No Stana and The World is Still Here!

Overall this weekend went fairly well. After all the world didn't end at 6 Saturday, so all was OK except...I really wanted to meet "Stana" this weekend.  Who is she? "Stana" just could be one of the leading transgendered bloggers anywhere. Her "Femulate" blog is the best and just recently celebrated 2 million hits. Wow!
She lives on the East Coast and travels to my part (Midwest) of the world every so often for a convention.
As luck would have it, I was going to be off the first day only and thought I could make it.
I was as nervous as a teen groupie as I planned what I was going to wear and would I look good enough. I even wondered if I had the courage to even talk to her!
Of course it wasn't going to matter anyway.  A series of misadventures (including a flat tire) and financial set backs doomed be to not being able to go.
I was truly disappointed. I admire her for many things including her outreach work to college students .
Hopefully there will be another time and place. I was trying to get a lot done before the world ended.  It didn't and I have more time!

I Transitioned?

Last night I transitioned another step. Moving effortlessly through situations I never would have dreamed of doing years ago made me realize how far I've come.
Surviving a group of alcoholic enhanced 20 and 30 somethings as a single woman in a tavern is on the huge "no no" list.
To be able to enjoy it is unthinkable to me and I am so lucky. As I tweeted last night, I even watched the other girls at the bar and copied how they held their beer mugs. I was able to come up with a new "grip" that shows less of a fist and more of a thumb and forefinger hold that shows off my nails and minimizes the size of my hands.
I guess that is another "transition"?
My transition is different anyhow, so why not put that on the list?
No hormones or surgery do create a unique question. Mentally am I training my male body to be female? Am I simply being a better actress to the point of obsession?
I do know I'm becoming less secure in male situations, so I really don't have any answers.
There probably aren't any answers except to do what feels right and good.
Transition is just a word any how. Who needs it?

Whose on the "T"?

I believe it is terstonerone that affects the sex drive in women.
If that was the case, the place I was last night had more than a couple girls who shaved more than their legs before coming out to party.
I'm not a stranger to the fact younger women today are becoming very aggressive. They fight, cuss and chase men with the best of them.
From the dark haired beauty in her little black dress and boots to the three tall blonds that walked in, the show was on.
I know where I fit in the hierarchy.  I just try to sit without being approached, use the women's room when needed and enjoy a couple drinks. To present successfully and enjoy the show is all I ask. My only "success"last night was the "bitch!" look I got from one of the blonds.
The star of last night's show was the dark haired girl in the boots.  She sat down the bar from me with an amazing leg cross. I was so envious of her ability to cross her legs so far up her thighs, I was afraid I was the color of "Kermit the Frog".
Of course in that dress with those legs and those boots she didn't lack for male admirers. It was great. As I moved past them, the guys never gave me a second look...but she did.
Actually, we've spoken there a couple of times. Maybe next time I can ask her if that was her rocking a guy in a car close to me when I left!

Return to Jerry?

According to "KHOU" in Houston, Texas Nicki Araguz is working on a reality TV show. The transgendered widow of a fallen Wharton, Texas firefighter  is working with a Houston film maker to produce the show.
Currently, Nicki is in court to claim over a half a million dollars of insurance money from her husbands death.
If you remember this is the same Nicki who started her TV career with talk shows such as "Jerry Springer".
As the current story came to light many transgendered organizations and people voiced support for her...including me.
The news about a proposed reality show (if true) proves to me Nicki is the same person who admitted to to performing oral sex on a guy years ago on Springer.
I'm sure I won't be the one to hurt her career on reality TV. I just hope she won't be the one who hurts transgendered causes everywhere.

We Are Not Ready!

Take a second and try to think of the number one transgendered entertainer in the USA.
Times up..you can't think of one can you? Good Ole macho Uncle Sam hasn't produced any "Harisu's" from Korea or "Dana Internationals" from Israel. I won't even go into transgender stars from Japan and India.
It seems we can't even produce a sitcom (or reproduce) with  good convincing cross dressing actors. A new show called "Work It" is being put together with the good old tried and true idea of men not being able to find jobs as guys and go after employment as women. What a wild and crazy idea!
Sure, the USA has produced notable big screen parts for Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Dustin Hoffman to show off as women. The television has basically  given us guys playing women for laughs. "Milton Berle" and "Flip Wilson" are two that come to mind. We always knew they were taking the dress off when they got off the stage.
If "Work It" casted "Jai Rodriquez" for the starring role instead of an actor who brought back memories of "Tom Hanks" in "Bosom Buddies" there would be no way the show would ever make it. "Hanks" interaction with the public as a girl was humorous. He didn't make a convincing woman.  "Rodriquez" on the other hand does  look convincing as a girl No humor there when a guy hits on him. I suppose the question would be could he "butch" it up enough to handle the male scenes? Would America buy the fact an "out" gay man was playing a married guy who had to go out a get a job as a woman? NOT!
The sad fact is the entertainment industry just reflects "life as it is" for transgendered people.Stay hidden go stealth and you will not see one of us on a weekly television show.
Maybe in the future we will make the huge leap from murderers and thieves to the trans girl or guy next door.
Until that time watch all three episodes of "Work It" before it goes stealth and disappears!

Jai!

This shot is of Jai Rodriquez dressed as "Amanda Knot" in "Harry's Law."
As you can see Jai looks terrific and this not his first time in a dress in front of the cameras.
For a couple more shots follow this link!
The legs and heels are worth it,
Thanks Jen and Tina!!!!

Was It Something I Said?

I normally stay completely to myself. Speak when spoken too. Content with moving through society in my own little stealth mode.
Recently I stepped out of the mode to "help" a couple of 20 something guys with two "can't miss" trivia answers. (Hey 2 out of 20?). The seat I chose next to them was  the only one left and they gave me a long glance as I sat down.
Our unseasonably cold weather was continuing and I was meeting a guy there later so I wore one of my favorite "black" outfits. Black sweater, leather coat and hair accessorized with silver earrings and necklace.
As I caught up on my cell messages, I overheard them agonizing over a question about an old "Wonder Bread" commercial I leaned over and gave them my answer and was ignored and that was fine. After all, ignoring women is an age old male art form, trans or not.
Much later in the same round another question came up in a baseball category. I knew the answer and told one of them what is was. As our eyes locked, I knew it wasn't love or even lust I saw in them but it was way too late to turn back. We went on to have a conversation about the answer. The other guy was civil but I focused on the hostile one. Very quickly a better seat opened in another spot so I moved an took it.
He never had a chance to thank me! lol.
Maybe I was a "radical queer" that night by intruding in his game and forcing him to acknowledge me or he didn't want a woman knowing a little more.
My "date" arrived and we became immersed in learning a little more about each other so the experience faded quickly.
So much for "stealth" and trivia!

Putting A Job Where Your Feelings Are.

The "Meggan Sommerville" and "Hobby Lobby" debacle in Aurora, Illinois started me thinking. Would I hire Meggan now?
For 30 plus years I've been in an industry (retail) in a hiring position. I put myself on a pedestal for hiring a trans woman years ago.
A closer look makes that pedestal look very shaky at times. The woman I hired was actually a great fit for the concept I hired her for. On the other hand I knew I was leaving that store the next week and wouldn't be there for the repercussions. It turned out there were few but life went on. I lost touch with how long the woman lasted there.
How would I react today? It would be tough. To my knowledge the woman was the only trans female I have ever interviewed in my career. If she walked back through my door today would I hire her again. Would I toss my "guy" reputation on the line?
I would but I'm fairly sure the company I work for wouldn't. I can't condemn them completely. They have to make decisions in  a very conservative- economically challenged market. I can tell you if I was in a situation where a very presentable trans woman such as Meggan (judgement from a picture) could fit in I would hire her in a second.  As a hiring manager, three factors would come in to play. Would she upgrade the staff. How much public interaction would occur (constant?) and how would the current staff and my superiors react? The last consideration would be the restroom!
So my pedestal is real but shaky. In addition, I'm very small time.
I do wonder if real human resource people  go through any training concerning the trans community. Without any concrete info, I would assume they do have some sort of rules concerning a person who transitions on the job but don't on hiring decisions.
The real training comes from living life and knowing the trans community for what it is...  Just another group of diverse individuals attempting to live their lives the best they can.
As I prepare to leave more and more of my male self behind, I need to always remember one big thing. The college age person I may happen to interact with may be a human resources person someday.
It's time to switch pedestals and make sure I represent us well!

Really?

Meggan Sommerville

From the "WLS" news blog in Chicago: ":A west suburban transgender woman has filed two charges of discrimination with the state against the Aurora arts and crafts store she has worked at for a number of years, stating that management has barred her from using the women's restroom and threatened her with further disciplinary action if she were to use the women's room in the future
Meggan Sommerville of Oswego was born Mark Sommerville,  according to the charges filed in April with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR).
Sommerville has worked for Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts supply store, in Aurora "for a number of years," according to her lawyer, Betty Tsamis. In July of 2010, Sommerville began to transition from male to female, the charges state."
The story goes on to point out the Meggan was not allowed to use the women's room at work and even was written up for using the men's at one point. She adjusted by changing her fluid intake at work and was even going across the street to use the woman's bathroom at lunch.
Really? Is something as common and mundane as a bathroom visit causing this woman so much pain? Actually the bathroom is the line in the sand for transphobics around this country. The bathroom issue is just one of the battles in a big war.
The other shame is that "Meggan" can't tell "Hobby Lobby" to go to hell and go out and find a better job. I'm sure she would tell us all it doesn't work that easily for trans women or as a matter of fact for most people in today's economy.
What a brave woman Meggan is for bringing to the spotlight "Hobby Lobby" in Aurora  for such a ridiculous stand.