Quote of the Day

"It's a great plan till someone punches you in the face."   Mike Tyson
Words to live by from a great philosopher!

Are We All Transgender Activists?

In this age of extreme media in every area of our lives it's easy to be a trans activist- or be confused with one.
Then again, what exactly defines a trans activist? Let's use transgender broadcaster Eden Lane as an example.
She was interviewed recently by Michelangelo Signorile:

“Once in a while, I may be asked to identify myself and make a statement in a certain way, I think that would undermine the meaning of my work, not just for my work's sake, but for the very reason they're wanting to identify me as a transgender broadcaster. If I were to make political statements, then that undermines my credibility as a journalist. And if that's the point, that I'm a journalist first, and that people are tuning in to watch my program not because I'm talking exclusively about LGBT issues, but all sorts of things, then for me to step up and try to be a political figure would undermine that work and really rob us all of a chance to have a different kind of example available.”

So of course in certain circles in the transgender community I have seen Eden criticized for not being a trans activist...Really? Isn't she the type of positive example we all need? She is a non stealth person just living her life as a real person-the perfect activist!

Take Care!

If you international friends don't know, a whole bunch of the USA is getting hammered hard by a combo monster hurricane mixed with an Artic cold front.

My message is to all of you in the grasp of Sandy, I wish you the best.

I'm on the very edge of it here in Southwest Ohio and we are still expecting 50 MPH winds.

Hopefully, Sandy will be nicer to you than expected- thinking about you!

Katie Goes National

Katie and Mom

We posted an article here in Cyrsti's Condo about a young transgender woman named Katie some time ago. Here's part of it:

Katie and Arin

"This is "Katie" on the left trying on a bracelet with her mother.
As you probably guessed since I'm blogging about her, Katie used to be "Luke".From the "Tulsa World" comes Katie's story.. Katie grew up with three other brothers and a Marine officer Dad.

Here's an excerpt from the story that just blew me away! Just in time for Mother's Day. Mom..."I was expecting (Luke) to sit me down and say, 'Mom, I'm gay,' " Jazzlyn recalled. Instead, at age 15, Luke told her: "I'm not gay, Mom. I'm transgender." Her reaction: "A trans-what? I had prepared myself for 13, 14 years that my son was gay. And now I'm thinking, 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'?" They cried."

Tonight Katie was one of the featured stories on the Inside Edition entertainment news show. It turns out she has completed SRS at the age of 18 and is a beautiful young woman with an handsome young trans man friend Arin.

Follow the link above for more and oh yes, Dad accepts her now!

Horror Scope!

Well, quite the "Non Halloween" Horror scope here in Cyrsti's Condo!
Your week is going to be all sunshine and rainbows, so live it up! Get out there and prance under the stars. Your energy will be perfect for attracting miracles and beauty everywhere you are, if you place yourself out beyond your normal stomping grounds. Just be prudent with whom you hang though, because although feelings will start out intense, they can also end as powerfully.

 Then again, I still have an invite to a late Halloween party out of town this Saturday!

Go get your Horror Scope from theFrisky   here.



  Chaps Embellished Empire Dress - Women'S Plus (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cis Privilege?

On occasion I recommend and quote from a really good blog I follow called Ask Matt.  Matt Kailey is a trans man but never really limits his scope to men and includes trans women too.

The more we all start to venture out into the public we naturally seek acceptance or some sort of understanding from other human types. This is often very difficult to find even from "friends" in our own LGBT "community" as seen in this comment from a FAAB (female-assigned at birth) genderqueer individual who is also gay  This person got a kick in the gut from very good friends (four lesbians, one gay guy) when they completely slammed the whole trans umbrella:

 “They essentially said that they do not believe that trans women belong in spaces such as the women’s group at the LGBT center, and same for trans men with the men’s group. I asked where I fit, and they were like, ‘You have a vagina, don’t you? With the women, duh.’ I felt like my entire identity was invalidated in that moment by the last people who should be doing that. “But then they made what some would consider a valid point: trans women grew up with male privilege, and that is something cis women have never had. Trans women wouldn’t know anything about menstruation and other issues that happen in that department that cis women want to discuss."

I am passing along a very short excerpt from the post and an equally short portion of Matt's answer. After which, I will give you the link for more.

"The reality is that most gay men and lesbians understand about as much about trans issues (and probably about as much about genderqueer issues) as non-trans, straight people (and those with a binary gender identity) do. Your friends probably don’t even realize that they hurt you, misgendered you, and pretty much discounted and/or trivialized your entire sense of yourself. What this demonstrates is not necessarily that your friends don’t care about you. What it demonstrates is that they can’t wrap their heads around who you are. They don’t understand your identity, they can’t relate to it, and they might not be all that interested in trying – or they might be."

The entire post is here.

I'm Not Worthy!

MULIEBRAL MERITORIOUSNESS...is it a real quote and what does it mean?

"I doesn't know it!!!!"

But if you are curious...go here then be prepared to take your time- this woman is one of us and can pump out some wordage-way beyond my fourth grade attention and "edication" level!

Women and Halloween

Julie and Susan

Well kids, of course it is "Boo!" time in my part of the world and it's positively HUGE. Around these parts Halloween is right behind Christmas as the biggest holiday. Of course everyone is talking about it finally taking some of the heat off the election babble. (and the coming hurricane which we are fortunate enough to miss most of)
I heard an interesting radio talk show this afternoon with a male and female host talking back and forth about how women approach Halloween.
She started of course by saying how the costume dynamic was so much different for women...duh! The best comment was how many of her friends spend an eternity buying underwear for their costume everyone would see. Plus, lets not forget men don't have to worry about the pain and suffering of walking around in 4 inch heels for five hours.
Then in ever so subtly in typical femme speak she slipped in the phrase "maybe all that work is what makes it fun".
Really?

Hi Naomi

I just added "What about Naomi" to the blog roll here in Cyrsti's Condo.
Welcome Naomi! Her blog features a real life look into the complex gender transition process.