Topic: Real Life

I transitioned last century. Okay, it was in the mid-1990s but sometimes it feels like a century ago. The days of worrying about electrolysis, saving for surgery, battling employers and walking terrified in public places are long gone.

For a long time before I was officially "reassigned" (isn't that the most ridiculous term for changing gender?), I believed that once I had my surgery, all my trials would be over. Life would be a breeze. I would meet the man of my dreams, adopt a few little kinderlings and drink margaritas as we all watched the sunsets together. Suburban bliss. What was smoking?

A Mother?s Journey
by Tina M.
This Story Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #112, Summer 2007.
In 1997 at the age of 47, when my arms were no longer long enough to assist me in being able to see up close anymore, I broke down and bought my first set of ?cheaters.? Since that time, I, like many others my age, depend on these assistive devices to be able to see up close. I hate this fact, and often wish that there would be a way, short of surgery,to be able to see clearly again without these annoying glasses perched on my nose.

-After 15 years of controversy, supporters welcome trans women to 'the land'

HART, MICHIGAN - The Michigan Women's Music Festival began admitting openly trans (transgender/transsexual) women last week, bringing success to a longstanding struggle by trans activists both inside and outside the festival.

A Commentary about TG Beauty Pageants

by Monica Roberts

On June 14 I was given the honor of acting as a judge for the inaugural Miss Diva International 2006 Pageant here in Louisville. I had a great time watching it and seeing the talented Indianapolis, IN sistah that eventually ran away with it, Vanessa Ross. I also liked watching special guests Amelia Black and Terri Vanessa Coleman perform and enjoyed meeting them.

An African-American transwoman shares her thoughts about being Black and transgender
By Monica Roberts

There are a lot of words you can use to describe me. Daughter, aunt, friend, woman, sister, native Texan, Houstonian, African-American, deejay, Christian, transplanted Louisvillian, transplanted Kentuckian, activist, writer, sports fan, columnist, Kentucky Colonel, American.

Another one that would be accurate to use in my case is transgender.

Probably one of the most suffering "groups" with-in the transgendered community, or at least belonging to the transgender community, is the elderly TG's. Just my opinion folks!

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #104, Winter 2004.

by Julia Dudek ? April 20, 2003

Regardless of one?s biological sex, the pervasive awareness of being a woman may or may not match the societally defined stereotype of woman. For a male-to-female transsexual, this contrast is magnified to desperate proportions, creating havoc in the minds of the women struggling, despite their indisputable male genetics, to prove their place on the pink side of the gender spectrum. Many transwomen have described feeling female in their earliest childhood memories, and, in response, longing to lead a feminine lifestyle. Bound day after day by social restraints that encourage a ?normal? existence, closet transsexuals suffer from a tragic and incurable case of mistaken identity, producing the desperation to correct these ?technicalities? to ensure a harmonious existence in accordance with the allowances of a cruel society.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #104, Winter 2004.

by Deborah Greenway

We are in Salt Lake City, Utah, one of the more conservative cities in America. Not only that, but the powers that be here can be somewhat intrusive, as well?yet our transgender group, Engendered Species, has thrived here, probably because of our uniqueness rather than in spite of it. In the past, I?ve seen many who, in their aloneness in a culture that promotes obedient, sheep-like behavior, have convinced themselves that their lives as transgendered were worse than worthless. I?ve also seen some who grew to the place where all of God?s creation had value, and the immense worth of a justly motivated individual in the world is hard to contain.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #104, Winter 2004.

by Melynda Jill

I have a good friend named Jan, a married woman. We met online eight or nine years ago; we struck up a conversation in an AOL chat room and were soon writing each other short notes almost every day. At the time, I was married and presenting as male. I was still in denial, refusing to confront and come to terms with the gender issues which had dogged me since childhood.

Jan and I lived three states away from each other. We corresponded for several months before her family, on vacation, passed through the area where I lived. Jan and I met for coffee. We had planned on talking for half an hour or so. Instead, we spent more than two hours together.

Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #104, Winter 2004.

by Stasha Goliaszewski

Can a male develop breasts because of some natural function or medical problem? Here is the story of one Stasha Goliaszewski. She developed B cup breasts as a result of a medical condition known as Conn?s Syndrome, which put her in the painful, agonizing, excruciating, distasteful, heartbreaking, and overwhelming position of having to choose between possible death or feminization.

How many of us have wished the Boob Fairy would visit us and we would wake up with a nice set? Even a cute B would do. The intensity of the wish may wane, but every time you fill that bra with birdseed or water balloons, it comes back in full force. If only they were real! Well, in my case, it happened. It didn?t happen overnight, but it did happen.