Recent changes in the military have given some hope that the estimated 15,000 plus trans soldiers will be able to serve openly in the near future. Is it reasonable to assume that since a few signs of progress have been seen that the services will quickly change their transgender policy? Babs Casbar Siperstein takes a look at the progress made.
Crossdressing detective Dawn Benedict was hired to investigate the murder of a woman in the restroom of a popular lesbian bar. The murder victim’s girlfriend hired Benedict since, as a crossdresser, she has a better chance of blending in with the bar’s clientele. In Chapter 2 Benedict started the investigation. Things didn’t go well. There was another murder — and Dawn was outed as a CD. In Chapter 3 Benedict found a suspect, of sorts. Will she survive Chapter 4 and catch the killer?
Nicole Maines has won a $75,000 settlement with her former school. A US Dept. of Education memo protects trans students from the kind of thing Maines was subjected to. Drag stars are doing holiday shows in NYC all month long. Minnesota TG student athletes can pick their teams. Another photographer document Cuban TGs. India’s first trans newsreader advocates for change. Miami-Dade has extended protections to TGs. Panti Bliss gets her just reward from Stephen Fry. All that and a lot more is waiting for you in TWIT!
Dana Bevan chose to “come out” to her adult daughters by sending them a letter in which she revealed that she is a trans woman. Since Dana is an expert on trans issues her letter not only tells her daughters about her gender status but gives them important information about how gender is assigned. We bring you her letter today so you can see how Dana handled telling her daughters and in hopes that you will find her technique useful if you have to come out to someone.
As a trans woman coming to femininity later in life there are plenty of things that Cate O’Malley is finding frustrating about her new femme lifestyle. Shoe shopping for male feet was simple. Not so with shoe shopping as a lady. And why can you try on two dresses, both the same size, and have one that hangs off your body and one so tight you can’t zip it up? Cate has other things too that make her say “I don’t get it!”
Chanelle demonstrates a fast and simple way to attach your fake nails that won’t damage your real nail and makes it easy to remove your nails for reuse. How does she do it? You have to watch her video tutorial on mastering this simple technique.
Too often people on this Earth who claim to be religious and pious are instead intolerant and show bias. The worst of the religious right don’t just condemn LGBT people to Hell for being who they are. They want to put LGBT in Hell by having them executed. This is not just a trait of radical Islamists, or of Christian sects in Africa. Today Meggan Sommerville points to two “ministers” who preach hate.
(Bala Cynwyd, PA) Dr. Sherman Leis, founder of The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery, one of the leading resources for transgender surgery and medical support in the United States, has identified 10 important trends that will affect America and its transgender community in 2015. “Although society has made a great deal of progress for the […]
A good dress is a dress that flatters your figure. No one wants to wear a dress that makes them appear bigger in the middle but the wrong choice of fabric can do that. What might otherwise be a charming frock becomes an infernal device that adds the illusion of extra poundage where it’s definitely not needed. Today Lorraine Anderson talks about using fabric in the correct manner to enhance your glamor, not your waistline or shoulders.
It’s The Week In Transgenderism! Panti Bliss wins an award. Does a Pentagon personnel policy mean TGs can serve openly? A trans woman convicted for “walking while trans” appeals. Women’s colleges are dealing with trans issues. 19th century crossdressing! The Canadian Senate is blocking a trans rights bill. A trans woman is starring in a play about a trans woman who is outed, and the play may out her. TGs don’t get good healthcare. There’s a film called “Alaska Is A Drag.” Our Lady J is writing for “Transparent.” All that plus more — and several TWITS are waiting for you in TWIT.
Sophie Lynne welcomes the holiday season with this post. She discusses greed and giving. While the greed part makes it hard to stay on a positive note Sophie manages to veer away from greed and the materialism that seems to plague the season. She suggests an excellent way to give to your brothers and sisters that is special at this time of year. And she manages to work in a shameless plug for Angela’s Laptop Lounge. Now that’s the spirit of giving.
Near the beginning of the year we ran a post by a documentary film maker named Jamie Lee Ryan in which she asked for volunteers to be part of a program for British TV about married crossdressers. Our cartoon contributor Christine-Jane and her wife answered the call. The program has been produced and today Christine-Jane takes us behind the scenes on the show.
Christine-Jane has been commenting on the crossdressing lifestyle for years. First appearing in trans-magazines and newsletters before there was an Internet, she now comes to TGForum to skewer crossdresser foibles and fears with her pens and pencils. If the ladies in her cartoons seem familiar it’s because they are. We’ve all either met them or been them. Today: Sometimes it’s hard to get a little “me” time.
Today Tasi Zuriack explores the mystery of what ever happened to the women’s undergarment called the slip. Just a couple of decades ago slips were part of most women’s wardrobes. They had both practical and esthetic purposes and could be found in stores ranging from Kmart to high end boutiques. Now searching for a sexy slip can be a hard slog. Get some tips from Tasi.
Dina Amberle has been working on a pot of stew to serve at Dina’s Diner and here it is for your edification and enjoyment. Today she mixed in several ingredients including how boys are discouraged from wearing feminine Halloween costumes; powerful women are relaxing about dressing more femme; high heels are sexy, and a dash of corsetry for spice. Stop into the Diner and get your fill.
A recent interaction with a group of ladyboys got Christine Burr thinking about transgenderism. The women were modeling wedding dresses at an event promoting various wedding salons to prospective brides. Christine started talking to them about what it means to be a ladyboy in Thailand. After listening to them and ruminating on transgenderism in general she has come to some conclusions.
Ever since she ran into a group of crossdressed people during Mardi Gras in 1978 photographer Mariette Pathy Allen has been documenting trans people in photographs and assembling the photos into books. In 1989 her book “Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them” featured members of Renaissance. Her latest book is “TransCuba.” Recently she was honored at Fantasia Fair with the 2014 Pioneer Award. Jan Brown visited Allen in her Manhattan home and introduces you to her.
David de Alba has done many interviews with female impersonators and other celebrities. He has kindly given consent to reproduce his interviews on TGF. Today we bring you his interview with Brian Keith. (Not the actor in The Parent Trap.) Brian Keith was the last emcee of the show at Finocchio’s famous impersonation club in San Francisco. We also have a video of Keith filling in for Frank Marino in the Divas Las Vegas show.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance is this coming Thursday and Babs Casbar Siperstein blogs about the event and the its significance to the transgender community as a whole. It’s not just about hate crimes against trans people. The violence we suffer is indicative of a pervasive atmosphere of discrimination against trans people in employment, housing and civil rights. Read what Babs has to say about the progress we’ve made and the progress that is still needed.
Lypsinka is back! Philadelphia drag performers attempt to set a world record. Elle Fanning portrays a trans teen boy. Miami-Dade County is set to enact trans protections. Mexico City simplifies name and gender change. Australia is urged to treat trans kids differently. Andreja Pejic is in the news. A Thai modeling agency reps trans models. Hijra in Bangladesh celebrate pride. TDOR is this week. Drag queens cavort at Indochine. College drag shows! RuPaul’s makeup man has a photo exhibit. Another photo exhibit documents the East London drag scene. L.A.’s Bad Suns release a music video on gender identity issues. All that and more is in TWIT!
Pamela DeGroff interviews drag rockers Jodi Jolt and The Volt. The band is from Rhode Island and it performs all around New England. Learn all about them in the interview. Then Pamela does mini reviews of several new music offerings you may want to listen, dance to — or both. We feature tracks from the artists and some video. Check out news from the music segment of entertainment in Perpetual Change.
Can trans people really go home for the holidays? They can but do they then limit themselves to the role their family insists on seeing them in? Even if they are “out” to their family do they still have to “tone it down” or be more demure? The holidays always bring stress and if a trans person’s family is just “putting up” with their trans relative can we really expect to have happy holidays? The Artist D has some advice for the approaching holiday season.
Linda Jensen records the story of one gorgeous transsexual and finds out that the lady’s first inklings of femininity had less to do with sexual urges or a feeling she should have been born a woman and more to do with a twelve year old boy finding he could pass and be respected as an older teen if he presented as a girl. In Chapter 2 Patty manages to go away to school — as a girl.
In Chapter 1 of “Murder at the Lavender and Leather” TV detective Dawn Benedict is hired to investigate the murder of a woman in the restroom of a popular lesbian bar. The murder victim’s girlfriend hires Benedict since as a crossdresser Benedict has a better chance of blending in with the clientele. In Chapter 2 Benedict starts the investigation and visits The Lavender and Leather. Things didn’t go well. There was another murder and Dawn was outed as a TV. What will happen in this Chapter?
November 20 is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Every year when November rolls around Linda Jensen thinks of a trans woman she met while on vacation in California. She was an aerospace technician and she told Linda she was on the road to living full-time in her chosen gender role. They stayed in touch now and then but after no communication for awhile Linda saw her friend’s name in the newspaper.
