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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040327/GENDER27/TPComment/TopStories

(excerpts)

Three years later, on Oct. 3, 2002, she was savagely beaten and strangled at a house party after a girl followed her to the bathroom, reached under her skirt and discovered her male genitalia.

"She's got a penis," the girl yelled to the young men now on trial for murder. Two of the four accused -- who are all in their early 20s -- had prior sexual relations with Gwen and been suspicious of her gender.

At first, the news that she had male anatomy brought laughter and derision, but the mood soon soured. For the next two hours, it's alleged that the men beat Gwen so savagely that police described her eventual death as "overkill."

Police said one young man hit her in the head with a soup can, then a skillet. She sank to the floor and was kicked so hard in the head she dented the wall when she hit it. The men allegedly wrapped her in a blanket to prevent blood from staining the couch and floor. Prosecutors said she was dragged to the garage, where they strangled her, then tossed her in the back of a pickup. Another man hit her in the head with a shovel to ensure that she was dead.

(snip)
But Gwen's killing has also sparked an intense debate over legal definitions of hate, with some experts arguing that her death was the result of bruised feelings -- not hatred against a transsexual.

Jack Levin, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston and the author of several books on hate crime, said the case is brutal and disturbing, but he is not convinced the alleged attackers were motivated by hatred toward transgendered people.

(snip)

Mr. Levin thinks Gwen Araujo's killing was prompted by intense feelings of betrayal -- not hatred against transsexuals. The men accused of killing Gwen had known her for a couple of weeks and two had been sexually intimate with her. He compared her slaying to a man who kills his wife after learning she has been unfaithful.

"He feels betrayed and he kills her," Mr. Levin said. "Gender is involved -- she's a woman -- but gender is not the motivation. I think people feel betrayed for lots of personal reasons and this is just one of many."

Defining all murders of transgendered people as hate crimes is dangerous, Mr. Levin said, because it trivializes real crimes of hate. "I get a little concerned when we go out of our way to look at a case that just doesn't seem to fit, and I want us to use the hate-crime label, but use it appropriately. I'm not sure this one is."

(snip)

The men she hooked up with attended the same high school Gwen once did, but did not know her past as a male. On the night of the fatal party, all four confronted her about her gender, before sending a girl into the bathroom to find out.

...a girl followed her to the bathroom, reached under her skirt and discovered her male genitalia.

I hear Hillary hates it when that happens.

Two of the four accused -- who are all in their early 20s -- had prior sexual relations with Gwen and been suspicious of her gender.

Sscratchin my head, here. Is this possible ? or are they talking about what the meaning of the word "is" is ?

"Two of the four accused -- who are all in their early 20s -- had prior sexual relations with Gwen and been suspicious of her gender."

Is it too obvious to ask how the two that had prior sexual relations with Gwen did not notice that she had a penis?

"She" has a penis? The article refers to it as "she" - it is a "he."

This poor creature had one messed up mother - they both belonged in the looney bin.

"the girl yelled to the young men now on trial for murder..."

Ok, I can't say what I had planned... About them not receiving a medal, about how "he/it" won't be a loss, etc. etc. I'm so sick of this crap I guess I'm finally at a loss for words. Buh-bye, gwennie with the weenie!