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transgender

LGBTQ Plus
Liang Yutong

'MTF' Alarm, Life Is Crueler Than Ever For Trans Women In China

Cast out by family, discriminated against by the state, shut off from the medication, China's "male-to-female" trans community is under immense pressure, as suicide rates rise and incomprehension continues to spread.

BEIJING — Another MTF has committed suicide in China: born in June 2009, she was not yet 14. MTF is an acronym for "male-to-female," a term used by transgender women in China to identify themselves on online platforms.

Although the World Health Organisation announced in 2019 that "transgender" would be removed from the International Classification of Diseases, the transgender community in mainland China has had to continue to endure pressure and abuse from the state, society and families. Transgender women have a disproportionately high rate of suicide in China.

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One of the dangers that MTFs face is their medication being cut off. The drugs, including those containing oestrogen and anti-androgens, are the only way for the MTF community to maintain their femininity before undergoing gender affirming surgery. A number of trans women have openly shared their experiences of being deprived their medication, and being in constant fear of returning to a gender they do not belong to. This can lead to serious depression and other mental problems, that sometimes winds up with suicide.

Under the harsh restrictions on purchasing drugs in mainland China, MTFs often have to contact underground drug dealers, and that too often means being sold fake drugs. There was even a case reported of a transphobic man who deliberately sold high-priced fake drugs to MTFs, which caused dangerous side effects.

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Society
Dante Ureta

Spy In The Patriarchy, Diary Of A Transgender Man

The author describes his experience as a transgender man: How his physical transition has given him access to new spaces and conversations that were previously inaccessible to him as a woman, and how it's made him feel like a spy within the patriarchy.

MEXICO CITY — At the beginning of my social transition, I felt like a spy. The 250 milligrams of testosterone that entered my body every twenty-something days brought physical changes that gave me access to spaces, conversations, and situations that were previously foreign to someone perceived as a woman.

When I found myself in those situations, I laughed, imagining I'm a spy, embedded deep inside the patriarchy.

If you met me for the first time, you wouldn't know that I spent 20 years of my life being perceived as a woman. As the Spanish writer Paul Preciado says, the strangest thing about becoming a man is keeping intact the memory of the oppression.

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The sudden changes in my body became clear when, on a lonely street at night, a woman changed sidewalks when she saw me walking towards her. I felt strange; I felt the need to run after her and explain that I wasn't one of “them," that I'm trans, and that she didn't have to worry about me. But imagining the scene made me laugh at how ridiculous it would be to run after a total stranger, and just scare her more.

I noticed this too when I went to clubs and partied during my first few months on testosterone. I felt my space invaded as strangers touched me in places where before they weren't even allowed to touch by mistake.

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LGBTQ Plus
Stephen Kerry

New Study Finds High Levels Of Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination In Buddhism

We tend to think of Buddhism as a religion devoid of commandments, and therefore generally more accepting than others. The author, an Australian researcher — and "genderqueer, non-binary Buddhist" themself — suggests that it is far from being the case.

More than half of Australia’s LGBTQIA+ Buddhists feel reluctant to “come out” to their Buddhist communities and nearly one in six have been told directly that being LGBTQIA+ isn’t in keeping with the Buddha’s teachings.

These are some of the findings from my research looking at the experiences of LGBTQIA+ Buddhists in Australia.

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I’m a genderqueer, non-binary Buddhist myself and I was curious about others’ experiences in Australia since there has been no research done on our community before. So, in 2020, I surveyed 82 LGBTQIA+ Buddhists and have since followed this up with 29 face-to-face interviews.

Some people may think Buddhism would be quite accepting of LGBTQIA+ people. There are, after all, no religious laws, commandments or punishments in Buddhism. My research indicates, however, this is not always true.

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LGBTQ Plus
Daniela Pastrana

How I Learned To Call You 'Son' — A Mother's Awakening To A Non-Binary World

Journalist Daniela Pastrana thought she knew how to be a mother — until her child came out as non-binary. Pastrana's journey to acceptance took her through Mexican history and deep into herself and her own prejudices.

MEXICO — While Gen Z is generally more aware that biology and gender identity are not necessarily connected, their families have a long way to go to learn — or unlearn — old habits and a new language to communicate with.

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Journalist Daniela Pastrana took us into the privacy of her own home, as she travels to the ancestral roots of Mexico and talks with experts in search of answers on how to be a non-binary mother.

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This Happened

This Happened — July 30: Bruce Jenner Wins Decathlon

Caitlyn Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner, won the Men's decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics on this day.

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LGBTQ Plus
Emma Albright

Meet The Transgender Women Breaking Into The World's Top Beauty Pageants

After years of resistance, more and more major beauty pageants are selecting transgender women to compete. It's shaking up ideas about inclusivity, questioning the modern world’s beauty standards — and perhaps redefining gender itself.

Jenna Talackova’s selection to compete for Miss Universe Canada in 2012 was a watershed moment for both beauty pageants and transgender rights. Believed to be one of the first trans women to participate in a major beauty contest, Talackova won the title of Miss Congeniality, and many hoped it would pave the wave for more trans pageant contestants around the world.

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It would take awhile, but just over a decade later, the revolution that Talackova sparked is finally gaining momentum. As Berlin-based Die Welt reports, Germany just announced that for the second year in a row, a trans woman has made the finals of its national pageant. Last week Miss Universe Puerto Rico said it will include its first openly transgender woman, all adding to a wave the past three years of top pageants opening up to trans contestants to compete.

Not surprisingly, there has been resistance. Last year, a U.S. judge rejected the appeal of Anita Green, a transgender woman, who had sued The Miss United States of America pageant for barring her from participating in the competition.

Meanwhile across the world, Miss Fabulous Laos 2022, a beauty pageant competition that allowed transgender women to participate, has been discontinued after the country’s ruling party banned transgender people from entering any beauty pageants.

Still, it seems as though the universe of women’s beauty pageants is reaching its transgender tipping point with more and more competitions opting for inclusivity, questioning the modern world’s beauty standards and redefining gender itself.

Here’s a look at some of the transgender women participating in beauty pageants around the world:

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LGBTQ Plus
Maria Eugenia Luduena

What A Barcelona Suicide Tells Us About Trans Bullying And Media Blind Spots

The case of 12-year-old twins, one of whom was transgender, who jumped off a balcony after being bullied, led experts in trans childhoods to reflect on how to better protect children. And how to talk about it.

TW: This content may address topics and include references to violence that some may find distressing.

In Barcelona, two 12-year-old Argentine twins, Leila and Iván, climbed on two chairs on a balcony and jumped into the void from a third floor window. They left letters by way of farewell, where they wrote that they suffered bullying for their Argentine accent. They had been living there for two years — and Iván was teased at school for his transgender identity.

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Leila, who survived and is in very serious condition, wrote on that piece of paper that she was jumping in solidarity with her brother. Although the school has denied that they suffered bullying, peers and acquaintances, as well as their Argentine grandfather, made statements that support this scenario.

While the facts and circumstances are being investigated, many media outlets have reported the news without respecting Iván's gender identity, treating him as a female and mentioning his former name. Some, appealing to supposed journalistic accuracy, have inserted a disclaimer among their notes that states: “There is only evidence of the desire of the minor, aged 12, to be treated as a man through indirect sources. Neither his family nor his closest environment have spoken yet."

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In The News
Worldcrunch

Worldcrunch Magazine #35 — Spy In The Patriarchy

May 29 - June 4, 2023

This is the latest edition of Worldcrunch Magazine, a selection of our best articles of the week from the best international journalists, produced exclusively in English for Worldcrunch readers.

>> DISCOVER IT HERE <<

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Dottoré!
Mariateresa Fichele

When A Psychiatrist Is Provoked

Our Neapolitan psychiatrist recounts a chance meeting with an old patient, and the benefits of taking the bait.

If a psychiatrist is as good at his job as I am, he would never fall for the provocations of his patients. Instead, he would take these provocations in, and infuse them with new meaning under the reasoned context of psychotherapy.

Let me give you an example. Today, I encountered Carmela in the street.

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LGBTQ Plus
Leone Orvieto

Call It "Retransitioning": Why Words Matter So Much In The Debate Around Trans Teens

Cases of transgender people deciding to re-identify with the gender assigned at birth are very rare, but regularly cited as so-called "detransitioning" to support anti-trans arguments around treatment for youth suffering from gender dysphoria.

-OpEd-

ROME — The discussion around gender transition in teenagers increasingly includes the term "detransition." This refers to individuals who identified as transgender and began their journey of gender affirmation, but later decided to re-identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, sometimes after having undergone surgery or changing their legal documents.

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An article in the International Journal for Transgender Health emphasizes that this process should be referred to as "retransition" to reflect the fact that individuals are not "going back" but are instead making a further transition.

The reasons for gender retransition vary greatly from person to person: they may be influenced by family, financial, social, health, religious or even ideological factors. Some individuals stop their gender affirmation process because it is too difficult, even though they know it is the right path for them. These individuals may refer to themselves as "desisters" or "quitters" to explain their decision.

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Society
Camilo Pardo Quintero

Sexual Violence In War: Listening And Healing — And Never Again

Three women who were victims of sexual violence during the Colombian Civil War recount their stories of struggle and survival. They speak up in the hopes that the judiciary will open a new case to bring justice to them and many more survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated during the conflict.

BOGOTA – Jennifer, Ludirlena and Diana suffered a living death at the hands of their aggressors. It was their self-love and resilience that saved them, after experiencing sexual violence during the nation’s civil war.

The Colombian government forgot about these women. But now, they are champions in a battle towards justice and dignity. With different perspectives, they manage to find a connection, something that will unite them forever: advocating so that no one else experiences what they endured.

All sides in the war perpetrated sexual violence. But in the case of these three women, it was specifically the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and United Self-Defences of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary groups who exerted power over their bodies, through the cruelty of their crimes.

These were not isolated incidents and, to the shame of our society, they remain a massive, forgotten outrage.

According to official records, during the war in Colombia there were 15,760 victims of sexual violence. Of that total, 61.8% were women, and another 30.8% were young girls and teenagers. Unfortunately, underreporting plays a significant role in these numbers. Organizations such as the Network of Women Victims and Professionals, the collective Focal Groups - Men Victims of Sexual Violence and the British organization All Survivors Project estimate that the real number may be as much as three times higher.

The three protagonists in our story show how armed conflict has marked the lives of thousands of women in Colombia. They are three voices among many that have come together to demand the opening of a "macro-case," or investigation into sexual violence through Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which would uncover the patterns of sexual and gender-based crimes among armed groups which have devastated entire communities.

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LGBTQ Plus
Marissa Revilla

How Mexico Is Leaving Its Trans Citizens In ID Limbo

Without the option to change their ID documents to reflect their gender, trans residents in Chiapas and 12 other Mexican states are denied certain rights.

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS — When Santiago Santiago Rodríguez began his hormonal transition a year ago, he discovered that he wouldn’t be able to change his name and gender on his documents in his home state of Chiapas, which doesn’t have a law regulating the administrative process.

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He decided to have his name changed in Mexico City, one of the country’s 19 states with a gender identity law, a type of legislation that guarantees a person’s right to modify their birth certificate through a simple administrative request. Fewer than half of the country’s 32 states have such laws.

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