FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2007

TransYouth Family Advocates announces campaign for transgender suicide awareness

HOLLAND, MI– Today, TransYouth Family Advocates (TYFA) launches the Amethyst Ribbon Campaign, an awareness project to battle suicide among transgender youth.

The Amethyst Ribbon Campaign was established as part of the Ian Benson Project. Ian was a 16-year old affirmed male who took his own life in October 2007. Ian’s mother, TYFA’s secretary/treasurer, hopes to help other children and families avoid the pain and struggles that can lead to suicide among trans youth.

“Transgender” (or the abbreviation “trans”) describes people whose gender identity or expression differs from expectations for their physical sex characteristics or sex assigned at birth. Recent estimates conclude approximately 1 in 500 people seek surgical reassignment during their lives, with many more expressing their gender in other ways. Studies suggest that among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans youth, 50% end up ideating or attempting suicide before adulthood.

TYFA President Shannon Garcia described the symbolism of the Amethyst Ribbon Campaign. “The brilliant violet color of amethyst is also a blend of the pink and blue traditionally used to designate the male/female binary. Amethyst is a precious gem, chosen to represent how precious trans children are to their families and friends.”

TYFA Executive Director Kim Pearson said, “Ian was our friend, he was the friend of our children, he was part of our hearts and the hearts of his family. To keep Ian’s memory alive, we will help other families and children by telling the stories of our children and families, to reach out to the other Ian’s of the world. We can help them and their families find the answers. In honor of Ian and all transgender people, we ask that you share this message and vision.”

TransYouth Family Advocates is a coalition of parents, friends and caring adults dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them.

To learn more about the Amethyst Ribbon Campaign, please visit the TYFA website at www.imatyfa.org or call 1-888-IMA-TYFA. The site includes information and resources for trans youth and their families.

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Contact:

Kim Pearson, Executive Director
http://www.imatyfa.org
kimp@imatyfa.org
1-888-462-8932 (888-IMA-TYFA)

Dear friends and allies,

Many of you know that on Monday the TYFA family suffered a tragic loss. The 16 year old son of one of our board members took his own life. Please pass the following information along to all of your lists, friends, and co-workers.

To all that are grieving. Feeling alone and helpless.

On Friday Night, 7:00 EST, a Candle-Light Vigil is being held on the soccer field of the Black River School, 491 Columbus Avenue, Holland, MI to celebrate the life of Ian Benson. Where ever you are at this time, gather your family and friends, light a candle, and say a few words. In this way our angel Ian will see our light, feel our warmth, and know that we stand united as a community firm in the belief that we can change the world.

Let our lights shine. Let our hearts feel warmth. Let us light up the world with knowledge and compassion in Ian’s honor.

Wear a pin in honor of Ian.

NAMASTE,

–
Kim Pearson
Executive Director
TransYouth Family Advocates, Inc.
1-888-IMA-TYFA
www.imatyfa.org
kimp@imatyfa.org

“I’m an idealist without illusions”
–John F. Kennedy

Dear Families, Friends and Allies,

The San Diego Gay and Lesbian Times received negative feedback on their feature article published last week (linked below) which featured the Grant family. We were contacted by the family and by the publication for guidance and education in clearing up a misunderstanding which led to the article being less positive than the publication had intended.

TYFA executive director Kim Pearson and president Shannon Garcia hosted a conference call with the publisher and editor Monday, October 22nd. The dialogue revolved around sensitivity errors within the article and how they could be resolved. In less than 24 hours, the letter you see below was posted on the publication’s website.

Please join us in thanking the Gay and Lesbian Times for their journalistic integrity by emailing the editor at editor@uptownpub.com.

Together we can make a difference.

P.S. TYFA’s expression of gratitude appears at the end of this letter.

______________________________________________________

Editor’s note:
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007

Last week, the Gay & Lesbian Times published “Born in a bind: treating transgender children,” a feature story on treatment for transgender children. The Village Voice, the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times have also written stories about transgender children. The New York Times and The Associated Press even crafted guidelines for staff members who write about transgender people.

We received a number of complaints Thursday when the article was published. The primary complaint was this: the child in the story, an 11-year-old girl, was referred to as Daniel, a pseudonym. The male pseudonym was crafted to reflect the child’s biological sex, which is male. Subsequently, a male pronoun was used in reference to the child throughout the story.

There was a fundamental misunderstanding when the reporter spoke with the family. Celene Adams, the news and features editor for the GLT, read the opening paragraphs of the story to the child’s mother. She approved the use of the male pronoun in the first two paragraphs. Neither party clarified which pronoun would be used throughout the rest of the story. The name “Daniel” was approved by the child.

The misunderstanding led to a sensitivity error on our part. We have since reviewed the media policies on transgender issues of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), The New York Times and The Associated Press. We have also talked with Kim Pearson, the executive director of TransYouth Family Advocates (TYFA), and Shannon Garcia, president of TYFA.

Pearson and Garcia were very helpful, and directed us to many of the media resources we have consulted.

The Gay & Lesbian Times takes pride in its coverage of the GLBT community, and each of the members of the community. We will adopt the following policies for stories pertaining to transgender people from this point on. In the past, the guidelines have been followed, but there was no written policy in our house style manual, so, no concrete precedent was set for transgender coverage. Many of these policies are recognized by the NLGJA, GLAAD and respected news organizations.

1. When writing about a transgender person, we will use the name and personal pronouns that are consistent with the way the individual lives publicly.

2. We will use a transgender person’s chosen name. We will use a pronoun that reflects a transgender person’s biological gender pre-transition, and a pronoun that reflects their gender identity post-transition. We will never use quotation marks around the transgender person’s chosen name or the pronoun reflecting gender identity.

3. We will use the term transgender as an adjective (i.e. transgender person, transgender people) not a noun (i.e. transgenders).

Further, we will continue to dialogue with Pearson and Garcia on stories that relate to the transgender community. They have been very constructive in their criticism, and have been important to affecting this change. We will continue to work with all organizations and individuals that are constructive, professional and aim to find resolution when an error or issue appears.

Publisher Michael Portantino, I, and the Gay & Lesbian Times value accuracy and strive to meet ethical standards, and apologize for any pain the error caused the child or family.

______________________________________________________

Dear Joey and Michael,

On behalf of TYFA, Shannon Garcia and I thank you for your journalistic integrity and willingness to learn. We commend you for the expedience with which you handled the concerns of TYFA, the Grant family, the families and children we represent and ultimately the entire GLBT community. We applaud your efforts to present factual, respectful and accurate portrayals of the transgender experience. The new guidelines you established are well written and further proof of your commitment to building upon the high ethical standards your publication is known for.

It was a pleasure to work with you and we look forward to our continued collaboration.

Namaste,

Kim Pearson,
Executive Director
TransYouth Family Advocates
1-888-IMA-TYFA
www.imatyfa.org
kimp@imatyfa.org

“I’m an idealist without illusions”
                  –John F. Kennedy

TYFA Family Advocate Betsy Hanger represented our organization on Monday, October 15 at a California Senate Select Committee on School Safety public hearing, chaired by renowned LGBT advocate Senator Sheila Kuehl. (Senator Kuehl, the first openly gay state politician in California, is a longtime friend of the trans community). She and Senator Gloria Romero, the other member of the Committee in attendance, received the findings of many representatives of the community, and encouraged their efforts to make school a safe and welcoming place for trans and gender variant students.

Masen Davis, the Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center, Miguel Martinez, Manager of the Risk-Reduction Program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and Dr. Stephen Russell, director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth and Families, reported on recent research on the problems of transgender youth in schools. They called for more funding to enforce laws such as AB 537, and SB 518, which protect LGBT youth in schools. The statistics are startling: 38% of California transyouth receive no high school diploma or GED; 27% report being harassed for their gender presentation, despite legal protections. Over 60% of MTFs self-report involvement in sex work, and live at or below the poverty line. Hearteningly, 40% of school districts self-identify the need for training such as TYFA offers. Fewer than 25% of recent student respondents said teachers intervened during harassment incidents. Clearly, California teachers need help learning how to support these students. Los Angeles Unified School District’s Judy Chiassan, from the Office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity, noted TYFA as a possible source for teacher training. 

Senator Romero asked about the best practices for disseminating the LGBT non-discrimination policy – for moving from having a good policy in place to actually improving the lives of T students.  Alice Kessler from Equality California, Carolyn Laub from the GSA Network, Cecelia Chung from the Transgender Law Center, and Tamara Lange from the ACLU, made recommendations. Administrators need more detailed policies to protect the privacy of trans students. Textbooks for health classes need to be rewritten because of their heterosexist bias. A video for health classes featuring a variety of trans youth could explore their issues in an inclusive way. A joint legislative audit of all the state agencies’ approach to trans youth’s rights should be conducted. Following their model in other issues, the ACLU suggested that we “train the trainer:” a pilot program of model trainings should be launched to spread the news about how to implement laws we already have, so that enforcement at the grass roots can happen.

Public comment was then invited and Betsy was the first to speak. Announcing the existence of TYFA as a parent-created model for training teachers, pediatricians, school boards, parents and caregivers, and the public, Betsy used her two minutes allotted time to advocate for including parents to help the adults in trans children’s lives understand their needs. Senators Kuehl and Romero agreed that well-informed and activist parents are a crucial part of keeping students safe and creating better schools. Afterwards, Betsy networked with nearly everyone at the hearing, giving away all her business cards and every TFYA brochure in her bag. Betsy reports that it was an exhilarating experience and bodes well for TYFA’s future activism in California schools. Numerous trans youth in attendance were thrilled to know about TYFA’s current lobby work in Washington DC and throughout the nation, and will spread the word as well.

Thank you to all who attended the hearing and especially to Betsy for speaking out on behalf of all our families!

   Lisa & Kelley
TYFA Family Advocates Kelley Winters, Ph.D., and Attorney Lisa C. Gilinger represented TYFA at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Symposium in Chicago this September. WPATH, previously the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), publishes the Standards of Care widely recognized for medical and surgical aspects of gender identity affirmation. This biennial event is the preeminent international forum for science, health care and legal issues related to gender and the human experience. The theme of the Chicago symposium was “Looking to the Future: Environment, Transplantation, and Telepsychiatry.”

Presentations on children and adolescents revealed a promising trend among researchers to focus on youth issues.  There were stark differences between old guard attitudes, preoccupied with stereotypes, sexual orientation and physical characteristics, and more progressive views of gender as part of human diversity. Clinical research in the Netherlands reported positive outcomes for puberty blocking and cross-hormonal therapies for adolescents. Presentations on gender role transition in adolescence, such as “Gender Identity Development Treatment of Adolescents,” and “Benefits of an Active and Constructive Attitude from Schools Towards Children with Gender-Variant Behavior” seemed to herald the theme of Children and Adolescents for the next WPATH meeting in Oslo, Norway in 2009.

As voting members of WPATH, Lisa and Kelly introduced a large cross section of attending professionals to TYFA and placed brochures in as many hands as they could reach. They made contact with international clinicians and researchers and requested of the full membership that parents of affirmed gender variant youth are included in future revisions to the Standards of Care. Memorable social events at the Symposium provided more opportunity for others to hear about TYFA and its important work and a chance to exchange ideas with other youth advocates. Many thanks to Kelley and Lisa for ensuring that the voices of our children and families were heard.