Motive and Opportunity - Halloween '19

By the time I got up enough nerve to leave my car, the "costume walk" was long past. Sitting at the bar I felt the need to justify why I was dressed as I was; like an explanation was a needed?  The bartender's comment, after my long dissertation, "I am sure that this will not be the last".  No truer statement was ever said.


It's Halloween, 2019, and Rhonda tells us about her first time out on that very special holiday.

Top Surgery

This surgery is a lot less scary than FFS was. For one, I've now been through a pretty involved surgery. So nothing is going to be a surprise this time around. Top surgery is actually a much, much simpler procedure in terms of surgical complexity and in terms of recovery.


Brooklyn's Faith DeBrooke is about to endure another surgery....Top Surgery. 

Alive and sittin' (and rambling)

Like any other skill, you just gotta start small and keep practicing.  Something clicked with me and makeup a year or so ago - keep it simple and have extremely low expectations.  That has served me well.  And as such, the handful of times that I've done makeup this year, I've actually enjoyed it.


A few comments, from Tanya, about makeup.  

My New Blog

Many of you know me from my previous blog.  However, due to situations beyond my control, I am shifting my posts to this blog, as I can not remove all references to certain people from my old blog.


Just a quick note that Marian has changed the name of her blog.  The reason is in this post.

Checked-Mate

I’d wanted some for ages. Seen them around in the shops but they were never quite perfect. The lines were either too big, or not quite the right colour or the shape was just not right for me. Then I’d see a women with the exact pair that would be perfect but there was no way I would stop a complete stranger in the street and say, “Excuse me, where did you get your trousers from?”


Only Hannah could write such a captivating post about a pair of trousers.

The People Who Used To Live Here

Branching from a modest, quiet cul-de-sac, at the end of a modest-length driveway, sits a modest home. The People Who Used To Live Here reside within these walls. To a large extent, The People Who Used To Live Here exist on divergent paths, and while the ties that bind still exist, many of those ties are of a legal or nominal nature only. The bonds of family fade with each passing day.


You will feel the emotion in this post, from Shannyn.  Wonderfully written, yet very sad.

T with C

The last year and a half has been difficult at Sox cottage. The news that my illness is incurable cancer has obviously been the most difficult thing my soul mate and I have had to deal with. I have been on chemo therapy for most of this time. Extending my life so I have time to spend with my most dearest is priceless.


These are words we certainly do not like to hear from one or our bloggers, or anyone else.  Bobby is strong, however, as she shows in this post.  If you've never left a comment, you should consider writing one to Bobby.

3 Saucy Wenches at the Renaissance Fair

We went to the fair and I've spent my second day dressed in public within two weeks.  Life is good.






Life is, indeed, good for Heather.  Read all about 3 Saucy Wenches at the Renaissance Fair.

Standing Up, Speaking Up, Moving Up

During all the years when I was desperately hoping and wondering and panicking about if I really could or should actually do this thing and embark on a transition, well it occupied my every thought and writing a blog about it was a good way of getting it all out of me rather than keeping things bottled up inside. 



Kristy, an Irish girl, is now post-transition!  In this post, she reviews the past year, and a good year it was!

Real RLE

Real-life experience (RLE) is a process where transsexual and transgender people live full-time in their preferred gender identity for a period of time, in order to demonstrate that they can function as a member of said gender. —Wikipedia


My friend, Stana, shares her thoughts about the Real-Life Experience.

The essay 'I am a transsexual'

As I read through the paper from Harry Benjamin I find different essays buried inside. I will pull them out and put them here. One of the interesting ideas I find is that so very little has changed, and that this information is out there is recorded and yet we still struggle against society and the medical community. Our plight is improving and maybe in another 100 yrs our will not suffer the way we have. I can only hope. Any way here is an essay title 'I am a transsexual' author unknown.



A nice find, from Bree, who was once a very prolific blogger.

Re-transitioning

David transitioned in Toronto in the 1980s. He said his initial motivation was transvestite. How would he know? Transvestites, or cross dressers, might dress occasionally or compulsively for a sexual thrill, but the thrill wears off and they want to dress normally again. Yet he saw a gender clinic and was prescribed oestrogen. He must have had some diagnoscible signs of transsexualism. 


This one is a very interesting post, from Clare.  It's a story of a transition, de-transition and then a re-transition.

My crossdressing story

Then when I was 14, I came up with a brilliant idea! I could be my own sister! I started wearing girl’s clothes every night for a different reason. In my mind, it was to remember my sister and what she would have become. And I started to experience new types of girl’s clothing other that the swimsuits I’d been wearing.


Our journey's are all different in some way but this one, from Amber, is unique.

Review - Tights

A few weeks ago the Ever Lovely Mrs J mentioned a firm to me called Snag Tights. They are very much not a 'one size fits all' company. Instead, they offer a variety of sizes for the long, the short, and the tall - as someone once sang. Intrigued, I thought I'd have a look at their site, and maybe invest.


Tights....a necessity (opaque at least) for those of us (like me!) who don't shave our legs!  Lynn has a review.  

The Worst Kept Secret

On the first visit to my therapist, I was given a questionnaire to complete. One of the questions was, “What is your sexual preference?’ Without hesitation, I wrote, “I want to be a girl.”



Time for an oldie but a goodie.  Nice post, from Billie, in 2010.

High Heels - Mood Elevation

I have always been aware that getting dressed and “getting out” provided a lift (pun intended). However, I never noticed that just a quick walk in my heels also provided an endorphin hit. 





Endorphins and heels.  They go together like cake and frosting.  Read all about it, from Rhonda.

Being a Transgender Teacher

This year I was so proud and impressed with this student.  They approached me at the start of the year, and told me they are transgender, and that they are male, and that they would prefer to be called Leo!  I was so excited for them!  Wow!  How cool to understand such an awesome thing at such a young age.  


It's so nice to see Nadine so accepted as a trans teacher.  In this post, she writes about one of her students who came out to her.

It’s Easier Than You Think

If you are able and if you want to go out and if you are frightened about it, really, it’s easier than you think. I am not sure why you wouldn’t if you are able. For almost 50 years, I didn’t have the circumstances and I get that. But if you’re sitting at home wishing you could go out, do it. Use your head. It’s really not that complicated.






It's easier than you think, says Kandi.  This post tells you about a fun day out and about.

The Father Judged to be Mother

 A High Court Judge Has Ruled That "Mother" No Longer Means "Woman"




Caroline forwarded this link to me, from BuzzFeed.  Her comment: This shows just how stupid the law is and how vicious the UK media can be.

Ask Hannah!

The other day I spotted a very stylish looking trans girl in my suburb (well, I’d be damn surprised if I’d mis”read” her). Tall, lovely mini dress, flatter heels than I’d have chosen (but, hey, nobody’s perfect!) and spot-on makeup.

I was so tempted to say hi, compliment them on their look, but decided not to, in part remembering what you’d written.

But I’m thinking about what I do if/when I see someone en femme, while I’m in guy mode? Do I say something, or (at most) smile in as friendly a way as possible (trying not to be at all creepy)?


Hannah addresses this often asked question in the latest edition of "Ask Hannah".

I Don’t Crossdress

There was I time when I would have said yes to the question – do you crossdress?





Ummm.......want to explain that, Stephie?  She does, and you can go here to read it.

This is not the group you are looking for. You may go about your business.

The other week an email arrived in the Chameleons inbox. It wasn't from a trans person, someone related to some who's trans, nor a training enquiry.






So who was this email from?  Go to Lynn's post to read about a subject I rarely see mentioned in the trans-blogs.

Two Wheels Out of State

Since it is somewhat off-topic for Transgender in State -- as of today renamed Transgender Out of State.


Long time blogger, Robyn, has a new name for her blog.  Transgender in State is now Transgender OUT of State.  Why?  Read Two Wheels Out of State, for the answer.

Beth Overthinks It

Welcome to the newly named, “Beth Overthinks It” blog.






  

Same girl.  Same Beth.  Same blog.  Different name (remember Right Brain, Wrong Body?)

In this post, Beth tells us about her visit to the Blue Ridge Pride Festival.