In the News (with pictures & videos)

[Betty]

California GOP Congressman Posts, Removes Image Insulting Transgender People

Commenting on a bill allowing death certificates to reflect the expressed gender identity of the decedent, Devin Nunes [pictured below], a Republican representative for California’s 22nd District, has posted an image insulting to the transgender community on his official Congressional website.

The post on Nunes’s blog, which appears to have since been deleted, included an image of Johnny Depp portraying the title character in Tim Burton’s biopic Ed Wood. Wood was an actor, writer, director and producer who is best known for his B-movies including “Glen or Glenda” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space.”

Wood was open about both cross dressing and his interest in drag.

According to transgender groups, the image does not reflect what transgender is, but is clearly an a snarky put-down the Democratic attempt to respect a group of citizens long treated poorly by society, and of that group itself.

[Betty]

Crossdressing comedian Eddie Izzard is teaming up with NBC to adapt Timothy Hallinan’s comedic crime novels based around high-end thief and private dick Junior Bender for the small screen. Though he is not set to star in the project, he will be executive producing alongside Royal Pains’ Jessica Ball, who is also on board to pen the script.

[Betty]

-Kenya court victory for transgender activist Audrey Mbugua

-Kenya's high court has ordered the country's education authorities to amend the name on a school certificate of a woman who was born male

The name should be changed from Andrew Mbugua to Audrey Mbugua, it ruled.

Audrey Mbugua has been battling to get recognition to live as a woman, says the BBC's Robert Kiptoo in Nairobi.

This is a significant ruling for the transgender community in Kenya, a country with conservative views towards sexuality, he adds.

"We won. It's a huge watershed moment," Ms Mbugua told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The court gave the National Examinations Council 45 days to comply with the order to to change the name on her high school exam certificate, without marking her gender.

Judge Weldon Korir said the council had failed to demonstrate why it could not make the changes she desired.

The transgender activist had stunned many Kenyans with her decision to be recognised as a woman, our correspondent says.

The court ruled that Ms Mbugua will have to pay for any extra costs incurred by the council to make the change.

This is Ms Mbugua's second legal victory.

In July, the high court ordered the authorities to register her lobby group, Transgender Education and Advocacy, saying their refusal to do so had no legal basis and was an abuse of power.

[Betty]

Nicki Sullivan says her child, designated male at birth, has always identified herself as female. After seeking advice from GLSEN, a gay lesbian and straight education network, last Monday Nicki's 7-year-old daughter Ella made her identity public.

"She came back Monday as a girl. New teacher, new wardrobe, new backpack, completely changed. She was introduced as a new student, Ella Grace,” explained Nicki Sullivan.

Sullivan says over the last week Owen County Elementary School has been more than accommodating to her transgender 7-year-old daughter Ella providing a unisex restroom and protecting her from potential bullying.

"They've been supportive. There hasn't been any issues with the school at all,” said Sullivan.

But parents of Ella's 2nd grade classmates are concerned.

"I've told my son to be nice when he sees this boy. I've told him to never refer to him a girl because that is not what he is,” said Caynah Lindsey.

Lindsey says Ella's new name and new wardrobe is confusing to other kids including her own.

"To me, a boy who on Friday is a boy and on Monday decides to be a girl, to me that's a major distraction. Our kids shouldn't have to go through that. It's one thing when they are older or in high school. They are adults. They can make decisions. But we are talking about a 7-year-old child. How does a 7-year-old know what they want?” said Lindsey.

Nicki says this isn't about any other child but her own and allowing Ella to be who she has always been.

"People have said they're going to pull their kids out of the same class, stupid things like that but I'm not worried about it. She's the same kid. Different name. Different clothes,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan says Ella has been chased on the playground, her clothes pulled and some children have asked her mean questions but school officials have been monitoring the situation and disciplining those children. Sullivan also says she has received threats through Facebook from adults who disagree with the change.

The superintendent of Owen County schools Rob Strafford would not comment on this specific case but says it's their job to provide a safe learning environment for all children regardless of gender, race or any other specification.

[Betty]

 Transgender New Yorkers would be able to change the gender listed on their birth certificate without proving they have had sex-reassignment surgery under a proposed overhaul to be introduced Tuesday.

Councilman Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) will introduce legislation to strip the surgery requirement from the city rules - and also remove any requirement to prove other medical treatment, such as hormone therapy.

“It’s going to improve the lives of transgender New Yorkers and allow them to get birth certificates that match their accurate gender,” he said. “Gender won’t be about your physicality. It won’t be about your body. It’s about how you identify.”

The state acted earlier this year to stop requiring surgery to make a birth certificate change, but since the city handles its own birth certificates, the change did not apply here.

The state, like other jurisdictions that have loosened birth certificate rules, also continues to require proof of appropriate clinical treatment for gender dysphoria.

The city will instead only require a certification from one of a broad list of providers - including doctors and nurses, social workers, therapists, and midwives - that the person seeking a change is living a different gender than the one listed on their birth certificate.

“It’s the most progressive policy in the entire country,” Johnson said.

A similar set of changes to birth certificate rules will also be introduced at the city Board of Health Tuesday, Health officials said.

Transgender people often complain of being harassed or denied services when they’re unable to produce ID that matches the gender they present as. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 40% of respondents had faced discrimination because of mismatched documents.

The gender listed on drivers licenses and other official ID is generally based on the birth certificate, though the city’s newly created municipal ID card will allow people to specify their own gender. 

“When people’s gender isn’t portrayed accurately, it causes problems. They get turned down from jobs...They may be accused of fraud, turned away, harassed, attacked,” said Carrie Davis, chief programs and policy officer at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. “In the best cases, they face embarrassment, confusion, and delays.”

[Betty]

In "American Horror Story: Freak Show" transgender performer Erika Ervin will star alongside series regulars Jessica Lange, Evan Peters and Emma Roberts as "Amazon Eve," a role she says was originally written for a man.

"I auditioned for the part as a guy, slicked back my hair, no make-up...flannel shirt, bound my breasts, dropped my voice and walked in, and nailed it," Ervin recalled of the casting process in this FX clip.

The actress, whose credits include the Netflix series "Hemlock Grove," also reveals the struggles she experienced with her family after coming out as transgender in 2004.

"My first inkling of knowing I was different was when I was about 4 or 5," she said. "It was an issue of gender ... it's not until later on that I discovered there was a way to fix it."

She hopes her "American Horror Story" role will allow her estranged father to see her "make it on TV and film," and believes the transgender community at large could stand to learn from the show's overall message.

"It's more than a freak show," she said. "There's a family here."

"American Horror Story: Freak Show" will debut Oct. 8 on FX.

Erika Ervin (AKA Amazon Eve), BTW, even by basket player standards is a giant! She stands 6 feet & 8 inches tall before putting on the heels. That means she would tower 2 1/4 feet above me without heels. Her head would scrape the tops of some of the doorways in my house. With heels you can bet she's around 7 feet tall. Where does she find her shoes & dresses?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Eve

[Betty]

India's first transgender news anchor

Padmini appears every evening at 19:00 to present a news show on the Tamil-language Lotus TV based in the city of Coimbatore.

She's is thrilled with her new job - not only because she is on air at prime time, but also because it is making a world of difference to her and her community.

"I am so happy. The message has gone all over India and the internet," she says.

According to one estimate, India has about two million transgender people and most live on the fringes of society, often in poverty, ostracised because of their gender.

Most make a living by singing and dancing or by begging and prostitution.

It was only recently that the Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender in a landmark ruling.

Padmini's life has not been very different from others in her community.

"I had a troubled childhood," she says.

Disowned by her family when she was 13, she left home and attempted suicide, but was saved by some people.

"After leaving home, I travelled all over. I enrolled into an undergraduate programme in commerce through distance education, but I had financial problems so I dropped out after two years," she says.

But, she was not disillusioned. "I learnt Bharatnatyam [classical Indian dance form]. I took part in transgender beauty contests and won them. I then acted in a television serial."

Lotus TV says the idea of hiring a transgender anchor was proposed by programme executives Sangeeth Kumar and Saravana Ramakumar.

The two men were returning home after work a few months ago when they came across some transgender people being treated badly. They felt the negative social attitudes had to change and discussed it with their management.

"Our chairman GK Selva Kumar accepted our idea to give an opportunity to a transgender to be a news presenter," Mr Kumar said.

Padmini's name for the job was suggested by Rose, India's first transgender to host a talk show on TV. "I recommended her name to the network when they contacted me," says Rose. "Padmini is doing a very good job and she has been well received," she adds.

"We got in touch with Rose who introduced us to Padmini. She was well aware of news and we gave her two months of voice modulation training," said Mr Ramakumar.

He denies that appointing a transgender news anchor is "a stunt to increase the channel's TRP" - television rating points. "This is done only to give transgender people respect in society," he says.

The move has been welcomed by campaigners.

"Padmini's assignment carries a message about this neglected community. Since they are not socially acceptable, they cannot display their talent. Such is the situation today that some of them are in the sex trade or forced to beg on the streets," says Coimbatore-based activist Anjali Ajeeth.

Akkai Padmashali of Sangama, a group fighting for the rights of sexual minorities in the southern city of Bangalore says: "It's a good move. For the first time, there is an effort to bring transgenders into the mainstream. There are very few right now in mainstream professions."

The audiences too seem to approve of Padmini.

"Her performance is really nice. She not only looks like a woman but her voice modulation, her pronunciation and her over all presentation is very good," homoeopathic doctor U Sreekumar told the BBC.

"Honestly, I could not find any difference between her and any other woman anchor on other television channels,"' said housewife Vaijanthi.

Padmini says she is happy that she is finally being "recognised".

"People look at me with some respect now," she says.

"I am really so happy. More such opportunities should be given to other transgenders too. The social taboo should go."

[Betty]

Canada's Senate committee begins hearings on transgender rights bill

An NDP MP is urging the Senate to pass his bill making it illegal to discriminate against transgender people, saying the upper chamber isn’t going to learn anything new by taking a second look at the legislation.

Opponents, including Conservative Sen. Don Plett, argue the bill pits the rights of one group against the rights of others and may cause more problems than it is intended to solve.

NDP MP Randall Garrison’s bill would add gender identity to the list of issues for which discrimination is prohibited in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The bill defines gender identity as an “individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex that the individual was assigned at birth.”

That definition was a compromise to garner Conservative support for the bill in the House of Commons.

Plett, however, argued at a Senate committee that the definition would open the door for a clash between rights, for instance when a transgender woman, who is biologically male, may want to use a bathroom with biological females.

“It’s never our job to protect minority rights at the expense of others’ rights,” Plett said.

“How can this 0.3 per cent of society trump the rights of my grandchildren, my granddaughters?”

Plett’s concerns were dismissed as hypothetical, with Garrison and Sen. Grant Mitchell – who is sponsoring in the bill in the Senate – saying that such concerns have not been borne out in provinces where similar laws already exist. Policies are also in place in several jurisdictions, such as the Edmonton public school board, to ensure no one’s rights are trampled.

“You have the right to your beliefs, but you can also at the same time be quite mistaken. … Transgender women are women,” Garrison told Plett.

“There’s no debate we can have about that. You persist in your position that is not well founded.”

Garrison’s bill was on the verge of becoming law earlier, but didn’t come to a final vote in the Senate before Parliament was prorogued. When that happened, Garrison’s private member’s bill had to go through the Senate’s legislative process anew.

Garrison urged senators on the legal and constitutional affairs committee to quickly pass the bill, which received bipartisan support in the House of Commons, lest it be pushed to the back burner again by government business. (Government bills take precedence in Senate committees’ agendas.)

“If you do choose to amend the bill, one of the possible outcomes is that you will receive it back in its current form (from the House of Commons) and many months will have been wasted,” Garrison said.

“I’m asking you respect the compromise already reached in the House of Commons.”

[Betty]

A new book that tackles the topic of transgender children is co-authored by a teenager from South Florida who has first-hand experience with the often misunderstood issue.

“I wanted everyone to look at me and say wow what a beautiful little girl,” said Jazz Jennings.

At a first look, Jazz appears to be like many 13-year-old girls.

[Betty]

Her room is filled with pink and purple accents and mermaids, but pictures of her lining the stairs reveal a more complicated past as a boy.

“That was the age when I felt like I was different and I knew that something was going on,” Jazz said.

Jazz’s parents quickly noticed a difference in their child too.  Although physically and genetically born a male, Jazz would always pull dresses, high heels and dolls from the closets.

Jazz insisted he was a girl at two-years-old.

“We thought it was a phase, but a phase goes away and this was not going away,” said Jazz’s mother, Jeanette Jennings. “So we took her into a specialist and they confirmed, in fact, that she had gender identity disorder.”

The condition is also called gender dysphoria.