Carmen Carerra

Carmen Carerra again seems to making yet another name for herself.  It doesn't seem so long ago she had her problems with Rude Paul since she officially dumped the drag queen tag by taking hormones. Now the transgender model is performing in a burlesque show! Where can I buy tickets?  Check out this interview on Inside Edition:

Trans "Stylin' and Profilin'

Before being "profiled" began being a non political correct term, here is how the Urban Dictionary defined it:  "Look good- so fresh and clean."

Today of course for all of us from novice cross dressers to stealth transsexuals, stylin' is important for all of us - trans women and men.

Of course the first reason is obvious.  The more we understand our bodies and how to do our best to work "fashion magic" with them, the easier it is for us to navigate the world in our chosen gender. We have a Cyrsti's Condo "Beauty Nook" Room which is stocked full of a few of the sites I visit on a regular basis because what beauty trend or style is in today may be out tomorrow.  196 years ago when I embarked down this feminine transgender path I'm on, a huge part of the fun of being a girl was playing with styles and fashions and still is.

As I was surfing the web universe I discovered a site called "The Fashionable TG Woman" which I urge you to visit.  It's a veritable wealth of ideas and trends which enable you to put your best girl foot forward!

I have added a couple spots here in Cyrsti's Condo for you to link up...our regular blog list and in the Beauty Nook Room, just down the hallway from the upstairs bath and master bedroom.

Check them out!

A Small or a Capital "T"?

Lately it seems the topic "du jour" with me lately has been transgender discrimination within the trans community. So, in the spirit of a very emotional subject, I found this post by Cate O'Malley and decided to pass it along to you "Condo-ites":


"Are you more ‘T’ than me? Let me ask it this way. Are you more of a trans* person than I am? What started this question was a phone call I had with another transwoman who had completed her SRS ten years ago. She is well known in the local community as a resource, guide and a tireless defender of trans* people. It was recommended that I speak with her by a mutual acquaintance.

During our chat, she asked, “What are you?” I was unclear, then she asked, “How far are you going? Are you going to have sexual reassignment surgery?” I replied that I did not anticipate having the surgery, just live full-time. She shot back, “I don’t work with you people. If you aren’t going all the way, then I don’t want to be bothered. I only want to help people who are committed. I don’t do makeup and hair and all that stuff. You’ll need to find someone else.” I was shocked at first. We continued to talk and found much common ground between us.

The conversation was lively, poignant, brutally honest, funny and ultimately a huge help. I came away with a lot of insight and much to ponder and a tremendous amount of respect for her and her work in our community, but also a realization that discrimination exists in the trans* community. My naiveté originally made me think all of us trans* people were kindred spirits and we were all sisters and brothers. Alas, not so."

I used to have the same naive outlook as Cate did until I began to "get out in the transgender world and met more than my share of a few of very mean people. Now I am a believer there could be just too many layers of us to categorize.  You know of course we are the ones who fought so hard against being categorized in a binary gender but then still want too in the transgender culture. The rest of the post is good too and you can see it here.

Of course you know I have more thoughts on the subject but this time I'm going to move on and ignore the drama!