Manager's Report

by Elizabeth Riley

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Well here we are at the end of another busy year that has seen many changes and has been charged with many exciting events.

The SAGE Foundation, the newly formed lobby group for sex and gender diverse people, is growing in membership and looks like developing into a truly national lobby group promoting the rights of all in our community. We hope that SAGE will become as influential and powerful a lobby group in Australia as Press for Change has become in Britain. Already SAGE boasts a number of major international lobby groups as affiliates and with such a large and cohesive voice we look forward to some important successes. The Gender Centre supports SAGE in its endeavours and encourages all trans people, wherever you may live in Australia, to take up membership. A lot can be achieved with a united stand.

We have been working for several months with the Gay Games Committee to arrive at a fair policy for the inclusion of transgender people. At the time of writing I have still not seen this policy in a final form but I understand that it will be likely to make the following provisions. If you have documentary evidence identifying you in your chosen gender, passport, birth certificate etc., then you will have automatic access to sports in that gender. If you cannot produce such documentation then it is likely that you will need confirmation from a medical practitioner that you have been accessing hormone treatments for a minimum of twelve months. Since registrations have been open for some time if you want to compete it is probably wise to register now to gain a spot and see how the policy affects you when we know its final content.

Opportunities for reform are at hand with both the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, (A.D.A.), and the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995, (B.D.M.R.A.). The Gender Centre has lodged submissions with both organisations with the primary aim of amending the legislation to ensure that all transgender people enjoy fair and equal treatment under the law. The current system favours those transgenders who are "recognised" under the A.D.A. We are optimistic that there will be some positive outcomes as these Acts come under review.

Most exciting of all is the recent trans success in the Family Court. To present this briefly Kevin, a female to male transsexual, married his girlfriend Jennifer. The couple had previously enquired about the legality of the marriage with the Federal Attorney General's Office and were informed that it was illegal for a transgender to marry. The couple then took their case to the Family Court requesting validation of their marriage. They were represented by solicitor Rachael Wallbank, a woman of transsexual background herself, in a hearing that saw many witnesses including some of the world's leading medical experts on transsexuality. Without going into detail over the case Justice Richard Chisholm of the Family Court ruled in the couple's favour and in doing so completely dismissed the arguments presented by Justice Ormrod in the famous British case of 1970, Corbett v Corbett, in which transsexual woman April Ashley was ruled to be a man for the purpose of marriage.

This is a ground breaking decision which has implications for all Australian transsexual people who in the future may wish to marry.

At home in The Gender Centre we have had an exciting year with lots of training occurring, some very well attended workshops, popular drop-ins as well as busy outreach, counselling and residential programs. The highlight, however, was the Tranny Pride Ball. Held at the Taxi Club, over 120 people attended for what turned out to be a truly enjoyable evening. We had great entertainment, lovely finger food and lots of great music from the resident D.J. There were also some very nice frocks on show. If you didn't make it this year make sure you mark out your diary for next year's ball. It's just far too good to miss.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the people who worked towards the success of the ball. The fabulous entertainers, Toni-Jaye, Diane Rusk, Penny Clifford, Crystal Rose and a special thanks to Michael Fox and his best mate Tommy who were M.C.s for the night and who provided some wonderful comedy throughout the evening. I would also like to thank the Taxi Club for donating the D.J. and the space as well as looking after all the catering - they were just fabulous. For donating prizes to the raffle I would also like to thank Ultimate Gym in Newtown, Sharpe's Pharmacy (just up the road from the Taxi Club), King Street Pharmacy in Newtown and The Beauty Room in Darlinghurst. I would encourage you to support these businesses that have been supportive of us. I would also like to thank the staff and particularly the Social & Support Worker who put the whole thing together.

This year also saw a change over in some staff positions with Craig Andrews, editor of Polare and creator of our website, resigning after four years on the job, and Jack Powell, who filled the role of Social and Support Worker, leaving for another position in the middle of the year. Jack was only with us for one year but in that time he managed to stamp his mark on the job and many in the community have given me very positive feedback about his efforts. In this closing edition of Polare for 2001 I would like to express my thanks on behalf of the community to Craig and Jack for their significant contributions to the work of The Gender Centre.

I would also like to express my delight in having secured the services of Katherine Cummings who has taken over as editor of Polare and Nicole who has taken over the Role of Social and Support. This influx of talent to the centre will be sure to benefit all our service users.

On a negative note I would be interested to hear from community members reasons why some of the events offered through the Gender Centre receive little patronage from the community. We recently ran a series of free transgender-only aerobic classes in conjunction with Woolloomooloo Health and Fitness Centre and South Sydney Council. The Council provided a free bus pick-up and drop-off at the Gender Centre and the Fitness Centre donated two hours, an aerobics teacher and a free glass of Gatorade to participants for each of the six sessions they offered. With a capacity class of 25, why is it that such a generous offer managed to attract only a handful of participants? Admittedly the classes were conducted on Tuesday mornings and that would exclude some members of the community but with the high levels of unemployment in our community surely there should have been plenty of takers.

I've heard all the standard excuses. "I had a late night", "I slept in", "I'll come next week", "I had a doctor's appointment", "I can't. I have (a) ... (insert your preferred option) ... bad back, damaged knees, broken bones, emphysema etc." When will our community learn that if we don't take advantage of the generous offers from organisations like South Sydney Council, those organisations will simply stop offering. When will we learn to take responsibility for our own destiny? I await your responses with anticipation. That is, if you can be bothered, of course.

Notwithstanding the above gripe I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the community an enjoyable Xmas and a prosperous and fulfilling new year.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.