Lennard,
thank you very much for forwarding this to various lists. I think there
are many resemblances between the sorts of discrimination, social
control, and marginalisation which transgendered people face and those
which disabled people confront. These resemblances are ones which I
want to implore the disability community, activists, and theorists to
examine.
I think, however, there is (at least) one major obstacle which prevents
disability activists and theorists from recognizing these congruences,
namely, the continued prevalence of dated notions of binary sex-gender
within the field, ones which implicitly render transgendered people as
developmental failures, contrived copies of 'real' genders, etc.
Insofar as disability theorists and activists continue to hold onto to
these exclusionary conceptions of gender, they obstruct the formation of
possibly enriching and fruitful coalitions with transgendered ( and
other) queer communities.
According to what rationale do disability researchers, activists, and
theorists expect members of these communities to change their
conceptions of disability when for the most part they themselves have
done little to revise their notions of sex-gender (ones which oppress
some members of these communities) since the mid-seventies (if not
earlier)?
I discuss these and other issues with respect to intersexed people in
particular in some forthcoming papers.
Best regards, and thanks again Lennard,
Shelley Tremain
Lennard Davis wrote:
>
> I wanted to forward this newsstory to the list, partially in the hopes of
> helping the family concerned and partly to spark (although I guess more
> sparks are not what are needed right now on the list) a discussion of the
> relation between issues around transgender and disability. Are transgender
> activists engaged in the same battle as disability activists?
>
> Subject: Re: Ohio Court Removes Child From Parents Because of Her Gender (fw
>
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 17:50:33 EDT
> > From: [log in to unmask]
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Ohio Court Removes Child From Parents Because of Her Gender
> >
> > GenderPAC
> > 212-645-2686
> > [log in to unmask]
> > www.gpac.org
> >
> > Action@GPAC
> > Special Online Edition: August 29, 2000
> >
> > ======================================
> > TAKE ACTION! TAKE ACTION! TAKE ACTION!
> > ======================================
> >
> > OHIO COURT REMOVES CHILD FROM PARENTS
> > BECAUSE OF HER GENDER
> >
> > [Columbus, OH: 26 Aug 00] A six-year-old child, Aurora Lipscomb, was taken
> > from her parents, Paul and Sherry Lipscomb, by the Franklin County (Ohio)
> > Children's Services (FCCS) citing concern for the child's welfare. The
> > parents say the county took their child because they refuse to force her
> > to conform to narrow gender stereotypes.
> >
> > 'Zachary' Lipscomb was born physically male, but has identified as a girl,
> > Aurora,
> > for four years - since she was two years old. Her parents have raised her
> > since that
> > time as a girl. Last November she was "diagnosed" with gender-identity
> > disorder (GID) after being hospitalized at Cincinnati Children's Medical
> > Center.
> >
> > The County acted less than two weeks after the Lipscombs enrolled
> > Aurora in the first grade as a girl. Acting on an anonymous call expressing
> > concern for the child, the FCCS sought and obtained an emergency order
> > for custody from a Franklin County judge. Although the County refuses to
> > list the caller's concerns, court documents reveal that school employees
> > and Children Services officials question the gender-identity diagnosis as
> > well as the parents' refusal to force their daughter into out-dated gender
> > stereotypes.
> >
> > An FCCS spokesman said that Zachary is doing well and has been
> > appointed an independent guardian who will act on the child's best
> > interests.
> >
> > The Lipscombs say they will file a federal sex-discrimination
> > lawsuit against the Westerville school district and Children's Service.
> > "We have no idea what they are doing to her," said her mother, Sherry.
> > "She's not getting her medication... She's never even had an outside baby
> > sitter-not even family. She can't be fine. She's petrified. I know it."
> >
> > Attorneys for the Lipscombs have filed an Objection to the Court's
> > order taking Aurora the parents' home. A hearing will be held on their
> > appeal on 12 September.
> >
> > "They want us to change Aurora to be male," says Paul Lipscomb.
> > "We are having conflict with physicians, Childrens services in both Franklin
> > and Hamilton counties in Ohio. They are talking about residential care,
> which
> > removes us as the parents. They are beginning to say we are unfit parents,
> > because we allow Aurora to exist."
> >
> > GenderPAC has been working since 1998 with a broad coalition of
> > national gay and feminist groups to reform GID so it cannot be used to
> > "treat" infants and children. Said GPAC's Executive Director Riki
> Wilchins,
> > "No child should ever be taken from her parents and forced to conform to
> > narrow, out-dated gender stereotypes. American Psychiatric Association
> > President Dr. Alan Tasman and the G/L/B Subcommittee of the APA have
> > been totally inert on reforming GID as a mental illness. It's past time
> > gender was removed as a basis for psychiatric and state mistreatment
> > and terrorizing of little children like Aurora."
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Contact those involved and tell them what you think about Aurora Lipscomb
> > being taken from her parents and forced to conform to out-dated gender
> > stereotypes.
> >
> > Call the American Psychiatric Association's Dr. Alan Tasman and the
> Committee
> > on GLB issues of the American Psychological Association and tell them to
> > remove gender as a basis for mental illness in little children like Aurora
> > Lipscomb.
> >
> > Dr. Alan Tasman
> > President, American Psychiatric Association
> > 502-852-1126 (Louisville, KY)
> > 202-682-6000 (Washington, DC Headquarters)
> >
> > Committee on GLB issues of the American Psychological Association:
> >
> > Clinton Anderson, Ph D, Officer
> > 202-336-6037
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Janice Taylor
> > 202-682-6092
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Aurora is reportedly in the custody of:
> >
> > John Sorro
> > Executive Director
> > Franklin County Children's Services
> > 614-275-2650
> >
> > Officials at Aurora's School:
> >
> > Ms. Michele Klein
> > McVay Elementary School
> > 614-895-5921
> >
> > Reene Sterling
> > Executive Director of Student Service
> > McVay Elemenatry School
> > 614-895-6080
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------
> > An Open letter from Paul, Sherry and Aurora Lipscomb:
> >
> > My wife Sherry and I notice our son Zachary at the age of two years old
> > preferring all feminine toys, clothes, shoes, and activities. We first
> > thought it as nothing to be concerned about. As Zach progressed in age
> > to kindergarten, there was always the preoccupation to be a girl. Zach
> > would emphatically state the she was a girl, and announced that her name
> > was Aurora. After several years of therapy, which we found out that
> > behavior modification was being used. We finally came upon a physician
> > who diagnosed our child with Gender Identity Dysphoria. There have been
> > four inpatient stays, the third one last fall was when Aurora was
> > diagnosed as GID. On the fourth inpatient stay the physicians totally
> > flipped the diagnosis as strictly being psychological. We had to make a
> > child conform to the male gender. Prior to this stay we had informed
> > them and the school that we were going to have her ears pierced for her
> > birthday, and support her in her female gender, by doing home schooling,
> > until she was able to mainstream.
> >
> > She took an immense amount of harassment, behavior modification, and
> > bulling. Over all we need help and support They want us to change
> > Aurora to be male. We are having conflict with physicians, Childrens
> > services in both Franklin and Hamilton counties in Ohio. They are
> > talking about residential care, which removes us as the parents to
> > having custody, because we are to be firm that our child has to live in
> > a male gender. They are beginning to say we are unfit parents, because
> > we allow Aurora to exist. We are definitely afraid that they may take
> > our Aurora away from us at any given moment without notice. If anyone
> > can give us support it is: NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> >
> > We Love our beautiful and creative Daughter. Please let us know how you
> > feel about our circumstances.
> >
> > Paul, Sherry, and Aurora Lipscomb
> >
>
> Best,
>
> Lennard J. Davis
> Professor and Head
> Department of English (MC 162)
> Professor, Department of Disability and Human Development
> University of Illinois at Chicago
> 601 South Morgan Street
> Chicago, Illinois 60607-7120
> (312) 413-2200 Fax: 413-1005
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
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