Carmen Carrera

From last year, transgender activist and beauty Carmen Carrera. During the Glaad media awards.

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

"Ker Plunk!" It's hard to believe the last Sunday Edition for 2014 is hitting your virtual front porch!!! Get that "Cup-O-Joe" brewing!

Page One-The Week that Was-or Wasn't.  The big topic around here and elsewhere in the transgender world was (basically) do the seemingly ever growing group of very attractive trans women coming out help the rest of us at all.  Very simply, does Kimberly Reed's (left ) public image help me in my life?  Yes, a lot and no not so much.  Sure, there is such a thing as a "passing privilege" and Kimberly has her share. On the other hand, using a gender stereo type, Kimberly was the blond slim (dare I say pretty boy quarterback in football, while some of the other of us played in the trenches.)  Might as well face it girls, as far as "passing privilege" goes, most of us will always be playing in the trenches,

Last year though,   Carmen Carrera, Laverne Cox  and Janet Mock, helped us when they took the conversation away from "passing privilege" into "genital privilege". Or, what you happened to be born with does not give you the privilege to discriminate against those of us who don't define our gender by what's between our legs.

Page Two- We Got Mail!   

J.AlainaS wrote in and asked: I'm curious, how many therapy sessions did you have between the diagnosis and getting the referral/prescription? Good question!  I had four.  My therapist and I got along famously and her final comment was "You are out, really OUT!"  On the serious side, her main focus was did I have a support system and a plan in place to support a MtF gender transition.  I did, and I got the letter.  Seems like a lifetime ago, when it will be just four in 2015.


Page Three-The YEAR that Was or Wasn't.  Needless to say, 2014 was quite the year.  Most certainly, HRT changes would be towards the top of any top list I may yet come up with, but not the top by far.  HRT is just an end to a means and does give me a small gift of "passing privilege" What it didn't give me was the in-depth, high voltage look of what the girl's sandbox looked like from the inside. I can thank Liz for that!!! 2014 also provided me with thrills & chills such as androgyny and gender acceptance all the way to gender slurs and rejection.


Page Four-The Back Page.  If you celebrated Christmas, I hope you found it to be festive and loving!  Soon, we will be given a chance to stop and at the least note the coming of a New Year.  In the next couple of days, we will take our own special look here in Cyrsti's Condo!

Are Transgender Beauties Just Fluff?

Nearly every time I post a picture or story here in Cyrsti's Condo I get a fairly terse and bitter response on how a Trans Activist such as say Janet Mock's ( beautiful example) public exposure has nothing to do with those of us still mocked and/or discriminated against because of our appearance.

It's a good point and one I found addressed in a recent Huffington Post article.  Of course I have my own ideas like I'm sure you do.  First of all, what are your expectations of the feminine role you are transitioning into? This time, lets use Mtf transgender woman Carmen Carerra as an example (left).  Look, I know there is not enough surgery, HRT or wishing in the world I am ever going to look like Carmen. Then again too, I could say the same thing about most all of the generics I know.  As females growing up though, all of them managed to transition to womanhood becoming beauties in their own rights.  What Carmen Carerra did do for me (as well as Janet Mock, Laverne Cox etc.) was scream to the world GENDER is NOT about GENITALS.  Which means to me a huge amount.  It's helped me to carry myself with a little extra confidence as I transition into my womanhood.

In Courtney O'Donnell's post she said it (in part) this way after trans woman Jenna Talackova burst upon the scene:  "In the weeks that followed, the number of people visiting my blog via the keyword "Jenna Talackova" was simply stunning. That keyword outdistanced the previous high by a factor of 3. The people drawn to these pro-transgender blogs were given an opportunity to learn things -- human things -- they may not learn elsewhere."

So, yes we have discussed attitude over appearance in the Condo when it comes to the public and if you don't have a nasty personality to start with-each of us can make a huge statement in small ways. Beautiful or not, I am going to pick the women I mentioned above to be on my team! 

Just one other quick point, make sure to think past your male ego past and look past the pictures or looks and listen!

The Trans "Big Three?"

Candy Magazine is marking it's 5th anniversary and  has revealed a fold-out spread which features 14 transgender role models and leading trans activists, including the gorgeous quartet of Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and Carmen Carrera taking center stage.  For a closer look-go OUT-here

2015 The Trans Central Year?

2014 brought many positive changes to the transgender community, fortunately too numerous to mention. For the first time we saw trans women (Laverne Cox and Jazz) making it into most influential woman categories.  All of a sudden, the mere act of being born female with a vagina does not equate with the essence of becoming a woman. At the least, a very scary thought for many traditional binary thinkers.  Making the process even more difficult for those folks is it's looking like even more are in store for the future!


Here is one from the "Hollywood Reporter" : 
"ABC Family is continuing its push into the unscripted arena with a big swing.

The Disney-owned cable network has handed out a straight-to-series pickup for My Transparent Life, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The docuseries, from Ryan Seacrest Productions, centers on a teen named Ben who learns his parents are not only getting a divorce, but also that his father is becoming a woman.

The series will intimately follow Ben, his family and friends as they support each other through the unexpected journey and watch Charlie slowly become Carly, as she experiences the many stages of her transition from male to female. The show is described as a generational story of a loving family and circle of friends, supporting each other through the unfamiliar and unexpected situation."

Of course all of this is following the success of the Amazon series Transparent with Jeffrey Tambor (left).  For a start, I love the fact Tambor loves the part and is in many ways a truer portrayal of how most of us are able to visually transition. After all, we all can't look like Carmen Carerra, Janet Mock or Andreja Pejic. The best is yet to come!

Totally Transgender!

This says it all!

NYC Firefighter Brooke Guinan has been quietly raising the profile of LGBTQ folks and women in the FDNY for years. 

Now she's become a visible role model, taking part in V.O.I.C.E.'s new 'So Trans, So What?' campaign.

Go here to Advocate for more.

Perhaps, Brooke's publicity is even more relevant to the transgender community who can never hope to be the ultra glamorous trans role models as Carmen Carrera or Andreja Pejic.  

It's more a matter of "Hey! I can do that too!" I don't have to be a fashion model to transition!

Award Winning

This morning, being the radical person I am, I changed up my routine while the joe (coffee) was brewing, instead of burrowing into my email accounts, I just had to pass along this post from one of the few Tuba playing, super gardening transgender women on the planet....Paula Goodwin.  It comes from her Paula's Place blog and is called "Who am I?"  The subject is what makes a blog a "gender blog?":

Paula (on the right)

Here is an excerpt:  The other day I noticed a comment on Stana's Femulate which made an observation about "Gender Blogs", now it is usually the poss on blogs that get me thinking but this comment made me wonder, what is it that makes a "Gender Blog"? and is this one?

It seems that I'm not the only one thinking along these lines at the moment, Cyrsti noted on her Condo that she had made a few "genderless posts" and the wonderful Hanna wondered of she should be writing about more than just clothes and makeup, I enjoy these blogs and would say to them both, don't try to change, just carry on doing what comes naturally.

And more:

Certainly it was my gender issues that made me start the blog, it soon became a safe place for me to note my thoughts and feelings, and occasionally get some feedback from people who had walked this path before me.   It was a chance to talk about my outings, discuss my latest clothing purchases and talk about makeup.   But soon the rest of my life leaked in.   I am not just transgender but many other things as well, so I hope that is reflected in my blog, I know the blogs I enjoy reading most are reflect the whole person, not just their gender identity.  

First of all I was flattered to be included in Paula's thoughts and two, the excerpts above are just a portion of her thoughts. (Follow the link above for the whole post.)   

Finally, my feelings on the matter of writing a "gender blog" is this.  When I started Cyrsti's Condo, it even had a different name and was a suggestion of an on line acquaintance who I had shared my  cross dressing experiences with.  More than several people seemed to be be interested in my antics and wanted to read more.  Then my orientation began to change with HRT and living more and more as a transgender woman- and I kept writing.  So to this point, you all have transitioned with me to the point of even buying my book "Stilletto's on Thin Ice." - if you wanted the in depth version.

So I suppose, in many ways I'm beginning to feel the same way as transgender women such as Laverne Cox and Carmen Carerra do:  I am actively merging all my social media accounts involving my non gender related business and interests into one account on Twitter, Pinterest, etc...I do all of this and I just happen to be transgender too. An example is,  if you go to my Pinterest page you will see boards reflecting my love for vintage items and "ambiance" home decorating ideas as well as the usual plethora of cross dresser, transgender pix.

Who knows? Maybe as I merge everything I love into one person and project it into the world, I won't be writing a "gender blog" anymore.  But that is another topic for another post and thank you Paula!

We Got Mail!

In a recent Cyrsti's Condo post I referred to an experience I enjoyed when I met Stana of the Femulate blog fame - and as it turned out leg fame.  The post simply mentioned how her legs had guys bumping into walls.  I did make one mistake though in the post, she (Stana) is 6'2" without heels!  She is living proof you can be older -more mature :)- and tall and sow off those dynamite legs of yours if you do it right...
Here's Stana's comment:  Thank you for the very kind words, Cyrsti! And by the way, I am 6'2" 
without heels!

I "calls em like I sees em Stana!" Speaking of "sees em."  For years I used to play the game of positioning myself where I could see over my wife's shoulder and still make eye contact with her when needed.  Of course she knew that too and it became sort of an a "cat and mouse" game.  When I met Stana, I just happened to be in a situation where the same thing happened!

Some time ago I posted a rhetorical question asking which transgender model would break the Victoria's Secret "trans barrier." Would she be Carmen Carerra or Andreja Pejic? (below)  Mandy Sherman's vote was-

Both are gorgeous...but my vote's with Andreja. Just because...

I don't know Mandy but have a notion to lean with Andreja also.  Only because of her enormous amount of modeling experience, name and body style.  I think Carmen deserves it because she has worked harder at getting it but is blessed with a curvier feminine body which doesn't necessarily "mesh" with what Victoria Secret's marketing audience is.

Unfortunately, like everything else, it's as simple as "following the money."  Would signing either help their (Victoria's) bottom line?

Continuing my continuous quest to not keep putting my foot in my mouth (before someone else but their's up another part of my body) - at one point I did go back a change my reference to Stana's age as "more mature." Along the way I also made an attempt to refer to Paula's interests as "more unique."   She responded:

I like that "unique tastes"! Doesn't everybody like Gardens and Brass Bands?  Why yes Paula! I'm sure they do! (wink)

Finally, Linda Marie Daniels commented on Woman less pageant participant Spencer:

Spencer looks amazing! Really a natural. I'd be surprised if this was the first time Spencer wore a dress.

Yes! He certainly didn't just "throw this on" on hit the runway!  What really got me were his "poses".  He was either heavily coached or self taught to throw the shoulders back, rock the legs and work the runway.  Who knows, maybe his favorite show was Tyra Banks Top Model ?

LADIES! Thanks for the comments! Love em and you!

 

Victoria's First?

Cyrsti's Condo "Poll Question of the Day"

Which transgender model will be "Victoria Secret's" first?

Carmen Carerra  left or....


Andreja Pejic 

right:

Cyrsti's Condo "Co-Cover Girls" of the Day

Carmen Carerra 

It's a "C" day in the Condo. Our feature co- cover today are a pair of "C" transsexual women, Caroline Cossey and Carmen Carerra:                      

Caroline Cossey

Cyrsti's Condo Sunday Edition

Page one.- "Book em Danno"  a quote from Hawaii Five-O- fame, gets us started this Sunday Morning. I was using the quote to get us to the Facebook announcement this week they were going to open up their gender options....really open them up to approx 50 different gender categories. I met the news with enthusiasm, other's not so much, which is understandable.  One of my lesbian friends was simply surprised with the number of categories and I told her, someone at Facebook probably thought if they (FB), opened the door to a couple different gender categories, they better do it for all they could think of.

Another opinion comes from Condo visitor Alexis Michelle:

Last night I listened to a show that was talking about not only this but the entire gender identity issue. The question came up as to exactly why Facebook did this now. I guess the host is one who questions "why" many things happen. So does Facebook have an ulterior motive for this move? Is this an attempt to begin putting people into pigeon slots for some future purpose, be it good or not? I don't know myself, but I'm going to leave my gender as female regardless of this. Heck, I don't even know what some of those terms truly mean. But even with the ones I am familiar with, I'd have to choose between more than one. Too many options in my humble opinion...........

Thanks Alexis Michelle and I'm sure you are right, somewhere, sometime, someone may use the information and send it off to "Big Brother" for less than good reasons.  However, I think any kind of census count of the TGLB community may be good for at least we "T"'s.  If you remember, not long ago some "official" count listed transgender women and transgender men as nearly as rare as a Republican voting for same sex marriage. So as I said, if Facebook comes up with a surprising number of trans users who change their gender listings (Like you Michelle, I used the female option previously too.)- a light bulb may go on and Big Brother may realize we are a force to be reckoned with.

Who knows?

Page 2.- We took a break, a potty break in a safe place and sent along a link which lists places where transgender women or men and cross dressers can "pee in peace".  I went on the site called Refuge Restrooms and added a few of my own.  All too often these days I believe I'm beginning to see restroom "privilege" as yet another "hierarchy" hammer being used in our community.  I'm better than you because I'm "accomplished" enough to use the women's room without incident and you are not. Obviously we don't need another hammer being used and a site such as Refuge, helps negate it.

Page 3.- Media "splashes" last week turned into tidal waves for the transgender community when icons such as Laverne Cox, Carmen Carrera, and Janet Mock jumped into the pool with very public interviews. All three put the spotlight on our lives and tried to take it away from our genitalia.  All of them pushed ahead with a unified, much needed public statement which has yet to work for me but might sooner more than later. I still encounter the occasional "civilian" on line or even in public, who just has to know what is or isn't, between my legs.  Again, I was bemoaning the fact I was being "sexualized" vs "genderized" by these people with my lesbian friend I mentioned above....she said relax they are just curious about you (me).  Easy for her to say because years ago she asked me the same question and certainly genetic women are the most curious group in the human race!

Page 4.- Fact or Freak?  Sure looks to me like Bruce Jenner just might have been dabbling in a little HRT which certainly doesn't make him a freak but the way he is handling it does.



Back Page.- Well, I hope those of you still getting pummeled by terrible weather on the East Coast of the United States are getting back to normal and a big WOW to Micheal Sam  a NFL draft prospect who came out as gay before the draft!

Hope you all have a good week and as always, it's all of you who make the Cyrsti's Condo what it is today!

Oh! Carmen

Can't get enough of Carmen Carerra including this latest video from CNN on the  Cyrsti's Condo's big screen:

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

Cyrsti's Condo "Transgender Women of the Year."

   

  

As awards go for these two women, our humble mention here in "the Condo" doesn't amount to much- except to us.

I chose two from many possibilities.  These transgender women were chosen primarily because of their tremendous in impact on the world at large.  Both have proved to be so much more than just a pretty face and seem to have bright futures ahead of them!

The first is Carmen Carrerra,  
Carmen Carrera a transgender American reality television personality, model, and burlesque performer.



The second is





Jenna Talackova. (right)   Jenna is a Canadian model and television personality, who gained media attention in 2012 when she successfully waged a legal battle to be allowed to compete in the Miss Universe Canada after being initially disqualified for being a trans woman.

As I said, with transgender women such as Carmen and Jenna in the public eye, the future is brighter for all of us in 2014 and beyond.



                                                                   

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

In honor of the "Victoria Secret" Fashion Show, here are a couple of future possibilities of the first transgender women models:
First,   Amelia Maltepe, a transsexual model from Toronto by way of Bangladesh.


And of course, Carmen Carrera, who is reportedly already set for an audition next year.

NOT one of Victoria's Secrets

Carmen Carerra

It's no secret Carmen Carerra is a positively gorgeous woman- who happens to be transgender. Now a Change.org  petition is pushing for model Carmen Carrera to be the first transgender Victoria’s Secret Angel and had garnered over 34,000 signatures

A transwoman walking the runway alongside Karlie Kloss and Adriana Lima would be a truly revolutionary event for transgender women every where.. But is America ready? Countries outside of America have been more open-minded about transgender models on the runways and covers but America is still lagging behind. Overseas, gender-bending models like Andrej Pejic and Lea T have been pushing boundaries on runways for a while.

Andrej Pejic

It remains to be seen if Victoria's Secret is ready as a brand, to feel comfortable marketing towards ALL types of women. But,  if anyone has a chance to open the doors, certainly Carmen is a fantastic choice!

Unfortunately the way I read it the petition effort may be a little late.
The show films tomorrow but airs on CBS in December. However, if this effort opens the door at all for transgender models in the future it is a great deal.

Carmen Carerra

Carmen Carerra again seems to making yet another name for herself.  It doesn't seem so long ago she had her problems with Rude Paul since she officially dumped the drag queen tag by taking hormones. Now the transgender model is performing in a burlesque show! Where can I buy tickets?  Check out this interview on Inside Edition:

Carmen Carrera Photo Shoot

Perhaps by now you have heard of or seen the beautiful transgender model/actress  Carmen Carrera. (right)

If you have or haven't, it's worth your time to go here to check out the WMagazine chorus girl photo shoot.

I have posted two of approximately 12 pictures as a sample here at
Cyrsti's Condo.

Carmen Carrera

Carmen is a fairly well known name in the transsexual community and even was featured on a "What Would you Do" show where she was abused as a transgender server to see how the public would react. Here's a 2013 YouTube video on the Cyrsti'sCondo vid viewer:

Worth Another Look!

Awhile ago ABC's What Would You Do? television series ran a feature which centered around transsexual Carmen Carrera. She was working as a server in a diner and this is what happened:


From YouTube of course.