NEWS ITEM - US Tranny holds off cops with nail file May 17, 2002

A post-operative transgender woman was taken into police custody Tuesday morning after barricading herself inside a counseling center armed with a nail file and a screwdriver. The 23-year-old woman, who may have been despondent about her recent sex change, visited a counseling center at 21st and Harrison streets about 11 p.m. Monday. Police say she then asked to see a therapist. Instead of talking, the woman, whose name was not released, snatched some medicine from the counselor and barricaded herself behind a door. Four hostage negotiators, led by Lt. Dirk Beijen, arrived at the scene shortly afterward, said San Francisco Police Department spokesman Dewayne Tully. Officers from the department's tactical unit and paramedics from the San Francisco Fire Department joined the hostage team. "It got to the point where the officer felt she might hurt herself," said Tully. After talking to negotiators for nearly three hours, the woman surrendered to police at 1:45 a.m. Source: SF Examiner

NEWS ITEM - A Roman Transvestite Priest in York.......

A TRANSVESTITE priest, who castrated himself to honour his goddess, is shedding new light on the region's colourful past. The 4th Century skeleton, found adorned with women's jewellery, is thought to be a "gallus" - a priest who castrated himself in honour of the eastern goddess, Cybele. Archaeologists made the unusual find in a Roman cemetery at Catterick in North Yorkshire - a town whose history as a military base dates back as far as 80AD, with a thriving town growing up around the original fort over the next 400 years. Today, there is almost nothing left; the construction of the A1 in the 1950s saw the new dual carriageway punch through the remains of the Roman community in the days when archaeologists were only given three months to investigate historic sites before the bulldozers moved in. However, a new book by English Heritage's Dr Pete Wilson elaborates on the finds which shed more light on the fascinating history of Cataractonium which, as well as a military garrison, once boasted baths, a staging post for important emissaries and was home to a host of trades, including blacksmiths and leather workers. The Romans took their deities with them as they conquered Europe and among the finds from Catterick is a statuette of the blacksmiths' god, Vulcan. But they also adopted others from cultures they encountered and the 4th century remains of a young man found on a farm near Catterick suggest a link with the goddess Cybele. He was wearing distinctive jet jewellery, associated with more mystic eastern religions, as well as a shale armlet and a bronze anklet. "He is the only man wearing this array of jewellery who has ever been found from a late Roman cemetery in Britain" said Dr Wilson. In life, he would probably have been regarded as a transvestite and was probably a gallus (correct) - a follower of Cybele who castrated themselves in her honour. The find demonstrates just how cosmopolitan the north of England was. Cybele was accepted as a Roman state deity around the 3rd century BC and was worshipped at noisy public festivals. Her priests castrated themselves on a Day of Blood in April, using ornamental clamps, one of which is on show in the British Museum. Afterwards, they wore distinctive jewellery, brightly coloured robes, turbans or tiaras and had their hair styled like a woman's. An altar dedicated to Cybele has also been found at Corbridge on Hadrian's Wall while a mask found at Catterick would have been used during celebrations in the goddesses honour. Most of the finds from Catterick are on show in the Yorkshire Museum in York although others can be found at the Richmondshire Museum in Richmond and the Old Fulling Museum in Durham. Copies of Dr Wilson's work can be had from York Publishing Services at 64 Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, York, YO31 7ZQ, by telephoning (01904) 431213 or via email at enq@yps.ymn.co.uk

NEWS ITEM - UK same-sex Adoption under threat May 17, 2002 Conservatives in the House of Lords are vowing to battle gay co-parenting until the issue is dead. Thursday the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. At present only married couples or single people can adopt. Those in unmarried or same sex relationship cannot adopt a child as a couple. However, single gays and lesbians can adopt. The government moved up the vote by three days in an effort to surprise opponents. In a free vote, the Commons backed the adoption bill by 288 to 133 votes. Prime Minister Tony Blair voted in the Yes line. But the battle in the Commons is not over. On Monday Tory MPs were also expected to force a fresh vote on a further amendment to the Bill specifically excluding same-sex couples. It is expected the legislation will survive intact. The real war is set to take place in the Lords and the Blair government is fearful of a replay of the nasty fight over abolishing Section 28, the law which forbids "the promotion of homosexuality" in schools. Currently in Britain, 5,000 children are awaiting adoption.

NEWS ITEM - Philadelphia Extends Civil Rights Protections To Transgendered May 17, 2002

Philadelphia City Council has voted 15-2 to add gender identity to its Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing. Mayor Street has promised to sign the measure into law. Transgender Philadelphians are now more free to express their gender identity as they live, work and play in the city. Not only does this ordinance grant rights to transgender people, it also permits all of Philadelphia's residents, whether heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, to express their gender in the way that feels right to them," said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of NGLTF. "Philadelphia, home to the Liberty Bell, and birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and our nation's Constitution, is once again proclaiming a message of personal freedom for all of its citizens," she said.

NEWS ITEM - Being TV in the USA May 20, 2002

Lynda Frank is not just another pretty face. Hidden behind her flowered dress and red fingernails is a retired truck driver named Len, a macho father of three with a deep voice and a devoted wife who grapples with the fact that her husband is not quite the man she married 49 years ago. Twice a week, Len becomes Lynda, dipping into the special closet crammed with skirts and blouses, 11 pocketbooks, two evening bags, six wigs, one corset, 19 pairs of size 12-wide shoes, and a pair of gel breasts to fill her 36C lace bra. For decades, Len thought he was the only one shackled by such confusing desires. But with the spread of the Internet over the last few years, more and more men like him have stepped cautiously out of the closet - so much so that a good 40 of them now turn up at a monthly meeting of cross-dressers in Bergen County.

NEWS ITEM - Philidelphia's Transgendered law amendment..... TODAY City Council is expected to give final approval to a bill that would add transgender people - people who are switching their sex through medical means - to the list of groups protected against discrimination. Normally it's the kind of bill this page would support without question. But after examining the bill and speaking to city officials, we do have questions. And until they can be answered with some satisfaction, it would be best if City Council delayed today's vote. Without a doubt, we believe the transgender community deserves and needs protection. Society has cruelly greeted transgender people as either freaks to be scorned, threats to the sanctity of marriage. That hatred or ambivalence has been reflected in law. Under current Philadelphia law, you can't fire an employee because of their race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, handicap, or marital status. But a transgender woman who is in the process of becoming a man can be fired under the city's "fair practices" law. Cases of transgender discrimination used to be ignored by Philadelphia's Commission on Human Relations, which, in effect, enforces the discrimination law. That is until a few years ago when the city solicitor's office deemed transgender people worthy of protection. Since then the commission has dealt with a handful of transgender cases. A future city solicitor might take a different view on transgender discrimination - so it makes sense to make the city's opposition firm in the law. But the way the city will go about it seems overbroad and an invitation for businesses and employees, stores and customers to find themselves increasingly in court. Under the proposed change in the law, for example, a transgender man - who has not yet completely made the switch - could claim he was being discriminated against if not allowed to use restrooms reserved for women. Indeed, some of the discrimination cases transgender and transsexual people have brought before the Commission on Human Rights have involved restrooms and dressing rooms. According to Lazar H. Kleit, executive director of the commission, "we've gone by the person's genitalia" to settle disputes on who gets to use a restroom. With the new law "I don't know what we will do in the future." It's that uncertainty that gives us pause. We're liberal enough to support the transgender community, but they lose us at the restroom door - at least until their gender identity is firmly established. Medical science has already proven that nature's mistakes can be remedied. We suspect this bill can be fixed, too.

NEWS ITEM - Transvestite killed in Kuala Lumpur May 20, 2002

A man, believed to be a transvestite, was beaten to death in an incident, and two foreigners were attacked by a group of youths armed with knives, leaving one dead and the other seriously injured in a second incident on Friday.

The incidents took place in Jalan Datuk Sulaiman in the Chow Kit area where the 42-year-old victim, whose name has been withheld, was found sprawled on the roadside at about 7am. Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Bakri Zinin said the victim’s friends who were passing the area spotted him lying motionless on the ground and rushed him to Kuala Lumpur Hospital. The victim was warded in the intensive care unit where he died three hours later without regaining consciousness, he said, adding that initial investigations showed the victim, from Negri Sembilan, had bruises on his body, suggesting he was beaten prior to his death. He said that police were awaiting a post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death, adding that no arrests had been made so far. Those with information on the murder cases are urged to contact the Dang Wangi and Brickfields police district headquarters at 03-2070 2222 and 03-2274 2222 respectively or the nearest police station.

NEWS ITEM - Across the Divide: Transgendered in Israel and Palestine. May 14, 2002

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has escalated in recent months following the Israeli occupation and suicide bombings that have polarised communities even further and left the peace process in disarray. But members of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities in Israel and Palestine are trying to meet across the divide. Could this provide a model for the wider community in attempting to make a reconciliation.

NEWS ITEM -Transsexual Wanted To Be On Big Brother. May 11, 2002

A former antiques whizzkid who underwent a sex change and became a woman was among the hopefuls who applied for Big Brother 3, it was revealed today. Precocious child star James Harries shot to fame in the 1980s as a bow-tie wearing antiques expert, appearing on TV shows like Wogan. He underwent a sex-change operation last year and changed his name to Lauren, enjoying a short-lived career in an antiques slot on This Morning. Ms Harries is one of thousands of applicants for the latest series of Big Brother, which returns to screens next Friday. Her application video is one of the highlights of How Not To Get On Big Brother, that was screened on E4, which featured the worst of the wannabe housemates. The 24-year-old, originally from Cardiff, appears on screen wearing a black velvet top and dangly earrings alongside one of her pet dogs. Explaining why the show's producers should pick her, she said: "I'm a great animal lover and I've got five cats and a dog. And I'm also a vegetarian." Big Brother received 150,000 requests for application forms and spent eight weeks watching more than 10,000 video entries. Many of the hopefuls went to bizarre lengths to convince the producers they should make the final line-up. A man who pierced an intimate body part live on screen is among the most memorable would-be contestants. Other wannabes include a man playing the accordion in a cowfield naked but for a pair of wellies.

Big Brother returns to our screens this Friday with a new house, tougher rules and 12 housemates rather than 10.

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