The Next Time You Look at an American Flag

Did you know?

Transgender Americans serve our country in uniform at twice the rate of the general population yet they are forced to keep their gender identity a secret or risk being discharged. While the United States military made a tremendous step forward within the realm of social justice and fairness with the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” nothing was done to remove the ban on transgender individuals from serving in uniform, a uniform I proudly wear as an officer in the Naval Reserve.

I didn't write this.  Will Smith, a heterosexual, African-American, church-going, Catholic military officer did in the Washington Blade and there is more:

The issue of transgender service is personal. Equal rights and the struggle for fair treatment under the law is analogous to the civil rights struggles of my parents and grandparents. As the great civil rights activist Julian Bond once said, “No parallels between movements for rights is exact … but we are far from the only people suffering discrimination — sadly, so do many others. They deserve the law’s protection and they deserve civil rights too.”

Most of you Cyrsti's Condo regulars know I'm a transgender veteran and the lack of rights suffered by transgender service members goes against the very basics of what our country was founded on- the right to fight for the freedoms we cherish.  Instead of fighting to protect the freedoms we are denied,  by an archaic system.

Thanks Will!!!!

Go here for more of the post.

Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

"I used to have a strong body and a weak mind. Now I'm stuck with just the weak mind."

Cyrsti Hart

Heavenly Make Over

My first real makeover certainly wasn't as dramatic as the previous post by Adrian Acosta but at the least, something I can identify with.

Some time ago I have related this story in Cyrsti's Condo but it fits again now.

As I was really getting out of the closet and going to cross dressing meetings in both Cleveland and Columbus, one of the meetings offered free makeovers by a guy.  At the time, I thought my "look" was about the best I could manage.  For the most part, I was still experimenting with a bewildering array of make up products, shades and colors.  In addition, I never had the money or the courage to take advantage of one of the make up "pros" at one of the local department store makeup counters. (Remember, this was in the early 1980's.) That evening, the thought of having a man do my makeup almost sent me running but I hitched up my big girl panties, took off all my makeup and sat down.

He did wonders.  There is a school of thought that a male makeup artist can do better with a male face because he has experience with them and understands the nuances of beard covering etc. I don't know about any of that but when he finished with me I was nearly speechless- which is almost as rare as embarrassing me. Not only did I think I looked great, I received all sorts of compliments from the group. Even the "A-list" snooty cross dressers were impressed and I received a rare invitation to go with them later on in the evening. The "take this bitches" moment came when it was me who attracted the undivided attention of a man in one of the venues we went to.I've added the "red" picture to my left because that wig is similar to the one I was wearing that night.


However, as the bewitching hour approached, "Cyrstirella" had to return to her reality and go home to a male existence which she was never sure of.

Sure experiences such as the make up night provide all kinds of great memories, then again, there were huge learning moments I missed, which turned into major dark episodes of my life.

More on those later!

A Cyrsti's Condo "Must Read!"

From the HuffPost Gay Voices, comes a must read post by Adrian Acosta called "Why Men Come to Me to be Transformed into Women."

Here's an excerpt:


  There are many things I love about doing makeover transformations. I love my client's faces gleaming with delight as they see their femme selves in the mirror. It's like a child's face on Christmas morning. It's the kind of happiness that is contagious. I love that they are emotionally transported to an alternate universe where they are a beautiful, sensual female: The female inside they have suppressed for years. To tell you the truth, by the time I'm done transforming them, I have a hard time believing that they had been males just a few hours before they arrived in my studio. To me they are a beautiful female standing in front of me; I respect them and treat them as such.

On a deeper level, I love the fact that while out in the world there are men robbing, stealing, raping, killing, etc. -- in my Transformation Studio, it's just me and my client; two men relaxing, having fun, chatting, laughing, creating sensual art. Imagine how peaceful and fun the world would be if more men allowed themselves to get a Boy-to-Girl Transformation, to literally walk in women's shoes?

Truthfully, as I started to read the post, I was thinking snarky/bitchy thoughts like is Adrian some sort of SRS God? Can change he men into women with magic makeup? Or, am I going to read yet another "drag centric" post from a cis gay man who has no idea what my transgender world is like?  I was pleasantly surprised and I think you will be too because Adrian covered much of what I didn't expect to read- and more.

I did wonder though, if more than a few of his clients developed a taste for feminine finery from school day "womanless pageants" or even fraternity "hazing" shows. Plus, if just for a second, you can enter the world of an attractive or beautiful woman, what a powerful elixir it can be!

Go here for more!

Cyrsti's Condo "Horror Scope"

It's time to "watch my back" according to this week's "scope": Some of you know it better as C.O.A.

Libra September 23-October 22): You’ll get the respect you want from others, but in face only. So, put out your antennae and trust your gut. This will expose a mole among you, which will be your challenge this week. Yes, some social rearranging will be on the agenda, but when all falls back into place, trust this can be as good as chocolate, as you will gain ultimate leverage.

Well, I guess Karma dictates leverage is better than revenge and I love chocolate!

For your "scope" go here to theFrisky.

The Hormones and the Hair

Back in the day here in Crysti's Condo, you may have recalled my first prescribing HRT doctor telling me to expect a fuller, longer head of hair.  Being similar to most (I assume), I just thought, "Yeah, that's cool, but let's get on to the real priority - breast development."  Now that my hair is reaching the middle point of my back, I'm not so sure my priorities were reversed.

To begin with, I believe as sensitive and feminine as my "girls" are, my hair has become a true treasure for me.  As big as a pain in the rear it is for me to color it and try to style it, my hair gives me a huge step forward in my feminine presentation process. As one of my initial "admirers" (another pain) told me on one of the first nights I went out with no wig, "Look at you, sitting over here looking all natural."  He was one of those who delighted in calling me "Chris" and saying things like "hey man."  From that point forward, he left me alone.

I know there are many very realistic wigs on the market but for me I could never afford them, or had very poor judgment in which wig I purchased.  So when I did go "natural", three doors opened for me, which were hoped for but not necessarily expected.

The first I mentioned.  I just navigate the world as a transgender woman easier.  I need every tool I can get and a full head of hair is an effective one. The second and third are intertwined to a degree.  The so called straight admirer (or whatever he was) jumped off my boat immediately as do gay men and drag queens.  All of them realized I wasn't a cross dresser.  Before you want to rip my hair out, I'm not in any way being derogatory.  We all know there is a difference between being a cross dresser and being transgender and the public all of the sudden read it in me.

Perhaps the whole theory of why goes back to the Janie Black question on defining gender.  One of the responses was (I'm paraphrasing), "Gender is more in the eyes of the beholder, than in the person themself."

Very simply, what's going on in my noggin hasn't changed as much as the world which is viewing me.

"Tranversals" Cyrsti's Condo Cover Girls of the Day

Andrej Pejic

I happened across an eclectic  site called "Anne of Carversville". It's claim to fame is "From Fashion to Flogging, telling Women's Stories."  Of interest to me of course was the "Transversal" page which featured extensive coverage of androgynous and transsexual models such as Andrej Pejic and Lea T.


Go here for more.

Lea T

Bored in Church?

"Back in the day" my Mom literally had to catch my brother and I, force us to wear sport coats and ties for the trip to church most every Sunday. Once we did get there and began the count down to when we could leave, the bigger problem became keeping my Dad awake.  Here is a solution obviously he never thought of:

I ever remember as a kid sitting in church watching the women walk to the altar to communion I would calculate the number of women wearing seamed stockings compared to those who wore the newer non-seamed stockings. Of course all women wore dresses and covered their heads. Many wore gloves as well. My recollection is that by the early to mid 1960s most hose were seamless. Pat.

I agree Pat, with your time sequence on the hose.  While it's true genetic women do value the impact of certain "sexy" looks, they also value "ease of maintenance" and of course comfort.  Girdles for the most part have gone the way of the "body shapers" and seamed stockings have gone the route to a no hose at all - bare legged look. As always, thanks Pat!

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Greetings all! to another "Sunday Edition" here in "the Condo".  Get a cup of coffee and let's get started!

Weather Section.- Finally the dreaded "Arctic Vortex" has headed back to where it belongs and life is getting back to a semblance of normalcy around here in Southern Ohio as we thaw out.  As I whined incessantly, it figures the coldest weather in a couple decades settles in when HRT has settled in on me! Not a good combination.

Comments Section.- I'm still catching up!  Of interest was Paula's response to genetic men and transgender women:
 As an observation on the sex (rather than gender) front, I have found that all the women I encounter accept Paula, whatever their sexuality, all the gay men I have met so far have accepted me too, the only ones who have any problems are the straight guys, I wonder why, I think this is the only group to who I can represent a perceived threat, Gay men don't care because I'm a woman, gay women don't care because I'm a man straight women don't care because I'm a woman, but some straight men are confused, is it because I undermine their masculinity, or are the confused because they don't know how to interact with me, or are they frightened by their own reaction? One day I will ask.

Thanks Paula, I think your last two points are the best!  Genetic men don't know how to interact with us and are frightened by their own reactions.  In a round about way, I think we see it all the time with all the cross dressing fetish profiles on line with (dare I say) ridiculous pictures.  Of the two genders, men are wired to be the sexual beings who see all women first in a sexual sense. Breasts, booty, legs, face etc are triggers.Chances are, a cross dresser or a transgender woman does present one or more of those "triggers" and the confusion is on about where to take it.  Then again, there is the old story of those who "protest too much." and have long harbored cross dressing fantasies of their own but have never acted on them. When and if they do I think they form a basis of the CD fetish group we see.  Bottom line is Paula, when you start asking, save the answers and start a survey. I think everyone would be interested!

Leanne sent in a comment on the "Drag Queen" New Years Eve video:

Cyrsti, Every TG person needs to watch this video; not to emulate the drag queen but to watch the lack of reaction almost everyone you see in the background has towards these two girls. Most people these days have seen it all and just don't care anymore. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for responding Leanne!  Great point!  Certainly the world is changing around where I live and peeps kind of treat me as a curiosity if they notice me at all.  I know novice girls just heading out of their closets are positively paranoid of the world but as one of my genetic friends once told me "Relax ego girl, it doesn't all have to be about you!"  Those people weren't even talking about you.

Media Watch.- Last week the ever "cutesy" Katie Couric hosted two transgender icons on her show, possibly for the last time.  The main reason is the show is being cancelled because Couric is moving to Yahoo is some sort of major move.  The other is the push back from the line of questioning. I have of yet not seen the show with transgender women  Carmen Carerra and Laverne Cox.  Critics are saying essentially Couric was more interested in how many operations both women had went through rather exploring their lives in depth and the pressing issues facing the transgender community as a whole. I am reserving my final thoughts on the issue until I see the show because I know our community is a tough group to please-and should be. There is too much wrong and we desperately need transgender icons such as Laverne and Carmen to speak out! How great is it though to finally have more "icons" to speak out!

Well, it's time to take the dog for a walk. Even she feels the deep freeze is over for at least a week or two and it's time to work off some of our lingering extra pounds from the holidays.

Take care of yourselves and thanks for taking the time to stop by Cyrsti's Condo!