The Next Civil Rights Frontier

New York Times Editorial - July 31, 2013:

Federal civil rights officials reached an important settlement late last month with a California school district accused of discriminating against a transgender student by denying him equal access to educational programs and activities. Under the agreement, the Arcadia Unified School District in California will revise its policies and ensure that the student, who was born female but has since assumed a male name and identity, is treated fairly and like other male students. The agreement should be required reading for school officials at all levels nationally.

The case involved a child who was anatomically female but began to identify as a boy at an early age, assuming a male first name and wearing boys’ clothes. By the end of fifth grade, the student’s classmates accepted the transformation, but the school district would not let the matter go. Despite warnings from experts that the student should be treated as a boy in all settings, school officials singled him out in ways that brought unwanted attention and made the gender transformation much more difficult. He was given a separate dressing area for physical education class — which isolated him from friends — and assigned to a distant, cross-campus restroom, the use of which required him to miss class time.

On a camping trip in 2011, the social highlight of the seventh-grade year, the school district refused to let the student sleep in a cabin with male friends, some of whom knew his history, even though the friends had requested him as a cabin mate. He was forced instead to stay in a separate cabin with one of his parents, which both he and his parents found disheartening.

Just before the trip, his parents filed civil rights complaints with the Justice Department and the Department of Education. As the investigation progressed, the district agreed to make sure the student had access to facilities designated for male students at all district-sponsored activities and to revise its antidiscrimination policies so as to prohibit gender-based discrimination.

The agreement ends a painful episode for the student and his family. It may also be the beginning of a more welcoming future for transgender students.

York Daily Records Publishes Beautiful Editorial on Transgender Prom King Controversy

Kings and Queens and High School Prom Ballots

York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial - April 25, 2013

Once upon a time in the land of Red Lion...

No, this isn't a fairy tale, but it is a story about kings and queens - of the prom.


Once upon a time there was girl who knew in her heart and mind that she was really a boy.

He knew he was a prince, not a princess, and one day he decided to start living his life as such.

There was no magical transformation. No kissing of frogs. No spells to overcome, other than the spell of misunderstanding that still afflicted the land of Red Lion - and all the neighboring kingdoms.

He simply changed his name and appearance and lived his life as himself. The land of Red Lion espoused freedom - and so he should be free to do just that. And he dreamed of the day when modern medical science would make his body match his heart and mind.

In some ways, though, it was hard.

Some people didn't understand. Many felt uncomfortable with this transformation. Many were ignorant of the science and psychiatric research on transgender individuals.

But others were accepting - first, and most importantly, his parents.

They supported their son's refusal to live what he felt in his very cells to be a lie. They wanted the best for him and were mostly concerned for his well-being and safety in a land where enlightenment spreads slowly - as enlightenment so often does, on issues of race and equality and human rights.

Friends were also accepting. And some teachers, too - though some might have been uncomfortable with the change.

But life was going well - at least heading in the direction of "happily ever after."

He gained confidence - enough confidence that, as the annual ball approached, he decided to run for prom king.

He made fliers with little slogans.

Would he win? Who knows - and really, who cares? This annual tradition is just a light-hearted amusement - unimportant in the grand scheme of things. In some ways, it is more of an anachronism in this day and age than a fairy tale. Really, it's just a popularity contest.

But to a person who had struggled with his identity, it was an important step to feel free and safe enough to come forward as a candidate for "king."

But then the ballots were published, and he was not among the candidates for king. She - his former identity - was listed among the candidates for queen, using his old name.

Apparently school leaders felt uncomfortable including the biological female on the ballot with biological males.

Some supported that decision. Administrators are responsible for the school. They had a tough decision to make and came down on the side of current biology. It was a legally defensible decision. The transgender person was not excluded from the ballot, after all. If the person was elected, he could be a prom queen in a suit.

There was much debate in the mystical realm of Facebook.

Would possibly having a prom king who was technically a female make people uneasy? Would the person chosen as prom queen feel uncomfortable if the "king" was biologically another female?

But what about our would-be king? What about his discomfort at feeling as if he was being forced to pretend to be something and someone he is not?

Did school administrators' discomfort really require stepping in and transforming a he back into a she - for something as inconsequential as a prom court ballot?

Could the officials not simply let the students choose? It's their ball, after all. They were under no obligation to vote for a transgender king.

Could school leaders not see the importance to that individual simply to feel the freedom - and courage - to place himself on the ballot that reflected who he knows himself to be?

Some day - perhaps even in the not-too-distant future - we'll look back on these kinds of stories as we do on fairy tales, reflecting a world that no longer exists, utterly transformed into a world where we are all free to be who we are.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ROBERT WAGNER AND DIANE GRAMLEY: STOP BULLYING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

This past August, Coudersport, PA resident Robert Wagner convened a “Bible Believing Christian” forum at the Coudersport Public Library at which he threatened to violently attack transgender individuals with a baseball bat.

Forum “special guest” Diane Gramley, whose Venango County-based American Family Association of Pennsylvania regularly plants seeds of suspicion about the dangers posed by “men who think they are women,” Gramley's disparaging term for transgender females, condoned Wagner's incitement without a word of protest.

(The American Family Association, parent organization of the AFAofPA, was recently designated a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization.)

A video of Wagner's verbal assault, which attracted national media attention, can be viewed here:



Each November, the world commemorates the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to mourn and honor the many transgender lives tragically cut short by hatred, fear, and violence.

We are writing this open letter to call on Wagner and Gramley to take responsibility for the consequences of their rhetoric, publicly apologize for their remarks, and denounce anti-transgender bullying, discrimination and violence.

We also urge readers to raise their voices with others in the community to express support for the right of all people to live free of fear and discrimination, with dignity and respect, regardless of their actual or perceived gender identity and expression.

Please let your voice be heard by writing a letter-to-the-editor of your local paper and sharing news of your action here, on the Out In The Silence blog or the Out In The Silence website.

Thank You,

Joe Wilson & Dean Hamer
OUT IN THE SILENCE Campaign

Transgender Basics - Gender Identity Project

from National Youth Advocacy Coalition:

The Gender Identity Project at the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City came out with this wonderful video called "Transgender Basics," giving the "Trans101" rundown that achieves the accessible and manageable method that so many have attempted. The video is very informative, but, more importantly, allows a space for some really smart trans people to talk about themselves and their identities. Not only does the video go into depth about alternative gender models, terminology and technicalities, but I really appreciated the amount of time that is spent discussing genderqueer folks and understanding gender beyond the binary.

For Transgender People, Acceptance Is Hard To Find - Even In LGBT Community

from Chicago Now's REDEYE:

When Adrianna King was turned out of her home, she went north in search of acceptance.


A transsexual woman with a shy smile, King, 21, moved to Lakeview earlier this year in hopes that gay-friendly Boystown would offer a haven safe from the harassment and abuse she suffered in her South Side neighborhood.

But Boystown wasn't always safe, and it wasn't always friendly.

King, born a male and in transition to becoming a woman, said she was turned away from Lakeview homeless shelters because management feared she'd be harassed by other boarders. She said she spent the summer sleeping in parks, abandoned buildings, "L" trains and on the lakefront. When nowhere felt safe, King walked all night through Lakeview's streets, waiting until the Center on Halsted opened so she could crash on its couches.

"Every morning I'd come to work, and she'd be outside in the rain," said Tiffany Traylor, a clinical case manager at the center, which serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Homeless youth have congregated in Lakeview for decades, but the past three or four years have seen an influx of transgender youth from throughout the city who come for social services or to find a welcoming community, said Heather Bradley, youth outreach coordinator for the Night Ministry, a nondenominational nonprofit that serves vulnerable kids and adults.

"They're younger, they're people of color, and there are lots and lots of trans kids," Bradley said. "Young, transgender women of color are kind of the face of youth homelessness these days."

Though the number of transgender people hasn't necessarily grown, more are coming out at a younger age and flocking to Lakeview because that's where the action is and where they feel safe, said Modesto Valle, executive director of the Center on Halsted.

Largely neglected and misunderstood by the general population as well as some in the LGBT community they're supposed to be a part of, transgender people--an umbrella term for anyone who does not conform to his or her born gender role, including but not limited to transsexuals like King who seek to live as the opposite sex--are at high risk of poverty, discrimination, joblessness, suicide, hate violence and estrangement from family and other support networks.

There are no statistics on the size of the transgender community in Chicago; rough estimates published in a report this year by the LGBT Movement Advancement Project puts the national transgender population at between .25 percent and 1 percent of the U.S. population.


The transgender homeless are among the throngs of youth--gay, straight, homeless and not homeless--who regularly gather on Lakeview street corners, sparking tension in the neighborhood. Some Lakeview residents and business owners worry that loitering, noise and prostitution are damaging the quality of life, while others believe the swarms of young people may be attracting criminals who hide in their midst to commit robberies and assaults.

Meetings to address the strained relationship have been ongoing for years, though some business owners recently have felt the conflict boil over. Scott Jannush, owner of Borderline Music on Broadway, said a group of youths caused such a disruption during a recording artist's signing at his shop earlier this month that a scuffle ensued. He had to escort them out and file a police report.

Jannush said the centers that cater to youth should impart more skills and counseling rather than just provide a place for kids to hang out.

"They've opened the doors to the neighborhood, and now they're destroying the neighborhood," Jannush said.

The Center on Halsted's Valle said people found to be disrespecting the neighborhood are warned and ultimately barred from the Center, which does provide jobs and skills training. But Valle said the kids who frequent Boystown shouldn't all be lumped together.

The youth, for their part, say they're often the targets of crime--and transgender people, in particular, are vulnerable, as they're more visually different and their mainstream acceptance lags far behind that of gays and lesbians.

"We see a lot of verbal and physical violence against trans youth," said Gabriel Ervin, a youth resource advocate at the Broadway Youth Center. "It's still OK to be outright transphobic."

King is doing all she can to beat the odds.

On Oct. 1, King moved into a small Lakeview studio with the assistance of Stable Futures, a transitional housing program of Heartland Human Care Services that helps single homeless people move toward stability. The program pays up to $600 in monthly rent for up to a year.

Though Lakeview has its challenges, King, who said she's known since age 5 that she didn't belong in her little boy's body, said it's far more comfortable and tolerant than Woodlawn, where she grew up. Still, she said she wakes up most days feeling anxious.

"I worry, 'How are people going to view me? What do I have to offer?'" said King, who each day heads to the Center on Halsted to see friends and talk to her case manager about jobs. Finding a job is one of the greatest challenges--and a reason so many transgender people are homeless.

King's driver's license still bears her birth name: Allen King. She worries about which name to put on her applications, and how she's going to explain why she doesn't look like an Allen. King for now is looking for retail jobs, and hopes to pursue a social work degree, but she dreams of working in entertainment.

"I'd like to be a role model," King said, "and represent another type of beauty." aelejalderuiz@tribune.com

TransAmerica
There's a saying in the transgender community that the "T" in LGBT is silent.

That has started to change, as transgender leaders raise their voices and gay organizations and legislation strive to be more inclusive. The federal hate crimes bill that President Obama recently signed into law and the closely watched Employment Non-Discrimination Act now before Congress both cover gender identity as well as sexual orientation.

Still, transgender people remain on the fringe. And while they are the most vulnerable of the LGBT community, they also are the most understudied.

In what they're calling the first comprehensive national effort to document discrimination against transgender people, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force launched a six-month survey of 6,450 transgender people.

The preliminary findings, released this month, found that among transgender people:
- 97 percent said they experienced harassment or mistreatment at work.
- 47 percent said they were fired, denied a promotion or not hired because of their transgender identity.
- 26 percent said they lost their jobs because they are transgender.
- 19 percent said they had been or are homeless.
- 15 percent live on $10,000 per year or less (7 percent of the general population in the 2007 American Community Survey does).
- 13 percent said they are unemployed.

For the young, gender is fluid
When Kate Sosin was a little girl, she decided climbing trees was more fun than playing with dolls, so she declared herself a boy and told everyone her name was Patrick. Now 24 and living in Edgewater, Sosin says she doesn't feel like a man, but she doesn't fit the traditional female mold either. Sosin identifies as "gender queer," a relatively new term under the transgender umbrella that describes people who don't strictly identify with traditional male or female gender roles.

"The younger trans community is not necessarily interested in the binary of male and female that was forced on the older generation," said Sosin, who wears short hair, eyeliner, a sweater vest and tie, and explains that she prefers to be addressed with "she/her" pronouns.

Whereas the stereotypical image of a transgender person is that of a transsexual--a person whose gender identity differs from the sex with which he or she was born--there are many more layers than that.

There are drag queens and kings, who perform as the opposite sex to entertain others. There are cross-dressers, who dress as the opposite sex for their own enjoyment but without the intention of living that way full time. There's intersex, which refers to people born with reproductive systems not associated with either male or female. And there's gender queer, which Sosin describes as any gender variance that doesn't fall under the other categories.
What the different layers have in common is that it's often a struggle to look so visibly different from what society expects.

"The trans community is still fighting to just live and exist every day," said Sosin, co-founder of the blog genderqueerchicago.blogspot.com. "It's a battle to be able to go to the grocery store, or get a coffee, or walk in the park."

For many young trans people, gender is fluid.

Michael Williams, 29, said that several years ago he started taking hormones to transform his male-born body into that of a woman, but stopped because he felt he still identified somewhat as a man. He said he now splits his time between presenting as a man and as a woman, when he goes by Nomi Michaels.


"I still look like Ice Cube right now, but when I'm Nomi, I look like Queen Latifah," said Williams, who was concealing hormone-induced breasts and hips under several layers of clothing. "I'm lucky that I can go back and forth."

Gabriel Ervin, youth resource advocate at the Broadway Youth Center, said many of the transgender youth who come to the center are experimenting or questioning, and go by terms like "gender fabulous."

Ervin, who prefers to go by the gender-neutral pronouns "they/them," said challenging one's gender creates strong, resilient members of society.

"It's taking what somebody tells you you are when you are born and saying, `No, this is what I am,'" Ervin said. "That's powerful."

It Really Isn't Hard To "Get" The Transgender Issue

Dr. Phil's Poison Pill

from Wayne Besen:

In 38 years, I've only once dressed in drag.

It was my senior year of high school and my friend Alex's father was out of town. While gone, he placed Alex in charge of his clothing shop, which was in a small hotel mini-mall. I swung by one evening to keep him company. Business was slow and we were looking for creative ways to pass the time.

Finally, one of us had the harebrained idea to replace the female mannequins stiffly posing in the large plate glass window -- with ourselves. Dressed in women's clothes, we stood completely still and patiently waited for unsuspecting customers. When they unassumingly meandered in front of us -we came alive, startling these poor window shoppers.

This evening of adolescent mischief was the extent of my dabbling in the world of the opposite sex. Although this path was not my destiny, I never found drag queens at gay bars or transgender people weird or threatening. To anyone paying attention, it is clear that we live in a world of infinite and wondrous natural diversity. There is an obvious spectrum of human possibility that is in front of our eyes. Yet, supposedly educated people still act surprised and unnerved that transgender Americans exist. The truth is, it would be far more shocking to not have such people, considering the literally billions of prospective combinations and potential outcomes for each individual.

I'm confused as to why people are still "confused" about transgender Americans. For years, they have said that the birth sex on the outside does not match the opposite sex they believe is on the inside. Modern science confirms that sexuality has as much to do with what is inside our heads as what is between our legs. This concept is not rocket science, nor is it difficult to understand. There is nothing homogeneous about our species, and this includes sexuality and gender.

Unfortunately, talk show hosts are still using this issue for cheap laughs or to boost ratings. The latest example is the annoying and supremely talentless Dr. Phil. The talking (very large) head had an opportunity to educate the public by presenting the latest science. Instead, he shamefully chose sensationalism over professionalism by offering a platform to notorious anti-gay activists who used his show to promote quack theories with no scientific standing. Dr. Phil actually had the nerve to refer to Glenn Stanton, who is affiliated with Focus on the Family, and the laughable Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, as "experts" on gender and homosexuality.

Dr. Nicolosi is the same "expert" who believes gay men can become more masculine by drinking Gatorade and calling friends "dude." Stanton is tied to Focus on the Family, an organization that has been accused by scientists throughout the world of distorting their work.

Of course, none of this mattered to Dr. Phil. Instead of exploring this issue in-depth, "the mouth of the south" sunk to new depths. On the show, he exploited Toni, a loving mother of a transgender child, by ambushing her with the aforementioned disreputable hacks.

Toni explained how she and her husband reluctantly decided to let her son transition into a girl after unsuccessfully forcing strict gender roles on the child. Such efforts backfired and her son tried to jump out of a window. Even after hearing such a real life story, Nicolosi and Stanton argued that Toni should have continued a "treatment" that nearly lead her child to suicide.

Dr. Nicolosi tried to humiliate Toni on national television, blaming her parenting skills for causing her child to be transgender. Nicolosi said that her child was transgender because the father was detached and Toni was overly "enmeshed." But, Toni's response undermined Nicolosi's unproven and dubious hypothesis.

"Dad wasn't there after the transition...my son, I wasn't close to at all," Toni replied. "I wasn't enmeshed with him, so I think your theory sucks."

Having their bizarre and outdated ideas effectively rebutted, Stanton chimed in to save face, glibly stating, "No human being is cookie cutter."

The truth is, the entire program of Nicolosi and Stanton is predicated on baseless cookie cutter ideas that support their extreme beliefs. It is disingenuous to say otherwise when the very heart of their work is confusing stereotypes with science.

I question why Dr. Phil offered a platform to men so at odds with every respected medical and mental health association in the country? And why didn't Dr. Phil inform viewers that these men were considered fringe religious figures with peculiar views on sexuality?

It really isn't hard to "get" the transgender issue. But, for your average American, it can be difficult to get accurate information, when real experts are juxtaposed with jokers who offer rubbish as genuine research. I suggest Dr. Phil dress up as a female mannequin if his goal is shock value. He'd hurt less people and would not come across as Jerry Springer when he sprung nasty surprises on innocent guests.