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Dear editor,

in INDI MCLYMONT article, "From He to She: A Jamaican hermaphrodite tells his painful story," Monday, October 11, 2004, the pronoun " he" is used over and over like a hammer to signify someone who is already in pain, even though this person states, "I am a transsexual woman," a female, not male. I think the correct female pronoun would be she, out of respect.

And as this person states they are intersexed, which shows there is no solid line of gender, and yet, you keep using he over and over. are you missing something in your reporting or is it the intent of your paper to cause further harm to intersexed, transgendered and transsexual people..

I will make your article public around the world, and through the US, to demonstrate how homophobic, and transphobic your paper is. The intersexed, transgendered and transsexual community world wide needs to respond to your thoughtlessness.

kari edwards
San Francisco, USA



From He to She
A Jamaican hermaphrodite tells his painful story
BY INDI MCLYMONT all woman co-ordinator
Monday, October 11, 2004


"I am not gay," he states adamantly as he fiddles with the steering wheel of his car.

His fingernails are painted a soft pink. So too are the nails on his pedicured feet.
He is wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt without sleeves that subtly shows his small but shapely and well-developed breasts.

After almost a year-and-a-half of taking hormone treatment, he is happy that his breasts have developed. It shows that he is well on his way to becoming what he says he truly is - a woman.


"I am a transsexual woman - that is a male who is in transition to becoming a female. I am a woman trapped in a man's body," says the six footer, who prefers to be referred to as Barbara.


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MEASURING gender
By Ailee Slater
Columnist


“Measure 36 sends a simple, positive message to children that marriage should be between a man and a woman. It just makes sense.”

So reads an argument found in the Oregon voters’ pamphlet in favor of Ballot Measure 36, which would amend the Oregon Constitution to define marriage as valid and legal only between one woman and one man. Besides the obvious issue of discrimination against gay and lesbian couples, another less prominent matter is presented in two specific words of this initiative: “man” and “woman.” These terms and this ballot measure are anything but simple.

Doctors estimate that one in 2,000 babies is born with ambiguous sexual organs, or has sex chromosomes different from his or her phenotypic reproductive organs. This percentage of the public is biologically neither male nor female. Many are assigned a sex as children. Medical procedures may be undergone in an attempt at classification. Still, most simply accept their bodies as they are and live normal lives as either the gender that their parents appoint to them, or that of their own choosing. The question then rises, what or who defines a person’s legal sex when the genetics are ambiguous?


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The reluctant queen
That a transvestite has become a superstar in a nation known for its machismo has many Argentines baffled
By Colin McMahon
Tribune foreign correspondent


BUENOS AIRES -- Florencia de la V may rule as la reina of Argentina's entertainment world, but please don't call her a queen.

Florencia wants to get past all that, past the insults and the snickers and the fears. She wants to get past her former life as Roberto Carlos Trinidad. She wants to be seen not as a transvestite or a novelty or a curiosity. She just wants people to see her as Flor.

Shockingly to many Argentines, Florencia de la V is getting her wish.

You see Florencia everywhere now. On the big stage, in a Buenos Aires musical and comedy review called, "Diferente." On the small screen, as a star of "Los Roldan," the most popular
Argentine television series in recent memory. And at newsstands across the capital: The current cover of the Argentine Rolling Stone shows Florencia in a manipulated photo -- mostly naked and extremely


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The great Kuwait sex debate
Kuwait City, Kuwait


Kuwait's Appeals Court on Monday overturned a landmark verdict by a lower court granting a Kuwaiti who underwent sex-change surgery the right to register as a female, a lawyer said.

"The judge overturned the initial verdict and threw out the case ... We will challenge this verdict to the Court of Cassation [the highest court in the Gulf Arab state]," Adel al-Yahya said.

The lower court, in the first verdict of its kind in conservative Kuwait, agreed in April to a request by Ahmad, a Kuwaiti male, and ordered the government to change officially his sex to female and his name to Amal.

The verdict was based on a number of medical reports and a forensic examination carried out on the complainant, who stressed that the transsexual surgery was decided for "biological reasons".


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CHELSEA TRANNY TRAGEDY
By TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

A transsexual porn model who recently starred in a film about her troubled life leaped to her death from the 20th-floor window of her luxury apartment in Manhattan yesterday, cops and friends said.


Susan Shah, 36, had been depressed over health problems that included her 10-year battle with AIDS, said Dimitris Berylese, co-writer of Shah's film, "A Step Ahead," which chronicles her sex change from a man into a woman.


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Remembering the victims of hate crimes
NewsCenter16 Reporter
Michelle Relerford


South Bend, IN - The flames of hope brightened the sky at IUSB Sunday night.  

The University's gay-straight alliance held a candlelight vigil, remembering those killed in hate crimes.  

Speakers said it took a lot of courage for members of the alliance and their supporters to hold such and event, but they believe that with their courage they can light a new path in this community where differences are accepted and even embraced


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Free, confidential HIV tests for gay men in Guangdong Province, China


Gay men in the Guangdong Province, China, are to have free and confidential HIV tests at the AIDS Prevention and Treatment Institute, Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control.

The Vice Presdient of the Institute, He Qun, said that the test results would remain confidential.


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Man told to pay gay man $1,000 for 'disgraceful' comment


MONTREAL -Quebec's Human Rights Commission has ordered a used car salesman in Sorel to pay a gay man $1,000 for a derogatory comment he made three years ago.

In 2001 Marcel Bardier told the man's travelling companion to keep an eye on him because he was a "fag."

The man, who cannot be identified because of a court order, filed a complaint with the Commission which said the comment caused him to feel dehumanized, humiliated and degraded.

Bardier told the Commission that he had nothing against homosexuals, but was simply acting in a fatherly way to the man's companion by warning him of his sexuality.

The Rights Commission ruled that the term was an inappropriate way of referring to homosexuals and adds to the disgrace and lack of respect of human dignity people are entitled to.





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Gay people to get government support in fight against discrimination


Discrimination against gays is to be policed by the new Equality and Human Rights Commission, according to reports.

The Government has decided to give gay people the same protection as that enjoyed by ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

At present, homosexuals have no statutory body to represent them and must take a case to an employment tribunal if they feel they have been discriminated against on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

The new body - which is expected to have a budget of £50 million - will offer advice, support test cases and may even provide legal representation.


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GREENS CALL FOR GAY MARRIAGE
by: OutRage! News Service, OIA Newswire


"The ban on same-sex marriage is discriminatory and must be repealed," according to the Green Party. It's MEPs, Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert, are joining the call for marriage equality.

The Greens are the first UK political party to join the campaign for gay civil marriage.

In the run-up to the House of Commons debate on the Civil Partnership Bill (Tuesday 12 October), the Greens say "excluding gay couples from marriage is an affront to democracy and human rights."

"Denying people the right to marry because of their sexual orientation violates the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that every adult person has a right to marry," said gay campaigner Peter Tatchell, who recently joined the Green Party.


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UI kicks off National Coming Out Week events
By Kristen Schorsch
Iowa City Press-Citizen


A film, information about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement and panels of high school students sharing personal experiences highlight a weeklong celebration at the University of Iowa.

Today marks the anniversary of National Coming Out Day and the first day of events at UI to encourage those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender to talk about their lives.



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First National Gay Marriage Rally to be Held on Upper Senate Park, Washington D.C.: Monday, Oct. 11, 11 AM - 4 PM


WASHINGTON, -- Seventeen years to the day after the historic 1987 Gay March on Washington, the Marriage Equality Caravan arrived in DC for a rally tomorrow following a cross country tour.

For daring to push the marriage issue prior to the Presidential elections, the press has followed this group of activists across the country with enormous interest. En route, they rallied in 10 cities across the country.

"We did this project because we thought America needed to hear the voice for equal marriage rights from those directly impacted by marriage discrimination," said Molly McKay, Associate Executive Director of Marriage Equality California. "Our rights and our lives should not be used as political footballs. We refuse to accept second class citizenship in this country," said Dr. Davina Kotulski, author of "Why You should Give A Damn About Gay Marriage." "From Laramie to Pittsburgh we were greeted with open hearts by so many fair minded Americans."


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Mayor Autry Defends Decision

The mayor is setting the record straight and defending his position after refusing to sign a proclamation that would make Monday "Coming Out Day" in Fresno.

Mayor Alan Autry says he's for gay rights, and even for civil unions between gay and lesbian couples. But, he does not think it's appropriate to sign a proclamation making Monday a city-wide "Coming Out Day."

In a statement to Action News, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry said, "Whether a person comes out or not is solely up to each individual. A city proclamation serves no useful purpose in this deeply personal and private decision."

Around 100 people turned out at Fresno City Hall on Sunday to sign a proclamation declaring Monday as "Coming Out Day."


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Their turn to speak
Gay Fresnans give their answer to Autry event.
By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee


Members of Fresno's gay, bisexual and transgender community were placed behind barricades in August while heterosexual couples renewed marriage vows on Fresno City Hall steps.

On Sunday, about 125 members of the community had a chance to say their piece in front of City Hall, too.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Fresno-area residents, their relatives and friends were in front of Fresno City Hall demanding the same rights that heterosexuals receive