Trans Books that Changed My Life

As part of a support group assignment, Sophie was asked to name the trans books that changed her life.  It's an interesting list and not all of them are trans related.

Good reading from Sophie.  Trans Books that Changed My Life, from her blog, A Woman Named Sophie.

Jealous of the woman walking down the street

It is at moments like this that I wish I was transgendered and felt like I was a woman and would be content living my life as such or not be attracted to wearing women’s clothes while recognizing that being transgendered is not living a charmed life.  I am guessing many crossdressers are caught in this middle ground where we are just trans enough to be compelled to wear women’s clothing but not trans enough to do anything permanent about it.

Interesting thoughts from a crossdresser's point-of-view.  Jealous of the woman walking down the street, is from Jess's blog, Crossdressing Commentary.

Let's Talk About Underwear

Today, my darlings, I want to talk about the unmentionables. That’s right, we are going to chat about underwear, and what it is like as a transwoman who has not had SRS to live her life in lady skivvies.

Well, that just about says it all about this featured post from Emma.  I like her writing style.  The post is silly yet informative.  You'll enjoy it too, so go straight to Let's Talk About Underwear right now!

Book Review - My Husband Betty

Lisa and I were together for nearly 20 years before she came to her own self-realization. And even once a trans person does discover their identity, the disapproval of society is so strong that they may be afraid to come out, believing (with good reason, unfortunately) that they may lose their family in doing so. 

The quote, above, is from another post from Adrienne, a cis lesbian married to a trans woman.  This post is a review of Helen Boyd's book, My Husband, Betty, the first trans-related book I ever read.  Although there have been many reviews of this book, this is the first review I've found, written by a woman who's husband is in transition from male to female.  It's a very well thought out review and worth reading.

Happy Birthday, Sue's news and views!

My blog is a romping little toddler of four now and hasn’t thrown too many tantrums or dropped its dinner on the floor too often. Maybe the demands for princess dresses and rainbow ponies are becoming irritating, but on the whole I think we have something to make me feel motherhood is worthwhile.  

A big shout-out for Sue's news and views.  Sue has been blogging since 2011.  Happy Birthday, blog! is the post.

Rest in Peace, Melissa...

It was four years ago, today August 20, 2011, that Melissa passed away, quietly, near her Piedmont region home, in the state of Virginia.  Most of our T-bloggers who were active at the time knew and loved Melissa and I'll guarantee you that none of them will ever forget her. 

Caroline was, perhaps, one of those closest to Melissa and she graciously accepted my request to do a guest post, remembering her:

I thought that I understood the meaning of the word “mourning” until my friend Melissa died four years ago. Calie asked me wether I would write an introductory post for T Central and the gush of emotion and gut churning feelings flooded back in an instant!

It was six years ago that I first commented on “Melissa’s Meanderings” which had been going a scant month. We gelled immediately and so started a long series of regular emails on a scale dwarfing all other online communications. We contemplated online chatting and even started to set it up but Melissa decided that long emails was her preferred medium. I found out that she had many similar email friendships in her life

We were little different in age though we had been born on different continents. Clearly we had both known our true natures from an early age and learned quickly to subdue it, both of us had sought help at about twenty and got little help. Melissa had the diagnosis but could see no way in her circumstances to find a way to transition. She did try entering into relationships but realised that her expectations could not gel with the hopes and expectations of the girls she found. Like many of her generation she lived through the era of Vietnam and with a military father found resistance futile, I had wondered if exposure to that Vietnamese sun finally killed her…

She chose a solitary life living out in the country head down in a solid company to pay for an early retirement to be herself, thank goodness for her and for us that she did.

She had hardly started a blog when I first found her and we were instant soul mates. She encouraged me to start using an epilator and by degrees I encouraged her to restart going further out in the real world and she joined a support group and found some live friends again.

If she had a fault it was her ability to get to a new post first and then post one of her perfectly formed comments leaving the rest of us speechless! 

Latterly she started to find the present darker mood of our corner of the net depressing and encountered some direct hostility and hinted that this may have delayed admitting that her health had deteriorated. Few among us have not wished fate to take a hand and to not wake the next day when it all felt too much…

Her spirit burned fierce and bright though sadly not for long enough, almost exactly two years online. I had expected us to age gracefully together, her more gracefully than me, but is was not to be. The consolation is that she suffers in this mad world no longer.

There is a large void and silence which is still hard to come to terms with...

 - Caroline

I wanted to feature one of Melissa's posts and found this one, There's Been A Great Disturbance In The Force........, where she lamented about a growing divide within the transgender community. 

Melissa did a guest post for T-Central, and I really encourage those who didn't know Melissa to read this post.

Lastly, many have left a personal tribute on Melissa's last blog post.  If you want to do so, go here.

Rest in peace, girlfriend....



 

The Twilight zone – Stockings

At home I’m always in shorts and bare feet, summer and winter. Before the stockings became necessary no problem. Now it’s different, I still try to keep to shorts and be compliant with wearing the stockings but then I get remarks from Mrs.A. She can’t get used to seeing me ‘exposed’ in them, especially the black ones. The picture is not a good one but one gets the idea. If I would walk around the house as in the picture above, I would get more than just a weird look.

Abi has written a five part, l-o-n-g but entertaining, series about stockings.  You see, Abigale HAD to buy stockings.  Her doctor wrote a prescription!  

I handed her the note. 
She studied it, a little longer than I thought necessary. 
She looked up with a mixture of surprise and slight disbelief. 
“Ultra-sheer!?” 
“Yes.” Pause. 
“But that’s a … well a … woman’s stocking!” 
“If you say so.. and?” 

The first post in the series starts out with this line:

I wanted to give a short update on my activities.

Um.....Abi, dear....and your definition of short is.....?

I'm just playing with Abigale.  Get yourself a cup of tea or coffee and start with The Twilight Zone - Stockings 1, and enjoy Abi's humor and experiences.

Reflection ~ Conversations and Self-Image

"I think when these two parts become one you will be one happy bunny"

The comment, above, was a response from a reader to a post Halle did in 2010.


Those who have followed Halle's blog over the years know that Halle is (or is it "was"?) two spirits....a male and a female.  Well, that was in 2010.  Where is Halle now?  Read Reflection ~ Conversations and Self-Image to find out!

Repetition and Sparkle!

Sparkle has been around for years and is the premier dress-up event for the transgender community in the United Kingdom.  

I've heard so much about this event from friends over the years.  I recall one good friend who described her first Sparkle in a blog post.  She eventually transitioned, but Sparkle was the place where she first met others who were like-minded and helped her through her journey.

I'm in California and I'll note that there is a similar event out here, sponsored by the River City Gems.  It's also called Sparkle, and it has also been an annual event for several years.  One of the founders of the California Sparkle moved to California, from England, where she had participated in the original Sparkle many times.

With all of that said, I enjoyed reading Kay's report of the fun she had at the recent Sparkle event in the UK.  You can read it too, by going to Kay's post, Repetition and Sparkle!.

On Gender Roles

Adrienne, who describes herself as a cis-lesbian married to a trans woman, has written a very thought provoking post on gender roles.




In a traditional marriage, the husband mows the lawn, RIGHT?  The wife changes the diapers, RIGHT?  

Read On Gender Roles for an excellent post that makes you ask, WHY?  

Translucidity is Adrienne's blog.  Be sure to add it to your reading list.

Time in a Bottle

Today is Donna's 15th anniversary of her Gender Reassignment Surgery.  In her words:

In the year leading up to this day I had a countdown on my computer telling me the number of days left until SRS.  When it got less than 100 I was thrilled.  When it got less than 30, I couldn't believe it.  And with it got less than 7 - well, I was amazed.  The good news is - I'm still amazed.


I love happy endings and, while we're only 15 years into this success story it is, indeed, time to celebrate!

Donna's blog has been listed on T-Central since 2010.  Please drop by The Donna Blog, read Time in a Bottle, and wish her a happy anniversary.

Gender as a Psychological Construct

Let’s get this correct first; there is not one of us born or alive who is “all man” or “all woman”.  That is actually a biological impossibility.  Females have a certain amount of testosterone in their bodies, as men have a certain amount of oestrogen in theirs (and some more than others, dears) – get used to it.

Gender as a Psychological Construct is an amusing offering from Xandra on the subject of the difference between the sexes with a little dose of gender thrown in. Well worth reading and a blog to add to your reading list.

Who is Xandra?  Go to her "about" page to learn more, but here's an excerpt:

I have a wonderful, if a bit dark and twisted, sense of humour but if crossed can be the biggest bitch it has ever been your misfortune to encounter.  But don’t let that scare you dears, I’m a sweetie really.

Tipping the Gender Scale

Recently, I have read several posts calling for cross dressers to come out- be counted and how do CD's fit in with the transgender community. In my never humble opinion, totally. With reservations of course. 

Time for a visit to the Condo.  Crysti's, of course.  

Tipping the Gender Scale is raises some interesting questions.

Help Us Get Our Identities Back!

A glance at any list in Facebook will easily reveal many obviously made-up names. So why are only some people losing their accounts? Because Facebook uses their reporting system to identify accounts that users think are fake. Why would a user report a fake name account? One is that they are a troll. They hate people with opposing views and want a chance to find and harass them in real life.

I think everyone reads Stana's Femulate, but this particular post deserves all of the eyeballs it can get.

Help Us Get Our Identities Back!, from the one and the only Femulate blog.

Life's a drag

It seems that drag is deemed to be offensive to we transgender people.


Somehow I missed this post from Jenny, one of our T-Central admins.  Jenny certainly doesn't share the attitude about drag queens, above.  The issues is apparently coming from a Scotland Pride event that is banning drag queens.  Indeed, she has a lot to say about the subject.  My own feelings are mixed, but I'll drop a comment on Jenny's blog.

Life's a drag, is from Jenny's Large Blooming Flower blog.