Why can’t people understand that LGBTQ people aren’t a threat? They’re people just like everyone else and they have many of the same needs that aren’t blotted out by the one thing that makes them different that the majority of humans. Today Sabrina Symington has penned another cartoon that offers commentary on the real agenda of the LGBT movement.
Like many in the trans community, when Sophie’s need to express her feminine nature finally pushed her to begin exploration of her desires she found that the box in the basement labelled “boxed games” was no longer going to hold the things related to becoming Sophie. For one thing she felt a constant concern that the box would, for some unexplained reason, be opened by someone she didn’t want learning what was inside, and for another thing her latest purchase, a large pair of silicone breast forms, would not even fit inside the box. So she took the next step — renting a storage space. Today she writes about bidding that space goodbye, as she moves on in life.
Claire Hall counts herself as lucky as she was able to transition from male to female, keep her job and most of her friends and associates. But she realizes that it’s not that easy for many people and while transition might be the difference between living and dying, transition might also be a death sentence for some. For others it could at least lead to a more miserable existence. It all leads her to ask is being transgender a blessing or a curse?
For the last several months Linda has been telling us the story of one of the early gender transformation stories of the airline industry, a story apparently buried by a 50-year confidentiality agreement. Questions? We all could have questions about this story. One might be how likely was it that Patricia could find such a supportive and eventually loving friend in the person of First Officer, Dan. Ask no more. Here is Dan’s story.
On the 500th episode of Realtime with Bill Maher on HBO one of Maher’s guests was a woman named Debra Soh. Dr. Soh holds a Ph.D. and was on the program to talk about transgender issues. Her statements on the subject seemed to be based in right wing politics rather than in any actual scientific research and she led Maher to believe she was the victim of academic discrimination by academics who wished to promote their theories about transgender people. She said she was accused of being “politically incorrect.” Today Dana Bevan looks at Dr. Soh and her statement about transgender people. Dana finds that Dr. Soh is just the latest in a long line of people who want the world to see trans phenomena their way.
Exploration of a feminine lifestyle all started when small-for-his-age Robert grew curious about why and how girls were different. With help and encouragement from his mother and sister he has lived as a girl for the summer. But summer will end in a short while and Emily finds that she doesn’t really want to bring Robert back. She tells her mom that she wants to continue being Emily and is happy to learn that there is a way for her to always be Emily. In the last chapter she told her friends about what was going on but what about her friends’ families? Would they accept Emily as readily as her girlfriends have?
Lynda goes to a mainstream charity gala, reports on her online dating experiment, and updates us on what she’s reading. She also tells you what her favorite new sport is. Hint: It’s one that allows the wearing of a very short skirt. She also wears a beautiful gown. What has she been up to? Dig into Lynda’s adventures for the past few weeks in The Secret Diary of a Transgender Woman.
Today Claire wonders how other people who have transitioned remember or thing about their former gender-selves. Do they never want to think about that missing person? Are they willing to talk to friends they have maintained through the change about the person they used to be? Claire knows how she answers those questions. Give her blog a read to see how she deals with the missing man.
In the last Dreams Take Flight post Patricia was caught by the company working Patrick’s shifts. Ever since Patty had started working in the female flight attendant’s uniform her popularity among passengers had increased. They found her to be fun and entertaining and Patty found that she got attention and approval as a woman much more than she ever had as a man. But now it could be the end of her association with the airline. Patricia and her co-workers have been called on the carpet to explain.
In the last episode Emily and all her girlfriends attend the church dance. Several boys asked her to dance and it got to the point that might have been some jealousy among the other girls over Emily’s popularity. This exploration of a feminine lifestyle all started when small-for-his-age Robert grew curious about why and how girls were different. With help and encouragement from his mother and sister he has lived as a girl for the summer. But summer will end in a short while and Emily finds that she doesn’t really want to bring Robert back. She also wants to let her girlfriends know what she has been doing all summer. How will they handle her deception?
Often members of the transgender community stay defensive when they are out and about with the general public. That’s one reason support groups and trans specific parties and events are popular. It’s a chance to be among others who are living the same reality and relax without fear that someone will attack them for being who they are. Our blogger Sophie Lynne is an amateur actress who has appeared in a few of her local theatrical troupe’s productions. Just last week she made her debut as a character in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. After the play premier she and the cast did what actors do and went out for a celebratory drink. Then a funny thing happened in the bar. At first Sophie was playing defense but then understanding stepped onto the stage.
It’s been seventeen months since Claire started her transition. In that time she has lost two hundred pounds, had over 150 hours of electrolysis, slowly ramped up hormone therapy, and had a little filler and Botox in her face. It’s been expensive and painful at times but she is pleased, and more than slightly amazed at the results she has achieved. Her friends say she looks twenty years younger. Read all about Claire’s changes during the past seventeen months in today’s blog post.
Dana Bevan feels that the words we use to describe members of the transgender community are no longer adequate or proper. Many of the words, like transvestite, transsexual, and others, were coined by psychiatrists or academics and over the years have picked up bad connotations or been applied in error to people who were not in that category. Why should we let the psychiatric profession label us and dominate the words used to describe our behavior, and our demographic and social groups? Dana thinks it’s time we got some new words and she would like your help in coming up with some.
Thoughts of mortality begin to appear the older one gets. Your mind can wander down paths where you begin to think about what your lasting impression on the universe will be, or just wonderwhat will happen to all your “stuff.” We accumulate a great deal of “things in the course of a lifetime. What will happen to those thins, our stuff, when we’ve left? And, for transgender people, “who” will be remembered by those left behind? Will it be the person who expressed their true gender for part of their life or will it be the old persona the closed the door on? Sophie muses on all that in today’s blog, Momento Mori.
Many times transgender people suffer in silence and present their birth gender face to the world because they are afraid of what will happen if their families know about their secret identities. There is the fear of rejection and there is guilt for the continuing deception. Often it is only when the pressure to live as their true self gets so great it cannot be ignored that their secret will be disclosed. How do you deal with family? Claire Hall has not written much about her relations with her own family. Today she gives you a look.
Lynda Martini is always busy. After returning from the Keystone Conference she finds herself cleaning her mental house with exercise and preparations for swimsuit season. And since it’s spring time she also finds her thoughts turning to the possibilities of dating. She attends a rooftop mixer and recalls what it was like in those type of situations when she was the guy trying to get a woman’s phone number. Now she hopes to be the woman who gets asked for her phone number. Check in on Lynda’s newest adventures in her blog.
Within the past decade or so the transgender community has moved out of the shadows to take a place in the spotlight. Thirty years ago men who wore women’s clothing were thought to be gay. Women who dressed as men were viewed as butch lesbians. And all of us were thought of as perverts and possibly child molesters by the majority of the nation. But thanks to concerted efforts by trans activist the real truth about transgender people began to emerge. From weekend support group meetings to the legislatures of several states the transgender journey has marched on. Today Claire Hall asks herself the question, Why Wait? She waited for many years to fully express her true self. Of course there is still resistance to acceptance of trans people and there are haters out there for sure. What kept Claire in her closet till just this past year?
Women across the world are speaking out about the sexual harassment they have had to cope with, but what about feminine members of the transgender community? Trans women and crossdressers can be victims of #MeToo incidents when they are out among others interacting in a feminine role. Trans women who are employed are also exposed to treatment that far too often comes with the feminine territory. Angela Gardner relates a couple of #MeToo incidents she had to put up with while she was out having fun. She asks that you share any such incidents you have lived through by posting them in the comment area.
Robert, a boy who is shorter and slighter than other boys his age was caught trying on his sister’s clothes while investigating the things that made girl’s clothes so different. He was caught by his sister who didn’t recognize him and thought some other girl was in her room trying on her clothes. After she settled down she asked if he would like help with makeup and when Robert said yes she painted his face and fixed his hair in a feminine style. Then they were discovered by his mother who did not recognize him. When she did she asked if he would like to explore femininity more throughly. Then he was given the name Emily and his adventures really started.
Lynda Martini has taken a big step and had breast augmentation and facial feminization surgery. She is out at work and has developed a renewed interest in meeting people who may become romantic partners. She is using a couple of online dating sites and is looking forward to going out on some dating encounters. If the dates don’t work out she’s thinking of getting a cuddly stuffed animal to hug. Today she puts forth her self-created 5 Point Plan for Dating Success.
It’s been nine months since Claire Hall came out to the world as a woman. In that time she has learned a lot about her gender and about being a woman. Today she wonders if maybe her joy at the simple things like hairdos, makeup, clothes and all the other “feminine” accoutrements might seem shallow, and perhaps taking pleasure from compliments on those things might be a mistake. But then, maybe she’s just overthinking.
As spring approaches Dana Bevan wants you to prepare for a Spring Offensive. Not to say she wants you to offend anyone. It’s a call for all good trans people to get out there into society and make your presence known. Not by waving signs or marching but by being there where the cisgender people go. Dining in a restaurant. Setting next to them at the movies. Picking up the dry cleaning or at a car wash scrubbing your ride. Show the world your beautiful wonderful self and promote understanding that trans people are people. Read all 3 of Dana’s Spring Offensive in today’s post.
Suzzie gives a transgender history lesson that features Roberta Cowell and April Ashely. She tells their stories and explains how she relates to them. They were contemporaries who took the path to gender transition. Suzzie also contemplated making that move but then she turned away from GRS and made a deal with a cisgender woman. Read her tale of three transgender women and see if you think Suzzie came out ahead.
Sophie Lynne has been out of work for over a year. He unemployment has run out and the rent is going to be due. But to add a twist to her story, she has been accepted into the Ph.D. program at Penn State in the middle of Pennsylvania. If everything works out Sophie will move to “Happy Valley” to start classes in August. Will her roommate move with her? Will she be able to pay the rent and find a new place in State College? Time will tell. Read her post about the twists her life has taken.
Lynda Martini has gone through round one of feminization surgery and is now a “silicone sistah”as she puts it. Just a few weeks ago she had facial feminization and breast implants. Today she discusses why she went that route and considers whether she will take the next step on her path — getting a vagina. She wonders about her future when that happens and postulates several ways things that things could turn.
Katherine Diaz is exploring the world of drag “transformsitas” in her city of Bogota, Columbia. one thing has led to another and she went from a lone crossdresser to becoming a glamorous drag performer who appears on stage in various venues around the city. Her acceptance by the performers has allowed her to learn about many aspects of drag. Today she blogs about her experiences and as always provides a video.
