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TGF News Briefs

From our fabulous News Hawks!

Have you seen a TG-related news story online or in your local paper? Send it in to TGF and become a News Hawk! Don't assume we know everything that's out there, because you are our eyes and ears. To file a story, send it in to Cindy.

TS Wins Harrass Case

Contributed by Jodie Miller

A transsexual has proven sexual harassment by a former New York University professor despite a question over the plaintiff's gender, but jurors have cleared the school of responsibility.

The $14 million lawsuit drew attention before it came to trial when U.S. District Judge Whitman Knapp ruled that it could proceed, saying sexual harassment can be proven even when the gender of the victim is unclear.

The plaintiff, Jennifer Miles, was studying musicology in a graduate studies program and undergoing hormone treatment when Professor Cliff Eisen allegedly began the harassment in 1993.

Eisen fondled Miles' breasts and buttocks, forcibly tried to kiss Miles and repeatedly requested a sexual relationship, Miles' lawsuit against the school claimed. She did not sue the professor because the statue of limitations had run out.

NYU lawyer Dona Kahn argued that whatever happened between the professor and his student may have stemmed from Miles' flirtatious nature.

--via Associated Press

TG Boxer Keeps Winning

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker, Doreen and Rachelle Austin

Sensational Thai transvestite kick boxer Parinya Kiatbusaba won his second professional bout on Saturday when the lipstick-wearing pugilist was awarded a convincing points victory over a Danish opponent.

The result was in little doubt after the ever-smiling Parinya, sporting his trademark foundation, rouge and mascara, reduced his opponent's face to a bloody mess in the fifth round with two flying elbow attacks.

Parinya, 16, who was awarded 10,000 baht ($255) for his pre-fight dancing routine, had earlier looked pensive as his seconds rubbed him down.

But he took control for most of a contest in which he put 19-year-old Dennis Koebke on the canvas three times with leg sweeps.

Parinya, who says he has "strong feminine feelings" but wants to become a great fighter, was roared on by a sell-out crowd of about 2,000 at Oam Noi Stadium in Nakorn Pathom on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Last month Parinya, who has knocked out 18 out of 22 opponents in two years of provincial fights, caused a stir before his first big city fight in February when asked to weigh in naked.

He refused, burst into tears and eventually was allowed to weigh in wearing his pants. He also became an instant celebrity when he subsequently beat his opponent.

Saturday's contest reportedly generated ticket interest from as far a way as Europe, Japan and Hong Kong and scores of disappointed fight fans without tickets were left outside the stadium.

Though transvestites and transsexuals are quite widely accepted within Thai society, until Parinya's fight last month Bangkok's premier boxing venues have remained bastions of masculinity. ($1 - 39 baht)

--via Reuters

Fewer Boys Born In First World Nations

Contributed by Jodie Miller

A review of birth rates from several industrialized nations shows that the number of male births has declined significantly in the past few decades. Researchers say this change may be tied to increases in male reproductive health problems.

Researchers from the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC, looked at data from Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and the US, and found similar declines in the sex ratio, or the number of male births per female births, in these countries. For example, from 1970-1990 in the US, the reported decline of 1 male birth per 1,000 births resulted in 38,000 fewer male births. And in Canada, the decline of 2.2 male births per 1,000 births resulted in 8,600 fewer boys being born during the same period.

"Such small changes... can have profound implications for large populations, where hundreds of thousands or millions of births occur each year," write Devra Lee Davis and fellow researchers in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The investigators explain that several factors influence whether a fetus, which starts out female, becomes male. Exposure to hormones, older age of fathers, use of fertility drugs, hepatitis and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma may all reduce the proportion of male fetuses. Workplace and environmental factors such as "...exposure to smelting operations, pesticides, inorganic borates, lead, solvents, (and) alcohol" have also been linked to reduced male populations.

In addition to the concerns about the reduced male birth rates, Davis and colleagues note that disorders of the male reproductive tract, such as hypospadias (an abnormality of the penis where the urethra opens on the underside rather than at the tip) and cryptorchidism (a condition where the testes don't descend normally) are becoming more common. The researchers suggest there is a link, and theorize that prenatal exposures may affect men's overall health and development.

The authors call for additional studies about birth rates by state, region and nation. "The potential repercussions of conditions that may alter the ratio of the sexes at birth should be considered a matter of utmost concern," they write.

--via The Journal of the American Medical Association (1998;279:1018-1023)

TG Killer Allowed to Go Shopping

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker

The New South Wales Prisons Service today hosed down opposition concerns over a decision to allow a convicted killer turned transvestite to take part in a pre-release program.

Nicole Louise Pearce, formerly known as Paul Wayne Luckman, was sentenced to a minimum 16 years jail in 1982 for kidnapping, torturing and burying alive a 13-year-old schoolboy.

Under the Department of Corrective Services' program, Pearce has twice been allowed to go late night shopping in Sydney's north-west under the supervision of a department officer.

A spokeswoman for Corrective Services Commissioner Leo Keliher said the program was aimed at rehabilitating prisoners like Pearce to prepare them for re-entering society.

"It would be completely irresponsible of the department to expect prisoners to be thrown back onto the street and expect them to cope with life after being institutionalised for such a long period of time," she said.

"This particular program referring to shopping, may seem trivial to (the average person) but it teaches them budgeting skills and how to cope with everyday situations."

The spokeswoman said Pearce was now classified as a minimum security prisoner and did not pose a risk to the public.

Opposition spokesman Peter Cochran said the pre-release program was out of touch with the community's attitudes.

"I believe the judiciary and the (NSW) Parole Board are not in touch with the community's expectations," he said. "To release a prisoner who has committed an offence as horrendous as this one, certainly flies in the face of that."

Mr Cochran said the government was desperately trying to reduce prisoner numbers to alleviate the costs imposed on the state's prison system.

"It costs something like $130 a day for a medium security prisoner," he said

"It's up to $190 a day for a maximum security prisoner and down to about $90 a day for a minimum security prisoner. It's a massive cost involved and any of them (the government) can unload, they will unload."

Pearce is due to face a parole hearing on April 21.

--via Australian Associated Press

"Ma Vie" Wins Award

Contributed by Rachelle Austin

Time magazine, Entertainment Tonight, singer k.d. lang and the film "Ma Vie en Rose" were among the winners Monday when a gay and lesbian media image group presented its annual awards. At the first in a series of galas including Washington and Los Angeles, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation honored pop star lang, one of the first nationally known musicians to come out as gay, with a special achievement award. Other winners in the entertainment field included "Ma Vie en Rose" ("My Life in Pink"), the story of a young boy dealing with his sexuality which was named best film in limited release, and Lifetime's "Any Mother's Son."

--via Reuters

PETA, Marino Roast Rivers

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker

When People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals holds its "Fur is a Drag" party in Manhattan tonight, the main attraction will be a celebrity roast of comedienne Joan Rivers. But she won't be there. The object of PETA's disaffection will be Joan Rivers impersonator Frank Marino. PETA has targeted Rivers because of her fondness for fur. Last winter, an animal rights activist got close enough to the real Joan Rivers to splash red paint all over her fur coat.

Bad News: More Women Choose Low-Heeled Shoes

Contributed by Maiki

The majority of women are now wearing flat, more sensible shoes at work, according to a survey presented recently at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting in New Orleans.

"I think women are finally realizing that as they have to spend more and more time in the workplace, they want to be more comfortable in their shoes," said Dr. Cherise Dyal of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. "And they are realizing that they have more problems with their feet and they want shoes that are going to be able to accommodate what they have to do on a day to day basis."

Dyal presented the results of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society's shoe survey, which polled 500 working women on the kinds of shoes they were wearing to work. About 46% of women wear flats, 23% wear athletic shoes, 21% wear pumps less than 2 1/4 inches in height, and only 3% wear shoes with heels that are higher than 2 1/4 inches. In other words, Dyal said, the majority -- 69% -- of women are wearing shoes that are 1 inch in height or less.

The survey showed that higher heels are more commonly worn to work by older women. "Only 16% of women 20 to 30 years indicated they wore heels higher than one inch to work, while 28% of women 40 to 50 said they did," said Dyal in a statement issued by the Society.

Wearing high heels places high pressure on the forefoot, which can lead to bunions, hammertoes, and other foot problems. Dyal also noted that the problems caused or exacerbated by ill-fitting shoes are cumulative. Over decades of shoe-wearing, these problems often worsen, so that doctors tend to see more women with foot problems in their fourth, fifth and sixth decades, rather than in younger generations. The findings could mean that there will be fewer foot problems when these young women age.

"In this study we saw that 75% of the women in the 20-30 are category are wearing shoes that are less than 1 inch in height," Dyal said. "And 30% are wearing athletic shoes."

Tranny Granny Runs for Office

Contributed by Elizabeth Parker

Veteran New Zealand lesbigay rights activist and transsexual Jacqui Grant -- affectionately known to her West Coast community of Moana as the "Tranny Granny" for having fostered more than 50 children -- has been elected to represent her ward on the Grey District Council of the South Island. On January 1, she was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her work with youth and in preserving endangered species, the first transsexual to be so honored.

Grant is New Zealand's second transsexual to be elected to a district council. The first was Georgina Beyer of Carterton in 1993, who went on to become mayor in 1995 and is likely to make a run for Parliament this year.

--via Wairarapa Times-Age



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