New York City Transgender Aging Intensive Announced

New York, NY -- May 7, 2004 -- Directly following the SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Aging Conference, service providers and advocates will be able to devote a full day to lectures, exercises, and small group discussions of transgender and SOFFA (significant others, friends, family and allies) aging issues at the Transgender Aging Intensive to be held in New York City on Sunday, June 20, 2004.

The Transgender Aging Intensive will focus solely on transsexuals, transgender persons, cross-dressers, intersexed persons (formerly known as hermaphrodites) and other gender diverse persons, and the significant others, friends, family and allies (SOFFAs) who share these experiences and concerns.


Because trans elders are often visibly different from other non-transgender elders and provide unique challenges to standard policies, properly serving or representing them requires specific knowledge and sensitivity. Unfortunately, this specific knowledge has been hard to attain, particularly since the trans/SOFFA communities embody tremendous diversity.


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Trans Gender Bender
By Cam Lindquist

Transvestite, Transsexual, Transgender… They are words that are part of the rich vocabulary of our queer education. I remember my first real “gay” friend telling me over mimosas at my first “gay” brunch that though I needed to know the terminology and know the differences between them, I didn’t really need to give it much thought. He didn’t really say why, but I kind of caught the message. “Gay men” didn’t like the image that they projected and didn’t want the heterosexuals associating “them” with “us.”

And in all fairness to this guy, I was young and felt the same way. I knew I was gay, and really saw “them” as gay men in dresses. I look back and think how ignorant I was, but I really didn’t even accept myself at that stage of coming out.

It wasn’t until I started attending the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) that I had any real contact with anyone who was transgendered. Sure this gal at the bar regularly kicked my butt at pool, but we didn’t really know each other.


It was at MCC that I met Helen. Helen came to me for communion, and I didn’t know what to say to her. At our MCC we served the elements of communion, and then spoke a short but personal blessing over each individual. I was really, really uncomfortable. I had made a false assumption. You see Bubbalicious, Atlanta’s infamous Bingo Drag Queen, was in town for a charity event. I knew that a drag queen wasn’t a transsexual and I didn’t know whether to call her him or her. It was all incredibly baffling to me.


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2003 edition of report on anti-LGBT hate violence released

Eight percent annual increase in anti-Gay hate overshadowed by 26 percent increase for period following sodomy decision and marriage debate

New York - The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released its annual report on violence against Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexual people and Transgender individuals. The 90-page report examines data compiled from over 2,000 hate-related incidents in eleven cities, states and regions across the country: Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado, Columbus, OH, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York City, Pennsylvania and San Francisco. Additional information was received from Kansas City, MO, and Vermont. The report was also released in a number of the locations profiled in this year's edition.

NCAVP's report is the most complete examination of such violence against LGBT people. Each year, the FBI publishes its own report on hate crimes, which includes anti-LGBT incidents, but it consistently contains information on far fewer cases than the NCAVP publication because it relies on law enforcement reports of such crimes rather than victim service organization data.

Overall, NCAVP's report noted an eight percent increase in reported incidents of anti-LGBT violence. Included in that eight percent increase for the year, was an 80 percent increase in anti-LGBT murders, which rose in the reporting locations from 10 in 2002 to 18 in 2003. At the same time, the total number of victims rose nine percent, from 2,183 in 2002 to 2,384 in 2003.


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Metropolitan Community Churches Delegation Meets With Brazilian Minister for Human Rights 
By GNN Staff  

Brasilia, Brazil -- A delegation of leaders from the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Churches met on May 5 with The Honorable Nilmario Miranda, Brazilian Minister for Human Rights and a member of the Brazilian President's Cabinet.

Attending the meeting were Rev. Troy Perry, Rev. Elder Armando Sanchez, and Pastor Marcos Gladstone. The MCC delegation met for 45 minutes with the Minister for Human Rights and with Ivair Santos, Special Adviser to the President for Human Rights.

The meeting, at the Brazilian National Justice Building in Brasilia. focused on human rights for LGBT people, Brazilian HIV and AIDS policies, legal protections for transgender persons, and MCC's role in reducing discrimination and homophobia in Brazilian society.

During the meeting, Rev. Perry expressed deep appreciation for Brazil's leadership in the United Nations and for Brazil's nondiscrimination proposals before the UN. Brazil is the sponsor of a UN resolution that calls upon "all States to promote and protect the human rights of all persons regardless of their sexual orientation."

The MCC delegation was the first LGBT group to meet with Brazil's governmental leaders since Brazil withdrew its UN proposal several weeks ago. Miranda confirmed the resolution was withdrawn because sufficient votes did not exist for passage this year. Had the vote taken place and failed, the resolution could not be reintroduced into the UN for at least 10 years. In meetings with the MCC representatives, Brazilian officials pledged their firm commitment to reintroduce the UN resolution in 2005.