The Winds of Change

One of the reasons I like living here in the Midwest is the fact we have seasons. While I'm the first to whine about the heat of summer or the cold of winter, I'm making the deal just to get to fall.

As the lush greens turn to the browns, reds and golds of the landscape around me, any sort of wind at all reminds me of primeval change.

Sure, I can tie in the change to my transgender transition but in reality the shift in the world around me goes so much deeper.

Every year at this time though, I do take a second to consider the gender changes I have been through and those that are yet to come.  As sure as the squirrels in my back yard are beginning to harvest the newly fallen walnuts and the drug dealers down on the corner are sporting their new hoodies, it's time for me to take stock of my sweaters and long sleeved tops.

It's ironic how the priorities of the season have changed. Most of you know I'm a sports fanatic of sorts and a football fan above all else but now I have to consider what I'm wearing to watch The Ohio State Buckeyes or the Cincinnati Bengals with my friends. As a transgender girl, I always have to try to make sure I'm doing the style gig a bit better than the genetic girls - if I can.  At the least, cause some of them step up their game too.

The fun part is now that fall really is just beginning. The true colors on the tree's haven't arrived yet and all the fall festivals are still around the corner with "nummers" such as home made apple butter. Better yet the season wraps up with Halloween and my chance to attend the **Cincinnati Witches Ball as a "Zombie Bride" -compliments of my very talented girlfriend.

So, like most of you I have spent my life waiting for the "other shoe to drop".  I have always preferred to call it waiting for "the other foot to fall."

This year I have been in touch with "Momma Karma" to see if the foot can "fall" another time. Preferably after fall is over.

**The "mission" of the Witches Ball:
Our mission: to hold one kick-ass costume party each and every year, with the most fabulous, talented performers we can find, gifted readers in our divination room, vendors with the best wares....raffles, a costume contest, moderately insane pirates, & steampunkers. (As well as raise money for a wonderful cause in the process!)

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cyrsti's Condo "Horror Scope"

Let's take a look at what the "stars" are foreseeing this week for the Libra signage:


(September 23-October 22): Only you can be your own worst enemy now, so don’t stress yourself out over the monotony of life now. Seems you just needs to sort out a few details and then you will be a-ok. However, due to you own psychological pressure, you can run yourself down to the ground unnecessarily. So, pop the vitamin C like candy this week and be as chill as possible.

Me? Psychological pressure? Where's my extra large economy size bottle of Vitamin C? For your vitamin fix, head to theFrisky and reach for the stars!

Lens Power!

Just a quick male to female glamour transition video on the Cysrti's Condo big screen:

Gossip Monger!

Got to love the lipstick!

Awwwwright! I may like a little celebrity gossip as much as the next girl- transgender or not.
From IBT  to the Cyrsti's Condo gossip section:

Recently Lauren Harries (left) made headlines when she revealed her alleged fling with comedian and actor Russell Brand - and now the transgender star is plotting to name and shame some of her other high-profile conquests. Harries claimed that she had a brief fling with Brand after they met during the seventh series of Big Brother in 2006.

She said that Russell was hosting Big Brother's Big Mouth and Lauren was asked to be a guest on the after-show. "I knew it would take a man with real awareness and strength to take me on," she said. Brand has denied the allegations. "With respect to the ol' transgender community, I didn't have it off with the antiques kid," he tweeted. But Harries insisted that their nights of passion did happen.

Of course there is a forthcoming book and Harries, The Celebrity Big Brother contestant, who finished third in this year's final, will reveal the identities of the stars she said she has bedded in an explosive new tell-all book.

Trans Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Just a night "out" with the Chorizos on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen:

Fashion Questions

No quiz on this post kids, I have just been working on a few of the questions which go through my pea brain when I'm shopping and thought I would pass them along here in Cyrsti's Condo. I am sure you will have quite a few to add!

1.- The blend: What are other women wearing in the same social situation. (I always dress for them first) Then how will my look resonate with men.  Accentuate the positive, be attractive not trashy.

2.-Incorporation: How do I incorporate all the trends I see into who I am.  Or any of the trends?  Are any "age appropriate"?

3.- Where can I find them? Then:

Can I afford them?

Are they in my size?

4.- The Big Picture (not me this time silly's)! Can I find a certain piece which fits into my current wardrobe seamlessly. Examples would be a classic fall jacket or boots which I can use more than one season.

5. Usability. Obviously I have to plan my closet now on a much higher level.  From going to the grocery to getting coffee and gas, I now have a need for casual wear which on occasion needs to be stepped up to a social situation with friends.

6.- Permanence:  One of the biggest change for me has been realizing my public style is not playing dress up anymore. Dressing up is going out in drag as a guy.

Bonus: Women will notice if you are put together or not on any level. Even if you are wearing a pair of nice jeans, T shirt and minimal make up at the store - someone will notice.  My goal is minimally presenting as an attractive transgender woman as possible.

There you go, just my list you can play with!

Another Mystery Solved!

I believe it was at least a year and a half ago when I first wrote of this feminine "mystique" being solved here in Cyrsti's Condo.

One night I was busy on the computer slaving away on yet another "epic" post and the bra I was wearing really began to bug me. The evening was cool and I was wearing a big bulky sweater. I was lazy and didn't want to get up from the computer and make a big deal of taking my bra off.  For some reason I flashed back to a few of my old girlfriends over the years who were quite adept at taking their bra off - under their shirt. In those days I was intimidated and so inexperienced I thought "wow, if I ever get to wear a bra on a regular basis, could I learn to do that too?" Finally years later, I tried it and was successful.

Tonight I was in the same situation, with weather, light sweater and a  bra bugging the hell out of me. As I slid out of the monster, I remembered I had written a post abut the process years ago and maybe I should do it again..

If you have never tried to do it, it's actually quite easy. As I tell everyone if I can do it, so can a trained monkey and no you don't have to be Houdini.

The first step is to work each arm up out of the sleeve it's in. When you do you should have enough room to slide each bra strap down the free arm.  Once you have both straps off your arms, simply move the the bra around to the front of you so you can unhook it.

As I look back though, the girls who were the best at doing it were the ones who could take their bra off while wearing a t-shirt.  You never saw a hint of the bra showing anywhere until they pulled it from underneath their shirt. Of course they were at least 200 times as limber as I then, and 400 times now.

All these years later I wonder if they ever understood my motives were not so much sexual as instructional!

***Don't try this in public kids without experienced supervision!

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.