Two 13 Year Old Girls?

My grand daughter is 13 and was at the family Christmas gathering yesterday.  She was doing her full time job being bored and detached about the surroundings.  My daughter says her daughter is taking the job very seriously.

The "other" girl in the room going through puberty managed to run the full gamut of joy to tears during a 15 minute drive to my brothers.  Of course my transition is different from my grand daughter's - but is it?  Both of us are struggling to find our place in the world propelled by the powerful hormone called estrogen.  My grand daughter is fortunate to have a strong mentor in her mother and I have similar person in my partner Liz.

I know my grand daughter has a tougher road to hoe with her hormone trip.  Her body and brain is predisposed to make the trip at a young age.  My old body on the other hand has to stop and reverse a process which has taken over 60 years to live with.  She has a whole life to transition into womanhood...I have a much shorter time.

As I have mentioned here in Cyrsti's Condo, I started HRT three years ago on New Year's Eve-but- I spent the first year essentially on the minimum dosage.  The dosage was set up to show me what the MTF transition would be like. It did and I loved it!  So, when I read later from more than a couple sources the hormonal process would take around three years to settle in-more than likely I'm still six months away from the anniversary.

I can only say, in the past month, my hormones have made their presence known.  Physically, mood swings-sore breasts, the whole deal.  When I looked at the other 13 year old girl in the room-I understood! 

 

"From the Hart"

An attractive woman makes it look easy (transgender or generic). No one looks behind the scenes at diet, skin care and/or exercise...for all of us!!!

Transgender Earth Mother Figure

 Liz: found this figure in a shop on Etsy ( Bliss and Kittens) and shows exactly how "far back" transgender women go in some cultures.

TransGender Berdache Deer Earth Mother Venus totem figure sculpture pagan forest fairy Doe Fawn Stag.

Are Transgender Beauties Just Fluff?

Nearly every time I post a picture or story here in Cyrsti's Condo I get a fairly terse and bitter response on how a Trans Activist such as say Janet Mock's ( beautiful example) public exposure has nothing to do with those of us still mocked and/or discriminated against because of our appearance.

It's a good point and one I found addressed in a recent Huffington Post article.  Of course I have my own ideas like I'm sure you do.  First of all, what are your expectations of the feminine role you are transitioning into? This time, lets use Mtf transgender woman Carmen Carerra as an example (left).  Look, I know there is not enough surgery, HRT or wishing in the world I am ever going to look like Carmen. Then again too, I could say the same thing about most all of the generics I know.  As females growing up though, all of them managed to transition to womanhood becoming beauties in their own rights.  What Carmen Carerra did do for me (as well as Janet Mock, Laverne Cox etc.) was scream to the world GENDER is NOT about GENITALS.  Which means to me a huge amount.  It's helped me to carry myself with a little extra confidence as I transition into my womanhood.

In Courtney O'Donnell's post she said it (in part) this way after trans woman Jenna Talackova burst upon the scene:  "In the weeks that followed, the number of people visiting my blog via the keyword "Jenna Talackova" was simply stunning. That keyword outdistanced the previous high by a factor of 3. The people drawn to these pro-transgender blogs were given an opportunity to learn things -- human things -- they may not learn elsewhere."

So, yes we have discussed attitude over appearance in the Condo when it comes to the public and if you don't have a nasty personality to start with-each of us can make a huge statement in small ways. Beautiful or not, I am going to pick the women I mentioned above to be on my team! 

Just one other quick point, make sure to think past your male ego past and look past the pictures or looks and listen!

And So It Is Christmas!

To all of you of the Christian faith, if you dig deep enough through the commercialization, the beauty of the holiday shines through.

My point with this post is to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! It's a shame all religions can't pause for a second and respect the other's Holy Days.

It's also a shame the number of people who refuse to accept a LGBT person because they are a "Christian."

So, at this time of the year, I pause to thank my central spirituality for my life's blessings and make time to pray for the tons of others are not so blessed. The ones who are on the streets for simply being who they are. And then there are all of you who are stuck in a very dark frustrating closet which in the end can cause the very high number of transgender suicide attempts.

Before you run off and call me the Trans Grinch who stole Christmas, it's the time of year when I lay out any kind of glitzy outfit-I do pause to think how fortunate I am.

Here's hoping you are too!

Merry Christmas!!!!
Cyrsti Hart

From the Hart!

Merry Christmas from Cyrsti!

Eye Candy?

I ran across the entire cover of the "Candy" Magazine cover featuring 14 transgender women and thought I would pass it along!

The "Ultimate" Gift List?

From the Advocate:  What is the perfect gift for a drag performer this holiday season? Wigs? Makeup? Tuck tape? At the World of Wonder holiday party, drag stars like Lady Bunny, Alyssa Edwards, Yara Sofia, Kelly Mantle, Landon Cider, and more revealed what they'd love to see in their stocking this December.

There are several drag queens interviewed for this story. I picked YouTube Star - Lacey Noel:

What should one give a drag queen for the holidays?
Tucking tape.

Is there a gift that straight people should never give gay people?
A Chick-fil-A gift card.

Follow the link for more!

Mo Mail

This Cyrsti's Condo post is basically a potpourri of comments from you ladies.

First Paula Goodwin ran a little poll on her blog on a choice of three outfits she could wear to a holiday party.  The Fashionista in me won!   Paula GoodwinDecember 22, 2014 at 11:21 AM

You guessed my outfit for tonight!

Thanks Paula and I hope you had a wonderful time! You looked great!!!

Speaking of "Fashionista", how does hair fit in?  Here's an experience:

J.AlanaSDecember 22, 2014 at 11:14 AM

In my childhood, I was a tow-head blond but it got darker as I aged so that it became more of a darker blond/brown with red highlights. I was once mis-gendered because of my long blond hair. I'd just checked out and the bag boy said, "Have a good day miss" The check out girl had my atm card and corrected him. I just said "Thank you" 

Good point! If you remember even I mis-gendered a 14 year old boy with straight long blond hair recently in a surgical waiting room.  Furthermore, I believe my hair growth was one of the biggest surprises of my HRT. It happened quick and I believe was the biggest factor being accepted as a trans woman.

Finally, J.AlanaS., I had a similar 'encounter" with a bag boy who was just "melting" in front of me.  I was just a redhead in a baggy sweater and 1980's big hair wearing a short mini and flats. He could barely get out he would help me with my one bag of groceries to my car.  The cashier found it all to be quite humorous.