All humans are not alike. We are made up of a lot of parts and one size does not fit all. Human’s genetic makeup is mosaic, that is, we do not have the same DNA in each cell. So, human are not responsible for being born into a cisgender, binary, rigid culture but we can change the culture. Dana Bevan gives you the science.
When I first came out, I had contacted the IFGE for information about transitioning. I received some pamphlets, most of them reprints from articles appearing in the Tapestry magazine. But there was a very small but important trifold document labeled “Legal Dos and Don’ts for going public Crossdressed.” It was chock full of common sense […]
Ask Amanita is the spot on TGForum where you can ask questions and get answers from a therapist specializing in transgender issues. Today Amanita is asked about the concerns a trans woman has concerning hormones. Should she start taking hormones? She would love to have the positive effects of hormones but worries about the negative ones, and, if she doesn’t take them how will she be seen by her trans friends? Read Amanita’s answer today and send your questions to her.
Time once more for the continuing condensation of trans related news we call The Week In Trans! Today we learn that a trans woman is running as a Republican to represent a district covering San Francisco and San Mateo County. Forty five members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter to ICE about the way that agency treats trans women. State Legislatures are introducing more bills in an effort to infringe transgender people’s rights. Two state employees are suing Florida for trans related health coverage. Florida legislators introduce four anti-trans bills. YouTube makeup artist Nikkie De Jager comes out as trans to thwart a blackmail attempt. The ACLU and Lambda Legal file suit against Ohio’s policy on not allowing birth certificate gender markers to be changed. A trans man is running for the state legislature in North Carolina. Half of cisgender Americans do not believe that violence against trans woman is occurring. There’s all that and much more transgender news waiting for you in TWIT!
Lorraine Anderson, the owner of the custom clothing service The Occasional Woman, looks ahead to the spring fashion trends and acquaints you with some of the trendy looks that are said to be coming. Big collars, hotpants, crocheted fabric dresses, and bright neon outfits could be coming to your closet. Lorraine tells you how to work the trendy fashions into your look without leaving you with a closet full of unwearable, “so last year” outfits when the next trends come along.
As a woman who has been around for awhile Sophie has seen it all before. Today she writes about history repeating itself in the case of a married crossdresser who hides her “hobby” from her wife and family. This person only gets to express her feminine side when her wife and kids are away, or she is somewhere out of town. Sophie sees this person becoming more and more frustrated about the lack of time she has to express herself, but she worries that if her wife ever learned about what she does that would be an instant divorce.
Last episode our heroine experienced a strange and horrifying incident in the night. The man from the elevator was there and some kind of monstrous creature was with him. They were in her apartment, standing over her and saying the nonsense work “mmrah.” Did it actually happen? Were they standing over her or was the it some kind of evil vision? There is probably only one way to find out. By looking at the next episode of “She.”
This is Lynda’s last blog for a while. She is taking a break to have her gender confirmation surgery done in just a few weeks. She will be taking bed rest and healing for several weeks after the surgery. (Anyone want to run errands for her while she’s recuperating?) Today she asks herself why she wants to have a vagina. Is she ready for a life-changing step that is this major? Are her reasons for going “all the way” sound? She addresses all that in this blog — and we throw in a few photos of her last social activity before she goes into the hospital.
It’s that time again! Time for our exciting and dynamic news feature, The Week In Trans! Today we learn many things. A Mafia heir gives up that fate to live as a woman. Virginia seeks to write a bill mandating fair treatment of trans students state wide. D.C. hopes to make the D.C. Code gender neutral. Some legal actions bolster and some limit transgender rights across the country. The death of a transgender woman prisoner leads to debate on how to keep inmates safe. ICE ships an undocumented trans teen to Texas limiting access to her attorney in California. Need information on medical procedures, lifestyle changes and legal issues? There’s an app for that. Medicaid recipients in Illinois can now get trans related therapy paid for. The concerns over trans women competing in athletics continues. A male internet makeup artist posts photos of himself in drag saying that’s how he will look when they try to draft him into the army. Backlash ensues. The Human Ken Doll has come out as a human Barbie Doll. Waiting lists for treatment in Britain’s transgender clinics are very lengthy. There’s all that and a lot more plus several TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
Dina Amberle has a recipe for entertainment and she dishes it up every month in her Dina’s Diner column. Today she has a few dishes cooking that are sure to please. First she mixes up a sexy soufflé featuring a young trans woman who documented her transition on the internet and now aspires to play in the WNBA. Then she slow simmers an appreciation of character actresses from the ’60s, mixes up a compote “sexy fencing” and cheesy sex from a British show called UFO, and rounds out the menu with some thought on how people are working to make their derrieres delectable. Don’t miss Dina’s Diner for some tasty fun.
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.
TransTainement! All the news about transgender people in the arts and entertainment. Television, film, music! Wherever there is a transgender or non-binary artist we’ll cover them in TransTainment. Today we have info on The Cockettes Golden Anniversary Celebration, news about Janelle Monae, Josie Totah, Billy Porter, and Jill Soloway. Janet Mock wins a GLAAD Media Award, you still have time to catch Mariette Pathy Allen’s photo exhibition at The Museum of Sex, and the Human Ken Doll is now a Barbie. Keep up to date on all the news from the trans arts and entertainment world with TransTainment!
A trans woman’s wife disappears mysteriously. She went into the bedroom and never came out again. Her partner is frantic. She calls the police and they can do nothing. Her family thinks her wife has deserted her and that she must have left the apartment somehow. Life becomes a daily grind of working, sleeping in the living room because she can’t bring herself to go into that bedroom, and missing her partner. The nights are often disturbed by odd and frightening incidents that “could” be dreams. One day she begins to notice a strange man in the elevator. Does he have anything to do with her missing wife or is he just a creep?
What’s new? Pose star Indya Moore voices the nonbinary character Shep in the cartoon Steven Universe: Future. The ban on trans people in the military holds up passage of the Defense Authorization Bill. The U.N. classifies Chelsea Manning’s treatment as torture. A 1970 audio recording of Silvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson surfaces. New laws in Colorado and California help trans kids. Don’t tell a trans person they look fine when they tell you they’re having some work done. The British swimmer who compared drag to blackface gets blow back. A trans man in Oklahoma is shot to death while driving his cab. Jazz Jennings is proud of her scars. A trans character is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Or not. An Indiana town elects its first transgender city councilor. South American Spanish speakers are changing the gendered nature of that language. Pakistan is giving transgender people health care. Drag queen Maebe A. Girl who won a seat on a Los Angeles neighborhood council is promoting an LGTBQIA alliance. The Impossible Burger is loaded with phyto estrogen! There’s all that and a handful of TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
It’s the end of the year and trans women are still being killed. Many are misgendered by police and the media. Los Angeles opens a place for homeless young trans people to stay. A trans woman track and field star is the Female Athlete of the Year. North Carolina wanted to keep transgender people out of women’s rooms. Now two trans candidates are looking to step into the state senate. Looking at the past decade a writer sees that as trans people have become more visible they have been targeted more by haters. A new study shows that trans children know their gender identities at the same time as cisgender kids. Surprise! Being treated badly because you are transgender has a negative impact. J.K Rowling is still in hot water for her support of a TERF. Ricky Gervais walked back his support of Rowling’s statement when backlash called for him to be dropped as host of The Golden Globes. A trans opera singer in Brazil went from a tenor voice to singing soprano. A female skeleton was unearthed in an all-male monastery. Does this mean there was a trans man monk? There’s all that news and a lot more waiting for you right now in TWIT!
Why are we the way we are? As Dana Bevan has pointed out in her TGForum blog there are plenty of scientific studies which show differences between transgender and non-transgender people in genetics, anatomy, brain scans and neuroanatomy, and seemingly unrelated behaviors such as handedness. What if the science is used to produce technologies that could be used in categorizing people as transgender or not? Should people like us be “cured”?
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. Things keep getting stranger. Her wife is missing, the police were no help, her family is not supportive when she says something terrible has happened, and weird things that may or may not be real continue to occur. What is going on, and who is that oddball she catches staring at her? It’s Episode 11 of “She.”
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, has specialized in counseling for trans people and their partners. Today she answers a question submitted by Felicita in her Ask Amanita column.
Abbey the cabbie has had her trusty old hack totaled when some chump crashed into her and managed to drive away. She’s banged up and recovering in her apartment when without warning the boss shows up. He’s got good news. He thinks he can get her a new cab so she’ll be able to make a living and pay the rent. But while he’s there Abbey gets odd feelings, and it seems like maybe the boss is feelin’ somethin’ as well. This could be dangerous for Abbey since she ain’t got the “proper” equipment under her skirt.
First up we present The Week In Trans! What do we learn today? Legal maneuvers are underway still regarding the trans military ban. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren vows to read the name of the trans women of color who have died in hate crimes in a Rose Garden ceremony if she is elected. A trans woman pepper sprayed a group of teens she says were harassing her. She may in fact be the aggressor. Jennifer Finney Boylin says we’re all Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. A trans performance artist wins her case and is now allowed to appear topless without pasties. So can any other performers. San Diego cops are found to put the cuffs on LGTBQ people faster than they cuff straight suspects. A trans woman sues the Ms. United States of America pageant because they don’t accept trans women. Prison guards who mocked trans women prisoners on Facebook are rebuked. RuPaul is inducted int the California Hall of Fame. J.K. Rowling will need magic to get out of the trouble she’s in due to her support of a TERF. Jewels of Long Beach is the first drag queen to be given the key to the city. More violence directed at trans women. Artist Grayson Perry is touring the hot land down under. Dwayne Wade confirms his son is becoming his daughter. There’s all that and a major pile of TWIT Awards, all waiting for you in TWIT!
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.
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 and scary things keep happening as the story continues.
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.
Our seamstress with fashion tips, Lorraine Anderson, proprietor of The Occasional Woman custom clothing service, has some suggestions for how to dress to impress for holiday parties without buying a whole new wardrobe. Since this just before Christmas and New Year’s Eve we rerun Lorraine’s tips for a fab party outfit. You’re sure to turn heads and make an impression with Lorraine’s budget fashion tips.
What do we find in the news today? There’s trouble at the National Center for Transgender Equality. The Senate has excised an amendment to the Defense Appropriation Bill that would have reversed the trans military ban. Kentucky considers a bathroom bill for schools. Vandals in Dallas deface the Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera mural with blue mustaches. Indya Moore feels that everyone is non-binary. The Luna Younger case is back in court, with another judge. Cebu Pacific Airways hires two transgender flight attendants. The Vienna Opera stages a production Orlando for their 150th anniversary. Webster’s Dictionary says “they” is a singular pronoun. A trans woman says that cisgender men who date trans woman should be considered part of the transgender community as “trans-amorous” members. Serbian doctors do a testicle transplant. Pantene says everyone should be beautiful for the holidays, and be able to go home to celebrate with their families. There’s all that news and a whole lot more, along with several TWIT Awards waiting in TWIT!
Dina Amberle has cooked up a delicious stew for this wintery day. (If you’re in North America.) First she adds in a young boy who wanted to wear a dress for his school’s picture day to the stewpot. Then she sifts in some youthful drag queens, adds a touch of Christmas crossdressing (heavy on the color red) and brings out the full flavor of the stew with some drag bingo with Linda Simpson before sprinkling a dash of rock and roll stars in makeup and glitter. The stew has been simmering away in the Diner kitchen and is ready right now for consumption. Bon Appétit!
