The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates that between one-quarter of 1 percent and 1 percent of the U.S. population is transgender – their gender identity or expression differs from the biological features they were born with. That’s 750,000 to 3 million people in the United States.

Lately, though, more of them are going public about changing gender, or their desire to do so. And at the same time, they are pushing for greater acceptance and legal rights. That’s led to controversial legislation, court cases and corporate policies, as well as parenting dilemmas, which emerge as children question or defy gender roles at earlier ages.

Transgender issues have become more prominent in many arenas:

Pop culture: Movies such as TransAmerica and the fact-based Boys Don’t Cry and the introduction of a transgender character on the soap opera All My Children late last year have increased awareness of transgender people.

Schools: Transgender students force schools to confront a range of issues, such as bathrooms, locker rooms and bullying. One transgender student was named prom queen in Fresno, Calif., this year.

Parenting: More parents are allowing their children to choose which gender to identify with. Doctors used to routinely advise parents to choose the gender of children whose biological features were not definitive.

Discrimination: The firing of the longtime city manager of Largo, Fla., in spring 2007 – after he announced plans to change from a man to a woman – drew attention to questions about job discrimination. And in May 2007, the U.S. House passed hate crimes legislation extending coverage to gender and sexual orientation; in the Senate it’s known as the Matthew Shepard Act. A Gallup Poll survey found most Americans favor the bill.

Sports: In 2004, the International Olympic Committee issued rules that allow transgender athletes to compete in the Olympics.

Why it matters

Attitudes toward gender roles and sexual orientation are often rooted in religious teachings and scripture.

Jump to:
National Sources
Academic Centers
Advocacy Organizations
Critics Of Transgender Rights
Supporters Of Transgender Rights
Religious Organizations
Clergy
Other Transgender Sources
Background
Articles
Legislation And Litigation
Studies
Transgender Publications And Web Sites

National sources

ACADEMIC CENTERS

• Gender Identity Research and Education Society, Surrey, England
• Michael D. Palm Center (formerly Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military), University of California, Santa Barbara

ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

• The Brooklyn-based Transgender Law and Policy Institute tracks news, legislation, court cases, hate crime laws, school and college policies, and union and employer policies involving transgender rights. Contact 917-686-7663 or 415-595-2125, pressinquiry@transgenderlaw.org.
• Mara Keisling is executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. The organization lists and links to tips for journalists on how to cover transgender issues. Contact 202-903-0112, MKeisling@NCTEquality.org.
• Tim Gill is founder and chairman of the Denver-based Gill Foundation, which says it is the largest private foundation in the U.S. focusing on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights. It provides grants through the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. Contact Joanne Kron, 303-292-4455, joannek@gillfoundation.org.
• James Esseks is litigation director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project. Contact 212-549-2627, getequal@aclu.org.
• Shane L. Windmeyer, a public speaker and author, is executive director of Campus Pride. The organization’s projects include a nationwide undergraduate student leadership camp July 24-29, 2007, at Towson University in Towson, Md., and – launching in fall 2007 – the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index. Windmeyer’s books include, as author, The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students. Contact info@shanewindmeyer.com.
• Gender Odyssey-Family plans a conference for families with transgender and gender-variant children Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2007, at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle. Contact 206-329-1624, family@genderodyssey.com.
• Kevin Jennings is founder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The network, based in New York City, has registered more than 3,000 Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs in schools nationwide. It coordinates an annual No Name-Calling Week, which in 2008 will be Jan. 21-25, and organizes the national Day of Silence. Contact Daryl Presgraves, media relations associate,646-388-6577, dpresgraves@glsen.org.
• Chuck Wolfe is president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute. Contact Denis Dison, 202-842-7308, denis.dison@victoryfund.org.
• Jorge Valencia is executive director of The Point Foundation, which grants scholarships to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. Contact Cathy Renna, Renna Communications, 917-757-6123, cathy@rennacommunications.com.
• GLBTCentral lists transgender resources nationwide.
• Wikipedia lists LGBT community centers nationwide.

OPPONENTS OF TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

• Alan Sears is president, CEO and general counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance based in Scottsdale, Ariz., whose focus is defending religious liberty. The ADF sponsors the Day of Truth in schools around the country to “counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective.” Contact Sears through media relations, 480-444-0020. See contacts for the fund’s five regional offices.
• Regina Griggs is executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays. Some local chapters are listed. Contact 703-360-2225, pfox@pfox.org.
• Linda Harvey of Columbus, Ohio, is founder and president of Mission:America, which opposes homosexuality and “the trans agenda.” Contact 614-442-7998, webmaster@missionamerica.com.
• Mathew D. Staver is founder of Liberty Counsel, a civil liberties education and legal defense organization specializing in freedom of speech and religious freedom and based in Orlando, Fla. He is also dean of Liberty University School of Law. Anita Staver, his wife, is president of Liberty Counsel. Read news releases about the inclusion of gender identity in hate crime laws and about a lawsuit settlement that ended the designation of New York City’s Harvey Milk High School as being for gay, lesbian, transgender or questioning youth. Contact 800-671-1776, liberty@lc.org.
• Rick Scarborough is founder and head of Vision America, based in Lufkin, Texas, which encourages clergy and congregations to promote Judeo-Christian values in local, state and national issues. He favors overturning tolerance policies in public schools that require acceptance and protection of gays and lesbians. Contact 866-522-5582, mail@visionamerica.us.
• The Christian Legal Society contests college anti-discrimination policies in federal court. Contact Greg Baylor, director of the CLS Center for Law and Religious Freedom in Annandale, Va., 703-642-1070 ext. 3502, gbaylor@clsnet.org, or Steve Aden, chief litigation counsel for the center, 703-642-1070 ext. 3504, saden@clsnet.org.
• Randy Thomasson is founder and president of Campaign for Children and Families and founder and executive director of Campaign for California Families. Contact 916-265-5650.
• The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition. The coalition lists resources for people struggling with their gender identity. Contact 202-547-8570.
• Mark Tooley directs the United Methodist committee (UMAction) of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. The committee has asked the church’s General Conference to establish policies regarding transgender clergy. Contact Loralei Coyle, 202-682-4131 or 202-905-6852 (cell), lcoyle@ird-renew.org.

SUPPORTERS OF TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

• The Rev. Susan Russell, who is on staff at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, is president of Integrity USA, which calls for full and equal inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Episcopal Church. Contact 626-583-2741, srussell@allsaints-pas.org.
• The Rev. Cindi Love is executive director for the Metropolitan Community Churches, which were founded in 1968 to minister to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The Web site lists links to transgender resources. Contact 310-861-4658, CindiLove@MCCchurch.net.
• Jeff Lutes is executive director of Soulforce, a national interfaith movement that promotes the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Contact jeff@soulforce.org.
• Michael J. Adee is field organizer of More Light Presbyterians, which describes itself as “a network of people seeking the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA).” Contact 505-820-7082, Michaeladee@aol.com.
• The Rev. Ruth Garwood is national coordinator for the United Church of Christ Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns. Contact 800-653-0799, NationalCoord@ucccoalition.org.
• The Rev. Debra Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister, directs the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing. On June 4, 2007, the institute issued an open letter calling for religious leaders to educate themselves about gender and sexual diversity and to advocate for LGBT civil rights. Read Haffner’s blog. Contact 203-840-1148, haffner@religiousinstitute.org.
• Joel. L. Kushner directs The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. The institute works toward inclusion and equality for LGBT people. Contact 213-749-3424 ext. 4240, jkushner@huc.edu.
• Gregg Drinkwater is executive director of Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Contact info@jewishmosaic.org.
• The World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Jews posts links to U.S. congregations that are members.
• The Al-Fatiha Foundation is devoted to Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. Contact info@al-fatiha.org.
• Afdhere Jama is founder and editor in chief of Huriyah magazine for LGBT Muslims. Contact editor@huriyahmag.com.
• The Hartford Seminary posts a list of religious groups supporting LGBT concerns, as well as other resources.
• For more resources, see a ReligionLink tip on gay clergy.

CLERGY

• Julie Nemecek, as the Rev. John Nemecek, was a Baptist minister and longtime professor at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Mich. The school fired her in December 2006 after she had come out as transgender. She filed a discrimination claim that was later settled, and is now founder and head of a consulting company on workplace diversity issues. Read an Associated Press story published March 13, 2007, by The Boston Globe. Contact 517-416-4608, julie.nemecek@comcast.net.
• The Rev. Drew Phoenix, who underwent sex-change surgery and changed his name from Ann Gordon, is pastor of St. John’s of Baltimore City United Methodist Church. Read a May 26, 2007, Baltimore Sun story. Contact 410-366-7733, stjohnbmore@earthlink.net.
• Erin Swenson, a who lives in the Atlanta area and was ordained in 1973 as Eric Karl Swenson by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in 1996 openly changed gender while working as a pastor. She is a licensed marriage therapist. Contact erin@erinswen.com.

OTHER TRANSGENDER SOURCES

• Longtime Los Angeles Times sportswriter Christine Daniels, formerly Mike Penner, announced her gender change in an April 26, 2007, column. Read her blog. Contact Christine.daniels@latimes.com.
• Lucas Silveira, formerly Lilia Silveira, is the lead singer of the rock band The Cliks. He underwent sex-change surgery in 2006. Read an April 20, 2007, Boston Globe story. Contact Alexis Tedford at Shore Fire Media, 718-522-7171, atedford@shorefire.com.
• Michelle Prevost, who in the late 1990s transitioned from being a man to a woman, directed the documentary Trained in the Ways of Men, about the murder of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo. See her Web site. Read an undated interview by KQED Public Broadcasting and a Feb. 10, 2005, Rolling Stone story. Contact shelly@nofreetime.org.
• Renee Richards, the physician and tennis player who was born Richard Raskind, wrote the 2007 book No Way, Renee: The Second Half of My Notorious Life. She lives in New York state. Contact through Simon & Schuster publicity, 212-698-7541.
• Terri O’Connell was a racing champion as James Terrell Hayes before having sex-change surgery in 1992. Read a May 13, 2007, Newsweek story. Contact terrio500@hotmail.com.
• Margaret Stumpp, formerly Mark Stumpp, is chief investment officer with Quantitative Management Associates, an investment subsidiary of Prudential Financial in Newark, N.J. Read a May 13, 2007, Newsweek story and a 2003 Associated Press story posted by CBS News. Contact margaret.stumpp@prudential.com.
• Jennifer Finney Boylan, formerly James Boylan, is a fiction and nonfiction author and an English professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She wrote the best-selling memoir She’s Not There. Contact JennyBoylan@aol.com.

Background

ARTICLES

• Ohio University has been adapting public restrooms in order to give transgender students privacy, according to a May 29, 2007, Athens Post article.
• Read Newsweek’s May 21, 2007, “The Mystery of Gender” project. It includes links to resources.
• Read a column about “coming out” as transgender published May 18, 2007, in The Arizona Republic.
• A bill in the Massachusetts Legislature would include gender identity in the state’s anti-discrimination laws, according to a May 15, 2007, story by The Republican of Springfield.
• Theresa Sparks, who underwent sex-change surgery to become a woman, was elected president of the San Francisco Police Commission, according to a May 12, 2007, story by the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Read a May 2, 2007, story by The Dartmouth about transgender students at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
• Read a Feb. 19, 2007, ReligionLink tip about public schools and sexual orientation issues.
• Read a Jan. 23, 2007, Newsweek story about transgender clergy and the National Transgender Religious Summit.
• Roosevelt High transgender student Johnny Vera was named prom queen this year in Fresno, Calif. Read KFSN-TV’s May 13, 2007, story (and see video footage). Read a column published May 18, 2007, in The Stanford Daily.
• Read an April 8, 2007, Boston Globe Magazine story about the increase of “transmen” – female-to-male transgender students – at the Seven Sisters colleges.
• Read an April 28, 2007, Virginian-Pilot story about Hampton Roads Business OutReach.
• See St. Petersburg Times coverage of Susan Stanton, formerly Steve Stanton, who was fired as Largo, Fla., city manager in spring 2007 after announcing plans to change gender.
• Read a Dec. 2, 2006, New York Times story headlined, “Supporting boys or girls when the line isn’t clear,” about the dilemmas parents and schools face when children don’t conform to gender norms.
• Read a December 2006 Media Life Magazine story about the introduction of a transgender character on the soap opera All My Children.
• Read “Dealing With Legal Matters Surrounding Students’ Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.”
• Read a June 9, 2005, USA Today story about transgender employees.
• Read a Sept. 25, 2003, ACFNewsource report about transgender clergy.

LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION

• The Brooklyn-based Transgender Law and Policy Institute tracks legislation, court cases and hate crime laws involving transgender rights.
• The American Civil Liberties Union’s Web site includes background material on transgender court cases.

STUDIES

• Read the May 2007 study “Gender Identity and the Military” from the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
• See a study on the cost of transgender health benefits from 2001 to 2006 by Mary Ann Horton of Westerville, Ohio, a transgender woman who is a consultant on transgender workplace issues. Contact mah@mhorton.net.

TRANSGENDER PUBLICATIONS AND WEB SITES

• Tglife online magazine
• GenderLife for Transsexual Women
• E Transgender
• Transgender Spirituality

• Susan’s Place

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Massachusetts state Rep. Carl M. Sciortino Jr., D-Medford, sponsored a bill to include gender identity in the state’s anti-discrimination and hate crime laws. Contact 617-722-2014, carl.sciortino@state.ma.us.
• Holly Ryan and Gunner Scott are co-chairs of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. Contact Ryan, 857-231-1566, hryan@masstpc.org; Scott, 617-669-5144 (cell), gscott@masstpc.org; or past co-chair Diego Sanchez, 617-835-1455, dsanchez@masstpc.org.
• Anne Fausto-Sterling is a professor of biology and gender studies at Brown University, Providence, R.I., and is researching gender distinctions in early childhood behavior. She wrote Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. Contact Anne_Fausto-Sterling@brown.edu.
• Brett-Genny Janiczek Beemyn directs the Stonewall Center: A Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Educational Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Contact 413-545-4824, brettgenny@stuaf.umass.edu.
• Jerimarie Liesegang directs the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition. Contact 860-983-8139, jerimarie@transadvocacy.com.

IN THE EAST

• Cris Beam, an adjunct assistant professor of creative writing at Columbia University in New York City, wrote the 2007 book Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T With Transgender Teenagers. Read a Jan. 5, 2007, Salon.com article. Contact 212-854-3886, beamc@earthlink.net.
• James T. Sears is a professor of education at Pennsylvania State University in University Park and an author and scholar who has written widely about issues of sexual orientation and education. His books include, as editor, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues in Education: Programs, Policies and Practices. Contact 814-865-1500, jts18@psu.edu.
• Edgardo Menvielle, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, works in a program for children with gender-variant behaviors and their families at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-884-3862, emenviel@cnmc.org.
• Transgender rights advocate Paisley Currah is associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College and co-editor of the book Transgender Rights. Contact 212-817-1955, pcurrah@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Rand Hoch is president and founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council in Florida. Contact 561-804-9399, rand-hoch@usa.net.
• Ian Palmquist is executive director of Raleigh-based Equality North Carolina, which advocates on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of the state, and chairs the national Equality Federation. The federation lists state groups. Contact 919-829-0343, ian@equalitync.org.
• Mark Yarhouse is a psychology professor at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. He has written about sexual orientation and Christianity, and he developed and directs the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity. Contact 757-226-4829, markyar@regent.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Howard Bayless is chairman of Equality Alabama, based in Birmingham, which works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents. Contact equalityalabama@equalityalabama.org.
• The North Alabama Gender Center is a social and support group that meets in Huntsville. Contact nagc_tg@hotmail.com.
• Paul Overstreet is the founder of MS Rainbow Alliance, which meets in Biloxi. Contact 228-831-8152, pauloverstreet@msrainbowalliance.com.
• Christina Gilgor is executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Contact 859-420-6677, cgilgor@kentuckyfairness.org.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on May 17, 2007, signed an executive order establishing a policy that bars discrimination against state employees on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Contact Keith Dailey, press secretary, 614-644-0957, keith.dailey@governor.ohio.gov.
• Mickey Hart oversees Ohio University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center. He also serves on the board of Equality Ohio. Contact 740-593-0239, hartm@ohio.edu.
• Leslie Ann Thompson is chief executive officer of Affirmations, a community center in Detroit for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people that is Michigan’s largest. Contact 248-398-7105, lthompson@goaffirmations.org.
• Christine Peterson is president, for the 2007-08 academic year, of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally Alliance at Iowa State University in Ames. Contact 515-294-2104 or 319-621-5547, petey10@iastate.edu.
• Randi Barnabee of Bedford, Ohio, who underwent sex-change surgery to become a woman, is a civil rights attorney who specializes in transgender cases. Contact 440-786-1910, randi.barnabee@gmail.com.
• Ryan Roemerman is founder and director of the Iowa Pride Network, based in Des Moines, which works with and on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning college and public school students. Read the organization’s 2005 High School Climate Survey report. Contact 512-243-1110, ryan@iowapridenetwork.org.
• Modesto Tico Valle (as of July 1, 2007) is executive director of the Center on Halsted, the Chicago community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Mayor Richard Daley and community leaders on June 5, 2007, cut the ribbon at the new $20 million center. Read a news release. Contact 773-472-6469 ext. 250, mvalle@centeronhalsted.org.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Pam Bennett, who until 2002 was Bruce Dennis Bennett, is running in the 2007 City Council election in Aurora, Colo. Read an April 5, 2007, Aurora Sentinel article and a May 13, 2007, Newsweek article. Contact 303-557-5361.
• Wingspan is a community center in Tucson that serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in southern Arizona. Contact 520-624-1779, wingspan@wingspan.org.
• The Houston Transgender Unity Committee serves as a bridge for several area groups. Contact through Web site.
• Paul Scott is executive director of Equality Texas. Contact 512-474-5475, info@equalitytexas.org.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Jonathan K. Weedman is program director at the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center in Portland, Ore. Contact 503-872-9664, jonathan@cascadiabhc.org.
• Jill Jacobs is executive director of the San Francisco-based adoption agency Family Builders, which in May 2007 kicked off an advertising campaign encouraging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families to adopt. Contact 510-272-0204, kids@familybuilders.org.
• The San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center works statewide on behalf of transgender civil rights. Contact 415-865-0176, info@transgenderlawcenter.org.
• The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in March 2007 started a transgender job placement program. Read a news release. Contact Bob Adams, communications manager, 323-993-7622, badams@lagaycenter.org.
• Geoffrey Kors is executive director of Equality California, a nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Californians. Contact Ali Bay, communications manager, 916-284-9187, ali@eqca.org.
• Karen Lebacqz is professor of theological ethics at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. She co-authored the book Sex in the Parish. Contact 510-849-8250, klebacqz@psr.edu.