Trans* Success

Gaetano Majorano (12 April 1710 – 31 January 1783) was an Italian castrato and opera singer, who took his stage name Caffarelli from Domenico Caffaro, his patron. Like Farinelli, Caffarelli was a student of Nicola Porpora.  Born in Bitonto, he was one of the rare documented cases of a child so enamoured of singing that he asked to transition. When aged ten, he was given the income from two vineyards owned by his grandmother, so that he could study grammar and, especially, music: “to which he is said to have a great inclination, desiring to have himself castrated and become an eunuch”. He became the favorite pupil of his master Porpora.  In 1726 he made his debut at Rome in Domenico Sarro’s Valdemaro, singing in a female role (as did many castrati at the start of their careers). His fame spread rapidly throughout Italy during the 1730s, with performances at Venice, Turin, Milan, Florence, before returning to Rome for a great success in Johann Adolf Hasse’s Cajo Fabricio.

His time in London was not particularly successful, public memory of Farinelli being too strong, but at the King’s Theatre during the 1737-38 season he created roles in the pasticcio Arsace and Handel’s Faramondo, in addition to the title role in Handel’s Serse, singing the famous aria “Ombra mai fù”.  In 1734 the singer had taken up a post at the royal chapel of Naples, and over the next twenty years he often performed at the Teatro di San Carlo. At Naples he sang for Pergolesi, Porpora, Hasse, and Leonardo Vinci, not to mention starring in Gluck’s La Clemenza di Tito.  In later years he worked at Madrid (1739), Vienna (1749), Versailles (1753), and Lisbon (1755).  His career in France, to which he had been invited by Louis XV, was suddenly cut short after he badly wounded a poet during a duel.  After 1756 he sang little, though in 1770 Charles Burney heard him and praised his “expression and grace.” Always a favorite of royal families and a first-rate castrato who could command vast fees, Caffarelli made a large fortune, and was able to buy himself a dukedom and impressive estates in Naples and Calabria.  Caffarelli was notorious for his unpredictability and displays of temperament, both on and off stage.

In fact, his behaviour led to duels and spells of house arrest and imprisonment for assault and for misconduct during performances. On the other hand, with Handel, also a famously fiery character, he seems to have been able to coexist on a peaceable basis.  Time, furthermore, seemed to soften Caffarelli. In the latter years of his life he donated extensively to charity, and when Burney met the singer then he was impressed by his politeness.  Caffarelli’s voice was that of a mezzo-soprano, with an extensive range and a high tessitura. Those who heard him sing ranked him only behind Farinelli among the finest singers of that time. Even at the end of his career, Burney thought that he had been “an amazing fine singer”.

Adobe is strongly committed to fostering a diverse workplace. Treating employees, customers, and partners with respect is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense. As a successful global company, Adobe values and benefits from a wide variety of ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Adobe administers its personnel policies and conducts its employment practices in a manner that treats each employee and applicant for employment on the basis of merit and experience, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, national origin, or other classification protected by applicable law. In addition, consistent with Adobe’s culture and values, all employees are expected to treat one another in a manner that reflects dignity and respect.

Michelle Dumaresq is a Canadian and professional downhill mountain bike competitor.  Dumaresq had SRS performed in 1996, after having been on hormones for a lengthy period of time.  She entered the sport in 2001, six years after completing SRS, when she was discovered riding on Vancouver’s North Shore by several top women mountain bikers. Dumaresq was quite open about her history as a trans woman. The women, who were filming an independent film on female mountain bike riding, suggested Dumaresq consider racing and also invited Dumaresq to appear in their film, called “Dirt Divas.”

The first event Dumaresq entered was the Bear Mountain race held in Mission, BC in May 2001. She entered the novice female class and won. In fact, her finish time was 2.5 seconds faster than the winner of the female professional category. After racing two more races, her license was suspended by Cycling BC due to complaints from female competitors.  Cycling BC and the Canadian Cycling Association met privately with local organizers and at first suggested that Dumaresq quit racing. After discussion with the UCI the decision was made to permit Dumaresq to continue competing in the women’s category.  In April 2002, she was awarded a license to race in the women’s category. Three weeks later, she entered her first race in the pro women’s class and finished 3rd. The following week she placed 1st, beating her competition by 10 seconds. A wave of protest ensued and a petition was created and signed by female (and a few male) racers, asking for Dumaresq to be disqualified. Because she had a race license, the request was denied and her first professional win with females was upheld.  Dumaresq went on to win the 2002 Canada Cup series, which qualified her for the Canadian National team.

Later on, in September 2002, she co-represented Canada at the World Mountain Bike Championships. However, due to technical issues with her bike, Dumaresq only managed a 24th place finish in the event.  In 2003, Dumaresq won the 2003 Canadian National Championships and again represented Canada in the 2003 World Championships. She repeated her Nationals win in 2004 and finished 17th at the 2004 World Mountain Bike Championships held in Les Gets, France.  Since 2004, the International Olympic Committee, whose rules are used commonly throughout competitive sport, has allowed transsexuals to compete as their reassigned gender if the surgery has taken place at least two years prior to the competition and if the athlete has been on a regimen of hormones equal to that of a person born to the gender.

This is a study being run by a trans man getting his Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He is doing this study to contribute to developing an awareness in therapists and doctors about how to work competently with trans* clients. He is also committed to helping others in the healthcare profession understand the diversity in trans* identity development, ensuring that people of all identities and transition (or not) statuses are heard and validated.

He also plans to, once he gets his degree, gear his therapy practice toward working with gender and sexual minority clients!

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Jacob Nash recently received his Masters in Psychology, Diversity Management Specialization program from Cleveland State University in Cleveland Ohio. He is currently an independent trainer and consultant specializing in transgender and diversity issues. He has been working to educate others about the struggles of transgender individuals throughout the nation. He has worked with Children’s Social Service agencies as well as foster parents who care for them, to help them understand transsexuality and how they can help transgender youth. He has trained social workers, medical professionals, politicians and many others on the importance of treating transgender individuals with respect and care. Most recently he was the Executive Director for Transfamily of Cleveland. Prior to being the ED of TransFamily, he worked for the Law Office of SmithBernabei & Co., L.P.A. as their legal assistant.

Jacob has traveled extensively throughout Ohio and neighboring States to speak with legislators about the importance of inclusive language in bills where Civil Rights are concerned. He has been working directly with Cleveland City Council to include gender identity into the cities non-discrimination policy as well as incorporating the domestic partner registry in Cleveland in 2009. Jacob is a board member for the GLSEN-NEO Chapter as well as actively involved with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland and People of All Colors Together. He has worked with other LGBT organizations to help them become more transgender inclusive. He remains active with many other organizations including Equality Ohio, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, The National Center for Transgender Equality, PFLAG T-Net and the Human Rights Campaign to name a few.

Masen Davis is a native Midwesterner who has lived the California Dream since 1995. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. Prior to coming to TLC in 2007, Masen spent six years at United Way of Greater Los Angeles where he managed allocations for 194 agencies, oversaw education/youth grant making; and raised more than $5.8 million through foundation and corporate giving.

Masen has been an activist in the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality since 1990. His experience includes advocating for LGBT survivors of hate crimes, domestic violence and police misconduct; consulting with education and social service providers to help develop and implement best practice standards for transgender youth; and presenting diversity trainings for police departments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

In 2002, Masen co-founded FTM Alliance of Los Angeles, the first Southern California nonprofit dedicated to advocacy within the female-to-male transgender community. He has served in leadership roles for many organizations, including FTM Alliance (Board President, 2002-07); City of West Hollywood’s Transgender Task Force (Vice Chair, 2001-03); National Center for Transgender Equality (Vice Chair, 2005-2007), and Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (Board Member, 2007-Present). His work on behalf of transgender equality has earned him awards from the National Association of Social Workers, International Foundation for Gender Education, and UCLA. Masen received his Masters of Social Welfare with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from UCLA, and Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University.

Translate Gender is a collective-based consensus-run nonprofit organization that works to generate community accountability for individuals to self-determine their own genders and gender expressions.

Translate provides workshops, consultation, mediation, and facilitation focused on gender oppression and concerns specific to trans and/or gender non-conforming individuals.  You can volunteer and get involved.

A community needs only to take a few small steps to change the experience of its members.

Born and raised in Colorado, Aurora Sexton began her career in female impersonation in local coffee shops at the age of 13. Two years later, at 15 and with her mother’s permission, Aurora joined Guise & Dolls. Later she worked for Tracks 2000 and Dream Nightclub until she turned 21 and headed to the Midwest to pursue her dreams in Chicago.  Since arriving in the Windy City, Aurora quickly became a staple in Chicago’s LGBT community. She has put her creative talents to work with regular performances at Hydrate, Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club, Roscoe’s, Spin Nightclub and The Office in Rockford, Illinois.

A well respected icon of nightlife in Chicago, Aurora has hosted various parties and events. She is currently hosting GLITTER at Le Passage and is now a member of the cast at the world famous Baton Show Lounge.  In 2009, Aurora placed in the top 5 at the 2009 Miss Continental Pageant and she more-recently qualified for the 2010 Miss Continental Pageant happening Labor Day weekend, September 5th and 6th, in Chicago.  Here Aurora takes some time away from the stage to talk with ChicagoPride.com’s Kinley Preston about the upcoming Miss Continental Pageant.

Becoming a Miss Continental has been a dream of mine since I first saw a Miss Continental video at the age of 16. I’ve had many reasons for wanting to win over the years, but now it’s about being a part of something prolific - becoming a part of history in an art form that I cherish and am proud to be a part of.

Romy Haag (born January 1, 1951) is a dancer, singer, actress and former nightclub manager.  She started her career with Circus Strassburger, leading children’s matinées as a clown.  At the age of 16, she joined a trapeze artist working at the Strassburger and relocated to Paris, where she began her career as an exotic dancer and female impersonator at the nightclub Alcazar.  In 1972, an American show manager offered Haag a tour booking and she performed her show “Berlin Chanson” at Fire Island, in Long Island and Atlantic City.  Here she met and fell in love with a street musician from Berlin and decided to move back to Europe to live in the German capital with him.  In 1974, at the age of 23, Haag opened the club and cabaret Chez Romy Haag in Berlin, which became Germany’s most popular nightspot during the disco era.  Many celebrities were regular guests, such as German singer Udo Lindenberg, Zizi Jeanmaire, Bryan Ferry, Freddie Mercury, Lou Reed and Mick Jagger with whom supposedly Haag also had a brief romance.

Also, David Bowie was struck by Haag’s beauty and the two had a love affair which resulted in him moving to Berlin.  At the same time, Haag went on her first nationwide German tour with her cabaret.  In 1977, she released her first single “Liege-Samba”, composed by Udo Lindenberg, and later she joined him on tour.  The following year saw her second single “Superparadise” being released.  In 1979, New York’s Profile Gallery presented a photographic exhibition in honor of her, and in 1981, she released her first album, entitled “So Bin Ich” (translated as “That’s Me”), a collaboration with German composer Klaus Hoffmann.  In 1983, she sold her nightclub and set out on a year-long discovery journey of the world.  She decided to undergo a complete SRS in Switzerland at the age of 33.  In 1986, she toured Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States with her show City In The Night.

Haag has acted in 26 movies in Germany, among them Plastik Fieber, Zum Beispiel Otto Spal and Mascara with Charlotte Rampling, and has released 17 albums, such as “Flugblatt” and musical “Tell”.  In the mid 80’s, she became the lead figure of Queen Zero, a performance art video installation at New York’s Museum Of Modern Art.  In 1997, she received the “Jackie O. Music Award” in New York in recognition of her personal and thoughtful interpretations of Berthold Brecht’s music.  The same year, she accepted the prestigious Teddy Award at Berlin’s International Film Festival, in honor of her lifetime achievements in films concerning gay, lesbian and transgender issues.  In 1999, she released her autobiography “Eine Frau und mehr” (translated as “A Woman And Then Some”), that includes details of her relationship with French entertainer and also alleged transsexual Amanda Lear.  Today, Romy Haag is mainly working as an actress, entertainer and chanson singer.