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Latest Gender Marker Change Kit with Passport Guidelines Released by MTPC

July 26, 2010 in Gender, Our World by Rebecca | No comments

Back in June, 2010, we reported on the very exciting news that transgender persons are now allowed to have their appropriate gender on their passports. The question now is, “what is the most effective way to do that”?

MTPC has launched a new “kit” to help. The “Gender Marker Change Kit with New Passport Guidelines” is now available!  The kit, as MTPC describes it in their announcement:

MTPC’s Gender Marker Change Kit includes all the necessary forms and instructions to change one’s gender on all major legal documents: driver’s license, state i.d. card, Social Security Card, birth certificate and passport. The kit also includes detailed instructions on how to fill out the forms, what you need to include with the forms or bring in person to government office. The kit includes a sample attending physician’s letter for attaching to the forms required to change gender on birth certificates.

It’s an open resource and available for download by visiting MTPC’s site at their link, “Changing Gender Marker on Legal Documents“

Transgender persons now allowed to have their appropriate gender on their passports

June 10, 2010 in Gender, Our World by Rebecca | No comments

Transgender persons will now be allowed to have their appropriate gender on their passports.   As reported in the Washington Post this morning by Ed O’Keefe:

The State Department has revised its policy on changing passports for transgender people, announcing Wednesday night that a doctor’s note will now suffice in such cases.

Previously, the State Department had required that a person undergo sexual reassignment surgery before it would change the passport. The policy had outraged transgender advocates, who called for an updated approach.

Under the new policy, which takes effect Thursday, a doctor must attest that the person is undergoing clinical treatment for gender transition, State said. Limited-validity passports will also be available to applicants in the process of gender transition, the department added.

That’s pretty exciting news first thing this morning!   But what has prompted such an important change?   WPATH and the AMA!

State noted that its policy is “based on standards and recommendations of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), recognized by the American Medical Association as the authority in this field.”

The department also stressed that passport-issuing officials “will only ask appropriate questions to obtain information necessary to determine citizenship and identity.”

You can read the full article here at the Washington Post, “State eases rules for changing gender on passports”

You can also read the official statement by the U.S. State Department here: “New Policy on Gender Change in Passports Announced”

More news and other sources on this topic at Google News here.

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Gender Discrimination is a very real issues still and, surprisingly, you can get it at Walmart

May 26, 2010 in Gender by Rebecca | 2 comments

The largest gender discrimination lawsuit in history is being allowed to proceed and it involves Walmart and 1 million women (see article at Forbes).   In Betty Dukes vs. Walmart, Walmart, is claimed to have systematically discriminated against women in both pay and in promotions.  The Daily Beast has an interesting short note on their site about one of the plaintiff’s stories, Dee Gunter, who was not only passed up for promotions she was clearly qualified for but also faced sexual harassment.

Walmart has an interesting record when it comes to how it deals with women:

Discrimination against women is very real today.  As long as people exist on earth, I suppose discrimination will thrive as one class or group feels that another is not worthy of equal rights.   This is true even in the supposedly more egalitarian high tech sector where I work.  Still, in today’s “modern” world I still have to shake my head about how common this is, whether its discrimination against trans-persons for being who they are or persecution of Christians for believing in God.

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Joanne Herman Reading & Signing of her Book, “Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not” at UCC, Needham MA, 4/11, 6PM

April 9, 2010 in Gender, Local Buzz by Rebecca | No comments

Local gal Joanne Herman will be at the UCC of Needham on Sunday, April 11, 6PM-8.30PM doing a book reading, “Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not”.   We’ve blathered a bit here about Ms. Herman as most of you can see at this linkie love here.

The event is open to the public.  From the UCC Needham web site, here’s the full announcement:

Sun., April 11, 2010 – 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. – Open to the Public Book Reading and Signing by Ms. Joanne Herman – author, speaker, transgender woman, member of Old South Church UCC in Boston Joanne’s book, Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not, will be available for purchase for $15 (cash only).  See amazon.com, borders.com or barnesandnoble.com for purchase ahead of time.

Looks like the church is providing a light dinner.  Reservations don’t appear to be mandatory but the church would appreciate it if you could, email your intentions to kacarp@comcast.net

Senior Women Do Strength Training and What Are the Reasons Women of All Ages Should Consider Strength Training Too

April 7, 2010 in Gender, Our Bodies Ourselves by Rebecca | No comments

In our post earlier today we noted how Senior Women are likely kicking your butt in the gym and in many other parts of life as well.  So if you weren’t convinced that strength training is for you, Elizabeth Quinn, About.com’s resident exercise physiologist and fitness consultant notes these and more in her About.com column on fitness:

  1. You Will Be Physically Stronger: Increasing your strength will make you far less dependent upon others for assistance in daily living.
  2. You Will Lose Body Fat: Studies performed by Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, found that the average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat. As your lean muscle increases so does your resting metabolism, and you burn more calories all day long.
  3. You Will Gain Strength Without Bulk: Researchers also found that unlike men, women typically don’t gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition.  (FYI – this applies to the majority of trans-women as well; especially if you are on HRT; see this article by Krista about how to strength train for MtF trans-women).
  4. You Decrease Your Risk Of Osteoporosis: Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density (and enhance bone modeling) by 13 percent in six months.
  5. You Will Reduce Your Risk Of Injury, Back Pain and Arthritis: Strength training not only builds stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability.
  6. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease: According to Dr. Barry A. Franklin, of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. When cardiovascular exercise is added, these benefits are maximized.
  7. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes: In addition, Dr. Franklin noted that weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes.
  8. You Will Improve Your Attitude And Fight Depression: A Harvard study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling did. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more confident and capable as a result of their program, all important factors in fighting depression.

Senior Women Do Strength Training Disproving Any Thoughts that Aging Means Kicking Back and Checking Out of Life

April 7, 2010 in Gender, Our Bodies Ourselves by Rebecca | No comments

Terrific article on older women strength training; proof positive that, as the author notes,

Aging need not and should not mean that your butt finds a comfy groove on the couch at age 35 and stays there for the next 50 years.

Old Broads, The Golden Years of Pumping Iron

The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center Rounds: Roundtable Discussion on Transgender Youth

March 24, 2010 in Gender by Rebecca | No comments

The Kenneth B Schwartz Center Rounds is, “a series of multidisciplinary forums where caregivers discuss challenging emotional and social issues that arise in caring for patients.  Names and clinical details have been altered to protect confidentiality.”

The roundtable discussion in July of 2008 focused on Transgender Youth. The panel consisted of:

  • Dr. B, Pediatric Endocrinologist/Gender Management Specialist
  • Dr. G, Psychologist/Facilitator of therapeutic support group for genetic males living as females
  • Parent of teenager (T) who has completed the gender reassignment process.

It’s a great discussion centering around many aspects of how to care for transgender youth with dignity and care, and some of what their experiences are prior to getting treatment including suicide attempts.  It’s a very useful read based on the experiences of these concerned people for transgender youth.   You may reach their roundtable discussion at The Schwartz Center web site at this link here: Roundtable Discussion on Transgender Youth.

This American Life Broadcast: “81 Words” how the American Psychiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness

March 17, 2010 in Gender by Rebecca | No comments

This American Life, the public radio program that does in depth stories on various topics, is featuring an audio program on how the American Psychiatric Association changed its view on homosexuality in the DSM.  The story is fascinating in how it tells the story of how the APA slowly made their change, how gay activists helped that move, and, mostly, how courageous APA members and interested parties actually changed the APA’s view from inside the APA itself.  It wasn’t so much pressure from the outside as it was a realization from within that being gay was not a disease.

You can listen to the teaser promo here:  “81 Words”

Here’s a synopsis:

Act One.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declared that homosexuality was not a disease simply by changing the 81-word definition of sexual deviance in its own reference manual. It was a change that attracted a lot of attention at the time, but the story of what led up to that change is one that we hear today, from reporter Alix Spiegel. Part one of Alix’s story details the activities of a closeted group of gay psychiatrists within the APA who met in secret and called themselves the GAYPA … and another, even more secret group of gay psychiatrists among the political echelons of the APA. Alix’s own grandfather was among these psychiatrists, and the president-elect of the APA at the time of the change. (24 minutes)

Act Two.

Alix Spiegel’s story continues, with a man dressed in a Nixon mask called Dr. Anonymous, and a pivotal encounter in a Hawaiian bar. (30 minutes)

You can listen to This American Life broadcast here: “81 Words: The Story of how The American Pyschiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness“.

Christine Daniels Update: Memorial Service and more

February 7, 2010 in Gender by Rebecca | No comments

As many of our readers know, we’ve been doing some follow up on the Christine Daniel’s suicide story.  You can read our past coverage at “Christine Daniels, LA Times Sports Writer, dead, suicide suspected” and “Christine Daniels, LA Times Sports Writer Suicide: Follow Up Story”

The reason we’ve been following this is because her death was so unnecessary.  Well we’ve got more follow up.   Christine’s Church, MMC L.A., held a memorial service for her in January 2010.  The interview done by Autumn Sandeen of MMC L.A.’s Reverend Dr. Neal Thomas sheds a little more light on Christine and how she felt about herself after she transitioned.   You can check the story out at Pam’s House Blend; MMC L.A. Memorial Service For Christine Daniels

Harvard Business Review: When Steve Becomes Stephanie

January 20, 2010 in Gender by Rebecca | No comments

Harvard Business Review is about the most conservative of business journals.  Known for excellent writing and with useable information, their voice carries weight.  This is true for management practice and for dealing with the issue of having a transgender employee transitioning in the workplace.

The December 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review features a case study, “When Steve Becomes Stephanie” in which they cover the issue of an employee in gender transition.  The intro is free but the actual study is $6.50 and downloadable from HBR.

Dr. Jillian Weiss, who was the keynote speaker at First Event Transgender Conference, has a nice review of the case study and some additional thoughts as well.  You can see her take at The Bilerico Project: “December Harvard Business Review Features “When Steve Becomes Stephanie”

At Beck’s Cafe we covered an earlier note about gender transition at Harvard Business Review, you can click to that write up here at Beck’s Cafe at the article, “Harvard Business Review and Transgender Workplace Issues“