[Blog/News] [IL, USA] Transgender community today remembers its dead
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Stephanie Stevens
Nov 20, 2009, 6:49:37 AM11/20/09
to TNUKd...@yahoogroups.com, transgender_ne...@yahoogroups.com, transgen...@googlegroups.com, transge...@yahoogroups.com
ChicagoNow, IL, USA
REDEYE
Transgender community today remembers its dead
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz on 11.20.09
Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, one of the few events to
shine a spotlight on the most marginalized segment of the LGBT
community.
The day is a somber one, meant to commemorate the people who have been
killed in anti-transgender violence over the past year. It was
created in memory of a transgender woman named Rita Hester, who was
discovered dead in her San Francisco apartment in November 1998,
stabbed in the chest 20 times. The murder is still unsolved.
In the past year, there have been 13 reported murders of gender
non-conforming people in the U.S. and 117 around the world, according
to Cyndi Richards, chair of Illinois Gender Advocates. A candlelight
vigil last Saturday to commemorate the dead, held at New Spirit
Community Church in Oak Park, drew about 120 people, Richards said.
(A list of other Remembrance Day events happening this weekend is at
the bottom of this post.)
In a particularly horrific incident recently, the body of 19-year-old
Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was found decapitated, dismembered and
partially burned in Puerto Rico last week. The suspect charged in the
murder told authorities that he picked up Mercado, who was openly gay
but not transgender, on the street because he thought he was a woman,
according to Telemundo and other new reports.
Vigils honoring Mercado are happening around the country this weekend,
including in Chicago, where people are expected to gather from 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m. Sunday in Humboldt Park.
Transgender individuals, whose mainstream acceptance lags far behind
that of gays and lesbians, face great hardship. They're at high risk
of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, hate violence, harassment and
discrimination. Depression and suicide attempts are common. Some live
double lives.
Richards, who was born male but identifies as a woman, said that while
she wishes to live her life as a woman, she has to present as a man
for job interviews to be taken seriously.
"I can do gallons of estrogen, but my voice will never get higher, my
hands will never get smaller, and I will never get shorter," said the
6' 3" Richards. She said the transgender women who "look like Nick
Nolte in a dress... are the bravest of all."
There are some victories for transgender people amid the challenges.
The Illinois Department of Vital Records has adjusted its requirements
to change one's gender on a birth certificate, according to a press
release this week from the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued
the department on behalf of three people who wanted their birth
certificates changed and were denied.
Vital Records for years required that an individual undergo sex
reassignment surgery in order to change their gender on their original
birth certificate, but the surgery had to be performed in the U.S. by
a U.S.-licensed physician. Since the lawsuit, the agency has issued
new birth certificates to two plaintiffs who had their surgeries done
overseas. (Lots of trans people go to Thailand for their surgeries,
Richards said, because the quality is good and price is lower).
The agency also issued a new birth certificate to a transgender man
who did not undergo genital surgery (many transgender men decide not
to have a penis attached because it's so complicated and costly,
Richards said), and announced it would formulate new standards for
determining how much surgery is required to document a gender change.
"Hooray for our side!" said Richards, who said she had referred the
two transgender women to the ACLU when they went to Illinois Gender
Advocates for help.
If you want to take part in any of the events happening this weekend
to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, here are the details of a few:
.
What: Transgender Day of Remembrance at University of Illinois at Chicago
When: Friday, 12:30-2 p.m. for a vigil; 3-4 p.m., for a discussion
Where: Vigil: East Campus Quad, 750 S. Halsted St.; Discussion:
Behavioral Science Building, 1007 W. Harrison St., Room 183
.
What: Interfaith Commemoration Service in Honor of International
Transgender Day of Remembrance
When: Friday, 10:30 a.m.
Where: Meadville Lombard Theological School's Curtis Room, 5701 S. Woodlawn Ave.
.
What: University of Chicago vigil
When: Friday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Bartlett Quad, 5600 S. University Ave.
.
What: Night of Fallen Stars, a commemoration/celebration with
transgender performers
When: Saturday, 5:30-7 p.m. (reception) and 7-9 p.m. (performances).
Where: Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St.
© 2009 CTMG Labs
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2009/11/transgender-community-today-remembers-its-dead.html
REDEYE
Transgender community today remembers its dead
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz on 11.20.09
Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, one of the few events to
shine a spotlight on the most marginalized segment of the LGBT
community.
The day is a somber one, meant to commemorate the people who have been
killed in anti-transgender violence over the past year. It was
created in memory of a transgender woman named Rita Hester, who was
discovered dead in her San Francisco apartment in November 1998,
stabbed in the chest 20 times. The murder is still unsolved.
In the past year, there have been 13 reported murders of gender
non-conforming people in the U.S. and 117 around the world, according
to Cyndi Richards, chair of Illinois Gender Advocates. A candlelight
vigil last Saturday to commemorate the dead, held at New Spirit
Community Church in Oak Park, drew about 120 people, Richards said.
(A list of other Remembrance Day events happening this weekend is at
the bottom of this post.)
In a particularly horrific incident recently, the body of 19-year-old
Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was found decapitated, dismembered and
partially burned in Puerto Rico last week. The suspect charged in the
murder told authorities that he picked up Mercado, who was openly gay
but not transgender, on the street because he thought he was a woman,
according to Telemundo and other new reports.
Vigils honoring Mercado are happening around the country this weekend,
including in Chicago, where people are expected to gather from 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m. Sunday in Humboldt Park.
Transgender individuals, whose mainstream acceptance lags far behind
that of gays and lesbians, face great hardship. They're at high risk
of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, hate violence, harassment and
discrimination. Depression and suicide attempts are common. Some live
double lives.
Richards, who was born male but identifies as a woman, said that while
she wishes to live her life as a woman, she has to present as a man
for job interviews to be taken seriously.
"I can do gallons of estrogen, but my voice will never get higher, my
hands will never get smaller, and I will never get shorter," said the
6' 3" Richards. She said the transgender women who "look like Nick
Nolte in a dress... are the bravest of all."
There are some victories for transgender people amid the challenges.
The Illinois Department of Vital Records has adjusted its requirements
to change one's gender on a birth certificate, according to a press
release this week from the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued
the department on behalf of three people who wanted their birth
certificates changed and were denied.
Vital Records for years required that an individual undergo sex
reassignment surgery in order to change their gender on their original
birth certificate, but the surgery had to be performed in the U.S. by
a U.S.-licensed physician. Since the lawsuit, the agency has issued
new birth certificates to two plaintiffs who had their surgeries done
overseas. (Lots of trans people go to Thailand for their surgeries,
Richards said, because the quality is good and price is lower).
The agency also issued a new birth certificate to a transgender man
who did not undergo genital surgery (many transgender men decide not
to have a penis attached because it's so complicated and costly,
Richards said), and announced it would formulate new standards for
determining how much surgery is required to document a gender change.
"Hooray for our side!" said Richards, who said she had referred the
two transgender women to the ACLU when they went to Illinois Gender
Advocates for help.
If you want to take part in any of the events happening this weekend
to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, here are the details of a few:
.
What: Transgender Day of Remembrance at University of Illinois at Chicago
When: Friday, 12:30-2 p.m. for a vigil; 3-4 p.m., for a discussion
Where: Vigil: East Campus Quad, 750 S. Halsted St.; Discussion:
Behavioral Science Building, 1007 W. Harrison St., Room 183
.
What: Interfaith Commemoration Service in Honor of International
Transgender Day of Remembrance
When: Friday, 10:30 a.m.
Where: Meadville Lombard Theological School's Curtis Room, 5701 S. Woodlawn Ave.
.
What: University of Chicago vigil
When: Friday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Bartlett Quad, 5600 S. University Ave.
.
What: Night of Fallen Stars, a commemoration/celebration with
transgender performers
When: Saturday, 5:30-7 p.m. (reception) and 7-9 p.m. (performances).
Where: Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St.
© 2009 CTMG Labs
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2009/11/transgender-community-today-remembers-its-dead.html
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages