My Hero!

I have mentioned numerous times of my accepting daughter and her family here in Cyrsti's Condo. I have three grand kids, a 12 year old girl , 9 year old grandson and a 7 year old grandson.  She has told the two oldest kids abut me, but they have never seen anything other my androgynous changes.

My daughter and I do breakfast every couple of weeks and this morning she told me how the oldest grandson said to her, since he found out I was gay, I was his hero.  Well of course, that's all well and good-but it's not true.  My daughter said your grandpa is not gay but is transgender.  He didn't have any idea what trans is all about.  Gay was an easier concept to grasp because his 4th teacher was/is a very out gay man.  My daughter though, waded in and tried to give him an explanation of what transgender was all about in the short time before he had to get on the bus.  His last words on the subject were "that's all very confusing!"

The interesting part will be if I still will maintain my "hero" status?

Cyrsti's Condo "What if?"

Oh shit! Can I make to the attic to hide in these shoes?

"Mocking the Cis World?"

This story and video came from theFrisky which you may recall is the source of the Cyrsti's Condo "Power Scopes" and is very transgender friendly:



Total hero Janet Mock, author of Redefining Realness and a trans advocate, recently sat down for an interview with Fusion’s Alicia Menendez, only this time, she was the one asking the questions. The interview was Menendez’s idea, and stemmed from a desire to show just how ridiculous and invasive the media is with trans people, specifically trans women like Mock.

Go here to watch the video for a real look of what it would be like if a cis woman was asked the same questions Janet Mock (not to mention others of us) go through. I say "us" because I don't know about you, but I can almost depend on a genitalia related question coming at me very soon from casual on line acquaintances.   Of course, I don't have the benefit of presenting as well as Janet Mock does, so my question usually comes from the angle of "do you still have 'it'?"  Actually, I don't. I lost most of my rational thought years ago.

I have also been told to "mellow out", the question is a "natural"  one and most cases an innocent one. However, I will have to remember this interview when and if I encounter a rather "tedious" pain in the rear.

Cyrsti's Condo "Power Scope"

This week, the stars again have given me a very interesting look at the week ahead:


Libra (September 23-October 22): There are going to be eyes all over watching you, making you feel as if you have to rethink all your steps. Plus, snide remarks will be peppering this week, making you feel as if you are running through a jungle without a map. While your resources will be in short supply, your resolution won’t be and no matter how exhausted you are, pick up the pace and out run your enemies. 

Best Day To Get Lucky: Sunday, May 4

If I have to run very far, it's time to call the paramedics but you don't have to run far to see your very own "scope" - compliments of theFrisky - here.

Cyrsti's Condo - New Feature

I was getting bored with what we have going on here in "the Condo" and decided to roll out a new feature called "What If?"  It's actually my take on transgender and/or cross dresser pictures I see here and there around the web, and wondered what if they were thinking this?

"Dammit! I thought this selfie was a good idea!~Now I'm stuck till the wife comes home!"

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our Tuesday cover is a treat!  The beautiful MtF transgender woman Amelia Maltepe:

I'm Out of Labels!

I am sure you all are familiar by now with Facebook's 50+ gender identification profile tags which were released several months ago.  Some liked it, some hated it but life went on. Didn't bother me greatly one way of another though I didn't care for FB's use of only two genders.  I just changed mine from female to MTF transgender woman and went on living in my own little "label" universe. During my life, I have nourished my labels like flowers here in Cyrsti's Condo, some die and go away and are replaced by new ones.

Most of the time though,  my labels are tucked away into my "who cares anyway" circular file folder. (Waste basket.) But I usually was smugly certain, my "love children" were fairly unique until I saw Alexandra Pollack's  (left) profile on Twitter: She said,  "I am a hippie, transgender, lesbian. and a Veteran of war. "

Wow! As I sat and read each label, I felt each word was like matching a winning number on a lottery ticket. ( I have never have had one.)  Each word fit me completely plus I have never seen them all together in another profile.

Maybe we transgender women and men aren't like snowflakes. There could be another one of us out there!

Cyrsti's Condo "Thought of the Day"

So Sad  but So true.                

Chelsea Manning's Legacy?

Every now and then something comes along to get me really stirred up about Chelsea Manning who is serving time for treason.  Along the way, I have had my doubts if I had been too harsh with my feelings.  When I read stories such as this one, I wasn't harsh enough.

 After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars training Landon Wilson to intercept communications, the U.S. military was capitalising on its investment in the young sailor, already regarded as a rising star in a critical, highly technical field. But shortly after 2 a.m. on Dec. 7, when a superior tapped him on the back and summoned him outside, one of the secrets that mattered most to Wilson began to unravel. "This Navy record says female, but this paper says male," the grim-faced sergeant major noted, displaying two sets of personnel records. "So, what are you?" After an awkward pause, Wilson, who joined the Navy as a woman but who has long felt like a man, provided the answer that set in motion the end of his military career: "I am male."

Of course U.S. transgender military personnel have one real right-the right to be fired if they are honest about being trans. The article itself comes from a site called World Americas and you can follow the link to read it but my point is, didn't Manning make everything even more difficult for trans military members currently serving? It's tough enough on all of us to be tossed into into the trash can by ignorant bigots but what a shame when one who says they are trans did what Manning did? Look, I'm not saying all transgender people are angels or don't do anything wrong but some are easier to overlook than others in the damage department. I was probably was of the more "nonmilitary" type persons you would have found, serving in the most ill conceived/ unpopular war in our country's history. (Vietnam) I served my time though and learned first hand how military personnel do need every honest break they can get when  in danger of harm.  Don't care if Manning is transgender or not. Do care what he did had and has the potential to put others in harms way-especially current transgender military personnel- who can be injured or instantaneously lose their jobs and careers if they are simply honest such as Landon Wilson was.

By the way, America's closest allies, including Canada, Britain and Australia, allow transgender service- so seamlessly. The Pentagon though seems content in marching on, secure in it's ignorance that trans members are security risks like Manning- an idea which is as backwards and untrue as restricting the ability of same sex couples to adopt. (Ohio) A topic for later here in Cyrsti's Condo