What Will They Think of Next???

It's heresy! The next thing you know people will be thinking of letting transgendered people vote!
Read this from Singapore (More reaction to Jennifer Talackova's acceptance in Miss Universe)

Engineer Leslie Wong, 29, said the rule change was unlikely to alienate fans of the competition. “If you're in a beauty pageant, you probably look like a beautiful woman,” he said. “I'm not sure I would even be able to tell who is transgendered.”
That's all good but here is the radical part:
Trans student Marla Bendini, 26, said transgender contestants could lead to a more positive representation of the community in society. Bendini said society should also make room for pre-operative transsexuals, but the rule change was a good first step. “It's a beauty pageant, not a glorification of genitals,” she said.

For just a second the floor under my feet was getting colder and I thought hell was freezing over!

Video Choice-Name Choice

I came across this article in the "New York Times" Opinion Page. It's a touching and sensitive look at our culture and the many variations. The same variations which on occasion lead us down such an destructive internal path.
 Here's the intro by Sharon Shattuck published: April 18, 2012:
"  I’ve heard much debate in the past year about what constitutes a “healthy family.” Some politicians argue that the best environment for a child is one with a mother and a father — and the underlying context here is that a “normal” family should be helped by a “normal” heterosexual couple.

For me, “normal” is something entirely different.  Yes, I grew up with a happily married mother and father in a small, conservative Midwestern town. But my father is transgender, and he’s a cross-dresser. He has never tried to hide these facts from anyone.

As you can imagine, my family stuck out like a sore thumb in our small town, though I didn’t quite realize to what extent until my dad legally changed his name from Michael to Trisha. And yes, I sometimes still get tripped up about whether to refer to my dad as “he” or “she.” Growing up with Trisha caused me some grief, mostly because I worried about what other people thought of my family and me.  But Trisha just went about her business, painting prolifically in oil on canvas, playing the banjo — and winning people over by simply being a good friend, neighbor and parent.  You can’t choose your parents. Now I know that I wouldn’t want my dad any other way.

What I’m trying to do now, with this short piece and with a feature-length documentary I’m working on, is to put myself in Dad’s shoes, and in the shoes of other LGBT families across the country.  There are a lot of us out there, and I hope that one day we will see “healthy family” redefined to include us, too.

Sharon Shattuck is an animator and filmmaker who lives in Brooklyn.  Her award-winning animation “Whale Fall” had its premiere on Radiolab."

And here is the video:

Asian Transgender News

From "AsiaOne News": 
A beautiful transgender has caused a stir by registering as an election candidate for the Nan Provincial Administration Organisation.
"I'm confident that my experience and ability will be useful in the development of Nan," Yonlada "Kirkkong" Suanyos, 30, said yesterday.

This is the first time a transgender has run for a political post at the provincial level.
Although she is a new face in politics, she is famous as president of the Trans Female Association of Thailand.
For many years, she has campaigned for the rights of trans-females.
The PhD candidate owns a jewellery business and runs a satellite television station.
Last year, she was named by a media organisation as one of the most influential women in Thai society.