(no subject)

[transatheist.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been told by another transperson that you aren't trans or the gender you ID as because you don't fit their definition of that gender?

I was told this morning by another transwoman who had friended me on MySpace that I'm a guy because she found the language I used in a blog to be rude. According to her I was being "guyish". So I guess swearing and not being a delicate flower means I'm not a woman? I hate being told by non-transpeople that I'm not a woman, I hate it even more when I hear it from other transpeople.

hey there

[in-vino.livejournal.com]

i'm posting this because there have been some questions about it, and i wanted to give a direct resource for answers (that resource being me).

so, i have just gone on testosterone, my dose is 50mg every two weeks. this is considered a low dose, but pending any screwiness that could happen to my liver etc., i plan on keeping it that way.

if anyone has any questions about the effects of a low dose of T, you can follow the links to my profile and send me an email. i'm Adrien, nicetameecha ;)


posted to transgender, femme_ftm and tranny_please

Phallus Palace

[jacob22eku.livejournal.com]

hey... I was wondering if anyone knew how to get a copy of Phallus Palace? I looked on amazon com awhile back and it was available but now it is saying it is out of stock and print... So if anyone could point me in the right direction I would be most grateful...
Thanks
Jacob

First Professional Make Up Application today

[irish-deutsch.livejournal.com]

Just after the forementioned event in Brown Thomas (for those who don't know, one of the most upmarket ..probably the most expensive Chain Store in Ireland!) and felt really good ...amazingly good actually..as though I had taken just a small step further towards being who i wanted to be...lip gloss..subtle eye shadow, foundationand moisturiser...quite subtle and the artist said she will do something more elaborate next week. It dosen't make me a woman..but I really enjoyed the experience. Actually  A few people stared..2 people laughed..natural I suppose..Trying to grow confidence and not to let that worry me....but it dosen't look in any way ridiculous..just obvioulsy a tad unusual ..Just wondering how others felt when they first travelled down this road? How did you feel when you first wore make up in public? Were you self-conscious? Did you learn to relax quickly?. It wasn't my first time wearing make-up in public today..but it was my first time having it applied by a professional..I did it rather badly myself!
Hope all are well
Allison

Self made documentary anyone?

[stacis-leak.livejournal.com]

So I mentioned a little time ago my plans to keep a sort of video blog of my transition.

And it occurred to me. There are hundreds of video blogs about transition. I want to do something different. I want to do something which won't just tick all the boxes for trans fanciers and fellow transitioners. I harp on and on about the public needing to be educated... maybe it's time I stepped up and had a go?

A little while ago I was talking to a friend of mine (Hi Anne, how come we never talk anymore?) about the fact that she was frequently in the media. She starred in one of a series of documentaries on transwomen and back when we were working together she asked if I wanted to be in the next series.

I declined, because at the time, I was rather keen on keeping things a little secretive, but as I've been quite vocal about recently the more transwomen go stealth and hide away, the longer it'll take for society at large to get a clue.

The trouble is, you could almost play a drinking game with the kind of documentaries they ask us to feature in. The people producing them have some kind of obsession with presenting us as tragic figures, obsessed with hormonal changes and surgeries while our lives and families crumble around us.

I can't help but feel that these documentaries give the impression that transition is not a cure but a cause of depression. Every time I hear that cloyingly sensitive piano music, and see teary figures presented not as victims of biology, rather than warriors battling against the kind of societal genetic determinism which causes much of the dysphoria in the first place.

And I thought if I'm going to make video blogs anyway, I might as well present it a bit better and go for broke.

This is a round about way of saying that I'm not going to video blog my transition. I'm going to make a serialized documentary about it.

I'm not going to try and make it a catch all for trans issues, I'm just one woman and they're not all issues for me, but I'm going to do my utmost to present a more balanced picture.

First stereotypes I'm going to try and boot are the concept of "life altering surgery" which is mentioned in all of these shows. So many people focus on the actual surgery as if it's the be all and end all, as if that's what changes someones life. In reality, in transition, life is immediately changed, Surgery is just one of a million steps along that route. We need to skip the focus from the kind of biased opinions I learned about transfolk as a child which kept me in the dark about how I felt until I was 23.

I don't know if I can make it entertaining without the titillation of the televised documentaries, I don't know if anyone will even watch it, but I think it's worth a go.

Plus if I do them in tandem, if the documentary gets popular it might help shift the book I'm supposedly writing.

Wow this ended up longer and rantier than I intended. Anyway the point is, I'd like to cover a broad spectrum of issues. As I don't have anyone else to star in this thing, it's going to be basically about me, but I'd like to cram as much educational stuff as I can in, pointing out ways in which trans folk aren't all cookie cutter replicants of a gender stereotype, making it clear that I'm following just one of many paths.

Which is why I'd be interested in hearing firstly if other people are in support of this kind of thing, and secondly what kind of things you think it'd be good for me to cover?

Any issues or topics you think the media has missed? I can't promise they'll all make it into the series, or even that anyone will watch it (trying to post something serious on youtube is like pouring a cup of tea into an ocean of piss) but at least we can say we tried...

Opinions?

"...in a positive and groovy way."

[sellars88.livejournal.com]

Hi, my name is Adam, and I've just joined this community. I'm a straight male, curious about transvestitism. I've pretty much decided to experiment over the summer (after my flatmates have gone home) but I need some practical advice. Where would be a good place (website) to look for women's clothes and/or make-up? And is it possible to get women's shoes in men's sizes?  Does anyone have any advice about starting out and experimenting? Any comments would be greatly appreciated, and if anyone wants to know anything else about me, just ask :o)