Pauline Estelle wanted to learn more about how to crossdress and after her first wife passed away she was ready to reach out to a local support group. She joined Xpressions in the Toronto area and soon found herself being a board member responsible for the board’s meeting minutes. Then she stepped in to take charge of the outings known as Pub Nights. Today she tells you all about her time with Xpressions.
Music columnist Pam DeGroff returns to TGForum with a review of a new video by FtM musician and song writer Ryan Cassata. The song is titled Daughter and is about how gender transition changed many relationships in his life. In particular it changed the father-daughter relationship. Where his father had established bonds to a daughter, after Ryan’s transition his father had to learn how to change that relationship to bond with his new son. But Ryan will always be his dad’s little girl. Watch the video and read Pam’s review.
Dina Amberle scans the media to dig in deep on stories that resonate with her crossdressing side. Today she praises Nicole Maines’ op-ed on a federal judge nominee and talks about other nominees of the current administration who hold awful views. Then it’s on to look closer at where it’s safe to be transgender, as inspired by the story of drag performer Maxi Glamour that we reported last week in TWIT. Mix in some thoughts on K D Lang’s androgyny, add a bit of Japanese bondage, and round it all out with rumination on Brooke Shields at 52 and you have a recipe that’s sure to sell out down at Dina’s Diner.
Today we dig into the past for a Retro Rerun from the 1990s archives of TGForum that takes you much further into the past. Journey now with contributor Andee W to Victorian London when there were magazines that published letters from readers. Letters that discuss the same subjects that you can find in internet chat rooms today. Men would write in and extoll the virtues of dressing in female garb. Or they would write about being forced into a corset and skirts. Andee W dug up several letters from those magazines and presented them to TGF readers in a feature called Footprints From The Past.
Finding your true identity is a powerful thing. Today Bria finds hers and her detractors shiver and quake in fear at her awesome presence. Beware ye who click here — but click you surely must to see the latest Sabrina Symington cartoon.
Amanda F. Steele is our arts, music and media reporter. Today she has news of the first trans woman contestant on The Voice. She tells you all about a woman who wants to be the first trans Latina rapper, features a music video by a band called Ought that tells the story of a mechanic by day who dolls up to sing with the band at night. Amanda also has news of the upcoming Against Me! tour of the west coast, and she includes and concludes her post with a new track from Amanda Lepore.
Dina Amberle is always cooking up something tasty at Dina’s Diner. She uses the freshest ingredients culled from the news of the day. For today’s Blue Plate Special she starts with a portion of RuPaul controversy. Then she adds some information on trans tourism that will stimulate an appetite. Dina adds some spice to the dish with an appreciation of fishnet hosiery and she finishes the meal off with some musing about how crossdressing changes people’s personalities and devotes time to the preparation of a tasty dessert filled with cheerleaders and college dance teams. If you want to be fully satisfied the place to be is Dina’s Diner.
Sophie Lynne, our Page Pundit, interviews Sabrina Pandora, a “writer, a comic book creator, an auction manager, a wife and a counselor.” Ms. Pandora is best known for her work on the Giant Girl comic books. She has published 40 short stories on her DeviantART page and has written a book titled All Dolled Up: An Odd Modern Romance. Sophie asks the questions and Ms. Pandora gives answers that are intriguing. Learn more about this Renaissance woman from Giant Girl to her Star Trek fan fiction, and more.
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They trek to the north to do battle with “the Magistrate” but have been told by a mysterious woman named Lydia that one of them will not survive the confrontation. In a house that is a duplicate of their childhood home Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” Then she finds herself cast into darkness only to awaken in a horrid swamp to be confronted by a hideous creature with one eye that tosses her over its shoulder. What will happen in Chapter 18 of Metamorphosis?
Our west coast correspondent Amanda F. Steele covers the arts scene. Film, books, television, music. Whatever the art form if it features transgender characters or is created by transgender people Amanda includes it in Trans Media Arts. Today she has more on the departure of Jeffrey Tambor from Transparent. The band All-American Rejects has put out an 11 minute film for their song Sweat and Amanda has the video right here. Then she has info about a graphic novel about a prince who adopts a female identity and becomes a trendsetter. There’s more in Trans Media Arts — don’t miss it!
Now that Cate O’Malley doesn’t have to go to the office every day and pretend to be a man she has the freedom to dress as she likes. You might think that she would spend her days in feminine frills and flouncy dresses. Skirts and high heels with lacy tops and the proper accessories. You would find, if you chanced to visit Cate in her Florida home, that while she is 100% woman, she is practical about her attire. A linen frock and high heel sandals would not be appropriate for cleaning out the gutters. Oh, sure. Cate and her wife could dress up for evening outing. With all the things to do around the house does she really have the energy to gussy up and go out?
Welcome to Dina’s Diner! The coffee is always brewing. Dina has specials of the day, and there’s pie! Today’s specials include Dina’s commentary on Tasi Zuriack’s commentary on how the umbrella term “transgender” has started to push out crossdressers and only apply to those who are going to transition. Then she has thoughts on all the kids who are reporting that they are trans, musings on pre-teen drag queens, and the trials and tribulations of being a working drag performer. For dessert she offers some thoughts on the royals depicted in The Crown. Take a seat at the counter or hop into a booth. Time to eat your fill at Dina’s Diner!
Trans people in entertainment, whether actors, characters, writers, musicians or dancers, are Amanda F. Steele’s beat. She keeps you up to date on who’s doing what in the trans community of arts and entertainment. Today she writes about the controversy between Rose McGowen and trans women. She fills you in on Candis Cayne’s role on Grey’s Anatomy; comments on a film featuring a trans woman that’s up for an Oscar, and has some other tasty tidbits of show biz buzz to keep you entertained and informed.
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They trek to the north to do battle with “the Magistrate” but have been told by a mysterious woman named Lydia that one of them will not survive the confrontation. In a house that is a duplicate of their childhood home Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” In our last chapter she was handcuffed to a bed and argues with Mark about their life. Then we learn that Mark is not really any part of her. Raquel is dispatched into darkness and begins to fall. Where will she land and what is going to happen in Chapter 17 of Metamorphosis?
Dina Amberle has stirred up a hearty stew down at Dina’s Diner. Some of the ingredients she tossed into the pot include: Scientists who have developed software that can produce the perfect woman. At least an image of one. Talk of the demise of high heels is premature. Memories of the hot ladies of drag racing. (Who could forget Jungle Pam?) Then an appreciation of the women who worked in films with Jerry Lewis, and some rumination on why there are so many body building ladies living in Dina’s town. It’s all spiced up and flavored with Dina’s special sauce. Don’t miss a good dose of Dina’s Diner!
While TWIT is all the trans related news, TMA is all the news about transgender people in the arts and entertainment. Today Amanda F. Steele writes about the backlash comic Dave Chapelle is getting on his trans jokes. She also has info on the male character in the reboot of Roseanne who likes to wear girl’s clothes, and she talks about a documentary pulled from Canadian television that questions whether parents should be supportive of trans children. There’s also info on the new show featuring a host of trans characters, Pose, and word of a book of science fiction stories by transgender writers. Don’t miss any of TMA!
Linda Jensen is writing a series about her first foray into the TG world. With acknowledgement to the poet, Robert Frost, she has called it The Road Not Taken. Why? After a short time immersed in that world LindaI veered off the path that leads many to gender re-assignment and a life different than they could have expected if they had remained living a male life. While Linda was on that road it became a trip she will never forget. Today’s post sets the scene talking about what it was like for trans women in Toronto in the ’60s.
Today Sabrina Symington takes on the TERFs, that’s the Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists, who will not accept trans women as women. Which leads them to go out of their way to find reasons why transgender females are not women. Sabrina enters the fray with several verbal weapons. See how she defeats the TERF in today’s Sabrina Toon.
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They trek to the north to do battle with “the Magistrate” but have been told by a woman named Lydia that one of them will not survive the confrontation. In a house that is a duplicate of their childhood home Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” In our last chapter she was handcuffed to a bed and argues with Mark about their life. Will Raquel be the one to die? Learn more in Chapter 16 of Metamorphosis.
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.
Dina Amberle is always working in the Diner kitchen to whip up something tasty as a treat for TGF users. Today she has a mix of ingredients that will surely please the most discerning palette. First she stirs in some 10-year-old internet makeup whizzes who happen to be boys. Then she adds some trans history with Flawless Sabrina and Harlow. After that cools down for a few minutes she blends in some speculation on the existence of ladyboys in Vietnam back in the day, and then spices things up with “elevated” drag and an androgynous model from Holland. Oh! And a beautiful wedding gown. Take a seat at Dina’s Diner and get ready for another satisfying repast.
Music is important to many people today. Trans and queer music is a sub genre in the popular music scene. What are the youth of today listening to? In particular — what are the trans/gender fluid/queer/agender youth of today listening to? We don’t know about all of them but our Youth View correspondent M introduces you to the trans and gender fluid musical artists they find appealing. And there are videos embedded in M’s blog so you can listen and view for yourself.
In Linda’s last post she reported that one night, after her restaurant shift ended, instead of heading straight home she wandered up the street and into what turned out to be a gay bar. Upstairs was a small nightclub that turned out to be ground zero for Toronto’s drag scene. Linda met a gorgeous girl who turned out to be a guy and to make a long story short they had sex. Today she continues her story of how she reached her present life and where things might have been different if she hadn’t taken the road she chose.
Amanda F. Steele searches the world of entertainment and the arts to find stories featuring trans people. She presents her findings to you in her Trans Media Arts blog. Today she has a bit of a wrap up on the trans participation in arts and entertainment in 2017. Dive in and enjoy!
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They trek to the north to do battle with “the Magistrate” but have been told by a woman named Lydia that one of them will not survive the confrontation. In a house that is a duplicate of their childhood home Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” Are these people who they seem to be? In the last chapter Raquel was told she was dead. Could that be real? Or is she passed out on the floor inside a hut after drinking that strange potion? Learn more in Chapter 15 of Metamorphosis.
