Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 08:05:41 -0500 From: Riki Anne Wilchins Subject: In Your Face (Some subscribers have complained they did not get this release of IYF, so we are initiating this resend. If you didn't get it, we apologize for the inconvenience; if you did get it, we apologize for doubling up on you - Eds.) MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Riki Anne Wilchins, riki@gpac.org (212) 645-1753 . TRANS-ACTIVISTS DECRY GAY GAMES POLICY . SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST TRANSEXUAL COVERED BY TITLE IX. . MAN SENTENCED FOR KILLING FEMALE IMPERSONATOR . S/M CONTROVERSY ERUPTS AT SUNY . INTERSEX WOMAN IN UK DENIED JOB . GenderPAC's D.C. Advocate on Hate Crimes Conference TRANS-ACTIVISTS DECRY GAY GAMES POLICY ====================================== [New York, NY: 10 Nov 97] TRANSGENDER ACTIVISTS have derided Gay Games 97 policy regarding transexuals. Said one, "The standards we must meet to participate are intrusive and stigmatizing. They are blatantly discriminatory." Transexuals who wish to compete in the Amsterdam games this summer must provide proof of a court- ordered name change, letters from a physician and a therapist, and proof of employment for at least two years. "These strictures mirror the dominant culture's persecution of the Gay community," said another spokestrans. "How would an olympic gay athlete respond to a demand that she provide a letter from her doctor stating why it would be impossible or severely detrimental for her to participate as heterosexual?" ### SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST TRANSEXUAL COVERED BY TITLE IX =============================================== [New York, NY: 20 Nov 97] A U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE has ruled valid a sexual harassment complaint against an NYU professor by a transexual woman. Jennifer Miles, an NYU graduate student, alleged that one of her professors "Began making wholly unwelcome sexual advances... [including] the fondling of breasts, buttocks... forcible attempts to kiss, and repeated propositioning for a sexual relationship." The professor had several similar complaints on file against him from other female students. He was reprimanded, but later awarded tenure. NYU countered the complaint arguing that Miles had no cause of action under Title IX because her transexual status relieved the university of liability. The judge responded, "There is no conceivable reason why such conduct should be rewarded with legal pardon just because, unbeknownst to [the] Professor and everyone else at the university, plaintiff was not a biological female...[any] jury that accepted as true all facts claimed by [Ms. Miles] would surely find in her favor on this issue." ### MAN SENTENCED FOR KILLING FEMALE IMPERSONATOR ============================================= [Cape May Courthouse, NJ: 5 Nov 97] BRIAN HALTER, 25, a former life guard, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter in the 1992 death of Rene Ouellet, 31, who worked as a female impersonator. The AP reports that Halter, who will be eligible for parole in less than 2 years, beat and strangled Ouellet when he awoke on the beach from an alcohol-induced sleep to find Ouellet performing oral sex on him. According to prosecutor Barbara Marino, Halter bludgeoned Ouellet with a board and left him for dead. Returning later to check on the body, Halter found that Ouellet had moved to a different spot. He then choked Ouellet and buried him under the boardwalk. Two weeks later, someone saw an arm sticking out of the sand and called police. Said prosecutor Marino, "We believe Mr. Halter is not likely to reoffend, but he needs to be punished for taking a life." ### S/M CONTROVERSY ERUPTS AT SUNY ============================== [New York, NY: 11 Nov 97] A CONFERENCE AT THE STATE University of New York (SUNY-New Paltz) has ignited a controversy over Sadomasochism (S/M). Titled "Revolting Behavior: The Challenges of Women's Sexual Freedom," the conference included sessions like "Sex Toys for Women" and "Safe, Sane and Consensual," among other sessions on lesbianism, birth control, and HIV education. Conservatives, including NY's Governor Pataki, condemned the conference. A SUNY trustee, Candace de Russy, called for the resignation of SUNY President, Roger Bowen. Bowen defended the conference. "This boils down to a simple principle of the First Amendment," he said. "Public or private, a university should provide a forum to present, discuss and debate things. If you can't have groups on the margins, where can you have them?" The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) issued a strong statement of support for Bowen. Said Susan Wright, Ex. Dir. of NCSF, "This is history repeating itself. Fifteen years ago, Barnard College was criticized by anti-porn feminists for holding a conference on women's sexuality... [This] conference adhered to the high standards of SUNY-New Paltz's mission statement to 'celebrate the diversity of our society'". Another defender of the conference was the NY Times. In an editorial (11/11), it said, "Reasonable people might disagree on the worthiness of the topic...But given that such a subculture exists, an academic conference on sexuality seems a suitable forum to discuss it." The Village Voice, in a cover story (11/11) entitled "Whip Me Home, Honey: S/M Goes Mainstream," focused attention on the growing visibility of S/M as a legitimate form of sexual expression. It detailed how S/M support groups have proliferated since the 1980s when traditionally isolated erotic minorities (gay and straight) began to form political alliances. ### INTERSEX WOMAN IN UK DENIED JOB =============================== [London, UK: 1 Nov 97] AN INTERSEX WOMAN WAS DENIED a job at the Watford Women's Center because, "When I turned up they would not let me in because they said I looked too much like a man," said Sarah-Jane Brooks. Ms. Brooks has worked in women's centers in London and Manchester. She intends to take legal action against the Watford local council for discrimination. She said, "The point is that I am both a man and a woman. They have no right to choose which sex to judge me on." A Watford Council spokesman, referring to Ms. Brooks as a man, said, "The planning group...considered this request fully... He cannot be admitted to the center which is a focal point for women in this town." ### GenderPAC's Washington D.C. Advocate, Dana Priesing, reports on the recent Hate Crimes Conference: "The White House Conference on Hate Crimes was held 10 November 1997. To my knowledge, no openly gender- different or postgendered person attended the conference itself. So I made an effort to ensure that the NGLTF reps. attending (Kerry Lobel & Helen Gonzales) had (sanitized -- no names) copies of the recent hate crimes report [The First National Survey on TransViolence] as well as GenderPAC's fact sheet on incidents known to us in the last five years. "I did attend the evening reception which was held at the Holocaust Memorial, pressed the flesh a bit, and chatted with a number of folk about what occurred at the conference -- providing the basis for [what follows]. "The problem of hate violence against TG folk was mentioned twice by speakers at the conference. I suspect that this is partly due to greater awareness of the issue, and partly due to the growing habit folk have of inclusively saying "GLBT" instead of G&L. "I've reported a lot recently about the work being done to expand the Dept. of Justice's investigatory & prosecutorial jurisdiction to include gender, disability & sexual orientation. I've also reported how GenderPAC & others have worked to help DOJ understand how it could use gender-based jurisdiction to investigate & prosecute hate crimes against gender-different folk, based on the theory that such violence results from gender-based stereotypes. "At the conference, President Clinton announced that he supports such expanded jurisdiction (i.e., to cover gender, disability & s.o.). I understand that Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Specter are poised to introduce a bill in the Senate (likely to be attached to a larger bill concerning administration of justice issues) that would accomplish this if enacted. I'll pass along the bill number to you once I have it. "Judging from the crowd at the reception, there was a substantial focus on school/youth violence issues. Lotsa grade school and high school kids present. To the extent that any of you do further advocacy work in this area, you may want to consider using the same focus." ### 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) 1996 InYourFace An on-line, news-only service for gender activism. When re-posting, please credit InYourFace.