First Trans Beauty Pageant Hosted In India

There have been some recent groundbreaking events taking place for the GLBT community in India that have broken down cultural barriers.

In July the Delhi High Court decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults by declaring a colonial-era ban on homosexuality unconstitutional.

In November eunuchs won the right in a long standing campaign to be listed as 'others', distinct from males and females, on electoral rolls and voter identity cards.

In the wake of the changes in Indian society, the Indian Community Welfare Organization (ICWO), organized and hosted the first annual pageant for Indian transwomen on December 19.

The ICWO is the local organizations that works for the rights of TBLG people in Chennai and drew 120 contestants across India aged 20 to 35 to the city

Besides tiaras for the winners of the 'Miss India' title, crowns were also handed out to victorious contestants in other categories such as "Miss Beautiful Hair," "Miss Beautiful Eyes" and "Miss Beautiful Skin".

So why a pageant? ICWO Founding Secretary A.J. Hariharan told AFP, "We had a meeting of the transgender community some months ago where we discussed various events to bring community members into society,"

After rejecting several proposals including sporting events, "everyone unanimously supported the idea of a national-level beauty pageant," he said.

"We thought it would create an opportunity for the transgender community to showcase their skills, create a platform to address the problems they face - discrimination, marginalization and misconception."

The winner was Karina Shaline, a 25-year-old model from Mumbai. Romi, a 23 year old beautician from the northeastern state of Manipur, was second with local favorite and dance instructor Padmini, 25, grabbing third place.

Network of Transgender Women of Thailand Calls For End To Transphobic Education Uniform Regulations

TransGriot Note: Yep, even in the ostensibly transgender friendly 'Land Of Smiles' we have to fight tooth and nail for our basic human rights. An interesting December 11 story from The Nation.

The Network of Transgender Women of Thailand has urged the Education Ministry and universities to cancel regulations forcing transgender persons to wear male uniforms to classrooms, exams and graduation ceremonies.

Network chairperson Yollada Suanyot said yesterday they had received complaints from transgender students, alumni and lecturers about the regulations, which she believes stem from society's misunderstanding of transgender, identified medically as transsexuฌalism.

She claimed people with transgender inclination needed therapy before undergoing a gender change and to dress and live according to their sexual inclinations.

She said the universities' dress code violated their rights and obstructed the treatment of transsexualism. As a result, she said, many transgender youths did not want to study further.

Yollada said the network had submitted an appeal to Education Minister Jurin Laksanawisit on Wednesday. However, Jurin said he hadn't yet received it and would look into the issue today.

She added that the network had asked the Royal Household Bureau if transgender people could wear female uniforms in a graduation ceremony. They were told the bureau did not limit people's rights and that they should contact the Education Ministry and universities about the matter, she said.

Thammasat University (TU) vice president Parinya Thewanaruemitkul said his institution didn't object to transgender students wearing female uniforms - but those who hadn't undergone a gender change could not stay in girls' dorms or use women's toilets.

Parinya said universities would be willing to comply with a request by the Royal Household Bureau or Education Ministry.

Hong Kong Transwoman Fights For Her Marriage Rights

Here's another example of the how the GL push for same gender marriage has had a deleterious effect on the ability of transpeople to get married.

Thanks to my sis Leona Lo, I heard about this Hong Kong case.

Trans people in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, parts of Europe and even parts of mainland China have the right to get married and do. You would think that Hong Kong would also follow suit because it was ruled by Britain for 156 years until it reverted back to Chinese control in 1997.

Nope.

Despite its worldwide image as a modern, cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong is a largely traditional and conservative society where GLBT groups inside and outside of it often complain of intolerance, harassment and discrimination.

Thanks to growing 'Christian' fundamentalism in Hong Kong, it's getting worse for transpeople. Like everywhere else on the planet, the Hong Kong fundies have targeted transpeople as their 'Great Satan' to organize and rally against.

A twentysomething post operative transwoman is gearing up for a Hong Kong High Court battle to marry her boyfriend. She was told the reason she cannot do so is because Hong Kong law only recognizes marriages between a couple born as male and female.

Hong Kong transpeople can change their identity cards and school certificates to reflect their gender identity and be recognized as such, but do not have the right to marry someone of their birth gender.

And there's the rub. Someone in the Registry of Marriages has failed to note the simple fact that a transwoman, be she pre, post or non operative is a woman, period.

That means she does have the right to get married to any man, cis or transgender and this is NOT a same gender marriage.

In a landmark care in Hong Kong, a judicial review of the adverse ruling by the Registrar of Marriages is being conducted.

The transwoman in question has requested anonymity as she fights this ruling. and her attorney, Michael Vidler, said his client had undergone SRS within the past five years after years of gender therapy.

He told Wednesday's South China Morning Post that she was now "pleased to be a woman" and was in a stable relationship with her boyfriend.

The registrar's decision had "disregarded the gender therapy, ignored the reassignment surgery and deprived transsexuals of their human rights," Vidler told the newspaper.

A hearing was expected to take place in the next two weeks to set a date for a full hearing into the case.

But it's a travesty she's having to fight so hard just to marry the person she loves.

Thanks Again, Leona!

This is one of those 'today is a good day' moments.

I mentioned four months ago that I was given the honor of writing a commentary for my sis and blogger Leona Lo's wildly successful sold out play the Ah Kua Show.

I was surprised and flattered she asked me to write the commentary. What made it so much cooler was that she's one of the many people in the international trans community I have much love, respect and admiration for.

She's been doing a wonderful job in Singapore helping to educate and dispel myths about trans people in her homeland.

Now that I've shown my Singaporean sister some love, I'll move on in this post.

My mailbox had a surprise waiting for me earlier today.

I'd forgotten that Leona asked for my address a few months ago in order to send me a program from the show.

When Dawn handed me my mail, it finally clicked who it was from when I saw the Singaporean stamps on the envelope and eagerly tore into it.

Sure enough, there was my Ah Kua Show program.

Leona, thanks again for giving me the honor of writing that commentary and in a small way, be a part of that show. It was comforting to know that even though I couldn't be there physically, part of me was there in terms of my composed words in the program.

Transpinay Enters Philippine Big Brother House

The good news about transpeople around the world just living their lives and being positively visible just keeps on coming.

Pinay TG actually posted this on October 10, but it bears repeating anyway.

Pinay TG wrote that STRAP member Rica Paras is entering the Philippine Big Brother house. From reading the post, hell, I want to meet Rica. She's got it going on as we'd say in my old neighborhood.

There is a show website with individual profiles of the housemates that you can peruse at your leisure. Was a little irritated that they put Rica's old name out there in her profile, but hold your fire gang. STRAP is wishing to use Rica's appearance as a teachable moment for Philippine society, so let's let them handle their local business.

If they need more international firepower backing them up, Pinay TG and STRAP will let us know.

So just show Rica some love and support. Two fan sites with much content written in Filipino have popped up. Pinay TG will advise me about other things they are coming up with to better support our sis.

Congratulations, Rica and good luck.

The Miss International Queen Pageant Is Back!

After a year's absence due to political turmoil in Thailand, the 2009 edition of the Miss International Queen transgender pageant will finally take place.

The pageant has garnered international media attention in its short existence and was missed by contestants and pageant fans alike.

The cool thing about this pageant and the Miss Tiffany's Universe one, which is reserved for Thai transwomen only, is that the winners of these pageants are treated with the same respect and attention as the ciswomen who represent Thailand in the Miss Universe and Miss World competitions.

There was a kick off press conference held October 2 in Bangkok for this 5th anniversary edition of Miss International Queen, which has become a prestigious title in the trans pageant world. The winner receives $10,000 USD plus prizes, and Tiffany's management reported they received 68 applications around the world from potential contestants interested in competing in this year's edition of Miss International Queen.

It was whittled down to the 25 contestants from 15 countries who will journey to Pattaya and Tiffany's Show Theatre October 26–31 to battle for the crown

Nepali Transwoman Eager For Miss International Queen Challenge

Sudeshna Sarkar of Thaindian News wrote an interesting article about one of the 25 people who will be competing in the 2009 edition of the Miss International Queen pageant.

21 year old Sandhya Lama, is the reigning Miss Gay Nepal and is eager to walk the stage at the most prestigious transgender pageant in the world.

“I am excited,” said Sandhya, who not only is the reigning Miss Gay Nepal, she beat 54 contestants last year to win the Miss Beauty and Brain 2008 pageant title. The pageant was organized by the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s pioneering gay rights organization,

“I look forward to telling the world about the leaps made by the gay rights movement in Nepal. The Supreme Court has recognized us as citizens who should have the rights enjoyed by other citizens. It has also approved of same-sex marriages.

“Moreover, when a new constitution, written by the people themselves, is promulgated in May 2010, it will also include recommendations given by us.”

Sandhya's day job is working as a counselor for the Blue Diamond Society. She counsels her peers about the perils of intravenous drug use and advocating measures to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in addition to fulfilling her official duties as Miss Gay Nepal.

Looking forward to seeing if she can add the Miss International Queen title to her increasing list of pageant wins.

Choi Han Bit-Korean Supermodel

Those of us with longer memories would probably dispute that title by pointing out Harisu was the first Korean transwoman to garner international attention.. But 23 year old Choi Han Bit has done something that even trailblazing transwoman Harisu hasn't.

In Korea there is a television show called Open Hall in which beautiful women compete for a chance to become a supermodel. Out of the 1,200 applicants they received for this show, Choi Han Bit was one of the 160 initial contestants selected.

Over the 20 days of competition Choi has continued to impress and advance. She got through the first preliminary round which whittled those 160 contestants down to 50, and then made it through the July 28 second round which cut the remaining ladies down to 32 competitors.






Making the September 25 finals virtually guarantees her 'supermodel status' regardless of whether or not she actually wins

During her speech, according to AllKpop she had lots to say and many people to thank, including her parents.

"Looking back, the situation I'm in would have seemed impossible to me as a child. I'm just so happy to be here right now and I want to become a dignified supermodel as well as a great role model. I would like to thank my parents for actively supporting me through the surgery and the pursuit of my dreams."

When asked if she would like to be a celebrity, she said that she did not want to use her transgender status to become a celebrity, but would rather become a celebrity through her hard work and passion.

At the conclusion of her speech, Choi said, "I would like to send a message to any other transgenders. Be dignified and proud of who you are."

Amen sis. Your transsisters around the world are definitely proud of you.

I'll have to do some searching to find out if she ultimately won the contest. Here's hoping she did.

Vietnam's Miss Angel Pageant -A Vehicle For Change

Like most places in Asia and the Pacific Rim, Vietnam is crazy about beauty pageants.

Since being trans is a worldwide thing and there are transpeople in Vietnam, and some of those transpeople like competing in pageants as well, that means there are popular ones reserved for transpeople and gay men who are female illusionists.

Pham Thu Nga reported on the GLBT pageant phenomenon in Vietnam, and one of the increasingly popular ones is the Miss Angel pageant.

This pageant is getting an increased profile and cachet in Vietnam in just four years despite the fact that it hasn't been approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Performing Arts.

That organization has to approve all live events in Vietnam.

Lam Thi wanted nothing more than to walk the stage at a glamorous beauty contest, but Vietnamese regulations prohibit transwomen from participating in beauty contests with ciswomen. That unfortunately limits her competition options.

So when she heard about Miss Angel. she did everything she could to compete in the 4th annual edition of this pageant and was determined to win it.

But it was more than self-interest that inspired her, she also wanted to bring greater acceptance to the Vietnamese GLBT community.

“Through such contests, I hope society will learn to keep an open mind about gays,” she said.

GLBT pageants are attracting scores of contestants like Lam Thi who say they just want to be considered normal. Though prize winnings are usually low, around US$100-300, most pageant hopefuls spend an average of $600 getting prepared for the events, according to Minh Quan, director of Miss Angel.

Miss Angel was first held in 2005 by The Gioi Thu Ba (The Third World) Ltd. and gay club Bau Troi Xanh (Blue Sky). Contestants, aged 16-24, compete in three rounds that cover evening gown, question and answer about current events and one in which they must demonstrate their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and safe sex, since the pageant's mission is to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

The Miss Angel judges panel consists of make-up artists, psychologists and members of the Ho Chi Minh City’s AIDS Prevention Committee.

Minh Quan, 29-year-old director of The Gioi Thu Ba Ltd. and moderator of thegioithu3. com, which boasts the largest number of members of all gay-themed websites in Vietnam, said he held Vietnam’s first gay beauty contest at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City “just for fun.”

Quan, who has come out publicly about his homosexuality, said a group of about 20 gay men competed in the first competition.

But as support grew through his website, which had 8,000 members by 2006, he decided to organize larger, more highly-publicized competitions.

“Later contests drew a lot of media attention with headlines like ‘Homosexuals vie for beauty queen title,’” Quan said.

“We received a lot of support from the public in the beginning. Many thought it was just a normal event. But, of course, there was strong opposition as well.”

This year’s Miss Angel pageant was held in June and attracted hundreds of contestants from Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces.

But it was 20-year-old Thi’s dream that came true at the 4th Miss Angel pageant.

In an interview with Thanh Nien after being crowned the queen of the contest, the native of the southwestern Tay Ninh province said she'd had breast augmentation surgery and would undergo more complicated sex-related surgery in the near future.

Like beauty queens in any other pageant, the 4th Miss Angel said she would use her position to carry out charity work.

“I will launch an awareness campaign calling on homosexuals to have safe sex to prevent AIDS.”

Minh Quan is now also training contestants for the next Miss Angel Contest as well as the Prince Style for lesbians and drag kings. Quan said his biggest wish was that gay pageants would one day be officially licensed so they can expand and attract larger sponsorships.

Quan added that he wanted to organize a contest for transsexuals next year and said that he longed for the day that the gay community would have the full acceptance of the rest of Vietnamese society.

That's a wish GLBT people all over the world fervently hope will come true as well.

Historic Change Has Come To Japan

For fifty years the conservative Liberal Democratic Party has ruled post war Japan.

But the impact of the worldwide recession on Japan combined with various LDP scandals and its almost unbroken control of Japanese political life got the voters in 'throw the LDP rascals out' mode.

On August 30 the center-left Democratic Party of Japan rolled to a convincing and historic electoral beatdown of the LDP.

The ten year old DPJ captured 308 seats in the 408 seat Diet lower house elections and put the son of a respected Japanese political family in the position as leader of the Democratic Party of Japan to be its next prime minister.

On September 16 a new era in Japanese politics began as Stanford University educated Yukio Hatoyama formally took power as prime minister. The DPJ is also riding a huge wave of popularity according to a poll conducted by the Nikkei newspaper and TV Tokyo Corp.


It is starting its new administration with the second highest approval rating ever recorded for that poll. It has the support of 75 percent of the poll rspondents.

Only Junichiro Koizumi’s government after it took power in April 2001 had a higher approval rating at 80 percent.

But now comes the fun part, governing Japan.

The DPJ now has to make good on the promises it made during the campaign. It printed and distributed five million copies of its "Change in Power" campaign manifesto and program which lists in black and white what the new government is committed to achieving.

The DPJ also faces the challenge of reviving the sluggish Japanese economy.

Prime Minister Hatoyama and the other DPJ leaders are keenly aware that if they don't, their current sky-high poll numbers could plunge and they could suffer the fate of the conservative LDP government they just ousted.

So it will be interesting to see just what form change takes in the Land of The Rising Sun and how fast they achieve it.

How Close Are We To Building Cylons?

TransGriot Note: My latest piece for Global Comment


I am an unabashed sci-fi fan.

I loved Star Trek and even tried to get into Enterprise. I have watched all six Star Wars movies and Blade Runner in the theaters during their first weekend of release. I loved Battlestar Galactica, old and reimagined series.

As a science fiction aficionado I am well aware of the axiom that today's science fiction is tomorrow's science fact.

We have seen that happen numerous times in terms of Jules Verne's classic vision of a moon landing becoming our reality 40 years ago on July 20. Scientists are even reporting that warp drive is theoretically possible as well.

One of the interesting backstories that emerged from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series is that the Cylons, the cybernetic tormentors of humans in the series, were originally created by humans.

They fought humanity wars, and did humanity's work in the Twelve Colonies before they rebelled and nearly wiped their creators out. Unfortunately Dr. Daniel Greystone, the creator of the Cylons, hadn't heard of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws Of Robotics.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Now I've recently begun to wonder how close are we to actually producing our own Cylons?

If we eventually create Cylon-like robots, they'll probably speak Japanese and have a 'made in Japan' label. While robotic technology development is ongoing in several nations, Japan has really pushed the robot development envelope.

One-fifth of the Japanese population is 65 or older, so the country is investing heavily in research and development efforts designed to produce robots that will replenish the work force and care for the elderly.

Over the last ten years they have been creating advanced humanoid looking robots that can talk, mimic a limited range of human emotions, move effortlessly and interact with humans as well.

Robots have long been part of Japanese factories and culture. They can serve as receptionists, vacuum office corridors, spoon feed the elderly and plant rice.

It's also interesting to note that thanks to the 2003 completion of the Human Genome Project, discoveries are being made almost every day in terms of what section of the DNA strand controls what aspect of human development.

We are also learning that deficiencies in certain parts of the DNA strand trigger certain diseases and are creating gene based medicines to target those diseases. This knowledge should also aid us in creating robots that more closely resemble us.

Read the rest of the post at Global Comment.

You're Welcome, Leona!

TransGriot Note: Received an e-mail recently from my sis in Singapore that she asked me to post to the blog. It has a commentary concerning her wildly successful Ah Kua Show that sold out its three night run there.

And without further ado, here's Leona.

The show was a great success with lots of support from the local media. In a way, it was like the dawn of a new era. The show and the media coverage would not have been possible five years ago.

Could you give me your address please? I would like to send the programme booklet to you.

Thank you for your fabulous support!

Cheers!
Leona

***

Done sis.

It was an honor for me to write the commentary for it. I'm looking forward to perusing the program once I receive it. I'll let you (and my TransGriot readers) know when the program finally reaches my mailbox.

I'm also looking forward to the day when we finally get the opportunity to meet in person.

Ah Kua Show Video

I mentioned that I was honored to be asked by my sis Leona Lo to write a comment that appeared in the Ah Kua show program.

I was pleased to see this video of a television interview with my sis about the show.

Congratulations on a sold out and successful three night run.

Ah Kua Show

I was surprised when I received an e-mail from Leona Lo, my sis in Singapore a few months ago with a request. She asked me to compose a comment for the program of her Ah Kua Show she was putting together.

In case you haven't been following the progress of it on her blog, the Ah Kua Show is a play she wrote based on her life which will run from August 6-8 at the Substation Theater.

I was deeply honored to be asked to write the commentary by one of the people in the worldwide trans community I admire. I felt it was my small way of being a part of the show even though as much as I would love to, I couldn't be there in person to support it.

For those of you in the Singapore area, better hurry if you want tickets to the show. Two nights are already sold out and not many tickets remain.

The comment I wrote is underneath the Ah Kua Show poster. Leona, thanks once again for giving me the opportunity and honor of composing it.


Hello Patrons of the Ah Kua Show and greetings from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky!

I am Monica Roberts, a 15 year transitioned African-American transperson originally from Houston, Texas. I am a longtime activist, the editor of the TransGriot blog, and a 2006 winner of the IFGE Trinity Award. I’m only the third African-American transperson to receive the second highest honor given by the United States transgender community for outstanding service.

I’m deeply honored to have been given the opportunity by Leona to share a few words with you as you peruse the Ah Kua Show program. I wish I could be in Singapore watching the play with you.

Contrary to the negative message being pushed by the Forces of Intolerance around the globe, being transgender is nothing to be ashamed of. We are part of the mosaic of humanity and it is something to be embraced with pride.

It is past time that our fellow transpersons and citizens around the world realize that we are beautiful, talented and intelligent people with much to offer the societies of the various countries we inhabit if just given a chance to do so.

I’ve often said that a transperson’s family expands, not contracts after we transition to become the beautiful people we were made by our Creator to be.

I’m proud to have Leona Lo as part of my worldwide extended family, and I wish her and the Ah Kua show much success.

China's New Red Star- In Space

TransGriot Note: My latest piece for Global Comment.

When I was growing up, the space race between NASA and the Soviet space program was a major topic of conversation.

The race to the moon between the United States and Russia was a major avenue of Cold War competition that NASA lagged in during the early days.

The Russian space program piled up history making achievement after achievement during the late 50's and 60's while the United States struggled just to get a rocket off the launch pad.

From its Baikonur Cosmodrome Russia launched the world's first ICBM, the world's first orbiting satellite in Sputnik 1, the first satellite to reach the moon in Luna 1, the first manned orbital flight in 1961 with Yuri Gagarin, and the 1963 flight of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

Under the Interkosmos program 14 cosmonauts from 13 nations such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Cuba and France were paired up with a Russian cosmonaut and blasted into space.

Eventually the United States got its space act together during the 60's, spurred on by President John F. Kennedy bold declaration of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Thanks to NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs the goal was accomplished when Apollo 11 landed on the moon July 20, 1969.

In the United States we're about to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Our onetime Russian Cold War rivals are one of our major international partners helping to assemble and staff the International Space Station.

Just as our space program has slipped from the heady days of the Apollo era, the Russian one has fallen a bit as well due to tight budgets. The breakup of the Soviet Union also put the Russians in the position of having to lease the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome until 2050 since it now sits in Kazakhstan.

As the Russians upgrade the Plesetsk Cosmodrome and NASA prepares to retire its aging space shuttle fleet in 2010, China has made moves over the last few years to challenge both nations in a bid to become the leading space-farer on earth.

China launched its first satellite in 1970, but didn't conduct a manned space mission until the Shenzhou 5 mission was launched October 15, 2003. Taikonaut Yang Liwei made 15 orbits of the Earth before touching down in Inner Mongolia.

They quickly followed it up with the Shenzhou 6 two-man mission almost two years later. It was launched October 12, 2005 with taikonauts Nie Haisheng and Fei Junlong making 76 earth orbits over nearly five days before touching down.

Read the rest of my post at Global Comment.

June 4, 1989

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Chinese government crushing the student led pro democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Student demonstrators calling for government reform and an end to corruption occupied Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing for five weeks in the spring of 1989.

Those demonstrations captured the world's attention, but unfortunately between the late evening of June 3 and the early morning hours of June 4, the plug was pulled on the foreign networks such as CNN broadcasting the event and soldiers backed by tanks opened fire on civilians in and around the square. Casualties were estimated between 200-1000 dead.

It also produced the iconic photo in this post of a lone citizen stopping an armored column. The fate of that brave citizen is unknown to this day.

The Chinese government can try to censor it all they want, but no one will forget what happened 20 years ago and the remarkable five weeks preceding it. Keep those that died on June 4, 1989 in your thoughts and prayers.

It's a reminder to those of us who live in democracies that as much as we gripe about the imperfect nature of the governments we live under, these freedoms are hard won and require eternal vigilance to keep.

It is also a reminder that there are people who put their lives on the line in other parts of the world to obtain the freedoms that too many of us take for granted.

Paper Dolls

Paper Dolls is the 2005 award winning documentary film by Tomer Heymann about a group of transpinays in Israel.

After closing the border to Palestinian workers during the intifada, Israeli authorities sought to fill gaps in the job market by enticing workers from other parts of the world. Among those who answered the call were transpinays in various stages of their gender transitions who emigrated and worked as home health care workers.

On their one day off they perform at a Tel Aviv night club as a drag troupe called the Paper Dolls.



The award winning film captures their stories in terms of being away from home, being strangers in a strange land and persevering despite their ineligibility for citizenship and living precariously under the threat of visa revocation is they lose their jobs.

Israel's Transgender Community

When you mention the nation of Israel, you think about it in the context of the major world religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and the holy sites for those religions contained inside its borders.

Scenes from Jerusalem and ultra modern Tel Aviv come to mind along with the seemingly endless cycle of violence that underscores the ongoing search for peace in this part of the world.

But until May 1998, the word transgender and Israel was something that you didn't think was synonymous. Then a transwoman named Sharon Cohen won the Eurovision song contest that launched the career of Swedish pop group ABBA and became an international transgender icon known as Dana International.

Her groundbreaking win let the world in on the little known fact that there are transgender people in Israel. While Dana's better known to the world transgender community, Nora Greenberg is better known to Israeli lawmakers and the nation's GLBT community.

Greenberg wears two hats as the transgender representative sitting on the national board of The Aguda, an association representing Israel's GLBT community that has been in existence since 1975. She's also the coordinator of the political lobbying group that represents the various organizations in Israel transgender community.

She's a post-op fighting for Israel's transgender people to have the ability to change their identity cards without undergoing surgery, and just like everywhere else on the planet, to have laws put in place to combat employment discrimination.

But despite the discrimination that transgender people face, Israel is considered the most tolerant country in the Middle East towards GLBT people. It's that tolerance that Israeli transpeople are banking on in addition to their emerging sense of community to create lasting change that allows them to contribute their talents to Israeli society.

If A Transwoman Can Play A Transwoman In Indian Movies, How About In Hollywood?

I found it interesting last year that a young Indian transwoman has gone somewhere that transpeople in the States haven't. But what else is new for us here?

Last year Karpaga made history in India as she became the first transwoman to be cast in a lead role in a commercial film. She was cast as the lead in a Tamil language film called Paal, which means gender in the Tamil language.

While Indian transpeople are justifiably proud of this cultural step up since they have been dissed for far too long in movies like their American cousins, at least they actually have transwomen playing transwomen in their films.

And based on the plot synopsis for this one, Paal looks pretty interesting. She's playing an intellectual filmmaker who falls in love and faces the 'do I tell' dilemma.

What we've gotten here in the States, be it the silver screen or television is cisgender actresses scooping up those role. The recent announcement that Nicole Kidman is set to play pioneer transwoman Lili Elbe in the indie film The Danish Girl only heightens our annoyance about this.

It's not like we don't have transgender actresses in Hollywood. Candis Cayne, Calpernia Addams, Aleshia Brevard, Jazzmun and Alexandra Billings are some of the ones that come to mind. Candis recently had her groundbreaking role in the now cancelled Dirty Sexy Money that ended predictably in her death, but that's another post.

It would be nice if Hollywood would actually put a transwoman in a transgender role, but they still can't get it right with cisgender women of color either.

What's going to have to happen is that transwomen are going to have to write, produce and direct their own stories, and one of those indie films is going to have to make enough money and garner enough awards to get the peeps in Hollywood's attention.

As for Paal, here's hoping it's an artistic and commercial success in India and beyond, and it leads to a nice career for Karpaga and other Indian transwomen who follow in her pumps.

Malaysia's Muslim Transsexuals Battle Sex Change Woes

TransGriot Note: It's an old article, but one that will help shed some light on some of the challenges our transgender brothers and sisters face in Malaysia.


By Liau Y-Sing
Thompson Reuters
Sun Sep 2, 2007
10:44pm EDT

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - When Khartini Slamah first came out as a transsexual, he was a dutiful Muslim son by day and a prostitute by night, working on the streets of the Malaysian capital.

The option of sex change surgery was out of the question in this moderate Muslim country where Muslim transsexuals are banned from changing their gender and same sex relationships are a criminal offence.

"I tried to find a job but because of my sexuality I was turned down," said the 44-year-old former prostitute who now works as an activist and counselor to other transsexuals.

Twenty years later, sex change surgery may be routine in some countries but it's still banned by law in Malaysia -- at least for Muslims. The ruling doesn't apply to non-Muslims who make up about half of the estimated 30,000 transsexuals in Malaysia.

The ban stems from an Islamic belief that it is wrong to alter that which God has given. This belief also forbids Muslims from dressing up as the opposite sex and undergoing major cosmetic surgery other than for medical reasons.

Non-Muslims don't have the same problems, although they do sometimes have trouble registering their new gender with the state and like their Muslim counterparts, many have to work as prostitutes as there are few job opportunities for transsexuals.

Malaysia's transsexuals are in a legal limbo.

In February 2005, a Malaysian court allowed a non-Muslim male transsexual to change the gender on his identity card after he showed medical evidence of sex-change by surgery, media reports said at the time.

But later that year, the government declared as invalid the marriage of a couple in which the wife was a non-Muslim man who had undergone sex change surgery, saying it was a same-sex union.

"We are tolerant of them (transsexuals). But whether we will have laws that will protect them -- I don't think with the conservative nature of our culture -- that we will," said criminologist P. Sundramoorthy.

For Khartini, dressed in a flowing lilac tunic with his feet squeezed into stiletto heels, the conflict between sexual identity and religion is sometimes too hard to bear.

"We are all in a dilemma. We are Muslims. They say this is not allowed, but they never tell us what are the options. I felt like it's being used to oppress. But I know that religion, Islam is so flexible...," said Khartini, a practicing Muslim.

INNATE OR IMBUED?

Despite its modern exterior, Malaysia remains conservative. Capital Kuala Lumpur -- a bustling metropolis dotted by towering skyscrapers, flashy art galleries and riotous gay bars -- has a deeply religious underbelly.

U.S. singer Gwen Stefani was forced to cover up her usually revealing stage costumes when she performed recently in Kuala Lumpur after Islamic groups expressed fears she could corrupt the country's youth.

Government plans to introduce sex education in schools and to give free needles and condoms to drug addicts provoked a fierce debate, with some religious leaders saying this would promote promiscuity.

The past few decades have seen a rise in religious fervor among Muslims in Malaysia, with an increase in the popularity of Islamic banking and more women eschewing Western attire in favor of traditional Malay dress and headscarves.

Transsexuals are still social outcasts, the victims of physical abuse and verbal harassment by the public, police and religious authorities, who advocate counseling and the use of hormone injections to suppress transsexuals' inclinations.

"We very much encourage them to return to their original form," said Abdullah Md Zin, a minister for religious affairs. "We cannot accept them."

Transsexuals say their preferences are innate.

"There's something biological," said Teh Yik Koon, a criminologist and sociologist. "In my research, there are those as young as three, four years old, who don't feel as if they fit into their assigned gender role."

Few doctors perform gender realignment operations in Malaysia so those seeking the surgery must pay exorbitant prices abroad. Muslims, who make up 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million population, risk being brought before Islamic courts, which under Malaysian law hear civil cases involving Muslims.

Islamic cleric, Mohamad Asri Zainul Abidin, one of Malaysia's most moderate Muslim leaders believes transsexuals should be fined or jailed if counseling proves ineffective at deterring them.

"We must try to reform them and give them advice. We must not allow them to stray," said the cleric. "Imagine if this world were filled with transsexuals -- what would happen to the human race?"