Laverne Cox

From the LGBTQ Nation:

"Laverne Cox is making magazine cover history yet again.

Cox, who appeared on the cover of Time in 2014, is the first transgender woman to appear on the cover of Cosmopolitan.

The trans actress and activist graces the cover of Cosmopolitan South Africa, which has been given an LGBTQ makeover for a special “Say Yes To Love” issue.

Inside the covers of the magazine, readers will find a handwritten note from Cox."

Now, how about an issue from the U.S?

Reportively, understanding and support from the state side population has declined for the LGBT community, and we need the most positive feedback we can get from transgender women such as Laverne Cox.

I have to say, with the current attacks on us by the administration in Washington, a decline in support is no surprise. Yet, I still see trans acquaintances I know still support t-Rump. Sad. 

Bye Bye

No, I am not going anywhere today. Yesterday though, at my transgender veteran LGBT support group, there was a bisexual woman in her 50's. Struggling to come out.

The nice thing was, she asked plenty of questions of the rest of us. Concerning how it was for us to come out. She even asked about how it was to use the rest room.

Then she said how she had been attracted to other women her whole life, so I wondered (to myself) if she was really more lesbian than bisexual. By this time, our therapist/moderator had put up on the white board the sexuality contiuum. Which has totally heterosexual humans on one end and totally homosexuals on the other. I pointed out, as I have read, no matter what most people (mostly men) say, there are very few totally heterosexual guys.

She went on to say, she was looking diligently for groups in the area which were made up of bi-sexual people, and couldn't find any.

I told her, I thought it would be difficult. Out of the main LGBT grouping, now the "B's" (or bisexual) group are now the most silent of the group. Replacing the "T's" or transgender.

So, the session was interesting from a number of different ways. Mainly, I had never met a self avowed bisexual person!

More "Support" Mail

I received quite a bit of mail on several topics here in Cyrsti's Condo, including "transgender support groups", or just women's support groups:

First from Paula Goodwin:

1. Paula GoodwinJanuary 22, 2018 at 7:15 PM

   "My own group, which I often describe as a "support group" offers "Mutual social Support", we meet in a local family pub, so basically it's a chance to share a few drinks with some friends."
2. Paula, the group I go to the most has most of it's get together s in restaurants and/or bars. I don't go for any number of reasons. Including not feeling real chummy with most of them, all the way to having real bad experiences with groups of drinking cross dressers who have embarrassed me totally. Some of the pictures I have seen, lead me to believe, this bunch does have the potential to be the same.
3.  Plus I just cant drink much anymore and risk driving. Thanks for the comment! :) 
4. And, from Connie:
5. 
   
6. FABULOUSCONNIEDEEJanuary 22, 2018 at 7:16 PM

   
   As has been discussed here in your Cyrsti's Condo many times, trans women of our age are possibly considered to be dinosaurs by the younger crowd. We may receive some admiration for all of the crap we had to go through in "the olden days," but much of that is irrelevant to younger people's issues today. I think it's funny that, since the first time I went out in public, I had never hesitated to use a ladies room until doing so became politicized. 
7. "I, like you, pretty much navigated my way through finding myself without the support of others. These days, I may belong in a support hose group with a bunch of old ladies, but not necessarily transgender ones. I'm just hoping for a few more years of not needing the support of a cane or walker. :-)
8. The few support group meetings I have attended included some discussion about restrooms, however. One young (19 y/o) trans woman, who had already undergone GRS, was homeless, spending most of her daytime hours in the public library. She had been banned from using the ladies room at the library, though, and was forced to go across the street to a fast food spot with a unisex restroom. She went on and on about how this was such an interference to her transition, until she then switched to how men were rejecting her sexually. I think she said that she identified as gender queer, but I could only sit there thinking that, if she made the effort to be more feminine in appearance, neither of those problems would be so serious. 
9. I did not express my thoughts, though, as I'm sure that they would have done more harm than good. She definitely needed professional help, and much more than a support group could provide. In fact, I mostly just sat there looking pretty - which wasn't hard to do considering the appearance of the dozen or so others in the room. I was the only one who could not declare the amount of time I had been on HRT, yet I felt like I had transitioned far beyond this group. I really did feel out of place, more like a mother who had accompanied one of the young trans kids. I could empathize, but I found it difficult to relate on their level.
10. 
    I don't know if my presence helped anyone in that group, but I never returned to find out."
11. Thanks Connie, our moderator in the one group goes to great lengths to tell really troubled individuals the group is not for trained counseling. The VA group though, has a trained licensed therapisr in charge.