Cyrsti's Condo "Question of the Day"

How many  cross dressed Sissy Maids does it take to feel up a "Mistress"? And why are they smiling?

Class Less Reunions?

As graduation time quickly approaches in my part of the world, I began to think about my days in high school one hundred years ago and a post I read somewhere from a U.K. cross dresser.  He went to an all male school "back in the day" and like most of us, stayed deeply in the closet.  He wondered though, how many other cross dressers statistically could there have been in the school too.  Even to the point of coming up with some sort of graph-where he lost me.

I don't believe he is alone in wondering how many of our friends and class mates were in their cross dressing closets too. While it is almost a romantic thought to think any guys who happened to transform into attractive girls for Halloween or school drag shows were actually cross dressers- I know I was the exception to that rule. I didn't want anyone to know of my cross dressing urges.

So many years later, in a couple years, I will be facing my 50 year class reunion.  Of course I have wondered if my decision to ever go to a reunion will change by then and I'm thinking not.  My decision has less to do with buying a "not" so little black dress and rocking the event in my heels but more in the stubborn reality I had very little to do with any of my classmates then - and now.  It's so bad that on my 40th class reunion, the committee in charge of finding the whereabouts of everyone couldn't even locate me in my home town,  where I was a very visible person.  So I sent the form letter asking where I was back in, saying I died in a car wreck in 1969. (Which I almost did.)

I can hear the group behind my back jabbering, "Look Martha, she used to be a he in our class but who was he?"

Cyrsti's Condo "Power Scope"

This week kids, according to my scope, I might have to watch where I'm "laying down?"


Libra- (September 23-October 22): Where you lay your body this week won’t bring you the peace of mind you think it will. Just as you think you can leave your worries behind, there will be a weird feeling that could stir up your jealousy in a way you haven’t witnessed in years. Yes, your inner dragon will be blowing green fire and it won’t just char, it can decimate.

All this time,  I thought my "inner dragon" was just a bad case of indigestion!

For all you non Libra's-don't fret and go here to theFrisky for your own scope!

Holiday's are not a Drag!

Christmas certainly wasn't a drag for these guys...wait maybe it was?  Maybe the top left "girl?"

Cyrsti's Condo "What If?

Finally, someone else has to figure out how to pin the corsage on!!!

Chuck Does an About Face?

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that he believes the ban that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military should be reviewed.

“I do think it continually should be reviewed,” Hagel said. “I’m open to that.”

After the 2010 repeal of the policy barring gay and lesbian service members from being open about their sexuality, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” activists turned their attention to the transgender policy, calling on the military to allow transgender individuals to serve openly. But there has been no review of the ban. Earlier this month, a Pentagon spokesperson told Slate, “At this time there are no plans to change the department’s policy.”

But in an exclusive interview that aired on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Hagel said he’s now ready to reconsider the ban.

“I’m open to those assessments, because — again, I go back to the bottom line — every qualified American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit the qualifications and can do it,” he said. Transgender issues are “an area that we’ve not defined enough.”

Hagel said his biggest concern is providing the medical support necessary to support transgender individuals, especially if they are stationed in what he called “austere locations.

Maybe the light at the end of the tunnel is not the train for transgender service members.

Cyrsti's Condo "What If"

  Mom...Happy Mother's Day


Love you! Jim :)

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Here we go kids, another Cyrsti's Condo Sunday Edition-Kerplunk!!.

Page 1.-  Sports!  In case you haven't heard, the St. Louis Rams made history Saturday with the 249th pick when they selected Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam and made him the first openly gay player in the NFL. It’s a monumental moment in American history and it’s a moment that won’t soon be forgotten by anyone.

I have several other football fan friends who texted me yesterday and said they had made the St. Louis Rams one of their favorite teams.

Rams head coach Jeff  Fisher said it best: 
ESPN and said, "In a world of diversity that we live in, I'm honored to be a part of this."

Page 2.- Mother's Day.  It's time again to take a special moment to pause and remember our Moms.  I know some of us have positive - or not so positive memories of our Mother's.  Either way, they did take the time to bring us into the world, put up with us (sometimes) and left lasting memories for those of us whose Mom's have passed on.  I have always thought we transgender or cross dresser women and men had a different relationship with our mothers than our cis-gender relations.  I never had a sister and my Mom has been gone for years and we had a rocky relationship on several levels because we were so much alike-more than she ever wanted to know when I never "outgrew" my transgender issues.  I have mentioned numerous times how I can vividly remember being fascinated with watching her "put on her face" (makeup)

Page 3.- Entertainment.   Austria's popular bearded lady, Conchita Wurst, won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night.    Ms. Wurst's onstage drag persona is 25-year-old singer named Thomas Neuwirth. Sporting a skintight glittery dress, long brown hair and a beard, Ms. Wurst won the contest with a song titled "Rise Like A Phoenix.".A polarizing figure, Ms. Wurst attracted a flood of respect for her views on gender and sexuality, but she also became the target of criticism, including from a prominent Russian politician known for holding antigay views. Following the win, Ms. Wurst said "this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom...we are unity and we are unstoppable." Ms. Wurst wasn't the only subject of controversy at the 59th Eurovision contest. At many points in the evening, particularly during the voting session that follows official performances, Russia received a chorus of boos, forcing organizers to remind the audience that the event is about love and respect, not politics. 

Page 4. The Back Page.  A big end to the week with the news of Conchita Wurst and Michael Sam proving once again the TGLBQ community is just not fading away.  The world damn well accept us! You all have a great week AND! Thanks for being a part of "the Condo"!

Flipping the Transgender Switch

Not too long ago here in Cyrsti's Condo, I wrote a post about taking different paths to where we identify today as transgender, transsexual or cross dressers.

As I said in the last past, I'm far from smart enough to figure out where we end up on the spectrum.  Is it all an internal process which we were born with, or more of a reaction to external stimulus or a mixture of both?

Most certainly, if you are satisfied with occasionally cross dressing as your non birth gender, you probably were influenced by external factors sometime earlier in life.  But what about the rest of us?

Here is a comment Connie sent in:

Oh, if it were only as easy as flipping a switch! I've found it to be more like shifting gears - as with a 10-speed bicycle. My first little hints of my transsexual self were much like learning how to ride a bike; playing dress-up in my mom's old clothes that I found in a box in the garage, and trying to apply her lipstick in the bathroom mirror. Funny enough, it was close to this time that my dad had bought an old bike from Goodwill (the assigned destination for the clothes I had been wearing from that box in the garage). It was a 24" bike, and much too large for a five-year-old. Nevertheless, I did learn how to ride it - even though my legs were too short to be able to push the brakes back properly. I couldn't stop the bike, and I couldn't stop my "desire" to be a girl, either.

The irony does not escape me that, without training wheels, I accomplished my breakthrough moment of riding on my own just as I kept my gender "secret" to myself. Dad did give me instruction for riding a bike, but not for a bike that was too big for me, just as he tried to raise me to be a man (a little one, anyway). I took it all in, dutifully, but I came up with the necessary modifications by myself. In retrospect, I'm sure that my parents had become aware that I was not completely displaying the more-masculine traits of a little boy, even though I was trying so hard to conform to their expectations. My ability to stop my gender identity was as difficult to do as it was to apply the brake on that bicycle. So, I was stuck in first gear (the bike only had one) with my only way of stopping being to either crash or fall off. By the time I had the opportunity to ride a 10-speed bicycle, I was no longer crashing, and my ability to keep from falling off the bike matched my ability to walk effortlessly in Mom's high heels.

The bike belonged to the older girl next-door (a girl's bike!). I learned much from her about shifting gears - both on the bicycle and with my gender identity. Stopping was no longer the big issue, but learning to use the proper gears in order to climb the hills was something else. The hills I have been negotiating since then have been mostly of my own making; marriage, children, establishing my male persona within the community.

 I worked hard to be an "A-lister" in those categories for years before realizing that I was in the wrong gear. At the same time, though, I was stuck in first gear with my gender identity. It could have been easy enough to maintain my "A-list" standing as I (falsely) presented my male self, while still being accepted by the "A-list" cross dressers; or so it may seem to others. I cannot see myself as belonging on either of those lists, however. To climb the hill, then, I must continue to up-shift, being careful to know the right gear to use, as well as the proper timing in shifting to that gear.

Thanks for the great comment Connie!  From my own humble perch on the bike, I never saw the possibility of ever escaping my gender turmoil, did very self destructive things to myself and finally made it to where I am today.  I just couldn't get by putting on women's clothes and thinking I was a complete person.

The next companion post to this one will be "Gender Survivor".  If you have a comment, I would love to read it! Send it here, or to my email - cyrstih@yahoo.com