Linda’s friend Marie has told her that she is giving up her transgender life. Linda questions her about how, with transgender traits with her from birth or early childhood, she thinks she can do that. Her response brings in to question some of the role of nature and nurture in forming our transgender traits. See if Marie’s theories about the nature of crossdressing apply to you, or if you think they are off the mark.
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They have been told by a witch, who first appeared as old and ugly but later was young and beautiful, that they must trek to the north and battle “the Magistrate” but that one of them will not survive the confrontation. They found a house that, strangely enough, is a duplicate of their childhood home. Inside that house Raquel meets her “mother” and then her “father.” Are these people who they seem to be? How are they here is this place, and, more importantly, what is this place? Learn more in Chapter 13 of Metamorphosis.
Time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that there’s a big benefit planned for Puerto Rico with over 20 drag queens. The Mermaids charity for trans kids in the U.K. is under fire. A woman in Uruguay is their first trans senator. Jeff Sessions kneecaps trans employment protections. There’s a new Miss First Nation in Australia. Netflix is showing a documentary on Marsha P. Johnson. There’s a major new LGBT talent agency. Courtney Act does a transformation video. People in Brazil are watching a soap opera featuring a trans man. We give Pope Francis and Salman Rushdie TWIT Awards! And there’s more! For all the trans related news don’t miss your TWIT!
Dr. Dana Bevan discusses the reasons the administration’s ban on trans people in the military is futile. As a former member of the U.S. military Dr. Bevan knows what it was like to serve while hiding her trans nature. That’s what will occur is trans people are banned. She also talks about why letting trans personnel serve openly is a good idea and goes into just how difficult it will be for the armed services to discharge the 15-20 thousand people now serving.
Our political correspondent Babs Casbar Siperstein reports on several developments in the areas of transgender rights. First she reports on two trans community fundraising events in New York City. Then she digs into Sessions memo reversing Obama era protections for transgender people, and tells you about a transgender health conference in New Jersey and the reaction to the Sessions memo among attendees of that event.
Cate O’Malley is retired, her wife is retired, and currently they are on their big adventure of driving around the southern states from campground to campground. While Cate identifies as a “girly girl” she really wanted to go on his trip. That has meant that there were some necessary adjustments to he usual wardrobe and grooming. High heels and dresses don’t work that well in a muddy camp ground. And while she’s used to Chanel No. 5 her current cologne is Eau du Bug Spray.
How trans is trans? Is it necessary to “go all the way” and have hormone therapy, surgery, and legal name change to be transsexual? Kimberly Hirschel considers herself a non-operative transsexual. Some might say she is just fearful of going all the way, but Kimberly presents her case for maintaining her current status quo.
Why do conservative news outlets always slam the transgender community? The Federalist routinely prints articles that portray trans people as mentally ill. They use “experts” like Paul McHugh to validate their screed against us. They, and other conservative news sites constantly take stories that describe gains for the trans community and spin them around to […]
It’s time for The Week In Trans! What do we learn today? A trans woman is running for congress in Uruguay. Danica Roem has been dissed as a male by her opponent in the race for the Virginia state legislature. Germany won’t let a trans man be a legal father. Pakistani trans people can use the name of their guru when registering for an ID card if their parents have disowned them. The highest ranking trans woman of the U.K. armed forces is engaged to a trans man. News of the Bushwig festival. Makeup being marketed to both men and women. Violence against trans kids, and much more, along with a few TWIT Awards, is waiting for you in TWIT!
Saturday day was just another night for Sophie Lynne. A dinner of hamburger helper and relaxing after a long day at work. But for other transgender people there either was no Saturday night or they had to tolerate another night of mistreatment by bigoted people who use “difference” as a focus for their hate. Today Sophie reflects on her Saturday night and how other people with trans identities were treated.
You’ve heard the song Bad Day? It got a lot of radio play a few years back. Well the title of the song only begins to touch on the kind of bad week that our Amanda Steele had to endure. Things started off well and it looked as if a plan to move out of her crazy rooming house was going to work out. She and her cat would be free from the landlady’s immense collection of stray felines and all the confusion. Just a couple of things needed done and soon Amanda would be free. But the best laid plans. . . .
Joanne Meyerowitz is professor of History and American Studies at Yale. She is the author of How Sex Changed: A History of TransSexuality in the United States. She wrote a series of articles that were published on TGF in 1998 that presented the history of “sex change” before Christine Jorgensen made headlines as the “first” person to have a “sex change.” Since this is all three parts of her series be prepared to spend some time reading this fascinating history.
Fasten your seat belts and keep your hands inside the cockpit at all times. The Week In Trans is taking off! Today we learn that a trans woman from Texas is running for the U.S. House. Lots of military trans ban news. A cis woman was attacked by people demanding she prove she wasn’t trans. Studies were released that show it’s the victimization that makes trans kids depressed and suicidal. A trans woman was excommunicated from the LDS for holding positions only open to men — then she was baptized again as a woman so she’s back in the church. Tasmania shows remorse for its outdated and now repealed anti-crossdressing law. Trans men are not welcome at a man-free rock festival. There’s all that and a ton more news, plus a few TWIT Awards, waiting for you in TWIT!
Our Page Pundit Sophie Lynne takes a look at the latest book from trans advocate, activist, writer and editor Janet Mock. It’s title is Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me. Does Sophie feel the book teaches readers anything? She praises Janet Mock’s contributions to the continuing fight for trans rights, but as for the book. . . ? Read her review and see.
While our TWIT column scans the news for anything about members of the trans community, Dina Amberle scans the news for items she can view and comment on from the perspective of a crossdresser. This leads to some tasty confections that are as nourishing as anything. Sometime amusing but always informative. Today she mixes plastic surgery for survival with the plight of the black trans woman community, Wonder Woman’s costume, and the Afropunk trend and some spices to produce a wonderful menu for your enjoyment.
CHRISTIAN EVANGELICAL LEADERS VICIOUSLY ATTACK THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY Since my last column post, God Made Us This Way, the volume of bigotry has been turned up by Christian conservative, evangelical leaders. The so-called “Nashville Statement,” released on August 29th by 150 evangelical leaders from across the United States, viciously attacks the LGBTQ+ community as immoral. […]
Today we dive deep into the TGF Archives to 1996 to pull out an article by founding editor Cindy Martin. Her topic was blusher. How to do it correctly so you don’t look like a painted doll. Keep in mind that this was written in the late 20th century and we’re getting on into the 21st, but the tips Cindy wrote back then can still be helpful. Keep in mind your blush should be subtle during daylight hours. At night it needs to be heavier but not war paint.
The trans news from around the world is all here in The Week In Trans! Today we learn that RuPaul’s Drag Con drew a large number of young fans. Amendments to the Defense Authorization Act would slow the enacting of the trans military ban. Chelsea Manning was offered a visiting fellowship at Harvard till they said, “Oops. Our mistake.” Gavin Grimm is crowd funding his college expenses. Kid Rock does anti-trans raps at his shows. Danica Roem’s campaign agains “Bigot Bob” is heating up. LGBT kids had Camp Rainbow for summer fun. Eddie Izzard will run for parliament in the next general election. Britain’s ITV announces a show about a differently gendered child. Munroe Bergdorf has a new modeling gig. There’s all that and more plus a few TWIT Awards in this week’s TWIT!
Have you seen the bold African print fashions that feature what’s known as Ankara? If you have and you’ve thought they might be fun to wear but you weren’t sure about how to successfully wear them, fear not! Our fashion maven Tasi Zuriack has advice on how to bring the Ankara prints into your wardrobe and make yourself look fabulous.
A teacher reads to her class from the Jazz Jennings’ book I Am Jazz and parents are outraged. A male student is allowed to wear dresses at school and the parents of another student remove their child from the school. If everything doesn’t comply with how people think it should be then they explode. Meanwhile the things that should create outrage are quietly ignored or swept under the rug. The Artist D! has a few words this month about the oppression of kids that comes from their parent’s expectations. And then there’s the outrage over those different colored crayons. . . .
Does the plethora of gender identities sometimes seem overwhelming? If it is for trans people then just imagine what the vanilla gendered population makes of it all. There’s gender non-conforming; non-binary; gender fluid’ gender queer, and that’s not to mention the load of new pronouns that have been created to use when talking about the differently gendered. “I’ll have to ask per and see what zee thinks.” Our Correspondent in Thailand, Christine Burr, would like to return sanity to the gender labelling process. Read on to get her view on the subject.
It’s time for The Week In Trans! Today we learn that a trans woman in Montana is the first openly-trans contestant in the Miss Montana U.S.A. pageant. More lawsuits are being filed against the military trans ban. Spelman College will accept trans women who consistently live and identify as women. The Family Research Council is out to get us. Really! South Park has a video game that incorporates the ability to play as a trans character. A 3-year-old boy will get to have the “princess experience” at Disneyland Paris. More school dress code changes, young activists on the rise, and more homeless trans people on the streets in Portland, Oregon. All that plus more, and a few TWIT Awards is waiting for you in TWIT!
A gender clinic in Canada was diagnosing children as transgender and then subjecting them to “reparative” therapy. The clinic claimed that their therapy was effective in getting eighty percent of the children to stop acting out trans behavior. There was only one major flaw in their data (along with several small flaws). The majority of the children were not transgender. Dr. Dana Bevan looks at the studies based on data from the now-closed clinic and shows why it was wrong and how it has been used to dismiss the accepted fact that being trans is something you are born with.
In 2008 the Democratic Party platform was trans inclusive for the first time. A big part of how that happened can be attributed to the chair of the Democrats’ LGBT Americans Caucus, Rick Stafford. Stafford was a gay man, HIV+ and a real fighter for LGBT inclusion in the political process. He passed away on September 2 and our political correspondent Babs Casbar Siperstein sings his praises. Babs worked with Stafford for many years and today she reveals all of the contributions he made to the advances the community has seen in the past few years.
Cate O’Malley, with a hurricane looming on her doorstep, took the time to send us a blog for today’s New Content. In it she talks about the heroes of the trans community who have put themselves out there and advocated for change in an effort to make all trans people’s lives better. She also talks about the new trans activists who are making their voices heard. She believes that now is the time to fight harder to hold on to the gains we have made in recent years. The political climate has grown colder for trans people and we are under constant attack from right wing religious organizations that want us to disappear from the face of the Earth. See what Cate recommends that you can do to make things a bit better.
Raquel and Mark, two parts of one person that became separated after drinking a strange potion, have been transported to another land. They have been told by a witch, who first appeared as old and ugly but later was young and beautiful, that they must trek to the north and battle “the Magistrate” but that one of them will not survive the confrontation. They have crossed empty fields and in the distance, incongruously, they see a house. A familiar house. Learn more in Chapter 12 of Metamorphosis.
