Tag: Identity

The Problem with IDENTITY

danabevan | Mar 23, 2020 | Reply

Words. We use them everyday and generally we know what we mean. But too often people use words believing they mean one thing and others who hear those words interpret a completely different meaning. Words like gender identity, sexual identity, identity groups, identity disorders, gender identity development, social identity and more are examples of words that can mean one thing to one group of people and something else to another group. Today Dana Bevan takes you through the history and the different meanings of the word identity.

Ask Amanita

Amanita | Mar 23, 2020 | Reply

Today a reader asks Amanita how to handle coming out as transgender to a longtime friend. The friend has made transphobic statements from time to time and the reader is afraid that when they come out they will be rejected. See what Amanita counsels in this edition of Ask Amanita.

Diary of a Crossdresser — Sweet Memories

kathdiaz2005 | Mar 16, 2020 | Reply

Memories. Misty water colored memories. Not of the way we were but memories of the way Katherine Diaz, our Columbian correspondent, use to be. Also memories of her journey from a “trans de closeth” a closeted crossdresser, to where she is today, an accomplished drag artiste who has performed on stage, done presentations on crossdressing and drag in front of academic audiences, and is totally comfortable with her life.

One Constant in My Life

Christine B | Mar 16, 2020 | Reply

Our correspondent from Thailand has been out of that country and doing some traveling. She has filed a blog with us about what she, and a longtime friend talked about when they got together recently after not seeing one another for a long while. Both of them crossdress when they are able and both find it easy to present as male when needed and as female when they want to. After their conservation about their life’s journey Christine came to a conclusion about one thing she has found to have always been part of her life.

Transphobia in Public Life

Claire H. | Mar 9, 2020 | Reply

Claire Hall is a county commissioner in Lincoln County, Oregon. She was first elected to that position in 2004. She transitioned on the job about two years ago. Now she is faced with a campaign to keep her job for a fifth term. Two people with no government experience have decided to run against her, and while she is confident that her record will assure her of a win she is noticing a rise in the amount of people on social media who are starting to say nasty things about her.

Mr. Johnson

Jaelle | Mar 2, 2020 | Reply

Welcome our new Contributor Jaelle Terrell. Jaelle has submitted some trans fiction for your entertainment. It’s the story of a trans woman who had given up on romance. She was content with her life after transition but thought that no one would be interested in a woman like her. That all changed starting on the day she was late to meet a friend and ran into, literally, Mr. Johnson.

Ask Amanita, “Was I a man?”

Amanita | Feb 24, 2020 | Reply

Dear Amanita, When I hear other trans women talk and write about their past, I often wonder: Did I used to be a boy or have I always been a girl? I have only found out that I’m a woman five years ago. Does this mean, I used to be a man? Or have I […]

Dina’s Diner 2/10/20

Dina Amberle | Feb 10, 2020 | Reply

Are you ready for some delicious dishes straight from the kitchen of Dina’s Diner? Today’s Specials are sure to please! First Dina serves up a 13-year-old who puts a different spin on the youth drag queen scene. This young drag queen is a cisgender girl! The next entree served with a side of laughs is devoted to playwright and actor Charles Busch. Then Dina offers a palate refresher in the form of BroadwayCon and the fans who wear fishnets. Then it’s on to two delectable desserts. One is the modern advances in beauty technology that allows J.Lo at 50 to be so hot, and the other is the way your bangs can define what kind of woman you are. Don’t miss all the tasty treats down at Dina’s Diner!

We’ll Always Have Paris

Jaelle | Feb 3, 2020 | Reply

An older trans woman, retired and not on any schedule, gets up one morning and between her bed and the coffee pot she revisits her youth when she was a male sailor assigned to the SeaBees and one day she met her first love. They became roommates and while they remained platonic the were together until her roommate left the service. The story is the work of our newest Contributor Jaelle Terrell. It is the first story in a trilogy that Jaelle has kindly allowed us to publish.

The Case of the Missing Princess in the Land of Oz

Claire H. | Jan 13, 2020 | Reply

When Claire Hall was a child she used to love to read. The year was 1969 and Claire was a 10-year-old living as a boy. Since she didn’t care for sports or other rough and tumble activities engaged in by most boys her age she looked forward to being able to stay indoors in bad weather and dive into a good book. She had no idea that people who felt like her existed or that changing genders was possible. One day she read one of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books and found a character that inspired her.

Tis the Season

Lynda Martini | Dec 23, 2019 | Reply

Lynda Martini is caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. She has parties to attend, including a gala event at the Curtis Center where she wore a gown, Christmas cards to write and, old friends to inform about the big change in her life. Lynda is scheduled to undergo gender confirmation surgery in February so this will be her last column till after she has recovered. Today she writes about those old friends, what she plans to tell them and, on another topic, why she didn’t win the ugly sweater contest at work.

Last Word of the Decade

Sophie Lynne | Dec 23, 2019 | Reply

The holiday season can be hard for most people. All the running around shopping for gifts, putting up with crazy drivers around any mall, preparing holiday treats to take to parties — deciding what to wear for those parties. All in all it’s a busy, sometimes frustrating time. Then there is the trans community and its members who can find themselves not given to Christmas cheer when they have been cast out by their families, not invited to the holiday feast. Just because of what they are. Sophie Lynne is not a fan of the December holiday. So rather than write about it she hands off that task to a deceased friend for the last word of the decade.

Are We Merely Players?

Claire H. | Dec 16, 2019 | Reply

One of Claire Hall’s friends said “Performing our identities can be tiring.” That made Claire start to think. Wasn’t all of life filled with performance? Weren’t we one thing to some people and a different variation of ourselves to other people? We may all be wearing masks but in Claire’s case she has found that since she came out as her true self the mask fits.

Sabrina Symington’s “She” Episode 9

Sabrina_Bria_Symington | Dec 16, 2019 | Reply

Sabrina Symington has produced a graphic novel that TGForum started publishing just before Halloween. A loving couple’s life is shattered when one of them goes into the bedroom — and never comes out. We introduced the spouse who was left behind in last week’s new content. The police were no help. She wasn’t even believed and her family don’t believe her either. Today — strange things begin to happen as the story continues.

More on Changing Your Legal Name

kholt81936 | Dec 9, 2019 | Reply

Meet Philadelphia attorney Kristine Holt. She is our newest contributor and will be writing about transgender legal issues. Today she expounds further on the subject of how to change your legal name. Future columns will cover other legal matters of interest to the transgender community.

Introducing Ask Amanita

The Editor | Nov 4, 2019 | Reply

TGForum was contacted recently by a cis woman who is married to trans woman. Her name is Amanita and she is a counselor, who after meeting her partner, specialized in counseling for trans people and their partners. Today she introduces herself and asks for people to send her questions which will make up her future […]

Goodbye Raven

Sophie Lynne | Oct 28, 2019 | Reply

Many times people find a place where they can go. Where everybody knows your name. No, not Cheers. The LGBTQ establishments where those who society looks upon with a biased eye can relax, have a drink or two and be among others who know what it’s like to not fit in to the straight world. For Sophie Lynne such a place was The Raven in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The place recently closed and Sophie writes about what it meant to her.

You Can’t Get What You Want (‘Til You Know What You Want)

Lynda Martini | Oct 28, 2019 | Reply

Our lady out and about, Lynda Martini, files a report on her latest adventures. From meeting a guy who she clicks with and going on dates with him, to attending a lesbian happy hour mixer with her bestie, Lynda is on the move in the Philly social scene. Give her latest report a read for insights into what life is like for a trans lady on the move.

T & A

Sophie Lynne | Sep 30, 2019 | Reply

The only constant in our universe is constant change. Sophie Lynne has moved to central Pennsylvania to attend graduate school at the Pennsylvania State University. Now she is near to her beloved Nittany Lion and attending classes with people much younger than her. Moving back after so many years away has shown her how the place has changed. The Old College Diner is gone. High rise apartment buildings have sprouted everywhere, and many of the businesses that were there 30 years ago are long gone. Come along on Sophie’s journey to an old place from her past life that is now shiny and new.

Burn the Ship!

Lynda Martini | Sep 30, 2019 | Reply

Lynda Martini is not a lady to just hang out at home and watch television. No, she’s a woman with a plan and that plan includes consuming her namesake cocktail in various venues in the Philadelphia area. Coincidentally while she has this soothing beverage she is likely to meet people, both old friends and new ones. Jump into today’s blog and get caught up with her social whirl from last week. You not only find out what she means by “burn the ship” but you get some details on what she considers to be her first official date.

OZMA and/or My Lost Youth

Hebe Dotson | Sep 30, 2019 | Reply

Back in the late 1990s TGForum contributor Hebe Dotson wrote about a transgender plot twist in one of Frank L. Baum’s Oz books. The twist happens many chapters into The Marvelous Land of Oz. Some of the familiar characters are present and the action takes place after the Wizard has headed back to Kansas. Dorothy and Toto have also left Oz but the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow team up with a boy named Tip and a being Tip has accidentally created named Jack Pumpkinhead. Because his head is a pumpkin.

A Sabrina Symington Cartoon

Sabrina_Bria_Symington | Sep 16, 2019 | Reply

Welcome to our gender support group meeting. Please say your name and pronoun preference as we go around the circle. Sabrina Symington has drawn a cartoon that tells us all why we’re here.

Emily: The Dance and Summer

Ashli.Kleier | Sep 9, 2019 | Reply

This is the last chapter of the story of Emily. She was a curious boy who wanted to learn more about being a girl. Then she became more popular and gained more good friends than her previous identity as Robert ever had. Many thanks to Ashli Kleier for sharing Emily’s story with TGForum’s readers. Now, on to the final chapter of Emily, The Dance and Summer.

What’s In a Name?

Pauline | Sep 9, 2019 | Reply

Would a rose smell as sweet if it was called a transvestite, a crossdresser, or a transgender person? That’s silly of course but despite the many labels we’ve had for the transgender community all of us knew, some very early and some much later, that we needed something more than living every day in the gender assigned by our birth genitals. Pauline Estelle looks at the many labels from a crossdresser perspective and has an anser to the question, What’s in a Name?

It’s Different for Girls

Lynda Martini | Sep 2, 2019 | Reply

As the summer winds down some of Lynda Martini’s social whirl slows and she takes time in this post to look back over how she started her transgender journey. As in many tales of the transgendered Lynda’s begins when her marriage ends. Then, on her own, she began to dress up at home. After doing that for awhile she realized she needed to go further. As in out the door and into the world.

Is Social Media Helpful?

Claire H. | Aug 26, 2019 | Reply

Claire Hall writes about what it was like when she came out. Social media wasn’t that much of a factor for her at first. The web helped her find a support group that wasn’t too far from her home and after attending some meetings she got a few Facebook friends in the trans community. Then the government signaled that things were going to get tougher for transgender people in the USA and Claire’s friend requests jumped. And the people who have connected with her all have stories to tell. Some heartbreaking and some inspiring. So has social media been a help on her journey? Read on.

Tag: Identity

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