Transgender Journey: From Ramesh to Rose!

Pictured on the right is India’s first transgender celebrity :
She talked about her trauma recently in an interview with
the Sunday Observer   Rose  who spoke about her traumatic past to become a woman, requested people to look at transgendered people
as human beings and not to throw them into dark
corners and make their lives miserable.
Rose knows firsthand how bad the transgendered experience can be.  She hails from a society where a transgendered person is tagged as a ‘hijara’, meaning immoral and evil. “but we are not immoral, evil dirty or prostitutes”, she says.
Through hard work and education, Rose gained popularity in Tamil Nadu with her TV talk show ‘Ippadikku
Rose’ - Yours truly, Rose where she talks about social issues
including traditions, taboos, rebels and culture telecast on Vijaya
TV.
Follow the link to learn more!

Transgendered Twin

Pictured left are Wyatt and Jonas who started life as twin brothers.

The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor’s care.

"Wyatt" is now "Nicole" and here is the story from "boston.com"

"When Wyatt and Jonas were born, their father was thrilled. Wayne looked forward to the day when he could hunt deer with his boys in the Maine woods. The family lived in Orono, near the University of Maine campus, where Wayne is the director of safety and environmental management.

They had no preparation for what would come next.

When Wyatt was 4, he asked his mother: “When do I get to be a girl?’’ He told his father that he hated his penis and asked when he could be rid of it. Both father and son cried. When first grade started, Wyatt carried a pink backpack and a Kim Possible lunchbox.

His parents had no idea what was going on. They had barely heard the term “transgender.’’ Baffled, they tried to deflect Wyatt’s girlish impulses by buying him action figures like his brother’s and steering him toward Cub Scouts, soccer, and baseball."

As I read the story I was astounded by the love and courage of this family. As we approach the holiday season this is a true example of unconditional love.

Bond's Best Transgendered Woman

Transsexual Bond girl Caroline
Cossey revisited.

Transgender Actress

Transgender actress Bianca Leigh!

Out of the Closet

Out of the wrong closet at that! 
I just attended quite possibly the last company Christmas party in guy drag I ever will.
Going through my male closet (neglected) was quick and pain full.
I've never given much attention to my male appearance.  Work attire was easy enough as was the simple casual attire I wore.  You know the story. Fashion limitations everywhere-BORING! Polo shirt, slacks, matching socks and shoes and I'm out the door.
Of course once I got there I was the fashion expert (in my mind).  I passed the time critiquing every woman there.
Why did I go? If you've been following my timeline, I only have another couple weeks to go with this company.
Actually there are a couple of reasons I did go. Let's get the self serving one out of the way. Christmas bonuses were being passed out! Do not quit before you get your bonus!
The other reason is I believe in being a good employee until the end. I live in a relatively medium sized town and I feel more than a few know of my transgender background. If the company gives a party, at least they will have a chance to remember me as a man before my serious gender changes begin.
Of course I've endured the company gossip as well as others for some time now.  I won't lie to you and say that some of it has bothered me over the years.  It's not so much I was bothered by what was said. I was bothered I couldn't say so what?
The Christmas party was so much more than selecting clothes from the wrong closet or ignoring a couple of ignorant comments. The party was yet another huge step towards accept me for who I am or go away.

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!!!!!!