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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.
Liberal UK Female Politicians Boot Out TS
Contributed by Sabrina
A LABOUR councillor who is having a sex change was thrown out of a women-only meeting because members decided that "she" was still a "he".
Rosalind Mitchell was refused admission to the Bristol West Labour Women's annual meeting in full view of television cameras documenting her life. She said yesterday: "It is a bitter disappointment and it shows that some people are frightened of change."
Miss Mitchell, 43, was elected to Bristol city council as David Spry in May. But, after undergoing hormone treatment, electrolysis and speech therapy, she arrived for a council meeting in November in a skirt, make-up and a new identity. She is awaiting surgery to complete her transformation.
Her council colleagues appeared to accept her. Initially, she used the disabled lavatory at Council House to avoid embarrassing anyone. But lately she has been using the ladies without incident. She believed that the worst of her potential problems were over, until she turned up for the women's meeting at a local baptist church, with a BBC crew in tow. The women took a vote, and Miss Mitchell was asked to leave.
Graham Manuel, Labour's regional secretary, said the women had reacted because they had no warning of Miss Mitchell's arrival. He said: "Women in the Labour Party have always had the capacity to exclude men from their meetings. The essential question is whether that meeting regarded Rosalind as a man or a woman. And clearly, at that point, I would suggest that the majority opinion was that she was still a man."
Miss Mitchell, a councillor for Redland, said: "I am very disappointed. It's a setback for the cause of being accepted. One thing that has surprised me is that I expected hostility to come from members of the public and for colleagues to be OK. But it has turned out the other way round. When I joined the Labour Party I thought it was the party which stood up for the downtrodden and the oppressed."
She said: "Although in many ways it has been helpful, many of its members have been very hostile. I am in no hurry to go back. It will take time to heal the wounds."
She said she had undergone hours of painful electrolysis to remove facial hair and is taking speech therapy lessons to change her voice. She said: "I have made my transition to being a woman, and don't feel that I have to apologise or ask permission, I simply wish to lead a life in this way. Nature is not perfect. Sometimes it gives you the body of a man and the mind of a woman."
She said: "I have slipped into the mould quite easily. I think I probably haven't got the walk quite right yet, but that will come. I am very proud of my hair. My older sister always used to say that it was unfair that I had the girl's hair. It's ironic really."
--via The Weekly Telegraph
Cher's Son Rocks In Drag
Contributed by Bobby G
March 15, 1998
Question: Sonny Bono's obituaries listed just one child, Chastity, from his
marriage to Cher. But don't they also have a son, Elijah Blue? Mary E.
Whitlock, Binghamton, N.Y.
Answer: Sony Bono was responsible for a lot of things -- from scratchy vocals
to tacky bellbottoms -- but not for Elijah Blue. He's the result of Cher's
bumpy marriage to rock star Gregg Allman. (They split after just 10 days,
reconciled, then divorced three years later.) Now 21, Elijah has followed in
the footsteps of both parents: He plays rock music like his father and wears
women's makeup and clothes like his mother. As a kid, Elijah was shipped off
to prep school in New England -- an experience he calls a "debaucherous
adolescent fantasy world." More recently, he has been dressing like a
transvestite and playing guitar in a band called Deadsy, whose dark,
synthesized sound can be heard this spring when their new CD, "Commencement",
is released.
--via Parade Magazine
UK Soap's Sex Change Plot Worries TS's
"The latest sociological exploration by "Coronation", into the traumatic world of sex-change operations has angered transsexual lobby groups.
They claim that the soap opera's portrayal of Harley Patterson who has just informed her screen boyfriend, the cafe owner Roy Cropper, that she is still technically a man, is demeaning and inaccurate.
Furthermore, they believe the role played by Julie Hesmondhalgh, should have been given to one of at least two transsexuals who hold Equity cards.
Granada, whose 37-year old soap attracts an audience of 18 million, rejected the criticism. Maintaining that it was using great sensitivity in addressing the issue. The character is expected to have along run. Fran Springfield, of the Gener Identity Consultancy, said: "This portryal of transsexuals completely misses the mark. It should not be portrayed as humorous and in the unfortunate words of some, a gender-bender figure of fun.
"Transsexualism is something which profoundly affects to concerned and their families. Trivialisation of the subject by "Coronation Street" is no laughing matter." Her main objection is that the role is played by a woman. "I would have liked to have seen the part played by a transsexual actress, someone who could fully understand the responsibilities of the role."
She also claimed that the scriptwriters had failed to research the subject sufficiently. "I know they were approached by a number of representatives from the transsexual community who were more than happy to offer their advice. Unfortunately, Coronation Street, chose not to take that advice. "When we asked them how they were doing their research they said: "We've had a look on the Internet." "That says it all, really. They must realise that if they want to be the first soap to have a transsexual, they have a responsibility to do it in as honest a light as possible. I shall certainly be sending a letter of complaint."
Rosemary Turner. From (GENS) Trust, which produces a magazine for Britain's 67,000 transsexuals, also expressed reservations.
"Clumsy, uninformed handling of this character could dangerously set back the work of organisations such as the Trust and others dedicated to the support of transsexuals and their families," she said.
Granada insists that its portrayal of Miss Patterson is entirely serious and thoroughly researched. Janice Troup, a company spokesperson said: "The storyline has been received extremely well by viewers. We have had only three letters of complaint which isn't bad out of 18 million."
Asked whether a transsexual should play the role she said: " By the nature of the profession, actresses have to portray people they are not. You don't have to be a thief to play a thief."
Gay-Themed TV Drama An Online First
Contributed by Rachelle Austin
``Chad's World,'' the first episodic
TV program produced exclusively for the Internet, will launch in
May.
The drama stars newcomer Brian Stark as the title character,
a conflicted teen whose best friend has just committed suicide
after telling his parents that he's gay.
The show explores Chad's coming of age and emerging
sexuality as he goes off to live with his gay brother Kevin (Dan
Thiel) and Kevin's partner Jim (Sean William Scott).
Web surfers who tune to the ``Chad's World'' website for the
first half-hour installment will find five subsequent episodes
automatically downloaded to their computers via a ``smart
engine'' and will be able to watch the series at 30 frames per
second (the same speed as broadcast TV).
Executive producer Marc Collins-Rector said the half-hours
will be conventionally sponsored, with 22 minutes of show and
eight minutes of ads. But he stressed that only 50,000 web
viewers are required to turn a profit.
``When you consider that there are two million gay young
people between the ages of 12 and 19 who spend two hours a day
online, that's a big audience to tap,'' Collins-Rector added.
--via Reuters
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