Recent Transgender Articles
Why am I here?
Amanda is full of questions. Since November she has been dealing with excessive anxiety. She wonders if there is something missing in her life, and she asks if she’s in the right place, and whether or not she is doing the right thing pursuing gender reassignment. Making her anxiety worse is the grey gloom of San Francisco in the winter, a winter that has El Nino bringing rain many times a week. Amanda longs for spring sunshine and wonders when it will come.
A Christine-Jane Cartoon 1/16
Christine-Jane has been commenting on the crossdressing lifestyle for years. First appearing in trans-magazines and newsletters before there was an Internet, she now comes to TGForum to skewer crossdresser foibles and fears with her pens and pencils. Today she shows that gentle sea breezes may not be your friend.
Audio: San Quentin’s Transgender Prison Guard
Mandi Camille Hauwert has been a correctional officer since 2007 at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California. In 2012 she came out at work, identifying as transgender. Thanks to our friends at Your True Gender Radio we present a conversation with Mandi in which she discusses being a transgender guard in a maximum security prison, as well […]
The Week In Transgenderism 1/18/16
A trans woman appears on “Say Yes to the Dress.” A trans activist is running for office in Ireland. Antony Hegarty is the second trans person ever nominated for an Oscar in the music category. The drag performer on “The Voice if Ireland” is in the competition. First impressions can be lasting. Professor Aaron Devor heads a trans studies program. Atlanta launches a private school for LGBT kids. Lebanon has allowed a legal name change for a trans man. Hey, did ya hear the one about the trans jokes? The Miss World Music Tiffany pageant is getting popular. Plans to erect a monument to Divine. All that plus more news and many TWIT Awards is waiting for you in TWIT!
Making Transgender Decisions
Decisions, decisions, decisions. For trans people there are decisions to be made at every step of their life journey. Should they start to experiment with crossdressing? Should they tell people close to them that they have these feelings? Would it be a good idea to go to a trans support group? Should transition be a goal? In order to make any of these weighty decisions Dr. Dana Bevan urges you to get information from different sources and make the best decision from an informed position.
Perpetual Change: A Tribute To David Bowie
Today Pamela DeGroff devotes the majority of her column to David Bowie. His androgynous stage looks, and the lyrics to his song “Rebel, Rebel” provided inspiration to many in the trans community. His legacy of music, his influence on fashion and his flaunting of traditional gender roles make him one of the greats. Pam looks back at Bowie, and then rounds out her column with some music news and a review of Peaches new “Rub” album.
Dina’s Diner 1/18/16
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.
Who’s On First*
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?
Why Is That Funny?
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.
The TGF Archives — Flowers of Every Kind
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 […]
Video of David de Alba’s Latest Show
The Cuban Legend, David de Alba, made his name in the female impersonation world when he performed at the legendary San Francisco nightclub Finocchio’s. David is the last of the Finocchio’s stars to still be performing. Last month he did a show in Las Vegas, where he resides, and there was a video camera recording […]
Is Your Profile Up To Date?
If you’re a registered TGForum user be sure you keep your Profile up to date. We get notices when the site has attempted to send a message and the user’s email address is not current. If you don’t update your email address when you change it you may miss important messages from TGF. Other users […]
The Week In Transgenderism 1/11/16
It’s The Week In Transgenderism! All the news assembled in one place for your infotainment convenience! Today we learn that Andreja Pejic speaks out about trans rights. Caitlyn Jenner says she never meant to be a TG spokesperson. A closer look at why Jaden Smith is modeling womenswear. A Philadelphia legend has left photos of every outfit she ever wore. Lana Wachowski is one of the models for Marc Jacobs. Non-binary people want their own checkbox. There’s a hijra musical group called 6 Pack Band. A Brazilian drag performer appears on The Voice of Holland. Changing treatment of trans people in Cuba. One of Thailand’s top kick boxers is trans. An 8-year-old boy asks mom for a MAC makeover. All that and a few TWIT Awards are waiting for you in TWIT!
Accessories — the Secret to Stylish Dressing
They say clothes make the man but so often it’s accessories that define the woman. A basic outfit can be upscaled, cooled down or made sizzling hot with the proper accessories. Jewelry, scarves, shoes, hats, hair clips and pins are just some of the things you can do to take a basic outfit, like a little black dress, into new territory. Today Tasi Zuriack takes you on an exploratory journey into the land of accessories.
Learn from History or Bust
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.
A Hollywood Adventure
Linda starts her seventh straight year (and eleventh overall) sending articles to TGForum by telling the story of a friend of hers who years ago visited the Queen Mary nightclub in Los Angeles and ended up having an adventure that was simply made for Hollywood. Return with Linda now to the glory days of the Queen Mary when a girl could meet someone and. . . .
Be Strong! Be Proud!
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.
The Doctor Will See You Now — On Skype
Internet technology has made communication around the globe less expensive and faster. Now applications like Skype, FactTime, and WhatApp are being used in innovative ways that could only be imagined a few decades ago. Now a gender reassignment candidate in Dubai can consult with Dr. Sherman Leis in the U.S. without traveling across the ocean. Learn how Dr. Leis is using modern technology to help patients around that world.
Is Social Media Your Thing?
Are you a social media maven? Is Facebook your second home? TGForum has a Facebook page and we are looking for someone to administer it. The proper person for the job needs to understand how to optimize social media. They need to be a fan of TGForum and be able to post status messages about […]
The Week In Transgenderism 1/4/16
Fresh from the Internet, tons of trans news in the column we call The Week In Transgenderism. Today we learn that a trans woman has won Holland’s Next Top Model. Amiyah Scott has dropped out of Real Housewives of Atlanta. Hari Nef had a bit of help starting her acting career. 2015 in review in several publications. Sushi ties the knot then drops in the shoe. A trans woman runs for office in the Philippines. The one year anniversary of the death of Leelah Alcorn passed this past Monday. Jaden Smith models womenswear for Louis Vuitton. There’s all that plus a lot more and a whole page of TWIT Awards!
Trans Lunacy or Just Media Lunacy?
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.
Loving Your Equals
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.
2016 Wishes
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 […]
Happy First Birthday Hannah!
Life is complex and life can be hard. Sometimes people meet and it seems like they are fated to be together. But sometimes their fate is something else entirely. Dawn and Hannah met when Dawn was hospitalized. Hannah was living as a man and keeping her femme side hidden. Together they unlocked Hannah’s femme side but in the process, over the past year, they have moved apart. Was it Hannah dealing with her new gender expression? Was Dawn to confident that they would stay together?
Ghosts
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.
