Amanda has made some changes recently as her California odyssey continues. She has reason to be optimistic since her new living situation is saving her money and the stress factor of current home is vastly diminished from the level it hit in her old place. So that’s all good, but, she is having trouble weaning herself from an anti-anxiety medication and that along with longing for the east coast is making her anxious. Get the latest from her personal blog.
Our Columbian correspondent and Princess of the Night Katherine Diaz files another report on the trans scene in Bogotá. In today’s blog she talks about getting stuck inside on a rainy night in the city but finds that she meets interesting and stimulating people. People like the trans woman who is running for office. Read her blog and practice your Spanish and watch the accompanying video about Senorita Diaz’s rainy night.
It’s only been a few months since Claire H. took her first steps toward living as her true self. She finds that as she moves into the future every barrier she saw ahead would dissolve away as she approached. Today she writes that while she had not been expecting to start hormone therapy till April the advocacy of her therapist got her an early appointment with a nurse practitioner and she can begin hormones this week. Will all of the obstacles be as easily overcome?
When things are going badly there is so much to say about how you’re being affected and how you feel. When things are all moving along smoothly there doesn’t seem to be that much to talk about. Just, “Hey, I’m okay. All is well.” That was the dilemma of our agender youth correspondent M when they were trying to come up with a topic for today’s post. So they decided to go ahead and write about how everything is okay.
How many times have you been around other people who were joking or commenting negatively on a trans person they have seen? Our guest contributor Sophia Swift gives her opinion on people who have to give their opinion when they may, without knowing it, be talking to a trans person — either someone who has transitioned, or a trans person projecting the opposite of their true self. No one should be forced to endure someone’s anti-trans statements.
The Artist D! examines the recent controversy over the tussle between anti-sexual harassment activist and author Rose McGowen and a trans woman during an appearance by McGowen at a Barnes & Noble book event. The trans woman asked McGowen a question about remarks she made on RuPaul’s podcast. At sometime during McGowen’s response things went sideways and soon the two were shouting at each other and neither one was listening. The Artist D! has listened to the shouting and within it she finds rage and pain but she can’t locate the anti-trans statements attributed to McGowen. She includes the video of the incident in this post along with her analysis.
Linda Jensen has been blogging about a critical time in her life. During the summer of ’68 she took some steps in a direction that could have led her down a far different road than the one she took. She could have let it define life life and said, “That’s it I’m a drag queen” or “I’m transsexual” but at the end of that fateful summer she decided to take her life in a different direction. In today’s post she tells you more about what she did in the summer of ’68.
Our Fashion Maven Tasi Zuriack takes a fashion break and writes today about crossdressing in general. She asks if crossdressers even exist. Since many of our readers identify as crossdressers we suspect that they do exist. TGForum’s official policy on crossdressers is that they exist under the transgender umbrella. They’re part of the transgender community and the Tasi points out that the word “transgender” may be causing problems for people who just like to dress up like ladies and feel pretty. Read on and see what you think.
Cate O’Malley made a different kind of New Year’s Resolution to start 2018. Rather than resolve to stick to a diet or become a more responsible consumer, or cut back on imbibing alcohol or avoiding toxic people, Cate decided to resolve to stick to some fundamental principles to live by. Today she blogs about the three things she deems most important in living life. You may get a hint at what they are from her blog title.
Constant vigilance is necessary as the media are often not through in researching who they use as an “expert” in shows dealing with trans issues. Dana Bevan is always on the look out for the inclusion of discredited “experts” and she recently caught one on the TLC show I Am Jazz. The offender in question was Susan Bradley, formerly of the Clarke Institute which morphed into the now closed Canadian Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) center. Bradley is against allowing trans kids to be the gender they feel. Read on and find out what other misinformation the show allowed to air.
Today Kimberly offers advice on preparing to take that big step that takes you out of your closet and into the world. Before you jump into a dress and heels and walk out the door there are some things you need to check, and some questions you need to answer. Are you ready to go public? Have you practiced being feminine? Is your outfit attractive but bland enough to blend in with the other women you will be mingling with? I you bread cover working? Have you worked on a feminine voice if someone asks you a question? If you get “read” will you run home? If people point at you and laugh will you be upset?
If you weren’t socialized from an early age as a female you may have to work at presenting yourself to others as a woman. Women are raised soaking in culturally imposed gender related behaviors that trans women don’t get exposed to. Trans women often spend too many years learning to hide their femininity so as to fit in with societal expectations of how they should behave as men. Christine Burr came to understand that she was female after she reached middle age. She had to work to acquire the traits of a mature woman and new when she is expressing her true gender she is left wondering if she is acting.
Beverly Anne Thomas interviews lingerie designer and guiding force behind the lingerie company Carezza-Intima, iLaria Bodignon. Ms. Bodignon is a trans woman originally from Italy who is now based in Los Angeles where she designs and produces sensual lingerie for all women. One of her lines is expressly for trans women. Beverly asks her about such topics as her early life, her spirituality, her sensuality and he business. Don’t miss out on meeting iLaria and learning more about her line of sensual lingerie.
Katherine Diaz is our correspondent in Columbia. She is a resident of Bogotá and she enjoys dressing up and walking out through the city as a Princessa de la Noche. Today she writes about that experience, how she feels so sexy as she either wanders with no fixed destination or has a particular nightclub she plans to visit. And she provides an accompanying video. Her blog is en Español.
Our new Australian correspondent offers some info on the difference between nomenclature in the LGBTQ communities of the USA and his native land. We’re all aware of some Australian terms like G’day; Sheilas; and “outback” but those are general terms used in everyday speech. How do the Shielas and Bruces in the LGBT community there chat with each other? Here’s some insight from John Storey.
In Amanda’s personal blog entries on TGF she has talked a lot about the anxiety she was experiencing and that seemed to be due, at least in part, to her living arrangement. From what she reported of her landlady’s behavior the woman seemed to be mentally unstable. How can you concentrate on yourself and work for a better life if you don’t live somewhere in which you are comfortable and feel safe? Today Amanda’s reports that she has finally made a move.
Claire H. though that she could move forward in life dabbling in crossdressing in private and taking out-of-town trips for en femme getaways now and then. During her first session with a therapist she realized that wasn’t going to be enough. Now the dam that has held back her feminine nature for many, many years is cracking. The water inside is starting to pour out and Claire is both excited and scared.
Beverly Anne Thomas takes a look back at her life and takes note of all the clues that she was really not a boy but a girl. Other people seemed to know that she wasn’t a boy. They taunted her that she looked like a girl. Relatives said she was too pretty to be a boy, and at school she was bullied and beaten up. It’s a familiar story to many of us in the trans community. This post is Beverly’s transgender story.
The Artist D! has a New Year message for one and all. Is it hopeful? Is it bleak? Does she wish everyone a happy new year filled with family and friends or a solitary exploration of self? There is only one way to find out. Click here and step into The Artist D! Zone.
Last month Cate O’Malley wrote about the worry she had when she was young that her need to present as a female might mean she was gay. She withstood taunts from bullies who called her derogatory terms for homosexual. In her confusion she thought that maybe the bullies were right. Finally she came to understand that she is not a gay man. She is a woman. This month she wonders if, since she is in a romantic relationship with another woman, her wife, does that make her a lesbian?
There is a way to avoid contracting HIV and developing AIDS. Even for people who are sexually active with multiple partners. Of course if you are active you should take all steps to avoid infection. Always use condoms, for instance. But Dana Bevan has important information on another method of protection called “pre-exposure prophylaxis” or PrEP for short. PrEP is a pill taken every day. The drug is similar or identical to drugs used to treat HIV, except the PrEP drug is used to prevent the HIV virus from taking hold rather than lowering existing HIV levels. Learn more in Dana’s column.
Often time fear will keep a trans person from going out in public. Fear of taunts or even violence can persuade you to stay in the safety of your home instead of mingling with the general public. In some areas where tolerance isn’t known maybe that’s a good idea, but if your goal is to blend in with other women and “pass” as female you won’t learn the skills you need sitting in your living room. Kimberly Hirschel makes today’s topic for Kim’s Adventure Time why you should be going out en femme. You might make mistakes and have people stare but you will learn from those mistakes and become more comfortable in public asa result.
Today we are joined by a new contributor from Canada. Pauline Estelle is her name and she was born and raised in England where she grew up during the Second World War and began her adventure in crossdressing at the age of 12. She entered the British Royal Navy at 16 and after fourteen years she left the Navy to work in the engineering field. She and her family immigrated to Canada in 1968 and after her children were raised she began to explore crossdressing more often. Learn more about her life in this introduction blog.
In 2010 Amanda F. Steele was living in Pittsburgh, Pa. as a male, with a wife, and a house. She came out that year and soon she was divorcing her wife, moved out of the house and living with relatives. Since then she has made a series of moves from one place and situation to another. Right now she is living in California, close to the magic and romance of San Francisco but due to the high cost of living in The City by the Bay is unable to cross the bridge and actually live there. So she lives miles to the east in a situation that is more negative than positive. At Christmas time she muses on whether she can return to her “Bedford Falls” and have A Wonderful Life.
When it comes to Christmas cheer Sophie Lynne has nothing to say but “Bah. Humbug!” It’s not that she’s a Scrooge. It’s just that for her Christmas was never a time for all the good cheer and joy that is commonly presented a product of the season. Far too often the season is just about moving product and making the bottom line bigger at the end of the year. Also, Sophie works in retail and at Christmas time that can be even more stressful than during the rest of the year. In this Christmas day blog Sophie gives you some more reasons she’s not a fan of the season and she provides some historical facts about the day.
Katherine Diaz writes about her evening activities in Bogota, Columbia. There is a full menu of activities for Princesses of the Night to partake of and Katherine samples the goings on at several place before walking through the rain to her usual spot. Read our Columbian correspondent’s latest report and view the accompanying video. En Espa?ol of course.
