A Letter From Gina

by Gina Dumas

(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.)

Anyone who is watching the scientific drift of consensus is able to see human brain sex and the fact that the brain is a sexed organ of the human body

Just a line or two (I hope) to keep in touch. My work load has demanded that the support service volunteer base be expanded to return our efforts to realms of what is sustainable. I have looked at the various functions that evolved for the service, as demanded by the needs of our clients, and have begun to divide them.

The advertisement has been changed to show the out-of­-hours service we provide and the volunteers are a lively bunch, keen to reach out to people with experiences unlike their own.

For my part, the lobbying that I have been engaged in has become much more demanding. Having been involved in politics for much of my adult life I am well aware of the "nature of the beast".

Experience, learning and observation are the keys to the political strongholds. Of one thing I am certain ... we will never move the political cake in one piece. The issues will be moved one slice at a time, or not at all.

To this end, my focus had been that of challenging the public's perceptions of what they think they know about sex. Only society's leaders bring about change in political awareness to any meaningful extent. Picking key leaders is one of the lobbyist's prime tasks. Approaching them patiently is of paramount importance, too.

Perhaps the vital issue is to know what sort of validation a politician will seek before engaging with an issue. Politics is nothing if not the ultimate in public relations. If a politician can't sell it by leaning on experts, he or she won't touch an issue.

One slice at a time. If we look at the cake that comprises our issues, where has one slice been moved already? How was it done? The answer lies in the risks taken in the re: Kevin case, by those involved. This case has opened the way for us to move the next slice.

The vulnerability our community experiences is that of being lumped together as one easily confused identity and being blamed for our differences communally.

The political answer? Don't allow this to happen. Present the public with the extension of the issues decided in re: Kevin ... blameless issues.

Anyone who is watching the scientific drift of consensus is able to see human brain sex and the fact that the brain is a sexed organ of the human body, is able to see where the next slice vulnerable to movement lies. When the next slice goes the whole of the cake will shake.

Ultimately, regardless of into which niche any member of the community fits, the prejudice, intolerance, misunderstanding and the all too often wilful ignorance of our detractors will be undermined by the winning of a science backed blame-free issue ... the issue of birth variance and the law, as it appertains to the sex of the human body. There are looming human rights issues, waiting only for our lobbying efforts to mature.

The illumination of one focal issue in the public mind will never mean that all of our issues are based in birth variance, this is not a demonstrable reality. What it will do, however, is forever cast doubt on our collective supposed guilt for being different.

The extent to which one slice of our community successfully divests itself of blame will be the beginning of the winning for all, whose difference is somehow framed by that most misunderstood of words, "sex"!

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.