You Can't Always Get What You Want

Australia's transgender icon performer "Carlotta" will reportedly be played by a very genetic woman- (pregnant) Jessica Marais in an upcoming telemovie.

"Carlotta"

"Jessica Marais"

Carlotta, who was born Richard Byron rose to fame as a cabaret performer in the Kings Cross stage show "Les Girls" and was rumored to be the the inspiration for Terrance Stamp's character in "Priscilla Queen of the Dessert."





Obviously a real live transgendered actress would most of our preferences to play the role but certainly "Carlotta" must be flattered by the choice!

New "Horrorscope"

I love this!
Libra (September 23- October 22)
Your strength will be throbbing at maximum levels, making you one hot toddy filled with passion and perfumes that can lure in even the most reluctant and odd lovers. Yes, new experiences are on the sexual horizon, giving you a lot to think about, as you’ll discover something new and naughty about yourself now. YUM!
As always from "theFrisky".

Taking a Look Back at Transvestite Newsletters

"Back in the day" as the internet was just coming into our lives there were "transvestite" newsletters which were the beginnings of the huge amount of information we see today.
Amazingly, the entire genre' is available to interested viewers. One was called "Life's a Dragg" which you can link to here
I picked up the link from the "TG Forum" which in itself has been established quite a while!.

Are Transgender Times Better?

I heard a line "That depends on where you sit and what cards you hold".
Over the past week or so we have witnessed several positive influences on the transgender community.
Three I can think of are the Ontario Canadian ruling, the Melissa Harris- interview and the Glee program.
I am going to refer to "Janie's Blog" a Canadian herself about the decision to allowing a gender change on documentation with out SRS.
She recently wrote: "
A court decision in Canada has struck down a law requiring SRS as a precondition to having one’s gender changed on their documentation.
There are undoubtedly people on both sides of this issue who will be unhappy about it – post-op transsexuals who may feel that anyone who can tolerate the “bits” of the opposite gender is not truly transsexual, and others who may feel that this just makes it too easy to play games with one’s gender and official documentation.
But, remember that most people who eventually undergo gender reassignment surgery spend years living as the gender opposite to what their identification indicates. They do this for financial reasons, or even for reasons of uncertainty and fear of going through with the surgery. They are not fooling around; this is serious business in their lives, and having a passport or ID that matches the gender they are living is important.
(Read the whole post here.)
A show two Sunday's ago saw MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry featuring being Transgendered in America.
(It's  posted  here in the condo in our "Home Entertainment Center" .)
Guest "Mara Keisling" pointed out
"For one of the first times that I can remember, trans people got to outline to the public at least part of the trans political agenda for ourselves. From health care access, to barriers to updating identity documents, to talking about jail and detention reform and raising awareness of CeCe McDonald's story, we finally had a chance to bring trans issues to a national audience as trans people."
Then, lets not forget the "Glee" episode which featured a real live transgendered character in a very mainstream television program.
So, where I sit, have sat and looking at the cards I hold, my hand definitely is improving as a transgender person in this country.
I'm going to quote an old song "You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them and know when to run".
Well, I'm not going to run (tried that), not going to fold them (**purged a couple times like the rest of you) and I certainly will want to hold them.
As with any good player, I know the game is far from over but I like the progress so far!

**Purged is totally throwing away all your items you were using to present as your chosen gender.

Quote of the Day

Once you figure out there is nothing else you can do-then you need to find what it is you need to do.
Cyrsti

Another Myth Destroyed?

In transgendered history the legendary "Chevalier D'Eon" was a French spy, diplomat, international traveler and transvestite.
He was rumored to have spied on a Russian Czar dressed as a maid and London Stock Exchange members even ran a pool about his true sex.
All wonderful fireside stories to tell the young cross dresser in your family- BUT!
This portrait was just found and sold which ruined all of my preconceived notions about the "Chevalier".
Either this is not really him, was not a good day for him or was painted on a "male" day. Whatever the cause he is probably turning over in his grave knowing this portrait came to light!
This has to be the "before"!

Quote of the Day

"No matter where you go-there you are!!!"
Unknown

Transgender Comics?

On the heels of the huge "Glee" episode we featured when they added a real live transgendered character. Not a gay or a lesbian character-a transgender character. For once we get separation from the other two.
Now Archie Comics has announced that Issue #636, which is scheduled for release on August 22, will focus on issues related to gender and perceived gender roles by featuring gender-swapped versions of the three main characters.
In "The Great Switcheroo," Archie, Betty and Veronica will become Archina, Billy and Ronnie thanks to a magical spell cast by two special visitors to Riverdale -- Sabrina the Teenage Witch and her cat Salem.

I picked up this story from the "Huffington Post"
Check the story for a couple more very interesting links plus I'm going to post a couple other illustrations here (in the "Gallery") and on "Trannsnation"!

Fluid Transsexuals?

As we continue to beat one another up internally and as a community for what we are,  yet another fascinating study is coming to light which proves once again much of our anguish is something we had no control over.
This look at being a man in the morning and a woman at night comes from the "Scientific American" site:

"A graduate student of famed neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran has found a group of men and women who report that their sexual identity can switch involuntarily to that of the opposite sex and back again. The transgender metamorphosis, these people assert, can occur several times a day and at inopportune moments. It is also accompanied by the sensation of phantom breasts or genitalia of the non-biological sex.
The research grows out of Ramachandran’s long-standing fascination with the study of body image and how it contributes to a basic sense of the self, work that has included investigations into the phantom limbs of amputees.
The preliminary study by Laura Case, Ramachandran’s student, raises the prospect of a new category of transgenderism. “Alternating gender incongruity (AGI),” the neuropsychiatric term the researchers have tentatively proposed, describes the involuntary change of gender identity, along with perceived phantom sex characteristics, a tendency toward ambidexterity and bipolar disorder, all signs that suggest a biological basis for AGI. (A related term, bigender, defined as blending or alternating gender states, precedes AGI.)"

Of course there is much more to this study. Just go to the "Scientific American" link above to read more. 

Another Look at Our Transgendered Image

Every once in awhile, I read a post which really describes a huge portion of my life as I know it and
this post certainly jumped out at me.
It's called "De Facto, Defect or Defector" from "Andie's Place" and this is part of the post:

"Defector

And then there are the gender politics. Am I an intruder, as far as women are concerned? To some I certainly am. Why are you in the ladies’ loo?! Well, it’s because I am not a man, and I am not disabled. And I am not a spy either. I am who I am, and I know where I fit easily and best. I do not think about you like a man does.
More to the point, for some men I am a threat. I am a defector from a place of privilege and power, who is undermining the solidarity of the male realm. Goodness! What would happen to male authority if too many people like me started to climb down and join the other side? If that is you, and you need reassurance, I was never on your side, never a part of your tribe, even though I made a decent presentation of it most of the time. I don’t hate men, I just never did man stuff very well and I never liked the idea of male privilege. Some people were most persuaded by my ‘male skills’ – that I was taught in school just because it was a boys’ school.
I am not defecting; I was just never legitimately in the right team. And I’m not taking sides now either. I am just being myself.

Summary for the newly puzzled

I understand that I have changed you without your permission. You are now the person who knows a transsexual, or a transgender person (please just don’t say tranny), and the closer you are the more difficult that may feel. I got over it, so can you.
De facto: this is how I am, so get used to it. "

Read the entire post here.

Shopping Part Deux!

Since I wrote the "Fun, Thrifty Shopping" post a couple days ago, I have heard from several of you about new and fun things to do on the shopping trail.
For you "high tech" girls I understand some chains now have "apps" you can install on your phone promoting bargains.
For others of you who think all of us this is too good to be true, let me tell why it just may not be.
First of all, you beginners just might find shopping is one of the easiest ways you can be accepted in your feminine role.
Here are a couple reasons:
Merchants want our money. Many now even have training for their staffs in dealing with people like us.
Other shoppers are on a mission-most could care less about anyone but themselves as they look for their own "finds".
So if you don't do something crazy like dressing totally outrageously, you can go about your business with very few problems.
Normally, most of our problems deal with the confidence to do all of this and that is very understandable.
Here are a couple more tips to consider:
Most sales people are open to helping you. Many are on some sort of commission and at the least that factor alone makes you more reachable.
Many store associates want to help you and they do have a lot of expertise to offer. You do have to be careful of becoming more of a dollar draw than a fashion challenge to some clerks.
If you are relatively presentable as a woman of course, all of this will be easier but don't get too sly. You may be hurting yourself.
I have two examples from within my immediate family alone.
My daughter and my brothers daughter in law both worked for a certain leading woman's lingerie retailer with the word "Secret" in it's title. They both have unsolicited stories about men shopping for themselves in and out of dress. In fact my daughter made major commissions waiting on one of us when no one else would. (Way before she knew about me).
The moral to the story is that both said if the shoppers had reached out for and accepted more help, it would have been a better experience for all involved.
Well, we can go on and on about this subject. 
Be on the outlook for Part Three!

Quote of the Day!

If you shoot for the stars and miss, you may just hit the moon which is way above most people!
Unknown!

Worse Than Tranny?

I so agree the use of the "T" word for a person such as me is the same as the "N" word for an African American or any other of the racial slurs.
There are other words however I see as worse. When someone calls me a  "Gurl" or "Grrl" it just drives me crazy. 
To start with both words just sound so gross.  I call them "grinder" words which roll off your tongue like a piece of gravel.
On a much deeper level the words question my true gender identification. Label me anyway you must Gender Queer, Transgendered or whatever but not Gurl, Grrl or Tranny.
I equate it to a person I ran into not so long ago that I told about the hormones I'm on and they said "Oh, you are taking this seriously!" Really? I wasn't serious before?
Thanks for reading my rant! It's nice to get it off my chest which is finally starting to mean something!

Fun Thrifty Shopping!

What is more feminine than a girls day out shopping? Surely very few other expereinces scream "GIRLY GIRL".
Unfortunately, most of us don't have the freedom or the finances to really enjoy a shopping day out!
Fortunately though, there are many ways to start down the road to "shopping till you drop".
I'm going to try to cover a lot of ground here, so stick with me!
First of all, I'm going to rule out Internet shopping in this post. Absolutely no problem with it if you have a fairly decent idea of your size and what you look good in.
If you don't, and are just beginning your quest to build a wardrobe lets start with a very inexpensive way to begin.
In my part of the world, spring produces a profusion of yard and garage sales as plentiful as spring flowers. These sales are wonderful spots to find different sizes and styles of women's fashion for as little as 25 cents per item. These sales are where I learned what size I really wore and was even able to buy more than a few items that I found I should never wear. (I recycled those to a thrift store.)
Now, speaking of thrift stores-that's where the fun begins!
Thrift shopping really began to take hold around my area when the economy went down the tubes.
If you are lucky, you can go with friends and make a fun day of shopping and lunch in several stores. Then judge who found the best bargains. OR, you go can alone and take advantages of benefits such as very unsupervised **dressing rooms to discretely try on your potential purchases and no prying clerks.
(**Dressing rooms are like restrooms. Nothing is ever the same from store to store. It is wise to observe before moving forward.")
Bottom line is you can find classic additions to your wardrobe at a fraction of the price from thrift stores. They are becoming so popular that (of course) a reality show is coming called "Thrift Wars" on the Oxygen Network.
Whatever stage you are transitioning from you can feed your inner girl and have some fun doing it at garage sales or thrift stores!
All the nuances of places you can go would make a small book alone and we will look at more idea's later!

When Fetish Became Style

All the years of looking at women and knowing my reactions were different were obviously very confusing to me.
Most certainly my interest sexually was more fetish than anything else. In my teen years I dated a tall girl who always entranced me with how she slowly crossed her legs in my car. I wondered at the time why I wasn't more into her from a male sexual view point. I wanted those long hose covered legs teasing someone like she teased me.
I know now she had a couple other factors in play other than just "teasing" me.  Fashion in those days was the mini skirt so she was trying to sit in the car as modestly as the skirt would allow.  Add in those long legs and the problem of snagging her hose on something and the process was not so easy for a person who was essentially a farm girl.
As the years progressed panty hose became just an accessory and I'm still working on the smooth all in one motion a woman uses when she slides into a seat and crosses her legs in one motion.
In essence I've really have used hose as one example of a larger process.
Fetish became style for me years ago and  now the first thing I may notice about a woman is the bag she is carrying.
The process carried an understanding of why both genders look at women. Men for obvious reasons and women too.
As with most things in life though,  a woman's view of others is much more complex. Just one is style and many factors go into a woman's sense of style or lack of one. Going through that style process myself has finally led me to a greater understanding of my feelings so many years ago.
I simply was in a struggle to discover my own style in a feminine sense.  In a much deeper sense the whole process could be one of the demarcation points between a cross dresser and a transgender person.
It all boils down to if I only knew then what I know now then life would have been so much simpler.
Then again, I'm sure I would have found something else to stress about!

"Horror Scope"!

Somehow I feel this new "horror scope" from theFrisky is the most fun, entertaining and uniquely feminine one I have seen for a while.
Check it out:
"There’s nothing wrong with telling a few little lies that make you out to be greater than you are right now, as long as you are consistent. After all, no one is the wiser by knowing the truth; why not just put that aphrodisiac out there for that other to sense? Besides, if they want you, they will want you regardless and this little deception will only make them hop to it faster."

A Transgendered "Forward Pass".

I've talked and written often here in the Condo of the benefits of "paying forward" experiences to others in the transgendered culture.
A trans woman who has taken it to a whole different level is Chicago's "Gloria Allen". The Chicago Tribune  has the story of 66 year old Gloria:

"About a year ago, a retired Gloria Allen thought having lunch at the Center on Halsted with other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender senior citizens was simply one of the highlights of her week.
But while at the center, which offers an array of youth services for the LGBT community, Allen, 66, noticed that some of the young people arrived dressed inappropriately. Young men wore scandalously short shorts; young women sported baggy pants that sagged way below their waists.

"Mama Gloria"

So Allen, a transgender woman, got permission from the center to start a charm school. Allen, who's called "Mama Gloria," teaches youth etiquette along with how to dress and carry themselves — things they might have ordinarily learned at home if their parents understood how to guide their LGBT teens and were supportive enough to do so.
"I may be sounding old-fashioned, but I would see these young people wearing negligee-type clothes on the street and I would say, 'How could they leave the house looking like that?'" Allen said.
She said she felt strongly about helping because she understands how difficult it can be when a person has been socialized to be one gender but feels as though he or she is another. Also, she said she believes they have to set a good example.
"When you're a part of a minority community, what you do reflects the whole," she said. "It may not be fair, but that's reality. There are children out on the street. I don't want kids to say, 'Look Mom, look at that.' I don't want people to look at us like that."

Take a look at the rest of this wonderful look at a woman trying to pay forward in our community. In addition, her "words of wisdom" ring true for all of us!

Shades of Pink

One of my more subtle shifts in thinking suddenly became more apparent to me recently.
Slowly but surely many of my more aggressive thoughts are becoming more mellow.
It's not as if I suddenly became an angel but suddenly I have a tendency to see the other side a little more.  There is not a finality to my angry reactions I used to experience. Let me try to explain it:  Now someone doesn't have to be an idiot-they might be one! Also, of course any confrontation ideas are becoming a thing of the past.
Now, I'm not suggesting genetic women don't have any of the feelings I described. Aggression is just different. In addition, I'm not ignoring the feminine "passive-aggressive" nature which in time I would guess will be a natural progression for me too.

Other changes I'm experiencing  are curious changes in my skin which is definitely softening on my body and drying up on my face. Never in my life has my facial skin been so dry.  It feels as if I just spent a couple unprotected hours in a sub zero wind.
Finally, I think I starting to feel a little extra "padding" in my rear.
So, as impatient as I am. Change seems inevitable as I'm getting closer to four full months on hormones.

How Far We Have Come!

 I have mentioned before some of the amazing research and work "Zagria" does on her blog "A Gender Variance Who's Who".
Here's more of her work which illustrates how far we have come as a transgendered culture.

In most trans histories Virginia Prince and such people tend to be shunted into a separate section.  The gay transvestites, with the notable exception of Stonewall seem to disappear altogether.  As we saw with Susanna Valenti, the reality was that some of the same individuals who attend FPE meetings, would also go to gay bars and the drag balls.  This article is a summary of the various activities in New York City in the 1960s.

Unlike in California and elsewhere in the US, neither cross-dressing nor being homosexual (as opposed to homosexual acts) as such were criminal in New York.  However the New York police regarded homosexuals as morally depraved and arrested persons assumed to be such on whatever grounds that they could.  In particular they used entrapment, and raided clubs and bars and arrested those found within.  By 1966 the NYPD was arresting over 100 men every week on charges of 'homosexual solicitation' -- mainly resulting from entrapment.  The wave of decriminalization of homosexuality that spread across Europe, East and West, and to Canada never reached the US.  In 1953 then President Eisenhower signed a government order adding 'sexual perversion' as a reason for investigation and dismissal.  Police and military records were shared with private employers.  Thousands were dismissed from their jobs with no recourse.  No known 'sexual pervert' could gain or retain a professional license.  Cross-dressing was taken as evidence of homosexuality even when the person was married. The police had an informal rule that you should be wearing at least three items 'appropriate to your sex'.  The New York State Liquor Authority had its own laws: homosexuals and transvestites were decreed to be 'lewd and dissolute' and their presence in a bar made it disorderly and subject to closure.  Because no gay bar could be legal, the mafia ran most of them, not caring about licenses, bribing the police and blackmailing the customers.  The very harshness of the penalties led to many judges being unwilling to sentence gays, lesbians and transsexuals, and giving a fine or probation instead.  However the possibility of getting the wrong judge stifled expression and inhibited lives.

Read more: http://zagria.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-york-city-in-1960s.html#ixzz1s44Q2DiM
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

In the "Passing Lane"!

I ran across a very long and complicated blog post concerning one of our culture's "sacred cows". It has been so long since I have even seen the term used, I almost forgot it existed. Of course I'm referring to "passing" and I thought it had been relegated to the "tranny" pile.
If you have a second to read this article called "Pass/Fail", it does bring up some relevant and long forgotten ideas!