Update (8/20/2009): You can now download "Transgender Health Care Provider Directory" in PDF (8MB).

On July 21, the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA) will distribute copies of the first public directory of transgender-sensitive providers in the New York City metropolitan area ever published. The Gender Identity Project (GIP) of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (208 W. 13th St. in Manhattan) will host a special event from 7-9 p.m. at which hundreds of copies of the provider directory will be distributed to members of the transgender community. The directory – which includes of physicians, mental health professionals, acupuncturists, and AIDS agencies as well as other health care providers – is a project of the Transgender Health Initiative of New York (THINY), a community organizing project whose goal is to ensure that transgendered and gender non-conforming people can access health care in a safe, respectful and non-discriminatory manner. THINY was established by the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), NYAGRA, and the Center GIP in 2004 and has been coordinated by TLDEF staff since then.

I listen to the Brian Lehrer Show almost every morning on WNYC (the New York City affiliate of National Public Radio) and I'm a huge fan of Brian's, so I was excited to get a call from one of his producers inviting me to the Greene Space on June 23 to participate in a panel discussion with a live audience on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the future of the LGBT movement (From Stonewall to Gay Marriage, 6/23/09).

Because there were so many people on the panel, I only managed to get in three sentences during the whole segment. But Brian had me back on the show for a solo appearance on June 26 to talk about transgender rights (Follow-Up Friday: Transgender Rights and Cell Phones and Planes, 6/26/09). In the course of the 20-minute interview, I took the opportunity to talk about the need for enactment of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) as well as the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) -- both of which are pending in the exceptionally dysfunctional New York State Senate. In addition to pending state legislation, Brian and I discussed local issues, including the failure of the openly lesbian New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to support a progressive and LGBT-inclusive legislative agenda in the City Council.


Chris Quinn represents the 3rd Council district, which includes Greenwich Village and Chelsea. Quinn is facing a strong challenge by another 'out' lesbian, community activist Yetta Kurland. More about that race later.

Talking about oneself is the easiest and the hardest thing one could possibly do; the easiest, because one knows one's own story better than anyone else; but the hardest, because it is difficult to summarize a half century of experience in a matter of 15 minutes or less. Talking about oneself in front of an audience of three hundred or more people can be a particularly daunting experience, and I must admit that my heart was pounding when the six of us went on stage for the premiere of "Undesirable Elements" on April 21 at the Queens Theatre in the Park. But after the first ten minutes, it was clear that the audience was 'with us,' and I was able to relax and even enjoy the performance.

I'm not an actor of any kind, but I will be making my theatrical debut of sorts on April 21 at the Queens Theatre in the Park. I can tell you what "Undesirable Elements" isn't, but it's hard to describe exactly what it is. "UE" isn't a play and it's not fully staged, so don't come expecting "The Importance of Being Earnest," "A Raisin in the Sun," or "La Cage aux Folles." I could tell you that six Asian/Pacific Americans sit on stage, reading from scripts set on music stands and tell the stories of their lives, which would make it sound rather static. It's actually much livelier than that description would suggest.

There's Joseph O. Legaspi, a Filipino American poet who talks about his childhood growing up in the Philippines and in Los Angeles. There's Moana Niumeitolu, a Tongan American who was raised Mormon in Utah. There's me (Pauline Park), the only Korean adoptee in the cast and the only openly transgendered person. There's Zohra Saed, an Afghan American scholar who speaks lyrically of her memories of Afghanistan. There's Raj Thakkar, an Indian American whose life has been greatly influenced by his childhood as the son of a Gujarati shopkeeper in Queens. And there's Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, a young Chinese American poet and spoken word artist who lives in Brooklyn but who still has many family members back in Taiwan.

You just have to come and see it for yourself. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to meet the entire cast. And if you can't make it to QTIP on April 21, there will be performances in the Bronx and Manhattan on June 14 and 15.