Recent Transgender Articles
In The Family Part 2
When last we read about Joe, aka Joseph Thomas, junior, he was sitting in a compartment on the Amtrak Autotrain heading north out of Florida. He had just spent two weeks in Florida attending his birth father’s funeral and helping Nora, his new-found stepmother, wrap up his father’s estate. Let’s back up a bit. Let’s back up to the days after the funeral service when Joe and Nora, his dad’s second wife, got busy winding up the estate and learning about each other.
Sabrina Symington’s “She”, Episode 44 (NSFW)
The torturer with the chain saw has been broken and mangled yet still shows signs of life. As Natalie and Kay clutch each other in horror his true masters reveal themselves. Or is it “its” self? The destruction of their nemesis, rather than bringing an end to the horror seems to be unleashing a totally new evil upon them. It is revealed in Episode 44.
Tell Shelley Anne: Hanna Olsen, Transgender Party Hostess Extraordinaire
Our interview expert Shelley Anne talks with transgender event hostess Hannah Olsen about her events in Oklahoma. This year will be the 14th Heartland Transgender Fall Party & Music Festival. The event is set for November. Read on to learn more about Hannah and the Heartland event.
How to Cover Beard Shadow
Guest contributor Jessica Blackler, founder of Jecca Blac and makeup artist for the trans community, gives her recommendations on how to do one of the most importnat steps in male to female transformation — prepping your face and covering beard shadow.
The Week In Trans 8/10/20
Time for The Week In Trans! All the trans-related news we could find, presented in an easy to read digest format. What do we learn today? Janet Mock is the cover girl for British Vogue. A trans woman looks like she could be a winner in a race for a seat in the Kansas legislature. More violence toward trans women of color and some justice as well. Republicans are attacking Joe Biden wielding his stance on trans rights as a weapon. The president stands behind his ban on trans in the military but Congress may have a different idea. Lily Wachowski says The Matrix is loaded with transgender themes. Canada has a new talent agency representing drag artists. Athletes in women’s sports line up on both sides of the trans women in women’s sports issue. J.K. Rowling’s attacks on trans people have resulted in increased donations to a trans children charity. The U.K. is ranked with Poland on mistreatment of trans people. Trace Lysette goes behind the camera to produce a documentary series. There’s all that and a bunch more waiting for you in TWIT!
Crossdressing as an Art
As long as males have been attracted to dressing up in women’s clothing there have been people in the crossdressing community who have opinions on what crossdressers should be wearing. Some say we shouldn’t be overly sexy in our attire when we are out mingling with the straight world. Others say if that’s the case why bother to be subdued? Pauline Estelle has rules she lives by and today she shares them with you. See if your idea of what crossdressing is agrees with Pauline’s.
Joe Rogan, I Am Calling You Out
YouTube talks show host Joe Rogan has gone too far. Several times he has had quests on his show who present skewed, or just plain made up “facts” about transgender people. These guests clearly have an axe to grind when it comes to the very existence of trans people. Dana Bevan has had it with Rogan’s promotion of false information and she is calling him out. How will the duel be fought? With science of course.
Sabrina Symington’s “She” Episode 43 [NSFW]
For Kay and Natalie their unwanted trip to some strange dimension has proven to be a series of shocks. Each one stranger than the last. Believing the creator of their misery was dead the women were horrified to learn that his broken and mashed up body still contained life. Then the shadowy observers spoke to them and began to show themselves. What horrors will be revealed? Click for Episode 43. If you dare.
No Smoking Gun, Part 1
Chrissy Gann devotes her The Butterfly Chronicles blog to exploring why we are who we are. She feels there is no “smoking gun” that we can point to and say ‘look here is proof that being transgender is not a choice or lifestyle”. In every study that has been done they have concluded that while the study in itself is not positive proof, still there is something going on we don’t understand.
Retro Rerun: Why Crossdress? 28 Reasonable Reasons
This Retro Rerun was written by Hebe Dotson in 1998. In it she lists 28 reasons why men dress up as women. All sorts of excuses to don femme attire have been used in real life and on film and TV. Hebe listed them in categories ranging from “forced to dress” to “dressing is fun.” Although Hebe’s TGF account is still active we have not heard from her in a long while so attempts to communicate with her through the site may not meet with success.
The Week In Trans 8/3/20
Time for The Week In Trans! What do we learn today? The House of Representatives passes a bill that would declare the military ban on trans people null and void. Both the mayor of New York City and the governor condemn the treatment of a trans woman by plainclothes officers who threw her into a van as if she was being kidnapped. An inmate gets state provided gender confirmation surgery. More violence is directed at trans women of color. Police reports misgender them. The trans man who was involved in a school shooting is sentenced to life. After eight months in ICE custody a Cuban trans woman is granted asylum. A couple who had a lesbian wedding are now man and wife. World Rugby considers restrictions on trans women players. The cast of Pose gets an Emmy snub. GLAAD gives them some love. Gigi Gorgeous and Gottmik are cover girls for Out. Janet Mock will write and direct a film about an affair between Sammy Davis, Jr. and Kim Novak. There’s all that plus much more and several TWIT Awards (7 to be exact) in this edition of TWIT!
The Occasional Woman: Fall Fashion Trends
Our resident fashion consultant and seamstress Lorraine Anderson takes a look at the Fall Fashion Trends. It may seem strange to be talking about what to wear this fall but it’s only a few short months away. Lorraine tells you what’s big for fall, what’s supposed to be hot but is not, and how you can work elements of the trends into your wardrobe.
Question to a Speaker
Sophie Lynne, Penn State University graduate student got and email from the school with the subject line, “Are You Prepared? Real Talk About Race and Identity in the Classroom.” The talk will be by Dr. Seria Chatters and will take place over Zoom. Participants are to submit questions ahead of time. Sophie felt it incumbent on her to ask the doctor what about transgender students on the PSU campus? How “safe’ can a transgender or non-binary student be at PSU? Read the full text of her question today and in coming weeks she will, if she gets one, post the answer.
Times Get Tougher for Ladyboys in Thailand
Our Correspondent in Thailand, Christine Burr, files a report on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the the transgender women known there as ladyboys. Since much of their employment is found in entertaining tourists, working in hair salons and doing makeovers you can imagine that things are not bright for them. Christine tells you more in today’s dispatch.
Sabrina Symington’s “She” Episode 42
Once Kay got the bat in her hand she unleashed the rage, anger and pain over the things their kidnapper inflicted on them both and she beat his body till it was broken beyond recognition. But, the battered, mashed, practically pulverized corpse continued to chuckle madly. How could this be possible? Because of it being another dimension? Were the mysterious observers responsible? Was it over? Would it ever be? Read on for Episode 42.
Diary of a CD — Princesses of the Night — Drag and Gender
Today Katherine Diaz, our Columbian Correspondent, looks back briefly at the roots of drag as performance and part of street culture. As long as there have been different attire for the sexes there have been males who adopt feminine presentations to entertain, to express their own femininity, or to poke straight culture in the eye. And Katherine, as always, provides a video to go along with the blog.
Drag in Cinema 2007 to 2012
Drag in Cinema is well into the first decade of the 21st century when we start with Hairspray in 2007 and John Travolta becoming Edna Turnblad, through the years up to 2012 and the spectacle of Ron Perlman in drag. There are a couple of other films in between and we have a video of the makeup and prosthetics it took to transform Travolta.
The Week In Trans 7/27/20
Today we learnt that 23 state Attorneys General join a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s new definition of “sex” in the ACA. Only three members of the U.S. military were considered for discharge because of the president’s ban and none were discharged. The Pentagon policy banning the Confederate flag also bans the rainbow flag and trans pride flag from military bases. A Roma sex worker is running for office in Romania. Legal wrangling over trans rights continues. A trans woman is running for the Florida state Senate. A Catholic hospital has refused to do a hysterectomy for a trans man in Maryland. World Rugby may ban trans players based on a study that maintains lower testosterone doesn’t cause trans women to lose muscle mass and strength. Bob the Drag Queen challenges Dave Chapelle to stop makes jokes about trans people. Actress Angelica Ross returns to her roots hosting the third TransTech Summit. Todrick Hall pledges $100,000 to the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition. There’s all that and much more about transgender in the news, and a few TWIT Awards, waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina’s Diner – July 27, 2020
Dina Amberle has cooked up another tasty column that is sure to satisfy. Today she mixes together a portion of trans kids knowing what they are, beats in the history of trans man husbands, sprinkles on a show from the Philippines that featured a beautiful trans character played by a cisgender man and let’s it all cool for awhile. Then she stirs it all together, seasons with some homely sexiness, and garnishes the plate with some hot glam punk from the ’80s.
TransTainment! 727/20
All the hot news from the entertainment world that features trans people is condensed into a tasty soup every month that we call TransTainment. Today we’ve got news about a lack of trans characters in films, news about the “beauty boys” who are social media stars, cartoons featuring trans and non-binary characters and more!
Rolling into Year Three. . . .
Claire Hall is surviving the Covid-19 pandemic like many other folks. She is able to work from home most of the time and still attends many meetings everyday. What’s different about those meetings is that they now take place via the internet and the attendees are all on her computer screen as tiny people in stacked boxes. After many months of working this way Claire’s attention to her beauty routine had started to slip. After all, she’s wearing a mask much of the time. Who needs lipstick? Read on and find if she managed to get her groove back.
Sabrina Symington’s “She” Episode 41
In the last episode of She Kay unleashed her anger and rage in a burst of violence so potent that their tormentor was reduced to a completely broken and was seemingly destroyed. But finally, when Kay could beat his remains no more she was appalled to see that there still was life lingering in the broken husk. Life that laughed when it should have been screaming in pain. What is going on here? Take a look at today’s episode, and, oh yes, it’s not safe for work, either.
Working “Out”
Our new contributor Christy is back this week with the story of how she slowly, very slowly, made a transition at work. Like many in the transgender community she used Halloween as a way to introduce herself as a feminine person in her workplace. She feels that by taking the introduction of Christy to coworkers and management she was more successful in fitting in with very little, if any, problems.
Trans Spirituality, 7/27/20
Today Rabba Rona, a disabled queer trans rabbi who served in the U.S. Navy writes that she was appalled and outraged when federal agents beat a Navy veteran on the street in Portland, Oregon when he did nothing wrong except ask them a question about what they were there to do. Whether you are conservative or liberal you should read Rona’s post and view the video of the vet being beaten. It should be a warning to all of us.
The Week In Trans 7/20/20
Beginning as always with the news we learn that several trans women have won elections, including Peyton Rose Michelle. Colorado outlaws the use of sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense in a criminal trial. Maine allows undeclared gender markers on birth certificates. Some non-binary people feel as if they’re not seen. There’s more violence against trans women of color. Sistahs are doing it for themselves in Memphis where they provide housing for trans women. Black trans women in New Orleans are getting new homes from the House of Tulip. The first trans person to enlist in the U.S. military is discharged after an injury in basic training. New York City drag performers have had to adjust their performance techniques to cope with Covid-19. 60% of trans and non-binary youth report self harming in the last 12 months. Zeke Smith talks about being outed on Survivor. J.K. Rowling’s book sales are slumping. RuPaul takes Drag Race north of the border for a Canadian show. There’s all that and a lot more, along with a few TWIT Awards, waiting for you in TWIT!
In The Family
Linda tells the story of a person who discovers too late about one of his birth father’s lifetime interests. This story qualifies as fiction but it is somewhat based on a friend’s true life situation.
