So Close to Home

From Shane Morgan, Trans Ohio Founder & Chair:

"Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Not One More.

   Those words still resonate with me. It’s the title of a poem written by our board member Erin Upchurch and read aloud at the 2011 Trans Day of Remembrance

. Not One More. Today, we learned that a community member from the Olmsted Township, a western suburb of Cleveland, was murdered and found floating in a local pond. She had been stabbed and tied to a concrete block. Local newspapers quoted people saying that they thought that she was a “mannequin, floating in the water” – the image of this burns in my head, just as the image of Matthew Shepard does – propped up against a fence like a scarecrow.

  Not One More. The outrageous and the stereotypes that have been perpetuated by the media are unthinkable, and honestly I find myself having to be reserved in what I write about them – the media, at this very moment. It disgusts me on so many levels; I don’t even know where to begin. Not One More. “While we remember and honor the life of Ce Ce, we - her community - have the responsibility to ensure that her death, her life and her struggle do not exist in vain," says TransOhio board member Erin Upchurch from Columbus. “The violent death of this young woman is unconscionable and needs to be addressed. Ce Ce was someone’s child but the perpetrator of this horrific crime could not see that all they saw was how she was different and trying to live their life the best they knew how. This is the third trans woman of color murdered in April in the United States alone and this needs to stop! This was a beautiful young lady whose life was stolen from her and all the news can talk about was what she was wearing, shame on them!” shared Cleveland trans activist, Jacob Nash.

   Not One More. “As a representative of MTQWI and the Cincinnati Trans* Community Group, I am both saddened and appalled by the news Cemia’s death. This tragic loss, and how it was handled by the media, reminds us of harsh realities; that transgender youth continue to be at severe risk; that transgender women, especially women of color, are frequent targets of violence; and that society still struggles to recognize trans* people as human beings deserving of kindness, love, and respect. Cemia’s attackers robbed her of her life and the offensively transphobic language of the Cleveland Plain Dealer robbed her of her dignity. We stand with Cemia Dove tonight as members of the trans* community and as fellow human beings,” says JAC Stringer.

   Not One More. It’s a difficult thing to wrap my head around – such intentional brutality intended to be hidden and never surfacing – literally. As a human being, as a compassionate person, as somebody’s friend, brother, sister, child – I can’t even begin to comprehend what Ce Ce’s family and friends are going through. As a community, we cannot allow this kind of violence to continue to happen, nor can we continue to allow the media, those who use our faces on camera or stories on the tv – we cannot allow them to use us – ANY OF US – especially our trans brothers and sisters of color – to be beaten down, brutalized and shown in the media as if there is something wrong with us, that we must have deserved such treatment. Tonight and as tomorrow comes and goes, we must reaffirm our commitment to one another, to our community. We must stand up for one another and put aside differences. We’re stronger together as a unit – let us not forget that. Stay strong. Grieve. Heal. Stay committed. You are worth it. We are worth it. In community,

 Shane Morgan Founder & Chair, TransOhio"

   As the sun came up so brightly on a Spring day and the birds were chirping here...this very dark cloud came across the horizon.

Alexander Bekker

Androgynous male model Alexander Bekker as a girl:
 And as a boy:

For all the Women I knew BEFORE

I just believe it's time here in Cyrsti's Condo to expand the horizons around here! A start is this ftm transition video:

HorrorScope

Do the stars move this fast or is it just me? Seems like yesterday when I posted the last HorrorScope here in Cyrsti's Condo! Regardless here is the latest:

"Libra (September 23 – October 22) Mistakes that you make now are your fault and if you waste even another second trying to blame anyone else, another egg will fly into your face. Being hopeful is great and being a genius is gift, but if you don't take that potential and use it towards being responsible in your own individual way, then you may just end up a statistic. Don't just stand up, stand out.
 Astro Guide 2013: Libra"

Whoa! A mistake that is my fault? Can't be!...just kidding.

On the serious side, I think I am moving quickly through the standing up category into the standing out part.  Hopefully in a positive way for the transgender community.

My disclaimer is "HorrorScope" is my title and you can go to theFrisky to get "scoped". It won't hurt!

I Love Ohio

Marcela Ohio Miss T Brazil 2012 Transsexual beauty.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho its off to Columbus we Go!

Picking up where we left off with the Trans Ohio Symposium weekend, my first two Cyrsti's Condo posts dealt with a hair appointment and ear piercing. To give you an idea again of location. Hair and ears were done in Dayton, Ohio and my home is near Springfield on the way to Columbus where the Symposium was held. Got that? It's OK, sometimes I don't either!

Due to financial considerations and only living approximately a half hour away, girlfriend and I stopped at my house and headed on to "C-bus" for the Friday night meet and greet at a place called Club Diversity. I have always liked "Diversity" because it is just that in it's clientele plus the place is decidedly low key. Have to admit the "club music mix" in most gay venues just kills me. Per norm, the entertainment on Friday was a jazz mix with a transgender singer even!

I wish I could pass along some sort of an exciting story from the evening but all in all not many showed up from the Symposium. One table of six with Chloe Prince of Pink Essence was the notable exception. I would imagine most just stayed in the hotel and mingled and did not have to worry about drinking and driving.

None of that mattered to Liz and I as we enjoyed each other's company and the music. We had a couple of beverages and the day had been long and exciting anyway - so we picked up some "gourmet slider" burgers and took off for home. Soon it would be time to do it all again Saturday!

Kim Lya Transsexual Model

Like many other boys growing up, Kim Lya felt increasingly uneasy in his own skin. He just could not understand why he felt trapped in his own body. At first, Kim thought he might be gay. But this was not the answer. One day he read an article about transsexuality and from there on, knew why he had felt so unhappy.

It's Prom Time!

Enjoy this seasonal post from a self professed Teen Drag Queen on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen. I love how things have changed since my prom days...before electric lights!

No Pain-No Gain

Going back to the previous post, gf and I headed back towards my house on the way to Columbus from the hair salon and stopped to get my ears pierced.

Once again here I was putting myself at the mercy of a person who was going to hurt me! I hitched up my big girl panties, went into the lion's den and got two extra holes in my body. OK, I am a huge sissy and was trying my best to play any sympathy cards I could. But in the end I just had to be a big girl and withstand a little pain I equated with just getting a shot.

Of course I got no sympathy and my whimpering did no good but it turned out the ear piercing details in the fine print were the real surprise.  As I went blissfully on with my piercing less life, I just figured after the pain and suffering I could go out and buy some gypsy style big hoop earrings and get rolling! Well, not so fast girl. I found I can't do anything about having fun with different styles for at least four to six weeks. Plus I have to be very diligent about cleaning the piercings day and night and rotating the earrings to make sure the holes stay open. The only problems for me?  Waiting four to six weeks for anything and remembering to be gentle when I brush my hair off my face. Of course I found out the hard way when the next morning the first thing I did was knock the back piece off of one of the new earrings-never to be seen again. SO off we went back to the torture chamber to get the ear re pierced and a new earring put in.

Let it never be said the most effective learning process for me is getting knocked up the side of the noggin. Just as effective though is getting a hole drilled in your ear lobe!

Before I knew it, the time had come to wipe the tears from my eyes and head to Columbus for some pre Trans Ohio Symposium fun!