The Cutting Edge-October 29, 2014
By Barbara F.
Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW
Have you seen “Transparent,” the new Amazon show that has
received raves from critics and fans alike?
Rotten Tomatoes’ site gives it a 97% approval rating, describing it “as
much about a change in television as it is about personal change. Transparent raises the bar for programming
with sophistication and sincere dedication to the human journey, warts and
all.” Jill Soloway created the pilot
about 3 siblings whose father reveals he is going through a significant life
transition. She says the show stands for
gender freedom for all and within that freedom we can find grays and muddled
purples and pinks, chakras that bridge the heart and mind, sexiness that
depends on a masochistic love or a sweeping soul dominance. In particular, Transparent wants to invent
worlds that bridge the binary….”
“Easing the Law for New Yorkers Shifting Gender” is an
article in the NY Times Oct. 7, 2014. It
refers to a change being advanced by the N. Y. City Council and the Mayor in
the definition of “what constitutes a transition from one sex to another,
allowing a person’s own identity, not anatomy, to be the determining
factor.” It would allow alterations to
birth certificates at the recommendation of physicians, psychotherapists,
physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives. The criteria for amending a certificate will
be “that the requested change more accurately reflects the applicant’s sex and
is consistent with contemporary expert standards regarding gender
identity.” The long-standing requirement
for SRS will be dropped and original birth records will be sealed.
“Lily McBeth, 80, a Focal Figure for Transgender Rights”
is the heading of an Oct 5, 2014 obituary in the NY Times. Formerly, William
McBeth had been a medical supplies salesman from New Jersey. Upon retirement, s/he
took a position as a substitute elementary school teacher. Having taken a break to recover from SRS,
upon returning to the classroom in February 2006 as Lily, an intense debate
arose among parents leading to an exploration of the human rights issue
concerning opportunities for transgender people. Ms. McBeth, who died on Sept. 24, was
referred to as “the state’s most important civil rights figure in the last 2
decades.” It is notable that the NJ
school administration defended her right to teach based on NJ Civil Rights
laws. Parents were divided with some
trotting out the usual claims that children were being forced to confront
issues of sexuality beyond their ken while others felt her teaching skills were
unimpaired by her transition. Although
never terminated, the school stopped requesting her services as a substitute teacher,
and she finally withdrew her availability stating in an interview that “they
put me in a closet again.” She never
wrote her autobiography but in an interview she stated that had she done so, it
would have been called, “From He to Shining She.”
On Sept. 3, 2014, Mills College in Oakland, CA became the
first all-women’s college in the US to openly welcome gender non-conforming
students. Any student ho self-identifies
as a woman is welcome. Applicants “who
do not fit into the gender binary” are eligible as long as they were assigned
“female” at birth. An enrolled student who
transitions and later identifies as a man may stay and graduate. However, those who were assigned “female” at
birth but already legally identify as a man, are not eligible.
About 3 to 5 of the 1,000 undergrads identify as gender
non-conforming every year. Mt. Holyoke
has an even broader policy of inclusion admitting “any qualified student who is
female or identifies as a woman.” (Think Progress website, Sept 2, 2014)
Don’t be surprised if some of your glamour photos end up
some day on display. Robert Swope found
a cache of 340 snapshots of men ”dressed cozily as women, engaging in domestic
pursuits…, having dinner or playing scrabble.”
He learned the photos, found at the 26th St Flea Market in
Manhattan, were taken at Casa Susanna, a weekend retreat in the Catskills for
1960’s cross-dressers. 120 of the images
have been collected into a book published in 2005 by Powerhouse that is now in
its 3rd printing. Now all of
the photos are to be auctioned at the Wright Auctionhouse in Chicago in the
hopes that an institution will buy them for public display. (NYT 10/16/14)
Lastly, don’t miss the13th San Francisco Transgender Film
Festival, Nov. 7-9 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St. @
Valencia. For more info: WWW.SFTFF.ORG.
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