Amanda Simpson
Barack Obama has chosen Amanda Simpson as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, marking the first transgender appointment in an American presidential administration.
Simpson has more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. While working at Raytheon, she transitioned from male-to-female over a six-year period, and successfully lobbied to add gender identity to Raytheon’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.
Simpson also holds degrees in physics, engineering and business administration along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience.
She has also been very active politically, having served on the Board of Directors of two national organizations: Out & Equal and NCTE. In Arizona, she has been on the board of Wingspan, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, the Southern Arizona ACLU and the Arizona Human Rights Fund (now Equality Arizona). She also ran an unsuccessful congressional bid in Arizona back in 2005.
The appointment makes good on a promise made by White House Office of Public Engagement (aka the LGBT liaison) Brian Bond, who stated an LGBT would have a visible role in the Obama Administration.
“I’m truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me,” Simpson said in a press statement. “And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.”
Simpson will be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security.
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That's great, I mean he hardly looks like a man in a wig at all!
What if someone had the brain of a woman but the body of a man?
Stating that someone must be100% one sex or the other condemns anything that doesnt fit 100% into your ideology….I don't need to spell out how that appproach could be applied to race,creed etc ….
All you men are saying that the body is more important than the brain……comparing the fact that someone has a condition that causes them anxiety (being trans) to the fact that someone else might think they are Napoleon or Jesus is not very well thought out….
If a child is born with a physical deformity should they just live with it, be denied any help to put things right, this person is without doubt very Intelligent to reach the highs they have
not a nutter by any mean, in her eyes and to many informed people who know much more about transgender than The Great Frank (ffs) all she has done is try to be the person she really is, not something forced apone her and forced by those that have no idea to conform
Sure there are those that will say it's unnatural, well here is some news for you, we ain't all clones and Hitler is dead
Heaven forbid someone able to to do the job is turned down – let's give it to an incompetent because they are the right colour/gender/sexuality.
"Simpson has more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems".
Government departments really benefit from people with industry experience since they have seen the inside of those after money from the government.
Hopefully, his next appointment wil be someone who doesn't hate this country, and is actually QUALIFIED at what he/she does. It's a well-known fact that he solicits advive from Fidel Castro, Putin, the Saudi King, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hu Jintao, and Kim Jung Il for his cabinet appointments.
The Great Frank – how do you know what her chromosomes are? Actually, I think they may be 47,XXY rather than 46,XX (usually female – there are exceptions) or 46,XY (usually male – there are exceptions). 47,XXT people usually look mostly male, and usually have male gender identities. There are exceptions.
"A 46,XY mother who developed as a normal woman underwent spontaneous puberty, reached menarche, menstruated regularly, experienced two unassisted pregnancies, and gave birth to a 46,XY daughter with complete gonadal dysgenesis." – J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan;93(1):182-9.
It's comments from ignorant people who claim to be on the Right, about the Earth being flat, or the Sun orbiting the Earth, or the Earth being 6000 years old, or about "male chromosomes" that damage our credibility.
dude, its a dude
Well she's clearly very smart, has a lot of education and experience, is politically active and is beautiful to boot. Why shouldn't she get this appointment? The fact that she is out publically will make her a good role model for younger GLBT showing them that it is not necessary to be underprivileged because they are different.
Hi, Jeff. It’s funny – when people find out I’m a transwoman, they ask me if I’m wearing a wig (no, it’s real hair.) One guy asked if ‘transwoman’ meant I was going to change into a guy (I took that as an unintended compliment). Like Ms. Simpson, and like Col Diane Schroer, I have military experience (I’m retired from the Army.)
The military attracts latent transwomen, hoping it will ‘cure’ them of their ‘shameful secret.’ It doesn’t do that — it only gives us skills in leadership, marksmanship, crew-served weapons, demolitions, and other things the military does well.
Since the ending of the draft and the institution of the all-volunteer army, less than one percent of the population has military experience. But among transwomen, it’s more like 5% Doesn’t that just blow your mind?
The proper term is “cosmetically altered”. One can think that they are anything they want to be called, but that does not change reality. His chromosomes are still male. But since the F.O. lives in an alternative reality, and wants to destroy this nation, then of course he wants us to not believe reality.
There are of course people in the nuthouse who think they’re Napoleon, but then, does that make them Napoleon?
I must admit that I am a little suprised to see that an otherwise vey stable and accomplished person such as “Amanda” would choose to go transgender. An intresting choice on the name, though, because it could also be read as “A man, duh !!”
i don’t care if a person is a man turned woman or a muslim or whateva…as long as they’re good at what they do and can influence things to change in a positive way then nothing else should matter. see- what people don’t understand is that rome wasn’t built in a day, i.e. obama n whoeva he appoints won’t be able to fix everythng overnite, or maybe even a yr. its probably goin to take obama’s administration 8 yrs to get us on the rite track, just as it took bush 8 yrs to take us further off course. lets be real here- maybe most of the critisms come frm the fact that obama’s a black man.
Ron, where is the evidence that she hates this country or is unqualified?
To me she looks *very* qualified. Being trans doesn’t automatically make one an American hating fascist.
The Great Frank says…..
Yeah, the great Frank says…
I’m A combat veteran of Vietnam..tried to stop the creep of communism from getting here..i was a cop in Miami…tried to stop the stupidity of gangs and the horror of death to the people…
I gave blood to help those in need….
I have lived a good life…
And some of you people talk to me out of the comfort of your mother’s basement about who is helping or breaking this country based on their gender?????
YOU!!!???:
Well, I’m so glad that you are making a difference in this world….
I hope that you allow me to try to make a difference, too!
Donna Jean
its still a dude with silicone and a pp
Well Im really shocked!, finally Obama does something right!
Obama should become a shemale. He’s so feminine that he wouldn’t even need to take estrogen hormones.
Holy Shit WTF is that thing?!?!?!?!!?????
It looks like it’s had TONS of plastic surgery to make it look more “feminine” – the only winner in this is the Jew doctor who did all the surgery!
To the “Great Frank” and the rest of your bigoted brethren, you prove one thing beyond any doubt. For all of you, ignorance really is bliss.
Did you even bother to read the part of the article about her resume, Frank? How does that stack up against yours, Frank? You know you’re inferior in every way, and you just can’t stand that, can you?
You can’t argue those credentials. If she wants to be a she instead of a he and put the work into it, I don’t see why people are so upset by that. Not my bag, but I would much rather someone be somewhat different and can just do the job then a normal person that’s an idiot.
For anyone who is confused, Simpson is a she.
This is incredible news! I thrilled about this!
Thank you Amanda! You are certainly a role model to me and transwomen across the nation.
And thank you President Obama!
Happy New Year!
Anyone that transforms their gender is mentally ill and should be removed from society. What the hell does it mean to be born with a ‘male’ body and a ‘female’ brain, or vice-versa? That is crazy talk and all you ‘transformed’ need to be put down, permanently.
There’s nothing bigoted about calling a man a man. Taking hormones and having surgery doesn’t turn a man into a woman, but apparently a bunch of liberals think so. That’s a shame.
I don’t understand what all of the hype is all about. So Obama picked a guy that considers himself a woman. Get over it.
@ HAZUMU OSARIGI
I’m sure you could knock me out – but I’m afraid you would corn-hole me while I was lying there!
This is amazing.
Not so much that Amanda Simpson got her position, I can see how that happened. She’s beautiful and highly intelligent from what I have read. I’m sure she’ll will do a fine job with her new position.
What truely amazes me is the fact that some of the people that have posted were able to show their ignorance in only a couple of short sentences. I’m sure if there was a competition for that they would win hands down.
Jean Davis
Wow, people, get over it. Trans people are not mentally ill any more than someone who loves people of the opposite sex are. I don't think that it should be such a big stink. She's a woman, not an it, and more importantly, she's a human being; give her the dignity inherent in being a person. She's done her best to make the outer be a testament to what she is inside.
The way I see it, she's more than qualified. I'm glad she got this position
Congrats Amanda!!, dont forget us-R GLBTA, Come visit Out an Equal Los Angeles 2010
Well done Amanda. Best of luck in your new job. WE BELONG.
It’s a it not a she
Who cares about her presentation? From her resume we see she is a productive member of society. I doubt any of the folks in mental institutions who think they are Napolean, Hitler, or Jesus could accomplish what she has done. That sets transgender people apart from the others you mentioned, Frank.
Frank, and some of the others, are so blinded by bigotry that they can't even understand what we're talking about. Casting pearls before swine has never been productive. So why expend the energy in this forum? This forum will not change anything; working in your community to educate the people that will listen does bring change. And from your vantage point in your own community, you can tell where the pigpens are in more ways than one.
Well done to Ms Simpson and well done to Mr Obama, too. They’re action shows up the prejudices, bigotry and ignorance of some of the commentators in here who cannot accept anyone different from their very narrow perceptions of the world. Why shouldn’t she get the job – she seems very well qualified. Unfortunately, not everyone is born in the “perfect” condition that some of your less well informed commentators think should be the case.
“Required” and the other biggot’s posting here…..the only “it’s” are you……your words show you to be sub human, lacking any compassion or intelligence to grasp that a person does not need to be defined by something as basic as their genitals.
Amanda has obviously earned her position and i doubt many of you would have the required level of intelligence to achieve what she has.
Your words shame YOU, not HER
Frank is right – the mental wards are full of people who think they’re Napoleon, Hitler, or Jesus Christ. Yet our society does not try to accommodate their perceptions through surgery and social integration.
There really is no difference between a man who thinks he’s Napoleon or a man who thinks he’s a woman – it’s just the social programming that we give to the later group!
This development in our society only proves that liberalism is a mental disorder!
@Bill Owens.
Thank you for your opinion. Everyone's entitled to those. They're not entitled to their own facts though.
Here's a few of the hundreds of papers in the subject.
—
Neuroimaging Differences in Spatial Cognition between Men and Male-to-Female Transsexuals Before and During Hormone Therapy by Scoening et al J Sex Med. 2009 Sep 14.
Male-to-female transsexuals show sex-atypical hypothalamus activation when smelling odorous steroids by Berglund et al Cerebral Cortex 2008 18(8):1900-1908;
Male–to–female transsexuals have female neuron numbers in a limbic nucleus. Kruiver et al J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2000) 85:2034–2041
Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relevance for gender identity, transsexualism and sexual orientation. Swaab Gynecol Endocrinol (2004) 19:301–312.
A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality. by Zhou et al Nature (1995) 378:68–70.
A sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity by Garcia-Falgueras et al Brain. 2008 Dec;131(Pt 12):3132-46.
—
All are available online. They're no secret, just only of interest to those who know the first things about the subject, people who've done the most superficial research on the issue.
I'll grossly over-simplify : Female Brain, Male Body.
These people are Intersexed – they were born with some parts female, other parts male. Now while this has some advantages in terms of cognition – intelligence, intuition, etc – so some are scarily bright with an incredible array of talents – it really sucks on a personal basis to be a cheerleader who looks like a linebacker. Or the reverse, for it happens to guys too.
So they get the body aligned to the brain, as much as is possible with our current medical technology. Just the way if you'd had a nasty accident, and been bobbitised, you'd move heaven and earth to get surgical reattachment of your manhood, even if things didn't work quite as well afterwards.
I know this isn't exactly common knowledge, and as it's to do with SHOCK HORROR GASP sex, many people get conniptions of they're exposed to the subject, but please, for all that's Holy, at least do some Googling before spouting ignorant tripe about a subject where you're the original clue-free zone.
Is it possible that she can really fuck herself? If so,can someone do it to me, too?
@ Princess Wetback,
What evidence is there that proves she/he is unqualified and hates this country, you ask? Well, so far, with the exception of Bob Gates and his military appointments, every single ONE of Sheik Hussein Obama’s appointments to date are unqualified, and MOST of them hate this country. He has appointed self-admitted Socialists, Marxists, Communists, tax cheats, and sexual deviants.
But, you’re a like-minded, Kool-Aid-Drinking, America-hating Marxist, so I wouldn’t expect you to understand what the reality of the situation is. Just keep your head up your ass and keep praying to the Che Guevara shrine that you keep in your basement.
I am happy to see Simpson is actually qualified for the position. That being said, this article highlights one more example of Obama's compulsion to institute change for the sake of it and paying back favors rather than concentrating on merit.
In the interest of fairness, his is neither the first nor the last politician to do so. I couldn't care less about the race, gender or personal habits of appointees who are law abiding citizens. I hope we can all stay focused on the real issues this year and concentrate our efforts on limiting government and reestablishing individual liberty.
I enjoyed your articles in 2009 and look forward to reading more this year.
Does she give head?
That thing is ugly under ANY gender!
required said, “it’s a it, not a she”. I bet Amanda would think the same of you, but she would write it using proper grammar because she’s educated.
I find it interesting that the truly masculine men I know have no issues with gay or transgender people. But, the few guys that have made it clear that they view them as “its” and mentally-deranged are the pathetic wimps.
Me thinks thou dost protest too much!
If the person is qualified and able to contribute effectively to the role then gender should not be an issue, whether male, female, transwoman or transman – the best person for the job should always be the main criteria for selection. From what I have read she, certainly seems to be qualified, has a wealth of experience and and also has had a major life change – not something many will have experienced, or faced the challenges she has had to overcome. This could be very benifical to changes within the administration process – someone who is not afraid to make change and has the qualities and experience this role requires.
Good luck Amanda..
Philoctetes, you ask: "is it possible that she can really fuck herself? if so, can someone do it to me too?" I think you'll find that your total lack of brain cells, and your single- figure IQ, means that you're fucked anyway. They sure spoilt a good arse when they put teeth in your mouth, hunni.
I am going to transgender my cocker spaniel. And it will look more attractive then her/he.
And soon, after another couple executive orders, I will probably be able to marry it.
I am a decorated war veteran,having served in both the army and the navy. I have been to war,been shot at,bombed,held against my will with an AK47 in my mouth in Iran etc. Never in all my days did I imagine that something like this would happen at a post as high as this person holds.
I did my bit for my country and now pay the price with nightmares and ocassional periods of PTSD related depression. I am a true American hero who went off to fight so that others could stay home and do other things. I am proud of what I have done during my service for my country.
Oh by the way I am also a male to female Transexual. I have been transgendered since I can remember which is about 40 yrs. I live and work as a female, pay my taxes,vote,am a business owner and employer. I am what I am and I am who I am.I am happy,and have a great outlook on life. Shame some of you other folks don't have such a positive view of your world and what you don't understand you hate. maybe if you opened your heart and got to learn some GBLT folks you'll find that they too are decent people and put their pants on one leg at a time likee the rest of you. Being in the military does not make you better than everyone else, It just broadens your horizons, and my experiences will easily match anyones here.
This lady has all of her brain cells dedicated to saving this country and its people from the horrors of war and terrorism,I say bravo!
Look at her record of service to this country………It is exemplary. And a test pilot to boot. Thats Chuck Yeager territory! Awesome.
She is a great and loyal American……….I salute her !
You can see how the left has distorted the term "racism" to be used if you state a fact. How is it that not accepting the fact that a man can be turned into a female by cosmetic surgery is "racism"? They did this and still do under Bolshevik regimes, if you question the party line, then there is something wrong with you, even though the facts state otherwise. Is therefore "self racism" that they don't accept what sex they are? They are rejecting their natural state? The term "racism" has been so overused that it has become an anachronism. It is a fall back when their arguments fail. It is used as "double think" was in Orwell's "1984". Just as the Party said if we say "2+2 = 5" you must believe that it IS 5" not just say it! In the Bolshevik Experiment, they put people in institutions who didn't believe and questioned the validity of the Party's line. And it is not "gender" that is a gramatical term, it is SEX! Male and Female. The F.O. is showing how he wants to displace White Men and put in every counter culture creature he can find. But I don't care, after all he's coming for those who support him next. That's how the left works.
machinepolitick –
there aren't that many people to choose from though. I can think of exactly one person I know of with almost comparable qualifications who isn't currently occupied.
30 years in Aerospace/Defence
Chief Architect for several Naval Combat Systems in service throughout the world
Experience in Submarines (rather than Test Pilot)
Headed team that developed the spaceflight avionics of the most advanced microsatellite ever launched
But… she's not got the political connections, and is Right-wing rather than Left-wing. She also transitioned like Ms Simpson did.
People with such cross-sexed.neurology, mostly female, partly male, partly just plain odd, tend to have unusual talents and capabilities. They thus tend to be grossly over-represented in certain fields, such as computer science, aerospace engineering, medicine etc.
Darn, forgot to mention…. Ms Simpson said
"one of the first transgender presidential appointees"
One of. Not the first. As far as I know, that was Professor Emerita Lynn Conway, who was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the US Air Force Academy by Clinton in 1996. A quick Google…..
"WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 1996 /U.S. Newswire/ — President Clinton announced today his intent to appoint Lynn Conway of Michigan, to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.
Conway is professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Professor Conway is widely known as a pioneer in microelectronics and as co-author of the classic text on very large scale integrated (VLSI) chip design.
During the early 1980's she also led the Defense Department's Strategic Computing Initiative.."
It's really a sign of the widespread bigotry towards transsexual women in particular that such an appointment as Ms Simpson's is newsworthy, because it's so rare. It's still very much the case that if anyone else is even remotely adequately qualified, they rather than the best person for the job, will be appointed. Because so many find the subject of Intersexed conditions disturbing, and many have a religious objection to having to think about such matters.
Just look at some of the comments here.
This appointment is "groundbreaking" in that respect, even though it's by no means the first.
One can hope that Trans people will have the representation in goverment – as they already do in some industries – that is commensurate with thir qualifications. Then there really would be hundreds, rather than a handful. We can't afford to waste the talent.
I don't see that happening: there would be too much objection from Obama's highly conservative Black Evangelical base, and after he's been ejected from office, I'm afraid the GOP is even more ignorant on the issue.
@Zoe Brain, you're right. They would rather use someone minimally qualified than a highly qualified transwoman or transman. It smacks of cutting one's nose off to spite one's face.
I'm reminded that living well is the best revenge. In spite of whispering campaigns where I work, calling me mentally deranged ala 'the great frank', 'bla bla bla' and others here, I have a good job with good pay, I double-dip on retired pay, and some of my biggest detractors have come around and become my biggest defenders.
I'd like to thank the commenters here who have stood up for trans folks, and ask that you continue to do so. Your goodness will be for naught if you stand by and do nothing.
Dear Frank, Ron, Blah blah blah, etcetera
I understand that you may feel threatened by the situation that has arisen, however, you must understand that when you state ‘Sex’, you mean Gender. This is the correct term for the ‘sexual’ characteristics of a ‘Man’ or a ‘Woman’. Throughout nature there are incidences of Intersex…ie not fitting a gender binary.
If you met me on the street, you would never think I was anything other than any other ‘woman’.
I didn’t change to deceive anyone I changed because by not changing I was deceiving everyone, I have been like this all my life, my mother would explain it to you over tea if you would listen to her. She is anything but liberal, though she knows that I had to do this.
This isn’t a whim. I did this or I couldn’t face living anymore. ‘This’ is just that person that was a confused child that was born with more chromosomes than you.
This is the future, a future that says that if your son or daughter should never be bullied, threatened or coerced because they are ‘different’ in any way, be that race, religion, education, wealth, health, sexuality, or gender.
I am all for protecting the children, however that doesn’t discriminate anyone?
Why should I be picked on because I was born this way?
God, if there is one…made me this way, I am one of those people.
I am different, and I deserve the right to exist just like any other ‘creature’
You think that ‘God’ discriminates? with the myriad of life forms across the planet that ‘God’ cares about that?
Frogs change sex routinely, throughout there lives, from season to season.
I Believe in a ‘God’, as you claim to and I also hold with the general consensus that everything created by ‘God’ has a purpose and a reason to be here, so by that rationale are you saying that ‘God’ made a mistake, or would the simpler answer be that ‘God’ didn’t get it wrong, more likely you just didn’t understand the big picture yet?
Or did we miss that badge ‘God’ gave you that says you are his spokesman on earth?