Transgender Pennsylvania Star

From Philadelphia Today along with a heads up from Bobbie:

Every time Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine (above) appears on television with Governor Tom Wolf to talk about coronavirus in the state, Philly Mag gets a surge of internet traffic to articles we published more than five years ago. Those articles focused on the fact that Levine is the highest-ranking transgender official in Pennsylvania and one of a small number of transgender people serving in elected or appointed offices nationwide.

As Pennsylvania Health Secretary, Levine oversees the 1,300-employee Pennsylvania Department of Health and its battle against the coronavirus in Pennsylvania. In that role, she reports directly to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. She is also a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine.

Levine previously told the Washington Post that being a person who is transgender has not been an issue, “with very few exceptions.” Levine has been open about her personal life. She has an old photo hanging in her office showing her when she was a married man named Richard, standing with her family. Levine is now divorced, and her children are grown.

There is more to her story of course. To read it, go here.

Transgender Model

Along the way, the Project Runway television show has featured a transgender model, as well as a few I wasn't sure of. The "out" model's name is "Mimi Tao' from Thailand.  For an interview, go here.

The End Game...Revisited

I have written here in Cyrsti's Condo in depth concerning my paranoia with nursing homes in my later years. Which aren't that far away. In fact, the whole deal has given me the push to join a regional LGBTQ Rainbow Alliance for the elderly. Recently, the organization is becoming the go to group for information on LGBTQ aging issues when it comes to nursing homes and assisted care facilities. Leaders of the group are even reaching out to certain loft communities in the area about their acceptance of us. 

Today I even registered for a webinar hosted by the Alzheimer's Association called "Dementia and LGBTQ plus Older Adults...Do the Letters Matter?"  Th subject is especially close to me because my Father passed from the disease and it was horrible.

In addition, I attend monthly board meetings and plan on helping out with a virtual elderly summit this fall in the metro area. It will be interesting to see what the outside world thinks of, or knows much of of anything at all about the transgender community.  

I hope all of this helps to fill the void of moving away from the cross dresser - transgender support group I have been a member of for years.

It's a Waiting Game

Thanks to Mandy, Connie and others who sent along their best wishes concerning the possibility of my partner Liz's son contracting the Covid 19 virus. The testing site he went to gave him an eight day window to receive the results. Which means, we are four days into the waiting period. 

As far as everything goes, nothing much has happened by choice. In fact, I decided not to sign into the cross dresser - transgender support group meeting Monday night this week. Plus I am not planning to attend a virtual "social" also this week. I can totally understand why some of the attendee's need the time to cross dress as their other selves but since I don't, I don't feel the need to attend. 

What I do have to do is schedule another trip north to the VA in Dayton, Ohio to get my blood lab work done. I am planning to do it as soon as the kid gets his test results back, provided they are negative. I am not as concerned with Hematology getting my iron levels as I am with my Endocrinologist seeing my new hormone levels. Along the way, I have learned the hard way not to play around with my blood doctors. 

Hopefully, I will get the all clear soon, so I can get all my blood work done.   

A Big Year Coming up

As we all are aware of, there is a huge presidential election coming up in November. What you may not be  aware of though, are the amazing numbers of LGBTQ candidates running this fall for office.

Examples are Louisiana's Peyton Rose Michelle (below) and West Virginia's Rosemary Ketchum... the two latest openly transgender women to be elected to public office. 

The best part is there are currently 26 openly trans elected officials in the country now and this fall 850 LGBTQ candidates will appear on ballots across the country. 

Change is happening!

It's All Fun...until it Isn't

Well, my visit to the see the vampires came to a screeching halt Tuesday. It was my Veteran's Administration appointment to have my blood labs checked for my Endocrinologist and Hematology doctors.

My 22 year old partner's son who works at a nearby casino came down with a severe sore throat and had to be checked for the Covid 19 virus. So I called and postponed my appointment until we receive news back on the test.

I didn't mention he lives with us in a small house and could easily spread it to the rest of us. Since I am particular highly at risk, the virus could easily be a death sentence for me.

However, I make it a personal promise not to jump off any bridges until they are built. So we will see what happens.

I just wish everyone I see not wearing a mask would wear one and for goodness sake, quit listening to Benedict Donnie and gay Mikey Pence who say this whole thing is a media hoax. It isn't if it invades your own house.

The Vampire Call

Today is my three month trip to the Dayton, Ohio Veteran's Administration to have my blood checked for excess iron. Due to this, I have to have a series of blood lab work done before I even go to see my hematology doctor. If my iron levels are too high, then I have to have a phlebotomy. Which means they will take out a pint of my blood. After all these years doing this, it's all very routine. Even a few of the lab workers know me as a regular. Not what I had envisioned years ago as an ideal. 

Ironically, this trip out and about (with a mask of course) is the first time I have been anywhere for a couple of months, except a trip or two to the pharmacy. We are even getting our groceries delivered in. So, it's kind of a big deal and I am dressing accordingly. 

I have decided to wear my light tan culotte pants with a sleeveless patterned tank top to allow the vampires total unheeded access to my arm veins they seem to love so much. Plus, even though I will be wearing a mask, I am going to breakdown and wear makeup. 

Hopefully today, my iron will be under the limit and I can escape the worst of the vampires again. Supposedly though, exposure to the sun is one of the causes of my problem. So maybe I am one of the vampires too?  

Honey I'm Home

This morning as I looked into the mirror, it occurred to me how mach I have changed and how much I haven't. 

Of course, over the years I have been able to grow a respectable set of breasts and quite the head of hair which now extends to the middle of my back. My ability to have been able to have gone on hormone replacement therapy has provided me with all of this.

What it never did provide me was an overall peace of mind. To start with, let us go all the way back to my childhood. I have seen ideas over the years of when children determine their gender. The bottom line is the time can be variable but the result is the same. Or is it? My problem with the whole idea is what if I never definitively came up with what gender I wanted to be. The best I could ever come up with was the somewhat vague idea I really wanted to be a girl, even though I was firmly entrenched in a male world. 

My idea is now, the time of gender indecision I was going through was the beginning of my gender dysphoria. Which I still suffer from today. In fact, I did this morning. Somehow, someway I was still the questioning child in the mirror.

Perhaps I will never be home. I only desire is to not be mis gendered and dead named when I die. 

More than likely, it will be the only time I will have a true understanding of why my life turned out the way it did. I will finally make it home. Until that time, it seems I will be stuck with me telling the mirror "No matter what you say mirror, all you see is me."

Finally! A Transgender Sports Illustrated Model

Following in the footsteps of all the gorgeous transgender women in the past who could have graced the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swim suit Issue but weren't allowed, we finally have one who could.

Now, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio has made history as an impassioned activist and true LGBTQ pioneer. And by saying she represents the well rounded woman who Sports Illustrated is proud to have representing them.