Sunday, April 8, 2012

Spring Beauty

Check the "Boutique Page" for more!

Bi-Gendered

Just when you want to say "OK Cyrsti, enough is enough! Get off the terminology already!".
Yes, you are right- but here is one more. Bi-gendered by physical definition.  I bring it up after interacting with a friend who actually lives and agonizes over a life like this.
The article is actually an in depth psychological look at the "no man's or woman's land" between what our community has chosen as transgendered or transsexual. Ironically, you may be able to think our "TG" or "TS" labels may be just a starting point. As a comparison, you may be able to use man and woman (on either end) with gay or bi in the middle.
I've added a few excerpts or you can read the whole article here.
respondents agreed that their gender switches were "predictable." The period of gender switches was highly variable, ranging from multiple times per day to several times per year. A majority (23/32) of respondents, however, reported that their gender switched at least weekly [with 14 saying it switched at least once per day]. What are the switches like? Some respondents are quoted -

"I still have the same values and beliefs, but a change in gender is really a change in the filter through which I interact with the world and through which it interacts with me."

"My voice usually ends up being higher than other times, I’ll be more emotional, my views on things like politics tend not to change, but how I react to certain things does. Like if I’m in male mode and I see someone crying I’ll think more along the lines of, 'Man up...' while if I’m in girl mode I’ll think more along the lines of ‘Oh sweety!’"
This being Ramachandran, the paper also touches on left handedness, brain hemispheres, phantom genitals and more, but it's fair to say that all this is pretty speculative -

"(In the survey) respondents agreed that their gender switches were "predictable." The period of gender switches was highly variable, ranging from multiple times per day to several times per year. A majority (23/32) of respondents, however, reported that their gender switched at least weekly [with 14 saying it switched at least once per day]. What are the switches like? Some respondents are quoted -



Great food for thought!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Enter the Seductress

Dileep went on a strict diet and even pierced his ears to portray Mohini.
 From the "Deccan Chronicle":


(Film Star) "Dileep has always strived to widen the borders of creativity by taking up “different” roles. Most often than not, his gambles have paid off too; his roles of a hunchback, transvestite and mentally challenged characters have stayed in people’s minds and got him critical acclaim. His latest one is perhaps the most challenging so far; that of a seductress in the upcoming Mayamohini, which is releasing today."
Film lovers who remember his portrayal of the effeminate character Radha in Chandupottu may assume that the role of a woman would be a cakewalk for Dileep but he asserts that the role of Radha was a huge impediment in playing Mohini. He says, “The first two days of the shoot were the toughest; there was this conflict between the characters of Radha and Mohini.
At one point of time, I even wondered whether it was a mistake to have taken on the role. I had to be careful not to let any trait of Radha creep into Mohini, who is completely female in her mannerisms and figure. Ultimately, Mohini triumphed on the third day!”
The inner transformation was as difficult as the outward one. Roshan who did Dileep’s make-up reveals that Dileep was given an option to use fake eyebrows but the actor decided to pluck his eyebrows and pierce his ears. Ask him about that and he says, “I wanted Mohini to be as natural as possible,” before adding, “Parents are normally present at the ear piercing ceremony of their child but here my daughter was there when my ear was pierced.”

We all know a little about the next part of the process:

"To maintain a flat stomach, Dileep went on a strict diet and ended up losing seven kilos. The shoot which lasted for two months made him miss a couple of good offers but Dileep is unfazed. “The entire film rests on Mohini’s shoulders and I wanted to give my complete attention to the role. This is a part of the experimenting process and I hope people accept this.”
The transformation had its moments of mirth, too! Dileep says he was even pinched on his stomach by someone in the crew who could not stop himself! Acquaintances who came to see Dileep took some time before realising that the ravishing woman standing in front of them was the star himself"

And the fun part:

"
His co-stars Biju Menon and Baburaj often told him that they kept falling in love with him. Dileep cheekily remarks that he now knows the pleasure women derive when the people shower their attention on them.
Talking about his family’s reaction, he says, “Manju wanted to know how I got such beautifully plucked eyebrows and even called up the beautician. My daughter was present from the beginning, so she had this ‘been there, seen all “expression.”

Nice!


Doing the Work

  Image from UnSplash. In my case, I spent decades doing the work to be able to express my true self as a transgender woman.  Perhaps you no...