THE NEW MINORITY
Transgender people fight for acceptance of their sexual transformations

BY STEVE JOHNSON
Mercury News Staff Writer
 

OVER the past five years, John Whiteway of Santa Cruz gave up dressing like a man, had his genitals surgically
altered, switched the ``M'' to an ``F'' on his driver's license and became Melinda Whiteway.

Once, that kind of gender-bending might have ruined her career and gotten her ostracized. But while many
``transgender people'' like Whiteway still battle for rights as basic as using a bathroom of their choice, attitudes show
signs of softening. The 54-year-old lawyer, reserve Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy and volunteer judge says her
sex change rarely raises a brow.

``People,'' she says, ``seem to be pretty understanding.''

Indeed -- aided by the political gains of gays and lesbians -- the
transgender community of transsexuals, cross dressers and others appears to be gaining acceptance as a bona fide
minority group. A small but growing number of cities grant them special protections; some employers take pains to
treat them sensitively; and the media has given them increasing visibility.

``In the last five or eight years, we've just seen a lot more openness,'' said 65-year-old Don Stake of Boulder Creek,
who describes himself as a heterosexual cross dresser. ``As we become more visual to the public, I think the public
becomes aware that we're not child molesters. We're not hurting anybody.''

Still, many transgender people -- defined by the National Journal of Sexual Orientation Law as those ``whose gender
identity or expression differs from conventional expectations of masculinity or femininity'' -- remain frustrated.

They are routinely denied access to bathrooms and other public
accommodations, according to a case before the California Supreme Court. Many complain that they are targets of
hate crimes. And they continue to face resistance from the religious right.

Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Encino, recently introduced a bill in Sacramento that would make it easier to
prosecute hate crimes against transgender people. Its supporters include Attorney General Dan Lungren and the
California Organization of Police and Sheriffs. But the Committee on Moral Concerns -- a Sacramento lobbying
group that claims many church-going backers -- is aghast.

``Giving extra legal protection to gender-confused individuals is dangerous and unwise,'' its executive director, Art
Croney, said in a letter to lawmakers. ``These poor souls need help, not legal affirmation.''

Yet, transgender rights also are problematic for some gays and
lesbians. A spat recently broke out over the pending federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which as written
would shield gays and lesbians from job bias. Some activists want it to also cover transgender people, who can be
either gay or heterosexual. But to their dismay, the Human Rights Campaign -- a nationwide gay and lesbian lobbying
group -- has opposed theidea.

``We absolutely agree that the transgender community should have employment protections,'' said Nancy Buermeyer,
the campaign's senior policy advocate. But getting support for gay and lesbian issues is hard enough, she added,
without adding the still-volatile issue of transgender rights. ``There just isn't the level of acceptance and understanding
that needs to happen  before (transgender) legislation on a federal level is viable.''
 

Gay athletes

Another dispute erupted at the Gay Games, the annual sporting event for gays and lesbians that was held this summer
in Amsterdam. At issue was a first-ever mandate that sex-changed athletes prove they had ``completed gender
transition.''

The policy stemmed from a fear that transgender athletes who hadn't undergone all of the medical procedures to
make them completely female might unfairly dominate other female competitors. But transgender advocates were
outraged.

``I think that's really sad,'' said Riki Anne Wilchins of GenderPAC, a national lobbying group. ``The Games were
invented because (gay) people were being stigmatized in one venue and now they've adopted the same sort of
stigmas against another minority in their midst.''

That cross dressers and transsexuals are objecting to such issues in public is itself significant. No longer willing to
suffer in silence, transgender activists these days loudly protest any perceived slight. They recently chastised Ford
Motor Company for its still-running ad with a male character who is forced to wear women's clothes after losing a bet
about a Ford truck.

``We certainly don't want to offend any group,'' said Ford spokesman Bill George, who explained that ``the ad was
meant to be funny.''

But groups representing transgender people weren't amused. In a letter to Ford, they said such ads ``trivialize our
lives and identities, and only make it harder for us to gain access to safety and equal rights.''