Stephen Whittle Explained

Stephen Whittle
Honorific Prefix:Professor
Birth Date:1955 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Altrincham, Cheshire, England, UK
Known For:Equal rights for transgender people activism
Professor of Law
Spouse:Sarah Rutherford
Children:4

Stephen Thomas Whittle, (born 29 May 1955) is a British legal scholar and activist with the transgender activist group Press for Change.[1] Since 2007, he has been Professor of Equalities Law in the School of Law at Manchester Metropolitan University.[2] [3] Between 2007 and 2009, he was president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).[4] Having been assigned female at birth, he is described as "a radical lesbian before his sex change and now a leading commentator on gender issues",[5] who after the Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into force in April 2005, achieved legal recognition as a man and so was able to marry his female partner.[6]

Early life

Whittle was born on 29 May 1955 at Altrincham Cottage Hospital, Cheshire, where his grandmother was a senior nurse. He was assigned female at birth.[6] He was a sickly child, suffering from rickets. He was the middle child of the five children in his family. In 1955 the family lived in Wythenshawe. At that time, Wythenshawe was said to be the biggest council estate in Europe, providing workers for the Trafford Park estate. After several years of sun lamp treatment for his rickets, at St Mary's Hospital, he was considered well enough to attend Havely Hay Primary school at the age of five. In 1963, the family moved to Withington village, an inner suburb of Manchester. From the age of eight he attended Old Moat Junior school.

In 1966 his mother, Barbara Elizabeth Whittle (née Stead), being concerned at how different he was from his sisters, entered him in the examination for Withington Girls' School. Being one of the highest scorers in the city in the eleven-plus exam that year, he received a scholarship to attend. It was during his time at Withington Girls' School that he started reading medical books.[7] He knew he was romantically attracted to other girls at school – he never told them, and so his love was not reciprocated – but he also knew that he was sexually attracted to men. On top of that was a strong desire to be a man, to grow a beard and to have a hairy chest. He had read articles about people like Della Aleksander and April Ashley who had had a sex change. At the age of 17, whilst visiting his doctor about a sore throat he read about a trans man.[8]

Transgender rights campaigning

In 1974 Whittle came out as a trans man, after returning from a women's Liberation Conference in Edinburgh, which he attended as a member of the Manchester Lesbian Collective. He began hormone replacement therapy in 1975. He has been active in transsexual and transgender communities since the age of twenty when in 1975 he joined the Manchester TV/TS group which had been started in 1972/3 by two trans women[9] the very first support group for transsexual people in the United Kingdom.[10] In 1979 he joined a former Army officer and then royal sculptor, Judy Couzins, a trans woman in the Self Help Association for Transsexuals (SHAFT).

In 1989, he founded the UK's FTM Network which he coordinated until November 2007.[11] In 1992, along with Mark Rees, the actress Myka Scott and an airline pilot Krystyna Sheffield, he founded and became vice-president of Press for Change that works to change the laws and social attitudes surrounding transgender and transsexual lives. Whittle remains as one of the vice-presidents (there is no president, as it is a consensus group), and Press for Change was called "one of the most successful lobby groups seen in the last 25 years" by Lord Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew as early as 1994 at the reading of his Gender Reassignment Bill. The bill failed but "for 40 minutes members of parliament discussed trans people which without it, would have never happened." Whittle underwent phalloplasty surgeries from 2001 to 2003.[12] The Channel 4 documentary Make me a Man followed his life during the surgeries.[13]

Though unable to marry legally in the United Kingdom until the passing of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, he and his partner (now wife), Sarah Rutherford, have four children by artificial insemination. Whittle wrote in Disembodied Law: Trans People's Legal(Outer) Space, "I face an inadequate legal framework in which to exist. We are simply 'not' within a world that only permits two sexes, only allows two forms of gender role, gender identity or expression. Always falling outside of the 'norm' our lives become less, our humanity is questioned, and our oppression is legitimized."[14] The Whittles' efforts to gain recognition of Stephen as their children's legal father led to X, Y and Z v. The United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in 1996.[15] When the Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into force in April 2005, Whittle obtained a new, male birth certificate. He then married Sarah (née Rutherford) later that year. They had been cohabiting since 1979. They have four children by artificial insemination, the first of whom was born on 13 October 1992. In April 2006, they jointly adopted the children, making Whittle their legal father.

He has written and spoken extensively on his personal journey, most notably in his autobiographical statement in Will Self's essay for David Gamble's photography collection 'Perfidious Man.'[16] His writings have included, among other things, an article on the ground-breaking transsexual employment discrimination case decided on by the European Court of Justice. In 2005 he was awarded The Sylvia Rivera Award for Transgender Studies by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies for the monograph 'Respect and Equality.' In 2007, along with his co-editor, Susan Stryker, he was awarded a Lambda Literary Award for their annotated collection of 50 key historical and contemporary transgender science, political and theory texts; 'The Transgender Studies Reader'.

In 2002, Whittle was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Having experienced a variety of health problems since his early 20s, he had had suspicions and was neither surprised nor terrified by the diagnosis. His multiple sclerosis has been an increasing problem since late 2005, yet he continues in his full-time university post, and his fight for the human rights of trans people throughout the world.[17] In recent years, he has collaborated with other members; Paisley Currah, Shannon Minter and Alyson Meiselmann, of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) on amicus briefs to courts in many jurisdictions. In 2007, he was the first non-medical professional and first trans person to become President of WPATH.[18] Whittle continues to write extensively on the law and policy surrounding transsexual and transgender people, along with several recent academic articles returning to the question of the law and trans people. He also continues to work on what he hopes will be the defining history of transgender, and the sources of the many theories surrounding gender variant people. Throughout his life he has maintained an interest in the avant-garde of the arts, and has started to collaborate with Sara Davidmann, a photographer and Lecturer in Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art.

In early 2007, the research report Engendered Penalties: Transsexual and Transgender People’s Experience of Inequality and Discrimination[19] was instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of trans people in the remit of the new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights.[20]

Honours

In 2002, Whittle was given the Human Rights Award by the Civil Rights group Liberty, for his commitment and dedication to ensuring the advancement of rights for transsexual people through judicial means in the UK, Europe, and around the world.[21]

In the 2005 New Year Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Gender Issues".

In 2006, he was awarded the Virginia Prince Lifetime Achievement Award by the USA's International Federation for Gender Education.

In March 2015, Whittle was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).[22]

Roles

Writings

Books

Chapters in books

Journal articles

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: MacKean. Liz. Transsexual Rights. 3 September 2012. BBC News. 12 July 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20160110220454/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/archive/2124905.stm. 10 January 2016. live.
  2. Web site: Professor of Equalities Law . 23 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150518151321/http://www.law.mmu.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/staff-profile/?var1=69 . 18 May 2015 . dead.
  3. News: Welsh NHS to fund more sex-swap ops. 3 September 2012. The Christian Institute. 24 April 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20120506142441/http://www.christian.org.uk/news/welsh-nhs-to-fund-more-sex-swap-ops/. 6 May 2012. live.
  4. Web site: WPATH Past Presidents. World Professional Association for Transgender Health. 30 July 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121102053620/http://wpath.org/committees_past_presidents.cfm. 2 November 2012.
  5. News: Sykes and Waterman celebrate awards. 3 September 2012. Manchester Evening News. 31 December 2004. David Ottewell. Clarissa Satchell. https://web.archive.org/web/20120515211311/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/141/141548_sykes_and_waterman_celebrate_awards.html. 15 May 2012. live.
  6. News: Pondering pensions. 3 September 2012. BBC News. 11 July 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20160110220454/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_at_one/2121942.stm. 10 January 2016. live.
  7. http://www.ftmaustralia.org/library/03/stephen.html Withington Girls School's deputy head girl, Miss Whittle is now Stephen Whittle OBE, PhD
  8. News: Praagh. Anna van. 2010-07-11. So, I had a sex change. Daily Telegraph. 2020-05-08. 0307-1235. https://web.archive.org/web/20190605112417/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/7867780/So-I-had-a-sex-change.html. 5 June 2019. live.
  9. adapted with permission from Stephen Whittle,'Perfidious Man' in Self W, Gamble D(2000) 'Perfidious Man', Penguin: Viking
  10. Web site: LGBT+ History Month 12/28: Stephen Whittle Kaleidoscope LGBT+ Staff and PGR Group . 2024-01-07 . en.
  11. Web site: The FTM Network . 17 June 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070616132820/http://www.ftm.org.uk/ . 16 June 2007 .
  12. News: Stephen Whittle: Body of work. The Guardian. 30 July 2012. Chris Arnot. 17 April 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808034920/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/apr/17/socialcare.highereducationprofile. 8 August 2014. live.
  13. Web site: Make Me A Man. BBC - Radio 4. 30 July 2012. 5 August 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20101013100535/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2002_32_mon_01.shtml. 13 October 2010. live.
  14. Stephen Whittle in 'Disembodied Law: Trans People's Legal(Outer) Space' in Whttle, S. 'Respect and Equality, (2002) London: Cavendish Press, p 1
  15. Web site: In the case of X, Y and Z v. the United Kingdom (1). https://web.archive.org/web/20130525013111/http://www.bioethics.gr/media/pdf/biolaw/nomologia/XYAFULL.pdf. dead. 25 May 2013. 30 July 2012.
  16. News: "Perfidious Man – Amazon.co.uk Reader Reviews" . Will Self . 17 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071005202955/http://will-self.com/category/books/perfidious-man/ . 5 October 2007 . live .
  17. News: So, I had a sex change . The Daily Telegraph . van Praagh . Anna . 11 July 2010 . 9 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110129093356/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/relationships/7867780/So-I-had-a-sex-change.html . 29 January 2011 . live .
  18. Web site: WPATH . 30 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081028034839/http://wpath.org/ . 28 October 2008 . live .
  19. News: Fairness and Freedom: The Final Report of the Equalities Review . http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100807034701/http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/equalitiesreview/ . dead . 7 August 2010 . The Equalities Review. 3 May 2008.
  20. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100807034701/http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/equalitiesreview/upload/assets/www.theequalitiesreview.org.uk/transgender.pdf Engendered Penalties: Transsexual and Transgender People’s Experience of Inequality and Discrimination(2007) London: Cabinet Office)
  21. Web site: Guests. Trans with Pride. 30 July 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619192112/http://www.transfabulous.co.uk/TranswithPride/guests.html. 19 June 2013.
  22. Web site: New Fellows Announced. Academy of Social Sciences. 5 August 2017. March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170805222723/https://www.acss.org.uk/news/new-fellows-announced/. 5 August 2017. live.
  23. Web site: 2019-05-22 . 25 May 2004: First Gender Recognition Act gives trans people a way to change their legal gender . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107014405/https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/25-may-2004-first-gender-recognition-act-gives-trans-people-way-change-their . 2024-01-07 . 2024-01-07 . Stonewall . en.
  24. Web site: Stephen Whittle T-Vox . 2024-01-07 . en-GB.
  25. Web site: Trans Research . 2024-01-07 . www.pfc.org.uk.

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