Category: Transgender Opinion

Medical Help for Transgender Military: Call to Action

| Feb 1, 2016 | Reply

The U.S. military is currently examining the ban on transgender people serving openly. But directives issued last year by the Department of Defense make it clear that the military is aware of its trans soldiers and is going to let them serve openly. Dana Bevan believes that while the road to trans acceptance in the U.S. military is going to be short one the various branches of the service are not at all prepared to deliver medical care to trans soldiers, sailors and airmen/women. Does she think they can get their act together? Read on and see.

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Political Platforms — Just the Facts, A Stunning Tale of Two Parties

| Feb 1, 2016 | Reply

Babs writes about the differences between the two main political parties when it comes to how they view the trans community. One party works diligently to add protections for the rights of LGBT people and the other party puts even more effort into trying to suppress LBGT rights. Even when that party tries to be more inclusive they just can’t seem to go all the way. Babs has all the info on where they stand.

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I Like Hats

| Feb 1, 2016 | Reply

If blending in and passing is what you strive for when you’re out and about in public then this column is not aimed at you. Cate O’Malley has made a decision to not adhere to the dictates of fashion or to just blend in. She has firm likes and dislikes and when she dresses to go out for the day she dresses the way she likes. She also urges others to do fashion their way. Will that approach work for you?

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“I Know How You Feel”

| Jan 25, 2016 | Reply

Sophie Lynne has been wondering whether people who tell her they know how it feels to be treated differently because she is transgender means can really have an understanding of what it’s like. As a trans person she admits that she doesn’t know what it’s like to have been born with a female body. How can cisgender people have a clue about what it’s like to be trans? Sophie has one idea.

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Dina’s Diner 1/18/16

| Jan 18, 2016 | Reply

Today Dina Amberle invites you to partake of many specials down at Dina’s Diner. She dishes up hot and nutritious commentary on many things. Would crossdressing be fun without an element of danger? Is it okay to let an 8-year-old boy wear drag queen makeup but not okay for little girls to be in beauty pageants? How about a subversive drag production of Rapunzel? Of course she stirs in a good helping of David Bowie and adds a dash of a deceased ’60s fashion designer. Her concoction has been simmering all day and it’s ready for you to grab a heaping helping of Dina’s Diner.

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Who’s On First*

| Jan 18, 2016 | Reply

Dallas Denny has written a piece on the confusion that can arise when gender specific pronouns are avoided. She feels that the world needs new pronouns to replace the old ones because when people start referring to other people as “they” or “them” instead of “her’s” or “his” the potential for increased misunderstanding grows greater. She likens it to the old Abbot &* Costello routine Who’s On First?

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Why Is That Funny?

| Jan 18, 2016 | Reply

Some of the groups participating in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day found making fun of Caitlyn Jenner to be funny. They make signs that had Bruce Jenner on a a Wheaties box on one side and a Froot Loops box with Caitlyn on the other side. TGF contributor Diane Hutchinson was not amused. Today she comments on why it’s not just good, clean fun.

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The TGF Archives — Flowers of Every Kind

| Jan 18, 2016 | Reply

This is an opinion piece from the TGF Archives. It was published in April of 1999 by Roberta Angela Dee, a writer and activist in the trans community who published several books and wrote for TGForum and other publications. Ms. Dee passed away in 2003. In this piece she discusses whether gender reassignment surgery is […]

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Learn from History or Bust

| Jan 11, 2016 | Reply

The Artist D is stricken with “year end wrap up fever.” If afflicts many at the end of an old year and the start of a new one. For The Artist D wrapping up means looking back at the columns she contributed to TGForum over the past year and identifying the ones that expressed her hopes for a better year in 2016.

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Be Strong! Be Proud!

| Jan 11, 2016 | Reply

Josy is proud of the way that transgenderism has been brought out of the shadows and made visible to the general public. She thanks trans icons like Jazz Jennings and Caitlyn Jenner for their work in making people aware that trans people are here and we aren’t going away. But she has concerns that some in the community don’t wish to do their part to further acceptance of trans people.

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Trans Lunacy or Just Media Lunacy?

| Jan 4, 2016 | Reply

Babs is a bit upset that a convicted traitor to the United States is getting her thoughts on trans matters featured in the media. Babs feels that Chelsea Manning is not the person who should be representing the trans community and she has a number of far better suited people who deserve recognition for all they have done on behalf of the community. Let the media print what they have to say.

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Loving Your Equals

| Jan 4, 2016 | Reply

Our co-ed crossdresser, Chanelle Nirok, has some ideas on dating. In her opinion the important thing is how you get along with a person. Some, like the old Paula Abdul song, thing that opposites attract. Others feel that you need to find a partner who is just like you. Chanelle feels that it’s important to find someone who is your equal.

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2016 Wishes

| Jan 4, 2016 | Reply

Here it is, the beginning of 2016 and I, like so many of us, make resolutions and polish up my crystal ball to try to determine what awaits us in the New Year.  My resolutions usually contain lose weight and exercise.  This year, however, instead of setting hopeless goals, I’m throwing out the resolutions, setting […]

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Ghosts

| Dec 28, 2015 | Reply

Dickens Christmas tale has Sophie musing about the ghosts that all of us are haunted by. Some of those ghosts are good and some are bad but they all affected us as we traveled though our lives. Sophie points out that while these ghosts of people in our past, and in our present, can influence us and push us one way or another, in the end we make our decisions and are responsible for them.

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Dina’s Diner 12/21/15

| Dec 21, 2015 | Reply

Drop in to Dina’s Diner today and check out the menu specials. She has a few tasty treats for you, including an interesting item about the first black trans model. Then she features some tasty news on African actresses who star in African-made films; a report on crossdresser’s wish lists; and she finishes up with some short desert items that are sure to please.

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TGF Retro Rerun: “Look, Mommy! There’s A Man In The Lady’s Undies!”

| Dec 21, 2015 | Reply

From time to time we dip back into the secret archives of TGForum and pull out an interesting post from the 1990s. Some of the content from back then is interesting for how dated it is, while other posts are still relevant in the 21st century. Today we bring you Jessica Brandon’s shopping column from Dec. 1997. Her advice on shopping for femme attire while dressed in male clothing is still useful information.

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The Art of Being Offended

| Dec 14, 2015 | Reply

Is it possible that in the 21st century with our high tech communications systems that let us correspond with people all around the world, even translating communications sent in other languages that the actual communication of real thoughts and meaning has degenerated into a limited number of characters on Twitter? Is the Internet driving us further apart?

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The Occasional Woman — Holiday Glitz!

| Dec 14, 2015 | Reply

Happy holidays to one and all and may your holiday parties be glamorous and glittering! Today Lorraine Anderson, the woman behind the custom clothing business called The Occasional Woman, has some tips on what to wear to make the most festive impression and she has a few hints on how to do it on the cheap.

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Culture Wars and Transgender Rights

| Dec 14, 2015 | Reply

A recent ACLU panel in Chicago discussed the legal rights of transgender people. According to the panel the entire legal system is based upon the concept that gender is determined by genitalia and set at birth. Needless to say this is dramatically different than our understanding of gender! This conflict in the understanding of gender […]

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Dr. Leis: 10 TG Trends for 2016

| Dec 7, 2015 | Reply

Dr. Sherman Leis, founder of The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery, one of the leading resources for transgender surgery and medical support in the United States, has identified 10 important trends that will affect America and its transgender community in 2016.

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Exit Strategies in Crossdressing

| Dec 7, 2015 | Reply

In some people the urge to crossdress is strong, just as the Force was strong is Luke Skywalker. In others it fluctuates. It can be make them want to dress up every day or it can wane and make them not feel like slipping into a dress and heels for weeks at a time. Chanelle Nirok suggests that if possible you should plan when you are going to exit the life for a while so you can be prepared to jump back into it when you’re ready.

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Full Membership

| Dec 7, 2015 | Reply

Within the trans community there are different factions, cliques, gender identities and opinionated people. Today Cate O’Malley writes about how all those different types of people need to get along and that everyone who identities outside cisgender norms is entitled to full membership in the trans community. Also, they need they need the support of that community.

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Dispatch From The Restroom Wars

| Nov 24, 2015 | Reply

Restrooms and locker rooms. The ban of many a trans woman’s existence. Should she go into the lady’s room to do what is necessary or should she hold it till she can get home. Many trans people plan their public outings around when they will be able to use the facilities or around a single stall restroom they are familiar with. Why the paranoia? Because of the straight world’s fear that trans women represent a threat to cisgender women in women’s “safe spaces.” Angela Gardner has some thoughts on the matter in a Dispatch From The Restroom Wars.

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My Husband is a Coffee Table

| Nov 16, 2015 | Reply

When The Artist D says that her husband is a coffee table she means that he has a fetish for being used as a coffee table by dominates. There are plenty of other what could be considered “odd” fetishes but is there really a line separating the ones that seem strange from more everyday fetishes? Could baking apple pies with a willing partner also be a fetish? Expand your thoughts and read this post from The Artist D.

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Houston We Have a Real Problem (And it is not about bathrooms)

| Nov 16, 2015 | Reply

Babs Casbar Siperstien helped to get anti-discrimination legislation passed in New Jersey in 2006. That passage took a full court press and featured testimony from trans people and their families, a television ad and a lot of time spent walking the halls of the state capital. Babs feels that the efforts in Houston to get the HERO bill passed fell short in reaching many of the demographics that needed to be won over. See what she believes went wrong in Houston and how it could have been handled better.

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The Peach State Conference

| Nov 9, 2015 | Reply

When Southern Comfort pulled up stakes and moved to Florida many of the people in the Atlanta area who had volunteered and done work for that conference were left with skills in conference producing that were no longer needed. The Transgender Health Education Alliance stepped in the produce a new conference with a focus on trans health and improving the lives of LGBTQ people. Dana Bevan reports on how the conference turned out.

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