Exodus: Live Out Loud

Witness: Gender Doubt Led to Confrontation

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040420/ap_on_re_us/transgender_killing_3

Tue Apr 20, 4:59 PM ET

By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press Writer

HAYWARD, Calif. - The woman who revealed the biological identity of a transgender teenager to the three men on trial for killing her testified Tuesday she "freaked out" upon learning the beautiful girl was a man.

Nicole Brown described an angry confrontation in 2002 that led to her following the teen into a bathroom and confirming the group's growing suspicions their "Lida" was biologically male.

Eddie "Gwen" Araujo, who lived as a woman, was beaten, strangled and buried in a shallow grave later that night.

The killing has drawn national attention to the issue of violence against people whose sexual identity conflicts with their biology.

Calif. School's Transgender Policy Upheld

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040420/ap_on_re_us/brf_transgender_rights_1

Mon Apr 19, 8:34 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

LOS ANGELES - The head of the California Department of Education (news - web sites) determined Monday that a school district's policy regarding discrimination based on "perceived gender" was legal despite bypassing state-mandated protections.

The decision spares the Westminster School District from losing a large portion of its state funding. A majority on the school board had refused to adopt the state's version of an antidiscrimination policy intended to protect transgender students, claiming that state-mandated protection was immoral.

In a letter to the district's board president, Superintendent Jack O'Connell said he's concerned that the district's policy indicates an unwillingness to accept the state's mandate.

Australian Gov't Ponders Challenging Child 'Sex-Change' Ruling

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200404\CUL20040416b.html

By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
April 16, 2004

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - The Australian government is considering whether to challenge a controversial court decision allowing a 13-year-old girl to begin taking hormones to "masculinize" her body as a first step towards a sex change.

The wisdom of the ruling by Family Court judge Alastair Nicholson has been questioned by ethicists and some psychiatrists, although specialists involved in the procedure approve.

The court decision to allow "Alex," a ward of the state with a troubled family background, to work towards her goal of "becoming" male, is the first of its kind in Australia.

Prosecutor: Transgender Teen 'Executed'

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_re_us/transgender_killing_1

Wed Apr 14, 5:25 PM ET

By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press Writer

HAYWARD, Calif. - The killing of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo was cold-blooded murder carried out by three men who became furious when they found out the beautiful girl they had sex with was biologically male, a prosecutor told a jury as their trial opened Wednesday.

Araujo, 17, was beaten and strangled in 2002 in a slaying that has drawn national attention to violence against transgender people, or those who believe their sexual identity is at odds with their biology.

Angry shouts of "Are you a woman or a man?" escalated to murder, fueled by the explosive combination of insecure male egos and "tough guy" personalities, prosecutor Chris Lameiro said.

Westminster school district board approves own definition of gender

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/8871629p-9798313c.html

The Associated Press
Last Updated 11:45 a.m. PDT Tuesday, April 13, 2004
WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) - Trustees of an Orange County school district embroiled in a dispute over transgender rights passed an anti-discrimination policy that apparently conflicts with state law and could threaten the district's funding.
The state Department of Education had threatened to withhold millions in government funding if the board did not adopt policy changes it suggested by Monday. But the Westminster School District board voted 3-2 to adopt its own policy, claiming that state-mandated protection for transgender students is immoral.

The district's new policy says that the "perception of the alleged victim is not relevant to the determination of 'gender.' ... It is the perception of the alleged discriminator which is relevant."

Girl can switch to boy, court rules

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/13/1081838723546.html

By Leonie Lamont
April 14, 2004

In primary school, Alex could whip the boys at Indian arm wrestle and was the only girl on the boys cricket team. She was so desperate to be the boy she believed herself to be that she wore a nappy to school, rather than use the female toilet.

Yesterday, in a landmark judgment, the Family Court revealed that it had authorised the 13-year-old girl to start sex change hormone treatment. Since the beginning of this year, Alex, who was diagnosed as having gender identity dysphoria, has been on a daily contraceptive pill that stops menstruation and the feminisation of the body. Alex has enrolled at high school as a boy, with a new name and birth certificate.

The application to the court was made by the state welfare department that is Alex's guardian. It was supported by his doctors, some family members and psychiatric specialists in the area.

Cross-Dressing Candidate Suitable For Office

http://www.ncbuy.com/news/2004-04-12/1009353.html

2004-04-12 - Wireless Flash Weird News

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Texas state senate candidate Sam Walls has been getting a dressing-down since his cross-dressing past was revealed last week.

However, one Los Angeles-based cross-dresser believes a candidate who wears women's clothes at home is more than suitable to hold political office.

Gina Lance -- who publishes "Girl Talk" magazine -- says cross-dressing is an advantage for a politician because "it allows them to understand women's problems better than other men."

Also, he says that guys who dress up as dames "are more likely to be level-headed and peacemakers" and that could prevent partisan conflicts.

Calif. School Faces Transgender Dispute

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040413/ap_on_re_us/transgender_rights_1

Mon Apr 12,10:25 PM ET

WESTMINSTER, Calif. - Trustees of an Orange County school district embroiled in a dispute over transgender rights passed an anti-discrimination policy Monday that may fall short of what the state wants.

The state Department of Education had threatened to withhold millions in government funding if the board did not adopt policy changes it suggested by Monday. But the board voted 3-2 to adopt its own policy, claiming that state-mandated protection for transgender students is immoral.

The district's new policy says that the "perception of the alleged victim is not relevant to the determination of 'gender.' ... It is the perception of the alleged discriminator which is relevant."

Cross-Dressing Heats Up Republican Race!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040407/od_nm/odd_dressing_dc_1

DALLAS (Reuters) - What started as a dull runoff race to field a Republican candidate for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives has heated up due to a controversy over cross-dressing.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Tuesday photographs of candidate Sam Walls dressed in women's clothes have circulated among political leaders in Johnson County, south of Fort Worth. Local Republican leaders confirmed separately that they had seen the photographs of Walls in a wig, dress and high heels.

Walls, who has the endorsement of several leading Republicans in the state and was expected to win the run-off, was not available for comment. He said in comments printed in the Star-Telegram that he will not drop out of the race due to a campaign of blackmail.

Pictures of candidate in women's clothes surface

Dallas-Ft. Worth Star-Telegram - http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/8366206.htm?1c -
His family made a fortune on men's work clothing. But it's Sam Walls' apparent fondness for women's apparel that is dividing the Johnson County Republican Party.