f-t-m transsexuals has attracted media attention and become popular.  It also seems to fit with the idea of being trapped in the wrong body.  However, findings from post-mortem brain studies include the effects of the cross-sex hormone treatment and the suggestion of brain feminization in m-t-f transsexuals might be an over-simplification of how the brain actually is in transsexuals before they receive hormone treatment.”  For more information on Dr. Guillamon’s talk, see WPATH’s website @ www.WPATH.org.

 

“Trans-Kin Update: Support for Family & Friends of transgender People” recently won the international Book Award in the Gay and Lesbian Non-Fiction category.   According to Eleanor Hubbard (who may be the author/editor/publisher) “this guide has helped countless significant others, family members, friends and allies” to deal sensitively with TGs.  For more info: www.Trans-Kin.com

 

New Jersey joins California as only the 2^nd state to prohibit licensed therapists from engaging in conversion therapy.  This is the now-discredited form of psychotherapy designed to “cure” patients of homosexual and transgender thoughts and behaviors.

 

Pakistan’s TG community, along with intersex and cross-dressing  individuals are known as  “hijras.”  These male-bodied people identify as women and have faced discrimination  and ridicule for centuries.  Segregated, they have usually earned their living as dancers, circus performers, sex workers, and beggars.  In 2012, a Supreme Court ruling allowed them to obtain IDs that permit them to vote and acknowledge them as the “3^rd gender.”

 

On November 4, 2013, 18 year old Sasha Fleishman was set afire while dozing on an Oakland bus.  Sasha identifies as “agender” and though appearing male, was wearing a skirt, according to his father.  “Being agender simply means that a person doesn’t feel that they are either a boy or a girl, according to Mr. Fleishman.  A 16 year old high school student is in custody as a result of footage available on a security camera.

 

Know the name William T. Vollmann?  Refreshingly, a New York Times feature (Nov. 14, 2013) presents a positive story about a cross-dresser who is accomplished and confident that he is OK.  In the article, “The Self Images of a Cross-Dresser,” Mr. Vollmann,  “the absurdly prolific author and National Book Award winner…has developed a female alter ego named Dolores ….”  She is the subject of his new edition of photos and paintings, “The Book of Dolores.”  The author is 54, straight, the father of a daughter and married to a physician.  He began cross-dressing “seriously” about 5 years ago after meeting some “girls’ in the Tenderloin.   They took an interest in him and he responded, researched the subject of the Noh theater dancers and Kabuki actors of Japan, and writing a short book (504 pages) on the subject.

The Cutting Edge- Oct. 23, 2013



Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

 

October 1, 2013 was the starting date for a “ground-breaking new federal law protecting transgender and gender-non-conforming people” according to FORGE’s online article, “Transgender and LGB Survivors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Now Have New Protections.”  (Sept. 30, 2013)  The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was recently re-authorized and now it explicitly prohibits VAWA-funded agencies from discriminating against survivors based on gender identity.  FORGE has announced a 3-year continuation of a grant of $350,000 to address the implications and implementation of the new legal requirements.

 

In an online article, “Was Legendary Stagecoach Driver Charlie Parkhurst Gay or Trans?” the Advocate (Mar. 8, 2013) reviews Karen Kondazian’s novel, “The Whip.”  It is based on the life of the famous 19^th century Wells Fargo stagecoach driver who was found to be a woman upon burial in Watsonville, CA.  S/he was in fact Charlotte, a lively and determined woman who elected to live much of her life as a man.  The review describes the book as a “gripping page-turner [that] explores themes of self-identity, forgiveness, and survival, and captivates the reader from multiple perspectives.”

 

"Trans Bodies, Trans Selves" is a resource guide written by and for trans communities, covering health, legal issues, history, art & literature, relationships and more.  It will be published by the Oxford University Press in Spring 2014.  To order: www. indiegogo.com/projects/trans-bodies-selves-book-launch/x/780780.

The Cutting Edge-September 2013

Barbara F. Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW

A notice reached me about “the University of Arizona’s unprecedented investment in the field of transgender studies.”  In addition to hiring 4 new faculty positions in transgender studies, there is also a new peer-reviewed journal, TSQ (Transgender Studies Quarterly); a new Center for Critical Studies of the Body; and a future graduate degree program in transgender studies.  For more information on these developments or to apply for a position <uacareertrack.com, job # 53456>

 

2 interesting plays of interest to the trans community are slated to open in SF.  “Sidewinders” will play between Oct. 18 & Nov. 17, 2013 at the Cuttingball Theater.  Think a combination of “Waiting for Godot” and SF Pride.  The review describes it as an “absurdist-western romp through gender queerness…. [It] provokes questions about sex anatomy, transgenderism, and who we really are from the inside out.”

 

“Hir,” a world premier by Taylor Mac, opens Jan. 29, 2014 at the Magic Theater.  “Newly enlightened, Paige is determined to forge a deliriously liberated world for her 2 wayward children.  One, Max, is sculpting a third sex gender for hirself.”  It is described as a “hilarious drama.”

 

The Dep’t of Defense has begun to extend a number of federal benefits to same-sex spouses of military members as of Sept.3, 2013.  Now the same privileges available to legally married straight couples will be available to married gay couples.  Benefits include health care, housing, and family separation allowance.  Service members who are stationed in 1 of the 37 states where same-sex marriage is illegal will be offered up to 10 days leave to travel to 1 of the 13 states that grant same-sex marriage licenses. (NBCNews.com, August 22, 2013)

 

Melenie Elenke, TG rights activist and hula dancer, died on Sept. 9, 2013 in Daly City.  In 1976, 1 year before her graduation from Kailua High School in Honolulu, she transitioned to live as the woman she knew herself to be.  She was a spiritual healer  and Social Justice student at San Francisco State University and a long-time community leader with the Transgender, Gender Variant & Intersex Justice Project in SF. She is remembered for her trip to Geneva, Switzerland in 2008 when she addressed the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, accusing the U.S. of being responsible for its paucity of economic opportunity for transwomen of color. (SF Chronicle, Sept. 15, 2013)

 

Hot off the press:  “My Brother My Sister” by Molly Haskell, feminist film critic, is a chronicle of the transition of Ms. Haskell’s younger brother.  “Nearing 60, married with children, Chevey floored his family and friends when he revealed he was transsexual and would begin to live openly as a woman.”  This book explores the parallel journeys of Chevey’s transition as well as Molly’s emotional path from “shock and bewilderment to … acceptance….”  (The Booksmith, Sept. 19, 2013)

 

A 16 year-old transgender teen was named Homecoming Queen at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, CA.  “Cassidy Lynn Campbell tearfully accepted her crown in front of camera crew and a crowd of students, family and football players on the field.”  Until 3 years ago she lived as Lance Campbell but has always seen herself as a girl. (ABC News Sept. 21, 2013)

The Cutting Edge-Auust 26, 2013

Barbara F. Anderson, Ph. D., LCSW

Elaborating on my earlier blog of April, 2013 on the newest version of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revision 5, I have even more information about how differently gendered people feel about the newest edition.  According to the newsletter, “Contemporary Sexuality,” a publication of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the controversy about including a diagnostic category referring to transgender people continued through the revision process. Despite claims of pathologization, those who wished to retain the diagnosis prevailed, concerned that without a diagnosable mental disorder insurance coverage for necessary treatments would be difficult to obtain.  Additionally, the original diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder was changed to Gender Dysphoria.  This is considered an improvement by some because it recognizes the emotional stress of having a gender identity that is incongruent with one’s physical body rather than considering cross gender identity as a disorder in itself.

 

Did you know?  ….Joy Ladin is the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution.  She teaches English at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University. After receiving tenure in 2006, she decided to transition the next year.  She is the author of “Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders.”

                            ….Amanda Simpson is believed to be the first openly transgender presidential appointee.  She was named senior technical advisor in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security in 2010.  In this capacity she monitors the exports of U.S. weapon’s technology.  She had been active in the aerospace and defense industry for 30 years and was a former test pilot.  While employed by Raytheon she transitioned from male to female.

 

From the Transgender Law Center comes an announcement that “Gov. Brown Signs Historic Transgender Students Bill into Law.”  The historic School Success & Opportunity Act was passed and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.  It is the first of its kind in the country and requires that public schools “respect students’ gender identity and makes sure that students can fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities that match their gender identity.”

Co-authored by Sens. Mark Leno and Ricardo Lara and Assemblymembers Toni Atkins and Tom Ammiano, the bill was backed by numerous leading organizations incl. the TLC, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, ACLU of CA, National Center for Lesbian Rights, teacher and parent organizations and dozens more.  Colorado and Maine already have statewide policies in line with requiring schools to respect students’ gender identity but apparently, California’s law is the first on the books.

 

Louisa-Jo-Louis Killen, a British folk singer of some renown died on Aug. 9, 2013.  She emigrated to the US in 1967 after which she worked with Pete Seeger and The Clancy Brothers.  A few years before her death, she fulfilled her life’s dream and transitioned to live as a woman.

 

In an article on the site, “The Atlantic Wire, “ (August 14, 2013), Bradley Manning defended his leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.  He stated this was a reaction to severe mental stress caused by feelings of isolation, having Asperger’s disorder, fetal alcohol syndrome and being transgender. Evidence for the latter is a 2010 e-mail sent to his supervisor “confessing he was transgender and that he joined the Army ‘to get rid of it.’“ On Aug. 21 he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for espionage and theft.

In a follow-up article on CBS’ website dated Aug 22, Manning is quoted as saying, “I want to live as a woman named Chelsea.”  She requested hormone therapy and asked supporters to refer to her by this name.  If hormone therapy is not provided, Manning’s lawyer will “do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to.”