Bored

After every up moment such as this weekend, there naturally comes a period of "what now?"

I have nothing going on this week until Friday when we have our monthly transgender-cross dresser social at the Mexican Restaurant we go to quite a bit.

It's still too early to decide, but since we are still baking in our mini heat wave, I probably will wear my other maxi dress.

Other than that, I will be riding along with Liz to her doctor's appointments, which require no special preparation to speak of. Just the normal jeans and minimal make up.

All the Prides in the area are now done, so it's a let down too. Most of the euphoria of Pride can be tempered with all the tragic violence against transgender women around the country and the world. Pride is a powerful example of what is possible...if we all stick together and make it happen.

A Reminder

Last night we went out to dinner at one of our fave spots.

It was a warm, even hot summer evening here in Ohio, an ideal night I thought to wear one of my long slinky maxi dresses.

It was fun to take my shower in anticipation of the evening and washing my hair and letting it dry naturally, bringing out all the curls.

All too quickly it was time to slip into my dress, attach my favorite earrings and slide into my black flats. Even though I spend my whole life in a feminine world, I had an inkling of a thought...all of this was fun and I loved it.

The feeling continued into the evening.  The restaurant wasn't very busy for a change so we didn't have a problem finding the rest of our party.

As I walked in, I was distinctly aware of the changes to my body thanks to HRT. I could feel everything from my hair on my neck all the way to the shoes on my feet. Now I thought, this was what I went through all the changes for.

Ironically, a woman in a black pants suit (and obviously nothing under it) sat down close to us. For a second my mind flashed back to an earlier time when I would have been intensely envious of her. But last night, I didn't have to be.

I was free to finally be myself and it felt great.

The picture on the left is actually the same dress taken last summer. 

Marvel Goes Trans

From "The Swaddle":

"The third season of Jessica Jones released this week, concluding Netflix’s four-year-long, uber-successful partnership with Marvel. The series, with its feminist lead and all-female lineup of directors, is known for its inclusive representation of people of color and sensitive handling of queer relationships, sexuality, rape, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Pushing the diversity envelope even further, Jessica Jones‘ new season stars transgender actress Aneesh Sheth, who plays superheroineJessica’s sassy and resourceful new assistant Gillian — Marvel’s first ever trans character.

While this is a big move for trans representation on screen, the way the show portrays the character of Gillian is significantly refreshing. In a promotional interview with Marvel, Sheth says: “I’m transgender, and the character of Gillian is also trans. But there is no mention of her being trans within the show, nor kind of a narrative around her identity, which I think is wonderful because trans people exist in the world and it’s not always about their [trans] narrative.” 

Sheth was born in Pune, India, and moved to the U.S. to pursue a career in acting. She graduated from New York University and kicked off her career as Sweetie, a character in A.R. Rahman’s musical Bombay Dreams. Today, she is an actress, a singer and a trans activist, with a Master’s degree in social work, who spends her time between the stage, the screen and working with LGBTQIA+ youth groups.

“I think it’s important in terms of representation to have people out there recognize that you’ve got a South Asian trans person on television who’s kind of creating representation, but also how wonderful it is for that person to exist in a show without having to hit [everyone] over the head and avoid sensationalism,” Sheth says, speaking to Marvel."

For more follow the links above.