There Are More of Us!

It's been a very exciting week for the transgender community!

As more and more transgender women are not going from one closet to another-by going stealth-much is happening! The message to the world is becoming clearer. We are here, always have been here and will be here!

Laverne Cox  visited  "The View" to talk about her starring role in the Netflix series (Orange is the New Black) , as well her position as one of the most prominent voice for the mainstream transgender community. At one point during the discussion, Whoopi Goldberg brought up how, as the first transgender activist to gain this level of notoriety, Cox had to take the "slings and arrows" of the critics. Cox responded:

"This weekend I was thinking about Sydney Poitier. He won the Academy Award 50 years ago for best actor and it was actually the year the Civil Rights Act was signed. What he says about that moment is that he didn't feel like we had overcome as black actors because he was the only one. And so I think the revolution happens when it's not just me -- there's more of us."

Then, male to female androgynous supermodel Andrej Pejic, (shown below) did what most of us suspected- and came out as transgender.

She is now known as Andreja!

Another Trans Barrier "Crushed!"

Ashley Love (journalist, media advocate), Tamara Adrian (ILGA World Trans Secretariat), Tara Avery (cartoonist, Prism Comics) during this year’s Pride month

Maybe I should say the barrier was dissipated by a death ray? What ever!!! The fact remains
this  year’s Comic Con will hold the first-ever trans-specific panel, Breaking Barriers: Transgender Trends in Popular Culture, marking a positive step forward in comics, film, TV, and pop culture.

While there have been LGBT panels in the past, there have never been one that was solely created for trans panelists. Breaking Barriers will be moderated by trans female comic Tara Madison Avery. Joining Avery on the panel is Dylan Edwards (Transposes), Milanie Gillman (As the Crow Flies), J.D. Saxon (Mahou Shounen Fight!), Elizabeth Lain (F*** the Limit!: The 30-Day Art Project), Ashley Love (Trans Forming Media), and Michelle Nolan (Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics).

Read more on this story from SheWired here.

Be Cool in your "Boyfriend Jacket!

If you would have told me I would have been looking for a light jacket to keep me warm on a July evening last Spring-well, I may have thought you were crazier than I am!

But thanks again to the summer "polar vortex" our evenings here in Ohio are again dipping into the 50's.

Every now and then here in Cyrsti's Condo, I refer to a fashion site called Fabulous after 40, which as the title indicates, focuses on women past the age of 40.  Recently they ran a post called "The Casual Boyfriend Jacket-for Grown Up Girls."  To be honest with you, I didn't quite know the definition of a "boy friend jacket" but liked the transgender irony of it.

Here's the scoop and a picture from "Fab after 40" :

"Have you noticed that as you’ve gotten older your body has gotten softer and rounder and sometimes you don’t look as polished and chic in your clothes as you’d like to?

A simple solution for that is to add a jacket to whatever you happen to be wearing.  You see, a jacket is like hanger. It gives you body structure and shape. Throw one on and you instantly look more polished, slimmer and trimmer.

One of my favorite styles is the boyfriend jacket, which has been pretty popular the last couple of years.

Remember the days when your chivalrous date would lend you his jacket on a chilly evening? That’s the idea behind the boyfriend jacket. It’s a softer, slightly oversized, but not baggy jacket, with a relaxed look and feel. It’s a casual alternative to the fitted blazer, but still looks polished."

I feel better (and a little warmer) because I happen to have what could be referred to as a "boyfriend jacket" in my closet which I used to have to wear back in the day to cover the hair on my arms.  It was difficult to find because of my size of course and it is slightly tailored in at the waist.  It's just a wardrobe basic I have kept over the years and now I'm glad I have.  My "boyfriend" doesn't need it anymore!

For more idea's on the jackets, go here.