Caitlin Who?

Audrey

Here comes another very visible trans woman, Audrey Middleton. She is the First (?) ever transgender contestant on CBS's Big Brother television show. I put the question mark in because I seem to remember another several years ago before it was trendy to be trans.

No matter, Audrey grew up in Georgia, was a competitive swimmer and- imagine this-had problems transitioning with her family.

Not a huge fan of the show but I am biased for another trans sister! 

Thanks Bobbie for passing this along!!!! 

Marriage, Children and Cross Dressing?

Of all the various layers in our community, the cross dressers are likely the most silent, closeted and hidden from society. For obvious reasons. Most have families to raise and support. Plus on many levels a cross dresser just hasn't decided to make the much more serious leap into the transgender woman world. But recently, Terri Lee Ross has been blogging about cross dressers! Here is a lead in:

The cross-dressing community needs role models. So many of them are hiding in the shadows, unable to come forward and share their secret with their wives and families. They remain trapped in their own negative self-perception that leads to a lonely and an unauthentic life. Because of this, the image of cross-dressers remains a perversion, along with being thought of a transsexual woman, further wrongly defining them. Cross-dressers are not necessarily transitioning transgender/transsexual women. Many are comfortable in a dual-gender role, where they choose to remain a man, yet need to express their femme self.

Meet Brian, a cross-dresser who lives in the Seattle area with his wife and two young children.  Brian’s femme self is Alyssa, who is very much part of their life. Brian has found balance in living in his male and femme roles, while raising children. It is a story of hope that our society is moving forward in understanding just who cross-dressers really are, not necessarily the portrayed image of Caitlyn Jenner or other television shows on the transgender community that keep populating, like rabbits.

Here is your link!

Trans Black?

If you live in the United States at least, Rachel Dolezal is the latest person to dominate the headlines. The story has unfolded something like this from Today:

"Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP chapter president accused of pretending to be black, tells TODAY's Matt Lauer in an exclusive live interview that she identifies as black — something she started doing at the age of five.

"I was drawing self-portraits with the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, and black curly hair," she told Lauer. But she insisted she never deceived anyone as numerous critics have suggested."

No, none of Rachel's story has anything to do with being transgender, but that she does identify as black (not pretend) and has forever (since five). It is not surprising some are connecting similar dots with trans women. 

Rachel Dolezal - Trans black? or Black Face?

Example? Rachel wasn't born black and I wasn't born female but we identify that way.

One of my least fave questions is, "How does it feel to be a woman since you were a man?" Well, I can't tell anyone how it feels to be a woman or a man. I am qualified to give insight on how the world has treated me either way. Plus, I am also qualified to comment on what happens when you don't get accepted either way. 

These days, I am fond of saying I am the person I choose to show you-no more no less.

If you are interested, one of the more in depth looks at all of this (of course, she is great!) comes from Helen Boyd here.