Transgender Troops-More than Fighting the Enemy

In a "thank-goodness" moment, more transgender news has surfaced other than Caitlin Jenner.

It's estimated over 15,000 transgender troops serve in the U.S. Military.  But even though transgender people are twice as likely to serve in the military as their fellow citizens, current policy prohibits them from serving as openly transgender.
Today I picked up this story from Yahoo Health:

"Transgender Troops: At War, in Love, and Fighting to Serve Openly- by Molly Shea. "

Above you can see a transgender couple currently serving in the military. ( Logan and Laila) For more of the story and a video go here.

Potty "Jabber"

Last night I was out with a friend I hadn't seen for quite a while. As we watched the Cleveland/Warrior NBA game and enjoyed a couple adult beverages-I overheard this example of why the genders may not be that far apart when it comes to restroom usage.

From my stall, I heard two women I presume to be 20 somethings having a very animated conversation concerning the need to wash their hands-only when and if they peed on them.

So much for yet another "pristine" women's restroom stereotype.

"Market Penetration?"

Yesterday marked another visit to my endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. To catch some of you up, I am a Vietnam era trans veteran under VA health care-including HRT.

Normally, the journey through the hospital to get to the Doc's is normally an adventure.If you ever have the opportunity to visit a VA medical facility, you will immediately see how tough the Veteran's Administration has it.

Anyway you look at it (or me) I always stand out as a trans woman. The good news is the greatest majority of people have stepped up to make me feel welcome, even when I was petrified. This visit though, I wasn't so much petrified and became even less so when I picked up one of the local free newspapers at the door-to read as I waited. I was dazzled when I saw the headline "If the Shoe Fits-Transgender Lives in the Miami Valley." (here) Fortunately, I was "rocked" through my visit and never had a chance to read it at the hospital.

Then-when I made it to the Doc's office, he had a very quiet and seemingly bored resident doc with him. We talked about the usual, breast development ect and could the resident examine my breasts? As I thought back to some of my Army pre draft physicals I thought sure!!! Actually, he explained to us, there is a real tissue difference in "moobs' (man boobs) and what a transgender woman develops.

Ever so briefly, the Doc mentioned I did trans workshops. Surprisingly, the resident woke right up and said something about Laverne Cox and Caitlin Jenner. 

Wow!!! I was impressed I encountered so much publicity yesterday. This being "trendy" is at the least interesting. Sometimes I compare it with my "fast food" experiences back in the day. I would pick up the trash around my parking lot and judge some of the competitor's market penetration from the number of their empty cups on my lot or in my trash.