For the past few months Linda Jensen has been telling us about her relationship with Martin, a fine gentleman, a professional engineer and an admirer of crossdressers. In this column Linda meets Martin, at an exclusive Toronto hotel. He offers Linda his advice on how a crossdresser can make herself attractive to the (not quite) […]
TransActive: How To Tell Him (or Her) by Christine Beatty Okay, to be perfectly honest I’m all written out. I just sent off my latest novel, Homegirl, to my literary manager and so I don’t feel like writing a damn thing for a few more weeks. However, I don’t want to leave all of you […]
It’s Monday again! And that means we roll out a brand new issue of TGForum. Even though it’s now the 21st century and electronic publishing on the Web means anything we publish hangs around forever (unless JoAnn forgets to pay the bill for the server space) we tend to still relate to the world in […]
“The issue is us versus them. Any us versus any them.â€Â With these words from her groundbreaking play Hidden: A Gender Kate Bornstein summarizes what may be humanity’s greatest downfall: divisiveness. Yet at the same time, drawing the lines also forms the basis of identity politics that can be empowering. In other words, “us versus […]
Being a working musician brings with it a certain degree of behind-the-scenes stress few fans or audience members are ever aware of. When you’re a trans musician, there’s a lot more to deal with than just your write-rehearse-record-tour schedule. Regardless of what genré your music falls into, it’s almost a given that at some time […]
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies there comes a film such a giant step backward for the transgender community, it disheartens one we may ever achieve social acceptance within the next generation of transwomen. For those of you not acquainted with the stink surrounding the latest cinematic bashing […]
It’s no big secret I worked as a pre-op TS prostitute during my first transition in 1985 and 1986, a fact I raise to illustrate what bigotry and discrimination can do. Every month or so a fellow transwoman, usually one in her mid-twenties or younger, learns I had been a prostitute back then, and then […]
“You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.†— Ancient folk wisdom “Profanity and obscenity entitle people who don’t want unpleasant information to close their ears and eyes to you.†— Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Those of you who read last month’s TransActive may recall the tiny clique of angry transwomen who […]
This month Miss Kalina Isato talks about why we should all strive to be a ma’am and not a man; she gives us her restroom and dressing room views; tells what it’s like being someone’s muse; expounds on why youth is but a ruse, beauty studies in the news, and much, much more. Speaking of […]
You need a makeover because from time to time we all fall into a rut. And the dirt and scratches do nothing for us. Seriously, I’ve been doing this crossdressing thing for quite some time and in years gone by I’ve done the over-the-top look for drag events or clubbing in NYC but for the […]
Fanatics of every stripe are pretty much a bummer to hang out with after awhile. . . unless you’re a fellow fanatic. They tend to be shrill, angry, single minded, self-righteous, unhinged, unable to absorb reason, unwilling to examine their beliefs, repetitive to the point of agony and they don’t know how to shut the […]
Apparently the Obama Administration solicited artistic contributions for the Christmas tree decorations in its first yuletide season in the White House. One of the contributions included decoupaged Christmas balls with images of Chairman Mao and semi-famous drag personage Hedda Lettuce. The professional Obama haters saw this as yet another signal of national descent into the […]
Christine Beatty’s first idea for her column this month was a lighthearted take on New Year’s resolutions. She had it all planned out but something else came up at the last minute. One of us had dropped out of the community and Christine learned that the dropout had committed suicide. The lighthearted topic had to […]
Kalina talks about the body, the body, and more body, the Barry, the baggy, the hairy, the scruffy, the androgyny, the clublife, and more.
Just in case you’re wondering about the title, this column is not about Walter L. Williams’ 1992 book on sexual diversity in American Indian culture, although I’m sure it’s a fascinating read. No, this month we’re talking about that one topic my mother said never should be discussed at the Thanksgiving dinner table (or under […]
Kalina talks about her art class, Krispy Kreme counter people, Chelsea art galleries, cheap men, cuteness, Clublife, and more.
The New York Post is not a subtle newspaper. They proved it today by running a doctored photo of Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino in a cheerleader’s skirt. The photo was accompanied by a headline that read:Â “Gotham trembles: The Frillies are coming to town.” Girls, I think they’re saying that the Philadelphia Phillies are […]
Carmen Miranda — 2006 We can’t state it often or emphatically enough: Halloween is coming! Oh, and don’t roll your eyes like that, young lady. We know you know that Halloween is approaching. And we know that you know that we know … wait. Scratch that. What’s important is that you’re doing something about it. […]
What has Miss Kalina Isato been up to during the past month? Looking fabulous, taking some photos and playing with her hair. She tells us all about that and also talks about hair fashions (Headbands! Headbands!), cheap men (Come on, buy a girl a drink!), having pneumonia, pasta bowls (fettucini to die for, darling), and […]
In this edition of Kalina Isato’s Stochastic Musings Kalina talks about alien sci-fi, lasers firing into your eyes, why your worst critics can be your greatest allies, sharing is caring, temporary tattoos, and some self-preservation tips for all you club-goers out there.
It happens to us all at one time or another. We’re out and about enfemme and someone will refer to you as “ma’am.” How do you take that? The dictionary defines “madam” as the term you use when you’re speaking to a lady. The English language tends to lose letters and replace them with apostrophes […]
Hi Everyone! It’s Monday and that means the Monday Edition of TGF hits the web. Today we bring you Ronnie Rho’s copious This Week In Transgenderism featuring stories on the most talked about TG in NYC, a photo of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler looking more like a little old lady than anything else, news […]
Recently a friend of mine had a thought that she wanted to share with others. She posted it to a number of groups where she belongs such as Erie Sisters, Gender Mosaic, Xpressions and a few others. She expresses a great example of the conflict within many of us. We, as crossdressers, can be happy, […]
Since Michael Jackson’s untimely demise the whole world has started to write tribute essays about him. Why should we be any different at TGForum?
This month our former Transvamp and current Stochastic Muser, Miss Kalina Isato, muses on art, art galleries, hair art and acting as if every meal might just be your last. If you recognize names like Degas, Cezanne and want to get to know Kalina’s brother-in-law then this is the Stochastic Musings that you don’t want […]
Come on in and take a seat at Dina’s Diner. This week the hostess with the mostest has very affordable Pink Plate Special (it used to be blue but you know how the Diner rolls) and she’s serving up extra big slices of pie for dessert. She covers it all from Jennifer Boylan’s op-ed in […]
