gender identity

Hate Crimes Bill Passes Congress

Submitted by Barbara on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 3:59pm

Just less than a month before the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day that marks countless senseless deaths in our community, the US Senate has joined the US House of Representatives in passing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill. The bill, an amendment to a military appropriations bill, passed the Senate 68-29. President Obama has already promised his signature on the bill.
Under the law, hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity would be added to the statues that protect individuals against felonious attacks based on race, gender, or religion. The bill is the first-ever favorable Congressional action for the gender-identity community. The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in 1998 by a group of men in Wyoming because they believed he was gay.
A similar law was inserted into another military appropriations measure in 2007 that made it through a preliminary vote by the Congress. Then President, George W. Bush, threatened to veto the bill if it was not removed from the military appropriation. The amendment was subsequently removed.
For more information see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/politics/23hate.html?hp

APA: Changes Possible in DSM-V GID

Submitted by Barbara on Sun, 09/13/2009 - 2:11pm

 

The American Psychiatric Association — which eliminated homosexuality as a mental disorder three decades ago — is now considering whether gender identity should also be removed from the forthcoming DSM-V.   When DSM-IV was published more than a decade ago, there was little controversy regarding the inclusion of “gender variance” as a mental illness. Today, however, the community itself is forcefully declaring its opposition to its classification as such in the DSM-V. 
“The listing of this disorder in the DSM, the content of the diagnostic criteria, and the accompanying text all are being closely examined. Each member of the work group recognizes that there are not just clinical ramifications to their decisions, but also unique personal and social issues that affect each person who receives a diagnosis of GID,” says William E. Narrow, M.D., M.P.H., DSM-V Research Director and Associate Director of APA’s Division of Research.
Among the issues being debated these days in mental health communities is the question of whether or not insurance coverage of psychiatric, medical, and surgical treatments would be eliminated if the condition is no longer classified as a disorder.
Work on DSM-V continues by the APA.   The current schedule calls for more input and feedback prior to the final publication of the revision now set for 2012. For more on the issues at hand, check out the following links:
 

APA: Gender Identity Changes Possible in DSM-V

Submitted by Barbara on Sun, 09/13/2009 - 2:08pm

 


The American Psychiatric Association — which eliminated homosexuality as a mental disorder three decades ago — is now considering whether gender identity should also be removed from the forthcoming DSM-V.   When DSM-IV was published more than a decade ago, there was little controversy regarding the inclusion of “gender variance” as a mental illness. Today, however, the community itself is forcefully declaring its opposition to its classification as such in the DSM-V. 

“The listing of this disorder in the DSM, the content of the diagnostic criteria, and the accompanying text all are being closely examined. Each member of the work group recognizes that there are not just clinical ramifications to their decisions, but also unique personal and social issues that affect each person who receives a diagnosis of GID,” says William E. Narrow, M.D., M.P.H., DSM-V Research Director and Associate Director of APA’s Division of Research.

Among the issues being debated these days in mental health communities is the question of whether or not insurance coverage of psychiatric, medical, and surgical treatments would be eliminated if the condition is no longer classified as a disorder.

Work on DSM-V continues by the APA.   The current schedule calls for more input and feedback prior to the final publication of the revision now set for 2012. For more on the issues at hand, check out the following links:


 

 

No Variant from R*E*S*P*E*C*T

Submitted by Barbara on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 11:43am

 

Yesterday, September 11, was a day that will live not only in infamy.   For me, it is a day of celebration — not only for my life — but for the work of Ingersoll Founder Marsha Botzer and other pioneers in our upheaval of the gender binary. As the very funny Travis Simmons serenaded me with his best Louis Armstrong voice marking the 20th birthday of my SRS surgery, (You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Louis What a Wonderful World Armstrong sing “Happy Birthday to Your Stuff”) at a local comedy club, I tried to bring my thinking out of the box. 
We who defy the determinations of medical professionals at our birth still sit uncomfortably in the waiting room of life glancing over long-expired publications that carry words like “gender dysphoria,” or “gender variant,” or the more preferred “illegal mutant from outer space.” Even here in the upper echelons of the 100-story, gender neutral Marsha Botzer Tower where the Ingersoll Gender Center board chews on issues surrounding identity documents, DSM-V, and whether we should pass out chocolates or Broccoli florets at national conferences,  we suffer our own identity crisis. 
Apparently, there is some apprehension about the term “gender variant” being used as one of the first descriptors of the Ingersoll community on this Web site. An asterisk on the page notes a definition as”a person who identifies with non-polar (male/female) gender identity, a mixed or fluid identity.” The fear is that a Sarah Palin-like observer of our community will either take this to mean someone who can’t commit their own minds and therefore should be committed, or, in the Palin-tradition take up arms against this strange species — polar or non.

Change We Can Believe In

Submitted by Barbara on Mon, 01/19/2009 - 3:06pm
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note — Dr. Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963
 
At a time of economic crisis, when too many promissory notes are in default, Dr.

anti-binary rant

Submitted by Mana on Sat, 08/23/2008 - 8:12pm

Sometimes its hard to justify why I prefer people to use male pronouns for me, because personally I dont really want to take T or have surgery. I am going to the Gender Odyssey conference this weekend and kind of scared or anxious. Because some friends of mine went last year and just attending helped them realize they wanted to make some of those physical changes, I wonder what will change about me or what will suddenly fall into place after experiencing three days of the conference and meeting and being around all those people.

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