Taking the "Girls" for a Bike Ride.

From the News Telegram: When Stacey Schnee took a bike ride from her Webster Square neighborhood, down Route 9 to Leicester earlier this month, heads turned. Drivers slowed down, stopped, leaned smartphones out the window to take pictures. Some honked. Some shouted that they were calling the police.
But there's something else to Ms. Schnee's background that no one seeing her ride that day could have known by casual observation. In fact, a lot of people don't know. Ms. Schnee used to be a man. She had gender reassignment surgery in June 2011 and breast augmentation last year. Prior to that, her topless ride would not have likely created any stir at all. The transition, Ms. Schnee said, saved her life, although it ultimately cost her her marriage. Before the transition she struggled with her identity and had gone as far as to plan suicide, she said. But having lived as both a man and a woman undeniably gives her an uncommon perspective on the topless equality issue. "This puts me in a unique position to fight for topless rights since it is a right that I lost when a single letter was changed on my driver's license — from 'M' to 'F,'" Ms. Schnee said.

Yet another transgender person fighting the system in a highly unique way.

I look at it this way. If Stacey wants to ride topless with the girls, why not? She's wearing her helmet!

Bridge over the "Trans Canyon"

In a recent post here in Cyrsti's Condo, I mentioned the "knowledge" gap between the transgender and gay/ lesbian community has been narrowed somewhat. Bridges are being built as less and less of us become stealth queens.

I base that  idea on a very small unscientific sampling of my interaction with the gay community.

As I began to roll the idea around in my noggin, I came up with a couple not so brilliant epiphanies. The first was the fact I had no real idea what they were about. Like what questions I should or shouldn't ask? Is it cool to ask a gay person questions like "when did you come out and to whom?"  It also took me years to figure out I still shared the basic male homophobic fear of getting too close to a gay person.  Even in a dress, my frail male sexual ego was "afraid" a gay guy was going to generate a sexual "threat" to me. I was viewing them the same as the "hetero" guys who steer very clear of me. In reality of course, the greatest majority of gay men are attracted to men and not one in a dress.

Then I wondered how did the transgender community become linked to the L's and G's to begin with? Also,what's up with those Bi folk? I have never met a "Bi Activist" for whatever reason.  More than likely the link occurred years ago with all the LGBT groups seeking safe places to socialize. As time went on, having more public clout meant including the addition of the silent "T". The "T"  lived up to it's billing and stayed very silent. As it turned out, the main goal for a huge majority of a generation of transgender women was to take whatever change they could and run and hide with it.

As times began to change though, the gay and lesbian community really began to come together and exert a strong force on society.  Yet the transgender folk were once again left to bicker between themselves behind closed doors.  The number of operations you have had, how well you "pass" and the number of hormones you took surpassed discussing trans rights and jobs. It seemed once again the transgender community was content to stay in it's own closet and blame others for being there.

Finally we can feel the winds of change as the young transgender community is beginning to be a vocal force for change. All of the sudden older trans folks are transitioning and not running for their closets but are running instead for public offices,  and many others are screaming or voting against injustice.

Now we have gone full circle to the subject at hand. Our interaction with the gay and lesbian community will always take a great amount of work and understanding. Mainly because our life experiences as transgender women and men are so different than all others in society. The more we do to build our own bridge to them, the less silent the "T" will be and the LGBT coalition will be stronger for it.

From the Cyrsti's Condo Bookshelf

,

This book instantly caught my attention. Mainly because I live close to the area of the country the book was written about. Plus,  the cultural lines between central Kentucky and southern Ohio are very similar.

Here's an intro for you to check out:

"They’re doing their makeup in a pickup truck as you step into that small-town gay bar and take a seat at the catwalk, where the queens striding down the line are fierce, and all because they have to be in these parts. It ain’t all about the coasts and a couple of Midwest strongholds anymore. Now there’s "Who the Hell is Rachel Wells?," the debut collection from J.R. Greenwell, a one-time headlining female illusionist in Dixie who now devotes his time to writing fiction and plays in central Kentucky.

 The title story kicks off the anthology, where a whole lot of people are about to get in a whole mess of trouble when Danny, a little boy with a taste for cosmetics and J.C. Penney’s catalogues, discovers a purse full of drag and trinkets that’s been left for the dogs near a rest stop off I-65 at the Kentucky-Indiana border. Danny’s mother Linda sifts through the purse and finds a note: "The contents in this bag belong to Rachel Wells... Take care of these items and give them a good home..."

Here is more of the review from the Edge in Boston:

"A slew of bizarre stories , some hilarious, some heartrending, and almost all of them as original as an Ionesco play with a good dose of David Lynch trompe l’oeil thrown in. "Silver Pumps and a Loose Nut" explores what happens when drag culture meets the criminal underworld and how a diva can still come out looking like Botticelli’s Venus -- or, better yet, Ursula Andress in "Dr. No" -- in the aftermath. Make sure your Puffs box is full when you read about the trials of the young gay and trans characters in "The Scent of Honeysuckle," "Spaghetti Kisses," and "A Colony of Barbies," as the protagonists attempt to stake whatever meager claim they can in a world that’s frozen them out. "Watch Me Walk" gives us the other side of the struggle when two gay seniors contemplate falling in love in a world that seems to belong to the young. "Starting Rumors" shows what happens when a bitter queen and his irascible hag at work stir the turd over lunch with the wrong colleague."

And yes kids, you did see the fleeting "trans" word even tossed out once in the review. Who said there wasn't change in the gay community? (Actually there is) thanks to girls like Pat.

Go here for more.

Still in the Fight

Perhaps you remember Nikki Araguz. (Shown below with her new family)

If you really remember her, she goes back to early talk show appearances on Jerry Springer I believe as a party girl with a little extra. She resurfaced in Texas years later with the story of the tragic death of her husband Thomas Araguz III ..  Thomas Araguz was a volunteer firefighter in Wharton, Texas and was killed in the line of duty in 2010.


However, Texas’ 2005 marriage amendment doesn’t recognize her marriage to a man and her 2008 marriage to her late husband, Thomas Araguz III, became invalid leaving her out of her husband's death benefits.

Now, the 13th District Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi will hear her case on Sept. 18. Araguz is appealing a 2011 ruling by Houston state district Judge Randy Clapp, who ruled that Araguz was born male and Texas’ 2005 marriage amendment doesn’t recognize her marriage to a man.

Advocate's are calling this case ‘incredibly important’ for transgender equality and it's way too difficult for a person of my limited intellect to explain.

Go here for more!

A "Smokin" Headline"

From the "Scottish Express":

 Sex swap cannabis farmer avoids a spell in the joint  Really?

 A SEX swap patient caught with cannabis worth more than £10,000 has escaped a prison sentence.

Mellow out and go here for more...wow, far out man!

How "ya" Like Us Now?

It seems daily there is more and more "coming out" news from the transgender world.
The first today comes through the "Huffington Post" Parent's Site and features a MtF transgender parent's story on coming out to her 10 year old son as well as others:






And then from Russia is Masha Bast (right) who is used to facing formidable tasks. As the chairwoman for the Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights, Bast has worked on some of the most high-profile and politically sensitive cases in the country. Only recently, with those cases having come to an end Bolotnaya has she found time to fully embrace another, deeply personal project: living her life as a woman. With the past and current wave of homo and transphobia in Russia, Masha most certainly is courageous at the least with her public transgender stance!

Read more here.

How encouraging is it that so many are stepping up and out of their closets to lend their lives to make our future better.

Cyrsti's Condo Quote of the Day

" When won't is used enough never will be along for a visit
shortly"

cyrsti hart

Jared Leto Makes a Woman?

The God like Jared Leto

Headline from The Rolling Stone : "Jared Leto makes a beautiful woman."

Will there now be a backlash from the immoral right? Really?  Jared Leto has made a woman?  Will the Catholics make him a saint?  After all, can't only God make a person?

Looking way back in my past, I had the same power.  More than once someone would say I made a great looking woman.  Where was she? Did I make that hot redhead down the sidewalk? Where was my spot in the Bible?

Of course I just didn't think I belonged up there with the grand creator.  Not only that, I found plenty of those who couldn't spell what I was. I became a gurl or a grrl and even a tranny.

I am happy to say most of all of this is fading quickly. Needless to say, I didn't make anyone and I now I promptly reject any and all shemale gender slurs directed at me.

I do wonder however how Jared Leto feels about his new found creation powers?

Fashion, Style and the Trans Girl

Transgender, cross dresser and genetic women alike all are effected by fashion and style.  For the sake of simplicity, let's define fashion as the "concrete" basics of clothing, shoes, accessories etc.  Style is the innate ability to put fashion together.

To be sure, this whole process at once can be the most challenging and fun part of being a girl, or a way ticket to frustration. For better -or worse- fashion/style is dropped into our laps as we enter the world of the high maintenance gender and one of the initial reasons we came snooping.

Most of us can remember a certain girl or woman in our past we wanted to emulate.  We yearned to be the girl next door in a frilly Easter dress or a sleek Prom gown. It just couldn't be that difficult to put those feminine images together, right?  Wrong!

Sooner more than later we learned the "angst" of trying to not do an effective Bozo the clown impression in a dress.  Of course a huge problem was not having Mom or girlfriends contributing to a positive outcome. Self taught fashion/style takes a lot of work and finances. It is not easy maintaining dual gender wardrobes, most of the time under lock and key.

Luckily today our options have exploded.  Plus size clothing has grown ever so stylish over the years, discount purchase options have exploded and self help guides are everywhere on line and on television. Along the way cross dressers and transgender women have even become a desired potential market for cash hungry retailers.

No matter what anyone may think, nothing has really changed though for me in the challenge of making myself as fashion/style successful as possible. Plus it excites me the process will always be a fluid one which changes with the seasons and age.

Interestingly, I can't even figure out the right colors to paint my house trim but I can color coordinate from my fingernails to my clothes, jewelry and shoes. If you ask me why, the only answer I can come up with is how closely I watched and watch the rest of the feminine population for most of my life. Once I figured I wasn't dressing for men but instead women, I was on a better path to success. Why?

My best example is my own days of squeezing into too tight or too short clothes and blissfully attacking the world. My problem was I was trying to duplicate what I often admired as a guy looking at women.  None of it worked because of course I didn't have the body for what I was trying to do.  Finally, even I recognized women do dress for each other and if I was to be included I would have to also.

Safe to say I (along with the vast majority of the female population) will never be an Andrej Pejic. (right) But on the other hand, I love the lure of the hunt for fashion pieces which fit my style on a budget I can afford.

It's also safe to say this entire process has been and will be an incredible amount of fun and lends all the "pizzazz" I thought it would to my life as a transgender woman!