Recent Transgender Articles
Summer Crossdressing
Many crossdressers give up dressing in the summer months due to family obligations, cookouts, trips, etc. where shave legs or arms would be noticed and commented on. For some though putting aside feminine dressing is unthinkable. If you’re one of those who simply must enjoy the pleasure of summer femme fashion then Pauline Estelle has a few tips on how to be comfortable and show off your feminine side in the summer months.
Princessas de la Noche: Diary of a Crossdresser II
Katherine Diaz is our correspondent in Bogota, Columbia. She considers her crossdressing, as many of us might, as an art. To emulate a woman in all ways takes dedication and several skills. Katherine has been working on improving her skills and is performing on stage in various shows around the city. She has also been chosen to represent the crossdressing and trans community in meetings with the Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Sports, a city agency that promotes “interculturality.” As always, she provides a video and a blog which is in both English and Spanish.
The Week In Trans 7/29/19
Time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that one of the youngest transgender confirmation surgeries was performed on a 17-year-old. A federal judge has approved a settlement over North Carolina’s bathroom bill. Gavin Grimm’s case is finally going to trial. Billboards in Detroit are featuring pro-transgender messages. Indiana will change a person’s name without notification to the public. More queens from Drag Race get their own shows. Three presidential candidates have added their pronouns to their official profiles. Isis King is in the film When They See Us. Scientists have developed an artificial uterus that may allow trans women to get pregnant. More films are released featuring transgender themes. There’s all that a lot more plus several TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina’s Diner July 29, 2019
Dina’s Diner offer monthly specials of the latest dishes to catch Dina Amberle’s attention. She quickly checks out the recipe then tosses together a delightful repast that is sure to satisfy. Among the all natural organic ingredients she uses for today’s special we find Mr. Dan’s drag shows in Silver Lake, California, the feminized music idols who have the Communist Party in China upset, a portion of the original “tease but don’t please” girl Doris Day, a dollop of a Broadway performer hanging up her fishnets, and some spices including Melania Trump, and Damien Hurley. Get down to Dina’s Diner and take your seat in a spacious booth or sit at the counter. You’ll be glad you did.
Blessing or Curse
Claire Hall counts herself as lucky as she was able to transition from male to female, keep her job and most of her friends and associates. But she realizes that it’s not that easy for many people and while transition might be the difference between living and dying, transition might also be a death sentence for some. For others it could at least lead to a more miserable existence. It all leads her to ask is being transgender a blessing or a curse?
A Tale of Two Centuries, Part 2
Way back in 1998 TGForum contributor Hebe Dotson wrote an article that imagined what someone in 1899 would prognosticate about the nature of things in the coming 20th century. We pulled it out of the Archives, dusted it off to be our Retro Rerun. Today we present part two of A Tale of Two Centuries in which Hebe attempts to gaze into the 21st century from 1998. Now that we have a few years of this century under our belts lets see how she did with her predictions.
National Lipstick Day!
It’s a special day that comes but once a year. It’s not Christmas or Easter, or National Talk Like a Pirate Day. We’re talking about National Lipstick Day! How did we all develop such an attraction to ruby red lips? Angela Gardner did a little research on the subject and learns that painting the lips to enhance attraction has been going on for thousands of years. Ancient Sumerians did their lips with crushed gemstones like some kind of antediluvian drag queens. More recently actresses, and actors, in the early cinema and theater used lip coloring to make themselves more present on stage or screen. Take a quick trip back in time for the history of the sexiest cosmetic on this National Lipstick Day!
Retro Book Reviews
Back in 1998 Elizabeth Parker was our book reviewer at TGForum. Her column was called Book Chat. Today we go down into the archives and blow the dust off one of her columns in which she reviews three mystery books that feature crossdressing in one way or another. All three books are still in print, or back in ebook format, and are available on Amazon and from other online book sellers.
The Week In Trans 7/22/19
Time for all the transgender news! What do we learn today in TWIT? Phyllis Frye will speak at the Health, Labor and Employment Institute in Wisconsin. A man has been arrested in the murder of Zoe Spears. Massachusetts welcomes trans people into its National Guard. The Tinder app seems to be discriminating against trans people. Sarah McBride is featured in a story on CBS News. News outlets are reporting on the problems faced by transgender sex workers. The College of William and Mary has a “trans locker” where students can get free clothing. Berkeley, California eliminates manholes in favor of “maintenance holes.” There’s a new YouTube video featuring David de Alba. The first out trans woman on Big Brother says CBS made her do it. It’s hard for trans people to access healthcare. Apple has new emojis but no transgender ones. How could we tell? There’s all that news and a lot more, along with some TWIT Awards, waiting for you in TWIT!
Danger: The Intersectionalism Trap
Dr. Dana Bevan writes today about a trend that is a threat to transgender people around the world. It’s called intersectionalism and it is a tool used by the patriarchal male hierarchy to create oppression. Transgender people are all outcasts and outlaws from the larger culture, intersectionalism is just a new trap to be avoided. Trendy intersectionalism probably will not go away for a couple of decades, so we will have to learn how to deal with it. Dana explains what it is and how it is relevant to you.
Transgender Arts and Entertainment — TransMediaArts!
No matter what part of the creative universe Amanda F. Steele is there to report on transgender people in entertainment, the arts and music. Today she has info on the stars of Pose, the first transgender (that we know of) actor to appear in a Marvel movie, and a lot more. Keep up with the transgender entertainment and arts scene with Trans Media Arts.
Dreams Take Flight: Dan’s Story
For the last several months Linda has been telling us the story of one of the early gender transformation stories of the airline industry, a story apparently buried by a 50-year confidentiality agreement. Questions? We all could have questions about this story. One might be how likely was it that Patricia could find such a supportive and eventually loving friend in the person of First Officer, Dan. Ask no more. Here is Dan’s story.
A Sabrina Symington Cartoon
With all the Pride activities that happen around June and July Sabrina Symington has some thoughts on how she, as a transwoman, relates to it all. Sometime she has a hard time being proud because of negative treatment but at other times. . . . We’ll let her cartoon speak for her.
Retro Rerun: A Tale of Two Centuries
Back in 1998 there was a lot of concern about the coming turn of the century. Would all the computers go crazy after midnight on the last night of the 1900s? Using that and other concerns about what would happen when the world entered the 21st century Hebe Dotson wrote a pair of contributions to TGF. The first was an imagining of a conversation between two people in 1899 in which one person has foreknowledge of the nature of the 20th century. And of course they possess knowledge of what will happen surrounding the LGBT community. Which in 1900 just didn’t exist. Right.
The Week In Trans 7/15/19
Say kids, what time is it? Time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that trans author/activist Sarah McBride is running for her state’s Senate. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow trans people to serve in the military. We find out how ICE treats transgender women in detention. Mike Pompeo creates a human rights panel made up of people who would deny trans people their rights. How much could you spend on gender transition procedures? A research study shows that trans people who pass in their preferred gender get a pass from people. A South Korean drag queen talks about using drag to raise awareness. A Stonewall veteran has had a stroke at the age of 78. Pose focuses on violence against trans women in a recent episode. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends a drag show and joins the performers onstage. At the right wing rally in D.C. a group of drag queens shouted down the right wingers. Mattel has created a Barbie doll version of Ziggy Stardust. Scarlett Johansson says she should be able to portray any person, tree, or animal since that’s an actor’s job. Gigi Gorgeous has married Nats Getty, a granddaughter of J. Paul Getty. There’s all that plus a smattering of TWIT Awards waiting for you in this edition of TWIT!
Debra Soh Needs to Do Some Library Research
On the 500th episode of Realtime with Bill Maher on HBO one of Maher’s guests was a woman named Debra Soh. Dr. Soh holds a Ph.D. and was on the program to talk about transgender issues. Her statements on the subject seemed to be based in right wing politics rather than in any actual scientific research and she led Maher to believe she was the victim of academic discrimination by academics who wished to promote their theories about transgender people. She said she was accused of being “politically incorrect.” Today Dana Bevan looks at Dr. Soh and her statement about transgender people. Dana finds that Dr. Soh is just the latest in a long line of people who want the world to see trans phenomena their way.
Restrooms
Last month Pauline Estelle wrote about an important room in her life. The bathroom in her home where she does her transformations. This month she writes about another room that’s important to all trans ladies — a public restroom. It seems very logical that using a lady’s room shouldn’t be a problem for anyone involved. Unlike the men’s facility there are no urinals where you stand uncomfortably surrounded by other men with their zippers down. You have a discreet stall, with walls down to the floor in some upscale establishments. Why should there be any problem? Pauline takes a look at that and does a small experiment that shows how unenforceable the various restroom laws are.
Amanda Hits The Streets
Amanda may have found her mellow spot. After coming pretty close to rock bottom she has been lifted up again by Lyft. The ride sharing app has allowed her to make money doing something she loves, driving. She is all over the Baltimore area and even down in Virginia and Washington D. C. And she has a new therapist, is getting caught up on her bills and she tells you all about things today. And, she has a small slideshow of the amazing photos she takes while she drives around.
Ladies of The Breast Form Store at Esprit
Back in May the ladies who make up the staff at the online silicone breast market The Breast Form Store took a trip from the Vancouver area headquarters to attend the 2019 Esprit Conference in Port Angeles, Washington. They arrived on Friday evening of the conference and attended several events that weekend. We present Eden Carlson’s Esprit report here. It contains a short video of the band The Nasty Habits. Adjust your volume before you play the video. These ladies like to rock with volume.
Emily: The Slumber Party
Exploration of a feminine lifestyle all started when small-for-his-age Robert grew curious about why and how girls were different. With help and encouragement from his mother and sister he has lived as a girl for the summer. But summer will end in a short while and Emily finds that she doesn’t really want to bring Robert back. She tells her mom that she wants to continue being Emily and is happy to learn that there is a way for her to always be Emily. In the last chapter she told her friends about what was going on but what about her friends’ families? Would they accept Emily as readily as her girlfriends have?
San Diego PRIDE Hosts TRANS PRIDE VILLAGE
By Melanie Yarborough (Neutral Corner) San Diego’s transgender community raised its visibility at this year’s local Pride celebration with a special section located on the festival grounds. At Trans PrideVillage, local organizations spotlighted Health, Family issues, Employment, and Community Development. Family Health Centers of San Diego offered materials about their Transgender Patient Advocacy Program. Health […]
The Week In Trans 7/8/19
Time for The Week In Trans! A woman in D.C. creates a safe space for trans women of color to meet and talk. Medical organizations in the U.K. and U.S.A. urge their members to learn to care for trans patients. A project in NYC is reveals more historic sites for the LGBT community. A man calls the cops when a trans woman used the ladies room with his wife. The trans woman is arrested when she spits on the man. Info on traveling while trans. Entre Nosotros is a film about five trans women who are undocumented. Seven new books with transgender themes are released. Miley Cyrus’s new video features transgender models. Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards has an eye shadow palette with Anastasia Beverly Hills. There’s all that and a lot more plus several TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Lies, Goodbyes, and Moves
The only constant in life is constant change. Our Sophie Lynne had one idea for this blog and then in a moment that idea got pared down to only one part of her blog. Another section was necessary due to news she got about the passing of a friend in the community. Then she ends her blog today with some good news. You may want to read it all the way to the end and use the comment area to congratulate her.
Reflections on the NYC Pride March – by Angela Stephanie Haddow
Guest Contributor Angela Stephanie Haddow reports on the New York City Pride March and reminds us all of the history of LGBTQ rights in the USA. As she marched through Manhattan proudly being herself she thinks about how the fight for rights began and while the advances, evidenced by participation in the Pride March by public officials and businesses, have been great there are still miles ahead on the road to full equality in the eyes of society.
Secret Diary of a Transgender Woman
Lynda goes to a mainstream charity gala, reports on her online dating experiment, and updates us on what she’s reading. She also tells you what her favorite new sport is. Hint: It’s one that allows the wearing of a very short skirt. She also wears a beautiful gown. What has she been up to? Dig into Lynda’s adventures for the past few weeks in The Secret Diary of a Transgender Woman.
The Occasional Woman: Skirts!
Our fashion consultant, the woman responsible for The Occasional Woman custom clothing and seamstress service, Lorraine Anderson, discusses the many styles and lengths of fabulous, flirty skirts. From the micro-mini to the never-wear bubble skirt Lorraine focuses on how to wear the style and length most flattering to you. Give her column a read and be rewarded with sensible fashion advice from a cisgender seamstress and costumer.
