Transgenderism
Web log entries dealing with transgenderism.
SCIENCE
Robert Sapolsky, a neuroendocrinologist at Stanford University, presents recent research on transsexuality which indicates a biological basis for the sense that "This isn't the sex that I was meant to be."
USA Today (Mar 2001)
A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics has found a genetic cause for babies born with sexually ambiguous genitalia. According to the study, an extra copy of the gene WNT-4 can transform an embryo from boy to girl and produce genitalia that doctors cannot determine to be male or female.
Yahoo (May 2001)
CULTURE
The LA Times ran an excellent series by Mary McNamara on transgenderism this week. The first piece traces the transgender community's emergence as "a new voice in social activism" over the last few years. This article also profiles Patrick and Matthew Califia-Rice, both female-to-male transgendered, and their decision to have a child together. In the second article, McNamara profiles four more transgendered people, tracing their early sexual confusion, the decision to change genders, how friends and family responded, and how they live today. The third article explores the life and work of several transgendered artists like Eddie Izzard, along with the recent spate of transgender-themed movies and TV episodes.
LA Times (Feb 2001)
Utne Reader has an excellent collection of articles on gender. Jon Spayde looks at the ancient art of genderbending dating back to classical civilizations. Sherry Turkle explores the possibilities, pleasures and challenges of virtual genderswapping, adopting alternate or ambiguous identities in cyberspace. Follow the sidebar links for other articles in this section.
Utne Reader (Mar 2001)
Torri Minton reports on Tranny Talk, a San Francisco community-access cable TV talk show hosted by transsexuals Kitty Kastro and Dina Boyer.
San Francisco Chronicle (Mar 2001)
Julie Deardorf profiles a local male-to-female transsexual, economist Deirdre McCloskey, and reviews current scientific thinking about transgenderism and gender dysphoria. She also mentions the Rikki Swin Institute, a research center on transgender issues which opened recently in Chicago.
Chicago Tribune (Apr 2001)
A small fraction of children are born with physically ambiguous genitals, neither clearly male nor clearly female. As Katherine Mason writes, "Standard medical practice dictates that intersex births ... are emergencies that must be 'assigned' male or female and 'corrected' immediately" through intensive surgery and hormone treatments. Many medical professionals and intersexed people now believe those treatments do more harm than good. Mason looks at the growing intersexual movement, which first aimed to provide a support network for adult intersexuals but which now lobbies to destigmatize intersexual births and end treatments to "assign" babies a gender.
Hartford Advocate (April 2001)
In the Asheville, NC, Mountain Express, Zantui Rose looks at
the spiritual side of transgenderism: "Transcending gender is a Spiritual movement. It is living in a rainbow of personal expression, a continuum that holds no division lines, a movement of personal energy that expresses itself in many directions. It is coming to a spiritual vibration that has the freedom to go anywhere, to swing, to twist and turn creatively." A passionate, articulate piece, though a bit too new-agey for some tastes.
Mountain Express (May 2001)
The Boston Globe has two stories by Indira A.R. Lakshmanan about transsexuals in China. The first looks at the more tolerant cultural climate and increasing demand for sex change surgery in China. The second profiles Jin Xing, a dancer and "China's most famous transsexual."
Boston Globe (Jun 2001)
At the Houston Press, Lisa Gray
profiles Phyllis Randolph Frye, a male-to-female transgender, longtime transgender activist and lawyer who specializes in defending LGBT clients. Great article about Frye's tortuous personal journey.
Houston Press (Jun 2001)
City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul alt-weekly) has a good feature article about modern transsexuality by Leyla Kokmen, covering "women rebuilt as men, gals who were born guys (some of them lesbians in male bodies), cross-dressers, drag queens, and some folks who say gender no longer means much." Part of the article deals with the exemplary transgender health and counseling services at the University of Minnesota. (Jul 2002)
Tuscon Weekly has a feature article on transgenderism by Joni Mausse. (Sep 2002)
Dinitia Smith glosses recent scholarship about transsexuality, most notably How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States by Joanne Meyerowitz. (Oct 2002)
