US - Transgender Issues 101: What is the difference between sex and gender? [2009-07-16 Examiner.com]

http://www.examiner.com/x-12237-Transgender-Issues-Examiner~y2009m7d16-Transgender-Issues-101-What-is-the-difference-between-sex-and-gender

Matt Kailey

Transgender Issues Examiner

This article is part of Info 101

Transgender Issues 101: What is the difference between sex and gender?

July 16, 2009
   


Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Me at 13.

Although sex and gender are often used interchangeably, these two terms do not mean the same thing.

Sex is physical — it is the physical makeup of your body. Your sex is based on various things, such as your genitalia, and your secondary sex characteristics. Most people can stand naked in front of a mirror (although who really wants to?) and determine their sex.

Gender, on the other hand, is a little more complicated. Gender involves self-identification and self-expression — how you think about yourself and how you express yourself. A person’s gender can involve clothing, hairstyle, makeup, interests, activities, behavior, and many other components.

Some people believe that gender is completely socially constructed — that the clothes you wear, the activities you choose, and the behaviors you exhibit — are learned and have been taught to you based on your physical sex. For example, some people believe that girls are taught to play with dolls instead of trucks, and do not have an innate preference for dolls over trucks.

Some people believe that there is a biological component to gender — that your self-identification and self-expression have some biological roots, and that many girls, given a choice between a doll and a truck, will choose the doll, even if they have not been taught that dolls are toys for girls.

Regardless of whether gender is socially or biologically constructed — or a little of both — most people have a gender identity that agrees with their sex.

The body — the sex — says male, for example, and the person expresses that maleness through his culture’s definition of male clothing, male toys, male behaviors, and male activities. When this person chooses his clothing, hairstyle, toys, games, behaviors, and activities, he is expressing his gender, or his self-identification.

There are some people, however, who have a gender identity that does not agree with their sex. These people are generally considered transgendered, and while they may express their gender in ways that are culturally acceptable for their sex, they may not be comfortable with these expressions. In fact, these expressions may seem completely false or foreign to them.

They may also be uncomfortable with their physical sex, because it does not match their concept of their gender identity. The body — the sex — says male, but the mind says female or vice versa. What they see in the mirror is not what they feel in their mind.

The existence of transgendered people demonstrates that sex — the physical body — and gender — self-identification and self-expression — are not the same thing.

It can also indicate a biological component to gender, or at least to gender identity, since trans people cannot be taught — or forced — to feel comfortable with certain gender roles. In other words, the mind cannot be changed to match the body. It has been tried. It doesn't work. This is why some transgendered people change the body to match the mind.

-

Author: Matt Kailey

Matt Kailey is an Examiner from Denver. You can see Matt's articles on Matt's Home Page.
http://www.examiner.com/x-12237-Denver-Transgender-Issues-Examiner

My Bio:
Matt is an award-winning author and a professional speaker, trainer, and consultant on transgender issues. He is the author of Just Add Hormones: An Insider's Guide to the Transsexual Experience, the editor of Focus on the Fabulous: Colorado GLBT Voices, and the managing editor of Out Front Colorado newspaper. Contact Matt < MKailey@aol.com >.

--

© 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com.

Britain - Rise in homophobic hate crime in London... [2009-07-16 PinkNews]

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13282.html

Rise in homophobic hate crime in London

By Jessica Geen

July 16, 2009 - 18:33

Figures released today by the Metropolitan Police show a 13.5 per cent rise in homophobic hate crimes reported across London.

Between June 2008 and the end of last month, 1,123 incidents were reported, compared with 989 the previous year.

David Allison, spokesman for gay rights group OutRage!, suggested that the rise could be due to more gay people being willing to report crime to the police.

He told The London Paper: “These figures show that hate crimes are not something that you can just ignore. It suggests there is something wrong with society that people can’t tolerate each other.

“However, one has to bear in mind that a proportion of the increase is down to a greater willingness of gay people to report these crimes. Previously, because they did not trust the police to investigate them, they thought there was no point.”

Last month, acting detective superintendent Gerry Campbell, of the Metropolitan police, who led a recent operation against hate crime, said: "Homophobia cannot be considered a thing of the past, it's on the increase."

There have been a number of killings of gay men in the past few months.

In May, a gay man was stabbed to death in Tottenham, north London. Daryl Phillips, 39, had been stabbed in the leg and was treated at the scene at Avenue Road, but was later pronounced dead.

Gerry Edwards, 59, was stabbed to death at his home in Bromley, south London in March. His partner, 56-year-old Chris Bevan, was taken to hospital with stab wounds.

According to Crown Prosecution Service figures, prosecutions for crimes involving homophobia rose 60 per cent over the past two years to 995 cases.

A Metropolitan Police survey released last month suggested that women are up to seven times less likely to report homophobic or transphobic crime than men.

The survey, which builds upon 2002 research conducted on behalf of the Home Office, specifically examined women's experiences of violence and abuse enacted on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Independent research shows that although the rate of reporting to the police is different between men and women, the incident of homophobic crime is similar for both sexes.

-

Related Articles:

Women 'up to seven times less likely to report homophobic crime than men'
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12863.html

Scottish parliament passes hate crime law to protect gays
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12732.html

100 arrested in hate crime raids across London
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12524.html

Morality campaigner blames gun crime on gays
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12089.html

END

US - Senate votes big expansion of federal hate crimes... [2009-07-16 Associated Press]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmxKiiSIsM-k7nX2yECb7kGw1qhwD99FUMJG0

Senate votes big expansion of federal hate crimes

By JIM ABRAMS (AP)

2009-07-16

WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes protections since the original law was enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The legislation broadens federal reach to protect those physically attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or a disability. Current law is limited to crimes motivated by race, ethnicity or religion.

The Senate approved the measure on a voice vote immediately after voting 63-28 to overcome Republican-led opposition to considering the measure an amendment to a defense spending bill. Sixty votes were needed to clear that procedural hurdle.

The House in April passed a stand-alone hate crimes bill that is similar to the Senate legislation.

--

© 2009 The Associated Press.

US - Male sex chromosome losing genes by rapid evolution, study reveals... [2009-07-17 PhysOrg]

http://www.physorg.com/news167026463.html

Evolution

Male sex chromosome losing genes by rapid evolution, study reveals

July 17th, 2009

Scientists have long suspected that the sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear entirely within a few million years, but until now, no one has understood the evolutionary processes that control this chromosome's demise.

Now, a pair of Penn State scientists has discovered that this sex chromosome, the Y chromosome, has evolved at a much more rapid pace than its partner chromosome, the X chromosome, which both males and females carry. This rapid evolution < http://www.physorg.com/tags/evolution/ > of the Y chromosome has led to a dramatic loss of genes on the Y chromosome at a rate that, if maintained, eventually could lead to the Y chromosome's complete disappearance. The research team, which includes Associate Professor of Biology Kateryna Makova, the team's leader, and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow Melissa Wilson, will publish its results in the 17 July 2009 issue of the journal PLoS Genetics < http://www.physorg.com/tags/plos+genetics/ >.

"There are three classes of mammals," said Makova, "egg-laying mammals, like the platypus and the echidna; marsupials, like the opossum and the wallaby; and all other mammals -- called eutherians -- which include humans, dogs, mice, and giraffes. The X and Y chromosomes of marsupials and eutherians evolved from a pair of non-sex chromosomes to become sex chromosomes < http://www.physorg.com/tags/sex+chromosomes/ >."

Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, which are the structures that hold our DNA, but just one pair of these chromosomes are sex chromosomes, while the others are referred to as non-sex chromosomes. "In eutherian mammals, the sex chromosomes contain an additional region of DNA whereas, in the egg-laying mammals and marsupials, this additional region of DNA is located on the non-sex chromosomes," said Makova. "At first, bits of DNA within this additional region were readily swapped between the X and Y chromosomes, but some time between 80 and 130 million years ago, the region became two completely separate entities that no longer swapped DNA. One of the regions became specifically associated with the X chromosome and the other became specifically associated with the Y chromosome."

By comparing the DNA of the X and Y chromosomes in eutherian mammals to the DNA of the non-sex chromosomes in the opossum and platypus, the team was able to go back in time to the point when the X and Y chromosomes were still swapping DNA, just like the non-sex chromosomes in the opossum and platypus. The scientists then were able to observe how the DNA of the X and Y chromosomes changed over time relative to the DNA of the non-sex chromosomes. "Our research revealed that the Y-specific DNA began to evolve rapidly at the time that the DNA region split into two entities, while the X-specific DNA maintained the same evolutionary rate as the non-sex chromosomes," said Makova.

Once the biologists determined that the Y chromosome has been evolving more rapidly and has been losing more genes as a result, they wanted to find out why the Y chromosome has not already disappeared entirely. "Today, the human Y chromosome contains less than 200 genes, while the human X chromosome contains around 1,100 genes," said Wilson. "We know that a few of the genes on the Y chromosome are important, such as the ones involved in the formation of sperm, but we also know that most of the genes were not important for survival because they were lost, which led to the very different numbers of genes we observe between the once-identical X and Y. Although there is evidence that the Y chromosome is still degrading, some of the surviving genes on the Y chromosome may be essential, which can be inferred because these genes have been maintained for so long."

The team then decided to test the hypothesis that some of the genes on the Y chromosome are being maintained because they are essential. The team's approach was to compare the expression and function of genes on the Y chromosome with analogous genes on the X chromosome. "If the genes' expressions and/or functions were different, then it would make sense that the genes on the Y chromosome would be maintained because they are doing something that the genes on the X chromosome < http://www.physorg.com/tags/x+chromosome/ > can't do," said Makova. "This hypothesis turned out to be correct."

Although some of the genes on the Y chromosome have been maintained, most of them have died, and the team found evidence that some others are on track to disappear, as well. "Even though some of the genes appear to be important, we still think there is a chance that the Y chromosome eventually could disappear," said Makova. "If this happens, it won't be the end of males. Instead, a new pair of non-sex chromosomes likely will start on the path to becoming sex chromosomes < http://www.physorg.com/tags/chromosomes/ >."

In the future, the team plans to use its newly generated data to create a computer model that tracks the degeneration of the Y chromosome. The scientists hope to determine how long it will take for the Y chromosome to disappear. They also hope to identify the processes that are most important for degeneration of the Y chromosome < http://www.physorg.com/tags/y+chromosome/ >.

-

Source: Pennsylvania State University (news http://www.physorg.com/partners/pennsylvania-state-university/ : web http://www.psu.edu/ )

--

© PhysOrg.com 2003-2009

Britain - Call me Delores, says pre-operative M2F gender-variant MI5 whistleblower David Shayler... [2009-07-17 Daily Mail]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1200089/Call-Delores-says-MI5-whistleblower-David-Shayler.html;jsessionid=4FF51025D44F71C93A951540A313B14A

Call me Delores, says MI5 whistleblower David Shayler

By CHRISTIAN GYSIN

17th July 2009



Former spy David Shayler now dresses as a transvestite with the name Delores Kane and thinks he is Christ who 'was a transvestite'

A little over a decade ago David Shayler was a renegade MI5 agent turned whistleblower who was facing prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.

Today the 43-year-old has become a squatter - and yesterday showed off his 'alter ego' as he dressed as a transvestite complete with false breasts, mini-skirt and ginger wig.

In recent weeks friends and family of the former spy believe he has suffered a 'severe breakdown' after first calling himself 'The Messiah' and moving into an empty farmhouse in the Surrey countryside.

He now sees nothing wrong in dressing as a woman whom he calls 'Delores Kane' and declares that the 'world will end in 2012'.

Last night his former partner and fellow spy Annie Machon spoke of her sadness at Mr Shayler's plight as she maintained he had suffered a breakdown.

Miss Machon, 40, who now lives in Dusseldorf, Germany, with her new partner blamed the Government and the intelligence services for causing Mr Shayler's current condition.

'I believe David is a good and honourable man but he has had a some sort of severe breakdown. He was a great public speaker and now he is like this.

'I do blame the Government and the intelligence agencies for what he has become and they have ruined his life.'

Meanwhile, Mr Shayler spoke of his new life with eight other squatters with whom he moved into Hackhurst Farm in Abinger Hammer, near Dorking, Surrey at the end of June.

'I know in my heart that I am Christ and I am here to save humanity,' he began.

'I am here to show humanity the way and to show unconditional love and that includes murderers and pederasts.'

Pederasts are described as men who enjoy having sex with young boys.

The troubled Shayler then revealed how he now often dresses in women's clothing and claimed it was 'part of the prophecy' because 'Jesus was a transvestite', adding:

'It was important to have feminine attributes and the people I live with don't mind at all.'

Posing in a wig and leopard print mini-skirt and wearing false breasts beneath a black jumper he proclaimed: 'This is my Alter ego - I am Delores Kane!'

Shayler says he is on a 'mission' to save the world and this would happen through his growing of hemp, adding: 'We have a plan to save the world in four months by growing hemp. If we all started growing this plant we could be free, which is why they have made it illegal to stop people gaining freedom.'



Decked out in leopard-print mini skirt and high heels, Delores pouts for the camera

Mr Shayler moved to Hackhurst Farm after being evicted from Tyting Farm, near St Marthas Hill in Guildford. He has been living with a group who call themselves the 'Rainbow Movement.'

'I object to the term squatter, ' he said last night . 'People don't have to pay for mortgages, tax or pay for parking tickets -  these are contracts the government and banks are trying to force us into with our signatures.'



Shayler, pictured with now ex-partner Annie Machon in 2003, gained notoriety after being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act for passing on secret documents

David looking out over the Thames, pictured back when he'd left MI5 and made various claims about the secret service's activities

'The government is imposing laws on us without our consent - the government cannot enforce laws onto us without our consent.

'It is our common law right to be here. When we arrived here there was no one here and the buildings were falling to rack and ruin.

'We are saving this building.'

In recent years Mr Shayler has stated that the that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by the American government.

He appears to mirror the thoughts of former sports presenter David Icke who once claimed 9/11 was arranged by the 'Global Elite' and that George Bush , the Queen and singers Kris Kristofferson and Boxcar Willie  were 'Reptilian figures.'

Shayler spoke with genuine sadness about the ending of his relationship with fellow spy Annie Machon when he said:

'One of the hardest things about leaving my other life was leaving the love of my life Annie.

'She stuck with me through everything and we spent  some intense times together. But she soon realised that my spirit was  devoted to God and God only. It was the hardest thing to give up ....but I am Jesus Christ and I now rule everything.

'Since I've joined the Rainbow Movement I've never looked back.

'My life is so  much better now.'

Last night Miss Machon - who split from Mr Shayler in December 2006 - blamed others for his desperate plight, saying:

'He was imprisoned twice - in France and in this country - for being a whistelblower and this is what has happened to him now.

'I hope for his own sake he can find happiness in some way. '

--

© 2009 Associated Newspapers Ltd

The Netherlands - M2F Sex change op boosts heart disease risk... [2009-07-17 DutchNews.nl]

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/07/sex_change_op_boosts_heart_dis.php

Sex change op boosts heart disease risk

Friday 17 July 2009

Female transsexuals (who are born as men) have a greater chance of dying of coronary heart and artery disease and strokes, researchers at the VU and Leiden university teaching hospitals told Friday's Volkskrant.

The researchers followed 1,300 transexuals treated at the VU hospital between 1975 and 2004.

Male transsexuals, who are born as women, did not show a higher risk of developing heart disease.

The research indicates that giving female hormones to men is more dangerous than the other way round, the paper said.

VU professor Louis Gooren, who headed the research project, told the paper he was shocked by the results. Two earlier studies did not reveal any negative health effects because the follow-up period was not long enough, he said.

Endocrinologist Henk Asscheman told the paper the higher risk may be associated with the female hormone ethinylestradiol which the VU no longer prescribes.

But some transsexuals continue to take the hormone without hospital supervision, the paper says. The high proportion of smokers among transsexuals may be an added factor.

--

© DutchNews.nl

Bermuda - Drag-artiste Sybil Barrington (aka Mark Anderson) throws down the challenge... [2009-07-17 Royal Gazette]

http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d978b730030009&sectionId=60

Friday, July 17, 2009

Sybil throws down the challenge

By Amanda Dale

Photo: Glenn Tucker
Mark Anderson aka Sybil Barrington is going to take part in the high heels race.

The Queen of Bermuda has thrown down the gauntlet to the Premier and Governor to dig in their heels for charity.

Mark Anderson, aka Sybil Barrington, is also challenging the Opposition Leader, Police Commissioner and Public Safety Minister David Burch to take part in 'Hard Times High Heels... going the distance', in aid of the Bermuda Red Cross and Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust.

The drag queen however, will have an unfair advantage in the men's 100 yard dash, as wearing high heels is second nature to Sybil. Mr. Anderson's toughest challenge will be choosing which one of more than 100 pairs of shoes he should wear in the race on Wednesday.

"It's a real dilemma," he said. "I'm looking at them right now trying to figure out which ones I should wear. The requirement is they've got to be over three inches, and of course, they will have to be hot.

"My highest pair are six inches but I don't know if I'll be wearing those as I don't want to sprain my ankle."

Mr. Anderson said: "I am requesting the participation of the Governor (Sir Richard Gozney), the Premier (Dr. Ewart Brown), the Opposition Leader (Kim Swan), Police Commissioner (George Jackson) and Senator David Burch (Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing).

"I hope they sign up because I would love to run against them. It would be interesting to see who would come first.

"But it's not about winning, it's about coming together. Everyone is a winner if they participate, so let's have fun for the day."

'Hard Times High Heels' will be held at Harbour Nights and consists of a men's, women's and juniors' race.

Judges Dame Jennifer Smith, Amethyst of Spirit Wear Collection and Ann Spencer-Arscott, director of the Bermuda Red Cross, will also judge who has the 'Cutest Shoe'.

Up to 150 entrants are expected to take part in the event at 7.30 p.m. in Front Street. It is being sponsored by John Hopkins Medicine International.

To register log onto: www.bhct.bm/ or call 299-5170 or 236-8253.

Registration costs $30, but those who raise more than $200 get the fee waived. Participants should arrive by 7 p.m..

Prizes include gym memberships to The Athletic Club, makeovers and gift cards. The first 100 participants will also be given a goody bag.

--

©2009 The Royal Gazette Ltd.

US - Moses "Teish" Cannon (aka Latiesha Green) - Conviction in shooting death of transgender woman... [2009-07-18 LA Times]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-transgender18-2009jul18,0,2233040.story

Conviction in shooting death of transgender woman

The manslaughter and hate crime verdict and Congress' recent moves to expand hate crime law bolster activists' hopes that the country will become more understanding of transgender people.

By Kate Linthicum

July 18, 2009

A New York man who shot and killed a transgender woman last year was convicted Friday of first-degree manslaughter and a hate crime -- a conviction hailed by advocates seeking greater protections for transgender people.

Dwight DeLee, 20, of Syracuse, faces 10 to 25 years in prison for killing Lateisha "Teish" Green, 22, outside a house party in November.

Transgender activists said DeLee is just the second person in the Unites States to be found guilty of a hate crime that involved the death of a transgender victim.

In April, a man was convicted of first-degree murder and a hate crime in the death of a transgender teen in Colorado. And on Thursday, the Senate approved legislation to extend federal hate crimes protections to those attacked because of their sexuality, gender, disability or gender identity. The House passed a similar bill in April.

These moves, along with President Obama's declaration that June was Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, suggest that the government is embracing a more comprehensive understanding of gender identity, activists say. And that, they hope, will help the rest of the country become more accepting of differences.

"The great thing is these [developments] are not just about hate crimes," said Mara Keisling, the director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "They're about transgender people, and about gender in general. This is about educating the public."

For transgender people, their sense of gender identity does not match their birth-assigned sex.

Lateisha Green was such a person.

Green was born and raised in Syracuse as Moses Cannon, a boy. At age 16, Green came out as transgender and began living as a girl, Lateisha. She faced bullies and threats at school but had a supportive family, said Michael Silverman, director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, which has worked closely with Green's family.

Last year, on an unusually warm November night, Green and her brother, Mark Cannon, drove to a small house party. When they arrived, several guests started yelling slurs about Green's sexuality, witnesses later testified. Green was sitting with her brother in their car outside the house when DeLee walked up, raised a .22-caliber rifle, and fired a single shot.

After her death, Green's family pushed prosecutors to bring hate crime charges.

New York, like more than half of the nation's states, has hate-crime statutes that include protections based on sexual orientation, but not gender identity.

But because Green had been threatened with slurs related to her sexuality, prosecutors decided the case could be tried as a hate crime.

Only 11 states, along with the District of Columbia, have laws that include gender identity as a protected class.

If the hate crime bill making its way through the Senate becomes law, it will be a significant extension of federal hate crimes statutes that Congress enacted in 1968 after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

That 1968 law defines hate crimes as those carried out on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. It does not include sexual orientation or gender identity and expression as hate crime categories.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named for the gay Wyoming man brutally murdered in 1998, provides protection for both of those categories. It has been proposed as an amendment to a $690-billion bill to approve defense programs.

Activists for transsexual rights have praised the law because it distinguishes between sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Those things aren't the same," Silverman said.

He said DeLee's hate crime conviction "is a clear victory" for Green's family and for the transgender community.

"Hate crimes don't just target an individual; they target communities," Silverman said. "And the jury recognized that this was not just an act of violence, but was an act of violence because of who she was."

-

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

--

Copyright 2009 Los Angeles Times