Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 10:18:02 -0400 From: Riki Anne Wilchins Subject: InYourFace Online News MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Riki Wilchins (212)645-1753 Riki@Gpac.Org HWA AND MENACE TO DEMONSTRATE WHEN JOYCELYN ELDERS ADDRESSES HRC FUNDRAISER ====================================== [San Francisco CA: 29 Sept 97] THE DIRECT ACTION groups Hermaphrodites With Attitude (HWA) and the Transexual Menace today announced they will hold a peaceful demonstration when Dr. Joycelyn Elders addresses the Human Rights Campaign's $175 per plate Fund-raiser at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Saturday, October 4th at 6 PM. Dr. Elders is a former US Surgeon General under President Clinton, and has been considered a friend of women's and gay and lesbian issues. Advocate of Intersexed Mutilation --------------------------------- But Dr. Elders is also a proponent of Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM), a procedure in which infants are genitally cut to conform to cosmetic norms of male or female. Although most Americans associate genital cutting with African or Muslim cultures, according to noted Brown University medical researcher Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, about one in 2,000 children born in the US are subjected to IGM. SpokesHerms Angry at IGM, not HRC ------------------------ Declared HWA's Cheryl Chase, "These sexually mutilating surgeries are medically unnecessary, done only to allay parents' discomfort over their child's sexual difference. Gay and lesbian groups must realize that these kids are often genitally cut because parents and doctors worry that children with large clitorises or small penises will grow up to be homosexual or transgendered." "HRC has assured us that they were unaware of Elders' support of IGM," continued Chase. "We want to make clear that our purpose is to educate HRC supporters about the issue. We wish HRC a great turnout and a successful fund raiser." Recent segments on ABC's Prime Time Live (Sep 3), Dateline NBC, and articles in the New York Times (May 13) and Newsweek (May 13) have all detailed the growing national controversy over IGM. Contact: Cheryl Chase (415) 575-3885 CChase@Isna.Org What: Educational leafleting Date: Saturday, Oct 4th Time: 6:00 to 8:00 PM Place: Minneapolis Convention Center ### ANOTHER CROSSDRESSING TEEN SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL ================================================ [Trumbull, CT: 11 Sep 97] A MALE STUDENT WAS SUSPENDED from Trumbull High School for 2 days last week for using the girls' bathroom. The unnamed young man, who regularly wears miniskirts, makeup, and a feminine hairstyle, describes himself as a crossdresser. His suspension mirrors a similar incident in Vermont last year when another young man, Matthew Stickney, was suspended from school for wearing a dress to class. "It's a little strange to see a boy in the girls' room," said one girl at Trumbull High last week, "but what's the difference? It doesnąt really bother me." Trumbull High's administration maintains a surprisingly tolerant stance on the matter. Principal Robert McCarthy has turned aside complaints from several parents about the youth's dress and behavior saying that the school does not have legal authority to impose stringent dress codes. "We are fairly liberal when it comes to a dress code," he said. "But we don't allow young ladies in the men's room or men in the ladies' room for any reason." A principal in Trumbull for 31 years, McCarthy said things have changed from the days when a female teacher wearing pants was sent home for violating the school dress code. ### Subscriptions. Please send: Subscribe iyf-online OR Unsubscribe iyf-online TO MajorDomo@Apocalypse.Org For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC web site at: http://WWW.Gpac.Org (c) 1997 InYourFace An on-line, news-only service for gender activism. When re-posting, please credit InYourFace.