Today, the Pennsylvania legislature’s LGBT Equality Caucus announced its membership for the new session. The Caucus stands at 58 members, doubling in membership from last year
The very notion of “her” is what most individuals don’t understand, and until more efforts are made to educate about gender, sex, and identity, the general public will remain clueless and ignorant.
A controversy surrounding trans accommodations made my top 12 list of posts at #5 and #2. Not only is it the most important local story, but the basic issues of trans accommodations will grow into one of the mot significant queer issues nationally, and could mean the end of the LGBT moniker. As gays and lesbians get closer to full equality, they seem poised to leave the Trans community behind as issues of sex, gender,and public privacy collide.
What is the relationship of genitalia to gender and to sex? when and where are any of these the same thing, and where do they refer to different things? and is the idea of what constitues “trans” pr a trans man or a trans woman changing? … a quote from a trans woman’s blog Please share your ideas about Sex, Gender, and Genitalia by leaving and comments here on the blog.
In the mean time, there is plenty of work that needs to be done. One of the reasons this seems so controversial is that most people don’t understand transgender or the issues trans persons face on a daily basis.
From my perspective, At least four different levels or elements at play and one of the reasons why different people have such different takes on the Pitt Trans Policy issue grows out of assumptions about these four things.
I urge Pitt to get to work quickly on a thorough, fair, and comprehensive policy. While efforts are progressing, it is far from fast enough. The Pitt situation is also complex. As a university, it has students, staff and faculty all to be considered. This ruling seems to apply directly to employment discrimination, but it could have other ramifications as well.
I’ve added a link in my blogroll for the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. This is a wonderful website with a ton of useful information regarding trans law and policy. Check it out!
Statement of Equality Pennsylvania on the University of Pittsburgh’s Non-Discrimination Policy for the Transgender Community and the Need for Calm Harrisburg – Over the past several weeks, Equality Pennsylvania has been very carefully monitoring and watching the situation surrounding the University of Pittsburgh’s non-discrimination policy and how it impacts the transgender community. We have spoken with quite a few people on what is happening, and among them we have discussed ways to find solutions.[Read More…]
I can accept that Seamus is “male” but I am not so sure I accept that he is a man. His gender identity is incongruent with man-ness, but fully congruent with male-ness. I am not sure if a men’s locker room is a place where men (sex) change and shower. I think it may be. I don’t think it is the place where males are, if that makes sense.