I wanted to thank everyone who visited my blog for the Gender Identity series and especially those who took the time to comment. Some of them were long and very informative as well. If you haven't read them, it's worth the time. Here's one I'd like to single out, from Kelly:
I live this life and I'm still discovering new things about the trans community. I think the one thing that I can say without any shadow of a doubt is that we are all unique individuals who want nothing more than to live our lives in peace and with the dignity and respect that all of us deserve.
I often feel that the T is overlooked in GLBT and if truth be told, I have also felt that some who identify as GLB would rather not have the T anywhere near them. When I read the kind words by people like you I am filled with hope that we can all work to overcome the discrimination we all so frequently encounter.
I agree 100% that the T is often overlooked in GLBT, not only among many blogs that frequently deal with GLBT issues, but particularly in the other media as well. I would even go so far as to say intentionally ignored.
Originally my intent was solely to do the interview with Jami. When I saw the New York Times story last weekend which I covered in my first post, I decided to primarily focus this entire week on transgender issues to put it out there. Not only do I hope I contributed in a some way to helping end the discrimination and misunderstanding, but I want to press on with the hope of establishing full equality for all us queerfolk.
Also, big thanks are in order for those who linked to my posts. Shakespeare's Sister did a particularly lengthy post and brought up some points even I hadn't considered. There are excellent comments there as well.
For all the anxiety that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals experience during the coming-out process, and for many there's a lot of emotional pain (not to mention physical pain for those kids who are beaten or thrown out of their homes), at least we aren't having to shell out thousands of dollars to bring our sex and gender into congruence.
Here's a clip from the link:
Sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) is an expensive procedure that, for male to female transsexuals, is relatively successful. It can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $100,000 to get a sex change, none of which is covered under medical insurance.
It's easy to make the assumption that transgender people are only in big urban centers on the east and west coasts, but we know that's not the case. After a quick Google search, I found a website for a transgender support group in Arkansas. They are all across America.... even in our prisons.
Many states do not have any written policy for the treatment of transgender inmates, said Cole Thaler, a transgender-rights attorney for Lambda Legal, a national advocacy group for homosexual, bisexual and transgender people.
That quote is from an article in the NY Times. Read it. Very interesting stuff.
This is officially the end of the "series" but only the beginning of the reporting.
Some positive news out there:
A teacher at Batavia High School in New York state is undergoing a sex change. This is an encouraging story.
Administrators, counselors and psychologists who have received training in gender identity issues will hold the forums with students when the school year opens on Sept. 6.
And here's one not so encouraging. A San Antonio police officer is being charged with rape and beating of a transsexual:
SAN ANTONIO — A transsexual who has accused a police officer of raping and beating her told a jury Wednesday that she revealed to the officer that she has HIV in an attempt to stop the assault.
Gabriel Bernal, 23, said Dean Gutierrez punched her in the face and hit her in the leg with a "black object."
"When he hit me in the face, I'm assuming he's going to kill me," Bernal said.
Gutierrez, 46, is charged with depriving a person's civil rights by committing aggravated sexual abuse while on duty. If convicted, Gutierrez faces up to life in prison.
The defense also tried unsuccessfully to be allowed to argue that Bernal's injuries could have been caused by having sex in acts of prostitution.
"All you want to do is plant that seed, yet you have no evidence that she was prostituting that same evening," U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez said in rejecting the defense request.
The San Antonio police department (as well as many departments around the country) has had other LGBT issues in the past. I remember a sweet little incident involving some park rangers in San Antonio a few years back who were abusive to some Canadian tourists on the Riverwalk because the rangers thought they were gay (they weren't).
This shit needs to stop.
Recap of recent posts:
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