The Trinity

Spoiler alert, this is a very shallow post and it reality it has nothing to do with being transgender. It's actually about being on hormone replacement therapy. (HRT) It's my belief you don't have to rely on drugs and/or surgery to calm your trans feelings. For that matter, you can look like a man with a full beard walking around who feels between her ears she is a woman. The tricky part comes when a person tries to "sync" up  what's going on inside with what they are projecting to the outside world. Since I am not planning on any surgeries, HRT was my only path to helping my feminine presentation with the public.

By now, perhaps you are wondering what any of this has to do with the title of this post.  Another of my not so guilty pleasures I have is watching any and all of the PBS television networks' cooking shows but Vivian Howard's Somewhere South is my current favorite. She is a Southern Chef who also does quite a bit of work with other feminine chefs and features the bond between women. Which of course I am always quite interested in, since I am not much of a cook. Fortunately, my partner Liz is. If you know anything about cooking, the "trinity" is normally made up of onions, peppers and celery (if you are cooking Cajun style).

My own personal HRT trinity is hair, skin and breasts. It's what I rely heavily on when I wake up in the morning. It ties in with my brain and tells me I am a feminine person. Like so many of you, I spent most of my life wondering where I fit on the gender spectrum. I am well aware of the trinity could well be temporary since I have to rely on continued good health to stay on the regimen. 

So I try to be thankful everyday.

Always on Stage

It shouldn't come to anyone in particular as a surprise,  when you cross the gender frontier and enter the feminine world, you are always on stage.

For example, today I went Liz's martial arts class and then to our usually busy grocery store. Today wasn't too bad though because we weren't dealing with a snow storm like Connie is in Seattle. Hopefully she stayed home and won't be catching any fish at the fish market. I hear it's tough on acrylic nails!

At any rate, as I waited for Liz's class to end, a woman came in with her child for the next class. Along the way, she struck up a conversation about what all the different color uniforms meant. As we exchanged pleasantries, I don't know if she ever realized she was talking to a transgender woman, or even cared. As we chatted, I was glad though I put a little extra effort into my makeup.

A little later, at the grocery store, I was happy too when a product representative asked to take a picture of us when we stopped to sample a fresh pasta product. I almost said only if I could get a copy for my blog.

When I got home and started to relax with our usual PBS cooking shows (Public Broadcasting), I began to realize one again how women are always on some sort of stage. Plus, as transgender women we have to work twice as hard to close the looks gap with cis women. I am so envious on occasion when I see a cute cis woman in her leggings, loose sweater and baseball cap.

I guess I must be doing something right though when Liz makes gentle fun of me for taking too long getting ready to go.

Growing Up Trans on PBS

I missed the first episode of "Growing Up Trans" yesterday on PBS. But I am sure I will have the chance to see it later. 

It's an all too familiar story: "

 It was kind of like a double life,” young transgender girl Ariel  told  FRONTLINE in Growing Up Trans, a new documentary which premiered Tuesday, June 30, at 10 p.m. EST on PBS 

She went on to say:  “I think a lot of people are completely just comfortable and fluid, but for me, I was really scared.”

'Ariel is one of eight kids, ranging in age from nine to 19, who share their stories in Growing Up Trans. With children transitioning at younger and younger ages, and with more medical options available to them and their parents than ever before, the 90-minute documentary explores the complicated struggles and choices facing families as they navigate the changing and complex world of gender and identity.

For Ariel, who began living publicly as a girl at age 11, the process has not always been easy.

“It’s harder, teasing and bullying-wise, when you’re a girlie boy, when you’re in that in-between stage, than when you’ve fully transitioned,” Ariel says.'

For more, follow the link above!

PBS  I was fortunate enough to be able to catch Kumu Hina.  

It tells the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a transgender hula teacher. She brings to life Hawaii's traditional embrace of of manu - or those who embody both male and female spirit. 

It is yet another tie in with many ancient/tribal twin spirit traditions which have been so tragically forgotten. Often to the point of religious motivated violence. Also, to those of you who think too many transgender documentaries are tied to those with tons of passing privilege-this is not it. 

Follow the link above for more! 

Busy-Busy-Busy

All kinds of positive things are happening in the transgender community-regardless of what Bruce Jenner's upcoming Diane Sawyer interview turns out to be. Here are a couple to look for:  The first from the Windy City Media Group:

( San Francisco ) - At a time when transgender and gender nonconforming people across the U.S. and around the world have achieved unprecedented visibility in popular culture, but continue to suffer extreme violence, harassment, discrimination, and isolation, Independent Lens presents Kumu Hina,

a moving film from Hawaii that offers a bold new perspective on gender diversity and inclusion through cultural empowerment. Directed and produced by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, Kumu Hina premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 4, 2015, 10:00-11:00 PM ET ( check local listings ) as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming on PBS.

Kumu Hina is the inspiring story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a transgender native Hawaiian teacher and cultural icon who brings to life Hawaii's traditional embrace of mahu — those who embody both male and female spirit. The film traces Hina's evolution from a timid high school boy to her position as a married woman and cultural director of a school in one of Honolulu's grittier neighborhoods. As she contemplates who should lead the school's all-male hula troupe in their final performance, a surprising candidate presents herself: Ho'onani, a sixth grader who is proud to be seen as a mixture of boy and girl. As Kumu Hina helps Ho'onani to negotiate the mixed reactions of her classmates and her family, the power of culture to instill a sense of pride and acceptance becomes clear.

Then, there is the Entertainment Weekly piece we mentioned in a previous Cyrsti's Condo post.

And finally, for this post-there is yet another post concerning issues with the Thailand Army draft (left). Check it out here from Rueters. 

We "Gotz" Mail!

Thanks as always to all of you who sent in your usual wonderful thoughtful comments to the high tech Cyrsti's Condo mail center!

Paula, along with Vicki is one of the girls from the UK who commented on the differing use of Tranny across the pond. She said she always thought first of a transistor radio. I could comment Paula of a kid doing his paper route with a transistor radio rocking the Beatles but that would age me!

Paula also commented on the "Beeb" (the BBC) being a more reliant news and information source due to no reliance on advertisers. Speaking of our own network with very little advertising (PBS), for some unknown reason my quirky mind has become addicted to their opening news sound.  It's aired at a pre butt crack of dawn hour of 6 am and is a shorter version of the "Beeb" channel I get on my satellite provider. My dog has not adjusted to me "beeping" along with the opening sound. I have not adjusted to being up that early for no real reason.

Leanne commented on my "Don't Hate me Post":

"Please do not dwell on those that do not understand you be they cis, trans, or in between (which is probably where I fall). For each person that doesn't want to understand you, there are ten of us that not only want to understand you but most also love you as a sister. As difficult as our journey is, we need to learn to accept the good and ignore the rest."  Thanks Leanne, I really don't dwell on them, that one though caught me by surprise!

On Passing Comments, Vicki for some reason I don't think that is her hair so we can both pull in our claws. I will have to go back and check a few of her other videos! If it is, I may have to find other ways to dislike her in my passive aggressive set of weapons! (Just kidding!)

Again and again thanks to all of you and Mark for your comments!

Some Like it Hotter!

Today I saw (again) bits and pieces of the classic film Some Like It Hot.
Without wasting words and time, I still had to pause for a second and marvel at the production.
No matter how you feel about the entire cast of Jack Lemmons, Tony Curtis et all- Marilyn Monroe's casting was the genius move by Director Billy Wilder.
Think about the ramifications for those of us in the transgender community. Two men playing women with one falling in love with Marilyn who was in herself a huge caricature of women; an impossible feminine ideal too strong for even Marilyn herself And how many of us came away from the movie with the yearning to play music in an all girl band?
If all of that wasn't enough, there is always the wonderfully improbable final line in the picture when Jack Lemmon unveils himself as a man to a hopelessly infatuated Joe E. Brown. " I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all... I'm a man. 2) Well, nobody's perfect" - the reply. (Joe E. Brown) Ha ha! So cute!!!!
Remember this all took place in 1959 when even dressing as the opposite gender in public in most towns was a crime and of course being gay was unheard of!  Hollywood just had to be the biggest gay closet in the country. Way to go "Billy Wilder"!
All of this was happening ten years before the "Stonewall Uprising" during the summer of 1969 in New York City.

The Stonewall Inn, taken September 1969. The sign in the window reads: "We homosexuals plead with our people to please help maintain peaceful and quiet conduct on the streets of the Village—Mattachine".<sup>[1]

If you haven't had a chance to catch the special  on "PBS" about Stonewall, check it out!</sup>

Two Spirits Headed To DC.

PBS-Independent Lens broadcasted the film  TWO SPIRITS nationally from June 14th-29th, 2011. A year later, the "Two Spirit Group" has been invited to the White House! Follow this link 
to learn more plus news about another project "Shi Ma' ".