Oregon?

[Betsy]

This is important and affects us...particularly in Oregon. It's a great way to get involved and make change happen. Write me directly if you would like Jen's addy.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jen Clark [mailto:jenclark@<hidden>******.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 5:59 PM
To: Redwind
Subject: please write to the oregon legislature about 2 civil rights bills

Hi guys,

I would like to ask any of you who are willing to write to your Oregon State legislators about a couple of civil rights bills that I am currently lobbying for with Basic Rights Oregon. You can find out exactly who your legislators are and write to them in one easy step by going to this website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr/writeset.htm

I have provided some information to you to use in your communications with your legislators. Use as much or as little of this info as you think is appropriate, but don't just send them a coy of this letter, please. If you send a paper letter, remember to give your name and address, so they know you are a constituent. Also, it is always good to ask them specifically to tell you where they stand on the issue that you are writing about.

The two senate bills that I am asking you to write about are SB786 and SB816 (more information below). Both bills are in the Senate Rules Committee. Also, SB816 has a companion bill in the House - HB 3356, which is in the House Judiciary Committee. Please write to both your senators and representatives. Include as much personal experience as you feel comfortable with. Please tell your legislators that they can get more information on the two bills from Maura Roche, the lobbyist for Basic Rights Oregon.

Thanks, Jen

1) What does this legislation do?

SB786 adds sexual orientation and gender identity to Oregon's existing nondiscrimination statutes for employment, public housing, public accomodation, and education.

SB816 adds gender identity to the Oregon's existing hate crimes statute, which defines the cime of "intimidation" to define a violent crime motivated by bigotry against race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, etc.

2) Why is this legislation needed?

The intent of Oregon's nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws is to prevent Oregon's citizens from being targeted for violent crimes or discimination based on their minority status. However, Oregon's nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws have a gaping hole in them. The nonscrimination law includes neither sexual orientation nor gender identity. The Hate Crimes law does not include gender identity. Discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity are pervasive. Gender identity is arguably the most common reason for discrimination and hate crimes. Almost everyone can describe a situation in which they were bullied or beaten because they didn't look or act "right". This type of harrassment affects not just transsexuals and transgenders, and not just gays and lesbians, but it extends to any man who seems momentarily too effeminate or any woman who seems too masculine. Nondiscimination laws based on sexual orientation or sex or even "gender" are not enough, because the courts routinely interpret these laws in the narrowest possible manner.

3) What is gender identity?

Defined in section 1 of the bills: A person's actual or perceived sex, as expressed by the person's identity, appearance or behavior, regardless of whether that identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth.

Everyone has a gender identity. In the majority of cases, that gender identity conforms to the sex in which one was born. However, about 1 in 200 can be considered transgendered, meaning that to one extent or another, their identity is different from their "birth sex". Furthermore, about 1 in 2000 births are intersexed, meaning that the birth sex is physically neither male nor female, but a mixture of the two. Such people may appear to be either sex, or neither, and may identify with either sex, both or neither.

Anyone can be a target for discrimination or harassment based on their gender identity. Remember that gender identity is defined as a person's "actual or perceived sex..." Therefore, straight, nontransgendered women may be targeted for discrimination because they wear their hair too short. Straight, nontransgendered men may be targeted for harassment because they are perceived as effeminate.

4) What is the connection and what is the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation?

The two concepts are distinct. Sexual orientation refers to whom an individual is attracted, while gender identity refers to an individual's personal identity and expression. Most gays and lesbians identify with their own birth sex, but some may be transgendered. Most heterosexual people identify with their own birth sex, but some may be transgendered. Transgendered people may be either homosexual or heterosexual.

5) Why is it important to include gender identity in the nondiscrimination statutes? Wouldn't simply adding sexual orientation do the trick?

No. Any nondiscrimination or hate crimes law that does not include gender identity will be ineffective at protecting citizens. Discrimination based on gender or gender expression is arguably the most common form of discrimination in the USA today. This statement applies alike to transgendered people and nontransgendered people, homosexual and heterosexual. Nearly anyone could be a target for discrimination based upon their clothing, hair, speech, mannerisms, or any other aspect of their appearance. In fact, even in cases where the victim is homosexual, it is easy, in a courtroom setting, to argue that the discriminatory acts had nothing to do with the victim's sexual orientionation, but were simply based on the person's appearance.

6) Don't these protections already exist?
No. "Transsexualism" is mentioned in the Oregonians with Disabilities Act. Yet, this word is not defined, and it only covers a small segment of the total population. Many people may express their genders in their own unique ways, but not consider themselves transsexual. Such people may well be the target of discrimination. Furthermore, the Disabilities act applies only to employment.

Gays and lesbians receive some protection in employment through the Tanner Decision, a court case from a few years back. Once again, this is a limited protection, and applies only to employment.

7) Isn't this kind of discrimination already illegal?
No. Neither sexual orientation nor gender identity are mentioned in the current nondiscrimination laws. Sexual orientation is mentioned in the hate crimes law, but gender identity is not. The word "sex" is included in the statute, but this is interpreted to refer only to the person's assigned sex at birth - male or female, not their personal gender identity or their perceived gender identity.

8) Isn't gender identity covered by sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws? Oregon does not have a nondiscrimination law covering sexual orientation. Even in parts of the country where such laws do exist, gender identity and expression is the loophole that allows most cases of discrimination to go unchallenged. The perpetrator argues that they did not discriminate based on the person's sexual orientation - but rather based on their appearance.

9) Will Oregon be the first to extend this protection?

Similar protections are already in place in Portland, Multnomah County, and Benton County. They are functioning well.

As of May 2002, there were 45 jurisdictions across the United States that have passed nondsicrimination laws that protect on the basis of gender identity. Most of these jurisdictions are cities or counties. However, the State of Minnesota includes gender identity in its nondiscrimination laws, and the legislatures of New Mexico and Hawaii just passed legislation this year to include gender identity in both their nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws.

10) Do these bills have any support among law enforcement?

SB816 is supported by the Washington County District Attorney, Bob Hermann, and by Detective Michael O'Connell, both of whom have an active murder ivestigation which they believe was motivated by prejudice based on gender identity. The case in question is the murder of Loni Kai Okaruru, a transsexual woman, whose body was left on the side of the road in Hillsboro in August 2001.

[Waiala]

Activists involved in the relatively recent movement for intersex rights are addressing a new form of oppression, and have begun to openly criticize mainstream medical practices.

While technically defined as a "congenital anomaly of the reproductive and sexual system," the term "intersex" refers to a person who is born with "ambiguous" or "atypical" genitalia. Typically, any newborn boy with a penis smaller than one inch, or girl with a clitoris larger than 3/8 of an inch is deemed intersexed by doctors.

After a child has been found to be intersexed, mainstream medical procedure is to perform surgery as soon as possible in an effort to normalize appearance and reduce later trauma. Doctors determine gender based primarily on existing sexual characteristics, and reconstruct the tissue in order for the child to more closely resemble other members of their assigned sex. After surgery, patients are often given hormone treatment, and many are never told about their condition or the surgery they underwent as infants.

Five children who possess intersexed physical characteristics are surgically altered every day in the United States alone, explained Emi Koyama, director of Intersex Initiative Portland (ipdx). Koyama is one of many activists who contend that current medical procedures often cause irreversible psychological as well as physical damage to patients who undergo surgery as children.

"One of the biggest problems with this 'treatment' is that it sets in motion a lifelong pattern of secrecy, isolation, shame, and often confusion," she wrote in her essay, "Medical Abuse of Intersex Children and Child Sexual Abuse."

"Adult intersex people's stories often resemble that of those who survived childhood sexual abuse: trust violation, lack of honest communication, punishment for asking questions or telling the truth, etc."

In addition to the emotional toll, intersexed individuals often must undergo extensive treatment after the surgery, some of which can be extremely invasive and painful, Koyama explained.

Growing awareness of intersex issues as well as an increasing number of activists have caused many people to more closely examine their own ideas surrounding gender identity.

"As intersexed people clearly demonstrate, strict sexual dimorphism does not exist in nature," said Dr. Kate Scannell, a featured author in the medical journal "Permanente Journal."

"And as human nature does not abide by cultural rules, rigid and anatomically based conceptualizations of gender identity do not suffice to account for the authentic experiences of human beings being human."

Due to current medicine's lack of knowledge surrounding the development of gender identity, intersexed children who undergo surgery sometimes identify with the opposite gender later in life, Scannell said. She explained that many individuals who have had such experiences later express regret, wishing instead that they had been allowed to choose their own gender when they reached a consenting age.

After childhood strain, counseling can be essential for many intersexed individuals, however Koyama has found local resources to be far from adequate. Upon calling the Portland Women's Crisis Line and asking for information regarding intersexuality, she was unable to obtain any information besides her own number as a resource.

Options for counseling are limited because very few doctors know how to provide support for intersexed individuals, Koyama said. She explained how patients often end up being referred to gender therapists who make the assumption that they simply need to adjust.

"Intersexed aren't trying to transition, they're dealing with childhood trauma," she said.

In addition to the many complaints voiced by activists and intersex patients, Scannell pointed out that doctors have found no conclusive evidence proving that mainstream procedures yield positive results. She explained that the accounts of intersex patients who have experienced such procedures can provide invaluable information.

"These experiences are critical in that they are told by subjects of surgical procedures that are performed as standard practice despite the absence of scientific data supporting benefits," she said. "To this date, there exist no comprehensive, retrospective studies that establish a therapeutic benefit from surgery."

Alternative procedures advocated by activists and intersex allies include awareness-raising campaigns and improving available resources, in addition to simply postponing procedures of intersexed individuals until a later age.

As director of ipdx, Koyama works to spread information surrounding intersex issues, educating the community and facilitating various classes, workshops and discussions. Focusing primarily on the social and cultural aspect of intersex activism, she hopes to make vital information more readily available not only for intersexed people themselves, but also for expecting parents, students and community members.

Unfortunately, information regarding intersex issues is inadequate even in educational environments, Koyama explained.

After conducting a study researching curriculum related to intersexuality and how intersexed people are portrayed in the classroom, she found the results to be less than encouraging.
She discovered that within most classrooms, intersexuality was being used to talk about a great number of subjects, but rarely about intersexuality itself. Many teachers were found to focus on intersexed individuals in an effort to prove the social construction of gender, or to legitimize the gay lesbian bisexual trans movement. Rarely did teachers show concern for intersexed individuals or even acknowledge them as real people, Koyoma said.

Koyama created an informational booklet titled, "Teaching intersex issues," where she outlined necessary information for facilitators to remember when discussing intersexuality in a classroom environment.

Most important is the necessity for teachers, professors and speakers to acknowledge the fact that intersexuals have diverse, sometimes painful, and very real experiences, she explained.

"Once I was asked if intersexed people like action movies or romantic comedies," she said. By increasing community awareness, she hopes to combat stereotypes and common assumptions.

While Koyama no longer participates in activism that calls for her to consistently interact with members of the medical community, she served as a program assistant for the Intersex Society of North America in 2001, a position that required her to work with physicians. She explained that while working with doctors could be extremely trying at times, taking a stance of impartiality was even more difficult.

"It's difficult to talk as if we're having an intellectual disagreement when they want to chop up my body," she said.

Consequently, her focus is now on community awareness, and she is working with ipdx to generate interest and funds for continuing activism.

Activities hosted by ipdx include a recent a training workshop for those interested in gaining knowledge surrounding intersex issues.

She also took steps to increase regional awareness earlier this spring, when she contacted every school performing "The Vagina Monologues" in Washington and Oregon, and requested that they include a recitation of her short "Medical Abuse" article in their performances.

Koyama will also be teaching a class during summer term at Portland State University titled, "Intersexuality: An Interdisciplinary Study."

In the end, she hopes to emphasize the reality of intersexed people's lives, and help others to understand that there is an individual behind every medical case of intersexuality, she explained.

"No one is talking about real people, they're talking about body parts," she said.