The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has issued the following press release:
Amanda Simpson, who has served on NCTE's Board of Directors for the past three years, has been appointed by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. She'll be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security.
“I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me,” said Simpson. “And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.”
Simpson brings considerable professional credentials to her new job. For 30 years, she has worked in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. She holds degrees in physics, engineering and business administration, along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience.
She has also been very active in political and community groups. She has served on the Board of Directors of two national organizations: Out & Equal and NCTE. In Arizona, she has been on the board of Wingspan, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, the Southern Arizona ACLU and the Arizona Human Rights Fund (now Equality Arizona).
In 2004, the YWCA recognized her as one of their “Women on the Move,” and in the same year, she won the Democratic nomination to the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2005, she was given the Arizona Human Rights Foundation Individual Award.
We are delighted to welcome Amanda to Washington, D.C., and share her hope that she will be joined by many other transgender people and our allies in serving our government.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
What's the Big Deal About Gender?
The changing navigation of female identity.
A U.N. report on counter-terrorism by Martin Scheinin says, “gender is not synonymous with women, and, instead, encompasses the social constructions that underlie how women’s and men’s roles, functions and responsibilities, including in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, are understood.”
The report stresses “gender is not static; it is changeable over time and across contexts.”
Also See: An excerpt from the documentary "The Gender Puzzle"
Caster Semenya, an 18 year old South African athlete came into prominence last summer when she won a world championship at Berlin. She beat her own personal record and came to the notice of the world track and field federation who requested a biologic sex-verification test August 7. On public allegations that Semenya is a hermaphrodite, what is termed more correctly today as an “intersex person,” she has faced the possibility of losing her medal.
The completed tests, which were not publically released to enable Caster the dignity of privacy, probably prove a much more common than realized outcome. Semenya may indeed be intersex with internal organs that are causing her features to become more masculinised. But this doesn’t mean she is not a woman. It certainly doesn’t matter to her fans back home or to South Africa’s governing African National Congress, which called for an annulment of the results if Semenya’s recognition and medal was placed in danger due to the test.
In November the IAAF – International Association of Athletics Federations decision announced that Caster Semenya would keep her medal and her prize money, but failed to say whether she would be allowed to continue.
“God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I’m proud of myself,” said Caster in an interview with Cape Town’s You Magazine last September.
Sexual identity in society based on gender recognition has caused much suffering for those who are intersex. Discrimination, harassment, and ongoing misunderstanding of the condition is part of the problem. Semenya clearly identifies herself as female as the public outside of South Africa continues to unfairly question her reality.
“Sporting activities can be an important forum for providing information to women and girls on sexuality and health, including reproductive health. Girls’ participation in sport can generate a greater awareness and understanding of their bodies and its functions, as well as a greater sense of self-ownership and respect,” says a December 2007 report by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women.
“Self-ownership and respect” are important issues for those who have naturally and innocently been born with an intersex body that might not easily fit the “normal” range of male or female identity. The issues often cause the public to falsely accuse intersex people of “deceiving the public” in order to gain some kind of gender advantage.
Not all intersex women know they are biologically different. Some function without notice in society. Others hide the condition of their human biology in silence feeling something inside them is indeed different.
The attitudes on gender within society, especially for women, is one that places many restrictions on women to conform.
While South Africa rallied behind Semenya, as she received a heroine’s welcome back from Berlin, India athlete Shanthi Soundarajan, who had undergone the same fate, still struggles to cope with her fall from grace in 2006. Semenya’s story has brought the spotlight back on this reclusive India athlete, who was once hailed as a prodigy.
Bursting onto the international athletic scene with a silver medal at the Asian Championships in South Korea in 2005, Soundarajan followed her win with a silver medal in the 800 meter race during the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in 2006. But shortly after winning the medal in Doha, she was asked to undergo a sex-determination test, which she failed.
Following a failed test, Soundarajan was completely stripped of her medal. Biologically she was considered “a man,” but she was, and is, a woman. Soundarajan was later diagnosed with AIS or Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. AIS is a genetic condition where XY (male) chromosomes are present in the fetus as it forms in the womb, but masculinising characteristics and organs are often non existent, malformed or replaced with female organs. It is still a mystery how Shanthi had passed the original gender tests for the AFI – The Athletes Federation of India in South Korea. When contacted the AFI declined to comment.
A year following, after the gruelling and humiliating public process that exposed Soundarajan as an intersex person, Shanthi was admitted, in 2007, to the Intensive Care Unit of the Government Hospital in Thanjavur with an alleged suicide attempt.
Shanthi, is tall, lanky and dark. Some of her physical features are considered, in India, not to be feminine, but masculine. She has a high forehead with slightly jutting eye brows and striking high cheekbones. Undergoing a lengthy invasive and “too harsh” critical eye in the public, Shanthi has now come back from her life of public scrutiny. She heads a private sports academy helping children and is a contract coach for the SDAT – Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu.
Despite her comeback and positions, Shanthi’s current life is still a challenge. “I do not earn much from the academy as I do not take money from the children I train,” she said. “I subsist on my salary from the SDAT. I get Rs5000 (only around $100 USD) a month.” Her academy started in 2007 from a Tamil Nadu government grant that enabled her to train talented children in sports who come from homes in the region that are racked with poverty.
Like Caster Semenya, Shanthi Soundarajan grew up extremely poor. As the daughter of Indian brick kiln laborers from the Tamil Nadu village of Kathakurichi, she rose to fame with incredible discipline and talent as a runner. Because her family had little resources, Shanthi grew up in a household suffering from so much poverty that quality food was scarce. It was only as late as 2004 when, according to her coach P. Nagarajan, “Shanthi finally began to get an adequate diet.”
“There was a lot of jealousy against me,” said Soundarajan explaining how she felt targeted because she was such a good runner. “I heard that a teammate of mine had actually complained about my sexuality to the authorities.”
Unfortunately for Shanthi Soundarajan there is very little public awareness about AIS or intersex conditions. The prejudice in India against females who have sex-ambiguity is ongoing and immense.
Soundarajan, who is closely following Semenya’s case said about her own life, “I had no support… but I didn’t give up. I couldn’t live my dream, but I am sprouting dreams in many young hearts now.” Like many other intersex women Shanthi says proudly, “I know I am a woman. I have lived my entire life as a woman. I do not need a gender test to tell me who I am.”
Women competed for the first time in the international olympics in 1900 in Paris at the Games of the II Olympiad. The first competition was in croquet. The first female champion was Charlotte Cooper, of Great Brition, who won for her outstanding performance in tennis.
In 1966, sex-determination tests conducted by IAFF – International Amateur Athletics Association caused some women to undergo numerous humiliating nude examinations. Some exams included requiring women athletes under testing to parade nude before a panel of doctors and to be submitted to numerous humiliating invasive gynaecological exams. At the time, the IOC – International Olympic Committee followed this policy.
In recent days, some opportunities for the IOC to conduct sex-determination tests have been placed on hold. In January 2010, the IOC will hold a conference, “to look at gender issues and advise sports bodies how to respond” to intersex and other sex-determination issues among female and male athletes.
In South Africa, meanwhile after returning home from her ordeal, 18 year old, Caster Semenya was too upset and “mentally tired” to sit for her University examinations. She also failed to show for a scheduled race releasing a statement that she, “wasn’t feeling well.”
“She is mentally tired,” Semenya’s coach, Michael Seme, told AFP news in August.
In contrast to Soundarajan, Semenya was accepted at her village in Masehlong, South Africa. Local crowds thronged to see the athlete, smiling and praising her talent. During the celebration, one of her uncles told the Telegraph, “God knows who she is and how she has been brought up… Whatever people are saying we are not going to listen to it, we will trust in God, we have got Caster and she is a heroine.”
“We are disgusted that these things are being said and everybody has questioned her gender. We don’t know what informed their thinking, but we are not overly concerned because we know her as a girl,” added Marles Photo, a citizen from Masehlong.
“People want to stare at me now. They want to touch me. I’m supposed to be famous but I don’t think I like it so much,” Semenya told The Guardian News after she returned home.
Intersex conditions are now considered a common phenomenon in South Africa. A report in The Star, says that medical specialists who deal with the condition have been attending to patients with symptoms of intersex every 4-6 weeks. Dr. David Segal, a pediatric endocrinologist at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, points out that South Africa has a greater incidence of intersex conditions than anywhere else in the world.
“There are a whole bunch of cases with boys where they are referred to surgeons and neurologists instead of to endocrinologists. This is not the most appropriate decision as the endocrinologist should do the initial diagnosis, planning and counseling,” said Dr. Segal. In the past six years, the doctor has attended more than 100 cases involving intersex conditions.
The term “hermaphrodite” is a misnomer. Full male and female anatomy together in one human body does not exist anywhere today in the human spectrum. Instead, endless variations of anatomy, hormonal and chromosomal signatures along with partial or differently formed organs, that may or may not be external, is the reality. According to the Intersex Society of North America, the percentage of intersex people is approx one out of every 1,000 to 2,000 persons.
Surprisingly, many newborn babies, as high as one in 100, can show some slight intersex body characteristic at birth.
“Given the choice of “male”, “female”, “intersex”, says intersex woman, Mairi McDonald, “I would unhesitatingly select “intersex.”
“But society does not give me that option,” Mairi continues, “so I select “female”… with deep reservations, gritting my teeth at a society which will not accept my right to simply be who I am.”
Letting girls be “who they are” can be a challenge to many modern doctors. Gender “normalizing” surgery for girls, and their counterpart boys, has been offered as a quick answer to a complex condition. The procedure is controversial though and not always successful. It has been known to create more harm than good, resulting in post-op cases that have been known to later produce chronic nerve pain, physical scaring, psychological suffering and/or body dysfunction.
It is clear the answers to sex-identification are not easy.
“To encounter the stories of the individuals who make up the intersex rights movement is a touching and humbling experience,” says Anne Tamar-Mattis, intersex advocate, Founder and Executive director for AIC – Advocates for Informed Choice. “Many intersex people have experienced enormous personal tragedies at the hands of their doctors and with the consent of their parents,” continued Tamar-Mattis.
“Because tests and historical data are not 100 percent accurate in determining one’s gender it is important to note that the intersexed person may choose another gender as she/he ages. This is why it is important to avoid un-necessary, non-consensual, usually un-reversible genital surgery,” advises the Intersex Society of South Africa.
The Intersex Society of North America, who are also fighting for the rights of intersex women and men worldwide, agree. The major problem is not that of male versus female sex-identity, but one of stigma and trauma. The organization’s mission is to change the shame, secrecy and unwanted genital surgeries “for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female.”
“Intersexed people are a natural variant and an important part of human diversity,” says the Intersex Society of South Africa.
A U.N. report on counter-terrorism by Martin Scheinin says, “gender is not synonymous with women, and, instead, encompasses the social constructions that underlie how women’s and men’s roles, functions and responsibilities, including in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, are understood.”
The report stresses “gender is not static; it is changeable over time and across contexts.”
Also See: An excerpt from the documentary "The Gender Puzzle"
Caster Semenya, an 18 year old South African athlete came into prominence last summer when she won a world championship at Berlin. She beat her own personal record and came to the notice of the world track and field federation who requested a biologic sex-verification test August 7. On public allegations that Semenya is a hermaphrodite, what is termed more correctly today as an “intersex person,” she has faced the possibility of losing her medal.
The completed tests, which were not publically released to enable Caster the dignity of privacy, probably prove a much more common than realized outcome. Semenya may indeed be intersex with internal organs that are causing her features to become more masculinised. But this doesn’t mean she is not a woman. It certainly doesn’t matter to her fans back home or to South Africa’s governing African National Congress, which called for an annulment of the results if Semenya’s recognition and medal was placed in danger due to the test.
In November the IAAF – International Association of Athletics Federations decision announced that Caster Semenya would keep her medal and her prize money, but failed to say whether she would be allowed to continue.
“God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I’m proud of myself,” said Caster in an interview with Cape Town’s You Magazine last September.
Sexual identity in society based on gender recognition has caused much suffering for those who are intersex. Discrimination, harassment, and ongoing misunderstanding of the condition is part of the problem. Semenya clearly identifies herself as female as the public outside of South Africa continues to unfairly question her reality.
“Sporting activities can be an important forum for providing information to women and girls on sexuality and health, including reproductive health. Girls’ participation in sport can generate a greater awareness and understanding of their bodies and its functions, as well as a greater sense of self-ownership and respect,” says a December 2007 report by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women.
“Self-ownership and respect” are important issues for those who have naturally and innocently been born with an intersex body that might not easily fit the “normal” range of male or female identity. The issues often cause the public to falsely accuse intersex people of “deceiving the public” in order to gain some kind of gender advantage.
Not all intersex women know they are biologically different. Some function without notice in society. Others hide the condition of their human biology in silence feeling something inside them is indeed different.
The attitudes on gender within society, especially for women, is one that places many restrictions on women to conform.
While South Africa rallied behind Semenya, as she received a heroine’s welcome back from Berlin, India athlete Shanthi Soundarajan, who had undergone the same fate, still struggles to cope with her fall from grace in 2006. Semenya’s story has brought the spotlight back on this reclusive India athlete, who was once hailed as a prodigy.
Bursting onto the international athletic scene with a silver medal at the Asian Championships in South Korea in 2005, Soundarajan followed her win with a silver medal in the 800 meter race during the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in 2006. But shortly after winning the medal in Doha, she was asked to undergo a sex-determination test, which she failed.
Following a failed test, Soundarajan was completely stripped of her medal. Biologically she was considered “a man,” but she was, and is, a woman. Soundarajan was later diagnosed with AIS or Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. AIS is a genetic condition where XY (male) chromosomes are present in the fetus as it forms in the womb, but masculinising characteristics and organs are often non existent, malformed or replaced with female organs. It is still a mystery how Shanthi had passed the original gender tests for the AFI – The Athletes Federation of India in South Korea. When contacted the AFI declined to comment.
A year following, after the gruelling and humiliating public process that exposed Soundarajan as an intersex person, Shanthi was admitted, in 2007, to the Intensive Care Unit of the Government Hospital in Thanjavur with an alleged suicide attempt.
Shanthi, is tall, lanky and dark. Some of her physical features are considered, in India, not to be feminine, but masculine. She has a high forehead with slightly jutting eye brows and striking high cheekbones. Undergoing a lengthy invasive and “too harsh” critical eye in the public, Shanthi has now come back from her life of public scrutiny. She heads a private sports academy helping children and is a contract coach for the SDAT – Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu.
Despite her comeback and positions, Shanthi’s current life is still a challenge. “I do not earn much from the academy as I do not take money from the children I train,” she said. “I subsist on my salary from the SDAT. I get Rs5000 (only around $100 USD) a month.” Her academy started in 2007 from a Tamil Nadu government grant that enabled her to train talented children in sports who come from homes in the region that are racked with poverty.
Like Caster Semenya, Shanthi Soundarajan grew up extremely poor. As the daughter of Indian brick kiln laborers from the Tamil Nadu village of Kathakurichi, she rose to fame with incredible discipline and talent as a runner. Because her family had little resources, Shanthi grew up in a household suffering from so much poverty that quality food was scarce. It was only as late as 2004 when, according to her coach P. Nagarajan, “Shanthi finally began to get an adequate diet.”
“There was a lot of jealousy against me,” said Soundarajan explaining how she felt targeted because she was such a good runner. “I heard that a teammate of mine had actually complained about my sexuality to the authorities.”
Unfortunately for Shanthi Soundarajan there is very little public awareness about AIS or intersex conditions. The prejudice in India against females who have sex-ambiguity is ongoing and immense.
Soundarajan, who is closely following Semenya’s case said about her own life, “I had no support… but I didn’t give up. I couldn’t live my dream, but I am sprouting dreams in many young hearts now.” Like many other intersex women Shanthi says proudly, “I know I am a woman. I have lived my entire life as a woman. I do not need a gender test to tell me who I am.”
Women competed for the first time in the international olympics in 1900 in Paris at the Games of the II Olympiad. The first competition was in croquet. The first female champion was Charlotte Cooper, of Great Brition, who won for her outstanding performance in tennis.
In 1966, sex-determination tests conducted by IAFF – International Amateur Athletics Association caused some women to undergo numerous humiliating nude examinations. Some exams included requiring women athletes under testing to parade nude before a panel of doctors and to be submitted to numerous humiliating invasive gynaecological exams. At the time, the IOC – International Olympic Committee followed this policy.
In recent days, some opportunities for the IOC to conduct sex-determination tests have been placed on hold. In January 2010, the IOC will hold a conference, “to look at gender issues and advise sports bodies how to respond” to intersex and other sex-determination issues among female and male athletes.
In South Africa, meanwhile after returning home from her ordeal, 18 year old, Caster Semenya was too upset and “mentally tired” to sit for her University examinations. She also failed to show for a scheduled race releasing a statement that she, “wasn’t feeling well.”
“She is mentally tired,” Semenya’s coach, Michael Seme, told AFP news in August.
In contrast to Soundarajan, Semenya was accepted at her village in Masehlong, South Africa. Local crowds thronged to see the athlete, smiling and praising her talent. During the celebration, one of her uncles told the Telegraph, “God knows who she is and how she has been brought up… Whatever people are saying we are not going to listen to it, we will trust in God, we have got Caster and she is a heroine.”
“We are disgusted that these things are being said and everybody has questioned her gender. We don’t know what informed their thinking, but we are not overly concerned because we know her as a girl,” added Marles Photo, a citizen from Masehlong.
“People want to stare at me now. They want to touch me. I’m supposed to be famous but I don’t think I like it so much,” Semenya told The Guardian News after she returned home.
Intersex conditions are now considered a common phenomenon in South Africa. A report in The Star, says that medical specialists who deal with the condition have been attending to patients with symptoms of intersex every 4-6 weeks. Dr. David Segal, a pediatric endocrinologist at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, points out that South Africa has a greater incidence of intersex conditions than anywhere else in the world.
“There are a whole bunch of cases with boys where they are referred to surgeons and neurologists instead of to endocrinologists. This is not the most appropriate decision as the endocrinologist should do the initial diagnosis, planning and counseling,” said Dr. Segal. In the past six years, the doctor has attended more than 100 cases involving intersex conditions.
The term “hermaphrodite” is a misnomer. Full male and female anatomy together in one human body does not exist anywhere today in the human spectrum. Instead, endless variations of anatomy, hormonal and chromosomal signatures along with partial or differently formed organs, that may or may not be external, is the reality. According to the Intersex Society of North America, the percentage of intersex people is approx one out of every 1,000 to 2,000 persons.
Surprisingly, many newborn babies, as high as one in 100, can show some slight intersex body characteristic at birth.
“Given the choice of “male”, “female”, “intersex”, says intersex woman, Mairi McDonald, “I would unhesitatingly select “intersex.”
“But society does not give me that option,” Mairi continues, “so I select “female”… with deep reservations, gritting my teeth at a society which will not accept my right to simply be who I am.”
Letting girls be “who they are” can be a challenge to many modern doctors. Gender “normalizing” surgery for girls, and their counterpart boys, has been offered as a quick answer to a complex condition. The procedure is controversial though and not always successful. It has been known to create more harm than good, resulting in post-op cases that have been known to later produce chronic nerve pain, physical scaring, psychological suffering and/or body dysfunction.
It is clear the answers to sex-identification are not easy.
“To encounter the stories of the individuals who make up the intersex rights movement is a touching and humbling experience,” says Anne Tamar-Mattis, intersex advocate, Founder and Executive director for AIC – Advocates for Informed Choice. “Many intersex people have experienced enormous personal tragedies at the hands of their doctors and with the consent of their parents,” continued Tamar-Mattis.
“Because tests and historical data are not 100 percent accurate in determining one’s gender it is important to note that the intersexed person may choose another gender as she/he ages. This is why it is important to avoid un-necessary, non-consensual, usually un-reversible genital surgery,” advises the Intersex Society of South Africa.
The Intersex Society of North America, who are also fighting for the rights of intersex women and men worldwide, agree. The major problem is not that of male versus female sex-identity, but one of stigma and trauma. The organization’s mission is to change the shame, secrecy and unwanted genital surgeries “for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female.”
“Intersexed people are a natural variant and an important part of human diversity,” says the Intersex Society of South Africa.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Golden Pen Media Award
Author Justin Reed Early to Receive
National Network for Youth’s
Golden
Pen Media Award
at their
Annual Awards Dinner in Washington, DC January 26, 2010
Award
Celebrates STREET
CHILD, Early’s Inspiring Memoir
that documents the lives and deaths of many street children
Los Angeles, CA –
Justin Reed Early, will be honored
at the National Network for Youth’s Annual Awards Dinner on January 26, 2010
with the prestigious organization’s annual Golden Pen Award.
Early is a successful
businessman and activist for homeless and disenfranchised youth, whose
childhood was marred by physical abuse, alcoholism, drug use and even child
trafficking when, beginning at age 10, he became homeless in Seattle and lived
on the streets for more than half of his life before moving to San Francisco and
entering his first recovery home at age 21, chronicled in his memoir
“Streetchild: An Unpaved Passage.”
Presented by the NN4Y
for his “tireless work on behalf of homeless youth,” the honor comes as a
response to Early’s literary articulation of a life on the deadly streets of
Seattle and San Francisco – STREETCHILD: AN UNPAVED PASSAGE was released in
2009. Early will appear as part of Symposium 2010 along with keynote speaker
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and HUD Deputy Secretary
Ron Sims. This year the National Network for Youth celebrates 35 years of
championing the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth.
“We cannot think of a
better way to celebrate 35 years than by honoring Justin Reed Early and the
incredible contributions he has made to this country and our youngest
citizens,” said Kayla Jackson, Vice President of Programs for NN4Y. “Mr.Early has been where 1.5 million
American children are right now. He offers a message of hope, resurrection and
redemption, which is one of our most powerful tools for advocacy and
change. Anyone who reads his book
will be enlightened and moved by his commitment to pay it forward.” Kayla also
noted that Victoria Wagner, President & CEO of NN4Y, was an outreach worker
in Seattle in 1980 and witnessed much of Justin’s street life and now his
success.
“I am flattered to be
honored by the nation’s most formidable advocacy group for disenfranchised
children,” said Early. “Working
with NN4Y and it’s national youth agencies to help move homeless children from
the streets into success and mainstream society is rewarding on its own; but to
be honored by people who are actually responsible for saving my life is very
emotional. Many of my peers did not live to tell their stories,” concluded
Early.
He continues his
grassroots campaign by sharing his story and providing free books at various
youth programs throughout the United States encouraging others affected by
abuse and homelessness into better lives.
Renowned photographer
Mary Ellen Mark captured Early’s life on the streets in a Lifemagazine photo essay,
and a teenaged Early can also been seen in the Oscar-nominated documentary
STREETWISE (1984). This true-life
journal was directed by Ms. Mark’s husband, Martin Bell, and produced by Lifewriter Cheryl
McCall.
The San Francisco
Bay Guardian boldly states: “Hard luck memoirs have grown extra cheap in
recent years, partly due to the celebration of bogus ones. Justin Reed Early's
StreetChild: An Unpaved Passage is no such thing.”
Now a public speaker
and advocate, Early left his executive position in Beverly Hills to complete
and promote his memoir. He was a founding Board member of the popular youth
agency BAY Positives in San Francisco and served on
several youth committees. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
A portion
of the proceeds from StreetChild will benefit life enhancing non-profit
organizations, including many of those that helped Justin while on the streets. www.streetchildmemoir.com.
National Network for Youth’s
Golden
Pen Media Award
at their
Annual Awards Dinner in Washington, DC January 26, 2010
Award
Celebrates STREET
CHILD, Early’s Inspiring Memoir
that documents the lives and deaths of many street children
Los Angeles, CA –
Justin Reed Early, will be honored
at the National Network for Youth’s Annual Awards Dinner on January 26, 2010
with the prestigious organization’s annual Golden Pen Award.
Early is a successful
businessman and activist for homeless and disenfranchised youth, whose
childhood was marred by physical abuse, alcoholism, drug use and even child
trafficking when, beginning at age 10, he became homeless in Seattle and lived
on the streets for more than half of his life before moving to San Francisco and
entering his first recovery home at age 21, chronicled in his memoir
“Streetchild: An Unpaved Passage.”
Presented by the NN4Y
for his “tireless work on behalf of homeless youth,” the honor comes as a
response to Early’s literary articulation of a life on the deadly streets of
Seattle and San Francisco – STREETCHILD: AN UNPAVED PASSAGE was released in
2009. Early will appear as part of Symposium 2010 along with keynote speaker
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and HUD Deputy Secretary
Ron Sims. This year the National Network for Youth celebrates 35 years of
championing the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth.
“We cannot think of a
better way to celebrate 35 years than by honoring Justin Reed Early and the
incredible contributions he has made to this country and our youngest
citizens,” said Kayla Jackson, Vice President of Programs for NN4Y. “Mr.Early has been where 1.5 million
American children are right now. He offers a message of hope, resurrection and
redemption, which is one of our most powerful tools for advocacy and
change. Anyone who reads his book
will be enlightened and moved by his commitment to pay it forward.” Kayla also
noted that Victoria Wagner, President & CEO of NN4Y, was an outreach worker
in Seattle in 1980 and witnessed much of Justin’s street life and now his
success.
“I am flattered to be
honored by the nation’s most formidable advocacy group for disenfranchised
children,” said Early. “Working
with NN4Y and it’s national youth agencies to help move homeless children from
the streets into success and mainstream society is rewarding on its own; but to
be honored by people who are actually responsible for saving my life is very
emotional. Many of my peers did not live to tell their stories,” concluded
Early.
He continues his
grassroots campaign by sharing his story and providing free books at various
youth programs throughout the United States encouraging others affected by
abuse and homelessness into better lives.
Renowned photographer
Mary Ellen Mark captured Early’s life on the streets in a Lifemagazine photo essay,
and a teenaged Early can also been seen in the Oscar-nominated documentary
STREETWISE (1984). This true-life
journal was directed by Ms. Mark’s husband, Martin Bell, and produced by Lifewriter Cheryl
McCall.
The San Francisco
Bay Guardian boldly states: “Hard luck memoirs have grown extra cheap in
recent years, partly due to the celebration of bogus ones. Justin Reed Early's
StreetChild: An Unpaved Passage is no such thing.”
Now a public speaker
and advocate, Early left his executive position in Beverly Hills to complete
and promote his memoir. He was a founding Board member of the popular youth
agency BAY Positives in San Francisco and served on
several youth committees. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
A portion
of the proceeds from StreetChild will benefit life enhancing non-profit
organizations, including many of those that helped Justin while on the streets. www.streetchildmemoir.com.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Governor Paterson To Sign Executive Order Prohibiting Discrimination in State Employment on the Basis of Gender Identity
Dear friends:
Well, you just can't keep a good story down. Today, the New York Times broke the story about Governor David Paterson's policy announcement affecting transgender New Yorkers. Tomorrow, Governor Paterson will sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment on the basis of gender identity. New York will become the seventh state in the nation to offer public employees such protection. We've included more information in our press statement below, which we issued after the Times broke the story.
We're sorry if this message seems less polished than our ordinary communications, but we wanted to get this news out to our friends and supporters as quickly as possible. We'll have more information on our web site later today, and will post a copy of the Governor's Order, as well as pictures and video from the signing ceremony, on our web site tomorrow.
Please come to the Center tomorrow at 10:30 (doors open at 10) to thank the Governor for taking this bold step on behalf of transgender equal rights. You can get more information about tomorrow's event here.
We're grateful to our friends and allies who have helped make this day possible. And we extend our heartfelt thanks to Governor David Paterson, who has proven himself to be a champion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights.
We hope you enjoy this news.
Best wishes,
Michael Silverman
Executive Director
---
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2009
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Hails Governor Paterson's Signing Tomorrow of Executive Order Barring Discrimination Against Transgender State Employees
New York State To Become Seventh State to Offer Job Protections to Transgender Public Employees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) hails New York State Gov. David A. Paterson's planned signing tomorrow of an executive order barring discrimination against transgender state employees. New York will become the seventh state to protect public employees from discrimination based on gender identity or expression, after Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"Like everyone else, transgender employees deserve to be judged on their ability to do the job, and not on who they are," TLDEF executive director Michael Silverman said. "This executive order will ensure that hard-working transgender employees of New York State can work without fear of discrimination, and provide for themselves and their families," he added. “We applaud Governor Paterson for taking this important step for transgender equal rights.”
Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. Forty-seven percent of transgender people report being fired, or denied a job or promotion just because of who they are. In one recent Florida case, 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy was denied a job at a McDonald's restaurant because she is transgender. Miss Bellamy applied online for the job, but after managers learned that she is transgender, she received a voicemail message from one of the them telling her, "You will not get hired. We do not hire fa**ots." TLDEF filed a complaint on Miss Bellamy's behalf on Dec. 7.
Few protections exist for transgender people who experience employment discrimination. In 38 states, there is no law protecting people from being fired because they are transgender. In New York, while a number of municipalities protect transgender workers from on-the-job discrimination, there is no statewide law offering such protection. The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, which would add gender identity and expression to the state's non-discrimination law, has been repeatedly introduced and passed by the state Assembly, but it has never been passed by the state Senate.
Federal law similarly offers no job protection for transgender people. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote an employee based on the person's gender identity or sexual orientation. ENDA has been stalled in the House of Representatives despite demands by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans that Congress take swift action to pass the legislation.
"We applaud Gov. Paterson for recognizing that transgender New Yorkers should have the chance to earn a living and provide for their families without being refused a job or fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job," Silverman added.
###
Dear friends:
Well, you just can't keep a good story down. Today, the New York Times broke the story about Governor David Paterson's policy announcement affecting transgender New Yorkers. Tomorrow, Governor Paterson will sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment on the basis of gender identity. New York will become the seventh state in the nation to offer public employees such protection. We've included more information in our press statement below, which we issued after the Times broke the story.
We're sorry if this message seems less polished than our ordinary communications, but we wanted to get this news out to our friends and supporters as quickly as possible. We'll have more information on our web site later today, and will post a copy of the Governor's Order, as well as pictures and video from the signing ceremony, on our web site tomorrow.
Please come to the Center tomorrow at 10:30 (doors open at 10) to thank the Governor for taking this bold step on behalf of transgender equal rights. You can get more information about tomorrow's event here.
We're grateful to our friends and allies who have helped make this day possible. And we extend our heartfelt thanks to Governor David Paterson, who has proven himself to be a champion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights.
We hope you enjoy this news.
Best wishes,
Michael Silverman
Executive Director
---
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2009
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Hails Governor Paterson's Signing Tomorrow of Executive Order Barring Discrimination Against Transgender State Employees
New York State To Become Seventh State to Offer Job Protections to Transgender Public Employees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) hails New York State Gov. David A. Paterson's planned signing tomorrow of an executive order barring discrimination against transgender state employees. New York will become the seventh state to protect public employees from discrimination based on gender identity or expression, after Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"Like everyone else, transgender employees deserve to be judged on their ability to do the job, and not on who they are," TLDEF executive director Michael Silverman said. "This executive order will ensure that hard-working transgender employees of New York State can work without fear of discrimination, and provide for themselves and their families," he added. “We applaud Governor Paterson for taking this important step for transgender equal rights.”
Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. Forty-seven percent of transgender people report being fired, or denied a job or promotion just because of who they are. In one recent Florida case, 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy was denied a job at a McDonald's restaurant because she is transgender. Miss Bellamy applied online for the job, but after managers learned that she is transgender, she received a voicemail message from one of the them telling her, "You will not get hired. We do not hire fa**ots." TLDEF filed a complaint on Miss Bellamy's behalf on Dec. 7.
Few protections exist for transgender people who experience employment discrimination. In 38 states, there is no law protecting people from being fired because they are transgender. In New York, while a number of municipalities protect transgender workers from on-the-job discrimination, there is no statewide law offering such protection. The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, which would add gender identity and expression to the state's non-discrimination law, has been repeatedly introduced and passed by the state Assembly, but it has never been passed by the state Senate.
Federal law similarly offers no job protection for transgender people. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote an employee based on the person's gender identity or sexual orientation. ENDA has been stalled in the House of Representatives despite demands by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans that Congress take swift action to pass the legislation.
"We applaud Gov. Paterson for recognizing that transgender New Yorkers should have the chance to earn a living and provide for their families without being refused a job or fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job," Silverman added.
###
Thursday, December 10, 2009
From the Office of the Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
For Immediate Release: 10 December 2009
Today, as the world marks International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, a document laying the foundation for the pursuits of human rights law around the globe, we of the Christian faith also mark the second week of Advent and reflect on the promise of the prophet Baruch that God will give a new name to the people of God, "Peace-through-Justice."
As political leaders and advocates for justice gather to demand an end to discrimination and violence against human beings marginalized because of diversities, Baruch's promise meets the world's cry for "peace on earth, good will among all."
Baruch's promise comes to a world where people from every nation, creed and culture need the kind of peace that passes all understanding and that can end our conflicts internally and externally. It comes to a world and its people in need of the inner peace of the soul --- the peace inside that will and can manifest itself outside, and that holds the possibility of ending the suffering of so many who live under the ravages of war, hatred, greed and violence.
Our challenges, as people of faith, remain many, I know. As we mark this time dedicated to ending discrimination and bringing peace, however, I am particularly mindful of the recent announcement by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to escalate troop deployments to Afghanistan in the hope of ending eight years of violence and bloodshed in that part of our world.
I am also mindful of the widespread skeptism about this strategy, and believe that the uneasiness many of us share may in fact be a sign of hope that people who long for peace and who believe in the promise of universal good will are coming to doubt the efficacy of war or the promises of violence. I am hoping that the unsettled feeling many of us share, is a sign of our developing belief that violence on all levels --- interpersonal, communal and global --- can and must end. And I am praying that the violence Jesus was born into and that continues to claim so many victims --- poverty --- will become our collective battlefront. I am praying today that, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged, we will join hands around the globe and commit to living together in equity and peace.
I am mindful and grateful for the fact that there are more organizations and individuals engaged in serious peacemaking than ever in the history of the world. More people give more time and money and resources to pursuing peace than ever before.
Many of us no longer believe that war or its resulting devastation and impoverishment are inevitable.
Many of us have hope for a new day, a new world.
We have hope for the promise of Advent --- "peace on earth, good will among all" --- coming to birth in our lifetimes.
It is with that hope in mind, on this day dedicated to the pursuit of universal human rights, that I ask all MCCers and people of faith around the globe to join me in praying for:
+ An end to the wars in Iraq, Afhanistan and Pakistan, and for the safety
of all in harm's way.
+ An increase in justice and the extension of human rights for all people,
especially LGBT people, those living with HIV/AIDS, those living in
poverty, refugees, and all whose lives have been torn apart by wars. May
just and right relationships bring the world to peace.
Join me in praying today that:
+ Every leader around the globe who is charged with making decisions
that promise to impact all of us, will do so with the pursuit of peace as
their ultimate goal.
+ Every person and nation trapped in the cycles of violence and counter-
violence, from Israel to Palestine to the Congo and Uganda, will find a
new way, a more promising path for sharing life together.
+ Every human being will use each moment as the moment to speak up
for and take risks for, and live and act for peace.
I call on MCCers around the globe and people of faith everywhere to pray with me today and every day of this Advent Season, as we honor the one crowned "Prince of Peace," for an end to the violence, terrorism and suffering so many know as their daily reality. Pray with me for that a new day of hope and promise will dawn on this earth and all its peoples.
+ The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
Metropolitan Community Churches
For Immediate Release: 10 December 2009
Today, as the world marks International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, a document laying the foundation for the pursuits of human rights law around the globe, we of the Christian faith also mark the second week of Advent and reflect on the promise of the prophet Baruch that God will give a new name to the people of God, "Peace-through-Justice."
As political leaders and advocates for justice gather to demand an end to discrimination and violence against human beings marginalized because of diversities, Baruch's promise meets the world's cry for "peace on earth, good will among all."
Baruch's promise comes to a world where people from every nation, creed and culture need the kind of peace that passes all understanding and that can end our conflicts internally and externally. It comes to a world and its people in need of the inner peace of the soul --- the peace inside that will and can manifest itself outside, and that holds the possibility of ending the suffering of so many who live under the ravages of war, hatred, greed and violence.
Our challenges, as people of faith, remain many, I know. As we mark this time dedicated to ending discrimination and bringing peace, however, I am particularly mindful of the recent announcement by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to escalate troop deployments to Afghanistan in the hope of ending eight years of violence and bloodshed in that part of our world.
I am also mindful of the widespread skeptism about this strategy, and believe that the uneasiness many of us share may in fact be a sign of hope that people who long for peace and who believe in the promise of universal good will are coming to doubt the efficacy of war or the promises of violence. I am hoping that the unsettled feeling many of us share, is a sign of our developing belief that violence on all levels --- interpersonal, communal and global --- can and must end. And I am praying that the violence Jesus was born into and that continues to claim so many victims --- poverty --- will become our collective battlefront. I am praying today that, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged, we will join hands around the globe and commit to living together in equity and peace.
I am mindful and grateful for the fact that there are more organizations and individuals engaged in serious peacemaking than ever in the history of the world. More people give more time and money and resources to pursuing peace than ever before.
Many of us no longer believe that war or its resulting devastation and impoverishment are inevitable.
Many of us have hope for a new day, a new world.
We have hope for the promise of Advent --- "peace on earth, good will among all" --- coming to birth in our lifetimes.
It is with that hope in mind, on this day dedicated to the pursuit of universal human rights, that I ask all MCCers and people of faith around the globe to join me in praying for:
+ An end to the wars in Iraq, Afhanistan and Pakistan, and for the safety
of all in harm's way.
+ An increase in justice and the extension of human rights for all people,
especially LGBT people, those living with HIV/AIDS, those living in
poverty, refugees, and all whose lives have been torn apart by wars. May
just and right relationships bring the world to peace.
Join me in praying today that:
+ Every leader around the globe who is charged with making decisions
that promise to impact all of us, will do so with the pursuit of peace as
their ultimate goal.
+ Every person and nation trapped in the cycles of violence and counter-
violence, from Israel to Palestine to the Congo and Uganda, will find a
new way, a more promising path for sharing life together.
+ Every human being will use each moment as the moment to speak up
for and take risks for, and live and act for peace.
I call on MCCers around the globe and people of faith everywhere to pray with me today and every day of this Advent Season, as we honor the one crowned "Prince of Peace," for an end to the violence, terrorism and suffering so many know as their daily reality. Pray with me for that a new day of hope and promise will dawn on this earth and all its peoples.
+ The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
Monday, December 7, 2009
TLDEF Files Employment Discrimination Complaint with Florida Commission on Human Relations Against McDonald's for Refusing to Hire Transgender Woman
TLDEF today filed a Complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations against an Orlando McDonald's restaurant for refusing to hire 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy because she is transgender. We want you to be the first to know.
On July 10, 2009, Zikerria applied online for a position as a Shift Manager or Crew Leader at McDonald's. On July 28, after managers at McDonald's learned that Zikerria is transgender, she received the following voicemail message from one of the managers:
Zikerria never received the job interview she sought. McDonald's refused to hire her.
Zikerria's story is all too common. Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. According to a recent survey by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, 47% of transgender people report being fired, or denied a job or promotion, just because of who they are.
Few protections exist for transgender people who experience employment discrimination. In 38 states, there is no law protecting transgender people from being fired because of who they are. Federal law similarly offers no job protection for transgender people.
In Florida, while no law explicitly addresses discrimination based on gender identity, administrative agencies in Florida have ruled that transgender people are protected by the Florida Human Rights Act's prohibitions on sex and disability discrimination. The Competitive Workforce Bill, which would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the Florida Civil Rights Act, was introduced in the Florida legislature on November 20.
At the federal level, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) (S.1584) would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote an employee based on the person's gender identity or sexual orientation at companies with fifteen or more employees. The legislation was introduced in the United States Senate on August 5, 2009. On November 5, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held the Senate's first hearing on the latest version of ENDA. A version of ENDA was also introduced in the United States House of Representatives on June 24, 2009. The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the measure on September 23. Little has happened since.
According to a 2007 survey, 72 percent of Americans agree that "fairness is a basic American value and employment decisions should be based solely on qualifications and job performance, including for transgender people." In a 2002 poll, 61 percent of those polled said that we need laws to protect transgender people from discrimination. President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and has stated his belief that anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
What You Can Do
SPREAD THE WORD
As you've done in the past, please help us spread the word about what happened to Zikerria. Let's do our best to make sure it never happens again. Post the voicemail on Facebook, tweet about it, write about it in your blogs and embed the voicemail there, too. The louder we raise our voices, the more people will listen!
CONTACT CONGRESS AND DEMAND THAT IT TAKE ACTION ON ENDA
We've joined with our friends and partners at organizations around the nation to demand that Congress take swift action to pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA). In light of continuing delays in the House of Representatives, we must state clearly and unequivocally: Passing basic job protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people must happen now.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask to speak to your Representative (have your zip code handy and they'll help identify your member of Congress).
When you are connected with your Representative's office, give your name and your city and then let them know:
I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H. R. 3017/S. 1584), which will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. No one deserves to be fired from their job because of who they are. No more delays--it is time to pass ENDA.
You can also tell them that you've heard about Zikerria Bellamy's case. If you get voicemail instead of a person, leave a message - they count just as much as if you reach a staff member. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you've called in the past, no problem. Call again.
SUPPORT EQUAL RIGHTS
TLDEF today filed a Complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations against an Orlando McDonald's restaurant for refusing to hire 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy because she is transgender. We want you to be the first to know.
On July 10, 2009, Zikerria applied online for a position as a Shift Manager or Crew Leader at McDonald's. On July 28, after managers at McDonald's learned that Zikerria is transgender, she received the following voicemail message from one of the managers:
Zikerria never received the job interview she sought. McDonald's refused to hire her.
Zikerria's story is all too common. Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. According to a recent survey by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, 47% of transgender people report being fired, or denied a job or promotion, just because of who they are.
Few protections exist for transgender people who experience employment discrimination. In 38 states, there is no law protecting transgender people from being fired because of who they are. Federal law similarly offers no job protection for transgender people.
In Florida, while no law explicitly addresses discrimination based on gender identity, administrative agencies in Florida have ruled that transgender people are protected by the Florida Human Rights Act's prohibitions on sex and disability discrimination. The Competitive Workforce Bill, which would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the Florida Civil Rights Act, was introduced in the Florida legislature on November 20.
At the federal level, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) (S.1584) would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote an employee based on the person's gender identity or sexual orientation at companies with fifteen or more employees. The legislation was introduced in the United States Senate on August 5, 2009. On November 5, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held the Senate's first hearing on the latest version of ENDA. A version of ENDA was also introduced in the United States House of Representatives on June 24, 2009. The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the measure on September 23. Little has happened since.
According to a 2007 survey, 72 percent of Americans agree that "fairness is a basic American value and employment decisions should be based solely on qualifications and job performance, including for transgender people." In a 2002 poll, 61 percent of those polled said that we need laws to protect transgender people from discrimination. President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and has stated his belief that anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
What You Can Do
SPREAD THE WORD
As you've done in the past, please help us spread the word about what happened to Zikerria. Let's do our best to make sure it never happens again. Post the voicemail on Facebook, tweet about it, write about it in your blogs and embed the voicemail there, too. The louder we raise our voices, the more people will listen!
CONTACT CONGRESS AND DEMAND THAT IT TAKE ACTION ON ENDA
We've joined with our friends and partners at organizations around the nation to demand that Congress take swift action to pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA). In light of continuing delays in the House of Representatives, we must state clearly and unequivocally: Passing basic job protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people must happen now.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask to speak to your Representative (have your zip code handy and they'll help identify your member of Congress).
When you are connected with your Representative's office, give your name and your city and then let them know:
I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H. R. 3017/S. 1584), which will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. No one deserves to be fired from their job because of who they are. No more delays--it is time to pass ENDA.
You can also tell them that you've heard about Zikerria Bellamy's case. If you get voicemail instead of a person, leave a message - they count just as much as if you reach a staff member. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you've called in the past, no problem. Call again.
SUPPORT EQUAL RIGHTS
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