Canadian writer Linda Jensen is a long time contributor to TGForum. Before the days of the Internet Linda started her writing with the Transvestian newspaper. Her writing ranges from factual accounts of her adventures to fiction although frankly sometimes her real life adventures are stranger than the fiction. Linda is married to a loving partner who upon learning about Linda said, "she was part of you before I met you. Although I didn't know it she was part of the package I fell in love with. I don't want to mess up that package." "Does it get any better than that?" asks Linda.
The old saying “you can’t judge a book by it’s cover” is often not taken seriously enough in today’s world. What’s on the inside is what counts, not the way the package is wrapped — but there are stereotypes. No matter what part of society you’re moving around in you will find stereotypes and we do have them in the transgender community. Today Linda Jensen catches up with a friend who has a story about a stereotype that was held by a nightclub owner she had just met.
Don’t you find you have a tendency to see transgendered people everywhere? Look at that woman over there. Isn’t she a bit tall? That jawline is a bit heavy, don’t you think? Well, large hand. Do you suppose? It’s an easy practice to fall into and when we spot someone we think is TG we want to somehow let them know that we know and that it’s okay because we’re TG too. But it doesn’t always work out.
Linda Jensen winters in Florida. Today she recounts a shopping adventure she experienced when she went to Beall’s department store to buy just one single bathing suit. How was she to know that the advertised discounts were bolstered by more markdowns in the store? And, when she saw the sign promising an additional 50% off all clearance items what could she do but dive into the racks?
Linda Jensen brings us stories of her adventures and adventures in crossdressing that feature her friends. She has written a script for a short film that she can’t tell us is about her, about one of her friends or an amalgamation of several people’s erotic CD adventures. As they used to say on an old television show, “the names have been changed” but this time to protect the participants. Read on and discover the nature of “Sara’s” birthday surprises. Hint: One of them is not a cake.
If you are a bit prudish about fluid sexuality you may wish to skip this tale from Linda Jensen. She tells a story from Cindy, a late 40-something crossdresser, who is belatedly embracing her interest in all things TG. The last time Linda talked to Cindy she learned that Cindy spent part of her long summer holiday in Vancouver, Canada taking care of her sister’s home and living 24/7 as Cindy. Her sister had an off beat way of paying the landscapers and Cindy would be expected to pay the bill.
The Southern Comfort Conference has always been about encouraging growth and new experiences for the CDs, TG’s, TSs, FtMs and all the other alphabet soup of members in our varied community. Many a t-girl has taken her first steps out to restaurants, nightclubs or shopping while attending the four-day conference in Atlanta. Our reporter Linda Jensen just attended her first SCC and has chosen to report on another aspect of outward growth happening at the conference — the SCC Golf Tournament. Eleven SCC attendees invaded the sometimes macho world of sports and came away smiling.
Linda Jensen has sent us this: Ottawa, Canada had its annual Gay Pride Week and parade last week. The local TG support group, Gender Mosaic, is very closely allied with the local gay community. As you can see by the report below one of the GM’s most active members, Amanda Ryan, was chosen as one of the parade marshals, the Lifetime Achievement Parade Marshal. Here is her report to the Gender Mosaic members.
Linda Jensen takes a chance path along the Internet and finds herself reconnected with a little-known autobiography from a little-known figure in TG history. Linda recalls how the book and its photos influenced her interest in developing a femme persona. When she was young she came across the autobiography and thought that it might turn out to be her story too. Puberty brought a different path but Linda remembers the excitement that came from reading that book.
In 2011 a British television program called My Transsexual Summer followed seven transgendered individuals around documenting what, for them, it is like to be transgendered. Now the program is available on YouTube and recently our columnist Linda Jensen got an email from her friend Janne Carbonneau about the program. Ms. Chabonneau wanted to let everyone know that the program did a good job of introducing TGs to the world in a non-exploitative way. Linda thought she should share Ms. Charbonneau’s review with the TGForum readers.
Recently Linda Jensen spent the day with Lisa, a t-girl who makes no attempt to blend in to the crowd. Lisa seems to flaunt her difference. ‘Vive la différénce,’ as they say in France. Should our goal be blending? Linda ponders — ‘what is the right approach?’
Last Wednesday Gender Mosaic, the TG support group in Ottawa, Canada, celebrated their 25th anniversary with a reception at a local hotel. They sold over a hundred tickets to the event. Besides members of GM there were lots of friends, some politicians and high ranking police officials present. Here is a video of the group’s […]
Linda Jensen is on the road a lot and while she’s traveling she likes to take breaks from the grind, slip into something femme and go out and party with other girls along the way. This month she tells us about a visit to a Tiffany Club outing at a place called the Randolph Country Club. How posh.
This is the last in a series about Linda’s experiences at the Queen Mary Show Lounge in Los Angeles. From 1964 to 2001 it was the crossdressing equivalent of the Muslim’s Mecca –- everyone should visit at least once in a lifetime. To Linda it was more like the Jew’s Miami Beach –- she visited every winter.
Linda Jensen continues her series on the former Queen Mary Show Lounge in Los Angeles. Today she is stalking the “admirer” in his natural habitat. Linda profiles the admirers from The Queen as they would have been seen through the eyes of a popular television show from the past.
Linda is recalling her experiences at the Queen Mary nightclub in Los Angeles. In its day the Queen Mary was the destination of choice for crossdressers. This month Linda recalls meeting a person named Sandi Hart, someone who had been a great influence on Linda’s early development. Videos from “The Queen” also!
Linda is recalling her experiences at the Queen Mary nightclub in Los Angeles. In its day the Queen Mary was the destination of choice for crossdressers from across America and around the world. This week Linda remembers meeting a man with a desire to ‘express his feminine self’.
Among the legends of the drag world one of the biggest is the Queen Mary nightclub in Los Angeles. With a show bar in the front and a back bar for fun the Queen was the place to be in L.A. Linda Jensen spent many happy hours there. Today we present the first in a series about Linda’s adventures at the QM.
Linda hears a true life story from her friend, Alysson Cross. True to her TG roots, Linda can’t help but take the story and dress it up just a bit and re-tells it from Alysson’s eyes.
Linda’s friend, Leah, calls her to talk about the great time she had at the world’s most famous and well-attended transgender conference. Leah has so much to say it will take us two weeks to tell it to you.
Linda recently had dinner with a man who told her of his early years when his mother needed him to help her by wearing women’s clothes. At first to Linda it all sounded too much like a story of forced feminization but in the end she decided it just could be true. What do you think?
Linda finds a transgender support group where more and more of the members are posting messages affirming success and acceptance when they take their femme persona out in public.
Linda meets a good friend who tells Linda about her adventures going to and being at the 2012 Be All Conference in Chicago. As a result Linda learns an important lesson about the benefits of transgender conferences.
It seems our long-time reporter Linda Jensen is branching out to write for other magazines. A friend of ours has sent us an advance cover of Golf Parade containing a story by Linda titled, “How to Play Better Golf en Femme.” Can this be true? We asked Linda to explain.
In another dispatch from the north Linda Jensen brings us a tale of two leaders of a gender support group who go to extraordinary lengths to honor their invitations to the ceremonial induction of the new Chief of Police for Canada’s capital city.
Our adventurous reporter took a few months off to join the winter snowbird migration to Florida. While there she joined a TriEss support group in Orlando and took to writing a monthly column for their newsletter. Here is one of her offerings. The references are decidedly Floridian but the situation is universal. (FEM stands for Phi Epsilon Mu, the name of the Orlando group.)
