The Yin and the Yang?

Two stories on the web this morning caught my eye offering up the differing directions the transgender community is going-both with positive results.

The first comes from Barnard College:

Barnard today announced that celebrated writer and activist Jennifer Finney Boylan (left) will join the College’s English faculty as the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer-in-Residence. In this newly created position honoring one of Barnard’s most esteemed and dedicated alumnae, Boylan will teach two creative writing courses each year, while also engaging with Barnard students and faculty in various capacities that will support and enhance the College’s legacy of cultivating talented young writers. 

 “Jenny’s writing addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, and working with her will be an extraordinary opportunity for our students and faculty,” said Barnard President Debora Spar. “Welcoming her to Barnard, while simultaneously honoring Anna Quindlen’s invaluable contributions to the craft of writing, marks a truly exciting moment for the College.”

The other is from New Zealand as Transgender modelling hopeful Amy Brosnahan will compete in the national final of the Battle of the Babes in Auckland. The 18-year-old made it into the final after competing in a heat last month. Organisers at one stage told her she couldn’t take part because she was transgender, but quickly changed their minds after some thought. They said they hadn’t known how to handle the situation, but Brosnahan says ultimately everyone was welcoming at her heat. If she wins, the next stop will be competitions in Hong Kong.

Being Played for Idiots

Thanks to Bobbie for passing this along.  Once again the Pentagon is playing all of us for a bunch of idiots. From Slate.com:

The ban on transgender service, which survived the 2011 repeal of DADT, is not mandated by statute. So it’s harder for the Pentagon to blame anyone other than itself for wasting talent and making a mockery of its professed commitment to diversity and the dignity of its force. That commitment was trotted out most recently in a Pentagon ceremony this week in which a revised Department of Defense Human Goals Charter integrated gays and lesbians into its language on diversity and inclusion. 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went out of his way to tout the progress. “I’m proud that the language of the charter has been updated to reflect the contributions of gay and lesbian military personnel who now serve openly and proudly across America’s armed forces,” he said at the signing. “We will continue striving to make military service a model of equal opportunity for all regardless of race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin.” And here I must pause to say that I, too, am proud of this progress and very glad that the military and the nation have done the right thing at long last. 

But Hagel made a point of holding up the military as a “model of equal opportunity for all,” which makes the continued ban on transgender service, the rationale for which is quickly crumbling, increasingly untenable.

Really? Let's not forget, Chuck, all the recent sexual abuse problems the military has had and more than a couple high ranking generals forced out of their command (and into high paid civilian jobs) for extra marital affairs. I know Hagel is no youngster, but even he must wonder about the lapses in his reasonable thought processes. Or how he sleeps at night after out and out lies.

Cyrsti's Condo "What If?"

Well Jim, it's going to cost you for me to NOT  tell your golfing  buddies you wore this last week downtown to the drag show...

How the Other Half Lives

Don't hold me to the percentage of transgender sex workers around the world. Probably way short of 50% but I did encounter a trans sister of sorts almost a week ago a couple blocks from my house.

I live a couple blocks away from a less than upscale neighborhood corner known for it's bar (home to a fatal shooting last summer) drug deals and of course prostitutes.  Just a little insight into why I'm cleaning out and moving.  I've been here for the greatest part of the years between 1978 and now and the area has come and gone with it's inhabitants- now this time-I'm going.

Going I was, when this person walked across the cross walk ahead of me in the street, wearing a red "hoodie" jeans and matching red lipstick.  Obviously a cross dressed or transgender hooker of color. Nothing was coming and as I slowly rolled through the stop sign our eyes met for a moment.  My first impression was to feel total disgust until I thought of one particular young trans woman I met last summer at the Trans Ohio Symposium who grew up on the streets of Detroit and LA when her parents kicked her out. Again I felt disgust-on how she had been treated.

It's likely I won't see her again and even more likely to learn anything of her life.  Just seeing her for that brief second though gave me a brief glance into how the other half lives- and how helpless I felt.

The "Transvestite Diet"

I happened across this website and forthcoming book this morning when this lady began to follow me on Twitter.

Her name is Kathryn Camfield and her book is called The Transvestite Diet.   Here is a quick look and you can go here for more.

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our feature cover for Wednesday here in the Condo is Seryozha Chernykh

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.