Max Zachs: Britain's first transgender rabbi?

A peace worker who wants to become Britain's first transgender rabbi is to feature in a new prime-time documentary.

Maxwell Zachs, who did not want to give his birth name, was born female but began the physical transition to become a man in 2009.

The 25-year-old features in Channel 4's My Transsexual Summer, a four-part series following seven transgender men and women who share a house as they experience the highs and lows of changing gender."

The Jewish Chronicle

("My Transsexual Summer" begins on Channel 4 on Tuesday, November 8).

Related articles

• Sex-change op in new (UK) TV documentary (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Australia court in transgender ruling (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Channel 4 to screen transgender documentary series in autumn lineup (guardian.co.uk)
• What Does The End Of DADT Mean For The Transgendered? (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)

Religious Leaders Support Mass. Transgender Protection Bill

Religious leaders are far too often more eager to oppose than promote civil protection or inclusion in faith for sexual minorities. There are an increasing number now speaking up for lesbian and gay rights - but not usually for the trans community. In Massachusetts, there is an exception (particularly welcome in this (Transgender Faith Action Week), as the Boston Globe reports:

Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and several other clergy yesterday called on Massachusetts lawmakers to pass transgender-rights legislation and asked religious communities to throw their support behind the bill.

Shaw said that virtually all transgender people have experienced discrimination or harassment and about one-quarter have been fired from their jobs.

“Supporting this legislation, and supporting transgender people in the life of the church and in secular society really has to do with the living out of my baptismal covenant,’’ he said.

The bill would prohibit discrimination in Massachusetts against transgender people in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and credit, and would expand the hate- crimes statute. Thirteen states and more than 130 cities nationwide have passed similar legislation.

(Full report at Boston Globe)

Transgendered in Faith: A Review of Progress

I am astonished that much as the religious right waxes apoplectic at the idea of lesbian or gay inclusion in church, or secular equality in marriage, family or employment law, what really gets them going is the notion of the trans community being met with basic human dignity. Their pretence that this is based on "religious" principle is beyond my comprehension: from the story of Philip the Ethiopian eunuch in the Acts of the Apostles, the lesson is unambiguous and explicit: for the Christian, "All are welcome". 

My post last week on Genesis emphasised that a primary point of the Creation story is a celebration of diversity, which includes gender, sexual and orientation diversity. By grand serendipity (I didn't plan it that way), today marks the start of Transgendered in Faith Awareness Week. to mark this week, I will continue reflecting on the celebration of gender diversity, with reposts of some previously published material, and fresh thoughts, on some transsexual and transgender surprises in the animal kingdom, a look at some books, trans themes in Scripture, and some personal stories. 

To start the week, I simply draw your attention to a Guardian report by Becky Garrison which says that

Trans clergy are finally gaining greater acceptance