2008 Woodie Awards
*Associated Press standards have been followed in referring to people by their gender of choice.* Amidst a furor of controversy and sensationalistic outside press coverage, Dr. Joy Ladin, formerly Jay, an Associate Professor of English and the Director of the Writing Center at Stern College for Women, was welcomed back to Yeshiva University.
*Names have been changed to protect identities. Associated Press standards have been followed in referring to people by their gender of choice.* It begins with "The Dina List." Beth Orens, creator of "The Dina List," explains that she started the Dina List, "basically, because it didn't already exist.
*Associated Press standards have been followed in referring to people by their gender of choice.* What does the student body of Yeshiva University make of the fact that one of their professors is a transsexual? What of the fact that she has chosen to transition and present as a woman? Would students feel comfortable in her class? Students to whom The Observer put this question responded differently, each of them adding their own unique voice to the mix.
If an Orthodox Jewish transsexual desires to transition, which will set him on a course of taking hormones and finally having SRS [Sex Reassignment Surgery], is this permitted per halakha? Are there any differences if this is MtF (male to female) or FtM (female to male) transitioning? What prohibitions, if any, does this course of action violate? Does pikuach nefesh [danger of life] play a role in determining the halakha? And assuming that someone goes forward with this surgery, rightly or wrongly, under halakha, is this person seen as being the sex which he was born, or the one he presents as and physically resembles? This is aside from the question of how Orthodox Jews ought to treat such a person on a whole.
*Names have been changed to protect identities. Associated Press standards have been followed in referring to people by their gender of choice.* The Observer: What sex were you at birth? Yonina: At birth, I was male. At this time, I still am operating under such appearances, as I only recently began the transition process, and not many people are aware of my situation yet.
Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a rare condition in which biological sex does not conform to gender identity; it has an estimated worldwide prevalence of 0.001%-0.002% (Campo et al., 2003). A person suffering from Gender Identity Disorder expresses feeling persistent and strong discomfort with the biological sex that cannot be attributed to perceived societal advantages of the desired sex in a given culture (The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association's Standards Of Care For Gender Identity Disorders, [HBIGDA] 2001).
It is well known that small communities usually assimilate into the larger dominant culture of any particular area. This has led to many cultures' disappearance throughout history. So how can we explain the survival of the small Jewish community that lives and thrives in Colombia, a largely Catholic country in South America? When explaining the factors that allow a small Jewish community to prosper, it is important to take into account the significance of traditions that have kept people together over the years.
Choose your favorite Stern College for Women stereotype: it's a school for apikorsim [heretics], a place to get your MRS degree, too religious, too left wing, too Zionistic, filled with cliquey New Yorkers, JAP-py, not diverse, campy, boring. Not exactly what we want people to think about our school, but it seems that every high school, seminary, and community has their own unique opinion about Stern.
Professor Marcia Young, Director of Performance Studies at Stern College for Women, can answer a lot of questions. She can tell you the most natural vowel sound of the larynx or what characterizes the Nordic choral sound. But ask her what she does for a living, and she'll just laugh and sigh.
It's a question to which many of us think we know the answer, but when trying to articulate a response, we often come up speechless. The question is based on one small three-syllable word, but one that has the potential to greatly impact the life of a student at a Stern College for Women (SCW): What's your hashkafa [Jewish world outlook]? Many students return from a post-high school year in Israel with a one-line answer outlining the hashkafa that their seminary tried to instill in them: "Religious Zionism," or "Yiras Shamayim through halakha" [fear of God through Jewish law], for example.