More Light

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=51 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="29002330dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <B>More Light</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=269 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="2ed00c00dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="533" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2210 WIDTH="527"><div> May 1, 2002</div> <bR> <div> While playing some concerts with the Detroit Symphony in April 2002 one of my friends in the bass section handed me this paper. I was moved to say the least and agree with most of it. It's very encouraging to have a religious organization become so enlightened! </div> <bR> <div> The following are some excerpts from a paper by a Presbyterian group called More Light Presbyterians: </div> <bR> <div> BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TG INDIVIDUAL </div> <bR> <div> - People with gender identity variations can be found in every socioeconomic group. </div> <div> - Gender identity issues usually emerge before puberty for genetic males and throughout the life cycle for genetic females. </div> <div> - Individuals with gender identity issues are no more likely to exhibit mental disorders(outside of the gender identity 'disorder') than the general population. </div> <div> - Gender Identity, whether normal or divergent, appears to be irreversibly fixed by the time the child begins school. </div> <div> - There are no know cures for GID </div> <div> -Gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct but interrelated aspects of an individual's character(e.g., transsexuals are not necessarily gay though many people view them this way. </div> <div> - Diverse gender identity is expressed across a wide spectrum of behaviors, including (but not limited to): cross dressing, drag, transsexualism, androgyny, bi-gender, transgenderism, third gender, she-male, etc. A transgender individual through a lifetime may express several of these identities. </div> <bR> <div> PRIMER OF GENDER TRANSITION </div> <bR> <div> Individuals desiring medical treatment to effect changes in physical gender expression (most often transsexual or transgender individuals, but others as well) are often treated under standard medical guidelines. The most prevalent of these are the "Standards of Care of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. </div> <div> Medical guidelines usually prescribe psychotherapy and/or some period of cross living prior to administration of medical treatment, especially if that treatment is invasive or irreversible. </div> <div> Both the transgender individual and her/his family are under great stress during and immediately after gender transition and often seek professional help. </div> <bR> <div> WHO'S WHO?....IN THE WORLD OF TRANSGENDER </div> <bR> <div> TRANSSEXUALS are individuals who have a gender identity(the sense of being a man or woman) different from their anatomical sex. They often seek medical treatment to change their physical attributes to correspond with their gender identity. This treatment may include hormone therapy, electrolysis, and surgery. Psychotherapy and real life experience in the new gender role is required for most medical treatment. </div> <bR> <div> CROSSDRESSERS wear clothing usually associated with the gender "opposite" to their anatomical sex. Crossdressing may be part-time in the privacy of the person's own home, public, and even full-time. The difference is that crossdressers' gender identity remains the same as their anatomical sex. They usually do not seek medical treatment. Erotic pleasure is sometimes the motivation for crossdressing, especially in younger people. Crossdressers can be attracted to either same-sex or opposite-sex partners, or both. </div> <bR> <div> INTERSEXED (hermaphroditic) individuals are born with genitals that show characteristics of both sexes or are opposite to their genetic sex. Many are surgically "corrected" in infancy, and some grow up to feel like they have had an essential part of themselves taken away without their consent. Even worse, many surgeries in infancy remove or diminish later sexual sensation and enjoyment. </div> <bR> <div> TRANSGENDERISTS live as members of the other sex, but without the extreme need or desire to alter their bodies that transsexuals experience. Some live permanently as members of the opposite sex, while others assume gender identities outside of the male-female two-gender model (Third Gender) Transgenderists often take hormones, some have other treatments (electrolysis) but few undergo surgical transformation. </div> <bR> <div> NAMES AND PRONOUN USAGE </div> <bR> <div> In general, the appropriate pronoun is the one which best describes the way the individual is living his or her life. A cross-living male to female transsexual or transgenderist, for instance should be referred to with feminine pronouns (she, her, hers) regardless of surgical status; masculine pronouns should be used for female to male transsexuals or transgenderists. </div> <bR> <div> When writing about transgendered people quotation marks should never be used around names or pronouns. </div> <bR> <div> Sexual Orientation is different than gender identity. It is the difference between who I am (gender identity) and who I am attracted to (sexual orientation). Transgendered people can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual. </div> <bR> <div> For more information contact the More Light Presbyterians Liaison For Transgender Concerns: </div> <bR> <div> Erin K. Swensen </div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:erinswen@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:erinswen@aol.com"><U><U>erinswen@aol.com</U></U></A><A HREF="mailto:erinswen@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:erinswen@aol.com"><U> </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.erinswen.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.erinswen.com"><U><U>http://www.erinswen.com</U></U></A> </div> <bR> <div> Some other informative sights on Transgender subjects and issues are: </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.annelawrence.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.annelawrence.com"><U><U>http://www.annelawrence.com</U></U></A><A HREF="http://www.annelawrence.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.annelawrence.com"><U> </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.lynnconway.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lynnconway.com"><U><U>http://www.lynnconway.com</U></U></A><A HREF="http://www.lynnconway.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lynnconway.com"><U> </U></A></div> <bR> <div> Check out Lynn's section on TS Successes: </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.transgendercare.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.transgendercare.com"><U><U>http://www.transgendercare.com </U></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.lagendercenter.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lagendercenter.com"><U><U>http://www.lagendercenter.com</U></U></A><A HREF="http://www.lagendercenter.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lagendercenter.com"><U> </U></A></div> <bR> <div> Andrea James has a very comprehensive site: </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.tsroadmap.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tsroadmap.com"><U><U>www.tsroadmap.com </U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=160 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="29100a00dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="921" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 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