Opinion
A collection of thought-provoking opinion pieces written by and about female to male transsexual people, and about the many and varied issues and concerns of female to male trans people, subjects that occasionally encompass confronting areas of contention among our ignorant and ill-informed opponents.
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... AND KATHERINE RESPONDS TO THEIR OUTRAGEOUS CRITICISM
Article appeared in Polare 57, May 2004
Polare editor Katherine Cummings responds to print media sensationalism and Australian Catholic ethicist Nicholas Tonti-Filippini's outrageous criticism of an Australian court's decision to grant a thirteen-year-old permission to commence treatment to delay puberty ...
CONTEMPLATING THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR INVISIBILITY
Article appeared in Polare 15, October 1996
Jasper, Max and George explore the plight of the F.T.M., from the difficulties being part of the lesbian community to the ability to visually integrate and the associated lack of a sense of community ...
... OR JUST REINFORCING OLD STEREOTYPES ABOUT MEN?
Article appeared in Polare 21, October 1997
Having recently met Susan Stryker at a gender conference in San Francisco,Richard Lavine discusses his observations of transsexualism and features the opinions of Susan Stryker, Jan Morris and others in their exploration and understanding of gender identity ...
WE CAN'T EXPECT MORE FROM OUR HEALTH PROVIDERS
Article appeared in Polare 69, November 2006
As Trans people, it's up to all of us to take responsibility for our own health and wellbeing and to make our health care providers aware of our needs. When we are open and honest, we are more likely to get the advice and the care that can keep us healthy ...
AN INTERVIEW WITH TAN HOUGHTON AND JONATHAN PARE
Article appeared in Polare 32, August 1999
Tan Houghton and Jonathan Pare are both actively involved in the trans community.Jonathan was one of the co-founders of the Victorian group Transgender Liberation and Care and Tan is now the president of the group. They spoke to Zoi Velonis of Brother/Sister Victoria ...
TRANSSEXUAL PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE SINGLED OUT FOR SPECIAL TREATMENT
Article appeared in Polare 35, February 2000
Because the S.O.C. were initially written as minimal standards, they were often over-interpreted by physicians that used the promise of hormones and surgery to influence changes in the transsexual's sexual orientation, manner of presentation and physical characteristics ...
TO BE ABLE TO CHOOSE IS TO BE EMPOWERED IN THIS WORLD.
Article appeared in Polare 46, June 2002
Callan Williams believes that we have no choice in being born with a predisposition to transgender, but we do choose what to do about it. The notion of choice, and taking responsibility for that choice is crucial to our being able to become the best we can be in this world ...
VICTIMISATION AND THE ILLUSION OF LEGAL PROTECTION
Article appeared in Polare 29, February 1999
Discrimination and victimisation are illegal in Australia, everyone is protected by laws covering such areas. But realistically is it just a grand illusion? Does the law protect all people equally, or are there small or even big weaknesses in this ideal? ...
SOME CONSIDERATIONS AND A POSSIBLE SOLUTION.
Article appeared in Polare 24, April 1998
Nancy Nangeroni investigates the debate in the transgender community over whether Gender Identity Disorder should be de-pathologised and suggests that the elimination ofG.I.D. as a mental illness, would help to further reduce the stigmatization of transgender folk ...
TRANS PEOPLE SUBJECTED TO SEXISM IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Article appeared in Polare 18, April 1997
Transsexual people are inexorably intertwined with medical practitioners through the establishment of medical policy. This document outlines minimal requirements for the care of transsexuals and includes a prescribed agenda and compulsory medical surveillance ...
JAMISON GREEN'S THOUGHTS ON THE MUCH DISCUSSED ISSUE OF 'PASSING'
Article appeared in Polare 47, August 2002
Jamison Green responds to issues raised in aTransgender Tapestry article where Jessica Xavier and Holly Boswell express their views on the topic of 'Passing' and raises some very valid points especially in relation to transmen, and their involvement in the lesbian community ...
EMBEDDED CULTURAL IDEAS OF MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY BASED ON RACE
Article appeared in Polare 58, July 2004
Zhan thought he was square with his issues on race and ethnicity until he started transitioning in Sydney. Along with transitioning came overt and subtle messages, comments and expectations about what it is to be male and how male one can be, and what those markers are ...
TWO TRANSSEXUAL MEN DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
Article appeared in Polare 71, April 2007
Jacob Anderson-Minshall writes a highly critical review of Dhillon Khosla's memoir in which each chapter opens with a dream sequence his overwhelming fury and his transition that is primarily focused on his push for hormone treatment and sex reassignment surgery ...
INTERVIEW WITH MASCULINITIES AUTHOR, RAEWYN CONNELL
Article appeared in Polare 89, October 2011
Raewyn Connell, an Australian academic who specialises in social constructions of masculinity, took her wealth of knowledge to Ottawa, Canada to talk about the state of gender equity at the "Breaking Barriers" plenary and is interviewed in this article by Greg Macdougall ...