Transgender

Many people that read "The Cross in the Closet" will have had little or no experience with the "T" part of LGBT. I did not start entering intimate relationships with transgender people until years into my own advocacy work. Most people outside, and some people inside the LGBT community, do not have a grasp of the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. [ Read more → ]

AURORA — In a special meeting Friday evening, the East Aurora School Board voted to repeal a policy that would create protections for gender nonconforming students that they quickly and unanimously passed just five days ago. [ Read more → ]

AURORA, Ill. -- An Illinois school board is considering rescinding a transgender rights policy it adopted Monday after after receiving emails and letters from outraged residents and anti-gay organizations across the state. [ Read more → ]

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada -- The Toronto District School Board announced Thursday that it has introduced a new set of guidelines to ensure transgender equality for students and staff in the district's 600 schools. [ Read more → ]

NORFOLK, Mass. -- Convicted murderer Michelle Kosilek — who was granted taxpayer-funded gender-reassignment surgery ordered by a federal judge — is demanding $698 in reimbursement for legal expenses for arguing her case from behind bars, and her attorneys are seeking legal fees of in excess of $800,000, according to documents filed this week in U. S. District Court. [ Read more → ]

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma (ACLU) has announced that it will represent a transgender woman who was denied a name change by an Oklahoma judge who told her “you can’t change what God gave you.” [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON - The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has launched the Transgender On-campus Nondiscrimination Information (TONI) Project, the nation's first online hub for transgender students to share trans-affirmative college policies and practices, and exchange ideas for organizing and action. [ Read more → ]

DULUTH, Minn. -- A lecture and photography exhibit by a noted California-based transgender photographer has drawn criticism from a conservative student group affiliated with the Arlington, Va.-based Leadership Institute due to its explicit content documenting his gender reassignment surgery. [ Read more → ]

An Oklahoma judge has repeatedly denied transgender women their petitions for a name change to reflect their female identity, ruling that the requests were made for a fraudulent purpose. [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA -- Homicide detectives are investigating the killing of a well known member of Philadelphia's LGBT community, Kyra Kruz, a 27-year-old transgender woman who was found dead in a wooded area of the city’s Frankford area. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The National Center for Transgender Equality on Wednesday denounced plans by the syndicated talk show "Anderson Live" to air a controversial interview with a person who claims an anti-baldness drug made them transgender. [ Read more → ]

While audiences nationwide became acquainted with Sarah Tyler and her family following their appearance last year on Anderson Cooper’s talk show, I got to know them in a completely different manner: at church... [ Read more → ]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department has enacted a general order that mandates protections for transgender people while in the custody of police and requires officers to be trained for the respectful treatment of transgender detainees. [ Read more → ]

BOSTON -- A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to provide taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery to an inmate serving life in prison for murder, "because it is the only way to treat her serious medical need." [ Read more → ]

CHICAGO -- Police confirmed Friday that a body discovered in an abandoned building in a west side Chicago neighborhood known as K-Town was that of 19-year-old Donta Gooden, a transgender female. [ Read more → ]

CICERO, Ill. -- A transgender woman who alleged that two Cicero police officers humiliated her and discriminated against her because of her gender identity has settled a lawsuit with the town for $10,000. Cicero also agreed to enact guidelines for the police treatment of transgender people, according to her attorneys. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration has released new medical certification procedures for transgender pilots, eliminating unnecessary psychological testing that had previously been required. [ Read more → ]

Civil rights advocates filed a court-supervised agreement Monday that will make it easier for transgender individuals in Illinois to get accurate birth certificates reflecting their gender. The agreement asks to end the requirement for genital surgery in order to change the gender marker. [ Read more → ]

CHICAGO -- Nearly 300 people attended Chicago's first transgender, gender-non-conforming and intersex pride event, held at Union Park Sunday. The intention of the rally was to focus on the theme of “enterprising from the margins,” highlighting community driven efforts to create safe spaces and support among the TGI community. [ Read more → ]

For the past three years, The National LGBT Bar Association has selected the best LGBT lawyers under the age of 40. This year’s list includes Harper Jean Tobin, the National Center for Transgender Equality’s Policy Counsel. [ Read more → ]