Deliverance Remembered

If you remember the less than flattering images of Appalachian culture in the motion picture "Deliverance", you will know where I'm coming from in this post.

This morning I was out doing heavy man type work. I'm working on moving and I have a lot of dirty lifting to do.  Part of my work today was taking advantage of a spring day and taking laundry to the local laundromat down the street. Then saving on electric by hanging it outside to dry.

Of course I don't seem to handle boredom well and as I was filling my laundry basket with my wash, I passed this woman, a man and a kid who looked as if they were off spring of first cousins or closer...really! The woman kept staring at me...flat out glaring at times. I was thinking what the hell was her problem and checked out her crew as I left with my wash. She was busily laughing and talking to the man with a look I've seen so many times before... Hey! Look what I saw, a man cross dressed as a woman. The only problem was-I wasn't this time.

Oh well, if you have seen Deliverance, you know I was waiting for the Banjo music to start!

Medicaid and the Trans Girl?

I ran across this little bit of news which is guaranteed to make the Arizona "Pee" uprising seem like a minor skirmish if it is true:
 From the National Review Online:

" As the technocrats seriously ponder imposing health care rationing, government bureaucrats have raised a trial balloon that could result in Medicare and Medicaid paying for sex change surgeries. From the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announcement: CMS opens this reconsideration of the NCD on Surgical Treatment for Gender Identity Disorder. Section 140.3 of the NCD Manual. The initial 30-day public comment period begins with this posting date, and ends after 30 calendar days. CMS considers all public comments, and is particularly interested in clinical studies and other scientific information relevant to the topic under review. Surgical Treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (formerly referred to as transsexual surgery in 140.3) is currently noncovered under the Medicare Part A and Part B programs. The existing policy, which became effective in 1981, states that transsexual surgery is considered experimental. Surgical sex change is a consumerist, not a medical procedure. It shouldn’t be covered by tax payers whether or not it remains experimental. And pay close attention to this: If Medicare and Medicaid covers it, believe me, Obamacare won’t be far behind. This is how the Left intends to use health care to advance its social agendas. Talk about busting the bank! “Social justice” is killing our society."

An interesting story!!!! Of course per norm the transgender culture is again being made out to be the "bad guy" in this article. It's just our rights that are being shorted...again.

Two Great Ideas!

From Creative Loafing, Charlotte, a chance to really get out of the closet:
"Ready to pay forward those jeans you never wear? Donate them to the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte, which is in the middle of a week-long clothing drive for transgender people. The drive, called Trans Closet, collects clothes for transgender individuals who can't afford to buy a new wardrobe that reflects their true identity. Shoppers will also be able to try on and receive donated clothes on Saturday. Shopping starts at 1 p.m. The experience will hopefully allow them to enjoy shopping in an accepting environment. Organizer Constance Brooks says the most in-demand donation items are work clothes, including suits for men, and women's business separates, like blouses, skirts and jackets."

And:


The sign outside the restroom in Dr. Jeffrey M. Engel's New York office. No silly, this sign was not spotted in certain Arizona legislator offices!


 

Spring Fashion is Springing

Finally spring weather is ever so slowly pushing winter out of Cyrsti's Condo and it's time to start thinking about spring fashions. I'm not here to act like I'm the big fashionista but I think over the years I have developed a certain sense of my style and what wardrobe items fit in it.

This morning it occurred to me that a certain percentage of cross dressing and even transgender girls I hear from who say they "can never pass" may me missing a few tips.
Back in my fashion obsessive days, I managed to notice more than a few women had body shapes not too different from mine. The example to the right is called an "inverted triangle". As you can see the top of the triangle represents wide shoulders and narrow hips. Exactly my shape.

The picture below it is from two summers ago and not of the best quality but I was trying to down play my shoulders with a loose off the shoulder top and give the image of hips with a slightly flared denim skirt. The added benefit was the length of the top which covered the waist I didn't have.
No pun intended, but I was doing this with mirrors...the same as any fashion conscious woman and it's certainly no big secret.
Fashion tips for any body style are all over the place.  I always like to visit Fabulous after 40.  The site always give me age appropriate fashion ideas which are copied off the runways and adapted to "older girls" like me. Here's an example from Fab 40.


To the left the model is wearing an Asian patterned top. It appeals to me because of the soft overall look to it as well as the pattern. Just the right pattern can give you a great classy style...or look terrible!

Also, don't go running off thinking I'm a big budget shopper. I don't have the finances to shop retail so I shop the wonderful world of thrift stores. My latest find is a very light cream colored lacy top. I plan to pair it with one of my tank tops and the denim skirt. The most expensive part of the outfit will be the sandals I will have to buy.

My point is if I can do this fashion thing, so can the majority of you. Before you think you can't pass, you maybe just don't know the tricks of how to do it!

January Benefit

I love this story!

" Usually when a brand launches a new product, it's pretty easy to guess its motive: profits. But cruelty-free beauty line Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics has never been one to play by the rules, which is why this amazing, heartwarming endeavor makes such perfect sense. The brand has released a limited-edition Lip Tar with the sole purpose to raise funds to help one of its own complete her gender transition surgery. January Hunt, a long-time employee with OCC, was assigned male at birth, but identifies female. In 2010, she decided to begin her transition. "Without the language or the backbone of a community to support me," she says, "it was easy to be led astray by the narrow two-gender system presented by society. I decided the only way to move forward with my life was to stop ignoring the elephant in every space I set foot in, and begin my transition rites." Unfortunately, three years after she started hormone replacement therapy, Hunt has encountered a huge roadblock in the form of health insurance. "The medical industry insists on labelling gender confirming/affirming surgeries as cosmetic rather than medically necessary," she explains. "The ripple effect is that most private and public health insurance organizations do not cover surgeries for transgender people, even if deemed medically necessary by a physician or therapist." Left with few other options to help her complete her journey, Hunt started a fundraising campaign to help her raise the needed $30,000 for sex reassignment surgery and gender-affirming breast augmentation. Fortunately for her, she works with one of the most compassionate employers we've ever seen, who went above and beyond to not only support Hunt through her transition, but also to actively help her get there."

Go to January29 for more.

Candis is Back!

From the Cyrsti's Condo entertainment desk, Advocate.com reports:



"Transgender actress Cadis Cayne will be joining Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu, and the rest of the Elementary cast for an upcoming episode of the modern Sherlock Holmes series according to the Internet Movie Database. The episode, titled “Snow Angels,” will be a reunion for Cayne and Liu, as the both appeared on Dirty Sexy Money – the same television show that made entertainment history by making Cayne the first transgender actress to have a recurring role on a prime-time series. Since then, Cayne has become one of the most popular transgender actresses in the United States starring in several TV series including Nip/Tuck, Drop Dead Diva, and Here TV’s She’s Living for This."

Girls Night Out

On the Cyrsti's Condo big screen a YouTube video which is admittedly out of my generational reach. None the less interesting:

 

Get Involved

Fighting for our right to PEE!

Most certainly you have heard of the insane right to pee bill in Arizona.  Basically, if this bill passes it would require a transgender woman or transgender man posses a new birth certificate or face arrest.
I am passing along a link to the Dyssonance blog. Blog author Toni D'orsay is basically at ground zero of the fight against this ridiculous bill. She has all the info including email and other social media links to contact legislators in Arizona:

Action Needed! Call or Write NOW: #noloo4u on twitter Contact these representatives in order to let them know that SB1045 seeks to make it impossible for women with pants and short haircuts, men with long hair and kilts, and anyone who doesn't meet the standards for what someone else thinks a man or woman should like or act like, including loving someone of the same sex, to use the restroom. This law seeks to make being transgender in public a wrong thing, and says that trans people are wrong, dangerous, and bad.

As I said, follow the link above for the actual connections.  I have sent my first email and plan to do more!

Erica Andrews Tribute

On the Cyrsti's Condo big screen, a tribute to the recently passed Erica Andrews from YouTube: