Tag: opinion

Trans People Serving Openly in the US Military … It’s a Matter of When!

Babs | Aug 12, 2013 | Reply

Now that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has opened the military to openly gay service members where does that leave TGs who want to serve their country? Babs Casbar-Siperstein runs down the advances transgendered people have made in regard to military service and speculates on what will happen next. Citing the results of surveys and personal experience with trans soldiers Babs postulates that it won’t be long before TGs can proudly, openly server their country.

Dealing With “Horny Ramblings”

Rachel Xaviera | Jul 29, 2013 | Reply

A place for everything and everything in it’s place is a good way to run your life. Online groups for TGs however tend to try to do that but no matter how noble the groups purpose people join who have only one thing on their minds. A recent situation in an online group that was established to provide “role models” for TGs caused RachelX to write her take on the proper place for horn dogs who are only online so they can be hitting on people and about the meaning of “role model.”

Sex Offender?

Dee | Jul 29, 2013 | Reply

A news report about a FtM transgendered teen — or perhaps just a a teen with gender confusion — has prompted Dee Levy to write her contribution to TGF. The teen, born female, established and online male identity and courted a young girl. The teen went to visit the girl and they engaged in sexual activity without the girl knowing her boyfriend was not born with male parts. The boyfriend was arrested and is now a sex offender in the eyes of the law. And the “boyfriend” now identifies as female. See what Dee thinks of this complex affair.

Games and Frontiers

Sophie Lynne | Jul 15, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne was at one time, back in the ’80s, an avid gamer on Playstation and her favorite was Twisted Metal 2. The thing that appealed to her about video gaming was the levels of play. You could start out at Easy, then move on to Medium and after you mastered that change the setting to Hard and really test your skills. Today Sophie finds a parallel to the levels of gaming in the transgender world. Find out what Sophie feels defines each “level” in the Transgender Game and see if you agree.

How to Stop Crossdressing

angela_g | Jul 15, 2013 | Reply

Every now and then during my involvement with the transgender community I have run into people who want to stop crossdressing — or even thinking about crossdressing. It’s not unreasonable to want to give up a behavior that most of the world thinks is at best odd and at worst immoral and perverted. One of the first people I met who wanted to rid themselves of their desire to crossdress called while I was staffing the Renaissance peer support phone line. This guy was adamant that he needed to purge his crossdressing impulses and just be straight. I had to tell him it was highly unlikely that he could do that. He might be able to stop the practice of dressing up but he would always be a crossdresser. The desire doesn’t seem to just go away.

Michael Dorsey would not kill off Toostie!

Georgia TG | Jul 15, 2013 | Reply

Recently an interview Dustin Hoffman did with the American Film Institute in 1998 surfaced on YouTube and went viral with the TG community. Hoffman talks about what the motivation for doing the film “Tootsie” was and how it affected his understanding of the relationship between the sexes. Much has been made of the fact that he broke down and wept when he realized that he had been judging women not by their character but by their looks. He reveals that he felt “brainwashed.” The AFI interview inspired our contributor Geogria TG to some commentary on the film and Hoffman’s epiphany. She thinks that Hoffman’s male character in the film would not have killed off Dorothy Michaels.

All we need is…?

Christine B | Jul 8, 2013 | Reply

Our correspondent in Thailand has filed another report on the ladyboys of that culture. Thailand is often thought of as a place where being transgendered is accepted but just like the rest of the world things are not that easy. And too often ladyboys are in trouble with the law. What do they need? Christine thinks she may know what it is.

A Rachel by Any Other Name?

Rachel Xaviera | Jul 1, 2013 | Reply

What’s in a name? Is not a rose still a rose if we call it a daisy? Today RachelX talks about what it’s like to transition and have friends and family deal with remembering your new gender label and name. Learn how Rachel handles being called by her old name or with the wrong pronoun.

Laugh a Little!

Dallas Denny | Jun 24, 2013 | Reply

Some transgendered people are always playing defense. It’s somewhat natural since they have had to deal with mistreatment at the hands of others for all of their lives. Today Dallas Denny reminds us that the best defense is a good sense of humor. She counsels “Laugh a Little!”

Ripples

Sophie Lynne | Jun 17, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne believes we are all effected by actions and events that send out ripples in reality. She brings that theory to an essay on the passing of JoAnn Roberts, the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and polluted pond and some lyrics from The Grateful Dead. Like that pond Sophie is deep and this one may make you cry.

“How can we save our marriage when I hate when my husband’s crossdressing?”

Dee | Jun 3, 2013 | Reply

She loves her husband but hates his crossdressing. Can the marriage continue? That’s Dee Levy’s topic today. If she desires a masculine lover can her shaved and soft CD husband satisfy her?

Drab on Drab

Sophie Lynne | May 20, 2013 | Reply

Many transgendered people who live dual lives would never consider letting their TG friends glimpse their male side. Others, like Sophie Lynne, feel that letting them get to know the male personae is evidence of a great amount of trust. Today Sophie talks about several aspects of the dual life and its joy and pain.

Military Conscription in Thailand

Christine B | May 13, 2013 | Reply

Christine Burr has filed another report from Thailand. She expands on the “guilty till proven innocent” attitude that the Thai press takes in regard to ladyboys involved in criminal activity noting that even stories of ladyboys reporting for Thailand’s compulsory military service seemed skewed against them.

Safer Schools — My first experience in legislative advocacy

Babs | May 13, 2013 | Reply

Babs Casbar Siperstein outlines how a small group of activists got the words “gender identity and expression” added to anti-bullying legislation in New Jersey. It took a lot of hard work and an understanding of the political process. Find out how they did it.

Options

Sophie Lynne | Apr 22, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne has a simple message today that is often overlooked by those who think there are “rules” for being transgendered. “Judge not lest ye be judged,” sayeth Ms. Sophie. Whatever segment of the TG community you identify with don’t exclude those who are different.

Our Man in a Dress: Out of One Closet, and into Another. . .

Graham | Apr 15, 2013 | Reply

Is “passing” as a woman a necessary thing? Our “man in a dress” thinks passing as a crossdresser having a great time is a better goal. How did Graham give up passing and just start wearing women’s clothing as his clothing? He tells us today in this post.

Is The Human Rights Campaign thinking about our rights?

Babs | Apr 8, 2013 | Reply

Babs Casbar found herself tossed into an unsettling reality. Her comfortable life, or double life, was shaken away in a moment and she was left a transwoman alone. But her heart said she should find a community and be active. That led her to politics and TG activism.

Big Fig Newton’s Law

Sophie Lynne | Mar 25, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne applies the basic laws of physics to the transgendered condition. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (And we thought that was just a marketing ploy by Kenneth Cole.) Sophie explains that actions result in consequences. But no action means no progress. Find out how she feels about objects in motion.

Telling Our Story — A Crossdresser does Outreach

carmennoel | Mar 18, 2013 | Reply

At times it is not an easy thing to be a crossdresser anywhere. And right or wrong, my perception from living here, is that the upper Midwest is one of the tougher places for a guy to embrace his feminine side. Faced with that perception I had two options. One would be to try to repress […]

Violence Against Women Act — VAWA is Trans Inclusive

Babs | Mar 11, 2013 | Reply

Barbra Casbar Siperstein will be posting columns about the fight for transgender rights across the United States. Today she writes about the importance of the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women act with the inclusion of “gender identity.”

What’s a Meta For?

Sophie Lynne | Feb 25, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne loves art and literature, and movies with a message. She’s a big fan of Shakespeare. What’s that got to do with being transgendered? Sophie finds that it has everything to do with being transgendered. And today she explains the connection in What’s a Meta For?

Our Man in a Dress

Graham | Feb 18, 2013 | Reply

We welcome a new contributor, Graham Holmes. Graham lives in England and is not at all concerned with “passing” or projecting a femme side. He is happy wearing dresses (and other feminine attire) and is a content man in a dress. Read about what it’s like just doing what you want.

The Speech

Sophie Lynne | Jan 28, 2013 | Reply

Sophie Lynne is a proud Progressive and she has definite views on which political party is the one that’s doing positive things for LGBT people. In her TGF post today she takes look at President Obama’s inaugural speech and how he expressed support for GLBT people.

Costa Rica: Coming Out TG in a Foreign Land

Georgia TG | Jan 28, 2013 | Reply

Georgia TG is a transgender, pansexual Canadian who has been living in Costa Rica and openly being gender fluid. How do you do that in a Catholic country like Costa Rica? Read the first of her reports from that country and learn how she has done it.

Dr. Sherman Leis — 10 Key TG Trends for 2013

JoAnn Roberts | Jan 28, 2013 | Reply

Dr. Sherman Leis has ten examples of what he feels to be key trends that affect transgender people in America. Everything from acceptance in politics and entertainment to a decrease in hate crimes is good news for TGs according to Dr. Leis.

The Artist D — Screening

The Artist D | Jan 21, 2013 | Reply

TGF’s Internet’s First Superstar, The Artist D, is very concerned about screen time. Not how much time she’s on screen. She’s talking about how much time she spends looking at screens. As a publication presented on a screen we’re not sure we can get behind this piece but go ahead and give Screening a read.

Tag: opinion

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