I Can't Help It!

 Here in Cincinnati, Ohio in the Southwest part of the state, hurricane Ida remnants have passed on leaving us with beautiful pre-fall weather. I have some sort of genetic malfunction which tells me fall weather is football time. 

On top of all of that, one of the baggage items I brought with me from the times I cross dressed as a guy was my love for The Ohio State Buckeyes. I never went to school there but grew up approximately fifty miles away. 

When "Trans Ohio" still used to have an in person symposium, I regularly signed up to give a presentation. In it's later years, the Symposium was held in The Ohio State University huge student union which of course didn't break my heart. 

The Ohio State mascot is "Brutus Buckeye" named after the state tree. One year I had my picture taken sitting next to a life-sized bronze Brutus in the student union.

If you are a Cyrsti's Condo regular you have seen this picture before, if not I resend it because Ohio State kicks off it's regular season tonight against Big Ten opponent Minnesota. 

Go Buckeyes!

Photo credit Cyrsti Hart

 

The Future

 Check it out!

Photo Credit Shutterstock

Pejic Magic

 

Andreja Pejic has always fascinated me as a beautiful androgynous woman who finally came out as transgender some time ago. Years ago I yearned to be just like her.

She was recently recognized as one of the most influential transgender models:

" Now one of the most recognizable transgender models in the world, Bosnian-Australian model Andreja Pejić started her career in the early 2000s as the world’s first completely androgynous supermodel, never conforming to gender norms and walking in both men’s and women’s shows for Jean Paul Gautier and Marc Jacobs.

 After undergoing sex reassignment surgery in 2013, Pejić publicly came out as transgender, and has since appeared on the covers of many major fashion magazines. She even forayed into film in the 2018 crime thriller The Girl in the Spider’s Web."

This came from "Helen Boyd's" post on Facebook.

Tuesday Inspiration

 Just a little inspiration to help you along with those post Monday blues!

The Naked Truth

 One thing I have always wondered is, how far do you go with a potential partner before you disclose the truth about being transgender. These days there are so many variables to consider. For one, surgeries have come so far, a trans woman very well could be as "realistic" as a cis woman when it comes to genitals.  

I can't imagine being a young transgender person with a full life to lead ahead of you. The younger you are though, I would imagine it would be easier to "back fill" a portion of your life when you were not living as your authentic self. For someone my age, it's harder to try to hide a half century cross dressing as a guy.  

It's easy for me to say but I would have to out myself and wait for the person to come along who didn't care and loved me for me. 

As you may recall, I wrote a post concerning me outing myself to a bone density scan technician when he asked if I had been through menopause yet. I simply told him I was transgender and we moved on. 

When all of this happened, I had my clothes on. The mammogram was the only visit where I had to strip to the waist. I can't imagine what would happen if I would have to take all my clothes off, as Connie did:

Photo Credit Connie Malone

"Years ago, when I first went to see a doctor as "myself," the nurse had set up the exam room for a gynecological exam - complete with a speculum. Both the doctor and I got a good laugh when she removed the towel that covered the tray that had all of those instruments! 

I guess I was passing to the nurse, but I had already outed myself to the doctor, as I was sitting naked on the exam table at the time. :-)"

I guess you did out yourself! Thanks for the "naked truth."

Another Transgender First

 

Vogue’s September issue is making history.

The US magazine chose eight models for the cover of the most anticipated issue of the year — including Ariel Nicholson, the glossy’s first openly transgender cover star.

The 20-year-old model posed alongside Anok Yai, Bella Hadid, Precious Lee, Kaia Gerber, Yumi Nu, Lourdes “Lola” Leon and Sherry Shi.

Shot in Vogue’s World Trade Center office, the diverse array of models were selected to represent “Generation America” on the historic cover, ahead of September’s America-themed Met Gala.

Ariel Nicholson cheers along with the other catwalkers in the cover shot, wearing a bright green Christopher John Rogers sweater and matching polka-dot skirt by the same designer.

Gigi!

 

When Canadian YouTuber, actress, and model Gigi Gorgeous began uploading videos to her channel in 2008, she had no idea her story would capture the attention of American pop culture. After coming out as transgender in 2013, 

Gorgeous documented her journey through social media and viral videos, and she was the subject of a documentary called This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous (2017). 

Gorgeous has modeled for magazine covers and fashion spreads, in addition to partnering with beauty brands like Too Faced and Pantene.

Menopause?

 

Pre Menopause? Photo Source Cyrsti Hart

As I have been whining about here in Cyrsti's Condo, today (Friday) was my second big medical appointment for the week.

Today was my bone density scan, typically given to elderly women and men. My provider (doc) told me I needed one because I was a woman which was nice I guess. 

Fortunately, my partner Liz could get the day off and go with me. I wasn't dreading the visit as much as I was trying to find a parking spot and not have to walk a long way in the hot morning sun. The Cincinnati Veterans Hospital is in a very congested area and parking is always at a premium. Since Liz went, she could drop me off at the door and come back when I was finished. 

I did fairly well finding the room I needed to check in at and actually didn't haven't to wait very long before my name was called. A young male tech came out and off we went. Along the way he asked me what I did in the service and he was fascinated when I told him the "American Forces Radio and Television Service." I told him I actually was a disk jockey over in Southeast Asia, serving in Thailand just after Adrian Cronauer of "Good Morning Vietnam" Robin Williams movie fame. Since I was laying on the x ray table by then, I couldn't tell by the look on his face if he believed me or not. 

By then it didn't matter because the machine was doing it's work and he asked if I had been through menopause yet. Of course I was flattered and then finally outed myself by telling him I was transgender. I had gone through many other things but menopause wasn't one of them. 

The good news is/was my bones are good and strong. 

I'm sure I was one of his (the tech's) more interesting patients of the day!

Sometimes It just isn't Easy

 No one ever said life was ever going to be easy. Once again the mammogram proved it. If you have never been through a mammogram, just imagine someone taking your breast a squeezing quite a bit. Since my maternal grandmother passed away some time ago from breast cancer, I have been directed  by my health care providers to have a mammogram done every year. 

The good news is my results came back all good for another year. As I told my therapist yesterday how ironic would it be if I had complications and would have to lose my feminine breasts I have waited so long to have. 

Mammograms though, are just a small portion of the transgender experience. Here is a brief inspirational look at transgender life I saw on the "Kira Moore's Closet" blog: