On the Road to Oz

Brianna Austin, has been one of the most active transgender columnists for some time.

Today here in Cyrsti's Condo, I am passing along one of her recent posts I loved. She wrote it  after watching  the Wizard of Oz movie over the holidays.    Here's an excerpt:

"I was lounging around home this past holiday season and watched yet another classic, the Wizard of Oz, which I hadn't seen in years. I wondered, is Dorothy really so different than us? A girl lost in a far off land, yearning to find her way home. They say that home is where the heart is, so perhaps we are trying to find our internal home as well. She enlists the help of many strangers to assist her get home, only to discover that she alone was the only one that could make it happen. There is always that day when you look in the mirror and realize that regardless of whether your “girl” desires are fashion, passion, or bedroom fantasy, they don’t seem to be going away. You acknowledge – perhaps for the first time -- that this is not a phase that will pass, nor can you pretend it will never happen again. What an exciting and horrifying moment! Has the tornado just plucked you from out of your own dream and dropped you into reality? Well, you’re not in Kansas anymore, that’s for sure! Of course you know you can’t go back the way you came, because you don’t even know how you got here in the first place. So now what? Glenda, good witch of the North, said it best, “it’s always best to start at the beginning.” 

 Go here to read the rest of the post!

The "Bearded Stalker"

I decided to write a small follow up post to my "Queen" epic here in Cyrsti's Condo.  Which by the way elicited a comment from Brianna Austin about the quest to be a princess rather than a queen!

Depending on who you talk to, beard removal is one of the unpleasant, rather costly undertakings of transitioning male to female.Therein lies two of my problems and explains why I have not gone down the path of electrologist or laser treatments.

First of all, I don't have the spendable income to start the process and secondly I have a huge adversion to pain or discomfort!

Again, Momma Karma has dealt me a fairly decent hand.  I have never been a "Grizzly Adams" type person. The best facial hair I could ever really muster was in the "before" picture of me here in the blog. Now of course much of my facial hair is gray too which means laser removal wouldn't do much.

Now I view the process as a necessary evil of my transgender status and am careful to keep a smooth face. I have not however ruled out "hitching up my big girl panties in the future" and seriously getting involved in an electrologist program- when funds permit.

In the meantime, I just wanted to pass along a bit more information about my "bearded stalker".

More Cassandra!

I recently mentioned Cassandra Cass and Brianna Austin here in Cyrsti's Condo. Perhaps I should have reversed the lady's names and called it the ABC posts?
Sorry, you know how so I like a little play on words in my little mind!
At any rate (as luck would have it) Brianna just posted a a set of pix and a link to Transtasia on her TG Reporter. 
Co incidentally, check out my lasted post while you are there!
Thanks!

Cassandra Cass

Now that I got your attention with a picture of transgender actress Cassandra Cass, It's time to point out you should visit Brianna Austin's TG Reporter for a wonderful diverse look at our transgender - transsexual world...(TG Reporter even includes a touch of written content from me! Yes! I am biased kids!)
Seriously, head over there on this link.



Just to be extra nice, here's more of Cassandra!

We Got Mail!

"Hi Tech Condo In Box"

I decided to bunch together several excellent comments I recently received.

"Bearmountaineer" responded to the To be Or not to Be post on Stealth question in the transgender community:

"Maybe it makes sense NOT to be noticed when we don't want to be noticed, and TO BE noticed when we want to be noticed, as when we want to support others. But we might consider presenting a stealthy image, and breaking it on purpose to show people that we are "normal", but a small slice of the population...."

I can only say I wish I had thought of this answer myself! Thanks!!!!

Alice checked in a commented on the Atlanta Cotillion :  Cyrsti, as per my earlier comment, Atlanta will also welcome the Southern Comfort Conference this month. Both events can be viewed on Flickr as many of the men in attendance love to share their images when dressed so well to the nines.

Thanks Alice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A portion of my Stuff post concerned the uproar over Mandi's appearance on the Anderson Cooper Show. One of my most respected long term reader and contributor here in Cyrsti's Condo, Sherri Lynne commented:

" Hey GF, I'm curious too as to why the Anderson Cooper piece has sent heads spinning and all the knashing of teeth. What happened to the "We Are One" here? This poor woman appears to me to be suffering from some kind of serious mental illness from what I have read about the interview based on the statements the woman herself made. Some members of our community have serious mental illnesses. Should their voices be stifled? Are they not allowed to be visable, or are we only going to let our "poster girls" have a public forum? We have to face the fact that some of us are going to have serious mental health problems, no more or no less in proportion to the general population. If this piece is exploitive in any fashion, not saying it is or it isn't as I haven't afforded myself to see the interview, my opinion that it would be based on her mental illness, but on the other hand, why should seriously mentally ill peoplew not be allowed to tell their story? In the early 1970's the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill was ordered by federal mandate and the people deemed should be segregated and shut away from having a life of freedom were given more access to having as normal a life as their illness permits and living in the least restrictive manner possible. As with any poorly planned federal legistation, there were some very negative consequences for these individuals along with the very positive results of this court mandate. So, you make your choices and you pay your dues. This woman has not been deemed mentally incompetent, or she would be in the hospital. She has just as much right as anyone else to speak in a public forum whether we like it or not. That is the real issue at hand, not whether she makes the trans community look bad."

If you don't know, Sherri Lynne is a real live transgender therapist. Both trans woman and therapist!
I also received another comment from a person who has met Mandi several times and felt perhaps the platform she used did not work well for her. He thought that regardless of what anyone thinks of the validity of her claim, she has the right to comment on it.

In no order of importance I also received this comment from Brianna Austin concerning my video post The Best of Brini Maxwell :
" I met Brini at my first Night of a Thousand Gowns, in 2002 http://www.briannaaustin.com/index.php/gallery/events/thousand-gowns-2002/fab-formal-197"

Cool! I don't get out much (maybe quantity not quality?) and I am star struck when I get a comment from someone like Brianna who does!

Finally, Liz commented on my Transgender Dating post: "It was very moving and touched me!"
Thanks!

Thanks soooo much to all of you who cared enough to comment!

Cyrsti's Condo Mail Box

It was a great day in the response department and my staff of 50 has been struggling to keep up! When I opened my email this morning I was greeted by a wonderful letter from Jessica in France. As I told her I was humbled and flattered following her opinion of this effort...Thanks Jessica!

Rest assured, praise is nice and this little ol eight grade educated Ohio transgender girl is happy when any of you stop by! Let's see now, we have a London, Ohio down the road. How far away can France really be? :)

Seriously, I am flattered too when other highly visible people in the trans community drop by as Brianna Austin did to leave a comment on my Mentally Ill post:
 "Normal is as normal does Forest Gump said, as did Sally Field when she appeared with Johnny Carson some years back, which was the thought behind my essay Defining Normal. Take a look and let me know what you think. Here."

The post brings up many compelling looks at the true lack of normality and is certainly worth your time.
For the moment I would like to add  Normal to me would have been waking up in the morning knowing what gender I was.. Since it never happened, being transgender became my norm once I accepted it.

And then one of my favorite contributors to this cosmic collection of gender flux is Jamiegottagun and brings it to many discussions!
In many ways she comments on subjects which I am too lazy or lose interest in to go deeper in my posts. You all have to remember I share attention spans with young kids!
At any rate Jamie commented on PMS . To paraphrase she said her male appearing body produces female hormones naturally so most months experiences a non menstrual period. (Which I knew does exist in genetic women too and the fact many men do have a monthly period.) I posted her full comment on the blog itself.
You see, many times you all are very helpful with information.
I also want to go out on a very thick limb here and state the full menstrual process is similar to the rest room card. If a genetic women is insecure about herself she may play them on you!

Finally! The fun comment- again from Jamie mentioning my  Monica Roberts and the Tea Baggers post.
Yes Jamie I do read some of Monica's "stuff" as well as some of the "stuff" from Rad Fems etc.
I'm a firm believer in the rants from the right and left perhaps we can find a middle point,
I have to tell you if I was a Black American in this country today, I would agree more in her criticism of the Republican Party.
Also, I do wonder what happened to all those fervent T Party rallies which used to frequent my conservative part of the country?
Then again, I was the one person in my unit in the military who would admit to voting for McGovern over Nixon.  When my tour was up I told them "Mark my words...Nixon's a crook."
As far as Monica being a bigot? Hell yes!
For all I know, she will stop in and blast me!!!!

Thanks All!!!!!

New Post "Over Yonder"

I have passed along the fact I'm doing some writing over on Brianna Austin's TG Reporter site.
The latest one about dealing with neighbors is here.

Gay Bar Survival Guide

"Brianna Austin" recently came up with this "Gay Bar Survival Guide."
This whole idea has wonderful advice for you less experienced cross dressers just starting to test the feminine waters.
Gay bars and clubs seemingly are naturals for this process but again all may not be as it seems in some places.
I have told the story several times here about the intense transgender discrimination I experienced one night in a male gay bar. It was an experience which gave me the willpower to establish myself in straight venues. Follow the link above for more!

Branching Out!

Well, it's Spring around here (more or less) and as the plants and trees start to grow I am growing just a bit too! (Not the hormones this time!)
I'm starting a column on"Brianna Austin's  TG Life.com."
I will have more for you later!