Just a Girl

Bring It On, the popular 2000
comedy film about cheerleaders starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku
and Jesse Bradford, has arrived on stage and is currently touring the
country.
I know you are saying so?

One reason is "Gregory Haney".










and saying this: On "The Edge"

Just a girl...Looking like this:

EDGE: The show sounds like so much fun. Can you talk about how you landed the role of La Cienega?

Gregory Haney: I originally auditioned in LA and then I moved back to New York and they were still looking for the part and so I got invited to another audition for it and I kind of went all out for it. I remember I was at my friend’s house on 44th (in Manhattan) and I walked to 43rd in full costume. I went in and sang and I read and had a little chitchat with all the creatives and that was it. It was less than 20 minutes.

EDGE: In looking at your credits, is this the first transgender role that you’ve done?

Gregory Haney: It was! I have never played a girl.

EDGE: Is La Cienega transitioning woman to man or man to woman?

Gregory Haney: I know in the breakdown of the character before the audition it said transgender woman but I think in the "Bring It On" world she’s just a girl. You don’t ever see her as a boy, she’s not a drag queen...she’s a woman, a girl.

We should all be as lucky!!!!
If you are wondering, I don't think Haney's role was in the original movie.

Making a Transgender Difference in the UK

"Sarah Brown's" expereinces are all too familiar.

In Europe's "Pink News" she talked of being Cambridge's Councillor and the country's only out transgender official.
She said: “I have experienced three types of discrimination – transphobia, homophobia and misogyny”.
“Since the transition to live as female I’m suddenly a second-class citizen. Suddenly my personal space was invaded and I started getting men touching me and being groped on the Tube.
“All this stuff I had not experienced before. I have also had complete strangers coming up asking me questions about my genitals which is completely rude.”
Sound familiar?

"Ms Brown, who ranked 28th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List, making her the UK’s most influential trans person, entered into a civil partnership in 2009.
But she had to file for divorce from her then wife, Sylvia Knight, before they could become civil partners after her transition.
“When we were in court in Cambridge getting divorced we had to sort of convince ourselves what we were doing. However we came out holding hands and crying.
“We developed an understanding together and were interested in each other as people.”

Her attitude says it all:
The 53-year-old said: “I want to raise the profile of trans-genders,
lesbians and gays.
“We are pretty marginalised. Society is more accepting of gays than
transgenders. I want to bring people out of the shadows.
“There are 14 and 15-year-olds out there who are scared to be who they
really are because they fear being picked on.
“I’ve been there. I know what it feels like – and attitudes need to change.”
Good "stuff"! Follow the link for more on the story.

Is It A Man's World?

Personally (with my transgender bias set aside), I've felt it is a man's world-but women run it.
I'm sure you've heard the "behind every good man there is a better woman" comment. How true.
The female gender at it finest nutures, loves and makes a male whole.  At the same time, from childhood girls sit back and watch the boys in their own world. Some react with shyness, interaction or even amusement.
Over the past several months I've watched and learned how women interact in their own circle until a man comes enters it. A light goes on and their attention changes  immediately. It's innately what most females do.
I've even experienced the feeling myself during my very limited experience with men. When a woman I knew came close on a night I was with a man, quick exchanges were made.  Eye contact was the primary form of communication. "How's it going?" came through loud and clear with no words spoken and the man none the wiser.
So yes, it was his world and rightfully so because he made me feel comfortable in it. Hopefully, I returned the favor.
A true gender "give and take".  Both worlds came together and life was good. Certainly my dual gender status didn't hurt the process and attempting to understand process from the feminine perspective helped. As I've mentioned before though, I was surprised how natural the process was.
Perhaps I was subconciously making notes in my mind all along.
I realized  the world really does belong to a woman. She is noticed and scrutinized by both genders and her emtional base alone makes her more in tune to the people around her.
I feel the internal changes such as this are more important than outward appearances. It certainly explains partially why I've known men who have gone through the sex reassignment process and....are still men.
Of course the pain of jumping from one gender world has been intense on occasion. Every now and then though, dual membership has it's advantages and makes me a better person. At least that's the goal!