Spoiled?

I hope I didn't ruin anybody's viewing experience on the "Gender Revolution", Katie Couric's transgender special on the National Geographic channel! Perhaps I should have put a spoiler alert except for Australia:

1. Brenda OliverFebruary 7, 2017 at 3:45 PM

   I found it interesting to find that the documentary was shown in Australia a bit over a week BEFORE it was shown in America.

   
   
2. 
   FABULOUSCONNIEDEEFebruary 7, 2017 at 4:53 PM

   I suppose that no spoiler alert was necessary for most of the trans world, then. I recorded it for viewing tonight, yet I was anticipating the SOS. Still, I watch these things just to see what the average person may have the opportunity to learn. There is a need to counteract the Jerry Springer-type shows, anyway.

   
   
3. Brenda, I have no idea of why the showing times would be that different, unless the shows were different and tailored specifically to Australians which would make sense to me. Maybe Jeni can comment on it (she is from Australia?)
4. Connie, as I mentioned before, this show could have major implications if it went further than "just speaking to the choir."
5. Finally, have you all heard the rumors of Saturday Night Live (45's fave show)  perhaps trying to line up Rosie O'Donnell to impersonate scary right winger Steve Bannon and Dennis Leary to play "alternate fact" guru Kellyanne Conway?  Only in America! (45 is Trumper)
6. I wish I could have used the "alternate fact" line on my parents when I was trying to work my way around the many tough spots I was in growing up!  

Transgender Television

FYI...I recently mentioned National Geographic's show called the "Gender Revolution" in Australia and just saw they also are having a show on in this country called "What is Gender" with Katie Couric at 8:30 AEDT next Wednesday.

Katie Couric

Laverne Cox (right)

Also, CBS is beginning a new series called "Doubt" which includes transgender actress Laverne Cox.The role is widely regarded as the first major re-occurring role on a major U.S. television network for a trans actress! Plus, I think Laverne is playing a cis-woman. The show premiers Wednesday, February 15th.

With the respect of National Geographic and the number one ratings of CBS, both of these shows can go a long way to insure transgender gains will not disappear in the near future!

•  of gender through the lens of science, society and culture in the ground-breaking new two-hour documentary.
   clear cut. Join us as we set out to explore this evolving concept of gender through the lens of science, society and culture in the ground-breaking new two-hour documentary.

All That Jazz!

Life has been moving so fast for me again, I have neglected to pass along the latest transgender person to venture out into the world, stay in the world and make a difference.  Her name is Jazz Jennings and she probably is not a stranger to you. If you didn't know though,  (from Yahoo News and Katie Couric)Now, at 14, Jazz has co-authored an illustrated memoir aimed at children called "I Am Jazz." The book chronicles the early years of Jazz's life, from her diagnosis to her struggles at school, and it's not just for kids in the LGBTQ community but for anyone who feels like they don't fit in. All of this comes just weeks after being named one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Teens of 2014."

Looking back, I can try hard and remember when I was 14 (maybe) and  how I would  have had no way to imagine now how wonderful and exciting it would be to get up, turn my computer on (huh? couldn't do that -they were as big as my room) and see one of Time Magazine's 25 top teens was transgender?

We will attempt to discuss the "golden age" of gender transition in a future post in Cyrsti's Condo!

Katie and the Trans Girls!

Carmen Carerra

Recently Laverne Cox and Carmen Carrera stopped by the Katie Couric show.  Katie for the most part has always presented transgender women and transgender men in a very positive light.  Go here for the videos.

Laverne Cox

Fashion Stages

Along the way perhaps you have heard of the term cross dresser puberty.  Loosely translated the term can be applied to a crosser  dresser or transgender woman of any age. The stereotypical example is the overweight guy at the mall teetering along in a micro mini skirt and heels typically worn by a teen aged girl.

 I too tried to dress that way into my mid 30's until I grew out of my adolescance the way most do- with  tons of pain and suffering! Much of my problem stemmed from comments on my "fabulous legs".  Nice of course but as I looked around, lots of men have good feminine looking legs- cross dressed or not.  My problem was and is-what are my two legs attached to?

I could write tons of words on the topic but where I was heading is- what is the next step we should take our fashion to?

I found a rather short and to the point look which came from Katie Couric and fashion expert Gretta Monahan:



"Dressing your age can be an ambiguous road to travel, as there is a fine line between a fashion choice that makes you look younger and clothes that are simply too young for you.

Fashion expert Gretta Monahan gave us tips for women to look and feel their best at any age. She encourages women to avoid giving a message of insecurity with their style choices –they should be comfortable with their age and stage in life. A woman in her 20s is going through what Monahan calls her "first impression period," so it is important to give the right impression and not "get trapped by the trends." Invest in one great trend piece -- a classic jacket or handbag -- and build a wardrobe that can be mixed and matched. Mixing your work and weekend wear is a must for a woman on the go in her 20s. And Monahan encourages women in their 20s to embrace their youth and have fun with their wardrobe.

The 30s are a time for a woman to make a sophisticated shift in her image. To do this, Monahan recommends having fun with necklines, whether it's a deep V-neck, a one-shouldered top or a strapless dress. As leather is timelessness yet trendy, Monahan says it's important to have a go-to statement leather piece such as a belt, cuff or cropped jacket. This is a time when women should avoid playing it safe.

When a woman enters her 40s, she should look for energizing colors and prints in figure- flattering shapes. Avoiding baggy and ill fitting clothes is essential, and women in their 40s should not be afraid to raise their hemline a little

As women enter their 50s, they should add versatile wrap dresses to their closet and keep their eye out for flattering three-quarter sleeved tops. Monahan recommends that as women age, they should tone down their makeup but add youthful touches to their hairstyle – such as highlights or bangs. This is the age to invest in a quality support bra and a well-fitted pair of jeans, avoiding "mom" jeans that tend to ride too high and have a tapered leg. Monahan’s overall tip for women and their fashion choices is to avoid being matchy-matchy – never match your handbag to your shoes or overcoordinate your accessories. This will age you no matter what stage of your life you are in As Monahan says, fashion is about presenting your best self and being comfortable with the woman you are – so have fun."

For more go here.

Outing Myself

I believe I have mentioned that I finally stepped up and out by joining my local equality LGBT group.  This is huge in the sense those who talked behind my back will have to find someway else to entertain themselves.

Regardless of the outcome for all of them, I had to do what I had to do. Ironically I became involved in an in depth discussion with one of my long time friends who has stayed in the closet. (I do not begrudge him any of that.) All too quickly we jumped into one of my favorite soapbox topics: Stealth in the transgender culture. Here's how it started. I said I was completely surprised this group had no out transgender person, knowledge of our culture and almost no reference to it.


He said: "Okay, here ya go: (1) I believe that transition is about M to F or F to M paths, and if you chose to take that step you should know a little about the difficulty in getting to the end point. (2) I can see that some percentage of newly arrived F's and M's want to do something aligned with their attained gender and not risk that position by entering politics. That's their choice. On the other hand I don't have an issue with providing a little friendly support to someone on the journey, but I also disdain noisy in-your-face political activity completely."

The last reference was in response to my statement I was going to go to meetings and saying something about the lack of representation. Here is an abbreviated version of my response as I ignored the in-your-face comment:

"As far as the "going stealth" deal goes, I can see both sides of the story. Certainly we all know how incredibly difficult it is to switch genders and each is entitled to take their marbles and go home.  I do believe however that stealth is inherently wrong and will become unique to our generation. (Strictly speaking)  I attribute stealth to not risking yourself at all and it's the same as failing to cover another troop on the live BCT (basic training) range in the Army...but I know that is a bit dramatic. (We were both in the Army and I used it as a point of reference.)

You ask why I think the kids are doing it right? My latest big example was "Devon" on the Katie Couric Show.  I think in a couple of years she too will fade into the fiber of society to live as happily ever after as any of us can but she was totally stealth and still took a moment to come out and pay forward. I think the number of YouTube videos and the number of blogs are a sign of how these kids are building a better future for transgender people of the future. Their generation will change stealth to life on their terms and it just will fade away as a outmoded term. If you deal in semantics they will be going stealth and just living life on the same playing field as anyone else which is all we can ask for.

Now, let me point out of why getting surgery and going stealth didn't work for our generation. Did we indeed just jump from one closet to another? Yes! We did as all of the sudden we are waking up and realizing the transgender populace is the most legally discriminated minority in the country."

As the conversation moved on I used an example of an old mutual acquaintance from the mid 80's.  She went through SRS moved out West, married a man and became a very successful business person. Absolutely one of the most exuberant natural women I have ever met. Back to the chat:

"Susan" of course is the classic good transition example of a transsexual person we both know.  But now if she lived in Arizona and not in another state, all of the sudden she may have to produce a female birth certificate to even pee in a women's room.  If she was born here in Ohio she still can't get her birth cert changed by SRS. Was she mandated to make a statement? No. Should have she? Her call. I'm only using her as an example of my perceived epidemic generational transgender stealth problem.

The kids on the other hand, are realizing they better start screaming to get laws changed because no matter how good they look (Devon) a company can just up and fire them for being trans or can't even find a place to pee.

Before you accuse me of throwing huge rocks in glass houses,  I can rationalize my lack of action by saying I started late and didn't know how far I was going with this and then I get really torn by nights like last night. You know I have never felt I could go stealth no matter how hard I tried-but I could have been there last night. So now what do I do?

You are completely right to ask me why would I jeopardize all of that work over the years? The honest answer is at my age I'm in the home stretch of my life and I know due to very unpleasant circumstances in my life, I'm left with less to lose than others.

So bottom line, I should do some public work before I fade into whatever the next reality happens to be.  If I don't and there is another stopping point in eternity I would have to put transgender inaction in the loss column. My blog, Trans Ohio workshop and the Equality group are efforts to soften the defeat.  I will get back to you on the results!"

As you can tell, I flat out wore the "soap box" out!

Alphabet Soup

Check this out: "The gay rights movement has added a few more letters onto its initialism: LGBTQIA. LGBTQIA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual. The new acronym allows the sexuality and gender identity-based community to include individuals who may not conventionally identify themselves as a man or woman." From the The University Daily Kansan (University of Kansas)

Let me add three more, OMG! Renee Richards (78) on Katie Couric this week said something to the effect the transgender word wasn't even invented when she was young. Hopefully Renee will be around this world long enough to see the entire alphabet not included in descriptors for our culture. Furthermore I disagree with the first sentence: gay rights movement and transgender being lumped together at all. That's the subject of a whole other post and a whole other alphabet.

Transgender Beauty

Well, it didn't take long for another young transgender woman from the Katie Couric Show to be subjected to extra publicity. Unlike her younger counterpart on the show (Coy) the 19 year old Devon (above) it seems benefited from puberty blockers and was able to live a mainly stealth existence until this show of course.
Devon's story was a bit different in the sense that Dad may have never totally agreed with the process but Mom listened to her child and all of them made the process possible.
Plus, experts on the show said blockers could be a temporary measure which allows the young person to better decide her or his gender path. Somehow I don't think Devon wants to backtrack and did say she wanted SRS as soon as possible.

The actual video of Dad's struggle is here on the Katie web site.

I know the process had to be hard on Dad. Devon's "Homecoming Princess" crown probably wasn't what he envisioned for his young son on Homecoming. But dad was almost man enough to let it happen!

For many of other of us stuck on the football team so many years ago, Devon's homecoming story was the impossible dream and it is so wonderful to have seen it happen for her!

Katie's Transgender Show

Tuesday afternoon in my part of the world, one of the more impressive television shows on transgender youth issues I have ever seen aired on one of my local television affiliates.

Katie Couric hosted a show billed as "Raising a Transgender Child".
Two impressive points were the fact the show was not presented as a sensationalized Anderson Cooper ratings booster and took a serious look at the lives of young transgender children female and male. All of them pounded home the very important point to the casual observer that gender and sexuality were different.
Above I have added a picture from the show including the youngest Coy (six) to icon Renee Richards (78) and yes the other two are transgender also.

Of course the subject of "puberty blockers" was prominently mentioned and experts were plentiful to discuss them. I would guess the more jaded of the public and the transphobic folks would have wanted a few naysayers on the show. In my mind a debate on the subject would have destroyed the continuity of the show.

Of course, I'm sure more than a couple trans nazi's will find something wrong in this show but I'm sure soon you will be able to judge it for yourself on line somewhere. Follow the link above for more!