Subject: [iyf] IYF-HRC's Birch Supports Trans-Inclusion in Mission Statement Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 08:46:55 -0500 From: owner-iyf-online@gpac.org MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Editor: Clare Howell, clare@gpac.org .HRC HEAD BIRCH SUPPORTS BI/TRANS INCLUSION IN MISSION STATEMENT .GLAAD CENSURES VILLAGE VOICE OVER TRANS-ARTICLE HRC HEAD BIRCH SUPPORTS BI/TRANS INCLUSION IN MISSION STATEMENT ============================================= [New York, NY: 23 Nov 99] ELIZABETH BIRCH, EXECUTIVE Director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), publicly acknowledged that she favors adding 'transgender' and 'bisexual' to HRC's mission statement. HRC is the nation's largest Gay and Lesbian advocacy organization, and any change in their mission, a topic hotly debated by bi- and trans-activists for years, could signal an important shift in the organization's emphasis and constituency. What effect her thoughts about trans-inclusion will have in persuading HRC's Board of Directors to amend the mission statement remains unknown. The Board passed a 1998 resolution acknowledging the bisexual and transgender communities as "friends and allies," but it stopped well short of acknowledging them as part of HRC's primary constituency. Said David Smith, HRC Communications Director, "Many people on staff share Elizabeth's view on inclusion as do many people on our board. There is without question an ongoing discussion within the organization as HRC continues to grow and evolve." GenderPAC's Riki Wilchins added, "Over the past five years we've developed from virtually no relationship to a firm and productive working relationship with HRC. We've taken some heat for this, and I don't doubt they've taken some heat for it. But GenderPAC believes that constructive interaction is the only way groups get to know each other, understand each other's concerns, and change. Good for Elizabeth Birch and her statement." ### Contact: Wonbo Wo, woo@glaad.org GLAAD CENSURES VILLAGE VOICE OVER TRANS-ARTICLE =============================================== [New York, NY: 23 Nov 99] THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE Against Defamation (GLAAD) sent a letter of protest to the Village Voice about the 23 Nov 99 issue's cover story about a female-to-male transexual. The letter, also signed by Katie Douglass of the Gender Identity Project of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and Riki Wilchins of GenderPAC, takes the magazine to task for Norah Vincent's article entitled 'A Real Man.' GLAAD contends "The cover image of a disfigured Barbie doll with a male torso and groin crudely stitched to its body in Frankenstein fashion likens transgender people to creatures with mismatched body parts and grotesque, butchered appearances." The letter goes on to criticize Vincent for referring to Brandon Teena with female pronouns and writing that he 'fooled' people into believing that he was a 'real' man. It claims that the Voice is unfair to transpeople and misrepresents their experience. "Gender identity and self-expression are not just about 'passing,' and are certainly not about 'fooling': they are about honesty. When transgender people come out, they are in fact trying to stop 'fooling' others about who they are. For Vincent and the Voice to suggest otherwise is at once surprising and deplorable." This issue of the Voice claims credit for breaking the Brandon Teena story in 1994 in an article that portrayed Brandon as a confused lesbian. His transexualism was not mentioned. Now, five years later, the magazine's insensitivity continues. ### Subscriptions. Please contact: Subscribe@Gpac.org For prior releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org (c) 1999 InYourFace GenderPAC's independent online news-only service for gender activism. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of GenderPAC's Board, Officers, or membership.