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On Tuesday, January 13th, I was a guest on the "Dr. Phil Show" when a segment was aired on children who want to be the opposite sex. Also appearing on the show was the mother of a transgendered boy who is living life as a girl, and several psychotherapists who believe that transgenderism is normal, natural and healthy for some people. I took the position that children should not, however, be encouraged to think of themselves--and live as--as the opposite sex. All of the other psychotherapists disagreed with me. "Imitative Attachment" in the Gender-Disturbed Boy "Gender-identity disorder is primarily an...

CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire House reversed itself Wednesday and passed a bill extending anti-discrimination protections to transgender individuals by a single vote. The House voted 181-149 last month to kill the bill but reconsidered Wednesday after a passionate appeal from House Speaker Terie Norelli to include transgender individuals in the state's anti-discrimination law. The House debated more than three hours before voting 188-187 to send it to the Senate. Republicans call it the "bathroom bill" based on the argument it would open all bathrooms to both men and women. Republicans said women and children would be put at...

Twelve years heading the Salvation Army's downtown homeless shelter had done little to prepare Janeane Schmidt for the recent night when a soft-spoken biological male transitioning into a female walked in. Schmidt didn't want to refuse someone in need. Having seen few such cases, however, and with limited space that winter night, she wasn't sure where to place the transgender woman. The shelter has space for homeless men and women but not anyone in between. "Rather than turn them away, we give them a cot," said Schmidt, whose staff allowed the woman to stay a week in the shelter's lounge...

In April, 2007, LA Times sports reporter Mike Penner came to work and announced that he was going to start coming to work dressed as a woman, and use the name Christine Daniels. And that's what he did. For eighteen months "she" was a darling of the transgender world. "She" gave speeches to homosexual groups, was profiled in Sports Illustrated, and was honored for having such "courage" to come out as a woman. And "Christine Daniels" continued to cover and write about sports for the LA times. All we can say is, it's a good thing he didn't quite get...

James M. Mason knew his wife since she was born a boy. The janitor and former military man was a boarder in the child's home and was treated like family. Many were surprised when he married Chris nearly three years ago, not just because he knew she underwent sex-change surgery three years before, temporarily calling herself Christine Newton-John after the pop singer with the same last name. He was in his 70s, she in her 30s. He was mild-mannered; she had a domineering personality. Then, last summer, there was another surprise: Chris Mason was accused of exercising her frail husband...

MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio – James M. Mason knew his wife since she was born a boy. The janitor and former military man was a boarder in the child's home and was treated like family. Many were surprised when he married Chris nearly three years ago, not just because he knew she underwent sex-change surgery three years before, temporarily calling herself Christine Newton-John after the pop singer with the same last name. He was in his 70s, she in her 30s. He was mild-mannered; she had a domineering personality. Then, last summer, there was another surprise: Chris Mason was accused of exercising...

Transgender activists believe this is the year they will gain equal protection under the state's anti-discrimination laws. "We feel good," said Jerimarie Liesegang, who leads the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition. "We've done the groundwork, we've done the education and we know we have the votes." A proposal, to be introduced in the legislative session that begins Wednesday, would prevent people who in any way blur gender lines from being discriminated against in the workplace or while seeking housing or obtaining credit. More than a dozen states, including California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Rhode Island, have enacted similar laws.

There is an enormous and growing body of research, encompassing the fields of biochemistry, neurobiology, physiology and psychology, which all point to a clear conclusion: that there are profound differences between men and women. These go well beyond the obvious physical appearances and reproductive differences; men and women differ at many levels, and also approach relationships differently. As such, this document rests upon, and makes the case for, these four foundational principles: 1. Gender differences exist; they are a fundamental reality of our biology and impact our psychology. Our maleness and femaleness is a key aspect to our personhood. 2....

Barack Obama wasn't the only candidate who made history Tuesday. On the same day the United States elected its first black president, the tiny town of Silverton, Ore., elected the country's first openly transgender mayor. Stu Rasmussen served two terms as Silverton's mayor in the 1990s, but he was still living in the closet -- and dressing in men's clothing. He came out a few years ago, proudly donning a skirt and high heels. On Tuesday, Rasmussen won a third term, by 13 percentage points. He attributes his victory to his deep knowledge of the issues.

A former Army Special Forces commander passed over for a job as a terrorism analyst at the Library of Congress because he was in the process of becoming a she won a discrimination lawsuit on Friday.U.S. District Judge James Robinson ruled that the Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer of Alexandria, Va., by not giving her the job after the former David Schroer disclosed he would start becoming Diane before beginning the new job. "The evidence establishes that the Library was enthusiastic about hiring David Schroer -- until she disclosed her transsexuality," Robinson wrote in his decision. "The Library...

A former Army Special Forces commander passed over for a job as a terrorism analyst at the Library of Congress because he was in the process of becoming a she won a discrimination lawsuit on Friday. More News * Radical rescue: Hundreds of billions for bailout 09.19.08 * Q&A on cleaning up the financial crisis mess 09.19.08 * Light rail train hits bus in LA; 14 injured 09.19.08 * CHP warns of 'star 72' phone scam 09.19.08 U.S. District Judge James Robinson ruled that the Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer of Alexandria, Va., by not giving her the...

A Yeshiva University professor left two years ago as a man - and returned last week as a woman. Literature Professor Joy Ladin, formerly known as Jay Ladin, 47, showed up for her first day of school sporting pink lipstick, a tight purple shirt and a flirty black skirt. She cheerfully strutted through the doors of the Midtown campus' main building, where she oversees the writing center. Many at the Jewish university are horrified by the presence of the transgender professor. Some fear the news could cut alumni donations. Ladin and the school won't comment on the situation, but some...

Diane Schroer, a 52-year-old former Army Special Forces commander, testified yesterday in federal court that she was "disappointed and dismayed" when an official at the Library of Congress rescinded a job offer even though she was the star candidate. The offer, for a job as a terrorism research analyst, was pulled the day after Schroer told her future boss that she was making the medical transition from being a man, David, to being a woman, Diane. "I honestly felt a little surprised and shocked," Schroer testified during the first day of the trial in her discrimination lawsuit against the Library...

We may have MORE babies Exclusive: Dad-to-be reveals joy..just 4 weeks before HE is due to give birth THESE extraordinary new pictures show the world's first pregnant man—captured just four weeks from the birth of his baby girl. In an exclusive and moving interview with the News of the World, sex-change dad Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy tell of their joy. And he reveals unseen family snaps of his astonishing early life as a teenage beauty queen. "I feel fantastic," he said. "I cannot wait to see my baby's face." In a tender and intimate moment, Thomas shares a...

Anger at 1-Day notice School Gave ParentsA Pennsylvania elementary school has confirmed its membership in the "Brave New Liberal Schools" club by holding counseling sessions with 100 3rd-grade students to announce that one of the boys would soon start showing up at school in girls' clothing and taking a female name. Counselors will ask the 3rd-graders to accept the boy as a girl and not to make childish remarks that may be unkind. The exercise in "social transition" was initiated by the boy's parents who approached the administration at Chatham Park Elementary School in Haverford Township asking that the school...

A Pennsylvania elementary school has angered parents by giving them one-day's notice of planned counseling sessions with 100 third-grade students to explain that one of their male classmates would soon begin wearing girls' clothing and taking a female name and to ask that they accept him as a girl and not make unkind remarks. The exercise in "social transition" was initiated by the boy's parents who approached the administration at Chatham Park Elementary School in Haverford Township asking that the school help in having their child's female identity find acceptance among his peers. After consulting experts on transgender children, the...

Showbiz Tonight's Brooke Anderson reports a transgendered man claims he is six months pregnant.

Larry King was a gay eighth-grader who used to come to school in makeup, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would boldly tease them right back by flirting with them. That may have been what got him killed. On Feb. 12, another student, Brandon McInerney, 14, shot him twice in the head at the back of the computer lab at their junior high school, police say. The slaying of the 15-year-old boy has alarmed gay rights activists and led to demands that middle schools do more to educate youngsters about discrimination on...

Thomas Beatie, who used to be a woman, appeared in the most recent issue of The Advocate, a magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers, Portland, Ore., television station KPTV reported. Beatie wrote the article, which includes a picture of him while he was 22 weeks pregnant. According to the story, he went through a sex change, but decided only to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy. Beatie was able to keep the reproductive organs he was born with. The article said he stopped getting the injections and was able to get pregnant.

It was late on a rainy fall day, and a college freshman named Rey was showing me the new tattoo on his arm. It commemorated his 500-mile hike through Europe the previous summer, which happened also to be, he said, the last time he was happy. We sat together for a while in his room talking, his tattoo of a piece with his spiky brown hair, oversize tribal earrings and very baggy jeans. He showed me a photo of himself and his girlfriend kissing, pointed out his small drum kit, a bass guitar that lay next to his rumpled clothes...