Transgender in Jamaica radio show highlight

Last evening on the progressive radio station Nationwide News Network, NNN Co-founder and friend of mine from Aphrodite’s P.R.I.D.E Jamaica, APJ appeared on the Love & Sex weekly show hosted by Dr Karen Carpenter. Satiba her pseudonym has made radio appearances before with the same host who is a board certified Clinical Sexologist and operates the possibly only professional clinic for assessment for transgender persons alongside other issues such as intersex matters, sexuality concerns and as far as erectile dysfunction.

The discussion overall was edifying and bearing by the quality of the calls in the call back section and the questions asked, some change in thinking seems eminent, given the resistance by way homophobia and the confusion if not conflation between gender identity and sexual orientation issues. The other guest on the show seems to display that quite nicely as the individual was not sure if they were transgender or not as while presenting as female they declared that they were not considering surgery to remove his penis or any re-assignment surgery as such. The longstanding issue of gay, bisexuals or gender neutral persons who present as androgynous also seem to label themselves as transgender without accessing or confirming same with a requisite professional. Some concern had been raised elsewhere but not on the show as I expected, on the lumping of other identities and sexual orientation as a way of reprieve from homophobia; as the heightened visibility given social media and such makes it seem attractive to some who self diagnose as transgender.

While the term transgender was explained by Dr Carpenter as an umbrella term to include persons who do elective surgery for cosmetic reasons without having any issues with gender identity, such as transsexuals for example or persons in the sex trade/porn industry (the old 80s she-male phenomenon in the US) some more emphasis should have been placed on addressing the conflation with homosexuality versus gender matters and advising persons what the differences are. Some effort was made at the near end of the two hour show to look at the difference in fairness to the guests and host but it was a little too late for me although the tail end of a radio show tends to be remembered by listeners than the beginning unless some memorable occurrence was in play at the top.

I was also expecting some emphasis on the re-assignment surgery bit as people need to understand that such procedures when it comes to genitalia cannot be simply reversed and one cannot ‘switch’ from one gender to another; the younger guest on the show seems to believe the aforementioned as they espoused they were interested in a butt lift, breast implants and other enhancements, all this while keeping a penis although they identify as a woman. Transgenderism is more about the mind of the individual and not necessarily the anatomical considerations as not all persons who feel they are ‘born in the wrong body’ can even qualify for re-assignment surgery.

The pre-surgery assessment that is usually conducted prior to ascertain the fitness and hormonal levels for so identified persons can also reveal much as to the continuation to full transition or not. There are persons identify as transgender but who cannot go all the way to surgery as their biology would not accommodate the full hormonal treatment/interventions, seeing that said treatment courses are for a lifetime so as not to reverse to the assigned gender and physiology of the party involved.

The mentioned assessment for children who display opposite gender traits by a requisite professional was commendable as Satiba drew on her own experience as she never had the family support in her transitioning journey. As highlighted on this blog and on sister blogs on Wordpress organizations such as JFLAG and others did not take these issues seriously in the early days although the coined term “Allsexual” appeared in their name. Satiba like so many others had to effectively fend for themselves; she sought out information on her own and after moving from doctor to doctor finally found one who was aware of the matters arising. Dr Carpenter mentioned the clinic at the University of the West Indies and asked interested persons to go via the Love & Sex Facebook page and on Twitter. I was expecting however some clarification on the gender non conforming behaviour in children and that that in and of itself is not a marker for someone to be deemed transgender.

Some 1500 persons are believed to be transgender living in Jamaica according to Satiba who referenced a research project that was conducted some years ago and documentary evidence supports. Overall it was a good show but given previous opportunities like this that still are too rare far more was delved into in a shorter air time and given this was a two hour show more should have come forth in my view. I hope Dr Carpenter will do a follow up sometime in the future. Thankfully the calls were civilised this time around as evidenced before terms such as ‘mad’ have been used by some to insult and belittle transgender folks who go public.

Finally the use of certain terms while commendable for those already in the know versus opening the knowledge base of those we want to win simply flew over the heads of the latter; terms such as transvestite, gender neutral (which was explained when a male caller asked for an explanation) and others were barely glossed at, I guess due to the myriad of advertisements and breaks that came during the two hour show (advertisers like the show I imagine) but the breaks sort of broken the flow of the discourse with recaps to (re)connect the audience. Maybe the structure of the show when discussing LGBT issues needs to be rehashed or tighten given the sensitivities involved.

Peace & tolerance

H

Butch women interviewed on national television ...... lesbophobia, enlightenment or both?

There is a popular saying here in Jamaica: "What is joke to you is death to me" and while the interview on butch identified or stud identified women here looks light on the surface it is a reflection of the subtle lesbophobia fast making its way very public day by day. As gender roles literally switch with aesthetics changes with Jamaican men becoming far more effeminate or at best openly metrosexual  while the opposite is true for some same gender loving women. Obviously this particular episode is direct profiling of the women with supposed satire when it is not funny in my eyes.

As seen in the clip especially the last scene with the woman in blue on the bike was labelled as "he/she" suggesting a kind of open discrimination hidden via a joke on television. Jamaicans in general are usually shy on camera so the interviewee may not have even gleaned at first she was being stigmatised cutely and openly so, I bet if she was shown the clip for review afterwards she would have reacted differently.

In part II the more serious side came out where the "bun out" issue/anti gay feelings came through in the first few minutes and why were the women labelled cross dressers? the interviewer was keen on getting the reactions of the women and several times juxtaposing the correlation to lesbianism. The Sodom issue was introduced when the original question was about aesthetics and clothes with gender roles not sexual orientation even though the two can hardly be divorced these days with profiling a major concern, clearly the sensationalism cue is what sells the topic. The persons interviewed also played into the hands of the WAG microphone holder she even described them as butch while openly flirting with an interviewee while asking for her number!. The last few minutes for example the woman in blue was outed literally as she answered to the WAG interviewer who was her female friend? she answered it was someone who was on her street, meaning she is a lesbian like herself, again if she was shown the video after I am sure she may have regretted answering in the manner she did. The things one can get one to say on camera.

The proverbial hatred of men connection to same gender loving women was also infused suggesting that lesbians become so due to previous issues with men so they "switch" a few persons condemned lesbianism clearly when asked problem is we never saw what was actually asked, so we are not sure if the word "lesbian" was included in the question. Good to see however the ease in which the interviews were done in the sometimes problematic Half Way Tree area, remembering that a lesbian was stabbed in the same area some years ago, she now resides in Canada. 

Subtle lesbophobia or a middle ground for the issues relating to same gender loving women and the perceptions of homosexual life?

Given the national furore now dying down from what was viewed as threat to withdraw aid from countries with anti buggery laws and the pressure to decriminalize buggery, at least lesbians get there time to shine as the more male dominated advocacy structure hardly ever recognise or openly discuss lesbian issues when batty business supersedes all else. Lesbo-invisibility? Lesbians never had so much issues over the years but in 2007 there was a spike in incidence towards same gender loving women in terms of the often referred to African phenomenon corrective rape and violent attacks that thankfully have since subsided somewhat. 

After the comfort level of lesbians has rubbed some the wrong way in recent times, headlines such as this made news  there are clubs that do allow same sex activity though limited to females only and very structured in some instances.

while other women have suffered greatly as seen here in June 2008 when this home was picketed by residents in a St. Catherine housing scheme. 

Residents Jeer & Picket Women’s Home

their car tyres were also deflated. Let us watch and be vigilant everyone.Stay strong sisters.

Peace and tolerance

H

WAG videos are the property of Media Planners Jamaica and are placed here soley for academic and public discourse reasons.

Different world, Mr Gomes

In response to in essence a smoothly worded yet bigoted article that was published in the Observer written by Anthony Gomes entitled

The androgynous blurring of the sexes

this wonderful letter came from an obviously thinking individual.

First here is an excerpt of the article referred to as written by:

Anthony Gomes

"................The Roman Catholic religion states clearly thus: "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptised people has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."

According to the Vatican: "The Catholic Church contests these revolutionary innovations which, in the name of freedom, seek to legitimise a union regarded by the universal consciousness as going against nature".

Apart from being in sync with the changing times, contemporary liberalism has gone beyond the realm of propriety in its expectations.

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a caution to deviants that the gender theory blurred the distinction between men and women and could thus lead to "self-destruction" of the human race.

"Saving humanity from homosexual and transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. Rainforests deserve, yes our protection, but the human being does not deserve less."

see below as well for full post, he went on about procreation and other matters giving the impression that he was tolerant only to have the true colours coming out read this wonderful response to the article published on February 28th 2011 written by a fellow blogger and advocate in his own right.

Dear Editor,

I write with reference to the article on February 23, 2011 , "The androgynous blurring of the sexes" in which the author, Anthony Gomes, struggles with the concepts of sex and gender within the context of the modern social revolution and his own longing for traditional values to hold firm.

This article is the best example to my recollection of how easily bigotry is masked by piety. It demonstrates how the smiling cleric can despise your very essence, but still feel compelled to proselytise in order to capitalise on some holy coupon scheme - the pie in the sky, if you will.

As much as part of me sympathises with Gomes' longing for simpler times, I find he posits non-traditional expressions of sex and gender as inimical to the continuation of the human race. Therefore, halting them becomes not just an expression of personal displeasure but a moral obligation and act of survival. This is the great deception of fundamentalists the world over.

They like to depict some sort of Sexual Armageddon in a topsy-turvy future that will come to fruition if "traditional values" are not protected. This is achieved of course by keeping marriage a binary concept for the fertile and Christian, eliminating the fluidity of gender and sexuality responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire, and inculcating from an early age that non-conformity is a threat to civilisation.

I suppose God didn't create inter-sexed persons or trans-gendered individuals. That Lucifer fellow sure is crafty!
I wish Gomes well that he might realise his dream of a world more in keeping with his own values, and I hope to God that I don't have to live in it.

Brian-Paul N Welsh
brianpaul.welsh@gmail.com

The androgynous blurring of the sexes

Anthony Gomes

Source

THE Observer reported on the latest debasement of Christian marriage that should exist between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation. Motivation for the report was clearly notoriety and curiosity.The report described the civil union marriage of a 66-year-old ex-fireman with a Jamaican lesbian some 30 years his junior.
The blurring and confusion of the sexes occurred, because the ex-fireman, after previous sequential marriages to three wives, underwent an operation to change his sex from male to female, paid for by the British National Health Service. He has a 41-year-old daughter by an earlier marriage who has distanced herself from her father, unlike the former wife who generously hosted the recent wedding at her home in Kings Lyn in Britain. The couple met on an international dating website and after spending two weeks together decided to get married. Christians believe that such behaviour is morally reprehensible, which takes sexual blurring to a new level of notoriety.

POPE BENEDICT XVI... saving humanity from homosexual and transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction

The Roman Catholic religion states clearly thus: "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptised people has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." According to the Vatican: "The Catholic Church contests these revolutionary innovations which, in the name of freedom, seek to legitimise a union regarded by the universal consciousness as going against nature". Apart from being in sync with the changing times, contemporary liberalism has gone beyond the realm of propriety in its expectations.
Pope Benedict XVI has issued a caution to deviants that the gender theory blurred the distinction between men and women and could thus lead to "self-destruction" of the human race. "Saving humanity from homosexual and transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. Rainforests deserve, yes our protection, but the human being does not deserve less."

Over time there have been calls in Jamaica for the legalisation of polygamy so that husbands could, if able to afford it, acquire multiple wives, and polyandry where wives could have more than one husband. There are tribes in Africa that practise such multiple relationships. In such arrangements wives are graded senior and junior without age limits. Jamaica is already burdened with wayward husbands, companions and partners, who indulge in multiple relationships overt or covert, or both, so that the only wife who knows where her husband is all of the time is a widow!
So far there have not been any demands to introduce as acceptable, the "ultimate frolic" that goes by the name of polyamory that totally abandons any vestige of religion, and sometimes turns violent, resulting in gang rape. According to an article by attorney-at-law Shirley Richards, polyamory is defined as the "practice of relationships within groups of three or more people, where at least one person in the group has more than one intimate relationship at a time. Polyamory configurations also exist as groups, where all parties are intimate with each other, or as groups with four or more members". This pagan activity is the ultimate heathen abandonment without any trace of Christian virtue.

Freedom of the individual to alter his God-given human status by changing his sex from male to female by medical procedure overlooks that man is created in God's image, so such elected and selfishly motivated alterations are an affront to the work of a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called God. If the union, by some stretch of the imagination, is described as a same-sex marriage, it then becomes a relationship composed of incongruous elements, without the benefit of the ability to procreate. Therein lies the serious challenge to society that in some countries would approve child adoption for same-sex unions. Such a conjugal relationship destroys the family unit that is the foundation of society.

In all matters of same-sex relations the problem of children arises. It is near to inevitable that any child so adopted, would unavoidably be socialised into a similar lifestyle as their legal "parents/guardians" that eventually confers in adulthood the same homosexual legacy applied to the lifestyle of their "parents/guardians". This is, in essence, what Pope Benedict XVI's caution to deviants could mean regarding blurring of the sexes as the potential for self-destruction of the human race.
Within the super-developed nations of the Western Hemisphere as with all cyclical historical events, super-development is followed by the dissipation of moral and spiritual values similar to Greco/Roman times, with the ascendancy of materialism that spawns the related ills of greed, corruption and lawlessness. The symptoms of this development are evident in today's Western world that forms a main part of the worldwide threat to Christianity which increases daily.

The possible effect of events described above on young adults can be detrimental to their understanding of things related to life in the spirit and Christian values. Strong parental guidance and peer pressure are the two influences which come to bear at this critical juncture in the lives of minors. There are many deviant concepts of life in the public domain that need to be sifted out of the story of true-life values. It is not an easy task, but one that every parent needs to take very seriously in today's toxic moral environment.

Five Myths that Hurt Intersex People

The Intersex Roadshow:

Myth 1: Intersex people all have intermediate genitalia

Imagine this: you're an intersex person, nervous about dating and finding a partner. You work up your courage to disclose your status to people you're interested in, and after a series of them seeming polite but disinterested in dating, you finally meet a guy who expresses interest. You date for a while, and get to the point where the clothes come off. Your boyfriend gets a good look at you naked, accuses you of "making up that story of being intersex" because your body looks female to him, and breaks off the relationship, leaving you feeling misunderstood and ill-used.

Many people are intersexed in ways that are not visible to their partners. For example, an individual with AIS (androgen insensitivity syndrome) is born with internal testes but genitalia that look typically female. Intersex people born with visibly intermediate genitals are often subject to infant sex assignment surgery, another reason why our bodies may not appear visibly intersex to others.

What disturbs me about incidents in which a partner seems interested in dating an intersex person until the clothes come off is that it generally reveals that the partner was fetishizing the intersex person--only interested in them for their "exotic" body. In the situation described here, the boyfriend wanted to have sex with someone who looked genitally intermediate generally. I've also heard stories from intersex people whose genitals are visibly atypical about how a partner lost interest in them when the clothes came off because they didn't see the kind of "hermaphrodite" genitals they'd dreamt of, with a big penis and a vagina (a configuration almost unheard of in real life, but popular in pornographic fantasy). It's depressing to find out your date wasn't really interested in you, but in playing with some fantasy set of genitalia.

Myth 2: Intersex conditions are always diagnosed in infancy

Here's another unfortunate scenario: a person is having infertility problems, so they visit some doctors. They receive a diagnosis and turn in shock to an online gender forum to post "I was just diagnosed as intersex." Somebody responds, "Stop trolling this blog. You're not really intersex--intersex people all know what they are from childhood. You probably have sick fantasies or think saying you're intersex will give you an excuse to gender transition without controversy." The non-intersex person is accusing the intersex individual of being a non-intersex person exploiting intersex individuals, which is pretty ironic.

As noted above, many intersex conditions aren't obviously visible in external genitalia. That means that people may not find out about their intersex status until quite late in life. While the experiences of late-recognized intersex people are different from those of intersex folks diagnosed in infancy, they are not "less" intersex, and have to deal with physical and psychological ramifications for which they need support.

Myth 3: All infant sex-assignment surgery is aimed at creating "female" genitalia

Imagine this situation: you were born with intermediate genitalia but surgically assigned male at birth. However, you grew up hating your male sex assignment, and so you transitioned to female. Your experience has given you a lot of empathy for people viewed as gendertransgressive, so when you notice that a friend of a Facebook friend identifies as genderqueer, you write her a nice message and offer her friendship. She refuses your offer and writes you a nasty note back about how she knows you are lying about being intersex, since "all intersex children are made into girls." She accuses you of being a stalking, posing, creepy man-in-a-dress. Ironic and sad, isn't it--that a woman who identifies as breaking down the boundaries of sex and gender is policing those boundaries so rabidly and wrongheadedly?

It is true that intersex infants are disproportionately surgically assigned female, based on the appalling medical aphorism, "it's easier to make a hole than a pole." But some intersex infants are surgically assigned male--usually when they have at least one external testis, but sometimes under other conditions. The myth that this "never happens" leaves intersex people assigned male at birth open to constant suspicion and exclusion, increasing the difficulties they have to face.

Myth 4: Intersex people should be genderqueer

This myth comes up again and again in academic, activist and feminist circles: that intersex people, being neither male nor female in physical sex, must be genderqueer and androgynous. We're supposed to be standard-bearers for the fight to subvert artificial dyadic gender categories. Encountering an intersex person with an ordinary and "boring" masculine or feminine gender identity who doesn't look at all androgynous, these activists express puzzlement and disappointment--and in private, speculate that the person must have some minor, mild intersex condition, so they are not "intersex enough" to be insightful.

Intersex people face pressure from doctors and families and society at large to genderconform. Facing the opposite pressure to gendertransgress--subversivism-- is just as unfair. Yes, most intersex people open enough to disclose our sex status agree that it is damaging for our society to insist that everyone must identify as male or female. But we live in a society that understands gender dyadically, and like non-intersex people, we commonly identify as masculine or feminine.

Myth 5: "Real" intersex people are not genderqueer

Frustrated and upset by pressure from gender activists to gendertransgress, as descibed in Myth 4, some intersex people have created a reactionary opposite myth: that "real" intersex people have no interest in subverting dyadic gender understandings of male and female. These genderconservative individuals often don't actually identify as "intersex" but as "people with DSDs (Disorders of Sex Development)." And they go around arguing to institutions that "real" intersex people don't identify as genderqueer--that people who say they are intersex and argue for third gender categories and the like are posers, probably crazed feminist zealots or deceptive trans people.

What makes the myth that intersex people are never genderqueer particularly painful to me is that it is spread by members of our community. To undermine your own intersex siblings and deny their identities is counterproductive, pathetic, and cruel. Many intersex people identify as typically masculine or feminine people, but there are plenty who do not do so, and like all genderqueer people, they face a lot of social bias. We have no duty as intersex people to be genderqueer, but I see a strong moral imperative for us to support people who do have genderqueer identities and manners of selfexpression. There are enough hurtful myths circulating about intersex people already. We don't need to add one of our own to the mix.

DRAG QUEEN TRICKS MEN - Pretends to be female hooker

A man who dresses like a woman while operating as a prostitute along Tom Redcam Drive in St Andrew is stirring up anger among those who have come across his path or heard of him.

Investigations by THE WEEKEND STAR found that the man, who uses the name 'Goodaz', has tricked a number of men who have reportedly tried to solicit his services, thinking he was indeed a real woman.

On a number of recent occasions, men have been seen chasing the cross-dresser from an open lot along Tom Redcam Drive after finding out his true sex.

"A crazy man a get trick ... Me see him and trust mi, yu haffi look good fi see seh is a man or yu haffi try go deh," Patrick Hunter, who works in the area, said, while laughing.

Hunter has seen the cross-dresser several times and has even seen him getting dressed in an open lot along the road close to Oxford Medical Centre.

"A suh me know seh a man mi naw lie ... . A one night mi a lef work late and a go look a taxi round di road and see somebody over di open land a put on some clothes ... . When mi look good mi see seh is a man a put on woman clothes and mi watch him until him come out pon di road, and him did all a fan down man weh a pass in a car," the man explained.


security guards

Last night, the Cross Roads police said they were not aware of such a happening; however, security guards Timmy Dreadand Jim Skeng, who work on Tom Redcam Drive, said they have seen and heard of him.

"Mi see him couple time a walk up and dung di road yes ... A since wah day mi start see him but cause mi nuh deh yah too late mi can't say too much ... . Mi neva know seh man all get trick," Timmy Dread said.

"Mi hear bout him, but mi did a hear seh a New Kingston him use to deh and end up down ya suh," Jim Skeng added.

Similar to the description which Hunter gave of the cross-dresser, Timmy Dread said one would have to take a good look to see what lies beneath the tight, short skirts and blouses he has seen the cross-dresser sporting.

Last night, THE WEEKEND STAR drove along Tom Redcam Road some time around 9:30 p.m. in search of the mischievous character but was told that it was too early.

"Yu wouldn't see him now, yu haffi circle back in a di late hours," Timmy Dread said.

*Names changed on request 

ENDS

UPDATE October 17, 2011

This phenomenon is not new and there are men some very hypermasculine in nature who like or prefer men dressed as women maybe for a kind of or closeness to an autogynephilic tendency or possible substitutional sex in the heat of the moment. Given also that stealth is a perfect tool to operate without being easily identified or outed in public but the risks as this incident if it is to believed are too ghastly to consider for many. There have been fatalities in this arena of commercial sex in the form of one named "Browning" who was infamous for her successful transactions where she met men and had arrangements carried out however her luck supposedly ran out in early 2001 or there about when a man wanted more than just oral sex and fondled her only to realise it was a man.


She was allegedly murdered by the soldier at the time, there were also stories of chases by a set of antigay taxi men at the time in New Kingston when she was outed by another rival on the strip she worked.


also see from GLBTQJA on Wordpress: Cross dressing drama in Portmore


Peace and tolerance


H