Georgina Beyer addresses the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights

Georgina Beyer (b 1957) was the world's first openly transsexual Member of Parliament, and from 27 November 1999 until 14 February 2007 was an MP for the Labour Party in New Zealand. Image File history File linksMetadata Georgina_Beyer_at_International_Conference. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Georgina_Beyer_at_International_Conference. ... The 1st World Outgames took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 26, 2006 to August 5, 2006. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ...

Early life

Born George Bertrand in 1957 in Wellington, Māori of Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Raukawa, and Ngāti Porou descent, Beyer spent her early childhood on her grandparents' farm in Taranaki. Later she shifted to Wellington to live with her mother, who had subsequently married Colin Beyer, a prominent lawyer and businessman. Shortly after leaving school at Wellington's Onslow College, Beyer discovered Wellington's gay scene, and at the age of 17 realised she was transgender. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... This article is about the Māori people of New Zealand. ... Te Ä€ti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. ... Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and ManawatÅ«/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. ... The Ngati Porou iwi is among the top ten tribes of New Zealand by population. ... View of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont from Stratford, facing west. ... Colin Andrew Nielsen Beyer, LL.B., (b. ... Onslow College is a decile 10 co-educational state secondary school located in Johnsonville, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. ... A transgender person in New York Citys Gay Pride Parade Transgender (IPA: , from trans (Latin) and gender (English) ) is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at...

Night clubs and Sydney

Adopting the name Georgina, she became a stripper and prostitute working in nightclubs and on the street. She eventually gravitated to Kings Cross, Sydney, probably Australasia's most notorious red-light district. There she got into a car with four men who brutally raped her. This incident apparently persuaded her to seek to change the course of her life. For other uses, see Striptease (disambiguation). ... Kings Cross intersection in the 1950s Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... Australasia Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... The De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam A red-light district is a neighborhoooood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. ...

Return to New Zealand

Returning to New Zealand she continued to work as a stripper and drag queen, but also began seeking work as an actor with gradually increasing success, culminating in a Gofta award. In 1984 she finally underwent sexual reassignment surgery. Well-known drag artist Lypsinka. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a persons physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. ...

After shifting to Carterton, in the Wairarapa, she worked as a radio host. Carterton is a small town in a farming area of the Wairarapa district in New Zealand’s North Island. ... Wairarapa (often known as The Wairarapa) is a geographical region of New Zealand. ...

Political career

Local politics

She also began to take an interest in local politics, first winning election to a local school board, and subsequently being elected mayor of Carterton in 1995, serving in that role until 2000. This made her the world's first transsexual mayor. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ...

Parliament

In 1999 she surprised the political commentators by beating National's Paul Henry to win the Wairarapa seat for Labour and become the world's first transsexual MP. The 46th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 47th New Zealand Parliament was the most recent term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 48th New Zealand Parliament is the current term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... This article is about the year. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ...

Maiden speech

Traditionally, newly-elected MPs have the floor for 10 minutes to introduce themselves to their new colleagues. An excerpt from her speech follows:

Mr. Speaker, I can't help but mention the number of firsts that are in this Parliament. Our first Rastafarian… our first Polynesian woman… and yes, I have to say it, I guess, I am the first transsexual in New Zealand to be standing in this House of Parliament. This is a first not only in New Zealand, ladies and gentlemen, but also in the world. This is an historic moment. We need to acknowledge that this country of ours leads the way in so many aspects. We have led the way for women getting the vote. We have led the way in the past, and I hope we will do so again in the future in social policy and certainly in human rights.

Shortly afterwards, she said: Haile Selassie I Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a religion that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as God incarnate, whom they call Jah. ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ...

I was quoted once as saying that 'This was the stallion that became a gelding, and now she's a mayor.'* I suppose I do have to say that I have now found myself to be a Member! So I have come full circle, so to speak.

*In New Zealand, the word "mayor" is pronounced like "mare". A stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been castrated. ... A gelding is a castrated animal—in English, a castrated male horse. ... 13 year old Peruvian Paso mare A broodmare and foal In English, a mare (an old Germanic word) is a female horse; the word is also an etymological root of marshal (originally marescalcus horse servant). Mares are considered easier to handle than males, which are called stallions or after castration...

Political views

In June 2004, Beyer spoke at the UniQ: Queer Students Association national conference at Waikato University, Hamilton, where in a moving, emotional speech she reiterated her support for the Civil Union Bill, although did not believe that gay marriage would be legal in New Zealand for at least 20 years, and expressed fear that gay and lesbian New Zealanders were facing the beginning of a turbulent time whereby their rights gained since homosexual law reform in 1986 would be questioned and attacked. She also broke down while referring to the internal battle within herself that she had to face dealing with being a member of the New Zealand Parliament, which she described as the world's oldest "true" democracy, and being Māori, when it came to the Seabed and foreshore legislation of May 2004. uniq is a Unix utility which, when fed a text file, outputs the file with adjacent identical lines collapsed to one. ... The University of Waikato is located in Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand, and was established in 1964. ... Hamilton (Kirikiriroa in Māori) is the centre of New Zealands fourth largest urban area, and is the countrys seventh largest city. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Same-sex marriage is marriage between individuals who are of the same legal or biological sex. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate currently ongoing in the politics of New Zealand. ... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths in May • 28 Gerald Anthony • 27 Umberto Agnelli • 22 Richard Biggs • 20 Len Murray • 17 Tony Randall • 17 Ezzedine Salim • 9 Alan King • 9 Akhmad Kadyrov • 8...

Human Rights and Gender Identity

In 2004, a bill in Beyer's name was drawn out of the ballot for member's bills, and Introduced to Parliament. The Bill was intended to include "gender identity" as a ground under the Human Rights Act 1993, and thereby prohibit discrimination against people because of their gender identity. The Bill had been Labour Party policy in the 1999 and 2002 election manifestos. The Bill attracted controversy, but Beyer always maintained that the Bill was simply ensuring basic human rights for transgendered people, and that it was only clarifying what either was or should have been the law already. In 2006 the acting Solicitor-General wrote a legal opinion that indicated that transgendered people were already within the ambit of the Human Rights Act, and Beyer was able to withdraw her Bill. She said that this was legal authority that was "good enough for her".

Retirement

In early 2004, Beyer announced that she would not be standing in the 2005 elections, citing what she saw as the unpleasant atmosphere of national politics. Tensions with her own electorate committee, which opposed Beyer's views on the seabed and foreshore, may also have contributed to the decision. In September, however, Beyer reconsidered her decision to leave Parliament, and announced that she would be seeking a position on the Labour list (but not recontesting the Wairarapa seat). A large rally by the Destiny Church the previous month had been a factor in this decision, with Beyer believing that the message of such rallies must continue to be opposed. The 2005 New Zealand general election will be a nation-wide election for the New Zealand Parliament, and is to be held on 17 September 2005. ... Destiny Church is a Charismatic Christian church with headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

Beyer resigned from parliament effective from 15 February 2007, and gave her valedictory speech to Parliament on Valentine's Day, 14 February 2007. The vacant list position was filled by Lesley Soper. is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Lesley Soper is a New Zealand politician. ...

Public speaking

Beyer was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Montreal in 2006. The 1st World Outgames took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 26, 2006 to August 5, 2006. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (well-being through harmony) Coordinates: , Country Province Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Political offices

Wyatt Creech, CNZM, PC, (born October, 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. ... Wairarapa is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. ... John Hayes ONZM is a New Zealand politician and former diplomat. ...

External links

• Georgina Beyer, MP
• Maiden speech