Friday on my Mind

 

Image from Kelly Sikkema 
on UnSplash. 

It is Friday and the day my Veteran’s Administration LGBTQ group meets…maybe.

I say maybe the orange TACO in Washington is still attempting to cut back staff at the Dayton, Ohio VA where the group is located. I became semi-concerned last week when the moderator did not end the meeting the way they always do. I wondered at the time if they were not telling us something. Then, this week, my fears grew when I received none of the advanced reminders for the virtual meeting. It is the only support group I have really enjoyed, so I would hate to see it go. Especially to someone like tRumpt. We shall see. Happily, my fears were put aside for another week because I just received my call in texts from the VA.

Also, summer has finally arrived here in Southwestern Ohio and with it, my chance to go through my wardrobe and pick out the items I can wear. The problem I have is, I am not supposed to be out in the sun because it increases the iron levels in my body past an unhealthy point. Since I have tried to increase my walks by a substantial amount, finding any long-sleeved tops which are lite weight and comfortable for my walks, is difficult to do. Having the neighborhood see me in the same couple of long-sleeved shirts in hot weather may be enough to attract unwanted attention.

Speaking of unwanted attention, I made a comment about pre-opt transgender women using women’s locker rooms to shower and change in. My example comes from a protest a couple of years ago in Xenia, Ohio which is a conservative little town not far from me. I had a comment from Pammie asking me why I chose only “pre-opt” and not “post-opt” trans women in my comment. First, thanks for the comment and my answer is a difficult one to write.  Because in many ways it will make me seem like a hypocrite.

How? Because I believe gender is between the ears and sex is between the legs but not too much of the rest of the public. It’s no wonder the trans woman was told to leave when she was in the women’s locker room, naked. Perhaps also, I could not imagine showing my body in a semi-public space for all other women to see. If they had any questions, I was a transgender woman, my nudity would wipe out any questions since I am pre-opt. Which means, I have had no gender surgeries. I think also, post opt trans women should feel more comfortable in their bodies. But that is up to them! I hope that answers the question.

On a positive note, my wife Liz and I are going through with plans to take a tour this fall up through Boston to Maine. The trip includes riding Amtrak as well as a couple of other dinner trains. Since I am a huge rail fan, I cannot wait for the trip. Hopefully, this time, I will not catch Covid and end up in a hospital far from home. Which is what happened to me last winter when we went to the Florida Keys.

Closer to now, my daughter is planning a big graduation party for the three grads in her family which Liz and I have been invited to. In addition to the graduation of my oldest grandchild from Ohio State, my son-in-law is graduating with a MBA from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and my youngest grandchild is graduating from high school. I feel old! But seriously, I am obsessed with what I am going to wear. I am thinking about wearing my yellow print maxi dress which would be very comfortable and would fit well because of the diet I have been on. But I still have some time to think about it since it is not until the July 4^th weekend.

Thanks to all of you for reading along every day and taking the time out to comment on my posts, your input makes it all so worthwhile.

Plus, as I said, the VA support group meeting is on for another week and I will let you know if something exciting happens.

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day

 

Carla Lewis, Trans Vet. 

Most of you know I am a transgender veteran and proud of it.

I served many wars ago during the Vietnam War (I refuse to call it a conflict) for three years. Plus, it is sad I needed to say many wars ago instead of years since my country has always been at war during my life. 

During Memorial Day every year, I feel the need to remind everyone of the real meaning of the weekend. It is so much more than the unofficial beginning of summer, along with a chance to bring out the grille and treat the family to hot dogs and hamburgers. What the long weekend means is a chance to pause and remember those servicemen and servicewomen who paid the ultimate prize for freedom in our country.

Sadly, now, many of those hard-earned freedoms are being taken away. Especially for transgender Americans in states such as Ohio. Where I live. Specifically, the Republican party has made it nearly impossible for me as a transgender woman to even legally use a public restroom of my choice.

Regardless, we have cemeteries’ full of service men and women who paid the ultimate price with their life when they left their families and homes to serve in the military. I was fortunate in that I did not have to face any combat in Vietnam when I served but I felt the impact when I learned a battle-damaged F-4 fighter jet had veered off the runway and struck the predecessor of the radio/television station I worked at. The damage killed all thirteen workers at the station. Just before I got there.

Meanwhile on the home front, I had one friend who did not survive his time in Vietnam and two others who lived but were deeply scarred for the rest of their lives.

I often wonder now how many of the military members who lost their lives were trying to run away from their gender issues? Since supposedly, the military has had a larger amount of enlistee’s thinking the military would help “make them a man”. Instead of making them dead.

All I ask is, on this Memorial Day, take a second to pause and remember all of those who gave their all for our freedoms. May they not have died in vain.

 

Just Being You

 

Paula from the UK.

In response to yesterday's post "In the Passing Lane". Paula wrote in and commented:

"I have often heard it said that the best accessory for passing is confidence. For me these days it is not so much a matter of confidence as familiarity, I rarely make an effort I am just being me.
I have a friend who uses the phrase "When the World experienced me as a man" while I like that it has emphasized to me that not only is the World now experiencing me as a woman, but that I am experiencing the World as a woman!"

First of all, thanks for the comment. It sounds as if you have reached the point in your transition where confidence is not such a huge factor but was early on in our lives.  I am similar to you in that I have reached the familiarity stage, and I am just being me. The point I always try to get across when I write is how long it took me to arrive at where I am at and how I got there. 

As I consistently write, gender dysphoria played a major part in my life, and I was very insecure on how I was appearing in the public as a novice cross dresser or transgender woman.  It took me years of effort to discover who the true me really was. So, I could go forward in the world and seek out a stable transgender womanhood. As Paula said, the world was experiencing me as a man, and it had to stop before it destroyed me.

I think one of the problems we have as transgender women and trans men in the world todays politically charged climate against us is, for the great majority of people, gender is a given and not something to be questioned. I cannot ever remember a time when I did not question my gender on a regular basis. What a strange and wonderful experience that would have been, and I can only imagine the strides I could have made in my life if gender dysphoria was not a part of it. Finally, I arrived at the point I could take my male life no longer and needed to do whatever I could to experience the world as a woman.

But what exactly does that mean? Do cisgender women consciously think of themselves as women or is it a series experiences a female naturally goes through which takes her to womanhood. Plus, let us be clear, not every female makes it to where they can experience life as a woman. Again, the overwhelming majority of the population never has to go through any sort of questions about their gender. Even to the point of not being able to separate gender from sex. With all those big questions, it's no wonder the average person has no understanding of the transgender community. 

I am biased, but I think having the chance to experience life as a man, then a woman is difficult. But it makes for an enlightened life I never expected to have. Once I did arrive, I respected the process and never wanted to go back to my experiences as a man. Except to learn from the positives and the negatives which made me a better person. 

Primary Voting Day

 

JJ Hart Speaking out.

Today is the day to vote in the Ohio state mid-term primaries and is one of the voting days I cherish so much.

I cherish voting so much for several reasons. The main one of course is it is it's my duty as a citizen to vote. Another big one always comes when I have to show my driver's license to receive my ballot. I will forever remember the first time I had to present my new license with my gender marked with an "F" for female. I am sure no one in the crowded line was prouder than I was. Probably even more so than the first time I ever voted. 

After my wife Liz and I vote, tradition has it that we go out to eat at a nearby diner style restaurant. So, I will have to step up my feminine appearance a little. I am picking out a different pair of leggings and shoes to wear along with a light sweater, since it still a little chilly and rainy in the Cincinnati area. Of course, I will also shave and apply a light coat of makeup so I can look as presentable as possible. 

Sadly, if the current administration gets its way, my path to voting will be much more difficult under the so-called "Save" Act. As I understand it, I may need to present a birth certificate as a second form of identification to prove I was born in this country. The problem is that my name on my birth certificate had never been changed and does not match my new legal name anymore. To make matters worse, it is nearly impossible in Ohio to have a birth name changed on a birth certificate. I would be stuck between a legislative rock and a hard place along with so many other women, trans or cisgender and my precious right to vote would be gone. I guess I will have to face that challenge when I come to it. 

Speaking of challenges, tomorrow, I have a long-awaited appointment with my Endocrinologist. I say long awaited because my virtual visit with her has been postponed before. I get my hormonal medications through the Veterans Administration; she is my gate keeper and has to approve my all important gender affirming hormones. Perhaps all of you remember, recently the new administration in Washington at first dictated no more HRT for veterans through the VA. Then they partially reversed their edict to cover only new vets which is bad enough but obviously did not include me. 

My next problem could be coming up soon with my Endo herself. The word is, the Dayton, Ohio VA hospital where I receive part of my care will be cutting three hundred fifty of its staff. Which means I could lose access all together to the staff responsible for dispensing and monitoring my meds, Again, we will see what happens with her and the moderators who run the LGBTQ support group I go to virtually every Friday. 

It turns out voting maybe the least of my problems thanks to many circumstances I cannot control. Thanks to a convicted felon who is destroying the country. 

Can't Go Back

 

Image from UnSplash.

At the ripe old age of seventy-five, there is no way I will back track my long difficult gender journey to transgender womanhood. 

One thing I never thought would happen is I would ever have to consider backtracking at all but here I am. Of course, the main reason I am doing it is because of the orange felon attempting to destroy our country as we know it. In the short span of time, he has been in "power", already he has affected me severely. Or almost has. 

The first time was when the Veterans' Administration came down with a new directive saying there would be no more gender affirming hormones provided by the VA. Since I receive my HRT from VA Health, I was rapidly attempting to discover a Plan "B" to get my hormones. Then the VA amended their hormone directive to not issuing HRT to new veterans only which of course left me out. I felt good for me and bad for any other new veterans suffering with gender issues along with other problems. 

Then, there was a glimmer of hope from the powers to be who were looking for a loophole in the gender directive. The loophole was veterans needing HRT for mental health reasons could still be administered hormones, just not wigs or various items such as breast forms. So, for the time being, the status quo has been maintained. No thanks to the buffoon in Washington.

The second major issue manufactured by the gender bigots in Washington is the "Save Act" which is designed to take voting rights away from women everywhere. Transgender or cisgender. Here is a segment of explanation of what the "Save Act" means: 

"In addition to married women,” Cherry said, “any eligible voter who has changed their names for myriad other reasons (related to marriage or divorce, a gender identity transition, a change based on personal preference, etc.) could face heightened barriers to vote if the SAVE Act were enacted due to their lack of birth certificate that reflects their current legal name.” Cherry is a legal director for "Voteriders" which provides voter ID information.

My problem with the bill is my birth certificate has never been changed here in Ohio to reflect my new legal name, and counties here in Ohio are refusing to do it. Including the one I was born in. So, I could not use my birth certificate to vote. The act still has to pass the US Senate, so we will see what happens. Whatever does happen is I never want to lose my precious right to vote as my authentic self. 

One thing is for sure; I will never backtrack from my life as a transgender woman. As I write about often, I can never relive all the exciting years I spent as a novice in a fulfilling new world. Also, I need to add how much I resent the recent attacks into my world. Like the rest of you, I am just living a quiet life and don't need you to tell me which restroom to use or how to vote. 

Mainly now because I do not ever want, nor will I go back, and I will never disappear. If by chance, the blog goes away because of my comments, you will know why. I hit the big time and was noticed by the wrong people.

Transgender Breakthroughs

 

Image from 
Shane Rounce  on 
UnSplash. 

Even though we are all at different points along the way in our gender journeys, we still have break throughs which keep us going. 

My earliest breakthrough was when I was still admiring my girlish reflection in the mirror, the first times I was able to try on my mom's clothes when I was all alone. I thought I looked great, and the feeling stayed with me for a couple days afterward until I could try to cross dress again. The problem was, I felt deep down there was still something missing, I wanted to do so much more than just look like a girl, I wanted to be a girl. The problem was, I did not have any gender information to go with my discovery of who I really was. I was still years away from even hearing for the first time about transgender women and what the term meant to me. I still have vivid recollections of the time I saw the transgender term used and just knew, for the first time in my life, being a trans woman fit me. Naturally it was a major breakthrough. 

Little did I know, just having a label to attach to myself, would prove to be a challenge for me as I went through life. No longer could I rely upon a mirror's image to get myself by. I needed to get out into the world and see if I could present well enough to mix in with the public. When I did, I found being a woman was no joke, and I needed to really work to achieve my goal of transgender womanhood. 

One of the big problems I had was, when I was coming out, I tried to keep one foot firmly in my closet. In case something went wrong, and I needed to go back. The only problem with keeping a foot in my closet was the time I spent in the world as a woman spoiled me, and I never wanted to go back. It was very difficult for me to tell my inner feminine self no. What I decided to do was, formulate a version of my own feminine bucket list. I would try increasingly more difficult things as a woman and see what would happen. For example, if I made it browsing in a bookstore, I would take it a step further by ordering a coffee and using the women's room the next time I was there. Or I would try to go to a different restaurant all together and order lunch. 

I try not to act as if I am recommending my path out of my gender closet to others because when it comes to leaving your closet, one size does certainly not fit all. Circmstances such as experiences in the public and where you live can vary so much. However, in my case, it did take a certain amount of courage to come out. There were many times when I waited in my car adjusting and readjusting my makeup before I gathered the courage to walk into a venue I wanted to try out as my new femininized self. Since a few of the venues I had been to several times as a man. 

Then, courage gave way to confidence and when it did, I could enjoy my new exciting life. Before that happened, it seemed to be a challenge every time I turned around. Perhaps I was expecting too much by thinking I could turn decades of living a reasonably successful male life around so quickly. Being a woman of any sorts presented a challenge because women lead a so much more layered and complex life than men. Once I accepted the challenge, I discovered I was in the right place as a trans woman and there would be no turning back. 

Even though the current barrage of anti-transgender legislation shows no sign of abating soon in many places, we have to remember transgender women and trans men will never be erased and have always existed and you can too. If you try, you can have your own breakthroughs and live a solid life out of your closet. You just have to be careful how you do it and keep an eye out for the bigots which are increasingly brave. In my case, I needed to realize the worst the bigots could do to me was not as bad as continuing to live in my gender closet. It was very dark and lonely, and I could not take it any longer and I set out to experience my own transgender breakthroughs.

The Darkness

 

Transvestia Magazine 1960.

The darkness in my transgender closet was intense and complete. I had no windows or doors to let any light in at all.

One of the problems I had was I lived in the pre-internet era when there was little to none gender information to learn from. I needed to wait for my monthly issue of "Virginia Prince's" Transvestia Magazine for so called heterosexual cross dressers only to learn there were others like me struggling with gender issues in the world at all. Even with the brief glimpse into the lives of others, I had very little of light in my dark lonely closet. I was very far away from knowing there was absolutely nothing wrong with being me. 

With guidance from the back pages of Transvestia, I managed to gather the confidence to attend a relatively close by mixer, blending cross dressers of every sort (or transvestites as they were known back then) with transsexuals. Remember, the transgender term was not used at the time. At the time, I was very naive and thought going to a mixer or two would help me out of my gender closet.  I was wrong and all I learned was I needed to go back to my dark closet until I learned more concerning others who might share gender issues with. 

What I did learn was there was no easy way to fit in with the transvestite community. I was too much of a woman for the parttime cross dressers and not enough to fit in with the transsexuals I met who were waiting for gender realignment surgery. Deep down I knew, I was not prepared for the surgeries needed to change my genitals and gender was not between my legs for me anyhow. It was between the ears in my brain. All the process did at the time was enable me to look for a brighter light in my closet. 

Sometimes I believe that unless you have experienced a dark closet yourself, it is impossible to explain to a person who never had to go through it. I know also, there are many of you who read the blog are hopelessly stuck in your own closets. Especially, with an increasingly politically charged anti-transgender world around us. Hopefully, you live in an area which is more liberal and welcoming to those with gender issues. 

I write often about how my life slowly changed through several transitions as I deluded myself as to who I really was. I internalized my true gender for nearly fifty years. Early on, I told myself I was a man cross dressing as a woman, when the opposite was true. I was a woman cross dressing as a man the best I could. At the same time, I was nearing one of the most important transitions of my life, when I began to think of myself as a transgender woman and not a cross dresser. It was only at that point, when the darkness began to lift from my life, and I could live again. 

Hopefully, your gender life as a cross dresser or transgender person is not ruled by darkness and the light at the end of the tunnel you see is not the train.

Relax!

 

Image from Clem Onojeghuo
on UnSplash.

As transgender women or transgender men, often relaxation can be a key to our survival. The sad part is relaxation can be very difficult to come by. 

If you are like me, when you first discovered the pleasures of dressing in your mom's or sister's clothing, there was an extreme element of danger involved. If my secret was ever discovered, life as I knew it would be destroyed. With that hanging over my head, it was very hard to relax. Somehow, I thought as the years rushed by, I could relax as I enjoyed looking at myself in the mirror cross dressed as a girl, but I did not.

In fact, it got worse the more I ventured into the world for the first time as a self-proclaimed transgender woman. I was concentrating on making sure I was on point with my fashion, makeup and hair, I just could not relax on the reality of putting the appearance I achieved into moving as best I could as a woman. My best laid plans of presenting as an attractive woman could quickly be destroyed by moving like a linebacker when I walked. So, until I earned the confidence I needed to be out in the world, I just could not relax.

Ironically, I did get better at putting my feminized body into motion and was beginning to learn how to relax as a trans woman until an even bigger obstacle came my way. The set back came when I needed to begin to communicate with other women and men in the world. No longer could I go out preparing to be by myself, when so many people (mainly women) wanted to talk. I was caught in a new strange never-never land where I had never been before. I did not know what to do. If I was too chatty would other people, consider me too forward, and on the other hand, if I did not say enough, I would appear to be unfriendly and not approachable at all. Plus, on top of all of that, I was very paranoic in how my voice sounded to the public. 

At first, when I talked to another woman, I attempted to mimic her voice and do the best I could. Most importantly, I needed to quit anticipating what another woman was going to say to me and listen more intently than I ever did as a man. As I already knew, cisgender women were very different than men, but I was never allowed behind the gender curtain to discover the true extent of the differences. As I always mention, I had plenty of instances when I did not watch my back and ended up being clawed by a passive aggressive woman before I understood to watch for everyone. On the other hand, I had very few interactions with men and did not have to worry where they were coming from since most stayed away from me.

Through it all, today I can't say I can ever relax completely. Especially with the current state of affairs against the transgender world thanks to a certain orange felon. It's so bad in my native Ohio, the courts are battling laws which outlaw me using the restroom of my choice at all.  How am I supposed to feel about getting arrested when I am doing nothing wrong.

The only advice I can give anyone considering starting their own gender journey is to take the time to build your own confidence so you can proceed. Confidence is the key to relaxing as you are able to enjoy the path to your new life. 

The Biggest Risk

 

Image from Engin Ackurt
on UnSplash. 

Recently, I had a comment from "Indigo" on a post I had just completed.

"Indigo" mentioned she was just beginning her transition and wanted to know what I thought was the most important male privilege I had lost when I crossed the gender border. My answer was, by far, the biggest privilege I lost was my personal security. In the space of one year, I needed to fend off potentially harmful attacks from men which I write about often in the hopes of protecting others searching for their transgender womanhood, or even novice cross dressers. 

The first negative learning experience I had was from a person, I will refer to as a transgender admirer at a small party I was attending with my second wife. The admirer was a much larger person than I and had literally trapped me in a narrow hallway in the house we were in. It was the first time in my life I had felt powerless to fend off another person who I thought meant me harm. Ironically, it was my wife who had to rescue me when she showed up in the nick of time. Since she did not approve of the provocative short mini-dress I was wearing that night, I had to hear way too many I told you so's on the way home. It turned out the lesson I learned was to do my best to judge the surroundings I was in before I could place myself in trouble. Not in any way shape or form what I was wearing. My wife was telling me about the right things for the wrong reasons.

The second main situation I found myself in was one night when I was walking alone between two gay bars in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Out of nowhere, I was approached by two men asking for money. I was lucky when they were satisfied with taking the last five dollars I had and let me go. From the experience, I asked for friends to accompany me when and if I ever went back there. By that time in my life, I was nearly done with gay venues anyhow, so it did not matter. 

I need to mention also, both of these learning lessons occurred years ago, and times have changed for the worse. However, the fact remains, women still have to protect themselves in the world from far too many toxic men. As another reader, told me, women are raised to be aware of situations which could be dangerous, and men are not. These days, a lot matters on where you live and how far along you are in your presentation. I am fortunate to live in a city (Cincinnati) which flies the transgender flag on the Transgender Day of Visibility and in an upscale suburb of the city which I have found to be very accepting to me. On the other hand, if I would drive ten or twenty miles to the next suburb, it is very conservative and non-accepting of transgender people. Plus, under current Ohio law, which is being challenged in the courts, I am not allowed in the women's restroom, which is a problem of course regardless of where I am. 

The best I can say is to anyone who is starting your transition, is to just be careful. You have to remember you do not carry your man cards anymore. Always, park at night in lighted lots and keep your head on a swivel. I know too, many transgender women who carry small firearms to protect themselves, but as far as I have ever gone is having Mace with me at all times. On top of all of this, under the current administration, if the wrong person senses something is wrong with your presentation, they could be emboldened enough to actually say something negative. Much worse than the old days when the worse which could probably happen was when you could get laughed at by a group of teenaged girls. 

It has always been very difficult to succeed as a transgender woman or man because to make it, often we have to be better than the next person. But once again please be aware of your own personal safety when you lose all your man cards. It is the biggest risk. For every negative, there is a positive and it is there are many supporting LGBTQ or transgender groups who will support you when you need it. There is a light at the end of the tunnel which is not the train. 

Transgender Day of Visibility

 

Transgender Day of Visibility
poster from my
hometown. 

Today is the annual transgender day of visibility on March 31st. 

It is a time such as never before to attempt to stand up and be counted as a transgender woman or transgender man. Sadly, it is also the time we trans people take the most risks to do so. Stakes are becoming higher and higher against us coming out in many areas of the country, especially, here in my native Ohio. Where an overwhelmingly republican legislature in the state capital of Columbus has passed bill after negative bill against us. 

To me, my visibility is an ongoing deal. Since I live fulltime in my transgender womanhood, long ago I decided to never run and hide my feminine nature. Back when I did not have so many mobility issues, I was more of an active participant than I am today. In place of being active at all, I have tried to pick up my pace with my writing and protest with my keyboard and votes. 

Plus, I know I am so fortunate to have found and married an accepting/encouraging spouse who helped usher me into my transgender womanhood. I know so many others in the community who are so lonely. 

Wherever you happen to be in your gender transition, these troubled days present a troubled challenge to being visible. Challenges such as your presentation provide sometimes insurmountable hurdles to being more visible. Similar to a "Catch 22" of passing. In other words, you need to be seen in public to learn if you present well enough to stay out of personal danger, but it is scary to even start to get the experience to begin with.  Again, I was lucky when my time to come out meant at the worst you were laughed at and not beat up. Plus, I was able to put years of practice into makeup, fashion, and wigs when I cross dressed in my closet. If the times were reversed, I often wonder what I would have done differently, if anything. All in all, it is just another one of those life's questions I will never know.

On this transgender day of visibility, I hope all of you find your own way to be visible. Anything from marching in a parade, all the way to looking at yourself in the mirror, find a way to celebrate the rare, beautiful self which is you! 

Seasons Change

 

Image from Jamiethlene Reskspe on
UnSplash.

It appears that Spring has quit teasing us here in Southern Ohio and is finally here to stay. Spring teases us every year, so it is no real surprise when it happens. We can go from summer like weather to winter in one week. 

What it means is wardrobe adjustments which account for cooler mornings and warmer afternoons have to be made.  Plus, I always use the unique seasonal changes here to completely go through my clothes to see what will stay and what will go.  From nearly the very beginning of my love of everything feminine, I had admired how girls and women had the opportunity to completely change their fashion with the seasons. Putting aside all the challenges I had with having any resources at all to buy new fashion, I still did my best to meet the seasonal change challenges. 

My biggest challenge this year is coming up in the middle of April when my wife Liz and I have been invited to my daughters in laws house for a lunch get together. I am planning for it already and am planning to wear a two-piece lightweight top I just purchased for our trip to the Florida Keys. I will pair the top with leggings I have and hopefully will be dressed well enough to blend in with the rest of the women who will be there. Sadly, I don't think my transgender grandchild will be there because they (pronoun of choice) will be hiking the Appalachian trail with their partner. I will have to find out from their mom if they still are going to have a job as a civilian nuclear engineer with the US Navy or did the orange felon's threat against transgender women and trans men destroy any hopes of having a job. 

In the meantime, it is opening day in Cincinnati for the pro-baseball Reds, which has a huge parade and is close to a complete local holiday. Since the parade is televised during the afternoon, and I really don't care much for parades, it will give me a chance to get started with my spring wardrobe assessment. I know right now, I am setting fairly well with my collection of light weight tops and T's. Especially when I added a few select T Shirts from my trip to Key West, Florida. I purchased a very colorful T(shirt) from "Harpoon Harry's" where we ate lunch and later made a special stop in Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" shop where I picked up another shirt to add to my collection. My second wife and I were huge fans of Jimmy and when he passed way, another of my bucket list items went with him.

Watching Buffet's famous Cincinnati summer riverside concerts were always a hit with us, but little did my wife know how badly I wanted to be one of the women watching the show. My transition took so long, I sadly never made it. 

Now, I hear the birds chirping and a pile of clothes awaits to be sorted to be worn or donated. It has always been a labor of fashion love for me to go through the seasonal changes which made being a woman much more fun for me than being a boring man. Even though, sometimes I think the fashion experience is shallow in nature, it has always been fun to me. 

Especially, when I can shed the boring dark colors of winter and become a part of the new bright spring flowers and budding of the trees. Everything I wanted to do when I started my path to transgender womanhood. It also time to put all my sweaters away and turn another page towards my future and bright as a new season.

 

Comments

 

Image from Bruno Acquire on UnSplash. 

In regard to yesterday's post concerning the Veterans Administration's announcement they were not going to cover gender affirming hormones, prothesis's, and even mental health treatment for new veterans suffering from gender dysphoria anymore. 

In my rant, I said, among other things, how much I disagreed with the move, even though it did not affect me. The VA said, those already receiving gender related care could keep getting it. Which, of course, means me. 

One huge problem I did not mention in my post was pointed out by Denise, who pointed out, the VA's decision to shut out trans women being discharged into the world to fend for themselves was just a smaller part of what the orange felon's presidential administration is trying to do to erase the rights of all women in our country today. Since transgender women are a unique form of women, our rights as women are being taken away too. Which gives me yet another chance to wonder why any clear-thinking woman, trans or not, would have ever voted for the felon at all. And I will leave it at that.

On another subject concerning a post called "Why Me?' a reader wrote in with this comment:

"Over many decades I often asked myself both “why me” and “why not me”. For decades I limited myself to underdressing…. something I told myself was just a (hopefully) harmless kink, out of the fear that if I explored further, I would irreversibly descend that slippery slope. I in my early 50s I finally allowed myself to experiment with makeup and women's clothing beyond underwear. I still vividly recall the moment when I looked in the mirror and saw myself for the first time. In that instant, I may have even said aloud, “I can do this!”

There have been subsequent periods of self-doubt, of course. Still, every day I find that I look forward to seeing myself and engaging with the world as a woman."

Thanks to both of you for the comments! I found many of your ideas to be very profound and meaningful. Plus, I had "aha" moments when I realized I had left all women out of the current political agenda and the moment when I too had realized when I was successful in public as a novice transgender woman that "I could do this", and it felt so natural. Deep down inside, something snapped, and I felt as if I was home.

The night I realized I could do it and felt at home in the company of women was and is so special to me. Just one of the reasons it disturbs me so much to see what is happening today with our rights continue. 

Speaking of continue, I love all your comments and wish I could answer them all, here on the blog in a public setting. Needless to say, I do the best I can!

Also (something I don't say enough) thanks to all of you who find the time and effort to read along on a regular basis. It makes it all worthwhile to me!

Go Away!!!

 

Image from Military. Com

Well, the long arm of the felon running the country has reached all the way down into my life again, seemingly so soon after he got into office. 

Recently, the Veteran's Administration issued a new directive stating all healthcare for transgender veterans would be halted. For those of you who may not know, I am a transgender veteran who benefits from VA healthcare. Which means, I receive my gender affirming hormones from the VA. The meds are not free, and I pay a co-pay. In addition, for years, I took advantage of free mental health services which helped me immeasurably when I was beginning my transition. I was lost and needed the help. 

Of course, I was initially really upset that once again the felon attempting to run the country should be running my life for me again. At the age of seventy-five, I live a quiet life with my wife Liz and our two cats. I am not out to hurt anyone, so why should tRumpt be screwing around in my life. For sure, I knew it was coming when he was elected along with so many other politicians who used the transgender minority to raise false fears about us. After speaking to Liz, we immediately began thinking of ways to procure my hormones which made me feel better.

This morning as I began to research the directive, in typical government double speak, I read the VA would stop providing crucial care for new gender dysphoric patients. Which of course leaves me out but not all my transgender sisters and brothers who need help with their gender issues after being discharged from the military and I feel for all of them. Here is a statement concerning the problems which will be created by ceasing care:

"VA's rollback of crucial protections, specifically the elimination of Directive 1341, is a direct assault on the well-being of vulnerable LGBTQ+ veterans, jeopardizing their access to essential care," Rachel Branaman, executive director of Modern Military Association of America, said in a statement."

Every Friday, I attend a LGBTQ support group meeting virtually at the Dayton, Ohio VA, and this Friday I hope to find out more about this latest attempt to erase the transgender population. Already, the workers who are left in the offices have been told to remove all flags from their offices. Which as we all knew, meant all Pride flags. 

I hope to learn more then before I have a crucial May appointment with my Endocrinologist who dispenses my gender affirming hormones. 

In the meantime, you trans women who wrote in and said the felon would not be that bad are enjoying all the benefits of his lies. Even you cross dressers in your closet should beware. 

Real Life Impostors

JJ Hart at Key Largo.

 At various times in my life, I have suffered from impostor's syndrome when I was out with other women celebrating a girl's night out.

While I was overjoyed to be invited to the events and considered them to be a rite of passage to my transgender womanhood, I still could not shake my underlying feelings of doubt when I was allowed behind the gender curtain. 

As I went through the process, I began to wonder if all human beings go through a form of impostor syndrome in their lives. What I am trying to say is no woman is born a woman. They are socialized through life to achieve the status of women since they were born female. Men also go through the same process. It's the primary reason I had such a difficult time leaving my male past behind because in many ways I had made it to manhood which was miles away from just being another male. I needed to start all over again to travel to my gender goal of transgender womanhood. 

In the meantime, my confidence was building that I had as much right as the next woman to be at special functions. I had just arrived at the same point the other women did by using another path. I was aided also when I calmed down and began to contribute more to the group. I found I had more in common than I thought in this women's only space. Even though, I most certainly did not birth a child, I could bring up my own daughter and grandkids who I was so proud of. I just needed to flip the gender script to relieve myself of any possible impostor syndrome feelings. 

It wasn't just at the girl's nights out when being a gender impostor took a hold of me. Another prime example were the nights when I felt I was doing everything right. My fashion, hair and makeup all were on point and yet there I was wondering what I was doing there at all. I was devastated when I had come so far in my feminine presentation, just to have something else stand in my way. It took me awhile, but I worked my way through it all and put impostor syndrome in my rear-view mirror.

On the increasingly rare occasions when I encountered any resistance from the public, I finally came to the conclusion they were the true gender impostors. It was very clear to me why men left me alone as they were so insecure in their own sexuality. On the other hand, most cisgender women were more secure and not afraid to reach out to me. Especially interesting to me was the interaction I had with the lesbian community. Most of the lesbians I had a positive experience with had past encounters with men, so I was not so far from a person they would consider knowing. I learned quite early in my experiences in public, the various levels of the lesbian society. In fact, my first date with a man was with a very masculine lesbian on his way to becoming a full-fledged transgender man. Many times, the more masculine the lesbian, the more interest they showed in me. They were certainly not gender impostors.

Real life gender impostors are everywhere in this increasingly hostile world. We don't need insecure people in power using transgender women and trans men as crutches to increase their own power. 

Writing Your Own Script

Carla Lewis

 It is difficult enough to go through life trying to live up to the expectations of others around you. 

In my case, and maybe you too, you struggled under the burden of living up to the demanding expectations of a male world. Perhaps, you achieved some sort of success in the male world as a method of self-survival.  Bullies were everywhere and ready to pounce and you had to be ready. I used the world of sports to hide the fact in truth I wanted to be a woman as I progressed through life. An example was, when I was playing football on the high school football team, I would stare longingly at the cheerleaders who were practicing nearby. Of course, it was my deep, dark secret about how badly I wanted to be one of them. 

About that time, destiny set in for me and it was time for me to step up and serve in the military. Little did I know, later in life, all transgender military members would be banned from serving by a self-serving draft dodger.  Or as trans woman "Carla Lewis" famously said, "I fought for your right to hate me." Now, it is even worse. I fought for your right to ban me.

Regardless, I kept my head down and served my time in the Army. I never labored under the impression the experience would make me a better "man." Looking back, as I was writing a new script in life, the entire process made me a better woman. Why, may you ask? Mainly because I was taught in basic training what extremes I could endure and adjust to in the military. Plus, I learned to always look ahead in life and not backward which would serve me well as I became a serious cross dresser. When I hit the rough spots which always come when you try to cross the gender border, I used my military lessons to always go back to the drawing board, try harder, and move forward. 

When I did move forward into a new scary, yet exciting life, writing my script became so much more intense. I needed to just to get by. For example, what would I do when I needed to put the carefully crafted feminine presentation I put together over the years into motion. The need to move like a woman and communicate with other women were and are prime examples. To make matters worse, I had no workbook to work from. I was completely on my own and made my share of mistakes before I began to be successful.

As you progress with your own life's script, adding being transgender into it adds a certain amount of intrigue. Especially, these days when we are under attack from so many politicians.

Trans Girl at the Roller Derby

 

Transgender Roller Derby Woman

Way back when, as I was building my transgender confidence, a group of lesbian friends invited me to tag along to their roller derby experience. 

Even though, I was slightly petrified to say yes, I enthusiastically went along with the idea. What could possibly go wrong with a small group of lesbians drinking one dollar beer watching women's roller derby in Cincinnati? Actually, nothing did go wrong, and I ended up having a great time. 

Also, I was amazed at the number of women in the crowd and on the rink who were more masculine than I still was.  All of them helped me to calm down and have a better time at the event. The only problem I almost encountered was when I used the women's room. It involved an evil stare from a woman coming out as I was going in. It also turned out to be one of those days when I was wearing more makeup than the majority of the women in the venue. Of course, I tried my best to apply the bare minimum of makeup so I could blend in, but it turned out to be impossible. There seemed to be no one wearing any makeup at all. I guess I identified as a "lipstick lesbian" for the afternoon. 

After I settled in, I found I could even enjoy the action on the rink, even though I did not understand all the scoring moves I saw. Plus, I had read the story of a transgender woman who had skated for a Long Island, New York, team who had fought and won her right to to participate. This was way before todays bigoted transgender backlash around the country. 

Sadly, I never went back to the Cincinnati Roller Girls matches again. My excuse is I was never invited back until my mobility issues made it difficult for me to do. Plus, my small group of lesbian friends drifted apart. In the meantime, I was able to check off another item I did not really know I had off my bucket list of things to try as a transgender woman. My friends were doing a wonderful job of pushing me out of my gender shell and if they wanted to do something as a group, I was included.

Everything I was able to check off enabled me to grow my all-important confidence in the world. From there I was able to begin going with my future wife Liz to "Meet Up" groups in the Cincinnati area. "Meet Up's" are groups of strangers who get together to discuss all sorts of topics from writing to knitting and beyond. Meeting strangers again did wonders for my confidence in the world as a transgender woman. I equate the whole process as building a new foundation in life away from anyone ever knowing my old male self. 

Finally. the wall became thick enough and high enough my old male self was completely shut out and he became the one stuck in a dark gender closet. My trip that afternoon just became one more success story on my journey to transgender womanhood.

Take Nothing for Granted

 

A night out with JJ Hart.

Last night, my wife Liz, her adult son and I went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. When we did, several questions came to mind.

I wondered of course if I would encounter any unapproving vocal fellow patrons who were protesting the mere presence of a transgender woman in the venue. Since we had been there many times in the past, I did not have much fear of that happening. Again, last night, nothing happened as I was treated the same as any other guest in the very busy venue. 

Then, I began to worry further about the influence of our current felon in chief and his attacks on illegals. I wondered what the Hispanic staff thought or worried about future ICE raids in Cincinnati which is considered a sanctuary city which should make it a target from the tRumpt goons. 

I had plenty to think about as we waited our fifteen minutes to be seated. As I people watched, I naturally wondered how many had voted for the felon. How could they? But, on the plus side, I was back out after myself imposed Covid quarantine. It felt great to be out and about and finally free from all the disease's evil effects. 

Everyone around us was minding their own business and we were minding ours. All the way to being addressed to as "ladies." Which is always very affirming. Through the entire evening, I was able somehow to put my election bitterness behind me and have a good time.

Hopefully, I did not overdo it and will have the opportunity to do it again soon. Also, I hope the masses who voted for the administration who is trying to erase all transgender people everywhere in the country will somehow feel the error of their ways. My personal paranoia date is coming up in May with my endo doc. Then, I will need a refill to my Estradiol hormones. Since I am under the Veterans Administration health care system, at any time I fear, the orange felon could reach out and try to cancel my care. We shall see and I will be forced to take it one day at a time.

In the meantime, I can take nothing for granted. It seems as if someone could always be coming for my back simply because I am transgender and I refuse to be erased. 

tRumpt Promptly Comes after Us

 

Image from Darren Halstead 
on UnSplash

Of course, one of the first groups of people newly elected president tRumpt came after was transgender women and trans men. He dictated the country under his direction would only recognize two genders, male and female. 

This of course would affect everything from gender markers to passports. For all you transgender people who voiced your support for tRumpt, I wonder what you are thinking now. Perhaps the worst part of all of this is, we are just into day one of his term in office. Dark, troubling times are ahead for the LGBTQ community, especially the transgender portion. Of course, this should come as no major surprise to any rational thinking person.

I wonder what will happen when the new reality sets in with the gay and lesbian sectors of the country who, for the most part, became quite comfortable with their current status in our society. Then again, what will happen with all the active military transgender members who will be affected by all of this. I wonder too, what is going to happen with my Veteran's Administration services. I receive my gender affirming hormones through VA health care. So, I wonder what will happen.

Still, I resent the fact, a number of transgender women I know who voiced their support for the orange menace.

I hope you are satisfied with the price of eggs along with the rest of you. 

Finally, none of this mentioned the overall treatment of women as a whole by the political party ruled by tRumpt. It is also beyond me how any woman, cis or trans could support a party which wants to take their (our) rights away. 

It's too late now, we have billionaires like Musk giving the Nazi salute on stage this week. We are doomed. I am afraid.

The Stare

Summer Image Dining Out
by JJ Hart.

 
Last night, my wife Liz and I went out to eat with her son as an early Christmas gift to him. 

We went to our favorite restaurant, and they were packed with early dinner guests. Since they normally turn their tables quickly, we were not overly concerned about being seated in a timely matter.  I need to mention also, I have never had any problems at the venue with being treated as my authentic feminine self. Last night could have been a little different. But was it really?

The surprise came when we parked and a woman looking out at nearby window was staring at me. Before we even came in the restaurant. I ignored her, and we went on in and were seated. It just so happened we sat near to her where she could continue to look at me. Then the stare down became more serious as again I tried to enjoy my dinner and ignore her. 

Finally, after I glanced her way a final time, she was smiling at me, which could have meant many things. It could have been she spotted me as a transgender woman and was ready to make a scene all the way to she was just being friendly. So, I decided to smile back then go back to my dinner as if nothing happened. It worked. From then on, when I quickly looked back at her, she had obviously lost all her interest in me and was talking to the other woman she was with. I never saw her look at me again.

So, it turned out I won last night's battle, but I know I am a long way from winning my overall transgender war. In an earlier life, I was ravaged by testosterone poisoning which I face to this day. Which means I have to work very hard to obtain any of the passing privilege I may have earned when I was younger. Plus, now, with the added mobility issues I face at the age of seventy-five, it is difficult now to walk at all. Let alone walk like a woman. 

Still, I refuse to accept defeat and walk as far as I can daily, and I will not give into in any stray transphobes I may run into. Who knows, maybe the woman last night was just trying to be friendly.  After the previous disastrous election, maybe I am just paranoid. I know I am fortunate also to have my wife with me most of the time to run some sort of interference for me if I need it. However, I know I need to fight my own battles when and if they arrive. 

Perhaps the biggest test I will have is coming up in a couple weeks when Liz and I embark on a bus trip to the Florida Keys. There will be plenty of tests on my restroom presentation to see how much I have learned over the years. 

I will see how many stares I will receive. 

Outreach in Transition

Paula from the UK.

Recently, I received this comment  from long time reader "Paula" who is from the UK: 

"Here in the UK we are all pretty nervous about talking to journalists, especially TV journalists as so much of what is broadcast is at best negative and at worst downright attacks. Having said that the work you are doing is important, as more and more of us approach our dotage with more of us out than ever before elderly LGBT+ care will be more important than ever."

Thanks for the comment Paula and after a weekend to think about doing the interview, the voices in my head told me to shy away from doing it. Due to me mostly listening to the voices I have in my head and going forward, after seeing our new president in action, I have decided to dial back much of my outreach activities and be more careful of the crazies who are popping up. 

Hopefully, none of that will impact the blog in anyway which I am still dedicated to and I remain true to my initial vision when I began this writing journey over a decade ago. I wanted to share my transgender experiences with anyone who could benefit from them. 

Looking ahead at my own future, I am fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive cast of transgender allies who could help me when  potential difficult situations arise. The main one I can see happening is if tRumpt and his minions try to meddle with my Veterans Administration health care which could mean I would have to seek out a new more expensive source for my gender affirming hormones. I will have to jump off of that bridge if it ever happens. 

A  much closer bridge to jump off of for me is coming up Wednesday when I go to my Hematology appointment. Following my last round of blood work, I was told my platelets were low again and I needed a consult. Never a good thing to hear when you are seventy five like I am but I will see what they say coming up very shortly. 

One way or another, I thought I would keep you all involved with what I was doing with my curtailed outreach attempts. Most certainly I will continue my Cincinnati Alzheimer's diversity committee work I do and as I said continue to write the blog which has undergone so many changes over the years. When I look back on any of the early posts I wrote, they were mostly appearance related whereas today the posts are lifestyle intensive.  

May we all survive the future the best we can. In the meantime, thanks so very much for reading along with my experiences. Hopefully they can help you in the best possible way.