Tag: featured

One of the hardest thing you’ll ever do!

| Sep 12, 2016 | Reply

What’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do? Cate O’Malley believes that it’s coming out as trans. Today she blogs about a book and TEDx Talk by a straight man who, as an experiment, “came out” to his small religious community as a gay man. While he conducted his year-long experiment he was met with all of the reactions from friends and neighbors that you might expect, from being ignored to being the object of anger and scorn. All of that is pretty darned bad but Cate feels that it might just be harder to come out as trans. See what you think after you read her blog.

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The Week In Trans — 9/5/16

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

What do we learn in this edition of The Week In Trans? Mexico is making progress on trans rights but it’s still a dangerous place to be trans. Mark Ruffalo is getting attacked for casting a cis male as a trans woman in a movie he is producing. Protests occur at Manchester Pride. A trans woman activist files a lawsuit against a school that expelled her for being trans. More restroom war news and an in-depth look at Gavin Grimm. Where to see a good drag show in London. A look at drag in 19th century London. A trans newspaper editor covers the trans restroom battle in his town. Lady Bunny says some semi shady drag queen stuff. A four-year-old in Australia is switching gender. There’s all that and more plus a few TWIT Awards in this edition of TWIT!

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The Occasional Woman — Better Check Twice

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

What’s the last thing you do before you leave the house? Check your lipstick? Make sure you have everything in your purse? Ascertain that your cat has food in its bowl? In showbiz when the actors are ready to go on the set to shoot their scene the hair, wardrobe and makeup people all take what’s called a “last look.” That’s an overall check to make sure everything is right. That’s what The Occasional Woman recommends you take a moment to do before you walk out the door for you next adventure en femme. It can save you some embarrassment.

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Rent is Due

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

Today Sophie reflects (some would say broods but that’s too harsh) on life as she approaches her 2016 birthday. As John Fogerty sang “Big wheel keeps on turning…” so go the years as we travel around the Sun on our small planet and Sophie looks back on the previous revolutions of the cosmic wheel and what she has done with those years. She also lets us know how she “pays the rent.” Today’s post is a moving column that will touch everyone — and it lets us know that we need to start planning her surprise birthday party.

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Rocky Mountain High

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

Amanda blogs about her eight day vacation in Denver. She flew out, with some trepidation that she might have an anxiety attack on the plane, and arrived in Denver with no problems. She was picked up at the airport by her ex-partner Jess and she stayed with her friends Joan and Mary. After adjusting to the high altitude air and settling down from the flight she got to do some fun activities, including the kind of thing you can do legally in Denver, and she writes about it all today.

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Crossdresser Memories #3

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

Julie Gaum is 91. She’s been crossdressing since she was 15, after an earlier incident at age 7. Now she has written a book to share her story with the world. The book is called “Never Climbed His Mountain.” Julie shares more of her crossdresser memories today with TGForum users as she takes you through her life telling about all of those years of having a secret joy.

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Adventures in Androgyny

| Sep 5, 2016 | Reply

While Falecia runs her errands, walks the dog and then picks up some household items, she is subjected to compliments from people passing by. Did they mean it? Falecia dresses “androgynously” in women’s jean and booties with feminine touches in the accessories. Are people becoming more accepting of males who present themselves to the world in a more feminine look? See what compliments Falecia got and what she thinks about dressing androgynously as a substitute for going out completely en femme in her latest post.

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The Week In Trans 8/29/16

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

Welcome to The Week in Trans! You may wonder where the ‘genderism” went, and we are happy to answer. Dropping that part made sense since it’s easier to type “trans” than “transgenderism.” Also, the term “transgenderism” is outdated and offensive to some. What do we learn in TWIT today? A trans woman performance artist is suing Chicago so women can bare their breasts in bars. A research study shows that trans people’s brain structure is different. What does the Bible really say about trans people? Samoa prepares for its annual drag pageant. The DOJ creates a training video for police interactions with trans people. HB2 news! Courtney Act interviews people at a Trump rally. Steven Colbert revives that video with Rudy Giuliani in drag. Wigstock sets sail. All that and more plus a load of TWIT Awards is waiting for you in TWIT!

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Everybody is an Activist

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

The advanced technology world makes everyone capable of expressing their opinion about any event anywhere in record time to millions of people. Twitter and Facebook, the “social media,” make everyone able to let the world know how you feel about everything, from which movies you think suck to your grief over the latest senseless murder atrocities. All you have to do is type it up and hit Post. Then you get that satisfying feeling of having done something that “matters.” The Artist D suggests that maybe your opinion doesn’t really matter the way you think it does. See if you agree.

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Dina’s Diner 8/29/16

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

The special on the menu today down at Dina’s Diner is a tasty stew that Dina Amberle, the lady who runs the joint, has whipped up to please any palate. She mixes in some K-Pop crossdressing, a taste of crossdressing from a Spanish sitcom (with a video) and a few female icons who have aged exceedingly well. Then she follows up the stew with some Russian golfer cheesecake with a sprinkling of crystals for dessert. Take a seat down at the Diner and let Miss Amberle satisfy.

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A Recent “Scientific” Report is Harmful to Trans People

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

The conservative on the right wing of our nation’s politics don’t handle difference and change very well. They look at trans people as aberrations and deny that there is such a thing as a trans identity. Certain political groups know that these people are among their constituents and they work to reinforce their constituent’s feelings that trans people, along with the rest of the LGBT people, are a threat to conservatives. They use bad science to back up their assertions that trans people are a danger. Two of the right wing anti-trans “experts” published a report last week that claims there is no scientific basis for transgender identities. We refute that today in this editorial and in an essay by Dr. Dana Bevan.

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Cherry Picking is Not Science

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

Last week a report was published in The New Atlantis, a quarterly journal with conservative or skeptical tendencies. It was about a “study” done by two individuals, Mayer and McHugh, who oppose the idea that trans people are real. They ascribe trans behavior to mental illness or a phase of child development. Their “study” has been picked up and disseminated by right wing media outlets. Our own scientist in residence, Dr. Dana Bevan, goes through the Mayer and McHugh “study” point by point and reveals how the authors cherry picked their data.

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Perpetual Change: Rev. Yolanda, Part 2

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

The Rev. Yolanda Mapes is a drag queen musical minister whose live show “Rev. Yolanda’s Old Time Gospel Show” mixes that old time religion with gospel music and eastern philosophy. Last month Pamela DeGroff interviewed Yolanda about her upcoming projects. Today she presents Part 2 of that interview along with some musical news concerning Cyndi Lauper and does a review of new music by female rocker Kaye. It’s all in our TGF music column, Perpetual Change.

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Go Gamer Girl, Go!

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

Before TGF contributor Diane Hutchinson identified as a woman she identified as a nerd. She was the kind of nerd who memorized the dialogue from every Star Trek television show and carried novelizations of the series around with her. Another big part of her nerd identity was board games. Not Monopoly or Risk though. Diane was an expert in more serious games that called for tactics and strategy. When she decided to transition she stopped gaming for six months but then returned as a girl gamer. Today she tells us how that went.

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Don’t Be Outed By Your Voice!

| Aug 29, 2016 | Reply

Today we’re honored to present the first post about how to express your true gender with your voice by Marc Mitnick, MS, CCC-SLP, Board certified and licensed Speech, Language and Voice Pathologist and Director at Your Speech Therapist, Inc. Marc is based in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, Florida. In this first post he discusses the differences between male and female voices and how voices can be modified. We’re happy to present his expertise to our TGF readers.

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The Week In Transgenderism 8/22/16

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

It’s The Week In Transgenderism! All the trans related news gathered in one place for your convenience. Today we learn how actor Mark Rylance created the character of Olivia on stage. I Am Cait bites the dust. Target will spend millions to add single occupancy restrooms. A trans model from the ’60s goes back to work. Federal buildings overseen by the GSA must let people use the restroom of their choice. Tricare will start covering health needs of trans military. Is your lipstick bad for you? A new documentary show about gender change in Britain. Names in the news: Castor Semenya, Ruby Corado and Dr. Aaron Devor. All that plus a lot more news, and a few TWIT Awards, is waiting for you in TWIT!

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There Is No Joy in Mudville

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

Tasi Zuriack, our fashion guru, laments that the United States just isn’t a world leader anymore in the attire of its citizens. The malls are filled with people in t-shirts, ripped jeans, and flip flops or plastic shoes. And don’t even get her started about the kind of things you’ll see in a Walmart. According to Tasi this descent into fashion hell began in the 1960s and ’70s and by the ’90s all was lost. She feels it may be one reason that a well dressed crossdresser gets more attention at the mall. Her stylish outfit stands out from the drab ripped jeans and graphic t-shirt crowd. See if you agree.

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The 45th Birthday Surprise

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

Last month Linda Jensen told us about a chance encounter she had at a music festival up in Canada. She met Crystal and Mary who turned out to be old friends from at least ten to fifteen years previously. Crystal and Linda are both crossdressers. While Linda is a crossdresser who keeps her male and female lives quite separate Crystal pretty freely changes between the two genders and her friends and family know all about her dressing. How that came to be is quite an interesting story.

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Film! Music! TV! Trans Media Arts

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

Is the world ready for a film in which a hitman is forced into sex change surgery? There’s one coming out soon and it has the trans community stirred up. Meanwhile, some in the community say “good riddance” to the cancelation of I Am Cait. Amanda F. has those stories along with info on another upcoming film that follows 6 trans people through their lives called More Than T, and she fills us in on a new show title Strut that will follow trans models as they compete to reach the top. There’s more coverage of the media, the arts and music all waiting in Trans Media Arts!

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Labels

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

In our mainstream gender binary world there are two genders and that’s it. You can be a man or you can be a woman. Society has settled into that system over many years and though the only important difference between a man a woman is that a woman can bear children, there are vast culturally imposed differences between the two sexes. Crossdressers take advantage of the differences by emphasizing the femme characteristics to fit in as females. But what if you’re not easily labelled as one gender or the other? What if you identify as a woman but people keep labelling you wrong?

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Sister house Adds a Playroom

| Aug 22, 2016 | Reply

Our fashion maven, Tasi Zuriack, runs a website called Sister House which is devoted to all things femme. Tasi tells us she has recently expanded the Sister House offerings with a new addition called the Playroom. Find out what treats await you in the Sister House Playroom. With that name you just know there will be dress up fun.

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The Week In Transgenderism 8/15/16

| Aug 15, 2016 | Reply

A model was barred from entering the United Arab Emirates because she is trans. Chris Mosier is the first trans athlete to be featured in a Nike ad. Are they revising the rules about trans participation in the Olympics? There’s a trans model competition reality show. New Zealand honors Carmen Rupe. A roller derby woman comes out as trans. The Atlanta Civilian Review Board adds a trans member. France drops surgery requirements for legal gender change. Argentina is still dangerous for trans people. Could it be possible that God is two-spirit? Lawsuits against the restroom guidelines. Pennsylvania changes legal gender change rules. Baltimore police abuse and mistreat trans suspects. Tim Curry will be part of the cast for the new Rocky Horror. All that and a pile of TWIT Awards is waiting for you in TWIT!

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A Transgender Client Bill of Rights

| Aug 15, 2016 | Reply

With the depathologization of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) expected in 2018, its time to tell the Mental Health and Medical practitioners that serve the transgender community what we expect of them. The rewrite of the ICD is expected to create a non-pathological section of the ICD which includes “gender incongruence for adolescents and adults.” Dana Bevan proposes a Transgender Bill of Client Rights.

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Lovin’ This Ride

| Aug 15, 2016 | Reply

Accentuate the positive! That’s Cate O’Malley’s message in today’s post. After a lifetime of problems related to being trans she’s arrived at a point in her life where she has accepted who she is and is enjoying her life to the fullest. She’s doing what she wants and being who she wants to be. What about people who look at her and judge? That’s their problem. Cate is just enjoying the ride.

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For TG Dems the 2016 Convention Was a Political Revolution

| Aug 15, 2016 | Reply

Babs Casbar Siperstein reports on the growing amount of trans inclusion at Democratic Party conventions. The latest DNC convention features more trans people as delegates, super delegates, alternates or committee members than ever before. And their was a trans woman on the dais every night, all night. Marisa Richmond was the official Timekeeper. Read about the rest of the trans history that was made at the DNC last month and read Bab’s report.

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Shave Those Legs

| Aug 15, 2016 | Reply

Are you a fall, winter and spring crossdresser? Do you quit for the summer since you are expected to wear dude shorts when in male mode, and covering your hairy legs with several pair of hose, as you do the rest of the year is just too uncomfortable in the heat and humidity? We suggest you don’t try to hide those lovely legs in the summer. Just give them a shave and show them off in a short flouncy skirt or a pair of short shorts. But. . . what will people think? Who cares? Shave those legs, girlfriend!

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