Recent Transgender Articles
Transgender Entertainment — Trans Media Arts
Amanda F. Steele covers the arts, media and entertainment beats. Today she has news about Caitlyn Jenner’s house, the one seen in her reality show, I Am Cait. She also fills us in on the transgender film star, whose film Rani, bagged an international award. Then she has the scoop on the cast of Season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and info on Laura Jane Grace’s side project with The Devouring Mothers. There’s all that and a bit more waiting for your perusal in Trans Media Arts.
Part 3: Claire’s First Date
Linda is telling a story. It is about the genesis and training of her friend named Claire who spent her first eighteen years exclusively as Calvin. Then a powerful set of circumstances propelled him in to the murky world of male — and then drag prostitution. However for Calvin the life wasn’t all that murky. Today Claire tells Linda about her whirlwind feminization in preparation for her first “date” with a man as a woman/
A Sabrina Symington Cartoon — Butt Pat
Those who fail to learn anything about transgender people must get by using their imaginations to ponder just what kind of shady things “those people” might be getting up to. Of course they could try and learn about transgender people and then know that they “get up to” the same sorts of things all people are interested in. Today’s Sabrina Symington cartoon illustrates just one of their activities.
Philly Transgender Wellness Conference 19
Planning for PTWC19 is underway and it’s expected to be bigger and more exciting than ever! The conference is looking for workshop proposals on a diverse range of topics that appeal to a wide spectrum of transgender individuals, their families and friends, including workshops for parents and children. In addition to lecture style workshops, they […]
Philadelphia Trans Awareness Week Summit!
Mazzoni Center will host a series of events for Trans Awareness Week through the OUR Way program to continue bringing visibility and awareness to transgender and gender nonconforming people. Community Engagement Coordinator of the OUR Way program, Tatyana Woodard, says that the week of events is designed to advance the momentum started at the Philadelphia […]
The New TGForum!
In the past week our I.T. department has engaged in a flurry of upgrades to TGForum. Some the changes are very visible. The red background is gone and a pristine white theme has replaced it. The Login area that was formerly on the right side of your browser has been moved to a link in […]
The Week In Trans 11/5/18
Who’s got all the transgender news? We do! We call it The Week In Trans. Today we learn that Caitlyn Jenner has a foundations that gives grants to trans organizations. Two trans women in Alaska have been elected to city councils. A trans woman in Colorado is running for a state seat. Lynn Conway is getting an honorary doctorate. Jeff Sessions speech to The Federalist Society was interrupted by a protestor. More reaction to the administration’s memo on redefining gender by birth sex. The 32 Annual 17th Street High Heel Race happened. A media project features a 70-year-old trans woman conversing with a 11-year-old trans girl. Mushrooms have thousands of sexes! There’s all that and more, plus a few TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
World Professional Association for Transgender Health: Argentina: Part I
Dr. Dana Bevan is in Argentina for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Symposium 2018. She was recently elected to the USPATH Board of Directors, WPATH’s USA subsidiary and decided to attend. While she is there she is filing reports on what goes on. Today she tells us about her flight and arrival in Buenos Aires. The conference gets underway today (Monday) and Dana will file a report on the full conference next week.
Make Up — How you may or may not apply it
Today Pauline Estelle shares makeup tips she has gathered over the years. From the basics like preparing your canvas by cleaning it, getting rid of manly beard hair, and moisturizing to more advanced topics like color choices, application techniques and contouring, Pauline touches on all to do with makeup.
Axis of Evil for Transgender People
At the outset, let me say that I am not a U.S. citizen, don’t live in the U.S. and my observations below are from afar — and maybe I don’t know enough about the real mood on the ground, nor the intricacies of U.S. politics and the power games in play. I am, however, a […]
Photos From the Henri David Halloween Ball 2018
The Henri David Halloween Ball is an annual tradition that has happened every year in the city of Philadelphia since 1968. Local jeweler Henri David just presented his 50th Ball on last Wednesday evening. Your reporter Angela Gardner documented the fantastic costumes in photos and we present the photos here.
Advice for Transgender Voters
One day before the election, an election many feel will have a huge impact on transgender rights in the coming years, our political maven Babs Casbar Siperstein speaks out about how important Tuesday is for all transgender people. Of course Babs is voting a straight Democratic ticket and going to the polls to do so even though she is still dealing with ill health.
Far Different Times
Lou Reed sang in Sweet Jane, “Jack is in his corset, Jane is in her vest, And me, honey, I’m in a rock ‘n’ roll band. Huh. Riding a Stutz Bear Cat, Jim, Ya know, those were different times.” And times were different for LGBTQ people before and during World War II. Jack could only wear his corset in the privacy of his home. There was no internet to let people know they weren’t alone. Even into the 1960s and ’70s the difference was evident. And there were no “trigger” words, PC designations, and little understanding of those who were different. Susan Grant lived through it and writes about what it was like.
Transmute: Episode 1.2
In a future which has gone wrong Zealots seek to purge the nation of trans people. Trans women who don’t “pass” turn to black market meds in order to fully transition and blend in with the population of cisgender women. Spying, paranoia and secrecy are the norms for trans women and being “outed” means more than just mockery and verbal abuse. Raquel Swann is back with a science fiction tale of a future world that could be all to real. Read episode 1.2 of Transmute, if you dare.
The Week In Transgender 10/29/18
Time for The Week In Trans! The world reacts to the Trump administration’s memo about changing the definition of gender. No one agrees with it and we have a video of Doctor Phil’s reaction. Chelsea Manning has had her GRS. The mayor of San Francisco has ordered all departments to include nonbinary on all forms. It looks like the Wachowskis have closed their production company for lack of projects. A formerly homeless trans woman has become Ottawa’s first openly transgender school trustee. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau slipped trans worker protections into the new North American trade deal. Uruguay adds protections for transgender rights. A Thai trans woman is the CEO of a major media company. A trans woman judge has become a commissioner of the Maricopa County Superior Court. There’s all that and a lot more, along with several TWIT Awards, waiting for you in TWIT!
Transgender Fashion: Dress Styles with The Occasional Woman
Our cisgender style consultant who is dedicated to improving the fashion sense of transgender women is Lorraine Anderson, the woman behind The Occasional Woman custom clothing and seamstress service. Last month she wrote about a few of the basic dress styles and her post proved so popular that she delves deeper into the dress styles that can make you a well dressed woman. And there are many flattering styles to list.
(Transgender?) History Lesson
Back in 1997 Shirley Bassey sang a song called History Repeating. That’s the subject of Sophie Lynne’s post today. Not the song but the idea that if you wait long enough what has happened once will happen again. We don’t mind when the things that happen are nice and pleasant, but there are many examples of things that are evil and diabolical. With the current state of transgender rights Sophie is afraid that history may indeed be repeating.
Transgender Girl Dancing the Night Away
We are joined today by new Contributor Lynda Martini! Lynda is a trans woman from New Jersey who is currently going through her transition. She is a girl who loves to go out and about and have fun. She brings a fresh voice to TGForum and writes about the good things she has found by coming out of the closet. One of those things is the joy of dancing. Her inaugural post, after she introduces herself to you, is all about dancing and how she has come to enjoy the activity after she became Lynda.
Transgender Anxiety in Cali
Amanda F. Steele has been in California for some time. Her hope when she drove there was that she could find a place in San Francisco and possibly take advantage of the state and city’s transgender positive attitudes. Instead she soon learned that living in the city was too expensive so she had to go further east for anything in the way of housing that was almost affordable. She has a retail job and a roommate who is needy. She suffers from anxiety and want to leave but the prospect of leaving adds to her anxiety. Today she files her latest report on her state of mind.
Princesses of the Night — Diary of a Crossdresser “ABC of Art Drag”
Katherine Diaz is our correspondent in Bogota, Columbia. She has reported in the past on the crossdressing and drag scene in that city. Today she writes about a sort of training academy for drag performance artists that she has aligned herself with. She also has a video showing her participation. This post is also a first in that we present her text translated from the Spanish. Enjoy your excursion deeper into the drag scene in Bogota!
Drag in the Cinema — The Early 1960s
Years ago on TGForum Laurie Sheril did a series of articles on drag in the cinema. She started back in the days of silent film and worked her way forward in time to the ’90s. Today we dip into the TGForum Archives to bring you her thoughts on films from the early 1960s that featured characters in drag.
The Week In Trans 10/22/18
The Week In Trans has all the news about your community! Today we learn that the Trump administration has been working on a plan to do away with trans identities by defining gender as set at birth. The British government are condemning the British media for trying to act like Trump when it comes to trans people. Lambda Legal is fighting Kansas over refusal to change a birth certificate. An audience member educated a BBC show on trans issues. Trans people in Massachusetts are going door-to-door campaigning for support of the state’s anti-discrimination law. Laverne Cox is profiled in Self. Gigi Gorgeous has written a book. A trans woman cyclist has caused controversy by winning a women’s event. And that’s not all! We’ve got a ton more stories and a few TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina’s Diner 10/22/18
The diner may be crowded but there’s always a seat. Step into Dina’s Diner and ask the hostess for a booth or just take a stool at the counter. Today’s special include a few gender fluid models, a slice of Mark Volman in drag in the Zappa film 200 Motels evoking admiration for body positive women, a plate full of stilettos for men, and for dessert, an appreciation of Cammy White cosplayers. So order a coffee or some tea and get ready for a good time at Dina’s Diner.
Coping With Dysphoria
If you have a nagging feeling that something is not right it could be anything. Especially with the current situation domestically and across the globe. But if your “feeling” is that there is something wrong between your body and your mind then what you’re feeling is most likely gender dysphoria. Body configuration and the gender of your spirit are not in sync. Today Claire Hall writes about how to cope with this condition, both before and after transition.
Babs is Back!: The Babs Siperstein Law & More
Our politics reporter, Babs Casbar Siperstein, has been missing from TGForum for too long. Her work as a transgender activist and champion of trans rights was halted by a serious disease. We’re happy to welcome her back to our pages with this report on what has been happening in New Jersey politics and what Babs has been going through.
Donald J. Trump Wants to Cancel Your Existence
A new definition of gender sought by the Department of Health and Human services would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who have opted to recognize themselves — surgically or otherwise — as a gender other than the one they were born into. Why is this even being considered? Why are transgender people that threatening to conservatives? There’s an election just days away and that is one big reason.
