Staying Sane 365Gay News Logo Originally aired 26 February 2009
Ross Palombo: A transgender university professor targeted she says for speaking out, and her fight against a prominent psychiatrist may help others keep their sanity. Chagmion Antoine has that story from New York. Chagmion.
Chagmion Antoine: Ross, even though homosexuality was removed from the American Psychiatric Associations list of mental illnesses back in 1973, people who are transgender are still diagnosed with gender identity disorder today. And one professor at U. Michigan says thats crazy talk.
Chagmion Antoine (voiceover): Lynn Conway has been fighting for the rights of transgender people ever since her own experience cost her her job in the 1960s. Now shes a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, and her website lynnconway.com is a respected resource for trans people all around the world. So why is she being sued for libel by one of the worlds leading researchers on gender identity?
Professor Lynn Conway: This isnt between Dr. Zucker and Professor Lynn Conway, this is between Dr. Zucker and the entire transgender community.
Chagmion Antoine (voiceover): Dr. Kenneth Zucker, a Toronto-based sexologist, spent his career diagnosing children with gender identity issues as mentally ill. When he was appointed to the APA as an authority on gender identity disorders last year, Conway sounded the alarm.
Professor Lynn Conway: Dr. Zucker and his clinic are the sources of decades of pseudoscience claiming that transgender people, especially transgender children, are mentally disordered and in need of reparative therapy. I seek to expose that.
Chagmion Antoine (voiceover): And she did. Zuckers appointment to the APAs committee was protested by trans people around the world.
Chagmion Antoine (voiceover): Zucker fired back with this letter to Conway, threatening to sue. He never followed through. Zucker declined to comment to 365, but Conway says his scare tactics are meant to draw attention from the bigger picture.
Professor Lynn Conway: There are a lot of us out there. A lot of us are actually rather cool people. I think hed enjoy meeting us all.
Chagmion Antoine: Heres an interesting fact. Lynn Conway is also a pioneering researcher in computer chip technology. She literally helped write the book. Ross.
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Zucker's view is absolutely medieval. We're not in the Middle Ages, so why do some people still think like we are? Saying that transgender people are "mentally ill" is no different than saying people with different colored skin are "not people". It's bigotry, and all bigotry is bad.
KyleTheSparkly ("Lily")
(And no, "Kyle" is not my real name either; I'm trying to move all my YouTube stuff to a new account, because I wasn't thinking when I chose my YouTube username.)
I feel a great deal of empathy for Lynn having lost my own Corporate Career due to the extreme ignorance of my line management.For Dr.Zucker to say that we are mentally ill is truly pandering to the worst media elements that have spent years running us down.I do hope Lynn succeeds (and with the force of the Transsexual Community behind her she will) in maintaining the positive role model that she has proved to be for many years.I feel it is the likes of Dr.Zucker who needs to be studied.
Christine Gorgesen was and still is the real deal; even if she was not the first she certainly was one of the first and todate the best looking transgender ever. Christine use to be on youtube but because of politics was removed. For Shame!
Lynn Conway is one of the treasures of our trans community, an early pioneer and a role model. As a software engineer of 20 years and a computer nerd for 35, Lynn holds a special place of esteem in my heart. I'm proud to call her my friend and I wish her all the best.
FYI my legal name is Hontas Farmer and I am refering to a website by OII's Curtis Hinkle written about me. Where he levels the damming accusation that I was never ever a sex worker. :-? I don't know weather to thank him or kick him.
Autoshare makes certain YouTube activities public on the services you choose. Select only the services you are comfortable with - like Facebook, Twitter, or Google Reader - to let your friends know what you like on YouTube. You can turn Autoshare off at any time.
KyleTheSparkly ("Lily")
(And no, "Kyle" is not my real name either; I'm trying to move all my YouTube stuff to a new account, because I wasn't thinking when I chose my YouTube username.)