Cyrsti's Condo "Oops!"

My wife said she was out with the girls. Turns out now, she was out with my guy friends and is bringing them home in five minutes!!!

Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

I found this on Twitter:

You’ll drown in my depth if you don’t know how to swim. No lifeguard on duty…

@WestofCrazy

Will You Take Half a Man-Part Two

I have received several very good comments to my recent Cyrsti's Condo post concerning a recent coming out to a genetic woman in my family.

The point I don't think she ever really understood- was why I wasn't sexually attracted to men, now or ever. Believe me, I have wondered about that too.  In my past, I have "made out" with guys and kissed a few who bothered not to stand me up on a date...or even didn't spit on the floor after they kissed me...really?  All of that aside, all I can say is-the spark just isn't there. Say what you want (and more than a few will), identifying as a trans lesbian puts me even a notch lower on the mythical "I'm more Trans than you" scale. The fact remains, I'm way past that kind of criticism and I know the rather archaic idea of a man dictating the femininity of a woman wouldn't play well to any of my lesbian and most of my straight women friends. As Marion commented though:

These are questions that many in the cis-gendered world do not have a clue about. They think that gender presentation and identification are related to gender preference. And until they see that these are separate, we have a lot of educating before us....

Education indeed is the key word and it is happening more than we know. In fact, my family friend ( to my surprise) had a real grasp of what a transgender woman was all about, from a couple of television shows she had seen.  More importantly, her grasp wasn't a negative one.  Just because she had problems understanding the gender versus sexuality concept didn't make the experience any worse.  I sometimes don't think many in the transgender - cross dressing community have it figured out either.

So, I think by now all of you know I was happy with the experience. In a future post, I will have to pull a few coming out excerpts from my "Stiletto's on Thin Ice" book .

Speaking of the book, I do have several readers who took the time to leave wonderful reviews such as Don and Mindy.  I'm so insecure, I was afraid to even look!!! If you follow the Amazon link on the upper right hand side of the blog, you can buy it for your Kindle.

Finally, Jen said it best (instead of a half a man)  I think it's more like two for the price of one, or maybe "get this special bonus" if you act before midnight :-)

Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

You can't get much more to the point than this:

This was labeled - a cross dresser and a bed.

Seeing In Color

I'm sure many of you regulars here in Cyrsti's Condo don't remember your first look at color television back in the day.  If you do, perhaps you recall the NBC Peacock spreading it's color wings before an episode of Bonanza.  For me at least, it was my first color television show.

The reason I bring it up is, all of the sudden I'm seeing much of the world in color- as my HRT- MtF transition continues to subtly and not so subtly change me.  It's no secret, men see emotions and relationships more or less in black and white and women in color.

It's been interesting to me, it's another of the facets of my transition I can't really talk to a genetic woman about. Why? Because they have lived with the colors their whole life and just don't understand being emotionally color blind.  Increasingly, it's easier to not bring it up at all, than to hear the worn out "welcome to our world."

They need to adjust the colors on their sets! (Yes, you used to had to.)  In the meantime, it's a new and interesting world to me in color!

Will You Take Half a Man?

With the recent health family crisis behind me (and yet another laid to rest),  it's time to backtrack with all of you here in Cyrsti's Condo about how I fared during a recent coming out with a long time female family member.

To start with she is the "double nickle", 55 years old and was a former "wild child" well into her 30's,  married for a short time but for the most part, shopping around.  I always had a real respect for her sense of style and femininity. She was a woman who would always make sure she looked her best in case she met a new man at the store.

It's curious now how the tables have changed, and while I don't think they have to for her, that's her call not mine.  I believe she has more "charge" remaining in the batteries than she thinks.

Coming out to her was simply a matter of being in the right time at the right place-even though for the wrong reason. (The health crisis with her Mom.)  I have written how she took it rather matter of factly, with healthy doses of curiosity.

I am sort of like the dog who has rarely been beat, when it comes to my "Coming Out" experiences. I simply haven't experienced much negativity but then again, I haven't needed to come out to a large group...another story.

So when I came out to her, I just wasn't expecting the shock and awe I have so rarely seen. (Didn't get it again.)  So, being the cynical bitch I can be, when she said yesterday she needed a man to come along with her as she worked on tying up the loose ends of her Mom's final expenses, etc. I said, "will a half a man do?" She laughed with me and started back in on the biggest question she has with me being transgender - why am I with a female partner?  Don't all transgender women want a man and isn't that one of the reasons we transition? Why would I want to be a woman and not want a man? Another story.

I told her while that is true in the majority of the MtF trans cases it seems, as always, I'm destined to walk a slightly different path which we will discuss here later in Cyrsti's Condo.

Vintage- Classic- Androgyny

I couldn't resist passing along this androgynous classic here in Cyrsti's Condo:

 

Cyrsti's Condo "Power Scope"

This week's "scope" does sort of fit in with my life again this week as I was finally able to slow it down enough and go with Liz on a one day "recharge" session at the Great Serpent Mound (shown left).  It's credited with being one of the worlds largest prehistoric effigy mounds and is located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater,  in  Adams County, Ohio. (Not far from my home.)

Without going into too much detail, the mound is credited with being a very early Native American worship site as well as a site with great astronomical meanings.  I had never been there and was amazed at the power I felt as a twin or dual spirited gender person.

Not unlike I felt, when I looked at this week's "scope" containing masculine and feminine forces::

Libra (September 23-October 22): You can push and shove, but a wall will appear suddenly. If you want the outcome to work for you, don’t give up or go about trying to knock it down with aggression and anger. To seize victory, you’ll need the precision of a surgeon’s knife in breaking through this obstacle, so you can crawl your way through. With paradise on the other side, it’d be foolish to sit back now.

Of course the aggression and anger speaks to the old side of me and the "precision" of the surgeon's knife to my increasingly aware feminine side.

For your weekly "scope" go here to theFrisky.

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

"Kerplunk!" It's time again for another Sunday Edition here in the "Condo".

Page 1.- Healthy HRT?  As more and more transgender women and men embark on hormone replacement treatment to feminize or masculinize their bodies, studies are beginning to emerge on the results. What I liked about the news I read was it came from a medical site and had big words I couldn't understand. The title jumped out to me:  "Largest Study to Date: Transgender Hormone Treatment Safe". Even better news to me, since back in the day,  one of my biggest concerns was what would be the deeper effect on my health-at my age. The article came from Medscape.com.

Page 2.- Lets Be Careful Out There!  Last week here in the "Condo" I, brought the subject up again of personal security as we begin navigating the world as feminine persons.  I brought it up primarily when a transgender woman was found slain in nearby Cincinnati- and Jen commented:

"My girlfriend is very aware of staying safe at all times in general, more so than I am. I know she pays attention to who may notice me if I were out and I'm in a bra with straps that might be showing under my boy clothes. While she does get a real kick out of people noticing my straps, she doesn't want the 'wrong people' to notice (those that don't accept others freedom to be who they are.)

Her concerns went much higher last month when a local transgender woman was found dead behind a fast food restaurant (cause unknown)."

And, Pat followed with :  "Please be careful when out and about because there are dangers that need to be perceived to be avoided."

Thanks ladies.  Jen,  it's obvious, genetic women from the earliest age are "socialized" to be in tune with a different world than men.  A man's power system is simple and is built on physical prowess, financial prowess etc. Early transitioners such as Elizabeth, can probably attest to the fact that the sooner you are "allowed" to play in the women's sandbox, the easier it is to learn from other women hints on how to co-exist with a man's power system. On the negative side, it's proven time and time again,serious problems can occur-such as violence. I'm sure there is no "fool proof" method of avoiding a bad situation, excepting don't be a fool like I was years ago when I got myself into them.

Page 3.- The Back Page.  The Fourth of July has come and gone, which around here at least, we have a good two more months of summer before Fall gets here.I know it's coming though because I'm hearing the first fall fashion ad's.  Although the "Polar Vortex" almost froze me to death last winter, the changes of the seasons and the resultant "need" to change my wardrobe and fashion has always been a fun feminine time for me!

Well that's it for another "Sunday Edition" as always, thanks for stopping by Cyrsti's Condo and I hope we can meet again next Sunday!