In the movie, The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo two pills. If he takes the Blue Pill, he goes back to his former life, never knowing anything other than what life was like before. Taking the Red Pill, however, will show him the truth about the world he lives in and he will forever be changed. […]
Ooooo kids, it’s almost Halloween! That’s scary enough but Dina Amberle finds going out for the first time in drag to an event with your family or co-workers to be really, really scary. She what advice she has on what to do for Halloween, along with her thoughts on an opera singer who gave up her career, Jimmy Choo going public and big butts. It’s all part of the delicious mix that can only be found at Dina’s Diner.
If you have had something for ever and it’s just a fact that you will always have it does it sometimes seem the thing you have loses its value over the years? Does something that is taken for granted and assumed to be an entitlement just become part of the background of life and nothing special? It seems that way to The Artist D who had to go to the marriage license office and found that the concept of marriage may be in the taken for granted category for straight people but gays and lesbians are giving it a shot in the arm.
Our young CD contributor has been experimenting with online dating. (Sorry fellas, she’s looking for a lady to love.) For the past three months she has been trying to find the right woman to share her life with. Today she shares some of the things she has learned about looking for love on the World Wide Web. And we have a slideshow of Chanelle giving her impression of a typical “girl next door.”
You may have heard the phrase “less is more.” It means that sometimes the less you work on something trying to perfect it the more effective your efforts can be. Too many notes can ruin a piece of music. Too much color can destroy a painting. Sometimes too much makeup and tight sexy clothing can make you the focus of attention but a bit less artifice can make you be seen as another woman in the room. Victoria Williams talks about how less artifice can be more effective.
Are you happy that The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–5 changed “gender identity disorders” to “gender dysphoria”? If you feel that that is a big win for trans people you should read this post from Dana Bevan. It seems that the DSM is in Bevan’s words “a sham.” It’s not HIPAA compliant and it has become irrelevant to the mental health professions. What we need to change is the ICD. What’s the ICD? Let Dana explain it to you.
Meggan Sommerville is “church shopping.” For various reasons her old congregation was no longer meeting all her needs. Today she tells us why she made the decision to find a new church and what her approach to joining a new congregation will be. Meggan feels that honesty about her past is the best policy. You could tell that from the title of her post.
It’s October, which means Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. So I’m going to write about that, right? Nope. I’m going to challenge you, dear reader, with a “what if” scenario. Last week on my blog, I wrote about a dream I had. In this dream, I returned to my fraternity house, where a current […]
While it’s great to have fun when you’re out and about crossdressed it’s important to be careful. There’s the obvious factor that you’re dressed as a woman and being perceived as female. That opens you to problems from predatory males. Then there’s the worry that you’re not “passing” and someone will get out of line. But the threat our anonymous contributor writes about is one you can easily fix. It’s okay to party but know when to switch from alcohol to soda. Let her experience be your guide.
Crossdressers need role models, people they can look up to whose fashion sense can be trusted as a guide for how to look your best in femme attire. Some crossdressers choose young female pop stars as their role models. Others pick housewives from 1950s sitcoms as the style they want to emulate. Tasi suggests you follow the royal tastes of The Duchess of Cambridge. With Kate Middleton you can’t go wrong.
The Artist D comments today on the urgent need our society has to give everyone a single, “real” identity. When people ask The Artist what her “real” name is they just can’t wrap their brains around it being a single letter. Now Facebook has begun to demand “Your papers, please!” and to The Artist D that looks like there is less room for multiple identities than before. How will that affect us?
Our young crossdresser, Chanelle, has words of advice today about how to meet a woman through online dating sites. Funny, but the best piece of the advice she offers is “honesty is the best policy.” It’s not impossible to meet someone who is into all of you, including your desire to dress up. You may not find her right away but if you follow some of Chanelle’s advice you just might meet her. Dating advice from a 20-something? As they say, “out of the mouths of babes.”
Dallas Denny is one of the founders of the Southern Comfort Conference. She was appalled to learn that the Conference is heading over 600 miles further south for next year’s event. Will this move help a gender conference that has been loosing steam? Or will the move mean a faster route to the extinction of SCC? See what Dallas thinks and be sure to post your comments.
Graham Holmes’ post in which he advocated being totally out about crossdressing as the only way that CDs will ever get their rights inspired our Canadian correspondent to investigate why people choose to “stay in the closet.” It can be a bit cramped in the closet but to some hiding their crossdressing is a lifestyle they’ve perfected over years. Can you actually come to enjoy hiding a major part of your essential nature? See what Linda and a friend named Donna have to say.
We offer a profile of Rachel Crandall, a trans woman who turned away from thought of suicide when she had hit rock bottom, and went on to start the transgender support group Transgender Michigan. The article was written by sometime contributor Kristina Mayhem and talks about Crandall’s life before and after she started Transgender Michigan.
(Philadelphia, PA) – The transgender community celebrated the groundbreaking U.S. Government’s recognition of gender dysphoria and its coverage of transgender surgery under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, as the law begins to be implemented and real transgender people attempt to use its coverage, they are starting to discover its acute limitations, even to the […]
No one gets a day off in a diner. They never close. It’s true of Dina’s Diner, too! Today, in honor of Labor Day, Dina has whipped together a Labor Day special with tasty tidbits about RuPaul, Jane Fonda, girls who post selfies while they’re at work, working girls and some working stiffs. It’s a big menu and it’s sure to satisfy after all those Labor Day hamburgers and hot dogs. Don’t delay, drop into Dina’s Diner today.
Victoria Williams has covered many areas of fashion and style in her Video Fashion Tips. Today she discusses jewelry. A person’s jewelry is an indication of their personal style and a window to their personality. A simple dress can be accessorized with different jewelry to make different fashion statements. See what you can pick up from today’s Video Fashion Tip.
Fifteen years ago Graham Holmes put aside his femme persona and came out to everyone, including his employer, that he was just a bloke who needed to wear feminine clothing. In his mind attempts to “pass” as a woman or “blend in” as a woman by employing wigs, padding and makeup were misguided and crossdressers would never be accepted unless they came out in the open. TG support groups in England opposed Graham’s ideas. Where have their ideas gotten CDs?
Some time in the early nineties when I was living a stealth female life and exploring my true gender with my late wife, and with other middle age middle class couples in which the husband was transgender, I became aware of a controversy that was occurring in the summer wilds and woods of Michigan. The Michigan […]
With the advent of online connectivity we have seen the decline and disappearance of support groups for TGs. With the ability to network online (on sites like TGF) TGs can meet people, chat, discuss trans issues and exchange makeup tips. Does this mean that the in person transgender support group meeting is the dinosaur of the 21st century? And what about TG conventions? Many of those have disappeared, too. Get Dana Bevan’s take.
I have a news flash for you. The Christian church is made up of flawed humans. Big surprise right? I know. I am stating the obvious. But when it comes to understanding the issues that separate the Christian church and the transgender community, this is something that is forgotten on each side of the divide. […]
Popeye said, I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam.” But what made Popeye what he is? In his case it’s simple. A cartoonist drew him that way. How else would you get forearms like that? But what about TGs? Sophie Lynne muses on the nature of the “nature vs. nurture” debate and concludes that we are the result of a combination of the two, so they should just stop opposing each other. Spy Vs. Spy can keep fighting it out but N vs. N should kiss and makeup.
“Coming out” has become a big deal. Every day some athlete, actor or model “comes out” as this or that. You knew the trend was, well, trending, when they created a magazine about “coming out.” Today The Artist D asks what’s the big deal about coming out? D has been out since she picked up a dolly at age 3 instead of going for the bulldozer. You can’t have a deep dark secret if everyone knows. Give her post a read and see what The Artist D thinks about “coming out.”
