I have a news flash for you. The Christian church is made up of flawed humans. Big surprise right? I know. I am stating the obvious. But when it comes to understanding the issues that separate the Christian church and the transgender community, this is something that is forgotten on each side of the divide. […]
Today Lorraine Anderson, the owner and operator of The Occasional Woman, the custom TG clothing service, talks about the difference between her job as your private seamstress and her work in the theater as a costume designer. The two jobs would seem to be similar and Lorraine takes the time to explain what the similarities are and what is the difference between a costume for the theater and a special creation for you.
Popeye said, I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam.” But what made Popeye what he is? In his case it’s simple. A cartoonist drew him that way. How else would you get forearms like that? But what about TGs? Sophie Lynne muses on the nature of the “nature vs. nurture” debate and concludes that we are the result of a combination of the two, so they should just stop opposing each other. Spy Vs. Spy can keep fighting it out but N vs. N should kiss and makeup.
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 CJ presents another of those situations we only wish we’d been in when we were young.
Today a new writer joins our staff of contributors. We are pleased to introduce Chanelle Nirok, a young crossdresser who immigrated to the USA from Russia when she was thirteen. Being a practical young lady she decided at 16 to save up $1000 and use it to outfit herself with a wardrobe of women’s clothing and accessories. Now at the age of 21 she is out to her mother and close friends and has already lost a romantic partner due to her crossdressing. We’re happy to present her writing here on TGF.
David de Alba is not only the Cuban Legend of female impersonation but is also a documenter of the other practitioners of the female impersonation art. He has done scads of interviews with those who trod the stage in gowns and high heels. He has published his FI celebrity interviews on his website but has given TGF permission to bring you select interviews. Today we present David’s 2001 interview with Wynnie La Freak, a British performer who is still going strong in 2014.
What do these fashion icons (Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Christina Hendricks, Kate Middleton), both current and ageless, have in common. They all know how to wear the sheath dress to express their personality. And why? Because the sheath dress is the perfect base for working a variety of different looks. Whether it’s for work or […]
Summer already feels like it’s winding down but there’s still a full month left! Plenty of time for fun under the sun. Even if you’re not ready to hit the beach en femme, we feel that every transgendered girl should have her own bathing suit for sunbathing, lounging by the pool or maybe even posing […]
A month or so back, I was in a well known chain of local coffee shops in Chiang Mai, about to enjoy my regular hot chocolate and over-indulge in a banana cream pie. The very pretty waitress who served me, gave me a lovely smile, and politely asked, “Where do you come from?” — a standard […]
Staking the top of the board into the soft powdery sand just above the high water mark where the sand is packed and damp you pull back your dirty blonde hair tying it into a lazy tail with the scrunchy that adorned your right wrist. You love the summer; your hair lightens and the sun […]
Fortunately for posterity home video cameras were around in 1980 and David de Alba’s partner Paul Ryner had one. He shot this video in 1980 which documents one of the finale productions featuring The Eve-ettes at Finocchio’s in San Francisco called, A Tribute to Cabaret Night 1980. There is a production number followed by David de Alba […]
The last full week in July was an incredible week for transpeople in America. On Monday July 21, 2014 President Obama signed an executive order doing 2 things. First, it added “gender identity” to an existing executive order protecting gay and lesbian federal workers from discrimination thus protecting transgender federal workers. (It institutionalized and strengthened […]
“Coming out” has become a big deal. Every day some athlete, actor or model “comes out” as this or that. You knew the trend was, well, trending, when they created a magazine about “coming out.” Today The Artist D asks what’s the big deal about coming out? D has been out since she picked up a dolly at age 3 instead of going for the bulldozer. You can’t have a deep dark secret if everyone knows. Give her post a read and see what The Artist D thinks about “coming out.”
Today our music columnist Pamela DeGroff reviews two tracks from the Pepperspray EP that she didn’t have access to last month. Then she interviews the violinist with The Shondes, Elijah Oberman, and we have a video of the band performing in Europe. Them Pam brings you music news about Our Lady J and a mini review of the latest from Swedish singer/songwriter Tove Lo. If music is something you love then tune into the TG music (and music TGs will love) scene in Perpetual Change.
Commitments mean something. Before we make them — and promise the world to a “significant other” — we need a clear head and complete readiness to open our minds, reveal our strengths and weaknesses, and be 100% willing to do everything we can for a happy future and a fulfilling life. If we fall short […]
Pet Townsend wrote a song in which he claimed his wife wouldn’t wear a slit skirt. Pity poor Pete because there’s nothing sexier than a skirt that parts to show a little — or a lot — of leg. Today Tasi Zuraick writes about slit skirts. Long ones. Knee length ones, and short ones. Her advice is — get a slit skirt. Since the feeling is that most crossdressers have great legs here’s a way to show at least one of them off while maintaining a demure feeling. Check out Tasi’s take on slit skirts.
That was quite a discussion on TGForum a couple of weeks ago. Sparked by a mention of the controversy stirred up by RuPaul in distinguishing between drag queens and she-males it highlighted to me that even among the TG community there is not a common understanding of the terms used to describe various members of […]
Transgender children now have new opportunities to express their biological gender predisposition. Both social transition and puberty delay are now recognized as appropriate options for some transgender children. This represents a change in the guidelines set by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which sets standards for medical and mental health treatment of […]
The stars of female impersonation in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s were all about glamor and beauty. Only an act devoted to comedy would over-do things and exaggerate feminine characteristics in search of a laugh from the audience. The exotic and beautiful female impersonators worked to be indistinguishable from the actresses and singers they portrayed. Thanks […]
Are you more ‘T’ than me? Let me ask it this way, are you more of a trans* person than I am? What started this question was a phone call I had with another transwoman who had completed her SRS ten years ago. She is well known in the local community as a resource, guide […]
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: Kids say the darnedest things.
It’s all about the process. Sophie’s column today, that is. She begins with an exposition of how she writes (throwing in some deserved praise for her editor) and then applies that process to the process of becoming ones true self. See how she does it by reading her article. And be impressed by the outstanding cleavage photo she chose to illustrate the article.
It’s summertime, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, and as they say, “the livin’ is easy.” Fish are…. Sorry! Today Lorraine Anderson, proprietress of The Occasional Woman gives advice on the proper footwear for summer fashion fun. And she also has advice on foot care and what not to wear, if you’re not capable of wearing them.
Sexy, sultry, cheap, matronly, are just a few ways to describe the attire of the T-Girls at Hamburger Mary’s In Long Beach, California. The big event is the first Saturday night of every month. Sometimes it’s themed, for example “Jungle Night,” where everyone is encouraged to wear animal prints or jungle attire. My close friend Jamie Jameson […]
Last month we brought you Part 1 of Kristina Mayhem’s research article on Christine Jorgensen. Today we bring you Part 2 of this look into the life of a woman who is arguably the world’s most famous transsexual. Kristina picks up Jorgensen’s story on the day in 1953 when she stepped off the plane at New York’s airport. As a bonus we also have video of Jorgensen’s appearance on a local TV show in the early ’80s.
Our celebrity female impersonator expert, the one and only David de Alba, has kindly granted us permission to run his interview with former Jewel Box Revue star Robbie Ross. Robbie was on the scene in the 1950s and ’60s. While on tour with The Jewel Box Revue he fell in love with Hollywood, decided to stop touring a settled down to work as a wig and hair stylist. Learn all about his drag career and his work with the stars in David’s interview . And there’s a bonus photo gallery with more rare photos of Robbie.
