Editorial

by Katherine Cummings

(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.)

Gee, thanks a lot, Elizabeth! "If you have views on this question ... write to Katherine" ... and Elizabeth steps nimbly aside, leaving me to field the dictionary definitions, the sexology thesaurus and the word police who think a) that they can own a word, and b) that by stating a preference for one word over another they will drag the English language with them, not only here but throughout the world. A little more humility out there, if you don't mind. Take your example from me, as humile a person as you will trample on in a long day's march.

In the last issue I mentioned J. Michael Bailey's book The Man Who Would Be Queen and promised a review. This has been supplied by Tracie O'Keefe and you will find it on page 12. I have now had time to read the book myself and find it grossly offensive from its title and cover illustration to its final conclusions. I consider Bailey a lightweight; mind with no understanding of transgender, who brings to this work his own prurient views and limited experience, while sheltering behind the half-witted theories of Ray Blanchard. But, as a good Editor should, I will keep my views to myself and leave the reviewing to Tracie.

Our cover subject this issue is the well-known norrie mAy welby. Tireless activist for the transgendered, member of the Gender Centre Management Board and Sex and Gender Education Foundation (S.A.G.E.) Steering Committee, Outreach Team Coordinator and Transgender Support Worker Sex Workers' Outreach Project (S.W.O.P.), she is a woman of boundless energy, enthusiasm and intelligence. She is also a talented cartoonist, as mad as a cut snake and a lot of fun to know ...

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.