Fantasy and Reality in the Transgender Community (1998)
It is wonderful to have such a useful tool as fantasy, as it helps keep us healthy and balanced. And yet, like any tool, fantasy can be misused. When the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred, we are liable to get into trouble.
Read MoreVaginal Politics (1994) (NSFW)
Does having a vagina make me any more a woman than if I had a penis? No. Women are not judged by their vaginas, nor men by their penises, except when in bed with their lovers, and most people are not their lovers.
Read MoreAEGIS News Issues (1994-1998)
AEGIS News was the newsletter of the nonprofit American Educational Gender Information Service, which I founded in 1990. I designed, wrote, edited, laid out and published some 13 issues, all of which were distributed internationally.
Read MoreNCUG Magazine (1984-1989)
In the 1980s Nashville had a vibrant community of computer enthusiasts. Arguably the largest user group was the one with which I was affiliated—the Nashville Commodore Users Group. At its height there were more than 450 active members and meetings every week. There was a monthly newsletter, for which I was often editor.
Read MoreThe Brief but Illustrious Career of Reggie Ramloose (1983-1987)
When I arrived in Nashville for grad school I ventured to a computer store on 8th Avenue North for the formation of a users group for the VIC-20. There were about a dozen people, and each of us was eyeing all the others, wondering what sort of weirdo would have a computer in their home. The group grew and in 1983 merged with a forming C-64 group to form The Nashville Commodore Users Group. Soon there were more than 450 members and there was at least one meeting every week.
Read MoreA Brief Overview of Transgender Identity (2001)
Variant expressions of gender — what we today call transgender and transsexualism — have been present throughout human history. Gender roles outside the binary male/female were recognized members of a variety of tribal cultures, but until recently have been repressed in Western societies.
Read MoreRites of Passage: Editor’s Remarks (1993-1994)
Rites of Passage began as a magazine published by activist Anne Ogborn. It became a newsletter after the second New Woman’s Conference; in fact, it became the official newsletter of the conference. I edited the magazine and did layout. The New Woman Conference was a three-day retreat for post-operative transsexual women. It ran for perhaps a half-dozen years.
Read MoreOur Transgender Heritage (1999)
This disregard of our individual histories is reflected in our community’s lack of attention to its past. We have done little to preserve and honor our pioneers, our heroes and heroines, those men and women who gave their freedom or their lives because they dared to be themselves, those men who sweated blood to build the community.
Read MoreAre Transsexuals as Reliable as Other People? (1990)
Are transsexuals reliable? That is the theme of this issue of Insight. The question might as well be “Are relatives reliable?” or “Are politicians honest?” The answers, or course, are yes and no.
Read MorePeople First (1981)
Recently, Mr. Bill Parra and Mr. Bill Feltner Nashville, met with the 28 residents who attended the 1980 and 1981 People First conferences and discussed with them the possibility of forming a People First group in this area.
Read MoreThe Letter (2012)
When I learned Routledge Press was planning to publish a book about transgenderism by Australian academician Sheila Jeffreys, I was astonished.
Read MoreThe Ins of Out: Part II of II (1993)
If Spider-Man’s secret identity were to become known, there would not cease to be a Peter, for unlike Clark Kent, Peter is a real person. Spider-Man is the drag act.
Read MoreThe Ins of Out: Part I of II (1992)
At some point in their lives, transsexual people come out of the closet. This process is to some extent analogous to the coming out of gay men and lesbians, but there is a difference—at the end of the long process of transition, there lies another closet. It is the closet of anonymity.
Read MoreTrash Fish Banquet (1996)
And now the codfish all are gone / And still the fishermen fish on / And species once considered trash / Are looked upon as source of cash
Read MoreSarah in a Suitcase (1997)
I wrote this poem on my way home from the transgender event Fantasia Fair, having witnessed a profound awakening during the week and an emotional crash when it was time to go home.
Read MoreWe Are The Transgendered (1993)
We are your bosses, your employees. We work next to you in the assembly line. We drive your cabs, your buses, your taxis. We fly your planes, we sail your ships, we drive your locomotives. We deliver your paper, stock the shelves in your groceries, ring up your purchases. We cook your food in restaurants, and we bring it to your table. We build your cars in Detroit.
Read MoreAnother Look at the HBIGDA Standards of Care (1996)
The issue under discussion is whether the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care are restrictive. Obviously, something that places formidable obstacles to an individual doing what they want to their own body is an imposition on that individual. So yes, they are restrictive. But are they unnecessarily or arbitrarily so? That is another question.
Read MoreXV HBIGDA Symposium: Vancouver Highlights (1997)
Dr. Holly Devor set the tone for the conference by pointing out that gender variability is not prima facie evidence for psychopathology, but can be a healthy adjustment to restrictive gender roles. Dr. Devor brought many attendees to their feet with a call for HBIGDA to acknowledge and serve the many kinds of gender-variant people.
Read MoreTripping the Light Fantastic: Staying Sane and Whole While In Transition (1991)
I don’t have the space in this article to point out all the potential hazards in the mine field of transition. Encyclopedia Brittanica isn’t big enough. You’ll have to look elsewhere for that. I do have some strategies and approaches that may be of help. Here they are.
Read MoreBad Advice (1992)
It will behoove you to spot bad advice and avoid it. You only go around once, Esmerelda, and you’ll have to live with the consequences of your actions for years to come– the ones who are giving your bad counsel won’t, and neither will they be around to hear your laments.
Read MoreTwo Reviews of Gordene MacKenzie, Transgender Nation (1994)
Having transsexual surgery is a political act, but it is not a conformist act. Transsexual persons go against gender norms to exercise their right to modify their bodies as they wish so their bodies reflect their inner visions of themselves.
Read MoreWhat’s That Transsexual Doing Here, Anyhow? Part I (1993)
I’m not a heterosexual crossdresser, nor am I the partner of one of the members, but I rarely miss a Sigma Epsilon meeting; in fact, I come early and stay late. Who am I, and why do I come?
Read MoreWhat’s That Transsexual Doing Here, Anyhow? Part II (1994)
I may be transsexual, and I certainly won’t betray your confidence, but that doesn’t mean I’ll condone foolish and illegal behavior. If you are feeling gender dysphoric, then fine. Explore it. Do so honestly, and let it take you where it will lead you. But don’t go skulking around in the shadows, deluding yourself and those who love you and breaking the law when there is absolutely no reason for you to do so, and becoming angry when someone innocently speculates about what is becoming more and more obvious every day.
Read MoreHow a Heterosexual Crossdresser Should Behave in a Gay Bar (1989)
Crossdressers often find themselves in gay bars; they go there because they are safe havens. It can, however, be bewildering to find oneself immersed in a counterculture with which you are unfamiliar. How should you behave?
Read MoreCrutches (1990)
As a transsexual person’s body changes, dressing in the gender of choice becomes more and more natural. We need less and less artifice to look like who we really are. And yet sometimes we hold onto things we no longer need– and may never have needed in the first place.
Read MoreBathroom Etiquette (1997)
A full bladder always poses a conundrum for crossdressers. If away from your own toilet, you have a number of alternatives: (1) try to get home as fast as you can; (2) go in the woods; (3) use a men’s bathroom; (4) use a ladies’ bathroom; and Oops! waited too long.
Read MorePassing (1997)
Translating all this into simple directions to crossdressers, it means simply this: Go with it. Don’t worry so much about the reactions of others, for most people are paying you little attention.
Read MoreAdventures in Passing (1997)
Lately I’ve been trying to find out more about myself as a woman. What am I like? Are my interests the same as a woman as they are as a man? Do I like the same types of books? The same movies? Can I sing? Are my hobbies the same? Am I as assertive as a woman as I am as a man? What do I like to talk about?
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