Recent Transgender Articles
Wear Velvet For That Luxurious, Elegant Look
What’s the biggest fashion trend of the moment? It’s velvet and Tasi Zuriack explains the many ways you can tap into this trend and use it to show the world how elegant you can be. Everything from the velvet little black dress, to velvet accessories and velvet shoes are now out there for you to experiment with. Tasi tells you how to pair things so that the overall effect is fabulous. One of her warning — don’t go overboard on the velvet. If your dress is velvet your shoes should not be. Learn all the ways to rock the velvet trend this fall and winter from our Fashion Maven!
What If I Had Taken That Other Road?
Linda is musing on the path she took in life. She asks herself “Would my life have been different if I had not worked that summer in Toronto, if I had not wandered into that drag bar and if I had not gone home with one of the most beautiful girls I had ever met? I wonder about those ‘roads not taken.’” Of course there is a story attached to the night she wandered into that drag bar. Today she tells you the first part of the story.
Benefit Performance for The Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
When it opens next year the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive (LLTA) will house an extensive and varied collection of transgender archival materials. LLTA will make hundreds of publications, thousands of photographs, theatrical programs and recordings, now in storage, available to researchers and the public. Currently the archive facility is in the “finishing touches” phase. The […]
The Week In Trans 11/6/17
Time for The Week In Trans! The murderer of Kedarie Johnson is found guilty. Colleges are supporting trans students. Drag queens are popping up on campus. A judge places an injunction on the military trans ban. More and more trans people are seeking public office. Hillary Clinton calls out Trump on his attacks on LGBT people. Like a fungus HB2 is back. A Canadian trans woman wins a YWCA award. Milo Yiannopolis crawls our from under a rock down under. Trans themed video and film projects. 700 Oregonians apply for nonbinary ID. Trans citizens of Weimar Germany could get a “transvestite pass” from the police. There’s all that and more, plus a number of TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Legalizing Discrimination
Given the political atmosphere we find ourselves living in is it any wonder that trans people have grown fearful? The last administration worked on our behalf to make sure we were given our rights. The Justice Department went to bat for trans people who were discriminated against or attacked. The military was working on letting trans soldiers serve openly. Then with one election all protections and assistance from the federal level was snuffed out. Sophie Lynne is not optimistic that she will be able to survive the Trump administration. She does have an idea of what we all need to do. She discusses that in her blog today.
Initially Speaking: LGBTQQIAA vs. MOGII
LGBT is an “initialism.” Of course LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. But of late the initials have been added to as more identities have been recognized. At the moment we are up to “LGBTQQIAAP” which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual. That’s getting to be quite a mouth full and there are some in mental health and medical circles who want to chop the unwieldy initials back down to three to five letters. Dana Bevan doesn’t think that’s a good idea and today she explains why.
The Transgender Rule Book
After waiting fifty-plus years to transition Cate O’Malley wanted to get her hands on a trans rule book. She wanted some kind of guide as she set out on her gender journey. What she found did not seem adequate. There was the WPATH Standards of Care and Ethical Guidelines but that seemed long and complex. Not what she was looking for. Somehow she found the right path to her goal and in the process ended up following most of the WPATH guidelines. How does she new feel about the idea of a Transgender Rule Book? Read on!
The Henri David Halloween Ball 2017
Every year Halloween impresario Henri David, a jeweler in Philadelphia, produces his amazing Halloween Ball at a downtown Philadelphia hotel. The Ball occurs on Halloween no matter what night of the week that holiday falls on. Attendance varies with weekend Balls getting near 3000 costumed revelers to between 1500 and 2000 on weeknights. The Ball […]
One Door Closes . . .
Babs Casbar Siperstein is our political correspondent and until recently she was a member of the Democratic National Committee. She was unceremoniously dumped in an email just a day before the DNC By-laws mandated deadline for informing a member that they are removed. But does she have any regrets? No. Babs looks at it as a case of one door closing and another door opening. She will continue to support the Democratic Party and work as she always has for a better future.
Self Centered?
There are so many identities within the trans community that now and then some folks like to stop and do some self examination. Which set of initials do they feel best describes them? As Dr. Bevan’s post today illustrates there are more initials being added every week to what was LGBT. Kimberly takes some time in her post today to look over which identity best fits her.
Metamorphosis Chapter 14
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They trek to the north to do battle with “the Magistrate” but have been told one of them will not survive the confrontation. In a house that is a duplicate of their childhood home Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” Are these people who they seem to be? Is her father the Magistrate? Is any of this experience real? Could she be passed out on the floor inside a hut in the wood? Learn more in Chapter 14 of Metamorphosis.
The Week In Trans 10/30/17
Ready for the news? M. Butterfly has returned to Broadway. Thursday was Intersex Awareness Day. A UN treaty doesn’t recognize pregnant trans men. The Washington D.C. High Heel Race had a winner. Former Governor Pat McCrory insists that HB2 was never repealed. Sam Smith the moody singer says he feels both male and female. The man who single handedly stopped the Texas bathroom bill has decided to retire. Two trans people are running for Minneapolis City Council. A southern mayor is taking heat for lip syncing as Christina Aguilera. News about teens and gender issues from down under. All that and a lot more plus a boat load of TWIT Awards is waiting for you in this edition of TWIT!
Have a Scary but Comfortable Halloween
Lorraine Anderson, the costumer behind The Occasional Woman, is all about costumes and Halloween fun. She has been making costumes and wearing costumes for as long as we’ve known her. In this pre-Halloween post she brings up the things you need to keep in mind as you prepare to dazzle the world in that Wonder Woman outfit or Emma Peele cat suit. Will you be able to relieve yourself and get back into your costume? Will those shoes allow you to walk normally all night or will you turn into a limping disgrace before midnight? Read on for Lorraine’s guide to a sensational, trouble-free Halloween.
Isolated
It’s easy to forget just how large the United States of America is. In just a few hours you can fly from one coast to the other. Telephones and the internet put you in instant communication with people who live and work far from your locality. But try driving across the country like our Amanda F. Steele did. It took her days and she landed in the San Francisco area hoping for a better life. What she found is not what she hoped for, and she feels that in the vastness of our country she is very isolated.
Retro Rerun — Foundation: Where It All Begins
Our Retro Rerun is a how-to on foundation makeup written by then TGF editor Cindy Martin. It was published on our old website in 1996. As with all our Retro Reruns much of the advice remains applicable today. Some of the terminology is dated but that just adds some fun. The original post ran in two parts but we put them together for you today in one tidy package. Enjoy.
Princesas de la Noche: A Columbian Halloween
En Norteamérica Halloween is a big holiday for dressing up and going to costume parties, trick or treating and getting a belly ache from too much candy. While Halloween is always on the 31st of October in years such as this when it falls on Tuesday the parties are mostly all on the weekend before Halloween. It’s no different in South America. Our Columbian correspondent Katherine Diaz has a video and a blog post about the Halloween fun in Bogota. (Es en Espa?ol. To read an English translation go to Google Translate and paste in the Spanish text.)
The Week In Trans 10/23/17
It’s that time again! Time for all the trans related news condensed into one weighty column that we call The Week In Trans! Today we learn that Andreja Pejic has become the first trans model to sign with the prestigious Ford modeling agency. While A.G. Jeff Sessions sent a lawyer to help with a hate crime against a trans girl he’s still busy undermining our rights. California welcomes trans employees with training and rules against firing someone for being trans. They also now have a “third gender” option on state ID. Playboy makes history with a trans playmate of the month. Aussie Hannah Mouncy won’t play in the big league. India’s new trans woman judge speaks. That’s just a taste of what we’ve got in this edition. There’s all that and a lot more plus a few well deserved TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina’s Diner — October 23, 2017
Take a seat and order a cup of coffee down at Dina’s Diner. Today the items on the menu range from tasty observations on an admiral’s wife who caught Dina’s eye, to her take on the footwear young women are sporting, a delicious report on two drag performers who are legendary, and the way that tight, short shorts can be mesmerizing. So relax and read on for the latest specials from Dina’s Diner.
Review: The Murder Room
Sophie Lynne is our Book Pundit. Her beat is to review books with transgender themes, trans characters, or books written by trans authors. Today she tackles a book titled The Murder Room. It came out in 2010 and is a murder mystery of the True Crime genre. Some of the characters featured are trans women and that’s why Sophie is reviewing it today.
Okay… Let’s get political
It takes a lot to get some folks worked up over destruction of LGBTQ rights in today’s world where atrocious rulings, policies, laws, and tweets come out of our nation’s capital on a daily basis. But our Youth View writer M is more than a bit upset about the order issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions changing the interpretation of Title VII. Sessions has instructed the DOJ that Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBTQ citizens. So if your boss at the coffee house or the major corporation wants to fire you for being LGBTQ there is nothing to stop them.
Feminine Energy and Spiritual Evolution
Why are there so many trans people coming out and showing their true selves? Is it simply that the media has started to cover the story and more people have come to realize that they don’t have to keep themselves hidden? Or is it that the transgender support group movement and trans activism that burgeoned at the end of the last century achieved its goal? Maybe it’s bigger than that. It could be that there is a spiritual evolution taking place. That’s the theory that Tommie Smith expounds on today.
Halloween at Angela’s Laptop Lounge 2017
Every year Angela’s Laptop Lounge in suburban Philadelphia holds their Halloween Party in October. This year’s party drew a crowd of around ninety people and many attended in costume. We present a few of the notable costumes in this Halloween pictorial taken on October 21.
Halloween Costume Guide
Everyone, or a least a substantial portion of the population, enjoys putting on a costume and becoming someone else on Halloween. That’s especially true for girls like us. Many may seek to blend in for the rest of the year but on Halloween they can become fabulous feminine archetypes and show off their glamor. As our founder JoAnn Roberts said, “Halloween is a holy day of obligation for crossdressers.” But we all want to look our best on the big night and sometimes that can be hard. Trans blogger Faith DaBrooke has put together a costume guide for trans girls and we are happy to present it here.
The Week In Trans 10/16/17
It’s Monday so it must be time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that an Aussie trans woman has been nominated to a women’s elite football league. Bills have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to block the president’s military trans ban. A House member wants to know which generals advised President Trump to enact the ban. The president doesn’t want the rainbow flag flown at the Stonewall Inn, which is a national park site. They’re putting the drag queens back in Christmas in Wichita. The Boy Scouts are welcoming girls. What does it cost to be a drag performer? Jeff Sessions while busy dismantling trans legal protections has sent an attorney to prosecute a hate crime against a trans girl. There’s all that plus more, and a few TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Tranny Queer: Gay Serial Killers — First Kisses
The Artist D! continues her “Tranny Queer” series with some thoughts on just why so many people, maybe all of us, are hung up about sex. She points out that when she was young she experienced more anxiety leading up to her first kiss than she does over adult to adult sexual interaction today. And what’s up with all the serial killers who were gay? Were they so messed up over sexuality that they had to go that route to get any sexual pleasure at all? We’re not mantises. Eating your sex partner like they do is wrong!
Sabrina Toon: Talking With Bigots
Sabrina Symington’s cartoon incarnation, Bria, is back for this month’s cartoon commentary on the state of the world regarding transgender people. In today’s toon Bria is Talking With Bigots. That saves us all from the odious task. See what Bria makes of their protestations about trans people.
