Monday, June 13, 2005

Pick any locker room you want...

Eugene City Beat: Transgender law proposal to get airing
The proposed law would make it illegal to discriminate against transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodation.

The proposed law also would make it illegal for an employer to deny access to a restroom that a worker "deems most appropriate for the employee's gender identity." It also would be unlawful for a health club owner to deny someone the use of showers and locker rooms if the person believes that the facilities fit his or her gender identity.

Law proponents are willing to speak to church and other groups, Rich said. "We are trying to connect the faith community with the gender identity work group so we can dispel the hate and fear," she said.

This law will allow a 40 year old man to shower in the woman's locker room at the YMCA. That man could then go into the woman's restroom in Burger King. But thankfully the "gender identity work group" is going to dispel the hate and fear that we have regarding this because we are just being unreasonable to say that grown men shouldn't be sharing a locker room with our wives and daughters.

Hat tip: The Oregon Conservative

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I personally know some of the people that are on the HRC board regarding this issue and I personally know several transgendered people. One of them, who was born a hermaphrodite.

Although I do not know all the details what the Eugene HRC is trying to do, I do know some information.

I do know that one thing that they are not advocating for, is for a 40 year old man who happens to think that he feels like a woman today to be able to freely walk into a women's restroom at will.

Whether you agree with it are not, transsexualism is a real issue and a subject of hatred and discrimination.

It is a well-known fact, that hundreds of transsexuals are killed nationwide every year simply because they are transsexuals.

The facts are, some people do feel that they were born in the wrong body, others, like hermaphrodite's or intersex people who were born with ambiguous genitalia and were "assigned" their gender by their doctors shortly after birth and the doctor does not always guess the sex correctly.

Most people do not realize the steps that a transgendered person has to go through to acquire surgery.

The procedures are covered under the guidelines of the Harry Benjamin standards of care which state, that they must be under a psychologist or psychiatrist with a pH D. degree level for the initial diagnosis and treatment. At such time that diagnosis is made and confirmed through a series of psychological tests, these transsexuals, will then start what is called the real-life test (RLT) and must live 100% in the desired gender for one year while under the continuous care of their therapist.
(This is the time that normally causes problems with jobs, housing etc.)

At the end of one year, their therapist will evaluate and make a recommendation to see another psychologist for a second opinion.

Letters of recommendation from both therapist are required before the transsexuals will even be seen by a surgeon.

The surgery itself, is major surgery. I have read articles were two people have died within one week after surgery from this procedure, and some are permanently mutilated.

Costs for the male to female transsexual range from $8000-$18000, female to male $25,000 and up and the therapy and the surgery are not covered by insurance.

I should also point out, that after the surgery, they are "legally" the new gender with everything that goes with that new gender.
For example, a female to male under 25, has to register for selective service and his car insurance rates go up.

I think that it is important to note that not every transsexual makes it through the RLT or desires or can afford surgery. It is a proven fact however that suicide rate for the preoperative transsexual is very high compared to the suicide rate of the postoperative transsexual.

Although I do not agree 100% with what the Eugene HRC is doing, I do agree that some protections (not special rights) need to be in place.

Anonymous said...

I don't see anything wrong with a hearing. If Eugene wants it, local control should rule. If the residents don't, then vote the damn thing down.

Daniel said...

I like that JWalker, short and too the point!

It is a well-known fact, that hundreds of transsexuals are killed nationwide every year simply because they are transsexuals.

If there are "hundreds" as you say please post a link to a news item for one.

The facts are, some people do feel that they were born in the wrong body, others, like hermaphrodite's or intersex people who were born with ambiguous genitalia and were "assigned" their gender by their doctors shortly after birth and the doctor does not always guess the sex correctly.

Can you please source this from a reputable medical journal? What I have read is that "gender identity disorder" is a mental disease.

SOURCE: DSM IV

Anonymous said...

Remembering our dead http://www.rememberingourdead.org

Intersex society of North America
http://www.isna.org/

Psychologist John Money at Johns Hopkins University developed that system which assumed gender is all a matter of nurture, not nature. Money claimed that any child could be turned into any gender as long as the parents believed in the assigned gender. As a consequence, doctors told parents of children with intersex what gender a child was and then doctors scheduled intensive 'normalizing' surgeries to try to make the genitals look clearly female or male (usually female).
http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0900web/babes.html

and the DSM IV is a mental health manual and section 302.6 refers to transsexuals as a gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria.

Anonymous said...

ONE TWO THREE FOUR, IF YOUR A HOMO, VOTE FOR KERY!