Just a Girl

Bring It On, the popular 2000
comedy film about cheerleaders starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku
and Jesse Bradford, has arrived on stage and is currently touring the
country.
I know you are saying so?

One reason is "Gregory Haney".










and saying this: On "The Edge"

Just a girl...Looking like this:

EDGE: The show sounds like so much fun. Can you talk about how you landed the role of La Cienega?

Gregory Haney: I originally auditioned in LA and then I moved back to New York and they were still looking for the part and so I got invited to another audition for it and I kind of went all out for it. I remember I was at my friend’s house on 44th (in Manhattan) and I walked to 43rd in full costume. I went in and sang and I read and had a little chitchat with all the creatives and that was it. It was less than 20 minutes.

EDGE: In looking at your credits, is this the first transgender role that you’ve done?

Gregory Haney: It was! I have never played a girl.

EDGE: Is La Cienega transitioning woman to man or man to woman?

Gregory Haney: I know in the breakdown of the character before the audition it said transgender woman but I think in the "Bring It On" world she’s just a girl. You don’t ever see her as a boy, she’s not a drag queen...she’s a woman, a girl.

We should all be as lucky!!!!
If you are wondering, I don't think Haney's role was in the original movie.

Making a Transgender Difference in the UK

"Sarah Brown's" expereinces are all too familiar.

In Europe's "Pink News" she talked of being Cambridge's Councillor and the country's only out transgender official.
She said: “I have experienced three types of discrimination – transphobia, homophobia and misogyny”.
“Since the transition to live as female I’m suddenly a second-class citizen. Suddenly my personal space was invaded and I started getting men touching me and being groped on the Tube.
“All this stuff I had not experienced before. I have also had complete strangers coming up asking me questions about my genitals which is completely rude.”
Sound familiar?

"Ms Brown, who ranked 28th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List, making her the UK’s most influential trans person, entered into a civil partnership in 2009.
But she had to file for divorce from her then wife, Sylvia Knight, before they could become civil partners after her transition.
“When we were in court in Cambridge getting divorced we had to sort of convince ourselves what we were doing. However we came out holding hands and crying.
“We developed an understanding together and were interested in each other as people.”

Her attitude says it all:
The 53-year-old said: “I want to raise the profile of trans-genders,
lesbians and gays.
“We are pretty marginalised. Society is more accepting of gays than
transgenders. I want to bring people out of the shadows.
“There are 14 and 15-year-olds out there who are scared to be who they
really are because they fear being picked on.
“I’ve been there. I know what it feels like – and attitudes need to change.”
Good "stuff"! Follow the link for more on the story.

Is It A Man's World?

Personally (with my transgender bias set aside), I've felt it is a man's world-but women run it.
I'm sure you've heard the "behind every good man there is a better woman" comment. How true.
The female gender at it finest nutures, loves and makes a male whole.  At the same time, from childhood girls sit back and watch the boys in their own world. Some react with shyness, interaction or even amusement.
Over the past several months I've watched and learned how women interact in their own circle until a man comes enters it. A light goes on and their attention changes  immediately. It's innately what most females do.
I've even experienced the feeling myself during my very limited experience with men. When a woman I knew came close on a night I was with a man, quick exchanges were made.  Eye contact was the primary form of communication. "How's it going?" came through loud and clear with no words spoken and the man none the wiser.
So yes, it was his world and rightfully so because he made me feel comfortable in it. Hopefully, I returned the favor.
A true gender "give and take".  Both worlds came together and life was good. Certainly my dual gender status didn't hurt the process and attempting to understand process from the feminine perspective helped. As I've mentioned before though, I was surprised how natural the process was.
Perhaps I was subconciously making notes in my mind all along.
I realized  the world really does belong to a woman. She is noticed and scrutinized by both genders and her emtional base alone makes her more in tune to the people around her.
I feel the internal changes such as this are more important than outward appearances. It certainly explains partially why I've known men who have gone through the sex reassignment process and....are still men.
Of course the pain of jumping from one gender world has been intense on occasion. Every now and then though, dual membership has it's advantages and makes me a better person. At least that's the goal!

Womanless Beauty Pageant?

The casual observer would certainly not call this a womanless beauty pageant. Perhaps a "womanless at birth" pageant would be a better title.
At any rate this collection of beauties competed recently in Los Angeles.  Here is the winning contestant and you can view a couple more pix are in the "Picture Gallery"
If you weren't in the audience at Circus Disco in Los Angeles on November 6th, it's very likely you weren't aware that Daniela Sanchez, competing as Miss Mexico, became the 38th recipient of the Queen of the Universe crown.

The Other Side Of Transgender Thai

We all see and enjoy the beautiful Thai transgender women in beauty pageants and other public events but what about the "everyday" transsexual Thai woman. The woman who goes to work everyday and just lives her life.

From the "Phuket News" comes a story about the "other side" of the Katoey culture in Thailand.
"Katoey are born, raised and registered in the Kingdom of Thailand. They are, and have been, an integral part of Thai society dating back to at least the Rattanakosin period in the 18th century. However, in the mainstream psyche, katoey are placed on the the fringes of the Thai social fabric.

Loud, aggressive and violent are all stereotypes associated with the transgender community, especially in Patong – a classic case of "one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel".

However, there are "good apples" that have chosen a different path, but not without adversity.
Toedsak "Gai" Kaipraiwan, 30, (pictured on the left) earned a bachelor’s degree from a university in Sakon Nakhon, her home province in Northeastern Thailand (Isarn). "Gai faced many job related obstacles before working as a transgender consultant in a clinic.

"Um at work"

Not all transgenders have struggled with finding the right job.

"Tintinarn "Um" Homroskla is a 23-year-old Phuketian with a degree in business administration from a local vocational college.

"I started working as a cashier at a store in Phuket International Airport as soon as I graduated. I was 18 years old," Um said.

"I had no problem getting the job and I got along fine with my colleagues. Even though there was nothing exciting about my job, it was my plan to start from something small and work my way up.

Um moved from cashier to sales agent at a housing estate to receptionist at a spa and now is the manager of Andaman Power Organization, a local non-governmental organization working directly with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) community in Phuket."
 
Two great examples of two of many transgendered women in Thailand who have established themselves in lives they were destined to live.
Follow the link above for the full story.

An Interesting Transsexual "Before"

Italian movie star Giuseppe Schisano to change sex and be called 'Vittoria' .

This will be one transition that will be interesting to watch! I'm thinking her eyes and lips will be sexy!

 

"Wass Up? Update

Following a brief break, I plan to turn up the heat again before we make it to the first of the year.
My reschedule with the actual doctor who can prescribe hormones (and is well respected) is next Monday.
Then I've figured out the two people I can contact to see if the VA will at least pay for the hormones themselves.
I have until the middle of December before I see the psychologist again. By that time I will know for sure if I will need Plans B thru X.
Shortly after that changing employment to begin transition is planned and possible.
Of course any plan is just that...a plan and we all know there will be many surprises ahead!
Stay tuned!

A Time For Thanks?

In a day or so it is Thanksgiving in my world.  I say that because I know a percentage of our community here on the blog doesn't live in the United States. As the "old school" girl I am, I'm flattered, humbled and dazzled by the world wide web.
It's a time of the year when families get together to eat too much turkey and watch more football.
Unfortunately it is also the time of the year when many of our transgendered sisters and brothers are ostracized by critical families.
My two fave girls and I have talked about this being my last appearance as the "patriarch" of my immediate family  Over the past five years or so our family has become bottom heavy with grandkids and yes I became the oldest person in the family.
While I could never picture myself as a "matriarch", obviously I will be quite different in a year.
How will this work?
I have written before of my brothers probable knowledge of my gender situation and my daughter preparing her family but there is a whole other level of family on my brother's side.
My decision is to not jump off any bridges before it's time and to give thanks for what I have.
Even though some of you may not be in an area that celebrates Thanksgiving, hopefully you will be able to stop for a second to give thanks for the gifts you do have. No manner how minor.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I am NOT a Crossdresser!

Don't get upset. A while ago I wrote a post on Hub Pages and shared it here on why I'm not a crossdresser.
Here it is again:

Maybe you aren't either.

I don't spend 100% of my life yet as a female, but when I do does that qualify me as a crossdresser? When I'm working as a guy...maybe I'm a crossdresser then?
Where is the mystical line? If you take the word in it's most basic form I am a crossdresser because I don't wear the clothes of my birth gender. Then again, who says what my birth gender really was?
What "clicks" in my brain when I'm a girl? I shop and eat and do girl stuff. I simply love the hair, clothes and makeup! The word cross dresser has no meaning. If I'm not a female, I'm certainly not a guy just dressed in ladies clothes trying to fool the world.
Are you a crossdresser? Even if you are walking through the mall in sky high heels, big hair and a short skirt you may not be. You could be going through your teen girl years. It happens to all of them. They grow up and so will you.
Don't get me wrong here. I know I will never be a genetic female. No amount of surgery or hormones has perfected that miracle of science yet. I am a mix of both genders and something I'm becoming very comfortable with. The crossdresser in you will disappear as you feel more comfortable and your female side establishes what she wants to be.
So,when someone refers to you as a crossdresser, maybe you are not. Think of it this way. I'm a guy out of convenience and a girl out of desire!

Over the months I've had several comments but the one I'm going to share is beyond wonderful!

jeanine commented:

I am a two spirited individual... and could be and can fall into all of the categories... trans anything, to me is just the diversity within our tribe... I do not like what the medical community has done for and to us as a tribe... sense the beginning of time we have been advisers to Kings, Queens and leaders all over the world... we were revered because of our knowledge of both genders... consider Holy men to most native tribes around the world and until the European version Christianity came on the scene we were known as the keepers of the secrets of God... I cannot understand why our tribe has embraced the binary system... since the medical community has been helping us we have been relegated to the Jerry Springer show... I'm having trouble with the medical community telling me I will be more if they make me less... I am not one or the other I am both... transsexuals to me are just the new Eunuchs and they are so beautiful to me... what the world does know but I'm sure you do is we all hear that women are going to be elevated to rule the world completely, so some of us change to get to go to the head of the line... some change because we can and yet others change to get away from the angst that this society has placed upon us... I know there is a day coming when we will be restored to our rightful place of honor... I am not one or the other... I am both... it is the gift from God that we have received... enjoyed the read...

I have written here on occasion on how most of the ancient cultures did revere our knowledge we gain from both sides of the gender divide. I have just not been able to express my feelings on the subject as well as Jeanine!