The Cutting Edge
Barbara F.
Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW
Did you know that Inside Edition’s Zoey Tur became the 1st
on-air trans reporter? In an earlier
iteration she was “Chopper” Bob—a helicopter pilot who covered the 1994 car
chase led by O.J. Simpson. Zoey began
transitioning in 2013 and stated to US Magazine in their Feb. 16 edition,
“There’s diversity in nature, why not in the media?”
The bathroom remains the last bastion to be breached
giving transpeople free access to public accommodations. According to a statement on the Transgender
Law Center’s website, “multiple states are trying to make it a crime for
transgender people to do something everyone does every day- use the
bathroom.” Florida, Kentucky and Texas
have all introduced bills making it illegal for trans people to use bathrooms
consistent with their gender identity. The penalty can be a fine or
criminalizing both trans people and the building owners who allow free
access. Ultimately, this legislation can
deny transpeople access to institutions such as schools, professional offices
and subsequently limit participation in the full range of activities available
to others. Especially impacted would be
the most vulnerable of our trans citizens, those who cannot change identity
documents “because of systemic employment and health care discrimination.” For a fuller discussion of this subject and
action that you can take to oppose this movement, http://transgenderlawcenter.org.
In a subsequent posting, the TLC reports that the EEOC
(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has ruled that “it’s not acceptable
for employers to single out transgender people for harassment—including …
forcing them to use a different bathroom than everyone else.”
“Many people believed Sisa Abu Daooh was a man until
several weeks ago, when she publicly revealed her 42-year-old secret.” So goes the story in the New York Times
(March 26, 2015) titled, “A Woman’s Secret Life Posing as a Man in Egypt.” It chronicles Sisa’s tale in which she worked
more than 30 years among the shoeshine men of Luxor, Egypt. She socializes, prays and dresses just as
they do. She decided to disclose her
secret with her awareness that the police are accelerating their persecution of
gay and gender dissonant individuals.
Amazingly, her story has been widely accepted because “there is no
suggestion that her choice of clothing had anything to do with sexuality” but
with the need to support her daughter after being widowed. A human rights activist living in Egypt
interviewed for this article explained, “while the state appropriately honors
her for her courage, it imprisons others who call themselves transgender. If the government cared about principles, not
exploiting prejudices, it would respect people for being true to themselves.…”
Ashley Diamond is suing the state of Georgia for cutting
off her supply of hormones. She is a
prison inmate, transgender woman, and client of the Southern Poverty Law
Center. After using female hormones for
17 years, they were abruptly discontinued in 2012 with her arrest for burglary.
“In her lawsuit she asks the court to direct prison officials to provide her
hormone therapy, to allow her to express her female identity through ‘grooming,
pronoun use and dress, ‘and to provider her safer housing.” For more info on this story see the NY Times
Apr 6 & 7, 2015.
In California, a historic victory reinforced TG
rights. On behalf of Michelle
Norsworthy, an inmate of a men’s prison, the Transgender Law Center won a
ruling that “it’s illegal to deny transgender people access to essential health
care, including gender-affirming surgery.”
In a different case, the Justice Department ruled that it is
unconstitutional for state prisons to withhold hormone treatment. For more info:
<info@transgenderlawcenter.org>
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