I had no idea that some places require sterilization before a person can legally change his/her sex, but I found out all about it in Ann Tornkvist's article "Sweden’s shameful transgender sterilization rule" that appeared on Salon today.
And it’s not only in Sweden…
“'Forcible sterilization' [before SRS] has been quietly practiced for decades in countries typically cast as progressive on LGBT rights: France, the Netherlands, Australia and a number of U.S. states still require it. Italy and Germany have just recently overturned similar legislation."
"Although Swedish leaders have been talking for months about repealing the sterilization law…" "…the conservative Christian Democrats have doggedly opposed the repeal, arguing that sex reassignment surgery is a threat to traditional social roles."
You can read all about the government's robbery of a fundamental human right --- procreation --- here on Salon.
Over at The Huffington Post, Rebecca Juro takes MSNBC's Ed Schultz to task for guesting a gay man to discuss the Chaz Bono Dancing with the Stars controversy.
"The first concern is also the most obvious. Given that Chaz Bono is a female-to-male transsexual man, one has to wonder why Ed Schultz invited a gay man and not an actual transgender person to appear on his show to speak on the topic.It's kind of like hosting a discussion on issues faced by African Americans with a white person presented as an expert, and makes just about as much sense.
"The second problem is more difficult to recognize unless the viewer is already familiar with Chaz Bono himself. Bono is a man who is in a serious romantic relationship with a woman. He is therefore heterosexual, not gay. By asking Mike Rogers if the media attacks on Bono lead to gay bashing, Ed Schultz revealed his clear lack of understanding of what a transgender person is, as well as his ignorance of the difference between sexual orientation, the gender of the person one is sexually and romantically attracted to, and gender identity, whether an individual personally sees themselves as male, female, or something else entirely, a gender identity that doesn't fit neatly into either of those socially constructed boxes."
You can read the entire story here on The Huffington Post.
Finally, if you are a fashionista (guilty) with a penchant for high heel footwear (guilty again), you must read Dr. Steve Rosenberg's "Help... Is It a Shoe Problem or a Foot Problem?" also on The Huffington Post.
In the article, the good doctor describes how you can become your own foot doctor. This is a recommended read for girls like us who consider 4-inch high heel pumps to be our preferred daily footwear.
