Some of you "more mature" visitors to
Cyrsti's Condo may remember the old
Virginia Slims women's cigarette commercials.
The brand was introduced in 1968 and marketed to young professional women using the slogan "You've come a long way, baby." Some media watch groups considered this campaign to be responsible for a rapid increase in smoking among teenage girls. Later campaigns have used the slogans, "It's a woman thing," in the 1990s, and "Find your voice."
I only bring it up for the reason the only time I really tried smoking cigarettes in my life was in my early cross dresser years.
Later of course you may remember it was somewhat fashionable for a woman to lite up a cigar.
That I never did do. Locked in my memory is a
very ugly image of a room full of men in make up and dresses doing their best to still be masculine by smoking cigars. Why?
Well, one way or another I guess I have come a long way baby. As a matter of fact when I noticed the top of the ad above- I tried the
housewife gig for awhile too. Surely if I did all the household chores I would validate myself as a woman? Right? Wrong because all I really validated how much I hated doing housework. It took me years to learn true validation came from inside.
More than a little of my thought pattern began with the
trans brides post and feedback. I don't mean actual
trans brides but fantasy cross dresser brides (and I am not being negative). My point is at times I'm fascinated by all the feminine fixations we develop as trans persons in our lives. Another example of those in the community who just love to be pregnant.
Maybe all of us have the chance to come a long way baby!
My partner Liz and I were chatting tonight about the Laverne Cox appearance on CBS This Morning and finally stopped and marveled at just how far the transgender community has come along recently. She came up quoting the Virginia Slim's vintage cigarette campaign aimed at the new young class of professional women (for all the wrong health reasons) back in the early 1970's. I never did pick up the smoking vice (fortunately) but at one time did pick up a pack of Virginia Slims to carry with me as a "prop."
