For the past six years, California-based journalist Shelley Anne Baker has engaged with the transgender community and loves it! She came out big time when she decided to reveal her feminine side to her wife and family and has never looked back. She’s not shy about telling trusted people, who will listen, about her life’s […]
Time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that battles are still underway in state legislatures to block trans rights. In the streets the safety of trans people is still threatened everyday. The protests against the killing of unarmed black people includes the killing of black trans people. The Los Angeles Pride parade is canceled because of the pandemic but now a march along the parade route will be held on June 14 as part of the protest marches. Three trans women candidates are running for office in Vermont. A woman who founded a high tech company writes about being a trans woman in the tech industry. Lilly Wachowski speaks to The Hollywood Reporter about the how her and her sister being trans influenced The Matrix. How much prize money has been handed out on RuPaul’s Drag Race? Out has the numbers. L’Oreal, the company that dropped a trans spokes model for commenting on white supremacy, tweeted out a BLM positive message. The times they are a changing. There’s all that and a veritable plethora of other news waiting for you in TWIT!
We pick up Drag in Cinema in the year 2000 with the Ving Rhames made-for-TV movie Holiday Heart. The early years of the 21st century featured several films that show cases male actors adopting drag, from comedy drag like Big Momma’s House, to the more realistic female impersonation of Juwanna Man. And of course the problematic Sorority Boys. Join us for a walk down the history of drag in cinema for the early years of the 21st century.
Kay has found her way to Natalie at last but as she enters the “savoring” chamber where she find her there is a strange sensation, like bursting through a membrane. And instead of being happy to see Kay Natalie is appalled that she has entered the chamber. Now she is in danger, too. Up above their heads there are dozens of inimical wraithlike things that gleefully watch the two helpless women who are totally within their power. Could things get worse? Oh, yes.
Today we learn a small town in France elects the first transgender mayor in that country. Trans student’s deadnames are used in online learning, when they were told those names would not be used. A black trans man at the scene of a murder is shot to death by police who thought he reached for a weapon. The US Department of Education says trans female high school athletes violate the rights of cisgender athletes. A teenage dancer holds the trans pride flag while performing on TV. Gavin Grimm has graduated and moved on but his case moves back to Circuit Court for an appeal by the school board. Mj Rodriguez and Zaya Wade are named women of the year. Trans Maryland has a new program that will pay the cost of a name change in that state. Being Bucky is a children’s book about a transgender chicken. Georgina Beyer is awarded Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. A Columbian trans woman model goes viral with a photo of her kissing her pregnant husband’s baby bump. There’s all that and a lot more, plus a couple of TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina Amberle has been on the kitchen at Dina’s Diner cooking up a passel of good brain food. Some of her ingredients in today’s fare includes a trans woman who went from wearing frilly clothes, heels and makeup to being comfortable with herself in no makeup and more androgynous clothes. Then she stirs in several paragraphs on the male geishas of Japan, blends in some dish on a man who gave up med school to make copies of all of Madonna’s video costumes so he could wear them, and spices it all up with the inspiration she found in What’s My Line? and an experiment that put men into women’s bathing suits. To savor the full taste and aroma of today’s dish you have to step into Dina’s Diner.
Rabbah Rona Matlow, our spiritual correspondent, writes about faith in the current virus epidemic. Some people feel cut off from their spiritual anchors because they are unable to gather with others of their faith. Others deny faith as not being helpful and turn to science for instruction and information. As a former scientist, and current spiritual counselor who works with people of all religions — or none, Rabbah Rona shares more of her thoughts on the subject.
Two more isolated beauties to our Isolated Beauties feature. If you haven’t sent your photo yet, or if you have a different photo in another outfit send it along.
It’s The Week In Trans! Today we learn that Elon Musk has apparently taken the “red pill.” Joe Biden vows to protect civil rights for LGBTQ people. A trans woman was denied a job at a chain restaurant because of her gender. The Puerto Rican legislature approves its civil rights code, but there may be a problem. Victor Orban makes “birth sex” mandatory on IDs. Idaho would like to start enforcing its ban on changing birth certificates for transgender people so they have asked a judge to say it’s okay. They didn’t get satisfaction on another issue as the Supreme Court refused to stop a prisoner in Idaho from getting state paid GCS. Pop singer Demi Levato declares “Trans rights are human rights!” Ten trans women who made a dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. have won their case. Skittles will be white for Pride Month because only one rainbow counts. There’s all that and a ton more waiting for you in TWIT!
Last October I went to Provincetown, Massachusetts with my friends, David and Jerry. No, because of David and Jerry. Provincetown, or Ptown, is a resort town all the way at the tip of Cape Cod. It is owned and operated largely by members of the LGBT community, and a well-known vacation spot for the nation’s […]
I’s time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that a transgender Navy enlistee has gained a “waiver” to remain in the service. The State Department is ordered to reconsider issuing a passport with an “X” for an intersex individual. Moving lessons online has been a problem for some trans students. Aimee Stephens, the trans woman who sued her former employee for firing her, has passed away. Presidential candidate Joe Biden was scheduled to call Ms. Stephens on the day she passed away. More lawsuit news, and violence against trans women reports. It’s impossible to socially distance in the ICE detention center. A metal band member comes out as a trans woman. A non-binary dominatrix is doing their dominating in an online game. Calvin Klein is featuring trans and non-binary people in its new ad campaign. There’s all that news and more with a few TWIT Awards just waiting for you in TWIT!
More Isolated Beauties photos have arrived and we bring them to you for your enjoyment. Why haven’t we posted your photo taken while you dress up in your favorite outfit while you isolate at home? There should be plenty of part time ladies, as well as trans women, who would like to share what they wish they were able to wear for travels out and about. Set up your tripod or take a selfie with your smart phone and share your fashion sense with everyone.
TGForum’s Mr. Spock is our in-house scientist and fact-based life form, Dana J. Bevan. Today she applies science and logic to the manner in which transgender people are exploited by politicians. She does not recommend or endorse one party over another but presents factual information about where we are today and what should be done to achieve full rights for transgender people. Give her blog a read and use the comment area to weigh in with your opinion.
New Contributor Chrissy Gann joins us today with her “origin story.” Chrissy grew up in a video tape world where one had to go to a retail establishment and rent a VHS tape in order to view a movie in the privacy of ones home. In her local video store Chrissy ran across Let Me Die A Woman, and Glenn or Glenda? While her usual tastes ran to B movies about alien invaders and mutated monsters something in these two films spoke to her deep inside. That was the beginning of her journey to a feminine lifestyle. Read on for the details.
What’s in TWIT? Today we learn a trans man high school senior is the class valedictorian. More violence against trans women of color occurs. Court battles over confirmation surgery for prisoners, protections for LGBTQ people, sensitivity training for police, and other things continues. Little Richard dies and he started in show biz as a drag performer. Joe Biden pledges universal health care will cover GCS. Kim Petras has a new song. Want to know the five most common complications after vaginoplasty? Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman graphic novel is becoming a TV show and it has a transgender character. A drag queen in Brazil is a member of a very religious family. A restaurant in Indiana offers curbside pickup by drag queens. An Egyptian actor comes out in support of his trans son. Amiee Stephens is in hospice care. The Turkish government believes drawing rainbows will make kids gay. A cat is being called transgender after surgery to fix a problem urinating. There’s all that and much more along with several TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Our social correspondent Lynda Martini is back with us today. Since no one has a social life now, at least in the real world, she has submitted a blog that reports on her recent gender confirmation surgery. She has some “interesting facts” about what to expect when you have your GCS, and lays them out in nine points.
In this time of masking to protect ourselves and others from a deadly virus Sophie muses on how it was that she had been deploying masks for protection her whole life. The mask of shyness in grade school to avoid the attention of bullies. The mask of a cheerful worker wearing a mandated uniform. The mask of manliness she put on every day before the pressure to take it off became too great. All of Sophie masks shielded her from having to be open and visible to the world.
Kristy Leigh takes a scholarly look at three of the films in the 1990s that presented transgender characters as not just freakish beings who defied gender norms but began to move toward more diversity for transgender characters. The films she discusses are “Paris is Burning”, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”, and “The Crying Game”. There are footnotes.
Time for our our hard hitting news feature The Week In Trans! Today we learn that a trans kid inspired a Marvel super hero. Joe Biden promises to rescind the military trans ban. A former fire chief in Georgia files suit to get her job back. Another lawsuit targets ICE for creating unsafe conditions for trans immigrants it has detained. Michael Musto has a list of 20 older trans celebs. Former Republican Justin Amash is considering a run for the presidency and says if elected he would accept a wide interpretation of the word “sex” in laws. Pride parades may not be happening for the near future but one writer says the spirit is still with us. Blowback for the attempt to change the ACA so healthcare workers could discriminate based on their religious beliefs. Over 50 gender confirmation surgeries in NYC are postponed during the epidemic. Doctor Rachel Levine’s fans applaud her. Men are more susceptible to COVID-19 than women. Could it be estrogen at work? Hungary rewrites laws to exclude protections for trans people. There’s all that and much more waiting for you in TWIT! Don’t miss it!
Rabbah Rona Matlow, our spiritual correspondent, writes about faith in the current virus epidemic. Some people feel cut off from their spiritual anchors because they are unable to gather with others of their faith. Others deny faith as not being helpful and turn to science for instruction and information. As a former scientist, and current spiritual counselor who works with people of all religionsn — or none, Rabbah Rona shares her thoughts on the subject.
Time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn Jennifer Finney Boylan has a new book. Advocacy groups sue ICE over trans detainees. More lethal violence toward trans women. An ex-transgender, ex-gay advocate passes. The pandemic puts transgender people at greater risk. The former Living Ken Doll talks about her gender transition. Protections for LGBT people under the ACA may be stripped away. Nikkie De Jager’s outing has left her with PTSD. A bar in Minnesota has drag queens delivering cocktails curbside. Shangela has a new show on HBO. The UN commissioner for civil rights calls out nations using the pandemic to implement anti LGBTQ laws. Priscilla Queen of the Desert had a huge effect on Australians. There’s all that plus much more and a few TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Living in the 21st century we are now able to use the internet to learn things, communicate with others and even set up musical jam sessions with players located at many different places. This wonderful technology is even more useful and important during the current pandemic. That said, some of the social networking that goes on seems to be more “anti-social.” Rather than unite the transgender community platforms like Facebook seem to be doing more to divide us. Today Julie Slowinski has some thoughts on this phenomena.
Christine Burr has been living her life in two genders. Doing her job as a male, a successful male, and enjoying her a social life based on expressing her femininity. She has been able to transform from male to female presentation and finds that when she is being “her” all traces of “him” seem to evaporate. Everything male is gone. In today’s blog she wonders just where it is “he” goes while she is being herself.
What is “normal”? We live in a world where people always want a label to use in defining themselves and others. Jaelle Tarrell finds that when it comes to the many labels that exist for those who don’t fit into generally seen categories of gender identity and sexuality, or asexuality, things can get confusing. She finds that “normal” is not necessarily normal.
Time for the most comprehensive collection of trans related news in the galaxy — The Week In Trans! Today we learn star of Pose Indya Moore raises money for black trans people suffering because of the epidemic. Virginia’s governor signs the Virginia Values Act which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s civil rights law. Idaho’s anti-trans laws are being challenged in court. There’s news about the trans military ban. Some trans students suffer in home schooling. Nicole Maines gives an interview. Pride events are canceled over concerns about Covid-19. The virus is also affecting people’s ability to get HRT. Poland may jail teachers who include LGBT in their courses. There’s all that and a lot more from the trans world in TWIT! Along with a few well deserved TWIT Awards.
