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Last updated Monday, January 28, 2002

ã TGNet Arizona

516 N. 5th Avenue, Room 222, Tucson AZ 85705

(520) 622-4700 Phone / (520) 624-0364 Fax

www.tgnetarizona.org

The mission of TGNet Arizona is to help transgender, transsexual and gender-variant people in the state of Arizona (regardless of birth gender, sexual orientation or hormone / surgical status) become actively engaged in their lives in positive, safe, and self-empowering ways. To that end, TGNet Arizona seeks to identity, create and strengthen the opportunities and resources available to TG, TS, and Gender-variant people through advocacy, education and outreach both within the transgendered communities as well as to the wider social and cultural committees to which they belong.

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For transgender, transsexual and gender-variant people, gender expression is a major factor in their employability. Most transgender people at some point in their lives possess physical or behavioral characteristics that readily identify them as transgendered and are vulnerable to loss of employment, denial of employment, or underemployment, with potentially devastating effect on them and their families. Male-to-Female transsexuals are particularly at-risk, before transition and during the transition process, especially those who are low-income and not able to afford the costly and extensive surgical procedures required in order for them to "pass" in the general population.

While legislative and civic remedies are, to a minor extent, being pursued to include gender identity or gender expression in a community's anti-discrimination policies, such laws are non-existent in every jurisdiction within the state of Arizona with the exception of the city of Tucson. Indeed, many private employers fought to be exempted from the proposed Arizona Employment Nondiscrimination Act precisely because of their objections to the inclusion of the term "gender identity". This points to a critical need to provide these employers with the resources and information they need to make workplaces more safe and inclusive for transgender people. Managers and co-workers have a vital need for information about the issue of transgenderism and how a person’s gender identity and expression (and the workplace's reaction to it) affects the ability of the business to operate effectively.

Even those companies who have included sexual orientation in their workplace protections (or who have participated in diversity workshops that deal with sexual orientation) lack the information and resources necessary to deal with transgender applicants and employees. In spite of some people's assumptions and myths, many of those who identify as transsexual or transgender do not identity as gay, lesbian, or bisexual - like the majority population, a significant percentage of transgendered people are heterosexual. For that reason, among others, much of the diversity training and outreach based on sexual orientation issues does little to incorporate transgendered voices and issues, either ignoring transgendered issues entirely, or treating such issues as a subset of the gay, lesbian and bisexual community.

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* Gender nonconformity is an expression of natural human diversity, which has occurred throughout history-although it has often been suppressed and continues to be misunderstood. Today, modern medicine has expanded personal choice in this area, so this aspect of human diversity is becoming more visible.

* There is not one shred of evidence that suggests that transgender people who work with children, particularly teachers, represent a danger to the youths that they work with. In almost every single case in which a transgender person transitioned on the job, that teacher was widely supported by his or her students and their parents. Particularly in the case of teacher Dana Rivers (A male to female transsexual), virtually all of her students and their parents supported her right to continue teaching. Regretfully, Ms. Rivers was fired by her school board based on the complaint of just one parent.

* There is no evidence that allowing an employee to transition will open the floodgates to nonconformity. In almost twenty-five years, since the first employment protection bill that covered transgender people was passed (the state of Minnesota), not a single jurisdiction or company has been able to show that affording protections to transgender applicants and employees leads to any increase in the number of employees who cross-dress.

* Protecting transgender applicants and employees does not mean that employers may not impose dress codes requiring employees to present a neat, well-groomed and professional appearance. Rather, it simply means that that employees may dress in the type of clothing that conforms with their gender identity.

* Bathrooms: Providing employment protections for transgendered people will actually prevent people from being forced to use bathrooms that do not correspond to their gender identity. Like everyone else, transgendered people need access to safe and dignified restroom facilities. Many employers have successfully dealt with the issue of restroom use, with a minimum of difficulty. Also, many cities that have transgender protections have produced compliance guidelines that take the needs of both the transgender employee and their employers into account.

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* Transgender (or TG) - an umbrella term used to refer to people whose appearance and behavior don't conform to the cultural "norm" for the gender into which they were born. In other words, TG people, to varying degrees, "transgress" cultural norms as to what a man or a woman "should be".

* Gender identity - a person's various individual attributes as they are understood to be male and/or female.

* Transsexuals were born into one gender but identify psychologically and emotionally as the other. The primary way transsexuals differ from other TG people is that in almost all cases, they seek to modify their bodies through hormonal treatments, Sexual Reassignment Surgery or both.

* MTF or Male to Female - refers to those born female but who present as male.

* Intersexed - people were born exhibiting some form of "indeterminate" genitalia (usually determined by the doctor to be either a clitoris that is "too large" or a penis that is "too small.") or a combination of both male and female genitalia. At birth, the attending physician or parents (or both) "choose" which gender to raise the child, necessitating ongoing surgical and/or hormonal treatments.

* Crossdressers - people who identify as, and are completely comfortable with, their physical gender at birth, but will occasionally dress and take on the mannerisms of the opposite gender. Almost all crossdressers are heterosexual men.

* Drag Performers - entertainers who dress and act like the "opposite" sex for the entertainment of an audience. For them, drag is a job - not an identity. Some are gay - some are not. Some identify as transgendered - most do not.

* Gender blenders, bi-gendered, and others - Some TG people find characterizations of gender more limiting than liberating. They may or may not identify as one or the other in a binary gender system and many times will assume a mixture of male and female dress and characteristics, combining elements of both.

* Pre-operative Transsexuals- refers to individuals who identify as one gender at all times, which gender is perceived to conflict with their congenital reproductive anatomy, and who are either about to begin or are in the process of achieving gender confirmation surgery. This may also include individuals who have undergone or are undergoing partial gender confirmation (e.g., hormonal treatment).

* Post-operative Transsexuals- refers to individuals who identify as one gender at all times, which gender is perceived to conflict or known to have conflicted with their congenital reproductive anatomy, and who have undergone gender confirmation surgery. This may include individuals who have undergone partial gender confirmation (e.g., partial surgery).

* Non-operative Transsexuals - refers to individuals who identify as one gender at all times, which gender is perceived to conflict with their congenital reproductive anatomy, and who either have no intention of achieving full gender confirmation surgery or who may or may not be undergoing any medical treatment in relation to their gender identity, for whatever reason.

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RECOMMENDED READING:

1. Transgender Care: Recommended Guidelines, Practical Information and Personal Accounts. Gianna E. Israel and Donald E. Tarvel II, M.D. (1997). Temple University Press. Temple University Press, University Services 083-42, 1601 N. Broad St., Philadelphia PA, 19122-6099. (215) 204-8787.
2. Physician's Guide to Transgendered Medicine. Dr. Sheila Kirk, MD - (1996). Together Lifeworks. PO Box 93, Watertown MA, 02272-0093.
3. Our Trans Children. Xavier, J., Sharp, N., & Boenke, M. (1988). PFLAG: Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. See contact info above.
4. Recommendations for treatment: Intersex infants and children. (Pamphlet) Intersex Society of North America. See contact info above.
5. Medical, Legal and Workplace Issues for the Transsexual. Sheila Kirk, MD and Martine Aliana Rothblatt, JD - (1996). Together Lifeworks. PO Box 93, Watertown MA, 02272-0093.
6. Transsexual Workers: An Employer’s Guide. Janis Walworth, MS – (1998). Center for Gender Sanity, PO Box 451427, Westchester, CA 90045.
7. Gay / Lesbian / Bisexual /Transgender Public Policy Issues: A Citizen's and Administrator’s Guide to the New Cultural Struggle. Wallace K. Swan, DPA, Editor – (1997). Haworth Press. 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. 1-800-HAWORTH.
8. Gender Outlaw: On men, women, and the rest of us. Kate Bornstein - (1994). Routledge Press. 7625 Empire Drive, Florence, KY 41042. 1-800-634-7064.
9. Body Alchemy: Transsexual portraits. (Photography). Loren Cameron – (1996). Cleis Press. P.O. Box 14684, San Francisco, CA 94114 . (415) 575-4700 or (800) 780-2279.
10. Transgender Warriors: Making history from Joan of Arc to Ru Paul. Leslie Feinberg - (1996). Beacon Press. 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108. (617) 742-2110.
11. Coping With Crossdressing. JoAnn Roberts (Ed.) - (1992). Creative Design Services. CDS, PO Box 61263, King of Prussia, PA 1940. (610) 640-9449.
12. Transsexuals: Candid Answers to Private Questions. Gerald Ramsey, Ph.D. (1996). The Crossing Press. PO Box 1048, Freedom, CA 95019. (800) 777-1048.

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TGNet Arizona - works to identify, create and strengthen the opportunities and resources available to transgender people through advocacy, education and outreach within the TG community as well as to the wider social and cultural committees to which they belong. 516 N. 5th Avenue, Room 222, Tucson AZ 85705. (520) 622-4700(voice) / (520) 624-0364 (fax). (www.tgnetarizona.org)

Southern Arizona Gender Alliance - organizes educational, social, and political programs for transgender and transsexual people and their significant others, friends, families, and allies. c/o Wingspan, 300 East Sixth St. Tucson, Arizona 85705. (520) 624-1779. (www.wingspanaz.org/Services/SAGA/saga.htm)

PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) - Provides support and resources to the parents, families, and friends of GLBT people. 1726 M St., NW, STE. 400, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 467-8180. (www.pflag.org)

Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA) - Professional organization devoted to understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders. Program in Human Sexuality. 1300 S. 2nd St. - Suite 180, Minneapolis, MN 55454. (612) 625-1500. (www.hbigda.org)

Intersex Society of North America - Provides education, advocacy, and peer support organization which works to create a world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted surgery for intersex people. P.O. Box 3070, Ann Arbor MI, 48106-3070. (www.isna.org).

The Gender Identity Center of Colorado - Provides support and educational resources to people who cross-dress, are transsexual, or are nontraditional in their gender identity or expression. 1455 Ammons Street, Suite 100, Lakewood, Colorado 80215-4993. (303) 202-6466. GICofColo@aol.com. (www.transgender.org/gic).

The International Conference On Transgender Law And Employment Policy - Deals with legal aspects of gender identity, generally on the national level. P.O. Drawer 1010, Cooperstown, NY 13326. (607) 547-4118. (www.transhistory.org/history/TH_ICTLEP.html).

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