Flying Above the Babble

As I skim the surface of the cyber world searching for Cyrsti's Condo content...on occasion I find a person who uses the written word effectively to describe the trans life experience.
A person who can rise above the babble (including mine) and make sense.
Recently (of course) I have read posts from so called experts taking the terms cross dresser and transvestite to task.
What's the old term "Sticks and Stones can break my Bones but Words just Confuse Me?"
I'm passing along an article called Blurred Youth: An Introduction into Femininity. It was published in the Daily Titan from California State University Fullerton.
Read Julie Nitori's story here.

Echoes of our Lives

Perhaps by now you have heard the story of the transsexual Matrix co-director Lana Wachowski who reemerged in Hollywood this past July.
Over the years. Lana and her brother Andy have been notoriously solitary. A fact Lana recently said had nothing to do with her gender.

Recently, Wachowski was awarded the Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, after her recent decision to end a long-standing policy of ignoring press and public appearances and to instead openly acknowledge her transition to womanhood. Which opened the opportunity for wide reaching public relations benefits for the transgender community.

 While accepting her award, Wachowski gave a moving 25-minute speech about her painful past growing up transgender, being bullied by a nun at her Catholic school and why she nearly committed suicide. I began to believe voices in my head -- I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong with me, that I will never be lovable. After school I go to the nearby Burger King and write a suicide note. But it was addressed to my parents and I really wanted to convince them that it wasn’t their fault, it was just that I didn’t belong... When I see the headlight I take off my backpack and I put it on the bench. It has the note in front of it. I try not to think of anything but jumping as the train comes. Just as the platform begins to rumble suddenly I notice someone walking down the ramp. It is a skinny older old man wearing overly large, 1970s square-style glasses that remind of the ones my grandma wears. He stares at me the way animals stare at each other. I don’t know why he wouldn’t look away. All I know is that because he didn’t, I am still here... I am here because when I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn’t find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others.

A video of her entire speech is available here.

Catching Up!

The last couple of days, I've been down and out with a bad cold/flu or whatever.
As I finally summoned up the last bit of energy I could find (kidding), it was time to write a post or two to Cyrsti's Condo.
I suppose this has given me a breather to think about how life has rolled on the past month.
It's hard to believe it was just October 3rd was when my journey went into overdrive- again. That was the day I was treated to a style and coloring job at my daughter's hair salon.
Fast forward to a totally different public experience and a four day trip exclusively as a woman. So I guess that's kind of fast.
It could have been faster yet, if I had been able to get to my much anticipated appointment with the Veterans Administration endocrinologist. Instead, it's coming up on November 1st.
As I have written, I think I have basically "hit the wall" with my hormonal progress and would love to move forward.
Maybe I just wanted to make sure I kept all of this into a 30 day period?

Cassandra Cass

Now that I got your attention with a picture of transgender actress Cassandra Cass, It's time to point out you should visit Brianna Austin's TG Reporter for a wonderful diverse look at our transgender - transsexual world...(TG Reporter even includes a touch of written content from me! Yes! I am biased kids!)
Seriously, head over there on this link.



Just to be extra nice, here's more of Cassandra!

How Mentally Ill Was I?

As I am fond of saying, if I was or am the diagnosis certainly has nothing to do with my transgender identification.
The was I'm referring to was the time I served in the U.S Army.
As a transgender vet, one of my favorite blog stops is Outserve Magazine and Brynn Tannehill.

Over the next few weeks, she is going to be writing several articles concerning the question of open transgender service. This first excerpt comes from her views of the policy trans men and women can't serve because of the now hopeless outdated mental illness questions:


"For 45 years there have been transgender individuals who have functioned at the highest levels of their fields. Lynn Conway is one of the people most responsible for the microprocessor revolution of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. She was also on Board of Visitors at the United States Air Force Academy, and a civilian two-star equivalent at DARPA. Dr. Christine McGinn was an astronaut qualified flight surgeon in the Navy. Amanda Simpson is a Presidential appointee to the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Dr. Chloe Schwenke is a Presidential appointee to a director’s position at USAID. The list goes on and on, but it puts to rest the notion that gender dysphoria is a debilitating mental illness. It’s a medical condition that doesn’t prevent people from doing their jobs, and often those people are doing them extremely well. Being trans hasn’t been an adverse indicator for security clearances since the mid-1990s. Given that, the government has tacitly recognized that gender dysphoria doesn’t imply an inability to function, nor does it imply a dysphoric person is untrustworthy. It also begs the question: if the U.S. government was and is willing to trust Lynn and Amanda with the highest levels of decision making and responsibility for national security, why is it also unwilling to trust a gender dysphoric culinary specialist third class with making sloppy joes? While the Associated Press and some LGBT media outlets picked up this story, there are few outside the trans community aware of this shift. The paradigm among the public, and even amongst some members of the LGB community, remains that trans people are mentally ill or dysfunctional. This is not altogether different from how the public saw the APA’s decision to remove homosexuality from the DSM in 1973: it took a long time for this position to become the conventional wisdom as well."

Follow the link above for the entire post!

Jenna Steps Up...Again

Jenna Talackova is proving once again she is so much more than a beautiful transsexual face:


Canadian beauty Jenna Talackova knows firsthand the affects of prejudice toward transgender people. Most will recall her triumphant battle with the Miss Universe committee earlier this year, eventually being allowed to compete in the international beauty competition, after much debate about her eligibility given her status as a transgender woman. Now Talackova is tackling larger issues in this vein by asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to remove transsexualism from its list of mental disorders. Her petition, at Change.org, has gained over 40,000 signatures thus far, and joins an international initiative backed by celebrities including Vladimir Luxuria and Maxwell Zachs. Sign the petition at www.change.org/notsick, and after the jump check out the international video in support of the campaign. http://yout
u.be/3qomHE9qkG4

Read more here at Passport Blogs

Halloween "Horror Scope"?

Check this one out!!!!


What might be a disgusting habit to you could be endearing for that other. So, don’t get caught up trying to be too prim and proper, as it’s your rough edges that will say more to that person you want to vibe with. After all, our flaws give us character and if you reveal your more disturbing ones, you will find the right freak to worship you for them. Astro Guide 2012: Libra

Even I can't or shouldn't comment on that!!!

If you aren't lucky enough to be a Libra go to theFrisky for your scope here!

More from the UK's Paris Lees

We have posted articles in the past about Paris Lees and her Meta publication.  If you haven't heard,   ‘META’ is available online and features news, features and entertainment from a

feminist and transgender perspective.

Over the past two years, Paris has embarked on a campaign to raise awareness about transgender people, appearing everywhere from BBC Breakfast to primetime Channel 4. She says her message is simple: “I just want people to stop bullying people like me. I understand that difference can seem strange, but really we’re just people and should be judged on our actions — not what was between our legs when we were born. After all, who gets a choice in that?” She adds: “I used to feel ashamed of who I was, but then I realised I had nothing to apologise for. Despite the discrimination we face, trans people help run councils and manage the NHS – the prime minister even takes advice from people who are transgender.”

Here's your link for more!

Transgender "Jocks"

At my advanced age, my interest in sports remains strong as a transgender woman but of course participation opportunities are for the most part out of the question.
However, as the door continues to open for transgender athletes a bit at a time information is coming out from different sources.
This guide comes from a FTM publication called Original Plumbing

1. Check the regulations of team you want to play with – even small recreational dodge ball leagues have by laws that regulate gender and gendered competition. Check to see how the league has written their by laws, and if there are any concerns, contact the head of the organization. If they are unfriendly to you or are not clear about their regulations, do not join that organization.
 2. Co-ed sports can be great options for folks who identify beyond the norms of the binary gender system, however, do not alleviate problems involving transphobia. You have a right to play and participate without hateful comments or actions no matter how you express your identity. However, there is a limitation in what sports may be available for multiple-gender participation.
 3. Private organizations do not have a right to information regarding your healthcare status and is protected by HIPAA law. The organization may be allowed to ask for documentation on your legal sex, but your health is your business.
 4. LGBT sports organizations and recreation leagues tend to be more progressive with their gender policies – even if you do not want to participate in their exact sport, they may have members who might have advice finding a team/organization that will be able to work with your needs.
 Regardless of which team or sport you have chosen, you have a right to play as anyone else. But sometimes as trans folks, we have to fight for our spots at the table. Find an athletic organization of your choice, make some contacts, do your research, and most importantly, know your rights.