Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

I happen across many quotes here and there. Many most definitely could be applied to the transgender experience. Not surprising, because we are living life like most human critters.  Some though seem to be written completely for us!

Not Trans Enough?

As I said in my last Crysti's Condo post, this paragraph explains why the transgender elitists of the world would not agree with the following "two spirit" Native American concept:

Rather than the physical body, Native Americans emphasised a person's "spirit", or character, as being most important. Instead of seeing two-spirit persons as transsexuals who try to make themselves into "the opposite sex", it is more accurate to understand them as individuals who take on a gender status that is different from both men and women. This alternative gender status offers a range of possibilities, from slightly effeminate males or masculine females, to androgynous or transgender persons, to those who completely cross-dress and act as the other gender. The emphasis of Native Americans is not to force every person into one box, but to allow for the reality of diversity in gender and sexual identities.


Read more here from the Guardian.

OMG! A Real Trans Character?

 
 
 
Laverne Cox already made history, becoming the first openly transgender performer to earn an acting Emmy nomination for her breakout role on Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. She is now looking to break more ground with the first transgender series regular character on broadcast TV played by a transgender actor.
Story from "Deadline Hollywood"

Professional "Women's Night Out"

Last night, my partner Liz and I went to a small Professional Woman's  Dinner "Meetup".  I have not been excluded from this one like the lesbians have from the "Loki" group here in Cincinnati.  It's an incredible time hearing how these other women approach their professional lives.  Of course each get together such as these have the initial "introductions."  As quickly as my old noggin could think, I thought I am not going to introduce myself as transgender with all the carnival barkers jumping on the trans band wagon.  So, I went with the "Two Spirit" name. 

Of course, my introduction confuses many "civilians" more, but it's simpler for me to say very little more and chat later-if anyone cares.

I have found many trans people don't know of, or don't embrace the Two or Dual Spirit ideas at all.
From the U.S version of the Guardian comes a look: This week's guest editor, Antony Hegarty, is a fan of the book The Spirit and the Flesh. He asked its author, Walter L Williams, to write a feature for guardian.co.uk/music on the 'two-spirit' tradition in Native American culture:
Native Americans have often held intersex, androgynous people, feminine males and masculine females in high respect. The most common term to define such persons today is to refer to them as "two-spirit" people, but in the past feminine males were sometimes referred to as "berdache" by early French explorers in North America, who adapted a Persian word "bardaj", meaning an intimate male friend. Because these androgynous males were commonly married to a masculine man, or had sex with men, and the masculine females had feminine women as wives, the term berdache had a clear homosexual connotation. Both the Spanish settlers in Latin America and the English colonists in North America condemned them as "sodomites.



Above, We-Wa, a Zuni two-spirit, weaving US national archives


Rather than emphasising the homosexuality of these persons, however, many Native Americans focused on their spiritual gifts. American Indian traditionalists, even today, tend to see a person's basic character as a reflection of their spirit. Since everything that exists is thought to come from the spirit world, androgynous or transgender persons are seen as doubly blessed, having both the spirit of a man and the spirit of a woman. Thus, they are honoured for having two spirits, and are seen as more spiritually gifted than the typical masculine male or feminine female.

Therefore, many Native American religions, rather than stigmatising such persons, often looked to them as religious leaders and teachers.

In my next post, I will tell you why many transgender elitists won't accept the idea at all.

Trangender In the Heartland?

Yes, we who happen not to live on the right or left coast of the United States, do know there is secretly a rich tapestry of life which happens. Now,  ironically, the flood of reality shows are beginning to shed a bit more light on arguably one of the more bland places in the country-the Midwest. It's our secret and we are sticking to it, except now Kansas City is coming out of the transgender closet: From Discovery:

Kansas City is about to be the setting for a new reality TV show – but it’s not about barbecue, fountains or jazz. The show, called New Girls On the Block, follows a group of transgender women. Shot in 50 locations around town at the end of last year, it debuts on the new Discovery Life Channel on April 2.

Robyn and her boyfriend, Andrew, shared a laugh as they prepared dinner Tuesday evening at their home in the Waldo area. Robyn is a transgender cast member on a new five-part Discovery Life Channel series set to air in April. Keith Myers The Kansas City Star

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/article9729632.html#storylink=cpy

Another experience line from the show from Discovery Life said New Girls on the Block will be the first reality TV series about a group of friends in the transgender community. It focuses on four couples, all of them from Kansas City. (Including the couple above.)
And, there’s Macy and Sharon, a middle-aged, married couple – Macy used to be a strapping, motorcycle-riding man.
"He was the man all my friends were like, 'Girl don’t you mess this up,'" says Sharon.
Now that Macy has transitioned, viewers will get a glimpse of how her marriage to Sharon is evolving.

Now the question is, will "reality" be more "real" since it is coming from the "Heartland?"

The Trans Beat Grows Louder

As I wrote here in Cyrtsi's Condo recently, every morning it's difficult not to hear a story or someone's interpretation of the recent flood of transgender news. Plus more and more trans peeps are coming out of the woodwork to comment.  Thanks Bobbie for sending along this story:


"According to the Guardian’s Editor-in-Chief, former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning will soon be writing an opinion column for the British daily neMwspaper’s U.S. website.
Readers will likely, of course, remember Chelsea Manning formerly as Bradley Manning – responsible for the largest leak in U.S. history of classified information. The people’s patriot and whistleblower declared publicly his desire to transition to a woman in August of 2013 and began the transition from male to female last year.
Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for her role in the historical information leak."

Also, on the Meredith  Viera Show,  Patricia Arquette was one of the guests. She talked about her current projects, then of course the topic turned to her transgender sister Alexis. (left)  Patricia did a wonderful job of describing how brutal our lives can be and said, I paraphrase "it's not the package -it's the person which matters."

Unlike the stupid misdirected comments from a very ignorant Sharon Osborne about Bruce Jenner's sexuality on the Talk

Carnival Barkers?

Yesterday, when I visited my daughter, one her her comments was: "My friends want to know what you (me) think about Bruce Jenner."

I just said "A clown show waiting to happen."  Nothing against him, but I will continue to pronoun "him" until he happens to come out, but I just expect the worse.  Sort of like Zoey Tur's comment last night that Jenner's HRT transition meds could have contributed to his tragic wreck. Really???  I guess I better be extra careful since I am on HRT and depression medicine too. Nice job putting the idea in everyone's noggin that we transgender women and men maybe "danger's" on the road.

The only lesson to be learned is no one is an expert and who the hell dug up Zoey Tur anyhow? Surely there maybe someone like Eden Lane (left)  out there, who is truly qualified? But I digress:

Back to my rant - Cognoscenti says it best:

Leelah Alcorn might still be with us had her painful gender odyssey attracted the empathetic national attention Diane Sawyer is reportedly about to shower on Bruce Jenner. But the struggles of a 17-year-old transgender girl from rural Ohio could never compete with the call of the carnival barker.

Few knew her name until Leelah, née Joshua, stepped in front of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 71 20 miles outside Cincinnati a few days after Christmas, one of the 41 percent of transgender people who attempt suicide, according to a 2010 report by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Figures about those, like Leelah, who die by suicide are harder to come by in a society that acknowledges transgender people only when they turn up on a hit Netflix or Amazon series, claim Sonny & Cher as parents or grace the front of a Wheaties cereal box.

Follow the link above for more!

What's Wrong With You?

For security reasons, I have all my HRT meds sent to my daughter's house.  It works for two reasons. The meds go to a secure place and I have a fairly regular excuse to see her.  If you stop by Cyrsti's Condo often, you know she is one of my strongest advocates-behind my gender transition all the way.

It turns out my new Estrogen patches showed up recently at her place and I stopped to pick them up.  After a bit of small talk about my grandkids and son in law, she got serious and I knew a big discussion was headed my way.

After a bit of side talk, she got right to the point and asked me why did I come in male drag to the recent birthday dinner for my 10 year old grandson.  She said how much sense did it make if everyone already knew and expected to see the real me?  Well, I thought what the hell, "why did I?" Right or wrong, I knew my excuse - It was his evening and I didn't want to take away from that. That is true but both my daughter and I have been putting off me sitting down with just the three kids for a question and answer. That is scheduled now for next week.

So...here are the three topics of discussion: (8-10-13 year olds)
!.- Is the "new" me any different than the "old" me?  No, I am still old and will share all my interests in history with them. I want to keep doing all we have been doing.
2.- What is this "transgender" thing all about anyhow?  Fortunately the kids are very cerebral and diverse in their thinking already.  My oldest grandson had a very out gay man as a fourth grade teacher who the whole school knew was a very well known drag queen. I am fairly sure I can explain rather plainly and by keeping it PG rated - the difference between being gay or lesbian and a  transgender person.
#3.-And-the tough one: What should they call me?  I am thinking about making it a contest. I'm thinking about "Granny C"?

I will let you know how the experience works out!

In Hot Water?

OK, of all the responses I figured I possibly may get from my transgender "Bucket List" post about going swimming, I missed the point totally on this one. I thought Connie would zero in on me for my "bucket" being large enough to use as a wading pool- or my bucket is so old it wouldn't hold water anyhow!  Here's Connie's comment:

Senior Ladies Water Aerobics class at the community pool? I hear the sharks in Ohio are among the most discriminating; they prefer aged meat. Be careful that your feminine expression does not become just another old expression, considering that "valor is the best part of discretion", that is. :)

**Note-the closest sharks to me are in the Ohio River and they have different names: giant catfish and carp!

Then Paula commented:

Paula GoodwinFebruary 9, 2015 at 5:29 AM

In London and Brighton (and quite possibly other places as well) we have special closed swimming sessions at local pools specially for trans and gender diverse people. It is really liberating, and great fun. Having been swimming with the London group and on holiday I am now challenging myself t use my local pool.

Thanks Paula!  My prediction is if my swimming idea happens at all, it will happen at a hotel pool when Liz and I travel. And, yes Connie, I will warn them ahead of time about an oil slick if I don't wear the right water proof makeup!!!!