Changing gender not easy for local resident
10:54 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by Eric Weddle
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120630/NEWS/306300042/transgender-transsexual-transexual-christina-batie?nclick_check=1Choosing the right dress, one that accentuates beauty and instills confidence, can be a challenge for some women.
Christina Nicole Batie has sought out that perfect dress, preferably silver, but instead of slipping into a size 13 in a department store's dressing room, Batie eyeballs the outfit, holds it up, feels the fabric and makes a calculated guess.
"I don't try clothes on at stores because I don't know what people will do, I don't know what will happen," Batie said. "I've gotten good at looking at something and knowing it will fit.
"I remember when I first moved to Lafayette, I tried a dress on in a store and I was chased out of there. I don't want that to happen again."
Batie is a man. Well, at least, biologically.
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Transsexuals have few legal remedies
9:00 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by Eric Weddle
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120630/NEWS/306300032/transgender-law-legal-littleLaws from the federal level down to the city of Lafayette do little to protect employment, housing and health rights of transsexuals.
That's a main reason trans people have not gained as much momentum in achieving popular support, because many are scared to go public with who they are, said Vivian Benge, a member of Indiana Equality Board in Indianapolis.
"There is a very little, in any way, of protection for trans people. We are a class of people that is ignored with the law," said Benge, who came out as a transgender woman in 2000. "We have difficulty with housing, employers. Some doctors will refuse to treat transgender people. We don't have any type of recourse. You have recourse if they have violated a contract, but there is no law that protects us."
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Groups offer transsexual support, information
9:10 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by Staff reports
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120630/NEWS/306300033/transsexual-help-support-groupsThe following local, state and national groups offer resources and information on transgender issues:
Trans Lafayette Transgender Support Group:
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Purdue hires first LGBTQ director
8:52 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by Eric Weddle
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120630/NEWS0501/306300031/Purdue-hires-first-LGBTQ-director?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|pLater this month, Lowell Kane will become Purdue University's first director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer, or LGBTQ, Center.
It is a position long discussed on the West Lafayette campus, as major universities, including the rest of the Big Ten, already have it. Kane, picked from two other finalists after a nationwide search, comes from Texas A&M University, where he was program coordinator and founding staff member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center. Established in 2007, it was the first GLBT resource center at a public institution in Texas.
