The Skin Game

Yesterday as we were getting ready to head out the door, of course I had just finished my makeup and was waiting for her. As she normally does, she looked at me up and down. What she normally doesn't do is compliment me very much. Yesterday though was much different in that she paused and said what did I do to my skin because it was glowing. Of course I thought about being a smart arse and say I always glowed but merely accepted the compliment.

The reason my skin looked better was the result of a rather long and drawn out process.

I have always said if you want to present more effectively as a transgender woman, you need to put the work into it as any cis woman does, except you have to be be better.

To begin with, my skin has benefited greatly from hormone replacement therapy and age. My skin softened a great deal from the HRT and my beard has continued to "gray" due to my age (69). As it tuned out for me, this was only the beginning of skin care for me.

Since I still shave, I use a Gillette battery powered multi blade system. Since I am always financially challenged and aware, I use a Barbasol shave cream. It works for me and I can go a whole day easy enough without a five o clock shadow.

After I shave, anymore I can proceed with a fairly light coating of Cover Girl + Olay "Simply Ageless"  foundation. Once again, a foundation I can reasonably buy at our local Walgreens store.

I think though my nightly skin regime helps me dramatically too. Every night without fail, I use one or two green tea cleansing cloths I buy from "Big Lots" which is just a slightly upscale dollar discount store. I can buy a pack of thirty for one dollar. After a good cleansing, I finish up with a liberal application of a basic Olay moisturizer called "Olay Complete" It comes in a relatively inexpensive six ounce bottle I buy for about twelve dollars at my local Kroger super grocery/drug store. The moisturizer lasts me for months, so I estimate I spend about five dollars a month on my skin care.

If you are still in the closet, these days you can use the excuse of shaving to buy a man's moisturizer.. In addition to feeling good, you can look better too.

Of course, you can go to one of the fancy makeup specialty stores if you have the money and are out of the closet. In the meantime though, I hope these ideas will help you along.

The Future is Now!

Yesterday was the International Woman's Day. Basically it is a chance to pause and consider how far women have come into today's society. Or, how far we have to go.

Perhaps you noticed I said "we." Of course I feel transgender women are women too. After all. we trans women have to go through all the same challenges as cis-women, only worse. We face extreme employment discrimination as well as lagging insurance coverage. Not to mention all the violence we face as we transition and lose our male privilege.

As you consider all of our challenges, you begin to realize how ludicrous it is to think being transgender is really a choice.   

The problem is our lives in the future could get so much worse. Several state legislatures around the country are trying to advance anti transgender and LGBT bills, hoping our rapidly deteriorating Supreme Court will uphold them.

The future is especially now for all of you still in the closet, or are young and confused about the future. Unless we all join the fight against the current backward regime in Washington, all could be lost. Even for all the particularly smug cis gays and lesbians enjoying their same sex marriage rulings.

There is going to be one heck of a battle ahead. Be a strong woman and get on board for all of your sisters.

The future is now.

Get Over It

As far as I know now, there isn't much happening this weekend. All too briefly, it seems, Liz's twenty one year old son moved out for exactly one week and now is moving back in with Mommy. She (Liz) swears things will be different with the addicted "gamer" but we will see. At any rate, I will be getting over it.

Perhaps Friday or Saturday we will be going out to a "consolation" dinner. The problem is, I don't get my Social Security check until next Wednesday, so funds will be hard to come by for a couple days. Again, one way or another, I will be getting over it. Then again too, I will have things to go to next Monday and Tuesday.

Looking ahead towards the end of the month, plans are coming together to hold Cincinnati's "Transgender Day of Visibility".  It is going to be held downtown on Fountain Square and should be well attended. The cross dresser - transgender group I am part of is helping to put it on.

Looking farther ahead, I haven't heard anything back of my workshop proposal for the "Trans Ohio Symposium" in April. It's probably not that surprising since the Trans Ohio lost it's former chair person when she recently moved to New Mexico. She almost single handily put the event together for years.

Again, one way or another I will be getting over it.