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JOYEUSES FÊTES ! HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! GRATUIT / FREE Photo : Eric Champigny
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Tr@nZ Bulletin bimestriel d’information fondé en 2009. Rédacteur en chef Maxime Le May Photographie Eric Champigny Recherchiste Patrick Gilbert Collaboration spéciale Pascale Drevillon, Luc-Alexandre Perron, Luc Quintal. Abonnement maxime.lemay@ymail.com
Une bonne année Malgré les tristes cas d’intimidation survenus dans les derniers douze mois, 2011 aura été quand même une bonne année pour la communauté transsexuelle du monde. Au Canada, par exemple, les réglementations pour les fouilles lors de passage aux douanes auront été finalement ajustées aux besoins des personnes trans et le projet de loi C-389 (devenu C-279) aura été repris par le NPD afin de leur donner des droits et protections supplémentaires.
Les textes contenus dans le présent bulletin peuvent être reproduits pour une utilisation personnelle ou publique non commerciale, en tout ou en partie et par quelque moyen que ce soit dans le but de promouvoir l'information, l'éducation et le vécu de la communauté transsexuelle. Nous demandons seulement que la source soit indiquée.
Chez nos voisins du sud de nombreux changements importants seront survenus en 2011. Plusieurs États américains ont passé des lois interdisant la discrimination envers les personnes trans et certaines grandes compagnies ont inclus la couverture des soins de santé pour leurs employé-e-s trans.
Les photographies sont la propriété explicite de M. Eric Champigny et ne peuvent être reproduites sans sa permission.
De plus, les rapports de l’ONU, du gouvernement britannique ainsi que celui basé sur le sondage national sur la discrimination des personnes transgenres (au USA) permettront de dresser de nouvelles mesures plus appropriées à la réalité des personnes trans, et ce, autant au niveau des droits de la personne que de l’accessibilité aux soins de santé.
Dépôt légal Bibliothèque nationale du Québec et du Canada, 2009 ISSN 1920-4973 (2009)
La World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) a, pour sa part, remanié son guide « Standard of Care » pour remédier à ses lacunes et l’ajuster aux nouvelles nécessités de la communauté trans en termes de normes de santé.
Il ne me reste qu’à espérer que 2012 nous soit encore plus profitable. Et évidemment, que celle-ci comble vos souhaits les plus chers. Bonne année 2012 !
Douze
... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
- Maxime Le May, éditeur
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Tr@nZ Community magazine founded in 2009. Editor Maxime Le May Photography Eric Champigny Research Patrick Gilbert Collaborators Pascale Drevillon, Luc-Alexandre Perron, Luc Quintal. Subscription maxime.lemay@ymail.com The text found in this bulletin may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for personnal use or for public (noncommercial) distribution, in any format, as long as the goal is to promote the distribution of information, education, or improving the lives of the transsexual community. We ask only that you include a reference to this web bulletin. The photographs included in this web bulletin are the exclusive property of Eric Champigny, and cannot be altered, reproduced, or copied without the express permission of the author. Legal Deposit Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Library and Archives Canada ISSN 1920-4973 (2009)
It was a very good year Despite several cases of intimidation that happened within the last 12 months, 2011 was a good year for the transsexual community. In Canada, the regulations governing searches when passsing through customs were ajusted for the needs of the transsexual community, and Bill C-389 (which has become Bill C-279) was taken up again by the NDP, according additional rights and protections to trans people. For our neighbors to the south, several important changes were introduced in 2011. Several American states passed legislation ending descrimination of trans people, and several large corporations have included healthcare coverage for trans employees. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) modified it’s guide Standard of Care to significantly improve standards to meet the medical needs of trans people. As well, reports from the UN, the British government, and report based on a US national survey on descrimination of trans people will allow for new, more appropriate measures concerning human rights and healthcare access for the trans community. Here’s hoping that 2012 brings more of the same. And, of course, that this year brings everything that you wished and hoped for. Happy New Year!
Twelve ... because the best discussions occur under the covers !
- Maxime Le May, editor
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs
Photo : Eric Champigny
Sommaire Content: Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs Page 4
Trans & Opiniâtre Le goût du risque Page 9
Spotlight ! Lucas Silveira. Canadian vocalist/guitarist and songwriter for the rock band The Cliks Page 13
News from here and abroad
A manufacturing delay that has created a shortage of the injectable testosterone drug Delatestryl has left many trans men scrambling to find alternatives. Page 17
Règles spéciales pour la fouille à nu des transsexuels Quiconque a eu une opération de changement de sexe, ou ne se sent tout simplement ni totalement masculin, ni totalement féminin, aura droit à un service spécial s’il lui est demandé de se soumettre à une fouille à nu par un agent des services frontaliers. L’Agence QMI a appris que l'Agence des services frontaliers du Canada (ASFC) a émis une directive en août, informant les agents que les personnes transsexuelles et les intersexuées pouvaient choisir entre un homme ou une femme pour procéder à la fouille. Ces personnes pouvaient aussi choisir une fouille partagée entre une équipe d’agents exclusivement masculins et une autre équipe exclusivement féminine, selon la partie du corps en cause. « La première équipe complète la recherche de la partie supérieure du corps, tout en laissant la partie inférieure du corps vêtu, explique la directive. L'individu est alors autorisé à se rhabiller complètement et il est remis à une deuxième équipe d’agents des services frontaliers de l’autre sexe, pour mener la recherche sur la partie inférieure du corps, tandis que le haut du corps reste vêtu. » Les agents peuvent demande à un voyageur qui entre ou quitte le Canada de se soumettre à une fouille à nu, si le voyageur est soupçonné d’avoir violé la Loi sur les douanes, la Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés, ou la Loi sur le recyclage des produits de la criminalité et le financement des activités terroristes. (Source : www.cyberpresse.ca)
... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs
Communauté trans
en chiffres
Combien de personnes sont lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles et transgenres aux ÉtatsUnis? Un décompte exact n'existe pas, mais un nombre croissant de sondages incluent des questions visant à offrir de meilleures statistiques sur l'orientation sexuelle et l'identité de genre.
Des données récentes provenant du Sondage national de la croissance des familles 2006-2008, de l'Enquête californienne sur la santé 2009, ainsi que des données fédérales comme le recensement décennal ou le Sondage de la communauté américaine, ont été analysées par Gary Gates, un éminent chercheur de l'Institut Williams de l'Université de la Californie à Los Angeles (UCLA). Monsieur Gates, coauteur de l'Atlas gay et lesbien, a publié un rapport détaillé des statistiques LGBT dans une étude de l'Institut Williams, en avril 2011.
Parmi ses conclusions : ✦ Il
y a près de 700 000 individus transgenres aux États-Unis, ou 0,3% de la population adulte.
✦ Une
majorité de ceux s'identifiant comme transgenres ont franchi une ou plusieurs étapes dans le but de faire la transition d'un genre à l'autre.
Discrimination au travail : ✦ 74%
ont été harcelés ou maltraités dans leur milieu de travail;
✦ 20%
ont perdu un emploi;
✦ 20%
se sont vu refuser une promotion;
✦ 37%
n'ont pas été engagés suite à une entrevue.
Harcèlement à l'école : ✦ 75%
des élèves du primaire et du secondaire ont rapporté avoir été victimes de harcèlement;
✦ 35%
d'agressions physiques;
✦ 12%
de violence sexuelle;
✦ 14%
ont quitté l'école suite au harcèlement prolongé.
Insécurité économique : ont un revenu annuel de 10 000 $ (USD) ou moins, par opposition à 4% de la population en général;
Discrimination par rapport au logement : ✦ 8%
ont été expulsés;
✦ 19%
se sont vu refuser une maison ou un appartement;
✦ 24%
ont dû trouver un endroit temporaire où habiter;
✦ 25%
ont dû déménager avec des amis ou des membres de leur famille;
✦ 23%
sont propriétaires de maison, en comparaison de 67% de la population en général.
Discrimination dans le domaine des soins de santé et des maladies mentales : ✦ 17%
se sont vu refuser des soins médicaux à cause de leur expression de genre;
✦ 5,4%
sont séropositifs, par opposition à 0,6% de la population en général;
✦ 29%
ont dû reporter des soins médicaux nécessaires suite à de la discrimination;
✦ 36%
ont tenté de s'enlever la vie, 22 fois le taux de 1,6% de la population en général.
✦ 19%
✦ 12%
sont sans emploi, en comparaison de 7% au niveau national au moment du sondage.
... because the best discussions occur under the covers !
(Source : Sondage national sur la discrimination des personnes transgenres. ) Traduction de Pascale Drevillon
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs Simplification de la procédure de changement de la mention du sexe dans l'état civil. La proposition de loi de la députée Française Michèle Delaunay visant à la simplification de la procédure de changement de la mention du sexe dans l'état civil qui vient d'être déposée sur le bureau de l"Assemblée nationale est soutenues par 72 députés du groupe socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche et apparentés. Cette proposition a pour objet "d'uniformiser" la procédure permettant la modification de sexe dans l'état civil, de la "simplifier" et d'en "supprimer le caractère traumatisant", indique la députée. Il est proposé que le requérant se présente accompagné de trois témoins de son choix qui attestent sur l’honneur de la "bonne foi et de la légitimité de la demande, autrement dit de l’identité de genre du requérant". Aujourd'hui, cette procédure normalement subordonnée à une expertise médicale attestant la réassignation est appliqué de manière très variable dans les différentes juridictions, ce que la Halde a confirmé. Le projet de loi prévoit que ne soit plus imposée les procédures médicales comprenant la chirurgie de réassigantion de sexe, la stérilisation ou la thérapie hormonale comme condition à la reconnaissance de l'identité de genre. En l'adoptant, la France rejoindrait des pays comme l'Allemagne, l'Espagne ou le Portugal qui ont déjà modifié leur législation dans ce domaine. Cette proposition de loi se veut "un jalon dans la marche vers l'égalité des droits des personnes quelle que soit leur orientation sexuelle", souligne l'auteure. (Source : www.e-llico.com)
Ajouts au Grand Répertoire
Les publications suivantes sont maintenant disponibles pour téléchargement gratuit sur :
www.tranzmag.ca • Advancing transgender equality : A plan for action • Challenges faced by trans youth • Corporate equality index 2012 • Report of the United Nations - High Commissioner of Human Rights • Transgender children : More than a theoritical challenge
WWW.TRANZMAG.CA ... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs Royaume-Uni: Un plan d’action gouvernemental pour l’égalité des trans
«Prendre part à la société» «Les personnes trans’, des transsexuel-le-s aux a-genres, veulent pouvoir prendre part et contribuer à la société et à l’économie, indique la préface. Le gouvernement, les employeurs et les services publics ont un rôle à jouer pour permettre que ce soit possible.» Le document souligne que plus de 70% des enfants qui s’interrogent sur leur genre sont victimes de harcèlement à l’école. Deux tiers des répondant-e-s ont été menacé-e-s d’outing, 88% remarquent que la plus grande difficulté à laquelle ils et elles sont confronté-e-s dans leur recherche d’emploi est l’ignorance en matière de questions trans’. Près de la moitié des salarié-e-s trans’ ont été victimes de discrimination ou de harcèlement au travail, en particulier au moment de leur transition.
Le gouvernement britannique vient de publier son tout premier plan d’action interministériel visant à garantir l’égalité des personnes trans’. L’objectif affiché est d’«améliorer concrètement la vie des trans’ et d’aider les entreprises et institutions publiques en leur donnant les outils adéquats pour les personnes trans’».
Des mesures concrètes Le plan d’action prévoit un meilleur accompagnement des trans’ en recherche d’emploi et des mesures relatives aux droits à la retraite des trans’ et aux implications fiscales d’une transition.
Ce document est le résultat d’une consultation en ligne, qui a recueilli 2172 réponses de trans’, un chiffre record pour cette communauté au Royaume-Uni, selon le site PinkNews.
Le domaine de la santé est également pointé du doigt. Un guide clair et précis à destination des professions médicales et de la communauté trans’ sera publié d’ici avril 2013 pour faire le point sur l’accès au soin notamment.
Le rapport, préfacé par Lynne Featherstone, ministre de l’Égalité, et Theresa May, secrétaire d’État à l’Intérieur et secrétaire d’État chargée des Femmes et de l’Égalité, est divisé en quatre parties, comme 4 domaines d’action: l’éducation, le monde du travail, les services publics et l’évolution des mentalités.
Par ailleurs, la question de l’indication du genre sur les passeports sera examinée. Sur tous ces points, la communauté trans’ sera consultée aussi souvent que nécessaire, assure le plan d’action.
Saviez-vous que .... base hebdomadaire. notre site internet est mis à jour sur une communauté Pour suivre toute l’actualité reliée à la transgenre / transsexuelle ...
Enfin, les crimes motivés par la transidentité de la victime seront punis plus sévèrement, comme pour les crimes fondés sur l’origine, la religion ou l’orientation sexuelle. En cas de meurtre, la peine minimum passera donc de 15 à 30 ans.
(Source : www.yagg.com)
www.tranzmag.ca
... because the best discussions occur under the covers !
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs L’Onu publie son premier rapport sur les violences et i n é-Tr @nZ discriminations liées à l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre Conformément à ce qui avait été annoncé au mois de juin, au moment de l’adoption par l’Onu de la toute première résolution sur l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre, le Haut-Commissariat aux droits de l’Homme de l’Onuvient de publier un rapport sur les violations des droits humains motivées par l’orientation sexuelle ou l’identité de genre.
État des lieux et recommandations Après avoir rappelé les règles internationales et les textes dont elles découlent (Déclaration universelle des droits de l’Homme, Charte des Nations Unies…), le rapport de 25 pages fait un état des lieux des violences (meurtres, viols, torture), lois discriminatoires (pénalisation des relations sexuelles entre personnes de même sexe adultes et consentantes, peine de mort, arrestation et détention arbitraires) et pratiques discriminatoires dans les domaines de l’emploi, de la santé, de l’éducation ainsi que les atteintes aux libertés d’expression et de réunion, la nonreconnaissance des couples (les États ne sont pas obligés d’ouvrir le mariage mais ils doivent traiter les couples nonmariés de la même façon, qu’ils soient homos ou hétéros) ou de l’identité de genre. Les derniers chapitres du rapport sont consacrés à des éléments de réponses déjà existants (sensibilisation des forces de l’ordre, campagnes d’information, formation des enseignants etc.) et aux recommandations (non-exhaustives) formulées par le Haut-Commissariat.
Ainsi, les États sont exhortés à: ✦ trouver
et juger les coupables de meurtres ou autres violences perpétrées contre des individus en raison de leur orientation sexuelle ou identité de genre réelle ou supposée;
✦ interdire
la torture et toute forme de traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant fondé sur l’orientation sexuelle ou l’identité de genre; abroger les textes qui pénalisent les relations de même sexe entre adultes consentant-e-s, et notamment la peine de mort;
✦ reconnaître
légalement le genre ressenti des personnes trans’, y compris dans l’attribution de papiers d’identité;
✦ mettre
en place des programmes de sensibilisation des forces de l’ordre; reconnaître les discriminations et violences fondées sur l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre contre des critères en matière de droit d’asile;
✦ garantir
la liberté d’expression, la liberté de réunion et la liberté de rassemblement de tou-te-s, quelle que soit l’orientation sexuelle ou l’identité de genre.
Le Haut-Commissariat invite aussi le Conseil des droits de l’Homme à se tenir informé des cas de violence ou de discrimination liés à l’orientation sexuelle ou l’identité de genre.
Et après ? Le rapport sera discuté par les gouvernements lors d’un panel spécial en mars 2012. Ce sera le premier débat des Nations Unies consacré aux droits humains en rapport avec l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre. Les discussions ne devraient pas s’arrêter là mais également s’intéresser aux moyens de suivre les questions LGBT.
(Source : www.atq1980.org)
... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
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Cette impression d'avoir tant appris en un an… revient-elle chaque année? Je me sens plus riche d'expériences uniques, événements personnels et rencontres de toute sorte – retrouvailles et séparations – ces mouvements dans l’espace, de nouvelles couleurs et de nouvelles voix. Je comprends un peu mieux ce qu'il faut chercher : foncer vers ce qui nous attire et cesser de se battre à tout comprendre et trop analyser.
Trans & Opiniâtre Une chronique de Pascale Drevillon pdrevil@gmail.com
L
e goût du risque
Une autre année folle se termine et laisse place à cet insistant sentiment de renouveau, la fraîcheur de 2012 qui s'annonce bien accompagnée de projets exaltants. C'est aussi l'occasion de regarder par dessus son épaule et de tirer des conclusions de ce temps qui s'est écoulé si vite. Toutes les instances médiatiques nous proposent leur palmarès annuel, nous rappelant les tragédies et les tournants historiques des derniers mois. Puis je pense à tous les choix que j'ai faits et aux conséquences qui en découlent, cette suite d’événements que j'aurai à gérer très bientôt.
... because the best discussions occur under the covers !
Il me faut également maîtriser cette science du détachement.... On doit laisser partir certaines personnes, qu’on le veuille ou non. Parfois pour un besoin d’espace et de silence, d’autres fois parce que la vie en décide ainsi. Tel fut le cas de ma grand-mère, celle qui m’a prouvé l’existence de l’amour inconditionnel, qui traverse les préjugés, les idées préconçues et les sentiments qui peuvent être ancrés au plus profond de nous, dans notre enfance et nos réflexes. Elle m’a montré que les gens peuvent évoluer, grâce à la force pure de l’amour. Elle m’aimait éperdument, piétinant au passage tous ses interdits, puis elle a disparu. Je devrais pourtant être bien endurcie aux pertes et au deuil, en tant que personne transsexuelle. J’ai de l’expérience en ce qui a trait au sacrifice, bien que je garde cette impression de « ne pas avoir eu le choix ». Ma décision d’avancer vers la transition comportait son lot de risques : le plus grand, à mon avis, se trouvait dans ma loterie du bonheur – serais-je définitivement plus heureuse au sortir de cette aventure? Qu’en est-il de la solitude? Faire face au risque de voir le regard des gens que j’aime devenir aigre. Faire face à ce reflet dans le miroir, qui a mis tant de temps à prendre la forme désirée, cette image qui s’est transformée d’inconfort acceptable à rêverie devenue réalité, et qui continue d’avancer vers l’inconnu. Pour ma transition, j’ai tout risqué et tout gagné, mais les relations interpersonnelles comportent une variable beaucoup plus complexe. J’ai traversé les premières années de ma vie de femme en sachant que les gens qui m’aiment ont surmonté avec moi une épreuve perturbante. Cette valeur de l’amour et de l’amitié apporte beaucoup de texture et de profondeur à mon réseau social, ayant mis au défi ces gens qui m’ont prouvé leur dévouement. (suite p.10)
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Trans & Opiniâtre Une chronique de Pascale Drevillon pdrevil@gmail.com Que se passe-t-il lorsque l’on remet ces relations en question, quand on décide qu’on ne nous aime pas assez entièrement, ou qu’on nous aime mal? La perte est encore plus déchirante quand on doit demander à un être aimé de prendre du recul. On se sépare parce que la vie nous attire dans un sens opposé, et parce qu’on veut prendre le risque. Une autre transition vers un futur indéfini. La transsexualité fait partie intégrante de ma personnalité et de mon histoire. Cette année, j’ai décidé que je ne voulais pas que ce soit bêtement toléré, mais plutôt valorisé. Ce qui était auparavant suffisant n’arrive maintenant plus à la hauteur de mes attentes. J’ai décidé d’avoir besoin de plus et de mieux, j’ai assumé la culpabilité qui vient avec – ne pas se satisfaire de ce qui est là. Cela rime avec sacrifice et séparation, mais je semble avoir pris l’habitude du risque. Je ne peux qu’écouter ma conscience, qui semble connaître la vérité depuis le début, ce souffle qui me pousse aux extrêmes et m’enseigne la vie un jour à la fois. On décide réellement de si peu de choses, finalement. On ne peut qu’apprendre à se diriger dans la bonne voie, demander des directions au passage et choisir ses guides avec le plus grand raffinement.
Calendrier Communautaire. Ce calendrier gratuit est mis à la disponibilité des organismes qui oeuvrent au sien de la communauté transsexuelle. Faites-nous parvenir vos informations !
Les soirées discussions de l’ASTTeQ Groupe de discussion hebdomadaire chaque lundi soir à partir de 19 à 21 heures. Au 1300 rue Sanguinet, Mtl information : 514-847-0067
Les rencontres de l’ATQ Tous les mardis à19:00 information : ecoute@atq1980.org ou 514-591-9038
Mardi 24 janvier 2012 : The Blue Print Radio Project: Gender and Climate Change This discussion will explore the ways in which environmental destruction deepens existing gender inequalities, and the ways in which existing gender inequalities allow environmental destruction to occur, with a particular emphasis on women, and on environmental racism. This event is taking place as part of the Blue Print Project. more info : www.centre2110.org contacts campaigns@centre2110.org or 514-937-2110
Pascale Drevillon est une jeune auteure et blogueuse, entre la poésie, l’art et la chronique, le tout de façon cynique et candide. Riche de formations en théâtre au Collège Lionel-Groulx, à l’Université de Montréal en communication et à l’UQAM en création littéraire, elle travaille actuellement dans le domaine de la philanthropie. Passionnée de cinéma, de littérature et de voyages, Pascale flirt avec l’art sous le plus de facettes possibles.
... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs Hôtesse de l'air trans prêtes au décollage i n é-Tr @nZ Première compagnie aérienne à recruter du personnel transsexuel, P.C. Air commencera ses opérations le 24 décembre en Thaïlande. Un beau pari sur la diversité, afin de relever un défi commercial risqué.
Parmi elles, Thanyarat Chirapatpakorn, une ancienne Miss, mannequin et comédienne, devenue la star du spot de pub de la compagnie (voir ci-dessous). «C'est le début de l'acceptation des transsexuels en Thaïlande, a-t-elle expliqué à l'agence Reuters. Cela nous donne la possibilité de travailler dans davantage de secteurs. Peut-être que, dans le futur, nous pourrons décrocher des jobs que nous n'avons jamais faits auparavant: policier, soldat ou même pilote.»
Notoriété Au début de l'année, une compagnie aérienne thaïlandaise totalement inconnue, P.C. Air, avait annoncé qu'elle cherchait du personnel pour assurer le service à bord de ses avions. La société avait alors reçu, selon son patron Peter Chan, une centaine de demandes émanant de ladyboys. Même si elles font partie du paysage social thaïlandais, ces personnes transgenre sont largement cantonnées à des rôles subalternes dans les services à la personne ou l'industrie, plus récemment dans le monde du spectacle, quand elles ne sont pas marginalisées. Plutôt que d'éliminer ces postulantes du 3e sexe, Peter Chan avait alors choisi, au contraire, d'encourager ces candidates à lui faire parvenir leur CV. Relayée par la presse internationale, cette campagne de recrutement peu banale avait fait le tour du monde.
«Elles comprennent les hommes et les
P.C. Air doit à ses ravissantes ambassadrices trans une fière chandelle. Elles offrent à la compagnie une notoriété enviable dans le ciel du sud-est asiatique, encombré de multiples opérateurs charter et low-cost. Peut-être de quoi surmonter certains handicaps. De fait, la compagnie commencera ses opérations avec un seul appareil, un Airbus A310 vieillissant, construit en 1986. Le vol de baptême, un charter pour le Laos, le 24 décembre, a d'ailleurs pris neuf mois de retard. Le transporteur explique ce délai par une volonté de profiter du boom du trafic de fin d'années, mais aussi par les perturbations engendrées ces derniers mois par les inondations, qui paralysent toujours une partie de la Thaïlande. P.C. Air a prévu de commencer à offrir des services réguliers en juin prochain, sous réserve de sa certification par les autorités nationales de l'aviation civile.
femmes» Onze mois plus, P.C. Air a présenté avec une certaine fierté ses quatre hôtesses trans, sur les trente membres du personnel de cabine, rapporte le «Bangkok Post». Elles étaient à bord du vol de démonstration de la compagnie, dont la presse anglophone s'est largement faite l'écho, la semaine dernière. «Elles peuvent offrir un meilleur services parce qu'elles comprennent les hommes et les femmes», s'enthousiasme Peter Chan, ancien steward devenu businessman. «Et elles sont parfaitement entraînées, conformément aux normes de l'industrie aéronautique.» (Source : www.360.ch)
... because the best discussions occur under the covers !
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Nouvelles d’ici et d’ailleurs Jeune premier, il suspend sa carrière pour changer de sexe
Figure connue des téléspectateurs italiens, l'acteur Giuseppe Schisano a annoncé son intention de devenir une femme. Il est apparu dans la distribution de plusieurs productions à succès, ces dernières années en Italie. Pourtant, le nom de Giuseppe Schisano n'apparaîtra plus dans les génériques. A 32 ans, cet acteur prometteur a créé un choc en brisant le silence sur son processus de changement de sexe. «D'âme, je suis femme, je me sens à présent beaucoup plus normal.», a confié Schisano à l'agence de presse ADN Kronos (via Gay.it). Et d'expliquer qu'il avait trop longtemps réprimé ce sentiment, quitte à cultiver excessivement son aspect viril. «Je me suis laissé pousser la barbe, je suis allé à la gym pour développer mes muscles et j'ai adopté une attitude plus masculine que celle que j'aurais eu naturellement.»
«Je ne me reconnaissais plus» La crise est survenue l'an dernier sur le tournage de «Cane Pazzo» son premier long métrage (après un rôle marquant dans la série «Io e mio figlio»). Dans le film, il interprétait le rôle ambigu d'un journaliste obsédé par un seral killer. «Je me regardais dans la glace, mais je ne me reconnaissais plus. J'aimais l'homme que je voyais, mais comme un fiancé, pas comme moi-même.» Giuseppe, qui se fait désormais appeler Vittoria, raconte être sorti de cette passe difficile avec le soutien de ses proches et surtout de sa soeur, Marilu. Elle lui a donné la force de rentrer à Naples pour parler à ses parents. «J'ai tenté d'expliquer à ma mère que ce n'est pas une imperfection de devenir une femme, mais que c'est plutôt ma perfection.» Reste un grand point d'interrogation sur la suite de sa carrière en tant que Vittoria Schisano: «J'espère qu'on me proposera des rôles féminins pour porter ma véritable âme au grand écran.» (Source : www.360.ch)
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12/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
Spotlight ! Lucas Silveira Canadian vocalist/guitarist and songwriter for the rock band The Cliks Lucas Silveira's revolution began with a fearless attitude that embraced radical change. Lucas founded The Cliks in 2004 when his musical and self identity transitioned from being a solitary folk singer/ songwriter, to an 'over the top' rock n' roll front man.
The Cliks made history as the first band with an overtly transgender male leader signed by a major record label. This shift reflected a vision he had carried his entire life and had now found the courage to make significant life changes and create a vehicle for the music in his head.
He has broken entrenched societal boundaries, and garnered praise from his musical peers, Cyndi Lauper, Margaret Cho, and The Cult's Ian Astbury. It soon became obvious that the only constant in The Cliks was Lucas. His courageous attitude, rock star energy and progressive approach to selfdetermination have created an ever changing musical identity that encourages all outsiders to feel a sense of connection, belonging and mutual respect between audience and performer. Not phased by life's passages and skirmishes, Lucas has plunged ahead by continuing to fulfill his vision of The Cliks. Now traveling with a variety of guest performers, Lucas leads The Cliks' with the kind of attitude, toughness and unfettered energy that has been compared to Green Day's Billie Joe, Joan Jett and Chrissie Hinde of The Pretenders. Silveira has also been interviewed by the Boston Globe, as well as many radio stations, quickly becoming one of the most visible transgender people in the music industry. Having chosen a different path, he says he is celebrating "going from a struggle to being really happy with who I am."
(Source : www.wikipedia.org)
After six years, two major record label releases (Snakehouse 2006/Dirty King 2009), became international successes, many line up changes, major tours (True Colors 2007/2008, The Cult 2007/2008), TV appearances, awards, MTV Logo New Now Next Artist On The Brink, Chart Attack Pole 2009, and the Sexiest Man In Canada.
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13/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad Transgender snapshot
School harassment: ✦
75% in grades K-12 reported harassment
✦
35% physical assault
✦ 12% ✦
sexual violence
14% left school after prolonged harassment
Economic insecurity: ✦ 19%
had a household income of $10,000 or less, compared to 4% for general population
✦ 12%
are unemployed, compared to 7% nationally at the time of the survey
How many people in the U.S. are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender?
Housing discrimination: Precise numbers do not exist. The most recent data from surveys including the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth, the 2009 California Health Interview Survey and federal data such as the Decennial Census or the American Community Survey were analyzed by Gary Gates.
✦
✦ 19%
were denied a home or apartment
✦ 18%
became homeless due to gender expression
✦
24% had to find a temporary place to stay
✦
25% had to move back in with family or friends
Among his findings: ✦
are nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the U.S., or 0.3% of the adult population.
✦ There
✦ Of
those who identify as transgender, a majority have taken some steps to transition from one gender to another.
✦
74% harassed or mistreated on the job
✦
20% lost a job
✦
20% were denied a promotion
✦
37% were not hired after interview
23% owned a home, compared to 67% for general population
Health care discrimination and mental health: ✦ 17% ✦
Workplace discrimination:
8% were evicted
refused medical care due to gender expression
54% HIV positive, compared to 0.6% for general population
✦ 29%
postponed needed medical care due to discrimination
✦ 36%
attempted suicide, 22 times the 1.6% rate for the general population
(Source: National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Based on 531 respondents in New York in a survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) ... parce que les discussions intéressantes sont sous la couverture !
14/29
DÉCEMBRE /DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad Trans Canadians fight for recognition on legal documents
Gender identity is complex, Gapka says. At the root is an understanding that a person’s sex is biologically determined, but for trans people, there is a mismatch between body and gender.
Talia Johnson is nervous about travelling. One look at her passport tells border guards everything they need to know about her gender status.
Transition is fluid and can take many forms over a number of years. Some trans people never undergo surgery; some simply “pass” or choose to play with gender roles. For others, hormones are enough. Each experience is unique.
Johnson, who has had her name legally changed, now wants to change the sex designation on her passport – a simple correction from “m” to “f" – to ensure all her documents accurately reflect her gender. The federal government says trans people must undergo sex reassignment surgery (SRS) or provide a letter guaranteeing the procedure will take place within a year. Talia Johnson wants to change the sex designation on her passport, but Passport Canada requires proof of SRS. “The status now is I don't have a passport. Without the sex designation change, trans people are put in constant danger while travelling under the assumed sex. At this point in my life, I will have trouble if I travel.”
“There’s a lot of variables when it comes to transsexual surgery,” she says. “There are differences between surgery for trans men and trans women . . . We really need to make it easier for people’s legal documents to match who they really are.” Changing sex designation on legal documents is an ongoing fight between the trans community and all levels of government, Gapka says. The law is forcing people to be dishonest, she says. The system should make it easy for people to update their legal documents.
Susan Gapka, chair of the Trans Health Lobby Group, has been working on this issue for years. Her group is pushing to make transitioning easier by opening up access to SRS and removing the red tape around changing legal documents.
Gapka would like to see the system harmonized and modernized. “We have a passport that uses one criteria; we have a driver's licence in Ontario that uses a different criteria, then other ID like the birth certificate, which uses a different criteria.” At the provincial level, activists are pushing to change the Vital Statistics Act, which is the governing document for all personal statistics. “The name, sex, place of birth and the parents are all recorded at birth,” says Gapka.
“If your legal documents don’t match at the border, there could be problems,” Gapka says. “I have had bad experiences at the airport.You can be singled out for looking different. A police officer could ask questions. It opens the door to harassment and discrimination.”
In Ontario, the government requires a medical letter confirming SRS before allowing a change in the birth certificate. Government policies for other documentation vary, but many ask for medical proof that the individual is transsexual rather than accept self-identification.
Likewise, Gapka and Johnson both agree that surgery does not determine whether a person is trans.
“It should be easy for people. These regulations are 30 to 40 years out of date,” says Gapka. (Source : www.xtra.ca)
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15/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad Transgender People: The Next Frontier in Civil Rights When Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn was fired from a state job in Georgia, she filed a lawsuit saying that she had been discriminated against for being transgender. Georgia civil rights laws do not cover transgender people, but a powerful federal court ruled that Glenn’s firing violated the U.S. Constitution. The backstory behind the court ruling: Glenn, an editor with the Georgia General Assembly, was born a biological male but long believed herself to be a woman. After being diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, an American Psychiatric Association-recognized condition, she began making the transition from male to female under medical supervision. Glenn was preparing for gender-reassignment surgery by living as a woman outside of work and presenting as a man at work. Eventually, she informed a colleague that she would soon begin coming to work as a woman, and when Glenn’s supervisor found out, he fired her. Since there is no federal or Georgia state statute that protects transgender people from job discrimination, Glenn went a different route. She sued under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, claiming that she was a victim of sex discrimination, since she had been fired for failing to conform to the sex that her boss assumed her to be. It was a creative strategy, but there was legal precedent: in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that it is sex discrimination to turn down a woman for partner in an accounting firm for coming off as too “macho.” Invoking this theory, Glenn argued that she had been fired for “gender non-conformity.” A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed. Discrimination of the kind Glenn was subjected to, the court said, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Meanwhile, things are also changing in the workplace. A report from the Human Rights Campaign found that 207 of 636 major U.S. companies surveyed, or nearly one-third, covered the cost of gender-reassignment surgery for transgender workers. That number increased from just 85 a year earlier. When HRC began monitoring the issue a decade ago, no corporations covered the surgery. Among the corporations that added coverage this year are Apple, American Airlines and Chevron. Transgender people have long been on the margins of society. That has even been true in the LGBT — or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender — community, where debates have raged over how hard and how fast to push for transgender rights, which remain controversial. But that is true of any group that is still in the early stages of its civil rights struggle. If two of the nation’s most powerful institutions, federal courts and major corporations, are increasingly lining up behind transgender people, then change is undoubtedly on the way.
(Source : www.ideas.time.com)
Did you know that .... website is upd ated wee kly to keep up to date with news Our community ... related to the transgender / transsexual
www.tranzmag.ca
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16/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad Testosterone shortage
A topical gel and patch are also available, although they are significantly more expensive, says Adam Silvertown, pharmacy manager at Pace Pharmacy. He says the transdermal patch, known as Androderm, can cost users as much as $160 a month. A month’s supply of Delatestryl is cheaper, around $60. Theramed, the former manufacturer of Delatestryl, recently sold product rights to Valeant International, another drug distributor. Carine Remolien, a pharmacological coordinator for Valeant Canada, says the product is unavailable because of a “manufacturing delay.”
A manufacturing delay that has created a shortage of the injectable testosterone drug Delatestryl has left many trans men scrambling to find alternatives. A registered nurse with the Sherbourne Health Centre’s LGBT Primary Care program says users should not wait for the drug to reappear. “They should be coming in to see their physicians or nurse practitioners because they can be switched to a different compound,” says Mary Potter. “The issue is when they don’t come to see us . . . they’re told by the pharmacy that they just don’t have it and people are waiting without the medication.” Potter says waiting, rather than finding an alternative drug, can result in a lapse of the medication’s effects.
“The product might be available January 15,” she says. Jeff Morrison, director of government relations and public affairs for the Canadian Pharmacists Association, says, “there’s no requirement on the part of manufacturers or industries to disclose why a particular drug is in short supply.” He says a new reporting system for shortages will allow pharmacists to anticipate problems in advance. “In a lot of cases, patients are the ones sort of having to run back and forth between their doctor’s office and their pharmacy to get a new prescription and they’re saying it’s a huge inconvenience,” Morrison says.
She says this is the second shortage this year. However, another injectable testosterone, DepoTestosterone (testosterone cypionate), is available. The concentration of the active ingredient is lower in DepoTestosterone, so injections may be more uncomfortable.
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(Source : www.xtra.ca)
17/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
News from here and abroad Is sitcom Work it insulting to trans people ?
TR@NZ
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, also worries about the damage the series may cause. " We've seen a lot of offensive things on TV over the years, but this really takes the cake," Solmonese wrote in an email to HRC supporters. "The so-called 'comedy' of Work It is based on the premise that male-bodied people who unsuccessfully attempt to present themselves as women are worthy of ridicule.
Work It, an upcoming ABC sitcom about men forced to dress as women to get a job, has angered equality activists, who see the premise as trivializing the obstacles transgender people face daily in the workplace. Ads for the show sparked the uproar among activists. Although there are no transgender characters on the series, Drian Juarez, project manager for the Transgender Economic Empowerment Program at Los Angeles's Gay and Lesbian Center, finds the promo exploitive. In a statement released to the press, Juarez says, "What is clearly intended to be a humorous promotional ad for the show depicts the two lead characters, dressed as women, standing at a urinal. Sadly, it’s very common for people to promote fear of sharing the bathroom with transgender people as a means to further their prejudice. We’re frequently portrayed as sexual predators using the bathroom to make sexual advances."
The problem is that most transgender women find themselves in this situation, at least temporarily, during their transition process. And due to the prohibitively high costs of transition-related medical care and widespread insurance inequities, many may be visibly transgender for their entire lives." Solmonese continues, "By emphasizing the artificiality of the lead characters' femininity through depictions of them putting on makeup and feminine clothing, for example, Work It makes similar implications about the nature of transgender women's identities and their ways of expressing them, reinforcing the erroneous popular notion that transgender women are not 'real' women. ABC should not air this show — plain and simple. At the very least, Work It is offensive and insulting. At worst, the show is downright dangerous and sends a message that transgender people are meant to be laughed at, or are somehow less-than. This show would be a tremendous setback for transgender Americans, and everyone who believes that all people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."
(Source : www.advocate.com)
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18/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad Canada finance minister investigated for trans snub
Landrie refused to comply and Miltenberger walked off, but returned later to inform her that the route had been changed because the Governor General did not want to see her. She was then told to leave the premises.
Landrie explained that she had work to finish. According to CBC News, she said: ‘He came into the lab and he goes, looking at me, “I thought I told you to leave.” The amount of anger... you could basically taste it.’ The Office of the Governor General says the Governor’s exit route from the college was changed – but only because the event went on longer than expected. Micheal Miltenberger
A transgender woman has accused a leading politician of discrimination following an incident at a college in Canada. Michael Miltenberger, who is the Finance Minister of Canada’s Northwest Territory and has been widely tipped to become the region’s next premier, has been reported to the Human Rights Commission after a complaint by Aurora College student Gabrielle Landrie. A report by Canada’s CBC News alleges that Miltenberger approached student Gabrielle Landrie and repeatedly asked her to leave so that the visiting Governor General would not see her. Landrie, who was with a friend in a computer lab, said: "Mr. Miltenberger walked up to us, looked at me directly, and said “you have to leave.”
Michael Miltenberger has refused to comment because the complaint is now before the Human Rights Commission. Transgender activist, Jane Fae said on her blog: " We should wait for the verdict of the HRC – although the trans community will not be holding its breath. " " There are details in the story that have a depressing ring of truth about them. The way in which Ms. Landrie contemplated complying with the request to leave: the way in which she did leave the building in such a way as not to give offence. These are tactics well-known to almost anyone who has ever transitioned: the desire not to offend; the almost masochistic tendency to go along with the bully, just for a quiet life. "
(Source : www.gaystarnews.com)
‘And I said, “oh?’ and he said, “you have spooked the governor general.”’
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19/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad The Corporate Equality Index report
The Corporate Equality Index is a report published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a tool to rate American businesses on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. Its primary source of data are survey, but researchers cross-check business policy and their implications for LGBT workers and public records independently. The index has been published annually since 2002. The Corporate Equality Index chooses companies to rank, and rates them on a scale of 0 to 100 based on flexible criteria grounded in the "10 principles" of the Equality Project. These include : ✦A
written policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.[4]
✦ Inclusion
of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in its diversity and sensitivity training.[4]
✦ Parity
in domestic partner benefits required by certain laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act.
✦ Appropriate
and respectful advertising to the LGBT
community. ✦ Transgender-inclusive
health insurance benefits.
History Since 2002, the Corporate Equality Index has been published by the Human Rights Campaign. It was originally modeled after the Gay and Lesbian Values Index, a rating system that was designed by journalist Grant Lukenbill. When the HRC modified it, it became a 100-point system, as opposed to Grant's 10-point one. In its first year, the Corporate Equality Index awarded its 100 percent rating to 13 businesses. Each year, there has been an increase in the number of businesses that achieve this rating. In the 2011 index, 337 companies received the 100 percent rating. The criteria for the index has changed since its first publication. Beginning in 2006, transgender rights issues became more imperative to the index than they had previously been; consequently, the 2012 index will include more updated criteria regarding benefits of partnerships and transgender inclusivity.
Effects on Corporate America There are competing opinions about the effect that a company's rating has on its business. Some say that having a high rating will have a positive impact, while others say that it will cause a company to lose popularity among conservative customers. The index also encourages companies to change their policies regarding LGBT employees, and in many cases accomplishes this goal. From 2004 to 2005, 92 percent of the corporations listed included transgender discrimination protection where they previously had not. Additionally, many companies are pressured to change policies that have earned them a poor score on the index, due to bad press. This has led to a competitive atmosphere among businesses to stay current in the latest LGBT-related inclusive policies. Larger corporations are much more likely to change LGBTrelated policies as a result of the index than small or medium companies are. The Human Rights Campaign focuses on larger companies in the CEI, so smaller businesses are subject to little public backlash due to the efforts of the Human Rights Campaign and the index. (Source : www.hrc.org)
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20/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad
Beatty accepts transgender child
Italian male movie star to change sex
Warren Beatty led a toast to his transgender son in December 2011.
Italian movie star Giuseppe Schisano wants his sex to be changed and wants "Vittoria" as a name.
A source told National Enquirer magazine: “The dinner was an unofficial public display that he's proud of his family, especially Stephen, for having the courage to be who he truly is. " “It wasn't easy for Warren. But he learned a lot about the transgender community over the past year. Warren even made an emotional toast to Stephen during the dinner and said he was proud to have such a brave son.” The source added: “Warren never stopped loving his child, but he had plenty of issues and fears to overcome. " “The bottom line is he missed his little girl. But he's finally resigned himself to the fact that one day Stephen will probably have gender reassignment surgery and legally become a boy. " (Source : www.iol.co.za)
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"My soul is one of a woman. I feel more common," Giuseppe said. "I couldn't eat or sleep. Just looking at myself in the mirror worried me. Slowly I came out to my friends," Giuseppe said. "When I went to the physician to start the hormone therapy that precedes the operation, the doctor felt shocked that I wasn't already taking the hormones. My levels exposed that my female hormones were higher than male ones. In my real life, I always felt a robust feminine side that I hid for years," he said. Schisano plays the character of a macho journalist gripped by his research into a serial killer, in his latest film "Cane Pazzo" (Source : www.pranaamindia.com)
21/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
To the alarm of my parents, I am a transsexual. I am on the female-to-male spectrum of this gender brouhaha but I have never once identified as female. I just went along with the label until I could no longer handle the mess that was my unconscious. In January 2010, I started exploring gender, using a neutral nickname and being read more and more as male. I liked it a lot. It felt right. On July 15th 2010, I came out to myself as transsexual. On Jan. 2nd 2011, I came out to my parents. They are supportive, but are still processing what everything means. My 13-year-old brother is bewildered, but happy for me.
TR@NZ
That transsexual guy An Introduction to Olivier’s First Trans Column
I have lost two friends, gone through a nine-month-long depression and experienced suicidal feelings. I needed to figure out, if I had to do this, what would happen if I didn’t and what would happen if I did—those nine months were long, long months. But this is not a sob story. Though I have heard the tales and the hurts of trans folk and experienced the personal gender insecurity some people get upon seeing me, and though I have dried the tears and ignored the stares, I am not asking for your pity. I am asking for your ears and eyes. I want to share my transition. I want to write to you about public bathrooms, navigating my name change and taking hormones. I want to tell you about the scary parts, the fun times and share with you the celebrations that come along with transitioning. I want to tell you all of this because I think that it is important that you know about it. This issue is important to understand so that transsexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming folks do not have to deal with the stares, the harassment, the paranoia and the violence anymore. I want that to stop, so this is my contribution. My name is Oliver Leon. I am 19 years old. I am studying English and Creative Writing at Concordia University, with a minor in Women’s Studies (which, by the way, could be renamed Gender Studies). I want to be a college professor when I grow up. I enjoy poetry, Harry Potter, and kayaking.
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22/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
An Introduction to Olivier’s First Trans Column
TR@NZ NEEDS YOU ! WRITING SUBMISSION We are looking for submissions for issue Twelve. We seek to publish personal stories or articles relating to (but not limited to) advocacy in the trans community. DEADLINE February 15th, 2012 1000 words max VIA TRANZMAG.CA Under "More / Writing Submission’’ BY EMAIL : maxime.lemay@ymail.com
Anyway, this letter says some fun things. I asked my psychologist if I could include some quotations here and he said yes. “My client became aware, in childhood, of a persistent discomfort with his gender… My client’s presentation is consistent with the criteria for [a] diagnosis of Transsexualism… He meets the DSM-IV criteria for Gender Identity Disorder Adulthood… [He] has followed the Standards of Care to date, and in my opinion, is highly likely to comply in the future.” I trust, Dr., that you will consider Mr. Leon’s candidacy for hormone therapy… My psychologist is a great guy. He’s complying with the rules because that’s how transsexuals get help. Sure, I could buy hormones off the street—but that could kill me. I don’t know if the needles are clean, or if the dosage is healthy. Nobody knows the long-term effects of injecting hormones into a body, because nobody has cared to study the subject. Why? Well, transsexuals are scary. Suitable for talk shows and examinations at length in airports. Someone who wants to be a gender other than the one they were born with at birth? Oh my God, send them to a bucket-load of therapists—surely it’s just a mental thing!
Notice that I have been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder. Really though, I’ve never been so happy to be diagnosed with a medical condition in all of my life. And I am incredibly grateful to my psychologist. I get to take testosterone, get facial hair and a deeper voice. I will lose my hips and become narrow like the other boys. I’ll get more body hair and gain muscle mass easier. This will be great. (To the dismay of my little brother, I will not grow huge muscles. I need to go the gym for that.) And so, I am off to the endocrinologist’s office to get me some needles and testosterone. I’ll update you regularly on how my fabulous transsexy life is going. I will even give you all the little details, like if the colour red suddenly becomes brighter or if I suddenly stop understanding girls. What is a girl, anyway? Certainly not me. Shall we find out who I am together, then? Excellent. (Oliver Leon’s column appears monthly in The Link.)
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23/29
DÉCEMBRE /DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
News from here and abroad When Kathy is Keith: Surrey psychologist Wallace Wong releases transgender children's book Wallace Wong wrote the illustrated book When Kathy is Keith , which broaches the sensitive and often misunderstood issues that transgender children face. It follows the story of Kathy, a young girl who says she is a boy but no one takes her seriously. In general, he says that help in this specific area is limited locally. “In [the] B.C. area…we have really limited support for transgender population,” he says. “And therefore [among] those who are specialized in seeing this group of population, many of them are focused on adults and only a few of us are focusing on children and youth.” The use of children’s books addressing LGBT content in Metro Vancouver schools have had been met with controversy and debate. In 1997, the Surrey School Board banned three books about gay parents. (The Supreme Court of Canada rejected the ban in 2002.) But it sounds like schools could use such reading material. Wong says he also often hears from teachers who have students dealing with these issues. “I think a book like this can help them to open a lot of doors for discussions, for potential additional help that the kids may need,” he says.
Wong, who has worked with children and youth with gender and sexual identity issues for over 16 years, feels it’s important for adults to know that such content is meant to help children, not influence them. “Parents, they have to go through different stages themselves,” he explains. “In the beginning, they tend to deny it. They hope their kids will grow out of it. They are having a tough time. They have to grieve over losing a son or a daughter and welcoming a new gender of a child. And I think that’s a process. It’s not easy for any parent to accept that because no parent has a kid and then think that this kid may be a transgender kid.... It’s tough… [when you have] a dream for your kid and all of a sudden that dream vanishes, and you have to recreate a dream for your kid[’s] future, and at the same time, knowing that society is not so tolerant out there. And I think that is very tough [for] a lot of parents to accept that.” He advises parents who have transgender children to talk as much as possible with other people about these issues. “I really think that [they should] talk to people about it, talk to other parents about it. And don’t just talk to one person. I would talk to multiple people. Talk to the school principal, talk to the counsellors, talk to the professional psychologists or social workers...even family doctor[s], so they can know there are people like this out there, they are not alone, and they can get help.” The book is available at bookstores, through Amazon, and through the Xlibris website.
(Source : www.straight.com)
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24/29
DÉCEMBRE / DECEMBER 2011
TR@NZ
Trans
youth Jonas and Wyatt Maines were born identical twins, but from the start each had a distinct personality.
family with one boy and one girl has been heartbreaking and harrowing and, in the end, inspiring - a lesson in the courage of a child, a child who led them, and in the transformational power of love. Wayne and Kelly Maines have struggled to know whether they are doing the right things for their children, especially for Wyatt, who now goes by the name Nicole.
Led by the boy who simply knew :
Jonas was all boy. He loved Spiderman, action figures, pirates, and swords.
The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt
Wyatt favored pink tutus and beads. At 4, he insisted on a Barbie birthday cake and had a thing for mermaids. On Halloween, Jonas was Buzz Lightyear. Wyatt wanted to be a princess; his mother compromised on a prince costume.
a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor’s care.
was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of
Once, when Wyatt appeared in a sequin shirt and his mother’s heels, his father said: “You don’t want to wear that.’’ “Yes, I do,’’ Wyatt replied. “Dad, you might as well face it,’’ Wayne recalls Jonas saying. “You have a son and a daughter.’’ That early declaration marked, as much as any one moment could, the beginning of a journey that few have taken, one the Maineses themselves couldn’t have imagined until it was theirs. The process of remaking a family of identical twin boys into a
Nicole Maines, 14, her twin brother, Jonas, and their parents have traveled a long, trying road. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)
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Trans youth : Led by the boy who simply knew
Was he merely expressing a softer side of his personality, or was he really what he kept saying: a girl in a boy’s body? Was he exhibiting early signs that he might be gay? Was it even possible, at such a young age, to determine what exactly was going on? Until recently, there was little help for children in such situations. But now, a groundbreaking clinic at Children’s Hospital in Boston - one of the few of its kind in the world - helps families deal with the issues, both emotional and medical, that arise from having a transgender child - one who doesn’t identify with the gender he or she was born into. The Children’s Hospital Gender Management Services Clinic can, using hormone therapies, halt puberty in transgender children, blocking the development of secondary sexual characteristics - a beard, say, or breasts - that can make the eventual transition to the other gender more difficult, painful, and costly. Founded in 2007 by endocrinologist Norman Spack and urologist David Diamond, the clinic - known as GeMS and modeled on a Dutch program - is the first pediatric academic program in the Western Hemisphere that evaluates and treats pubescent transgenders. A handful of other pediatric centers in the United States are developing similar programs, some started by former staffers at GeMS. It was in that clinic, under Spack’s care, that Nicole and her family finally began to have hope for her future. “I have always known I was a girl,’’ says Nicole, now 14. “I think what I’m aiming for is to undergo surgery to get a physical female body that matches up to my image of myself.’’
Early confusion When Wyatt and Jonas were born, their father was thrilled. Wayne looked forward to the day when he could hunt deer with his boys in the Maine woods. The family lived in Orono, near the University of Maine campus, where Wayne is the director of safety and environmental management. They had no preparation for what would come next. When Wyatt was 4, he asked his mother: “When do I get to be a girl?’’ He told his father that he hated his penis and asked when he could be rid of it. Both father and son cried. When first grade started, Wyatt carried a pink backpack and a Kim Possible lunchbox. His parents had no idea what was going on. They had barely heard the term “transgender.’’ Baffled, they tried to deflect Wyatt’s girlish impulses by buying him action figures like his brother’s and steering him toward Cub Scouts, soccer, and baseball. “Even when we did all the boy events to see if she would ‘conform,’ she would just put her shirt on her head as hair, strap on some heels and join in,’’ Kelly says. “It wasn’t really a matter of encouraging her to be a boy or a girl. That came about naturally.’’ Kelly and Wayne didn’t look at it as a choice their child was making. “She really is a girl,’’ Kelly says, “a girl born with a birth defect. That’s how she looks at it.’’ (continue p. 27)
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Trans youth : Led by the boy who simply knew
Legal battles When fifth grade started, Wyatt was gone. Nicole showed up for school, sometimes wearing a dress and sporting shoulderlength hair. She began using the girls’ bathroom. Nikki’s friends didn’t have a problem with the transformation; there were playdates and sleepovers. “They said, ‘It was about time!’ ’’ Nicole says. She was elected vice president of her class and excelled academically. But one day a boy called her a “faggot,’’ objected to her using the girls’ bathroom, and reported the matter to his grandfather, who is his legal guardian. The grandfather complained to the Orono School Committee, with the Christian Civic League of Maine backing him. The superintendent of schools then decided Nicole should use a staff bathroom. To protect her from bullying at school, Nicole was assigned an adult to watch her at all times between classes, following her to the cafeteria, to the bathroom. She found it intrusive and stressful. It made her feel like even more of an outsider. Nicole and her parents filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission over her right to use the girls bathroom. The commission found that she had been discriminated against and, along with the Maines family, filed a lawsuit against the Orono School District. The suit is pending in Penobscot County Superior Court, and the Maines family is represented by lawyers from the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in Boston, and by Jodi Nofsinger, who serves on the Maine ACLU board. “What Nicole and Jonas both went through in school was unconscionable,’’ says Jennifer Levi, one of the GLAD lawyers on the case. “Their one huge stroke of luck was having Kelly and Wayne as parents.’’
The next step The clinic, which includes geneticists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses, has so far treated 95 patients for disorders that range from babies born with ambiguous genitalia to cases where normal sexual development does not occur. About a third of the patients have undergone puberty suppression. The effects of the blockers - an injection given monthly to prevent the gonads from releasing the unwanted hormones - are reversible; patients can stop taking them and go through puberty as their biological sex. This is critical, Spack says, because a “very significant number of children who exhibit cross-gender behavior’’ before puberty “do not end up being transgender.’’ “The drugs have a great track record; we already know that these kids do fine,’’ says Spack. “There are no ill consequences.’’
(continue p.28)
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Trans youth : Led by the boy who simply knew
Excited, worried about surgery Nicole’s final step on her journey to womanhood would be gender reassignment surgery. Doctors generally won’t perform it until the age of consent, which is 18. No hospitals in New England perform such surgery, says Spack. The nearest that do are in Montreal and Philadelphia. Nicole says she’s excited about the idea of surgery, though a bit worried about the results - “and maybe the pain, too.’’ Over the years, the family has become close to several adult transsexuals, and Nicole has seen that some have found happy marriages. “She says she does feel better about it,’’ Kelly says, “but still wonders if she ever met a boy who falls for her, and then found out that she was trans, if he would still like her, or say awful things as he skedaddled out the door.’’ Nicole knows there is a long road ahead, but she feels she’s on the right path. For now, at least, life feels more normal to the Maines family. Wayne recently spoke at GLAD’s Spirit of Justice dinner in Boston and was introduced by Nicole. She kept her composure in her brief remarks and thanked GLAD for giving them a rare chance to “safely speak out.’’ Wayne choked up when thanking the group for its support. He recounted young Wyatt asking him, sadly, “Daddy, why can’t boys wear dresses?’’ Wayne hated to tell his son that society wouldn’t accept that. But today, when Nicole asks her father what he thinks of a certain dress she’s wearing, his typical response, he told the audience, is: “That dress is too short. Go change your clothes.’’ In conversation later, Wayne tells another story of how things have changed, for good and forever. He and the twins were getting out of the car recently, and he grabbed their hands to walk with them. Jonas, being a teenage boy, shook his father off, while Nicole was happy to walk hand-in-hand, swinging arms. “She’ll do that the rest of her life,’’ Wayne says with a wide grin. “It was an epiphany for me.’’
(Source : www.boston.com)
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News from here and abroad I Rise, is the true story of Toni Newman's transformation from an effeminate, conflicted male to a proud, educated transsexual. You will follow Toni on her rise from a "sissy boy," a scholarship student, a business professional, an escort, a drag queen, a NYC prostitute, a n L A d o m i n a t r i x , a n d fi n a l ly, a transsexual attending law school in order to help her transsexual sisters in need. Along Toni's journey you will see the highs and lows, as well as life-long quest for self-acceptance".
I RISE-THE TRANSFORMATION OF TONI NEWMAN is now available on Amazon.com. You can also purchase the book directly from Author Toni Newman at tonidnewman@aol.com.
Toni is ex playgirl magazine model and male fitness model turned Transgender to lose it all. Toni graduated from Wake Forest University in 1985 with BA degree. In the late 90's, Toni was the CEO of MPI Productions, producer of male/female fitness calendars, sold all over the United States and abroad. An outcast to society, Toni fell from grace landing on the streets of New York City. Living in a crack house, and eating from a trash can, Toni's life had spiraled out of control. Fallen, but not beaten, Toni Newman decided to RISE. In the footsteps Ted Williams, Toni Newman is a true testament of determination.
Additions to the Grand Répertoire
The following publications are now available for download at :
www.tranzmag.ca • Advancing transgender equality : A plan for action • Challenges faced by trans youth • Corporate equality index 2012 • Report of the United Nations - High Commissioner of Human Rights • Transgender children : More than a theoritical challenge
"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage." Dr. Maya Angelou (Source : www.amazon.com)
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