A spectrum of color

Antonia D'orsay, a.k.a. Dyssonance, and several other writers have started something ambitious. Actually, Dyss started it a year ago, but recently it was relaunched in its current format. It's called The Spectrum Cafe, an all-trans news and comment blog. The writers of TSC are hoping to create a Pam's House Blend or Bilerico Project for trans issues. With Dyssonance at the helm, you can be sure this blog won't pull any punches, and it's bound to be thought-provoking.

Check out the most recent post (as of this writing) from Emelye Waldherr called ...really a man.

Question on Improving T-Central

I've received some mixed responses about access and the loading speed of T-Central.  I am on a broadband connection and generally use a speedy MacBookPro viewing in Firefox or Safari, and I rarely have any delays in page loads.  Sure, there are a couple of "Followers" gadgets and the extensive list of blogs takes some time to generate thumbnails for each site, but aren't you drawn into a particular page because of the title and thumbnail?  Would you rather have only titles to blogs and have a followers page moved to a separate page where people could go there separately? What other things could be done to make things better?

I'm not able to spend as much time and energy on reading t-blogs as I'd like, but I need some feedback on how to continue to make this a simple site that keeps the many different blogs and perspectives centralized for those desiring a central location for their frequent blog reading.

If you've ever benefited by our work to incorporate a massive blog list like this, please leave a comment on how we can make it a better and faster loading site for all.   If you're interested in being a contributor to the featured posts (the ones posted in this section of the page), please send me an email to lorisrevival at gmail dot com.   We're looking for either contributors to post original content or reviews of other blogs of special interest.  As always, this is a personal site and we have the right to refuse or publish the content submitted.

Thanks,
Lori D.

A place of her own

I've been reading insightful, intelligent comments from "ginasf" in other people's blogs for quite some time, so I was delighted to see that Gina has started a blog of her own. The name Skip the Makeup is in reference to the way filmmakers, when making a documentary about a trans woman, inevitably show her putting on makeup. Gina is not afraid to take on issues or to shy away from controversy. In her own words, the blog's "primary focus is on cis-cultured media's assumptions and presentations of trans identities & lives." She's been writing only since February, so it's not hard to catch up on her excellent postings so far.

[Addendum: D'oh! It helps if I include a link, right?]

Fresh face

I'm a terrible T-Central contributor. I'm not very good at searching out new blogs, but sometimes I get lucky and they come to me. That's what happened when Sophie commented on a blog entry I just wrote, which led me to Mental Boonies, her new blog started only this month. She writes with intelligence and wit, a dash of irreverence, and a spiritual angle that many will find appealing. That's not usually me, but her Note to God entry really moved me. And I have to admit, she cited a good quote from C. S. Lewis. Say hi to the new girl on the block!

Common Teri's Commentary

Ever since I began my first steps to transition, my friend Teri had a blog on Yahoo 360 where she would write her unadulterated thoughts about transition, life, and the new challenges of living as a woman.  She left the blog world for a few months recently but has returned with a new blog and new input.  Her most recent posts already prove she's back in true form sharing her heart and chronicling her life in a real and sensitive way.  

Please head over to her site and become a follower.  It's definitely worth it!

http://commontericommentary.blogspot.com/

TransAfrica

Checking the blogs on this list, or anywhere on the web, one might get the impression that most trans people are Caucasian Westerners, with a smattering of Southeast Asians. But trans people are found everywhere, as I have seen from the chart that Google Analytics shows me for my blog.

Lindsay's Life is a blog by a young Kenyan trans woman on the cusp of her transition. Her official transition, that is. It's clear from reading her blog that she has been a girl all along. She now wants to make it official and truly live her life as the woman she is inside.

If we think it's difficult to transition in our society, imagine how it must be in a country like Kenya, which is hardly backward but whose cultures are much more traditional than ours. Lindsay is not her real name. As she writes, she hates to hide, but she wants to live. She is aware of how many if not most Kenyans feel about people who are different. Her courage is inspiring.

At the same time, she writes like the young woman she is, in the English of a young woman with a smattering of local patois. It will be interesting to follow her journey. I hope that she can keep writing.

A Daydreamer Among Us

Over on Wordpress, I stumbled upon Adrienne Morgan Leigh's blog (READ IT HERE or navigate to http://daydreamer37.wordpress.com/ ). Adrienne seems ready to continue the chronicles of her transition, and I appreciate anyone willing to share another simple yet incredibly personal journey with the rest of the world.

Head on over the Adrienne's blog and decide for yourself. She's also been added to the T-Central list below in case you miss a blog or two!

TLDR

Nicky wrote a nice blog today. Too bad I managed to derail it right away by bringing up the mechanics of blog-writing.

But I think there's some value in discussing how we write blogs, why we write them that way, and what it means to our audiences.

Do you write with yourself in mind first, and assume your love and passion for whatever your topic is will come through and attract the right people, like moths to a flame?

Or do you consider your audience first and bend your prose to the limitations that imposes, like a sonnet must be bent to a certain structure?

Or do you not care about an audience at all, writing solely for yourself?

Personally, I see my blog as a relationship between myself and the people who read it. I want to entertain, inform, provoke, or inspire thought. Mostly, though, I want them to read what I have to say, and to that end, I try to make it as easy as possible for them.

Pretty much everyone here has a blog...that was the point of T-Central, to gather us all into one place. And every single one of us is an audience member for someone else, which means you have an opinion. So let's talk!

And in the meantime, check out Nicky's blog, because there was a lot more to get out of that one paragraph than what I led with in the comments section.

(Oh, and bonus points to the first person to tell us what the title of this blog means)

Are you "Another Whiney T-Girl?"

Jamie has a blog. Jamie speaks her mind. Jamie doesn't care if you agree or disagree with her. She is who she is. Heck, some of the things she writes might even infuriate you. Inversely, you may think she gets it right most of the time.

Whatever opinion you may have about her blogs, you just GOTTA read this one. That is, if you are willing to put aside the fact that her blog is called "Not Another Whiney T-girl Blog". If you're perfectly alright with that, then read her latest. It was certainly worth the PRICE OF ADMISSION. (click HERE). Don't say I didn't warn you, though. (For the record, I may not agree with everything she says, but I can't resist reading anyway! Her professional photographs are freaking awesome to boot!)

Good luck at work there, Jamie!

Jaye's Trans Blog and the Subject of Detransitioning

Over on Wednesday, February 25th's post at Jaye's Trans Blog, Jaye highlights two links, the first a story in USA Today about L.A. Times Sportswriter Mike Penner. Mike's story became famous when he transitioned to become Christine Daniels in 2007 but detransitioned back to Mike late last year. The second article discusses a British tycoon who also transitioned to female, then detransitioned back to male while arguing that living as a woman was a negative experience.

The topic and publicity of detransitioning seems to also catch the news media's attention, and keywords like "detransition" and "Christine Daniels" frequently pop up in my own listing in Google Analytics.

Jaye is a relatively new blogger, but she's been consistently writing about her thoughts as she processes her own feelings. Check out her blog, follow her along, and let her know what you think! (READ IT HERE).

Calie's Chronicles

I don't often get to follow some blogs as closely as I'd like, but find myself making more of a concerted effort to follow Calie of Calie's Chronicles (READ HER BLOG HERE). (Plus, she's a friend of Rebecca's ;) )
Her many experiences and thoughts were so similar to my own, and she expresses her emotions very clearly. Her latest blog "Letting the Shields Down" hits the mark when she explains

I guess what I am trying to say is that I can feel like the real "me" just by being with someone who accepts me and understands me which allows me to release the shields that are almost always up.

Have you ever felt like that? When I first began making friends with accepting attitudes towards my T-ness, I quickly felt the need for makeup and dress much less significant. Nowadays I'm quite comfortable wearing a blouse and jeans, but there was a time when even that just wasn't quite enough.

Until someone friendly enough came along allowing me to let my shields down.

Teri, Debbie, Dee, and Allison

Today over on CommonTeri's blog, Teri opens up about her successful day performing at the recent Fresno talent show and the positive review she received from online Gay Fresno. Her point is that we should interact with the world and let them see our talents so that they come to know us for who we are.

Over on Debbie's Life, she ventures into the realm of podcasting as she prepares to travel for her own surgery. I haven't had a chance to give it a full listen, but give Deb your support as she documents one of the biggest moments in her life. She's got a great voice too! As Lucy heals from her own surgery, we wish you luck Debbie!

Dee of Dee's Tales continues to write about the vivid emotions she experiences about the necessity of blogging to help sort through her many thoughts. I like Dee's writing a lot, I think you will too.

And last but certainly not least, I found a new friend in the gorgeous Allison Mackenzie. After reading her most recent blogs, I found myself going back reading her previous writings, and I was hooked. Allison has done a marvelous job chronicling the highs and lows of transition, and I think her wordpress journal is as good as it gets. She faces FFS (pun intended) within a couple of weeks. Her page says "Just another Wordpress blog," but there's much more to it than that.

Too much to read and too little time to do it in. Toodles!

Blogs of the Day, Version 1.0

Beginning today, Renee and I will be giving brief reviews of recent blog postings from others that you may have missed. While it will certainly only scratch the surface, we hope to highlight interesting stories and life events here at the top of the T-Central page.

Over on Teresa's Treasures, today was the day she got her name changed...woo hoo! Go T.E.R.E.S.A! That's just a name FULL of "awesome sauce!" (as Jayna and Mila put it).

Kathryn of Kathryn's Journey met with HR and has a date set for her to go full time at work...stay tuned to hear how that goes. Results from coming out at work still vary from person to person. I have a feeling Kathryn will do just fine, after having followed her blog for a while. Go girl!

And Veronique over on TransCanada discusses what life is like to be happy. She also includes a video at the bottom. If you haven't followed her blog yet, you're missing a wonderful writer who shares her heart and soul.

Finally, Stephanie posts in her own blog about coming to terms with the big "Why," and decides that "I'm a happy girl, not an angry shadow. That's all that matters."

I like that reasoning. I like it a lot.

112 PERSONAL BLOGS...Sheez

112 personal blogs here. Whew! Lots to read. While I may not have enough time to comment on nearly as many as I'd like, I do read a LOT.
All because I'm still learning... a LOT.

Now get back to reading!

2009 ...and STILL growing!

I want to thank all of you who seem to be using T-Central as a jump point to newer trans and glb-related news and personal blogs. (Google Analytics says so!) I am personally using it more than the Google Reader, my current RSS feed reader, unless I read blogs via my mobile phone. We're still debating whether to break blogs down by subjects, but the main issue is where to put each one considering most topics overlap.

For now we'll keep two lists in addition to the new "What We Just Started Reading" list.

I'm glad we can help increase readership with personal bloggers as well as contribute to this interweaving of online friendships. Keep on blogging, and keep on reading and commenting!

Happy New Year!

Time to Divide T-Central?

I wanted to thank all those who subscribe and follow the T-Central trans and glb related blogroll. As you can see, the number of transgender bloggers here on this page is quickly growing, and I think it might be time to add new categories, but I need your opinion!

What do you think? While they'd all stay on this main page, I'd like to see separate categories for the following blog types: Spouses and Significant Others who blog about the transition they face with their partners, blogs specifically about crossdressing or crossdressers, those who also do video blogs, religious-themed blogs, political themed blogs, personal transition, etc.

You tell me... should we add new categories or leave this as is with the ever expanding list of personal blogs written by Tgbl writers? These inquiring minds want to know!

Welcome to T-Central

Love to read trans-related blogs and news sites? Tired of having to look for all the wonderful new people coming out who have started blogs so that you can find and be part of a like-minded community?

Well this won't be all inclusive no doubt, but this will be an extension of my main site a T Revival .

This will be in a way, page 2. Also known as:

T-Central.

Posts will refresh and display with the most recent blogs at the top.

Hope you like to read. Now get busy.