When The Artist D was a little lad he was happy to follow mommy into the lady’s room since it had nice private booths where you could do your business in private. Then came the awkward grade school and high school years and restrooms defined awkward. Now as an adult The Artist D has some observations on sociological interactions in the men’s room. And a question or two for those fighting for their rest room rights.
With all the negative news about anti-trans laws keeping us out of public restrooms of our choice it’s important to know that we have big guns on our side — from major corporations to rock stars — many powerful people have got our backs. Babs Casbar Siperstein today presents an in-depth look at the blow back North Carolina is experiencing since they passed HB 2, and she looks at Target’s restroom policy. Babs believes that the Jedi Nights will win.
Recently President Obama admonished Black Lives Matter protesters that they need to be doing more than shouting if they want to move their agenda forward. Protest is often necessary but there needs to be another step beyond protest which leads to real change. Too much shouting can actually hurt the cause. There is real science that can be applied to creating change in a culture. Dana Bevan reveals some of it today and urges its use in the fight for trans rights.
All the trans related news gathered into one condensed mass! It’s the massive black hole of trans news — The Week In Transgendrism! Today we learn that YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous is moving into modeling and acting. Laura Jane Grace will play North Carolina just to piss them off. A Detroit woman hopes to be the first trans woman to sail around the world. Shrek: The Musical makes fun of crossdressers. The Austin International Drag Fest is coming soon. Lots and lots of Restroom Wars coverage. A host of TWIT Awards! It’s all waiting for you in TWIT!
Colonel Amanda is waging a war in California, against California. Despite the many advances in treatment of trans people it’s still not a paradise and the enemy keeps putting up defenses that thwart Colonel Amanda’s sorties into enemy held territory. Can she hold out till reinforcements arrive? Will she have to fall back to her home base. . . or even further? Read this latest dispatch from the front and decide if she can win this war.
All the trans related news we could find assembled in one place! It’s The Week In Transgenderism! Today learn that more shots, on both sides, have been fired in the Restroom Wars. The Daily Show devoted almost an entire show to the restroom issue. Siobhan Attwell is the new Andreja Pejic. The Pentagon hasn’t made good on its promise to let trans soldiers serve openly. Panti Bliss provides free HIV tests in her basement. A trans boy can run for prom king. Ladyboys must apply for the army in Thailand. A drag queen gives a TED talk. And we have a long list of TWIT Awards to present. Don’t miss any of it! It’s all in TWIT!
Today’s Retro Rerun is from the early days of TGForum. The late Roberta Angela Dee did a series of articles on learning feminine skills. Today we bring back her tips on creating a feminine voice. You can tell the articles (we’ve combined two of her article on voice) are from the ’90s as she says to use a “tape recorder” to practice with. Today a smart phone will have the app you need. Roberta’s advice is still good today no matter what device you use to practice.
Hannah and Dawn have moved from a close relationship to trying to adjust to being just friends. Dawn knew when they met that Hannah would be an important part of her life and that she would be important for Hannah. But Hannah took the lessons Dawn taught her and moved on down her own road to her feminine destiny. Today Dawn bids Hannah farewell on her gender journey.
Are we prisoners of the gender binary? Must we try to firmly stuff ourselves into only two boxes, male or female? The Artist D, as you may know from reading her blog, is inclined to protest that humans are much to concerned with fitting into one of those two options when life should be bigger, more transcendent than what flesh suit we wear. To illustrate her point today she examines controversial statements made by Richard O’Brien concerning trans women.
TGF member Emily Ott was questioned about “what drives these (specific) transgender people to want to drastically alter/damage their bodies?” Her response was so strong that she decided to become the newest Contributor to TGForum and offered her reply for publication. She calls her answer “Sehnsucht.” Is it another word for “dysphoria”? Give it a read and decide.
A trans woman from Scotland is in the finals of The Voice U.K. Restroom Wars continue to make news. March 31 is the International Transgender Day of Visibility. A trans woman is tossed out of a Trump rally. A trans woman how has had her surgeries tells all about the experience. RuPaul talks about gender, transgender, and drag. How do young people view gender? Angelica Ross makes a video, “Let’s Talk About the T.” Amnesia Sparkles wants to take her MtF transformations on the road. Trans people have more mental health and addiction problems. An Australian financier comes out as trans. Caitlyn Jenner really stirred things up by backing Cruz. All that and more, including a load of TWIT Awards is waiting for you in TWIT!
Amanda has been living on the Bay Area on the west coast for a year and four months. The last four months have taken a toll on her as she has dealt with anxiety issues, money problems and a need to be loved. Here at TGForum we love her and the contributions she makes. Today her contribution talks about her life in Cali and how while she is adjusting to it she is lacking any direction. There is a bright spot though in the love area of her search. Read on.
Angela Gardner takes a visit to the online Transgender Archive hosted by the University of Victoria. This Vancouver based university has solicited contributions of trans related documents, publications, ephemera, and photographs over the past several years. Just recently they announced that the Archive is online. Angela checks it out and finds the negatives and positives in this review.
Statistics and figures around transgender, gender-diverse, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people can be hard to face: with so much misunderstanding and misdeeds against the community, it can be hard to figure out where to begin to eradicate the problem. The global launch of Diverse Xpress doesn’t claim to have all the answers—but it does claim […]
Welcome to The Week In Transgenderism! Today we learn that The Wachowskis are now The Wachowski Sisters. Seattle’s mayor has signed an executive order to protect the rights of trans people dealing with city offices. NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio has signed a bill that requires trans access to public restroom facilities. Learn how Carmen Carrera made it to the top. Meet trans man model Laith Ashley. Also meet trans man scholar Stephen Whittle. Are you ready for makeup tips from Miss Fame? Courtney Act met Madonna in Melbourne. The man who brought Rocky Horror to the London stage has passed away. There’s all that, plus more, and a large quantity of TWIT Awards waiting!
Welcome to Dina’s Diner, the down-home little place that has the nutritious and delicious dish you need to energize you through the day. Today Dina Amberle serves up a few house specials. She talks about the trans people you don’t read about everyday in the news. She harks back to the golden days of yesteryear when crossdressers kept Kodak in the film business. Then she brings out a side order of info on the makeup artist who wins Oscars for her work on screen but looks pretty drab herself. Girls in glasses do seem to get passes as we learn that there are fetishists who are turned on by trans women wearing glasses. It’s all served with Dina’s Diner secret sauce and her 5 original spices.
Sophie Lynne attended The Keystone Conference in Harrisburg, Pa. last week. She has filed a report about what the event meant to her and what she feels it means to all trans people. Read on for Sophie’s impressions of the 2016 Keystone Conference.
While non-transgender individuals – often called cisgender — are referred to with the same pronoun for their entire lives, for many transgender individuals, the gendered pronouns of “he” and “she” do not always align with the gender that they identify with. Advocates across the country have discussed the development of a third-person pronoun, and how […]
Prepare for information download! It’s The Week In Transgenderism with all the trans related news you can use! Today we learn that there is a Miss Trans Israel pageant. The KFC manager who hired and fired a trans woman has been fired. The governor of South Dakota vetoed the bathroom bill. Trans activist Danni Askini runs for her state legislature. Mya Taylor wins a Spirit Award. Caitlyn Jenner joins forces with MAC Cosmetics. Ellen Page hosts an LGBT travel show. There’s an Uber driver drag queen. A new web series documents historic trans people. A drag queen gets fired from a sex toy selling gig. One of The New York Dolls is now making and selling clothes. There’s all that and a load of TWIT Awards waiting for your attention in TWIT!
And the winner is… The Week In Transgenderism! That ‘s right, it’s all the trans news we can pack into one column! Today we learn that Calpernia Addams is a multi-talented woman who advocates for trans rights. There is a trans group promoting Hillary Clinton. The Governor of Pennsylvania says Medicaid in his state should pay for GRS. There’s a transmasculine, bigender frat brother. Saskatoon changes its ID rules. A high school senior applies for a college scholarship with a drag transformation video. Washington state says men are not allowed in the women’s restroom because of their anti-discrimination law. A trans nominee for the Oscar for Best Song is snubbed by the Academy. There’s all that and a pile of TWIT Awards waiting for you in TWIT!
The Restroom Wars rage on with right wing legislators attempting to pass bills to prevent trans people from using public restroom facilities and locker rooms of the gender they identify with. These ill conceived bills don’t recognize the science of gender identity, the biological basis for many genders that prevents simple determination of a person’s gender and makes enforcement of these propose laws next to impossible. Today Dr. Dana Bevan brings in the big guns — scientific facts — in defense of our right to pee where we feel comfortable.
There are many things people expect in life. Often times not getting what they expect causes problems. Their expectations don’t become reality. A son can grow up to become a daughter. A father can stop being a man and become a woman. Adjusting to the fact that accepting people in your life for who they are and not who you expect them to be can be hard. Cate O’Malley has some thoughts on the subject. Along with her impressions of Kinky Boots.
It’s all the trans related news we could find! It’s The Week in Transgenderism! Today we learn that the winner of Miss Transgender U.K. is taking a walk for charity and has had her crown taken away by pageant officials. The CIA is recruiting LGBT people. Learn all about trans actress Alexandra Billings. A sorority girl becomes a guy and he’s allowed to stay. Caitlyn Jenner says she gets more flak for being a Republican than for being trans. Andreja Pejic has done her first mag cover as a woman. Orthodox Judaism may become more receptive to trans people. There’s also restroom wars news, the story of a 19th century trans man, and an intersex dog. Plus, a large load of TWIT Awards! Don’t miss your TWIT!
Amanda has been laboring in the fields of Big Box Land for too long. The demands of the job are becoming greater and the pay is not going up. Today was one of those days when she almost told some entitled, over paid, “guest” to do something that it would be best not to tell someone to do. If you want to keep your crappy job, that is. Will she ever make it to the Continent of Careers? Or will she stay stuck in the low paid Land of Jobs?
A wise man once said it’s important to know your enemy. While there are many people that could be considered enemies to members of the trans community the hardest ones to understand are not those who are totally ignorant. Ignorance can be a factor in why someone would treat trans people badly. The ones that are hard to understand are those who have been a part of the community and left to advocate for laws allowing discrimination against trans people and telling the world that there is no such thing as transgender and trans people are deluded and sick. One such person is anti-trans activist and writer Walt Heyer.
