Polare 56

Issued March 2004

(The Gender Centre advise that this edition of Polare is not 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.)

Manager's Report

Report from the Gender Centre's Manager includes information about a range of interesting developments on the world stage in recent months, by Elizabeth Riley

Editorial

This issue includes the story of Rachael Padman, one of Australia's more distinguished transgenders. She is an astrophysicist and might never have come to the world's attention if it had not been for the malign efforts of Germaine Greer, by Katherine Cummings

A Church that Cares and Accepts

The Metropolitan Community Church is positively affirming. It doesn't matter if one is straight, transgender, gay, lesbian or bisexual and have been hurt by hate speeches by some denominations in the past, Sharon Stolzenberg

The Right to a Rite

How many of you as transmen or women have made the rite of passage to womanhood or manhood? Indeed what might this mean for those of us who are transpeople?, Andrew Blair

Sharon Meets the Ladyboys

We went along to see the Ladyboys of Bangkok. A spectacular party atmosphere in a cabaret format, by Sharon Stolzenberg

Social & Support Report

Report from the Gender Centre's Social & Support Worker includes information about upcoming events at the Centre, by Jai

Today we have Naming of Parts

We have outgrown the need for myths yet there are still those who claim the power to name and label, and build boxes around, the infinite variations of the human animal, by Katherine Cummings

Transgender and Sport

An area of women's sport which is creating gender confusion, heated debate and for which gender verification has implications, is transgenders (specifically male to female) in sport, by Debbie Sims

Health Report: Unnatural Selection

A study of boys who were surgically turned into girls after a rare birth defect has re-opened the nature versus nurture debate about our sexual identity, by Anjana Ahuja

Improving Access to the Law for Women Living With H.I.V. / AIDS

The H.I.V. / AIDS Legal Centre is attempting to address the special legal needs of women living with H.I.V. / AIDS with the release of a new resource titled Unraveling the Law, reports Sian Aldis.

My Story: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Cyber Class

Jenny Lovelace writes about her coming out experiences and the sense of community we should be encouraging and embracing to help each other through difficult times.

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.