I Don't Get It

"Although my heritage is not Irish (British/German/Hillbilly), as you all have probably figured out, I am not one to shy away from a big party.  Many others aren't either.  What I don't understand is why bigots try to ruin it.

Fortunately, mayors and sponsors of two cities, New York and Boston are coming out against the madness of keeping TGLBQ groups out of the parades.  In fact, both mayors refused to even be in the parades.

As important as that is,as always money is even a more powerful motivator. In response to the bigotry, major sponsors such as Sam Adams and Guinness Beers are pulling their financial support from the parades as well.  Their reason was simple and to the point. It was the right thing to do. Plus, just maybe, we TGLBQ peeps support their products!

"Wearin' o da green with William Belli"

My hope is St. Patrick  would feel the same way. If you are Irish or "faux" Irish, enjoy the day, responsibly!

Look Behind the Headlines

Cincinnati has an area of it's downtown which used to have the dubious distinction of hosting more murders within a certain area of any place in the country.  Now it's being transformed block by block into a thriving restoration area-almost.
About a week ago, the area was hosting their annual "Bock Beer" Fest and one of the local TV stations was doing a segment of the area and it's recovery.  Of course, as soon as they did, about a half hour later, they reported a person was shot and killed only two blocks away from the festival.

I recently read two stories from Brazil which played out the same way.

The first of which came from the New York Times and featured a look at the rise of transgender models recently on the runways of Brazil. One of which is Melissa Paixao, shown at the left.

Then, not much later I read the story of a slain "transvestite" in Brazil.

Of course I'm not bringing up Brazil for unfair criticism. Especially after I read the story of  Andi Dier. a transgender woman from New York who was roughed up by the employees of The Irish Times Pub and Restaurant in Holbrooke.As she was bruskly removed  from the premise,  Ms Dier says they used transphobic slurs and tried to take her I phone after seeing she had recorded part of the incident.

The moral to the story is, as transgender women or men in any part of the world - many times headlines are just that- only headlines.

Cyrsti's Condo Sunday Edition!

Ker Plunk! Another edition of the Condo has just hit your "in box". Good day to Y'all!  I hope the weather Goddess is beginning to show a bit of kindness in your part of the world as she is here.  However, at this time of the year around here she is rather fickle but then again, being teased is fun.

Page 1.-The Week in Review.-  Transgender service men and women were back in the news this week as a major study concluded what we all knew, trans service members should be granted all the rights of any other person in the military.  Just as important was the fact the "Prez" could make it happen with only his signature.  The classic so near and so far away.  Why would he do such as simple thing as guarantee rights to a neglected segment of the population when so many other key issues in the world go unattended?

Page 2.-Beauty/Fashion.- With the change of seasons, comes a change of fashion-if your season actually changes or not. Your climate could be similar to the year I spent in Thailand where winter was 60 degrees and monsoons were the only other noteworthy seasonal change but it was time for the latest in rain fashion. This winter taught me yet another valuable HRT skin lesson. Exfoliation was easy-  if you want to lose an outside layer or two of skin , just go outside without a ton of moisturizer for the briefest time. (Which I know you girls up North already understood!) Now I  hear we have a 50-50 chance of another El Nino which normally means our summer will produce temperatures just north of Hell.  I'm already checking my wardrobe for sleeveless tops as I'm looking forward to the benefits of less muscle definition in my arms and the overall texture of my skin. As the fashionista's say, in summer the greatest fashion accessory is your skin.

Page 3.- We Got Mail.- Thanks Mandy for the comment on my "Horse's What" post:

At one point a long time ago, I donated my first ponytail to one of those cancer organizations...gives you a good feeling to help! But it grew back, and since then, breakage has taken its toll, shortening some spots to the point that they won't stay in a ponytail. Thus my hair stays loose...bummer. A ponytail would work great in the summer!
A while back I heard "that part of a horse's anatomy" you mentioned, referred to as "the north end of a southbound horse." Took me a minute to figure that out, but - it sounds better than some of the alternative descriptions! Maybe a bit more politically correct?

Mandy, I believe I was born with a "non political correct gene!"  As far as my hair goes, so far my partner is the only person allowed to approach me with scissors and she does trim my bangs and loose ends here and there.

Page 4.- The Back Page.-  This week for me has been one of unrest.  For some reason I feel like I am at a standstill in my transition which I know isn't really true.  As with anything else in life, there are peaks and valleys and HRT is no different of course. If you are making the hormonal transition, it's sometimes easy to forget you can't measure changes by the size of your breasts when so much is internal.

Page 5.- The Calendar.- The next three months or so are going to be exciting with all sorts of activities.  This week, I'm attending a transgender community meeting for the Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio area as a beginning.  I can't believe after that, March is all but history and then I have committed myself  to finishing my book before the TransOhio Symposium  the end of May.  At the same time, a plethora of TGLB Pride events begin in my area until the end of June.  I'm looking forward to them because I have never been and I'm a great people watcher!  In many ways, I think either I won't notice or meet many other transgender women.  Obviously our goal is to have a good time and not be flashy and draw attention to ourselves.  An interesting dynamic when you put us somewhere in between the gay/drag community and the lesbians.  I know too, many cross dressers use a pride event to strut their "stuff!"

So there you go kids, as always, thanks so much for stopping by "theCondo".  You are my "faves!" and by the way - is St Patrick's Day a big deal in Ireland too?

A Horse's What?

Yesterday, I was heading through the grocery store and in a rare moment of energy, I had a little "spring to my step" because Spring actually looks as if it may be here. (50 degrees yesterday! Whhoo Hooo!)

As I bounced down the aisles, I noticed the fun feeling of my pony tail flipping around behind me. I entertain easily and started doing it on purpose as my hair is very close to the middle of my back now.  I quickly wondered if the young girls I see with flowing bouncing pony tails feel the same way?  I'm guessing they do and don't. I'm fairly sure the feeling is reassurance of their overall femininity but on the other hand, their hair after awhile just becomes part of their everyday being.

Plus, long hair does take extra maintenance too, so I can see why girls such as my 12 year old grand daughter cut their long hair. She is more of a science and math nerd, so long hair as a boy magnet isn't so important to her...yet. Plus she did donate her hair to a cancer organization - to add to wigs.

Following all this heavy thinking in the store, I became even hungrier and headed for the salad section thinking what the heck, the whole experience was just an extension of the numerous times I have been referred to as a certain part of a horses anatomy. To give you a clue, the pony tail is attached to it!. Mine of course is attached to my head. Some would say, there is a certain symmetry there!

Of Course he IS!

It was just a matter of time. The androgynous super model Andrej Pejic modeling as a man and a woman for the MCM Spring Line. This photo is almost spooky in a clone sense!

Can You Imagine?

From the Press Enterprise:

A Chapman University senior became the first transgender contestant in the school’s annual all-girls pageant Wednesday night, winning the title of Miss Congeniality. Addie Vincent, 21, faced off against 15 other competitors for the title of Miss Delta Queen, a competition organized by the school’s Greek system.

For the talent competition, Vincent recited an original poem called “The Look,” which chronicled the stares and stereotypes transgender individuals experience daily. In the poem, Vincent encouraged compassion and understanding for those who don’t fit traditional gender roles. Following the poem, students shouted, “We love you Addie,” and gave Vincent the night’s only standing ovation. “Addie has inspired so many people,” said Lauren Shouinard, a friend and former pageant contestant. “Addie sent a message so many people needed to hear.”

How encouraging it is to see the joy on the faces of the other participants!  To paraphrase John Lennon's Imagine, Imagine there's no gender bias, it's easy if you try.

Addie is working on that too, she is attempting to create Chapman’s first gender-neutral “frarority,” and said a goal for participation in the pageant was to bring awareness to “trans-visibility.”

The Inner You

I just love it when I find the occasional "free spirit" on line who happens to be trans or gender fluid or...how about themselves. Here is my latest "fave".

Perhaps you remember not long ago I mentioned the Androgyn Beauty Blog. She has a "killer" wonderful attitude to go along with those "killer" legs!

Follow the link above and read her "philosophy". The only thing I am missing is - I will be damned if I can find her name!

It helps I do agree with her belief that "androgyny is the new human future."

Vintage Female Impersonation

Much has been made recently about the "birth" of the internet (along with social media) and how we "more mature" individuals were able to even exist at all back then.  Truthfully, those days were exceedingly difficult times to communicate with others in the culture. Plus,  if you didn't know, the concept of a transgender woman or man was just beginning to develop and most all cross dressers in the media were up to no good. Early on, female impersonator Michael Andrews was undoubtedly one of the most popular entertainers of his era. Check out this YouTube clip on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen:

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our feature cover here in the Condo today is Russian MtF transgender woman
Charlie Somik Chan.