A successful human rights lawyer who lived as a woman outside work was pushed under a Tube train by a preoperative transsexual whom he had befriended, a court heard.

David Burgess, 63, known as Sonia, died after falling under a Piccadilly Line train at King’s Cross Underground station on Oct 25 last year.

Senthooran Kanagasingham, 35, known as Nina, went on trial yesterday charged with his murder.
Mr Burgess, a divorced father of three, had built “an enviable and brilliant reputation” as a solicitor in human rights and immigration law.

“However, socially, the deceased lived as a woman and was known by friends and family as Sonia,” said Mr Altman.

“I intend to refer to the deceased throughout as of the female gender because that is the wish of her family.”
Mr Burgess was “gender-variant”, the court heard. He had not wished to have surgery to become a woman, but to all intents and purposes outside his professional life, he lived as a woman.
This was “accepted and embraced” by everyone, including his three children, the jury was told.
“A close friend states that physically Sonia presented as a good-looking, very slim, middle-aged woman,” said Mr Altman.
“Sonia was caring and generous with her time. She was tolerant of others and she habitually helped others with their problems.” Kanagasingham, of Cricklewood, north London, had been undergoing sex-change therapy at the time of Mr Burgess’s death. It had been his desire to “pass completely as a woman”, the court heard.
It may be true: "Only the Good Die Young?"

Weekly "Horror Scope"

Libra:
If you need to lose your mind, do it. This is the week when going all out, balls to the wall psycho will have its benefits. Besides, if done properly, it’s merely a freedom of expression, a creative statement. Whatever the case, the style in which you approach this can make it all okay, so think of yourself as an abstract expressionistic fireball of passion and fury and let loose!

I thought this was me every week??????
Horror Scope compliments of   the Frisky.

Transgender Journey: From Ramesh to Rose!

Pictured on the right is India’s first transgender celebrity :
She talked about her trauma recently in an interview with
the Sunday Observer   Rose  who spoke about her traumatic past to become a woman, requested people to look at transgendered people
as human beings and not to throw them into dark
corners and make their lives miserable.
Rose knows firsthand how bad the transgendered experience can be.  She hails from a society where a transgendered person is tagged as a ‘hijara’, meaning immoral and evil. “but we are not immoral, evil dirty or prostitutes”, she says.
Through hard work and education, Rose gained popularity in Tamil Nadu with her TV talk show ‘Ippadikku
Rose’ - Yours truly, Rose where she talks about social issues
including traditions, taboos, rebels and culture telecast on Vijaya
TV.
Follow the link to learn more!

Transgendered Twin

Pictured left are Wyatt and Jonas who started life as twin brothers.

The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor’s care.

"Wyatt" is now "Nicole" and here is the story from "boston.com"

"When Wyatt and Jonas were born, their father was thrilled. Wayne looked forward to the day when he could hunt deer with his boys in the Maine woods. The family lived in Orono, near the University of Maine campus, where Wayne is the director of safety and environmental management.

They had no preparation for what would come next.

When Wyatt was 4, he asked his mother: “When do I get to be a girl?’’ He told his father that he hated his penis and asked when he could be rid of it. Both father and son cried. When first grade started, Wyatt carried a pink backpack and a Kim Possible lunchbox.

His parents had no idea what was going on. They had barely heard the term “transgender.’’ Baffled, they tried to deflect Wyatt’s girlish impulses by buying him action figures like his brother’s and steering him toward Cub Scouts, soccer, and baseball."

As I read the story I was astounded by the love and courage of this family. As we approach the holiday season this is a true example of unconditional love.

Bond's Best Transgendered Woman

Transsexual Bond girl Caroline
Cossey revisited.

Transgender Actress

Transgender actress Bianca Leigh!

Out of the Closet

Out of the wrong closet at that! 
I just attended quite possibly the last company Christmas party in guy drag I ever will.
Going through my male closet (neglected) was quick and pain full.
I've never given much attention to my male appearance.  Work attire was easy enough as was the simple casual attire I wore.  You know the story. Fashion limitations everywhere-BORING! Polo shirt, slacks, matching socks and shoes and I'm out the door.
Of course once I got there I was the fashion expert (in my mind).  I passed the time critiquing every woman there.
Why did I go? If you've been following my timeline, I only have another couple weeks to go with this company.
Actually there are a couple of reasons I did go. Let's get the self serving one out of the way. Christmas bonuses were being passed out! Do not quit before you get your bonus!
The other reason is I believe in being a good employee until the end. I live in a relatively medium sized town and I feel more than a few know of my transgender background. If the company gives a party, at least they will have a chance to remember me as a man before my serious gender changes begin.
Of course I've endured the company gossip as well as others for some time now.  I won't lie to you and say that some of it has bothered me over the years.  It's not so much I was bothered by what was said. I was bothered I couldn't say so what?
The Christmas party was so much more than selecting clothes from the wrong closet or ignoring a couple of ignorant comments. The party was yet another huge step towards accept me for who I am or go away.

Another Transgender Victory

In Georgia a federal appeals court panel has upheld a lower court ruling that Vandy Beth Glenn (shown above) was wrongly fired from her job as a legislative editor in the Georgia General Assembly. She informed her employer she planned to transition from male to female and was terminated.
Her fight could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court but for now at least is a clear cut victory for the transgender community in Georgia.
Glenn, who was represented by Lambda Legal attorney Greg Nevins, said she was “giddy” about the news and especially pleased the panel voted 3-0 in her favor.

Nevins, who used only a few minutes of his 30-minutes granted by the 11th Circuit Court to answer questions from the judges during oral arguments on Dec. 1, said the swiftness of the ruling was a bit surprising. But, he added, the ruling was simple to make.
“The question of whether transgender people can be protected under sex discrimination is answered — they put an end to that,” he said of the panel. “They just didn’t think this was rocket science. This was not even a close call. It’s such a clear statement.”
Nevins said the 11th Circuit Court’s ruling would hopefully be a wake up call to employers who feel they can fire transgender people without legal repercussions. But he also noted Congress needs to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to ensure job protections for all LGBT people.
“It is a very wonderful ruling that clearly states transgender people are protected from this kind of discrimination,” Nevins said.

Transgendered "Designer" Labels?

I know most of you are engrossed in shopping for the best presents ever for your friends or loved ones or maybe even your transgendered self! I'm going help and add a few more labels we wear.
Let's start with the pronouns: he, she or god forbid it.  Being a "crossdresser"  is mundane, being "transsexual" is so final and being "transgendered" means exactly what?
Tonight I had a wonderful chat with a new found transgendered friend who unknowlingly used the "gurl" word with me.  She had no way of knowing I associate "gurl" with "tranny" as a gender slur. Why? I feel female and I don't know what a "gurl" is supposed to be. Gurl just sounds demeaning and ugly to me.
Believe me I'm not blaming her, I was just a little sensitive from reading another comment directed at me last night from another person.
I've told you all before of some of my exploits on a few dating sites. I don't do much on them anymore-don't need to. Every now and then a comment about me still gets my attention however.
The comment tonight was "The hottest woman on this site is a man!" There was a day when I would have been elated reading a comment like that.
My initial reaction was "what are the other women here like?" Then I thought "I might be a biological male, but I'm not a man!"
Perhaps I'm just being over sensitive. I do know I have preached to all of you about the use of labels in our transgendered culture and what do they mean anyhow?
Obviously words can only affect me as much as I allow them to. Normally they don't and life goes on!
Good luck with finding your own labels this holiday season!