A Wild Elegance, Issue One, Post Two
included here :
Ask Mamma Michelle
resource Listing

ASK MOMMA MICHELLE

Dear Momma Michelle:
I'm Serving a life sentence and these people won't even let me see a psychologist to talk about my suffering. They won't give anyone hormones unless they were on them prior to being incarcerated. Can they do this. Help me, Please. Amy.

Amy, Federal courts have ruled more than once that prison systems can't refuse medical treatment for GID because the inmate can't prove previous treatment. See Kosilek V. Maloney 221 F. Supp. 156 (2002); De'Lonta V. Angelone, 4th circuit court of appeals; Brooks v. Berg 270 F. Supp. 302, 312 (ND of new york 2003). All of these courts ruled that policies denying hormones without an individual medical evaluation by a qualified specialist in gender identity disorder, were illegal.

Dear Momma Michelle:
We aren't allowed to grow our hair in our state prison. Can they
do this to us? Brenda.

Brenda, If they do not make the biological females at the
womens prisons cut all their hair, you may have an equal
protection claim under the 14th amendment. However, you
may also have a case based on their stated reasons for not
allowing inmates to grow their hair out at male institutions. It
depends on their reasoning.

Dear Momma Michelle:
I've been plucking my eyebrows and facial hair, but it never ends, don't they ever just die? Debbie.

Debbie, Sorry honey, but they never just die. The problem is testosterone, which controls the growth of facial hair in men and women ( though much less so in biological women). This is why post-menopausal women who are not taking an estrogen supplement often wind up growing a mustache. The testosterone receptors in a biological males face are the strongest in the body. Even a tiny bit of testosterone will cause you to grow facial hair. Unless you have electrolysis or laser hair removal to destroy the area that the hair grows from, you will have to pluck, and pluck and pluck and pluck!

Dear Momma Michelle:
Is a law library hard to use? Gloria

Gloria, Not for what we usually need. The important cases are
listed like this: Kosilek v. Maloney 221 F Supp 2nd. 156. This
means book number 221 of the 2nd series of the Federal
Supplement at page 156. All the information that you need is in
the published opinion on the pages within this case. Learn as
much as you can about the law girl, because getting help from
others often means being manipulated in ways that are not
very appealing.

Dear Momma Michelle:
Are there any prisons that have a special housing unit for women like us and are such units like living in segregation? Honey.

Honey, The only two places that I know of are a 40 bed unit at Vacaville prison in California. Vacaville is the California medical facility for prisoners. Although this special unit only houses women like us, the DOC there still insists on treating them like men! Another place is a Federal medium security facility near Butner N.C., which is the usual location for trans prisoners that wind up in the federal system. If you have already had SRS, you will generally be placed in a female prison, neither of the above mentioned units are lockdown units. They are not like being in segregation, its GP status.

Dear Momma Michelle:
I've never been on Estrogen; what happens besides breast growth? Diane.

Diane, many wonderful things and a few aggravating things. Your body fat will begin to redistribute in a pattern that matches that of other women. Bigger rounder bottom, more curve to your hips, your male muscle mass will disappear and you will lose upper body strength, your hair will get thicker and softer, your skin will get softer, beard will grow slower, but so will your nails and they may get thin and break easily. The smell of your perspiration will change for the better. Loss of scalp hair will slow or stop, with some regrowth in some cases. It will also seem like you have more patience, and your depression may disappear very rapidly. You will get silly at times and cry a lot at other times, just like you are going through puberty, because you are. Its a wonderful experience. The above are just some of the changes you will notice.

Dear Momma Michelle:
My voice is not very feminine, what can I do to change it? Janice.

Janice. The best way is with the help of a speech therapist who specializes in speech/voice issues for transsexual patients. Otherwise there is practice practice practice. There is a book called Speaking as a woman, by Alison laing which purports to and suggests that it teaches MTF's how to speak like a woman but that is misleading. It teaches some of the differences between male and female speech, but it does not really teach you how to achieve the female sounding voice. Watch other women when they talk. Women pronounce words very differently than men do. It is almost as though women speak an entirely different form of the English language than men do. One good way to practice working on your voice is to read out loud to yourself.


RESOURCE LISTING
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS
SHANNON MINTER, LEGAL DIRECTOR ( Shannon is a man)
870 MARKET STREET
SUITE #370
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94102 Ph: (415) 392-6257

TGI JUSTICE PROJECT
ATTENTION: ALEX LEE
1322 WEBSTER ST.
SUITE #201
OAKLAND CA 94612
Ph: (510)677-5500

PRISON LEGAL NEWS
2400 NW 80th STREET #148
SEATTLE WA 98117-4449
( monthly mag which covers prison legal issues/conditions of
confinement/prisoners rights cases. VERY instructive and
worth every Penny at 18$ a year)

ATTORNEY FRANKLIN ROMEO
LAMBDA LEGAL NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
120 WALL STREET
SUITE 1500
NEW YORK NY 10005-3904 (212) 809-8585 Ext. # 288

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE AFSC
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM
1611 TELEGRAPH AVE
SUITE 1501
OAKLAND CA 94612

JAMES ESSEX
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
LESBIAN & GAY RIGHTS PROJECT
125 BROAD ST
18TH FLOOR
NEW YORK NY 10004

MS. PUBLISHERS
1600 WILSON BLVD
SUITE 801
ARLINGTON VA 22209
(free subscription to female prisoners)

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE AFSC
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM
2161 MASSACHUSETTS AVE
CAMBRIDGE MA 02140

INTERFAITH ADVOCATES
111MILBURNST
ROCHESTER NY 14607-2918

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