Tag: opinion

Elections Matter for The Trans Community

| Oct 21, 2019 | Reply

A clear eyed look at the current political climate in the United States shows that the conservative party is firmly opposed to equal rights for transgender people. While not all of the Democrats are completely cool with the existence of people with trans or other identities, the party has supported the rights of transgender people to exist. Republican controlled legislatures have done nothing to support transgender people. They have gone in the opposite direction. Today Claire Hall outlines why it is in the best interest of transgender voters to choose the party that supports us if we are ever to make progress.

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Tips on Applying Makeup

| Oct 7, 2019 | Reply

Pauline Estelle shares her tips on how to get a good result from your makeup application. She outlines her steps to a beautiful look, from preparing her skin to applying lipstick that will last all day. Pauline the methods she finds best for her but you are encouraged to experiment and build on her tips to find what works best for you. Ready to start your lesson? Dive into Pauline’s blog and get ready to learn.

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Dina’s Diner 9/23/19

| Sep 23, 2019 | Reply

Dina Amberle was in the kitchen early in the morning baking up some treats for her patrons at Dina’s Diner. Among the treats she offers today are such delectables as the gay Mexican luchador, an in-depth look at opera singers who have risked losing their voices in order to transition, the attraction of soccer socks, and how to get thigh high stockings the are a perfect fit. No matter what size you are. There are all of those delicacies and more waiting for you at Dina’s Diner. Bon appétit!

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The Return of Craig’s List Dating? Part 2

| Sep 16, 2019 | Reply

Linda and her friend Fiona were two of many t-girls who were disappointed when Craig’s List closed down their Personals section cutting them off from access to a broad and deep ‘dating pool.’ They both agreed it had left a vacuum in their lives. However it seems Fiona has found a ‘work around’ and last we heard she was on her way to Montreal, Canada to give it a try.

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What’s In a Name?

| 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?

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It’s Different for Girls

| 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.

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Dina’s Diner 8/26/19

| Aug 26, 2019 | Reply

Welcome to Dina’s Diner! Take a seat anywhere you like and we’ll get you a cup of java. Dina Amberle has cooked up another selection of delicious entrees that are sure to please any palette. First she whips up some frothy news about trans actress and model Hunter Shafer. She spices it lightly with a little touch of Nicole Maines and… heavenly. Then she stirs up some coverage of the trans scene in Puerto Rico. Muy caliente! Dina adds in a pinch of a doctor from Myanmar who decides to become a sexy model, shakes – not stirs – two ladies from the late ’60s who give her inspiration, and finishes the repast with a light desert outlining how a Brazilian gang leader tried to escape from prison disguised as his 19-year-old daughter. Don’t miss every morsel of Dina’s Diner!

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Op-Ed: A Lesson From “What Would You Do?”

| Aug 26, 2019 | Reply

Last week the ABC show What Would You Do? featured a segment with a transgender woman being harassed by another patron of a restaurant after the trans woman asked where the ladies’ room was located. The female patron doing the harassment had a young girl with her and used all the tired arguments about safety […]

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Is Social Media Helpful?

| 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.

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A Sabrina Symington Cartoon

| Aug 19, 2019 | Reply

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.

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Is Being Transgender a Spandrel?

| Aug 12, 2019 | Reply

Are transgender people the spandrels of humanity? A spandrel is a space created in architecture by the active elements of a structure that have on purpose on their own. Spandrels occur in the space between the upper corner of a rectangular arch and its oblique brace. Dr. Dana Bevan takes the spandrel concept and applies it to transgender people. Her blog today is speculation on this subject. Read her thoughts and see if you agree that transgender people may have no purpose in the evolution of our species. Or, they might.

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Summer Crossdressing

| Aug 5, 2019 | Reply

Many crossdressers give up dressing in the summer months due to family obligations, cookouts, trips, etc. where shave legs or arms would be noticed and commented on. For some though putting aside feminine dressing is unthinkable. If you’re one of those who simply must enjoy the pleasure of summer femme fashion then Pauline Estelle has a few tips on how to be comfortable and show off your feminine side in the summer months.

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Dina’s Diner July 29, 2019

| Jul 29, 2019 | Reply

Dina’s Diner offer monthly specials of the latest dishes to catch Dina Amberle’s attention. She quickly checks out the recipe then tosses together a delightful repast that is sure to satisfy. Among the all natural organic ingredients she uses for today’s special we find Mr. Dan’s drag shows in Silver Lake, California, the feminized music idols who have the Communist Party in China upset, a portion of the original “tease but don’t please” girl Doris Day, a dollop of a Broadway performer hanging up her fishnets, and some spices including Melania Trump, and Damien Hurley. Get down to Dina’s Diner and take your seat in a spacious booth or sit at the counter. You’ll be glad you did.

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A Tale of Two Centuries, Part 2

| Jul 29, 2019 | Reply

Way back in 1998 TGForum contributor Hebe Dotson wrote an article that imagined what someone in 1899 would prognosticate about the nature of things in the coming 20th century. We pulled it out of the Archives, dusted it off to be our Retro Rerun. Today we present part two of A Tale of Two Centuries in which Hebe attempts to gaze into the 21st century from 1998. Now that we have a few years of this century under our belts lets see how she did with her predictions.

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A Sabrina Symington Cartoon

| Jul 22, 2019 | Reply

With all the Pride activities that happen around June and July Sabrina Symington has some thoughts on how she, as a transwoman, relates to it all. Sometime she has a hard time being proud because of negative treatment but at other times. . . . We’ll let her cartoon speak for her.

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Amanda Hits The Streets

| Jul 15, 2019 | Reply

Amanda may have found her mellow spot. After coming pretty close to rock bottom she has been lifted up again by Lyft. The ride sharing app has allowed her to make money doing something she loves, driving. She is all over the Baltimore area and even down in Virginia and Washington D. C. And she has a new therapist, is getting caught up on her bills and she tells you all about things today. And, she has a small slideshow of the amazing photos she takes while she drives around.

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Lies, Goodbyes, and Moves

| Jul 8, 2019 | Reply

The only constant in life is constant change. Our Sophie Lynne had one idea for this blog and then in a moment that idea got pared down to only one part of her blog. Another section was necessary due to news she got about the passing of a friend in the community. Then she ends her blog today with some good news. You may want to read it all the way to the end and use the comment area to congratulate her.

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Secret Diary of a Transgender Woman

| Jul 8, 2019 | Reply

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.

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Dina’s Diner July 1, 2019

| Jul 1, 2019 | Reply

Once again our culinary cutie Dina Amberle has cooked up a wonderful and filling feast that you can partake of down at Dina’s Diner. She starts out with a simple stock created by cooking down the state of drag today as compared to that of days gone by. It’s all in a documentary on HBO titled Wig. The dish is seasoned with dish from Lady Bunny about these drags today and how drag has gone corporate. Then Dina stirs up some glamor from south of the border with a fluffy confection about the quinceanara dresses young women, and some young trans women, wear for the celebration of their fifteenth birthday. She adds in some side dishes about the transformation necessary to turn an everyday person into an opera character and there’s still more. Don’t miss Dina’s Diner!

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Remembering the Missing Man

| Jul 1, 2019 | Reply

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.

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A Sabrina Symington Cartoon

| Jun 24, 2019 | Reply

Who do we turn to for a chuckle or an outright laugh in these troublesome times? Sabrina Symington of course. No matter the topic Sabrina manages to bring some humor to it. Today it’s about the culture clash. City mouse and country mouse, so to speak.

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An Open Letter to the Vatican

| Jun 17, 2019 | Reply

Transgender people have existed throughout history and are best helped with love and encouragement, not through oppression. Dana Bevan writes an open letter to the Catholic Church advising it to stop treating transgender people as if they were part of some fashion trend and to accept that they exist and they are not sinners. She calls for evidence based policies about transgender issues, not the adoption of the hardline rule that men are men and women are women, as is taught in Abrahamic religious doctrine.

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Secret Lift Temporary Facelift: A Review

| Jun 17, 2019 | Reply

Back in the day, 1997 to be exact, TGForum would run product reviews by TGF readers. (We will do that today if you have any products you would like to let readers know about.) One such reviewer was Diane Barker who evaluated a temporary facelift kit called Secret Lift from a company in California. The company, CosmeSearch, Inc., is still in business and selling their products over the web. Read Diane’s review of the product and decide if it will work for you.

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Jan Goes to a Trans Film Festival, Again!

| Jun 10, 2019 | Reply

Last year Jan Brown attended the 31st Annual Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival and wrote a report for TGForum. Last week she attended the 32nd annual event and today she shares the experience with you along with her impression of the 9 films that had transgender themes. Several of the films were premiering at the festival. The nine films range from three minutes to eighteen minutes in length. Jan and her companion were both touched by the content of all of the productions.

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Dina’s Diner June 3, 2019

| Jun 3, 2019 | Reply

While our chef Dina Amberle is always serving comfort food down at Dina’s Diner, she’s not afraid to experiment with different ingredients. No matter what she whips up it’s always sure to please. Today she takes a collection of old-time ladies garments, combines them with an 87-year-old Parisian female impersonator, sprinkles in the attraction of “homely girls,” adds a dollop of the fashion mask craze and tops it off with the delightful spice of young men in drag for “womanless beauty pageants” or YouTube transformation videos. Check out this flavorful specialty of the house down at Dina’s Diner.

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A Sabrina Symington Cartoon 5/27/19

| May 27, 2019 | Reply

While he was running for president Donald J. Trump said he would be the best president ever for LGBT people. He must have a different definition of the word “best” than we do. Because of his positive statements about the LGBT community many people in that community supported him with their vote. Surprisingly there are still some who support him. Sabrina Symington makes an editorial comment on that in today’s cartoon.

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