5.27.2010
Introducing Valley Transit FREEDOM PASS!
Don't be the chauffeur this summer. Get your kids a Valley Transit FREEDOM PASS! With the FREEDOM PASS, youth age 5 - 18 years old get an entire summer of UNLIMITED bus rides for only $40. Buy your FREEDOM PASS before June 15 and save $5. Purchase your FREEDOM PASS at any of Valley Transit's Ticket Outlets (including the Cashier's Window on the 1st floor of City Hall), Administrative Office or by mail. For more information, visit http://www.appleton.org/departments/transit/ or call 920-832-5800.
5.24.2010
Fitness Bootcamp
Left...left...left...right...left . . . do you hear it? It's coming! From your Health Smart Team . . . FITNESS BOOTCAMP! Join us on Friday, May 28 at 11:30 a.m. for an informational / kick off Lunch and Learn session.
Appleton Police Benevolent Association Golf Outing
The Appleton Police Benevolent Association Presents the 3rd Annual Golf Outing. Click here for details.
5.20.2010
Skin Cancer Screening
5.17.2010
Healthsmart May/June Newsletter
Your HealthSmart May/June newsletter is now available. Check it out.
FREE ORIENTATION TO ZUMBA CLASS FOR CITY OF APPLETON EMPLOYEES
Have you been hearing all about the latest craze in fitness? The Zumba® program fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away. This is your opportunity to come to a class and see what it is all about. An easy to follow FREE orientation to the class will take place next week, May 19th during two separate times. Please see the attached flyer for all the information. Any questions, please contact Niki Wendt at niki.wendt@appleton.org
5.07.2010
Working with the Transgendered Community
Ashley attended the presentation on Working with the Transgendered Community a while ago and was kind enough to type up her notes. There is some useful information here so please read when you can.
Working with the Transgender Community:
The term transgender was coined to describe people who change gender on a full time basis. Transgender is considered an umbrella term for a multitude of individuals. This term has also been known as and to include transsexual, MTF, FTM, cross-dresser & transvestite.
Presenters Helen & Rachel are now residents of Appleton. Helen is a gender studies professor at Lawrence University. Helen and her partner Rachel discussed a movement to change LGBT to LGbt because the bisexual and transgender populations are still not as widely recognized as lesbians and gay men today. The term “sex change” is now considered out of date and most individuals prefer the use of term “transition” to describe their experience. A person that experiences a transition may or may not change their sexual orientation when they transition.
Helen spoke about how all people have an identity, expression and presentation. Our identity could be male or female and our expression & presentation could be masculine or feminine. Helen pointed out that many transgendered people do not have the same answers down the line. A person’s identity could be female but their expression & presentation could be male. Transgender people feel that they were born in the wrong body. Psychologically this has been considered Gender Identity Disorder (GID). Many LGbt individuals are objecting to GID being in the DSM because they feel that it is not a psychological disorder.
To fully transition a transgendered person has to transition legally, medically and socially. Legally, documents have to be changed. Laws on this vary state by state. Some people can change their birth certificate from one sex to the other, some can change it but the fact that it was amended stays on the document, and some states just remove the sex from the document so that it isn’t included at all. It is often difficult for transgendered people to change all their documents because many documents are necessary to show to get other documents. To get a passport with the correct sex a transgendered person may have to have a letter from their surgeon saying that they have completed genital surgery. Medical transitions are often difficult because they cost between 30-50 thousand dollars and are not covered by insurance. This means that many transgendered people cannot afford the surgeries necessary to fully transition (if that is what they choose to do). Socially, transition is also difficult as the transgendered person often changes their name.
At the Library:
There was a lot of talk from local police officers about bathroom and fitting room issues. Complaints may be taken about a transgender person using a specific restroom. A person legally must use the restroom indicated by the sex on their driver’s license. This can be difficult for transgendered people that are having a hard time legally changing their documents, or those that are in the process of changing their documents. It can be unsafe and uncomfortable for the transgendered person, as well as for others using the restroom. One way to handle a situation where a person is complaining about a person of a different sex/gender using the restroom is to have the complainant use the restroom alone. Here at the library we have single stall family restrooms that could help with this situation. It is important to remember that there could be times when this situation happens where the person in question is not a transgendered person. In example, there could be a woman that looks like a man. She isn’t transgendered and she doesn’t intend to look like a man and she is using the correct bathroom. In a situation like this where it is difficult to tell whether the person in question is a man or a women you could ask “I prefer the ‘she’ pronoun, which do you prefer?” When asking this question it is very important to speak privately with the person in question. A transgendered person may or may not want people to know they are transitioning. It can also be potentially physically and mentally dangerous for them to be “outed” in public. A person that doesn’t intend to look like the opposite sex can save face if the conversation is done away from the public.
Another situation that may arise is when checking PC Reservation. Library staff often uses a patron name and sex to determine if the correct patron is using the correct library card on the computers. For a person that is transitioning that may not have had their library card changed it could be potentially dangerous to be “outed” or accused of using another person’s library card. In this situation if there is doubt about a person’s sex or suspicion that the person may be transgendered it is important to talk to them privately so that others may not hear. A better way to start this process would be asking their name and if it doesn’t match what is on PC Reservation ask, “Are there any other names that are associated with your library card?”
Working with the Transgender Community:
The term transgender was coined to describe people who change gender on a full time basis. Transgender is considered an umbrella term for a multitude of individuals. This term has also been known as and to include transsexual, MTF, FTM, cross-dresser & transvestite.
Presenters Helen & Rachel are now residents of Appleton. Helen is a gender studies professor at Lawrence University. Helen and her partner Rachel discussed a movement to change LGBT to LGbt because the bisexual and transgender populations are still not as widely recognized as lesbians and gay men today. The term “sex change” is now considered out of date and most individuals prefer the use of term “transition” to describe their experience. A person that experiences a transition may or may not change their sexual orientation when they transition.
Helen spoke about how all people have an identity, expression and presentation. Our identity could be male or female and our expression & presentation could be masculine or feminine. Helen pointed out that many transgendered people do not have the same answers down the line. A person’s identity could be female but their expression & presentation could be male. Transgender people feel that they were born in the wrong body. Psychologically this has been considered Gender Identity Disorder (GID). Many LGbt individuals are objecting to GID being in the DSM because they feel that it is not a psychological disorder.
To fully transition a transgendered person has to transition legally, medically and socially. Legally, documents have to be changed. Laws on this vary state by state. Some people can change their birth certificate from one sex to the other, some can change it but the fact that it was amended stays on the document, and some states just remove the sex from the document so that it isn’t included at all. It is often difficult for transgendered people to change all their documents because many documents are necessary to show to get other documents. To get a passport with the correct sex a transgendered person may have to have a letter from their surgeon saying that they have completed genital surgery. Medical transitions are often difficult because they cost between 30-50 thousand dollars and are not covered by insurance. This means that many transgendered people cannot afford the surgeries necessary to fully transition (if that is what they choose to do). Socially, transition is also difficult as the transgendered person often changes their name.
At the Library:
There was a lot of talk from local police officers about bathroom and fitting room issues. Complaints may be taken about a transgender person using a specific restroom. A person legally must use the restroom indicated by the sex on their driver’s license. This can be difficult for transgendered people that are having a hard time legally changing their documents, or those that are in the process of changing their documents. It can be unsafe and uncomfortable for the transgendered person, as well as for others using the restroom. One way to handle a situation where a person is complaining about a person of a different sex/gender using the restroom is to have the complainant use the restroom alone. Here at the library we have single stall family restrooms that could help with this situation. It is important to remember that there could be times when this situation happens where the person in question is not a transgendered person. In example, there could be a woman that looks like a man. She isn’t transgendered and she doesn’t intend to look like a man and she is using the correct bathroom. In a situation like this where it is difficult to tell whether the person in question is a man or a women you could ask “I prefer the ‘she’ pronoun, which do you prefer?” When asking this question it is very important to speak privately with the person in question. A transgendered person may or may not want people to know they are transitioning. It can also be potentially physically and mentally dangerous for them to be “outed” in public. A person that doesn’t intend to look like the opposite sex can save face if the conversation is done away from the public.
Another situation that may arise is when checking PC Reservation. Library staff often uses a patron name and sex to determine if the correct patron is using the correct library card on the computers. For a person that is transitioning that may not have had their library card changed it could be potentially dangerous to be “outed” or accused of using another person’s library card. In this situation if there is doubt about a person’s sex or suspicion that the person may be transgendered it is important to talk to them privately so that others may not hear. A better way to start this process would be asking their name and if it doesn’t match what is on PC Reservation ask, “Are there any other names that are associated with your library card?”
5.04.2010
Wisconsin Retirement System - Trust Fund News May 2010
This newsletter is published by the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.
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