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1st appeared
23
June 2000
Transgenders Tell Their Stories, Address Health Care Concerns A navy veteran and former nurse, Veronika Cauley has also been a prostitute, a homeless crack addict and a man.
"Veronika has been selected as one of our heroes because of her courage and her commitment," said Amy Valenzuela, HIV manager for Dupont. "She is a person who has taken many risks and made many personal sacrifices and yet has never wavered. A charismatic leader, Veronika always puts her community before herself."
In pursuit of her passion for law enforcement, she joined the SF Police Department in 1984 and became a well-respected officer, earning several promotions. She was selected president of the Women Officers Network and concentrated on affirmative action issues. In an announcement that grabbed headlines in 1994, Sergeant Thorne, who already had been undergoing hormone treatment, stunned officers when she told them that she was taking a leave, and would return as a man named Stephan. Thorne, who has had hormone treatment and reconstructive surgery, ponders and jokes about the transition and his coming out as a transgender. "Oh, my God. I’m a white heterosexual male. I’ve become one of them," the former radical feminist told Harper’s Bazaar magazine. But his change of gender does not slow his activism – he’s simply added another group to fight for. Cauley and Thorne appeared at UCSF recently to discuss transgender issues in a presentation sponsored by the campus’ Center for Gender Equity. They were part of a panel that included Susan Stryker, a fellow at Stanford University and executive director of the Northern California LGBT Historical Society, and Riley Morgan, a member of the city’s Transgender Civil Rights Implementation Task Force. For Thorne, it was a UCSF homecoming. He was a member of the UCSF Police Department in the early 1980s when he was known as Stephanie. "I have fond memories of the campus," he said. "I enjoyed working with the people here." Memories and experiences of transgenders, however, certainly are not always pleasant. Cauley, who "transitioned" in 1978, spoke not only about dilemmas such as which bathroom to use, but also of cruelty she endured. "People have called me the nastiest things. It’s been very hurtful at times. I’m not a monster." Cauley prefers the label transgender to others, such as "transexual," because it describes a wide group of individuals who, for various reasons, adopt a gender identity that is not congruent with their original physiological status. This may include transexuals, transvestites, crossdressers and those with ambiguous genitalia and/or sex chromosomes. Even among those who fully cross genders, the modes may differ and the process could take years. Cauley, for example, has done it mostly with hormone therapy. Thorne has had hormone treatment and reconstructive surgery. For both individuals, the transition was something they felt they had to do. Cauley recalled her gender identify confusion – "I related to men as a woman" – before visiting a San Diego clinic to begin estrogen treatment. After her body took its new shape and she grew her hair, she bought a new wardrobe. "When I finally experienced my femaleness, I felt the most free ever in my life." As a kid, Thorne thought all along she should have been a boy. Both Thorne and Cauley eventually did what they felt was necessary. Perhaps a bolder move was becoming advocates for other transgenders, a population that is estimated to be from 16,000 to 25,000 in San Francisco, according to Cauley. Transgenders continue to face harassment on the streets and discrimination in employment and in accessing services, and have few backers. Thorne and Cauley are fortunate to have supportive families and friends. For Thorne, a ruling by the Human Rights Commission in 1994 protected city employees against discrimination based on gender identity. And he had the support of the Chief of Police and his precinct captain. Importantly, he’s been able to do his job as a cop without much distraction. Other transgenders are not so lucky. At UCSF and before an audience of mainly health professionals, members of the panel talked about their plight and explained some of the barriers that prevent them from obtaining services, including routine health care. The health care issues range widely. Many lack health insurance. Even for those with insurance, most surgical and medical procedures for those changing gender are costly, but not covered. Thorne, for example, had to take out a loan to complete his treatments. "There are even insurance companies who refuse to treat conditions that have nothing to do with being transgendered," said Thorne. "We’ve had reports of companies not covering cancer therapy because they claim it’s related to being transgendered." Seeking care for medical conditions that are incongruous with a person’s physiological appearance is difficult. Female to male (FTM) transgenders who have not undergone surgery, for example, may skip critical gynecological care, and similar barriers may exist for male to females (MTF) who need care for prostate or urinary tract problems. Many transgendered individuals may have had procedures performed outside the country, but can’t establish a relationship with a doctor in the US. Psychological and social services also are lacking, panel members said. MTF transgenders are plagued by a high incidence of HIV infection. Recent studies estimate that as many as two-thirds of MTFs in San Francisco are HIV-positive. Cauley was diagnosed with HIV in the early 1980s when her VA doctor told her she had less than five years to live. Today, a healthy and energetic Cauley is the first transgender to serve on SF’s Commission on Veteran Affairs and Mayor Brown appointed her to the newly formed Transgender Task Force. She also is heading a new program, the Transgender AIDS Advocacy Peer Project. No big deal, she says, being an advocate is something she has to do. Links: Source: Andy Evangelista, Daybreak Editor |
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Today,
Cauley, 48, is a civil rights advocate for transgender people in San
Francisco. KQED and DuPont Pharmaceuticals last week honored the former
outreach worker for the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies as
part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Month. 
Stephan
Thorne, 45, has come out twice in his life. Thirty years ago in Lincoln,
Nebraska, the teenager, then named Stephanie Thorne, revealed she
was a lesbian and promptly was forced out of her high school. For
the next 24 years, Thorne was a "feminist lesbian," embroiled
in gay rights battles and politics in Nebraska and California.