©1995, 2013 by Dallas Denny Source: Denny, Dallas. (1995, November). FTM Conference a Huge Success! AEGIS News, No. 1, V. 5, p. 1. Here’s a bit of history for TGForum readers… Thumbnail Photo: Illustration of Jack Bee Garland, taken from the cover of Louis Graydon Sullivan’s biography. Garland was a female-bodied man who lived in […]
Today Dr. Dana Bevan doesn’t blind you with science. She takes you on a scientific trip through the brain and points out the differences that can be found using sophisticated instruments between the brains of non-TG/TS people and those of TG/TS people. Research on deceased TG/TS brains pointed toward differences in brain structure and today’s modern magnetic resonance imaging is finding even more. Read Beyond the BNST to first of all find out what the BNST is and then learn why it’s looking more and more as if we’re born this way.
It’s strange how certain words or phrases come into vogue, slip into “fashion,” reoccur in regular usage–perhaps initially being used by a small group of people, and then becoming adopted by the wider community at large. Language is always evolving and we’re forever seeing new “tech” words or words or phrases, which often begin as […]
Sophie Lynne made it to the Southern Comfort Conference this month and for her it was “living the dream.” SCC was on her agenda for a few years but something always stood in the way. This year it was SCC or bust. Today Sophie covers her experience at the conference. She attended seminars and talks. Ate hotel food. There was karaoke and too many cocktails. Amid all that Sophie connected with people, people she’d heard about and admired to people who were fans of hers. Take a trip back to early this month and visit Southern Comfort with Sophie.
One of the leading advocates for recognition and respect for transgendered people in the United Kingdom has died. Yvonne Sinclair passed away in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on August 6. Yvonne had suffered from emphysema for the past three years caused by smoking and had been ill for the past two months. Sinclair worked tirelessly for […]
Dr. Sherman Leis is one of the world’s pre-eminent transgender surgeons and founder of The Philadelphia Center For Transgender Surgery, in Bala Cynwyd, PA. It is recognized as one of the leading facilities in the world specializing in gender reassignment surgery. In the course of his work Dr. Leis has found himself counseling family and friends of his patients. He has compiled a list of ten tips on how to interact with a transgendered person.
Linda Jensen takes a chance path along the Internet and finds herself reconnected with a little-known autobiography from a little-known figure in TG history. Linda recalls how the book and its photos influenced her interest in developing a femme persona. When she was young she came across the autobiography and thought that it might turn out to be her story too. Puberty brought a different path but Linda remembers the excitement that came from reading that book.
“Dream a little dream with me.” That’s the thrust of Sophie Lynne’s post today. Whether the dream is one you have at night while you’re tucked into your bed or if it’s one that you think about throughout your day, a longing for something more in your life, all your dreams are important. The one’s you have when you sleep are out of your conscious control but Sophie thinks the waking ones you hold dear and strive to achieve are more than dreams. They’re goals that you can work toward and someday achieve.
Willow Arune is a collector of books. Not just any books but signed first editions. She hunts up the author and has them sign her copy of their work, or a bookplate which she affixes to her first edition making it a signed first edition. One of the authors she decided to track down was Geoff Brown who wrote a novel in the early ‘60s called “I Want What I Want.” The main character is a male to female transsexual. Join Ms. Arune as she takes you on a tour of TS themed books on her Hunt for Geoff Brown.
Stealth is useful when you don’t want your spy planes to be noticed by the people you are spying on. It’s not as useful and may be actually harmful when you’re transgendered. The burden of having to pass all the time, having to watch yourself constantly to make sure you don’t betray your gender status and then the damage to your personal relationships and career from being outed make it an unhealthy way to live. Dallas Denny read an essay by another TG writer on the dangers of stealth and has been inspired to expand on the subject.
Looking for examples of transgenderism from around the world to include in her next book Dr. Dana Bevan found herself on a virtual tour of the planet, and she found transgendered people in many places. From North American Native tribes to such far flung areas as Indonesia, Siberia, Iran and Mexico Dr. Bevan was able to find not just a third gender but in some cases five genders. And she learned that transgendered people exist in cultures that have religious restrictions against dressing as the opposite sex. Take the tour today with Dr. Bavan and learn about TGs around the world.
Camille Brandon made a rare daytime appearance at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida Sunday a week ago. What lured our Florida Out & About reporter into the bright sunshine? A book signing with author and former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck. Beck is promoting her book Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender. Camille hung out by the pool all day and has sent us a report on the event.
In 2011 a British television program called My Transsexual Summer followed seven transgendered individuals around documenting what, for them, it is like to be transgendered. Now the program is available on YouTube and recently our columnist Linda Jensen got an email from her friend Janne Carbonneau about the program. Ms. Chabonneau wanted to let everyone know that the program did a good job of introducing TGs to the world in a non-exploitative way. Linda thought she should share Ms. Charbonneau’s review with the TGForum readers.
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.
A big part of activism is being prepared to answer questions that will come your way. TransJen is glad she was prepared to provide the information a transgendered person in Africa needed. She could quickly provide the information that would help the TG because she had already done the research.
There are good reasons that the words “sex” and “gender” are not interchangeable. In her post today Dr. Dana Bevan tells us why this is so and why transgendered people in particular should insist that physical sex and gender identity be kept separate.
A TG prom queen in Massachusetts. A TG graduate in Ohio. A film starring a TG actress is in pre-production. Lingerie for TGs gets thumbs down from TGs. Laura Ingraham doesn’t know what she’s talking about. There’s a TG superhero cartoon show. A 50-year-old TG pole dancer on her way to a top prize. And more!
The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference is in it’s 12th year and it has grown so large that it is set to happen June 13-15 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia, Pa. The conference is a program of the Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia’s LGBT health care & wellness center. The conference provides a free space where trans-people, […]
The eyes have it. Pain that is. Many people feel that those who are suffering express their pain through their eyes. The eyes are purported to be windows to the soul. Dallas Denny talks about her gender induced pain and illustrates her text with These Eyes.
Doctor Dana Bevan comes to TGForum today with the first of a series of articles on her research into the causes of transgenderism. Dr. Bevan holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Princeton University and is the author of “The Transsexual Scientist.” Welcome her to TGForum.
Her college tried to stop her from speaking to classes about transgender issues. First she brought in the Department of Justice to defend her right to be treated like any other woman on campus. Then she used wily tactics to talk about transgender issues when the college tried to stop her. She’s TransJenn.
In 1998 TGForum featured an essay by Dallas Denny on the idea of the “transsexual script.” She discussed the Harry Benjamin model of the “perfect” TS and talked about how that standard began to change in the early 1990s. After taking a look at both models Dallas still has questions.
Young Dallas Denny didn’t get much of a girlhood. For the most part she had to imagine being one of the girls. Then in her junior year she got some clothes and makeup and dressed up for an afternoon now and then. Find out what it was like being a trans student.
Christine Burr has filed another Thailand report. This one reviews the treatment in the foreign press there of ladyboys accused of criminal activities. A dim view should be taken of criminals but should they be excoriated more because they are transgendered? Read Misdemeanours.
History is happening all the time and those who take the time to preserve their part of it do a service to future generations by letting them know where they came from. The TG community has a long, rich history but much of it disappeared into the mists of time. Dallas Denny tells us how to preserve our history.
