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How do men view masculinity?
A new study from the Kinsey Institute explodes the stereotype that men achieve their sense of masculinity by being studs.
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If there's a long queue outside the ladies would you use the mens like desper...
Desperate to go, Marcia Cross found herself using the men's in a bathroom emergency.....I'm so glad Marcia found the "balls" to do this. If there's a long queue outside the ladies would you use the mens? Desperate to go, Marcia Cross found herself using the men's in a bathroom emergency.....I'm so glad Marcia found the "b... more
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Does veiling protect from harassment?
Ads promoting the veil as a way to protect against sexual assault are making the rounds in Egypt. But does wearing the veil protect against harassment? Ads promoting the veil as a way to protect against sexual assault are making the rounds in Egypt. But does wearing the veil protect ag... more
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'Sexist' airlines, City banks and shops force women to wear high heels t...
Airline bosses, City banks and West End department stores are operating "sexist" dress codes that force women staff to wear high heels, a study found today. Airline bosses, City banks and West End department stores are operating "sexist" dress codes that force women staff to wear ... more
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Is it news or is it the Onion?
Unfortunately, it was Reuters that reported on a new poll from Lifetime finding that more women would like to carpool and vacation with Obama rather than McCain. Unfortunately, it was Reuters that reported on a new poll from Lifetime finding that more women would like to carpool and vacation wit... more
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Teen transgender murder victim referred to as “it”
A 32-year-old man has confessed to the killing of 18-year-old transgender woman Angie Zapata, after being arrested about 50 miles away from the murder scene, Pink News reports.
Police in Thornton, Colorado arrested Allen Ray Andrade after responding to a noise complaint early Wednesday morning and finding him in Zapata's stolen car.
Andrade now faces charges of first-degree murder as a hate crime, identity theft and aggravated motor vehicle theft. He has been refused bail.
It will be the first murder in Weld County to be prosecuted as a hate crime.
In 2005 a new law added protections for people based on sexual orientation, including "transgender status," to Colorado's "bias-motivated crimes" statute.
Zapata's sister found her in her apartment in Greeley, Colorado.
She had been beaten to death on July 17 and covered with a blanket.
Andrade told police that he met Zapata on July 15 for a one-time sexual encounter through social networking site MocoSpace.
Andrade reportedly discovered Zapata's male genitalia the next day after seeing photographs around the apartment, becoming suspicious, and forcibly grabbing her crotch after her insistence that she was "all woman."
Andrade then hit Zapata twice in the head with a fire extinguisher after striking her with his fists.
While cleaning the scene for evidence, Andrade told police that, though he thought he'd "killed it," Zapata tried to sit up.
He then struck her a third time with the fire extinguisher and also took her purse, keys and phone before fleeing in her 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser.
"You get the sense that maybe he wasn't seeing Angie as a person. Then you get an idea of the violence behind this act," Crystal Middlestadt, Director of Training and Education for the Colorado Anti-Violence Program told PageOneQ.com.
Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck told the Denver Post that he will aggressively prosecute Andrade.
"It just can't be tolerated at any level. And I hope that if anything positive were to come of this, we would develop a stronger relationship with the gay, lesbian, transgendered community so that they understand just how seriously we take crimes like this and how vigorously we will pursue justice in a situation like this," Buck said.
About 200 people attended the July 23rd memorial service for Angie Zapata.
"Angie gave me the power to not care what people thought of me," friend Angie Portillo, a lesbian, said at the service. "She always just wanted to be who she was, and that was female and to be loved." A 32-year-old man has confessed to the killing of 18-year-old transgender woman Angie Zapata, after being arrested about 50 miles away... more -
Women-friendly hotel floors open for lady-business
Women-only floors in hotels are returning to hotels after a roughly 25-year drought, reports the New York Times.
You what? Whole floors of hotels, just for women? Why?
The originals were intended to provide a safe haven for women traveling alone on business but ended up being considered “a kind of sexist thing,” as one hotel analyst put it.
Instead, the new Crowne Plaza Milwaukee-Wauwatosa says it has set up a “female-friendly” enclave. Anyone booking a room on the Women’s Executive Level — the seventh floor — has access to a variety of amenities like a Victoria’s Secret robe, a blow dryer and vanity mirrors. But, and here is the difference, male guests can book a room on the floor, too.
The strategy is sort of the same on the King Executive Level one floor above, what most hotels refer to as the concierge or club floor. Guests receive perks including free cocktails and concierge services, like making reservations at restaurants. But while those services have traditionally been aimed at men, women can book a room on that floor and relax in the lounge.
The Crowne Plaza Milwaukee is not alone in playing to niche preferences. The Millennium chain’s Premier Hotel in Times Square has a “Woman Travelers Floor” that includes yoga mats, wash mitts, bath salts and a spa-style room-service menu.
In Albany, the downtown Hampton Inn just introduced a floor for female guests that offers cookies, flavored coffees, skin moisturizers and extra-soft socks, plus a half-hour session in the hotel’s massage chair. The Albany program does permit men on the women’s floor on weekends.
So hotels are trying to cater for the growing numbers of women travellers by giving them extra-big mirrors, bubble bath, a girly dressing gown and some chocolate ? Ok, so the chocolate I like, but I'm prettty sure men like chocolate too. And being able to see themselves as they shave, and washing wirh decent-quality products, and wearing comfy bath robes. Right? Unless the hotels are saying that looking at oneself, getting clean in comfort and eating chocolate are solely the preserve of women...?
What do you think? A gender-stereotyping and unecessary attempt to girlify hotel rooms, or a genuinely good idea? Women-only floors in hotels are returning to hotels after a roughly 25-year drought, reports the New York Times. ... more -
Depressed, repressed, objectified: are men the new women?
Modern men are less fertile, more weight-obsessed and 'non-essential to parenting', so no wonder they are confused about modern masculinity, the Observer reports.
In June, men discovered that their libidos are in freefall, prompting a 40 per cent increase in males seeking counselling for impotence problems. Their existential angst worsened in July, when British men discovered that they have the most unequal paternity rights in Europe.
According to Nicola Brewer, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, fathers in the UK are seen as 'not essential for parenting'. The same month saw the publication of a medical study that proved the quality of men's sperm declines to such an extent after they hit 45 that the chances of a partner's miscarriage are doubled.
It's not only their internal biology; men are also succumbing to the traditionally female preoccupation of looking good on the outside, too. Sales of male beauty products have leapt 30 per cent over the past decade. Almost 20 per cent more men are having plastic surgery than ever before while, last year, researchers from Harvard discovered that a quarter of anorexia and bulimia sufferers is male. During the fashion shows, male models had their own equivalent of the size-zero debate.
Every week, it seems as if there are new surveys and studies tripping over themselves to paint the grimmest possible picture of modern masculinity. They tell us that men are more neurotic and less fulfilled than ever before; that they are objectified rather than revered; that they are expected to be more in touch with their emotions and yet are criticised for it.
Men appear to be confused about what they are and unsure about who they are meant to be. So with more of them feeling disenfranchised, disillusioned and disempowered, is it feasible to think of men as the new oppressed minority? Might men, in fact, be the new women? And, if so, who is to blame for making them feel marginalised?
Read on at the link to find out...
The question is, are men really in such a mess? Men, are you confused about what you are and who you're supposed to be? Do you feel under pressure to look and act in new and confusing ways? Has the world changed drmatically for you? And women, are the men in your life facing these dilemmas? If so, where do they come from, and what can we do about them? Modern men are less fertile, more weight-obsessed and 'non-essential to parenting', so no wonder they are confused about mod... more -
A Girl's Life
Hana Makhmalbaf's latest feature looks at life in Afghanistan through the eyes of a six year old child.
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Ashley Boham talks about competing in the X Games
Boham became on of the first women to race in the X Games this year when she competed in MotoX Racing.
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Interiew with MotoX Star Sarah Whitmore
This is right after the inaugural X Games MotoX Women's Racing Final.
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X Games went huge this year
Tarah Geiger, wheelschair tricks, Bob Burnquist...
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Soap opera radically changes traditional Arab gender roles
A Turkish soap opera is radically changing traditional expectations of gender roles thanks to its inspiring supportive male and independent female characters, MSNBC reports.
A relative newcomer to Arab TV, the Turkish soap opera "Noor" has helped narrow the gender gap between men and women across the Middle East.
Women see the lead female character – the independent, aspiring fashion designer Noor -- as a role model. Meantime, her husband on the show -- the blue-eyed former model and athlete Mohannad -- has become the region’s first pin-up boy.
The nightly soap opera has mainly female viewers glued to their TV sets not only because Mohannad is a cuter version of Justin Timberlake, but because he offers something many lack in their lives: romance, tenderness and a supportive partner to his independent wife. Mohannad has become the standard against which many Arab men are being judged, much to their chagrin.
In Saudi Arabia, where about one in seven people tunes in each night, men circulated the rumor that Kivanc Tatlitug, the actor who plays Mohannad, is gay, which left female viewers distraught until the rumor was dispelled.
"Mohannad" and "Noor" are now the hottest babies' names in Saudi – even though the religious establishment has condemned the show. A top Saudi cleric forbade viewers from watching the "malicious" soap operas that "corrupt and spread vice" and has also declared that any TV station airing them is against God. This has put Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC), which airs the show three times a day, at loggerheads with Saudi religious leaders.
The series has not only made Saudi women aware of the failings of their partners, but the advantages engendered by a more liberal, tolerant Islamic society such as Turkey.
"It is eye opening for Saudi women. They haven't seen such a sensitive, passionate, giving personality," explained Dr. Fawzaya Abu Khalid, a writer and women's activist based in Riyadh.
For many women, the show has opened a whole new world and a lot of men aren’t happy about it. "Men feel threatened. It is the first time women have a role model for male beauty and passion and can compare him with their husbands," said Abu Khalid. "It is the first time they found out their husbands are not nice, that they are not being treated the way they should be, and that there is an option outside."
What do you think? Can TV really change the world? If so, what kind of characters in TV programmes would ypu like to see on screen? A Turkish soap opera is radically changing traditional expectations of gender roles thanks to its inspiring supportive male and indepe... more -
Sesso: scoperto gene transex, fa sentire la donna un uomo.
Scoperto il gene che fa sentire le donne un uomo. La variante associata al transessualismo femminile è in un gene che codifica un enzima chiamato citocromo P17, che sovrintende al metabolismo degli ormoni sessuali. La presenza della mutazione si traduce in una concentrazione più alta del normale di ormoni sessuali, sia maschili che femminili, nei tessuti. Con conseguenze ... continua Scoperto il gene che fa sentire le donne un uomo. La variante associata al transessualismo femminile è in un gene che codifica un enzi... more
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Transsexuality gene discovered?
New research has identified a gene variant that appears to be associated with female-to-male transsexuality.
The variation is in a gene responsible for an enzyme involved in the metabolism of sex hormones. Its presence leads to higher than average tissue concentrations of male and female sex hormones, which may in turn influence early brain development.
While there are many women with the variant who are not transsexual and many FtM transsexuals who lack it, the discovery raises the possibility that the variant makes women more likely to feel that their bodies are of the wrong sex. In this sense, the cultural environment still plays a paramount role, as researchers themselves stressed.
Janett Scott, former president of the Beaumont Society, a UK support group for transgender people, is concerned that establishing a biological basis for transsexuality may encourage people to try and cure it.
The researchers have strongly denied any such motive for their research. Quite the contrary, their discoveries might make it easier to diagnose transsexuality and to allow gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy to commence earlier in life. New research has identified a gene variant that appears to be associated with female-to-male transsexuality. ... more -
Olympic gender testing
This week everyone's been talking about the decision to create a lab in Beijing to test female athletes thought to be men.
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Male or female...or inbetween?
Meiko tells us how he feels about pronouns
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A female to male transgender person sings
After 9 months on testosterone and after having his chest reconstructed.
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Thai Schools' Transgender Toilets
A Thai school has created toilets for its transgender students with a sign that's half male, half female - with the words "Transvestite Toilet" printed underneath.
The Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, in northeastern Thailand opened separate toilet facilities to accommodate hundreds of transgender students.
Headteacher, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any year, between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls.
"These students want to be able to go in peace without fear of being watched, laughed at or groped," he said.
"They used to be teased every time they used the boys' toilets so they started using the girls' toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uncomfortable. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their work.
"They(girls) don't have problems with transvestites but going to the same private area, like a toilet, makes them uneasy," he said.
"The transvestite kids may behave even more effeminately than the girls do, but their anatomy is still like that of a boy."
Student Tanisorn Khantivong, aged 17, said: "It was inconvenient when we didn't have our own toilet.
"Then we had to use both male and female toilets when there were no people in them. It was a bit uncomfortable."
Mr Sumontha said the students were no longer allowed to use female toilets but could still use the male toilets if they wanted to.
Predominantly Buddhist Thailand is relatively tolerant of homosexuality and Bangkok is a global centre for sex-change surgery.
A technical college in Chiang Mai province set up a similar facility for its students in 2003, using a pink lotus as the logo.
dictionary.com deffinations of transgender and transvestite
trans·gen·der /trænsˈdʒɛndər, trænz‑/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[trans-jen-der, tranz‑] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser.
–adjective Also, trans·gen·dered.
2. being, pertaining to, or characteristic of a transgender or transgenders: the transgender movement.
trans·ves·tite Audio Help /trænsˈvɛstaɪt, trænz-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[trans-ves-tahyt, tranz-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
a person, esp. a male, who assumes the dress and manner usually associated with the opposite sex. A Thai school has created toilets for its transgender students with a sign that's half male, half female - with the words "T... more -
Thai school offers transsexual toilet
A secondary school in north east Thailand has become one of the first schools to offer separate toilet facilities for transsexual children.
Kampang Secondary School in a poor rural area, where most of the pupils are the children of farmers, has built a toilet between the girls' and the boys', signposted with a half-man, half-woman figure in blue and red.
Headteacher Sitisak Sumontha estimates that in any year between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls.
"They used to be teased every time they used the boys' toilets," he said, "so they started using the girls' toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uncomfortable. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their work."
"We're not boys," said Triwate Phamanee, 13, "so we don't want to use the boys' toilet - we want them to know we are transsexuals."
Vichai Saengsakul, 15, agrees.
"People need to know that being a transsexual is not a joke," he says, "it's the way we want to live our lives. That's why we're grateful for what the school has done."
Toilet facilities are a hot topic for trans people around the world. Do you think all environments should provide transsexual bathrooms in public places, to cater for a range of gender and sexual identities? A secondary school in north east Thailand has become one of the first schools to offer separate toilet facilities for transsexual chil... more
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