Another Transgender Victory

In Georgia a federal appeals court panel has upheld a lower court ruling that Vandy Beth Glenn (shown above) was wrongly fired from her job as a legislative editor in the Georgia General Assembly. She informed her employer she planned to transition from male to female and was terminated.
Her fight could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court but for now at least is a clear cut victory for the transgender community in Georgia.
Glenn, who was represented by Lambda Legal attorney Greg Nevins, said she was “giddy” about the news and especially pleased the panel voted 3-0 in her favor.

Nevins, who used only a few minutes of his 30-minutes granted by the 11th Circuit Court to answer questions from the judges during oral arguments on Dec. 1, said the swiftness of the ruling was a bit surprising. But, he added, the ruling was simple to make.
“The question of whether transgender people can be protected under sex discrimination is answered — they put an end to that,” he said of the panel. “They just didn’t think this was rocket science. This was not even a close call. It’s such a clear statement.”
Nevins said the 11th Circuit Court’s ruling would hopefully be a wake up call to employers who feel they can fire transgender people without legal repercussions. But he also noted Congress needs to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to ensure job protections for all LGBT people.
“It is a very wonderful ruling that clearly states transgender people are protected from this kind of discrimination,” Nevins said.

Transgendered "Designer" Labels?

I know most of you are engrossed in shopping for the best presents ever for your friends or loved ones or maybe even your transgendered self! I'm going help and add a few more labels we wear.
Let's start with the pronouns: he, she or god forbid it.  Being a "crossdresser"  is mundane, being "transsexual" is so final and being "transgendered" means exactly what?
Tonight I had a wonderful chat with a new found transgendered friend who unknowlingly used the "gurl" word with me.  She had no way of knowing I associate "gurl" with "tranny" as a gender slur. Why? I feel female and I don't know what a "gurl" is supposed to be. Gurl just sounds demeaning and ugly to me.
Believe me I'm not blaming her, I was just a little sensitive from reading another comment directed at me last night from another person.
I've told you all before of some of my exploits on a few dating sites. I don't do much on them anymore-don't need to. Every now and then a comment about me still gets my attention however.
The comment tonight was "The hottest woman on this site is a man!" There was a day when I would have been elated reading a comment like that.
My initial reaction was "what are the other women here like?" Then I thought "I might be a biological male, but I'm not a man!"
Perhaps I'm just being over sensitive. I do know I have preached to all of you about the use of labels in our transgendered culture and what do they mean anyhow?
Obviously words can only affect me as much as I allow them to. Normally they don't and life goes on!
Good luck with finding your own labels this holiday season!

Phillipine Womanless Engineer Pageant

Enjoy this "before and after" womanless beauty pageant video!

Colorful Comment?

As I attempt to transform my pre Internet dinosaur self into a savvy Internet/social media girl, I sometime get my "cyber wires" crossed.
Some time ago I was able to hook my Twitter and Face Book accounts up with my blog. I do enjoy the immediacy of Tweets when I'm attempting to communicate with you on the blog.
Admittedly, I have a ways to go to master the whole process.
One huge problem with Twitter is the extremely small amount of words you can use to communicate.
An example is when I commented  "it might be time for a hair color change".
I have heard from several of you I need to clarify the comment.
"Hair" it is! I still wear wigs and may for a long time because I really enjoy long hair. In the meantime, I have been growing my own hair. I have told all you I'm blessed with no male pattern baldness and a full head of air which is long enough now to nearly cover my ears and is just is starting to flow down my back.
That's the good news. The bad news is all the gray that has crept in when I wasn't watching!
So, in the near future real hair color will be a priority and the color choices will be daunting. Of course I've taken into consideration my natural hair color. The dark hair you see in some of my pictures is very close to what my hair color was. 

On the other hand, I'm very partial to the red color you see in this picture and red heads dominate my Mom's side of the family.
My "BFF" has suggested a soft "blend" of the two colors may be the most flattering.
As my hair continues to grow (and the benefits of hormones thicken and lengthen it more), I look at the whole process as one of the most positive influence of transition.
As a final point of reference any hair you see on me right now is from the results of wigs...but not for long!!!!!!

You Bought A "Girl's" Car?

I had two overused vehicles who served long and well. I say had because the second of the two said enough is enough. My drive to and from work is about 15 min each way on rural roads.
On the way home my transmission decided it's first gear was a waste of time. So there I was. A "trans" woman without a "trans" mission dressed as a guy on a country road.
To make a long story short, I coaxed the truck home and immediately started to worry how I was going to solve my transportation needs.
I  thought of a guy I have known for 20 plus years who sells used cars among other things. In fact, it was his Victorian mansion I went to the Halloween party the congressman and his wife were at. If you recall the post, both the politician and wife showed more than a little interest in me.
The next morning I headed to his used car lot and he showed me about eight or ten cars in my price range.
I walked the lot and kept coming back to a small SUV that somehow appealed to me; so much so I took it for a test drive.
I have owned many different cars and trucks over my life but somehow this little SUV was different.
Finally it came to me. This was a girls car. All of a sudden the whole feeling made so much sense. The whole experience was no different than being drawn subconsciously to "chick flicks", different music or even a mans eyes.
I did buy the SUV and drove it to work and the strangest thing happened. 
One of the women I work with and I share the same outspoken cynical sense of humor. She took a look at my new car and said (remember she doesn't know my female side) "You bought a girls car!"
My voice said "yes do you want to borrow it?" My mind thought "you don't know how right you are!"

Validation Void?

Of course you know my inner "drama queen" is working overtime thinking and rethinking  my life changes ahead.
One of her problems is the future reaction to a lack of a solid work experience.
Through out her life a a man, work provided him with validation. No different than most of the male gender.He thrived in pressure macho management situations.
It's no wonder (I guess) the past haunts her as she looks back.
Only time will tell how the validation factor will play out. Not so long ago just going out in public and being accepted as a woman was validation enough. Most certainly that will not be the case in the future.
When the drama queen quiets down, several very real fulfilling validation ideas should become realities.
The first is this blog itself. Since June of 2010 (and 670+ posts) this has become a labor of love. To be able to "pay forward" and help others in any way with my transgender life experiences is huge to me. Having more time to work on the blog and my book is a dream come true. I've even considered trying to do transgendered outreach programs.
On an intensely personal level I want to experience and grow my feminity with close friends and family. While it's true being publically validated as a woman is losing it's importance: being validated as a quality transgendered female person isn't.
Finally, time is growing short and the "queen" finally will be silenced!

The "Natural" Approach to Being Transgender

I'm basically worrying about all the little things as I start the serious transition process.
The same worry I experienced on my first date with a man.
Basically, I worried about remembering how to be a woman. How to sit, talk and communicate, you know the rest. You've been there. Each gender response is partially learned and partially genetic.
When I actually went on the date (and more) I found genetics took over for the most part. My natural inner girl took over as it she was there all time and probably was more than I knew!
As I remembered the process, the future looked immediately brighter!

New Link

Here is a link with more info and pix from Albany from my last post.

In Depth Transgender Stories From Albany

Lana White, 30. Served in the Air Force. Divorced father of two children, ages 7 and 11. Worked as a railroad dispatcher locally. Native of New Orleans, relocated recently from Albany to South Carolina.

"Being a transgender person is not a decision. It's who you are. Society puts certain constraints on us and I lived with people calling me gay and I lived in fear of being beat up or retaliated against. I hid it in the Air Force so I could keep my job. It's not a matter of putting on men's clothes or women's clothes. I am who I am.

Accepting: "I've dated men and women. I'll go to a football game with the guys and enjoy that experience. I also like to shop for women's clothes and makeup. I expected more problems when I moved to Albany, but this is a pretty accepting area. I don't broadcast it, but I'm pretty open with who I am. I've been accepted as a woman at the railroad. But if someone slips up and uses the male pronoun, I don't get upset.

Passing: "Everyone's journey is different. I've been on hormone therapy for three years. I spent time in counseling, but I don't need a shrink to tell me I'm a trans person. I've been passing as a woman. When I'm out in the world, it's just easier that I'm seen as a woman and I don't get any undesired attention. I haven't had surgery, but I find the question kind of personal. Have I asked about your genitals?

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/I-hid-it-in-the-Air-Force-2341881.php#ixzz1fdCeSCxO

Admittedly, Lana looks very feminine and you probably are thinking "sure she would have an easier time."

Another person in the series presents a more realistic look at what many of us face.

Mary, 56.

Served in the Army in Germany. Retired police officer in suburban
Pittsburgh. Lives with wife, Betsy, a Presbyterian minister, in
Pennsylvania. The couple worked as missionaries in Africa. She has
been living full-time as a woman for nearly a year. She was in Albany
over the summer for a transgender conference.

"It was a long struggle for me denying who I was. I had a lot of fear
and guilt. I was threatened and beat up a lot when I was Barry and
starting to act like a girl in high school. I was shaving my legs and
the guys would chase me out of the boys' locker room and beat me up.

Cop anger: "Many years later, I started dressing occasionally as a
woman. People thought I was gay. My cop partner on the night shift
said he was going to kill me and pulled a gun on me when he found out.
I'm 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds and the other officers couldn't believe
this is who I am. I became very depressed and suicidal.

"I started dating Betsy and had no plans to tell her, but one day I
just blurted out that I liked to dress as a woman. I thought that
would be a deal-breaker. Amazingly, she said that was OK. She thought
I was a big guy with a feminine side. She found that sweet. She knew
my secret, but I couldn't keep it inside anymore.

Suicidal: "We went to Africa as missionaries for our church and I
started dressing as a woman in the house there, but it was very
dangerous. Betsy said I needed to get help. I started psychological
counseling in 2007. I became more and more depressed and made several
attempts at suicide. I had my service revolver in my mouth. I was
ready to jump from a bridge and my wife called me on my cellphone and
talked me down.

Trans support: "Last year's trans conference in Albany was the first
time I dressed as a woman in public. I was scared stiff and almost
didn't go. I turned my car around three times before I got the courage
to attend. A couple of trans women, Jenna and Lana, took me out on the
town in Albany. They were sweethearts. They made me realize I wasn't a
freak. I saw there were other people like me.

As always I try to just give you the highlights.  Follow the links to yet another informational set of articles by brave transgendered people!