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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Lian Fitz: A Transgender Man's Heroic Journey
A Giant Heart Plus: Ignoring False Imprisonment • World’s Dirtiest Oil •Farm Worker Toxins • Happy Caged Hens? • No Black Senators
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U.S. Supreme Court Upholds University Non-Discrimination Policy Keeping Church and State Separate
 University Non-Discrimination Policy Upheld By U.S. Supreme Court This morning the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. The 5-4 ruling written by Justice Ruth Ginsburg, “rejected a challenge to the University of California Hastings College of the Law’s policy of requiring all funded student groups to be open to all students,” according to a press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Paul Smith of Jenner & Block LLP represent Outlaw, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender student group which intervened to defend Hastings’ nondiscrimination policy. NCLR’s press release continues:The Court affirmed that the First Amendment does not require public universities to subsidize discrimination: “The First Amendment shields CLS against state prohibition of the organization’s expressive activity, however exclusionary that activity may be. But CLS enjoys no constitutional right to state subvention of its selectivity.” “Today’s decision affirmed the longstanding doctrine that university non-discrimination policies do not violate free speech when applied in a consistent and even-handed way,” said NCLR Senior Attorney Christopher Stoll. “The Court rejected the dangerous argument that anti-gay groups must be given a special exemption from non-discrimination policies. ” ABC News published this report following the decision. And the Human Rights Campaign issued this statement. We’ll keep you updated on futher reaction to this case by national LGBT organizations and the mainstream media. |
Monday, June 28, 2010
Supreme Court Ruling Against Discriminatory Religious Club At Law School
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Hair Transplant Specialists For Transgender People
A new resource for the Transgender community courtest of Ms. Sophie Boone.
The initial consultation was free. My hair loss was graded as anterior stage 3 on the Hamilton Norwood scale. That is not a particularly significant amount of hairloss, more like a very well defined "M" shaped hairline. Personally I thought it was closer to stage 2. The scale goes up to 7 (imagine Friar Tuck). In order to fill it in and give me a rounded hairline, and also advance it about 1/2", they decided that 1500 follicles would work. The cost is per follicle and the normal price is $4 per. Surgery was scheduled for two weeks later and they booked me for six hours. Two days before surgery they called in four prescriptions to my pharmacy: Valium, Vicodin, an antibiotic and a steroid. The valium was to relax you during the process (a lot of people go to sleep) and the Vicodin was for pain afterwards. As I take a daily aspirin they asked me to stop seven days prior. The day of surgery they brought me into the "operating room". I was asked to disrobe from the waist up (you can keep your bra on) and given a gown and wrapped up in towels (you get a LOT of saline solution sprayed on your head). They measured the hair density at the donor site to get an idea of how large a chunk to carve out for donor follicles. I am blessed with pretty decent hair, they said the density was really high which is good as it results in a smaller incision. The site was trimmed of hair pretty closely and they numbed up the donor location as well as where the transplants were going to go. The incision was about 4" long and then sewn up. I go back in a week to have the stitches removed. Then, while a couple technicians started separating the donor tissue into individual follicles the implant site had a lot of tiny incisions made in it and then they started inserting hairs, follicle by follicle, for hours. I didn't feel any pain throughout the entire procedure and I zonked out for a couple hours due to taking the Valium. They brought me drinks throughout the procedure (Krispy Kreme coffee!) And fed me a wonderful lunch. The sedative had worn off by the time I was ready to leave and I was able to drive myself home. If you are more susceptible to the effects of Valium it would be better to have someone drive you. You can't wash your hair for a day or so after the procedure, which was a bummer as they slick your hair back with a lot of conditioner to keep it out of the way. Then you can very gently wash it until the stitches come out. There has been a little pain so far but it's been easily dealt with by taking Motrin (I'm saving the Vicodin for electrolysis). I have to comment that I was treated with the utmost courtesy, respect and professionalism by everyone I dealt with there. It make take up to a couple months to see how well it worked. For some one with greater hair loss than mine you may well have to do it over several sessions.
Blessings and Love, Sophie |
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride 2010
  Hampton Roads Pride 2010 was a tremendous success as far as the Transgender community is concerned. We braved the 100-degree heat and reached out to many other Transgender folks who were in need of resources, advocacy and peer support. It was the first time in the twenty-two year history of Hampton Roads Pride where the Trans community was represented without any other affiliations. It was my dream come true. I love my Transgender community more than anyone will ever know.  Marchers celebrate gay pride in parades across the country By the CNN Wire Staff June 27, 2010 8:15 p.m. EDT (CNN) -- Gay pride was on display in towns and cities across the United States Sunday as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people -- and their supporters -- marched in parades large and small to demand equality, oppose discrimination and express pride in who they are. In New York, the parade featured participants of every age and many backgrounds. Some dressed conservatively, others were decked out in glittering fabrics and some wore next to nothing at all. The atmosphere was festive and open, as marchers carried handmade signs with messages including, "Straight but not narrow-minded" and represented groups including the New York Gay Bloggers. But there was no banner for St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. Parishioners did march, but obeyed an order from New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan that they should not carry a banner with the church's name. The banner they carried was blank. The gay pride parade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is considered one of the biggest events in the state -- last year's parade drew more than half a million people, according to CNN affiliate KARE. On Sunday, participants wandered in a festival-type atmosphere that included tents for people to sell services and wares. The festival also included a man handing out Bibles and preaching against homosexuality. Festival organizers had tried to block his presence, but a federal court ruled that the man could not be banned from the park. There were no incidents related to his presence, and some participants even stopped to engage him in what appeared to be friendly debate. Even tiny Fayetteville, Arkansas, had a gay pride parade for the fourth year running. It was small but attended by enthusiastic supporters, who were able to drown out the words coming from Christian counter-demonstrators. The grand marshal of the parade was 10-year-old Will Phillips, who made headlines by refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance at his school. He said his reasoning was that not all U.S. citizens enjoy liberty and justice, particularly gay, lesbian and transgender people. But in San Francisco, violence shook the city's neighborhood perhaps most associated with gay pride, the Castro district. Police said three people were shot at a party, during so-called "Pink Saturday" festivities preceding Sunday's activities. Local media reported that one man died as a result of his injuries. |
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Caring For Our Transgender, Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Elders
 By applying the national statistics on aging to the Transgender community, it becomes readily apparent that the population of Transgender elders is growing faster than any other age group within the Transgender community. The same statistics apply to Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual people as well. It is hard enough for a Transgender person to come out of the closet in order to live their authentic life. It is even harder for a Trans person to go back into the closet not because of denial but because they are forced into nursing homes and care facilities with insensitive staffs who are ignorant about Transgender issues. The same is easily said for our Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual sisters and brothers. Groups like SAGE and the Family Service Agency in San Mateo, CA offer legal services, support, training and advocacy for Queer elders unlike anything offered in the straight. cisgender, vanilla world. For those of us who are fifty and older, such organizations are vital. Without these organizations, many Queer elders will die in isolation, forgotten and without dignity. San Mateo nonprofit offers free counseling services to LGBT seniors By Bonnie Eslinger Daily News Staff Writer Posted: 06/25/2010 11:15:07 PM PDT Updated: 06/26/2010 12:33:35 AM PDT Although she had spent a lifetime not telling the people around her that she was gay, the secret became too much to bear for one San Mateo County woman after she retired and began having health problems. Her same-sex partner was taking care of her, but she had no one else. "Basically they were so fearful of being out, they didn't develop a lot of close friends," said Ellyn Bloomfield of the nonprofit Family Service Agency. "Now that she has health problems, she could use the companionship outside of her primary relationship, it's a lot to burden your partner with." The woman found some of the support she was looking for at the Family Service Agency through a peer-counseling program that focuses on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, 55 years and older. "For her to come to the group and meet other people was a major step," said Bloomfield, who coordinates LGBT services for the nonprofit. Numerous issues surface when a person begins to age; for LGBT seniors these issues are compounded with the problems that come as a result of their sexual orientation. According to a report released in March at the national conference of the American Society on Aging held in Chicago, LGBT elders struggle with the impacts of a lifetime of social stigma, have fewer biological family and relatives related by marriage and face inequitable laws that create barriers to financial security and better health. While San Francisco has a reputation as a haven for the LGBT community, that acceptance doesn't extend into San Mateo County, Bloomfield said. "There's no safe neighborhood like in San Francisco," she said. The result is that many more adults in San Mateo County, particularly seniors, are closeted, Bloomfield said. Some may have come out at some point to their family — a usual base of support — only to be disowned or told they were "sick," Bloomfield said. And while adults traditionally turn to their children for assistance as they get older, gay men and women are less likely to have children to take on that role. And even when they have committed partners willing to be caregivers, gay elders often face prejudices and obstacles when they try to access health services, Bloomfield said. Senior centers, a common place of support for the elderly, frequently hold the stronger prejudices of previous generations against gay and lesbians. A 1994 study of Area Agencies on Aging, the local agencies established to administer funds under the federal Older Americans Act, found that 50 percent of senior centers funded by AAA believed gay men and lesbians would not be welcome if their sexual orientation were known. The number of gay men and women participating in the senior counseling program at the Family Service Agency has ranged from "as few as three and as many as nine" during the last year, Bloomfield said. They are mostly women. Bloomfield works to get the word out about the program, finding most clients through LGBT groups connected through e-mail lists. To qualify for the free counseling service at the Family Service Agency's offices in San Mateo, LGBT adults must reside in San Mateo County and be 55 years or older. Bloomfield, who is also gay, encourages LGBT seniors to reach out. "On one level these are brave and courageous people, (but) they've been so wounded by being considered sick or sinners," she said. "So they've remained in the closet and that has created a world of isolation." FYI WHAT: The Family Service Agency provides free counseling services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults who are 55 years old and older. WHERE: 24 2nd Ave., San Mateo CONTACT: Howard Lader, 650-403-4300 Ext. 4322 |
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