Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 07:44:29 +0000 From: Clare Howell Subject: IYF17 MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Editor: Clare Howell, clare@gpac.org NY TIMES FEATURES CONTROVERSY OVER GAY GAMES TRANSGENDER POLICY ============================================ [New York, NY: 5 Aug 98] IN A FRONT PAGE article on 1 Aug 98, the New York Times covered the growing controversy over the Gay Games policy regarding transgender athletes. Titled "Event Founded to Fight Bias is Accused of It," the article high- lighted efforts by Gay, Lesbian, and trans- gender groups to have a policy scrapped that they say discriminates against transgender athletes. Trans-athletes wishing to participate in this summer's games in Amsterdam must provide documentation from their doctors and employers before they can compete -- provisions that the groups maintain unfairly stigmatize trans- athletes because the policy applies only to transgender people. GenderPAC, along with the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), FTM International, The National Center for Lesbian Rights, and others, wrote a letter of protest to organizers of the games, calling on them to rescind those restrictive requirements for trans-athletes. "After years of trivializing our issues, the mainstream media are finally 'getting it' that we are a legitimate political movement deserving of balanced, unsensational coverage," said Riki Anne Wilchins, Executive Director of GenderPAC. "This and the recent Time magazine article (20 Jul 98) are evidence that our movement's time has come." ### Subscriptions. Please send: subscribe iyf-online or: unsubscribe iyf-online to: MajorDomo@apocalypse.org For prior releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org (c) 1998 InYourFace Our online news-only service for gender activism.