dina

Author Archive: Dina Amberle

I started crossdressing and going out publicly in 1988. I joined the Renaissance group in the Philadelphia area that year and later became chapter leader for two years in the '90s.
I always enjoyed writing and wrote for the Renaissance newsletter and magazine throughout my membership years. I've been writing for TGForum for several years now. I also contributed items to LadyLike magazine and other TG publications before the advent of the internet.
My hobby-within-a-hobby is singing live as my alter-ego Dina Sinatra and I have had the opportunity to do that with several accommodating performers and in a number of venues over the years since the mid-1990s.
In the Diner column items here, I try to relate crossdressing or transgender themes (and my own pet peeves and fetishes) to the larger world -- and vice versa.

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Dina’s Diner August 22, 2022

| Aug 22, 2022 | Reply

Dina Amberle has been working on special menu items for Dina’s Diner. Among the tasty treats she has prepared for today we find a new opera based on the play M Butterfly which stars a counter tenor who landed a lead role by singing arias made famous by the great opera diva Cecilia Bartoli. Then she offers a palette clearing dish based on the host of the Philippines version of Drag Race transforming into Katy Perry. Special sauce like posing tips for photos, and a jazz singing female robot spice things up. Find out what other dishes you can dig into and visit Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 7/25/22

| Jul 25, 2022 | Reply

Since it’s so hot in the kitchen Dina Amberle has put together a cold repast featuring bare arms, high heels, the reals estate lady role model for crossdressers, bras give way to breast tape, and a nurse who certainly fulls out her scrubs. It’s all available at Dina’s Diner. Outdoor seating is available.

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Dina’s Diner June 27, 2022

| Jun 27, 2022 | Reply

Prepare your palette for the divine flavors that can only be found at Dina’s Diner. The daily special for today is lovingly created from the attacks on Drag Queen Story Time, a fetish for very tall women, and some female sailors in their white uniforms during Fleet Week. For dessert you have a choice of either some crossdressed brides, or two Jersey girls, one trans one not, who are stuck in the 1980s. We’re talkin’ big hair!

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Dina’s Diner May 30, 2022

| May 30, 2022 | Reply

What’s cookin’ down at Dina’s Diner? Chef, hostess and dishwasher Dina Amberle has some tasty dishes you don’t want to miss. First up is an appetizer to tease your intellectual taste buds all about the dimensions of beauty. Then a satisfying soup made from the ways a simple change of hairstyle can completely change your look. Are heels every too high? That’s the main ingredient for the next dish. Then Dina brings out the main course consisting of an appreciation of album covers and the statements they made about the artists. A light desert of catfishing rounds things out. Don’t forget to visit the diner today!

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Dina’s Diner 5/2/22

| May 2, 2022 | Reply

The list of ingredients going into today’s special at Dina’s Diner promises it’s sure to be a tasty cerebral treat. First of all there’s the student in Florida who did a presentation to his class on the history of the Stonewall Riot- while wearing a dress accessorized with pearls. Then there’s a teen boy drag competition on TV, the micro mini skirt, the return of hosiery, and a big splash of Charo to top it off. Don’t fail to take a taste of today’s special at Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 4/4/22

| Apr 4, 2022 | Reply

The oven at Dina’s Diner has been hot turning out special treats for the Diner menu. Among the ingredients that go into today’s yummy confections are a taste of able-bodies people who long to be disabled, the joy and pain of corsets, high heels in the workplace, and bringing sexy back with a sexy back. And, don’t forget spider eyelashes. That’s the spice Dina adds just before she serves dessert. For tasty fare that’s sure to please your palate be sure to check out Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 3/7/22

| Mar 7, 2022 | Reply

Dina’s Diner serves up a sobering entree as this month’s special. It’s composed of the suffering of our sisters caught in a senseless war. To cleanse the palate Dina Amberle provides a tossed salad featuring a nonbinary actor who has been added to the cast of Space Force. Then it’s back to the entrees with a Canadian makeup artist whose transformation is nothing short of amazing. The next course is info on where Hooter’s wait staff get their shiny tights. A light dessert of the happiest countries on Earth wraps up the menu.

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Dina’s Diner 2/7/22

| Feb 7, 2022 | Reply

Today’s specials at Dina’s Diner include hot controversy over trans swimmer Lia Thomas, a serving of young passable crossdressers showing their femme selfs on Reddit, an entree consisting of a Russian male who dolls up and enters a beauty contest, a side dish of Mardi Gras, and some tasty lacy underwear for men. You’ll find it all at Dina’s Diner. Tell the hostess we sent you.

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Dina’s Diner 1/10/22

| Jan 10, 2022 | Reply

Dina’s Diner is always good for an eclectic menu of tasty items that are sure to please any appetite. Today’s Diner specials are made from the finest ingredients; like a nonbinary person who decides they don’t need to get rid of all feminine signifiers and that they enjoy being more fluid. Then Dina stirs in some vintage clothing fans who like the looks of decades past. Then, it’s time for a dessert that utilizes the Barbie Feet Pose for a sweet treat. Dina rounds it all out with a tale of a crossdressing teen caught online by a male friend who asks for a date. An old dish but still a crowd pleaser. Now get on down to Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 12/13/21

| Dec 13, 2021 | Reply

It’s holiday time and while Dina Amberle is cooking up the usual holiday fare she is also throwing in some recipes from other places and times. Today’s menu at Dina’s Diner offers a tasty haggis from Scotland in the form of a Scottish lord in the early 2oth century who was born female but inherited the lordship. Then there is a recipe from China that features computer coders who find crossdressing makes them better at their job. There are other treats waiting down at Dina’s Diner. Don’t miss tasting all that’s on offer!

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Dina’s Diner 11/15/21

| Nov 15, 2021 | Reply

Are you ready for another gourmet experience? Dina’s Diner has specials sure to please. From down home comfort food for the mind, like the existence of indestructible pantyhose, to Sunday lunch with Robert Fripp and his wife, who wears various sexy costumes while Robert plays his guitar, to a recipe for creating fashion forward tops out of tights, and Nigeria’s James Brown, there’s something to please everyone at Dina’s Diner!

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Dina’s Diner 10/18/21

| Oct 18, 2021 | Reply

Big doin’s down at Dina’s Diner! It’s pumpkin spice on everything time! Nah, just pullin’ yer leg. Ms. Dina Amberle always keeps the pumpkin spice where it belongs — in the pumpkin pies. But she does have some tasty treats on the menu today. First she’s offering a return look at kids who went to a summer camp 10 years ago where they could project the gender they wanted to. Dina tells us how they’re doing today. She stirs up things with an article about Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, and adds in some Bushwig drag queens. Then it’s time to look at trans homecoming queens back in the day and now, and musing on what you’re wearing for Halloween. Don’t miss this edition of Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner September 20, 2021

| Sep 20, 2021 | Reply

Chef Dina Amberle chooses only the finest, freshest ingredients to cook up the tastiest commentary. Today she takes some comments from crossdressers about why they do like they do, and adds in the Chinese government’s ban on girly men to create a delicious casserole that is sure to delight the most discerning intellectual palette. For dessert she composes a sweet treat about a male makeup influencer wearing a dead celeb’s dress. Then she sprinkles in Zoom meeting dysmorphia, and Hong Kong queens to provide a suitable finale for a repast that is only found at Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 8/23/21

| Aug 23, 2021 | Reply

Time to check out the menu at Dina’s Diner! This week Dina has an appetizer made with a couple of complementary ingredients she culled from our TWIT column. One is the multi-year lawsuit over whether a trans woman could use the women’s facility at work. She won. The other is a man who just likes to wear skirts and dresses and is fully supported by his employer. Then Dina visits Reddit and the subreddit for crossdressing. Some of the ladies there are scrumpdillyicious. Then she heats up some strippers protesting a ban against their line of work, seasons it with a woman whose art is recreating the fashion looks of days gone by, and ending with a suggestion for a timely Halloween costume idea. Visit the Diner and see what’s cookin’.

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Dina’s Diner 8/9/21

| Aug 9, 2021 | Reply

One would think that Dina’s Diner would offer lighter fare for the summer but today’s menu shows that Dina is dedicated to providing major brain nutrition to all her customers. Instead of some cold soup or a wimpy salad Dina goes right to the most flavorful and satisfying entrees. She mixes up transgender Olympians with bridal makeovers that will amaze and then mixes in corsetry and female soldiers marching in black stilettos. She wraps up with a solid dessert in the form of a former Miss Bum Bum Contest participant who has gone wrong. Check out Dina’s Diner for a full meal of fun.

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Dina’s Diner, June 28, 2021

| Jun 28, 2021 | Reply

The kitchen down at Dina’s Diner has been busy whipping up new dishes. Today Chef Dina has assembled all fresh, organic ingredients like wigs on kids, the return of high heeled ladies who are back at work, a Black female aviation pioneer, and the Mark Eden method of increasing bust size and molded them into a delightfully tasty treat that we call Dina’s Diner. Don’t miss Chef Dina’s delight!

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Dina’s Diner 5/31/21

| May 31, 2021 | Reply

Chef Dina has been slaving away over a hot stove at Dina’s Diner, preparing a feast for you. Tasty dishes such as makeup for everyone, a lingerie inspired photo shoot for Billie Eilish, and a pinup model with an “impossible waist” are just the appetizers. When Dina gets to the entrees she has a healthy serving of crossdressers using OnlyFans as their erotic side hustle, and then she closes out with a miniskirt praising dessert. Dina Amberle is your hostess, wait staff and chef down at Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner May 3, 2021

| May 3, 2021 | Reply

Dina Amberle assembles the finest ingredients and every month she cooks up tasty dishes that are sure to satisfy. Today she mixes up a springtime entree filled with her spicy commentary on breastplates, and then she lets that bake in the oven while she prepares some makeup for men who want to look better in Zoom meetings. While that rests prior to sauteing Dina looks into the spice cabinet and pulls out some commentary about Poppare culture–much more dark and mysterious than a yogurt culture. Then comes the strange case of the shoe swaper thief and a dessert of men who love to wear pantyhose. Your table is waiting at Dina’s Diner and it’s 100% open.

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Dina’s Diner 4/5/21

| Apr 5, 2021 | Reply

Chef Dina Amberle always creates recipes with a crossdresser’s look at the world. Today’s dishes on special at Dina’s Diner include a dish that combines the history of a Pakistani trans woman with the knowledge that she is now a news anchor on TV for a satisfying read that is sure to please. Then there is a look at how the pandemic is making women long for uncomfortable shoes. A particularly hot dish on the menu is adult film actress Daisy Taylor. A strange dish but somehow interesting is the trend for women to shave their heads. For dessert Dina offers an attractive young woman who does motorcycle videos but turns out to be an old dude using an app. Find out which dish you love and visit Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 3/8/21

| Mar 8, 2021 | Reply

During the pandemic many people are coming up with new recipes for all sorts of culinary delights. Not so down at Dina’s Diner. There you can always get the comfort food you crave. The fare may not be fancy but you’ll always leave satisfied. Today the menu specials include some commentary on the trans girls in school sports controversy, how trans people can can change the gender of their name inn Iceland, a 1974 book about a trans woman who landed in a Mexican prison, the place of tall women in our society, and last but not least, pantyhose. It seems that nowadays they are a symbol of oppression.

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Dina’s Diner 2/8/21

| Feb 8, 2021 | Reply

Dina Amberle has been in the kitchen all day cooking up a feast for her avid patrons. Today she roasts some of the benefits of the pandemic lockdown for trans and nonbinary folks. While that’s working in the oven she puts on a pot and boils up some right wing over-reaction to trans girls in girls’ sports. Then she adds in an appreciation from the viewpoint of a crossdresser for women’s figure skating, and fires up another burner to heat up some Black Lolitas. For dessert Dina bakes a tasty tart featuring a fashion blogger with a quirky sense of style. Don’t miss out on the fare you’ll find at Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner, January 11, 2021

| Jan 11, 2021 | Reply

What’s cooking down at Dina’s Diner? Dina Amberle, the owner and operator of that virtual establishment, is always updating the menu and offering several tasty specials. Today she takes a bit of Indian trans beauty pageant winner, mixes it up with a trans contestant on Jeopardy!, adds a dash of crossplay anime characters and a sprinkling of Lady Gaga to create a veritable taste treat. And for dessert she offers Ginger or Maryann. Get yourself ready for a darned good time at Dina’s Diner!

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Dina’s Diner 12/14/20

| Dec 14, 2020 | Reply

Time for another dining experience par excellence at Dina’s Diner. Dina Amberle collects only the finest natural ingrediants and blends them carefully into the tasty dishes she serves up to her loyal customer base. And while you enjoy the intellectual delights she has carefully prepared you need not worry about infections as Dina’s Diner is in the virtual world. Today she has specials including the appearance of trans faces in advertising, Instagrams boys who dress like girls, the son in drag on a reality show, and Agnes Moorehead. Grab a booth and a cup of coffee, tea if you prefer and prepare to be satisfied at Dina’s Diner.

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Dina’s Diner 11/16/20

| Nov 16, 2020 | Reply

A COMPETITION FOR OUR MINDS Newsweek magazine had a point-counterpoint debate about transgender athletes in the online edition on October 20, 2020. The opposing debaters were to answer Newsweek’s question Do Transgender Athletes Threaten Women’s Sports? Taking the “yes” position was Abigail Shrier and taking the “no” pro-trans position was Juliet Jacques. It’s a debate […]

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Dina’s Diner – October 19, 2020

| Oct 19, 2020 | Reply

The grill in the kitchen at Dina’s Diner is hot and even though inside dining is restricted and most folks are doing takeout or being seated in the outdoor tent dining room the menu is sure to satisfy. If you’re dining in get a cup of java and peruse the menu. You’ll find the specials today includes transgender candidates for office, feminine voice training from the creator of “She”, how to take a better selfie, arctic expedition dress codes, and the lure of the quirky yet sexy librarian. It all combines well to nourish your mind.

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Dina’s Diner September 21, 2020

| Sep 21, 2020 | Reply

Time for another visit to Dina’s Diner! Today Dina is cooking up a satisfying selection of hearty fall fare. She begins with some full bodied advice on being who you are. Then she stirs in some flavor trans history with the three article rule. After that you cleanse your palate with some news about a delivery service for crossdressers that brings you all you need, if you live in Japan. Then the dishes keep coming with musing on how we pick our femme names, and a desert of pandemic accessories that are to die for.

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