Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 18:36:51 -0700 From: Clare Howell Subject: IYF-Advocate Features Transgender MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Editor: Clare Howell, clare@gpac.org THE ADVOCATE FEATURES TRANSGENDER ================================= [New York, NY: 17 May 99] THE ADVOCATE, A LEADING gay & lesbian magazine, features the transgender movement in its 25 May 99 issue. Titled 'What is Transgender?' the cover story is a profile of trans- woman Alexandra Billings who stars with Greg Louganis in Larry Kramer's play 'Just Say No,' soon to open in Chicago. Reports focus on: trans-man Lauren Cameron; medical procedures involved in surgeries and costs; a glossary of terms; a lesbian's reaction to her former lover's transition to male; Sex-change surgeon, Dr. Biber; and whether the transgendered are (or should be) part of the Gay rights movement. Readers are asked in an online poll: "Should transgendered people be a part of the gay rights movement?" (www.advocate.com) In-depth coverage is given to the relations between the trans-community and The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) over trans-inclusion in the Employ- ment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Transactivists Phyllis Frye of Houston, Nancy Nangeroni of Boston, Jamison Green of San Francisco, and Riki Wilchins of New York are quoted extensively. The most sobering feature, 'The Hidden Hate Epidemic,' highlights the discrepancy between the mainstream's and gay press's reporting of crimes against gays and lesbians and their reporting of transviolence. It points out that, in November, a month after Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming, Rita Hester, a transgendered woman, was murdered near Boston, stabbed 20 times in the chest. In December, trans-woman Vianna Faye Williams was murdered in Jersey City, stabbed 9 times in her back, neck, and chest. In January, crossdresser Lauryn Paige was murdered in Austin, her throat cut. In Feburary, an unidentified crossdresser was found dead in a Houston parking lot, having been shot repeatedly. In March, Tracey Thompson, a transgendered woman, was found bludgeoned to death in south Georgia. Major newspapers across the US are still carrying stories about the Shepard murder, yet no mention has made of these trans-murders. ### Subscriptions. Please contact: Subscribe@Gpac.org For prior releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org (c) 1999 InYourFace GenderPAC's online news-only service for gender activism.