Transgender Cinema

I can only describe this cinema trailer for the Carl(a) movie is a view into transgender, transsexual reality:

Allie in Stuttgart

Stuttgart, Arkansas-not Germany to be exact. Allie is one of two transgender teens profiled in a new film project:

"She’s a regular teenager in many ways — worried about what other kids in school think of her and excited about college. But she’s also transgender, and that’s made her life more difficult and challenging than most of us could imagine. Allie realized she was meant to be a girl when she was  three years old, she explained, but had to keep her identity hidden to avoid bullying and abuse. The project called a "friend film" still needs funding, and if you’re inclined you can support it through Indie-Go-Go.

I have never thought words such as courage and bravery were appropriate for me so I hesitate to use them for Allie either.  In reality she is just like the rest of us-just trying to be ourselves. Don't we all deserve a chance?

Check out the video:

Sophia Abella

Sophia Abella, transgender model

Playing by the Numbers.

Without getting too political, one of the presidential candidates recently referred to a certain 47% of the population he wasn't concerned about. Unfortunately, I fall into his "47". I'm on Social Security and I receive Veterans Administration health benefits.
Then I read this huge Gallop Poll tossing me into the three percent or so of Americans who are LGBT. I really don't know what all of that means to me or that I should care.
I was curious about the 3 percenters this morning when I stopped by a thrift store on the way back from my daughter's.
The reason I was curious is this store is huge but was almost empty. I estimate there were only ten or so shoppers in the whole place and three of them were men shopping exclusively in the women's clothes. Hmmmm- Now I will give you the fact that a guy could be shopping for an outfit in one of the large women's retail stores but not so much in a thrift store. Here honey "happy birthday" -check out this deep discount used sweater! Now there are great clothes and values to be found in these stores and I shop them a lot. I do not think a man just happened in to shop for women's clothes there.
Also this morning, one guy was going through the dress rack in earnest and even stopped a clerk to inquire about a size. The other guy had a whole arm load of clothing-was wearing shorts with hairless legs. I know it's just Halloween?
My only point is from my own personal survey this morning, maybe Gallop missed a large segment of the population who identify as cross dressers and normally are very deeply closeted.
If they added a "C" to the LGBT count, maybe all my numbers would total up to over 50 percent!
Oh wow! I'm finally validated!!!! Yay!

Gender Not Important?

When do you reach a point where gender isn't all that important anymore?
I'm guessing when you reach a point where you do care or not that society views you as your chosen gender. You just live it.
The only reason I bring this up is (for my enjoyment) I once again jumped into the transgender versus rad fem debate on a blog.
Being the contentious person I am, I just said don't all of you have a real life? Of course I was labeled a troll and told to crawl back under the rock I came out from under.
I was devastated! I have spent years making my area under the rock liveable and I have most of the comforts of home such as running water, electric and of course the all important computer access. It was not easy kicking all the snakes, spiders and snails out of here!
Actually, the whole affair saddens me- but not enough to realize they all are sitting ducks on the pond. So easy to stir up when I am bored.
I've taken 63 years to get to the point of just being comfortable with me-transgender or not.
I know that on occasion I'm naive. I was fairly certain most peeps come to some sort of peace with who they are even if they aren't transgender or transsexual or whatever.
I guess I was wrong. Excuse me while I clean the cave!

Your Transition Tube

As you all know, every now and then I like to pass along a YouTube Video which seems to stand out from the rest of the huge number of transgender transition vids. I so wish the medium would have been around in the "dark information" ages when I grew up!

Anjali Lama

Anjali...Nepal's first transgender model!

"Trans-tainment Tonight"

From the UK: "X-Factor's" Rylan Clark kissing a transgender model who looks suspiciously like Andrej Pejic. (She isn't)

Transition on Duty

More and more stories are coming out considering transgender and transsexual veterans.
Most of course are from veterans who are no longer in the service. We are still deemed unfit for service by the US Military.
Recently, The Army Times ran a story about a trans man who is beginning his transition on duty-in Afganistan.

Here's part of the story:

"She’s a lesbian, and almost everyone in her unit knows it. She wears her hair cropped short and has a distinctly boyish appearance. And she’s becoming manlier by the day, now that she’s started taking male hormones. Call her Keith. That’s the name this 26-year-old specialist, now deployed to Afghanistan, plans to take when she completes a transition begun several months ago when she started giving herself testosterone injections every other week, under the direction of a civilian doctor who specializes in gender changes. “It’s going well. My voice is deeper, I’m getting more muscle. I feel more energy. I feel more like myself,” she told Military Times in a recent interview via Skype from her containerized housing unit in Afghanistan. Keith declined to be identified by her real name because under military policy, troops diagnosed with “gender identity disorder” are deemed medically unfit for service and face administrative separation. The repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in September 2011 cleared the way for gay troops to serve openly but did not address transgender individuals, def
ined as people who don’t identify with their birth gender."

Of course there is so much more to this story and you can read it here.