Sexual reversal in brains of schizophrenics

Work presented 27 Mar 2009 at conference in Louis-H Lafontaine Hospital, Canada.

"We have noted a masculinization of the female brain and a feminization of the male one in schizophrenics. There is a real sexual reversal in men and women with schizophrenia in terms of neuronal circuits, the dimensions of certain cerebral structures and the production of hormones. We therefore sought to find out whether there are similar differences in terms of cerebral functions," explains Adrianna Mendrek, who is also a researcher associated with the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychiatry.

"We thus studied cerebral activation in people with schizophrenia in terms of emotional processing and cognitive analysis. The results are surprising. When we show a sad photo to men with schizophrenia or when we ask them to perform a spatial skills task, they display cerebral activation similar to that of healthy women performing the same tests. Conversely, women with schizophrenia show cerebral activation similar to that of healthy men."

"These results will help us to better understand this complex disease and revise therapeutic and pharmacological treatment methods. It's still difficult to explain what underlies the sexual reversal mechanisms."

Full article here.

Zoe Brain goes into more detail.

Logo online publishes Transgender Stories

Mar 2009.

Logo has made a collection of transgender themed videos available for free viewing.

These include music artists, full documentaries, shorts and interviews.

Unfortunately, copyright restriction means the videos can only be viewed from within the United States.

Contents page at Logo

Ruben Noe Coronado pregant with twins

March 2009.

Ruben Noe Coronado (left in photo) is six and a half weeks pregnant with twins and expects to have changed legal status to male and to have married Esperanza Ruiz (right) by the time he gives birth in September.

If so, he will be Spain's first transsexual father to give birth and the first open instance in the world of a father giving birth to twins.

Coronado decided on this course of action when he found out that Ruiz, already a mother of two, could not have any further children.

Under Spanish law, the requirements to get gender changed on the civil register are
- you must be a Spanish national
- a pyschologist must confirm gender dysphoria (with nothing that might interfere with this disagnosis)
- medical treatment for at least 2 years to bring about the physical characteristics of the desired gender, but surgery is not required.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25230406-663,00.html

http://www.carlaantonelli.com/Nueva-ley-transexuales-espana-guia-rapida-modelo%20solicitud-para-cambio-de-nombre-y-sexo-en-registro-civil.htm

New Hampshire rejects anti-discrimination bill

27 Mar 2009

The House of Representatives rejected legislation Thursday (26 Mar 09) that would have made it illegal to discriminate against transgender people in housing or accommodation.

The 181-149 vote killed a bill (HB 415) to add New Hampshire to 13 states that include "gender identity or expression'' in their anti-discrimination laws.

Much of the debate was over the claim of opponents that this would allow transgender men and women to choose to use either gender's bathroom and potentially prey on children.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090327/NEWS02/303279893/-1/ARTSANDLIVING

Singapore - Leona Lo in Ah Kua show

Since 1996, Singapore has had a law allowing transsexual people to marry in their reassigned sex.

From http://www.singlishdictionary.com/singlish_A.htm ah kua, ah kwa /kuah, kUAù/ n. & a. a melon, gourd. Also ah gua, ah qua, and abbreviated to AK, AQ. derogotary. n. 1 An effeminate man. 2 A male transvestite. B a. Effeminate, sissy.

News from March 2009 -

For years, known Singaporean transsexual and author Leona Lo has decried the use of terms like 'bapok' and 'ladyboy'. So why is her new one-woman play titled the Ah Kua Show?

The 34-year-old was candid about it: to push ticket sales. She told The New Paper: 'I'm using it to grab attention and sell tickets, and I'm fine with that. 'People don't want to watch Leona Lo. Who cares about me? They want to watch an Ah Kua show.'

Leona will be staging the show - her first - at The Substation's Guinness Theatre from 6 to 8 Aug. The 1 1/2-hour show is a stage adaptation of her autobiography, From Leonard To Leona: A Singapore Transsexual's Journey To Womanhood (2007), which details her days as a boy in Catholic High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, and national service.

Miss Lo will play herself, with voiceovers and video presentations. Like ladyboy shows in Thailand, it will have outrageous costumes and song-and-dance items.

So, why is Miss Lo, who has written books asking to be accepted as an ordinary member of society, now playing up the transsexual stereotype?

She claims the show is about making 'people sit up and question' why society still uses these labels.'It's to create a discussion point. I felt that if it was any other title, it would be a blind spot - no one would notice it. It's time that we tell our own story,' she said.

So what stories will she be sharing?

One is about an incident last year in which she claims she was 'kicked out' of a Clarke Quay nightspot. According to Miss Lo, the bouncer said 'ladyboys' were not welcome after someone complained about her presence.

Although the show is yet to be rated by the Media Development Authority, she doesn't foresee problems since 'we don't touch on religion or politics'. Neither is she worried that audience members will take offence. She expects the audience to be a mix of a curious public and members of the transgender and homosexual communities, so there will be 'something for everyone'.

Miss Lo, who was born Leonard Lo, underwent a sex reassignment surgeryin Thailand in 1997.

She is Singapore's first transsexual to publicly talk about her experiences. In her book and her past interviews, she has recounted how as a young man her feminine behaviour was ridiculed by classmates. She has also claimed that an army sergeant once threatened to rape her.

Besides From Leonard To Leona, she also wrote My Sisters, Their Stories (2003), which profiles 10 transsexuals from Singapore and Thailand.

Miss Lo, who used to work for the Health Promotion Board (HPB), pointed out that government bodies are probably the biggest employers of the community.

She holds a master's degree in qualitative research methods from UK's University of York. The English and literature graduate earned the York Trust Settlement prize when she depicted transsexual angst in a monologue during her final year in college.

On top of preparing for her show and giving motivational talks, Miss Lo also owns a public relations consultancy firm called Talk Sense which she started in 2005.

The Ah Kua Show will be her first foray into singing publicly, and she admits she is nervous. But facing new challenges is something Miss Lo is familiar with.

She had to face her parents' despair when they learnt their only son (Miss Lo has a younger sister) had undergone a sex change. But over the years, relations have mended.

She gives them a monthly allowance, takes them out for dinners and does 'those normal things for them' because she said she sometimes still 'feels bad for imposing (her sex change) on them'.

And although she has discovered a renewed bond with her parents, she is still looking for Mr Right. Miss Lo said she has dated 'high net worth individuals who are mostly millionaires', none of whom were local.

But it was her last relationship that changed her the most. She had met the 30-something Australian man last December while on holiday Down Under.

They dated for just over a month before Miss Lo decided to reveal her secret to him. Miss Lo said she used to be upfront with her boyfriends right from the start, but had decided to conceal it this time.

'For once, this resembled something normal and I didn't want to lose that and him. He already had an inkling that I was hiding something. He actually thought I had been a prostitute in the past,' she said.

Miss Lo said that when she finally spilt the beans, 'he couldn't accept it'. 'He said that I had betrayed his trust and could never gain it back. 'People may say it's stupid but I'd hoped for a fairytale ending where he'd accept me for who I am.'

Miss Lo said the break-up left her feeling 'vulnerable'. Despite the heartache, Miss Lo is grateful that she went through it because it has changed her outlook on life.

She said: 'The rich men that I've dated have wined and dined me at fancy restaurants. But with this guy, I didn't have to dress up and impress him, and I liked that. If I can't love like that again, then I won't anymore.

Miss Lo still hopes to have a family with someone special and raise ‘three boys'.

The Ah Kua Show http://www.ahkuashow.wordpress.com/

Original article http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,196331,00.html

Incident in Nov 2007 when Leona was asked to leave a nightclub as it did not welcome ‘ladyboys’. http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=2091&viewarticle=1

Mar09 Intersex in Sport - Sarah Gronert

Sarah Gronert is ranked 555 (23 Mar 2009) in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), but in 2009 has won two $10,000 titles, including Raanana in Israel on 2 Mar 09.

Schlomo Tzoref coaches one of the players Gronert beat in Raanana, and he is quoted as saying “There is no girl who can hit serves like that, not even Venus Williams. When I heard her story, I was in shock. I don't know if it's fair that she can compete or not. She does have an advantage, but if this is what the WTA have decided, they probably know best."

Sarah Gronert was born intersex i.e. with genitals/hormones that are neither 100% fully female nor 100% fully male. She had surgery three years ago (at age 19), pleaded her case with the WTA, and was allowed to compete.

One other commentator has suggested that any testosterone level above female norm, at any time in life, including in the womb, might give Gronert an unfair advantage.

In May 2004, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) changed from evaluating the eligibility of transsexual athletes on a case by case basis to using a fixed set of rules. Earlier, in 1990, a seminar convened by the International Association of Athletics Federations recommended that any person who had undergone sex change before puberty should be accepted to participate under their new gender.

But the classification of those people who underwent the operation after puberty was more problematic, since they had been influenced during puberty by hormones under their former gender. In particular, male puberty affects the level of testosterone, which could, theoretically, affect performance even after a male-to-female sex change.

So in May 2004, the IOC decided that individuals undergoing sex reassignment after puberty could compete, but only under certain conditions.
- Surgical changes must have been completed, including external genitalia changes and removal of gonads.
- Legal recognition of their assigned sex must have been conferred by appropriate official authorities.
- Hormone therapy -- for the assigned sex -- must have been given for long enough to minimize any gender-related advantages in sport competitions, a period that must be at least two years after gonadectomy.

The circuit rules that apply where Gronert won also require gender testing, and implement checks on transsexual athletes nearly identical to the IOC ones.

Sarah Gronert wins http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-professional-tennis-star-born-a-hermaphrodite-ignites-controversy/

May 2004. International Olympics Committee allows transsexual athletes to compete http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/05/17/olympics.transsexual/

Rules applicable where Gronert won http://www.itftennis.com/shared/medialibrary/pdf/original/IO_38975_original.PDF

Australian HRC report on IS/TS and documents

Here are HRC’s recommendations (March 2009 report) to the government dealing with the problems of documentation that face Intersexed, Transsexual, and Transgendered people.

1: Marital status should not be a relevant consideration as to whether or not a person can request a change in legal sex.

2: The definition of sex affirmation treatment should be broadened so that surgery is not the only criteria for a change in legal sex.

3: The evidentiary requirements for the legal recognition of sex should be relaxed by reducing the quantity of medical evidence required and making greater allowance for people to self-identify their sex.

4: The special needs of children and young people who wish to amend their documents and records should be considered.

5: A person over the age of 18 years should be able to choose to have an unspecified sex noted on documents and records.

…

7: Documents of identity and processes required for the legal recognition of sex should not reveal personal information about a person's past identity in relation to sex.

…

9: Where possible, sex or gender should be removed from government forms and documents.

…

11: The federal government should take a leadership role in ensuring that there is a nationally consistent approach to the legal recognition of sex in accordance with the recommendations of this paper, by …

The Constitutional situation in Australia is very similar to that of the USA, with similar restrictions on federal powers. The major difference is that marriage is covered by federal legislation in Australia (unlike the USA), but as in the USA, birth registration is a state matter.

…

I was there at the official launch of this report, in one of the committee rooms at Parliament House. …

The press was conspicuous by its absence. This has led to some garbling of the report, for example … - “transgender people should also be able to undergo sex-change surgery regardless of their marital status”. That restriction was removed over 10 years ago. And it's been over 15 since having ever been married meant that no surgery could be contemplated. On the other hand, permission from an existing spouse is asked for, and it's most helpful if it's given. …

Extract is from Zoe Brain. In full at http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/australian-human-rights-commission.html

HRC report at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/genderdiversity/sex_files2009.html

Vivien St James - Showgirl

14-May-1964 to 4-Mar-2009

Melbourne has said goodbye to one of its true showgirls — the exuberant Vivien St James, who died after a six-week battle with a brain tumour and lung cancer. She was a consummate performer famous for her Hollywood bombshell looks.

Her legacy was more than entertainment, being a key part of the colourful subculture that brought much to the wider gay community. With high cheekbones and a lot of cleavage, St James was striking, with a wit drier than an AA meeting.

Matter-of-fact about her transsexuality, she had no desire for a sex-change operation and defied being categorised by identity alone. "I'm not a transsexual who believes I'm a woman trapped in a man's body," she said. "I believe I was born male, but can live my life looking like a female. I'd rather be liked for the person I am, not the genitalia I have."

A headliner with the Classics every Saturday at St Kilda's Greyhound Hotel, she performed her way through Melbourne's venues starting with the Pokeys at St Kilda's Prince of Wales in 2001. Later came Les Girls. She also appeared on television, in films and music videos and on fashion catwalks, doing much charity work for HIV and breast cancer.

She would be annoyed when people assumed transsexuals did not lead a relatively normal life. "I have friends from before I became a transsexual who say I'm the same person with the same sense of humour. Nothing's changed except I've got a few extra bits and pieces."

Her career as a showgirl took off in 1995 when she first hosted the Rainbow Awards, hosting both those awards and the Fantasy Ball for a decade. In 2004 she felt she received her reward when “She-Male” was nominated for Show of the Year, and in 2005 she was voted Drag Diva of the Year.

Costumes were a huge part of her life, with thousands of dollars spent in preparation for big events. She wanted everything to be perfect. She always looked stunning, never putting a step out of place.

On January 10 she complained to friends of severe headaches. Within a week, she had a brain tumour removed, but she kept her sense of humour to the end. She discouraged hospital visitors, not wanting people to see her at anything less than her glamorous best.

In her entertainment life she was a perfectionist in what she did and how she looked. She would never go on stage unless she looked her absolute best. St James had the courage and the strength to create her own image. She was her own very special creation and her fans loved her for it.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/a-life-transformed-became-so-much-more-than-just-a-drag-20090323-97hz.html

TS Activist Dilan Pirinc Murdered in Instanbul

On 10th March 2009, Dilan Pirinç (also referred to as Ebru Soykan) was stabbed to death in her home in Istanbul.

Neighbours reported a fight. Police arrived and found the body. Pirinç was taken to hospital by friends but did not survive.

Pirinç, 28, was a leading member of Lambda Istanbul, a GLBT rights organisation, and a transgender activist.

Pirinç had asked for protection from a man who had beaten her on several occasions and threatened to kill her. This man, Birol Can K., is alleged to be her lover and a murder suspect.

http://www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/113081/transgender-murder-in-istanbul
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/12/turkey-transgender-activist-murdered

March 2009 Tamil Nadu Free Sex Change

In December 2006, the Social Welfare Department legalised sex change surgery at government hospitals to prevent surgery that was badly performed.

In early March 2009, the Government General Hospital in Chennai (previously Madras) performed a free sex change operation on a male to female transsexual. The hospital could not do breast implants due to a lack of funds.

The Government General Hospital is seeking funds to set up a special department for this type of surgery.

The hospital had performed 6 sex change procedures before this and has another 12 patients waiting for surgery.

It was noted that the surgery itself was not new to India and had been performed by various plastic surgeons across the country for several years.

However, Tamil Nadu appears to be the first state in India to perform free (funded by the government) sex change operations.

http://tinyurl.com/ad7fyk
http://tinyurl.com/d9rc9s