Definitions
Transgender:
1) Transgender (sometimes shortened to trans or TG) people
are those whose psychological self ("gender identity") differs
from the social expectations for the physical sex
they were born with. To understand this, one must understand the difference
between biological sex, which is one’s body (genitals, chromosomes,
ect.), and social gender, which refers to levels of masculinity and
femininity. Often, society conflates sex and gender,
viewing them as the same thing. But, gender and sex are not
the same thing.
Transgender people are those whose psychological self
("gender identity") differs from
the social expectations for the physical sex they
were born with; for example, a female with a masculine gender identity
or who identifies as a man.
2) It is an umbrella term for transsexuals, cross-dressers
(transvestites), transgenderists, gender queers,
and people who identify as neither female nor male
and/or as neither a man nor as a woman.
Transgender is not a sexual orientation; transgender
people may have any sexual orientation. It is
important to acknowledge that while some people may fit under this definition
of transgender, they may not identify as such.
Transsexual:
Transsexual refers to a person who experiences a mismatch
of the sex they were born as and the sex they
identify as. A transsexual sometimes undergoes medical treatment to
change his/her physical sex to match his/her sex identity through hormone
treatments and/or surgery. Not all transsexuals can have or desire
surgery.
Campus Non-discrimination Policy
Case Western Reserve University does not discriminate in recruitment, employment, or policy administration on the basis of race, religion,
age, sex, color, disability, sexual orientation, national or ethnic
origin, political affiliation, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran
of the Vietnam era. In addition, the university expects all employees,
students, vendors, and associates to participate in its program of non-discrimination.
The university intends to maintain an environment free of sexual harassment
and will not tolerate any form of harassment of employees or students.
Retaliation against persons raising concerns about sexual harassment
or harassment of any kind is prohibited and will constitute separate
grounds for disciplinary action up to and including discharge or expulsion
from the university.
Local Resources
TransFamily of Cleveland: http://www.transfamily.org/ was
founded to provide support and education for transgendered persons,
their families, friends, and significant others. We are associated with
PFLAG to promote awareness of transgender persons and their issues.
We are also associated with SSAFE to bring awareness to our school
systems, through their principals and counselors, by offering literature,
speakers, consultation, and support.
TGCrossroads: http://www.tgcrossroads.org/ A
news and resource website for the trans community,
especially those living in the Midwest.
Internet Resources
The story of Lynn Conway,
gender transition from male to female three decades earlier, in 1968, and then of being outed 31 years later in 1999, while living quietly and successfully in "stealth mode." http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/conway.html
Gender Public Advocacy Coalition: http://www.gpac.org/
The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) works to end discrimination
and violence caused by gender stereotypes by changing public attitudes,
educating elected officials, and expanding legal rights.
GenderPAC also promotes understanding of the connection between discrimination
based on gender stereotypes and sex, sexual orientation, age, race,
and class.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Transgender Civil Rights Project: The
Transgender Civil Rights Project provides legislative
and strategy assistance, including evaluation
of legislative language, to activists and organizations
working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination
bills or to add transgender protections to
existing laws. Although
the primary work of the Project centers on
nondiscrimination laws, the Project can provide assistance to policymakers
and activists working to develop other policies or laws relating
to transgender equality.
The Transgender Civil Rights Project's primary goal is to increase
the number of state, local, and Federal laws that
prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Prohibiting
discrimination based on "gender identity or expression" ensures
that the entire range of transgender and gender non-conforming people
are protected. http://www.thetaskforce.org/ourprojects/tcrp/
Transgender Law and Policy Institute
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging in effective
advocacy for transgender people in our society.
The TLPI brings experts and advocates together to work on law and policy
initiatives designed to advance transgender equality.
http://www.transgenderlaw.org/
The International Foundation for Gender Education
IFGE advocates for freedom of gender expression.
We promote the understanding and acceptance of
All People: Transgender, Transsexual, Crossdresser, Agender,
Gender Queer, Intersex, Two Spirit, Drag King, Drag Queen, Queer,
Straight, Butch, Femme, Homosexual, Bisexual, Heterosexual, and
of course - You!
Some of the IFGE's programs include:
* Transgender Tapestry Magazine
* IFGE Conference
* Winslow St Fund
* TSELF Scholarships
* Synchronicity Bookstore
http://www.ifge.org/
Overcoming Voting Obstacles
Download a complete copy of Overcoming Voting Obstacles:
Resources for Transgender People here.
http://nctequality.org/VotingObstacles.pdf
Other selected sites:
Transgender Community Center: http://www.transgender.org/
Transgender Forum: http://www.tgforum.com/
National Transgender Advocacy Coalition: http://www.ntac.org/
National Center for Transgender Equality: http://nctequality.org/
Kinsey Institute: http://www.indiana.edu/~kinsey/
Transgenderzone.com: http://www.transgenderzone.com/library/hl/fulltext/33.htm
Trans History Timeline
Source - Bending the Mold: An Action Kit for Transgender Youth
Lambda Legal (2004)
http://www.lambdalegal.org/binary-data/LAMBDA_PDF/pdf/305.pdf
577 King Henry III of France frequently crossdressed and while dressed as a woman was referred to as her majesty by his courtiers. Even his male clothes were considered outrageous despite the flamboyant standards of 16th-century France.
1654 Queen Christina of Sweden (often considered bisexual) abdicated the thrown, dressed in men's clothing and renamed herself Count Dohna.
1676 MTF transsexual Abbe Francois Timoleon de Choisy attended Papal inaugural ball in female dress. His memoirs, published postmortem, offer the first written testimony of cross-dressing.
1700s "Molly houses" provided a space for the English gay community to meet, carouse and relate to one another. "Mollies" were men who often crossdressed and developed their own queer culture.
1728 Chevalier D'Eon, born Charles d'Eon, was a famous French spy/ambassador who was born male but lived a significant part of his/her life as a woman. Chevalier's birth sex was a hotly debated question.
1804 George Sand, born Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, became an accomplished French romantic writer as famous for her affairs as for her words. She was the first woman in modern European history to frequently wear men's clothes, shocking her contemporaries.
1839-1844 "Rebecca and her daughters," a group of male-to-female cross-dressers, battled throughout the Welsh countryside destroying road toll barriers, which were making the poor even poorer. These warriors also adopted the names and identities of women.
1850 Crow nation "woman chief" Barcheeampe was spotted by appalled white travelers in Wyoming and Montana; she was renown for her war exploits and for having several wives.
1861 Franklin Thompson, born Sarah Emma Edmonds, fought for the Union Army in the Civil War. During the war, Franklin served as a spy, nurse, dispatch carrier and later was the only woman mustered into the Grand Army of the Republic.
1886 We'Wha, an accomplished Zuni Weaver and potter, was two spirit - born male but lived as a woman. She spent six months in Washington, DC, and met President Grover Cleveland, who never realized this six-foot Zuni maiden was born male.
1897 Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld founded the first gay liberation organization in Germany (the Scientific Humanitarian Committee). Hirschfeld coined the term transvestite and was known to cross-dress himself.
1952 Christine Jorgensen is the first American whose sex reassignment surgery became public. Her surgery caused an international sensation, and for many, she was the first visible transsexual in the media.
1969 Transgender and gender-noncomforming people are among those who resisted arrest in a routine bar raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village, thus helping to ignite the modern LGBT rights movement.
1952 Christine Jorgensen is the first American whose sex reassignment surgery became public. Her surgery caused an international sensation, and for many, she was the first visible transsexual in the media.
1969 Transgender and gender-noncomforming people are among those who resisted arrest in a routine bar raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village, thus helping to ignite the modern LGBT rights movement.
1974 Jan Morris, one of Britain's top journalists who covered wars and rebellions around the globe and even climbed Mount Everest, published Conundrum, a personal account of her transition. The book is now considered a classic.
1989 Celebrated jazz musician Billy Tipton died in Spokane, Washington, revealing that he was a woman. Tipton, who played in big bands in the 40s and 50s, lived for 56 years as a man, marrying several times and raising children.
1991 FTM activist Jamison "James" Green took over Lou Sullivan's FTM newsletter and transformed it into FTM International, Inc., the world's largest information and networking group for female-to-male transgender people and transsexual men.
1993 Cheryl Chase founded the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) to build awareness and offer support to intersex people.
1993 Transgender youth Brandon Teena was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. This hate crime brought widespread attention to transgender discrimination and violence and became the subject of the award-winning film, Boys Don't Cry.
1997 Trans activist Leslie Feinberg published Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman, a who's who of transgender people throughout world history that traces the roots of transgender oppression. Health Care Information Resources:
Trans-Health:
http://www.trans-health.com
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Transgender Health Issues and Resources:
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/
ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=18501
National Coalition of LGBT Health
Report on the Health Priorities of Transgender folk. The report includes a section on the lack of access to health care as one of the 13 priorities. You can find the report on their website at
http://www.lgbthealth.net.
Video Resources
The Discovery documentary on intersex (along with several other excellent intersex videos) is available for purchase from ISNA: http://www.isna.org/videos.
"No Dumb Questions" is very helpful as a trans video. It is not as cutting edge as "Toilet Training," but it is very moving: http://www.newday.com/films/NoDumbQuestions.html.
TransBiblio
A Bibliography of Print, AV, and Online Resources
Pertaining to Transgendered Persons
and Transgender Issues
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/wst/transbibliocontents.htm |
