The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) voted last night to remove its "female at birth" clause in a bid to allow transgender membership.

The bylaw change was a direct response to a lawsuit filed against the LPGA by 57-year-old Lana Lawless, a championship-winning golfer, who sued the association, claiming the "female at birth" clause violates California civil rights law.

Lawless, a retired police officer who underwent gender-reassignment surgery in 2005, released a statement in October about her lawsuit:

"I have traveled a long road to get to where I am now, a place where I always belonged as a strong, proud, capable woman. I am, in all respects, legally, and physically female. The State of California recognizes me as such and the LPGA should not be permitted to come into California and blatantly violate my rights. I just want to have the same opportunity to play professional golf as any other woman."   

The International Olympic Committee, the US Golf Association and the British Ladies Golf Union have already amended their bylaws to allow transgender participation.

Canadian TV show Degrassi is set to introduce a trans character this season, premiering Monday, July 19 on MuchMusic. 

Producer Stefan Brogren spoke to CP:

Brogren says great effort was made to handle the transgender storyline with care, with writers going so far as to consult with various advocacy groups to make sure the issue was presented accurately.

"It really sort of threw us for a loop because the writers did some amazing research, both networks have been in touch with gay, lesbian, transgender organizations to make sure they like the script. We want to make sure that we're not hurting the subject matter," he says. (read more at ctv.ca)

Adam's storyline is expected to come to a head in the episodes airing August 11 and 12, reports CP. 

Also, this season: will we see more of gay jock Riley and his cute crush Zane?

Degrassi has plenty of time to flesh out these queer characters, as the show shifts to a new format. You can catch four new episodes each week, from Monday to Thursday.  

Xtra's Michael Pihach was on the set of Degrassi last year. Watch his video report, featuring Fritz Helder & the Phantoms and gay Degrassi alum Adamo Ruggiero:

Today is the annual International Transgender Day of Remembrance honouring the memory of those murdered by prejudice. There are events taking place today across Canada and sadly, this year is more important than ever, with a horrifying death toll at over a hundred -- twice the number of last year.  One somber YouTuber runs down the list:

But there are reasons to celebrate as well as mourn:  South African runner Caster Semenya will get to keep her gold medal and her privacy, even Florida is moving forward with legal protections and transitioning son-of-Cher Chaz Bono made a strong appearance on Good Morning America:

And if you're anywhere near Toronto this weekend, you owe it to yourself to try and score a ticket for transgender actress Nina Arsenault's one-woman show The Silicone Diaries, a spellbinding evening of insights and injections!

However homophobic he may be, I have to agree with boxer Bernard Hopkins:

It's hard to argue with the man when your average Ultimate Fighting Championship match looks like this:

It's unnerving to find oneself agreeing with homophobes.  Remember the Florida man who campaigned against a transgender rights bill because it would lead to men invading women's bathrooms?  Turns out he was right!

And, of course, there's a lot of buzz surrounding the Catholic Church's surprise welcome to conservative Anglicans but I'll admit I'm delighted.  It's a marketing miracle!  Once all the misogynist, homophobic Anglicans are assimilated into the Pope's collective, the Anglican Church can then move on in peace -- treating women as equals and welcoming gays and lesbians into their congregations -- while the Catholic Church will be free to continue shrieking against the modern world like in this loathsome screed from Catholic League president Bill Donohue. 

As always, the brilliant John Shelby Spong has the right idea but Donohue does have this entirely accurate bit:

"The culture war is up for grabs. The good news is that religious conservatives continue to breed like rabbits, while secular saboteurs have shut down: they're too busy walking their dogs, going to bathhouses and aborting their kids. Time, it seems, is on the side of the angels."

That's right -- legs in the air, ladies!  You've got babies to churn out!  But just for the record, while I've visited bathhouses and walk my dog daily, I've never aborted a kid (I thought that would've been obvious, Bill!) and I do fear that he's right -- it's hard for two gay men and a terrier to compete with Jon and Kate Plus Eight. 

Fortunately though, even if I can see the point of view of homophobic boxers and priests, I'll always have The Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente (and her ridiculous new book cover) to disagree with!

I pick on the anti-gay conservatives but some days, they're just a gift from God.  On a grey rainy Tuesday, I get to laugh at a frankly unbelievable essay from Scott Lively (indeed!) in which he demands

"a revival of masculine Christianity, which is to say that we church leaders need to stop being such, for lack of a better word, sissies when it comes to social and political issues...We are on the brink of utter defeat by our cultural adversaries and the church is only now beginning to wake up to the consequences of our erstwhile passivity." 

Really? I don't think the church is losing with the public because it's full of passive sissies, I'd say it's because the church has too many hateful bigots.  Urging them to be more manly is not the answer, especially when no one is really sure what you're talking about:

"When exhibiting feminine qualities, Jesus was more nurturing and relationship-oriented than any woman. When exhibiting masculinity, Jesus was more forceful and results-oriented than any man."

So Jesus was transgendered?  Cool!  Oh, but wait -- Lively says that's a bad thing since it keeps Christians from fighting the forces of evil which appear to involve selling children into slavery and the Bee Gees: 

Honestly, by the end of it all, I had no idea what he's advocating other than "the spirit of conquest," which has always worked out so well in the past.

At least Republican Michael Schwartz was a bit more clear in his talk on "The New Masculinity" at this weekend's "Values Voter Summit" in Washington DC.  Quoting a dear "ex-gay" friend of his (all the wingnuts seem to have one these days), Schwartz explained how young boys have an "instinct" to hate gay people -- as long as they're kept away from porn:

"all pornography is homosexual pornography because all pornography turns your sexual drive inwards. Now think about that. And if you, if you tell an 11-year-old boy about that, do you think he’s going to want to go out and get a copy of Playboy? I’m pretty sure he’ll lose interest. That’s the last thing he wants."

That's right, kid -- PLAYBOY WILL MAKE YOU GAY.  Well, that and the Bee Gees.  And tranny Jesus.  All I know is that when I was 11, I thought about the sex lives of other boys almost as much as these conservatives do.

*****

PS:  I'm told that "tranny" is an offensive word to the transgender community so I'll try and retire its use, but it'll be hard -- I like the word. It sounds fabulous and larger-than-life to me (which is probably exactly why people dislike it) and it's far less offensive than gay men IDing and policing gender at a bar in Chicago.  Looks like we've got some manly issues of our own to sort out too...