What Is Transgender - Guest Post

From Connie:

"I think we can all call ourselves whatever we want. The term "transgender" is what others will still use for us, however. I like the shortening of the word to "trans", only because, for me, it is actually short for "transcended". My current state-of-being is not the result of a "crossing over" of gender, rather it has come from an awareness that defies any explanation. Learning to accept that awareness has been the most difficult part, but once I began accepting myself as the person I really always was, other people began to see me the same way. 

A few years ago I landed a role in a community musical production, in which I played a female. I asked the director why I had been chosen over other cis females, and she told me, simply, "I only see you as Connie; there is no reason to think anything more about it." She didn't want me for the part because I could act like a woman, but because a could act AS a woman. The fact that my character was a sort of "washed-up lounge singer" who was running from her past may have been type casting, however. :-) 

My big number, which closed the first act, was entitled, "The Girl I Am", wherein my character revealed her true identity without reservation. This is all coincidence, mind you, as the part and the song had been written long before I had been considered for the part. The director had not even given thought to what was an obvious parallel to me. So, I transcended through that experience from the realization that I am seen to be who I am by, at least, some other people, and that the more I forget the "transgender" nonsense, the more I am accepted (by others and myself)."

Bravo!!!

Keeping A Breast of the Situation

Not surprisingly,  I received quite a few comments concerning my post on hormone replacement therapy and breast development. First Shelle:

" I researched for at least 100 hours before beginning the self administration of Hormones,I felt I was having really great results,but then turned my treatment over to the VA while I was able to keep some of my regime,much of it was eliminated because they follow Wpath,which isn't necessarily the best method for us but all they are willing to put in place no matter the results or world standards.The standards should be updated based on results of worldwide records and research,just my thoughts.When I began my own my research indicated that mimicking then hormones in a pubescent teenage girl would provide the best results,That's my story it worked for me and I'm sticking to it!"

Good point Shelle there is no right answer here but again I have to point out you just can't buy a bunch of mail order estrogen and starting popping the pills like candy!

Robin said:" Funny you talk about breasts, I'm pre everything, and I'm bigger then most women. I measured myself for a bra. Band 50, cup D ??. I see myself more a B. Yes I'm a big person."

Robin if you are familiar with Stana and the Femulate blog, I believe according to her, she has also been well endowed since puberty.

I have always thought we have a couple things we can work through as we transition. Weight is one (I managed to take off and keep off close to 45 pounds) and skin condition. The rest can be done through feminine smoke and mirrors. Simply look around closely and you can see many cis women do it too. The best ones just don't seem to show they are trying.

Plus it is important to keep trying and just know the great majority of us are not blessed with natural beauty. You will have more errors than successes as you transition. Going back to the drawing board time and time again is a very real possibility for trans women. Learning to draw is just not that easy with no teacher most of the time!

So, as you can see, keeping a breast of the situation is such a small part of the whole woman you want to be.

A Transgender Super Hero?

From NBC News: The comic book world is about to get its first transgender leading character. The central protagonist in the upcoming superhero series "Alters" is Chalice, a trans "hero for the new age."

"The 'Alters' series focuses on characters that have different forms of disadvantage, whether they are marginalized by society or struggling with their gender identity," said Paul Jenkins, the comic book's author.

I wonder how many cross dressers or transgender women will be lined up to play her at "Comic Con?"

Go here for more.

A Shot to the Girls

One of the misconceptions I have always written about is the amount of pressure put on the development of breasts when one starts hormone replacement therapy. I know too, I shouldn't be real surprised when you look around society and see so many women transgender or not define their femininity by the size of their breasts.

However, HRT brings so much more to your life as I have written so many times. There are several ways estrogen can be administered, pill, patch or shot are the three I know of. Ironically, at my VA transgender support meeting yesterday most of us talked about the success or failure of using patches (mainly getting them to stay on-which I haven't had a problem.)

We also talked about a mutual acquaintance who for the longest time went over board in the unsupervised hormone world, which is a great way to hurt yourself.

For many of us though if can quote Shelle from her blog (who takes the shot), the estrogen brings life itself to her.

So you see, HRT is much more than "growing breasts". The process involves a whole mental and physical process that as Shelle alluded to becomes life itself for us.

Excuse me now, it's time to change out my patches.

What is Transgender Part Two

Two comments: "One from Robin. Excuse my ignorance, but do you have to call yourself transgender?? if you dress, act, over all look like a women, are you not a women?? If you are a women shouldn't you use the women's toilet too?? This is all new to me. Thank you for your time."

Robin, I think transgender is just a binary gender term anyhow and most certainly one does not have to call her or his self trans. Personally, I just happen to prefer presenting as a woman to the public but internally I am just good old me. (Good Old me is feminine.) And, as an aside, I haven't used a men's room for years unless it was in a gay venue and the women's room was standing room only.

I suppose you could say if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and talk likes a duck, one might have to be real careful these days where she goes like a duck too.

Or, as Pat said:I am not sure what is harder to explain being transgender or being a cross dresser. You may have to flip a coin although you have walked both paths.

Finally, if you take it (transgender) literally- you are between genders and Robin, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

What Is Transgender?

Explaining being transgender just isn't so easy once you get down to it.

You are not simply wanting to cross dress and look like a member of the opposite sex, you are for all the world (between your ears) a woman.

We are not trying to "fool" society any longer, we are what we are. Still, a large part of society wants to keep discriminating against us at the least or harming us at the most.

I talked to an old friend a couple days ago who had spent quite a bit of time around me as I was moving from cross dresser to transgender woman and she asked (of course) how I was doing. I said better than I ever would have expected and this full time "girl thing" I was living was the most natural move I have ever made.

So, maybe all those years of searching for gender peace in the morning when I woke up was right under my pillow.

I can't explain why I am transgender, what transgender is, just that I am.

JJ's Sunday Edition

Welcome!!! KerPlunk! another Sunday Edition is hitting your virtual front porch!

Weather: Summer Sultry (drag queen or stripper name?) here in Ohio, high's around 90 with humidity about the same. It's times like this I am happy to seemingly get away with a lot less make up. Let's grab a cup of iced caramel joe this week and get started.

Page One: The Week that Was - or Wasn't: I for one would consider it the week that wasn't for any number of reasons. Number one of course was the truck tragedy in France and thinking every morning should I even turn the news on? Plus let's not forget the Evangelicals and their new fave son VP Candidate Pence (scary).

I did read a post about a common sense approach to rest rooms (yes there is one!) It's called the individual restroom or "pick a door-any door." and among other places a grocery store chain from Minneapolis called "HyVee".  With every large format store it has opened since 2012, including three in the Twin Cities in the past year, Hy-Vee built at least nine individual restrooms, joining the ­vanguard of a design movement that had momentum even before transgender bathrooms became a political controversy this year. Big, multi-stall bathrooms as we know them — often dirty and uncomfortable for many people — are on borrowed time.
 “Pick a door, any door,” shopper Samantha Chavez said outside the bathrooms at the Oakdale Hy-Vee on a recent visit. “I can handle all my kids in the bathroom with me and it’s private.”

Single-user restrooms reduce waiting times, relieve social pressure that people with shy bladders feel in public restrooms, solve the problem faced by parents and opposite-sex caregivers waiting for their charges, and eliminate the controversy over where a transgender person should go.

For more go here. Hurry before the Evangelicals find something wrong with this idea!

Page Two: Yesterday's Coffee- Opinion: Let's see, you all probably have surmised my feelings about the Prez candidates and the new "Keep America White and Male" candidate Pence so I will shut up about that. I am sure I can't change your mind anyhow. On another subject with some rather lively debate this week, we discussed SRS and the transgender girl. I urge you to go back a  couple posts and check the comments. As far as I have always wrote, I don't think SRS is for me due to age considerations etc. However, anymore I feel I am slipping  into a more mellow position on the idea and even though Medicare does cover the surgery now would I do it? I do know one way or another I have moved from a solid "no" to "probably not" and I can't explain definitely why. Except I have been on HRT for over three years now.

Page Three: The Back Page: Well kids, it's time to finish my coffee and get moving. Thanks for spending your precious time with us at JJ's House. Stay loved and safe!

JJ 

Maybe It's Not So Quiet?

I received three replies to a recent blog post about the relative quiet here at JJ's House (Thanks!)
Lets get to them:

"Hi I'm Robin and I'm new to your blog, I plan on checking back as often as I can. I too have not decided on surgery, just thinking of the pain is hard."

Robin, welcome! and I too have considered the pain and age considerations on my part with SRS. Plus, I am not so sure my new genitalia would define what is between my ears anymore than my old one did/does.

Or as Connie commented:
"I was so tempted earlier to say this, as it came to me when reading your post, but I thought "better" at the time. After a couple of beers though.......No SRS? You mean no JJ with a va-JJ? :-)"

And Shelle:    

"Sometimes I drop the whole box of pins and prick myself getting them back in the box."

Finally an old picture in black requested by my friend Amy ! Luv Ya! :)

Correction!

Youngest Grand Son is nine-daughter is turning 40. Thanks Connie! :)