Arts & Entertainment

Trans Pride slated for Saturday

Famous surgeon Marci Bowers to speak

Published

15 years ago

June 2, 2011

Dr. Marci Bowers says gender reassignment surgery isn’t as traumatic as many fear. Complications, she says, are extremely rare, patients are in the hospital an average of only three nights and most are off pain medication within 48 hours. (Photo courtesy of Bowers)

Dr. Marci Bowers is a rarity — she’s one of only two doctors who specializes in gender reassignment surgery who’s also transgender herself. The other (Dr. Christine McGinn) is a protégé of Bowers.

Bowers, who transitioned in the mid-1990s, is the only gynecologist who does gender reassignment surgery. She’ll be at Trans Pride Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Metropolitan Community Church of Washington) to give the keynote address and took nearly an hour on the phone last week from her practice in San Mateo, Calif., to talk about her life, her work, the practicalities of trans surgical procedures and where trans issues are going. Bowers’ comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Blade: How does a surgeon trained in one area move to another? What kind of training is involved?

Bowers: Well sometimes people think when you’re a gynecologist all you do is look at female vulvas all day but it’s quite a surgical specialty. There’s extensive surgery experience required before learning the gender reassignment stuff. And after I’d been doing surgery in practice for 13 years or so, once you have a basic framework about handling tissue ane bleeding, learning a new skill isn’t as hard as it might seem.

Blade: So if someone does, say, gall bladder surgeries and wants to start doing heart transplants, what’s the process like to move to a whole other part of the body?

Bowers: Traditionally you have to do a fellowship of some kind to do that. You have to go back, reapply as if you’re just out of medical school, do a residency all over again in the new field and go from there. They might give you a little credit on a few things, but you pretty much have to start back at the beginning. It was different for me because there’s no residency or fellowship for doing gender reassignment surgeries and I had a lot of experience surgically so doing an entire residency for me would have been ridiculous and superfluous. It’s really a mentoring process and I learned from Dr. (Stanley) Biber.

Blade: Does it give you added credibility to be doing these surgeries but also be transgender yourself?

Bowers: Well, I think that’s really for the consumer to decide that, but I think so. It’s sort of like the hair club for men. Not only am I president, I’m also a customer. Someone who understands what it’s like to be bald. Or like if you’re selling sports cars but you drive a minivan. I know what the consumer is looking for but I think being a gynecologist is the most important. Because it’s a very visual surgery and very artistically based. If someone has a gall bladder out and there are no complications, nobody cares what it looked like but this surgery has such an artistic component, the surgeon’s interpretation is so critical.

Blade: Many trans people say the non-trans world is too obsessed with who’s had what done surgically. Do you agree?

Bowers: That’s a crucial point and one that I keep bring up proactively because obviously people still don’t understand the difference between gender and genitalia. Gender, we know, gets established at a very early age, like by age 4, 5 or 6 and it doesn’t really change very much. This is what transgender people have been saying for years, “This is how I felt since I was 5 years old.” So the question about surgery is really the dumbest question. … I was a woman since I transitioned. Nobody tells you whether you’re male or female. And it isn’t about the surgery, it’s what society says when they meet you at the grocery store or the food counter.

Blade: Trans acceptance seems to be making progress but still seems significantly behind gay and lesbian lib. Do you agree with that? Do you think it will continue to improve?

Bowers: Well, yes, I do think we are behind where the lesbian and gay community is in terms of acceptance. Some of that is just the sheer numbers, some of it is it’s still a little bit of a minority sort of thing and somehow it does sort of push people’s buttons in a different way. That’s too bad because if the gay and lesbian community saw the trans community as more supportive, we could make much more progress but sometimes the discrimination we get within the gay and lesbian community is worse than it is with the straight community. It’s like they just don’t get it and it’s very hurtful. There are common threads that run through all kinds of discrimination. We’re fighting the same forces that want to simplify the world and turn back the clock so everything is black and white and keep dragging at the heels of progress.

Blade: What kinds of procedures do you do? All “bottom” stuff or more?

Bowers: Kind of bottom plus. I do a procedure on the females, Chondrolaryngoplasty, which is a shaving of the thyroid cartilage. For some women, it’s a telltale sign in the throat and it was first done by Dr. Biber in the 1970s. It’s also a very delicate procedure that’s not taught anywhere, no ear, nose or throat doctors do it. It’s a very specialized thing.

Blade: And you do both male-to-female and female-to-male gender reassignment procedures?

Bowers: Yes.

Blade: Which are more common? How many do you average in a year?

Bowers: I do about 120 male-to-female surgeries a year. It’s about four-to-one female to male versus male to female.

Blade: Are most people able to orgasm after surgery?

Bowers: It’s different. For female to male, there’s really no impact. With a Metoidioplasty, guys can use it for penetration so that’s the good part there. If anything, it’s enhanced. Plus the fact that they’re testosterone-driven men, the libido tends to accelerate with transition. With male to female, it’s very complicated and about 30 percent of biologically born women aren’t able to orgasm at all anyway. Our patients for the most part are able to. It’s a very high percentile. About 90 percent but the thing you have to realize is that going from male to female for one thing, just hormonally, you tend to go to a lower level of interest just based on reduced testosterone levels. When you’re a woman, you wonder why we leave men in charge of so much. It’s so dominated by sexual thoughts. Sometimes I think, “Wow, what was I thinking about all those years? There’s so much more to do.” I say that sort of tongue in check. And the feelings are a big different. Maybe like going from the oboe to the banjo.

Trans Pride to feature health focus

Trans Pride, now in its fifth year, will be held Saturday at Metropolitan Community Church of Washington (474 Ridge Street, N.W.) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is designed to be an event where attendees stay for all or most of the day.

“Very early on, the community voted for it to be a health-based focus,” says Danielle King, who’s co-charing this year’s event with Holly Goldmann. “That’s why Dr. Bowers was invited. We felt like she could offer some insight that would be really attractive to our audience.”

A $10 donation is suggested but not required. King hopes attendees will plan to spend their whole day at the church.

“We want them to come and enjoy the whole day,” she says. “There’ll be workshop and panel discussions on trans health throughout the day.”

She expects about 200 people, more than in past years when the event has been held at the Capital Pride host hotel.

Trans Pride is under the Capital Pride events umbrella.

Sports

New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics

New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles

Published

16 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Photo by Greg Martin; courtesy IOC)

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.

“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.

The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”

“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”

The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”

The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”

“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

(Video courtesy of the IOC)

Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.

Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.

An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.

a&e features

Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people

Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths

Published

16 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Staff reports

The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.

This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.

This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.

Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis

Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers

ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES

Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives
Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream
Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent
Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent
Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC
Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency
Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision
Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry
Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine
Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice
Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives)
Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra
Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer
Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital
Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space
Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women
Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader
Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation
Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle
Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle

LEGEND AWARDEES

Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP
leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University
Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation
AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU
RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart
Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign
Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group
Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame
Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction)
Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino
Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade
Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer
Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures
Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association
Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition
Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted
Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies
Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter
Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington
Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit
Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio
Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT
J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network

Celebrity News

D.C. goes gaga for Gaga

Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Lady Gaga brought "The Mayhem Ball" tour to Capital One Arena this week. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.

The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.

“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.

“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”