Moving Forward With Transgender Discrimination

Birth certificate law discriminates against transgender Albertans, judge rules

A judge has ruled that an Alberta law dealing with birth certificates violates the rights of transgender people.
The ruling comes a week after Premier Dave Hancock announced changes will be made to the Vital Statistics Act.
The law states that transgender persons must have reassignment surgery before they can change the sex on their birth certificates.
Hancock said the surgery requirement will be dropped, but there is no word on when that might happen.
Justice Brian Burrows said the government has 30 days to issue a new birth certificate to a 23-year-old transgender woman who filed the legal challenge.
Representing herself in court, the woman argued that she needs to have her birth certificate switched from male to female so she can move on with her life.
She said she doesn't want to have surgery and the birth certificate she has now makes her feel like "a second-class citizen, undeserving of having my identity as female recognized."
Burrows agreed.
He also ruled the current legislation violates the Constitution and can no longer be in force.
Law contributes to prejudice, finds court
"Transgendered persons encounter disadvantage, prejudice, stereotyping and vulnerability because their felt sex is not the sex recorded at birth," he wrote in his decision.
He said the law, as it stands, contributes to the prejudice.
"When asked, at the presentation of this application, how it could possibly matter that a person born male, but who has transitioned and lives female, have a birth certificate that says they are female, counsel for Alberta could offer no answer."
A spokeswoman with Service Alberta, Jessica Johnson, said the judge's ruling will be respected and the woman will receive a new birth certificate by the judge's deadline.
Johnson said details of the new legislation are still being worked out. Human rights complaints have been filed in at least four provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia — calling for changes to such laws.
In British Columbia, a bill was recently introduced that would remove the condition that a person must first have sex reassignment surgery.
It would also allow children, with parental consent, to switch the sex listed on their birth certificates.
In 2012, Ontario's human rights tribunal declared it discriminatory to require surgery for a transgender woman who wanted to switch to female from male on her birth certificate.
The province revised its legislation to allow a change with a note from a doctor or psychologist, but set an age limit of at least 18

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/birth-certificate-law-discriminates-against-transgender-albertans-judge-rules-1.2620406 

About the Transgender Community

Check out the google + page that I got these from My Transexual Date! 

Be an Ally, Spread the Word

 Categorization places an understanding of certain things as being weaknesses where these particular things are more of a judgment. It is as plain as our understanding of right and wrong. Right and wrong are judgments just as it is a judgement to believe we know what is best for others, or the judgment that someone is going to fail because of where they are at in life/upbringing, or even the ridiculous belief that some races or sexualities are better then others. Maybe oppression has become so natural that we begin to oppress ourselves. The feeling of something wrong and being wrong has intertwined and created a society where it is not okay to be not okay. Without categorization it would be difficult to make these distinctions but it is something that seems to arise in different ways in culture and throughout the ages. It is something that can only be combated by a conscious mind and a united front. It is a job that a team of people must face together in every aspect to create a more equal and educated world. Our judgments and stereotypes are products of misunderstanding and all oppression when brought to light can disappear with just a little more knowledge.      

ULSU Pride Centre Queeraoke!

"Come out' for our monthly Queeraoke events. Starts at 10 or 11, ends at 1am, and will probably feature more show tunes than you'll know what to do with. This is our big social event, so come to meet new people, rejoin with old friends, and get that epic love ballad out of your system.
Events are 18+ and it is necessary to bring ID.

The next Queeraoke will be held on Friday, March 21 at Club Didi (517A 4th Ave S) @10pm!" 

Finding Connections

We have found through various means that connecting with the Lethbridge community at large is quite difficult for the LGBTQ community. Reasoning can be chalked up to a seemingly reoccurring theme from several of the individuals we interviewed describing Lethbridge mentality as “very redneck” and “conservative”.  However it is important to acknowledge the importance of local and understanding support; so how do we gain this sense of community?

Where the Lethbridge community is not accepting of this demographic, we have found a strong cohesion and support for the most part within the population itself. “I think the LGBT is incredibly important. I think that everyone needs to feel a sense of community, and that it is great for LGBT to have people that they feel safe around, and a group they can belong to.” The only problem is finding these groups of people. Though there are several groups there seems to be a general consensus that not many exist as a means to social interaction and events. In general most of the groups, excluding major ones within more accepting demographics such as the U of L PRIDE CENTRE, are aimed more around creating awareness and provide little support besides unity. Even though we have found that the community is interested less in “forcing [pride parades] on a small town like Lethbridge” and “interested more about meeting people within thecommunity”.  Stephan Dunbar-Edge commented in one interview that he used his Theatre group and friends as his “primary crutches”. All of this is an interesting concept to grasp as it only further excludes the population socially; however it provides a safe support.

Another important question to ask is what is the awareness level of these support groups that do exist? Interestingly enough it may not just be a lack of support in Lethbridge; and if it is a lack of support why? I think that there are a couple of reasons for both questions that became evident in answers:

1. Limited awareness of support: “we have a Pride festival… and isn’t there a thing at the water tower?”  
2. Fear of seeking support: “I definitely didn't have a connection to any sort of support system in the community. I had friends who helped me along the way, but I felt like I had to be very hushed about my sexuality. It didn't feel like an open or safe place for me to be honest with who I was, for fear of being discriminated against.” Another individual talked about being aware of their sexuality around 15 or 16 but not fully acknowledging it until about 20. She spoke of attending the pride festival for the first time around then and being scared but having her horizons broadened. Another individual said that in their opinion “there is a lack of support either because they don't want to find it or because they are scared.”
3. Improper or inadequate Support: Again talking about more socially based support that’s agenda isn’t necessarily LGBTQ awareness but connection to the community. “There are small support groups but for someone who might not be comfortable with themselves and can't admit to themselves”, creating a place for only portions of the community to gather. Not to mention the difficulty we had contacting some agencies within the Lethbridge community that are supposed to provide certain support.  With our original group PFLAG we found that many of their social media outlets were severely outdated, upon trying to contact them via email we were unable to obtain a response and calling did not gain much support either.

Ultimately I found that to create more support within the community there is a need for creating less “closeted” groups so to speak and promoting safe social gatherings that don’t necessarily involve commitment or acknowledgement from the general public. This isn’t to say we should create an us vs them mentality and that awareness campaigns are useless.  A steady communication should be maintained to provide an environment of security for new individuals while preserving this vital cohesive community atmosphere. Awareness campaigns are a very essential part of social change and should be an integral part of the macro level community which creates visibility and internationality for the group.

Anonymous Interview

Anonymous
Age: 24
Identified sex: Female
Identified Orientation: Lesbian

Are you aware of the supports available to the LGBTQ community in Lethbridge?
We have a Pride festival… and isn’t there a thing at the water tower?

Have you ever attended any events or supports?
Only the Pride Festival.
She talked to me about the experience and described it as being a scary and a new experience. She defined it as being eye opening and a whole different world was revealed to her providing new horizons. When she had attended the Pride Festival she was just beginning to explore herself in the light and was dating her first girlfriend. Anon was very open with her experience and provided insight to me about how her first girlfriend had both opened her eyes and broken her heart.

In your opinion is the Lethbridge community accepting of LGBTQ?
No... well maybe besides the flag flying during the Olympics.

When did you begin to become aware and acknowledge your sexuality?
I was about 15 or 16

What was your high school years like?
knowing she had gone to a catholic school and thinking back on others experiences I was curious as to how her sexuality had effected this time in her life. She began describing it as being a terrible experience as most people seem to agree and talked about being closeted. Anon said she spent most of her time hanging out with the nerdy guy crowd and shied away from girls. As a middle schooler she had hung around girls all the time and was friends with them; but as her feelings towards them began to change she felt she couldn't spend time around them any longer. When asked what may have been holding her back she said she wasn't really sure. At the age of about 20 she was finally able to come out to her family and in many ways to herself with her first girlfriend.

What was it like coming out to your family?
She explained that for her dad it was particularly hard as he is set in his own ways and follows religion to some degree. However her mother and sister were quite understanding and actually already seemed to have guessed. Most people don't know about her sexual orientation; at her place of work she is not vocal about her personal life and feels it isn't something people should necessarily ask. We joked about how people never ask others if they are straight and concluded that it should be much the same for her.

What do you want to see within the LGBTQ community?
Less about awareness, more about meeting people; I would go to more things  like that.

Interview With Female Univeristy Student

Age: 24

Gender you identify as: Female

Sexual Orientation you identify with: Lesbian

1) What is your opinion on the LBGTQ community?

I strongly dislike the LGBTQ community I find it cliquey and dramatic.

2) What are your opinions on pride parades and other community events used to support LGBT?

Community events and parades are needed social tools to help LGBTQ persons feel like part of the community.

3) Do you know someone in your life who is a supporter/member of the LGBT community? If so how is your relationship with that person?

Everyone in my life is a supporter of equal rights, if they don’t support it they have no place in my life.

4) How do you feel about homophobia? How does homophobia affect you?

Homophobia is disgusting and practiced by uneducated people, it doesn't affect me because I'm bigger than it.

5) How do you feel about public displays of affection between two people of the same sex?

PDA between two same sex people bothers me just as much as PDA between same sex couples.

6) What is your standpoint on same-sex marriage? If you do not support, explain why.

I support it because I support all aspects of equal rights.

7) Do you support adoption by same sex couples? If not, explain why.

Yes I do. Same sex couples plan to have kids and give them loving homes. Same sex couples are more likely to adopt kids with special needs more so then opposite sex couples.

8) If you have a friend in the same-sex community can you explain how others outside of the community react?

Strangers are normally homophobic towards them.

9) If one of your family members would want to undergo a sex change or gender re-assignment what would your opinion be?

I would be okay with it because I love them for who they are, not what parts they have.

10) If you are in the LGBT community please explain how your "coming out" felt (this may be to other people and/or coming out to yourself). What resources did you turn to, if any?

Coming out was the absolute worst experience of my life. There were no resources available for me in Lethbridge.

11) If you are in the LGBT community please explain the reaction your parents and close family members gave you after expressing your sexuality.

My father told me he didn’t want lesbians in his house and my mom didn’t talk to me for 5 years.

12) Do you feel people treat you differently? If so, explain how?

No.

13) Do you feel that because of your sexual orientation that you are discriminated against?

Only in high school.

14) Do you feel that in Lethbridge there is a support system or community for you? Explain.

No. When kids come out as teenagers or younger the school systems do not have anything. If you are older you can go to support meetings or events.