To Be or Not to Be Vietnam's Transgender Top Model?

Vietnam has a version version of America's Next Top Model which of course accepts transgender participants like Isis King and Virgg. (right)

Vietnam also has a problem now that transgender women such as Phuong Tran (below) are trying to break the trans barrier and compete on the show.

Here's the problem: So far, candidates have been excluded but the Performing Arts Agency will still have review and handle the cases.

The organizers of the Vietnam's Next Top Model are alleged to have violated the rules of their own. According to the rules of the program, the contestants must not be transgender. But there is more fine print:

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan, from the Performing Arts Agency, said the Decree 79 on performing arts, fashion shows, beauty contests and modeling, in beauty contests--the contestants must have natural beauty, meaning no cosmetic surgery but the modeling contests do not have this provision. So the above rules on transgender participants are stipulated by the Vietnam’s Next Top Model organizing board.

What this means is The Performing Arts Agency has asked the organizers of the Vietnam's Next Top Model 2013 to explain about the participation of transgender contestants, which is a violation to the contest’s rules.

There of course is more on the VietNamNet Bridge site here.

We Got Mail!

I grabbed my hammer and screw driver and went down to out fancy high tech Cyrsti's Condo mailbox and found several quality comments- including one that said a post was "a load of crap".  That's cool, the bathroom here in the Condo is down the hallway on the left.

The others though were more informative and covered a couple different topics.

The first was on a subject near and dear to many of us, Halloween from Michellewhois:


"Ah Halloween that time of the year that so many look forward to. I for one used to look forward to it when I was younger. My first attempt to dress on Halloween was when I was 9 and dressed as the Fairy from the show Rocky and Bullwinkle -Fractured Fairy tales (talk about dating myself). The second years was as a princess. It was my female friend that helped me that year and she showed me how beautiful I was. Talk about memory lane."

Michelle, rumor has it I might remember Rocky and Bullwinkle! What a great costume idea and memory! Thanks!

Michelle also is a transgender veteran and weighed in on the Bradley Manning debacle:

"I spent 24 years in the military and lived with my Gender Dysphoria and not once ever felt the need to expose military secrets that I was aware of. I lived with fear of discovery, several beatings that I could never report and being ostracized by my "supposed" compatriots. I just recently read a news article, written by a a reporter who transitioned in the 90's. The article, brought out a very valid point of how Manning's declaration of being trans may hurt trans-folks that are still serving. Many of us were starting to see a glimmer of hope but now it may be the smoldering fire that will consume us. He (and I for one will never acknowledge HIM as anything but a HIM) has done more harm than just the release of classified information. He has solidified the trans community as something to be feared. The latest name is "TRANS-TRAITOR". It's hard enough for a trans-vets to get help while serving. Let alone having the military to use HIM as an excuse to further persecute trans on To "She" or not to "She" Chelsea"

As did Hailey:
"In all honesty, I think this story is doing much more harm than good to the trans community. The sooner it fades from the headlines, the better."

As you ladies know, I agree and I can think of nothing recently which has infuriated me more. I would suppose separating the gender issue completely out of the process, the scariest part of this to me was "back in the day" I encountered troops who were intellectually or emotionally unable to even cover me on a live practice range.  Now for one of those people to turn up and be a Bradley Manning was just too much.

He tried to take down TWO cultures, the military and now the transgender nation. Tragic.

Cyrsti's Condo "Horror Scope"!

Or should I say The Crysti's Condo Horror Scope since I am one those insufferable, overbearing fans of THE Ohio State Buckeyes and college football starts this week. Another huge fan of the Buckeyes, Bobbie, has been pushing me to mention them! She lives somewhere in the hitherlands of upstate New England and also is a groupie of one of the Mountain Men guys from Maine!

Before this whole post goes down in a ball of flame, here's the "scope" from theFrisky:

Libra (September 23-October 22): Be too busy with your friends to worry about where and what your relationship is doing. Not that it’s going to be so bad, but you will be best in group settings and it’ll make that special someone realize how vital you are. Avoid thinking of anything too personally, as intimate environments can get a bit smothering and could cause you to act up. Spread your love.

Ironically, this is about the third "scope" in a row that I'm "taking the fifth" and not commenting or telling you all what kind of "fifth"it is!

The next knock on the Condo door would be Bobbie with her shot glass wanting to share!

A "Lucky" Break?

This story proves my theory that in order to be "Lucky" you have to work hard to make it happen!

From The Hindu:

"For Lucky (left), life changed after a call from the channel, offering an opportunity to anchor the 30-minute crime news bulletin. “I was surprised at the chance to appear on television and was very apprehensive initially,” says the transgender who resides near Dhoolpet."

She went on to comment:


“This is an opportunity to prove that we are also equally talented,” says Lucky who has also participated in fashion shows at the national level. “There is no need for society to look down upon transgenders,” Lucky says, adding, “I hope my appearance on television will inspire my community to look at life and opportunities differently.”

You do indeed make your own luck!

Flying High with "Skyler"!

From Georgia and the Transadvocate comes this story about a young transgender girl by the name of Skyler. (left)

Unfortunately she doesn't represent the majority of transgender youth but she does symbolize what can happen in a loving understanding family with the resources to help. Here's a little background:

Skylar, is a twelve-year-old transgender girl in Georgia, who earlier had been denied use of the girls’ restroom at her school. (of course) But sometime later,  the administration had listened to reason and reversed the school’s decision. A few days ago, Skylar returned now is back to school and is being treated the same as the other girls in her classes.

From the article and the pictures, it seems Skylar is doing well and has gotten out ahead of the "puberty curve" with blockers which keep her from developing male characteristics. Which I understand are not permanent if later she decides the male to female transition process was not the right move.

In the meantime her story brings to mind a comment a person sent along to me recently about the feminine imprint genetic girls naturally receive early in life. The picture to the right of Skyler (center) her younger sister Sylvie and Jazz (another trans girl) seems to show a strong imprint.


Interestingly, the idea of the permanency of gender imprinting has come up in other discussions I have seen and been in concerning SRS transsexuals later in life. Do they indeed revert back to their male past on occasions? Is it bad and does the imprinting slowly fade like a bad tattoo?

Who knows? Depends upon the person.  The only certainty is having the freedom of gender choice and the resources to pursue the journey with care and guidance is special.  Unfortunately the door is closed so tightly to so many.

The "Bearded Stalker"

I decided to write a small follow up post to my "Queen" epic here in Cyrsti's Condo.  Which by the way elicited a comment from Brianna Austin about the quest to be a princess rather than a queen!

Depending on who you talk to, beard removal is one of the unpleasant, rather costly undertakings of transitioning male to female.Therein lies two of my problems and explains why I have not gone down the path of electrologist or laser treatments.

First of all, I don't have the spendable income to start the process and secondly I have a huge adversion to pain or discomfort!

Again, Momma Karma has dealt me a fairly decent hand.  I have never been a "Grizzly Adams" type person. The best facial hair I could ever really muster was in the "before" picture of me here in the blog. Now of course much of my facial hair is gray too which means laser removal wouldn't do much.

Now I view the process as a necessary evil of my transgender status and am careful to keep a smooth face. I have not however ruled out "hitching up my big girl panties in the future" and seriously getting involved in an electrologist program- when funds permit.

In the meantime, I just wanted to pass along a bit more information about my "bearded stalker".

It "Ain't" Easy Being Queen Honey!

Ever hear one of those fabulous looking drag queens say "I would never be a woman full time, it's too much work?"

Well it is but again it isn't. I have had Cyrsti's Condo readers ask me how long it takes me to get ready on a regular basis to face the world.  Of course the answer varies as with any woman, on the place or places I'm going. As a rule of thumb, under 20 minutes to shave (yes I still do dammit) apply foundation, do my eyes and lips.

Again as with any woman, public prep work is of the essence.  I've gotten into the habit of having a nail file handy when I'm watching one of my favorite brainless "reality" shows. (My heart was broken when I found out Eustace of Mountain Men had a college degree and his wilderness was close to a fair sized town!)

HRT has done a reasonable job of cutting back my leg hair. With the lack of skirts and/or dresses I wear, I can normally go quite the distance between shaves. I do gain the time back though with the amount of extra time (and expense) now with my hair.

So, there you go.  Toss on my predetermined outfit (I hope), my ear rings and rings and I'm out the door. No big deal unless I'm going to a special event like doing drag at a drag show.

As we know, very few of us can "run with the queens" in appearance and this video illustrates one reason why: **Beware of typical "Drag Queen language ahead!  :

Queen Chelsea?

What the hell, I swore to myself (or strongly suggested) I was going to leave this whole Bradley/Chelsea Manning thing alone. I have enough other faux aggravation going on right now. I was just a hot mess this morning. Hormones going nuts and crying to sappy songs on the radio. BUT!

I just couldn't resist passing this story along in Cyrsti's Condo :

"Once she gets past the rape thing, she will be a queen." It comes through TransAction and the DailyKos and was written by Mansfield Frazier who says he is a former federal prison convict.

I have to admit after seeing pictures of Manning in or out of his blond wig, I figured he was going to be someone's woman (or female dog)  in prison anyhow.

Go here to read "Frazier's" opinion on Manning's situation and what may happen when Chelsea is queened.

In the meantime, it's starting to rain and I think I may shed a tear.

Cross Dressing "Shorts"

Without getting too hung up in how "Elizabeth Stacey" labels herself on YouTube. Cross dresser, T-girl or what, she is worth a look on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen: