How Magnus Hirschfeld Shaped the Pro-LGBTQA Struggle
Great thread by Stormy Petrel on the great German pro-LGBTQA sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld over at twitter.
See also my article on Magnus Hirscfeld and trangender people:
741 posts tagged transsexual
You cannot be a transphobe or a homophobe and a true Christian. Seriously! Jesus talked about love and compassion for your neighbour and those left behind. Not about hating those who suffer.
These drawings were made by David Hayward. Here’s the FTM version:
Paris court sentences man to six months for assaulting transgender woman
A young man who was filmed assaulting Julia Boyer, a transgender woman, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison, four of them on parole, by a Paris court.
Seddik A, 23, was found guilty of assault because of the victim’s gender by the Paris Criminal Court and was ordered to abstain from contacting the victim, or appearing near her residence.
He was also ordered to pay her €3,500 (US$3,900), and €1,500 to each of three LGBT defence associations that had supported her.
“Justice has been served,” commented Boyer, 31, before adding: “I am not sure prison is the best solution but I hope he will think about this and not do it again.”
Photo: AFP
‘Finally feeling happy in my skin’: American Boys captures the trans experience
Great article from The Guardian. Photographer Soraya Zaman traveled to 21 states to capture the trans experience in America with interviews and images.
Yves
Age 22
Bemidji, Minnesota
Nine months on testosterone“Half my family is Ojibwe Native American and the other is strict Pentecostal ultra-conservative Christian. When I first came out as gay, it was confusing because I was still attracted to guys but I would be disgusted when they were attracted to me. So for a long time I considered myself as agender and not attracted to anyone. Then I realized that what I was really feeling was that I couldn’t handle guys being attracted to me and perceiving me as female, that’s what it was. I wanted them to see me as male. It was a very confusing lot of years. But now I know who I am, I am a queer trans man. And it feels really good to finally feel comfortable saying that. “
Whitesnake isn’t real
Another talk with bigots from LifeOfBria.
Transcending Self
Meet, from top: Zak (13 from Isle of Wights, England), “Olivia” (5, Bay Area, California) and Azaj (17, Oakland, California).
They are part of Transcending Self, right here on Tumblr, a photo and interview project by photographer Annie Tritt. Annie is an award winning photogtapher based in Manhattan. Transcending Self tells stories of transgender and nonbinary youth around the world.
New research implies that there is indeed a genetic component to gender dysphoria
The feedback-loops between gender identity, real life experiences, cultural concepts, genes and hormones are complex and messy, but there is a growing consensus among scientists that hormones do play a role in the creation of transgender identities.
The main focus is on the pre-natal period, when that person is still in its mother’s womb, being exposed to hormones aimed at triggering the development of gender specific organs and a gender identity.
Mapping the genes of trans women
In a paper called “Genetic Link Between Gender Dysphoria and Sex Hormone Signaling” Madeleine Foreman, Lauren Hare, Kate York, Kara Balakrishnan, Francisco J Sánchez, Fintan Harte, Jaco Erasmus, Eric Vilain and Vincent R Harley reports on a research project including 380 transgender women who have transitioned and 344 control male subjects.
They have looked at associations and interactions between variants of 12 sex hormone–signaling genes and gender dysphoria in transgender women.
These are genes that are involved in the production of hormones or the body’s ability to “read” and act on these hormones. They may be responsible for undermasculinization and/or feminization of the brain.
To give one example of how one such gene may affect gender identity development:
“The minor, C allele of SULT2A1 is associated with elevated sex hormone–binding globulin, a glycoprotein that regulates circulatory sex steroid bioavailability and is present within fetal male blood during early gestation. In transgender women with the TC SNP, we speculate that fetal sex hormone–binding globulin levels are increased, which may reduce the effects of circulating hormones.”
Words of warning
There is a tendency towards oversimplifying stories like these. No doubt we will find statements like “scientists find the transgender gene!”
This is not the case. Keep the following in mind:
- They are looking at a large number of genes, which may (or may not) cause the development of gender dysphoria.
- They are looking into the interaction between genes, in the sense that you may need two or more to develop gender dysphoria.
- Researchers will also have to look at epigenetics, i.e. to what extent such genes are activated due to other causes.
- They are looking at statistical aggregates. Not all of the transgender women have one or all of these gene variations. Moreover, some of the cis men may have some of them.
- They are deliberately looking at a sample of Caucasian subjects (in order to reduce the number of variables).
The researchers put it this way:
In summary, the results of our study of transgender women support the hypothesis that gender dysphoria has a polygenic basis, involving interactions among multiple genes and polymorphisms that may alter the sexual differentiation of the brain in utero, contributing to the development of gender dysphoria in transgender women.
However, although discordance rates for gender dysphoria suggest that genetics plays a role, it is not the sole determinant of gender identity. Genome-wide association studies, and genome and methylome approaches, especially when coupled with neuroimaging or sex steroid measurements, should be undertaken to better understand how genetic variants contribute to gender dysphoria.
backstrokerjc has translated the paper into Plain English over at reddit.
Transgender people throughout the ages
The dance performance 71 Bodies 1 Dance in Oslo is accompanied by this article about trans people in history.
English language Google translation here.
Although the terms transperson and transgender are more recent, historical records show that people who moved outside the given definitions of gender have existed in all cultures and ages.
Hijra in India and Pakistan, fa'afafina in Polynesia and sworn virgins in the Balkans are just a few examples of groups of transgender people who have deep historical and cultural roots in their respective communities.
Many of the older communities actually operated with up to five genders. Identifying oneself as something other than ones biological gender was seen as more or less normal.
The indigenous people of North America have for many centuries had a different and descriptive concept of transgenderism: two-spirit. It is almost used as a designation of honor for people who are able to combine the feminine and the masculine. People who identify as two-spirit also have prominent positions in modern tribes today. They often act as spiritual guides and peace brokers, as they are considered to see the world through both the man’s and the woman’s eyes.
Illustrations: Chevalier d'Eon has been honored for his efforts as a spy and soldier and ridiculed for occasionally living as a woman. They spent their last years in exile in England where they had to take part in fencing matches as a woman in order to support themselves. - Photo: Royal Collection / Public Domain
"I cried all day while my husband of 35 years went under knife to become a woman - but we've since renewed our vows"
The Sun is a British tabloid with a mixed reputation transgender wise. This is an interesting story, though, and presented with respect, sensational headline aside.
There often are no simple solutions when it comes to handle family when transitioning. Often the act of not transitioning hurts them more than doing so, however, and it will definitely hurt a gender dysphoric transgender person, like Emma here.
In any case, I know of a lot of families where the couple has decided to stay together through and after the transitioning process.
The Sun reports:
Family and friends have all accepted Jackie’s transition and [Emma’s wife] Julie says that keeping the secret for so many years was the worst thing.
She says: “We were constantly worrying about what everybody else would think, creeping in and out of the house, worrying that people would see.
“But friends and neighbours have been brilliant.”
In July, 2018, they renewed their vows in a beautiful ceremony attended by friends and family and Jackie acknowledges that many marriages wouldn’t survive a partner coming out as transgender.
“The prospect of losing Julie was a factor in it taking so long,“ she says. "I always wanted to feel like we could stay together and I feel very lucky that she stood by me and agreed to renew our vows.”