We Have Duck Boy Mail

As you have probably noticed, I haven't given the bearded duck call boy much play here in Cyrsti's Condo.  Like I said, what did anyone suspect? All of them are in it for the money anyhow. I've heard them described as "yuppies in beards".  On top of that, there are the believers that any publicity, good or bad, is good publicity. Truthfully, the show never had much of a draw to me anyhow.  As happens so much around here in "the Condo", Pat had a thoughtful comment to pass along:

As for Phil Robertson (Duck Boy) I just started watching Duck Dynasty this week after the controversy blew up. I know that A&E has had the text of the GQ article ever since the original interview some time back and they have had plenty of prior knowledge about Phil's views on religion. Phil refers to himself as a genuine Bible Thumper. All week A&E have been running Duck Dynasty marathons. My theory is that this was a planned publicity stunt. A&E knew that wide scale publication of his views on the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians would stir up a hornet's nest. If you read his actual words you will find them to be somewhat less than the spin that has appeared in the media. 

I have bought the NY Daily News every day for over 40 years. Last month I was reminded that it had been a real newspaper back in the days when they republished their entire paper from the day after JFK was killed. The headline this week on the front page was "Go Duck Yourself". It has sadly become more of a propaganda rag than a newspaper.

As a side note, recently I had a person who showed up on Facebook with a comment on the show. She   was evidently part of the New York Media elitists and was standing up for good old "Phil".  I agreed with her, he has the right to say what he believes.  Who cares? Don't watch the show, don't buy their products. My warm and fuzzies stopped when she went into a mini side discussion of how "all of them" work so hard to entertain all of us. Really?  "Me thinks" they need to work harder to entertain the faceless minions out here in nowhere land.

I guess my two years in NYC taught me, to many peeps there, the country is a vast wasteland until you get to California.  Many New Yorkers I came in contact with in the restaurant I worked were only barely aware of Texas and tied me into it because of my southern Ohio accent. So I'm with you Pat, it was a planned stunt.  I do know now though that at least in one house where it was watched, it is now banned.

My girlfriend's son was a fan. He may still be but better not get caught watching it.  It's the only recourse we as a transgender culture have, force the media bigots to build their ratings on someone else's back. While I'm on my soap box, I have warned cross dressers in the past to not ignore transgressions such as Phil.  Someday you may change and decide to identify as trans or even gay and life may be easier if you aren't getting smashed in the media.

There, I feel better now!  I'm back in my Christmas eve glow.  Now where are my green elf tights?

BCGT 101

You transgender vets know the abbreviation "BCT" stands for basic training or used to. I just tossed in "G" for girl because we are so fond of labels and abbreviations in the transgender culture.

Earlier this morning I was out buying shipping supplies to send out a couple of my sold collectibles and found myself in familiar/unfamiliar territory.
As I was walking through the store, I unconsciously was moving from my hips and thus taking smaller steps. Finally my muscle memory and not conscious thought was moving me into the increasingly more familiar feminine movement territory. As with most anything else related to transitioning gender, there is a ton of information on how to adapt to feminine movements. And as with everything else in my life, I have a very difficult time reading directions plus god forbid following them. I did find a simpler down to earth link though I thought I would pass on called "Differences in Walking in Men and Women.".

Here's an excerpt:

"Men, for the most part are larger than women; their bodies are built for physical work. Walking for men, from a physiological stand point, is utilitarian. The purpose of walking is to achieve a specific function, get from place to place. As such, the walking movements of men tend to be straight and linear. Women tend to move more gracefully, swinging their hips and taking shorter "feminine" steps. The legs rarely go very far apart in long strides, even when walking swiftly. Women still walk to get from point a to point b, but their movements and walking style are influenced by years of evolution. From an evolutionary standpoint, walking style for women has served to attract men and get a mate. Shoes The kinds of shoes that men and women wear also influence the way they walk. For example, men who wear work boots will have added bulky weight on their feet. This results in a sloppier walk with less precision and control. Women who wear high heels would find it difficult to walk in heels if they did not control the exact movements of each step."

Follow the link above for more very simple but then again a very basic look at gender differences.

While we are on the subject of basics allow me to climb up on my soapbox and mention three of my transition basics:

!.- Diet
2.-Skin Care
3.-Research

Diet is self explanatory although I'm not saying go out and start a "super model" starvation diet. If you can't control that man's beer belly of yours with pair of industrial strength "Spanx" then you have a problem.
Skin care is so basic! The more you take care of your skin the better canvas you provide for your makeup. The less is more makeup principal takes it from there.
Research we always talk about here in Cyrsti's Condo. There is such an enormous amount of information in certain medias these days, there is no excuse not to get ideas.  The problem is sorting out the fantasy from the real woman info.

Finally I have a version of what is essentially a fantasy look at women coming up in my next post.

Inspiration Transgender Style

From the Idaho Statesman the story certainly is not new to those in the transgender culture but the ending just could be:

"Growing up throughout your life as a correct gender is … taken for granted. As (girls) grow up, they get their life experiences. They get to go to prom as the date that gets picked up. They get to have kids, have parties and do each other's hair. I've always wanted to do that stuff. I never could. "You can't do that as a guy."
Erika is now 28. It took her 26 years to figure out why she felt so different, why she was so depressed and angry and so frustrated with life. It took 26 years, a growing sense of desperation and a random Internet post for her to begin to understand herself. "

The random internet post led her to Liz:


"Liz Kandziolka, 30, was also born a boy. She declines to give her birth name, the one belonging to her as a boy. "I'd rather just leave it in the past where it belongs," she says. Erika concurs: "That old person is gone." But as a young man, seeking both direction and a marketable career, Liz joined the military. In retrospect, she says that was a way of trying to "hyper-masculinize" herself. Liz was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base and deployed to the United Arab Emirates. Liz: "A group of online friends pointed me towards transgender. 'Look it up,' (they said). So I did. I was reading through it: Click. That's exactly what I'm feeling. Everything. Right there." A woman can serve in the military, but a transgender woman cannot. "They still consider it a mental disorder," says Liz. It would be an angry and frustrating five years until she was discharged as a man, before Liz could begin living as a woman."

As we know the basis of our life is so simple under the "gender binary" and so difficult when we add our layers of life. The bottom line from Liz and Erika says it all:

Liz: "We just want to like what we like and be who we want to be, regardless of what anyone else thinks. …

Read the entire story here.  

As a side note for all of you who recoil at the idea of an internet contact...I also met my serious partner through a "random internet contact".

Shopping with the Stars

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Hopefully you have friends and family you can share thanks with. Please take it from me - never take it for granted. Of course there are the usual football games on Thanksgiving Day but the real competition begins the next day. Black Friday!
It's the biggest shopping day of the year and is primarily associated with the feminine part of the population. To many women, it's a rite of passage and a prime opportunity to bond with their "sisters" without male intervention.

While I haven't (yet) experienced the group estrogen shopping binge, I have explored the waters of Black Friday on my own. Like anything else in the transgender culture it wasn't easy.

I worked my way up to the super shopping day in my formative cross dressing years. Quickly, shopping became a wonderful combination of discovery and interaction for me with the world. I learned most sales clerks were mostly interested in selling me something, giving me tips and some were even intrigued by meeting "a person like me." As time passed I learned to "pass" to and couldn't wait to add Black Friday to my list of achievements. As luck would have it, my work schedule made that very difficult but finally the big day came.

"Reasonably" early, I put on my best jeans, softest sweater and flats to conquer the masses of the shopping world. With my 'toned down' makeup and hair I was fairly sure I wouldn't have many problems. What I didn't understand was not many other shoppers would have noticed anyhow! The malls and stores I went to were so full of women doing their version of competitive shopping, they probably wouldn't have cared if a Martian was shopping with them. As long the Martian woman didn't beat them to a deal.

Didn't buy much that day. Just walked, watched and enjoyed being a girl in the world.
Looking into the future, I'm not so sure I will ever experience (or desire) the estrogen shopping bond with any of my genetic women friends. They aren't really into the shopping binges and I really have an aversion to pushy crowds. But if you have never been to Black Friday as a girl, be sure to put it on your trans bucket list**!

**Bucket List is a list of things you want to do be you "kick the bucket" (die).