Category: Transgender Opinion

Fashion Police Report

| May 19, 2008 | Reply

As many may remember from my Diva of Dish days here at TGF I am in showbiz. I work on films and television shows in the Philadelphia/New York area and I was just working as a background actor (that’s an extra) on a film in Philly. While I was on the set in downtown Philadelphia […]

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Second Lives

| Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

You’ll probably remember the article from a couple of weeks ago about octopus gender-bending. Simply put, some members of the Abdopus aculeatus species will present themselves as female in order to lull genuine girl octopi into a false sense of security. And there’s a human version of it to. But it has nothing to do […]

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The 21st Century CD

| Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

We live in a wild and weird time. Men are wearing dresses, guys (well FtMs) are getting pregnant and shaking up the Oprah audience, and Madonna is going to be 50 this year. That’ll stop ya in your tracks. It seems like just yesterday we were dancing to Material Girl, how could Maddy be “a […]

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In Praise of Pictures

| Apr 21, 2008 | Reply

Admit it, posting pictures is one of the most common pastimes in the T-world. Not that this isn’t without controversy, of course. There are the picture plagiarists who steal someone else’s image and pass them off as their own. There are those who Photoshop their face onto the bodies of others. There are those who […]

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Lurking At The Threshold

| Apr 7, 2008 | Reply

You know, I’ve been thinking about the whole branding of the “trans” condition lately. I’m not so much into this “new agey” best of both worlds BS that gets floated around from time to time. Probably because it seems terribly impractical, overly idealistic, and excessively convenient. You can’t just re-invent the world to make yourself […]

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How I Learned To Dance (Like A Woman)

| Mar 10, 2008 | Reply

I promised Cheryl back on February 18th that I’d talk a little about the notion of the GG succorer — that is, a natal-born woman who takes a burgeoning trans-woman under her wing and teaches her the ways of womanhood. So Cheryl, this one’s for you… Primarily, I think the notion of the female mentor […]

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The Ones That Got Away

| Mar 5, 2008 | Reply

Lexy Tranner’s last cartoon got me thinking: not about women or mates, but about dresses. How many great ones have we missed out on, because they weren’t quite right? They just didn’t fit perfectly, so we toss them.

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Hate Crime — An Op Ed

| Feb 25, 2008 | Reply

There are times when I’m so stunned by the inhumanity of my fellow humans that I have to rouse myself and speak. We have enough of a negative, criminal nature happening on planet Earth every day (Africa and Kosovo are just two examples) that if we weren’t able to tune it out and distance it […]

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Tomb of the Unknown Transgender

| Feb 20, 2008 | Reply

In Detroit recently, police found the body of a man in female attire, in a vacant lot. He had been shot in the head. So far, police have not released the name of the victim, at the request of the family. Now, the head of the National Center for Transgender Equality has joined area media […]

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The Great Divide

| Feb 20, 2008 | Reply

We always speak of community. It’s a great word as it conveys a comforting idea of people living and working together in harmony with one another. I mean, after all we share the common bond of a desire to express a gender identity contrary to our biological sex. But just as in all communities, harmony […]

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Reaction To Corinne Scott’s Review Of “A Woman’s Passion”

| Feb 18, 2008 | Reply

In the February 11th edition of TGF our blogger Corinne Scott reviewed a work of TG fiction. The review was the result of Corinne’s lamentation in a prior blog that no TG fiction was really good writing; the TG elements tend to get in the way of the story in many cases. The novel she […]

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A Woman’s Passion — A Review (and then some)

| Feb 11, 2008 | Reply

Last month, I challenged someone–anyone–to point me towards some decent TG fiction. Cheryl Sanders picked up the gauntlet, offering up her own novel, A Woman’s Passion for my criticism. Brave indeed, considering the low regard I have for TG fiction in general. So how did it fare?

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(Facial) Hair Care

| Feb 7, 2008 | Reply

I shaved this week. Not a big deal, normally, but I’d been growing a beard since mid-December. I know, I know: a hideous image. But there was method in my madness. A beard is scratchy, and incompatible with dressing up. (Unless one is doing skag drag.) But a beard can be a great motivator and […]

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Dina’s Digital Diner — Crossdressing An Addictive Behavior?

| Feb 4, 2008 | Reply

This month the Digital Diner gets serious. Is crossdressing addictive? Is it possible to give it up? Would you want to give it up? Is it a compulsion? And where can a crossdresser get a good tuna salad sandwich? OK, not the last one but Dina Amberle takes on the rest of these questions in […]

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TWIT Notes Sparks Correspondence On HRC And ENDA

| Jan 25, 2008 | Reply

TGF member Regina Leigh was reading the January 21st TWIT Notes and found that the article by Richard Rosendall in Bay Windows of New England (which criticized Meredith Bacon’s criticism of HRC for their decision on ENDA) so provocative that she was moved to send Mister Rosendall an email. Since she copied us on it […]

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TG Inn

| Jan 23, 2008 | Reply

Just north of Lafayatte, Indiana, on I-65, there’s a hotel sitting empty. Every time I pass it, I think of what a great opportunity just sits there, rotting. If I were an eccentric millionaire, I’d love to buy the property, fix it up, and…

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“Just” — A Four Letter Word

| Jan 19, 2008 | Reply

Sometimes those of us in “the community” can be pretty insensitive towards one another. I know that’s not news to anyone, but it comes out in ways that are pretty subtle sometimes. One of them I’ve seen a couple of times recently in comments posted to other’s blogs is the phrase “just a crossdresser.” It […]

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TV’s on TV

| Jan 10, 2008 | Reply

More specifically: why aren’t there more? Our cable provider, Time-Warner recently added Logo, the GLBT network to our lineup. They did so without any fanfare, but that’s understandable, considering the Bible-belt style political atmosphere here in southwest Ohio.

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Fictionmaniacal

| Jan 9, 2008 | Reply

I had a conversation with a friend when the first Fantastic Four movie came out. He was a big time comic book fan, and was really into the old Silver Age Jack Kirby/Stan Lee stuff. Anyway, he was going on and on about how awesome the movie was and I was like, “What, you can’t […]

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Social Nausea

| Dec 31, 2007 | Reply

An interesting thing happened on the way to my second social capital article. Namely, a little introspection. You see, I had this whole thing plotted out. I could use the concept of social capital to prove the age-old argument that crossdressers and transsexuals really are different kinds of people. It’s not hard really. By reverse […]

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Measure UP!

| Dec 21, 2007 | Reply

Our American culture encourages all of us to measure ourselves largely by what we’ve not yet achieved. Just look at the term “measure up”, it implies always pursuing a higher standard and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that’s just what we do. We’re encouraged to make New Year’s resolutions, implying that we aren’t yet […]

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Crossdressers With Balls

| Dec 12, 2007 | Reply

So, you’ve already read Crossdressers are Transsexuals without Balls, right? No? Go back and read it. Then come back and watch as we tear that myth a new one. I’ll wait.

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Beleaguered Wife Syndrome

| Dec 12, 2007 | Reply

My second essay here was going to be a continuation of my social capital article from last month. Since that was met with such fanfare, I’m encouraged to do something a little different this time around. I’ll get back to that eventually, but first let’s see who I can piss off.

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“Crossdressers are Transsexuals without Balls.”

| Dec 3, 2007 | Reply

So goes the hypothesis anyway. I’ve heard it from a few people that crossdressers are simply transsexuals without the guts to transition. Unfortunately, those espousing this idea never seem to have any evidence to back it up. Let’s face it: there’s not nearly enough scientific research on any of us.

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The Great And Terrible Riz — Our New Blogger Takes On Social Capitalism

| Nov 23, 2007 | Reply

Hi, I’m Riz. This is my blog/column/whatever you want. And today we’re talking about social capital… what it is, why you want it, and why it’s important to our success as a community. I’ve been reading a lot about a thing called “social capital” lately. Like so many things, once you know what it is, […]

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Hi, y’all!

| Nov 19, 2007 | Reply

TG Forum is adding some new bloggers! The first new voice on the Forum, Stephanie Yates, says hello in her first TGF Blog. I guess I’m the new girl in town, so an introduction is in order (at least that’s what my editor tells me). I’m Stephanie Yates, married (nearly 24 years, same wonderful, tolerant, […]

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