Talk/discussion 2-4pm Sunday 21st March, LGBT Centre, 49-51 Sidney Street, Manchester (Behind 8th Day Co-op off Oxford Rd)

David Kato, LGBTI activist from Uganda and member of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) will talk about his experiences as an activist in the context of recent legislation threatening the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", the campaign in Uganda to stop the new law as well as international efforts for decriminalisation. To be followed by questions/discussion. David is on a short tour of the UK and this is his only Manchester date.

David will be joined by Sokari Ekine, activist, writer, sometime TFW blogger and founder of Black Looks, a site documenting social justice issues in Africa and the diaspora with a focus on LGBTI rights, gender-based violence, militarism as well as literature and popular culture.

Delicious cheap food and cafe available from 12.30pm.

The event is free but voluntary contributions towards travel expenses of participants gratefully received. The venue is wheelchair accessible and all on the ground floor. If you have any queries please contact mikewupton@hotmail.com

This event is brought to you by Manchester Queer Reading Group. For more info or to hear about other events, subscribe to their mailing list

Per has obtained the support of Baroness Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrat MEP for London) and she has recently tabled a written question to the European Commission asking whether the Commission considers that EU legislation sufficiently protects citizens who identify as non-gendered or differently to that registered at birth, and whether there are any plans to revise EU Directives in a more gender neutral way.

The question was tabled after Christie approached Baroness Ludford to request her support and assistance in taking the issue forward to Europe (armed with the 'Sex Not Specified' initiative that has taken place in Australia), as per felt that the pace of progress in the UK has been intolerably slow to date and seems unlikely to change any time soon.

Having started the process, per will nevertheless continue per fight here in the UK in the hope that the proposed changes to existing legislation might eventually bear fruit, although this might be overtaken if per campaigning directly at the European Parliament succeeds.

I have always tried to stress the point that legal recognition and equality of treatment for the most marginalized human beings who lead a socially invisible existence outside the gendered societal structure is a HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE whereas the perception within the United Kingdom tends towards designating anything 'trans related' into a 'health issue'. The pathologisation (and resultant stigmatisation) of what is fundamentally an innate inability to conform within a gendered societal structure is something I totally oppose.

Christie adds that it could take up to six weeks before per receives a response from the Commission, and per next step will be decided upon after that.

The subject is My world: Visions of 21st Century Feminism and the competition seeks images that make a creative and powerful statement on the theme of "21st Century Feminism".

To submit an entry you must be:

• Female
• Aged between 15 and 40
• Resident in an EU Member State or Candidate country

A maximum of three entries per person are permitted and the closing date and time of the Competition is 11.59pm on Saturday 31 June 2010.

The full Criteria and Rules of Entry are available to download here (MS Word document format). Click on the image below for an A4 PDF version of the poster.

Esmeray's interview highlights the way her life is affected by the intersections of being a woman, being transsexual and being a woman who is transsexual.

"Since I started to wear a skirt and disclose my identity, my close male friends started telling me, 'Don’t carry this table, you could injure your back,'" said Esmeray. "Also, my boyfriend's friends started calling me 'yenge' (a word used for the wife of a relative)." Men's politeness and sensitivity disturbed her, she said. "This is women's problem in society. Men treat women as if they are incapable of doing things in life. Unfortunately, some women also internalize this belief."

As a transsexual, the difficulties Esmeray faces are not harder than other women's problems, but they have different aspects. "As a transsexual, if I walk in Beyoğlu at night, a man can easily come and ask me, 'How much?' because all transsexuals are prostitutes in the eyes of wider society," she said. "But that does not mean this is only our problem. Unfortunately, men's understanding is that only loose women come to Beyoğlu after midnight," she said.

"We experience difficulties at different levels, but in the end they are all related to the gender issue," Esmeray said.

On today's International Women's Day with its theme of Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all, Esmeray's words are a timely reminder of how far many women still are from achieving those rights and opportunities.

This is especially clear if we look at the plight of trans women in Turkey who are currently subject to what amounts, in my opinion, to an undeclared war on them. Anti-trans violence and bigotry has been escalating out of control to the point that Human Rights Watch, Pembe Hayat, ILGA-Europe and IGLHRC recently wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister of Turkey requesting that urgent action be taken to stop the murder of trans people and to protect them from violence and discrimination.

ILGA-Europe will visit Turkey in April to assess Turkey’s compliance with its European and international human rights obligations towards trans people and to document the violence, discrimination and other obstacles they face. The organisation has asked the authorities to discuss proposed measures to address the human rights concerns of the Turkish trans population.

It is to be hoped that the Turkish government's response will address the problems at their roots by tackling the severe stigma against trans people: social exclusion and poverty on the one hand, and the culture of gender stereotyping that drives the violence and hate on the other.

Since then, the wave of violence against lesbians in South Africa has continued to rise and the country is now believed to have one of the highest incidences of rape in the world with 150 women reported to have been raped every day, although activists say that the figure is higher (Times Online). It's been estimated by ActionAid UK that, not only will almost half of all women be raped during their lifetime but also that for every 25 men bought to trial for rape in South Africa, 24 walk free.

In its report Hate crimes: The rise of 'corrective' rape in South Africa (Direct link to PDF), ActionAid UK says:

This shameful record of male domination and violence has helped build an increasingly brutal and oppressive culture, in which women are forced to conform to gender stereotypes or suffer the consequences.

As part of this oppression, the country is now witnessing a backlash of crimes targeted specifically at lesbian women, who are perceived as representing a direct and specific threat to the status quo.

That status quo is underpinned by heteronormativity - the idea that heterosexuality is the only ‘normal’ sexual orientation, that only sexual or marital relations between women and men are acceptable, and that each sex has certain natural roles in life, so-called gender roles. 'Corrective' rape is a manifestation of a deep-rooted cultural stereotype; that men have ownership over women and are of greater importance and these views, for whatever reason, remain largely unchallenged to this day.

In the run-up to International Women's Day on Monday, when the economic, political and social achievements of women are celebrated, we shouldn't forget that violence crosses boundaries of class, race, age and sexual orientation. If we are to stand any chance of eradicating the injustices we suffer, then securing equality and rights for all women must be our priority - and to achieve that, one of the first steps must be a concerted effort internationally to tackle violence against us.

Friday 26th February is the second year that Bristol Feminist Network will be heading up a Reclaim the Night march. It’s a chance for women and men in Bristol to unite and march to make a stand against violence against women.

Last year we had massive success with the march, with over 500 participants and £350 raised for local charity One25 who help sex workers who have been sexually assaulted.

This year we’re aiming to be even bigger! We start the night with a vigil at 5pm on College Green, before the Bristol African Sambista’s drums start to beat at 6pm and the march begins. We will then be marching through Bristol, before gathering at local arts collective the Island for speeches and a party.

This is the 2nd year I have been involved in Reclaim the Night and on a personal level it is such an exciting, energising and uplifting experience. Although we are marching to fight back against a horrific crime, there is a real sense of energy and passion when such a large group bring their voices together to say no to violence.

Our aims for Reclaim the Night are simple and achievable. To educate and fight against rape myths, to continue to secure funding for services that help and support victims of sexual violence, and to improve justice for victims and survivors. We still live in a society which views women who have been raped or assaulted as responsible for their attack, and where the conviction rate for rape is shockingly low. Reclaim the Night is about saying that we have had enough of injustice, and that we stand in solidarity and support to fight against violence.

Bristol Feminist Network has been working with various agencies, centres and charities in Bristol to ensure that the aims of Reclaim the Night reflect the needs and wants of Bristol residents. This has included working alongside the police, Safer Bristol, the city council, Rape Crisis, One25, Fawcett and much more. It was vital to us that Reclaim the Night was about all the women in Bristol, and an event that all women could feel involved in.

We are lucky enough to have some wonderful speakers on the night, including women from Amnesty International, Rape Crisis, Fawcett, One25 and the Domestic Abuse forum. Last year the speeches were one of my favourite parts of the night, a real reminder as to why we were marching, to continue the fight against violence and fear. Reclaim the Night isn’t just about the 26th February. It is about taking the message of the march and the aims and affecting real change in our city and society to end the scourge that is violence against women.
The night will end with music and dancing, but the fight will continue after the club lights go up.

Men are welcome at Bristol Reclaim the Night, however we have a section for all self-identified women only that will lead the march, which we ask male attendants to respect.

However, last month it was reported in The Guardian that:

[...] the 19-year-old athlete would be allowed to race only once the IAAF had cleared her. "We can only allow her to participate in events once we get clarity from the IAAF, not at this stage," [Ray Mali of Athletics South Africa (ASA)] told Reuters.

So apparently the IAAF has still not reached a decision.

And, while the IAAF prevaricates, it seems to have handed the baton of crass insensitivity over to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). According to BBC News:

In January a symposium of experts in Miami concluded that some athletes discovered to have gender ambiguities be advised to have treatment, possibly even surgery, to continue competing at international level.

[...]

The IOC's Medical Commission will not say what criteria they use to define female gender, so what exactly do they consider an ambiguity?

Just... what? Is this "symposium of experts" really going to "advise" intersex athletes to have surgery before they'll be allowed to compete? What if there's no proven medical need for it? What if those athletes refuse? My reading of it is that the IOC is saying that simply being born different - in one of the myriad ways that humans are born different - is enough to justify surgery. The Organisation Intersex International (OII), one of the largest international intersex organisations, in its Declaration of Fundamental Principles has denounced enforced surgery carried out on intersex people as "totalitarian, sexist oppression" and I, for one, am frankly dismayed that the IOC seems oblivious to these concerns. I find it hard to understand how this proposal is about anything other than an attempt to enforce normalisation on female athletes whom the IOC perceives as having undefined "gender ambiguities".

More from the BBC News report:

Last week the International Olympic Committee's General Assembly was briefed by the head of its Medical Commission Professor Arne Ljungqvist who recommended that "strategically located centres of excellence should be established to which athletes with a DSD (disorders of sex development) could be referred and, if necessary, further investigated and treated."

The OII has been campaigning against the use of the term "disorders of sex development" since at least 2006. There is a comprehensive list of reasons why the OII objects to the term here: yet again, the IOC seems to be ignoring the wishes of intersex people.

But I wonder if there's even more to this than so-called concerns about the health of a comparatively few female athletes with a "disorder of sex development". Is the IOC simply using the Caster Semenya case as a pretext for launching its own attack on any and all women athletes who don't conform to stereotypical female gender norms?

As Patricia Nell Warren writes in her perceptive analysis IOC and gender inquisition:

So the whole male arena of sport - and the egos and careers of male athletes - have, so far, been rigorously protected from gender scrutiny. In my opinion, this scrutiny should now happen. It's only fair that the torture instruments of cultural discomfort about gender appearance be applied to men as well. And I'll bet that, if enough male competitors - and the nations sending them out there - were to find themselves being figuratively "burned at the stake," and the gold-medal prospects of a few outstanding male athletes destroyed, the way Semenya's might have been, the outcry would be such that the IOC will hastily backtrack.

There's an old saying that, when you find yourself in a hole, first thing you should do is stop digging. It's advice the IOC should perhaps consider following. Then, maybe, it can think about how it's going to get itself out of this not so fine mess. If it wasn't for the fact that the implications of what it's saying are so jaw-droppingly outrageous and fundamentally sexist, watching it struggle might otherwise have made quite an entertaining spectator sport.

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IOC logo: A public domain image sourced via Wikipedia

The walk will explore the stories of women at Peterloo, the forgotten feminists of the 1830s, suffragists and suffragettes, the second wave of feminism in the 1970s, Mrs Gaskell, Mother Ann Lee and Mary and Lizzie Burns.

Meet at 10:45am, outside Central Library, St Peters Square, M2 5PD. (Google Maps | Streetmap)

The walk will last approximately 2 hours and the charge is £5.00.

Documentary is well-represented with Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar; Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement and Stonewall Uprising among the highlights.

The LGBT Africa strand includes three short films exploring the difficult situation for LGBT people in parts of Africa, and Short Films About Us: Lesbian Work at Cinenova showcases a range of archival material from the UK based non-profit women's film organisation.

Legendary lesbian artist, filmmaker and activist Barbara Hammer will be performing Hammer! Making Movies out of Life and Sex, and there's a retrospective of the work of Dorothy Arzner, a prolific director in Hollywood during the 1920s and 30s.

For me, the Wotever Shorts session - "a selection of sexy, funny, gender-fluid films with a DIY aesthetic" - looks most promising, and Trans Love, which includes Transproofed (starring Calpernia Adams and Andrea James) may also be worth a look.

With short films, club nights, late bars, events and networking opportunities over the course of two weeks, there's a huge variety on offer; see the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival website for the full listing.

Last year, over 1200 people wrote about a woman in technology or science whom they admire. You may remember Jess' piece about the event (link here)

As Sue Charman-Anderson, the guiding light behind the event, says of last year's Ada Lovelace Day:

Women's contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We wanted you to tell the world about these unsung heroines, and you did. Thank you!

But our work is not yet done. This year we want 3072 people to sign up to our pledge and to write their tribute to women in tech. We have the 72, we just need the 3000, which is where you come in. Please sign the pledge at http://findingada.com/ and let all your friends know about it.

It doesn't matter how new or old your blog is, what gender you are, what language you blog in, if you do text, audio or video, or what you normally blog about - everyone is invited to take part. All you need to do is sign up to this pledge and then publish your blog post any time on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

To keep up to date with what is happening this year:

The Pledge: http://findingada.com/
The Blog: http://blog.findingada.com
On Twitter http://twitter.com/FindingAda
On Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=253179284089

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Public domain image sourced via Wikipedia

ESRC Seminar Series: Fat Studies and Health At Every Size - Bigness Beyond Obesity

Seminar 1: Abject embodiment: Uneven targets of fat discrimination

14-15 January 2010, Durham University

This is the first in a series of four seminars taking place over the course of 2010-2012, funded by the ESRC.

In recent years there has been significant concern about the impact of fatness on the UK's health. Numerous policy interventions have attempted to tackle the so-called 'obesity epidemic' in ways which treat or prevent the incidence of such fat bodies. However, within the inter-disciplinary field of Fat Studies and the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement, researchers, practitioners and activists are challenging the limited and problematic ways in which dominant obesity knowledges produce and problematise the fat body.

This seminar series is grounded in the ethos and politics of size acceptance. Each of the seminars will critically question the ways in which fatness is constructed and experienced as a ‘problem’ whilst also exploring alternative understandings, theorisations and experiences of fatness. The series aims to provide a supportive space for interdisciplinary researchers, activists, practitioners and interested others to question the politics surrounding fatness and health, away from the limitations of the medical model.

The seminar will combine formal presentations with informal discussion groups and will run from 1pm on Thursday 14 January until 2.30pm on Friday 15 January 2010 in the Earth Sciences Building at Durham University.

The keynote will be by Charlotte Cooper (University of Limerick) and other speakers include Emma Rich and John Evans (Loughborough University), Corinna Tomrley (University of York), Lee Monaghan (University of Limerick), Jo Pike (University of Hull), Emma Rawlins (Medical Research Council), Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University) and Kirsty Fife (University of Leeds).

The seminar is free to attend (including refreshments and lunch on 15 January) but participants must meet their own travel/accommodation costs. There will be an optional seminar dinner (cost not covered) on the evening of Thursday 14 January.

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to both Rachel Colls (rachel.colls[at]durham.ac.uk) and Bethan Evans (mmu.bevans[at]gmail.com) to register. If you have any dietary requirements please let us know and we will do our best to cater for you. Please also indicate whether you are interested in attending the seminar dinner.

There are a limited number of bursaries available to contribute to travel/ accommodation costs for students/unwaged participants. To request a bursary, please contact Rachel Colls (rachel.colls[at]durham.ac.uk) and Bethan Evans (mmu.bevans[at]gmail.com) and briefly explain why you need a bursary (i.e. unwaged/student etc).

Travel and accommodation:

Some college accommodation may be available - this is searchable via the University accommodation site: http://bookings.travelstay.com/DurhamUniversityBooking.htm

Alternatively there are numerous hotels and B&Bs available in Durham: http://www.visitcountydurham.com/site/accommodation

Getting to Durham University: http://www.dur.ac.uk/travel/todurham

The result is a comprehensive collection of posts which are well worth taking the time to delve into; particular highlights for me include Radical Profeminist's thought-provoking response to men's perception of their own 'suffering' at the hands of feminism; the politics of being an ally (at Racialious); a survivor of rape describing how the 'intersectionality of discrimination' led to the dismissal of her experience by college authorities "because she didn't resemble the 'perfect victim' - in part because she is a woman of colour" (via the Tufts University Survivors of Sexual Violence blog). Also included is a link to the recent guest post here at TFW about how fellow survivors of childhood abuse might find ways of dealing with their experiences during with the holiday season.

While I'm posting about Carnivals, I'd also like to add a reminder that the Seventh Carnival of Feminist Parenting is still current over at Mothers For Women's Lib with links to articles on reproductive freedom, birth, race, disability and many other topics around the subject of feminist parenting.

Note re. submissions: The next Carnival of Feminists will be held on 6 January, 2010 at Gender Across Borders. The call for submissions is here. To make sure that your post will be considered, please submit it by Tuesday, January 5th.

And the next Carnival of Feminist Parenting will be on 17th January 2010 - the submission deadline for that edition is Sunday 10th January. Further information can be found on the Carnival of Feminist Parenting home page.

30 December: Amended paragraph re. submissions for next Carnival of Feminists - thanks to earwicga in comments for the update.

You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrOc6CIQjtc

A written transcript of the speech Reclaiming the lucidity of our hearts may be found on the blog of her organisation, link here

United Nations, New York, 10 December 2009: Panel discussion organized by the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden on the occasion of the International Day of Human Rights.

Theme: Opposing grave Human Rights Violations on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The entire UN session on SOGI (Real media, 1 hour and 25 minutes) may be viewed at the UN website, link here

(Curtsey to Emma at Support Transgenre Strasbourg for the video links, and pinay23 for the link to the transcript)

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

Subject: What happens next?

Hello everyone,

Thank you very, very much for joining this group, inviting your friends, and participating in the campaign. Amendments for the Equality Bill were discussed on Wednesday 2nd December, so we thought you'd like to know what happened on the day, and what we're doing next.

Unfortunately - but not paticularly surprisingly - there were only a few hours set aside for debate and voting on amendments for the Equality Bill on Wednesday. This meant that there was very little discussion of the trans amendments, and there was not time for a vote upon them.

However:

At least 65 MPs were contacted about trans inclusion in the Equality Bill. This has meant that trans issues have not only remained "live", but more politicians are aware of them than ever before, which bodes well for the future. This also demonstrates to the government that we are still concerned about equality for ALL trans people, and about protecting trans children from harassment in schools. It shows that we will not back down on issues such as these.

Speaking on Wednesday in the House of Commons, Lynne Featherstone MP noted that "The government has never fully understood the difference between gender reassignment and gender identity". Hopefully we're beginning to change that.

So, what happens next?

The Equality Bill will now move to the House of Lords, and a briefing paper for sympathetic Lords is being prepared. As part of this, there will need to be examples given of real people who will benefit from trans-friendly amendments to the Equality Bill. We will be sending out more information on that campaign soon to keep you up to date with what's happening, and how you can contribute.

Updates will also be posted on this Facebook group and the blog at http://justfillingintheblanks.blogspot.com/.

Thanks again!

Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

The album features exclusive new tracks from established independent artists like Ane Brun, Marissa Nadler and Liz Durrett and newcomers like Haunted Stereo and Katey Brooks.

The album is available as a limited edition CD through Wears the Trousers, or to download via the iTunes Shop.

For a limited time only you can listen to the album via SoundCloud.

(Image via Wikipedia)

The aim is to develop awareness of issues of disability and sexuality and a political perspective on disabled people’s sexual rights. Participants develop their ability to work in inclusive and holistic ways that further health and rights.

Why take this course?

• Disabled people are often excluded or discriminated against in relation to their sexuality by health, development and rights organizations because they are not considered sexual or they are thought to be vulnerable or uncontrolled sexually.
• Disability rights activists and service providers often disregard sexuality issues and rights in favor of issues considered more pressing and appropriate like employment and physical access.
• Sexuality is an important part of life, identity, society and culture for all people, including people with disabilities. It can be a source of pleasure and pain, empowerment and oppression. It cannot be ignored.

Key Questions and Content

• What is disability? What is sexuality?


• What do human rights have to do with disability and sexuality?


• Why are disabled people discriminated against in relation to sexuality?


• Why is sexuality important to everyone, including disabled people? Why is sexuality important for health, development and rights organizations to consider?


• How does the experience and politics of disability in the global South impact theory and practice on disability rights? How are people organizing and campaigning around these issues?


• How can we advance the rights, health and well-being of people with disabilities?

Accessibility

People with disabilities are encouraged to apply for this training, which has been designed and tested to be accessible to people with various disabilities and those with slower computers and internet connection speeds. We will work with participants to adapt the course as necessary to meet needs and enable full participation.

Format and Workload

The course will be conducted entirely online in English with presentations, reading, discussion, research, activities and a final project. Special technology is not required, except a computer that can read Microsoft Word and Power Point documents and with Adobe Reader. Also required is internet access to download/upload documents and comments for 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week throughout the course. The Institute will not be done in real time; participants can complete the assignments at their convenience within the time parameters.

For an application and brochure with complete course information, click here.

Applications are due December 18, 2009.

For more information, contact Caroline Earle (cearle@creaworld.org; +1-212-599-1071).

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(Curtseys to Scott at HRW and Justus on the TGEU listserv for the heads up)

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

But the launch was overshadowed by the revelation that the cards are available only to people who already have passports, or whose passports expired this year.

Everyone else wanting a £30 ID card will first have to sign up for a passport at a cost of £77.50. [UKPA]

Which would seem to suggest that the government's assertion that an ID card would offer an alternative form of documentation to a passport may be somewhat ingenuous. As Phil Booth of NO2ID says:

"The Government claims ID cards are a handy alternative to a passport is bogus."

"You have to have one already so you will pay another £30 and set yourself up for a lifetime of fees, penalties and compliance."

"Once you are on the database you will be obliged to update Whitehall's register on you for the rest of your life." [UKPA]

As usual, the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, is presenting the benefits of signing up as being:

"[...] a means to prove and protect [applicants'] identity in a quick, simple and secure way."

"It can be used by young people as a convenient and universal proof of age and as a credit card-sized alternative to the passport when travelling in Europe." [Guardian]

We seem to have lost the previous vague claims that ID cards would variously "reduce fraud", "combat terrorism and organised crime" and generally "deliver real benefits to everyone" [Via].

And, of course, there's no mention of the privacy and data sharing issues; the security of the national database which is being compiled from all the personal data (including fingerprints and facial scans) - or the contentious requirement that "those living a Dual Gendered Life" (trans people, in plain English) who don't have a Gender Recognition Certificate will be required to hold two cards [Via].

As if that wasn't sufficient reason to be concerned there is, I believe, yet another issue which the government is avoiding saying too much about. Yes, the ID cards scheme is voluntary but from next year, if you want a passport, you will be required to apply for registration on the database (whether or not you opt to have an ID card). Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it's hard not to think that, once established, the requirement for registration will be introduced at a later date (eg for access to state benefits, driving licenses, CRB checks, etc).

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

Trans inclusion in the Equality Bill - ACT NOW

This group is designed to raise awareness of two amendments that are being tabled to extend trans protections in the Equality Bill.

You can make a difference by lobbying your MP to support these amendments. Model letters can be found in the discussion section, and here: http://justfillingintheblanks.blogspot.com/

Act NOW to ensure *all* trans and gender variant people are covered by the Equality Bill, and protected in schools.

Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

What influences or determines our sense of who we are? What makes one person distinct from another? How does science inform human identity? This major new exhibition explores the tension between the way we view ourselves and how others see us.

There are nine individual stories told across eight rooms including such diverse people as Alec Jeffreys (who developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling) and Samuel Pepys (whose diaries gave such a vivid account of London in the 1660s).

Also included is April Ashley, who is perhaps most well-known for being one of the first people in Britain to undergo SRS and was outed by the British press in 1961. The annullment of her marriage in 1970 - on the grounds that post-operative transsexual women were not recognised in English law and therefore she was deemed to be of the sex she had been assigned at birth - set a precedent that lasted until the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2004. (Via T-Vox).

In addition, Ms Ashley is interviewed in today's Daily Telegaph (link here) which, although ostensibly about the exhibition, covers a lot of ground and makes for a fascinating read. She is a great raconteuse, entertaining and thought-provoking, and of the many potential soundbites in the interview, this one really says it all:

"If I have learnt anything at all about this whole question of identity, it is that nothing is ever straightforward."

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The exhibition Eight rooms, Nine lives runs from 26th November 2009 to 6th April 2010 at the Wellcome Collection.

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

To quote Andrea Dworkin in Woman Hating:

Every transsexual, white, black, man, woman, rich, poor, is in a state of primary emergency as a transsexual.

For many of us, our focus is finding ways to overcome that state of emergency: we transition to survive. We are not here to provide entertainment for cis people, nor to be the subject of cis centred academic theories. We cannot be socialised into being cis; neither can being trans be beaten out of us. We may not choose to be trans, but we are here, and we are trying to make our way in a world where we face prejudice and discrimination, bigotry, hatred and violence from cis people on a daily basis.

Yes, our journey is hard, but there are good things, too. We find others like ourselves and learn that we are not alone. We make new friends, trans and cis. We learn to face and overcome challenges and obstacles we never knew we'd face, and find strengths we never knew we had. We change, we develop and we become the people we always knew we were.

Or at least, some of us do.

Some - like the more than 160 trans people mentioned in the recent report of the TGEU’s Trans Murder Monitoring Project - don’t make it through. They are the ones we remember today: those members of my community who weren’t allowed to grow and blossom or find their true selves and who were murdered at the rate of three a week, every week.

Today, 20th November 2009, is the 11th International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). It is a day when we remember that every day, all over the world, thousands of trans people are excluded, persecuted, hated, mistreated, subject to aggression and routinely murdered or driven to suicide because of our so-called differences from other members of mainstream cis society. A system which tolerates and accommodates such hatred, prejudice and bigotry is unacceptable, and must be fought without concession, in the name of its past and present victims, and also in the name of its victims to come.

There are numerous events and vigils being held worldwide to mark this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance - many are listed on the TDOR website (link here) and I would urge anyone - trans or cis - who is able to attend any of these events to do so. Perhaps I may see some of you at the London event tomorrow (Saturday 21st November).

But regardless of anything else, today of all days, please spare a thought for those of my community whose lives have been sacrificed to transphobic bigotry and violence - and maybe ask yourself how anyone who believes in the basic principles of feminism can help us work towards ending transphobic hate crimes like this and this.

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(Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox)