Paris Lees:Dear Ian McEwan:

From across the pond, the "Daily Telegraph" and Paris Lees:

"Everyone seems to have an opinion on transgender people these days - from Germaine Greer to Jeremy Clarkson, they have all offered up their thoughts on trans people.  Ian McEwan is the latest

. As a fan of his books and a trans woman myself, I’m (Paris) very grateful. After all, he seems to have spent a whole five minutes thinking about people like me before sharing all his ill-informed ideas about us with the rest of the world.

“The self, like a consumer desirable, may be plucked from the shelves of a personal identity supermarket, a ready-to-wear little black number,” he said. “For example, some men in full possession of a penis are now identifying as women and demanding entry to women-only colleges, and the right to change in women’s dressing rooms.”

There is a ton of good reading here. Follow the link for more!

Paris Lees CREDIT: NEIL DAWSON FOR ATTITUDE

Walked on the "Wild Side"

Of course I noticed immediately the passing of Lou Reed, of the Velvet Underground fame. Lou Reed appeared on the scene as I was questioning my gender identity seriously for the first time.  I say seriously because down deep I knew cross dressing was just not going to be an end all solution for me but I was afraid to look at other alternatives which would effectively change my life forever.

Lou Reed

Reed's biggest hit "Walk on the Wild Side" hit the charts in 1972, and homosexuality was still classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association In the middle of all of this  "The Wild Side" hit the airwaves and was.famously written about a gay hustler and several trans people, including his friend and Warhol-muse Candy Darling.

It is important to note Lou Reed had more than a commercial or passing interests in transgender women. He  had his own personal trans muse in the form of Rachel, a Mexican hairdresser variously described as transvestite and transsexual by her contemporaries. Rachel and Reed appeared  to have been lovers for much of the 70s and fans suggest she inspired some of his greatest work.

Quite possibly though, Lou Reed's greatest gift to the transgender community is he outed us all to the world.  All of a sudden we existed.  Plus, many of us were very exotic and even cool!

At the time,  Lou Reed was yet another exciting influence for me during a time of flux in my life. I was graduating college and into the Army and I most of the time I joked and said, "I got stoned and missed him"- but the opposite was true.

 I hope his final "Walk on the Wild Side" is a good one!  RIP Lou!

Read more on Lou Reed courtesy of Paris Lees ... here.

Sunny Sunday Morning

Around the beaches and the mountains here in the Cyrsti's Condo metropolitan area, it's time to hit the keyboard and converse with all of you. As always I'm trying to catch up with comments and the world as I try to shake off the cobwebs of enjoying my Buckeyes beat down the Nittany Lions last night.

First of all, I would love to pass along a positive post about the UK for Paula and you other British girls for a change who stop by the Condo.  This story is even from a more reputable source (I hope) the BBC.

"The annual Pink List named Paris Lees as the most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender figure in the UK. But her rise from being a "silly teenage boy in a prison cell" has been far from simple.

With the organisation All About Trans she is determinedly changing media representation of transgender people like herself. And as the first transgender presenter for Radio 1 and Channel 4, she is making a mainstream audience aware of trans issues."

Follow this link to read more of Paris's story which like so many of us was not simple!

While you are there, one of the side stories on the site is a subject we discussed, how we transgender women and transgender men choose our name.

So there you go, Paula and Vicki and the rest of you over the pond.  Believe me we have our fair share of ignorance going on over here. For once it seems the desire to publicize it all is not as strong.

On my email, which you are more than welcome to send a message on, Julian sent along a YouTube video for all of us to take a look at. Which I will, to tease you a bit, the person begins by commenting how hard it was for him to appear male.  We all need some of that problem, right? Thanks Julian for also mentioning the time aspect of maintaining a blog such as this. As I told him,the more a blog takes on a life of it's own, the more it takes of your life.  I'm sure Stana, over at Femulate would agree!

Finally, for this post, a quick comment on Aerosmith's music. Pat picked up on my comment about one of their old songs. I think it was "Walk this Way".  Indeed, I spent many hours abusing Robin Hood Big 16 Ale's and rocking with Aerosmith.  But, the number of times people who used "Dude Looks Like a Lady" to abuse and mock me over the years,  have soured me to the group. I don't think though, I have ruined their career!

Aww right kids, the dog doesn't care about my hangover and is pushing me for her walk and since the temp is getting back into the 50's, she is right!

As always, I appreciate your input!

A Touch of Paris in the UK!

Paris Lees (left) has topped the list of the UK's most powerful LGBT people. The transgender journalist and broadcaster beat the likes of Clare Balding, Peter Tatchell and Jessie J to be voted number one on the Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013. By doing so, Lees has become the first trans person to top the list. Go here for more.

Trans Vice

I am going to pass along a link to Vice.com.
It's written by Paris Lees (below) who I have mentioned here in Cyrsti's Condo numerous times.

This article is an incredibly lengthy and sometimes raw  look at the do's and don'ts of being transgender aimed at the gay community.
Here's an example:

E.- "Everything Is So Fucking Hard, Even Buying Milk and Snickers Bars and Chewing Gum Let’s face it, life is tough. And everything’s worse when you’re trans. EVERYTHING. If you don't believe me, fellas, try cross-dressing and heading out to work. On the subway. Followed by dinner. If you're lucky, you'll just get laughed at all day. If you're unlucky, maybe you'll get raped or beaten or murdered. Maybe all three, as is way, WAY too common for those of us who don't "pass." Statistically, trans-folk are way likelier to be homeless, sex workers, mentally ill, and to commit suicide, too. Which is a pretty big bummer."

U.-"Unbelievable Stupidity, Everywhere As most people get most of their information about trans people from the media, and the media mostly knows jack shit about trans people, most people mostly know jack shit about trans people. Including those you’d really expect better from, like doctors and nurses. My nurse, for example, asked me what the difference between a transvestite and a transsexual is (and if you don’t know that, you’re stupid, too). People have died because medical staff refused to treat them after discovering they were trans. Because, really, apart from trans women, who cares?"


D - "Drag Drag is a gateway drug, kids. So be careful when you’re planning your next hilarious shenanigans. One minute you’re having the time of your life, dancing around in a cheap party wig; the next you're snorting estrogen off the back of a toilet seat. Seriously, it happened to me."

By now I'm sure you get the point and go here to read the rest!