Transsexual Road Map Notes

Seeking Stories: Gender Transition and Health Insurance Coverage

2009-11-10T19:05:01-08:00

Transgender Rights Project of GLAD notes: GLAD is collecting stories about people’s experiences with health insurance coverage related to gender transition, to help us determine how we can best address legal concerns in this area. If you have a story to share, please complete our brief survey at: http://www.glad.org/health Please note: because GLAD’s work is focused in New England, we are specifically interested in stories from people in the six New England states. If you know of others who may have a story to share, please feel free to forward this post. All information will be kept confidential. Thank you! Further reading Transsexual transition and insurance http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/insurance.html

TransYouth in the news

2009-11-08T22:23:00-08:00

A reader writes: “Last night on Aussie TV’s “Sunday Night” (Channel 7’s ‘60 Minutes’ look-a-like show), they did a story on transgendered children, and had a focus on Germany’s Kim Petras.” While on the whole I felt the story was fairly positive, the reporter’s line of questioning in a couple of instances I felt was utterly pathetic. He trotted out the “toilet/bathroom” question again to Kim Petras (Ugh! C’mon dude - it’s 2009 not 1979!), and then followed that up with “What if ?? What if she changes her mind and wants to be a boy again ?” I wanted to throw rocks at the reporter! I had hoped that the media had moved on from scandalizing TS women (and particularly trans children), but yet again I was wrong and terribly disappointed. You can see the video/story at the link above to the Sunday Night website. The video takes about 10 minutes. Also on that site is a poll about whether or not children should be allowed to ‘change sex’. To my surprise, a whopping 75% of the general populace that had voted said they should. Maybe the media is yet again lagging behind society ? Also worth reading is the father’s story about his daughter (relates to the girl in Melbourne spoken about in the video) - watch the video first though. http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunday-night/#fop Also, an nice article about supportive parents in Time Out New York: Experts would label Sean, now 5, gender-variant, though various other (less creepy sounding) terms exist: gender-atypical, gender-nonconforming, gender-independent. While in most of the country gender variance might be considered either an abomination to be treated or merely an embarrassment to be roundly ignored, here it’s considered endearing. (Ludicrously, gender identity disorder is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a mental illness; transgender and civil-rights advocates are lobbying to have it removed, just as homosexuality was deleted as a mental illness from the same manual in 1973.) Read more: http://newyorkkids.timeout.com/articles/features/79610/cross-dressing-kids-and-gender-identity Finally, this from TransYouth Family Allies’ Kim Pearson TYFA Board Member and esteemed author Andrew Solomon recently spoke at “Let’s Breakthrough Together 2009,” at the Harvard Club in NYC where he shared the very moving stories of two of our TYFA families. I hope you will take the time to view this video and see why the work we do is so important. We continue to invest countless hours and resources supporting the two families mentioned and others like them...this is the work we do and we need your support. http://vimeo.com/7455749 Further information: Transitioning early in life http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/earlyindex.html TransYouth Family Allies http://www.imatyfa.org

Peter Collins on transsexualism

2009-11-08T21:39:00-08:00

Peter Ian Collins (born 1955) is a Canadian forensic psychiatrist. He works at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a Toronto mental institution charged with serving gender-variant clients in the area. It has become widely known as one of the most notorious facilities in the world in terms of controlling access to medical services. With Ray Blanchard, Collins coined the term “gynandromorphophilia” to describe attraction to transgnder people (specifically to trans women who have not had vaginoplasty). He is one of the few people who has ever used the term “she-male” in an academic paper to describe trans women as a demographic group. Psychiatrist Vernon Rosario has called labels like these “scientifically reifying” when applied to trans women and their admirers. Full article: Peter Collins on transsexualism http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/peter-collins.html

What motivates Ray Blanchard’s oppression of sex and gender minorities?

2009-11-02T20:17:01-08:00

Ray Blanchard at Toronto’s notorious Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has accused me of spreading “misinformation” about him, so let’s get all his biographical details out on the table in order to make my point more clearly. Blanchard is widely reviled by transsexual people. He once declared that a trans woman who has transitioned is merely “a man without a penis,” and said of trans men, “They get a kind of lump that in the best, most expensive, $100,000 cases, kind of, maybe, look like a penis from across a room.” His comments on trans people’s genitalia echo his fixation on “phallometrics,” the measurement of penile length, width, and tumescence when subjects are exposed to erotic stimuli. The field of “phallometrics” was developed by Blanchard’s mentor at CAMH to determine if army recruits were gay or not. Blanchard, who has not disclosed his own sexual orientation publicly, is considered an expert in determining the size and tumescence of male genitalia. Blanchard took umbrage at my publication of his 2008 taxpayer-funded salary and my comment that he and Zucker both left America for Canada during the Vietnam War. Why is Blanchard so touchy about military matters, and what personally motivates his life’s work? What drives this key figure in the oppression of sex and gender minorities? Since he feels entitled to ascribe labels and motivations to others, let’s turn the tables. Why is Ray so reticent about revealing his own sexual interests and behavior, when his career involves “catching” people not being open and honest about their sexual interests and behavior? This article examines Ray’s childhood, family life, sexuality, Catholic upbringing, and interest in penile tumescence. It also examines how CAMH became the world’s largest publicly-funded forced feminization sex dungeon and transgender reparative therapy clinic. Finally, it examines what Blanchard’s most important legacy will be: the broad expansion of “paraphilia” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) to further oppress sex and gender minorities as mentally disordered. In this section: * Ray Blanchard motivations for oppressing sex and gender minorities http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ray-blanchard-motivations.html * Toronto: epicenter of pathologization of sex and gender minorities http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ray-blanchard-hypotheses.html * Ray Blanchard’s problematic place in history http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ray-blanchard-history.html * Notes, updates, further reading http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ray-blanchard-notes.html

Transgender disclosure letter for conservative workplace

2009-10-30T18:05:00-08:00

A reader notes: I recently had That Talk with my HR person. While I was putting together my coming out letter that I addressed to my HR person, I found very few examples of what I imagined would be an appropriate letter. Of the few existing examples, I found them to be too personal or that they focused on details that I didn’t feel I needed to tell people. The letter that I did produce was very well received by management. Please feel free to publish this anonymized version of my letter, as a resource for all the other trans folk that are looking for more reference material. Bill, I have recently come to terms with some personal issues that will affect the way in which I continue my work here at Initech. After much consideration and with the support of both my doctor and family, I must disclose that I am transsexual. That is to say that in every aspect of my personality I am a woman, and that having a male body causes me great distress in my day-to-day life. I am currently in the process of transition, after which I intend to live as a woman for the rest of my life. I will need the Initech to accommodate some of my basic needs during this period. I would like to work with the company in order to devise a process in which I can easily make this transition with minimal discomfort to myself or my coworkers. I have included an information pamphlet produced by the Ontario Human Rights commission on the subject of gender identity, as well as a sample company policy for employees and managers regarding transition in the workplace published by the Chevron Corporation. I can also provide additional resources upon request. I would suggest that we agree on a date within the near future, at which point I will begin working with a female gender presentation. In the time immediately preceding this date, the staff should be tactfully informed that I will be continuing my work here as a woman. Following this, I should return to work in a female role with all the rights and responsibilities of any other female employee. My personal preference would be to have the management organize a mandatory presentation by a speaker or consultant that specializes in explaining concepts of gender identity in a corporate environment. I know that the Initech values diversity and our unique sense of community. These key aspects of our company have made this the most fantastic environment in which I have had the pleasure of working. And I am fully confident that my coworkers will have no trouble accepting me for who I am. Sincerely, Meagan Further information: http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/jobtrans.html

Visualizing CAMH’s stranglehold on Canadian trans health services

2009-10-30T17:31:00-08:00

Lynn Conway notes: This interactive map reveals that the Centre for Addiction and mental Health (CAMH) not only controls the fate of gender transitioners in Ontario, but in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland too. It also reveals that CAMH requires a two-year RLE in all cases, in non-compliance with the WPATH Standards of Care. Sex reassignment surgery in Canada: what’s covered and where http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Sex_reassignment_surgery_in_Canada_whats_covered_and_where-7706.aspx Province-by-province breakdown of SRS coverage http://www.xtra.ca/BinaryContent/stories/77/06/7706/7706-SRS/212_SRS.swf

New Irish trans documentary: Identities

2009-10-30T16:27:00-08:00

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting director and musician Vittoria Colonna and producer Rachel Lysaght, who were in LA for our Irish Film Festival. They have a new film out called ‘Identities.’ It profiles five trans people in Ireland, each representing an aspect of the trans experience. The stories themselves are given room to breathe, and each story has a relaxed pace that allows time to get to know each subject better than most transdocs. As the bar gets set higher and higher on the transdoc genre, we’re starting to see better production values and more innovative lensing. This film has beautifully shot color interstitials before each black-and-white interview, which gives the whole piece a performative tone. One of the central themes of each interview is the performativity of gender, and the whole film feels joined thematically despite the very different backgrounds and experiences of each trans person. The film has a great score which includes some singing by the director. Anyone considering a documentary should look at this as an example of where production quality needs to be these days to break through. http://www.filmireland.net/tag/identities/ Filmmaker’s site: http://www.colonnavittoria.com/

‘Bodyshock’ episode on transgender youth

2009-10-26T00:18:00-08:00

UK series ‘Bodyshock’ aired a somewhat sensationalized but generally respectful episode on transgender youth, featuring two families we’re working with at TransYouth Family Allies. Availability of this may be limited, as I believe it’s posted without permission. Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRfophkvNnk Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-8GxKLi6q8 Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNSI1t4HgLs Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk0eAO-hpPo Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVtOpR75wKI Transitioning early in life: http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/earlyindex.html TransYouth Family Allies http://www.imatyfa.org

Trans physician Dana Beyer kicks off state office run

2009-10-25T23:41:00-08:00

Dana Beyer notes: With the inspiration of my friend and namesake from New Zealand, Georgina Beyer, and the encouragement of my friend and fellow NCTE board member Amanda Simpson, who ran for state office in 2004, I am poised to become the first openly trans American state legislator in 2010. I am here today only because of the struggle and sacrifice of those who came before me. I am profoundly aware of this. And I am asking you all to invest in me and sacrifice just a little bit more, because my electoral success will take us all to the next level of full American citizenship. I work for us all – trans, gay, racial and ethnic minorities, the disabled, anyone who is left out and vulnerable – but I am well aware that through this work all Americans become better off. More information on Dana’s campaign and how you can contribute $20.10 toward her 2010 victory see: http://www.danabeyer.com

Transgender people in trade unions

2009-10-25T23:21:00-08:00

Amanda Kelly sends along some encouraging information about how her union has handled transgender members. She notes: I was reading on your page that you have little knowledge of Trade unions, how they function & trans people within those organizations. A few years ago we I worked with other trans-involved union activists & we put forward changes to our national constitution to have Transgender people included in the language. Trans-activists from all over the country put in similar requests as we did in Toronto to change this language & it was unanimously voted in! This wonder occured in 2002. D-18 Rights of Transgender Workers The Union recognizes that transgender workers face discrimination in the workplace, society at large and the Union. The Union recognizes that all people, regardless of their gender identity and/or gender expression, have a right to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity. The Union strongly opposes discrimination based on gender expression and/or gender identity. The Union will work with other union organizations and community organizations to protect, defend and expand the rights of transgender people. The Union will develop an internal union education program outlining the experiences and situation of transgender people. The Union will develop an internal union education program to challenge and counter transphobia. Ever since we’ve been fighting to get the language in our collective agreement (Contract). The union is CUPW - the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Bellow is a link to the document in PDF format. http://www.cupw.ca/multimedia/website/publication/English/PDF/2008/cupw_constitution_2008_en.pdf Hope this helps & puts a positive spin on Trade Unions for you. More employment information: http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/jobtrans.html