Life, Law, Gender

Feminists vs. Trannies -- again

Part of the problem of having been consumed by finals, graduation, grading papers, working on my newest project and my mother's illness is that I've not kept up with my blog reading.  As such, I missed this great post entitled "I did not come to feminism for this" by Winter over at Desperate Kingdoms.

When you read it -- it's long but very thought provoking and worth it -- be sure to read the related posts and the comments.  This is an old issue, but it warms my heart deeply to know that there are people in the world like Winter. 

As for the subject matter, I'm simply not going to comment, beyond acknowledging the fact that I know many feminists loath transpeople -- transwomen, in particular.  I read this stuff.  I just can't bring myself to engage them. I've commented before (specifically as relates to the MWMF).  See, especially, this post. But, in the end, I know who I am.  I am blessed to have wonderful loving people in my life who accept me as a woman.  And, as a person of privilege, I'm able to say "it's all about me".  Still, you should go read.

Thanks, Winter.

Also, check out this post, at Angry Brown Butch, which Winter also directed me to.

[UPDATE] In addition to adding my additional commentary below the fold, I found this related link to a petition for the "Declaration and Affirmation on the Importance of Woman-Only Spaces", from Women's Space/The Margins in the comments to a post entitled: "Are Feminists Allowed to be Partnered with Transmen and Transwomen?" It's a great post, and an excellent blog.  I signed the petition.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

One year ago, today, I married my sweetheart in a ceremony sanctioned by the laws of Canada.  It's been one of the best years of my life (and, for me, that's saying something)! 

I love you, my Girl!

Asking a favor -- for my mom

[UPDATE] I am home, now (12/26), from Florida.  Mom is still in the hospital -- and likely will be for several more days -- but is out of danger.  It seems that her body conspired with many ailments to bring her down.  She had a serious lung infection and, believe this or not, a serious infection in her big toe.  Most importantly, however, was likely the fact that the "water pills" she takes had her very dehydrated.  That last thing was what likely caused the symptoms of a stroke.  This is no fun for her.  She has slipped into diabetes and managing her blood sugar levels is a real challenge. Keeping her blood volume up (she seems to have some internal bleeding although they've been unable to locate it as yet) and at the right consistency (through the use of Coumadin) is another huge challenge and that will likely keep her hospitalized for a while longer.  She won't admit for certain, but most of us believe that her congestive heart failure and her emphysema were caused by her years of smoking (beginning in her teens and not ending until in her 60s).  My dad died, painfully, of emphysema.  Please, if you don't smoke, don't start.  If you do, stop.

Thank you all for your good wishes and positive thoughts for my mother, whom I love so dearly.  It was a privilege for me to be with her these past couple of days.  We postponed Christmas in our house until I returned (had it today) and I got to spend some time with my mom and with Augie.  I even got to give my mom her bath on both of the days I was there.  They say I was a big help to them (I cooked a Christmas dinner for Augie and me, also).  I hope I was.

****************************************************

When I got home from graduation yesterday, my darling spouse said that I had to call my mom before I could open my graduation gift -- a magnificent tan briefcase, which I desperately needed! -- because it was a gift from my entire family: parents, kids, sisters and spouse.  She wanted me to be on the phone with my mom when I opened it.

When I called however, my joy turned to sadness and fear.  My mom was admitted to the hospital at just about the same time as I was walking across the stage.  She has an infection in her lungs and they think she's suffered a stroke.

My mom told me, before I came to Michigan, that she wasn't sure she'd live to see me finish.  I made her promise that she would stick around at least long enough to see me graduate (which I knew would also allow me to be there for her 75th surprise party).  When I got that news yesterday, I was fearful that she'd kept her promise to the same damned day.

But, she's not ready to go yet -- bless her stubborn little heart.  She's been complaining lately of her inability to concentrate enough even to read.  My mother needs to read -- she needs it like I need to breathe.  So, I ask of you a favor.  Send her a good thought today, a little prayer for a full recovery where she will be able to indulge her passion for books (and, for the past three years, blogs).

Juris Doctorate

20 years after completing my MBA, I finally received my JD yesterday.  The ceremony was grand (despite the fact that the woman who hooded me put my hood on upside down and so all my post grad pictures look really stupid) and the speeches were both blessedly brief and laced with comedy. The whole thing lasted about 90 minutes.

I think the feature that I liked the most was how intimate the whole affair was.  With just 87 of us walking, it doesn't compare to the 300+ that will walk in May.  But, what it gave us was the chance to just be 'us' again -- the summer starter sections of 2004. I knew something about every person that walked across the stage (OK, there were a couple of people I didn't know).  I saw some classmates that I hadn't seen since that first year.  It was great.

Congratulations to the December 2006 graduating class of the University of Michigan Law School.  It's been a privilege.

Athlete fails "Gender Test"

OK, well, obviously none of you want to play my "guess the lights game", so I'll return to blogging about trans-stuff.

I'm anxious to learn more about this story.

NEW DELHI, India - An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal.

Santhi Soundarajan, 25, took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second.

The Indian Olympic Association said Monday it has been told by the Olympic Council of Asia that the 25-year-old runner was disqualified.

"IOA has asked the Athletic Federation of India to return the medal as desired by the Olympic Council of Asia," the Indian Olympic group said.

The IOA also asked its medical commission to inquire into Soundarajan's case and report within 10 days.

There are no compulsory gender tests during events sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations, but athletes may be asked to take a gender test. The medical evaluation panel usually includes a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist and internal medicine specialist.

An Indian athletics official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said Soundarajan almost certainly never had sex-change surgery.

Instead, the official said Soundarajan appeared to have "abnormal chromosomes." The official also said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed.

Soundarajan was not immediately available for comment.

One of the things I find interesting about this story is that she finished second.  No report on whether the person who finished first was required to undergo a gender test.  Too many Y chromosomes, indeed.  Thank goodness the IOC has given up this foolishness.

Holiday Decorations - Guess the lights

My mom reminded me today that I had not posted any pictures of the newly re-decorated tree (OK, so I never put any other pictures up either, sue me).

Anyway, despite neither of us being Christians, we were both raised in Christian households and have Christmas as a tradition that we are loath to give up.  My Girl thoroughly enjoys decorating (and I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy the house once it's decorated).  I don't have any outside pics to show, but here are some interior shots.  I may add some exterior shots later, if I am able to get any. The tree really is the worse for wear, but it still looks nice.  What's missing from these pictures are the decorated windows, the decorated dining room, the decorated bannisters, etc.  It's a fairly festive house!

Bonus -- guess how may lights on this 10 foot tree?  Hint: there are more than 400.

So many things...

There are so many exciting things happening in my life, in the blogosphere, in the country.  I should write 3 or 4 separate posts, but I'm committed to spending less time on my computer now that I'm done with law school (besides, you wouldn't read 3 or 4 new posts; you'd just read the latest one).

Law School

Law school is DONE.  My last exam was h.a.r.d.  It was in Trusts and Estates and was 4 hours from start to finish (with a 45 minute break between parts 1 and 2).   This course is very, very statute intensive and because the laws are so diverse across the country (common law, former UPC, current UPC, etc.) the myriad details that one needs to know to be able to grasp this area of law is mind-boggling.  The first part was a 2 hour closed book exam -- a combination of multiple choice and true/false.  I knew the general principles in every section he tested.  Was I confident that I knew the specific principle or the application in each hypo?  No way.  I guessed at more than half the questions.  That's the good news; the bad news was that the 2nd part of the exam was a 1 hour essay-type with 3 questions.  It referenced both the case book and the statute book.  So, in 1 hour, you had to look up the referenced case(s) in the case book, note the changes from the hypothetical, find the statute in the statute book, note any changes from the hypothetical and then write an essay discussing the case and the changes effected by the hypo.  It was impossible. My only consolation is that it had to be that hard for most of the class -- and I took the class pass/fail.  So, I'm done.  Law school is behind me. Wow.  This coming Thursday, I graduate.  Pictures to follow.

New Jersey

A red-letter day in New Jersey!  As reported by others (see Jen's posts on Transcending Gender, for example; see also this article for a full story.) New Jersey delivered a powerful one-two punch to knock down discrimination in the Garden State (OK, so I used to be a boxer; forgive the violent metaphor). The state's legislature approved civil unions (as mandated by the Supreme Court of their state) and passed a gender identity non-discrimination bill.  The Governor is expected to sign both bills.

New Jersey is now the 9th state -- and the 3rd largest behind California and Illinois -- to pass a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity.  And, it joins a growing cadre of states who recognize the inequality of granting certain rights, privileges, and responsibilities to opposite-sex couples (I would still quibble with their usage of 'civil unions' as opposed to 'marriage', but I note that they also struck down an amendment that would have defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman). See also this press release. Way to go, NJ, and way to go, Garden State Equality! (Check out their Transgender Equality page, including a link to their [perhaps the first ever?] trans-equality television commericial).

Happy Hanukkah!

Last night at sunset also marked the beginning of the Festival of Lights.  Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends and family. 

Happy Birthday, Maria

And yesterday was Maria's birthday.  Have a happy one, Maria!  You are an awesome woman and your blog, Daily Dose of Queer is indispensable.

1st Semester behind her

Congratulations to my youngest daughter (20) who just completed her first semester of grad school!  I couldn't be prouder of her.

Oh, how precocious, er, do I mean precious?

I hope I do this well on my LAST FINAL EXAM -- EVER, tomorrow at 8 AM! (OK, so this was an easy exam, but it gave me an 'A' and it comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Julie, at Carter's Little Pill):

Your Vocabulary Score: A

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Pregnant Lesbians or Why do Gays have children?

I saw this article on one of the right-wing, ultra-conservative sites and it made my blood boil.  But, I didn't have the time or the inclination to post about it or adequately respond.  Still, I wanted you all to see what the Radical Right has to say.  An excerpt:

Is there a more obvious product of heterosexual behavior than the creation of children? If so then isn't it somewhat peculiar that those who shun the behavior of heterosexuality so deeply crave the product that it brings?

[...]

In normal relationships the privacy and intimacy of the act of procreation is a spiritual and beautiful thing. In the sexual acts of women who sleep together that adequacy will be something they always long for and never have the satisfaction of knowing, thus undermining the fidelity of what they believe their relationship to be.

[...]

And since homosexuals insist upon desiring limitless sexual activity, not governed by provincial rules and traditions, why would they want children?

Children are the undeniable product of the superiority of heterosexual engagement. And since homosexual behavior in large terms wishes to throw off the weight of conventional sexuality, I am curious as to why they would desire to reinforce the inferiority of their sexual behavior.

Then, thanks to Winter at Desperate Kingdoms, I came across this article, entitled "Why are Pregnant Lesbians Scary?", which I just love.  You should read it.  It's really good. (BTW, Winter (and all Blogger bloggers) I can't log in to my Blogger account anymore and have thus been frustrated in my attempts to comment on your sites).

For fear of losing the link at some later date, I've copied the entire article below the fold.

[UPDATE] From Rhea in comments comes this story by James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame in this week's Time magazine.

[UPDATE 2] OK, and check out this response to the above Time story (hat tip to BrainPorn). In "deconstructing" Dobson's article he makes several really excellent points. Among them:

This is his stereotype paragraph. He says that "mothers tend to stress sympathy" and some other things, while dads tend to "accent justice, fairness," and so forth Ok, but all that means is that for a lesbian couple to be good parents someone's going to have to be on justice and fairness detail. That seems easy enough. It certainly doesn't mean that you need a penis in the house to get the job done.

He then says that boys aren't born with an understanding of "maleness." They have to learn it. And in one word he begs the whole question: "ideally" they learn it from their fathers. But why is that any better than learning it (whatever "maleness" is, because I honestly don't know) from another strong role model in their life? An uncle, a grandfather, or even a mom. What is the secret of this "maleness" that it can only be taught father to son, and why must it be taught at all?

CAT-astrophe

Last night, after we'd gone to bed we hear a crash and the sound of glass breaking.  We were both so tired and sleepy that we each just rolled over, said "that can't be good", and went back to sleep.

This morning, it was abundantly clear what had happened.  It wasn't yet light when I made my way toward the kitchen for my morning Diet Pepsi and bagel.  In the living room (which the Girl calls "the Great Room" to distinguish it from the other main level, living-room-like room which she calls "the Hearth Room") I saw to my utter dismay our 10-foot tall tree -- which we (mostly the Girl, while I've kept my nose in my Trusts and Estates text, preparing for my final law school exam this coming Friday) had just completed decorating -- lying on its side.  Shattered ornaments, spilled water, and scattered, empty ornament boxes completed the scene.

I'm pretty sure our youngest cat, a male named "Buster" (how appropriate, don't you think?), attempted to climb the tree and his weight toppled it when he got high enough (we've seen him in trees outside, so we know he has a penchant for it).  After we got the tree uprighted and the debris picked up I thought - "I should have taken a picture of this disaster!"

My girl turned to me, about 3/4 of the way through re-construction, and said "I love going through catastrophes with you."  When I inquired as to what she could possibly mean, she just said "because you always stay so calm."  ::smile::  Well, what's the alternative?

Ain't pets grand?

Moments of loss

We put up our tree last weekend, but only began decorating it this week.  It's a beautiful tree; I'll post a picture of it when it's finished.

As we were going through our boxes (and boxes!) of ornaments, nearly all of which were the Girl's from her previous life, I felt a terrible pang of loss.

This loss is something that I am generally able to keep in check; I assign a spot in my heart for it, and I am usually successful in keeping that spot under lock and key.  But, last night, it escaped.  I've been in 3 significant relationships since I got out of the Navy at 21 years old.  In each relationship, we accumulated special ornaments that commemorated some event, or activity or memory.  Most especially, of course, were ornaments that were either gifts from my children or represented special moments in their lives.

I have NONE of those.  In each relationship, my former partner got all of that; indeed, everything that might have the slightest sentimental value.  In fact, if you look at my *stuff*, I have very little that suggests that I didn't simply spring into existence in March of 2004.  When I moved to Michigan, I brought along a small (the smallest they make) U-Haul trailer that wasn't even full.

Why don't I have any of that stuff?  I know it's just stuff, and I know that no one can take away my good memories, but still -- I miss it sometimes.  Like now.  ::sniff::

I'm Ethical!

I took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) last month.  It was a HARD exam, much harder than I anticipated.  I was pretty sure there was a fair chance that I failed it.

I just got the scores back last night, and I passed -- with plenty of room to spare (indeed, I passed with a high enough score that I would be admitted in every jurisdiction -- with room to spare)!  Yay!!!

Last Class

I attended my final law school class this morning.  It was unremarkable, except that when everyone clapped at the end, I just internalized it as if they were clapping for me. :-)

I blogged about my first ever law school class, here, and here, and I've reported every class I've taken since then.  I can't imagine that it's been stimulating reading for anyone except my mother, but it's been a nice journal of the experience for me.

I have one exam left to take. And. I'm. Done.

A tremendous honor

In a completely unexpected email, Catharine MacKinnon just asked me if I would consider working for her for a few weeks next month to help integrate the topic of transsexuality into the second edition of her highly regarded textbook, Sex Equality. 

I am totally honored that she would ask me and, of course, I will do so.  Her text is so widely used that bringing the issue of transgenderism into it in a meaningful way has the great potential to influence the learning of many feminist minded students.

New York Backs Down

The forward-thinking policy announced by the city of New York to allow transgenders to change their birth certificates without having to undergo expensive, invasive, and often contra-indicated surgery has been retracted according to this report, and this one.  I blogged about this earlier, when I linked to the video debate between UM Law alum Michael Silverman and the Family Research Council.  I'd sure like to know why they backed off of this great idea.

NY Bd Of Health Rejects Transsexual ID Proposal
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: December 5, 2006  5:00 pm ET

(New York City) The New York City Board of Health voted Tuesday to turn down a measure that would have allowed transgender men and women to amend their birth certificates without requiring that they undergo sex reassignment surgery.

The unanimous vote came despite a strong recommendation from its own staff and four years of consultation by an eight-member panel of transgender experts and vital records offices across the country.

Under the proposal a person requesting the change in documentation would have to provide affidavits from a doctor and a mental health professional documenting the reason for the change and asserting that the proposed change would be permanent. Applicants also would have to have changed their name and be able to prove that they had lived in their corrected gender for at least two years.

In rejecting the plan transsexuals will continue to have completed gender reassignment surgery before their birth certificates could be altered.

The city's health commissioner says officials need to look more carefully at the issue. One concern is whether it would conflict with federal identity document rules being developed.

Transgender people are estimated to number in the tens of thousands in New York City and face severe and pervasive discrimination as a result of their inability to obtain identification, including birth certificates, that matches the gender in which they live said Michael Silverman, Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.

Silverman said that efforts to secure employment, travel and even do mundane tasks like enter office buildings are fraught with difficulty for transgender people whose identification does not match their gender presentation.

"The proposal recognized the reality of transgender people’s lives and the severe and pervasive discrimination that they experience on a day-to-day basis,” said Silverman.

"For many transgender people, sex reassignment surgery is a financial impossibility. For others, it’s medically inappropriate. And still others choose not to undergo surgery for a variety of personal reasons"

Silverman said his organization will press forward with the trans community’s demand "for a sensible birth certificate policy that allows all transgender people – and not just those who can afford to access expensive health care – to obtain birth certificates that reflect who they are."

©365Gay.com 2006