Dressing Your Age!

One of our pet "peeves" on the blog is our problem with "dressing our age"
As you've probably noticed, I have subscribed too and become a fan of "Fabulous after 40".
One of the women who writes the blog came up with these sets of rules after a fashion failure on a night out:

• I will do my “homework” before going out. (That means googling the place)
• I will wear high heels.
• I will make sure my outfit is youthful, but not like I’m trying too hard.
• I will stop comparing myself to younger women! (I am going to be happy to be me!)
• I will post a photo for you all to see.

When you are going somewhere new, the internet is a wonderful tool.  I should have just googled Nic’s Martini Bar before I got dressed and then pushed “Images”. Usually up pops what the inside of the place looks like, and sometimes it will even show images of people there.
We Glam Gals are firm believers that what you wear will and can give you more confidence, energy and possibly even help you have more fun.
There you go girls. You can be gorgeous at any age. Someone will be looking!

"Social Female"

The "chat" in the last post continued with my friend to the point of "cis women" as a whole and their reaction to us.
Her opinion turned out to be a lot more negative than mine. She thinks women have an "entitlement" issue with admitting a trans female into the circle. We haven't "paid the dues" so to speak and are we just a wolf in sheep's clothing? She feels her exclusion after "SRS" (by female friends) was an entitlement issue. Regardless of the change in genitalia, she was excluded from the female circle. My situation was (and is) different from hers and I would be excluded from my little network of friends if I went full time and had the change.
I  disagreed and pointed out I felt I had been admitted to a couple of circles and these are the reasons why.
First of all, let me give you my definition of friends in this situation. I see most of them once a week and text others on a regular basis. We know about each others lives to an extent and we seem to like each other. The group covers all of the female spectrum from straight to ftm. Here are some observations about the group.
My cis girlfriend doesn't like my male self. She prefers not to see me as a guy and never refers to me as one. 
Only one out of five has ever seen me as a guy and that was nearly two years ago. There has never been a secret that I am not a cis female but then again I'm treated as a "social" female. We talk make up, clothes, diets hair and family. I've been invited to couple "girls night out" and of course an NFL game.
I don't know where this all leads me except to feel wonderful about them.
No one has ever asked me about my gender plans for the future. My assumption is if I left for the SRS surgery and returned, I would still be me (with certain improvements of course).
In their eyes I still would be a social female anyhow, so I don't know why anything else would change.
So now I went and did it. I coined another term, "social female". It feels good though. As good as interacting with my friends. I know and they know I will never have experience of their lives.  On the other hand, "cis" or "social" can be bridged by a pleasant friendship.

Cyrsti

"Steath Girls"

I chat with a very interesting, educated and intelligent woman at least once a week.  I would have had no way of knowing she was not born female from her pictures until she told me. I really respected her for that.
In her part of the world, she is going to interact with a government agency about discrimination. I immediately thought "transgendered" and she told me not necessarily.  Unless "outed" she was going to protest as a "bi female". I thought wow, our group and her group just got left out again.
I started to think about it and here is part of my response:.
I read "stealth" into much of your ideas.
I used to feel that the trans people who finished their journey just went away and vanished into thin air somehow hurt our group as a whole.
Our true role models disappear and we are left with Jerry Springer.
More and more, my ideas are changing. Realistically, if I was taking the path that you and many others have taken to evolve into your mental gender...I would go stealth too. Maybe.
One could even argue the term "stealth" could be changed to "arrive".
In addition, I try to be as stealth as the next trans girl in public. I am what I am and have very few problems any more in my chosen gender. So am I stealth or have I arrived?
I satisfy my need to "pay forward" and help others with my blog. That's enough right now.
The end result is I have so much respect for the "radicals" amoung us who are anti-stealth and showing the world who we really are. 
"Radical Queer" or whatever the "Anti Stealth" would be labeled is a fork in the road I will face later!

Drag Race Dee-Troit.

Here we go again. Yet another television "epic" featuring violence and drag queens in Detroit.
That's original!
If you are interested, follow the "Epic" link above to an article about ABC and their cop show "Detroit 1-8-7". In fact you can watch the entire episode.
"Nuff" said!

Preference.

Sometimes the most beautiful women,,,aren't!  "Rhianna and Andrej.

Do Real Women Shave?

From one of my favorite "real girl" sites. "The Frisky"

Gender Stereotypes? Really?

Who would have "thunk" it? It seems the "pink and blue" has been around since the cavemen. In fact, that is not the case at all.
According to an article in the "Record Gazette" . "Erin Steele" tells us just how special we used to be "back in the day."
Way back in the day as a matter of fact.
There is anthropological evidence from early North American native tribal cultures that there were three genders: the male, the female and the male-female, called the two-spirit, who showed both male and female characteristics.
The two-spirited person was believed to have received a gift from the Creator – the gift to see everything from two perspectives at one time, and were respected as teachers and healers, caregivers and more in their communities. Tests were given to children at a young age if thought to be two-spirited, so they would have the precious opportunity to fully bloom.
Unfortunately, as we all know, European settlers imposed their word of God on the Native culture, where there was no place for a third gender.
This is hardly new news in the transgendered community. Erin Steele's real reason bringing it up was to praise a bill moving through Canada's government.The bill prohibits discrimination based on an individual's gender identity and gender expression. It passed third reading in the House of Commons last week, and is a positive step forward for open-mindedness.
Maybe next time I see an article on "gender stereotyping" I won't be so quick to dismiss it! Additionally, way to go Canada!
Can you image any bill close to this making it's way through our congress? Our legislators have a higher calling. Wasting our money.

Danish Girl?

Danish "Lili Elbe" was supposedly the first person to go through sexual reassignment surgery.
"Nichole Kidman"  will be in Denmark this summer to actually start filming this story.
Her story is a fascinating one.  Lili was born "Einer" in 1882.  Later in life he married the artist Gerda Wegener.

When a female model did not show up for a session, Einer stepped in and Lili was born. Einer enjoyed and became so comfortable as a female, he eventually had the surgery which was very experimental in those days.
Gerda and Lili moved to Paris where Lili lived openly as a woman and even turned down a marriage proposal.
The only problem with the film is that Kidman is playing Lili.  Once again a transgendered actor is turned down for a role.
The movie has had a very rocky start and reportedly will start filming this summer in Copenhagen.

What's It Really Mean?

All the current fashion runway publicity revolving around "Lea T" and "Andrej Pejic" means exactly what to the transgendered community?
Did the "glam rockers' or the "club kids" do any thing for us? No not really. No mainstream change. When movies such as "Tootsie" came out, did that help? Maybe a little.
"Alex Fury's" article in the UK's "Independent" gives us some possible insight from the runway.
Here's is a portion of his story.
So where will this interest take us next? The womenswear shows are
currently in full flow, hot on the heels of a menswear season that
questioned the status quo between the sexes at every turn. Whether
fashion will bravely continue to transgress the boundaries, or will
wilt into the shadows of gender stereotypes, remains to be seen.
Leading the vanguard as he prepares for Candy's third issue, Luis
Venegas is philosophical about his aims. "If showing these images and
stories somehow helps to change the conventions and what people see as
elegant or right or wrong, I'm happy about it. That wasn't the plan,
but at least people can look at this in a different way."
For what it's worth, I'm a real believer that we are starting to see the merging of the genders.  Human evolution, chemicals we consume and social media outlets are pushing the gender envelopes like we have never seen
If the current runway style helps or not has yet to be seen.  At the least, it's not negative and probably does not reach much of society, but who knows? It can't hurt!