No Fun

After I finished my walk this morning, completed part of my vocal training homework and ate a bowl of some sort of cereal which had a strong resemblance to tree bark, I wondered how much of this I would be doing if I wasn't transgender and wanted to look my best. Of course, I would not be doing my vocal training but the rest, possibly.

Again and again, I am reminded of those novice cross dressers who say they will never pass without considering what steps need to be taken to have the best feminine presentation possible. Our skin comes to mind as another area of upkeep which needs extra attention. I make sure all my makeup is removed at night before applying my moisturizer/ wrinkle cream. As, I need all the help I can get for my nearly 69 year old skin.

I just like to know I am doing my best to look good because again, I need all the help I can get. And yes, that includes looking at some of my most unpleasant parts of my body. For another "tongue in cheek" look, let's check in with Connie and her comment on checking for your skin tone, by looking underneath your wrist:

 FABULOUSCONNIEDEEAugust 16, 2018 at 1:29 PM

"So, you're asking me to look at one of my most unfeminine physical parts to determine which color I should wear, are you? Not only are my wrists large, I have an ugly scar from a botched surgery after a work accident left me with two severed tendons to my thumb. Add the fact that my veins (no matter their color) tend to pop out in a masculine way, either from the heat or from strenuous physical activity, and the underside of my wrists are really dysphoria triggers. Nevertheless, my veins are blue, and I am as cool with my femininity as the colors that look good on me! :-)"

Cool!

Fall Colors

As August begins to fade, September of course ushers in a fresh fashion palette for us all. One of the prime times to have fun being a girl.

To help, I have added a "Trendy colors" chart from Deborah Boland and the "Fabulous After 40" fashion blog.

Some of these colors go better with a warm skin tone...some with a cool skin. If you struggle with which tone you have, here is more help:

Warm undertones range from peach to yellow and golden. Some people with warm undertones also have sallow skin. Cool undertones include pink and bluish hues. If you have a neutral undertone, this means that your undertones are roughly the same color as your actual skin tone.

How do you determine which undertones you have? Look on the inside of your wrists for a vein or two. If they look blue or purple, it means you have cool toned skin. If green you are warm toned. If you have a hard time telling, you are a nuetral skinned person. 

All of which leads us back to the chart above and the colors you will look best in. For example, I am a warm skinned person, so I lean towards the reds, yellows , oranges and olive greens. If you are a cool toned person , you look best in the blues, purples and emerald greens. Finally, neutral toned transgender girls can rock all the colors.

You see, when you break down all the different standards cis women go through to look effortlessly good, it's not that difficult. 

Being transgender though, means we have to do it better. 

Winner!

Perhaps you have read or heard of Christine Hallquist. To refresh your memory, she won the Vermont primary, becoming the first transgender woman to win a major party nomination for a state governor.

Of course any story of how a trans person can accomplish such a feat is amazing, but here is a bit of Christine's:

In the fall of 2015, the thought of running for office was not even in the “realm of possibility” for Christine Hallquist, she said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Hallquist, then CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative, was in the midst of 

coming out professionally as a woman to her employees and worried they might not accept her. The company’s website still indicated that the firm was led by a man, Vermont alternative weekly Seven Days reported at the time. Her emails were still signed by her former name.

“Here I am, the transgender CEO of one of the most macho businesses,” Hallquist told Seven Days.

Just three years later, Hallquist could become the country’s first transgender governor.

Of course, there is so much more to her story. 

Such as, Hallquist faces a steep path to the governor’s office. Republican Gov. Phil Scott remains popular in the state, even among Democrats. He has signaled a willingness to work with Democrats on issues such as gun control legislation, which he signed in April. He also has history on his side: No incumbent governor has been unseated in Vermont since 1962.